A/N: Hello everyone. To the person who mentioned the quotes I use at the
beginnings and endings of my chapters-I get those quotes from books, and
various artists that I'm in to. I particularly love to post song lyrics
that I adore. Please continue to read and review!
"Take away the love and the anger-and a little piece of hope holding us together-looking for a moment that will never happen-living in the gap between past and future. Take away the stone and the timber-and a little piece of rope won't hold it together." -Kate Bush(Babooshka herself)
Broken Against a Stone-Ch. 11
"I really do not want to do this tonight Draco," said Hermione as she sat on the end of her bed with her head in her hands. She was seriously dreading having to go to dinner with Harry. She hated lying to her friend about what she had been doing in recent weeks.
"I know that you don't. But you've got to! Harry is very close to you. You cannot just completely shut him out of your life Hermione. I know that he hates me-and for good reason! I'll probably never get along with Potter, but he has been your friend for ages. Go have fun with him. You don't have to tell him anything," said Draco.
"I guess you're right. I shouldn't spoil my friendship with him over Ron. God-he'd die if he knew what was going on between us Draco. I do not think that he would ever speak to me again in this lifetime if he knew," said Hermione on the verge of a slight shedding of tears. Draco sat down beside her and touched her hand in a reassuring manner as he kissed her cheek lightly.
"He doesn't have to know anything! He'll never find out if you never tell him. It is as simple as that. It's probably for the best. Sometimes you have to tell small white lies in life," said Draco.
"I'm sure that you know a few things about the art and manipulation of lying Draco," said Hermione as her mood softened.
"Now why would you think that," asked Draco as he affectionately squeezed her hand.
"Oh, just a hunch I guess," said Hermione with a smirk streaking across her face.
Hermione got ready to meet Harry outside of the common room as Draco reassured her that he would be there with her. Hermione felt comfortable with the idea of him being there. She thought it would make things a bit less difficult for her. She walked out of her dorm and to the outside of the common room. Draco was following her from behind-completely unnoticed by anyone around. She waited for a few moments for Harry to arrive. Harry was very punctual and came out of the common room to greet her with a beautiful smile on his face.
"Hi Hermione! Are you ready to go? I hope it won't be too crowded at Al's tonight. It's amazing how popular that place has gotten! You can hardly find a table at times," said Harry.
"Yes, I am ready," said Hermione as she shyly smiled at her friend.
The streets of Hogsmede were very cluttered indeed that evening. Seemingly, everyone from Hogwarts that was of legal age decided it was a perfect evening for a good night out. Draco was finding it rather tedious not bumping into people. He stayed well behind Harry and Hermione as they walked to the restaurant. There were Hogwarts students everywhere inside the restaurant, but fortunately, Harry found a table for them in the far right corner. They sat down and ordered drinks and began chatting with one another. Draco stood behind their table. He made sure that he was not in the line of traffic.
"I'm glad that we have this time to talk to one another Hermione. I've been so very worried about you," said Harry.
"Well, there has not been anything to worry about. I just cannot get along with Ron now. I certainly hope that you are willing to accept that Harry. I know that it must feel really strange to you-our not being together," said Hermione as she met Harry's gaze.
"Well, it would not have been so disturbing to me if I had not heard what I heard this morning," said Harry with an unusual look dimming his face.
"Let me guess. Someone informed you that I was having a nervous breakdown or something. I bet someone told you that I was having hallucinations or some other sort of absolute rubbish," said Hermione sarcastically.
"No, it wasn't quite like that-although I think that you must be ill considering what Ron and Ginny saw in the corridor close to the common room last night," said Harry bluntly. Hermione felt as though Harry's words were tiny little needles digging morbid graves in her already shuddering flesh. She felt every feeling and every thought plummet to her stomach in a mad dash. She could not understand how on earth anyone could have seen her! Surely, no one had been around. She decided to play it out. She wasn't going to let Harry lead her to the scaffold-and certainly not publicly.
"What are you talking about Harry? I only saw Ron and Ginny in the common room briefly last night. I told them that I was stepping out to get some fresh air," said Hermione as she desperately tried to steady her nerves for the volcano that was about to gush hot lava into her face.
