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Chapter 26 - Training and Feelings
Hermione went to her nightly training class at the room of requirement. It lasted from seven until nine in the evening. And then it was time for patrol. She was working very hard and was becoming tired quicker because of it.
Draco was still moping around their common room and she wasn't too sure what to do about him.
She didn't have any physical training tonight thank god, it was defence against the dark arts with Lupin, who had come in only to train Hermione. The rest of the students couldn't work out why he was there and so whispered rumours ran amok around the castle. A fair few of them to do with him and professor McGonagall which Hermione found highly amusing and passed onto the teachers. She got on really well with all of them and they enjoyed teaching someone with such an eager and quick mind.
Hermione had just been practicing a couple of minor hexes on some spiders. She didn't mind spiders, it was a good job as well. Lupin seemed to have thousands of them.
"You are doing very well Hermione, I think we might be able to start practicing the unforgivables soon" Lupin praised her
"I don't want to use them" Hermione shuddered at the thought.
"I know you don't and most people never want to either, but you are going to have to. It's the only way. You wouldn't last five minutes against him without them, I am sorry I don't meant to sound like I am being hard on you" he told her and sat down next to her "its just cold hard facts I am afraid and its better to face them now than later"
"I know" she said "you're right I know you are"
"Good girl" he said and got up "I think we can call it a night for now, and back on Friday?"
"Ok" Hermione said and grabbed her bag and wand. "Bye"
She made her way back towards the common room and told a group of second year slytherins off for picking on a first year Hufflepuff
"That's 10 points each off for slytherin" she said "why can't you pick on somebody your own size"
"Oh shut it mudblood" one of the smaller slytherins said, an older one whispered something in his ear, all Hermione could make out was the words head and girl. The slytherin went bright red. He legged it mumbling something that sounds like an apology,
"Get back to your common rooms" she ordered
And with that they all ran off
She then escorted the Hufflepuff back to his house and lectured him on roaming about corridors in the school on his own at this time of the evening. She then began her patrol.
She was patrolling with Seamus again and he had gone to do the other half of the castle. She was just roaming the corridors and thinking about things,
She knew about what she would have to face and all the rest of it. But it didn't seem real, it seemed like a dream away or rather a nightmare. It seemed like a story that somebody had told her and she wasn't looking forward to the day it all became a reality.
But in another sense she couldn't wait. She wanted so badly to get Draco away from him, she had only just told him the other day if he was worried about becoming dark then he wasn't. But she did doubt it slightly, what if it was happening and Draco was just more aware of it than most. He wasn't exactly in a normal scenario was he?
With that thought she was suddenly feeling even more depressed than before.
All of a sudden she rounded a corner and collided into Seamus,
"Oops I am sorry" She said and helped him up
"No problem" he said brushing himself off. "Well that side was all clear, so let's call it a night shall we?"
"Yeah" Hermione said wrapping her cloak around herself a little more "its cold and I am tired"
Upon arriving at the portrait to her common room a fresh wave of exhaustion washed over her and she struggled to remember the password. The portrait took pity on her and gave her a clue
"Thanks" Hermione said and went inside.
Draco was writing in his diary as she went in. he finished the sentence he was writing and closed the book
"You look really tired" he said
"Yeah I am" she told him and walked over to give him a hug "training and then patrols is taking it all out of me, let alone classes and the rest of it"
"Well I could take your patrols if you want" Draco offered
"No its ok" Hermione smiled "I will be fine, plus I need to do it"
"Ok" he said and held her hand "if you change your mind though…."
"Yeah I know" she said and kissed him on the cheek. "I think I should go to bed now though"
"Yeah that's a good idea" he said and walked over to the stairs with her "I'll see you in the morning"
"Goodnight" she whispered and kissed him. He kissed her then held her back from him. Looked deep in her eyes and then kissed her forehead.
"Goodnight precious" he whispered into her hair.
After she was gone Draco went back to his diary. He hadn't written much in it yet at all. He read what he had written so far.
Dear Diary.
Well it's another day and I don't feel any better. In fact I feel as though someone has taken a ten tonne weight and dropped it on my heart. It's difficult to explain really.
