The Dragon's Heart: Chapter 13
By: Teenlaunch
a/n: Okay, listen here. The conflict in this story is gonna be pretty
small. Sorry to disappoint you. I'll try to do the best I can but I can't
promise anything. Another thing, a lot of people must think that Harry and
Ron know already, well guess what? They don't! If you read the last chapter
though you should know what's coming. Sheesh! On with the story!
"What the-? Why's the door here already?" Harry's voice came from the other side of the door as he stopped in front of it.
"I don't know. Maybe we should find out!" Ginny tried to suppress a giggle. Harry still didn't open the door.
"Come on, Harry! Who cares why the door's already here?! Just open the darn thing, before a teacher comes along!" Ron stomped his foot.
"Alright, alright! I'm opening it! Keep your shirt on!" Harry opened the door and the light from the corridor flooded the semi-dark room that they were entering. The beam of light fell across Draco and Hermione who did not take notice of their audience. The realization of who, and what, they had walked in on hit the newcomers hard, most of them anyway. Colin, standing close to Harry, who was at the front, started clicking away with his camera madly. The others stood in the doorway trying to grasp words to catch the two's attention.
"Aw." A few soft, girlish voices broke the silence of the group and Draco and Hermione looked up. Hermione went rigid when she spotted Harry and Ron.
"It's okay. Just keep your cool," Draco whispered. The two waited for the explosion, but it didn't come. Harry, Ron, Dean, Seamus, Colin, and Dennis were standing in the doorway, still trying to grasp words. Draco finally broke the tense silence. "That was a bit rude, you know. Haven't you ever heard of knocking before?" Hermione took in a sharp breath. The boys opened their mouths in outrage and started yelling all at once but Ron's voice drowned the others out.
"Rude?! RUDE?! WE were RUDE?! Rudeness is nothing compared to what you have done, Malfoy! You've went too far this time! How dare you!" Ron yelled, his face as red as his hair.
"Oh, I touched a nerve," Draco muttered.
"And you, Hermione!" The other boys had stopped trying to have themselves heard as Ron turned his eyes upon her. "Have you forgotten what he's done to you?! How can you let the SLTHERIN that has caused you so much pain even be within 100 feet of you?! WHAT HAS GOTTEN INTO YOU?!"
"Ron, I-" Hermione sputtered as she fought tears.
"What caused you to let this filth touch you, KISS YOU?! I thought that you, HERMIONE GRANGER, had more sense than this! This scum isn't fit to wipe the grime from DOBBY'S FEET!"
"ENOUGH!" Harry and Hermione yelled.
"Go ahead, Hermione. Answer him," Harry said his piercing green eyes full of hurt, anger, and misunderstanding. "Why did you do this? Did he hex you?!"
"I did nothing of the sort!" Draco yelled. Hermione placed a hand on his as she slid onto the cushion next to him.
"Thanks, Harry." Hermione avoided his gaze, even though she could fell his eyes boring a hole through her, as she dried her few tears. "You want to know what's gotten into me, Ron?" He nodded and Hermione thought for a minute he probably could have breathed fire he was so angry. "Love, something that has no boundaries and pays no attention to rules, regulations, and lines. Something no one in the world can prevent." Ron's mouth was open at that point.
"I bet he's really cursed you like Harry said!" Ron screamed.
"It would have worn off by now and you would have known it a long time before now." Hermione answered.
"He probably slipped a love potion into your drink! Ha, get out of that!" Ron yelled triumphantly.
"When could he have done that? I never took a drink from him." Ron's face contorted as he tried to come up with another explanation.
Harry looked at Draco who looked him straight in the eye. For the first time Harry noticed that Draco's eyes were not dark and cold as usual. They were not the deep voids of emptiness he was used to seeing. They were swirling with emotions that Harry didn't think were even possible for a Malfoy to feel, none-the-less, Draco Malfoy. His face relaxed as he continued to understand Draco only through their eye contact. He could see Draco's true intentions. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, I don't know. Harry broke their contact still trying to explain to himself how all this had happened over the past year at Hogwarts.
"Ron, I have forgiven him. I think it's high time you did the same," Hermione said in an undertone.
