all characters belong to JKR
Day Seven
Friday morning, 8am:
Malfoy was rudely awakened on Friday morning by the sounds of pots and pans thrown about in the kitchen. He had a headache already, and that blasted noise was not really helping. He realized that the pain in his head was because he got very little sleep last night. He was up until almost dawn going over in his head everything he meant to tell Hermione today. He was going to tell her the truth today. He did not want to, but he felt he had to.
He was up until the wee hours of the morning rehearsing every possible scenario, repeatedly. He finally figured out exactly what he was going to say, and he knew the different ways he would respond, according to her different reactions. He put his pillow over his head to muffle the noise from the kitchen. Now she was singing! Damn it all to hell. What could she possibly be doing in there that would cause this much racket? His questions were soon answered when he saw a tray levitating into their room, followed by Hermione, who was carrying a cup of tea and his morning paper in one hand, and her wand in the other.
He threw the pillow to the other side of the bed, and sat up with his back up against the headboard. "Good morning, love," she said. She never called him 'love'. She had never made him breakfast. The fact that she was being so loving and sweet chilled him to the bone. What was going on here? The tray floated to his lap, and she sat down on the edge of the bed and handed him his paper. "There's an article on page three about some ancient runes that were discovered recently in Ireland, and I hope you appreciate the fact that I left your paper intact, even though I want to tear out that article later."
"What is all this?" he asked, while taking a bite of bacon.
"Breakfast. It's a meal that's usually served first thing in the morning, before lunch," she explained, as if he was an imbecile. Then she took a piece of his toast and he slapped her hand with the back of his fork. "Ouch; you brute," she said.
"What I meant was, what do I owe this honour of being served breakfast in bed? Have you finally discovered that I'm the king of this castle and should be treated as such?" he joked.
"No, your majesty, I just thought it would be nice. Like my little wedding present to you," she smiled.
"This better not really count as my wedding present, for if I must reiterate again, I shall, I GOT YOU A HOUSE!" Draco bellowed and then took a bite of eggs.
"I didn't know people really got each other wedding presents. When did that tradition start? Do you really mean for me to give you something?" she asked pensively.
"Of course," he said with all seriousness.
"Really?" she quizzed.
"Yes, Granger, give me a present!' he replied while pointing his fork at her. A little piece of egg flew from his fork to her chest. He laughed, picked it off her right breast, and promptly put the piece in his mouth.
"You do realize," Hermione began, "that now that I'm unemployed, I really am on a tight budget, unlike your fake tight budget, which you pretend you are on."
"Well, you can wait until you are Mrs. Malfoy, and then buy me something really expensive," he pleaded, then added, "Because money will be of no object."
"I really think this breakfast in bed will have to do," she said as she levitated the tray back to the kitchen.
He mumbled under his breath, "And to think, I got you a house." He still had a piece of bacon in his hand, and he started to eat it, when she stole it from him and put it in her mouth. "Really, Granger, stealing my wedding present!" he chastised.
"Selfish," she called him.
"Greedy," he retorted back.
"Prat," she smiled.
"Bookworm!" he yelled.
"Stupid, bloody, wanker!" She laughed.
"Stupid, bloody, prude!" he replied with a laugh.
"Whore," she said, with an impish smile.
"Hey, I thought we established that I am not a whore. I'm a stud," he said as he puffed his chest out. She laughed so hard she fell off the bed.
She stood back up and said, "When is the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner?"
"Five o'clock sharp," he answered.
"Oh, my gosh!" she suddenly exclaimed, "I totally forgot to ask Ginny to be my matron of honour, and I also wanted Harry and Ron to walk me down the aisle. How could I be so stupid?" She paced the room as she ranted.
He stood from the bed and said, "Gee, Granger, you had a very limited number of things to do, and you didn't even do them. Tsk, Tsk. Good thing for you I already asked them, and they said yes." He came up behind her and enveloped her in his arms. He then kissed her neck.
She turned in his arms and said, "I love you!"
"Just remember that," Draco said, as he stroked her hair. She put her head on his chest, and he kissed the top of her head. "I need to shower and dress. Thanks for breakfast," he said as he released her.
