Harry Potter 1. A Painful Goodbye

Glass Dragons  
  
By: TaCe  
  
Rating: This chapter is PG  
  
Pairing: Draco/Hermione, all the way baby!  
  
Summary: She took in his tear-stained cheeks, his puffy, red eyes, their grey depths filled with a sadness which she knew was mirrored in her own. She took in his disheveled white-blonde hair, his rumpled clothes, his beautiful face, and in that moment, she felt a new sensation in the very core of her being.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Eesa doesn't own them. Megz doesn't, Barbie doesn't, Juja doesn't, Ana doesn't... oh, well. Guess I'm out of luck. I'm not making money off of this anyways, so please, don't sue me!  
  
Dedication: To my Beta/Partial Co-author/Best Friend Eesa!!! This one's all for you, girl!  
  
A/N: Eesa and I made this together, but I wrote it. Props to Eesa, the awesome friend! Now, I realized that the characters are a little mature for their age, so we're saying that they are extremely smart, well-behaved children, even at this age. (Well, we know that they're smart, but well behaved might be pushing it...)  
  
Hermione Granger entered her best friend's room, looking around for the blonde child. She didn't see him, but she could hear him. She moved towards his bed, climbing onto it to look down into the hidden gap between the bed and the wall. She smiled, seeing the white-blonde hair of her childhood companion, until he raised his head to look at her. Her smile disappeared, and she quickly lowered herself down to the floor beside him. She touched his tear-stained cheek with her small hand, before wrapping him in her silent embrace, offering comfort to the weeping boy.  
  
They stayed like that for over a minute, before the boy pulled away. "What's wrong, Draco?" The bushy haired 6-year-old muggle inquired softly.  
  
"Everything, 'Mione. Everything," Draco Malfoy whispered back. The room was filled with silence, interrupted solely by the sound of Draco sniffling, tears still running down his cheeks. He took a few minutes to gather his strength. Then, he spoke, and as he did so, he felt his six- year-old heart break for the second time that day. "We're moving away, 'Mione. My dad found us, and he's taking us with him to his home. He said I can't see you anymore, he said we have to go our own ways. I don't want to leave, 'Mione! I want to stay here, with you!" The tears that had already been cascading down his cheeks increased, and Hermione felt his sobs wrack her body, shaking her to the soul. A single tear escaped from the corner of her eye.  
  
"When do you leave?" She asked, her voice cracking with emotion.  
  
"Early tomorrow," he managed between sobs.  
  
Hermione's arms wrapped tighter around her best friend, and they simply stayed like that, caught up in the pain of losing someone, even if not to death, at their young age. They continued to sit there, Hermione holding Draco, each drawing much-needed strength and comfort from the other.  
  
They did not move for over an hour, when Hermione's mom came to pick her up. They both crawled out of the crevice for the last time, and stood in the middle of Draco's room. Hermione suddenly noticed how very empty it seemed, and wondered vaguely why she had not noticed it before. In truth, she had not expected it to look any different than usual, and so her mind had absorbed none of the changes, no matter how obvious they seemed now that she knew the truth.  
  
"Come on, Hermione, dear," Mrs. Granger's voice floated into the room from out in the hall. "We have to go now."  
  
Hermione looked into the face of the boy beside her. He was taller than her by a few inches, and she had to look up to do so. She took in his tear- stained cheeks, his puffy, red eyes, their grey depths filled with a sadness which she knew was mirrored in her own. She took in his disheveled white-blonde hair, his rumpled clothes, his beautiful face, and in that moment, she felt a new sensation in the very core of her being. It threatened to burst out into the silence of the room, and tears filled her eyes once more. In that moment, Hermione Granger loved Draco Malfoy. And nothing, not distance, not social standing, not even blood, would ever change that.  
  
She lifted herself up on tiptoe and pressed her lips against his. She pulled back, wiping her hand over her mouth, half disgusted at the thought that she had just kissed a boy, and looked up into his face one last time. She turned to leave, when she felt his hand on her arm. She turned to him, and he handed her a small package, pressing his lips to her forehead. "I love you, 'Mione. Don't forget me."  
  
