Chapter 6
Hermione and Draco's romance was gossip fodder for the entire school, even two weeks later. Instead of being annoyed at their classmates' nosiness, they were relieved not to have to hide their feelings for each other from their peers. They sat together during all their classes, and at mealtime, they usually ate with Harry and Ginny.
Their easy relationship showed just how different Hogwarts became after the war ended. Now it was common to see students from different houses sitting together in the library and at meals in the Great Hall. The faculty was especially glad to see the changes, and the unity shown by the students of the "New Hogwarts." They believed that the evil was finally behind them.
Ron and Astoria had decided to play nice and act as if they were just following the example set by Draco, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny. They often sat together at meals and studied together in the library. Draco was very suspicious of the sudden friendship between Ron and Astoria, as he was often caught staring at them trying to work out the reasoning behind this odd pairing. From his previous dealings with the Greengrass family, money was very important.
Today, Draco, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny were sitting next to the Black Lake having a picnic lunch. As usual, Draco was watching Ron and Astoria, who were walking together along the perimeter of the Forbidden Forest. Still distracted by the other couple, he poured pumpkin juice into two goblets for Hermione and Ginny. He and Harry were drinking butterbeer that Harry had hidden beneath his robes.
After taking a long sip from his bottle, he said, "I just don't trust that those two are friends now. I mean, who would ever believe that a Slytherin would befriend a Gryffindor unless there was something in it for them." He looked that the two with an unmistakable look of malice on his face.
Harry looked at him curiously and said, "But Draco, you befriended Hermione and I this summer, what was in it for you, then?"
"Honestly Harry, are you really that dense?" Ginny asked with a smirk. "Hermione was what was in it for him."
"Ginny, I have said it before and I will say it again, you really should have been sorted into Slytherin," Draco quipped at her obvious grasp of underhanded thinking.
"I will take that as a compliment Malfoy," she said before standing and holding her hand out to her boyfriend. "Come on Harry, let's go for a walk."
Harry and Ginny set off around the lake leaving Hermione looking strangely at Draco.
"What's wrong Granger? Have I grown another head? Why are you giving me that look?"
"What look are your referring to Malfoy?" she said emphasizing her use of his surname aloofly. His previous comment about befriending her and Harry just to "get" her left her very upset. She worried that he was only looking to get into her pants.
Draco looked into her sad expression. He knew she was mentally debating his ulterior motive in forging their friendship and, now, relationship. He decided that it was time to tell her the complete truth.
Rising to his feet, he said, "Hermione, I did have ulterior motives for becoming friends with you and Harry. I thought that if you and I became friends, that you could finally see me beyond my reputations as the son of one of the most ruthless Death Eaters, the attempted murderer of Albus Dumbledore. I was just a boy being forced to do the bidding of the most evil bastard of all time. If I denied him he would force me to watch my mother slaughtered. Your opinion matters of me matters so much, because I have been in awe of you since fourth year. I have deep, true feelings for you, Hermione, and it hurts when you doubt how I feel about you."
He turned away after his speech, and started walking down towards the shore of the lake leaving a stunned Hermione Granger behind him, staring at his retreating back with her mouth open.
Hermione jumped to her feet and ran down to catch up with him. Once she reached him she grabbed his arm, turned him to look at her, and asked, "What are you saying Draco?"
"I am saying that I love you Hermione," he yelled. Ignoring her shocked expression, he continued, "I knew that I liked you since the Yule Ball in our fourth year, but I knew that I loved you when you fought Bellatrix during the final battle. One of her curses came entirely too close to you that day and in that moment I knew that I was capable of murder after all. If Molly Weasley hadn't knocked me over I would have killed my aunt."
"If you loved me, then why did you just stand by staring as that same aunt was torturing in your manor?" There. She finally asked the question that had been keeping her from admitting her love for him.
"You never wondered why you were able to keep lying, while she was torturing you and didn't mentally break? I used Legilimency on you while she had you under the curse, to spare your mind. I couldn't stand to see you like Longbottom's parents. I invaded your mind and took on some of the pain."
Hermione burst into tears at his explanation. He wrapped his arms around her, pressing kisses onto her forehead. "I love you Mione -- only you. I became your friend hoping that you would realize that I wasn't the same spoiled git that used to call you names. I became your friend hoping that some day, you and I could get past our childhood. Imagine my surprise when you not only accepted me, but seemed to like me too. I was starting to think that you had deep feelings for me."
"Oh Draco, I...I l...love you too. I fought it so hard, because I couldn't get past you letting your aunt curse me. Now I know that you didn't. I am so sorry Draco, please forgive me," she sobbed out pressing her face into his chest.
