Disclaimer: Still not mine.
A/N: WOW. We've finally reached this chapter. *Sobs* That's all I could say. Anyway, I'm not going to make you wait any further. So, I present to you, chapter thirty-four of Only a Pretense.
Chapter Thirty-Four: Consequences
WARNING: Character Death. Yes, there's one in this chapter. I've warned on the VERY first chapter, mind you. And so, ready tissues, I think.
She could not believe this.
Not. At. All.
'Why now?' her brain screeched at her sheepish heart. 'Why the bloody hell did you suddenly think of… DAMN YOU!'
Oh, how her logic cursed her heart. And she was allowing it because good Godric, it deserved it. Her blood-pumping organ deserved it tremendously and she would not even do anything just to shut her bloody brain and listen to the reasons – ahem, excuses – pleaded by her blasted heart.
Hermione Granger was tucked unnoticed at the farthest corner of the whole abandoned loo, feeling miserable and lost. Her Muggle notebook was long neglected, seeing that the plan she had furiously devised on was finally done. Her pen sat immobile beside her notebook and if it were to posses eyes, it would be staring at her in confusion.
Because right there and then, Hermione knew she had gone mad. Insane. Off her rocker. Barmy. She was a bloody madwoman as she sat there on the dirty bathroom floor, horrified beyond comprehension.
She had no idea why her heart suddenly claimed something as… as… ridiculous as that! Just this morning, she was feeling a little excited for her plan tonight at their Death Eater training, and then, one look at the blond hair of her roommate… BAM! A sudden revelation dawned on her and her heart, feeble as it was, confessed her deepest, darkest secret.
The brunette could not fathom why she just realized that, of all days. Merlin, she could not fathom why she would suddenly realize such a… an impossible thing for Draco Malfoy.
'FOR DRACO MALFOY!' she screamed inside, wanting to wring her bloody heart until it stopped beating anymore.
She liked him… Goddamnit, she likes him.
The idea was so sudden and so overwhelming; she had to repeat it again and again in her mind just to convince herself that what she had thought was real and her heart did not even protest at all!
She guessed the trigger for such thoughts started yesterday as soon as he returned from St. Mungo's. He had greeted her with that silly 'Draco smile' of his and her heart fluttered in pleasure, reveling over the fact that he was directing such an adorable expression to her and only her. Teddy and Blaise were nowhere to be found. It made her confused that he had gone straight to her, his best friends be damned.
And then, he told her that his mother was recuperating brilliantly. It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to know that the smile he was giving her was all because of his mother's sudden good health.
Hermione was, of course, exactly thrilled for him. Merlin, the poor boy had been miserable for ages every time he visited his mother. And to know that the reason for his misery was starting to get well, she was happy for him. Undoubtedly.
And then, the bastard had done something that gave her the reason for her horror – he hugged her. The nerve of the bloody ferret and she, ever the intelligent one, merely stood there, stock-still, her wit thrown off the window.
Good lord, how his body felt warm. How his arms were strong around her waist. He had blubbered out how happy he was, even laughing stupidly over something she could not fathom. And still, he had not realized that he was hugging her… her of all people!
"Hermione," he had said. "I am very, very happy today."
And that was it. The sole reason why her heart suddenly succumbed to its foolishness and made her realize that she liked Draco Malfoy.
He had pulled away from their hug, that goofy ('Bloody adorable') smile still on his face, before bidding her farewell and bounding off to find Teddy and Blaise, leaving the brunette alone.
And so, she sought comfort in Moaning Myrtle's loo (the ghost was still nowhere to be found) and wallowed in self-pity.
She guessed her feelings for him – her liking him – had always been in her heart, only pushed mercilessly aside in fear of being known and making her all the more insane. Last night's events were probably the reason why her heart's resolve broke and made it known all over her body system that she fancied Draco.
Nay, not love. Love was too strong a word. She had just truly known him for almost a year now. But then, 'fancy' seemed like a foolish word; even a bit… insulting. These feelings she suddenly realized she had for him were too deep to be called 'fancy' but too shallow to be called 'love'. If that even made sense.
