The One I'll Always Love
Chapter One -Breaking Hearts
Draco was walking through the halls of Hogwarts. Nothing special, nothing new. It was June 5th; school was to end in less than a month. The summer was about to begin, and everyone in Hogwarts was celebrating. Even Snape had let up on the N.E.W.T.s level Potions homework-an especially amazing occurence because the "Boy-Who-Lived" was, amazingly enough, in that class, along with Draco, Hermione Granger, Susan Bones, Blaise Zabini, Terry Boot and Padma Patil. Draco hated his classmates, well, except Blaise. Without Blaise to help him make fun of St. Potter and his pet mudblood, that class would be pure hell. But all that was about to change for Draco. As he rounded the corner, he heard quiet sobbing. He looked around, only to find Miss Teacher's Pet herself. Her face was red and covered with her unchecked tears. "What's wrong, Muddy? Did St. Pothead and the Weasel finally wise up and leave you? Or did your precious Old Man Dumbledore bite the dust?" Draco taunted. Hermione jumped, unaware anyone was even there. When she realized who it was, she glared hatefully and replyed, "No." She tried to keep a fresh wave of tears from flowing again, but she couldn't. Filled with a surprize and sudden feeling of sympathy, Draco asked softly, "Then why are you crying?" Hermione glanced up to see whether Draco was trying to get her to fall for some sort of trick. Deciding that he didn't have any ill wishes towards her- at least not right now-she answered ,"Harry and Ron have gone missing and my Grandad just died. I don't know what to do. None of the locating spells I've tried have worked for Harry and Ron and no spell in invention can bring my Grandad back. He was the only one who understood me Malfoy. The only one. He understood my love of knowledge and of great literature. He bought me my first Tolkien novel. My first encyclopedia of Literature. Without him, I'll be...lost." Draco stood there, not sure of what to do. Then, he did the one thing that came to mind; he hugged her. Both were obviously surprised by his action, but both knew that it felt, well, right.
"I understand you. I think I always have." Draco whispered. "Now, Granger, about Pothead and the Weasel. You said they're missing and that no spell you've tried so far has worked?" Hermione pulled back from Draco and wiped her eyes, replying, "Yes, that's right." "Well, have you tired any of the Dark Locator spells? No? Typical goody-goody. Alright. I'll need something of both of the missing persons'. As I'm obviously not allowed in Gryffindor Tower, you'll have to get that. Meet me right back here in an hour. I'll bring everything else I need." Hermione looked at him in sheer, undisguised shock. "You're, you're helping me? But, but why?" "Because a Malfoy always helps someone they care about. We need our allies too you know. OK, right back here in one hour." Draco stood up and waited for what he'd said to sink in. Hermione looked up at him and smiled, nodding. She jumped up and ran off to Gryffindor Tower to get what Draco had asked for. Draco sighed and said to himself, "Draco Orion Malfoy, you're going soft. What would Lucius say if he had seen you a minute ago?" Draco laughed softly as he pictured his father's mixed look of horror and anger, then he walked back to his own tower to gather the other ingredients he needed to help the lovely Hermione Granger.
One hour later...
