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Dramione chapter 2

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Draco Malfoy


I sit next to Hermione on the bench, her crying self wrapped in my arms. I can't help but feel a bit uncomfortable. It's not like we were ever close, but here we are. What do I do? Do I just sit here in silence and let her cry? Do I try to say something to her? I look up across the street to see Weaslette crossing the street toward us. Great. This is not at all what I had in mind for today. I just wanted to talk to Hermione. Now what? Am I supposed to talk to her now, too? What's her first name again? Ginny? If I didn't know any better I'd say her head was on fire. She finally reaches the bench and stares into my eyes for a long moment. Her eyes are filled with fury as we stare on, suspended in time, until finally her gaze softens and she simply nods to me.


"Can we have a moment?" she asks, gesturing toward Hermione. I stand up and allow the flame to take my seat next to Hermione. "Hermione, I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were going to be here! If I'd known I would've warned you that Ron was with us!"


I slowly back away from the scene, leaving the two of them to talk. Crossing the street again, I can't believe what I'm even doing. What's the point of this at all? I should just go home and forget about this. I look over my shoulder at Hermione. Her face is stained with tears. Before I can stop myself I storm into the pub and make immediate eye contact with Weasley. His face begins to blend in with his preposterous hair and contorts into an unattractive, but clearly angry expression. He slowly stands up from the table, reaching into his pocket. I grip my wand in my pocket, just in case. Potter stands up quickly and grabs Weasley. They argue back and forth for a moment before Weasley walks out the back door of the pub. Potter turns back to me and walks toward me. Longbottom and the crazy blonde chick remain sitting at the table, watching wide-eyed like two children at their first Quidditch match. Suddenly I'm standing in the middle of the pub having a stare down.


"Something wrong, Potter?" I ask bitterly.


"What do you want with Hermione?" he asks, clearly on the defensive. He's tense and trying to suppress his irritation.


"Want with her? Why, I don't know what you're talking about, Potter. We were simply having a friendly conversation."


"Friendly? Who are you trying to fool, Malfoy? Do you really think that you can just walk into her life and she's going to forget all of the things that you've done? You're wrong. You might as well just leave and never come back."


"I don't believe that's up to you, Potter. It was her choice to come here with me, I simply asked. She could've said no. It doesn't seem like her friends treat her any better than I did. Or am I mistaken to think that Weasley is responsible for her emotional breakdown outside."


Potter looks away guiltily. He knows just as well as I do that it's Weasley's fault. He looks outside at Hermione with concern blanketing his face. He takes a step toward me, bringing our faces barely inches apart. "If you hurt her again, you won't get away with it."


I send him a smirk before turning around and walking out, leaving him standing there. I stand outside the pub, watching Hermione across the street, and decide they need more time alone. Where do I go? What do I do? Am I supposed to wait for them and then go back to her or can I just leave? Standing here watching her, I realize how much she's changed. Her hair is no longer bushy and uncontrollable. She's actually tremendously beautiful. I take a step forward to walk back over to her.


"Leave her alone, Malfoy!" Weasley commands from somewhere behind me. I turn around to face him as he walks out from around the pub. Had he been waiting for me? His face is contorted with pure anger. Once again, I grip my wand in my pocket. Wealsey's wand is already out, in hand at his side. "You've hurt her enough, you slimy git! Now leave her alone!"


"I've hurt her? What about you, there, Weasley? From what I overheard in the pub back there, you cheated on her. And by the looks of her that hurt her more than I ever have." I gesture over my shoulder toward Hermione, still in tears.


"You think you're so cool, don't you, Malfoy? You think you're so tough?" He lifts his wand, pointing it directly in my face. He takes a few steps toward me, and I respond by taking equal the steps backward. I continue to grip my wand, but leave it in my pocket. "Come on, Malfoy! Show me how tough you are!"


"I'm not going to do this with you. Just forget it." The last thing that I need right now is for Hermione to be upset with me because I got caught up in a pointless duel with her ex.


"What's wrong? You're not scared, are you?" He takes a few more steps toward me and I back away further. "Fight me, you coward!"


