Disclaimer- J.K., the Queen of Harry Potter herself, owns all things you recognize in this fanfic, but the story line belongs to me. I swear I haven't stole it, but rather cleverly created them with my small, sad little mind. I wish I could get a life, but I feel this is my life, wholly and completely…J
A/N- Here's the next chapter, not as long as chapter 10 but contains some rather long-awaited events. I've tried to get it up for you all as soon as I could. Please read and review, like you always do…(Rhyme not intendedJ )
Chapter 11- Kiss or Kill?
Folding up that days issue of Daily Prophet, Hermione glanced around the Great Hall. Full of students, who had returned from their trips home and ready to commence lessons in two days time, the noise level was something chronic.
Hermione stood up and began walking out of the Hall, believing that waiting around for Ron, Harry and Ginny would prove fruitless. As she passed the racket from the Slytherin table the unmistakable word 'mudblood' was thrown towards her from a non-suspecting sixth-year.
Hermione stopped dead in her tracks and turned slowly to face them. After seven years she had learnt to ignore being called a mudblood, because she had unconsciously manipulated herself to believe that that was what she was.
But now, she had discovered that she wasn't a mudblood, and she never had been. The anger rose in her so quickly she didn't have time to stop herself.
"What did you call me?" She demanded quietly.
"You know what I called you, mudblood filth." The sixth-year answered. He's too cocky for his own good, Hermione thought, raising her eyebrows.
"What gives you the right to call me something that you have no proof of?"
"I have proof enough. Weren't you one of those petrified when the Chamber of Secrets was opened? Only mudbloods were special enough to receive that privilege." The boy looked over to Draco with a smirk on his face, hoping for some encouragement.
Draco kept his face expressionless. Damn. Why did I have to get my self a reputation for teasing Granger about her mudblood background? Now all these little try hards are going to start with her just to make them look good.
Hermione also looked to Draco. He wouldn't help her out of this one, she was sure of it. He stared at her with his unreadable gaze and piercing gray eyes. Hermione turned back to the kid who was starting to snigger with his friends, thinking he had caught her out.
"I was petrified, but so was Nearly Headless Nick, and I don't think he was a mudblood. And do you really believe that Mrs. Norris, a cat, is considered a mudblood? Because I surely don't."
His smirk faded slightly. "You're still filthy, no matter what you say."
Hermione noticed a small throng of students gathering in the doorway to the Great Hall. She noticed that Ginny, Harry and Ron were among them. Harry looked slightly alarmed at what the Slytherin had just said, Ron looked like he didn't know what he supposed to be thinking, and Ginny was looking mildly triumphant. This whole set up was perfect. Draco would stick up for Hermione, which would finally prove Ginny's point.
The kid had turned to see Draco's reaction again, hoping he had insulted well enough for his standards. Draco was staring at his plate. Slowly, the surrounding group silenced as if waiting for Draco to add in his abuse to the exchange.
He looked up at Hermione who was standing defiantly in front of the Slytherin table. Draco let his face assume a neutral expression. "Leave her alone."
"What?" There were disbelieving gasps from the onlookers. "Are you serious? She's a disgrace to this world."
"So? She already knows that, so just let her go about her day with what little dignity she has left." He replied coolly. Hermione took a step backwards and turned to leave the Hall.
"I knew it Hermione." Ginny said loudly, as she walked passed her. "He wouldn't stick up for you if you weren't going out."
Hermione looked outraged but continued walking passed. She quickened her pace when she heard Ginny and the other two follow her out. "Hermione, why didn't you just admit it? It would have been a whole lot easier just to tell us."
"Tell you what? There is nothing to tell!" Hermione turned around viciously to face them. "Why wont you believe me? You think that what Malfoy said in there was something a boyfriend would say?"
"I don't think so." A soft but icy voice said from behind the three friends. Draco stepped through them and joined Hermione.
Ginny pointed. "If this isn't proof enough, then I don't know what is!"
"Proof of what?" Draco asked quietly, staring her up.
"Of…of you two going out secretly." Ginny said, a trifle less sure of herself then a few seconds ago.
