Thanks for your reviews last chapter. Since it took ages for the last chapter to come out, I decided to write this one as soon as possible :). The thing that was hard with the last chapter was because I had to incorporate two story lines and create pretty much a whole new story. I lied last chapter, there is no confrontation between Ginny and Hermione in this chapter. That one's coming up next chapter for sure. We finally find out who Hermione's real family is. Please review :).
Chapter Nine – Confessions and Discoveries
"What are you talking about?" Blaise asked confused.
"There's a real reason why we hate each other. I used to be in love with him and I completely crushed him after I helped him get over his mother's death," Hermione admitted and a stunned silence followed her statement.
Blaise laughed, "We are still talking about Draco Malfoy, my best friend and your enemy right?"
"Ugh, I shouldn't have said anything," Hermione groaned.
"No, I'm sorry for laughing it's just really unexpected. What happened and how is it that no one knows? Rumours travel around Hogwarts at the speed of light," he asked her.
"I wasn't allowed to tell Ron or Harry and Malfoy wasn't talking to any of his friends or you at the time. Here, I'll start from the beginning. Last year, I was called to Dumbledore's office and he told me that there was a student that needed help. He asked me if I wanted to help and I agreed. Then, he told me that I had to help Malfoy and he couldn't tell me why I should trust him. I had to share a dorm with him. I was pissed and Malfoy was really pissed too. It was hell living with him for the first month and a bit and then one day I had stayed up late and he came in injured. His aunt and other Death Eaters came after him because he didn't want to join them. He was so injured, it was terrible. I've never seen Malfoy look that terrible before which is saying something. I heard him come in and at first he refused my help, but finally he let me help. It took me all night to heal his injuries and then I'm guessing because of all the potions he had to take, he told me about his mother's death and other things. That night changed everything," Hermione told Blaise.
Blaise was happy that Hermione resembled her old self and was curious about the history between his two best friends so he nodded to her so she could continue. Hermione didn't even feel like she was telling Blaise, she was just remembering.
Hermione continued, "He told me that he didn't really believe in mudbloods, half-bloods, and purebloods. Malfoy told me he despised that, because it reminded him of his mother's death and it was his reality check that it was wrong. We became friends and hung out a lot. Thankfully Dumbledore gave me the excuse that I had a special project to do so Harry and Ron didn't ask too many questions. One day, he was pissed off and started mouthing off this 'blood traitor' and I got really pissed. To make it up to me, he had to learn about muggle things. This is when I started realizing that I had feelings for him and I had for a little while. I taught him a lot of different things and he was completely ridiculous most of the time."
"Where was I this whole time? I don't remember Draco ever not around," Blaise wondered aloud, "What happened for you guys to hate each other?"
"It was the day I taught him how to make banana bread the muggle way. When we were done mixing everything up, Drac-Malfoy threw some at me but wouldn't give me the bowl. One thing lead to another and I fell down pulling him with me. I kissed him and then once I realized what I was doing, I pushed him away. I was so terrible that night," she said as she remembered the pain she caused that night.
"What did you do?" he asked her gently to not set her off.
"He told me that he wanted to be with me. He didn't want to waste any time, because his mother's death taught him that life was short. He said he wanted everything with me and that he had feelings for me for a long time. I did the stupidest thing that night. I told him I just wanted to hook up with him and that it meant nothing while he was telling me that he wanted something more. I ran away that night upset," Hermione told him with a regretful face, "I convinced myself that I did the right thing the next morning, but when I saw that he looked perfect once more again and that he wasn't a mess, it hurt me. I thought that I would have somewhat of an impact on him. Dumbledore told me that my assignment was finished and that I could move back to my dorm. Realizing that I loved him no matter what anyone said, I looked for Draco everywhere. I saw him coming out of this classroom and told him that I had been wrong the night before and that I wanted everything he wanted. I poured my soul out to him and then right when he was going to say something Daphne Greengrass came out of the classroom. I realized then that they had just had sex. He made his choice that day, he walked away from me without saying a word and that was the day I swore that I wouldn't tell anyone and that's when I started to hate him. I poured my soul out to him and he just left. That's when Malfoy made an appearance again to me."
"Are you serious? You guys are both idiots, but why did you decide to tell me?" Blaise asked her curiously.
Hermione smiled at him sadly, "Because you're one of my best friends and you're pretty much the brother I've never had except for Harry."
