A/N: Hi everyone sneaks out from behind a tree. I'm back again with a new chapter, though it took a very long time.
I'm really really sorry about that, but I hade some issues with my computer and was about to loose the whole story, but I managed to save it.
So anyway, won't bore you for long with this. I just wanted to thank everyone that has commented on my story, it's been so helpful. Please keep on reviewing )
Lots and lots of hugs to my beta-reader Kate for all her help!
Well then, onto the story. And again, I'm so sorry for being so slow.
Chapter 6.
As a third wave of pain shot through her body a picture suddenly flashed in front of her half closed eyes.
What she saw scared her almost to death. In front of her was Lucius, as clear as if it was real life.
She saw him standing up with his whole body bent as if he was in deep pain.
As in trance she saw him trying to walk but he soon fell to the ground with a pained groan and in the very same moment Hermione once again felt pain fill her body until she was about to burst.
Despite all the pain all that went through her head was that she had to get to him, no matter what. Collecting all the concentration she could muster she tried to focus on the surroundings.
From what she could see he was in some kind of small alley, squeezed in between two medium sized buildings with uneven stone walls. The ground was covered in a thin layer of snow, except from the places where he had been lying where the ground was showing, stained with his blood.
On the wall of the house on the left side of the street a small sign was hanging. I seemed very old and the hooks on one side had loosened and it swayed slowly in the wind, creaking slightly as it moved.
Suddenly she recognized it. It was the sign to a tiny bookstore which lay in a small almost completely deserted alley in Hogsmeade.
Without warning the image of Lucius disappeared and Hermione snapped out of her trance like condition.
'What was that?' she thought, feeling her hands shaking slightly at the memory of he pain and the image of Lucius wounded.
'It was a sign, a sign for bonding. When a witch or a wizard finds the reflection of their soul a certain bond is created. Therefore.." a tiny voice quoted as from a book.
'No that is just sentimental rubbish, there is no such thing as soul bonding' Hermione corrected, as if trying to convince herself.
It was not possible that she had met the reflection of her soul in Lucius Malfoy. Did that man even have a soul?
Pushing back her thoughts she tried to focus on what mattered, to find Lucius.
Her classmates weren't leaving for Hogsmeade until noon and she knew that she could not wait that long. Neither did she felt like she had the time to sneak up to the dormitories to 'borrow' Harry's map and invisibility cloak.
'I must do this in some other way' she reasoned as she left the great hall and went out in the corridor.
Every secret passage she knew was guarded by various creatures that Filch had placed there, and she had no desire to study them closer. Polyjuice potion was also out of question, since it took a month to brew.
Then it hit her, animagus. This year McGonagall had agreed to teach her how to become an animagus. Hermione had not yet gotten her form decided, but was for the moment able to transfigure herself into a small bird. She suspected that her form would remain a bird, but maybe change in to some bigger specie than a sparrow.
Becoming an animagus was very advanced magic but both McGonagall and Dumbledor had agreed that she could do it.
This was the perfect opportunity to practice what she had learned. She knew she could not stay in her form for a long time but it should be safe to fly to Hogsmeade without being transfigured back, fall down and die.
Concentrating deeply she felt the tingling feeling spread through her body, starting at her feet.
Soon she had transfigured completely and made herself ready to fly.
She knew a window was open in the Great Hall so she flew in there and out.
The air was chilly and small snowflakes fell to the ground from the still dark sky.
Hermione knew she had to fly very fast to make the trip to the village.
Just as she saw the houses in the outskirts of the small village she once again felt the tingling feeling. She knew she had to find somewhere soft to land and that quickly, if she didn't want to kill herself.
Outside a small red house there was a big bush, still having the leafs left and Hermione decide that it was there she was going to land.
With a loud thud and some cracking coming from the bush she landed heavily in the bush. As quickly as she could she crawled out of it and hurried away before someone saw her.
Now all she had to do was to get to Lucius.
Running down the street she passed some wizards obviously leaving for work and two younger witches who looked like they just got home from a night out.
The alley with the bookstore lay close to Zonkos and Hogsmeade was not a big village so she reached the place in question in less than five minutes.
Out of breath from running Hermione stopped at the beginning of the alley, her eyes searching for Lucius. She knew he 'vision' had been telling the truth since she could see the bloodstains on the ground, but Malfoy himself were nowhere to be seen.
Quietly she began searching the alley, but without any result. Where was he? He had to be somewhere.
"Lucius?" she spoke quietly "Lucius, where are you?"
Nothing but her own breaths were heard and she was about to give up hope after searching the alley twice when she suddenly heard a small noise coming from behind the house which held the bookstore.
Hurrying towards the source of the sound she found Lucius half sitting, half lying on the ground leaning on the wall. Above him a streetlamp was casting its faint light, making him look even more pale than usual.
