{Author’s Note} This is the first real piece of Fan Fiction I’ve ever written. I don’t know much, I don’t quite understand the rules, and I don’t quite know what the audience is looking for. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE review. I honestly need it. My superfantabulous beta has been unbelievably helpful and supportive. I loves you, Suzie!
{Disclaimer} BAHAHAHAHA. It flatters me to think that you could actually believe I was creative enough to come up with this stuff. No, only Queen Jo could ever compose something like it…*SIGH*
--- Waiting for this Moment ---
By MagicMissMaggie
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Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for the moment to arrive
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free
Blackbird fly into the light of the dark black night
LENNON/McCARTNEY
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--- CHAPTER I ---
Because It's There
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“Wheeeeeeee!” cried Hermione, “I can’t believe that after all these years, you’ve never even taken me here be-OUCH-fore!”
The thin blonde girl riding ahead of her looked back briefly, "I’d never even see it before today." Her voice bounced along with her bicycle as she rode over some roots.
Hermione glanced up at the trees whose cool green leaves dappled the warm sunlight that fell on the ground before her. The dirt path was overgrown, as though it had not been used in a long, long time. Ferns grew over it, smacking the girls in their faces, as if to mock them. Bright bunches of colourful wild flowers smiled from the forest’s tangles that surrounded them as Hermione recalled all the summers she had spent at her cousin Korrigan’s house.
For as long as she could remember, the better half of Hermione’s Julys had occurred at the summer home of her mother’s sister. The brown-eyed, bushy-haired girl’s memories were filled with the endless days and worriless nights when she and her cousin would play tirelessly in the surrounding property. Filled with forests and fields, small hills and ponds, deer trails and impenetrable thickets, the girls had enjoyed exploring every nook and cranny together. Waking with the summer sun and breathing in the sweet fresh air that hummed with life around them, the girls would end these perfect days chasing the fireflies that mimicked the stars above them. They thought they had discovered all of the summer world’s hidden secrets”that is, until today.
After waking up at the crack of dawn and breakfasting on tart thimbleberries plucked fresh from the bushes, the cousins had gotten on their old, worn bikes. A cool morning haze filled the air when they stumbled upon a mysterious, half-hidden trailhead neither could recall ever having seen. Now, the sun told them it was almost noon, and the trail, which seemed to have a mind of its own, showed no sign of ending. Determined to finish what they had started, the girls continued on, even though they knew they were getting farther and farther from home.
Hermione was woken out of her reverie when a sharp turn she had failed to notice sprang up and flung her into a thicket of prickly blackberry bushes. Their sharp pines poked into her skin, causing her to wince despite the sweet smell the bushes exuded. Cursing, she got up and dusted herself off, noting her scratches and the trails of blackberry juice on her white cotton shorts. She yelled for Korrigan to wait.
But there was no need to. Korrigan had stopped short, her amber eyes filled with mischief at what she saw. Hermione carefully walked her bicycle over to where her cousin stood, and it was obvious that the path ended there. Before them, in a sun-drenched clearing, lay the most beautiful, glistening, crystal blue pool they had ever seen. The edges were lined with smooth stones, and the pond appeared to be spring fed. The sun made the perfect turquoise water sparkle, and the bright greens of the flora surrounding it were intensified in colour by the light it gave off. It was so still, so perfect and clear, so tempting. Korrigan tucked a lock of short blonde hair behind her ear and adjusted the daisy crown that had slipped down her forehead before she moved to get a closer look. Hermione, whose own hair was frizzier than ever in the humidity, stopped her.
Korrigan laughed at her. “You can’t be serious Herms. You know no one lives here for miles around. What could happen?”
“Are you sure we should?” She looked nervous, her eyes wide with curiosity. ” I mean, what if it’s someone’s private property? We don’t want to get into trouble or anything…”
Her cousin was right. There was no way anyone was going to find them. This was the first time even they had seen the pool. What harm could they do, anyway? And the water looked so tempting….Hermione took in its beauty as her eyes followed the water’s edge around the clearing. Then she saw something that made her start. Hanging from an old oak tree was a rope. Not an old and decrepit rope, no; a new, strong one that could have been used yesterday.
“Uhm, Kor?” Hermione saw that her cousin had already jumped into the water, leaving the daisy chain floating innocently on the surface. Her head popped up a few feet away. Hermione pointed at the rope, and her cousin’s eyes followed. When she saw the rope swing, they widened.
“Sweet!” she exclaimed, not noticing at all the untouched state it was in and jumping out of the water eagerly and soaking everything within a 3-foot radius, including Hermione in her old t-shirt and white shorts.
Hermione’s mouth twitched as she tried desperately to suppress a laugh. “Look what you did!” she exclaimed in a fake angry voice, after which the laugh got the better of her. Korrigan grabbed the rope.
