Part IV
The More Steps I Take, The Deeper It Gets
January passed fairly quickly compared to how long it felt like the holiday weeks had dragged on. Hermione conceded with Draco to not talk about what may happen in the future, and to just enjoy whatever time they did have together. Hermione had also spoken with Professor McGonagall about the problems with her magic, and it was theorized that all the advanced spells she had been performing the year before were starting to take its toll, so Madame Pomfrey prescribed a strengthening potion that would hopefully sort it out.
Quidditch was a nice respite for Draco from all the classes and the occasional stares and wary glances he'd still receive. He'd successfully caught the snitch in the two matches they'd played against Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. The next one in February was going to be against Gryffindor, and he hoped Potter had lost some of his touch.
-29 January 1999, Friday-
He had been practicing the blasted drum he'd been given every afternoon, and he decided percussion instruments were not his preference. The sounds it produced were blunt, whereas he seemed to enjoy the grace of the stringed instruments he heard being played by some of the others in his class. He was drawn to them, almost like he was drawn to Hermione; his ears would perk up at the slightest strum, and somehow he could imagine the way their fingers were moving, and sometimes even predict what they were going to play next.
He knew it had to be related to one of his past lives, but he couldn't recall any dreams where he was playing an instrument. When he brought it up to Hermione she just shrugged, saying that in Daniel Barnes book there was also no mention of Draco's counterparts being musically inclined. There was an artist, chemist, dancer, among other trades, but no musician.
Thankfully, today would be the last day Draco would have to show any skill on the drum. There was going to be a recital at six, and each muggle studies student was allowed to invite two people to attend. Draco only intended on inviting one.
It was nearing six o'clock and Draco was sitting in the front row of seats of the muggle studies classroom, fiddling with the drumsticks he had in his hands. A short stage had been erected and all the instruments that would be presented were already set up. The percussion instruments had been chosen as the first group of performances, and Draco had unluckily drawn the number to go first.
He could hear people speaking behind him, but he didn't dare turn around to see if Hermione had shown up; the last thing he needed was for any more people to speculate about the two of them.
The lights dimmed around the room, with a spotlight shining on the stage, and Professor Alexander stood up to welcome everyone. "Thank you all for coming," she said with a smile. "Near the end of last November I assigned each of my students an instrument to learn the basics of how to play, and tonight we're going to see the results of their efforts. We will first hear from our percussionists, starting with the snare drum being played by Draco Malfoy."
Taking that as his cue, Draco made his way to the stage where the drum and a chair were being levitated into the center. He sat down and took a breath, readying the sticks as he waited for the backing track that all the percussionists would be playing with. The spotlight was too bright for him to see the audience, but he could hear some slight whispers, and he hoped they weren't about him. The music started and he played as he was supposed to, focusing on the notes on the page in front of him. He was thankful that he was only meant to play about a minute and a half worth of the piece, and before he knew it he was done. There was modest applause and a 'Bravo!' from Professor Alexander as Draco returned to his seat, grateful that it was over.
He sat bored as the rest of the percussionists took their turn (an agonizing ten minutes), and then said a silent 'Thank Merlin' when it was time for the strings. The guitar went first, followed by the violin, cello, and harp. When it was the lyre's turn, Draco gripped onto his seat, not wanting a repeat of what happened in the common room.
He's playing it decently enough compared to the first time, Draco thought as Ernie Macmillan strummed. You're speaking as if you know what you're talking about, he chided himself. But there was another voice telling him he knew exactly how to make the piece Ernie was playing sound so beautiful it would bring everyone in the room to tears.
Draco was again thankful to Merlin when Ernie finished, for both his feet had been ready to storm the stage.
The rest of the recital was filled by the students playing the brass and woodwind instruments, and finally it was done. There was one last round of applause for everyone who had participated before everyone stood to leave. Draco turned to see if he could see Hermione, and was disappointed that there was no sign of her. Had she not come?
"Ow!" He gave a soft yelp as something pointy hit the side of his head. It was a paper bird, floating in the air. He grabbed it and unfurled it, reading the note left inside:
You did a good job. I'm sorry I'm not congratulating you in person, but I figured it'd be better for people not to see us fraternizing. I'll see you tonight.
Draco tried not to smile as he folded the note back up and tucked it into his pocket.
The room had emptied now, leaving nothing but him and the instruments. His eyes caught sight of the lyre, and instantly a melody began to play in his head, and his fingers began to twitch. What is it about this thing?
He went to the lyre and picked it up, wondering if the stint in the common room had been a one off. He took a look around the room to make sure he was actually alone before sitting down in the chair and settling the lyre against his thigh and chest. He lifted his hand and instinctively placed his fingers to the strings, and a moment later he was playing just as he had before. It was a melancholy piece, one of mourning. To his ears it was completely unheard of, but in his heart he felt he'd played it once before.
Suddenly there was a flash in his mind of a dark, cold place, and a feeling of death. The lyre slipped from his grip and he caught it just in time before it hit the floor.
Shaking his head of whatever he'd just experienced, he got up and put the lyre back.
