Hey guys!! Sorry it took me forever to update. But this one's my longest chapter yet! Yay. My editor went on vacation all last week and wasn't able to proofread it, so that's the reason for the delay. Good news, all of chapter 6 is already done! It just has to be edited. Anyways, I'm close to getting 500 hits, and still only 10 reviews. Come on, silent readers, step up! Well, here's chapter 5. Hope you like it!
Chapter 5-The Seal
"-and then we left." Hermione finished telling her story to a very attentive Dumbledore. She wrung her hands anxiously, feeling horrible about betraying Draco's trust so readily but at the same time knowing that she didn't have any other choice. There was no room for feelings here. This was, after all, a mission.
Dumbledore looked very thoughtful for a moment. "So, he told you the story of his past, did he? What a brave step for him to take."
"Yes," Hermione replied, encouraging him to keep speaking. Before continuing, he cleared his throat and took a sip of liquid that was in a flask on his desk. It bubbled suspiciously, daring Hermione to identify what it was.
"Dreadful stuff," he made a face, "but alas, down to business. Has Draco shown any sign of turning from the Dark Side?"
Hermione thought carefully, but she knew where his loyalties were. "No, no he hasn't." She said with more than just a hint of remorse in her voice.
A look that Hermione couldn't recognize crossed Dumbledore's face. It was something close to satisfaction, but she couldn't be sure. "I see. Well, if he does at any point show signs of changing his ways, you must notify me. Immediately. Do you understand the importance of this, Miss Granger?" Dumbledore leaned forward, his usually gentle eyes tearing into hers.
Hermione was a little taken aback by Dumbledore's forcefulness, but she agreed nonetheless. "Yes, I understand."
"Good. Has he said anything about Voldemort's plans for the future? Have you heard of any uprisings?" Dumbledore asked.
Hermione answered, "Well, I don't think he trusts me enough to tell me things that are that important."
"Make him trust you." Dumbledore said in a voice that was very uncharacteristic of him.
"Yes sir, I shall." Hermione answered dutifully, trusting that Dumbledore had a reason for all of this suspicious behavior.
"But Hermione, whatever you do, remember that you cannot fall for his lies. He will try to bring you to his side, but you must not believe him. I do not normally say this about students, but… I do not see any light in Draco's future. You'd do well to stay away from that future. Now, if you'd excuse me, I have a letter to attend to…" Dumbledore said, the thoughtful tone leaving his voice as quickly as it came.
Hermione began to turn, heading back to the Gryffindor common room, but then she saw the letter that Dumbledore was referring to. It was fairly old parchment, but that was not what caught her attention. It was the seal that stood out to her, green, with the outline of a snitch on the front. Before she even comprehended its meaning, her heart began to beat double-time.
"If you don't mind me asking, who sent you that letter?" Hermione asked a little tensely.
A flash of anger entered the typically calm eyes, but it left so soon that Hermione wondered if it was ever there at all. Forgetting about this quickly, however, she focused all her attention on Dumbledore's answer.
"Why, Severus sent this to me. Something about a petition for legalizing corporal punishment at Hogwarts-"
"It was Snape? Snape sent that to you?" Hermione repeated, wondering if she heard his words right.
"Why, yes, is something wrong?" Dumbledore asked, a concern that seemed fake entering his gaze.
"No, nothing at all. I am sorry." Hermione turned and exited, the mysterious seal in her mind as she entered the hall once again.
Once again in the comfort of the endless hallways of Hogwarts, Hermione decided to head back to the Gryffindor common room and call it a day. The mysterious seal could wait until tomorrow. Her feeling of dread was probably nothing more than her tendency to be paranoid.
She had just begun to descend the staircase when a shock of trademark silver hair caught her attention. Her eyes followed the deathly pale wig as it floated amongst the school of students, then left the group, taking its own course. It didn't take Hermione long to realize that it was undoubtedly following the path that she had returned from just moments before.
Hermione continued to watch him, and indeed, her suspicions were correct. He glanced over his shoulder before he turned the corner, making sure no one was following him, and then headed directly for Dumbledore's office.
