Bittersweet

by cenagurl

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters… But if JK would sell them to me for a couple of bucks, then what the hell, it's mine! MINE!

Note: About the problem with chapter 1 and 4 being the same… it's repaired! I'm so sorry to those who were confused! I was editing all the chapters, and I kind of got them mixed up. So to those who read the two chapter 4s, go read the first chapter now: )

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Chapter 6: Monsters and Heroes

Draco woke up sweating and breathing heavily. He bolted up, his eyes bright silver, looking wildly at his dark surroundings. Where was he? He couldn't see a thing. The room was pitch-black, making him very aware of the distinct rumblings of the thunder outside and the heavy bullets of the rain pattering on the roof.

He shoved the sheets away from him and jumped from the bed. As he did this, a sharp pain shot through his left shoulder and chest, making him curse floridly under his breath. Staggering, he felt for the door so he can get out--- he didn't know why, but he wasn't very comfortable with the dark.

When he opened the door, he stepped into a scarcely lit hallway that looked so morose and creepy, then hesitantly started walking onwards. Just as he was about to reach the stairs, he bumped into someone--- literally.

He let out an unsuppressed gasp of surprise as the stranger groped for him in the dark. "Lumos," the stranger muttered, and the tip of his wand lighted up. He then held it up to see whom he had bumped into, and when they saw each other's faces, one looked startled and the other looked so ready to wet his pants in fear.

"You--- you---" Draco started, his whole body quivering in fear. "Draco? Is that you?" the man asked in utter disbelief. The stranger made a move to step closer to him, and just as he was about to do so, Draco saw the stranger's face--- he had greasy black hair, a hooked nose and sallow skin.

"Waaaaaahhhh--- monster!" he screamed, then rushed past the man, whose mouth hung open in surprise. Just then another screaming followed Draco's, an old woman's voice, and he ran as fast as his feet could carry him, his heart racing under his ribcage in absolute horror. He never looked back, just ran on, until he reached the bottom of the stairs, where he slammed to another person.

"Draco, are you alright?" a female voice asked worriedly, and Draco felt small nimble hands steady him around the upper arms. Draco didn't know why, but somehow, the fear he was feeling suddenly melted away at the new stranger's voice. He relaxed in her grip, and he whispered, "Where am I?"

He felt the girl sigh. "You're… somewhere safe," she answered. Draco felt thoroughly confused with the girl's words. If he was safe here, then who was that monster upstairs, and the woman screaming?

"Are you sure?" he asked, wanting a sort of confirmation from the girl so he can be at peace. "Yes," the girl replied, and he gave a sigh of utter relief. "Have you just woken up? Are you hungry?" she asked.

That's when Draco realized how hungry he was; his stomach rumbled loudly, mingling with the fading screams of the old woman. The girl laughed when she heard the noise. "I thought so," she said, then led him to a candle-lit room, where quite a number of people were gathered in a table, eating their meals and speaking in hushed voices.

As they entered the room, Draco turned to see who his rescuer was. It was a girl of medium height, with brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, and mahogany eyes that looked more golden in the soft light. She wore a simple pink sweater, and some faded jeans that didn't make her look one bit ordinary. Draco thought she looked… adorable.

He could remember her face… but he can't seem to recall her name. Now that he thought about it, he didn't recall his name as well until the sallow-faced monster called him. His name was Draco… but who was she?

He thought real hard about her name… he could feel it started with H. Was it… Her… Her… Her…

"Hermy?" he finally blurted out. The girl looked at him quizzically for a moment, and then gave him a warm smile. "Yes Draco, Hermy," she said softly, then walked over to the table while he trailed behind her, his stomach giving another rumble when he caught a whiff of roast pork and Yorkshire pudding.

The people looked up at the noise, surprised. A redheaded boy gave him a cold glare as he shoveled a spoonful of food in his mouth, while the raven-haired boy wearing glasses pushed his own plate away, as though suddenly losing his appetite because of his presence.

"Is he alright, Hermione?" a rotund woman asked anxiously, looking over at Draco's savior. Hermione nodded, then turned to look at him. "What happened upstairs, Draco? Why were you screaming?" she asked.

Draco looked frightened again as he recalled the ugly monster upstairs. "Th---there was a monster upstairs," he stammered out, and was totally bewildered when some of the people in the table laughed.

"What monster are you talking about, Malfoy?" the redhead beside the raven-haired man asked sarcastically, clutching his sides as he laughed.

"The monster happens to be me." said a cold voice from the doorway. Everyone's head's swiveled to that direction, and they all saw Severus Snape standing idly in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest.

Draco gave a low whimper and hid behind Hermione. Ron and the others sobered up at once, although there were hints of grins on their faces as they realized that Malfoy had thought the potions master a monster.

