Chapter 3
To Hermione, it seemed like forever had passed. It was really only three hours
before Draco returned. One might think she would have been relieved to see
Draco after spending so much time alone in a dark corner of an unused wing of a
large and austere manor, but no, Hermione experienced grave dread as soon as her
eyes found Dracos face. He sported what looked to be a fresh bruise, and it
appeared to be turning a dark blue-ish green.
"Come on, I need to take you out of here before he finds you. We have an old
cottage on the edge of the estate that he never visits. I guess I have some
explaining to-"
"Holy shit Draco! Before we go, come here for a second!" Hermione whispered
quietly in shocked awe at what seemed to be a normal aspect of her cousins life.
Draco stepped forward tentatively and twitched slightly as Hermione raised her
hand to his new wound.
"Dont worry; it'll be alright. Give me a second." She said gently.
Draco suddenly felt the skin over his eye warm up and then cool rapidly.
"What the fuck did you do?" Draco questioned, unsure, as he reached up and felt
that his face no lounger throbbed with the feel of his fathers fist.
"Elementary, my dear Draco." Hermione joked quietly. "I've spent the better part of
this year learning a bit of wandless magic, and you'll notice that your bruise is
gone but the appearance of a bruise remains. I figured it would be safest if
Lucius can still see it. It should disappear naturally in a couple of days."
True enough, as Draco stepped over to look into his reflection on an old silver
lamp, the bruise was still there. He smiled up at Hermione before springing into
action.
"Come on! We dont have much time before father comes looking for me." Draco
grabbed Hermiones arm and proceeded to escort her down yet another set of
hallways.
Once they reached what Hermione could only assume to be a secret door in the
wall, Draco opened it with a few hushed words, and they began to rush across the
Malfoy estate.
"Through here!" Draco whispered as they reached what looked to be a small wood.
They reached a small clearing in the woods where small little cottage sat.
Hermione could hear a little babbling brook and some birds singing in the
distance. She laughed a little to herself; the cottage didnt quite fit the
dismal mood of the present, and she had the sudden feeling of being lost in the
desert.
"Its an oasis." she said and smiled at Draco.
"Thats what I always called it as a child." He let out a bit of a sigh as he
opened the front door with a key taken from his pocket. "It does give off that
feeling, doesnt it?"
"Yeah, it does. Now, not to be rude, but before you tell me what the hell has
been going on here, it would be awesome if I could get something to eat. Im
starved." Hermione said as she stretched her arms over her head upon entering
the Oasis.
"Umm, yeah. No problem. Theres food in the cupboards and that cold box thingy."
Draco said, sounding a bit more like himself.
"Fridge, Draco. Its a fridge." Hermione laughed at her cousin.
"Yeah whatever. I have never quite understood Moms fascination with Muggle-"
"Mmmm! I found a Kraft dinner. It seems like Narcissa likes muggle food as well.
Awesome!"
Hermione began to prepare the meal, cutting up some veggies for dip that she
found in the fridge. She made two plates up in case Draco was hungry too. The
whole meal took about 20 minutes to put together. By the time she turned around
with the plates of food, she found a stony faced Draco, who was busy staring off
into nothing. Hermione snapped; sudden anger towards her uncle flared, and she
dropped the plates down on the table.
"Talk." she said, her voice authoritative and stern.
"He wasnt always like this- you have to know that. He was happy and loving and a
wonderful father and husband once." Dracos voice was slow and monotonous.
Hermione squeezed his hand encouragingly over the table, knowing it wasnt easy
for him. This was especially true, as Draco didnt know her very well yet, and he
was voicing his secrets.
"What happened? What changed him? Was it Voldemort? I heard he was really a spy
for the light, but, seeing all this, it couldnt be true."
"No, hes the way he is because of me."
"No way. Dont you dare let yourself think that, Draco. Nothing you could have
done deserves this kind of abuse!" Hermione almost screamed in shock.
"No, you dont understand, it was me. Father is a spy for the light, and that
will never change. Everything was fine up until fourth year. You must understand
he is very set in his ways. In my fourth year, I found something out about
myself, and I thought that, seeing as the wizarding world is so accepting of
such a thing, my father would be too."
"What is it Draco? I can probably guarantee it wasnt your fault."
"No, if I had not said anything, everything would be different. My mom would be
safe and so would you. I'm gay, Hermione. The knowledge of this seemed to
have broken my father. It wasnt always as bad as this. At first, he wouldnt
believe me, and he started throwing women at me, locking me in rooms with women
twice my age, who were paid to turn me back into his son, as he liked to say.
Once he realized it wasnt working, he gave up on me and reverted to this. He
blames mother for coddling me as a child, but I know thats not why Im this way.
He tried to make me ashamed of who I am, but I refuse to be disgusted with
myself. I am really and truly comfortable with what I am. Im just so sorry that
I didnt wait until I was seventeen and out of this world of dinner parties and
wealth- his world. This whole place is cloying except for Mom. She's everything
to me."
"Oh, Draco its alright!" Hermione told him as she drew the now teary-eyed,
blond-haired boy into her arms. Draco began to sob softly. "I will get you and
Narcissa out of here. Its not your fault that Lucius is the way he is. Dont you
ever blame yourself! I know somewhere in muggle London it is safe we can go: a
place where he wont be able to find you."
"NO!" Draco yelled suddenly, surprising Hermione.
"What? Whats wrong?"
"We cant leave. He'd find us.The estate is wired so that we cannot step foot off
the land without him knowing. I dont know what magic he used to rig it, but we
cant leave. It would be bad, really bad. Dont make me leave. I cant. I wont! Oh
god, you shouldnt be here. We have to get you out of here! You said London.
You have a place to go in London. I'll tell mother to help you. She can help you
escape!"
Draco talked a mile a minute before Hermione could get one word in.
"Draco. Draco, calm down. Im not going anywhere. Well figure this out properly
and get you and your mother out of here, alright? I will talk to Narcissa, and
we will figure it out."
"No, Hermione. You dont know him like I do. He is dangerous. If he found out
about you being here, he would use you against me. He would hurt you just to get
at me. I would not be able to handle someone else- my cousin- getting hurt
because of ME!"
"If I get hurt, Draco, its going to be my own damn fault. Dont you dare blame
yourself for any trouble I get myself into. This day will not be the end of the
world, and time wont stop if I leave. But everything wont be alright if I go.
However, I think that if I stay and help, maybe, just maybe, I can help you
break free. I see you at school, showing everyone a strong face, but youre
really hurting, and you have to see that maybe I can help! Now, Honey, are you
going to let me stay and help, or do I walk out this door right now?"
AN: a little cliff-hanger. My wonderful beta Luthien Black tells me the last paragraph sounds a little dr.phil but just in case other thought that too I just want to say that I was trying to portray Hermione as a little deeper than just the book worm, she's oberservant and whats to say she didn't gain a little wisdom from observing people. Hope you liked this chapter. I should have another for you tommorro!
-Sequoia