Hey guys! You thought that that was the end, didn't you? YEAH RIGHT! If you read my other work of fiction, you would know that I never let anything end with a sad ending. But before I begin this chapter, I would just like to say thanks to all of those who reviewed. Special thanks to manny-cassie-santos for invading my review box. Do you need a tissue? ;) ok...without further ado, here's the continuation of "Promises."
Chapter 21: Going to the Light Side
Draco sat in Dumbledore's office, somewhat awkwardly, next to Harry. Dumbledore himself was sitting at his desk, fingertips pressed together, processing everything Draco had told him in his head. He had been silent for quite a while. But when Draco was starting to doubt his Headmaster, he spoke.
"Well, Draco...I must admit, that is quite an impressive story," he said slowly and thoughtfully. "It reminds me of another old student of mine." Draco sat forward a little.
"What do you suggest we do, Headmaster?" he asked eagerly, but remembering to stay formal. Dumbledore, again, wore that look of deep thoughtfulness.
"Well, I have an idea. But I have to be sure that this is truly what you want to do. I need to know, Draco, are you willing to fight against you father?" Draco nodded.
"I've never been more sure of anything in my life, Professor Dumbledore, sir." Dumbledore smiled.
"I admire your spirit, Mr. Malfoy. I can see what Miss Granger saw in you," Dumbledore stated, eyes twinkling. Draco felt the heat rise to his cheeks. Even though it wasn't a secret anymore, he still felt uncomfortable when the conversation turned to his and Hermione's former relationship. Dumbledore continued as if he had not said anything that would cause embarrassment to some.
"Very well then. Draco, you will join Harry's private defense lessons. I believe you are already skilled in Occlumency, so we will not have to bother with that. You will meet in my office tonight at nine o' clock. You meet every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday at precisely nine o' clock in the evening here in my office. From here, your instructor will come collect you and lead you to wherever he chooses to conduct his lessons.
"Now, Harry, if you'll excuse us, I need to talk to Mr. Malfoy alone." Harry nodded and left the office with a short good-bye to both the Headmaster and Draco. Once Harry was gone, Dumbledore turned his attention once again to Draco.
"Well, Draco, I have to say that I'm very impressed by your choice to work against your father. But if you don't mind my asking, why the sudden change?" Draco looked at the Headmaster as if contemplating if he should give away such private information. 'Oh, what the hell,' he thought.
"The truth is, sir, I switched sides for Hermione Granger." He looked down at his hands. "I feel like this is the only way to prove myself to her..." Dumbledore nodded in understanding.
"I see. Well, I commend you for you bravery to stand up against your own father and prove your love. I'm sure you are aware of the risks involved in doing so." Draco nodded. "Very well. So you understand why I must ask you to keep everything we discussed here today under wraps. We don't know where the leaks are in this school anymore."
"Yes sir. I know."
"Also, Draco..." Here, Dumbledore looked a bit saddened. "I must ask you to stay away from Miss Granger for now. Keep an eye on her, of course, God knows, she needs someone to look out for her. But I must ask you to put all your ideas of pursuing her on hold...just for now." Draco nodded dejectedly.
"Yes, sir. I completely understand." He stood up, shook Dumbledore's hand and left the room. He walked back tot he Head dormitories, thinking about Hermione.
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March became April, and April became May. Draco and Harry, along with studying for their NEWTs, had their private Defense lessons with Kingsley Shacklebolt. Dumbledore had it all set up with the Ministry and told the Minister that Harry was especially gifted and needed extra practice to pursue a career as an Auror. Of course, Fudge agreed, since the libel issue with the Daily Prophet was his fault anyway. But Fudge had no idea that Harry was really training to defeat Voldemort.
Anyway, Harry and Draco trained for three months, three times a week. Hermione began to see both of them less and less. Not that it made any difference if she saw Draco more...it wouldn't change anything. As those three months went by, Draco and Harry began to respect each other. They still wouldn't go as far as calling one another a friend, but the amount of insults they usually traded with each other decreased, and still no one noticed anything wrong. Nothing else had changed...except for the fact that Draco never hung around with the Slytherins anymore. This, people did notice. But he just shrugged it all off. It didn't matter what everyone else thought of him anymore. All that mattered was getting though his training so he could end things with Lucius once and for all and get his girl back.
