This one is a long one, hope you enjoy.
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"DRACO" Hermione saw herself call his name and she felt the pain in his cheek as if it were her own.
It seemed very odd feeling the pain from a memory.
Was it supposed to be like that with legillimency?
Everything felt very...intense.
"Did you just slap me?" The memory-Draco asked, rubbing at the stinging flesh of his cheek.
"I tried to shake you awake but that only made things worse. I'm sorry," She watched her past self's head dropped slightly.
Draco paused realizing she genuinely sounded sorry about slapping him.
His shoulders relaxed, dropping visibly.
Present day Hermione felt them drop, felt the tension leave him.
"Its fine, don't worry about it," said past Draco.
What was that? Thought Hermione, balking at his reaction.
Since when did he just write her slapping him as okay? Present day Hermione reeled within Draco's mind slightly.
She looked at her own face in the memory and recognized her expression of appreciation at the shirtless body in front of her. Then she felt Draco notice her appreciation present day Hermione felt the desire flow through him.
Shock coursed through Hermione. Since when did Draco want her?
Not a chance Draco. You are seeing things, Draco told himself.
Hermione heard his thought's from that night as clearly as if he had spoken it allowed to her today.
Hermione yanked herself back from Draco mind and found herself once again standing in Draco's bedroom across from her.
His eyes were open and staring at her.
"I thought you were just supposed to be showing me the Memories Draco. Like a viewing mirror-like what Dumbledore had in his office," she half accused, her mind reeling.
She had wanted Draco, Draco had wanted her.
Even if he didn't want to be with her in any 'real' way the lust she had seen in his mind was real and undeniable. She could feel it on her skin-the desire he had felt. She recognized it on her past self's face...
And she felt it now.
Her skin was flushed. She hid it beneath a different kind of frustraition.
"That's not what it's supposed to be like," Draco answered. "I don't know why you can hear my thoughts, it's just supposed to me like watching a movie" he looked upset. "I don't know what's going on...it's..." his face fell and his tone got serious. "It's probably the bind."
The bind.
The string that connected them was once again the bane of Hermione's existence.
"Can you turn it off?" Hermione asked.
"I don't think I can," he answered. "Not without shutting you out."
Draco swallowed and his hand went up into his hair again, this time she saw it tremble a little.
A wave of sympathy passed through her.
"You don't have too," Hermione found herself saying without thinking.
She immediately wanted to take the words back. As much as she wanted not to push she also needed to know what had happened. Yes, she was no suddenly torn about wanting to see because it was incredibly obvious that Draco was really struggling with her seeing inside his head, but that didn't change her need to know.
"I took the day, you deserve to see it. I'll be fine," Draco said, his voice tight.
Hermione could almost feel him shut down that part of himself from view.
"Just watch," he ordered.
Draco reached out to her and wrapped his elegant fingers around her hand.
His touch was cool and firm. She felt the contact like a lightning bolt through her system and he eyes locked with Draco's.
Something told her that he felt it too.
Hermione's heartbeat began to race inside her chest as Draco just stood there looking at her holding her hand. He looked down at where they were touching and then lifted her hand slowly so that the wand was facing him once more.
"Remember," he said. "Just the memory, don't go elsewhere. Please," he sounded more vulnerable now than before.
Hermione knew the added fear and vulnerability was because of the strange addition of the emotions and thoughts that the Bind had brought to her viewing of the memory.
It wasn't just that he was letting her see what had happened, it was that he was letting her see what had happened and hear every thought and feel every feeling associated with those memories.
"I'm trusting you," he said and his voice rolled over her.
Hermione nodded mutely and watched as Draco closed his eyes once more.
She breathed in and suddenly she was back in the memory.
She saw past Draco reach out and touch her cheek, saw her own hand come up and cover his. Past Hermione leaned into Draco and Present Hermione watched herself comfort Draco.
You were clearly an idiot more than once, she said to herself and she felt a slice of pain and knew Draco had heard her the thought.
"I'm sorry," she said allowed and it almost threw her out of the memory.
Its fine, Draco thought at her pulling her back into his mind firmly.
The emotions of the memory mixed with what she was feeling now. There was so much going in both their heads and it was getting hard to distinguish who was feeling what when.
Overwhelmed Hermione could do nothing but sit back and watch the memory unfold.
Present Hermione watched as past Draco jerked away from her when he realized he was about to cry.
You are not going to cry in front of Granger, past Draco's thoughts shone loud and clear.
"Don't," Past Draco said and got out of bed.
"Draco wait..."
"You can't" Past Draco said not looking at her. "You can't do that."
"I'm sorry, I was only trying to make it better."
"You don't understand," he turned back to her. "Nothing you can do will make it better," his voice broke. "You'll be better off to hate me," he said and shook his head.
Hermione felt how thankful past Draco was for the near dark in the memory because his eyes were brimming and he didn't dare let her close enough to see or ever know.
I'm going to have to hurt you to prove to them I'm on their side. You'll hate me then. But it will hurt you less if you hate me now.
