Chapter 25. The Trial Pt. 3
POV Draco
Draco wanted to vomit, the lump in his throat so large he would swear everything he had consumed in the entirety of his life was trying to eject from his person. Sweat was beading on his forehead and his hands trembled.
I can't do this.
He spared a glance to Hermione who must have felt his agony as she was also riddled with tremors, which only then made Draco feel even worse.
Guilt. Great. That helps.
"We will begin the presentation of evidence with Miss Granger's memories. As you all know from the letters you received, we shall be viewing the memories differently than what we have done before. Our staff down in the DoM have been modifying this Penseive for me. I shan't bore you with the charm work, but, what it does is use a muggle device to protect the memories onto a screen. It allows us all to view the memories together instead of fifty individual times. So if you will please turn your attention to the screen behind me, we can begin."
Minister Shacklebolt poured the memories into the modified Pensive and immediately the memories began to play. It started innocent enough, Hermione looking radiant as she prepared to head down from Gryffindor tower. He had to bite his cheek at the site of her fussing angrily over her hair, it was inappropriate to smile, but he wanted to, her adorable quirks are what he loves most about her.
Love
The memories continued on through her journey downstairs and her greeting with Krum.
"Dry those tears malka ptitsa, don't let them think you weak."
He needed to remember to send Krum a thank you letter for supporting her, even though the selfish boy in him had wanted it to be him not Krum; but you can't be selfish and be with the Golden Girl who gives herself away so freely to everyone she finds even a glimmer of possibility in.
Fuck it, maybe just a little.
The memory of the Grand Entrance confirmed for him what he had hoped during that moment; Hermione noticed him notice her. He almost hated seeing the good memories. It was a false sense of security that Draco knew would come back to bite them all.
"Well, nobody asked me. I thought Ron would seeing as he kissed me during the final battle, but things just went back to the way they were before." Hermione said softly.
"Don't worry about him malka ptitsa, if he doesn't see you, he is not worth your time." He said lifting her chin and wiping her eyes for the second time that night.
"I'm not crying about Ron, not really. He's part of it, but it's bigger than that. I feel like the two of them, Harry and Ron, always have each other. They hang out together, they study together, they do everything with each other, and I'm the one left behind unless they need something. It's always been that way, but it bothers me more now because I thought we had gotten past all that during the battle."
Shit, I'm gonna have to hug the bastard.
"Hey, Viktor and I were going to get something to drink, could we sit with you?" Hermione asked looking from Harry to Ron. Harry looked pleased to see her, but Ron had a look in his eye that sent a chill down Hermione's spine.
"No, we don't want to share a drink with Viktor. You never stay loyal to your house and school do you 'Mione?" Ron spat.
Fuck! I hate this! I'll take the Cruciatus by Aunt Bella over this!
"What a fucking git." Pansy swore, looking back at George, "Was he always like this?"
"Yes. He was just quiet about it so you didn't notice. Being labeled a hero for a small pocket of time gave him just enough ego to make him mouthy."
"My problem? You come here wearing that and clinging to Viktor like a pathetic wannabe pureblood. Who even are you Hermione?" Ron's whole face was red, and Harry had gone pale.
"Wannabe pureblood?" Tears threatened to spill from Hermione's eyes.
"Yes, so Viktor, why don't you run along, before I tell the daily prophet all about that little boyfriend I heard about in Hermione's letters,"
I'm not going to make it through this. I'm going to run down there and kill the bastard with my bare hands!
"At least one lie has been proven untrue." Theo said, "However, my Dark Mark is itching like a bitch. I swear I can sense a cunt Weasley and wants him cut down."
Draco shushed him, but he oddly felt the same itch, subconsciously reaching with his other hand to scratch at it.
"Dance with me."
His head jerked up.
"Smooth move Dray, didn't known you had that in you."
"Hush it Pans."
His eyes were trained on the screen, reliving every nervous and excited emotion he felt in that moment, he spared a glance at Hermione who was already looking at him. He threw her a brief smile and she returned it in kind, the string the memories were about to show thrumming in his chest.
"Why?"
