Chapter 17
Hermione was in her dormitory brushing her hair in front of a wall mirror. Her heart was racing very quickly. She was nervous.
It had seemed an easy thing to do at the time that they decided to go to Hogsmeade as a couple. But now that the day had approached, Hermione was becoming increasingly more aware of what she was about to do.
It wasn't so much a fear of resentment from the school community. She was already, although on the whole admired, slightly resented by them for being so smart and pretty. It was more that she realized that by taking this step with Draco, it meant how serious she was about him.
They were putting their lives in danger, or so it seemed by the way Draco had previously talked about his father. What if it didn't work out between them? At the rate it was going, it didn't seem like that would be the case, but what if something happened? How would Hermione face the resentment without Draco by her side? How would she face the threat of death?
She took a deep breath and steadied her hand, which was shaking slightly. 'Draco and I are meant to be together,' she thought to herself, 'I can feel it.'
Just then, Parvati Patil entered the dormitory and smiled at Hermione.
"Oh, does someone have a date for Hogsmeade? Only, it seems as if you're taking more time with your appearance than usual..." she giggled and winked as Hermione blushed.
"Maybe I'll see you there. I'm going with a Ravenclaw boy... Oh dear, what was his name again?" she shrugged, grabbed her purse, and said goodbye to Hermione before leaving as quickly as she had come.
Hermione took another deep breath. She could only imagine the look on Parvati's face when she saw who Hermione's date was.
She put down the brush, and checked the mirror one last time. Today would have to be perfect.
She grabbed her purse and headed down to the common room. Immediately she was greeted by several glances from boys scattered around the room. She caught sight of Ron and Harry sitting over by the fire, playing chess. Harry saw her and beckoned her over.
"Going to, er, Hogsmeade today?" he asked in a would-be casual voice.
"Yes, in fact, I am," she replied just as mock-casually.
"With Malfoy?" inserted Ron.
Hermione paused for only a second before replying, "Yes, with Draco."
The boys looked up at her curiously for a moment, Ron shooting her a semi- dirty look, before Harry said, "Have fun" and attempted a smile.
Hermione hugged them both. Before they could recover from shock she said, "I know you're both trying, and I just want to thank you," and left through the portrait hole.
She made her way down to the entrance hall. She and Draco were planning on getting breakfast at Hogsmeade, so she passed the Great Hall without a glance. Draco was waiting for her on the front steps.
When she reached him, he greeted her with his smile that melted her heart. He opened his arms to her, and she gladly fell into them and his warm kiss.
Several shocked faces walked by, but they were hardly visible to Hermione. People she hardly knew, people she hardly cared about. As long as she was with Draco, things seemed so much easier.
They made their way to Hogsmeade and entered a small cafe, which Hermione had never been to before. They sat at a table and ordered breakfast. They quickly ate and afterwards sat talking for a bit before returning to the snowy outdoors.
Hermione wasn't at all surprised to see heads turning in their direction as they walked hand in hand down the street. But quite frankly, she no longer cared. She no longer worried about "what if" she and Draco broke up, because she knew that it would not happen.
She rested her head on his warm shoulder, and he put his arm around her and pulled her closer.
Hermione saw Parvati Patil approaching. "Hermione! You're with Draco?! Why didn't you tell me?" she shrieked as soon as she was in close enough proximity.
Hermione merely smiled and winked at her before they moved on.
"Oh no," Hermione heard Draco utter from next to her. She could feel his entire body tense.
"What is it, Draco?" she asked, looking up into his face. His eyes were directed straight ahead of him, not blinking or moving.
"It's my father...what the hell is he doing here?"
Hermione followed his gaze, and sure enough there was Lucius Malfoy talking to a short middle-aged wizard.
"What should we do, Draco?" she asked, her heart racing again.
Draco looked down into her brown eyes, quickly kissed her, and then began walking steadily ahead. "He was going to find out sometime, Hermione, he was going to find out sometime..."
They had reached him. They had reached Lucius Malfoy, who was now standing alone gazing intently at his son.
"Draco? Granger? What on earth are you two doing here together?" he demanded.
"Father..." Draco took a deep breath. Hermione had no idea what he was going to say, but she knew how much courage this must be taking.
"Father, as you know this is Hermione Granger. She is my girlfriend. I would do anything for her, and I don't care what your opinion is. We have a relationship and I just thought you should... know..."
Lucius Malfoy shifted his gaze from his son to Hermione. "Hermione Granger. A muggle?" He looked back at his son.
Draco let out a heavy breath, "No, father, she is a witch."
Lucius was looking at his son with a sort of contempt. "But muggle- born...Wait until your mother hears about this..."
And at that moment, Narcissa Malfoy, whom Hermione recognized from the Top Box at the Quidditch World Cup, walked up behind her husband and said, "About what, dear?"
