The Keeper of My Heart
CHAPTER 1
~*~*~*~
It was drizzling outside. Draco Malfoy was seated at
the couch, facing the fireplace.
'I will finally get my
revenge on that show-off Potter.' His eyes gleamed in the dark as
he stared at the flames, deep in thought. All these years he had wanted to make
Potter's life miserable. Now three years after he had left Hogwarts, he couldn't
believe his luck. Revenge was served to him in a silver platter. A cruel smile
played on his lips.
Draco stood up and headed towards the kitchen. Inside the immaculate white
kitchen, he went to a cupboard and opened it. There was an ordinary-looking blue
jar at the topmost shelf. He pushed the blue jar downwards and waited. The jar
disappeared and a secret opening next to the cupboard slid open.
He went inside the opening, and the door magically closed behind him. Ahead of
him was a long dark corridor faintly lit by two torches, one on the left corner
and one on the right. He passed by countless doors and kept on walking until he
reached the last door on the left. He opened the door and stepped inside. It was
extremely dark inside the room, he could barely see.
"Lumos!" he said evenly, and his wand emitted a bright light. He
entered the room noiselessly, his eyes taking in the cramped room, peeling
wallpaper, and dampness in the air. His eyes narrowed as he peered at the
unconscious girl slumped on the unadorned bed. He placed his wand at the table
and went close to the girl. His eyes gleamed upon seeing one slim leg
exposed. Her dress was all wet and torn and it now hugged her body like a second
skin, showing appealing soft curves. Her shoulder length reddish brown hair in a
wild disarray.
A big frown slowly formed on Draco's face. 'Strange, I don't remember her
hair being brown? ' he wondered in confusion. He placed a hand on the girl's
shoulder to let her in a sitting position, facing him. The girl was still out
cold and would stay that way for at least four more hours.
The cruel smile returned on his lips.
'Tonight, revenge is mine.'
Her face was still covered with a black cloth. He deftly removed the cloth with
his long tapered hands. A few seconds later, the cloth fell from his cold stiff
hands to the floor.
"WHAT THE HELL!?!" he said in shock. Without the black cloth masking
her face, Draco could clearly see who the girl was. Instead of Ginny Weasley, it
was Hermione Granger.
Stunned with this discovery, his stiff hands let the unconscious Hermione slump
back to the bed. He remained standing on the spot like a frozen statue. Then
like a burst of lightning, he stormed out of the room and slammed the door
loudly.
~*~*~*~
Two hours had passed and the rain had stopped, Hermione slowly drifted back to
consciousness as she stirred on the bed. She slowly crack one eye open, peering
into the dark and seeing nothing.
"Why is everything so dark?" she muttered in irritation. She reached
out to the lamp next to her bed but her hand grasped at thin air. She quickly
jerked upright into a sitting position. Now wide awake after realizing she was
in a strange room.
"Where the hell am I? And why is it so bloody dark in here?" she said
loudly. And as her feet touched the ice cold floor, she gave a surprised gasp.
Gritting her teeth, she stood up, painfully aware how cold the floor was.
"Damn!" she hissed in the darkness. A sudden wave a dizziness washed
over her and she had no choice but to sit down on the edge of the bed. As she
sat there taking deep calming breaths, the memory of last night's events
returned to her in full force.
"Can't we just stay a little bit longer?" asked Ginny, with a
little bit of pleading in her voice.
She laughed at the expression on Ginny's face. She crossed her hands over her
chest and said, "Well..."
Ginny placed a hand on her arm. "C'mon, Hermione, just this once."
She finally gave in. "Alright, one more hour. But after twelve we need to
get back. Or your fiancée Harry James Potter would be after my head," she
told Ginny firmly.
It amused her to see Ginny blush at the mention of Harry's name. They had just
been engaged two months ago and they would finally get married next week. Their
upcoming wedding was announced in the Daily Prophet. It was the talk of the town
for weeks.