“Oh well, looks like you’ll have to come in anyway.” And with that, she swung out over the water and splashed in, shouting with glee. Hermione dipped her toes into the shallows. The water was just cool enough, perfect in the steaming weather. She took a few more steps, until the water lapped lightly midway up her calves. It can’t hurt to go in, she thought, and, as if reading her mind, a hand wrapped around her ankle and pulled her all the way under. The cousins swam about, shrieking when they splashed each other. The water was deep, it must have been twenty feet, and a small collection of colourful rocks grew as they dived down to explore the depths. The rope was used many times, dropping them into the water from midair. They splashed and played and rolled and swam, until their toes were wrinkly and they could have grown gills. Not that they were ready to get out yet, no, they were just getting started.
However, much to their dismay, it was beginning to get late. The sun had travelled across the azure sky quicker than they could have imagined. They were having too much fun to notice. They had also failed to notice a pale, blonde boy with a pointed face and sleek build appear at the water’s edge. He had been standing there, watching them noiselessly for almost a whole minute before Korrigan looked past Hermione’s shoulder and saw him there. Her eyes widened, this time in fear at the look of malicious hatred on the boy’s face. Confused at her cousin’s expression, Hermione spun around. What she saw made her shiver and the air around them felt very, very cold all of the sudden.
Hermione knew exactly who he was. How could she not? He was just staring at them, his shoulders twitching with rage. Standing there, looking like he owned the world, Hermione noted that he held himself as arrogantly as ever, even when his anger was so apparent. Fine labels clothed his body, and she knew only he could wear such things out here in the wood. His pale skin shone bright white in the sun, and his flaxen locks, which had fallen down in front of his eyes, seemed to glow. His grey eyes were stormy and bored deep into Hermione. It unnerved her. All she felt was his loathing, his perfect and complete damnation. For only a moment, though, she thought she caught a flicker of surprised recognition flash across them, before anything good once again died. The shaking of his shoulders spread to the rest of his body, and Hermione dreaded what the result would be.
“Get. Out,” the boy said, calmly and icily. The girls began to back slowly out of the water. “I said GET OUT!” he yelled, his face contorting in anger. “This is PRIVATE PROPERTY, you hear? Never DARE come back. Now LEAVE!”
They stumbled out of the shallows and onto their bicycles and pedalled out of there with energy they didn’t know they had.
The girls got back to the house soon after. They dropped their bikes at the edge of the wood and ran in through the French doors to the kitchen, where Aunt Amelia was cooking dinner.
“Where, in God’s name, have you been?!” she cried hysterically. “When you didn’t come home for lunch, we were considering sending out a search party! We’ve been worried sick! What could you have been thinking?” Her crazed expression disappeared, replaced by one of exhaustion. “I have no idea what could have kept you out so long, but,” she sighed, “no matter, you’re home safe now.” She looked away before turning back to them with a menacing glint in her eye. “And DON”T do that again!” She went back to the stove, muttering to herself about all the horrid things that could have happened to them in the woods.
Korrigan squeaked, clearly ashamed, “You see, Mum, we found this AMA”” Hermione pinched her cousin’s arm tightly to stop her. “Ssshhh,” she hissed, her brows furrowed and her normally clear eyes clouded, “That’s between you and me.”
“Oh my god, that was SOOOO scary!” Korrigan exclaimed, sounding more excited with their adventure than frightened, as she flopped down on her bed in the attic loft.
The orange evening light fell through the windows and illuminated the dust in the air. The sloping ceiling was covered in posters, pictures, and drawings, tacked up by the girls at the end of each summer. Two twin beds with simple eyelet comforters stood at each end of the room, and, along with a bare light bulb above the doorway, they were the only furnishings. Clothes and candy wrappers from the past week littered the floor, and open trunks stood at the end of each bed. This was their home, their summer sanctuary.
“Yeah, I suppose,” said Hermione blankly. She had been quiet all through dinner, barely touching her food; something was up.
“You suppose? What do you mean, you suppose?” Korrigan lobbed her pillow at Hermione’s head. She didn’t seem to understand why Hermione wouldn’t talk; the girls had always shared everything. “We find a mysterious path leading to a mysterious pool where mysterious guy mysteriously yells the living daylight out of us! You can only suppose you were scared? What is wrong with you?”
“Nothing.” Hermione sighed. But that wasn’t really true. She was just as shaken from the day’s events as her cousin was, if not more. That guy hadn’t been so mysterious to her. In fact, he was more than familiar. She could have spotted his face from a mile away. Not that she wanted to, of course. Stupid prat, she thought, how were we supposed to know someone owned that place? There was no sign. According to the map, there was nothing but forest for miles. We could have agreed, up until today. So we didn’t even know we were doing something wrong when we jumped right in. And then HE turned up, acting like the bratty cretin he is, and told us to go. He’s always ruining my fun, that Draco Malfoy.
Hermione thought for a moment more. If that pool was on the Malfoys’ property, then their extensive “manor” he always bragged about couldn’t be far. Duh, she realized stupidly, it’s Unplottable. That’s why it wasn’t on any map.