-3 February 1999, Wednesday-
It was a beautiful day for a wedding, and there was jubilance in the air as the people of the village took their seats for the ceremony. He was standing, as was instructed, in front of the church door with the priest to his right. Soft music began to play from a flute, and not too far ahead of him he saw Elise approaching around the arm of her father. They didn't know each other too well, only meeting a few times since he first saw her at his birthday party mere months ago; but it was in that initial moment that he knew it was her hand he would ask for permission to marry. As she got closer, he was sure he made the right choice, and judging by the large grin on her face, she was equally elated.
The priest performed the outdoor ceremony, and they shared their first kiss; then they went inside the church for mass, after which they hastily gathered everyone to her father's home for a celebratory feast.
He was surprised at how much he loved her already, and hoped that if she didn't already feel some sort of affection for him that it would grow quickly. He wondered how much longer they'd have to be festive with everyone before he could bring her to their marital bed...
Draco awoke gradually, his mind still playing the music of the party, while his eyes began to open. He was always appreciative of the dreams that didn't jerk him awake or leave him in a puddle of sweat. This was the seventh marriage ceremony he'd taken part in, and it always surprised him how much nothing had really changed in the traditions between centuries. He wondered what his and Hermione's wedding would be like.
If you have one, a voice in his head thought, and the idea didn't leave him for the rest of the day.
-4 February 1999, Thursday-
"Granger,"
"Hmm?"
"I've been thinking,"
"About?"
"The dream we had last night, where Jens and Elise got married... and every dream before that where we got married."
He noticed her face flush, but she didn't make eye contact with him. .
"It's not that out of the ordinary," she said, her voice clear despite the pink in her cheeks. "They weren't in as advanced a society as we are where not getting married was acceptable."
"I think you're purposely missing my point," Draco said as he reached across the couch to hold her hand. "And you know none of them just got married because that was what society expected of them."
"Are you asking me to marry you Draco?"
"What would you think if I was?"
"That out of all the proposals I've witnessed between us, this is the least romantic," she laughed, pointing a finger into his chest. "Besides that, how would we even do it? Who would marry us?"
"I didn't get that far in the thought process," Draco admitted sheepishly. "Is that a no then?"
"It's not a no... its a, 'Figure-it-out and I might say yes'."
Draco spent nearly all day in the library trying to figure it out, but came up with nothing. Anyone with the authority to perform a wedding would have to let Hogwarts know why they were there, and there was nothing in any of the books he'd researched about doing your own nupitals- at least not in the accessible part of the library.
It was this that led him to his current position, standing in front of the Potion Master's office door.
"Professor Slughorn?" He called out to the portly man hunched over a mahogany desk.
"Draco!" Slughorn exclaimed, dropping his quill in surprise at the unexpected visitor. "What is it you need my boy?"
Draco had decided that if he wanted to get something from the restricted section of the library, his best bet was to get permission from the one professor he knew wouldn't ask any questions. At least he hoped he wouldn't.
"Sir, I'm doing a paper on rituals in the wizarding world versus the muggle world, and it seems many of the books that would be the most useful are in the restricted section."
It wasn't a completely made up assignment; Professor Alexander had told them at the beginning of the term they'd have a paper due at the end, and the topic could be of their choosing. The only thing amiss at the moment was that Draco hadn't gotten clearance for his choice of subject yet.
"I see," the wizard said, standing up from his desk. "Why aren't you asking Professor Alexander? I'm assuming this is for her class, is it not?"
"I went by her office and she was out. We have the quidditch match against Gryffindor in an hour and I was hoping to have one less thing to think about during the game."
Bringing up the quidditch match seemed to work, for Slughorn's face lit up. "Ahh, yes that's going to be exciting. No, no, we don't want your mind to be muddled with other tasks."
He swiftly took out a piece of parchment and began to scribble out a note giving Draco the permission to check out the books he would need.
"Good luck today, Mr. Malfoy. Don't fret about coming to me for anything else you may need."
"Thank you, professor," Draco smiled with a bow of his head, before hurriedly leaving the office.
He felt giddy with the thought that one of the books might have the answer he was looking for, but actually getting them would have to wait, for Blaise was expecting the team in the locker rooms in ten minutes.
The weather they'd be playing in was frigid, but the sky was clear and there was nary a breeze. As Draco sat in the Slytherin locker rooms with the rest of the team he tried not to psych himself out about facing off against Potter for the first time in what felt like ages. He didn't want to let the team, or himself down. He knew he was good in his position as Seeker, dare he say, great, considering he only seemed to cave when he was up against Potter. It was in these face-offs that he also seemed to resolve into stupid antics in order to get the upper hand.
Draco had hesitantly admitted this weakness to Hermione earlier that morning, when he asked if she would be cheering either for him, or for her best friend and house.
I'll be happy no matter which way it goes, she had said. And we both know you're not the same boy you were back then, I doubt you'll attempt to pull some foolish act of sabotage if it looks like Harry's going to catch the snitch.
He knew she was right, and so he decided to just forget who he was playing against and focus on the task he was appointed.
