The Objects of Desire

Chapter Two

The Apology

Draco left The Leaky Cauldron with a look of self-satisfaction on his face. It wouldn’t be long now and he would have paid Potty back for his father’s incarceration. His attempt on the train last year had been too full frontal. He had spoken about strategy with his mother and Aunty Bella over the summer and they had concluded that the more Slytherin thing to do was to use subterfuge.
The plan was to strike at Potter’s weaknesses; the golden boy’s legendary temper would allow Draco to back him into a corner he couldn’t get out of. Then, when the time was ripe, he would use Hermione Granger, the patron saint of hopeless causes, to slam the trap shut.

Either Potty would dump the mud blood for being seduced by him, or Granger would dump Potty for betting on her virtue, either way the trio would be fractured beyond repair. He had to admit his Aunty Bella was an absolute genius when it came to being devious. Even his father could not have come up with such an exceptional plan.

He was going to enjoy this. Seriously, who would have thought that the bushy haired, buck toothed, bookworm would have turned into one of the best looking girls at school. She could have had have had lads lining up around the block if they weren’t afraid of The-Boy-Who-Lived, and his Ginger sidekick. But she was self-conscious enough to believe that it was because she was plain? That could work to his advantage.

He was pulled for his musing as Weasel walked out of Flourish and Blots alone. Draco made sure he was not spotted as the redhead walked down the road into Quality Quidditch Supplier. Excellent, thought Draco, there was a new book on The Chudley Cannons that the beggar could never afford to buy. Draco estimated that should give him a good hour with Potter’s whore

He walked out of the shadows and into the bookstore, searching the stacks until he found his prey, \"Miss Granger! How nice to see you. You’re looking as ravishing as ever,\" he captured her hand and lifted it to his lips.

\"What are you after Malfoy?\" she asked, pulling her hand away sharply, and looking up at the wizard with guarded eyes.

\"A chance to apologize, and make amends,\" he said looking deep into her eyes; he smiled as her Gryffindor spirit refused to let her look away.

\"Apologize for what,\" she asked with an indignant look on her face, her hands firmly fixed to her hips, \"five years of pain and abuse.\"

He nodded somberly. \"If I could take it back I would, but the past is cast in stone we can’t change it. We can only try and learn from our mistakes and make retribution for them.\"

\"What’s changed? Why would you suddenly want to make amends now?\" she countered a look of shear bewilderment on her delicate features.

\"My father’s incarceration,\" he replied, letting a real smile reaching his lips. \"Now I’m Lord of the manor I can speak my mind. I no longer have to follow the beliefs of a sadistic pureblood supremacist.\"

\"So you’re telling me you never shared your father’s views?\" she asked in disbelief, but the anger was fading from her arguments.

\"No, when I started the school I had never met a muggle-born, and I had been strongly indoctrinated by my father into believing that they were all, stupid, week, un-moralistic mutants who would dilute our gene pool by their arrival in the wizarding world.\"

\"So what changed your view of muggle-born\'s?\" Granger asked, the anger completely gone and replaced by her natural curiosity.

He smiled to himself, he was already half way there, and he had gotten her attention. He just needed to push his advantage. \"You did.\"

\"ME!\"

He nodded his head, the inward smile was increasing, but his face was still a solemn act of contrition. \"You are everything I was brought up to believe muggle-born’s could not be. Intelligent, strong, brave, pure, kind, benevolent. You’re always willing to help those worse off than yourself, Neville, the house elves, and anybody else who is in need.\" A seductive smile filled his lips and his eyes twinkled suggestively. “You inspire me, Granger. You’ve made me realize that there are more important things in a person’s make up than purity of blood.\"

She looked at him in stunned silence for several minutes’ mouth gaping open, a slight flush on her cheeks, \"What exactly is it you want from me?\"

\"A chance to redeem myself in your eyes, so that one day maybe we could even be friends. It would be great to have someone to study with, who didn’t want to talk about quidditch, or make out every five minutes.\"

Her look changed to one of pure bewilderment, \"you want to be study buddies?\"

\"I know it’s a pipedream, I’ve caused you too much pain for you ever to get to like me,\" he said mournfully.

\"If you’re serious about changing then I would be willing to give you a chance,\" she said carefully, scrutinizing his face, \"I wouldn’t mind someone to study with, but just remember one wrong move and its over.\" She stood with her hands on her hips staring at him intently.

He smiled at her with pure joy evident in his eyes, as he pulled her into his arms in a light embrace. She stiffened for a moment under his touch, and then relaxed into his arms. He was lost in the feel of her soft warm body against his, and the heady scent of lavender and jasmine invaded his senses. He chastised himself inwardly for his moment of weakness before regaining his composure. \"Thank you Hermione, you don’t know how happy you’ve made me, I thought that maybe you might forgive me eventually but this is just,\" his voice broke as he forced a ragged sob out of his mouth.

\"Shh, it’s alright,\" said the witch pulling him tighter into her arms.

