*Disclaimer: Hmmm, better, but still not touching the brilliance of J. K.
*Reviews:
~PokeyOoOky- thanks for appreciating the detail- I do my best. Its hard to picture Harry fighting though...
~Sex & Diamonds- don't you worry...they will!
~LA- I appreciate your encouragement so much! My faithful reader, always dependable. See you in class!
~Lavendar- I take pride in the fact that I've delightfully confused you. Don't worry- you're not alone! I'll be revealing the real threat soon..if you haven't guessed it yet. And keep the Harry Potter pride!! It's all good!
*A/N: Happy New Year! For those of you just tuning in...Hermione is in Slytherin, Draco is a Death-eater, Paxia Devastarium is a 7th year student that slept with Snape and is now a teacher's assistant in Harry, Hermione, and Draco's 6th year 1st period Potions class, Harry and Draco are killing each other over Hermione, and apparently I'm a good lemon writer. The last note has nothing to do with anything, lol.
Corrupt
Chapter Seven
Naivety Amidst Corruption
*The innocence of the past 5 years was shed the day she slid past the present time and came face to face with the future. Now she was stuck in a world between the two- that no one could understand, nor cared to. Gods save them now, may they never see through her eyes.*
Hermione always looked upon Draco Malfoy as a pillar of strength and severity. She was a simple girl, with insecurities and unsorted feelings that she pushed aside in attempt to pass off to the world as confident and stable. But witnessing this tender catharsis of emotion from the very being she assumed indestructible led her to believe his revelation to her was done under more than just pretense. When she touched him, his sincerity raced through her veins, striking a chord deep within her- that she had kept safe from corrosion by ignoring its existence. His words touched her in a way she never thought possible... and she was beginning to if he was capable of seeing the world through her eyes. Really seeing her fear, and really wanting to protect her.
Draco took a slow deep breath, and a long hard look at the woman in front of him. She'd
changed since her first year. No longer the loud, know-it-all pretentious Granger, she was a soft-spoken, confident Hermione- a woman that understood what she had gotten herself into as the first witch in her family. Perhaps in a moment of true connection, Draco was seeing what he'd never suspected lay beneath her skin: a lost lamb in forbidden territory. She could get through this on her own- this hidden attack. He knew she wasn't naive- she'd be more careful who she conversed with and kept near. But he wanted to hold her, to tell her that it wasn't just her battle- he would be there for her.
In their daze of recognition, they failed to notice the approaching footsteps of Harry Potter, but he noticed them. Clearly understanding the relationship between the two as not being limited to contact within Slytherin, Potter made the clear decision to trust Hermione's next move. He wanted her to honestly tell him if she wanted his company or his distance. For five years he had to stand there, stone, as Malfoy watched his best-friend like an over-seer to the incapable. She could fare well enough on her own in life without his interference, but it always felt like she confided in him because she felt tense around Draco. Now he was seeing something new- like the awkward girl had grown up, and didn't need friends anymore, she needed more. Was Harry just her friend?
"I came to apologize, to both of you. I know that I'm over-stepping my boundaries when I approach you, Hermione, and for that, I'm sorry I've caused you any trouble," he spoke without slipping. These words were the most painfully excruciating syllables that had ever escaped his lips, and he didn't want to have to repeat them. Turning to Draco, "If she chooses to trust you, if it is her honest wish, then I will completely let her go..."
"Harry!" Hermione interrupted. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. She knew eventually it would come to this but not now- not over some stupid accident.
"I can't expect you to keep sane when the two people you come in the most contact with each day are killing themselves over you. I won't Hermione. If you tell me to stay in Gryffindor and never approach you again outside of class, that's what I'll do. Draco's right," what a bitter pill to swallow, "you're different than I am. You're nothing like me. You have a separate path in life and I won't be the one to confuse you with ties to a life you've left behind. You're not losing anything, listen," he couldn't bare to see her suffer. He knew she felt guilty, but Harry understood there was something dangerous afoot that Draco could deal better with than he could.
"Gryffindor's rivalry with Slytherin means I'm only interfering in your life. I just want you to know that I understand I'm what's making you open to whatever it is you're open to, and I'm backing away for you." Harry finished his monologue and kissed her on the forehead. He turned around and began walking to Dumbledore's office alone.
