Love Is The Darkest Art

Part 27: Lost Hearts

Scene 42:

Hagrid returned to school, and with him came the snow. With the snow came bitter winds, signaling Christmas was on its way. Hermione had been waiting for the holidays so she could buy Draco a present to show her undying affection, but their last fight seemed to have changed all that. They'd had disagreements before, as all couples do, but until now it had only affected them. This time though, friends had been caught in the middle. Not only had Harry, Fred, and George been kicked off the Quidditch team, they'd had their brooms taken also. She felt so bad about that. They were her friends and because she'd given Ron a good luck cheek kiss, Draco's jealousy had kicked in full swing and caused her world to fall apart.

It was a few days after Hagrid's return when Luna found Hermione in the library, crying in the spot where Draco had first kissed her. It seemed like years ago rather than...just how long had it been now? Hermione couldn't even remember. It was as if once she started to fall in love, all sense of time had ceased. And when she looked up from where she sat in the floor, her back against the towering bookshelf, legs drawn beneath her, time began again.

Luna looked down at her and apologized. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I truly am."

"Sorry for what?"

"Casting the silencio spell on you. I just wanted you to be quiet before you said too much. I know you want to keep your secret."

Hermione nodded. "For what it's worth, thanks. But I don't think it matters so much anymore. We're over."

Luna smirked and shook her head. "Magic has no end. Some spells you just never get over."

"This one is especially bad."

"I know. I got it too." When Hermione looked at her, Luna added, "Not with Draco, of course. He doesn't really do it for me."

Granger smiled. "I thought the same thing once. But now..."

"He really does it for you," Luna finished. "Bad."

Hermione, realizing she was so close to giving her most secret thoughts a voice, stammered, "Not that bad."

"Yeah right," Luna agreed, kneeling in front of her. "Don't worry, I'll never tell a soul. Even if you forget, I won't tell."

Forget? How could she ever forget what she and Draco had been through? The things they'd experienced, the times they'd shared. How could they be lost to memory, save an obliviate spell? Even if she wanted to forget Draco, such a spell would erase far more than that. Professor Gilderoy Lockheart was living proof of that outcome.

"I could never forget," she said, more to herself than Luna.

"I know I'm not supposed to know, but I can talk to him if you want."

Hermione shook her head sadly. "No, just leave him alone. It's obvious that's what he wants."

Lovegood shrugged. "It's your choice. But I don't care who you are, no one wants to be alone." She offered a reassuring smile. "He still wants you, you know. Look at you. How could he not? You're Hermione Granger, Gryffindor dream."

Coming from anyone else, Hermione would have thought it to be sarcastic, but from Luna it was a genuine statement. And it made Hermione feel better knowing her peers thought she was pretty. Still, what really mattered were not the thoughts of other girls, but the thoughts of her beloved, lost Draco.

Scene 43:

Draco was lost. But not in the way Hermione imagined. No, Draco Malfoy was lost in a dream. Right in the middle of the day. In the Slytherin common room, there was some activity, but not enough to keep him awake. Stuck in a funk he couldn't get out of (thanks a lot, Hermione), he'd fallen asleep in a cushioned high back chair and slipped off into the world of dreams. For Draco, this was usually a wonderful place, where he picked on those beneath him, or ruled his own island, or was a powerful, and famous, wizard of great importance. But not today. Not here. Instead his dreams were the stuff of nightmares. Death Eaters chased him through his own house, yelling "traitor!" His mother scowled, preparing to send an owl to him, carrying not delicious sweets, but curses for forsaking the family for a mudblood. And then, the worse dream terror of all: Hermione in a passionate embrace with Ron, her tongue shoved halfway down his throat, clutching his bare back with beautifully painted fingernails...

"Hey," a girl's voice interrupted. At first he thought it was Hermione within dream, but when the voice spoke again, this time a little more loudly, there was no mistaking the irritating tone of Pansy Parkinson.

His eyes fluttered open, and sure enough, her face was looking down into his. Pansy Parkinson smiled, as if to be this close to him was her every dream. "You have an owl," she breathed softly, as if what she was really saying had something to do with lust, rather than messages from home.

"No," Draco said, leading her to wonder if he meant her thoughts or the news. He got up from the chair and brushed past to her where the Malfoy family owl awaited, a tiny rolled parchment attached to its back. He didn't greet the creature, but removed the scroll and began to unroll it, noticing his father's perfectly coiled script right away.

Before reading it, he glanced around the room. Nearly every Slytherin was watching. Even his peers knew he rarely got owls from home. He scowled and retreated to his room to read the message, thankful that it wasn't a howler.

"Draco," the missive demanded, "as per our previous discussion I thought it was made clear that you would stay away from Mudbloods, in particular one of the female persuasion whose name I will not bother to put in print for the distaste it leaves in my mouth. It has come to my attention that despite your mother's request, as well as mine, you have continued to be seen in the girl's company, sometimes in an attempt to do so in secret. Nothing is secret, boy."

Draco stopped reading for a moment, suddenly aware that his father or his agents may have been spying on him, cataloguing moments that Draco believed had been hidden from prying eyes. Had his father known of the moments shared within the Malfoy mansion, as well as without? He returned to the letter, fearing it's outcome.

"I will not let a girl, let alone a mudblood, destroy our house or bring our name to ruin. And that's what will happen if we alow this to continue. She will tear this house in two. She is not a friend, girlfriend, or whatever. Remember she is not pureblood, and as such, she is on the side of the enemy.
Because you have refused to believe this and have repeatedly disobeyed direct orders, it pains me to have to punish you this forcibly, but if YOU will not remove her from your presence, then I will find someone who will."

Draco thought on this a moment, trying to figure out what this meant. His father's threat was there and Draco knew he meant what he said. But what did the threat imply? Remove her from my presence? That could mean a great number of things, none of which would be good for Hermione. Draco pulled his wand, uttered words under his breath and watched the message light afire. It burned up in his hand, its edges crumpling inward until it was just ashes in his palm. He rose to his feet, tall and resolute. No one was taking Hermione from him.

He walked back into the main room of Slytherin. Once again, all eyes were upon him. Crabbe and Goyle stood up. The pair seemed to be ready to offer support in whatever news his Owl had delivered. But they couldn't help in this, thought Draco. "Sit down," he told them. "You're embarrassing me."

He passed by Pansy Parkinson, and lay a hand on her shoulder. "Thank You," he said, and before she could ask a bewildered question, he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. She blushed, and he laughed a little under his breath. Hermione was right. It didn't mean nothing. He didn't feel a thing for Pansy, just as she didn't feel a thing for Ron. He had made a mistake, several in fact. And now he was going to fix them. Hopefully before his father found out the real truth that all the spies in the world couldn't tell him. He was helplessly in love with the enemy.

Scene 44:

The man stood in front of Umbridge's desk, silent and somehat menacing. Dolores had nothing to fear from any of Hogwart's students, but this visitor wasn't a child. He was a messenger. A death eater. And as she read the note he handed her, she didnt know whether to smile or be fearful. Finally she looked up into the man's cool eyes and said in a grim tone, "You have fifteen minutes."

The man nodded, his face almost blank, as if he were no longer there, but seeking out his prey in his mind.