Disclaimer: I own Jack.
A/N Yes yes yes, I know that Draco's mother's name is Narcissa, I HAVE read the books too, but hey, if people are allowed to change Blaise Zabini's gender without anyone caring, can I pulease be allowed a little artistic liscense? Read up on the myth about Persephone and Hades, I thought it was fitting for Draco's mother.
Thanks to the reviewers. Good luck with school guys, I'm finally a big senior! Yeah!
Hermione woke slowly the next day. She pulled the bed curtains away and softly padded across the floor. She slipped on a robe and poured herself a cup of coffee from the tray that had been left for her by a servant. She walked back across the room and pulled the drapes aside from one of the windows and glanced out the window. She had a view of the other side of the manor, intricate gardens leading all the way to the front gate a ways down the hill the mansion sat atop of.
Leisurely sipping her coffee she watched as Draco exited the front door. He was wearing a pair of black sweatpants and a grey sweatshirt as he began to jog down the hill in the early hours of the morning. A light fog had crept in and Hermione quickly lost sight of him as he continued down the path. It appeared quite cool outside for late August, so she decided to take an early morning stroll. She pulled on one of her favorite sweaters, an oversized black acrylic one that had been her mother's (she had rescued it from the clutches of the elves throwing away her old clothes.).
She made her way down the few flights of stairs and out the front door. Her slippers crunched on the gravel below as she walked a ways down the main path, then turned into one of the garden paths. The sun was streaking colors high above now as it welcomed in the official last day of summer. Tomorrow she and Draco would head into the city to catch the Hogwart's express.
Hermione moved slowly down the winding paths between overgrown mimosa trees and flower bushes. She admired the tropical flowers that somehow magically grew in the temperate climate of the manor. After walking a few more paths, she connected with the main drive once more and made her way back up to the manor. She rested on the first step leading up to the door and finished her coffee as she watched the end of the sunrise.
Stopping suddenly, she realized she heard footsteps approaching quickly. She glanced down and saw Draco's form emerging from the fog, which was quickly burning away in the sunlight. He stopped when he reached the circle drive around the fountain in front. He stared at her as he approached.
"You're up early," he said as he took a seat next to her.
"Looks like I'm finally caught up on my sleep, I'm back on my normal schedule now," she responded, watching the sky. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him wipe sweat off his forehead.
"Do you run every morning?" Hermione inquired.
He nodded, "Must keep in shape."
They sat in silence for a few moments.
"I'm not a mudblood you know," Hermione said, shattering the silence.
"Oh, you're not are you?" he said with a raised eyebrow.
"Your mother told me that empaths can only be half-bloods. We made a potion that told me who my real father is," Hermione explained.
"Who is he?" Draco asked.
"A death eater who's locked up in Azkaban for the rest of his life," Hermione said bluntly. Draco turned and stared at her. She met his gaze.
"I see," he said softly, "So, you'll never know him?"
"Oh, I know him. During 5th year, in the Department of Mysteries, he was there. He was one of the escaped death eaters. He almost killed me," Hermione said.
"Welcome to the world of pure-blood families," Draco said with a hint of humor.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked.
"Everything is so complicated. So and so tried to kill his kid who is pregnant with his nephew who was actually switched at birth and now has an evil twin trying to kill them and steal their husband who's actually a long-lost brother," Draco teased, "It's all like some big soap opera of cousins and family grudges. Just be glad you're only half, when you're whole it takes a whole lot of memory to know who's family, foe, or banished."
Hermione smiled, "I'll keep that in mind."
"So are you ready to return to school?" Draco changed the subject.
"Yes, I think I am. I'm ready to see my friends again and get back to classes," Hermione answered, "You?"
"Well, I guess, I just have so much CLAW stuff to keep up with along with classes, I'll have to be careful not to fall behind," Draco explained.
"If you need some help with school stuff, I'll lend you a hand. Just ask and I'll help you catch up," Hermione said easily.
"Really?" Draco asked suspiciously.
"Really," Hermione said with a grin.
"I figured that once we were back at school you'd forget all about me and ignore me like always," Draco accused.
"Puhease! How can I ignore that ass?" Hermione kidded. Draco gave a small laugh, remembering back at the bookstore.
"I'm glad," Draco said happily, "I like your company."
Hermione nodded in agreement as they stood and went into the manor and up to the grand hall for breakfast. Her muscles immediately tensed as they entered. Lucius was back. He stood as they entered. Hermione followed Draco to the end of the table where his father was seated. He sat down and Hermione began to follow suit.
"Draco," Lucius hissed. Hermione stopped immediately, "Have you no manners? Show the lady proper courtesy."
"Of course, my apologies father," Draco said stiffly as he stood and pulled out Hermione's chair for her and pushed it in when she was seated.
