Title: An Inevitable Fate
Chapter Fifteen: An Argument Over Umbrellas
Author: KissThis
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Rating: R - maybe later...if I feel like it.
Pairing: On rocky ground...
Setting: 6th year in Hogwarts.
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Disclaimer: This crap-ass shit is most definitely not written by J.K. Rowling -- so, obviously, I do not own Harry Potter.
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A/N: Howdy y'all! We're really getting into the plot now, aren't we? This is gonna be a REALLY long chapter because there are so many things I want to put in here. Strap yourself in, it's gonna be a long ride.
A/N2: Draco/Hermione lovers -- your ride is gonna be a bit bumpy. You've been warned.
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Cookies For: curbsideprophet
Evangeline1
Hermione walked into her bedroom leaving the door to the bathroom open in her wake. Feathery clouds of steam rolled out of the tiled expanse only to be quickly overcome by the icy state of the room. Shivering at the sudden temperature change, Hermione quickly went to her open window. After a moment of fruitless struggling to close the window with one hand she gave up and released her hold on the towel she had wrapped about her torso. With both hands now free and unencumbered she gripped the ledge of her window and pulled it down. She slid the lock into place and let out a satisfied breath.
But she was still chilly, and for good reason. Resting her fisted hands upon her bare hips she glared down at the white towel that had pooled about her feet. She gave a low growl and hooking her toes beneath the lumped terrycloth flung the offending object across the room.
Hermione smiled and turned to her bed. She dressed quickly for her bedside clock was already blinking 11:20. After a bit of wiggling she pulled dark denim jeans up over her hips and plopped down on her bed to put on her socks. In order to pull on her ankle boots, Hermione had to roll up the cuffs of her jeans. By the time she had zipped up her dark brown, leather boots and set her jeans back to rights it was 11:27.
Bent over her vanity she performed a simple drying spell on her hair. She figured by the way the rain was even now beginning to patter against the glass of her window, that any make-up she tried to put on wouldn't last long once she got outside. A quick spray of perfume across her throat and she was done. Already the fruity smell of Victoria Secret's Pear Glacé filled her senses.
Hermione turned back to her bed and grabbed her shirt off the gold comforter. She slid into it quickly moved her fingers quickly across the fastenings leaving the top and bottom two buttons undone. With one hand she pulled her chocolate hair free from beneath the collar of her blouse. With the other she zipped up her last suitcase. She hesitated a moment before grabbing her black slicker off its hook and putting it on. A deft flick of her wand and her luggage was shrunken to tiny miniatures and dropped into the pocket of her jacket.
She gave one last cursory glance around her room and moved to the door. Raising her wand she parted her lips and whispered "Nox" plunging the room into darkness. Light illuminated a sliver of the room for a fraction of a second but then she closed the door behind her and the shadows settled in once again. The only luminosity in the empty gloom was the blazing red numbers of Hermione's clock.
11:34
Hermione moved as quietly as she could through Gryffindors common room. A goal not so well carried out as she kept continually banging into the few things that made the most noise. Thankfully, she made it to the dorm staircase without too many incidents and when none of the Tower's occupants made any sound of rousing Hermione allowed herself a quiet sigh of relief.
Concentrating all her thought on stealth, Hermione started up the stairs. Her hand slid along the banister as she followed the corkscrew pathway right past the girls' dormitories. A few more steps up she reached her destination. Placing a pale hand upon the doorknob she turned it very gradually and when it could turn no farther she pushed it open.
Muffled snores rose up from several of the beds as the occupants buried themselves in their pillows. She crept past all of them, pausing only to close the bed curtains on one. After what seemed like an unnecessarily long time she reached the last bed on the right. She slipped in through the slit between curtains and sat down beside the bed's sleeping resident.
Leaning over so she could see better, Hermione raised her hand and clapped it over the person's mouth. Wide, bottle green eyes snapped open in surprise. Her free hand lifted up slowly and pressed a finger to her lips signifying silence. Lowering both hands she slid down the linen sheets until she was lying beside him.
"Hey Harry. I have to talk about something."
That was how it went. Ever since their third year whenever Harry or Hermione had a problem or needed to talk they would meet by twilight. They'd sit or lie together, in either bed, and talk for hours on end finding the following morning to seem all the brighter for it.
