This story is fast-paced and a quick one shot based of the movie, To All the Boys I've Loved Before. It doesn't follow the movie exactly, but I hope you guys enjoy it. Please read and review!
She addressed the latest letter to Harry Potter, sealed the parchment, and got up from her desk in the heads' room. She walked over to her bookshelf, and reaching on her tippy toes, she retrieved a small box.
Sighing to herself, she opened the box and added the letter to her collection.
Hermione Granger wrote a letter every time she got a crush. In total, there were five. The first one was addressed to a muggle boy, Thomas, from primary school. He had been her friend before she received her acceptance to Hogwarts, and they had grown up apart since then. The second letter was addressed to Ron Weasley. She had fancied him for a bit there, from first through third year, but she quickly realized nothing would come of that. The next letter was addressed to Viktor Krum. He had taken her to the Yule Ball her fourth year, and she had said she would visit him in Bulgaria, but the timing was never right. The fourth was addressed to none other than the head boy, Draco Malfoy. She knew it was silly of her to have this crush, but she watched him during classes and when they had moved into the dorms together. He wasn't as malicious and arrogant as he had once been. He was even, dare she say, kind to her within the quarters of their dorm. He had been dating Astoria Greengrass, but they had a rather nasty split when she decided to date someone from Durmstrang.
And now, she had written her fifth letter, to her best friend, Harry Potter. She wasn't sure how this crush had come about, but she could feel that they were getting closer and closer. That is, until, he asked out Ginny Weasley. It had come out of nowhere, and Hermione was not prepared.
Sighing to herself, she closed the box, and tucked safely back into the top corner. Looking at the clock, she realized the feast would start soon. Gathering her things, she headed down to the Great Hall.
Hermione arrived in the Great Hall, taking a seat in between Ron and Harry. Next to Harry was Ginny, his arm around her waist. Sighing to herself, Hermione looked up to see the headmaster, Dumbledore, stand up.
He cleared his throat and the room silenced at once. "The time has come for spring cleaning again," he spoke. "Please note that the house elves will be coming around tonight and clearing out the dorms."
Making a mental note to herself to charm the box shut, Hermione turned to her housemates. She looked anywhere but at Harry and Ginny, as they were too lovey-dovey for her. "Hermione, do you want to come to the Gryffindor common room after dinner? It feels like it's been ages since we've hung out," Ginny asked her.
"Oh, Gin, I'd love to, but I have to finish my potions essay. I'll be in the –"
"—Library," Ron finished for her, his mouth full of a pumpkin pasty. She chuckled at her friend, nodding. "I'm actually going to leave now."
She stood up, bidding farewell to her friends and put her bag over her shoulder. She was done with her potions essay, but she wanted to add more to it. She trekked to the library. Madam Pince saw her as she walked in and smiled at her. It was almost 8:00 in the evening, and Hermione knew the library would close at 9:00. Madam Pince knew Hermione was incredibly responsible, and had no qualms letting the head girl stay.
Hermione sat down at a table in the back, pulled out her essay, and began to work. She didn't know how much time had passed before she lifted her arms above her head, and let out a yawn. She supposed she should get back to her dorm before she was caught out of bed.
Tiredly, she made her way up to the heads' dorm. Exhausted from her day, she didn't even change her clothes before collapsing on the large bed and falling asleep.
She woke up feeling groggy the next morning. It was a Saturday, and she knew Harry and Ron would be on the quidditch pitch practicing. She quickly brushed her teeth and her hair (which wasn't nearly as bushy as it used to be), and threw on a jumper, before running out the door and down to the pitch.
She had predicted correctly, as she saw Harry, Ron, and the other members of the team flying in the air. When Harry spotted her, she waved, but he didn't wave back. Frowning, she saw he was landing the broom. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment that looked awfully familiar. She looked like she was going to be sick.
"Oy, Granger!" She heard from behind her. She closed her eyes and turned around. When she opened them, Draco Malfoy was three feet in front of her, also holding a piece of parchment. She felt like she wanted to die in that moment. She looked over her shoulder to see Harry coming closer. Doing the only thing she could think of at the moment, she lunged forward and kissed Draco Malfoy. His eyes widened and he was clearly shocked. When the kiss broke, she subtly turned to look at Harry, who now was frowning, and walking back the other way. He mounted his broom and rose into the air, resuming practice.
Before Draco could say anything, Hermione ran as fast as she could. When she finally made it back to her dorm, she threw open her bedroom door, and shut it right behind her, locking it. Draco had been very close on her heels, because a moment later, she heard him knocking. Ignoring him, she reached for the box. She opened it, and saw there was just one letter left, the one for Thomas. "Mipsey!" she called. She knew Mipsey was the house elf that took care of the heads' dorms.
