Disclaimer: yeah yeah yeah, everyone knows by now, I'm not JKR, so I don't own Harry Potter.
A/N: I know this was a rather long wait for a rather short chapter, but there's not much I could have done about it, so I hope everyone likes it. And, I just thought I'd let you all know that due to popular demand, I have decided to go ahead with another sequel. It will probably take a while for me to start posting, but I will post one. So now you can look forward to another sequel after you're all finished reading the 6th HP book. Anyway, there are still 2 more chapters left in this fic, which we will get to as soon as I thank all the awesome people who reviewed chapter 26!
Ginny-W13 – Alright then, if it's a trilogy you want, it's a trilogy you'll get! Thanks for the review!
Fire Angel – thank you so much! It's so great to hear that you like it so much, and I'm glad you like how they're being reintroduced back to each other, cause I didn't want to make it happen to fast (or too slow for that matter). Thanks for the review!
Unknown - I hope the moving went (or is going) well! Thanks for the review, and I hope you like this chapter.
Laendra – I'm so happy that you like it so much! I kinda wish it would never end too, cause it's been so much fun to write, but alas, all stories must end. Oh well, I hope you like this chapter!
stranger who loves your story – hehe I'm glad you liked Crookshanks in this chapter. And no, Draco does not see the yearbook message in this chapter, but he will see it, I promise. Thanks for the review!
KrispySteph – wow, it's so awesome that you like the story so much so far, I hope you like this chapter too, and thanks for the review!
the mask he wears – alright I will definitely have the fic finished by then, so you can enjoy it before you go on your trip (I hope you have a lot of fun by the way!)
Sayaku-chan – lol yup, there's another story coming, and then the sequel to this as well, so you'll have plenty to read and look forward to! Thanks for the review!
dancerfreak1991, Scorpiogrrll, Chantal J, zuvalupa – Thank you very much, I hope you like this chapter, and thanks for the reviews!
I wish your heart was mine – lol I'm glad the last chapter made you happy! Thanks for the review!
Anonymous-139 – yeah Draco should open up more, someone needs to kick some sense into him. Obviously that won't happen, so I'll let you read on and see whether or not he opens up on his own. ;o) thanks for the review!
jesska-14 – yay! I'm glad it seems realistic, cause that's exactly what I was going for! Thanks for the review, and I hope you like this chapter!
Steelo – lol yes, there's going to be a third, and sure I'll let you know when my next fic comes out (thought it won't be up for a while). I'm glad you liked last chapter, I hope you like this one too, and thanks for the review!
comedy gal – lol I know, I've been re-reading the 5th book, and I've been having trouble getting the DM/HG romance stuff out of my head too. It makes me wonder how JKR would write anything happening between Draco and Hermione, even though I know it's not going to happen. Oh well, thanks for the review, and I hope you like this chapter!
Here is Chapter 27! Enjoy!
Chapter 27: Breaking Through
Draco awoke very early the next morning to the rather awkward sensation as if something had been standing, and then suddenly leaping off his stomach. He opened his eyes, and remembered that he was still in the library room with Crookshanks, which explained the weird sensation. Draco turned to pat Crookshanks head, but the cat seemed more interested with something on the floor, a piece of parchment.
Draco picked it up, and discovered it was a note. He had to laugh when he read it, 'sometimes she has the most amusing sense of humor' he thought. He then took out a new piece of parchment (because this letter seemed worthy of a response). After penning a quick little note that he hoped would bring a smile to her face as well, he left Crookshanks in the library room and made for the owlry to find Aries.
The owl was sleeping on one of the lower perches, so Draco had to stroke his feathers quite a few times to wake him up. At first Aries snapped at him to show his displeasure for being awoken, but once he was fully awake he willingly climbed onto Draco's arm and held out his leg for Draco to tie the letter to it. Draco carried him over to the window, "take it to Hermione alright?" Aries gave a reassuring hoot and was off.
For a moment, Draco just stood by the window, it was still early morning, yet it was already rather warm, it was going to be very hot today. Once he left the Owlry, he went straight to the Slytherin dormitories. After he was showered and clean, he went to decide what to wear for the day. At first he chose a short sleeve back t-shirt since it was going to be so hot outside. But as soon as he put it on, he whipped it on and threw it violently into his trunk. That damn Mark. While he might be able to live with it showing while he was alone, he couldn't allow other people to see it, and he certainly couldn't allow Hermione to see it. He was positive that she would completely hate him if she saw it. Suppressed rage filled him once more; he paced a couple times around the room before roaring with frustration and slamming his fist against the wall. But his actions only proved to anger him more because now he had a throbbing fist to deal with as well.
