A/N: Okay so I'm 30 minutes late on getting the chapter up on Monday. Sorry guys. Well on to the story. Which is almost twice as long as the chapter before it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. The plot and the Box of Psyche is my little baby.
All You Wanted Chapter 8: Presents
Hermione walked into the common room after hastily giving the password. Dropping her presents near the door she was about to scream for Draco. Instead she screamed out of surprise. Draco had hidden himself so she wouldn't see him as soon as she walked in the room.
He had waited almost two hours for her to return. He sat silently the whole time thinking and thinking about what he was going to say to Hermione.
When she screamed at his sudden rising and the grim, "Happy Christmas," he smiled at her. The first real smile she had seen since she woke up after the incident with Pansy.
"Damn it you. You didn't have to scare me like that," Hermione said gaining her wits again and laughed a little at her reaction.
"But that was completely priceless. I couldn't resist." Draco surprised himself. He was joking with her. He had stopped that a while ago. Hadn't he told himself that he couldn't do that? Having any sort of relationship with Hermione that wasn't anything but it was before the whole living with her fiasco? You got her the necklace so you could protect her, and try to have something with her; a strong voice in his head told him. The voice was so different from the ones that have been saying to not get mixed up with her that she'll only get hurt. It was the same voice that told him to cut himself every night. To say the least he wouldn't mind this new voice to stay.
"Of course...Happy Christmas," maybe she should have kept the Box of Psyche for herself she thought so she could have the courage to talk to him with out the fear of him bottling up and leaving again. Hermione turned to go up to her room. The necklace could have been from anyone.
Or maybe not, "Thanks for the necklace, Draco."
"Thanks for the box. What ever it is. It didn't even come with a key. How am I supposed to open it," asked Draco. Of course he knew that the box didn't have any key or really anyway to open until the task that the box wants done is accomplished.
"It didn't come with a set of keys."
"What do you expect me to do with a box with out a key, Granger?" There wasn't any threat in his voice and 'Granger' didn't sound like it was dripping with hatred.
Hermione reached into her hair and pulled a bobby pin out that had been there to keep some of her mane of hair out of her face, and handed it to Draco, "If you have to try and open the box fine, have at it. Although, I don't think that it'll open. But sure try."
Draco smiled again, "Honestly Granger, you don't think that I'm actually thick enough to not know what you have given me, do you? Because I know what it was. I'm just letting you know that I'm not making any promises on how the Box will effect me."
"I gave you the Box so that you could have what you wanted. What ever that is Draco, I want you to have it, whether that it turns out to be the doom of the good side in the fight with Voldemort of the damned side. You saved me earlier this year, so I feel like I owe you something. This was the best thing I could find to make that effort without ruining your little reputation."
"I can't accept it from you then. You owe me nothing, Hermione. I wouldn't put you in a situation to owe me anything."
"Just take the damned Box. I still want to help you. God knows that if we talk outside this room there will be hell to pay." She rolled her eyes thinking about what Seamus had said.
"Of course you're right. We probably shouldn't...," something in his mind told him to shut up before he said something stupid.
"Shouldn't??? What?"
"Huh? That was the end of the sentence. Come one you're so book smart that I'm sure that you could have caught that."
"It just sounded like there was more to it than that. Like you just stopped for no reason."
"Yeah, and you speck in sentence fragments, so we're good."
Hermione laughed delightedly. This was the first time that she had thoroughly enjoyed a battle of words with him. It's because he is acknowledging you again, she thought and knew it was true. She had missed being around him. The friendship that had sparked earlier that year was igniting again and she could have danced for excitement.
"What did you do to the necklace you gave me?" Hermione asked.
Draco must have heard, rather, imagined some sort of accusation in her voice because he immediately went defensive, "What are you talking about. I didn't do anything wrong."
"I'm not saying you did. If you did, I doubt that I'd be able to do anything about it now with it around my neck. When Harry put it on me, the necklace glowed for a moment. I just wanted to know what my jewelry was."
"Oh. Actually that's what I wanted to talk to you about."
"Really," Hermione crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow.
"I did do something to that, but it was in the best interest of your safety," Draco sat on the couch motioning that she should do the same, "After Pansy attacked you, I knew that she'd go straight to my mother. Don't think that a mother's touch is softer than a father's. It isn't. The fact is either one of my parents...you know what they are. I don't have to tell you.
"True to the family name, Mother let me know that there will be Hell to pay for my 'mistakes' and that she would personally do the honors."
