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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
- 19
- 20
- 21
Draco stumbled down Spinners End towards the creaky house he knew to be Snape's. Every centimeter of him hurt and his robes were sticky with congealed blood. The moon shone above and Draco wondered how many days had passed since he had first arrived. He wondered what had become of his mother, whether there was anything he could do to save her from the consequences of his actions.
His mother was the one who had told him that Snape was Draco's ally. She had told him that if he did not succeed in killing Dumbledore that Snape would do it for him, he would take that hideous deed from his hands, bear the impossible burden of murdering the most vital leader the side of the light had. She had pleaded with him to trust in Snape, to rely on him. Draco had resented the man for most of the year, believing that he wanted to steal his glory, wanted to make him look weak so that his family would fall even further from the Dark Lord's graces. But right before that horrid night that even now haunted him in his sleep, his ex-Professor had explained to him about Dumbledore, about how he was dying, how he had begged Snape to take his life in order to spare Draco's soul.
Even knowing about the old man's imminent demise when he'd been up on that tower, Draco hadn't been able kill him. He'd never really thought he'd be able to go through with the task, but knowing the old man had been working all year to help him, to try to get him to seek sanctuary with the Order even while knowing Draco was tasked to kill him had torn away every scrap of his will.
He remembered the look in Professor Dumbledore's eyes when he had begged Snape to end his life. He remembered the pain that had ripped through him as he'd watched the one man who had ever offered him hope fall to his death. He recalled the torment Snape had gone through in the days following, the way he had pleaded Draco's case to the Dark Lord so he would spare Draco and Narcissa's life, lied that Draco had been about to kill the old man when he had stolen his chance and done it first out of pure hate. He remembered how Snape had been tortured for his insolence, how it had taken him weeks to recover. He remembered how he had saved his life.
Draco tore open the rickety gate and limped towards the front door. He pounded on the old wood with his fist over and over and over. He heard footsteps inside drawing near but still he did not desist. The door swung wide to reveal a very angry looking Snape whose face fell the second he saw who was intruding on his doorstep. Without a word the oily man had him by the upper arm and was pulling him through the door and into a cramped sitting room. The walls were filled with books and he was shoved down onto an ancient chair. Snape put his hands on the arms of his seat and glared down at Draco through unkempt stands of black hair.
"Why are you here?" he snarled.
"I need your help," Draco replied.
Snape stood and paced the room much like his father had. His demeanor was altogether frightening to anyone who did not know him as Draco did. But he understood that it was just a well carved façade, so ingrained that he knew nothing but.
"Where have you been?"
Wishing he could have had some tea or soothing potion for his throat first, Draco went forth and told him everything about what had happened, excluding the depth of his and Hermione's relationship. He went on to tell him about his homecoming and Snape's head snapped up so fast when he admitted to telling his father about Nagini that Draco feared he might break it.
"You told Lucius of the Order's plans? Idiot boy! Do you know what you have done?" Snape thundered.
"I didn't know!" Draco defended. "If I had know Nagini was a Horcrux I never would have said anything! I would never have put Hermione in danger!"
Snape leered at him in a way that made him wholly uncomfortable. "You have been referring to Miss Granger by her given name and your sudden concern for her welfare is quite suspicious. Is there more to your relationship than you are letting on?"
Fuck! Why did the son-of-a-bitch always know what Draco didn't tell him?
"No," Draco said lamely.
"This lying streak must end now! I will not assist you if you continue to keep secrets. I need to know everything, Draco. You have no idea the damage your actions have caused! Now tell me, did something happen between you and Miss Granger?"
The silence in the room was deafening, the accusation a knife to his chest. But he needed Snape on his side and the man had always been able to see right through him.
"Yes," he finally muttered.
"Explain."
Draco didn't know what to say. What would Snape think of him? Would he see him as naïve, a hormonal fool? Would he see him as taking advantage of Hermione? Would he understand, or chalk it up to them being young and senseless?
"Things...happened…" he offered self-consciously.
"I need to know everything, Draco!"
Unwilling to divulge the depth of his and Hermione's relationship, Draco snapped. "Why is it so important? What happened between Hermione and I is no one else's business! It has nothing to do with the situation!"
"It has everything to do with the situation!" Snape screamed, resuming his position with his hands on either side of Draco's chair. Draco had never seen him this wild, this frantic. He was finally beginning to grasp the depth of his unknowing betrayal. The destruction of the Horcrux must have been a long-going effort, something he'd not only prevented from happening in the dungeon that day, but had now possibly ruined any chance for the Order's success.
Snape held his eyes, searching them for the answers he sought. "I have to know if you are willing to do what needs to be done."
