scarletladyy (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
scarletladyy) wrote2012-06-10 09:30 pm
scarletladyy) wrote2012-06-10 09:30 pm
Fic: Black Heart [Draco/Hermione]
Title: Black Heart
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
scarletladyy
Pairing: Draco/Hermione
Word Count: 5,028
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: AU, fatal magical disease, mentions of major character death in the future
Summary: A careless decision made when she was eleven years old altered Hermione's life forever. As she's getting older, the symptoms are getting harder and harder to hide. It was inevitable that someone would find her in danger one day, she just didn't think it would be Draco Malfoy.
Author's Note: Written for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
dramione_remix 2012 and based on Landon Carter & Jamie Sullivan from A Walk To Remember. This fic is AU because there is no Voldemort in this world, so whilst Draco Malfoy isn't a Death Eater, he and his friends are still known for being trouble. The disease in this story was created by me and translated from Latin means 'black heart'.
When attempting to find a book on rare magical diseases, Hermione had had so much trouble that she'd decided to re-organise the entire library. She'd had to get permission off Madam Pince first of course, but that had been no problem. Hermione was relieved, for she thought the current 'system' left a lot to be desired.
There were books all around her; piles and piles of them, stacked on top of one another as Hermione sorted through them. She knew it was a large project and would take a very long time, but she was more than happy to dedicate her time to such a worthy cause. Madam Pince had insisted she had at least one other person to help her, but Hermione had refused. They wouldn't understand how she was trying to organise the books and end up doing more harm than good.
So she was rather annoyed to see Draco Malfoy of all people swanning into the library as though he owned it. He never visited the library, and she was very grateful for that, for he was nothing more than a coward and a bully. It was after hours, so even if he had had a genuine reason to be here, he certainly didn't at this time. She decided to ignore him and not pay him any mind, hoping he'd get bored and try to find someone else to pick on.
"Evening, Mudblood," Draco drawled. He sauntered over to where she was working and pulled out a chair, turning it to face him so he could sit on it with his arms over the back of it.
Hermione hated it when people did that. That's not how you were supposed to sit on them and it annoyed her no end.
"Aren't you going to say 'hello'?" Draco continued. "It's rather rude to ignore someone when they're talking to you, Granger."
"Hello, Malfoy," she said through gritted teeth, acknowledging his presence at last.
Draco frowned. "Is that it?"
"What do you mean 'is that it'?" Hermione countered, losing her patience. She was handling the books a lot more roughly now when she was usually ever so careful with them.
"Great!" He said, grinning. He began flicking idly through the large tome in front of him so she batted his hand away/
Hermione slammed the book she had opened shut and sighed loudly. She turned and looked Draco straight in the eye as she said, "What do you want, Malfoy? "
"You don't know?" He actually looked genuinely puzzled.
"I wouldn't be asking if I knew." She clasped her hands tightly together in frustration.
Draco leant back and grabbed onto the back of the chair with his hands. "I've been told to assist you."
"By who?" Hermione demanded, growing irate. "And why? I specifically said I don't want anyone's help. Nobody understands what I'm doing except me!"
"Woah, there." Draco smirked at her obvious discomfort. "By that ridiculous Headmaster of ours."
At any other time, Hermione would have chastised Draco for speaking about Professor Dumbledore like that, but right now she was concerned about why she was receiving 'help' when she didn't need it. Didn't he think she was capable? Perhaps she'd have to have a word tomorrow. "Why?" Hermione said, pressing him for a reason.
Draco shrugged. "I've no idea what the confused prat was thinking. You seriously think I want to spend my time with the likes of you?"
Probably exactly that, Hermione thought. If Draco had been told to 'assist her', that could only mean it was a punishment for him. She wasn't even sure she wanted to know what he'd done if it was bad enough that Professor Dumbledore thought she'd be a good influence upon him. She was definitely going to have to have a word.
It was not okay to make her put up with the likes of Draco Malfoy because he couldn't behave himself.
*
"Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione called, seeing the Headmaster cross the courtyard the next morning. "Professor Dumbledore!"
He stopped, waiting for her to catch up. "Yes, Miss Granger?"
"Professor Dumbledore," Hermione started, a little uncertain. She had planned out what she was going to say several times since last night, especially after Draco had wound her up so, but now, face to face, she was at a loss. Eventually, after stuttering for several long seconds, she came out with, "You sent Malfoy to work with me!"
"Ahh." Professor Dumbledore chuckled. "I thought you'd have something to say about that, Miss Granger. Draco Malfoy is a troubled boy, and I thought he could learn from your responsible and hard-working nature. I am aware that you didn't want any help with this project, but I think that by working with Mr Malfoy, you can both come to an end result that will suit you both."
What the heck does that mean?!
Without even giving her time to respond, Professor Dumbledore walked quickly away, leaving Hermione nothing less than confused.
*
Since Professor Dumbledore seemed absolutely unwilling to move in regards to forcing her to work with Draco Malfoy, Hermione had had to create an entirely separate schedule for him. She couldn't have him messing up hers, so it was imperative he had one of his own. All the books she gave him were newer editions, for she didn't trust him with many of the tomes that were hundreds of years old. Chances are he probably wouldn't do anything, but at least if he had a schedule he wouldn't be tempted to mess with hers.
It took several hours before Hermione was happy with how the schedule had worked out. It complimented her own and she was pleased with it, knowing she'd be miffed if Draco didn't follow it. She knew she shouldn't have such high expectations of him, but still. She saw the good in everybody, Ron was always saying.
So the next evening, when everyone else had left the library, Hermione placed her schedule on her right and Draco's where he'd sat yesterday, on her left. She hoped a bit of organisation and structure would shut him up and actually make him useful, instead of distracting her when she was supposed to be working. It was worth a try, at least.
When Draco entered the library, two hours later than the previous night, he didn't look best pleased. In fact, he looked positively pissed off. Not wanting any drama, Hermione didn't acknowledge his presence, not really wanting to know what he could be so annoyed about. It was probably something stupid anyway.
