Anyone But Me

Chapter Fourteen

Hermione stood in the tiny outdoor garden that was covered in snow. Even the scraggly branches of the rose bushes barely peeked out from under the blanket of white. It was surprisingly calm for being situated right in the middle of the castle. There were no sounds of the normal habitation that she had grown accustomed to. No Prefects' or Professors' shoes hitting the stone as they went about their rounds. No scurrying of feet from the different animal companions allowed within the school. No clank of old pipes working. No portraits muttering under their breaths.

It was so peaceful...

She broke out in a smile as the first few snowflakes of the coming storm fell around her. She was wrapped up tightly in her winter coat, a belted trench that was a deep dark brown. A hat she had knitted sat on her head and mittens covered her chilled hands, both in the Gryffindor colors of maroon and gold. She had known to come prepared for the weather as soon as she had figured out which spot Malfoy wanted to meet at. The Gray Lady came here to cry when she was feeling mournful about her death, which was still a mystery to all of the students. Very few knew that she was the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw. She was not the most vocal of Hogwarts' ghosts, preferring to wander the castle and disappear if anyone started showing too much interest in her.

The young witch started humming "Jingle Bells" under breath as she waited. She loved the Holidays and this year she was making a point to spend it with her parents. If Voldermort and his minions got their way it might be the last she would ever have with them. And she was not going to waste it. Harry and Ron would be spending it with the Weasleys at the Burrow. An offer had been extended to her also, but she could not accept knowing the circumstances of this particular season.

All she wanted was a simple Christmas at home. She had started to make plans for the coming summer to make sure that her parents were safe from the Death Eaters' grasps, but there was a high probability she could lose them forever if anything went wrong. It was a sacrifice she had to be willing to make, of course. Their lives were more important than her sentimentality. If the other side won, she would have no way to protect them. It was only fair for her to do what she had to do and give them a fighting chance. Her choices were the direct cause of them being in such danger in the first place. Hermione shook her head, trying to clear it of the melancholy thoughts that had taken hold.

Reaching up she rubbed her covered hands against her arms, trying to warm herself as she waited. He should be showing up any moment. It had to be close to eleven by now...

She blinked when a snowflake landed on her eyelash and melted. Her mind ran over the contents of the note again. Maybe all of this was a trap? For all she knew a group of Malfoy and his friends were converging in as she stood there like an imbecile. Ready to hex her into oblivion.

Not all of the Slytherins were milk snakes after all.

Her brain conjured up the images that had recurrently haunted her nightmares when she was younger. The ones from before she had experienced real battle... The whole lot of Slytherins from her year were gathered around her, their wands raised while she stood in the middle of the group nearly defenseless. Her own wand was held uselessly at her side. It was of little help against that many assailants... She felt her heartbeat pick up at the imaginary threat. Anxiety started to flow through her veins, causing her to need to take some slow deep breaths to get her thoughts back under control. She could not let an anxiety attack ruin her night. Not when she had plans to get answers.

Why had Malfoy invited her here? What had he done to her that caused thoughts of him to consume every free moment she had? Why had his little story talked about understanding and forgiveness? Two things she was not willing to give when it came to the cocky prat! Even if there was some obscure stranger hidden underneath his icy exterior, how did that suddenly negate the years of his routine harassment of her?

While she had stood there in the library after reading the note she was struck with an intense need to crumple the note and throw it in the trash, instead she had neatly folded it and slipped it into her pocket. After cleaning up after herself, she had gone back to her dorm room with every intention of ignoring the summons. But as the hours ticked by her resolve had fallen flat...

She wanted to see the damned boy again. The note had solidified that she wasn't insane, everything from that night had happened. A question that she had wondered to herself too many times in the preceding days. She wanted so badly to believe that the Draco he had shown to her was real... And how could she believe it was without the context she desperately needed.

So she had gotten herself dressed in a pair of comfortable jeans and a loose knit red jumper. She left her hair wild, knowing that the hat was a necessity. If he wanted to see her he would have to accept the real her. Not the fake seductress caricature that Ginny had managed to make her into.

Hermione worried her bottom lip. He should have been there by now. What was taking so long? Maybe he would not show after all. That could always be the game he was playing with her... Send what amounted to a love note and let her freeze while waiting for his pompous ass that would never show.

She shook her head again and sighed at her foolishness. The snow had picked up more making the open garden transform into an enchanted winter wonderland. How muggles could doubt the existence of magic when it was all around them baffled her. This was magic. The conception of a new life was magic. The unyielding love your parents gave you was magic. Its very existence in your life (and subsequent mastery of) all depended on if you were born with the gene to be able to wield it.

She stepped back under one of the four archways that served as entrances and watched the fresh snow wipe any evidence of intrusion from the garden. Minutes before there had been multiple tracks from students using the center point as a shortcut. Since each archway and subsequent corridor led to a different hidden alcove somewhere near each House's common rooms, you could cut a good ten minutes from any walk.

Oddly none of the windows in the whole castle gave a view of the garden, helping to keep it one of the better kept secrets of Hogwarts. Hermione wasn't sure why the founders had gone to such lengths to make a beautiful space that each House had such easy access to if they didn't want people to be able to see it. But the anonymity made perfect sense for why Draco had chosen the spot. No one would stumble across their meeting.

When he didn't show up, it would prove the amount of thought he had put into the set up. Oh yes, it was an incredibly smart move to draw her in by using the imaginative short story that was hand delivered by the pet name he had called her that night. He was more than smart... He had a devious cleverness in him that was terrifying. He was truly diabolical.

Standing absolutely still she watched as the snow fell for a few more minutes before resigning herself to the fact that she had indeed gotten played. Hermione Granger was yet again the butt of another joke. She bet that he and his little cronies were having a right time laughing about it at that exact moment. Granger the stupid Gryffindor, dumb enough to think anything had changed.

Of course it hadn't. She was just a mudblood after all.

She blinked back the tears that threatened to fall from her lids. She wouldn't cry for the wanker. It was probably what he was counting on and she would not give him the satisfaction. At least not in a public place. Sighing, she went to turn around to leave. There was no use in standing around in the cold for no reason... And slammed right into another body. When she tried to take a step back to apologize, her heel made purchase with a chunk of ice. She felt herself starting to slide but a strong hand reached out and grabbed her elbow stopping the fall before it really began.

As luck would have it, she looked up into the steely eyes of her savior at the same moment he chuckled and asked. "Where are you going Granger?"

Well shit, he had decided to come...