Hermione finds herself being forced to listen to... most of the explanation on why she must marry Malfoy, and is also forced to sign the divorce papers, that may or may not have already been signed by Ron... read to find out whether it is or not.
Chapter 2: Task Of The Heart
"The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed."
-Said By Carl Jung
It had been our seventh year. I remember it clearly because it was that one day where there was the slight tingling feeling within my stomach like I knew something was going to happen, I just knew it, but of course I wasn't willing to face it right away. Because of this, I spent most of the day at the library, while the rest of the people in my house were mainly outside, enjoying the nice Spring whether, while I sat alone with pale skin and a book that smelt... old, if that was even possible.
Frankly, I wasn't concentrating on the smell, but of the feeling. The feeling that I got, it was sort of like the one you got when you were about to cry, yet ten times less depressing, because it was like there was a bomb about to set off inside of you, and you had this feeling, like you wanted to scream. I didn't want to scream, though, I wanted to smile.
Smile about what though? I remember that was my only thought as I pretended to concentrate on the book I was holding, until finally I just couldn't stand it anymore and put the book back and walked out, my school books under my arms, and my hair in a messy bun, and I'll have you know that I didn't make it messy on purpose or anything, frankly I had tried to make it as neat as possible because I wanted to look good, but my hair... it's just always messy. The frizz makes it that way, and so, instead of a nice bun, I get a messy bun.
See how my thoughts can sometimes drift away so easily? One minute I'm talking about walking out of the library, and the next thing I know, I'm rambling on about my hair. That's the way I've always been, but on this day, I couldn't lose my thoughts on this one thing. Why did I want to smile?
Of course I figured something was going to happen, I mean something had to of happened sooner or later, I just didn't know what, and by the time I had made it to the stairway I began to assume that I was going mental. I had figured that I couldn't just accept the fact that I might have actually been having a good day. Taking my last few steps up the stairs, I remember that being my last few thoughts until I saw Ron standing in front of the portrait of the fat lady. He was pacing.
"Ron? Ron what's wrong?" I asked him, seeing that look on his face.
Ron has a lot more emotion then I actually give him credit for. Frankly he's really in touch with his feelings, to the point where it sort of worries me... because there's probably going to come a time where he is going to need to hide his feelings, and he just won't be able to. Anyway though, I noticed how he suddenly froze, and turned around to look at me.
He was still lanky then, but there was something different about him. If there was any point in time where I could say that Ron hadn't been very lanky it probably would have been then. Not even now can I think of comparing him to how he was then and saying that he looks better now. It was his last year playing Quidditch and he wanted it to be... one that he would never forget. He wouldn't take any mess ups that year, I even remember him getting upset about a shot getting passed him during practice.
If you haven't gotten my point by now then let me further explain. He was tall, but then again he normally was tall, but that year if he had lifted up his shirt you could've, after looking passed some of the brief and unnoticeably red hairs, some muscle forming on his chests. Now trust me, this is sad. This is worse then sad, this is depressing, because after seeing him without his shirt on for just one night, by complete accident, I couldn't stop thinking about him, and that's not the sad part. There wasn't even much to see! It wasn't as though he had a six pack, and you could barely tell that he had anything to show off in the first place when he had all his clothes on, but just the one muscle he had, impressed me enough to send me into mindless, girly, daydreams about him, that Parvati and Padma would take note of at times when I hung around them, which was barely ever, but they were always keeping a close eye on everyone, those two...
The point is, Ronald Weasley was looking at his best at that certain time, and not that I'm the type of girl to really concentrate on looks, it certainly gave him a bit of an upside when it came to the feelings that we shared... that nether of us seemed to really want to admit in a serious, heart to heart, private, matter.
"I'm quitting the Quidditch team."
It was completely out of character for him, and it just didn't make any since. The boy loved it. It was his life. I had spent years listening to him and Harry, speak of Quidditch teams and players, half of which Ron only knew of because Harry didn't get a chance to learn about many of them while he stayed with the Dursley's. More to the point though, it just didn't make any sense.
"What, why?" I asked him, my head tilting as I moved towards him slightly.
I didn't move too close though, because this is Hermione Granger we're talking about here. Even I'm willing to admit that I'm a prude, but it isn't my fault that my sophistication and good manners had been unable to slip away from my conscience and mind, ever since before I had started school.
"It's Harry, Hermione... we should be with him, he shouldn't have to be alone!"
Harry had left Hogwarts to search for the horocrux's, and yet he left unexpectedly. He had snuck out the night of Bill and Fleur's wedding, when everyone was so preoccupied trying to be happy. Ginny was... mental, to the point where if she would of found him, she would've strangled him... with just one hand. Being angry though, it was just another way she could hide her pain, and boy, did she hide it well. It was one of those traits that I wished I had, but then again, there were many things about Ginny that I wish I had. Like confidence.
"Ronald..."