Draco just raised his eyebrows at her, then looked between Hermione and himself. "Us?"
Ginny nodded as Draco took a step towards her. "Why would you think that?"
"I saw…I saw you two together on the Astronomy Tower. Alone."
"And that proves what? Were we holding hands? Were we hugging? Were we kissing? Were we doing anything else that may have given you a real reason to believe that we were engaged in a relationship?"
Ginny kept her eyes downcast while shaking her head to each of the situations Draco proposed. He took her silence as a chance to continue. "If you must know, we have been working together on something. We both have amulets." As he said that he pulled out his own and glanced down at Hermione's chest where hers lay. He noticed the thin silver necklace that Harry had given her for Christmas and frowned slightly. He cleared his throat and continued. "But I didn't give hers to her; they were both given to us. It is not a gift of love, but a token of partnership. Understand?"
All three muttered their understanding. "Good." Draco continued. "We are not together. We never have been together. We will never be together." He paused almost regretfully after saying this. "If you cant respect Hermione for what she must do, then at least don't jump to ridiculous conclusions, they only prove how small your minds really are." Draco glared at each of the three in turn, then stalked back into the Great Hall, leaving a heavy silence behind him.
Hermione took a deep breath, turned on her heel and bolted down the corridor. She didn't want to hear what her 'friends' had to say, it would only upset her more. She resorted to sitting in the back corner of the library, staring at the shelves. She had successfully exhausted any possibility of doing her holiday homework over again, due to completing it a total of three times.
Her thoughts were stuck on Draco. He had told her that he would fix the little dilemma she was in, but Hermione had assumed it would involve violence with Harry and Ron, not just telling Ginny the facts. He had rightly assumed that Ginny had been the cause of the whole thing, so he forced the truth upon her.
Hermione would have to thank Draco for what he had done, but she couldn't do it just yet. Maybe it would be time to head back to the Common Room after dinner and face her friends; see what they had to say.
She ate her meal without any sign of the three of them, then walked slowly back up to the Gryffindor tower, worried about what they would say.
As she swung open the portrait hole and stepped through, Hermione instantly felt three pairs of guilty eyes staring at her from across the room. Her eyes met with Harry's startling green ones and he smiled at her, beckoning her to sit next to him. She did as he asked, keeping her eyes on him and not daring to meet with Ginny's.
"What's up Hermione?" Ron asked conversationally.
She glanced at him incredulously. "You're not going to act like that never happened are you? Because I can't do that."
"No, Hermione we cant either." Harry said to her, taking her hand in his. Ginny shifted slightly when he did that, her eyes locked on their joint hands. "I am so sorry."
Hermione held Harry's gaze, knowing there was more he wanted to say, or confess, but didn't want to in front of the other two. She gave him a hug and whispered, "That's OK, I forgive you. I know why you did it."
His eyes had widened when she pulled back, but she just smiled at him. A fake cough sounded, which turned Hermione's attention to Ron, who was sitting on the floor next to the fire.
"Uh, I'm really sorry too Hermione. I know I shouldn't have done that to you, and I should have believed what you said. But I thought Ginny had better facts to base it on then just one sighting. Sorry." Ron said again, with a glare at Ginny.
Hermione felt a lump form in her throat. She smiled in acceptance, because she didn't trust herself to speak. She had her two best friends back. That was all she could have wanted, except…
"I hate myself Hermione. I just thought you should know." Ginny said, not looking at her. "I had so firmly believed that you were betraying us that I didn't even bother to get the facts. Hex me, curse me, hit me, and hate me because I can't think of any way you'll ever be able to forgive me."
Hermione remembered all the pain Ginny had caused her, but at the same time thought about what it must have felt like for Ginny to believe that her friend was messing around with her enemy. Ginny looked truly sorry, and like she really wanted Hermione to curse her.
"Ginny, I don't want to hex you."
"Will you please? It'll make me feel better."
"No."
"Please Hermione, I am so sorry. But I honestly thought that you and Malfoy were…you know. I don't know why I didn't trust you, but I should have. I know to trust you now, if that's of any consolation."