As he headed for the shower, he thought that since she was in such a good mood, their upcoming conversation was probably going to be a piece of cake. After all, she was so smart, she had already uncovered most of his secret, and she still loved him. She apparently still wanted to get married. It would be easy, and maybe he wouldn't have to tell her the whole truth after all. Just the part she already suspected.
When his shower was finished, and he was all dressed, he walked to the kitchen to find her writing on a piece of parchment. "Adding to your pro/con list?" he joked.
"No, I'm making a list of things we can do on our honeymoon," she said, biting her bottom lip and resuming her writing.
"Is your number eleven, and my number two, from our respected pro/con lists on this new list?" Draco asked, while trying to look over her shoulder.
"It's not a sex list, you pervert." She made to cover up the list anyway. "It's a list of the places I want to take you and the things I want us to do. Geesh."
He looked at her and said, "If you won't make a sex list, then I will. Where is the parchment located?" He started to look around the kitchen for parchment and quill. When none could be located, he sat down and said, "You do realize that some of my elves will be arriving shortly to start packing up the flat, don't you."
"Today?" she asked.
"Well, yes, since we're getting married tomorrow morning, I thought it would be easier to stay tonight at Edgewood, since we'll already be there for the rehearsal, and then stay the night there tonight, and get ready there in the morning. Then, after that we will go on our honeymoon, and we will just return from there and go directly to the new house," he explained.
"Is this some elaborate joke? Why don't you ever let me in on anything?" she asked, bewildered.
"If it's joke, then it's on me as well, because that's really what is happening, and don't go acting all concerned now, Granger, if it wasn't for me arranging everything, I doubt anything would get done." He stood up and looked out the window. "It's snowing pretty hard."
"Wow, that was pretty random. First, you were berating me about not helping with the wedding plans, and then you mention the weather. Your chain of thought boggles my mind sometimes." Hermione shook her held in utter disbelief.
"My chain of thought makes perfect sense to me, you little witch." Draco came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. "I was just thinking that Christmas is only two weeks away, and I was pondering what you were going to give me for Christmas, since you can't even muster up enough money to buy me a wedding present."
She turned in her chair and looked at him with narrow eyes. "Even you aren't that shallow. You were not seriously thinking about presents!" she said. She went back to her list writing. "Anyway," she continued, not even looking up, "I already got you something for Christmas. Did you get me anything?"
He sat back down opposite her and said, "My present to you is the honour and privilege of my hand in marriage."
"But, what if I don't like it or it doesn't fit? I won't be able to take that back," she pointed out, while shaking her quill at him.
"How could I not fit?" he frowned.
"You might be too big," she smiled.
"Too true, too true, in more ways than one, Granger," he joked.
"Get your mind out of the gutter," she said.
"Did you really get me something, Granger?" he asked as he smiled at her.
"Why do you doubt me? The last time you doubted my gift giving abilities, I made you eat your words by giving you my father's watch, remember?" Hermione reminded Malfoy of the present she gave him the first week they were dating. "You know what, Malfoy?" she started, "Stay there. I'll go get your present."
She left the room, and came back with a little wicker basket. "What is it?" he smiled.
"Open it and see. By the way, before you do," she said, "this isn't really your Christmas present, but it is really your wedding present. I was going to give it to you this morning, but when you started whining and demanding a gift, I decided to wait."
He took the basket from her, and opened it to reveal a little grey and white striped kitten.
He frowned and said, "You got me a cat? I don't want a cat." He took it from the basket and promptly handed it to her. He looked at her stunned expression, which quickly turned to hurt, and she placed the kitten back in the basket and started out of the room. "Wait, Granger!" he exclaimed, as he jumped from the chair.
"Of course I want the kitten. I was just surprised, that's all." He took the basket back from her, and opened it to reveal the kitten. He picked it back up and held it with one hand, away from his body.
"Don't hold it like its poisonous, or something," she told him harshly. He brought the kitten up to his chest, and held it more gingerly.
"What's its name?" he asked her.
"That's for you to decide," Hermione told him, while coming to stand next to him and stroking the kitten's fur.
"Is it a boy or girl?" he quizzed.
"A little girl," she smiled.
"I think I'll name her Spartacus," he said.
"What? What kind of name is that?" Hermione seemed appalled. "Anyway, I told you its girl."
