Message in a Bottle

Chapter 20

Weeks continued to pass and still Hermione could not bring herself to speak to Draco about that evenings events. Wandless magic scared her half to death and allowing Draco to know her fear was even scarier.

But her main fear was herself. The only reason she picked up on this wandless magic was because she was angry and the scary part about anger is that it tends to control a person. Death eaters used anger as their motivation in life. They walked around with a chip on their shoulder. Her guess was they probably weren't loved enough as a child. The point is that it had become obvious to her that if she was to lose control of her emotions like that again, she would be incapable of controlling her actions. She couldn't risk it.

She decided to talk to Harry and Ron about it in hopes of a solution. Hermione had many reservations about going to the two of them but they seemed to be her only hope. Draco wouldn't understand. She felt that he had too many problems of his own to deal with. And she most certainly could not go to Dumbledore and tell him of her heritage. Her only choice was to go to her two highly immature best friends.

When she told them about that night, they reacted even worse than she had expected. Worried. They were worried. Why? Because now Voldemort, the man whose name turns people into quivering piles of JELLO, had gained an all access pass to the school.

And of course, somehow, it was all Hermione's fault.

They were so quick to blame her. They thought that she had let him in. "Like father, like daughter," they had said. "Evil must run in the family."

She tried to defend herself in hopes of them still helping her figure this thing out but they instead turned their backs on her. "We don't consort with Death Eaters," Ron had said as they walked away.

She knew something was wrong right then. They would never be so cruel to her. They were the best of friends and besides, they had been fine with it the other night. Why had they changed their opinion so quickly?

Finally, Hermione decided it was time to speak to Draco about it. It was well into November and she found Draco in the library, studying for exams, Crabbe and Goyle right next to him, fighting over a chocolate cupcake. "Can we talk?" She asked him in a quiet voice.

He pulled out the seat right next to him and motioned for her to sit. Crabbe and Goyle took the hint and left. "Of course," he replied. "What's going on?"

She smiled at him as he took her hand in his and kissed it with a goofy grin. He was so good to her and she knew she should've gone to him in the first place. "I feel foolish," she admitted, her smile fading away. "I did something I probably should not have done."

"What did you do?" he asked in worry. "Please don't tell me you had another row with your father again. We can't afford to have this bickering. We have exams that you need to prepare for."

"No, no, no. Draco, it has nothing to do with my father," she assured him. "Actually, it's about Harry and Ron. You see, I needed to talk to someone about what happened that night. I didn't want to talk to you because you seemed so bothered about it and I didn't want you to yell at me..."

"I would never yell at you, Hermione," he tried to cut in.

"You have a bad temper, Draco," she reminded him. "You say you wouldn't yell now but something happens, one thing leads to another, you would freak out and yelling would be inevitable. But that's besides the point. The point is that I decided to talk to Ron and Harry. I went to them and told them everything as I always do but they were so cold. They basically told me that they weren't my friends anymore. They said that they couldn't be friends with someone related to their enemy. They called me a Death Eater."

"That's silly," he told her. "You're not a Death Eater yet. The earliest one can become a death eater is on the Christmas of their seventh year at school. And if Potter or the Weasel knew anything about Death Eaters, they would know that it would be impossible for you to receive the Dark Mark unless you had agreed to it."

"Wait a minute. What? I get to have a say in it?"

"It's the death eater code. They do have some morals you know!" he exclaimed. "Besides, this way it gets rid of all the frightened little wimps, traitors, and fools. Only true followers."

Her cheeks blushed a brilliant shade of pink. She seemed embarrassed. She had been so upset that she never thought everything through completely. If she only would have stopped and talked to Draco about it, then she may have never lost Harry and Ron and she wouldn't have had to worry so much.

"I'm sorry, Draco" she said sheepishly. Her brown eyes showed how silly she felt. She hung her head down, apparently feeling quite ashamed, and her hair fell in her face. Draco noticed how beautiful she then looked and brushed some of the hair behind her ear.

"Don't apologize," he told her, leaning close and pressing a chaste kiss on her cheek. "You have nothing to apologize for. You are too beautiful to be sorry." Then his face fell. "That's why I hate to say this," he said sullenly, a dark expression on his face. "Your father will stop at nothing to make you a Death Eater."