"Thanks Hermione, you're like a sister to me too," he said as he gave her a brotherly hug.
"No problem," she told him, "I guess I should probably eat."
"You should and I should pay Pansy a visit. She's really worried about you, you know?" Blaise told her.
"I know, tell her I'll talk to her later," she said as she walked out of the room.
To her surprise, her and Blaise's conversation had been overheard. There standing with a guilty look on his face, Malfoy stood there. Anger pulsed through her veins. Why was it that the first time she talked about how she felt about him once upon a time, he heard it? Glaring at him, she stormed away while Blaise looked at both of them wondering how he missed all the signs and the obvious sexual tension. Deciding that he needed to talk to Hermione once and for all, Malfoy walked after her. Hermione cursed herself for depending on him the past couple of days. Harry and Ron should be there for her, not him. Tickling the pear, she rushed inside not noticing that Malfoy was following her with a grim look on his face.
After telling a house elf what she wanted, Hermione sat down wearily. That was when she noticed Malfoy walk in and she groaned. She didn't want to deal with this today, tomorrow or ever. He gave his order to another house elf and sat down beside her nervously. They sat at the same table silently, both having thoughts racing through their heads. Finally, Hermione decided to break the silence.
"I can't believe after all this time, my first instinct is to rely on you," she said bitterly.
"I'm happy you do," he admitted.
"I'm not. Not after what you've done. Honestly you disgust me," she said angrily.
Malfoy smirked, "That's why you came to me when you were hurt and had sex with me at the beginning of the year."
"Fuck off Malfoy," Hermione told him.
"Don't call me Malfoy!" he exclaimed angrily out of nowhere.
"Why not? I don't get the big problem with calling you Malfoy!" she replied.
"Because you're acting like nothing happened between us and that we were never friends. If you don't remember you used to be my best friend," Malfoy explained frustrated.
Hermione pushed down the sadness that was starting to take over, "Yes I remember and it still hurts that you threw that away. I hate you for how you made me feel like shit all the time after that night. If you don't remember you're the one that pretended like nothing happened first so don't you dare get mad at me! What about this year? You were a complete ass."
"Because you hurt me Hermione. What did you think I was going to do? I put myself out there for you and you turned me down. I was angry and hurt. I didn't want to get reminded of that or let you do that again," Draco said bitterly.
"And I'm sorry for that! I never meant to hurt you. Do you know how much it killed me to know that I hurt you? I have regretted it everyday since then. I made a mistake and I tried to fix it. I wasn't able to fix it because I was too late. You already moved on, so then I moved on," she retorted back.
"With Weasley," he said disgustedly.
"He was a good boyfriend, don't you dare insult him. I loved him!" Hermione exclaimed angrily.
"He was such a good boyfriend that he cheated on you. You deserve so much better than Weasley and you know it," Draco told her seriously.
"Don't you dare say that! He was there for me when I was alone. You left! Don't you dare give me that bullshit. Yes, he cheated on me, but at least he was there for me," she said angrily.
"You don't deserve that. Look how him and Potter are treating you now. You're not the only one with regrets Hermione. I regret walking away, but I was hurt. What else was I supposed to do? You never loved Weasley," he said determinedly.
Hermione glared at him, "You don't know how I felt for Ron."
"He never made you feel the way I made you feel didn't he? That's why you never slept with him and that's why you were able to move on from him," Draco told her.
"Fuck you. Don't you dare start these games again. This was over a long time ago," she said angrily.
"But you didn't fight me when I said you never loved him. Admit it, you still love me just as much as you loved me back then," he said seriously.
"We were done a long time ago Malfoy. I have feelings for someone else," Hermione told him resolutely.
"Who? Nott?" he asked.
"Yes," Hermione replied indifferently.
"Well then answer me this. Where was he when you needed him? Where is he now?" Draco asked her.
She couldn't think of an answer, "I don't know. It's not his fault, he doesn't know."
"He's bad news Hermione. Don't do this to us again," he asked her quietly.
"I can't do it Draco. You hurt me so much last time. I don't think I could survive this again, especially now that they're gone," Hermione said with tears welling up in her eyes, "I loved you Draco and I would've done almost anything for you, but you made your choice that day and I made mine. Thanks for being there for me when I needed you, but I just can't. Not again. We can be friends, since we're friends with the same people. I don't hate you Draco. I never have," Hermione said sadly.
