Darkness is My Light

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Chapter 1

"Are you ready yet?"

A gruff voice, full of impatience. A rush of feet, hurried with fear. Slow breaths, hopes low, voices forced, emotions tied.

"Sorry, I was fixing my hair, Harry. You know how I hate to go out with my hair a mess." A grunt. "Well, shall we go? There is shopping to do," Hermione said with a perfect, if not dishonest, smile.

The two each took some Floo powder and were off to Diagon Alley to shop. And smile every step of the way.

* * * * *

"Oh Harry, look at that! It's a new collection of M. J. Jerl's books! Do you mind if I go look at them?" Hermione squealed in breathless, cheerful excitement.

"Ten minutes. Then I'll meet you at the tavern." Simple, and to the point - that was Harry, unfortunately.

Hermione went straight into Flourish and Blotts and turned left. She knew where everything was in the store, even though she hadn't been there in quite a while. She came to the second to last row of books and looked up. This was her favorite section. The sign, "The Empowerment of Witches", hung above Hermione by at least ten feet. "Someday, someday I will take your advice," she whispered to the shelf.

Hermione continued towards the M. J. Jerl display as fast as she could. She looked at the set of books, which included such titles as The Witches' Guide to Children, True or False: Theories of the Witching World, and I am a Witch, Deal With It: For Muggle Families Everywhere. Hermione picked up the set of ten books and made her way to the counter. As soon as she had paid for the books, she left.

As she walked out of the store, Hermione smiled. Not a fake smile, it was a real smile, an I-just-bought-myself-and-early-birthday-present smile. Hermione began to jog back to the tavern; she didn't want to be late. As she came close to the tavern she rounded a corner with just a little too much speed.

She connected with something solid, actually someone solid. She fell to the ground and dropped all of her books. She mumbled an apology before looking up. She stood up to come face to face with a blond-haired, gray-eyed Draco Malfoy.

"Watch it, Granger! You haven't gotten a bit of grace since Hogwarts! Well, I guess being a clumsy fool fits you, now doesn't it?"

"Shut up, Draco Malfoy!" she snapped turning red with indignant, defensive anger and humiliation. "You haven't gotten a bit of courtesy since you left Hogwarts - but I guess being an arrogant git fits you like a tailored glove."

Draco sneered and he grabbed her wrist. "Ah yes, the clever little witch. Did you find that witty comeback in a book? Or perhaps you saw it a mindless Muggle movie, God forbid! Really, thinking you could outdo me is so preposterous, a rich Weasley seems more possible." Draco couldn't help but laugh at his own joke, and the color Hermione was turning was just priceless.

"Hermione! Didn't I tell you ten minutes?" Harry's voice screeched from behind her. He stopped dead in his tracks at seeing Hermione and Draco together. "What is this?" Harry demanded; his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Draco saw it. Hermione swallowed hard then put on the biggest, brightest, fakest smile. But her eyes, her eyes showed fear. They showed terror. And with a monotone voice she replied, "I know, Harry. But I ran into Draco, literally, and now he won't let me go!"

"Malfoy! You had better-"

"-Good day, Granger. And do be careful from now on..." Draco interrupted, his tone deliberately icy to appease Harry - for Hermione's sake if nothing else. In a whisper only loud enough for her to hear he added, "I saw that." And with that he let go of her and turned to walk away. As Harry grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the fireplace home, Hermione chanced a look back and there was Draco watching her. But he was not smiling.

* * * * *

As soon as Draco came through the fireplace there was a loud *thump*. "Oh clumsy me; you scared me Draco. I thought someone was breaking in. Oh, you're back early? I though you had a lot of shopping to do."

"It can wait, Mother. I ran into someone today."

"A friend?" Narcissa asked hopefully as she picked up the table she had knocked over.

"Of course not! I ran into you."

"Come again?" Narcissa asked as she pulled a chair up next to her son's.

"Of course it wasn't you, but it was. She looks just like you...not in outward appearance, though. It's in her eyes."

"Well, that came in loud and clear," Narcissa said sarcastically. "Oh yes, she is nothing like me, she looks nothing like me, but we have the exact same eyes, they show the same...Oh." Realization dawned on her face. "She looked like me, and whomever she was with looked like your father. Right?"

"Exactly. It doesn't take a genius to figure out she is being treated as you...or I was. It's quite obvious, to one who knows what to look for, that she is terrified, and that she is being beaten. After all, I saw it in you everyday of my life, Mother. Until Lucius was killed, I saw that every time I looked in the mirror; it was everywhere."

Falling silent, Draco took little notice when Narcissa put her hand on his. She did not ask whom it was that her son had chanced to meet in London; she simply let him dwell silently on his sorrowful memories. And there they sat, remembering painfully.

* * * * *

It was ten days thereafter that Hermione chanced upon seeing Draco again. With Harry looking for a new wand, Hermione walked the streets of Diagon. Hermione sat outside the wand shop for twelve minutes before her head, with a left black eye (which she had not yet bothered to heal herself, and which she dared not have treated by a professional magical medic who would require their questions answered), popped in to tell Harry she was going across the street to use the café's bathroom. When she skipped across th street again, seeing Harry waiting and making a show of contentedness, she was thrown to the ground as someone fell onto her.

* * * * *

Harry came rushing over, enraged. Draco Malfoy got up and took Hermione's hand, helping her up as well. "Ah, I am a hypocrite, am I not?" he said gallantly. "I am the clumsy one now!" He smirked, and Hermione, in spite of herself, smiled as well, although she wasn't sure why. And then there was Harry.

"Give her to me, Malfoy!" But Draco did not let go. Hermione turned to Draco; the determined flame in his eyes told her he had most certainly just sealed his fate. Hermione had seen Draco hateful before, but nothing like this.

"Yes," Draco began wide-eyed and cynical, "I'll hand her over all right. Hand her over to be abused by you, is that it? Let me tell you, I don't like watching the past repeated." And there it was. Draco had a death wish all right, and for some reason, Hermione didn't like the fact.

"What? I have never laid a finger on-"

"Don't spout lies, Potter!" Draco spat acidly, unable to mask his fury with sarcasm.

"Why you fucking-" Harry began, but Draco was suddenly gone. Harry stood stunned with rage. Malfoy had Apparated and taken Hermione with him!