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Never Mine	By : RynStar15 Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 21249 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the characters therein and do not make any money or intend any copyright infringement by placing them here.

Chapter List
- 9
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- 11
"Ginny, go back to the Great Hall!" I yelled, helping her to her feet. "Find Ron and Harry, McGonagall, tell them Draco is in the castle-"
"No, I'm staying with you!" she said stubbornly and we clung to each other as the ground lurched beneath us again.
"We're out of time, the Death Eaters are here!" I screamed. "Go, get everyone you can, we have to find Draco!"
"But-"
"Please, Ginny! You get to Draco and stop him before it's too late! I'll meet you down there, but there's something I have to do first. Find him, please!"
I saw the understanding in her eyes, knew her heart broke for me. She gave me a fast hug and I watched as her red hair whipped around the corner and wondered if I'd ever see her again.
…
One month, three weeks earlier…
When the final bell rang signaling the end of classes I sighed in utter relief. Harry and Ron groaned in defeat beside me, looking down at their partially finished potions and I shook my head in consternation.
"I told you to prep those quills last night."
"Oh, shove off," Ron muttered, his ears going red. "If practice hadn't gone so long-"
"If you had caught the quaffle once in a while-"
"It was a right blizzard out there, how the hell was I supposed to-"
"Romilda didn't seem to have any trouble-"
"Alright you two, enough," I scolded, cleaning my mess. "I have to deal with Malfoy in an hour, I don't need the extra bickering."
"How's that going, by the way?" Harry asked, siphoning his lumpy potion into a vial.
"Oh, er, fine…"
I turned away on the pretense of picking up my bag, not able to meet my best friend's gaze. Truth be told, it was going more than fine. After a rather awkward greeting on Wednesday following his drugged propositioning, I suggested we both forget it ever happened and handed him a week's supply of potions, each individually metered out. He had smirked at this and I hadn't been able to resist my own at the memory of his words. We'd gone on to study in companionable silence, only interjecting with questions or comments on the material.
When I'd stood to leave he'd grabbed my elbow and tugged me around, pulling me against his body. My heart had skipped a beat at the intimate contact as he looked down at me with smoldering eyes.
"Thank you," he'd murmured, his thumb rubbing my upper arm where he still had hold of me.
"You're welcome…" I'd replied slowly, wondering why he was so grateful for doing practically nothing other than reading next to him.
"No, Granger." He shook his head, his other hand coming up to cup my cheek, a touch which had my heart stuttering in my chest. "Thank you."
It dawned on me that he wasn't thanking me for the tutor session, but for what had happened the night previous. I'd had to swallow before I could answer again.
"You're welcome."
When he kissed me that time it wasn't out of desperation or a drugged haze. He did so very purposefully and very methodically, his lips playing over mine so sweetly I thought I might simply melt at the contact. My body went boneless; I could do nothing but move my lips against his, my hands limp at my sides. When he'd released me, I'd worried my legs might not hold me, but he'd eased me back slowly, my senses kick-starting at his amused grin.
"Don't want to be late for patrol, Head Girl."
"Oh." I shook my head and glanced at the clock on the wall. "Oh!"
He'd chuckled as I grappled for my bag, nearly dropping it in my haste. I'd turned back at the door, my heart stopping at the vision of him standing with his hands in his pockets, the whisper of a smirk on his lips, the lamp behind him making his white-blonde hair catch fire. I wanted to smile back, to say something, anything, but I was completely speechless.
Even now I wanted to smack myself in the head at the memory of my spectacularly embarrassing retreat as I'd simply turned and stumbled down the stairs, completely ignoring Bill when he'd bid me goodnight.
"Fine?" Ron scoffed, yanking me back to the present. "You have to spend three days a week with that git and it's fine?"
"Yes, well, at least I don't have to put out his sleeve because he leaned against his fire while watching Abbott bend over to get something out of her bag," I retaliated and Harry burst out laughing while Ron went red.
"I was not-"
"Oh, come off it, mate, the giant squid noticed you ogling her," Harry chortled while Ron violently shoved the rest of his ingredients into his bag.
"Bugger off, Harry," he rumbled and we both laughed and I squeezed Ron's arm as he turned to storm off.
"Oh, come on, we're just teasing," I crooned as we started down the hall. "Why don't you ask her out?"
"Er, well, she's nice and all but…"
"But?"
He slowly turned mauve. "Nothing. I just don't fancy her that way, is all."