"A girl could be name Spartacus," he said. "Anyway," he mocked her, "What kind of name is Crookshanks?" He goaded, "And while we're on the subject, what kind of name is Hermione, what kind of name is Draco? I like Spartacus. It's a good name. Come on Spartacus; come with Daddy. I'll get you some milk." He left the kitchen, holding the little cat close to his chest.
"I think I created a monster," Hermione said to herself.
Just then three little house elves popped into the flat. They explained to Hermione that they were there to start packing their belongings for the move.
Hermione walked into the living room, where Draco was sitting on the couch with the new kitten on his lap and said, "I don't like the idea of your little house elves having to do all the work of packing all our belongings."
"Most of the stuff in this dump is yours, not mine. My stuff is at the Manor, and, you know, they can do magic, too. What's the use of having servants if they can't serve?" Draco explained.
He handed the little kitten to one of the elves and told them to make sure both cats got to the new house unharmed, and then he went and got their coats. "We might as well make ourselves scarce, Hermione; we'll only be in the way. Let's go get some coffee."
Hermione and Draco walked briskly to a coffee shop in Diagon Alley. The snow was swirling all around them, licking and kissing their skin with the bitter wind. They headed to the door of the coffee shop, and Draco said, "After you, Granger," as he held open the door.
"You're such a gentleman," she smiled.
"Well, actually, I was always taught brains before beauty, so that's why you should enter first," he told her. She looked up at him to tell him off, but then she decided he was joking, even though not even a smile traced his face. She decided to go inside and get out of the cold.
The server came to their table and asked them what they wanted. Draco ordered a black coffee, but Hermione was more hesitant. "I don't know what I want," she murmured.
"My goodness woman, you're always so indecisive. I suppose you want to take a few moments to make a pro/con list on which coffee is best, just like your pro/con sex list," Draco said with a sneer. "Just bring us two black coffees," he finally said to the server.
She glared at him, and he looked at her and shrugged his shoulders, as if saying, 'what?' She said, "Again with the public embarrassment. Why do you do that?" She was shaking her head.
He smiled at her and said, "Because it causes you so much discomfort, and I think its fun." She hit his arm as the server returned with their coffees.
"So, Malfoy, wasn't there something important you wanted to talk about to me today?" she asked him, while taking a drink of her coffee.
'Sly Granger', he thought. "Yes, but that can wait until later," he retorted back.
"Let me ask you a question, Malfoy. Growing up, did you really think that purebloods were better than Muggle-borns, merely because of a happenstance of their birth?" she asked him.
"Where in the hell is this all coming from?" he raised his voice.
"Come on," she began, "we both know what you're about to tell me today, because I've already deduced most of the story, so my question is valid, as it goes with what you're going to tell me."
He didn't even respond to her statement or her question. He just got up and walked outside. She followed and grabbed his arm. He slipped out of her hold and started walking down the street, and she followed. He headed to the same park they had been to before, and sat down on the ledge of a fountain, which was frozen over due to the cold. She sat beside him and he finally answered. "Yes, growing up I did think purebloods were better than Muggle-borns, and more deserving of their magic."
She put her hand on his arm and said, "But have you ever taken a moment to consider that even a pureblood wizard's bloodline started somewhere, and perhaps, even if it was thousands of years before, their magic had to start somewhere, and maybe it started with a Muggle-born."
"No, I never considered that." He was answering her honestly.
"You know Voldemort was half blood. Why do you think so many pureblooded wizards followed him so blindly?" Hermione inquired.
Draco was becoming angry. He did not like to defend this particular ideology, especially since he no longer subscribe to it. "I don't have insight to the minds of all Death Eaters, Hermione," he finally spat.
"What about you and your family? Why did you follow him?" she asked.
He stood up in front of her and yelled, in what could only be described as a bellow, "I don't want to talk about this!"
"Why?" Hermione prodded.
"Because it's nonsense and has nothing to do with anything!" Draco reiterated. "It's all in the past Hermione! Isn't it enough for me to say I was wrong, and that I'm sorry for all my past mistakes? Must I keep reliving it all?" he asked with a condescending tone.
"No, you're right, it's enough. I just wanted to know why you wanted to marry me," she said in a small voice.