That was as far as he had gotten so far. But he felt the need to continue. So he picked up his quill
I feel such a love for Hermione in its way it's quite sickening. Not in the fact that I don't want to or anything but more the fact that it scares me how much love I feel for her. And on the other hand I feel such a hatred for voldemort and the other death eaters, I fear that if I listen to my heart I will get myself killed in their company and If I listen to my head then I will break Hermione's heart. I wish there was a book that just told me what to do. So I didn't have to make choices anymore although I didn't make this one. All my life I have had decisions made for me, and I couldn't bear it. And now I have the chance to make my own I don't want to. Ironic isn't it?
I have the feeling that something is going to happen soon. I am not sure why it's really just a hunch I just hope that Hermione is ready for it. I can't help her with it. I would know too much and if there was a chance he could find out it's just not worth it. Its best for us to be apart in that sense.
Well goodnight for now dear diary
DM
He locked the book and put it underneath the pillow on his bed. He felt better after writing it. And for once he had an undisturbed full night of sleep
The next morning Hermione awoke to a crazy beeping noise and she couldn't figure out what it was at first. Once she had actually begun to wake up properly she ran downstairs and to the common room.
The marble message tablet was going mental.
She looked at it
"come Dumbledore's office at once!"
Was all it said. It didn't even say who it was to, so she could only assume it was meant for both of them. She ran into Draco's room and told him the situation. He got out of bed and stopped
"Come on we have to hurry" she said
"Aren't you even going to get dressed first?" he asked her "I mean I am all for pyjamas with fuzzy pink animals on them but I don't think its appropriate apparel for the headmasters office, what would people say?"
Hermione laughed at this. He could be very funny when he tried. Just he didn't try very much, just lately
She quickly transfigured her clothes into school robes she knew it would last for 24 hours but she hoped she would be able to get changed properly soon.
"Impressive" Draco smirked at her "come on then"
He had actually found the time to run into his wardrobe and come out completely dressed. Hermione wondered how on earth he had managed it then she remembered that with something's Draco didn't fuss at all. He liked clothes, he knew what suited him and things like that, but when it came to getting dressed, bathing and all that sort of thing he just got on with it and was usually done within seconds. She put this down to his father. She could only assume that he had a lot of pressure upon him when he was small and drilling into someone not to take long in the bathroom is bound to stick after so much time,
They ran through the castle. Nobody else was about yet the other students wouldn't be out of bed for another hour or so. It didn't take them long to reach the stone gargoyle and they shouted the password at it, then ran up the steps.
As they burst through the door. A strange feeling came over Hermione it was as though she was being pushed away from the door.
"Let me try something" Draco said
Hermione stepped aside and Draco walked up to the door, he placed his palm flat on the door and held it there for a minute. Suddenly the door opened.
"What was that all about?" Hermione asked
"Dark magic" he told her
They rushed inside and found all the teachers there, looking over a map to the school. It was nothing as extravagant as the marauders map, just a plain map
"Oh good you're here" Dumbledore said beckoning them to him.
"We have some rather big problems"
"What's the matter?" Hermione asked
"Well at the moment there are about three hundred death eaters in the tunnels leading up to the school" he told them, Hermione gasped, Draco looked indifferent and he noticed Snape was pacing.
"they will try to attack the school, I know its not that long ago since we strengthened the wards, but I do not know if it will hold that many out, three hundred wizards are after all a lot stronger than the fifteen of us that placed them" Dumbledore pushed his glasses back up his nose as he spoke. "We are trying to place strong seals at the tunnel entrances at the moment, but I fear we may need to evacuate to promise complete safety for the students"
"Where do we come into this?" Draco asked "and how come we didn't know about this professor Snape?"
"Voldemort wouldn't have wanted to risk it with us both being in the school at all times. We might have given something away" the greasy haired teacher told him.
"What we need you to do" Dumbledore began "is to go to all the common rooms and wake up the students. And get them on stand by in groups of four for emergency port keys"
"Yes sir" they both said "where will they be taken?"