"Why not?" Harry asked. "She's pretty, smart, nice arse-"
"You're dating my sister, Potter," Ron growled.
"Hers is damn fine as well…"
"Oi! I do not want to hear you talking about my baby sister like that!"
"You didn't want me talking about Abbott's arse, I can't talk about your sister's arse, whose arse do you want me to talk about?"
"No one's! Just drop it, alright?"
I'd rarely seen Ron so flustered and I tugged him to a stop in the middle of the hall, eyeing him.
"There's someone else you like, isn't there?" I said and he scowled, turning from me.
"Leave it, for Merlin's sake, will you both just leave it?" He looked so distressed that Harry and I shared a look and dropped it, but I didn't fail to notice Ron's gaze flicker to the Ravenclaw table and a certain blonde who was chatting animatedly with a younger boy who looked rather confused with their conversation. I made a note to ask Luna to join us for breakfast the next morning and sat down between my friends, filling Ron's plate with boiled potatoes.
An hour later I was about to knock on the headmistress' door when I heard a low voice just beyond, one so familiar that it made me ache. Though I was loathe to interrupt their conversation, I knew the owner would rat me out for eavesdropping, portrait or not, so I knocked gently and was summoned inside.
McGonagall was just easing down into her chair when I entered and I looked up at Dumbledore who gave me one brief nod before striding out of his portrait.
"Does it…is it difficult to talk to him like that?" I asked the melancholy woman. Her lips thinned and I thought she was about to tell me off for asking such a personal question but she merely sighed.
"I cannot allow my emotions to interfere. We need him now as much as ever. But yes, Miss Granger, it is difficult. He was my closest friend and advisor."
"I'm sorry," I murmured. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose Ron or Harry and be forced to talk to their portrait in order to win a war. It would destroy me to be constantly reminded of their corporeal absence.
"This is war, Miss Granger," McGonagall said lowly. "We shall all lose much more before it is over."
With my heart heavy from that harsh truth, it took me several moments of collecting myself before I could open Malfoy's door, attempting to shake the dark cloud that hung over me. It didn't seem to have made any difference, however, as Malfoy furrowed his brow upon my entrance.
"Problem, Granger?"
I shook my head. "No, everything's fine."
"You're a terrible liar."
"Yes, I am," I admitted with a sigh, dropping my bag on the floor and sagging against the desk where he was busy writing a Charms essay. "It's just something McGonagall said that got to me. I'm just…tired."
"Well, if you would fit some time into your schedule for sleep that might solve your predicament."
"No, not physically," I explained, lowering my head so he wouldn't see the emotion I knew would be in my eyes. "I'm tired of fighting. I'm tired of all the death and grief and fear. I'm tired of going to bed every night wondering if one of my friends might die the next day or what will happen to me if You-Know-Who wins. I just…I just want to be a normal 18-year-old girl who doesn't have to worry if she'll become a slave or prisoner if by some slight chance I make it through this damn war alive."
"You'll make it out alive, Granger," Malfoy growled harshly. I scoffed.
"Chances aren't great, Malfoy. I'm a Mudblood, Harry Potter's friend, a member of the Order-"
"You'll make it," he said again, his words hard, and I looked up at his intensity. His eyes were like molten steel, burning through me. "This world needs you to help pick up the pieces after Potter wins."
"And if he doesn't?" I whispered, voicing the fear which kept me up at night.
"He will," Malfoy snapped. "He has to."
I was momentarily speechless as he spoke the very same words I'd told Harry weeks ago after the last battle. I was once again floored by the similarities between two such different people as he and I.
Then his face hardened and the quill in his hand snapped, his other coming to the arm of his chair, his knuckles white where he clenched it. I cursed.
"Draco, where did you put the Pain Potions?" I asked, looking around desperately as if they'd suddenly fly to me.
"Can't," he groaned through clenched teeth. "Too-soon."
"For Merlin's sake, I don't care! Where are the damn vials?" I cried. He grunted in pain and doubled over, dropping the mangled quill, his hand moving to the drawer to his right but I beat him to it, yanking it open and snatching a vial out and unstoppering it. I tugged him back up by his shoulders and pressed it to his lips, my left hand cupping his jaw to tilt him back far enough to swallow. He shuddered violently at the effort to sit up but drank the potion readily, clutching my hand to help guide.
