Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter© or any of the concepts derived from the book series. The book series is the soul property of J.K. Rowling.
To Keep it Simple
Previous Chapter
"Not that it matters now—I believe that I've been mistaken these past few days about where my loyalty lies."
"What are you talking about? Just tell me what you dreamt about!" she said, frustrated.
"Do your own damn research, Granger—let's just leave it at this," he started, climbing out of the chair. He grabbed his broom and stood on the window's sill, mounting the traveling device. "There's only one reason why I'd try and prevent all of this."
She loved him—but was she in love with him? As she glanced at the flowers that were still in the trash can, left from days ago, she sighed. Yes.. she thought to herself.
One of the Rons stepped forwards with his hands raised above his head. "I'm the real Ron—come on Harry, you know it's me."
The other ran to catch up with the copy. "No! Don't believe him Harry, he's lying!" Both of their faces began to grow red with anger.
"Crucio!" he yelled.
"Why did you do that?" she angrily said, unsure if Draco had attacked the right Weasley.
Draco stepped towards the fake, Harry and Hermione gathering beside him. He nudged over the body with the toe of his shoe, the moon sliding directly over the body and covering all.
"He has no shadow," Hermione whispered.
Chapter 9- Letting Go
Draco knelt down with the easy languidness of a Malfoy, his roughly sculpted hand reaching out to touch the body that could not possibly be in existence. His skin ran with shivers as soon as his skin made contact with the opponent's robes. If he had been brought up differently, perhaps under the circumstances goose bumps would be rising along the length of his body. However, his keen sense of ignorance was skin deep and refused to allow such preposterous weaknesses to invade his supposedly malicious state of mind. Hermione's shadow slid across the body on the floor, causing Draco's attention to change directions rather abruptly.
"Could it be you-know—" Hermione managed to blurt out before three pairs of glares hit her squarely in the face.
"That battle was over a year ago," Ron said as he turned to look at Harry with an air of uncertainty. After all, their local hero had been the boy on the receiving end of the wand that had backfired once again. It was a topic that they barely touched upon, since it had been a hard and traumatizing time for them all.
"Well, I'm sure people said that years and years ago but look at what happened," Hermione continued. Draco stood up and dusted off his knees, promptly turning to shoot a glare of pure hidden emotions towards her. She sighed and stepped away from the corpse, her shadow following her in an unnoticeable defeat.
Harry pulled back a red velvet chair, sliding onto the plush cushioning uneasily. Draco stood up from his uncomfortable roost on the floor and took several steps away from the body. He glided towards the table and snatched a chair back, pivoting it on one of it's legs until it's back faced the table. He dropped into the seat, legs straddling the chair and arms folded over the seat's back. Hermione and Ron took the two chairs left.
"We should first alert Dumbledore or at least Professor McGonagal," Hermione said, automatically taking the position as the clear-headed do-gooder. Ron sighed and shook his head.
"We'd be risking the safety of Harry if we told them— as soon as word got out that there could be a new uprising of death eaters.. who knows what would happen to Harry? And Hogwarts?"
Hermione blinked. She's already thought of that possibility but it did not the seem the least bit a threat. They could all be placed under supervision and their safeties would be ensured while the Ministry did their business about the castle. Then again, plenty of rumors would rise and Hogwarts would once again be the origin for another media field day. The Daily Prophet would run the story for weeks, causing even more problems… then again—not telling Dumbledore was simply too stupid of an idea.
"We have to tell an official, Ron! It's not exactly as simple as hiding the body and keeping this a secret. Obviously—something's bound to happen and somebody is going to be hurt and we'll have that on our consciences. What were you even thinking suggesting that—"
"You're an official, Hermione! A prefect! So is Draco. You two are officials and you two know and we're old enough to handle this ourselves. We'd be helping Harry by doing this—"
"Don't even try to use our friendship as a stepping stool for your little idea! I will absolutely not allow this atrocity to go unnoticed—"
"Oh stop being so goody goody, Hermione. After a while, it gets very tiring and repetitive—"
"Why I ought to—"
Hermione stopped herself before Ron could, a sudden jolt of shivers running down her spine. She trusted her intuition and snapped her head to the side, just in time to watch as the once unconscious body stood and unclasped the window. It was a frighteningly paling sight—a battered and bruised Ron lookalike moving to stand on the sill. Draco immediately stood up, his chair shaking with the sudden movement. He rushed towards the window to grab the body but was too slow. It toppled backwards off the edge, it's arms spread in an eagle like posture, the once flaming red hair now a darkening black color. Hermione and the others rushed to the window in time to see the body drift towards the grounds below. It twisted it's limbs and torso, managing to land on two nimble feet upright several hundred feet below. The four of them could no longer make out any details for the body of their current target had completely lost all its' features and had turned a sickly gray color. Draco stared grimly as it staggered in the direction of the woods. There was a good distance between the body and the forestry, giving the four enough time to catch it—if they moved fast enough.