"Wait- Harry...don't think I wanted this. I- I didn't.."
"It never entered my mind. Bye, Hermione," never looking back, Harry Potter left the ward and left Hermione Granger in Draco's company. He didn't mean to hurt her, but he didn't want to be the reason she was hurt further. Something was going on behind Slytherin walls that he wasn't a part of- and if they hurt her, he'd kill them. But right now it seemed he was the one doing more harm than good.
*^How he reviled that innocence. It served as a buffer to reality- sugar-coating pain and
suffering with wishy-washy romanticism and fantasy.^*
Draco couldn't grasp what had just happened. Did Harry Potter just leave Hermione out of guilt? He thought that she suffered- because of a simple house rivalry?! Could he be that naive, or smart? After an extended stare at the door, Draco moved closer to Hermione, who seemed to be absolutely crushed. He wanted to hold her, but didn't know if he should keep his distance right now. After all, he told her the split would be inevitable just moments before. Still, he was distracted by Potter's moment of truth. He couldn't understand if Harry really left her thinking she was torn by house rivalries and her past life, or if he knew more than he was letting on. It didn't matter. She was closer to safety now- and he let her know it.
He wrapped her in his arms, and though she pushed away in protest, he held her tightly. Slowly she melted, and cried long enough to soak through his shirt, until the burning tears moistened his shoulder. He put his right hand behind her neck and stroked her ear with his thumb as he cradled her in his left arm. She would be alright now.
"You'll be alright now," he whispered, "please, trust me on that."
"I want to. I just don't know what to do anymore. You'll never know me like he knows me," she quietly sobbed into his chest.
"That's because I'll know you better," and he meant it. He gazed into her soft, pleading eyes, and kissed a tear as it ventured onto her cheek. He would know her better, and keep her safer, even if it meant killing himself in the process.
"Draco Malfoy? To Dumbledore's office." A curt summons came from a messenger. As Draco rose to meet his fate, Hermione took his hand.
"Do you mean that?"
"I will never let you fall."
~~~@ ~~~@ ~~~@
*^~A muggle that evaded The Dark One, near the only muggle in Slytherin, being protected by the son of the most powerful agents of Voldemort was a powerful brew for trouble- one with worse consequences than even Severus could imagine.~^*
The conference with Dumbledore was relatively uneventful compared to his lashing out at them in public. The two were given probation for the rest of the year, and detention for a month- leniency, compared to what they should have received for such behavior. Albus Dumbledore was not headmaster for nothing. He couldn't expel Harry Potter- it would serve no purpose. He was the most influential factor in the defeat of Voldemort, and was more important here than with muggles. Draco Malfoy's expulsion fared likewise- his father was Potter's greatest enemy, and his son's removal from Hogwarts could prove fatal at some point in the future. It was best not to tempt fate.
The students left his office numbly. Neither spoke, and the atmosphere between them was frostbitten and bare. Harry and Draco turned in opposite directions to return to their dormitories, where they were to remain until that afternoon's punishment, courtesy of Hagrid. Neither knew what to make of their current statuses. They were like everyone else now- stripped of all titles and privileges, barely making away with their enrollments. And what of Hermione? Both wondered if Harry would ever really see her again- class wouldn't be the same without their competition over her attentions.
It wasn't love, Harry decided, between Draco and Hermione. It was duty. Slytherins had no depth to themselves but to duty.
It wasn't naivety, Draco decided, between Harry and Hermione. It was understanding. Muggles knew nothing of danger, lest it toy near their hearts.
As he rounded the corner, Draco spotted a distracted Severus Snape and chose to approach him. He had several questions that needed answers, and soon. Something about Snape's mannerisms almost made Draco change his mind, but this was his most important liaison in his connection to Voldemort, and, above all, he wanted his mentor to know that Potter was out of the picture- for good.
"Professor! Sir, Hermione's feeling better, and I wanted to talk to you about Potter.."
"Malfoy, out of my way. I'm delivering a tonic to Miss Granger and then I must return to my office. And for the final time, eradicate this concern you have for Granger and Potter and leave them be. Come what may for the two of them, it serves them both just as well without your interference," there was an element of haste in Snape's words, and his dismissal of Hermione's condition bothered Draco. It wasn't like him to stop dwelling on an issue- especially one that concerned Slytherin.