Draco began to turn cold at his tone and gaze. "What do you mean?"
Snape continued to look at him, his face too close. "What you have done has compromised the entire mission. The only way to kill Voldemort is to destroy the six Horcrux's he made."
"Six?" Draco interjected. His stomach twisted in disgust. Six parts of the bastard's soul. He'd thought things were hopeless enough with the creation of just one Horcrux, but if there were six...the evil bastard had all but won already.
"Do not interrupt! This is crucial! Yes, six! We have destroyed five, three of those were only possible due to Miss Granger's assistance. The sixth one resides in Nagini, which we must destroy before we can kill Dark Lord himself. Now that they know we are aware of the Horcruxes they will find out that the other five are missing and we will lose our advantage! Nagini will be placed under constant supervision."
"I had no idea, you know I wouldn't have-"
"I would have thought you would be smart enough to come to me with this information instead of running your foolish mouth to one of the Dark Lord's closest advisors!"
"If you had told me-"
"The less you knew, the safer you were. It seems I was correct in not divulging such information to you."
Draco fumed at this. If he'd know how important the information was he would never...would he?
"We will need to create a diversion," Snape continued, returning to his pacing. "We have to be able to get to that snake."
"What kind of a diversion?"
"One large enough to keep the Dark Lord's attention from the protection of his last Horcrux. We will have to give him the one thing he has been seeking for months now."
Draco knew immediately what Snape was considering.
"No," Draco growled dangerously. "If you so much as touch a single hair on her head-"
Suddenly Draco's thoughts were streaming across his vision, the unexpected intrusion giving him no time to protect his wide-open mind. He saw images of him and Hermione: the fighting that changed to bantering that transformed into mind-numbing embraces in the forest. He saw them making love on the bed for the first time, how he had tenderly cared for her in the forest as she'd writhed with fever. He saw himself dragging Hermione out of the river and his own tears falling onto her seemingly lifeless face. He saw himself carrying Hermione through the woods, his hysterical breakdown by the burning cottage. Their last heart-wrenching day they'd spent in each other's arms. He could hear his own torrid thoughts about how much he loved her and the pain it caused him to push her away.
When Snape withdrew he walked away leaving Draco exhausted and fuming in his seat. It was his own fault for not closing his mind but it felt like an intrusion to his most secret memories between him and Hermione, things that no one was supposed to know.
Snape was quiet for a long time, staring out the dirty window onto the street below.
"Does anyone know you're here?"
"No, sir."
"Keep it that way. You will need to report back to the Dark Lord tomorrow and tell him that your search for Miss Granger is progressing, make him think you are still working on procuring her. See if he will grant you more time. If not, we must work quickly. Two days is not nearly adequate to plan a war. If we fail this time there may not be a third. We need to draw the snake away from the Dark Lord somehow. It will require leverage, something of the kind Miss Granger can supply."
"NO!" Draco roared, shooting to his feet. "I'll not let you touch her! I came to you to save her, not to help you send her to her death!"
Snape rounded on him. "Control yourself, Draco! You allow your emotions to cloud your judgement, it is a weakness we cannot afford! The girl is the best chance we have to divert the Dark Lord's attention!"
"There has to be another way, give him Potter, isn't that who he really wants?" Draco raged hysterically.
"You fool! If we sent Potter into the Dark Lord's presence without destroying the Horcrux we would lose! Potter must be the one to kill the Dark Lord, as you very well know! We cannot risk his life. Miss Granger will be the strongest pawn, she is the only one he desires aside from Potter."
Draco shook his head, betrayal boiling in his veins. He'd come to his mentor for help and here he was trying to endanger the one person Draco was trying to save. "There has to be another way."
"There is no other way! We must use the strongest weapons at our disposal, we have one chance at this!"
"No, you can't-"
"Listen to me, Draco," Snape said, his voice a modicum calmer. "We will need all the help we can get in this. You have been given a task which makes you a perfectly placed agent in this endeavor. With your assistance, we may be able to succeed. But if I cannot trust you to do your part when the time comes, I will put you in a drugged sleep until it is over."
"You can't do that!" Draco yelled, advancing on the overgrown bat.
"I assure you I can!" Snape strode over to him menacingly, meeting him in a deadly confrontation.
"This is not a game, Draco! This is bigger than yours and Miss Granger's little love affair. She would be sorely missed, but if she is the sacrifice necessary to end this once and for all, then we must be willing to make it."
"She's not some goddamn pawn you can just throw into the line of fire!"