Draco threw himself face down on his bed, and for a few moments just remained there wallowing in his own anger. But the longer he thought, the more he managed to relax. Finally he sat up thinking hard to himself. 'Get a grip on yourself Malfoy! She's not an idiot, she knows what happened! And she's the one suggested meeting together again remember! Just be yourself for god's sake and forget about the damn Mark!'
Now Draco was angry at himself for being such an idiot. He was breathing heavily, and felt like he wanted to punch something again (although this time he didn't). Instead he pushed himself up off the bed, and filled with determination, he walked down to the Great Hall. For the first time since he'd returned, he was going to make an appearance when the rest of the school was there as well, and while in the past that wouldn't have ever been a big thing, now to Draco it was a huge step in his attempt to be himself again.
- - - - - - - - - -
Hermione, Harry, Ron and Ginny sat down in the Great Hall just as the morning post was arriving. Hermione was pleasantly surprised to have Aries land next to her breakfast with a note. She eagerly untied it and offered the owl some bacon bits. Aries nibbled at Hermione's breakfast as she unrolled the note, then he finished eating, and since he was apparently not waiting for a response, Aries spread his wings and followed the other post owls out of the Great Hall.
Hermione chuckled when she read the note;
So I'm a cat-napper now huh? Well, if you call having your miniature tiger of a cat stalk me around Hogwarts all day cat-napping, then I suppose I am guilty as charged. Now, about the returning of your cat. . . Normally one would require a ransom for the return of whatever it was they stole, however since you did help me out with the sleep potion idea, I suppose I'll let the ransom slide this time.
See you then
"I know who that owl belongs to!" said Ginny in a teasing manner once Hermione read the note. Harry and Ron both looked up from their breakfasts with curious expressions. "What'd he say?" continued Ginny.
Hermione passed Ginny the note, which she read with a very confused look on her face. "What's he talking about? Crookshanks?"
"Yeah," Hermione answered, forgetting that Harry and Ron were listening, "I saw him yesterday when the guys were playing quidditch and so we got to talk for a while. While we were talking Crookshanks came and started hanging around with us. But then I forgot to let him back inside when we all went to Three Broomsticks"
"Malfoy did something to Crookshanks?" interrupted Harry.
Hermione turned with a startled blush, realizing that Harry and Ron had been listening, "no, he didn't do anything bad to Crookshanks," she responded, "but since Crookshanks was following him around all day, Draco brought him back inside the castle with him."
"But you told us Hagrid let him in!" argued Ron.
"Yes, well, Hagrid said he saw Crookshanks with Draco, so what's wrong with that?"
"Why'd you lie to us?" accused Harry.
"Because I didn't know what you to would say if I mentioned Draco again, so I didn't want to bring it up alright? The important part was that Crookshanks was safe anyway."
Ron snorted as if he didn't believe her.
Hermione pursed her lips, then decided to ignore the boys' behavior, "Anyway Ginny, last night I sent him a note pretending to accuse him of cat-napping Crookshanks, and telling him when and where to give Crookshanks back."
"Very clever Hermione," Ginny winked to show that she understood the ulterior motives, which only made Hermione giggle. Once Hermione started, Ginny joined in and soon, to the boys' annoyance, both girls were giggling uncontrollably.
In the middle of their giggling fit, Ginny suddenly stopped with a huge grin on her face. She grabbed Hermione's shoulder and gestured with a nod of her heady towards the doors behind her, "look who's here." She whispered with excitement.
Hermione turned and immediately saw who Ginny was referring to. Draco had just entered the Great Hall. He still wasn't walking with his old confident stride, which demanded the attention of the entire room, but he was here. And those who did notice him were whispering to one another and pointing at him. Hermione however, was not paying attention to anyone else; her eyes were set on Draco. Much to her delight, as he was walking to the Slytherin table, his gaze wandered over to the Gryffindor and seemed to be searching for something until they found Hermione. She beamed at him, and he gave her a little nod and the slightest of smiles in return.
