Return to Eden

A/N: Okay, first of all, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed the previous chapter. I wish now that I had made Draco's nickname somewhat harder to figure out because nearly everyone pretty much guessed what it meant, almost. That will also be explained in this chapter. Second, I've gotten lots of comments about how Hermione reacted to Harry. I'll just say this: Draco is going to continue being hostile and insulting towards them, sometimes to a point where he's actually defending Hermione. Hermione's feelings about them will lean more towards a casual indifference because she can't really be friends with them anymore. It's too painful for her because of what she now knows. I hope that cleared some more things up. If you have any questions about anything else, I'd be happy to answer them. PLEASE R/R!!!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Or Draco Malfoy. Damn the world. *grin*

Return to Eden

Chapter 9: Decisions

The morning after Harry encountered Hermione, a pounding on the window awakened Ron from his fretful slumber. He rolled over and tried to ignore it, but it just grew more insistent until he finally sat up.

"Alright, I'm up. I'm up. I can't get any -" He cut off as soon as he saw the spectacles of his best friend peering back at him. He hurriedly opened his bedroom window and Harry flew in on his broom coming to a stop in the middle. He quickly dismounted it and let the broom fall to the ground.

Ron was still watching his friend with disbelieving eyes. "Harry, what are you doing here? I thought you were going back home with Remus and Sirius. You said you'd meet me in Diagon Alley next week to get school supplies." His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Hey, you didn't go without me, did you?"

"Ron!" Harry's voice was exasperated when he spoke. "We have MUCH bigger things to worry about right now." Then, he proceeded to recount the incident with Hermione and Malfoy. By the time he was finished, Ron's eyes were threatening to pop out of their sockets.

"She let him touch her?! Oh, I'm going to kill the bastard!" In a flash of red hair, he had started towards the door, but Harry caught him by the hem of his shirt.

"I'm just as upset as you are, but we can't just rush off to kill Malfoy!" Harry was doing his best to calm his friend, but Ron's anger would not be subdued.

"WATCH ME!" He was nearly consumed with rage as he tried to wrestle out of Harry's grip on his shirt. That son of a bitch! If he thinks he can lay a hand on MY Hermione, I'll rip his fucking throat out! No, that would be too easy. It has to be slow. And painful.

Harry, seeing that he wasn't accomplishing anything, decided to try another tactic. He drew back his fist and landed a punch squarely on Ron's jaw.

Ron looked stunned, but had stopped struggling. He sank to the ground and looked back up at Harry as he rubbed his jaw in a soothing motion. "Thanks for that. I get crazy where Hermione's concerned."

Harry just shook his head before lowering himself to sit on the ground opposite Ron. "You think?" He shook his head again before continuing. "Anyway, we need to think about this before taking any kind of action. I know it's difficult, but you weren't there. You didn't see her look at you with all that coldness. It's like she wasn't even the same person."

Ron looked at Harry like something had just occurred to him. "Wait. She didn't act anything like our Hermione? What did you say she was wearing?"

"No, she was acting like a Malfoy. She was wearing designer robes. They looked very expensive. Also a Malfoy trait."

"Harry, I just thought of something. What if that wasn't our Hermione? What if Malfoy is just trying to make us think that she's sided with him or something? He probably thinks we'll do something rash, and then we'll get kicked out of Hogwarts. It sounds exactly like something Malfoy would do."

"But how would he be doing it?"

"I don't know. Polyjuice Potion or a glamour probably. Maybe he snuck some hair from Hermione and is making Pansy or someone take the potion. I wouldn't put it pass him."

"Neither would I. Besides, it sounds much more reasonable than Hermione actually taking up with Draco Malfoy. I mean, she hates him."

"Yeah. I can't believe we thought that."

Ron and Harry proceeded to have a good laugh at their suddenness to jump to conclusions. Their denial set in further as they continued to reassure each other that they were being ridiculous.

Ron, in his mind, was still skeptical, but he kept his doubts to himself. He would bide his time in finding what was up with Hermione, but he was now nearly convinced that Malfoy was involved somehow. When school started again, he would find out the truth from Hermione herself. He didn't want to risk anything sooner for fear of ruining any chance he might have with her. But if Malfoy was connected to her in any way, he really would kill the bastard himself.