"Alright," Blaise clapped his hands together. "Let's get out there and show them what it means to undefeated!"
There was a cheer from the rest of the team as they all got up and headed to the pitch, and they were soon joined by the roars of the crowd in the stands. One positive change from years before was that there was far less booing for the Slytherin team.
Both teams lined up opposite each other and watched as Blaise and Ginny Weasley shook hands. Draco stood across from Harry, who gave him a curt nod of acknowledgement. Knowing Hermione was probably watching their interaction, he responded in kind.
Madame Hooch blew the whistle, and all four balls and fourteen players soared into the air. The Golden Snitch of course was gone in a millisecond, and Draco began to fly in the opposite direction of Harry to find it.
He shut out all the other noises going on around him and thought instead of the sound of fluttering golden wings, hoping to determine its location with not only his eyes. It was a skill he'd practiced for as long as he could remember and it had served him well in the past. Contrary to popular belief, his father had only slightly bought Draco's way onto the team in second year: since they already had Terrence Higgs as seeker they weren't holding any tryouts for the position, but since Draco wanted in, Professor Snape had them do it anyway. Draco had found the snitch within three minutes and Higgs was clear on the other end of the field. One of his regrets was not correcting Ron Weasley when he said he didn't have any talent, but considering he had nearly brought the team to victory in the three years he had previously played, he thought he'd sufficiently proven the git wrong.
Half an hour of play had passed, and Slytherin was up by twenty points, which was good, but would also mean nothing if he didn't catch the snitch before Harry did.
Draco knew it was a risk, but he flew by the stands to give a quick glance to Hermione, and though it was fast, he managed to catch her smiling at him.
Then he saw it, flitting around one of the Slytherin goal posts. He began to fly toward it, hoping whoever was commentating wouldn't catch on to his movement and announce it, lest Potter was close behind. Alas, his advantage was short lived.
"And I do believe that Malfoy has spotted the snitch! I don't know if Potter has, but he's headed in the same direction..."
Draco was nearly there, he just needed to keep his eyes and ears on the sphere as it continued to circle the hoops. He passed by the first one, and then with a quick thrust of his arm through the middle hoop he wrapped his hand around the snitch, just as Harry made it to the other side.
"Draco Malfoy has caught the Golden Snitch for Slytherin!"
He was suddenly bombarded by his teammates, and Blaise was whooping at the top his lungs. After many years they had once again beat Gryffindor.
-5 February 1999, Friday-
Hermione had greeted him with a congratulatory kiss that morning, and he welcomed it wholeheartedly.
"Harry's only slightly put-out," she told him once they were done. "Ron's a little more peeved."
"I'm sure he is," Draco snickered, and he had to keep himself from breaking out into a verse of "Weasley is our King".
"I just told them we'll win the next game," she teased, at which Draco promptly tackled her into the settee to snog her some more.
Madame Pince was being difficult. Draco had five specific books he had requested, and the librarian would only let him look at them one at a time, and his notes could not contain any instructions, ingredients, or incantations; this was unfortunate, for if he found something he'd have no way to remember the information. It was just one other thing he'd have to figure out.
So far the first two books he had searched through had yielded nothing, but he wrote down some of the rituals anyway to make it look like research.
It was nearing dinner time when he decided to call it quits for the day and returned the books to Madame Pince, who instantly cast them back to their spots in the restricted section.
Draco turned to leave, only to promptly collide into the person who had been standing behind him. The book that had been glued to the figure's face fell to the floor.
"Sorry about that," Draco said, and his face tinged as he realized it was Astoria he was apologizing to.
"Oh, hi Draco," she said politely, taking the book from his hand. "Returning books from the restricted section too?"
"Yeah, er, research for muggle studies."
"Mine is for DADA," she said as she moved around him to give the books to the waiting librarian. Draco wasn't sure if it'd be rude to just continue on as he was, but he didn't think waiting for her in order to continue their pseudo conversation was a great idea either. It didn't matter in the end though, for by the time he decided to just keep moving she had completed her action and was at his side joining him.
"Madame Pince really doesn't trust us with those books, does she?" She said awkwardly, not looking at him.
"I probably wouldn't either," Draco answered.
"Are you heading to the Great Hall?"
"Yes."
"Great," she smiled.
Draco was confused. Weren't they avoiding each other?
"I, er, want to apologize for being all weird since... well, you know. I was just embarrassed that I read everything so wrong."
"Astoria, there's nothing you have to be sorry for," Draco sighed. "We did have a good time Christmas Day, and it's not your fault that there's a mistletoe curse."
"Thanks. I just figured it was time to get over it and hang out with you guys again. The girls in my year are a little on the insufferable side."
"More insufferable than Pans and Daph?"
"I'm telling them you said that," Astoria laughed.
They had made it to the Great Hall and the Slytherin table, where the rest of their friends were already sitting. Blaise gave Draco a curious look at the fact that he had not only walked in with Astoria, but she had also taken the seat next to him.
Blaise wasn't the only one who noticed, and when Draco looked up to see Hermione staring back at him, he wondered if the cold feeling in his gut belonged to him or her.
