Author's Note: :::clears throat and flexes fingers before typing::: Draco: Hi, Malfoy here. I decided to give Phoenix a day off from writing her author's note today--but don't worry, she'll be writing the rest of this chapter, I just cajoled her to let me write the author's note since...well, since she still look sleepy after taking a very long afternoon nap! :::chuckles::: Anyway, on her behalf and mine we would like to thank those who reviewed so far for liking the previous chapter. A short cliffy of a chapter, but that just sets up the pace for the next chapters to come so sit back, relax, and enjoy reading...
Disclaimer: Alas, if I owned the rights to HP then I would be a rich gal now! *lol*
Summary: Draco & Hermione were suppose to start their 7th year at Hogwarts as a couple, but due to a misunderstanding the previous year that dream soon crumbled and now they are to start their 7th year picking up the pieces of their tattered lives...
Setting: 7th Year
~*~*~*~*~
XV. Elopement Foiled
February 14th, Valentines Day--and also a Saturday this year nevertheless--was the much anticipated date as far as Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger were concerned. Draco explained to her, as soon as she accepted his marriage proposal, that they must wed as soon as possible, with a promise of an explanation later on. But Hermione being Hermione, she demanded an explanation for his hasty decision--and he gave it to her out of the goodness of his heart (a/n: :::looks at Draco beside me and smirks::: I didn't know you have a heart, let alone it being good Draco: :::smirks back::: shut-up and get on with the story, woman!).
Hermione remained rooted to the spot soon after Draco told her what Lucius had been planning all along. He even dredged up that awful incident back before the Christmas holiday when he ran in to Hermione after their afternoon at Hogsmeade and he came back to Hogwarts all bloodied and bruised. She was both scared and fuming mad after finding out what Lucius did, threatening his son and trying to run Draco's life for him.
"He can't do that! You are your own person. You choose who your friends are, who your enemies are, who you love and whom you hate with a passion!" she babbled incessantly some nights ago while they lay snuggled together on her bed. Harry's Invisibility Cloak had been both their ways to get past sneaky, gossipy housemates and get to spend some time together, but neither one spent the night in each other's rooms anymore--too risky to do that lately anyway.
"Hermione, relax. As long as you're with me you'll be safe." Draco assured her, running his hand up and down her arm, soothing her and calming her nerves.
"But--but..."
Draco cut her off the only way he knew how. He leaned forward and covered her mouth with his to which Hermione didn't object. Needless to say that earned him an extra hour locked up in the Gryffindor girls' dorm room until way past midnight when he had to sneak out using Harry's Invisibility Cloak and go back to the Slytherin dungeon.
Now they both paced their respective house dorm rooms, hands clammy and cold, their minds running a zillion words per second, and their bodies just bursting with joy and excitement at the prospect of secretly tying the knot. Harry and Ginny managed to help them get past the Ministry red tape and bureaucracy via getting a hold of Percy Weasley, the third oldest Weasley brother, who has grown less stoic over the years since his graduation from Hogwarts. He was still obsessed with his job, but he learned to let loose every now and then, making him an instant favourite of Ginny and Hermione whenever they spent summers at the Burrow. Ron wasn't let in on the secret mainly because...well, lately he has been going at it with Pansy and Draco doesn't trust Ron quite well enough not to say anything to Pansy and have Pansy report him straight to his father and spoil everything.
No, Draco wanted complete secrecy from all those concerned. Not even the teachers knew what was going to happen right under their noses, but a gut-feeling told Draco that hide their intention as they might, Professor Dumbledore will eventually find out the truth, but with Hermione's cajoling he knew they could trust the Headmaster to keep their secret a secret.
