Breaking Storm
Disclaimer: Don't own characters, just the plot.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
To Joanne and CB, this is for you.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Chapter Eight: Guardian
Hermione stepped into the Library, and was surprised to see that the light was already on. She walked in, books in hand, eyes peering through the shelves, trying to see who was there.
"Malfoy?" she said aloud, trying to search through the shelves. "Is that you? Malfoy?" She passed the middle shelves, but there was no one to be seen. She felt slight fear build up in her. Who could be in here?
"Mal-" She halted her words as she turned around, and was met with the sight of their Headmaster, looking at her, smiling through his glasses. She inhaled her breath sharply, from surprise.
"Professor Dumbledore," she said, "you surprised me."
"Ah, Ms.Granger," he said, still smiling, "As was I to see you here. I didn't know anyone else came in here besides myself and Mr. Malfoy." She shifted her books in her hand.
"He um...he showed this place to me," she said quietly.
"Oh," Dumbledore said, his blue eyes twinkling.
"Was he in here?" she asked, uncomfortable from the look in his eyes.
"I'm afraid no one was in here when I entered." Hermione cast her eyes down, slightly disappointed.
"Oh," she said faintly.
"Did you have to finish some sort of business or matter with him?" he asked, observing the young girl.
"No, I was just.... No," she said, flustered. Dumbledore nodded, as he started walking past her, gazing at the place, smiling. She watched him.
"This place is extraordinary, isn't it? It's been here ever since Hogwarts was made, and it still looks quite magnificent."
"Yes it is," she said, "it really is stunning."
There was silence, as he studied the place.
"When you look at this, observe the details and know what hard work went into it.... You feel as if this is the side Salazar never showed. As if he put all of it into this place...and look how beautiful it is." Hermione froze, as his words chimed in her head.
"Salazar? Salazar Slytherin?" she asked, shocked.
"Oh yes," Dumbledore said, turning back to her. His blue eyes were twinkling only dimly. Hermione furrowed her eyebrows, confused.
"But didn't he-"
"Ah, Ms.Granger," he said, cutting her off. "I hear what people say about him, the rumors and gossip. I cannot deny any of them, but you should not judge him by what people think are scandalous enough to spread around. He was a good person," he paused. "Before."
"But Professor," she said, curious. "Why did he make this library?"
"All those rumors, they only remark on what evil he did and had inside of him. But even as evil as he would become, there is one emotion that even the most malevolent person cannot ward off," he smiled at her. "Love." Hermione looked at him, confused.
"To clarify, Ms. Granger," he said, "is that he made this library for none other than Ms. Rowena Ravenclaw." Hermione gaped at him.
"Rowena Ravenclaw? He loved her?"
"Yes, Ms.Granger. And from the looks of this library...very much. It must've taken ages to build. And these books are the only ones of their kind in the whole Wizarding World."
"How did...how did he know? About what she wanted...surely he made this because he knew precisely what she wanted?"
"Ah yes, well everyone knows that Rowena's intelligence and love for books is very well-known and legendary. Salazar knew her love for ancient and valuable books." Hermione stared at him in silence, before looking down at her feet. There was silence, as she thought it over.
"Did she love him back?" she asked quietly.
"There are...rumors that she did so, or that she did not. No one knows for sure," he said. "I have a strange feeling that she did, somewhere along the way."
"He loved her...a lot, didn't he?"
"Yes. Almost that it seemed inhumanly impossible, is what people say. He always treated her different from the other two."
"But when he became evil...he didn't think of her, did he? He didn't think that she could be one of the victims that could be killed? He didn't think of what could happen to her?" Dumbledore stared at her silently, before he spoke.
"I don't know, Ms. Granger. I don't believe anyone does, except Salazar himself." He looked at her, as she kept her gaze down, thinking deeply of something. He knew that somehow, during their conversation, something made her think of Draco Malfoy. Nothing else could cast that dark, cloudy look in someone's eyes. He just watched her, as neither of them uttered a word.
