A/N: Yet again I am writing this late on a Sunday night/early Monday morning and I'm loving every second of it. Please keep reviewing; they make my day if nothing else!

Title: Whisper in the Dark

Rating: PG13

Author: Gothic Princess

Disclaimer: I have not written a book recently with over 250,000 words in it, I have not had two kids, I am not married to a doctor and I am not richer than the queen. I'm not a celebrity, I'm not famous in any way whatsoever and I am most certainly sure that I did not create Harry Potter. However, I do own a laptop on which the below chapter was written. That and a purple dinosaur that lives under my bed is all that I own.

Summary: 7th year. He has to make a decision that he thought he knew. She has to betray and lie to her friends to protect what means most to her. And both have to deal with each other, and face more than they wish to know. Hermione and Draco are head boy and girl and facing their most interesting year yet.

                        Chapter 3

            Promises of New Beginnings

If I could give you the world,

I'd give it in a second

If I could share my heart

You'd have it in a heartbeat

If I could have your love

Then I'd love you forever

Hermione walked quickly down the country lane for the second time that day; although this time she was in a hurry and didn't have any time to waste. At first she had decided to head straight back to Felicity as she had promised, but the little girl wasn't going anywhere and there was something that Hermione had to take of first. She didn't notice the same old man that had greeted her earlier that morning, and ignored him as he wished her good day. She didn't see the car that came hurtling in front of her that narrowly swerved just in time to miss her, and she certainly didn't hear the angry screams of the driver, shocked and raged. Her eyes were unfocused, staring off into space just as her mind was drawing up plans and dismissing each of them with a 'never could happen'. She amazed herself later that she actually knew where she was going; her feet seemed to be the only ones with half a clue as to what she was doing and where she was heading.

The afternoon was slowly wearing away by the time she reached the church. Her eyes snapped back to reality, she watched happy families for a moment, children running around, playing childish games whilst they were watched on upon by laughing parents. A heavy stone dropped in her heart when she realised that it was something that Felicity had missed out on. Her attention that had again wandered snapped back to focus and she shook her head, hurrying into the church.

She hurried up the aisle, passing row upon row of wooden benches enraptured with silent worshippers talking to god. She was almost running, her footfalls light on the aged stone, dust flying around her. She was thankful that the front bench was empty, it was her favourite place to sit. She dropped the bag that she had brought with her onto the floor and then fell to her knees, ignoring the searing pain that rose through her body. Her eyes flew shut and her hands came together in front of her as she began to talk to her beloved god for the first time in many years.

'Dear Lord,' she whispered. 'I desperately need your guidance, for there is no-one else that I can turn to. I know that I have not spoken to you for a long time, and for that I am sorry, but this isn't about me. It's about someone else. For years and years and years I used to pray to you every night before I went to sleep, I'd pray for my family and my friends, I'd pray for the animals and I'd pray for those less fortunate that me, like those who didn't have a family or a home or that hungry because there was no food to eat. I asked you to watch over them all, I asked you to help them all. I thought back then that I'd made a difference, maybe you had listened to my words because they only went hungry because you didn't realise that there was no food for them to eat. But I was too young to understand back then; I really did believe in you and thought that you'd make everything better. And when I grew up, and I learnt more I realised that maybe you weren't controlling these things, maybe you didn't exist.

But I still believed in you, even if I had my doubts and I didn't speak to you anymore. But then all my reasons were shattered today when I knocked over that little girl, who doesn't have a family and lives in a tree house that she made herself. The girl that you allowed to live alone, in this dangerous world, without shelter, without food and without a family. I didn't think that it was possible for even someone like you too let that happen to anyone, let alone a 7 year old girl. But I found out that you did, and I know that there are many more like her in this world.

The sad thing is that I realise that I can't help all of them, but I'm going to try. You probably won't agree with me on this one, but I'm going to do all I can for Felicity, no matter what. I don't care if it would be better to put her in an orphanage, I'm not going to let her go. She needs someone, and I'm willing to be that someone. So now I'm going to ask you like I did all those years ago to watch over my brother Jeremy, my parents and all my family and friends. Keep the world safe tonight, all those that are lonely without friends and family, all those that don't have a home to sleep in tonight or no food to fill their hungry bellies, watch over them, if not for me then for them.

Amen'

Hermione sighed in relief, opening her eyes and wiping the tears that had tainted her cheeks. She lifted herself onto the wooden bench, rubbing her tired eyes and allowing her thoughts to wander. She sat for a while, basking in the soothing silence that settled around her before picking up her bag and leaving the old, weary church.