That's odd, Hermione thought to herself. I thought I was the one doing the spying, not Dumbledore…
Suddenly, Hermione decided that she would not be returning to the common room. At least, not yet. If Draco could keep his appointments with her side, then, well, she was going to make a few of her own with his side.
Turning around, she headed straight for the dungeons.
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"You requested my presence, Headmaster?" Draco asked, his tone of voice brimming with questions. He was not comfortable in the close proximity of one who was so vehemently opposed to Voldemort, and he wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy. I'm sure you are aware of the rumors that have been going around about a possible uprising of Voldemort's followers. Some of the rumors have even suggested an assault on the school. Do you know anything about this?" Dumbledore asked, his calm cool eyes searching Draco's heartless pale ones.
Draco's mind raced, trying to think of any lie that would cover him. He answered, "I've heard of rumors of an uprising, but nothing concerning this school." Absently he wondered where Dumbledore himself heard these rumors when Draco hadn't. Plans made by Voldemort's followers were always kept a secret, how would rumors slip out like this?
Dumbledore looked a little bit disappointed at his answer. "Mr. Malfoy, I understand your allegiance to Voldemort. I also understand the position you are in, concerning your father. However, I would hope that, beyond your loyalty to Voldemort, you would have some sense of loyalty to this school. You've spent six years of your life here, surely the students and professors here mean something to you? If they were in danger, would you reach out to save them?" Dumbledore's cool, blue gaze searched Draco's. Somehow to Draco his words sounded more like a challenge or a test than a conviction.
Draco answered mechanically, "I have only served the Dark Lord as long as I have lived. I will not betray him for anyone."
A short silence passed between them, and a look that Draco couldn't comprehend swept across Dumbledore's face. "At least you are loyal to something, Malfoy…" He muttered under his breath.
"Pardon me?" Draco asked, not sure that he was meant to hear that last remark. As hardened as he was, he still felt a little hurt at the words of the wizened professor.
"Nothing, nothing, just the ramblings of an old man. It's nothing you need to concern yourself with. But…" Dumbledore looked very thoughtfully at the seal on his desk. "…I do know something that should concern you. As we speak, Hermione is interrogating our beloved professor Snape about a certain letter she received not too long ago. Perhaps your presence there would be… fitting?" Dumbledore offered.
Draco's finger twitched involuntarily. It was the only sign that showed he was uncomfortable, but it was enough. She figured out that he didn't write the letter, she figured out that everything was just a plan. Hermione was on to them, he had to stop her before any more suspicions arose.
"Well, if you'd excuse me, I'd best be on my way…" Draco offered awkwardly as he flew out the door towards the potions room. He didn't even stop twice to consider how or why Dumbledore knew this information, he only knew that their plan was coming dangerously close to unraveling before the enemy's eyes.
Dumbledore thought to himself as Draco stormed out of the room, he is going to require more attention than he initially thought. This boy is a potential disaster, if left unwatched.
Dumbledore sipped the awkward liquid again.
"Awful stuff," He commented as he set the glass down, only to be picked up and sipped again moments later.
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Draco ran down the familiar endless stairways, dreading what he would find in the potions room. Hermione was a bright girl, as Snape himself had said, it would be difficult to fool her. Had they been too careless with their planning this time?
Part of Draco almost wanted her to discover the truth. Granted, she would hate him for the rest of her life, but that wouldn't be so far off from where they were when they started. Being close to him would only tear her apart in the end, once she discovered the truth. It would almost be better for her to discover this way, report her findings to Dumbledore so they could take action before it was too late. Many lives would be saved, but Draco would have failed.
He knew that failure was unacceptable. And so, he ran onwards, determined to deceive her once again for the sake of furthering his cause.
Draco burst into the potions room without even bothering to knock. The familiar smoky scent wafted about the room, giving the place an eerie feeling. He saw a very flustered Hermione on her feet, turn and look at him with an angry and surprised expression on her face. He saw a very panicked Severus, although Severus was so good at hiding his feelings that he was sure anyone else would have overlooked it. From the way they were standing, Draco could tell that Hermione had been interrogating him, just as Dumbledore had promised.
