Leah*

By Dorthey Star

*the revised edition

After her sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Hermione Granger, a sixteen year old witch in training with wavy brown hair and cinnamon eyes, was to spend the whole summer at the beach with her parents. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Ginny Weasley, Hermione's three best friends at Hogwarts, would be spending the week before September 1^st with her. The other three months, however, Hermione would be by herself. On the day that our story starts, Hermione meets a strangely familiar boy on the beach.

***

            "Hey," said a boy with a pale pointed face, brown eyes, and brown hair. He looked like someone Hermione knew, but she couldn't put a name to that face.

            "Hey," Hermione said softly. She was wearing kaki shorts and a red short sleeve shirt with no shoes. Her hair had been thinned and was up in a ponytail. The boy was wearing a bright blue tee-shirt and black swimming trunks.

            "My name's William, Will for short. What's your name?" the boy-Will- asked.

            "Hermione. No one has really made a nick-name or whatever for me," Hermione said. She couldn't stop starring at how fine this guy was, but he seemed uncomfortable when she said her name.  

            "Well, I'll have to make one for you. What's your middle name?" Will asked.

            "Leah," Hermione answered.

            "Cool. I'll call you Leah from now on," Will said.

            "Cool, I guess. So where are you staying?" Hermione asked. By this time they had started walking along the beach. The water lapped gently at their feet and the sand was warm.

            "Just on this side of the beach. Father has rented, rather bought, a condo. He seems to think the beach will do me good."

            "Because you're so pale?" Hermione asked.

            "Yea. Where are you staying?"

            " We rented a condo just right up there. Some friends of mine from school are coming to stay the week before I go back to Hog- I mean, school," Hermione had almost let it slip where she went to school. If Will had found out that she was a witch in training, she would have a lot of explaining.

            "Cool! That's right by mine, Leah!" Will said excitedly.

            "So how long are you staying?" Hermione asked as she slipped her hand into  his.

            "All summer. It was going to be boring, until I met you. I take it you're staying all summer?"  Will said as they turned and started to walk to other direction. Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw her mother giving her a peeved look. She had told Hermione to stay away from strangers; here she was falling for one.

            "Leah? Hermione?" Will asked and stopped walking. Hermione had been lost in thought.

            "Huh? What? Sorry. I was thinking about something my mum said earlier," Hermione explained. 

            "What did she say?" Will motioned for her to sit down next to him.

            "She told me not to talk to strangers, and here I am talking with an almost stranger," Hermione said, silently praying that he would not be offended.

            "Well, I guess she's just worried for your well being," Will said.

            "Yeah, you're probably right. I mean, I will be seventeen this fall; she shouldn't be worried about me this much. I guess since I'm an only child and I go to a boarding school…" Hermione didn't finish. She had given out more information than she wanted. He might start asking questions, but he didn't.  Will seemed to like her and respect her privacy.

            "That's weird. I go to a boarding school too, I'll be seventeen,  and I'm an only child..." Will looked down at his watch then stood up, "Father wanted me back by now. I will hopefully see you tomorrow, Leah."

            "Yeah, see ya!" Hermione said and watched him walk off. She had never felt like that about anyone that she felt about him; not even when she was going out with Ron or Harry.

***

            Over the next two and a half months, Hermione and Will fell in love. They spent all their time they could together. As the summer drew to a close, Will became uncomfortable but he still was sweet to her. One evening, Hermione and Will stayed out late sitting on the beach. 

            "Leah?" Will asked as they sat in each other's arms.

            "Hmmm?" Hermione was happily and comfortably leaning against him.

            "What's going to happen when your friends come?" he asked worriedly.

            "You will meet them, of course! I mean, they are my best friends, and I definitely want them to meet you…that is, if you want to meet them…" Hermione asked.

            "Of course," Will agreed. They sat staring into each other's eyes. They leaned forward and kissed. Hermione was rocked by the force of his kiss, and Will was surprised by the love in hers.

            "Wow," Hermione murmured after they parted.

            "Yeah…" Will agreed, "I wonder what's going to happen when the summer is over…" He pulled her closer to him in his embrace.

            "We'll stay in touch of course. And you'll invite me to your condo," Hermione yawned.

            "Yeah, I guess I'll send you an owl…" Will slipped.

            "Owl? That means you're a wizard, right?" asked a very surprised Hermione.

            "Yeah…I am…" Will admitted.

            "Cool! I'm a witch…what school do you go to? Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, excitedly. She might get to see him after this summer, after all.

            "The British School of Wizardry," said Will.

            "That's odd…I've never heard of it…" Hermione was disappointed that he didn't go to Hogwarts.

            "It is a very small boys school…do you go to Hogwarts? I hear Harry Potter goes there…is it true?" Will tried to act fascinated.