"I won't. Come on, Weasley, aren't we better than this by now?"


"You? Better than this? You're not better! You're scum! You're nothing but a loathsome git relying on nothing more than your sick family to bail you out! How's your daddy, Malfoy? Still in Azkaban? I bet your mum is so proud of you. I don't care if you want everyone to think that you switched sides at the end of the war. You're still nothing but a filthy Death Eater wannabe. How's that Dark Mark of yours, by the way? I'm sure it's looking splendid."


"Ron! That's enough!" his sister yells, running toward us, Hermione at her heels. Ginny grabs Weasley's wand from his hand, pushing him back away from me. "Are you insane?! What is wrong with you!?"


Hermione quickly turns me around to face her, concern splashed across her face. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"


I shake my head slowly. "No, I'm fine."


"Oh, right! Ask him if I hurt him! Make sure little Malfoy, scum of the earth is alright! Is he your new boyfriend now, Hermione?"


I spin around quickly and shove myself in his face. "Back off, Weasley! You think that just because you had the balls to cheat on her you've got balls enough to talk to her like that, do you?! Think again! I may be all of those things that you said I was and I don't deserve for her to even speak to me, but she deserves better. You know that. If I ever hear you talk to her like that again, you'll have a real duel on your hands. Have a good night, Weasley."


Weasley just stands there in stunned silence as I turn and begin walking away. I have no idea where I'm going; I just need to get away from him. How dare he talk to her like that!? Given I've never spoken to her with the slightest respect before, but I was wrong before. There, I said it. I was wrong. Sad enough it took an entire war to get me to realize that.


"Wait! Draco!" Hermione calls to me. I stop, without turning around, listening to her running footsteps grow closer. The sound of her voice saying my name, my first name, is exhilarating. "Where are you going?"


I think about her question for a moment. "I don't know. I don't really have anywhere to go at the moment. Mum and I aren't seeing eye to eye right now."


"So you were just planning on walking around all night?"


"Ha, no. I figured I'd eventually think of something."


She stares at me for a long while. I can practically see the internal debate in her eyes. She bites her bottom lip nervously. "Why don't you stay at my place tonight? You can figure out where you're going to go tomorrow."


"Hermione, no. I can't possibly do that. Not after-"


"You can. Please, after the way you stood up for me back there, I can't just let you meander around alone in the middle of the night. Please, stay." She holds her delicate hand out to me. I take it and semi-reluctantly follow her back across the street toward the bench we were at before. Slightly confused as we approach the bench, I look around. No one else is outside. She pulls me past the bench and into the building. I had no idea we have been so close to her flat this whole time. We go up to the second floor and stop at the first door on the right. Opening the door, she gestures for me to go inside. I walk inside the apartment and am immediately greeted by a large ball of crazy fur. My eyes widen at the sight of this big cat circling at my feet. It meows loudly up at me. "Oh, I'm sure that you two never met when we were back at Hogwarts. This is Crookshanks. Crookshanks, this is Malf- Draco."


We exchange a light smile. It's clear that we are going to try to get used to using each other's first names from now on. I bend down and give the bizarre looking cat a light scratch on the head. "Hello there, little guy. You certainly are something special, aren't you?"


"Looks like he likes you." She seems to be genuinely pleased by this. Females always get very emotionally attached to cats for some reason. If this fur ball hadn't liked me, would I be kicked out? Probably. I take a look around the small apartment. It's small, but comfortable; unlike the mansion, which has always been so cold and suffocating. I smile to myself, taking in the warmth of the apartment. There are at least four bookshelves completely full of books and even a few stacks of books piled up against the walls. I can actually picture Hermione sitting on the floor, surrounded by large piles of books, reading happily with her strange cat next to her. I walk over to one of the shelves and examine the books carefully. I can feel how tense and uncomfortable Hermione is as she watches me. I'm sure the last thing she ever expected was to have Draco Malfoy in her apartment looking through her things. I turn around to face her. She forces a weak smile before looking around the room uncomfortably.


"Are you sure you're okay with me being here? You seem exceedingly uneasy," I ask, taking a few steps toward her. Her attention snaps back to me.


