Labyrinth ^ A Dramione fanfiction^

15. EPIPHANY

A moment of sudden revelation.

Hermione was gathering all the ingredients for their supper.

'Wait, you are going to make lunch?'Draco asked  his eyebrows arched.

'Of course' Hermione replied with shrug.

'But you don't have you're wand' 

'So?' Hermione chuckled.

'Ah, you know how to cook like mud-' thankfully Draco realized his mistake in time and stopped talking but Hermione paused and looked up at him waiting for him to finish the word but he surprised her by finishing his sentence, '-Muggles'

Draco averted his gaze from her to avoid more awkwardness. Hermione didn't reply and turned around to switch on the stove.

'Damn it' Draco cursed under his breath. They didn't speak the whole time until their lunch was ready. Draco thought about offering his help, but he didn't even know how to boil the water or chop vegetables. So he decided to let the pro do her work, glancing at her every now and then. He had never seen his meal getting prepared without magic, hell he never watched any of his meal getting prepared by any means. He was somewhat fascinated by it. He wanted to go and see from up close how everything was done but it felt like stupid idea to him so he sat quietly. When he figured that food was ready he got up and found some plates to dine on the table. Hermione was absolutely surprised by this. Well little did she know that, though he used to be a brat but he was a gentleman. His mom had taught him well,he just never showed to anyone.

They sat quietly eating their lunch. Draco was amazed by the taste. The food was absolutely delicious. He didn't know how hungry he was until they began eating. He wanted to complement her food but he wondered what to say.
'It's good' he finally blurted out. Hermione was not expecting him to say anything. In fact she was waiting for him to criticise the food and tell her how it's better when made with magic.
'Thanks' she replied with small smile and went back to eating. Both didn't say anything just kept glancing at each other hoping that the other person won't catch them doing so. Hermione had to admit that she was failing to anticipate his every move. Who was this person? He sure does look like Malfoy but he's different. What happened to him? She knew he was struggling last year. It was all over his face. This new person surprised her every moment and she wanted to know what happened to him. 

After the meal was over, Hermione stretched her hand to grab his plate when he noticed that her sleeve was stained with blood. 

'What's that?' he asked and Hermione immediately turned to avoid his question.

'It's nothing'

But he grabbed her other hand and stopped her. 

'You're bleeding. Why didn't you tell me?'

'It's just small cut, that's all. Please let go of my hand' she tried to reason with him.

He pulled her closer and her heart skipped a beat. Why was she so intimidated by him. May be because he was still her enemy? But that didn't explain the stirring feeling in the pit of her stomach by his simple touch or his closeness. She tried to release herself but his hold was too strong. He took her hand and pulled up the sleeve. He saw white cloth wrapped around her forehand which was covered in fresh blood. He removed the bandage and his breath caught in his throat after what he saw. She was bleeding from the gashes  which were forming letters he now dreaded the most.

MUDBLOOD

His jaw clenched when he read that word which obviously Bellatrix had carved on her hand. He didn't even dare to meet Hermione's eye. He was ashamed of what his aunt did to her. He took out his wand and tried different charms, it stopped the bleeding but the words were still very much visible in crimson color. It was cursed on her skin which meant it may never fade away. It was Bellatrix's revenge and it was very nasty. He released her hand and turned around to grab the dishes without saying or looking at her. He cast cleaning spell which he used to do in potions class to clean the cauldron. 

Draco disappeared after he let the spell do the cleaning. He was in one of the bedrooms upstairs staring at the photograph he had found of his father and Pandora. He searched silently for more stuff when he found the family album. A parchment fell from the album when he opened it. 

Dear Lucius,

Hope you receive this letter in good health. I was going to write to you sooner but after everything we've been through, I must admit it was not easy to muster the courage. I am very much happy to let you know that Philus and I have been blessed with a daughter. It's been four months now. I know we are not allowed to communicate with any of the Malfoys anymore but I really wanted to give you this good news.
Give my very best to Narcissa and loads of love to Draco and very best wishes for his birthday. I hope Draco likes his dragon toy. Luna has picked it by herself for her big brother,though she didn't understand what or for whom she was picking it for.
I hope father allows us to at least visit. Not for the sake of us but for our children at least. They are after all family. I don't want them to grow without knowing what they mean to each other. I hope you changeyour mind about what has happened. I miss you very much brother. It's very lonely out here sometimes.
Anyway, give my love to mother and father, and take care of everyone and of yourself.

Love
Dora.

Draco folded back the letter and sat back in his chair. He remembered that he had one stuffed dragon toy which he had gotten on his birthday. He had loved it so much, he kept it for many years. It was until one day when Lucius decided that it was time for Draco to be a grown up kid and burned all his toys. He was just 5 years old.
He figured that his aunt had only sent the gift not the letter. It was clear from the context that Pandora was disowned by Malfoys just like him and she missed her family terribly. He felt sad at the thought that his father and all his family never mentioned his aunt and that she had family and Luna. Oh my god, Luna. Luna was, no, is his cousin. Now that he thought about it, though he had never noticed her closely, he and she did share some features. Malfoy features Ofcourse. Blonde hair, silver-blue eyes, pale skin.
This was all too much for him. He leaned on the back of the bed and closed his eyes, trying to gather his mind.

Hermione was very much glad to be not in same room with Draco. although she did find this new version of Draco tolerable but it still made her awkward. She was not able to digest his changed behavior. It made her uncomfortable and she still hesitated to trust him. She was sitting on the sofa, reading Pandora's journal. Hermione was getting fascinated by her work. She was so imaginative and brilliant. She kept on reading.

When Draco came down to grab water from kitchen he noticed that Hermione had fallen asleep on sofa. Her left arm was dangling from the edge when he saw it again, the word Mudblood carved into her skin. It made his temper boil once again. He felt disgusted by his aunt. He hated what she did to Hermione. He hated her with every bone in his body. She had not only carved on Hermione's body but also on to her soul. That scar would always remind her that she was never accepted. 

Draco hated Hermione in his school days. He wanted revenge but that boy died long ago. He was a man now. This man was on his journey to find himself. Redeem himself. He was making his choices and he had decided to keep Hermione safe but in the process he failed to keep her from getting herself damaged. He managed to save her life but few ours with Bellatrix had scared her for life. He wondered if Hermione would ever be able to see him and not think of Bellatrix, his aunt. The thought was haunting him and probably forever would.

Hope you enjoyed. 😊
Happy reading