You Don't Love Me
Chapter 13
By Autumn Took
A/N: Thank you for the few that reviewed me. You guys rock! I'm glad someone's reading this......Croaker and Tom Felton's Chica, thank you very much! I'm glad you like it.......I used to have a lot of fans, before I stopped writing for many, many months. Maybe people will still read it...who knows?
Disclaimer: I don't own anything......I wish I owned a certain blonde someone......but we all know that's impossible.......so, no, I don't own anything.......all characters, places, etc. belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling.
Eight o'clock that night couldn't come any faster. She was eager to talk to Draco, eager to find out more about what was going on, yet scared all the same of what people would think. At seven forty-five she left the common room, saying goodbye to Ginny and Parvati (Harry and Ron were playing Wizard's Chess in the corner, taking no notice of their surroundings whatsoever), and made her way up to the astronomy towers.
She walked with her head down, contemplating everything that had happened in the space of the past three days. She thought of Ron, and how he had lied to her and betrayed her totally, yet how she had forgiven him straight away, not capable of being mad at him for very long. She thought of Harry, and smiled, remembering how much he had already helped her, and making a mental note of thanking him when she returned. She thought of Parvati, and how the poor girl had been just as confused as Hermione, and smiled, knowing she had a new friend waiting for her in the common room. She thought of Lavender, and a million hateful things came to mind. She smirked, remembering how Parvati had taken care of HER earlier, and let out a laugh as well, knowing Lavender would still be more miserable than ever she imagined. Then she thought of Draco.
Hermione stopped somewhere along the third floor corridor, crossing to a nearby window to look out at the moon. 'Draco,' she thought, a butterfly flying around in her stomach. She blushed a bit, as she imagined the moon turning into one of his eyes. It was, after all, the same beautiful silver-grey. He was handsome, she had to admit, and quite built, to say the least. The only problem she had ever had with him was his attitude, and the fact that he seemed to hate her guts. Unfortunately for her, (or fortunately, she couldn't really tell which) that problem had vanished lately. Draco was friendly...nice, even, and that was simply not normal Malfoy behavior.
Hermione sighed as footsteps echoed behind her. She looked down to her feet, trying to sort out how she felt about Draco. So many thoughts echoed throughout her head, whirling around, clashing and smashing each other. Finally, she decided, she would just have to wait and see.
"Hermione?" said a soft voice right in her ear.
She jumped backwards and let out a small scream, tripping over the hem of her robes and falling to the stone floor. Panting, she looked up at who had scared her.
"Sorry," Draco mumbled, leaning over to help her up.
For a moment Hermione just stared at his hand, outstretched and waiting. "What are you doing here?" she asked in a panicky voice.
Draco raised a brow. "Walking to our detention, Hermione," he said slowly, as if Hermione was slow.
Hermione considered this for a second, then felt a blush creep onto her face as she took hold of Draco's hand. "Oh......right......."
Draco pulled her into a standing position and apologized again. Hermione shook her head, as if to say, "Not a problem," and then they both started walking in the direction of the astronomy tower.
Neither of them said a word as they began ascending the many steps to the tower's top. As they reached the end, Draco opened the door for Hermione and beckoned her to go in first. Hermione stared at him as she passed, then waited for him to come in.
Draco shut the door behind him, then turned around to look at Hermione's questioning face.
"We need to talk, Draco," Hermione said matter-of-factly.
Draco sighed, walking past her. "We need to clean the telescopes," he said, coming up to a closet on his right and opening the doors with a spell. The doors burst open, revealing rows and rows of telescopes in varying conditions of cleanliness.
Hermione walked up to Draco and stared at his eyes, closing the door with her left hand. "Draco," she said again. "Please?"
Draco stared back into her eyes for a second, then turned away, looking down. "What do you want to talk about?" he asked in an innocent voice.
Hermione stepped closer to him, putting her hand comfortingly on his arm. His eyes immediately darted to it, a look of utter surprise on his face. He traced her arm with his eyes up to her shoulder, and up to her face, where a look of concern was blooming. She smiled when he looked into her eyes. "I want to talk about you, Draco."