'So that was why I had been having these weird feelings inside me every time I see him,' she glumly thought, drawing her knees to her chest. She placed her chin on her knees and closed her eyes, sighing. 'I should have known and did something about it.'
The fact was, as much as she delved into it, she wouldn't have known until she fully grasped the concept of her feelings for him. Harry had bluntly told her that she was as stupid in the subject of love and boys as Ron was stupid in his academics. And that was saying something.
'Why now?' she moaned inside. 'Why him? He's bloody insufferable, for goodness' sake!'
That was a lie back there. Sure, he had his moments of being the most insufferable bloke that ever graced the Earth but again, she had known him more. He had other sides in him besides being insufferable. And she found herself liking him for that.
How would she face him now after this huge revelation? He was her roommate, after all. What would she do if in a sudden moment of foolishness, she would fall down to her knees and declare her undying love-but-not-really-love-because-it's-too-early feelings for him and be forced to face - unarmed –his rejection.
Pain stabbed mercilessly into her heart and she released a shaky sigh. 'This isn't healthy,' she thought. 'Not at all.'
Hermione reckoned she was just a bit too immersed in her study, momentarily making her heart a bit weak with the cruel jokes of her hormones. Probably, it was her hormones-at-work. She was a teenager, for goodness' sake! And her stupid heart, tired from her all-nighters, grew gullible and succumbed to its traps.
"Yes," she said, growing hopeful herself. "Maybe this is just a bloody phase in my life. He's Draco Sodding Malfoy. I'm a liar if I say he's not exactly… appealing to my eyes. And my overactive hormones just grew excited after years and years of being deprived from testosterone-induced species."
The brunette sighed and clutched her notebook. She had no time for silly feelings for a silly boy whilst making her act like a silly schoolgirl. She had important matters at hand and she couldn't afford to distract herself from it.
Today was a Saturday and as usual, it was another day for their Death Eater trainings. She was growing restless, if she were to describe her current feelings towards her mission. The end of the school-year was looming and it was her deadline. If she were to neglect her work, two things would happen: a) Voldemort would successfully retrieve the secrets of the Order and b) her parents would drop dead. Thinking about the consequences of her failure was not exactly the most pleasant thing to think of.
The brunette sighed again as familiar giggles from Moaning Myrtle floated all throughout the room, followed by a deep chuckle from a male.
"Oh, Lonesome Larry, silly you," the female ghost giggled, followed by a contented sigh. Her smile faltered upon seeing the brunette on the floor, eyeing the two lovebirds with wary eyes. "Oh, we have company tonight."
Hermione unknowingly flinched at the ghost's tone. It was clear that she wanted to be alone tonight with her lover boy. Her gaze traveled at the male ghost, Lonesome Larry, and wondered how he died. She grew sick, seeing the huge gash on his left wrist, and had a gist on how he died. Probably, it was the reason why he gained the name 'Lonesome'.
Poor him.
"I'll be leaving now," she announced, gathering her belongings and standing up. "Good day."
Blaise watched with a mixture of amusement and annoyance (but mostly annoyance) as Teddy Nott paced back and forth in front of Hermione's bed.
"Nott, please," he grumbled, closing his book and settling it aside. Teddy looked up from his position but continued his pacing. "Merlin, stop it! You're giving me a headache."
Sheepishly, Teddy smiled and forced himself to stop. "So sorry, mate," he muttered. This time, he chose to wring his wrist in anxiety. "I'm not exactly feeling at… ease today."
"I figured," the Italian said, rolling his eyes. "Now, tell me what's bothering you. Or do you want me to look for Draco and drag him here to listen to another sob story of yours?" He smiled, knowing how Draco constantly complained to him why he was the one who was always forced to listen to Teddy's problems when Blaise was there. He then would point out that Teddy had this unhealthy habit of sticking too much for the blond.
"Forget Draco," he said a little distracted, sitting down on the brunette's bed. "It's about… Minnie."
"Hermione?" he asked, shooting up an eyebrow.