"I couldn't just let you sit there like that Granger."
"Why?"
"Do you want the long or short answer?"
She sighed.
"They will never be good enough for you." He said, "Either of them. They can't see you. They never have and they never will. They are too selfish… and blind."
"Some think I am not good enough for them."
"You listen to me Granger. You are beyond them. And you shouldn't settle just because you think that it's what you're supposed to do. Do you hear me? You do not be with anyone who isn't 100% worthy of you. You do not let those two dictate your life. Take control of it. Because you deserve someone who will pick you first. Someone who never thought once of anyone else but you. Do you understand me?"
"I'm going to save that line for later. Maybe it will get me a man finally." Theo said.
"Who is that going to work on? It's so oddly specific." Fred chimed leaning in between him and Theo.
"You maybe, who knows, we will just have to test it out later won't we?"
"We will."
"Would you two stop it? Now's not the time."
"Don't call yourself that again."
Draco laughed at the angry look on her face, she looked like that stupid cat she used to have. He wondered what happened to it.
"You have called me that, yourself."
"Not since I was 14. Not since…"
"Not since…What?"
"Not since the Quidditch World Cup"
"I don't understand."
"It's easier to show you. But you will have to trust me. Can you do that?"
"Is this some kind of kinky play you've been keeping to yourself Drake?"
"No Theo. It's not a good memory. Just an important one."
"So no wanking in the shower when suddenly Granger's face pops into your mind as you cum?"
"No. Not this time." He said, rolling his eyes at his nosy friend.
"Too bad." Theo, Pansy and Fred all said simultaneously.
It was weird seeing them still swaying back and forth together, knowing they were in another memory.
I guess memories seen in memories are too jumbled to extract.
"I still don't understand," she said. "What was it from that memory that caused you to stop using mud…"
"That night, when I realized what my father had meant by celebration, I felt this tug in my chest. You saw it, I was just about to touch the portkey when it happened. I didn't know what it was, I didn't know where I was going. I just knew my feet needed to take me somewhere. It wasn't until I saw you that the tugging stopped. I was so confused. I was about to grab you and take you with me and the portkey, but Arthur Weasley showed up and got you out. I was so relieved, not that I knew at the time that that was what the feeling was, it took weeks of sulking in my room trying to figure out why I had done that to come to that conclusion."
Silence.
"I usually know exactly what to say." She said finally, "I am the girl everyone goes to when they need all sorts of words, but right now, I can't even find one."
"Sum it up then." He said, but he could tell that made it worse, "One word. Think of one word to describe it all"
The memory continued to play for a minute or two, showing them dance across the room. He wanted to dance with her again, make a new memory untainted by a weasel cunt.
"You left the brightest witch of our age speechless!" George said, "I've been closer with her for longer and I can't tell you a single time that girl stopped talking."
"Why don't you give me a word then, if you're so clever?"
"I have a word; I'm just waiting on yours."
"I have run through every word I can think of, and no word in the dictionary can possibly describe my feelings."
"You couldn't possibly have gone through all the words in the world in that small amount of time, even with your big brain."
Fuck me for not realizing she can, in fact, process that many words in a minute.
"I'm not finished." She said cutting him off. "And for the record, I did run through all those words. That's how I realized that it isn't a word at all. Not really."
"What is it then?"
With a smile, she leaned forward and whispered it in his ear, "Draco."
He watched their lips collide and a golden light explode from them. He thought Theo was taking the piss when he said they blinded him. Seeing it like this was strange, but as he glanced over at Hermione, he would swear he saw a faint glow radiating from her, almost like an aura.
"Hermione"
She smiled and Draco had to fight the urge to rush to her and scoop her up in his arms. He had never felt this way before in his entire life. He would give her anything and everything she asked for. She deserved nothing less. Most days he felt unworthy of the air she even breathed, but as long as she was willing to give him her time, he would hold on with all his might. She was everything that was good and right in his world and he wanted to show it to her in all the ways he could find. Valentines Day was just over a week away, and he was going to make it perfect.
"Miss. Granger, may I speak with you a moment?"
