The Seventh Moon
Author:
IcyFireRating:
PG-13WARNING: OoP Spoilers! DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU HAVE NOT READ OoP YET AND DO NOT WANT ANY SPOILERS! CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK PAST THE DOTTED LINES.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N:
Sorry for such a long wait. I had been waiting for book 5 to come out before I wrote any more just so that if book 5 revealed something life-altering, I'd be able to tweak the plot to go along with it. I didn't want to get so far into the story that I wouldn't be able to make alterations and then this story would have to be AU, which I despise, and then I would have to abandon it. I finished writing this on the 24th of June, but I won't post it until...I don't know, I want to give people reasonable time to finish book 5.Now, about book five...let's all throw rotten tomatoes at JK Rowling! She killed my FAVORITE character.
All right, so book five was pretty lame, wasn't it? I mean, the big "revelation" at the end about the prophecy has been guessed by HP fans so much that it was pretty much settled as a FACT before book 5 even came out. Okay, it was lame, but I still love the Harry Potter books. I thought there was going to be a revelation about Lily Evans? Did I just like not catch that? I mean, besides the fact that she thought James Potter was a jerk?
Alright, so I spent all Saturday morning wondering when my book was gonna get delivered. And then I got it and I read all day and I finished the book. And of course, sirius was dead, but it just didn't click, you know? All through the whole damn book I was thinking/begging/praying "Please don't kill Sirius! Kill ANYONE but Sirius!" And of course, JK Rowling goes and kills Sirius. Just my luck.
So I was in a state of complete shock and denial. I didn't cry or anything. I was completely emotionless and in shock. And I couldn't sleep the whole damn night thinking about poor Sirius. I was thinking the whole time, "No, Sirius isn't dead. Sirius CAN'T be dead. Sirius is alive and well. HE CAN'T BE DEAD," and of course, the constant throbbing in my head declaring "I HATE YOU JK ROWLING!"
And then, the next morning, I wake up, get dressed, and all of a sudden, it CLICKS and I realize that SIRIUS IS DEAD! GONE! FOREVER! And so I completely burst into tears and had a complete breakdown in which I just cried and cried and cried like an idiot. And when I'd "mellowed" down a bit, I tried calling my friend, but then I burst into tears again on the phone, and couldn't even talk/speak/communicate with her because I was crying so badly. Yeah, so I'm an idiot. So what?
And then I've been in depression ever since.
Oh yeah, and I went and changed little things in the previous chapters, but you don't have to go and read them - they're really very trivial. I just wanted to get the facts right for any new readers who might start reading this.
Why Amazon.com is a jerk:
too long to explain, but they are jerks.Thanks to my reviewers:
HarryPotterWanter, michelline, Serpena, Ankle, Shalemni, Dragon Bad Faith, Marionette, Deimos, Leika Senara, Soronume de Laiguendi, Naoko Ten-ou, babmidnight, Amy O B, delila-malfoy, Alethesea, Magical Magic, PsYcHoJo, Riddle Road, ast*P, PurpleYin, justme, Lucent, ayse, liToewEergUrl, Deese-Rouge-Cheveux, dark-phoenix, Danny, mesmer, AndinaOfRivendell, Li-chan, PoleKat, OnOfaKind92, hockeyslayer, Cute-Kitty, Oo.DrAcOzAnJeL.oO, Ashley, kagie-chan, dracoJAE, RinoaOHeartilly, Krissy, Libby, Death Ringer, mermaid of lost city atlantis, ASH, Volcana, malFunction, cool brat, Trillium, Navy Converse, Hermie13, Slim, a Friend, tjs91989, tainted black, tommygurl (OMG I LOVE MG!!!!!!! I understood some of it but a lot of it I made a very annoyed friend translate for me, line by line. But that line was my absolute FAVORITE line. I haven't seen Part II yet, but I REALLY want to. I know what happens tho, and I know the place that they go to and I'm going to use that place in this story), sillynina, Sarah W., becca, Britanie, The Mental Pixi-stix Faerie, UndomielEvenstar, Slytherinangel922, plumsy321, Marla, Cherry, Katrina, and anyone I might have missed.Disclaimer:
As much as I would like to believe that all of this is mine, unfortunately, it's not except the plot."Aurora - she was a Death Eater."
