A/N-I apologize for such a short chapter. If I started the World Cup thing, it would have went too long...At least that's what I think. Okay, now here's something very important: I have discovered the best Draco/Hermione fic ever. I have got to let you guys know about it! I can't even recall how I came across it as I tend to only read completed fics...I have abandonment issues or something. Anyway! I just found it two days ago and have already caught up with her. This fic is almost done and I am literally at the edge of my seat to find out how this brilliant author is going to end it. The fic is called A World Apart and it is wonderfully written by lolagirl. I have never in all my searching found any fic that comes even close to her ideas and style. I will warn you, there are some major dark and depressing moments but it's got all the good stuff too! It will be like nothing you've ever read before. Give it a chance. And I know I may lose some of you to her but this story is just too brilliant to not pass along. Let me know what you thought. Maybe I'm insane but I think you guys would love the Draco she writes. And on to what I don't consider very good writing after comparing myself to lolagirl.
Chapter Eleven
Inside Deception and Outside Connections
In the castle:
Ginny guided a distraught Hermione through the oak doors. She whispered into her ear. "Come on let's hurry. I don't want anyone to see you." Hermione nodded and they started to walk swiftly but a beaming Pansy stepped in front of them blocking their way. Ginny shouted in disgust. "Move it cow! No grazing in the corridors!"
Pansy chuckled. "What happened to the Head Mudblood?"
Hermione tried to avert her eyes in shame as she knew she probably looked a mess. Ginny however let go of Hermione and pushed Pansy harshly against the wall. Hermione attempted to restrain her but Ginny gestured an 'it's okay' calmly. "You're just jealous because you wasted seven years of whoring yourself to Malfoy and it got you absolutely nowhere. It must feel tragic to have nothing but your lineage going for you. Not that you could get a bucket of dung for your tainted blood. Doesn't it bother you Pansy? That Draco would rather be with a smart and beautiful muggle-born instead of trash like you? You know, I don't blame you for hating Hermione really. She did take away your only chance at marrying a wealthy pureblood that would resent, cheat, and ignore you….Oh wait! Crabbe and Goyle will have you won't they? They don't really have what you would call good taste now do they?" Ginny laughed at a gaping Pansy. "From the way Draco looks at Hermione, I think they'll start having babies right away. Oh but what will we call them?…Pure muds?"
"Draco is not going to stay with her! This is just a phase he's going through!" Pansy stomped in aggravation. Hermione looked around nervously and prayed no one would hear the row.
"If that's what you call love Pansy. What bothers you most? That he loves her or that he loathes you?" Ginny said menacingly. "Now if you'll excuse us, we don't want to interrupt you foraging for food-"
"Is that your punishment mud blood?" Pansy whispered evilly as she pointed at Hermione's neck and wrists.
The girls turned around with a surprised look. Hermione whispered as she rubbed her neck. "Excuse me?"
Pansy nodded in satisfaction. "So that's what happens when you don't respond to his letters…I wonder what he would do to you if he found out what you've been doing with Draco. Shall we find out?"
Ginny jumped at Pansy and grabbed a hold of her hair. "What did you do you revolting trollop?"
Pansy screamed out. "Ouch! Let go you filthy blood traitor!"
Hermione tried to pull Ginny off but to no avail. Ginny was simply fuming and being raised with all those boys didn't quite make her a weakling. She lowered Pansy's head forcefully and started punching her in the face. "Ginny no! Stop it! You're worse than your brother!"
Ginny smiled as she tripped Pansy causing her to crash to the ground. "No Hermione, I'm just tougher. She looked down in disgust at a cowering Pansy. "I'll ask you again, what did you do?"
Pansy spit blood onto the floor and looked up at Ginny angrily. "I intercepted the letter alright! I found it outside her door one morning and threw it out! I knew Viktor was beating her! I knew what he would do if she didn't respond!"
Ginny released Pansy in shock. Hermione knelt down beside her as tears began to fall again. "You-you knew he would come after me? You knew that if I didn't respond that he would beat me?"
Pansy nodded with a frown of selfish regret. "I was hoping he would just kill you and get it over with. I didn't think he'd let you walk out of this one in one piece. I was sadly mistaken. You've started to become quite an obstacle mudblood."
Hermione shook her head in disbelief. "How long have you known Pansy? And how could you possibly have found out in the first place?"
Pansy sat up and wiped her mouth. "I knew about him before you two were even together. He dated my cousin. He put her in St. Mungo's more times that I could count."
"That's no shock seeing how you can't count past two!" Ginny interjected but then recoiled at Hermione's glare. "Sorry Mione."