"Hermione," Harry cut in, "when did all this happen? I mean, when did you decide you love Draco Malfoy? Draco Malfoy, the hater of Gryffindors, the despiser of muggle-borns, the Slytherin Prince, the son of a Death Eater?" Harry stressed his last words.
"Let's get a few things straight!" Draco burst out, "I am not proud of my heritage! I was taught to hate and despise by my father, a Death Eater; I have had to obey every word that comes from my father's mouth since I was old enough to crawl; I have had to hide behind a mask since I was eight; and I was denied the one thing that kept me sane, Hermione! Do you know what it's like to walk around with a cold, dark mask covering your face day and night, to be forced to live like a caged animal, to be taught dark magic and other appalling things against your will for the evil of another man and the pride of you family, or to have only two people to ever be there for you, even if one of them only existed in your dreams?! Do you know what it's like waiting for that dreaded day that you will be forced to become a Death Eater and be cursed with the Dark Mark like your dear old dad?! NO! None of you have to do any of that! You all have caring and loving families! You don't have to wait for the day that you are called to kill, plunder, and cause pain in the name of the most feared wizard of all time! You don't have to worry about dying for Voldemort's plans! You don't have to worry about hurting fellow human beings! Do you honestly think I want any of that?!"
"Well I did until you just-" Neville interrupted but was jabbed in the ribs by Ginny and he bit his tongue (a bit harder than necessary) to shut himself up.
Hermione hung her head. She already knew all this, well most of it, anyway. Draco stopped his tirade when he felt a few tears fall onto his hands from Hermione's eyes. She looked up at him with flaming eyes. "I have a feeling that your father will get what he deserves in the end." Harry cleared his throat to get her attention. "Oh, sorry, Harry! When it happened? Ten years ago."
"I'm lost," Dean muttered.
"Me too," Harry said. "First we find these two.uh.being friendly, then Hermione says what's on her mind, and then this guy," he gestured toward Draco, "has his little outburst and what in the world do you mean by ten years ago?! You two haven't known each other for that long!"
"Oh great, here we go again!" Draco sighed.
"I'll explain later." Ginny put a hand on Harry's shoulder.
"You knew, Ginny?! You KNEW?!" Ron yelled his face still pink.
"Ginny, why didn't you tell us?" Harry asked.
"I.um.oops?"
"Never mind, listen, Hermione, we're reviewing the Patronus again today so you don't have to stay and I don't think it's a good idea for Malfoy to stay here either." Padma and Luna walked into the room and smiled.
"That's Draco." Draco corrected him. "And I honestly don't think it will make a difference if I stay or not. Word is going to get out somehow." He looked at the Creevy brothers and they both looked in different directions, each humming tunelessly.
"Okay, I-You forgot to ask Sirius to find a boggart again, didn't you?"
"Oops?" Harry smiled stupidly. "I do need to know if you can still do it though and," he gave her a pleading look, "please help me remember to get a lot of chocolate when we have the boggart."
"Okay."
"Hey, why don't you two have a race again?" Ginny asked.
"Again?" Harry and Hermione sighed but rolled up their sleeves and took their positions for the race.
"What are you talking about race?" Draco asked.
"You'll see." Dean answered him.
"On your mark.Get set.Go!" Ginny yelled.
"Expecto Patronum!" Harry and Hermione yelled. A silver stag and otter shot from the tips of the two wands. They raced each other around the room and skidded to a halt at Draco's feet.
"Enough surprises for one day. I'm leaving." Draco left the room, leaving the door open.
"I better go make sure he doesn't hurt himself. You know how he can be." Hermione walked to the door.
"I heard that!" Draco called. Hermione shook her head and followed him.
Later that night.
"I'm beat. I want to go to bed." Ron clambered through the portrait hole. "It'll be just my luck to have nightmares the one night I need rest."
"Why would you have nightmares, Ron?" Colin said loudly. "Would it be because of what happened earlier?"
"Yeah! I mean, who wouldn't have nightmares?" Dennis half yelled.
"What's this all about?" A prefect came up and asked.
"Oh, nothing special, really. We just found the Head Boy and Girl making out in our classroom," Dennis said innocently. The room went quiet.