She saw that his expensive robes where drenched in blood by his abdomen. Rushing to his side she sank to her knees.
"Lucius, how are you, what happened?" she as asked softly, concern showing in both her voice and in her eyes.
With great difficulty Lucius opened his eyes and looked up at Hermione.
"Hermione.. You must go. Leave, it is to risky." He whispered hoarsely and tried to push her away and get up.
"Oh no, I am not going anywhere before I have helped you"
"Please don't. Just leave.." But before he could finish she had put an arm around his waist, pulling him up with her.
"Now I am going to take you to the hospital wing. Do you think you can manage to walk?"
"Miss Granger, I am not going to the hospital wing, end of story. Just leave me here to sort this out and get back to my mansion" He said, trying to use his usual superior sneer, but didn't quite succeed.
Her heart stung when she heard him call her not by her given name. So it was this much he cared, she thought bitterly, but managed to keep a straight face as she spoke up.
"Ok, fine, no hospital wing. But you won't be able to apparate anywhere without loosing way to much blood, so just let me perform a healing spell and put something on your wound." Hermione said, knowing that arguing with him would be a waste of time.
Lucius gave her a suspicious look but decided to go along with her idea before he bled to death.
"Fine" he muttered, wondering whatever had happened to his ability to persuade people.
"Good, but you must get inside, it's way to cold out here, and before you object; I will not take you to Hogwarts" Hermione said sternly, helping him to his feet.
"How nice of you Miss Granger" He drawled, but it lost its touch when he winced in pain, almost falling to the ground, pulling Hermione with him.
Before they both fell she managed to support his full weight on her shoulder and pulled him to his feet.
"Well I have my moments" Hermione said dryly. "And do be quiet; talk will only lessen your strength. I'm taking you to some friends who live nearby, Mr and Mrs Figglesworth" she continued as the slowly crossed the street.
Across the street they stood in front of a rather small house with a blue door, decorated with a Christmas decoration.
The house reminded very much of those on can see in a fairytale, being the home of the seven dwarves or the wizard of the good side.
In this particular house Mr Rodney Figglesworth lived with his wife Sonia. Hermione had made their acquaintance a few months before, when she first visited the store they owned.
Softly she knocked on the, hoping the couple would be awake.
Soon the door was opened by a small wizard dressed in a green bathrobe and grey slippers, puffing on a long worn out pipe.
Mr Rodney Figglesworth was a kind looking man in his mid-seventies and had a huge mass of snow white hair which always had reminded Hermione of the muggles cotton candy.
Matching with the hair was a rather untrimmed moustache, equally snow white. Through circular glasses his bright blue eyes were twinkling merrily. He actually reminded slightly of a very small, lightly corpulent Albus Dumbledor.
"Ah, good morning Miss Granger, what can I.." Mr Figglesworth greeted them, but never quite finished his sentence as he saw their condition.
Hermione could feel him studying her face worridly and she knew both her and Lucius must look a mess. With her right arm she was still supporting Lucius and her left was holding her belly which was still hurting.
Mr Figglesworth looked over at the wizard his young friend was supporting. He seemed to be around 40 years old give or take and seemed very wealthy, wearing obviously highly expensive black robes, though heavily bloodstained.
Also the snake shaped clasps holding the torn cloak was stained with blood and disturbed the air of power.
The elder wizard recognized him from somewhere, but couldn't quite place him. One hand was clutching a heavily bleeding wound on his abdomen and he other was around the young witch for support.
Finally the elder wizard stopped studying them and quickly stepped out of the way to invite them in.
Hermione smiled gratefully and they carefully stepped inside.
"Miss Granger, what has happened?" Mr Figglesworth asked worriedly as he quickly took care of their robes.
"I honestly don't know Mr Figglesworth, but we are in the need of a warm and dry place. I only need to perform a healing spell and wrap his wound and then we will be away" Hermione said, hoping that the elder man would settle with that amount of information.
To her relief he did not ask anything more, but she could see he was wondering.
With a smile he gestured for them to settle in living room and left to get towels, wraps and hot water.
The room was small and suited it's owner perfectly. A fireplace cast a warm glow over the room, furnished with a comfortable group of sofas and armchairs, a coffee table, a small bookshelf and a cabinet with glass doors holding a collection of blue and white porcelain.
As quickly as they both could manage, Hermione led Lucius over to the couch, placed in front of the fireplace and softly ordered him to lie down.
After only a few moments Mr Figglesworth came hurrying from the kitchen with a bowl of water in one hand and wrappings and fluffy white towels in the other.
"Here you are Miss Granger. Are you quite sure that I shouldn't send a word for a healer ?" he asked, placing the things he'd been carrying beside Hermione on the floor.