Draco arrived back at the designated spot, only to find Hermione there, paitently waiting for him. "Malfoy-" "Please, Draco. I'll even call you Hermione." "Oh! Alright. Draco, how do I know you aren't going to mess this up on purpose, just so that Harry and Ron aren't ever found? I mean, you can't tell me that you haven't at least thought of it." Draco looked at her in shock. "Madamoiselle Granger, you have cut me deep. I must admit that the thought crossed my mind, but with my steadily growing independence from my father and his cronies, I need allies. How, may I ask, am I supposed to do that if I stab them all in the back?" Hermione looked thoughtful for a minute before shrugging. "OK then, now that we've all agreed I have good intentions-" "For once." muttered Hermione. Draco rolled his eyes before continuing, "As I was saying, I have good intentions for this. Now, to start. I see you have the personal items. Good. I have the blood of an enemy and the hair of a friend. Then, put the items in the cauldron along with the blood. Good. I'll put the hair on top. Alright, now i say the spell and we wait. 'Li odio, tuttavia devono essere trovati. Aiutilo alcoolici scuri a trovare i miei nemici mortali!' OK, waiting time." Draco sighed and sat down next to Hermione. "Mortal enemies? Is this a spell that can be used to find mortal enemies? And I didn't know you spoke Italian." Draco laughed at her expression. "Well, yes, it can be used to find mortal enemies, unless they know the signs that they are being tracked by it and therefore know to how to stop it. The Dark Lord has been tracking St. Potter for over a year now and Potter has yet to notice, so I doubt he will know how to stop it. As for the Italian, Il mio amore, parlo più appena italiano. Inoltre parlo la lingua di passione ed amo insegnare che ad altri, se capite il mio significato." Hermione gasped. Then retorted in her own perfect Italian, "Ho capito che ogni parola di quella e dell'io deve dire, io ha sempre amava imparare le nuove lingue." Draco smirked and said, "I'm a good teacher." The two of them leaned closer together, neither one sure of how far the other was willing to go. Finally, Draco couldn't take it anymore. He pressed his lips against Hermione's, begging for entrance. She complied willingly. They suddenly heard Harry's voice and broke apart abruptly. "Hermione, I know where they are. Look." She looked into the cauldron and saw a pale and bloody Harry shaking an even paler Ron. "Ron! Ron! Get up! We have to get out of here! Ron!" Hermione gasped, her eyes filling with tears. "Draco! We, we have to help them! Where are they? Where are they?" "Hermione, relax. I know where they are. They are at Malfoy Manor. My father must have somehow brought them there. Don't worry. I know what to do. I can Apparate, so I'll fly out on my broomstick until I get to the Hogwarts boundaries. Then I'll Apparate to where they are. I'll Apparate with them back to Hogsmeade. Then we can take one of the secret passageways. I'll be quick, I promise." Draco grabbed her hands in his and kissed her fingertips. "Hermione Granger, what have you done? I'm going soft." Draco stood to go and carry out his plan when he heard Hermione softly crying. "B-but, isn't Apparating with more than one person very dangerous? And didn't you already give up alot of blood to make this potion thingy? I'm not an idiot Draco. I knew you would have had alot of explaining to do if you tried to get anyone else's blood and you needed the 'blood of an enemy'. I just don't want you to get hurt." Draco, although apparently touched by what she had said, was adamant that he stick to his paln. "I'll be fine. And so will they. I promise." Draco then disappeared down one of Hogwarts' many long and dark hallways, leaving Hermione alone with her tears and her breaking heart.
Draco was walking through the halls of Hogwarts. Nothing special, nothing new. It was June 5th; school was to end in less than a month. The summer was about to begin, and everyone in Hogwarts was celebrating. Even Snape had let up on the N.E.W.T.s level Potions homework-an especially amazing occurence because the "Boy-Who-Lived" was, amazingly enough, in that class, along with Draco, Hermione Granger, Susan Bones, Blaise Zabini, Terry Boot and Padma Patil. Draco hated his classmates, well, except Blaise. Without Blaise to help him make fun of St. Potter and his pet mudblood, that class would be pure hell. But all that was about to change for Draco. As he rounded the corner, he heard quiet sobbing. He looked around, only to find Miss Teacher's Pet herself. Her face was red and covered with her unchecked tears. "What's wrong, Muddy? Did St. Pothead and the Weasel finally wise up and leave you? Or did your precious Old Man Dumbledore bite the dust?" Draco taunted. Hermione jumped, unaware anyone was even there. When she realized who it was, she glared hatefully and replyed, "No." She tried to keep a fresh wave of tears from flowing again, but she couldn't. Filled with a surprize and sudden feeling of sympathy, Draco asked softly, "Then why are you crying?" Hermione glanced up to see whether Draco was trying to get her to fall for some sort of trick. Deciding that he didn't have any ill wishes towards her- at least not right now-she answered ,"Harry and Ron have gone missing and my Grandad just died. I don't know what to do. None of the locating spells I've tried have worked for Harry and Ron and no spell in invention can bring my Grandad back. He was the only one who understood me Malfoy. The only one. He understood my love of knowledge and of great literature. He bought me my first Tolkien novel. My first encyclopedia of Literature. Without him, I'll be...lost." Draco stood there, not sure of what to do. Then, he did the one thing that came to mind; he hugged her. Both were obviously surprised by his action, but both knew that it felt, well, right.
