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Because Everything Wasn't Fine

A/N: Hey everyone! Hope you guys liked the last oneshot. I know I don't update twice on the same day, but here it is. There's a reason for that, and I'll probably tell you in the next oneshot or maybe in the one after that. Read the A/N at the end to find out when the next oneshot will be out. On with the chapter! 

Also, the credit for the idea of this oneshot goes to @dunleejane. Thanks for that! 

It was Draco's turn to watch her today. 

Which also happened to be her birthday. 

So, you see, Draco didn't know what was worse. Walking with her and ignoring the fact that it was her birthday, or avoiding her for the rest of the day. 

Maybe for a week even, if it were upto him. 

But he had made a promise. And he had no intention of breaking it any soon. 

He was reading a book when he rudely interrupted by Blaise, who threw a pillow at his face. Before Draco could understand what was happening, Blaise threw a book at him, which landed on top of his head.

The next moment, Blaise took out his wand, and threw the spell Petrificus Totalus on him, which Draco barely managed to dodge. 

"What the hell is wrong with you, Zabini?" Draco shouted as he put up a shield charm between them. 

"You are asking me what's wrong?" Blaise exclaimed. "Why did you have to go and tell Pansy that I liked her?" 

"Ohh... I mean..." Draco sheepishly looked at him. He hadn't thought that Pansy might tell Blaise when he had told her about his friend's crush on her. 

"What's more, you told her that I had told Montague to stay away from her." Blaise shook his head.

"I mean, you did threaten that poor bloke." Draco said. 

"Threatened? I didn't threaten him, idiot. I just told him that if he even took a step towards her and made her uncomfortable, I would hex him into oblivion." Blaise scowled at him. 

Draco crossed his arms in front of him and glared at his best friend. "I can't deal with this right now. I need to go." 

Blaise slowly nodded as he understood what he was saying. "Going to meet Granger, are you? Should I tell her that you punched McLaggen when he was talking about her the other day. You know, just to return the favor." 

Draco removed the shield charm and took a step towards him. "Don't you dare to do that. Besides, you know that McLaggen is a disgusting person. I just did her a favor." 

"Whatever helps you to sleep at night, Malfoy." Blaise smirked at him. "Wish her a happy birthday from me, will you?" 

Draco scowled at him and exited their dormitory. 

--------

He found her sitting on the stairs. 

Taking a deep breath, he slowly walked down the stairs and stood behind her. Hermione froze when she felt someone's presence behind her. 

Quickly turning around, she narrowed her eyes at him. "M-Malfoy? What are you doing here?" 

"Shouldn't I be the one to ask you that question, Granger?" He asked her as he saw tear streaks on her cheeks. 

"I came here first, Malfoy. Now excuse me, I need to go." She tried to walk past me, but he grabbed her hand. 

"In case you have forgotten, it is our chance to do the rounds today." He told her, giving her his handkerchief. 

"T-thank you." Hermione muttered as she wiped her face with it. 

"Don't thank me. I didn't do this for you. What would people think if they saw us walking together while you had tear streaming down your face? What would Potter think? What would Weasel think?" He took a step closer to her. 

Hermione glared at him as soon as he mentioned his name. "Don't say his in front of me. I don't want to hear it." 

"Ooo..." Draco smirked at her. "Did he break your heart, bookworm? Though I won't be surprised if he did, after all, who could even stand to talk to you, let alone be with you." 

If it was possible, Hermione's glare intensified. She threw his handkerchief at her, and removed his arm from hers. "Says the one who's currently standing this close to me." 

Before he could say anything, she pushed him aside, and quickly walked away from him. Draco stared at her retreating back and sighed. 

"Why do you have to do this every time?" He heard someone say. 

Draco turned around to see Theo leaning against the wall, looking at him. "Why do you have to be so mean to her everytime?" 

"I can't let her know the truth, Theo." Draco shook his head. "I have to keep up the act." 

"Must you do it today as well?" Theo asked him. "On her birthday? Did you even know why she was crying?" 

"Was it because of them again?" Draco asked him, and Theo just nodded in reply. 

Draco sighed. "We have to tell Goyle. You go and tell him, I will go after her." 

