Chapter One: Secret Feelings and Pillow Fights
bA/N: Hey everyone! This is my first story submission on this site. I'm really excited to hear what you think. Enjoy!/b
Hermione slowly made her way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. She had not gotten much sleep the night before due to Draco and his obnoxious girlfriend, Pansy, snogging in the Heads' common room. iI swear those two could wake up the whole castle between his moaning and her giggles,/i Hermione thought as she made her way over to her redheaded best friend at the Gryffindor table.
"Hey, Hermione!" Ginny said as the Head Girl sat down beside her.
"Morning, Ginny," she replied through a yawn.
"Didn't get any sleep again?"
"NO! I'm so sick of Pansy coming into our dorm and taking Draco's attention away from what's important!"
"Like . . ."
"Like m—I mean, uh, our Heads' duties and his studies. I mean, he's Head Boy; he can't afford to do poorly in his classes," Hermione stuttered out.
"Uh-uh, that's it," Ginny said as she gave Hermione a knowing look.
Ever since the war had ended, and Draco had revealed his role as a spy for the Order, the trio and Ginny had slowly resolved their issues with the Slytherin prince. Over the past few months, with the group trying to get to know each other better, Ginny had started to suspect that Hermione might be starting to have feelings for Draco. She'd kept her suspicions to herself, but now that June was swiftly approaching, she thought it might be time to get Hermione to admit her feelings for Draco.
"Hermione, are you sure you're not jealous?" Ginny asked cautiously.
"Wh-NO! I mean yes. No, wait, um . . ."
"iHermione!/i"
"I'm NOT jealous, Ginny."
And without another word, Hermione stormed out of the Great Hall just as Ron and Harry entered. They both tried to say 'good morning' to her, but she walked quickly past them mumbling something about delusional redheads under her breath.
"Hey, Gin," Harry said as he kissed his girlfriend and took the seat beside her, "what's up with Hermione?"
"Didn't get enough sleep."
"Again?" Ron asked from across the table.
"Yeah, Draco and Pansy were at it again."
"They never give it a rest, do they?" Harry said as he helped himself to some pancakes.
"No, and it's beginning to take its toll on Hermione. She hasn't slept well for three days."
"Maybe we should say something to Draco," Ron suggested.
"No, that would just put her in a worse mood. I think we need to let her deal with this herself."
"Whatever you say, Gin," Harry said before digging into his breakfast.
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Later that night, in the Heads' common room, Hermione was discussing her plans for that month's event with Draco. Since they had been appointed to their Head positions, the pair had decided to plan an event, usually something social, every month to make their last year at Hogwarts even more fun. Now, they were both seated on a maroon couch near the fireplace, papers spread all over the coffee table in front of them, trying to figure out an event for March.
"So, I was thinking about having a dance, but with some karaoke fun in the middle."
"What's kara okay?" Draco asked.
"It's karaoke, Draco," Hermione said, giggling.
"Whatever. What is it anyway?"
"Well, it's when you sing along with lyrics of a song that are on a screen. It's a Muggle invention."
"Oh, well, that sounds . . . uh . . . let's see, lame?"
"Draco!" Hermione yelled as she hit him with a couch pillow.
"Hey, I'm just stating my opinion!" Draco said as he grabbed the other couch pillow and began to hit Hermione back.
Within minutes, the pillows had burst at the seams and feathers were flying everywhere. They both had totally abandoned their work and were ducking and chasing each other all around the common room. Laughing, Hermione went for another swing but missed. Her massive swing caused her to lose her balance, and she fell backward onto the green-carpeted floor.
"Give up, Granger?" Draco asked with a smirk.
"You wish, Malfoy."
Even though the pair had become fast friends over the summer, they still liked to nip at the other using their surnames. However, Draco didn't learn that when in the middle of a "fight" with Miss Hermione Granger, one should never let his or her guard down. And no sooner had he come within her reach, then she quickly swiped her leg in a low circle, taking out his legs and sending him crashing to the floor. Afterwards, she stood up and walked over to him, pillow ready to attack again.
"Damn, Granger! You got some moves!" Draco said, laughing lightly.
"I do, don't I?" Hermione replied with a smirk that could've rivaled Draco's. "Now about that idea I had . . ."
Hermione was now right beside Draco. She swung the pillow back to continue the fight. But when her pillow was mere inches from Draco's head, he grabbed it and pulled, causing Hermione to fall on top of him. Taking the pillow out of her hand, he rolled over so she was beneath him.
Both breathing heavily from the pillow fight, Draco locked onto her chocolate brown eyes and said, "I've got some moves of my own. So, what were you saying?"
Hermione couldn't bring herself to answer. She couldn't even think straight for that matter. She was lost in those mesmerizing orbs of gray that were Draco's eyes. When she finally managed to regain her thoughts, she realized Draco was gradually leaning towards her.
"Uh, Draco, I think we should . . ."