I had called him Ronald, which was a bad sign. That year we had, had a number of fights alone, about random unimportant reasons, so unimportant that we didn't even apologize about them anymore. I think we had finally begun to learn that these fights, were just a way to further fire up the tension between the two of us. Even now, standing somewhat away from him, I could feel it. It was the kind of tension that made your heart beat fast, and have you standing on the tip of your toes, hanging by a thread, until it was over.
"Hermione, please... just don't even start..."
"Start what! I'm not going to start anything, Ron, but we don't even know where Harry is, so how can we just go help him? Well we can't! It just isn't possible. He left us, Ronald! Don't you understand that? He wanted to be alone, he didn't want us to be there with him, and now I'm beginning to agree with him..." I paused, trying to think up a reason why I would possibly not want to be with Harry, "Seventh year is a really important year, after all. If we don't complete this year, then our six years at Hogwarts have been turned to nothing! Honestly... I don't know what we were thinking when we even said we would go..."
Ron looked at me incredulously, his eyes wide, and his shoulders dropping slightly. He couldn't believe all that I had just said, and by the disappointment swelling up in his eyes I could tell that he wasn't very happy about it.
"Yes, Hermione... what were we thinking... School is far more important then saving the lives of millions, one of them being our best friend."
Ron said this walking passed me, shaking his head. I stood there, and even with him walking away from me, the tension was still there. It had always been there really, even in our first year, but now it had grown to its peak, and I knew that the two of us would drive each other mad, until we could get it to go away... It never went away.
That night, unlike the night he left me, I didn't let him get away so easily.
"Ron wait!" I said, quickly.
He didn't stop walking away, but then again, I didn't stop following either...
There was a silence in the room now that Malfoy had walked out, but I knew he would be back soon enough. We had argued for the past fifteen minutes, mainly because I wanted him to explain further and he wanted me to sit still and shut up. Nether did what the other wanted, causing him to walk out, and me to stay sitting on the floor. I made my way over to the wall, a shiver going up and down my spine slightly as I did so.
The room was so cold, and the fact that I was scared to death of what was going to happen didn't make me feel any better. I crossed my arms, finding myself to begin to curl up in a corner within the room. Amazing, isn't it? Me, Hermione Granger, afraid of something?
It wasn't like afraid of having to marry Malfoy, frankly I had full reason to think that I could take care of myself when it came to him, but Ron's face constantly ran through my head over and over again. How long would he last when the divorce papers were signed? What would he do when he found out that I had to marry Malfoy? I sniffled, turning over to lean my head up against the wall.
If only Harry was around... He always had a way with fixing the problems... either that or he would just make up some new conflicts, but mainly the three of us, Harry, Ron, and I, would concentrate on making things better, and when they were really bad that's when Ron came in. We could be in a life and death situation and he would be able to make it... entertaining to say the least. My two protectors... together they made me feel safe, but most importantly, they made me feel needed. Ha, merlin knows the two wouldn't have lasted a day without me around when it came to Hogwarts. The three of us... we depended on each other more then anyone else, even through the bad.
The door suddenly opened, causing me to look up. He was back, again, and this time he wasn't alone. Lucius stood tall, as usual, his face almost identical to his son's, and yet it looked like he far more worried or exhausted. I lifted my head up a bit, my eyes running from one man to the other. Honestly, they could've been brothers.
"You can stand up, the spell should've worn off by now." Malfoy said, tonelessly.
"Unless of course, you like sitting on the floor?" Lucius added, with a trickle of a smirk appearing upon his lips.
Oh he was hilarious really; take note of the sarcasm. I stood up slowly, using the wall as some sort of support, and then standing up straight once I caught my balance completely. Dusting myself off slightly, my attention fell on the two once more, and I lifted my chin up slightly. "Are you going to explain what's going on now?" I asked, keeping my voice strong. If the two knew I was scared... oh, I don't even want to think about that now. The Malfoy's... they normally felt like they had accomplished something when the people around them were frightened, like they were the cause of it. When really, at this point in time, I didn't think there was one single trait that really frightened me about them... other then those eyes, but those shouldn't count.
"Only if you keep quiet and sit still, then again, if you don't, we could always make you." Lucius said, his voice a mixture of an eery calmness that was far more intimidating when you actually heard it, rather then read about it, "Now, please, be seated."
I moved towards the long table, and took a seat slowly, my eyes always falling towards them every so often to see what they were up to. The last thing I wanted was for them to do something sneaky without me noticing it all. My eyes ran over Lucius, taking note of the suit case he was carrying on his side as I did so.
"Very well then, Draco, give her the sum of it." Lucius said, walking over to the table and placing his suitcase down, opening it up and beginning to shuffle through it quietly as he did so.
Malfoy looked down at me, and sighed. He was dying. I knew he was. It was so obvious that he was aching for something and someone that was so much more to me, to him. If I didn't know better, I would say that Draco Malfoy was looking for his true love. Maybe I really didn't know better, but the thought was always in the back of my head.