Draco felt his face redden under her beautiful gaze. He wouldn't admit to himself, but he thought she was divine. A real beauty, though she was Muggle-born. "Well......Is there really anything more to say about me? I'm a stuck-up pureblood git that's made your past four years here at Hogwarts simply unbearable. You hate me, and I supposedly hate you, and there's nothing I can do to change that."
"But you have changed that," Hermione interjected. "I don't hate you anymore."
Draco let out a little laugh. "Why not? I deserve it! I deserve much worse! No, Hermione, I won't allow you to be nice to me. You're too good for me." He tried to open the doors to the closet again, but she shut them just as quickly.
"Draco, look at me," she said, moving so should stood in between him and the closet. Draco was busy staring at the floor. "Look at me, Draco."
Draco slowly looked up to see her eyes piercing his. His face reddened again as she put her other hand on his other arm.
She stared at him for a second, as if trying to decipher a code. "It's true, then?" she asked slowly. "All of it?"
Draco nodded shyly. "I'm sick of all this bullshit," he swore softly. "I wish I wasn't pureblood. I wish I never wanted to be like my father. I wish that it would all go away. I just want to be happy." Though he knew that wasn't all he wanted, he would never tell her the rest.
Hermione nodded, staring into his eyes still. "I understand......I think......I just don't know why you kept up this façade all these years."
"Jesus, Hermione, with all the Slytherin's here, they all know my father in some way or another, do you think if I was anything less than exactly what he wanted me to be, that they wouldn't tell him? I don't want my father to hate me, I never have, but, the truth is, if I had to choose between his happiness and mine, at the moment, for once in my life I think I'd choose mine."
Hermione nodded, understanding a bit more. "How come you didn't tell me earlier?"
Draco blushed. "I didn't want to admit it to anyone. That Draco Malfoy wanted a friend. It's absurd, really. I mean, you didn't even believe me when I told you. I'm glad you came to me with the whole Lavender thing. If you hadn't I was......I was close to dealing with it in some other way......"
Hermione stared at him for a second, trying to understand what he was saying. "Draco, you weren't going to kill yourself?"
Draco looked slightly ashamed and sighed, looking away at last from Hermione's beautiful eyes. "So what if I was?" he asked, a bit of his old sass in his voice. "No one would have cared, except maybe Pansy. But she'd get over it soon enough, attach herself onto Higgins or somebody."
"But your father......."
"Would have been disappointed in me, not sad in the slightest," Draco finished for her. "My mother would have been upset, I suppose, but she would have gotten over it soon enough as well. As for the rest of the school, no one here likes me, you know that, you're one of the many that don't. I'm a jerk, I always have been, ever since the first day I stepped into this school. I suspect many of the Professors would have been glad to see me go as well."
Hermione shook her head disbelievingly. "I would have cared, Draco, everyone would have cared. You're not going to, right?"
Draco shrugged, looking around uncomfortably. "We'll see how things turn out."
Hermione couldn't stop herself. Slytherin or not, Draco was a person too, and no person deserved to die. She flung her arms around him and engulfed him in the very first heartfelt hug Draco Malfoy ever received.
Draco, shocked, pulled his hands slowly from his pockets where they had been resting and wrapped his strong arms around her as well. Overcome by emotion, he willed himself not to cry, and closed his eyes, enjoying the pleasant fragrance coming from Hermione's hair.
"Please don't Draco, please don't. You don't have to hide it anymore, you have me, I'll be here for you always! No one deserves to be miserable, no one, and I'll see to it that you never have to be again!" she half sobbed into his shoulder, which muffled the sound.
Draco smiled, and a tear fell out of one of his closed eyes. "I won't," he said, squeezing her tighter and then pulling away. He quickly wiped the tear off his face before looking at her and saying, "Thank you so much, Hermione. Thank you for giving me hope once more."
Hermione smiled comfortingly. "Think nothing of it. I want to help. Friends?" She held out her hand, offering the first peace treaty between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin in a century or more.
"Friends," Draco agreed, taking Hermione's hand in his and shaking it. They both smiled widely.
"So......let's get started on those telescopes, shall we?" Hermione asked, walking over to the closet and pulling open the doors for the third time.
"Yes, let's," Draco sighed happily, walking over to her and helping her take the first one out.
A/N: I hope that's a bit better than the last chapter. I think I'll finally be getting back into the swing of things. Read and review, tell me what needs work, I'll try to fix it. Thank you for reading! Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon enough.
