Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters contained within
this story, J. K. Rowling does, and she kicks ass, so I wouldn't steal her
stuff from her.
Chapter 13: Forgive Me All My Trespasses
Ron and Harry peered out from around a corner. They saw Draco there, head hanging and shoulders drooped. "A perfect picture of a pathetic puppy dog," Ron whispered to Harry.
Harry glared disapprovingly at Ron. "Come on, we had a truce Ron, you've got to stop mocking him. We won't get anything accomplished if we're fighting and insulting one another." He backhanded Ron's arm.
"Ouch!" Ron cried through clenched teeth. "I meant, that's he's so lovesick. I wasn't being mean about it!" He rubbed his arm and pouted. "You didn't have to hit me."
Draco heard the muffled voices. "Harry? Ron?" he called out. "Are you there?"
The two popped their heads out guiltily, hoping Draco hadn't heard them or thought that they were listening in on his conversation with Hermione. "What happened?" Ron asked with a stupid look of mock ignorance on his face. Harry just rolled his eyes.
"I think I just got dumped," Draco said. His eyes were wide and bloodshot; full of tears. He ran his hands through his hair, further ruffling his appearance. "I don't know what to do, guys. I. I don't think that I can live without her. Hermione, she's the love of my life." He looked up at Harry and Ron, a look of desperation in his eyes. "You've got to help me get her back," he choked out.
"There there," Ron said, stepping forward and tentatively patting Draco's back with a stiff arm. "It will be alright," he said haltingly.
Harry wrenched Ron away from Draco. "I think what you can do to gain her trust back, at least for a start, is to tell Dumbledore about your mother's plan." He walked up to Draco and looked him in the eye. "If there's one thing I learned about Hermione in seven years of friendship, it's that she likes an upstanding heroic guy, one who can stand up in the face of danger for unselfish reasons. Someone that I couldn't be for her." Harry's eyes began to get misty.
Draco swallowed hard and straightened himself. "You're right. I have to tell Dumbledore and help to put a stop to my mother, and prove to Hermione that I do love her. I'm not like every other blind evil sheep in my family."
"Good, now let's go!" Ron said emphatically marching off down the hall, hand raised in the air.
Harry and Draco exchanged looks. "Is he serious?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Unfortunately, yes," Harry said hanging his head. "You do remember the Yule Ball get-up."
Draco laughed and walked with Harry off after Ron towards Dumbledore's office. As their steps drew nearer to the giant statue, the pit that had settled itself in Draco's stomach only began to grow.
The threesome stopped and Harry said the password, "Earwax."
As they climbed up the stairs Draco began to have serious second thoughts. "What if he doesn't believe me, Harry? What if he still thinks that I'm in cahoots with my mother?" he began to panic.
Harry just smiled. "Dumbledore has this uncanny way of seeing the truth about people. I don't think that you have anything to worry about." He knocked importantly on the door to Dumbledore's office only to be met with silence. "That's odd," Harry said, scratching his head. "I wonder where he is."
"Well, you can't expect me to be in my office at all times, Mr. Potter. I might get a bit hungry, or might even have to supervise a staff meeting or two" Dumbledore's voice came from behind them.
The three jumped and turned to see the old headmaster smiling behind them. "Professor Dumbledore, I didn't mean that." Harry stuttered.
Dumbledore smiled. "I know what you meant; I was just joking with you Harry." He continued past them and went into his office. "Are you going to come in? There is obviously something pressing that you need to discuss with me, or you would not be wondering about my whereabouts on this wonderful afternoon."
They followed him in and Draco broke into a cold sweat. "I," he began, his voice dry and unsure. "I have something I need to tell you, Professor," he said.
"Well, have a seat, Mr. Malfoy, make yourself comfortable," Dumbledore said taking a seat at his desk and gesturing at a chair for Draco. "You too, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley," he said. The two quickly took seats so as not to interrupt Draco's confession any further. "So, what is it that you would like to speak to me about, Mr. Malfoy?"
"My mother," Draco said quickly. He began to wring his hands and refused to meet Dumbledore's eyes. "She, well, she's been planning something on behalf of the Dark Lord. She's been planning for a few years now, it involved me, she wanted me to do her dirty work for her, but she did some of it herself and now she wants me to finish it and to take over and have the Dark Lord take her in and take over the world."
Harry and Ron looked at each other quizzically, not understanding a word of Draco's supposed confession.
Dumbledore pulled lightly at his long beard. "Let me understand this, Draco," he said slowly. "Your mother wants to get in with Voldemort, correct?" Draco nodded solemnly. "So, she planned for you to seduce Hermione and kill her?" Draco looked up at him questioningly and nodded again. "And she killed your father?"