She allowed herself a few minutes to step inside the small shop. Using the money that she had brought with her, she brought 4 freshly made sausage butties that were still piping hot and a large Victoria sponge cake along with a bottle of mineral water. 'It would have to do for now,' Hermione thought as she carefully placed them in her bag.

She headed down the country lane, again letting her feet take the path whilst her eyes wandered over the countryside, taking in the beauty of the trees with their golden green leaves, the sunlight creeping over them as the wind swam around them.

"Felicity?" Hermione called as she reached the forest, picking up her pace whilst she searched for the little girls tree. As soon as she found it, she tightened the bag on her back and began to climb. "Felicity?" she called again, this time a little more anxiously. She pulled herself up onto the ledge before she pushed past the rag that covered the doorway, almost throwing herself inside.

"Hermione!" The girl jumped into her arms, giving her a giant hug. Hermione felt like a giant as she wrapped her arms around the delicate girl to stop her from falling, afraid that she would break her in two. "I thought that you weren't going to come back," she muttered, her face buried in Hermione's hair.

"Of course I was coming back, I left my best sunglasses with you remember!" she joked. "Are you hungry?" she asked timidly as she sat Felicity onto the bed, tucking a stray strand of her dirty black hair behind her miniature ear. Felicity nodded in reply, her stomach rumbling loudly at the thought of food.

"Well," Hermione smiled brightly as she opened the bag that she had brought with her. "How about you go and get washed, and changed into these clothes that I've brought you. Then we'll have something to eat. How does that sound?"

"Brilliant," she replied beaming. Hermione handed her the clothes along with the soap. "I know that they might be a little big, but they'll have to do for now until we sort something out later."

"What do you mean, later?" Felicity asked, her hopes rising.

"Just go and get washed and we'll talk about that later," Hermione said as she squeezed her hand reassuringly. She watched as Felicity quickly disappeared out of her sight into the forest before she began to make herself useful. She carefully piled the scattered papers that littered the small table to the side before setting out the food that she had brought with her. She found two clean plastic cups in the small box that held the few belongings that Felicity had.

She only had to wait a while for Felicity to return, who looked much cleaner than before. The clothes that Hermione had given her were extremely too big for her tiny frame, but she looked a lot more comfortable.

"Quick, come and eat some food before it gets cold," Hermione said as she pointed excitedly to the small feast on the table. However instead of seeing the younger girl's face light up, to Hermione's discomfort, felicity's face fell. Her large blue eyes brimmed with tears, although none fell.

"Don't you like it?" Hermione asked, her good mood faltering.

"Of course I like it, that's why I like it," came the tiny reply as her small fists wiped away the tears from her eyes. "It's just, no-one's ever done anything like this for me before. It's lovely," she continued, her face brightening up with a warm smile.

Hermione watched as Felicity eagerly ate the food that she had brought; it was if she had never eaten before. Hermione helped herself to a little of the food, but she would be able to eat later.

"So, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about later?" Felicity asked as she ate another piece of cake, licking her fingers of every morsel. Hermione smiled contently, it wasn't actually quite bad sitting in a tree house that was the home of a 7 year old girl on a warm, pleasant, sunny afternoon feasting on cake whilst birds sung in the trees around you. If it wasn't for the circumstances it would be something that she would gladly do every summers day without complaint.

"Well, I am going to be completely honest with you about some things, and I am going to tell you what I think and of a plan that I've been forming secretly in my head," Hermione whispered as she lent in across the table so that Felicity could hear her. If she made it interesting for the girl then maybe it would help her persuade her mind.

"Okay," Felicity replied giggling, leaning in across the table just as Hermione had done.

"First you have to swear an oath that everything that we discuss will be kept a secret, just between the two of us. Not between life and death can you speak of it to another person." She paused as Felicity nodded her head in understanding. "So I thought to make it more interesting, we would swear upon my teddy bear." She reached over for her bag and pulled out a very tatty, very worn brown bear with its nose hanging off, a chewed ear and a missing eye. It was quite a pathetic thing in reality, but Hermione never did have the heart to throw it away.  

"Its really cute," Felicity joked as Hermione passed the teddy bear to her. She held it carefully in her arms; it was almost as delicate as she was.

"Now you must swear on this teddy bear that you will not repeat any of what is said in this house to anyone besides me, agreed?"

"I promise."

"Excellent," Hermione replied, settling down for business. "Now I've only known you for a few short hours, but I know that I don't like you living on your own like this. It's not right, you should be looked after, you shouldn't have to fend for yourself like you've obviously been doing. And besides this it's also dangerous for a little girl like you to live like this. You've got a lovely home, don't get me wrong, but you're only 7 for goodness sakes. But if I tell anyone about you, they'll pack you off to an orphanage or a foster home with complete strangers."