The carefree Slytherin nodded his head, looking at the bed forlornly. "I can't shake off this feeling that something… bad will happen later at the training." He adorably pouted and ran a hand through his hair, making it more tousled. "It's just that, once I woke up, I had this feeling of… foreboding and I instantly thought of her."
He looked up, lost and almost pitiful, "Is that bad, Blaise?" he asked. "Fretting too much over her?"
Blaise smiled in amusement. "No, not really," he said. "Although, being too worried for her is a t bit… suspicious. If you get what I mean."
Oh, get it he did for the next thing Blaise knew, Teddy was the envy of all the tomatoes in Professor Sprout's garden.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about," he blubbered out, slowly standing up and once again pacing back and forth. "I'm just worried for her, that's all. Aren't you worried for her, Blaise? She'd been paler than normal, don't you think?" His face darkened a little. "Those trainings are not doing her anything good." He started to wring his wrist once again. "I'm afraid that she'd grow sick once again, Blaise. Is that… is that healthy for me?"
Blaise grew pensive, reeling over Teddy's words. He was right, he reckoned. Hermione had not been looking very well these past few days. If he were to describe her appearance in one word, he would say that she looked like a 'mess'. Like Teddy, he also contemplated and thought that she might grew sick once again after doing their trainings.
He sighed, growing worried himself, and lightly scowled at Teddy. "Stop fretting, Theo," he said. "She's a big girl. She can take care of herself." His scowl deepened upon detecting the doubt in his voice.
Teddy stopped his pacing and looked at Blaise, thoughtfully nodding. "You're right," he said, showing a small smile. "Merlin, she's Granger! What do we expect but the best from her?"
"Right," Blaise said, smiling himself. She's Hermione Granger. She could take care of herself.
The door suddenly burst open. Teddy was startled and managed to knock off the picture frame on top of Hermione Granger's bedside table.
"Oh Merlin, I'm sorry!" Hermione gushed out, eyes directed on the mess on the floor. "I didn't mean to startle you, Teddy."
"It's fine, it's fine," the carefree Slytherin said, lightly laughing. "It's my fault." He brandished out his wand, directed it on the picture frame, and muttered a soft 'Reparo'. It was as good as new. He bent down, clutched the picture frame, and stared at the photograph. He softly smiled, seeing the picture that was captured during their mission in Muggle London. Hermione, he reckoned, was looking exceptionally gorgeous in this picture.
"You okay, Hermione?" Blaise asked, which promptly made him look up from the picture.
The brunette sighed and ran a hand through her short hair. "Oh, I'm fine," she said, although the tone of her voice was suggesting the otherwise. "Just a bit flustered, that's all. Merlin, I'm scared shitless for later."
She shuffled towards her bed and unceremoniously dropped on it, rolling around until her back was facing the other two. She lifted the comforter and placed it snuggly on her body. "Wake me up when it's time to leave," she said.
Both Blaise and Teddy looked at each other in worry, before looking at the stretched out form of the brunette.
"You're fidgety," the object of her affection pointed out. "Stop it, nuisance."
Funny. She could not fathom how she could ever like a man who called her names. And no, not sickening pet names. "I'm not fidgeting, Malfoy," she shot back through gritted teeth, pointedly ignoring the fact that she was actually wringing her wrist in nervousness. She couldn't be blamed, really. She just arrived in the Malfoy Manor and minutes from now, she would be bounding off to the West Wing to put her plan into action.
He scorned, which was pretty predictable, before looking straight ahead and directing the junior Death Eaters into the dungeons. Teddy and Blaise were talking softly to themselves, walking a tad behind the other two.
After her revelation, Hermione was feeling a bit… uncomfortable beside Draco. She wanted to run off or just bloody push him aside but restrained herself from doing such silly things.
'Concentrate, Granger,' she firmly told herself as soon as they arrived at the dungeons. 'You can't afford to be distracted. Especially now.'
Draco had opened the door, revealing the inside. Her face visibly paled upon seeing that this time, a pile of tortured men were waiting for them to be used as practice dummies by the Death Eaters. She blanched paler upon guessing that they were… Muggles. Judging by the frightened look on their faces (despite the pain) and how they shot a mixture of awe, curiosity, and fear at the magical sticks pointed at their forms, she realized that they were actually Muggles who were victimized by Voldemort's cruel, cruel ways.