When he'd finished, I chucked the vial aside where it shattered against the hardwood and gripped Malfoy's shoulders, easing him back as the potion kicked in. His hand continued to hold mine as his panting slowed, his head falling against the back of the chair, throwing the purple bags under his eyes into sharp contrast.
"Come on, let's get you into bed," I cajoled, putting my arm around his shoulders to help him stand but he shook me off.
"No need, it's over," he said gruffly, pushing himself up in the chair and looking up at me. "Thank you. Again."
"You're welcome," I murmured, tamping down the urge to force him into bed, to cover him up and make him stay there until I could figure out whatever damn curse had caused this. "Might I point out that if you would just tell me what's wrong I might be able to-"
"Mind going over my Arithmancy homework?" he asked, pulling out a scroll from the mound of papers on the desk.
My eyes narrowed. "You're evading."
"You're astute."
"Malfoy seriously, why won't you tell me-"
"Why won't you drop it?"
"Because you're in pain every bleeding day!"
"I can handle it."
"Who knows what kind of damage it's causing-"
"It doesn't matter-"
"Of course it matters!"
"Dammit, Granger-"
"Just let me help you!"
"Have you ever considered the fact that I don't want your fucking help?" Malfoy thundered, rising to his feet so fast his chair fell back and I flinched as he rounded on me. "I didn't come here so we could be bosom buddies, I didn't ask for your help, and I certainly don't need it! Just leave it. The fuck. Alone."
I opened my mouth several times but no words came out. I had none. I could feel myself trembling and clutched the desk behind me tighter to still it, my eyes falling to the floor. I nodded since my throat had constricted. He cursed and turned, grabbing the chair and chucking it across the room where it shattered against the far wall. I jumped at his sudden display of anger and knew I had pushed too far.
Damn my big fat mouth. Of course nothing had changed. What we'd shared had been a moment of desperation and pain blurring into a drug induced haze, nothing more.
For him.
I stuttered out an apology and grabbed my bag, my hands shaking so bad I could barely hang onto it. Avoiding his gaze, I hurried for the door. He cursed again.
"Granger…"
I didn't look back but made my way into the hall, shutting the door quietly behind me, my hand lingering on the handle. I stared at that contact, my chest tight, wishing things were different, wishing I could change him, make him understand…but it was a useless hope. He didn't want me, he didn't want to join our side. Whatever his reasoning for being here was locked tightly within him, an impenetrable fortress forged by the Dark Lord himself. What was one stupid Mudblood compared to that?
I watched my fingers fall away from the brass knob and made my way to the stairwell, my entire body jerking when I heard the door open behind me. I could see him in my peripheral leaning heavily against the jam. Neither of us moved, neither of us spoke. It was several long, tense moments before my dignity gave me a rough shove and I was scurrying down the stairs without a backward glance. I flinched when I heard the door slam harshly but didn't slow, making my way to the drawing room where I curled into a ball in the corner to wait out the next two hours so I didn't have to see the disappointment in my mentor's gaze as she realized that she had chosen the wrong person for this task.
…

The weekend passed uneventfully. I holed myself up in my bedroom pouring over the dark books Lupin had procured for me, getting more and more frustrated with every useless page. I brewed another Pain Potion to stock Malfoy up for the next week, altering it slightly to make the effects last longer.
Though my mind concocted myriad excuses as to why I should beg McGonagall to spare me the humiliation of having to face Malfoy again, I knew that anything I asked her would be met with questions I certainly did not want to answer. So Monday evening had me reluctantly stumbling out of the fireplace at headquarters to a strange scene. I started, my mouth hanging open as I saw Malfoy at the table, a cup of untouched tea in front of him. Mrs. Weasley was sitting directly across from him and looked up at my arrival.
"Hermione, dear!" she greeted happily and rose to hug me. "Won't you come join us at the table? We were just sharing a spot of tea! I'll make you a cup, go on and sit, you look ready to drop!"
I had to smother a grin at the dismayed look on Malfoy's face. "I would love to, Mrs. Weasley," I replied and Malfoy scowled at me. He sat stiff as a board, his hands grasped tightly in his lap. It seemed he hadn't much say in his current predicament as Mrs. Weasley bustled about, exclaiming that she had "dragged the poor dear out tooth and nail" because he "simply couldn't live his whole life in that room."
I took a seat next to the chair Mrs. Weasley had just vacated and Malfoy attempted to murder me with his eyes. I felt a thrill of vengeance in his discomfort.