As far as Hermione knew no one else was aware of their late night rendezvous -- in fact she preferred it that way. Not because their talks were anything secret that needed to be kept hidden, but because it was just...good to have someone to confide in -- whenever she needed to -- without worrying what other people thought.
"Hermione?" Harry whispered into the dark. They always kept their voices low so as not to wake the others. He fumbled for the pair of glasses he kept on his night table. Without his contacts he was terribly blind. He propped himself up on his elbow. "I thought you were leaving tonight."
Hermione sighed and stole his pillow. Bunching it up she wrapped her arms about it and laid down her head. Her eyes closed as the cushy material sunk slightly. "I am."
"Hermione," Harry said slowly; using the reprimanding tone she'd heard McGonagall use on procrastinating students. "Why are you here, then?"
She pouted. Rather than answering she turned her face into the pillow and burrowed into it -- avoiding Harry's gaze.
"Hermione..."
Hermione lifted her face from the white depths of Harry's pillow to look at him, "It's just been a very confusing day. I mean I thought I had this great plan, but then Today happened and..." She sighed in frustration. "Oh, Harry! I'm not sure of anything anymore."
Harry settled his chin in his palm. His quiet chuckle was subdued slightly by the hand holding up his jaw. "Today couldn't have been so bad to make you doubt everything."
Hermione shook her head forcefully. The pillow rustled faintly. She gave him a deadpan-serious look and spoke in slow tones to make sure he caught everything. "You. Have. No. Idea."
With a groan she flopped onto her back. She gazed at the gauzy top of his canopy for a moment before throwing an arm dramatically over her eyes. Harry quirked an eyebrow.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" He asked.
Another long sigh.
"Not really."
"Alright."
Harry rubbed his eyes beneath his glasses and stifled a yawn. "Hermione--"
Hermione rolled back over, "I want you to come with me."
His open-mouthed look of shock told Hermione that that was the last thing Harry had expected her to say.
"What?!" He sputtered.
She sat up. "Please, Harry! I'd feel a lot better about this whole thing if you were with me."
"I don't know--" Harry shook his head slightly.
"Please...?"
"But class--"
"Please...?"
" 'Mione--"
"Please...?"
"You can't--"
"Please?"
"Just--"
"Please?"
" 'Mione!"
"Please?"
"Stop it!"
"Please?"
"Hermione!"
"Please, please, please, please, please, please?" She begged. She looked up at him with hopeful, puppy-dog eyes. "PUH-LEASE?"
"Ssh!" He said laughing. "Alright, alright, ALRIGHT! I'll go."
"I love you!" Hermione gushed hugging him. "Meet me down at the carriages when you're done packing."
Harry nodded and they both stood up. Hermione giggled behind her hand and hurried to the door. "Try not to be too late." She whispered.
Harry laughed to himself and stood up. The clock sitting on the floor beside his bed flickered once and changed.
11:53
Hermione quickly tip-tapped down the grand staircase sending uneasy glances to the rain-covered windows lining the walls. A sound nearby made her stop in curiosity. Her eyes darted around the open atrium trying to pinpoint the source of the sound. When they failed to find anything she gave an indiscernible shrug of her shoulders and started back down the stairs. A shadow detached itself from the bottom of the stairs and moved in front of her. She wasn't even aware of its presence until it spoke to her while she was in mid-step.
"Hermione."
With a yelp of surprise she lost her footing and slid on her bum down the last few stairs. Having one leg still propped up on the stairs and the hard stone floor against her back Hermione looked up into the eyes of Draco Malfoy.
"We need to talk."
"I can't do this right now, Draco." She murmured. She didn't look him in the eyes, but focused instead on getting up from her rather disadvantageous position.
"Hermione." He said more forcefully this time. "You've avoided me all day. We need to talk about last night..."
Hermione snorted, "Yeah, let's talk about it as much as humanly possible." She retorted under her breath.
"Hermione!"
Hermione had been willing to just let his persistence slide, expecting him to stop when she told him to. But when he had opened his mouth again...she'd snapped.
It was not turning out to be a very good day...
"Damnit, Draco!" She exclaimed. Draco jumped -- caught off-guard.
"You weren't with me last night -- you didn't have sex with me."
"Yes, I--"
"No, Draco. That wasn't me! You had sex with this thing inside of me." She spoke in a tone laced with disgust. "I can't get rid of it -- it's a part of me."
