Higher and Higher
It's been a mad house here in my shoes. Research papers, Academic Decathlon competition, and most of all lacrosse practice. J.K. you own them for this entire story.
"Excuse me, sorry to interrupt." I slowly released my lips away from Hermione's. Surprise was etched onto her face. "Hermione, I'm Dr. Malkin," a tall brown skinned woman stood in front of me. Her lips were a little chapped and she had lines constructed onto her face, although she seemed fairly young. "You are in the early stages of AML, this type of leukemia has a high cure rate. So, there is a chance you will survive from this." "So, I can still dance," I said timidly. "That's if your white blood cells recover." "What if they don't," says Draco. "Then we will have to look for a donor but in the meantime I'd say chemo-therapy." I grab Draco's had when she says this. "I'll leave you to think okay Hermione." Dr. Malkin walks to the door and looks back, a small smile on her lips. She leaves and a silence floats in the air.
"I don't think I can do this." "Hermione, there is something I need to tell you." I wait here and she nods. "At Hogwarts I had a lot of problems. I didn't know how to act around certain people, including you." I stop again to take a shaky breath. "I was jealous of you." "Me, I don't know why you would be jealous of me. I would have thought it's the other way around." "No, never would I want anyone in my shoes. In Slytherin I never knew who was my friend or who was some parasite sticking on me just to be apart of the spotlight." "Well my friends aren't that great either. They didn't believe that I would make it they just gave up and forget about me. After all the things that I've done for them. Who would think I'd end up with you." "I bet you would rather have Potter or Weasley here with you, huh. Not me, the bastard bouncing ferret," I say the first part hotly but when I get down to the second it turns into a sober depressing statement. "That's not true, yes I wish I could talk to Harry and Ron again but I got someone better than them. When the war ended you had to pick your family up again after your father died. You had to go through the stare of the wizarding world," I shudder at that memory surfacing. "But most of all you earned every bit of respect back. You are more of a man than Harry or Ron ever could be. I just wish I could be as strong as you." "I think you are if you could survive living life with that monster you had." "That's the problem leukemia or not if I was with him for one more week I would have caved. I don't know, probably would have gotten into drugs." "NO. I was lucky then that I got to you in time," I stare into her eyes and grab her hand. "Hermione, I want to apologize for all the rubbish I put you through in school. The real reason why I did was because I had a boyhood crush on you." "Past-tense I'm sure." "No, it's still there, when I found out that you disappeared from all wizarding connections I had to find you." "Why were you at that pub that night looking for girls?" "I was drunk and wanted to have someone there even if it was for a couple hours. I still can't believe I picked you." "I bet you regret it now. I'm a prostitute, I'm branded for life." "I was a Deatheater I'm branded for life."
"I think I'm committing the number one sin in Harry and Ron's minds." "What is that?" There was a pause. "I'm falling in love with Draco Malfoy." I was stunned she…is in love…with me? I never thought I would hear those words. 'I would never fall in love with you', yes. "Well that's going to be a problem because," She goes to look down at her hands tears form in her eyes. Her cheeks are flaming red. "Because, I wanted to tell you that I love you first." She slowly picks her head up and smiles, tears are streaming down her face. I bring her into my arms and kiss her. She reaches around me pulling me tight against her. I map out everything on her body through the thin hospital gown. I kiss her tears away.
A couple hours later Hermione is dismissed from the hospital. "I need you to take these growth shoots everyday now. We need to get you white blood cell count up. Next week I need to have you back to start chemo." Dr. Malkins begins to show me and Hermione how to inject the needle right under the skin using an orange. She then hands me the medicine. I'm the keeper of Hermione's life. She sits in a wheelchair pale and bruising on her arms that I never noticed before. Dr. Malkin answers my question before I even voice it. "Hermione how long have you had bruising show?" "I don't I guess it started at the beginning of the month." "You should have come then." "I didn't know I was suppose to." Dr. Malkin gives her a grave look then nod and walks off.
Hermione usually lies in bed with me in the mornings. I give her, her shoot and then I leave reluctantly off to business.