Seeing the dreamy expression on her best friend, Hermione couldn't help but
smile. She prided herself for being the matchmaker between the two. Harry,
despite being such a wonderful friend over the years, was so completely dense
when it comes to Ginny.
Virginia Weasley or Ginny, as they fondly call her, had a crush on Harry for
years. But Harry, being the thick git that he was, looked at her as merely Ron's
little sister. It took all of Hermione's brilliant planning to make Harry
finally realize that he had fallen hard for Ginny as well.
They were now seated in Hermione's usual spot in her favorite hangout pub, The
Stargazers. An empty jug of Haley's Comet, the pub's popular drink, lay on
the table.
"I really looove this drrink. It's fruity, sweet, and .. and makes... me
feel so exhilarated!" Ginny exclaimed, her voice slightly slurring a bit,
indicating how drunk she already was. Her face was flushed with profuse color as
she giggled uncontrollably. "Can we order some more?"
She shook her head.
Ginny gave a small pout, then
grabbed Hermione's half-filled glass and said, "Let me finish this one
then."
She merely smiled in amusement, letting Ginny have her way. They've been best
friends for years. Their closeness started during her fifth year because Harry
and Ron became too involved with Quidditch that she felt left out.
She felt a slight twinge of sadness as she remembered just how hurt she was when
Ron dumped her for Mandy Brocklehurst two years ago. She now realized that Ron
was right, they were really better of as friends. Unfortunately, she didn't take
the break up very well and had said a lot of hurtful things.
"Pardon me ladies, which one of you is Virgina Weasley?" An oily voice
interrupted her train of thoughts.
She looked up to see a very suspicious looking man. He was around thirty years
old, his nose slightly hooked which reminded her of Snape, with beady eyes that
were now looking at her expectantly.
"Why? What is it that you want?" she asked, pretending to be Ginny.
She glanced at Ginny who was now so drunk and had fallen asleep with her head
slumped on the table.
"We would like to congratulate you on your upcoming marriage to Mr. Harry
Potter," replied the man in the same oily voice. "We wish you all the
best." He bowed down to her and left graciously before Hermione could say a
word edgewise.
She shuddered, not totally understanding why the man gave her the creeps. She
decided to call it a night. She brought Ginny home and got a look of disapproval
from Ron, who she blatantly ignored. Finally, she headed to the warm comforts of
her home.
Within thirty minutes, she was standing outside the door of the flat she had
lived in for three years. She was looking for the key in her bag when she felt
somebody put a gag to her mouth and everything went black.
The realization now slowly sunk in. "I've been kidnapped!" she said
aloud. Her eyes widened with shock.
"It was Ginny, who they wanted to kidnap. Whoever it was, thought I was
Ginny.... but who the hell would want to kidnap Ginny and why?" she
whispered to herself out of shock and outrage. Something clicked inside her
head, she knew who kidnapped her, that suspicious man in the Pub. "But
why?" she cried out in the darkness.
Meanwhile, Draco paced back and forth across the living room like a caged
animal. A dark scowl on his face. He was furious at the stupidity of one Johor
Larkin. That dim-witted oaf kidnapped Granger instead of the Weasley girl.
'Of all the stupidest thing to do, he had to
kidnap the little... Mudblood! She's not even a redhead, for crying out
loud!'
Two hours ago, when he got that letter from Larkin, informing him that he has a
special gift as an exchange for the opportunity to become a full pledge Death
Eater, Draco was beside himself with excitement. He really wanted to make Potter
suffer. And Ginny Weasley, her virginal soon-to-be wife was the perfect key for
his revenge. He had no liking for the pathetic creature but she could prove
useful as a bait.
He was shaking with anger as he clenched and unclenched his fist.
"I need a drink!" he said loudly, wanting to get rid of the tension
and growing turmoil that was slowly building up inside him. He went to his
private bar and took out a glass and poured himself a drink.
