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The Paths We Take	By : Luckycharms Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 18436 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. That right goes to the AMAZING JK Rowling. No profit is made off this story. Shout out to Scorpia11 for being my awesome Beta!!

Chapter List
- 15
- 16
- 17
“Breathe in, breathe out, Move on and break down,
If everyone goes away I will stay. We push and pull,
And I fall down sometimes, I'm not letting go,
You hold the other line.”
– Breath In Breath Out- Mat Kearney

Chapter 16- Spider Web
Sunday, May 9^th, 1999
Pansy gently placed a cool wet washcloth on the back of Harry’s neck as he continued to throw up into the toilet in the en suite of her and Luna’s shared bedroom. Though it wasn’t really theirs anymore as they were supposed to be leaving to return to Hogwarts within the hour, but after everything that had just occurred, it was the only thing she could call the room she and the Ravenclaw had brought the distressed wizard into.
She didn’t really know what else to do to try and help the Golden Boy, who was in shambles as he cried over the porcelain throne, and kept rubbing his back as she herself did her best not to weep in desolation. She couldn’t imagine the heartache he was feeling at not only knowing what his female best friend had gone through, but to see it as well…
After everything Harry had battled over his life, all the wrong that was ever done to him, to his friends, all the wretched lies told to him, the countless murders in front of him, the pain of abandonment from his family, being used as a pawn to defeat the darkest wizard of all time…she had to admire his strength through it all. But his fortitude was dwindling, and Pansy could tell that what he had witnessed, broke him more than anything he’d ever endured. Hermione Granger may not have been his sister by blood, but she was the closest thing he had to a family next to the Weasley’s.
It pained her to know the bookworm was raped, or almost raped, it didn’t really matter as both were horrible and no one should have to experience it. She didn’t blame Draco in the slightest for slaughtering the men who tried to hurt her…She would have done the same if she was in his shoes. However, she most likely would have made sure to sodomize the men who forcefully tried to take what they wanted from a woman, take something that didn’t belong to them, before brutally killing them. And if she ended up not having the time to torture the pathetic excuse for human beings, she would have found a way to bring them with her and deliver onto them their just dessert.
She never allowed a man to try and take something from her that wasn’t his. And after Amycus Carrow tried to do just that when she attended Hogwarts while he was acting as the Dark Arts Professor during the War, she made she sure he knew his place. The disgusting wizard however, had his sister Alecto, to thank for saving his life as Pansy had quite literally almost broken his dick off with her hand. He took his anger cruelly out on other students, but he had never bothered her again after that incident. His sister, however, did try to hex her multiple times throughout the term whenever she had the chance, but Pansy was too smart for her and was always one step ahead in avoiding the shrew.
“Here you are, Pansy” Luna dolefully claimed as she handed the raven-haired Slytherin a cup of water to give Harry, pulling her from her twisted thoughts of what she would have done to the men if she ever got her hands on them. Not that she could do anything as they were well over a century in the past and long dead by now, but she still wished she could stand up for Hermione who had to suffer the fate she was given. “We’re out of Calming Draughts, but Molly sent an Owl to Professor McGonagall to have Hagrid bring some when he arrives. Although we need to monitor how much he takes…” she claimed sweetly as she took a seat next to Harry.
“I don’t think a Calming Draught is what he needs right now, Luna…” Pansy responded despondently. “He needs to be able to express his emotions…not suppress them. Otherwise it’s just going to make things worse in the end” she claimed while trying to get the tearful Gryffindor to drink the water in her hand. But Harry was too forlorn to do anything, let alone hear anything around him, instead he hunched over the toilet again to throw up. Once his stomach was completely empty and he dry heaved a few times, Pansy pulled him in to her embrace as he continued to sob, while tears gathered in Luna’s eyes, not really knowing what else she could do to help her friend, who could do nothing to help the people in the past.
However, when the raven-haired wizard began to ramble about what he had seen through his melancholy sniffles, before breaking down again, Luna couldn’t hold back any longer and had to leave the room in despair. She had never thought it was possible for one of her friends to hurt so much…not after everything they had all been through over the years; and she couldn’t breathe knowing how much grief those in the past had to, and still have to, deal with.
Although down the hall, another battle was being fought in a special room Narcissa had created specifically for Draco when he needed to release his pent-up anger. A clear wall, charmed with a powerful Protego Maxima spell, combined with Fianto Duri and Repello Inimicum, rose to protect any and all who entered if the space was in use. And Ronald Weasley was making sure to use the chamber to the best of his ability. Theo and Neville watched in desolation as the walls absorbed every spell the redhead threw, and the room repaired the furniture he was destroying almost instantly. There wasn’t much else they could do as Ron unleashed the violent wrath, he desperately wished to deliver upon the men who tried to rape his ex-girlfriend and released the most heartbreaking scream he could.
“He’s going to burst a blood vessel if he keeps this up…” Neville stated as he crossed his arms and noticed how red the Gryffindors’ face was turning.
“He’ll be fine” Theo replied with a heavy sigh. “I’ve seen Draco lose his temper a lot worse than this and he was always okay afterwards.
“He needs to calm down…I mean, I-I know its Mione and all, but she’s a tough girl to crack. She wouldn’t want him doing this because of what happened to her.”
“He’s not doing this for her. He’s doing this for himself…Can you honestly blame him for reacting this way?” the Slytherin questioned as he turned his dejected gaze to Neville. “Have you ever seen or-or heard about someone you know getting raped, or almost raped in Grangers’ case?” he inquired gingerly but didn’t wait for the brunette to answer. “Well I have, thanks to my sick sadistic father, may he rest in Azkaban for life, and I know the pain he’s feeling. Draco and I have seen so many women violated during Voldemort’s reign…muggles, witches, you name it, his Death Eater’s claimed it…But Draco…” he breathed out sharply while shaking his head, “he was very proficient with hiding his feelings. A master with the face of indifference. One could never tell if he cared or not. But he did…And he used this room more times than I could count. But the thing is, he got to release his anger finally and massacre those who harmed your friend while Weasley on the other hand, is pissed he couldn’t do something about it himself and that his former nemesis is the one who saved Granger. Soooo, we end up here as he pretends the pottery is the faces of the men who harmed one of his best friends.”
“You act like I don’t care about what happened to Hermione!” Neville retorted in offense. “I care just as much as Ron and Harry, but you don’t see me trying to destroy a room that magically fixes itself just because Malfoy took care of everyone’s revenge!”
