AN: I just want to say thank you to everyone that reviewed, and to all my fans that don't totally hate me. I'm sorry for not updating sooner, but I went out of town, and had total writer's block. I'm better now, and actually have new ideas that I hope everyone will love, because this story is just getting started.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, I only own the plot, and some characters. I'd like to own Tom Felton, but God doesn't love me enough to let me have even one night. Enjoy the story!
Chapter 12: Wednesday, Three More Days.
"Hermione, I have something for you." Draco took Hermione's hand and took her upstairs. Now was a moment that he deemed the perfect moment. This was the time he was waiting for to give her the necklace. Hermione frowned, they had just told each other that they loved each other. This isn't how she thought it would be, or even how she planned it. Now he was supposed to take her out to dinner or do something romantic. Not tug her up the stairs saying that he had something to show her. She'd already seen his wand, and knew just about all the tricks he could do with it.
"Close your eyes. Quick!" Draco put his hands over her eyes, then making sure she wasn't looking went to the bedside table and snatched the box out of his drawer.
Draco opened the box and gently kissed Hermione. She was everything he had ever wanted in a woman. He could admit that now, and he wanted to give her everything in the world, starting with this necklace.
"Okay. You can open your eyes." Hermione opened her eyes and her mouth fell open.
"Draco, it's beautiful." Hermione examined the two silver snakes intertwined with a dragon holding a garnet stone with a gold lion etched into the stone. She felt its power ebbing from the dragon. "Draco, it's perfect." How could she have ever hated him. He was perfect, and so sweet.
"You really like it?"
"Of course!" Hermione hugged Draco, then turned and handed him back the necklace so that he could put it around her neck.
"I picked it out with Blaise, the weekend before he gave Ginny the ring." Hermione thought back to that weekend. During that weekend, Draco had opened up his business, if Hermione remembered correctly, and they hadn't even been dating then. Not that they were dating now, but they were close now, back then, it wasn't serious.
"You had the necklace the entire time?"
"Yeah, I mean- it's just that- I wanted-"Hermione smiled and kissed Draco.
"Thank you."
"Anytime, Hermione. " Draco led her to the bed, pulling her close to him, so that their breaths were one. He stroked Hermione's hair, soothing her and himself at the same time.
"I love the way you feel. You're so comfortable." Draco smirked down at Hermione lying against his body, her head on his shoulder. Normally he would hate to be called comfortable, what man liked to be called comfortable? He was completely elated. As long as Hermione was comfortable, she was going to stay, so if she thought he was comfortable, so be it. Draco felt Hermione's breathe even out, and kissed the top of her head.
"No matter what happens, my little one, I'm going to protect you."
"Today everyone will be making a smaller side potion that will be added to the parent potion. This potion is deadly if made incorrectly, or if added at the incorrect time." Neville's groan punctuated Snape's speech.
"Does this potion explode?" Snape looked at Pansy like she grew another head. She'd never asked a question in his class, or anyone else's for that matter. Since when was Parkinson smart?
"Yes, they can explode. It can cause injuries that are deadly or irreparable, but it won't injure the potion." Neville moaned and lowered his head. He was going to die, he just knew it. Everyone was right; he was going to die before he was eighteen and before he had sex.
"Don't worry, Neville, our potion is going to be fine." Sahara was Neville's partner, and everyone was sorry for her, but she liked Neville. He was funny, and smart, and he was charming in his own way.
"It's not the potion I'm worried about." Snape chuckled and tapped his wand against the board, the ingredients and directions appeared on the board. Snake hair, alligator spine, moonbeam, night flower, and olive oil are mixed together first.
Neville added two ingredients when they started sizzling and popping.
"I don't think that's supposed to be happening." Sparks began flying out of their cauldron, and Snape stood up just as the potion exploded everywhere. Neville didn't even think, he just grabbed Sahara and threw her on the ground before lying down on top of her.
"Oh, Merlin! Professor, we only added two ingredients!" Neville moaned and rolled off of Sahara. "Is he going to be okay?" Sahara was sure that not many males in the class would have protected their partner, especially one that was from another class.
"Think of it this way, sis, now you can finish the potion correctly." The Ravenclaws in the classroom snickered along with the Slytherins.
"Michael, that isn't funny! He could be seriously injured! If he hadn't of thrown me on the ground this would be me!" Michael stopped laughing then. No matter what, his sister was his first priority, and knowing that Neville saved her didn't sit well with him. Guys didn't just save girls to save them, unless they were gay. There was a reason, and if that klutz thought he had a chance with his sister, he had another think coming.
"Mister Longbottom is going to be fine. He's going to be in an immense amount of pain, but he's going to be fine. I have some ointment that can be applied to the burns and boils." Sahara started to take off his robes to see if the potion seeped through and got to that skin too.
"Sahara, do you really think you have to take off his clothes?" Michael wasn't happy by his sisters' actions. Why would anyone take Longbottom's clothes off? There was no reason to undress the boy. Before anyone could say another word, another potion exploded.
"Finnigan, why did your potion explode?"
"If I knew, it wouldn't have exploded." His explosion was more of a blast of pressure. Snape felt his ribs to see if anything was broken, nothing was so he looked around for Seamus' partner.
"Where's Michelle?"
"If I knew…" Snape nodded. Finnigan had gotten saddled with some new student that happened to be a flake.
"Are you okay?" Seamus looked up at the voice and saw Wendy Vannessa. The girl gave him butterflies, and any girl that gave him butterflies was untrustworthy.