But that's all she got out before Draco's lips crashed onto hers. At first, she protested a bit. After all, he idid/i have a girlfriend. But a few seconds later, she found herself getting lost in the kiss. Draco, a bit surprised by what he was doing, was even more surprised by Hermione's response. Just when he started to deepen the kiss, wanting more, a knock came from the portrait hole. Pansy's voice called out from the other side wanting Draco to let her in. The pair instantly broke apart with Draco still hovering over Hermione. Both trying to catch their breath, Draco slowly managed to tear his eyes away from Hermione's and stood up, slowly making his way over to the portrait hole.
Hermione, feeling utterly confused and irritated, repaired the pillows and put all their papers away in her writing desk at the far side of the room. Before she went up the spiral staircase to her room, however, Hermione took one last look at Draco, who had let his girlfriend in, and sighed. iEvil Pansy and her stupid timing!/i
She headed up the staircase and into her room; maybe Ginny was right, maybe she iwas/i jealous. As she slipped into bed, Hermione heard the all too familiar noises of Draco and Pansy's snogging. Groaning, she decided that she actually needed to get some sleep this week, so she cast a soundproofing charm on her room. iWhy exactly didn't I think of that before?!/i The last thing she thought of before drifting off to sleep was the feel of Draco's lips on hers and what it would be like to be in Pansy's position right now.
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The following afternoon, Hermione decided that she needed to talk to Ginny. She hated to admit it, but the redhead was right. She iwas/i jealous. Unfortunately for her, it had taken a full out confrontation with Pansy this morning to realize it.
iHermione awoke to the sound of her alarm going off. Groaning, she turned it off and rolled out of bed. Walking over to her vanity on the wall opposite her bed, she sat down and began to untangle her uncooperative bushy hair. When her hair looked more curly than bushy with the help of various spells and hair care products, Hermione picked out her outfit for the day. Since it was Saturday, she decided to wear something more causal and comfortable: a pair of her favorite blue jeans with a silver butterfly design on them and the matching light purple tank top, which had the butterfly pattern around the bottom and the neck of the shirt.
She made her way to the Heads' kitchen, only to discover Pansy there cooking breakfast, dressed only in a large T-shirt of Draco's. Hermione tried to hide her anger as she went about gathering what she needed to make a bowl of cereal for breakfast.
"Good morning, Granger," Pansy said in a sickly sweet voice.
"Morning, Parkinson," Hermione replied, barely hiding the venom in her tone.
"Don't we look semi-decent today? Big date, oh wait, who would want to go out with you? Or even touch you for that matter."
/iYour boyfriend didn't seem to mind last night,i Hermione died to say but settled for, "Well, at least I don't go sleeping around with every guy in my house."
"Not that it's any of your business, Granger, but Draco's the only guy I've ever been with."
"Y-you s-slept w-with D-Draco?"
"DUH, Granger, I'm not wearing his shirt for nothing."
Hermione stopped pouring her cereal; she was stunned. /iBut Draco kissed ME last night! He even seemed regretful that Pansy showed up when she did! I can't believe he'd just shag Pansy after he'd just kissed me! I mean I know he's a ladies' man and everything, but shagging Pansy?!i
"Why so shocked, Granger?" Pansy asked, slightly amused by Hermione's reaction.
Hermione couldn't come up with an answer. Her mind had stopped working; she couldn't form words, let alone a whole sentence. After a few minutes, she seemed to gain her composure back and returned to fixing her bowl of cereal, completely ignoring Pansy's question.
"Aren't you gonna answer me, Mudblood?" Pansy questioned in a vicious whisper.
Since the war's end, Hermione hadn't heard that word used very publicly due to its association with Voldemort, so the nerve of Pansy even breathing it after she had just revealed her exploits with Draco sent Hermione over the edge. She whipped her wand out of her jeans' back pocket and aimed it at Pansy's chest.
"What? You're gonna hex me, Granger? That wouldn't be very becoming of our Head Girl, now, would it?"
Hermione knew Pansy was right, but she had other ways of fighting back. She lowered her wand, and just as Pansy went to turn back to her cooking, Hermione grabbed the bowl of cereal she had just finished pouring milk into and dumped it on Pansy's head.
"EWWWWW! GRANGER, YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT!" Pansy roared as she wiped cereal out of her hair and face.
Hermione laughed hysterically at the sight before her, making Pansy even angrier. She lunged at Hermione, and the two fell to the floor clawing, ripping, and hitting any part of each other they could get within their grasp. Both girls were rolling around on the floor, shouting insults at each other left and right, never stopping their violent attacks.
"You evil little . . . OW!" Pansy screamed as Hermione pulled her hair.
"You're pathetic Parkinson, seducing every guy you meet just to . . . OUCH!" Hermione said as she narrowly blocked Pansy from hitting her in the head with a goblet that had fallen off the table.
"What's that got to do with . . . OH MY GOSH! You want Draco for yourself, don't you?" Pansy asked as she managed to avoid Hermione's fingernails from coming into contact with her cheek.
"Of course not, but he sure deserves better than you!" Hermione shouted back before slapping Pansy across the face.
Just as the arguing and insults started to get even worse, Draco walked into the kitchen. Immediately running over and pulling Hermione off of Pansy, he tried to stand between the girls.
"What are you guys fighting about?!" Draco yelled over their screams.
