Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K.Rowling does. :(
Chapter 12: Mother Dearest
The next day, they left the hospital wing, Draco carrying her. They walked through a secret passage back to the head tower, not wanting anyone to see them together. Once they got back, he placed her down gently on the couch.
She looked at him, then at the ring on her finger, then back at him, her eyes brimming with tears. "I...I...I can't say that I ever saw this coming," she admitted. "Who would have thought that you and me would ever end up together?" she said with a laugh. He just smiled, content in listening to her speak. "Draco?"
"Yes?"
"Could you... I mean, do you think that it's possible for you to return my memories to me? I think it's reasonable considering I love you now anyway and if you left now, I'd still be depressed, with or without my memories, and see... it really wasn't fair. You took them but they're mine and I want them back, and..." she began to ramble but he cut her off.
"Of course. But I warn you, they're not all pretty. I'm telling you now that I disobeyed one of your commands."
"What was that?"
"You asked me to promise you that I would leave your memory alone, no matter what. I couldn't do that, 'Mi." She smiled at the loving nickname. "I... I had this nightmare one night, of you. You were captured and brought to me under my orders. I saw bruises on your arms, not bruises really, but rather they were scars, self-inflicted scars."
"I see," she said with a heavy sigh. "Well that hasn't happened though."
"That's because I took away your memory."
"Well I want it back now. Please?"
He pointed his wand at her and muttered something incoherently. Her body shook and fell over on the couch. He ran to where she sat and lifter her head. He sat down and put her head in his lap, stroking her hair gently. "Mi, wake up!" he commanded. "MI! MI!"
Her eyes flicked open and she sat straight up, looking rather zombie-like. She stood up quickly and walked over a loose board in the floor. She lifted it and inside, was a box, shaped like a ring.
"Mi, what's that?" Draco asked with caution.
"It's...well, I was afraid back then that you would never get around to it so I decided I was going to do it myself. I wanted to marry you, Draco. I was going to propose to you, whether or not you were a coward."
"I am no coward!" he shrieked in defense.
"You are too. You are a coward of love! You run and hide behind your big fancy Death Eater/Dark Lord crap but come off of it. You were secretly happy the day I got kidnapped and my life was threatened. You were hoping for an opportunity like that so you could get an easy way out."
"The Dark Lord... easy way out? The only harder thing I can think of is not being with you. Being the Dark Lord is no easy feat, I can assure you, but it's not the hardest thing that I've done. The hardest thing that I've ever done was trying to stay away from you." He sauntered over to where she stood and put his arms around her but she pushed away.
"Stop trying to say the right things like what you did was okay. I'm still extremely mad at you!" He raised his eyebrows and tightened the corners of his lips so he was frowning. "And don't give me that face! You're still in trouble, mister!" She said, only half meaning her words.
"Come on, Hermione," he said with a devilish grin. "You know you can't stay mad at me. You're my fiancé. You could never stay angry with me, no matter how hard you try." He reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards him and into an embrace. "I love you. You know that, don't you? I would never do anything that I thought would harm you in any way shape or form."
She looked up at him and deep into his eyes, those gray orbs that were once cold and empty. They now held some emotion in them. "I know, Draco. But you have no idea how confused I was. I felt like I had this hole in me but only you could fill it. Then, you told me you were the Dark Lord and I was even MORE confused. The Dark Lord could fill my emptiness? How bizarre is that?"
He kissed her forehead lightly and looked back into her eyes. They were brimming with tears that she was now trying to hold back. "Sh... It's okay now, 'Mi. I'm here for you now. Don't worry." He took a glance at the time and sighed with regret. "I have to go somewhere right now, though. I'll be back in a couple of hours."
She pulled out of their embrace and sat on the couch. "Where are you going?"
He looked into the fire that she had started in the fireplace, afraid to look into her eyes and see the sadness that lay within them. "I have a meeting with... some people." He knew she would get what he meant by that and he didn't feel like saying it outright.
But she did. "So you have a meeting with the Death Eaters in school? Of course you do, because they couldn't just let us enjoy the day we got engaged, now could they?" She said in a sarcastic tone. Then she got serious. "Don't go."
"What? How could I not go? I am the Dark Lord. You can't have a Death Eater meeting without the Dark Lord. That would be ludicrous."
"I'm asking you not to go. Stay, please?"
He took a seat next to her on the couch and held her hand in his, rubbing her palm with his thumb, a loving gesture. "If I stayed, they would think something happened and they would come here, looking for me."