One lone tear made its way down Hermione's cheek as she mustered up all her strength and ran from the truth.
"Hermione!"
Hermione kept her pace, determined not to turn around, not to face him. After so long was he still chasing after her? Wouldn't he learn, for once, to bugger off? It seemed almost as though he enjoyed this - as if this was his new means of taunting her.
"Hermione!"
Wait, it didn't sound like Malfoy. No, no, this voice was different. It belonged to -
Hermione dabbed her eyes with the sleeve of her already soiled robes and then plastered a delighted smile on her face.
"Harry!" she cried, spinning around and feigning happiness.
"I've found it, Hermione," Harry said as he raced the next few steps to her side. "I've found it."
Hermione was clearly confused. "Found what?"
"Remember, you asked me who was the third Death Eater who died in his service. Well, I've found it." Harry looked quite proud of himself as he declared this.
Hermione's face immediately fell. She hadn't wanted him to know. What would he think now that he knew her alumni was a Death Eater? What if he started drawing up his own conclusions? Well, if he knew the truth already, there was no point keeping anything from him anymore. "So you know."
"Yes," Harry said, "Remember when we were at the Order's headquarters? Remember what Sirius," and here, Harry's face clouded over and he felt a lump in his throat. Nevertheless, he continued, "remember what Sirius told me? His brother was a Death Eater and he was killed."
This was not what Hermione had anticipated. She had thought he knew all about Aurora and was going to demand her tell him everything. And then everything would have been a mess and -
For once in her life, she was glad that Harry was completely clueless.
"Harry, I wish I was so," she said, with a hint of sadness in her voice. "Don't you think I've thought of this already? From what Sirius," and she was very careful with that name, "said to you, and of course you later told to us, I've gathered that his brother wasn't fully initiated when he died. Didn't he say that Voldemort was the one who ordered his brother's death?"
Harry pondered this for a second. "So you don't think it's him?"
"Voldemort said specifically to you that these were three Death Eaters who died in his service - meaning, probably, that they were the ones he liked a lot - not all of the would-be-Death-Eaters who chickened out that he had murdered," Hermione said slowly, devoid of all feeling.
"Well, then, I s'pose I'll keep looking," Harry said, looking rather disappointed that he hadn't been much help.
"Don't," Hermione said on impulse - too quickly and too loudly. She realized her mistake and tried to correct it before his suspicions grew. "Er, I-I mean - you really shouldn't waste your time with such trivial things. It's not that important. It was just something that just sort of, er, popped into my mind."
"It's no problem, actually - "
" - Like the N.E.W.T.s that you should be studying for. You want to be an Auror, don't you? And you know how important Potions is. You should be glad that Snape let you in his N.E.W.T.s class, and you're not even studying for it at all. If he decided to fail you, what would that do to your dreams of being an Auror? And - "
"All right," Harry said defeatedly, holding his hand up to quiet her. "I'll do what you say."
Hermione smiled and punched his playfully in the shoulder. "That's because you know I'm always right."
When Harry's face darkened, Hermione knew that she had said the wrong thing.
"I should have listened to you, back in fifth year," he said, his voice quavering, "about Occlumency. I should have listened when you told me not to go to the Department of Mysteries. You're always right," he said, to no one in particular. "If I had listened, then Sirius wouldn't have - "
" - Harry, stop it!" Hermione said firmly, feeling her emotions envelope her. It was still too painful to talk about. "Please."
"Yeah, and pretend it never happened? Well - "
"Harry, I'm not pretending that it never happened it's just that - "
" - so Sirius never even existed? Is that what you're pretending?" Harry demanded heatedly.
Hermione, quite furious herself, tried to control her emotions. Sorrow over tragic events, anger and frustration toward Harry for being so...impossible! "It doesn't do to dwell on the past - "
"I'M NOT DWELLING ON THE PAST - " Harry roared.
"Shut up!"
There was a very pregnant pause. And then -
"Well, I've got to get going - so much homework to do, you know," Hermione said, clutching her bookbag tightly, her lips pursed tightly.
Harry scratched his head mechanically. "Yeah, and I-I've got to get to the field. I expect the whole team to be waiting impatiently for me."
"Well, I'll see you later, I s'pose." She couldn't think of anything else to say to her best friend of seven years. She felt so empty.
