Chapter 17- Blue Anemone
Hermione paces the hallway. She doesn't know what to do and feels completely useless. If she only had her wand, then she might have a shot of getting out. But Draco is still holding her wand close with his, so there is no way she can get it from him. She seriously doubts that she would succeed in that. Think Hermione, think, she tells herself over and over again. She has to do something! Sitting around and doing nothing isn't something she normally does.
After Blaise had shown her the little music box a rain storm suddenly broke out, making them drenched within seconds. The cold water had efficiently broken he spell the music had on Hermione and both of them had run inside to shelter. Hermione went for a change of clothes, preferable dry ones, and when she came downstairs again, Blaise and Draco were gone.
This news she heard from Narcissa, who didn't know that something had happened earlier, and was very persistent Hermione had tea with her.
Now Hermione paces the white marble hall with the blue carpet in the east wing, the paintings on the wall curiously watching her. She is trying to find a way out to turn what she knows into the Order's favor, before Draco gets back home.
"What to do?" Hermione mumbles to herself. A painting of a man with long white hair and a very sour look pulls up his noise in disgust and whispers to the painting beside him, "Insane that one".
Hearing him, Hermione looks up with a disgusted look at the Malfoy from 1890, before turning around, walking into the bedroom and closing the door with a loud bang.
Pacing the room, she tries her best not to think or look at the little music box sitting on the vanity table.
"Urgh," she screams, frustrated when the song of the music box, refuses to get out of her head. Hermione knows she has heard this song many times in her dreams before, always wondering where it came from.
"Alright," she sighs, her hands tangled in her blonde hair. "Alright," she repeats, calmer and defeated now.
Hermione finally admits to herself what she has actually already known for weeks. She has started to fall in love with Draco - that's why she had at first so much trouble believing that he is Voldemort's heir. Although she has finally admitted it to herself, she will never admit it to him, nor let him feel it.
Letting her hands fall from the mess that is known as her hair, she opens her eyes to face the little music box. It seems to taunt her, sitting there proudly on her vanity with the silver decoration shimmering in the light of the lamps. After staring at it for a while, she curses herself and then opens the box, letting the soft music fill the silent bedroom with words she knows so well.
"All my thoughts are with you forever until the day we will be back together. I will be waiting for you."
While listening to it, a memory hits her so hard that her head falls in her hands as a huge headache starts to form behind her temples.
XXXX
"No, Mama, I don't want to go!" a little girl of eight screams and cries. Her face is red, showing that she has been crying for some time now.
Her long blonde hair is in two braids, two blue anemones making sure that they stay that way. She is wearing a soft white dress with a blue anemone drawn on it at the bottom.
She looks at her Mother standing in her room, packing away her clothes.
"Honey, we're going on a holiday, you should be happy," her Mother says, turning around to the little girl in the doorway. Catherina was just like an older version of her daughter. "We're going to have tons of fun. It will be just you, Papa and me," Catherina smiles a brilliant smile, wishing her daughter to not see beyond the cracks of it. They need to go, it is too dangerous. With the Dark Lord gone for several years now, the Naberrie family had kept a low profile but now it seems that someone has found out that they are still loyal and trying to find a way to bring back Voldemort.
Alexander had found out and wanted his family to be safe, so they planned to leave the country for a while, until it was safe for them to come back.
"But Mama," Sophia stamps her foot on the ground, emphasizing how mad she is, "I don't want to go!"
Tears start streaming out of her bright blue eyes again. Catherina sighs tiredly before letting herself fall onto her daughter's bed. "Why not, Sophia?" she asks, a hand covering her tired eyes. She dreads the answer Sophia is going to give.
"I wanna stay with Draco."
There it is, so predictable. Catherina has known it would bite her in the back, letting Narcissa win the argument so long ago, ending up with the children growing up so close.
"It's only for a little while. You will see Draco again, Sophia. Papa and I want to spent some time with you, sweetheart. Don't you want to spend some time with us?"
Catherine knows it is unfair, convincing her child like that, but there is no time, they have to go.
Sophia drops her gaze and looks at the doll she is twisting and turning in her little hands. "Of course I do, Mama."
"Well then, run along to Draco and tell him goodbye. We'll meet you in Malfoy Manor."
Sophia is old enough to use the floo by herself.
For a moment she bites on her lip, deciding whether she should throw another fit or not. Making a decision, the doll drops to the ground and Sophia runs out her room, her braids flying behind her.
Sophia almost bumps into Draco while rounding a corner in Malfoy Manor.
"Draco," she cries again, dropping herself into his arms.