The knocking had stopped, and she heard a pop and whirled around. "How can Mipsey help the young mistress?" Hermione sighed, she had told Mipsey time and time again that she didn't need to call her 'mistress'. Hermione loathed the fact that house elves were still being used at Hogwarts, an issue that she had brought up to the headmaster on more than one occasion.
"Mipsey, did you mail out the letters in this box?" Mipsey nodded her head. "Mipsey thought miss forgot to send them. Mipsey is sorry!" She sobbed.
Hermione sunk to her knees in front of her. "Mipsey, it's all right," Hermione told her in what she hoped was a comforting tone. "You can go."
She sighed to herself, not knowing what she was going to do. She heard a knock again, this time coming from the main door to the dorm. She went out, looking through the little peep hole, and saw Ron standing there, parchment in hand. She opened the door, and let him in. "Ron, I can explain," she began. He chuckled and stopped her. "Don't worry, 'Mione. I know this letter is from a long time ago. I just came to return it. It seemed rather personal."
"Oh, Ron, thank you!" She cried, and threw her arms around him. "If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone." He nodded, said goodbye and left. She remembered how she had kissed Draco suddenly. Great, now she had two problems to deal with.
She decided to go to the library and clear her head. When she got there, she looked for the most secluded place she could find and sat down. She had been there for about 10 minutes, when she heard footsteps approaching. She looked up to see Draco. Groaning, she turned away from him.
"Granger, a word?" She looked up at him sheepishly and nodded.
"Listen, I know I'm irresistible and all, but I'm sorry, I don't feel the same way."
Hermione snorted. "I don't like you either, Malfoy. I wrote that letter a long time ago."
"You are the one who kissed me," he retorted. "It's okay, I know how easy it must be to fall in love with someone like me." He smirked.
"You're not the only one who got a letter," she told him, shaking her head. "The only reason I kissed you is so that someone else wouldn't think I liked him."
He looked skeptical. "Who?"
"Harry," she responded. His eyes widened. "Of course, it's the fucking boy wonder," he scoffed.
"Yes, and he's dating Ginny, so as you can see, this is a huge dilemma."
Draco studied Hermione for a little longer. He didn't say anything for nearly two minutes, but kept staring at her. Finally, he spoke. "When Astoria heard you kissed me, she went nuts." Hermione gave him a puzzled look.
"Okay?"
"What if we keep pretending to be together?"
"What?!" Hermione looked up at him. You are insane, Malfoy!"
"No, think about it. It's mutually beneficial. You make Potter jealous, I get Astoria back."
Hermione bit her lip. "Fine," she responded after contemplating. "But, we need to set some ground rules."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Of course," he muttered under his breath.
Hermione started, "I don't want you kissing me."
"Granger, no one will believe we are together if I can't bloody touch you!"
"Fine," she said, "we can hold hands and kiss, but no snogging, and definitely mind where you put your hands!"
He chuckled at her and nodded. "You'll go to the end of the year ball with me, yeah?" Her eyes widened. "That's not for two more months. Do you still think we'll be at this?"
He considered her question, before nodding. "Assuming we are still at this, then we'll have to go together."
She nodded back at him. "We'll have to go to Hogsmeade together, and you'll have to be nice to my friends."
Grumbling, he reluctantly agreed, but not before adding, "You'll have to get to know my friends, too."
She gulped, nervous about the Slytherins, but she quickly accepted.
"Great," she said. "Let's shake on it." She held out her hand, which Draco took. This was going to be very interesting.
Over the next few weeks, Draco and Hermione were inseparable. Their plan seemed to be working, as both Astoria and Harry seemed to be jealous. Harry hadn't tried to talk to her about the letter since that day on the quidditch pitch, and luckily, it seemed that he hadn't told anyone else about it, either. She knew Ginny would have said something if she knew.
She was also grateful that she hadn't heard from Viktor, and hoped that her letter had gotten lost somehow, though she knew that was unlikely.
Hermione was in the bathroom when Astoria came in with Tracy Davies, another Slytherin girl.
"Oh, hi Granger," she said, a fake smile plastered on her lips. "What's the deal with you and Draco?"
Hermione didn't answer, but just looked at the younger girl with distrust. "Don't you just love the way he uses his tongue?" Astoria continued. At this, Hermione blushed a deep red.
"Oh, please, Tori," Tracy began, "you know Granger's a prude."
Hermione glared at the witches, and pushed past them without saying a word. She went looking for Draco, and when she finally found him sitting in the Great Hall with Blaise and Theo, she walked right over to him.
"Hey, Hermione," he said, smiling at her. She turned to the doors to see Astoria and Tracy walking in. Grabbing his face, she pulled him into a passionate kiss. She gasped when he prodded her lips with his tongue, which allowed him to gain entrance into her mouth. This was nothing like the other kisses that they had shared, which were chaste and quick. When they broke apart, they were both breathing heavily. "I have to go," Hermione said, running away.