A/N: Thank you for the few that reviewed me. You guys rock! I'm glad someone's reading this......Croaker and Tom Felton's Chica, thank you very much! I'm glad you like it.......I used to have a lot of fans, before I stopped writing for many, many months. Maybe people will still read it...who knows?
Disclaimer: I don't own anything......I wish I owned a certain blonde someone......but we all know that's impossible.......so, no, I don't own anything.......all characters, places, etc. belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling.
Eight o'clock that night couldn't come any faster. She was eager to talk to Draco, eager to find out more about what was going on, yet scared all the same of what people would think. At seven forty-five she left the common room, saying goodbye to Ginny and Parvati (Harry and Ron were playing Wizard's Chess in the corner, taking no notice of their surroundings whatsoever), and made her way up to the astronomy towers.
She walked with her head down, contemplating everything that had happened in the space of the past three days. She thought of Ron, and how he had lied to her and betrayed her totally, yet how she had forgiven him straight away, not capable of being mad at him for very long. She thought of Harry, and smiled, remembering how much he had already helped her, and making a mental note of thanking him when she returned. She thought of Parvati, and how the poor girl had been just as confused as Hermione, and smiled, knowing she had a new friend waiting for her in the common room. She thought of Lavender, and a million hateful things came to mind. She smirked, remembering how Parvati had taken care of HER earlier, and let out a laugh as well, knowing Lavender would still be more miserable than ever she imagined. Then she thought of Draco.
Hermione stopped somewhere along the third floor corridor, crossing to a nearby window to look out at the moon. 'Draco,' she thought, a butterfly flying around in her stomach. She blushed a bit, as she imagined the moon turning into one of his eyes. It was, after all, the same beautiful silver-grey. He was handsome, she had to admit, and quite built, to say the least. The only problem she had ever had with him was his attitude, and the fact that he seemed to hate her guts. Unfortunately for her, (or fortunately, she couldn't really tell which) that problem had vanished lately. Draco was friendly...nice, even, and that was simply not normal Malfoy behavior.
Hermione sighed as footsteps echoed behind her. She looked down to her feet, trying to sort out how she felt about Draco. So many thoughts echoed throughout her head, whirling around, clashing and smashing each other. Finally, she decided, she would just have to wait and see.
"Hermione?" said a soft voice right in her ear.
She jumped backwards and let out a small scream, tripping over the hem of her robes and falling to the stone floor. Panting, she looked up at who had scared her.
"Sorry," Draco mumbled, leaning over to help her up.
For a moment Hermione just stared at his hand, outstretched and waiting. "What are you doing here?" she asked in a panicky voice.
Draco raised a brow. "Walking to our detention, Hermione," he said slowly, as if Hermione was slow.
Hermione considered this for a second, then felt a blush creep onto her face as she took hold of Draco's hand. "Oh......right......."
Draco pulled her into a standing position and apologized again. Hermione shook her head, as if to say, "Not a problem," and then they both started walking in the direction of the astronomy tower.
Neither of them said a word as they began ascending the many steps to the tower's top. As they reached the end, Draco opened the door for Hermione and beckoned her to go in first. Hermione stared at him as she passed, then waited for him to come in.
Draco shut the door behind him, then turned around to look at Hermione's questioning face.
"We need to talk, Draco," Hermione said matter-of-factly.
Draco sighed, walking past her. "We need to clean the telescopes," he said, coming up to a closet on his right and opening the doors with a spell. The doors burst open, revealing rows and rows of telescopes in varying conditions of cleanliness.
Hermione walked up to Draco and stared at his eyes, closing the door with her left hand. "Draco," she said again. "Please?"
Draco stared back into her eyes for a second, then turned away, looking down. "What do you want to talk about?" he asked in an innocent voice.
Hermione stepped closer to him, putting her hand comfortingly on his arm. His eyes immediately darted to it, a look of utter surprise on his face. He traced her arm with his eyes up to her shoulder, and up to her face, where a look of concern was blooming. She smiled when he looked into her eyes. "I want to talk about you, Draco."
Draco felt his face redden under her beautiful gaze. He wouldn't admit to himself, but he thought she was divine. A real beauty, though she was Muggle-born. "Well......Is there really anything more to say about me? I'm a stuck-up pureblood git that's made your past four years here at Hogwarts simply unbearable. You hate me, and I supposedly hate you, and there's nothing I can do to change that."
