Unbidden Love Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen: Allies and Enemies

The howls pierced through her dreams and sent her bolting upright in the dark. She held a hand to her racing heart as she tried to discern the source of the noise. Was she still dreaming or were the howls real?

Pushing back her duvet, she shivered in the chill air and pulled on the jumper hanging over her desk chair. Leaning to peer out her second story window, the hairs on her arms stood up.

A large wolf with glowing red eyes stared unblinkingly up at her. Hermione held her breath, waiting for it to act in some way, but it only held her gaze.

It took her awhile to remember, for the event seemed so long ago. But the forest came back, the voices, the fierce eyes of the shirtless men. She recalled the words she had played through her mind a dozen times:

“What do you know about werewolves, Hermione Granger? What if I told you that the werewolves are just another species after what you lot have hidden?”

So it starts again, Hermione thought as she watched two more wolves creep out of their enclosure. The hunt for the ultimate weapon. Why are Harry and Ron so upset over my outings with Draco Malfoy when war is at our doorstep?

She knew what she had to do. It would hurt Ron and Harry and make them even more distrustful and hostile toward her, but she had to help protect the Elder Wand. Keeping the wand out of the Neo-Death Eaters’ hands was more important – in her mind – than anything else.

And the first step to achieving that goal was discovering whose side the werewolves were on.

Harry and Ron had placed a spell on her bedroom, making it impossible for her to Disapparate anywhere. But they had forgotten one crucial piece of information – Hermione had grown up a Muggle. She knew more ways of getting out of a bedroom than with magic.

Magicking a thick rope out of midair (her wand thankfully still resided with her) she tied a knot to the edge of her desk and prayed that it would hold until she was far enough down to jump.

After tying a coat to her waist and stuffing the last of her supper into the pockets, she crept out of the window and down the rope. She worked her way down cautiously, moving so slowly her hands burned against the rope’s rough threads.

The wolves watched her with interest, and she swore one laughed with a wide, toothy grin. Hermione didn’t dare think what would become of her if she had judged wrong and the wolves simply wanted to snack off of her.

Hermione’s feet slapped against the ground and she staggered for a moment. Her lips twitched into a satisfied smile as she took out her wand and vanished the rope. Just for good measure, she shut the window with a small snap. She knew she had to be swift now so she wouldn’t be stopped.

The wolves – all four of them with their huge, glowing eyes – seemed to be following a predetermined plan. The leader of the bunch took of toward the woods with the agility of a much larger animal. Soon its shape was but a blur in the black of the night.

Sharp teeth nipped at her heel and Hermione jumped, muffling her shriek with a hand. “I’m coming,” she hissed. The black wolf’s golden eyes crinkled with delight.

So they want to play with me, she thought with mixed emotions. I hope they stick with the playful bites and stay away from my throat.

Hermione didn’t muse long over that chilling thought. Glancing up at the Burrow to see if any lights had been switched on (thankfully none had), she clutched her wand tightly and raced after the wolves.

They were all in their human form once she found them again in the darkest part of the trees. The leader – the dark brunette Rubin – stepped out a few paces from the pack and peered down at her with chilling red eyes. Hermione’s blood ran cold, but she refused to show weakness. She guessed, though, that they could smell her fear like a foul stench on the wind.

“Hermione Granger, what an honour to see you again.”

She waited, silent and still, her right hand still tightened around her wand.

“Have you not been introduced to my pack members?” He raised a hand in a regal gesture and motioned to each male as he spoke their names. “Gavin, Kai, Rhys, Taryn, and Griffin. We’ve all been rejected from society, scorned and hated for a part of us we cannot help. You are unique among your kind, Hermione Granger, for not doing the same.”

Sympathy crept into her mind and relaxed her clutch on her wand. “Why would I treat you as an inferior when I’ve been called a mudblood for most of my life? I know all too well the pain of not fitting in.”

The memories came unbidden, for whenever she thought of people calling her that revolting name, she thought only of one. How could it be that the boy she had despised more than life, the one she dreamed of cursing every night, was now her only light in these gloomy days? Was fate that mysterious?

“You think of him often, I see.”