'Everything will be over soon,' she told herself firmly, lips pressed into a line. 'You just wait, Voldemort. You just wait.'
The blond, on the other hand, looked at her at the corner of his eyes. He had felt how she tensed upon seeing the tortured Muggles in the room and knew that she would be having another rough night today.
To his surprise, his hand moved on his own accord and perched itself gingerly on her arm. That had caught her attention and she looked up at him, surprised.
"Will you be… all right?" he managed to blurt out, wanting to avoid her searching brown eyes but failed miserably.
She gave him a smile, a smile that could always melt the ice that was his heart. "I will be," she said, reassuringly patting his hand before stepping inside, his hand limply landing on his side.
With one last worried glance her way, he stepped inside and ushered the other Death Eaters inside.
She scrambled out of the dungeons as soon as the Senior Death Eater announced their break, afraid that she would be seen by some Death Eater and ruin her plan.
Hermione released a sigh upon seeing that no one was there to see her suspicious acts. She removed the hood from her face and noiselessly walked towards the West Wing.
This would be the night. She could feel it with her hands. And no one was going to stop her from succeeding, not even the vilest monster himself.
She would be able to finally save her parents after months and months of being away from their sides. She would be able to finally hug them and know that they were real, and not some figment of her longing heart.
Tonight, she would be able to finally save them.
Teddy emerged out of the toilet, a sigh of relief emitting from his mouth. He had been aching to run out of the dungeons a while ago just to answer nature's call but he was frightened with what the Senior Death Eater would think he would do and would toss him into the tortured crowd before even unzipping his trousers.
He shuddered at the thought, glad that his bladder was able to hold an immense amount of water in it, before striding back to the dungeons.
Just then, the door opened and out emerged a cloaked figure. Curious and suspicious at the same time, he hid behind a corner and watched as the Death Eater looked from left to right. He distinctively heard a sigh escape from the person's lips before removing the hood, revealing his face.
Scratch that, her face for he instantly recognized his roommate's disguised features.
He grew alarmed, seeing that she bounded off to the corridor they were forbidden to enter – the West Wing. Out of instincts and overwhelming worry, he pushed himself away from the hidden corridor and noiselessly followed a good feet behind.
A wave of foreboding once again settled on his face and he quickened his pace, fearing for Hermione's safety.
He had a feeling that something immensely bad would happen tonight.
A huge wave of déjà vu came crashing into her form as she found herself once again at the corridor where the imperious portraits of the past Malfoy ancestry were displayed.
There were no hand-drawn maps now. Merlin, she'd been here countless times already and she had memorized this area in the Malfoy Manor like the back of her hand. And besides, she had reviewed the said map before they were to step in Draco's house to avoid being delayed from her plan. The others were probably resuming their training now and it would take a matter of minutes (probably hours, if she was lucky tonight) for the others to notice her absence.
Hermione had avoided the sneers directed her way. She even blocked off the blatant mockeries from the regal forms of the Malfoy clan. Unconsciously, she wondered if the portraits were trained to detect Mudblood germs. It was handy, after all. And the Malfoy family could do it.
'Sick bastards,' she thought. She had passed Lucius portrait and couldn't help but glower at him with all the hate she could muster. Thank goodness his portrait was unmoving or else, she could already imagine the reaction she would get from him due to her silent fury.
It was all his fault, she thought. It was his entire fault why Draco Malfoy (whom she recently realized she fancied) was placed in a dangerous situation in his life where he had to prove to one side that he was loyal to it whilst serving as a spy for them and pretending to support the other side.
'Merlin,' she thought, clutching her head. 'His life was really that miserable.'
She wondered if Lucius had undergone such cruelties like what he had bestowed on Draco to grow up and become what he was now – a dastardly monster. She blanched, just thinking what her roommate would be like if he wasn't awaken from the reality of Voldemort's sick ideology. Would he still be the Draco she came to know (and bloody like)?