Hermione looked between Ron and Harry. "Ginny, I accept your apology. It must have been hard for you too, to believe that your friend was betraying you. I'm sorry about seeing Dr- Malfoy behind your backs, but there's something very important we have to do. I can't tell you about it though, but you must believe me." She said to their doubtful faces. Suddenly she remembered something. "I think Dumbledore knows about it, ask him if you must."
Harry's eyes narrowed, realising finally the reason for Dumbledore's strange glances at her. "No. That's all right Hermione. We'll take your word for it. We will take your word for everything from now on."
Ginny and Ron nodded, then shared a look and stood together. "We have to go owl mum. She wanted us to owl her as soon as we got here, but we forgot." Ron explained.
Once they left, Harry glanced nervously at Hermione. "You said you know why I did it. Why?"
"Harry, I've known you for seven years. I saw the way you used to look at Cho, and I know you look at Ginny in exactly the same way. You couldn't make it known that you believed me if you were to have a chance at being with Ginny. I knew that as soon as you winked at me."
"So, you won't hurt me because of it?" Harry asked her worriedly.
Hermione laughed softly. "No Harry. I know why you did it, and understand." She paused for a few moments. "So when are you going to make a move?"
Harry blushed at her blunt question. "I haven't really thought about it."
"Well, start to." Hermione laughed at his discomfort, and gave him another hug. "I'm off to bed. I'll see you tomorrow Harry."
Harry smiled and watched her move away and up the stairs to her room. He was glad his charade was over, and that she understood why he had done it. Understood why he had hurt her for Ginny.
***
After showering and getting dressed into a pair of black pants and a warm cozy jumper, Hermione sat on the edge of her bed pensively. She had forgotten to thank Draco about saving her friendship earlier that day, but now students weren't allowed out of their Common Rooms without a good reason. Hermione didn't believe that Filch would accept 'I'm just on my way to thank a Slytherin' as an excuse.
Draco had done it so easily, as if he didn't even need to think about what he said, as long as he sounded convincing. His cool manner had stripped all confidence from Ginny and he proceeded to make her feel as guilty as possible.
Hermione found her hand unconsciously fumbling with the necklaces around her neck. A slow smile crept across her face as she realised that her day might not be over just yet. She had to thank Draco, but it couldn't be in a public place. It may well be over a month before they were both at the cabin together. Hermione's hand singled out her amulet from Harry's necklace.
Hermione was uncertain about what she was about to do, but it could work. She held her unicorn amulet tight and began to picture Draco in her mind. Hopefully, wherever he was, she would be taken to him. If it happened to be in the middle of the Slytherin Common Room, she could easily appear back in her room seconds later without being seen.
His white blonde hair was the first to form, followed by his pale skin and steely gray eyes. Then his curved mouth, strong neck and robed body. His expression was one of cool indifference; a look he wore very often. Hermione finished building Draco in her mind and soon felt the familiar loss of gravity as she traveled to him. She felt her feet touch the ground and opened her eyes to a very different image of Draco…
In one swift glance Hermione realised that he was in his dorm room. No one else was around, which made Hermione breathe a big sigh of relief. However, her breath caught in her throat when her eyes came to rest on Draco.
Standing in front of her with a look of surprise on his face stood Draco. His hair was wet and a towel dangled loosely in his hand. He wore a pair of baggy deep blue pants, and a nice set of abbs. Hermione blushed so deep that she thought her hair would catch fire. She had come into his room as he was dressing after his shower. A black shirt lay forgotten on his bed.
"I…um, shit." Hermione stuttered. He cocked his head to the side in curiosity. Obviously it didn't bother him in the slightest to have a young woman appear in his dorm room and see him half-naked. His upper body was toned and tanner than Hermione would have guessed.
Hermione quickly closed her eyes and began imagining her dorm room in such a hurry that she almost forgot to put in the bed.
