Again I have not learned my lesson, it is 10 minutes after midnight, I have school tomorrow and 4 hours of drama rehearsals plus 2 projects to finish tomorrow night. Now I ask myself why I am writing this.
Title: Whisper in the Dark
Rating: PG13
Author: Gothic Princess (I had to change my name when I realised that I had no patience whatsoever.)
Disclaimer: I actually quite like doing these, hehe. Gothic Princess = one heavily stressed out teenager waiting 3 weeks for summer vacation and who can only conjure up a few thousand words per chapter, if that. J.K.Rowling=one previously stressed out adult but now happy author who can take summer vacation at any time of the year and can magic up a book of over 250,000 words. It is with this that I think you realise who Harry Potter belongs to, and who managed to pathetically splurge out the below chapter again at midnight.
Summary: 7th year. Draco has too make a decision that he thought he had the answered to, Hermione has vowed to help a 7 year old homeless girl, and both are head boy and girl. Can they live together with their differences, or will they be at each others throats?
Chapter Three
Broken Promises and Secret Watchers
Hermione ran through the forest as fast as her legs would carry her, over the scattered twigs and moss strewn logs that covered the forest floor. Occasionally, she would stop, turn and listen for the running if water of the river that she was so desperately heading for. She cursed silently under her breath as she hung her head and rested her aching arms on her knees, taking deep, refreshing breaths whilst trying to remain calm and collected, trying to protect her mind from the barricade of agonising thoughts that desperately wanted to scream out. Only that morning had she been happy and relaxed, not really focusing on her worry. There wasn't even that much too really worry about in the first place - so her parent's were going through a financially tough time, didn't it happen to every family once in a while? She had glanced at her watch just as she sprinted off into the woods; it could only be around half past one. And besides, her mother hadn't given her a specific time to get back, she'd only said lunchtime.
She had contemplated telling her mother why she was late but as soon as the thought had swam into her mind did it drown in its absurdity. Telling her mother that she knew of a 7 year old homeless girl was not a wise decision. The child did not need to be thrown into an orphanage and left to deal with the grief that she was bottling up so well. Eventually the strong barrier that she was hiding all her terrible memories behind would eventually come crashing down like a waterfall bursting through a barrier of stone.
Eventually Hermione heard the river that she was searching for as it ran down its path, the woodland around her becoming less dense with every stride. The hotel was now clearly within her view, and as she ran past the last few remaining trees she tried to look for the easiest way to cross the river. She pelted across the old rickety bridge that she had just noticed before running to the patio doors and throwing them open.
"Mum? Mum?" she called, but it was obvious that she wasn't there. "Oh no," Hermione moaned as she sat on the edge of her bed, her head in her hands. "Could anything else go wrong today?" The silence surrounding her did nothing to ease her anxiety. But it did snap her back into reality. She quickly jumped up from her bed and grabbed the nearest bag she could find and began throwing any items she thought that would be useful for Felicity. A t-shirt and a pair of shorts, some soap, a hairbrush, and her small teddy bear.
"Got to be quick," she kept mumbling to herself as she grabbed her purse and pocketed it. It wasn't going to be easy but she had no choice. Fresh thoughts were building in her mind, layer upon layer of building blocks of plans and excuses. All that Hermione knew was that she had to help the little girl. She realised that what she was doing was stupid, it would probably be easier if she took Felicity to an orphanage or in a foster home where she could be cared for by responsible adults who could provide things for her that she certainly could not. But as soon as she had acknowledged the thought she condemned it. Hermione realised that she needed Felicity just as much as Felicity needed her.
Harry and Ron, they had once been her world. Deep, cherished best friends. But that had changed in the sixth year when Hermione realised that all good things had to come to an end before they got ugly and became nightmares etched in memory. It had been oblivious to Hermione that Ron had harboured a crush on her for several years. She had only ever considered him as a best friend, a brother almost, never ever in another way. She knew that love was a fickle thing, but what he wanted from her she could not give. She had loved him until then, but when he wanted to take their friendship and mould it into love, she couldn't allow it.
It had cast a deep wound on the trio's relationship since then, and Hermione had distanced herself slightly from them, but only just so. They hadn't seemed to notice though for which Hermione was grateful. They didn't realise how much Ron's confession to her had tore her up inside. It made her feel as though her friendship with him wasn't good enough; wasn't what he wanted. It hurt.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
He sat once again enwrapped in silence, frozen in time. This time however he had allowed himself to at least sit in a window, the sunlight burning at his eyes, keeping him awake. How long had he deprived himself of sleep, he didn't know. But he did not want to fall into his nightmare world; he didn't want to feel afraid.
