Chapter Twelve: In Return
A/N: w00T! FINAL CHAPTER:D Sorry it took so long to write..;; THANKS TO: iluvsmallville1 (thank you SO much for reviewing nearly every chapter!), Mysterygalwolf, Inkwell2010 (it's done, finally!), Darth Eragon, NoteBookLove, Iceblink, KleineSchweinae, lazer-angel (sequel? Yes, there will be one wink), ShadowHexx771 (Well, MISSY..I finished it.), HRInuyashaFan16, and Sam'sFirefly! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! Anyway..read on!
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Draco's POV
"WHAT!" I blurt out. This wasn't right. Ron? It couldn't be. I heard her wrong. Or maybe she'll change her mind. Realize she made a mistake.
"You heard her!" Ron says. He's all cheerful, and his ears are all red. I want to rip his bloody ears right off! He has no right to be so full of joy! He should really be angry, jealous, and depressed. Because Hermione was supposed to choose me! But she looks down at her feet after Weasley says that. Shit. So I did hear her correctly. But at least she looks a bit sorry for choosing the wrong bloke. But she sure as hell isn't sorry enough..
"I can't believe this," I say, shaking my head. I'm in disbelief. This had to be some horrible dream. How could I lose the one thing that I've ever cared about? But I couldn't have lost her completely, have I? I shouldn't have lost her at all. Was it something I had said? Was that why she chose Weasley over me?
Ron walks over to Hermione and puts his arm on her shoulders, protectively, and says, "Well, believe." Then he turns to kiss her. My blood is boiling, but I get some pleasure from the fact that Hermione doesn't seem to enjoy it. She must realize by now the mistake that she's made. Hermione must have meant to say that she loved me, because she can't love Weasley. We have something. I felt it on our date! We've both felt it this whole time on this bloody island! At least we've had some sort of attraction for each other! And I know that she had felt it. She must still feel it!
"Get away from her!" I snarl. "She obviously isn't that pleased for you to be kissing her. And she's obviously made a mistake!" I know I'm sounding a bit possessive, but this is just too much to take all at once!
"She obviously hasn't made a mistake! We're meant to be together! We've always been on the verge of this for ages, and now.." He looks at her again, along with his stupid lopsided grin. What a prat! I clench my fists.
Suddenly, I smile. "Well, she has made a mistake. If she really loved you, we would be off of this island by now, wouldn't we?" Weasley is speechless. Ha. Got the idiot there.
When no one answers me, I add, "So what do you have to say to that? She doesn't love you, Weasel, and she never will!"
"We," We? Don't even go there, Weasley. "Don't have to say anything! We'll get out of here soon! Besides, we would have never gotten off of the island if she would have said you instead. She wouldn't have meant it. And anyway, she wouldn't have picked you in the first place." He looks all smug saying that. Bloody little..
I say, coolly, "Is that so?" I turn around as if I'm about to walk off, but then I quickly turn around again and launch myself upon him, and he slams onto the ground with a grunt. I manage to raise my fist and punch him squarely on the face, before Hermione manages to pull me away from him. Weasley was lucky she did that, because if she hadn't..he wouldn't be breathing by now. And I sincerely mean that.
"Was that even necessary?" Hermione asks me, while helping Ron get up. Blood spurted from his nose, and it looked as if it were broken. Ha. That'll hurt. Especially since we've got no magic to fix it up. But good. It's what the git deserves.
"Yes," I answer, with a smirk. It certainly was.
She looks away and sighs, then asks, "Why are you being so difficult?" Difficult? I was being the difficult one! Why couldn't she see it? Was it so hard to admit that she likes me more? Loves me more?
I give Weasley a contemptuous look, then say, "You know why." I'm surprised Weasley isn't saying anything. It would be a good thing if he did, because it would give me an opprotunity to punch him in the face again.
She sighs again. What's with all of the sighing? Did I trouble her that much? And why was she acting so solemn? This wasn't exactly a crisis..okay, fine. It is. But still!
