Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all.
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Pairing: Hermione/Draco
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Rating: in question... for now PG-13... next chapter... who knows? ;)
***
Summary: It's the summer after sixth year and Hermione Granger has been through hell at home. Without anyone to comfort her, she walks out on her parents and finally flees to Hogwarts. What happens when she arrives is completely unexpected.
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Chapter 3: Explanations
***Harry's POV***
"Come on in Harry!" Hermione's voice sounded so soft and tired. The painting swung open and I climbed inside. I nearly fell when I saw Hermione and Malfoy sitting together. He had his arm around her and both looked quite content. My shock must have shown on my face because Hermione quickly jumped away from Malfoy and sat down on the other side of the couch. I walked over and sat in a very cushiony green chair.
"How are you Harry?" Hermione was being so calm about all this. I wondered what had happened this summer to make her change so much.
"Oh I'm just great. I don't hear from you all summer. Then you show up at school completely different without any kind of explanation. Did you ever think that we may not be allowed to contact you or anyone else for that matter? you have no idea what's happened this summer. It isn't something to be discussed in mixed company, Hermione. You know what I mean."
"I know that much Harry." She turned to Malfoy. "Draco," Draco? When did that start?, "I'm going to explain to you and Harry what happened to me this summer first. Then, I need to talk to Harry alone. He'll never tell me in front of you or anyone else. I'll come get you when he leaves if it isn't too late and we can continue our discussion."
"That's fine with me, but I think Potter may be about to explode. I don't think he likes us being together much. What do you think, babe?" Who did he think he was? No one called her that.
"He'll get over it. Besides, like I said earlier, I don't care." I was worried about what Hermione was going to tell me. If she didn't care what I thought, something bad had happened.
"Okay Hermione. If we're going to talk about all this, let's get started."
"Fine. Just so you know. I will not be repeating this to you or anyone else again, got it? Okay. When you and Ron left me on the platform this summer, that was the happiest I've been all summer until I left in August that is."
"No one was there to meet me. I took a cab to my house. My parents were in the dining room, eating. They looked up when I walked in. All they said was hello and asked why I was home. They had forgotten that I was coming home. Both of them apologized over and over for weeks, but I could tell they weren't really sorry. They fought constantly. I tried to talk to them seperately, but all either of them would tell me was that they disagreed on some things and I didn't need to know. This went on for weeks. I finally got sick of it and decided to leave."
"One night in the first week of August, I packed up all my stuff in my trunk and shrunk it so I could carry it. I cashed my savings and found some money I had been saving around the house. I wrote them a note explaining where I was going and why. I told them not to try to contact me. I would write them later. I went to London and got a room. I changed all my money over to wizard money and decided to completely change my appearance in case I saw anyone I knew. I didn't want to have to explain anything. I went early to get my books and supplies, the minute I got my letter. Then I decided that I wanted you and Ron angry with me, so I didn't write to you. I hadn't heard from either of you so I thought maybe you didn't care anymore."
"I began to form a plan to get back at you." She turned to Malfoy. "Draco, looking back on this, I want to tell you before I explain that I am so very sorry. I feel really bad about it and I don't want it to effect us now, okay:?... My plan was to bcome friends with Draco without him knowing my true identity and then revealing myself to him at an inoppurtune moment where you and Ron could see. I knew it would hurt you to see me with him and not talking to you at all. I wanted you to hurt. But now I'm not sure what I want.... Well, that's my story. It's your turn."
The three of us sat quietly for a little while. Malfoy was the first to speak. "I guess you want me to go now. But Hermione we need to talk after he leaves. Just come up to my room. I'll be awake, no matter how late it is."
"I will Draco. Promise." She stood and gave him a quick hug before he left. "I'm sorry."
"Hurry, babe. It's going to be a long night." He turned and walked up to his room and shut the door.
***
We sat in silence for a few minutes. I decided I had better go on with my story or it would be morning and we wouldn't have gotten any sleep.
"Hermione I'm really sorry about this summer. I should have at least tried to contact you, but it was a strict rule. No contact with anyone but Order members. I stayed at Privet Drive until the first week of August, then Dumbledore himself, along with several other Order members, came to get me and take me to Grimmauld Place. I spent the rest of August basically doing nothing. I helped out where I could which wasn't much. I had to relate my past experiences with Voldemort so many times that I finally just wrote them all down and gave them to Dumbledore to keep. I don't know what all has happened but I know the battle is coming soon. Maybe a week, a month, a year, but it won't be long. We have to prepart and that means not fraternizing with the enemy."
"If you mean Draco, just stop now. I don't want to hear anything from you about him. He told me today that he didn't want to follow his father. He wants to be on our side. He wants to help defeat Voldemort. He's changed, Harry."
