~ The Soul Connection ~
by
Lazaraz
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters and settings belong to J.K Rowling.
Enjoy!
Chapter 5
Throughout the day, Hermione returned Harry's Invisibility cloak and then spent the rest of her time in bed. She didn't sleep however. Instead, she focused all of her attention and energy on trying to feel what Draco was feeling. In the morning she'd felt anguish after he'd been thinking about someone killing "them". Just after second period, she'd felt intense frustration for a time, and then fear and uncertainty. The majority of the time, she felt nothing but melancholia and a dull, all-consuming emptiness that was worse than anything she'd ever felt before. It was so bad that even as she grew hungry, her motivation to go get food wasn't even there. She was just... existing. Life had seemed to have lost all meaning and purpose.
If this is how he feels... how on Earth is he still functioning? Hermione thought to herself sadly. As night approached she decided that she had no other option than to go to the Room of Requirement and retrieve her wand. She slipped out of the Gryffindor tower thankfully unnoticed, and walked cautiously towards the Room of Requirement, hoping that she wouldn't be seen along the way. She assumed that Draco would be there, given that he seemed to always be there, and her assumption was proven correct.
"Here for your wand?" came his gruff question, as he stood casually beside some junk.
"Not just that. Because of what you did this morning, I want answers," said Hermione firmly as she got closer to where he stood. She glanced around, trying to figure out what he was doing. There appeared to be nothing significant around them though.
"If you're expecting an apology, you're wasting your time," Draco began defensively.
"You should apologise, but that's not why I'm here. Show me Harry's textbook, give me my wand back, and tell me what you're doing in here. Or I'm going straight to Dumbledore," said Hermione, having planned how she would confront him. Yet again, she felt a surge of anger and could immediately recognise it as Draco. She might have laughed at the fact that she was getting good at telling which emotions were his, if it weren't such a serious situation. They stared at each other for a few long moments, Draco's eyes calculating.
"Here's your wand," he said finally, pulling it from his pocket and chucking it to her. "My textbook..."
"Harry's textbook," Hermione corrected in annoyance.
"My textbook," Draco repeated firmly, "is in the Slytherin common room."
This time it was Draco's turn to feel a surge of anger, causing him to smirk. As he smirked, he felt the anger rise. He could differentiate it from his own, however. It was a different kind of anger, more frustrated and annoyed, rather than his own type of aggression.
"Well then, you'd better go and get it."
"I'm not your pet, mudblood. You can't make me go fetch," Draco snarled.
"Then we'll go together, I'm not leaving you alone until I see that damn curse!" Hermione said in determination. There was another lengthy pause, Draco giving her another calculating stare.
"We're not going anywhere together. Wait for me outside the Potions classroom," Draco ordered.
"Do you think I'm stupid? You'll just go into the common room and then stay in there and avoid me," Hermione said.
"I don't give a fuck if you see the spell mudblood, so no, I won't hide in the common room. I intend on coming right back here afterwards, without you," said Draco firmly.
"With me. Malfoy I'm being serious, whatever it is you're doing in here, whatever it is that's making you risk your education, isn't worth it," said Hermione carefully.
"I couldn't care less about my education, or you, mudblood. Stay out of my business after tonight."
"Or what?"
Another long silence. Another calculating stare. Draco felt like he was at his wits end, the girl wasn't budging and he sure as hell couldn't reveal anything about the Cabinets to her...
"What Cabinets?" came Hermione's sudden question. Before she'd even closed her mouth, she felt a surge of panic and saw Draco instinctively draw his wand.
"Expelliarmus!" he screamed, launching Hermione's wand from her hands.
"For goodness sake Malfoy, I'm not a threat to you! Just tell me what you're doing," said Hermione, exasperated.
"You are a threat," Draco snapped.
"How?"
"I can't tell you how... you... it's... for fuck sake Granger!" Draco exploded, looking suddenly panicked, frantic even.
"D-draco calm down," Hermione began.
"You think what I'm doing isn't worth it? My life is on the line, my parents' lives are on the line, I don't have a fucking choice!"
"Whatever it is, I-I can help, Dumbledore can help," Hermione responded quickly.
"You don't get it, mudblood. And you can't get it, because if you do get it, I'll have to kill you. So turn around, go to the Potions classroom and forget everything you've seen and heard and done, do you understand?" said Draco. She ought to be thanking him. He was practically saving her miserable little life by giving her the chance to walk away knowing about the Cabinets. If Voldemort knew that she knew of his plans... he'd have another mission to kill her as well. He'd considered using a memory charm on her to make her forget, but he'd never mastered the spell and if it went wrong, anything could happen. It could backfire like it did for Professor Lockhart. Or it could remove too much of her memory, which could get him expelled, and thus render his mission failed. She was an enormous liability, and he couldn't do anything about it.
