Gems in the eyes of the world
Disclaimer: I own nothing – important anyway. Oh no wait, I think I own all the precious gemstones, Hahahahahaha!!! I own the most important thing in the plot!!! Oh wait, hold on, Draco's the most important thing in the plot . . . Gah, now I am utterly confused. Oh well, just read the goddamn chapter already . . . .
Chapter twelve
Thanks to the following people (please read, don't ignore!):
&£1 SweetCheeksDracoLuver – Thanks for reviewing, and saying exactly the same thing in both reviews! Lol, oh and you have a lot of nicknames . . . but then again, who am I to criticise, so do I!
&£2 Some12 – Hmm, good idea actually, about the Polyjuice potion thing, but you'll just have to read on to find out if you're right! Lol, here's the update, I have the entire story planned now, I just have to hope that I remember it, seeing as I forgot it once already and had to start from scratch, hehe.
&£3 ShortStuff10 – Yes, sugar is good - everyone knows that! If sugar wasn't there, CLE would never be invented, lol, I wish we were all made of chocolate too, if you didn't grow back, then you could just eat all the people you didn't like! I was thinking of having a gem in Lily, but after I had on in James, I thought, maybe not.
&£4 BrooklynGrl – Oooooh, you're not the first to guess that love would be last, but alas, you shall find out in this chapter if you are right or not! Thanks for reviewing, enjoy!
&£5 Alexian-Goddess – I hope this chapter was up soon enough, although I'm sure it took a while, lol. This was actually what made my other fic get a long wait from getting updated, so I hope this chapter is good enough for you!
&£1 Happigolucki616 – Yay! I read that fic, yes; indeed I did, although I know you won't be here to read this update. Sigh, miss you already! Lol, you're partly right in your guess, but partly not. All will be explained if you read on, hehe.
&£2 Cho Chang-Emotional Dark Hole – Five stones, there are indeed. Read on and you'll see what happens, hehe, I never did say that the 'Love' stone would be in Draco now, did I?
&£3 Smileyface1314 – Oh, what were you confused about? I would only be too happy to explain, although I might make you even more confused, I tend to do that a lot, lol.
&£4 Spaced Out Space Cadet – YAY! Here's the update, I hope it didn't take too long, lol, anyway, thank you for reviewing, I can't thank you enough!
&£5 LythTaeraneth – HOORAY! You got a hold of a computer! Lol, aw, poor Amy, hope she gets well soon. I love kids; they're so entertaining . . . well the not bratty ones are anyway, the bratty kids make me feel like slapping them, but alas, I can't otherwise their mums would probably sue me (bleh). Oh and yes, I read LiMM already, and I reviewed nicely as well (I think), and you know something? I reckon I have a talent for writing about rather thick Hermione's.
-------------------------------------- ----
"Draco why can't we slow down? There doesn't seem to be any deatheaters around, there isn't any need to rush, is there?" Hermione asked desperately, trying to get Draco to reply to her. However, it was obvious that Draco was ignoring her questions, or maybe just ignoring her.
They were heading towards the forbidden forest for some reason. Hermione was positive that there was no way out of the Hogwarts grounds through the forest, but then, why on earth was Draco heading there?
Hermione heard her feet touch the forest floor as thick wooden branches scratched her face. The trees looked crooked and bent, the sort that you could find in a typical scary movie.
Finally, the pair stopped in a small clearing. Hermione put her hand to her chest and began to try and catch her breath, while Draco merely looked at her, not a trace of emotion across his face. She began to feel slightly scared. The atmosphere around the forest didn't seem quite right.
She stood and watched as Draco slowly strode towards her. Something about his eyes was very different. They were trying to tell her something, but she didn't quite know what it was that he was trying to say. Then, suddenly something came back to her, that night, the night of her kidnap, had been much like this.
His eyes had been trying to tell her something, but she had not understood. However, now was different. What his eyes were trying to say was that danger was coming, and he was being forced into something. But, by now, it was far too late for her to run away, for Draco had got a hold of her wrist.