"What the hell does Voldemort and Death Eaters have to do with that?" he yelled at her.
"Calm down," she pleaded.
"I'm not discussing this now!" he yelled at her.
"Well, since when do you always get what you want?" she yelled back, now standing toe to toe with him.
"Since I met you, I never get what I want!" he responded back.
"You must be joking!" she shouted. "Just tell me why you wanted to marry me!"
"NO!" He ran from her. Actually ran. That was not one of the scenarios he had practiced earlier. He was at a loss. She ran up to him and pulled on his arm.
"Please, Draco, let's get everything out in the open, clear the air between us, so we won't have some big black cloud hanging over our wedding day tomorrow."
He hung his head, and said, without looking at her, "You'll be angry with me."
She put her hand under his chin to raise it so he was looking in her eyes, and she said, "You're probably right. I'll probably be angry. It'll not be the first time I'm angry with you, and we both know it will not be the last. It's somewhat normal for us to be angry with each other."
He took her hand and walked her back over to the fountain. He sighed, and when he still hadn't spoken, she said, "From what I've concluded, and stop me if I'm wrong in my assumption, but it seems the Ministry imposed a law upon all pureblooded wizards, to force them to marry witches of less than pure birth."
"You're partially right," he finally spoke, "not just pureblood wizards, but witches as well, and no one is forcing anyone to marry anyone. Purebloods can still marry purebloods; just if they do, they'll have a large penalty, or fine, imposed upon them."
"How much is the fine?" she asked.
"Ten percent of your net worth," he answered.
"Which is how much for you?" Hermione was curious.
"Ten million galleons," he said sheepishly.
"Wait that would mean you're worth 100 million galleons. Wow," she said. She was impressed.
"You're soon to be worth that much as well," Draco smiled at her.
"Is this a one time fine, if you marry a pureblood, or would you have to pay it more than once?" she asked.
"It would be a one time fine of ten percent, and then one percent of your net worth each year after," he answered.
"Golly," she said.
"Yeah," he responded, meagerly.
"So, time to come clean. If no one is forcing anyone to marry, then why do you want to marry me?" she finally asked.
"Because you're so loving and wonderful," he said while rolling his eyes.
"Seriously, Malfoy, why did you buy your way into the Ministry?" she asked.
"To be close to you, but you already know that," he answered, as he was becoming angry again.
"There has to be more than that." The cogs in her head were working overtime.
"Okay, here's the whole truth. While no one is forcing anyone to get married, the Ministry is imposing other sanctions against purebloods, the longer the pureblood does not get married. Like monthly meetings with a member of the Ministry, and things like taxes, and seizing property, and all kinds of bloody things. So, I felt like I was up against a wall, and I thought, to get them off my back, I would go ahead and get married," he finally explained.
"But why me? You hated me in school, and barely tolerated my existence afterwards. I wouldn't even have classified us as acquaintances," Hermione reminded him.
"True, but that doesn't mean that I didn't have a real interest and attraction to you. I had for a long time, but all that pureblood verses Mudblood garbage was in the way back then," Draco told her.
"But buying your way into a job you didn't deserve, just to pursue me; well, I'm sorry, Malfoy, but that still doesn't make sense to me," she told him.
"Okay, Granger, if I had come up to you and said, 'would you like to go for a bite tonight?' you would have said, 'bite me' and you know that's the truth. I had to make you fall for me. I was upfront as far as my feeling for you, so I'll not apologize for that. I had to make you see that we belonged together, and I did it the only way I knew how, so again, I shall not apologize." He was becoming angry again.
"When did you decide we should marry?" she asked.
He stood up again, and faced her. "I've already told you this! I decided on our first date, not before, not after. I might have said something to Cohn and maybe Zabini before that, something like the fact that I wanted to marry you, but I didn't really see that as a reality until our first date!" He was walking back and forth in front of her. None of this was coming out as he had planned.
"Did you already love me when you started dating me?" she asked him.
"Truthfully, no," Draco told her.
"Would you still have asked me to marry you if you hadn't fallen in love with me?" Hermione asked.