"No thank you, Mr Figglesworth, it will be fine this way"
"Well then, is there anything else I can get you?
Hermione politely declined and Mr Figgleswiorth left to make breakfast for his still sleeping wife.
In silence she carefully started to unbutton his vest and then his shirt to get better access to the wound.
"You take things more slowly this morning, Hermione" he muttered drowsily, but hissed in pain as her finger touched the location of his wound.
"I'm sorry" she said quietly and pushed apart the clothing. She had found it wisest to not acknowledge his comment.
The wound was not very deep, but was still bleeding rather heavily. It was a diagonal cut across the left side of his abdomen, about 4 inches long.
With great care she began to dab the area around the wound with a damp towel, which soon was deep red with blood.
Taking the potion against infection that she had summoned she poured some on the corner of another towel.
"Now this will sting a little bit, but try to be still" she whispered soothingly as she bad the wound with the potion.
He jumped a bit at the stinging feeling but clenched his teeth and remained still.
Watching her through half closed eyes, he saw her take her wand from her pocket and place it just above the wound and she begun to mumble.
The words sounded like Latin and as she spoke he felt soothing warmth spread through his body, the pain slowly fading away.
This same soothing feeling spread through Hermiones body and she slowly begun to relax, focusing on the task.
When she had finished the spell, the wound had actually stopped bleeding altogether and the edges were clean.
She laid a compress on the cut and turned to face him.
"Mr Malfoy, do you think you can manage to sit up, so I can wrap your wound properly?" she asked
In return she received a raised eyebrow, his voice slightly mocking.
"So it is Mr Malfoy now is it? I thought we were more, lets say, intimate that that Hermione"
Slowly she helped him to sit up on the couch.
"I don't know what I am to you and how much you care.
I do not want, nor do I dare to give my heart up until I know exactly where I stand and what we have" she said without looking at him, while she pushed the vest and the shirt off his shoulders to get better access to the wound
She did not notice the blond wizards' lips silently forming the words: "You are not the only one to be unsure about this Hermione".
As his shirt fell onto the sofa, Hermione discreetly scanned his body.
There was no use in denying that he was in a very good shape for a man in his age, very good shape indeed.
' He is not that old' Hermione quickly scolded herself .
His nicely toned torso and hints of a very well worked out abdomen was enough to make any sane woman stare and drool and Hermione was no exception. She found it very hard to concentrate on the wrapping of the wound.
Lucius noticed this and gave her a very smug look as she looked up at him.
Blushing, she quickly returned her concentration to the wrapping, but the fact that she had to lean into him every time so she could reach behind his back did no good for her concentration.
In an effort to break the tension building up, she asked him what had happened.
His lips became a thin line and the look in is eyes became icy and hard.
"Crutious curse and an unfortunate meeting with someone hired to tell me I hadn't done my job properly"
With anger he remembered the death eater who had followed him and had managed to slice across his abdomen with some kind of long, thin very sharp sword.
Without a doubt this was orders from the dark lord, sending a death eater after him, but what he wasn't sure of was if the orders were to kill him or just make him aware of that following orders were best for his health.
Lucius wondered if Voldemort had sensed his doubts about the assignment he had been given. If so he knew that he was in a rather dangerous position, no one disobeyed Voldemort without having to pay, most likely with life.
Pushing the thoughts away he looked down at Hermione, watching her wrap his wound with great care and gentleness.
She was a very talented girl in many areas and her intellect reached high above most of those in her age.
When he met her for the first time in that bookstore he knew she was something special.
Seemingly untouched by his hard words about her heritage she stood up to him. The only thing she did was giving him a look that she didn't considering him worthy the trouble to get mad at.
Most people of his rank would probably have considered this rude and lack of respect, but he was more amused and impressed than offended.
This young muggleborn witch had proved herself to be more courageous and intelligent than any pureblood witches and wizards he knew. He was fully aware that she was both more mature and more intelligent than his own son.
Remembering the time Draco had told him that the "mudblood Granger" had punched him in the face in the third year he let out a snort with laughter.
Hermione quickly lifted her head hearing the sound.
"Did I hurt you?" she asked worriedly.
"No, no you didn't hurt me. I just remembered you 'encounter' with my son four years ago. Rather amusing I dare say." He said with a smirk as he brushed a lock of hair from her face.
Unwillingly Hermione closed her eyes in pleasure as his fingers graced across her cheek. It wasn't until this moment she realized just how empty she had felt without his touch and that she had actually missed the self satisfied smirk as it graced his features.
She had never seen him really smiling or laughing but the superior smirk suited him well.
As she felt his hands travel up her back and around her neck, pulling her towards him she tried to resist, muttering something about that she should finish up the wrapping.
