Previously on Crossing Over
âHave you thought about searching for the other Horcruxes?â I asked, whilst sliding the book back onto its shelf.
âYeah, McGonagall says I should start soon. Itâs why Iâve been doing all this research.â
âOh. Mind if I come along?â I fingered the dust off âBeing(s) Immortalâ, the gold âsâ lettering fading to black.
âNot at all, not at all. Mind leaving Ron behind?â Hr cracked a grin. It turned quickly into a frown as the door shot open. There, in the doorway, stood an irate-looking Ron.
Chapter 8
âRon!â I smiled at him, glad that I was able to talk to him for the first time since Dumbledore had died. He had so far respected my wishes to be alone, even though we still â“ I hoped â“ harboured feelings for each other.
âSo thatâs what you think, is it? Youâre gonna leave me behind? Just like that?â His face was contorted into a horrific sneer, hatred etched into his normally soft features. âIs that what you think of me? That Iâm some worthless piece of⊠Merlin knows what?!â
âRon, mate, I was just joking! Take a joke!â Harry exclaimed, alarmed that his friend could take something so seriously.
âOh, joking, were you? Iâm a joke now, am I? Canât take me seriously, can you?â His voice rose with each word, and his cheeks started to flush the infamous Weasley red. I didnât know what was wrong with him. Yes, Ron could overreact sometimes, but Harry had told him he was joking, so why was he getting so worked up?
âRon! We didnât say that! Harry was just joking!â
âYes! I know that! But itâs the thought of it! How could you,â he raged on, rounding on Harry, âeven say something like that?!â I looked at Harry, who was looking thoroughly terrified of his best friend.
âRon, I d-didnât mean toâ”â
âYES YOU DID!â With that, Ron stormed out of the library, slamming the door behind him, and rattling the shelves in the process. Dust settled lightly on our heads whilst I turned, shocked, towards Harry. His bright emerald eyes were wide and unreadable.
âWell, letâs get back to this, shall we?â I blurted out into the silence. He nodded his head slowly, and went back to reading âCry of the Devilâ, even though I could tell his mind wasnât on research. Only a few uncomfortable minutes had passed when the door opened again, this time more gently. Ginny poked her head into the room, carrying a tray of food.
âMum thought you might get hungry,â she said, setting the tray down on a nearby table. She forced a weak smile at Harry, who immediately paled, and sat beside me, picking up a stray book from the floor. âResearch going well, then?â Her eyes darted between me and Harry.
âYep, absolutely great!â I grinned enthusiastically, trying to encourage Harry to say something.
âUm⊠Hermione? Can I talk to you⊠about that thing we were talking about before?â Ginny shifted awkwardly in her seat, and I felt Harryâs curious eyes trying to stare me down.
âErr⊠Ginny, Iâm kinda busy at the moment, how about we go out tomorrow?â I smiled sweetly at her, willing her to leave the room.
âFine,â she sighed. She put the book down and stood to leave, giving us both one contemptuous look before going through the door. Harry glanced quickly at me before returning to reading his book. I sat in stillness for a while, before a voice broke through my train of thoughts.
âWhat was that about, Hermione? The âthingâ that Ginny wanted to talk to you about?â He sounded so suspicious. Of course, he had every right to be, but still â“ I was his best friend!
âOh... erm... girl stuff, y'know... Boys.â I smiled inwardly at my ingenious cover-up; Harry wasn't interested in my love life at all... Well, not since Viktor anyway. He huffed, muttered something that sounded very much like 'girls', and stood up.
âWell, I'm hungry! Food?â He grinned at me, and my eyes rolled. Honestly, boys think with their stomachs sometimes!
Again, the days flew by. Each one of them was never complete unless Ginny was pestering me to tell her what I promised to. Every time she did, I would wave her off, saying that I had to research the Horcruxes, and therefore had no time to spend with her, which, in a way, was true. I used every day to research with Harry, and that was that. Well, until I finally gave in to Ginny's persistence. She caught me one day taking a break from all the reading, and took the opportunity to accost me.
âCome on, Hermione! You can't keep blowing me off like this!â She had those round, pleading eyes that she used on Ron whenever she wanted something from him.