"Oh! No, I'm fine. It's completely fine that you're here." The words seem to fall rapidly from her lips. She takes a deep breath. "It is a bit odd. I mean, you're the last person I would have ever thought to be here. Still, my mind is somewhere else."


"Weasley?"


She looks at me, her eyes wide with sadness. She nods slowly. "I'm so sorry for how he acted with you earlier. I had no idea he was going to be there."


"It's not your fault. What happened with you two?"


She walks over to the couch and sits down. I hesitate before sitting next to her. "We were at Harry and Ginny's wedding. I thought everything was great between us. I was so happy for my friends and the wedding was beautiful. I was the maid of honor, wearing this beautiful dress that I couldn't breathe in. Ronald was the best man, so when it came time to take a group picture of the four of us together I had to go looking for him. I found him in a broom closet hooking up with some girl that I had never even seen before. He looked so horrified when he saw me. I managed to pretend that everything was fine for the rest of the day. I couldn't possibly ruin this wonderful day for Harry and Ginny, I would feel just awful! I broke up with him right there at the wedding. Today was the first time I've seen him since. Goodness, I feel sick."


I reach over and hold her hand, watching tears stream down her face. "I'm sorry."


She looks up at me and smiles weakly. "It's not your fault. Draco, what is it?"


"I just, I can't shake something that Weasley said to me. Everything he said about me hurting you and being a loathsome, slimy git and a filthy Death Eater-"


"Was not true!"


"No, Hermione. It was true. I did hurt you. I was a loathsome, slimy git all throughout school. The things that I said to you, calling you a mudblood, hurt you. He was right about me. He was only wrong about one thing. He said he bets my Dark Mark is looking splendid." I roll up my sleeve to expose my forearm to her. The Dark Mark that I was once branded with, is gone. Hermione grabs my arm and runs her fingertips over the skin.


"It's gone! But, how? Did it hurt?" She actually sounds concerned. I nod at her question, remembering the excruciating pain I felt when my Dark Mark was removed. "I don't understand."


"I couldn't stand to look at it anymore. I was raised into that world, constantly surrounded by Death Eaters and talk of the Dark Lord. I was taught about loyalty and how important it was. I wanted to be just like my father. I wanted to be a Death Eater and cause chaos, just like he did. That's what I wanted, that's who I wanted to be. That's who I thought I wanted to be anyway. That's who I was raised to become. When I finally got my chance to be that person, I couldn't do it. Voldemort threatened to kill me and my family if I didn't kill Dumbledore. I didn't want to die and I couldn't let him kill my parents. I didn't know what else to do. Standing there, looking Dumbledore in the face, and I couldn't do it. He told me to let him help me. Then Snape killed him for me." Suddenly tears are flowing freely from my eyes. Hermione wraps her arms around me. "I didn't want to be that person anymore, but how could I say no? They were my family! They were all I had, I couldn't just betray them! I was scared."


"Draco, it's okay. It wasn't your fault."


"If it had been you, you would have died rather than become a Death Eater."


"But I wasn't raised the same way you were, Draco. You were raised in that world, you were already trapped. You weren't given a choice." She takes my face in her hands and looks into my eyes. "You have a choice now."


She's right. I do have a choice. I don't want to make the same mistakes I made before. I don't want to follow in my father's footsteps and end up a miserable old man locked up in Azkaban. I want to start a new path. I'm going to need Hermione's help to do that. "If you were in my place, what would you do now?"


"Well, I would make amends. Go back and make as many things right as I could. Make my apologies and own up to what I did wrong. I would stand up for myself. There's always going to be people in your life who are pressuring you to do thing their way, but you have to choose to take your own way. You can't please everybody, Draco. You have to do what is best for you first. Talk to your mother, tell her how you're feeling. She loves you, Draco. I can tell. She may not completely understand, but she'll support you as best she can. You can't live your whole life living for your parents' goals. You have to make your own."


"What if you're wrong? What if mother doesn't support me? What if everyone else isn't as open-minded about my apology as you were?"


