Ch 6: Arriving At Hogwarts
Hermione awoke the next morning to find that the car was empty. She looked at her muggle watch and found that it was almost 10 in the morning. Everybody else would, inevitably, be in the dining car. She got up and after straightning her robes, headed to meet them.
When she entered the dining car, she found Ginny, Harry, Neville and Cho sitting in a far corner. Ginny had Emma sitting on her lap.
"Morning, hermione" Ginny said, looking up. "Sorry about not letting you know where we were goin...we just didnt want to wake you"
"That's quite alright, Gin. I don't mind." Hermione smiled,"Actually, it was nice to sleep in for once and have a complete night's rest" She sat at the last remaining chair at thier table and they began to eat quietely.
A while later, after breakfast had finished, the group began to gather thier things since Hogwarts was growing ever closer. The train turned one final time and the breath taking castle came into view. It was exactly as Hermione had remembered. the tall towers looming high over the quidditch pitch, which dazzled with the noon-time sun.
As the passengers got off of the train and headed into the Great Hall, they were greeted with a familiar face.
"Welcome back" The voice bellowed "I hope that your years since leaving our school, has gone well. I would like to ask that the women return to their old dormitories, as well as you young men. The entrances will open only if your portrait recognizes you and fear not...for they have been given new photographs. I will see you all once again, here at 6:00 this evening for dinner and festivities. Enjoy your day" The tall man, with the long whit beard finally sta as everyone marveled in the fact that Dumbledore was still alive and kicking. He had been ancient when they had attended school.
Ch 7: Meeting Malfoy
After a delicious lunch and hours spent recalling old memories with thier old professors, Ginny, Harry, and Hermione said thier goodbye's and headed to the Gryffindor tower. Hermione had left Emma in the Great Hall with Madam Pomfrey who had agreed to run a small daycare for the returning students. When they arrived in the common room, Hermione was shocked to see how little it had changed. The only difference was that there were more photographs on the walls of more recent Head boys and girls...Hermione's picture was among them. She and Ginny then decided to go up to the girl's dormitories and left Harry in the common room.
Thier dormitory hadn't changed much either. There were still the same four poster beds, although there were a few more than she remembered. Hermione then walked across the room to where her bed had been and found a small bassinet set up beside it. All of thier belongings had already been brought up. Suddenly, Hermione began to get that feeling of dread again.
"Gin, I don't think I can do this" she said "I mean, what if I run into Ron...I'm just so scared..."
"Hermione, don't worry about that. We're all here for you no matter what. Ron won't ever hurt you again."
"I didn't think he'd ever hurt me to begin with."
"No one did" Ginny replied softly. There was then a long silence before Ginny said, "He changed, you know. He was never like that before..."
"I know. I just would like to know why...that's all"
"Mione, come on...let's go for a walk." Hermione then glanced at her watch. it was already almost 5:15.
"I, uh, can't Gin." she said, "I mean , I just want to be alone for a while...you know, gather my thoughts."
"ok...I guess I'll see you at dinner then" Ginny said leaving the room.
Hermione waited a few minutes to make sure that Ginny was gone before leaving to find Draco. She walked, almost mechanically to the room of requirement and as she aproached it, a wave of sadness came over her. It was the place where she and Ron had first been together passionately and that wasn't something that she was ready to think about again. She then gathered all of her courage and emotion and opened the door to see Draco Malfoy sitting in an armchair across the room.
He's changed she thought to herself as she looked him over. He still had the same white-blonde hair, but it was not slicked back as was his usual fashion. Instead, it hung loosely around his face and a few strands fell in front of his smokey gray eyes. As he stood, Hermione noticed that he had to be at least 6'0 tall. His build had also changed. He was no longer the stringy young boy he had once been, but he now seemed very muscular. His robed were shabby and Hermione could tell that they were hand-me-downs, because they hung loosely from his body.
"I've waited five years for this." Malfoy said as he shut the door behind Hermione. He then wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hungry kiss that was as if he had been starving for her lips. Hermione relaxed into his arms and felt the familiar security and warmth that she had so many years ago. "I still love you, Hermione. The thought of coming back to you has kept me alive." Then, running his finger along the forming scar on her face, he said, "I'm so sorry that I wasn't there to protect you."
