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The Uneventful Story	By : SnowflakeImp Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 39189 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 20
- 21
The Uneventful Story
By: Snowflake Imp
Rated: NC-17
Chapter 20
Disclaimer: Can we just cut the crap? I mean, seriously. I don�t own this, now move along. And give me whatever�s in your wallet.

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Hermione sat there, visibly shaken. She felt so cold. Was it possible to sweat while cold? Isn�t that where the term �breaking out into a cold sweat� came from - for the love of Merlin, focus!
�Hermione? Are you okay?� Harry asked tentatively. She was so quiet; he wished she would say something, anything.
�I�I�,� she stuttered.
Severus and Harry leaned in closer. She must be very fragile and the whole experience was traumatic. They waited with baited breath.
��I have a glamour charm on?�

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Men really can�t take jokes, Hermione decided. It was just that�they were looking at her like she was going to shatter at any moment. Didn�t they know she was made of stronger stuff? Yes all right, she was a bit weepy in the Pensive, but it didn�t feel like it was her at all. It was like watching a movie, except all the actors looked exactly like who they were portraying.
It has been a few days since watching the Pensive and things at Spinner�s End were bustling. Snape was barely home; he was working himself to the bone trying to find that cure. And Harry�Hermione felt a wee sorry for James and any future brothers and sisters he may have. That man fussed about like a mini-Molly Weasley. Are you okay, Hermione? Do you need a lie-down? No, you can�t see Malfoy, it�ll only make you upset.
�Of course it�ll make me upset! That�s the point!� she thought as she viciously prepared a sandwich. �If I�m upset I can get the answers I want out of him all the faster!�

Oh well, she couldn�t blame Harry, he had her best interests in mind. She was just reeling from the experience, that was all. Because of the Pensive, flashes of the past were beginning to slip through. A few snapshots here and there, a conversation remembered, a smell, a familiar sensation - all of it was slowly working their way through. Hermione wondered idly if it was true she was undeniably wrapped around Malfoy�s finger in the past, if now that time had passed and she didn�t have all her memories back�was she her own person? Would she be able to make a sound judgment when it came to him?
It was true, after years of denying it, the pull she had always had towards him made sense. Did she love him then? Did she love him now? What exactly was he to her? While she could no longer say she loathed him, being madly, truly deeply in love with him was still a bit far-fetched for Hermione�s tastes.
And that was why she wanted to talk to him! She wanted him to explain himself, truthfully. Work through this whole ordeal with him. One thing she did know was that she wanted to help him. Whether as a girlfr�as a lov�as someone who was in love with him or as a decent human being, it didn�t matter. He deserved that much.
�You have your �determined� face on, Hermione,� Harry said sullenly from the kitchen entrance.
�This is my normal face,� Hermione retorted back.
�In any case, you�ve flattened that sandwich beyond all hopes of recognition.�
Hermione looked down. Bugger. �Look, never mind about the sandwich,� she said. �I know we�ve gone over this, but I really am ready to see Dra - Malfoy.�
He heaved a sigh. �Since we�ve gone over this, you should already know why I can�t let you see him.�
�I�m not a child, Harry Potter! If I want to see him, then I�ll see him!� she declared. �I�m of clear mind and I want to get to the bottom of this mess. All you�re doing is putting a blanket over my head and hoping everything will all get magically better.�
�I let you see him for one second and I guarantee you�ll be eating out of his hand like a trained seal!� Harry shot back. �Your eyes are clouded, Hermione. He�s nothing but a cheat, a liar and bloody psychopath!�
�You shut up about him being a psychopath!!� she suddenly screamed. �It�s easy for you to stand there and judge him, but you don�t know him like I do!�
Her outburst startled even her. Hermione touched her own mouth lightly. Where did that come from? Was it her saying that? Was it the brainwashed Hermione of the past saying that?
�I ah�I�m sorry Harry,� she said, her voice shaking slightly.
Harry just looked at her, eyes wide.
�Please, I just want to talk to him,� she pleaded.
After a stony moment, he replied, �I�ll see what I can do.�

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~ There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness. ~