-6 February 1999, Saturday-
They were silent as they sat in the window, with Hermione's back pressed up against him as a support and his arms wrapped around her. Draco didn't know if the quiet was because of seeing him with Astoria earlier, or the dream they'd just shared where she'd once again been consumed by the ash of Mount Vesuvius, or if she simply didn't feel like talking. Either way, it was making him anxious.
"You and Astoria are talking again?" She asked. So it was the first reason.
"We ran into each other at the library," Draco explained. "She wanted to be able to spend time with her sister again. Does it bother you?"
"No... and yes." She sat up and turned to face him. "I did mean what I said before, that it'd be okay if you're interested in her-"
"Granger..." Draco didn't want to talk about that again.
"But it doesn't mean that I won't feel just a tad bit of jealousy if you do spend time together."
"The only time we'd spend together is when Blaise, Pansy, and her sister are also around," he pointed out, exasperated. "Can we talk about something else?"
"Fine," Hermione acquiesced. They moved on instead to their plans for Saturday, which was another Hogsmeade weekend in preparation for the Valentine's Party that would be the next Saturday before the actual holiday. Hermione was going to buy small gifts for her friends and also something to wear for the event. Draco only had one errand in the village, and it wasn't something he was going to share with her just yet.
Hogsmeade was completely decked in reds and pinks, and all other manner of amorous decor. It almost made Draco want to throw up. Valentine's Day was probably one of his least favorite holidays, which made it ironic that he was about to purchase one of the most romantic things someone could buy and planned on presenting it that fourteenth of February. He was going to make the day an actual date to remember on his calendar by doing this.
"I can't believe you're buying these," Blaise said, leaning against the glass counter and eliciting a frown from the jeweler. They were in Hessian's Jewels, the same jewelry shop where he had bought Hermione's bracelet for Christmas, picking out not only an engagement ring, but a wedding band as well. Even though she had said she wouldn't say yes unless he found a way for them get married, he still wanted to give her something tangible that let her know it was what he wanted.
He had told Blaise his plan earlier that morning before breakfast, that way his friend could not only accompany him, but also keep the girls from following them. Blaise figured their best bet was to sneak away while they were in one of the dress shops since that would give them at least an hour.
When they had first entered the shop, Mr. Hessian was of course surprised about what Draco was requesting to look at, but asked no further questions. Draco had quickly decided on an oval, halo diamond ring with a rose gold band, and a simple wedding band to match. He had also chosen a necklace chain she could hang them from, since she probably wouldn't be displaying them on her fingers for everyone to see.
Draco was signing the document authorizing the transfer of galleons from his vault to Mr. Hessian's, when the bell on the door behind them chimed, letting them know someone else had entered the shop.
"Ahh, Mr. Potter," Mr. Hessian greeted, and Draco froze in his seat. "I have your necklace here, just let me finish with Mr. Malfoy."
The two rings were still lying on the velour cloth Mr. Hessian had set them on while Draco was looking at them, and as the jeweler put them in their boxes there was no way Harry hadn't noticed them.
"You two getting hitched?" The voice of Ron Weasley sounded, because of course if Harry was there then he would be, too.
Before Draco could come up with a retort, Blaise answered. "Not that it's any of your business, Weasley, but his mother requested he buy these for his relative who can't make it down here to buy them himself."
Mr. Hessian was about to put the boxes in a bag, but Draco put his hand up to stop him and grabbed both boxes and slid them into his inner robe pockets. The two shook hands, and as Draco stood to leave he caught Harry's eye.
"Potter."
"Malfoy."
Blaise gave a sigh of relief once they were out of the shop. "I sincerely hope they bought that, or else there will be a lot of questions you'll have to answer. You think they'll tell Hermione?"
"Possibly," Draco said. "But if she asks about it at least I have an excuse to give her now."
"Are you really sure about giving her those?"
"More sure than I've ever been of anything in my life," Draco answered truthfully. "I can't explain it, other than it's something we need to do."
"And what if- hear me out- what if this is just one step further into fate?"
"What do you mean?"
"I'm saying if you keep following what your predecessors have done then you'll end the way they did, but if you do something differently then maybe you can delay the inevitable even more."
"So... if we don't get married, then she won't die."
"Precisely."
"It's a thought," Draco said.
They made their way to the Three Broomsticks where they were meeting Pansy, Daphne, and Astoria, and also where Hermione was going to be for their midday glance-at-each-other-for-our-health rendevous. The three girls were already seated at a booth with their Butterbeers, while Hermione and Ginny were across the way in a booth of their own along with Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom.
"Where did you guys head off to?" Pansy asked.
"Quidditch shop," Blaise answered easily.
"Didn't find anything you like?" Astoria pointed at Draco and his lack of bags.
"Not today," he shrugged.
The doors to the cafe opened and Harry and Ron stepped in, and although he knew they probably wouldn't mention seeing each other in the jewelry shop at that moment, Draco was still nervous it'd come up. It was with relief that the two boys sat down in their booth and had chosen to ignore them.