He had seen enough to already know what was happening. And it was only in the Great Hall, and her reaction that he had seen. He had seen the way Draco would look at her throughout the whole meal, and it was something of a much deeper matter than staring. He could tell somehow, that whatever it was, it was dominating through his once-cold heart, and his father's engraved words. He knew that someway, when Draco had been spending time with her, that each one of those things started to fade away...even though everyone was almost positive that it was marked there for eternity. She had a powerful effect on him, something that made him realize and forget what was never to be remembered in the first place. He was already certain of what was happening. He wasn't sure of what the young girl felt for the boy at first, if she even noticed, but now he knew, just watching her.
She was thinking of him. Her reaction and slight disappointment that he was not here gave her away. Their conversation about Ravenclaw and Slytherin triggered something in her; how the most evil person could not avoid love. Somehow that tied to Draco, or her feelings for him. He only smiled, his blue eyes twinkling. He didn't believe he had seen two people more perfect for each other. He was sure, and he knew, that after his father died, Draco was going to need someone. Someone who understood, someone who was different. And he had changed, he knew, right form the second he received the news. The old Draco Malfoy was gone, but everything in him was still in ruins. And Hermione Granger was just the person he needed. Just as she needed him.
It was true they both suffered vast and deep losses. They were both greatly affected, and he wasn't sure there was anything to help them get back on their feet again. They needed someone, someone besides their greatest friends. Sometimes, at such circumstances that they both had experienced, friends could not help as much as any other situation.
Little did they know that they already found that person. And that they needed each other as much as the other did. It was quite extraordinary in his eyes; two people, of the most diverse... They shared a loss, a bond. A strong bond, he knew, that was stronger and deeper than anything that he had ever seen. The two that were against each other in any way possible, were now the two that were going to need each other. For the boy who never knew love, or how to love...came the girl filled with it.
For the girl who needed someone, someone who was different, someone who would fill that void in her heart...came the boy who would care about her more than anyone, and fill her whole heart, the painful void disappearing.
It was amazing, and quite stunning, thinking it over. Two of the top students of Hogwarts... It was really a perfect match. But he already knew too much that both of them had not even seen or realized it yet. He just smiled at her, knowing that they would. If not later, then soon.
"Ms. Granger, Mr. Malfoy.... It was quite a surprise to me when you said that he had shown this place to you," he said, as she looked up. He continued on. "But he has changed greatly, and well, even the blind can see that he wasn't the same person as before." He smiled, as she nodded, silent.
"Change," he said, starting towards the door. "It can affect anyone. Old or young. It is inevitable. Some changes are for the better, some are for the worst. Everyone has their own view from it, and there is no definite answer. But, for Mr. Malfoy's case...it was for the better." He turned around to face her, his blue eyes serious but still sparkling faintly.
"And, I think that the both of us can say that, it was better for more reasons than one." He smiled widely. "I shall be going, Ms. Granger," he said, motioning towards the bookshelf they used to exit. "It was quite a nice talk we had, and I hope you enjoy this library." He turned and started walking towards the bookshelf. Hermione stared after him, but as he muttered a spell, and the bookcase slid open, he hesitated before he went in.
"Take care of Mr. Malfoy. He cares a great deal about you, I see that. Just look up from your table in the Great Hall, and the proof is all there. He watches over you." She stared after him, shocked and surprised from his words, but before she could ask what he meant, he had disappeared and the bookshelf was now closed. She stared at it, his words echoing in her ears, trying to understand what he meant. Malfoy cared about her? He watched over her?
She just didn't understand why he had said that...or how he could know. She did look up from her table sometimes, and her gaze would fall immediately to the Slytherin table. She was surprised that their eyes would always interlock, but it occurred to her that maybe he had been watching her. But why could he possibly be watching her?
That was the question that puzzled her at best. Maybe he was watching her because he thought that she would tell Harry and Ron about the library.
But why did Dumbledore tell her that Malfoy cared for her? Her gaze fell from the bookcase, as she walked blindly, still in a daze, towards the table and sat down. She was still swimming in her sea of thoughts and questions. The tide was high and coming down hard, embracing her, trapping her in. There was no escape. There was nothing she could do. But even with the tide, her suffocating thoughts...his silver, piercing gaze was still visible. It still penetrated through everything and anything.