Finally, she replies, "Don't look at him that way. Was it his fault that I chose him? If you should be angry at anyone..it should be me."
It's my turn to sigh. "But I'm not angry at you. I can't be. I just wish.."
"Well, it's too late."
"No it isn't! If it were too late, we would be back at Hogwarts by now, or something." We would be, wouldn't we? That's what the curse said!
"I can't change my mind, Malfoy. I already told you that I wouldn't." Now she won't call me by my first name? She has to be formal now?
"But you still can," I say, desperately. But before she has the chance to reply, I strode toward her and place my hands on either side of her face, and give her a passionate kiss. It might've been a bit better, had she kissed me back. But maybe she was only surprised. However, I didn't have the chance to find out, as Weasley ripped me away from her, and POW! His fist connected to my cheek. Brilliant stars cloud my vision as I stumble backwards, and fall on the ground with a thud.
As I gingerly put a hand on the left side of my face, Wealsey kicks me hard in the gut. I groan, and grimace in pain.
"Ron, stop!" I hear, still unable to see anything but stars. "Mafloy, are you okay?"
"I..I'm.." I can't seem to say anything, let alone see anything.
"WHY DO YOU EVEN GIVE A DAMN IF HE'S OKAY!" I hear Weasley roar. And once again, I'm given another punch across my face, but this time on the opposite side. Weasel is stronger than I thought. And quite violent. At least when he's angry. I don't think Hermione is very safe around him. Not when he's like this! No one is. How could she have chosen someone so much more violent when she could've picked me? Those are my last thoughts when everything fades into blackness.
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Hermione's POV
Merlin. I can't help but feel so miserable! But I guess I am also somewhat happy..and relieved. But my decision wasn't a good one! Er- well, it was..but it just didn't seem to be the right one. I mean, I knew that Draco would probably not take this well. But still. Maybe I'm just surprised at how much he cares. I guess I hadn't thought about that. Probably because I was afraid that he wouldn't care, had I chose him. And he actually does care! If only I hadn't over-thought all of this..then I probably would've picked Draco over Ron.
From over-thinking all of this, I figured that if I had picked Draco, Ron wouldn't be able to bear it. And maybe that's also partially why I had chosen Ron instead. But don't get me wrong. I mean, I still love the bloke! But just not the way I did. Ugh. What an idiot I am! And I feel badly, because we're still on this island! And unfortunately, Ron knows I don't feel the same way, because we haven't left here yet! But the curse could be wrong, too. Maybe. Because I know I love him all the same..Like I said, he's a comfortable choice. And like I also said..not the right choice.
But maybe it's only some sort of delay. Or is Ron and I supposed to kiss or something? But wait, we already did that, and nothing happened. What's with this place! To me, it's like the trees that are surrounding us are mocking me. I know how silly it sounds, but it's true! And the sad thing is, is that they have every right to. Because I don't seem to do anything right around this place. The only thing I'm right about is knowledge. And I've been kept from the comfort of my books for far too long! But then, books would never teach me what I've learned here. What have I learned? That Draco is actually an amiable person. A lovable person. But why is it that when he kiissed me, I didn't do a thing about it? Or allow him another chance? Why do I keep pushing him away?
And why am I still on this island! It's almost like the island knows that I love Draco more..Psh. What utter nonsense! Of course, here I am, thinking way too much again!
I clasp my hands to my head and close my eyes, while saying, "Shut up, brain! And you there, trees, quit mocking me!"
"Have you gone mental!" Ron asks, his eyes furrowed. Oh yeah. Ron was here. Well, not really Ron. The angry Ron.
"Er..no. It's just that..oh, nevermind."
"You must've gone mental. Mocking trees? And you definitely were when you were asking if that filth was okay!" There're just some things that I'll never learn to appreciate about Ron. And his flaring temper and jealousy are included in that.
"You were beating him to death! And just because I chose you, does that mean that I have to hate him now?"