\"I’ve never had anybody who I could truly call a friend,\" he sobbed dramatically, smiling inside. This was so much easier than even he had thought it would be. \"In Slytherin you have to be on your guard the whole time you can never truly be yourself.\"

\"So when do you want to meet?\" She said pulling out of his arms and looking into his eyes with a bright smile on her face, she held his chin in her left hand and started to wipe away his tears with a clean hanky.

He smiled down at her affectionately, \"do you know how beautiful you look when you smile like that?\"

Her face turned serious, \"I thought we were becoming friends, there’s no need for you to tease me.\"

A look of mortification filled his eyes, \"I wasn’t! Believe me, you’re one of the most beautiful girls in the school!\"

\"Yeah I’ve got boys lining up around the Gryffindor tower waiting to ask me out,\" she scoffed.

\"You would have if it wasn’t for Potter and Weasley. The boys are too scared to ask you out.\" He looked her with appraisingly, \"that and most boys find stunning beauty and extreme intellect intimidating.\"

\"You’re being serious aren’t you?\" she looked even more stunned than she had when he apologized.

Draco nodded his head fiercely, \"I for one think you’re the catch of the school, intelligent, funny, kind, compassionate, all aligned with a natural beauty that would take anyone’s breath away.\"

She looked down suddenly, finding the floor very interesting, \"Draco, it’s too soon, only three months ago you were calling me a mud blood,\" she stopped and thought for a moment, obviously flustered \"can we just try for friendship?\"

He lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes, \"friendship is more than I hoped for.\"

\"So,\" she said brightly, \"you still haven’t told me when you want to meet.\"

\"How about after dinner, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, there’s an empty classroom on the first floor of the astronomy tower.\"

She smiled up at him, \"the first Monday of term then.\"

They were pulled from their inner thoughts by the bell above the shop door. They both turned to see Ron walk back into the shop. The Weasel’s face slowly turned an awful shade of red. \"What the hell do you think you’re doing Ferret-face? Get the fuck away from her!\"

Hermione rushed over to intercept her friend, trying to force him back through the door, \"Ron don’t!\" She pleaded. \"He was just being nice; he’s changed since his dad’s gone to Azkaban.\"

\"I’ll give him nice,\" shouted the massive redhead, \"I’ll rip your bloody head of if you come near her again!\"

Hermione looked up at her friend, shock written across her face, \"He’s right.\"

\"Right about what?\" asked the wizard, turning his attention to her.

\"That you and Harry frighten away every bloke who even dares to look at me,\" she replied her hands crossed in front of her chest.

\"Hermione! What are you talking about! It’s Malfoy!\"

\"We’re not talking about Draco now. What about every other boy in the school?\" she questioned staring deep into his eyes. \"Am I really so ugly that nobody would even bother to ask me out?\"

\"No of course not,\" he said, anger in his eyes.

\"Then how come nobody ever has the courage to ask me,\" steam was almost coming out her ears now.

Panic replaced the anger on Ron’s face as he tried to think of a way out of this. \"Look Hermione, Draco’s only trying to split us up,\" he said pointing at the smirking blond. Draco hastily wiped the satisfied look from his features.

\"This has nothing to do with him, I saw the way you came between Shamus and Ginny, but I never believed you would do that to me,\" tears started falling down her face, \"can you guess what it feels like to think that nobody finds you attractive, that the most you can ever be is one of the boys!\"

Hermione barged past him and ran down the street tears running freely down her cheeks.

\"You keep your filthy ferret paws off her Malfoy! This is the last warning you’re gonna get,\" Ron spat venomously at the blond as he raced out the door to catch up with his friend.

\"All too easy,\" Draco Chuckled to himself, \"I’ve already started to break up the Golden Trio in one easy move.\"

Harry lay curled up on Sirius’ bed, back at Order Headquarters, damning his stupidity. Malfoy had obviously done his homework. How could he have known that Hermione would turn him into her next pet project? She had probably already thought up a name and printed badges for her campaign. He could see it now. Adopt a Slytherin Society, ASS for short, or something equally ridiculous. If only his temper hadn’t backed him into a corner, he’d signed a wizard contract; there was no saving Hermione now. Maybe she would come to her senses. Who was he trying to kid; once Hermione Granger put her mind to a worthless cause, wild rhino’s couldn’t stop her. He held his head in his hands and groaned. His head pounded, and his conscience was heavy with the pressure of what he had done.

His attention was drawn by the sound of a man walking quickly to his door. The heavy clipped boots he recognized from his potions classes. Snape, obviously coming to gloat over the death of Sirius. The door opened unannounced and the footsteps stopped a foot from his bed.

\"Mr. Potter a word please,\" the oily potions professor said.

Harry turned around and looked at him, \"What?\"

A look of shear hatred filled the professor’s face, \"You will speak to me with the respect and dignity I deserve!\"

\"This is my bedroom in my house and you come waltzing in unannounced, so I’ll talk to you how I damn well please,\" spat Harry with hatred equaling that of his professor’s.

