Discalimer: (does this need to happen every time??) Everything except plot belongs to the wonderful JKR (who, having read the interview she gave MuggleNet's Emerson and TLC's Melissa on July 16th, I think is utterly mad! In a good way!) Enjoy!
For the first time since my parents had died, I found myself crying.
Crying, because Ron was too insensitive to think about what I was going through; crying, because Harry had done everything he could have done to help, yet it had no effect on me; crying, until I heard a knock on the door. I dragged myself from the comforts of the purple and black cushion, wiped the stains from my face, tried to fix the blotched cheeks that had come as a result of the tears, opened the door, took the slightest glance at the platinum blonde hair, and immediately slammed it shut.
I felt the lock slide under my fingers, whilst I fumbled at the chain and hurried to lock the door with the key that lay on the kitchen table.
“Granger!” The tears started falling again, and my breath became short and fast. I wouldn’t answer him, I just wouldn’t. He had scared me enough, knowing more about me than my friends did.
“Granger! Open up! It’s important!” NO, Hermione. He’s not worth it. He’s a foul, muggle-hating, evil ferret who doesn’t know right from wrong. He won’t help you. He CAN’T help you. Ignore him and he’ll go. He’ll just go.
“GRANGER!” I shuddered. No matter how sing-song like his voice was, the coldness and harshness I heard made me nothing but scared. But I was a Gryffindor. I wouldn’t be scared. I wasn’t allowed to be. I should have been brave enough to open the door myself.
Unfortunately, for the second time that week, Draco Malfoy had beaten me to doing something. The door had creaked ajar, and a head of platinum blonde hair poked its way around it. It made me realise how stupid I could be when I was upset; sometimes one could forget that the other is a wizard.
“Granger, I’m sor””
“You’re sorry? YOU’RE sorry?! Draco Malfoy, pureblood heir to the Malfoy family name, is saying SORRY to Mudblood Granger filth?! Hmph, now I’ve heard it all!” Maybe I had put myself down too much, or maybe I was surprised at the tone of voice Malfoy had used. It was soft, almost sincere. I turned around so that I wouldn’t have to look at him in the eye; they were most likely shooting daggers at me. However, the silence that followed my sudden outburst could only have been due to shock; calling myself a Mudblood would certainly not have been in Malfoy’s book of insults.
“Fine, I’m not sorry,” he replied. All trace of the care he had expressed a few moments ago had evaporated; in its place was an acrimonious sneer. Amazing how people can change so quickly, isn’t it? Particularly Malfoy. I was startled, shocked… and scared. He was scaring me. I couldn’t see him and he was scaring me.
“Granger, listen. I’m not here to insult you. I can’t make you take in what I have to say, I know, but hear me out. I know what you’re going through, I””
“No!” I screamed. “You don’t. You can’t…” My voice dropped to a mere whimper. “No one knows…” I could feel the tears pricking at the back of my eyes. Somehow I knew that I didn’t care that Draco Malfoy was seeing the weakest side of me. “No one knows””
I heard the rustle of clothes and footsteps, as if Malfoy were about to say something. I didn’t want any interruptions though. Here was a chance to finally express how I had been feeling for the past two weeks.
“”what it’s like to have your parents die because of you! Because of what you are! Because of you, they’re more of a target to people who don’t know the meaning of life… people like your father!”
I could almost hear his muscles tense, and I immediately regretted saying something so harsh. Obviously he still held Lucius in high regard, but at this time I didn’t know Draco, so I never knew how he felt.
“My father, Granger, is, was, and always will be worth more than you and your repulsive parents. He may not think I am worthy of anything after my little show, but at least he has the courage to wipe out those who spread their dirt everywhere! And you should do well to stay out of his way unless you want to end up like your parents!”
Silence followed. Lucius Malfoy, wiping out the… something didn’t fit. Was Draco saying that… no. His father couldn’t have… no living human could be so awful. I just couldn’t believe it.
“He didn’t…your…your father killed my parents…” The realisation didn’t want to sink in. I was talking to someone that was related to the person who had killed the only people who had loved me, cared for me, been a supportive pillar in my life. Anger coursed through me like fire, and I spun on the spot, only to find myself looking straight into those eyes again.
“My father,” he spat, “didn’t do anything.” I thought I saw a faint flicker of panic and fear flitting across his eyes, but it was either gone almost as quickly as it came, or it was a trick of the light. “He doesn’t go near filthy muggle places like this… Place?” He glanced around. “You call this a place?”
“Was Lucius Malfoy at or not at the Granger family household on 2nd June?” If the situation hadn’t been so serious, I would have smiled at my stubbornness.
“What’s it to you? So what? I’m not my father, Granger, why don’t you just ask him yourself?” This blonde, arrogant, annoying jerk was starting to get on my nerves. I think it showed too. That ever annoying smirk had returned to its rightful owner, and I was surprised that I hadn’t already performed a repeat of the third year punch I gave him. Of course, the harder the punch the merrier I was, just so that his father could feel some of the pain I was going through, because of what I had assumed he had done.
“I swear, Malfoy, I will kill him. Then you’ll feel the pain of losing a parent. Then you’ll know at least half of what I’m going through!”
Silence. Again. His eyes darted everywhere but mine. His smirk faded; in its place was hurt, and an odd state of serenity. Then, in barely more than a whisper, I heard the words:
“I do.”
I paused.
“You do?”
“I do.”
Hello! Hope you enjoyed that! Until the next chapter it is then...