Hours later, Hermione's eyelids fluttered open. Confused as to where she was, she remained in her position for a few moments. Then she remembered the letter, and slowly forced herself into a sitting position. Her eyes were itchy and swollen from crying so much earlier, and her muscles felt stiff from falling asleep in an uncomfortable position.
As Hermione looked around for the letter, her eyes fell on the something shiny lying on the ground by the desk. She slowly climbed off of the bed, and leaned down and picked the object up. Her eyes widened when she realized what it was - it was the allievrae.
"What in the world..." she murmured to herself. Putting it down beside her on the bed, she searched the area near where she had found it for some clue to how the magical item had gotten back into her dormitory, and found a piece of parchment. Taking it, she placed it on the desk underneath the light of the lamp - it was dark outside - and read what had been written on it:
"Miss Granger: Now that you know what the allievrae can do, I feel that you have enough responsibility to handle the burden of having it. Put it to good use."
Hermione smiled. "Thanks Dumbledore," she whispered.
She took the allievrae, and put it on the desk beside Dumbledore's note. Taking out her wand, she tapped it and said, "Ostendo Posterus."
Hermione waited until the silver plastic melted into a puddle; then, when the swirling colours had slowed down, she looked into it apprehensively.
At first, she saw nothing but the faint ripples on the surface of the pool. Then an image shivered into view.
Draco was strolling down the shore of the lake. It was apparently a warm night, because he had removed his school robes. He wore a half-unbuttoned shirt with the sleeves rolled up casually and light khaki pants, and looked as if he was deep in thought.
As he stopped and turned to face the lake, a stout man stepped out from the forest. Apparently Draco's shield was not up, because he took no notice of the stranger.
The man's eyes were fixed on Draco, and when he realized that his target had not noticed his presence, a wide smile spread on his scarred face. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his wand and pointed it at Draco. His lips moved, forming the word "Stupefy", and a beam of scarlet light shot out from the tip of his wand.
Draco whipped around a second too late, and the spell hit him squarely on his chest. His eyes widened in fear and surprise a split second before he flew into the air and landed on the ground a few feet away from the lake.
Looking around furtively, the man scurried towards Draco with his wand held out. He examined the limp form carefully, and when he saw no signs of conciousness, he clicked his tongue appreciatively. Muttering "Ferula", he moved his wand in a straight line, and Draco's entire body was immediately wrapped in clean, white bandages.
The man shot one last nervous glance at the castle, then picked up the mummy-like figure which lay at his feet and retreated back into the forest.
Hermione gasped as the pool once again began to swirl violently, washing away the image. I have to warn Draco, she thought frantically. Without bothering to pick up the allievrae, which had by now morphed back into its wrapper state, Hermione slipped on her robes and ran out of her dormitory.
When she walked out the entrance doors, the warm, humid night air engulfed her. She gulped as she recalled the scene. What if...what if that was tonight? she thought, her heart sinking. She began to walk a little faster in search of Draco. He must be out here; he always is.
After coming to the conclusion that he wasn't near the lake, Hermione turned back and began heading towards Hagrid's hut. As she reached it, she glanced behind her shoulder and saw a lone figure walking out of the castle doors. She could just see the glint of pale blonde hair in the light of the crescent moon.
It's him.
Hermione immediately began racing up the hill to try to reach Draco. She knew he was heading towards the lake, and her gut was telling her that what she had seen in the allievrae would happen tonight. "Draco!" she called out, desperately trying to get him to notice her.
He didn't hear her, and continued walking on.
Groaning inwardly, Hermione continued to make her way up the crudely-carved stone steps in the hill as fast as she could. At last, she reached the top and started running towards the lake where she could just see Draco's silhouette. As she neared it, she opened her mouth to call out his name again. Suddenly, in the corner of her eye, she saw a stocky form holding a raised wand move out of the forest behind Draco.
"Expelliarmus!" she cried instead. Her spell knocked the man's wand out of his hand, and he stood staring at her, stunned for a minute.
At the sound of her voice, Draco had spun around. When he saw her, he stepped back in shock. "What are you..." he began to say. Then, his eyes fell on the stranger.
"What the bloody hell are you doing here, Defarge?" he asked angrily. "My father sent you, didn't he?"
"No, sir, he didn't," mumbled the man, edging backwards.
"TELL ME!" bellowed Draco, brandishing his wand and pointing it at the man he had referred to as Defarge. "Tell me now," he added in a calmer voice, "or my father will be getting your remains rather than mine."
Defarge cringed at Draco's words, stumbling over a tree root behind him in the process of trying to retreat. "He didn't send me..." he tried to say weakly. The expression on his face was much like that of a rat cornered by a very hungry cat.
Draco's eyes narrowed dangerously, and suddenly Hermione had a feeling what he was going to do next as she saw the lines around his mouth tighten. "No!" she shouted, running over to him and grabbing his wand arm.
He looked down at her furiously. "Hermione, get away."
"Don't do it."
"The piece of scum deserves it."
Hermione looked in the direction of Defarge, and saw to her surprise that he had disappeared, taking his wand with him. "You have to truly want to cause the pain to make it work, anyway," she said softly, reciting the words Bellatrix had screeched to Harry in the Department of Mysteries. "I know you don't."
He tore his arm out of her hold and looked away. "How did you find me?"
"The allievrae."
"The allievrae?" he repeated.
"Dumbledore gave it back to us. I forgot to tell you; the night you were moved to St Mungo's, I had a talk with a portrait in his office..." She then followed to relay everything Penelope Thyle had told her about the allievrae.
"So is this supposed to foresee attacks on me or something? Because that sure is useful," he commented sarcastically.
"It saved you this time."
"I don't need saving. I can save myself."
Hermione's mind immediately jumped back to the letter. What Draco had just said had reminded her of the words he had written so beautifully to her in it.
"Don't lie to me, Draco. I don't want you to protect yourself from me. I read your letter; now all I want is for you to let me in."
He turned to look at her. "I can't."
"Is it because of your father?"
"No."
"You don't want me to see another side of you?"
"No," he repeated quietly, his eyes piercing into hers.
"Then why can't you?" she asked, having run out of ideas.
"It's because..."
"Because?" she prompted.
"Nevermind."
She clenched her teeth. "You're lying again. Please tell me why."
"It's because I love you, Hermione."
Hermione's heart twisted. It was the first time she had ever heard the words from his mouth in person, and it felt unnatural hearing Draco Malfoy say the word "love". Not only that, but the tenderness with which he said her name left her speechless. She finally overcame her initial loss of words, and said slowly, "How is that a problem?"
"Because...it's not possible. There's no way I can love you, and I can't let you in," he replied, his eyes still fixed on hers.
She shook her head, utterly confused. "I don't understand. Why can't you love me?"
"I've forgotten how to..."
[A/N: A few things I wanna say about this chapter: 1. In case you were wondering, the sentence "The expression on his face was much like that of a rat cornered by a very hungry cat" was indeed a reference to Wormtail. 2. As you may have noticed, the allievrae didn't show the true future because Hermione interfered with it. So keep in mind that it doesn't ALWAYS tell the truth...if someone steps in, then they can change it. ]