Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

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
- 20
- 21
- 22
Draco woke with a start, a loud noise stirring him from his deep slumber.
"Get up. We don't have much time," Snape snapped at him harshly.
Draco groaned. Gods, he was tired. He grabbed the thin pillow underneath his head and shoved it over his exposed ear, blocking out the noise of the older man who was talking about something or other. He couldn't rouse up the energy to care. He felt himself drifting back to sleep…
Bam!
Draco felt himself flying across the room and into a bookshelf whose contents promptly deluged themselves upon his head. Cursing loudly he Levitated them all from him and threw up a protective barrier until he was sure they had desisted. He glared up at his ex-Professor.
"What the fuck was that for?"
"Watch your tongue! Where is your wand, boy?"
"I assume my father confiscated it when he took me prisoner," Draco replied, rubbing a sore spot on his head where a book had hit him before he'd been able to put up the shield.
Snape swiftly strode across the room and lifted Draco straight off the floor by the front of his robes. "You just did wandless magic. I have never seen you use it before. Where did you learn it? Lucius?"
Draco realized he didn't even think about his wand anymore, so used to using his hands now. "No. Sari and Milo, they taught us, me and Her-Granger. Wands weren't permitted back then-"
"Yes, the Proclamation of Gwendolleyn. Of course, I had forgotten," Snape murmured thoughtfully. Draco yanked his robes from the older man's grasp but Snape stayed directly in front of him, far too close for comfort but Draco was used to this. The old bat had never seemed to know of or care about personal boundaries.
"So both you and Miss Granger are proficient?"
"Well, I suppose, yeah. Hermione is better at it than me, of course-"
"You are to refer to her only as Granger or Miss Granger!" Snape growled, still deep in thought.
Draco nodded, curbing his desire to yell back. Snape was right. If he was caught referring to Hermione by her given name in front of the wrong people they would both be in even more danger than they were now. He could not make that mistake again.
Finally Snape stepped back, taking to pace the small, dank room. "We can use this. Does anyone else know?"
"Not that I'm aware of, sir," he replied. "I tried to use it in the dungeons but was shackled before I could hit anyone with anything."
Snape nodded again and strode from the room, beckoning him to follow. Draco did so reluctantly, rubbing the back of his head and looking longingly at the still warm bed. He marched down to the kitchen and ate the breakfast Snape had prepared for him without complaint. The food was bland at best but he was starving and his hands shook with lack of nourishment as he shoveled the fork to his mouth as fast as he could. The plate was refilled twice more until he was full and Snape made the remnants vanish with a wave of his hand before speaking.
"We need to go over the plan."
Draco nodded, sitting back and downing the Strength Replenishing potion he was handed. Instantly, he felt his normal energy thrum through his system, all remnants of his time in the dungeons gone. "What did you have in mind?"
"You need to go back to the Manor, check in. I went last night and they were on the lookout for you. They think you've run again."
"I have."
"But they mustn't know! You will go to the Dark Lord immediately. Speak to no one, not even your father. Tell him you are having trouble locating Miss Granger without your wand, see if he will allow you to have it back and give you more time. We cannot count on this but we have to try. If he declines, tell him you will not fail, reassure him. Whatever you do, do not lose your temper. Everything rests on this, Draco. You are a traitor now, you are in more danger than ever. If anyone suspects you, you will be dead before you can raise your hand to defend yourself."
For the first time, the implications of what he was doing began to dawn on him. He'd crossed sides without even realizing it. It had happened so naturally, so seamlessly it was as if he'd made the decision in his mind long ago. Was this what he had always wanted but never known?
What did he want?
He wanted Hermione. He wanted a life without fear, without the stain of his father's name marring his future. He didn't want to live the way he had been living: in loathing, in anger and hate. He wanted to be free of the tyranny of a Dark Lord who would torture you at the slightest mistake. He wanted a world where Hermione was safe, a world where they could be together without prejudice.
Well, hell.
It was seeming as though Draco Malfoy had a goddamn heart after all.
