'Ello!
First, I want to just take a second to thank everyone for reading, reviewing, favouriting – whatever you've done – because it means so, so much! So thank you, thank you, thank you.
Second, this is quite obviously the fourth – and probably most exciting – part! Unfortunately I have yet to decide whether this is the end or not… Part of me wants to make one more piece but part of me wants to leave it the way it is 'cause I sort of like the ending. That being said, I have started to write a little something, I'm just not sure what (if anything) I'm going to do with it.
Anyhow, hopefully this will clear some things up! Enjoy :)
The Truth
The truth always comes out.
"Can you keep a secret?"
You have no idea the secrets I can keep. "Sure."
"I think you're my best friend."
"That's your secret?"
"My other friend would have a fit if she knew."
A laugh.
A shy smile.
"You're my best friend too."
X
He freezes when he sees her chained to the wall in his family's basement. At least, it used to be a basement. Now it's more of a...dungeon. And his home is more of a prison.
He looks at her – her dirty clothes, her dirty skin, her dirty, matted hair – and it's like the world melts away. Gone, is the sound of his aunt's insane, maniacal laughter. Gone, are his father's taunts regarding her blood and her position – both in the world and in the moment. It's only him and it's only her and she looks sovulnerable. So defeated. So sad and helpless and afraid. So unlike herself that it makes him sick to his stomach.
His father steps forward, his wand pointed straight towards her and his stomach churns.
"No. Don't. Please don't hurt her, father."
His palms begin to sweat, his throat closes and his chest tightens as he awaits his father's actions. He has a sudden urge to protect her but he struggles against it – both for his own safety and for hers.
The spell that hits her straight in the chest causes her to scream and writhe in pain and he flinches away from the scene before him. He knows her agony – the blinding pain she's in – and he wants to help her, to save her.
"Take care of yourself, okay? If you remember nothing else, remember that."
Her screaming stops the moment the spell is lifted but the sound of it continues to reverberate in his head, echoes in his ears and causes him to close his eyes. He feels like a child afraid of his nightmares; like a teenage boy afraid of his reality.
He remains rooted to his spot, unable to move his feet and afraid that even if he could his legs would give way beneath him, even as the other Death Eaters leave the room and go back upstairs. His gaze is so immersed and frozen on the girl lying limp and seemingly lifeless on the floor in front of him that he misses the way his mother looks back at him as she follows his father up the stairs.
X
"You don't have to keep doing that, you know."
"Of course I do. They're prats, all of them."
"Well, yes, but-"
"Nobody but me is allowed to make fun of you. And for that, I will always protect you. As long as I'm around, nobody will ever hurt you."
X
He sneaks down to see her in the middle of the night because not even his girlcan help him sleep. He can't explain the reason for it, but he goes because she's the only thing he can think of.
He walks slowly and carefully towards her. She's lying on the floor, curled into a ball facing the wall away from him. She looks weak, frail – and once again he feels sick to his stomach. He's sort of afraid to get close to her – afraid to hurt her – and yet something pushes him closer and closer until he's close enough to touch her. He bends down behind her, peering at her through heavy eyelids.
"Gra-" His voice falters, getting caught in his throat. He clears it, taking a deep breath. "Granger," he whispers hoarsely.
She stirs, but doesn't wake.
His hand shakes as he reaches out to touch her. "Hey, Granger," he whispers again, touching his fingers to her shoulder. "H-Hermione..." His name on her tongue sends shivers down his spine, which he ignores because at that moment she wakes up.
Her eyes widen in fear and she scrambles away from him, pushing herself hard against the wall.
"Shh! I'm not going to hurt you," he murmurs, falling closer to the ground – closer to her – onto his knees to cover her mouth with his hand before she can scream. "I promise I won't hurt you."
She nods slightly, staring at him with wide eyes.
"Are you okay?" he asks softly, pulling his hand back.
"I'm fine," she whispers back stubbornly.
"You're lying. You're in pain – it's like your skin is crawling and your insides are burning," he murmurs, sitting back so he's directly across from her. He bends his legs and leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "In the moment you want to die from the pain – and for a second you think you will, but then you don't and you almost wish you had. And even though the pain gets easier to handle, it never really goes away."