Draco was about to reply, but Hermione shook her head and walked away. The house elf was finally done with their food and Hermione just grabbed it and left, leaving him alone in his thoughts. Tears finally fell from her eyes, but she quickly wiped them and walked back to her room. It had been so easy to hate him, but ever since he had been taking care of her, those memories came flooding back and a reminder of her feelings. Hermione was so good at pretending that nothing hurt her and good at forgetting things if she really wanted to, but she wouldn't be able to do that again. She now felt like she had to get over Draco all over again and the pain that they caused each other, came flooding back. After he walked away, he was always all over Daphne and threw everything in her face. It hurt, but eventually she got over it and with Ron being so kind to her at that time, she fell for him. Draco was right, she didn't love Ron, but it was close. She would've if she hadn't had met Draco. He changed everything for her.
When she arrived in her dorms, knowing that he couldn't come up here to talk to her again, Hermione quickly ate before falling asleep in an instant. The whole day had exhausted her and she just didn't want to think anymore. If she thought she could forget about Draco, she was wrong. She dreamt of him and how things used to be with them and how happy he made her. The things she preferred to forget about, but her conscious wouldn't let her. For once, she was happy and carefree while Draco made her laugh by being his ridiculous self.
Morning finally came and Hermione groaned as she opened her eyes. She hated waking up. For a moment she felt peaceful, but then everything that had happened in the last few weeks came back to her and she felt a pang of sadness. It felt like school started a lifetime ago, when it started only a few months ago. So many things had happened to her, she wasn't sure she could take more changes. Now that Draco heard her side of the story from when she talked to Blaise about it, she knew that they would have to deal with it eventually.
If you asked her if she could ever like him or love him again, her answer would be yes without thinking. There was just something that pulled her to him. The way that when something bad happened to her, she searched for him without even thinking about it. It was just an instinct. She couldn't believe that she still wasn't completely over him yet. Even if that was the case, she couldn't go back. Hermione wanted her best friend back, not the guy she used to love, even though they were the same person. It was just too complicated that way.
Deciding that she should probably start to get ready for class, she got out of bed reluctantly. Hermione knew that Dumbledore told her to take a few weeks off, but she couldn't. It gave her too much time to think about everything and her parents would want her to move on. She just knew it even though she absolutely despised the fact that they were gone. Doing a spell to do her hair since she didn't want to make the effort, she changed into her uniform and left the dorm.
Hermione was determined not to cry today. She had cried way too much the past few days and even though she knew it was healthy, she hated it. Walking out of the common room, she saw that people were staring at her once more. It made her feel self conscious for a second, but then she remembered they weren't staring at her because she had something on her face. A couple people started to whisper and Hermione rolled her eyes at them once more. There was much bigger things to deal with in the world like this. There was a war coming. It seemed like ages before she got to the portrait, but someone stopped her. Expecting the worse, she turned around.
"Hey Hermione, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for how everyone's treating you. It's not right and I'm sorry it took so long for me to realize that. If you want to talk to someone, I'm here for you," Pavarti told her gently in front of everyone.
Hermione smiled uncertainly, "Thanks Pavarti, I appreciate it. I should probably go eat something so I'll talk to you later."
Pavarti smiled before facing some angry Gryffindors. They were angry that Pavarti chose to believe Hermione over them. She just smiled back at them and got her things ready for class. She had noticed that Emma seemed manipulative with Lavender and that Ron looked a little too smug to have gotten cheated on. She overheard Hermione try to tell Harry what happened and Hermione's story seemed to fit the best. Pavarti just wished that Harry would believe her too.
Hermione joined Pansy, Blaise, and Draco reluctantly (only because Draco was there) and piled food on her place.
"Guess what just happened?" she asked them.
Pansy jumped on this chance to talk to an actually sociable Hermione, "What?"
"Everyone from Gryffindor were being rude again as usual. Anyways, Pavarti came up to me in front of everyone and told me that she was sorry for how she treated me and that she believed me," Hermione told them.
Blaise thought for a minute, "Are you sure she's not just pretending to? I'm sorry, I just don't want anything else to happen to you from those losers."
Hermione smiled at his concern, "I'm sure. I remember the morning after I found Ron had cheated on me, I returned to my dorms to get some things. Emma was talking to Lavender and Pavarti about how I had been crying all night and that I was heartbroken that I had gotten caught sleeping around finally. Lavender completely agreed and Pavarti seemed to doubt it. I don't know, I think she's being honest."
