Disclaimer: To the tune of the Barney theme song: I own me, you own you. I own Harry Potter too. Oh wait, no I don't that was a big fat lie. Well it was worth a try.
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A/N: It's amazing how much hate mail I get when I don't update. To be totally honest I have been lazier than a Spanish quesadilla for the past 3 months. If that didn't make sense to you, don't worry; you're not the only one. Oh and just a reminder I'm not going directly off of book 5 so there may be some discrepancies, but I may still use some happenings from it. Anywho just read and review then wait a few weeks and send me some more hate mail for not updating again. Okay? Good, ta ta then.
Chapter 22-Secrets
Recap
"Draco!" She yelled clinging on to his neck for dear life. "What in the bloody hell are you doing?"
"You said we were going to miss dinner!" He replied panting slightly.
"I will never understand men and their obsession with food." She said rolling her eyes.
"It's similar to women and their obsession with make-up." He replied, ducking from the hand that flew towards his cheek.
Hermione gave another yelp of surprise as he suddenly stopped.
"So you've finally come to your senses…" She started but trailed off when Draco placed a firm hand over her mouth. She looked up to his face to see his eyes wide with fear. He very slowly set her down on the ground and reached inside his robes to grab his wand. Hermione followed his gaze down the path. She paled when she found what had made them come to a halt. Suddenly Draco raised his wand.
"Hermione, RUN!" He yelled drawing the attention of the figure standing before them.
He turned to find Hermione frozen in place staring at the hooded person.
"Hermione! Mione!" He yelled again trying to get her to focus. "You have to run now!" He turned back down the path and called to the stranger.
"I'm warning you! Leave us be or I will not hesitate to kill you!" His voice quivered with what Hermione noticed as a hint of fear. He cast another worried glance towards Hermione, willing her with his eyes to leave before it was to late but she remained stoic as the figure approached them. The billowing black robes left nothing to imagination as to who this was in Draco's mind. He raised his arm again preparing to cast one of the numerous dark curses he had learned as a child. He calmed himself and opened his mouth to speak when suddenly a soft hand grabbed his.
"Draco stop." Hermione said softly, lowering his wand towards the ground.
"Wh…what?" He said bewildered. She gave him a glance that made him even more worried. He had never seen her look like that before, so…lost. He watched with fear as she approached the figure.
"Hermione…" He called softly but she glanced back again with the same look bringing him to silence.
He watched as she stopped in front of the figure and reached up to remove the hood he was wearing. Draco paled, it wasn't who he thought it was but it certainly wasn't anyone better either. Hermione looked up to the man's face, her eyes were brimming with tears.
"You're…you're dead." She whispered. The man in front of her knelt down and to her surprise, smiled.
"Not actually," he said in a kind voice, "but if your friend here has anything to say about it I will be soon." She laughed and threw her arms around his neck.
"Oh Sirius, it's so good to see you." She said trying to hide the few tears that had trickled down her face.
"It's good to see you too Hermione." He said hugging her tightly. It was then that Hermione remembered Draco. She quickly turned around a slight blush rising in her cheeks.
"Draco, you may know Sirius Black. Sirius this is Draco Malfoy." She said addressing both of them. Her smile disappeared however as the faces of both the men in front of her hardened.
"Hermione," Sirius asked quietly, "why are you here with him? He's Lucius' son, is he not?"
"Well, yes but you see…" she started.
"You know I could ask the same question Black." Draco retorted.
"Sirius, will you give me a moment please?" Hermione asked quickly, trying to prevent any curses from flying. He nodded and she quickly returned to Draco's side. She turned him so that his back was to Sirius.
"Draco look, I know this may seem very odd to you but you have to realize that there are some things about me that you don't know." She said looking up into his eyes.
"Hermione that's Sirius Black! Surely you've heard of what he did? He's a killer!" Draco replied crossly.
"No, he's not." She said firmly. "Draco I swear I will explain all of this to you, but for now…I need you trust me okay?" She finished softly. Draco turned his head away angrily. Hermione gently reached up and placed a hand on his cheek turning his head back towards her.
"Please, just trust me." She whispered. He closed his eyes and reaching up took her hand in his squeezing gently.
"Okay." He replied opening his eyes to look deep into hers. She breathed a sigh of relief and wrapped her arms around his neck holding him tightly as his wrapped around her waist.
"I just need a little while to talk with Sirius. Meet me back in the common room?" She said softly. He nodded and turned to leave the woods, casting a pointed glance towards Sirius as he passed.
"I see Harry hasn't told me something." Sirius said once Draco was out of earshot.
"Oh, well Harry doesn't know…" Hermione started quickly. "Wait, you've been in contact with Harry?"
"Well, yes." He replied.
"For how long?"
"I contacted him about midway through last year." He said glancing curiously at her. "You mean he didn't tell you?"
"No!" She replied incensed. "And that was when…we were dating."
"I know." He said amused.
"You know? He told you?" Sirius nodded. "How much else do you know?" She said angrily.
"Well I know a lot of things Hermione, but what about you? Something is going on between you and the Malfoy boy."
"Well…yes there is." She said calming down a bit. "We're a couple." He raised an eyebrow.
"But…Harry doesn't know?" He stated rather than questioned.
"No one does really. Except for Dumbledore and Severus." She replied.
"Severus? Ol' Snape the outcast brother seeking refuge in the light side." He said tartly. Hermione looked puzzled.
"You knew then?" She asked.
"That Snape and Malfoy were brothers? Oh yes, quite a few people did. We'd all heard stories about it. Some were true, some weren't. The untrue ones were always quite amusing." He said obviously reminiscing.
