Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, therefore, I do not own the fabulous world of Harry Potter.
A/N: No, you are not halucinating, I have finally updated this fic. I would like to apologize to all my readers for taking so long, I really do feel horrible about making you wait so long. There are tons of reasons why (graduating, moving, and a new job to name a few.) Not to mention the deadly writer's block. I really hope that this chapter is up to par, and I apologize if it seems choppy or hard to follow. I don't know why it was so difficult to write this one, but I'm sincerely hoping that future chapters come to me easier so that I can update faster.
One last note, I've been told that does not aprove of writing individual notes to reviewers as I have been doing. Since I don't want to lose my account I will instead reply to reviews via PMs. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter, reading you reviews helped me to keep working at this chapter when I felt it was hopeless. I really do appreciate it.
And now, after much too long of a wait, let's continue with the story!
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Chapter 9: Can't Take it Anymore
Once Hermione and her mother sat down to talk, Hermione could not stop the rush of words and emotions which came pouring from her mouth. She began from the beginning, her mom offered support where she felt it was needed, but for the most part she kept silent and just let her daughter vent.
"…well that didn't go over too well with Harry or Ron, but I went anyway."
"How did Draco take it?"
Hermione's emotions were finally catching up to her and she began to get a bit teary eyed as she spoke. "I don't know! He wasn't home, so instead of talking with him, I got yelled at by his mother. She hates me Mum! She thinks I'm filthy and that I don't deserve Draco. That I'm worthless."
"Hermione Granger you listen to me," Mrs. Granger's voice was firm and demanding. She was infuriated at the thought of someone talking down to her precious daughter in such a horrid manner. "You are an intelligent, beautiful, caring, and amazing young lady. That woman is lucky that her son is dating someone as special and perfect as you!"
Hermione nodded through her tears, she had been expecting that sort of reaction from her Mum, but doubts still lingered within her. "But Mum," she argued "Draco loves his mother very much, and I'm sure she probably spent the whole night convincing him to break up with me. What if he listens to her!"
"If he loves you, and has any idea of how special you are, and how much you care for him he won't." Mrs. Granger cajoled her daughter.
"But what if he does!" cried Hermione.
"Why don't you wait to deal with that particular issue until after you've spoken to Draco? Otherwise you might end up worrying yourself to tears over nothing," soothed Mrs. Granger.
Hermione nodded, that was certainly the most logical thing to do, and she didn't like thinking about Draco possibly breaking up with her anyway. To help put that particular unwelcome thought out of her mind, she took a deep breath and continued with her story. "So then I went back home, but Harry, Ron, and Dumbledore were there, and they all yelled at me for wanting to tell Draco about the Order. I couldn't take being yelled at anymore so I came here."
"Oh Hermione," Mrs. Granger pulled her daughter into a tight hug. "I am so sorry that you have had to deal with all of that, it's not fair."
The two Granger women sat in a silent, yet comfortable embrace while Hermione's breathing calmed. It was such a relief to get everything out in the open without being reprimanded for it. She neglected to tell her Mum about her little verbal slip up with Harry, Ron and Dumbledore about feeling as though Draco was a part of her family. 'It's really not important,' she told herself, although thinking about it did distract her quite a bit.
Mrs. Granger viewed her daughter with a kind expression. She could tell that Hermione was deep in thought, though about what she did not know exactly. It seemed to Mrs. Granger that Hermione needed to do something that would help get her mind off her troubles, and she knew just the thing. "Hermione, what do you say the two of us go to a movie tonight? I heard there are a few good ones out now."
Hermione's face brightened, "Mum that's a wonderful idea! I can't even remember the last time I went to the cinema…or even watched a movie for that matter," she added as an afterthought.
- - - - - - - - - -
Draco refused to think about the fight with Hermione or his fight with his mother for the rest of the day while he was flying. However, when he returned to his room, it was a short while before he realized that he had been half-expecting Aries or some other owl to be waiting for him with a letter from Hermione. But there was no owl, and a quick scan of his tidy room told him that none had come in his absence.
As he was looking for a letter, he saw Hermione's bag still sitting on the floor against the wall where Mimi left it. 'Maybe she came by to pick it up,' he thought. Mimi would have known better than to give it to her while he was gone. He'd have to ask, "Mimi!" he bellowed through his open door.
