A/N: This little ficlet was written for the Interhouse Fest 2014. I have since changed a thing or two about this fic. It is, obviously, complete. There are three chapters. Please leave a review; it would be greatly appreciated. Enjoy!
Author: theallwymonster
Characters: Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Harry Potter, Luna Lovegood and OC.
Prompt Number: #165
Word Count: 16277
Rating: M
Warnings: Implicit Sexual Situations, Mild Profanity, and Mild Violence. Slight OOCness from some characters.
Summary: Renaissance potions, a meddling cousin, a reluctant partner and a skunk on the loose. Just an average month in Hogwarts after the war.
Disclaimer: I do no own Harry Potter or Spongebob Squarepants.
Author's Notes Thanks to my beta for making this fic a presentable one. The prompt had given me a chance if I want to make it fluffy, angsty or funny, so I decided to do a little bit of all three! I mixed in a few clichés and a few more of my own twists (like magical buildings that can rebuild itself). By far, this is the most I've written as a fanfic writer. It was fun.
~.~
(i)
He thought about what would happen if he had stopped the man; if he had been quick enough to realise what he was going to do. Lucius Malfoy might be a bigoted bastard for anyone else, and even though he had unusual ways to show it, he always had a soft spot for his family. Despite the rumours and stares, he had always been a sensitive person when it comes to his loved ones. Never had Draco been beaten physically, pushed around repeatedly; as anyone would guess. It was true that his father was the one who had convinced him into thinking Muggleborns are inferior to the wizarding world, but other than a misguided point of view; he wasn't a too bad father.
He missed him. Out in public, Lucius remained as cold as ever, but when he was alone with his family; his demeanour changed significantly. While he was not exactly the most playful father, there are moments that he would challenge him to a friendly duel, a game of wizard's chess; or even a fly on their brooms by the gardens. The only time that Lucius had ever hit Draco was when he found out that he was falling behind a student; a mudblood nevertheless. The scars he got from the hexes were uncountable, but at that time; he didn't resent his father. He couldn't do so because, in his mind, he deserved it.
It changed over the years, though. The moment when his father was thrown into Azkaban, he grew resentful not towards Harry-fucking-Potter, but to the goddamned son-of-a-bitch that started the whole thing in the first place. His perspective had changed considerably, leaving him to think that the Dark Lord's chauvinistic ways were all for the gutter. Nothing good can ever come to his part anyway, what with his father being in prison and all that; so why should he even bother?
So he stopped. He ended the taunts he sent at the Golden Trio, making them (especially the bespectacled dickhead) to be suspicious of him. He knew that their qualms about him should get him to feel offended because he wasn't doing anything wrong, but he couldn't find the strength to do so.
The truth was, the moment she had said it, he agreed with Granger wholeheartedly. He was tired.
But then Christmas Break arrives, where he was pushed by his deranged aunt to join the band of narcissistic supremacists. Choices were given, of course, but even then he knew that he couldn't do it. There was no other way to refuse unless he wanted his mother to die.
So, with the skull and snake branded on his left arm, he was given a mission. A near to impossible task. How he had managed to do it, he would never know.
Now, with the tattoo still on his arm, he started to regret his decisions of the past. He dwelled about how he could change it if he could stop himself from sending Dumbledore to his death if he could push his father away from harm's way.
His thoughts were interrupted off when a pair of arms wrapped around his waist.
"Why aren't you asleep?"
Draco tilted his lips amusedly. Even when she sounded sleepy, she was still as inquisitive as ever.
"I couldn't. I thought I should clear my mind for a bit."
"Well, I think you should sleep. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow morning."
He raised one of her hands and placed a gentle kiss on her fingers. "It's okay; I'll pull through."
She didn't reply. Instead, she caressed his stomach with her hands with her chin on his shoulder. It was strangely comforting, if not slightly ticklish, but Draco Malfoy was never one to be squeamish before.
