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Breaking the Chain	By : RynStar15 Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 42452 -:- Recommendations : 5 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, that belongs to the glorious J.K Rowling. I don't make any money off of this writing, I simply twist her world for my own pleasure.

Chapter List
- 17
- 18
- 19
Draco ignored her protests, rolled his eyes when she said she weighed too much and carried on about him getting tired, that she could walk just fine, blah, blah, blah. He ignored the fact that his arms were killing him or that his back was sore. He didn't care that his legs yelled at him with every step. He needed her in his arms. Not once, not twice, but three times he had thought he had lost her. Too many close calls, too many almosts. He would carry her all the way to Australia if he had to.
His excuse was that there was no way she could go far with her leg as badly burnt as it was. This was true and she knew it, and it made him grin when she fumbled for other reasons why he should put her down. The damn witch could talk a poor bloke to death.
He finally snapped at her for making this harder than it should be and she had desisted.
For a while.
He couldn't help but smile at her stubborn will to do everything on her own. This was why he loved her so much and this was why he would miss her. Never in his life had he met someone so eager for independence. If she had broken both of her legs she would have tried to walk, that's just the way she was. Never wanting to burden others or depend on anyone but herself. She was so stubborn and self-sufficient he felt bad for the men who would attempt to win her over in the future.
And his heart ached knowing he would never be the one to do so.
They didn't have far to go. They were supposed to go to a safe point in a field in hopes that it would still be a field in the future. This part of the woods was not overly thick so the going was easier than before, but Draco would still be more than happy if he never stepped foot in a forest again. He'd had enough of mother nature these past ten days to last him a lifetime.
The full moon led the way until they emerged on the other side, a carefully tended meadow lying before them.
Draco set Hermione down gently and pulled her to him so that her back was to his chest and he wrapped his arms around her while they stared out at the scene before them. Below, hills of muted green rolled in the moon drenched light. A frigid breeze stirred the strands of grass that were usually used for grazing sheep according to Alvida. She had warned about wolves in the area and he remembered how Hermione had paled at the mention of the animal and wondered again whether she had some sort of campaign to save the creatures, though he had no idea why.
His heart was heavy as they stood there. He was terrified to move, knowing that when he did, he would lose her forever. His decision to not tell Hermione about their choice to stay was a hard one, but he knew it was the right thing to do. She didn't need the pain of having to choose between her infatuation with him and her family. The sun would rise soon and they would leave to a world where anything could have happened while they were gone, or worse, they could have caused any number of things to happen. He had no idea whether any of their actions here would have future reprocussions. He did sort of murder one or two people…
Draco sighed, closing his eyes. He wished for just a moment that this night would never end.
He could feel her chest tremble beneath his arms and knew she was holding back tears. He dug his face into her shoulder, kissing the smooth skin presented there, closing his eyes and etching this moment into his mind.
"It's almost time," she said, her voice small. The Time Turner Alvida had given them was set to go off at dawn. This original version was set at a specific moment by Alvida alone. She'd only managed to make them jump forward in years, but not days, and it worked almost like a Portkey, operating only once at a given time.
"I guess this is goodbye then," he murmured, his heart heavy. Hermione turned in his arms, tears in her eyes. He wished she wouldn't, he didn't want this to be any harder than it already was.
"It doesn't have to be, Draco. You have other options. Come with me, back to the headquarters. You'll be welcomed with open arms by everyone. We'll protect your family, we'll do everything-"
He stopped her arguments with a shake of his head. "Hermione, we've gone over this before. You know it's impossible."
"It's not!" she cried, the tears finally escaping. "We can figure it out! They must already think you're dead by now, we can keep you hidden-"
"And sacrifice my parents?" he asked, making her stammer into silence. "Hermione, you don't understand. When Voldemort brands you he can find you wherever you go. When I return, he'll know."