She knew that was the most she was going to get from him while around the rest of the school, but she was so happy to see him in a group setting that she could not have cared less. Plus, the gesture gave her hope that he would be more open when she met with him later. Hermione turned back to Ginny, still beaming. Ginny was smiling at her knowingly, "so when do you get Crookshanks back?"
"Two o'clock by the lake."
"So what are you doing till then?" Ginny asked.
"I have no idea," Hermione said with a laugh. "I suppose I could start getting all my stuff packed. I can't believe tomorrow's the last day at Hogwarts!"
"I know! I'm so ready for summer, exams were a nightmare!" agreed Ginny.
Hermione nodded, but had fallen into a contemplative mood again, tomorrow was the last day she would ever spend at Hogwarts, but it seemed as if she had just gotten there. She had learned so much, but there was still so much she didn't know. Suddenly, she didn't feel ready to leave.
After breakfast, as she began to pack away her things in her trunk, she felt like she was going to burst into tears. Every single thing she touched seemed to bring new memories to the forefront of her mind. Memories she felt as if she were abandoning forever by leaving the school. She sighed as she packed the last of her beloved books away. Now all she had left unpacked were her robes for the next two days, her dress robes for the Leaving Ball, and a book for the train ride home, just in case she needed it, (although for once she was not planning on reading). She glanced at her watch and found that it was ten of two. She decided there was no point in hanging around here, so she left to meet Draco by the lake.
- - - - - - - - - -
At breakfast, Draco determinedly ignored the whispers that seemed to follow him across the tables. He caught Hermione's eye, and the connection seemed to drive all the whispers away, he truly didn't care about them, all he cared about was that she was smiling at him. He nodded back to her, and then took a seat at the end of the Slytherin table. His housemates looked up and nodded formally at him, but no one spoke to him.
Not wanting to hear more whispers following him, he waited to leave until a rather large group of Slytherins left. He walked with them until they left the Great Hall, then as they turned to return to the dungeons, Draco turned to the library instead. He collected Crookshanks from the secret room, and then brought him outside. He knew that Hermione wouldn't be around for another few hours yet, but it was another nice day outside, and he wanted to enjoy it.
He placed the cat on the stone steps once he was outside, and Crookshanks immediately ran off to chase some small creature by the edge of the forest. Draco assumed the cat could take care of itself, so he left it to roam as it pleased while he took a walk around the castle. His mind was mysteriously silent during his walk. It was as if he knew any thoughts he would dwell on would be negative, so something prevented his mind from thinking at all. Instead he just walked in an absentminded daze, allowing his feet to carry him wherever they pleased.
As if directed by an internal clock, by five of two Draco's legs carried him to the edge of the lake, where he was pleased to find Hermione was already waiting for him. He smiled at her, and in turn she beamed back at him, her face seemed to shine brighter than the sun. And although it was a warm day, it was she, not the sun that seemed to bring warmth to his heart.
"So," she pretended to look stern by putting her hands on her hips and tapping her foot, but the act didn't quite reach her smile and voice, "I'm assuming you have my cat?"
"I suppose he's around here somewhere," responded Draco, mimicking her tone of false formality. Hermione laughed, unable to maintain the charade, "He's probably chasing after some poor creature or another," shrugged Draco.
"Yeah," agreed Hermione. "Thanks for taking care of him yesterday."
"I didn't have much of a choice to tell you the truth," said Draco in a relaxed tone, "he just kind of followed me the entire day."
Hermione laughed and began meandering along the edge of the lake. Draco followed her without even realizing it, and soon the two were once again walking together around the lake. "So," began Hermione after a few moments of silence, "what are you going once school's over?" Hermione knew that this was a weightier question to ask Draco than it was to any of her other friends at the moment, but she was curious.
Draco took in a breath and directed his gaze toward the treetops in the distance. "Go home I guess," he answered with a shrug. "I'll probably spend a while emptying the Manor of all Lucius' crap. Maybe I'll even give the Dark Art stuff to the Ministry instead of just destroying it myself, I haven't decided yet."
Hermione nodded, "but what about after that, what are you going to do?"
Draco knew she was wondering what he was planning of doing with his life, what profession he was going to go into and all that stuff, be he still didn't know. He shrugged and remained silent for a long time. "What about you?"