At this point Draco knew he only had a few seconds to decide. Hermione had come into his room, obviously in search of him. She saw his half-dressed body and had freaked out. She wanted to tell him something, that much he could figure out, but it seemed she would never look at him straight again if he didn't sort out this uncomfortable meeting now. Draco took a step forward and took hold of her arm. He had hoped this would stop her from leaving, but strangely enough, she just took him with her.
After a few seconds Hermione and Draco appeared in Hermione's dorm room. His hand grasped her arm firmly but not tight enough to hurt her. Hermione struggled for a few seconds to get free, but he didn't let go.
"Hermione. What are you doing?" He asked her calmly. Her eyes widened very slightly at the use of her name, but she answered him venomously.
"Trying to get away from you. Let me go, you creep!"
"Now, now. You came in search of me, and presently you have me all to yourself." He loosened his grip, but still maintained a hold. "Tell me, why did you come so timely into my dorm room?"
Hermione's eyes flicked over the steely metal of his amulet resting on his pale skin to his eyes of the exact same color. "I had just wanted to thank you."
"For what?" He asked, knowing the answer but wanting to hear her say it.
"For getting me my friends back. They would never have believed me otherwise." Hermione had stopped struggling, and her arm now hung limp in his hand. "So…thank you."
Draco sneered slightly. "I didn't do it because of you. If the rumor of us being an item had reached Slytherin, I would have lost all face. I couldn't have that."
Hermione remained still. Draco had told her the night before that he would sort out her friends for her because they were being unfair to her, but now he was saying it was so he didn't become a laughing stock. Hermione lifted her free hand and placed it on Draco's cool chest to try and push her self free from him. He allowed her to do so, letting go of her arm and taking a step backwards.
She sat on the edge of her bed and looked up at him. "Why?"
"Why what?" Draco asked in confusion.
"Why couldn't you be known to have dated a Gryffindor? I could understand a Hufflepuff, they don't have one smart brain cell between them…but a Gryffindor?"
Draco was silent. He had only made up that last bit so it didn't seem like he'd done something nice for her. He moved over to her and sat down on the bed so their legs were barely touching. "It's not the fact that I'd be dating a Gryffindor, but dating you. Do you know how many girls in Slytherin wish they were you? Nearly all of them. You have Potter as your best friend, you're the smartest thing since Dumbledore and you are very se-" Draco cleared his throat and Hermione frowned. "I couldn't be known to have gone out with you, because all the girls would have killed me and the guys wouldn't speak through their jealousy."
Hermione stared fixedly at her knees. She could tell Draco was looking at her, waiting for her to respond. She looked up at him, in to his cool eyes and found herself motionless. She couldn't have moved even if she had wanted to. Draco lifted his hand and cupped her face, moving his closer. She felt his breath brush upon her lips and closed her eyes.
Bang! The door to her dorm burst open and giggles erupted from the doorway. Draco's eyes widened and within an instant he was gone. Hermione jumped up with her heart hammering. Parvarti and Lavender had just entered the room and were talking to each other in their own gibberish language. How much had they seen?
"Did you see…?" Lavender said to Parvarti through laughter.
"Uh-huh! The way they…?" Parvarti answered, from her collapsed form on the floor.
"I know! Then she…and he said…!" More giggles.
"What is going on here?" Hermione tried to demand in her most superior voice. She desperately hoped that they weren't laughing at what she and Draco had nearly done.
"Oh! Hermione, you'll never guess what Neville just did…" Parvarti began, but Hermione didn't bother to hear more. She breathed a sigh of relief and pretended to listen to their girly rambling, all the while thinking of how Draco's soft hand had caressed her face moments before.
***
Draco rested his face in his hands and tried to get a grip on himself. He silently praised Hermione's roommates for appearing when they did, or else something terrible would have happened. Draco could not rid himself of the pleased feeling he had gotten when he saw Hermione appear out of nowhere in his room. He raised his head out of his hands and stared at the spot on the floor where she had stood for a few short moments.
Draco knew he couldn't ignore the way his mind had screamed against his kissing Hermione, but his spirit; the free part of him that lived without any of Voldemort's interference had wanted to hex the two idiots who had so obliviously interrupted them.
