·sºô­¶1

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Keeper of My Heart ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

by sexyme

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. Revenge would be oh so sweet.

Draco stood up with feline grace and headed towards the kitchen. Inside the kitchen, he went to a cupboard and opened it. At the topmost shelf, there was an ordinary looking blue jar. His left hand reached out to the blue jar and pushed it downwards. The jar disappeared and a secret opening next to the cupboard slid open.

He went inside the opening. Once inside, the door magically disappeared. 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, he kept on walking until he reached the last door on the left. He opened the door. It was extremely dark inside, he could barely see the occupant of the room.

"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 this was obviously not her 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, clearly aware how cold the floor was.

"Damn!" she hissed in the darkness. Her head felt slightly woozy, AS she shook her head slowly. A wave a dizziness washed over her, she had no choice but to sit down on the edge of the bed. As she took 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.

Hermione laughed at the expression on Ginny's face. She crossed her hands over her chest and said, "Well..."

Ginny placed a hand on Hermione's crossed ones. "C'mon, Herm, just this once."

She finally gave in. "Alright, one more hour. But after eleven we need to get back. Or your fiancee Harry James Potter would be after my head," she said firmly.

Ginny blushed 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 ecstatic expression on her best friend, Hermione couldn't help but smile. She was really happy for the two of them. 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 plan to make Harry finally realize that he had fallen hard for Ginny as well.

The two 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 exhilirated!" 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?"

Hermione shook her head. Boy, I'll be in a lot of trouble if Harry sees Ginny this way.

It wasn't really her idea to bring the younger girl to the pub, but Ginny was persistent. She didn't have the heart to refuse her best friend in the world.

Ginny became her closest friend since fifth year started. Harry and Ron became too involved with Quidditch that she felt left out. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. She was like an older sister to Ginny who was far too innocent. The reason was obvious, Ginny was far too protected by all her brothers, most specially by Ron.

She thought about how Ron, who had been her boyfriend since 7th year, dumped her two years ago for one Mandy Brocklehurst. She was angry and hurt at that time, but later on she realized they were really better of as friends.

"Err, may we know 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, reminding him 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 that she had fallen asleep with her head slumped on the table.

"We would like to congratulate you for 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 enveloping 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.

All of a sudden, the image of what he had seen just half an hour ago returned to him. He could envision her lying on the bed, unconscious, her flowing brown hair framed her face, her long slim leg, so creamy and smooth. 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.

Hermione Granger will not go down with 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 adjusting 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 looked at him with challenge 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, her eyes throwing angry sparks and her brown hair that used to be bushy but now fell smoothly to her shoulders.

"You haven't changed. You're still a wildcat," he said coldly. "Good. I'll enjoy taming you."

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 his arms and slammed her down to the bed so hard she gasp. 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 tried to fight. Whatever he was planning to do to her, he's not going to succeed. Her eyes spitting fire, she tried to kick him but his body had pinned her body, 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 he 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 he eased the weight of his body but he didn't stop kissing her. He planted feathery like kisses on the tip of her nose, face, cheeks. She moaned with pleasure, then she stiffened and went rigid. I'm not going let myself be seduced by Draco Malfoy.

~*~*~*~*~

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

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