"Well, they were concerned about you when you were out there for a longer period of time than it would usually take someone to get some fresh air Hermione. Look Hermione-they told me who they saw you with. Have you no respect for yourself anymore? How could you? Draco Malfoy is your enemy as well as mine! He thinks you are a mudblood! His father is a death eater Hermione! He serves Lord Voldemort-the very person who killed my parents, then tried to kill me," said Harry with his voice raised to a very high decibel. Others in the restaurant turned to look over at them. Hermione was becoming very angry at this point. Red splotches of fury were quickly consuming her skin.
"Keep your voice down Harry Potter. How dare you bring me to this restaurant to persecute me! You have no right whatsoever to humiliate me publicly. You are completely devoid of ethics. It is not your business what I do in my private life. Malfoy is not the same anymore I can assure you. He has been kind and understanding while others have completely blacklisted me. So you just back off right now Harry. This does not concern you," said Hermione through gritted teeth.
"This does concern me Hermione," said Harry as he slammed his fist violently on the wooden table. All eyes were on them now. Mouths were open with astonishment from seeing Harry Potter in such a rage.
"You are my friend Hermione! You are intelligent, compassionate; trustworthy-just what the fuck are you doing to yourself? Draco Malfoy is a useless, filthy fucking idiot,"said Harry seething with animosity. After Harry said this, Draco, who had been trying with everything in him to stay calm and collected, began to flicker into visibility. It was almost like a projector was trying to project an image into view-but having some sort of malfunction. People in the restaurant were screaming over what they were seeing. Draco looked as though he could rip someone to pieces. Hermione stared at him and prayed to an unknown being to please let this not be happening. Harry rose from his chair and tore into Draco with burning arrows.
"Malfoy-you conniving son-of-a-bitch! You are not going to manipulate and brainwash my friend! Over my dead fucking body," wailed Harry as he threw the first punch to an unsuspecting Draco. Blood poured from Draco's nose-red over white. Draco was not going to tolerate this situation. As he wiped his nose with his hand, his blood hit the wall beside them with such force, that it ricocheted onto Hermione. She was absolutely horrified from this display but remained paralyzed in her seat.
"Like Hermione said Potter, this has nothing to do with you," said Draco as he punched Harry in the mouth. It was an all-out fight at that point and people were leaving their own tables to encircle them. Blood splattered everywhere as the two boys fought one another with the acidic hatred that had built up between them from their very first year at school. After what seemed like twenty years, Hermione got up from her seat and pulled them apart. She screamed until she felt as though her eyes were going to burst from their sockets with cannon force.
"Stop it! Both of you-for fuck's sake stop," said Hermione with tears in her eyes. They both did as they were told and stood on either side of Hermione with bruises and swollen faces. She reached into her cloak to find her wand and cast healing spells that healed a few of their gaping wounds. She looked completely exasperated and decided it was best just to leave Harry there. She could no longer handle this confrontation. She took Draco's hand and marched out of Mystical Al's and onto the street outside. Draco was still badly hurt and bleeding. She had to find a place to go so that she could further heal the damages. She walked down the street into an alleyway that was beside an old wizarding chemist's shop. She regained some of her composure and began to clean Draco's wounds. She did not know what to say to him. He broke the silence instead.
"I don't know why the spell wore off," said Draco with garbled speech because of his swelling. "I just got so angry with what he was saying to you Hermione-and it just happened."
"Apparently there is a loophole in the Aslantae draft that you were not aware of. It seems that anger makes the potion lose its power," said Hermione continued to work on Draco's wounds.
"I'm so sorry. I had no idea. I know that you must be furious with me. I just cannot understand how anyone saw us in that corridor last night," said Draco.
"We were not careful enough Draco. Now I don't know what we should do. I don't think it would be a good idea to go back to the castle tonight. There will be too much going on there tonight. The news of our relationship and Harry's injuries will be way too much for us to handle. We're going to have to find a place to stay tonight," said Hermione.
"I have plenty of money with me, so that won't be a problem. I just hope we don't get expelled from this. I don't really care though. Voldemort's army could torture me right now and I would not care as long as you are near me," said Draco as he pulled Hermione into an embrace.
"I love you," said Hermione against Draco's ripped cloak.
"I love you too Hermione," said Draco as they slowly reappeared onto the street.
