A/N:I'm MARRIED TO A VAMPIRE… I'm MARRIED TO A VAMPIRE!
Uhhh….i'm in luv wid Edward from twilight…and I wanted to distract u from my inexplicable delay of updates. Truly I am beyond sorry. I think I just got so caught up in the summer I sort of…ummm…forgot to update? Three weeks in France kinda does that to u. And I had so many books to read, I didn't have time to think about writing. And then when I put my layout of this chapie in my head, book 7 comes and does a memory charm on EVERYTHING. The only reason I'm pulling myself outta my self induced writer's block is bcuz a reviewer, lily, impatiently reminded me of my duty. Again, I have no excuse and u can all send ur fluffy pink bunnies shiver to decapitate me if u like:P. now on wid the story. Cheers!:
Chapter 13:
"Draco! Draco!" Someone hissed.
Draco tried to ignore the annoying voice.
"Draco! You bloody lazy Malfoy, get up!" Blaise's head poked into the dark room as he hissed uncharacteristically.
Draco moaned as he pushed himself to sitting position, carefully extracting his arms from around Hermione.
"Wassgoinon?" he mumbled, running a hand through his extremely tousled hair.
"Shhh, you idiot you'll wake her up!" Blaise was thoroughly exasperated.
"Wake who up?" Draco asked as he looked around him. His gray eyes grew as big as saucers as he fully realized the sleeping Hermione next to him. So it wasn't a dream after all. He extended a hand to make sure she was real, not just another one of his hallucinations, and caressed her soft skin.
"Yes she is real, now can you get out before I grow a beard?" Blaise hissed, pleased and annoyed at the progress he was witnessing. Draco turned to glare at his best friend for ruining his bliss as he pulled himself out of bed.
"You'll never grow a beard you git, seeing as your chin hasn't even a hair on it!" Draco grumbled as he whipped past Blaise. Walking into the hallway, he bellowed for a house elf to bring him a glass of water.
"You seem exceptionally cheerful today young man!" Abigail chirped as she walked towards the two men glaring at each other. "You should be after last night!" She sent him a jovial wink before disappearing into Hermione's bedchambers.
Draco took the water from a house elf and gulped it down.
"Can I understand the reason for waking me?" He asked Blaise after he had finished.
"You have the most mediocre means of amusement here. I have no idea how you managed to live here all this time, without contact from the outside world." Blaise drawled casually, taunting Draco.
"Oh shut up! You have the whole billiard room! Not to mention the gardens, and-" Draco cut off. "What did you find out?" He asked, knowing Blaise well enough to know that he didn't wake up early without a purpose. It's what luxury did to a person.
"In this state? I think not."
Blaise smiled and motioned towards Draco's makeshift chambers.
"Freshen up then meet me in the library in, let's say, half an hour." Blaise walked towards the grounds.
Draco dissatisfiedly took a shower and changed into fresh clothes. He found that once again, Blaise's advice helped. He felt wide awake now, and regretting last night. He shouldn't have acted so hastily. Though it had felt so…unexplainably good holding Hermione, molded into each other as if each was made for the other…
Draco shook his treacherous mind from these thoughts as two house elves pushed open the heavy oak doors of the library. Standing to the full height of the ceiling and several hundred years old, they were beautiful, intricately carved with Andalusian geometric shapes. He stepped inside to the familiar musky smell of the books Hermione loved so much…
Rows upon rows of books bore witness to Draco's days of research, where he had closed himself up, turned mad with grief and despair. They weren't happy memories, to say the least. But they weren't all bad. Draco shut his eyes as the ghosts of the past flocked upon him. There his father had stood, imposing and haughty, instructing his son on the dark arts. On the one of the antique wood chairs his hateful Aunt Bellatrix had forced him to learn Occlumency. Just beyond the shelves he had caught his parents in an intimate situation, one memory to this day he tried to forget.
Draco shook his head to chase away the memories and realized he was starving.
Blaise watched him in amusement, drinking his tea.
"Tipsy!" Draco called out.
"No need. I already took the liberty of ordering breakfast, seeing as I was reduced to a mere skeleton, which isn't good for my overall image I'm afraid." He chuckled.
Draco shook his head at his friend's occasional bouts of vanity and sat at a table laden with food. After he had eaten his fill, and had an elf clear away the mess, he looked expectedly at Blaise.