"Well, then we'll find your parents, bring them to a safe house-"
"If my parents stayed with you, you'd be in constant danger. The Dark Lord has his own ways of tracking his followers. We'd be hunted every single moment of every single day. We're too close, we know too much."
"We'll figure it out, we'll find a way-"
He shook his head again, stalling her arguments. "My father would never come, and my mother will never leave him. He believes in the Dark Lord's lies, he would never leave his side."
"But if it was to protect you-"
"You really think he would give up his place in the Dark Lord's reign to protect me?" Draco thundered. "Not everyone has good in them, Hermione! The world isn't full of misunderstood people who secretly want to be virtuous inside! These people are evil; there is no good in them, my father included. There might have been once but it's been washed away by years of hate. All they think about is who they can kill next and just so you know, that's you!"
She stumbled back from him, the color in her face draining. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that you are on the top of the hit list. That was why I was in the dungeons that day," he confessed. "I was following you. The Dark Lord ordered me to keep my eye on you, to take you out and present you to Potter as a way to get him to come over to save the rest of his friends."
The look in Hermione's face cut him to the quick and Draco cursed.
"When you came around the corner I almost killed you then," he said, the memory seizing him with the same terror he'd felt that day. He'd known when he'd been given the task that he'd never be able to follow through, no matter how much they'd fought back at school. Hermione was innocent; annoying as hell, but innocent. "I couldn't… As soon as I saw you I panicked, so I grabbed you instead, thought if I interrogated you, if I could get some information, maybe that would be enough..."
She looked at the ground, unable to meet his gaze. He couldn't blame her. He was a monster.
"I already told you that it doesn't matter," she murmured to the ground. "I figured that had to be the reason, especially you didn't seem to know about Nagini."
"Tell me."
A sad look came across her face as she gazed up at him. "I can't. Not unless you promise to come to our side. It's too dangerous otherwise."
He knew she was trying to trick him, but he wouldn't fall for it. His father would probably be able to explain it to him anyways. Nagini must be some sort of weapon, maybe she had powers he didn't know about and the Order didn't want her to be used against them so they had ordered Hermione to dispose of the snake. Stupid of them to send her down there alone. She could have been killed! She was the smartest witch they had and yet they were sending her on suicide missions. Didn't they realize how important she was?
The two of them were quiet. They didn't know what to say to each other. The moon sunk lower and lower into the sky. They were delaying. They needed to head down to the field so they would be ready when the Time Turner activated.
"Let's go," Draco finally said, his voice unusually gravelly. Hermione nodded and sidestepped him when he tried to pick her up. He didn't persist, just took the satchel from her shoulder and transferred it to his own. He watched her carefully as she winced and limped down the hill to the meadow below. His jaw clenched knowing how much pain she must be in, knowing she chose it over his touch.
When they reached the level terrain below Hermione held out her hand for the bag and he handed it to her wordlessly. Looking at the lightening sky, she dug out the Time Turner and wrapped the necklace around them both.
He looked into her eyes and held them there, willing her to see inside him, to see the anguish it caused him to let her go. She looked away, her eyes swimming with pain as dawn crept ever closer.
"Hold onto me," she grated out, still not able to meet his gaze. "I don't know what will happen and I don't want you to go flying off halfway there."
He nodded and grasped her around the waist, ready to take her weight when they landed so she wouldn't injure her leg further. He memorized the feel of her body next to his, knew if he bent down right now and kissed that spot behind her ear that she would shudder, that if he sucked on her neck she would moan. He knew that if his kissed her lips he would fall and never be able to do what he knew he had to.
"Ready?" she asked, her voice tight.
No. "Yes."
And as the sun peaked above the horizon a rush of wind and a whirl of colors made Draco slam his eyes shut, the sensation of being wrung like a sponge consuming him as the air was ripped from his lungs.
When he landed he stumbled, overbalancing onto his back and bringing Hermione down with him, holding her tightly for a moment as his world righted. He slowly sat up with her in his lap, clenching his shirt and her likely still spinning head, and looked around. They were still in a field but the surroundings were much different. He could see a country highway not far off, a blue farmhouse stood behind him and in the distance he could see the rumbling city of London. A red car sped along on the road, oblivious to the fact that they had just arrived from the thirteenth century.