"Ready?" Ginny poked her head into Hermione's dorm room, smiling nervously as she looked at how Hermione chose to dress on this special occasion. None of them wanted to alert anybody in school about what was to happen later on at Hogsmeade, but Hermione managed to salvage a look that would pass up as semi-formal one way or the other. Dressed in bell-bottom cream pants topped with a pastel pink tank top underneath a thigh-length cream knitted cover jacket that was tied in front, she looked amazingly pretty. She leaned more on the casual side, but it was better than having to attract attention once she walked out of Gryffindor tower all dressy and formal! "Wow, Herm! You look fantabulous!" Ginny complimented.
"Thanks, Gin. I--I opted to wear some of my Muggle clothes for today. I mean, it's a Saturday...oh, I don't know, Gin! I'm just scared-nervous." she finally admitted before collapsing on her bed.
"Oh Hermione..." Ginny sighed and entered the room, closing the door after her and comforted her worrywart of a friend. "Are you sure you want to go through this?"
"Oh Ginny, you know I do! I mean, I love Draco with all my heart. And after...after he told me what Lucius planned and him wanting to protect me from his father...oh Ginny...I'm just having pre-wedding jitters, that's all." she shrugged, rubbing her hands together furiously.
"Oh Herm, you'll be fine. And if it's any consolation, I just saw Malfoy talking to Harry outside by the Entrance Hall and he doesn't look any better than you!" she teased, chuckling as she recalled how Draco's pale face looked even more paler and he couldn't stop fidgeting.
"You mean he's nervous too?"
"Uh-huh." Ginny nodded, "Now let's go before we missed the roll-call!" she got up from her best friend's bed and grabbed Hermione's hand.
On their way to the Entrance Hall they passed by Ron who was just coming out of the boys' dormitory.
"Running late today, aren't we Ron?" Ginny teased her brother, "I thought you already left for the Entrance Hall with Harry earlier?"
"I did, but I just remembered that I forgot something so I came back here." Ron replied, smiling at his sister then to Hermione, his eyes taking in the pretty sight of his best friend before Hermione donned on her robe. "Wow, Hermione! What's with the Muggle get-up? Got a hot date with Malfoy or something?"
"Oh shut-up Ron. It's not like you don't have a hot date with Pansy judging from the amount of cologne wafting from you right now." Hermione shot back at him, rolling her eyes skyward and shook her head.
Ginny's nose wrinkled at the strong odor of her brother's chosen cologne and had to agree with Hermione. He has got to have a date if he decided to shower himself with too much cologne!
"Well, since we're all here and ready to go, why don't the three of us head to the Entrance Hall together. That is if you're done primping yourself, Ronnie." Hermione grinned wickedly, remembering the affectionate nickname Pansy called him a few weeks back when they were all at Hogsmeade.
Ron looked a bit annoyed at the use of the nickname Pansy often called him. He hated the nickname, but since Pansy wanted to be 'unique' he let her call him that--and only her. He couldn't stand her whining and complaining about him being no fun and all. Most couples have names they call each other, and for Ron he has a name for Pansy, but he never called her that to her face.
~*~
Draco looked up as soon as he caught a movement of something red from the corner of his eye. He turned to the direction of the movement and saw Hermione sandwiched between the Weasley siblings. Ron and Hermione talking about something and Ginny laughing at whatever her sister and best friend were discussing. He nudged Harry and jerked his head to the direction of the trio headed their way.
"I still think Weasel is up to something." Draco said under his breath and put on a small smile when the trio reached them. "Good morning ladies." he inclined his blond head at Ginny and Hermione then looked at Ron, an eyebrow raised, "Glad you could join us, Weasel."
Ron merely snorted. He looked like he didn't want to be there with them, and Draco was more than happy to kick him out of their cozy foursome, but because Ron was a friend of Hermione he wouldn't be outright mean to him even though he was receiving not-so-good vibes from the elder Weasley sibling.
"Nah, I just saw Gin and Herm heading out of their dormitories and I decided to join them here. But now I see my date awaits and I bid you all goodbye." he bowed his head in curtsy to his sister and his best friend then moved on to be with Pansy.