"Ah, yes the information I had for you. Well, I don't suppose it'll come as a surprise but I thought you would like to know." Blaise paused here for dramatic effect. He had always liked theatrics.
"Know what Blaise?" Draco drawled, his patience a taught string that might just snap at any moment.
"This." And here Blaise turned all business, handing a folder from the stack besides him to Draco briskly and turning to read another file.
Draco opened the file and began to read silently. The library was engulfed in a hushed silence, cut only by the sound of papers being turned. After what seemed like half an hour, after Draco had dissected every paragraph, he threw the file aside, the fire of his forgotten revenge rekindled in his heart.
"The git!" Draco muttered distastefully, as he tossed the file aside. A newspaper dropped out.
"POLICEMAN DISAPPEARS UNDER MYSTERIOUS CONDITIONS" The headlines screamed. The dates on the Muggle newspaper went back to four years ago.
Under them was a picture of a person that could have gone as Roger but for the hair color, a broken nose, and a slight difference in the sloping of the forehead.
"He planned this all. He planned marrying Hermione. He's been posing as that Muggle for years…" Draco mused, his brain working furiously.
Blaise paused from his reading to look up, a grave expression on his face.
"We are dealing with a cold blooded murderer. Who happens to be a wizard that history has no record of." He finished for Draco.
"This resets my whole theory. He wasn't revenging himself against Hermione. There is more to this than we ever anticipated." Draco had a worried look in his gray eyes.
"Is there a possibility it wasn't revenge?" Blaise asked.
"No, the Healing Iniuria confirms it, seeing as it worked." Draco responded, and the two fell into silence once more.
"What are those?" Draco asked, pointing to the innumerous files next to Blaise.
Blaise chuckled. "I do have a corporation to run you know."
"As you like to remind me everyday. It's only been a week and a half for your information."
"Enough for any of my employees to slack. Not to mention that deal from New Zealand is due to come in at any moment." Blaise countered.
"You know, I think you remain incognito just for the sake of it." Draco pondered.
"It does help strike fear into the heart of my enemies." Blaise smirked.
"Your face should be enough to strike fear into anyone's heart." Draco chuckled as Blaise's vanity kicked in. It was something he had inherited from his mother.
"My face does not…to remind you, my features are from the noblest ever to walk this land. Draco why the bloody hell are you laughing?"
Draco was laughing so hard, it felt as if he was letting out all the feelings of anger and frustration. When he had finally stopped, he felt light hearted.
"You know, if I didn't know you so well, sometimes I would think you were queer." And with that Draco stood up, leaving a furious Blaise behind him. He would figure out the humor of the situation sometime or another. That was Blaise for you.
Draco rambled across the many corridors until he reached his offices. He needed to recheck the book, though Draco had memorized it by heart by now. After he had lit the lamps, he went to his desk to retrieve it.
Not seeing the familiar image of the book, Draco started looking around the whole room, tossing a number of files aside. Any good feelings he had acquired evaporated.
Draco stopped. He remembered something. He had left a lighted candle before going to see Hermione last night. He went to the desk and found it. It had been put out, as was obvious from the fact that the candle hadn't been fully melted yet. As he glanced around the desk, his eyes caught something odd, something unusual. In the middle of the desk, an envelope rested amongst a pile of ashes. Something told Draco it was the missing book, and instinct told him it was a dangerous sign. His body temperature dropped several degrees as he slowly reached out for the envelope. He inspected it. It was blank, unmarked. Draco let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and chuckled weakly. This must be Blaise's handiwork. The information he just got had made him jumpy that's all. They were wizards after all and one could easily Apparate from room to room. Hah! And to think he was worried… Or maybe he should be. Knowing Blaise, the envelope most likely contained some ancient hex or bubator pus or something.
"Did you think I'd fall for that you old queer? Your pranking skills are seriously under question." Draco muttered to himself. He put the envelope in his pocket. It would be fun to let Blaise little vendetta backfire on him. Draco smirked at the thought. Aahh, the joys of self-amusement at the cost of others! It was something neither Draco nor Blaise had done in a long, long while. And true to the saying: "Once a Slytherin, always a Slytherin."
As he walked back to the library, something was still troubling his over-analyzing mind. Why was the candle intact if Blaise had just put it out minutes ago?