"Fine." The sharp answer and tone of voice threw Wendy off. He always gave her nasty looks and always used clipped tones.
"I was only asking how you were. No need to-."
"I said I was fine." Harry looked over at Seamus, then at Wendy. What was going on? Seamus was nice to everyone, and Wendy was only being nice.
"Hey, Seamus, where's the flake?" Seamus snorted, a sound that told Harry that Seamus wasn't mad. His partner barely showed up, ever. No one saw her around Hogwarts. It was like she only existed about once every blue moon.
"Only Merlin knows. I don't really care either." Harry laughed and Seamus went back to work. He may not have a reliable partner, but he would make this damn potion, and correctly.
"What's his story?" Wendy hoped she sounded casual, but thought she failed horribly.
"Seamus?" At Wendy's nod Harry shrugged. "I don't know what you mean."
"Well, does he have a girlfriend? Any family nearby? Run ins with the bobbies?" Harry almost laughed, but caught it at a grin.
"He's single, his family lives in London, and he's no criminal."
"Does he want a girlfriend?"
"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Harry was highly amused by this whole conversation, mostly because he knew that Seamus didn't trust her.
"He doesn't like me. I'm not his type." Harry almost told her that Seamus didn't have a type, but he realized that the statement wouldn't make Wendy feel any better.
"Well, I can't help." Harry looked over at Blaise and Veronica. I have my own problems.
"Okay, Hermione, everything is ready."
"Everything?" Hermione felt empty, but said nothing. How were they going to help anyway? She didn't even know what was wrong with her. "Music, outfits, routines, questionnaires?" Pansy and Veronica looked uncomfortable for a moment then decided to be honest.
"Well, with everything you had going on we decided to help."
"And, well, we did everything we could. We just wanted to do what we could for a friend." Hermione felt tears fill her eyes as she looked at Pansy and Veronica.
"Thanks. You guys are awesome. Let's get the word out so we have costumers." Hermione hugged Ginny, Pansy, and Veronica before heading to the owlery.
Draco was heading to the Quidditch Pitch to watch Slytherins compete for the coveted Quidditch positions. He had been named Captain of the Slytherin team, and Seeker. It was hard to believe school only started two weeks ago.
"We have company." Blaise nodded toward the direction of the stands and Draco followed his gaze.
"Tryouts are closed, Potter. Slytherins only."
"Dream on, Malfoy. We have competition." Harry handed Draco the flyer he found in the Gryffindor common room.
"Hogwarts Dolls?" Draco read the paper quickly then handed it to Blaise. "Who do you think it is?"
"There are only a couple of people smart, savvy, and hot enough to do something like this."
"That's what I thought. Hermione and Ginny are behind this." Draco thought it was brilliant that the girls were doing this, he just hoped Hermione didn't plan on participating because he wouldn't allow that.
"Ginny is not shaking it for the male population of Hogwarts. She's just not." Harry laughed and patted Blaise on the shoulder.
"Try telling that to Ginny. She's going to do what she's going to do."
"Thanks, Harry. Don't mention this to the girls."
"Wouldn't dream of it." Harry left Draco and Blaise to the tryouts.
"They're sneaky. Very, very sneaky." Draco thought back to all the times that the girls had acted weird, and thought it all made sense now. Then again, who would have thought that Hermione Granger was head of an underground gentleman's club?
"Yeah." He would do what he had to do, but Ginny was not going to do anything for anyone but him. Blaise would pay his entire heritance if he had to, but no way was she going to be a Hogwarts Doll.
Draco walked into the common room and heard quiet sobbing. There was a fire going and Hermione was bawling her eyes out. The sobs were rocking her body, and although Hermione was only crying quietly, he knew she was barely holding on.
"Hermione?" Hermione looked up and Draco saw the surprise. She didn't want him to see her like this. For some reason it hurt that she didn't want to share everything with him, even the horribly sad times. Then her expression changed and Draco sat down on the couch, pulling Hermione onto his lap, so she was straddling him.
"They're really gone, Draco. They're never coming back. They're not going to be there when I get home. They're not going to be there with me when I get married. Or have kids… They really are dead." Draco help Hermione as violent sobs took over, and she buried her head in his shoulder. Draco gently rocked back and forth while Hermione cried. He didn't say anything, mostly because he didn't know what to say to make her stop crying, but also because he knew there was nothing he could say to make the pain go away. He'd seen his mother when Lucius was taken to Azkaban, he could only imagine what she would have been like if he had died. "I didn't even get to say good-bye!" Draco kissed Hermione's head and murmured, "I know. I know."
"I'm alone." Hermione was thinking of everything her parents were going to miss in her life, and everything that she was going to miss that they did. She felt hollow, like she had nothing left to give, or gain. She felt soulless. How was she supposed to go on when she didn't even get to say good-bye? She didn't get to hug them one more time, or to kiss them one more time. She didn't have the chance to now either.
"You're not alone. I'm here for you."
"For now. What about later. What about forever and always?" Draco just held Hermione. She was right. He probably wouldn't be there for her forever and always. Did he even want to be? Did he want to marry her? He'd never thought of marrying anyone. Then again, he'd never held a girl when she was crying. He'd never held a girl period.
"It won't always hurt this bad." Hermione just sobbed against him and he hoped he would be there for as long as she wanted him. He didn't want anything to happen to ruin anything between them. Nothing would be more horrible than losing Hermione. Nothing.