One evening, when I came back to be greeted by my mother, the sight I was not wanting to see right now. "Draco who that woman in the room next to yours? I was just walking by checking on the estate of thing when I heard someone retching. So I went and checked on it to find a very pale and distressed woman." Oh crude. This was something I am not prepared for. "Is she aright now?" I tore off towards my quarters, with my mother following close be hind me. I opened the door to find Hermione in my bed with a frightened house elf standing over her. "Oh Master Draco, Miss. Granger has been not doing well at all. Yetti has tried to comfort her." "It's alright Yetti, this is normal right now. She'll be going into chemo in the morning." "Chemo, what is this all about? Hold did Yetti just say Granger. Draco isn't she the girl that has been reported missing a few years back?" "Yes, mum she is very sick right now and I am helping her. Now if you would please stop yelling, I already have enough to deal with." "Oh I'm being selfish aren't, with me being here all alone all the time. You know you could have told me about her." I silently pick up and carry her to the bathroom running the tap, filling the tub. Mum steps in at this moment saying how I shouldn't be seeing her at her worst right now. I only scuff I've been living and taking care of her for the past two weeks I have seen her worsen than this.
An hour later I have the room cleaned up again and Hermione enters clean and held in her hand a round silver basin. "Now doesn't that feel better now? If you have any more stomach problems just use this basin here and it will empty all by itself." She then sits her in front of a mirror where she gingerly brushes her hair. "You are very beautiful, Hermione isn't it?" "Yes, thank you for all you kindness Mrs. Malfoy." "You have repaid it back already; I now have someone in the blasted house to talk to about womanly issues. If only Draco would marry someone of your caliber."
So I'm sitting on the couch while mum is chatting to Hermione. I notice in the light that there are more bruises on her arms and legs. Through the thin fabric of her night gown I can see them. Soon mum leaves but surprises me by hugging and saying a hearty good night to Hermione. But over her shoulder she gives me a 'we'll talk later look'.
I'm woken up in the middle of the night by Hermione. She is vomiting in the basin, but her eyes are closed and she is shaking. I reach over to her to hold but she takes a sharp intake of breath and lays a hand on her lower back. I carefully raise her gown up revealing her bare back. On it a huge bruise is stretched out. Tears are pouring down my face silently. "Does it hurt?" she nods her head, and leans over to vomit again. I hold her hair back from her face and carefully hold her in my arms and kiss her tenderly on the forehead. "I'm scared Draco. I'm going to die." "No, your not, I'll do anything I have to do to save you. Just don't give up." "You know I'm going to have to tell Harry and Ron about it soon. We'll have to do it after I've done my chemo, by then I'll be bald, bruised, and sickly." "You still be beautiful." "Hmm, if I'm so lucky, let's go back to sleep my stomach seemed to have calmed down."
The next morning we try and stay as normal as possible. Just try to avoid the situation at hand by saying repeatedly, 'She's okay, she will be fine.' We enter the hospital and she is whisked away to have a tube put into her chest to do the chemo. Two hours later I enter her room where she sits with a telltale black bag hooked up to her by an IV. She is seated in a hospital bed covered with pillows and blankets. There is silence except the dripped from the IV. "I don't want to die," she whispers quietly. I grab her hand and she holds on blinking back tears. "Could you reach into my bag there on the floor and give me that plastic bag?" I do as she asks and hand it to her. Out from it she brings out a pair of scissors. "Hermione what are you-." "Shush, just watch." She brings the scissors up to her hair and cuts an awful hunk of curly hair off. The silky strands are clenched in her hand. Once more out of the bag is a bald cloth doll. Hermione then takes a plastic fitting on to the head and begins to sew in carefully her hairs on to the doll. By the time she is finished the nurse comes in to unhook the IV from Hermione. As she gets up the tube in her shirt is protruding out of her shirt. She stands up holding the doll in her arms. She slowly strokes its hair. The chestnut locks gleam in the light. "I guess it's time to pay Harry and Ron a visit." I lift my eyebrows up in surprise. "Are you sure you want to do that?" "It's now or never."
Hahaha, so I wonder how Harry and Ron are going to take it? How are Ron and Harry doing anyways, it's been like five years now. This is sure getting interesting you know. Malfoy's mum didn't act as though one would expect. You would see her yelling throughout the house 'Mudblood'. Yes she does know that Hermione is muggleborn. Just like Draco, she's changed her stars. I just wonder if the trio will be back together again. Pester me if you want to know the rest.