Speaking of the ferret, her eyes once again landed on the silent portrait beside Lucius'. A small, involuntary smile appeared on her face as she remembered the expression he had flashed to her just last night, mirroring the one he was bearing on his humongous portrait.
Good god, must he really look handsome? If there was a legal law stating that it was a crime to be that handsome, Draco Malfoy must be imprisoned for a lifetime in Azkaban. Goodness, she wouldn't even be surprised if he'd receive the Dementor's Kiss on the day he was captured.
'Shit,' she thought, eyes widening as she took a few steps back, almost breathless. Draco had once again succeeded in snatching her off her concentration. 'Damn you and your good looks.' See, she was even cursing nonstop.
Hermione sighed and ran a weary hand through her face. She had to focus. This was the third time she was actually attempting to save her parents and she had a feeling that something grand would happen – although, she had no idea whether it would be a good or bad one. But she hoped for the former. As cliché as it may sound, third time was the charm.
Just then, she tensed and whipped out her wand. With alarmed, wide eyes, she looked behind and searched the hallway. She swore she heard footsteps. Her breathing grew ragged, waiting for a Death Eater to emerge and pounce on her. She waited with bated breath for thirty minutes (or so she thought) and thankfully, no one had arrived.
"You're being too paranoid, you bloody nuisance," she muttered under her breath, amused that she was able to perfectly mimic Draco's voice. "Move and get this over with."
She took a deep breath and whirled around, wand hand still raised in alarm and continued her journey.
'Whew,' Teddy thought, a hand against his beating heart as he peeked from the alcove he was hiding in. Hermione had resumed her walking, although he pointedly noticed that she was more alert now. Perspiration slowly formed on his forehead. A guarded Hermione Granger is a pretty dangerous being. Especially if her wand was on her hand. She wasn't called as the brightest witch of their generation for nothing, after all.
Just for some precautionary measures, Teddy whipped out his wand and pointed it on his shoes. He had always hated branded, new shoes and how they squeaked every time he walked. It was bloody annoying. He made a mental note to file a complaint as he murmured a soft spell that could muffle his footsteps.
Once he was done with this little work, Hermione was nowhere to be found now. Slightly panicked, his walk started to grow brisker, ignoring the curious and annoyed remarks from the ancestors of his best friend. He allowed himself, though, to greet the portrait of the blond before continuing his mission of stalking… no, following Hermione Granger.
He had spotted her russet hair standing stoically a good feet away from him. She was pretty far from him now but he could still spot her. From his position, he could see how her face scrunched up in deep concentration, her wand hand moving furiously. Unknowingly, he smiled. He always particularly liked that look on her face. Sweet Salazar, she made herself look all the more appealing to the carefree Slytherin.
To say that he was ecstatic after discovering that Hermes Austen was actually a girl and not only any other girl but Hermione Granger was the biggest understatement of the century. True, he had seen red upon discovering that both Draco and Blaise knew about her true identity without even bothering to tell him. And he made them know, especially to Hermione, that he was incensed with their secret.
But his lividness was short-lived. A huge tsunami of relief washed over followed by absolute bliss as he realized that he was not swinging the other way. That his unwanted, yet pleasant feelings for one Hermes Austen were not actually forbidden since his roommate was actually a girl.
And so, he did the only thing he thought he could think of that time – he hugged her. Call him deranged. He had been called other worse things than that. But he couldn't help but be angry with her for a brief moment then be so cheery over her revealed secret the next.
'Minnie's really something,' he thought, smiling fondly at his given nickname for her. 'That bloody Gryffindor.'
But then, his smile froze on his face upon realizing what Hermione Granger was actually doing.
She was in front of a door he didn't realize was there at all. Her erratic wand movement had stopped and her wand arm was now placed against her side, unmoving. Even if he was far away from her, he could hear her loud, erratic breathing. From the looks of it, what she was doing was serious.
'Bloody… fuck,' he cursed, eyes widening in alarm and dread. He recognized this corridor. How come he hadn't remembered it quickly?
Hermione was standing in front of the room where her parents were currently residing.