            "Yes I do go there, and yes he does go there. In fact, he's one of the friends that is coming, but you don't sound too interested in him." Hermione smiled sweetly at Will.

            "No," laughed Will, "I'm more interested in you. I just thought you might like talking about him or something…" Hermione and Will talked for another hour or so.

            Hours later, Hermione felt herself being shaken awake.

            "Ten more minutes, mum…" murmured Hermione.

            "Wake up, Leah…" came a voice. It took Hermione a few minutes to realize what the voice said. Her eyes flew open and she saw Will over her.

            "Will? What are you doing here…where is here?" She asked frantically.

            "Relax. We fell asleep last night on the beach. Your mum came down here earlier and put this blanket over us. I was barely awake, myself," Will explained.

            "I have to go take my shower. I will hopefully see you later, Will. 'Bye!" Hermione said as she kissed him. He pulled her down and wrapped his arms around her, and she put her arms around her neck. Finally they parted, " I really need to get back, Will. See ya!" She waved as she ran off.

***

            Over the next week, Hermione and Will spent even more time together. Hermonie became a bit depressed as the week neared the end. Finally on the night before Hermonie's friends were coming, Will and Hermione sat outside.

            "Hermione," began Will. She knew something was wrong when he addressed her with her first name, "I love you a lot, but I haven't been totally honest with you…"

            "I love you too, Will…what do you mean you haven't been totally honest…"

            "I mean, my name. I guess I sort of didn't lie about that, but I also lied about my school…"

            "What do you mean, and were do you go to school?" Hermione demanded. She pulled away from Will.

            "Well, I go to Hogwarts and-" Will began.

            "Really? Why didn't you say anything? This will be great! Now, what do you mean about your name?"

            "Well," Will nervously began, "picture a Slytherin at your school who has blonde hair and bluish grey eyes…"

            "Malfoy. Draco Malfoy," Hermione said coldly.

            "Yeah," Will-Draco-said despairingly, "that would be me."

            "I hate you," Hermione said, shaking and crying, "how could you lie to me? Play with my feelings? Say that you love me? Leave me alone! Stay away from me. " Hermione ran off, back to her condo. Draco sadly watched her run off. It didn't go as he had wanted. Once she was out of site he put his head in between knees and willed the earth to swallow him up. He had hurt the only girl he'd ever truly loved. 

***

Hermione ran straight to her condo. She could feel Draco's eyes against her back. She didn't risk a look back at him until she was back in her room. A glance back at him showed her that he felt awful. Well, he deserves it after lying to me like that! Hermione thought. She slipped into her nightgown and into her bed. A fresh flood of tears spilled onto her cheeks. All this happening before Harry, Ron, and Ginny came… Sleep came slowly to her that night. It was shallow and full of nightmares.

***

            "Hermione," her mum called softly, "dear, your friends will be here soon. You need to get up. Why don't you invite Will over to meet them?" Hermione groaned as she opened her eyes to the bright room. She took a quick shower and pulled on a soft blue knee length skirt and a light yellow spaghetti strap shirt. Then she braided her hair and walked out of her room.

                        "Mum?" she called out. Her mum walked into the room.

            "Yes, dear?"

            "I don't think I want to invite Will over…in fact, at this moment I really don't want to see him or speak to him again!" Fresh tears welled up in her eyes as she thought of his embrace and his kisses.

            "All right, dear. Well, it sounds like your friends are here!" Sure enough, Hermione could hear voices from the living room. The Weasley's and Harry had traveled here by Floo Powder.

            "Hi Hermione!" Ginny cried as she hurried into the room.

            "Ginny!" Hermonie hugged Ginny, "I have soo much to tell you! Harry, Ron, why don't I show you to your room and you can put your stuff away while I talk to Ginny, OK?" The boys agreed, and moments later Ginny and Hermione were in Ginny's room.

            "What's up?" Ginny asked anxiously. Hermione told Ginny the whole story.

            "And I don't want to see him ever again, but that won't be possible as he goes to Hogwarts…" Hermione concluded glumly.

            "Malfoy? He was that nice to you? I wonder what evil plan his father had him doing…It sounds suspicious to me…" Two tears slid down Hermione's cheeks as Ginny said this.

            "Hermione!" Ron called from the living room, "someone's here to see you!"

            "I'll be right out!" Hermione called. She stood up and looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were red and puffy, but other than that she looked ok. The sight that met her eyes made her want to run away…Draco was standing in the living room, still sporting his brown eyes and hair, with Ron and Harry. 

            "Hello, Leah, I mean, Hermione," he said, "listen, I need to talk to you, alone. It will only take a few minutes…" Harry and Ron looked at Draco then at Hermione's tear streaked face.