She started, pulling herself back to the men in front of her. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I didn’t mean to…”

Rubin smiled, and this time it was almost kind. “Do not think us naïve, Miss Granger. We have been in contact with your Draco for more than a year now. We know all about the secretive, entirely forbidden affair between the two of you.”

Her jaw dropped slightly. Affair? Who was he to call…

“Perhaps that was the wrong word to use.” Rubin corrected himself, reading the look on her face too clearly. “I apologize.”

Kai, the shortest of the bunch with spiked blond hair, grumbled in his throat and took a step toward his leader. “Enough of this useless prattle, Rubin. That Potter boy could be searching for her as we speak.”

Rubin nodded slowly. “Miss Granger, we are aware that you know the whereabouts of the Elder Wand. How do you plan to use this information now that the Neo-Death Eaters are searching all across the U.K. for it?”

Hermione didn’t know how to respond. She had never thought about her own specific actions in the ordeal, apart from trying to keep the information a secret.

She told them as much, and several werewolves cast distrustful glances at each other. Rubin stroked his chin and did not respond for awhile.

Hermione decided to let it all spill out. Nothing could be gained from silence. “The Wand is hidden well. Only a few people besides me know where it is hidden, so I have some faith that we don’t need to actively keep the Neo-Death Eaters away.”

Rubin frowned, his eyes deep and serious. “So you aren’t aware of Malfoy’s task?”

Her eyes widened. “I…I had forgotten the details. I only know that he was supposed to get the information out of me for his father. I don’t think he ever truly planned to torture me because…of his feelings.” She blushed and lowered her head. The pangs of embarrassment hit her and she hoped they didn’t ask further questions on that topic.

Rubin ignored her discomfort and continued without a change to his tone. “Miss Granger, Draco’s orders were to kill you if you did not give up the information willingly. If he did not follow through, his parents plan to. Draco is currently holding off his parents’ actions by feigning that he is still working on you, but that charade is expiring. It is only a matter of days before the truth is revealed and your capture is at hand. There will be no hope for you once they lay a finger on you.”

His brutally honest words hardened her gut and left her empty. She swallowed hard but her voice still came out cracked and pathetic. “Where is he? Is he safe?”

“Like I’d leave you alone with these careless prats.”

Draco’s pale form crept around a tree and Hermione’s heart jumped in her chest. She smiled wide and ran to him, flying into his open embrace. His lips found hers and they savored the taste and scent of the other, ignoring their audience entirely. The crippling fears of the last minute vanished as Hermione lost herself in his arms.

But when her hands wandered to his chest, Draco grimaced and pulled back. It took a moment before Hermione realized why.

“Oh, Draco! I’m sorry; did he hurt you badly?”

Draco managed a sneer. “Weasley? No, that weakling couldn’t affect me with a fifty pound club. But I shouldn’t be speaking that way about your boyfriend.”

She hated the mockery in his tone. Undoubtedly, he still had strong feelings against Ron which weren’t likely to subside soon. “Ex-boyfriend, Malfoy!” she told him. “I don’t think he’ll be proposing any time soon after he realized how I feel about you. It’s an unspoken break-up, I’m afraid.”

Draco softened and kissed her cheeks. “You can do better than Weasel-boy anyway. You deserve a real man to take care of you.”

She smiled. “I knew you’d say that. But why must you hate him so?”

He glowered slightly. “I don’t hate him, but he and Potter have always been a thorn in my side. Weasley more so because of your relationship with him. I couldn’t stand the way he hugged you to his side and protected you like you were his own possession.”

She remained silent, allowing him to vent if he needed to. There was nothing to be said in reply, anyway. She couldn’t take away his anger. She glanced quickly to the side and was thankful their werewolf audience had dispersed.

But instead of more words, Draco’s jaw tightened and his eyes darted away from her. Something flashed across his face – a foreign emotion Hermione couldn’t fathom – and he stepped back.

“Draco? What’s wrong?”

After a moment, his gaze found hers again and he exhaled slowly. “I shouldn’t have started off that way. I shouldn’t be getting off topic…”

Hermione frowned. “Off topic? What…”

“Let me get this out, please. This will be difficult enough as it is.” He ran a shaking hand through his hair and closed his eyes. Hermione sucked in her breath, not prepared for such mystery.