Hermione let the fact that Draco never answered her question slide, and seemed to perk up at the chance to talk about her plans for the summer, and for the future. "Well, I'm going home for the first part of the summer, to pack my things and see my mum and dad. Then Harry, Ron and I will be moving in together before we start auror training in July."
Draco smiled to himself, "you'll make a magnificent auror."
"Thanks." She paused with her mouth slightly open, as if deciding whether or not to say what was on her mind. "You know, I think you would make a good auror yourself."
Draco laughed in disbelief, "me?"
"Yes you," Hermione insisted, "you're powerful, intelligent, and cunning, you'd be great at tracking down Dark wizards."
Draco shook his head with an unclear expression on his face.
"Why not?"
"I have lived my entire life around Dark witches and wizards, learning the Dark Arts. Yes, I decided that life wasn't for me, and you gave me the strength to fight it, but I don't want to spend my life fighting it. You, you were born to do that sort of thing, making the world better for others and all that. But that's just not me. I don't know what I want to do with my life yet, but for once I have the opportunity to look into something that doesn't concern the Dark Arts, and I want to see what else is out there."
At first Hermione was listening intently to what he said, but her mind got a tad stuck on the part where she gave him strength, and she didn't fully concentrate on the rest. She did however take in enough to get the gist, and she had to admit that he had clearly been giving his future a lot of thought. "Well, I think it's good that you want to see what else is out there, but I still think you would make a good auror. Just something to keep in mind if you don't find anything else."
Draco didn't respond, he just glanced at her with a smile, which she gladly returned.
After that they spent the rest of the walk in silence. Hermione had one more question that was begging to be voiced, but she did her best to keep it down. She was afraid that she already knew the answer, and she didn't want to hear it confirmed.
By the time they returned to their starting point there seemed to be an awkward tension between them. Draco could sense that something was different about Hermione, but he couldn't quite place what it was. The tension was momentarily broken by Crookshanks who was seated there on a rock, seemingly waiting for them. "Crookshanks!" Hermione ran forward and scooped her cat up into her arms, and Draco took the opportunity to scratch behind the cat's ears.
The brief ease that had passed between them disappeared just as quickly as it had come. Hermione was biting her lip as if she was nervous, and Draco was be looking anywhere but at Hermione, and his face seemed to be rather closed off again. Finally, Hermione threw caution to the wind and voiced the question she was so preoccupied with, "so," Draco turned to look at her, which caused her to stop short, "are you planning on going to the Leaving Ball tomorrow?" She could feel the heat rise in her cheeks as soon as she spoke, and she seriously wished she had just kept her mouth shut, since she thought she already knew the answer was going to be no. For once in her life, she wanted to be wrong.
Draco appeared taken aback by the question, and he took a moment to answer. He shook his head, "no, I'm not going." Was it Hermione's imagination, or did she hear a definite trace of guilt in his voice? He went on, "It was uncomfortable enough having people whisper and point at me this morning in the Great Hall, I don't think I want to deal with a whole night of it you know?"
"Yeah," Hermione tried to sound nonchalant despite the disappointment she felt, "I didn't think you would, I just thought I'd ask." She added in an offhanded, yet oddly formal way.
But after that, there seemed to be no hope for any normal conversation anymore. The two both stood in silence for several moments without looking at each other in the eye. Crookshanks looked back and forth between the two, and seemed rather frustrated with the pair of them. Finally, when she could take the heavy silence no longer, Hermione looked slightly passed Draco, towards the castle, "well, thanks for taking care of Crookshanks."
Draco finally turned to meet her gaze, only to find she was avoiding his eye, "anytime."
Hermione nodded, "Well I'll see you around," and walked passed him towards the castle.
"See you," Draco watched her go. He watched until she was at the castle steps, and then his brain kicked in. 'Brilliant Malfoy!' he reprimanded himself, 'just bloody brilliant. Why'd you have to go and say something stupid like that?' But as he was in the middle of lecturing himself, her last words echoed back in his mind 'I'll see you around." He immediately stopped yelling at himself. He stared blankly at the castle, 'but what if we don't?' The empty space in his heart grew about ten times larger when that realization finally hit him. Sure, he had known all along that he was leaving school after tomorrow, but never before had the thought that he may not be seeing Hermione again hit him in quite the same way. 'Did I really just let he walk away so easily?'
