Disclaimer: J.K.Rowling rules! – I only take inspiration from her world to pretend I rule…. Do I rule? Well Do I???
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter 7 "The Secret"The walk was long but Hermione finally saw the end. With her wand shining light in the dark passageway, the trail began to rise and she knew she was close to getting out. "Did Ron really have to make this long journey everyday?" she thought. She finally left the dirt road and met up with a flight of stairs. It felt like an eternity until she felt something hit her head. She lifted her wand to see a trapdoor and opened it. She extinguished the light from her wand as she saw that she was inside of a cellar. "Nox! Yes… that's right!" thought Hermione. "I'm in Hogsmeade, in Honeydukes! But the store must be closed. How does he get in and out?" She looked around and saw the cellar door left open. She quickly ran out and made her way out of the shop by unlocking the doors with her "Alohamora" spell. It seemed that the store was not charmed from the inside. She looked around. It was snowing and all of Hogsmeade was closed for Christmas. "It must be about 10 o'clock by now," she thought. The scene was truly spectacular. The snow glazed the shops like gingerbread houses and the decorations glittered still along the streets. Fairies continued to dance around awaiting the Christmas bells when they would shine and send sparks of light into the sky. It was worth staying up during Christmas Eve at Hogsmeade. Hermione remembered that that's what they had all done during their sixth year. Once the fairy fireworks ended Ron had thrown her into the snow and they play fought until he had gotten heaps of snow down his trousers courtesy of Hermione. He had a touch of the floo afterwards and was very drowsy. She giggled at the memory of the way he whined when he was sick.
She then stopped laughing. He wasn't here with her enjoying this. He wasn't pushing her in the snow and telling her to relax and loosen up. She was alone, on a dark but beautiful street. She hadn't gone down to Hogsmeade at all this year and her expression saddened. "I just wish I could tell him…" she mumbled until she saw something that made her heart jump: foot steps! Very large footsteps were embedded in the thick fluffy snow and leading out of the town. This was good! This was very good!! She began to run along the street following the trail. "Thank goodness he has large feet!" thought Hermione happily. "Other wise they would have easily been blown away…"
***
"And what is your secret?" asked Ginny as Malfoy stared.
"None of your business!" he shouted.
Harry moved in and menacingly stared at him. He walked in front of Ginny and closer to Malfoy.
"There's no point in hiding it anymore. Just tell us cause Hermione will eventually,"
"You should ask the little Weasley's brother to tell you. The idiot's blackmailing me, and you're both angry with me?" said Malfoy, his eyes slimming.
"Ron found out, and he's threatening to tell people if you don't deliver his things for him? Is that right?" said Ginny as she walked around Harry.
Draco stared at the pair. Was there really a point in trying to conceal his secret from them? These were people who had cleverly figured out many older, dark wizards' plans and always managed to somehow get themselves mixed up in them. Maybe there was nothing left then to tell them after all. He sighed and looked at the floor sadly. He was indeed getting sick of being so defensive but wanted to keep this all to himself anyways: this secret was never meant to be shared with anyone. It was torturous when Hermione had found out and yet he somehow thought he could still keep it covert? He looked up at them and took a breath.
"Fine! If you want to know so DAMN badly… it's… it's about my father…"
"Your father?" said Harry confused. "But isn't he-"
"NO! He's not dead,"
"But… I saw him get hit with Avada Kadavra… That curse was dead on!" said Harry still in shock.
"No. You and I thought it was Avada Kadavra because we saw a beam of green light hit my father… It wasn't a curse. It was a hex. I thought my father was dead too but after we separated and you went to confront Lord Voldermort," Ginny shuddered at the name. "I returned to see my father's body but it was gone. I then found him wondering along completely out of his mind. I had to hide him! He might be far-gone but he was still suspected for assisting the Dark Lord. And they would have taken him in. I couldn't let them do that!"
"That's why you said you'd never come back here. You wanted to go somewhere where your father's face wouldn't be recognized as easily," said Harry.
"That's right,"
"But… why did you come back Draco?" said Ginny sweetly.
"My mother wanted me to finish school completely. She said it would only be a year then after that we could leave,"
Harry looked at Ginny, she put her hand on his shoulder and then looked at Draco. His eyes were sad. Harry saw the dilemma but another question popped into his head.
"How did Hermione find out?" asked Harry.
"She saw me leave with him that day Voldermort was defeated. While you and
Weasley went to talk to Dumbledore she saw us leave the castle. I made her
swear not to tell a soul! The annoying girl kept telling me that I should just
turn him in so he can get the hex removed but think about what would happen
after? Once he re-gained his mind they'd take him straight to Azkaban! Even
without the Dementors around anymore I still didn't want my father
incarcerated!"
"She was only trying to help," said Ginny.
"She didn't tell anyone you know? No one knew, not even Ron," said Harry.
"I wasn't too sure of that. He kept walking around her uneasily. Bah! How was I
supposed to know that he fancied Granger. I thought she told him and they were
planning something! Probably sending my father somewhere! And the risk of his
name popping out was too great!" he said furiously. "Once the year is over,
we're heading to see an old friend that knows more about the dark arts then
anyone and that WASN'T a supporter of Lord Voldermort,"
Harry pondered the consequences of it all. Yes, Draco indeed was in trouble and
maybe his friends were wrong on this one. Maybe they should let the Malfoys
take the course of actions that was planned but wait! How could they possibly
do anything of the sort unless… unless Draco's father was near them to begin
with?