He still loved Hermione, of course, and would always love her. And he had the feeling that she still loved him. He noticed her sidelong glares he got from her in their classes, and he even noticed when she brushed her had across his face while he pretended to sleep in the common room. It killed him inside that he could do nothing about his feelings. All he wanted to do was hold her again. What he would give just to feel her warmth enveloped in his arms once again.
"Malfoy, duck!" Harry yelled, causing a break in Draco's thoughts long enough to dodge Harry's spell. Harry walked over and offered a hand to help him up off the floor. Draco took it and stood eye-to-eye with Scarhead. The training they had been going through did good for them. Harry, once a small, skinny boy, was now tall and lean. Hair still unmanageable, of course, but it added a bit of a boyish look to his not-so-boyish features. All in all, he grew up quite nicely.
Draco had gone through many transformations as well, over the past seven years...physically as well as emotionally. His pointed chin had softened; he was beginningto look more like his mother. The nose that, in the past, had always been up in the air was not as pointy from having broken it once during a rough game of Quidditch against Gryffindor (surprise, surprise). Over all, Draco and Harry had both developed into two very handsome young men, indeed and had almost the whole of the female population at Hogwarts at their heels.
These two men now stood facing each other. They had come such a long way since that day on the train almost eight years ago. Former enemies now trained to fight side-by-side against the most evil Dark Wizard of all time and one of his most avid followers. Who would have guessed that the boy voted "Most Likely to Become a Death Eater" would be in the situation he was in? Not even the best Seers could have predicted that.
Harry and Draco finished off their training then went their separate ways to shower, change and go to bed. Draco left first, then Harry. They agreed that they would leave fat different times so they wouldn't attract any extra attention from the other students. Dumbledore still had a feeling that there was a leak somewhere and someone was feeding the other side information. No one...not even Harry and Draco's closest friends, could know about their training.
Draco trudged back to the Head dormitories. He and Hermione had silently made a schedule so that neither had to see the other one at all. Hermione would walk up extra early and sleep earlier, while Draco would arise late and come in late since he had training session and Quidditch practice. They still had their patrols, but seemed to manage without meeting in the halls. Draco thought all this seemed silly and it hurt him to know that they had to do it at all. But he knew that Dumbledore was right and he shouldn't try to have anything to do with Hermione
He sighed as he entered the empty common room, the fire slowly dying away. 'My life in a nutshell,' he thought, staring at the glowing embers that faded dimmer and dimmer as each second passed. He looked up at Hermione's door to find it closed. He could not explain why he felt lonelier and lonelier every time he saw that closed door. He supposed it was a metaphoric of the same thing he was going to her...shutting her out. He sighed again and went up to his room to gather his shower things.
He let the hot water run over his body and thought about the upcoming battle. It was to take place on the night of the Initiation Ceremony. Draco was supposed to be attending, as well as many of his other Slytherin housemates. He counted on his fingers how many days left until the ceremony...two weeks...May 24th. He was nervous. Fighting against his father meant that you were also fighting his whole slew of loyal cronies. Draco, thought, for the umpteenth time, about the risks involved. What was there to gain? 'Everything,' he answered automatically. 'Revenge, Peace...Hermione...'
Draco finished his shower and dried off, then got ready for bed. The next day, they had NEWTs: Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions...two classes he hardly needed to study for. It was a good thing, too, because he was too tired to study. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he fell asleep, dreaming about Hermione again.
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Two weeks passed quickly and before he knew it, Draco was getting ready for the Initiation Ceremony, wondering where the time had gone. It was midnight and the ceremony was to start at two in the morning. He was to meet Harry at the side of Hagrid's hut, then walk to the edge of the school grounds to Apparate to the meeting place...the Riddle graveyard.
Draco sported a midnight black cloak and all black clothes underneath. He located the Death Eater mask and hid it under his robes. He finally took up the Invisibility Cloak and draped it over his arm before walking out the door. As soon as he got into the dark and empty corridor, he put the cloak on, disappearing instantly. He got outside and was walking out towards Hagrid's when he felt a tug at the cloak, causing the hood to fall off. Draco looked around to see Crookshanks, Hermione's ginger-furred cat. He glared at the cat before bending down to grab the cloak out of its mouth.
"Mangy cat," he muttered. He walked away, never noticing when the mask fell out form under his robes, or Hermione, who was watching from her window.
