A/n- Jeez, you guys get angry when I post a cliffhanger! No need to get all testy, here's the next chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't have anything witty anymore!
Summary: Cats out of the bag.
Jackknifed
Draco's fork clattered onto his plate, pinging off the rim, twirling for a moment on one of its tines before thudding down next to a bowl of fruit.
Balise set his goblet down and glanced at Malfoy, a few others' raising their heads from their breakfast to glare at the interruption.
Draco stood up sharply, pushing back against the table, hitting the back of his knees upon the bench. The force pitched his hips forward against the table. Goblets of honeyed syrup and juice rattled precariously, Malfoy's flute of milk tipping over as his plate crashed into its stem, spilling inky whiteness across the tablecloth in a wide, bloodless stain.
Malfoy's chest felt like it was on fire.
Now a few of the Gryffindors had turned in the seats, craning their heads to look at the Slytherin who was standing stalk still against the table, few followed his gaze.
Hermione's eyes were darting around the Great Hall. She was scared and pushed back from the table, swinging a leg out into the aisle.
Draco's hands gripped the table in a white knuckled clench.
Hermione stood, the only other figure in the Hall to do so, Malfoy being the other. They were heads above the rest, staring wide-eyed at each other. Harry calmly placed his spoon of cereal back onto his plate, resting a hand on Ron's shoulder as if it would stay him. Ron, oblivious, look at Harry with a confused stare and mouthful of muffin, but Harry was looking up at Hermione. Ron followed his gaze.
She was looking at … something. Ron creased his eyebrows and stared, following her gaze to Malfoy against the wall.
"Bloody hell?" He murmured through his food.
Both Draco and Hermione held each other's gaze. A murderous staring contest. Draco winced, hands gripping tighter onto the varnish. For a moment, just a slight moment, his blond lashes quivered, lowering his petal soft gaze a fraction.
Slowly, dreamlike, he blinked.
Connection lost, Hermione bolted, swinging her other leg out and making a break towards the double doors.
For a moment she didn't understand why she was running away, she loved him, after all. But that fear of exposure, of keeping nothing sacred and hidden, had released that flighty adrenaline within her veins and all she saw and needed was escape.
Seeing her pull away distressed Malfoy and he watched almost nonplussed, as she ran. But something within him stirred.
"Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart."
Fate.
Love.
He wasn't going to let her go this time, it would be the death of him.
Draco untangled himself from the table and stumbled backwards; making a sudden movement towards the direction Hermione was headed.
Now all eyes were up at watching, a few people's mouths hanging open; audible gasps.
Draco broke out into a half sprint as Hermione ran down the row of tables. He could see her distress, her confusion, like a wild animal trapped in a cage.
He caught her just before the door, a pale hand gripping her left arm and swinging her around.
"Get your hands off her you bastard!" A voice yelled, but no one moved, everyone was still.
"Don't leave." Draco pleaded, softly, yet his voice cut clearly across the room.
Hermione shook under his grasp, turning around to look at him.
"Don't do this." She said, a sob rising in her throat.
"Why?" Draco relaxed his grip on her, noting how hard his fingers were crushing her robe.
She laughed.
"Why?" He asked again and her face became grave.
Neither dared to look around them at the faces of those watching.
"We can't! You said so yourself! They won't understand!"
"Hermione, I'm dying without you!" Draco yelled, his voice cracking a bit at the end, reverberating around the room, hollow. Hermione turned her eyes up to meet his. "I can't do this anymore. I was wrong, Hermione. I was wrong." He swallowed hard, his other hand reaching up to flutter around her waste.
"I love you, Hermione."
A sob without tears escaped the girl's lips.
"I love you, Draco."
It wasn't snowing, he wasn't on his broom, she wasn't leaning out over the Quiddich stands, but it was perfect, all the same.
Pulling Hermione closer, Draco bent slightly at the waist, blond hair sliding forward from behind his ears, covering his mercury eyes. They were only inches apart and Draco felt a breath, a sigh, come up from Hermione, her eyes wide but calm. Draco watched her from behind long eyelashes as he bent his head to hers.
Their lips touched tentatively at first, hesitant, but Hermione leaned into Draco and he was able to wrap his right arm around her shoulder blades, deepening the contact.
Some one at the Slytherin table screamed, not a slow bitten moan, but a high pitched, blood chilling shriek.
A few other murmurs of 'Merlin!' and gasping echoed off the wall, followed by a strangled roar.