Pansy continued as she stood warily. "She had to leave the country to get away from him. When I found out he was interested in you I thought I had just been given the greatest gift of my life. But at first it didn't seem as if he was beating you at all. Thankfully after a few months, I noticed you changing. You seemed to become more jumpy and frail over time. Just like my cousin had. You started to withdraw from your friends and look like hell. I even heard some of those stories you made up to explain all the injuries. For being the brightest witch of our age you're a terrible liar. I thought your lack of creativity would have given it away to your friend's years ago. But thankfully, no one seemed to notice….Or probably they just didn't care. You were getting weaker by the day. I thought it was only a matter of time before he finished you off but that day never came….So I took matters into my own hands. I've grown impatient with Draco's little escapades." Pansy crossed her arms triumphantly.
Ginny looked Hermione in the eye and spoke sternly. "Let me kill her Hermione? No one would miss this evil bitch."
Hermione grasped Ginny's arm. "No Ginny. I'm a firm believer in what goes around comes around." Hermione returned her gaze on Pansy. "I've never met anyone like you in my entire life. And I honestly hope that I never do again. You're more terrifying than Viktor is in my eyes. And Draco will never be yours. Even if he decides to move on and leave me behind, he'll never return to you. He's too good of a man for that. He's too good for you Pansy."
Hermione started to walk away but Ginny wouldn't move. "Let's go Ginny."
"Coming Mrs. Malfoy." Ginny said sweetly and punched Pansy in the nose one last time. "Good talk Pansy. We should do this again sometime."
In the forest:
"Malfoy! Wait up! Malfoy stop!" Harry yelled as he and Ron ran after him.
Draco stopped quickly and punched a tree. Ron gasped. "Come on Mate! Calm down." They caught up with him and Ron continued to speak nervously. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I thought it was you-"
Draco inspected his bleeding hand indifferently and looked at Ron in confusion. "Do you think I care that you thought I was beating her? I could care less about what you idiots think of me so don't bother apologizing!"
Harry spoke calmly as he panted. "Look Malfoy, we were wrong about you and-"
"You've always been wrong about me Potter! Who cares?"
Harry spoke more directly as he walked up to Draco. "I do….We both do. We should have realized sooner that if Hermione trusted you that we should-"
"Now that's the key word isn't Potter? Trusted? She obviously doesn't anymore. Look, thanks for all the wonderful apologies but I've got bigger things ahead of me and I need time to strategize. So, if you wouldn't mind finding some other part of the forest-"
"We're going with you." Ron said matter of factly.
Draco snorted. "Oh really! And how exactly do you expect to get in Weasley? Disguise yourselves as their Veela mascots? I must say you would look stunning in a skirt."
Harry chuckled. "Well seeing how we're awfully chummy with Draco Malfoy, we thought he could get us tickets. Or have you lost your spot up in the minister's box already?"
Draco eyed him in surprise. "Don't try and play my ego Potter! It won't work…..And no, I haven't lost my spot! Of course I could get you in….But I won't."
"Why not?" Ron asked.
Draco started to pace as he removed his jacket and flung it across a bush. "I was planning on doing this alone. I always do things alone."
Harry laughed. "Not if you're planning on being with Hermione you won't. That girl doesn't know the meaning of letting someone alone."
Ron chimed in with a laugh. "Yeah good luck with that mate. She'll nag you until the sun comes up about nothing in particular."
Draco stopped quickly and scowled up at the moon. "I won't have to worry about that anymore. She and I are through remember?"
Ron clenched his fists and walked up to Draco. "You didn't mean that and you know it. She obviously needs you right now and it would be horrible of you to abandon her."
Draco looked at Ron as if he were insane. "As I recall Weasley, you're not an expert in the love department so why don't you just sod off?"
Harry stepped between them. "Malfoy's right Ron, that's none of our business." He turned to Draco with an earnest expression. "We need to do this with you Malfoy. Our best friend has been getting abused by someone we trusted for I don't know how long. We need to do this for her. We weren't there for her then but we're certainly going to be there for her now. If you don't help us get tickets…We'll still get in somehow. You can just make things easier for all of us. What do you say?"
Harry extended his hand and Draco stared at it in thought. He sighed deeply and nodded. "Alright then. We're in this together. But she…stays behind. She'll only complicate things." He shook Ron's hand and then paced while scratching his chin. "We'll have to either approach him before the match or directly after. I'm certain I can get us into the changing room."
Ron sat on a tree trunk and played with the tall blades of grass around him. "Our Mione, being hurt all this time. I fell like an idiot. A big giant oblivious idiot."
Harry crossed his arms and looked up at the stars. "I've always sensed something but never that. I never thought she would be the type of girl to put up with something so horrible. Especially since she knows that we would protect her in a heartbeat. And if your brother's caught wind of it…They'd kill him, bring him back from the dead, and kill him again."