As his friends continued to talk and enjoy their mugs and biscuits, Draco, who hadn't been paying attention to what the group of Gryffindors (and one Ravenclaw) had been discussing, overheard their conversation turn to the Valentine's Day Party and who they were going to bring as their dates.
"We could all just go as a group of friends," Hermione suggested. "Just because you and Harry are going as a couple doesn't mean the rest of us have to."
"I suppose..." Ginny huffed.
"Neville actually asked me to be his date last night," Luna spoke up. "So the only non-couple would be you and Ron, Hermione."
Draco peeked over to their table and saw that both Hermione and Ron's faces had turned bright red.
"What do you say 'Mione?" Ron said sheepishly. "Want to be my date to the Valentine's Party? It doesn't have to mean anything," he quickly added.
Hermione didn't answer right away, and Draco waited in anxious anticipation for her to tell the weasel no.
"Alright," she said. "But only as friends."
"Draco!" Astoria yelled in surprise, and Draco turned to see everyone at his table hurriedly shoving napkins in his direction, while she had one clamped over his hand; it immediately turned bright red with color, and Draco was suddenly aware that his hand was searing with pain.
The mug he'd been holding had exploded.
-7 February 1999, Sunday-
"How's your hand?" Hermione asked him that morning.
"It's fine."
"I watched Blaise's wand work," she continued. "You're probably going to have a scar if you don't add some healing ointment to it,"
"Probably."
Draco knew it wasn't fair of him to be so short with her, but he was feeling immature and surly.
After Astoria had managed to control the blood seeping from the three inch gash across Draco's palm, Blaise had hurriedly done a healing spell. The commotion at their table had drawn the attention of the other patrons of the cafe, including Hermione's, and in addition to his own surprise at what he had inadvertently done, he could feel her worry.
He'd had to announce more loudly than necessary that he was alright to quell not only her emotions, but also to stop Astoria from fretting over him.
The explosion had brought about looks of curiosity and intrigue from his friends, and he wasn't sure they bought his excuse that it was probably a faulty mug. They didn't query him further, but the suspicion alone made him anxious. Add to that Hermione's acceptance of being Weasley's date, and Blaise's suggestion that choosing to marry Hermione was tempting fate, and Draco wasn't in the greatest mood.
Hermione had eyed him curiously the rest of the day, and he knew once they were alone together she'd be itching to ask about his injury, and also hopefully to explain about Ron.
Draco should've taken the high road and let her ask her questions immediately, but he decided instead to be petty, and make her wait by busying himself with some school work. It took fifteen minutes of them sitting in silence before she broke it with her concern about the condition of his hand.
Now they were once again bathed in quiet, except for the light sound of quill on parchment.
Draco heard Hermione sigh from across the table, and then there was the shuffling of her feet making their way to his side. A moment later and her hands were turning his face up to look at her and then she pressed her lips to his.
Draco's pencil fell from his hand. He felt tingly, and suddenly there was nothing else in the world but the two of them, and he couldn't even remember why he was upset in the first place.
She broke away from him, running her hands through his hair. "Feel better now?"
"Mmmhmm," he managed to get out before shaking his head clear. "Wait a second, you can't just kiss me and think you're off the hook."
"Yes, but there's less steam coming off of you now," she teased. "Listen, I know it's not ideal, but I plan on going to the dance so I might as well be going with someone, especially if all my friends are going to have dates. Plus, it adds to the illusion that I'm not seeing anybody else."
Draco knew she was right. She was always right.
"I suppose I should ask Astoria then."
"If you're going to go, then I don't see why not," Hermione said, though there was a bit of reluctance in her tone. No matter how often she said she was okay with a potential relationship between them, he knew she was only doing it for his future self's sake.
"I'm not going to go," Draco said, causing her to look up from the assignment she had been working on.
"What?"
"I'm not going," he repeated. "I don't want to go with anyone, but you. Since I can't do that, I might as well stay here and enjoy the solitude. I'm not a big Valentine's Day fan anyway."
"Blaise will be fine with you leaving him alone?"
"He's going with both Pansy and Daphne, I think he'll be ok," Draco snickered.
"Alright then," Hermione said nonchalantly, but Draco could tell her mood had lightened.
Truthfully, he had been wondering when he'd be able to set everything up for his proposal, and now he had a good four hours next Saturday to make everything perfect.
-10 February 1999, Wednesday-
To say that Draco was frustrated was an understatement. He was on the second to last of the books he had any hope of finding a ritual in and still wasn't having any luck.
Hermione had asked him how it was going that morning, and he had expressed his dismay at having plenty of information for his faux paper, but nothing regarding what he really wanted to know. She had encouraged him to keep looking, and when he also brought up the issue of having no way to transcribe the information without Madame Pince finding out, she simply laughed and fished a bottle of invisible ink out of her schoolbag.
He was happy to have one less obstacle to solve, but it would be useless unless he found what he was looking for.
With a groan he threw the textbook to the side, having scoured every page and finding nothing. He only had one book left and if it wasn't there, then that was it.