"But you're a stranger," Felicity interrupted, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I know that, but you're going to have to trust me on this one. I can't really say to you that it would be better coming with me than going to an orphanage where they probably have better facilities but-"

"What do you mean?"

"Why don't you come and live with me? I go away to a sort of boarding school for the year, and this year I have my own room because I'm head girl. If we can come up with a plan then I reckon I can sneak you into my room and you can live their." Hermione blurted out, afraid of the reaction.

Felicity's face was unreadable; it was taking her awhile to soak up what Hermione had just said. "But, but won't you get into trouble if we're caught? And what will I eat? Where will I sleep?" Her head was bursting with questions and she couldn't quite believe what she was being offered.

Hermione wiped at her tired eyes, she hadn't really considered every detail properly. "Well, I don't know. All of that can be sorted out if we come up with a suitable plan. First I have to get you back to where I live, and then somehow get you to Hogwarts-"

"Hogwarts?"

"It's the name of my school."

"Oh, that's a little weird."

"You don't know the half of it. Uh, this is so difficult!" Hermione cried in frustration, pounding at her head whilst she tried hard to come up with a plan.

"You don't really have to go to all this trouble for me Hermione. I don't want to get you expelled. I am after all only a 7 year old girl. Are you really willing to risk everything for me?" Felicity said, her voice shaking slightly. But her words slammed into Hermione. She looked up into the little girls large blue eyes, drowning in them as if they were the deep blue ocean.

"You're right; you are only a little 7 year old girl. Should I give up 6 years of my education at my school for you, whom I've only known for a matter of hours. For so long my sole purpose in life has been to get good grades and be the best at everything that I tried. It was all simply because I was alone, and I wanted to prove to others that could do what they had told me I could not." She fell silent, shaking her head, confused. "But, what's the use of having all this knowledge when I can help someone else and make a difference in their life. I honestly don't know whether this will work and I don't whether it will be a better life than the one that you've got now but I can only try my hardest to look after you."

"So," Felicity began, not sure whether her ears were deceiving her or not, "You're saying to me that you want me to sneak into your school and live in your room?"

"Well, yeah." Hermione replied simply.

"And this isn't some sort of joke? You're being completely serious?"

"Felicity," Hermione cried, taking her tiny hands in her own as a sign of protection. "I am not lying to you, I promise."

Later that evening, Hermione left Felicity after watching her fall asleep and promising to see her in the morning. She slowly made her way out of the forest and decided to take the slightly easier route back to the hotel by cutting across the field directly behind the large house. She hadn't realised how hungry she was or how tired she had become, and she still had her mother to apologise too when she got back. She was secretly dreading seeing her mum, after all this was supposed to be their small holiday and she had spent the first day helping someone else, and tomorrow she would have to come up with some excuse to avoid going out so that she could visit Felicity and they could come up with a good plan as to how they were going to smuggle her into Hogwarts.

Already Hermione was seeing the complication that she was facing, and she had a fleeting thought that maybe it would have been best not to make such drastic assurances to Felicity that she was going to get her into Hogwarts because she knew that it was going to be one of the most difficult things that she would ever be challenged with.

The crackling under her feet of snapping twigs and breaking branches gently lulled her back into reality and she shivered as a cold evening misty breeze whipped at her face. The sun in the horizon was burning a brilliant red and yellow, making a final spectacular display before it disappeared for the night. She became so distracted in the wildlife around her that she didn't notice at first another person hastily making their way towards her.

Her head snapped up when the fall of footsteps grew louder around her. She gasped before she tiptoed into the cover of the trees, her eyes never leaving the dark hooded shape that ran into the shadows of the forest, vanishing. Hermione couldn't resist the urge to follow the figure, carefully watching when she put her feet amongst the scattered forest floor she followed in pursuit, her eyes and ears listening out for a sign.

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Okay, I am in the process of writing the next chapter and I promise that it will be a lot better and more interesting, but I just had to get some more thoughts out. I can't wait until I get them all shipped off to Hogwarts where the real story begins!

Here's some more thank you's for my wonderful reviewers:

Thank-you to:

Mdemanatee, Andina of Rivendell, hazel-leaf, Severus' Purple Godess, Totaloser.

Elluxion: Thank-you, I want this writing to be slightly dark and gothic as well as romantic as Draco is a very dark character. I hope to get inside his mind later on! Thank-you for your compliments, there will be more Draco chapters later on! Thanks for your review, it means a lot to me! :)

Natalie: Tell me about it, I know this plot had been done above and beyond the stars. But I hope to make this story a little different later on. Thanks for reading !

Reviews make me so happy! Keep reading and thanks to all of you!

Love,

Gothic Princess

     x~X~x