Staying Strong

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: As much as I would absolutely love to own Draco Malfoy, I do not own a thing.

"Goodbye, Tonks, Hermione." Remus said with a wave of his hand as he shut the door behind him. His shift had ended and at the moment, the only thing that he wanted to do was dig himself a hole and never come out. He felt this way because of what he had said to Hermione earlier that day. Remus knew that he and Hermione could never possibly have a life together, but the thought of her being with another man tore him up inside.

'Remus, you old bat, look what you're doing to yourself.' He thought as he leaned against the cold brick wall behind him, just outside the door to the house. 'You're getting your hopes up, thinking that there is ever a chance that you could be with her.'

He smiled as he brought his finger to his lips, remembering the sweet taste of Hermione's kiss. 'Don't do it, Remus. I can see those wheels working inside of that head of yours. Don't you dare try to think of a way that you can be with her.' Remus pressed his head against the wall, slowly sliding down to the ground. 'That kiss, it was wonderful. It has been too long since I have ever felt that way. I have longed for a woman to accept me for who I really am, and not by my condition.'

Remus shook his head, looking back at the door. 'She is the only one that truly accepts me for who I really am. Hermione has accepted me into her life, willingly considering me as a friend, even though she knows too well of what lies beneath me. As much as hurts me to say this, for all that Hermione has done for me, I can never have her." Remus sighed. 'As much as I want to be with her, there is a no possible way that we can be together. She belongs with someone her own age, and not some teacher. She belongs with someone that will love her and treat her the way that she should be treated. I simply cannot do that..'

With a sigh, Remus slowly got to his feet and snatched his bag from the ground, placing it under his arm and pulling his long black hood over his face. "Farewell, Hermione."

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"Bloody hell!" Draco yelped as he stumbled to the ground after falling over a large log. Grabbing his throbbing foot, Draco scooted closer to the log and propped himself up. "Great, just what I need, a broken bone." He mumbled, cradling his foot.

'Go back, Draco. Turn around and go back to her.' Draco shook his head. 'I can never go back. Not after everything that has happened. Hermione would never trust me. Besides, she probably already believe's what ever bloody nonsense they have told her.'

Draco brought his hands to his forehead and wiped away the sweat. 'What am I going to do? I mean, I could probably go to Dumbledore and tell him my story, but I know that bloke too well. He would probably have guards on me before I even stepped foot inside of Hogwarts.'

'You know, it wasn't even my fault that the bloke died. I told him not to come near me, but did he listen to me, no. He had to attack me. He just had to try and break me, but I was much stronger. The bloke had a bloody heart attack! I didn't even touch him! Are those idiots at Hogwarts going to believe that, of course their not! I am a bloody lunatic who ran like a scared little child, not even thinking about what I was leaving behind. Hermione's probably furious at me for leaving her. I had no choice. It was either staying at Hogwarts and dealing with my father and all of the other idiots, or to run away.'

With a sigh, he squeezed his eyes shut. 'I miss her so much. I have really messed up this time. Hermione will probably never take me back after this. No, not probably, I know for a bloody fact that she will not take me back. What am I going to do without her?'

Draco opened his eyes and turned his head to look at the path behind him. 'I need to go back. I need to go back to her and make her believe that I am innocent. She needs to know the truth.'

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"Harry, Ron!" Hermione squealed as she ran to the boys, both standing at her bedroom door.

"It's good to see you again, Mione." Harry said with a smile as he pulled her into his arms.

"I missed you two so much. I'm seriously about to go mad just sitting here by myself all day."

"What do you mean, you're about to? Haven't you all ready?" Ron joked

"That's funny, Ronald. But seriously, I really have missed you guys."

Harry pushed back his hair, looking around the room. It was quite a surprise to him that Hermione could ever stay in such a place. He was sure that she would have cleaned the place by now.

"So," Ron took the chair from the corner of the room and sat it down next to Hermione's bed. "Have you heard anything new about ferret boy?"

"Ron," Hermione shot him an evil look. "Please don't call him that."

"Whoa, I was just joking." Ron replied, holding his hands in front of him.

"What exactly happened? I mean, what did Malfoy do to make everyone so nervous?" said Harry, taking a seat next to Hermione.

Hermione sighed. "From what I have heard, he has used some sort of spell on a bloke, whom everyone claims was innocent, and took off in a hurry into the woods. They-"

"Mione," said Harry, noticing the tears that filled Hermione's eyes. "Please, go on."

Quickly wiping away a tear that ran down her cheek, Hermione frowned, looking into their eyes. "They are acting like he is a murderer when they don't even know the bloody truth!"

Ron patted Hermione's knee. "How do you know that what Malfoy has to say is really the truth?"

"I believe it is." said Hermione, looking back at the window. "They said that in the condition that Draco is in, he just might come back and try to hurt me. How could they say such a thing when they don't know the truth? How can they say that Draco really killed the bloke when he could possibly be innocent? I mean, it just doesn't make sense anymore."

Harry wrapped his arm around Hermione, placing her head on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Mione. They are bound to catch Malfoy sooner or later, and I am sure that when they do, he will be innocent."

Hermione smiled weakly. "Thanks, Harry."

Ron cleared his throat. "So, what exactly have you been doing without us? I mean, doesn't it get a little boring sitting around here all day?"

Hermione nodded. "Of course it gets boring, but I've had Tonks and Professor Lupin to keep me company."

"Doesn't Snape guard at night?" Harry said with a grin.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes, he takes the night shift. No Harry, he does not chat with me. He just sits there like the boring person that he his, occasionally sending me an evil glare through my bedroom door."

"He hasn't even talked to you, not even once?" Ron said.

"Well," Hermione fiddled with her fingers. "Just once."

Ron and Harry leaned forward. "What did you talk about?" Harry asked.

"He simply told me that I must remain positive about this situation. Like I can stay pippy and positive when my boyfriend is- Ron please stop giving me that look- accused of killing someone!"

Ron fell back in his chair. "Snape, telling someone to be positive. Now that's something that you don't see everyday."

Harry laughed. "I wish that I could have been here to see it."

Hermione smiled weakly, falling back on her bed and looking up at the ceiling. With a sigh, she looked over at the window and slowly closed her eyes, remembering the dream that she had the night before.

"Mione, is everything all right?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded, continuing to look at the window. "He'll come back for me someday. Hopefully someday is sometime soon, for I'm afraid that I cannot wait much longer."

Author's Note: Hey there! Sorry that I took so long to get this chapter out. I just started to read the 5th Harry Potter book again (I started it a couple of months ago but stopped reading it when I had to read books for English), so I have spent most of my time doing that :D. I'm almost done, I'm on page 700! Yay! Thanks to everyone that reviewed my new story The Ever So Mysterious Lupin. Also, thanks to everyone that has reviewed thus far. Cookies for everyone!

Love

Jess