She looked up at him with a worried expression and said, "But it's my choice in the end, right?"

"Yes...but at the same time, not really." His voice saddened even more. He didn't want to see her get hurt but that was what this was leading to and he had to do this. It was for the best. "He feels that you are what has been missing in his ranks. You've been fighting against him all these years and all these years, Potter has managed to evade him. Your father thinks that with you on his side, as a spy and out of the way, maybe Potter won't have the brains to save his own arse."

Tears were in Hermione's eyes. "I won't leave Harry on his own!" she stated matter-of-factly. "I won't let him die!"

Draco sighed. This was going to be difficult. "He's not giving you much of a choice, Hermione. He's going to use your mum as incentive."

"WHAT?" she practically yelled, forgetting that she was in a library. "But he said that he loved her, that he would never hurt her!"

"Sometimes, men are blinded by ambition, so much so that love means nothing to them," he explained. "He WILL use her, Hermione. He may love her but he's overwhelmed with his hatred. He won't rest until he has Potter's head on his wall. Don't you get it? You're not safe. If you refuse to join his ranks, I fear you may be in danger. Your mother, your friends, your way of life, everything that you hold dear. He'll destroy them all, Hermione, and he'll have no problem doing it!"

She dried the tears that she had been about to shed. "I am not afraid of him."

"You may not be...but your mother is." It mad him angry to have to say such words to her but he needed her to understand everything that was going on. She had to understand the severity of the entire situation.

And she did. Inside she knew that she had no choice. He would go after her friends and he would come to school and terrorize her until finally she could resist no longer.

"I know," she finally gave in. her heart was battling. She did not want to fight against Harry and Ron but she didn't want anyone to get hurt because of her either.

"At Christmas, he wants us to go to my house," Draco informed her. "You'll be staying at Malfoy Manor, under strict orders from your father. On the Eve before Christmas, we shall gather in the ceremony room. As the clock strikes midnight, our fate shall be sealed. There is no choice for us."

They held hands with one another, the news being hardly bearable for either of them to withstand. "On Christmas Day," Hermione whispered. "...we're going to sacrifice our own lives for that madman's crazy beliefs." She leaned her head on his shoulder and he gently kissed her forehead.

"My dear sweet Hermione..." He didn't say anything else. They just sat there like that, their thoughts swimming around, plaguing them until finally Hermione stood up.

"It is late. We should get to bed now." She began walking and left him there as he gathered all his books and such.

He walked back to their dormitory all alone. With too much time on his hands, he began thinking about the first night they had been together. It then dawned upon him just how long ago it had been. They had not slept together since. Of course they had been having many little fights and there wasn't much time but he still wanted to feel her touch once more. He missed her.

And now she was making him walk back to the dormitory alone. He wondered why but didn't think too much about it. It didn't really matter. As long as she was still his and they weren't in a fight. He fought too much with her. It really wasn't good for them.

He entered the Head Tower and found her sitting on his bedside, waiting for him to return. She was wearing a pink silk bathrobe that only reached mid thigh.

"It's a Friday," she said. "We don't have to wake up tomorrow so I figured we could take a nice hot bubble bath together." She was smiling at him, something he hadn't seen her do in a long while.

"That sounds like a lovely idea, pet," he said. "Why don't you go in and start the water and I'll be there in a bit." She got up and gave him a small kiss on the lips and he smiled in response.

When she left the room, he took off his shirt and quickly put a concealment charm over all his scars. He did not want this evening to turn into a sad evening. He then put on his own bathrobe and headed to the bathroom to join his girlfriend.

He found her already in the tub, bubbles covering her features. "Hop in, Draco," she told him. "The water's so warm and wonderful. Join me!"

He stood by the sink and admired her beauty. Her arms were resting on the side of the tub and her one leg was propped up on the back wall. Her hair was pulled back in a sloppy braid with stray hairs falling into her face. "Are you mine, Hermione?" he asked. "Are you all mine and nobody else's?"

She giggled. "You're acting strange again, aren't you? Well fine, I'll play along. Yes Draco, of course I'm all yours."

"And if I asked you to do something without question, would you do it?"

"What's this about, Draco? You're acting insane!"

"Would you do it?"

She looked at him strangely and could tell that he was being serious. He really wanted her to answer. "I guess. It depends on what you asked me to do."

