The Given Choices

*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Chapter Twenty-two *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Room of Requirement exactly resembled her childhood backyard on a summer night: there was plenty of green grass around and a large, wooden swing that would fit her parents, the Grangers and herself comfortably even last summer. Hermione was very taken back by this scene seeing all she had thought of while walking up and down the corridor in front of the Room of Requirement was some place good to think and talk. The Room had chosen well because the swing was the first place she would go to if she ever had something on her mind. So many nights had been spent in the dark just listening to the night creatures as she slowly swung...

She took a seat on the swing as she waited for Draco's arrival. The twinkling from the stars above her started to calm the nerves that were going out of control with worry about the talk that was to come. Hermione had to convince him to join the side of the Light with her. Her heart ached at the thought of loosing Draco to Voldemort and his father, but she knew that she could not change her boyfriend. Nevertheless she hoped that her love and doing the idea of doing the 'right' thing would win him over.

Two hands clasped over her eyes and she smiled as she felt soft lips press against her neck. Hermione smirked as she taunted, "Blaise this is not the time for that. Draco should be here at any moment."

Teeth nipped her throat before Draco whispered, "The only way he could touch what is mine would be over my dead body and I am not going to let that happen any time soon, missy."

"You' better not. Besides, Ginny would probably kill him first though," she joked as he took a seat on the swing next to her.

He glanced around and commented, "Quaint. Where did this come from?"

She tucked one of her feet under her body and turned to face him as she stated, "This is my parent's backyard. I grew up playing here. Over there used to be a sand box but sometime during my third year, Father got rid of it and planted those rose bushes for mother."

Draco glanced at the four bushes that had white roses on it and then saw behind them; there was a small stone sticking out of the ground. He got to his feet and headed over to it. The stone was marble and it had a Jasmine vine growing behind it, etched into the stone there was the name 'Emilia May Granger.'

Hermione rested her head on his strong arm as he pulled her closer to him. She looked at the stone with such sadness in her eyes. "She died when I was seven. Emilia was two years older than me. I remember she always loved to sing London Bridges."

"I thought you were an only child with the accident and all?"

"No," she said as she sat on the ground by the base of the Jasmine bush and leaned forward to smell a bloomed flower. "My Nana was watching her as father took mother to the hospital. She loved flowers of all kinds, but Jasmine was her favorite. I think she liked the white petals and the aroma it has."

He kissed the top of her head and took her hands as he kneeled besides her. "Is that why you use it?"

Hermione smiled as she picked the flower and stuck it behind her ear and replied, "Yes to a degree. I too love the scent, it always soothed me. If my house were here, you'd see the vine go to my window. Many nights I left my window open just to smell it as I fell asleep."

Draco offered her his hand to help her up as he asked, "How did she die?"

They walked back to the swing and sat as she began, "I remember it was some day during Fall and we were walking along my Nana's backyard fence. The gate was open and she tagged me to chase her into the woods behind the house. After a while, I caught up with her and she was near the edge of a cliff.

"Then, from behind a mean dog appeared and it was foaming from the mouth. I was so scared. It started to head to her and I was so frightened. I was crying and she told me to go get mum. I was about to run back when the brown dog looked as if it was going to attack her," she explained as her eyes where fixed forwards as if she was replaying it in her mind.

Her boyfriend squeezed her hand and she continued, "I saw it bite her leg and the blood that flowed out of it! Emmy was able to kick it off her and it was like I my vision went red. Next thing I knew the ground by the edge started to shake and the mad dog started to panic, then the side of the edge just fell into the lake below. The dog was gone and I remember hearing it howl as it fell."

A tear rolled down her cheek as he pulled her into a hug but she kept going. "The ground stopped moving for a second but the edge had shifted to about a foot from my sister. Her leg was bleeding so much. She yelled for me to go get help and I ran as fast as I could but by time I reached the fence I heard rocks falling again. I ran straight back but the place where my sister once laid was gone. Completely gone. My parents must've heard the rumble and they arrived just behind me but it was too late. They found her dead at the edge of the lake among with the rubble from the hillside."

"Oh, baby," he took held her as she cried and ran his hands up and down her back as he tried to calm her. After a few minutes, the crying came to a halt and her shoulders stopped shaking from her sobs. He titled her head up and wiped away the remaining tears as he said, "Thanks for sharing that with me, I want to know everything about you."