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Hermione could not sleep. She had another dream (or nightmare, rather) about Draco dying. She sat on her windowsill and watched Crookshanks sneaking up on something. She assumed it was a fairy or a rodent or something. Imagine her surprise when Crookshanks pulled on Draco's Invisibility Cloak to reveal his blond head. Hermione sat open-mouthed, watching both the cat and the floating head. As Draco walked away, Hermione noticed a mask on the ground. She immediately grabbed a cloak and slippers and followed Draco in her pajamas. By the time she caught up to Draco, he was standing just beside Hagrid's hut, alone, and looking like he was waiting for someone. She hid herslef in some bushed where she could watch and hear at the same time.
"Malfoy," came the unmistakable whisper of Harry Potter. She furrowed her brow, wondering why on earth her best friend and ex-boyfriend, supposed enemies, would be doing having a rendezvous at this hour.
"About time, Potter. Where's Snape?" Draco asked in a business-like tone. Harry pulled his hood off to make two floating heads. Hermione shook off the eerie feeling the sight gave her.
"Snape said to just go on without him. He needed to take care of something before heading off to the ceremony," Harry answered. Hermione felt dread suddenly weigh heavy in her heart as she heard the last word. "Ceremony." Of course...the Death Eater Initiation Ceremony. 'No,' she thought.
"Very well. I supposed we should go then." But neither of them made any move to go anywhere. Harry looked as nervous as Draco felt.
"Uh...right. Well...let's go." Harry finally shifted, but Draco stopped him.
"Wait." Harry looked at him quizzically. Draco gulped as his throat suddenly went dry.
"If I don't make it...tell Hermione that I still love her and that I did this for her." Draco took a deep breath to try and calm himself and hopefully hold back tears. Harry put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder (even though Hermione couldn't see this due to the Invisibility Cloaks).
"No, Malfoy. YOU'RE going to tell her because you ARE going to make it. Now let's go before the start the stupid ceremony without you." Draco shuddered.
"I hope they do. I can't stand graveyards. The sooner they start, the sooner I can leave. Now, are you sure the Ministry had been notified?" Harry gave an exasperated sigh.
"For the last time, YES! Dumbledore assured me that a whole team of Aurors are waiting for the signal right now at the Riddle House as we speak."
"Ok. Now, remind me...what's the signal?" Harry rolled his eyes.
"They'll come in right before he burns the Mark into your arms. Now, let's GO! It's getting late." They both put on their hoods and headed to the gates of Hogwarts. Hermione came out of the bushes.
"If Harry and Draco took an Auror exam, they'd fail horribly during the Cryptic Language test," she said to herself before following them out the gates.
Stay tuned for more! Later days! REVIEW!
Chapter 21: Going to the Light Side
Draco sat in Dumbledore's office, somewhat awkwardly, next to Harry. Dumbledore himself was sitting at his desk, fingertips pressed together, processing everything Draco had told him in his head. He had been silent for quite a while. But when Draco was starting to doubt his Headmaster, he spoke.
"Well, Draco...I must admit, that is quite an impressive story," he said slowly and thoughtfully. "It reminds me of another old student of mine." Draco sat forward a little.
"What do you suggest we do, Headmaster?" he asked eagerly, but remembering to stay formal. Dumbledore, again, wore that look of deep thoughtfulness.
"Well, I have an idea. But I have to be sure that this is truly what you want to do. I need to know, Draco, are you willing to fight against you father?" Draco nodded.
"I've never been more sure of anything in my life, Professor Dumbledore, sir." Dumbledore smiled.
"I admire your spirit, Mr. Malfoy. I can see what Miss Granger saw in you," Dumbledore stated, eyes twinkling. Draco felt the heat rise to his cheeks. Even though it wasn't a secret anymore, he still felt uncomfortable when the conversation turned to his and Hermione's former relationship. Dumbledore continued as if he had not said anything that would cause embarrassment to some.
"Very well then. Draco, you will join Harry's private defense lessons. I believe you are already skilled in Occlumency, so we will not have to bother with that. You will meet in my office tonight at nine o' clock. You meet every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday at precisely nine o' clock in the evening here in my office. From here, your instructor will come collect you and lead you to wherever he chooses to conduct his lessons.
"Now, Harry, if you'll excuse us, I need to talk to Mr. Malfoy alone." Harry nodded and left the office with a short good-bye to both the Headmaster and Draco. Once Harry was gone, Dumbledore turned his attention once again to Draco.
"Well, Draco, I have to say that I'm very impressed by your choice to work against your father. But if you don't mind my asking, why the sudden change?" Draco looked at the Headmaster as if contemplating if he should give away such private information. 'Oh, what the hell,' he thought.