She got to her room, closed the door and laid on her bed. Lifting her fingers to her lips she groaned loudly. She was falling for Draco Malfoy.
Weeks became months, and soon the end of the year ball was dawning on them. Hermione was surprised that the arrangement had kept on going, and her feelings had been silently growing stronger. She heard the door open and she stepped out of her room.
Draco looked up and smiled at her. "Are you excited for the ball tonight?"
"Yes, very much so." She smiled back at him. She had decided she was going to tell him she had feelings for him that night. It had become too hard to keep up with, and Hermione knew she was falling hard.
Her relationship with Harry was back to normal, as they had talked about the letter a few days previously, and she had truthfully told him she really did like Draco. She needed to let him know, before she got in deeper. She just hoped he felt the same way, too.
In the weeks that had passed since they had first made their arrangement, their relationship grew, and it seemed much more real. In fact, they had shared a beautiful night the previous day. They had been up, talking, and she found herself leaning in. Before she knew it, his lips were on hers. With no one around to put a show on for, Hermione was elated at the urgency and enthusiasm she received from him. As their tongues battled for dominance, his hand made his way to her breast. He squeezed lightly, and she squealed.
He broke apart from her. "This is okay, right?" he had asked her. "Yes," she breathed, pulling him back on top of her. Before she knew it he was using that skillful tongue on her, and she hated to admit it, but God, Astoria was right. She was in heaven when his tongue tasted her. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she turned back towards him.
"I'm going to get ready in the Gryffindor common room. You'll get me from there, yeah?"
He rolled his eyes, annoyed at the thought of having to go to the lion's den, but he nodded nonetheless.
She waved goodbye and made her way over.
Upon arrival, she waved and smiled at Harry and Ron, before making her way into the girls' dormitory. She found Ginny lounging on her bed. "I'm just so excited!" She squealed. "Sit down, I'll do your hair first."
After about an hour of potions, hair pulling, and hair spray, Ginny stepped back. "Ta-da!" She said, holding up a mirror. Hermione gasped. "Gin, I love it, thank you so much!"
Ginny had put lose curls in her hair, and then taken pieces and braided the, pinning them to the back of her hair, so she had a half up-half down hairstyle. "Draco will love it too!" Ginny declared.
She smiled politely at the younger witch. While Ginny worked on her own hair, Hermione applied her make-up. Not one for dramatic looks, she applied subtle shades to her eyes, topping off her look with red lipstick.
She went into the bathroom to put on her dress. It had taken her a while to pick out, but she was very excited to wear it. She had opted for a periwinkle dress. The bodice was made of a see-through net material, with a plunging neckline. Her breasts would be covered by little blue flowers that were sewn into the net. The dress cinched just below her breasts, and flowed down to the ground, covered with tulle. She paired her dress with silver heels, and walked out of the bathroom.
She looked at Ginny, who looked up and gasped. "Oh my God, Hermione! You look absolutely amazing!"
She blushed. "Thanks, Ginny. You do, too."
Now Ginny blushed. Hermione was serious, and she could see why Harry liked her so much.
The two ladies made their way down and Harry was waiting for Ginny. It seemed like everyone else had already gone down. They all exited the portrait hole one by one. When Hermione emerged, she saw Draco, who looked quite handsome in his dress robes. He held out his arm for her with his mouth open in awe.
"Granger, you look great," he said. Blushing once more, she took his arm, and said, "Thank you." When they arrived in the Great Hall, all eyes were on them. They walked over to his group of friends and greeted them. "I'll get us some punch," Draco said. She nodded.
"Damn, Granger, you sure do clean up nice," Blaise said to her, looking her up and down. "Mate, if Draco sees you looking at her like that, he'll kill you," Theo quipped, roaring with laugher. "What's so funny?" Draco had come back with the drinks. "Oh nothing," Blaise said, winking at Hermione. She chuckled into her drink.
"Do you want to dance?" Draco asked her. She nodded her head and took his hand as he led her out. An upbeat song was playing as she danced with him. A few more upbeat songs played, before a slow ballad began. He immediately put his hands on her waist and pulled her close.
Gasping, she put her hands around his neck and swayed to the music. "This is nice," she heard him murmur.
They danced like that until the song was over, and Hermione made her way into the loo, excusing herself.
A couple minutes later, as she was getting ready to leave, Astoria came in. She smiled at her again. "You are so trusting. I see why Drake likes you so much," Astoria said.
Gritting her teeth, Hermione responded, "What are you talking about?"
