Quiet Revolution

Chapter 7 - Stepping Stones to Acceptance

Hello, good morning - how do you do?
What makes your rising sun so new?

I could use a fresh beginning, too

All of my regrets are nothing new

"Where were you?"

"I could be asking you the same thing, Granger."

Hermione had rushed to the library half an hour later than her expected arrival time only to see Draco hurrying in at the same time.

"Lunch with Ginny and we went to go see Ron," she said curtly.

He wrinkled his nose. "Lunch with who?"

"Ron's little sister!"

"The girl Weasley? What did you say her name was again, Ginger?"

"It's Ginny," Hermione corrected him. "Honestly, what kind of name is Ginger?"

"I don't know, Hermione," he sneered.

She glared at him.

"Weasleys put before me, typical of you. I suppose his condition's picking up?" he asked, sitting across from her as she set her book bag down and retrieved two thick books from it.

She shook her head and grabbed a book from his side. "No. It's not," she said quietly.

"Oh," he said flatly.

She shook her head. "I don't want to think about it." Her voice was suddenly thick as she spoke, sounding as if she had been crying. "So now tell me where you were?"

"Personal matters."

She gave him a haughty look.

He sighed. "I was at the Malfoy home, if you must know. Now can we please concentrate?" he dodged eye contact with her and opened up book in front of him.

She didn't press the matter. She was still feeling slightly guilty for what she had asked him last night.

"Malfoy..." she started quietly, "I... I want to apologise for yesterday night, well not yesterday... but from earlier today when I tried to pry into your personal business. I guess I was being slightly insensitive."

He took his time before looking up at her. "You don't apologise a lot, do you?"

His question took her surprise and she looked at him for a long time before she answered.

"I don't," she admitted.

He gave her a half smirk, half smile. "So I guess I'll take that," he paused, "since I always do pride myself on forcing unexpected things from you," he said lightly.

"What?"

He made a motion with his hand, slapped himself lightly on his cheek and fell back in his chair dead.

"Oh." She smiled sheepishly. "You deserved it, you know that right?"

"I don't necessarily agree to that extent. But you left an impression on me. Literally."

She took it for what it was worth and deemed it a compliment. "Thanks."

He started to smile at her but cut it off and instead shrugged. "Okay, Granger. Focus and concentrate. Where---"

"Oh. I read up on these books during lunch. Wanderers have such fascinating history in the wizarding world. There was one passage that made me so sad... I even grew a bit teary---"

"Why are you so curious about me?" he interrupted her.

"What? No... I just like to read, that's all."

He fixed his gaze on her and lowered his head slightly. "You know that's not it."

For some reason the way he said it made her blush. It made her feel uncomfortable and she didn't want to feel like he knew something more about her.

She changed the subject. "I found the spell, too. I'm pretty sure it's the one you want. Banned in 1765 after a terrible massacre from a wizard who returned from 1806 seeking revenge, involves extreme time travel and ancient magic. It's called the spell of Khepri, named after one of the Egyptian creator Gods."

She stopped for a moment to look up at him, and saw that unlike Ron and Harry's typical half feigned interest slathered with boredom, Malfoy's attention was completely devoted to her. His grey eyes were fixated on hers and he looked alert - as she might have looked in class while taking notes. It was a refreshing feeling, she had to admit.

She continued.

"Khepri was one of the many Egyptian Gods. He was the one who pushed the sun across the sky, hence given the power to start the day... and he often pushed it backwards, too. Its original date sets back before the first Muggle was born, which is quite fascinating. Oh, I read up on the Anubis potion, too."

He raised an eyebrow - this was one was new to him.

"It's also banned. But we're going to need to brew this potion in order to ensure Harry's, and your father's resurrection. The Egyptians have resourced Anubis as the guide of the dead; you know... the one who aids you from life to death. He was the keeper of poisons and valuable medicines, as well."

She was somewhat satisfied after releasing all this information to Malfoy. Obviously reading up on these spells were clearly concrete proof of them actually existing and maybe being able to work.

Draco was clearly impressed enough for Hermione to see. This helped push aside her grief from Ron's current condition a bit.

"Well, bloody hell, Granger," Draco started, "your species might just have a shred of hope."

She gave him a wry grin. "You're so sweet Malfoy, really. That puts a tear to my eye."

He smirked.

"I found it all in your Dad's old books, in case you were wondering. And I need to study for Arithmancy soon but I just want to start on this a little bit before that."

He nodded shortly. "So, you took Arithmancy too? I sailed through that class."

She nodded vigorously, forgetting for a moment who she was talking to. "I absolutely adore it! It was such a better choice for me rather than staying in Divination."

"Divination is total bollocks," they both then said in unison.

