Chapter Two: Drop in the Ocean
Written by Elluxion
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You know what? Saying stuff like this is discouraging me. Yes, Draco and Hermione will never belong to me (or together), but do I have to repeat it every chapter? Grrrrr! :[ Fine, disclaimer, let's get it over and done with: the wizarding world doesn't belong to me. *sarcastically* Wow! What a surprise! It's actually property of Ms J.K. Rowling! Now let's get on with the ficlet! Grrrrr! :[ (Don't get scared - I'm just annoyed ^^; No! Wait! Don't press the x! *voice trails off*) For those brave enough to stay and read on, Chapter Number Two is dedicated to Nicole (also known as the *very* talented Tenebrae), who took time out of her busy schedule to write to me, and for being the absolute first person to read and review Spitfire. ;) Huggles to you, dear friend! Hugs and cookies, -Michelle Branch, Drop in the Ocean Harry Potter stood in the doorways of the Great Hall like a frozen statue, nothing but his brilliant green eyes moving. The bewitched ceiling was outdoing itself with the beauty of the landscape outside proudly displayed, and he caught more than just one familiar face walking up and down between the four tables: Slytherin, famous for their cunning; Gryffindor, known for their courage; Ravenclaw, where wit was valued above all; Hufflepuff, whose members were endearing in every which way. "Brings back old memories, eh?" Ron Weasley's voice rang out from beside him. Harry nodded, turning to his best friend with a somewhat sad smile. "It's like old times," he mused. "Minus Hermione." Silence. Then Ron spoke up again. "Where has she gone, anyway? She's just disappeared ... ?" "I sent her letters through Hedwig," Harry said. "She replied the first few, then Hedwig began returning with the letters I sent. Maybe she moved to a Muggle place and didn't want Hedwig to get caught with the letters?" "Maybe. Maybe not," hinted Ron darkly. "Some help you are," snorted Harry. Almost automatically, his legs moved him to his usual place at the Gryffindor table, and Ron had to yank at his elbow to remind him, none too gently, that he was no longer a student of Hogwarts. "Right," muttered Harry, messy hair covering his scar. No one took any notice of them yet - student or staff alike. Ron steered him to the teachers' table, and Harry took a place beside a pretty young lady whom he didn't know. She had her head turned, talking to Professor Flitwick. Harry waited patiently for her to finish. She turned her head, and Harry watched with a raised eyebrow as her dark eyes mirrored confusion, then recognization. She broke out into a grin. "Some friend you are, Harry." "What?" How did she know his name? "I'm Hermione Granger." "Hermione!" Harry screeched, losing hold of his composure. Ron, who had settled himself down next to Harry, spat out a mouthful of pumpkin juice. "Hermione where?" "Right here, Mr Weasley," said Hermione, perfecting Professor McGonagall's tone of voice. Harry laughed and leant over to give Hermione a hug. Ron shoved his chair back and joined them. "Where on earth have you been, Miss Granger?" retorted Ron sternly. "I kind of wandered around for a year or so. Then I heard that Hogwarts was growing and needed a second Transfiguration Professor to juggle lessons - so here I am," grinned Hermione. "Now what's happened with you guys recently?" Harry blushed and ducked his head at the question. Ron leant on Harry's shoulder with an elbow, grinning back. "Let's just say I have a new brother-in-law." ~*~ "Welcome back," said Professor Dumbledore happily, shaking Draco's hand. Draco politely nodded - didn't he convey practically all emotions with nods nowadays? - and replied, "It's good to be back. I see the ceiling is outdoing itself." "Oh, yes, the Professors and I worked hard a few months ago to strengthen the charm put on it." "It looks beautiful," remarked Draco. "Thank you," said Dumbledore. "Now why don't you sit down here and have a nice chat with one of our Professors?" He led Draco to a seat opposite a brunette, whose head was turned to the one side, and Draco sat, staring blankly out at the Great Hall. I shouldn't have come. That was before he caught Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, laughing and talking with the Professor that was seated opposite of Draco, and Ron Weasley, Potter's sidekick. He was torn between smirking and laughing out loud. That enmity - it had been so long! Then Albus Dumbledore held up a silver spoon and tapped the edge of his goblet. The tiny sound echoed around the Great Hall as the students fell silent. "Good evening, and Merry Christmas to all students!" Dumbledore began, smiling. "Tonight's a special occasion - we've got some of our old students back to Hogwarts! You might recognize some as your parents, friends, or even teachers. Before I say any