"Then we leave. We go somewhere else, maybe America. We hide out for the rest of our lives. They never have to know where we've gone. We can live anywhere we want and never have to leave each others side. Don't you want that, Draco? Don't you want us to be together without everyone condemning our relationship?"
He stood up and leaned against the wall, still not looking her in the eyes. "They would find us, wherever we went. They have their ways. Hermione, understand this. We're not in some romantic muggle film where it always ends with the guy getting the girl and them riding off into the sunset, happily ever after. This is real. I fear our ending won't be so happy."
"WHY NOT?" she hollered in rage. "How does it end? Does one of us die? Is that our fate? Because that's the only way I will leave you, is if one of us is dead."
Suddenly there was another voice in the room. "So be it," it said. The voice was cold and sent shivers down Hermione's back. Draco looked around to see who it was but they were standing in the shadows.
"Show yourself," Draco commanded, but the person just laughed in response.
"I was hoping that you would get the message the first time, when Blaise and Pansy kidnapped the mudblood but apparently you're too dense for that. Fine, I understand that love will blind men but then I sent you both a second warning. Your nightmares, I sent them to you to stop THIS from ever happening but even this is not clear enough for you."
"You... you sent us those nightmares?" Hermione questioned. "But... who are you? What do you want from us?"
The cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows and took down their hood. "I want my son to become the greatest dark wizard that this world has ever seen!"
"Mrs. Malfoy?" Hermione said in shock.
"Narcissa, if you don't mind," the woman replied. "I never liked Lucius much and his damn last name is a constant reminder of him. I much prefer to be called by my first name, thank you very much."
Hermione finally stood up from her seat on the couch and took a few steps back, away from Narcissa. "YOU!" she screamed. "You tried to keep Draco away from me by sending him an awful nightmare, didn't you?"
"And I thought it had worked, too. But there you go again, Draco, being the stupid boy that your father always claimed you were."
"Remember where you are, Narcissa, and remember the powers I possess. I will not tolerate you coming here and insulting me like this. I am still the Dark Lord and you are one of my servants. Do not make the mistake in underestimating my rashness. I tend to be very spur of the moment, and at this moment, I like the idea of seeing you in a coffin. Don't tempt me," Draco warned.
Narcissa didn't look frightened or even phased. She looked...happy. "There's my boy. That's what I was looking for. That anger...it's what fuels the Dark Arts. Anger and hatred, they empower us. Now use that negative energy and focus it enough to kill this poor pathetic excuse for a witch," she said, motioning towards Hermione.
Draco held out his wand, but it was not focused on Hermione, rather it was focused on Narcissa. "Do not tell me what to do, Narcissa. You are my servant, not my mother, and as such, you will take orders from me! Is that clear?"
"Draco, you insolent bastard! How dare you speak to me that way! I may be a servant of the Dark Lord but I am still the mother of him as well. Without me, you would have never been born. I brought you into this world and I can take you out!" She took out her wand as well but this time, it was his turn to laugh.
"None but my equal can kill me, Narcissa, and I highly doubt that YOU are my equal."
Hermione walked over to where he stood and placed her hand over his arm that was holding out his wand. She pushed it back. "You've already killed one person, Draco. Let's not add another, at least not with me in your presence."
Narcissa took this moment as her opportunity to strike. "CRUCIO!" she yelled to Hermione. Hermione fell over, clutching her stomach in pain. "Draco, you're going to stand there while I kill this mudblood, and when I am done with her, you will go to the meeting and you will take your seat as the Dark Lord."
"You're wrong, woman!" he said coldly. Even her name was too good for him to call her by. "If you take her from me, I will take myself from this world. I have no other reason to live other than her. She is my savior, my love, my everything and I will not survive without her. Take her away, and I go with her."
Hermione stood back up from the ground, only to fall back down again when Narcissa yelled "Crucio!" once more. She didn't scream or cry, merely clutched to Draco's feet.
"Let me go," she said to him. "That's where we can be together. Once she's done with me, come and find me in the after life. Only THERE can we truly be together," she whispered.
A tear streamed down his cheek and he couldn't handle the events that were occurring right before his very eyes. "We'll find another way, my love. Trust me, we'll find another way. But right now, I must save you, for I cannot watch you die by the likes of HER!" He aimed his wand at the woman he used to call mother. "IMPERIOUS!" he shouted. "Now, listen to my words and my orders for you are under my command now. You are going to go to the Death Eater meeting and you will tell them that I do not feel well. When you're done there, you're going to go back to Malfoy Manor and never return to Hogwarts again. Is that clear?" She nodded her head and left.