"What do you take us for, complete imbeciles?" A third year girl asked from her chair.
"No, because only a complete imbecile wouldn't believe in proof." Colin waved his camera in the air. "I'm a genius!" He chuckled and retreated to his dormitory.
"Oh no," Ginny groaned as the oldest Gryffindors raced up and started banging on Colin's door.
By the next week the entire school knew all the latest gossip, especially the fact that the Head Boy and Girl, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger, were going out. Millions of Colin's moving photos were also circulated through the school. "That's nice," Hermione said sarcastically when Ginny showed her one. The whole of Gryffindor had been told the story of their Head Boy and Girl by a very agitated Ginny one night in the common room. After a couple weeks of cold looks, whispering, and mean comments from the rest of the school Draco and Hermione had almost given up hope that at least a handful of people would understand them.
Then, one day, a first year Gryffindor came up to them in the corridor. "H-hello, I.I just wanted t-to tell you t-that I'm o-on your side. If I was in your situation I would have done the same thing." The young girl grew bolder as she talked and Draco and Hermione smiled.
"Thank you. We needed that," Hermione said. The girl nodded shyly and skipped off. Everyone else in the corridor goggled at the girl as she left. Draco and Hermione realized that the days following the Gryffindor's confrontation with them were not filled with the usual whispers, especially from the Gryffindors. Gradually, their story was swept into every crevice of the school. At last, when the Gryffindor boys had started to warm up to Draco, although very slowly, almost all of Gryffindor confronted Draco and Hermione (at different times) just like the first year and admitted that they might have been wrong to judge the book by its cover.
The Slytherins were a totally different story. They avoided Draco and Hermione all they could, which was pretty easy. Draco spent all his time with Hermione. He sat with her in each class and sat as close to her as he could at dinner time. Only Crabbe and Goyle stayed loyal to Draco. All the Slytherin girls stuck up their nose when they saw Draco and hissed when they saw Hermione. The boys didn't do much of anything, just acted as though the Slytherin and Gryffindor didn't exist. Pansy was.let's just say, heartbroken when she found out about Draco and Hermione. After a few weeks of failure she finally succeeded in catching Draco alone outside his dorm.
"What do you want?!" He cried.
"Is it true?!" Pansy asked.
"Is what true?"
"Don't act dumb! You know what I'm talking about!"
"Oh, that. Let me tell you a little secret." Draco motioned for her to lean her head in closer.
"Draco James Malfoy! What in the world are you-" Hermione had walked around the corner.
"I'm just telling her a secret." Draco stressed his last word.
"A se- Oh!" Hermione's eyes grew wide. "I'll just leave you two alone." She winked at Draco as she whispered the password and rushed into the common room. Right after Hermione had entered it she heard Draco yell.
"YES, PANSY! IT'S TRUE! NOW STOP BUGGING ME!" Pansy shrieked and ran backward a few paces. Draco muttered the password and entered the common room to find a slightly agitated Hermione. "Oh, sorry. I guess it did look a bit odd from your point of view. I didn't expect you to come around the corner at that very second. I'm just getting tired of everyone asking me if the rumors are true."
"It's okay. Oh, and 'hello' to you too." Hermione sniffed. Draco laughed, leaned down, and kissed her. Pansy, who could see everything through the open portrait hole screamed and ran off, but not before Sir Cadogan's portrait slammed closed and he huffed, "Excuse you!"
"That could have gone better," Sir Cadogan muttered after pansy was out of sight.
"Yes, it could have."
"Who goes there?!"
"It's me, you great lummox." McGonagall appeared in front of him.
"Oh, hello; what is it you seek, My Lady?" Sir Cadogan smiled.
"Oh, nothing much, I just wanted to know how our two lovebirds are doing. No problems, I hope?" The sides of McGonagall's mouth twitched.
"Oh, there have been a few arguments here and there but nothing to worry about." Sir Cadogan reported dutifully.
"Good. You have heard their story, haven't you?"
"Yes, I was told by on of my friends. It was very sad and touching, made me cry." McGonagall rolled her eyes and walked away. "Well it did! Hey, I'm talking to you! Hey, hey!"
