Disclaimer: Not mine. Not yours. Only JK Rowling's.
A/N: AND I AM ACTUALLY BACK. I apologize for my late updates, or lack thereof. I'm really, really, really sorry and all. First, it was because classes were about to end and the teachers suddenly became sadistic and laughed maniacally as their students do more extra homeworks and projects. Sheesh, seriously. Anyway, SUMMER is here so, I'm happy. Another was because our internet connection was not cooperating with me. It kept on disconnecting and all so opening a website had been truly hard for me.
Anyway, this one-shot came up to me after watching a Korean TV series ("You're Beautiful" - do you know that?). Yeah, so the summary part, the dialogue one, I did not make that up. I actually got it from the said TV series. So, yeah. It's quite long (I think) so I will stop my stupid tirade.
Enjoy! And please do review after reading!
Title: Precious Day
Author: 2booklover4
Language: English
Form: One-shot
Genre: Friendship/Humor
Rating: T
Warning/s: Mild cussing
Ship: Draco/Hermione
Summary: "Today, the day that you were born, is a precious day. Thank you for being born." Pre-Romance.
Precious Day
His unfocused eyes gazed outside the window.
It was another day in the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. It was another day away from his parents and the responsibility they were imposing on him, which he strongly defied.
Draco Malfoy released a soft sigh and rubbed his right eye. He subconsciously surveyed the room he was currently in and comparing it with his extravagant room in the place he was supposed to call 'home', it was too plain and simple. Usually, he would throw a tantrum and demand to remove the rotting pieces of furniture and replace them with antiques and priceless ones. But for now, he did not care. He just wanted to be anywhere and everywhere but the Malfoy Manor.
It had almost been a month now since he ran away from home but the memory of that day was still fresh in his mind. The insults… the disgusted looks on their faces… they were all vivid in his mind.
"You disappoint me, Draco… a disgrace to the Malfoy family! You've humiliated me in front of the Dark Lord! How dare you refuse such a remarkable opportunity! All of your friends would do everything just to serve him. And what did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO? A disgrace indeed! I cannot believe you are my son. You do not deserve to be part of the Malfoy family."
He scowled and pushed that memory away. His father's words still cut into him like a knife and he hated himself for being affected. He grew up admiring his father and his work (if he could call serving the Dark Bastard as one). And like other children, he yearned to grow up instantly and become someone like his father. But then, as he turned into a teenager, he was able to realize that he would just ruin his life if he turned into someone like Lucius Malfoy – a Death Eater… a murderer.
And so, on the day when he was about to be branded by the Dark Mark, he stayed in his room and refused to go. He could still remember an enraged Lucius Malfoy and a hysterical Narcissa barging into his room once they got home from the Headquarters of the Death Eaters.
"Ho-how could you, Draco? I cared for you; I gave you comfort. But what did you do as an exchange to my affections? You've humiliated us, Draco. Your parents! Are you happy now? You've done things for yourself only. I-I wish you were not my son at all! I wish I had carried in my womb another child than the insolent you. I wish you were not born here on Earth at all."
The last sentence uttered by his mother still rang in his head loudly. I wish you were not born here on Earth at all…
"Stop it," he hissed and tightly closed his eyes. He could not believe his mother – lovely Narcissa – would say such things to him. He grew up thinking that even if his father was cold and indifferent towards him, Narcissa truly cared about him. But no, he was absolutely wrong. Narcissa only cared about the reputation of their family. She only cared about looking good in front of people so that they would be well-respected… feared.
Draco leaned his forehead against the cold windowpane and sighed. He was glad he ran away. He couldn't bear to think what would happen to him if he did not defy his parent's wishes and was branded by the Dark Mark.
Before he could dwell deeper into that thought, his bedroom door burst open. Draco swiveled around and scowled. In came Hermione Granger, a wide smile visible on her face.
"What do you want, Granger?" he grumbled and averted his eyes away from the cheery brunette. Just looking at someone so… happy made him sick in the stomach.
Hermione, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow at the brooding young man. She invited herself in and ignored the rueful sigh that escaped from Draco's lips.