Draco knew what she was talking about now. A tiny part of his brain had stirred at her words and called forth the memory of the night before. He saw himself. He saw her. And he saw the brilliant ocher glow that filled the room.
"A part of me will always be wondering if that's what you really want; not me. Always be wondering if you're thinking of this thing that's inside of me whenever we're together. And that is why I can't be with you. I can't go through a relationship always wondering."
"Hermione..."
"Can you honestly tell me I'm wrong?"
Draco's face became pained. Hermione's heart ached, but she was far too angry with herself to let the tears come. She knew that she was doing the right thing. She couldn't let Hope feed off of someone she cared for. But it still hurt to know that she was killing any possible chance of what might have been. Her voice was soft now.
"That's not fair to me. And it's not fair to you. If this goes on...we may not be able to remain friends. So I'm stopping this now."
She brushed past him and headed for the door. "I'm going to leave for a while...and I'm going to forget."
"Why are you running away?!" Draco shouted. He whirled around in disbelief.
"I am not running!" She shouted back. "If you'll excuse me -- I have an army to start."
She pulled open the door and let the wind fling it back against the wall. Holding her jacket tighter around her body she stepped out into the storm. Draco quickly followed after. Opening the umbrella he had brought with him he ran after her.
"Hermione! Wait!" He bellowed over the wind. She whirled around.
"I don't believe it!" She yelled incredulously.
Draco stopped short. "What?"
"You can't stand in the rain without an umbrella?"
"Yes, Hermione, I learned when I was young that if I did that, I'd get wet." He retorted.
Hermione angrily pushed back the sopping hair from her face.
"And I learned when I was young if I get wet, I'll dry off." She shouted. The wind roared almost toppling Hermione off her feet, but still she stomped forward and went on. "I learned not to be afraid by water falling from the sky. I learned that, when I was little, the things that frightened me might not be so frightening after all -- that possibly, the only reason I was frightened was because I was young."
Hermione started to head back to the castle, but Draco, who had had enough of being yelled at, wasn't finished with her yet. She wasn't the only one affected by what had happened last night. And though their current conversation seemed to have no connection to their problem Draco felt as if it held some sort of relevance in the grand scheme of things.
But more importantly -- Malfoys didn't appreciate being yelled at.
"You're wearing a raincoat!"
Hermione turned around "What?"
"It was raining when you left your room. You don't have an umbrella 'cause you don't have an umbrella."
She was frozen to the spot. Draco's tirade continued.
"Only you won't admit it 'cause you're Miss 'I meant to do that. I'm free and open an unafraid of rain. I'm wet 'cause that's how I meant it to be. I'm the Champion of the world, though my life's falling apart because of it. I slept with one of best friends last night -- but that's how I meant it to be.'"
Hermione couldn't tell she was crying until she tasted the salt upon her lips. Water beat down on her and chilled her to her very core. Her amber eyes fluctuated with energy bringing light to the weather-darkened grounds.
"God forbid you should admit you're not a tough guy." Draco's eased his tone, "God forbid you should admit...that you don't have an umbrella."
"I'm going inside until the rain stops." She said quietly -- her voice hitching -- and stepped back inside the looming Hogwarts castle. Draco was right behind her.
"I was offering you the umbrella..." He said earnestly. He felt chagrined for yelling at her so.
"No, thank you."
Draco closed his umbrella, "Are you crying?" He felt something drop to the pit of his stomach. Had he made her cry?
"What's going on you two?"
"Harry!" Hermione immediately smiled.
"Hey, 'Mione. Draco." Harry said upon reaching them.
Hermione's hand went to her jacket pocket and she toyed nervously with her shrunken baggage. "Ready to go?"
Harry nodded in response, but he was looking quizzically at Draco. "What are you doing here, Draco?" Harry gave Hermione a sideways glance, "Are...you coming too?"
"No." Hermione answered quickly. "He was just patrolling the halls and offered me his umbrella."
"Oh," Harry breathed.
Draco nodded slowly. His eyes seemed to be glued to the floor.
"Well, it's good to know you're looking out for Hermione." Harry chuckled, "But it seems you were a bit late."
Hermione turned pink as Harry reached out to pull a wet lock of hair from her face. Beads of water rolled down the darkened strands and dripped onto the floor.