"Are you sure, Draco? I mean, do we really have to tell him?" Theo raised his eyebrows at his friend. 

"We have to." Draco nodded. "We have to tell him. Granger is Goyle's sister, Theo. He has a right to know about this." 

----------

"Mr Malfoy?" 

Draco stopped walking as he saw his professor, McGonagall, walking towards him. 

He didn't know whether to be happy, or irritated about it. 

"What are you doing here? It is time for rounds soon." She stopped in front of her. 

"Uh...yes, Professor. I was just searching for Granger. We have to do the rounds together, and I haven't seen her since dinner." Draco scratched the back of his neck. 

He mentally smirked when she immediately believed his lie. 

Well, it wasn't really a lie. He was searching for her. But he had of course seen her and made her even more upset than she originally was. 

But hey, he had given her his handkerchief as well, Draco assured himself. He had done a good work. 

McGonagall nodded. "Well, in that case, why don't you go and check the place where all the Prefects are supposed to meet and start their rounds?" 

Draco felt like smacking himself right now. Of course, she would be there. She was always the first one to reach there. 

"Right, thanks. Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Professor. Good night." He nodded and started walking away from her. 

"Mr Malfoy?" He turned around when he heard her calling him.

"I hope you still remember why you requested me to make you and Miss Granger partners for doing rounds whenever it was your turn." 

Draco looked down at his feet and sighed. How could he ever forget that day? 

Flashback

"Professor McGonagall?" She looked up to see Draco knocking on her door. "My mother told me that you wanted to talk to me?" 

It was his first day back, and he already had to meet her. 

Could anything be worse than that? 

"Yes, you are right. Come, take a seat." She smiled at him as he entered her office. He hesitated before sitting on the chair in front of her desk, but after a moment, he finally sat down. 

She looked at him. "Your mother, Narcissa, told me yesterday that you had told her something very important yesterday. Something about one of my students, and from the way she was speaking, I knew that the matter was not a joke." 

Why would his mother even talk to McGonagall? He thought. 

"It's not really my place to tell you about that, Professor." Draco said. "But I know that the person who is supposed to tell you that, won't do it." 

"What important thing you told your mother, Mr Malfoy?" She asked him. "About Miss Granger?" 

Draco took a deep breath and started, "I told her that Granger is not really Granger. I mean, she's actually Goyle. Hermione Goyle, not Granger." 

Draco frowned when he said 'Hermione'. He preferred saying 'Granger'. 

"What?" She blinked at him. 

"It's true. Goyle told me during the holidays." He nodded. "As you know, the Goyles were Death Eaters during the first Wizarding War. Gregory Goyle's mother gave birth to Granger-" 

"Call her Hermione in front of me." McGonagall interrupted. "I am getting confused." 

"Okay." He frowned again. "Anyways, as I was saying, she gave birth to Gra-sorry, Hermione in 1979. Nobody knew about that since they weren't in the country during that time. They were living in one of their vilas in Australia, I guess. Hermione accidentally threw some items at the Healers when they gave her to Mrs Goyle. They knew that she was a very powerful witch. Mr and Mrs Goyle tried to keep her a secret. Nobody had a clue that she was the Goyle heiress." 

Draco continued. "Five months later, in February 1980, Voldemort somehow had gotten to know that Mrs Goyle had given birth to a child. He was planning on blackmailing them using that child in case they didn't serve him. Of course, her parents didn't want that, so they decided to give her to a Muggle family, because nobody will even think that they will talk to Muggles. They gave her to a foster home, where I am guessing the Grangers found her." 

"At the same time, Mr Goyle's twin brother was captured by some members on the good side, and they sent him to Azkaban, and he was given the Dementor's Kiss. His wife had given birth to a boy five months back, in October. But she was really weak, and soon died. They had named Hermione's biological parents as that boy's godparents, so they took care of him. Voldemort never got to know about Hermione. He believed that boy to be Mr and Mrs Goyle's child. And, I think you can guess that the boy is Gregory Goyle." He finished. 

McGonagall stared at her fingers. "When did Mr Goyle get to know about that?" 

"At the end of our fifth year. Everyone finally knew that Voldemort had come back, and his parents thought that it was best to tell him." Draco informed her. 