"How do you know all this?" Draco asked. "I was speaking nonsense!"
Dumbledore smiled. "There is always some sense in nonsense." He stood up and crossed the room. "More importantly, is the fact that you refused to do her bidding, and now the plan has gone awry, so we don't really know what to expect, other than an attack."
Draco nodded, more confidently. "That's what I've been able to discern from this whole mess. I just don't want Hermione to get hurt, I really do love her."
"This much I know, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said. "I don't know what else we can do right now," he changed the subject. "Everyone will be leaving for the holidays I assume? A group trip to the Weasleys' home?"
Ron looked up puzzled. "I don't remember," he trailed off. Dumbledore just winked at him. "Yeah, sure, group trip to the house! This should be fun with the whole Ginny situation at hand," he said sarcastically.
"You should know that your family is always full of surprises, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said. "And they will be arriving in the morning to bring you all back to your home." Draco looked down. "Yes, you will be going too, seeing as staying here and going back to your house are not options." Draco smiled weakly. "Now, the three of you, get going, I will get in touch when I know more about the situation at hand, and you do the same for me."
Harry smiled. "We will."
"You know us, always in the thick of it!" Ron said. The two walked out, leaving Draco for a moment.
"Thank you," he said. Dumbledore just smiled and Draco ran off to join Harry and Ron.
All three walked out onto the grounds in the cold sunset. "Look at it, guys," Ron said, looking at the sky. The light blue blended in with the orange and pink of the horizon and the wispy clouds that ran along the sky. "It is one gorgeous night."
"Sure is," Harry said, lying down on the cold grass. "Makes you forget about all the shit going on."
Draco laid down next to Harry, looking up into the sky in awe. "It makes you feel like there is something more out there, something controlling all of us, some higher power. You know, something stronger than humans, or creatures, or magic even. Something that transcends the magical and muggle worlds and the differences between purebloods and mudbloods. I want so much to believe that there is something out there making that beautiful sunset for us, making the day a little bit better, giving us some small semblance of hope in this horrible world. Something that's going to make everything alright with Hermione again."
"Maybe there is something out there," Hermione's voice said, choking, from behind him. Draco whipped around to see her and Ginny standing there indignantly with her arms folded across her chest and tears streaming down her perfect creamy white face. "Maybe there is something that's supposed to be bringing us back together, something that's saying we really are meant to be together forever. Because whatever God there is out there knows that I didn't come out here looking for you and here you are, the first thing Ginny and I come across on our walk. And as hard as I've tried not to all day because you betrayed me in the worst way possible, I still love you with everything that I have and there's nothing that can make it stop hurting."
Draco was on his knees in front of her, looking up at her tear- stained face, begging forgiveness with his eyes. "I don't know what it will take to get you to trust me again," he began, reaching out to her with his heart. "But if it helps, I told Dumbledore about my mother's plan; he knows, and we're working to protect you; all of us from the Dark Lord. I would never want to hurt you; I couldn't hurt you when it came down to it."
Hermione just looked at him and wiped warm tears from her freezing face.
"Know that my proposal was real, that was me, Draco, proposing to you, Hermione. And if you want to call it all off, start from scratch, for real, I don't care. I just want you to trust me, and for us to be together again, no matter what it takes."
Ginny turned to Harry. "Sev was never this romantic!"
"SHHH!" Ron hissed at them as he waited with baited breath for Hermione to respond to Draco.
"Well," Hermione began, sniffling and unfolding her arms. "If we broke up now, we wouldn't have any grandchildren to tell this whole misadventure to one day."
Still on his knees, Draco's face broke into a huge smile as he stood up and took Hermione in his arms and spun her around, her face lighting up, no trace of tears left. "Thank you," he whispered to her. "Thank you for the chance to be with you." He put her back down, her mouth smiling up at him. He leaned in and tasted her lips with a passion and truth that he had never felt.
"Alright!" Ron called. Ginny and Harry were clapping, cheering, and whistling too; Ginny twirling her scarf around her head.
Hermione's face deepened in color, whether it was a blush or the wind she didn't know, but she was happy. "Yeah, yeah," she laughed. "We're happy again, everyone's turning out ok."
"Speaking of turning out ok, Mom and Dad are coming in the morning to take us all back to the Burrow for the Christmas holidays, and obviously Ginny permanently," Ron said.
Ginny groaned. "I don't want to have to face them! I'm not ready," she pouted.
Hermione let go of Draco and gave her friend a hug. "I'm sure a good night's sleep will help you face the music better in the morning," she said. "You can sleep down with me, so if you can't sleep we can talk."
Ron yawned. "Man, it's too early to be so tired."
"It's been a very very long day. Maybe we should all head in," Hermione said turning towards the castle. "I think that things will be changing quite a bit tomorrow."
