Disclaimer: I don't own much, just the plot
**Stars mean thought**
Thank you to all my reviewers, they are much appreciated
Now on with the story
The next morning found Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter meeting at the Entrance Hall to Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Hermione and Harry were both very anxious to know what Draco had to tell them, for it was another piece of the puzzle to the mystery surrounding Hermione.
They walked over to a secluded spot by the lake with a nice big tree right by it. They all sat down and were silent for a couple minutes. No one knew how to exactly start the conversation that was about to take place.
Finally, Hermione spoke up "Well, we might as well get on with this" then gestured to Draco to take it from there. He took the hint and began to speak. "Yes, well, last night, Hermione and I, were having a chat, about some," he paused for a moment "uh, stuff." Both Draco and Hermione blushed at that and Harry just shook his head in amusement.
"Anyway, I mentioned something about my last two relationships ending badly, and Draco seemed to think it was great that I said that" Hermione said, looking slightly put off, that maybe Draco had caught something she had missed.
"Well, Hermione, your last two relationships ended in rape." Draco said bluntly "And it got me thinking, how often does that happen?" he asked them and they shook their heads not knowing an answer. "Well, it doesn't happen that often, and having lived the life I have, one doesn't really believe in coincidences" he finished
They were nodded their heads in agreement, waiting for him to continue, which he did, thankfully. "Now, I know judging a person isn't exactly something that's a great thing to do." He felt a bit ashamed here, for it was something he used to do, but shrugged it off quickly and went on to say, "You dated Viktor Krum and he raped you Hermione. He was close to Karkaroff, who was a Death Eater, and he goes to Durmstrang, a school know for its Dark Arts." He didn't stop there though.
"The way things have been for a while now, I don't think we should be that forth coming with the benefit of the doubt."
Harry and Hermione nodded their heads in approval, though they didn't have any idea where this was going. "And then Ron, Mr. I'm shadowed by all, rapes you" he stopped talking for a moment and looked thoughtful.
"I don't think its that easy to make the connection, cause Viktor and Ron have nothing in common, and if we hadn't heard their conversation the other day I wouldn't have either." Draco said.
By now, Harry and Hermione were desperately trying to figure out what Draco was saying. For some reason, it just wouldn't click in their heads.
"Anyway, Ron is a Death Eater, Viktor is a Death Eater, they both rape you. We find out that Voldemort wants you. Why would two Death Eaters both rape you? Why under Voldemort's orders of course. Sometimes he has Death Eaters do that to muggles and mudbloods, but they are usually in costume. From what you described to me, it sounded like they tried to have sex with out objections from you and in both cases you refused. That is why you were raped." He finished.
Hermione's eyes widened in realization and she said "Oh my God! He wants me to have a child!" she exclaimed. Harry just looked confused "But why on earth would he want that. I mean it can't be to get a heir, because Voldemort would have to do that himself, so the Slytherin blood was there." he finished.
"That's exactly where I'm stuck!" Draco exclaimed in frustration. "Your not pregnant are you Hermione?" asked Harry "Of course not! I did a spell to check after wards."
Draco sighed in relief. "That's good, because whatever his reasons for wanting a child that you bear, it can't be good."
They nodded in agreement. "This is killing me!" shouted Hermione "I can't take this, we have information, just not enough! I know all of this seemingly odd information, connects, I just know it does" she stood up and started pacing around. "Don't worry, Mione, we'll figure it out" said Harry reassuringly.
Draco and Harry both stood up too, and started walking back to the castle. When they reached the doors, Hermione threw them open and stalked through them. Anyone around could tell that something was bothering her. Only 2 people knew what it was though.
They stopped in a deserted hallway and continued talking again. "What are we going to do about Ginny?" asked Harry. Hermione replied with "Well, she likes you Harry, and I think right now, that's the only thing keeping her on the light side. You heard what Ron and Pansy said to her in the cave, yesterday, and then how she responded"
"Well, I don't think I feel that way about her" said Harry "So there is nothing I can do, unless." he trailed off and motioned for them to lean in and he whispered his idea to them. When Draco and Hermione pulled back, Draco had a big grin on his face "Who would have thought, Famous Harry Potter, has a bit of Slytherin in him after all."
"Well, actually, that's where the sorting hat wanted to put me, but I told it no" he said sheepishly. This was the first time he'd told anyone but Dumbledore about that. Draco looked shocked "Gryffindor Golden Boy, was almost a Slytherin?" he asked in complete shock.
Hermione didn't look surprised at all. "Well, you can speak parseltongue, so actually Harry, you do have ~some~ Slytherin in you" she said knowledgeably.
