Chapter 22: Realizations
It had been almost three full months since Harry's death. So far, it seemed, Voldemort had been non-existent. There were no unusual disappearances or deaths or anything else out of the ordinary. Hermione had drawn away from everyone and threw herself completely and utterly into getting ready for her NEWT's which were drawing closer and were now only about a little over a month away. Draco was keeping a close watch on her, from a slight distance since she'd seemingly cut herself off from almost everyone-everyone that is except for Ron Weasley. Which made some sense, given that for the past seven years she had been a part of an inseparable trio and now that their closest link was gone, it only made sense that Ron and Hermione would cling to each other, well until very recently at least when Hermione pulled away even from Ron when Ron starting badgering her gently to get over what happened. There were the small occasions that Draco would actually get through to the lavish brunette but it appeared those times were becoming even further and farther between.
Harry had been laid to rest inside an immaculate mausoleum decorated in elaborate details of scarlet and gold to represent the loyalty and bravery that Gryffindor House represented. There were lavish floral arrangements laced around the entrance. Hermione frequented this place, at least once or twice a week, for the last three months. She still blamed herself for what happened to her best friend. Sure, it was his destiny to face Voldemort because of some stupid prophecy, but it wasn't supposed to end like this. It wasn't supposed to end with Harry's death. And if he hadn't had to come rescue her from the manor then he would probably still be there with her and Ron, where he belonged.
One night towards the end of April, she had just finished studying for the night and finishing her potions assignment. She realized that her desk had become very cluttered and disorganized…very un-Hermione like. So what else could she do? She set to work, cleaning and organizing and de-cluttering her work space. After about an hour, she was finally sifting through the last bits of scattered parchment when a piece fell from the stack and landed at her feet. Bending down to pick it up, she glanced at the writing and immediately felt tears spring to her eyes…it was Harry's letter. Reading the familiar words again, she realized something that she had been forcing herself not to think about for the past three months as she allowed herself to mope around like a zombie. Harry had asked her to be strong, not to give up. And what had she been doing? Just what he had asked her not to. Hermione had been blaming herself, dwelling on the past, reliving that evening's events from three months prior. She had not been strong, she had given up. She decided right then and there, after shedding a few more tears for her best friend, that she would no longer sit back and let the world go by without her. She would be strong and carry on, just as Harry had asked her to. With this thought still playing in her mind, she walked to her wardrobe and dressed for bed in a comfy satin blue, short-sleeved pajama set.
Lying down on her bed, she stared at the ceiling, her mind still racing. It drifted back to another piece of Harry's letter: Stay close to Draco, he loves you 'Mione, I know he does.
Harry's right. I know Draco loves me, he's proven it to me countless times so far. And yet, where am I? she thought to herself as she stared at her ceiling.
I've been practically avoiding him twenty-four/seven. Maybe I should surprise him tonight…it has been rather lonely for the past few months.
Setting her resolve in place, she climbed from her cozy bed. Glancing at her bewitched clock on her bedside table, she saw that it was after midnight already but she didn't care. She knew that Draco didn't lock his door anymore, probably in hope that she would do exactly what she was planning on doing at that very moment. Taking a deep breath and wiping her face, to ensure that there were no signs of her tears left, she strode out her bedroom door and across the hallway to Draco's door. It was closed, but not completely. Stopping momentarily to resolve her decision again, she slowly and quietly pushed open the door in front of her and closed it equally as quietly behind her. The curtains were open, shining a small amount of moonlight on the deep green and black bed in the center of the room. Hermione watched for a moment as the moonlight danced lightly on the soft features of the sleeping Slytherin in the bed. His pale blonde locks hung loosely around his head giving him an almost angelic look in the soft lighting. The deep green sheets were loosely just above his waist, showing off his immaculately toned chest.
A small smile played on Hermione's lips as she watched her boyfriend sleeping. She couldn't believe that after everything he had done for her and everything the two of them had been through to be together that she would ignore and avoid him the way she had since the night at his manor. She needed Ron, Harry was his best friend too, but at that moment, watching Draco sleep so peacefully, Hermione finally realized just how much she needed him too. She strode stealthily across the large bedroom to what had been unspokenly designated as 'her' side of his bed and silently slipped under the covers beside him. Sliding gently up to his sleeping form, she leaned over him and placed a soft kiss on his temple and then rested her head lovingly on his chest, wrapping her arm tightly around his waist and allowing her leg to find it's way over his own. Closing her eyes, her small smile still playing on her lips, she finally realized that this is where she belonged. Sleep slowly began to overcome her as she felt a strong arm wrap itself protectively around her and she fell into the first peaceful sleep she'd had in a very long time.