*~*~*

When Hermione and the Malfoys finally returned to the manor after staying at the hotel, she was still reeling from coming upon Harry in Diagon Alley. She hadn't said much at dinner, going to her room soon after to spend time in silent contemplation.

Having her old life collide with her new one so abruptly had been an eye-opener. The tears threatened to fall, but she wouldn't let them. She had cried enough. Her parents were gone, but she had already mourned them. Now it was time to do what she did best, take action.

Seeing Harry made her deal with what she hadn't been prepared for. It was simply too painful to be around them, and brought up the memory of why she was an orphaned pureblood. She couldn't trust them either. For all she knew, they could be ratting her out to the Ministry right now, and they would come take her away from the people that had showed her compassion during an extremely difficult time.

After unpacking her bag, she crossed the hall and went into Draco's room needing his presence to sooth her anxiety. She found him stretched out on top of the cover on his bed trying to nap. He kept his eyes closed when he heard her come in. She crawled up the bed and situated herself next to him.

He finally opened his eyes and looked at her when she didn't speak. She was looking away from him and he could see the worry etched in her face and the unease in her eyes. He rose up on his elbows and kept his voice gentle.

"What's wrong?"

She finally looked at him. At the look on his face, she let all her fears melt away. "Nothing."

Draco wouldn't be sidetracked. "Hermione, I seriously doubt that nothing is wrong. I don't think you would be in bed with me if everything were hunky dory. Now, tell me."

She brought her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around them. It struck Draco how lost she looked at that moment. Like a little girl that had lost her way.

"It's just, seeing Harry yesterday made me realize how much everything has changed. I'm not so sure I want to go back to school. What's everybody going to think of me when they find out?"

"You mean, you're going to let everyone else's opinion of you ruin your last year at Hogwarts? You're just going to give up being Head Girl?"

"Well, no." She let her head fall back on the pillow opposite Draco as she sighed. "I just don't know what to do."

"You had better decide soon." He was looking down at her with a discerning expression. "We go back in a little over two weeks."

"I just know that I can't be around Harry or Ron. They would ask too many questions that I don't feel like answering." She appeared petulant.

Draco started to laugh at her. He managed to speak in-between chuckles. "How do you plan on doing that? I'd rather you stay away from Potter and Weasel myself, but you're in the same house and you share the same classes. It'd be nearly impossible to avoid them altogether. What are you going to do? Switch houses?"

His bouts of mirth were interrupted by Blaise's sudden appearance at the foot of the bed causing him to roll off on to the floor with a yelp. Blaise and Hermione shared a look before Draco reappeared over the edge of the bed. He was glaring at Blaise for all he was worth from his spot on the floor. "I see you passed the Apparation Test."

Blaise looked extremely pleased with herself as she nodded. "Just this morning. I thought I'd come pay a visit to Hermione, but I was hoping to catch you off guard." She snickered. "I'd say I did a pretty good job."

He just continued to glare. Blaise didn't pay him any attention and directed her focus towards Hermione. Blaise had to admit that she was impressed with Hermione's ability to keep herself together. She knew, that had it been she whose life had fallen apart so thoroughly, she would have been an emotional wreck. The girl definitely has some willpower.

"May I speak with you, Hermione?" Draco cocked a dubious eyebrow at Blaise's question.

Hermione also appeared confused by the proper asking of the question. "Why, yes, of course. I don't understand why you even had to ask. What did you want to speak with me about?"

Blaise cut her eyes towards Draco before settling back on Hermione. "I meant, privately." She looked back over at Draco. "If you don't mind, Dev."

"I do mind. This is my room, and I'm not leaving. Besides, I don't know what you have to talk to Hermione about that you can't do in my presence. I'd rather not have the two of you plotting behind my back. And stop calling me Dev!" He gracefully lounged himself back upon the bed with his arms crossed and stubbornness written all across his face.

Blaise glared at him. "Fine. Hermione, do you want to go into your room?"

"Sure. It's just across the hall." Hermione noticed the increasing sparks and tension flying amid the two other occupants of the room. She felt that there was something else going on between them that neither was telling her. Something much more complex than a friendship and a sexual relationship.

*~*~*

Percy Weasley had been having a very good day.

In his office as Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, he had arranged several future meetings, sent off eight owls, and yelled at three people for not being as busy as he was. A typical day in the life of Percy.