He flipped to the table of contents and skimmed it with his finger. He felt his heart stop as he came to chapter eight: a ritual for eternal binding.
His blood thumping, he turned to the indicated page and began to read.
He'd finally found it, hidden in the pages of Blood and Bone- a marriage ritual, one that would bind him to Hermione for aeons. He excitedly took out the bottle of invisible ink she had given to him and began to furiously copy every word from the page.
"Did you find something good?"
Draco looked up, and Astoria was there, already taking the seat across from him.
"Er, yes," he said, and he took the opportunity to flip his parchment to the side with visible ink on it while she fumbled through her bag looking for a quill. Thankfully he had written down all the pertinent information before she showed up. "I was actually just finishing up, so I won't be staying."
"Oh, ok then," she said, disappointed. "I was wondering if you planned on going to the Valentine's Day party?"
"I'm not, I'm taking a break from school festivities." He began packing up his things, careful not to smush the paper with the ritual on it.
Astoria looked put out by his answer. "Well if you change your mind, we could go together."
"I'll think about it," Draco replied, even though he knew he wasn't going to change his mind, and he gave her a nod goodbye.
-14 February 1999, Sunday-
Draco didn't know how he had made it four days without revealing to Hermione that he'd found the ritual, but somehow he had done it. It helped that the only time they had together was those couple hours before dawn, and they spent most of it snogging in between getting some school work completed.
Now, though, was the day he was going to tell her.
It'd had only been a few hours since he'd seen her last, in the common room when everyone returned from the Valentine's Party. Hermione had determined that he would need to be there at that time since ten o'clock wouldn't be an option. She had clearly had a fun time, judging from the large grin on her face and the giggling from her lips. Draco had watched as she thanked Ron for being her date and said goodnight, but then something he had not expected happened.
Everyone else had cleared the room so it was just the two of them, and Draco was tucked in a corner where no one would have noticed, except Hermione.
"Wait, 'Mione," Ron had said, not letting go of her hand. "I know we see each other everyday, but it's just not the same. I...I miss being with you. I miss being us."
Draco's arm hair pricked up at the shift in conversation, matching the anxious feeling that had entered his stomach. He wanted to straighten up to hear better, but was worried he'd make a sound.
Hermione's smile had faded as Ron's words sunk in. "It was a great night, Ron. But we can't go back to what we once were-"
"I still love you."
Hermione then cupped his cheek with her hand, and he moved to kiss it. "I love you, too... just not in the way you want me to."
"What happened between us? I thought it was because of Malfoy, and I know I was a little jealous of the time you were spending together, but you two barely speak to each other anymore-"
"It wasn't just that Ron," Hermione interrupted him. "That was just the proverbial straw that broke that camel's back."
"What do you mean?"
"You left us, Ron. Abandoned us in the middle of the woods when we needed you- when I needed you-"
"It was that damned locket and you know it-"
"You can't just blame it on that. You knew what you saw wasn't real and that there was nothing going on between Harry and I, but you let it get to you anyway. You're jealousy over Malfoy just reminded me that you're trust in me is very fickle Ron, and that's not a relationship I want to be in. We'd just end up resenting each other."
"So there's no hope for us then?"
Hermione shook her head, and then she chuckled sadly. "Maybe agreeing to go out together tonight was a bad idea."
"At least we know now not to do it again," Ron said and he pulled her in for a hug. "Are you alright? You look clammy. I thought those potions you're taking were helping,"
"They are, it's just that I usually take some at ten before I go to bed, and it's now over two hours passed that," She took a quick glance over at Draco.
"You two rekindling things?"
Harry had walked in, probably from dropping off Ginny Weasley off at the Gryffindor Tower.
"No," Hermione answered. "We were actually confirming that we wouldn't be doing that. Let's get to bed, it's almost one in the morning."
The two boys seemed to agree, for they motioned for her to enter the Gryffindor hall first, and as she did so she had caught Draco's eye again for just a moment before disappearing.
He was waiting now for her return, and had seated himself in their usual window settee, instead of at the table where they'd been doing their school work lately. The rings were hidden securely in his cloak pocket, ready to be revealed when needed, along with a separate Valentine's gift. He had practiced what he was going to say all evening, and hoped he wouldn't make a mistake, and to say he was nervous at the moment would've been an understatement.
Through the quiet he could hear soft footsteps, and in the dark he could make out her small figure advancing closer. When she reached him she placed a chaste kiss to his lips before sitting across from him. There was a box in her hand, presumably a Valentine's gift for him, but she didn't hand it over right away, instead she just stared at it, playing with the ends of the ribbon tied around it.
"What you heard earlier," she began, but Draco stopped her.
"We don't need to talk about that unless you really want to, I know where we stand" he said, and he heard her let out a breath as she nodded.
"Happy Valentine's Day," she smiled, placing the gift in his lap.
It was a red stained, wooden box.
"It's enchanted so that whatever you put in it, you're the only one who sees it's there," Hermione explained.
"Thank you," he said, kissing her cheek. He placed the box to his side, and then took hold of both Hermione's hands, standing her up with him. "You're gift isn't here."
