Fallen: A Thwarted Love Story, 6/12
Feb. 2nd, 2011 10:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bleedingangel84The following weeks were some of the most difficult in Draco’s life. Hermione seemed to be everywhere he looked within the walls of Hogwarts. Despite his resolution to stay away from her, he could not keep his eyes from staring as she sat in the Great Hall at mealtimes. On one occasion, he caught her staring at him with a dreamy expression in her chocolate eyes, and he could not stop the small grin that crossed his lips as she blushed. He diverted his eyes guiltily when he caught the answering smile that was on her own lips, thankful that the male portion of the Golden Trio seemed immersed in a discussion of Quidditch tactics for that weekend’s match.
He hated the thought causing Hermione any sort of pain. He had no desire to leave her, but realized that he must if he was to save her from becoming a target of the Dark Lord.
He soon came to the realization that such a thing would be difficult for him to accomplish, as his feelings for her only seemed to grow in the wake of their kiss. Though neither of them spoke of it, the Slytherin often caught Hermione watching him as she had that afternoon. Her wistful eyes haunted his dreams as the taste of her kiss haunted his senses, driving him mad for the taste of her.
Even his nightmares featured her, his subconscious creating her as a heroine slain by the cruelest tortures at his own hands. He woke from such nightmares with a firm resolve to end his association with the beautiful Gryffindor. Looking into her eyes every day, he found it impossible to follow through with his plan.
Two weeks passed before the two of them spoke again. The tension in the Defense classroom was thick as the pair looked at each other. Harry and Ron had hurried off to lunch with the rest of the class, leaving the two of them alone for the confrontation that was about to occur.
Draco eyed Hermione nervously, taking note of the mixture of sadness, anger and confusion that shone out of her gaze. “Why did you do it, Malfoy?” she demanded, “Were you just playing with me? Making sport with the gullible Gryffindor?” She waited in silence for his response, shaking with suppressed emotion. Unable to resist the temptation any longer, he pulled her into his arms and was startled when he felt the wetness of tears against his neck. His own heart aching with pain, the Slytherin breathed his answer into the soft curtain of her golden brown curls. “I meant every word that I said to you, Hermione,” he said. “Please believe me when I tell you that.” His voice was a mere husk of sound as he finished, the anguish and uncertainty apparent. Hermione pulled away from him, wiping at her own damp cheeks as she gazed into his eyes.
“How could you tell me that you love me if you were just going to ignore me like that?” she asked, “You kissed me and then you refuse to speak with me. Why?” Draco was quiet as he considered his position. How much could he tell her and still keep her safe? He could feel the desire to confess his concerns about Voldemort gnawing in his veins, but decided to keep his own counsel on the subject. Hermione was unaware of his personal involvement with Voldemort’s Death Eaters, and that was how he wished things to stay. Putting his Slytherin training to use, he decided that a half-truth would serve his needs better than full honesty.
“You know who my family is, Hermione,” he said in a placating voice, “Being associated with the son of a Dark wizard would tarnish your reputation. I don’t want that for you.” Hermione smiled at him then. Never in a million years would she have thought a Malfoy would be concerned for the reputation of a Muggleborn. “I can worry about my own reputation, thank you,” she countered.
Draco closed his eyes and breathed deeply. This was the thing he had always dreamed of, and the opportunity to take advantage of it was proving to great an enticement to resist. “Is that your way of saying that you care about me too, Granger?” he asked teasingly. “Why Malfoy, you do have a brain after all,” she rejoined, “I’m shocked.”
Draco laughed, sending a surprised shiver up Hermione’s spine. The sound was deep and pleasant, seeming to lighten the storm in his eyes for just a moment. There was something in his gaze that she could not quite decipher just then. There was an almost guilty sadness in him as he pulled her close again, bending his head to take possession of her lips. The desperate hunger in his kiss drove every other thought out of her head as she returned it with fervor.
Silently, Draco Lucius Malfoy made a vow: He would see Voldemort in his unhallowed grave before he would dare allow the madman to harm a hair on the head of the girl he loved. He clutched her to him as the thought went through his mind, allowing the heat of her kiss to counteract the deep chill of fear that whipped through him.