Many hours later, around ten-thirty in the morning, Hermione stirred awake and reached instinctively next to her where Draco had been laying just hours before. As her hand searched on, she realized that he was no longer there and immediately jerked fully awake, sitting up and searching around the room with her eyes. Her eyes traveled from the balcony doors to his immaculate desk to his bedroom door and then his bathroom door but, alas, it appeared he'd already gotten up and left the room altogether. Hermione felt her heart break slightly at the thought that she had finally came back to his bed after all this time during her mourning and he had gotten up and left her, not even waking her up long enough to tell her that he was going. Sighing inwardly, she reluctantly got up from the comfortable bed and made her way back into her bedchamber to dress for the day.
Thank goodness for Saturdays she thought wearily to herself as she closed the door behind her and made her way to her wardrobe.
Pulling on a simple, spaghetti strapped, mint green tank and a pair of slightly faded, hip hugging jeans as well as her shoes and socks, she grabbed her wand instinctively from her bedside table. Waving a simple straightening charm over her messy locks, she pocketed the wand and glanced at the clock: eleven-fifteen…only fifteen more minutes till lunch was served. Sighing again, she left her room and decided to make her way towards the Great Hall for the first time in many weeks. She'd simply been either eating in the kitchens or having Dobby bring her food every day, not wanting to endure through the constant whispers and stares from her fellow schoolmates. But, figuring that she'd finally strengthened herself to open back up to her loving boyfriend again, she figured she could also handle the Great Hall again (and of course she was secretly hoping that Draco would be there as well).
Striding purposefully through the winding corridors and down the Grand Staircase she pushed made her way to the Great Hall. Pausing just for a second, she took a deep breath again and pushed her way through the doors and walked to the Gryffindor table, ignoring the whispers and stares that came her way from not seeing her there since the 'incident' as everyone was calling it. Taking her old place between Ron and Ginny, she put on her best smile and tried her best to resume her past life. Ron placed his arm gently around her shoulder giving her a soft sideways hug and whispered a quick "Welcome back 'Mione". She smiled sweetly as she reached for a plate of ham and cheese sandwiches and her eyes traveled towards the Slytherin table to look for Draco. He was no where to be seen and her curiosity started to wander.
Hmm, where could he be? He wasn't in the dorms and now he's not at lunch either? Hermione asked herself. Then she mentally slapped herself and remembered that she could just send him a mental note.
'Draco…where are you?' She focused on Draco's mind. A full two minutes passed and she didn't hear a response so she sent the message again, with more energy and waited. Four minutes later, she still didn't have a response. She began to worry.
Out in the grounds, Draco was walking back towards the castle from the Quidditch pitch after an morning fly when he heard her sweet voice gently calling to him in the back of his mind. He pushed it away and tried to focus on his own thoughts. He was confused over what had been happening between him and the girl he loved for the past few months. She had consistently seemed to be pulling further and further away from him and then suddenly out of the blue, he awoke this morning to find her sleeping soundly-in his bed wrapped around his torso. He needed to talk to her, to find out what was happening. Mostly to find out if she still loved him. As he made his way inside the Great Hall, his eyes instinctively made their way over the Gryffindor table and came to a halt on a bright eyed, bushy haired woman who made his heart melt. It was the first time she'd been in the Great Hall in months and she was actually smiling! Draco felt his heart flutter and, detouring from his original flight plan towards the Slytherin table, he veered off towards the Gryffindor's instead. Walking up quietly behind Hermione, he placed his hands gently over her eyes and whispered sweetly in her ear. No one at the Gryffindor table gave him a second look…after so many months of them being an item it was like second nature by now. Although it was good to see them together again, no one had really seen the infamous pair together in quite awhile…so long in fact that many were suspecting they had split up.
