Hermione sat in the corner of the compartment she shared with Ron, Harry, Neville and Ginny. Harry and Ginny were snuggled against each other. Ron and Neville were still discussing the events of the night Dumbledore died.
The landscape passed unseen by Hermione. All she could think about was Draco. And what Harry had told them had happened at the top of the Astronomy Tower. So it had been him, who let the Death Eaters into the castle. He had been ordered to kill Dumbledore of all people.
Her heart sank further with every moment that passed. She was his and he belonged to her, but there didn't seem to be any future for them. Was this the time he had been telling her about? The time he had been dreading? When she would discover, what he had done and would have to decide, if she stood by him or left him.
She ran her fingers over her left hand. She could feel the ring on her finger, his ring. The ring that bound them together. She sighed. The last time she had spoken to him, he had been talking about her being the only reason he had to try and survive the coming war. He had talked about finding her, of having a family...
This thought was finally breaking her resolve not to cry in front of her friends. She couldn't deal with the pain that loving him caused her any longer. She had fled into Ron's arms and just cried. At first her friend of many years had been somewhat taken aback, but then had just wrapped his arms around her. She had been bawling her eyes out in his arms. He had tried to say something once or twice, but had just given up after a while. She had seemed to be inconsolable. Even so he couldn't quite fathom why she couldn't stop shedding tears.
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Draco was sitting in his room, huddled again in a corner, his heart breaking. He knew that she would be aware by now of him having been responsible for the Death Eaters having invaded the school. That it had been him, who had been destined to kill Dumbledore. His only hope was that she also knew of him having been unable to do it. In the end it had turned out, as she would have predicted: He was no killer! When it came to the crunch he was just a 16 year old young man desperately trying to stay alive!
He shifted slightly and winced in pain. The Dark Lord had been pleased, that Dumbledore had been killed and also rather displeased, that it hadn't been Draco who had done it. He groaned. How long had he been tortured? Minutes? Hours? He had no idea. He had just known, that no matter how many times the Cruciatus Curse would been used on him, he had to stay alive! He had promised Hermione to come and find her after the war, and he intended to do exactly that. If she would still be prepared to have that family with him, they had been talking about the last time he had spoken to her, was anybody’s guess now. He had to believe that she still loved him though. Otherwise there would be no reason for him to live any longer.
'Precious! Wait for me! Please, wait for me! I can't do this without you!'
The door to his room flew open.
"Draco!"
He groaned. He knew, what was going to come, more of the same. Snape advanced on him and he got up while wincing in pain. To his utter amazement Snape took out his wand, muttered a few spells and Draco felt a lot better. Most of the pain was gone.
"Thanks." he muttered.
"Be careful!" Was the only reply.
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Hermione sat in an empty house, which now belonged to her. She held the title deeds in her left hand. It didn't make it any more real for her. Her parents were gone and she didn't know, if she would ever see them again. At least now she wouldn't have to worry about them getting hurt during the war. They didn't know who they had been any longer...
She looked out into the garden. There were a lot of flowers in the beds along the fence. For a moment she was even entertaining the thought, that her own family... She pushed the thought away. She didn't want to think about that. She had to focus on matters at hand, which meant she was heading to the Burrow to meet with Ron and Harry.
Ron... He was sweet and after she had been crying nearly all the way to London on the train he had tried his best to be there for her. He might not have known, quite why she had been in tears for all those hours, but he had just held and comforted her. She sighed. She should tell him, that he shouldn't get his hopes up. That she was already spoken for. More than spoken for! She was the wife of another. Tears started again to slowly roll over her cheeks.
'Draco!' she sobbed.
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"Ginny, do you remember the time I found you in the common room in the early hours of the morning, on a Saturday? You said you couldn't sleep and had been there for two hours already."
She looked at him. Of course, she remembered! That had been the morning when she had to make sure, Harry didn't notice Hermione coming back from her date with the ferret.
"Sure? What about it?"
"Were you there to cover for somebody who's been out all night?"
She looked at him. Where did that come from? He had never asked before. Why now?