“I’m not saying you don’t care…You, Longbottom, are more levelheaded when it comes to things that enrage you. While Weasley, Draco, and myself are more…vocal, I guess you could say, with our anger. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect you just the same. Weasley just needs to express his feelings through smashing things and cursing them, while you hold everything in until you can’t take it anymore and you either break down like Potter or you snap like Weasley. There’s nothing wrong with that. We all convey sadness, and fury, in different ways.”
“You didn’t walk into this room when you were upset during this whole…thing…You tried to do the ritual again instead of throwing hexes and breaking shite.”
“But I did though…Twice actually…” Theo sighed once more and stepped back to take a seat on a bench against the wall. “The second time was when Potter projected Draco’s’ suffering to us and the first…was…was right after Potter explained what had happened to him in Pompeii. Mr. Weasley and Mr. Granger took me here after asking Mrs. Malfoy for somewhere where they could take me to talk. At first, we just…stayed here, in this niche, as I cried my eyes out.” He lowered his gaze to the floor as he recalled the sorrowful day. “They stood just over there” he pointed behind Neville, who turned around for a brief moment to view the corner of the room, “and didn’t say a single word. They just let me cry…let me free myself from the emotional baggage I was holding in.” He bit his bottom lip as he stared unseeingly at the ground and huffed lightly through his nose. “Apparently, they understood that what I needed wasn’t to have people bombard me with questions about how I was feeling, and what was wrong, or whatever…which was liberating in away. Their presence alone was enough to support me…” He looked up at Neville, who held sympathy in his dark brown eyes, and produced a lightweight smile before looking back to Ron still tearing apart the room.
“As far as I know, Draco was the only person to ever use this place…that is until I stopped sobbing my eyes out long enough for anger to take over and the thoughts of suicide to disappear from my mind. As soon as I stepped into that space something washed over me and…” he licked his lips as he inhaled a deep breath and tried to think of the right words to say, “I don’t know. It was like the walls knew I needed to let go. The barrier went up to protect them and I brought out my wand…
“I know why this room is used and I know why Ron needs it…” he glanced up at Neville watching his friend through the glass in understanding. “Don’t be surprised when you end up using it one day too. Your friend just went through a horrible ordeal that I would never want, even my worst enemy, to suffer through. Trust me, Neville…No one can hold back their feelings forever when it comes to something as severe as that…Eventually it will rise to the surface and no matter how sensible or how calm you might be…it’ll come. And when it does, you’ll wish you had this room to set it free, instead of taking your frustrations out on your friends.”
“I’m not saying that I don’t understand what Ron is going through…But I don’t think I’ll ever need this room…”
“You say that now…”
“I won’t” Neville claimed solidly while Theo observed the Gryffindors’ demeanor carefully.
“We’ll see…”
July 3^rd, 1863
“I’m confused…” Ginny claimed as her thoughts strayed to the history she was taught about the city they were headed to. The group was about halfway from their destination and wanted to continue their inquiry before they arrived. “I thought the Confederates invaded Chambersburg in June of this year when gearing up to attack Gettysburg…If you used the town as an underground railroad…?”
“You want to know how we did it-or still do it really?” Caleb replied with a smirk. “Each Native American family has a White family that lives with them. The place I am taking you too is a fairly large home that was turned into an Inn. You most likely won’t meet the family as they only come and go at certain times of the day to protect the people living there. The town is alerted when any Confederates, other than myself, are plannin to enter. Anyone in danger, hides below their homes in a cellar while the ‘protectors’ play their part in pretendin to be the owners of the establishment. The entry door, when unlocked, appears to be a pantry that cannot be opened unless the person on the inside unlatches the bolts sealing the room off.”
“And this keeps them safe?” Blaise wondered aloud in interest.
“So far, it has. I have not been up to Chambersburg in a few weeks though. I know General Lee had us stationed up there for a couple of days to prepare for the battle, but my squadron was still in Virginia for some time. We were supposed to meet up with them before combat ensued, and I honestly cannot tell you what had happened. The next thing I knew, we were in Gettysburg losin people left and right.”
“Can you tell us more about Rowle-Thorfinn, I mean, and Regulus?” Draco inquired as Hermione lay gently against his chest while she stared unseeingly in front of her. He wanted to know if the pair had said anything about their journey and see if he could get a better insight on their predicament, seeing as Caleb apparently had a photographic memory and could recall basically anything that was told to him. He didn’t really care about the history of the town and was more focused on what they were up against with the amulet. “Did they say anything about how they got trapped in the past? Or the eras they encountered?”
“They did…Though I do not know if it will be much help” Caleb sighed as he steadily walked his horse down a dirt path through a mass of trees, so that they wouldn’t be spotted on the road. “They only told me they be on their third…jump…I believe is how they phrased it, and still had two more periods to go through. The first was where they met the creator of some sort of amulet, that caused the situation-”
“The creator?” Ginny exclaimed as she forced her horse to walk next to Caleb’s. “Did they say anything about what he said? Did the amulet look like a scarab beetle? Did they mention anything about the poem?”
“Whoa there, Ms. Ginny” the soldier chuckled. “One question at a time. I may remember each one, but I cannot answer all at once” he smiled warmly. “They mentioned a poem, but I did not see the amulet and they did not talk much about it or what it looked like. So, I cannot say it was a…scarab beetle, you called it?” Ginny nodded her head as she pulled out the amulet from Hermione’s bag that Draco had given her to hold on to. Caleb lit a friction match and studied the pendent, and the parchment inside, for a moment before handing it gently back to her and shrugging. “It appears to look like it came from ancient Egypt, where they claim they had first landed. They met a man by the name of Osiris, who created the relic in your hand. Though that is all they really told me about it. Besides the fact that each era was supposed to change them in a way.”
“Change them how?” Blaise questioned as Ginny placed the beetle back into the bag.
“Well for starters, each time period was meant for one of them. The first being for both of them, the second for Mr. Thorfinn and this one…well in 1859, if we are going to be exact here, was for Mr. Regulus. I do not know what the last two entailed however…”
“What about the poem?” the dark-haired wizard asked as he looked to his girlfriend in curiosity.
“The poem does not to appear to have changed much. Although a few of the traits are different. Hmm…Let me see if I can remember… ‘Look for the one that’s creative yet strong, and the one of forgiveness who has been wronged, the one of knowledge on haunted ground…’ oh, that’s me!” he laughed cheerfully, but quickly stopped when he looked around at the faces simply wanting him to keep continuing the riddle. “Apologies…Alright um, where was I…? Oh yes, ‘the one of knowledge on haunted ground, before the fearless forever unbound, the loyalty you seek is in the close, to show you the life that you once chose.’ I can only imagine the dread of the fourth era. Thorfinn seemed to have recognized it rather quickly. Something about France in 1944 and Nazi Germany…They never did tell me what a Nazi was though…”
“How the hell did he decipher an exact location and year, during World War II, from a riddle?” Ginny asked in utter confusion.