As the third son of the Weasley clan, Percy had enough ambition growing up for all seven kids put together. His goal was to eventually become Ministry of Magic, but he still had plenty of time for that. He was already the youngest department head at the ripe age of twenty-two. Even his assistant, Jocelyn Moon, was older than him.

Percy's luck, however, would not hold out the entire day. At nearly an hour before it was time to pack up, his office door crashed open with a bang startling him. Lucius Malfoy stood on the other side of the threshold with what appeared to be a painful grin on his face.

"Young Mr. Weasley! How does the day fare you?"

Percy was immediately put on alert by Lucius' illusory pleasantries. He stiffened in his high-backed chair as the patriarch of the only family he truly loathed strolled into his office like he owned everything in it. He did not return the greeting, but studied Lucius over the rim of his glasses before outstretching his hand offering a seat.

"Mr. Malfoy, we both know this will go faster and easier if you just tell me what you want so I can get on with my work."

Lucius lost the fake cheerful expression he had plastered on his face before entering. "Very well. I need your signature for something." He didn't look like he was going to elaborate any further.

"You better damn well tell me what it's for! I'm not just going to sign my name to something when I don't even know what it is!" Percy was amazed at Lucius' arrogant audacity.

Lucius hesitated before producing a paper from the inside pocket of his robe. It was an official form to take files from the Ministry Records. Three people had already signed it: Lucius himself, the Head Record Keeper, and Albus Dumbledore.

Percy gawked when he saw Dumbledore's signature upon the document. He read the explanatory section, but it only clarified that it was to pull files on a previous Hogwarts student. It went on to say that said files were private and protected under the Confidentiality Clause in Paragraph Nine of the Treatment of Under-aged Wizards Act. All damages or obstructions that might occur were the responsibility of the person handling the files at that time.

Percy looked over the paper once more before it finally hit him. He looked back up at Lucius who appeared quite impatient. "You already have all the signatures you need. Why do you need mine?"

Lucius was not pleased at having to answer so many questions. "The student whose files I need transferred here from Beauxbatons during a power struggle in her family. She was brought here under the protection of the Ministry, but this department handled all the paperwork. That's why I need your signature."

Percy narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "This seems rather fishy to me. The French princess is no business of yours."

Lucius rose from his seat in the blink of an eye and slammed his hand down upon the desk. That certainly got Percy's attention. "Now, you listen to me." Lucius' voice had reverted from businesslike to a deadly whisper. He leaned towards Percy over the desk until they were nose to nose. "I'm doing this because the woman in question was once a dear friend of mine. If I have to remind you, she is now in St. Mungo's for mental injuries that were inflicted by the same people who swore to protect her. It is the Ministry's fault and your father's that her daughter, the last remaining heir to the throne in France, was lost. I think the least you can do to make up for your family's transgressions is sign your name on a piece of paper."

Percy reached out and grabbed his quill from its place on the desk. He quickly scratched his name across the last line under Dumbledore's. He rolled the parchment back up before handing it to Lucius.

Lucius tipped his head towards the younger man and took the offered piece of parchment. After making his way to the door, he turned back around. "Your discretion is appreciated." And with that, he was gone.

Percy slumped back in his chair once Lucius was gone, but his curiosity was peaked. His nerves were on end from the way Lucius had talked to him. Percy knew Lucius to be a cold man, but this was different. It was not simply business-as-usual; this had meant a great deal to the elder Malfoy. He would not have come in person had it not.

Percy looked up at the clock. Only fifteen minutes left until it was time for him to clock out for the day.

He started to pack everything away into his drawers and file cabinets until his desk was cleared soon to be piled with tomorrow's paperwork. He clocked out and then apparated to the small apartment he had finally been able to afford himself.

He was halfway through dinner before he ultimately reached a decision. Tomorrow, he would do his own research on what Lucius seemed so interested in, and he would see where the paper trail led him.

*~*~*

Lavinia was pacing across the cave in a tiff. "I don't understand what's taking so long! The potion revealed their identities to us. We know who they are. Ambrosia was supposed to freeze time and bring them to us, but that was nearly an hour ago. Where are they and what's she waiting for?!"

Ophidia was watching her counterpart from the other side of the cave in amusement. "Oh hush, you bint. I'm sure she'll be back soon, and they will follow soon after." A wide smile spread across her cracked and wrinkled features. "You just have to have a little patience."