'Shit, shit, shit, shit,' Teddy continued in his mind, panic forming on his gut and quickly rising up to his throat. If Draco would have been here, he would have probably smacked his head for not looking after Hermione. He quickened his run upon seeing that she managed to twist open the doorknob and push open the door.
He suddenly froze, waiting for a Death Eater to arrive and capture her. Images of torture flashed through his eyes and he could only stand on that spot, stock-still and gaping. Hermione had been silent for a while and he noticed how the color on her face drained.
And then, to his horror, she started to cry.
'Oh snap,' she thought, covering her mouth to try in vain to muffle her horrendously loud sobs. 'To… to hell with Death Eaters! TO HELL WITH VOLDEMORT!'
Her mind turned into a jumble mess of nonsensical things as she continued to stand frozen on the spot.
A huge sob escaped from her lips as she took a step forward. And then another. "M-mom?" she cried. "D-dad?"
She had actually expected before she had opened the door that her parents would be connected to some strange tubes like what she had seen in Muggle hospitals. Even weird guarding lights that shielded her parents from harm. Heck, she even expected them to look like almost skeletons due to the disgustingly sadistic tortures and insults from the Death Eaters.
But she did not expect this.
The room, she vaguely observed, was somehow simple. Bare. The walls were white. The light was white. The floor tiles were white. Everything was white and spotless it had even hurt her eyes to look. There were no windows, not even tiny ones. A magical clock was placed at the very middle of the room, showing that it was almost midnight and the Death Eater trainings were about to end.
That had alarmed Hermione and she took another step forward.
There were two beds (with white sheets) at the middle of the room. On one bed was her mother and the other was her father. She started tearing up again and she slowly approached her mother's bed, her chest tightening with relief, longing, fear… She could not even describe in one word how she was feeling right now.
They both seemed okay. To her immense relief, there were no gashes or scars on their body parts that were visible to her eyes. They almost seemed like… sleeping. She even feared that they were (God forbid) dead. But she brushed that ridiculous idea off her mind upon seeing that their chests were still rising and falling, an indication that they were still breathing.
She had arrived just beside her mother's bed now. With a shaky hand, she covered the immobile and pale hand of her mother on the bed. She tightened her grip, thinking if she was still dreaming, and cried louder when she discovered she was not.
Hermione was here. With her parents. Really here.
"If this is some cruel, cruel joke, cut it out already," she grumbled under her breath, although the snarky tone she wished to have was lacking.
Her eyes once again wandered on the magical clock and she instantly remembered that her time was limited.
The brunette pointed out her wand at both of her parents bed, making sure that they were guardless. It was undoubtedly suspicious for her to see that Voldemort did not even bother to put up strong wards to guard her parents from possible heists like what she was doing now. But then, she thought that the Dark Lord had been a bit… overconfident.
Which made her apprehensive, actually.
"What the bloody fuck are you doing?"
Her body tensed as she whirled around, instinctively pointing her wand threateningly to the new person in the room. She was surprised beyond comprehension to see that Teddy Nott was standing right before her, disbelief and slight fury visible on his face. "Ted…dy?" she managed to wheeze out, breathless from crying. A tear unknowingly trickled down from her eyes and she did not even bother to brush it off. "What are you doing here?"
The slightly enraged Slytherin strode towards her in three big strides, his movement stiff and almost jerky. "The question is what are you doing here?" he snarled, eyes darting around. "Are you out of your mind, Minnie? This is – this is… dangerous! Bloody dangerous! Blimey, are you even thinking?"
"Teddy," she beseeched, drawing nearer her mother. "Please. Just go." She looked away from him, her eyes landing on her mother, then to her father. "This is my mission. And I'm almost finished doing it."
A loud scoffed escaped from his lips and he glared at her. "You must be joking," he snapped, going over her father's bed. With a wave of his wand, Hermione's father levitated. "You must be joking if you think I'm going to leave you all alone here."
Her eyes snapped at him, astonished. "T-Teddy?" she asked in disbelief.
His features softened as he stared back at her. "Didn't I tell you that I hate seeing the people I most care about sad, huh, Minnie… Hermione?" She, despite the situation, smiled fondly at him. "I'm going to help you because Merlin knows how you'd been feeling, parted from your parents for months."