He thought for a moment on that one, and then, trying still to be honest, he said, "Probably." Draco looked at her, and she looked like someone had punched her in the gut. She looked like she was in true pain. "But that's beside the point, because I probably fell in love with you that Friday night I found you crying on your parents' grave, all broken and alone. My heart broke that night, because your heart was breaking, and as I said, I considered seriously marrying you after our first date. Why does any of this matter?" he pleaded.
"So you talked about marrying me before we even dated, but you didn't really think about it seriously until our first date? That doesn't make sense." Now she was standing.
Draco tried to explain, "Partly I had hoped our relationship would turn to marriage before we even dated, due to the bloody restrictions imposed by the Ministry, but it wasn't until our first date that I really saw that I could actually be happy and in love and married to you as well." He was calmer after saying that. He hoped the interrogation would end soon. "May I point out one thing to you, Miss Granger? You agreed to marry me after only one week of dating. I certainly did not point a wand at your head or anything. In addition, none of this changes a damn thing! I love you and want to marry you because of that and you claim you love me as well!" He was so tired of all of this.
She didn't respond, because she didn't know what to say. He spoke again, "Do you want to know what I think, Granger?"
"I'm waiting with baited breath," she said, dripping with sarcasm.
"I think you're trying to find any reason at all to doubt my true feelings and intentions, so you don't have to marry me," he told her plainly.
"That's a load of rubbish!" she yelled at him.
"NO, HERMIONE!" he yelled back, "That's the truth coming up and slapping you in the face, but your little Miss 'Know-it-All' veneer just won't acknowledge the fact." Then he spat, "If you don't want to marry me, don't marry me, but stop all the questions and all the games. I'm sick of it all! I love you and I want to marry you, but I have enough pride not to want to marry you if you don't want to marry me, and let me point one other thing out to you, Miss Know-it-All, I could have just found anyone to marry to get around this law. Hell, I could have paid someone to marry me, and not gone through all the hassle and pain I have gone through with you. Bloody hell, since you think this is all some elaborate scheme of mine, maybe I should pay you. How much money do you want, Hermione? How much money will it take, for you to give me your hand in marriage? Name your bloody price!"
She walked up to him to slap him, but he caught her wrist. "You know what I think?" Draco asked through clenched teeth, "I think you have slapped me enough in one lifetime, and I don't think I'll let you ever do it again." He let go of her wrist, but before he knew what was coming, she slapped him anyway, so Draco Malfoy slapped Hermione Granger back. Right in the face. Not nearly as hard as she slapped him, in fact, it was more of a hard pat. He did it out of instinct, and anger and he had never felt more remorseful about something in his entire life. He was becoming a man that he hated.
She stared at him in shock, with tears forming in her eyes. He didn't know what to say. What do you say at a time like that? Sorry wasn't enough. He never thought he would be a man that would hit a woman. His father used to hit his mother sometimes. He did not want to become his father.
She started crying, and put her hands up to her face. He was at a total loss of what to do or say. He stood there for many minutes and watched her cry. He sat down on the bench, and she sat next to him.
"You slapped me," she stated, through her tears.
"I know. I'm sorry," he said, not making eye contact.
"I slapped you, too," she answered.
"I know, and I'm sorry about that as well," he said, not intending to make light.
"I'm sorry, too," she said, as her tears subsided. "I have to tell you, if you ever strike me again, even though it really didn't hurt, I'll be forced to use an unforgivable curse on you."
"Hermione, if I ever hit you again, I hope you do just that," he said with a serious tone. "I really am sorry. Are you sure I didn't hurt you?" He turned to put his hand on her cheek.
"Not really. I was crying mostly out of embarrassment and shock, more than from pain. You hit like a girl, Malfoy." She smiled.
"Stop saying disparaging things against your own gender, Granger," he said as he smiled back at her.
"Once again, I would like to point out I was saying disparaging things about you, not my gender," she answered him.
He stood up and took her in his arms. "Please, please, Hermione, believe me, I am marrying you because I love you. No other reason."
"Just, no more lies between us, please," she said as she cuddled in his arms. She put her head on his chest, partly because she was cold, and partly because she wanted to hear his heartbeat.
"I promise no more lies," he whispered in her ear.
"I want to believe that," she said into his chest, sounding so defeated.
He pulled her chin up and kissed her lips. He felt defeated as well. "Hermione, at this point, only one thing matters," he began, "do you want to get married or not? We're kind of down to the wire, here."