"I'm . . ." He began to mutter, his eyes still fixed on her, "Sorry."
And with that he grabbed the gemstone of elements from Hermione's wrist and pushed her to the floor. She raised her head and saw that Draco had placed the gemstone in his robe pocket. He turned his back to her and began to walk away. Anger suddenly rushed over Hermione. She had trusted him, but what he done? Gone and betrayed her?
"You could at least look at me," She said, her voice shaking with an emotion between anger and hurt, "Why are you doing this?"
Draco stopped and looked over his shoulder at Hermione. He didn't exactly look pleased with himself, for his face was blank, and expressionless once again. His eyes, however, didn't look like they were trying to tell her something urgent anymore.
Hermione felt saddened in her heart. There was something she felt that she couldn't quite put her finger on as tears flowed to her eyes. She couldn't understand why he would do this, why he was betraying her for someone like . . . Lord Voldemort? Voldemort had nearly caused Draco's death, and he still could die any minute.
"I don't . . . understand," She sobbed, tears falling from her eyes, "Why? Why are you doing this?"
Draco looked down at her. He did not reply, but merely looked back at her with pity. Hermione looked away, her bushy hair covering her face, making it hard for Draco to see the tears falling from her eyes, and to the already damp grass below.
She had no idea why she felt so torn inside, and why she felt so surprised that Draco would do such a thing. What had she expected? That he would suddenly like her? She should have known that he would never change, but after she had left Hogwart's, she had wanted to see the world from a different point of view, have hope in everything, and believe in things that may not be possible.
She had been doing well, in seeing the world for all its beauty and enjoying every moment as if it was her last. Well, was this day going to be her last? Was Draco going to kill her, as well as take the only thing that could save Harry's life?
Hermione felt confused and bewildered. Had she not known that this was exactly what Draco was going to do? Befriend her, and then betray her for the Dark Lord. But no, Hermione hadn't wanted him to die without feeling the wonders and joys of life, but then again, what was his version of 'joy'?
Deep within her, she felt anger. She felt like all she wanted to do was slap him, kick him, murder him even, but she knew that she could never live with herself if she did something so horrid, even if it was only Draco. But that was it. Only Draco.
Did she mean 'only Draco'? She knew that no matter how hard she tried to be strong, inside she would always be weak, inside she would always be looking for someone to hold her up, someone just to be there for her. And maybe, she had wanted Draco to be that person. Of course, when she had first met him, she had not wanted him, no, but after those few weeks that she had spent time with him, she had realised just what kind of person he could actually be.
And that was the person she had, supposedly, 'fallen in love' with.
Everything seemed so painful, so harsh. She couldn't bear it . . . but maybe this was what made reality.
All this time, she had wanted the world to be a nice place for everyone, wanted to live her life in a dream, but in the real world, she knew that she couldn't ever do that. Too much responsibility was on her, even if she didn't want it to be there. There was no way of changing real life, and that was the one thing she detested - reality.
She smiled sadly to herself as she looked up to find that Draco had not gone. In fact, he had moved closer to her and was now towering above her. Hermione stood and looked Draco in the eye.
A small smile was playing on Hermione's lips. She was so foolish, and she couldn't believe that it was only now, that she saw it.
Draco frowned. Why was she smiling like that?
Hermione immediately saw the confusion in Draco's face, but she didn't feel like talking about it. She didn't feel like being there, she just wanted to go away and leave him to do what he wished.
Their eyes locked, but once again, that was all that was needed for the holder of the gemstone to see that little twinkle, and for once, it wasn't Hermione. The gemstone of elements that was inside Draco's pocket began to glow, until suddenly, Draco felt himself rise, as did Hermione. It felt strange for her to be on the receiving end of this, rather than being that person who spotted the gem in the first place.