"Never, Draco. Never!" She cried, before turning and running from the room, tears filling her eyes, cascading down her cheeks, as she ran past her mother, who was saying good-bye to Mrs. Malfoy. She ran out the front door and across the street to her own house. She threw open the door, and flew up the stairs and down the hall to her room, where she collapsed onto her bed, sobbing. She felt numb.  
  
After about ten minutes, she got up from her bed, tears till running down her cheeks. She picked up a photo album off her bookshelf. It was full of photographs of herself and Draco. She looked at photos of them as they slowly grew up before the camera. However, when she got to pictures of the two of them at Draco's last birthday party, she found it impossible to continue to look at the book, for the tears had blurred her vision so much that there was nothing in front of her but vague shapes.  
  
She lay down with the book open next to her on her bed and the package on the other, and cried herself to sleep.  
  
When she woke up the next morning, Draco was gone. She sat on her bed, unfeeling, all morning. She finally realized that she had yet to open Draco's present. She picked up the brown paper package, rolling it over in her hands. Slowly, ever so slowly, she opened it.  
  
Inside the wrap, there was a small. Her hands shook as she opened it. Inside was a glass dragon, exquisite in it's own right, reflecting the light coming in from the window as rainbows on her walls. Hermione smiled through her tears at the symbol in the gift. Draco was her Dragon, and he would watch over her, so she could be strong like a dragon, too.  
  
"I won't forget you, Draco. Never ever."  
  
A/N: Thanks for reading this chapter! Please review, and tell me what you think! Are they waaaaaaaaaaaaay too mature? Is it a dumb story? Please, tell me honestly, but please be constructive. No one likes lectures, and I've had a bad day. 


	2. A Hurtful Reunion

Glass Dragons 2/?  
  
By: TaCe  
  
Disclaimer in Chapter 1  
  
A/N: EEEEEEEESA YOU ARE THE BEST! I LOOOOOOOOVE YOU GIRL I WILL NOT FORGET WHAT YOU HAVE DONE FOR ME. THIS IS FOR YOU!  
  
A/N 2: After spending the last month and a half working with 20-something 5 and 6 year olds, I have to say that when they really want to, kids can act a lot like Draco and Hermione from Chapter one.  
  
Hermione Granger was lying in her new bed, crying and thinking. She looked around in the dark. She was lying in a four-poster bed, sharing a room with four other girls. She had met Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, but the other two seemed extremely shy, and she hadn't really been paying attention to the sorting ceremony, after she realized.  
  
Draco Malfoy was here. After five years of missing her old friend, some strange twist of fate had brought him back to her. Still, he was different. She had learned that after the feast, when she had attempted to talk to her childhood companion. That was why she was crying so hard.  
  
Thinking back to the incident she should have realized that he'd changed. The look on his face through out the feast, the way he looked at her the one time she had managed to catch his eye. He had looked at her... as though she were trash.  
  
Flashback  
  
"Draco!" Hermione called out. "Draco!"  
  
He turned to look at her. When he saw whom it was, his mask slid into place. "What do you want?" he asked, as though he did not know her.  
  
"Dray, don't you remember me? It's Mione! Remember?"  
  
"Of course I remember," came the cold, calculated reply. "How could I forget having to pretend to be friends with a muggle? And now that you're a muggle born, it shames me further. Do not speak to me like an equal, you bloody Gryffindor."  
  
With that, he turned and left, leaving his old best friend to deal with the product of Draco's confusion, love, and knowledge.  
  
End Flashback  
  
As Hermione Granger cried herself to sleep, she didn't realize why Draco had done as he had. Draco lay in bed, awake like his old friend, thinking of how much it hurt to lie to the one person he truly loved.  
  
Draco Malfoy entered his first class of the year. Potions. He knew the teacher. He knew the teacher would favor him. He just didn't know what in hell he was going to do, to be able to stand lying to Hermione for not one, but two hours straight. He could never tell her the truth. He couldn't even tell his mother that much. All that either of the two women in Draco's life knew was that his father had come for him, in Hermione's case, and that he was spending a lot of time with his son, in his mother's. To 'make up for lost time'. What a load of bullshit.  
  