"We've got to go after it!" Ron whispered hoarsely. Draco had already grabbed Harry's broom, which rested against the wall of the far corner of the common room, and was heading back towards the window.
"Stating the obvious doesn't help, Weasley," he said with a sneer as he leapt onto the sill with one lithe jump. He mounted the broom and turned towards the window. Before he could make his all too familiar jump into darkness, Hermione grabbed his robe and pulled herself upwards.
"I'll keep an eye on Draco," Hermione said as she quickly slipped onto the broom behind Draco. He turned his head to the side, glancing at her from the corner of his eye, then once again prepared to jump.
"Wait! I'll go instead—I don't trust you with him, Hermione," Harry said. "And plus, it is my broom."
Hermione rolled her eyes and pulled her wand from her pocket, allowing her two closest companions to observe the existence of her form of protection.
"I know more protections spells then the two of you combined, and then some. If I need help, I'll shoot up a flare and as soon as you see them, alert Dumbledore or Professor McGonagal. You can keep an eye on us from here or find your own way down—we're wasting time. Just go, Draco," she said. Draco dropped from the edge into the unending abyss below.
Harry and Ron both swore at once as they saw Hermione slip off into the unknown with a former enemy. Following her directions, they watched the two swiftly glide to the ground, keeping a constant eye on the blonde haired Slytherin.
"There it is," Hermione hissed, gracefully slipping off the broom. She thanked the moon for being so full and big that particular evening, it's pale light guiding her along the ground. Her legs carried her like an arrow through the slight wind, the robes weighing her down. Draco caught up with her several seconds later, the broom hoisted over his shoulder. He stopped in his tracks, as did Hermione, when they realized that their target had disappeared. It had run into the woods where only shadows existed and light pierced through with the aid of a wand. Hermione cursed in disapproval, catching her breath at the same time.
"I can't believe this," she muttered as she turned abruptly on her heel, heading back towards the castle with her head hung low. She placed her hands on her waist and quickly shot a look up to Gryffindor tower. Harry and Ron watched with what looked like disappointment.
"We could have possibly had a minion of some uprising organization and now it's gone, slipped through our fingers. This wouldn't have happened if we'd just told Dumbledore instead of arguing," Hermione scolded no one in particular. Draco watched with a raised brow, Harry's broom tilted at an awkward angle over his shoulder.
"You're never the one to blame," Draco said with a slight scoff, stopping in his steps. He placed the broom in front of him, resting one hand casually over it's top. Hermione turned, her robes twisting around her calves. She folded her arms across her chest as she kept one eye on the clouds covering the moon.
"And what exactly does that mean?" she asked rather angrily.
"What do you think it means, Granger?" he growled, his brow furrowing in response to past memories.
"Does this have anything to do with what went on between us the other evening?" Hermione quickly bit back. She laughed and then shook her head as she turned back around on the heel of her shoe. "This is pointless, Draco."
"Go ahead and walk away. You seem to do that best—run away from your problems," he countered, staying put. Hermione disregarded his comment and continued walking towards the castle, just realizing that she had no way of returning back up to Gryffindor tower unless Ron sent his broom down to retrieve her—which she highly doubted would and could happen. She stopped walking at the foot of the tower, looking up to see a red-faced Ron and somewhat angry Harry who had their glares directed at Draco. As the clouds completely covered the moon, the two up in the tower lost sight of what was going on below. They could only sit and wait for Hermione scream or set something afire.
"There's no where left to go, Granger—other then up," Draco said as he neared her. She turned again, surprised that she hadn't gotten herself sick yet from all her spinning. Her eyes were burning with a mixture of frustration and anger.
"Let's just get back up there before someone catches us," she said, her comment accompanied by a glare. Draco laughed, a laugh that was full of spite and control—not the one that Hermione had once heard.
"If anything—I'll be the only one going back up there," he said as he quickly silenced, his eyes penetrating her thick shield of ignorance.
"Harry and Ron will slaughter you if you leave me down here," she replied.
"Who's to say that I'll be heading back to Gryffindor Tower?"
Hermione sighed and controlled the water works that were usually associated with the bouts of frustration such as the one she was having at that moment that rarely swept through her.