"Ms. Dolohov, you deserve proper courtesy, my son is still learning what it is to be a gentleman," Lucius explained coyly.
"Please don't call me that sir," Hermione said quietly.
"Why not? You are the daughter of a once powerful and still rich man," Lucius inquired.
"My father was Jarrett Granger," Hermione said.
Lucius nodded, "I see. My wife has explained to me about your heritage, as well as your... gifts." Hermione stared at her food. "So, are you eager about the Return to Eden campaign?" Lucius asked, changing to a worse subject.
"I will do what I must when the time comes," Hermione said.
"Well, trust me my dear, the new world will be wonderful. Witches and wizards all over will no longer have to worry about keeping our world secret. New territories can be opened to already crowded magical peoples and wild animal populations can be allowed to increase. All people will be magical, so prejudice from the past can be forgotten," Lucius said proudly.
"In my eyes, almost everyone had already forgotten prejudice. Only a few still grasp it for reasons unknown," Hermione said, controlling her anger. Lucius stared at her for a moment then decided to continue.
"Have you ever heard of communism Hermione?" he asked.
"Of course," she answered.
"And what do you think about it?" he continued.
"It's a good theory, but it can never work. All communist countries became horrible. Their people died left and right because of their own actions and decision. Other countries feared them because they did not want the same government to come into power and bring about the same fate on their people," Hermione said.
"Have you ever met a communist?" he inquired.
"No," she responded softly.
"But you believe they are bad because..." he began.
"It's what I've been taught," she answered.
Lucius nodded. "It's what you've been taught," he echoed, "Hermione, until last year, I had never met a muggle. Never spoken to one. I didn't like them, why? Because my father showed me about their wars, about their atom bombs and holocausts. He showed me about rape and starvation and abortion. Now, I'm sure there are good sides to communism, but the bad easily outweighs the good. It is flawed and has died out. It served its time and now is just a memory. The muggle world is the same. It's a nice theory, but they have finally looped around and are now destroying themselves, it's only a matter of time. They've had their era, we need to get out while we still can because we deserve to live on, we've made our world apart from theirs and it works, unlike theirs, its time for our dominion."
Hermione stared at him. What he said could be true, but everything sounds like it could be true. "Mr. Malfoy," Hermione began, "Have you ever been in love?" He looked at her for a minute, and then nodded. "Do you agree people suffer because of love?" He nodded again. "Near the end of every life, their husband or wife will die and they experience intense pain for the rest of their life knowing the one they loved is gone forever. People fall in love everyday, and then one person decides they aren't in love anymore, then breaks it off and the other is crushed for months. People love each other, but people die. Love probably causes more pain than good in many ways, but people aren't going to stop loving. People won't just have a vote one day and decided to stop loving each other because it doesn't seem to work."
"Well put," Lucius said after a minute, "But you must understand, muggles are failing. They've lived and loved and now are lost." He stood and left the room. Hermione slammed her fist on the table after the door closed, making a nearby glass shatter.
"Hey, hey, calm down," Draco said placing his hand on Hermione's back.
"How dare he!" she hissed, "Calling me Dolohov, what nerve!"
"It's our last day here. Just calm down, you'll live," Draco said. She looked at him and shook her head. They stood to leave.
"Dolohov, what nerve," Hermione muttered under her breathe. Draco walked her back to her room, talking to her about several random subjects to get her mind off his father. It worked. Back in her room, Draco sat on the bed and watched as she packed up the remainder of her things. Elves appeared and left with the trunk once it was packed.
"Wanna help me pack?" he asked as she sat down. She nodded and they left the room together down toward his room. Once inside she sat on the couch as he stacked several books to go in his trunk. They shrunk once inside. (A/N Come on! All the things you need for one year couldn't fit in one trunk, those crafty wizards shrink everything) Hermione examined his room as he continued to pack. She eventually came to the curtain he had told her to stay away from.
"May I enter?" she asked him. He looked up at her from where he had lain out several sets of clothes on his bed. He looked down for a minute, and then shrugged his shoulders.
"If you feel you must," he said, turning back to his clothing. Hermione grinned. She pulled back the curtain and looked inside. A small desk stood in the middle covered with carefully organized paint bottles. Several brushes littered the floor along with blank canvases stacked together. She slowly began to examine his work.
The first painting she came to had barely been begun. It was a slight outline of a horse with a beach in the background. She went to the next one. It was a pretty realistic replica of a Hogwart's classroom, complete with students hard at work. She noticed that a few of them turned pages, while one in the back kept throwing paper wads at a girl in front. He had enchanted his paintings! She looked back at the table of paints and found a special bottle with a spell written on the label. An artist would coat the painting with the enchanted paint, then recite a spell, then the paintings would come to life. She noticed another painting in the back with a sheet draped over it. She noticed freshly opened paint around it and figured it was what he was working on at the moment.