"If you didn't notice," he hissed, "He bloodied up my nose! And now it's broken!" It was indeed broken. But I wasn't about to volunteer and snap it back into place. Yuck.
"The bleeding's stopped! It's fine now." Compared to Draco, Ron was fine. And ouch! Draco's bruises look painful..but at least he's not awake to feel them. Yet.
"Why're you defending him! You always are defending him." Good point. Why was I? Oh yeah. It could be because I acutally do now know that I love Draco. Possibly. And now here begins the process of trying to delicately explain this to Ron, all the while trying to keep our friendship intact. Oh, bother. It'll never come out delicately!
Well, here it goes. "Ron. I know you're being like this because you're just being protective. And that's fantastic. But I don't want you to be so protective over me anymore. I don't want this to come off in the wrong way, but..maybe I'm just not the right person for you. I'm sure there's someone else out there that's much more worth your time. And besides, would you really want a relationship with someone who's been your friend for years? It may end out badly someday, and then we would ruin something that had lasted for so long over nothing. And really, we haven't left the island..and.." My voice trails off. There. Was that delicate enough?
He cocks and eyebrow and says, "What? So what if we haven't left the island yet?" Leave it to Ron to not understand. Doesn't he remember the curse?
I sigh. How much more obvious could I make this?
"Of course it's supposed to be us..which makes it, somehow, not." That sounded rather stupid, but it's true! In a way, this relationship with Ron was inevitable..it was always going to come. Because no matter how much we seemed to argue and annoy each other..It just was. It all would've worked out very well. But now..
"Not what?"
"It just isn't meant to be us, anymore, Ron," I say, sadly. I really am genuinely sad. Because it just wasn't.
"I don't get you! If you loved him in the first place, then why didn't you just pick him!" A very good question. It could be because I'm confused and stupid, or just simply because I'm stupid. Probably choice B.
"It's..complicated," I say, sheepishly.
"Oh, so it's just better to tell me that you really don't love me at all? Is that what you wanted?"
"No!" I say, automatically. I never wanted that! But maybe in some sick way, I like making things more complicated? Probably not, but I always make things harder than they have to be.
"Then why did you do that?"
"I..didn't want to hurt your feelings?" I cringe. That much was true..but it sounded rather awful when you said it out loud.
His ears redden. "How thoughtful of you. Did you take into consideration my feelings when I found out that you don't feel the same way! And that you don't like me at all!" I've always had a way with words. Ha.
"So we're still friends..right?" That was the most inappropriate time to ask such a question, and I knew it. But I had said it anyway, because I highly doubt that he would ever consider the possibility of wanting to be my friend ever again. He won't consider it now, anyway.
He opens his mouth to say something, but then abruptly turns around and storms off into the cover of the trees. Maybe that's better that he hadn't said anything. So then I wouldn't realize how awful of a mistake I could have just made. I knew he loved me. And it would've been really nice..
But not with Draco around. It all would have been perfectly fine without Draco in the picture, but I'm sort of glad that he is. Because he made me realize..what true love actually is.
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Draco's POV
Everything is quite dark when I wake up. But then again, my eyes are closed. But it felt like too much effort to get them to open. Oh well. I'll just lie here. Not that lying here was comfortable...why did I feel so much pain? Particularly on my face and midsection. Hmm..where was I, anyway? Hogwarts?
In a flash, everything comes back. I punched Weasel in the face. And then I kissed Hermione. But Weasley wasn't happy about that, and beat me up. However, I was defenseless! Just like the time when I was wandless and he had tried to use an Unforgivable Curse on me! Had I been ready, I would've beaten him to a pulp. Again!
But that wasn't even the worst of it. Weasley was chosen over me. Somehow, she loves Weasley more than me! Well, supposedly, that is. But how could that be? How is the great Draco Malfoy reduced to a miserable loser? And finally, what is it that Weasel has that I don't! I just won't be able to get used to it. I mean, I lost to Weasley! How could I have? But why should I think that I did something wrong? It was her fault, afterall..