Soon, it was all over, and Hermione could sense a slight pain in her eye as something flew from it, and into Draco's pocket. He stood, still frowning, as he pulled out the gemstone of elements. He looked at the new star shimmering in the darkness of the forest. Gold lettering was already imprinted on the pink gem, and it read clearly and beautifully: 'Love'
Hermione did not dare to look him in the eye. So this feeling that she did not know of . . . she had answered herself, it was love that she felt. She smiled once again, looking down at the damp and dying grass of the forest. She felt even more foolish than she did before.
"Well done, Draco."
Hermione and Draco both turned their heads towards the man that was walking towards them. He had long, blonde hair, cold blue eyes, and wore a deatheater cloak. There was no mistaking, Lucius Malfoy.
"Father," Draco said calmly, his grip on the gemstone of elements tightening slightly.
"Draco, hand that to me so I can return it to the Dark Lord, I'm sure you can take care of that filthy mudblood yourself," Lucius smirked evilly at Hermione as she sat and watched. The pain she had felt slowly drained away, only to be replaced by emptiness.
"No," Draco replied, "I think I shall take this back to the Dark Lord myself."
Lucius frowned, his smirk instantly fading, "Why Draco, do you not believe that the Dark Lord shall reward you, as he promised, if you do not bring this gemstone to him yourself? He shall not be pleased."
Realisation dawned on her. Hermione suddenly understood the situation. Draco was taking the gemstones, the only possible thing that could rid Harry's poison, just to save his own life. How cowardly, it made her feel sick inside.
She thought about it slowly. If Draco traded in the gemstones for his own life, then Harry's life would be gone. But, if it was used to save Harry's life, then the potion that Draco had taken couldn't possibly last him forever, and sometimes, it might not even work at all, and then Draco would be cursed for the rest of his life.
Either way, she was positive either Draco, or Harry would not survive because of this incident. The worst part was that she had no idea which one she would prefer to live. It was a horrible thought, but she knew that she needed to decide it, because if she wanted Harry to live, she would definitely need to do get that gemstone as soon as possible.
Harry had been one of her best friends, and he was the only one that could rid the world of Lord Voldemort, but Draco . . . Hermione did not even know why she was even thinking about letting Draco get away with taking the gemstones from her. There was no reason why he should live, if he was only going to support the Dark Lord, and help to kill all the good witches and wizards, maybe even herself.
But she knew that she didn't want anyone to die – and Draco was someone. When she thought about Draco . . .There was definitely a feeling more powerful, than that of just wanting someone to live because they were a person. She didn't feel confident enough to say that she loved him, even if that gemstone had come from her, it couldn't be certain.
She looked up to find that Draco was staring at her, his grip on the gemstone of elements never loosening. Lucius was standing behind him, a wide smirk suddenly spread across his pale, pointed face.
"Tut-tut Draco, I would have thought better of you," Lucius smirked, "I guess if you can't take care of this mudblood by yourself, we shall take her with us, and see what the Dark Lord thinks of her."
Draco frowned. He had obviously not been expecting his father to say such a thing.
"Come, Draco, take her and follow me."
Draco nodded, and put the gemstones back into his robe pocket. He slowly made his way towards Hermione. He kneeled down and took her arm. Hermione snatched her arm away from him. She knew why he was doing this now, but that didn't mean she had to be dragged into his plan as well.
Surprisingly, Draco did not snap at Hermione for snatching her arm away from him. Instead, he merely tried again, but gentler this time. He rested one of his hands on her back, while his other hand took her arm. Hermione tried to pull her arm away again, but this time, Draco hung onto her, pulling her to her feet.
"Good, now Draco, follow closely, I do not want you to lose that gemstone in your pocket, if you insist on taking it yourself," Lucius raised his eyebrows before heading off, not even giving a glance to his son.
"I'm . . ." Draco began; it was only a soft mumble. Hermione knew what he was trying to say. Yet she didn't want him to say it. She didn't see how it helped.
She could feel his grip on her arm tightening slightly, as if he was scared that she would somehow run away. This wasn't the first sign of vulnerability Draco had shown to her since they had left Hogwarts, but it was definitely the subtlest.
