Secrets Behind Her Smile Chapter 7: History, a harry potter fanfic

Author's note: okay, so I've been busy, I'm really sorry for not updating but I am really busy. School started and I have tons of homework and other such things to do. Anyhow enjoy the chapter...while waiting for the next chapter check out Time Heals.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter Seven

History

The day came when Hermione had to go back to Hogwarts. After saying her goodbyes to her parents on the platform she took her trunk onto the train with Mie. "You can join Harry, Ron, and me" she said.

"Yeah, that might work out perfectly" Mie said then.

Hermione nodded and so lead Mie to the compartment that had over the last few years become hers, Harry's, and Ron's. They were both already there waiting.

Hermione smiled when looking at her friends "guys this is Mie. She and I met over the break. She's in Ravenclaw in our year"

Ron and Harry nodded as Mie sat down across from them with Hermione. "So how was Christmas?" Ron asked somewhat hurt that Hermione had gotten together with some other friend but not him or Harry.

"Good" Hermione said "family, and such things" she said then and smiled at her friends "how about you?"

"The or…" Ron stopped when Harry shot him a look "it was good at the burrow though Lupin was acting all weird"

Hermione didn't know how she would go on through the next half of the year. As she looked to Mie she knew how. Mie had become her new best friend. The two of them could talk about anything and everything.

"Odd" Hermione replied "anyhow, how about a change of conversation" she said with a slight grin.

"And what would that conversation entail, Hermione?" Mie asked.

"The N.E.W.T.s" she replied "okay, I want to start studying this weekend. Not that I haven't been looking over other stuff since the beginning on the year or anything" she added the last bit when Ron looked at her surprised.

"Why do we even bother with thinking about what she will begin talking about" Ron said and then took out a chess board and his chess set. Harry smirked and did the same and they began a game.

Hermione turned to Mie "God. I cannot believe how hard this will be after returning to what I once knew"

Later as Hermione and Mie took their trunks from the train with Harry and Ron Dawn ran towards them Draco in tow. "Hermione" she said "I want to talk to you."

This left Mie, Draco, Harry, and Ron alone. Mie tried to make Harry and Ron walk but Harry had already turned to him "move along, Malfoy"

"I'm waiting for my girlfriend" he said simply "I don't have to move but you can"

Harry gritted his teeth "come on, he's not worth it. Aren't you head boy?" Mie said to him.

Harry nodded and walked along but Ron was not convinced as easily so when he jumped on Draco and began to punch him Mie screamed and shook herself and took out her wand but Hermione had already separated them.

"Ten points from Slytherin and Gryffindor" Ron stared at her. "I don't care, Ronald! You'll also both go see McGonagall at the castle"

Dawn who was behind Hermione took Draco's hand and the two of them left. Dawn and Hermione shared a knowing smile.

Mie, Harry, a nose bleeding Ron, and Hermione walked towards the carriages. Ron and Harry were trying to get Hermione to tell them what Dawn had wanted to talk about with her. Ron then commented that Dawn was actually rather cute and didn't deserve someone like Draco Malfoy. Not getting any reaction from Hermione at this comment he fumed for the rest of the trip knowing that he had failed to impress Hermione, had a seriously painful nose, had lost ten points for Gryffindor, and was going to be facing detention. The second term hadn't even begun and he knew that he was going to be in some trouble.

Harry accompanied Ron to McGonagall's office to offer what he had seen. Hermione had told Harry to tell the headmistress everything and not side with Ron.

He had not agreed upon it but Hermione didn't really care.

"So, what did she want?" Mie asked.

Hermione sighed "I'll tell you later" she said then "someone may overhear"

In fact Hermione would tell Mie but first she wanted to analyze what she had agreed upon with the woman that would become her husband's mistress if everything worked out between her and Draco. Hermione knew it would.

When Dawn pulled Hermione away she put a silencing charm around them. "He told me of the arranged marriage and I wasn't exactly overjoyed with it. I like Draco a lot and I think that maybe with I could have something more.

"Draco said that you and his father are very close. In fact he made the fact plain that there might be more going on there than meets the eye and that is saying a few things" she smiled then.

Hermione grinned too. "I won't say that it is true but I guess that we should arrange something. I don't love Draco. I mean he is cute but I will never like him as more than a friend. I will marry him and that can't be changed but I don't mind if you date him.