"Yeah you would," Draco said indifferently.
"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked him.
"That's just the kind of person you are. You give people second chances and you believe in the good in them," he explained.
"Well I prefer to be that way than to be like you. Cold, untrusting, indifferent and sometimes cruel. You only see the bad in people, but I think there's good to everyone if you take the time to look for it," Hermione retorted back.
"I'm not like that and you, out of everyone, should know that," Draco said fiercely.
Pansy and Blaise just looked at each other wondering how they hadn't noticed at all. Everything made sense to Pansy as soon as Blaise explained everything to her.
Hermione stood up, "No, that's exactly how I see you. That's exactly how you've acted towards me for the past year."
Draco was about to retort something back, but Theodore Nott walked up to Hermione.
"Hey, do you want to go for a quick walk before class starts?" Theo asked Hermione.
Hermione looked at Draco and then him, before decided that she couldn't play that game with Draco. It hurt way too much and she knew that Pansy would at leasat understand.
"I'd love to," Hermione smiled and walked with him out of the Great Hall.
"When are you two finally going to go out?" Pansy asked Draco exasperated.
"When she stops being so stubborn about it. Everything would be fine if that thing that happened a week ago didn't," Draco said.
"Don't say that. It's not her fault. She just lost her parents and if you didn't notice she's in denial right now. She's already gone through anger, depression, and shock. Don't give her a hard time, because you were a lot worse," Blaise told him, before getting up and leaving.
Hermione walked outside with Theo and smiled at him. He was so sweet and she wished she could get to know him better.
"I'm sorry for taking off the night of the party," Hermione said to break the silence.
"It's okay, what happened if you don't mind me asking," Theo asked.
Hermione sighed, "Dumbledore just had to tell me some bad news, but I don't want to talk about it."
"That's okay, just tell me when you're ready. I've been looking for you for the past week. I've wanted to ask you something," he smiled.
Hermione's heart sped up, "What did you want to ask me?"
"I had an amazing time at the party with you and I want more times like that. I really like you Hermione, will you go out with me?" Theo asked nervously.
Hermione smiled at him, "I'd love to."
He returned her smile and kissed her gently. Hermione kissed him back, but remembered that she was going to be late for class, so she pulled away.
"Want me to walk you to class?" Theo asked her.
"Yes thanks," she replied.
Theo's big hand grabbed her little one as he walked her to Ancient Runes while they talked about random things. Hermione actually felt relaxed and she loved that feeling. Up ahead, she saw Draco walking with Blaise and felt a pang of sadness. She was torn between the new feeling she felt for Theo and the old ones she felt for Draco. Draco gave her a look that she couldn't decipher and entered the classroom. She felt bad, but pushed that away. Her and Draco had too much history to make it work.
"Well this is me," Hermione smiled.
"Alright, I'll see you at lunch," Theo told her while giving her a quick hug.
Hermione felt a bit giddy and entered the class happily. Blaise waved her over, so she sat beside him.
"What's going on with you and Theo?" Blaise asked her curiously.
Hermione blushed, "I don't know. He asked me to go out with him."
"What did you say," he asked while discreetly looking in Draco's direction.
"I said yes," she replied.
"What about you and Draco? I'm sorry, but it sounded like you still loved him when you told me what happened," Blaise asked her.
She groaned, "Look, sometimes I think I do have feelings for him. Scratch that, I do, but I can't put myself through that again. We hurt each other pretty badly last time and I don't want to do that again. I doubt he's even being serious. Theo on the other hand, has been dependable and I think I could really like him if I tried."
"I think you should think about it a little more, Hermione. Draco loves you and I wish you could see that he'd do anything for you. Seeing the state you've been in the past week has absolutely killed him," Blaise told her.
"Don't say that. He's the one that pretended that absolutely nothing happened between us. It's too late, I need to move on from him. I can't keep depending on him. It's too hard," Hermione explained.
Blaise just gave her a look saying that she was going to regret it. She didn't even care if she did regret it, that's what happened with everything lately. Glancing over to Draco, she saw that he was laughing with Emma again. Hermione felt a bit jealous, but she pushed it down. It didn't matter and he didn't matter. Hermione started listening to the Professor as he entered the class and started the lesson. For the first time in awhile, she was completely focused on her work.