"What the fuck is this, Granger?" Draco had picked up the schedule and was scowling at it.
"I'm quite sure even you can figure that out," Hermione said tentatively. He pulled a face at her and then ripped the parchment in half, turning around the chair and sitting as he had the previous evening. Then, instead of fiddling with the books as Hermione had got ready to tell him off for doing, he stared menacingly down at the table.
For the next hour, she didn't speak and he didn't speak. The only sound in the whole library was Hermione opening and closing books and shuffling around to put them in their new, correct places. Every so often she glanced at him, but his eyes were still fixated on that same spot on the table. Then, startling her, he jumped up and flung his chair across the room.
"Fucking bastards."
Hermione could only watch as he flounced out of the library, astonished and puzzled by his behaviour.
*
The next day Hermione found out through her friends that Draco had been sold out by his own Slytherins. She guessed that he must have found out yesterday, right before he was due to meet her, as he'd appeared absolutely furious. She still had no idea what he'd done, though. Curiosity getting the better of her, Hermione chanced asking.
"What did Malfoy even do?"
"Apparently," Ginny answered, "Flint, Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini, Nott and Malfoy all snuck out of Hogwarts and went to Hogsmeade last Saturday night and got drunk in the village. There was an accident of some kind as Nott's in the hospital wing, but nobody but they know exactly what happened. They're all blaming it on Malfoy so none of the others have been reprimanded."
Hermione frowned. It did seem rather unfair for Draco to be the only one punished, even if he was an insufferable git. "Oh. Thanks."
They were already gossiping about something else and didn't even seem to notice when she got up and left the common room. She headed for the library, having a free before Potions and wanting to carry on with her work. It was obstructing a large part and Madam Pince wasn't exactly happy, so the sooner she got it done the better. Besides, she needed to think.
She still couldn't believe that Draco had been sold out by people he called his friends. Clearly they were not his friends if they could sell him down the river like that. If she were to do anything like that—though, obviously, she wouldn't—she was sure her friends would stick by her. They wouldn't hand her in to save their own skins regardless of the cost, because they were her friends.
Perhaps Slytherin friendships were different. Perhaps they weren't really friendships at all. Just mere acquaintances where it was easy to use one another to get what you wanted and then dump them as soon as they weren't needed anymore. But if that were the case, why would Draco, or any of them for that matter, stick around and put up with it? Probably because nobody else in the school would want them as a friend because they did stuff like this.
When she arrived at the library she was relieved to find it quiet, for most pupils were in lessons. Those that weren't were in their common rooms, not caring to revise until the day before their exams, which thankfully weren't for a few months. It was only November. She approached her designated section and narrowed her eyes as she saw a figure moving about behind the books. Taking a look around, she could only see a few scattered pupils here and there, and no sign of Madam Pince. Then she saw platinum blond hair as the figure stood and realised it was Draco.
"Um," Hermione started, not really knowing what to say, but going for, "What are you doing here?"
Draco scowled. "I have a free, same as you."
They both knew she was referring to why he was spending his time in the library instead of the common room, but he clearly wanted to avoid that. "Right." She quickly glanced at the parchment he was working from, worried it was her own and he was messing about with her schedule, but it was the one she'd made for him, spelled back together again.
Hermione was surprised, but she didn't want to draw attention to it out of fear of embarrassing them both. The important thing was that he was actually doing something for once and she wasn't prepared to jepordise it. She placed her bag on the table, ready to get out her schedule and start her own work, but as she did so, she felt really dizzy and had to hold onto the chair for balance.
Please, no. Not now. Not in front of him!
Hermione gathered herself and straightened up, clinging to the chair until she was sure it was okay to let go. When she looked up, Draco was staring at her, frowning. She shrugged and he turned back to what he was doing. She was extremely relieved he wasn't going to press the issue.
Fifty minutes went by with no more problems, and Hermione and Draco worked silently. They didn't intrude on each other at all, for she'd made sure of that when she drew up his schedule. Every now and then she would catch him looking at her strangely, but she just attributed that to be some sort of Slytherin trait of his that put her on edge. They were like that, Slytherins, she thought as she grabbed a large pile of books and entered an aisle. Only once she'd reached the end, where the books were to be placed, did she realise she'd forgot to bring her wand.
Sighing, she grabbed the nearest stepladders that were there for the first years and began to climb. She had the books in one hand and was holding on for the dear life with the other. No sooner had she reached the fifth step did she feel extremely dizzy and nauseous, and before she knew it, the heavy books and her instability were causing her to lose her step and fall. It wasn't a large fall, but she landed badly on her elbow and yelped out loud.
"Granger?"
Hermione turned to see Draco walking quickly towards her. He wasn't running, as she was sure he would be if someone like Pansy were hurt, but he did seem a little worried. She used her good arm to haul herself up and then cradled her other. "My elbow..." She stopped; she didn't want to ask him for help. He'd probably laugh at her.
"I suppose you want me to take you to the hospital wing?"
"No," Hermione said quickly. Too quickly. She avoided Draco's gaze, knowing he was looking at her with confusion. He sighed and held out his hand so she could use her good arm to pull her up. He let go as soon as she'd steadied herself.
"What's wrong, Granger?"
"Nothing," Hermione stressed. If she didn't know better, she could have sworn she heard concern in his voice. "I'm fine." Not allowing furhter discussion, she tucked her things under her left side and hurried out of the library. She'd fix her arm in the toilets before Potions.
*
It had been three days since Hermione had been to the library. She desperately wanted to continue with her project but was worried Draco might interrogate her. There were just too many questions she didn't want to answer, though she was well aware she might be piquing his interest simply by not showing up.
"Oi, Granger!"
Hermione turned and saw it was Draco, so she quickened her pace. He must have done the same, for he caught up to her only a moment later. His lackies were with him as well, their arms folded and their faces contorted in misery. "What?" She said hurriedly, finally stopping.
"You're shirking your duties, Granger." He said it with such smugness that it made her want to punch him in the face.