Her body had its own idea about that though, and as she spoke she also stood up from the floor and let him pull her onto his lap. Her hands, also having a mind of their own, travelled across his muscular chest and the up his shoulder and neck and ending up in his platinum blond hair, flawless and silky as ever.
For a moment her eyes fluttered open and she met the grey orbs of Lucius Malfoy, gazing at her with a look she couldn't quite place. It could have been pure desire, but something made her think that was not all. She hardly dared to consider if it was care, or even maybe love?
Before she had the time to scold herself for thinking something so stupid, her head was cleared from every rational thought ever existing in her head as he brought her lips to meet his.
The only thing left inside Hermiones body at that moment was a warm fussy feeling, something she felt every time he touched her.
She was now straddling his lap and towels and wraps lay forgotten on the floor.
His hands travelled along her back, pulling her almost impossibly close. Pressed up against his bare torso she was high in heaven and nothing else mattered. As she was close to him it felt like something inside her healed something she never new had been broken.
In the heat of the moment both of them forgot completely where they were and Lucius hands found the edge of her sweater and began to pull it of as he kissed his way down her jaw and neck.
Hermione inhaled sharply as his teeth nipped rather harshly on her neck, leaving a clearly visible mark. Though telling that she didn't enjoy it would be the biggest lie of a lifetime.
His hands had now found their way beneath her sweater and her skin was burning under his touch.
As Lucius was to pull the shirt over her head a high pitched squeal cut through the air and broke them apart.
"Tea kettle" Hermione murmured, leaning her forehead against Lucius'
"Ignore it" He said, trying to once again pull her close, but she put her hand on his chest and stopped him.
"Wrong time and wrong place Lucius. I need to finish the wrapping now" She said, getting ready to wriggle out of his arms, regretting deeply that she couldn't stay there.
But this man was after all Lucius Malfoy and didn't really listen to anyone, and soon Hermione found herself back in his lap, his soft lips and blunt teeth caressing the nape of her neck and she was dangerously close to give into him again.
Suddenly someone cleared their throat and Hermione literally jumped away from Lucius.
Her cheeks flaming she didn't dare to look at either Malfoy or Mr Figglesworth who was standing in the doorway.
The later was clearly amused and was barely able to hide it as he spoke.
"A, very sorry to interrupt, but I was to ask you if you both would like some tea?"
"Uh, no thank you Mr Figglesworth. We'll be fine" Hermione said rather inaudible, still not looking up.
"Pardon Miss Granger?" Mr Figglesworth said, not exactly famous for having a good hearing.
Before she could stutter out an answer Lucius politely declined the offer and Mr Figglesworth left the room.
Glaring up at him she saw slight amusement play in his grey eyes, the corners of his mouth twisting slightly.
"What? Don't look so chirpy, it is not funny!" she snapped, scowling at him.
This did not have the desired effect, for he let out a low chuckle, pulling her towards him again, setting her in his lap.
Stubbornly Hermione crossed her arms over her chest; she was not determinate to not give him the triumph to win this.
She shot him a nasty glare, she didn't like when her behaviour amused people, though the glare disappeared as soon as she met his gaze.
His eyes didn't hold the amused expression anymore. They were now serious and as unreadable as always. She was just about to question him when he spoke.
"You need to be careful, my pet. Do not trust anyone. It is a dangerous world for everyone these days, but even more dangerous for you" He said as he carefully ran his fingers across her cheek.
His voice held a tone she had never heard him use before, low, sincere and caring.
Who was this man? The closer she got to him, the less she understood.
Was this behaviour a mere charade that he turned to every once in a while when he saw it fit?
It seemed like he most of the time was the same insufferable bastard he had always been known to be, but then he said things like this that completely threw her of track in her conception about him.
"Why do you have to do this to me Lucius?" She sighed, shaking her head.
"Why do you have to change every time I look at you? Can't you let me know what to believe instead of confusing me all the time?" She said dejectedly, hiding her face in her hands.
She heard him breathe in to answer, but interrupted him.
"I am serious Lucius. If I am merely a toy for you to play with while you are here I have to no that, because that is something I do not deserve!" She said, raising her voice as she spoke.
All the questions and confusion that had built up during the last days was now bubbling to the surface, somewhere transferring to anger.
He reached up to touch her face, but she turned away and drew up from his lap , ignoring the dizziness coming over her as they lost body contact.
Staring into the fireplace with her back to him she awaited his answer.
After a long silence he spoke.
"What if you were?"
The words were like an icy stake through her heart. With her mind spinning in confusion and fury she slowly turned to him.
"You bastard! You manipulative egoistic bastard!" She screamed, fury filling every inch of her body.