"Sure Headmistress, how can I help you?"
"I wanted to ask you; You have done a lot of reading and research over the years, but are you aware that in my early days here at Hogwarts, I was also conducting a research study as a side project?"
"I did not. What was it for?"
"Well, you see dear, I know many look at me and just see an old maid who never married, which is the truth. However, it is not the whole story." Hermione could see the sadness forming on her face. "After graduating, I went home for the summer so that I could spend my last bit of freedom with my parents before jumping into a position at the Ministry. While I was there, I met a man named Dougal McGregor. He and I began spending every waking moment together and by summer's end, he had asked me to marry him. I know, I know, what a scandal it was, but we were young and in love. The poster children for a summer whirlwind romance."
Draco couldn't imagine the strict Headmistress in love. It made him afraid of what could become of him if something happened to Hermione. He didn't consider himself to be a codependent partner, but his relationship with Hermione was anything but normal so he supposed they didn't really have a say in it now. For better or worse, they would conquer the world together. Their souls had chosen each other and so had they.
"So, why did you never marry him?"
"That summer, Voldemort started gaining some predominant followers. Then the Prophet caught wind of our relationship and published it, I still don't know how they found out. I debated ending it, to protect him, but I never got the chance. On his way to meet me for a date, he was attacked and murdered by death eaters."
Fucking bastards, is there anyone whose life was destroyed by fucking Death Eaters… oh shut up Draco, you were one too, never forget that.
"I'm so sorry Minerva. I had no idea."
"Do you know what it was that made our relationship grow so quickly? As I am sure you are aware, I am not known for my impulsivity. In fact, I openly oppose such acts; and yet I was agreeing to marry him after just 2 months of knowing each other."
"I am not sure. Love seems too obvious."
"I did love him, but the answer is much more complicated than that. The day that I met Dougal, I was out for a walk, just taking in the sights of where I had called home before I left it for good. I passed this farm that I would see as a child walking to primary school. It was my favorite stretch of my journey every morning. They had this cow who would follow me down the whole fence line. That day, this young man walked up and we made eye contact. When that happened, I felt this pulse in my chest. I didn't know how to describe it then."
He wondered how many other people had the bond, were they actually rare or was it just rare to find and connect with yours? He decided to see if Hermione was alright with his mother coming by this weekend and they could talk with her about it. Maybe she knew something McGonagall didn't, or where they could go looking.
"Like the plucking of a guitar string?!"
"Quite like the plucking of a guitar string."
"What is it? I…I have been feeling it all night."
"I know you have. It is why I am sharing this story with you."
"Sorry, Minerva."
"I was not with him the night he was attacked, but I knew the moment he died, because that guitar string, as you described it, snapped. It was instant and it was painful. I ran out of the restaurant and as soon as I was hidden, I apparated. I had no idea that I would find him, I was just following the pain. I trusted what I felt, and it led me right to him, but it was too late. Once I started at the Ministry, I accessed everything that I had clearance for. I researched every day for hours after work. I didn't eat, I didn't sleep. I barely left the Ministry. A month later, I came across some files that mentioned soul mates. It described it as a tether that stretches from the soul of each person. When one person's tether gets near another's, they try to connect, to bond. It was described as a snap of a button or the plucking of a string."
"Are you saying that Draco and I… That we…"
"I am just telling you my story, Hermione. It is up to you to decide if what I described matches your situation."
"McGonagall having a dead Beau explains so much."
"Salazar Theo, have some decency, it's very tragic what happened to them." Pansy spat quietly, glaring at Theo.
"I think it's sad too, Pans. I'm just saying that it explains her strict behavior and her overprotective nature."
"So that's how you feel with Granger, Drake?"
He hummed and looked over to Theo, "Sorry, what?"
"I said, is that what you feel with Granger? The tether and intense feelings?"
"Oh, yes. McGonagall's experience is exactly what we felt. It's why I think it's very important to study. I almost lost her once, I can't ever go through that again."
"That bad?"