Draco quickly dismissed it from his thoughts. It was possible that a house elf had put out the candle. Or the wind maybe. Or maybe he was under estimating Blaise's powers of mischief.
Suddenly Draco found himself in front of the doors of his previous chambers. What brought him here? He was just about to go to the opposite direction as fast as he can when Abigail walked, or more precisely, danced out of the doors.
"And a right and a left and a right and pirouette!" she hummed in a tune as she spun around herself, like a professional ballerina.
"Oh there you are Mister Malfoy! I was wondering when I would see you!" She stopped, eyes twinkling. Draco looked as if he had just seen McGonagall in pigtails and giggling!
"Oh do shut your mouth dear boy. You look absolutely gormless! I'm not that old you know!" She reprimanded, and Draco managed to shut his mouth.
"And what makes you so joyful today?" Draco asked scornfully, painfully insulted at being called stupid.
"Don't talk in that tone with me young man! You should be in an excellent mood after last night."
"Speaking of last night, why did you leave her alone with me like that? You are supposed to be watching Hermione every second of every hour of everyday!" Draco asked, enraged when he remembered who had put him in that awkward position.
"Her mental state was unstable. She could have been pushed over the edge had I talked to her, or interfered in anyway. She needed someone she knows extremely well to pull her out of her fit. Which, I might add, you did a splendid job of, seeing as today her mood has been the best yet." Abigail narrowed her eyes at the platinum blonde in front of her. He couldn't be having second thoughts after last night now could he?
"You…you put me in a precarious position unfitting for a Malfoy!" Draco retaliated with the first, albeit the stupidest, thing that came to his mind. His heart missed a beat.
"What do you mean she's in a good mood?" he asked cautiously. "And why would I be the reason behind it?"
She purposefully ignored his questions. "Now dear boy, I was just going out to look for you. She specifically asked for you, you know!"
At this, Draco narrowed his eyes. "You are telling me, that though she hasn't addressed me with a single comprehensible word in more than a year, she is asking for me?" He asked incredulously, with what seemed like a hint of suspicion.
"Yes." She answered curtly. "Now do go in. Don't make a fuss, or you'll hurt her feelings. I most certainly do not feel up to using any hexes today." And Abigail pushed him into the room. Draco, surprised at the strength of the petite old lady, didn't retaliate until too late. Without another word, Abigail marched out, and Draco could swear he saw a satisfied smirk on the, in Draco's opinion, old hag's face. He shook his head in disbelief and lamented the day he ever listened to Blaise. He also lamented the day he fell in love with Hermione Granger. Seeing as he didn't have any choice but continue, he braced himself mentally for what he had to face.
What he found in the lavishly decorated room had surprised him. To start with, the curtains were open, allowing a flood of sunlight to wash over the once darkened room, and its sole occupier. The state of which Hermione was in should have been enough to render Draco speechless. She was still dreadfully pale, with dark circles under her eyes, but her appearance had improved vastly after using the Iniuria with her bath. She usually languished on the bed, not moving a muscle, her eyes half closed. But not this time. She was almost sitting up, leaning against a considerable number of pillows behind her. She was staring out the window and hadn't seemed to notice Draco's presence. Draco was happy to leave it that way. He quietly lowered himself on an armchair, afraid to disturb her reverence. Afraid to ruin the pleasure he was feeling at the sight of her. No, no matter how many times Draco had seen her, asleep or awake, quiet or screaming, his heart would beat erratically the moment he laid his eyes on her.
It was foolish, Draco thought as he gazed at her, to still harbor any hope that his dreams would come true. But then why was his heart acting so odd, after being so numb for such a long time? He had thought that time had healed…no not healed, he never wanted it to heal. If pain was what would come with loving her, then he never wanted to heal. More like sealed. He thought that his wounds had sealed, his bitter anger behind, but looking at Hermione seemed to bring it all back, from the day he realized he loved her to the day she broke his heart. It was why he had avoided Hermione while she was awake, until last night. He watched as a ghost of a smile graced her pale lips, and his heart beat more erratically then ever...an overwhelming feeling took hold of his mind, and it was all he could do to stop himself from scooping her up in his arms…
Suddenly this morning seemed distant, as any lighthearted feeling Draco had acquired disappeared, leaving nothing but pain and…longing. He held his head in his hands and sighed. He realized too late that Hermione had heard it. She jumped at the noise then turned towards him slowly and Draco… was stunned. There in her eyes, what he hadn't seen for a long time, was a glimmer of light. A promise of life…
She was staring at the window, letting the sunlight warm her after so many days of darkness. She had asked Abby, as Abigail was known to her, to open the curtains as soon as she woke up. She had just wanted to see something substantial, something earthly after her dream last night. But she enjoyed the light too much.