"If it means the defeat of the Dark Lord, then yes, Draco, she is!" Snape thundered. "The Dark Lord must not triumph! If we cannot kill the snake he will succeed, do you understand that, Draco? If given time he will create more Horcruxes, he will build stronger guards around them. He will be indestructible. This is the last chance we have, we must strike now."
Draco was speechless. He knew what Snape said was true, knew he alone was the reason this was all happening in the first place. Shame as he'd never felt began to grip him with its icy fingers. He deserved the pain of losing Hermione, deserved to live an eternity with that agony. But she was innocent, she had never done anything to deserve the fate the Dark Lord would surely bring upon her once he found out about her hand in his destruction.
Snape lowered his voice, obviously straining for composure at the darkness that had crept over Draco. "We need a way to get the Dark Lord away from the snake long enough to destroy it. To do so, he will need a reason important enough to be away from it. Torturing Miss Granger for finding his Horcruxes could give us the time to kill the snake and those guarding it. It is a necessary sacrifice. I know that no one will wish to see her harmed, myself included, but they will see reason as I do and you must. The situation is bleak; you have not left us much time. It may not even work, but we have to try. Do you understand?"
Draco didn't answer. This was all his fault. Because he couldn't keep his fucking mouth shut they were going to toss the love of his life at the Dark Lord and say, "Here, have her!" so they could try to find the snake and kill it. What if they didn't find the snake in time and Hermione died in vain? He would never live with himself. He had to find another way, there had to be one...
"Do you understand?"
After several long moments, Draco swallowed and answered in a hardened, hollow voice. "Yes."
Snape eyed him, his mouth pinched with doubt. "If I think for one instant that you might sabotage this mission, I will put you down."
Draco nodded. He could see the hardness in Snape's features, knew he didn't make this decision lightly.
"Can I trust you to follow through in your task to deliver Miss Granger to the Dark Lord?"
Draco's throat grew tight, the words difficut to get out as his they clung to his throat in protest.
"Yes."
"And can I trust you to not interfere once she is taken by the Dark Lord?"
His eyes shut against the agony of what Snape asked of him. Begging Hermione for forgiveness, Draco said the one word which ruptured his heart irreparably.
"Yes."
Snape watched him for a moment, reading his emotions. Finally, he nodded. "Good. Now, let's get you cleaned up and we'll get to work."
Draco allowed the spray of the shower to soothe his aching muscles. Snape had done wonders on his injuries, but the achy, stiff muscles would have to heal a little slower on their own, aided by a potion he would take again when he went to sleep. He watched in disgust as the dirt and filth from the dungeons swirled around the drain before finally sinking down into it. He lathered his body a second time with the soap Snape had set out for him, scrubbing away the memories of his torture, pretending he could wash away the knowledge of what he must do in order to assist in the downfall of the Dark Lord as well.
He knew the most sensible option was to use something the Dark Lord really wanted, a.k.a Hermione, to ease his attention away from the precious snake and maybe give them the chance to take the damn thing out. That would then leave the Dark Lord vulnerable for Potter to deal with. He knew Hermione would see this as well and willingly give her life in the hopes of gaining the advantage they needed. She would do whatever she could to help Potter succeed and Draco's gut clenched with juvenile jealousy.
Would she have done the same for him, if it was his life on the line instead of Potter's? Would anyone? He doubted it. He'd never done a damn thing to deserve anyone's respect or affection. He was a selfish coward, a murdering, arrogant, self-serving bastard.
He was sickened by his own pity and scolded himself knowing that it was his own damn fault. He had been a prick his entire life, treating everyone like shit and pretending that his own didn't stink. He had always walked around with an air of smugness, he had known he was better than them all because of his goddamn name, and they had damn well better treat him that way.
When Potter had refused his hand in friendship that first train ride to Hogwarts he had been enraged. How dare he say no to him, the Malfoy heir! Draco had never been turned down before for anything and everyone had always wanted to be in his circle. From that day on he had sworn he would make Potter pay, his friends along with him.
It didn't hurt that the bushy haired Mudblood he'd teamed up with had annoyed him to no end: always knowing everything, forever beating everybody in the classroom, and worst of all, befriending the one person he had sworn to hate. As the years drew on, his hatred was fueled by jealousy. Potter always had the attention. Everyone loved poor, perfect Potter and, oh, how Draco had loathed it.
Now, Draco scoffed at his ignorance. Knowing what he did now about what Potter had been tasked, he pitied the fucker. He knew what Potter was up against, knew the chances of his survival were slim to none. What did that average, bleeding-heart teenager have against the greatest dark wizard of all time?
It didn't help that a small part of him was angry at Potter for dragging Hermione down with him. He hated that she would do anything for him, that he and Weasley were closer than he would ever be with her, than he would ever be with anyone in his whole life. There was only one person he could really consider a friend on an intellectual and likeable level and that was Zabini and he hadn't talked to him in weeks, had barely seen him since his fall from grace at the end of their sixth year. What a friend.