"Potter's out of the way now. I was surprised, but it was his own doing. And as for Hermione, I thought you should know she's improved greatly in the past hour, but that tonic would have had a better purpose back then. It's a waste of ingredients now." The annoyance in Draco's voice came unexpectedly, and he should have known better than to pull that in front of Professor Snape.
Stopping abruptly, Severus turned to the boy he'd just passed and threateningly came face to face with him.
"Of all the moments of disregard you've had for my authority, this, Malfoy, is your last. I need not excuse myself for my tardiness, but I will have you know I was researching long and hard into every possibility before choosing a tonic. Perhaps your loss of privilege has entitled you to join the ranks of the pedestrians, but those of us more careful in such matters do not rush and blindly select elixirs. Twenty-points, and do not make me speak to you about these matters again. I have no patience for trivial predicaments," he spat. More passionate than ever about his calling to Voldemort, Severus's only concern for Potter was his isolation. Hermione would be the perfect bait, and Draco served as a device like no other. The simplicity of Paxia's
proposal made him wickedly hungry for her every idea, and wasting time with details such as a "potion" for Granger made him sick. She'd get her potion- a simple mix to rid her of both spells- that which his new assistant had attempted to rid of her with, and his own Innocent Spell. Damn Paxia's timing. If he had only known earlier, he would have never diluted the blends...
Shock radiated from every pore in Draco's body. What the hell was going on here? Answering back at Snape was a looming threat, surely. And the twenty-point deduction was deserved, after the 60 points he'd already lost, what was the difference? But...'trivial predicaments'?!?! He seemed to care a damn great deal more about Hermione in class- - and he knew how important it was to get rid of Harry if Draco was to protect Hermione.
Tomorrow night, when the new moon darkened over Hogwarts castle, the Slytherin tower would empty into the blackness for the monthly call to Voldemort. Maybe then Snape would be able to clarify this obvious misunderstanding. For now, it would just have to wait.
******************
*Chapter One. Hermione*
*^Chapter Two. Draco^*
*^~Chapter Four. Snape~^*
*Reviews:
~PokeyOoOky- thanks for appreciating the detail- I do my best. Its hard to picture Harry fighting though...
~Sex & Diamonds- don't you worry...they will!
~LA- I appreciate your encouragement so much! My faithful reader, always dependable. See you in class!
~Lavendar- I take pride in the fact that I've delightfully confused you. Don't worry- you're not alone! I'll be revealing the real threat soon..if you haven't guessed it yet. And keep the Harry Potter pride!! It's all good!
*A/N: Happy New Year! For those of you just tuning in...Hermione is in Slytherin, Draco is a Death-eater, Paxia Devastarium is a 7th year student that slept with Snape and is now a teacher's assistant in Harry, Hermione, and Draco's 6th year 1st period Potions class, Harry and Draco are killing each other over Hermione, and apparently I'm a good lemon writer. The last note has nothing to do with anything, lol.
Corrupt
Chapter Seven
Naivety Amidst Corruption
*The innocence of the past 5 years was shed the day she slid past the present time and came face to face with the future. Now she was stuck in a world between the two- that no one could understand, nor cared to. Gods save them now, may they never see through her eyes.*
Hermione always looked upon Draco Malfoy as a pillar of strength and severity. She was a simple girl, with insecurities and unsorted feelings that she pushed aside in attempt to pass off to the world as confident and stable. But witnessing this tender catharsis of emotion from the very being she assumed indestructible led her to believe his revelation to her was done under more than just pretense. When she touched him, his sincerity raced through her veins, striking a chord deep within her- that she had kept safe from corrosion by ignoring its existence. His words touched her in a way she never thought possible... and she was beginning to if he was capable of seeing the world through her eyes. Really seeing her fear, and really wanting to protect her.
Draco took a slow deep breath, and a long hard look at the woman in front of him. She'd
changed since her first year. No longer the loud, know-it-all pretentious Granger, she was a soft-spoken, confident Hermione- a woman that understood what she had gotten herself into as the first witch in her family. Perhaps in a moment of true connection, Draco was seeing what he'd never suspected lay beneath her skin: a lost lamb in forbidden territory. She could get through this on her own- this hidden attack. He knew she wasn't naive- she'd be more careful who she conversed with and kept near. But he wanted to hold her, to tell her that it wasn't just her battle- he would be there for her.