            "We'll be in calling distance, Hermione," Ron said. It comforted her little.

            "Alright Will. But if you try anything funny…" she glared at him. He seemed a little calmed. They walked in silence down to the beach in front of Hermione's condo.

            "Hermione, I want to explain everything. I know you probably hate me right now, and I feel awful about that, but I need you to hear me out…ok?" Draco said.

            "Ok, but don't try anything. Yes, I do hate you," Hermione said without feeling.

            "Thanks. My dad came here on business, and for some reason her brought Mother and I. I decided it would be fun to mess around with people's minds. So I convinced my mum that brown hair and eyes were fashionable. Being the fashion buff that she is, it took a while to convince her that it was true. Finally, she charmed my hair to be brown and my eyes to be brown, too. I started to go by my middle name, William. That's what I meant by I somewhat lied about my name. Then I saw you. We were rivals in school, so I decided it would be fun to see what you were like with your friends. I called you Leah because calling you Hermione made me feel guilty about what I was doing. The last thing that I expected happened; I fell for you.

            "But I was uncomfortable with the fact that you still didn't know who I really was. I knew that you would hate me if you found out, or if I told you. But I knew that I would have a better chance saving our relationship. Finally, I risked it all and told you. The worst happened and you ran off, hating me. I know, well, I have a pretty good idea that you think I'm up to something for my father, right?" he paused as Hermione nodded her head, "well, I'm not. I couldn't care less what he thinks or does. Unless it involves hurting you or your family. Upon meeting your parents, I realized that Muggles could be nice. My father had always told me horror stories. My mum couldn't care less.

            "Most of the girls I met, besides you, thought I was too pale, or already had boyfriends and didn't like me. Most of them were naïve and I didn't like them much. When I saw you, my insides did a belly flop. I gathered all my strength, and came over to talk to you. I was nervous even though I knew you couldn't recognize me. I am soo sorry Hermione. I love you with all my heart, and I hope that you could find it in you to forgive me." Hermione was speechless after she had heard his speech. She noticed that he had tears in his eyes.

            "Don't cry Draco," she said softly and wiped a single tear off his cheek, "you have to understand my half of this. I loved you, believing that you were Will. You were sweet, kind, and a great kisser. That is nothing like the Draco Malfoy that goes to Hogwarts. It is very hard for me to believe that you are doing this all on your own. You lied to me. Understand this: you made me believe you were someone else; that you were a Muggle." Hermione felt herself become teary-eyed, "I don't know if I can yet forgive you. It is hard for me to believe that your father had nothing to do with this…"

            "Why can't you believe me for once?" asked Draco crossly.

            "Well, I don't know!" Hermione snapped , "could it be that you have never told the truth to me? Or could it be that you just lied to me for THREE STRAIGHT MONTHS?! Or maybe it's because of the way you have always treated me and my friends!" Draco took a step back from her.

            "I have never lied to you until now. I have treated you the way I have because that's the way I was raised. I just realized what a mistake I've made and what a great girl you are. I don't deserve you as a girlfriend, but I would at least like to have your mercy." Said Draco unsteadily. Hermione sighed loudly.

            "No, I don't deserve you, Draco. Our hate relationship before has been two sided. Yes, you have my forgiveness. I'm sorry I've been acting the way I have; my dad has cancer and they don't know how long he will live. My life has had a lot of strain on it, and you, as Will, were the best thing since chocolate," Hermione said as she started to cry. Draco pulled her into his embrace.

            "I didn't know, Hermione. I think maybe we do deserve each other after all, hun," Draco said softly as she cried into his shoulder.

            "Yeah, Draco, maybe we do, maybe we do," she kissed him gently, and he gladly returned it.

Hermione and Draco kissed for a few more minutes.

            "Draco," Hermione said as she gently pulled away, "I really need to get back to my guests. I think it would be best if you stayed away from us. I mean, they might recognized you, and well…Ginny knows, but she's the only one and she swore not to tell anyone."

            "Yeah," Draco agreed, "they might recognize me…especially if they are watching that closely." Hermione looked back and saw her parents, Ginny, Harry, and Ron all standing out on the porch watching them. She smiled as they turned away when they saw she was watching them.

            "They're just jealous of us, Draco," Hermione laughed.

            "Hermione?" Draco asked.

            "Yeah?"

            "I love you," he said kissing her one last time.

            "I love you too, Will. But you need to skedaddle!" giggled Hermione.

            "All right. I'm glad we made up…and out! I'll see you at Hogwarts, Leah." Draco slowly got up and walked on to his own condo. Hermione had a huge smile on her face as she walked back up to her condo. Ginny rushed forward.