"Anyway, I don't know about that plan, Harry. It seems a bit well, devious" Hermione stated, worried "It is, but its all we have right now" said Harry, then continued with" and besides, I haven't got my eye on anyone right now, so I might as well give it a go." One could tell by the tone of his voice that Harry hadn't meant what he'd said, but was putting up his 'I'm-A-Brave- Little-Soldier' Routine.
"I don't like it, but you're right, it's the only plan we've got" Hermione gave in.
"Well, I've got Quidditch Practice, so I'll see you guys later," said Harry and then he left to go get his Quidditch gear. This left Hermione and Draco all alone once again. "Listen Hermione, about last night. I just want to let you know, that I'm willing to wait for you" he gave her a rare smile.
Hermione smiled right back and then said "Thank you Draco, we could you know, if you want to, maybe go to the ball together, as in, you'd be my date" Hermione asked him.
"I'd love to accompany you to the ball, milady" he offered her his arm, which she took and then they walked away to the library to do research to find anything they could about blood rituals and mind links.
Little did they know that behind the corner of the hall, someone was listening in on their conversation. Eavesdropping if you will. It just turned out to be Pansy Parkinson. She looked downright pissed off, but at the same time, happy to have acquired this new information. She walked away muttering to herself, and went to meet Ron.
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It was dinnertime, and it was time for Harry to put forth his plan to keep Ginny on the side of the light. He walked into the Great Hall with Draco and Hermione and went to go find a seat. Hermione said goodbye to Draco as he went to the Slytherin table, and spotted Ginny. She ran over to Harry, and together they walked over to where Ginny was sitting. Hermione sat on one side of her and Harry was on the other.
"Hey Hermione" said Ginny brightly and then turned to Harry and blushed a little bit "Hi Harry".
"Hey Ginny" said Hermione and then turned to talk to some of the other Gryffindors, but made sure to keep her eye on Harry and Ginny. Harry turned to Ginny and said "Hey Gin. How are you this evening?"
"I-I'm doing just fine. You?" she asked him right back "I'm doing great" he replied and felt a little bit bad for leading her on this way, but what had to be done, had to be done. "Listen, Gin" he said to her "I actually came over to sit by you with an ulterior motive" She looked a little saddened by this, and just said "Oh" then turned away "What did you want?"
"I wanted to know if you'd go to the Christmas Ball with me" he stated, and she turned to look at him, with his face full of shock. "R-really? T-that's what you wanted to know?" she asked him, her face turning up into a smile. He nodded and she replied with "Yes, of course! I'd love to go with you!" Then she bounced away, happily.
"I feel so guilty," said Harry to Hermione, who moved over after Ginny left "Yeah, but, it needs to be done" she concluded. "Besides Harry, it's just going to the ball. You might even end up liking her" she patted him on the back and "And its not like you confessed your love to her" Hermione reasoned with him, and after a bit, Harry agreed with her. The plan had been his own, but carrying it out, was harder than he thought.
"Don't worry, Harry, things will turn out for the best, but he have to take desperate measures sometimes. I know it may be painful and people get hurt. But we're in the middle of a war. Sure, it's not a public official war. But, Harry, more than half the Wizarding world knows that it's going on. Attacks are happening everyday. This is the war between light and dark. There may be some grey in there, but it ~is~ war. Sometimes war is about sacrifices. I know that sometimes our choices about things aren't always the best. And innocent people, like Ginny get hurt, but that's what it's about. War is about pain. Hopefully, we can get a happy ending" Hermione said and afterward, Harry felt better. Hermione was right, as usual.
They finished up their dinner and then they walked off. Hermione went to meet up with Draco, and Harry went to attempt a conversation with Ginny.
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In the library, Hermione and Draco were still looking in any books they could find, for Blood Rituals, but they hadn't been lucky enough as of yet. Draco slammed a book closed.
"This is useless!" he said aloud and waited for Hermione to tell him off for being a lazy bum, but it never came. She too just shut her book, and sighed in exhaustion. "You're right. This is going nowhere" she agreed.
Draco moved over to sit next to her. She turned to face him, and gave him a little half smile, then said "It never really ends," he looked at her "does it?" she finished.
She wasn't helpful in the details department, but he knew what she was talking about "No, I don't suppose it does. You'll always have your big bad Voldemorts and you'll always have your hero types, like Potter." He stated, then went on to say "It's the fight between good and evil, my dear. It will go on forever. Sometimes, good will prevail, and sometimes, evil will come out victorious." She was staring at him with an intense gaze, like she was trying to absorb everything about him, right then and there.