Harry had actually acquiesced to her request. It surprised Hermione, to say the least. She was all prepared to sneak down to see him under the cloak of night. But now she was grateful for Harry�s assistance. He allowed her some time with Malfoy when he showed the most sign of clarity. If it were all the same, she would rather not face him again when he was yelling and screaming.
�Malfoy?� she said, her voice echoing. Dear lord, did her voice really sound like that?
He appeared calm. He had his back turned to her and it looked like he was pouring over some book. His clothes were slightly disheveled but when comparing him to the rest of the world, he still looked magnificent. He didn�t turn around, so she wondered if he had heard her. The air down here was thick, like treacle. It was hard to get the words out of her throat. What should she say? What does one say in this type of situation?
In the end, Hermione resorted to her time-tested practice of speaking other people�s words, words that came from more brilliant minds than hers.
�He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster,� she said softly, stepping closer until she touched the bars. �And when you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.�
�Nietzsche,� Draco said, his deep voice reverberating throughout the room. Now there was a voice a woman could listen to all day.
Draco leisurely closed his book and turned around to see her surprised face.
�Don�t look at me like that,� he said with a wry grin. �Contrary to what you think, I was listening whenever you read to me.�
When he said that, a pang went through her heart. He spoke to her with such familiarity. He listened to her - not too many people did unless they wanted something out of her. And he looked so�normal. Like this whole Dark Stream thing never happened.
Hermione was painfully aware of the distance he was putting between them. He was leaning against the back wall, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Seeing him have so much consideration for her elevated him in her mind. But now was no time to get soft. It was time for answers.
Draco beat her before she could say anything. �How did you manage to slip past General Potter? I would have thought he would be too busy making me a devil for you to get down here.�
She shifted uncomfortably. �He�s not as bad as you think. He actually let me see you.�
�Oh? So he�s all for saving me then, is he?� he asked, making it apparent he knew what the answer was. He took her silence as a no. He heaved a sigh. �I can�t say I�m surprised,� he muttered under his breath, raking his hands through his hair. �Just like him to tell people what to do. That arrogant, stuffy little� He thinks if he just pounds his opinion over and over again then it makes it true.�
Although Hermione found herself quite agreeing with his assessment (sans, perhaps, the arrogant and stuffy part), she managed to retort, �You know, that sounds an awful lot like you.�
At this, he scoffed, although a hint of a smile lit his face momentarily. �Hardly,� he said.