Hermione and Draco broke away, looking wildly about, Draco's face heated, Hermione's eyes misty.
Ron was struggling against Harry's grasp as the shorter boy tried to root his friend down to the spot.
"No! No, Harry!" He was yelling, loudly. "I'll kill him! I'll kill the bastard!" He wrenched on Harry's arm while he stood and sent the other boy sprawling against the bench.
Hermione gave a terrified little moan at the sight of her friend, Draco stepping in front of her, his right arm holding her behind him.
Ron had taken out his wand and was barreling up the row of students towards them. Draco fumbled in his cloak, his wand in his right pocket and the arm to draw it out protecting Hermione.
"No, Ron, please." Hermione said, breathless behind him.
"Get away from him Hermione!" Ron growled, feet from them. Harry had picked himself up, running now to hold Ron back, but Ron was on fire.
Draco sneered at them both.
"Not another step, Weasel." Malfoy hissed, voice soft and deadly.
Ron's face was pink, heated, and he watched Draco step forward, shielding Hermione more. This infuriated him.
"Don't you protect her! We protect her! From dark wizard scum like you, Malfoy!"
"Not another word." Draco had his wand out by then and it pointed directly at Ron's chest.
Harry came up from behind. "Ron, it's not worth it." His voice was a warning.
"What! Harry, how can you not be angry!? It's MALFOY!"
"He knew, of course." Draco smiled bitterly.
Ron gaped at him for a second before throwing down his wand and lunging at the blond. Draco raised his, ready to strike but Hermione screamed, looking away. Her sudden noise made him falter and Ron's fist barely missed his side as he twisted to the right.
"I'll kill you!" The boy screamed as he swung another punch.
Hermione moved and Draco went to shield her, the fist connecting and grazing his upper jaw. The hit made Malfoy stumble, overbalance, and fall backwards onto the ground, Hermione under him.
Students all around them were yelling, the teachers bolting up from their seats.
"Stop!" A loud voice boomed over the crowd, and all fell silent, even Ron, who was being held back by a frantic Harry, paused.
Malfoy twisted into a sitting position, off of Hermione, blood trickling down his cheek from a cut under his eye.
Dumbledore held his hands out as he stepped down from the dais in front of the Hall, making his way towards the gaggle of students who had swarmed forward to watch the fight. The sea of heads parted as he stepped through.
Draco was on his knees, holding Hermione's hand as they both stood.
"Deatheaters, Voldemort, werewolves… those I can stand, but Ron- I'd never seen him like that." She was babbling softly, her eyes clear, calculatingly bright. "He would have truly hurt you, Draco."
Malfoy grimaced. He could have taken the Weasel.
"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Malfoy, Miss. Granger." The headmaster said calmly as he approached them, his arms resting across his chest. "If you would please accompany me to my office…" He trailed off and watched Draco absently smear the droplet of blood across his cheek. McGonagall and Snape walked up from the staff table. "Now." He added as an afterthought.
"Yes Headmaster." Harry and Hermione said in unison. Malfoy merely nodded, but Ron glared at the floor, his hand smarting.
They walked, Harry in the middle of Ron and Hermione, Draco on Hermione's left. They felt McGonagall and Snape looming over them as Dumbledore lead the way out of the murmuring crowd. Faintly they could hear Pansy howling in pain at the Slytherin table. With each new sob Hermione felt Draco wince beside her.
She reached out to brush his hand, but not take it. Malfoy smiled despite himself.
He could nearly head Snape dying behind him.
"Tongue Ton Toffee." Dumbledore quipped, nearly cheerful. The gargoyles on either side of his office entrance jumped back, the staircase swirling ever upwards.
As they entered, Dumbledore conjured six chairs in a semi circle round his desk, seating himself in the wingback hair behind the oaken table. He gestured for them to sit also, the students doing so, Draco with such a weight that the chair screeched on the floor.
Hermione sat beside him, Harry to her right, Ron to his, McGonagall next and Snape directly across from Malfoy. But Snape didn't sit as he was offered. He merely stood behind the chair, his face livid, staring Malfoy down.
But Draco didn't take the bate, he merely balled his hands up on his knees and sat back, head tilted towards the ceiling.
Oh he felt so tired.
McGonagall's mouth was a mere slit, her eyes glaring.
Personally, Malfoy didn't see what the whole problem was. Just throw Weasel a few detentions and it was over with. Done.
"Now…" Dumbledore said slowly, lacing his fingers together. "What's going on?"