She blinks. "You...how do you know?"
He stares at her for a moment. "I've felt it." He inches closer to her slowly, hesitantly. "Can...can I?"
She nods.
Carefully, he pulls his wand out of his pocket and with a few incantations her injuries begin to heal. When he's finished, he sits back against the wall beside her. He glances sideways at her and somehow it feels normal. Easy. Right.
X
Taps on her window.
A sad grey-eyed boy stares at her through the panes of glass. [His eyes kind of look like rain clouds.]
She opens the window and he crawls into her room.
"What are you doing here?"
"I-I wanted to see you."
He holds his side as he limps towards her bed.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"No, you're hurt-"
"I'm fine now. I'm with you."
X
Like when he was 10 years old, he stops outside his father's study when he hears his mother's voice.
"I told you something like this would happen, Lucius."
"Everything is fine-"
"Everything is notfine! He knows something's wrong, Lucius. He's always known – and it's only a matter of time before he finds out."
"I conducted the spell myself, there's no wayhe's going to find out. It's impossible-"
"What if it's not? What if something stronger helps him remember?"
His father scoffs. "Stronger than magic? What's stronger than magic?"
"Love."
Lucius barks then, laughing. "Loveis not stronger than magic. And even if it is, he isn't in love – he was seven, for Merlin's sake."
Draco's throat closes at his father's words.
X
Freshly mown grass.
New parchment – a handwritten note.
Peppermint toothpaste.
Brown eyes watching him.
"We'll always be friends, right?"
Grey eyes stare back.
"Always."
X
He stares at the food lining his plate the next morning and he feels sick. His mind is elsewhere – reeling. He can't stop thinking about the things his father had said the night before.
He looks up at his mother, who is silent and reserved, eating her meal in piece. Then he looks to his father, who is also silent and reserved, his gaze trained on the Daily Prophet in front of him. Only a few months ago his Muggle Studies professor was killed and then disposed of on this table in the dining room and now here they are, eating a meal. The thought makes his skin crawl and then the vision of Granger, lying cold and lifeless in the professor's place makes him flinch.
Suddenly, he can't help himself. "What happened when I was seven?"
His mother freezes, choking on her food. Her fork falls and clangs on her plate.
His father remains calm, peering at him over his paper. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Draco replies harshly. "I heard you talking last night."
"You were eavesdropping, then."
"Perhaps if you don't want someone to hear you you should ensure that they won't."
Calmly, Lucius folds his newspaper and places it on the table as he looks at his son.
Draco looks away, towards his mother. Narcissa looks back, looking torn and upset. "Granger isn't just Granger, is she?"
"Draco, stop this," Lucius demands.
He whirls on his father, pushing himself to his feet. The force of his frustration knocks his chair backwards and makes the lights flicker. "You did something to her – to me. What'd you do?"
"I did what was best for you."
"What did you do?" He asks again, harder this time.
"Draco, now is not the time-"
"What the fuckdid you do?!" He growls, slamming his hands down on the table. The sound startles his mother, who squeaks and flinches – but he doesn't care much for that. His gaze is glued heavily to the man before him.
Lucius pushes himself to his feet as well, places his palms on the table to mirror his son and looks at him sternly. "We're in the middle of a war and you're worried about this? She's just a mudblood!"
"But she was more than that, wasn't she?" Draco asks rhetorically. He straightens himself out. "She's the girl from my dreams – but they aren't dreams, are they? They're memories. I knew her. I was friends with her – before I ever even met her on the train to Hogwarts. And you took my memories away from me – you took heraway from me."
"I wasn't going to let my son be friends with a mudblood," Lucius spits viciously. "I certainly wasn't going to let you enter school that way."
"What did you do?" Draco asks, although he's fairly positive he already knows the answer
The eldest Malfoy licks his lips as he folds his arms across his chest. "Seems to me like you already know the answer to that."
X
A hard slap across the face.
A bloody nose.
His mother's tears cascading down her face – identical to his own.