'I just wonder if it will last," McGonagall thought.
Ah.Another chapter finished. I hope this was okay. Please review. Flames are welcome. Later!
~Teenlaunch~
"What the-? Why's the door here already?" Harry's voice came from the other side of the door as he stopped in front of it.
"I don't know. Maybe we should find out!" Ginny tried to suppress a giggle. Harry still didn't open the door.
"Come on, Harry! Who cares why the door's already here?! Just open the darn thing, before a teacher comes along!" Ron stomped his foot.
"Alright, alright! I'm opening it! Keep your shirt on!" Harry opened the door and the light from the corridor flooded the semi-dark room that they were entering. The beam of light fell across Draco and Hermione who did not take notice of their audience. The realization of who, and what, they had walked in on hit the newcomers hard, most of them anyway. Colin, standing close to Harry, who was at the front, started clicking away with his camera madly. The others stood in the doorway trying to grasp words to catch the two's attention.
"Aw." A few soft, girlish voices broke the silence of the group and Draco and Hermione looked up. Hermione went rigid when she spotted Harry and Ron.
"It's okay. Just keep your cool," Draco whispered. The two waited for the explosion, but it didn't come. Harry, Ron, Dean, Seamus, Colin, and Dennis were standing in the doorway, still trying to grasp words. Draco finally broke the tense silence. "That was a bit rude, you know. Haven't you ever heard of knocking before?" Hermione took in a sharp breath. The boys opened their mouths in outrage and started yelling all at once but Ron's voice drowned the others out.
"Rude?! RUDE?! WE were RUDE?! Rudeness is nothing compared to what you have done, Malfoy! You've went too far this time! How dare you!" Ron yelled, his face as red as his hair.
"Oh, I touched a nerve," Draco muttered.
"And you, Hermione!" The other boys had stopped trying to have themselves heard as Ron turned his eyes upon her. "Have you forgotten what he's done to you?! How can you let the SLTHERIN that has caused you so much pain even be within 100 feet of you?! WHAT HAS GOTTEN INTO YOU?!"
"Ron, I-" Hermione sputtered as she fought tears.
"What caused you to let this filth touch you, KISS YOU?! I thought that you, HERMIONE GRANGER, had more sense than this! This scum isn't fit to wipe the grime from DOBBY'S FEET!"
"ENOUGH!" Harry and Hermione yelled.
"Go ahead, Hermione. Answer him," Harry said his piercing green eyes full of hurt, anger, and misunderstanding. "Why did you do this? Did he hex you?!"
"I did nothing of the sort!" Draco yelled. Hermione placed a hand on his as she slid onto the cushion next to him.
"Thanks, Harry." Hermione avoided his gaze, even though she could fell his eyes boring a hole through her, as she dried her few tears. "You want to know what's gotten into me, Ron?" He nodded and Hermione thought for a minute he probably could have breathed fire he was so angry. "Love, something that has no boundaries and pays no attention to rules, regulations, and lines. Something no one in the world can prevent." Ron's mouth was open at that point.
"I bet he's really cursed you like Harry said!" Ron screamed.
"It would have worn off by now and you would have known it a long time before now." Hermione answered.
"He probably slipped a love potion into your drink! Ha, get out of that!" Ron yelled triumphantly.
"When could he have done that? I never took a drink from him." Ron's face contorted as he tried to come up with another explanation.
Harry looked at Draco who looked him straight in the eye. For the first time Harry noticed that Draco's eyes were not dark and cold as usual. They were not the deep voids of emptiness he was used to seeing. They were swirling with emotions that Harry didn't think were even possible for a Malfoy to feel, none-the-less, Draco Malfoy. His face relaxed as he continued to understand Draco only through their eye contact. He could see Draco's true intentions. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, I don't know. Harry broke their contact still trying to explain to himself how all this had happened over the past year at Hogwarts.
"Ron, I have forgiven him. I think it's high time you did the same," Hermione said in an undertone.
"Hermione," Harry cut in, "when did all this happen? I mean, when did you decide you love Draco Malfoy? Draco Malfoy, the hater of Gryffindors, the despiser of muggle-borns, the Slytherin Prince, the son of a Death Eater?" Harry stressed his last words.
