Chapter 15/./ The Prophecy
"You wanted to see me, Professor?" I asked, as I entered Dumbledore's office. It had been nearly a week since I had seen Potter and Granger in the hall, and I had successfully avoided both of them. I noticed another person sitting a bit away from me, closer to Dumbledore's desk, and was suddenly shocked.
Who else would be here but the person I had tried hardest to avoid?
"Ah, Mr. Malfoy. You remember the incident at St. Mungo's, the night Miss Granger returned." I nodded. The memory was still fresh in my mind, though it was missing a few parts that I knew were vital. "Well.. you are both part of an age old prophecy."
"A prophecy, sir? What is it about?" He chuckled at her impatience.
"I am getting there, Ms. Granger. Perhaps, you would like to read it yourself?"
"Read it? But I thought that-"
"I'll read it," I said, interrupting her smoothly. Dumbledore smiled, his sapphire eyes twinkling mysteriously. 'I
hate it when he does that,' I thought to myself.
"When he does what?" Hermione asked, looking at me for the first time. I was shocked, but I was sure I hadn't said it out loud. I opened my mouth to reply, but Dumbledore shoved an old looking, open book into my hands.
"Read it," he commanded. The book looked older than Dumbledore himself. The binding was a deep brown, as though it had been light once, but darkened with age, and felt smooth against my hands. The paper inside was a dark yellow color, and the edges of them were ripped. There were burn marks on several of the pages, but the page I was to read was clear of all discolorings and blemishes. I was confused, though, because there was nothing written on the page.
"Professor, there's nothing-"
"Look again," he said, softly. I did as he asked, and sure enough, in a loopy, golden print, the prophecy was being written on the page.
Two individuals
Blessed and cursed, as they are
Destined to do the work of angels
A sickness like which no one has ever seen
Will bring the two together
From then forward, new powers will spring forth
And they must choose the side to win
An unearthly battle, foes from the beginning of time
Two blessed, cursed individuals
And the decision rests on you
I didn't know when it had started reading out loud, but the echoes of the booming voice were fading out as the book closed suddenly in my hand, and leapt to Dumbledore's desk, on top of the clutter which already resided there. I cast a glance at Granger, just as she was doing the same. We shrugged simultaneously, amazed by the display.
"Professor, what does this mean..?"
"It means everything. I want you to both keep a watch out for the new powers as they begin to show themselves, report anything to me. You both need to be on your guard at all times. This is only the beginning. We will discuss this more on Monday, promptly after dinner. Have a good weekend."
"Are we allowed to go to Hogsmeade?" Granger asked as I rose from my seat. He shook his head sadly. "Oh, okay. Good night Professor."
I left the room without another word. Granger followed me down the stairs, and tried to speak to me as we headed back towards the common room. I stopped to answer her, but suddenly, we were found by Potter.
"Hey, Hermione, how's it going?"
"Oh, hi, Harry, it's... interesting, I just met with Dumbledore about-" She turned to see if it was okay with me if she told him, but I was already gone, disappeared without a trace.
"That's odd," Harry remarked. "I could've sworn Malfoy was just standing there."
I went to the library, to do an essay for Defense Against the Dark Arts on vampires. It was eerily quiet, and it felt like I was the only person in the room. My heartbeat, for some reason, began to quicken, and I licked my dry lips as I look warily around the room. Dismissing the feeling that someone was watching me, I turned back to the passage I was reading.
Vampires sneak up on their victims by either turning invisible, or flicking. Flicking is a term often used to describe the action of vanishing quickly from one spot and appearing in another spot close to that of disappearance. It is a diversionary tactic, used in
I was startled out of my reading by the sound of a book falling a few shelves behind my secluded table, and a muttered curse word. I wondered if I was imagining things, when suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I could feel eyes boring into the back of my skull, and it took all of my willpower not to curse them without looking. I turned, slowly, in my chair, and found Ginny Weasley, leaning against the edge of a bookshelf with her arms folded.
"Weasley," I growled. "Why do you insist upon sneaking up on me?"
"She's looking for you, you know," she began, unfolding her arms and walking around the square table to take a seat across from me. I rolled my eyes.
