Saturday, October 25, 2008
Continue Story (I copy and paste from internet) - Chapter 23 - 'HE KNEW EACH TEAR BEFORE IT CAME – HERMIONE AND GEORGE'
CHAPTER 23
The door opened and there was a sigh from someone. Hermione didn’t turn to look at the person but just heard their voice and knew right away who it was. “Listen, I’m sorry for all the problems I’ve caused you.”
Hermione turned around and looked into the cold gray eyes of Draco Malfoy. She gave him an extremely hard stare and stood up. She crossed her arms over her chest and just looked at him. “Get out,” she replied. “Come back when you are sincere about what you just said.” Malfoy just looked at her and stood there. “Did you not hear me?” she replied. “Did you go deaf after your dumb little friends ruined my life?”
“Ruined your life?” he asked. “Who did what to ruin you? You look rather cushy here.”
Hermione bit her lip and closed her eyes. The only people who knew everything were Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Lupin, Tonks, Mad-eye, and a few Ministry members. She didn’t feel like telling Malfoy that his friends were the reason why she was there at the moment and not spending her last few moments before trying to get an apartment in Diagon Alley with her parents. She didn’t want him to know the real reason why she had been crying for hours on end without anyone knowing. She didn’t want him to know what Harry and Ron didn’t even know. “I don’t want to talk about it. You probably know anyway!”
“I, honest to God, don’t know what you’re talking about,” Malfoy said. “I haven’t talked to anyone from Hogwarts since the day I left when Snape killed Dumbledore.” He took a step back and closed the door and looked at Hermione. “What happened?”
Hermione closed her eyes and sat back down on her bed. “Forget it. Forget I said anything,” she replied.
“Pot-head and Weasel don’t know do they?” he asked.
“Not at all,” she replied as she looked over at Draco who was walking closer to her and sat down next to her. “So why should I tell you when my best friends don’t even know?”
“Because I’m not them,” he replied. “I’m not going to show you any sympathy unless I really feel sympathetic.” He looked at her with an unreadable expression and his voice was completely emotionless. “Why not tell me if I’m going to act as if I either don’t care or really do?”
“Because the only people who know are Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Tonks, Lupin, Mad-eye, and about three Ministry members,” she replied. “I’m not in the mood to let you in on the story.”
“Just tell me,” Draco said as he looked at her. Footsteps could be heard lightly on the stairs and stopping right outside of Hermione’s door but neither Draco nor Hermione took any notice to it.
Hermione let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes lightly. “I was at home,” she started. “My mum, my dad, and I had been just sitting in our Sitting Room watching some TV and then all of a sudden, there was a loud blast outside of my house. I pulled out my wand and ran to the front door. My parents went to come after me but didn’t when I yelled at them to not go near the front of the house.” She sniffled lightly as she kept telling the story. “I opened up the front door and there they were. Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle standing there just looking at me and jeering! All three of them had their wands pointed at me and as they shot spells at me, I put shields up without them knowing because I was the only one in our Defense Against the Dark Arts class back in our 6th year to master it. They kept throwing hexes my way but nothing too big until…” She stopped and stood up. She walked over to her window and just stared out as the tears fell. “They all got closer until they were surrounding me. I couldn’t face just one without having my back towards the other two and there was noting I could do. I focused on Pansy and the other two ran into my house. When I realized, Pansy noticed and put me under the Cruciatus Curse. It hurt so badly and as I was trying so hard not to yell in agony, I heard my dad yelling for my mum to get back and then…” She stopped talking and just stood looking out the window as the tears rolled down her cheeks. She turned to face Draco and walked over to him and sat back down. She sniffled softly and closed her eyes tightly as if trying to block the memories from coming back. “…and then Pansy finally let me out of the curse right when I ran inside and a bright green flash was illuminated. I knew exactly what they had done and I cursed Crabbe so badly. Pansy was no longer laughing as she looked at me and then at Goyle who was trying to curse me first. I didn’t once take my eyes off of him and I shot the worst curse I knew at him. Do you remember that one that Harry used on you in our 6th year?”
“Sectumsempra? Or something like that?” he asked.
“That exact one,” she replied. “I turned to face Pansy who was looking at me in horror and I pointed my wand at her heart and just pointed it there. She looked past me, at Crabbe, Goyle, and my parents who were all lying on the ground and then back at me. She slowly lifted up her wand and I silently shot the same spell I shot at Goyle at her. By that point, Ministry members were now entering my house and I ran to them. Lupin, Tonks, and Mad-eye were three of the members. There were three others but I didn’t know them. I ran into Lupin’s arms that just held me closely as I cried. Tonks hugged me too and Mad-eye looked over at my parents and then at the three on the ground and then at me. I could feel his stares and I pulled out of the hug and looked up at Moody. I explained everything to him and he praised me for fighting as well as I did.” She took in a deep yet very shaky breath and let it out slowly. “I thought you of all people would have known.”
Draco just shook his head and looked at her. “I won’t tell anyone if you want,” he replied.