"Draco, please explain to Miss Granger why you had to use my parchment and seal for her letter," Snape said through clenched teeth.
Draco lied, "I ran out of parchment, that's all. I knew that Severus, being a teacher, always had some. I borrowed some of his. It's nothing to get worked up about."
Hermione observed suspiciously, never taking her eyes off of him, "That's a bit of a walk just to borrow some parchment. Don't you have friends who could have lent them to you?"
Bloody hell, she was smart, Draco thought. Maybe a little too smart. Intelligence like that would get her into trouble.
"Yeah I do, as a matter of fact. But they just so happen to be Slytherin friends who would torment me endlessly once they realized the true purpose of that note. Severus is one of the few people at this school whom I can trust to keep a secret. You could learn a little trust yourself, so that maybe the next time something like this comes up you won't immediately blame me." Draco spat the last sentence, surprising Hermione with his sudden fierceness.
He knew he shouldn't have said the words, it would push her further away and then make the plan even more fragile than it already was. However, if he said horrible things now, then she would hate him.
She would hate him, and distance herself from him.
The distance would kill him, but it would save her.
Hermione immediately became angry, he could tell that easily. Her face grew red and she gave him the fiercest glare she could muster. Her eyes burned in the dim potions room. When she opened her mouth and her voice spoke, it was in the fiercest tone he had ever heard her use. "Draco Malfoy, I have seen first year boys who know nothing about me put their lives on the line to save me from a troll. I have seen a boy face his worst fear just so that his best friend didn't have to enter a scary forest alone. I've seen a man throw his body to a fate worse than death for the sake of saving the only family he had left. Don't preach to me about trust."
Her words rang throughout the familiar classroom, and then silence reigned again. It was a horrible silence, awkward and tense. Draco knew he should have stopped and left it at that, but it was so hard to stop once he got going.
"Oh, right, I forgot all about the Golden Trio and their adventures. Sacrificing themselves for a noble cause, dying left and right for the sake of what's right. I'm sorry, Granger, but I don't trust anyone who just throws his life away for something they know nothing about. Dying is easy, anyone can do it. All it takes is a minute of pain, and then it's over. True dedication comes when you live your life and fight for what you believe in until the day you die. That shows a level of commitment that nothing can take away. Dying only shows that you weren't strong enough to overcome your enemy. It doesn't show any level of trust, as much as you'd like to think it does. All it means is that you were weak. I have seen death like you will never see it. There is no glory to be found in death." Draco argued, fury boiling inside him stronger and stronger every moment.
Hermione's eyes softened, and she began to slowly step forward to him. She answered in a strangely gentle tone, "I pity you, Draco. I pity you more than any other living being. You don't know the first thing about trust, and you know nothing about love. You've lived so long, and yet you haven't lived at all."
Draco was silenced by her words, but only for a moment. He never was one who stayed down for long in arguments such as these. He started stepping towards her as well, closing the gap in between them. Ignoring Snape's frantic stares in his direction, he kept up his rant. "Well, at least I don't rely on pieces of parchment for company and intelligence for approval from others."
"You know, Malfoy, I might be smart, but my smarts at least kept me from getting hexed into a ferret." She retorted.
She could tell that struck a nerve. Malfoy never was fond of remembering his moment of humiliation. "You Mudbloods are so ridiculous, sometimes I wonder how people consider you human."
Draco could tell from her silence that he had gone too far. She stopped, utter shock coursing through her. He didn't need to look into her eyes and see the beginnings of tears to recognize her sadness. He could feel it, weighing down on him as the true magnitude of what he said sunk in.
Very, very quietly, Hermione answered, "You accuse people of their bloodline, something that they cannot change." She met his eyes defiantly. "It is you who is not human." With that, she stalked out of the classroom, not paying attention to where she was going.
Snape, who had been quiet during the episode, finally spoke up. "Draco, you could have just come down, defended your own position, and left to swoop Granger off of her feet. Somehow, last time I checked, making Granger cry was NOT a part of the plan."