"Don't try to make up with Potter or Weasley."

"What?"

"No matter what, don't try to be friends with them again. Don't talk to them. Don't look at them. Don't think about them."

"What? Draco, I am so confused. Why are you asking this of me?"

"They're dangerous. I don't trust them. I don't want to get into it right now, but just do if for me, Hermione! Please?"

"I...I...I don't know...I..."

"Please, Hermione." His eyes told her that he was being sincere and not just holding a grudge. They were softer than usual, as if he was letting his guard down. Afraid.

"I...I don't...I don't get it but...well...I...I guess, Draco. If that's what you think is safer."

"It is. It really is."

Draco hopped in and got in a good position so Hermione's back was resting against his chest and they were just laying there in comfort. They did not have sex that evening. Both were just content being in the presence of one another. Neither was really in the mood to make love.

- - - - -

At around one in the morning, Hermione fell asleep in the tub so Draco picked her up and brought her to his bed after drying her off and dressing her in pajamas. He wrapped her well in his blankets so she wouldn't be cold and then he snuck off to the common room.

"What took you so long?" a deep voice from the shadows questioned.

"I had to get her in bed," Draco explained, not at all surprised by the mans presence. "It was a bit of an overwhelming day for her, don't you think? I mean, she's had to deal with a lot."

"It is for her own good."

"I'm not sure about this. It's risky. She could wind up getting hurt."

"Not if you watch out for her like we discussed. Take care of her, protect her. Don't let her get hurt and then I'm sure she'll be fine."

"I don't know why we're doing this to her anyway. She should know. She should have all the knowledge necessary to make her own choice."

"NO! We must make it for her. She wouldn't understand."

"Hermione's a very smart girl," Draco informed him. "You're not giving her enough credit."

"Trust me, I do know how smart that girl is but when it comes to her emotions, she gets far too confused."

"I don't know. I'm not sure I can go through with this."

"Listen to me, Malfoy. I just need her to believe that I'm a danger to her. She can't trust me and I need him to see that. If he sees that she doesn't talk to me anymore, then he won't send her as his little messenger or spy to get information. I don't want to put her in that situation." Finally Harry stepped out of the shadows. "I'm not letting her be endangered just so Voldemort can get to me. This is ridiculous."

"Potter, I really think she should know the plan."

"No! She's a bad actress."

"Come on! I can't lie to her!"

"You think it was easy for ME? I had to tell her that I couldn't trust her anymore. I had to tell her that I didn't want to be her friend anymore. The look on her face nearly made me cry. Once again I repeat, you think that was easy for me?"

"Potter, I know you love her and all but it's just...well...I'm not goo at the whole lying thing."

"But you're a Slytherin. Aren't Slytherin's supposed to be excellent at lying?"

"Ha...Ha...Ha. Good one. Really."

"Listen, Malfoy. I'm going to cut to the chase now. You yourself have said that Hermione will join Voldemort if it means saving a few lives, right?"

"...well...yeah...I guess," he stumbled, unsure of where Harry was going with this and not liking the fact that he felt like an idiot right now.

"And if she joins him, he'll use her as a spy, right?"

"...yeah," he slowly said once more. "But..." This was so uncommon for him to not be able to form a sentence.

"And when she refuses to spy for him, he'll attack her, right?"

"But Potter..."

"She's at risk, Malfoy! I won't put Hermione at risk! If she stays away from me and Ron, you can tell Voldemort that we all had a big falling out. Then he'll see that she can't spy for him and she won't be at risk of being forced into being a Death Eater."

"Yes but he may still want her to join his ranks."

"But this could buy us time!" Harry said optimistically. "Maybe she could then get it pushed back to graduation or mid summer or something! That would give us time to come up with a good plan of attack while keeping Hermione out of harms way."

"Potter, I know what you're getting at but I just doubt it will work. Hermione won't stay away from you. You're her best friend. Besides, there's still the chance that her father will want it to be at Christmas anyway. He probably wants it to be as soon as possible. You know, she's given him hell so far, won't let him even try to be a real dad to her. I'm sure he's looking at this as his new way to "bond" with her."

"We have to try something, Malfoy. At least we'll give it out best shot."

Little did they know that that evening, someone had overheard their entire conversation and the outcome would not prove to be good.

TBC...

A/N...TA DA!

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