"Draco," Past Hermione crawled off the bed and went towards him. She put a hand on his chest and he shuddered. She reached up to his face and he pulled back violently before she could feel the wetness there.
You were crying? Present Hermione asked inside her head.
Hermione, please just watch, Present Draco answered in her mind she could hear all the pain laced in the words.
It was all too much. Hermione felt the lines of the memory blur like a photograph underwater. All the edges became waves, and then she felt Draco's concentration pull everything back into focus.
"I can't..." Past Draco said.
"Draco it's okay," she tried to assure him.
"Not it's not!" he yelled back. "I don't want to hurt you."
His words hung in the air like lead.
Present Hermione choked and blinked in real life.
The memory continued.
She heard the knock at the door watched Draco tie her up and leave with his mother. Then she watched the conversation he had with his mother and felt him rebel against Narcissa's words.
She saw his thoughts as he walked up the stairs back to her. Felt the plan form in his mind.
The second the dark Lord looks at her, her eyes are going to give you both away.
An uncomfortable prickle made its way down past Draco's neck. Hermione felt it echo across her neck in the present.
She felt his emotions, knew that he knew what he had to do and felt how it made his stomach feel like it was full of spikes.
She'll hate you for it, she heard him think.
She'll never know, and it will save you both.
Past Draco mustered his courage and went into the room. He knelt down in front of Granger and undid the gag and her ties by hand.
"Did you have to leave me like that?" she saw herself ask rubbing at her wrists.
"Yes," he answered. "If my mother had walked back in and seen you walking about it would have...been bad." He stepped away from her and turned on the light.
"Did you mean it?" she asked standing and coming over to him.
It won't hurt to tell her the truth now.
"Yes," he answered, not bothering to play dumb at her question. "I hate having you here."
The Hermione viewing the memories slumped.
He really did hate her. It was so at odds with what the emotions from the memories were saying. It was at odds with what he was doing now-letting her in like this.
You didn't let someone you hated just see inside your head, not like this.
"But for the reason you think," Past Draco admitted.
Present Hermione felt her heart beat quicken once more.
"What?" She watched her own brows knit together.
She could feel how he wanted to tell her the truth. Feel it building inside his mind before he opened his mouth to speak, like a flood that could no longer be held back by the dam.
"I hate having you here because I wish you were off somewhere safe, away from all of this," the words tumbled out of past Draco's mouth.
"You mean that don't you?"
"Yes," he nodded.
"I found some crumpled notes today, I was looking through your trash bin," she watched herself as she stumbled over the words and saw her cheeks redden.
She felt Draco's stomach drop abruptly.
His cheeks flamed with anger and embarrassment thinking of the other things he had written and tossed into the trash. She heard him think about the poetry the despair the truth of how he hated his life and Voldemort.
"Please don't be mad," Past Hermione pleaded and reached out touching his bicep. "I was bored. I've been dying up here for days with nothing to do, nothing to read and no one to talk to. I needed something to keep myself from going completely mental." She babbled quickly.
"So you thought you'd snoop through my stuff," his tone was a little more accusatory than he intended.
"What did you expect?" she asked exasperated and let go of his arm.
"I don't know I just...don't like people in my business," he shoved a hand through his hair, a motion present Hermione now recognized as one of duress. "But I get it."
She saw herself soften.
"You wrote that you were sorry."
Draco nodded.
"You wrote that you had made me breakfast yourself. Is that true too?"
"Yes."
"Does anyone else know?" Past Hermione asked stepping close.
"No," he practically whispered.
She was so close, he could smell the sweet scent of her skin mixed with the smell of his shampoo. It was a lovely combination.
Present Hermione reeled.
"Are you trying to protect me Draco?" Past Hermione asked looking up at him.
Don't say it, don't you dare say it. She heard him think.
This might be the only chance you get to say it without worrying about the consequences.
Don't...
"Yes," he answered truthfully, half undone by the admission.
"Thank you," she said and reached up tentatively to touch his face. Draco couldn't help but lean into the caress.
"I'm sorry Granger, for everything."
His words were soft and heavy, utterly heartfelt.
"You are aren't you?" she said eyes examining him intensely.
Present Hermione could feel it, feel just how sorry he was, just how much he regretted what was to come and what he had done.
"I am," he nodded. More than you will ever know. Emotions swirled chaotically inside him knowing what was to come.
"I believe you."
Past Hermione leaned up on her tippy-toes and pressed her lips to Draco's cheek. Draco shuddered closing his eyes.
He savored the feel of her lips on his skin. Savored it knowing he would likely never feel it again.
I'm sorry Granger
He raised his wand while she was still tucked in close and whispered "Obliviate."
The memory froze and Hermione turned her head away from it. Away from the pain that she was feeling on her own and from the pain she could feel radiating from inside Draco.
She turned away inside his mind, without stepping back into reality.
Suddenly Hermione was somewhere else inside Draco's mind.
Somewhere she was never meant to be.
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...yup.