Star-Crossed
Summary: Of confrontations, revelations and heartbreaks. A Gryffindor, A Slytherin, and the Astronomy Tower. Of fate, they know little. Of time, they are unaware. And thereby hangs a tale. Dramione, Sixth Year, Partly AU.
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INDEX
Chapter 1: Confrontations (Below)
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Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters belonging to J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. No copyright infringement intended.
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Chapter 1: Confrontations
The pitter-patter of the raindrops against the floorboards, the groan of the winds swooshing past the Tower, and the sound of anguished sobs greeted Draco as he crossed the threshold. A flare of curiosity and contempt shot through him. For the past so many months, the Astronomy Tower had been his safe haven, his hiding place. His.
He did not like this... person encroaching on the one place he could let go. Whoever this intruder was, had to go. Had to go, now.
Schooling his features into his usual sneer, Draco approached the hunched figure, cautiously. His steps faltered when it took a shuddering breath and looked up.
Granger.
The uninhibited emotions in her eyes drained the sneer from his face, leaving behind incredulity in its wake.
Only once in the past five years had Draco seen Hermione Granger lose control of her emotions, and he had ended up with a bruised jaw due to that temporary lapse. Pushing aside the humiliating memory, Draco glared down at the quivering girl and jeered, "How pathetic, Granger! Drowning your sorrows in the Astronomy Tower, all alone. Where are Potty and Weaselbee? Too busy to lend a shoulder, I suppose?"
The remark hardly coaxed a response from the bushy-haired girl, apart from another sob.
Perturbed, Draco took a step forward, and sneered, "Well, I understand Potty may be too busy saving the world. But that redhead of yours, where did he scurry off to?" As an afterthought, he added, "Too busy snogging that Gryffindor twit to even care, eh?"
Draco realised he'd hit a nerve, when Granger took a sharp intake of breath and looked up with loathing in her dark eyes. A smirk spread across his face at her reaction. Bingo!
"Sod off, Malfoy...," came her weak attempt at a comeback. Clearly, Granger was too engrossed in her bout of self-pity to even come up with a witty remark. The sudden show of vulnerability made him hesitate, his reply lost in the wind crashing through the Tower, casting his hair in disarray. Draco only knew of the arrogant and condescending know-it-all, complete with her bushy hair and sarcastic jabs. This defeated and weary soul, with glistening eyes and quivering lips, was new territory for him.
Shaking off his concern with disgust, he continued his attempts at riling her up, sensing an easy win.
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The wind crashing against the Tower, howling as if in pain, kept Hermione company. Looking at Ron and his over-affectionate girlfriend seemed to get harder by each passing day. Their evening sessions of sucking each other's faces off both annoyed and wounded her. The growing weight on her heart, seemingly unbearable, had caused Hermione to stumble around the castle blinded by tears, with her eventually ending up in the Astronomy Tower.
Sinking down to the floor, she had let go of her hold on her anguish, oblivious to all sounds around her. The frigid wind against her face soothed her agitated form, the rain a reflection of her state. Lost in her world, it took Hermione a few minutes to realise that she was not alone anymore.
But she could not bring herself to care. She was too far gone.
Not until she realised it was Draco Malfoy who was witnessing her vulnerable self.
"Too busy snogging that Gryffindor twit to care, eh?" sneered the hulking figure and a stab of pain pierced her gut. Why wouldn't this prat leave her alone?!
Anger pulsed through her veins, but all she could manage was a half-hearted jab. All she wanted was to cry away her frustrations. Was a few moments of solitude too mush to ask for?
Belatedly, she realised that a tense silence had descended upon the pair of them. Perplexed, she looked up for the second time and saw Malfoy shake his head, as if trying to brush off some unpleasant thought. But in the next moment, her moist eyes clashed with icy grey ones.
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Most of the Tower was shrouded in darkness, the sun gradually disappearing from view, casting streaks of navy and red across the sky. The end of another day; one more day of failure passing by. A shiver of dread crept up his spine, and his head snapped up, his gaze locking with a pair of inquisitive chestnut orbs. There was confusion etched on her face, along with a hint of curiosity; but there was sorrow embedded deep in her eyes, overshadowed but not overcome.