A/N: I hope that you found this chapter to be of interest. I will be posting again very soon. Please Please.(on floor begging with scraped knees) review this and let me know your thoughts. Your comments add to the inspiration. Take care! -CheersDahling
"Please give me a second grace. Please give me a second face. I've fallen far down-first time around-now I just sit on the ground in your way." -Nick Drake
"Take away the love and the anger-and a little piece of hope holding us together-looking for a moment that will never happen-living in the gap between past and future. Take away the stone and the timber-and a little piece of rope won't hold it together." -Kate Bush(Babooshka herself)
Broken Against a Stone-Ch. 11
"I really do not want to do this tonight Draco," said Hermione as she sat on the end of her bed with her head in her hands. She was seriously dreading having to go to dinner with Harry. She hated lying to her friend about what she had been doing in recent weeks.
"I know that you don't. But you've got to! Harry is very close to you. You cannot just completely shut him out of your life Hermione. I know that he hates me-and for good reason! I'll probably never get along with Potter, but he has been your friend for ages. Go have fun with him. You don't have to tell him anything," said Draco.
"I guess you're right. I shouldn't spoil my friendship with him over Ron. God-he'd die if he knew what was going on between us Draco. I do not think that he would ever speak to me again in this lifetime if he knew," said Hermione on the verge of a slight shedding of tears. Draco sat down beside her and touched her hand in a reassuring manner as he kissed her cheek lightly.
"He doesn't have to know anything! He'll never find out if you never tell him. It is as simple as that. It's probably for the best. Sometimes you have to tell small white lies in life," said Draco.
"I'm sure that you know a few things about the art and manipulation of lying Draco," said Hermione as her mood softened.
"Now why would you think that," asked Draco as he affectionately squeezed her hand.
"Oh, just a hunch I guess," said Hermione with a smirk streaking across her face.
Hermione got ready to meet Harry outside of the common room as Draco reassured her that he would be there with her. Hermione felt comfortable with the idea of him being there. She thought it would make things a bit less difficult for her. She walked out of her dorm and to the outside of the common room. Draco was following her from behind-completely unnoticed by anyone around. She waited for a few moments for Harry to arrive. Harry was very punctual and came out of the common room to greet her with a beautiful smile on his face.
"Hi Hermione! Are you ready to go? I hope it won't be too crowded at Al's tonight. It's amazing how popular that place has gotten! You can hardly find a table at times," said Harry.
"Yes, I am ready," said Hermione as she shyly smiled at her friend.
The streets of Hogsmede were very cluttered indeed that evening. Seemingly, everyone from Hogwarts that was of legal age decided it was a perfect evening for a good night out. Draco was finding it rather tedious not bumping into people. He stayed well behind Harry and Hermione as they walked to the restaurant. There were Hogwarts students everywhere inside the restaurant, but fortunately, Harry found a table for them in the far right corner. They sat down and ordered drinks and began chatting with one another. Draco stood behind their table. He made sure that he was not in the line of traffic.
"I'm glad that we have this time to talk to one another Hermione. I've been so very worried about you," said Harry.
"Well, there has not been anything to worry about. I just cannot get along with Ron now. I certainly hope that you are willing to accept that Harry. I know that it must feel really strange to you-our not being together," said Hermione as she met Harry's gaze.
"Well, it would not have been so disturbing to me if I had not heard what I heard this morning," said Harry with an unusual look dimming his face.
"Let me guess. Someone informed you that I was having a nervous breakdown or something. I bet someone told you that I was having hallucinations or some other sort of absolute rubbish," said Hermione sarcastically.
"No, it wasn't quite like that-although I think that you must be ill considering what Ron and Ginny saw in the corridor close to the common room last night," said Harry bluntly. Hermione felt as though Harry's words were tiny little needles digging morbid graves in her already shuddering flesh. She felt every feeling and every thought plummet to her stomach in a mad dash. She could not understand how on earth anyone could have seen her! Surely, no one had been around. She decided to play it out. She wasn't going to let Harry lead her to the scaffold-and certainly not publicly.
"What are you talking about Harry? I only saw Ron and Ginny in the common room briefly last night. I told them that I was stepping out to get some fresh air," said Hermione as she desperately tried to steady her nerves for the volcano that was about to gush hot lava into her face.
"Well, they were concerned about you when you were out there for a longer period of time than it would usually take someone to get some fresh air Hermione. Look Hermione-they told me who they saw you with. Have you no respect for yourself anymore? How could you? Draco Malfoy is your enemy as well as mine! He thinks you are a mudblood! His father is a death eater Hermione! He serves Lord Voldemort-the very person who killed my parents, then tried to kill me," said Harry with his voice raised to a very high decibel. Others in the restaurant turned to look over at them. Hermione was becoming very angry at this point. Red splotches of fury were quickly consuming her skin.