Lucius pointed at Hermione and replied, "Well, your son has got himself a lovely girlfriend. Only one problem. She's a filthy mudblood."
Hermione knew that shouldn't have hurt as much as it did.
Draco made an angry noise and began in quite a loud voice, "Father, I will not have you talking about Hermione like that. I've already told you I don't care what your opinion is. I still love her."
Although Lucius's scowl grew more vicious, Hermione was more than surprised to see Narcissa's mouth turn up into a slight smile.
"How wonderful dear!" she moved up to hug Draco. "I'm all for it. You've needed a steady girlfriend..."
Lucius snorted behind her.
Narcissa rounded on him and said very sternly, "Lucius Malfoy, this is your son. Your son has his own life, which has nothing to do with you and your little games. Leave them alone or I'll..."
Hermione and Draco never found out what she would do. Draco whispered gently in her ear, "Let's go, my mum will handle it," and they glided away.
Hermione was stunned. "Did that go well? I couldn't really tell..." she asked, once again very nervous.
Draco smiled at her, "It went better than I thought it would considering my father's a crazy lunatic. My mother, although very much like him in beliefs, cares more about my happiness than anything else." He gave a slight shrug.
Hermione felt a little better. Everyone knew now. The secret was out. Harry and Ron knew. Lucius Malfoy knew. Parvati knew. There would be no more hiding. She felt a smile begin to creep to her face.
"Draco, I love you," she said, standing on her toes to kiss him.
He broke the kiss and replied in that gentle tone, which she loved so much, "I love you too, Hermione."
THE END
A/N: Oh... that's the end. Wow, that felt weird. I've never actually completed such a long fanfiction before (though I guess it's really not all that long). Actually, I'm quite proud . If you've gotten this far, I'd like to thank you VERY much. Hugs you all. Ack, it's over! I can only imagine how JK Rowling will feel to complete her seven book series.
Anyway, I hope the ending wasn't too fast, or cheesy, or anything. Like I said, I've never really finished such a long story before (I don't think...) so I'm not well practiced. Feedback is welcome!
Finally, I would like to thank my reviewers... ALL of you. Heehee, you guys are the ones who kept me writing.
Thanks especially to you guys who were with the story from the beginning, or at least for quite awhile.
Thanks to those of you who put us (meaning myself and "Meru".. if you haven't seen my profile, this is a shared account) on your favourites or author alerts list. Hehe.
Again, one final THANK YOU!!!
Keep an eye out for a new Harry Potter story that I'm planning to write.
Hermione was in her dormitory brushing her hair in front of a wall mirror. Her heart was racing very quickly. She was nervous.
It had seemed an easy thing to do at the time that they decided to go to Hogsmeade as a couple. But now that the day had approached, Hermione was becoming increasingly more aware of what she was about to do.
It wasn't so much a fear of resentment from the school community. She was already, although on the whole admired, slightly resented by them for being so smart and pretty. It was more that she realized that by taking this step with Draco, it meant how serious she was about him.
They were putting their lives in danger, or so it seemed by the way Draco had previously talked about his father. What if it didn't work out between them? At the rate it was going, it didn't seem like that would be the case, but what if something happened? How would Hermione face the resentment without Draco by her side? How would she face the threat of death?
She took a deep breath and steadied her hand, which was shaking slightly. 'Draco and I are meant to be together,' she thought to herself, 'I can feel it.'
Just then, Parvati Patil entered the dormitory and smiled at Hermione.
"Oh, does someone have a date for Hogsmeade? Only, it seems as if you're taking more time with your appearance than usual..." she giggled and winked as Hermione blushed.
"Maybe I'll see you there. I'm going with a Ravenclaw boy... Oh dear, what was his name again?" she shrugged, grabbed her purse, and said goodbye to Hermione before leaving as quickly as she had come.
Hermione took another deep breath. She could only imagine the look on Parvati's face when she saw who Hermione's date was.
She put down the brush, and checked the mirror one last time. Today would have to be perfect.
She grabbed her purse and headed down to the common room. Immediately she was greeted by several glances from boys scattered around the room. She caught sight of Ron and Harry sitting over by the fire, playing chess. Harry saw her and beckoned her over.
"Going to, er, Hogsmeade today?" he asked in a would-be casual voice.
"Yes, in fact, I am," she replied just as mock-casually.
"With Malfoy?" inserted Ron.
Hermione paused for only a second before replying, "Yes, with Draco."
The boys looked up at her curiously for a moment, Ron shooting her a semi- dirty look, before Harry said, "Have fun" and attempted a smile.
Hermione hugged them both. Before they could recover from shock she said, "I know you're both trying, and I just want to thank you," and left through the portrait hole.
She made her way down to the entrance hall. She and Draco were planning on getting breakfast at Hogsmeade, so she passed the Great Hall without a glance. Draco was waiting for her on the front steps.