She felt pink creep up her cheeks, but and he shifted slightly but continued. "Trelawney wants me dead, Crabbe and I released ten black dogs in her classroom once and she nearly tumbled down the stairs screaming bloody murder."

Hermione cried out in glee and clapped her hands. "Oh, that's brilliant!" she cried.

He shot a self satisfied smile in her direction. "Yeah, Vince's dog had puppies, and I couldn't resist. Little mini Grims."

"Oh, wait," Hermione cried, clapping a hand over her mouth, "she didn't hurt herself, did she?"

He shrugged. "Don't remember, don't care."

She gave him a disapproving look. "Listen, Malfoy. As much as I detested that class, hurting a teacher is wrong and---"

"You," he interrupted her, "would have made a shitty Slyther---"

"You'd never pass for Gryffindor," she said, interrupting him halfway through his sentence.

The two sat across from each other and had a fierce staring contest until Hermione - no, Draco---

"I take that as a compliment."

No, both of them spoke. At the same time.

Twice in a row, Malfoy. What next - are you two going to play footsie?

Oh, goodness. He must have some sort of channeling power to read my mind or something!

She looked up and awkwardly met his silver eyes. The look he gave her was less than the usual guarded Malfoy, and for a second... she saw warmth, she saw--

He coughed loudly.

"I want to go check up on my mother soon, but let's go over the first step of the spell. What does it say?"

She felt flushed but turned a page and tapped it with an English Translation spell and read out loud the first step aloud: "The stars were the sun's children and the sun would hold them dear; when the moon begins to understand this connection - then the universe will realign for you."

She looked at him. He looked back.

"Does Step Two tell us that Step One is complete and utter crap?"

"No."

"Well, damn."

"Anyway, there is no Step Two. It doesn't show up until we've mastered Step One. Let me think. Obviously the galaxies and astronomy were really important to Khepri, seeing as how in all the stories he worked with moving the sun backwards and such. And since this is Step One..."

"Since he took his job so seriously," Draco interrupted her, "he obviously didn't want just anyone to perform this spell but people who were serious enough about it."

Hermione crossed her arms but let him continue.

"Don't you get it, Granger? We've already mastered Step One. The stars, obviously his skills to turn back time otherwise known as this spell, were precious to the sun, otherwise known as Khepri. And in order for the moon, basically us, to step into that world, the moon must learn to understand and---"

"Trust," she finished.

"Right. So it's done. You've activated the spell already right? Okay, and you obviously trust the book as do I. Read Step Two."

"I think," she started slowly, "the sun can also be me or you, so then it would say that we need to trust each other too."

"I thought you trusted me."

She didn't answer and looked down at the book instead.

He looked at her and felt his insides tightening up against his skin.

She had lied to him when she said she trusted him. Nobody lies to a Malfoy, nobody, he thought. And suddenly his sweeping anger crystallized into a sharp barrel of... coldness.

He shivered and then he froze. His eyes closed and a short scene played swiftly in his head.

Ron Weasley laid on a bed and for some reason, this made Draco feel frigid as he gazed upon this quick flash. There was something very wrong about this scene...

"Malfoy?" Hermione looked at him closely.

"Weasley," Draco uttered quietly, still trying to fight off the new level of ice that he had delved into his body suddenly. "Something's... wrong. You need to go see him."

"What?" she cried. "What are you talking about?"

"I... I don't know, I feel something bad." he fought hard not to stutter. He fought hard to keep his freezing control leveled.

"What about the spe---"

"Just go!" he barked. She recoiled slightly. "You'll regret this if you don't."

She looked into his eyes for what seemed like a whole minute before she swung her book bag onto her shoulder and ran out of the library.

Draco closed his eyes for a few quick seconds as her the sound of her footsteps dimmed with each passing minute. He let his coldness ease into a tolerable one as he gripped his fists. Finally, he got up as well and followed her.

*

She stood still next to Ron's bed that all Draco could see was her backside. He contemplated to himself over and over during the walk over to her on why he had warned her. He certainly didn't care about Weasley's well being. The only possible reason he could come up with was that this was all apart of reverting Granger, 'healing her' and 'balancing her' and all that other rubbish that Sabrina had told him he would do.

And maybe, just maybe, a tiny part of him didn't want to see Granger so weary and sad anymore.

Truth be told, it was even bringing him down.

She whirled around and caught him thinking to himself. He looked at her closely and found his predictions to be correct -a pair of tearstained cheeks reflected in his eyes.

"Madam Pomfrey is searching for something right now." And without even a heartbeat, she spoke her next words. "She says he could die."

Draco was taken aback.

"Why did you tell me to go to sleep last night?" she asked suddenly.