more, let the feast begin!" The brunette Professor turned to him then and smiled pleasantly, before her mouth opened in a little breathless O. Draco felt like parroting her expression: it was the same woman he had spoken to at Carrie's Corner! Before he thought any better of it, he held out a hand as the band struck up a slow-tempo tune. "Care for a dance, Professor?" "Certainly." She stood up, and gave Harry and Ron an apologetic smile. The Professor crossed over to the other side of the table and took Draco's hand. He propelled her gently to the dance floor, where they took up a dancing stance. Draco couldn't help but notice her uncanny, flawless grace again as she swayed to the music. "May I ask what you teach in Hogwarts?" said Draco, after a few moments of silence. "I'm one of the Transfiguration Professors," she replied. "And what do you do for a living?" I'm a Death Eater, Draco felt like responding. I kill people. And suddenly he felt like laughing hysterically as well: what a joke his life was! "Oh, I work at the Ministry," he said instead. "Nothing big, I assure you - just one of the Ministry wizards." "I see," she smiled politely. The song was drawing to a close. "What is your name?" she blurted out. Her eyes widened and her hand flew to her mouth in horror. "I'm sorry," she said in dismay. "It's just that you seem so familiar. But I can't seem to remember - " "It's fine," Draco interrupted, letting a few seconds of silence float by, grateful that he wasn't the first one to ask. "My name is Draco Malfoy." Her eyes widened to the point where they couldn't widen any further. "Malfoy!" "I'm guessing you were one of my many old enemies?" asked Draco, almost laughingly. Not a good sign. She nearly made me laugh. "Actually, I was one of yours." The Professor grinned, and the last notes of the song cavorted through the air. "Who are you?" Draco interjected. "Hermione Granger," she said, and disappeared into the crowd. ~*~ Hermione pressed her forehead onto the cool glass of one of the greenhouses. The music in the Great Hall was beginning to grate - painfully - into her mind. "Well, Professor Granger, I had a feeling I would find you here," came a smooth voice behind her. Hermione heaved a sigh and took her time in turning around, knowing who would stand there, studying the young man who stood behind her. "Hello, Mr Malfoy," she said quietly. "I never expected to see you after graduation." "Why don't we take a walk, Professor?" he suggested, his calm grey eyes not betraying a single emotion. Hermione paused, the offer waving tantalizingly in front of her. She was intrigued, she had to admit: intrigued at the perfect gentleman that Draco had grown up to be; intrigued in his present; intrigued at what could have changed him, somewhat, to an extent. The cynical Draco was still present, and yet, something was different ... She nodded, not trusting herself to speak too much. Draco positioned himself beside her and together, they set off, walking around the lake. The giant squid was doing a curious, queer dance, tentacles swaying and twisting in the ether. "What are you working as?" Hermione asked again, more gently this time. Her voice was carried far across the lake by a sudden, wintry breeze. "I told you - at the Ministry," Draco said patiently. Hermione was a good - in fact, one of the best - readers of faces around. She caught the well-hidden lie in his eyes, and the unnatural tremble in his voice. "Tell me the truth, Draco Malfoy." She used his full name to make him pay attention. "I'm a Death Eater, Hermione Granger," said Draco, staring at her softly, sadly, before turning his head away. "I don't like the way my life turned out," Hermione said quietly. "I didn't expect to be single at this age - completely unattached - neither did I expect to walk the halls of Hogwarts as a teacher." "I don't like the way my life turned out either," Draco replied, whirling to face her. She saw the glimmers of tears in his eyes, breaking through the defense he had so painstakingly built up. "I don't." "You can change it," Hermione said encouragingly. "You can quit - " "You're not the first person to say that. But don't you know?" He asked darkly. "When the Dark Mark is burned into a Death Eater's forearm, there is no way he can remove it." "You don't have to do this, Malfoy," scowled Hermione, feeling anger flare up inside of her. "It's my destiny. I've been raised to believe in this. My life's been planned out for me by my father already - I can't change it." Draco shrugged it off with an indifference Hermione found astounding. "But - " "Why are we having this conversation, anyway?" Draco asked wistfully. "Couldn't we talk about something else? If I wasn't a Malfoy, we would have been talking about your working life, about Hogwarts, about your kids and mine. But as it is, we're talking about my birth and death as a Death