Chapter 16
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot.
During dinner, it was either Ron and Hermione or Draco and Hermione who were talking. Both Draco and Ron tried to start conversations with each other but they never ended any of it. Ron felt mostly uncomfortable because he can see how close Draco and Hermione have been, while he still hasn't forgotten how much he hated Malfoy for all the things he had done to them before. But he keeps on reminding himself about what Hermione had told him about Draco. That he has changed and that he is a good person now. Ron nodded as he saw Draco's smile.
"So, thanks for dinner," Ron said as Hermione and Draco joined him in the living room.
"No problem," Draco answered.
"Please tell mom and dad that I'll be okay," Hermione said, tapping his shoulder.
With a final nod, Ron was gone. It was the two of them again. But Draco was more than happy that Hermione was still there.
"I actually thought you'd leave me tonight," Draco told her as they sat on the couch.
"I told you I won't be leaving anytime soon. I might have been able to face Ron, since he really wasn't part of this whole mess. But I can't face Harry and my parents yet," she told him.
Draco shifted uncomfortably on his seat. "Hermione, do you still love Harry?"
Hermione was surprised to be asked this but she knew she'd have to answer it eventually, if not to Draco, to herself. "I. I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?" Draco asked, puzzled.
"I mean, I have feelings for him but I'm not sure if it's still enough to be called love. Who knows? It might be friendship I'm feeling," she answered.
"Well, you have the rest of the night to figure that out for yourself," Draco said, standing up.
"Where are you going?" Hermione asked.
"I'm going to bed. Wanna join me?" he said, grinning.
Hermione stood up and walked past him to the hallway. "In your dreams, Mr. Malfoy."
Draco tugged behind her, smiling to himself.
*** After two hours of twisting and turning on her bed, Hermione realized she can't sleep. She's been thinking about what Draco had asked her before they went to their respective rooms. She understood it was hard to sleep thinking about something as important as this. It even came to a point that she regretted that Draco even asked her about it.
Hermione sat up straight and reached to open her lamp. She then decided to talk to herself. Since she wasn't going to get any peaceful sleep tonight, she might as well confront the reason behind it.
"Okay, Hermione," she said to herself, "Just answer the question. Do you still love Harry?"
Hermione buried her face on her hands. "Why can't I just answer straight?"
"If I still love Harry, why can't I admit it? Is it because I'm afraid he won't accept me anymore for hurting him? If I don't love him anymore, then what's the problem? Am I expecting that Harry would still return to me and beg for me to love him?" Hermione pondered on her options, if she had any. "Ah! I can't do this!" Hermione shouted.
Suddenly, the door of her room opened and Draco peeped inside. "Hermione, are you okay? I heard the noise from my room," he said.
"Oh, I'm fine. I'm just driving myself crazy, that's all," she answered back.
Draco opened the door further and let himself in. "Don't tell me you're still thinking about what I asked you a couple of hours ago," he said.
"Yah, you guessed it!" Hermione replied, laying her hands on the bed.
Draco sat beside her and brushed her hair with his hand. "Don't ponder much about it, you'll get yourself a headache."
"I already have one," Hermione declared, pouting. "And it's getting me nowhere."
"Look, maybe it's not yet the time for you to answer that question," he explained as he tucked several strands of her hair behind her ear. "Have you ever considered that?"
"Not until now," she responded, looking at him.
"You have to get yourself some rest. You won't be beautiful anymore if you don't," he uttered, smiling.
Hermione smiled as she lay back on her bed. Draco pulled the comforter up to her chest and kissed her on the forehead, which startled Hermione. But she didn't show him any other expression. She just smiled at him and waved him goodnight.
"Sweet dreams," Draco said, closing the door.
And after so many hours of restlessness, Hermione started to feel the relaxing sensation of drifting into slumber. In a few seconds, she was snoozing off to dream world, shifting aside her problems to worry about them on following days.
***
Hermione opened her eyes at welcomed the beauty of the bright morning. She quickly got up to change and rushed out of her room towards the kitchen. When she got there, she saw Draco already starting breakfast. He was drinking coffee and his toast had some bite on it.
"Good morning!" she called out.
"Did you sleep well?" he asked her.
"Of course I did, thanks to you," she said, dragging her chair near, but not too close to, Draco and sitting down.
"I'm glad to hear that," he replied. "Have some toast. There's coffee in the coffeemaker."
Hermione took a bite from her toast and went up to pour herself some coffee. When she sat down again, she noticed Draco was looking at her in a funny sort of way.
"What?" she asked.
"You look. very happy," he answered.
"I'm not happy. I just feel good," she replied, taking another bite.
"Does that mean you've solved your crisis?" he asked.
"Uh-uh," she said, shaking her head. "I've decided to put it up until the right time. I'm not gonna wait for it to arrive. I'm just gonna wake up one morning knowing the answer. Sounds better, right?"
"Absolutely," Draco said, smiling.
Hermione took a sip of her coffee. "Draco, sorry if I woke you up last night."