"You can't worry about that. You just have to do it. You told me today that you didn't expect me to forgive you. You apologized because it was right, not because you were expecting anything from me. That's what you need to do with everyone else. Do it for you. As for your mother, it's not about how open-minded she is about your choices. The people who love you aren't always going to agree with the choices you make, but that doesn't mean they abandon you."


"Is that what you were thinking today, when your friends showed up?"


"They're my friends. I know they are still angry with you. They don't trust you. But they trust me, and this is my choice. They don't have to agree with it, but if they are really my friends they will stay by my side."


"I suppose they are the first people I need to apologize, too."


"Harry would definitely be a start for you. And don't worry, I'll be there for you."


"Why are you being so nice to me?"


"Because I've seen what the war did to people; what it did to me. I want to be that person who believes that people can change, even the worst sort of people. Maybe you can help me believe that. Prove to me that people can change. Then maybe I won't be so afraid of the world anymore."


"That's a lot of pressure."


"It doesn't have to be. I need to restore my faith in the world and in the people in it. Maybe, just maybe, you can help me do that. Maybe you can help me not be afraid of the world."


"I need to shed the image of my past and be someone else, change a lot of things in my life. Maybe, just maybe, you can help me do that. Maybe you can help me not be afraid of myself." I mentally kick myself for telling her that. I've never told anyone that before. I fancy myself so tough and cool, but as reality would have it I'm not. I'm not as strong and brave as I want everyone to think I am. Now she's just sitting here staring at me and I can feel my face turning red. I start to feel more and more humiliated by the second as the silence stretches on. Suddenly, Hermione leans forward and hugs me. A real hug. A warm hug. I let my face rest on her shoulder, the sweet smell of her hair filling my senses. Her body is warm and feels amazing in my arms. Her arms wrapped around my waist hold me close to her. Her hand rubs my back gently before she pulls away. For a single second that feels like forever, we stare at each other with our faces only inches apart.


"Draco, I'm so sorry. I have to get up early tomorrow morning to open the shop."


"Oh, of course! I'm sorry I kept you awake."


"Don't be." She gets up and grabs a pillow and blanket from a nearby closet. "Here you go. I'll let you sleep in and try not to wake you tomorrow morning."


"Maybe I can come by and help out around the shop later?"


"You don't have to do that, Draco. So, um, I suppose I'll see you tomorrow then. Goodnight, Draco."


"Goodnight, Hermione." I watch her walk into her bedroom, her freaky cat following closely behind her. I make myself comfortable on the couch. My eyelids are heavy the second my head hits the pillow. I pull the blanket up over my shoulders and close my eyes. I replay the whole days events in my mind. The way that Hermione looked when I first saw her in the bookshop. All of the things she said to me today and how surprisingly supportive she's being. My run-in with Potter and Weasley. Seeing Hermione cry over Weasley and how angry that made me. The fact that I'm about to sleep in Hermione Granger's living room. The whole day was one unexpected thing after another, but for the most part is was in a good way. I just don't know what I'm going to do. My life is at a complete stop right now. I quit my job, left Astoria and my family, bailed on my friends, and now I'm here with a girl I tortured all throughout school. I threw away my entire life, and yes shedding my past is what I want to do, but it's scary to throw everything away and start over. I have no idea where I'm going and if this is the right thing to do. Oh, Merlin. Astoria has probably said all kinds of things about me by now. I'm sure that all of my friends are going to think I'm the biggest joke. Are these the type of people I want to be friends with? But we've been friends for years, how can I just ignore that? And what about my mum? I know that there is no chance in hell my father would support what I've done and the new outlook I have, so I'm not even going to think about him. He's done all he could to throw his life away, and I'm not going to let that happen to me. I don't want to become that boy that Dumbledore knew that made all the wrong choices. But Mum has always supported me, and what if she doesn't this time? I don't want to just lose her after everything that's happened. Where do I go from here? And will anyone be going with me?
Sorry these are a bit slow paced but the whole story isn't like this, I promise. There's more of a plot later :P
© 2011 - 2024 slytherinx
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TinyAngel21's avatar
i'm liking this a lot. Been really getting into Dramion FF's :) Thanks for sharing your talent! :)