Hermione finally found her voice and said, "Draco, where have you been all these years?" She then pulled away and looked deep into his eyes. "I . . . I thought that you . . . well, that you were dead"
"Technically, I was." he responded, "But, we'll talk about that later. Right now, all I want is to hold you in my arms...know that you are truly with me." He then pulled Hermione into another warm embrace. Hermione let all of her fears and pain drift away as she wrapped her arms around Draco. She nearly forgot about everything that had happened in the past.
A few moments later, Draco pulled away and led Hermione to a chair on the far sid of the room and sat across from her on another.
"I want you to know what happened." He said nervously. Hermione nodded, as he pulled something from his pocket. . . . . .
Ch 8: Malfoy's Story
Draco handed the photograph to Hermione. She looked at it, confused. "This is the picture you sent me. But why..."
"Look closely," Draco said, pointing to a very small figure almost hidden by a tree in the background. "You see that?"
"Yes...What is it? And what does it have to do with..."
Draco again interupted her thoughts. "That is Liam McPhearson. He was, shall I say, an avid fan of my father's. Anyway. he saw us together and, knowing who you were, reported to my father. Later that night, when I returned to my dormitory, there was a letter waiting for me. It was from my dad and it said that I must leave Hogwarts and sever all ties with you or it would put both of our lives in danger. I didn't want to endanger you, so for the next two weeks, I came up with a plan. My plan was to fake my own death, hoping that my father and McPhearson would then simply forget about me and you and I would soon be free to be together.
Well, apparently my father knew exactly what I was planning, because after I left Hogwarts, he had McPhearson track me down. I had to go into hiding as a muggle. I fled to the United States and lived under the alias of Joeseph K. Rowling. I had no money, so for the first two years I stayed at muggle shelters to survive. McPhearson was somehow always one step ahead of me though. He caught up with me quite a few times, but I always managed to escape.
Then, about a two years ago, he seemed to be off my trail, so I settled down in the muggle city of Los Angelus. I got a muggle job at a place called a gas station and was able to afford a small apartment. Then, after a few months living there, I got ahold of a daily prophet. I discovered that my father had recieved the kiss of death while in Azkaban. I knew that with him gone, it would be so much easier to get rid of McPhearson so that I could return to you. I knew that my father's death would make McPhearson search harder for me and after about 2 weeks, he found me.
He blamed me for everything that happened to my father. He said that if it wasnt for me, my father would have remained a well respected wizard and would have been let out of Azkaban. He was so angry that he nearly used magic in front of an entire street of muggles. I was able to get him into an alleyway where we deuled..." Hermione let out a small gasp as she let this all sink in and Draco continued, "The fight itself was actually rather short. I defeated him easily and then took his money so that I could return to England...to search for you. After a long journey, i discovered that you had married Weasley and were living in Hogsmeade. I began to watch you...to make sure you were well. With every fiber of my being, I had to stop myself from kicking the shit out of him every time her hit you. I knew that if I were to come to you too early, it would ruin everything. Then you left the bastard and I discovered that there was to be a reunion here at Hogwarts. I decided that my time had come. Though, every time that I tried to get to you to explain, you were buysy with something or caring for your daughter. I decided that in order to speak with you, I would have to get you alone. This was all I could think of to do that. I waited like a child eager to go for a test drive on his new broom. Finally today arrived and I knew that you would come. Although, I had a feeling of dread thinking that perhaps you thought it was a joke, in my heart, I knew deep down, that you would come. And you have."
Hermione looked silently at Draco who was searching her face for any sign of emotion. There was only a look of shock.
"Draco...this is a ... a lot to digest right now. I just, I need time to think." She said, standing to leave the room.
Draco put a retraining hand on her shoulder "Please, no matter what you decide, know that I still love you with all of my heart"
Hermione nodded solemnly and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. She walked mechanically toward the Gryffindor tower and when she was sure that Draco could not hear, dropped the photograph she was still clutching, and ran as fast as her legs would carry her.
She finally made it to the Gryffindor common room and continued sprinting toward the girl's dormitorites, when suddenly she felt herself falling, before everything went black. . . . . . . . .