Hermione, Draco, Ginny, and Draco watched as Ron wrap his arm around Pansy's waist and pulled her closer to his side. They are all trying to swallow the fact that Ron and Pansy are indeed together by some odd twist of fate.
~*~
Hermione kept on glancing at her watch for the time when she would meet with Draco and Harry. Percy would be waiting for them at the Three Broomsticks around three in the afternoon presenting them with the papers they will sign to signify their union. They wouldn't go to all the hoopla; they got the license thanks to Percy and he was also the one who would deliver all the papers they needed to sign to seal their union.
Draco and Hermione agreed to stay away from each other for the rest of the day as to not alert anybody when they meet up at the Three Broomsticks with Percy present. Hermione and Ginny did their thing while Draco and Harry hung out. It was the longest day for the two of them but they knew they must wait until three o'clock for Percy to appear--he said he had to work overtime this weekend and wouldn't be able to get away from the office until after three.
Ginny did her best to keep Hermione occupied for the rest of the day, making sure that her friend wouldn't get cold feet or whatnot while they await for three o'clock to roll by. They mingled with the other Gryffindor girls they passed by and even ate lunch with a couple of them while Harry and Draco remained nearby--the threat of Lucius kidnapping Hermione or doing something to her in broad daylight still plagued the two guys' minds hence why they maintained close distance between the redhead and the brunette at all times.
"Gin, I think I need to disappear inside the bookstore and try to find something to read before I freak." Hermione told her friend when she pushed herself from the table she was sharing with Ginny, a couple of seventh and sixth year Gryffindor girls.
"Are you sure, Herm?" Ginny questioned, "Don't you want me to come with you?"
"Nah. Enjoy the rest of your lunch. I'll be fine." she assured Ginny and bid her and their lunch dates goodbye before she headed across the street to the bookstore. En route to the bookstore she was stopped by Ron who fell into step beside her.
"Hey Hermione, how come you're all alone today?" he asked casually.
"Oh, Ginny's having lunch with our friends while Harry and Draco are...oh, I don't know where those two are!" she replied.
"Oh. Well, where are you headed?"
"The bookstore. What about you? Where are you going? Where's Pansy?"
"With her girlfriends exchanging useless pieces of gossip." he replied, rolling his eyes heavenward in sheer boredom. "I swear I don't understand why girls enjoy chitchatting about other peoples' lives!" he complained.
Hermione chuckled and shrugged, "Maybe it brightens up their somewhat dull, boring lives." she offered.
"Maybe." he nodded, slipping his hands in his trouser pockets. "Say, Herm, wanna walk this way with me?" he jerked his head towards the direction nearing the end of the street away from everybody else.
Hermione frowned and glanced at the direction he pointed out, "Why? What else is there to see?"
"Oh, I'm looking for something to give to Pansy for Valentines. She's expecting me to give her something considering today is the day for lovers."
"Can't you find anything else to give her at the stores around here?"
"I looked all morning, but nothing catches my fancy. And Pansy isn't really one of the easy ones to buy a present to."
Something inside Hermione told her not to go with Ron down the street where the crowd started to taper down. And she was told that going further down Hogsmeade away from the direction back to Hogwarts wasn't a good idea. There were less stores to visit and some residential houses were located over yonder, but Ron was insist and refused as she might, Ron managed to cajole her to walk with him.
"Ron, why are we...going..." Hermione's voice trailed off when, right in the middle of their path, appeared Lucius Malfoy, tall and menacing with a sneer plastered on his aristocratic face.
"Well, well, look who we have here..." he said calmly, but the inflection of his tone sent warning bells ringing at the back of Hermione's head.
She turned to Ron wide-eyed, alarmed at the sudden appearance of the very man Draco and Harry were keeping her away from. She noticed how unmoved Ron was of Lucius' presence and she started to back away, but a surprised gasp escaped her lips when she felt Ron suddenly clamping his hand over her arm, preventing her from escaping.
"What the--Ron! Let me go!" she demanded, struggling to get away from the man who spelled death with a capital D!