- - - - - - - - - -
On her trip back to the castle, Hermione felt as if her heart had plummeted into a bottomless pit. 'Why did I have to ask?' She demanded to herself, 'Do I enjoy breaking my own heart?' Back in the common room, she dropped Crookshanks, rather roughly on her bed, and walked over to the closet to look at her dress robes.
Her fingers grazed the soft fabric. Admittedly, she had chosen these dress robes with the thought of how Draco would look if he saw her wearing them. She knew that he would be unable to keep his mouth closed, and she had imagined him to be uncharacteristically speechless. She had giggled at the thought when she purchased the robes, but now the thought only brought a sorrowful sigh. Draco wasn't coming to the ball, he wouldn't see her in her stunning dress and the fantasy she hadn't even realized she had been looking forward to, would never take place.
She closed the door to her closet, blocking her view of the dress robes, not wanting to think about the ball the next evening. This was a happy time, she should be enjoying every single one of the seconds she had left at Hogwarts, but instead she was miserable. She didn't want to think about leaving Hogwarts without ever taking the chance to tell Draco that she still loved him. 'I would have if he would just come to the damn Ball!' she argued.
But the other side of her mind fought back, 'But you knew he wasn't coming, deep down you always knew it! You were just too scared to tell him when you had the chance, and now you may very well not get the chance to see him alone again!'
Hermione slammed her fist against the door to the closet in fury. She threw herself face down onto the bed with her teeth gritted and her fists clenched. As she lay there, her angry thoughts gradually dissolved into dreams.
She was looking out the window of the Hogwarts Express. She could hear laughter and happy voices all around her, but everything was fuzzy. She was staring at the platform where Draco was still standing. He alone remained perfectly clear in her dream, but the train was leaving without him. She couldn't leave him like that, she had to tell him how she felt, "Draco!" she called with her arms outstretched. He looked back at her, but his face was made of stone.
In her second's hesitation, the image of Draco, and the train faded, and another dream took over. She was at the Leaving Ball, although this was the Leaving Ball from last year. Everything happened just as it had last year; both she and Draco were called to the front of the room, having been named the new Head Boy and Girl. They danced together and then just as they were leaning in to kiss, Draco disappeared, and she was standing alone in the middle of the dance floor, while everyone around her continued to dance and laugh. No one seemed to notice that the new Head Boy had just disappeared 'but you can't apparate into or out of Hogwarts!' she reminded herself even in her dream. The room and the people in it slowly faded to black . . .
When the colors returned, she was at the Leaving Ball again, only this time she was wearing a different set of dress robes, the ones that were now hanging in her closet. Dinner was over, she and Harry had just given their speeches to explosive rounds of applause. Now, the lights were dimming, and Dumbledore cued the band. They began with a slow song; it was an enchanting melody with a slight feel of sorrow. She was standing on the side, a wall-flower in full bloom just waiting for the right man to recognize her beauty and pick her from the wall to the floor. She was watching all the couples dance, delight etched in each one of their rather blurry faces. None of them seemed to be properly in focus.
And then, the fuzzy crowd of dancers in front of her began to part, there walking straight towards her, perfectly in focus, was Draco. He was more handsome than she had ever seen, and light seemed to be emanating from within him so much that it lit up the area a foot around him. He crossed the room towards her, he moved quickly although seemed to be traveling in slow motion at the same time. Every second seemed to last and eternity. When he finally reached her, he did not speak; instead he swept her into his arms and spun her onto the dance floor. And then, in front of everyone, he kissed her with his sweet and tender lips. The rest of the room faded to black so that only she and Draco remained. She wanted so much for the kiss to go on forever, yet at the same time; there was something she needed to tell him. She slowly released his lips and gazed into his silver eyes. But even as she looked at them, he seemed to fade right in front of her. "Draco," she said in an urgent whisper, but he continued fading into nothingness, and she slipped into wakefulness. She opened her eyes, rather confused as to what was going on.
After taking in her surroundings and realizing that she was in her bed, that it was still the dead of night, and that it had only been a dream, she lay back down in a curled up ball. She wanted to cry, but could not find the energy, her heart was filled with despair. She had tried so hard to tell Draco that she loved him, but she couldn't even manage it in a dream, and she had been forced to watch him fade away into oblivion over and over again.
Well everyone, there's only on chapter left! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and that you're looking forward to see how it ends. I'm looking forward to see what everyone thought of this chapter, so please send a review!