"Keep your voice down Harry Potter. How dare you bring me to this restaurant to persecute me! You have no right whatsoever to humiliate me publicly. You are completely devoid of ethics. It is not your business what I do in my private life. Malfoy is not the same anymore I can assure you. He has been kind and understanding while others have completely blacklisted me. So you just back off right now Harry. This does not concern you," said Hermione through gritted teeth.
"This does concern me Hermione," said Harry as he slammed his fist violently on the wooden table. All eyes were on them now. Mouths were open with astonishment from seeing Harry Potter in such a rage.
"You are my friend Hermione! You are intelligent, compassionate; trustworthy-just what the fuck are you doing to yourself? Draco Malfoy is a useless, filthy fucking idiot,"said Harry seething with animosity. After Harry said this, Draco, who had been trying with everything in him to stay calm and collected, began to flicker into visibility. It was almost like a projector was trying to project an image into view-but having some sort of malfunction. People in the restaurant were screaming over what they were seeing. Draco looked as though he could rip someone to pieces. Hermione stared at him and prayed to an unknown being to please let this not be happening. Harry rose from his chair and tore into Draco with burning arrows.
"Malfoy-you conniving son-of-a-bitch! You are not going to manipulate and brainwash my friend! Over my dead fucking body," wailed Harry as he threw the first punch to an unsuspecting Draco. Blood poured from Draco's nose-red over white. Draco was not going to tolerate this situation. As he wiped his nose with his hand, his blood hit the wall beside them with such force, that it ricocheted onto Hermione. She was absolutely horrified from this display but remained paralyzed in her seat.
"Like Hermione said Potter, this has nothing to do with you," said Draco as he punched Harry in the mouth. It was an all-out fight at that point and people were leaving their own tables to encircle them. Blood splattered everywhere as the two boys fought one another with the acidic hatred that had built up between them from their very first year at school. After what seemed like twenty years, Hermione got up from her seat and pulled them apart. She screamed until she felt as though her eyes were going to burst from their sockets with cannon force.
"Stop it! Both of you-for fuck's sake stop," said Hermione with tears in her eyes. They both did as they were told and stood on either side of Hermione with bruises and swollen faces. She reached into her cloak to find her wand and cast healing spells that healed a few of their gaping wounds. She looked completely exasperated and decided it was best just to leave Harry there. She could no longer handle this confrontation. She took Draco's hand and marched out of Mystical Al's and onto the street outside. Draco was still badly hurt and bleeding. She had to find a place to go so that she could further heal the damages. She walked down the street into an alleyway that was beside an old wizarding chemist's shop. She regained some of her composure and began to clean Draco's wounds. She did not know what to say to him. He broke the silence instead.
"I don't know why the spell wore off," said Draco with garbled speech because of his swelling. "I just got so angry with what he was saying to you Hermione-and it just happened."
"Apparently there is a loophole in the Aslantae draft that you were not aware of. It seems that anger makes the potion lose its power," said Hermione continued to work on Draco's wounds.
"I'm so sorry. I had no idea. I know that you must be furious with me. I just cannot understand how anyone saw us in that corridor last night," said Draco.
"We were not careful enough Draco. Now I don't know what we should do. I don't think it would be a good idea to go back to the castle tonight. There will be too much going on there tonight. The news of our relationship and Harry's injuries will be way too much for us to handle. We're going to have to find a place to stay tonight," said Hermione.
"I have plenty of money with me, so that won't be a problem. I just hope we don't get expelled from this. I don't really care though. Voldemort's army could torture me right now and I would not care as long as you are near me," said Draco as he pulled Hermione into an embrace.
"I love you," said Hermione against Draco's ripped cloak.
"I love you too Hermione," said Draco as they slowly reappeared onto the street.
A/N: I hope that you found this chapter to be of interest. I will be posting again very soon. Please Please.(on floor begging with scraped knees) review this and let me know your thoughts. Your comments add to the inspiration. Take care! -CheersDahling
"Please give me a second grace. Please give me a second face. I've fallen far down-first time around-now I just sit on the ground in your way." -Nick Drake