Draco slowly began to count to ten in his head while he waited. Sure enough, by the time he reached nine, she could hear the scurrying footsteps and speedy shallow breaths of the elf. "Yes Master Draco?" Mimi panted as she bowed.
"Did Hermione happen to drop by while I was gone?"
Mimi squeaked and jumped back as if she'd just received a painful stinging hex. The poor elf faced a major dilemma. On the one hand, Draco had asked her a direct question; Draco was her master, she had cared for him his entire life and she loved him. But on the other hand, Narcissa had given her an order, and since she was a Malfoy, Mimi was required to obey her as well. Mimi just did not know what to do.
She was spared the trauma of making a decision when her Master spoke again. Mimi's hesitation and her frightened behavior had set off alarm bells in his head. Clearly something had happened involving Hermione while he had been away and he was not going anywhere until he'd heard everything. For the first time in his life, Draco knelt down on the ground, lowering himself to Mimi's level. His intense gaze demanded that she look at him, and being the dedicated house-elf that she was, she obeyed.
"Mimi," Draco spoke in a voice which somehow managed to be both gentle and forceful all at once. "I demand that you tell me what happened with Hermione."
To Draco's surprise, Mimi burst into tears and fell to the ground. "I is sorry Master Draco! Madam made Mimi promise not to tell Master!" Mimi began hitting her head with her small boney fists.
Draco was at first too taken aback by Mimi's sudden outburst to stop her. He had never seen Mimi cry, nor had he even seen her go so hysterically berserk like she was right now. It reminded him of his father's old house-elf, Doddy, Dooby, Dobby, or something like that.
Mimi was about to start bashing her head against the floor when Draco yanked her up by her pillowcase toga. "Stop that this instant!" Draco sounded as if he was reprimanding a two-year-old.
"Yes Sir," Mimi muttered with her head down.
"Now Mimi, I need you to tell me everything that happened with Hermione," he spoke in a gentle voice so as to gain Mimi's cooperation. "I promise, no matter what my mother said, you will not be punished for telling me the truth."
Mimi's head shot up immediately, she was beaming at Draco with a mixture of relief and adoration. "Oh thank you Master Draco!" Mimi threw her arms around Draco's legs in a tight hug. Again, Draco was stunned by the elf's behavior, but just as quickly as it started, it stopped. Draco looked down to see Mimi backing away with her head down and a crimson blush on her cheeks, which rather gave her the appearance of a tomato. She seemed to understand that she had probably overstepped her boundaries with her impulsive hug.
After a brief silence, Draco cleared his throat, and Mimi managed to overcome her embarrassment. She proceeded to tell Draco what happened, though she refused to look him in the eye. "Miss Herminey is coming while Master is out, and she is wanting to speak to Master. Mimi is trying to tell Miss to come back later, but Madam is coming before Miss Herminey leaves. Madam tells Miss that Master is not caring for Miss anymore and that Master is out with someone else!" By now Mimi was becoming hysterical again, she was gazing up at Draco with large tear-filled eyes and her voice was a higher pitch than usual. "I is sorry Sir! Mimi is wanting to tell Miss the truth, but Madam would have punished Mimi. I is a bad house-elf!" Mimi wailed and threw her head against the floor too quickly for Draco to stop her.
Again, Draco yanked Mimi up by her pillowcase toga, and this time he held her so that she was forced to look at him. "Mimi, you stop this right now! You are a good house-elf for telling me what happened. Now I want you to go down to the house-elf quarters and stay there for the day. If Narcissa calls for you, I forbid you to answer. Understand?"
"Yes Master," Mimi whimpered, though there was a slight grin on her lips. She snapped her fingers and with a crack like a whip and a small puff of smoke, she was gone.
Draco didn't waste a moment, looking much like an angry beast on the prowl he stomped through the Manor in search of Narcissa. In he had been in less of a temper, he might have used this time to calm himself and decide how best to confront her. However, he was not in a good mood, and he wanted to yell and rage at his mother for what she had done and the mess she had caused.
"Mother!" he roared as he strode through one of the large hallways on the second floor. But his calls received no answer. She was either ignoring him, or was not in one of her usual haunts. Whichever was the case, his inability to find her was making him even more furious than he already was.