"Shouldn't we get started on homework?" he asked pointedly and I couldn't hold back my malicious smile.
"Oh, that can wait a few minutes," I said and he snarled, knowing I was just doing this to torture him. I thanked Mrs. Weasley for the tea she sat in front of me and allowed her to steer the conversation, enjoying watching Malfoy writhe in irritation under her attempts to get to know him. He answered with grunts and single-word sentences but I filled in where I could, smothering my chuckles with my fist as he continued to glare daggers at me.
In an instant, all amusement was stolen from the room as a hyena Patronus burst through the wall and Mrs. Weasley screeched, shattering her mug as she shot to her feet in terror, hands clapped over her mouth. We all listened with bated breath as the Patronus began to speak, Fred Weasley's voice echoing around the kitchen.
"If you are receiving this Patronus it is because PotterWatch has been compromised. George and I created this fail-safe in case we were abducted. Do not attempt to rescue us, we've known from the beginning what our role in this may lead to. There is a secret room hidden beneath the shop, it must not fall into the wrong hands. The only way to access the room is by a hidden key, the whereabouts of which are entrusted only to Verity. She must be taken into hiding immediately. She can obtain all the information you need. Get to the shop, the room must survive. Keep Verity safe. Know that we love you and are at peace. Do not come for us."
Mrs. Weasley screamed, a sound of anguish that should not be a part of this world. I grabbed her as she started to fall, crumpling in my arms and sending us both to the floor, our progress only slowed when Malfoy shot forward and grabbed us, easing us down with strong arms. I looked up into his steel eyes as Mrs. Weasley cried out in denial, clutching at me tightly.
"Go to McGonagall, through the Floo," I instructed Malfoy over the screams. "She can alert the Order-"
"Why can't you-?"
"Mrs. Weasley, you need to listen to me," I ignored him, turning the woman in my arms and forcing her to face me, her ruddy face streaked with tears. "We're going to get them back, alright? We're going to get Fred and George back, but I have to go, I have to find Verity. You need to stay strong, your boys need you."
She started to speak but I wrenched her grip from me and shoved her at Malfoy.
"Granger-"
"Get to McGonagall, have her send backup to the shop!" I called as I ran for the door.
"Granger! Goddammit-!"
I flew up the stairs and threw myself into the frigid night. As soon as my feet hit the snowy lawn I was turning, my entire body squeezing as if through a tube.
The scene I arrived on stole my breath. The shop was on fire, shoppers in Diagon Alley screaming behind a blue line someone had magicked onto the ground. Aurors on the scene were dousing the flames with their wands, though their efforts seemed fruitless. I ran up to Kingsley who was leading the manic situation.
"Have you found the twins?" I asked, though I knew the chances were slim.
"The shop was open, no one has come out," he replied then started when he realized who was standing next to him. "Miss Granger, what are you-?"
"Verity, have you seen Verity?" I interrupted, the pyre before me mocking.
"Verity? I'm not sure who-"
"Short blonde hair, petite, she works at the shop," I spewed, eyeing the inferno, willing my friends to come bursting out, covered in soot but safe.
"No, I haven't seen- Miss Granger!"
I didn't think, didn't take a moment to contemplate or plan, all I knew was to act, to find Verity, to make sure Fred and George Weasley did not die in vain. I didn't listen to Kingsley or the Aurors as they screamed for me to stop, to come back. The smoldering door of the shop swung open with a wave of my wand and I plunged myself into the billowing black smoke, covering my mouth and nose as I looked around wildly.
The heat engulfed me, so intense I could hardly stand it. The entire right side of the shop had fallen in, the back a wall of flame. Coughing, I Levitated a mound of boxes out of my way, thankful that I could do spells silently.
"Fred? George?" I called into the smoke as I choked on more ash. I heard a cry from behind the counter and leapt over fallen merchandise toward the sound. The counter had been smashed on one side by a fallen beam, the cry coming from a blonde girl trapped beneath.
"Verity!" I shouted, hoisting myself onto the broken counter, a sharp piece of wood slicing into my right arm when I tried to steady myself. I lowered carefully down next to her and threw myself over her as something fell overhead causing a deluge of ash, wood, and bright purple boxes which bit into my back. Verity screamed.
"It's alright; I'm going to get you out of here!" I yelled over the roar of the fire drawing ever closer. "Where are Fred and George, what happened?"