"Just go. I don't want you to get hurt."
He laughed, almost humorlessly. "That's ridiculous," he said, switching back to his serious mode. "I'm Theodore Nott. Does that ring a bell? Yes? Well, now, can you think of a word that best describes me?" His eyes dangerously flashed as he tried to maneuver her father with great effort. "Right. I'm childish. And you know what that means? I am extremely stubborn, Granger, and nobody, not even you, can stop me from doing what I want."
His baby blue eyes, shining with such conviction and determination and even something she could not decipher, connected with her brown eyes and passionately said, "And I want to see you finally happy, Minnie."
Her heart swelled for this carefree Slytherin in front of her. Sweet Salazar, the boy was extremely serious and she had this feeling that if she were to interject further, he'd bloody hex her just to shut her up.
She couldn't not believe that this was Theodore Nott, Teddy Nott. The same Slytherin she used to think was too childish and carefree for her own liking. She was bossy, after all, and she had absolutely hated people who did not do want was best for them, which was, of course, study (just look at Ron). And Teddy fell under this category. Although, there were times that he could manage to look ridiculously adorable to her.
And now, seeing him so… so earnest in doing something for others, for her, made her thankful to all the cosmic powers above that she had a best friend by the name of Theodore Nott.
Tears once again sprang at the corner of her eyes and they freely fell, unnoticed by the crier herself. "Teddy," she softly sobbed. "Thank you very much."
He seemed startled by the sudden display of overwhelming emotions from the object of his affection. But then, a genuine smile that he could only manage to flash, appeared on his face. "Anything for you, Minnie," he said. "Anything."
Teddy then mockingly scowled, his cheeks a sudden vivid shade of red. "Now, can we stop being sappy now?" he asked, pointedly looking at her still floating father. "We still have to do something important, remember?"
"Right," she said. She rounded around, facing her mother, and thought of levitating her mother but stopped. Hermione looked back at Teddy, amusement on her face as he watched him struggled with her father. "You know, Teddy, I have a better way of returning to Hogwarts without causing such a fuss."
The carefree Slytherin glared at her through his fringes and scowled. "You could have told me a while ago, thanks," he said, waving his wand once again and Hermione's father gently fell back on his bed. "So, what now?"
Hermione smiled, about to retort something back, when a new pair of footsteps rang loudly in the corridor. She froze, eyes wide in anticipation, and she could already feel her heart almost jumping wildly in horror. At the corner of her eyes, she could see Teddy mimicking her actions, too frozen to even move and magicked the door to firmly close from prying eyes.
Just then, the person arrived and dread instantly settled at her gut.
Bellatrix Lestrange came by, staring at them at first in shock, then complete fury.
'Great,' the brunette thought inside her head. 'Of all the people who could catch us red-handedly, it was Bellatrix Lestrange who had capital timing. Great indeed.'
"What the devil is going on here?" the Death Eater snarled, her eyes glinting menacingly in the white light. Hermione reckoned she had looked extra deranged today, but then again, Lestrange had always been deranged.
Realization dawned in Bella's mind as her eyes darted from the two Slytherins to the two unconscious figures behind them. "Traitor…" she gasped, eyes widening in alarm. "TRAITOR! TRAITOR! TRAITOR!"
Something snapped in Hermione's mind. Seeing Bellatrix Lestrange here in front of her with a wild look in her eyes that clearly screamed 'failure' had brought her back to the alarming situation she had landed (together with Teddy). Without any second thoughts, she pointed her wand at the still reeling Bellatrix and screamed a deafening, "EXPELLIARMUS!"
The older witch gasped at the impact of the spell, hurtling backwards as she hit the opposite wall.
"Come on, snap out of it!" she screamed at Teddy. The carefree Slytherin immediately shook his head and started to grasp Hermione's father. "Hold my hand, Teddy. Don't let go, okay? No matter what happens, don't let go."
With great effort, she heaved her mother into a sitting position and wrapped her arms around her. Teddy did the same with her father and he instantly clutched her hand, almost cutting off her circulation.