Hermione was surprised to see a look of nostalgia pass through his eyes. Although he was speaking unfavorably about Harry, she also sensed there was affection muddled in there somewhere.
�I tell people what to do because that�s what they�re supposed to do. Potter tells people because that�s what he wants them to do.�
Suddenly he looked at her in all seriousness. Hermione noticed there was a hint of pleading coming from his tone, an expression she had never heard from him before. �Don�t believe in everything Potter tells you. He can�t think straight.�
Despite all her sympathy for him, Hermione couldn�t believe his gall. She barked an incredulous laugh. �Harry can�t think straight? Do you really think you�re in the position to hand out that kind of judgment?� she asked, well aware of the sharpness in her voice.
He merely looked at her. Frustrated, she continued, �How do I know this isn�t a trick? How do I know you�re actually sane right now?�
�Ask me anything,� he said boldly. �I�ll answer it truthfully.�
This was the opening she was waiting for. Now if she could only screw up the courage to ask. �Well�is your job at the Ministry something you wanted to do? Or was it all just a big ploy to get closer to me?� she asked, her voice getting stronger near the end.
He raised an elegant eyebrow. �I�m not sure if you�re aware of this, but I had my memories fixed too. It wasn�t like this whole time I was plotting in my cave of ways to seduce you.�
She blushed at the word, �seduce,� but she rallied on. �You didn�t answer my question.�
With another tired sigh, he answered, �Although I would really prefer to have a higher wage and less face time with most of our coworkers�yes, I work because I actually want to be there.�
See, that wasn�t so hard. And it was heartening to know he worked for the Ministry because it was the kind of life he wanted.
�So when did you start remembering things?� This was a fair question. Hermione hadn�t fully regained all her memories and when it began they came back as small flashes and dreams.
He thought about this for a bit, his eyes looking up to the side in concentration. �You remember when we had that lunch at The Golden Egg?�
She nodded, sorting through her memories. There was that stupid woman insulting her to her face, Draco paying for her, and�and he comforted her, in his own special way and�
�When I touched your cheek,� he said lowly, stepping forward one step before remembering himself and stepping back. �Things started to come back slowly at first, but I have most it back now.�
Hermione remembered that. He touched her - it was one of the few times since working at the Ministry did he ever touch her - and his hand shot back like he was electrified. Her heart began pounding in her chest.
Next was the real question she wanted to ask. It would explain so much of everything if only she could ask it. Draco knew playtime was over, he could see her visibly shaking now. He shifted uncomfortably, as if he knew the next question wasn�t going to be easy.
Visions of his face as he abused her, as he hit her and screamed at him and made her do things�they all flashed through her mind. She gripped the bars with trembling hands and leaned forward, her face peeking through the gaps. She had to ask this one, she just had to. Otherwise, what was she here for?
�Did you�� she began but her voice lost strength. She saw his triumphant face as she cried out in pain. His look of satisfaction when she was huddled in a ball, sobbing. His face was so joyous in its sadism.
�Did you ever�enjoy hurting me?�
The temperature in the room dropped drastically. After a long pause, she heard his pained voice whisper, �Don�t ask me that.�
�Did you?!� she cried out, closing her eyes. She didn�t even want to look at him anymore.
Hermione wanted to believe in him. It was all just the curse, it was all just the curse. Just tell her no, tell her it was all just the curse. Was he dark or was he light?
��Yes.� He said it so reluctantly, like the answer was being dragged out of him.
She let out a watery sob. The floor beneath her opened.
�Why?!� Her voice was haggard but she didn�t care.
�Because it made you mine!� he declared, covering his face with his hands. �It made you think of me�and only me,� he said more quietly. He spoke with such self-loathing it almost hurt to listen to him. Hermione could barely hear him over her dry sobs. She gritted her teeth, will her tears not to fall. She pressed her forehead against the cool bars.
�You have to believe me!� he shouted suddenly, rushing in front of her with lightening speed. He gripped her small hands with his. The warmth of his hands was a shock to her icy ones. She tried to pull away but he wouldn�t let her. His face was one of absolute desperation, a man hanging on the edge with nothing to lose. His famed collectiveness was completely destroyed.
�Yes, I�m a complete bastard that doesn�t know how to take care of anybody but I�m not a monster!� he declared passionately, the words tumbling clumsily out of his mouth. �You have to believe that! You knew me, you know me!�
�I don�t know anything!� she wailed, pressing her cheek against his knuckles.
�You know me,� he repeated fiercely. One hand shakily reached out to touch a silky curl, wrapping it familiarly around his finger. Hermione looked over through wet eyes, enraptured.
As quickly as he approached her, he snapped himself away and stalked back to the end of the cell. He sat down on his cot with a resounding thud and rested his elbows on his knees, cover his face with his hands.
�Get out,� he ordered, his voice like gravel, choked with emotion.
�No,� she said, trying to make her voice sound even. �I have more questions.�
�Get out!!� he shouted, burying his head deeper, his fingers grasping his fine hair. �I�m getting too close to you! I don�t want you to see me like this.�
She immediately understood. The curse was probably responding to their close proximity and his emotions towards her. Without a word or a backwards glance, she quickly ran up the stairs and she didn�t stop until she made it back into her room. Hermione leaned against the door, waiting for her breath to return.
She couldn�t believe he told her the truth. He told her even though it was so painful for him, even if it painted him in a bad light. She wiped her face, slapping her cheeks lightly to get rid of the red. Her face was disgusting when she cried; it got all blotchy and wet and sticky.
When she had calmed down considerably, she sat down on a chair and looked out her window. She had thought that her goal, when going down to see Draco, was to figure out if he was a demon or an angel. If he was an angel, she would save him and accept him. If he was a demon, she would still help him, but she would never see him again. He was neither.
He was a man. A beautiful, brave, selfish, stubborn, troubled man. If anything, discovering this convinced her more that he meant something to her. More than just someone that needed to be saved.
He wasn�t light. He wasn�t dark.
He was a shade of gray.

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~ When a man is in love he endures more than at other times; he submits to everything. ~