Realizing Snape was waiting for him to answer he cleared his throat.
"I understand," Draco replied nodding. He was accepting it, accepting the choice of helping the Order, of helping them bring down the sick and twisted man under whom he had sworn to serve. He was breaking the yoke his father had wrapped around his neck, dragging him down into the depths of a devious future full of sorrow and anguish. He had chosen.
Snape seemed to understand the severity of his decision and the inner conflict he was going through. His next words gentle.
"I have spoken to your mother. She knows you have defected. She will stand by your father for your protection and has placed you in my care. She has asked you not to seek her out, not to try to change her mind. She's left you a note."
He handed Draco a scroll of parchment sealed with the Malfoy crest. Draco slit it open and stared, for a moment unseeingly, at the beautifully scrawled words:
My dearest son,
I hope someday you may find it in your heart to forgive me for the pain I have caused you. I did not intend this to be your burden, I did not wish for any this to go so far. If I had known- well, it is neither here nor there. This is the way it must be now. I have chosen my path as you have chosen yours.
I have secured your inheritance in a secret Gringotts vault, your new godfather, Severus, has the key. It should be enough to help you start out a new life, away from all this treachery and deceit and hate. I know this can in no way atone for the horror of the life I have allowed you to be dragged into, but it is the last thing I can do for you.
Know that I love you, my precious son. I am so proud of the strong man you have become. You cannot know the joy I felt when Severus told me of your decision. You will be safe with him. The Order will hide you, they will help you. I will stay my course so as not to bring unwanted attention upon you.
Find your own path, Draco. You were always meant for so much more than this life and it is time you found that within yourself. Be happy, be free. Do not worry about me. I made my choices many years ago and now I must suffer the fate that is dealt to me. I will no longer stand aside and see your name smudged with the evils of our past. You are better than that, than either of us.
After you finish reading this letter it will henceforth be destroyed. Do not seek me out after this day.
I am so proud of you my son, my one true love. I hope we shall meet again when this world can no longer torture us with memories of fear. When that time comes, I will find you.
I will love you forever,
Mum
Draco's hand shook as the letter burst into flame. He felt empty as the ash fell to the table, as if he had lost something special and sacred. But he did not need the parchment, he remembered every single word, and it only strengthened his resolve that for the first time in his life, he was doing the right thing.
Snape's soft voice broke his reverie. "When you have finished with the Dark Lord, come straight back here. Wait for me. Do not leave under any circumstance. Do you understand me?"
Draco nodded. "Yes."
"Very well. Then off with you. I will not be here when you return."
Again Draco felt his head rise and fall of its own accord. His hands pushed against the rough surface of the table and his legs held the weight that was placed upon them. His knees bent and carried him to the front door and out into the dull, grey day, though he was not conscious of any of this.
Draco lifted his face to the morose drizzle and closed his eyes against the headache forming behind them. He felt a great change come over him, one he'd been working towards since the day Hermione had lifted a sword to rescue him. For the first time in his life, he felt whole. This was what Milo had been referring to. His actions before that day were no longer of consequence. It was time he forged his own path, one that aligned with his heart.
In the midst of all these startling revelations, talking with his "Master" was the last thing he wanted to do. But he owed it to the Order, to Hermione, to do what he could to help fix his mistakes.
So with a heart-weary sigh, he turned on his heel and Apparated back to the Manor.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Hermione was in the library rubbing her tired eyes against the strain of trying to read the tiny, scribbled text an old wizard had seen fit to put in the ancient manuscript on her lap. This scroll was one of many that had been discovered hundreds of years ago in the Tome of Augustus, a powerful wizard who was buried with his scribes and the scrolls he had forced his lackeys to produce. The Wizard Augustus was a pure genius, but he was also something of a prick in Hermione's opinion. He was not, by any means, a modest man. In many of his writings (which he did not write himself, she might add) he talked of his superiority over his peers and that the gods had given him a divine right and responsibility to share his knowledge with others less fortunate. Hermione didn't feel so fortunate as she skimmed through one such writing hoping to stumble across something, anything…
Five days. She sighed. She knew it was hardly any time at all compared to the last year and a half they'd spent searching down the last three Horcruxes, but with everything that was at stake it felt like an eternity. The days dragged like months. Her heart ached along with her muscles and her slowly healing leg which she could still feel twinges of pain from when she walked. Every time she thought about that searing, burning pain, her skin boiling, her muscles melting, she shivered. She was lucky to have escaped out of that house alive at all, not to mention without gathering attention.