How did he dare? How dared he to treat her like that?
"Hermione, before you…" he began, but didn't have the time to say anything more before he felt a burning pain on the left side of his face.
"Seems like I have to make it a habit to slap the Malfoy men in the face" She spat coldly and surveyed him with a look filled with despise and disappointment..
Carefully he moved his sore jaw, his cheek beginning to take on a fierce red colour. He opened his mouth to speak, but was once again interrupted.
" Not . a .word, not a single word. Don't try to excuse your poor behaviour Mr Malfoy. Leave, Now!" Her voice was as set in stone, but inside she was confused, scared and hurt.
How could she be so stupid to actually believe that she would mean anything to him? Everything this man did was a game, a game in which none other than him got out as a winner. But one thing she would never give him was the victory in seeing that he had hurt her deeply with his words. Anger she had no problem in showing, but other emotions was a different matter since she over the years had realized that she did best in hiding her emotions.
When she spoke up again she tried so hard to keep her voice steady and firm, but it came out as whisper.
"I guess you never know what to believe, people will always be manipulative."
If she had taken time to study his features she would have seen the brief expression of sadness and regret crossing them.
"Hermione, I wish you would listen to me", and with those words he was gone.
Slowly she walked over to the fireplace, staring into the flames. As she watched them her head began to spin and her vision went all blur. She felt drained, like something had sucked the life out of her. Trying to steady herself she gripped hold of the back of a nearby chair, but she couldn't hold her own weight and ungracefully she slumped to the floor.
Her body had gone numb and she felt like everything that was left of her was a drained empty shell. Hermione tried to focus her eyes on something to remain consciousness but failed miserably. Soon her surroundings began to swam and then all went black.
The last thing she heard before passing out was Mr Figglesworth calling her name, trying to shake her to life.
Slowly Hermione opened her eyes, only to close them quickly as bright sunlight shone in from a nearby window.
"Where am I" she murmured and tried to clear her foggy mind and remember what had happened. But yet how much she tried all she could remember were four words: "What if you were".
Hot tears burned behind her eyelids as the memories slowly began to return.
As the memories became more and more clear her heart stung. How could he do that? Did he like making people suffer?
Well, that was most likely the truth but she didn't want to acknowledge it. She had fallen for him, it was her fault that he had stolen her heart with is dark powerful charm.
Foolish as she was she had believed that she could handle the situation and that she wouldn't end up getting hurt and maybe, just maybe he would feel something for her.
'I should have known I would be hurt. How could I possibly imagine that I could get out of a thing like this unspoiled? How could I possibly think that he, a man like Lucius Malfoy could have feeling for me, a muggleborn?'
Slowly a tear slipped down her cheek and reached her dry lips and she could taste the salt on them. It reminded her of the ocean she used to look at with wonder as a child; the beautiful, powerful and secretive but yet so treacherous, it reminded her of him.
Slowly she pushed the thoughts away and opened her eyes and looked around. Clearly she had somehow gotten to the hospital wing of Hogwarts.
Everything, sheets and walls were brightly white and as she scanned the room her eyes found the bedside table. On top of it a necklace was placed together with her wand and her other belongings. Mechanically her hand reached for the necklace with the chain carrying a small glass ball.
She remembered that it used to hold slight warmth whenever touched, but that was gone. Instead it was cold as ice.
Carefully she brought it closer to look at it, and what she saw amazed her. The tiny white rose did not hold the faint warm glow anymore; it was now frozen, covered in ice crystals sparkling in the winter sun shining through the window.
For some reason she just couldn't make herself look away from the small jewellery Lucius Malfoy had given her, even though it hurt badly to just look at it she couldn't help but being transfixed by the sight of the icy cold rose.
Suddenly there was a small swirl from the centre of the rose and mist began to form in the ball of glass. As the mist slowly cleared small images began to form, just large enough to be seen with the naked eye. It was images from when she first met Lucius in the library, swift ones of their night together, from the potions classroom and from the last time they met in Mr Figglesworth's living room.
Fresh tears began to form in her eyes as the image ones again changed. What now showed was the image of Lucius standing in front of a large window, staring at the snow outside.
She barely had the time to study it before it faded and letters began to form. One by one they formed the words "atearno ista". Quietly repeating the words to herself, hermione guessed it had to be some sort of Latin. Knowing a bit Latin she recognized it from somewhere.
"Atearno ista" she whispered and suddenly she understood.
It was the title of an ancient love prophecy, in English called "Eternally yours"
She remembered it going something like:
"Voices of wisdom, voices of old
one rose and one rose alone shall the mystery of life unfold.
It begins with ice and ends with fire,
giving the angel its one true desire.
She from heaven sent,
From the fires of hell he went.
Together they tell the story of heaven and hell
One they both know far too well.