How could he care for her? She was...she was everything he hated. Everything he was taught to hate. She was of dirty blood. She was a mudblood. And though he had told her that blood had nothing to do with it, she couldn't quite believe it. She was still in shock over the past few days, weeks. He had changed. They all knew that. She did, and she knew it from her heart. But when it came to the possibility that he could actually care for her...
No. It just...it just wasn't possible. It didn't add up. He couldn't care for her. He was just being nice. He had just turned over a new leaf, and decided that in order to prove that he had really changed, he would have to be nice to her. A mudblood.
And although she knew that it had many reasons as to why it could be true, that it was just a way to prove himself, she could feel her heart sinking slowly, painfully, as if caving into the hollow pit of her stomach. It hurt to think about it. It hurt to think that he was just using her, even if it only took little offense.
It hurt to think that he couldn't care about her. Because she was certain, from what she was feeling, that she cared for him. Very, very much. So much that she couldn't bear it, so much that she wished strongly that it would just go away at times. It was hard and painful. But right now, it felt as if everything seemed to be rising, but stinging and aching at the same time. It felt like she was splitting apart into two pieces; doubt, and optimistic hope. But there was only weak optimism. And it did nothing to lighten the weight or ease the pain. She was hurting, and she didn't want to be. Because she knew, that deep down, she was hurting for the wrong reasons. She was hurting for the wrong person.
Because the boy she cared so deeply for, could never care for her as much as she cared for him. And that struck something inside that sent a terrible sting and ache that surpassed and went further than anything she had ever felt. It made her bones tremble, her heart crack, her lungs droop from the immense pain of breathing, but not breathing enough. She was suffocating.
She had never wanted any of this. Any of it at all. But somehow, someway, it was all laid out in front of her. All she needed to do was see what was right before her, and realize this was her path. And maybe, in reality, two paths were meant to cross.
And it was all left on a choice. One single choice. To believe it, or to refuse it and let everything fade away into thin air. It was her choice.
She just hadn't seen it yet.
Disclaimer: Don't own characters, just the plot.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
To Joanne and CB, this is for you.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Chapter Eight: Guardian
Hermione stepped into the Library, and was surprised to see that the light was already on. She walked in, books in hand, eyes peering through the shelves, trying to see who was there.
"Malfoy?" she said aloud, trying to search through the shelves. "Is that you? Malfoy?" She passed the middle shelves, but there was no one to be seen. She felt slight fear build up in her. Who could be in here?
"Mal-" She halted her words as she turned around, and was met with the sight of their Headmaster, looking at her, smiling through his glasses. She inhaled her breath sharply, from surprise.
"Professor Dumbledore," she said, "you surprised me."
"Ah, Ms.Granger," he said, still smiling, "As was I to see you here. I didn't know anyone else came in here besides myself and Mr. Malfoy." She shifted her books in her hand.
"He um...he showed this place to me," she said quietly.
"Oh," Dumbledore said, his blue eyes twinkling.
"Was he in here?" she asked, uncomfortable from the look in his eyes.
"I'm afraid no one was in here when I entered." Hermione cast her eyes down, slightly disappointed.
"Oh," she said faintly.
"Did you have to finish some sort of business or matter with him?" he asked, observing the young girl.
"No, I was just.... No," she said, flustered. Dumbledore nodded, as he started walking past her, gazing at the place, smiling. She watched him.
"This place is extraordinary, isn't it? It's been here ever since Hogwarts was made, and it still looks quite magnificent."
"Yes it is," she said, "it really is stunning."
There was silence, as he studied the place.
"When you look at this, observe the details and know what hard work went into it.... You feel as if this is the side Salazar never showed. As if he put all of it into this place...and look how beautiful it is." Hermione froze, as his words chimed in her head.
"Salazar? Salazar Slytherin?" she asked, shocked.
"Oh yes," Dumbledore said, turning back to her. His blue eyes were twinkling only dimly. Hermione furrowed her eyebrows, confused.