With a nod, Harry turned down the corridor and disappeared from her sight.
Splendid, Hermione thought miserably. In the midst of everything that was happening, even her friendships were wavering.
A large, elegant owl soared through the window into Draco Malfoy's private dorm. It circled in, dropped at letter at Draco's feet and then promptly glided out of the window again, as if it had not been there at all.
Draco Malfoy sighed and picked up the letter. He had recognized the owl, of course. It was his father's business owl. And this letter, no doubt, was from his father, reminding him again of his important role at Hogwarts this year.
Taking the letter into his hands, he ripped apart the envelope and tossed it aside, and unfolded the parchment which lay within it.
Draco,
This, if I remember correctly, is my fourth reminder to you. You, Draco, are in a very high position at Hogwarts and therefore have much influence and power over other students. Use this power to your advantage.
Recruit, recruit, recruit!
You mentioned in your last letter that you might be able to win over a Hufflepuff sixth-year and maybe two younger Ravenclaws. I don't want to hear "might" or "maybe." I want it to be done, signed, sealed. As you might be able to fathom, we are in desperate need of new recruits.
There is only one way we are going to win this war, and that is by having as many wizards on our side as possible. Do not forget anything that I have taught you, Draco. Use your looks, money, charm, any way possible to win over your fellow schoolmates to our side.
Do not disappoint me.
Best wishes,
Lucius
Draco read over the letter with dismay and then resolved to crumple it into a ball and toss it into a distant corner in his room. His father was so annoying - there was no way to describe it. He decided he wouldn't think about it anymore, to save himself undue stress.
Draco plopped down comfortably onto his bed and surveyed the documents that were lying all across his room. Just looking at them made his head ache terribly. What would he find in all these papers and books? Good new, bad news. It was all the same to him either way. Nothing involved him.
It was all about that stupid Granger girl. He was through trying to help her. She didn't seem like she cared - just went around crying all the time. She never thanked him - after all he'd done for her.
Stupid bitch, he thought.
He was the one who was kind enough to take her to his house. He was the one who showed her the chamber full of pictures. It was because of him that she found Aurora was her mother. He did so much for her and he never even received one word of thanks.
And he was so nice to her. He doubted that he had ever been so nice and kind to anyone else in his whole life. Why? Well, for one she'd been crying her heart out, a situation that he didn't know how to deal with. What was he supposed to say to her at times like that? So he'd treated her like a friend. He'd almost half-forgotten that she was a mudblood during that time. And she'd done nothing friendly back.
From now on, he decided, they were both on their own. Anything he found, he would keep to himself. Anything that she found - well, he doubted that she would find much. Maybe he'd even find something bad enough that he could use to exploit her with...what an idea. They weren't working together anymore, so what would he care about it?
And he had no idea why he was so interested anyway. He'd always been curious, and the mysterious past of Aurora Riviera intrigued him so. And Hermione's eyes - maybe that had something to do with her birth. Maybe. He would just have to find that out on his own.
Groaning, he sat up and reached for the first book his hands could find. Might as well do some light reading, he thought. He would keep one step ahead of Granger at any cost. Even if it meant dying of boredom and sorting through hours of documents. Preparing to be extremely bored, he sluggishly flipped open the book.
Hermione retreated to her own dorm room and set her bookbag on her desk. She fell into the soft, cushiony armchair and closed her eyes. The day's events passed before her and she set out to figure out all her thoughts and gather some conclusions.
How did Malfoy know all that he did? Was his word good? Was he simply lying? She wished he was, but somehow she had the feeling that everything he said was true.
She tried to convince herself otherwise. Why the hell was he trying to help her? Maybe he wanted to tell her all these horrible lies about Aurora and hope that she would have a nervous breakdown and have to be shipped out of Hogwarts by the next train. That would suit him well. Hadn't he always wanted her to leave Hogwarts?
But still, she couldn't help thinking how his face looked, how his voice sounded when he told her that Aurora was a Death Eater. He didn't look like he was telling a falsehood. In fact, he sounded completely honest and truthful. Well, the best liars were always the ones who looked honest and innocent, weren't they? And Hermione knew Malfoy would have had plenty of practice.