"If I said I didn't, would you leave me?" she asked without looking at him.
"Is there a true possibility that you might not want to get married?" he asked, although it scared him to do so.
"Yes," she said hesitantly.
Would he leave her? He had thought of that before, and he was sure he wouldn't, but that would change many things, more than Hermione could possibly know. The fact that he originally pursued her only to marry her was undeniably less than honourable. Although, the reasons he wanted to marry her now were completely different.
He finally spoke. "Hermione, I'll tell you what. If you show up at the wedding tomorrow, then I'll know that you want to get married. If you don't, then I'll know that you don't, but you have to decide this one on your own. It's not as simple as deciding what you want to have to drink. I'm going to the house. I'm going to cancel the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. We don't need the added stress. If you want to come back tonight, I'll have your things put in one of the guestrooms. If you want to get married tomorrow, then I will see you then." He let her go and started to walk away.
"What are you going to do with the rest of the evening?" she asked him.
"I need some rest. I've had a hell of a day today, and in case you haven't heard, I'm getting married tomorrow, so I need my beauty rest." He was trying to convey a lighthearted feeling, which he really did not feel.
As he was walking away, she ran up to him and said, "If I don't show up tomorrow, are we over? You never really answered my question."
"Do you want us to be over, Hermione?" he asked sadly.
"No," she answered honestly.
"Then, no we aren't over. It'll just means that we aren't getting married. It also means that you better get a job soon, to help me pay off the big fine that will be imposed against me." He put on a fake smile, but all the while, his heart felt as if it was ripped to shreds with shards of glass.
Friday, afternoon:
He arrived back at the house and saw that the house elves had been very busy. Not only were most of their belongings moved in, but also the house was all decorated for the wedding tomorrow. He called one of the elves to him and told her to contact the entire guest list for the rehearsal dinner, and to cancel for tonight, but to tell them the wedding was still happening. Then he told another elf to move Hermione's things temporarily into one of the guestrooms. He told them not to disturb him, and to wake him if Hermione came home.
He walked into the master suite and sat on the bed. There was already a picture of Hermione and Draco on the bedside table. They were smiling and happy in the picture. What a lie, he thought. He took the picture and flung it across the room, where the glass shattered against the wall. He would clean it later, he decided. He was too tired, too spent, to worry about it now. He lay back on his bed and then he did something he hadn't done for such a long time. Draco Malfoy began to cry. He cried because he knew he had probably lost her forever. He cried because he still had not told her the whole truth, and he cried because he had let the whole situation get so out of hand. Why couldn't she just leave well enough alone? Why couldn't she see that none of this mattered anyway? Why couldn't she just love him as much as he loved her?
Friday late afternoon, at the Ministry:
Hermione walked to Harry's office door and knocked. She let herself in before he even answered. "Hey, Hermione, I just got an owl from one of your house elves saying that the wedding rehearsal was cancelled, but that the wedding was still on. What gives?"
She looked at him, and then sat on the chair across from his desk and started to cry. "What's going on, Hermione?" he asked as he moved to kneel beside her chair.
"Where do I begin?" she answered. She told him how her suspicions about the reason Draco was marrying her were true. She told Harry about how Draco pursued her in the beginning with the intent to marry her, before he even knew if he loved her. She told him everything, except for the fact that Draco slapped her. She was embarrassed about that, because she knew it was wrong of Draco, and she didn't want Harry to become upset and perhaps hurt Draco in retaliation.
Harry was still very angry. He told Hermione to go to his house, and spend the night there. He told her if she still wanted to marry Malfoy tomorrow, then he would be there to support her. He said he had somewhere to go and for Hermione to tell Ginny he would be home soon. She took him up on this offer and left for his flat. He waited until she was gone and then he decided to go confront Draco Malfoy.
Friday evening:
Harry went to Edgewood and knocked on the door. One of the house elves answered and Harry said, "Please tell your master that Mr. Harry Potter would like a word with him." The house elf showed Harry into the foyer and went upstairs. After only a few moments, the little elf came back downstairs.