They were the only people in Grimmauld Place. The others were all watching the Quidditch World Cup and would be spending the rest of the day there. They would all go back home tomorrow.
They actually offered Hermione to come, but she strongly refused, reasoning that she had other important things to do (like summer homeworks) than watch morons signing their death sentence as they hovered fifty feet from the ground.
They also offered Draco to come, albeit a bit reluctantly. But the new resident of the Headquarters politely declined, reasoning that he wanted to be left alone. After a murmur from an annoyed Ron ("What an ungrateful ferret"), they left him alone.
And so, here was Hermione, barging inside the brooding boy's room. They had somehow established a friendship between them – Hermione being the willing one and Draco being the reluctant one. The brunette was the first one to offer and Draco ignored her at first. But after some persistence from the brunette, he just let her make his life messier than ever.
Truthfully, Hermione offered him friendship because of compassion. At first, like her other best friends, she despised the fact that Draco Malfoy would be staying with them. But after hearing the complete and unabridged story from Professor Dumbledore, she started to feel compassionate to him.
"Come on, Malfoy, it's a special day today!" she announced cheerily in the gloomy room.
"What the bloody hell are you talking about, Granger?" he bitterly spat, glaring at her reflection on the window. For him, her cheery self looked out-of-place in his cold and dreary room.
"Seriously, you do not know?" she asked, genuinely surprised. She trudged towards him and grabbed his arm, pulling him off the window sill. "Come; on this special day, I am going to make you happy!"
Draco pulled his arm away from the persistent brunette and glared daggers at her. Hermione seemed unfazed by his hostility. "Leave. I want to be alone."
"Oh nonsense!" she said, grabbing his arm once again. "On your birthday, you're supposed to be accompanied by a friend."
His brows knitted together. "What did you say?"
"It's your birthday today!" Hermione exclaimed, looking slightly confused. "It's the fifth of June. It's your birthday, right?"
Draco looked at his calendar and like what the brunette said, it was the fifth of June – his birthday. Sighing, he tiredly looked at the brunette. "You should have not reminded me."
I wish you were not born here on Earth at all. Instantly, Hermione's smile faltered. Remembering those words made her heart ache for him. But then, her smile was present on her face again. "I swear I am going to make you happy today, birthday boy." Her hand was over her heart and if Draco was not feeling down, he would have smirked. "Ooh, I haven't greeted you yet! Happy Birthday, Draco!"
Cringing, he scowled. He still wasn't used in being called by his first name by his ex-enemy.
"Come on, I prepared a special breakfast just for you!"
Draco sighed in defeat and allowed Hermione to drag him downstairs.
Morning
As they entered the dining room, a strong, aromatic smell teased Draco's nose. As much as he wanted to suppress it, his stubborn stomach grumbled. Turning red, he could see Hermione smirking triumphantly.
She led him at the head of the table and urged him to sit down. Begrudgingly, he obeyed and stared at the food in front of him. There was a bowl of porridge once again teasing his nose with side dishes like waffles and egg. Also, a glass of pumpkin juice sat appetizingly beside the bowl of porridge.
Hermione sat herself beside the blond and stared intently at him, a worried look on her face. "Go on, try it," she said. "I'm not sure if it will taste good, though."
He raised an eyebrow. "Why can't I shrug off the feeling that you might have poisoned my breakfast, Granger?" Hermione instantly looked affronted and he smirked in return.
"I did not!" she interjected, grabbing a waffle and taking a bite from it. She chewed and swallowed before emphasizing, "See."
"Sheesh, Granger, I was just messing around," he would say, taking a spoon and inspecting his porridge.
"How many times do I have to tell you to call me 'Hermione'?" she asked, annoyed.
"And how many times do I have to tell you I can call you whatever I want?" he asked, equally annoyed. "It's just a name. Why are you always insisting to let me call you by your first name?"
Hermione pouted and glared at her hands. "Because we're friends," she inaudibly said. Or so she thought, because Draco heard her and blanched. He still was not used to being pampered and comforted by other people. Before, they only did things for him out of fear. But Hermione was treating him differently than his past… allies. And he was feeling awkward about it. After all, he started to become wary after discovering that his mother was only showering him with fake affections.