Hermione lay sprawled out on the floor, crying hysterically. "WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST LET HER KILL ME? I WANTED TO DIE! THAT'S THE ONLY PLACE WE CAN BE TOGETHER!"
He picked her up, ignoring her screaming and brought her back to his bed. He pulled the covers back and rested her head against the pillow. "I have to go. I love you, though, and I want to be with you. We WILL find a way. Rest now and have sweet dreams. Don't leave the room. It's not safe." He kissed the top of her head and watched her eyes flutter closed.
Draco walked down the halls of Hogwarts, mentally slapping himself for leaving her in such a depressed mood but he knew that he had to do something if he ever wanted to be with her. He had to talk to her friends.
He knew that the Gryffindor Quidditch Team had practice right then so he walked down to the pitch. Sad memories floated through his mind, the day that he left her, the day that changed everything. He saw the Gryffindors flying high in the sky, going over all of their plays and he admired their hard work.
Harry and Ron saw Malfoy walking onto the field and they lowered themselves to the ground. "What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry asked sounding suspicious.
"I'm here to talk to you. We have much to discuss."
"You can say that again," Ron chimed in. "Why wasn't Hermione in class yesterday? The portrait into the Head Tower wouldn't let us in to check on her so I figured you would knowing, being Head Boy and sharing a common room with her and all."
"That's what I'm here to talk about. Hermione and I need you help."
"WHAT?" Harry replied in awe. "Why do YOU need OUR help? Is there really something that the great Draco Malfoy can't do on his own?"
"It's not just me you'd be helping, Potter. Hermione is in great danger and I really need you two to protect her." He looked up at them and saw confusion on their faces. "If I tell you something, I need to know that you're going to keep it to yourselves." They nodded their heads reluctantly and Draco began his long tale of how he became the Dark Lord. "And you can't go to Dumbledore. They've put a curse on us. If someone goes to Dumbledore, Hermione dies. There's no way around it, I've checked."
They took a while to process all of the information until Ron finally spoke. "Well then what do you need us for?" he asked.
"I have a battle to fight, against the Death Eaters. I'm not asking you to join in, I'm asking you to watch her while I'm gone. I'm afraid that something will happen to her without me there and I need to know that she is safe. Please, can you do that?"
They looked at each other, silently agreeing on their answer. Harry spoke up for the two of them. "No," he replied firmly. "We want to help you take them down. We want to be there to help destroy every last one of those scum."
Draco agreed, knowing that he needed their help. "But we're going to need even more backup," Ron said, chiming in. "Let's get some more recruits." They set to work, putting together a list of people who would fight against the Dark Side. Harry thought of everyone that had joined the D.A. and asked them all for their help. Most of them agreed. No teachers were ever told.
"This still leaves the question of who shall protect Hermione," Draco brought up. "Who's left? You two were my first and only choices. I don't know who else I would trust with the safety of my most prized possession."
"How 'bout we land her in detention with Snape? He could protect her," Harry offered but Draco immediately dismissed the idea.
"No. Snape's too risky. He's playing both sides. In the end, he's only in it for whoever wins."
"Oh," Ron said. "Well what about with one of the other teachers?"
"No. That won't work either. McGonagall was the strongest teacher and even SHE couldn't protect herself. Teachers are no use. Think of someone else."
They thought for a few minutes, no one was completely sure what to say but then Harry came up with a solution. "We could organize a ball, an end of the year ball for the whole school. You're the head boy, you can do that. And in the middle of the party, call a Death Eater meeting. Can you do that?"
"Yeah, whenever I want them, their bloody scars burn. They'll know when I call for them," he replied with assurance in his voice.
"Okay, great!" Ron exclaimed. "And while you're at the meeting, we'll come with the D.A. and attack the meeting. Sound good?"
They all agreed and then split up. Harry and Ron went back to their practice while Draco returned to the Head Tower. He ran up to his room, looking for Hermione but she wasn't there. There was a note on the bed.
Dear Draco,
I couldn't sit around here and wait for you to get back. I couldn't stay in that room and wait for something bad to happen again, so I went to the Gryffindor Common Room to talk to Ginny. I haven't spent much time with her lately and I miss spending time with my friends. Don't worry about me and my 'safety.' I'm a perfectly good witch and I can handle it if anyone attacks me in a corridor. Get some sleep now. You have a Quidditch match tomorrow against Gryffindor so I suggest you rest. Not good to play the best team without your beauty sleep.