Slowly, I open my eyes. It seems to be nightfall. And judging by the trees overhead, I'm probably lying in the same spot that I had fainted. Instantly, I felt my heart lift. Because I knew that I wasn't at Hogwarts. We were still on the island! So she still didn't truly love Weasley! But suddenly after that, I remembered that she still chose him in the first place. And she didn't have the decency to kiss me back, when I had kissed her. Why wasn't she reacting in the way that she was supposed to! Anger and jealousy instantly replaced my happiness. But mostly anger, of course. Why should I be jealous of Weasel?
"Draco? Are you awake? How are you feeling?" A concerned voice asks me. Hermione's voice. I slowly turned my head, and saw her standing a bit away from me to my right. Damn her, it's hard to be so angry when she looks so..adorable. Ugh. She's Weasley's. Why should I want that? Malfoys are purebloods. We Mafloys don't go for scum such as her! Right?
"Why do you even care if I'm okay?" I snap. Why should she? She shouldn't care, just like her ickle Ronniekins. But I guess it doesn't hurt to get a little sympathy..
"Well, you could have been seriously injured.." And I was! Those bruises won't heal for weeks! Yeah, you're thinking that bruises are minor injuries. Well how about you go and get yourself punched in the face, and tell me how you feel?
"Not that it mattered," I retort. "I noticed that you didn't do anything about it, from what I remember."
"I couldn't have done anything! Besides, I did get him away from you." Yeah. Sure.
I sit up and look around, and then ask, "Where is Weasel, anyway? Trying to come up with more ways to kill me?"
Looking frustrated, Hermione says, "He's off somewhere in the forest."
"Ah, so you two lovers had your first big fight, eh?" That's what it sounded like. Good. She'll realize the mistake she's made now.
She looks down and sighs. "I guess you could say that. Our first and only fight." What does she mean by that?
I only raise my eyebrow in reply, saying nothing.
Looking uncomfortable, Hermione says, "Listen..I just wanted to say something.." Say that she's sorry? Ha. I wouldn't accept it. I won't accept it. She had her chance, afterall. I would never allow her a second chance..would I? Make her feel how I did when she rejected me.
"You don't need to say it," I say. "I don't want to hear it. It's not worth it."
"What are you even talking about?" She asks, confused. She wasn't apologizing? After all of this, she couldn't even do that much? For some reason, this makes me angrier than I've ever been.
"You don't get it," I say, quietly. "Do you even realize how much I fell in love with you? Or did you not believe me? I'm only a Slytherin, afterall. A Pureblood, and a "Death Eater." I can't be trusted, can i!" My voice is rising, and I feel blood rushing to my face. "You don't even realize how hard this has all been for me! I've never cared about anyone the way I did about you! I thought you were the most intelligent witch of our age! But you obviously aren't. You didn't even have the decency to apologize! In the end, you were only a waste of my time. So go make up with Weasley, so I can get as far away as I can from you! Fall in love with him, as you won't for me. I don't want anything to do with you anymore. You're only a Mudblood, afterall." Hermione looks like she was just slapped across the face. That's probably the most hate-filled speech that I have ever given. And probably the only hate-filled speech that I will ever regret.
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Hermione's POV
Brilliant. Just brilliant. In the worst way possible, of course. I really ruined this. He was angry because I wouldn't apologize to him? I thought telling him that I loved him was better, but then again..
Draco looks at me one last time, and I see a look of misery in his eyes, mixed with anger and hurt. Then, he starts to walk away. What should I do? Should I really just let him walk away? But I figure that I can't make anything worse than what it is. So I might as well tell him how I really feel, even if he does hate me.
"Draco, wait!" I call, as he's already quite a distance away from me. But he doesn't so much as turn around and glance at me. He just keeps on going his own way.
It gives me one final split decision. Let him go, or do something? Say something? But I don't think he's in a listening mood right now.