Hermione immediately recognized the hands and the faint whisper in her ear and jumped enthusiastically from her seat. Twirling around, the entire hall watched as she leapt into Draco's arms as if she hadn't seen him in months. Draco swung her around gently, peppering her face with feather light kisses. He placed her back on the ground and, grabbing her hand, pulled her from the Great Hall and all the way back to their dormitories. Running through the corridors and muttering the password to the portrait, the pair climbed inside and immediately went to the common room couch. Hermione knew that he wanted to talk and she wanted it as well. Sitting down beside her, Draco turned to face his girlfriend, but before he could open his mouth to ask her what was going on, she launched into an explanation.
"Draco, I know what you are going to ask. And all I can say is I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being so distant from you for the past few months and I hope you can forgive me for shutting you out. I couldn't handle what happened (A/N:she refused to say 'Harry's death' and always said 'what happened' or 'the incident') and I shut down. That was until I found the letter that Harry had wrote me before he died and I remembered what he asked me to do." Hermione told him, never taking her eyes off his.
She put her hand into her jeans pocket (they didn't have to wear robes or uniforms on weekends) and pulled out the letter and handed it to Draco. Draco took it from her with a look of curiosity and slowly opened it as Hermione watched. As Draco's eyes poured over the letter from Harry, his eyes clouded as he read that Harry had asked her to stay close to him and that he knew that Draco loved her. That made his day, knowing that her best friend approved of their relationship. He also read that Harry was asking her to stay strong and he realized that must have prompted the sudden change in her behavior. He couldn't help but feel her pain as he read the words in front of him and when he finished the letter, he slowly folded it back up and handed it back to Hermione.
"As you see, I realized I haven't been doing what he asked of me. He asked me to be strong and all I've been is weak. He told me to stay close to you and all I did was push you away. That was not the way he would want me to live and I cant continue like that if I'm going to preserve his memory." Hermione said simply, as if that were the only answer in the world. Draco simply nodded and pulled her into a tight and warming embrace.
They sat that way for the next couple hours, huddled together on the couch as they talked about the past three months and what each other had been feeling and going through. They vowed to each other that day that from that day on, nothing would tear them apart, that they would always be there for the other whenever they were needed and they would never keep anything from the other. After pouring over everything, the loving couple cuddled together and stared at the fireplace, just content to be in each other's arms again. It was then that Hermione remembered something. She remembered that there was another letter that was given to her the same day, three months ago but she had forgotten about it after reading Harry's. She suddenly jumped from Draco's embrace and darted back to her room, scouring for the forgotten letter from Dumbledore. Finally finding it behind her desk where it had fallen, she sat down in her desk chair and ripped open the envelope carefully, wondering what more Dumbledore could be wanting to tell her.
"Oh my god. This explains so much." Hermione said out loud to herself after she finished the letter. "That's what Voldemort was talking about!"
"What was he talking about 'Mione?" Draco asked from the doorway. Hermione jerked her head towards the voice, not realizing he had followed her when she rushed from the common room. She beckoned him to sit by her and flew through the story of what happened at the manor while she was locked up.
"And so what does that mean? You said "that's what he was talking about"…I don't understand." Draco said, giving her a confused look.
"I got a letter from Dumbledore a few months ago, the same time McGonagall gave me the one from Harry but I had forgotten about it after reading Harry's until just now. He told me that Voldemort would get his hands on a book, a very ancient book. This book can only be opened by a descendant of the Egyptian god Osiris….as in me. I never knew this, until just now when I read his letter. Apparently my great-great-great-grandmother was a witch, a pure-blooded witch at that. She was from a long line of Egyptian royalties who protected this book because they were bound to it by bloodline. See Osiris was the Lord of the Afterlife. It was he who guarded over those who died and decided where they would go-whether it be to eternal damnation or to eternal peace. He was also the guardian of the Book of Ani, also known as the Book of the Dead. This book however was thought for many centuries to be pure myth. Apparently, it was this book that was incased within the granite tomb that we saw in the locked room that night at the department of mysteries. We all thought it was just some ancient tablet but it was actually the tomb that encased the lost book. This is why Voldemort kidnapped me, Draco! He needs me to open the tomb and get to the book. Only an descendant can open the tomb surrounding it because the language is a charmed one that only a blood descendant can read and anyone else who touches the book will be emerged in the burning flames from an ancient curse upon it." Hermione explained quickly, rushing through as her mind began comprehending exactly what was going on. When she was finished, she smiled proudly with the new information and looked at her boyfriend, who was still staring at her completely confused.