Love,
Hermione
Draco was infuriated by the note. He had told her to stay put. Why didn't she listen? He got changed in pajamas and went to bed, still extremely upset.
"Welcome all students, to the last Quidditch match of the year. It will be Slytherin versus Gryffindor for the house cup! It will definitely be an interesting match!" Lee Jordan's voice rang through the pitch.
Hermione sat in the Gryffindor section, seated between the two girls she despised the most, Lavender and Parvati. She wore her Gryffindor robes but underneath, Her shirt was green and her skirt was silver. She was rooting for the Slyterins (secretly.)
The players flew onto the field and Hermione spotted her lover flying around in circles. He did a few more laps before heading straight towards the Gryffindor spot in the stands. He stopped directly in front of his fiancé.
"I told you not to go last night," he whispered. "I don't appreciate coming back to my room and finding you gone, leaving nothing but a note."
"Draco, I can't just sit around in the room all day. I'm not a dog and you can't keep me locked up. Are you seriously angry with me?"
"I don't like people disobeying my commands!" He said in a low monotonous voice. "I am to be feared and respected, and no one shall undermine my authority!"
"I do not fear you and only on good days do I respect you. Oh yeah, and you have no authority over me." She said with anger.
"Why did you come to the match? Did you do it just to anger me, coming here wearing the Gryffindor colors?"
She unbuttoned the first few buttons on her robe and he could see the green peeking through. "I am supporting you, I hope YOU win," she said, hoping he would forgive her though in her eyes, she did nothing wrong.
She was glad to see his anger turn into happiness and he smiled. "Are you my prize if I win?"
She smiled and pulled him closer, leaning in so her lips hovered closely to his ear. "ONLY if you win," she whispered. He flew away and the game started.
Hours later, the game ended with a miraculous dive and Draco catching the golden snitch. The Gryffindors were having a party in their common room, despite the fact that they lost, but Hermione turned down the invitation, claiming she still didn't feel well from the fainting spell she had the other day, which was how she explained her absence to anyone who asked.
She went back to her room and sat down on the couch, waiting for her fiancé to return. She took off her robe and allowed the skirt to ride up a bit, exposing more of her long legs, knowing that Draco would go wild for her once he saw her.
He ditched the Slytherin victory party by saying he had sustained a serious injury and needed to have Madame Pomfrey look at it, though he never went to the Hospital Wing. When he got back to his room and opened the door, he found his trophy waiting on the couch for him.
"There you are, my trophy, my prize," he said, half to himself. He took off all of his Quidditch gear and sat by her side.
"And what does the winner ask of his prize?" she asked with a smile.
"Just take care of me. I feel really tired right now. Your Gryffindor team never fails to wear me out." She seemed to know exactly what he needed. She took off his shirt and turned him over so he was now lying on the couch, on his stomach. She crawled on top of him and began massaging his broad shoulders.
"You're so tense. I guess that's to be expected after such a hard day," she mumbled while Draco just moaned in pleasure.
"You're a professional, at everything that you do. Do you know that?" he said while allowing is eyes to close, tempted to fall into a deep slumber.
"Just one of the perks of being Perfect Granger, I guess." She massaged his back for at least an hour before she noticed that he had fallen asleep. She was tired as well but didn't want to leave him. He was taking up the whole couch in the position that he was in so she settled for just lying down on top of him, knowing he wouldn't mind.
A/N... Thank you guys so much for all of your reviews and for your suggestions. I loved hearing your feedback on everything and what you guys think should happen. It was funny because you were thinking along the same lines as I already had. I had this written before you guys sent in your suggestions but I was really happy with the overwhelming response. You guys rock. Keep up with the reviews because it really does get the chapters out faster.
Currently, I'm overwhelmed with homework but my teachers are easing up a bit now and I can write more. I'm going to start a new Harry Potter fan fic based on the story of Helen of Troy. I wondered if any of you would be interested in reading it if I post it. Tell me in your reviews.
I hope you liked this chapter. I can't wait for you guys to read the next one. It's all about the ball. Just so you know, Hermione has no idea that Draco talked to Ron and Harry and what they're planning for the ball. He doesn't want her to be a part of it because he can't risk her getting hurt. But knowing our Hermione, do you really think she won't find a way to join in on the action? You'll have to read and find out. But you can only read if I update and I will only update if you review so click on the button and do it already.