Snape's beetle black eyes surveyed the room with indifferently before falling on the frowning ex-Gryffindor with his former Slytherin pupil hiding behind her back. "Would anyone explain to me why Draco is here in Grimmauld Place?" he asked in a calm, dangerous voice.

Molly Weasley paused in washing the dishes. "Well, Severus, since you arrived only tonight, we didn't have the time to tell you that---" she stopped when she caught sight of Draco. "I'll explain later in the meeting," she said quickly, and Snape nodded curtly.

"Well, shall we eat?" Hermione asked, and Draco gave a hesitant nod after shooting Snape another fearful look. The two of them sat down and ate in silence. Harry and the others had already risen and were shuffling out in the room. Snape had gone out as well, saying that he needed to speak to Minerva.

After eating, Hermione and Draco walked out of the kitchen then went over to Harry's room, where most of the teenagers in the house hung out. "Draco, I want you to remember that when Harry and the others are mean to you when we come to them… I'm here, and I'll be your friend," Hermione whispered, and Draco nodded, remembering the looks of loathing on the faces of the people in the dining room, and feeling very grateful towards the girl that rescued him.

"But Hermy… may I ask why they're so mad at me?" Draco asked as they started climbing the staircase. He saw the girl bite her lower lip, as though debating whether to tell him anything or not.

"Well…" Hermione began, looking unsure of what to say. "We… sort of didn't get along back at school…"

"Was I the bad one?" Draco asked, looking as though he feared her answer. Hermione was silent for a long time. He took that as a yes. After all, silence always meant yes. At least to him, it did.

"I was so horrible, wasn't I?" he asked timidly after the long, tense silence. Hermione was at a loss with what to say to him. "Err--- well--- I admit, you were quite horrible, but honestly, at times I found you alright, and--- we're here!" she looked very relieved when they reached Harry's bedroom door.

She hastily turned the knob, but it was locked. "Harry?" she called out, knocking on the door. No answer.

Hermione stared at the door, perplexed. "Harry, are you there?" she said a little bit more loudly, but still there was no answer. "Maybe he's asleep," she concluded, turning to glance at Draco.

"Maybe he doesn't want to see us," he returned. Hermione felt a sharp pang in her heart. She looked like she agreed with him, but she didn't say anything, just gave Draco a small shrug and a forced smile.

"Maybe professor McGonagall wants to see us," she announced in a falsely bright voice. Draco had caught the injured look on her face, however. "They don't want to see you because of me," he said quietly.

Hermione bit her lip, then patted him awkwardly on the shoulder. "No, maybe they're just too exhausted and don't want to be disturbed," she replied grimly.

Just then, a loud crash of thunder sounded from outside, and Draco fell down on his knees, his hands covering his ears and his face hidden behind his longish strands of white-blonde hair. Hermione knelt down in front of him and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Draco, you're shaking," she observed, but he didn't respond, just went rigid when lightning cracked in the black sky followed by another loud bellow of the thunder. She gave him a gentle squeeze on his uninjured shoulder, then assisted him in standing up.

"Let's just go to my room," she said soothingly, and Draco gave a small nod, his hands still on his ears. Hermione led him to her room, then, when they entered, she brought out her wand and lighted the torches that hung on the wall.

She let Draco sit on the edge of the bed, and she sat on the chair she had sat on earlier. He was still shaking when she turned to look at him. "Draco, it's over," she said gently, leaning over to gingerly pull his hands from his ears and face.

"I hate storms," he whispered, his arms falling limply to his sides. Hermione gave a solemn nod of agreement. "I do too, but we can't escape it because it always comes. And unexpectedly most of the times if I might add," she responded, the image of Draco lying unconscious at the dark alleyway vivid in her mind.

Draco didn't answer, just stared off into space for a long time. "I just woke up, I'm not sleepy," he suddenly announced, breaking the silence that hung in the air.

"Then what would you like to do?" Hermione asked, yawning. Draco gave her an impish grin. "Since you're sleepy, I'll just watch you sleep," he said.

Hermione cocked a brow at him. "Wouldn't that be a total bore?" she asked. "If you want, you can go read some of my books," she offered, but Draco quickly shook his head. "I want to watch you sleep," he said stubbornly, and Hermione couldn't help but laugh at the ludicrousness of the situation. She never dreamed that Draco Malfoy, her number one nemesis, would want to watch her sleep. Well, maybe he would want that, then strangle her to death or drown her in the river.

"Alright, watch me if you want," she answered, rising from the chair. She then headed over to the cabinet, her pace slow and sluggish. She brought out her orange flannel pajamas then walked over to the bathroom and changed. After scrubbing her face and brushing her teeth, she stepped out and rolled down her sleeping bag on the floor.

Draco watched her with fascinated eyes. "Why do you sleep on the floor?" he asked. "I thought only house elves do that."