Draco didn't respond. Snape's words were lost on him in the wake of Hermione's words. He was too busy thinking about the level of hurt that he had seen in her eyes, the tears threatening to spill over. He couldn't shake the haunting thought that he was the one who put them there. He was the one who caused her pain while just moments ago, she had given him the most comfort he had ever received. Just moments ago, he believed that he and Hermione actually might have a future. And he had thrown it all away in an instant.
Maybe she was right, maybe he wasn't human.
"I'm going after her." Draco said, determined to make things right with the only girl who had ever meant anything to him.
"That's a good boy. Remember the plan. Just stick to the plan." Snape encouraged.
Snape's words of plans, however, were lost upon Draco. He thought nothing of Voldemort and his schemes, all he could think about was that someone close to him was hurting, and he just might be able to heal her.
Draco ran out of the potions room, flying through the hallways, looking for any sort of redemption.
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Hermione ran until she had no idea where she was anymore. She knew she was missing class, but she couldn't face class after something like that. For the first time in her life, Draco Malfoy's words had actually hurt her. He had said far worse to her before, but somehow the time they spent together this afternoon made his accusations that much worse.
Hermione ran until she couldn't run anymore, trying to get all of her frustration out. After a while, her legs just wouldn't cooperate, and she had to slow to a walk. She walked until she was in a part of the castle that was completely unfamiliar to her. She finally came to a halt in front of two enormous wooden doors, the end of her journey. She could go no further, unless she were to break down the doors with her own two hands. Defeated, she slumped in the middle of the hallway, sitting in an awkward position on the cold stone floor.
Suddenly, despair overtook her. Why, why did he have to say things like that? Especially now that they were closer, especially now that she understood him more. Especially now that she…
Now that she what? She wondered to herself.
Did she like him? That was an awfully strong word to use when describing Draco, but it wasn't exactly dislike she felt towards him. She didn't mind his company, occasionally she found herself even craving it. Even now, when she was engulfed in this undeniable sorrow, she felt like nothing in the world would make her happier than to cry in his arms.
The stone seemed to grow colder beneath her warm skin, but that must've just been the mood that she was in. However, Hermione glanced downward at the ground, and saw a thin layer of ice slowly beginning to grow, covering everything it touched and killing all in its wake.
A sense of dread that had nothing to do with her previous feelings now entered her heart. This was not right. She had seen this ice before, in their third year, on the train to Hogwarts…
In a flash, she knew what was behind those ominous doors.
Before she could cry out for help, the doors swung open, and darkness flew out to meet her.
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A sense of terror overcame Draco. What was this feeling? And why was he feeling it now, when Granger was out of his sight?
Something had gone terribly wrong, he knew that much. An unexplainable sense of despair seemed to grip him, growing stronger with each passing footstep.
And suddenly he knew.
She had wandered down the corridor, beyond the dungeons, below the catacombs, into the deepest, darkest, most ancient part of Hogwarts. They had sensed her presence there, and had also sensed her heartbreak and sorrow. The desire to draw upon that sorrow became too much to resist… and now they were free.
They were attacking Hermione at this point, no doubt. Draco quickened his pace at the thought. For some reason, he could not stand the thought of her dead. She was the one person who had ever consoled him, the one person who ever showed any sort of concern for him.
Enemy or friend, he would not let her die.
Draco rounded a corner a little too quickly, and saw what he had been dreading to see. He had hoped that his premonitions were wrong, but now his eyes showed him that there was no doubt.
A pack of dementors were free in the school, and all of them were focusing their energy on Hermione.
"Hermione!" Draco screamed as he sprinted towards her, although she appeared to be so far gone that he didn't expect her to respond.
At his shout, the numerous dementors then turned their attention to Draco. A fresh soul to rip away from its young body, another heart to torment until the end of time. The temptation was too much to resist, the enormous amount of sorrow in his soul was a call much stronger than the girl's soul could offer.