"You're fraternizing with a mudblood!" father yells incredulously, pulling on his hair as he rounds once more on mother. "And you're allowing him to!"
She flinches. "Lucius, please understand-"
"I forbid it. No son of mine is going to be friends with a filthy little mudblood girl."
"B-but father...she isn't dirty."
"Of course she isn't dirty on the outside, boy. It's her blood that's dirty."
"She has magic, father, I've seen it. It's brilliant, really – she's super talented! Yesterday she made a butterfly appear in the palm of her hand-"
"She isn't supposed to have magic, Draco. She's a muggle and muggles don't have magic, you know that."
"Yes, but-"
"So if she does have magic then she has something she shouldn't have and she is not worthy of our kind. She is not worthy of you."
"But-"
"Enough!"
"Lucius-"
"You will no longer be allowed to see the mudblood and your mother will no longer be able to take you, do you understand?"
"W-what about today? I'm supposed to see her today-"
"Then you're to tell her you can no longer see her."
X
Hushed tones through a thin wall.
A sobbing mother.
A hateful father.
"You have to obliviate her. You have to erase all traces of him from the girl's memories."
"What of Draco?"
"I'll take care of his memories myself."
"This is wrong, Lucius."
"This is the only way."
X
"I cannot believe you," Draco mutters, turning away from his father.
"What else was I to do?"
"You could've left it alone-"
"And have you grow up with a mudblood as a friend-"
"Don't call her that," Draco whispers, closing his eyes to the word.
"Do you know what would've happened to you? How people would've reacted – how the Dark Lord would've reacted-"
"I don't care about the Dark Lord!" Draco screams, whirling around once more. "And I don't care about how people would've reacted, she was my friend-"
"She was a liability!"
Draco opens his mouth to respond hotly and then closes it. He breathes deeply through his nose in a vain attempt to calm himself down – very vain. He licks his lips. "I was happy. Being around her made me happy – that's the only time I ever was. Yesterday I could've told you that I couldn't even remember the last time I was happy and it would've been true – but now...now I remember exactlywhen it was."
X
"Draco? Will you be my first kiss?"
"I dunno, will I?"
"Draco..."
"Only if you'll be mine."
"Okay."
"Okay. When?"
"Now."
"Okay."
X
"But you didn't care about that, did you? That thought never even crossed your mind because you were too busy thinking about the Dark Lord – because all you ever cared about was the Dark Lord," Draco spits – and literally, spit escapes his angry lips. "As long as it pleases your dear lord, you'll do anything, won't you?"
"What are you trying to say, boy? That you would've been perfectly happy being friends with...her?"
"Yes."
Lucius stares at him for a moment and then looks at Narcissa. "This is your fault. If you hadn't continued to take him there-"
"I was giving our sonwhat he wanted-"
"Well we can't always have what we want, can we?!"
"Even if we can youmake sure that we don't," Draco snaps.
"You watch your mouth, your filthyblood-traitor-"
"Or what?" he challenges. "You'll take away my memories again? I remembered once, I'm sure I can remember again."
Lucius looks like he's about to scream. Moments later he begins to clap. "Well done," he says, pausing between each word for emphasis. "Well done. You've done the impossible – now what? Hmm? What's the plan now, Draco?"
Draco is unresponsive, mostly because he doesn't know.
"I'll tell you what the plan is. You're going to stay away from her-"
"You tried to keep me away from her once before and we wound up going to the same school-"
"-orI'm going to torture her within an inch of her life and you'll just have to watch."
Draco steps forward, standing chest-to-chest with his father. Yesterday he might've cowered away from the older man. Now, he is blinded by rage. "If you lay one hand of her – if you cast a single spell – I swear to God I'll..." he trails off, unable to keep his voice level.
"Your protectiveness over this girl is almost endearing, Draco. Maybe now you'll do what you're told."
Draco snarls, struggling to keep his composure.
"Now. Sit down and finish your breakfast, the Dark Lord will be along shortly. You're going to be on your best behaviour, right? We wouldn't want him to find out about your...obsession with the mudblood, would we?"
The only thing that keeps him from lunging across the table at his father is the slight shake of his mother's head.
