Temptations | By : Nikkilicious Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 16325 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- 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. |
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any part of the franchise. This is a work of fanfiction, written solely for the enjoyment of myself and other fans. No profit is being made off of this work.
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“There is enough in the world for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed.”
-- Frank Buchman
Hermione felt the dizzying sensation stop, signaling once again that they’d appeared somewhere else. And she prayed that somewhere else was home. She was tired and dirty and all the anger and tension from dealing with Malfoy had built itself into a tight little ball that was now burning up in her stomach.
Opening her eyes, she held her breath, hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.
What she saw was a bit of both.
They were standing on one of the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley. It was another familiar place, and that was the good thing.
The bad thing… was that they were the only ones there. It was completely deserted. From where they stood they could see many of the shops, none of which had occupants at the moment. The streets were as bare as the stores, no bustling and no hustling. But aside from its emptiness, the place looked exactly as it always did.
“Well this obviously isn’t home either.” Draco frowned at his own words, knowing that if they weren’t yet home, and this wasn’t the real Diagon Alley, which he had a strong suspicion that it wasn’t, then they were still trapped.
It was starting to become a rather annoying pattern.
Hermione took a deep breath in attempt to calm her emotions, but she immediately crinkled her nose in repugnance at the awful smell that was surrounding her.
Correction…that was her.
The goop that had poured onto them from the Shrieking Shack coated her skin and clothes and was giving off a horrible stench.
But the bit of excitement that shot through her then was enough for her to withstand any smell, at least for the moment.
“Well, we’re here, so we might as well make the best of it and get cleaned up.” It seemed silly but she couldn’t wipe the small smile that had spread across her face at the idea of a warm shower with gallons of shampoo. She’d need it.
It was such a simple desire but she let herself focus on the fantasy as a way to ignore the immense fear she had of what this place would bring. Because she knew that it would bring something. They weren’t home, which only meant one thing; they were still stuck. And based on everything that had happened, she knew that getting out of this place was going to be even harder yet.
But despite all of those worries, she still, more than anything, wanted that shower.
Draco was having similar thoughts, so, without a word, they set off for Madam Malkin’s in search of fresh robes. With those in hand, they made their way to the Leaky Cauldron. Since they were inside of Diagon Alley already, and the tavern was on the outside, Hermione tapped her wand to the wall of bricks and they entered from the back. The thought of trying to escape out of the front door occurred to them but when it didn’t open, neither were that surprised. If they would have gotten out of the front, that would have led them to muggle London. But this place wasn’t the real Diagon Alley, therefore, muggle London was probably very far away.
All of this only proved that they were trapped, but at the moment, neither could summon the energy to care.
Moving behind the bar, they each grabbed keys to separate rooms and make their way up the staircase.
Draco pealed the clothing off of his back, literally, before stepping under the steaming hot downpour of water. He lathered his body with soap three times before he felt even remotely clean enough.
After a long, long while, he finally stepped out into the steam filled room, and dried himself off. Now that his first immediate need was taken care of, he felt really hungry. It surprised him considering he’d eaten quite a lot not too long ago.
Or was that wrong? The more he thought about it, he realized that he wasn’t sure how long it had been since he’d last eaten. Hours, it felt like.
Had they really been gone that long?
His growling stomach was answer enough.
Food was definitely the next thing on his list then, and after, he would try to figure the way out of this place. Because he knew that he had to get out soon. The many worries he had about what was happening to them were still there… they were just shoved into a dark corner in the back of his mind. He had more important things to deal with at the moment.
Going downstairs he saw Granger shuffling around behind the bar and knew that she had been thinking along the same lines.
She was making sandwiches, he realized, and his stomach did a flip of excitement. He went over, saw that there were two on the plate, and reached out to grab one, his greedy hand coming very close before it was smacked away by Hermione.
“Get your own!” With a huff, she snatched her plate and went to one of the long tables, as far from him as she could get.
He shot her a deathly look before going behind the bar to make some himself. There was almost a half a loaf of bread left and more than a few slices of ham, enough for a couple of people to eat, but out of pure spite he made three very large, very filled sandwiches, and ate them all down.
If she didn’t want to share, that was fine. He wouldn’t either.
After scarffing down their sandwiches, both got up to leave.