Having searched through his mother's favorite spots in the upper floors of the Manor with no success, Draco relocated his search to the first floor. He checked the conservatory and the study. Draco was on his way to the living room when to his surprise, his 'quarry' stepped out into the hall from the library ahead of him.
'What the hell was she doing in there?' Draco wondered with a sneer on his face. "Mother!" he shouted as he lengthened his strides to catch up with her.
"Draco," Narcissa acknowledged icily as she stopped and turned to face her son. It was obvious that neither Malfoy had gotten over their argument from the day before. "I was just on my way to owl this letter to Adrienne," Narcissa broke the heated silence, "to tell her how eager we are of her arrival."
Draco's eyes flashed and he tore the letter from Narcissa's grasp. He ripped the parchment to shreds and threw it to the ground. "Why the hell are you so determined to ruin the one thing that's good in my life!"
Narcissa didn't respond, she didn't even look surprised at Draco's behavior. Instead she just glared at her son with her piercing blue eyes.
Draco glared back at his mother just as icily. His expression was filled with defiance and anger that bordered on hate. Though it did hurt a part of him deep down to see his Mother glaring so coldly at him, he did not allow her to break his resolve. He was his own man and he was going to make his own decisions.
"You have been blinded by this sick infatuation of yours Draco," Narcissa finally spoke in a clipped tone. "One day you will see the truth. You will see that your little muggle-born never loved you…"
Draco made a noise to interrupt, but Narcissa silenced him with a sharp smack across the face. He stopped talking more out of surprise than of pain, which allowed Narcissa to continue uninterrupted.
"You were taught better than to talk back to your mother Draco Malfoy! You are my son, and I am doing what is best for you, even if you can't see it for yourself!" With that, Narcissa turned and strode down the hall and out of sight. In the distance Draco could hear her fading footsteps followed by a heavy door closing.
After she was gone, Draco finally snapped out of his surprised trance. It was only then that he spoke, in a voice so low that not even the walls around him could hear. "No Mother, if you truly wanted what is best for me, you'd let me live my own life. You'd release me from your prison."
Draco then returned to his room, but he could not sit still. He felt as if he was being crushed by in the expansive confines of the Manor. The space was somehow suffocating. He paced his room like a caged animal, but the more he paced, the more claustrophobic he felt. The pressure was overwhelming, he had to get out. Just looking around at his room, the place which had been a haven for him his entire life was suddenly making him sick.
With a fierce determination, Draco kicked open his old Hogwarts trunk and began throwing robes and other various items inside. "Mimi!" he called as he packed his things. Mimi appeared with a crack and a puff of smoke.
"Yes Master?" Mimi asked in an alarmed tone. She was disturbed to see her master in such a frenzied state.
Draco grabbed Hermione's bag and threw that in the trunk on top of all his stuff. "I want you to take this to the Phoenix Grande outside of Diagon Alley, tell them that I would like a room. I will meet you there in a couple minutes."
Mimi gasped, she wanted to know why they were leaving, but she knew better than to ask. "How long is you wanting to stay there Master Draco?"
"Just tell them I don't know how long I'll be staying." Draco continued to double check his room, occasionally throwing another item into the trunk.
"Yes Master," Mimi bowed. Once Draco closed the trunk and locked it shut, Mimi grabbed it and with a snap of her fingers, disappeared along with it.
Draco meanwhile, left his room, slamming the door behind him. His long strides took him through the house and out to the owlry. "Aries!" he barked, startling the owls awake; much to their annoyance.
Aries normally would have reprimanded Draco for shouting with a harsh bite; however he could sense intense anger from his owner, so instead he just flew down to Draco's arm. "We're leaving. Fly to the Phoenix Grande and you can sleep there."
Aries clicked his beak to show he understood, and then he took off into the afternoon sky.
Draco watched his owl fly away, and then turned his gaze to the imposing Manor. He scowled with disgust at the home he had once been so proud of. He determined that as long as his mother was in that house, he could not see it as a place of pride, now it seemed to be nothing more than a prison. It was a fortress that his parents had locked him in his entire life, and now he was escaping for good. For as long as Narcissa was there trying to control his life, he would not stay there. As far as he was concerned, the Manor was no longer his home.
