AN: Sorry for not updating before - real life got crazy! Hope you're still here with me :)
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter Three
***DaB***
November 1st 1994.
Hermione Granger took a step forward, still dazed by the strange turn of events, and followed Draco Malfoy into the dark.
The room was the size of any classroom in Hogwarts, except that it didn't have any desks. The space in the middle was empty, and dim lights glowed from all around the room, making the atmosphere gloomy and melancholic. There were two sofas in one corner, and a small wooden table in between them. Next to it was a bookshelf filled with books top to bottom, and Hermione resisted the urge to run to it, pick a book, and start reading.
There were some cushions stacked in the room corner closest to them, and she felt puzzled. Than it dawned on her – if they were going to duel, there would probably be some falling included. It was pretty hot too, and she wriggled uncomfortably in her winter robes.
But there was something more important than the heat, so she turned to Malfoy, who now made his way to the couch, and asked the question that had been on her mind since she saw the door materialize out of thin air.
"What the hell is this place?"
Draco smiled lazily.
"Come sit down, I think we need to talk before we do anything."
Hermione nodded, agreeing. She walked the length of the room and sat on the dark red leather sofa across from the black one Malfoy was sitting on. She had a thousand questions fleeing through her mind so she had no idea where to start.
"You asked what is this place-" Draco started lazily, enjoying the situation in which he held more information than Gryffindor witch, "- and I cannot say for sure I know its name. I call it The Room of Need, because it adjusts to whatever your needs are at the moment."
"How did you find it?" Hermione asked, intrigued.
"Well, let's just say that I needed a quiet place to think once," he smirked, remembering searching for a private place to collect his thoughts after publically challenging Lucian Bole into a battle for power in the Slytherin house in his third year. He won, obviously. Good memories.
He could see Granger getting impatient as her knee jumped up and down in unconscious gesture of nervousness, so he continued his story.
"Anyways, I stumbled upon it on an accident. I memorized the place in case I needed to hide from the world again, but the next time, I actually needed a place to hide an object. So I thought I could hide it in the room I used for isolating myself and thinking without being distracted. However, it unexpectedly turned into a room filled with strange things, and I deducted that it must have been a hiding place for students of Hogwarts for who knows how long. So I realized that it basically turned into whatever you need at the moment."
Hermione looked puzzled, and he could almost see the wheels turning in her head. She started talking, obviously more because she needed to think out loud, than because she wanted to hear his input. He lazily twirled his tie, listening to her monologue.
"Well... it's not unusual... I mean Hogwarts is an extremely magical place, and I don't believe even Dumbledore knows all its secrets. But the room is quite something, isn't it? I mean, how does it work?" She was getting more excited by the moment. "Does it have any limitations? And how many people know about it?" She continued firing questions, not bothering to wait for his answer. "Wait, let me try something. Don't speak."
Hermione bit her lip, concentrating hard on the words in her head. Draco contemplated starting another fight, because who was she to tell him what to do, but decided against it as he watched Granger close her eyes, ignoring little bead of perspiration on her brow. He cleared his throat.
I need a circle drawn in the center of the room, marking the dueling range.
I need a circle drawn in the center of the room, marking the dueling range.
I need a circle drawn in the center of the room, marking the dueling range.
Hermione repeated the words three times in her head, and turned her head around as soon as she opened her eyes.
"Yes!" She cried out victoriously, laughing in the process, because indeed there was a shining blue line in shape of a circle in the middle of the room now.
Draco had the clear view of it as he was sitting in a place he could see the whole room in front of him, and saw the circle appear before she did. He decided to elaborate a bit, before she got too excited.
"As for how many people know, I would say two – you and me. I haven't told anybody. About the limitations, well, it will produce anything you want, but it abides to Gamp's Law. I tested it and asked for food a couple of times, yet I got nothing."
Hermione's eyebrows shot up a bit, and she was shocked that someone else knew about the Law. Then again, he was a Pure-blood wizard, it would make sense that he had more knowledge than the average Half-blood or Muggle-born.
"I need to ask something of you Granger," Draco said, leaning forward to put his elbows on his knees. "You need to swear to me that you'll never tell anyone about this room. Not to Weasel, not to Scarhead, no one. And one more thing. Everything that happens in this room stays a secret between the two of us. Alright?"
Hermione studied his face. She didn't want anyone to know about her problems, and especially not when Malfoy was going to be the one helping her. And about what happened here... well, she could give her consent, but only after he agreed to a couple of conditions.
"I will do as you ask under two conditions. First, you are never to tell anybody of this arrangement and this room unless we both agree that would be the best solution. Second – if you hurt me intentionally, and I do mean any form of intentional physical torture, the whole deal is off and I will go straight to Professor Dumbledore, right after I make sure you'll never be able to walk properly again."
