A/N: Alright, here it is. The long awaited sequel to Even Evil Hearts Can be Broken. I promised it September 1st, and here it is. Problem being I have no title yet! So….I'm posting it with the original. If you can think of a good title for it, I will make it a separate story. The only rule I have is that it must have something to do with Evil Hearts. At any rate, here's the first chapter. I hope you like it!
Chapter One
Just then the bells started to ring, signifying that the people should gather in front of Draco's Palace to hear him speak. The palace guards were out front defining a pathway from Lord Voldemort's Palace to Draco's. Ron and Pansy took their places near the front. They watched as Draco and Hermione, both dressed in somber black dress robes, walked up the path to their palace.
Hermione took a deep breath, wondering if she would be able to make it safely to the palace promenade. She felt lightheaded and slightly queasy and, for the first time in longer than she could remember, she had no idea what to do or say. As she walked along the crowd, she looked at the faces of the people she was passing by. Suddenly she began to feel very ill, recognizing this walk from her nightmares. The faces all swirled around her, terrified and angry. Hermione tore her eyes away from them and forced herself to look straight ahead. She felt Draco squeeze her hand encouragingly, and relaxed a little bit. They reached the stairs of the palace and slowly ascended.
Taking their places on the promenade, Hermione surveyed the people around her. Lucius Malfoy was standing nearby, beaming at his son proudly. Severus was next to Lucius, his eyes fixed on the ground. Several guards stood around her. Draco stepped forward to address the crowd.
Hermione Granger sat upright in her bed, a cold sweat covering her skin. She struggled to catch her breath and glanced at the clock. Three AM. Tossing the covers back she climbed out of her bed and went to stand at her bedroom window.
This dream had been plaguing her for the past two weeks. It was no use trying to go back to sleep, the dream would only come again. She pressed her forehead to the cool glass windowpane. Only one thing would help her now.
Tiptoeing down the stairs, Hermione pulled her hair up into a ponytail. She quietly shut the back door behind her and sat down on the stairs to lace up her tennis shoes. Creeping around the yard so as not to wake the neighbor's dogs, she set off at a slow jog once she reached the street.
Running had become a secret pastime of Hermione's. When she was struggling to sleep at night, she would sneak out the back door and head off around the neighborhood. Lately she had been running every night.
Turning left at the corner, Hermione headed down the dimly lit bike path. She knew her parents would be furious if they could see her running on this part of the road at night when it was poorly lit and consequently unsafe, but lately Hermione had been having trouble dealing with her parents. After all, they weren't her real parents.
Suddenly, it seemed out of nowhere, a bump in the asphalt caused her to trip and go skidding across the pavement. She landed hard on her hands as she had used them to brace herself when she began falling.
"Great," she said aloud, shifting so that she was sitting on her rear end. Both of her knees were skinned, and her left ankle was throbbing. Her knee socks would not cover these scrapes. Getting to her feet, Hermione realized that her ankle would not hold very much weight. She sighed and began to limp back towards her house.
Before she could get very far, an owl came flying towards her and perched on a nearby fencepost. Hermione did not recognize this owl, but she limped over to it anyway. It was a dark grey owl, with beady black eyes. When she got closer a familiar crest was visible on the ankle tag it wore. She took the letter from him and opened it.
"Hermione, meet me in Diagon Alley tomorrow at noon. We need to talk," the letter said. Hermione folded it up and tucked it into the waistband of her shorts. She limped towards her house while Draco's owl flew in impatient circles overhead.
There was something about August weather that Hermione just adored. The nights were crisp and cool but the days were beyond hot. It was like the season was at odds with itself and could not decide whether to be hot or cold.
But tonight Hermione didn't notice any of this. As she half-dragged her injured leg around the side yard of her house all she could wonder about was Draco and what on earth he wanted to talk about. There was a sour feeling in the pit of her stomach because she knew too well that the words 'we need to talk' are some of the most dreaded words in any relationship. She hoped at least that he wasn't going to break up with her.
"Mom!" Hermione yelled, switching on the light in the kitchen as she re-entered the house. "Mom, help!" she yelled again. Within moments her parents had descended to the kitchen to see what the problem was.
"Do you realize what could have happened to you out there?" her mother scolded as she pulled Hermione's sore ankle into her lap. "It's swollen," she commented and began squeezing it gently to check for broken bones.