"Sophia?" he asked stunned, "What's wrong?" He had just been on his way over to the Naberrie Manor to find Sophia.
"We're leaving!" she cries, her voice muffled by his sweater.
XXX
"Hermione, are you alright?" Draco comes rushing towards her; she hadn't even realized she has fallen to the ground. Normally her memories came to her in a dream - never before has she experienced them while awake. Her head is pounding and she had lots of difficulty staying awake.
"I'm fine," she just manages to whisper before having another flash of memory; apparently her subconscious isn't done yet.
XXX
"We're leaving, Draco… I don't even want to go."
"It's alright Sophia, you're just going on a holiday. It's not like I wouldn't be seeing you again." Draco smiles, patting Sophia on the back. To be honest he hadn't expected her to cry and doesn't know how to handle that. "Before you know it you will be back again and making me jealous with all your fun stories."
"You knew I was leaving?" she asks in wonder, wiping the back of her hand on her eyes and erasing her tears.
"I heard it from my Mother," Draco answers, watching her closely and hoping she won't start crying again. He really loves Sophia but crying girls isn't something he can handle.
Sophia doesn't answer. She looks at the floor now, still wiping tears away from her cheeks.
"I do have a present," he says, trying to get her attention back; it works.
Sophia looks up, her still watery blue eyes bright and excited. "You do?"
Draco decides to tease her a bit so he just nods instead of giving the present to her.
"Can I have it?" Sophia asks, wiping the last tears away.
"Maybe," a smirk appears on his face and he pretends to think it over.
A sour look appears on Sophia's face as she crosses her arms in front of her chest. "Give it to me."
Draco smiles at her and pulls the little box out of his pocket.
Sophia looks stunned when he gives it to her, staring at it for a while before looking him, confusion in her eyes. "You're giving me a box?" she asks, surprised. "A pretty box, but still a box." Wonder is written in her eyes.
Draco sighs - nothing is ever good enough for Sophia; she is far too spoiled.
"Open it, you spoiled Princess," Draco commands her.
Wondrous again she opens it, letting the music flow out into the hallway.
"All my thoughts are with you forever until the day we will be back together. I will be waiting for you."
XXX
Hermione blinks as reality comes back to her. The memory finishes and the headache that has begun to form is now pounding between her temples.
"Urgh," she moans when the pain hits her. Just when she wants to cradle her head in her hands. somebody else does it. A strong hand holds her head close to a chest while another strong hand rubs comfortably on her back.
"Where does it hurt?" an older voice from the one in her memory whispers.
"My head," she manages to whisper back, noticing that her mouth is dry and her lips are almost glued together. Tiredly she rubs her tongue over them, feeling a little better.
For some unknown reason Hermione doesn't manage to wake up nor can she really understands what's going on. Her eyes are still closed, she has not even tried to open them yet, the effort seemingly too hard for her. Vaguely she hears whispered voices and then a vial is pushed against her lips.
"It's a pain relief potion, Hermione, it will make you feel better," a female voice says, her memory placing it as Aunt Cissa.
"Does anyone know what has happened?" another male voice, commanding and brutal. Her memory has no trouble placing that one as well - Uncle Lucius.
"She had another memory," she hears Draco say. Enjoying the comforting rumble of his voice where her ear lays against his chest, it comforts her and brings her further back into reality.
"Strangely enough, she never had them during the day, and I can see why. I just wonder, what might have triggered it?"
Just then the song of the music box starts playing again and the room goes completely silent.
Lucius, who is standing nearest to it, closes the box with a soft thud.
"I don't know much about memories and how to get them back, but I do think that's one big memory box, so your question as to what might have triggered it is solved and the unasked question as to what is was about we can also conclude. Don't you think so?" Lucius wonders to no one in particular.
Finally feeling the pain diminish, Hermione is only left with tiredness.
"I'm alright," she whispers back to Draco, who is still holding her very close and as she tries to push herself out of his arms he holds her even tighter.
"I'm not sure about that," is his quiet answer.
Looking around, Hermione notices they are still sitting on the floor, not far from where she had fallen down, leaning against a bedpost. Narcissa is crouched beside them, worried eyes cast upon Hermione.
"Well, it seems like Sophia is alright again," Lucius concludes after some peaceful silence. He still refuses to use the name Hermione. "It's already pretty late, so, Narcissa, we better go."
After a nod from Hermione and another comforting stroke on her cheek from Narcissa, she gets up and follows an impatient Lucius out of the door.
"Do you want to talk?"
His voice brings her back to the real world; she has been staring off into space and would have fallen asleep at any moment now. His question also reminds her again of what happened earlier today and the fact that she still doesn't know what do to.