He almost smiled at her naivety and her threats. As if she could hurt him in any way. And did she really think he would try to hurt her outright, when at least one other person knew about their meetings? That would be utterly stupid of him, and Draco Malfoy could be described by many less than flattering things, but stupid was not one of them.
You need her.
His expression darkened at that thought and he curtly agreed.
"Alright, I agree to your ridiculous conditions." He leaned back. "Now, this is how I planned the lessons."
Hermione thought it was too hot to sit in her uniform then, because she still had her winter robes on, and she couldn't duel in those. The room being pleasantly hot and all of the excitement and possibilities of the room just made her sweat more. She pulled the robes over her head, getting her hair stuck on a button during the process. She struggled to free herself, cursing lowly as she thought how stupid she must look with her hands up in the air and her face covered with her robes.
"Evanesco," Draco murmured, and her hair was suddenly free because the button vanished. She pulled the robes off, revealing a plain white shirt, a red and gold tie and a black skirt underneath.
"Um... thank you?" she replied, more a question than a thanks. He just nodded, cursing himself inwardly.
Why did I do that?
Draco almost groaned at his stupidity. He should have left her to choke on the bloody robes. He just hoped that she wouldn't mistake that gesture as a – Merlin forbid – friendly gesture, because the most prominent emotion he felt in relation with the girl in front of him was repulse.
It was just because your Mother raised you to be a gentleman towards girls.
Satisfied with that elaboration, he continued observing the witch in front of him. She folded her robes and put them down next to her on the couch, removing her wand from an inner pocket. Granger then turned to him, loosening her tie and straightening her skirt.
"The lessons?" she asked.
"Yes. The lessons. Well, seeing as I'm your tutor, you will be calling me Mister Malfoy-"
"No bloody way! I won't do that, are you insane?" Hermione started yelling at him, her almost untied tie forgotten, and he just laughed wolfishly at her face.
"Relax Granger, I'm just messing with you," he shook his head. "You're like a little lion cub, so easy to provoke."
Hermione was fuming in her seat, holding her wand tighter and closer. Draco was extremely amused by her fiery response to every provocation. She needed to learn how to control herself.
"As I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me –" he put his hand up to prevent any protests and she reluctantly obliged, reminding herself to curse him later, " – I thought we could meet here every Sunday evening, after dinner. If either of us has something more pressing, we have to figure out how we'll notify the other. Owls are too suspicious, and me asking other students about your whereabouts, and vice-versa, is absolutely out of the question."
She nodded thoughtfully.
"I'll think about it, you do too, and next Sunday we'll discuss it again. As for the lessons – how far ahead are you in your spells and charms?" He asked her. He knew how meticulous she was. A stuck-up know-it-all.
"I've already read all the books we'll be using this year, and I tried to practice some of the spells, but it's impossible to be alone anywhere in this castle, especially now that students from other schools are here," she replied.
"Alright. How about the... energy you feel?" Draco asked, clenching his hands into fists.
He didn't know what he wanted to hear. If she described the energy as something completely different than what he was feeling, than he would get a proof of his superiority. It was impossible for a Muggle-born to have the same powers as a Pure-blood wizard such as him.
On the other hand, and he never would admit this out loud, or allow himself to think about it again, but somewhere deep inside he wanted her to be the same as him, because then... then he wouldn't be alone. Nobody could understand how he was feeling. His Godfather tried to help him, but the helplessness he felt when the fire started scorching from the inside, the lack of sleep, the pleasurable pain he felt course through his veins when he was duelling... it was different.
She may understand.
Hermione felt uneasy at the prospect of pouring her secrets out to her archenemy. She and Malfoy hated each other. She hated him with a fiery passion; he hated her with icy calculation. But then... Dumbledore thought he could help her. If people were starting to notice her issues, maybe it was the best to put her faith into Dumbledore. If he was the same as her, well, that's a good thing.
He might be the one to understand how awful it is.
"Well... hmm... where do I start?" she started, trying to find the best way to breach the subject.
"At the beginning would be fine," his icy voice cut the silence.
Hermione looked up into his steel eyes and she understood in that moment, why this was so important. He needed to hear this as much as she needed to tell it to someone. If he experienced the same things he did, then he needed reassurance and understanding. Or maybe she needed it? She didn't know, but as rational part of her brain was trying to stop her, to tell her that she will never experience anything remotely pleasant from Draco Malfoy, she decided to take a leap of faith.
"Okay, um... well... it started when I was really young. The strange things that happened, blowing things up, moving things when I thought about them, the weather changes that somehow suited my mood... I didn't know what those things were at the time. When I got my Hogwarts letter, I just shrugged it off as normal outbursts of magic that happen to young wizards and witches, although it always seemed a bit... off to me. I mean, I could feel that it was different. I mastered the spells faster than anyone else, but still I had this feeling that there might be something more, like a... I don't know, something inside of me, it just... it wasn't right. And then..." she took a deep breath as she traced the invisible patterns on the couch.