Sighing and shaking that thought off his mind, Draco inspected his porridge with the usage of a spoon. It looked appetizing, though he did not want Granger to know that. An orange lump then caught his eyes and lifting it with the spoon, he inspected it closely.
Shrimp.
He released his spoon loudly and pushed the porridge away from him.
"What's the matter?" Hermione apprehensively asked. "Does it taste bad?" She grabbed his abandoned spoon and tasted her own creation. "Well, it's not as good as Mrs. Weasley's but it's not that bad, Malfoy. Stop overreacting."
Draco rolled his eyes. "What did you put in my porridge, Granger?"
"Well, the usual ingredients," she said, unconsciously rubbing her neck. "Oh, I added shrimp for a better taste. Mrs. Weasley had done that one time and I think it was the best porridge I'd tasted so far."
"I have shrimp allergy," he dully stated. "Ugh, just looking at it makes me feel itchy already."
Hermione's eyes widened and her hand flew to her mouth. "I am so, so sorry!" she shrieked, pushing the bowl of porridge further away from Draco. "I did not know."
"Of course you wouldn't," he shot back. "You do not know me at all."
The brunette frowned. "I said I was sorry."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Thanks to you, I almost died on my birthday."
"Fine, fine, I'll prepare you something that you can actually eat." Her face turned pensive and Draco waited, eating some waffles and egg. And then, Hermione's face lit up in delight.
"I have an idea!"
Afternoon
Her eyes skimmed down the cookbook, mentally checking if the ingredients for the cake that they would bake were all present.
"Do I really have to help?" Draco whined, looking at his frilly and pink apron in disgust. Hermione seemed to torment him because she chose a much simpler and more masculine apron, leaving him with no other choice but to wear this sissy attire. "It's my birthday, Granger! You bake the cake yourself."
"Just because it's your birthday doesn't mean you should not help me," she interjected. "You're going to eat, too, anyway. So you should help me make it."
Draco rolled his eyes, softly murmuring profanities under his breath but did not argue with Hermione further.
Unbeknownst to the blond, Hermione was asking for his help because… she sucked in baking. She was well-known in the whole Headquarters that even if she was an acceptable cook, she was a disastrous baker. One incident (Harry's birthday, specifically) was enough for the members to not allow Hermione to touch baking ingredients and such.
"Now, where do we begin?" She cracked her knuckles as she skimmed the cookbook. Without looking at the birthday boy, she pushed a bowl with eggs inside it towards him. "Crack the eggs, will you? I'm going to mix the other ingredients."
"Don't tell me what to do!" he glared like a petulant child, crossing his arms over his chest. "If you must know, I do not do work that should actually be done by house-elves."
Hermione's eyes flashed dangerously. She averted her glaring eyes away from the cookbook to the blond. "Well, breaking news, mister: there are no house-elves around. Only you and I. So stop acting like a spoiled brat if you do not want me to hex you into oblivion."
"It's my birthday today," he reminded her, wagging a finger. Hermione's eyes darkened and released a loud 'hmmph'. "The least you can do is stop acting like a hysterical banshee whenever I anger you."
"Then don't anger me!" she exclaimed, now furiously mixing, making some of the ingredients fly everywhere. "Ungrateful prat… and here I am, baking you a cake to cheer you up on your birthday."
"Well, I did not force you to do this for me, Granger," he said, the tone of his voice freezing cold. Hermione stopped her assault with the wooden spoon and the bowl and looked at him in surprise. "Stop this if you think you are obliged to do this for me, Granger."
Her expression softened and she looked at her hands. "I want to do this," she quietly told him. "I'm sorry I blew up."
His eyes widened at her apology. "Who are you and what did you do to Hermione Granger?" he asked disbelievingly, smirking.
Hermione pouted and went back to her work. "I was being honest," she shot back.