The sun was just peaking over the horizon, spreading its light over them, and Draco drank it in, keeping one arm tightly wrapped around Hermione.
"Are you sure we're in the right time?" he asked nervously. If there were cars they were certainly in the future, but that didn't mean it was the correct year...
"I hope so. If it worked correctly, it should be the same day exactly 762 years later. According to Alvida it shouldn't work more than once, so let's hope it did what it was supposed to."
She turned to him, her eyes echoing the emotions that roiled within him. Her look was one of such longing it struck him to the core. He broke and kissed her long and hard, a melding of lips and souls. He took this last moment, letting it soothe his soul and prepare him for the days to come. He knew he needed to stop; they needed to go, to get away from each other, to go back to their own lives.
So why was it so damn hard to stop himself? He couldn't get himself to pull away…
You can. You must. There is too much at stake. The Dark Lord will murder you both if he knew. Your parents could even now be dead from your disappearance. They're counting on you to go back, to save them, to do what you were meant to do. Hermione deserves so much more than what you can give her. If you truly love her, you'll let her go, now, before it's too late.
He squeezed his eyes shut. It was so hard, so fucking hard to do what he had to do. He was so tired of it all, so tired of the killing and the fighting. He just wanted it all to end so he could finally find peace. He was too weak, far too weak to do what he was charged to do. He was supposed to kill her but the thought made him sick.
He had known before that he couldn't kill her any more than he had killed Dumbledore. But now, now things had changed. He knew he couldn't let someone else kill her either, not after what she had done for him, not after he had seen the person she truly was. She was brave and smart and caring. No wonder Golden Boy kept her around. She was the type of person you could count on in a tight situation. You knew she always had your back as well as your front. Draco knew he loved her, knew he would never succeed in his task, even if it meant his death.
He would keep her safe, no matter what the cost.
So though it killed him inside, he knew what he had to do. He had to push her away, make her hate him again. He had to break her heart in order to save her life.
Steeling himself, he pulled away from her, lifting the chain up over his head and dropping the necklace casually into her palm.
"Well, Granger, it's been fun. You gave it up a hell of a lot easier than I would have guessed for a prude such as yourself. Haven't had a virgin in years. Guess you've wanted a piece of me for a while, eh?" He gave her his signature smirk while she looked at him dumbfounded, hurt. He told himself to be strong as he laughed at her, shoving her off his lap.
"You're kidding me, right? You actually thought all that was real, didn't you? All that sick, lovey-dovey shit? Fuck, you're more gullible than Crabbe and Goyle and I could make them eat their own bogies by telling them it was nutritious. Merlin, Granger, you need to get your dirty little cunt out there more."
Her mouth opened and closed wordlessly, shock and pain lining her face. He chortled, digging into the bag situated at her hip and grabbing his wand, twirling it aimlessly.
"I suppose you're new to the game. Maybe someday you'll understand. You could use the practice anyway."
He stood and stretched as if he hadn't a care in the world. "Alright there, Mudblood? Did I bruise your Gryffindor pride? Don't worry, you'll get over me eventually. Tell Potty and Weasel I said to suck it, and oh yeah," he grinned down at her disbelieving face. "Where are my manners? Thanks for the fuck, it'd been a while. Obviously or I'd never have lowered myself to it. It's disappointing I had to stoop to the likes of you, but what's a bloke to do? Didn't exactly have many options. Eh, I'll just have to scrub my body raw to be rid of the taint. No harm done."
Hermione hugged herself, her face falling at his words and he wanted to scream at her that it wasn't real, this wasn't who he was anymore. But he knew what he was doing now was for the best, it would keep her safe. She would hate him for a while but then she would get over it, get over him.