Although she needs to find a way to turn what she knows into her own favor, she is also very curious as to what he is going to tell her. The memory has had such a deep effect on her that she can still feel the pain of it tremble in her heart.
"Uhuh," she nods, turning her bright blue eyes to him.
"I don't know about you but I would rather sit on the sofa at the fireplace than here on the ground," he says smiling and, after seeing her smile back, he kisses her forehead before hoisting her up in the air with himself.
Walking to the sofa in his arms, Hermione suddenly notices how dark it is outside. Having the memory had seemingly taken place hours ago. Draco places her softly on the sofa, where she folds her legs under her and he calls a house elf. When the elf returns with some food, Hermione immediately starts eating, her hunger getting the best of her and Draco tells her about her memory. At first he tells her the things she has already seen but doesn't interrupt him - it brings her a new side to the memory she just had.
"You were gone for half a year."
This does take her notice.
"Not long after, you came back, but only a few months, and then you disappeared again. We all believed you were dead. I'm can't even begin to tell you how happy I am that you're not," he says, talking very quietly, his eyes staring next to her into the distance. Looking back at memories he doesn't want to see.
She swallows a last piece of apple as he continues to stare behind her and she at him. Hermione doesn't want to break the peaceful silence but after a few minutes Draco decides to do it himself.
"Anyway, all that's behind us now," he smiles, guiding his grey eyes to her and gliding a hand through her blonde hair.
"That was the memory you had, wasn't it?" Draco asks when she doesn't respond.
"It was, but the side you told me after I was just viewing it leaves quite an impact on me."
"Of course, my love," Draco smiles back, relieved, and he leans in to kiss her.
Hermione is still so wrapped up in the memory that she doesn't realize it until it is too late. His lips touch hers so tenderly and sweet that she can't help but give in to him.
"About this afternoon," his starts when he breaks away, bringing everything back to her and the plan she had finally begun to form.
There is no way she can get out of here, Hermione has finally realized that. But what if she can turn Draco? What if she can persuade him? After all, if there is someone he should listen to, it's her. She is his mate, the one he can't live without and the one he'll give anything her heart desires.
Hermione has it all planned out now. What if her heart desires that he help Harry win the war? Of course there is no one better to help defeat Voldemort than his heir, the one he trusts the most. Surely Draco can't resist this little wish from his witch?
But Hermione shouldn't have forgotten who she was dealing with; they didn't call him a 'slimy git' for nothing. He had it already worked out what his witch would try to do before he had opened the door and found her on the floor. Now that he has cut to the subject of this afternoon again, he can see the determined shimmer forming behind her bright blue eyes.
She jumps up after he said the words "About this afternoon."
"I may have overreacted," is her answer when she turns back to him, the determination gone from her eyes.
Draco smirked at her, if she is playing a game then he can do that too.
"It's ok," he shushes her, getting up and walking closer to her again.
Draco captures her face in his hands and before she can make any protest, he kisses her again. His kiss is so overwhelming that Hermione sees sparks fly behind her closed eyelids and forgets her resolution.
Draco smirks again when he notices her losing control. Wrapping his arms around her he pulls her even closer to him, kissing her senseless again.
The only thing he wants to do tonight is distract her, he doesn't want another confrontation. Draco wants her to want him back, just for once. The only way he can do that is to try to make her forget everything.
Releasing her from the kiss, he turns to her neck, sucking and licking his way up and down, waiting till Hermione has gathered enough to breathe again.
Moaning and suddenly realizing what he is trying to do, she pushes him off her a bit.
"I know what you're trying to do," she whispers, still too much out of breath to say anything loudly.
"Well," he smirks, moving to that special place behind her earlobe and kissing her there, making her shudder in his arms. "Why don't you stop me then?"
"I will," and then she shudders again when he pulled her earlobe between his teeth.
Hermione vaguely wonders how he can do that, but quickly puts it off as a Veela thing and not Draco. Which is, of course, a mistake for her to do.
It isn't the Veela inside him telling him what to do tonight, it is Draco simply knowing her so well.
Draco releases her and pushes her softly, so she falls down on the bed behind her. Fully realizing he has won tonight, he climbs over her with a satisfying smirk before catching her lips with his again.
Hermione grudgingly returns the kiss, realizing there will be no persuasion from her side tonight.
AN: I am so sorry for the long holdup. My wonderful beta Sarah Liz B was preoccupied and so was I. The next chapter might be a long wait again, because I want to write it right and there is so much that is happening.
Anyway just know that however long it takes me to update I will not abandon the story and this will be updated again. Because I never abandon a story, =).