No, I don't own Harry Potter etc. unfortunately for Hermione and Draco. Now unto
... Erratic Much?
She hated them, she hated them all. Arggh, if only she could get a dementor to give them the kiss, her life would be so much happier. Oh how wonderful it would be to be happy again, to be able to walk the corridors without a feeling of dread, to be able to study without constantly being interrupted, to be able to shut out all of that god awful French accented whining. Arrgh.
"Herms ?!" she barely heard Neville whisper; she turned abruptly to face him and was confused when she saw the frightened expression on his face.
"What is it Neville? She asked him, her anger instantly evaporating to concern.
He looked at her intently first, then at the knife she had clenched in her hand, and lastly at the cutting board that she had been using to chop the ingredients for their potion.
"Ah … ahm… I think that's enough chopping." he gulped.
She looked down shocked to find that she had practically massacred the ingredients, as well as inflicted some vicious stab wounds to the cutting board.
"Oh Neville, I'm so sorry, I've …" she could not continue, since there was no way she could explain her irrational behaviour to Neville.
"Its okay" he told her slowly backing away from the table, his hands raised in surrender "I'll .. ah… just get some more from the supply cabinet"
She shook her head disgusted with her own behaviour, now she was even scaring her friends. When Neville returned she was much calmer, almost like her old sane self.
"Blimey, why is Malfoy so bloody lucky!" he said enviously while placing the new ingredients on the table.
Hermione turned to look at the Slytherin Prince, who was currently surrounded by a flock of gorgeous Beauxbaton exchange students. She couldn't believe his audacity, Snape had just left them unsupervised for a few minutes and he had already created a love nest.
As if sensing her death glare he looked up at her with a smirk on his face. Stupid, irritating, sexy … ah stupid prat. Arrggh, she hated him.
With a diffident turn of her head she dismissed him and turned back to Neville. However she still heard his insolent chuckle, and then she was angry all over again.
Hermione almost cried in relief when the class was over and she had the distinct expression that Neville felt the same way, as he had already grabbed his stuff and run out of the room. She quickly gathered her things and made a beeline for the doorway, only to stifle a groan when she noticed that Draco was blocking her exit.
"What do you want Malfoy?" she asked coldly, trying her best to maintain a dignified mien in front of all his little fangirls.
"I'll be late for the study session tonight" he returned coolly, his eyes amused.
"What!" she couldn't contain the near shout, "we have the Advanced Arithmancy exam tomorrow, you have to be there on time." She was near panic at this time.
"Actually Granger I don't have to do anything" he told her in his usual arrogant way. Of course this drew snickers from the girls still surrounding them. Hermione had to grit her teeth to keep from physically (not magically) injuring them with her wand….. maybe sticking them in their eyes until they hemorrhaged to death. Merlin, she was becoming a homicidal lunatic and all because of the smug bastard standing before her.
"Whatever Malfoy" she said sarcastically, noting the ominous clenching of his jaw before pushing past him and out to freedom.
0000
Twenty minutes later Hermione was in her room, hugging her Hogwarts A History to her chest and trying to remember when she had lost her sanity. Her reminiscing took her back exactly a month and two days ago when the exchange students had arrived from Durmstrang and Beauxbaton. Harry and Ron, on Sirius' advice, had decided to be part of the thirty-five male students traveling to Durmstrang for the three months; while Ginny had gone to Beauxbaton because of her good friend Fleur.
Hermione had opted to stay, partly because she did not want to go to Beauxbaton, but mainly because Draco was staying and she knew she would miss him too much if she left. Yes, she knew that this was quite pathetic considering the fact that they were little more than "study buddies", but tell that to her erratic heart.
Many things had changed over the past few years; they had defeated the Dark Lord, the Slytherin students had actually become civil (not friendly) to the rest of the students and the greatest phenomenon, Hermione Granger had fallen in like then lust then love with Draco Malfoy.
To say that Draco was oblivious to her changed feelings was an understatement. After being paired together for a Magical Creatures project they had just fell into the groove of studying together in the library nearly every school night. Their conversation was always centered on the academics, quidditch, the news, but never anything personal. To say that Hermione was addicted to these few hours with Draco was also an understatement, she practically lived for it.