Draco blinked, wondering at how easy it was to deduce Granger's emotions from her face, her eyes.
She was utterly innocent.
But he glared at her. A habit ingrained into his bones, an automatic compulsion to hate The-Boy-Won't-Die and his sidekicks.
"What are you staring at?" Draco snapped. "Never seen such a fine specimen of a man, have you Granger? Hardly shocking, those Gryffindor prats look like miniature giants ambling--"
"Shut your mouth, Malfoy, and leave me the hell alone! Just leave!" spat Granger, venom and vehemence lacing her words.
A slow smirk graced his features, the thrill of this much-needed fight flowing through his veins, erasing all the defeat in its wake, albeit temporarily.
"Well, well, looks like the know-it-all wants some alone time," he drawled. "I should probably show some courtesy and leave, eh?"
The smirk still in place, Draco stepped further into the spherical alcove and leaned on the adjacent wall, deliberately.
"Nah. I feel quite comfortable here. So, I think I'll stay."
A spark of indignation flashed through Granger's eyes, and she scrambled off the floor, inelegantly.
Jabbing a trembling finger in his direction, she huffed, "You nosy jerk! It'll do you well to keep your abnormally large head out of my business! Wouldn't want your father to know of your new-found fascination with a Mudblood, would we?"
Draco flinched at her words, irritation seeping into him at her cavalier use of the crude word.
It had been years since he'd called her, anyone, that. The creeping doubts had intensified slowly over time, propelling him into a state of confusion and frustration. His father's involvement with the Dark Lord had only heightened his discomfort and resentment for life that he was being forced to live on someone else's terms.
"Wouldn't want your vile father and your cowardly mother--"
"Don't you dare say anything about my mother, you filthy bitch!" he yelled. "Not one word, or else--"
"Or else? Are you threatening--"
"You bet your miserable ass, I am! You have no right to say anything about my family, you--"
"Well, neither do you, Malfoy. Neither do you," she whispered.
In hopes of burning her to ashes, Draco glared at the wretched woman, taking deep breaths to calm his rage. Abruptly, Granger tore her gaze from his and turned her head, heading for the door to the stairs.
"We are not done, Granger," Draco bit out from between his gnashed teeth and reached out instinctively to clasp her wrist in his hands.
A surge of electricity shot through him at the touch.
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A flurry of butterflies traipsed around her stomach as she watched Malfoy smirk and stroll over to the wall on her left.
Strange.
"Nah. I feel quite comfortable here. So, I think I'll stay."
His words wiped away the fluttering, leaving behind righteous anger carving a trail through her. Hurriedly, she shot off the floor, trying- in vain- to control the quivers of rage.
"You nosy jerk!" she spat, "It'll do you well to keep your abnormally large head out of my business!" Her ire blocked all sense from her brain, and before she could help it, she bitterly added, "Wouldn't want you father to know of your new-found fascination with a Mudblood, would we?"
Confidence and triumph burned through her as she saw Malfoy flinch at her words. She was affecting him. For no fathomable reason, that realisation made the butterflies return.
What followed was an onslaught of angry and indignant words thrown back and forth. The storm outside the Tower seemed to have calmed, while the one inside surged on. The darkness cast dark shadows on Malfoy's face, accentuating the sharp features, making him seem more intimidating than before. Hermione felt a spike of dread course through her.
"Well, neither do you, Malfoy. Neither do you."
Her whisper cast a hush in the room. His defence for his mother had her scrambling for a few moments. But the nerve of him, to imply he had any right to hurt her, while undermining her opinions! The hypocrisy!
Exasperated with the conversation, she tore her eyes away from the angry, ashen depths. The ire in his eyes singed her skin, unnerving her. Turning away, Hermione tried to scurry away to the exit.
Fate seemed o be playing a cruel game with her. A hand shot out to grab her wrist, before she could escape.
A shiver ran through her spine as Draco Malfoy's fingers touched her.
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Draco's grasp on her hands slackened, as the bursts of electricity surged through him when in contact with Granger's skin.
What spell was this?
