Everything Changes (A Dramione fanfic)

Chapter Thirteen

"Open the trunk." Hermione said, rising her wand. Draco did so, and inside was a bottle of champagne, an unopened box wrapped with a green bow, and a book. Hermione, in a moment of brief stupidity, reached her hand out in curiosity, eager to see what information the book held. "No!" exclaimed Draco, catching her wrist, and holding it tightly. It took a moment before Hermione was able to snap out of her daze, she blinked repeatedly at the book then turned to Draco, who still had a firm grip on her wrist. "You can't touch them, they could kill you." he said, eyes wide. She shook her head, "I know, I...I w-was being stupid." she said. "They have a weird affect on some people. Apparently that particular object takes place of whatever might interest their victim most, kind of like a boggart turns into your greatest fear or like Amortentia potion in what attracts you most, it kind of puts you in a trance." he explained. "What do you see?" she asked not being able to hold her curiosity, and almost regret it when she saw the light leave his eyes for a moment. He raised his arm, the one she knew had his Dark Mark, and said simply, "It doesn't work on, certain people." She immediately understood. "Right." she said, with a quick nod as he put his arm down. She suddenly realized Draco was still holding her wrist, and looked down at it, then back up to Draco. He had been standing quite close. She moved her arm away, and Draco loosened his grip, slowly, and quickly backed away. "Just don't get yourself killed." he said with a smirk. Hermione huffed, "I know what I am doing."

...

Draco watched as Hermione pointed her wand carefully to the objects and whispered foreign spells. Her gaze was careful, and he knew all her focus was on the spell, it was what made her an excellent witch. It gave Draco the opportunity to study her up close without her realizing he was doing it. However, it didn't seem Draco was realizing it himself, until she said, "Stop staring at me." Her words were so sudden they almost made Draco jump. She hadn't even moved her eyes from the trunk. "I wasn't staring at you." he replied, although he knew he had been. "I could feel your eyes on me." she said. "Don't flatter yourself, I had my eyes on that curtain over there." Draco lied. "Must be a pretty interesting curtain." Hermione said. "It is." he replied, standing up to take a closer look at whatever Hermione was doing. "I know what I'm doing Draco, you don't need to hover." she snapped. Draco rolled his eyes and then felt instantly bad that he had to swallow his usual insults, as they popped into the back of his mind. "Well I'm sorry that I'm doing my best to make sure you don't get killed." he replied. "Only because you know Harry and Ron would kill you otherwise." she said.

...

Hermione decided to throw in a remark like this when she felt she was becoming to comfortable with Draco. He sighed in response, and looked at Hermione with tired eyes. "I don't hate you, you know that, right?" he asked. Hermione nodded, but looked away. "I wish I could take it all back." he added. "Well, you can't," she said, turning to him. "And to be honest, I'm not one hundred percent ready to trust you yet. I think that is understandable. So if you'd just keep your distance for now, I would really appreciate it."

...

Those words were like another punch in the face. It seemed only Hermione had that power. "I understand." he whispered, and returned to his spot away from Hermione. He supposed he had been acting very different then from what Hermione and her friends were used to. How could he expect for them to just get used to it right away? How could he expect them to just believe that he had changed from one day to the next? There was no way of them knowing that he had spent months realizing his shame, especially after the stunt he pulled in potions class. He knew that asking for their trust was asking to much, but he had to put personal issues aside for once. So much was at risk here, he needed to focus. "Do you think the spell worked?" he asked, when she set her wand down. She levitated it, and brought it to float between them. "Well, it seems to have worked." she replied, but he could tell she wasn't sure. "Could I give it a try?" asked Draco reaching for his wand. Hermione looked at him in disbelief. "I mean, I know a few spells that could reveal if there's any curses left...I'm sure you already know them all and could do them on your own perfectly well." he said. "I'm sure I can." she agreed. "But I'd like to do something. Maybe take the job off your hands for a moment." he replied. "Fine." she muttered.

...

Hermione would never have guessed that Draco was actually fantastic at spells. She even heard him mutter a few spells that even she had trouble with. "It seems your spell did work." he said softly, his shoulders drooping and the tension leaving his body. She hadn't realized how worried he had been about these objects and their purpose. She had tried to act calm, but she could feel herself losing all the tension in her body too. Hermione had been extremely worried as well. Her eyes met his, and for one moment they had a mutual understanding.

Hello! Hope you enjoyed chapter thirteen, I can't believe there is over 750 reads!!! That is amazing. Leave a comment letting me know if you like where the story is going so far. Thanks!