"At the count of three," she wheezed out, breathing raggedly as she closed her eyes. "One… two… thr - ."
"EXPELLIARMUS!"Bellatrix shrilly hollered, blasting Hermione's wand off her hand.
Hermione's eyes flew open and gasped, hastily retrieving her arm from her mother's waist and her other hand from Teddy's hold. He wouldn't let go. "Damn it, Teddy, release my hand first," she cried in alarm, making a mad dash towards her wand a few feet away from where she was previously standing.
Teddy, also breathing heavily, whirled around, releasing his grip from the brunette's father. Fear was clearly shown on his face and Bellatrix, still blinded with fury, cackled maniacally at the terror in his eyes. "Scared, boy?" she spat, her evil laugh still ringing loudly in the room. "Get out of the way if you do not want to get hurt. Do you understand me?"
"NO!" Teddy exclaimed, raising his wand hand. He was about to hex her whilst the end of her wand was pointedly directed into Hermione's vulnerable position. "STUPEF - ."
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" the Death Eater shrieked.
Hermione gasped and turned around, watching as an ominous green light hurtled towards her direction. But when she blinked, the next thing she knew, it was gone. Confused, she shakily stood up from her crouching position, wand clutched tightly in her hand, and was stunned at the spectacle in front of her.
There was Teddy, sprawled messily on the ground.
Dead.
His blue eyes were opened widely, the life in them gone.
'Dead,' a cruel whisper teased her earlobe. 'Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.'
The brunette released a strangled scream, still in disbelief at what she was seeing now.
Bellatrix, who had been also startled by the sudden intervention of the boy, looked up at Hermione in surprise, reckoning that the brunette had never looked murderous before.
"You… you…" she sputtered out, her cheeks reddening because of absolute fury. "You… bitch. OBLIVIATE!" In her disarrayed state, she was surprised it was the first spell that came up in Hermione's mind.
Caught off-guard, the spell had hit Bellatrix squarely on her chest and she fell unconscious from the impact.
Hermione gasped huge breaths, her whole body suddenly shivering. She unconsciously released her wand, which landed loudly on the floor, before she fell down on her knees, right in front Teddy.
"Oh… my god," she sobbed, gingerly placing a hand on the carefree Slytherin's cheek. "Oh my god, Teddy."
Her soft sobs turned into boisterous ones and she placed her forehead on his chest, wishing to hear at least faint beatings of his heart.
There were none.
"Teddy," she cried. "Oh Merlin, Teddy."
Her head perked up, hearing numerous footsteps nearing the room. She could distinctively hear loud curses from approaching Death Eaters.
[1] Hermione looked longingly behind her parents, back to Teddy, and made up her mind. Grabbing her wand, she grasped Teddy's lifeless arm tightly in her hands before apparating to the safest place she could currently think of.
[1] Yeah, yeah, I know that people will question me "Why didn't you take Hermione's parents with her and blah blah blah?" But Hermione's distressed and all; if she apparated with two unconscious people and a dead guy, she might end up splinching herself, or splinching her parents. Remember, it takes a great amount of concentration to successfully apparate. But again, because of her sudden distraught, apparating would be quite dangerous, even for her. She might end up killing herself, or her parents, or both.
A/N: Hermione's such a bitch... WAH, I KNOW, DON'T KILL ME! I have this feeling that after this chapter, a lot of people will be planning to sabotage me or something. I'm sorry, I've really meant to kill of Teddy in the end. If you were taking time to read my previous notes, I'd probably stated that I've made an outline for this whole thing already and I've finished the whole story; hence, the plot is done. I'm just doing some last minute changes here and there. But alas, this scene I cannot change. Teddy's death would be an important scene in the whole story. But that doesn't mean that I wouldn't miss him. *BAWLS WILDLY* You have no idea how I had shed tears for him.
Sniff, sniff.
Anyway, I still want to know what you think! Haha, I know, how depressing. But things would still be happy in the end.
Aww, I will still love you all even if you bash me *wink* *wink*
That's all :D
With love,
WickedlyAwesomeMe