Ever so slowly, his hand slipped down so that he was now holding her hand instead of her robe sleeve. His palms were sweaty, and it seemed as though he was nervous. Could it be that he was actually 'scared' of facing the great Lord Voldemort, after only a few weeks?
She looked up at Draco and saw that he was staring at her again, with those beautiful blue eyes. They were really quite a peculiar colour, the sort that you could get lost in, but there was no time for that now, for they had arrived in one of the clearings in the forbidden forest.
Deatheaters were everywhere, and Hermione had not realised how many of them there actually were. Of course, she had never really known how many deatheaters were really in Voldemort's inner circle in the first place. They were all in a circle, with their back towards Lucius, Draco and her. Suddenly, the crowd parted to reveal a small, balding little man.
He looked up, and smiled, revealing his yellow and rat-like teeth, "Miss Granger, I remember you."
Hermione felt Draco's grip on her hand tighten, and she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end.
Wormtail.
She felt no more than hate for him, for what he had helped Voldemort do, and this was surprising, as Hermione did not like to hate many people. She much preferred to 'dislike'.
"The mudblood, she is here?"
A cold hissing voice could be heard coming from somewhere in the shadows. It didn't take a genius to guess who was talking.
-------------------------------------- ----
Yes, this is finally done! And I am positive that this chapter was longer than the last (even if it is only slightly), well I'm sure it had more words this time anyway. Next chapter will be posted soon, I hope, just when I get it done. My focus is more on my other fanfiction, basically because it's a lot harder to write, so sorry if this isn't very good.
PS. Right I need you guys to help me decide something about the ending. I have two alternate endings in my head, and I would be happy to use either one of them. One of them is an ending where there will still be questions, like most of the fic will be tied up, but there will be one main question that won't be answered. This is the first ending.
The next one is one where I shall end it with the traditional ending, you know, 'nice' ending. Your choice, either one is good. (I haven't said too much because I don't actually want to ruin the ending)
ILUVRONWEASLEY
(This was slightly changed on the 26 July 04, why? Because I wasn't satisfied with it. Hopefully, it's a little better now . . .)
Disclaimer: I own nothing – important anyway. Oh no wait, I think I own all the precious gemstones, Hahahahahaha!!! I own the most important thing in the plot!!! Oh wait, hold on, Draco's the most important thing in the plot . . . Gah, now I am utterly confused. Oh well, just read the goddamn chapter already . . . .
Chapter twelve
Thanks to the following people (please read, don't ignore!):
&£1 SweetCheeksDracoLuver – Thanks for reviewing, and saying exactly the same thing in both reviews! Lol, oh and you have a lot of nicknames . . . but then again, who am I to criticise, so do I!
&£2 Some12 – Hmm, good idea actually, about the Polyjuice potion thing, but you'll just have to read on to find out if you're right! Lol, here's the update, I have the entire story planned now, I just have to hope that I remember it, seeing as I forgot it once already and had to start from scratch, hehe.
&£3 ShortStuff10 – Yes, sugar is good - everyone knows that! If sugar wasn't there, CLE would never be invented, lol, I wish we were all made of chocolate too, if you didn't grow back, then you could just eat all the people you didn't like! I was thinking of having a gem in Lily, but after I had on in James, I thought, maybe not.
&£4 BrooklynGrl – Oooooh, you're not the first to guess that love would be last, but alas, you shall find out in this chapter if you are right or not! Thanks for reviewing, enjoy!
&£5 Alexian-Goddess – I hope this chapter was up soon enough, although I'm sure it took a while, lol. This was actually what made my other fic get a long wait from getting updated, so I hope this chapter is good enough for you!
&£1 Happigolucki616 – Yay! I read that fic, yes; indeed I did, although I know you won't be here to read this update. Sigh, miss you already! Lol, you're partly right in your guess, but partly not. All will be explained if you read on, hehe.
&£2 Cho Chang-Emotional Dark Hole – Five stones, there are indeed. Read on and you'll see what happens, hehe, I never did say that the 'Love' stone would be in Draco now, did I?