Snape took a deep breath trying to control his temper, \"Tell me that argument downstairs is not about Hermione trying to turn young Mr. Malfoy.\"

\"That argument downstairs isn’t about Hermione trying to turn Malfoy,\" the potions master raised an eyebrow, \"that’s what they think it’s about, but it’s actually about Malfoy trying to bed Hermione.\"

\"And how are you sure of this?\"

Harry held out the contract allowing Snape to take it from his hand, \"I had an argument with Ron. Then when Malfoy turned up and he started bad mouthing Hermione, I stood up for her. I said she was better than any of those damn Slytherins,\" defeat evident in his voice.

\"And he said if you’re so sure put your money where your mouth is,\" replied the professor. As he scanned through the contract

\"I never thought that she would even look at him,\" Harry placed his head in his hands, \"not after all the abuse he had put her through. He fed her some cock and bull story about how he had only acted as he had because he was afraid of his father.\"

\"And you know for a fact that Malfoy doesn’t come from an abusive background,\" replied the potions master frowning at the boy.

\"Take it from someone who’s lived most of his life in an abusive situation.\"

\"Once again your infamous temper has landed us in a whole mess of trouble.\"

\"Not really,\" said Harry, \"if I hadn’t signed the contract Draco would have still gone after Hermione, only she wouldn’t have had the protection of the no violence clause in the contract.\"

A smirk filled the potion master’s face, \"So your punishment for his father’s predicament is that not only must you sit back and watch him seduce a girl you love more than life itself, but you will know the exact time he takes every liberty with her.\"

Harry nodded.

\"You do realize this is a one way ticket to a padded cell at St Mungo’s,\" continued the professor.

Harry nodded again.

\"This is far too subtle to be one of Draco’s plans, I can see Bella in this,\" said the older wizard, venom coating his voice.

Harry’s face shot up to look at the older wizard, \"Lestrange?\"

\"That’s one sadistic evil witch,\" spat Snape, hatred once again on show for all, \"but she’s as cunning as a fox. It’s no coincidence that she was the only one to escape from the ministry.\"

\"Sir what are we going to do?\"

\"Although I know that Draco has no intention of changing sides at the moment, I haven’t given up hope on him making the move eventually.\" Snape paced across the end of the bed. \"I will talk with Hermione, to try and persuade her to change her mind.\"

A snort came from Harry, \"You’ve got more chance guessing the numbers on this week’s lottery.\"

\"Then I will offer her support in her attempt to turn him,\" He turned and looked directly at the-boy-who-lived, \"she needs to think somebody is on her side and she would never believe it coming from you.\"

\"Oh and one more thing, Granger is a target because she is a muggle-born and the brightest student we have had in a generation, Weasley is a target because of his father’s involvement in muggle issues and his outright refusal to back the dark lord, the headmaster might let you believe the whole world revolves around you but I won’t.\"

\"But everybody I love is taken away from me,\" said the distraught teenager.

\"I lost my entire family in the first battle, mother, father, and the woman I loved. Longbottom visits his parents in a psychiatric ward every holiday, plus he lost his uncle. Arthur Weasley was one of five brothers he has one left, everybody lost someone in the last war, and this one will be no better.\" Severus looked down at Harry with contempt on his face, \"men pick themselves up and carry on in memory of the people they lost, cowards crawl up in a ball and show disrespect to those who died so they could live,\" with that he turned and left the room.

Thanks everybody for your comments they are all gratefully received, both good and bad, as long as they are constructive, I am more than happy to take their recommendations on board.

Cwolf I’m glad that you like the first chapter I hope I can keep the rest of the story up to your expectations.

Fionara Again Thanks for your advice the object of Harry\'s desire has been changed to Daphne Greengrass to try and keep with cannon as much as possible; if you see anymore glaring errors please let me know.

Jeannette The story was originally going to be a HP/BZ DM/HG story but it was pointed out to me that Blaise was actually a boy, confirmed by the great JKR herself, so who am I to argue with the original author. I know in my original attempt to change the character over I missed the summary at the top of the page, that has been sorted out now, I hope the confusion hasn’t taken away from your enjoyment of the story.

AnastasiaKatarina The Third thanks for your comments, again I can only apologize for the Blaise mistake what can I say I’ve read the books and enjoy the fanfics but have very little time to keep up with the forums, I normally take my cannon from the HP lexicon which doesn\'t state Blaise\'s gender. I hope the story can develop to have a good deal of humor and passion but I am also aiming to contain a fair bit of angst, Harry\'s not going to be happy sitting watching Draco\'s advances on Hermione played out on parchment.

Rain Thanks once again you\'re the best.

Once again thanks for all your reviews and long may they continue, please!

I would like to thank my Beta Rain whose tireless work, superior grammatical ability and brilliant advice on small matters of plot and cannon have improved the story Dramatically.