“Please don’t. I’m just not ready for the entire Burrow to know,” she replied as she stood up and walked over to the door. As she opened it, she gasped.
“How much did you hear?” she asked angrily.
“All of it,” George replied. Hermione shook her head and pushed past him. She didn’t even really look at him. He just followed behind her with Malfoy following behind him. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?” Everyone was looking at them now. Harry, Ron, and Fred still didn’t know. Lupin walked over to Hermione and just looked at her closely.
“I DIDN’T WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW!” she yelled. Everyone in the house was looking at her like she was crazy except for Lupin, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Tonks, and now Draco. “I want to block it all out of my memory!”
“WHY?!” George asked. “We could help you.”
“And how’s that George?” she snapped. “You can’t help me forget that I wasn’t able to save them! You can’t help me at all!” Ginny ran down the steps and looked at everyone like they were crazy.
“Why’d you tell Malfoy?!” George yelled.
“BECAUSE I THOUGHT HE HAD ALREADY KNOWN!” she yelled. “Then when he told me that he didn’t, I told him because he wasn’t going to show me sympathy because he liked me because he’s hated me since forever! He was going to show me sympathy because he would know that I deserved it!”
Mrs. Weasley walked over and stood in between George and Hermione and shot George a very angry look. “You leave her alone,” she whispered.
“No, Mrs. Weasley,” Hermione said nicely as she looked at her. “I can take care of this.” Mrs. Weasley looked at Hermione but backed away from the scene and walked over to Tonks. Hermione stepped closer to George and crossed her arms over her chest as tears rolled from her eyes. “What was I supposed to say to you? What was I supposed to say, huh? That Crabbe and Goyle killed my parents while Pansy was putting me under the Cruciatus curse?!” Gasps could be heard from Fred, Harry, Ron, and Ginny. “Was I supposed to tell you that Ministry members had to carry me out of my house because I was so distraught? I had to explain everything to Lupin, Tonks, Moody, and three other Ministry members and after I did, I was down at my parents’ side sobbing uncontrollably! Was I supposed to tell you that? Was I supposed to tell you that I couldn’t save my parents at all and that I had felt like such a failure that when Ron and Harry wouldn’t let me come with them, I felt even worse? I WANTED REVENGE ON ALL OF THE OTHER STUPID DEATH EATERS! I had gotten good enough revenge on Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle but I needed more! You don’t know what it’s like to be under the Cruciatus curse and then hear your father yelling to your mother to stay back. YOU HAVE PARENTS THAT CARE ABOUT YOU MORE THEN ANYTHING! Mine are gone and I wasn’t able to help them at all!” George took a step forward but Hermione stepped back.
“Herms,” Harry said as he walked over to her, “I know what its like. I know how it feels to…”
“You were a baby Harry,” Hermione said. “You know what it’s like to grow up without parents to care for you but do you really know what it’s like to be let out of an Unforgivable Curse and the moment you step into your house, you see a green flash? Do you know what it’s like to feel as if you’re so weak for not being able to fight off an Unforgivable Curse?” Harry backed down a little bit and looked down at his hands. “The only person who knows what it’s like to not have parents to go to anymore is Harry really because he’s never had them. But none of you know what it’s like to feel as if you are worthless and can’t do anything because you weren’t able to save the two people who had been there since the day you were born.” She turned around and walked over towards the back door, opened it, and stepped outside.
Harry and Ron looked at her and felt their hearts break. “Why didn’t she tell us?” Ron asked.
“Because,” Harry said, “do you see how badly it has gotten her now? Imagine if she told us the story and we still said she couldn’t come because we wanted to keep her safe. She’d never forgive us. Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle had ruined her life since the day they met her and they ruined her life the night her parents died. I know how it feels to have memories that you would love to forget. I hated falling to sleep at night and hearing voices yelling. Hearing my dad yelling for my mum to take me and leave and then hearing my mother sacrifice herself to save me. I know what that feels like. But that’s all. She sees everything. She remembers everything. She’s right. You guys really don’t know what it’s like to have those memories.” Harry left the room and walked outside and sat on the ground next to where Hermione was now crying.
George looked over at Malfoy who was standing still and looking out at Hermione and Harry. He walked over and stared down at him. “You,” he said. “YOU ARE THE REASON WHY SHE IS OUT THERE CRYING RIGHT NOW!”
“No I’m not,” Malfoy replied as he looked up at George. “You are.”
“HOW AM I THE ONE?!”
“You stood outside of her door while she told me and then she caught you,” he replied as Ron went outside with Harry and Hermione. “You’re lucky if she doesn’t break up with you if you two are going out, which it seems like you are. You are so lucky if she doesn’t leave you.”
“Don’t you talk to my brother like you know everything!” Fred replied.
“Shut up Fred,” Malfoy replied. “You guys are lucky that you even found out from her first!”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” George asked.
Malfoy looked at George and then at Fred. “I’m not allowed to read into it anymore but how much do you want to bet that it’s been in the papers for the longest time?”
# posted by Sek Koon @ 9:16 AM 
