A Tale of Forbidden Love

Harry Potter

Chapter Fifteen

~starjade~

Perils of Dangerous Friendship

Hermione gasped, her heart in her throat. It was a dragon's tail! There was no mistaking it! It had to be-

" Drake??" She whispered. She began to walk out the hallway and turned the corner and out the secret passageway to the forbidden forest. Yet there was no dragon there....neither was their a sign of any human.

" Drake??" She shouted, louder. " Drake, I saw you! I know it was you!! Where are you?"

She began to run, as the cold air hit her skin and goose-bumps traveled up and down her arms. Her hair blew out behind her as she raced into the forbidden forest, her eyes searching, tripping over the logs and trees in her haste.

" DRAKE!!" She shouted at the top of her lungs as she burst into the clearing where she had met Drake the first time on that fateful day.

Suddenly, a light whistling sound reached her ears and she looked around herself confusedly. Where was that coming from...? Then she looked up and broke out into a scream.

Drake was plummeting towards the ground, wings flat against his back. Hermione fell to the ground as the wind picked up and blew around her like a storm. Crouching down tight in a ball, she peered through her fingers and watched with horrified eyes as Drake fell fast to the earth.

" NO!" The cry ripped out of her and she felt tears gather in her eyes. " Drake, NO!"

He was too close now and she closed her eyes tightly, tears escaping and falling down her cheeks as she felt the earth shake and crumble as he landed on the ground. Rocks and dust flew at her and she kept her eyes tightly closed until the dust settled.

" Dr-Dr-Drake?" She whispered, her heart beating hard. The dust was clearing fast and there in the middle of it stood.... Drake.

He was watching her, almost amusedly, his head tilted to the side, his wings stretching out to their full span.

" Dr-Dr-Drake..." He mocked her. " What, did you think I was going to kill myself or something?"

His voice floated over to her and Hermione felt her heartbeat stop. He was alive.... alive enough to make fun of her...and he wasn't trying to kill her-

" Drake, oh god..." She whispered, wiping the tears from her face. He did try to kill her yesterday....her hand made her way to the wand in her robes, assuring herself it was there.

" You're crying?" The dragon said, uncomfortably. " Stop it."

" Stop what?" Hermione asked, trembling as she tried to stop the flow of tears from her eyes.

" Stop crying!" The dragon said forcedly, stomping the ground of the earth, shaking it.

Hermione shot back, " I can't stop crying!!"

" And why not??" The dragon retorted. Hermione just turned away from him sniffling and then he growled.

" Stop it!!"

" Why do you care that I cry?" Hermione whispered harshly. " You're allied with Voldemort aren't you? Didn't you want to kill me?"

" I do want to kill you!" Drake shouted. Then he stopped, backing away, his expression confused and Hermione laughed bitterly at the irony of the situation.

" Then kill me!" She stood up and flinging her arms open wide, inwardly cursing her Gryffindor pride and courage. " Kill me right now! Throw that fireball at me. Let me see you burn me to a crisp, Drake."

" Don't you dare try and challenge me..." Drake hissed, his silver eyes flashing as the moonlight flitted across his scales.

Hermione jutted her chin out. " I'm challenging you, Drake. Kill. Me."

In a blink of an eye, Drake let out a growl so loud it shook her surroundings and leapt at her, claws lashing out at her. She bit her lip so hard that she tasted blood and closed her eyes tightly.

She could feel the wind rush past her as the claws raced towards her, about to rip her apart, until she was dead-

Then there was silence.

Hermione cracked open an eye and then the other. Her arms still spread wide; she stared at the silver claws poised centimetres from her cheek. She looked up and Drake's face was in hers, his silver eyes flashing with anger, fury and something else she wasn't able to define.

Breathing hard, she let her arms fall back in her sides, one hand reaching in her pocket to grasp her wand that she knew was there and the other hand reaching out to Drake.

She grazed his scales with the tips of her fingers, trying not to show how fearful she was of those claws so near to her cheek, or the fact that she actually believed Drake was going to kill her.

It was like her touch was poison, for a shudder ran through his body and his silver eyes closed shut. Hermione tried to smile, her emotions wavering between fear and relief.

" Don't close your eyes," She whispered. " They're beautiful."

He opened his eyes with a click and he stared at her, incredulously. " You are a foolish human, girl. Very foolish."

Hermione tilted her head and grinned at him, letting her grasp of the wand go. " Foolish I may be. But so are you. Part of the dark side, yet you haven't killed me yet. I'm part of the light side, but I haven't killed you yet."

Drake stared at her, and then looked away, his claws lowering from her face and settling down on the floor with a thump. " What a predicament we are in."

Hermione looked down. " How true."

The moon was high in the sky, it's crescent shape shining light in a pool down on them as Hermione walked to a tree and settled down on the ground. She shivered and pulled the robe tighter around her as she looked up at Drake.