&£3 Smileyface1314 – Oh, what were you confused about? I would only be too happy to explain, although I might make you even more confused, I tend to do that a lot, lol.
&£4 Spaced Out Space Cadet – YAY! Here's the update, I hope it didn't take too long, lol, anyway, thank you for reviewing, I can't thank you enough!
&£5 LythTaeraneth – HOORAY! You got a hold of a computer! Lol, aw, poor Amy, hope she gets well soon. I love kids; they're so entertaining . . . well the not bratty ones are anyway, the bratty kids make me feel like slapping them, but alas, I can't otherwise their mums would probably sue me (bleh). Oh and yes, I read LiMM already, and I reviewed nicely as well (I think), and you know something? I reckon I have a talent for writing about rather thick Hermione's.
-------------------------------------- ----
"Draco why can't we slow down? There doesn't seem to be any deatheaters around, there isn't any need to rush, is there?" Hermione asked desperately, trying to get Draco to reply to her. However, it was obvious that Draco was ignoring her questions, or maybe just ignoring her.
They were heading towards the forbidden forest for some reason. Hermione was positive that there was no way out of the Hogwarts grounds through the forest, but then, why on earth was Draco heading there?
Hermione heard her feet touch the forest floor as thick wooden branches scratched her face. The trees looked crooked and bent, the sort that you could find in a typical scary movie.
Finally, the pair stopped in a small clearing. Hermione put her hand to her chest and began to try and catch her breath, while Draco merely looked at her, not a trace of emotion across his face. She began to feel slightly scared. The atmosphere around the forest didn't seem quite right.
She stood and watched as Draco slowly strode towards her. Something about his eyes was very different. They were trying to tell her something, but she didn't quite know what it was that he was trying to say. Then, suddenly something came back to her, that night, the night of her kidnap, had been much like this.
His eyes had been trying to tell her something, but she had not understood. However, now was different. What his eyes were trying to say was that danger was coming, and he was being forced into something. But, by now, it was far too late for her to run away, for Draco had got a hold of her wrist.
"I'm . . ." He began to mutter, his eyes still fixed on her, "Sorry."
And with that he grabbed the gemstone of elements from Hermione's wrist and pushed her to the floor. She raised her head and saw that Draco had placed the gemstone in his robe pocket. He turned his back to her and began to walk away. Anger suddenly rushed over Hermione. She had trusted him, but what he done? Gone and betrayed her?
"You could at least look at me," She said, her voice shaking with an emotion between anger and hurt, "Why are you doing this?"
Draco stopped and looked over his shoulder at Hermione. He didn't exactly look pleased with himself, for his face was blank, and expressionless once again. His eyes, however, didn't look like they were trying to tell her something urgent anymore.
Hermione felt saddened in her heart. There was something she felt that she couldn't quite put her finger on as tears flowed to her eyes. She couldn't understand why he would do this, why he was betraying her for someone like . . . Lord Voldemort? Voldemort had nearly caused Draco's death, and he still could die any minute.
"I don't . . . understand," She sobbed, tears falling from her eyes, "Why? Why are you doing this?"
Draco looked down at her. He did not reply, but merely looked back at her with pity. Hermione looked away, her bushy hair covering her face, making it hard for Draco to see the tears falling from her eyes, and to the already damp grass below.
She had no idea why she felt so torn inside, and why she felt so surprised that Draco would do such a thing. What had she expected? That he would suddenly like her? She should have known that he would never change, but after she had left Hogwart's, she had wanted to see the world from a different point of view, have hope in everything, and believe in things that may not be possible.
She had been doing well, in seeing the world for all its beauty and enjoying every moment as if it was her last. Well, was this day going to be her last? Was Draco going to kill her, as well as take the only thing that could save Harry's life?
Hermione felt confused and bewildered. Had she not known that this was exactly what Draco was going to do? Befriend her, and then betray her for the Dark Lord. But no, Hermione hadn't wanted him to die without feeling the wonders and joys of life, but then again, what was his version of 'joy'?