Class was over too soon and Hermione quickly grabbed her stuff and left while saying a quick goodbye to Blaise. She knew he meant well, but that didn't mean that she agreed with him. Hermione then entered History of Magic and took a seat towards the middle of the class. She saw Harry walk in and she felt like rushing over there and telling him everything that had happened to her lately. If anyone knew how it felt like to lose..., he would know and he'd know what to say to her. Hermione was about to say hi to him as he walked past her, but he made sure to not even acknowledge her presence. That's when she remembered why he hated her. She 'broke' his best friend's heart and 'cheated' on him and she didn't spend enough time with him. Feeling disappointed, she focused on Professor Binn's lecture.
Finally lunch came around after ages and she was surprised that Theo was waiting for her outside of the class.
"How were your classes?" he asked her as they started walking to the Great Hall.
"They were too long, but I'm pretty sure I understand everything, you?" Hermione answered him.
"I'm sure you did understand everything from what I've heard. They were easy and long," he laughed.
Suddenly, someone grabbed Theo and pushed him up to the wall. Hermione was shocked and looked to see who it was. Harry was holding Theo and glaring at him.
"I don't know why the fuck you're close to Hermione, but stay away from her. I think you've caused enough problems as it is," Harry told him angrily.
"Harry, stop!" Hermione said as she tried to pull him off of Theo.
Theo didn't look scared at all, "I don't know what your problem is, but I happen to like Hermione and I won't stay away from her. I thought you weren't her friend anymore anyways. Hermione and I only met at the party. We didn't cheat on your precious Weasel, so if you don't mind get the hell off of me."
Theo pushed a pissed off and confused Harry, "Let's go get something to eat, Hermione."
"Okay," Hermione replied as she looked at Harry like he was insane.
Secretly, she was a little happy, because this meant that Harry still did care somewhat about her. Hermione grabbed Theo's hand to calm down, because she could tell he was mad. She was a little scared, because she didn't know how he acted when he was mad.
"I'm sorry for what happened back there," Hermione apologized.
"Don't say sorry, it's not your fault that Potter's crazy," Theo said, "I'm sorry I told Harry that we didn't know each other earlier this year, I'm just tired of everyone being mad at you for no reason."
"It's okay, don't worry about it," she smiled at him.
They finally arrived at the Great Hall and they took their seats with Blaise and Pansy. Draco wasn't anywhere to be seen. Blaise gave a look to Theo when Theo wasn't looking and Pansy smiled politely. Hermione could tell that Pansy was disappointed by her choice, but there wasn't anything else she could do.
"Is it true that Potter confronted you?" Pansy asked Theo.
"Yeah," Theo replied, "I told him that Hermione and I didn't know each other when her and Weasley were dating so she couldn't have cheated on Weasley."
"That's good. I'm tired of all the shit the Gryffindors are putting you through," Blaise told Hermione.
Hermione smiled at him, but suddenly she felt like being alone.
"I'm actually not that hungry right now. I need to get something from my dorm, so I'll talk to you guys later," Hermione said to them.
Hermione got up and walked out of the Great Hall and towards the Black Lake once more. The last time she was there was after she found out about her parents. There was just something about that place that soothed her. No one was outside because it was lunchtime, so it was completely silent. It was lightly snowing and Hermione welcomed the cold. Wrapping her cloak around her, she thought about what was going to happen to her now. She was already 17, so she could live by herself in the Wizarding World. The problem was that she didn't have that much money right now. Hermione decided that she would live in her parent's house after Hogwarts and she would have to find a job to support herself. She didn't even know what she wanted to be yet, but she'd have to figure it out soon. Hermione didn't have the option of taking a year off and travel around the world like she had dreamt of doing. She'd also have to stay at Hogwarts during Christmas. There wasn't anywhere else for her to go. Hermione wished that her parents were still here.
"You're going to freeze out here. You should come inside," a voice interrupted her thoughts.
Hermione looked up in surprise, "Oh. Hey, I'm actually fine right now."
Draco sat down and joined her, "Are you okay?"
"I just miss them," she smiled sadly, "Does it get better?"
"Not really. I still miss my mother everyday and it doesn't ever really go away, but it gets easier. You're handling it a lot better than I did though," he commented.
"Are you kidding me? It feels like all I've been doing lately is crying. I hate it," Hermione told him.
"It's a good thing trust me. You're actually dealing with it even though it hurts. It shows how strong you are. It took me so long to start dealing with it, to get past the anger," Draco said while looking at the now frozen lake.