"How do you know he's really telling the truth? He could be using you to get information for his father. You know how close he is to Voldemort. We can't risk that now. This is going to be a crucial time and we must use it carefully. And choose our friends wisely."
"Harry, I said stop. I can think for myself. I've had to do that alot this summer. I'm going to be friends with Draco. You don't have to be. In fact, it may be better if you aren't."
"I'm not going to be his friend. He's the enemy. I won't say any more about it, but just know that I'm not the only person who is going to say something. I think I had better leave, but I have one more question. How far do you see this relationship going?"
"I know you aren't the only one who'll say something, but I don't know how far it will go. Right now I just want to be his friend. We'll figure out everything else when it comes. Harry, please try not interfere. Please don't feel like you can't talk to me. I want to help fight and plan and everything, okay?"
"I know. I'd better go. Good-night.Hermione. I'll see you at breakfast."
"Good night Harry. See you tomorrow. Oh and Harry? Don't tell Ron about anything."
"You know I won't."
***Draco's POV***
'What was he going to tell her that I couldn't know?' I had just been dismissed. I desperately wanted to know what was going on, so I placed on ear against the door to see if I could hear them. Then I remember that the rooms were virtually soundproof unless there was an emergency. I wouldn't be able to hear a thing. I turned and sat down on my bed. I hoped it wouldn't take too long for them to talk.
I leaned against the headboard with a long sigh. She had had a better summer than I had. I spent the summer trying to find a way out of my father's and Voldemort's grasp. I wanted to tell her everything I knew about Voldemort's plans, although I didn't know much. She had a strange effect on me. I had never felt so comfortable with anyone. She made me want to be good. She had friends. I wanted a good friend. Blaise was my friend, but we couldn't talk about anything, especially my family.
An hour passed and she still didn't come. Maybe she had forgotten, but she had promised and she seemed like someone who kept their promises. Another half an hour and I heard a soft knocking on the door. I stood and opened the door and she walked in.
"So I guess he's gone. Now we can talk. Have a seat." I ushered her to the bed and sat beside her. "How'd everything go with Potter? Was he mad?"
"Harry will get over it. He was pretty angry with me for wanting to be your friend, but I told him it wasn't any of his business. He won't interfere anymore." She looked very sad. I wondered what he'd said to make her so upset, but I didn't pry because I didn't want to ruin it. I know when to hold my tongue sometimes. "Now what did you want to talk about?"
"I have alot to talk about. First I would really appreciate an explanation of why I was the focus of your plan?" This had been bothering me ever since she mentioned it. I was very interested in knowing the truth behind it.
"Like I said, I wanted to make Harry and Ron angry with me. I wanted them to be jealous. I don't know why it had to be you. I suppose it was because you and Harry and Ron had hated each other since our first year. I'm really sorry about it. I do want to be friends now. No other motive."
"I believe you... You didn't hate me?"
"What are you talking about?"
"When you said Harry, Ron and I hated each other you didn't say you hated me. I thought you always had. Have I been wrong? Have you not always hated me?"
"Well, no actually. At first I did of course. But after our fifth year, I began to notice how you had changed. You no longer sought us out to fight and you didn't always insult us every time you saw us. You had grown up some and I began to see you more as a person than someone to be hated. I believe that is when I stopped hating you although Harry and Ron never have. Why did you stop?"
"I don't know if it's good that you noticed that or not. I began to get bored with taunting you. I also knew I needed to focus more on my schoolwork and my predicament at home."
"You were right about the schoolwork, but what do you mean about your predicament at home?"
"My father, as you know, is a huge supporter of Lord Voldemort. Of course, as his son, I am expected to follow Voldemort and support him fully. But I don't want to. It isn't worth it. If he loses, which after Harry has fought him and won so many times already seems very likely, I would rather not be on his side. I don't fancy being put in Azkaban or being killed. I've been under my father's thumb all my life and I want my own life, not his. After I graduate, I'm getting away from him. All my life, especially this summer, if I didn't do exactly as he asked he would use the Cruciatus Curse on me. I think it is his favorite. Of course, he had placed so many charms on our land that the Ministry couldn't find out that he uses Unforgivable Curses. They wouldn't do anything anyway. He's done too much for them."
"I'm so sorry Draco."
I had tears in my eyes which I quickly tried to wipe away, but not before she noticed. She pushed my hand from my face and wiped the tears away herself. She wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me close to her. I pulled her close with my arms around her waist. It felt wonderful to sit with her and hold her and be held by her. Yeah, being held was the best part. I had never been held like this before by anyone. After a few minutes, sitting became uncomfortable. We fell back onto the bed and she spooned her body around my back. She stroked my hair until we both fell asleep.
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Finally....... That took forever.....