In love none of them believe,
But the end will something else reveal.
The angel and devil thrown together with unnatural force,
Will love each other, 'til the end of time whispering 'Eternally yours'. "
Blinking in disbelief she stared at the necklace where the letters were long gone and once again replaced with the icy rose.
Then finally, like someone had pulled a string the tears broke free.
"Liar"… "You damned LIAR!!" Hermione screamed and threw the necklace across the room.
The anger once filling her voice was replaced with agony and her whole body shook with desperate sobs as she collapsed onto her side in the pillows, curling up like a wounded child.
Hermione didn't notice Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore entering the hospital wing.
Albus looked at the girl lying in the hospital bed. She didn't deserve this, how could anyone deserve it?
Hermiones emotions were a storm. Her tears refused to stop falling and no matter how she tried she couldn't keep the image of Lucius away.
She knew very well he wasn't worth her tears, but still she couldn't forget about how they had shared his pain, the poem with the roses, the necklace.
Oh yes, the necklace. The little piece of jewellery scared her, she had no idea what kind of power it might contain.
"Miss Granger?" Hermione was torn from her world by the soothing voice of the headmaster.
With a huge effort she managed to swallow most of the tears and brushed her hand over her wet cheeks.
"Hello headmaster, hello professor." She croaked out in a slightly choked voice.
"Good day, Miss Granger. We are happy to see that you are awake" Professor Mc Gonagall said, taking a seat beside Hermiones bed. Hermione could see that her teacher tried to act the same but she could see that Mc Gonagall wasn't at all comfortable with the situation.
Choosing not to worry about Mc Gonagall she turned to the headmaster to ask the at the moment most important question.
"Headmaster, why am I here?"
Albus regarded her for a moment and then spoke.
" A part of the story I was hoping you could tell me, but I will tell you what I know.
You were brought here by a very worried Mr Figglesworth who said that you had collapsed on the floor in his living room, but he was very reculant to tell me what had happened that morning."
Hermione was about to ask exactly how much Mr Figglesworth had said, but the headmaster held up his hand to silence her.
"As I said, he was recullant to talk about it and I didn't press the issue, but when I went to see him I found this" he said and held up a white piece of clothing, heavily stained with blood and Hermione almost choked. It was Lucius shirt.
"It seems like something happened and you and someone else ended up hurt , Miss Granger" he said, regarding her reaction to the piece of clothing.
Hermione didn't say anything; instead Professor Mc Gonagall spoke up.
"Miss Granger, when you were brought here you had blood all over your clothes and suffered from serious loss of blood. Still there was no trace of either a wound or a healing spell, except for the one you seemed to have used your wand for. A rather complicated one I might add, one used to heal heavily bleeding wounds."
Hermione felt the professors questioning look, but she had no idea what to say.
She couldn't possibly tell them she had an affair with Lucius Malfoy and that she had saved his life, just to be told he had been using her.
"Miss Granger? Do you have any idea what can have caused to be harmed?" Professor Mc Gonagall asked sharply. She seemed impatient.
Hermione remained silent. 'I can't tell them the truth, which means I have to lie, but if I do they will without a doubt notice that'.
Tiredly she ran her hand trough her hair, witch had gotten frizzy beyond description. Everything was a mess, whether she admitted it or not she had been burned badly by Lucius words and it was probably his fault that she had ended up here.
"Minerva, dear, it seems like she doesn't know anything." Dumbledore said kindly. "If I am not mistaking you have a class to take care of" he continued, smiling to hi colleague.
Hermione smiled slightly. She knew Professor Mc Gonagall never would refuse an Order from Dumbledore, no matter how much she disliked it.
"Very well Albus, I do. I sincerely hope that we soon will see you well, Miss Granger" Mc Gonagall said, her voice slightly edgy, trying to sound polite.
When the professor had left, Hermione carefully looked up at Dumbledores' calm, kind face.
He knew, that she was almost sure of, but the question was how. Who had told him? Nobody but Ginny and Figglesworth knew about her and Lucius.
The headmaster was clearly waiting for her to speak, so she cleared her throat and quietly said:
"You know, don't you sir?"
"Yes I do Hermione, most of it at least" he said, his blue eyes regarding her calmly.
"But how sir? Did anyone tell you?"
"Oh no, nobody told me anything. I'm just quite good at putting two and two together. There is always small leads, such as the white roses and the necklace you just threw across the room" he said, actually sounding slightly amused.
She should have known that no one had told Dumbledor anything, he just knew. But why wasn't he mad? Really, one should be mad if a seventeen years old student is having an affair with their mortal enemies most faithful servant. Right?
"Miss Granger, I am sure that you somewhere inside know what has happened and why it has." He said looking straight at her.