Fear, an emotion he had been brought up to fight. An emotion that he secretly feared in itself. To be afraid was a weakness, the biggest flaw. He was stronger than he looked, but weaker than they knew. His thoughts were his haunting. Who knew what such turmoil mental anguish could be. Physical pain was nothing compared to the pain of the mind, it left an imprint for a while, but would eventually fade. But the mind, no, it could be imprinted forever, it could forever burn. The pain, the torment, and the wounds they left were too real to heal.
The Dark Mark he knew, on the outside, on the skin was merely a mark too show who he was, what he belonged to. But on the inside, where it lay imprinted in such darkness that light never touched, it was more. It was a cold flame, a screaming pain with the mix of trust and loyalty. It could never be tainted, once it swam in your blood and melded with your mind, there was no turning back. Draco only had to look at his father to see this, to see what his future was.
His father was a footstep that he never wanted to grow into, a footprint he never wanted to step in. When Draco was four, he would linger in the doorways at night and watch his proud father work his magic, so different from how he was now yet so similar as well. It was a time before the dark mark had penetrated his falling barriers that he held strong for so long. Yes, it was true that Lucius had never wanted to fall so deeply into the dark lord's clutches. But he had never been good, always had he been within evils clutches. But his greed, his weakness, his flaw was his need for power. The flame that burned in his dark, frightening eyes had burned solely for this purpose, and he had thought foolishly that he could share some of Voldemort's power. But he had been wrong.
Draco too had inherited a greed for power, but unlike Lucius he did not want to share stolen power massed through the murder of countless innocents. He was cold, but not as frozen as that. He was thankful that he was thawed enough to know that branding himself with the dark mark was as good as selling his soul, a fate worse than death itself. His mind was made up, and in that very moment he finally realised the truth. As he gazed out over the grounds of his family's estate, Draco knew that his mind had always been made up; there was no other path he could walk.
I linger in the doorway
Of alarm clock screaming monsters
Calling my name
Let me stay
Where the wind will whisper to me
Where the raindrops as they're falling tell a story
In my field of paper flowers
And candy clouds of lullaby
I lie inside myself for hours
And watch my purple sky fly over me
Don't say I'm out of touch
With this ramp and chaos, your reality
I know well what lays beyond my sleeping refuge
The nightmare, I've bought my own world to escape
In my field of paper flowers
And candy clouds of lullaby
I lie inside myself for hours
And watch my purple sky fly over me
Swallowed up in the sound of my screaming
Cannot cease for the fear
Of silent nights
Oh how I long for the deep sleep dreaming
The goddess of imaginary light
In my field of paper flowers
And candy clouds of lullaby
I lie inside myself for hours
And watch my purple sky fly over me
But one thought lingered in his mind before his eyelids finally fell and he finally allowed his body to fall into a deep slumber, how was he going to cheat his way out of his own, certain death?
* * * * * * * * * * * *
I'm not actually quite sure what my feelings are on the above chapter, at first I didn't like it and had writers block and had to stop writing and change the direction slightly that this story was heading in. But then in the depths of the night all these words came from my mind, surged to my fingertips and splurged onto the page before me. So I don't know if any of the Draco stuff makes sense, but I thought that it would be a good idea to justify some reasons to ascertain why he had misconceptions about becoming a death eater. There are more to come though, so be forewarned for more of the above churning out.
I forgot to mention that the above song belongs only to Evanescence, from their album Fallen. It's brilliant; you should go out and buy it.
Here are some thanks for my wonderful reviewers:
mdemanatee: I'm glad you'll be checking back, just make sure you do after this chapter as well because I'm not that proud of it! Thank-you! :)
maziky (maziky@msn.com): umm, I wonder if you could be right, ;). I vowed to myself that Hermione wouldn't be the prettiest girl who magically changed over night. Thank-you for your comments, they lightened up my day. It's a great feeling to be told that you can bring a story to life! :D
Elluxion: You didn't come off like an old cow don't worry, I'm glad that you point out the good and the bad because it's so much more helpful that way sometimes. Felicity, she came to me by accident, but I'm glad I caught her. Watch out for her is all I can say because she might be important… Thank-you for your review, it gives a writer such confidence when she hears such lovely things about her work! Next chapter will definitely be interesting…:D