- - - - - - - - - -
Hermione had a wonderful time at the cinema with her mum, so wonderful in fact that she decided to skip Auror training the following day. She no longer cared about her attendance record; which of course had been perfect up until that point. She hardly gave a thought for what Kingsley would think or say. She knew her mentor already disliked Draco, so surely this would only increase Kingsley's distrust.
She even gave a vindictive chuckle at the thought of how Harry and Ron would react. No doubt they would probably find some way to blame her behavior on Draco. It would figure because it really was their fault, they were the ones she was avoiding after all. Them, their rash accusations, stupid lectures, and accusatory glares they would surely be sending her if she was present at auror training. But she wasn't, and on her self-declared day off she was prepared to immerse herself in things which were purely muggle. Her main goal for the day was to forget that the wizarding world even existed; she felt it would help her relax, unwind and think clearly.
Surprisingly, she was very successful at achieving her goal. Of course she could never actually forget the wizarding world completely; it was too much a part of her now. But she did manage to put it out of her mind temporarily, which for her purposes was just as good.
She began her delightful day off by sleeping in very late. When she did finally wake up, her initial thought was to write to Draco because she knew she would definitely have to make the first move this time. However, since writing to Draco came in direct conflict with her goal for the day, the felt it was best to save that duty for the next day. It wasn't that she didn't want to write to him, she did very much. It was just that if she wrote to him, she knew that she wouldn't be able to relax or think about anything else until she had received his response. Since she wasn't even entirely sure whether or not she would like the response, she forced herself to leave the task for later on.
So, after a refreshing shower, Hermione set out to enjoy a full day of muggle fun. She rode the Underground to Piccadilly Circus where Hermione's first order of business was to purchase tickets to a comedy show she and her parents planned on seeing that evening. After that, she had a great time watching the street performers, walking through the mall, and otherwise just people watching. Several times throughout the day, thoughts of the wizarding world threatened to take over her thoughts; however Hermione refused to give in. She blocked the thoughts from her mind and instead focused entirely on her surroundings. As a way to distract herself, she even went into a few tourist oriented stores. She was rather surprised at how much she felt like a tourist herself as she browsed through the selection of goods. The feeling hit Hermione in a way it never had before. For even though she was a muggle-born, the whole muggle world was no longer her home. Now it was just a place to visit occasionally, and escape from her real home in the wizarding world. And just like any vacation spot, it's fun for a while but eventually you always have to go back home.
- - - - - - - - - -
After arriving that the hotel, Draco locked himself inside the room for the remainder of the night. He slept a lot, but in the morning he felt completely exhausted, as if he hadn't slept a wink. It took all of his effort, as well as intense encouragement from Mimi to convince him to spend the day outside of the hotel room. All he was in the mood to do was to lay in the darkness and allow his anger to consume him.
"No Master Draco!" Mimi daringly argued. "Master should not stay here all day; it is not good for Master."
Draco glared at Mimi, causing the elf to shrink into herself a bit. "I left the Manor because I am sick and tired of Narcissa trying to control my life, if you are going to try to tell me what's best for me, then you can go right back there with her!"
Mimi shuddered and her eyes went wide with terror, "No Master Draco! Mimi is sorry Sir! Mimi does not want to serve Madam, Mimi wants to stay here and serve Master."
"Then be quiet and remember your place!" roared Draco.
"Yes Master," Mimi whimpered. Mimi could not stop the tears that came to her eyes upon hearing her beloved Master speaking to her in such a tone. It reminded her of the way Lucius used to speak to her and the other house elves, and she did not like it one bit. Mimi retreated to the kitchen, leaving her Master alone as he wished. She heard him moving, and flinched when she heard the door slam. She had to do something, her Master was not himself and she was worried for him.
Mimi waited in the room for hours, well into the evening. But her instincts told her that Draco would not return until late at night. Just in case, she prepared a dinner for him, and left it on the table. She placed a heating charm around it to keep it warm, and then she decided it was time she did something to help him. With a snap of her fingers Mimi vanished in a puff of smoke.
- - - - - - - - - -
Having not seen Hermione at all since their argument, Harry and Ron arrived at auror training an astounding 20 minutes early, definitely a first for them. They came early based on the hope that they would get a chance to patch things up with Hermione before the day began. Both of them were exhausted. They had dark circles under their bloodshot eyes from too little sleep, their heads were pounding like mad, and they could not stop yawning.