So her decision was an easy one to make on whether to stay or go, even though she would be without any of her best friend for three months. However that was before THEY came. Since the first instance they had set eyes on him the Beauxbaton students had been conniving to get closer to him. Apparently their trampy senses had allowed them to detect where the wealth and power lay and it didn't help at all that Draco was so damn fine to look at. Arrrgh. From then on they almost never left his side, and the stupid annoying prat didn't even seem to care when his groupies had invaded their personal study time.
But Hermione did care and since jealousy is never an easy emotion to contain, she had started being sarcastic and surly with Draco. However this seemed to amuse him and he flirted with the girls even more, as if goading her to get more and more angry. Normally Hermione would try to figure out why he was so interested in making her mad, but then again, normally, she would not be immensely enjoying the thought of annihilating some French students.
0000
"Does this look correct now?"
Hermione scrutinized the parchment that Alexei was showing to her.
"Yes Alexei, you've finally got it" she told him excitedly.
"Really!?" he asked as though amazed." I can't believe it, thank you so much Hermione" he fairly gushed before starting on another question.
Alexei was an exchange student from Durmstrang who was strangely enough like a Russian version of Neville. Although he had been asking Hermione to study with her for a little while now, she had always gently turned him down because she never wanted to have to share her moments with Draco. However since Draco was going to be late today she had agreed to help Alexei , and she was happy that she had decided to do this because he was horrible at Arithmancy.
Hermione knew that Draco had entered the library by the muted whispers and giggles coming from the female population of the library. She childishly kept her head down, refusing to acknowledge him even when he had taken his seat across from hers. There was a flurry of commotion as his flock of floozies seated themselves on the remaining chairs, and Hermione felt her murderous inclinations rise again. Wasn't it just a minute ago that she had been peaceful and smiling?
"What is he doing here?" Draco asked coldly.
"What is who doing here?" Hermione asked confused, then hated herself for answering him at all. Couldn't she just stick to her simple plan on ignoring him?
Draco glared at Alexei, and then glared at her, one platinum eyebrow raised.
"We're studying together" she told him almost defensively.
At this Draco turned his full attention to the hapless student who was now cowering in his seat.
"Leave" he ordered Alexei, his eyes glinting dangerously.
Hermione, a Griffyndor to the bone, could not just sit around while Draco bullied poor Alexei. Wasn't it enough that he had all his harpies suffocating her with their perfume.
"This is a public library Malfoy, he can sit here if he wants" she told Draco in a tone that brook no argument. He, of course was not listening to her.
"Leave" he reiterated louder, and Hermione was sure that Alexei was close to fainting.
"Fine" she informed Draco scathingly "I'll leave with him"
When she tried to push her chair back to leave however, she found that the chair seemed to be rooted to the ground. Glancing under the table she saw that Draco had placed his booted foot on the metal bar between the chairs legs, effectively immobilizing any movement. She looked back up at him in frustration, expecting to see a smug look on his face, but instead he was actually looking furious.
"I came to study, so you are staying" he informed her coldly.
"You" he glanced at Alexei, "…don't even breathe loudly"
At this, Alexei nodded vehemently and then buried his head in his text book. Draco opened his notes and started studying , his fangirls started to fight among themselves about who should rightfully sit next to him, while Hermione Granger stared at him as if he had just grown another gorgeous head. Had Draco Malfoy actually wanted her to stay?! Oh my Merlin, could it even be possible?" she shook her head in derision at her thoughts, Yeah right, and Snape was really a Hufflepuff at heart. Maybe Draco just really needed her help to pass Arithmancy ….. how disappointing. She could swear she felt her heart physically plummet
After this, the study session passed uneventfully, except for the few times that Draco stared witheringly at Alexei whenever Alexei dared to speak to Hermione.
"Hermione, if you're ready I could walk you to your dorm" Alexei whispered, perhaps hoping that Draco would not notice.
"She will be leaving with me" Draco snarled at Alexei , then closed his text book with a resounding thud. Hermione knew that she couldn't very well make a scene with him in the library so she gathered her parchments, said goodbye to Alexei and followed Draco out of the door.
As expected his fanatics started stalking behind them, yet Hermione was surprised when Draco turned to them and told them in no uncertain terms to stop following him.
Hermione smiled gleefully, she had Draco all to herself…. But then she remembered his atrocious behaviour towards Alexei.
"You owe Alexei an apology" she told him angrily
"That'll be the day" he retorted sarcastically.
"I mean it Draco" she said seriously
"I am not apologizing to him, or anyone else for that matter, so get over it" was his dismissive response.
