Stylistic Harmony

Chapter Eleven
Ron ended up being in the hospital wing for the next two days, his nose was broken, and he had a couple of cracked ribs. She had been to see him, not really reacting at the sight of her beaten boyfriend, or joining him and Harry in the tirade against Malfoy. They didn't seem to worry about this too much, the upcoming Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw being foremost in their minds. She just sat and listened quietly, too tired to really involve herself in pointless chatter. What with her Head Girl duties, studying, and helping Harry research, nighttime was really the only time she got to spend with Draco and Blaise without interference. Treating Draco with hateful indifference in public was also becoming hard for her, it was easier with Blaise because he was her colleague, but with Draco she couldn't show any sign of anything other then burning distaste. Frustrating as it was, she knew that she had to grin and bear it; Draco and Blaise were adamant that no one could know, and she agreed. If they were found out, the consequences were unimaginable. just thinking about it made her head hurt. Lying in Draco's arms one night that week, she had talked with him about their future. She confessed her fears that when the war came, he would leave her. She hadn't forgotten the dreams, they were forefront in her mind, especially now, now she had found him, she didn't want to lose him. He had reassured her the best he could, as had Blaise when he joined them. But she couldn't get the image of them, stood on that blood drenched battlefield, saying goodbye, telling her they'd always be watching. She wept in their arms.

*****She couldn't breathe, couldn't think. Standing in the ruins of the castle, she waited. Waited for the world to stop spinning, so she could stand still long enough to catch her breath. He had promised that he would watch her, wait for her but she could no longer feel him. He had abandoned her to a life she did not want. Her cries echoed through the dark, cutting like a knife through his heart. He could no longer stand it, he had to reach out and touch her. She stood like a tragic heroine, the only pure thing on a cursed landscape. He belonged in this world, and however much he tried to convince himself she did, he couldn't. She was to good. To good to be tainted by him. One tear rolled down his cheek. He left her to her despair. He could not save her, not this time.*****

They woke to find her gone. The common room stood empty, so did her room. They checked the bathroom. She was nowhere to be found. Draco was deeply troubled, he had dreamt of her again, and he had felt that she had shared that dream. He did not relay this trouble to Blaise. They had enough to worry about. Along with Hermione being awol, they had both received a summons from Lucius. They were to go to the Riddle house at Midnight that evening; plans had been made and the Dark Lord wished to announce the beginning of the first wave. This was it, the war had begun. Draco needed to find her. He stormed out of the Head's Rooms to the Great Hall, looking around, he couldn't see her anywhere. Her friends were sat chatting happily, he was about to go and yell at them, when he felt his collar being yanked back. Blaise pulled him roughly into the Entrance Hall,
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Draco threw Blaise at the wall, his fingers wrapped around the Italians throat,
"I've warned you before Zabini, don't make me angry." His grey eyes were cold, black. All he could think about was finding her, and he would destroy anyone in the way, and right now that meant throttling Blaise where he stood. Blaise was gasping for air, his face slowly turning blue, then out the corner of his eye, he saw Theo Nott raise his wand. Draco sensed Nott behind him and ducked to the ground. The stunning charm hit the wall, dangerously close to Blaise's head. Led out by the noise of the spells impact, Harry, Ron and Ginny stood watching the altercation between the three Slytherins. Ginny's heart was pounding, Blaise was collapsed on the floor, striving for oxygen, an ugly purple bruise ringing his neck. Draco was still crouched, he looked like a cat, ready to pounce. No-one in the hall that day had ever seen Draco Malfoy move so fast, he leapt for Theodore Nott, and laid into him, reducing him to bloody pulp in mere seconds. As satisfying as it was to watch for him, Harry couldn't help but feel sorry for the other Slytherin, frankly he hadn't ever seen Malfoy so dangerous. It was becoming painful to watch, luckily Crabbe and Goyle appeared out of no where and dragged Draco off. He shrugged them off, then growled menacingly at Nott,
"You ever interfere with my fucking business again, what I do to you will make this seem like a pinprick. Got that?" Nott was coughing up blood, but he managed to lift his head and nod, then to Crabbe and Goyle he said, "Get him to the fucking hospital wing before he bleeds to death." Turning his back on them all, he offered his hand to Blaise and pulled him up. Blaise knew that he had right royally pissed his friend off, and for that he had been served a very severe warning. Draco strode out of the front doors, into the harsh morning sunlight. He made his way to the shores of the Black Lake, staring across it, he lit up a cigarette and took a long drag. His hand was coated in blood, his knuckles red raw. The morning air was chill, but he didn't feel it, it had been a long time since he had felt the cold. The only time he had felt warmth was with her, that was when he realized. He wasn't alone.