Lavinia let out a loud groan in frustration before picking up a glass bottle and hurling it at the hag. It shattered off the stone to the right of her and its contents spilled out on to the cave floor. It was then that Ambrosia reappeared.

"Really, Lavinia. You'd think you would've learned some patience many millennia ago." With a wave of her hand, Ambrosia repaired the broken bottle. She made her way to her usual seat on the left of Ophidia and to the right of Lavinia. She was looking extremely pleased with herself.

"It is done. The boy and girl should be joining us shortly."

*~*~*

Hermione was making her way to her room with Blaise following behind when she started feeling dizzy. She grabbed the frame of Draco's door for leverage, but all hope was lost when the room itself began spinning.

She closed her eyes willing that the room stay still. Once she felt her equilibrium slowly return, she opened her eyes and gasped.

Somehow, she and Draco, for he was standing right next to her, had been transported to a cave that looked to be nowhere near Malfoy Manor. Three people, all seemed to be female, were peering at them with the up most interest written on their faces. Hermione suddenly felt self-conscious at being studied like a bug under a microscope. She saw that even Draco was uncomfortable with the intensity of their gazes.

Draco had the nerve to speak first. "Um, where are we?"

Ambrosia rose to address him. "You're here with us in a forest cave not far from the mountains. We've brought you here because we wish to speak with you about a matter of great importance."

The scholar in Hermione perked up. "Which mountains?"

Ambrosia frowned. "I don't know. We never asked."

Lavinia crossed over to them and took Hermione by the hand. "It's of no matter. Come sit with us and we will answer some of your questions before we explain what you're doing here."

Draco and Hermione tentatively approached the two chairs that were obviously set out for them before sitting in them. The three beings' watchfulness had never wavered for a moment.

Hermione still looked fearful. "Who are you?"

"I am Ambrosia, Power of Magic. This is Lavinia, Power of Good, and Ophidia, Power of Evil. We watch over this world and make sure it runs smoothly and such."

Draco looked more at ease since he'd heard of the Three Powers before, but had discarded them as a myth. "How do you expect to cover up our sudden disappearance?"

"I froze time to get you here. It won't start again until you leave from here and return to the exact spot from whence you came."

Hermione seemed disbelieving. "You froze time? How could you possibly do something like that? I know of no spell to that magnitude."

"The gift of magic that flows through your veins like blood into every fiber of your being is an extension of my power. You are powerful because I wanted you to be. It would not do, girl, to disrespect your elders for it can be taken away as easily as it was given." Ambrosia did not look threatening at all to Hermione, only sincere.

Draco was convinced, by now, that the three people in front of him were telling the truth. "I guess that leaves why we are here."

"Yes, it does." Ophidia was the last of the three to speak. "I'll put it to you simply: the fate of the world rests on your shoulders." Then, she burst out into boisterous laughter.

Lavinia tried to quiet her down while suppressing the terrified looks that had broken out on the two teenagers' faces. "Oh hush, hag! You needn't worry, it's what you both have been destined to do."

They chorused together. "Destined?"

Lavinia sighed. "We better start at the beginning."

"When the world was still in its infancy, we were left with a warning of when the power would shift. It didn't make much sense to us at the time, and we continued to watch the world grow. Centuries turned into millennia, but still we waited for we were not destined to watch over this world for all eternity. We have a higher purpose just like the two of you. Finally, when we had nearly lost hope, we began to see signs that would eventually lead to the shift."

Ambrosia took up Lavinia's narration. "You see, you are the Daughter of the Lion and you are the Son of the Wolf. You will come together at the time when the world is the most chaotic, and from there, a new order will arise."

"Wait a minute." Draco held up a hand indicating she should pause. "What do you mean 'Son of the Wolf' and 'Daughter of the Lion?' That doesn't make any sense to me."

"Your father is like a wolf. Private, only associating with a small group; believes in hierarchy; an aggressive member of society that lets nothing get in his way." Ambrosia turned to Hermione. "Your mother was like a lion. Before she became ill. Proud, a thing of beauty but very intelligent; a royal being; a graceful predator that got what she wanted."

Draco and Hermione both nodded at this.

Lavinia trudged on. "See, here's the part where it gets tricky. We don't know when or where or how the shift will take place, but we know that you two will play the key roles in it." Her eyes turned upon Hermione. "We do know that you finding out that you were a pureblood has something to do with it."