“Of course, if he hadn’t been yelling at us, he would have been hot. You know, he’s got that whole ‘dead sexy and too good for you’ thing going on. I wish I’d known before that I had snoggable neighbours. I’d never even seen him!” Korrigan jabbered on.
Hermione stared at her, horrified. Malfoy? Hot? Snoggable? Hermione felt the sudden urge to vomit. How could any person in their right mind think of him like THAT. Revolting! Hermione recalled bitterly how Malfoy had made it his life’s mission to make her and friends miserable. Calling her rude names constantly and never letting her feel happy, Malfoy was the last person she would want to see outside of school. School, she thought, Kor wouldn’t know about that either. She’s taking him at face value…quite a nice face, really…er, NO! Hermione’s thoughts frightened her. How could she even think like that? Her cousin was welcome to, of course, if Hermione were to try explaining about Malfoy, then she’d have to explain Hogwarts as well. And I am definitely not going to do that.
Her cousin continued talking, and Hermione, not wanting to worry her, didn’t bother telling her to shut up. She could do that later. Right now, she had more important things to think about.
Hermione rolled over onto her back and stared at the ceiling. She glimpsed an ancient scribble of two stick-princesses and some very deformed unicorns and smiled. Those had been the good old days. No magic, no Voldemort, and certainly no Malfoy.
What had he been doing there? Had that rope swing been his? Hermione wondered, and why was he so angry? I’ve seen him upset before, but never so much like that… Hermione had so many unanswered questions.
If the Malfoy property is Unplottable, and they live near a Muggle town, then it would make sense for them to have protective spells up. I can’t see Lucius Malfoy appreciating the villagers wandering onto his land. She chuckled at the mental image. So how did we end up there? Maybe it’s because I’m not a Muggle? But Korrigan was with me. How did she not feel the urge to go home? Was it because she was with me? Maybe that’s why Malfoy had been so surprised. But why was he there? Certainly he doesn’t swim. Not in the daylight anyways. As pale he is, I didn’t think he ever went outside. Maybe some alarm or other sounded when we got there and he was just responding to it. But if he doesn’t even go there often, where is the rope from?
Hermione’s mind was reeling with thousands of unanswerable questions. Questions she knew that only Malfoy himself could answer. She would have to go back. She didn’t know what made her think he would be there. She only knew that that pool was their only connection. Yes, if she wanted some answers, it was imperative that she return.
Feeling somewhat like she had made progress, Hermione returned her attention to her cousin, trying not to wince as the girl fantasized out loud about her gorgeous new neighbour.
The clock’s blue glow read 2 AM. Now it was time: her cousin was fast asleep and the air in the room was thick and silent. One breath seemed as loud as a train whistle. Hermione had spent the last four hours straining to keep her eyes open, waiting for the right time; they were itching to close so badly…
NO! She told herself, forcing her eyelids to stay up for the millionth time. This is your only chance! You’ve got to go back!
Rolling her body off the bed with a groan of the old mattress, she made quietly for the door. Her cousin stirred in her sleep. Hermione stopped, holding her breath, afraid to move, until she grabbed her jacket from the floor, and slipped out of the room without a sound.
She moved noiselessly through the still house, leaving through the back French doors, which were always left open. She picked her bike up off the silvery grass and turned back to make sure no one had awoken.
The house looked eerily beautiful in the moonlight, which cast its clear blue glow across the field. Compared to that scene, the forest looked dark and foreboding. Wrapping her jacket more tightly around her, Hermione pulled out an old flashlight and flipped it on. Stars glared darkly at her, as if warning her against this nighttime jaunt.
She climbed onto her bicycle and pedalled smoothly across the backyard. She began to look for the trailhead that had appeared so mysteriously earlier that day. At first, her efforts were fruitless. It wasn’t where it had been before, as if it had vanished completely from being. Frustrated, Hermione turned back to give up her search. It’s never there when you need it! She thought angrily. She glanced back once more, needing to kick something, and, like magic, there it was. That’s odd, Hermione pondered, I wonder if it’s enchanted as well.
Shaking off the ominous feeling that had come over her, Hermione headed swiftly down the path. The moonlight fell through the leaves, making the scene luminously magnificent, but in a different way than it had been earlier that day. The night was clear and the forest seemed empty, naked, and still, in stark contrast to the hub of life it had been in the sun. The night is beautiful, she thought, in a cold, proud way I’ve never known before. The journey seemed to go quicker this time than it had before. Hmmm… she began, but before she could take that thought any further, a human sound interrupted her contemplations.
She had reached that last sharp turn before the clearing, and her ears were picking up a distinct noise that broke through the clear, cold, still. Slipping silently off her bike and dropping it gently in the blackberry bush, Hermione crept closer. Through pale leaves she could see Malfoy, illuminated by the moon’s glow, sitting in a rock, soaking wet, in nothing but his boxers.
Hermione’s cinnamon eyes widened considerably.
He was crying.