"No," she said fiercely. "It's not my duty to be there. It's a project I chose to take on. I can come and go however I please."
Draco narrowed his eyes and said spitefully, "Tell me, Mudblood. Why didn't you want to go to the hospital wing?" His eyebrow raised questionably, and she could only be thankful that Crabbe and Goyle were stupid enough to not have a clue what was going on.
"It's none of your business," she spat. She turned on her heel to walk away, but he grabbed her sore elbow and yanked her back as she let out a whimper of pain. His lackies smiled at that, but he just seemed annoyed.
"It is if I make it my business," he said, and strode off. He clearly just wanted the last word and couldn't stand her leaving him just stood there like a muppet. Crabbe and Goyle trailed after him, but not before making what she assumed were supposed to be scary faces. She simply rolled her eyes and pressed on towards Transfiguration.
*
Hoping their altercation in the hallway this morning would stop Draco showing up to the library, Hermione went and continued with her project. She knew he was supposed to turn up at a set time every day, but she wouldn't put it past him to refuse out of pride reasons. Three hours into the evening, Draco sauntered in, smirking at her.
"See, Granger?" Draco sat on the table she was working on, disrupting several pieces of parchment. "I can come and go however I please, too."
Hermione sighed. "Well done, Malfoy." She wasn't in the mood. She'd been feeling off all day, and the fact that she knew why didn't exactly help. It actually made it somewhat worse. Still, she had to live for the now, regardless of how she felt.
"What is your problem?" Draco challenged her, scooting further towards her on the table.
Hermione scoffed. "My problem? Are you kidding me, Mal—" Halfway through his name her voice faltered in her throat and she clutched at her chest, struggling to breathe. Her eyes grew wide and it was clear she was freaking him out, but he was hardly her primary concern right now. With her free hand she grabbed the chair and sat down, bending forwards as she had been told to do. "Malfoy, my bag... there's a small, green vial..."
She'd half expected him to completely ignore her, having been so vicious a moment ago, but instead he rushed to her aid, sifling through her bag to find what she requested. He found it in a side pocket, uncorked it and handed it to her, and she promptly drank it. It was a foul tasting liquid, but it would stifle the pain for now. When her chest stopped hurting and she regained her breathing, she sat up still and looked around, anywhere but at Draco. She was still slightly nauseaous, but that would go within the next half an hour.
"Granger..." Draco started, but didn't really seem sure he knew where he was going with this. "What's wrong with you?"
"N-nothing," she stammered. She flicked through a book in front of her casually, attempting to look as if she was interested. Draco wasn't fooled, taking the book and closing it. "Nothing." She stressed her point in the hope that this would convince him, but he wasn't Crabbe or Goyle. His face showed he wasn't going to let this go.
"I thought you were going to die on me!" Now there was no need to try and find flicking signs of concern; he genuinely seemed worried about what he'd just seen.
"What, worried they were going to blame you? Don't panic, Malfoy. The professors know about my condition."
"Condition?"
Shit.
"What condition?" Now she'd given away this tidbit of information, he was definitely not letting this go. "You're ill?"
"Yes," Hermione said quietly. She was hoping that when she eventually had to have this conversation that it would be with her friends, not with Draco Malfoy. "I have Atra Pectus. My stupid eleven year old self was far too curious and drank a potion she shouldn't."
Draco's eyes were as wide as saucers and he was gaping at her. "You have a black heart?" She nodded; he'd heard of her condition then. "But that's... that's fatal." She nodded again and looked away, embarrassed. "You must have..." He began counting and she answered for him.
"Four years left. If that." Hermione said this as roboticly as she could, for she knew if she got too emotional she'd burst out crying, and that was the last thing she wanted Draco to see her do. He may be shocked and concerned now, but she supposed it would be all round the school tomorrow and the Slytherins would be laughing at her. She dreaded the pity most of all, though. What she was putting her friends through because of a stupid mistake.
"Potter and Weasley know?"
Hermione shook her head. "I can't tell them. I've tried, but there's never been a right time."
"There's never going to be a right time, Granger." There was no mocking in his voice. He was genuinely serious, and the look on his face reflected that. It was rather scary, actually. She'd never seen Draco like this before. "What are you going to do? You know it gets steadily worse."
"I know," she said quietly. "But we finish school this year. It'll be easier to manage without the constraints of Hogwarts, I'm sure."
"You have to tell them, Granger. If I—"
"If you what?" Hermione was getting defensive now. She didn't like being told what she could and could not do, especially when it came down to something as seriously as this. "Would you tell your friends, Malfoy? I don't think so, considering they shopped you for whatever you did in Hogsmeade."
Draco's face narrowed and his lips formed a thin line. "How do you know about that?"
"Everyone knows."
Without another word or even a glance at Hermione, Draco left the library. She sighed. He was probably going to relish in telling everyone now.
*
On the way down to breakfast the next morning, Hermione expected everyone to be looking at her and talking in hushed whispers, but nobody was. They were all focused on themselves and having their own conversations, and though she expected laughing or whooping from the Slytherin table when she entered the Great Hall, she didn't get it. She looked over there and saw Blaise and Pansy mucking about with what looked like the remains of a Howler, and Draco looking glumly at the table, resting his head in his hands. She also noticed that everyone around him had their backs to him.
"Hermione!" Harry called. She glanced over, but not before seeing Draco looking too. Even though she didn't feel like it, she plastered a smile on her face and headed towards her friends. She'd got so used to covering up how she really felt that it didn't seem as bad anymore, but even Draco had appeared shocked that they didn't know.
Breakfast was a long and tired affair. Having woken up slightly nauseous again, she didn't really want to eat, but she knew everyone would ask if she was okay if she didn't. She managed to forced down a couple of slices of toast and some pumpkin juice before making her excuses and leaving early to her first lesson. She entered the empty Potions classroom and was relieved to find it empty, for noody else was mad enough to go to their lessons before they had to. She needed to though; she needed the peace and quiet and apart from the library it was the only other place, but the library was too far away and she'd have ended up being late.