Hermione didn't understand, how could she knew why something had happened when she wasn't even sure what had happened.
All she had figured out was that it was some kind of soul bonding spell that had lead her to Lucius and that the name of an old love prophesy had turned up in her necklace and….
Then it dawned to her. She had for a moment thought of it as odd that Lucius hadn't been in worse condition than he was because of the loss of blood, but hadn't really given it much thought.
Now she understood that the reason that he lived was that she had taken most of the damage. She had given him her blood, almost her life.
"You understand, don't you Miss Granger?" Professor Dumbledore said seriously as he saw her face change.
Hermione nodded numbly. She understood what had happened, but why she was not that sure of.
"I do, but why headmaster? It is not possible that he is ..." she couldn't bring herself to say those last words.
"the reflection of your soul?" Dumbledore offered.
Hermione stared at him. So he knew. If Dumbledore said so, then…
'No, no, no!!' her mind screamed. 'It is not possible!'
Slowly she opened her mouth to state her doubts to the headmaster.
"It can't be" she whispered. "It's not possible that he is the reflection of my soul. He has not a soul no more than he has a heart". Hermione said bitterly and quickly ran her hand across her cheek to hide her tears.
How could she end up in this mess? She had always been "the good kid".
'Well, no more of that' she thought and her lips crooked in a wry smile. This was all Lucius Malfoys fault. Quicker than both of them had realized something had happened, something that wouldn't get erased so easily.
But now she knew the truth of course, a truth she knew had been there all along. He didn't want her, but what was there to expect? A man like him, he had no trace of honesty in his body. Though she had never allowed him to finish what he had to say, so how could she really know…?
'Oh no little miss, don't go there. You know that it wouldn't have mattered anyway. He does not deserve you' a sensible little voice argued.
The headmasters' words cut through her thoughts before she had the time to consider the statement.
"Miss Granger, everyone has a heart and a soul. Some of us are just having a lot of trouble to let them be seen by other people."
Here Dumbledore fell quiet and studied the young woman before him closely. She was so strong in many ways, but how long would her protection shield hold for this? Always she had stood side by side with her friends, helping them through everything. Without even shedding so much as a tear.
So when would her time come? Very soon it seemed like, and then she would need her friends more than ever. He just hoped that Harry and Ron would understand that.
As he spoke again Hermione was pulled from he own thoughts once again.
"I do not know the full details of this evening and I do not think I should either. What I do know is that you should the warning that was given to you very seriously. Otherwise you might find yourself in very grave danger."
"But headmaster, how did you…?"
"Sometimes one just knows Miss Granger, just be careful." He said and smiled somewhat playfully.
Hermione realized there was no point in asking, this was after all Albus Dumbledore she was dealing with. At that moment he seemed think that there was no need to say more and with a smile he abruptly changed the subject. She doubted that she ever would understand Albus Dumbledore.
"I assume you remember the pre-Holiday ball you were assigned to plan Miss Granger?"
"Yes I do sir and I will start working as soon as I get out of here."
"I have no doubt you would, but since it is in 3 days I believe that you will have a hard time to plan it all." Dumbledore said with a small smile.
"3 days?!" Hermione shrieked. "That means I have been knocked out for five days!"
"Yes, and therefore I have allowed a very capable person handle most of the work. All you have to do is look over the details. And before you get suspicious, the person I have put on the task is miss Weasly. I believe she will be here after lunch. " Dumbledore said with a smile and then fell silent.
"Well then, I shall be off. Please remember what I said Miss Granger, you need to be careful.
Good day." And with a last look at her he left the hospital with the blue robe bellowing softly behind him.
As promised by Dumbledore, Ginny arrived just after lunch and Hermione welcomed her with a thankful smile. Company was much appreciated after spending hours alone with thoughts not answering her questions, only creating more of them.
Returning the smile Ginny stepped into the room and walked towards Hermiones bed. Halfway she stopped and picked up something from the floor, the necklace.
"That bad, huh?" she asked, looking sympathetically at Hermione.
"I don't want to talk about it" Hermione said, turning her face away, staring into the wall. The last thing she needed was to go over those incidents again.
"Ok, I understand. Let's move on to the ball then, shall we?" Ginny said with a smile and picked up a full written parchment and a blue quill from her bag.
This was why Hermione loved Ginny so much. She was the most understanding person on the planet, and she knew exactly when to not ask anymore, which was a quite nice change from Ron and Harrys sometimes blunt questions.
Hermione sat up in the bed, resting her back against the pillows.
"So how much have you planned?" she asked and turned her attention to Ginny and her parchment.
"Well, most of the big stuff, like what kind of drinks to serve, what kind of music we should use and most of the decorations. I think it turned out good, but I wanted you to see it before anything is decided"
"I'm sure everything is great, Gin. I have one idea that I have been considering for a while though…"
"What?"
