The Choices We Made (DISCONTINUED)

III. Meeting Draco Malfoy

Hermione walked slowly in a dark alley between two buildings. 'You're on your own.' those words kept crawling through Hermione's mind. Like a slithering snake. Suddenly, the reality of the situation found itself in Hermione's mind. She really was on her own. She had no one to turn to. She was alone.

Hermione crashed down to the ground. With her face in her hands, she started sobbing. After a minute she heard soft footsteps of another approaching. "Granger?" a soft voice asked.

Hermione stiffened. She knew that voice. "I'm not a Granger anymore Malfoy." she said, wiping her tears and standing to face him.

Malfoy looked worse than he had in sixth year. His face was made of mostly bone and flesh. His hair was no longer styled back, instead, unkept and dirty. He still wore tailored suits, but now they looked as though they'd spent the night crumpled on the floor. The dark circles under his eyes, and on his left forearm-

Hermione gasped. "Malfoy? What happened?"

The Dark Mark on Malfoy's left arm was bleeding. It was as if someone had dug their nails into the flesh and dragged them down the Mark. It was horrifying, yet beautiful. The blood and ink matched each other, too well.

Malfoy looked down at his arm and he looked surprised for a moment, as if he hadn't known the blood had been there at all. He masked it almost immediately to the composed face Hermione had grown to know too well in the last year. Malfoy took a dark blue handkerchief out of his pocket and quickly wiped the blood away, his face tinted a shade pink, as if he'd been embarrassed to be seen like that.

"It's none of your business Granger."

Hermione scowled, "I said, I'm not a Granger anymore."

Malfoy raised an eyebrow, "Well then, I guess we're in a similar situation, Hermione. I'm not a Malfoy no more than you're a Granger."

He gave Hermione a moment to let that information sink in. Then she said, "But, how?"

Hermione expected him to glare at her and say something insulting, but he just let out a small, sad sigh, ran his fingers through his hair- messing it up even more- and said, "My father disowned me when I refused to kill Dumbledore. My mother tried to convince him not to, but he said I was a disappointment to the Malfoy line and had no right to stay in his house any longer." Malfoy winced as he said the words, but continued, "My mother gave me a small bag of money and sent me here, to Knockturn Alley."

'"It kind of looks like we just want out of this world, doesn't it?" Hermione asked.

"Maybe, but that's not my point here Grang- Hermione." he said.

"Then what is?"

Draco bit his lower lip as he asked, "What were you, Hermione doing? Crying here? In Knockturn Alley of all places? Not being a Granger?" his voice barely above a whisper.

Hermione had to dig her nails into her hand so she wouldn't start crying, "I obliviated my parents. I made it so it was like I'd never been there at all." she couldn't help it now, she leaned against the brick wall as the tears slid down her face, "I ran away Draco. I ran away from it. All of it, Voldemort, the Death-"

When Hermione spoke the word 'Voldemort', she'd heard a crack a few paces behind Malfoy. She watched as Malfoy's eyes widened in realization.

"Snatchers." he whispered, right before grabbing hold of her wrist and apparating them both out of Knockturn Alley.