"I thought you stopped being a prat" she said , hoping a little reverse psychology would work on him.
"You thought wrong" he replied with an insolent chuckle.
"He didn't do anything to you" she shouted frustratedly.
"He's breathing" was Draco's enigmatic answer.
"You're angry because he's alive?!" Hermione questioned "Oh my Merlin, you're serious aren't you?" She said in disbelief.
'I hate all of those Durmstrang losers" he told her cruelly "and I don't want you anywhere near them"
Hermione knew that the Hogwarts boys were in some kind of warped rivalry with the Durmstrang boys since their Quidditch team had pulverized Hogwarts last year in the inter-schools Quidditch cup. Both Draco and Harry had been on that team, so they were real protagonists in this 'Quidditch war'. Hermione really commiserated with them, but still, Draco was taking this way too far.
"You are not the boss of me, and I will not stop being friends with Alexei just because you have some stupid grudge against his school"
"I'm not going to tell you again" he warned
"You are being totally unreasonable" she ranted, furious because he was so set in his ways.
By this time they had reached to Griffyndor tower but Hermione as too enraged to notice. She looked up at him, becoming more annoyed by the aristocratic expression on his face. He was absolutely the most arrogant person she had met, he acted as though the world, no, the universe revolved around him.
"Alexei is my friend…" she started but was rudely interrupted.
"I don't care if he is Merlin himself" he leaned down "you are not to have anything more to do with him. Do you understand me?" he stated harshly.
Hermione mutinously did not answer him. There was no talking to him when he was in such a fury. It was either he got his way or there was all hell to pay. She, however, was not about to let him dictate her life. She glared at him, then turned to the fat lady's portrait. She muttered the password and waited for the door to open before turning back to face him. He was suddenly looking very satisfied with himself, probably because he thought he had won.
" Draco" she said with saccharine sweetness "what…ever" she finished sarcastically.
Quickly she walked into the tower, feeling relived when the portrait closed behind her.
There was little else that could make Draco angrier than that little word, he hated when anyone said it to him. Hermione had figured that out a long time ago and usually only used it when he completely ticked her off… tonight of course was one of those times.
0000
The stands were packed the next afternoon for the Slytherin versus Ravenclaw game. Hermione sat sandwiched between Neville and Alexei, awaiting the commencement of the game while Draco's personal cheerleading squad thankfully sat on the opposite end of the stands. The weather was absolutely dreadfull - windy, cold and the sky was laden with dark ominous rain clouds. Strangely enough Hermione thought the weather was a perfect compliment to her own gloomy feelings.
For the majority of the past night she had been consumed with anger over Draco's behaviour. She just couldn't believe that he could be so rude about Alexei, especially since Draco had stopped behaving like an arrogant bastard a while ago. Later on however she became worried that he was returning to his intolerant ways, and this scared her greatly. What if he started to be resentful to her again? Her head hurt even contemplating it.
The Arithmancy exam had gone by in a blur, after which Draco did not acknowledge her and she hadn't seen him since. She had come to the match with a laden heart, feeling that she had somehow betrayed him. Now sitting with the boys, she tried to summon some measure of enthusiasm for their playful banter but to no avail.
Her eyes were drawn to the Players' entrance and she was shell-shocked when her gaze fell upon Draco's face. His intense mercury coloured gaze was directed at her, his beautiful face serious and Hermione stopped breathing. Was it possible for any one person to be so heart stoppingly gorgeous? His gaze shifted to Alexei and she saw that ominous clench of his jaw again before he strode unto the field like a warlord onto the battlefield.
In what could have been the shortest game of Quidditch ever played, Slytherin were the victors, Draco having caught the snitch in record-time. However soon after this the rain started, forcing students to scamper back to the castle including Hermione, Neville and Alexei.
Yet, for Hermione Granger, when it rains … it pours. Somehow in the middle of this melee, Neville tripped on his robes and started to fall. He grabbed onto Hermione's robes but only ended up ripping the entire back out of it instead. He still fell and rolled a little bit down an incline effectively covering himself with a thick coating of mud. Thank Merlin he had not rolled down further down and into the lake Hermione thought as she went to help him up. She took the remaining tattered pieces of her robe to wipe Neville's face, feeling very sorry for the pitiful picture he made, it just sucked to be Neville.