"The truth is, sir, I switched sides for Hermione Granger." He looked down at his hands. "I feel like this is the only way to prove myself to her..." Dumbledore nodded in understanding.
"I see. Well, I commend you for you bravery to stand up against your own father and prove your love. I'm sure you are aware of the risks involved in doing so." Draco nodded. "Very well. So you understand why I must ask you to keep everything we discussed here today under wraps. We don't know where the leaks are in this school anymore."
"Yes sir. I know."
"Also, Draco..." Here, Dumbledore looked a bit saddened. "I must ask you to stay away from Miss Granger for now. Keep an eye on her, of course, God knows, she needs someone to look out for her. But I must ask you to put all your ideas of pursuing her on hold...just for now." Draco nodded dejectedly.
"Yes, sir. I completely understand." He stood up, shook Dumbledore's hand and left the room. He walked back tot he Head dormitories, thinking about Hermione.
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March became April, and April became May. Draco and Harry, along with studying for their NEWTs, had their private Defense lessons with Kingsley Shacklebolt. Dumbledore had it all set up with the Ministry and told the Minister that Harry was especially gifted and needed extra practice to pursue a career as an Auror. Of course, Fudge agreed, since the libel issue with the Daily Prophet was his fault anyway. But Fudge had no idea that Harry was really training to defeat Voldemort.
Anyway, Harry and Draco trained for three months, three times a week. Hermione began to see both of them less and less. Not that it made any difference if she saw Draco more...it wouldn't change anything. As those three months went by, Draco and Harry began to respect each other. They still wouldn't go as far as calling one another a friend, but the amount of insults they usually traded with each other decreased, and still no one noticed anything wrong. Nothing else had changed...except for the fact that Draco never hung around with the Slytherins anymore. This, people did notice. But he just shrugged it all off. It didn't matter what everyone else thought of him anymore. All that mattered was getting though his training so he could end things with Lucius once and for all and get his girl back.
He still loved Hermione, of course, and would always love her. And he had the feeling that she still loved him. He noticed her sidelong glares he got from her in their classes, and he even noticed when she brushed her had across his face while he pretended to sleep in the common room. It killed him inside that he could do nothing about his feelings. All he wanted to do was hold her again. What he would give just to feel her warmth enveloped in his arms once again.
"Malfoy, duck!" Harry yelled, causing a break in Draco's thoughts long enough to dodge Harry's spell. Harry walked over and offered a hand to help him up off the floor. Draco took it and stood eye-to-eye with Scarhead. The training they had been going through did good for them. Harry, once a small, skinny boy, was now tall and lean. Hair still unmanageable, of course, but it added a bit of a boyish look to his not-so-boyish features. All in all, he grew up quite nicely.
Draco had gone through many transformations as well, over the past seven years...physically as well as emotionally. His pointed chin had softened; he was beginningto look more like his mother. The nose that, in the past, had always been up in the air was not as pointy from having broken it once during a rough game of Quidditch against Gryffindor (surprise, surprise). Over all, Draco and Harry had both developed into two very handsome young men, indeed and had almost the whole of the female population at Hogwarts at their heels.
These two men now stood facing each other. They had come such a long way since that day on the train almost eight years ago. Former enemies now trained to fight side-by-side against the most evil Dark Wizard of all time and one of his most avid followers. Who would have guessed that the boy voted "Most Likely to Become a Death Eater" would be in the situation he was in? Not even the best Seers could have predicted that.
Harry and Draco finished off their training then went their separate ways to shower, change and go to bed. Draco left first, then Harry. They agreed that they would leave fat different times so they wouldn't attract any extra attention from the other students. Dumbledore still had a feeling that there was a leak somewhere and someone was feeding the other side information. No one...not even Harry and Draco's closest friends, could know about their training.
Draco trudged back to the Head dormitories. He and Hermione had silently made a schedule so that neither had to see the other one at all. Hermione would walk up extra early and sleep earlier, while Draco would arise late and come in late since he had training session and Quidditch practice. They still had their patrols, but seemed to manage without meeting in the halls. Draco thought all this seemed silly and it hurt him to know that they had to do it at all. But he knew that Dumbledore was right and he shouldn't try to have anything to do with Hermione
He sighed as he entered the empty common room, the fire slowly dying away. 'My life in a nutshell,' he thought, staring at the glowing embers that faded dimmer and dimmer as each second passed. He looked up at Hermione's door to find it closed. He could not explain why he felt lonelier and lonelier every time he saw that closed door. He supposed it was a metaphoric of the same thing he was going to her...shutting her out. He sighed again and went up to his room to gather his shower things.