“They received a clue before that glowing shape thing appeared. They would not tell me what it said, but Thorfinn was very reluctant to step in and had to explain to Regulus what the era contained…What is a Nazi?” he asked while leaning sideways in curiosity, in hopes someone would tell him what the funny word meant.
“Think…Confederates, but in Germany…and ten times sicker and twenty times more twisted” the Italian quickly replied, causing Caleb to frown in disgust. “But okay so, they went through Egypt, the Civil War, and World War II…I get you wouldn’t know the final era, but what the hell was the second place?”
“The time before 1859, when I met them, was…13-49, where one of my ancestors was a child…squib…Yes, squib was the name…So, apparently that is one of the reasons I can see magic so well” he smiled proudly. “His parents however, thought he was sufferin from the Black Death, so they took him to Regulus to be healed as he had evidently made a small name for himself and was able to heal a few children with potions made with a book he had on them from their own time period. In any case, they deduced the child to be of magical blood but not possess magic, which I was told was frowned upon…” he paused for a moment, while Draco’s face flushed in embarrassment, before shaking his head to continue. “The child was not actually sick; he just had no magic. Regardless, they gave up the child to an orphanage to have a family of…what was the word…oh, muggles, take care of him. That did not seem to sit right with Thorfinn and once he found out from the mother what the father had forced her to do, he made sure to find the child a good home where he could grow up happy and healthy, away from the dyin people in England.”
“Hold on a second…” Draco stated quite loudly before lowering his voice when Hermione shuddered in his arms. “Sorry, love…” he whispered before kissing the top of her head and focusing back on the people surrounding him. “We were in 1349 then…well at least I think it was 1349. This is too big of a coincidence for it to not be…”
“Draco…what are you talking about?” Blaise inquired with a raised brow.
“Don’t you remember? When the amulet was fixing itself…Knockturn Alley? We saw a child being forcefully handed over to an orphanage. The mother didn’t seem to want to let go, and the father outright dragged her away.”
“Mate, that could have been anyone…We don’t know if that was the same child…”
“You can’t say that that’s eerily random, Blaise. It’s too big a coincidence that Rowle and Black were in 1349, during the Bubonic Plague just like us, and dealt with a family very similar to the one we saw. Yeah, it may be a completely different family and we can’t prove it, but I have a strange feeling it’s not…I don’t know, mate…it’s just…it’s odd.”
“And completely mental! Draco, we don’t know what year we landed in during that time. We could have very well landed in 1348 for all we know.”
“He might be an arsehole, Blaise” Ginny interrupted before the blonde lost his temper, “but he said it himself, back in the museum…He’s always right. We may not like it, but, that I’m aware of, Blondie hasn’t been wrong about anything he’s mentioned as of late…I’m not saying he’s a hundred percent correct, but if he has a feeling…I’m trusting him on it.”
“Thanks, Red…” Draco muttered softly.
Ginny nodded her head once as the group continued through the trees; trees Draco hated more than anything in his life so far. It seemed all they did was walk through woods lately and he was desperate to escape the foreign wilderness, so he wouldn’t continue to keep seeing the faces of the men who captured and tortured him almost to death. He was forever grateful that Hermione had defended him, which was another reason he didn’t hesitate to viciously murder the men trying to harm her. He just wished he could have saved her sooner.
“You mentioned that each era was meant for one of them” the dark-haired wizard began while Draco brushed a few stands of the brunette witches’ hair from her face. “Does-does that mean each place we go to is for us as well?”
“What are you saying, Blaise?” Ginny quickly cut in before Caleb could utter a word.
“I-I’ve been thinking it over, and ever since I read over the riddle and talked to Draco back in Salem…I had a strong feeling that each place is meant for one of us to learn something. Draco learned what it was like for those he used to see as lesser than himself during the war, and I could have sworn the Civil War was for me…Evidently…I-I think it was for Hermione…”
“What could she have possibly learned, about almost getting raped?” the redhead snapped, causing Caleb to lower his head in shame and embarrassment. The group remained quiet for a couple of minutes before Draco looked down at the girl in his arms and instantly knew the lesson she was supposed to learn. Although, he didn’t think she deserved what happened, he understood why it had occurred.
“It doesn’t matter how strong you are or how much you think you can handle anything that comes your way….” he began as his friends gazed back at him. “Even the bravest of heroes can fall.” He glanced up to the trio looking sullenly at him as his eyes began to water. “Hermione has fought through a war. She murdered two men without even hesitating, was bullied and hunted because of her blood, and has lost so much of her childhood…because of me…But she never fell apart…at least not like this. She kept her head held high and she never let anyone break her.” He looked back down at the bookworm who seemed to not hear a word he was saying. “Hermione never really understood the true meaning of being vulnerable. We all break eventually…Unfortunately…it’s her turn…”
“But…that day at your manor…” Blaise uttered in sorrow. “That wasn’t to-” he choked as he bit his bottom lip and did his best to try and not cry for the Gryffindor Savoir.
“She didn’t let that keep her from continuing her mission to find all the Horcruxes and defeat Voldemort…” Ginny spoke dejectedly. “Mione didn’t let it keep her down…She forgave Draco for his part a long time ago. Took her while to actually accept him, but she didn’t fault him for that day.”
“I do not mean to be impolite, but it seems your friend here, needs to learn to be the change…as it is the key.”
“What did you say?” the Italian questioned, completely perplexed as his brows creased and he stopped his horse from walking any further.
“I did not mean it to be disrespectful…” Caleb defended gently as he and the rest of the group halted their steady pace through the woods.
“No, not that. I don’t care why you said it…” Blaise stated while holding up a hand and shaking his head. “Hermione said the same thing back in the alley. Yet her interpretation of that line in the riddle was about saving my mate and changing things in order to do so…You’re saying that she was wrong?”
“I would not say she is utterly wrong, but Regulus deduced that each lesson learned…is the change they have to embrace in order to move forward. They were both complicated people and had to transform in multiple ways…‘Though don’t be fooled by the hate you see…To be the change is the key.’ You have to amend for your mistakes, and accept the change, in order to move forward. Draco did so when he accepted his fault and took the change to heart, making him a better, more carin individual.”
“So, you’re saying that Mione has to accept that…that she’s just as fragile as the rest of us?”
“That is-” the brunette muggle began, but abruptly stopped and held up a hand to shush his newfound comrades.