Though it was very tiny, Hermione could feel a subtle change in her, something she couldn't recognize, not yet. Something that helped pull her out of the dark recesses she was drowning in. It was not much, but it was a beginning, and Hermione accepted with open arms. She was a fighter, and though she had forgotten that much in her sorrow. Her pain hadn't been quelled, but Hermione was determined that it would be. She was literally changed overnight, and she wanted to thank the one that did it. Or at least confirm that he did it. Someone had slammed a door shut, but Hermione didn't pay any attention to it. It was probably Abby or one of the house elves. As for Abigail, the woman went absolutely nuts when Hermione asked to see him.
Hermione couldn't figure out how she would talk to him when she couldn't even look him in the eye. She had seen pain in them the last time she had did that…it was such a long time ago but the memory of it was vivid, burned in her brain. It was ironic that the mere memory of his stormy gray eyes hurt more than the pain of the past year…much, much more. As she sat there, her mind conjured different ways to start the conversation, but somehow none of them seemed right…She watched as a bird landed on the oak tree outside her window chirping gaily, as if somehow it was trying to cheer Hermione up. Funny, she never noticed there was a tree at all. The garden seemed so beautiful from what Hermione could see, and it pained her to know that, just a few hours ago, it had pained her to see such beauty, such perfection, when she herself was so broken. Unwanted. Dark thoughts were filling her head and just about to engulf her when a deep sigh. She jumped at the sound, breaking out of her reverie. And just for a nanosecond she had thought it was her…her torturer coming back to get her when her newfound strength shut out the fear. Turning slowly, she realized that it was none other than the subject of her thoughts…unknowingly saving her from self destruction once again. She now owed him her life twice over…something in her chest stirred, lighting her dull eyes with a faint glimmer. There was surprise on Draco's face, as if he was expecting something else, before he carefully arranged his features and stiffened, as if bracing himself for something. He hadn't changed a bit, Hermione thought to herself. His platinum blonde hair was forever tousled the way he liked it after years of having it gelled back. His skin was pale, his face proud and beautiful, and Michael Angelo couldn't have carved a more handsome statue…nor a more pained one, for though his emotions were carefully checked, his eyes betrayed his raw pain, his beautiful stormy gray eyes… Hermione looked away, she couldn't bear to hold his gaze.
At least I know I'm human…
She told herself. She tried to speak but no words came out. Draco came to her aid.
"How are you?" He asked her, his hushed voice carrying across the room.
What a question to ask…When her feelings were in such turmoil. But she struggled to answer.
"I…I'm fine." She answered, her voice a little raspy from being unused for a long time. Hermione cleared her throat.
Draco rubbed the back of his head.
"I'm glad." He looked around the room. "I hope everything is satisfactory?" He asked in cordial politeness.
"More than enough thank you." She stalled, trying to come up with a way to bring up the subject before he left, and before she lost her nerve.
"Actually I wanted to thank you for…for everything…and…I'm …and for helping me get through…last…last night." She unconsciously blushed under Draco's intense gaze, and he reacted in surprise to the color gracing her cheeks. He stood up and took a few steps towards her, before stopping, as if battling some internal conflict, before giving up and sinking into an armchair by his side.
"It's my duty." He simply said, his voice sounding exhausted and weary.
A comfortable silence filled the room, each at a loss with the words they yearned to say. Draco was lost in his thoughts, dissecting every word of the first conscious conversation he had with Hermione. His ache for her grew when he realized he missed her witty antics, the way she managed to wrangle a new piece of information in every sentence…
Meanwhile Hermione stared outside the window once more, gathering the courage to ask him the question plaguing her for years…
"Why was it me?" She asked softly, avoiding his eyes.
"What do you mean?" Asked Draco, nonplussed.
"Why was it me?" She repeated the question, a little more loudly. "You could have done much better, Dr…Draco. Why me?" the question tore out of her in genuine anguish. Draco had heard the catch in her voice when she said his name.