The boys had stayed up all night waiting for Hermione to return. The only sleep they had gotten was a couple hours each on the couches in the living room by the entryway; where they had hoped to hear Hermione come home. As soon as they woke up, they had checked her room, but were distressed to find it empty looking as if it hadn't been slept in all night. The concerns which arose in their minds were only eased by the certainty that they would find her safely at auror training.
But no such relief was to be found as the minutes ticked by with no sign of Hermione. Each time the door opened, Harry and Ron leapt, only to have their hopes sent crashing back down when they saw that Hermione was still nowhere to be found. They kept holding on to the hope that she would arrive until Kingsley walked in, just as the clock chimed in the new hour.
"Good morning everyone," Kingsley began sternly. He opened his mouth to give the instructions for the day, however a quick scan of the room alerted him to the fact that his prized protégé was conspicuously absent. "And where is Hermione?"
"We don't know Sir," answered Harry.
"Yeah, we haven't seen her since yesterday," added Ron.
Kingsley thought for a moment staring at Harry and Ron with a hardened expression and making them feel rather uneasy. "Very well," he finally said, "I will speak to her separately about this, in the meantime you will all meet with your mentors until lunch. After that, we shall continue out practical lessons."
When the trainees met with Kingsley that afternoon, Kinsley did not bring up the subject again. Instead, he instructed the group in their first practical exercise in stealth. The training room was set up with an obstacle course of sorts. The goal for the trainees was to wend their way through the course without setting off any of the magical sensors which were meant to indicate that they had been seen or heard.
Each of the trainees tackled the course three times. Harry performed decently, although he would have probably made it through nearly perfectly had he been fully awake. Ron on the other hand performed absolutely dismally. He tended to be loud and clumsy enough when fully awake and alert, but in his exhausted state, he could hardly walk a straight line let alone perform well in an obstacle course. By his third and worst attempt, both he and Kingsley were in extremely foul tempers.
"Enough!" Kingsley roared. "Michael, Toby, you two are free to go. Harry and Ron, I would like a word with the two of you in my office now.
Harry and Ron traipsed wordlessly behind Kingsley all the way to his office. Not a sound was uttered by any of the men until the door closed, at which point Ron burst into an explanation, "I'm sorry Kingsley, I was just so exhausted I couldn't concentrate!"
"Then perhaps you should have been more responsible about getting an appropriate amount of rest last night," countered Kingsley.
"We couldn't!" interrupted Harry, "we were up all night waiting for Hermione to come back and she never did."
"I see," Kingsley's anger began to cool "and neither of you have any idea where she went?"
"No, she's been gone since yesterday afternoon," answered Harry.
"Very well, do you at least know why she left?"
"She's mad at us and Dumbledore…"
"Didn't think she was this mad," interrupted Ron under his breath.
"We were all yelling at her because we thought she told Malfoy about the Order," finished Harry.
"That is serious," Kingsley pondered. "Did either of you consider the thought that she might be at the Manor?"
"Normally we would have," insisted Harry, "but Malfoy's mother is there and she was yelling at Hermione yesterday too. I don't know where else she would go," shrugged Harry.
"Well, I'm sure wherever she is, she's fine. She knows how to take care of herself. However, just to be sure, why don't you send her an owl when you get home, insist that she reply if only to confirm that she's safe."
"Alright," chorused Harry and Ron.
"And remind her that I expect her to be on time for training tomorrow."
Harry and Ron nodded as they made their way out of Kingsley's office.
"And one more thing!" Kingsley called. "I suggest you use the floo network to return home today, you wouldn't want to go splinching yourselves just because you're tired."
- - - - - - - - - -
Hermione and her parents returned home after a very enjoyable and relaxing day spent in muggle London. However as soon as she entered her house, the realities of her life in the wizarding world came crashing back into her conscience full force. Hedwig was perched on the flowerbox outside one of the windows in the living room.
Hermione groaned, but opened the window for the owl anyway, "Hi Hedwig," Hermione said with a sad smile.
"Is that a letter from Harry and Ron?" Mrs. Granger asked.