" Did you tell them all about Harry and me and all about Ginny as well?" She asked, quietly, trying to hide the sadness in her voice. It still hurt her that she had so blindly believed that a dragon, who knew how to speak English and was talking to her would actually want a sincere friendship with her.

Drake looked at her, a calculating look in his bright silver eyes. " No."

Hermione glanced at him, surprised. " Why not?"

Drake lumbered over to the centre of the clearing, where he usually slept. He curled into his cat like position and settled his head on the floor, looking at her through half closed eyes. " Because."

Hermione opened her mouth; she was about to push further, but then she shut it closed. " I should tell them all about you." Hermione said, almost to herself. " I should go straight to Professor McGonagall and tell her that there's a dragon and he's allied with Voldemort living in the forbidden forest...but I can't."

Drake snorted, his eyes flashing angrily. " Why? Why don't you go babble like the goody two shoes you are to your beloved Professor and tell about the evil dragon? Or are you too afraid that she'll find out about how you come every night to meet me?"

Hermione flushed. " Not every night."

The dragon smirked. " Denying it, are you?"

Hermione growled. " It's not that! It's just-They'd-They'd kill you or something-Or they'd try to take advantage of you-and then there's also the fact that-"

" The fact that what?" Drake asked when she stopped speaking.

Hermione looked down. " The fact that I think you're a human."

There was silence after her words and the dragon spoke softly. " Why would you think I'm a human?"

Hermione started quietly, " Well, I did see you right now in Hogwarts...and there's a curse listed in the library about you. There are some cures, but they're really hard to find-"

" Well, let me tell you something! I am not a filthy human nor will I ever be!" Drake growled deep in his throat, anger flashing in his silver eyes, his claws raising once more in a silent reminder. " So drop it."

" But-No dragon can speak English-no dragon is as intelligent of human affairs as you are-No dragon-" Hermione stuttered, trying to explain without sounding like a fool or a know-it-all.

" Is there not one day that The Hermione Granger is wrong?" Drake yelled. " Well, this is the day! I am NOT a human! So drop it!!"

" Fine! I'll drop it!" Hermione cried, frustrated.

" Good!"

" Good!!"

" GREAT!"

Hermione made a face. " Always trying to get the last word in, aren't you."

" Damned straight," Was his short reply.

Hermione sighed as silence stretched on between them. " So..."

" So?"

" Is there any female dragon you like around these parts?"

Drake's head swivelled towards her, silver eyes wide. " WHAT??"

Hermione rose her hands up with innocence. " I didn't say anything wrong, did I? All male dragons have to be mating around this time of year, right? So where is that female dragon you're supposed to be mating with to make Drake Juniors and Mrs. Drake Juniors?"

Drake scoffed, shock still apparent in his stature. " I do not need to take a mate."

Hermione raised her eyebrows and settled more comfortably against the bark of the tree. It was nice to talk to Drake....she was still scared that he was going to leap up and kill her....she was never one to blindly trust someone....but with Drake...

" Well, you see....true love can help get you what you want and is also a very common cure for any sort of disease, curse or...curse, or spell or...curse-" Hermione said, trying to be as nonchalant and unobvious as possible.

" Didn't I say to DROP IT?" Drake roared.

" Dropping."

" GOOD!"

" Great."

" Argghh!" Drake yelled, balls of smoke puffing from his mouth. " You are insufferable, woman! I should kill you right here, right now!!"

Hermione rose her eyebrow with a lot more confidence than she thought she would have. She never did act like this around anyone else...but around Drake, her sarcastic side showed a lot more than her usual know-it-all side. " You probably should. So why don't you?"

Drake looked away and his eyes closed shut. " I really don't know.." She heard him murmur.

Hermione let out a shaky smile and got up, brushing her robes off. " Then find out," She said, her voice clear and calm, indifferent to the torrent of emotions she felt inside. Turning her back, she walked out of the clearing, her mind and heart more confused then it ever was before.

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

" Harry and me, we're going to go search for that dragon again!" Ron said excitedly, rubbing his palms together as he moved his pawn piece across the chess board. " Tonight, with the invisibility cloak, but today, we're going to go deeper into the forest."

" No!!" Hermione squawked.

Harry rose his eyebrows. " Why not?"

" Well-just because! If Professor McGonagall catches you, you'll be in trouble, expelled even! Especially after the whole dr-monster incident!" Hermione desperately covered up.

Harry looked at her sceptically and Ron groaned.

" Honestly, Hermione, we've almost died how many times? Been against You-Know-Who how many times? Going into the forbidden forest is as scary as a kitten compared to half of the stuff we've been through!" Ron scoffed.

Hermione bristled. " Well, I think it's dangerous! And if you go....I'll tell!"

" Will you?" Harry asked, his voice indifferent.