It was never good to be late to one of Snape's lessons. He wasn't the most sympathetic of souls.
"Granger?"
The voice was so soft and calm she didn't know who it was until she turned around and saw Draco entering and shutting the door behind them. He came and sat on the desk in front of her, dumping his bag on the floor.
"What do you want?" Hermione asked clearly, looking him in the eye. That's when she noticed a large bruise on the side of his face, slightly covered by his ever growing hair. "What's that? What happened?"
Draco moved his head forwards to fully cover it and shrugged. "It's nothing."
"You can't seriously expect me to leave it at that after yesterday."
"Fine," he said testily, though there was a trace of a smile in the corner of his his lips. "Zabini did it when I confronted him about everyone knowing."
"Oh." Hermione bit her lip, feeling partially responsible. "Sorry, I didn't—"
"Forget it," Draco snapped. "I tried spelling it away but it only grew larger so I haven't tried again. I expect I'll just have to wait for it to fade like some Muggle."
Hermione couldn't help it; she burst out laughing. Hearing Draco talk like that was extremely humorous, though she supposed the awkwardness of the situation added to her rather heavy laughter. "Sorry—" She was laughing so hard she couldn't finish her sentence, but then the door slammed open and a chilling voice stopped her straight away.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Malfoy and his little Mudblood friend."
Hermione shifted round and saw Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle and Theodore walking towards them. They looked absolutely murderous, certainly ready for a fight.
"Piss off," Draco muttered.
Blaise raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me? You don't learn, do you, Malfoy?"
Hermione rolled her eyes and stood up, daring to confront them. She was sure their demeanour was nothing more than a front. "If it isn't the cowardly lackies of Malfoy."
"Oi!" Theodore lunged towards her, getting right up in her face. She flinched slightly out of instinct, but made no other move. "How dare you talk to us! You need to learn your place, Mudblood."
"My place?" Hermione scoffed. "My place in life is above the likes of you. You're nothing more than—" Before she knew what was happening, Theodore had backhanded her hard across her face, causing her to tumble to the floor. She heard Draco shout something and a hex being cast as she gathered her bearings. Then she brought her hand up to her cheek, more out of shock than anything else, and looked up to see all four of them with their wands trained on her.
"Want to say that again, Mudblood?" Theodore challenged her. "You'll feel more than my hand if you do."
"What is going on in here?" Snape strolled into the classroom, eyeing them all suspiciously. "You four, my office, now."
"But Professor—" Blaise started, though one look at Snape's face told them he wasn't standing for anything.
Only once they'd gone did he make a move towards her and help her up. "Are you all right, Miss Granger?"
"Fine, thank you, Professor." She straightened her uniform out and sat back down at her desk. From here she could see Draco slumped against the desk, out cold. "Is he all right?"
"Mr Malfoy is fine. I'll tend to him a moment. Would you care for the hospital wing?"
Hermione shook her head quickly. "No. No, thank you. I'm fine, really." Snape didn't look at all convinced, but took her at her word anyway and treated Draco. He'd only just regained conciousness when the rest of the class began filing in. He grabbed his bag and she expected him to go back to his usual seat, but he took the usually vacant one next to her instead. When she gave him a rather puzzled look, he just shrugged his shoulders and got his things out.
For once, Potions was actually more than bearable.
*
"Why are they treating you like that?" Hermione said later that afternoon, when they were organising books in the library in their last free of the day. "I thought they were your friends."
"Slytherins don't have friends, Granger," Draco assured her. "We just have acquaintances, and only then when things are going right."
"Oh." The notion was strange to Hermione, for she cared a great deal about her friends and she knew they did about her too. Then she felt a pang of guilt about her lying to them about her condition.
"They're not happy I'm having to spend so much time with you. They keep saying there's something going on."
"There is, though, isn't there? Something going on, I mean. It's not as if we sit in silence every day."
"No, guess not," Draco mused. She noticed his cheeks had turned a light shade of red. Was he blushing?
"It'd be boring if we did," Hermione continued, not really sure why. Half of her brain was screaming at her to shut up, and the other half was encouraging her. "You're not half bad to talk to."
"Er, thanks," Draco said awkwardly.
"I can't imagine what it'd be like if they'd shopped Crabbe and Goyle. I think I'd go insane." Draco began to laugh and it caught her, and soon they were both howling with laughter with tears running down their faces, not really sure why it was that funny but still finding it so. Or maybe it was something else, something more.
When they both stopped laughing, silence ensued. It wasn't an awkward, uncomfortable one, though. It was one of understanding as they both wiped the tears away from their eyes.
"Look, Granger, I'm not saying I like you or anything, but you're better company than Pansy."
Hermione smiled. "Who isn't?"
"I'm almost glad in a way," he carried on as though she hadn't interrupted him, "because I'd rather be doing this with you than... than being with them."
Whilst Hermione was sure that wasn't what he was going to say, she wouldn't press the issue. She guessed it was hard enough as it was, and it reminded her of how she didn't want to embarrass him when she'd seen him put together that parchment.
"So, I guess what I'm saying, is that, if you want to make my schedule longer, you can. I know you've got a lot to do and though I'm sure you enjoy doing this sort of thing—though I can't imagine why in the world—there are better things you could be doing. Like telling your friends about, well, you know."
Hermione frowned. He'd almost got somewhere then.
*
Hours later, when Hermione was curled up in bed trying to go to sleep, she thought about Draco's words. They went round and round in her head, and she realised that if nothing else, Draco had convinced her to tell her friends sooner rather than later. It'd be weird and uncomfortable, but they'd appreciate that more than her lying to them, as Draco had actually explained as they'd been working on her project. He'd also made her realise that she shouldn't be wasting her time organising books, that she should be out there doing something reckless.
The closest Hermione got was thinking her growing feelings for Draco Malfoy were reckless, which, to be honest, they probably were. He wasn't exactly a safe bet, but neither was she anymore.