X
Two swings.
A sandy playground.
A windy day.
"Why have I never met your friends?"
"What?"
"It's just...you've met my friends. But I've never met yours."
An awkward shift. "My friends are...different."
"Different how?"
"They're not really my friends. I only hang out with them because my father tells me to."
Silence.
"Besides, you wouldn't like them anyway."
"How do you know?"
"Because unfortunately I have met them."
A giggle that means everything is okay.
X
It isn't easily done, but he sneaks back into the dungeons undetected. He's wearing a large black cloak with the hood pulled over his head to hide his face. With his wand in one hand and a bag in the other, he tip-toes to where Granger is lying, sleeping.
He isn't scared.
He isn't hesitant.
This time he knows exactly why he's here. This time he knows exactly what he's doing.
He bends down, reaching a large, pale hand towards her and places it on her shoulder. "Granger," he whispers. "Granger."
She stirs and her eyelids flutter open as she adjusts to the darkness surrounding them. She stares for a moment and then flinches away from him.
"Shh, it's me," he assures her quickly, pushing his hood back to reveal his face. "It's just me."
"How do I know?"
He smirks at the brilliant-ness of her. "Fifth year, I gave you a potion to heal the wound on your hand."
"Which hand?"
"Left."
She nods once and visibly relaxes. "What are you doing down here?"
"We're going away," he tells her, using his wand to undo the chain around her right ankle.
"W-what?"
"I'm getting you out of here," he explains, pushing himself to his feet. He offers her his hand to help her.
She looks at him strangely. "Why? Why should I trust you?"
"That's just it – you dotrust me, you just don't know why," he says, and the recognition that flashes in her eyes makes him continue. "You feel it, right? You've always felt it. It's like there's this...this pull between us, right? A connection. But you've never been able to explain it – to yourself or to anyone else."
She blinks, her mouth opening like she wants to speak but she doesn't.
"I know," he tells her. "I know everything and as soon as I get us to a safe place I'll tell you. I promise."
She slips her hand into his then and he pulls her gently to her feet. As she dusts herself off, he pulls another cloak out of his pocket and throws it around her shoulders. She looks at him questioningly.
"The more we blend into the darkness, the easier it'll be," he murmurs, trying the string around her neck. He reaches behind her then and pulls the hood up over her head. He lingers, his gaze raking over the form of her face, breathing her in. "You're still so beautiful..."
A pink tint works its way onto her cheeks as she bows her head. "Where are we going?"
"I know a place, from when I was child, and only one other person knows of its existence."
"You can't come back here after, they'll ask questions and-"
"I won't be coming back," he says, swinging his bag over his shoulder.
"Y-you won't?"
He shakes his head. "No."
"How are we going to get out of here?"
"Through the front door," he replies, taking her hand and leading her quietly to the bottom of the stairs. He opens the door carefully.
"The front door – are you mad? What if we get caught?" she asks worriedly.
"It's the only way out," he explains. "The wards have been shut off for security purposes and not even I can disapparate us out – especially not I... Once we get out the front door we just have to get beyond the gate. From there we can go anywhere we want to."
"Y-you're sure?"
He nods once and pulls out a second wand from his cloak pocket.
She stares at it, wide-eyed, as she takes it into her hand. "How did you..."
"It's yours, right?"
She nods.
"My dear aunt isn't as smart as she thinks she is," he sneers. He watches her fiddle with the wand between her fingers, getting used to the feeling of it in her hands again. He then raises his gaze to her face – her dirt and blood stained cheeks, her chapped lips and the small cut on her jaw. Even soiled, her skin looks soft and inviting. He clears his throat, collecting himself. "Ready?"
She looks up at him and smiles softly – it's the first time she's smiled in weeks. "Ready. You?"
He smirks. "I was born ready."
X
A bright, shining sun.
A girl's delighted squeal.
A boy's blissful laughter.
"Run!"
Two older boys yelling.
"Oi! Get back here!"
"Run, Hermione!"
"I'm running!"
"Faster!"
"I can't go any faster!"
He takes her hand, laughing as he passes her and pulls her along. "C'mon!"