Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Temporary	By : sabreenthequeen Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 25226 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
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
- 25
- 26
- 27
- - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Temporary

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chapter 26: Strong

With my heart swelling with
hope, my lips curved into a slight smile. I closed my eyes to allow
the comforting embrace Harry gave me, to cool my heart beats down. He
broke away slowly, a grin on his face and looked at Ron who, too, had
the same pleased smile upon his face.

They got off the bed and walked off towards
the door. "Get dressed and come down for lunch," Ron told
me. "You had missed breakfast."

I nodded my head and watched
the redhead and the raven-haired boy leave, closing the door behind
them. I pushed the covers away from me and crawled out of the warm
bed. My heart was feathery light from talking to them and somehow
sharing my problems. The dream I had about Draco was forgotten, the
darkness covered with that strand of light Harry provided with his
hopeful words.

I pulled on a shirt and pair of
jeans I found in the closet. They were my own clothes that I left
here in the summer before the new Year started. They were loose on me
but comfortable and I welcomed the memories that came to me. I looked
back at the clothes I had on the night before and walked over to the
chair upon which they were thrown on top of unceremoniously. Tilting
my head to the side, I reached into the pocket of my robes and took
out the mirror Ron had given me in the park. I peered at the glossy
mirror, wondering if I can see Draco through it.

Suddenly, there was a knock on
the door that shook me out of my thoughts and I shoved the mirror in
my pocket, turning to open the door to let the visitor in.

"You?" I whispered.

He smirked at me, his hazel
eyes were not dancing in mirth like I remembered they would. He was
taller than George, yet more boyish looking. The dimple in his right
cheek was one I had seen on Megan. I knew at the time that her son
had one too but I never realized that it wasn't George but actually
Aquil's face where I had seen the dimple on.

I felt my chest tightening a
wave of tears threatening to spill out. It was because of me that
Aquil no longer had a brother and a father. I felt so guilty.

"I'm sorry," I
whispered to him, not looking at him in the eye.

"Oy," he said softly and cheerily,
trying to make me feel better. "It's not your fault. We are in a
War, remember? Well all know the risks we took when we chose a side.
We just have to remember that goodness and the truth always prevails
and if we're fighting for the right, then we have to make sacrifices
in the way. It's all part of life. Just stay strong and don't lose
faith."

"I know that but I just wonder what
if..."

"It's okay to wonder about what ifs,
but it's showing weakness. In a time like this, we have to stay
strong. Wondering and not taking chances is what Lord Voldemort
wants," he flinched while saying it and explained, "I'm
still not used to calling him that but Dumbledore tells me I should
stop being afraid."

"The Headmaster is right.
It's just a name. We're giving him power by not saying it. By being
afraid that's showing weakness and showing that he's more powerful
when he isn't," I told him.

He smiled. "That's exactly what I
thought you would say and that's my point. By wondering about what
might happen and thinking about our loved ones is all right but
what's more important is showing we're not afraid to take chances.
Forget for the moment about your own personal life, Nia," he
told me, making me remember when George would call me that. "And
remember that we all are in this together. It's a power struggle
between good and evil. We have to show that the light isn't afraid of
the dark but it's the other way around."

I nodded my head, surprised
that I had forgot all that. I used to tell that to Harry and Ron all
the time and here I was, forgetting my own teachings and principals
just because I'm drowning myself in self-pity. I was getting angry at
myself for acting so weak. It wasn't like Hermione Granger to cry and
just give up. No, I had to be strong.

I looked up at him and saw his
hazel-green eyes glossy from unshed tears. I had an urge to give him
a small hug and wrapped my arms around his shoulder for a mere second
and then let go.

"Thanks," he said. He wiped his
eyes and chuckled lightly. "C'mon, let's go eat some of Molly's
delicious food. Harry and Ron will take you to Hogwarts afterwards,
so eat up."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Going to Hogwarts was something
I wasn't expecting. Did I actually have the courage to go back there?
To the taunts, the stares, the rumors? Did I have the courage to go
back to where all the horrible things that happened to me all began?
I ran away because I couldn't handle it. And now, more weak than I
was before, can I make it through?