Chapter 12: Mother Dearest
The next day, they left the hospital wing, Draco carrying her. They walked through a secret passage back to the head tower, not wanting anyone to see them together. Once they got back, he placed her down gently on the couch.
She looked at him, then at the ring on her finger, then back at him, her eyes brimming with tears. "I...I...I can't say that I ever saw this coming," she admitted. "Who would have thought that you and me would ever end up together?" she said with a laugh. He just smiled, content in listening to her speak. "Draco?"
"Yes?"
"Could you... I mean, do you think that it's possible for you to return my memories to me? I think it's reasonable considering I love you now anyway and if you left now, I'd still be depressed, with or without my memories, and see... it really wasn't fair. You took them but they're mine and I want them back, and..." she began to ramble but he cut her off.
"Of course. But I warn you, they're not all pretty. I'm telling you now that I disobeyed one of your commands."
"What was that?"
"You asked me to promise you that I would leave your memory alone, no matter what. I couldn't do that, 'Mi." She smiled at the loving nickname. "I... I had this nightmare one night, of you. You were captured and brought to me under my orders. I saw bruises on your arms, not bruises really, but rather they were scars, self-inflicted scars."
"I see," she said with a heavy sigh. "Well that hasn't happened though."
"That's because I took away your memory."
"Well I want it back now. Please?"
He pointed his wand at her and muttered something incoherently. Her body shook and fell over on the couch. He ran to where she sat and lifter her head. He sat down and put her head in his lap, stroking her hair gently. "Mi, wake up!" he commanded. "MI! MI!"
Her eyes flicked open and she sat straight up, looking rather zombie-like. She stood up quickly and walked over a loose board in the floor. She lifted it and inside, was a box, shaped like a ring.
"Mi, what's that?" Draco asked with caution.
"It's...well, I was afraid back then that you would never get around to it so I decided I was going to do it myself. I wanted to marry you, Draco. I was going to propose to you, whether or not you were a coward."
"I am no coward!" he shrieked in defense.
"You are too. You are a coward of love! You run and hide behind your big fancy Death Eater/Dark Lord crap but come off of it. You were secretly happy the day I got kidnapped and my life was threatened. You were hoping for an opportunity like that so you could get an easy way out."
"The Dark Lord... easy way out? The only harder thing I can think of is not being with you. Being the Dark Lord is no easy feat, I can assure you, but it's not the hardest thing that I've done. The hardest thing that I've ever done was trying to stay away from you." He sauntered over to where she stood and put his arms around her but she pushed away.
"Stop trying to say the right things like what you did was okay. I'm still extremely mad at you!" He raised his eyebrows and tightened the corners of his lips so he was frowning. "And don't give me that face! You're still in trouble, mister!" She said, only half meaning her words.
"Come on, Hermione," he said with a devilish grin. "You know you can't stay mad at me. You're my fiancé. You could never stay angry with me, no matter how hard you try." He reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards him and into an embrace. "I love you. You know that, don't you? I would never do anything that I thought would harm you in any way shape or form."
She looked up at him and deep into his eyes, those gray orbs that were once cold and empty. They now held some emotion in them. "I know, Draco. But you have no idea how confused I was. I felt like I had this hole in me but only you could fill it. Then, you told me you were the Dark Lord and I was even MORE confused. The Dark Lord could fill my emptiness? How bizarre is that?"
He kissed her forehead lightly and looked back into her eyes. They were brimming with tears that she was now trying to hold back. "Sh... It's okay now, 'Mi. I'm here for you now. Don't worry." He took a glance at the time and sighed with regret. "I have to go somewhere right now, though. I'll be back in a couple of hours."
She pulled out of their embrace and sat on the couch. "Where are you going?"
He looked into the fire that she had started in the fireplace, afraid to look into her eyes and see the sadness that lay within them. "I have a meeting with... some people." He knew she would get what he meant by that and he didn't feel like saying it outright.
But she did. "So you have a meeting with the Death Eaters in school? Of course you do, because they couldn't just let us enjoy the day we got engaged, now could they?" She said in a sarcastic tone. Then she got serious. "Don't go."
"What? How could I not go? I am the Dark Lord. You can't have a Death Eater meeting without the Dark Lord. That would be ludicrous."
"I'm asking you not to go. Stay, please?"
He took a seat next to her on the couch and held her hand in his, rubbing her palm with his thumb, a loving gesture. "If I stayed, they would think something happened and they would come here, looking for me."