"Excuse me?" he asked, shifting out from his last thought.

"You didn't have to. I mean... it was almost like you cared." She looked at him closely.

He raised an eyebrow. "Don't flatter yourself."

"Then why? Tell me, Malfoy, because it's really been bothering me. There's no spell---"

"I'm not under any bloody spell," Malfoy growled. "You keep questioning things and I keep telling you to trust me."

She ignored him. "And why did you tell me about Ron? Why?" Her voice shook. "I don't even think I wanted you to tell me, because I'm so tired of this. I'm trying to save Harry one second and I don't even know if I can, and now I have to be all torn up all over again over Ron and... I am just so, so tired of this."

She didn't know who else to turn to. She had nobody. The closest thing to her was Draco Malfoy and he wasn't even really human and she found that her bones plainly shook with tiredness as she stood before him and she just had to reach out to anything before she fell apart completely.

And to his surprise, and a little bit of hers, her knees nearly broke out from underneath her and her shoulders seemed to crumble as she buried her face in the bed sheets.

Draco studied her for a moment before he moved forward to pull her back up.

"Granger, get up," he insisted roughly. His firm hands expertly grabbed her arms by the sides and he struggled to hold her up. As he was doing so, he spun Hermione around so that her tear soaked face was facing his porcelain one.

"Use an Advanced Invigoration Charm," he said quietly, his cool breath gliding past her ear.

"What?" She was delirious now as she tore away from his touch. "Are you crazy? You're absolutely mad! We've barely learned the Intermediate and we're already Seventh years and... that could kill him!"

He grabbed her arm again and pulled her close, forcing her to concentrate on him. "Kill him? He's practically dead already. I know that you know how to perform and Advanced one. And I know, for a fact, Granger, that it just might save Weasley. You have to trust me. Just do it."

She squirmed before she broke off from his arm once again and rubbed her elbow at where he grabbed her, she studied his face closely. The same Draco Malfoy who had ostracized her the whole time he was alive and even wanted her dead at one point. It was the same pale blond hair, cold malicious face and silver eyes that looked down at her.

"Hermione, please. Just do it. You'll be okay."

She looked up at him, her head spinning on a thin axis of thread. He called me Hermione, she thought.

Draco had never ever called Hermione by her first name, ever. Nor did he ever show any sign of being a helpful or remotely compassionate person.

Hermione had never been fond of Pansy Parkinson. But when Pansy's father was killed by Lord Voldemort last winter, even she felt slightly for the girl. Draco sat with his cronies and ate, not speaking to Pansy who didn't touch her food and Hermione remembered thinking how awful of a person he really was.

Hermione didn't see, because when she turned away, Draco put an arm around Pansy and pulled her close to him for a warm second. And when he let go - she felt a little better. And when she still didn't eat, he would jab her gently and look at her with heated grey eyes filled with pools of compassion - urging her to eat. And Pansy would eat because the way Draco stared at her meant nothing but lifelong trust in her childhood friend.

Pansy Parkinson knew what it was like to trust Draco.

Hermione Granger didn't. Hermione didn't know much except that she didn't trust Draco Malfoy.

And she swallowed hard, because she was now going to put aside everything she had ever thought about Malfoy and everything else that she learned from reading. No books, no knowledge, no facts.

She looked over at Ron and found herself involuntarily trembling. She was getting desperate.

Pure trust.

With a shaking hand, she gripped her wand and slowly put Ron under an Invigoration Charm. An advanced. A low humming gold stream of sparkling light flew out from the tip of her wand and rained on all over Ron.

Silence.

It was an infinity of a second before Ron finally stirred slightly. She watched as he twitched and then turned over onto his side.

And he snored, loudly.

She felt her heart rise into her throat. A warm lump crawled up her body and bittersweet tears of relief flooded her eyes. A thousand bricks had been knocked off her shoulders and her legs began solidifying itself.

And in front of her stood Draco. He stared at her carefully, no smirk, sneer or trace of sarcasm in sight on his face. He was thinking very carefully to himself. She was no Pansy. She was no Slytherin. And she was no Pureblood.

But she was a human, and she did bleed.

"All right there?" he asked quietly, carefully treading around her fragile emotions. She faced Ron again and bit back the few stray tears that managed to fall out from seeing his chest heave up and down with a heavy, hearty rhythm of breathing.

She turned back and shrugged, almost carelessly, tiredly, and let the few strands of hair fall into her face as she leaned forward jaggedly and fell into his arms, hugging him.

His arms shot out and he placed one stiffly on her shoulder, while the other ran slowly and roughly down her back.

But the biggest surprise that came to them both was not that.

She spoke heavily into his shoulder as he awkwardly held on. "I trust you."