A/N: i would like to voice a big thank you to my reviewers---marajade64 and green eyed phantom...you guys rock! oh just so you all know, chapter 9 is finished as well and has been for a couple days but will not be posted until later this week. It is sort of a two part type chapter with 10 so when i finish 10 i'll be posting both chapters at the same time for everyone so keep a look out! If anyone would like me to email them when the chapters are posted, please leave a review with your email address and i'll be sure to send out the notices. I try to write fairly quickly so usually it shouldnt take more than a week and half at most per chapter.
marajade64: i'm so glad that you are hooked, that's what i was hoping for. i think the story is going to end up pretty long so keep reading and reviewing!
green eyed phantom: i know how you feel, i too have been desperate for a good post hbp fic that's why i chose to write this one as my first. i love draco and hermione, my two favorite characters. i've always believed that draco wasnt really a bad person and i wanted to convey my feelings in a "believable" way...haha too bad Jo(JKR) told us that Draco and Hermione would never happen...damn woman, gotta crush our hopes huh lol?
so, without further adu, i give you chapter 8 of Kindred Spirits...OH and for anyone who may like to see it, Iridescense of Dark Arts (part of ) made me a beautiful banner to go with the story there...here's the link for it http/img277.imageshack.us/img277/1515/kindred0ue.gifChapter 8: Dreams and Confessions
"Well thank you two for joining me. I have a task for the two of you," McGonagall began. "You two will be working with our former Potions Master, Severus Snape, to prepare for the upcoming events and aid Mr. Potter on his mission. Now, now, Miss Granger, before you jump out of your chair, I have something for the two of you to read. This was left by our late Headmaster for the two of you." She waved her hand over a piece of parchment she'd just extracted from a sealed envelope and instantly made two copies, handing one paper to each of the students, who took them curiously.
Dear Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy
If you are reading this letter than that means that I am no longer there. Do not dwell on my passing, it was something that had to happen. This also means that it was Severus Snape who ended my life but know this: Severus Snape has always been and is still a spy for the Order. If he was the one to kill me then he was fulfilling my wishes. When I learned of the vow between Severus and Narcissa Malfoy, I knew what must be done and that sacrifices had to be made. I have lived a very full life and I have no regrets.
But enough about the past, it is time to look towards the future. I have received a foretelling of a connection that will develop between the two of you. This connection will allow the two of you to aid in the fight against Voldemort. It will become a very valuable asset. I am not speaking of a physical connection, of course, but one of a much higher plane. A mental and spiritual connection. Once mastered, your connection will allow the two of you to find and communicate with each other even when you are miles apart. You will be able to not only telepathically communicate with one another but you will also be able to sense and feel each other as well. By the time you read this letter, one of you may have already experienced the connection, though that person may not realize what it was. Your connection will also come in the form of dreams or visions, sometimes possibly even warnings of things that will happen. Normally these "visions" will be of present time but on occasion it is possible that you may be able to receive information about future events involving one or both of you.
As soon as Hermione read that part, she gasped out loud. If what Dumbledore was telling them was true then that means that what she "saw" that day in Diagon Alley was really what was happening to Draco at that very moment. She suddenly felt the memory of her vision rush back to her, even the part when she heard Draco's screams and felt his pain when he received his "punishment". She closed her eyes, feeling the warm tears swell up behind them as she remembered the pain she had felt. Quickly regaining her composure as much as she could, she opened her eyes and finished reading the letter.
Professor McGonagall has a small envelope for the two of you as well. Inside you will find identical silver chains bearing the Celtic symbols of unity. These pendants, when worn, will allow you to locate each other in the event that you are separated. They will also alert you if one of you is in peril. This may seem overwhelming and impossible, but over time you will learn more about each other and your connection.
Please do not be afraid. I realize that in the past the two of you have been the worst of enemies, but it is time to put your past behind you and join together in the fight. You will learn more about each other and more about your connection in the days and months to come, but only if you put away your grudges and work together. I trust you both and have the utter most confidence in the great witch and wizard that you both can be. Ms. Granger, I think that it would be wise for you to speak to Mr. Potter. I have a feeling that he will not be very welcoming to Severus after the task is completed (and if I am gone, the task was completed the way it was planned).