"Ginny?"
She took a deep breath before finally answering.
"I really couldn't sleep any more, but you are right. Somebody came in while we were on the couch together."
"Was it Hermione?"
She paled. How did he find out?
"It was her, wasn't it?"
The young witch nodded.
"I suppose you know whom she had been spending the night with?"
She nodded again.
"What has happened?"
That wasn’t what she had expected Harry to ask/ It took a while before ahe finally got her voice back.
"What do you mean, what happened?"
"After the Death Eaters invaded the school and Dumbledore died, she has been crying so often, that I would have thought there are no tears left in her any longer. She has been sobbing all the way from Hogwarts to London! That must be a record."
"Ahm."
"You know who it is, don't know?"
Ginny hesitated. Should she tell Harry that his best friend had been spending the night with Draco Malfoy? No! Not after what had happened. Merlin alone knew what kind of stupid scheme her boyfriend might come up with.
"Ginny, please! Do you actually know?"
"Yes, Harry, I do know whom she had spent that night with, and before you ask, I'm not going to tell you. It’s bad enough for her as it is."
"Has he finished it or why is she crying?"
"I don't know if they are still together. I would think so, but it’s not that straight forward. He is a..."
"A what, Ginny? Merlin's Beard! Tell me! What is he?"
"A snake."
"A snake? As in a Slytherin snake?"
She nodded. He looked at her, stunned. Hermione, his best friend of six years had been dating a Slytherin? Impossible!
"You are kidding, right?"
She shook her head.
"Oh, my..."
It took him quite a while until it had really sunk in, what she had told him.
"You are absolutely sure about that?"
"Yes. She has told me about him."
"It was him that sent the flowers?"
"Yes. He did his best to try and get to her."
"But why didn't she tell us? I mean Ron and me?"
"Just so that you two could go, find and kill him? She’s a lot cleverer than that, Harry. Honestly."
He thought about that. Ginny was right. Neither of them would have taken lightly to her dating a snake. Though, there weren't that many of them who were the right age and had the brains to interest her. The most obvious was Blaise Zabini.
"Was it Zabini?"
She just looked at him.
"Was it him? Because I don't think Grabbe or Goyle would stand a chance."
"No, she has more class than that."
"So it was Zabini."
Ginny didn't answer. If he thought, that Zabini had anything to do with Hermione’s broken heart, then that was just fine. Better he had his mind fixed on the wrong, but plausible, person rather than the right and impossible sounding one.
"Why is this important anyway? You three are not going back to school, so she is not going to meet Zabini again."
He pulled her into his arms.
"No, she isn't. Sorry about being so persistent, but I just want to make sure that she is okay."
'She is not going to be okay for a long while! If ever again!'
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Ginny and Hermione were getting ready for the wedding of Fleur and Bill. Yet again the younger one of the girl noticed that her friend hat been crying. She shook her head. She would have never expected it to hit her friend so hard. Then again, Hermione loved the person who had been instrumental in getting Death Eaters in the castle and with them Fenrir Greyback. She shuddered. Bill was really lucky that Fenrir had been in is human form when he mauled him. Lupin had't.
For a moment her thoughts circled around the fact, that Tonks had fallen in love with Remus. They seemed such an odd couple at first glance, but Ginny already knew that love didn't go by what looked right on the outside. How was it otherwise to explain that Hermione had fallen for Draco?
There was a knock at the door.
"Ginny?"
It was Harry. She went to the door and he pulled her out off the room. Hermione smiled for a moment. She was glad that Harry and Ginny had finally managed to become a couple. Even so it was not going to last for that much longer. The day the three of them left it would have to be put on hold. She sighed. At least they were able to properly say good bye. She had to find out that her love had left with a horde of evil maniacs!
She glanced out off the window. It was a nice day for a wedding. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes again. A wedding... Would there be ever one for her? Would she be able to marry the one, she wanted to marry? A tear was rolling down her cheek. Was he okay? Was he still alive! She turned the invisible ring on her left ring finger, his ring. She touched it gently with her lips.