"If this, whatever it is that you have with him, turns into more I really don't want to stand between the two of you. My loveless marriage will be what saves his family. If Draco ever married you the two of you would never be able to have any children. He doesn't know that. Don't tell him. I don't care if you love him, if you and he sleep together, I don't care if Draco shares a room with you and I sleep alone by myself every night because I know what I had to do"

Dawn who had for an hour, when she first found out, cursed everything about Hermione's name now was looking at what she knew to be Hermione Granger. She smiled and hugged Hermione and she knew that Hermione wasn't entirely bad. And while yes she was marrying Draco, Hermione was giving her the permission to be with him. She was allowing Draco to cheat on her.

Severus Snape stood watching the screams, the eyes around him of the muggles. The ones that knew what was happening and he knew like they knew that were going to die. He had nothing to do about it either. He knew that Katariina was probably worried about him. She had confided in him the other night that she didn't like him going out for the death eaters and killing.

Katariina accepted it but she had told him how much she hated waiting for him when sometimes he didn't even come to her after these nights.

Severus at the moment was reliving a memory of when he killed Dumbledore. He had hated himself for months afterwards and while he had been pushed further into the death eaters he still didn't really believe what was claimed by Voldemort.

"Severus!" Lucius Malfoy shouted at him.

He shook his head and then nodded at him friend and fired a few spells making the blond forget that he was there and just leave him.

The impromptu attack that had been proposed by lord Voldemort earlier was what Severus would call a nuisance but what other death eaters would call fun. When it was over they all went their separate ways.

Severus went to Katariina's flat knowing how worried she would get. He had not a scratch on his body. Yet when he entered the flat Katariina made sure he didn't. As soon as she was done she hugged him.

Severus pulled away and looked down at her pointedly. "You, Mr. I'm the potions master of the dungeons and I don't hug people, I don't care how you feel about hugs. I like them!" she poked him on the chest.

"Really, now" Severus said with a small chuckle.

Katariina stared up at him as she nodded and let her hands rest on his chest. He pulled her closer "You know, Kat" he said "I'm starting to see a different side of you"

"You caller me Kat, you never call me Kat"

Severus smiled and bent his head kissing her.

Narcissa Malfoy knew that when her husband was in one of his bad moods it was better to just leave him alone. So when she heard him slam the front door she stayed out of his way and heard him stomp to the library. It was where he went when his mood was testy. He wouldn't be sleeping that night either but none of it made any difference to her.

After all Narcissa was going out tonight and nothing was going to make her stay home. One of her good friends had gotten back in the country and they were going to catching up on that night.

"Why do we learn history?" asked Professor Binns surprising everyone. It was one of those days when he actually decided to teach class "it is so that we learn from the mistakes of those of the past.

"It is so that history does not repeat itself. Nevertheless nothing will ever stop it from doing so. The simple fact is that history does repeat itself. Numerous times but it is the things we learn from being in a history that will help us from stopping the mistakes that once happened"

Hermione nodded to herself. She was sitting between Harry and Mie and it was the first day back. "You know" Mie said "he has a point. I finally learnt something from this old ghost"

Hermione laughed and turned back to Professor Binns who was speaking again.

"Today we shall begin learning more recent history. The history of a man named Eltanir Malfoy. Eltanir Malfoy was the first Malfoy to ever set foot in England in the times of the persecution of witches and wizards alike in France. While the Malfoys were very proud they moved so as to not be persecuted and soon with their large amounts of money managed to buy a large piece of land and build themselves a house.

"The Malfoys are still prominent today and are one of the oldest families alive. Now Eltanir Malfoy decided that he wanted nothing more than to be bigger in the wizarding world and so he began working in the ministry. He was a young bachelor at the time and met a woman at the time. She was higher up in the ministry of magic at the time and very friendly with the minister of magic. Her name was Auriga Trumer and she became the minister of magic three years later.

"There have always been many dark witches and wizards and while she wasn't one of them her father was. What her father wanted more than anything was to change the wizarding government completely."

Hermione knew she had heard the two names before or read them somewhere but she couldn't place it. But the thing that bothered her the most was that she couldn't tell what this was all about and she had read a lot of things about history.

"He talked Eltanir into asking for his daughter's hand in marriage. But before the marriage could happen Eltanir promised to make Auriga give him power over the ministry.

"The minister of magic has a lot to say about power. In fact they can make it so that they are voted for every year so they can stay in power because of this when Auriga decided to abdicate and Eltanir took over no one questioned it. Everyone liked Eltanir he being very high up in the ministry as well

"But the moment that Eltanir took over he married her and then the once democratic government was changed to a monarchy. Eltanir became the king of the wizarding world."

Hermione blinked at least five times and then the bell rang. She had never heard about this before and when she turned around and saw Draco at the back of the room with Dawn. They shared a look.