A rustling in the woods caused the group to freeze as the horses cocked their heads. Caleb glanced at their tails, that were held high, singling they were alert, while their ears pricked forward towards the muffled sounds. They waited in silence as their hearts beat rapidly within their chests and their wands gripped tightly in their hands, when the startling noise revealed its source. Everyone stared in bewilderment when they saw a multitude of people walking through the pitch-dark woods, with baskets and blankets held in their arms. But as the mass of men, women, and children, oblivious to the five on horses, walked through the trees, one person did see them and yelped loudly to alert the others before pulling out a Pennsylvania/Kentucky rifle and pointing it directly Calebs’ head.
“Anoki, no!” a woman shouted while throwing herself in front of the man with long black hair tied in a low ponytail, holding the weapon.
“Anoki…?” Caleb questioned with a raised brow while a grin began to form across his lips. “Anoki, you crazy son of bitch!”
“Caleb?” the man asked in confusion as he lowered his weapon while squinting through the darkness of the trees to see the face of the man on top of the horse better. “Sweet Juniper! Caleb!”
The brunette muggle dismounted his steed as the Native American man raced towards him and embraced him in a welcoming hug. However, Caleb glanced up at the woman watching in excitement, before releasing his hold on Anoki, and rushed to her. Picking her up by her waist, she giggled as he spun her around, before setting her down gently, and kissing the top of her head.
“Tala” he sighed with a large smile while stroking his fingers through her long straight black hair. “God, I have missed you!” he claimed before remembering he had a group of travelers watching him in utter shock and wonder. “Forgive me …” he turned to the group on horses. “This be the woman I be tellin you about, Tala! And my good friend Anoki; Talas’ younger cousin…” he turned proudly back to the woman to continue introductions. “And these be my new friends, Blaise, Ginny, Hermione, and Draco…I will tell you more about our encounter, but-”
“Draco?” Tala inquired while cutting her lover off and stepping forward. “As is in the constellation? Named after the never setting Dragon…” she smiled warmly. “It be a pleasure to meet you.”
“Nice…to meet you too…” Draco replied while holding Hermione tighter in his arms and completely thrown off that she spoke so well. Then again, Caleb had spent time with people from their current timeline, and not only picked up how Thorfinn and Regulus spoke, but passed on their teachings as well.
To say however, that he was fearful of Native Americas, didn’t seem to be the right word for it. He wasn’t so much as scared of them, as he was nervous around them. After the events of Jamestown, he didn’t trust anyone with their ethnicity and wanted to keep the Indians as far away from his girl as he possibly could.
“Why are you not in Chambersburg, Tala?” Caleb asked when he noticed that Draco and his friends seemed apprehensive to meet his beloved. “We were headin up that way after I found these four in the middle of a battlefield.”
Tala’s lips fell to a frown as she faced her sweetheart and lowered her head before looking up to Anoki in sorrow.
“A-after the fires a few weeks ago and the Confederates passing through…” Anoki began to explain, “our people no longer felt safe…We have decided to move into the South Mountain until the war settles down.”
“You are movin half the town?”
“We do not have a choice” Tala cut in. “Many were planning to leave on their own, which would have been dangerous…We could not leave them. I am the Chief’s daughter, and since my father’s passing…I was chosen to lead, Caleb…These are my people and I cannot leave them to fend for themselves.”
“I understand…” the brunette soldier stated while cupping the Native American woman’s’ cheek tenderly and gazing deep into her copper eyes. “Do you mind if…if we join you? My friends could really use the rest.” He pointed to Hermione with his chin, letting Tala and Anoki know that something horrible had happened without giving away too much.
“Any friend of yours, my love, be friends of ours…”
Sunday, May 9^th, 1999
Luna ran as fast as her feet could carry her until she reached the Library doors and burst through the entrance with tears streaming down her face. She searched the stunned faces for Neville and began to panic when she couldn’t find him. As eccentric as the Ravenclaw was, Luna was not usually someone to let things affect her in such a way. She couldn’t even remember the last she had actually cried. But after hearing the words Harry had spoken, she could no longer hold on to her cheerful demeanor as a rush of sadness washed over her.
“Where’s Neville?” she cried as Narcissa, Molly, and Thorfinn crowded around Elizabeth, sobbing for her daughter.
“Now is not the time, Luna!” Thorfinn yelled above the wailing noise of the muggle mother.
“Where is he!”
“Down the hall to your right!” Narcissa sighed in irritation just as Hagrid floo’d through the fireplace, looking the same as he always did, with a large dark beard and long messy black hair, and glanced around at the chaotic scene before him.
“Blimey! Wha in Gallopin’ Gorgons is goin on ‘ere!” he exclaimed in surprise. However, Narcissa ignored him and continued talking to Luna.
“Make two lefts, then a right when you reach Draco’s bedroom-the large silver door, you can’t miss it! He’s in the Rage Room with Theo and Ronald, five doors down from there on the left!” She quickly turned her attention to Hagrid before the Ravenclaw completely had a chance to race out of the room. “Please tell me you brought Calming Draughts?”
“Gottem right ‘ere for yeh…” he claimed in bewilderment, while reaching into his breast pocket for one of the vials the Headmistress had given him. Although, Lady Malfoy didn’t wait for him to walk across the large room, and quickly hurried over to him to take the small bottle.
Racing back to blubbering mess that was Elizabeth, she popped the cork of the top, and forced the liquid down the mothers’ throat. As they waited for the potion to take effect, Luna sprinted down the halls and swiftly turned right, after passing the Malfoy heirs bedroom, and managed to find the Rage Room without fault. Bursting through the door immediately upon locating it, startling both Theo and Neville, she ran into her boyfriends’ arms and broke down. Both students raised a brow in puzzlement because neither of them even knew it was possible for the petite blonde witch to sob, let alone shed a tear as she was usually the one who knew how to help others through a terrible time.
“Luna…?” Theo began gently as Neville wrapped his arms tightly around the girl, and slowly stepped forward with a hand stretched out to touch her. “Luna, what happened? Is-is Potter alright?” The Ravenclaw continued to sob as the brunette Slytherin glanced up at Neville before noticing Ron had finally given up destroying things near them and fell to his knees to cry while the barrier wall lowered. Turning his attention back to the couple, he lightly placed a hand on Luna’s back as the Gryffindor held her head close to his chest. “Luna, love…tell us what’s wrong.”
The blonde girl slowly turned her head while slightly calming herself and began to speak through her whimpers as she clutched her wizards’ shirt firmly. Once she had finished telling both boys what Harry had said, something inside Neville shattered and an anger he couldn’t control began to rise to the surface.