He began to walk away but turned last minute and said "The next time you meet me, you better be ready to fight. I won't be so easy a second time. I'm only letting you get away now because I do technically owe you, and a Malfoy does not renege on debts. But here me now: I'll see your arse dead before I ever look at it again. See you around, Mudblood."
And he Apparated away.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Hermione rocked herself in the grass, telling herself over and over that it wasn't true, it couldn't be true. But the look in his eyes told her otherwise. That look of utter loathing and disgust was hard to mask.
One half of her wanted to believe he had done it to make the parting easier, but the other half, the fore half, told her she was just being naïve. He didn't care for her, how could he? They had helped each other out, sure, and had some good times, but people couldn't change that much. Loathing was a difficult feeling to overcome. She'd thought, hoped, he'd changed, but he'd proven her wrong.
So as the dew soaked through her dress and the sun rose above her, mocking her pain, she cried and cried for what she had thought she'd found, for what she would never have again.
When the tears dried up she clutched the satchel to her and stood shakily. Thinking of Grimmauld Place she turned on her heel and landed in the front hallway of the dingy house. Pain radiated up her leg and she bit her lip to keep from crying out. There were voices downstairs so she limped silently down and pressed her ear against the kitchen door. She could hear Molly's voice and the sound made her heart clench.
"-have to eat something, dear. Just a spot of toast?" she cajoled.
"No thanks, Mrs. Weasley." She could hear Harry's deep tones and her eyes welled once more. He was safe, he was alive, her best friend was right on the other side of this door. She knew she should go to him, but her feet were rooted to the floor. She kept her ear pressed against the door, her heart humming at the familiar voices.
"Harry, dear." She heard a chair scrape across the floor. "You need to talk about this."
"I'm fine," he muttered and she could hear the pain in his voice and her heart ached.
"You're not fine, dear. None of us are fine, not since…"
"I don't want to talk about it. There's nothing to talk about."
There was silence for a moment until it sounded as if Molly had stood and gone back to her work.
Now was as good as ever, she supposed. Steeling herself, she opened the door hesitantly, not sure why she was suddenly so nervous. Both their backs were turned, Molly busy at the stove and Harry sitting in the closest chair at the long wooden table with his head in his hands.
"Ron, dear, could you give me a hand? I need to-" Molly turned and dropped the plate of eggs in her hands. She screamed and Harry shot to his feet with his wand out, pointing straight at her.
A long moment passed as the three of them looked at each other. Then Harry seemed to collapse, having to hang onto the table for support as he fell to his knees. Molly ran towards her, sobbing, and wrapped her in a motherly embrace while Hermione watched their reactions, her feet glued to the floor, unable to move.
Hermione was numb. She had figured she would be glad to be back, happy to see everyone alive and well, but she felt nothing but a gaping emptiness as Molly cried onto her shoulder before she was ripped out of her arms by a similarly weeping Harry. Hermione held her best friend close and stroked his hair, much as she had done to Draco the night before when he'd thought her dead. Her heart clenched at the memory. It had all been an act.
Harry and Molly were attempting to lower Hermione into a chair when the kitchen door swung open again.
"What the bloody hell is going on in-" Hermione heard Ron bellow behind her. She turned just enough so that Ron's freckled face came into view, draining of all color as he laid eyes on her. "Bloody hell... Hermione? Hermione!"
She braced herself as Ron barreled into her, sweeping her off her feet and holding her close, his tears mixing with the others on Alvida's dress. She heard Molly claim she was going to find the others and the three of them were left alone. The boys pressed her into a chair and knelt in front of her, their eyes wide with disbelief, their familiar faces not bringing the elation she'd thought she'd had at seeing them again.
"Are you alright?" Ron asked concernedly, his thumb swiping at soot on her cheek.
"I'm fine," she reassured them. "I'm just tired."
"Hermione, what happened? Where have you been?" Harry asked, his voice sounding somewhat constricted.
"And what the bloody hell are you wearing?" Ron chimed in, taking in her dress.