Well, that was before he had the chance to know her.
"You know," she said, as if reading his mind, "I know what you're doing."
"What?"
"You're thinking too much again."
"This coming from a woman who overanalyses the properties of unicorn blood even though there's a book entirely dedicated to it?"
"Haha, funny."
"I know. Used to do stand-up on the weekends."
"You know what I'm talking about."
He sniggered. "Sorry. It's fun to rile you up."
"I've noticed."
His smile dropped to a frown; his hands traced hers that wrapped around his front. "Granger?"
"Yes?"
"What are we doing?"
"I believe this is called hugging."
"You know that's not what I meant."
He could feel her stiffen behind him. "I wished I know myself."
"Do you regret it, though?"
Her answer surprised him a little. "No, I don't."
He turned around in her arms and kissed her. When they pulled away, she looked at him in confusion. "Why did you do that?"
"Just."
"Just, what?"
"Nothing."
He pressed his lips to hers again, albeit a little briefer than the first one. Wrapping a long arm around her waist, he dragged her away from the window of where he stood.
"Let's go to sleep."
It was true that he wished the possibilities of him going back in time, trying to fix the things that should have been solved. But by doing so, he wouldn't have met solace in this beautiful girl. It might make him look like a bad son, but even though there was a high price to pay; he would change nothing if he were going to be finally happy.
~.~
"Please, let me in Hermione."
He didn't get an answer, so he waited. The pause lasted for a few minutes, but he was relentless. He sat down by Hermione's bedroom door, with his ankle crossed over the other; still waiting for her reply or something from her that could indicate she was at least still alive.
An hour passed. Had it been long? The only thing he met was the heavy silence, and he could hear nothing but her sobs.
He gave up. If she was going to be stubborn, then so was he.
He stood up, and made his mind to walk away, but not before opening up his mouth to say something. He was always the type to have the last word, even with someone as garrulous as Hermione, but the moment he thought of the words he wished to say, he changed his mind.
Things were bad as they were.
So he left the door, without a single glance backwards. He failed to notice the soft whimper from the other side, or the teary gaze of his love; staring at his back after she quietly opened the door, hoping to let him in.
She was too late.
~.~
Audrey Winslow was not a happy girl.
After the second wizarding war had ended a good eight months ago in this castle, her family moved from her cosy home in Salem to be in one of the coldest countries in the world (that last bit could be exaggerated on her part, she must admit). It irked her she had to be so far away from her friends and family, but while no matter how much she hated getting homesick, she knew it had its moments of ups and downs.
With that being said, she was content with being a nobody. A fly on the wall.
After the Battle, Hogwarts was nearly a pile of rubble. Explosions almost demolished the once magnificent castle and took away many lives that night. Many lost hope on the state of the school, but it was all for nought. Everyone had gone home, celebrating their victory with their love ones, and mourned for the ones they had lost. When they came back in the efforts of restoring the castle back to its former glory, they had a shock of their lives.
Standing in the light of the rising sun, was the castle itself; unscathed. It was as if by magic, the place rebuilt itself. It was as if by magic, nothing was left broken or damaged. It was as if by magic, every spot of debris and dirt was cleaned up.
The castle groaned in a prideful way as every person that was present walked in the entrance. The front yard was blooming with flowers, welcoming the bouts of spring, rendering others in awe.
What didn't kill the castle; only made it stronger.
It gave them hope because, in a way, it was the castle's way of giving them something to hold onto.
It was in one word; magical.
Audrey was not an exception. She was amazed by the stories that were told by her parents, even more so when she witnessed the castle's beauty on her own. She felt safe and content, but even then she still felt slight anxiety at the back of her mind. Like she didn't belong there.
As what was said before, she would rather be a fly on the wall.
But, as of today, she was angry. If such emotion were present, she would be anything but invisible. She would make herself known. She could throw tantrums for all she cared, and nobody would stand in her way. The anger was not directed to the place itself, though, but rather to her stupid, narcissistic, too-prideful cousin, Draco Malfoy.