"You're going to do something bad, Malfoy, and even if lives are on the line, you can't get away with it. Nobody can get away with meddling with Hogwarts, you'll end up in Azkaban or worse, even if you succeed with whatever it is," Hermione said, ignoring his request for her to leave. She had to find out the truth and stop him, or help him to find another way if she had to. Something she'd said must have had an effect, as Draco's wand arm faltered slightly as he took a deep breath. She felt waves of uncertainty and fear emanate from the boy in front of her.
"I'm willing to go to Azkaban to see it through. I can't tell you what it is. Dumbledore can't help, the Ministry can't, no one can," Draco said flatly.
"I can," Hermione suggested.
"No you fucking can't, mudblood. No. One. Can. I succeed or I die. Me alone. Those are the rules."
"You-Know-Who's rules?" Hermione questioned nervously. Draco raised his wand arm again, narrowing his eyes.
"Shut up," he warned. "Don't say another word. This is too dangerous Granger."
The extreme, raw fear that was exuding from Draco was palpable. Only by feeling his fear could Hermione understand that he was telling the truth. Whatever was going on, really was as dangerous as he claimed. Lives truly were on the line, and likely not just his parents, but others in Hogwarts. Hermione found herself frantically thinking of what she could do about it, as suddenly the curse he'd used on her was the last thing on her mind. She had to tell Dumbledore... only he would know what to do. Only he could protect Hogwarts from whatever it was Draco was doing. He could even protect Draco from himself.
"If you tell Dumbledore, my parents will be dead within a day. I can't let you do that," Draco murmured in resignation. He took a deep breath as if to cast a spell on her.
"Wait! Wait Malfoy, there has to be another way," Hermione pleaded.
"There isn't, and thanks to your prying you've forced my fucking hand mudblood, I told you, I can't let you tell Dumbledore or anyone else!" Draco shouted.
"I won't, I promise," Hermione pleaded again, taking a step back.
"Your promise means nothing to me," Draco snapped, taking a step towards her.
"I-I'll make an Unbreakable Vow," Hermione stammered. The only way he could stop her from telling Dumbledore, would be to kill her or erase her memory. She couldn't risk having him try to erase her memory... for starters, she didn't trust his ability to use the charm accurately, and if she forgot everything she'd learned so far, she would have no chance to stop him. If lives were on the line, she had to at least try to prevent the worst from happening.
"I'm listening," Draco snarled, still pointing his wand at her threateningly.
"I'll make an Unbreakable Vow to not tell anyone about the Cabinets," said Hermione weakly.
"Don't play me for a fool Granger! You won't tell anyone anything about what I'm doing whatsoever, or your memories go bye bye right now."
"That's ridiculous! What if someone asks why you left class early or something?"
"You don't know. Why is Malfoy acting so strange? I don't know. Why is Malfoy in the Room of Requirement? I don't know. Do you think that Malfoy is up to something? I don't know," said Draco, rattling off various scenarios that might prop up. He was silently relieved that Hermione was so smart and had come up with a solution, and was brave enough to actually suggest it. Perhaps her Gryffindor courage wasn't so insufferable after all. They both knew that the punishment for breaking an Unbreakable Vow was death. The Gryffindor girl must have felt his immense relief, because she raised an eyebrow.
"Glad you gave me a chance, huh?"
"I'm giving you a chance to live, mudblood. You're the one who ought to be glad," he answered in annoyance.
"No, Malfoy. If I do this, you're going to tell me everything. If I agree to put my life on the line alongside yours and your parents, I want you to promise me you'll let me help. However I can. I don't want anyone to die, and you're obviously struggling to figure this out on your own," said Hermione.
"Granger, Granger, Granger. The fact that you don't want anyone to die, is the reason I can't tell you everything. No matter how this plays out, people are going to die. On your side, on my side, innocent and guilty alike. Death is coming whether you like it or not," said Draco truthfully.
"Well then I want to help by preventing as much death as possible," said Hermione. Upon realising that she was telling the truth and would actually be willing to make the Vow and learn everything that he was going through, and actually help him, he sighed and lowered his wand. Of course, he knew that she wouldn't actually help him after she learned that his mission was to kill Dumbledore. After she'd made the Vow, however... he smiled maliciously. She'd have no choice but to keep quiet about it.
"What're you smiling about? This isn't funny..." Hermione began angrily.
"No it's not, but it will be when you find out the truth. You still want in? You agree to it now, or your memories are gone," Draco warned.
"I-I'll do it," Hermione stammered.
"A third person needs to conduct the process. I'll get Greg, he won't talk but you can't mention anything while he's here," said Draco firmly.
"Who's Greg?" asked Hermione, perplexed.
"Goyle," said Draco, smirking as she raised her eyes in panic.
"You're going to trust Goyle with conducting an Unbreakable Vow? Isn't it highly advanced magic?" Hermione screeched in outrage.
"It's relatively simple magic, actually. It's only considered advanced because the consequences are death," he responded. "Much like a potion that's simple to make that can cause death, is considered advanced."
"Fine. Fine, but give me my wand back and be quick. I want to get this over with and know the truth, all of the truth," Hermione demanded. Draco raised an eyebrow.