Ginny came back, giggling. Hermione just smiled at her weakly.
"Are you okay, Hermione?"
She shook her head.
"You miss him, don't you?"
"Yes, and it hurts to see Bill and Fleur being happy..."
"… and me and Harry."
"Yes, but Ginny don't stop on my account! I want you two to be happy. There will be precious little time for you as it is."
"I know."
There was a moment of silence.
Then Ginny suddenly said: "Harry asked me about the morning you came back early from your date with the ferret..."
Hermione paled.
"How did he know that I had...?"
"He doesn't. The morning you came back I couldn't sleep. I went downstairs to read in the common room. I nodded off and Harry woke me up two hours later. It was still very early. I made sure, he didn't see you come in, as I didn't want him to know, that you had been away all night."
"You were in the common room?"
"We were hidden by the backrest of the large couch in front of the fireplace. We were..."
"Snogging?"
Ginny nodded.
"But how does he know that it was me who came back that morning, when he was occupied with you?"
"He asked me the other day."
"And you told him whom I had been meeting?!"
She looked horrified.
"No! Of course not. I just told him, you had been dating a snake. He thinks, you had been going out with Zabini."
"Zabini!?"
"Would you have preferred for him to know that it was the ferret?"
She shook her head.
"He was somewhat shocked, but at least your secret is safe."
"I can only pray, it stays that way!"
Ginny hugged her tightly.
"Don't worry! He and Ron will be there for you!"
"I know, but my heart is..."
She started to sob. The younger girl just held her in her arms. There was nothing, she could have done any longer. Words were way past helping or comforting now. Only when she got him back would she stop crying...
+++++++++++++++++++++++
He could still hear the pleading voice. See the body suspended in midair. He shuddered. Feel the table shake as... He closed his eyes. He didn't want to be here any longer. He didn’t care, if his father would disown him for betraying the cause.
He couldn't care any less right now. All he wanted to feel were her warm arms around him. Her soft body pressed against him. Her tender lips... He pushed all these thoughts in the background of his mind built the strongest wall he was capable of creating around them. He must never see these thoughts. He must never find out about her. Or she would be dead within the hour!
He had seen the face of his mother as Lord Voldemort had arrived and made their family home his headquarter. His father had been less than enthusiastic, but he had nevertheless obliged his every whim. Draco shuddered.
He would not be leaving the Manor any time soon, he knew. The Dark Lord needed him as a hostage to keep his father in line.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Harry got Hermione on her own shortly before the wedding was going to start. He needed to know. He really needed to know, why it had had to be a Slytherin, she had been dating. Where there not enough Gryffindors, Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs to choose from? Why a snake of all things!
"Hermione, can I ask you something?"
She looked at him. He saw her dried tears. Merlin's Beard! Zabini must have really hurt her! His fists clenched on their own accord.
"What is it, Harry?"
"Zabini, why did it have to be Zabini of all people?"
She looked at him, and he could feel that she was trying to decide what to answer. If she was going to answer him at all that was.
"I have never had any feelings for Zabini." she finally said.
He looked at her. She didn't have any feelings for the guy? Why was she constantly crying then?
"I don't understand."
"I had never any interest in Zabini. Neither romantically nor any other way. He is just an arrogant, opinionated Slytherin."
He opened and closed his mouth a few times.
"You look like a carp on dry land when you do that."
"Why did Ginny say that you had been dating him?"
"I don't know, what did you ask her?"
"Whom you had been seeing that night..."
"You two were occupied on the couch?"
He blushed. She gently stroked his arm.
"I had been seeing somebody that night, but it wasn't Zabini, and before you are going to ask, no, I'm not going to tell you, who it was."
Her voice was sounding a lot more confident than she actually felt.
"But... Ginny said that you were dating a Slytherin."
She didn't answer.
"Hermione, who ever it was they can not be trusted! Remember what Malfoy did!"
She avoided his gaze. She knew exactly what he had done! What he had promised to do...
"Harry? Hermione? Get a move on, for Merlin's sake!"
It was Ron that saved her for the any more probing questions.