Draco, Mie, Dawn, and Hermione all sat in a back table of the library. Mie was looking around for any suspicious people. "But why would your parents not allow you to know about this?" Dawn was asking Hermione.

"I don't know but did you know, Draco?"

"No, father would have told me surely. I mean he has told me anything there is to know about the family" he shrugged.

"I think that there is more to it than that. History repeats itself, right, why would they not tell us unless they knew that history would repeat itself"

Lucius Malfoy was still not in a good mood. It had been a good two days since he got home and his wife left him alone. He was happy without the annoyance that was Narcissa but his mood was getting on his nerves.

He needed to find that book and he needed it now. He had found something out the previous night and if he was correct everything he had worked so hard on for the past twenty years would pay off.

But now that he was so close to figuring everything out nothing was going to stop him and while he knew that he had other things to do, responsibilities to follow through this was his main event. This was the one thing that he wanted to actually get done.

It was a harder task to find something in his library than expected. The Malfoy library was rarely ever used and had some powerful spells that did not allow many people to touch the books. The books couldn't be summoned or for that matter called upon unless you actually looked around and found them.

This was what was getting him mad but he didn't care. No matter what he would find that book and when he did he would do something about it.

"Once the truth comes out and she knows who she truly is and what she will be capable of doing that is when everything will change" Wormtail said simply to his master. He wasn't too close to the dark lord and yet he was still useful and he knew that as long as he stayed useful he would be kept alive.

"For the better or worse, Wormtail?" it was at this time that a flustered Remus Lupin entered the room.

Peter refrained from answering then and just stared at his former best friend. They still talked but it was never the same as it had once been. When Remus betrayed them and when Remus got Peter on his side they were very close but then after a while they stopped and soon it was just an acquaintance. They had no friends.

"My lord" Remus said bowing "I have the information you asked for"

"Ah, good, Remus" he smiled "We shall then just wait for Severus and everything can get started. Wormtail, how bad?" he said.

"Terribly" replied the rather chubby man. "She could take over you know, she could just make things turn around and everything would change everything"

Lord Voldemort just chuckled "and this is why she is in our ranks. She is powerful, no? She will never once go to that side now and she will be with me and she will take over after I die which won't be for a long time. Now, when she does find out the truth could we take it to our advantage?"

"I, I don't know, my lord" he said with a small shudder.

"I though as much, leave us" this he hissed at him sounding a lot more like a snake than intended.

While Lord Voldemort had changed and for the better he was not less scary than before and he was still a lot like a snake but not in a bad way.

Remus said nothing and just watched him think. It was then that she entered. Remus had always thought she was beautiful. His fellow death eater had been at Hogwarts with him. A clever Slytherin who barely had any friends, she had been pretty then but now she looked a lot better in his eyes.

She smiled at him "My lord" she said and bowed to him "I have some of the things you were researching about blood"

"Perfect. This shall be a good night after all. Where is Severus?"

Severus Snape at the current moment was lying on the floor of Katariina's apartment flat on his stomach. He was trying to kill the spider that had made Katariina run from the room.

"Why am I doing this again?" he asked Katariina

"Because you love me and would hate to see me suffer from that, that thing, lying about a hundred eggs in my flat" she shouted back from the kitchen where she was hiding from the spider.

Severus chuckled and looked for the spider. Finally finding it he squashed it with his shoe. He then went into the kitchen in search of Katariina.

He couldn't find her anywhere in the kitchen and frowned. She had gone in there. He had seen her go in there.

Katariina was hiding behind the fridge as if the spider would somehow manage to get her if she was close to it at all. Severus chuckled as he came up behind her "now, why are you hiding"

She turned to him "is that hindrance dead?"

"Yes" he said, "now come on, you were going to show me something"

Katariina nodded and took his hand "Yes, but first I must kiss my hero" she said dragging his head down towards her. Katariina smiled into their kiss. She could get used to this kind of thing.

But then Severus pulled back "I have to go" he said rubbing his forearm.

Katariina stared at him and shook her head "he's calling you?"

He nodded silently.

Professor Dowd sat in her chamber grading papers. She could have done it over the break, in fact she was supposed to but that never really worked out; after all her family had gotten in the way, as had her friends and her fiancé.

When she saw the flames turn green she frowned. Usually it was only ever a teacher and her fiancé that would come visit her but she knew for a fact that they couldn't possibly.

When she saw Katariina enter the room she set her papers and ran to hug her friend.

The two of them talked about anything and everything catching up about everything that had so far happened in their lives since they last saw each other years before.