Mr. Malfoy, you must have faith and courage in your decision. Do not let anyone try to force you to do something that you do not want to do. If you are reading this then that means that you took the risk and walked away from that life. That was very brave of you and I am proud. I know that it will be hard for you to resist the temptation to go back but be strong, do not give in. We need both you and Ms. Granger for you two are two of the most talented students to ever grace the halls of Hogwarts.
Good luck to both of you and remember there will come a time when we all must choose between what is right and what is easy. No one can make that choice for you, you must follow your heart for your heart will not lead you astray.
Sincerely yours,
Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Hermione finished reading and looked up at McGonagall even more confused then she was before. She glanced over at Draco, who was also finished reading and just staring at the floor in front of him, trying to absorb everything he'd just read.
Professor McGonagall looked up from her work and noticed they were done. She reached into one of the desk drawers and handed Hermione an envelope, which Hermione assumed was holding the pendants that Dumbledore mentioned.
"Now remember, there is an Order meeting tomorrow night at 8pm and you will have your first session with Severus Snape directly afterwards. You two may return to your dormitories now but I do believe that you should discuss what you have just learned. This will be a tough year but I have faith that you will come through just fine." McGonagall told them, then motioned for them to leave.
Hermione had been holding back the tears that were still threatening to fall so she dashed down the stairs and towards the dormitory as fast as her feet would take her. She could hear Draco calling after her but she couldn't face him right now. After learning that what she has seen and felt was real, she didn't know if she could ever face him again. How could he betray her like that? She had helped him, confided in him. She had offered to stay with him that week that Harry was gone from Grimmauld Place. She had even developed feelings for him. But it seems that Harry was right after all, Draco Malfoy was not someone who she should have taken lightly. She should have been more cautious. She reached the portrait and muttered the password, quickly jumping through the door. She was halfway to her room when Draco caught up with her and grabbed her arm, turning her around.
"Damn Granger, didn't you hear me calling you? We need to talk about this." Draco said, pulling her back towards the couch. "Why did you rush off like that and why are you crying? Please tell me what is going on!"
"Fine, Malfoy. I'll tell you. You remember that day when we were at Diagon Alley and you took off somewhere and then when you came back to the Burrow you claimed that you were with your mother," Draco nodded, not really positive where she was going with this because there was no way she could've known what he was really doing that night. "Well I know, and now after reading that letter from Professor Dumbledore I'm positive, that you didn't really go to visit your mother. You went back to Voldemort that evening. You apologized for hiding from them, saying that you had been scared because you failed in your task. Voldemort told you that you showed courage by returning but then you were still punished for betraying him. I even know how you were punished. You were hit by the Crustacious Curse. I know because not only did I see it happen, every word of it, but I felt the curse hit you…I felt the pain that you felt. That is why I have avoided you for the past month and a half since we returned to school and why I have refused to talk to you every time you try to talk to me." Draco was just staring at her in shock.
"What do you mean, you saw it? You mean all that crap that Dumbledore just told us in that letter is true? Then how come I have never had any "vision" or whatever about you?" Draco asked, still unsure of everything that she was telling him.
"I don't know.", Hermione answered quietly. They didn't say anything for awhile, just trying to absorb everything that they'd been told. Finally, Hermione spoke up quietly. "Draco, I need you to answer something for me." she said, looking up into his big grey eyes. "Why did you do it? Why did you go back after everything that happened this summer?"
"You wouldn't understand, Granger." Draco said quietly.
"What's so hard to understand? Either you want that life or you don't. You had a choice, you had a chance at a new start but you went back anyway. Was it just some sort of game for you?" Hermione demanded, her voice raising with each question.
Draco just sat there staring at the wall. He couldn't bring himself to tell her that she was one of the reasons that he chose to go back. He was afraid of what they'd do to her if they found out about his feelings for her and he couldn't take that risk. He couldn't be responsible for her being hurt. Hermione stood there, staring at him, for a few moments. She turned around and started walking off to her room. Just before she entered her bedroom, she turned around.
"You know Draco, we were all there for you. I was there for you. I'm still here. Just remember that." she said quietly before walking into her room and closing the door. She sank down on her beds, tears beginning to pour from her eyes. She didn't know until that moment just how much she really had grown to like and care about Draco Malfoy. Whatever it was that he was doing was tearing her up inside. She curled up in a ball and cried into her pillow for what seemed like hours, finally falling into a deep sleep.