Besides, as Draco said, being safe was boring, and it's not as if she had anything to lose.
Except her heart, but that was happening anyway, wasn't it?
Author:
scarletladyy Pairing: Draco/Hermione
Word Count: 5,028
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: AU, fatal magical disease, mentions of major character death in the future
Summary: A careless decision made when she was eleven years old altered Hermione's life forever. As she's getting older, the symptoms are getting harder and harder to hide. It was inevitable that someone would find her in danger one day, she just didn't think it would be Draco Malfoy.
Author's Note: Written for
dramione_remix 2012 and based on Landon Carter & Jamie Sullivan from A Walk To Remember. This fic is AU because there is no Voldemort in this world, so whilst Draco Malfoy isn't a Death Eater, he and his friends are still known for being trouble. The disease in this story was created by me and translated from Latin means 'black heart'.When attempting to find a book on rare magical diseases, Hermione had had so much trouble that she'd decided to re-organise the entire library. She'd had to get permission off Madam Pince first of course, but that had been no problem. Hermione was relieved, for she thought the current 'system' left a lot to be desired.
There were books all around her; piles and piles of them, stacked on top of one another as Hermione sorted through them. She knew it was a large project and would take a very long time, but she was more than happy to dedicate her time to such a worthy cause. Madam Pince had insisted she had at least one other person to help her, but Hermione had refused. They wouldn't understand how she was trying to organise the books and end up doing more harm than good.
So she was rather annoyed to see Draco Malfoy of all people swanning into the library as though he owned it. He never visited the library, and she was very grateful for that, for he was nothing more than a coward and a bully. It was after hours, so even if he had had a genuine reason to be here, he certainly didn't at this time. She decided to ignore him and not pay him any mind, hoping he'd get bored and try to find someone else to pick on.
"Evening, Mudblood," Draco drawled. He sauntered over to where she was working and pulled out a chair, turning it to face him so he could sit on it with his arms over the back of it.
Hermione hated it when people did that. That's not how you were supposed to sit on them and it annoyed her no end.
"Aren't you going to say 'hello'?" Draco continued. "It's rather rude to ignore someone when they're talking to you, Granger."
"Hello, Malfoy," she said through gritted teeth, acknowledging his presence at last.
Draco frowned. "Is that it?"
"What do you mean 'is that it'?" Hermione countered, losing her patience. She was handling the books a lot more roughly now when she was usually ever so careful with them.
"Great!" He said, grinning. He began flicking idly through the large tome in front of him so she batted his hand away/
Hermione slammed the book she had opened shut and sighed loudly. She turned and looked Draco straight in the eye as she said, "What do you want, Malfoy? "
"You don't know?" He actually looked genuinely puzzled.
"I wouldn't be asking if I knew." She clasped her hands tightly together in frustration.
Draco leant back and grabbed onto the back of the chair with his hands. "I've been told to assist you."
"By who?" Hermione demanded, growing irate. "And why? I specifically said I don't want anyone's help. Nobody understands what I'm doing except me!"
"Woah, there." Draco smirked at her obvious discomfort. "By that ridiculous Headmaster of ours."
At any other time, Hermione would have chastised Draco for speaking about Professor Dumbledore like that, but right now she was concerned about why she was receiving 'help' when she didn't need it. Didn't he think she was capable? Perhaps she'd have to have a word tomorrow. "Why?" Hermione said, pressing him for a reason.
Draco shrugged. "I've no idea what the confused prat was thinking. You seriously think I want to spend my time with the likes of you?"
Probably exactly that, Hermione thought. If Draco had been told to 'assist her', that could only mean it was a punishment for him. She wasn't even sure she wanted to know what he'd done if it was bad enough that Professor Dumbledore thought she'd be a good influence upon him. She was definitely going to have to have a word.
It was not okay to make her put up with the likes of Draco Malfoy because he couldn't behave himself.
"Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione called, seeing the Headmaster cross the courtyard the next morning. "Professor Dumbledore!"
He stopped, waiting for her to catch up. "Yes, Miss Granger?"
"Professor Dumbledore," Hermione started, a little uncertain. She had planned out what she was going to say several times since last night, especially after Draco had wound her up so, but now, face to face, she was at a loss. Eventually, after stuttering for several long seconds, she came out with, "You sent Malfoy to work with me!"
"Ahh." Professor Dumbledore chuckled. "I thought you'd have something to say about that, Miss Granger. Draco Malfoy is a troubled boy, and I thought he could learn from your responsible and hard-working nature. I am aware that you didn't want any help with this project, but I think that by working with Mr Malfoy, you can both come to an end result that will suit you both."
What the heck does that mean?!
Without even giving her time to respond, Professor Dumbledore walked quickly away, leaving Hermione nothing less than confused.
Since Professor Dumbledore seemed absolutely unwilling to move in regards to forcing her to work with Draco Malfoy, Hermione had had to create an entirely separate schedule for him. She couldn't have him messing up hers, so it was imperative he had one of his own. All the books she gave him were newer editions, for she didn't trust him with many of the tomes that were hundreds of years old. Chances are he probably wouldn't do anything, but at least if he had a schedule he wouldn't be tempted to mess with hers.
It took several hours before Hermione was happy with how the schedule had worked out. It complimented her own and she was pleased with it, knowing she'd be miffed if Draco didn't follow it. She knew she shouldn't have such high expectations of him, but still. She saw the good in everybody, Ron was always saying.
So the next evening, when everyone else had left the library, Hermione placed her schedule on her right and Draco's where he'd sat yesterday, on her left. She hoped a bit of organisation and structure would shut him up and actually make him useful, instead of distracting her when she was supposed to be working. It was worth a try, at least.
When Draco entered the library, two hours later than the previous night, he didn't look best pleased. In fact, he looked positively pissed off. Not wanting any drama, Hermione didn't acknowledge his presence, not really wanting to know what he could be so annoyed about. It was probably something stupid anyway.
"What the fuck is this, Granger?" Draco had picked up the schedule and was scowling at it.