"Ouch!" Hermione exclaimed, jerking the ankle away. Her mother pulled it back and slapped a bag of frozen vegetables over it.
"It's not broken, thank God," she pronounced. "What on Earth were you doing going for a run at this hour?" she demanded. Before she allowed Hermione a chance to speak, she went on, "There are all sorts of horrible people who come out at night, you might have been killed, or raped, or kidnapped, Hermione, and we wouldn't have known because we thought you were asleep safe in your bed!"
"Well, none of those things happened, did they?" Hermione snapped. Draco's owl gave a soft hoot of approval, also reminding her that she still needed to send Draco a response. "May I go to Diagon Alley tomorrow?" she asked.
"Why should I let you go to Diagon Alley? I think you should be grounded," her mother replied. Hermione felt her heart sinking.
"I'm sorry I snuck out, but please, Mom, you have to let me go," Hermione pleaded. "Draco wants to meet me there and I haven't seen him all summer, and-"
"Oh, well if you're going to see Draco," her mother's tone of voice completely shifted. Hermione sighed, thankful that her mother was so in favor of Hermione having a boyfriend. Mrs. Granger had only prodded Hermione for the past six years about trying to find one and now that she had one it was like a dream come true for her mother. She was practically planning the wedding already.
Hermione just smiled as her mother began talking about when she was in high school. The story never changed, in fact, Hermione could recite it herself. It always ended with Mrs. Granger suggesting not-so delicately that Draco might be "the one" for Hermione. Though she wanted to get married someday, Hermione wasn't so sure she wanted to do that at the end of this year like so many of the other seventh years were doing.
It was almost expected of girls who went to Hogwarts to be well on their way to getting married by the time they graduated. You were supposed to do well in school and find a husband and try to get a decent job after graduation – but not too decent, of course. Your husband was supposed to have a better job so you could stay home with the children once they were born.
This had been staring Hermione in the face since she first started Hogwarts. The first years had anxiously watched as the seventh year girls announced their engagements and spent the days before N.E.W.T.s surrounded by taffeta and cake while the boys studied hard and took apprenticeships.
It was just another area where the muggle-borns were set apart from the purebloods. The pureblooded wizards graciously accepted marriage offers and planned bridal teas. The muggle-born girls were usually more hesitant to agree. Unless of course, their mothers were wedding obsessed like Hermione's.
"So I'll just drop you off in London while I do my shopping," her mother concluded. Hermione nodded and limped up to her room with the bag of veggies in her hand and Draco's owl in tow.
Once she had written Draco a short response agreeing to meet him in front of Florean Fortescue's the next day at noon, Hermione crawled back into her bed and arranged the frozen vegetables on her ankle. Unfortunately she was wide awake and couldn't get comfortable enough to doze off. It was approaching five in the morning and the sky outside was beginning to lighten. Instead of sleeping, Hermione tried to focus on the upcoming school year.
Being Head Girl was something she had been working towards since the day she found out about Hogwarts. To finally have that title was the greatest feeling in the world. Or it should have been. Hermione had yet to decide what she was going to do after school. She could apply for Auror training, or try to find an apprenticeship somewhere but the list of things she wanted to do for the rest of her life was much shorter than the list of things she definitely didn't want to do.
It occurred to her around six thirty that she was actually nervous about seeing Draco for the first time all summer. They had been writing back and forth since they left school but there had never been a way to see each other. The Malfoy family had gone to Africa on safari for an entire month, and Hermione's family had been to the beach for two weeks. The rest of the time they had both been at home but for some reason or another there was never a way to get together. This was the first opportunity for them to see one another and school was only two weeks away.
Heaving an enormous sigh, Hermione flung the now melted bag of vegetables on her bedroom floor and rolled over onto her stomach. She hugged her pillow and took a deep breath. There was no use in agonizing over things she couldn't control. At least she was getting to see him at all.
It wasn't until almost eight that Hermione's eyelids began to get heavy. She fought to keep them open as she got out of bed and headed for the shower. The hot water cascaded down her shoulders, and she let out a yawn into the now steamy bathroom. Once her hair had been washed she took a deep breath and braced herself against the shower wall. With a free hand she twisted the shower knob all the way to the right.
An icy cold stream of water came shooting out of the spigot, causing Hermione's eyes to wince shut and her whole body to stiffen. She let out an involuntary shriek, and quickly spun around to turn the water off. At least she was awake now.
