Amour

PRINCE OF DARKNESS

"It's a good thing that I button my coat upto my throat-otherwise your skills in bed would've been exposed to the public."Snape said,while getting dressed.Hermione looked around at him and understood what he meant;just before he covered himself up,she glimpsed a number of hickeys she left behind on his chest and collarbones.She smirked to herself."So...last night was....interesting."He came forward and kissed her head."I'll certainly remember it most vividly.""Good.I want you to remember that I can make all the tables turn anytime.But right now,I need to rush.We have a Quidditch match today."Hermione gave him a quick kiss and he opened the door for her as she draped on her invisibility cloak and dissappeared...............
"We have been following Draco Malfoy around for the last month,as per your instructions and we've found out,he has been lurking around the seventh-floor corridor for quite a lot of time."Dobby said,extremely proud that he got the opportunity to do something for Hermione.Kreacher helped him in the job but he stood there like he couldn't give a tiny rat's ass about all this.Regardless Hermione thanked and dismissed them.While suiting up for the match,she was lost in thoughts about what business could Malfoy have at the seventh floor.Then it struck her,that the Room of Requirement was on the same floor.
She headed towards the pitch to a tidal wave of noise;it was the final match:Grifindor vs Ravenclaw.And they won fairly easily.Slytherin had been thrown out of the running very early on,mostly due to the carelessness of their seeker,Draco,who had been distracted from the very first.Even the prospect of defeating Hermione couldn't get his M.O. up and she suspected that obviously he must be engaged in something terribly important,so that his mind was always elsewhere.After the match,while the others were celebrating,Hermione brought out the Marauders map to check whether Draco was still around the area of the Room of Requirement.But she traced him at the deserted girl's bathroom,which was the abode of Moaning Myrtle.Seeing that her friends were busy partying,Hermione went out through the portrait-hole alone.Reaching the door to the bathroom,she carefully peeped inside and witnessed a rare sight.Hidden from curious eyes,Draco Malfoy was crying.He looked completely beaten,his hair was askew,as if he had pulled at it,his shirt was untucked,tie loosened and he wept like a child,over the basin."I don't think I can do this....but...but..He's going to kill me if I don't succeed.O Lord,show me a way..."Hermione bit her lip,understanding that he was merely being used as a puppet and decided to step in."I know what you're trying to do,Draco."she said.Malfoy whipped around,unable to believe his ears."I know you're being forced to do something.But listen,whatever he is doing to you,it can be stopped.Trust me,Dumbledore will help you."she said,moving closer."You know nothing,you-you-Mu-"he fumbled,holding his wand up."Say it.You've called me that name before.Why are you hesitating now?I know why.That's cause deep down inside,you're a good person.Don't let Him extort you like this."Hermione said.He stared back at her but as she moved still closer,he thought she was making a move for her wand and he attacked her.She ducked just in time and the curse exploded at the wall behind.She fumbled across the floor and hid behind a cubicle,but instead of going for the door,Draco stayed behind and started blowing up one cubicle after another,forcing her to jump out of the way.Myrtle came out of her toilet and started shouting abuse at them as curses flew through her,while the two of them tried to ward each-other off.Water was sprinkling out of the blown-up faucets and all the cubicles had been destroyed,exposing Hermione completely.In the spur of the moment,a spell popped into her head and it left her mouth before she had time to think it through."Sectusempra!"she shouted and the curse hit Draco straight in the chest and he was thrown off his feet.Moaning Myrtle started shrieking at the top of her lungs and Hermione looked around to see him lying on the floor of the lavatory,deep gashes across his chest and blood spurting out of them and pooling around in the flooded tiled-flooring...................................
Snape was going up the  corridor when he heard a noise.He knew Hermione would probably be late tonight,she must be up in her dormitory,celebrating with the rest of her team.So when he heard the noise he thought it was just the students cheering.But when he listened closely,he realised it was a lot closer and was more like a shrill banshee-like shout of a frightened girl.He ran towards the noise and reached the girls' lavatory.He burst in through the door and stopped short,seeing Malfoy on the ground coughing up blood while more blood was leaking off him onto the floor,Hermione standing by him, her wand drawn and a horrified expression on her face;as Moaning Myrtle continued to wail.It didn't take him long to assess the situation and he silenced the ghost and jumped to the boy's aid.He stroked his chest with the tip of his wand,muttering the countercurse,while Hermione looked on,awkwardly hovering, unable to do anything.He didn't say anything to her,just gave her a stern expression and produced stretchers for Malfoy to carry him to the hospital wing.After it was done,only then did he round on Hermione."Where did you learn that spell?"Hermione looked down and admitted,"From your book.I mean ,from the Half blood Prince."He ran his fingers through his hair,as he often did when he was angry."Bring it down here."he said in a clipped tone,making it clear that there was no arguing with him.Hermione rushed upstairs and ignoring her friends,who looked up from their jubilation to ask her what was wrong,she quickly took out the potions book from under her bed and came down again.She found Snape waiting in the same spot and she handed over the book to him.He turned it over in his hands,as if meeting an old friend,but remorseful as to how that friend had turned out."This is the past I didn't want you to be a part of.The Prince is the man I'm ashamed of and you took him as some sort of an idol?Didn't I tell you,back in those days I used to experiment with dark arts?This is one of those dangerous spells I had invented.Did you once think before using it on your classmate?"he sounded truly exasperated.Hermione couldn't meet his gaze and just mumbled a 'sorry'.He pinched the bridge of his nose,"Hermione,this book is having an adverse effect on you.I don't wanna push you,you're already on the ledge.I'm going to hide this away at the Room of Requirement but you won't know what the room changed into at my request,so you can't be tempted to go looking for it again."She nodded and he walked away swishing his robes..................................................
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