"I understand you. I think I always have." Draco whispered. "Now, Granger, about Pothead and the Weasel. You said they're missing and that no spell you've tried so far has worked?" Hermione pulled back from Draco and wiped her eyes, replying, "Yes, that's right." "Well, have you tired any of the Dark Locator spells? No? Typical goody-goody. Alright. I'll need something of both of the missing persons'. As I'm obviously not allowed in Gryffindor Tower, you'll have to get that. Meet me right back here in an hour. I'll bring everything else I need." Hermione looked at him in sheer, undisguised shock. "You're, you're helping me? But, but why?" "Because a Malfoy always helps someone they care about. We need our allies too you know. OK, right back here in one hour." Draco stood up and waited for what he'd said to sink in. Hermione looked up at him and smiled, nodding. She jumped up and ran off to Gryffindor Tower to get what Draco had asked for. Draco sighed and said to himself, "Draco Orion Malfoy, you're going soft. What would Lucius say if he had seen you a minute ago?" Draco laughed softly as he pictured his father's mixed look of horror and anger, then he walked back to his own tower to gather the other ingredients he needed to help the lovely Hermione Granger.
One hour later...
Draco arrived back at the designated spot, only to find Hermione there, paitently waiting for him. "Malfoy-" "Please, Draco. I'll even call you Hermione." "Oh! Alright. Draco, how do I know you aren't going to mess this up on purpose, just so that Harry and Ron aren't ever found? I mean, you can't tell me that you haven't at least thought of it." Draco looked at her in shock. "Madamoiselle Granger, you have cut me deep. I must admit that the thought crossed my mind, but with my steadily growing independence from my father and his cronies, I need allies. How, may I ask, am I supposed to do that if I stab them all in the back?" Hermione looked thoughtful for a minute before shrugging. "OK then, now that we've all agreed I have good intentions-" "For once." muttered Hermione. Draco rolled his eyes before continuing, "As I was saying, I have good intentions for this. Now, to start. I see you have the personal items. Good. I have the blood of an enemy and the hair of a friend. Then, put the items in the cauldron along with the blood. Good. I'll put the hair on top. Alright, now i say the spell and we wait. 'Li odio, tuttavia devono essere trovati. Aiutilo alcoolici scuri a trovare i miei nemici mortali!' OK, waiting time." Draco sighed and sat down next to Hermione. "Mortal enemies? Is this a spell that can be used to find mortal enemies? And I didn't know you spoke Italian." Draco laughed at her expression. "Well, yes, it can be used to find mortal enemies, unless they know the signs that they are being tracked by it and therefore know to how to stop it. The Dark Lord has been tracking St. Potter for over a year now and Potter has yet to notice, so I doubt he will know how to stop it. As for the Italian, Il mio amore, parlo più appena italiano. Inoltre parlo la lingua di passione ed amo insegnare che ad altri, se capite il mio significato." Hermione gasped. Then retorted in her own perfect Italian, "Ho capito che ogni parola di quella e dell'io deve dire, io ha sempre amava imparare le nuove lingue." Draco smirked and said, "I'm a good teacher." The two of them leaned closer together, neither one sure of how far the other was willing to go. Finally, Draco couldn't take it anymore. He pressed his lips against Hermione's, begging for entrance. She complied willingly. They suddenly heard Harry's voice and broke apart abruptly. "Hermione, I know where they are. Look." She looked into the cauldron and saw a pale and bloody Harry shaking an even paler Ron. "Ron! Ron! Get up! We have to get out of here! Ron!" Hermione gasped, her eyes filling with tears. "Draco! We, we have to help them! Where are they? Where are they?" "Hermione, relax. I know where they are. They are at Malfoy Manor. My father must have somehow brought them there. Don't worry. I know what to do. I can Apparate, so I'll fly out on my broomstick until I get to the Hogwarts boundaries. Then I'll Apparate to where they are. I'll Apparate with them back to Hogsmeade. Then we can take one of the secret passageways. I'll be quick, I promise." Draco grabbed her hands in his and kissed her fingertips. "Hermione Granger, what have you done? I'm going soft." Draco stood to go and carry out his plan when he heard Hermione softly crying. "B-but, isn't Apparating with more than one person very dangerous? And didn't you already give up alot of blood to make this potion thingy? I'm not an idiot Draco. I knew you would have had alot of explaining to do if you tried to get anyone else's blood and you needed the 'blood of an enemy'. I just don't want you to get hurt." Draco, although apparently touched by what she had said, was adamant that he stick to his paln. "I'll be fine. And so will they. I promise." Draco then disappeared down one of Hogwarts' many long and dark hallways, leaving Hermione alone with her tears and her breaking heart.