Hermione found herself walking down a long corridor. Something seemed very familiar about this corridor though she couldn't place exactly where it was. She heard voices all around her but couldn't really see anyone. Something was drawing her towards the room at the end of the hall. This all seemed very familiar to her, but yet she couldn't really place it. The voices she heard were beginning to get louder and louder till she finally reached the door and flung it open. She saw before her a room that she knew very well, a little too well. She realized that she was back in the Department of Mysteries, right there in the very chamber where Sirius had fallen through the veil just barely over a year before. All around her, her friends were fighting masked enemies wearing black cloaks. She thought she was flashing back to the prior year but something was different this time. Then she saw what was different. On the far side of the room, closest to the veil she saw someone with pale blond hair, throwing curses at one of the masked enemies. Wait, she thought to herself in her dream, Draco wasn't there that night. How is he here now? She saw Draco blast down his opponent and look over at her, locking their eyes. She saw a sudden look of terror on his face and he began to scream something at her, rushing in her direction. Just then a pair of strong arms grabbed her from behind, bruising her arm, and twirled her around so that she was staring right into a pair a steel grey eyes. Something was very familiar about those eyes…they were almost identical to the silvery grey eyes that she stared into every night before she fell asleep. She knew instantly who was in front of her. Lucius Malfoy. "Well, well, well, what do we have here? The filthy little Mudblood who thought she could have what she didn't deserve. Did you honestly believe that my pureblood son would ever really have feelings for a disgusting thing like yourself? Well I do hope that you enjoyed your time with someone so superior because it's now cost you your life. Say goodbye, Mudblood…….Avada Kedavra."
Hermione's scream pierced through the head dormitories breaking Draco out of his own restless slumber on the common room couch. He immediately jerked awake and dashed over the couch and down the short hallway, shoving her door open. He saw Hermione sitting straight up her bed screaming at the top of her lungs. Her eyes were still closed and he concluded that she must still be asleep. He rushed to her, grabbing her shoulders, trying to shake her awake. Finally her scream subsided as she seemed to snap out of her dream. Still not fully awake, she opened her eyes to see herself staring into a pair of grey eyes. She jumped out his grasp and ,before he knew what was happening, she jumped off the bed and grabbed her wand pointing it directly at him.
"Hermione, stop, it's me. You were having a nightmare." He said, trying to calm her down, and stepping cautiously around the bed towards her, never taking his eyes off hers. After a few moments, Hermione realized who was standing in front of her. She lowered her wand and slid down the wall behind her, shaking uncontrollably. Draco rushed over to her, throwing his arms around her as she sobbed into his chest. He slid one of his arms under her knees and the other supported her back while he lifted her from the ground and placed her back on her bed, pulling the blankets back over her. She stayed curled up and sobbed into her pillow, her shaking subsiding slightly. He sat down next to her and stroked her hair until her shaking stopped and her sobbing subsided. He slowly stood up and turned around to leave the room when a weak hand clasped onto his arm.
"Wait," Hermione said softly, not wanting to be alone after the nightmare she just experienced. "Don't go." She slid her hand down to his hand and pulled him gently towards her until he sat back down on the bed beside her. She was still confused over everything, but something deep down inside of her was telling her that she needed him to be there with her, to keep her safe. She scooted over on the bed and pulled back the blankets so he could climb in beside her.
Draco wasn't really sure what to do. He still had strong feelings for Hermione. He would love more than anything to hold her in his arms but he wasn't sure how she felt. But he also knew that at that moment, she needed him and wanted him beside her, so he nodded slowly at her request and allowed himself to be pulled back onto the bed, and laid down beside her. He laid down on his back with his hands clasped beneath his head when Hermione caught him by surprise by laying her head on his chest and curling up next to him. After about a moment, the shock of having her laying on him wore off and he found himself instinctively putting his arm around her and holding her tightly to him. A few moments later, she was fast asleep so he settled himself in to go to sleep as well. 'This feels right,' Draco thought to himself just as fell asleep, Hermione still cuddled against his chest and his arms wrapped protectively around her.