"Then I started feeling all these weird things. I just felt this strange tickling sensation at first all over my body, and then it escalated into... into an ache, an energy that burns inside and devours me. I was agitated all of the time, and I thought it was because I was exhausted due to my course schedule." Hermione remembered all the issues she had with the Time-turner due to her overly ambitious schedule, and shivered a bit.
"But then I started sleeping less, and I used to wake up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat because something inside of me wants to get out and I don't know how to let it!"
Words poured from her mouth like an avalanche, her relief at finally being able to say it obvious to Draco as he listened to her, captivated.
"I feel it coursing through my veins, and it's getting stronger. I don't duel people because of that, and I retain myself from casting certain offensive spells. I can feel physical pain when I do cast them, and the tingles, and the overall sense of something moving inside of me, something destructive, and I don't know what the hell it is, I just want it to stop!"
She was mortified when she realized she was crying. She wiped her tears silently, and looked Malfoy straight in the eye.
Draco was silent the whole time, not moving his eyes from the witch in front of him. The witch he detested because she was everything he was taught to hate. turned out to be the one that was the same as him.
As he listened to her, it became apparent to Draco that Severus was right. The things she described, it was like she was in his head, pulling words out of him and presenting them as her own. All the feelings he was experiencing she finally put into words that would make little sense to those that haven't experienced it.
"Does it-" The words came out rusty and he cleared his throat, inspecting the ties on his shoes. "Does it ever stop?"
Hermione shook her head, and then stopped like she remembered something. Her cheeks got redder as she softly spoke, unconsciously caressing her left wrist, which bore his marks.
"It, um... well, it does seem to... diminish a bit after... after our fights."
His head snapped up quickly, and his mouth opened before he could think.
"You feel it too?" he asked shocked in a low voice.
Dark bronze and gray steel met again, but this time it was more intimate. Draco saw how her teary eyes sparkled in the dim lights, and she noticed the pained expression that he was hiding from the world mark his features. The space between them became a blur, and all they could focus on was each other.
Hermione's hair became frizzier, buzzing with static electricity. Draco's skin erupted in goose-bumps, as his vision became blurred with crackles of golden ropes. They both felt the pull towards one another, and suddenly it was hard to breathe. Hermione could smell him but only briefly, and she needed more, she needed to feel him close or she felt like she would suddenly erupt. Draco remembered her aroma from before that day, and felt that if he did not lean forward to breathe in the essence of her, he would surely stop breathing altogether.
The fire incinerated itself suddenly, making them both gasp at the same time. Hermione's heartbeat thumped loudly in her ears, effectively blocking the outside world. Draco's veins were pleasurably painful, rush of magic in his blood deafening. Grey eyes and bronze ones widened at the same time, as the screams of magic within became too much to bear. It was a vortex of unimaginable power, dragging them both down, his scent meshing with hers, her magic touching his, as the fire scorched their very core.
"STOP!"
Draco didn't remember the screaming, all that he remembered was Granger falling back on the couch like a puppet, and then his eyes closed and there was darkness everywhere.
**DaB**
November 2nd, 1994.
When he woke up, Draco couldn't remember where he was at first. He was lying on a leather sofa, staring at the plain ceiling that he did not recognize. He turned right and saw Hermione Granger across from him, lying on a red leather couch soundlessly.
That's when it all came back.
He straightened himself up quickly, getting lightheaded in the process. He felt like he just got ran over by a heard of angry Centaurs. His whole body hurt and his mouth was dry.
"Stupid room, Gamp's Law, Merlin," he mumbled to himself, and then remembered he had a wand.
I need a glass, he thought, and a glass appeared on the table.
"Aguamenti, " Draco mumbled, and the water spilled itself from his wand into the glass. After repeating the spell three times, he quenched his thirst and felt a little bit better. Then he looked at Granger.
Her hair was crazy wild, pointing in every direction, covering her face. He couldn't tell if she was dead or just sleeping, so he decided to approach her.
Every movement hurt, like thousand tiny daggers stabbing their way through his muscles, but he made himself kneel next to Granger's couch. He could see it now, tiny movement of her chest, the only indication she was alive.
I need another glass, he told the room, and another tall water glass appeared. Draco filled it with water and turned to Granger.
"Granger," he said. She didn't react.
"Granger," he tried, a little louder. The pain in his head got worse. Still no response.
"GRANGER," he yelled, and then Hermione opened her eyes and started screaming.
He fell backwards and hit himself on a coffee table, cursing loudly. The white searing pain that tumbled through his head almost made him lose consciousness, and he cursed loudly. That made Hermione stop screaming as she looked around herself, recognition evident in her eyes.
"Are you alright Malfoy?" she asked, not really knowing why. Her throat felt sore in that moment and she noticed the glass of water on her side of table. She took it, thanking the room in her head.