When he spoke again something had changed. His body had stiffened, his eyes had hardened. He placed his hands in his trouser pockets and eyed her differently than he had a few seconds before.

“I’ve been considering the future carefully,” he began slowly. “And I’ve come to a decision. A plan that I knew had to happen sooner than later, with my parents searching for you and me. I saw the way Potter and Weasley eyed you when you walked up to the house holding my hand. I saw the anger in Weasley’s eyes as he ran toward us. It would be unbelievably selfish of me to break up your friendship with Potter and Weasley, no matter how I feel about them. If you’re determined to fight against the Neo-Death Eaters – which is undeniable – you cannot be with me. I’ve chosen my side, and I can’t be your ally.”

Hermione took in a shuddering breath. To her, the world had grinded to a halt. The squirrels had stopped rustling in the trees; the wind had stopped caressing her face. Time had frozen as she stared with growing panic at the man in front of her.

“Draco, no!” she gasped, her voice breaking. “Please stop now; you don’t know what you’re…”

“I’m not finished yet.” Draco’s voice had become hollow and dead, as if a ghost of himself was speaking. “You must now pretend this whole…experience never happened. You never loved me; I never loved you. We’ve been enemies since our first year at Hogwarts, Granger. Both our lives would be at stake if we let the world know that had changed.”

Hermione backed away, hand clutched over her open mouth. His whole presence had changed in an instant, reminding her terrifyingly of the Draco she had met while she’d been held captive. His cold, cruelly formal voice created chills up and down her back. And the worst of it all…he had called her Granger. The Draco she had loved was gone.

He was still speaking to her, but she had great difficulty listening. Each word he spoke directly attacked her heart.

“You will go back to Potter and Weasley now and explain how I cursed you to love me. They will forgive you and then you’ll all be able to focus on your task ahead. I must return to my parents and follow them unquestionably as they seek out the Elder Wand. If luck stays, they’ll never find it.”

“But they won’t stop looking!” Hermione cried out, flinging herself forward to cling onto his shirt. She had lost all rational thought and now acted on instinct. For if Draco left her – left her forever – her survival was in jeopardy.

“You’re not thinking this through, Draco! Remember your task – if you don’t kill me, your father will! I’m safer with you; I know it!”

“No.” He carefully removed her clinging hands from himself and stepped back, further twisting Hermione’s heart. “No, you’re not safer with me. You’re safer with Potter and the Ministry. They can give you far better protection than I can. If I stay with the Neo-Death Eaters, I can lead them off track and distract them long enough so one of your lot can destroy the Wand. You know that’s the only thing to be done now. And as for my father searching for you…” He swallowed hard and his face paled. A flash of pain crossed his face, a pain Hermione rarely saw on a man’s features. “I’ll take care of that.”

“How? How?” Hermione pleaded and argued in the slight hope that he would see his plan as foolish. For that’s what it was, she convinced herself. Anything that separated them was fool’s logic!

“My father enjoys bargains,” Draco simply said before detaching himself from her and turning away to walk deeper into the woods.

Hermione’s heart jumped and her frantic gasps for breath created sickening nausea. These few metres of separation from him were killing her, and it was all his fault!

She extended an arm, releasing tears as she screamed at him without restraint. “DRACO! Draco, why are you doing this to me? You said you cared, cared enough to try and save my life, but now you take back your words without mercy! What have I done, Draco? What did I do to keep you away from me? Did I not say often enough that I loved you?”

Draco kept his back to her so she could not see his face. But it was obvious he was not shaking with sobs like she wanted, nor was he hunched over in pain like she was. He had become as unemotional as Snape, and when he finally replied this proved true.

“I do this,” he whispered. “Because sometimes, when you love someone, the greatest act of love is letting them go…for their own sake.”

He Disapparated from her for the last time, leaving Hermione alone as she sobbed and screamed on the dead, cold leaves.

But she was not quite alone. A young man with piercing green eyes and dark, unruly hair watched her, his mind scrambling to comprehend everything he had just heard.