Feeling his ire returning, he grasped at her wrist again and hauled her back in front of him.
"I am not done talking to you, Granger," breathed Draco into her ears, his body so perilously close to hers that he could almost feel her harsh breathing against his collar. The crackling electricity returned, making his head swim.
What was this witch doing to him?
Appalled, Draco shoved her away, taking in gulps of the cold wind, raking his fingers through his blond hair.
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Draco Malfoy's long, pale fingers wrapped around Hermione's wrist, unsurprisingly cool against her overheated skin, and hauled her in front of him. Stumbling, Hermione crashed against him, hands clutching his lapels. She felt Malfoy holding her waist lightly.
Hermione's breath hitched, a blush warming her face.
All she had expected from her impromptu visit to the Tower were some uninterrupted moments of solitude; she felt she'd earned it after feigning indifference constantly for the past so many days! Apparently, instead of peace and quiet, she was to tolerate the infuriating presence of a certain Slytherin who happened to hate her guts.
Brilliant!
What infuriated Hermione more than usual was the sudden--but undeniably intense--tension between the both of them. She was no ignorant fool--in fact she was quite proud of her quick wit--and the simmering tension between her and Malfoy seemed...suspiciously...
No, Hermione! This is Draco Malfoy you're thinking about! Ferret boy extraordinaire, leader of the MudbloodsAreAbominations Club; a blond bigot, a prejudiced prat!
She shivered as she felt Malfoy's cool breath against her neck, her body brushing against his. "I am not done talking to you, Granger."
Oh Godric, then why the hell does this feel so...good?!
Before she could catch her breath, she was shoved off.
His breathing was almost as erratic as hers.
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Gazing out towards the Black Lake, away from the wench and the sudden onslaught of confusing emotions, Draco clutched at the Tower's railings. Looking out at the view of the grounds and the skies reminded him of the reason he favoured the Astronomy Tower in times of need. It was past curfew, almost nightfall. The vast expanse of the Hogwarts grounds was shrouded in darkness; a faint outline of the trees and bushes visible to the naked eye thanks to the moon, half-hidden behind swirling clouds. The rains had ceased, the winds no longer howling past the castle. Yet, Draco doubted the storm had passed.
The calm before the storm.
For an unfathomable reason, the thought cast a sense of foreboding through him. His grip on the railings tightened, the skin stretched taut across the knuckles- betraying his apprehension.
A movement near the Lake caught Draco's eyes. With the swift and keen reflexes of a Seeker, Draco scanned the shore, looking for the cause of the distraction.
The surface of the placid Lake had been disturbed, ripples cast across the normally still waters.
What the he--
"You seem ill, Malfoy."
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Hermione shivered as cold breeze blew past her, sending a few of her loose curls across her face. She reached for her wand inside her robes, while silently observing Malfoy from afar. His rigid posture, his stony face, his pale hands clutching at the rails desperately.
So tense.
Flicking her wand to cast a Warming Charm around them, Hermione wondered why Malfoy stood so still, so straight.
So tense.
Sighing, she recalled that the change in the blond gut's appearance was hardly sudden. The haggard, pensive looks, the slipping grades, the disinterest from Quidditch--an unhealthy obsession of all the males and quite a few females in her beloved school.
No, the changes had been subtle; visible to those who actually looked.
Brightest witch, indeed.
Mentally berating herself for having missed all the signs, Hermione's thoughts took a more troublesome turn.
Could Harry be right about Malfoy, after all?
...No! No, the very idea is preposterous.
Is it, though...?
Shaking her head, Hermione looked up; the moon gave off a faint glow from amidst the stormy clouds. The Hogwarts grounds seemed ghostly in the pale light. Glancing back at the silhouette in front of her, Hermione made up her mind.
Confrontation.
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One of my first ventures in the world of fanfiction. Having posted it on ff.net, and stumbling across the HP forum on IF, I decided to heed a friend's advice to publish Star-Crossed here. Reviews shall be appreciated immensely :D
Certain changes have been made to the plan of Hogwarts in order to write this fic. Hope that doesn't hamper the flow of the story. The Astronomy Tower was facing the Black Lake in the movie, after all. Thank you! :D
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