Hermione had sent Hedwig for a copy of Turning Time through the Years by Hilanda Hemsworth and The Chronology of Movement Through the Generations by Franrukus Demplar to make sure nothing had changed. She had to make sure Alvida had made it. If not…well, there may very well not be any time travel in their current present. What if she and Draco had-
Draco.
The name rolled through her mind like a spindle. Draco.
She remembered how it felt to have his name fall through her lips as he had moved inside her. Even now she could feel her nether-regions growing wet while she closed her eyes and recalled the feel of him stretching her, filling her as his hips rocked against hers and his muscular arms held her to his rock hard chest. She could nearly feel his soft lips and his hot breath on her neck as he kissed, licked and nibbled the sensitive flesh while words of endearment fell smoothly from his manipulative mouth.
What she wouldn't give to have him in her arms right at that very moment, to tell him with all certainty that she loved him and she would do anything to keep him safe and with her, even after his hateful words at their departure. She knew if they could just defeat Voldemort then the gap dividing them would vanish and she would be free to express how she felt, no matter who she might anger in the process. She didn't care anymore what her friends and family thought, what society might say. If they couldn't understand, then they didn't really care for her to begin with.
Hermione looked up when she heard the door click open. Ron sauntered in and sat in the chair next to her at the little table she had piled with scrolls and books and parchments with her own notes and a couple of battered quills lost amongst the fray. There should have been an ink bottle somewhere but she couldn't place it now.
Ron stared at her as if expecting her to say something. He'd been like this the past couple of days, distant and yet trying to be alone with her at every possible moment. At first she had thought it was kind of charming that he had missed her so much, but now it was starting to wear on her.
"Is there something you needed, Ronald?" she asked sweetly. Her dour mood had put everyone on edge around her and she struggled to return to her normal, caring nature. He shook his head and reached out one long-fingered hand and enveloped her own which had been lying on the table between them. He seemed to struggle with the words in his head.
"Hermione…you've seemed…well...you know…a bit, erm, off."
She waited for him to add to his proclamation but he didn't, so she probed him further.
"In what way?"
He shifted nervously and toyed with her fingers, his warm, slightly sweaty clasp making her want to cringe. Why was she suddenly abhorrent of Ron? It's not like he had changed any. He was still the sweet, shy, goofy boy she had loved since her first year. Last year her heart had fluttered when he had been around but now…now, everything had changed, she had changed.
They had started once towards a relationship but it had flickered out eventually, never really crossing the threshold between friend and lover, and for that she was thankful. After Draco she couldn't think of being with anyone else, especially her bumbling, tousle-haired friend. She still loved him and her heart ached when he gave her that look that told her how much he had missed her and what it had done to him, but she would never feel more for him than friendship, strong, true, lasting friendship, though she worried he had more in mind now.
"In what way, Ron?" she repeated when his silence dragged on.
"You're, well, distant. You know?" His deep blue eyes pleaded with her to understand what he was saying so he didn't have to continue.
"Yes, I know. I'm sorry. I'm trying, I really am.
"You don't have to apologize, we all know how much you went through. It's just that… Did something…happen…while you were gone?"
"A lot of things happened, Ron." She was way too tired to have this conversation right now, why couldn't everyone understand that she just wanted to be left alone?
"I know, I know…it's just that…well…it seems like…more than..."
"More than what? Ron, I am really very busy, can you just get to the point?" she sighed, trying not to sound cross, though she knew she was failing miserably.