"Probably," Hermione muttered, though she made no move to open it.
"Honey, you can't ignore them forever, they're your best friends."
"I know," acquiesced Hermione, "but that doesn't mean I'm eager to get yelled at again."
"Hermione, they're probably just writing to apologize and make sure you're alright."
Hermione was silent for a moment, "You're right." With a heavy sigh, Hermione unfolded the note and prepared herself for the worst. But when she actually read the contents, she was pleasantly surprised.
"They just wanted to make sure I was alright," Hermione confirmed after she had finished reading. "They apologized for getting on my case yesterday too," she added with a smile.
"See, they really do care for you Hermione."
"I know, sometimes they can just be too much though. Every now and then I just need a break from them."
"That's the way relationships are dear. Everyone needs some space to themselves sometime."
"True. I'm going to go write a reply and get ready for bed." Hermione walked over and hugged both of her parents.
"Goodnight sweetheart," Mrs. Granger smiled.
"Night Hermione," said Mr. Granger.
"I probably won't see you tomorrow, so thanks for everything."
"We're always here for you dear, that's our job."
Hermione smiled before jogging up the stairs to her room where she penned a quick response to Harry's letter.
Harry and Ron,
Thank you for being so worried about me, but I'm fine of course. I spent the night at my parents and today I really just needed a break from everything. I'll see you both tomorrow at training.
Hermione
Hermione folded the letter and gave it to Hedwig. "Deliver that to the boys for me alright?"
Hedwig clicked her beak in response, and then Hermione sent the owl flying out the window. Hermione then put on her pajamas and was about to go brush her teeth when a crack, like a whip, startled her half to death. Hermione turned toward the noise instinctively reaching to her side for her wand. She cursed herself for not having her wand on hand before she processed what, or rather who, had caused the disturbance. "Mimi?" Hermione gasped with disbelief.
"Miss Herminey, Mimi is very sorry for disturbing Miss," Mimi bowed as she spoke.
"No, no don't worry about it," Hermione insisted. But now Her heart was racing not from being startled, but from concern. "Mimi, why are you here? Did Draco send you?"
Mimi cringed and lowered her eyes, "Oh, no Miss, Master would be furious if he knew Mimi left." Tears began streaking down Mimi's face and she was shaking as if she was restraining herself from punishing herself.
Hermione's heart began pounding even faster. She knelt down and tried to comfort Mimi. "Mimi, please just tell me what's wrong. Has something happened to Draco?"
"No, not really Miss. But Master Draco is very upset, Mimi has to do something!"
Hermione immediately felt guilty for not writing to Draco sooner and telling him how she felt. "He's upset with me," she assumed.
Mimi's eyes went wide, "Oh no Miss Herminey, Master Draco is never upset with you! Master Draco is furious with Madam Narcissa. Master and Madam had a big fight and Master left the Manor!"
Hermione frowned, "what do you mean he left?"
"Master is packing his trunk and leaving! He is sending Mimi the hotel where he is staying. Then Mimi is trying to help Master feel better, but Master yelled at Mimi." Mimi began to break down into tears, "Master is yelling at Mimi like Master Lucius used to do."
Hermione gasped. Whatever had happened between Draco and his mother must have been some blowout for it to affect him so strongly. "Where is Draco now?"
"Mimi does not know Miss. Master Draco left hours ago and is not saying when he is returning."
"Ok," Hermione's mind began racing. "Mimi, did Draco bring Aries with him?"
"Yes Miss," sobbed Mimi.
"Alright, I want you to go back to the hotel and send Aries here. I was planning on writing to Draco tonight anyway."
"Miss, Mimi knows Master Draco is wanting to hear from you. Master Draco is not liking not knowing where his Herminey is." Mimi paused. "But Miss, please don't tell Master Mimi is here, Master isn't knowing that Mimi is gone."
"Don't worry Mimi, I won't say a word to Draco about you coming here. Now just go back there and send Aries to me. And thank you for telling me what's going on."
"Yes Miss, thank you Miss," Mimi bowed and with another snap she disappeared.