"All right, Draco—what do you want from me?" she said, placing a hand on her forehead. The wild look that suddenly darted across his features was all she needed to see—but the expression quickly disappeared as he pulled it under control. He glanced up towards the tower, noting the lack of supervision due to the ample sanctuary provided by the flight of the clouds overhead. With a blank expression and unreadable eyes, he turned towards Hermione.
"Trust me," he asked. Trust was the most that he could ever ask from her. Hermione parted her lips to reject his suggestion, but instead kept the words lodged inside her throat to hear the rest of his explanation.
"If you don't trust me, I can't help you. I am not after Harry and I'm not after you. My parents have nothing to do with this and you damn well know it. I have a grudge against Harry—but not enough to kidnap or murder.."
Hermione narrowed her eyes.
"Who's to say I even suspected you or your parents of being behind this?"
"You told me," he said, glaring at her.
Hermione remembered the look of disgust that she'd given him and then remembered that she'd been standing directly in front of the window—which probably acted as a mirror. She sighed and turned towards the ground, shaking her head. She never would have imagined that Draco would be able to read her expressions so easily.
"I can't help what my mind thinks," she said angrily. "It's had a hard enough time as it is accepting the fact that you can turn your emotions on and off like a water faucet."
Draco turned towards the sky as thunder rolled in the far distance, wishing they could have this sort of conversation somewhere else—somewhere not beneath Gryffindor Tower where anybody could simply lean out a window and hear their conversation. Thankfully, they both knew to keep their voices low.
"There wouldn't be that problem if you stopped being so frigid," he answered. He turned to look back her with his steel unfeeling eyes, draining all her feelings of pity.
"It's times like this that make me lose faith in you," she said, pulling out her wand in preparation for sending up a flare to Harry and Ron. Draco watched her movements and quickly reacted, reaching forward to successfully grab hold of her weapon. She gasped but remained calm, unafraid of the boy before her. He leaned over her with his brow furrowed in a mixture of thought and stinging emotions.
"It's not that hard to trust, Granger," he said between clenched teeth.
"Trusting you is like asking the sun to stop rising," she bit back. He grunted loudly in frustration, sweeping a hand through his hair. Without thinking, he leaned over her, tired of talking and persuading her to do something she couldn't. The truth caused a burning sensation to ripple through his chest, but he thought little of it. His lips hovered centimeters from hers, both of their breaths coming out in long drags of air.
Hermione wanted to stop his actions before it turned into something that she'd shielded herself to reject. She couldn't though, and the magnetic force dragging them together had already been initiated by fate. Her heart began to rip but mend at the same time, fighting with emotions that she'd cared to ignore the past few weeks. She could trust him if he acted more appreciative of her presence.
Lightning broke the evening's calm reserve, shattering the dark night sky with a bolt of light so close that Hermione could feel the electricity. The hairs on her neck stood as she managed to turn her head in time for Draco's lips to serenade her cheek with their touch. She let a slight gasp slip from her lips, suddenly conscious of what could've happened. The clouds parted and droplets of rain began to crash against the soft earth. The ground beneath them became muddy as Draco's eyes went emotionless with thought. He his face away, allowing Hermione enough room to turn her eyes back to face him. Droplets deemed his hair lifeless, the blonde strands of hair drooping into his face. He ran a hand through the strands, causing them to stand upright and in awkward directions. Hermione knew when to not play with fire.
"Can we just go back to the tower?" she asked as thunder rolled loudly.
Draco set down the broom, then raised it with his hand. She climbed on and he slipped on behind her. The two sped up the tower's side and back to the main window to the Gryffindor Tower common room. As they neared the window, Hermione's breath caught in her throat. Something black scrambled on it's limbs around the tower's surface, clambering about the brick like a newt. It was the size of a human but had no features, just a limp shape along the wall that had no content. It moved back and forth rather spasmodically, causing Hermione's pulse to considerably rise. They were so close to the window, but the thing raced after them along the tower's walls. It moved like a spider—too quick to be any human and she had definitely not remembered reading about any type of animal that looked like a human but moved like liquid. She couldn't very well lead it up to the window and cause even more havoc.
Draco finally noticed the creature and instinctively pulled back. The shadow abruptly stopped moving and it seemed to look at the two as they rushed to pull the broom away from the wall. Hermione suddenly remembered that Draco still had her wand and she had no way of grabbing it to send up any flares in time. Her heart pumped loudly against her chest. The creature bridged the gap between them and launched itself at Hermione.