            "What happened Hermione?" she asked in a low voice.

            "Will explained why he lied to me and everything. I didn't believe him at first, and I yelled at him. Then I forgave him. Everything is good again," Hermione briefly explained to Ginny.

            "Who is Will? And what did he do to you? How did he lie to you?" Ron asked.

                        "It's nothing, Ron, really. Don't worry. Everything is better and I have a boyfriend again," Hermione said without a care in the world.

            "Again?" asked Harry, his jaw dropping, "He was your boyfriend before? You kinda left us all in the dark, Hermione."

            "Sorry. That was Will Johansen. I met him my first day on the beach. We became very good friends, and eventually we started to go out. Then, I found out he lied about, erm, things to me and I got very upset at him. Today he explained everything and we are girlfriend-boyfriend again. I don't really want to go into details, Harry. Don't take it personally." That day, they spent most of their time at the beach. Hermione found out that Ginny was Harry's girlfriend and that Ron was going out with a sixth year Ravenclaw. She came back that night, extremely tired and happy. She crawled into her bed, and drifted off to sleep, thinking of Draco.

***

            The condo was dark. If he hadn't had his wand, there would have been no light to guide his way. The dark stranger walked along the carpeted corridor. He stopped at the first door. Inside was a pretty girl of sixteen who had red hair. She was not the one he was looking for. He gently closed the door and walked to the next one. Inside was the famous Harry Potter. No matter how much he would have liked to kill him now, the stranger moved on.

            Inside the third door was a boy of about seventeen with red hair who looked like the girl. The stranger shut the door and opened then next. Inside were a woman with brown hair and a man with black hair. He shut the door. There were only two doors left. She would be in one of the two. He opened one and found a closet. She was in the last one. Nervously, he wiped sweat off his hands and opened the door silently. Lying on the bed, was a stunningly beautiful seventeen year old girl with wavy brown hair. He knew this was who he was to look for. The moonlight hit her peaceful face.

            The man whispered a charm with his wand pointed at the girl. He picked her up, and silently left the house.

***

            The next morning, everyone was woken up by Mrs. Granger's scream as she saw Hermione was missing. 

***

 Hermione  woke up and found herself in a dark, damp and cold room. She was no longer wearing her nightgown, but a long, white dress with an empire waist line. Her hair was pulled off her face in a graceful do of some sort. She seemed to be in a dungeon. A door opened somewhere and food was slid to her. She ate it gratefully, not thinking about whether it was poisoned for not.

            "Hello?" she called after a while. No one answered her. An hour or two later, she heard someone else being brought in. The voices, though she couldn't tell what they were saying, sounded familiar. Her door was opened, and a dark lump was thrown in.

            "Hey!" she called out to the person that had opened the door, but he walked off. The lump started to move, so Hermione hurried over to it. Hermione instantly recognized who it was. She moved him to a sitting position and brushed his brown hair out of his face. His hair was slowly turning to blonde; it was Draco.

***

By the time that Draco woke up, his hair was completely blonde again. When he opened his eyes, Hermione saw that his eyes were blue. He groaned a looked away from her.

            "Draco," Hermione said gently, "Draco, talk to me. Where are we? What's going on?" Draco answered, but didn't turn back to her.

            "We're in father's dungeon. He found out about us, and blew up. I'm so sorry. I slipped carelessly. I accidentally mentioned you, and…" Draco's voice faded.

            "Its ok, Draco. Are you alright? You don't look too good…what about your mother? Didn't she do anything?" Hermione asked.

            "Mother wasn't there tonight. Father will heal my wounds tonight, and forbid me to tell her tomorrow. She never finds out. That's the way it always is…" Draco grimaced in pain.

            "Honey, you don't look too good. Here, get onto the cot," Hermonie helped Draco onto the only cot and sat down next to him. She took his hand in hers and watched him as he drifted off to sleep. She rested her head on his chest, and drifted off to sleep herself.

***

            Draco woke up a few hours later, and found Hermione laying on the floor curled up in a ball. He slightly touched her arm, and found it cold to the touch. He picked her up and laid her on the bed next to him, under the blanket. She fit perfectly in his arms.  In her sleep, Hermione sighed softly and moved closer to Draco. He watched her until he fell asleep again.

***

            The old man watched his crystal ball as they young boy and girl were asleep. Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, sighed deeply. There had been spells and enchantments to keep Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy safe. It was their destiny to be together so no one could stop them from falling in love. Dumbledore had heard rumors about Lucius Malfoy wanted Hermione dead, but after  he found out about his son's love for her, she served a new purpose; she would make the perfect incentive for Draco Malfoy to do the Dark Lord's will. Unfortunately for Lucius, his son saw his bluff. Dumbledore walked over to his fire place and threw powder in it. Moments later Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress and Transfigurations teacher, appeared.