When she reached him, he greeted her with his smile that melted her heart. He opened his arms to her, and she gladly fell into them and his warm kiss.
Several shocked faces walked by, but they were hardly visible to Hermione. People she hardly knew, people she hardly cared about. As long as she was with Draco, things seemed so much easier.
They made their way to Hogsmeade and entered a small cafe, which Hermione had never been to before. They sat at a table and ordered breakfast. They quickly ate and afterwards sat talking for a bit before returning to the snowy outdoors.
Hermione wasn't at all surprised to see heads turning in their direction as they walked hand in hand down the street. But quite frankly, she no longer cared. She no longer worried about "what if" she and Draco broke up, because she knew that it would not happen.
She rested her head on his warm shoulder, and he put his arm around her and pulled her closer.
Hermione saw Parvati Patil approaching. "Hermione! You're with Draco?! Why didn't you tell me?" she shrieked as soon as she was in close enough proximity.
Hermione merely smiled and winked at her before they moved on.
"Oh no," Hermione heard Draco utter from next to her. She could feel his entire body tense.
"What is it, Draco?" she asked, looking up into his face. His eyes were directed straight ahead of him, not blinking or moving.
"It's my father...what the hell is he doing here?"
Hermione followed his gaze, and sure enough there was Lucius Malfoy talking to a short middle-aged wizard.
"What should we do, Draco?" she asked, her heart racing again.
Draco looked down into her brown eyes, quickly kissed her, and then began walking steadily ahead. "He was going to find out sometime, Hermione, he was going to find out sometime..."
They had reached him. They had reached Lucius Malfoy, who was now standing alone gazing intently at his son.
"Draco? Granger? What on earth are you two doing here together?" he demanded.
"Father..." Draco took a deep breath. Hermione had no idea what he was going to say, but she knew how much courage this must be taking.
"Father, as you know this is Hermione Granger. She is my girlfriend. I would do anything for her, and I don't care what your opinion is. We have a relationship and I just thought you should... know..."
Lucius Malfoy shifted his gaze from his son to Hermione. "Hermione Granger. A muggle?" He looked back at his son.
Draco let out a heavy breath, "No, father, she is a witch."
Lucius was looking at his son with a sort of contempt. "But muggle- born...Wait until your mother hears about this..."
And at that moment, Narcissa Malfoy, whom Hermione recognized from the Top Box at the Quidditch World Cup, walked up behind her husband and said, "About what, dear?"
Lucius pointed at Hermione and replied, "Well, your son has got himself a lovely girlfriend. Only one problem. She's a filthy mudblood."
Hermione knew that shouldn't have hurt as much as it did.
Draco made an angry noise and began in quite a loud voice, "Father, I will not have you talking about Hermione like that. I've already told you I don't care what your opinion is. I still love her."
Although Lucius's scowl grew more vicious, Hermione was more than surprised to see Narcissa's mouth turn up into a slight smile.
"How wonderful dear!" she moved up to hug Draco. "I'm all for it. You've needed a steady girlfriend..."
Lucius snorted behind her.
Narcissa rounded on him and said very sternly, "Lucius Malfoy, this is your son. Your son has his own life, which has nothing to do with you and your little games. Leave them alone or I'll..."
Hermione and Draco never found out what she would do. Draco whispered gently in her ear, "Let's go, my mum will handle it," and they glided away.
Hermione was stunned. "Did that go well? I couldn't really tell..." she asked, once again very nervous.
Draco smiled at her, "It went better than I thought it would considering my father's a crazy lunatic. My mother, although very much like him in beliefs, cares more about my happiness than anything else." He gave a slight shrug.
Hermione felt a little better. Everyone knew now. The secret was out. Harry and Ron knew. Lucius Malfoy knew. Parvati knew. There would be no more hiding. She felt a smile begin to creep to her face.
"Draco, I love you," she said, standing on her toes to kiss him.
He broke the kiss and replied in that gentle tone, which she loved so much, "I love you too, Hermione."
THE END
A/N: Oh... that's the end. Wow, that felt weird. I've never actually completed such a long fanfiction before (though I guess it's really not all that long). Actually, I'm quite proud . If you've gotten this far, I'd like to thank you VERY much. Hugs you all. Ack, it's over! I can only imagine how JK Rowling will feel to complete her seven book series.
Anyway, I hope the ending wasn't too fast, or cheesy, or anything. Like I said, I've never really finished such a long story before (I don't think...) so I'm not well practiced. Feedback is welcome!
Finally, I would like to thank my reviewers... ALL of you. Heehee, you guys are the ones who kept me writing.
Thanks especially to you guys who were with the story from the beginning, or at least for quite awhile.
Thanks to those of you who put us (meaning myself and "Meru".. if you haven't seen my profile, this is a shared account) on your favourites or author alerts list. Hehe.
Again, one final THANK YOU!!!
Keep an eye out for a new Harry Potter story that I'm planning to write.