"Malfoy where's your father now?"
Draco looked down again. He clenched his fist tightly and scowled at the floor.
"He's with Weasley…"
***
Hermione trudged along the snowy trail of foots steps that continually blurred. The wind was getting stronger and she had to run to make sure she still had something to follow. She shivered a bit for the spontaneity of her actions didn't allow her to bring a cloak and it was indeed getting colder. She finally saw the last very fuzzy imprint of Ron's lead to a building she had never noticed away from Hogsmeade. It was on the edge of the forbidden forest and one could have walk around the wood to reach it. It was an old Victorian house that looked very old judging by the creaky doors and shabby maintenance. She went to the door and pushed it gently. It creaked open and she saw nothing but darkness. "Be brave Hermione! Ron's in there, and I have to see him. It's not right that he makes all these sacrifices for me when all I've shown is cowardice," she told herself as she set foot inside.
Once her foot touched the floor, torches began to light inside the building. As one light flickered and lit the other beside it would too and soon, it looked like there was a path heading up a wooden staircase. Hermione gulped and followed the torches until it stopped at a large door. She breathed in deeply. "This is it! He must be in there…" she then turned the handle and walked in…
As the handle turned, Hermione's hand trembled. She would be seeing him on the other side of the door. She knew it! She could feel his presence in there; if she weren't so logical she would have sworn there was a psychic connection between her and Ron. "Professor Trelawney would have loved to hear that," she thought with a smile as she entered the room.
"Hermione…" he breathed.
"Ron…" she sighed.
The boy had noticed her instantly. He walked over to her leaving behind a wooden table with papers, books and money on it. Hermione felt the tingles again. This time she didn't stay put, not at all! She ran up to Ron and hugged him so tightly he swore she was trying to kill him. She rubbed the back of his head while running her fingers through his hair. Ron was utterly stationary. His heart felt like exploding into million upon millions of pieces. His breathing grew loud as his hands trembled with shock. He soon closed his eyes and grabbed her too. He hugged her tightly as he ran his hand in circles on her back. He wanted to kiss her… he really did. She had come for him. He felt she would. They tore themselves away from each other and Ron stared at Hermione. It was hard for him to utter any words out after that eventful reunion but he had to.
"Why are you here?" he said in barely a whispered. It almost sounded like he lost his voice.
"Why? Why? Ron! How could you do something so – so… stupid!"
Ron was taken aback but the girl's wide smile told him that she didn't mean it badly. He looked at her. She was so beautiful. Just the way he left her. He couldn't help himself from hugging her again. She complied with an equally caring hug. He then whispered in her ear: "I'm sorry I made you worry… I just thought of myself in this case didn't I? I should have known you would have noticed something wrong. I should have sent a letter to you too and not just Harry,"
"What? But… you never -"
There was a sudden noise in the background and Ron turned away from Hermione. A can had suddenly hit the wall. Ron left the girl in the midst of her sentence and began to walk towards the other end of the room. There, staggered a man with blonde hair and a confused face. Hermione instantly recognized the face of Lucius Malfoy. He stumbled into the room looking about in all directions and gazed at Ron.
"Mr. Malfoy! I told you it's time for bed," said Ron.
"But the flowers of may have bloomed inside the pumpkin patch that the Banshee watches over! I have to see them…"
"Yes. Well… I'll tell you what. I'll let you see them tomorrow if you go to bed now. It's very late,"
"But the trees are loosing their leaves!" he said and his temper began to rise.
"They – eh – they'll still be loosing them tomorrow won't they?" said Ron unsure how this would make him react.
"No! You stupid fool! Hunters die tonight if we don't stop them!! All Hail the KING! ALL hail the SNAKES!"
"Oh, not this again!" said Ron as he grabbed his wand quickly.
Lucius ran to the other end of the room as Ron tried to trip him, however it was too late. The crazed man ran to a cupboard in the room and grabbed his old wand. Hermione looked to Ron and saw he was completely concentrated on Malfoy. She decided not risk anything and took out her wand as well. "What crazy curses would a mad-man cast?" she thought as she moved next to Ron.
"Now, let's not start this again Lucius," said Ron.
"By all the tumulus truths! You shall get what's coming to you!"
Hermione was scared, Lucius had demonstrated before that he was well skilled in the dark arts, yet she wondered what he would do in this state. It seemed that Ron had been taking care of him for this entire time and knew what he was doing but…
"Expelliarmus!" Lucius shouted as the beam hit Hermione's wrist and made her wand fly across the room.
"Ouch!" she yelped.
"Oh, that was a mistake Lucius. Bravo in using a decent spell however… Now I think you should sit down and -"
"Ha! But they will be seen! They will be seen!" he continued to rave as his wand was pointed now at Ron.
Ron pointed his wand in a dueling fashion and was about to utter his spell when Malfoy attacked first. Barely hearing the words he muttered, Hermione saw that Ron had not moved and saw that he had no time to react as a green beam went shooting straight at the boy. Hermione panicked! She pushed Ron aside letting the beam hit her at full force! She screamed and landed on the floor.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Remember what I said is true – the more reviews the quicker the posting. The Lack of review and well – this happens. Thanks for sticking around for the rest of you though!