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Chapter 10-
Draco finally left the bedroom, his shoulders slumped as he held his jacket by the collar. Hermione must have left the cottage, he didn't hear the light sound of her footfalls on the creaking floors. He peered out of the window toward the waves to find the young woman standing on the beach, her hair now pulled back in a low ponytail, her pink hooded shirt and denim jacket replaced with what looked to be a frost blue long sleeve pullover. She must have borrowed the top from the female resident of the cottage. Draco walked cautiously out of the front door, his shoulder hitting the small chimes making a ringing sound echo back into the cottage. Hermione never stirred from her spot. She still stared off toward the horizon as the waves rolled in, their soft blue green color crisped by white sprays.
Hermione slightly turned as the blonde approached her.
"I took these from Bill, he probably won't miss them." She said and handed him a chocolate brown corduroy jacket, matching brown sweater and a white t-shirt.
"Thank you." Draco gratefully accepted the clean clothes and stood beside her.
"Can I ask you something before...well before this is done? You don't have to answer...but…" Hermione seemed to be battling with herself on whether to let her burning question out. She brushed a wisp of hair from off her forehead and turned to look at the slytherin.
"I suppose." He replied and cleared his throat.
"Why? Why did you follow him? Why did your family follow him?" She narrowed her amber eyes at him and clutched her hands into fists.
"I...um…" Her eyes were large and misty. It was taking everything in Draco's power not to do something incredibly stupid at that moment.
"To be honest...we didn't think he would come back. But...but we knew that if we didn't follow him...he would turn on us. It's better to be a live follower than a dead blood traitor." Draco began to fidget with a loose string on the lapel of the corduroy jacket.
"That's your opinion." Hermione quietly answered and turned her face from him.
"Let me ask you this Granger, if you thought your family were in danger and the only way you could keep them alive was to put others in harms way...would you?" Draco now turned it on her. He wasn't trying to be rude or nasty, he just wanted an honest answer. Hermione slowly turned her sunlit face back toward him.
"I...I don't know Draco. I don't know what I would do." She looked down at the ground, her eyes absorbing the billions of tiny grains of sand under her sneakers.
"Well, that's why I did what I did. I...I wish I could take it back." Hermione whipped her head back to see the defeated look materialize on the blonde's already aged face.
"Do you wish you could take back all of the horrible, cruel things you said and did or are you still proud of those things?" She asked, a bite evident in her tone.
"I suppose I do wish I could take them back Granger. I was young and stupid. I wanted...I wanted to be so like my father. He is so proud of his pureblood heritage, so proud of his connections…" Draco took a long sigh. That moment the salt in the air seemed thicker and stronger.
"Well, he doesn't have much to be proud of anymore, now does he?" Hermione allowed her mouth to form an emotionless straight line. Draco just looked down at his feet.
"I feel like I'm addicted, I've only recently been going through detoxification...if that makes sense." He pulled his sight line back up toward the ocean waves.
"Am I supposed to actually believe that?" Hermione wasn't going to let him talk that way. He wasn't remorseful of his actions, he was a bigot. He would never change and Hermione had to understand that. She couldn't break down her walls so that he could just use her heart as a stepping stone to freedom.
"If you...if you actually feel the way you are describing...then turn yourself in Draco. Otherwise, they are just empty words. Try to make a difference in the world. Try to better yourself. The first step is to take responsibility for your actions and take your punishment." Hermione refused to look at him.
"And what if I don't?" He asked quietly. Hermione shot her amber eyes at him as he took a step closer toward her.
"Then you will always be that pathetic little bully for the rest of your life." She said.
"I hope you make the right choice Draco. There is always a way for redemption." And with that Hermione began to take a step away from him.
Suddenly Draco's arm shot forward and grabbed her by the hand.
"D...Draco?" Hermione was agitated now as he pulled her toward him. For an instant she thought she felt his hand pulling her wand out of her back pocket.
Before she could utter another word, the back of her body was slammed into his front as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, her wand clasped in his white fingers was now at her neck. She refocused her attention in front of her.
It was Ron and Harry. They had apparated right there in front of the two of them. Draco pressed her tightly to him, slightly squeezing the air out of her chest.
"Dr...Draco?" She whispered as he pushed the wand tip against her pulse. Her heart began to pound in her ears.