No one ever knew that Draco Malfoy had a cousin other than Tonks (and even then, most didn't know about the latter until the battle ended). During the first time she stepped foot into the Great Hall to be sorted (it was embarrassing, being the only sixteen-year-old among the new students) everybody instantly knew, without a single doubt that she had to be somehow in any way; related to the Malfoy heir.
She had the same features; platinum blonde hair, blue-grey eyes, and the infamous aristocratic curve of her nose. The tall stature of a Black, the elegance of a Malfoy; but it was by no means that she was one of them.
No, she was just so happened to look like them.
After being sorted into Slytherin (no surprises there) she met Draco, who met her eyes with a curious glint. He owled his mum, and as a reply, he received a map of the family tree, complete with the names of the ones who were disowned. She was a third cousin once removed, and after telling her that, they had become close. Even though Draco had been busy with his duty as the Head Boy, and her studies occupied her for O. W. L., they still manage to find time to have fun together.
If they are together, one would say that they are twins.
Now, her idiot of a cousin was currently pacing the floor because of something stupid he had said to his girlfriend.
If she was, to be honest, it wasn't an odd occurrence. He was a moron all the time.
"So, now what are you going to do?"
"I don't know."
"What do you mean, you don't know? You gotta fix this mess!"
"You think I don't know that? I was the one who got kicked out of her room."
"What's wrong with that? It's her room!"
"It means that she won't talk to me; that she wouldn't listen to me."
"Did you try to convince her otherwise? Knock on the door, scream her fucking name-"
"If I didn't try, I wouldn't be here right now. My god, for a girl, you're not an insightful one, are you?"
"Well, if it were up to me, I would've hexed your ass 'till it's burning or something."
"That is what she normally does, but for some reason, she didn't."
"What do you mean?"
Draco hesitated. "It means that I fucked up because I said something that I shouldn't have. I promised that I wouldn't, because I'm better than that right now, but I did. So, I am royally fucked, and I don't know what to do."
He stood up, taking Audrey slightly aback. She thought the reason why he came here was that he wanted her to help him, but it seemed like he was making his way towards the brick wall that concealed the exit.
"Where are you going?"
"Hogsmeade."
"But it's late-"
"The perks of being the Head Boy."
And he was gone.
~.~
It was the end of the week, and he was still wallowing in self-pity.
Audrey kept an eye on him whenever she had the chance, and noted that he looked even worse than the week before. His face looked tired with dark circles under his eyes, there was a permanent scowl on his mouth, and he looked as if he hadn't been shaving in a month. He looked older than his eighteen-year-old self.
He glanced at his now ex-girlfriend's table across the room, his face is stoic, but even from where Audrey is, she could see the longing in his eyes. She was laughing at something Potter had said, and it made him glare at the Boy Wonder with envy. Hermione looked up, after noticing someone is staring at her, but once she caught his eyes, she immediately looked away, as if he was nothing but a part of the wall behind him.
Audrey knew she had to put an end to this. Frankly, this was getting annoying by the minute. The Valentine's Ball was coming in a week, and she needed to help them as much as she can if they were going to stay like this. Desperate times came in desperate measures, and she was going to do something new; something that she hadn't done in a long time, but if it was for the sake of her cousin and his pathetic love life, then so be it.
She was going to the library.
As she stood up, someone rose from their seat and followed her, maintaining a distance between them by a good couple of metres.
~.~
"Hermione, are you okay?"
Hermione looked up from her plate, to see the concerning eyes of her best friend, Harry Potter. The boy had done so much to ensure the world to be a safe place once again, but no matter how much she appreciated him, she still wished that he would stop his prodding and leave her alone.
It was both unusual and annoying that he was so perceptive when it came to others.
"Yes, I'm all right."