As soon as they got out of the door, the two parted, going completely different directions.
Hermione once again took notice of all the nonexistent people. The place was deserted and deserted for a reason. She knew it. Understood it. But for some reason, she wasn’t reacting to it. There were other things on her mind besides trying to deal with another trap. And she felt a surge of exhilaration when she realized that she could use Diagon Alley’s uninhabited state to her advantage.
With that thought, she headed straight for her favorite place. Flourish and Blotts.
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Draco’s thought process was much the same. He knew that this place wasn’t really Diagon Alley. And he knew that whatever was happening to them, wherever they were, they still had a long way to go to get back home. But he simply couldn’t be bothered about it. He was tired of trying to fight whatever it was that was going on.
And that was perfect at the moment because he didn’t have to do a thing. Except relax and enjoy a nice stroll, lovely weather, freedom from Granger, and all the free stuff he could want.
He wasn’t sure what could be better.
The Quidditch shop was just ahead so he went straight for it. He’d been in it a multitude of times and he was sure nothing new had arrived since he was last there, but it was a comforting place for him.
He opened the door and his eyes met with the best sight. Brooms lined the far wall, all different colors and styles, shapes and lengths. Cleaners and other supplies rested on the shelves in the middle. There were books and magazines. Advertisements hung on the walls.
The place was like heaven.
He might’ve been in there for hours but he wasn’t sure. What he did know was that when he finally walked out of the shop, the sun had begun to set.
Draco had never really looked at a sunset before. He was more of a sunrise kind of guy, since he was usually up anyway. But he was up for sunsets as well… it was just that he’d never stopped to appreciate them.
The sky darkened just a bit, casting a dim hue over everything around him. Then there was the golden glow that resulted as the sun descended beneath the horizon, leaving yellow and orange streaks across the sky.
Even though the sun was disappearing, he could still feel its warmth. Almost like it was the first time. There was nothing around him. No people, no pressure. And he felt like he could just be himself. Like he was allowed to feel without any repercussions.
His life had hardened him in some ways. He was from a renowned family, spoiled rotten, and conceited to boot, but all of that was external. Sometimes he felt as if he was outside of his body looking in.
He’d grown up a happy boy. Or at least that was what he’d fooled himself into believing. His entire life he’d been preached to about how high up on the pecking order he was. And that was true. He was a Malfoy. But just because he had that name, didn’t mean he had that ideal life that the name suggested.
His parents had been cold. For whatever the reason. To make up for it, his mother doted upon his every wish. Indulged him like no person had the right to be indulged. And his father… he showed his love in other ways as well. And yes, Draco was positive that his father did love him. But power, especially dark power, has a way of taking over people. Consuming them until priorities get readjusted and there is nothing left except that power.
His father chose to dedicate his life to a Lord who promised great things. And for a while, that promise was fulfilled. But those things were eventually lost.
Lucius was a proud man. He was strong and felt infinitely superior to the average witch or wizard. But Lord Voldemort wasn’t an average wizard, and he knew that. So he devoted himself. And when his devotion became crushed from the fall, he was stuck.
He couldn’t go back, couldn‘t deny what he‘d done. His ego would never allow it.
So Lucius stayed in that in-between.
Draco did not like his father. But it wasn‘t to the point of hate. He only hated what his father had tried to turn him into.
The sun was almost gone now and all Draco could see was a small sliver of gold that was left in the sky.
His feet had carried him away from the Quidditch shop to someplace new. To the book shop.
Where he could see Granger standing, a book open in her hand.
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Hermione had gotten so involved in her reading, like she always did, that she hadn’t even noticed the shadowed sky or the person approaching her from behind.
It wasn’t until her book was snatched from her hands that she sprung back to life, turning quickly to see who stole away her precious literature.
Malfoy. Of course.
Fire was in her eyes as she jumped at him, hand reaching out to grab at the book.
“Give it back you arse!” She sprung at him so quickly that he was stunned a moment, long enough for her to actually succeed in getting what she wanted.
There was a wild look on her face as she hugged the leather bound book to her chest, cradling it like a child.
“Its mine! They’re all mine.” Her eyes had darkened on him and he knew she’d finally cracked.
She was crazy. The bitch was crazy!
Granger obviously wanted that book.