"I really must get to work" Professor Dowd then told her "why don't you go to the library. I need a few books and I've been meaning to go there but I've been a little busy"

Katariina decided that it was a good idea and so as soon as she had a list of books to get her friend she left for the library.

The library was generally empty when Katariina entered it. But near the back she heard Draco say something and then she watched as Hermione left them followed by a girl that she didn't know.

She watched for a few more minutes and then decided to join Draco and his new girlfriend from the looks of it.

"Hello, Draco" she said sitting down.

"Hey" he said "Katariina this is Dawn. Dawn, this is Katariina"

Katariina smiled at Dawn. "So you're his new girlfriend, I take it?"

Dawn grinned "yeah" she said as Draco stood up.

"I have promised to meet a professor around this time. Detention, you know" he grinned at them "I'll see you later, Dawn."

"So, how long have you two been together?" Katariina asked.

"Not longer than two weeks but I can see being with him for a long time. He's just so sweet and nice. But we already have problems" she sighed and ran a hand through her blond hair.

Katariina watched her "what's the problem?"

"Draco is getting married" Dawn said with a simple shrug just as Hermione came running towards them.

"I forgot my book" she said with a small laugh and then turned to Dawn "I told you I don't care" she said and then left leaving a confused Katariina.

"Hermione and Draco are getting married" Dawn told her "arranged marriage. Of course Hermione told me that she doesn't care if Draco and I date. She also said she doesn't care if I am the one he shares a bed with." Dawn sighed "And while she is giving me permission it is also very wrong"

Draco finished his detention and was about to head to the room of requirement where Dawn was waiting for him when he decide to go to the astronomy tower. Something told him to go there. He felt into his pocket and smiled at what he had been carrying around with him.

When he entered he wasn't really surprised to see her there. She was sitting by the edge staring out into the sky and seemed to know he was there because she spoke to him "what are you doing here?"

Draco sat down next to her "just needed to think" he said "you know I always expected my father to arrange a marriage between us. I think that it was why he told me to look for you. I knew it would happen" he looked at her "I wanted it, then"

He took a deep breath "when I first knew it was you I was sort of happy. I mean, and this is completely off the record, I liked you when I first met you and I still had that small crush on you for a while but then I met Dawn. I love her, Herms, I love her" he looked at her "I never though I'd ever love someone and it's been what? Two weeks since I met her and I love her"

He began to laugh.

Hermione smiled too "I'm happy for you" she said and gave him a friendly hug.

But he stopped laughed and pulled away "I don't want to cheat on you" he said softly "I don't want to be my father. I don't want to be with Dawn when I am married you as much as I love her. I know what I have to do and sometimes my duties to my family and to the cause will mean more than anything else"

He stood up and began to walk around. Hermione stood up "I don't care" she said to him.

Dawn was tired of waiting and so decided to leave Draco a note telling him to go to the astronomy tower. She then left the room of requirement and made her way to the astronomy tower.

She stopped right outside when she heard Hermione and Draco.

"But I do" Draco said taking Hermione's hands "I know that you don't care for me that way and I don't care for you that way but can you really tell me that when we are married that you won't get mad at me when I am with Dawn. When we have a baby, I know my mother will make this happen somehow, what will you tell our child when he or she sees me not with you but with Dawn?"

"The truth" Hermione said, "please understand that I just don't want you or Dawn to suffer because of me"

Draco nodded and then smiled at her "you can be just so caring sometimes" he said "anyways there is a question I've been meaning to ask you"

He got down on one knee and stared up at her. Hermione surprised said nothing "Marry me"

Hermione shook her head "If you promise me that you will not let me get between you and Dawn"

Draco looked at her amused "I promise. Now, will you marry me, Hermione Sombroy?"

Hermione nodded this time "yes, Draco" she said as he slipped a ring onto her finger "Of course I'll marry you"

Dawn outside leaned against the wall and took a deep breath; she needed to go in there. And so she turned and walked inside.

Draco stood and wrapped his arms around Hermione "I wanted to do this right" he said "not my father telling me that we were getting married.

Hermione laughed "yes, I do believe that would be considered a little on the odd side"

They both chuckled. Draco looked down at her "I think maybe it won't be so bad. We're already friends and maybe someday we may care more for one another."

Hermione said nothing but just pulled away "yeah, but I think that we will never be there. We can never really ever be more than friends, I don't think we could"

"Severus" Lord Voldemort said "you're finally here, I've been waiting. You know Remus I presume"

"Yes, my lord" he said looking at the werewolf with a raised eyebrow. He never knew that Remus Lupin was a death eater or that he had become a spy if that was the matter.