Sighing deeply she rolled over on her bead and sunk her face into a large pillow. What if Malfoy was telling the truth? Where the hell was he getting all this information? And then the most important question hit her. What else did he know?
He certainly had the means, she knew, to find out everything he could possibly want to know about anything in the world. Money, connections - they all worked out perfectly for him. Hermione wondered how much he knew about her already. Perhaps he was sitting down in his own quarters reading away about every little detail about Aurora and her daughter - namely, Hermione. She hoped that he wasn't that many steps ahead of her. After all, he wasn't stupid for nothing. Then again, she thought, stupid people could surprise you once in a while.
And then another question hit her. What would he do with all the knowledge he had? Would he try to blackmail her? Hermione rolled to the other side of the bed with a angry "Hmph!"
She would kill him if it meant keeping her secret a secret. If he uttered one word, she would take a knife and butcher him to pieces and chuck all his body parts into the lake or somewhere where no one would ever find him, save the scavenging beasts.
If he really wanted to tell, wouldn't he have already said something? Even if he knew nothing else beside the fact that Hermione was connected to Aurora Riviera, he could have used that ages ago as blackmail or some sort of bargaining device. But he hadn't, had he?
Could that possibly mean that he meant to keep everything about her a secret? But why would he do that? He hated her with a passion and would do everything and anything to ruin her. Her removal from Hogwarts, or better yet, her death, would probably bring him his greatest triumph.
He was probably off laughing about her somewhere. She could just imagine him telling Pansy what a great big baby she, Hermione, was. She could see him announcing to the whole school how many times he'd seen her crying. How afraid of him she was. How she had to run away from him every time he approached because she was so damn scared of him. She saw his ego swelling to the size of an elephant - if it wasn't there already.
Hermione thought of the whole school laughing mercilessly at her as she entered the Great Hall or was walking down a corridor. She thought of all their pointing fingers, mouths open in laughter, whispering behind her back -
No, she wouldn't let Malfoy get the better of her. She wasn't ever going to cry again, never. She'd learn to control her emotions, become a good liar. Perhaps she'd even study Occlumency to learn to close up her mind. All in all, she decided she'd never let anyone know her weaknesses, never let anyone have the means to threaten or scare her again. She promised herself that she'd never be intimidated by anyone, no matter how terrible they were.
A new Hermione would walk the halls today. Although she'd still be the perfect, smart, know-it-all that teachers loved with a passion, she would be changed. She'd never again be the vulnerable, scared Hermione again. From now on she wasn't going to care what people said about her or did in her presence. It wouldn't affect her, she told herself. She would learn to control her feelings, emotions, the way she said things, everything. She would be the best actress ever to grace the planet.
A twisted smile formed at Hermione's lips. This was the only way she'd be able to defend herself against Malfoy. She'd have to be just as ruthless, cold-hearted, and unfeeling as him. In fact, she'd be more so. She didn't care what it would take to. If she had to be the coldest, cruelest, most conniving, sly little bitch, she would do it.
She needed information from Malfoy - he was the only one would could provide it for her. And he probably thought he could get the better of her, didn't he? Well, she would show him. She'd use him to get what she wanted and then chuck him right into the trash bin. See how he liked it.
For one moment she was fearful. She couldn't do it. How could she pretend to be like him? How could a person be so evil and wicked to people? She didn't know how to do it. How would she learn?
Well, she was Hermione Granger, wasn't she? She could do anything. Anything that other people could do, she could do better. That's the way it always was. And if she wanted to do this, she could do it.
But, oh, where would she find Malfoy? Or rather, where would he go to find her? Smiling, she gathered up her books and headed out of her dorm. Surprise, surprise, she'd plant herself in the library.
Draco had prepared himself to be bored, but that was before he began reading through the materials that had been delivered to him. After the first few lines, he was hooked. And as he became more and more absorbed in the documents, he learned more and more about things that he - no one - should ever have known.
In just two hours of reading, he had learned more about Aurora than he probably knew about his parents. There was everything, yet he knew that there was more to be found. It seemed as though the documents he had gave only a small fraction of the secrets surrounding her. He knew that there must be things about her that were never recorded. But it sure seemed like he had everything.