So instead I run over and stand in front of him. I look up into his eyes, but he refuses to look at me. Before he decides to step aside and continue along, I stand on my tiptoes and kiss him, putting everything I felt for him in it. Everything. My entire being. Because that's how I felt about him.
Eventually, I step away from him. He had refused to kiss me back. I got nothing in return. I guess I could've expected that, in the least.
He looks at me with an unreadable expression when I say, "Draco, I love you." I could've given him a much longer speech, one filled with all of my worries and doubts, but I didn't. What I had said kind of summed it up, to me. And maybe he doesn't love me now..I'm much too late to hope for something like that. But at least I can say I tried, after all of my stupidity. I had tried to fix things.
Draco says nothing, just continues to stare at me with an unreadable expression. I'm started to feel that things are more than a little awkward, so I turn and start to walk away. What was going to happen now? Would we be on this island forever? But I guess so..
But before I leave Draco comes to me and wraps his arms around me, pulling me close. It meant a lot more to me than than words.
"I love you, too," He says, finally. And like the sap I am, I get all teary-eyed. But before either me or Draco get a chance to say or do anything else, there was a loud explosion, and a familiar bright white light..
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Nothing was said (or rather, thought of) while we were in that strange parallel dimension. Eventually, we landed on a hard surface with a oof! It had hurt, but it didn't matter. I was in love, I had the experience of a lifetime, and I was far away from that stupid island. The curse was lifted! What could be better than that?
We had landed into a dark room. A lot like the room we had been in when we had been hit with that white light..
"We're in the same room that we had left in, aren't we?" I hear Draco ask, as I can't see him.
"We are," I reply. I wonder..was Ron here, too? And how long were we away?
There was a brief silence, and finally I say, "Well, we aren't doing anything sitting here, so.."
"Do you have your wand?"
"I don't know..let me check." I dig into the pocket of my robes. And strangely enough, my wand was indeed in one of the pockets! It hadn't been when we were on the island..
"Here it is! Lumos." Light emerged from the tip of my wand, and I could see Draco's face illuminated by it. Hm. Looks like Ron wasn't here with us. Was he still on the island..? While looking to my left, I saw a well-worn statue..Bloody statue.
"Great. Let's get out of here," Draco says, finally.
I nod, and walk over to the door, and try to open it. Locked. Like it had been before we left. Hmm...
"Alohomora!" The door opens and we both step out, only to discover that it was night. A moonless night with rain..
I look at Draco and say, "This is the same day as it was when we left, isn't it?"
"Judging by how everything is the same since we left, yes."
"Then was it all a dream?" Did our bodies really leave Hogwarts?
"Does it matter? We must've been dreaming the same thing, if it was." Draco looks away, and says, almost shyly, "You still feel the same way..right? Curse or no?"
I smile. "Of course I do." He smiles back. As we start to walk along, he takes my hand.
Wow. I had fallen in love with one of the last people I would've ever expected. And it was well worth it. I just worry about Ron, if he was even here, and what my friends would think. He was still Draco Malfoy, afterall..but only much better. They'd hate me. Even though they were my friends.
But I'm in love. And that's all that matters, right? Because, Merlin save us! After that long ordeal on the island, I'm ready for just about anything.
The End..Only To Be Continued..
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A/N: It's over..TT It's really over..JUST IN TIME FOR A SEQUEL:D Um, the sequel might not be written for a long while, as I'm going to write a couple of one-shots and maybe a few other fics first. I'm sorry this took FOREVER...and sorry that this chapter might not have been satisfactory, as it hasn't really ended. Once again, I appreciate ALL of the reviews that I have gotten. Let's see..well, I don't know how I'll write the sequel, but I'm pretty sure it will be focusing more on Ron (teehee, I've always wanted to pair him with this one person..). But our favorite couple (Draco and Hermione..who else?) will be in it, surely. I kind of have a plot for it, but changes needed to be made in it. So..thanks to everyone who read and reviewed! And don't forget- REVIEW!