***
Pairing: Hermione/Draco
***
Rating: in question... for now PG-13... next chapter... who knows? ;)
***
Summary: It's the summer after sixth year and Hermione Granger has been through hell at home. Without anyone to comfort her, she walks out on her parents and finally flees to Hogwarts. What happens when she arrives is completely unexpected.
********************************************************
Chapter 3: Explanations
***Harry's POV***
"Come on in Harry!" Hermione's voice sounded so soft and tired. The painting swung open and I climbed inside. I nearly fell when I saw Hermione and Malfoy sitting together. He had his arm around her and both looked quite content. My shock must have shown on my face because Hermione quickly jumped away from Malfoy and sat down on the other side of the couch. I walked over and sat in a very cushiony green chair.
"How are you Harry?" Hermione was being so calm about all this. I wondered what had happened this summer to make her change so much.
"Oh I'm just great. I don't hear from you all summer. Then you show up at school completely different without any kind of explanation. Did you ever think that we may not be allowed to contact you or anyone else for that matter? you have no idea what's happened this summer. It isn't something to be discussed in mixed company, Hermione. You know what I mean."
"I know that much Harry." She turned to Malfoy. "Draco," Draco? When did that start?, "I'm going to explain to you and Harry what happened to me this summer first. Then, I need to talk to Harry alone. He'll never tell me in front of you or anyone else. I'll come get you when he leaves if it isn't too late and we can continue our discussion."
"That's fine with me, but I think Potter may be about to explode. I don't think he likes us being together much. What do you think, babe?" Who did he think he was? No one called her that.
"He'll get over it. Besides, like I said earlier, I don't care." I was worried about what Hermione was going to tell me. If she didn't care what I thought, something bad had happened.
"Okay Hermione. If we're going to talk about all this, let's get started."
"Fine. Just so you know. I will not be repeating this to you or anyone else again, got it? Okay. When you and Ron left me on the platform this summer, that was the happiest I've been all summer until I left in August that is."
"No one was there to meet me. I took a cab to my house. My parents were in the dining room, eating. They looked up when I walked in. All they said was hello and asked why I was home. They had forgotten that I was coming home. Both of them apologized over and over for weeks, but I could tell they weren't really sorry. They fought constantly. I tried to talk to them seperately, but all either of them would tell me was that they disagreed on some things and I didn't need to know. This went on for weeks. I finally got sick of it and decided to leave."
"One night in the first week of August, I packed up all my stuff in my trunk and shrunk it so I could carry it. I cashed my savings and found some money I had been saving around the house. I wrote them a note explaining where I was going and why. I told them not to try to contact me. I would write them later. I went to London and got a room. I changed all my money over to wizard money and decided to completely change my appearance in case I saw anyone I knew. I didn't want to have to explain anything. I went early to get my books and supplies, the minute I got my letter. Then I decided that I wanted you and Ron angry with me, so I didn't write to you. I hadn't heard from either of you so I thought maybe you didn't care anymore."
"I began to form a plan to get back at you." She turned to Malfoy. "Draco, looking back on this, I want to tell you before I explain that I am so very sorry. I feel really bad about it and I don't want it to effect us now, okay:?... My plan was to bcome friends with Draco without him knowing my true identity and then revealing myself to him at an inoppurtune moment where you and Ron could see. I knew it would hurt you to see me with him and not talking to you at all. I wanted you to hurt. But now I'm not sure what I want.... Well, that's my story. It's your turn."
The three of us sat quietly for a little while. Malfoy was the first to speak. "I guess you want me to go now. But Hermione we need to talk after he leaves. Just come up to my room. I'll be awake, no matter how late it is."
"I will Draco. Promise." She stood and gave him a quick hug before he left. "I'm sorry."
"Hurry, babe. It's going to be a long night." He turned and walked up to his room and shut the door.
***
We sat in silence for a few minutes. I decided I had better go on with my story or it would be morning and we wouldn't have gotten any sleep.
"Hermione I'm really sorry about this summer. I should have at least tried to contact you, but it was a strict rule. No contact with anyone but Order members. I stayed at Privet Drive until the first week of August, then Dumbledore himself, along with several other Order members, came to get me and take me to Grimmauld Place. I spent the rest of August basically doing nothing. I helped out where I could which wasn't much. I had to relate my past experiences with Voldemort so many times that I finally just wrote them all down and gave them to Dumbledore to keep. I don't know what all has happened but I know the battle is coming soon. Maybe a week, a month, a year, but it won't be long. We have to prepart and that means not fraternizing with the enemy."
"If you mean Draco, just stop now. I don't want to hear anything from you about him. He told me today that he didn't want to follow his father. He wants to be on our side. He wants to help defeat Voldemort. He's changed, Harry."