She had completely forgotten about Alexei until he took his Durmstrang robes and put it across her shoulders. She huddled into it, thanking him while he clumsily tried to help Neville to his feet. As they made their way slowly back to the castle (since Neville had hurt his ankle) in the heavily falling rain Hermione wondered what else could go wrong. She didn't have to wait long to find out.
As they neared the front doors Hermione gasped to see Draco standing in all the rain, his arms crossed and his gaze murderous. For a few seconds she thought he was a mirage, until he stalked up to her and ordered her to "Take it off" or rather …
"Take of that bloody robe right now"
Hermione pulled the robe protectively around her, aware that a number of male Slytherins and Draco's trampy girls were surrounding them, curious to know what had kept him from going inside.
"Are you stark, raving mad?" she asked, shuddering as his eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Do it or I'll do it for you" he threatened.
Hermione looked around wondering if she was in parallel universe. From the shocked expressions of their spectators, she thought that perhaps they felt the same way.
" Couldn't we discuss this inside" she tried to reason with him as her quick mind reasoned that she had to remain calm to find out what was making him behave so erratically. He reached for her but she was barely able to evade his seeker reflexes.
Understanding that it was no use fighting the inevitable she quickly removed the robe and handed it to Draco, who immediately, viciously, threw it at Alexei. Her attention was drawn to the Slytherin students though, when she started hearing the male whistles and catcalls. She was confused until she looked down to see that her thin cotton shirt was stuck on to her like a second skin. Immediately her hands moved to cover herself, but Draco was faster. He pulled her into his body, effectively shielding her from their hungry gazes.
"Leave us" he said forcefully and no one countermanded Draco when he used that tone of voice. In a few seconds they were alone in the middle of the rain storm with Hermione close to killing the love of her life. She pulled away from him, uncaring of even her wet shirt, she was that angry.
"What the hell is your problem" she shouted.
"I told you to stay away from him" he shouted right back at her, even while he was removing his Quidditch robes and gently tucking it around her.
"Did you really think I was going to listen to you?" she scoffed mockingly "Did you listen to me when I asked you to bar your trampy fan girls from our study sessions? Did you listen to me when I asked you to apologize to Alexei? Did you listen to me when I asked you to stop being a prat?" No, You didn't, so why the bloody hell should I" she continued in a fine fury."…. and while we're at it, do you really think that Alexei loaning me his robes is enough for you to humiliate me in front of the school ? I thought we were past the stage for this petty behaviour, I thought were friends" she shouted at him, venting all her pent up rage.
"Friends?" he said disgustedly "You think I would be this angry if we were friends, you think I would feel this need to break that Russian gnat into little pieces, if we were just friends?" he riled, running a frustrated hand through his soaked hair.
"Then what are we Draco?" she questioned, knowing that his answer could change their lives forever. She stood watching him intently as he stared back at her his jaw clenched, the rain beating down at them, the wind furiously cold. When he didn't answer she felt her rage magnify, she couldn't believe that he could be so callous and she couldn't be around him for even a second more.
"Whatever" she muttered angrily, starting to walk past him.
He grabbed her arm and turned her back to him.
"You know how much that word irritates me" he seethed, pulling her in closer to his body.
"Well Malfoy…. What…Ever" she enunciated the word tauntingly while trying to pull away from him.
"Stop it" he said coldly, as his grip tightened. She stared right up into his beautiful eyes, furious with him
"Whatever, Whatever , What….mmmph"
He was kissing her heatedly, his lips molding to hers ravenously. Hermione kissed him back with equal fervor, she couldn't get close enough to him. He lifted her off the ground pressing her up against his cold, wet body, while her hands coiled around him, unwilling to let him go. Finally they broke apart and he rested his forehead unto hers, breathing deeply and Hermione had never felt more alive.
"I'm sorry" he whispered into her ear. "I'm an ass and I'm possessive and I'm jealous but I am so sorry for all of those things that I did." he confessed humbly.
She grasped his head firmly in her hands, then smiled at him, feeling so immensely happy.
"Lucky for you" she whispered to him " jealous, possessive asses are just my type." He shook his head slightly in derision before capturing her lips in another one of his soul searing, toe curling, mind blowing kisses.
They were so lost in each other that the rain storming around them was of no consequence, neither were the students crowding around every window to view this amazing spectacle. The only thing that mattered to them was that they were finally where they wanted to be….in love.
0000
Finito
Hope you liked it… its kind of sappy at the end.
Please review, I always enjoy reading your comments.