            "Yes, Albus?" she asked in a tone of voice that showed how surprised she was. He shouldn't be up this late at his ripe old age.

            "Minerva," Dumbledore said solemnly, "Lucius has both Hermione and Draco. This is not good. He has them locked in a dungeon at his house. Come look at my crystal ball." Dumbledore motioned to his desk, and McGonagall looked in.

            "Oh, Albus! How dreadful!" she exclaimed, "he has locked his own son up! How could he! Oh, they look so peaceful like that…just like Lily and James when they were seventeen…Albus, is there anyway to save them?"

            "I don't know, Minerva, I don't know. That's why I called you…what should I do? For once I don't know…I just don't know!" Dumbledore said in a frustrated tone that scared McGonagall.

            "Well, Albus, I'm not sure myself," Minerva said, "I mean, no one knows for sure where Malfoy Manor is. Besides, even if someone did know, it would not be safe to try to get them. I suggest a staff meeting." Dumbledore studied McGonagall for a few minutes.

            "Thank you, Minerva! That is a wonderful idea!" smiled Dumbledore.

            "You are welcome, Albus," yawned McGonagall.

            "Get on to bed, Minerva."

            "Get to bed yourself." They said their goodnights, and both went to bed. Had they been watching the crystal ball, they would not have gotten as good of a sleep as they did.

***

Ginny ran out of her room when she heard Mrs. Granger scream. She came out at the same time Harry was.

"Harry! What happened?" Ginny asked.

"I don't know. I woke up to hear Mrs. Granger scream…" They saw Mrs. Granger at the end of the hall, at Hermione's door. She was pale and shaking. Ron joined the two, and they hurried over there. When they looked in the door, they saw that Hermione was gone. A message was left on the door. It read:

She loved him, now I have her and she will pay with her life!

Everyone looked bewildered at each other…everyone except Ginny. She looked down at her feet. Harry looked over and saw her.

"Ginny," he said, "what do you know about this?" he placed his hand on her shoulder. She looked up with tears in her eyes.

"I know who she loved, Harry. I think I know who has her," she said hoarsely. Tears slid down her cheeks, and Harry pulled her close to him.

"Who is it, Ginny? Please tell me," he said softly.

"Malfoy. Draco WILLIAM Malfoy. She loved Draco, or Will as he told her at first," Ginny went on to explain the whole thing quietly to Harry. Everyone else  had left to get dressed, "So," she concluded, "I think Lucius Malfoy has her." Ginny sobbed into Harry shoulder.

"Shhh," Harry comforted, "Hermione will be alright, don't worry."

Ginny looked into Harry's eyes and slowly nodded. He hugged her tighter. Ginny closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder.

***

Hermione woke up in the middle of the night. She had been moved off the cold floor and was on the cot, in Draco's arms. She smiled. Knowing that he was here was her only comfort. Suddenly, her thoughts shifted from Draco to her parents and friends. The door opened, and Lucius Malfoy came in. He pointed his wand at her, and said:

"Don't move, Mudblood." At the sound of his father's voice, Draco woke up. 

"Don't do anything, Draco, please," Hermione prayed silently.

"What do you want, father?" Draco asked coldly and moved in front of Hermione slightly.

"Aw, isn't that sweet? You're trying to save your little Mudblood girlfriend. Let me tell you Draco, you have disgraced that Malfoy name!" Lucius would have said more, but at that moment, Narcissa Malfoy entered the cell.

"Lucius, where is-" she began, but spotted Hermione and Draco, "Lucius! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! You have our son locked up in our Dungeon with your wand pointed at this young girl! Expelliarmus!" Lucius' wand flew out of his hand and into Narcissa's. She put a full body bind on him, then walked over to the cot. 

"Mum!" Draco cried and hugged his mother.

"Draco! Why has your father done this? And who is this charming young lady?" Narcissa asked as she returned the hug.

"Mother, this is Hermione Granger; Hermione, this is my mother, Narcissa Malfoy. You see, mum, Hermione's parents are Muggles and when father found out that I was going out with her, he got mad. He kidnapped us both, well I guess he didn't kidnap me, and put us in this cell after beating me. Please, can we get out?"

"Of course, dears. I'm glad to meet you, Hermione. I don't know why Draco didn't introduce us earlier." She led the way out of the dungeon, leaving Lucius locked in the cell. She looked down at her watch, "My! Does anyone want food?"

"Sure," Hermione said.

"Yeah, but I need to talk Hermione first…ok, Mum?" Draco said. Narcissa studied Hermione and Draco.