Stepping out of the shower and onto the plush bathmat, Hermione wrapped a thick fuzzy towel around herself. She rubbed a circle in the fog on the mirror and peered at her face. Luckily enough, her skin had not broken out overnight.
"Hermione!" her mother's voice was right outside the bathroom door. "How's your ankle?" she asked. Hermione opened the door and brushed past her mother.
"It's fine," she lied, trying to walk normally. "Just a little sore," she admitted. Her mother sighed.
"After breakfast you can take some medicine for it," she decided. "Now go get all dolled up for Draco, and I'll make you something to eat."
"Yes, mother," Hermione sighed, heading into her bedroom. She dropped her towel on the floor and headed straight for her closet. After picking out a pair of light-colored jeans and a white tshirt, she blow dried her hair and got dressed. Descending to the kitchen, she took a deep breath and prepared herself for the disgusted screech her mother let out upon seeing the outfit she had chosen.
"I will not take you to Diagon Alley in that," her mother protested. Hermione shrugged.
"I'll take the bus," she countered.
"For one, it's August in London," Mrs. Granger said firmly, accentuating the words. "Second, you haven't seen Draco all summer, why don't you remind him what he's been waiting for?"
"I don't need to look like a whore to do that, Mom," Hermione disagreed, taking a bite of her toast.
"But, Hermione, please," her mother sighed. "You're not even wearing any makeup!"
"It's August, in London," Hermione repeated. "Besides, he's seen me naked, it's not like," Hermione shut her mouth, realizing what she had just said.
"He's what?" Her mother repeated calmly, as though she had not just heard what her daughter had said. "Hermione Jane Granger! March up those stairs and change those clothes, and when you come back down here you will be wearing a skirt and makeup, or you will not be returning to Hogwarts this fall, let alone going to Diagon Alley today!" her mother screeched. "And I don't care what you say; you will be going on birth control."
Hermione didn't look at her mother before she went back up the stairs to her room. Instead she just sprinted up the stairs and quickly changed into a denim skirt and added some eye shadow and lip gloss. This was not a good start to the day.
Draco sat anxiously outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor waiting for Hermione to show up. Granted, he had shown up an hour early and so each minute that passed seemed like an eternity.
After having not seen Hermione all summer, this last hour was about to kill him. The waiting, and the weight of the news he had to tell her were becoming too much for him to bear. Truthfully, he wasn't sure how well Hermione would take his news.
"Can I get you something else?" a snide, pimple-faced boy asked him, clearing away the empty soda glass in front of him.
"Another soda, please," Draco replied, slapping some coins on the table. The boy smiled patronizingly at him and turned away. The requested soda appeared on Draco's table within moments, and only a little bit sloshed over the edge of the glass when the boy set it down. Draco pretended not to notice this and looked up and down the street once again, searching for any sight of Hermione.
"Looking for someone?" a soft voice said in his ear. He jumped about a foot in the air and turned to see a smiling Hermione standing behind him. Getting to his feet, he smiled and gave her an enormous hug.
"You look fantastic," he said, looking her over. She rolled her eyes and sat down at the table.
"Thanks," she replied, looking a bit sheepish. He sat back down and pushed the soda across the table to her.
"Would you like some?" he asked. She thought for a moment and then starting drinking it as fast as she could. Draco just sat there, watching her, completely in awe. When she finished drinking, she looked up at him, and realized he'd been watching the whole time.
"I'm sorry, I was really thirsty," she said, pushing the empty glass back to him. He shook his head.
"It's fine," he assured her, unable to tear his eyes away. He stretched out his hand across the table to take her hand. "It's been so long," he said, still staring at her.
"I know," Hermione agreed, cursing her mother for being right about the makeup. She was now thankful that she had put it on.
"You're so beautiful, Hermione," Draco breathed, reaching out to touch her cheek. "I didn't remember you like this," he admitted. Hermione blushed and looked away, a little bit uncomfortable. He gave her hand a squeeze and then looked down at her hand. "You're still wearing the ring," he remarked. Hermione looked at their hands.
"So are you," she observed. He nodded.
"I've thought about you every day," Draco said. Hermione smiled, and bit her lip, trying to keep from smiling too widely. As sweet as it sounded, she was anxious to hear what he had needed to talk to her about so badly, and this was not sounding like Draco at all.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" she asked, trying to change the subject. She watched him closely, and saw his expression change briefly. Then it was back to the same adoring gaze.