The dawn sun streamed through the windows, Hermione had been awake for hours. The harsh reality of her dream infecting her sleep. She extracted herself from Draco's grasp, and slowly rose out of the bed. Looking back down on his sleeping form, she memorized every piece of him, wanting the image of him to sleeping to stay with her forever. She tore her eyes away, and walked to her room. She dressed in her uniform, picked up her wand, then exited the common room. The homely, comforting atmosphere of Hogwarts was dead at this time of the morning. The long, winding passages held no solace. She wandered, alone all the way to the front doors of the castle. Opening the doors, she breathed in the crisp, dawn air. It was cold, she wished she had worn her winter cloak. Hermione made her way to the tree by the lake, remembering the day she saw the change in Draco Malfoy, how lonely he had looked, what he must have been facing. She pitied him then, now she had no idea how she felt about him. Neither had spoken of love, granted she had only been sleeping with him for a grand total of six days. Not even a week, yet she was certain that what they had went beyond sex. She felt it every time he kissed her, with every word he whispered in her ear, with every touch. Sinking to the ground against the tree, she peered into the distance; watching as the autumn sun crept over the lake, through the trees, creating a false sense of beauty. Her dreams troubled her, she knew now that they were sketchy portents of their future; a future that was bleak, happiness eluding them at every step. She stayed there, unaware of her lovers anger, his concern for her. Unaware that somewhere the Dark Lord was plotting the first wave of attack against the forces of Light. She stayed there until he came for her. Smoke curling around his head, his platinum blond hair gleaming, his eyes darkened with untold anger and worry. He looked down at her, a cracked smile gracing his lips.

They sat against the tree, her leaning into his embrace, caressing his swollen hands, cleaning the blood off with her robe. He kissed the top of her head, she didn't ask for an explanation, she knew that he had been angry. His eyes told her that; and he had been worried for her, especially after the dream. She turned to face him, stroking the side of his face,
"I'm sorry," she whispered. His eyes flashed with anger again,
"Don't apologise." he snapped. Tears glistened in her brown eyes, his expression softened, revealing his fear, and his great concern for her, "Oh God, I'm sorry, Angel. I shouldn't shout at you. I was just, just, so worried when you weren't in my arms this morning. I thought the worst, I tried to find you, but I couldn't. I was about to ask your friends but Blaise pulled me back. I was so angry, I........" She embraced him, the hurt and pain in his voice was heart breaking, at that moment she forgot the world and everything in it. At that moment there was only him.
"Its okay Draco. Did you..hurt him?" Draco couldn't look at her, how would she trust him now? He nodded, she looked down at his hand, worry for Blaise now filling her, "What happened?"
"I was so blind with anger, worry. Blaise, he got in my way. All I could think about was finding you. Then Theo Nott got involved, he almost blew my head off. I snapped. He...I....he's in the hospital wing." She shook with concern for him,
"Is Blaise okay?" He nodded. She really had no idea what to say to him. On the one hand, concern for Blaise and actual fear were clouding her mind; on the other, her connection to Draco was overwhelming her to the point that she didn't care what he had done. All she cared about was that he was here with her, at this moment. Not that she didn't care for Blaise, she did, but there was something more to her relationship with Draco, they were fated to one another and no one was getting in the way of that. She shuddered, a chill scraping its way down her spine, he tightened his grip on her. The dream that they had shared had put their whole existence into perspective; Draco had thought that it would be simple, she would switch her allegiance because of him and they would be together forever. She had thought that she could stay loyal to the Light side and be with Draco, but that was becoming a fabrication. In reality he knew that he had to leave her to save her, and she knew that they would forever be on different sides, and that fact would forever strive to separate them. But she swore then and there that she would do everything in her power to fight it, she was not about to just let him give up. She forced him to look her the eyes, "It doesn't matter. I don't care what you did, what you are. I know that what I feel when I'm with you is unlike anything I've ever felt, and when I'm not with you, I feel empty, like there's something missing. It kills me." He looked away from her again, but she snapped his head back, "Look at me Draco," he trained his gaze back to her, the intensity in her eyes was enthralling, he pulled her into a deep kiss. She responded, curling into his body, reveling in him, "We need to get to class." They got up, and made their way back to the castle separately, so no-one saw them together. He walked behind her, then stopped, realizing what she had been saying to him. No matter what, she would find a way for them to be together. No matter what.