"It's not?" Hermione said, bemused as he began to lead her towards the common room door. "Are we going somewhere?"
"Yes, you'll figure it out soon enough."
"Is this even allowed?" She wondered, and Draco laughed as he saw her cautiously looking behind her and back ahead again to see if there was anyone out to catch them.
"Technically no, but we're still in the eighth year corridor and nobody goes down this way, but us."
"So, we're just staying in this corridor?" Hermione whispered, her tone still puzzled.
"No, we're going up here."
At the end of the corridor was the staircase that led up to the Astronomy Tower, and he felt Hermione still at the realization.
"It's not the same one," he said, knowing what she was thinking, and tugging on her hand for her to keep moving. "That one was on the other side of the castle."
They made it to the top, and he heard Hermione gasp at the open ceiling view of the stars filling the sky. It was pretty clear for a mid February night, and he was glad for it, otherwise his gift might not be as exciting. He walked over to one of the telescopes and peeked through the eyepiece, making sure it was still set to the section of sky he had adjusted it to earlier that night: A collection of stars forming a dragon.
"Come here," he beckoned to Hermione, and she took his place, looking through the telescope.
"Is this the Draco constellation?" She asked.
"Of course you of all people would know what stars you're looking at," Draco laughed. "Yes, it is. My mother happens to be friends with the wife of a prominent astronomer, and I, er, was able to have the star at what would be the dragon's neck named after you."
Hermione jerked away the telescope, and gave a yelp as it swiveled around and hit her face. "You did what?" She said as she rubbed her cheek.
Draco pulled out a piece of parchment, showing that the star which had the previous designation of Xi Draconis A was now officially Xi Draconis Hermione. "It's just in the wizarding world of course, apparently in the muggle world it's called 'Grumium'."
"This is amazing," Hermione said excitedly, taking the paper and reading it over herself. She then realigned the telescope to take a look again at what was her star. "We'll always be a part of each other now," she noted slyly.
Draco took the opportunity of her distraction to carry out phase two of her gift, and settled himself down onto one knee as he pulled the engagement ring box out of his pocket and opened it up.
"I can't believe you did this, Draco. Thank yo-" She froze as she turned away from the telescope and noticed his current position.
"Granger, centuries ago it was decided that we were meant to be together, and I'm here now, asking you to continue that tradition with me. Marry me, Granger, just as you have before, and probably will a hundred years from now."
She was speechless as she let her fingers graze over the diamond ring, her mouth open in awe, and then she smiled. "You found a way to do it," she gaped.
"I found a way," Draco smirked, and when she held out her hand to him and splayed out her fingers, he happily took the ring out its box and put it in its rightful place.
The Great Hall was still decorated as it had been from the night before, and the room was filled with people jabbering away with what they had given and received as gifts, and the general holiday greetings. Even Draco was finding it hard to be surly about the amount of joy and romance in the air.
"So how did it go last night," Blaise whispered to him.
"Fantastically," Draco grinned. "She's wearing the ring around her neck right now."
He saw Blaise sneak a glance at the Gryffindor table where Hermione was sitting, the chain Draco had gifted her as an inconspicuous way to wear her engagement ring currently hanging around her neck and disappearing into her red blouse.
"Well good for you two," Blaise congratulated. "Did you discuss my theory with her?"
"Not yet. I just wanted to enjoy the moment without adding in another potential wrinkle. I'll tell her tonight."
"Tell who what tonight?" Pansy said, taking a seat next to Blaise. Daphne and Astoria had also appeared on the opposite side of the table.
"Nothing that concerns you," Blaise said, earning a scoff from both of his girlfriends. Knowing he now had a mark against him, he served them both heart shaped pancakes and eggs, smiling wider than necessary as he did so.
The conversation effectively put on hold, Draco continued to eat his own breakfast in silence.
It was their fifth inter-house activity of the year, and Draco hoped it'd be more enjoyable than the previous ones. So far they'd endured the paint war, pumpkin carving, a skit night, an elephant gift exchange, and making their own fireworks (though he had to admit the fireworks were actually fun).
They were meeting out on the Quidditch pitch again, and this time the seventh years would be joining them as well. When Draco and the other eighth years got there they were met by Seamus and Hannah, the seventh years, and a line of broomsticks. Delighted murmurs began at the hope that they'd be playing Quidditch.
"Today," Hannah introduced, "We're going to be playing a game we're calling Cupid Caper."
Draco wasn't the only one that groaned at Hannah's announcement, but there were also audible sighs of relief that it wouldn't be Quidditch.
"If you look in the air at the east end of the pitch we have four barrels," Hannah continued. "In each barrel are the pieces to construct a three-dimensional cupid, complete with a bow and arrow. You will line up on the west end and perform a relay race to fly to your assigned barrel and retrieve the pieces of your cupid. Three team mates of your choosing won't be flying, but will be waiting to assemble the cupid. Once your cupid is constructed, one of you will need to animate it and the first team to do this will be proclaimed the winner and receive what, Seamus?"