Harry's sceptical look remained. "Really? You haven't touched your food, you know."
She sighed. "Can you leave me alone? I'm sorry, but I need time for myself."
"Is this because of Draco?"
Hermione flinched when Harry mentioned him. "Harry-"
"I know, I know. I'm sorry, that was out of line."
She took a deep breath, and said, "I know you mean well, Harry; but I don't want to talk about him. Not now, not even ever, I hope."
Harry's face twisted itself in disbelief; this was not his best friend he had known to love. His best friend used to be feisty, level-headed; she would never back down without a fight. Despite some hesitance from the others, she always managed to prove to anyone else that she was a strong woman, always finding solutions for a problem that needed to be solved. Right now, though, she reminded him of someone who was weak, and helpless; almost to the point of giving up.
"I don't understand it. Why are you beating yourself up because of a stupid fight?"
Hermione snapped her head at him and glared; her eyes were flashing with anger. As much as he knew he was out of line, at least he gauged a bit of a reaction from her.
"Excuse me? You heard what I told you, he-"
"He said something that was practically verging myself to hex him to bits, but did you try to let him explain?"
Hermione bristled uncomfortably.
"So you didn't."
"Why should he explain? He had made himself pretty clear by practically screaming it out at my face." Hermione closed
Harry pursed his lips. "Okay, I'm going to say something that might bruise my ego slightly, and probably billions of other men. We are clueless. Yes, it's true. Do you think we understand about all of this coupling shit? Half of my relationship was non-existent because I was missing most of the time!"
"Harry, he wasn't the one who was looking for Horcruxes-"
"I'm not finished! We are utterly clueless on how the other would react, on how they would behave, especially when we messed up. So, we would do the first thing that popped in our head. Defend ourselves with the offensive."
"This is not Quidditch you know; you can go straight to the point."
"My point is, we will attack you, and it is nothing personal. It's in our nature to be defensive, and while I admit we have a stupid way of doing it, it always comes to the fact that we fucked up."
"Makes no sense."
"Trust me; men are a lot more complicating than girls if we want to. I mean, we surely do have more parts in our genitals than females do."
Despite being a crude joke, something that she's not fond of, she chuckled anyway. Harry smiled in triumph, happy that he could make her laugh, if only for a minute.
~.~
(ii)
She looked for any survivors that hid in other parts of the castle instead of staying in the Great Hall, but in its place, she found a lost blond she hadn't seen for a while, who stood precariously by one of the railings of the Astronomy Tower. His back was to her person, and even when she couldn't see his face, she could tell he had cried by the way his shoulders seemed to shake.
"Malfoy? What are you doing here?"
"I could've asked you the same."
His voice was a shell of his used-to-be prideful one; it was replaced by an empty hollowness she thought she would never hear from him.
"Are you trying to kill yourself?" It was only a half-joke in her case.
Draco looked down below and made a small wistful grunt. "That sounds tempting."
"Please, don't do it."
"Why not? The world would have one less Death Eater to tolerate."
His voice was a lot more venomous, and even though she couldn't see it, she could tell he was sneering at nothing in particular. She sighed.
"Because I'm tired. I'm tired seeing people die; I'm tired of not being able to help but most of all, I'm tired of this bloody war."
His eyebrow quirked at her choice of words. "You swore."
"At this point, I don't care if I swear. I've done worse that would make me feel ashamed of myself."
"You're ashamed? At least your father is still alive. I couldn't do anything to save mine."
She remembered the entire encounter. She was with Ron, trying to track down Nagini when she heard a shout. She turned around in time to see Lucius Malfoy, the same man who had scorned her in the bookstore in Diagon Alley a few years ago, glaring at a masked Death Eater with his wand in his hand. He was shielding something – or someone – and his stance was not short than being defensive.
"You would not hurt my son."