"We'll be alright though." He finished. Harry reached into his pocket then and after a moment of fishing around he pulled out a miniature umbrella. After he enlarged it he opened it up and swung it over his shoulder.
"That's bad luck you know," Draco said finally raising his eyes.
Harry was not as pessimistic. Laughing slightly he shook his head. Several disheveled raven locks fell over his eyes concealing the trademark scar. "Then it's a good thing I'm not superstitious. See you in a few days, Draco."
Harry threw his free arm over Hermione's shoulder and started towards the door.
"We'll talk when you get back, 'Mione?" Draco asked.
Hermione looked back over her shoulder. A tear fell down her face. "No." She said in a hushed tone, "There's nothing to talk about."
And when she was gone Draco flung his umbrella at the door and stormed off into the castle.
Every second of his angry, winding walk was spent thinking of the one thing he least wanted to. As he stomped past a disfigured statue a sudden thought came to him and he took a step backwards the better to study the stone architecture. His wand appeared from the folds of his sleeve he tapped the hunched back of the statue and watched it come to life and jump out of the way.
He pulled his robes close to his body to keep them from catching on anything and jumped into the passage that had previously been hidden behind the statue.
"Lumos" With thoughts still filled with angry memories the spell had been spoken a bit too forcefully and the result was a blinding flash of light from the tip of his wand. Draco turned his head and waited until the magical bubble of light dimmed itself before starting on down the passageway.
Holding his wand outstretched it created eerie shadows along the walls but served its purpose in guiding him through the tunnel. The statue of the hump-backed witch slid shut behind him.
Draco hiccuped loudly and wobbled on his stool. Sure -- Butterbeers were barely alcoholic, but if you downed enough of them it tended to make you a bit tipsy. The patrons of the Three Broomsticks studied the loud student with as much subtlety as their own drunkenness could allow, and then went back to their own frothing bottles of Butterbeer. Madame Rosmerta, owner of the Broomsticks, walked over to the slouched boy and set down the glass she had been drying.
"Maybe you should cut back on the Butterbeers, hunny."
Draco looked up, more sharply than was probably good for him, and was rewarded with a sharp pain in his head/
"Oh! Bloody hell!" He cursed loudly.
Rosmerta clucked disapprovingly. "Well, dear, are you all right? You should really watch yah'self."
Draco continued to clutch at his pained head but found himself able to multi-task long enough to glower up at the woman who was leaning easily against the opposite side of the bar counter. He snorted. "Thanks for the glittering advice. I'll log that away. Now, how many times -- give me 'nother!"
Rosmerta gave a huff of annoyance at being referred to in such a demeaning manner. "I've been kind enough to allow you to stay here and not tell Dumbledore of your being in Hogsmeade when you're not s'pose to. But that makes me responsible for you and I'm cutting you off."
"Damn responsibility!" Draco barked banging his empty mug on the counter. His drunken face went lax and he gave her a lopsided smirk that wasn't up to his usual standards. "I feel awful bad about tying ya down with 'sponsibility 'n all. So...I'm cutting ya loose!" He slurred.
Clinking rose from his pocket as he pulled forth a handful of gold coins and dropped them onto the bar. "Go 'n buy yerself sometin' pretty. I'll just help myself here."
Standing up jerkily on the rungs of his stool he leaned over the counter and flailed his arm about trying to locate the taps.
"Draco?"
Draco looked up to see a familiar redhead stepping out of the back room. Couldn't be sure though -- his vision was rather fuzzy and certain details completely eluded him.
Ginny walked slowly into the tavern. Her warm brown eyes remained locked on the scene that her voice had frozen as effectively as ice. Draco's legs were tangled in his barstool and, though Rosmerta was trying to shove him off, his fingers clung desperately to the far edge of the bar top.
"Ah!" Rosmerta was relieved that she was finally able to save her Butterbeer from tampering. "There's your bonnie lass! Now...get out of my tavern!"
Ginny switched her weight nervously between her feet. She was at Hogsmeade -- rather illegally -- and Draco Malfoy was sitting at the bar looking as if he couldn't form a coherent thought, much less get himself back to Hogwarts correctly.
"Come on, Draco. I'll help you back to your room."
I had crap-ass excuses for reviews last time! Let's try and step it up a notch shall we?
Review!
KissThis