"What if this is one of those times, when evil prevails?" she asked him and he didn't know what to say, because it was a possibility. "I don't know, Hermione She leaned into his chest and he wrapped an arm around her, in an attempt to protect her from the harsh reality of the world "I just don't know" he sighed and then pulled Hermione up with him. "Come on, we should head back." He said, and she nodded.
They both began to pick up all the books they were looking through and put them in their bags. They were just about to leave when Hermione noticed one of the books was lying on the floor. She stopped Draco and went to go pick it up. For some reason, she felt that she had to open the book. Draco looked on, curiously, as she opened the book to a would-be random page and showed it to Draco.
"Hermione, whats this all about?" he asked her, not being able to keep the curiosity out of his voice "I don't know" she replied "Something, I don't know what, made me open that book. I felt like I just had to open it to that page." She tried to explain. Draco seemed to understand, either that or he thought she was insane.
He took a look at the page she was reading and read aloud
"Blood Rituals are in most cases a form of Dark Magic, and are used in a wide variety of spells, and potions. In some cases, the blood must be given willingly, or it can be taken forcibly. The blood can even be used after a person's death, if the death meets certain circumstances. Although, a person's blood can be used by almost any one who can get their hands on it, if the person takes their own blood or dies by their own hand, the blood is worthless."
"Hermione, why did you turn to this page?" Draco asked shakily, which for Draco, was something out of the ordinary. Hermione shook her head. "I really don't know, something drew me to that page, and I can't say why."
"Perhaps we should keep this book, and look into it more later" Draco said and Hermione nodded her head very fast, to show her complete agreement.
They grabbed the book and then left the library just as Madam Pince was extinguishing the torches and locking the doors. Draco watched as Hermione walked away to Gryffindor Tower, and was just about to turn and walk his separate way, when Hermione came running back.
"Wha-" he was cut off by her lips on his. "Goodnight Draco" she said to him and then ran off.
He put his finger to his lips and smiled. **That girl is full of surprises** he thought to himself. **There is something odd going on around here. Why would she impulsively turn to that page? I hope we don't end up needing that information anytime soon.** he walked back to the Slytherin Dormitories, lost in thought.
A/N: Well there ya go! I didn't leave you with a cliffhanger. REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
**Stars mean thought**
Thank you to all my reviewers, they are much appreciated
Now on with the story
The next morning found Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter meeting at the Entrance Hall to Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Hermione and Harry were both very anxious to know what Draco had to tell them, for it was another piece of the puzzle to the mystery surrounding Hermione.
They walked over to a secluded spot by the lake with a nice big tree right by it. They all sat down and were silent for a couple minutes. No one knew how to exactly start the conversation that was about to take place.
Finally, Hermione spoke up "Well, we might as well get on with this" then gestured to Draco to take it from there. He took the hint and began to speak. "Yes, well, last night, Hermione and I, were having a chat, about some," he paused for a moment "uh, stuff." Both Draco and Hermione blushed at that and Harry just shook his head in amusement.
"Anyway, I mentioned something about my last two relationships ending badly, and Draco seemed to think it was great that I said that" Hermione said, looking slightly put off, that maybe Draco had caught something she had missed.
"Well, Hermione, your last two relationships ended in rape." Draco said bluntly "And it got me thinking, how often does that happen?" he asked them and they shook their heads not knowing an answer. "Well, it doesn't happen that often, and having lived the life I have, one doesn't really believe in coincidences" he finished
They were nodded their heads in agreement, waiting for him to continue, which he did, thankfully. "Now, I know judging a person isn't exactly something that's a great thing to do." He felt a bit ashamed here, for it was something he used to do, but shrugged it off quickly and went on to say, "You dated Viktor Krum and he raped you Hermione. He was close to Karkaroff, who was a Death Eater, and he goes to Durmstrang, a school know for its Dark Arts." He didn't stop there though.
"The way things have been for a while now, I don't think we should be that forth coming with the benefit of the doubt."
Harry and Hermione nodded their heads in approval, though they didn't have any idea where this was going. "And then Ron, Mr. I'm shadowed by all, rapes you" he stopped talking for a moment and looked thoughtful.
"I don't think its that easy to make the connection, cause Viktor and Ron have nothing in common, and if we hadn't heard their conversation the other day I wouldn't have either." Draco said.
By now, Harry and Hermione were desperately trying to figure out what Draco was saying. For some reason, it just wouldn't click in their heads.
