Tale of Forbidden Love

Harry Potter

Chapter Fourteen

~starjade~

Back Into The Fire

Hermione backed away from the roaring dragon, shocked to the core. Fear began to spread through her body as she yelled out, " Drake! Drake, it's just me! Wh-What are you doing?"

The dragon let out a huge fire ball, but it landed beside her and she screamed, falling to the ground. The flames licked at her feet and she backed away, frightened, as the fire spread across the leaves and the trees.


" No....you can't be..." Hermione whispered as the flames grew higher and higher. " You can't be part of the dark side! I told you....I told you so much, so much..."

He threw another fireball at her and Hermione screamed, running fast as the fireball hit the ground and spread around the forest ground. Soon, there was a circle of flames and Hermione was trapped inside with the huge, roaring dragon.

" Drake!! Drake stop it! Please, stop!" Hermione screamed, fumbling in her robes for her wand. Please don't tell me I forgot it, Hermione prayed as the dragon swung his silver eyes at her. His wings flapped in the air, making the flames rise higher , reaching for the sky and her heart was pounding so fast she couldn't breathe. A flow of fear, anger and...betrayal raced through her veins as she stared back at those silver eyes.

" It's all true..." Drake whispered, his voice low and grated. Hermione searched deep inside those eyes for a hint of remorse, a hint of the real Drake he was inside, but all that met her eyes was a steely silver shield.

" W-w-what's all true? Drake, you can't be part of the dark side! You wouldn't have....saved me then, you wouldn't have listened to me badger on and on about my problems, you wouldn't-" Hermione couldn't go on, her throat choking up. Where was her wand?

The dragon laughed, his voice dark. " You just spilled all the secrets I needed to know, dear Granger. The fact that Harry has a deeper weakness then you and that Weasel boy. It's that girl, isn't it? Ginny, is that her name? His weakness..."

Hermione backed up, only to feel the heat of the fire around her and she stumbled back towards the dragon. Rain was beginning to fall from huge grey clouds and she hoped that it would fall faster, so she could escape. " I can't believe that," Hermione breathed hard. " You wouldn't do that to me! Drake...am I wrong in believing that you were-are my friend? I gave you friendship, Drake. Why are you betraying me?"

The dragon snorted. " Friendship? Ha! You are a pitiable fool, dear mudblood. Dragons aren't friends with humans. Much less filthy blooded ones like you."

The fire was surrounding them, a tighter circle and she shuddered. " Drake, please don't....please don't do this..."

" Your use has been expired. Now.....death is the only thing that awaits you," Drake hissed. The rain was beginning to fall even faster now, and the flames lowered and lowered.

Hermione was trying hard to control her breathing. " Drake....Drake, listen to me. You don't have to do this, you could escape the Dark Lord's power if you tried-"

" You'd think I'd give up this sort of power for that foolish 'light' Dumbledore, the old fool, keeps badgering about?" Drake growled, spitefully. " Prepare for your death, Granger. Any last words?"

Hermione's eyes widened at the look on the dragon's face. He really was going to kill her....Hermione gulped, and her heart pounded painfully against her chest.

" I believe in our friendship, Drake..." Hermione whispered. " If only you did as well..."

There was a slight change in the dragon's silver eyes, but it still seemed as if he was mocking her. " Foolish girl and your idealism. Too bad it has to end this way. I'd love to see Potter's face when I tell him all about your lovesick words..."

Drake opened his mouth wide and Hermione saw a fireball gathering deep in his throat and she closed her eyes, wincing. Goodbye, Harry...she thought sadly. Goodbye Ron....Goodbye Ginny....even that damned Malfoy...

It was at the same moment that the dragon opened his mouth that Hermione's hand touched a stick of wood deep in her robe pocket. And just as the fireball raced towards her, Hermione screamed, " Freeze!" And the fireball froze in its path.

The dragon's eyes widened but before any word could come past it's lips, Hermione yelled, " Stupefy!"

Silence fell in the forbidden forest as the dragon fell to the ground, hitting the pine needle covered floor with such force, chunks of the ground flew into the air and Hermione fell to the ground, as trees around her cracked and fell as well.

Dust rose like a cloud and Hermione choked, coughing hard. Blinking gritty eyes, she got up and dusted her ruined robes as well as she could. Pushing back a strand of bushy hair she blinked into the dusty mist and saw the silvery dragon lying on the floor.