"You let her go Malfoy!" It was Ron, his wand hand outstretched, slightly shaking, Harry next to him, a mirror image.
"Step off Weasley." Draco hissed, his hot breath cascading over the shell of her ear. His hair mingled with hers as the wand forced her to press her head back.
"Malfoy, don't hurt her." It was Harry's gentle voice. Hermione struggled to look over her nose at her two friends as Draco began to walk the two of them backwards defensively.
"Shut up Potter! You stay away!" Whether it was intentional or not, the wand slightly jabbed at the sensitive spot on Hermione's throat and she winced. Draco side glanced her but didn't change his hand position.
"Malfoy, let go of my girlfriend!" Ron sounded crazed. Hermione squeezed her eyes shut at the mention of the term.
"What girlfriend? You haven't got a girlfriend Weasel or haven't you forgotten." Draco's venomous voice drawled out. Hermione could feel the hot tears form under her lashes. She felt even more vulnerable than before. Of course he would use that bit of information against her. What had she been thinking?
Ron visibly recoiled at the biting comment. Harry looked back and forth between his friend and his enemy.
"You...you vile little…" Ron's face become drawn and snarling.
"That's right you maggot, it was me. I made her do it! I made her tell you that it was over!" Draco spat as he held tighter onto her small frame. Hermione's eyes shot open. What? What did he just say? Was he trying to imply that she was under the Imperius curse?
"You...you're sick!" Ron screamed and tried to rush Draco. Harry quickly restrained him.
"He could hurt her Ron." Harry tried to subdue Ron as best as he could, all the while his wand hand pointed at Draco.
"Listen to your friend Weasley otherwise things could get nasty." Draco began smirking, his familiar sneer etching into his features. Hermione didn't know what to do as his body crushed into her more.
"Malfoy...why? Why are you doing this?" Harry was trying to be reasonable. Good luck. That wasn't going to go over well. Hermione knew that was only going to just infuriate Draco more.
"It's none of your damn business Potter! Now the two of you are going to do what I tell you and she won't get hurt…"
Hermione could see Ron was about to break from Harry's stronghold as his chest began to heave for breath. Hermione tried to plead with her eyes for him not to do anything rash. Harry slightly nodded as Ron looked at his friend in disbelief.
"Good, throw your wands here." He yelled and pulled Hermione's wand from her throat temporarily as Harry pulled Ron's wand from his outstretched hand and tossed both to Draco.
"Now...say goodbye." Draco smiled and then turned to look at Hermione as he pressed his warm lips to the side of her face in a lingering kiss. Hermione allowed the hot tears she had tried to hold back spill onto her cheeks. Ron looked like he was going to implode. Then suddenly, the two were spinning in apparition.
When Hermione opened her eyes, she was still clenched in Draco's arms. She sucked in a shaking breath as she felt her legs start to cave.
"Keep yourself up Granger." Draco whispered as he held her up. Hermione began to sob uncontrollably, her face contorted with anguish.
"It's okay Granger...it's okay." Draco breathed into her ear, his arms still protectively encircling her.
"Let...let me go." She shuddered, her tears falling down her face in torrents. Hermione looked around to see that she was now inside a building. It was a familiar building with large columns and massive fireplaces. It was Malfoy manor.
Draco let her go and stood like a statue as Hermione pulled herself away from him.
"Wh...Why?" She howled as the tears continued. Draco furrowed his eyebrows at her, guilt plastering itself to his pale features.
"I...I...Shut up Granger!" Draco yelled, his guilt quickly morphing to anger. He stomped passed her, his shoulder banging into hers.
"Give me my wand Malfoy!" She screamed and turned on her heel. The slytherin ignored her and began to walk toward the large serpentine staircase.
"I SAID GIVE ME MY WAND!" Hermione screamed louder. Draco suddenly paused mid-step and slightly turned his head.
"Colloportus." Draco whispered, Hermione's wand in his outstretched hand. Every door and window audibly clicked as the whole Malfoy manor went on lockdown. Hermione's mouth went dry. There was no escape. Without her wand she was trapped and Draco was her only way out. Draco slowly made his way up the staircase, his slumped shoulders and head low, his eyes never leaving the ground.