The Similarities of Love and Hate
By Jinxd n Cursed
Disclaimer: If I owned it, would I be writing fanfiction?
Chapter Sixteen
Deatheater
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The night air held a distinctive bite to it during the third week of November. It was neither truly fall nor truly winter. Instead, it was the bitter in between season. The bitter wind and clouds were reflected in the turbulent sky of the Great Hall as the massive throng of Hogwarts students trickled out of the room to their common rooms after supper.
Draco Malfoy cast a surreptitious glance over at the Gryffindor table to see if Hermione was still eating. Seeing that she was still seated between her constant body guards and picking at her chicken, he decided he still had time to finish his chocolate cake. As disgusting as it was to think about it, in the past few days he'd become as annoyingly protective of her as Potty and Weasel. Because of the pain she felt inside, he didn't want her to feel lonely and therefore made a point to be in the common room whenever she didn't have class so she had someone to talk to.
The emotions and feelings he associated with her were entirely different from anything he'd felt before. Not only did he feel protective of her but he truly cared for her and held her opinion in high regard. Unlike with his ex-girlfriends, he didn't want to push her to an extreme. Yes, he desired a physical relationship but it was not his top priority. The tender feelings he felt for her were confusing to say the very least.
Shrugging imperceptibly, he scraped the last few crumbs from his plate and strode swiftly down the corridor to the common room. Upon arrival, he flopped down on the couch and pulled out his Transfiguration text, determined to force Hermione from his mind. Distraction and denial were sometimes better than facing the heart of the matter. Soon he was engrossed in the reading and decided to put some of the theory into practice.
"Avis!" he shouted. Just as a fleet of twittering birds shot out of his wand, the portrait hole swung open and Hermione stepped through. The yellow canaries flew straight at the shell-shocked young woman.
"Draco!" she shouted angrily as they flew about her head, one of them tangling in her hair.
"Sorry! Didn't realize you were coming in!" he said. "Evanesco!"
They vanished instantly, leaving a disgruntled Hermione.
"Thanks," she grumbled, sitting next to him on the couch. She reached for her potions text, preparing to read for an essay that was due in nine weeks. As she turned resolutely to a page on the effect of stabilizing potions, he studied her face.
There was a wrinkle between her eyebrows as her brow furrowed in concentration. Her eyes were slightly squinted and she held her bottom lip between her teeth. Frantically, her pupils skated across the page, attempting to soak in every speck of knowledge in as little time as possible. The look was one of her most common: extreme academic concentration. He knew from experience that when she really got into reading, Hogwarts could cave in around her and she would pause only to wipe the dust off of her nose.
By conventional standards, she was not beautiful, he decided. Her skin was pale, her nose was pert, and her lips were thin. Other than her keen eyes, she was completely unassuming and plain. Despite this, Draco still found himself attracted to her, something he found quite mystifying. All of his previous girlfriends had been beautiful but dumb as a post. Then again, his relationship with Hermione was very different from his relationship with them so perhaps it made sense.
As he contemplated the wonders of his relationships, he felt a sharp, sudden pain in his left forearm. Looking down, he realized the mark burned blacker than normal. It was a summons.
"Draco, what is it?"
He turned to see Hermione's concerned face. "It burned," he said.
Her eyes widened in shock. "Then that means…" She turned away and covered her face with her hands. "You have to go. Go. I don't want to see you in those awful robes though."
"I don't want to go," he said, panic starting to grip him. "I don't want to go."
She turned back. "Draco, you have to. They'll kill you if you don't."
"I don't want to do this," he said. Tears of frustration and sadness sprang unwillingly to his eyes. He wiped them away furiously, trying to hide them from her. They showed weakness that he didn't want anyone to see, especially her.
She reached for his hand and used the other one to wipe the tears from his cheek. "You have to go. It's going to be okay though."
He laced his fingers with hers and looked down at their entwined hands. Her thumb ran soothingly over his. He was supposed to be the strong one, the male protector and yet she was the one urging him to be brave. If she could face what she had, why couldn't he suck it up and go to the meeting.
"Go," she said. "You have to."
He looked at her again, peering deep into her eyes. Without saying a word, he tipped his head forward and kissed her softly on the lips. "I'll be back soon," he said as he stood up and walked toward the fire place.
"I'll wait up for you," she told him. "Please… Be careful."
"I will." With that, he tossed a handful of powder into the flames and went to Hogsmeade.
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It's shorter than I would have preferred but it will do. Kind of a weird chapter and I'm not crazy about it. Anyway, thoughts are appreciated as always.
Roses are red
Violets are blue
I've worked really hard
So please do REVIEW!