As soon as the elf was gone, Hermione sat down to write a note to Draco. She found it a bit difficult not to mention what Mimi told her, and it was even more difficult for her not to ask questions about it. But by the time Aries arrived, tapping his beak against the glass of the window. Hermione had finished her letter and reread it just to be sure it sounded good. Her main goal was to ease Draco's temper, and she felt confident that her note would succeed somewhat. Hermione then opened the window to let Aries in, and then reread her letter one more time, just to be safe.
"Hey Aries," Hermione cooed as she attached the letter. "Bring this to Draco for me alright?"
Aries gave her hand an assuring nip.
"And help Mimi take care of him, I worry about him sometimes."
Aries hooted and sent a meaningful gaze to Hermione with his large eyes as if to say that he worried for Draco as well, and then he took off gracefully into the night.
Hermione sighed as she watched the owl fly away. Now her heart was thumping against her chest from anxiety for Draco. She had poured her entire soul out in her letter and now all she wanted was to see him again, and hear him tell her he still loved her. She finished getting ready for bed feeling as if she had a huge weight on her shoulders. She found it difficult to sleep as she lay on her bed in the darkness of her room. She stared up at her ceiling thinking only of Draco, the ache in her heart pined for him. "I love you Draco," she whispered into the night before turning over and forcing herself to sleep.
- - - - - - - - - -
Draco returned to the hotel only moments after Mimi, and the poor house-elf nearly had a heart attack thinking about how close she had come to getting caught. Draco didn't speak to her when he returned, instead he grabbed the dinner she had prepared, took it into his room and slammed the door behind him. Mimi flinched, she had been hoping he would not be so angry when he got back, but it seemed that she was wrong.
Quite some time later, Mimi was alerted to a sharp tapping on the window. Aries had returned with a letter attached to his leg. "Master Draco!" called Mimi, "Master Draco you is getting a letter sir!"
Draco was silent as he opened the door, and he viewed Aries warily, as if he did not trust whoever the letter-writer was. Slowly, he untied the letter from Aries' leg. He became more suspicious when he saw it was not addressed. He narrowed his eyes at Aries, wondering how the owl knew someone had been writing to him.
Mimi, meanwhile, watched and waited on pins and needles from behind the counter in the kitchen. She was silently praying that the letter from Miss Herminey would make her Master happy again.
Draco opened the letter, and his suspicious expression vanished the moment he recognized the handwriting and saw the signature at the bottom. "Hermione," he breathed.
He moved to the couch as he read the letter, Mimi was unable to read his expression, but at least the anger had faded from his eyes.
Draco,
Hi. How are you? I really miss you. I've wanted to talk to you so badly ever since… well, ever since the other night. I don't know if your mother told you or not, but I came over to talk to you yesterday. But instead I saw her and she said some things, they really hurt me. I hope they're not true, please tell me they're not true. I don't know what I would do without you, and I can't stand another broken heart. Ever since then, all I've wanted to do is to talk to you and tell you how much I really do love you, but every time I sit down to write, I just can't find the right words. There are no words strong enough to describe what I feel for you, I just hope you still love me and trust me too. I need to see you again, I miss you so much, and I have to know if things are alright between us. I'm free all day tomorrow after training; just say the time and place and I will be there. I promise.
I love you, and I miss you,
Hermione
Draco stared at the note long after he had finished reading. In a way he was overwhelmed. He had been feeling and experiencing so much hate and anger over the past two days that reading Hermione's heartfelt words was a bit of a shock to his system. Her words tore through the wall surrounding his heart as only Hermione could. He thought for a long time before he began to write a response, he wanted to make sure he worded it just right.
He dropped the note next to Aries' cage, "Aries, deliver this to Hermione in the morning post, understand?"
Aries hooted and ruffled his feathers in response before folding his head over his wing and going to sleep.
Draco meanwhile, did not want to sleep. Instead, he walked out to the balcony and just stood there looking into the night sky. He didn't know how long he stood there for, but there seemed to be not enough time in the world to organize the various thoughts and feelings clustered in his mind. So after a while, when he was beginning to feel a sense of hopeless frustration overwhelming him, he retired to bed.
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A/N: Well, there you have it. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter because it turned out very differently than I had planned originally. As always reviews are greatly appreciated, I love knowing what you all think. And finally, I will reiterate the promise I've made before, I will never leave a story without finishing it, so no matter how long it takes to update, the update will come (although I will do my absolute best to update faster from now on.)