"I'm quite sure even you can figure that out," Hermione said tentatively. He pulled a face at her and then ripped the parchment in half, turning around the chair and sitting as he had the previous evening. Then, instead of fiddling with the books as Hermione had got ready to tell him off for doing, he stared menacingly down at the table.
For the next hour, she didn't speak and he didn't speak. The only sound in the whole library was Hermione opening and closing books and shuffling around to put them in their new, correct places. Every so often she glanced at him, but his eyes were still fixated on that same spot on the table. Then, startling her, he jumped up and flung his chair across the room.
"Fucking bastards."
Hermione could only watch as he flounced out of the library, astonished and puzzled by his behaviour.
The next day Hermione found out through her friends that Draco had been sold out by his own Slytherins. She guessed that he must have found out yesterday, right before he was due to meet her, as he'd appeared absolutely furious. She still had no idea what he'd done, though. Curiosity getting the better of her, Hermione chanced asking.
"What did Malfoy even do?"
"Apparently," Ginny answered, "Flint, Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini, Nott and Malfoy all snuck out of Hogwarts and went to Hogsmeade last Saturday night and got drunk in the village. There was an accident of some kind as Nott's in the hospital wing, but nobody but they know exactly what happened. They're all blaming it on Malfoy so none of the others have been reprimanded."
Hermione frowned. It did seem rather unfair for Draco to be the only one punished, even if he was an insufferable git. "Oh. Thanks."
They were already gossiping about something else and didn't even seem to notice when she got up and left the common room. She headed for the library, having a free before Potions and wanting to carry on with her work. It was obstructing a large part and Madam Pince wasn't exactly happy, so the sooner she got it done the better. Besides, she needed to think.
She still couldn't believe that Draco had been sold out by people he called his friends. Clearly they were not his friends if they could sell him down the river like that. If she were to do anything like that—though, obviously, she wouldn't—she was sure her friends would stick by her. They wouldn't hand her in to save their own skins regardless of the cost, because they were her friends.
Perhaps Slytherin friendships were different. Perhaps they weren't really friendships at all. Just mere acquaintances where it was easy to use one another to get what you wanted and then dump them as soon as they weren't needed anymore. But if that were the case, why would Draco, or any of them for that matter, stick around and put up with it? Probably because nobody else in the school would want them as a friend because they did stuff like this.
When she arrived at the library she was relieved to find it quiet, for most pupils were in lessons. Those that weren't were in their common rooms, not caring to revise until the day before their exams, which thankfully weren't for a few months. It was only November. She approached her designated section and narrowed her eyes as she saw a figure moving about behind the books. Taking a look around, she could only see a few scattered pupils here and there, and no sign of Madam Pince. Then she saw platinum blond hair as the figure stood and realised it was Draco.
"Um," Hermione started, not really knowing what to say, but going for, "What are you doing here?"
Draco scowled. "I have a free, same as you."
They both knew she was referring to why he was spending his time in the library instead of the common room, but he clearly wanted to avoid that. "Right." She quickly glanced at the parchment he was working from, worried it was her own and he was messing about with her schedule, but it was the one she'd made for him, spelled back together again.
Hermione was surprised, but she didn't want to draw attention to it out of fear of embarrassing them both. The important thing was that he was actually doing something for once and she wasn't prepared to jepordise it. She placed her bag on the table, ready to get out her schedule and start her own work, but as she did so, she felt really dizzy and had to hold onto the chair for balance.
Please, no. Not now. Not in front of him!
Hermione gathered herself and straightened up, clinging to the chair until she was sure it was okay to let go. When she looked up, Draco was staring at her, frowning. She shrugged and he turned back to what he was doing. She was extremely relieved he wasn't going to press the issue.
Fifty minutes went by with no more problems, and Hermione and Draco worked silently. They didn't intrude on each other at all, for she'd made sure of that when she drew up his schedule. Every now and then she would catch him looking at her strangely, but she just attributed that to be some sort of Slytherin trait of his that put her on edge. They were like that, Slytherins, she thought as she grabbed a large pile of books and entered an aisle. Only once she'd reached the end, where the books were to be placed, did she realise she'd forgot to bring her wand.
Sighing, she grabbed the nearest stepladders that were there for the first years and began to climb. She had the books in one hand and was holding on for the dear life with the other. No sooner had she reached the fifth step did she feel extremely dizzy and nauseous, and before she knew it, the heavy books and her instability were causing her to lose her step and fall. It wasn't a large fall, but she landed badly on her elbow and yelped out loud.
"Granger?"
Hermione turned to see Draco walking quickly towards her. He wasn't running, as she was sure he would be if someone like Pansy were hurt, but he did seem a little worried. She used her good arm to haul herself up and then cradled her other. "My elbow..." She stopped; she didn't want to ask him for help. He'd probably laugh at her.
"I suppose you want me to take you to the hospital wing?"
"No," Hermione said quickly. Too quickly. She avoided Draco's gaze, knowing he was looking at her with confusion. He sighed and held out his hand so she could use her good arm to pull her up. He let go as soon as she'd steadied herself.
"What's wrong, Granger?"
"Nothing," Hermione stressed. If she didn't know better, she could have sworn she heard concern in his voice. "I'm fine." Not allowing furhter discussion, she tucked her things under her left side and hurried out of the library. She'd fix her arm in the toilets before Potions.
It had been three days since Hermione had been to the library. She desperately wanted to continue with her project but was worried Draco might interrogate her. There were just too many questions she didn't want to answer, though she was well aware she might be piquing his interest simply by not showing up.
"Oi, Granger!"
Hermione turned and saw it was Draco, so she quickened her pace. He must have done the same, for he caught up to her only a moment later. His lackies were with him as well, their arms folded and their faces contorted in misery. "What?" She said hurriedly, finally stopping.
"You're shirking your duties, Granger." He said it with such smugness that it made her want to punch him in the face.
"No," she said fiercely. "It's not my duty to be there. It's a project I chose to take on. I can come and go however I please."