"So, he told you about that? Why?" She asked him. 

"Not only me, he told Blaise, Theo, Pansy and Crabbe as well. And, as for why... I don't really know the exact reason. He just told us that we would watch over her, and see if she's in any danger of some sort or not." 

"Why did you decide to help him, Mr Malfoy? You hate her, don't you?" She looked up at him.

This time it was Draco's turn to stare at his fingers. "I didn't really hate her. I just hated that she was around Weasel and Saint Potter all the time, and was quick to defend them, even when they didn't treat her nicely." 

He missed the way she smirked at him when he said that. But she didn't scold him for calling Ron and Harry those names. 

"I regret whatever I did in the past to her." He said in a low voice. "I-I know what is it like when You-Know-Who threatens anyone, and I didn't want that to happen to her. Besides, Goyle's my friend, so I decided to help him." 

"Anything you would like me to do?" She smiled at him. 

Draco thought for a moment and then nodded. "Can you make me and Hermione partners for doing the rounds? It's just that, it would be easier to keep an eye on her." 

She nodded. "And what reason shall I give everyone when they ask me why?"

"Umm..." Draco looked up at her. "You can tell them it's part of the House Unity plan. Gryffindors and Slytherins are rivals, and so, when you make us partners, it will help reduce that rivalry at least a little bit. Pansy can't really stand her, and if I am partners with Weasel, I would hex him on the spot. So, the only option is to make me and Hermione partners." 

McGonagall regarded him. "Okay, I'll see what I can do, Mr Malfoy. You can go now." 

He muttered a quick thank you and stood up from the chair. Before he could exit the office, he heard her call his name. 

"Do what you feel is right, Mr Malfoy. And not what others think is." She told him. 

He nodded and exited her office. 

"Albus will be proud." McGonagall smiled softly.

Flashback over

"I do. I won't ever forget that." He said and walked away from her. 

---------

Hermione walked in silence next to him. 

She hadn't uttered even a single word to her ever since McGonagall had told them that they would be doing the rounds near the Astronomy Tower. 

The silence was becoming unbearable for Draco.

"So... What do you think us being partners?" He asked her. 

"I think that I have to walk next to the untolerable arrogant boy for the rest of the year." She told him. 

Draco smirked. "That was too predictable. Come on, Granger, I thought you could do better than that." 

Hermione ignored him and entered the Astronomy Tower. As she climbed up the stairs, she felt his presence behind her. They weren't required to enter the Tower as per the rules, but Hermione wanted to look at the stars. 

She stood near the railings, Draco standing next to her. "Have you ever looked at the stars closely?" 

"Yes." He looked at her. "I have my own telescope so I can come here and look at the stars whenever I want too." 

Hermione nodded. "Do you have a telescope as well?" He asked, and she shook her head 'no'. 

Draco didn't know why he asked her, or why he did that, but the next moment found him staring at her. "Today is your birthday, isn't it?" 

She nodded. 

"How many people wished you?" He asked again. 

"None." Draco's eyes widened at that. "My parents didn't wish me. And, my friends, they were too busy to notice that today is my birthday." 

He couldn't believe that. Sure, he knew that her foster parents were recently regretting adopting her, as Goyle had told him, but he couldn't accept the fact that they wouldn't even wish her.

And her friends... If Draco didn't hex Weasel or Potter soon, it would be a miracle. 

"That's Draco, isn't it?" He was shocked when he heard her say his name, but she was pointing at the constellation in the sky. 

"Yes, that's Draco. Or, the dragon. Whatever you want to call it." He shrugged. 

"Your name means dragon. But it doesn't suit you." She turned towards him.

"And why is that?" He too turned towards her. 

"You don't look like a dragon. You look like a ferret." She smirked at him. 

Draco rolled his eyes. He heard someone climbing up the stairs, and the door soon opened to reveal Blaise standing there. 

"McGonagall told us that the rounds have ended. You two should go back to bed now." He said. 

They both nodded. "Come on then, princess." Blaise winked at them. 

"Hey! Don't call me that." Hermione glared at him. 

"I was talking to Draco." Blaise smirked. 

He received a Bat Bogey hex from Draco. 