He had already found out too much. If Granger knew that he knew all this, she'd probably bury him alive. As Granger entered his mind, he knew how important this information could be to her. Just knowing the fact that she was actually the child of Aurora Riviera probably caused enough damage to her already. If she knew...
What he found out was mostly facts about Aurora and her life. But there was one thing...one thing that Granger deserved to know.
But Draco couldn't tell her, he couldn't. And he didn't think he ever would be able to. It would be too cruel, too heartless, even for Draco Malfoy. He didn't think she'd be able to bear it if she knew. It would completely destroy her.
For more than six years, he'd wished that he could get his hands on information like this. Information that could have the power to totally ruin Hermione Granger. He hadn't known then, though, that he could come across something this important, this life-altering. And he knew that it would definitely change Granger.
He'd half a mind to chuck the document into the fireplace. And then no one would ever know. And Granger would live a relatively happy and painless life. No wonder they say ignorance is bliss.
What the hell did he care about her anyway? The only reason why he didn't want to tell her was because it was too cruel, even by his standards. If it had been something milder, he would have told her in a heartbeat, just to get at her. But this, he couldn't, he just couldn't.
Wimp.
Okay, that one word had made him change his mind. He would tell Granger. He'd tell her everything and then watch her wallow in her misery. He didn't care squat about her. Why should he? And he wasn't going to let himself feel like a complete wimp and chicken for the rest of his life.
Yeah, so it was selfish. But so what? It wasn't like he'd never been selfish in his whole life. In fact, he could probably fill fifty dozen books listing every time he'd ever done something for his own good in his life.
And she'd just been crying, too. She would be so easy to convince, so easy to control. How splendid it would be to see her crying her eyes out in front of the whole library. And it would all be credited toward him. Oh, how his reputation would soar, while she'd be reduced to dirt.
Pulling the Hogwarts robe around him and straightening the Head Boy badge, Draco set out to find her. Where could she possibly be? Oh yes, the library.
Hermione was sitting alone at a small circular table in a far distant corner of the Hogwarts library. In front of her were a few Herbology books and she was currently writing an essay about the Lythera plant, which grew in abundance in the jungles, and was used for curing Alligator bites.
However, she wasn't actually reading. Sure, the book was open right in front of her and her quill scratched at the half-filled parchment in front of her. But most of her energy she spent keeping her ears alert for any sound that might mean that someone was approaching. Not Harry and Ron, of course. They were at Quidditch practice and probably wouldn't be back for hours. No, no, she was waiting for the infamous Draco Malfoy.
After arriving at the library, she'd had doubts about whether or not she could do this. She wanted so badly to turn back and avoid him for the rest of her life, but she knew she couldn't, and wouldn't. She had decided to do this, so do it she must.
There were soft footsteps approaching from behind her, she noticed. And then, a few seconds later, a tall dark shadow loomed over her.
"Fancy seeing you here," came the annoying drawl of Draco Malfoy.
"Fancy seeing you alive," Hermione replied without lifting her eyes, looking as if she was deeply engrossed in writing her essay. God, I sound like an idiot. I'm a complete moron. Be mean. Be mean. Try.
Draco wouldn't admit it, but he was quite surprised. He had expected a badly shaken up Hermione Granger who'd just learned that her mother was a Death Eater, one of the loyal servants of the Dark Lord. He'd expected her to be crying, sobbing, the works.
"Library's such a nice, solitary place to retreat to, isn't it?" He asked, stepping to the other side of the table and supporting himself with his two arms on the table-top, staring inches from her face. "S'pecially if you're a complete loser who hasn't got any friends and comes here in the guise of doing homework."
She could tell from his tone of voice that he had worked up some big revelation to tell her. And this one wasn't going to be nice or pleasant at all. A few months ago, they had hated each other, and then for a while, they almost were friends. Well, that sure lasted, didn't it? She knew he wanted to tell her something that was so mind-blowing it'd ruin her for sure. Well, wouldn't that be a treat?
"You know, I was going to be nice and civil to you, but your attitude completely horrifies me," she drawled out, inspecting him as if he'd just committed some horrible felony, "I'll have to report you, I suppose. Is twenty points enough, or shall we make it thirty?"
"And what exactly might this be for? I'm not trespassing, am I?" he said, raising his eyebrow in mock.
She glanced at him, her eyes open wide in surprise. "Didn't you see the sign at the door?"