Draco sighed and leaned his hands against the wall in front of him, his head down, water cascading down his muscular back. When had he become such an emotional prat? Where had that cold, emotionless drone disappeared to? What had happened to the days where life had been so simple? He didn't give a shit about anyone and no one gave a shit about him. That was the way he liked it, or at least had liked it.
Now he was in love with a Muggle-born know-it-all whom he used to despise, pitied the man he used to hate, and was trying to help the people he used to taunt and torture. Not to mention he was essentially turning his back on his entire family, the family he had worked so hard to save. What in the hell had happened to Draco Malfoy in the ten days he'd spent in the throes of time travel gone wrong?
As ever when he was in doubt anymore, Milo's voice rang in his head:
"Keep Hermione safe, she is vital in this war, more-so than she'll even imagine."
And hadn't that infuriating man been right about everything? About Hermione and his unknown connection, about the danger of the Trackers, his insistence that they had been brought there for a reason?
Draco could see that reason now. He'd needed what he and Hermione had fought through in order to become the man he was now. If he'd never broken that damn chain around Hermione's neck he'd still be lost within himself, his true self buried so far beneath hurt and anger and resentment that he would never have been able to pull it out by himself. He'd needed Hermione to do it for him, to reach inside him and find that person he had lost so long ago, to drag it back out to the surface, to shatter that seemingly impenetrable wall he'd build around himself. He'd needed her love, her strength, her courage. It was the person within he'd found on that arduous journey that had the strength to do what he needed to do now.
But the cost of his strength might very well be his demise.
He would figure out a way, had to figure out a way to save them all, to take down the Dark Lord without sacrificing Hermione in the process. It was up to him now. He had fucked up and now, as he had when he'd trudged a sickly Hermione through the forest, facing down dozens of Trackers on his own to save her, he would reach inside himself and find that ability to take charge of the situation.
First thing was to find Hermione, warn her, hide her, do anything he could to keep her from risking her own life for others. He would give his own if he had to, make the Dark Lord fight him instead, anything, anything to keep her safe.
He scoffed at the improbability of this endeavor. How the hell was he supposed to keep a stubbornly loyal person such as Hermione from doing something as heroic as sacrificing herself for the greater good? She was Gryffindor to the bone, as selfless as they came.
He would have to think of a ruse, a way to make her realize that she was needed more in the future when their world would be in tatters after the destruction of the war than giving her life on the battle field. His mind whirled over a thousand feeble excuses; her experienced healing was needed, her knowledge was more useful alive than dead, people would mourn her, he couldn't live in a world that she wasn't in...
After each and every thought he could hear her soothing voice in his mind with solutions to them; there were plenty of Healers not going to war, books would always be there in lieu of her, people couldn't mourn her if they weren't alive, he would find another... He had to think of something better, something that could actually convince her selfless heart into staying hidden.
But what could he possibly say to make her think she was needed so badly away from the battle? What could be more important to her than saving mankind? The lives of others were far more precious to her than her own, so what could possibly-
Oh. Sweet. Merlin.
Draco shot ramrod straight and stumbled back as it hit him.
He knew the one thing that could keep her from her sacrifice was if she knew she would be sacrificing more than just herself.
And what scared the ever-living-hell out of him was that it could very possibly be true.
She could be pregnant. He hadn't used a Contraceptive Charm. He hadn't even thought about it. He'd been so wrapped up in her, in his need, so drugged by the thought of having her, that he'd forgotten. His heart clenched painfully. How could he be so careless?
Even though he knew that it was a perfect excuse to keep her safe, she would never endanger the life of her own innocent child, it scared him more than anything at the possibility of it being true.
What were the chances? He had no knowledge of these kinds of things. His father had taught him the charm when he was fourteen after a lengthy conversation about the danger of illegitimates and he had used it ever since. He had never needed to know about "what if."
He felt weak, sick. What were the chances? Did it happen every time someone didn't use the charm? Did it happen randomly? Could they be sure so soon? A million questions whirled in his head until he felt dizzy, the world tilting dangerously around him.
He waved off the water and groped around outside the shower for a towel he knew his ex-Professor had placed there on the sink for him. The towel was thin and raggedy; smelling of old socks, much like its owner. Draco dried off and went about his usual routine, his mind clouded with worry. How could he not have thought about this? Yes, alright, they had been a bit preoccupied at the time what with Trackers and time turning and running for their lives, but still…even drunk on Firewhiskey he had always remembered to use a Contraceptive Charm. How could have been be so foolish?