"I just want to tell everyone at once if you don't mind. It's sort of a long story," she murmured, looking down at her dirt caked hands. She must be quite a sight to see.
They both nodded and hugged her again saying how glad they were to see her and how everyone had thought she had died. When the door opened Hermione was barely able to register the youngest Weasley before she was being embraced by her as well while she sobbed about how she had lost her best friend and now she was back. Hermione soothed them all, telling them she was alright and she was sorry to have worried them.
One by one people stormed in, demanding to see her. She had been hugged by all the Weasleys, kissed by Fleur. Tonks, Remus, Dung, Kingsley, and a whole slew of others were there, raving about her cleverness in escaping wherever she'd been taken prisoner. Moody had even clapped her on the back and that was the most emotion she had ever seen him display.
She felt as if she were in a trance, as if she were watching all these people rush through, giving her hugs and kisses, crying and elating in her return, but not really a part of the celebration. She felt like an empty shell, the words Draco had said still reverberating in her head. She could see the ecstatic faces around her, heard their voices. She could see the cup of tea that had been thrust in her hands by an unknown person, probably Mrs. Weasley, but she couldn't taste it as the hot liquid slid down her throat, soothing the roughness from the smoke and her earlier tears. She was so tired and all she wanted to do was go to bed and never wake up.
"Hermione?"
Someone was saying her name. She looked up and saw Harry's green eyes peering at her in concern. "We're taking you to St. Mungo's now, okay?"
She shook her head, suddenly aware that everyone was staring at her and the room had gone silent. "No, no, I'm alright. I don't want to go."
Harry exchanged looks with Remus and knelt next to her. "Hermione, you haven't heard a word anyone has said to you. You look like you're going to faint on the spot. You need to be looked over."
"Nothing is wrong with me. I'm just tired. If you could call Madame Pomfrey I'll allow her to look at my leg but I don't need to go to the hospital. I don't need medical attention."
"Your leg?" Lupin asked. "What happened to your leg?"
She felt the burning, it was about the only thing she did feel, and knew she would scar something horrible. She lifted the charred dress that no one had seemed to notice in the commotion and showed it to him.
"Bleeding skies, Hermione!" Harry yelled, grabbing at her injured leg while Molly bustled around frantically, looking for a potion to ease the pain. "Why didn't you say something?"
She shrugged. She didn't even know why she was here and not back in that field begging Draco to stay with her. By now he was probably being welcomed with open arms by the Death Eaters. She shivered when she thought about it. It was better this way- she had to remind herself. You're two different people with completely different ideals. You can't force him to be someone he's not, even if you know who he could be… He used you, he made you fall for him so you would get him back home and now you're paying the price for your stupidity. He doesn't want you. He wants you dead.
Someone was trying to pull her up, Harry again, and she yanked her arm out of his grasp.
"No! I'm not going anywhere!" she snapped, her anger at Draco flaring to lash out at Harry. "I don't need to be poked and prodded at by some Healer who will shove unknown potions into my body for mere amusement. Please, just call Madame Pomfrey. You know she'll take good care of me."
Potions. She needed to take her potion for her wound. While Harry and Remus eyed each other and the others sat nervously, unsure of how to proceed, she looked around, spotting the satchel she'd dropped without realizing. She grabbed the leather bag and lifted it into her lap, digging around inside it for the potion vial.
"Er, Hermione?" Ron said timidly. She ignored him and continued to forage while murmurs broke out at her eccentric behavior. Hermione wrinkled her brow as her hand touched something foreign. She grabbed it and pulled it out.
It was an apple. She thought about the day Draco had found the apples and how she had made him kiss her. She remembered how desire had flooded his steely eyes, how the apple had fallen from his grasp as he'd grabbed her up, his lips searing against hers. She could still feel his hands upon her, the way he could drag her under with just a simple touch.
She burst into tears as the people around her stared, perplexed.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
XOXO
RynStar15
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Breaking the Chain