Hermione felt goose-bumps rise on her skin at his tone. It was like he knew something....

" Well-I won't-but I just can't keep quiet-" Hermione sputtered.

" Come with us then!" Ron said.

" No!" Hermione cried. " I have homework to do and besides, I think Dumbledore can handle this, we don't need to be getting involved-"

" When haven't we gotten involved?" Harry asked, pushing his glasses up his nose.

" Well-just-don't-" Hermione searched her mind for a way to keep them here, but years of their friendship, Hermione knew nothing would stop them.

But she had a dreadful feeling that tonight may be the night that Drake was finally found out....and she didn't want to see what would happen to him once they did.

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

Hermione walked down the hallway quickly to the library, contemplating on how she would be able to prevent Harry and Ron from going after Drake. Maybe she could pretend to be sick and demand they stay by her side?

Groaning, she turned a corner and ran smack into someone, hitting their chest hard and falling back.

Someone reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her up and keeping her from falling on her butt. She stumbled and grabbed onto their robes to keep herself from falling and looked up.

Grey eyes.

Shit.

Pulling away from him quickly, she muttered a quick," Thank you," and tried to move past him. She didn't need another confrontation, another verbal fight and another wave of emotions that were so foreign...yet so familiar.

" Granger. Met him again, did you?"

His voice was cold and icy. She felt herself shiver but she kept her eyes trained ahead.

" Yeah, I met him," She answered, keeping her back straight. She rose her shoulders a little in defiance. " Is that a problem to you?"

" No..." Malfoy said, his voice a low drawl. " Except for the fact I'm surprised he hasn't killed you yet. I was hoping that last night, another mudblood would burn to a crisp. Pity."

Hermione felt her anger bubble up at his words and she fought to remain calm as she turned around and met him square in the eye, willing her heart to stop beating so hard. His eyes were a smoky grey and were trained on her, leaning against the wall, nonchalantly.

" Drake isn't evil, Malfoy," Hermione hissed. " If he was-"

" Evil isn't to be defined as just killing, my dear Granger. Evil is trickery. To be able to fool someone with words when your real intentions are quite malicious. Its manipulation, mudblood. Something you probably had to do to get into this school," Malfoy said, his voice calm and straight as if he was rattling out facts.

Hermione's fists clenched into tight balls and she said in a low voice, " Only you and I know about Drake...other then Drake himself. Keep your mouth shut, ferret boy."

" Oh I will," Malfoy said quietly as she stalked off. " I will."

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

" Maybe I should've told Dumbledore," Hermione said under her breath as she climbed up the grassy hills toward the dark and foreboding Forbidden Forest. " Maybe I should tell him. He wouldn't shun Drake as Drake supposes he would. Hell, Dumbledore accepted Remus Lupin! Why wouldn't he accept Drake?"

Well Drake is allied with Voldemort, a nasty voice inside of her said. Do you really think Dumbledore would accept that?

" Shut up!" She gritted her teeth hard as she walked into the forbidden forest, noticing with a sinking heart the still fresh footprints of her two best friends. So they had done it, she thought sadly. They went after him...

She hoped to god that they wouldn't find him.

She walked straight down the route towards the clearing, her eyes scanning the forest around her for any sight of Harry or Ron. They could be right behind her for all she knew...damn that invisibility cloak!

Just as she was about to enter the clearing, she suddenly heard whispers she knew all too well and rashly jumped into the nearest bush there was. She couldn't see anything, but heard the voices get closer.

" Harry, we are getting way too deep!! Are you sure about this?"

" I don't know, but I have a feeling that the monster is around here somewhere..."

There was a squeal and then silence.

" Ron what the hell happened?"

" Hehe...nothing, I just thought I saw a spider."

" Oh, come on Ron! I want to find this monster...and figure out why he kidnapped Hermione!"

Their voices were entering the clearing and Hermione felt fear clench her heart with an icy cold fist. What could she do? She didn't know what and how she would be able to do anything to prevent them from going into the clearing, for Drake was in there and if they saw him-

But they had already gone into the clearing. And from the sound of their voices, they had already located the mystery monster that had been haunting the forbidden forest without ever being found.

" Harry, what the hell is that?"

" I don't know."

" Oh bloody hell!"

A roar pierced the air and a fire blast erupted and Hermione screamed. Oh no...

a/n: Waaaaatttt...I feel kinda proud of myself. I finished another chapter....hahahaha....lol, thanks for the suggestions ya guys, even though most of dem said the same thing....let hermione find out about drake! lol, itz gonna happen, I'm tellin ya, but itz the facts leadin up to it I'm workin on!

aight though, thanx for ur reviews! I'm all stressed out cuz of exams and dance competitions so itz nyce that i got ya guyz suppourt!

keep on reviewin, aight?

see ya latez,

'nuff luv,

~starjade~