Eater, as a follower of Voldemort. We're talking about one of the darkest futures ever." "Hell, I want to talk about it!" yelled Hermione, spinning around angrily to look Draco straight in the eye. "I hate people who say things like, 'it's my destiny, it's my fate, I can't change it, so la di da, let's just go off and kill ourselves and die a stupid prat'! You have willpower, Draco, you know you have willpower - use it, for God's sake!" "What is my willpower compared to Voldemort's?!" growled Draco in return. "He wants to take over the world - and am I supposed to be rebelling against him? He's - he's Voldemort! Isn't that reason enough?" "NO!" screamed Hermione, and that very word rang around the empty, desolate grounds. From far off, a string of laughter wafted towards them. "No," Hermione repeated in a dry whisper, gaining control of herself. They had walked the entire length of the lake, and even the giant squid had retreated to its home. There was a haunting silence as Draco's mind spun. How many times have you had this conversation in your own head? he questioned himself harshly. "It's out in the open now," Hermione said, making sure that her eyes never left his. Fiery brown met stormy grey. "I can tell 'some particular people', and you can be killed before the moon sets. But I won't, Malfoy. Maybe talking over it helped you some, but I don't know, okay? You're just a wizard who walked into my life. I'm not a powerful witch. Sure, I may know every spell in the book, but what's knowledge compared to lineage power? My parents are Muggle-born. Draco, you're a Malfoy, you have that power inside of you. Use it." Draco opened his mouth to retort something, but he snapped it shut as a hiss of pain escaped from between gritted teeth. "Shit," he swore, almost unable to get the word out. Hermione glanced up at him, worry etched in her face. Draco's eyes were shut tight, and it was taking every ounce of his willpower not to writhe on the floor and scream in pain. "Draco? Are you all right?" She reached out to take his shoulders and to steer him to a nearby bench, but Draco shuddered at her touch, however soft, however light. "No, Hermione," he forced out. "Don't touch me." Hermione, startled by the fact that he had used her first name, sprang back as if scalded. And suddenly the pain seemed to pass. Draco's body relaxed, but his eyes were brimming with worry and anxiety, and his lips were pressed together tightly. Hermione reached out to touch him, and her fingers trailed over his left arm. Draco drew back again, letting out a grunt of pain. "No, Hermione, don't. I'm being called by Voldemort." Draco spat out the name like it was poison. "He wants a word with me." "Can I - " "No!" Draco said hotly, and his tone matched Hermione's earlier one: forceful, indigant, shocked. Gathering his robes, Draco stood and left like a fleeting shadow. He never saw the petite, slender form that stole after him. *grins* Another chapter done, and I think I'm quite pleased with the way the ending turned out. Pretty angsty, and I really should up the rating to PG-13 for some language. The words spoken between Hermione and Draco weren't too dramatic, were they? (Please answer that question) I was okay with exchanges of words before in my old Card Captor Sakura fics, hopefully I crossed over to Harry Potter in one piece ... LOL. Well, I'm just another crazy author talking to herself, I guess. ;) Thank you so much for all your encouraging reviews, and KEEP REVIEWING! I'd love some constructive critiscm. This is because I don't use Spellcheck (all my files are in .htm format, and I update through Notepad) and my grammar and spelling glitches often go unchecked. Thanks to Rie and another reviewer who pointed out the Professor Sprout and Seamus Finnigan spoofs ... *hangs head in shame* I own only Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and they're all packed in boxes, ready for the move my family is doing at the end of this year, so I have completely no references ... well, except the Internet, but Elluxion's a very lazy author. (If I can be deemed an author, LOL) I really should get a beta-reader ... As for a reviewer who mentioned she liked my layout, thankies! *huggles* It's original, at least ... LOL and the text is aligned by a table. I worked hard on it. :P I also wanted to say that working on HP fics isn't easy for me. I keep running into minor writer's blocks - although a few hours' break from the computer can break through them. I'm rather worried on this part, since, heck, this is only the second chapter! *shudders* I wonder what on earth will happen when I reach the climax ... hopefully not a major writer's block! *quivers in fright* Ahhhhhhh ... I'll shut up now before my A/N gets longer than my fic ... REVIEW, onegai! *huggles to all again* Hugs and cookies,
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