Draco put a finger under her chin, tilting her face up to his so that he could look into her beautiful, whiskey-colored eyes, he said, "Hermione there is nothing to forgive. You didn't know what I did."
"Harry did, though, didn't he? That is why he accepted you so easily isn't it?" she asked him softly.
"Actually, the Weasel was the one that figured it out first. He came once while Harry and I were meeting before my trial. He threw it out thinking for some reason that it would make Harry doubt me, but that was what actually made Harry finally believe that I had changed and deserved another chance."
"Ron figured it out?" she asked incredulously.
"Yes, he isn't nearly as dense as he lets people believe. I don't trust him Hermione. He is up to something with Astoria. Harry and I both think that he is plotting something with her."
"Well, then we'll have to be on our guard whenever he is near, to make sure he doesn't do something to hurt you." Hermione supplied bravely still holding tight to him as if she was scared that he would disappear.
"Actually, we are more worried that he would try to hurt you, Mione."
"Is that why you two haven't left me alone once since school started?" she asked looking up at him.
"That, and I just can't help wanting to be with you every possible minute. I really do love you Hermione." He leaned down and softly kissed her lips.
She tightened her arms around him again and passionately kissed him back for the first time in public.
After a few minutes, he pulled back with some difficulty and gave her one lighter kiss before reaching down and threading their fingers together.
"Why don't we gather the future Potters to go and talk about this in our Common Room? He put his hand at the small of her back and led her over to where Harry and Ginny were sitting looking at the lake.
However, he failed to see the couple they had previously discussed come out from the shadows of the Forbidden Forest.
"The potion we put in the pumpkin juice should start working tonight Weasley. We will need to make sure that no one thinks to suspect us. You did see Hermione and Ginny drink the potion didn't you?" she asked.
"Yes they did, and I made sure that Kreacher gave Harry the butterbeer telling him that Draco hates pumpkin juice."
"I still don't understand how it will work though, Astoria." Ron said. " I mean I know that it will make them start distrusting Malfoy and Harry, but why did we have to use a potion, we could have just spread around the school that you and Malfoy had been together and I just don't understand why Ginny needed to drink the potion too"
"Because, Weasley, Pansy said it will cause…" she broke off in horror about what she had let slip.
Ron looked at her with complete horror on his face, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, PANSY SAID? WHAT DOES PARKINSON HAVE TO DO WITH THIS?" he roared at her.
Astoria flinched at the sheer volume of his screaming. "Pansy is the one who told me how to break them up. It was her idea to put the potion in their pumpkin juice." She finished in a small voice; she was genuinely scared of Ron at that moment.
"Astoria, what was that potion you gave me to put in their juice?"
She then spoke the name of one of the darkest potions, a potion so horrible that it was stricken from the records in the Ministry of Magic, "Diffius Amatoris."
"Oh Merlin, what have we done. Astoria, do you know what that potion does?" he asked her.
"Pansy said that it would cause a woman to doubt the fidelity of the one they were with," she said confidently.
"Astoria, Diffius Amatoris, doesn't cause distrust. It makes a woman barren. It makes it so that she is unable to conceive a child. Salazar Slytherin concocted it to make sure that his mistresses wouldn't become pregnant." He spoke each word slowly, to make sure that she understood what they had done. He was ignoring the voice inside his head telling him that his reckless actions had just caused him to lose Hermione forever, because how could she ever forgive him when he would never forgive himself.
"But Pansy said…" she began but was cut off by Ron.
"Exactly, Astoria, Pansy Parkinson said, the witch wasn't allowed back to Hogwarts, because she is insane now. She has tried to kill Draco three times since the final battle. When he spoke against her at her trial, she lost it. How could you listen to Pansy Parkinson?"
Astoria was crying now, great heaving sobs were coming from the small witch. "But I didn't know. She has been writing to me all summer, trying to give me ideas for how to make Draco see me. I didn't know she was insane!"
Ron pulled the small young witch into his arms and awkwardly patted her back. "You couldn't have known. Her trial was kept very quiet at Harry and Draco's request. She lost it after the war. She still believes all of Voldemort's preaching." Ron released a tired sigh.
"She played you, Astoria. She knew that you were young and wanted Malfoy and would believe whatever she told you. She counted on you not realizing what you were doing. This is my fault. I should have demanded to know what potion you were using. I was just so angry with Hermione. I wanted her to feel the pain of loss like I was feeling, but not this. I would never want this for her."
"We need to go see Professor McGonagall immediately and tell her what we have done before it is too late. Maybe there is an antidote? Come on," he said, while pulling the crying witch to her feet, and guided her back into the castle straight to the Headmistress' Office. Before facing the gargoyle guardian, he thought," My mum is going to kill me when she finds out what I have done."