In truth, Lucius had punished Draco for the time that had been spent away from him. He knew that it was Narcissa's fault, but in spite of Lucius' cruelty and slight insanity, he loved his wife dearly. Instead of punishing her, he punished his child. Psychologically speaking, he inflicted the pain on his son because he wanted to make another version of himself, but better. He wanted to take all of the flaws within himself, within his DNA, passed along to his son, and perfect them. He attempted to teach his boy that muggles and muggle borns, and even half bloods, were lower than him. He failed, however, for he did not know the extent to which his connection to the Granger child stretched. Draco learned, after years of beatings for every slight infraction, to do what his father asked to the dot. However, his sense of self, formed by the bond between himself and Hermione, was never broken.  
  
He had been whipped many a time for crying, to the extent of no longer knowing how to do so, but if he did, he would be sobbing. He knew that in order to save Hermione from his father and the other death eaters, he had to distance himself from her. He was only rude to her because he loved her. In time, he hoped to have her back, but for now, he had to hurt her to save her.  
  
He finally got up and walked over to his trunk, sifting silently through its contents until he found what he was looking for. He climbed back into bed, cradling the tiny glass dragon to his chest, unaware that up in a tower, unseen to his eyes, Hermione had fallen asleep looking very much the same, right down to the dragon cradled gently in her tiny hands.  
  
Hehe that took forever. So sorry about the wait. I will try to update again soon! If you reviewed, here, have a cookie. Draco shaped. Mainly for decoration, but you can eat it if you wanna.  
  
Please R&R!! 


	3. A Dreadful Happening

Glass Dragons 3/?

By Tacy

Rating: PG13

Pairing: Draco/Hermione

Disclaimer: see chapter 1

Dedication: Hoo boy… this one's for LILLIAN. It's also for ASHLEE SIMPSON because we love her. And last, but not least, the COLOR PURPLE!!! That's right. No colours here in America…

A/N: Since it took me so long, Eesa (reflectivelvet) wrote me a new chapter for it. Hers goes like this:

11-year-old Draco was a horny one. Since he already knew Hermione, he decided to screw her. Her stole Harry's invisibility cloak (which Harry hasn't gotten) and uses it to follow Hermione into her bedchamber. Then he screwed her silly. The END.

Oh, also, when Draco turned 15, Hermione died and Draco was sad so he started screwing Harry

And THAT'S the end.

Yay. :-)

Anyways… that's not happening, babe. On with the real story.

Draco's eyes opened to greet the new day. He could not believe that he had already suffered through a month of this torture, this lie. Every day, he did his best to make the only person in the school he cared about cry, and every night he paid for it, deep in his own mind, unreachable by his roommates. He was always the last to fall asleep, and always the first to awaken. He had not had a good night's sleep in years, but the past month had been the hardest of his life.

Draco's mask was breaking, and he knew it. She was destroying his walls, crumbling his barriers, erected with the sole purpose of protecting her from him. He knew that he would not last much longer without telling her at least part of the truth.

Far from the Slytherin dorms, Hermione was also wide-awake. She had a headache from crying, and had decided to take a shower. She couldn't take much more of this torture. She didn't know what she was going to do about it, but she couldn't take it anymore. She picked up the tiny dragon sitting on her bedside table and hugged it to her chest lightly, before mentally becoming her character. She didn't know whom else to be anymore, without Draco. She didn't really know who she was.

It was Halloween, but neither of the students wanted to celebrate. They glided through the day in a haze of confusion and depression, each giving the other hopeful looks when their backs were turned, but both were only becoming more miserable by the moment.

Needless to say, Hermione's day had very few ways that it could get worse. However, one of them was by being talked about behind her back in a less than friendly way. So when Harry and Ron's words carried to her ears, she lost it, running to the bathroom sobbing. The poor girl had a right.

In the great hall, all hell had broken loose. After Quirrel's announcement, everyone had lost their heads, Slytherins included. Draco was searching desperately for Hermione, but she was nowhere to be seen. The prefects began ushering people towards their dorms at Dumbledore's order, but Draco was frozen to his spot, his searching becoming more and more frantic, until one of the prefects grabbed him and dragged him out of the Great Hall. If something happened to her, this prefect was going to pay.

(after the incident)

Draco was furious. Word had it that the troll had tried to attack Hermione in the lavatory, only to be stopped by Potter and Weasley. Draco just knew that they were why she'd been there, too. He knew he was a large part of it, but he felt certain they were too, and it infuriated him.