"They-took-them!" she coughed, confirming the horrible truth, her spasms causing more hot ash to fall upon us, burning through my robes and I gasped in pain. I saw then that her legs were trapped beneath the beam which had demolished the right side of the counter and the wall behind it. It was leaning precariously on a bit of wall, the ceiling above it being licked by flames.
"Where is the key?" I asked, trying to find a way to move the beam without sending the ceiling collapsing on us, worried about attempting Apparition with Verity trapped as she was.
"It's the galleon on my necklace," she said, coughing again. "Argh, my legs! I don't know where my wand is!"
"Don't worry about that now," I said, swallowing a bunch of ash. I coughed and looked around. "Where's the entrance to the room?" I continued, trying to keep her talking so she didn't panic as my mind raced, trying to figure out the best way to extricate her.
"It's beneath the counter," Verity choked out. "I was trying to get to it, it's blast proof, we need to get into it, quick-"
"Why-?"
My question was answered as what sounded like a bomb detonated, loud screeches and bright colors renting the air and my heart stopped as I realized exactly why Verity chose to aim for the safe room instead of the door.
The flames had found the twin's fireworks display.
Verity screamed as the explosion caused the beam to fall further, increasing the pressure on her legs, and I covered the rest of her as the wall crumpled, flames and wood smashing down on me. I shrieked with Verity as pain seared my back, my flesh melting, pure agony impaling me. Belatedly, I tossed up a silent Shield Charm, protecting us from the bolts of colored light which shot around us like some sick festival of horror.
I heard people outside yelling, calling my name, but I couldn't respond, I couldn't breathe, my lungs felt as though they had been popped like a balloon. I could hear Verity sobbing beneath me but I couldn't draw breath to comfort her, every fiber of my being centered on holding the shield up, the only thing preventing us from being swallowed in flame and bright streaks of hell.
My mind was swirling in a haze of pain and I fought for consciousness. I needed air, I couldn't breathe…
The sound of crying jerked me back to reality. I had to get us out of here, the entire building would collapse at any minute. Lowering the shield, I turned to the short wall which had fallen upon the beam and had me pinned. My arm could only move a few inches, a tearing sensation ripping through my back with every small movement. Grunting with the effort, I Levitated the wall and nearly fainted in agony.
As the weight lifted, the pain multiplied. I tried to cry out but no sound came. The movement caused more debris to fall around us, Verity shrieking below me. My eyes stung from the ash and the smoke and I slammed them closed as the world burned around me. The heat- I couldn't bear it…unbearable…he'd said the pain was unbearable…and I'd held him, held him like he'd held Mrs. Weasley…Weasley-Fred, George, gone, taken…
"Hermione, please!" Verity sobbed and I shook my head, trying to clear it, sucking in the tiniest breath and repairing the wall so that it held the structure, giving us time to escape. I turned to the beam that held Verity trapped and did the same, her screams of pain searing through me as I shoved my own to the back of my mind, though the world was quickly darkening around me from lack of oxygen and agony.
Verity grabbed for me and I gripped her tightly. Now that she was unpinned my fear of splinching her lessened, though I knew I couldn't go far in my weakened state. Thinking of the snow-covered ground just outside of the shop, I concentrated to the center of my being and turned.
The cold air hit me and I tried to suck it in but the pain had me crying out and my lungs wouldn't work properly. People were talking, screaming, there was so much screaming…
"I need some help over here!"
Help…Fred…George…
"Help…"
"We are, we're helping you, Hermione," a soothing voice said above me as the heat pressed from all sides and Verity cried harshly beside me. "Just hang on."
"No-Fred-George-help…" It was so hard to talk, my back, my chest, my throat, the pain was agonizing, but they had to know, had to get to the twins…
There was more yelling, more movement. The black was trying to swallow me. I needed air, I couldn't think…the pain…I couldn't breathe…
I was being Levitated, the familiar voice shaking as she argued with someone about taking me to St. Mungo's.
"It's too dangerous-"
"Look at the state of her!"
"Madame Pomfrey-"
"She'll die before she gets there!"
I shook my head, I couldn't die, not yet, I had to save Verity, had to get the key…
"Verity…"
"She's right beside us, she's safe. Hold on, Hermione, just hold on-"
And then it was blackness.
…
A/N:
A HUGE shout-out to all my reviewers, thank you SO much for taking a moment to drop a line, it means the world to me! This story is for you :)
XOXO
RynStar15
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Never Mine