"I am so sorry, Mr. Harry Potter," the little elf said, "but Master Malfoy told me to tell Mr. Harry Potter to go straight to hell, sir." Harry stormed directly up the stairs, two at a time, and headed toward the master suite. He didn't even give Malfoy the satisfaction of a knock. He just barged right in. He found Draco on the bed, with both arms covering his face.
"Get up, Malfoy!" Harry demanded.
"Didn't my house elf give you my message?" Draco asked, without looking. "Go to hell, Potter." Please, Draco thought.
"I mean it, Malfoy; stand up this instant so I can knock you back down on your arse." Harry said in anger.
"What's got your scar all fired up, Pothead?" Draco said while standing.
"Don't act like you don't know!" Harry yelled.
"So, I take it you spoke to Granger," Malfoy said.
"Yes, and she told me all about what happened this afternoon," Harry seethed.
"Everything?" Now Draco was worried.
"Yes, you bastard," Harry responded.
"Okay, Potter, listen, this really doesn't concern you. She's upset because I told her about this little marriage law, but in the long run it doesn't matter, because I love her and I want to marry her because of that reason alone," Draco implored to the angry man in front of him.
"That's not what I'm referring to, and you know it, Malfoy," Harry spat.
"Listen, Potter, I didn't mean to slap her, but to her credit, she gave as good as she got," Draco tried to explain.
'WHAT!' Harry thought. His face was actually turning red, and all of the sudden Draco knew that was not what Harry was referring. She apparently had not told him EVERYTHING. "You hit, Hermione?" Harry screamed. Before Draco had time to get his wand, Harry drew his and hit Draco with a curse that sent him halfway across the room. He landed against the far wall, in a heap on the floor, in a great deal of pain. Potter actually walked over the bed, walked up to the man on the floor, and put one foot on Malfoy's chest.
"If I ever hear of you laying even one more finger on her, I will not hesitate to kill you, but that wasn't even what I was talking about, you pile of shite. I was talking about the fact that you didn't have the balls to tell her the whole truth." Harry pressed harder on Draco's chest as he spoke.
Draco put both hands on Harry's foot, but he was in a lot of pain, and he was too weak to remove the foot. "What would you know about the truth, Potter?" Malfoy sneered from his position on the floor.
"You know what I'm talking about, Malfoy. After Hermione's little chat with Charlie Weasley, I took it upon my self to find out what was going on. I went and talked to Percy himself, and I asked him what this law. Do you want to know what the Minister of Magic revealed to me, Malfoy? What he revealed to me, under the strictest of confidence, and with a vow that I wouldn't repeat it to anyone?" Harry continued, "I'm talking about the fact that there was a certain little stipulation in that law that stated if a pureblood married a Muggle-born, he not only would never have to pay a fine, but that he would actually be awarded a large sum of money, in fact, one million galleons. Does this ring a bell, Malfoy?" Finally, Harry picked his foot up off Draco's chest, and Draco struggled to stand.
"I didn't tell her that part!" Draco replied, "So what? What good would it have done? It is not as if that's why I am marrying her. It's not as if I need the money. I admit that it was something that I thought of after we started dating, but that certainly isn't why I asked her to marry me. I asked her to marry me because I love her!" Draco sat back down on the bed. He hurt all over from being thrown halfway across the room and landing against a wall.
"You wouldn't know love if it spit in your face, Malfoy," Harry said distastefully. "I don't care if I swore to Percy to keep the truth from Hermione, so help me Malfoy, if you don't tell her the whole truth, I will." Harry started toward the door.
"IT SERVES NO PURPOSE!" Draco yelled as loud as he could. "It serves no purpose, and it doesn't change the fact that I love her."
"Tell her, Malfoy, of by God, I will," Harry said as he turned to walk out the door. He amended his previous statement, "Tell her Malfoy, because a lie of omission is still a lie." Then Harry left.
He left Malfoy alone in his bedroom, and with his thoughts. He would not tell her. No one could make him. He needed to go on to bed. His headache from that morning returned, and he desperately needed the day to end. Tomorrow would be here soon enough. While he wanted to be truthful to Hermione, he still wanted some type of relationship with her, and if he revealed the whole truth, that would be the beginning of the end. A lie of omissions was still a lie. What a stupid prat Potter was. Stupid Potter.
(End of Day 7) *coming up next, the wedding.