"Shall we begin, my lord?" Remus asked then.

He stood from his throne like chair and walked around the room and then he nodded "yes I believe so but first I shall need a drink, do you care for anything?"

A servant entered the room as if he had known or had expected the dark lord's request but then it was to be expected after all.

"Firewhisky" Remus said then "thank you"

"The same" Severus said as Voldemort nodded.

"The usual for me, Rachel"

The woman who was in her early twenties nodded at her master. She was a muggle born who had wanted dearly to be a death eater. She like Tom Riddle had been treated poorly and had chosen to hate. She left to get them their drinks. And Tom smiled a nasty smile "well let's begin, boys, it is going to be a long night"

And it would be.

"Prophecies in their own way can be ignored and do not have to take place" Remus said "It doesn't matter the prophecy had been foretold because it is up to them to set it in motion. The power of choice"

Voldemort stared at his follower "Yes, the power of choice but couldn't it have already been set in motion? Without them knowing it, that is"

Severus sitting across from Remus watched the werewolf turned to the dark lord and then looked back to Remus before he finally spoke his mind. "Hermione Sombroy and Lucius Malfoy will not take on this prophecy. Hermione believes that we make our own fate and has for many years. Lucius is very stubborn and won't like this. Neither of them will set this to happen"

"They might" Remus said "the simple fact that they don't know about it alone could help this take place. They won't be looking for anything that might happen and so might just set it to happen.

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Come to the forest tonight, midnight

Hermione smiled at the note knowing whom it was from. She hadn't seen him since they told Draco about the arranged marriage and even then it hadn't been for an extremely long time.

So when his eagle owl had given her the letter that morning while she was drying her hair she had been very happy. It had altered her mood greatly.

"Hermione" the youngest of the Weasley's and the only daughter entered the room "Harry, Ron, and I are waiting" she said and then looked at the note in Hermione's hands and then the owl that compared greatly to Draco Malfoy's.

"Go down, I'm skipping breakfast, I have a few things to get to"

But Ginny did not move because it was then she saw the ring. It was on Hermione's ring finger and she knew it cost more than anything she had ever owned.

"Where did you get that ring?" Ginny asked then.

"Oh, this old thing, family heirloom" she shrugged "it was my grandmother's. She gave it to me during Christmas I just remembered about it this morning"

Ginny eyed her but then shrugged. It did look a little old. "And the owl is from?"

"Viktor" Hermione said simply "now, go to the boys, knowing them they will be aching to go eat"

Ginny nodded but she felt a little curious at how much Hermione had changed and how quickly it had happened. He question of why lingered in her mind as she left her friend.

Hermione sighed after the red head had left. The ring had been kept hidden from everyone with an invisibility spell so that only certain people, people that knew of the engagement, could see it.

She tapped her ring and then turned back to the owl before smiling and then taking a quill to write a quick response.

I shall be there

Then she sent the owl off.

That night Hermione dressed all in black and she walked out of her dorm. She was about to exit the common room when she heard Ron call her name. She turned to them.

"What?" she said.

"Where are you going?" he questioned. Harry sat next to him on the couch.

Hermione thought quickly "the library" she said "I have a few things to research"

"You were in the library yesterday; you're always in the library. Ginny told us about the letter this morning. Are you meeting him?" Ron stared at Hermione somewhat hurt.

"I am not a child, Ronald, I can go to the library by myself! In any case even if I wasn't going to the library you wouldn't need to know, I can take care of myself!" she the turned and wanted to walk away again but she Ron took her from the elbow.

"Tell me where you are going" he said simply "or better yet, I'll come with you"

Hermione pulled away and stared at him for a few minutes "you're supposed to trust me, why can't you just let me do something for myself"

"I don't want you to get hurt" he said.

"It isn't like you will be able to help me at all, you'd be a hindrance" she huffed "I'm just going to the library.

"It's after hours, you can't" he said then.

Hermione walked towards the portrait of the fat lady. "I'm head girl" she said "I can stay out all night if I choose to"

Ron looked at her startled "You wouldn't, don't you know how dangerous it is out there"

Hermione walked out of them room shaking her head, he was very annoying. There was not a doubt in her mind about that. She walked quickly hoping that he hadn't followed her and then when she reached the doors that led outside she sighed.

The forest was just as dark and as unwelcome as ever but Hermione entered it. She was used to what she was walking into but she didn't know exactly how much of a choice she had made by walking into that forest. But she had made a choice; a choice that would follow her for a long time.