He let the hot water run over his body and thought about the upcoming battle. It was to take place on the night of the Initiation Ceremony. Draco was supposed to be attending, as well as many of his other Slytherin housemates. He counted on his fingers how many days left until the ceremony...two weeks...May 24th. He was nervous. Fighting against his father meant that you were also fighting his whole slew of loyal cronies. Draco, thought, for the umpteenth time, about the risks involved. What was there to gain? 'Everything,' he answered automatically. 'Revenge, Peace...Hermione...'
Draco finished his shower and dried off, then got ready for bed. The next day, they had NEWTs: Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions...two classes he hardly needed to study for. It was a good thing, too, because he was too tired to study. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he fell asleep, dreaming about Hermione again.
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Two weeks passed quickly and before he knew it, Draco was getting ready for the Initiation Ceremony, wondering where the time had gone. It was midnight and the ceremony was to start at two in the morning. He was to meet Harry at the side of Hagrid's hut, then walk to the edge of the school grounds to Apparate to the meeting place...the Riddle graveyard.
Draco sported a midnight black cloak and all black clothes underneath. He located the Death Eater mask and hid it under his robes. He finally took up the Invisibility Cloak and draped it over his arm before walking out the door. As soon as he got into the dark and empty corridor, he put the cloak on, disappearing instantly. He got outside and was walking out towards Hagrid's when he felt a tug at the cloak, causing the hood to fall off. Draco looked around to see Crookshanks, Hermione's ginger-furred cat. He glared at the cat before bending down to grab the cloak out of its mouth.
"Mangy cat," he muttered. He walked away, never noticing when the mask fell out form under his robes, or Hermione, who was watching from her window.
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Hermione could not sleep. She had another dream (or nightmare, rather) about Draco dying. She sat on her windowsill and watched Crookshanks sneaking up on something. She assumed it was a fairy or a rodent or something. Imagine her surprise when Crookshanks pulled on Draco's Invisibility Cloak to reveal his blond head. Hermione sat open-mouthed, watching both the cat and the floating head. As Draco walked away, Hermione noticed a mask on the ground. She immediately grabbed a cloak and slippers and followed Draco in her pajamas. By the time she caught up to Draco, he was standing just beside Hagrid's hut, alone, and looking like he was waiting for someone. She hid herslef in some bushed where she could watch and hear at the same time.
"Malfoy," came the unmistakable whisper of Harry Potter. She furrowed her brow, wondering why on earth her best friend and ex-boyfriend, supposed enemies, would be doing having a rendezvous at this hour.
"About time, Potter. Where's Snape?" Draco asked in a business-like tone. Harry pulled his hood off to make two floating heads. Hermione shook off the eerie feeling the sight gave her.
"Snape said to just go on without him. He needed to take care of something before heading off to the ceremony," Harry answered. Hermione felt dread suddenly weigh heavy in her heart as she heard the last word. "Ceremony." Of course...the Death Eater Initiation Ceremony. 'No,' she thought.
"Very well. I supposed we should go then." But neither of them made any move to go anywhere. Harry looked as nervous as Draco felt.
"Uh...right. Well...let's go." Harry finally shifted, but Draco stopped him.
"Wait." Harry looked at him quizzically. Draco gulped as his throat suddenly went dry.
"If I don't make it...tell Hermione that I still love her and that I did this for her." Draco took a deep breath to try and calm himself and hopefully hold back tears. Harry put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder (even though Hermione couldn't see this due to the Invisibility Cloaks).
"No, Malfoy. YOU'RE going to tell her because you ARE going to make it. Now let's go before the start the stupid ceremony without you." Draco shuddered.
"I hope they do. I can't stand graveyards. The sooner they start, the sooner I can leave. Now, are you sure the Ministry had been notified?" Harry gave an exasperated sigh.
"For the last time, YES! Dumbledore assured me that a whole team of Aurors are waiting for the signal right now at the Riddle House as we speak."
"Ok. Now, remind me...what's the signal?" Harry rolled his eyes.
"They'll come in right before he burns the Mark into your arms. Now, let's GO! It's getting late." They both put on their hoods and headed to the gates of Hogwarts. Hermione came out of the bushes.
"If Harry and Draco took an Auror exam, they'd fail horribly during the Cryptic Language test," she said to herself before following them out the gates.
Stay tuned for more! Later days! REVIEW!