He took a second to fully comprehend her question, then jumped up and started to pace the room furiously. He stopped to look at her. She was avoiding his gaze.
"Why you? Why you? You …are asking me why you?" He choked his words in his pain, saying them louder than he had meant to. Checking himself, he took a deep breath and tried again.
"Hermione, love, look at me. Please, look at me. I'm not angry I promise" He tried to reassure her. She wouldn't turn her head, but out of fear or out of anguish he didn't know. He strode over to her side, and caressed her cheek softly, enjoying the coloring of her skin under his touch, allowing himself a moment of bliss after years of pain…and yet she would not move. Holding her face between his hands he gently turned her to him.
"Why not you? You're the best thing that happened to me, there isn't anything better." He said truthfully. There was still doubt in her chocolate brown eyes, and something else that Draco didn't understand.
"What do I have to do to prove that to you?" He asked agonizingly. "Tell me, and I'll do it!" She wouldn't meet his gaze. "Hell, I would move the skies and the earth, I would jump off a cliff, I would…I would free all my house elves and pay them wages!" Hermione gave a wan smile at his last declaration but went back to staring out the window. She was convinced he wasn't telling the truth.
"Draco, you don't need to lie to me." She said in that same soft voice.
"Oh, Hermione, why are you doing this to me?" He whispered.
She twitched in pain, and Draco stopped. "What's hurting you?" He asked, quickly reaching for a bottle of painkilling potion at the side of the bed.
"Everything. It's burning! Make it stop please…" Hermione twitched again, rocking back and forth, trying to drive away the sudden bout of pain, all thoughts driven out of her head. Draco clenched his jaw, a muscle twitching, and quickly gave her a spoonful of potion that had an almost if not immediate effect on her. She relaxed and closed her eyes, exhausted at the effort she just made with Draco. In a few minutes she had drifted of to a state of semi-sleep induced by the potion. Cradling her in one arm, Draco lowered the pillows behind her and drew up the covers up to her chin. He closed the curtains halfway, allowing only a slit of light to pass, before going back to Hermione's side.
He unconsciously brushed his lips on her forehead, and her eyes opened halfway. "Shhh…Sleep. You need the rest. I…" He was going to say "I love you." But then stopped. He didn't want to scare her off. "I'll always be here for you." He murmured softly instead, and she mumbled something before closing her eyes again. He left the room to find Abigail near the door, trying to pretend like she hadn't eavesdropped. Holding himself, he nodded curtly to her. "Hermione is sleeping. I don't want you to move even an inch from her side, do you understand? Anything you want can be fetched by the house elves. " He ordered forcefully, his face blank. Without another word he left, his paces fast until he reached an abandoned corridor. Stopping, he leaned against the wall and sank to the floor, cradling his head in his hand, shaking from the emotions pent up inside him. The picture of her face when she blushed was burned into his memory…he groaned as he remembered his reaction to such a simple thing…
"I love you. Merlin Hermione, no matter what I say, I love you! Always and forever…" He whispered to himself over and over again.
An envelope lay in his pocket, forgotten…
A/N: ooh this story is getting nearer to… gulp …to THE END…
Or is it? Hermione has certainly changed though, don't you think? I hope its permanent.
Reviews extremely appreciated, though I do understand if I'd lost any readers I have due to the inexcusable delay. Still though, really, I do need ur feedback. It helps me write. Thanks again to lily and a big thanks to everyone in who paid any attention to my story; you helped it become what it is now.
Thanks to prongs, who incidentally has a new story put up. You all know her as naufdude, famous authorette of "Forbidden Love". Her new story is called "Heart of a Rose" and I'm beta-ing it. (I also chose the title. Just thought I would mention it :P) oh I should mention that it's on hiatus…
Well, until the next chapter of "What Time Can Never Heal" Au revoir!
PS. Oh, I forgot to mention the reason of my adjournment…ummm, if anyone noticed, I totally screwed up this story. I…it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to and I feel like it's turned into an action story instead of romance. I will make up for it as well as I can but I apologize again for deluding myself into thinking this was a…I don't know, some kind of story. It's really a marvel that I was actually added on anyone's favorite list. That being said…
PPS. And, hmmm, thanks to mawii who I forgot to tell about my last update. U really should make an account for yourself dearie!
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