"Alright. I'll see that breakfast gets made properly." Narcissa walked away, leaving Hermione and Draco in the hall. 

"What do you want to talk about, Draco?" Hermione asked in an anxious voice.

"Not in here. Come with me. We can talk in my private drawing room," Draco said as he took Hermione's hand and led her down many different passages until they came into a large drawing room with elegant furniture. Hermione gasped.

"Wow," was all she could say as she sat down in a chair, "What did you want to speak to me about?" Draco paced for a few minutes.

"Hermione, I know that you will be very upset, but…honey, I'm engaged." 

***

            "You're what?" Hermione asked coldly.

            "Engaged. To Pansy." Draco sighed deeply.

            "You've lead me on, me thinking that I've had any chance with you, and you were engaged? Having a fling this summer? Something to tell your grandchildren?" by this time Hermione  was shaking, "How could you say you love me? How could you lie to me like that? I hate you. Take me home, right now!"

            "Let me explain. I don't love-or even like-Pansy. My father arranged it, but I have opposed to it the whole time." Draco's eyes filled with tears. Hermione  stared at him coldly.

            "I don't believe you. Why did you agree? Take me down stairs, NOW!" Hermione  demanded. Slowly Draco nodded, and led the way back down to the kitchen. Breakfast was ready and on the table. They came in the same time as Narcissa.

            "Narcissa, Mrs. Malfoy, it was nice meeting you, but I wish to return home. As soon as possible, please." Narcissa looked first at Hermione , who was so mad, she was shaking; then she looked at her son who was teary eyed and crestfallen.

            "Of course, dear. Please, eat first. Draco I need your help. Seat your guest, then meet me in the kitchen." Draco showed Hermione  where to sit, avoiding her eyes the whole time, then went to the kitchen.

            "Draco William Malfoy, what did you say to her? One minute, you two are 'head over heals' for each other, then she looks ready to kill you."

            "Well, I told her that I was engaged."

            "You're engaged? No wonder she is like that. I would be to! Who is this fine young lady that you're to be wed to?" Narcissa asked.

            "You mean- you didn't know? About the deal?" Draco was dumbstruck.

            "What deal?" Narcissa demanded an explanation.

            "Father made a deal with Pansy's parents that we had to marry each other. I can't stand the girl, and I didn't want to accept the deal. Father made me. I love Hermonie, but not Pansy." Draco went on to explain everything that had happened. By this time, Hermione  was standing outside the door as he concluded, "mother, I love Hermione  with all my heart. I can't stand to see her upset like that."

            "I sorry Draco," sniffed Narcissa, "I didn't know. Come 'ere." Narcissa hugged her only son tightly. She, too, had known the pain that forced marriages cause. Hermione  slid down the wall and put her head in her arms. Silent tears slid down her cheeks. Draco and his mum walked out of the kitchen. Since Hermione  was in a dark corner, they did not see her. They walked into the dinning room where they had left her and saw that it was empty

            "Hermione ?" Draco called, "mother, do you see her? Do you think she might have tried to find her own way out?" Draco was really worried. Narcissa motioned for him to follow her. She led the way to the kitchen, but stopped short before they got there. Draco followed his mother's gaze. She was looking at Hermione , who was weeping. Narcissa nodded at Draco and left. Draco hesitantly walked over to Hermione . Slowly, he sat down next to her, "are you alright?" he asked her gently. She started to cry harder, and leaned against him.

            "Draco," she finally whispered, "I h-heard you telling your mum what happened."

            "Shhhh," Draco comforted, "that's ok. Its just old news to you." She started to cry heavily again, and Draco wrapped his arms around her.

            "I heard you tell you mum how much you loved me."

            "Love, dear. I will always love you. If it makes you happier to be without me, or to hate me, go ahead, but remember that I will always love you." Tears spilled over on to his face. Hermione reached up and wiped them away.

            "You haven't let me finish, Draco." Hermione  smiled. Suddenly a look of alarm came upon Draco's face.

            "We need to get out of here, now! Go down the hall all the way until you reach the end. Then, open the last door on the left. Go!" Draco said urgently. Hermione  nodded and got up. Draco had been waiting for the moment that his father would summon the Dark Lord.   

***

 Hermione  walked into the room. It was large and had white wall with hard wooden floors. She shut the door quietly. The wood was cold to Hermione 's bare feet. She shivered slightly. A cold hand grabbed her shoulder and she knew no more.

***

            Draco ran to find his mother. She was lying, comatose, in the dinning room floor.

            "Mum!" Draco said quietly. Suddenly, a searing pain ran through him. He turned around and saw his father and McNair, one of the Dark Lord's Death Eaters. Draco could hear his voice, but he had no control over what he said or did.