"Then we leave. We go somewhere else, maybe America. We hide out for the rest of our lives. They never have to know where we've gone. We can live anywhere we want and never have to leave each others side. Don't you want that, Draco? Don't you want us to be together without everyone condemning our relationship?"
He stood up and leaned against the wall, still not looking her in the eyes. "They would find us, wherever we went. They have their ways. Hermione, understand this. We're not in some romantic muggle film where it always ends with the guy getting the girl and them riding off into the sunset, happily ever after. This is real. I fear our ending won't be so happy."
"WHY NOT?" she hollered in rage. "How does it end? Does one of us die? Is that our fate? Because that's the only way I will leave you, is if one of us is dead."
Suddenly there was another voice in the room. "So be it," it said. The voice was cold and sent shivers down Hermione's back. Draco looked around to see who it was but they were standing in the shadows.
"Show yourself," Draco commanded, but the person just laughed in response.
"I was hoping that you would get the message the first time, when Blaise and Pansy kidnapped the mudblood but apparently you're too dense for that. Fine, I understand that love will blind men but then I sent you both a second warning. Your nightmares, I sent them to you to stop THIS from ever happening but even this is not clear enough for you."
"You... you sent us those nightmares?" Hermione questioned. "But... who are you? What do you want from us?"
The cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows and took down their hood. "I want my son to become the greatest dark wizard that this world has ever seen!"
"Mrs. Malfoy?" Hermione said in shock.
"Narcissa, if you don't mind," the woman replied. "I never liked Lucius much and his damn last name is a constant reminder of him. I much prefer to be called by my first name, thank you very much."
Hermione finally stood up from her seat on the couch and took a few steps back, away from Narcissa. "YOU!" she screamed. "You tried to keep Draco away from me by sending him an awful nightmare, didn't you?"
"And I thought it had worked, too. But there you go again, Draco, being the stupid boy that your father always claimed you were."
"Remember where you are, Narcissa, and remember the powers I possess. I will not tolerate you coming here and insulting me like this. I am still the Dark Lord and you are one of my servants. Do not make the mistake in underestimating my rashness. I tend to be very spur of the moment, and at this moment, I like the idea of seeing you in a coffin. Don't tempt me," Draco warned.
Narcissa didn't look frightened or even phased. She looked...happy. "There's my boy. That's what I was looking for. That anger...it's what fuels the Dark Arts. Anger and hatred, they empower us. Now use that negative energy and focus it enough to kill this poor pathetic excuse for a witch," she said, motioning towards Hermione.
Draco held out his wand, but it was not focused on Hermione, rather it was focused on Narcissa. "Do not tell me what to do, Narcissa. You are my servant, not my mother, and as such, you will take orders from me! Is that clear?"
"Draco, you insolent bastard! How dare you speak to me that way! I may be a servant of the Dark Lord but I am still the mother of him as well. Without me, you would have never been born. I brought you into this world and I can take you out!" She took out her wand as well but this time, it was his turn to laugh.
"None but my equal can kill me, Narcissa, and I highly doubt that YOU are my equal."
Hermione walked over to where he stood and placed her hand over his arm that was holding out his wand. She pushed it back. "You've already killed one person, Draco. Let's not add another, at least not with me in your presence."
Narcissa took this moment as her opportunity to strike. "CRUCIO!" she yelled to Hermione. Hermione fell over, clutching her stomach in pain. "Draco, you're going to stand there while I kill this mudblood, and when I am done with her, you will go to the meeting and you will take your seat as the Dark Lord."
"You're wrong, woman!" he said coldly. Even her name was too good for him to call her by. "If you take her from me, I will take myself from this world. I have no other reason to live other than her. She is my savior, my love, my everything and I will not survive without her. Take her away, and I go with her."
Hermione stood back up from the ground, only to fall back down again when Narcissa yelled "Crucio!" once more. She didn't scream or cry, merely clutched to Draco's feet.
"Let me go," she said to him. "That's where we can be together. Once she's done with me, come and find me in the after life. Only THERE can we truly be together," she whispered.
A tear streamed down his cheek and he couldn't handle the events that were occurring right before his very eyes. "We'll find another way, my love. Trust me, we'll find another way. But right now, I must save you, for I cannot watch you die by the likes of HER!" He aimed his wand at the woman he used to call mother. "IMPERIOUS!" he shouted. "Now, listen to my words and my orders for you are under my command now. You are going to go to the Death Eater meeting and you will tell them that I do not feel well. When you're done there, you're going to go back to Malfoy Manor and never return to Hogwarts again. Is that clear?" She nodded her head and left.