Slowly, she stepped towards it, over a fallen tree and over the chunks of rock and dirt. Finally she reached the dragon and she fell to her knees.

" Drake...I'm sorry..." She whispered and placed a hand on his warm face. " You can't be part of the dark side, you can't...." She said softly, a tear falling down her cheek. " I know.....I know you would never betray me like that...."

Tears slipping down her cheeks faster now, she moved closer to his warm body and curled up in the crook of the dragon's neck, for once chasing away all logical thoughts and just wishing that she had not made the biggest mistake of her life by forming a friendship with a dragon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Draco woke up slowly, groaning.

" Owww!" He groaned. " What the hell happened?"

He pried his eyes open and felt the cold air before he saw the brightening sky. He blinked and stared and then tried to get up, but a weight on his chest prevented him from doing so.

Shocked, Draco looked down and saw a head of bushy brown hair lying on his chest and he gasped. " What the-"

Then everything rushed through him, all the events from the night before, from the days before-the curse, Hermione, the hospital, the rumours-everything.

Then he realized that he had been stupefied and he had no idea that it had even happened. Why hadn't he remembered that witches don't go out to forbidden forests without their damned wands?? How foolish was he?

A sound broke him out of his thoughts and he looked down to see Hermione moving and snuggling in closer to him for warmth. All the blood rushed to his cheeks and he resisted the urge to push her off and wipe himself off.

It was a damned mudblood. Not just any mudblood. Hermione Granger. Controlling his breathing, he tried to inch away from her, but it wasn't working. She couldn't wake up, for if she did-She would see that the dragon she had been speaking to for weeks-was actually her arch enemy Draco Malfoy in the flesh.

Groaning to himself, he tried to ignore the feel of her body warmth against his and more on his thoughts. Had he brought his wand? Of course, he hadn't. But she had! So he could just use her wand to put her under a sleeping charm and then he wouldn't have to make up some lame excuse how he was smack in the middle of the forbidden forest and she was sleeping on him.

" Stupid bloody witch," He growled to himself as he raised himself up on his elbows. " Go sleep with the dragon who wanted to kill you, great. I always knew she went for the dangerous sort." Smirking to himself, he snickered. " Wonder what dear McGonagall would say if she saw her prized student falling asleep with a dragon. An ally of He Who Must Not Be Named, nonetheless."

Pushing his hair out of his face, he took hold of his surroundings. Dawn had already broken, school was to start in a mere two hours and he was in very bad situation. If she woke up now-well, lets just say, that wouldn't be good. He didn't want to make it worse by revealing that her dear dragon friend was not only an ally of Voldemort but her arch nemesis, the Draco Malfoy himself.

Draco frowned. Why did he care anyways? As long as she didn't tell...

" Now how the hell am I supposed to get her off without waking her up?" He growled softly. He never brought his wand, in fear of losing it-but then he saw Hermione's wand clenched in her fist. Maybe he could use her wand and levitate her for a few seconds and bring her down softly, and then run away as fast as he could?

He shivered a bit as a cold wind rushed past them and goose-bumps popped up onto his skin. He was only in his boxers for goodness sake, and he was freezing to death. He slowly eased Hermione's wand out of her hand and sighed. He raised the wand to perform the spell and then halted as Hermione whimpered in her sleep and shifted.

" Drake..." She mumbled, before dozing off. Draco froze and he looked at her. A funny feeling filled his chest as he reached out with his hand and touched her face. It was as smooth as he imagined it to be and he tucked back a curl that rested on her cheek. His fingers trailed over her cheek and then over her lips.

