Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Closer	By : Nocturne Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 29797 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 6
Disclaimer: All characters belong to JK Rowling. I do not own the Harry Potter fandom, nor do I make any money from this fanfiction.

Chapter List
- 1-Closer
- 2-2
- 3-3
- 4-4
- 5-5
- 6-6
- 7-7
- 8-8
- 9-9
- 10-10
- 11-11
- 12-12
- 13-13
- 14-14
- 15-15
- 16-16
- 17-17
- 18-18
- 19-19
- 20-20
- 21-21
- 22-22
- 23-23
- 24-24
- 25-25
- 26-26
- 18
- 19
- 20
There was little she could do to collect the fragments of her sanity. Part of her didn’t believe it. He’s manipulating me. That’s what this is. Believe nothing without evidence. But in the off chance that he wasn’t toying with her, would she really want to see Ron’s dead body? Only Merlin knew the state of it.

“Miss Granger.”

Her attention shifted to the door of her gloomy bedroom. It was Sasuke, and in his hands he held a thin vial of purplish liquid. She knew what it was.

“Sleeping Draught,” he said, in a way that told her he knew she had pieced it together. “I thought you could use some.”

“Thank you,” she said, bowing her head as per custom. “Did…he ask this of you?”

Sasuke shook his head – just once. “It would serve us well if you kept this between you and I.”

“Say no more.” Hermione took hold of the vial and placed it on her bedside table for later. It was still the evening, and she had questions that needed answers. “I was wondering…”

“I’m afraid I cannot stay awhile,” he added, a hint of apology to his tone.

“Just one thing,” she pleaded. “Please.”

He frowned, pausing at the door with his body half-turned. The man said nothing, but that was enough for Hermione to realize this was his form of clearance.

The youth in his features shone through in a moment of clarity. He had a certain level of maturity that had always aged him, but it was only then that Hermione realized how young he was. He can’t have been more than a few years her senior. Working for the Dark Lord did that to people. It felt ludicrous to say, but she felt as though Draco wouldn’t have grown into the same man had he not played his part as a Death Eater earlier on.

She wondered what Sasuke had been like before joining their ranks.

“Have you ever loved?” she asked.

The monk-like Death Eater glanced down. “Part of pledging my allegiance to His Lord means leaving my past in the past,” he answered diplomatically. “Your husband is well, Miss Granger. I have seen to his aid just as I have yours, and I can assure you there is no immediate danger waiting for him on the other side of that door.”

What door? She wanted to ask – but Hermione knew the answer. It was the proverbial door between good and evil…the same door she had been forced to open at dinner. She knew it then and she knew it now. It was too late to turn back. Her fate had been decided the moment Voldemort uttered Ron’s name.

And still, as horrible as it made her feel, it didn’t compare to the notion of losing Draco.

~

He stared at the ceiling, weighing through every possible scenario from worst to worst. It had been long; so long he didn’t know whether it was night or day. The torch in his cell had gone out, leaving him with no light or warmth. The only thing that kept him sane was, knowing Hermione was in there somewhere…in the same vicinity…hopefully alive…and hopefully thinking of him as well.

In that moment he would have given anything to take it all back – the marriage, the agreement, the journey, everything – in order to keep her safe. He had begged a lifeless Harry Potter to watch over them and make certain she would be all right, but what good had that done? Potter was dead.

If anything were to happen to her, it would be his fault and his fault alone. He had dragged her into this. He had taken her from her Muggle hideaway and forced her into the limelight once again.

“I’m such an idiot,” he said to himself.

“That you are.”

The fair-haired wizard turned around, spotting a pale face, dark hair and blue eyes. “Astoria? What are you doing here?”

A tall, slender, mischievous-looking young woman came into proper view, holding out a dim light from the tip of her dragon-core wand. “Saving your arse before you end up in Sterling Cove.”

The mere mention of Sterling Cove made Draco’s body turn rigid. It was a land in which the upper echelons of Pureblood society chose to bury their deceased loved ones. He didn’t need any convincing. “How much time do we have?”

“Ten minutes before your guard returns from his loo break,” she said, glancing at her designer wristwatch. “We best leave before it’s too late.”

“What about Hermione?”

“Who?”

“Hermione,” he repeated, realizing Astoria was quite out of the loop since she decided to assist the Irish division of their uprising. “My wife.”

For a moment the young woman said nothing, but then she blinked, falling back to reality. “Oh,” she said. “She’s here as well? My informant said nothing about her.”

“Well, you need a better informant because her and I came here together and were ambushed at the gate. I haven’t seen or spoken to her in five days.”

“She could very well be dead.”

Draco’s blood began to boil. “No. She’s alive. I know it.”

Astoria rolled her eyes, extending her wand further to release the magic on the door to his cell. In a matter of seconds she had it open. “For now I only have time for you,” she said. “We’ll come back for her soon. I promise.”

“I can’t just leave her here.”

“You haven’t a choice.”

“Says who?”

“Me,” she said firmly. “I made a promise to someone, a promise to get you home safely. Everything else falls at the waist side for now. Sorry.”

He paused. “And to whom did you make this promise?”

“I’ll give you one guess,” Astoria said, with a knowing look.

It didn’t take much for him to piece it together. “That woman will be the end of me,” he said, referring to Narcissa Malfoy. “How much did she pay you to come back?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“How much?” he repeated. “You were in such a hurry to run off to Ireland after everything happened. It can’t have been cheap.”

Astoria arched her eyebrow. “Maybe I’m not as greedy as you think,” she said curtly. “Maybe I was curious to see what my old friend had amounted to since we last spoke.”

He couldn’t help but laugh. “Old friend? Is that what I am?”

“Well, I have a few other choice words for you but I think I’ll save those for when we aren’t running the risk of getting caught in the Dark Lord’s Japanese headquarters. Now shut up and follow me.”

Draco followed the first bit, all the while thinking of Hermione. There was still no way he would leave her there on her own, even if it meant sacrificing his own escape.

“What are you waiting for?” asked Astoria. “We have to hurry.”

“I can’t,” he said simply. “I’m sorry – to you and my mother. I just can’t leave unless she comes with me.”

“You’re bloody insane. I can get you out of here and back home in less than an hour and you’re sitting there playing Romeo. What the hell happened to you?”

He shrugged. “Something good. Something I needed.”

Astoria pulled a disgusted expression. “Sickening. Keep this act up and you’ll both be dead in no time.”

“That’s the thing,” began Draco. “It’s not an act, and I know sacrificing my escape may seem ludicrous to you but if the Dark Lord were to discover my cell empty…I know there wouldn’t be a moment of hesitation before he killed her.”

His ally paused for a moment, registering all the information. “Fine,” she said, closing the door and recasting the spells. “I’ll do my part and you do yours. We’ll reconvene when the time is right.”

Draco gave her a look of thanks. He knew it couldn’t have been easy for her to give up. “I’ll never forget this.”

“Nor I,” Astoria said, narrowing her eyes for a moment before facing away, preparing to take her leave. “And if it turns out she is dead…my offer is still wide open.”

rate and review :)

xo.
- 18
- 19
- 20
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Closer