Divine Fates
Chapter Eight
Impossible– Hermione
One could seriously hit themselves for agreeing to something, that is physically impossible. As in… my own mind's promise to stay away from Draco Malfoy. It just wasn't possible… especially physically. I mean we shared a common room AND a bathroom. But what was worse, neither of us had the heart to be down right mean to each other like had been in years before. We spatted a little still, but from the looks of it, it was more for the enjoyment… for both of us.
But out of it all, I think it scared Harry and Ron more than it did me. They had begun to notice it seems, how friendly Draco and I had turned while we sat next to each other in class, giggling and chuckling about certain parts of going to be homework, or even something said by a professor. Ron looked even more unpleased by it than Harry did. I had always known Ron had a thing for me, however the more I hung around Draco, the worse it seemed to get.
It hadn't even been a week since I agreed to 'let it go' with Draco when I approached the boys from behind, very well knowing they didn't know I was there. Something told me they were talking about me, and even though easy dropping wasn't something I generally cared for, I had a bigger urge to know exactly what they were thinking about. They had been rather aloof from me since my noticeable connection to Draco.
" You think he might have her under some kind of… hex?" Ron muttered lowly, not even glancing at Harry, who shrugged a little. " He is Malfoy but for Hermione to actually laugh at him, it's either magic… or he's changed." Ron snorted loudly, causing me to cross my arms a little. " That ferret could never change. He probably hexed our Hermione… more against you than anyone else. You know who his father works for… therefore who HE works for."
Harry shifted slightly, and for a moment he looked ready to decline that remark. " You mean they might try and use Hermione against me?" Ron shook his head, grabbing the glass of water in front of him. " I think he's going to use Hermione as bait… or maybe worse." I half wanted to hit the two for not trusting me, but then again… if one of them had suddenly been so friendly with Draco instead of me, I would probably think something was up too.
I couldn't tell them that Draco had changed, if it got around the school other than us just being friendly, his father would probably have a fit on the both of us. Putting on a true smile over their concern for me, I acted as though I hadn't been pretty much standing behind the two the whole while, putting my hands on their shoulders. " And what would you two be doing? I could have sworn we had exams coming up." Both of them jumped, wide eyed at me, before Harry grinned sheepishly at me.
" 'Mione please tell me you aren't still preaching that to us. We know the WHOLE speech by now." I giggled and pushed the two apart to sit between them. " Then you should know, that I would not tolerate you two slacking off. You may not see it, but I lurk in the shadows." I giggled at the look on their faces before Harry added in jokingly. " Yeah you've spent too much time with Malfoy." I couldn't help but laugh, though I did notice a sour look on Ron's face.
" Well I guess the git has something useful about him anyway." I smirked and glanced at Ron who stared at me a moment, before smirking back. " I guess everyone has to have SOMETHING eh?" I giggled and leaned against Ron's shoulder for a moment. " You two have been unusually quiet lately. Is something up?" The two of them exchanged innocent glances before Ron spoke up. " Well it seems that Harry here, wants to ask Ginny out."
That wasn't so much of a surprise to me. I had been noticing for a while now how the two had been acting around each other. Leaning against Harry's arm I gave a small giggle. " Aww how cute! So how long have you been planning this?" I raised my brow and Harry turned even more red than possible. Ron just muttered something along the lines of if Harry did; he had better not hurt his sister. Knowing Ron, he'd have no problems shunning Harry for a good month or so if something DID happen.
The three of us eventually stood up and linked arms as we headed down the hall towards Potions class. However when we got there, I noticed that Draco hadn't shown up yet. Shifting my weight slightly in the door, I bit down on my bottom lip. I hadn't seen him all morning and I had been guessing that he had just got an early start. Sighing slightly I waved to Harry and Ron and moved the front of the class to take my seat. Something felt… wrong. I wasn't sure what it was either, but in a way it felt like… something was coming for me.
Draco didn't show up to class… or the next two either. I had finally given up on waiting for him though, I didn't know what happened to him, or where he might have gone, but I was starting to get worried about him. Worried over someone I promised myself to forget. Trudging up the stairs towards the dorm, I was letting myself brood over the feelings swimming in my head. I had no problems admitting I had feelings for Draco. The problem was, trying to figure out just how far they went.
Did I want to let myself get head over heels for a guy I couldn't have, or maybe I already was and just trying to deny it. In all my years at Hogwarts, finding love was not something I had planned on. I was the queen of planning my future, but I suppose life was just meant to have twists and turns in it. Running my fingers through my hair, I muttered the password in front of the painting. I felt so drained by such feelings I didn't even see Draco in front of me.
I bumped right into him hard… he didn't fall, but it easily knocked me to the floor with a sound thud. " Fuck…" I winced and tried to find my bearings, before I found myself staring into gray eyes. Draco was kneeling in front of me, his head tilted off to one side almost questioningly. " Hermione are you alright?" I opened my mouth to say something, but before anything could come out, I felt a terrible sadness fill me. Staring into his eyes reminded me of how much I missed him.
I gapped for a moment before looking away from and started to gather my books. I could feel hot tears behind my eyes, my heart pounding so hard I could have sworn he could hear it himself. Clutching my books to my chest I stood, out of the corner of my eye I could see his confusion, and his own sadness. " I'm fine. I'm sorry I just wasn't watching where I was going Malfoy." Malfoy had slipped out on accident before I could stop myself.
The look on his face shouldn't have surprised me. Pain, and lots of confusion… then anger. He grunted sharply and turned away from me, heading straight towards his room. " Then watch where you're going next time Granger." He drawled out and slammed the door behind him. I flinched and sighed weakly, somewhat stumbling into my room. Dropping my books on the dresser, I simply groped into changing my clothing and flopping down onto my bed with a heavy sigh.
