To the End of the Earth and Back [[Hr/D romance]]

Chapter Sixteen

They watched as Katie rose into the air. Her arms were spread out as if she was a cross. It was the most beautifully frightening moment that anyone had been allowed to witness. Her hair blew around her, whipping her rather violently, in the wind. What made this moment so scary was the look on her face. She was in terrible pain. And then...she screamed...

The entire school was buzzing with the news of Katie Bell being cursed. Hermione had gone up to see her friend in the Hospital Wing just to be supportive. No one knew what had happened or how she had even come in contact with the neclace. Rumors flew and, like a wildfire tearing through a forrest, lit the castle up. That was all anyone could talk about. It was all anyone wanted to talk about. Harry, Hermione, and Ron kept close together for the next couple of days.

"I don't feel like it was just a coincidence," Harry said Friday night, about an hour before Hermione was supposed to go and meet with Malfoy. "Something is going on. I can feel it."

"Feel it?" Ron asked, gesturing to his forehead as if he had a scar. "Or feel it the way my mum says it when she knows that Fred or George are lying about something?"

"Like your mum," Harry replied, forcing himself to not roll his eyes. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Hermione roll hers. "I told you before, my scar hasn't been hurting me as much since last year."

Hermione bit her lip. "I haven't really found anything in the books that I had Professor Slughorn sign for me," she said. "I've tried looking every different way but there is nothing. The Dark Arts is such a tricky magic to work with." She let out a sigh. Both boys knew that she was just as frustrated as they were. Ron had to keep Fred and George from coming back to school to do their own hunting. Harry was frustrated because he had a feeling that the necklace was really meant for either himself or Dumbledore. He just had a feeling.

The three sat in silence until Harry cleared his throat. "I hate to ask this of you but you're the only one out of any of us to even see him and be able to remain civilized with him..."

"You think Dr...Malfoy had something to do with it?" Hermione asked, trying to keep her voice as civilized as possible. She couldn't say that the thought hadn't crossed her mind but she had her own feeling that he wasn't involved. What happened to Katie was even too dark for him, wasn't it?

"I'm not saying that," Harry responded, trying to difuse the bomb that Hermione was quickly becoming. "I'm just saying that he may know someone who is trying to hurt someone in the castle. We have to have all of our bases covered!"

Ron looked back and forth between his friends, not catching onto what Harry was insinuating between Hermione and Draco. Ron, at this point, was in the process of finding ways to make Hermione jealous, he just hadn't quite figured dout how to yet.

Hermione let out an angry sigh. "Fine, Harry, I will see if he knows anything. This is the perfect opportunity. 'How's your school work going? Did you check down that hallway? Do you know anything about what happened to Katie bell? Do you think something moved over there?' Yes, I see how you would think that when I am alone with Draco Malfoy that that would be the perfect time to talk to him about Katie being cursed!" Without another word, she left the Common Room.

"Maybe we should follow her in the invis..."

"Not this time," Harry said, looking towards the Portrait Hall that one of his best friends had just stomped out of.

Draco was furious! His anger was the worst it had ever been. There was no one to talk to about it either. He had done it perfectly. Madam Rosmerta was cursed. She then cursed Katie Bell. Katie Bell was then on her way to giving that necklace to Dumbledore. SO WHAT HAPPENED TO MAKE IT ALL GO WRONG?! He paced back and forth around the Room of Requirements as he waited for Hermione to arrive. Would she know that it was him that had cursed Madam Rosmerta to curse Katie? It was an intricate plan. He thought that it would work out. Maybe he should have talked to Snape about it.

Hermione walked paced back and forth in front of the door, thinking 'Bring me to Draco. Bring me to Draco. Bring me to Draco'. The door revealed itself and in she walked. She absent-mindedly played with her hair as she dropped her bag on the floor next to the pacing Draco.

"Lets just clear the air," she said, Draco stopped in his tracks and looked at her. "Do you know anything about what happened to Katie?"

"No?" he asked, hoping that she couldn't hear the lie underneath.

"Okay," she replied, sitting next to the vanishing cabinet and pulling a book out of her bag.

"How did you get that?" he asked as he sat down next to her. "That's from the Restricted Section. I tried to take some of them out but I couldn't get anyone to sign for them." Hermione shrugged her shoulders and paged through the books. She had a feeling that Draco was lying to her. She could 'feel it' as Harry had said earlier. Something wasn't right about the way he had just stopped his pacing. She bit her lip and kept paging through the book. "Are you okay?" he asked as he inched himself closer to her. "I can see you closing yourself off again. Please don't. I like having this you near me again."

Hermione looked over at Draco. Her eyes connected to his and she just stared. She had a feeling that she shouldn't be trusting him. She even began to have a strange feeling that she shouldn't be helping him fix this cabinet but she couldn't erase the fact that he had opened her eyes to different parts of the castle just because he knew that she would like it. He had even stood up for her when the term had first started. He wasn't the monster that they all thought he was. He was more than that. He was a person. He had a heart, a mind. He had feelings. He had seen some things that he would never be able to unsee. He was just like them. The difference was that his family was everything that they were against.

"I'm sorry," she finally said before leaning into him. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin in her hair. "It's just been such a long week and Harry and Ron have been spending the past couple of days putting thoughts in my head. I am so sorry." She felt like she was going to cry.

Draco moved his hand under her chin and forced her to look up at him. "It's okay," he said sincerely. "They don't like me. They can't look past the things that I have done and said. But it's okay. I know you can." He leaned forward and their lips connected. It was just supposed to be a soft kiss, one that showed her that he did care about her, but it slowly morphed into a kiss filled with fire and passion. It was every word that they had been unable to say. It was every glance that everyone overlooked. It was every letter and message that they had sent back and forth. It was every emotion that they had ever feared and felt.

When they finally pulled apart, they saw  how they became during that kiss. Hermione untangled her hands from his hair. Draco moved his one hand from the back of her neck to rest with the other one on her waist. She was sitting in his lap. They just stared at each other, holding onto one another as if any moment they would be torn apart.

"What are we doing?" Hermione whispered, afraid of the volume of her voice.

"Whatever we want," Draco responded before kissing her just as deep as they had before again.

[[A/N: I hope that you are enjoying the tale as Hermione and Draco finally seem to connect with more than just the little pecks. Now is when they are beginning to define who they are! Also, I hope you like the way that I am still trying to keep it in line with the book. Please comment and vote so I know that you are all enjoying it! I love you all!]]