"Anyway, Ron is a Death Eater, Viktor is a Death Eater, they both rape you. We find out that Voldemort wants you. Why would two Death Eaters both rape you? Why under Voldemort's orders of course. Sometimes he has Death Eaters do that to muggles and mudbloods, but they are usually in costume. From what you described to me, it sounded like they tried to have sex with out objections from you and in both cases you refused. That is why you were raped." He finished.
Hermione's eyes widened in realization and she said "Oh my God! He wants me to have a child!" she exclaimed. Harry just looked confused "But why on earth would he want that. I mean it can't be to get a heir, because Voldemort would have to do that himself, so the Slytherin blood was there." he finished.
"That's exactly where I'm stuck!" Draco exclaimed in frustration. "Your not pregnant are you Hermione?" asked Harry "Of course not! I did a spell to check after wards."
Draco sighed in relief. "That's good, because whatever his reasons for wanting a child that you bear, it can't be good."
They nodded in agreement. "This is killing me!" shouted Hermione "I can't take this, we have information, just not enough! I know all of this seemingly odd information, connects, I just know it does" she stood up and started pacing around. "Don't worry, Mione, we'll figure it out" said Harry reassuringly.
Draco and Harry both stood up too, and started walking back to the castle. When they reached the doors, Hermione threw them open and stalked through them. Anyone around could tell that something was bothering her. Only 2 people knew what it was though.
They stopped in a deserted hallway and continued talking again. "What are we going to do about Ginny?" asked Harry. Hermione replied with "Well, she likes you Harry, and I think right now, that's the only thing keeping her on the light side. You heard what Ron and Pansy said to her in the cave, yesterday, and then how she responded"
"Well, I don't think I feel that way about her" said Harry "So there is nothing I can do, unless." he trailed off and motioned for them to lean in and he whispered his idea to them. When Draco and Hermione pulled back, Draco had a big grin on his face "Who would have thought, Famous Harry Potter, has a bit of Slytherin in him after all."
"Well, actually, that's where the sorting hat wanted to put me, but I told it no" he said sheepishly. This was the first time he'd told anyone but Dumbledore about that. Draco looked shocked "Gryffindor Golden Boy, was almost a Slytherin?" he asked in complete shock.
Hermione didn't look surprised at all. "Well, you can speak parseltongue, so actually Harry, you do have ~some~ Slytherin in you" she said knowledgeably.
"Anyway, I don't know about that plan, Harry. It seems a bit well, devious" Hermione stated, worried "It is, but its all we have right now" said Harry, then continued with" and besides, I haven't got my eye on anyone right now, so I might as well give it a go." One could tell by the tone of his voice that Harry hadn't meant what he'd said, but was putting up his 'I'm-A-Brave- Little-Soldier' Routine.
"I don't like it, but you're right, it's the only plan we've got" Hermione gave in.
"Well, I've got Quidditch Practice, so I'll see you guys later," said Harry and then he left to go get his Quidditch gear. This left Hermione and Draco all alone once again. "Listen Hermione, about last night. I just want to let you know, that I'm willing to wait for you" he gave her a rare smile.
Hermione smiled right back and then said "Thank you Draco, we could you know, if you want to, maybe go to the ball together, as in, you'd be my date" Hermione asked him.
"I'd love to accompany you to the ball, milady" he offered her his arm, which she took and then they walked away to the library to do research to find anything they could about blood rituals and mind links.
Little did they know that behind the corner of the hall, someone was listening in on their conversation. Eavesdropping if you will. It just turned out to be Pansy Parkinson. She looked downright pissed off, but at the same time, happy to have acquired this new information. She walked away muttering to herself, and went to meet Ron.
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It was dinnertime, and it was time for Harry to put forth his plan to keep Ginny on the side of the light. He walked into the Great Hall with Draco and Hermione and went to go find a seat. Hermione said goodbye to Draco as he went to the Slytherin table, and spotted Ginny. She ran over to Harry, and together they walked over to where Ginny was sitting. Hermione sat on one side of her and Harry was on the other.
"Hey Hermione" said Ginny brightly and then turned to Harry and blushed a little bit "Hi Harry".
"Hey Ginny" said Hermione and then turned to talk to some of the other Gryffindors, but made sure to keep her eye on Harry and Ginny. Harry turned to Ginny and said "Hey Gin. How are you this evening?"
"I-I'm doing just fine. You?" she asked him right back "I'm doing great" he replied and felt a little bit bad for leading her on this way, but what had to be done, had to be done. "Listen, Gin" he said to her "I actually came over to sit by you with an ulterior motive" She looked a little saddened by this, and just said "Oh" then turned away "What did you want?"