"Well, I just think it's so great that you aren't jealous. Merlin knows I wouldn't be okay with my boyfriend spending the night in another girl's bed, but I guess that's what makes you so great!"
Hermione felt like a bucket of ice cold water had been dumped on her. She quickly moved past the smirking girl and ran out of the bathroom.
"Granger, I've been looking for you!" She saw Draco coming towards her, and she went the other direction. She was almost back to the heads' dorms. A few more steps and she would be there. She stumbled through the portrait hole, thought she wasn't able to go as quickly as she would have liked, and with his long strides, he caught up to her in no time.
"Hermione!" He said, grabbing her arm, and turning her around. "What the fuck?"
"I could ask you the same question," she all but screamed at her. "What are you talking about?" He asked, looking at her confusedly.
Hermione turned away from him, as she could feel tears developing in her eyes, and she didn't want him to see. "Malfoy, physical stuff may not be a big deal to you, but it is to me!" She said.
"What are you talking about?" He asked her again.
"I ran into Astoria in the bathroom, and she so kindly filled me in on where you've been spending your nights when you aren't here."
She turned back to see his eyes widen. So, it was true. Astoria wasn't making it all up. She turned around again to go into her room, but he caught her arm again.
"Let me go, Malfoy!"
"Not until you calm down, and you listen to me!"
"Fine. I'll give you two minutes."
He nodded and let go of her, leading her over to the couch. She sat down and crossed her arms, watching him sit down next to her.
"Astoria, she wasn't lying," he began. "But, you have to believe me, nothing happened. I spent the night with her once. There's history there, you know? It's not just going to all go away. I went to the Slytherin common room that night to tell her it was over for good. That I, uh…that I liked someone else," he finished sheepishly, bringing his arm back and rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
Hermione didn't know what to say. On one hand, she was still mad he had spent the night with her at all, but on the other hand, he said he liked her.
She was looking down at her hands, which were folded on her lap. "I don't know what to say," she mumbled.
He took her hands in his. He leaned towards her and captured her lips in a kiss. She pulled away from him and got up. "I'm angry," she said, "you can't just kiss me and make it all go away."
He huffed at her. "Why can't you just admit you like me, too Granger? You hide behind your letters instead of doing anything about your crushes because you're afraid of opening yourself up to someone and letting yourself be vulnerable," he yelled.
"I did let myself be vulnerable! And then you went and spent the night with Astoria fucking Greengrass!"
"You know what? Whatever, Granger. I don't need to explain myself to you." He ended their conversation, walked up to his room and slammed the door shut.
Angry tears were pouring down her face at an alarming rate. She sniffed and brought her hand up to wipe away her tears. This wasn't the way things were supposed to go that night. She walked up into her room, and changed out of her dress. She contemplated going to Draco's room, but she didn't know what she would say when she got there. Instead, she opted for crying herself to sleep.
Weeks had passed and she hadn't said a word to Draco, nor did he talk to her. He didn't spend a lot of time in their dorm, and he thoroughly avoided her in the hallways and classes they had together.
It was a Sunday. She and Draco usually studied together on Sunday's. She opened her door, and saw his door was open, but he was nowhere in sight. Sighing to herself, she trudged down the stairs into the little kitchenette and poured herself some milk and cereal.
She heard a knock at the door, and opened it to reveal Blaise and Theo.
"Please, hear us out," Theo began.
"Yeah, Draco looks like shite," Blaise continued. "We have never seen him as happy as he was with you." Hermione shook her head. "He hasn't tried to talk to me in weeks. There isn't anything left to say."
"That's because he's a stubborn son of a bitch, like you, Granger," Theo said. "He loves you."
She looked up at his two best friends with wide eyes. "What?"
"Yes, Granger, and we know you love him, too," Blaise smirked. "Now please, please, go and find him so he can stop sulking around the Slytherin common room!"
He loved her. Hermione was giddy. She ran out of the common room, leaving the two Slytherin boys behind her.
She searched everywhere for him, the Great Hall, Astronomy Tower, even the library. She couldn't find him. Then, she made her way to the quidditch pitch. Surely enough, he was flying. She waved at him and he flew down to greet her.
He opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off. "You were right," she said, "I didn't want to admit it, but you were right. I don't like putting myself out there because I don't want to get hurt."
He was looking at her somberly, but he didn't say anything, so she continued. "I didn't want to let myself fall for you, because we are so different. So, when the whole thing with Astoria came out, I took the chance to run away. But I shouldn't have, and I'm sorry."
He was now right in front of her. "I understand if you don't want to be with me anymore." When he didn't say anything, she turned around to leave. He grabbed her arm and turned her around.
He bent his neck down to kiss her, which she readily accepted. He was saying everything he wanted to through this kiss. He was telling her he loved her, and that everything would be okay. And Hermione knew it would be.