“Is Dumbledore, out of his mind?” Draco asked.
Harry laughed, “I asked him the same thing, before you guys got to the office, but now, I am starting to think that this has a good chance of working.”
Draco nodded. “Yeah, ok,” he sighed. “So, what’s Hermione’s part in all this?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Why the bloody hell not!?”
“Because,” Harry said, calmly. “You knowing could affect the outcome, which, I might add, will either turn out to be complete genius or suicide.”
Draco stared up at the ceiling of the Hospital Wing. He should have guessed that is what he had been sent for, it made sense now; they wanted to prod Voldemort into acting when they would be able to control most of the variables in the situation.
‘Risky,’ Draco thought. ‘But still a good idea, especially if we can pull off the last part.’
“So,” Harry spoke. “About, Hermione.”
Draco turned his head to look at him. “What about her?”
Harry’s face became stern. “Look, you hurt her, bad. What I want to know, truthfully is; do you love her?”
“Yeah, I do,” Draco said, almost defiantly.
Harry chuckled. “Chill out, just doing my brotherly duty, making sure she’s not falling for someone who isn’t worth it.”
“Her brother, ha,” Draco scoffed.
“Hey, she doesn’t have one, so somebody’s gotta look out for her.”
“Yes, someone does have to look out for her,” Draco said, very seriously.
Harry understood his meaning. “Nothing will happen to her.”
Draco nodded, and Harry turned and left the Hospital Wing.
‘Drawing the Dark Lord to Hogwarts, what the hell is he thinking?’ Draco pondered this question, until he fell asleep.
*~*~*~*~
“Hey, Hermione, wait!”
Hermione turned to see Harry running down the hall towards her.
“Hey, Harry, where have you been?”
“The Hospital Wing.”
“Why, is everything ok?” Hermione asked, alarmed.
Harry nodded. “Yeah, everything’s fine. I was just, uh, visiting a friend who hasn’t been feeling too well.”
Hermione glared at him. “Who?”
“Uh, you wouldn’t know him, he’s in another house.”
“Well, ok, but who-”
“Look,” Harry said quickly, changing the subject. “How’s your Felix Felicis coming? Because, I think it would be good that we have that over the summer, I think Dumbledore is going to be having us look for Horcruxes with him.”
“Uh, it’s going well, it should actually be finished soon.”
“Ok, well, there’s something I need to tell you.”
They stopped walking down the hall, and Hermione turned to look at him.
“Harry, if this is about Draco, I really don’t want to hear-”
“No,” Harry shook his head, interrupting her. “This isn’t about him. I need your help with something.”
Hermione’s face both brightened and looked worrisome at the same time.
‘Oh, finally! He is going to ask me to help them.’
“Alright, Harry, what is it?”
“Next week, I am going to be leaving the castle with Dumbledore.”
“What!?” Hermione gasped.
“Yeah, he thinks he’s found another Horcrux, and he said that this time I can go with him. Anyway, but that’s why I need to know how far along you are with the Felix Felicis, because I think you guys should have some with you, just in case.”
“Wait, why? Do you think something is going to happen here?”
“I dunno, maybe. I just want you guys to be safe.”
“Yeah, ok, well the potion should be done soon, and we’ll have plenty to go around.”
Harry nodded. “Good. Well, I’ll talk to you later, there’s Quidditch practice and I’m running a bit late.”
“Oh, well you better get going, you’re captain.”
“See you,” Harry said, and he headed down the corridor and around the corner out of sight.
Hermione stood there for a moment, thinking.
‘Who on earth could Harry be visiting in the Hospital Wing?’
She was half tempted to go walk by the Hospital Wing, just to satisfy her curiosity, but she decided instead to go back to the common room like she had originally intended.
*~*~*~*~
“Where are you going Hermione?” Harry asked.
Hermione, Harry and Ron were sitting around the common room fire, when Hermione got up and headed towards the portrait hole.
“Oh, I just uh, I just have to go to the library for a minute,” she said, looking down at her left hand which was playing with a thread on her robes.
“Alright, well don’t take too long, I need you to look over this essay,” Ron said, with a grimace.
Hermione nodded, and turned and left the common room.
‘Sorry guys,’ she thought, and headed towards the Hospital Wing. ‘No one will tell me anything, so I’ll find out on my own.’
*~*
“No! Hermione!” Draco woke up sweating, heart pounding for the tenth day in a row. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t shake the nightmare.
‘I have to stop this, I have to keep her safe,’ he thought, head bowed, eyes closed.
“Draco.”
His eyes snapped open, but he didn’t look up.