“Take her…” he whispered.
“What?” Theo questioned with a crease forming above his brows.
“Please take her…”
Theo disconcertingly reached out and ushered Luna into his arms while Neville closed his eyes for a brief moment before walking over to Ron. Helping him stand, he guided the redhead over to the bench by his friends, set him down, and then turned around.
“Neville, wha…what’re doing?” the Slytherin questioned as Luna laid against his chest.
“Can you get them out of here…?” he sullenly asked while staring at the room with his wand at his side.
“Not until you tell me what the hell you’re doing?”
“I don’t let things gets to me…” he claimed despondently while never removing his eyes from the room in front of him. “Not since the war. That’s one of the reasons why Luna and I work out so well…We are levelheaded…But you’re right…” He shrugged with one arm as he licked his lips and slowly turned his tear-filled gaze to Theo. “No one can hold back their feelings forever when it comes to something as severe as this…It was different, you know? Thinking it was just an attack that looked like a rape. Something I couldn’t really picture…But to know exactly what Harry saw…T-to know that Hermione…” he choked as a tear slide down his cheek. “Three men…Three! Tried to…I made myself believe it was only an attack that she could bounce back from. That’s the Hermione we all know. The strong one, the brave one, the one who holds all of us up when we’re down…And now…” He licked his bottom lip as he stared unseeingly at Theo, who was brewing tears of his own in his warm brown eyes. “Now she’s broken, and we can’t help her…We can’t save her…”
“She’ll get through this, Neville…”
“And what if she doesn’t, Theo? What if she doesn’t make it through any of this?”
“Draco wouldn’t let that happen. He assassinated those men for a reason, he won’t just let Granger crumble into a shell of a person. We’ve seen it happen way too many times. There’s no way he would give up on her; not when it’s someone he personally knows…Neville, if Granger was willing to risk everything to save his life in Salem…Draco is not going to rest until he makes sure she gets through this, you hear me? She will make it through this…I promise…”
“Can you please just get them out of here…” he sniffled while trying to hold back his emotions so the others wouldn’t see his break down.
“Yeah…Just…take all the time you need…”
Theo gently led the petite blonde from the room and had her wait outside the door before returning to help Ron. Once the entrance clicked closed on his way out however, he paused for a moment as the sounds of shattering glass and hexes began to reverberate throughout the hall.
July 3^rd, 1863
Ginny stood in the middle of a tent lent to them by Anoki, after secretly charming the inside, similar to her father's tent back during the World Cup, while she filled the transfigured tub with water from her wand. In order to fit everything inside she had no choice but to expand it and hope the Native Americans listened to Tala when she demanded they not bother them.
They had learned from Caleb, during the manual set up of the shelter, that they were somewhere in the Northern part of the South Mountain. And since they couldn’t use magic in front of muggles, they had to erect the shelter the old fashion way but learned in the process that the Indians they were camping with, were a part of the Shawnee tribe. They had once inhabited areas all around Ohio, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania before being split up and driven to the West and South. They had returned to their original homeland in the eighteenth century but during the early eighteen hundreds’, the government had forcibly relocated the Shawnee to Kansas and Missouri. The small tribe of about seventy Natives had hidden themselves from the White Man for many years until the Civil War was nearing its end, and now they were on the move again.
It helped herself at least, understand that not all Native Americans were bad, but unfortunately, Blaise was still afraid and stayed as far away from them as possible while Draco still had his doubts. Regretfully, that meant the Italian stayed hidden in his and Draco’s tent while Ginny and the blonde Slytherin took care of Hermione. Although, he had walked them through what they should do in case the brunette threw a fit, but that was the best he could do as he had never dealt with someone in such a sever state of depression.
Ginny finished filling the tub and then quickly flicked her wrist to warm the water before reaching into Hermione’s bag for the bath items they would need and placed them within arm’s reach of the metal basin, while Draco set the Golden Girl on the edge of a cot. When she was finished, she walked over to Hermione, still staring unseeingly in front of her, and slowly crouched down. However, the brunette witch flinched when the redhead reached out, causing Ginny to frown. She tried again, but once more Hermione recoiled before she could even touch her.
“It’s okay, Red…” Draco claimed sorrowfully while placing a gentle hand upon her shoulder. “I can do it…”
“I-I don’t understand…Why is she afraid of me?”
“I-I don’t know…May-maybe we just need to give it some time. I’m sure she’ll come around eventually.”
The redheads’ eyes began to water, making Draco feeling incredibly bad for her. He hated seeing women upset and if it wasn’t for Pansy, he honestly wouldn’t know what to do when confronted with an emotional girl. But thanks to his best female friend, he learned how to be relatively good at comforting those of the opposite sex. Pulling Ginny into a hug, he let her cry into his blood-stained shirt, and refused to say a word. Nothing he could say would ease her pain anyway, but he had learned from his mother and from Pansy, that sometimes not saying anything, was the best medicine.
After a few minutes of only desperate cries filling the shelter, Ginny slowly backed out of the Slytherins’ embrace and waited for him to undress her friend. She wasn’t a hundred percent comfortable with the blonde doing it instead of her, but if Hermione wouldn’t let her touch her, she had no choice; and she wasn’t about to use magic on someone who mentally wasn’t all the way with them anymore, in fear that it might do more harm than good. However, it did help ease her mind that Draco was the Gryffindor Princess’s boyfriend and she trusted him more than she trusted a lot of others lately. Which was saying a lot since the Malfoy heir was known to be deceitful and the best liar in their school.
Draco exhaled a sharp breath before taking a couple of steps forward, closer to Hermione. Kneeling down, he slowly reached out and gently cupped the brunettes’ cheek as he searched her eyes for any sign that she was aware of what he was about to do. He wasn’t comfortable with the idea of stripping his girlfriend when they had just starting dating, let alone in front of Ginny. But he didn’t have a say in the matter. He was the only one Hermione would allow to touch her, and they had to see her wounds in order to heal them. Last thing any of them wanted was for her to receive an infection they had no potions to cure, because they didn’t treat an injury.
“Princess…Hermione, I…I have to take your blouse off, okay…? Only for a moment, alright? I just need to see your wounds so I can heal them. If-if you feel uncomfortable at any moment…you tell me right away…Do you understand?” She slowly nodded her head as she stared off to the side as he adjusted himself in front of her. “Do I have your permission to continue?” he inquired softly while lowering his hands to her lap. She nodded her head once more and Draco, with trembling fingers, raised his hands and began to undo the buttons on her dirty blouse.