Neither one answered his question; both girls just tried to get around him to reach the other. Having had enough of trying to break them apart the easy way, Draco bent down and threw Hermione over his shoulder, carrying her out of the kitchen. With Hermione kicking and screaming the whole way out of the kitchen, Draco barely managed to make it to the common room couch before throwing her onto it. She tried to get back up and return to the kitchen, but Draco grabbed her arms and pinned them above her head. Finally giving up the struggle, Hermione relaxed, and Draco cautiously took his hands away from her arms.
"What the bloody hell was that all about?!" Draco practically yelled at her.
"Your bloody girlfriend, that's what!" Hermione yelled back.
At that moment, Pansy walked out of the kitchen and into the common room. She had a couple of long scratch marks along her cheeks, and the shirt she was wearing was torn in many places. Hermione looked down at herself to see that her shirt, too, was torn on the sleeve and the bottom hem. Her arms were scratched in many places, and when she felt her face for bruises, Hermione could tell she had a deep scratch on her forehead and a few smaller ones around her neck.
Eyes full of hatred as she looked at Hermione, Pansy made her way up the stairs and into Draco's bedroom.
"What about her?" Draco asked a bit quieter after Pansy had shut the door to his room.
"I don't want her in here anymore!"
"She's my girlfriend, Granger! You can't limit who I can and cannot see!"
"Well, she's quite a catch, Malfoy!" Hermione said with clear venom in her voice.
Draco couldn't believe what he was hearing! Sure, Hermione and Pansy had their differences, but he'd never thought it'd go this far. And what was with Hermione's cold attitude this morning?
"What's with the attitude all of a sudden?"
"It's nothing," she said in little more than a harsh whisper.
Hermione suddenly got up from the couch and walked quickly past Draco and out of the portrait hole, determined not to let him see the pain in her eyes./i
Now, after she had cleaned herself up a bit in a nearby girls' lavatory, Hermione was desperately trying to find Ginny. She had looked everywhere: in Gryffindor Tower, in the Great Hall, and all over the grounds and couldn't find her friend anywhere.
Hermione was sitting by the lake, resting against the birch tree where her and her friends usually studied, when she spotted Ginny coming her way.
"I heard you were looking for me," Ginny said as she sat down by Hermione. "What's up?"
"Well . . . how do I start this? You . . . were, um, ri-right," Hermione said, struggling to admit she had been wrong.
"About what?" Ginny asked, playing dumb.
"You know exactly what!"
"I know. I just want you to say it."
"Fine! I-I li-like Draco and I iwas/i jealous! There, I said it."
"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Ginny said with a triumphant smile.
Hermione glared at Ginny before she responded sadly, "But it doesn't matter anymore."
"Why, what happened?" Ginny asked, realizing something was wrong.
"Well, we kissed last night," Hermione said and then made sure to add, "by accident."
"That's good, isn't it? What's the problem, besides Pansy?"
"I wasn't finished. Last night he . . . last night . . ." But Hermione couldn't finish the sentence.
"Last night he what?" Ginny pressed.
"Shagged Pansy!" Hermione said, practically yelling it at Ginny, but she had to get it out before she lost her nerve.
"He did what?!"
"Ginny, don't make me say it again," Hermione pleaded.
Ginny sat there shocked for a moment. She couldn't believe . . . Well, she could, but she thought Draco would have enough tact not to shag someone right after he had kissed someone else. The worst part of the whole thing, though, was that Hermione was sitting there, hoping Ginny would have some advice for her, and Ginny couldn't think of a thing to say.
"Hermione, I . . ."
"It's okay, Ginny. You don't have to say anything. I need to go see Dumbledore about approving this month's event anyway," Hermione said as she stood up.
"Oooo, what is it?" Ginny asked excitedly before Hermione could leave.
Hermione couldn't help but smile at her friend's enthusiasm. "A dance with a little karaoke thrown in."
"What's karaoke?"
"It's when you sing along to a song while the lyrics appear on a screen. Draco thought it'd be lame, but I'm going to tell Dumbledore that we agreed on it."
"Well, I think it sounds pretty fun. Who cares what Draco thinks anyway?"
iI do,/i Hermione thought sadly, but instead replied, "It'll be fun. This dance is going to be the best Hogwarts has ever had!"
"That's the spirit! Let me know if you need any help."
"I will. See ya, Ginny."
Hermione left the redhead by the lake and headed up to the castle to find the Headmaster and get her idea approved.
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Later that evening, Hermione reluctantly made her way to the Heads' Dorm. She hadn't seen or talked to Draco all day. Her friends had kept her busy, from playing Exploding Snap to sneaking into the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer. She figured that Ginny had something to do with the plan, but Hermione didn't mind since it led her thoughts away from Draco.
Now, however, all she had to do was say the password to the portrait and she would see him, all her thoughts and feelings rushing back to her. Taking a deep breath, Hermione muttered the password and stepped into the large common room. Sure enough, there was Draco sitting on the common room couch with . . . NO!
Pansy Parkinson was sitting on his lap and they were snogging passionately. Hermione had had enough of this!
bA/N: How'd you like it so far? I'd really like to know. There's more to come, so please review! You know you want to . . . /b