Ron looked down to their still connected hands. "Hermione, did something happen…what I mean is…did Malfoy do something to you?"
Her heart stammered in her chest and fear gripped her. What in the world had made him say something like that? How could he possibly have any indication that there was so much more to her journey than she'd let on? There was no way, no possible way he could know. She'd been so careful not to say anything, not to mention even the slightest thing that might make them wonder…
She focused on keeping her strangled voice level and calm. "What do you mean?"
He looked uncomfortable, a blush beginning to creep up his neck.
"Ron, what do you mean?"
"Did he…try to…you know…take advantage of you?" Ron's poor pale, speckled cheeks flamed fiery red to clash with his copper hair, perfectly matching the red Hermione was now seeing.
"Take advantage of me? Ronald, where would you ever get an idea like that?"
"Well, it's just…you know…two people alone for so long…and you're so pretty and smart and everything," he blushed even harder if it was possible. "I just thought, maybe the reason you didn't want to talk about him much when you told us all your story was because he might have…well…and I'll kill him if he did, I swear, Hermione, if he touched one hair on your head-"
"Ron, nothing happened," Hermione soothed in an attempt to calm the raging temper that was making its way to the surface of Ron's exterior as she battled back her own. She knew his temper could get fierce and she knew if he thought Draco had raped her he would go ballistic. It enraged her that he would consider Draco raping her instead of concluding the love they had made together, the tender way he had taken her, the rapture he had brought her with his hands and mouth and-
"You're sure?"
Hermione shook her head, realizing she was once again drifting off to thoughts of what she a Draco had shared. Maybe she'd been a little more obvious that she'd realized. "Of course I'm sure! He didn't do anything distasteful."
Ron nodded as if he didn't believe her. She supposed there was no reason he should and guilt assailed her for lying to her best friend.
"Come on, cheer up," she said in a light-hearted voice, tamping down her emotions in an attempt to sooth her friend. "I'm home. No need to be so gloomy."
He smiled, his eyes brightening as he finally turned to her. "You're right. You're absolutely right, Hermione. This should be a time for celebration."
And then he kissed her.
Hermione was so shocked that for a moment she was stunned motionless, just as she had been when Draco had first kissed her. When she had her wits about her again she leaned back, her expression one of bewilderment and his face fell immediately.
"Ron-"
"No, no I- that was stupid," he stammered, his face now an ugly shade of mauve in his embarrassment. "I'm sorry I should have never-"
"No, it's okay, it's just- I was shocked, I didn't expect-"
"I know, it was a dumb move, I'm sorry, I should-" he stumbled to his feet, upsetting his chair in the process, and backed up a couple of steps pointing towards the library door.
"No, Ron, you don't have to-"
"It's alright, I just, that was dumb, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" His back hit the door and he fumbled for the handle and just as he went to pull it open the door swung in and smashed into Ron with a loud crunching noise and a yowl of pain. Hermione rushed forward with a gasp as Remus recoiled in surprise. Ron clutched his nose and wrenched away from Hermione as she attempted to see the damage, blood deluging down his front. Remus apologized profusely and finally extracted Ron's hands from his face so he could find the source of the blood that gushed from the middle of Ron's still-blushing face.
"Here, I'll fix it-" Remus said, brandishing his wand.
"No! No, it's fine, just leave it! I should go, er- I'll go," he stuttered thickly and raced out of the room, blood still pouring down his front.
Hermione slumped against the wall and smacked the back of her head against it several times. Merlin, what was wrong with her? Here she was trying to mend fences and now she'd probably scarred the poor boy for good. She hadn't meant to make him feel so ashamed, she just hadn't known what to say. She groaned in despair. Damn Draco for ruining everything! Why did he have to go and make her fall in love with him? She should have been thrilled that Ron had finally made a move! Now she just found it abhorrent.
She knew she'd probably done irreparable damage to her and Ron's relationship with how embarrassed he would be after this whole incident, especially after his disastrous exit…
"Er-Hermione?" Having forgotten that anyone was there, Hermione opened her eyes and looked up at her mentor.