Hermione sighed, "It's hard. Don't try to compare it with mine, because our situations are different. I saw how much it destroyed you. I'm tired Draco."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I don't want to fight with you anymore. I'm so tired of hating you, I just don't have the energy anymore," Hermione explained.
"I don't want to either and I don't want you to hate me either. I never hated you either by the way. Truce?" Draco suggested.
"Truce. I've missed you best friend," she said with a smile.
"I've missed you too. Now if you don't hurry up, you're going to be late for class," he told her.
Hermione looked panicked, "Are you serious? Damn, I have to go. I'll talk to you later."
Hermione rushed off to class while Draco laughed as he laid in the snow. He was happy that they were okay again, but it was hard just being friends. It was harder seeing her with Theodore, someone he had always had a competitive friendship with. Theodore was his equal in everything which was killing him in this situation. He knew deep down that Hermione was better off with Theodore, but he hated that truth. Deciding that he should leave for class, he got up, shook off the snow and left.
The next few weeks went by fast and uneventfully for Hermione. She was glad that her and Draco were both at the same place right now. Harry hadn't come near her since he confronted Theo. Theo and her had grown closer and Pansy supported it even though Blaise didn't. Luckily today, she barely had homework, but she decided to finish it right away in the Head's common room.
Annabelle, the portrait, talked to her for a bit and then she finally entered. Draco, Pansy and Blaise were already there talking about something.
"Hey guys," Hermione said as she set her stuff up on her desk.
"Hey, are you already doing your homework?" Pansy asked from her spot on Blaise's lap.
"Don't worry, I barely have any. I just don't want to worry about it," she replied.
The rest of the group took that as the end of the conversation and kept talking about whatever they had been talking about before. The transfiguration homework she had gotten was relatively easy and she only had to grab a book from the extensive library to grab a reference. After she had completed more than she was supposed to like she usually did, Hermione joined her friends.
"I really think we need to work on more conditioning at practice," Draco was telling Blaise.
Pansy groaned, "I doubt it. You guys are all in shape, you just need to actually get along with everyone. Conditioning means more practice and less time that I can spend with you guys."
"I don't think we can get everyone to get along with each other. It's our 7th Year. If we don't get along right now, then who says we will now?" Blaise asked.
"Oh, I know! If you change Harper with Doyle, than it would play to their strengths. Harper would be a way better chaser than keeper, because not only is he fast, but he has the hands for that position. Doyle, however, is a lot slower than Harper, but is amazing at passing and catching the quaffle. It's perfect!" Pansy exclaimed.
Draco looked amused, "Are you sure you still won't join the team? That's a good idea, I can't believe I've never thought of that before. Goyle has also been whining about being a beater, but I'm going to tell him to suck it up. He plays better in that position and with Crabbe."
"Yeah, we can't move him," Blaise added in.
Hermione looked dumbfounded, "How do you know so much about quidditch Pansy?"
Pansy laughed, "My older brother Alexander plays. He's pretty good and has always played with me."
"Pretty good? More like amazing. He's a professional quidditch player for England," Draco explained.
"I didn't know that. Thanks for letting me know," she said as she playfully punched Pansy.
"Anyways, we have to go to practice. Don't have too much fun without us," Blaise said as he and Draco left after grabbing their gear.
When Pansy was sure that they left, she turned to Hermione.
"Sorry about that boring conversation. I know you don't care for quidditch that much. Anyways, I think it's time you do something," Pansy said mysteriously.
"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked confused.
"Five words. The letter in your trunk," she explained.
Hermione looked horrified, "No way. There's no way I'm doing that right now."
"Why not?" Pansy asked her.
"Because my parent's just passed away a month and a bit ago! It's too soon," she tried to explain.
"Hermione, you know it's time. I know that you miss them, but I think this is the perfect time to get to know your other family. Find out about yourself. The war is getting closer, not further away," Pansy said.
"But what if they don't want me? I couldn't take that right now," Hermione said sadly.
"Of course they'd want you and if they didn't, then I would kick them in the ass for you. You'll never know if you don't read the letter," she smiled.
"Ugh. Fine, I'll do it. You know that I'm scared right?" Hermione mentioned.
"Yup. Here you go," Pansy said as she gave her the letter.
Hermione was confused, "How did you get it?"
"I'm a Slytherin. Now open it," Pansy smiled gently.
With shaking hands, Hermione opened the letter and started reading.