His eyes widened as he realized what he was doing and quickly spoke, " Wingardium Leviosa!" And rose Hermione a few feet in the air as he struggled out beneath her, getting to his feet and then slowly let her down. He grabbed his robes and nearly ran out of the clearing, hoping she would wake up before causing too much suspicion. And beneath it all, he hoped she wouldn't hate him-too much.

~~~~~~~~~*********~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione groaned and rolled over, hitting her cheek against a rock.

" Owwww..." She moaned, the sharp pain jolting her awake. Her eyes took in her surroundings and she shrieked.

" Where the hell am I??"

Her voice echoed and she looked around herself, frantically. No, she couldn't have! She couldn't have....fallen asleep in the forbidden forest!

She was Hermione Granger, Ms. Intelligent and Logical. And she had fallen asleep. With A Dragon. In the middle of the forbidden forest.

" What would Professor McGonagall say," she muttered to herself as she got up slowly. Her back hurt and her neck ached and her hair was filled with leaves. Picking them out with disgust, she tried in vain to dust off her robes. Faintly, she wondered why she was still alive. Drake was nowhere in sight....did he not want to kill her yesterday?

Slowly, she smiled. He hadn't killed her! That means....he must have some sort of good streak in him! All hope was not lost! Looking up at the sky, her jaw dropped.

" Damn!" She cursed. It was past dawn and school must have already started. She had missed breakfast for sure....and god, she was missing Potions.

How come missing Potions was as horrible as almost being killed by a dragon?

Picking up her filthy robes, she ran down the pathway, ignoring the howls of strange creatures as she concentrated on the thought of getting back to Potions in one piece!

*************

" Well...Ms. Granger, the perfect Gryffindor know-it-all, how....wonderful it is to have you back," Snape drawled, walking towards her. Hermione winced as he loomed over her. It was deadly silent in the class with more of an anticipating silence from the Slytherins then the horrified silence from the Gryffindors.

" Where were you?" He asked, his voice syrupy.

" I-I-I-" Hermione stuttered. " I was-l-late because I well, I slept in, because, I was, you know, tired, and because-"

" Enough!!" Snape cried out. Hermione halted as he said slowly and dangerously, " Get back to your seat, you insolent little girl, twenty five points off Gryffindor and detention with me. Never again will I see you this late, understand me?"

" U-understood, completely understood, you don't know how much I'm understanding right now-" Hermione stuttered, but with one dark glare from Professor Snape sent her scuttling to her chair.

A guffaw at the other end of the class was heard as Malfoy's voice sneered, " I wonder what filthy blooded Granger was doing last night. The little goody two shoes wasn't doing anything bad, was she? Having a little fun with Weasel and Potty? Or maybe she was pretending to get kidnapped by a dragon again!"

The Slytherin side fell in hysterics at the non-existent joke and Hermione glanced at Malfoy in contempt. He was staring straight at her, his icy grey eyes watching her. Hermione suddenly felt as if a wave was washing through her, she couldn't move, all she could do was stare at Malfoy. His eyes were captivating and for once, they did not hold a look of disdain in them, rather, they were observing. Her heart was beating faster than it should've been and she was fighting to breath-

" Hermione! Hermione, what happened!!" Ron hissed.

Hermione broke out of the trance Malfoy's eyes had put her in and turned to look at Ron. " Wh-what?"

Harry opened his mouth to say something but Professor Snape had begun to talk about the potion they were about to make that day and the class quieted as he begun his lesson. Hermione's hands clenched around her robes as she stared down at her lap, trying not to give into the urge to stare at Malfoy again. To look deep into his eyes once more and search for a truth she knew was there.

************

" I've got the latest hair products from Witch's Weekly!" Lavender squealed. " It makes your hair long and silky and absolutely divine! I can't wait for the dance!"

Parvati and Lavender launched into one of their squealing sessions and Hermione groaned. There goes the idea of studying in my dormitory, Hermione thought sullenly. She couldn't study anywhere! Usually, she'd be at the library-

But then, he was there.

Hermione felt a shiver go down her spine as she thought of those piercing grey eyes boring into hers. He knew too much about her-and she couldn't go down there! He would know that she had once again gone to visit Drake-and nearly got herself killed in the process.

Her hands tightening over her books, she got up and started to shove her textbooks into her book bag. Well, Draco Malfoy couldn't scare her away from the library! She was allowed to be in the library, just as much as Malfoy was allowed to be there! With a defiant gleam in her eyes, she stomped out of the room.

" Hermione, come over here! We've got the best products for your hair, it'll be so nice-"

" Not interested!" Hermione snapped as she slammed the door.