"What sign?" he asked, thoroughly annoyed.
"Oh, you know, the one that says 'No idiots allowed,'" she offered carelessly, with a wave of her hand. "So if you wouldn't mind, kindly sod off."
Draco sneered and sat down across from her. "Don't try to be clever with me, Granger. I know things that - "
"Bragging again, are we?" Hermione calmly interrupted, looking down and examining her fingernails, but with her eyebrows raised.
"I know things that you would kill for," he said, narrowing his gray eyes.
"Really," Hermione said, feigning surprise, and leaning forward closer to him. "Enlighten me."
He'd got her hooked already, he thought. "Knowledge costs a price."
"And what kind of a price might this be?" Hermione asked, sitting back in her chair, holding her hands so that her fingertips met, and crossing her legs.
"What do you have to offer?"
"I want a sample," she said, completely ignoring him. "I want a sample of what kind of knowledge you have."
"She was prefect for two years." He knew that this was familiar knowledge.
"Oh, you've got to do better than that," Hermione said, forcing an amused laugh. "Tell me something I don't know."
"She died on the 19th of September, 1981."
"McGonagall's informed me."
"Her best friend was Narcissa Black, my mother," Draco drawled lazily. He knew perfectly well that this was second knowledge for her. But he had been baiting, and now he was done and would slowly reel her in.
"Perhaps you didn't hear me, but I'm quite sure I said something about...uh..." Hermione twirled her fingers in the air, "something I don't know."
"Don't get too excited, Granger. I haven't finished." Draco said, leaning towards her with that smirk on his face. "Care to guess who her other best friend was?"
"I'm assuming you're going to tell m - "
"Severus Snape," he declared before she could finish her sentence, flashing a charming smile at her. "Name's familiar to you?"
It came as quite a nasty shock. Her mother friends with Snape? Ugh. No wonder Snape said he had known her. She should have known it right then. Hermione took half a second to regain her composure and then beamed at Draco. "As if that wasn't obvious."
"You knew that?" The words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them. Damn, he'd just sounded like an idiot.
Hermione laughed again. No, she didn't just laugh. She laughed at him. And he knew it. "You know what, Malfoy. I like you." And then her expression grew serious and cruel. "You remind me of when I was young and stupid."
Draco snorted loudly, and then clenched his teeth. He wouldn't let her get the better of him. "Is that jealousy I hear in your voice?"
"Jealousy? Oh, dear me, I seem to have forgotten why I could possibly be jealous of you," Hermione said, plastering a frown on her face and then raised her eyebrows. "Care to remind me?"
"Oh, let me see. Because I'm incredibly smart and talented, not to mention exceptionally wealthy, and on top of that I'm so devilishly handsome, and everyone loves me."
"Oh, gee, well, I'm just green with envy." Hermione rolled her eyes carelessly.
Draco frowned slightly, and looked her over. "Green's not really your color."
Hermione licked her lips and leaned closer to him. "And what, pray tell, would be a more suited color for me?"
"Red," Draco answered quickly and firmly, learning back into his seat.
Hermione followed suit. "Red? And why do you say that?"
Draco looked Hermione over again, as if he was scrutinizing every single part of her body, which made her feel rather self-conscious and then answered, "I imagine you would looking stunning in red lingerie."
"Really," Hermione said faking a delightful laugh, which then turned more sinister. "But really, Malfoy, you shouldn't let your mind wander. It's not healthy. It's far too small to be let out on it's own."
"Are you trying to insult me?" Draco said, amused.
"Well," Hermione replied leaning in so close that their faces were almost touching. "I would have liked to, to tell you the truth. But the sad truth is, you wouldn't have understood me."
"Try me."
"I haven't got time to sit around and chat," she said, looking vexed. "That would be your cue to leave."
"What was that again?" He said innocently, as if he hadn't heard a word she said.
"In more polite terms, fuck off," Hermione stood up and gathered her books in her arms. "Nevermind, I'll leave. But really, don't stay in the library too long. I'd hate to think that you were stinking up the place."
She turned to leave and was almost out the door before he came to his senses.
