Anyone But Me

Chapter Eighteen

Harry slipped out of the room and into the sliver of light before closing the door behind him. He checked to make sure no one was watching, missing Hermione completely in his haste, and pulled out the Invisibility Cloak. His whole body disappeared as he threw it over his shoulders, hurrying down the way that Snape and Draco had gone. Harry's sudden involvement made the choice for her. She couldn't follow to eavesdrop without getting caught.

She stayed where she was, hoping that eventually Harry or Draco would make their way back and she could get some answers. Granted if it was Harry it would only be half the story, but at least she would be able to glean if Draco seemed okay or not... Reaching up she wiped away the speckles of blood that had collected on the inside of her bottom lip from her incessant nibbling.

What had caused Draco to be lurking in the hallways around the party? Was he just at the wrong place at the wrong time? Or had he planned on crashing it? Why had Snape looked so tense if it was a simple curfew violation? Would he bring him before Dumbledore for something so mundane? Was Harry able to track them down? Would the boy get caught and end up in trouble as well? Why was Draco out past curfew for the third night in a row? Did he ever sleep?

Her mind churned with her questions, unsure of what to do next. If no one came back she would have to head to her dorm. Maybe she could wait for Harry in the common room... He would eventually have to make his way up there. It would probably be the smartest choice, but if she did she might miss her last chance to see Draco before the long Christmas break... The thought chilled her more than she would like to admit considering she had already resigned herself to not seeing him until January.

While their times together had been awkward and tension filled, there had also been a feeling of... Camaraderie? No, that wasn't the right word... Connection... Maybe? Their fragile string of trust had built a connection between the two of them. One that promised if they could continue to push through the uncomfortable sludge of their past, it would become easy. As easy as breathing. Hell, after three meetings it already felt like she was willing to chance everything for just a few more stolen moments with the boy.

It might have been the fact that he was just as flawed as she was. Or perhaps it boiled down to her never being able to keep him. He was a Death Eater's son after all... And she was a dirty mudblood... She wasn't the type of girl he could take home to meet the parents. To top it off, her best friend being the boy who kept throwing a wrench in their sordid plans, solidified her status as scum beneath their Pureblooded shoes.

Her rank was right up next to Harry on the "Kill on Sight'' list, she even sported the freaking scar to prove it. If it hadn't been a non-verbal curse she wouldn't exist on this plane anymore. The fact that she had thought to compare them to a twisted Romeo and Juliet was laughable... What were two families squabbling compared to the planned extinction of a whole class of wizards and witches?

She sighed as she leaned her forehead against the cool stone in front of her, concentrating on the sounds going on around her instead of relying on her sight to sense an approach.

Even with innumerable odds stacked against them she couldn't help feeling that it was worth it. They had found an acceptance of who they truly were in the presence of the last person either of them would have expected. That was the word that she had been searching for... Acceptance.

They accepted the best and worst of each other. Draco didn't find fault in the things that most people perceived as annoying about her. He allowed her the time she needed to disentangle her thoughts when they got twisted. Unlike Harry and Ron. He found the way that she could get worked up about a passage in a book funny instead of exasperating. Unlike Ginny. He liked the way she challenged him. Unlike... Well, just about anyone.