Hermione lay sprawled out on the floor, crying hysterically. "WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST LET HER KILL ME? I WANTED TO DIE! THAT'S THE ONLY PLACE WE CAN BE TOGETHER!"
He picked her up, ignoring her screaming and brought her back to his bed. He pulled the covers back and rested her head against the pillow. "I have to go. I love you, though, and I want to be with you. We WILL find a way. Rest now and have sweet dreams. Don't leave the room. It's not safe." He kissed the top of her head and watched her eyes flutter closed.
Draco walked down the halls of Hogwarts, mentally slapping himself for leaving her in such a depressed mood but he knew that he had to do something if he ever wanted to be with her. He had to talk to her friends.
He knew that the Gryffindor Quidditch Team had practice right then so he walked down to the pitch. Sad memories floated through his mind, the day that he left her, the day that changed everything. He saw the Gryffindors flying high in the sky, going over all of their plays and he admired their hard work.
Harry and Ron saw Malfoy walking onto the field and they lowered themselves to the ground. "What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry asked sounding suspicious.
"I'm here to talk to you. We have much to discuss."
"You can say that again," Ron chimed in. "Why wasn't Hermione in class yesterday? The portrait into the Head Tower wouldn't let us in to check on her so I figured you would knowing, being Head Boy and sharing a common room with her and all."
"That's what I'm here to talk about. Hermione and I need you help."
"WHAT?" Harry replied in awe. "Why do YOU need OUR help? Is there really something that the great Draco Malfoy can't do on his own?"
"It's not just me you'd be helping, Potter. Hermione is in great danger and I really need you two to protect her." He looked up at them and saw confusion on their faces. "If I tell you something, I need to know that you're going to keep it to yourselves." They nodded their heads reluctantly and Draco began his long tale of how he became the Dark Lord. "And you can't go to Dumbledore. They've put a curse on us. If someone goes to Dumbledore, Hermione dies. There's no way around it, I've checked."
They took a while to process all of the information until Ron finally spoke. "Well then what do you need us for?" he asked.
"I have a battle to fight, against the Death Eaters. I'm not asking you to join in, I'm asking you to watch her while I'm gone. I'm afraid that something will happen to her without me there and I need to know that she is safe. Please, can you do that?"
They looked at each other, silently agreeing on their answer. Harry spoke up for the two of them. "No," he replied firmly. "We want to help you take them down. We want to be there to help destroy every last one of those scum."
Draco agreed, knowing that he needed their help. "But we're going to need even more backup," Ron said, chiming in. "Let's get some more recruits." They set to work, putting together a list of people who would fight against the Dark Side. Harry thought of everyone that had joined the D.A. and asked them all for their help. Most of them agreed. No teachers were ever told.
"This still leaves the question of who shall protect Hermione," Draco brought up. "Who's left? You two were my first and only choices. I don't know who else I would trust with the safety of my most prized possession."
"How 'bout we land her in detention with Snape? He could protect her," Harry offered but Draco immediately dismissed the idea.
"No. Snape's too risky. He's playing both sides. In the end, he's only in it for whoever wins."
"Oh," Ron said. "Well what about with one of the other teachers?"
"No. That won't work either. McGonagall was the strongest teacher and even SHE couldn't protect herself. Teachers are no use. Think of someone else."
They thought for a few minutes, no one was completely sure what to say but then Harry came up with a solution. "We could organize a ball, an end of the year ball for the whole school. You're the head boy, you can do that. And in the middle of the party, call a Death Eater meeting. Can you do that?"
"Yeah, whenever I want them, their bloody scars burn. They'll know when I call for them," he replied with assurance in his voice.
"Okay, great!" Ron exclaimed. "And while you're at the meeting, we'll come with the D.A. and attack the meeting. Sound good?"
They all agreed and then split up. Harry and Ron went back to their practice while Draco returned to the Head Tower. He ran up to his room, looking for Hermione but she wasn't there. There was a note on the bed.
Dear Draco,
I couldn't sit around here and wait for you to get back. I couldn't stay in that room and wait for something bad to happen again, so I went to the Gryffindor Common Room to talk to Ginny. I haven't spent much time with her lately and I miss spending time with my friends. Don't worry about me and my 'safety.' I'm a perfectly good witch and I can handle it if anyone attacks me in a corridor. Get some sleep now. You have a Quidditch match tomorrow against Gryffindor so I suggest you rest. Not good to play the best team without your beauty sleep.