"To one person in their group's home, we don't have enough portkeys for everybody so friends are going to have to stay with each other" he told them
"Will they be safe at home?" Hermione asked
"Voldemort is not interested in them" Dumbledore told them "he is interested in us, everyday students don't concern him at all, however yourself and Draco will remain here with us"
And with that they went to take a trip to the common rooms, Dumbledore had told them that time was of the essence so Hermione went to Gryffindor and Hufflepuff and Draco visited the slytherins and Ravenclaw. On the way back they both returned to their own common room briefly. Hermione got changed properly and grabbed the marauders map, she knew this would help Dumbledore and they couldn't afford to keep things like this out of the equation.
Upon their return they noticed a definite increase of tension in the room. Snape had finished pacing and was sitting with this head in his hands.
"Right the portkeys have been sent to the common rooms through the floo. And we need to check all the students are gone" Dumbledore said
"here
this will help with that" Hermione said pulling out the old
parchment that was the map
"well I haven't seen this for many
years" Dumbledore smiled
"you have seen it before then?"
she asked
"Yes, yes I have" he said "I solemnly swear I am up to no good" he said prodding it with his wand.
And the map appeared there were no students left in the castle. So the headmaster shut down the floo network. They then saw where professor Flitwick was down near the dungeons sealing a tunnel up. And all of a sudden they saw a surge of black dots descend upon him and then pass him. And professor Flitwick was showing up no longer
"No" Snape said and hit his hand hard on the table.
"Severus calm down" Dumbledore said "let's just hope professor vector gets back soon"
They watched as professor vector was coming from near the one eyed witch where Harry had sneaked off to Hogsmeade so many times before.
She was soon back in the office with them and then that was everybody.
"We have two choices really?" Dumbledore said "as they can obviously get into the castle now through the dungeons"
Professor McGonagall sniffed at this and got out her handkerchief.
"So we can either stay and fight. But that badly outnumbered I do not recommend it, or we can leave"
"Where would we go? What would we do?" Snape asked "we would never be able to come back here, they would take it for themselves"
"Until we defeat them, then we will take it back" the headmaster told him "we are to step up miss grangers training and we should be ready quicker"
Lupin nodded as the old man said that. He knew he was going to have to work the poor girl a lot harder than he had been.
Hermione
smiled at him.
"Ok now we have no time to collect personal
belongings. We must leave now" Dumbledore said "just grab this
port key and we will be gone"
They all grabbed hold of the rubber ring the headmaster was holding and felt the familiar pull behind their navels and they were gone.
They all landed in the hallway to 12 grimmauld place. It was far too cramped for sixteen people so they immediately all tried to move and ended up treading on other people.
"Hermione
you are standing on my toe" Draco said
"sorry" she said and
moved. Trampling on professor Trelawney's foot
"Do not worry my dear" the old bat told her "I knew that was going to happen"
"Sure you did" Hermione grumbled and made her way towards the kitchen.
"How long do you think we will be here?" Draco asked following her down the hallway.
"God knows, not too long I hope" she told him "I just wonder what's going to happen when voldemort has found out you aren't at the school"
"Yeah me too, I should talk to Snape" he agreed and sat down at the table.
"Yeah. I need to talk to Dumbledore anyway and arrange when I am going to be training" she said and filled the old metal kettle full of water and set it on the hob. "God I love electric"
"Electric?" Draco asked
"Yeah you know like they told you in muggle studies. It powers things" she explained
"I remember" he said vaguely "I never tried it"
"I'm not surprised" she said
"What do you mean by that?" he asked, she noticed he was wary of what she had said.
"Nothing" she replied, she really didn't want to upset him.
"Yes you did" he said, his jaw was set and his eyes had turned a dark stormy colour. Which they always did when he was upset or angry
Hermione sighed and sat down, "I just mean that as a pureblood wizard you aren't likely to try something so mundanely muggle"
"I see" he said standing up "I don't have a problem with Muggles"
"I know you don't" she said and smiled at him
"Do you?" he asked "do you really? Because I know what you think. You think I am prejudice because my father told me I should hate mudbloods"
"I don't think your anything like your father" Hermione said
"Yes you do. Everyone does! Look its death eater Draco Malfoy. Son of famous death eater Lucius Malfoy" he was shouting at her by now. And Hermione was getting rather upset.
"Draco…." She began
"Save it" he said "I'm going to get some air"
He stormed out of the kitchen and Hermione wondered what on earth was wrong with him. It wasn't like him to lose his temper like that especially over something so trivial. But then they all had a lot on their minds, it was probably nothing and he would be ok later. She hoped so.