"Who?" I asked, feigning innocence. Something close to a growl came from her pursed lips, and I nearly laughed.
"Hermione, you twit. After you disappeared, she was worried sick. It amazes me that she didn't think to check here, but..." I shrugged.
"I have nothing to say to Granger, Weasley."
"Oh, you have more to say than you think, Mr. Malfoy," she said, giving me a curious look, before standing from the table and bidding me good night. I shook my head at the retreating back of the redhead, before turning back to the book I was reading, All About Vampires, Edition 3. I tried to continue my reading, but the Weaslette's words kept invading my thoughts.
After you disappeared, she was worried sick.
I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. I wrote down some of the Vampire war tactics on my note sheet, but-
She's looking for you, you know.
"Ugh, shut up!" I groaned, getting a reproachful look from Madam Pince, who had come to tell me the library was closing. I asked to borrow the book, and she said it would be fine, as she pushed me out the door. I looked back to ask her something, but the door slammed in my face. Grumbling, I headed towards the Great Hall, for dinner.
When I passed the Charms corridor, I heard soft whispers. Curious, I stopped to listen.
"I don't know why, but it seems like he's avoiding me."
"Oh, I'm sure you'll find him. Have you checked the library?" Weasley said, telling Granger where she had found me.
"Oh! I forgot the library!" Ginny chuckled.
"Well, check there, and if he's not there, go to bed, okay?"
"Okay," she said. "Ginny, you're a lifesaver."
"No problem, Hermy. Don't forget to write that essay!" she called as Hermione headed for the library. Weasley came around the corner, and spotted me. "Malfoy," she said, but I had already turned and walked quickly back to the dormitory.
When she found me, I was standing alone on our balcony. My lips were blue from the cold, and I was thumping my hand against the railing to regain feeling in it. She stood beside me, and we stayed like that for a while, in silence. I looked over at her, and saw that her eyes were red, but I wasn't sure if it was from crying or the cold.
"Draco..." she whispered softly, but I just turned away and looked at the grounds again.
"How do you do it?" I asked abruptly.
"Do what?" She came over and stood beside me.
"Go on living like everything is normal. After what Potter and Weasley did to you, after what Voldemort did to you, after losing your best... the guy you loved? And I'll never understand how you forgave them for abandoning you."
"I didn't love Ron, Draco. We were best friends, nothing more. As for Harry, we are friends, yes, but I don't trust them the way I used to, and he is no longer my best friend. Ginny and I, though we appear close, are nowhere near as close as we were before all of this. Things are not always as they appear. You, especially, should understand that."
"I do, I guess. And when you were kissing Potter?"
"A misunderstanding."
"Aha." My heart jumped, relieved.
"Why did you do it?"
"Do what?"
"All the things you did while I was sick."
"Because no one deserves what happened to you. Especially after losing their best friend," I said, quietly. "And also, because I am a cruel, heartless bastard."
"I didn't mean that."
"Then why did you say it?" I asked, turning to look at her. "That was rather tactless of you, if you didn't mean it."
"Because I was scared. Because I realized I had fallen for you, over all the time we'd spent together since before the war began, and I just knew you didn't feel the same way." Her eyes had filled up with tears, and she turned to the look out over the grounds. "I just knew that you could never love me, and it left me broken hearted, and angry. And you were acting so nice, giving me hope, and I couldn't take it."
"Did it ever occur to you, that maybe I do return your feelings, Hermione?" She shook her head, still not looking at me. "Well... I do."
"You don't have to lie to me to make me feel better, you know." I took her hand, so cold, and pressed it softly
against my lips. She looked over at me, surprised.
"I'm not lying to you."
"Draco, what are you trying to-"
"Hermione, I love you." The snow stopped falling, all of a sudden, as she looked at me with her wide brown eyes. And then, before I could blink, she'd pressed her lips against mine, and the world stopped spinning.
But I wasn't complaining.
A/N: YAY! Okay, no time for answering reviews this time (sorry), but I know it seems a bit strange that Hermione just acts normal, even after the whole rape thing. Believe me, there is a method to my madness, I promise. Hope you like it!
Until next time (when more will be explained)!