The Death Eater growled at him and sent out a nonverbal curse, which bright green light was highly recognisable. In his haste to defend himself, he casted a spell that caused the Death Eater to fly away backwards, but it was too late for him. The curse hit him on his chest, and he fell to the ground, landing on the feet of his son. It happened so fast, and the Death Eater had recovered, running away from the scene. She recalled how crestfallen Draco looked as he kneeled down to his father. As he clutched Lucius's body to his chest; wailing at his father's demise. How surprised she felt at how much he had cried. How astonished she was at Lucius's bravery to sacrifice his skin to save his son's.
His mother appeared out of nowhere, and she sat by Draco's side as she too cried on his shoulder. She truly felt sorry for them, despite the taunting and contempt she had endured in their hands. Hermione could have gone closer to them so she could tell them her condolences, but she was dragged away by Ron, who thankfully didn't see what happened. Only he could make things worse than it was.
"You know it wasn't your fault. Your father-"
"Did everything he could to save me, yet I couldn't do the same. I could have pushed him away; I could have tackled that bastard who killed my father. I could've done anything!"
Stone by his left foot was kicked in his anger. "But instead, I stood there. Like a coward."
"You can't beat yourself up because of this-"
"My father died, because of me!"
"Well, tough luck! You're not the only who lost someone today. Fred is dead; do you think the Weasleys take this as an easy thing to convey?"
Draco cocked his head slightly to the direction of her voice. "What do you want me to do? Do you expect me to forget about my father?"
"No. I'm not asking you to stop mourning. Nobody ever stopped doing so, no matter how hard they tried. I want you to stop accusing yourself of his death. You couldn't save him, you didn't have your wand, and you were wounded. Your father wouldn't blame you, and you know that; so why should you?"
He rumbled low in his chest. "You're so confident in letting me know I'm not the one who's guilty. Why?"
She was hesitant to say the next words, but they were the truth. She would never go astray from veracity. "No matter how much you think it was, none of this is your fault. Your father does what he did because he loves you. Not because he was forced to, but because he wanted to."
Draco finally turned around after minutes of talking. His eyes were bloodshot as if he had been crying for hours, and a huge cut across his forehead had caused a single line of blood made its way down from his forehead. It was unfair to her even in his most uninviting state; he (begrudgingly, she had to admit) seemed as attractive as ever.
He approached her with a determined glint in his eyes, scaring her slightly. What was he going to do to her? Had her little speech spurred something inside of him; was he going to strike her? She didn't bring her wand, it was a stupid move of hers, considering what she had gone through. Every time he took a step, she took one back. They kept on going like this until her back hit the wall. He placed his hands on the either sides of her head; his face neared hers.
"You're never the type to leave people alone, are you?" Draco asked.
Hermione shook her head. "Not if I could help it."
Their lips met halfway. Her hands slipped themselves into his hair, tugging his face closer to hers. His hands dropped from the wall and placed them on her waist, pulling her nearer too. The kiss was clumsy for a while, teeth clinching with the other but slowly they get used to other's quirks. It was both awkward and comforting at the same time; like a mismatched combination of an equally incompatible couple. It was perfect, but there were no fireworks. No explosions. Just a heart-racing kiss; that made the both of them breathless as they parted.
"What was that for?"
"I was thanking you for knocking some sense into me. An unconventional way to do so, but I'm nothing if not eccentric."
That night, once they returned to the Great Hall; they shared a blanket. Ignoring everyone else, and the prickling sense in their back of their minds saying they shouldn't do it, Draco wrapped his arms around Hermione. Both of them found comfort in each other; where no one else could do it for them. It was abrupt and quick at the same time but all in all, it felt right.
~.~
"No... No... No..."
Audrey browsed through the book in her hands for something that can be used in her little scheme. The potions book was full of interesting types of concoctions, ranging from healing to love potions. She wasn't looking for any of those, though. She was looking for something that could fix the problem her cousin had arisen, but so far no books were competent enough to do so. Some of them were entirely useless, and while some of them were helpful, it wasn't exactly what she wants.