But first, he had to admit that he was relieved she was okay. And that if anything happened to her again, it would destroy him. He excused himself for bed, needing quiet to consider the choice ahead of him.

(later that night)

Draco awoke sharply from his nightmare. Hermione's tear stained cheeks were still vivid in his mind, her voice echoing softly in his ears, 'where were you? I hate you.'

Draco knew what his choice must be.

Hermione couldn't sleep. She had had a horrible day, and now she was having an awful night. She couldn't believe Harry and Ron. Not two hours ago they were quietly insulting her, and now they were her best friends. She hated people. They just sucked, and that's all there was to it.

Hermione was brought out of her inner turmoil by the tapping of an owl on the window. 'How strange,' she thought. 'Who sends an owl at this time of night?' She got up and let it in, taking its burden and letting it back out. She stared in shock at her own name on the envelope in her hands. She opened in slowly, warily, and found just a small slip of parchment within. It simply read, 'Mione, Astronomy tower, 12:30.' It was signed… "Dray?" she whispered into the silence of her dorm. She looked at the magical clock on the wall, which read 12:15. She was glad she was wearing her muggle pajamas, for she didn't have to change from the comfy pajama bottoms and tank top. She pulled her robe over them, and slid her feet into her slippers, before walking silently out of the dorm.

When she got to the Astronomy tower, he was waiting for her. He ran to her and swept her into his arms, burying his face in her beautiful hair, relishing the feel of her hugging him back. They took comfort in each other, just as they had as six-year-olds, and Hermione knew that neither of them had been this happy since their separation 5 years earlier. They did not move for what felt like hours. When they both felt strong enough, the broke apart, smiling and holding hands. Both sat on the ground, and Hermione gathered her newfound strength and began her questions.

"Draco, what… what happened to you?"

"Had to ask the hard one, didn't you, MyMy?" he paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, before he decided to just let it flow. "As I'm sure the Gryffindors have told you, my father is an evil bastard. My mother told me quite the same thing as a child, only slightly kinder, and let me tell you, it is the truth." As Draco told Hermione of the five years he had spent in captivity within his own home, she pulled him once again into her arms. By the end, she was crying, and they sat in silence for quite a while.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do, Mione. He'll kill you, now that you know. I never should have told you."

"So we pretend," she murmured into his hair. He pulled away to look at her, and she smiled up at him from her place tucked under him arm before elaborating. "We go on like we hate one another, just as we have this past month. We'll meet at night, and we can still be friends, and in the day, it's a game. Who can get the other the most riled up. And they'll believe us, because what else do they have to believe?"

Draco smiled happily at her. "You know, that just might work."

A/N: wow that took forever. I PROMISE I will update before January is over!! PROMISE!!!!!!! Please bother me until I update!!!

And yes, it's short, but it's my mom's birthday! I will have a longer chapter up in under a MONTH!


	4. A Tearful Discussion

Glass Dragons 4/?

By Tacy

Rating: PG13

Pairing: Hermione/Draco

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

Dedication: To EEsa for your birthday… last June… sorry? And of course to your tattoo!!! But I'm sorry, that won't happen here. EESA LOVES… HARRY AND DRACO! HARRY AND DRACO! HARRY AND DRACO! LOVE! LOVE!

A/N: SHIIIIIIIIT I MISSED MY DEADLINE! I AM SOOOOOO SORRY EVERYONE!!

Chapter 4: A Tearful Discussion

Hermione awoke the next morning with her dream from the night before still vivid in her mind. She shook her head as she stretched, laughing silently at her idiocy. She couldn't believe that she had dreamed all that up, but she definitely felt better rested than she had thus far that year.

She was still shaking with laughter at herself as she climbed into the shower, but as the stream of water hit her body, she realized what this meant. If that was all a dream, then Draco still hated her, and she was still more alone then it was possible to be in such a school as Hogwarts. As this realization swept through her soul, she began to cry shattering sobs that could break hearts with their sheer meaningfulness. After 10 minutes of attempting to shower through her uncontrollable tears, she gave up, leaving her head against the wall and letting the water pound down her back.

She couldn't do this, not after that dream. She couldn't pretend without knowing he was as well.