‘Was that…’
Draco slowly looked towards the door of the Hospital Wing. There, standing completely still, mouth slightly open, skin white as a sheet, was Hermione.
“Draco…Draco, what, what happened?” Hermione asked, moving slowly towards him.
Draco couldn’t answer; all he could do was stare, unblinkingly at her.
‘What is she doing here? Why would she…’ his thoughts were scattered. He was still shaken from the nightmare, and seeing Hermione standing before him was playing tricks with his mind.
“Draco, what happened to you?” Hermione asked again, finally reaching the side of his bed, and sitting down in the chair that was next to it.
“I…What are you doing here?”
Hermione’s brow furrowed slightly. “I ran into Harry earlier. He had just come from visiting someone in the Hospital Wing, but he wouldn’t tell me who. So, I told them I was going to the library so I could come see for myself. How long have you been here?”
Draco looked down at his hands. “A little over a week.”
“What!? And no one told me!”
Draco coughed out a laugh.
“What’s funny? You have been in the Hospital Wing for over a week, I’m not stupid, you had to have been seriously hurt,” she looked down at her own hands.
“Someone should have told me,” she said, in a sad whisper.
Draco looked over at Hermione’s lowered head. He was struggling with two very opposite emotions.
‘She must care, she wouldn’t have sounded so worried if she didn’t…But I can’t, she can’t…I have to save her.’
“Hermione, why are you still here?”
“What?” she asked looking up.
“Why are you here? I would have thought you would have turned around and left the minute you saw it was me in the hospital bed.”
“Well, I…” Hermione hesitated.
“You need to leave,” Draco said.
“No,” Hermione said.
Draco looked at her.
“Hermione, you have to leave. I don’t need you here.”
“Ha! That is what all of you keep telling me. ‘Hermione, no, you can’t help,’ or ‘Hermione, no, we don’t need you yet,’ and well I’m just-”
“It’s true,” Draco said, interrupting her.
“But, why?” Hermione asked, tears welling up in her eyes. “Why can’t I help?”
Draco’s heart broke seeing the hurt look in her eyes. “Why would you even want to help me in the first place?”
Hermione looked down.
“Look, it’s alright, I don’t need you just feeling sorry for me-”
“No,” Hermione said, shaking her head. “That’s not-”
“You haven’t wanted anything to do with me since you found out I was…since you found out, so it’s alright…its fine.”
“That’s not it. Draco, I want to help. I want to feel like I am helping the people I love.”
Draco felt as if his heart had stopped.
‘No…she has to mean Potter and Weasley…she can’t mean me.’
“Its fine, Hermione, really it is. You can go find a way to help Potter and Weasley…you should go, they need you more than I do.”
Tears began to find their way down Hermione’s face.
“Draco, I’m so sorry about how I’ve been. I shouldn’t have-”
“No,” Draco said, interrupting. “No, you reacted just like I knew you would. I’m just sorry that I let you get hurt. I shouldn’t have even let it get that far.”
“But, Draco,” Hermione said, reaching her hand towards his.
Draco pulled his hand away, and looked at her now tear stained face.
“You really should go,” he said, his voice cracking with the effort of keeping himself from losing what little resolve he had left.
He saw the pain rip across her eyes, but she nodded her head and slowly got up from the chair.
*~*
‘I can’t do this anymore,’ Hermione thought, stopping her movement. She was still standing next to Draco’s bed in the Hospital Wing. ‘I…’
She turned towards Draco, and with out thinking, put her hand on the right side of his face, leaned down, and kissed him.
*~*
Draco’s heart pounded, ready to explode from his chest as he felt her put her hand on his face and saw her lean towards him.
He felt her lips meet his, and a shock of electricity went scorching through his body. He felt her quiver slightly; she was still crying. His hand came up to find the side of her face, as his brain finally reconnected and he tried to kiss her back, but she had already pulled away.
“Draco, I-”
“Hermione,” he said, interrupting her yet again, this time not able to keep his own tears from falling. “Hermione, you have to leave now.”
He wanted to die right then and there, as Hermione began to cry harder and turned and ran out of the Hospital Wing.
Draco put his head back on his pillow, tears freely flowing from his eyes. He was shaking all over. Slowly he brought his hand up and touched the place on his lips where her lips had been moments before.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, into the dark Hospital Wing.
That night, Draco Malfoy cried himself to sleep.
Your Eyes: The Beginning by GryffindorsHeir
Chapter Notes: ok guys, i have a surprise for you. i am offically announcing that this story is just part one of a THREE part series! so, be prepared. this one is almost finished and i've already begun the next two parts