I had Harry and Ron, their friendship,
support, Aquil's wise words, and this newfound hope. Wasn't that
enough? Maybe back in Hogwarts everything will go back to normal.
Maybe it would be there that I'd see Draco again.

My heart beat faster with the
thought. I wanted to see him so badly. I really did. I miss him so
much. So many questions, so much confusion. I just wanted to be in
his arms and forget everything. Just go back to being normal.

But when I had gone back to Hogwarts that
night, it was late and the Great Hall was empty. Students were not
there and Harry escorted me to the Head Dorms while Ron went to the
Gryffindor Tower. When I asked if I'd see Draco when we got there, I
received no answer and they evaded my questions. In the end I knew it
was foolish to ask them. Either they didn't know or they didn't wish
to tell me. Maybe I was better off not knowing.

Harry left, saying that Ginny
wanted to speak to him. I was going to ask him why Ginny didn't come
to see me but I thought better of it. There was something going on in
that head of hers and as much as I wanted to know what made her drift
away from me so fast, I was too tired to think about it much. Ginny's
jealously was no longer my problem. I learned to live with it.

I walked inside the Head Common
Room. The couch in the middle, right in front of the fireplace,
brought back memories. It was that exact same place where I had seen
the Mark on Draco's left arm. I brushed away a tear that managed to
escape my eyes and shook my head, walking towards the stairs to reach
my room.

Suddenly, just as my feet landed on the
first step, I heard a knock on the door. My heart beats quickened at
the possibility that it might be Draco out there. But then my
rational mind told me that if it was Draco, he wouldn't need to knock
since he knew the password in the first place.

I walked over to the portrait and allowed
the door to open. Blaise Zabini met my gaze, his charcoal eyes blank.
There were silence for a while until I realized he wouldn't speak.
"Hi, Blaise. Would you like to come in?"

He shook his head out of his thoughts. "No
thanks, Granger. I came to escort you to Snape's office. He wishes to
speak to you."

I nodded my head, wondering to
myself why Blaise was acting so formal and distant and stepped
outside the portal. "Lead the way," I told him.

He nodded briefly and began to walk in a
fairly quick pace. I struggled to keep up. "Hey Blaise, would
you mind slowing down?" I told him. He obeyed by walking a bit
slowly and my own feet fell in step with his strides. "Listen,
Blaise, what's wrong? You're acting -different."

"Nothing wrong with me, Granger."

He left the conversation that and I didn't
push him any further. We reached Snape's office and I stepped inside.
"Aren't you going to come?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "No, I'll be waiting
out here until you come out."

I nodded my head and looked inside the room.
Professor Snape was sitting behind an ebony desk in his customary
black robes, an intimidating look on his face which I knew to be just
a mask. "Ah, Miss Granger, glad to see you had made it back to
Hogwarts safely."

"Thank you, professor."

"Good. Now I don't suppose
you know why you were brought here, do you?" He drawled.

I shook my head. "Very well, you came
so that you can ask me 3 questions and of those 3 I shall answer 2,
only if I know the answer."

I furrowed my brows. "Pardon?"

"You heard me, Miss
Granger. Now I'm pretty sure you have a million questions, now ask me
one. You already did, but I'll let that one slide for now," he
said with a slight chuckle.

Haha, very funny, I thought to
myself. I then looked back to his coal black eyes and realized the
matter was serious. What should I ask first?

"Well professor, where is Draco?"

"That, Miss Granger, is a question not
even Dumbledore himself knows the answer to. I do, however, know
this: Draco is safe, wherever he is."

I sighed and nodded my head. For the moment
I had no questions in my head. They all somehow disappeared. However
then I remembered something else. A large question that was haunting
me for days on end. The question that began it all. "Why did
Voldemort choose me and Draco to produce his heir?"

Snape leaned back against his chair. "Good
question. I knew that one would be your first. The Dark Lord picked
Draco for his name, his power acquired from a long line of wizards.
He isn't the direct descent of Salazar, as you perhaps know, but
there is a deep Ancient Magic in him so powerful, that it cannot be
explained. Draco is a determined young man, he gets what he wants.
The Dark Lord likes that characteristic in people. It shows authority
and power -- a very important tool."