Her dream ran back through her head, flitting by as fast as the water that still flowed down her back. She closed her eyes and let it all come back. It had seemed so real.

""Draco, what… what happened to you?"

"Had to ask the hard one, didn't you, MyMy?" he paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, before he decided to just let it flow. "As I'm sure the Gryffindors have told you, my father is an evil bastard. My mother told me quite the same thing as a child, only slightly kinder, and let me tell you, it is the truth." He paused again. "When I arrived at home the first night, he kept looking at me funny. He would smile at me, but not kindly, like you always did. Sinister, like he was trying to figure out the quickest way to snap my neck. It scared me. That night, he moved all my stuff into my new chambers, and they were huge, but all I wanted was my little room back home, with pictures of us around the room and my mom right down the hall. I told him as much, and he… he hit me. Hard. Told me I was weak. He wouldn't tolerate weak. The next morning, I awoke to his evil face. He put a glamour over my bruised eye, and warned me that if I told Mother, she'd suffer twice as much as I had. And so started the pattern. Every night, he was there in my chambers, and every morning he hid his creations from Mother. They got progressively worse as the years went by, and at one point he almost couldn't cover one, and Mother almost found out," he took a shaky breath, bracing himself against the onslaught of memories.

"He punished me worse for that one. He said it was my fault, but after that last mishap, he began using a different method. He… he came into my room the next night with his wand out, and… I never thought the Cruciatus curse could possibly hurt as much as it does," he squeezed Hermione's arm at her shocked gasp. "It's alright. I'll live."

"But, Draco, that's an illegal curse! What…" he cut her off, placing a finger softly over her mouth.

"You'll have your turn pet. Please… I need to do this quickly." She nodded in understanding, and he continued. "Anyway, he began that about 3 years ago, and soon after, I was deemed 'ready for training'. It was horrible, because he knew exactly what to ask that I would get wrong. He… he beat me for caring for you. Mother honestly thought he had changed, and told him everything of our lives in muggle England. She told him about you. And the one thing in the world that I will do anything to stop… is your death. So he threatened me with that, and slowly I found what he wanted from me. I… I've made a mask to save you."

Hermione's arms wrapped around his neck as she cried into his chest. She cried for him, for his pain, for his torture. She cried for her part, and his mothers, and his own. And slowly, he began to cry as well, pulling her closer to him, his tears wetting her hair. They clung to one another for dear life, and cried.

And then he pulled away, the implications of his admission finally penetrating his mind. He jumped up, cursing loudly. She got up as well, placing a hand on his arm. "What is it?" she questioned softly.

And he began to cry all over again, this time not for himself, but for her. "Idiot!" he cried aloud to himself. "Bloody idiot! Bastard!" she squeezed his arm, unsure of what he meant. He looked at her, and the anguish on his face tore her heart in two.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do, Mione. He'll kill you, now that you know. I never should have told you."

She knew that he meant his father, and she frowned as she thought about this specific problem. Then she realized the answer, and her smile lit up the night.

"So we pretend," she murmured into his hair. He pulled away to look at her, and she smiled up at him from her place tucked under him arm before elaborating. "We go on like we hate one another, just as we have this past month. We'll meet at night, and we can still be friends, and in the day, it's a game. Who can get the other the most riled up. And they'll believe us, because what else do they have to believe?"

Draco smiled happily at her. "You know, that just might work." He dried his tears, and pulled her closer again.

He had asked her, as they walked back to her common room, to meet him in the astronomy tower again the next night, and she had smilingly agreed. They had hugged one last time, and each had gone off to bed happy.

Now, as Hermione finally gathered enough strength to turn off the water, she could not have been sadder. That dream would destroy her today. But as she looked in the mirror, she knew that she had to try. She knew that the only way to get through today was to try. So she gathered her things and went ot do that.

Never could anyone say that Hermione Granger was weak.

Ok so that was shit. But I missed my deadline that I set for myself, and I really wanted to get this up! I'm sorry! And trust me, this story is nowhere near finished. Next chapter will clear up many things, and just remember. The mystery has only just begun.

Next chapter:

WAS it a dream?

It has to be… doesn't it?

Ok yea so bye

-Tacy (Beautiful Willow)


End file.

Harry Potter, Romance