Chapter 13: Forgive Me All My Trespasses
Ron and Harry peered out from around a corner. They saw Draco there, head hanging and shoulders drooped. "A perfect picture of a pathetic puppy dog," Ron whispered to Harry.
Harry glared disapprovingly at Ron. "Come on, we had a truce Ron, you've got to stop mocking him. We won't get anything accomplished if we're fighting and insulting one another." He backhanded Ron's arm.
"Ouch!" Ron cried through clenched teeth. "I meant, that's he's so lovesick. I wasn't being mean about it!" He rubbed his arm and pouted. "You didn't have to hit me."
Draco heard the muffled voices. "Harry? Ron?" he called out. "Are you there?"
The two popped their heads out guiltily, hoping Draco hadn't heard them or thought that they were listening in on his conversation with Hermione. "What happened?" Ron asked with a stupid look of mock ignorance on his face. Harry just rolled his eyes.
"I think I just got dumped," Draco said. His eyes were wide and bloodshot; full of tears. He ran his hands through his hair, further ruffling his appearance. "I don't know what to do, guys. I. I don't think that I can live without her. Hermione, she's the love of my life." He looked up at Harry and Ron, a look of desperation in his eyes. "You've got to help me get her back," he choked out.
"There there," Ron said, stepping forward and tentatively patting Draco's back with a stiff arm. "It will be alright," he said haltingly.
Harry wrenched Ron away from Draco. "I think what you can do to gain her trust back, at least for a start, is to tell Dumbledore about your mother's plan." He walked up to Draco and looked him in the eye. "If there's one thing I learned about Hermione in seven years of friendship, it's that she likes an upstanding heroic guy, one who can stand up in the face of danger for unselfish reasons. Someone that I couldn't be for her." Harry's eyes began to get misty.
Draco swallowed hard and straightened himself. "You're right. I have to tell Dumbledore and help to put a stop to my mother, and prove to Hermione that I do love her. I'm not like every other blind evil sheep in my family."
"Good, now let's go!" Ron said emphatically marching off down the hall, hand raised in the air.
Harry and Draco exchanged looks. "Is he serious?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Unfortunately, yes," Harry said hanging his head. "You do remember the Yule Ball get-up."
Draco laughed and walked with Harry off after Ron towards Dumbledore's office. As their steps drew nearer to the giant statue, the pit that had settled itself in Draco's stomach only began to grow.
The threesome stopped and Harry said the password, "Earwax."
As they climbed up the stairs Draco began to have serious second thoughts. "What if he doesn't believe me, Harry? What if he still thinks that I'm in cahoots with my mother?" he began to panic.
Harry just smiled. "Dumbledore has this uncanny way of seeing the truth about people. I don't think that you have anything to worry about." He knocked importantly on the door to Dumbledore's office only to be met with silence. "That's odd," Harry said, scratching his head. "I wonder where he is."
"Well, you can't expect me to be in my office at all times, Mr. Potter. I might get a bit hungry, or might even have to supervise a staff meeting or two" Dumbledore's voice came from behind them.
The three jumped and turned to see the old headmaster smiling behind them. "Professor Dumbledore, I didn't mean that." Harry stuttered.
Dumbledore smiled. "I know what you meant; I was just joking with you Harry." He continued past them and went into his office. "Are you going to come in? There is obviously something pressing that you need to discuss with me, or you would not be wondering about my whereabouts on this wonderful afternoon."
They followed him in and Draco broke into a cold sweat. "I," he began, his voice dry and unsure. "I have something I need to tell you, Professor," he said.
"Well, have a seat, Mr. Malfoy, make yourself comfortable," Dumbledore said taking a seat at his desk and gesturing at a chair for Draco. "You too, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley," he said. The two quickly took seats so as not to interrupt Draco's confession any further. "So, what is it that you would like to speak to me about, Mr. Malfoy?"
"My mother," Draco said quickly. He began to wring his hands and refused to meet Dumbledore's eyes. "She, well, she's been planning something on behalf of the Dark Lord. She's been planning for a few years now, it involved me, she wanted me to do her dirty work for her, but she did some of it herself and now she wants me to finish it and to take over and have the Dark Lord take her in and take over the world."
Harry and Ron looked at each other quizzically, not understanding a word of Draco's supposed confession.
Dumbledore pulled lightly at his long beard. "Let me understand this, Draco," he said slowly. "Your mother wants to get in with Voldemort, correct?" Draco nodded solemnly. "So, she planned for you to seduce Hermione and kill her?" Draco looked up at him questioningly and nodded again. "And she killed your father?"
"How do you know all this?" Draco asked. "I was speaking nonsense!"