"That maybe we should have like a theme or something. I mean, Hogwarts has been having traditional balls for centuries and it would be fun with something new."
"That's true, haven't thought of that actually. What did you have in mind?" Ginny asked.
"Well, my first thought was a Christmas ball, but somehow that also seems too traditional. What do you think about a winter theme? We could have white decorations, the floor enchanted to look like ice…"
"That's Great 'Mione! All we have to do is change the colours of the decorations and perform some spells, that's easily done. Maybe we should add to the effect even more, like using a dress code or something?"
"That would be nice. Maybe we should not make everyone wear only white, just something to symbolize winter."
"Yeah that's good, we'll write that down." Ginny said and dictated to the enchanted quill, which began to move across the parchment.
"I like your quill, its very Rita Skeeter" Hermione said with a small laugh.
"Thank you, it's very useful. I actually got the spell from one of her articles, though I removed the part of it used for adding to the truth" Ginny said with a quirked smile.
Hermione was relieved that Ginny hadn't been asking anything about Lucius, and she relaxed and engaged herself into the planning, which took the rest of the afternoon.
At 5'o clock they had finished the invitations that they would put up in every common room. Hermione snatched the parchment from the bedside table and read it out loud.
"The 23:d of December Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry will host a winterball.
All students on the school are expected to attend if there are no preventions.
The ball will start at 6 o'clock in the evening and continue 'til around midnight.
The dress code that is expected that you will follow is that everyone has to wear something white. This however, does not have to be a complete attire.
We wish you all most welcome.
Best wishes The ball comity
Ginny nodded approvingly.
"Sounds great. I'll take it to McGonagall so she can approve it, but I doubt she will have anything to complain about. All signs are pointed towards a successful evening." Ginny said as she put her things back in her bag.
"Good, I'm sure everything will be fine. Thank you so much for your help, I really appreciate it you know." Hermione said sincerely to her friend as Ginny bent down and gave her a warm hug.
"Don't mention it, it was fun. No all I have to do is to pick a dress that will blow Dracos mind away" she said with a devilish smile tugging her lips.
"Ah, so I take it he has asked you to be his date then?"
"Yep, he asked me yesterday after dinner."
Ginny's happiness was obvious and Hermione couldn't help but smiling.
'Let's just hope its not like father like son' she thought bitterly, but made sure that her feelings weren't showing.
"Well I won't keep you any longer, and besides you probably need to get started on the dress." Hermione said, careful not to sound like she wanted to get rid of Ginny. In all honesty, though, she really wanted to be alone, but she didn't want to hurt her friend.
Ginny, however, didn't seem to notice anything and gave Hermione one more hug before leaving the room. But before closing the door she stuck her head back in.
"Oh and by the way, Ron and Harry says hi. They wanted to come, but they had way too much homework."
"Ok, send them my love, will you and I will see you all as soon as I get out of here."
"Sure. Get some rest now and I'll see you later" and with a wave Ginny disappeared, shutting the door behind her.
Hermione remained still and stared into the opposite wall. Outside the snow had begun to fall once again, making the soft white layer on the ground thicker and heavier.
An absent memory from her first years at Hogwarts ran through Hermiones head. It was her, Harry, Ron and Neville laughing and throwing snow at each other just by the lakeside. The whole game had ended in Neville falling through the ice of the lake and had to spend a week in the hospital wing because of a severe cold.
Hermione smiled softly. How different everything was now. As they had grown older they had also grown apart. Not that they were not spending time together, it was just different now.
'No doubt thing would be way more different if thy found out about what I did' she thought. It was no doubt that Harry and Ron wouldn't be as understanding as Ginny. But of course, Ginny was in love with a Malfoy herself so…
'Wait a minute, I'm not in love. No way, I'm not in love with Lucius Malfoy. Sure, maybe I kind of liked him, but after… I don't deserve to be treated like that. He is not worth my time. End of story.' And yet again, the oh-so-sensible voice was back, preaching her feminist views on life.
At the same time another part of her was screaming aloud that it wasn't that easy. She had felt something special when they were close, and then it was her response to Lucius being in trouble.
Hermione very well knew that if he tried hard enough she would be putty in his hands once again. His power over her body and mind was almost scary.
'And I thought my life was boring and predictable' she thought ironically.
After all this there was no way in telling what would happen next. Especially at the ball. Yes, the ball, a very interesting subject... However she was not sure if she actually had the desire to attend it at all.
The End... of chapter 6.
A/N: That was quite a long one. And about the name of the prophesy… My Latin sucks, so I have no idea if that's anywhere near correct.
So anyway, review please )