Once he was finished and her cream-colored bra was exposed, he helped the Gryffindor to her feet as Ginny nervously watched him begin to remove her pleated skirt. After he had eliminated everything except for her knickers and bra, he stepped back as he and the redheads’ lips parted in concern. Dry blood, cuts, and scrapes littered Hermione’s pale skin, but what pained them both the most to see, were bruises in the shape of handprints and fingers, covering her body as she crossed her arms before her in shame.
Nail marks raked across her stomach from the force the men had used to rip away her clothing, while contusions and welts riddled her ankles, wrists, ribs, and hips, and her knees were darkly discolored with old blood staining her flesh. Everywhere the duo gazed was another yellow, purple, black and blue mark that completely shattered their hearts.
“Oh, Mione…” Ginny began to sob with a hand pressed firmly against her chest.
“Hey, hey, hey!” Draco began as he rushed over to the red-headed Gryffindor and gritted his teeth together. “No…You need to stay strong for her, you hear me? Don’t you dare break down now. If you can’t hold it together then take a walk and come back when you’re ready. She doesn’t need anyone’s’ pity or-or you crying when she’s exposed like she is right now…I’m not trying to be callous here, Red, but she needs support. Not someone feeling sorry for her. Can you get it together?”
“I-I…” she choked as she looked passed the Slytherin and at her friend hanging her head low. “I-I can’t do this…”
“Okay” he nodded as he rubbed the sides of her arms with his hands. “Go get some fresh air. I got this…”
“But-”
“I have her, Ginny…No one is ever going to hurt her again.”
Pinching her lips together as she stared into Draco’s silver eyes while trying to contain her emotions, she quickly turned on her heel and rushed out of the tent with her face in her hands. She raced to the shelter directly next door, startling Blaise so much that he stood up quickly with his wand pointed out in front of him and fell over the cot he had been laying in.
“Sweet Merlin, Red!” he yelled while scrambling to his feet, but quickly softened his features when he saw his girlfriend doing her best to hold back the sadness she felt within. “Red…? Ginny…? What’s wrong, darlin?”
Ginny folded her lips in as she stood at the entrance, trying to not break down, while Blaise slowly stepped forward.
“They-they…They broke her, Blaise…E-every inch of her b-body appears to be covered in-in bruises and-and cuts…They hurt her…!”
“Ginny…”
“She’s scared of me!” she confessed through broken tears. “My best-best friend is t-terrified of me and I-I don’t know why…I don’t know why…” she shrugged while she began to whimper and fall to her knees as Blaise hurried over to her; embracing her in his arms as she wept.
“Shh, love. It’s going to be okay. She’s going to be fine” he whispered as he rocked the redhead back and forth while caressing the stern of her head. “She’ll be back to normal in no time…I swear it. She’s strong a-and she’ll get through this.” He pulled back and cupped both of her cheeks in his hands as he wiped away her tears with his thumbs. “She’s not scared of you….” He searched her brown eyes as she pressed her cheek against his hand, “she’s just afraid of the world right now.”
“But why is she okay with Draco? I should be the one she runs to…not him…”
“Oh, love…” he slightly shrugged as he bit his bottom lips and lowered his hands to take hers. “The human mind is…complicated. She sees Draco as safe because he saved her. It has nothing to do with me, or-or you, or even Draco really…”
“I could have saved her too. She knows I would have. If I would have just been-”
“Don’t-Don’t do that” he quickly cut in. “Don’t blame yourself and do not fall into the ‘what if’s’. It doesn’t do anyone any good to think about what could have happened. The point is, is that it did happen, and…and Draco just happened to get to her first. We can’t change it-we can’t go back. All we can do is move forward and give her time to heal.”
“But she needs me…” the Gryffindor claimed as her bottom lip trembled.
“Right now, she needs to find herself before she can find any comfort in us. I know it’s tough, love, and I know it’s hard, but…she needs her space. Draco will make sure she’s okay and he’ll let us know the moment she asks for you. Because she will. Just…it just won’t be right now…Come here” he requested as he pulled her into his chest and held her tightly. “We are all going to have to face things we believe we can handle. But we have to remember that in the end…we will always have each other.”
XX
Draco stared at Hermione for a brief moment as he tried to retain his own emotions and inhaled a deep breath before letting it out slowly. Bringing out his wand, he walked up the to the Golden Girl and explained clearly what he was about to do so she wouldn’t freak out. When he received her consent, he gently placed the tip of the Hawthorn wood against the large contusion on her cheek and wordlessly began to heal it. When he was finished, he slowly moved the wand down to the bruises across her neck.
But when he bent down to heal the injuries across her legs, he had to contain an undeniable rage, churning within his abdomen and making him both extremely pissed off and sick to his stomach at the same time. The damn bastards he had killed, had marked his witch with a large bite wound, leaving behind dried blood that had once trickled down her inner thigh. If he had thought he had hated those muggle men before brutally murdering them before, he sure as hell loathed the sons of bitches with everything he had now. If he ever found out they had families, he swore on Severus Snapes’ grave he would torture every last one of them and make them watch as he slaughtered them unsympathetically.
After taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, he continued to heal every part of her body and clear away as much blood as he could. He then charmed the ragged clothing he had removed from her earlier, into a pair of shorts and a camisole before helping her redress and guiding her to the tub.
However, when he tried to get her to step in, she refused. Relaxing his shoulders, he licked his lips as he tried to think of a way to get her in without forcing her, when an idea came to mind. Removing his own shirt, shoes, and socks, he charmed his trousers into long shorts and stepped into the warm water, all without letting go of her hand. Turning to face his Gryffindor Princess, Draco carefully encouraged her to enter by tenderly pulling her closer to him. When she complied, he smiled warmly and assisted her into the bath.
Sitting down, the Slytherin Prince allowed Hermione to sit between his legs. Once he thought she was comfortable, he reached over the side of the tub and picked up the metal cup Ginny had left for them. Filling the cup with water, he gently began to coat the bookworms’ back until he decided she was wet enough before picking up the bar of soap and lathering her exposed skin with the same sponge she had used on him in the river. The process was heartbreaking as Hermione stared at the cloudy water, refusing to speak, and he had to hold back the tears brewing in his eyes. Although, he allowed one to escape and roll down his cheek as he rinsed her reddened skin; wishing she would say something.
Draco missed her addicting smile and her joyous laugh, the light that sparkled in her eyes whenever she looked at him, but most of all…he missed her voice. He missed her argumentative nature, the way she annoyed him to death with her knowledge of muggle things, her playful banter. He just wanted her back, whether she still saw him as her boyfriend or not. He missed the Hermione Granger he grew up with, more than anything in the world.