Deep within her, she felt anger. She felt like all she wanted to do was slap him, kick him, murder him even, but she knew that she could never live with herself if she did something so horrid, even if it was only Draco. But that was it. Only Draco.
Did she mean 'only Draco'? She knew that no matter how hard she tried to be strong, inside she would always be weak, inside she would always be looking for someone to hold her up, someone just to be there for her. And maybe, she had wanted Draco to be that person. Of course, when she had first met him, she had not wanted him, no, but after those few weeks that she had spent time with him, she had realised just what kind of person he could actually be.
And that was the person she had, supposedly, 'fallen in love' with.
Everything seemed so painful, so harsh. She couldn't bear it . . . but maybe this was what made reality.
All this time, she had wanted the world to be a nice place for everyone, wanted to live her life in a dream, but in the real world, she knew that she couldn't ever do that. Too much responsibility was on her, even if she didn't want it to be there. There was no way of changing real life, and that was the one thing she detested - reality.
She smiled sadly to herself as she looked up to find that Draco had not gone. In fact, he had moved closer to her and was now towering above her. Hermione stood and looked Draco in the eye.
A small smile was playing on Hermione's lips. She was so foolish, and she couldn't believe that it was only now, that she saw it.
Draco frowned. Why was she smiling like that?
Hermione immediately saw the confusion in Draco's face, but she didn't feel like talking about it. She didn't feel like being there, she just wanted to go away and leave him to do what he wished.
Their eyes locked, but once again, that was all that was needed for the holder of the gemstone to see that little twinkle, and for once, it wasn't Hermione. The gemstone of elements that was inside Draco's pocket began to glow, until suddenly, Draco felt himself rise, as did Hermione. It felt strange for her to be on the receiving end of this, rather than being that person who spotted the gem in the first place.
Soon, it was all over, and Hermione could sense a slight pain in her eye as something flew from it, and into Draco's pocket. He stood, still frowning, as he pulled out the gemstone of elements. He looked at the new star shimmering in the darkness of the forest. Gold lettering was already imprinted on the pink gem, and it read clearly and beautifully: 'Love'
Hermione did not dare to look him in the eye. So this feeling that she did not know of . . . she had answered herself, it was love that she felt. She smiled once again, looking down at the damp and dying grass of the forest. She felt even more foolish than she did before.
"Well done, Draco."
Hermione and Draco both turned their heads towards the man that was walking towards them. He had long, blonde hair, cold blue eyes, and wore a deatheater cloak. There was no mistaking, Lucius Malfoy.
"Father," Draco said calmly, his grip on the gemstone of elements tightening slightly.
"Draco, hand that to me so I can return it to the Dark Lord, I'm sure you can take care of that filthy mudblood yourself," Lucius smirked evilly at Hermione as she sat and watched. The pain she had felt slowly drained away, only to be replaced by emptiness.
"No," Draco replied, "I think I shall take this back to the Dark Lord myself."
Lucius frowned, his smirk instantly fading, "Why Draco, do you not believe that the Dark Lord shall reward you, as he promised, if you do not bring this gemstone to him yourself? He shall not be pleased."
Realisation dawned on her. Hermione suddenly understood the situation. Draco was taking the gemstones, the only possible thing that could rid Harry's poison, just to save his own life. How cowardly, it made her feel sick inside.
She thought about it slowly. If Draco traded in the gemstones for his own life, then Harry's life would be gone. But, if it was used to save Harry's life, then the potion that Draco had taken couldn't possibly last him forever, and sometimes, it might not even work at all, and then Draco would be cursed for the rest of his life.
Either way, she was positive either Draco, or Harry would not survive because of this incident. The worst part was that she had no idea which one she would prefer to live. It was a horrible thought, but she knew that she needed to decide it, because if she wanted Harry to live, she would definitely need to do get that gemstone as soon as possible.
Harry had been one of her best friends, and he was the only one that could rid the world of Lord Voldemort, but Draco . . . Hermione did not even know why she was even thinking about letting Draco get away with taking the gemstones from her. There was no reason why he should live, if he was only going to support the Dark Lord, and help to kill all the good witches and wizards, maybe even herself.