Calmly Ron turned to look at his best friend, a mocking smirk plastered on his face, "Sorry, Herm, but I can't." he told her flatly.
It was then that everything fell into place. Her eyes widen in shock and fear. She'd been duped! Her best friend has turned on them and she was the sacrificial lamb brought to the slaughter house!
"Ron...no!" Hermione screamed, struggling harder to be free off his grip, "Damn you, Ronald Weasley! Let me go! Let me go!"
"Now, now Ms. Granger, no need to get hysterical." Lucius said in a tone so calm nobody would suspect he was up to no good. He gripped her other arm, a bit tighter than Ron's grip was, and with a flick of his head Ron let go of her. He turned back to Ron, smiling he took something out form underneath his robe and handed it to Ron. "Here's your payment for a job well done, Mr. Weasley. One hundred thousand galleons for bringing me the Mudblood."
Hermione swore she could see pound signs rolling in Ron's eyes as he accepted the satchel containing his payment for delivering her in the hands of the enemy. She couldn't believe she was sold out by her best friend for a measly one hundred thousand galleons!
Ron accepted his payment and looked up with a proud smirk on his face, "Thank you, Master."
Lucius bowed his head in acknowledgement, then signaled him to leave them alone which Ron obliged to all too willingly. He cast one last look at Hermione, giving her a mocking salute before he walked away.
Hermione struggled in Lucius's grip, but he was too strong for her. She flinched when Lucius twisted her arm which made her look up at him.
"Now, Mudblood, my son's free off you. Now he'll do my every bidding."
"In your dreams, sucker." Hermione hissed, "Draco's not all what you think he is. He has a mind of his own. Whether you kill me now or later, you won't be able to bend him to do your every damn bidding!" she said with enough conviction in her tone that earned her a mocking laugh from her fiance's father.
"With you gone, Mudblood, Draco will learn his lesson. I admit it was a hard lesson to learn, but it was all worth it."
~*~*~*~*~
to be continued...
A/N: Draco: :::steam coming out of his nostrils and ears as he glares at the monitor::: Why that scheming son of a b**ch! That low-life, money-hungry weasel! How dare he betray Hermione's trust like that?! Money has blinded his damn fu--- :::grabs Draco's arms and forcefully sat him back down before he does damage to my monitor::: Please Draco, control your damn temper! And don't be beating the living daylights out of Ron just yet--wait until the next chapter to find out why he did what he did, and you'll be surprised that it ain't just because of the money! And as for the rest of you...uh...well, hehehe, I'll have to contain Draco here before he gives Ron a bloody nose. As always, REVIEW!!! Whaddya think of this chapter?
Candycane: I think the answer to your question was in this chapter I just posted. I liked that one I think uhm...jeez! *lol* I can't remember which but I know I reviewed it! :-/ And you're tired today? So am I! hehehe, and who says I don't care? :p
Queen Li: hey, no problem. Now I will make it a point to finish reading the rest of your fic this weekend since I have like Saturday and Sunday off this week--woo-hoo!!!
Quistis88: yep, the annual Stampede. heard of it but never been to it nor would I wanna see it! *lol* unless somebody pays for my entrance or whatnot. ;p and she's not nuts. she did say "yes" to Draco's proposal *grins*
Brookie: well sorry to disappoint you but Hermione did say yes, but of course it's no easy trip down the altar for our star-crossed lovers :::evil laugh::: as you can tell from how this chapter turned out *winks*
CrystallineLily: sorry, I know how you hate short chappies, but I hope this one made up for last chapter. and I simply have to give you guys a big cliffhanger--I can't just all feed you the wedding in the previous chapter! besides as you can read from this chapter, I have something else in mind hence why there was a big cliffie ;p
Slytherin's Angel: murder the secret person all you want, girl, because finally the informant's identity has been revealed...or has it indeed? *wink, wink, nudge, nudge* too many conflicts here now and too many questionable characters! *lol*