âGin, no. I have things to do!â
âYou donât look like it! Please, weâll just go down to Madam Deranâs for a coffee, where we canâ”â
âDeranâs? Thatâs in Diagon Alley!â
âYeah. So? Youâve passed your Apparition test!â She looked at me like I had lost my mind.
âB-ButâŠâ
âNo buts, Hermione, letâs go!â She gripped tightly onto my arm and looked puppy-like up at me. Sighing, I closed my eyes, focused on getting both Ginny and me into The Leaky Cauldron, and Apparated there. Musky smells filled my nostrils, and I took in the dimly lit room. Things hadnât been the same here since last year. My eyes lingered on my favourite chair in the corner before I felt an arm pulling me towards the entrance of Diagon Alley. I let my feet drag me across the floor, and soon I was stood outside the stone wall, staring blankly at the cold pattern in front of me.
âHermione! Wand!â
âWhat? OhâŠâ I slipped my wand out of my back pocket â“ Mad-Eyeâs words never did sink in. wearily, I tapped on the stones and watched as the blocks began to slide apart. I was pulled, quite unwillingly, towards Madam Deranâs, the must-go cafĂ© which sold the most gorgeous frappucinos. The multi-coloured exterior gently flashed the new summer fruit flavours on sale at the moment.
I was sat at a table near the back whilst Ginny bought the drinks. Looking around, I saw no familiar faces, and contented myself with playing with my hands.
âYou all right, Hermione?â
âWhat?â I jerked my head up, startled. âEr⊠yeah, Iâm fine.â I held my head in my hands for a while, and, seeing the French-vanilla coffee in front of me, gulped down a large amount. Instantly feeling better, I smiled at Ginny.
âSo⊠tell me!â And I did â“ leaving out the part about Voldemort. She only needed to know what she had to, and that was that Draco Malfoy had said âsorryâ to a Mudblood, told her that his father killed her parents, spent about three hours talking to said Mudblood, âkissedâ her, and disappeared. I even said so in so many words; Ginny kept pressing me for detail⊠about the âkissâ.
âGinny! It wasnât even a kiss! It was more like a long peck on the lips!â
She furiously slammed her palms onto the small, round table, attracting the attention of several nearby tables, leaned forward, and heatedly whispered, âHis lips were touching yours for more than a second! I think that constitutes as a kiss!â Her eyes burned with determination as they looked straight into mine.
âLook, Gin, whatever it was, I donât care! I have more things to worry about then Draco Malfoy supposedly âkissingâ me, all right?â
Shocked, she whispered, âSorry,â before sinking back into her chair.
The rest of the afternoon at Madam Deranâs was spent discussing Ginnyâs impending feelings toward Harry. I knew, unfortunately, that he still had strong feelings for Ginny, and it was these feelings that had forced him to give up his place in their relationship.
The conversation ran well until my parents came up. I had not thought about trying to miss them since my arrival at Grimmauld Place. It was the first time that they had been mentioned, and I guess I should have felt somewhat sad⊠and I did. I wasnât supposed to, really. I mean, I was a Gryffindor, so I should have been strong enough to stand through this.
Tears formed at the back of my eyes, and I could see the blurred outline of Ginny reaching over the table to comfort me. She really knew how to make someone feel better, and for that, I was glad.
âOh, HermioneâŠâ She got up and I moved up on the armchair so that she could squish next to me. Comforting arms encircled my shoulders, and I cried openly into them. For a while, we just sat there silently. There was no longer any chatter around us â“ those who had been here had left, and any who had come in whilst we were here had come and gone.
I looked around: the colourful armchairs; the wooden tables; the flashing window that could only be seen from the outside. The outside was just as calming. Bright summer sunshine streamed through the glass, and a variety of magical beings milled around the Alley. I stared blankly outside, unmoving, until I saw something that made my breath stop in my throat. Two flashes of blonde had just turned out of Knockturn Alley, both carrying large, black boxes. I pushed Ginny away, fear projected in my eyes.