What seemed like hours later but realistically was probably only ten minutes there was an influx of people into the kitchen and they all sat down at the table. It was quite normal really considering this was the order of the phoenix's headquarters. So Hermione ended up making a lot more tea than she had originally intended.
There was Tonks, Lupin, Snape, Dumbledore, Arthur Weasley, Kingsley shacklebolt, molly Weasley and loads of others, and then Hermione saw him. Ron was there.
Ron looked shyly at Hermione and then went over to her so the "adults" couldn't hear
"Hi" he said
"Hi" she returned "how are you?"
"Pretty good actually" he told her "I am better now, I was all set to come back to school in fact"
"then
all this" Hermione said and shook her head
"yeah" he said
"where's Malfoy?"
"I am not sure" she said "I think he went upstairs for a bit"
"I am very sorry about how I treated you Hermione" he apologised
"Don't worry about it Ron" she said "I knew it wasn't really you"
"Yeah I guess if it wasn't for you Dumbledore wouldn't have been able to sort me out" he blushed and kissed her on the cheek "well thanks"
"Your welcome" she said "I want my best friend how he should be"
Ron went to sit at the table. Hermione felt like a third wheel and was getting rather anxious as to Draco's whereabouts.
"miss granger, could you please ask Draco to join us" Dumbledore decided to ask her
"Well I am not really sure where he is" she said "but I will go look for him"
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at this, but didn't say anything. Hermione left the kitchen and popped her head in various rooms as she passed them.
So far no sign so she decided to take a look upstairs. It was a long time ago since she had been up here. She missed Harry such a lot some time. It was horrid she had felt as though there was something missing from her since he went. And then when she had lost Ron it had only increased. Both those things on top of losing her parents had really given her a rough time of it. But she was still her and she was still strong in her own way. And Draco lent her his strength too. Because he gave her a part of himself. And in some ways she thought it was a part of him that he doesn't know he has.
She knew he loved her. And she knew he knew that. But she didn't know if he really thought about it or if he even realised how much they meant to each other.
After all how easy is it to know you love someone and to say so without thinking about it too much? She nodded her head at this thought. Very easy.
She went through a few bedrooms and found nothing until she came to Harry and Rons room they had always stayed in. she found Draco hunched over a desk writing furiously as though his life depended upon it.
"Erm Draco, Dumbledore asked for you" she told him gently
"Ok I will be right down" he said and cast a locking charm on his diary.
He followed her down the stairs and didn't say anything to her until they were just about to enter the kitchen
"Hermione..." he whispered. She turned to look at him
He looked sad and yet he looked determined, she was terrified of what he was going to say to her. He didn't look like that often, in fact she didn't think she had ever seen him look like that before. She realised how much paler he looked than usual were that even possible.
"Yes" she said and looked him straight in the eye. His eyes faltered and he looked down at his shoes
"I'm sorry" was all he managed to get out before a betraying tear ran down his cheek "I don't know if I can do this"
"Do what?" she asked him gently and wiped the tear away from his cheekbone
"I don't know if I can continue to be with you, having done the things I have done. And the things I might have to do. I am not the man you should be with. You should be with someone who will never harm anyone. Someone who will treat you like the treasure you are. Someone who will show you how much they love you everyday. Someone who will tell you that you are the person that makes their world revolve. That you are the one that brings joy and happiness to his life. That you're the one that makes waking up every morning a blissful experience" he told her. He had always been good at speeches and this was one of his better ones.
Hermione
just took his hand and held it in hers.
"Draco" she said
softly and tilted his chin up so their eyes met again. A tear loomed
at the corner of the chocolate brown pools that seemed to look into
his soul
"Yes" he whispered
She squeezed his hand slightly "he just told me"
She left it at that and walked into the kitchen. He just stared after her. He knew she wouldn't let him go easily but he had been thinking upstairs and he had decided it would be better for her. Well just goes to show what he had always thought really. There was just no telling Hermione granger what was what. She knew what she wanted and she knew what was right and if you weren't going to go along with it then you would have to make sure you were far, far away. He chuckled to himself slightly as he pushed the door open. 'Voldemort watch your back'