"That's not important anymore," he decided. "Let's go for a walk," he suggested, getting to his feet. Hermione followed, confused by Draco's behavior, but still glad to be with him again. She reminded herself that they had plenty of time until her mother came to pick her up for her to figure out what it was that Draco wanted.
"And so then she turned to her little sister and threw the shoe at her and repeated the exact words my father had just said to her!" Draco laughed. Hermione rolled her eyes and laughed at Draco's story about his newest House-elves, despite her dislike for the creatures. She and Draco were having dinner in the Leaky Cauldron and
"It sounds like your summer was a lot of fun," Hermione decided. Draco shrugged.
"My favorite part was today," he replied. Hermione smiled from ear to ear, like she had been doing all day. But then she frowned.
"Draco, will you please tell me why you asked me to come here?" Hermione begged. "You haven't acted like yourself all day," she reminded him.
"I know," Draco sighed. He shrunk visibly into his seat. "I know I've been acting strangely," he said. "It's just that I haven't seen you all summer, and you are even more fantastic than I remember," he informed her. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I can't take my eyes off you," he added.
"I noticed," Hermione agreed. "But it's so unlike you," she frowned. "You've always been romantic, but now it's like you're reading from some romance novel, I don't know," she shook her head. Draco sighed again and reached out to take her hand.
"To be perfectly honest with you, Hermione, I've been dreading this moment from the moment I knew it had to come. And seeing you today has made it so much worse. I was so tempted to just write to you and explain everything, but I knew I had to do it in person. I owe you that much," he began. Hermione could feel her heart pounding. This did not sound like good news at all. In fact it sounded like he was about to break up with her.
"Go on," she said, her voice barely audible in the crowded tavern. Draco looked her face over and took her cheek in his hand.
"Hermione, I love you with all of my heart," he started, leaning in as close to her as he possibly could. "You are the absolute greatest thing that has ever happened to me. I can't imagine anyone else I would rather spend the year with as Head students. I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you," he continued, pausing to take a deep breath. Now Hermione was even more confused. Draco's speech had just changed tone completely.
"Hermione, I want you to know that you can count on me, no matter what happens, to always be there for you. But the thing is, we can't be together," he said. Hermione stared straight ahead, barely hearing the words that came next. Somehow she had known that this was the direction things were heading. The ominous owl post, the strange behavior; it all made perfect sense, except for one thing.
"But why?" she asked, her voice quavering. She bit her tongue, willing herself not to cry. No she wouldn't dare cry in front of all these people.
"Just trust me, it's for your own good," Draco sighed. "I wish I could tell you more," he said sadly.
"I don't understand," she repeated. "Please, Draco, just explain it to me. I don't need you to protect me," she protested. Draco shook his head.
"I can't," he said apologetically. Hermione bit her lip and got to her feet slowly.
"I have to go," she said. Draco nodded.
"I'll walk you out," he offered. Hermione shook her head.
"Don't," she requested. He nodded.
"I'll see you on the train," he said. Hermione nodded her head in agreement and started to walk away.
She was almost at the door when Draco stopped her. He grabbed her shoulder and spun her around before she could even register what was going on. The next thing she knew his lips were covering hers in one of the most intense kisses she had ever received. Her knees buckled beneath her and she had to grab one of Draco's arms to steady herself. His hand found its way to its usual spot in the small of her back, and his tongue slid easily into her mouth.
"What are you doing?" she demanded, once the kiss had ended. She struggled to catch her breath and waited to hear what he had to say.
"I couldn't help myself," Draco apologized. "I couldn't let you walk away without being sure you knew I loved you."
"If you loved me, you wouldn't be doing this to me," she informed him. He opened his mouth and closed it again, unable to form words.
"We'll talk about this later," he said finally. "On the train to school. I have a lot to tell you."
"Fine," Hermione relented, shaking her head. "Goodnight, Draco," she said, pushing open the door.
"Goodnight, Hermione," he sighed, watching her walk away. He could feel his stomach churning as soon as the door was closed and she was gone. "Please don't let this be a mistake," he said softly to himself, taking the ring from his finger and putting it in his pocket with Hermione's. As he left the Leaky Cauldron for Diagon Alley, he hoped she wouldn't notice the ring was missing until she got home.