Her thoughts were cut off when a pair of hands slides themselves down her arms. She jolted with surprise but instantly calmed down when she realised that it was only her boyfriend.
"Hey."
"Hello." He gives her a kiss on her head.
"What are you doing here?"
"I saw you walking out of the Hall. So, I followed you here."
"Oh, so you're stalking me now?"
"Kind of."
She hummed in amusement.
"So, what are you doing?"
"Trying to fix my cousin's predicament."
He groaned. "Why can't you leave them be? If he does love her, he would've been on his knees by now."
"But you know how stubborn he can be. You know how stubborn she can be. Do you expect them to be so pliant with their feelings?"
"Now that you mentioned it, no." Audrey made a sound of achievement. "But that doesn't mean we should meddle with their lives!"
"It's not meddling if you're trying to help."
"Right, forgot that you're American."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Her voice had a dangerous glint to it.
"It means that you're too self-righteous for your good."
"Not all Americans are like that, you know."
He sighed. "I do. It's wrong for me to say that. I mean, not all Brits eat scones and have tea in a fancy lounge. Most of us favour our booze too much."
"Okay. We're going off topic. Stop distracting me!"
"Sorry." He looked at the cluttered table, books and parchment were strewed everywhere. He shook his head at the mess she made. "Maybe you should stop whatever it is you're doing and-"
"No! I won't sit here and do nothing! They are miserable without each other, why can't you see that? She's your best friend! Don't you want her to be happy?"
"Of course I do, but-"
"But what?"
"I think that maybe she's...better off without him?"
Audrey blinked at him. "Oh my god, she's right. Sensitivity is not exactly your forte is it?"
"Now, wait for a second-"
"No waiting. I am going to help them whether you like it or not. Besides, I'm just going to give them a boost. A little push! If anything, they're going to fix it themselves. I'm merely a-"
"-meddlesome busybody who doesn't know how to keep her nose out of something that isn't any of her business?"
A glare from her was his reply. "You know, if you don't want to help me, then you could fuck off. My time is already wasted talking with you."
He sighed, a sign of defeat. "I'm not going to talk you out of this, am I?"
"Nope."
"Fine."
Audrey (thinking that he had given up and left her alone), glanced back at the book she was reading but was surprised when he dragged the chair next to her closer to his side. He sat on it and proceeded to reach out for a book at the nearest pile. She looked at him suspiciously, in which he shook his head.
"If you're going to do something stupid, the least you could do is to ask me along the ride."
Audrey raised an eyebrow. "You were trying to stop me five seconds ago. What changed your mind so fast?"
"You were right. I hate to see my best friend depressed and if getting her back together with the ferret would undo it; then I guess I should help you out."
Audrey blessed him with the biggest smile he had ever seen on her. It made his chest flutter with pride, knowing that this beautiful girl was his, and only his. He reached out for her hand and kissed it, smirking at her when she started blushing. It also made him felt smug, knowing that only he could affect her as much as she could to him.
Audrey stretched her neck and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you."
He rolled his eyes but smiled anyway. "Yeah, yeah."
Anything for his girl.
~.~
"Are you ready for this?"
"Not really."
"You'll be fine." A kiss on his cheek seemed to lift his spirits slightly.
"What if I fucked it up?"
"Don't worry. You can do it."
"I hope this works. Because if it doesn't, you owe me; big time."
"Oh, chill. All you have to do is to play postman. You don't have to go to your cousin and give him a potion that might not work." The phial in her hand was shaken slightly to prove her point.
"What the bloody hell is a postman?"
"It's a muggle thing- man- never mind! Just wait for me until I get back, and then you can be on your way."
A strong push against him sent him tripping towards the doors of the Great Hall. She was a lot stronger than he thought.
He took a deep breath, and leant against the wall; wishing that he didn't sign up for this.