Love,
Hermione
Draco was infuriated by the note. He had told her to stay put. Why didn't she listen? He got changed in pajamas and went to bed, still extremely upset.
"Welcome all students, to the last Quidditch match of the year. It will be Slytherin versus Gryffindor for the house cup! It will definitely be an interesting match!" Lee Jordan's voice rang through the pitch.
Hermione sat in the Gryffindor section, seated between the two girls she despised the most, Lavender and Parvati. She wore her Gryffindor robes but underneath, Her shirt was green and her skirt was silver. She was rooting for the Slyterins (secretly.)
The players flew onto the field and Hermione spotted her lover flying around in circles. He did a few more laps before heading straight towards the Gryffindor spot in the stands. He stopped directly in front of his fiancé.
"I told you not to go last night," he whispered. "I don't appreciate coming back to my room and finding you gone, leaving nothing but a note."
"Draco, I can't just sit around in the room all day. I'm not a dog and you can't keep me locked up. Are you seriously angry with me?"
"I don't like people disobeying my commands!" He said in a low monotonous voice. "I am to be feared and respected, and no one shall undermine my authority!"
"I do not fear you and only on good days do I respect you. Oh yeah, and you have no authority over me." She said with anger.
"Why did you come to the match? Did you do it just to anger me, coming here wearing the Gryffindor colors?"
She unbuttoned the first few buttons on her robe and he could see the green peeking through. "I am supporting you, I hope YOU win," she said, hoping he would forgive her though in her eyes, she did nothing wrong.
She was glad to see his anger turn into happiness and he smiled. "Are you my prize if I win?"
She smiled and pulled him closer, leaning in so her lips hovered closely to his ear. "ONLY if you win," she whispered. He flew away and the game started.
Hours later, the game ended with a miraculous dive and Draco catching the golden snitch. The Gryffindors were having a party in their common room, despite the fact that they lost, but Hermione turned down the invitation, claiming she still didn't feel well from the fainting spell she had the other day, which was how she explained her absence to anyone who asked.
She went back to her room and sat down on the couch, waiting for her fiancé to return. She took off her robe and allowed the skirt to ride up a bit, exposing more of her long legs, knowing that Draco would go wild for her once he saw her.
He ditched the Slytherin victory party by saying he had sustained a serious injury and needed to have Madame Pomfrey look at it, though he never went to the Hospital Wing. When he got back to his room and opened the door, he found his trophy waiting on the couch for him.
"There you are, my trophy, my prize," he said, half to himself. He took off all of his Quidditch gear and sat by her side.
"And what does the winner ask of his prize?" she asked with a smile.
"Just take care of me. I feel really tired right now. Your Gryffindor team never fails to wear me out." She seemed to know exactly what he needed. She took off his shirt and turned him over so he was now lying on the couch, on his stomach. She crawled on top of him and began massaging his broad shoulders.
"You're so tense. I guess that's to be expected after such a hard day," she mumbled while Draco just moaned in pleasure.
"You're a professional, at everything that you do. Do you know that?" he said while allowing is eyes to close, tempted to fall into a deep slumber.
"Just one of the perks of being Perfect Granger, I guess." She massaged his back for at least an hour before she noticed that he had fallen asleep. She was tired as well but didn't want to leave him. He was taking up the whole couch in the position that he was in so she settled for just lying down on top of him, knowing he wouldn't mind.
A/N... Thank you guys so much for all of your reviews and for your suggestions. I loved hearing your feedback on everything and what you guys think should happen. It was funny because you were thinking along the same lines as I already had. I had this written before you guys sent in your suggestions but I was really happy with the overwhelming response. You guys rock. Keep up with the reviews because it really does get the chapters out faster.
Currently, I'm overwhelmed with homework but my teachers are easing up a bit now and I can write more. I'm going to start a new Harry Potter fan fic based on the story of Helen of Troy. I wondered if any of you would be interested in reading it if I post it. Tell me in your reviews.
I hope you liked this chapter. I can't wait for you guys to read the next one. It's all about the ball. Just so you know, Hermione has no idea that Draco talked to Ron and Harry and what they're planning for the ball. He doesn't want her to be a part of it because he can't risk her getting hurt. But knowing our Hermione, do you really think she won't find a way to join in on the action? You'll have to read and find out. But you can only read if I update and I will only update if you review so click on the button and do it already.