" I care… so much."
I didn't know where I was. It was mostly dark, and from my hands on the wall, I guessed I was wandering down the one of the halls in Hogwarts. I suddenly stumbled into the light, staring straight into a room I didn't recognize. It was well lit, and yet at the same time the shadows that danced on the walls seemed to so large. It took me a moment to really realize that they weren't shadows… they were dementors. I shuddered sharply at the sudden cold feeling that sank into my bones.
Something caught my eye off to the left, and as I turned my head, I saw Draco's father march past me, either unseeing me or just not caring… and behind him was Draco and several other Death Eaters. I shuddered again, crawling along the right side of the wall as I followed them deeper into the room. Suddenly they came to a stop in the middle of the room. I kept myself pressed against the wall, as his father turned and faced him.
Like always Draco had this presence of pride. He wasn't going to back down from his father. He held an equal intense glare as his father started to circle him. " Loving a Mudblood… I warned you I would do something drastic to her if you kept seeing her…" Draco snorted and crossed his arms. " We go to the same school… hell we live in the same common room. You actually expect me not to run into her?" His father looked ready to hit him, but seemed to be refraining himself.
" I meant… you continued to love her. I promised you… PROMISED, I would make you regret it." Draco's demeanor suddenly and he turned to face his father, glaring at him so coldly,I was sure that he had never stared atme like that even when he had hated me so throughly. " What did you do to her?" My heart dropped at the sound of his voice. I knew they were speaking about me, I couldn't understand why they couldn't see me.
" I was planning on torturing her. Doing everything to her you couldn't." My stomach turned at the notion and a kneeled down to the floor to keep myself from falling forward. " But the Dark Lord insisted that I punish you for this… that your death will ultimately hurt her the most." My eyes widened at the sight of a sword that one of the Death Eater's drew behind Draco. I tried to open my mouth and call out, but I couldn't get anything to come out.
I tried to move, but my body seemed glued to the floor. I could do nothing but watch them slide the sword through Draco's back to the front of his stomach. His face seemed mildly surprised, gritting his teeth as the pulled the sword back out. His father grinned brightly, almost proud to watch his son stare down at the wound. Sharply, his father turned and stormed out of the room, the rest of the Death Eaters following him. I heard the slam of the door and suddenly I found myself able to move.
I couldn't get myself to stand; instead I crawled towards him as he slid down to his knees, one hand pressed over his stomach. I could feel my entire mouth dry, and my eyes already leaking tears fast. I reached up and grabbed his shoulders. It was almost like I had been wearing an invisibility cloak that suddenly fell off. He turned his face to me, obviously trying to get something out of his mouth but was failing horribly. I pressed a hand over his; my once smart mind was clouded with panic.
" I'm sorry 'Mione…" I felt him go limp and his weight suddenly pressing against me. I could feel his warm blood pass my hand and run down my arm.
I let out a squeak and sat up in bed. My hands immeditally clenched against each other. For a moment I could still feel blood on them… then I realized they were wet from the tears falling off my face. It had been a dream. A horrifying… painful dream… I panted softly, pushing myself up from the bed. My legs felt so weak I almost fell to the floor. Somehow I made it to the door though, throwing it open. The common room seemed so cold than other nights, especially the closer I got to Draco's room.
I didn't know what exactly I was going to say, much less do. I just wanted to make sure he was alright. The dream kept replaying in my head with Draco being stabbed, telling me he was sorry. I opened his door slowly, expecting his room to be dark with him sleeping. Instead I found it still lit, with Draco sitting up against his headboard, eyes scanning over some of the pages in the Potions book. I was almost ready to shut his door, when it let out a squeak. I winced and saw him drop the book, raising his brow.
" Granger what in the fuck do you wa-…" He stopped mid-sentence, tilting his head slightly. " Why are you crying?" I dropped my jaw slightly reaching up to wipe at the tears on my face. He stared at me expectantly as I tried desperately to get my jaw to work. " I just had… it's nothing really I just had to see…" The harder I tried to explain to him, the more of the dream I saw. I finally closed my eyes and just shook my head, sinking to the floor on my knees with a sob.
I didn't hear him get up, but as soon as he lifted me from the floor, I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face beneath his. He sat back down on the bed, sitting me in his lap… letting his fingers run through my hair. " Hermione what happened?" I shook my head slightly, biting on my bottom lip to help control myself. I hated to cry, especially in front of others. " I just… had a horrible dream. Your father… he had you… killed." I felt Draco's muscles stiffen beneath me for a moment before he gently pulled me up.
" Don't worry about my father… he's not going to hurt you or me." I wasn't surprised with how gentle he was being with me. But I was amazed at how calm he could make me. He wiped the tears off my cheeks, smiling at me softly. I couldn't help but smile back. I reached out again, wrapping my arms around his neck, intending to hug him. Instead he placed a hand on me cheek and pulled my face to his to kiss me. I felt myself blush before kissing him back.
" You want to stay with me… tonight?" He stroked my cheek softly as I thought about it. Being so close to him after only a week felt too good to let go of. We'd have to go back to the way were tomorrow… I dreaded that feeling, it almost made me want to cry again. I nodded and kissed him again.
I was willing to spend the entire night with him, no matter what would happen.
A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Lady of the Realm. My last chapter was sad and didn't help her day much, but for ALL my reviews I shall have a surprise for them, and hopefully despite how LATE this chapter has been in the coming, it makes everyone's day a little bit brighter! Secondly… I may do a lemon after this chapter, though it'd be my first. But I will leave that up to the reviewers. Hehe!