"You wanted to know something, Granger?" he taunted loudly, as there weren't any students left in the library at this hour. "All right, then, I'll tell you. Do you know how your mother - "
Hermione picked up her pace and then slammed the library door shut behind her, which promptly turned off Malfoy's voice. Taking a deep breath, she hurried to the Gryffindor common room, determined to not let it bother her. So she was right, he did know something - something important - that she didn't.
She shook her head and tried to free herself of all thought.
I will not let him intimidate me.
She reached the portrait of The Fat Lady, who was currently chatting with a friend in her portrait. As she approached, The Fat Lady turned to greet her.
"Well, I certainly haven't seen you in a while. How are - "
"Flying Firebolt."
The portrait swung open, and Hermione heard The Fat Lady muttering something to her friend about how children were just so rude and ill-mannered these days - incapable of even a friendly greeting. She didn't give a damn.
"Oy! Hermione! Over here!" yelled her two best friends Harry and Ron.
She sluggishly worked her way over to them and plopped into an empty armchair. So her meeting with Malfoy hadn't gone so well, but it still was better than bursting into tears like she had done practically every other time he was in her presence.
"You don't look well."
"That would be because I'm not well."
"Sorry to hear that, Hermione," said Ron and then his attention immediately turned back to Harry. A few seconds later, he announced, "I won! I won!"
"Lucky win," Harry said, gathering up the pieces left in their game of wizard's chess.
"Well, I'm off," Ron said, standing up. "I think a long hot bath will do me some good after getting knocked off my broom by a certain someone," and here, he glared at Seamus, "and falling fifty feet into a pile of mud!"
Harry and Hermione both said good-byes to Ron and watched as his retreating figure disappeared behind the portrait.
"I'm sorry about how I acted this afternoon, I was just sort of caught up - "
"It's okay, Harry, really," Hermione said, cutting him off. "I shouldn't have been so...ill-tempered."
"It's just I always lose the people I care about most," he said, with a distant look in his emerald eyes.
"I know," Hermione said, patting his arm with her hand.
He gulped. "And sometimes, I sit around, and I wonder, who's next? Who's Voldemort going to take away from me this time?"
Hermione put her arm around him in a comforting gesture.
"Who's next? Lupin? Hagrid? Ron? You? It's my fault. It's all my fault."
"Harry," she said softly, trying to blink away tears. She wouldn't let herself cry anymore. "Harry, don't think about it. Please."
"I'm tired! I'm tired of fighting! I'm tired of losing everyone I love."
"Harry, pull yourself together! You're our only hope. If you don't fight, then we're all dead. Do you understand? He'll kill all of us!"
"Hermione, if I lost you..."
"Don't say that, Harry. I'm always going to be here. And I'll be by your side the day you defeat Voldemort, I promise."
"Oh, look, brave Harry Potter is crying," he said, mocking himself, as a few tears slid down his cheeks. "I just don't know how much more I can take."
"Harry, it's okay to cry. It's okay to cry." But Hermione didn't know if she believed her own words.
"I'm just so afraid that when it's the end, I'll be the only one left, I'll have lost everybody," he said, and then he stared straight into Hermione's eyes. "Promise me that you'll never leave me, no matter what."
"I promise," Hermione said, closing her eyes and tightened her embrace. There was nothing in the world that could possibly tear her away from her best friend.
All of a sudden Harry wiped away his tears and returned to his normal state. "I'm seventeen years old and I'm acting like I'm still in diapers."
"We all have our moments," Hermione said.
"You never cry," Harry said, "I've never seen you cry before. Except for when it's important, of course..."
You don't know everything about me, Hermione thought as a lump formed in her throat. What would you think of me if you knew?
"It's late, you should get some sleep, Harry. You have a quidditch game to win tomorrow."
Harry stood up promptly. "You're right."
He turned to leave but then stopped abruptly. "Hermione, could you possibly do me a favor?"
"Anything."
"It's almost the Winter Holidays and I know that the Heads get four weeks off as opposed to the rest of us, who only get two weeks," he said, smiling, "So I supposed that you might be going off somewhere soon and I really need your help before you leave."
"And that would be?"
"You know, the essay Binns assigned us? It's due right after Winter Holidays, and I've already got it written," and here, Hermione beamed, "and I was wondering if maybe possibly you could, uh, proofread it for me?"