Draco dragged on the clothes Snape had magicked clean for him in a daze. He fumbled his way down the hall towards the drawing room where he knew Snape would be waiting for him so they could discuss their plan of attack, his mind whirling.
He could deal with this, it would be alright. No matter what the outcome they could both handle it. He knew there were ways to…dispose of such situations, but he knew she would never go for it. Hell, he didn't even think he could go for it, not knowing it was theirs, his and Hermione's child.
It calmed him significantly that even if she wasn't pregnant, if there was no way to tell yet (and he prayed to Merlin that was the case) the possibility would keep Hermione from risking the life of their unborn child and he highly doubted anyone in the Order would fight it. This was a good thing, he reminded himself. No matter what the outcome, Hermione would be safe.
This thought steadied him and when Snape looked up at his entrance, he was ready to work.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Hermione rolled over. She couldn't sleep. It had been four days since she had returned and she felt frustrated. They hadn't figured out another way to get to the snake. It was heavily guarded at all times unless Voldemort was engaged in battle and they couldn't chance another one without assurance. The only problem was that now that they'd broken into the Manor successfully, the guard around it had changed, multiplied. Try as they might, they were unable to penetrate the walls. They were all on edge, nervous.
And the worst part about it all was that she hadn't heard a word about Draco's return. Nothing. Their one contact into Voldemort's ranks had been silent. He only reached out to them with information, they were banned from contacting him as the risk of him being found out was too great. It was as if Draco hadn't even returned, and Hermione began to worry that he hadn't.
If he hadn't gone back to his family, where had he gone? Had he run away? Gone into hiding? Her head whirled with possibilities until it pounded as it so often did now, a migraine always lingering on the sidelines.
Hermione sat up with a heavy sigh and leaned against the headboard of her bed gazing at a sleeping Ginny. She looked so peaceful. She remembered what Ron had said about her crying every day she'd been gone. Hermione couldn't imagine how she would feel if she had thought Ginny had died. Ginny was like the little sister she'd never had, the companion who was always just a little bolder, a little braver than herself. Her flaming red hair fanned across the pale yellow of her pillowcase creating a delightful contrast to her freckled face.
Hermione knew she would never be as pretty as her, or as dreamily handsome as Luna, or as gorgeous as Lavender, or as daintily beautiful as the Patil sisters. She knew she was plain, Plain Jane Granger. She would always be boring, a wallflower whom no one noticed. Or at least she had been, until Draco Malfoy had seen her. Until he had made her feel made her feel beautiful, irresistible.
She remembered the way he had murmured those very same words to her while they'd made love on a straw mattress at a dingy inn, while they'd gripped each other in ecstasy on a soft bed in Alvida's cottage. She remembered the way he had worshiped her body, memorizing every inch of her and reveling in it. She had felt beautiful then, not pretty or plain, but for the first time in her life, beautiful.
Her heart ached in pain as she thought about his parting words, the way he had so casually called her "Mudblood." Had she really been that blind, had her desperate need for attention twisted reality so vastly? Was he really that good of an actor? Was anyone?
Well, if anyone was going to be it would be Draco Malfoy: son of a Death Eater and sworn enemy of her friends and her cause. She shouldn't care about him, shouldn't care that he didn't want her or that he'd used her. Hadn't he tried to push her away in the beginning? Hadn't she continued to throw herself at him like a common whore? What desperately horny young man could resist such an offer? She had no one but herself to blame. He'd never cared about her, he'd used her, and she hated him for it.
Then why had she cried every single day since she had returned? Why was her heart aching as if it would never be repaired?
She didn't need him. She had her friends, her wizarding family, people who loved her, who had mourned her disappearance. She was too busy dealing with attempting to take down the evilest man to walk the face of the earth to worry about such trifles as a sordid love affair. She didn't have time to deal with a boy who had used her and then tossed her out like an old rag.
Then why did she cry?
Wiping the tears from her eyes she hadn't even realized were there, Hermione rolled out of bed and snuck up to Sirius's old room which Harry had taken residence in. She slipped into the room and under the thin sheet draped over his casually sleeping form. He reached for her unconsciously and drew her into his arms without waking. This wasn't the first time she had done this. For the past year or more she had slipped into his bed and they would hold each other when the other was hurting. They never spoke and never talked about it later. They simply took comfort from a good friend when they needed it and left it at that.
Hermione closed her eyes and cuddled into his bare chest closer, listening to his steady heart beat. Strong hands clenched her tighter and finally the fingers of sleep took hold and drew her into the sweet, dark abyss.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
XOXO
RynStar15
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Breaking the Chain