"I'll meet you in the common room in a few minutes. Wait for me there." Draco told Blaise, who exited the Tower. 

"Hey Granger... Stay here for just three minutes, will you?" He asked her, but without waiting for an answer, he walked away from her. 

Against her better judgement, she did as he told her. 

Exactly three minutes later, she saw something landing in front of her, covered with a cloth. She cast some spells to remove any charms, if there were any, on that object. Once she was satisfied, she removed the cloth. 

In front of her was a telescope. 

A small note was attached on top of it. It said: 

You can have this for a week. And, I mean only a week. 

However, if you want it for more than that, then you will have study sessions with me in the library everyday (don't tell anyone about that). 

Ps. Happy Birthday, Granger. 

Hermione smiled at that. 

Draco Malfoy was truly unpredictable. 

Meanwhile...

Blaise was just telling Draco about something, when he heard someone tapping on the door. Draco got up and opened it, just to see his pet owl with a letter attached to her leg. 

He gave her a few treats and walked towards Blaise. 

"Go on, open it." Blaise pointed towards the letter. 

When Draco opened the letter, he froze. 

There were only eleven words, but they were enough to make his blood run cold. 

It is time for you to take your Dark Mark, Draco. 

(A/N: They are currently in their sixth year, and Draco is not a Death Eater yet.)

----------

Seven months later...

Draco had successfully managed to avoid talking to her, if it wasn't required, at any cost for the past seven months. Ever since he had received that letter.

They were still partners, and did rounds almost every night. She would try to talk to him, but he would just ignore her.

He only spoke to her during their study sessions, which were now reduced to once a week from daily sessions. 

She still had his telescope. And, he didn't ask her about it even once. When she had thanked him the day after he had given her that, he ignored that.

On the other hand, Hermione was becoming lonelier and lonelier day by day.

She didn't have anyone to talk to besides him, and sometimes Ginny.

Apparently, Ron had spread some rumours about her. He had told everyone that she was jealous because he chose Lavender over her, and so was trying to get him back. 

Which was, of course, a complete lie.

Harry had stopped talking to her when he had found out about their study sessions. According to him, she was ignoring the fact that he was a Death Eater and was putting everyone in danger.

McGonagall had informed her the other day that her parents, the Grangers, wanted her to leave Hogwarts. They thought that it was too dangerous for her, and they wanted her to have a normal life, and have no contact with the magical world.

They had even threatened to stop paying the fees, but two unknown people had told McGonagall that they would be taking care of her fees. 

Hermione knew nothing about them. She just thought that they were some kind people.

She was currently sitting on her favorite desk, while Draco sat in front of her. He was scribbling furiously on a parchment and she couldn't help but scowl at him.

"Why have you been ignoring me?" She suddenly asked him.

Draco narrowed his eyes at her. "In case you are too daft to notice things, Granger, I am currently sitting in front of you, and was talking with you about some potions a few minutes ago."

"I am not talking about that." She shook her head. "I am talking about the time when we do our rounds. Ever since you had given me that telescope, you stopped talking to me during our rounds. You ignore me when I ask you anything."

He didn't say anything.

"Look, if you want your telescope back, you can have it-" She was cut off when he immediately stood up.

"I need to go." He muttered and collected his things.

Before he could walk away, she stood up and grabbed his arm. His left arm. The one that had the Dark Mark.

He tried to push her aside, but she didn't budge. "What's your problem, Malfoy? It is a smiple question. Just answer it."

"You want your answer? Fine!" He exclaimed. "I can't stand your kind, Granger! I can't stand you. I only tolerate you in these sessions because I want my grades to improve. If it were upto me, I would throw you out of Hogwarts right now."

Hermione stared at him and slowly shook her head. "I can't believe you, Malfoy. You are disgusting!" Without another glance at him, she exited the library.

Draco was lucky that she had not noticed his dark mark.

----------

He found her near the railings. 

She was standing dangerously close to the edge, the railings being the only thing between her and the edge. 

He saw her take another step forwards. She was now leaning on the railings. 

If she took another step forwards...

Before she could do that, he ran towards her and pulled her towards him. She lost her balance and fell on him, thus making him fall on the ground.