âWhat? Whatâs wrong?â
I furiously shook my head, the tears returning. âGo⊠weâve got to go. Now!â
âWhat, Hermione, whatâs wrong?â
I rattled her shoulders. âGin, weâve gotta go!â I pulled her arm towards the exit, desperate to get away from Diagon Alley â“ desperate to get away from the two people I wanted to avoid the most. âCome on, Gin, weâve gotta go!â
âHermione! Tell me whatâs wrong!â
âNo, Gin, Iâ”â
âIâm not going until you tell me whatâs wrong!â
âGinny, please, letâs go, please, I canât see them, I canâtâ”â
âWho? Hermione, who?â
âThem! I canât see them now! Theyâre notâŠâ I faltered at the sight of the two shadows that had fallen in front of us. I stopped in mid-stride and slowly looked up.
âGood afternoon, Miss Granger.â
My eyes locked with Dracoâs, and I felt a lump rise in my throat. He stood wearily next to his father, both now empty-handed. Stormy grey eyes frowned softly at mine, a feeling of pity emanating from them.
âI said, good afternoon, Miss Granger.â
I merely nodded my head, saying clearly, âLucius.â I didnât want to be here, not now. I bit my tongue â“ it was all I could do stop myself from throwing myself at him and beating him lifeless.
âWhat a pleasure to see you here,â he drawled.
âIâm glad I canât say the same.â I smiled deftly up at him. âUnfortunately, we must depart. Good day to you, Malfoy.â I swept past him, still dragging Ginny by the arm. Tears rolled down my face and upon turning a corner, I was pulled to a stop and turned around, where I was immediately enveloped into a hug, sobs wracking my body.
âShush, Hermione. You donât want the whole of Diagon Alley seeing you like this.â She firmly rubbed my back, and continued, âCome on, letâs go.â We started walking towards The Leaky Cauldron, a comforting arm surrounding my shoulders.
It wasnât long before I noticed the footsteps that were following us. I stopped, acutely aware of the danger we could be in. âGin, keep walking,â I whispered to her. âWhen we turn that corner, keep moving, okay?â She nodded her head slightly, and did what I said, whilst I ducked into the gap between the stationery shop and Quality Quidditch Supplies. I gasped as Draco Malfoy passed by me, and I reached out to grab him.
âWhat theâ”â
âYou! What were you following us for?â
âIâ”â
âThis better be good, Malfoy. I am not in the mood for games.â
He paused, seeming to contemplate his next move. âYouâve been crying,â he stated.
I looked blankly at him before sighing. âNo shit, Sherlock,â I muttered.
âSherlock? Oh, Holmes. Great wizard, he wasâŠâ
âWhat do you want, Malfoy?â
âWell, I wanted to get away from that thing I call a father, but really, I donât want anything.â
I stared at him, confused.
âHowever, the Dark Lord wants me to Apparate you to him, so thatâ”â
âWhat! No, Iâm with Gin!â
âDamn it, Mudblood, I didnât kiss you for nothing!â
If confusion was the first step to knowledge, I must have been a genius standing there. He looked incredulously at me, and relaxed his body muscles.
âJeez, and I thought you were the smartest witch of your ageâŠâ
âFine, Malfoy, take me to Voldemort â“ the sooner I can get away from you the better!â Only then had I realised that there was hardly any distance between us, not even an inch. I looked into his eyes, searching for an answer to our proximity. He grinned, and I felt myself being Side-Along Apparated without warning.
My knees buckled beneath me as I experienced the after-effects of Side-Along Apparition. A black cloak glided its way towards my weakened form, and a wand raised my chin.
âLook at me, Miss Granger.â
I kept my eyes closed, refusing to look into the red slits that were his eyes.
âI said look at me. Imperio!â
Immediately I felt bliss for the second time in my life, and a voice telling me to âface my new masterâŠâ Yes, I opened my eyes, but my new master? No way in hell. He lifted the spell and I again felt the seriousness of the situation.
I had seen Lucius again, twice in the two weeks, and just the sight of the blonde man was enough to make my anger boil. He had done one of the things that I had dreaded as a child, and I wouldnât forgive him.
âMiss Granger, I believe you have something to tell me,â Voldemort said in a sly voice. I thought about my decision. All the questions that I had asked myself before came flowing back into my head, but all I wanted was to push them aside. I wouldnât have to care about what Harry or Ron thought about me, because they wouldnât have to know. I looked up at Voldemort, masses of emotion spilling from my eyes. I didnât want to, but I had to.
âI accept your offer.â
A/N: *Did not mean to put a cliffy.* Sorry! Please tell me what you think! Thank you!