Eye to Eye: A Dramione Fanfic

Chapter 45

The temperature in the room dipped as the door swung open again. Hermione had moved away from the wall and was now sitting right up against the bars that held her hostage, with her hand outstretched to touch Draco's. The pair had been left alone in the darkness, divided by a wall of iron bars. After several minutes of Draco having regained consciousness, he had found the strength to sit himself up and move over to the bars, leaning against them. He had put his hand through one of the gaps, taken hold of Hermione's hand, and had refused to let go ever since. In the time they'd had alone, the pair had tried to figure out a way of freeing Hermione and escaping the room they were being held up in... But, they hadn't managed to come to any conclusions. They were well and truly stuck.

"Well." The new arrival chuckled darkly as their gaze fell on the couple. "Isn't this just precious?"

As dark as the room was, there was no mistaking the identity of the man that now stood before them. The blackness of the room masked his long, platinum hair quite well, but there was nothing that could be done to change the way his voice sounded. The man was Lucius Malfoy - there was no doubt about that.

Draco heard a small gasp escape Hermione's lips. He tightened his grip on her hand and cleared his throat. "Let her go, father. She hasn't done anything against you."

"Hasn't done anything against me?" Lucius repeated sharply, growing more and more aggravated by the second. "Is that so? Well, in that case, perhaps you'd like to explain to me exactly what has been going on during you time at Hogwarts this year, Draco."

The boy swallowed the lump in his throat. "It was none of your concern. It still is none of your concern."

"Oh, I see." Lucius replied dryly. "You're protecting the girl - the Mudblood."

Draco barely had any strength left in his body. He knew his father was aware of that. He physically couldn't continue to argue with Lucius - he lacked the energy he needed. So, with a heavy sigh, Draco responded. "Don't call her that. Hermione was born to Muggle parents, yes. But, that doesn't give you the right to parade around being cruel towards her."

"Spoken like the love-sick fool you've become." Lucius scoffed, turning his back on the pair for a moment.

Draco opened his mouth to say something else, but Hermione squeezed his hand, warning him not to bother. While she didn't know Lucius very well, after everything she had experienced in his presence over the years, she felt as though she knew enough about him to sense when his mind was made up. This was one of those moments. There was nothing Draco, or herself, could say to change his mind. His opinion on the matter as set in stone, and there was no changing that.

When Lucius moved to stand nearer the couple, Hermione saw, for the first time, the man's face. She was less concerned with his overall features, but more with his eyes. They were wild with rage. Rage that was so intense it made him look murderous. And, I suppose you could say that it was in this moment when she realised her fate. And, though Draco hadn't caught on to his father's plan yet, she had no intention of letting him know, either. To do so would prolong the problem, maybe even make it worse... much worse.

Hermione was all too aware that, in his own twisted way, Lucius still cared for Draco. After all, he is his son. Yet, he had no reason to care for, or about, her. Why would he? As far as he's concerned, she's the abomination that's trying to brainwash his son. A pest. And, you know what they say about pests.

They must be exterminated.

Lucius whistled, and another man entered the room. He approached, took hold of Drack by the collar of his shirt, and dragged him kicking and screaming from the room. Once he was gone, Lucius turned back to face her, flashing a menacing grin. "Now. What should I do with you?"

"Something tells me you already have that planned." She replied, her voice quiet as she struggled to speak so she could be heard.

He laughed darkly. "Oh, Miss. Granger. You always were a smart, little witch."

The bars that she was leaning against suddenly vanished, causing her to fall onto the floor. Then, Lucius lunged forwards, grabbed her hair, and dragged her across the floor to the middle of the room. He didn't care that she was crying out in pain. Why should he? In a few moments, she would cease to be a problem at all. At least, that's how simple he made it sound in his head.

As Lucius drew his wand and pointed it at the crying girl, she managed to look up at him. Her face was streaked with tears and dirt, her hair was a mess, and yet she still seemed to have a little bit of fight left in her. "He'll never forgive you. I hope you know that."

"I can live with that." Lucius replied flatly, looking down at the girl in disgust. "However, I can't live with the idea that my son is romantically involved with a thing like you."

Hermione struggled a laugh. "A thing like me? Of course. And, what exactly would that be?"

"A filthy, little Mudblood."

There was no time for Hermione to speak after that.

Before she could even register what was happening, Lucius swiftly moved his wand and announced a single spell. After that, the world went black.

What was that spell, you ask?

Avada Kedavra.

The Killing Curse.

***

So, it's been a while, hasn't it?

The last time I updated was back in October 2018... Yikes! I hadn't realised it had been THAT long. Anyway, no matter how long it's been, I still have something I need to explain. But, first, I think I ought to apologise for taking so long to update this story. You see, I originally started writing this when I was about eleven and, in a few days, I'll be turning sixteen - that's how long I've been writing 'Eye to Eye' for. I'd like think that, when you go back and look through the story right from the beginning, you can see how much I've changed - how much my writing has changed - over the years. And it's for this reason that I feel like I should apologise to you all.

When I was eleven, I was HUGELY obsessed with Dramione - it was how I came to know about what Fanficion is. However, as I got older, my obsession seemed to die down quite a bit. It's still there, but it's just not as vivid as it once was. That's why it takes me so long to update this story - not because I'm no longer interested, but because I struggle to motivate myself. Yes, I love Harry Potter. And, yes, I still ship Dramione... But, finding the motivation I once had when it comes to writing this story is hard - exhausting, even. Nine times out of ten, I wake up to multiple notifications from Wattpad, all of consisting of your comments, votes, times you added my story to your Reading Lists and I'm speechless - even after five years of creating 'Eye to Eye'.

However, it's your support and interest in this story that has now become my motivation... You guys deserve to know how this all ends.

There are not enough words to describe how grateful I am towards you all. The fact that you chose to stick around (even after reading my very muddled, eleven-year-old self's writing) is mind blowing - not even I would have managed to persevere through that. Just the thought of knowing that there have been 158K people who have read my work is... I don't even know the right word to use. And I know that, compared to many other stories on here, 158K may seem miniscule, but I was astounded even when I reached 10 views - 158K is more than I ever could have dreamed of!

So, in a roundabout way... THANK YOU! And, I'm sorry for taking so long to update.

(Sidenote: There's only one chapter left...)