"Each team member will receive a ten galleon certificate, good for any shop in Hogsmeade Village!" Seamus threw up his hands, and there were mulitple ooohs and ahhhs at the possible reward. "But don't stop going once a winner is proclaimed, for second place will get eight galleons, third will get six, fourth will get four, and the fifth and sixth place winners will get two!"
After another round of cheers for their possible prizes, they were divided into six teams of nine players, and Draco was put into the Red Team, which included three of his fellow eighth years from different houses, and five seventh years, including Ginny Weasley. They were queued up in alignment with the red barrel, and in the space between them and the yellow team to their right was a large, red, square outline where they'd be assembling the cupids. It was decided that eighth year Susan Bones, and two of the seventh years would be the ones to stay on the ground while every one else flew in the relay.
Hermione was on the Pink Team to Draco's left, and as he had expected, she had volunteered not to go up; solving puzzles, not flying, was her forte.
A minute later, Seamus blew his whistle and the leader for each team flew up to their barrel. Ginny was the first to reach her barrel and return back down to the team with a single paper-mache wing. There was a seventh year in front of Draco who retrieved the second wing, and as soon as her feet touched the ground, he took flight. He reached the large red barrel and looking inside he saw various paper mache limbs, a head, a torso, a bow, and an arrow. He pulled out the torso, thinking they'd be able to get a head start on putting the cherub together.
The relay continued, and Draco's team was in the lead by a hair, the Pink Team and Orange Team both also almost nearly done with their cupids.
"We just need the arrow now!" Susan urged as Draco handed her the bow he'd just retrieved, and a minute later the seventh year Ravenclaw that was behind him came back with it. Susan used her wand to attach it to the bow that had been placed in the cupid's hand, and then the seventh year Hufflepuff next to her performed the animation spell.
They watched as the cupid seemed to shimmer to life. It then gave a wink as it lifted into the air, pulled back on the string of the bow, and shot an arrow at the red barrel, causing it to explode into a shower of confetti hearts. Apparently fulfilling its purpose, the cupid then turned back into its paper mache form and crumbled to the ground.
"And the Red Team is our winner!" Seamus whooped.
The Orange team then came in second, followed by the Green, Pink, and Yellow Teams. The only one remaining was the Blue Team, and Luna Lovegood was racing back from her barrel with the arrow in hand. In her hurry however, she seemed to lose control of her broom, and she careened to the left of where she was supposed to be, heading to the complete opposite end of the lines to where the Pink Team was.
"Aah!" She yelled as she bowled right into Hermione, who had been so busy marveling at the magic used on the cupids she didn't realize what was going on with her friend.
Members of Hermione's team went to help them up, and Ginny, Harry, and Ron all ran over. Draco of course stayed put, denying his body's impulse to rush to her.
Hermione and Luna brushed themselves off, and he noticed Hermione was holding her right hand awkwardly. Their friends were fussing over the both of them, while Luna was repeatedly apologizing for her clumsiness. Then Ginny's concerned tone turned to one of serious curiosity.
"What is that?" Ginny had said, though Draco couldn't see what she was referring to.
"It's nothing," Hermione stammered, and he realized Ginny had pointed to the necklace, which had unfortunately become exposed in the scuffle. Hermione hastily put it back in its place beneath her shirt.
"That's not nothing, that is a diamond ring!" Ginny squeaked.
Everyone was staring even more at Hermione now, and he could tell how red she was from his seat a good fifteen feet away. "If you excuse me, I'm pretty sure my wrist is broken, so I'm going to head to the Hospital Wing." She walked over to a bench where she'd left her book bag, and her three friends followed behind her.
"Who'd you get a diamond ring from?" Ron asked, his voice more accusing than it had a right to be.
"The same person as the bracelet," Hermione answered casually. She'd told her friends she'd received the bracelet from Victor Krum, and clearly didn't want to say his name out loud for everyone else to hear. "He just likes to buy me things on holidays, it's nothing to fuss over."
"Nothing to fuss over?" Ginny let out a dubious laugh. "I don't even want to know how many galleons that cost. Are you two even together? Is he expecting something from this?"
"Just lay off her guys," Harry cut in. "There doesn't have to be ulterior motives to give a nice Valentine's Day gift, alright? Let's just take her to the Hospital Wing and enjoy the rest of the day."
Heeding Harry's words, they hurried back towards the castle.
Draco could've sworn Harry was staring in his direction as they walked off the pitch.
-15 February 1999, Monday-
"Are you sure he doesn't know?" Draco asked for probably the tenth time that night. No matter how Hermione answered in the affirmative, he still couldn't shake the feeling that Potter was onto their relationship. He also kept repeating the question because he was stalling getting to what he actually needed to discuss with her.
They had already been in the common room for three-quarters of an hour, and he still hadn't brought it up. It helped that they were both in the middle of working on an essay for Professor McGonagall's class, but he knew he couldn't sit on Blaise's theory for too long. Not presenting her with all possible options wouldn't be fair to her.
"So... when are you thinking we should perform the binding ritual?" She asked, and Draco knew he couldn't put it off any longer.
"There's something we might need to consider before making that decision..."