"Actually you didn't wake me up. I was still awake. I couldn't sleep," he said.
Hermione smiled. "So we had the same problem," she declared. "What was eating you?"
Draco looked past Hermione and into the kitchen window. The sky was clear and there were only a few clouds. "My mother," he finally answered.
"You still haven't figured out how you can rescue her from the manor?"
"Not yet. And I'm running out of options. I can't even enter the house to see her. The house is protected by a force field, and not even my mother could apparate outside," he explained.
"I'm sure she's okay. Because if something bad has happened to her, then you would have known it," she said.
"How do you know that?" Draco asked, his face lined with doubt.
"Because every time something bad happened to me, my mother always had this different sensation run through her body. She worries more, and somehow feels that I am unsafe, that I am hurt. It's a mother's natural instinct," she explained.
"But what does that have to do with me? You're talking about a mother's instinct, not a child's," he said.
"I didn't say I don't feel the same way about her," she said. "I also sense whenever my mother is lonely, or in pain, Draco. Have you ever experienced that?" she added, taking another bite from her toast.
"Never," he replied. "Because my mother has a talent in keeping her emotions."
Hermione leaned forward. "But you've often worried about her well being, right?"
"Of course I have."
"That's what I'm talking about," she said, straightening again. "There's a different connection between a mother and her child. One will often worry about the other, and more often, the mother senses a child's pain even if he or she is in a certain distance from her."
"And how does a child sense his mother's pain?" Draco asked.
"Through the love she has wrapped around him," Hermione said. "Remember that we came from our mother's wombs, and though that connection was cut from birth, the true connection was never broken. Her love for us keeps us connected to her."
Draco took a deep breath. "Isn't that how Harry was saved from the curse of Lord Voldemort?"
"The love of Harry's mother for him was so strong that it saved him even beyond the time of her death," she answered.
"I guess that's what you call unconditional love," Draco responded. "Not all people are capable of that," he said, taking a last sip from his mug.
Hermione stood up from her chair and picked up her plate. "Love has the power to fix all kinds of problems. You just have to be patient." She extended her hand to Draco, which he took, standing up as well. "Someday, Draco, love will help you save your mother, one way or another."
Draco nodded. Hermione took his plate and the mugs as well and brought them to the sink. "Hermione, thank you for your faith," she heard Draco say behind her.
"No problem," she answered.
"And thank you for your love," Draco added.
Hermione wasn't sure what Draco meant. But she knew that somehow he had seen hope that he would once again be with his mother, light beyond the darkness of his world.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot.
During dinner, it was either Ron and Hermione or Draco and Hermione who were talking. Both Draco and Ron tried to start conversations with each other but they never ended any of it. Ron felt mostly uncomfortable because he can see how close Draco and Hermione have been, while he still hasn't forgotten how much he hated Malfoy for all the things he had done to them before. But he keeps on reminding himself about what Hermione had told him about Draco. That he has changed and that he is a good person now. Ron nodded as he saw Draco's smile.
"So, thanks for dinner," Ron said as Hermione and Draco joined him in the living room.
"No problem," Draco answered.
"Please tell mom and dad that I'll be okay," Hermione said, tapping his shoulder.
With a final nod, Ron was gone. It was the two of them again. But Draco was more than happy that Hermione was still there.
"I actually thought you'd leave me tonight," Draco told her as they sat on the couch.
"I told you I won't be leaving anytime soon. I might have been able to face Ron, since he really wasn't part of this whole mess. But I can't face Harry and my parents yet," she told him.
Draco shifted uncomfortably on his seat. "Hermione, do you still love Harry?"
Hermione was surprised to be asked this but she knew she'd have to answer it eventually, if not to Draco, to herself. "I. I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?" Draco asked, puzzled.
"I mean, I have feelings for him but I'm not sure if it's still enough to be called love. Who knows? It might be friendship I'm feeling," she answered.
"Well, you have the rest of the night to figure that out for yourself," Draco said, standing up.
"Where are you going?" Hermione asked.
"I'm going to bed. Wanna join me?" he said, grinning.
Hermione stood up and walked past him to the hallway. "In your dreams, Mr. Malfoy."
Draco tugged behind her, smiling to himself.
*** After two hours of twisting and turning on her bed, Hermione realized she can't sleep. She's been thinking about what Draco had asked her before they went to their respective rooms. She understood it was hard to sleep thinking about something as important as this. It even came to a point that she regretted that Draco even asked her about it.
Hermione sat up straight and reached to open her lamp. She then decided to talk to herself. Since she wasn't going to get any peaceful sleep tonight, she might as well confront the reason behind it.
"Okay, Hermione," she said to herself, "Just answer the question. Do you still love Harry?"
Hermione buried her face on her hands. "Why can't I just answer straight?"
"If I still love Harry, why can't I admit it? Is it because I'm afraid he won't accept me anymore for hurting him? If I don't love him anymore, then what's the problem? Am I expecting that Harry would still return to me and beg for me to love him?" Hermione pondered on her options, if she had any. "Ah! I can't do this!" Hermione shouted.