Charming the liquid clean, Draco had the brunette witch lean back into him slightly so he could wet her hair. The shampoo foamed in the brown coils and he did his best to avoid hurting her has his fingers grazed over the small bald area where her curls were ripped out. As he massaged her scalp and neck, Hermione closed her eyes and released a soft moan in enjoyment, proving to the blonde that he was helping bring her back to him. After rinsing her wavy hair, he repeated the process with conditioner and washed her body again until he was sure she felt clean.
They both sat in silence for a long while as Draco waited until she was ready to get out of the tub; even going as far as to re-charm the water warm when it cooled. An hour had come and gone as they continued to rest; the tips of their fingers and toes pruned beneath the heated pool, but neither of them seemed to care. It wasn’t until a half-hour later that Draco had thought Hermione had fallen asleep with her knees tucked tightly against her chest and moved to stand up. However, he was quickly interrupted mid stance to the sound of the voice he desperately wished to hear.
“Hermione…?” he inquired softly while slowly lowering himself back down.
“It’s my fault…” she whispered as tears slipped from her lashes and she stared off to her right with her head resting upon her knees.
“What?”
“I wanted to take your pain away…”
“Hermione…” he sighed while leaning forward and sweeping her damp frizzy hair from her face.
“I prayed to take your pain away…” she continued as if he never said a word. “I prayed…” she paused for a moment as he gazed at her; wondering where she was going with her small speech. “I prayed for God to give me your pain…”
“You-you think your God-”
“It’s my fault…” her bottom lip trembled as she hugged her legs tighter.
“Hermione, this isn’t your fault” he stated firmly. “And y-your God didn’t do this to you. What happened to you isn’t your fault.”
She was quiet for so long time almost seemed to stand still as Dracos’ eyes darted back and forth while trying to understand her logic. He didn’t think her simple prayer for him when he was hurt, would cause her so much harm. He knew it wasn’t anyone’s fault except the horrible men who tried to take what wasn’t theirs. He had no idea how the woman he was falling hard for, would ever think she was to blame.
“I murdered two people in c-cold blood for h-h-hurting you…I committed the u-ultimate s-sin. In any religion…I deserved what happened to me.”
“Don’t say that!” he demanded as his brows creased in anger. “Don’t ever say that, Hermione, you hear me?”
“It’s my fault. It’s all…my fault…”
XX
After putting Hermione to bed, Draco sat on the edge of the cot as he listened to her breathing while she slept. He didn’t know what to do after her confession. It was the only thing she had spoken since they had arrived in Gettysburg and it was the only thing she had kept repeating over and over again. He couldn’t calm her, he couldn’t stop her, all he could do was hold her until she cried herself to exhaustion and fell asleep in his arms. The pain he felt for the bookworm…it was as if someone had taken his Aunts’ dagger and stabbed him repeatedly in the heart until the muscle was nothing more than a tattered mess he couldn’t fix. He had never felt pain like that before. He would rather suffer through the torture again in Salem than listen to the lugubrious cries of the woman he admired, claim she deserved to almost be raped.
Draco wanted to go back and kill those men all over again to release the anger he felt. He would run through a thousand battlefields if it meant Hermione wouldn’t have to suffer through the mental anguish she was now. All he wanted to do was help her but neither him nor his friends, knew what to do. Placing his face in his hands as his elbows rested on his thighs, he rubbed his fingers down his face as every inch of his soul wanted to scream.
Standing up with a deep intake of breath, the Slytherin Prince ran his fingers through his hair as he watched his witch sleep before turning on his heel and exiting the tent. He needed some fresh air before he destroyed something and allowed a tribe full of muggle Indians know just how powerful he really was.
As Draco stepped outside and walked a few paces away from the entrance, he exhaled sharply and closed his eyes to try and combat the mixture of emotions coursing through his veins.
“She is sleeping…?” a female voice questioned through the silence of the forest, startling the blonde wizard to the point that he had to grip his chest in surprise. “My apologies. I did not mean to frighten you” Tala expressed as she bowed her head slightly and set the work she was crafting down on her lap.
“No, it-it’s fine. I-I just didn’t see you there” he replied before looking around in confusion. “Wh-why are you sitting on the ground?” he inquired as he studied the large quilt the Native American woman was sitting upon as her long pin straight black hair hung over her shoulders.
“Grounding myself with nature. Becoming one with the Earth as a way to connect with the Great Spirit and Our Grandmother; to thank them for keeping us safe and for the blessings they have bestowed upon myself and what is left of my tribe.”
“Uhhhhhh, ohhh-kay…”
“You are confused…” she claimed, though more as a statement of fact than a question. “We do not believe in the same spirits. There is no wrong in this…My people, we believe in many things, but value the world around us most. Living within and as a part of nature. Being forever known by the tracks we leave on Earth. When a man moves away from nature and has forgotten the ground on which we stand is sacred, his heart becomes hard. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies within yourself. I am connecting myself as a reminder to always give thanks…Please…sit…”
Draco raised a perplexed brow but did as he was told and took a seat on the quilt. Crossing his legs in front of him, he leaned forward and examined the object Tala was making, resting on her lap.
“What is that? If you don’t mind me asking…?” Tala smiled warmly as she held up the item to show the blonde.
“It is for your friend. I have others I wish to bestow upon you and your friends, but I feel Hermione needs it most right now. It is what the Ojibwe Nation call ‘Asabikeshiinh’.”
“I’m sorry, a what?”
“It means ‘spider’. Or what you might know it as, a Dreamcatcher.”
“…A what?” he asked again, making Tala giggle as she placed the sacred hoop on the ground in front of her.
“A Dreamcatcher, a once maternal keepsake, goes by many names, Draco, but the talismans hold the same purpose and meaning. When hung over where you rest, where the morning light can hit it, the catcher attracts all sorts of dreams and thoughts into its web. The hoop,” she pointed to the circle wrapped in a bent Red Willow branch covered in stretched sinews, “represents the circle of life. It allows good dreams to pass through and gently slide downwards through the feathers to comfort the sleeper below. Bad dreams, nightmares, are caught in the protective net and burned up in the light of day.”
“Like a spider web…” the Slytherin stated as he studied the intricate weaving.
“Yes.”
“So, what are the beads for?”
“Some say the beads symbolize the good dreams that could not pass through the web, immortalized in the form of sacred charms…”
“What do you believe?”
“I believe they symbolize the spider; the weaver itself.”
“And these Dreamcatchers, they actually work?” the Shawnee Chief smiled as she lifted the creation and continued to work on it.