Dear Hermione,
My only request for your parents was that they kept that name. It was my best friend's name and I absolutely love that name. I know that you're probably confused, upset, scared and angry at us for giving you away and I hate that I'm causing you to feel that, because the last thing I want you to feel is that we didn't want you. We do want you and that will never change. There are just circumstances that are preventing us from keeping you and you don't know how much pain it is causing me and your father.
I don't know if he's still going to exist by the time you've read this letter, but a dark wizard named Lord Voldemort is in power right now and his power is only growing. Our family has decided to stay neutral in a time like this, because we don't want a war and especially that I was pregnant, we didn't want to risk a chance to endanger you. It's been a hard time to live in, because at this point you don't know what side anyone is really on. Everything was fine for awhile, but then Voldemort found out that we refused to choose a side. He was determined to gain more supporters and when he heard that we refused to choose, he tried everything he could to lure us to his side. He promised us money, power, and protection from the war. We knew that he was lying, so we refused. Voldemort was pissed off by this time and threatened our lives.
Afterwards, your father and I found out that I was pregnant. We were careful to tell only a select few people about it, because we knew that he would use it against us. The trouble is is that most of our friends are on the dark side. I know what you're thinking, but I don't want you to judge us or our friends for the side they're on. Some people are on the dark side voluntarily, but most of them aren't. We told one of our friends, but then her sister found out, who's extremely loyal to Voldemort, and told Voldemort. I had seen a muggle doctor to be discreet and he told me that I was expecting a healthy baby boy. To say your father and I were ecstatic was an understatement.
Once Voldemort found out, he threatened to harm me and the baby unless we turned to his side. We only had a week to decide before we had to make a decision. That was a week ago. I was nearing my due date by that time and when my best friend, Lily Potter, was over, I had gone into labour. Luckily, that was Lily's job and Lily set straight to work. To our surprise, we weren't just having a baby boy, but we were having a baby girl as well. I was so happy to find that out, but then I was absolutely petrified that something would happen to you and your brother. There was already a threat for Lily and James, so nowhere was safe.
Your father, Lily, James and I came up with an idea on how to save you. Since Voldemort already knew about my son, there wasn't anything we could do to save him without endangering him. We could only save you, since only the four of us knew about you. Lily's best friend had been trying to get pregnant for awhile, but just found out she couldn't. That was when your father and I had to make the hardest decision of our lives. We decided to give you up to her and her husband so that you could be safe. That was when we decided that I, along with Professor Dumbledore, would give you up to them.
The thing that isn't public knowledge is that Voldemort wants to create an army. He made every pureblood on his side raise their sons and daughters to join his army when they were of age. To him, a child meant nothing to us nor him. He would take our firstborns and if we wanted another child then we could have it, but we would have to 'fulfil' our duty to him first. Your father and I had to join, so there was no way that he could find out about you. If he found out, both you and your brother would have to join since twins are usually more magical. We're scared that he's going to hurt Lily and James as well as your brother if we don't join.
The most important thing to us is your safety, which is why I'm bringing you to her friend with Professor Dumbledore. That way you can live a normal life without fear until you turn 11 and you learn of the war. We just want you to have a normal childhood and from what Lily told us, you're going to be loved by your new parents. It's the hardest thing to do, giving a child up, because my instinct is to keep you safe and close to me, but I know that would be dangerous.
This is where the letter must end I'm afraid. I know this is the part where I'm going to be selfish. I want you to know where you came from and who were are, so that's why I'm going to tell you who I am. If you don't want to find us, I completely understand, but if you want to find us, don't be scared to. Your father and I will always love you. I arranged it with Professor Dumbledore for you to attend Hogwarts so that you could be close to your brother. There's something that you aren't going to like and it's that we had to put you under a glamour charm so there was no chance that anyone could recognize you. We made sure not to make drastic changes, but changes that would hide your identity. Please don't judge your brother for our mistakes.
Lots of love,
Your mother and father
Elizabeth and Nathaniel Zabini
If you ever want to find your brother, his name is Blaise Zabini.
Hermione immediately dropped the letter like it burnt her and she didn't know what to think. Pansy was worried and picked up the letter. After reading it, she too dropped the letter and just looked at Hermione. She suddenly wished that she hadn't pushed Hermione to read the letter. It caused a whole new batch of problems.
