Every time she thought of the memory it hurt, the shock of what had been said did not lessen, it was just so hard to believe he had actually wanted her dead.
Draco had apologised so many times now that she had lost count, though admittedly less over the past few days. He had sent memos, flowers, passed messages through Lucy, posted parchment under her locked office door like a child, even sent owls over the weekend and Hermione had ignored every single one. They had become less frequent now and she hoped he was finally taking the hint. From now on their relationship would be strictly professional, they would speak when they had to, nothing more; nothing less.
She knew that another memory would be forcing her to see him soon and several times a day, every day, she thought she could feel the sensation in her stomach that meant one was coming: but it never did. She wondered if maybe they had stopped after the last one, maybe the lesson that they both needed to learn was that they simply couldn't and wouldn't ever be friends. Unfortunately for Hermione this was not the case, for late on Friday morning as she sat at her desk, the sensation came. She prayed that it was all in her head but a small part of her knew that it wasn't. She stood up and prepared herself for the unknown.
Her office disappeared and Hermione now found herself in a bustling street she did not recognise. It was warm but windy outside and the heat was that which never occurred in England. A look up and down the street confirmed that she was no longer in Britain; the streets were paved and the road cobbled; bars, restaurants and a few shops lined either side of the road and they were they type of inside-out shops one only saw on holiday; the owners stood outside trying to entice passers-by with whatever they were selling or serving and chatted amongst one another like old friends in a language Hermione recognised as Italian, confirming her suspicions as to her being in another country. A cafe stood across the road directly opposite Hermione, there were a dozen or so people sitting at wooden tables in wicker chairs outside under a canopy, waiters rushed around serving coffee and snacks and there at one of the tables, sat Draco, and he was not alone. A beautiful dark-haired girl with tanned skin and a dazzling white smile sat next to him, their heads pressed together in an intimate way. This reminded her that she probably wasn't alone in watching the new memory and she glanced around to see if Draco had arrived with her, though she had no intention of speaking to him.
Sure enough, he was there to her left hand side and behaving in a way that made Hermione speak to him in spite of herself.
"What on earth are you doing?"
He was walking further down the street with his arms stretched out, reaching a certain point and then patting the air from in front of him, down to the ground and back up again, then moving back and doing it again in a different direction. He ignored her question and walked past her, repeating his actions to Hermione's right hand side, mumbling something she couldn't work out.
"Draco! I said what are you doing?"
He turned to face her, a furious expression on his face and tears in his eyes.
"I am trying to leave. I can't stay here, Hermione. I can't. Please, help me find a way out of here, I'm begging you."
Hermione was perplexed. "Why?"
"I can't...just, please help me," his tone was desperate.
"You know we can't leave Draco. It doesn't work like that," she told him.
"It won't even let me walk away though, it's like we're trapped in a bubble. I need to get out Hermione, you don't understand."
He resumed his pacing and patting the air, curious as to what he meant about being in a bubble, Hermione stretched her hand out and felt around her. Eventually it came into contact with the same force that stopped Draco from leaving the room at Malfoy Manor. It seemed this was a memory they had to see. Assuming that Draco had no intention of telling her why he didn't want to stay, Hermione turned back to the cafe and watched; waiting to find out for herself.
It was unusual to see such a different side to Draco. He was happy and carefree as he sat side by side with the beautiful woman. He kept lifting her hand to his face and resting his cheek in it, kissing each finger before placing it back down. Strands of silky brown hair occasionally came loose and fell in the girl's face and he would quickly and very gently tuck it back behind her ear. Hermione felt as though she was intruding, watching such a private moment and yet she couldn't turn away, she wanted to know why Draco was so desperately furious and on the verge of tears upon their arrival to the memory.
Draco and the unknown woman looked as though they were in their own bubble, neither looked up to the busy street that surrounded them, it seemed there was nothing in the world more interesting than each other. Finally they came out of their private world and summoned a waiter who disappeared to the inner part of the cafe and quickly returned with their bill which Draco paid.
They vacated their seats, he slipped a light white jacket on and the girl wrapped a thin silk scarf loosely around her neck. They left the cafe and prepared to walk down the street, hand in hand. The wind was blowing a little stronger now and a particularly large gust blew, taking the woman's scarf with it. She tugged her hand away from Draco and chased the scarf out into the road.
Hermione knew what was about to happen before it did. It was a horrible moment in which time completely slowed down, she saw the woman run on to the road and she saw the car that came hurtling around the corner, she screamed though only one other person could hear her. Hermione's scream did not stop the car, neither did the one that came from the memory version of Draco on the opposite side of the road. Their screams did not stop the girl from running and they didn't stop the car from hitting her. She was hit with such force that she was thrown into the air and then fell to the ground with a smacking sound that Hermione feared would never leave her.
She could not tear her eyes away. Draco ran faster then Hermione thought possible but she knew it would never be quick enough to save her. He fell to his knees in the middle of the road and clutched the girl to his chest, sobbing and begging. A crowd had started to form, people were on their phones presumably calling an ambulance though Hermione knew it was too late. There would be no-one to save, just a body to take away. There were children crying and parents ushering them away from the scene. The driver of the car had gotten out and was pacing and visibly trembling whilst speaking rapidly in Italian to Draco, who ignored him; his eyes focused on the girl in his arms. She was motionless, crimson blood poured from her head and soaked Draco's shirt, it matted her previously glossy hair and ran on to the cobbled road beneath her. Her leg was twisted in an angle that looked unnatural and grotesque but still Draco held her. The pale pink scarf lay on the side of the road, forgotten.
Hermione finally convinced herself to look away and to find Draco, her eyes looked frantically to the left and right but only when she looked down did she see him. He was a mere ten yards away, on his knees with his head in his hands, sobbing as hard as the version of him they had been watching. Hermione had never seen another person look so pained and vulnerable and yet she did nothing, said nothing. There were an infinite number of combinations of words in the English language and none of them would make the man in front of her look or feel any better; he was helpless.
She took a step in his direction, still unsure of what to say but wanting to let him know that she was still here; that he was not alone. One more step would have taken her to Draco when he disappeared, along with the street, the shops, bars and restaurants and the man holding the lifeless body of his girlfriend in the middle of the road. Hermione was back in her office.
A/N So, this is the beginning of Draco's big secret! What do we think? I'll have the next chapter to you very soon, I promise!