Bittersweet
by cenagurl
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters… if I do, I wouldn't injure the feelings of all the DHr shippers out there, and instead, I would make them all very happy by making Ron fall in love with Crabbe and Pansy with Goyle so Draco and Hermione can finally live happily ever after… -sigh-
xxxxxx
Chapter 3: Bargaining with the Devil
Hermione stared at the woman in front of her in absolute horror. She blinked, wondering if she heard right; after all, the wind was practically howling and the thunder was roaring. But judging from the look on Narcissa's face, she surmised she heard right.
But why would Narcissa Black Malfoy, wife of a pureblood Death Eater, ask for her help? Was this another trickery of those cold-hearted Death Eaters?
"Please, lady, you have to help me," Narcissa's broken voice jolted Hermione from her thoughts. "You're the only person I can run to. I know you can help me, you're the only one I can trust enough to do this. Please…" the older woman ranted on, and after every sentence her voice got more hysterical that Hermione couldn't understand anymore a word she's saying.
"Why do you need my help?" she asked, as some of the shock began to wear off, which was replaced by an unpleasant curling in her stomach. She had a sinking feeling that what Narcissa was about to say will be a very bad news.
"Miss Granger, you have to help me get my son away from his father," Narcissa managed to say through her tears, her lip quivering as she waited for the girl's reaction.
She looked as though she had just been struck by lightning.
Hermione literally froze on the spot. She gaped at Narcissa, whose hands now gripped her shoulders in a very unyielding hold. "Lucius is planning to make Draco a Death Eater, and I would die before I let him. Please, lady, help me protect Draco, please don't let Lucius get him---"
Hermione finally found the strength to speak. "You don't want Draco to become a Death Eater?" she asked incredulously.
The woman before her gave a weak nod, tears still pouring from her eyes, mingling with the raindrops that splattered on her face and robes. "Please, miss, promise me you'll take care of Draco, and that you won't let his father get him,"
Hermione was silent for a long time, her mind going completely blank. She honestly didn't know what answer to give to the pleading woman before her. She looked like she was telling the truth, but she couldn't be too sure…
Then, Narcissa said something that finally assured Hermione's mind that Narcissa wasn't tricking her.
"I know I don't deserve your trust, but I want you to look past our statuses and believe that I trust you enough to leave my son's life to your hands," the blonde woman said softly, looking at Hermione straight in the eye.
"I'll help you," she finally said, and Narcissa gave a small smile through her tears. "Take care of him," she whispered, then, with a small cracking sound, she was gone.
Hermione stood there for a long time under the raging storm, her umbrella sprawled on the floor, and her grocery bags lying soaked on the cold stone floor. When she was able to think coherently again, she thought, What have I gotten myself into?
She had bargained with the devil.
She didn't know how long she stood there in the rain, her hair hanging in wet clumps around her face and her clothes drenched enough to wring out a gallon of water from.
Only when she started to tremble violently from the cold did she start to move. Having no intention of picking up her umbrella or her fallen things, she began to walk, but her foot got caught on something and she fell forward---- not on the hard ground, but on something much more soft---- was that a man on the ground?
She blinked several times as she tried to make out through the dark who or what the thing she landed on was. Unfortunately, the whole place was now pitch black, so she hastily dug her pockets and brought out her wand.
"Lumos," she muttered, and a faint glow was emitted from the tip of her wand. She pointed it close to the figure, and gasped at what she saw.
Leaning on the brick wall of the narrow alleyway was an unconscious Draco Malfoy, who was wearing a hooded dark-colored robe. He was also sodden with the rain, the raindrops rolling down on his face and body in rivulets.
Is he still alive? She thought in panic, her free hand frantically searching for a pulse. She sighed in relief when she found one at the base of his neck, faint, but steady. After that she started to heave him up with her, but he was far too heavy, and his wet robes were making the job harder.
Inwardly cursing, Hermione thought about shedding off Draco's robes, leaving off his equally soaked sweater and pants, but thought the better of it. When the task was done she heaved him up again, and after the third try she finally succeeded. Slowly she hobbled away from the alleyway, Draco's slack weight in tow.
She paused to pick up a can littered in the streets, then pointed her wand at it and murmured, "Portus." She grabbed her companion's hand and placed it on the can along with hers--- then they were both pulled forwards by an invisible force into a swirl of blurry colors…
With a thud they landed on the ground, Draco's body now fully draped over Hermione's in a rather obscene manner. Hermione took no notice of this however, as she was already pushing his body away from her.
When she was able to straighten her composure, she staggered up and slung Draco's slack arms around her shoulders and stood up, then closed her eyes to concentrate on her thought.
The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at Number 12, Grimmauld Place, London.
The headquarters appeared almost quickly, and Hermione opened the door and gingerly stepped inside, Draco still unconscious beside her.
She hobbled on inside, walking as quietly as she could as not to disturb the paintings on the wall.
When she reached the end of the hallway, she went up the stairs leading to the bedrooms, pausing every now and then to take a break; Malfoy certainly was no light-weight, although he was on the lean and muscular side.
When she reached the top of the stairs, she saw Ginny step out of their bedroom, and when she saw Hermione carrying an unconscious man, she gasped.
"Hermione, what happened?" Ginny asked, sprinting over to her with an anxious look on her face. Hermione was grateful that the hood had concealed Draco's face, or else Ginny would be screaming like a banshee about an enemy coming in their sanctuary.
"I'll explain later," Hermione said, catching her breath from all the effort. "Help me put him in my bed first," Ginny immediately complied as she swung one of Draco's arms around her shoulder.
When they had finally laid Draco's unconscious form on the bed, they were both panting with exhaustion. "What happened?" Ginny asked again, looking over at Hermione.
"Promise not to scream first, Ginny," Hermione requested firmly, and Ginny nodded. She went over to the bedside and pulled off Draco's hood, and Ginny gave a low sob of fear.
"Narcissa Malfoy brought him to me," Hermione explained in a tired voice. "Apparently, she doesn't want her son to become a Death Eater, as Lucius wants him to be,"
Ginny was still staring at the unconscious man with frightened eyes. "H—Hermione--- are you sure about this?" she asked, her voice coming out high-pitched and filled with terror.
Before Hermione could answer, the bedroom door swung open again and Harry entered, Ron lagging behind him. "Hey Hermione, I thought I heard you come in," Ron said. "Where's my bre---" he froze in his tracks when he saw the figure on the bed. Harry also stopped.
"Who's that?" Harry asked, a frown creasing his brows. Ron walked past Harry and peered at the face of the unconscious man. When he saw who it was, he took a step back, a look of horror on his face.
"What's wrong, Ron?" Harry asked. "Who is it?" the only answer he got from his red-haired friend was a quick shake of the head. Irritated, he walked over by the bed to look at the face of the stranger.
He looked into the face of his sworn enemy.
xxxxxx
A/n: Yep, Hermione and Draco are finally together in this chapter, but he's unconscious and Hermione still doesn't have the hots for him. The diagnostic test in Math obviously drained my mind. –smiles sheepishly- But I promise you'll find the next chapter lots and lots more interesting! I'm almost finished with it, and I'm sure you'll be happy with what I will do...