Hermione gasped after she pulled off the sheet. "It's turning out quite nicely," she heard Draco say behind her. She whipped around and saw him standing by the curtain, with a certain smirk. "It's almost done, just a few more shadow effects and it'll be perfect," he said.
"What made you want to paint me?" Hermione asked as she examined the almost exact copy of herself.
"I paint what I think about, lately, I've been thinking about you," Draco said.
"It's lovely," Hermione said. The painting was miraculous. In the painting she was sitting in a chair, leaning on a desk to her left thumbing through a book, small smile on her face.
"Thanks," Draco said as he turned and left. She placed the sheet back over the painting and followed him into his room. He shut his trunk and let a servant quickly retrieve it. He rested on his bed and looked at Hermione where she leaned against the wall.
"What now?" he asked.
"Well, I'm going to grab something to eat, then read a book," Hermione responded as she turned to leave. He watched her leave. As the entryway clicked shut, he fell back on his bed and ran his fingers through his loose hair.
"Get a hold of yourself Draco," he thought to himself. You're going crazy over her. This is your last night with her alone, don't waste it." He stood and went through the curtain. He grabbed his palette and went to work on finishing his masterpiece.
A few hours passed and Hermione finished her book. She sat on the balcony of the room she had found a few days ago and stared at the mountains. Sunset would begin in an hour or so.
Suddenly a gust of wind hit her face. She glanced in the direction where it had come from and found Draco hovering gracefully on his Firebolt 3X (a new model that had been introduced during 6th year).
"Come on," he said, wafting over to the balcony.
"WHAT?!" Hermione exclaimed. "I'm not getting on that flying death trap!"
"Oh please, it's perfectly safe, plus, you're flying with the best there is so there's no need to worry," Draco said, extending a hand. Hermione glared at him.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked.
"Trust me," he said. She rolled her eyes a little, but grabbed his hand and let him pull her onto the flying hazard. She sat in front of him where he could hold onto her in case she lost her balance. He placed one hand in front of her to steer and secured the other around her waist. She gave him an invisible glare for this, but said nothing. If it kept her from dying....
They shot off into the distance. Hermione couldn't stop the small scream that escaped her lips and trees whizzed by a hundred feet below. She heard Draco chuckle, "Don't worry, I've got you." She calmed a little at this. They flew for another forty-five minutes or so then Draco slowly began to descend. They came to rest on a secluded beach. Warm waves washed over the sand and crashed against rocks in the distance. A few seagulls flew above, searching for food to steal from them, but quickly gave up hope and left.
"What do you think?" Draco asked as Hermione looked out at the water.
"It's beautiful," Hermione said softly. The sea air breezed softly and lifted her hair off her shoulders.
"I thought you'd like it," Draco whispered. Hermione sat in the sand near the water's edge and allowed the waves to tickle her feet as the sun set directly ahead. Draco sat beside her and they watched as the sun began its slow descent into the earth, bidding farewell with brilliant streaks of red and orange glimmering off the deep blue of the ocean.
When it neared its end, the breeze picked up a little. Hermione regretted taking off her sweater and shivered a little. Draco noticed and took off his cloak, holding it around Hermione with his arm. She pulled it around her arms as he let his arm rest around her back just above her waist.
"You know your father doesn't approve of this," Hermione said as she watched the waves.
"He didn't before, but he does now," Draco said.
"Now what?" Hermione asked.
"That you're half-blood, that you're related to Dolohov," He explained.
Hermione sighed, "Just great," she said, "Why does my genetic father being a wizard change anything?"
"Well, it's like this," Draco began, "It's like you're a communist who's in love..." Hermione laughed and punched his arm.
He laughed too and rubbed his arm, "So violent!"
"You're teasing me!" Hermione accused smiling.
"No, I'd be too scared to tease the brightest witch of our age," he teased again.
"Shut up!" Hermione responded laughing, pushing him again. He wrapped his arms around her tighter and pulled her closer. Hermione caught a little of his thoughts. This was their last night together. He didn't want to screw things up again. He loved being around her and didn't want this to end.
She looked up and caught him staring into her eyes. She stared back.
"Do you believe in love Hermione Granger?" he asked softly.
"I do," she said back lightly. He nodded and smiled, making her giggle a little. She turned her head back toward the sea, but he put his hand on her cheek and turned her back to face him. She rubber her thumb on his bicep where her hand rested. "I do," she repeated. Draco gently leaned in and kissed her. Hermione ever so lightly kissed back. She listened to the roar of the sea and felt his hands as they softly stroked her neck and massaged her back.
She slowly pulled back and looked down at the sand. Draco's hand relaxed a little and she looked back into his eyes. She ran her finger up his jaw line and rested her hand there.
"I do," she said again.
