Love is a Dagger to Destroy: A Dramione Story

Chapter Seven

I woke up early two weeks before Christmas and was too nervous to fall asleep. Today I was meeting up with Ginny and Harry, and I was afraid of how it would go. 

Draco was still asleep when I crawled out of bed and grabbed my clothes to dress. After a quick shower, I dressed in pants, a navy blue sweater and snow boots along with a hat, scarf and gloves. By the time I returned to my room, Draco had left.

***

"Hermione, are you feeling okay?" Ginny and Harry were both staring at me. We were in the Three Broomsticks, drinking Butterbeer and catching up. 

"Yeah I'm fine," I lied, even though my insides were all knotted. Today was the day. I needed to break up with Ron. "Anyone know where Ron is?" I asked as casually as I could.

Harry looked surprised and Ginny's eyes narrowed. "Why?" Ginny asked suspiciously.

"I need to talk to him." Harry bit his lip, looking concerned. 

"Hermione don't do anything you'll regret," Harry warned.

"I won't," I promised.

Harry sighed. "He's at Honeydukes. We're supposed to meet up after this. You can come too, if you'd like."

I agreed and we finished our drinks in silence. As we prepared to leave, Draco and Blaise came into the bar. They glanced around and when they saw me, they waved me over. "I'll be right back," I told the other two. Before they could answer, I pushed back my chair and headed towards my two new friends.

They were waiting outside, in the snow. "Draco what are you doing here? You said you weren't coming to Hogsmeade today."

"Change of plans," Draco said sneeringly. Blaise raised his wand, pointing it directly at my chest.

"What are you-"

"Stupefy," Blaise said calmly. I didn't have time to draw my wand. The spell hit me and everything went black.

Harry's POV

Hermione never returned, so Ginny and I assumed that she'd changed her mind. We met up with Ron and then went back to Hogwarts.

It wasn't until dinner that we knew something was wrong. Malfoy came into the Great Hall, worry written all over his face. He scanned the Gryffindor table, his eyes frantic. Apparently he couldn't find what he was looking for so he ran out of the hall.

I was intrigued so I started to follow him. I caught up with him on the marble staircase. "What's up Malfoy?"

"Leave me alone Potter," he snapped. I could see how scared he was, how worried.

"Malfoy, what's wrong?" His eyes locked onto mine. 

"I can't find Hermione anywhere. We were supposed to meet up after her hangout with you guys, but she never showed. I've looked everywhere."

"She left the Three Broomsticks at around one," I told him.

"I waited in our dorm until three. She should be here."

Later, I would remember how scared Malfoy seemed for Hermione, but at that moment I was too worried about my friend to think about that.

"Any idea where she could be?" I asked.

"Do you think I would be here if I did?" Malfoy reached the landing and continued going up. He didn't stop until he reached the Prefects dorm. He strode right through and after a moment of hesitation I followed. 

The Heads' dorm was very neat. I took it all in while Malfoy went into the room marked Hermione. I followed him in. Hermione's room was neat and orderly. Malfoy didn't waste any time: he headed straight for the window and opened it, craning his neck up towards the roof. 

"Hermione!" He called.

"Why would she be up there?"

"I found her up there once. It's her place to go when she's sad or angry."

It hit me just then. I couldn't believe I hadn't seen it before. It was so obvious. "You're in love with Hermione." He glared at me, but didn't argue. 

"Get out Potter," Malfoy growled. I rolled my eyes and stalked out of Hermione's room just as Malfoy left his. 

This part gets really confusing. Two Malfoys stood in the common room. One of them had just left Malfoy's room.

We all stared at each other, then, in total sync, we all drew our wands. "Fell for more tricks, huh Potter," the one that came from Malfoy's room said. 

I turned my wand on the Malfoy I'd been with. "Are you serious, Potter? If I was a fake, why would I be so worried about Hermione?"

I was so confused at this time. I backed up towards the door. Finally, I pointed my wand at the second Malfoy. The one I'd been with had been so in love with Hermione. It's kinda hard to fake that. 

I chose right. "I guess you're not as stupid as you thought." Before we could react, ropes bound both me and real Malfoy. We fell to our knees, while the fake Malfoy laughed. 

"Where's Hermione?" Malfoy choked out. His bonds were a lot tighter than mine. 

"You mean that filthy Mudblood? She's right where she belongs. It's about time someone purged this world of Muggle filth." He crouched right in front of me, now ignoring Malfoy. "And by the way, Potter, this isn't all Malfoy's fault. Sure they fell in love, but you put the target on her back in the first place. So, really, you're the guilty one." With that, he kicked our wands across the room and left. 

Hermiones' POV

I woke up with a throbbing headache. With a groan, I pulled myself into a sitting position. It was then that I noticed I was in a cage. A metal clamp that could only be opened with a key held tightly to my wrist, like a very ugly bracelet. A chain connected the clamp and cage. 

As my eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, I noticed small details. Water puddles littered the ground and everything was made of stone. I'd never been here before, but Ron and Harry had told me what it looked like in great detail. This was the cellar in Malfoy Manor. 

Footsteps echoed through the room. I stood up as much as the cage would let me and prepared for whoever was coming.

But no amount of preparation could have prepared me for this. I stared at the face that haunted my dreams, the face that should not even exist anymore.

"Hello, again, Miss Mudblood," said the sweet, soft voice of Bellatrix Lestrange.