In their daze of recognition, they failed to notice the approaching footsteps of Harry Potter, but he noticed them. Clearly understanding the relationship between the two as not being limited to contact within Slytherin, Potter made the clear decision to trust Hermione's next move. He wanted her to honestly tell him if she wanted his company or his distance. For five years he had to stand there, stone, as Malfoy watched his best-friend like an over-seer to the incapable. She could fare well enough on her own in life without his interference, but it always felt like she confided in him because she felt tense around Draco. Now he was seeing something new- like the awkward girl had grown up, and didn't need friends anymore, she needed more. Was Harry just her friend?
"I came to apologize, to both of you. I know that I'm over-stepping my boundaries when I approach you, Hermione, and for that, I'm sorry I've caused you any trouble," he spoke without slipping. These words were the most painfully excruciating syllables that had ever escaped his lips, and he didn't want to have to repeat them. Turning to Draco, "If she chooses to trust you, if it is her honest wish, then I will completely let her go..."
"Harry!" Hermione interrupted. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. She knew eventually it would come to this but not now- not over some stupid accident.
"I can't expect you to keep sane when the two people you come in the most contact with each day are killing themselves over you. I won't Hermione. If you tell me to stay in Gryffindor and never approach you again outside of class, that's what I'll do. Draco's right," what a bitter pill to swallow, "you're different than I am. You're nothing like me. You have a separate path in life and I won't be the one to confuse you with ties to a life you've left behind. You're not losing anything, listen," he couldn't bare to see her suffer. He knew she felt guilty, but Harry understood there was something dangerous afoot that Draco could deal better with than he could.
"Gryffindor's rivalry with Slytherin means I'm only interfering in your life. I just want you to know that I understand I'm what's making you open to whatever it is you're open to, and I'm backing away for you." Harry finished his monologue and kissed her on the forehead. He turned around and began walking to Dumbledore's office alone.
"Wait- Harry...don't think I wanted this. I- I didn't.."
"It never entered my mind. Bye, Hermione," never looking back, Harry Potter left the ward and left Hermione Granger in Draco's company. He didn't mean to hurt her, but he didn't want to be the reason she was hurt further. Something was going on behind Slytherin walls that he wasn't a part of- and if they hurt her, he'd kill them. But right now it seemed he was the one doing more harm than good.
*^How he reviled that innocence. It served as a buffer to reality- sugar-coating pain and
suffering with wishy-washy romanticism and fantasy.^*
Draco couldn't grasp what had just happened. Did Harry Potter just leave Hermione out of guilt? He thought that she suffered- because of a simple house rivalry?! Could he be that naive, or smart? After an extended stare at the door, Draco moved closer to Hermione, who seemed to be absolutely crushed. He wanted to hold her, but didn't know if he should keep his distance right now. After all, he told her the split would be inevitable just moments before. Still, he was distracted by Potter's moment of truth. He couldn't understand if Harry really left her thinking she was torn by house rivalries and her past life, or if he knew more than he was letting on. It didn't matter. She was closer to safety now- and he let her know it.
He wrapped her in his arms, and though she pushed away in protest, he held her tightly. Slowly she melted, and cried long enough to soak through his shirt, until the burning tears moistened his shoulder. He put his right hand behind her neck and stroked her ear with his thumb as he cradled her in his left arm. She would be alright now.
"You'll be alright now," he whispered, "please, trust me on that."
"I want to. I just don't know what to do anymore. You'll never know me like he knows me," she quietly sobbed into his chest.
"That's because I'll know you better," and he meant it. He gazed into her soft, pleading eyes, and kissed a tear as it ventured onto her cheek. He would know her better, and keep her safer, even if it meant killing himself in the process.
"Draco Malfoy? To Dumbledore's office." A curt summons came from a messenger. As Draco rose to meet his fate, Hermione took his hand.
"Do you mean that?"
"I will never let you fall."