HGHGHGHGHGHG
Across the castle, a beautiful redheaded girl was looking for someone. She needed help, because she had made a huge mistake. Finally after 20 minutes, she found the person she was looking for coming back from quidditch practice. Luckily for her, he was alone.
"I need your help," she told him.
"Don't talk to me Weasley, I really don't need to deal with your problems right now," Blaise told her.
"It's about Hermione," Ginny said, "I want to apologize to her."
Blaise stopped suddenly and glared at her, "And how do I know this isn't a trick? You haven't seen how much it's hurt her that you, Potter or Weasel haven't been there for her. You don't deserve her forgiveness."
"Please listen to me. I thought she cheated on my brother and it made me angry. Wouldn't you be angry if someone cheated on your brother or sister?" Ginny asked him.
"I don't have a brother or sister thankfully so it's not my problem. I get why you were angry, but Hermione was also your friend. You should've at least heard her out. Instead you believed that she cheated on your brother, when your brother cheated on her and took away her friends," he explained to her.
"I know and I'm sorry," she exclaimed.
"Why now? If I'm going to help you, I need to make sure you won't hurt my best friend," Blaise told her seriously.
"A couple of months ago, Hermione told me that Harry was cheating on me with Emma. I was pissed at her for cheating and Emma had told us that was what she would do, so I didn't believe her. She said that she'd be there for me if I needed her after I said that. I found out that she was right," Ginny said sadly, "Look, I regret hurting Hermione and I want to start making it up to her. Can you please help me? I have no one else to turn to."
HGHGHGHGHGHG
"Look Emma, I'm in love with someone. I'm not interested," Draco told Emma tiredly.
"Awe... Don't tell me that Hermione sucked you in too. She did didn't she?" Emma asked him condescendingly.
"Don't talk about things you don't know about," he said angrily.
"Well it looks like her and Theodore Nott have a thing right now. I don't know why you love someone who doesn't love you back and has feelings for someone else," she told him as she got closer to him.
Draco lost a bit of his confidence, "She loves me."
"Then why isn't she here right now with you? And why does she still hang out with Theodore?" she whispered in his ear.
Emma knew that Draco believed her, because that's exactly what he was scared of. Everyone who had eyes could see that Hermione still had feeling for Draco and that he did for her, but for some reason Hermione was with Nott right now.
"She doesn't want you, but I do and I know you want me to no matter how much you're trying to deny it," Emma smirked as she played with the hem of his shirt.
Draco was torn. He did want Emma, he had ever since the first day of school, but he loved Hermione. That was the thing though, Hermione was busy with Theo and he couldn't wait forever. He had to move on at some point and it was also something he could throw in both Potter and Weasel's face. He could also picture Nott with his hands all over Hermione. Making a decision, he grabbed Emma and roughly kissed her. Emma kissed him back with just as much urgency and took his shirt off. He pushed her onto a desk and ripped her skirt off. Emma smirked at his urgency and took off his pants. They made out for awhile until Draco decided that enough was enough. He laid her down roughly on the desk and took off the rest of her clothes. Making sure to lock the door with his wand, he worked off his anger on Emma.
HGHGHGHGHGHG
Tears filled Hermione's eyes and Pansy rushed over to hug her.
"What am I supposed to do?" she asked desperately.
Pansy looked sadly at Hermione, "I honestly don't know the answer to that question."
"He's going to hate me when he finds out," Hermione said through her tears.
"No he's not, he loves you Hermione. You're one of his best friends. He's my boyfriend, I'm pretty sure that it'll be a shock at first, but he's going to love having you as his sister. Blaise is already really protective of you," Pansy comforted her.
"This is different though. It's huge. I'm going to lose another best friend," Hermione said sadly.
So I know that everyone uses Blaise as Hermione's brother, but I think that those two characters complement each other so well that I just had to do it. I need your help with something. There's two ways the subplots can go and I'm not sure which one I want to use. Do you like Blaise/Pansy and Harry/Ginny together? Or would you prefer Blaise/Ginny and Harry/Pansy? I would make Harry and Pansy work so you don't have to worry too much about that :). The faster you let me know, the faster I can get the next chapter out.
Up next: Hermione is torn between what to do. Pansy is torn by her loyalty to Hermione and her loyalty to Blaise. Ginny talks to Hermione. Draco deals with Emma and sorts things out with Hermione.
Please review to let me know:
-Blaise/Pansy and Harry/Ginny
or
-Blaise/Ginny and Harry/Pansy
Thank you :).