"How do you know he's really telling the truth? He could be using you to get information for his father. You know how close he is to Voldemort. We can't risk that now. This is going to be a crucial time and we must use it carefully. And choose our friends wisely."
"Harry, I said stop. I can think for myself. I've had to do that alot this summer. I'm going to be friends with Draco. You don't have to be. In fact, it may be better if you aren't."
"I'm not going to be his friend. He's the enemy. I won't say any more about it, but just know that I'm not the only person who is going to say something. I think I had better leave, but I have one more question. How far do you see this relationship going?"
"I know you aren't the only one who'll say something, but I don't know how far it will go. Right now I just want to be his friend. We'll figure out everything else when it comes. Harry, please try not interfere. Please don't feel like you can't talk to me. I want to help fight and plan and everything, okay?"
"I know. I'd better go. Good-night.Hermione. I'll see you at breakfast."
"Good night Harry. See you tomorrow. Oh and Harry? Don't tell Ron about anything."
"You know I won't."
***Draco's POV***
'What was he going to tell her that I couldn't know?' I had just been dismissed. I desperately wanted to know what was going on, so I placed on ear against the door to see if I could hear them. Then I remember that the rooms were virtually soundproof unless there was an emergency. I wouldn't be able to hear a thing. I turned and sat down on my bed. I hoped it wouldn't take too long for them to talk.
I leaned against the headboard with a long sigh. She had had a better summer than I had. I spent the summer trying to find a way out of my father's and Voldemort's grasp. I wanted to tell her everything I knew about Voldemort's plans, although I didn't know much. She had a strange effect on me. I had never felt so comfortable with anyone. She made me want to be good. She had friends. I wanted a good friend. Blaise was my friend, but we couldn't talk about anything, especially my family.
An hour passed and she still didn't come. Maybe she had forgotten, but she had promised and she seemed like someone who kept their promises. Another half an hour and I heard a soft knocking on the door. I stood and opened the door and she walked in.
"So I guess he's gone. Now we can talk. Have a seat." I ushered her to the bed and sat beside her. "How'd everything go with Potter? Was he mad?"
"Harry will get over it. He was pretty angry with me for wanting to be your friend, but I told him it wasn't any of his business. He won't interfere anymore." She looked very sad. I wondered what he'd said to make her so upset, but I didn't pry because I didn't want to ruin it. I know when to hold my tongue sometimes. "Now what did you want to talk about?"
"I have alot to talk about. First I would really appreciate an explanation of why I was the focus of your plan?" This had been bothering me ever since she mentioned it. I was very interested in knowing the truth behind it.
"Like I said, I wanted to make Harry and Ron angry with me. I wanted them to be jealous. I don't know why it had to be you. I suppose it was because you and Harry and Ron had hated each other since our first year. I'm really sorry about it. I do want to be friends now. No other motive."
"I believe you... You didn't hate me?"
"What are you talking about?"
"When you said Harry, Ron and I hated each other you didn't say you hated me. I thought you always had. Have I been wrong? Have you not always hated me?"
"Well, no actually. At first I did of course. But after our fifth year, I began to notice how you had changed. You no longer sought us out to fight and you didn't always insult us every time you saw us. You had grown up some and I began to see you more as a person than someone to be hated. I believe that is when I stopped hating you although Harry and Ron never have. Why did you stop?"
"I don't know if it's good that you noticed that or not. I began to get bored with taunting you. I also knew I needed to focus more on my schoolwork and my predicament at home."
"You were right about the schoolwork, but what do you mean about your predicament at home?"
"My father, as you know, is a huge supporter of Lord Voldemort. Of course, as his son, I am expected to follow Voldemort and support him fully. But I don't want to. It isn't worth it. If he loses, which after Harry has fought him and won so many times already seems very likely, I would rather not be on his side. I don't fancy being put in Azkaban or being killed. I've been under my father's thumb all my life and I want my own life, not his. After I graduate, I'm getting away from him. All my life, especially this summer, if I didn't do exactly as he asked he would use the Cruciatus Curse on me. I think it is his favorite. Of course, he had placed so many charms on our land that the Ministry couldn't find out that he uses Unforgivable Curses. They wouldn't do anything anyway. He's done too much for them."
"I'm so sorry Draco."
I had tears in my eyes which I quickly tried to wipe away, but not before she noticed. She pushed my hand from my face and wiped the tears away herself. She wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me close to her. I pulled her close with my arms around her waist. It felt wonderful to sit with her and hold her and be held by her. Yeah, being held was the best part. I had never been held like this before by anyone. After a few minutes, sitting became uncomfortable. We fell back onto the bed and she spooned her body around my back. She stroked my hair until we both fell asleep.
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Finally....... That took forever.....