~~~@ ~~~@ ~~~@
*^~A muggle that evaded The Dark One, near the only muggle in Slytherin, being protected by the son of the most powerful agents of Voldemort was a powerful brew for trouble- one with worse consequences than even Severus could imagine.~^*
The conference with Dumbledore was relatively uneventful compared to his lashing out at them in public. The two were given probation for the rest of the year, and detention for a month- leniency, compared to what they should have received for such behavior. Albus Dumbledore was not headmaster for nothing. He couldn't expel Harry Potter- it would serve no purpose. He was the most influential factor in the defeat of Voldemort, and was more important here than with muggles. Draco Malfoy's expulsion fared likewise- his father was Potter's greatest enemy, and his son's removal from Hogwarts could prove fatal at some point in the future. It was best not to tempt fate.
The students left his office numbly. Neither spoke, and the atmosphere between them was frostbitten and bare. Harry and Draco turned in opposite directions to return to their dormitories, where they were to remain until that afternoon's punishment, courtesy of Hagrid. Neither knew what to make of their current statuses. They were like everyone else now- stripped of all titles and privileges, barely making away with their enrollments. And what of Hermione? Both wondered if Harry would ever really see her again- class wouldn't be the same without their competition over her attentions.
It wasn't love, Harry decided, between Draco and Hermione. It was duty. Slytherins had no depth to themselves but to duty.
It wasn't naivety, Draco decided, between Harry and Hermione. It was understanding. Muggles knew nothing of danger, lest it toy near their hearts.
As he rounded the corner, Draco spotted a distracted Severus Snape and chose to approach him. He had several questions that needed answers, and soon. Something about Snape's mannerisms almost made Draco change his mind, but this was his most important liaison in his connection to Voldemort, and, above all, he wanted his mentor to know that Potter was out of the picture- for good.
"Professor! Sir, Hermione's feeling better, and I wanted to talk to you about Potter.."
"Malfoy, out of my way. I'm delivering a tonic to Miss Granger and then I must return to my office. And for the final time, eradicate this concern you have for Granger and Potter and leave them be. Come what may for the two of them, it serves them both just as well without your interference," there was an element of haste in Snape's words, and his dismissal of Hermione's condition bothered Draco. It wasn't like him to stop dwelling on an issue- especially one that concerned Slytherin.
"Potter's out of the way now. I was surprised, but it was his own doing. And as for Hermione, I thought you should know she's improved greatly in the past hour, but that tonic would have had a better purpose back then. It's a waste of ingredients now." The annoyance in Draco's voice came unexpectedly, and he should have known better than to pull that in front of Professor Snape.
Stopping abruptly, Severus turned to the boy he'd just passed and threateningly came face to face with him.
"Of all the moments of disregard you've had for my authority, this, Malfoy, is your last. I need not excuse myself for my tardiness, but I will have you know I was researching long and hard into every possibility before choosing a tonic. Perhaps your loss of privilege has entitled you to join the ranks of the pedestrians, but those of us more careful in such matters do not rush and blindly select elixirs. Twenty-points, and do not make me speak to you about these matters again. I have no patience for trivial predicaments," he spat. More passionate than ever about his calling to Voldemort, Severus's only concern for Potter was his isolation. Hermione would be the perfect bait, and Draco served as a device like no other. The simplicity of Paxia's
proposal made him wickedly hungry for her every idea, and wasting time with details such as a "potion" for Granger made him sick. She'd get her potion- a simple mix to rid her of both spells- that which his new assistant had attempted to rid of her with, and his own Innocent Spell. Damn Paxia's timing. If he had only known earlier, he would have never diluted the blends...
Shock radiated from every pore in Draco's body. What the hell was going on here? Answering back at Snape was a looming threat, surely. And the twenty-point deduction was deserved, after the 60 points he'd already lost, what was the difference? But...'trivial predicaments'?!?! He seemed to care a damn great deal more about Hermione in class- - and he knew how important it was to get rid of Harry if Draco was to protect Hermione.
Tomorrow night, when the new moon darkened over Hogwarts castle, the Slytherin tower would empty into the blackness for the monthly call to Voldemort. Maybe then Snape would be able to clarify this obvious misunderstanding. For now, it would just have to wait.
******************
*Chapter One. Hermione*
*^Chapter Two. Draco^*
*^~Chapter Four. Snape~^*