"Let's get a few things straight!" Draco burst out, "I am not proud of my heritage! I was taught to hate and despise by my father, a Death Eater; I have had to obey every word that comes from my father's mouth since I was old enough to crawl; I have had to hide behind a mask since I was eight; and I was denied the one thing that kept me sane, Hermione! Do you know what it's like to walk around with a cold, dark mask covering your face day and night, to be forced to live like a caged animal, to be taught dark magic and other appalling things against your will for the evil of another man and the pride of you family, or to have only two people to ever be there for you, even if one of them only existed in your dreams?! Do you know what it's like waiting for that dreaded day that you will be forced to become a Death Eater and be cursed with the Dark Mark like your dear old dad?! NO! None of you have to do any of that! You all have caring and loving families! You don't have to wait for the day that you are called to kill, plunder, and cause pain in the name of the most feared wizard of all time! You don't have to worry about dying for Voldemort's plans! You don't have to worry about hurting fellow human beings! Do you honestly think I want any of that?!"
"Well I did until you just-" Neville interrupted but was jabbed in the ribs by Ginny and he bit his tongue (a bit harder than necessary) to shut himself up.
Hermione hung her head. She already knew all this, well most of it, anyway. Draco stopped his tirade when he felt a few tears fall onto his hands from Hermione's eyes. She looked up at him with flaming eyes. "I have a feeling that your father will get what he deserves in the end." Harry cleared his throat to get her attention. "Oh, sorry, Harry! When it happened? Ten years ago."
"I'm lost," Dean muttered.
"Me too," Harry said. "First we find these two.uh.being friendly, then Hermione says what's on her mind, and then this guy," he gestured toward Draco, "has his little outburst and what in the world do you mean by ten years ago?! You two haven't known each other for that long!"
"Oh great, here we go again!" Draco sighed.
"I'll explain later." Ginny put a hand on Harry's shoulder.
"You knew, Ginny?! You KNEW?!" Ron yelled his face still pink.
"Ginny, why didn't you tell us?" Harry asked.
"I.um.oops?"
"Never mind, listen, Hermione, we're reviewing the Patronus again today so you don't have to stay and I don't think it's a good idea for Malfoy to stay here either." Padma and Luna walked into the room and smiled.
"That's Draco." Draco corrected him. "And I honestly don't think it will make a difference if I stay or not. Word is going to get out somehow." He looked at the Creevy brothers and they both looked in different directions, each humming tunelessly.
"Okay, I-You forgot to ask Sirius to find a boggart again, didn't you?"
"Oops?" Harry smiled stupidly. "I do need to know if you can still do it though and," he gave her a pleading look, "please help me remember to get a lot of chocolate when we have the boggart."
"Okay."
"Hey, why don't you two have a race again?" Ginny asked.
"Again?" Harry and Hermione sighed but rolled up their sleeves and took their positions for the race.
"What are you talking about race?" Draco asked.
"You'll see." Dean answered him.
"On your mark.Get set.Go!" Ginny yelled.
"Expecto Patronum!" Harry and Hermione yelled. A silver stag and otter shot from the tips of the two wands. They raced each other around the room and skidded to a halt at Draco's feet.
"Enough surprises for one day. I'm leaving." Draco left the room, leaving the door open.
"I better go make sure he doesn't hurt himself. You know how he can be." Hermione walked to the door.
"I heard that!" Draco called. Hermione shook her head and followed him.
Later that night.
"I'm beat. I want to go to bed." Ron clambered through the portrait hole. "It'll be just my luck to have nightmares the one night I need rest."
"Why would you have nightmares, Ron?" Colin said loudly. "Would it be because of what happened earlier?"
"Yeah! I mean, who wouldn't have nightmares?" Dennis half yelled.
"What's this all about?" A prefect came up and asked.
"Oh, nothing special, really. We just found the Head Boy and Girl making out in our classroom," Dennis said innocently. The room went quiet.
"What do you take us for, complete imbeciles?" A third year girl asked from her chair.
"No, because only a complete imbecile wouldn't believe in proof." Colin waved his camera in the air. "I'm a genius!" He chuckled and retreated to his dormitory.