Draco narrowed his eyes and said spitefully, "Tell me, Mudblood. Why didn't you want to go to the hospital wing?" His eyebrow raised questionably, and she could only be thankful that Crabbe and Goyle were stupid enough to not have a clue what was going on.
"It's none of your business," she spat. She turned on her heel to walk away, but he grabbed her sore elbow and yanked her back as she let out a whimper of pain. His lackies smiled at that, but he just seemed annoyed.
"It is if I make it my business," he said, and strode off. He clearly just wanted the last word and couldn't stand her leaving him just stood there like a muppet. Crabbe and Goyle trailed after him, but not before making what she assumed were supposed to be scary faces. She simply rolled her eyes and pressed on towards Transfiguration.
Hoping their altercation in the hallway this morning would stop Draco showing up to the library, Hermione went and continued with her project. She knew he was supposed to turn up at a set time every day, but she wouldn't put it past him to refuse out of pride reasons. Three hours into the evening, Draco sauntered in, smirking at her.
"See, Granger?" Draco sat on the table she was working on, disrupting several pieces of parchment. "I can come and go however I please, too."
Hermione sighed. "Well done, Malfoy." She wasn't in the mood. She'd been feeling off all day, and the fact that she knew why didn't exactly help. It actually made it somewhat worse. Still, she had to live for the now, regardless of how she felt.
"What is your problem?" Draco challenged her, scooting further towards her on the table.
Hermione scoffed. "My problem? Are you kidding me, Mal—" Halfway through his name her voice faltered in her throat and she clutched at her chest, struggling to breathe. Her eyes grew wide and it was clear she was freaking him out, but he was hardly her primary concern right now. With her free hand she grabbed the chair and sat down, bending forwards as she had been told to do. "Malfoy, my bag... there's a small, green vial..."
She'd half expected him to completely ignore her, having been so vicious a moment ago, but instead he rushed to her aid, sifling through her bag to find what she requested. He found it in a side pocket, uncorked it and handed it to her, and she promptly drank it. It was a foul tasting liquid, but it would stifle the pain for now. When her chest stopped hurting and she regained her breathing, she sat up still and looked around, anywhere but at Draco. She was still slightly nauseaous, but that would go within the next half an hour.
"Granger..." Draco started, but didn't really seem sure he knew where he was going with this. "What's wrong with you?"
"N-nothing," she stammered. She flicked through a book in front of her casually, attempting to look as if she was interested. Draco wasn't fooled, taking the book and closing it. "Nothing." She stressed her point in the hope that this would convince him, but he wasn't Crabbe or Goyle. His face showed he wasn't going to let this go.
"I thought you were going to die on me!" Now there was no need to try and find flicking signs of concern; he genuinely seemed worried about what he'd just seen.
"What, worried they were going to blame you? Don't panic, Malfoy. The professors know about my condition."
"Condition?"
Shit.
"What condition?" Now she'd given away this tidbit of information, he was definitely not letting this go. "You're ill?"
"Yes," Hermione said quietly. She was hoping that when she eventually had to have this conversation that it would be with her friends, not with Draco Malfoy. "I have Atra Pectus. My stupid eleven year old self was far too curious and drank a potion she shouldn't."
Draco's eyes were as wide as saucers and he was gaping at her. "You have a black heart?" She nodded; he'd heard of her condition then. "But that's... that's fatal." She nodded again and looked away, embarrassed. "You must have..." He began counting and she answered for him.
"Four years left. If that." Hermione said this as roboticly as she could, for she knew if she got too emotional she'd burst out crying, and that was the last thing she wanted Draco to see her do. He may be shocked and concerned now, but she supposed it would be all round the school tomorrow and the Slytherins would be laughing at her. She dreaded the pity most of all, though. What she was putting her friends through because of a stupid mistake.
"Potter and Weasley know?"
Hermione shook her head. "I can't tell them. I've tried, but there's never been a right time."
"There's never going to be a right time, Granger." There was no mocking in his voice. He was genuinely serious, and the look on his face reflected that. It was rather scary, actually. She'd never seen Draco like this before. "What are you going to do? You know it gets steadily worse."
"I know," she said quietly. "But we finish school this year. It'll be easier to manage without the constraints of Hogwarts, I'm sure."
"You have to tell them, Granger. If I—"
"If you what?" Hermione was getting defensive now. She didn't like being told what she could and could not do, especially when it came down to something as seriously as this. "Would you tell your friends, Malfoy? I don't think so, considering they shopped you for whatever you did in Hogsmeade."
Draco's face narrowed and his lips formed a thin line. "How do you know about that?"
"Everyone knows."
Without another word or even a glance at Hermione, Draco left the library. She sighed. He was probably going to relish in telling everyone now.
On the way down to breakfast the next morning, Hermione expected everyone to be looking at her and talking in hushed whispers, but nobody was. They were all focused on themselves and having their own conversations, and though she expected laughing or whooping from the Slytherin table when she entered the Great Hall, she didn't get it. She looked over there and saw Blaise and Pansy mucking about with what looked like the remains of a Howler, and Draco looking glumly at the table, resting his head in his hands. She also noticed that everyone around him had their backs to him.
"Hermione!" Harry called. She glanced over, but not before seeing Draco looking too. Even though she didn't feel like it, she plastered a smile on her face and headed towards her friends. She'd got so used to covering up how she really felt that it didn't seem as bad anymore, but even Draco had appeared shocked that they didn't know.
Breakfast was a long and tired affair. Having woken up slightly nauseous again, she didn't really want to eat, but she knew everyone would ask if she was okay if she didn't. She managed to forced down a couple of slices of toast and some pumpkin juice before making her excuses and leaving early to her first lesson. She entered the empty Potions classroom and was relieved to find it empty, for noody else was mad enough to go to their lessons before they had to. She needed to though; she needed the peace and quiet and apart from the library it was the only other place, but the library was too far away and she'd have ended up being late.
It was never good to be late to one of Snape's lessons. He wasn't the most sympathetic of souls.