Suddenly, the door of her room opened and Draco peeped inside. "Hermione, are you okay? I heard the noise from my room," he said.
"Oh, I'm fine. I'm just driving myself crazy, that's all," she answered back.
Draco opened the door further and let himself in. "Don't tell me you're still thinking about what I asked you a couple of hours ago," he said.
"Yah, you guessed it!" Hermione replied, laying her hands on the bed.
Draco sat beside her and brushed her hair with his hand. "Don't ponder much about it, you'll get yourself a headache."
"I already have one," Hermione declared, pouting. "And it's getting me nowhere."
"Look, maybe it's not yet the time for you to answer that question," he explained as he tucked several strands of her hair behind her ear. "Have you ever considered that?"
"Not until now," she responded, looking at him.
"You have to get yourself some rest. You won't be beautiful anymore if you don't," he uttered, smiling.
Hermione smiled as she lay back on her bed. Draco pulled the comforter up to her chest and kissed her on the forehead, which startled Hermione. But she didn't show him any other expression. She just smiled at him and waved him goodnight.
"Sweet dreams," Draco said, closing the door.
And after so many hours of restlessness, Hermione started to feel the relaxing sensation of drifting into slumber. In a few seconds, she was snoozing off to dream world, shifting aside her problems to worry about them on following days.
***
Hermione opened her eyes at welcomed the beauty of the bright morning. She quickly got up to change and rushed out of her room towards the kitchen. When she got there, she saw Draco already starting breakfast. He was drinking coffee and his toast had some bite on it.
"Good morning!" she called out.
"Did you sleep well?" he asked her.
"Of course I did, thanks to you," she said, dragging her chair near, but not too close to, Draco and sitting down.
"I'm glad to hear that," he replied. "Have some toast. There's coffee in the coffeemaker."
Hermione took a bite from her toast and went up to pour herself some coffee. When she sat down again, she noticed Draco was looking at her in a funny sort of way.
"What?" she asked.
"You look. very happy," he answered.
"I'm not happy. I just feel good," she replied, taking another bite.
"Does that mean you've solved your crisis?" he asked.
"Uh-uh," she said, shaking her head. "I've decided to put it up until the right time. I'm not gonna wait for it to arrive. I'm just gonna wake up one morning knowing the answer. Sounds better, right?"
"Absolutely," Draco said, smiling.
Hermione took a sip of her coffee. "Draco, sorry if I woke you up last night."
"Actually you didn't wake me up. I was still awake. I couldn't sleep," he said.
Hermione smiled. "So we had the same problem," she declared. "What was eating you?"
Draco looked past Hermione and into the kitchen window. The sky was clear and there were only a few clouds. "My mother," he finally answered.
"You still haven't figured out how you can rescue her from the manor?"
"Not yet. And I'm running out of options. I can't even enter the house to see her. The house is protected by a force field, and not even my mother could apparate outside," he explained.
"I'm sure she's okay. Because if something bad has happened to her, then you would have known it," she said.
"How do you know that?" Draco asked, his face lined with doubt.
"Because every time something bad happened to me, my mother always had this different sensation run through her body. She worries more, and somehow feels that I am unsafe, that I am hurt. It's a mother's natural instinct," she explained.
"But what does that have to do with me? You're talking about a mother's instinct, not a child's," he said.
"I didn't say I don't feel the same way about her," she said. "I also sense whenever my mother is lonely, or in pain, Draco. Have you ever experienced that?" she added, taking another bite from her toast.
"Never," he replied. "Because my mother has a talent in keeping her emotions."
Hermione leaned forward. "But you've often worried about her well being, right?"
"Of course I have."
"That's what I'm talking about," she said, straightening again. "There's a different connection between a mother and her child. One will often worry about the other, and more often, the mother senses a child's pain even if he or she is in a certain distance from her."
"And how does a child sense his mother's pain?" Draco asked.
"Through the love she has wrapped around him," Hermione said. "Remember that we came from our mother's wombs, and though that connection was cut from birth, the true connection was never broken. Her love for us keeps us connected to her."
Draco took a deep breath. "Isn't that how Harry was saved from the curse of Lord Voldemort?"
"The love of Harry's mother for him was so strong that it saved him even beyond the time of her death," she answered.
"I guess that's what you call unconditional love," Draco responded. "Not all people are capable of that," he said, taking a last sip from his mug.
Hermione stood up from her chair and picked up her plate. "Love has the power to fix all kinds of problems. You just have to be patient." She extended her hand to Draco, which he took, standing up as well. "Someday, Draco, love will help you save your mother, one way or another."
Draco nodded. Hermione took his plate and the mugs as well and brought them to the sink. "Hermione, thank you for your faith," she heard Draco say behind her.
"No problem," she answered.
"And thank you for your love," Draco added.
Hermione wasn't sure what Draco meant. But she knew that somehow he had seen hope that he would once again be with his mother, light beyond the darkness of his world.