At their approach, his own feelings of sadness multiplied within him. He couldn't resist anymore, it was too much to bear. Hermione was probably dead, there was nothing for him anymore. Dropping to his knees, he saw nothing but a green flash enveloping his only friend, heard nothing but his mother's cries for mercy, and felt nothing but the lashing pain of a thousand sectumsempra curses executed on a boy of ten who'd hesitated to kill…
He closed his eyes, to try and block out the vision, but they kept coming, stronger and stronger. He screamed to block out the noise, but it only combined with the screams of a much younger Draco as he endured his first punishment from the man who had been everything to him. His limbs went numb, frozen from the horrid cold of the dementors, breaking off his connections to the physical world. He was swallowed in the whirlpool of his own memories, falling faster and faster, the surface looking more distant every second…
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!!" Suddenly a voice broke through the screams and the suffering. A beautiful voice, pure and full of love. It lit a spark of hope in his dark abyss of a soul, which slowly grew to a steady flame. A beautiful illuminated creature flew around the room, scaring the dementors as they let out a shrill cry. They retreated back to the door from whence they came, and the door slammed shut behind them, leaving the two terrified children as the only evidence that they had ever been there.
Suddenly, a mass of busy dark hair was all that Draco could see. "Draco! Draco, are you okay?"
Draco chuckled to himself. Was that actually concern in her voice? And concern for him, too, no less? He never thought he'd see the day.
"Yes, I'm fine, don't worry." Draco answered, although he felt far from fine.
Hermione backed away from him, a stern look in her eyes. "Good," she said angrily, "don't get mad, you know you deserve this."
Before Draco could ask what she was talking about, she had pulled her hand back and slapped him hard across the face. "Don't you EVER talk to me that way again, Draco Malfoy! Do you hear me?"
"Oww, Hermione, I just came to your rescue. Don't I get some kind of reward?" Draco whined, rubbing his face where a red hand mark was beginning to form.
"Well, you're right, you did save me," Hermione considered, "so I guess you deserve this too."
Draco braced himself for another slap, but was surprised when he felt arms going around his neck. Her body was close to his, her warmth was addicting, her scent intoxicating. Tentatively, as if he were exploring a mine field, his arms wrapped around her, eventually holding her close as well.
Her lips were only inches from his ear, so no more than a whisper was needed for him to hear her words. "If you hadn't come, Draco, I would be dead by now. Thank you for coming, even after I said those horrible things to you. I… um…well, uh…"
Draco turned to face her, brushing a stray strand of hair out of her eyes. Their faces were mere inches apart. In her deep, beautiful eyes, he found all the acceptance he'd ever need. "Yes?" He encouraged her to keep going.
Hermione looked at him for a long time, drinking in his appearance, hoping she would never have to see him so close to death again. When he had been under attack, something unleashed in her, something close to terror. Suddenly all she wanted to do was save him, despite the words of hurt he had said time and time again. The thought that she might not ever see a mischievous gleam in those gorgeous, trademark pale blue eyes was enough to make the dementor's sorrow feel like nothing.
Draco could have sworn that she was on the brink of telling him something that was important, and so it made him all the more frustrated when that loving look that had entered her eyes was replaced with her normal appearance. He knew the moment had passed, as much as he didn't want to believe it.
"What… what I meant to say was… we should get you to Madame Pomfrey," she said, sitting up. "I'm sure she can help you, although I'm not sure what we would tell her. Where did those dementors come from, anyways?" Hermione asked, her usual suspicion entering her tone of voice again.
Draco sighed. "How am I supposed to know? You think that just because I'm evil or whatever I know about every little thing that goes wrong in this school."
Hermione laughed. "Because you always do! Everything that's happened you've known about, so why should this be any different?"
Draco tried to sit up, but it was quite an effort. "Well, for now can't I just get some medical attention? I almost died, remember?" He pointed out.
Hermione accused, "You're just changing the subject. But whatever, I guess your health does come first."
"Right, then." Draco said as Hermione stood up and began walking away. "What? You're not even going to help me?" Draco feigned hurt.
"You'll be fine," Hermione said reassuringly as she kept walking.
Why was she so smart? Anyone else would've fallen for that, Draco thought. Quickly, Draco stood up, and the two of them headed off to see Madame Pomfrey. Both of them filled with confusing ideas towards the other; both of them trying desperately to hide the thoughts of suspicion that were now screaming at them louder than ever before.
Both of them trying to hide feelings that they knew would ultimately destroy them if they let them show.