"I only had the bond connected for an hour, and when it faded while she was in the coma, it felt like I had a piece of my soul ripped out. People say that as a metaphor all the time when they are heartbroken, but I mean it literally. I think it's possible that I really did lose a piece, maybe it was a piece attached to the tether I don't know, but I need to find out."
"We'll help you Dray."
"Seconded"
"Thirded and Fourthed" George said.
"Thirded and Fourthed?? Those are not words." Pansy said, giggling.
"They are to me. What are words anyway but jumbled letters some old person stuck together in different ways? I'm just making new ones." He replied with a wink.
Draco saw Pansy flush pink and he knew in that moment that he was going to be stuck with these twins in more ways than one. Pansy always gets what she wants, or who in this case.
"'Mione?!"
Draco's eyes shot to the screen.
"I figured you wouldn't come back tonight."
"Well it's a good thing I did, isn't it? What do you think you're doing dancing with Malfoy?"
"Its honestly none of your business Ronald."
"IT ABSOLUTELY IS MY BUSINESS!"
Fury coursed through his veins. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably, white-knuckling the edge of the seat. Pansy wrapped her arm around his shoulders in an attempt to ground him, but he could feel her trembling with her own rage. The scene shifted to Weasley dragging her down the corridor. He could see her attempting to scream, but nothing was heard through the silencing charm.
"You think you can just throw yourself all over that death eater? HUH? You think you can turn your back on us? ON ME?"
The air crackled around him. His eyes dilated and following every movement of the weasels hands. As her dress was ripped from her body, Draco decided he would remove Weasley's skin in the same manner.
"YOU WANNA BE A PATHETIC DEATH EATER WHORE? I WON'T ALLOW IT! YOU'RE MINE!"
NOT YOURS! NEVER YOURS! YOU LOST YOUR CHANCE!
"YOU'RE MINE! I EARNED IT! ALL THE WORK I DID TO PROVE MYSELF AFTER I LEFT YOU AND HARRY IN THE FOREST! AND YOU THROW IT ALL AWAY FOR HIM? MALFOY?"
"Draco you have to calm down!" Theo shouted, shaking his shoulders.
"You see, your body wants me."
A deep rumbling shook the room, rattling the chandelier. Cracks of electricity flashing across the ceiling.
"Draco! You are losing control of your magic! Snap out of it!"
"No one will love you the way I do 'Mione. I know you just wanted my attention. Well I'm here now. I'm going to make it all better."
I WILL KILL WEASLEY, AND I WILL KILL POTTER, AND ANYBODY ELSE WHO WOULD DARE TO TOUCH HER OR SPEAK HER NAME AGAIN! I WILL WIPE THEM FROM THE FACE OF THIS EARTH AND I WILL CRUSH THEIR SOULS UNTIL THEY ARE DUST DENYING THEM AN AFTERLIFE!
"HELP! SOMEONE! MALFOY!"
And explosion rocked through the room sending debris flying. Screams erupted as people attempted to rush put of the room. Another crack of electricity shot from the ceiling, colliding with the witness stand, sending shards of wood rocketing through the air.
"MISTER MALFOY! YOUR MAGIC IS OUT OF CONTROL! LISTEN TO MY VOICE! IF YOU CANT BRING IT DOWN WE WILL HAVE TO STUN YOU!"
Draco couldn't hear anything but the rush of blood pounding in his ears.
"DRAKE PLEASE! I PROMISE HE WILL PAY! HERMIONE IS SAFE NOW, YOU SAW IT YOURSELF! I SWEAR TO YOU BROTHER WE WILL PROTECT HER, BUT YOU HAVE TO CALM DOWN!"
"HELP! PLEASE! HE—"
A surge of fire erupted from his body, sending Pansy, Theo and the Minister flying back.
I'M SORRY HERMIONE! IM SO SORRY! ITS ALL MY FAULT! IF I HAD STAYED AWAY, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED! YOU DESERVED SO MUCH MORE! IF I HAD KNOWN THIS WOULD HAPPEN, I NEVER WOULD HAVE LET MYSELF LOVE YOU. GODS PLEASE FORGIVE ME HERMIONE! PLEASE! I NEVER WAN—
Silent. Still. Dark.