"I wanted to know if you'd go to the Christmas Ball with me" he stated, and she turned to look at him, with his face full of shock. "R-really? T-that's what you wanted to know?" she asked him, her face turning up into a smile. He nodded and she replied with "Yes, of course! I'd love to go with you!" Then she bounced away, happily.
"I feel so guilty," said Harry to Hermione, who moved over after Ginny left "Yeah, but, it needs to be done" she concluded. "Besides Harry, it's just going to the ball. You might even end up liking her" she patted him on the back and "And its not like you confessed your love to her" Hermione reasoned with him, and after a bit, Harry agreed with her. The plan had been his own, but carrying it out, was harder than he thought.
"Don't worry, Harry, things will turn out for the best, but he have to take desperate measures sometimes. I know it may be painful and people get hurt. But we're in the middle of a war. Sure, it's not a public official war. But, Harry, more than half the Wizarding world knows that it's going on. Attacks are happening everyday. This is the war between light and dark. There may be some grey in there, but it ~is~ war. Sometimes war is about sacrifices. I know that sometimes our choices about things aren't always the best. And innocent people, like Ginny get hurt, but that's what it's about. War is about pain. Hopefully, we can get a happy ending" Hermione said and afterward, Harry felt better. Hermione was right, as usual.
They finished up their dinner and then they walked off. Hermione went to meet up with Draco, and Harry went to attempt a conversation with Ginny.
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In the library, Hermione and Draco were still looking in any books they could find, for Blood Rituals, but they hadn't been lucky enough as of yet. Draco slammed a book closed.
"This is useless!" he said aloud and waited for Hermione to tell him off for being a lazy bum, but it never came. She too just shut her book, and sighed in exhaustion. "You're right. This is going nowhere" she agreed.
Draco moved over to sit next to her. She turned to face him, and gave him a little half smile, then said "It never really ends," he looked at her "does it?" she finished.
She wasn't helpful in the details department, but he knew what she was talking about "No, I don't suppose it does. You'll always have your big bad Voldemorts and you'll always have your hero types, like Potter." He stated, then went on to say "It's the fight between good and evil, my dear. It will go on forever. Sometimes, good will prevail, and sometimes, evil will come out victorious." She was staring at him with an intense gaze, like she was trying to absorb everything about him, right then and there.
"What if this is one of those times, when evil prevails?" she asked him and he didn't know what to say, because it was a possibility. "I don't know, Hermione She leaned into his chest and he wrapped an arm around her, in an attempt to protect her from the harsh reality of the world "I just don't know" he sighed and then pulled Hermione up with him. "Come on, we should head back." He said, and she nodded.
They both began to pick up all the books they were looking through and put them in their bags. They were just about to leave when Hermione noticed one of the books was lying on the floor. She stopped Draco and went to go pick it up. For some reason, she felt that she had to open the book. Draco looked on, curiously, as she opened the book to a would-be random page and showed it to Draco.
"Hermione, whats this all about?" he asked her, not being able to keep the curiosity out of his voice "I don't know" she replied "Something, I don't know what, made me open that book. I felt like I just had to open it to that page." She tried to explain. Draco seemed to understand, either that or he thought she was insane.
He took a look at the page she was reading and read aloud
"Blood Rituals are in most cases a form of Dark Magic, and are used in a wide variety of spells, and potions. In some cases, the blood must be given willingly, or it can be taken forcibly. The blood can even be used after a person's death, if the death meets certain circumstances. Although, a person's blood can be used by almost any one who can get their hands on it, if the person takes their own blood or dies by their own hand, the blood is worthless."
"Hermione, why did you turn to this page?" Draco asked shakily, which for Draco, was something out of the ordinary. Hermione shook her head. "I really don't know, something drew me to that page, and I can't say why."
"Perhaps we should keep this book, and look into it more later" Draco said and Hermione nodded her head very fast, to show her complete agreement.
They grabbed the book and then left the library just as Madam Pince was extinguishing the torches and locking the doors. Draco watched as Hermione walked away to Gryffindor Tower, and was just about to turn and walk his separate way, when Hermione came running back.
"Wha-" he was cut off by her lips on his. "Goodnight Draco" she said to him and then ran off.
He put his finger to his lips and smiled. **That girl is full of surprises** he thought to himself. **There is something odd going on around here. Why would she impulsively turn to that page? I hope we don't end up needing that information anytime soon.** he walked back to the Slytherin Dormitories, lost in thought.
A/N: Well there ya go! I didn't leave you with a cliffhanger. REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