"Oh no," Ginny groaned as the oldest Gryffindors raced up and started banging on Colin's door.
By the next week the entire school knew all the latest gossip, especially the fact that the Head Boy and Girl, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger, were going out. Millions of Colin's moving photos were also circulated through the school. "That's nice," Hermione said sarcastically when Ginny showed her one. The whole of Gryffindor had been told the story of their Head Boy and Girl by a very agitated Ginny one night in the common room. After a couple weeks of cold looks, whispering, and mean comments from the rest of the school Draco and Hermione had almost given up hope that at least a handful of people would understand them.
Then, one day, a first year Gryffindor came up to them in the corridor. "H-hello, I.I just wanted t-to tell you t-that I'm o-on your side. If I was in your situation I would have done the same thing." The young girl grew bolder as she talked and Draco and Hermione smiled.
"Thank you. We needed that," Hermione said. The girl nodded shyly and skipped off. Everyone else in the corridor goggled at the girl as she left. Draco and Hermione realized that the days following the Gryffindor's confrontation with them were not filled with the usual whispers, especially from the Gryffindors. Gradually, their story was swept into every crevice of the school. At last, when the Gryffindor boys had started to warm up to Draco, although very slowly, almost all of Gryffindor confronted Draco and Hermione (at different times) just like the first year and admitted that they might have been wrong to judge the book by its cover.
The Slytherins were a totally different story. They avoided Draco and Hermione all they could, which was pretty easy. Draco spent all his time with Hermione. He sat with her in each class and sat as close to her as he could at dinner time. Only Crabbe and Goyle stayed loyal to Draco. All the Slytherin girls stuck up their nose when they saw Draco and hissed when they saw Hermione. The boys didn't do much of anything, just acted as though the Slytherin and Gryffindor didn't exist. Pansy was.let's just say, heartbroken when she found out about Draco and Hermione. After a few weeks of failure she finally succeeded in catching Draco alone outside his dorm.
"What do you want?!" He cried.
"Is it true?!" Pansy asked.
"Is what true?"
"Don't act dumb! You know what I'm talking about!"
"Oh, that. Let me tell you a little secret." Draco motioned for her to lean her head in closer.
"Draco James Malfoy! What in the world are you-" Hermione had walked around the corner.
"I'm just telling her a secret." Draco stressed his last word.
"A se- Oh!" Hermione's eyes grew wide. "I'll just leave you two alone." She winked at Draco as she whispered the password and rushed into the common room. Right after Hermione had entered it she heard Draco yell.
"YES, PANSY! IT'S TRUE! NOW STOP BUGGING ME!" Pansy shrieked and ran backward a few paces. Draco muttered the password and entered the common room to find a slightly agitated Hermione. "Oh, sorry. I guess it did look a bit odd from your point of view. I didn't expect you to come around the corner at that very second. I'm just getting tired of everyone asking me if the rumors are true."
"It's okay. Oh, and 'hello' to you too." Hermione sniffed. Draco laughed, leaned down, and kissed her. Pansy, who could see everything through the open portrait hole screamed and ran off, but not before Sir Cadogan's portrait slammed closed and he huffed, "Excuse you!"
"That could have gone better," Sir Cadogan muttered after pansy was out of sight.
"Yes, it could have."
"Who goes there?!"
"It's me, you great lummox." McGonagall appeared in front of him.
"Oh, hello; what is it you seek, My Lady?" Sir Cadogan smiled.
"Oh, nothing much, I just wanted to know how our two lovebirds are doing. No problems, I hope?" The sides of McGonagall's mouth twitched.
"Oh, there have been a few arguments here and there but nothing to worry about." Sir Cadogan reported dutifully.
"Good. You have heard their story, haven't you?"
"Yes, I was told by on of my friends. It was very sad and touching, made me cry." McGonagall rolled her eyes and walked away. "Well it did! Hey, I'm talking to you! Hey, hey!"
'I just wonder if it will last," McGonagall thought.
Ah.Another chapter finished. I hope this was okay. Please review. Flames are welcome. Later!
~Teenlaunch~