"But you have changed that," Hermione interjected. "I don't hate you anymore."
Draco let out a little laugh. "Why not? I deserve it! I deserve much worse! No, Hermione, I won't allow you to be nice to me. You're too good for me." He tried to open the doors to the closet again, but she shut them just as quickly.
"Draco, look at me," she said, moving so should stood in between him and the closet. Draco was busy staring at the floor. "Look at me, Draco."
Draco slowly looked up to see her eyes piercing his. His face reddened again as she put her other hand on his other arm.
She stared at him for a second, as if trying to decipher a code. "It's true, then?" she asked slowly. "All of it?"
Draco nodded shyly. "I'm sick of all this bullshit," he swore softly. "I wish I wasn't pureblood. I wish I never wanted to be like my father. I wish that it would all go away. I just want to be happy." Though he knew that wasn't all he wanted, he would never tell her the rest.
Hermione nodded, staring into his eyes still. "I understand......I think......I just don't know why you kept up this façade all these years."
"Jesus, Hermione, with all the Slytherin's here, they all know my father in some way or another, do you think if I was anything less than exactly what he wanted me to be, that they wouldn't tell him? I don't want my father to hate me, I never have, but, the truth is, if I had to choose between his happiness and mine, at the moment, for once in my life I think I'd choose mine."
Hermione nodded, understanding a bit more. "How come you didn't tell me earlier?"
Draco blushed. "I didn't want to admit it to anyone. That Draco Malfoy wanted a friend. It's absurd, really. I mean, you didn't even believe me when I told you. I'm glad you came to me with the whole Lavender thing. If you hadn't I was......I was close to dealing with it in some other way......"
Hermione stared at him for a second, trying to understand what he was saying. "Draco, you weren't going to kill yourself?"
Draco looked slightly ashamed and sighed, looking away at last from Hermione's beautiful eyes. "So what if I was?" he asked, a bit of his old sass in his voice. "No one would have cared, except maybe Pansy. But she'd get over it soon enough, attach herself onto Higgins or somebody."
"But your father......."
"Would have been disappointed in me, not sad in the slightest," Draco finished for her. "My mother would have been upset, I suppose, but she would have gotten over it soon enough as well. As for the rest of the school, no one here likes me, you know that, you're one of the many that don't. I'm a jerk, I always have been, ever since the first day I stepped into this school. I suspect many of the Professors would have been glad to see me go as well."
Hermione shook her head disbelievingly. "I would have cared, Draco, everyone would have cared. You're not going to, right?"
Draco shrugged, looking around uncomfortably. "We'll see how things turn out."
Hermione couldn't stop herself. Slytherin or not, Draco was a person too, and no person deserved to die. She flung her arms around him and engulfed him in the very first heartfelt hug Draco Malfoy ever received.
Draco, shocked, pulled his hands slowly from his pockets where they had been resting and wrapped his strong arms around her as well. Overcome by emotion, he willed himself not to cry, and closed his eyes, enjoying the pleasant fragrance coming from Hermione's hair.
"Please don't Draco, please don't. You don't have to hide it anymore, you have me, I'll be here for you always! No one deserves to be miserable, no one, and I'll see to it that you never have to be again!" she half sobbed into his shoulder, which muffled the sound.
Draco smiled, and a tear fell out of one of his closed eyes. "I won't," he said, squeezing her tighter and then pulling away. He quickly wiped the tear off his face before looking at her and saying, "Thank you so much, Hermione. Thank you for giving me hope once more."
Hermione smiled comfortingly. "Think nothing of it. I want to help. Friends?" She held out her hand, offering the first peace treaty between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin in a century or more.
"Friends," Draco agreed, taking Hermione's hand in his and shaking it. They both smiled widely.
"So......let's get started on those telescopes, shall we?" Hermione asked, walking over to the closet and pulling open the doors for the third time.
"Yes, let's," Draco sighed happily, walking over to her and helping her take the first one out.
A/N: I hope that's a bit better than the last chapter. I think I'll finally be getting back into the swing of things. Read and review, tell me what needs work, I'll try to fix it. Thank you for reading! Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon enough.