"Is, er, everything alright?"
She snorted. "Is anything alright anymore?"
He seemed at a loss for words and she waved her melancholy away. "Is there something you needed?"
The older man cleared his throat. "Actually, there is. Hermione…there's something we need to discuss. Will you come with me to the kitchen, please?"
"Yes, of course," she replied, thankful for a distraction, and followed the man down the stairs. He said nothing and seemed tense, which wasn't altogether unusual for him, but she felt a strange ambiance from him, like he was hesitant to have this conversation. This made her apprehensive. Did they suspect something between her and Draco as well?
Deciding it was best she didn't question, Hermione followed Remus into the kitchen where she found Tonks, Arthur, Molly, Bill, Kingsley, Moody, and Snape settled around the table, mixed expressions of apprehension to downright anger seething from Molly, stared up at her.
But the most unsettling part of all of it was the presence of her former Potions master. Any time he arrived only brought worse news and the fact that it had taken him so long since her and Draco's arrival to come to them was foreboding.
Fear clenched in her heart and she was rooted to the spot, looking around for her best friend. "What is all this about? Where is Harry?"
"We'll have a discussion with him shortly. For now, we need to speak with you privately. Will you please have a seat?" Remus said with a comforting squeeze of her shoulder. Arthur gestured her to a chair next to him and she sat, wholly unsettled by her pseudo-father's protective posture as he sat facing halfway turned towards her, his hand resting on the back of her chair.
Snape stared at her from directly across the table as if assessing her and she remembered all the Occlumency lessons Harry had received from him in their fifth year. She suddenly wished had been at the receiving end of the lessons as she had no idea how to protect her mind from being invaded other than the steps she'd researched as Harry had struggled with the concept. The only way she knew how to protect her thoughts was to clear her mind and keep them as blank and bland as possible.
"Molly, your son and I had a minor collision with the library door and he is bleeding rather profusely. Would you go tend to him?" Remus said from the doorway.
Mrs. Weasley looked reluctant to go, her eyes on Hermione. She seemed torn between helping her injured son and being with her.
"Go on, I don't think they'll bite," Hermione said with a small smile, knowing that whatever this group wanted to speak with her about that Molly was fully against it and would likely cause a stir, so it was best if she was occupied while they conversed.
"Arthur, you know how I feel about this-"
"I do, Molly."
The two caught eyes and Mrs. Weasley hesitated a moment longer more before nodding curtly and making her way up to Ron.
Remus took the seat she had abandoned on the other side of Hermione and Arthur turned to him. "I hope you didn't injure my son too badly, Remus."
"He'll be fine, just a broken nose, nothing Molly can't handle. Now, I suggest we get down to business?"
Hermione looked around at their small group. She felt comforted with these two men beside her, Tonks leaning against the wall behind Snape. Kingsley sat across from Remus next to Snape, his dark figure relaxed and lounging in his seat while Moody sat to the left of Snape, his stature erect, his hands resting one on top of the other on his cane which was propped in front of him. Bill sat on the other side of Arthur, twirling his wand in his hand, tense, as if ready to pounce.
All eyes turned to Snape who folded his hands nonchalantly on the table and looked at Hermione.
"Miss Granger, you have been assisting in the retrieval of the Horcruxes?"
His question was more of a statement, and a rather unnecessary one as everyone in the room had been involved in her mission.
"Yes."
"So I would be correct in assuming you understand the very classified nature of this endeavor?"
"Yes…"
Snape lifted his brow at her. "Are you aware that a certain Draco Malfoy has gotten ahold of some vital information about the sixth and final Horcrux?"
Her heart leapt in her chest and she felt faint.
Draco had betrayed her. He'd said he'd ask his father, but she had never actually thought…Oh, gods. It was true, everything he'd said when he'd left her in that field. He'd used her to get information, beguiled her with sweet words and heated embraces until she began blabbing about Horcruxes.
Her stomach dropped, knowing how stupid she'd been, knowing that she'd put everyone in danger by her foolish actions. Everything they'd worked so hard for was down the drain, all because of her.