Running down the stairs into the common room, she ignored the cries of Harry and Ron, who were calling after her. They were quite worried over her and Hermione could tell why. She had been disappearing a lot and today she had been late, only a few days after she had supposedly been 'kidnapped' by a monster. But she couldn't lie to them again and again, it only made her feel worse.

Breathing in and out, she walked down the hallways, the familiar route towards the library. She entered the library, her eyes searching automatically for the pale haired, pale eyed boy. Her eyes found him instantly, leaning against one of the windows, reading a thin book.
His eyes looked up and he raised an eyebrow slightly, before turning back to his book. Hermione felt her shoulders relax a bit and she let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. Wasn't he...wasn't he going to do anything to her? Yell at her a bit, threaten her, maybe even try to do an unforgivable on her? Didn't he promise that he was going to kill her?

Breathing deeply, she headed towards her favourite table and settled down in one of the chairs, keeping one eye on Malfoy. She reached into her book bag and pulled out her books, opening up her Arithmency book, watching Malfoy the whole time.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and she let out a breath of frustration and stomped up to him.

" Malfoy!" She growled. " Who the hell do you think you are?"

Malfoy looked up slowly and Hermione felt her chest tighten once more as their eyes met. She should really get sunglasses or something, this was happening way too often...

He finally drawled, " Do you want something, Granger? You are invading my personal space and I really do not appreciate being near a filthy blood such as yourself. Why don't you go and play with Potty and Weasel a bit more? Run around and have some adventures?"

He made it sound so pathetic and stupid that Hermione flushed. Anger was flooding through her body slowly and she wondered why she was so much more angry at silly words this year than all of her other previous years? She used to let his insults slide by, for his opinion did not matter the slightest. Yet now, she was so furious at him, she could hardly speak.

" How did you find out about Drake?" She hissed. " How did you know-"

Malfoy rose his eyebrows. " I do have connections, dear mudblood."

" Oh yes, we all know about your future as second in command to Voldemort!" Hermione jeered angrily.

Draco's eyes turned icy. " Why don't you shut your flapping mouth before I shut it for you?" He whispered dangerously. " I can curse you until your a blubbering idiot like Neville's parents or I could end your life right here and right now. What would you rather prefer?"

" Why don't you try, Draco?" Hermione said, sounding a lot braver than she felt. " Why don't you kill me right now?"

A muscle jumped in Draco's jaw and he whipped out his wand and pressed it to Hermione's forehead so fast that she hardly saw it.

" Don't tempt me, mudblood," He growled low in his throat.

" Oh, I wouldn't dare," Hermione forced out, trying to keep the shaking out of her voice and sound as flippant as possible.

He watched her for a couple of minutes and then pulled the wand away. Hermione held back a sigh of relief and her breathing returned to normal. Draco watched her for a few minutes before turning away.

" Use some of those brains everyone says you have and stay away from the dragon tonight," Malfoy said, enunciating every one of his words carefully. " I'm telling you right now, he may have missed last night, but tonight he'll burn you to a crisp."

" I seriously doubt that, Malfoy," Hermione said quietly. " I trust Drake, unlike you. He may be connected to Lord Voldemort, they might be controlling him, I don't know. But he had more than one chance to kill me yesterday and he didn't."

" He might have thought it too easy, and gave you another chance to give him a real fight," Draco said hotly.

" Then I'll give him a real fight," Hermione said, her voice serious.

Draco stared at her, almost unbelievingly. " You are so fucking foolish." He said, his voice low.

" It must be my gryffindor blood," Hermione said, her mouth tilting at the corner.

Then Hermione found something strange. Draco's mouth was tilting at the corners and he looked like he was going to smile at her. Then his expression changed back to the cold icy façade and he raised his fingers once more and touched her cheek. Her heart stopped at his touch as he pulled away and walked off, his shoes clicking as he swept out of the library.

Hermione's hand went up to her cheek and she cursed. " He's got to stop doing that..."

*************

Hermione grabbed her books after she finished studying and packed them away into her book bag. The sky was dark and the library was closing as she left, walking down the silent hallways.

Suddenly, she heard clicks as someone walked down the hallway. It was late at night, who would be out? She walked after them as they went closer and closer to the exit of the school. She turned the corner and then gasped in shock.

Disappearing around the corner was a tail, a dragon's tail.

a/n: Sorry I was so late in updating. I'm runnin out of ideas for dis story, anybody got any suggestions? If ya do, please review and tell me! Or email me, any one. Thank you so much for readin, review now! lol, aight ppl, see ya latez,

'nuff luv,

~starjade~