"But didn't he-"
"Ah, Ms.Granger," he said, cutting her off. "I hear what people say about him, the rumors and gossip. I cannot deny any of them, but you should not judge him by what people think are scandalous enough to spread around. He was a good person," he paused. "Before."
"But Professor," she said, curious. "Why did he make this library?"
"All those rumors, they only remark on what evil he did and had inside of him. But even as evil as he would become, there is one emotion that even the most malevolent person cannot ward off," he smiled at her. "Love." Hermione looked at him, confused.
"To clarify, Ms. Granger," he said, "is that he made this library for none other than Ms. Rowena Ravenclaw." Hermione gaped at him.
"Rowena Ravenclaw? He loved her?"
"Yes, Ms.Granger. And from the looks of this library...very much. It must've taken ages to build. And these books are the only ones of their kind in the whole Wizarding World."
"How did...how did he know? About what she wanted...surely he made this because he knew precisely what she wanted?"
"Ah yes, well everyone knows that Rowena's intelligence and love for books is very well-known and legendary. Salazar knew her love for ancient and valuable books." Hermione stared at him in silence, before looking down at her feet. There was silence, as she thought it over.
"Did she love him back?" she asked quietly.
"There are...rumors that she did so, or that she did not. No one knows for sure," he said. "I have a strange feeling that she did, somewhere along the way."
"He loved her...a lot, didn't he?"
"Yes. Almost that it seemed inhumanly impossible, is what people say. He always treated her different from the other two."
"But when he became evil...he didn't think of her, did he? He didn't think that she could be one of the victims that could be killed? He didn't think of what could happen to her?" Dumbledore stared at her silently, before he spoke.
"I don't know, Ms. Granger. I don't believe anyone does, except Salazar himself." He looked at her, as she kept her gaze down, thinking deeply of something. He knew that somehow, during their conversation, something made her think of Draco Malfoy. Nothing else could cast that dark, cloudy look in someone's eyes. He just watched her, as neither of them uttered a word.
He had seen enough to already know what was happening. And it was only in the Great Hall, and her reaction that he had seen. He had seen the way Draco would look at her throughout the whole meal, and it was something of a much deeper matter than staring. He could tell somehow, that whatever it was, it was dominating through his once-cold heart, and his father's engraved words. He knew that someway, when Draco had been spending time with her, that each one of those things started to fade away...even though everyone was almost positive that it was marked there for eternity. She had a powerful effect on him, something that made him realize and forget what was never to be remembered in the first place. He was already certain of what was happening. He wasn't sure of what the young girl felt for the boy at first, if she even noticed, but now he knew, just watching her.
She was thinking of him. Her reaction and slight disappointment that he was not here gave her away. Their conversation about Ravenclaw and Slytherin triggered something in her; how the most evil person could not avoid love. Somehow that tied to Draco, or her feelings for him. He only smiled, his blue eyes twinkling. He didn't believe he had seen two people more perfect for each other. He was sure, and he knew, that after his father died, Draco was going to need someone. Someone who understood, someone who was different. And he had changed, he knew, right form the second he received the news. The old Draco Malfoy was gone, but everything in him was still in ruins. And Hermione Granger was just the person he needed. Just as she needed him.
It was true they both suffered vast and deep losses. They were both greatly affected, and he wasn't sure there was anything to help them get back on their feet again. They needed someone, someone besides their greatest friends. Sometimes, at such circumstances that they both had experienced, friends could not help as much as any other situation.
Little did they know that they already found that person. And that they needed each other as much as the other did. It was quite extraordinary in his eyes; two people, of the most diverse... They shared a loss, a bond. A strong bond, he knew, that was stronger and deeper than anything that he had ever seen. The two that were against each other in any way possible, were now the two that were going to need each other. For the boy who never knew love, or how to love...came the girl filled with it.
For the girl who needed someone, someone who was different, someone who would fill that void in her heart...came the boy who would care about her more than anyone, and fill her whole heart, the painful void disappearing.
It was amazing, and quite stunning, thinking it over. Two of the top students of Hogwarts... It was really a perfect match. But he already knew too much that both of them had not even seen or realized it yet. He just smiled at her, knowing that they would. If not later, then soon.