Dumbledore smiled. "There is always some sense in nonsense." He stood up and crossed the room. "More importantly, is the fact that you refused to do her bidding, and now the plan has gone awry, so we don't really know what to expect, other than an attack."
Draco nodded, more confidently. "That's what I've been able to discern from this whole mess. I just don't want Hermione to get hurt, I really do love her."
"This much I know, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said. "I don't know what else we can do right now," he changed the subject. "Everyone will be leaving for the holidays I assume? A group trip to the Weasleys' home?"
Ron looked up puzzled. "I don't remember," he trailed off. Dumbledore just winked at him. "Yeah, sure, group trip to the house! This should be fun with the whole Ginny situation at hand," he said sarcastically.
"You should know that your family is always full of surprises, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said. "And they will be arriving in the morning to bring you all back to your home." Draco looked down. "Yes, you will be going too, seeing as staying here and going back to your house are not options." Draco smiled weakly. "Now, the three of you, get going, I will get in touch when I know more about the situation at hand, and you do the same for me."
Harry smiled. "We will."
"You know us, always in the thick of it!" Ron said. The two walked out, leaving Draco for a moment.
"Thank you," he said. Dumbledore just smiled and Draco ran off to join Harry and Ron.
All three walked out onto the grounds in the cold sunset. "Look at it, guys," Ron said, looking at the sky. The light blue blended in with the orange and pink of the horizon and the wispy clouds that ran along the sky. "It is one gorgeous night."
"Sure is," Harry said, lying down on the cold grass. "Makes you forget about all the shit going on."
Draco laid down next to Harry, looking up into the sky in awe. "It makes you feel like there is something more out there, something controlling all of us, some higher power. You know, something stronger than humans, or creatures, or magic even. Something that transcends the magical and muggle worlds and the differences between purebloods and mudbloods. I want so much to believe that there is something out there making that beautiful sunset for us, making the day a little bit better, giving us some small semblance of hope in this horrible world. Something that's going to make everything alright with Hermione again."
"Maybe there is something out there," Hermione's voice said, choking, from behind him. Draco whipped around to see her and Ginny standing there indignantly with her arms folded across her chest and tears streaming down her perfect creamy white face. "Maybe there is something that's supposed to be bringing us back together, something that's saying we really are meant to be together forever. Because whatever God there is out there knows that I didn't come out here looking for you and here you are, the first thing Ginny and I come across on our walk. And as hard as I've tried not to all day because you betrayed me in the worst way possible, I still love you with everything that I have and there's nothing that can make it stop hurting."
Draco was on his knees in front of her, looking up at her tear- stained face, begging forgiveness with his eyes. "I don't know what it will take to get you to trust me again," he began, reaching out to her with his heart. "But if it helps, I told Dumbledore about my mother's plan; he knows, and we're working to protect you; all of us from the Dark Lord. I would never want to hurt you; I couldn't hurt you when it came down to it."
Hermione just looked at him and wiped warm tears from her freezing face.
"Know that my proposal was real, that was me, Draco, proposing to you, Hermione. And if you want to call it all off, start from scratch, for real, I don't care. I just want you to trust me, and for us to be together again, no matter what it takes."
Ginny turned to Harry. "Sev was never this romantic!"
"SHHH!" Ron hissed at them as he waited with baited breath for Hermione to respond to Draco.
"Well," Hermione began, sniffling and unfolding her arms. "If we broke up now, we wouldn't have any grandchildren to tell this whole misadventure to one day."
Still on his knees, Draco's face broke into a huge smile as he stood up and took Hermione in his arms and spun her around, her face lighting up, no trace of tears left. "Thank you," he whispered to her. "Thank you for the chance to be with you." He put her back down, her mouth smiling up at him. He leaned in and tasted her lips with a passion and truth that he had never felt.
"Alright!" Ron called. Ginny and Harry were clapping, cheering, and whistling too; Ginny twirling her scarf around her head.
Hermione's face deepened in color, whether it was a blush or the wind she didn't know, but she was happy. "Yeah, yeah," she laughed. "We're happy again, everyone's turning out ok."
"Speaking of turning out ok, Mom and Dad are coming in the morning to take us all back to the Burrow for the Christmas holidays, and obviously Ginny permanently," Ron said.
Ginny groaned. "I don't want to have to face them! I'm not ready," she pouted.
Hermione let go of Draco and gave her friend a hug. "I'm sure a good night's sleep will help you face the music better in the morning," she said. "You can sleep down with me, so if you can't sleep we can talk."
Ron yawned. "Man, it's too early to be so tired."
"It's been a very very long day. Maybe we should all head in," Hermione said turning towards the castle. "I think that things will be changing quite a bit tomorrow."