            "Hello Father. Hello McNair." His unnatural voice said.

            "Draco! So nice of you to join us!" Lucius said sarcastically.

            "I would have been here sooner, but that dratted Mudblood was keeping me." Draco could not believe his ears. He was glad that Hermione  wasn't there to hear him 'say' that.

            "Well," McNair said, "that can be fixed. In fact," he looked over at Lucius who nodded, "it IS happening." Smiles formed on all three faces, much to Draco's horror.

            "Come," Lucius said, "I think we should get you dressed for the occasion." All three left the room with Narcissa lying on the floor.

***

            Hermione  woke up later. She was in an elegant room decorated in silver and green. She wanted to scream for Draco, but she couldn't. She had no control over what she said or did. Hermione  moved over to the closet. Inside she found dozens of beautiful dresses. She carefully picked one. It was white with tiny diamonds sewn into it. She took off the dress that she had been wearing, then put the other one on. It fit her perfectly. She looked at herself in the mirror and wished that Draco was there to see her wearing it. Then, Hermione  moved over to sit on the chair in front of the glass make up table. She took down her hair and brushed it. Her hair was curly and she pulled the top half on her hair with a pearly barrette. The hair that was down spilled over her shoulders. Carefully, she applied make up. Hermione  had no idea what she was doing. She walked over the closet and slipped on glass slippers. Then, she reached up to the top of the closet and took down a silver box with pearls on it. Man, she thought, someone likes pearls… Her perfectly manicured hands fondled it lovingly. Carefully she opened it. A sheet of soft black velvet was on top. She removed it. Inside was a large silver dagger. The handle was decorated ornately and had pearls. She ran her finger along the blade, making sure it didn't cut her. An involuntary smile crept on to her face. She put the sheath around her. It was slivery in color. She took one last look at herself in her mirror. She was gorgeous.

            With out knowing where she was going, Hermione  left the room. She walked down the halls, her footsteps echoing.

***

            Draco stood still. His father was having him wear a very nice Muggle suit. They were waiting in the room that he had told Hermione  to go to, though she wasn't there. Draco wanted to run out of the room, but he couldn't. Suddenly, he heard the clicking of heals come near.

            "Ah," McNair said, "it sounds like she is coming, Lucius. Is everything ready?" Lucius nodded. McNair turned back to Draco.  The doors opened she walked in. If Draco had been himself, he would have gasped. She was wearing her hair half down, and all white. If anyone had walked in there, they would have thought it was their wedding. What worried Draco was the sheath that she wore around her waist. Her glass slippers sounded upon the wood floor.

            "Now, Mudblood," Lucius said, an evil smile forming on his face. Hermione  turned to face Draco. She didn't know that he was under the same enchantment that she was.

            "Where is Narcissa? Won't she be joining us?" Hermione  asked innocently.

            "No, I regret to say that she isn't feeling to well," Lucius said. Hermione  looked at Draco again. She didn't understand what was happening. She watched as her hands pulled the knife out of its sheath. Draco wanted to run and pull the knife away from her, but he couldn't. Hermione  placed both hangs on the dagger's handle. Slowly she plunged it into her stomach. The spell wore off and she screamed in pain. Her blood soaked the once beautifully white dress.

            "Draco!" she gasped and sunk to her knees. He hands flew back up to the dagger's handle and she tried to pull it out, but she didn't have the energy. Hermonie looked back up to Draco. He had his hands folded at his waist and a cold look on his face. Hermione  looked into his eyes. They were unusually cold, "Draco, help me…" she said weakly. She sank lower, and her hands moved to the floor to catch herself, but they gave out and soon she was laying on the floor. She knew what was happening, "Draco, I love you," she said as she sank to the floor and took her last breath. The last thing she saw was Draco, the spell finally wearing off on him. He ran to her side, to find that she was dead. He sobbed.

  At that moment Narcissa rushed into the room.

"Lucius," she growled when she saw Hermione  laying dead on the floor and Draco sobbing next to her, "explain yourself." Lucius looked uncomfortable then turned to McNair who disapperated.

            "Well," Lucius started, then decided better of it and left.

            "Draco, what happened?" Narcissa kneeled next to Draco.

            "Father put us under something, and he made Hermione kill herself and I could do nothing." Draco sobbed. Narcissa reached over and took a pensive out of a cabinet. She told Draco to use it, and she did. She told Draco to stay where he was, and she went to look at it…

            She saw Hermione walk in. It seemed like a wedding.

 "Now, Mudblood," Lucius said, an evil smile forming on his face. Hermione turned to face Draco. She didn't know that he was under the same enchantment that she was.

            "Where is Narcissa? Won't she be joining us?" Hermione  asked innocently.