But she knew that she didn't want anyone to die – and Draco was someone. When she thought about Draco . . .There was definitely a feeling more powerful, than that of just wanting someone to live because they were a person. She didn't feel confident enough to say that she loved him, even if that gemstone had come from her, it couldn't be certain.
She looked up to find that Draco was staring at her, his grip on the gemstone of elements never loosening. Lucius was standing behind him, a wide smirk suddenly spread across his pale, pointed face.
"Tut-tut Draco, I would have thought better of you," Lucius smirked, "I guess if you can't take care of this mudblood by yourself, we shall take her with us, and see what the Dark Lord thinks of her."
Draco frowned. He had obviously not been expecting his father to say such a thing.
"Come, Draco, take her and follow me."
Draco nodded, and put the gemstones back into his robe pocket. He slowly made his way towards Hermione. He kneeled down and took her arm. Hermione snatched her arm away from him. She knew why he was doing this now, but that didn't mean she had to be dragged into his plan as well.
Surprisingly, Draco did not snap at Hermione for snatching her arm away from him. Instead, he merely tried again, but gentler this time. He rested one of his hands on her back, while his other hand took her arm. Hermione tried to pull her arm away again, but this time, Draco hung onto her, pulling her to her feet.
"Good, now Draco, follow closely, I do not want you to lose that gemstone in your pocket, if you insist on taking it yourself," Lucius raised his eyebrows before heading off, not even giving a glance to his son.
"I'm . . ." Draco began; it was only a soft mumble. Hermione knew what he was trying to say. Yet she didn't want him to say it. She didn't see how it helped.
She could feel his grip on her arm tightening slightly, as if he was scared that she would somehow run away. This wasn't the first sign of vulnerability Draco had shown to her since they had left Hogwarts, but it was definitely the subtlest.
Ever so slowly, his hand slipped down so that he was now holding her hand instead of her robe sleeve. His palms were sweaty, and it seemed as though he was nervous. Could it be that he was actually 'scared' of facing the great Lord Voldemort, after only a few weeks?
She looked up at Draco and saw that he was staring at her again, with those beautiful blue eyes. They were really quite a peculiar colour, the sort that you could get lost in, but there was no time for that now, for they had arrived in one of the clearings in the forbidden forest.
Deatheaters were everywhere, and Hermione had not realised how many of them there actually were. Of course, she had never really known how many deatheaters were really in Voldemort's inner circle in the first place. They were all in a circle, with their back towards Lucius, Draco and her. Suddenly, the crowd parted to reveal a small, balding little man.
He looked up, and smiled, revealing his yellow and rat-like teeth, "Miss Granger, I remember you."
Hermione felt Draco's grip on her hand tighten, and she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end.
Wormtail.
She felt no more than hate for him, for what he had helped Voldemort do, and this was surprising, as Hermione did not like to hate many people. She much preferred to 'dislike'.
"The mudblood, she is here?"
A cold hissing voice could be heard coming from somewhere in the shadows. It didn't take a genius to guess who was talking.
-------------------------------------- ----
Yes, this is finally done! And I am positive that this chapter was longer than the last (even if it is only slightly), well I'm sure it had more words this time anyway. Next chapter will be posted soon, I hope, just when I get it done. My focus is more on my other fanfiction, basically because it's a lot harder to write, so sorry if this isn't very good.
PS. Right I need you guys to help me decide something about the ending. I have two alternate endings in my head, and I would be happy to use either one of them. One of them is an ending where there will still be questions, like most of the fic will be tied up, but there will be one main question that won't be answered. This is the first ending.
The next one is one where I shall end it with the traditional ending, you know, 'nice' ending. Your choice, either one is good. (I haven't said too much because I don't actually want to ruin the ending)
ILUVRONWEASLEY
(This was slightly changed on the 26 July 04, why? Because I wasn't satisfied with it. Hopefully, it's a little better now . . .)