"So still, don't get it. What the bloody hell is so important about some book?" Draco asked.
"You don't understand. This book contains an alchemical formula called I.A.O….a formula for eternal life." Hermione said, proud of her knowledge of ancient Egypt. Draco still looked slightly dumbfounded so she said it simpler. "Draco, he needs the formula so he cannot die…ever. I've got to get that book from him."
With that statement, she set her resolve to find out anything and everything she could about the book itself and then find a way to retrieve it from Voldemort's clutches. But Draco on the other hand was having a hard time dealing with what she said she had to do. He couldn't stand the thought of allowing her to return to that hell that they had rescued her from only three short months ago, the same hell that claimed the life of her best friend.
"No, nope, no way Hermione. You cant go back in there. So he's got the book, so what? You already said he cant do anything with it. Leave it alone, you cant go back there, I wont let you!" Draco shouted at her, his voice dripping with a mixture of fear and anger. He couldn't lose her again.
"Don't you get it Draco?" Hermione jumped to her feet in front of him, her voice just as loud and filled with resolve. "I have to, I'm the only one who can! If I don't get it he'll just keep coming after me! Is that really what you want!"
Draco stopped arguing and just looked at her. She was right, and he hated it. If she just ignored what was going on who knew how long it would be before Voldemort came to get her again. They'd already lost one person because of that damn book and they'd lose more if they didn't do something. Finally, sighing heavily, he gave in to her.
"Fine, 'Mione. I'm not happy with it, but you're right. We need to figure this out because I'll be bloody damned if I let you do this alone. But lets not think about it tonight, okay?" He asked her, pulling her close to him, his eyes pleading with her silently.
Hermione looked deeply into those icy blue eyes she adored and nodded her head. She would let it go for now but she would figure this out…no matter what she would not let Voldemort get the knowledge from that book. Before she could let her mind wander off on that path, however, her lips were caught in a blindingly heated kiss. She wrapped her arms tightly around his upper body, pulling him as close as she could get and wrapped a leg around his waist. Tongues battling wildly from lack of anything in the past few months, they inched their way subconsciously to her bed, ending up laying down with Draco kissing her passionately from above.
Tearing each others clothes off and throwing them haphazardly around her room, the two found themselves once again submerged in the intense heat of their love making. It had only happened once before and it felt like that was a lifetime ago. Their bodies seemed to move simultaneously, completely in tune with each others wants and needs. Kissing anywhere their mouths could reach without breaking movement or closeness, the couple found themselves moving closer and closer to ecstasy with every heated moment. Moving deeper inside her warm body, faster and faster as if his life depended on it, Draco felt Hermione begin to tremble beneath him and she pulled her lips away from his in a pleasurable scream of his name that would have made the heavens explode from the passion it exalted. Feeling her clench tightly around him, his own pleasure exceeded itself and he moaned out her name in passion as well just moments later, shooting his seed deep inside her.
The pair lay there in each others arms, fighting for breath with a thick sheen of sweat glistening off their intertwined bodies. Draco rolled off of her slowly and gently, laying beside her and wrapping his arms tightly around her figure, pulling her as close as humanly possible. Nuzzling into her neck as her hand intertwined with his own, he whispered his love and let sleep overcome his tired form. Hermione whispered her love back as she closed her eyes.
Before falling into a deep and fulfilling slumber, she promised herself one thing: No matter how and no matter when-I will stop Voldemort….for Harry.
End of Part One
A/N: okay, okay I know you all are thinking…End? WTF? Well I've decided after careful thinking that I am going to make this story into either 2 or 3 parts in order to give each part of my story the attention and detail it deserves. Please do not worry however, I will keep writing! I will post a new A/N chapter when the first/next chapter is posted for the next part of the story so that you will all know where to find it.
Love you all, you are all wonderful. Thank you for sticking with me through the last 22 chapters and I hope that you will all stick around for the next installment! Oh PS: I havent come up with a name for the 'series' as of yet so please if there are any ideas, feel free to let me know and if I happen to choose one I'll be sure to give you credit!
Until Next time...
Kairi-Jade