"Oh, of course, I'd love to," Hermione said, beaming happily. Finally, Harry, for once, decided not to procrastinate. "Oh, Harry, I'm so happy for you."
"It wasn't that hard. It was all about my father."
Harry just smiled sheepishly and handed her a stack of parchments. "Here it is."
"I'll do it, but you have to promise me one thing."
Harry raised his eyebrows.
"You must go to bed this instant." Hermione said sternly. "We mustn't let Slytherin win tomorrow!"
Harry started to walk off, shaking his head and chucking. Hermione heard him muttering something about "becoming more like McGonagall," and she decided to ignore him.
After Harry's footsteps died and she heard the sound of a door slamming shut, she returned to the armchair and settled down to read Harry's essay.
She counted how many pages of parchment and found to her astonishment that Harry had written over ten pages. She herself would be more than ecstatic if she could just write two pages about Aurora. In fact, she hadn't even started her essay yet.
She snuggled comfortably into the soft armchair and flipped to the first page. With her quill in hand, she began to read, marking mistakes here and there and correcting some sentence structures.
It was quite good, Hermione had to admit. Harry had probably really enjoyed writing it. Harry loved his father. Well, then again, who didn't? James Potter was one of the most beloved wizards in history, and he certainly was well liked by the teachers at Hogwarts even if he was a bit mischievous.
Even at the tender age of five, James showed the promise of becoming a great wizard. His talent for magic...
Harry had told Hermione that his father was a bit of a jerk during his school years at Hogwarts, but apparently he had forgotten that now. Praises about his father were strewn all over the essay. Hermione thought it was so touching that Harry could love his father so much.
His greatest achievement at Hogwarts was the honor of being appointed Head Boy. However, much of James Potter's positive influence on the wizarding world came in the few short years of his life following his graduation from the prestigious school.
Hermione scribbled some notes here and there to Harry, telling what he could change. She corrected spelling, sentence structure, and grammar.
James Potter married right out of Hogwarts to sweetheart Lily Evans, who was the Head Girl of their year. He, along with his wife, rose to become one of the best Aurors in the history of wizardry.
It was actually very fascinating and interesting, Hermione thought as she read the essay. She had never known so much about James Potter. The most she had known was that he was Harry's father, who was a great Auror, but was rather cantankerous during his school years.
On July 31, 1980, a child was born to the couple and named Harry James Potter...
Hermione laughed. It was quite funny reading something that Harry had written about himself.
Harry, being James' only child, was completely doted on by his loving father.
Hermione couldn't help it. It was too amusing.
However, there was a more serious side to James Potter. As he was a member of the Order of the Pheonix, a group which worked to defeat Voldemort...
Well, Binns wouldn't like reading that name, Hermione thought. Although she'd also begun to use that name since fifth year, Hermione definitely tried not to use it in other people's presence. After all, most people were terrified of hearing that name, and the only people she used that name with were her friends and the Order of the Phoenix.
The murders of innocent victims of Voldemort's hatred escalated so dramatically that Ministry officials gave Aurors the permission not only to capture, but also to kill.
Hermione leaned forward in the armchair. The essay was getting incredibly exciting. It wasn't that she'd never known all this before, but for some reason it completely entranced her.
James Potter is credited with the capture of six Death Eaters...
Hermione couldn't believe it. Six Death Eaters was an incredible feat. No wonder they said James Potter was such a powerful wizard. Hermione sat on the edge of her seat and prepared to finish the rest of the paragraph.
James Potter, however, has made claims that he killed one unrecorded Death Eater, whose name he would not confirm, on the night of...
The pieces of parchment, which previously had been held tightly in Hermione's hands fluttered silently to the floor.
Hermione's mouth was ajar, her eyes remained open in shock, staring into nothing, as the image of the last few words of the sentence carved themselves so mercilessly into her memory.
...September 19, 1981.
TBC
A/N:
Well, here we are, at the end of another chapter. I wrote the first sentence like a LONG time ago and just couldn't keep writing, and today, Tuesday, June 24th, I sat down and wrote the rest of it and I have finally finished. Well, of course I'll have to wait a while to post it because it does contain OoP spoilers and I want to give you all a very long time to finish reading OoP because I don't want to spoil anything for you. I'm planning on posting this sometime after July 1, when, hopefully, you will be done reading book 5.