�Enter,� Snape�s weary voice drifted from inside his study.
�I�m sorry to disturb you so late, Severus. I know you must be very tired,� Hermione said, closing the door gently behind her.
�No, I�ve been meaning to speak with you,� he said, gesturing for her to sit down. He must have been very exhausted, Hermione surmised. He wasn�t even a bit snarky or prickly.
�How is the progress with the cure going?� she asked.
�Quite well. It seems Draco had enlisted the help of some of your alchemists?� Snape said, looking at her sideways. She nodded - he mentioned he wanted their assistance when her birthday was brought up. �Well, when they�re focused they�re most helpful.�
Hermione couldn�t help but chortle but quickly suppressed it with a cough when he glared at her.
Changing gears, he said gravely, �I hope you have it within you to forgive Draco. I don�t know how much of this you know, but I hope you understand he was raised in a less-than-stellar environment. I wouldn�t have been surprised if he had followed in his father�s footsteps to the letter. It wasn�t until you arrived did he really wanted to turn his life around.�
In the back of her mind she knew this, but it felt so much more real when Severus was telling her. She motioned for him to continue.
�I have a good idea about what Potter has been telling you about Draco, but it really was because of the Dark Stream that it all became this way. He told me when the Dark Lord confronted him about his betrayal, the curse was his parting gift. Voldemort underestimated Draco�s fortitude and desire to change himself; he had assumed the curse would work through him much quicker. Had he known he would resist so strongly, I suspect he would have simply killed him on the spot.
�Like everything he does, the curse was meant to be the cruelest thing he thought he could inflict on him. Draco gave a rousing speech about each person containing both light and dark within them,� he continued, the memory of that day fresh in his mind. Even in the face of death, Draco still had to have a flair about him. Who else could be so flippant in front of the Dark Lord?

�Unfortunately for me, my Lord, the light has apparently blinded me. No doubt through dirty tactics, but nevertheless, I can no longer see the dark.�

�It is known Voldemort always had a flair for play on words, so the Dark Stream curse, essentially the letting loose of a person�s darkest side, seemed appropriate,� said Snape.

�Then, young Malfoy, if the light utilized such dirty tactics, let us see if your light can overshadow the dark if given a fair chance.�

�He was hoping all the new people Draco surrounded himself with would turn on him once he became self-destructive, disturbed, removed from humanity. There would be just enough of the true Draco left to witness the very people he fought to be with abandon him,� said Snape, taking a sip of his cooling tea.
Hermione gulped. She was so close to being one of those people. Without Severus to tell her of his affliction, would she have stayed one minute longer? Would she have just automatically assumed that a leopard couldn�t change its spots?
Snape could see her battling with herself and helped steer her mind to more productive things. �As I have said, we are so close to finding the cure. There seems to be just one missing component,� he sighed. He then gave her a long look, studying her.
She began to squirm under his calculating gaze. �Professor?� she asked.
He kept his gaze on her for a few more moments before closing his eyes and began massaging his temples. He really did not want to be the one saying these things. �Although this sounds trite and abstract, I am beginning to believe the key to solving our problem lies within you.�
�With me? Do you think some of my stock formulas could assist you?� she asked eagerly. Of course, she should be helping with the cure as well. She was the Head of her alchemy department, after all.
A pained look crossed over Severus� face. Was she really twenty-nine years old? �No, I meant, his obsession with you.�
��Oh.�
�Yes well, there you have it,� Snape said with a bit more bite than he had intended. Forging on, attempting to sound as academic as he could without a hint of melodrama, �I believe he has always been enamored with you, Miss Granger, even during your days at Hogwarts. However, he was able to keep him emotions in a fairly healthy and normal state. I believe the curse in him is unusually receptive whenever he feels uncertain of your feelings of him.�
Hermione mulled over that possibility. It was true, he was usually fairly normal until something triggered his need to have her. He was always fixated with knowing she was his, that he had her completely, and that she loved him and only him. If he wasn�t certain of that, he forced it out of her, whether through force or seduction or even isolation.
�Draco is a man who is not used to insecurities, Miss Granger. Things are very simple to him inside his head - it is the environment around him that always changes, not his resolution. He is not one to be indecisive and I am certain it is a human trait he does not understand very well. Everything is definite, everything is absolute. So you can imagine the fright he feels when he is suddenly assaulted with such an alien concept,� Snape said.
�Yes, I think I�m beginning to understand,� she said softly. �I�m sure he�s very scared and everything he did was to try to find the answer he wanted.�
�Exactly,� said Snape, glad her intelligence was finally deciding to show itself. �He knows, deep inside, mindless subjugation is not the same as love and that frustrates him. He doesn�t know how to get the results he wants. If he were to somehow understand that you do love him�yes, somewhere in that is what will cure him,� he mused.
Hermione sputtered. �Well, how am I supposed to assure him I love him when I don�t even know that?�
�I understand,� he said quietly. �And this is something you must figure out on your own. I just want you to know there isn�t much time left. The Draco you know, the Draco that should be, could be lost forever.�

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Harry didn�t know why he was here. It was late at night, he was probably asleep. All the lights were off. What was he doing here. He had nothing to say to him.
Then why was he here?
�Even though it�s dark, I find still it incredibly creepy having you stare at me while I�m asleep,� Draco commented, not even bothering to turn around on his cot.
�Shut it, Malfoy,� Harry spat to his back. �I just wanted to make sure you�re not up to something.�
�I�m always up to something, you should know that,� Draco responded.
�Always a snake, eh? Even when you�re locked up like a common criminal,� Harry said.
�Oh, blow me Potter. Go away if you�re only here to make yourself feel better.�
�Fuck you, Malfoy!�
�I believe that�s what I just requested, you self-righteous fuck!� Draco replied, finally sitting up.
�You don�t get to request a damn thing, not with the things you�ve done. I won�t let you touch Hermione ever again,� Harry swore.
�It�s no use hiding behind your shield of false honor, Potter, so why don�t we all just own up to our faults?� Draco said nastily. �Admit it, you�re selfish.�
�Selfish? Me?� Harry asked, incredulous. �You�re going to sit there and tell me I�m selfish?�
�I am! I�m selfish because I grew up not knowing there were other people to consider. But you!� Draco declared, �You grew up with nothing so that now when you have got something, you selfishly hang onto it, making sure you don�t give it up to anybody. And that�s exactly what you�re doing now.�
Harry was enraged he could see red, even in darkness. How dare he say those things to him. Who cares if it was true or not, he wasn�t allowed to pass judgment on him.
While Harry was quietly stewing, the fight seemed to have left Draco. He slumped his shoulders and dropped the bravado. He exhaled a heavy sigh. �Have you got a fag on you?� he asked wearily.
The total change in tone startled Harry. �No,� he answered truthfully, too confused to think of anything angrier. �Weren�t you the one who forced me to quit?�
At this, Draco actually chuckled. �Yeah, Hermione said it made me reek of tar.�
Harry scoffed. He could not believe he was being drawn into this kind of atmosphere of the past. Draco had a way about him, that was for sure. �And what exactly did that have to do with me?�
�I wasn�t about to go through the whole quitting process by myself!� he said, aghast. �I can�t think of a better person to experience the suffering with me than you. I would�ve liked to have Weasley taste the bitter pains of quitting instead, but I never managed to get him to even try it, the slippery little bastard.�
Harry refused to laugh. This was not fun. This was not back in the day. He certainly had no affection for the man in front of him. He was definitely not amused and he certainly did not with to recall more old times together.
In the silence, once again, Draco dropped the mood and this time exposed himself, raw. His voice shot out in the dark, isolated.
�I need her, Harry.�
He sounded so defeated. Harry�s hands clenched.
�Don�t take her away from me.�
All the frustration, the betrayal, the sadness, the anger - everything exploded out of Harry. �This is all YOUR fault!� he snarled. �Everything was perfect, the way it should�ve always been and you had to go and fuck up everything! Why did you have to change? Why did you have to ruin everything!�
Draco said nothing, he merely absorbed everything Harry threw at him. He wasn�t just yelling at Draco anymore. He was yelling at himself, he was yelling at Voldemort, he was yelling at fate.
�Why couldn�t things be the way I wanted them, just once?� Harry whispered.
�Harry�,� Draco began.
Close to tears, Harry shouted, �Don�t call me that!� He turned away and slammed his fist into the stone wall. �Calling me that won�t work on me. Not this time�not anymore.�
Draco continued, despite Harry�s suffering, knowing this was probably the only time he could tell him what he really felt.
�I�ll die without her.�
Gulping down his emotions, Harry shakily declared, �I wouldn�t want anything less. It�ll save us all the bloody trouble you�ve put us through.�
As he was saying it, Harry knew not a word of it was true.
And Draco knew it too.

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Well, what do you think? These two chapters are un-betaed (where ARE my betas??) so please forgive me for all the errors. If you want to read about what went into this chapter and more, please go to my LJ. Email me at my new address: snowflakeimp@gmail.com
I probably have about two chapters left before I end Uneventful, but never fear, there are two related series I am about to start (see Author�s Note chapter).
I know one person was confused, so I�ll try to make this clear: Chapter 17, 18, and 19 were flashbacks.
Hate it, love it, have no frickin clue what�s going on? Let me know! I�m definitely grateful for any type of feedback you give because I know how easy it is to just read a story and move on hahaha!
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The Uneventful Story