"Yeah and that's just Fred and George. Bill and Charlie would probably do the right thing and turn him over to the ministry. Not me, I'd like to rip off his….Bloody hell! I bet he even made her-he was probably the first bloke she ever-oh I'm going to enjoy killing him…Slowly, painfully, with torture, and suffering, complete agony and pain. Lots of pain. And then I'll make it hurt really bad."
Draco toppled over in laughter. "Jesus Weasley! You're an evil prat when you want to be aren't you?"
Ron shook his head in disgust. "Just thinking about our Mione giving herself to that good for nothing-"
"She didn't Weasley…Just so you know." Draco said carefully.
"How do you know?" Harry said curiously but uncomfortably.
Draco shrugged. "I just know." Harry and Ron looked at him with skepticism. "Look, believe it or not Hermione and I have become quite close. She's told me lots of things that she didn't tell anyone else because I've become safe for her. She knew I had nothing to gain from her deepest secrets anymore. She knew I was no longer a threat."
"So why break it off now? Why leave her when she obviously wants to be with you?" Ron asked.
"Ron, not now. Let it go." Harry warned.
"You wouldn't understand Weasley. Trust and honesty are actually very important to me. Especially now." Draco seemed distracted by his own thoughts and shook his head. "So now comes the important question. Are either of you ready and willing to kill Viktor Krum?"
Ron swallowed hard and Harry turned white. Draco shook his head in repulsion. "I didn't think so. I can't promise what will happen when I see him. But I don't plan on killing him. I'm simply going to set some things straight. After I'm done you two can say whatever you like. But I'm certain then when we're through, he'll think twice about coming near her again."
Harry listened and began tossing small rocks up into the trees as Draco talked strategy. Ron added his ideas which Draco considered quite vicious but decided to work them into the plan. Harry had one simple request. "I want a go at him. Even if I only get one punch…I want it. After that, he's fair game."
Draco nodded as Ron stood and stretched out. "Since we've got all that straightened out, let's talk about you and Hermione."
"Let's not." Draco whispered dramatically.
"It's not right mate. And you know it." Ron was insistent.
Draco yawned and sat down on the trunk Ron had just vacated. He placed his hands on his knees and sighed in defeat. "Fine. Let's hear it Weasley. Why on earth shouldn't I end things with Hermione?"
After Ron went on for what seemed like an eternity about Hermione, he finally felt as if he had said his piece. He was satisfied with the conversations and everything they had discussed was now in Draco's hands. After that, they continued to discuss more details of the next evening for hours into the night.
As the sun rose the boys exited the forest over come with delirious laughter. They had their jackets tossed over their shoulders or forearm and ties undone. They stumbled and tripped over the grounds due to exhaustion and too much hilarity. As they trotted up the stone steps they met a glowering Professor Snape at the top. He looked repulsed at them being together. The three of them exchanged looks and knew they would be in trouble for being out on the grounds all night. Draco had to think fast so that their plans for the World Cup would not be ruined. "What in Merlin's name? Were the three of you just in the forest? Have you been in there all night?" He sneered at them suspiciously.
Harry and Ron were trying to catch their breath as Draco walked up to Professor Snape with an evil grin. "As a matter of fact we were Professor. You'd be surprised what goes on in there late at night. I never knew how talented Potter really was. Now I know why he's really called the chosen one."
Harry gasped and looked at Professor Snape with an awkward grin. Draco chuckled. "And Weasley!" Draco ran his hand through his hair in excitement. "Good God! 'Weasley is our King' will definitely have a new meaning in my book."
Snape took a step back and grimaced at the hysterical boys. "Have you gone mad? I would have expected more from you Draco! You're Head Boy!"
Draco nodded in satisfaction. "Funny thing the title, Head Boy. Quite fitting if you ask me Professor."
Ron took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around Harry and Draco's shoulders. "Come on boys." Before they reached the oak doors Ron turned around and grinned at the Professor. "If we're lucky, he'll give us detention….Together."
Harry couldn't help himself. "Maybe he'll even join us. I've always had a thing for greasy hair." They walked off in a fit of laughter leaving their potions master grasping his chest in shock.
As they hurried down the corridors they laughed in disbelief and amusement of each other. "For the first time in my life I can't wait to have Potions! I think I sit in your lap Harry. Just for emphasis." Ron said as he chuckled.
Harry and Draco laughed at Ron but then stopped at a fork in the corridors. Draco held out his hand. "Meet you at five o'clock boys." They both shook his hand and yawned. "And remember, not a word of anything we talked about with Hermione."
"Agreed." Harry said as Ron nodded. They parted ways but with the same agenda for the morning. To get as much sleep as possible before such an important night.
A/N-I will hopefully bring you to the World Cup in a few days. I guess that would mean there is at least one chapter left. What did you think of this one?