"Damn! Of all the people he could have taken. It had to be Granger!"
he yelled across the room, as he slammed the glass against the table. His chest
heaved raggedly, he couldn't think straight. He was so mad that he wanted to
kill the idiot right at this moment for this huge blunder. As he poured
himself more brandy, he kept muttering, "Damn it!" and getting more
and more furious.
All of a sudden, the glass splintered into a tiny pieces. He looked down, he
just realized that he had smashed the glass and blood trickled from the deep
gash on his palm. For a few seconds, he just stared at the wound on his hand.
Feeling a certain calmness enveloped him as he felt the pain as each drop of
blood fell. He stood up and went to the kitchen and got out a medical kit.
Binding the wound, he took another glass and refilled it with more brandy. He
sat down on the couch and stared at the flames, mesmerized by the flickering
light.
And the image of what he had seen just half an hour ago returned to him in full
force. He could envision her lying on the bed, unconscious; her flowing brown
hair framing her face, and her long slim legs, so creamy and smooth. As he
remembered the smooth curves exposed by the thin fabric she was wearing, he was
suddenly filled with desire. He stood up like a man hypnotized and went back to
the kitchen and into the secret entrance. Only one thing was clear in his mind.
'I may not have my revenge on Potter but I would make her mine until that
little Mudblood begs for mercy.'
His eyes was stormy and clouded, while his mouth was set in a rigid line as he
walked determinedly towards that particular room, like a predator hunting his
prey. He took one of the torches with him. He finally reached the door and
entered the room.
Hermione, who was now wide awake, jumped at the noise. She backed herself to the
wall. She balled her right hand into a fist. She would fight with every ounce in
her body.
'I will not go down without a fight.' Her whole body was tense as
she watched her kidnapper enter the room. The brightness of the torch's
fire nearly blinded her, she covered her eyes to adjust to the light. She peered
at the man who was standing in front of her. Taking in the silvery white blond
hair, cold gray eyes and that familiar pale face, her eyes widened with shock.
"M-m-malfoy?" she said with disbelief. Then she straightened up and
said clearly. "So, is this the way you treat women now? Kidnapping them?
With all your wealth, I thought you wouldn't be so desperate enough to kidnap a
woman. Why, did Pansy dumped you?" she said snidely.
She was terrified inside, but she won't give Malfoy the satisfaction of knowing
that he had managed to strike the fear in her heart. She willed herself not to
show any signs of fear. She tilted her chin stubbornly, a look of defiance in
her eyes.
What she didn't know was that she only intensified the desire in Malfoy's eyes.
His eyes narrowed, taking in the rise and fall of her chest.
"You haven't changed. You're still a wildcat," he said coldly.
"Good. I'll enjoy taming you."
When he advanced near her, she tried to back away but she had nowhere to go. She
tried to outrun him to the door but he grasped her arms and slammed her down to
the bed hard. She tried to stand up but Draco clamped her hands above her head,
and no matter how hard she tried to wiggle out of his grasp, his hands were like
steel bands. She couldn't move even if she wanted to. His body covered her
and she felt his hardness. The feeling of helplessness overcame her but she
continued struggling. Whatever he was planning to do to her, she's not going to
let him succeed. She tried to kick him but his body had pinned her body and she
was unable to move.
"Stop fighting," he hissed to her.
"You're fighting a losing battle." He smiled coldly at her.
She gave him a deadly glare. "Not if I could help it," she said
through gritted teeth.
He laughed harshly, then kissed her. It wasn't a gentle kiss but a forceful one.
He ravaged her lips, hurting her, wanting her to cry out. It was then he looked
into her eyes. And he saw the raw fear and realized she was shivering. He didn't
know why but when he kissed her lips again, it wasn't the same. It was soft and
gentle and sweet, Hermione shivered even more. He remove the clamp on her hands
and eased the weight of his body, but didn't stop kissing her. He planted
feathery-like kisses on the tip of her nose, face, and cheeks. She moaned with
pleasure, then she suddenly stiffened and went rigid.
'I'm not going let myself be seduced by Draco
Malfoy.'
~*~*~*~*~