But, damnit, so did he. Reaching out, he clutched the book and tried to yank from her grasp. She held tight.
He couldn’t explain the strange urge to get the book from her but it was there, screaming at him. He had to have it. Had to have all of them.
Just so that she didn’t have anything.
“Yours? Really? Did you buy them all? I doubt that you could. But I, on the other hand, can. So they are mine!” Still, they struggled with the book, both pulling at it with all their might.
Apparently they’d pulled too hard because the book ripped in ripped down the middle, causing both of them to fall backward from the force and land on the floor, each holding a half.
It was then that they came back to their senses. Hermione stared down at her half, a frown on her lips as she realized that she just destroyed the wonderful volume because of her selfish pettiness.
Getting angry, Draco stood, tossing his half at her feet.
“Well, I don’t want damaged goods. Nice going Granger.” He gave a huff and stalked to the door.
“I’m going to bed before you really go insane.”
Hermione stood also, now holding both book halves in her hands. She realized how right Malfoy’s words were.
“Right. Bed.” She would just take her book back to the Leaky Cauldron and repair it with her wand, which she’d left there, then return it the next day. All would be well.
So the both of them set out for the night.
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In all of his years at Hogwarts, Harry had never seen the place so gloomy, not even when Umbridge had taken over and the entire population had been treated like prisoners.
Everyone was feeling an intense anxiousness that wasn’t going away. Classes were quiet as people robotically wrote down notes, meanwhile concentrating on other things. Meals were much the same. There was a soft chatter but no one was really as tuned in as they used to be.
Everyone was so detached.
Harry hated it. The cold atmosphere was killing him, soaking through his skin and freezing his already icy core.
Hermione, his warmth, was gone.
It had been days. Maybe longer. He wasn’t exactly sure anymore. Everything sort of blurred together after a while.
It was the same for the others, he was sure. His attention briefly turned to Ron as he watched his best friend stare into the fire, losing himself in the dancing flames. Harry wanted to lose himself. To focus on something other than his fears.
But no matter what he was doing, he never stopped thinking of her. Or of the war. Or of the uncertain future.
Those thoughts would be the death of him, he knew. His friend was missing, and he was distraught, but he also understood that he had to stay focused and keep going. He had to keep a hold of the little bit of faith he had left.
But most of all, he had to do something. Because sitting around, wishing she’d return, wouldn’t do a damn thing to help the situation.
He stood up and, without a word, left the common room, heading straight for McGonagall’s office.
She was there. Not working as usual, but just sitting and staring, much like Ron had been. He almost didn’t want to interrupt her, and maybe he wouldn’t have if he hadn’t been so furious with her at the moment.
But he was. So he did.
“Professor?”
“Potter,” She looked a bit taken aback, “what can I assist you with?”
“I want to find Hermione.” She gave him a pointed look that said they’d had this discussion before and he knew her response, but still, he continued. “I’m serious. I know that she is alive and we have to find her while there is still a chance. While there is still time. We have to tell the Ministry, the Order, anyone! Why haven’t you told them?”
McGonagall gave a heavy sigh and looked at him long and hard before answering.
“Potter, you know as well as I do that if the Ministry gets involved, then it will be more than just a rescue mission. It will be war. And who knows if they would even want to help. They might even take the news and run with it. It would give them an excuse to attack. To do all that they want to.” She eyed him, making sure that he was getting every word. “Do you want to be responsible for that? Do you want this war to happen faster than it already is?”
Anger bubbled in his chest and it took all he had to restrain himself. He understood what she’d said and he wasn’t denying the truth in her words. But this was Hermione. His best friend.
He’d fight a hundred wars for her if he had to.
But McGonagall didn’t seem to understand that. And no amount of pestering would make her.
“With all do respect Professor… if she dies, its on your hands.”
He didn’t wait to see her reaction before walking swiftly out of the door.
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AN: Okay I know this chapter is a bit shorter than others but that was just the perfect place to stop. I hope you enjoyed it and PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! Also, if you are on adult-fanfiction.org and you want me to reply to your review, feel free to leave me your email address. Thanks so much for all your support guys. ^_^
Next time: Draco and Hermione continue to fight Greed. Will they realize what is happening before its too late? Or will this one finally destroy them? And more from Hogwarts!
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