"What stories?"
"Well you see Snape was the younger brother of Lucius, and Lucius was the epiphany of everything good…or rather evil in his parents eyes. So when Severus performed quite a ways below the "Death Eater Standard" his parents disowned him. They sent him to live with his crazy aunt, made him change his name, the whole lot." He explained.
"That…that's awful." Hermione replied.
"It is Snape we're talking about Hermione, grease head remember. I thought you kids had an outright hate for that old bat." He said sounding confused.
"Well we did, or I did until the beginning of this year." She said quietly.
"Ah, which I assume leads into the story of you and Mr. Malfoy." He said suddenly curious.
"You assume correctly." She started heavily. "But it's an exhaustingly long story. Let's just say that I got to know Draco when he wasn't being Malfoy, and I…fell in love with him."
Sirius raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"He's not what you think Sirius. He's nothing like his father." She said trying to convince him of Draco's worth.
"The apple may fall far from the tree Hermione, but it still falls from that tree." He said somberly. Hermione couldn't help but to giggle.
"Oh Sirius, you and your analogies." She smiled as she said this but it quickly lessened as she had a thought. "Sirius you can't tell Harry about Draco and I." She said seriously. She noticed him divert his eyes momentarily. "You don't understand this is of the utmost importance. This is bigger than just Draco and I, bigger than you…bigger than Harry." She sighed as he nodded in submission. "Perhaps if you went to Dumbledore he could explain it better." She offered.
"Yes perhaps." He replied. "Well I'm off to see Harry. He doesn't know I'm coming, so if you wouldn't mind keeping it a surprise if you see him."
"Of course Sirius. Where are you headed, perhaps I could walk with you."
"Well actually I was just going to mosey around the woods a bit until dinner was over." He said motioning down the path that Hermione and Draco had come up.
"Oh alright. Well, don't be a stranger." She gave a small wave and hurried, as quickly as she could without looking overly obvious, to the Great Hall. She peeked in the doors trying to locate a certain blonde at the Slytherin table. After a few minutes of fruitless searching she mentally slapped herself.
'Of course, I told him to meet me in the common room.' She thought to herself. She started towards the Head Quarters gradually picking up speed until she was at a quick jog. She entered the common room to find it empty.
"Where could he have gotten to?" She said to herself. She climbed the stairs towards his room and knocked on the door.
"Draco? Draco are you in there?" She called through the door. After a few minutes of waiting there was still no answer. She took out her wand and aimed it at the door handle.
"Alohomora." She said, not really expecting anything to happen. She was surprised when she heard a small click. Cautiously she pushed open the door and peered inside.
The setting sun cast rays through the window, illuminating the tiny dust particles that were floating about. She made her way to the window and looked out across the ground. A gleam of a finely polished broom caught her eye above the Quidditch pitch. She gave a sigh as she rolled her eyes and headed out of the common room towards the pitch.
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Draco sauntered along the edge of the woods lost in thought. He spotted the Quidditch pitch in the distant and noted the lack of players up in the air. He paused for a few minutes considering whether he should go up to the common room or take a nice flight around the pitch. Finally deciding he pulled his wand out of his robe and with a flick summoned his broom.
"Accio Black Lightening." He said quietly. He heard a whoosh of air behind him and turned to see his broom streaking towards him. He caught it and quickly mounted, taking off into the evening sky. He reveled in the feel of the wind against his face as he did a few laps around the pitch. He loved the feeling flying always gave him; it seemed like nothing else in the world mattered. After a few minutes he tried a few technical maneuvers, pulling some nice loops and rolls and eventually heading straight up into the sky. He hovered high above the pitch, feeling as if he were amongst the clouds. Suddenly his eyes lit up and a smirk graced his features. Aiming the nose of his broom down he went into a steep dive. His eyes began to water as he gained speed making it a little harder to see the field that was quickly approaching. He plummeted towards the ground gripping the broom tightly. Suddenly he pulled up; the end of his broom grazed the grass below him. He let out a small laugh but was quickly distracted by a scream that echoed through the stadium. He whirled his head around trying to find where it had come from. He turned to see Hermione standing in one of the bleachers with her arms folded across her chest, not looking very happy. He gave a small sigh and prepared for her wrath.
"Draco I-don't-know-what-you're-middle-name-is Malfoy!" She yelled as he neared. He tried to suppress a smile but it didn't work very well.
"What are you smiling at?" She questioned angrily. He chuckled and dismounted beside her.
"Nothing. And it's Ferox." He said smartly.
Hermione looked at him curiously. "Ferox?"
"Yeah, my middle name. It's Latin, I believe it means courageous and warlike." He said puffing out his chest a bit. She smirked, causing him to furrow his brow. "What?"
"I thought it meant wild and arrogant." She said still smirking.
"Oh, you're one to talk." He replied suddenly picking her up and putting her over his shoulder.
"Draco Ferox Malfoy!" She yelled, emphasizing his middle name.
"Yes, Ms. Hermione Marie Granger?" He said preparing to mount his broom.
"Two things." She started. "One: Put me down! Two: How on earth did you know my middle name?"
"Two things. One…" He said mimicking her. She gave him a glare and he resignedly set her on his broom in front of him. "Well one's taken care of but two…" He took off into the twilight sky hugging her tightly against him. "…a guy's got to have some secrets."
A/N: Okay what did everybody think? You know I was reading over my reviews and you know what I realized? YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! I mean seriously all of my reviews are totally great and made me super happy. So thanks everybody! I love you all!! Now do what you do best! Review!