"Miss Granger?" Snape snapped and she realized she'd simply been staring into the space before her in shock. She looked up at the severe man, meeting his gaze. He was exactly as she had remembered him from school; ruthless, calculating, cold.
"Yes," she whispered guiltily.
"Yes?"
She closed her eyes momentarily against the weight of her shame. "Yes."
He tutted condescendingly. "And here I thought you were supposed to be the brightest witch of our age."
"Severus-" Arthur started.
"How did he come about this information?" Snape interrupted, his gaze hard and penetrating, ignoring the heated glares from those around him.
Meeting his patronizing look, Hermione told him. "I got a fever from a wound I received fighting Trackers. He claimed I hallucinated and I must have mentioned Nagini because when I came-to, Dr-Malfoy asked me about her. I refused to tell him anything more but it was too late. He seemed ignorant of the Horcrux so I didn't think we'd have anything to worry about. I never dreamed he would go to his father-"
"His father?" Snape sneered evilly. "Now, that's interesting. I never said anything about going to his father. What makes you think Mr. Malfoy went to his father with this information instead of straight to the Dark Lord, Miss Granger?"
"This isn't an interrogation, Severus!" Tonks snapped, stepping forward, her hair flaring to a bright, angry red.
"Quiet, Nymphadora," Snape snapped scornfully, not meeting the searing look Kingsley gave him.
Remus stiffened beside her defensively. Hermione placed her hand on his forearm when he went to speak, but she knew she deserved every last bit of Snape's wrath.
Her eyes never looked away from Snape. "He told me he would ask his father if I did not tell him."
"And you did not feel this was necessary to share with everyone else?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because I didn't think he would," she admitted. "I thought-"
"You thought wrong."
The room was heavy with the damning silence that clung to his words. She could see the disappointment in Moody's gaze, feel the stiffness of the fatherly figures who flanked her. Bill straightened in his seat uncomfortably, the only sound in the tense room. Her shame threatened to consume her.
"Your failure to report important information has cost us our advantage," Snape continued. "The Dark Lord is aware of our activities as well as your association to them. This had put us in a very tight predicament. Do you understand the severity of the situation your actions have put us in?"
Hermione swallowed thickly. "Yes."
The oily Death Eater leaned forward, his face hard, his dark eyes flashing.
"Miss Granger, it is crucial that we have that snake. Without it, the Dark Lord will rule. We must do everything in our power to retrieve it immediately."
"Do you have any suggestions?" she asked seriously. The atmosphere in the room grew ever tighter, closing in on the people in it. She knew she was the reason these people she loved were in danger, and she would do anything in her power to repair the damage done.
"Yes," he admitted tightly, almost as if he didn't want to say it.
"Then let's hear it." She knew it must be bad or else Molly wouldn't have stormed out, Tonks wouldn't be on the defense, Moody wouldn't be so unusually silent. She was prepared for the worst. There was a reason Harry hadn't been called to this meeting, that the other Weasleys were mysteriously absent.
Before Snape could speak, Remus cut in. "Hermione, you don't have to do anything you don't want to. We don't want you to think-"
"Thank you, Remus, but I am the reason we are in this situation. I've already made my decision. Whatever it is you need me to do, I'll do it. I'm the one who got us into this mess so I'll damn well help get us out of it."
Moody gave her a grave nod of respect and she steeled herself against what Snape was about to say.
The oily haired man stared at her from across the table, almost seeming to weigh her words.
"To pry the snake away from the Dark Lord we require a distraction, a ruse. Something that will occupy his time long enough to give us time to corner and destroy it. That is where we need you."
"I'm listening. What do you suggest we do?"
Snape's dark, humorless sneer made Hermione extremely uneasy and she started to wonder what she'd gotten herself into.
"Give him what he wants."
Hermione's heart sank. She knew what he was referring to, but she had to hear the words, had to make it real.
"And what is that?"
"You."
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
XOXO
RynStar15
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Breaking the Chain