"And what about me? Why pick me, a
muggleborn?"

Snape chuckled and in an icy drawl replied,
"You don't understand do you, Miss Granger? The Dark Lord
doesn't care about blood. To him, it's not who your parents are or
anything. To the Dark Lord, Power means everything. And you, Miss
Granger, have that power."

My heart beat fast against my
chest. "Power?" I echoed.

Snape nodded his head. "Yes, Miss
Granger. In this world strength and power determines whether you can
live or die. The weak shall perish, the strong shall live." He
allowed a silence to follow his words before saying, "That is
all, Miss Granger. I hope that makes things more clearer. You may
leave."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Everything okay?"
Blaise asked me coolly when I stepped outside.

I nodded my head absently and
looked straight ahead at nothing.

He walked me back towards the
Head Dorms and I followed him. After a while, the silence became
unnerving. Since my mind didn't want to think anymore of what Snape
said, I thought about striking conversation with the quiet Blaise
Zabini.

"So, Blaise. What's wrong? You seem
very distant. Why are you so quiet?"

"Nothing really, Granger, it's just
that..." He sighed and then stopped walking, turning around to
face me. "I'm tired, Granger. I'm tired of this game."

"Game?"

He nodded his head, his black hair fell into
his face and he impatiently brushed it aside. "Draco's gone and
everything is going crazy. I'm tired of pretending and lying for
him." He clenched his fist and looked away from my questioning
gaze. "No one knows where he went," he informed. "Right
after you ran away, he went mad looking for you. Then all of a
sudden, he told me to be in charge of the Quidditch team and left."

I gulped and put my hands
behind my back so that Blaise wouldn't see them trembling.

"I don't know what the hell he's
doing," Blaise said angrily. "I don't know what game he's
playing, Granger. It's too confusing. First he tells me how much he
loves you," he told me looking at me straight in the eye, "and
that he's going to try to come back to you but then he says that he's
perfectly fine with the Dark Lord."

I chewed the inside of my lip
and slumped against the wall.

"Sometimes I think he's spying for the
Order like I am but then sometimes I think he isn't...." His
voice lowered suddenly and he walked a few steps away from me so that
his eyes were shaded by the darkness. "He killed three muggles,"
his voice was so low, I was straining to hear him. "And he's
turned darker than I ever saw him. His blood's turned Black. He's...
Changed."

I took a few calming breaths but in the end
Blaise's words plus what Snape had told me were becoming too much for
me to handle. I was slumping to the floor. "I shouldn't have
told you, I'm sorry. But I think you deserve to know. Draco still
loves you, don't think he doesn't, but now he's torn between this new
Power he gained and his love for you. You are our --his-- only
hope to get back to the Light."

He took my hand and pulled me up before I
fell to the ground. "You're a Gryffindor, Hermione," Blaise
said. I was pleased that he said my first name like he used to.
"You're supposed to be courageous. Be the heroine that you are
and bring Draco back from the insanity that they put him in. He won't
ever hurt you, trust him on that, but he's changing again. You have
to bring him back."

I nodded my head firmly. Blaise
was right, Aquil was, Harry and Ron, Tonks, everyone. I needed to
have faith. I trust that Draco would never do anything bad but Blaise
said he killed 3 muggles. My eyes were too dry to shed anymore tears
so now my heart was hardened with a new feeling. I needed to be
tough. Snape even told me that it was my Power that made Voldemort
choose me out the all the people to produce his heir. I'm grateful
that it didn't happen, but he still wants me. I know that for a fact
because the Death Eaters, including Draco were looking for me.

Right now, I couldn't be this
weak anymore. Although morally, I disagree with Snape, but right now,
during these perilous times, being weak can be something that can get
me killed. I needed to get my strength back because only the
powerful, steadfast ones would be victorious. I would have to slowly
turn back to the normal Hermione Granger who risked her neck for the
right cause to get Draco back and win in this struggle of Good power
versus evil.

I have to go back to the real
me, the mighty Gryffindor Hermione.

I would have to be, well,...

...Strong.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - -
-
- 25
- 26
- 27
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

Temporary