She landed on top of him, his arms wrapped around her waist. For a few moments, she just stared at him. Then as she realised what had happened, she removed his arms from around her, and stood up.

"Why did you do that, Malfoy?" She yelled at him.

He too stood up and glared at her. "You should thank me for saving your life, Granger. What were you thinking while doing that? Why did you want to end your life?"

"End my life?" She stared at him. "Why would you think that? And, even if I was doing that, why did you stop me?"

He crossed his arms in front of him, and simply looked at her. 

Hermione sighed. "I don't know why you care if I do that or not, but I wasn't doing that at all. I was just...Look, Draco-"

He didn't know if that was a slip of tongue, or she really wanted to say his name, but Draco did froze when she said his name. 

"-I-I was just thinking." He nodded at her, silently telling her to go on, "I was just thinking about what good I had in my life. What good was left in my life. My friends don't care about me, I have no one to talk to, and my foster parents want me to leave this Wizarding World."

"F-foster parents?" His eyes widened at her. How did she know about that?

"Don't look at me like that. I know that you know what I am talking about." She frowned at him. "I heard Zabini talking with Goyle. He said that I-I was his sister, and then Goyle told him to keep his voice down, in case anyone heard. He also said that he received a letter from the Grangers, and that they didn't want me as their daughter anymore."

Draco didn't know what to say. He just looked at her. He didn't understand how could anyone even think about leaving this kind and sweet girl.

But then again, who was he to say that?

"I have no reason to live for, Draco. Nobody would even notice my absence. Nobody would give a damn if I just disappear." She turned back towards the edge.

He took a step towards her. "You think you are the only one broken here, Granger? Want to know the truth? Meet me here after dinner."

He stepped closer to her, and whispered in her ear, "Please don't take any rash decisions before hearing me out. I will prove you wrong, Hermione... Please."

That day, he told her everything. 

He told her how he had to stay a week at the Manor because Voldemort had continuously used Cruciatus Curse on him until he had agreed to do the task.

She didn't flinch when he had shown her his dark mark. Instead, she traced its oulines with her fingers. 

He told her how he had wanted to end his life so many times, but one reason still kept him alive. He wanted to save his family, and someone else. Though he didn't tell her whom that someone was.

When he had finished, he looked at her. They were sitting next to each other on the floor of the Astronomy Tower.

"I don't have any reason." She told him.

"You do." Hermione turned to look at him. "You have so many reasons, Hermione, you just need to recognise them." He held out his hand to her. "I can help you if you would allow me to."

He didn't know why he did that. But one thing was clear to him. But he didn't dare admit that. 

She slowly placed her hand in his. "Why are you doing this?" 

"Believe it or not, you somehow became an important person in my life. And, I am sorry for whatever I did." He sighed.

She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. She had a support now. And she didn't mind that it was him. 

--------- 

One month later...

"Zabini, will you hurry up?" Hermione shouted at him. 

"Chill, Granger. It's just Draco. I am sure he will like this gift, even if I don't wrap it. But anyways, why are you even giving him that? It's not his birthday." Blaise looked at her. 

"He gave me his telescope months ago, and I just wanted to give him something in return. Do you think he will like this book? He told me he wanted to try out a few Muggle books." She asked him. 

"Granger, if you even give him a simple quill, he will be really happy. After all, he's madly in love with you." He winked at her. 

"Shut up, Zabini." Hermione looked down at her feet. But, she knew that it was true. Draco had admitted that yesterday to her. 

Hermione couldn't help but smile when he had told her. She too had somehow developed feelings for him in the past few months. 

"Anyways, I don't understand how did you even get this close to him? He doesn't allow anyone to be with him." Blaise looked at her.

Hermione smiled as she saw Draco walking towards them. "It was a bit difficult, but you just have to get to know him properly. Because unlike how he so simply said it, everything wasn't fine with him." 

A/N: That's it for this oneshot. It was 4100+ words. Hope you guys liked it. I think it was a bit weird and cheesy as well, but anyways, I published it. Random question: Favourite DADA professor? Answer in the comments below. Vote, comment and please share my story. Reviews are always appreciated. Thank you! 

Next chapter on 3/7/20(Friday). 

Until next time.




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