Hermione glanced up at him with an annoyed look in her face. "Yes, and doesn't anyone pity them? They deserve to be treated kindly, as equals, and not as servants!" she snapped out, surprising Draco with her sudden brash tone.

"If that's what you think…" Draco responded carefully, realizing that his rescuer also had some aggressive streak in her. No, she didn't look one bit like the meek girl he saw earlier. Her eyes were now blazing amber with irritation, and her lips were pursed disapprovingly.

"I'm going to sleep," she announced curtly, lying down on the sleeping bag and covering her body with the blanket. "Don't you want to sleep on the bed?" Draco asked.

"No." Hermione replied shortly, closing her eyes to sleep. Draco felt so ashamed that he had angered his savior that he couldn't help watching her lie on the floor like some slave. Sighing, he went over to her and picked her up from the floor.

Literally.

Hermione gave a startled shriek, and hastily tried to break away from him. Draco was adamant, however. She was the one who rescued him from the sallow-faced monster after all. "Draco!" she said loudly, trying to escape from his grip. Draco dropped her on the bed rather ungracefully, then gave her a smile that said he won.

"I always get my way," he said arrogantly, although he did not sound like the old Draco; rather, he sounded like a child who managed to have his way without any hassle. Hermione made a move to sit up, but Draco pushed her right back down.

"Go on, you don't have to worry about me, I'm not one bit sleepy," Draco assured her, and Hermione reluctantly pulled the sheets to her.

"You're going to be fine?" she asked, and he nodded firmly. "If I get bored, I'll just read some of the books here," he said, and Hermione nodded in agreement, her eyes beginning to droop lower and lower.

"Sleep now," Draco said softly, and Hermione finally closed her eyes, sleep coming over her almost too quickly.

He watched her the whole night, his eyes never leaving her serene face.

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Harry heaved a sigh when Fred confirmed that Draco and Hermione had already left his doorway. Taking the extendable ear from the wall, the redhead heaved a sigh. "I almost feel sorry for the git," he said. Then, a second later, he stuck out his tongue and crossed his eyes. "Not!"

"I wish you didn't leave Hermione with him," Ginny huffed out, her arms crossed over her chest. "She didn't do anything to us after all,"

"Well, she brought Malfoy here, didn't she?" George reminded his sister, recalling in full detail the story Fred told him about Hermione bringing the brat in Grimmauld Place.

"We all know Hermione," Ron said, shifting uneasily on Harry's bed. "She's too tender-hearted that she even took the poor, innocent Malfoy in," the twins nodded their agreement.

"Why, what would you do if you were in the same situation, Ron?" Ginny asked angrily. "I wouldn't bother with the git, of course," Ron answered without any hint of remorse on his face.

"Let's just drop the subject, alright?" Harry said furiously, and they all quieted down quickly. Ginny gave Harry a pat on the arm. "Harry, we can't avoid Malfoy forever," she said softly, her brown eyes pleading with Harry's stormy green ones.

Harry was about to reply when a sharp rap sounded at the door. "Meeting at the Order starts in two minutes," came Tonks' cheerful voice. Harry quickly stood up and yanked the door open.

"Coming," he muttered, slamming the door loudly behind him before the Weasley siblings could follow him.

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"Where is he?"

Lucius asked that question softly, calmly. Narcissa shook her head at her husband, her pale blonde hair falling limply on her bruised shoulders, and her bleeding mouth quivering as she held back her tears.

"Crucio!" Lucius bellowed, and Narcissa screamed in pain, her body twisting in an odd angle. Narcissa fell on the tiled floor with a thud just as Lucius lazily lowered his wand. "The truth potion will be ready in a few hours," he told her with a sneer. "So if you want to save yourself from more pain, I suggest that you tell me where Draco is right now,"

Narcissa gave a low whimper when Lucius grabbed a fistful of her hair and neared his face to hers. "You won't tell me?" he asked idly when Narcissa shook her head. Forcefully he threw her back on the floor, then pointed his wand to his wife.

"Crucio."

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A/n: harhar. Hope you liked this chapter. Please review: D And domo arigato to the consistent reviewers! I swear your names will be honored in the next chappies! And those anonymous reviewers as well… you're not forgotten!

Note: To those who are wondering why I'm still in school when almost all of you have already gotten out… I live in Asia, and school just began here… Urrgh! I hate being a senior! So many works to be done already, and we've just been in school for three weeks! And the college entrance exams… -shudder- so please, please bear with me if ever I fail to submit a new chappie for a long time, okay? Don't forget Bittersweet…

Extra note: if you find any grammatical errors on my works… please e-mail them to me so I can repair whatever it is that needs to be repaired. And thanks to the reviewer who was kind enough to tell me some of the wrong grammars etc. with the chapters. Benedict cite (God bless)!