            "No, I regret to say that she isn't feeling to well," Lucius said. Hermione looked at Draco again. She didn't understand what was happening. She watched as her hands pulled the knife out of its sheath. Draco wanted to run and pull the knife away from her, but he couldn't. Hermione placed both hangs on the dagger's handle. Slowly she plunged it into her stomach. The spell wore off and she screamed in pain. Her blood soaked the once beautifully white dress.

            "Draco!" she gasped and sunk to her knees. He hands flew back up to the dagger's handle and she tried to pull it out, but she didn't have the energy. Hermione looked back up to Draco. He had his hands folded at his waist and a cold look on his face. Hermione looked into his eyes. They were unusually cold, "Draco, help me…" she said weakly. She sank lower, and her hands moved to the floor to catch herself, but they gave out and soon she was laying on the floor. She knew what was happening, "Draco, I love you," she said as she sank to the floor and took her last breath. The last thing she saw was Draco, the spell finally wearing off on him. He ran to her side, to find that she was dead. He sobbed. The memory faded and Narcissa was brought back to the present. Draco and Hermione were nowhere to be seen. All that was there was a puddle of blood. Narcissa sighed and she cleaned it up with her wand then went to look for Hermione.

***

            Albus looked into the ball again. He sighed deeply. It was done. The prophecies were fulfilled…almost. Minerva walked in and saw the look on his face. She walked next to him and started to sob when she saw what he had seen.

            "So young, Albus, so young! What are we to do now?" she moaned.

            "I must write her parents and inform them." Albus said simply and sat down to write.

***

            Harry and Ginny sat out on the beach. No one had said much since Hermione had disappeared. The owl dropped the letter in his lap and flew off. He opened the letter with Ginny looking over his shoulder.

 

Mr and Mrs. Granger, Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley,

I am sorry to inform you that Miss Hermione Granger passed away today. While she was at Malfoy Manor, an enchantment was put on her and Draco Malfoy. Neither could do anything. Miss Granger was forced to kill herself while Draco stood, helpless. If you have any questions, please contact me at Hogwarts. I am very sorry.

Albus Dumbledore.

            Ginny started to cry very hard. Harry wrapped his arms around her tightly and cried himself. Ron stood watching them with envy. A girl had never hung on to him like that before and needed him like that. It was always Harry. Girls always wanted the famous Harry Potter. Ron turned away and went up to his room. Finally, Harry and Ginny made their way up to the house and handed the letter to Mr. Granger. Shakily he read it then handed it to his wife. She cried together, and Ginny joined in. Ron heard all the crying.

            "What's all this about?" he asked Harry, who had tear streaks on his face. Harry handed him the letter… "Oh my God…" Ron sat down on the floor and put his head in his hands and started to sob. All five cried together.

***

            Draco didn't know where he was going. All he knew was that he needed to get her out of there. He carried her lifeless form down the halls. He didn't dare look down, knowing that he would start to cry if he did. Finally arrived downstairs. He laid Hermione on the white couch. Blood immediately soaked it. Draco took the Dagger  out of Hermione and plunged it into himself. He fell down next to Hermione. His last look was of her.

            "I love you, Hermione," he said, and was dead.

The End

Author's Note: yes, this IS the second posting of it. I have made some changes (like all that happened at the end with Fred and George and stuff NEVER HAPPNED! J that makes us all happy, right? Well, I realized I made a few mistakes in the author's note of the last one. Draco's Secret is written by Tessie, not Sanna. And I misspelled Hermione 's name throughout the whole fic. I had a lot of people correct me on that one… as some of you know, Hope is the sequel. I have been told that it isn't as good as 'Leah' and I don't have any ideas for it. I am seriously thinking about throwing it out. I would, of course, be making a different sequel. E-mail me if you have any questions or thoughts about that. and my THANKS for reviewing (if I can spell…) the first edition will be under this poem. Read on…

"To sit and dream, to sit and read,

To sit and learn about the world.

Outside our world of here and know-

Our problem world-

To dream of vast horizons of the soul,

Through dreams made whole

Unfettered free- help me!

All of you who are dreamers too,

Help me to make our world anew,

I reach out my dreams to you."

'To You' by Langston Hughes

THANKS!

Me, Draco Skywalker, Alex Kack (I'll have to email you about your idea…), C, Harry/Hermione4eva(is this better?), Kitty Kat, ~*Mandy*More*~, Sarah (yeah, I hated the ending too, so I changed it J that's the power of being an author), Dylan, Shana, Hermoninny Malfoy (it makes my day to hear that J), Magical*little*me (DM/HG 4eva!!!), Leah, CTRsoccer, Demon_Child (you make it sound as if its my fault that they died; blame Lucius!)