Not only did thoughts of Hermione run through Draco's head that night, preventing him from any sleep, but thoughts of his artificial childhood.
It had all been a lie.
He had come to believe Voldemort was going to be his future. He would live to serve him, doing his bidding and getting rewarded with power in return. Draco looked upon Voldemort with such high esteem that now he felt couldn't change his position. He had been raised to side with Voldemort, no matter what the issue. Now his father had informed him that Draco was to kill him; kill his leader.
A single thought protruded from his mind. What if I could save Voldemort? Pretend to work with Hermione, then when the crunch time came, he would turn on her and kill her for Voldemort. Surely he would be rewarded greatly…
Draco felt like punching himself in the face. How could he be thinking like that? After what he had nearly done? "Ugh!" Draco had no clue of what he should do, and there was no one to help him. His father was all for killing Voldemort, (which was the biggest shock to Draco's world) Hermione surely wanted him dead also and Draco was sure that if Voldemort had a say it would be negative to living out the Prophecy. The only person of power who had remained oddly neutral in this situation was Dumbledore.
Draco had never liked Dumbledore, due to his preferred worshipping of the dark side. But now that his world seemed to have changed so greatly, perhaps he should have a chat with him tomorrow. What would he say? Did he even know about the Prophecy? Draco slipped into sleep even more confused than he had been before.
***
It was a night full of dreams and angst for Hermione too. Draco's breath still felt warm on her face and his gray eyes were ever boring in to her. What in Merlin's name had possessed her? She had actually leant in to Draco, ready to receive his lips on hers. After seven years of hatred and malice, they had been about to kiss? She silently thanked Lavender and Parvarti for coming in when they did, before she had the chance to do something she would regret. If Ron and Harry had ever found out, they'd never forgive her.
Hermione fell in to sleep halfway through thinking about abandoning the Prophecy just to avoid being alone with Draco in the cabin. Being there with out anyone to interrupt them and bring them back to their senses if a repeat of tonight ever happened again…
'She was running through the trees, searching and calling for the little one. Where was she? Surely she could hear her mother calling. Hermione began to worry. What had happened to her? She wasn't needed yet; her time would come later, much later…
Through the trees the gold hide of the young one glimmered as it tried to find where Hermione was. It saw her and rushed to her side with glee, nestling its head under hers.
Hermione's back half fell as she changed, then she stood on two legs and patted the young, who still rubbed up against her with delight…'
***
Draco awoke with a start. He hadn't realised that he'd fallen asleep, but he'd just had the strangest dream. It had felt like Hermione was there, but he couldn't see her. He had almost felt joined with her, as if her mind was with his, and they were both viewing the same thing, only from different perspectives.
He would have to ask her about that when he saw her alone next. Maybe this was the Prophecy, starting to send its messages. He had been told to help Hermione until his time came, perhaps he was receiving glimpses of what she must become, then unconsciously joining her mind with is, so she could feel it and see whether it suited her.
Well that was just stupid. Why would the Prophecy go to that much trouble just so she could have her choice of any animal? Another question for Dumbledore, Draco decided, and slipped back into sleep. This time, he dreamt of brown hair, brown eyes and a smile that could sweeten a lemon.
***
A/N- did you like? I loved writing it, and I swear I'll make the next chapter more bearable! Thanks for all the support you've given, it's very much appreciated!
Special thanks to:
Winter Fae- For enormous reviews, which I love to read and find very informative.
Two*different*people- for your consistent reviews, which are funny, strange and good to read.
Angelgurl06- Yes, that's right. The Malfoy's are only just pretending to be evil so they can hopefully kill Voldemort with out being suspected.
Hobytlah- for reviewing from the beginning.
Ladystrider77
Starlit Night- Yep, Lucius did know Draco was born to try kill Voldemort, so he became a Death Eater just to make it easier.
HarryPotterWanter- For reviewing from the beginning with such long reviews. I love them.
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I know that's not nearly all of you, but I love all of the reviews I get, so remember that I do appreciate you all. Thanks