Draco snorted and Ron made a slight grunting noise.
None of the adults were amused.
Dumbledore tried another avenue.
"Since you all clearly have something to prove, as seen this morning at breakfast, and as it seems that Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, and myself are presently all ears, you now have a captive audience." He looked at each student in turn over his half moon spectacles.
A long silence followed this statement and Hermione looked as if she was in visible pain.
"Please Sir, we didn't… it wasn't…" She trailed off lamely.
Another pause.
"As it would seem that none of the students are presently wiling to talk, shall I present my own explanation?" Snape hissed, blood soaking his words.
"That's quite all right Severus."
McGonagall was still silent.
"This is madness." Ron blurted after a moment, despairingly. "This is bloody madness." He looked at Hermione, brows knit. "How could you do this? How could you do this?"
Hermione looked at her shoes.
"Don't you dare talk to her like that!" Malfoy leaned dangerously out of his chair. "Like it's shameful, don't you dare!"
"It is!" Ron blurted.
"Oh excellent, we are having a conversation now, aren't we?" Dumbledore clapped his hands together.
"I love her!"
"Rubbish!"
"Ron, shut up." Harry murmured, his face in his hands. "It's not worth it, get over it, it's still Hermione She's not eleven anymore, Ron, we can't control her"
Everyone looked at him, Hermione a small smile of gratitude on her face. Ron looked like he was about to cry.
"Thank you… Potter." Malfoy struggled out, but Harry glared at him.
"Go to hell, Malfoy, I don't care about you."
"All right, all right." Dumbledore cut in before things got a little more out of hand and held up a palm. "Mr. Weasley, fifty points from Gryffindor for attacking another student, one week's detention. Minerva, if you could escort Mr. Weasley out."
The witch stood up abruptly and hoisted Ron out of his seat by the shirt collar, pulling him out of the room. Harry gave a weak but encouraging smile to Hermione, reaching over and patting her hand.
"Sorry. " He mouthed, following Ron out.
"Severus, as I see no need to punish Malfoy, you may be excused as well."
Snape looked livid, like he was going to say something. Deciding better of it, he swished out, his cloak bellowing.
"Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger, come here." Dumbledore said simply, patting the front of his desk.
Both stood and moved to stand, the Headmaster flicking his wand and Malfoy's scrape disappearing. Draco could feel the magic caress his cheek.
"It is obvious that I cannot hold my surprise regarding these recent events…." Dumbledore rested his chin upon his fingers. "However, I do want to wish you the best of luck and give you my condolences. I do not pretend this will be easy; the prejudices between your houses runs deep, not to mention your particular year's heightened animosity. The Wizarding World's may not be so pleased or ready to accept that Gryffindor's brightest witch and Slytherin's most cunning wizard are now willing to bridge the chasm that has existed for so long between the, if I may be frank, light and dark sides of magic."
Hermione nodded, but Draco only looked away.
"However," He said with a small smile. "I have no doubt you two, if you trust each other, lean on each other, will be able to withstand such a force." His eyes, now, were bright, glittering. His smile grew. "Just remember, you are much stronger together then you are apart. Whatever happens, concerning the war, your peers, your families…" His eyes flickered over Malfoy, who, was now looking directly into the Headmaster's gaze. "You have the power to change your destiny, it is not pre-set by birth or happenstance or blood."
Hermione smiled despite herself, a small pink grin that a child would wear when their Grandfather presented them with something even better then a shiny new toy: praise.
"Thank you, sir." Malfoy breathed, truly meaning it.
Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, his hands shuffling a stack of papers on his desk. His eyes dropped.
"Now, if you two don't mind, I have a particularly nasty bit of paperwork to tend to. Do you both know how many forms I must sign in order to receive approval for that Flesh-Eating Bug Repellent? Ghastly!"
Clearly, that was the cue that he was done, and Hermione and Draco bid thanks to him once again, retreating to the exit.
They stood for a moment facing that door, Dumbledore focused on his papers.
"Are you… will you be alright, Draco?" Hermione asked silently.
Malfoy nodded.
"I won't let them harm you, Hermione." He took her fingers and kissed them.
She smiled.
"Me neither."
They opened the door and stepped out into the landing, breathing in the cold clear air of the hallway, ready to face what the world would throw at them.
A/n- One more chapter!
I told you it wouldn't be sad for long!
Epilogue coming up next!!
Review! Or I'll make you do my history homework! Anyone up for a five minute presentation on the Soviet Union?
Thought not.