"With the war many people have run off. They've either left the country or have ended up fighting back in the war. People are dying, and the women we have come upon so far... for this... they haven't been... good enough." Malfoy said, and I could sense the utter frustration in his voice, as he looked away from me slightly.
My eyebrow rose. What did he mean by good enough? How the hell was I good enough for him? Not to say that I didn't think I was, but when you really thought about it from his point of few, I wasn't. None of this was making any sense whatsoever.
"Draco needs a wife who has already love, Ms. Granger, so do not think highly of yourself, because you're all that we could find." Lucius came in suddenly, breaking my thoughts, "We've searched far and wide around here. The women have seemed to have lost all sense of what the word love is."
I snorted suddenly, and looked over at him. "And whose fault is that?"
"Potter's of course!" Malfoy spat, quickly retaliating from my little comment.
Our eyes met again, this time the hatred was clear, and the tension needed to be cut with a very sharp knife for it to all go away. Lucius on the other hand, didn't seem to mind, and instead just sort of chuckled slightly. "Now, now, Draco, don't let her get to you. We've got more important things to deal with, like the bond..." The bond. Oh know... Lucius turned back to face me.
"See, Ms. Granger, my son and I have decided to take a step forward in further preserving our lives. Since I am already married and in love, my wife and I have created a bond in which, if someone attempts to kill me, she will die instead, do you understand that? Draco, on the other hand, does not have a wife, obviously, and not only needs one soon, but needs one that will be able to love him..."
"And if they don't love me, then it's good enough that they love someone else. The love they have will be passed on, almost as if I'm the one they love instead..." Draco said, stepping in.
"And that is where you come in." Lucius said, finishing up the explanation, "You love Mr. Weasley, and you love him enough to use that love in creating a bond with my son that will save him from a chance at dying... a chance that I am not willing to take."
It was all so... horrible. These men, they didn't believe in true love, they believed in using people as steps to their stairway to heaven, and would use whoever and do whatever to get what the wanted done. I crossed my arms, staring at the two. "But I don't understand why I would possibly have to actually marry him."
Draco nodded slightly, as though he wanted to know the same thing. I was glad we agreed on something.
"For show of course. Just because we're in a time of war does not mean we cannot at least act as though we're happy, and because the two of you will be involved in a bond, the two of you must be near each other most of the time. If you aren't, then the bond just doesn't come in to play, which means that marriage is the best that we can do. That, and I know colleagues who need something to celebrate about during this time. There has been so much pressure on all of us... that there should be nothing better then to have a great big celebration."
Ha, this was great. Now they were putting me into a drama. This had to be a T.V. show... a soap opera. Where the bloody hell was my script! It clearly need some changing! Those thoughts quickly slipped away when Lucius took out a packet, and placed it down in front of me. "And we can start as soon as possible... once you sign that, of course."
I looked down at it, and my heart skipped a few beats. It was the divorce papers. I gulped, gripping my hands so then I didn't quickly move to the last page to see if Ron had signed it already or not, mainly because I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of the two men. My eyes drifted back to Lucius.
"Now I must be off, but I'll let the two of you talk, and if there are anymore questions then we shall discuss them once I return."
Lucius said this while shutting his suitcase and taking it off the table, moving towards the door.
"I'll be back around dinner. By then I expect the papers to be signed and ready to go. Draco, make sure you show her to your room once the two of you have finished here."
And with that said the man was off, and out the door, leaving me to stare at the packet in front of me. The room was full of silence once again, as Malfoy and I were now left alone by the older men. Malfoy shoved his looked away from me, out through the big windows within the room, his eyes blinking every so often, as though he in thought about something.
"I'm going to set out a few rules."
I looked up at him suddenly. At that point in time I even laughed at the thought of me ever following any rules he had set out. Guess things change over time... I looked away from him, my eyes rolling slightly as he began to explain rules that were unimportant, and slowly began to flip through the package.
"Also, since I'm supposed to be loyal and a... good husband for the bond to work, or at least from what father says, I expect to have sex every so often, in particularly at least five days a week. I tend to get cranky without it, and I know you don't want that..."
He said it threateningly, but I remember holding back laughs. In your dreams... I remember thinking to myself, as I finally got to the last page, and as my eyes scanned the page. There were two spots that needed to be signed at. One spot was for my signature, the other was for Ron's. My eye's widened suddenly...
"And if you don't follow these rules, I will have that Weasel of yours killed. I might even do it myself if I have to..."
A/N Well, that was it, and too be perfectly honest, I could of done much better. Myabe I'll go back and edit this chapter latter on, but for now, this is it. The grammar and everything should be okay, since I did check over it more then once. Anywhoo, what did you think of it? I thought this chapter wasn't as good as the other two, and I know the explanation may be hard to follow. Oh, and by the way, how did you like that little cliffhanger I left you at the end, the one where your not sure if Ron signed it first or not? You'll find out next chapter, hehe, thanks for the reviews.