"Granger?"
The voice was so soft and calm she didn't know who it was until she turned around and saw Draco entering and shutting the door behind them. He came and sat on the desk in front of her, dumping his bag on the floor.
"What do you want?" Hermione asked clearly, looking him in the eye. That's when she noticed a large bruise on the side of his face, slightly covered by his ever growing hair. "What's that? What happened?"
Draco moved his head forwards to fully cover it and shrugged. "It's nothing."
"You can't seriously expect me to leave it at that after yesterday."
"Fine," he said testily, though there was a trace of a smile in the corner of his his lips. "Zabini did it when I confronted him about everyone knowing."
"Oh." Hermione bit her lip, feeling partially responsible. "Sorry, I didn't—"
"Forget it," Draco snapped. "I tried spelling it away but it only grew larger so I haven't tried again. I expect I'll just have to wait for it to fade like some Muggle."
Hermione couldn't help it; she burst out laughing. Hearing Draco talk like that was extremely humorous, though she supposed the awkwardness of the situation added to her rather heavy laughter. "Sorry—" She was laughing so hard she couldn't finish her sentence, but then the door slammed open and a chilling voice stopped her straight away.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Malfoy and his little Mudblood friend."
Hermione shifted round and saw Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle and Theodore walking towards them. They looked absolutely murderous, certainly ready for a fight.
"Piss off," Draco muttered.
Blaise raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me? You don't learn, do you, Malfoy?"
Hermione rolled her eyes and stood up, daring to confront them. She was sure their demeanour was nothing more than a front. "If it isn't the cowardly lackies of Malfoy."
"Oi!" Theodore lunged towards her, getting right up in her face. She flinched slightly out of instinct, but made no other move. "How dare you talk to us! You need to learn your place, Mudblood."
"My place?" Hermione scoffed. "My place in life is above the likes of you. You're nothing more than—" Before she knew what was happening, Theodore had backhanded her hard across her face, causing her to tumble to the floor. She heard Draco shout something and a hex being cast as she gathered her bearings. Then she brought her hand up to her cheek, more out of shock than anything else, and looked up to see all four of them with their wands trained on her.
"Want to say that again, Mudblood?" Theodore challenged her. "You'll feel more than my hand if you do."
"What is going on in here?" Snape strolled into the classroom, eyeing them all suspiciously. "You four, my office, now."
"But Professor—" Blaise started, though one look at Snape's face told them he wasn't standing for anything.
Only once they'd gone did he make a move towards her and help her up. "Are you all right, Miss Granger?"
"Fine, thank you, Professor." She straightened her uniform out and sat back down at her desk. From here she could see Draco slumped against the desk, out cold. "Is he all right?"
"Mr Malfoy is fine. I'll tend to him a moment. Would you care for the hospital wing?"
Hermione shook her head quickly. "No. No, thank you. I'm fine, really." Snape didn't look at all convinced, but took her at her word anyway and treated Draco. He'd only just regained conciousness when the rest of the class began filing in. He grabbed his bag and she expected him to go back to his usual seat, but he took the usually vacant one next to her instead. When she gave him a rather puzzled look, he just shrugged his shoulders and got his things out.
For once, Potions was actually more than bearable.
"Why are they treating you like that?" Hermione said later that afternoon, when they were organising books in the library in their last free of the day. "I thought they were your friends."
"Slytherins don't have friends, Granger," Draco assured her. "We just have acquaintances, and only then when things are going right."
"Oh." The notion was strange to Hermione, for she cared a great deal about her friends and she knew they did about her too. Then she felt a pang of guilt about her lying to them about her condition.
"They're not happy I'm having to spend so much time with you. They keep saying there's something going on."
"There is, though, isn't there? Something going on, I mean. It's not as if we sit in silence every day."
"No, guess not," Draco mused. She noticed his cheeks had turned a light shade of red. Was he blushing?
"It'd be boring if we did," Hermione continued, not really sure why. Half of her brain was screaming at her to shut up, and the other half was encouraging her. "You're not half bad to talk to."
"Er, thanks," Draco said awkwardly.
"I can't imagine what it'd be like if they'd shopped Crabbe and Goyle. I think I'd go insane." Draco began to laugh and it caught her, and soon they were both howling with laughter with tears running down their faces, not really sure why it was that funny but still finding it so. Or maybe it was something else, something more.
When they both stopped laughing, silence ensued. It wasn't an awkward, uncomfortable one, though. It was one of understanding as they both wiped the tears away from their eyes.
"Look, Granger, I'm not saying I like you or anything, but you're better company than Pansy."
Hermione smiled. "Who isn't?"
"I'm almost glad in a way," he carried on as though she hadn't interrupted him, "because I'd rather be doing this with you than... than being with them."
Whilst Hermione was sure that wasn't what he was going to say, she wouldn't press the issue. She guessed it was hard enough as it was, and it reminded her of how she didn't want to embarrass him when she'd seen him put together that parchment.
"So, I guess what I'm saying, is that, if you want to make my schedule longer, you can. I know you've got a lot to do and though I'm sure you enjoy doing this sort of thing—though I can't imagine why in the world—there are better things you could be doing. Like telling your friends about, well, you know."
Hermione frowned. He'd almost got somewhere then.
Hours later, when Hermione was curled up in bed trying to go to sleep, she thought about Draco's words. They went round and round in her head, and she realised that if nothing else, Draco had convinced her to tell her friends sooner rather than later. It'd be weird and uncomfortable, but they'd appreciate that more than her lying to them, as Draco had actually explained as they'd been working on her project. He'd also made her realise that she shouldn't be wasting her time organising books, that she should be out there doing something reckless.
The closest Hermione got was thinking her growing feelings for Draco Malfoy were reckless, which, to be honest, they probably were. He wasn't exactly a safe bet, but neither was she anymore.
Besides, as Draco said, being safe was boring, and it's not as if she had anything to lose.
Except her heart, but that was happening anyway, wasn't it?
no subject
so totally wants moreno subject