"Of course I'm not bloody okay! You wake up and start screaming at me out of the blue – your shrill voice is hurting my ears!"
Draco thought his head was going to explode. Hermione gulped down her water quickly, then leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes.
"Urgh, I feel like I'm about to fall apart," she groaned. "Every movement hurts."
"Imagine how I feel, on top of all that I hit my head on the coffee table because of your Banshee screams."
Draco was in a really foul mood, and Granger's next question did nothing to alleviate it.
"What happened to us?"
Hermione asked timidly, too scared of his reaction to open her eyes. That way, she could prevent him from seeing her crying from pain.
"I don't know, but this bloody headache isn't helping," Draco said, massaging his temple. He was sitting on the floor, leaning on the red sofa.
What the hell happened? What was that? The outburst, and the feelings, what was it?
The questions started roaming through his head, too many at once. He was unable, and even more unwilling to think about them. He wanted her to disappear and never have to speak to her again. Or better yet, he wished he had never agreed to this.
Teaching a Mudblood witch to use powerful magic was never a good idea.
Hermione wasn't in much better state; flashes of what happened appeared here and there, hazy and confusing, and it gave her feeling that a gauzy cloud covered her judgement. The thing that confused and agitated her most was the feeling she had in the moment of combustion. She dared not think about it now, when he was so close by.
Why does everything in my life have to be so complicated?
The thought saddened Hermione for some reason, and she barely composed herself. She turned to Malfoy when she was certain that no tears would escape her.
"I remember being in pain, and the fire... it burned out, and I could feel you and smell you-"
"Stop."
She stopped talking when he rudely interrupted her. His eyes burned fire and she held back her breath, reluctantly admitting to herself that she was scared of him.
Draco slowly stood up, resisting the urge to lean on the sofa some more. He needed to show her that he was in charge. He needed to show her that there was no weakness inside of him, and that a lowborn, unworthy witch could never affect him in any way.
"I have no idea what you think happened, but get all those thoughts out of your head."
Granger's eyes widened, and for a moment Draco saw the bronze fields that held promises of-
No.
Draco wouldn't think about it. Not now, not when she was so close. Not here, where her scent still predominated the air. Through the pain and confusion he managed to stand up, and the look he gave her was gray steel full of contempt - it made her eyes watery.
"This lesson is over... Mudblood."
And with those parting words, Draco forced his legs not to quiver as he strode towards the exit.
Whoever said that words don't mean a thing is an idiot, Hermione thought to herself as she watched the door of the Room of Need close behind the tall, blond boy.
Hermione Granger appreciated loneliness. It put things into perspective, and made her logical mind chew and spit all the possible scenarios, deciding on the course of action, and how to react in case of deflection. This time, however, she was thankful for it because of simple reason – she never wanted Draco Malfoy to see that he could make her cry.
The tears she had been holding back were now flowing freely, and she let out all the frustration and sadness. Whirlwind of emotion consumed her as she wrapped her arms around her knees and just surrendered to the utter sense of despair. All the confusion fogged her brain, her sobs were getting louder, and she could barely see the table with two glasses in front of her through the curtain of her tears.
In a moment, Hermione Granger stopped sobbing.
She was staring at the table, her mind working frantically on dissipating the fog, as she struggled to remember.
There are two glasses on the table. I drank water.
Hermione knew she was missing something, but she didn't know what. The atmosphere in the room changed, and she could feel herself getting wired up through all the exhaustion. This was what she did best - think. There was something wrong with this image, and she knew the answer. She just needed some more time. Just some more time and then –
Gamp's law.
Hermione's bronze eyes widened with surprise when she remembered that the Room wasn't susceptible to Gamp's Law, which meant that the Room couldn't give her a glass if she didn't ask, and couldn't give her water at all, which meant that-
"-he charmed it for me."
She whispered the words into an empty room, and for a moment she could almost feel the machinery in her head come to a halt after the all the heavy thinking. Her head still hurt as she repeated the words through her raw throat.
"He charmed a glass of water for me."
Hermione Granger smiled at that thought, too tired to think about it and too dazed to analyze it. She slowly gathered the robes that were resting, folded on the space next to her. Then, she took the wand from the table and murmured 'Aguamenti'. The glass closer to her filled up with water, and as she drank, Hermione could feel her aching throat slowly healing as the tasteless liquid flowed down her pharynx.
As she gathered her strength for the uneasy task that lay ahead of her – getting back to Gryffindor tower and her dormitory without anyone noticing – Hermione couldn't shake off the thought that there was something more to blond Slytherin's behavior than meets the eye.
Were she not deadly exhausted, Hermione Granger would recognize the feeling that arose in her at that particular moment as excitement.
Hope you guys liked it! I'll try to update sooner. Don't give up on me yet, and tell me what you think.