“We may not have magic like you and your friends, Draco, but that does not mean we do not have magic of our own. If you believe…it will work.”
“You know about us too?” he questioned while resting his elbows on his knees.
“Caleb has told me much about you and I have met the ones who came before you as well. My cousin knows as well. But do not fear, we shall never tell your secret.”
“Uh…thanks.” Tala bowed her head in respect and continued to tie the last bead onto the Dreamcatcher in her hands. “So-”
“You can help her” she cut in as she raised her soft copper eyes to his grey ones. “But not in the way you believe.”
“Pardon me?”
“You should not take her memories. Our stories, our memories, they are our history. We learn from them; we grow from them. They create the wisdom we pass onto our children. Hermione cannot heal when she knows something is missing. Healing does not mean the damage never existed. It means the damage no longer controls our lives. Do not try to steer the river…Let the river be the guide.”
“I-I wasn’t planning to-”
“You were, Draco Malfoy. I have seen it before with the ones who came first. They, however, understood that no matter how cruel life can be, one’s past allows you to the discover who you truly are. If you take that from your friend…she will never forgive you. And she will never uncover her true strength.” Draco lowered his head in shame as he brought his knees up before looking towards the night sky. The stars twinkled brightly through the dense forest as he thought about how a woman, he once thought was a savage a few days ago, was right. Tala was nothing like the Powhatans his group had encountered in Jamestown. She was knowledgeable and more caring then a lot of people he knew in the present. She was a lot like Hermione now that he thought about it, and he not only respected the words she spoke, but saw her as a person with compassion, rather than a ruthless killer he thought her, and her people, were. “What is on your mind?” she inquired gently while reaching out and placing a hand upon the blondes’ knee.
“I just…I…”
“You do not know how to aid her?” Draco nodded his head as he licked his lips and his grey eyes began to water. “In order to help her, you must first help yourself. You are angry and sad…hurt…But you are not alone. When…When your people came to our land…it was not with open arms. It was with illness and guns, bibles of your God…They took our land and killed us with their weapons and disease and had the arrogance to call us godless savages. I have heard many stories from my ancestors about the pale man. I felt angry and for a long time; hated your kind. I wished revenge on the ones who stole from us. Pain for the ones who destroyed my family, my people, my tribe. But my elders…they were wise. Revenge is nothing but a way to increase injury. ‘He who hurts others often finds that they hurt themselves in the process’.”
“So, what did you do?” the Slytherin Prince inquired with a small shrug.
“My father always told me ‘A single twig breaks, but the bundle of twigs is strong. Our people is strong. We do not seek confrontation. Those who do, should always dig two graves’.”
“Wise man…”
“Very wise…Though my mother was the most wise and humble” she chuckled softly while looking down at the Dreamcatcher. “She taught me to always look to the sky and count the stars, for each one is a blessing given to us by the Great Spirit.”
“She sounds like a good woman.”
“What of your mother? What lessons has she bestowed upon you?” Draco scoffed as he thought about the things his mother had taught him growing up.
“My father was a large influence on her, and not in a good way. She did her best though given the circumstances…” he lowered his legs and leaned back on his hands as he looked up at the brightly lit moon hovering above them. “As a child, whenever I was…upset…she would hold me in her arms, and we would look out my bedroom window at the sun setting in the night sky. We would stay up all night talking about anything and every to distract us from the outside world…She would point out the moon and we would watch as it slowly disappeared behind the horizon until the early hours of the morning.” He lowered his eyes and stared unseeingly in front of him as he recalled the many memories he had with his mother over the years. “She would always ask me what I learned each time and…and I never quite understood what she meant. It wasn’t until I was about seventeen, going through the worst year of my life, that I finally realized why she kept asking me the same question.”
“What did you learn?” Tala inquired sweetly.
“The sun always sets, and the moon always looks different each time it appears…”
“It that all?” she questioned with a raised brow and a smile of confusion.
“No…” he smiled with a small scoff as he bit his bottom lip and turned his focus to the Native American. “Each one taught me something different. The moon…it taught me that it’s okay to go through phases, but the sun…The sun taught me that no matter how many times you go down, you’ll always keep rising…”
“That is a beautiful lesson. It is also how you help the woman you love.”
“What? I-I don’t love her…”
“There is an old Cherokee story that my elders have heard and passed onto me when I was just a child. One that holds a deep meaning I think you need to hear…”
“Um…alright…?”
“Everyone has two wolves within their hearts. Fighting to break free and become dominant. One is evil; he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”
“Well that wolf and I seem to have a lot in common” he chuckled as he sat up straight and crossed his legs once more. “So, let me guess, the other wolf is good?”
“Yes…He is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.”
“Like Yin and Yang…”
“I do not know what that is…” she stated as she narrowed her brows in bewilderment.
“It’s Chinese. Hermione told me about it a while back. It’s a balance between good and evil. You can’t have one without the other and they influence the destinies of creatures or…something.”
“Ahh, a wise concept. But these wolves fighting within you, within your friends, within Hermione…it is not about balance.”
“Okay, so then which wolf wins in the end? Which one is more powerful? There is always one that is stronger than the other” he questioned in interest.
“The one you feed…” she answered softly. “You be a liar Draco Malfoy, and you feed the evil wolf the most. It is time to start feeding the other. Do not lie to me about your feelings, but more importantly, do not lie to yourself. You are a good man who is in love with a broken woman…So be her sun…and help her learn to rise again.” With that said, Tala slowly stood up and walked over to a small basket sitting close to the tent Hermione was asleep in. Reaching in, she pulled out a plant and examined it for a moment before returning to the blonde wizard and handing him both the plant and the Dreamcatcher. “Burn these each night Hermione is asleep and hang the Dreamcatcher above her where the sun can shine its light upon it. She will get well in her own time, but until then…be her bundle of twigs…”
AN: I apologize everyone, but I have somehow found myself falling behind on this story. I used to have multiple chapters done and edited before posting day and now I am working on trying to write the chapter that is supposed to be posted next, the same week it’s supposed to be put out. It’s stressing me out writing that way, and with the holiday rush officially starting at work, and everyone wanting their dogs groomed before their family sees them lol, I have slowed in my writing. So unfortunately, Chapter 17 will not be posted next Sunday. However! I am not abandoning this story! I just need to take a moment to write out a few chapters and get back into the “staying ahead flow” I was doing when I first started this fic, without having a week deadline to do it. So, we are going to take a little holiday/winter break so that I can catch back up and have multiple chapters up and ready when I begin posting again. January 5^th2020 is the day Chapter 17 is expected to be posted and the story will continue. I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday and I will see you again next year!
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The Paths We Take