Hermione straighten up as she admitted, "That was not planned. Not that I mind talking about her but that was not the reason for me wanting to see you tonight."

"What did you have in mind?" he asked as wiggled his eyebrows, "An encore from earlier?"

"Get your mind out of my knickers. No, I wanted to talk."

He sighed as he placed his hands behind his head and replied, "Talk about what?"

Her mouth almost purred at the sight of him showing off his sexy chest and stomach through the thin black shirt he wore. With a shake of her head, she focused on her hands in her lap and said, "What you see in the future for you, me, and us?"

He brought one hand to his head as he tried to resemble Trelawney as he whispered; "I see a Head Boy badge in my near future and a similar one for you. I see us lying on a beach without any clothes on. Sound good to you?"

"That's nice but something might come between us and not make that last part happen," Hermione commented as she looked up into his perfect silver eyes.

His fists clenched as he bit out, "Blaise? Or is it Potter?"

She chuckled for a moment and then unbuttoned his left shirtsleeve, as she stated, "No, neither of them. I was thinking more along the lines of something right here."

Draco gave her a confused look as she lightly brushed over his left forearm. Just as it seemed like he was going to ask, his face changed as he realized she was talking about the Dark Mark he was due to take in two weeks. His hand held hers as he said, "I don't see why that would come between us. It is our future, our destiny, Hermione."

She shook her head and held his hand even tighter, "No, it's not."

"I was raised to follow in my father's footsteps as you will follow your mother's. I am proud to be follower of such a powerful man, who will eventually win this war."

Hermione got to her feet as she tried not to let her temper rise and focus on him, not his father's brainwashing. "Why follow a madman without question as he orders you to hunt, rape and kill people you know and don't know? People who did nothing to him but get killed just because their blood is not pure enough, or because they are smart enough not to believe his ranting."

That got him to his feet so he stood face to face with her, even though he was a good five inches taller than her. Draco's face turned to cold as he stated, "I'll do whatever is asked by my Master for the good of society. You are no longer a Mudblood, so you don't have to defend them. I thought you would be at my side for rest of our future as Death Eaters."

Hermione took a step closer and touched his cheek once as she replied, "Then you thought wrong, I would be with you if you would make a different choice. There are other options, Draco. You could still be with me, just on the other side of the war."

His mouth formed a sneer as he remarked, "I will not bow down for Saint Potter."

"You don't have to bow down to anyone on our side. Just stand with us and raise your wand with ours against the Dark Side. Draco, you don't have to become your father. There is so much more to life than power, fame, and glory. None of that matters to me but you do matter to me. Please, Draco, I can't loose you to Voldemort."

He clasped her cheek as he muttered, "I need you by my side, Hermione."

"I will be, if you don't take the Dark Mark."

In his eyes, she could see the rage growing as he stepped away from her. "I have to. Don't do this to me."

"Draco, you need to realize that you don't have to. Tell your father 'no', you have a choice," she pleaded as her love continued to face away from her.

His voice was dripping with anger as he asked, "Are you giving me an ultimatum?"

Hermione sighed as she sat back down on the swing and hugged her chest. "I am only telling you the consequences of you choices."

"You could join with me. Seeing your mother is also in the inner circle, we are bound to be put there immediately as well. You don't need Potter or Weasley any more, let's stop hiding this relationship and become the most powerful couple in history. Please join with me, my love," he said as he looked at her over his shoulder.

She shook her head and stated, "I could but I won't. That is my choice."

"Why are you turning your back on me?" he asked as he started to walk towards the door, which was located by some trees along the wall of room.

"I am doing what I must, even if that means being on the opposite side of the battlefield than you. I don't want to but I can not join Voldemort."

Draco looked back with a look on his face as she once remembered it as with full of hate and disgust. "So be it. If you choose to die by being on the losing side I won't stop, Granger."

Hermione watched the door close behind him and a shadow stepped out from between the trees. The Potions Master walked towards her but stopped about a foot from her, and for the first time she could see sadness in his dark eyes. His low voice stated, "Well, that could've gone better."

~*~*~ To Be Continued *~*~*~*