"You didn't think I'd leave you here to your own devices, did you? You could run off to Dumbledore while I'm getting Greg. No... you're going to sit tight like a good little mudblood until my return. Petrificus Totalus!"
Hermione lay paralysed and utterly furious for about twenty minutes, until she heard the Room's door open. Two pairs of footsteps approached, and she heard chuckling. Her fury reached new heights at this.
Draco was about to playfully tell her to calm down as he felt her rage, but caught himself. Greg didn't know that Draco could feel Hermione's emotions, and Draco had to keep it that way.
"See? She gave me her wand and everything. She'll be angry when she wakes up, but she's begging to be controlled. It must be a mudblood thing, but I'm not complaining," said Draco as arrogantly and cockily as he could muster. After he finished, he felt her confusion and grinned. Of course, he needed some kind of cover story to convince Greg not to tell anyone about it. The cover story was that Hermione was a little bit... submissive. And she perhaps had a thing for the bad boys.
"Damn you weren't lying Draco! Wow man, you got my word, I won't tell anyone," said Goyle in his thick, stupid sounding voice.
"No-one, Greg. You understand? I'd be expelled if this got out, and you would too for making it happen," said Draco, his voice suddenly threatening, malicious, manipulative. It sounded as though he'd rounded on Greg, as Hermione heard their feet shuffling.
"Yeah man, I won't tell anyone. I don't wanna be expelled."
"Good. Alright mudblood, you behave when I let you up," came Draco's arrogant voice again. He silently cast the counter-curse, and watched as Hermione's stiff limbs quickly loosened and she sat bolt upright, her eyes furious.
"A warning would've been nice!" she began as she got to her feet.
"Ah ah, no more talking until the Vow is complete. Let's get this over with quickly, we don't want anyone to come looking for us," said Draco smoothly. Hermione rolled her eyes at how easily he had convinced Goyle to be apart of it, and how gullible the buffoon was to believe that she was... some kind of kinky freak that wanted to be controlled. She silently cursed Draco for coming up with such a gross cover story.
"Get on your knees, mudblood," Draco ordered authoritatively.
"Excuse me? How dare you...!"
"It's part of the Vow, don't get too excited just yet," Draco cut her off sarcastically as he knelt first. Hermione felt herself blush bright red at his words, and then cursed herself for blushing as it probably made her appear like she had been excited. Regardless, after a moment or two of glaring, she knelt in front of him.
"Your right hand," he said simply, holding his own out. She nervously held hers out, and he grabbed it with his own roughly.
"Touch your wand to our joined hands, and do not move it away until I say so, okay Greg?" Draco said seriously, looking up at the other Slytherin, who nodded and did as he was told. Hermione felt her heart rate start beating faster, and was suddenly aware of the gravity of what she was about to do. Her nervousness and fear must have been obvious, because she felt a hard squeeze on her right arm and looked up at Draco, who gave her a curt nod. It was only a nod, but it felt genuine and she was somewhat more at ease. A moment later and Greg had touched his wand to their joined hands, and a bright thin flame emanated from the wand. All three of them watched in awe as it slowly slithered around their joined hands, as if binding them together.
"Now. Will you, Hermione, keep all of my secrets and not tell anyone anything that I am or have been doing, until my mission is complete?"
There was a pause as Hermione analysed exactly what his statement entailed.
"I will."
At this, a thicker flame burst from the wand and wrapped around their arms, tightening and binding them together.
"Will you assist me in my mission, to the best of your ability, if I ask you to?" Draco said next, testing the waters. He was curious to see how far she would go. She may not realise it, but if she agreed to this, he would suddenly have considerable power over her. He added the, 'if I ask you to' at the end as a courtesy. If he'd left it as is, and she got lazy or didn't actually try to help at all times, the Vow would probably kill her. At least this way he could control what he could ask her do. And given that the Cabinets may require some Transfiguration expertise, he figured it was worth a shot to get her to Vow to help. He felt as though she'd heard or understood some of what he was thinking, because her eyes narrowed as she glared at him and a lengthy silence ensued. The binding flames didn't seem to care how long she took.
"I will."
At this, another flame burst from the wand and encircled their arms and the other flames, binding them together as Draco smiled. Hermione grimaced.
"That's it, Greg. Remove the wand and don't tell anyone about this, understand?" said Draco seriously. Goyle did as he was told, and as the wand was pulled away, all of the flames vanished with a gentle puff. Hermione tugged her arm out of Draco's grip. As Goyle nodded and hurried from the Room of Requirement, seemingly spooked by the magic he'd just helped create, Hermione rubbed her wrist as she could still feel a strange tingling. Neither of them had moved from their kneeling positions, and when she looked up into his eyes, he spoke.
"So. Are you ready for the truth?"
Thank you for reading! If you liked this chapter, please feel free to review and add to alerts/favourites! :)
Check out my other stories!
Draco and Hermione - s/5661111/1/Draco-and-Hermione
The Soul Connection - s/9868543/1/The-Soul-Connection
The Time-Turner Division - s/12337018/1/The-Time-Turner-Division