"Ms. Granger, Mr. Malfoy.... It was quite a surprise to me when you said that he had shown this place to you," he said, as she looked up. He continued on. "But he has changed greatly, and well, even the blind can see that he wasn't the same person as before." He smiled, as she nodded, silent.
"Change," he said, starting towards the door. "It can affect anyone. Old or young. It is inevitable. Some changes are for the better, some are for the worst. Everyone has their own view from it, and there is no definite answer. But, for Mr. Malfoy's case...it was for the better." He turned around to face her, his blue eyes serious but still sparkling faintly.
"And, I think that the both of us can say that, it was better for more reasons than one." He smiled widely. "I shall be going, Ms. Granger," he said, motioning towards the bookshelf they used to exit. "It was quite a nice talk we had, and I hope you enjoy this library." He turned and started walking towards the bookshelf. Hermione stared after him, but as he muttered a spell, and the bookcase slid open, he hesitated before he went in.
"Take care of Mr. Malfoy. He cares a great deal about you, I see that. Just look up from your table in the Great Hall, and the proof is all there. He watches over you." She stared after him, shocked and surprised from his words, but before she could ask what he meant, he had disappeared and the bookshelf was now closed. She stared at it, his words echoing in her ears, trying to understand what he meant. Malfoy cared about her? He watched over her?
She just didn't understand why he had said that...or how he could know. She did look up from her table sometimes, and her gaze would fall immediately to the Slytherin table. She was surprised that their eyes would always interlock, but it occurred to her that maybe he had been watching her. But why could he possibly be watching her?
That was the question that puzzled her at best. Maybe he was watching her because he thought that she would tell Harry and Ron about the library.
But why did Dumbledore tell her that Malfoy cared for her? Her gaze fell from the bookcase, as she walked blindly, still in a daze, towards the table and sat down. She was still swimming in her sea of thoughts and questions. The tide was high and coming down hard, embracing her, trapping her in. There was no escape. There was nothing she could do. But even with the tide, her suffocating thoughts...his silver, piercing gaze was still visible. It still penetrated through everything and anything.
How could he care for her? She was...she was everything he hated. Everything he was taught to hate. She was of dirty blood. She was a mudblood. And though he had told her that blood had nothing to do with it, she couldn't quite believe it. She was still in shock over the past few days, weeks. He had changed. They all knew that. She did, and she knew it from her heart. But when it came to the possibility that he could actually care for her...
No. It just...it just wasn't possible. It didn't add up. He couldn't care for her. He was just being nice. He had just turned over a new leaf, and decided that in order to prove that he had really changed, he would have to be nice to her. A mudblood.
And although she knew that it had many reasons as to why it could be true, that it was just a way to prove himself, she could feel her heart sinking slowly, painfully, as if caving into the hollow pit of her stomach. It hurt to think about it. It hurt to think that he was just using her, even if it only took little offense.
It hurt to think that he couldn't care about her. Because she was certain, from what she was feeling, that she cared for him. Very, very much. So much that she couldn't bear it, so much that she wished strongly that it would just go away at times. It was hard and painful. But right now, it felt as if everything seemed to be rising, but stinging and aching at the same time. It felt like she was splitting apart into two pieces; doubt, and optimistic hope. But there was only weak optimism. And it did nothing to lighten the weight or ease the pain. She was hurting, and she didn't want to be. Because she knew, that deep down, she was hurting for the wrong reasons. She was hurting for the wrong person.
Because the boy she cared so deeply for, could never care for her as much as she cared for him. And that struck something inside that sent a terrible sting and ache that surpassed and went further than anything she had ever felt. It made her bones tremble, her heart crack, her lungs droop from the immense pain of breathing, but not breathing enough. She was suffocating.
She had never wanted any of this. Any of it at all. But somehow, someway, it was all laid out in front of her. All she needed to do was see what was right before her, and realize this was her path. And maybe, in reality, two paths were meant to cross.
And it was all left on a choice. One single choice. To believe it, or to refuse it and let everything fade away into thin air. It was her choice.
She just hadn't seen it yet.