Draco lifted a sardonic eyebrow. "And that's all you know about it?"

The three all-knowing beings looked embarrassed at this. "Well, since we're not involved in it, and we're not even supposed to help really, we weren't given specifics. You'll just have to make do with what we have and figure the rest out for yourselves." Ophidia grumbled something under her breath that sounded very much like 'ungrateful brats.'

"Well, I guess we'll be on our way then. Now that Hermione and I have a destiny to figure out, we better not waste any more of our time. Hermione?" His sarcastic tone faded when he turned his attention back to his female companion.

"Okay, but how do we get back?" Hermione's anxiousness was apparent all over her face.

Ambrosia lifted her arms. "Like this." Almost at once, the room began to spin again.

*~*~*

Hermione and Draco found themselves back in the corridor that separated their rooms in Malfoy Manor. Thankful to have solid ground under their feet once again, they leaned back against opposite sides of the hall as they tried to get their nerves under control. They had to go back into Draco's room before time would reactivate.

Draco was the first to speak. "Well, that was interesting."

"Interesting? You thought that was interesting? You would. This is all your fault, you know. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't be in this mess with destinies and power shifts."

"My fault? How can you even say that? I have no control of what was told to the Three Powers. I have no say in what was foretold before you and I were even born. If it's anyone's fault here, it's yours." Draco was getting more agitated by the second.

"Mine? How do you figure that?" Hermione's ire was also beginning to show.

"Isn't it obvious? You found out you were a pureblood, and then you moved in here with MY family thereby setting this WHOLE thing into motion. If you had just stayed the Gryffindor Mudblood Bitch, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED!"

"Oh, NO sir! You do NOT get to place the blame of this on to ME when it's entirely YOUR fault. YOU'RE the one who set this whole thing into motion."

"OH YEAH? EXPLAIN THAT. I WANT TO HEAR HOW I HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE WE WERE EVEN BORN!"

"THIS ALL HAPPENED BECAUSE YOU KISSED ME! IF YOU HAD JUST STAYED BEING A BASTARD TO ME AND MY FRIENDS, I WOULDN'T HAVE EVER CONSIDERED JOINING SIDES WITH YOU AND BETRAYING MY FRIENDS! MAYBE THEN, MY PARENTS WOULDN'T HAVE TOLD ME THAT I WAS ADOPTED! YOU JUST COULDN'T LEAVE ME ALONE! I'M RESPONSIBLE, BUT I NEVER ASKED FOR THIS MUCH RESPONSIBILITY! NOW I HAVE SOME DESTINY, AND IT'S YOUR -"

Before she could finish her hysterical and decibel-splitting rant, Draco slammed her hard into the wall and brought his lips down over hers in a bruising and fierce kiss. Both were shattered to the core at the intensity poured into the melding of their mouths. Draco pushed Hermione harder into the wall and crushed his body against hers. To Hermione, it felt like being on fire and swimming in ice at the same time; like being broken down and put back together all in the same instant. Pure, raw hunger overtook her as she clutched at his neck because it was the only thing keeping her from completely descending into blackness from the feelings of undiluted pleasure throbbing through her every nerve. His tongue felt like velvet cream as it stroked and caressed the inner crevices of her mouth in a slow, erotic dance that made the crackling electricity between them almost tangible. She began to feel the same sensation she had felt in the prefects' bathroom of the world falling away...

A/N: I know you probably really hate me right now for leaving it like that, but it was too good an opportunity to pass up. Is she going to sleep with him? I sure as hell don't know, but maybe you'd like to cast a vote. Hopefully, you've enjoyed this chapter. I know it's not nearly as long as my last one, but the length of that chapter was a fluke more than anything. I try to get in at least 12 pages, which is exactly this one's length. I don't know when the next chapter will be out; I've been trying to put up at least one chapter every month, but my writing time is about to be seriously limited with college apps needing to be filled out. I promise to do my best though. As always, I'm happy to answer any questions or reply to any comments that you might have about this story. Feel free to email me. If you do that, I might start giving chapter sneak peeks. *grin* PLEASE R/R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. I know I promised that the explanation of Draco's nickname would appear in this chapter, but I switched some things around and it didn't make it in. I promise that it will be in the next chapter in the scene where Blaise and Hermione have a little "girl talk."