"Draco, I'm.—"Hermione started.
"No. Don't. Just listen. If my mother comes after me, she'll come after you. That would make Pansy's encounter just a friendly outing with friends compared to Mother. There is no doubt in my mind why my parents are to together. They both put fear into the purest of beings. I saved you from Pansy, and I'm going to make sure that my mother, or father, doesn't lay a hand on you.
"The spell on the necklace is much like the Secret-Keeper Charm. The person wearing the charmed object won't be set into anyone's mind, except those that truly care for the subjected person. You can still have your friends, meet new people, but they won't be able to betray you to any unfriendly situations. Even unintentionally no one can betray you to someone like Mother. Not even me. Especially me."
"What?"
"I couldn't promise myself that I'd be able to protect you at all times. I just knew that you couldn't be hurt because of me. I can't do that to you, Hermione. I just don't know what my Mother could do to me to make me endanger your life. I've already done that you know. Letting you have a cigarette when Weasel broke up with you put you in more danger than I really care to admit. Then the last Hogsmeade visit was the worst mistake. Anyone could have seen. At least here, in this room, no one will know," Draco was almost rocking back and forth. He was letting so much of his self out all at once to someone. He never guessed that he'd let his guard down for Hermione Granger of all people.
Hermione reached for Draco's hand. At the contact he froze almost. She lifted his hand slightly to put on her lap she studied his wrists and the arm up to the elbow where she could see know more as the sweater was now blocking the view.
"Draco, you don't have to answer if you don't want to. What are these," Hermione asked tracing a particularly long scar.
"What's what?"
"Don't be a smart ass. Just tell me or don't. If you don't want to talk about it then say so."
Draco looked at her in the eyes. He couldn't tell her that those cuts were from thinking of her. Yet, looking into her soulful eyes he couldn't deny anything that she asked. He hesitated taking a deep breath, "I deal with my struggles of conscience externally."
"Cutting yourself isn't an option, Draco! You could have gone too far. What if it didn't stop bleeding? What if you killed yourself?"
"Hermione don't freak out about it. I know how far I can go," he neglected to tell her about the scare a few days ago and the fact that he had been tempted to just get the pain over with the night before.
"No you don't. Draco, please don't do that. I couldn't take it if..." Hermione stopped suddenly in mid-sentence. She didn't realize how much it had hurt not talking to Draco lately and the thought of finding him bleeding to death. "Please don't do it Draco." A tear rolled down Hermione's cheek.
"I don't think I can make that promise."
"You just said you didn't want to me to hurt because of you. That would be more pain than what your mother and father could both do to me."
Draco shook his head, "I...that's how I have always done things. When I can't take the pressure, I cut."
"Then let me help you stop. If you want my help, I will."
Draco pulled her into a hug, "Thank you for helping, but it's not that easy. I can't just stop now that you're trying to get me to stop. Five years of cutting is hard to just stop."
"I don't expect it to happen immediately. If you're alone in your room when you feel like you have to cut call me and we'll work through it. I won't leave your side until you feel like you don't have to cut away your pain."
Draco held her tighter to his chest. This was the first time that they had come into physical contact since that terrible day in November. The two of them spent a good part afternoon like that. Both content with not speaking for they had already said enough.
As the night seeped into the room Draco lifted and ignited the fire place to a roar. He suggested dinner in the Great Hall, but Hermione declined.
"Why not? You don't look like you've been eating."
"I've been eating. It's just less. I've had a lot on my mind. Besides, the glares from certain people in there are just too much. Seamus today accused me of shagging you, and that I thought that I was to good for Gryffindor. He did see us in Hogsmeade. We have to hate each other again for the sake of others."
Draco stiffened hearing that Seamus, whoever that was, saw them in Hogsmeade. But as an idea came to him he smiled. "We can do anything you like Hermione. No one would be the wiser to who I was suddenly being nice to because they wouldn't quite be able to see exactly who I'm talking to. Even if they walk right up to you use your name and ask for last week's assignment in class they would only vaguely remember that."
"Wait what about you? You wouldn't remember me either."
"Damn I'm lousy at explanations. As long as I don't want to do you any harm it'll be just like you didn't have that charm on. As with anyone else that has against you. However, as soon as that person wants to hurt you, they will have trouble remembering even your name. Did that make more sense?"
"A little better."
"Good. Come on, I haven't eaten anything in days and I'm starving."