"Whatever you say," he said dismissively. Not believing his actions, he pulled the bowl towards him and started to crack the eggs. At the corner of his eyes, he could see Hermione's delighted expression.
-o-o-o-
"Don't put that!" Draco exclaimed, eyes trained intently on the cookbook. "It clearly states that you are supposed to add the sugar after the egg."
"I've placed the egg already!" she shot back, dumping the sugar inside the mixing bowl. She was being her usual bossy self, refusing to take orders from other people.
"No you haven't," he said through gritted teeth, showing her the proof of her mistake.
Her eyes widened and her cheeks reddened in embarrassment. She snatched the bowl of the beaten egg and dumped it inside the bowl. "It's just one minor mistake. It's no big deal."
"Yeah, it won't be a big deal if you did not commit countless minor mistakes," he reminded her, his thought drifting back to the time when she added two cups of sugar rather than just a cup and the time when she added a whole butter instead of a half one.
Draco massaged his temples and groaned. "You might not kill me by giving me allergy, Granger. But I am now so sure that you are going to kill me by feeding me inedible food."
"I'm trying my best!" she cried out. "Shut up if you don't want me to make it really inedible." She dumped flour inside the mixing bowl forcefully, making flour fly everywhere. Unfortunately, some landed on Draco's hair and after that, he saw red. After all, it was common knowledge that no one should mess up with his immaculate blond hair.
"Oi!" he exclaimed. "Anything but the hair."
An evil glint became visible in Hermione's eyes. "Oh, I apologize," she said sarcastically. Then, she cupped a handful of flour and threw it at the blond.
Draco coughed and glared. "That's it, Granger!" With that, he grabbed a handful of flour and threw it at a laughing Hermione.
Soon, there was an all-out food fight in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place. Food was flying everywhere, especially on both of the teeanger's body.
And to Hermione's glee, Draco Malfoy was laughing. Heartily.
-o-o-o-
"It's done!" the brunette exclaimed proudly, ignoring the egg yolk dripping on her hair. Draco unconsciously removed it for her and stared at the byproduct of their job, or rather, food fight.
Hermione looked apprehensive as she settled the sponge cake on the table. "It looks soggy," she subtly whined. "But it's quite all right. Don't you think?"
Draco nodded begrudgingly. Even if the whole kitchen ended as a disaster, his birthday cake looked all right. Though, he could not pinpoint the reason why he was also feeling apprehensive.
"Taste it," Hermione urged him and Draco only raised an eyebrow at her. Sighing in defeat, she rolled her eyes. "Fine, I will try it first." She sliced a small portion of his sponge cake and ate. The moment the pastry was inside her mouth, Hermione started to cough uncontrollably.
The blond patted her back until her coughing fit ceased. "It's salty, for Merlin's sake!" Hermione exclaimed, shooting disgusted looks at the cake. "Ugh, I think I placed salt instead of sugar."
Draco guessed their cake still ended as a disaster. Despite knowing that his hard work ended up as nothing, he laughed. He laughed and laughed and laughed until his stomach ached. Shaking his head, "I cannot believe that the know-it-all Hermione Granger has problems in baking." His laughing fit ceased, though, a wide grin was still on his face.
Hermione couldn't help but grin in return. "You should do that more often."
"Do what?"
"Laugh," she elaborated. Instantly, his smile was wiped off of his face. "It suits you more."
Instantly, Draco felt uncomfortable. Out of habit, he rubbed his neck. "Err… yeah." He avoided Hermione's eyes and coughed. "Erm... I'm going to take a bath."
Hermione grinned and nodded. "Make haste. We still have to do something."
Draco nodded in understanding and as fast as the speed of light, he was gone.
Night
The tension in the room was so thick, almost suffocating. Sweat dripped from their foreheads and landed quietly on the carpeted floor. Not one of them dared to blink. Their concentration was astounding, bordering comical, but they do not care. Both waited in bated breath and carefully watched each other's move to know their fate.
And soon… too soon for Draco, Hermione broke into a victorious grin and shouted triumphantly, "CHECKMATE!"
The birthday boy scowled and pushed the chess set away from him. "You're just lucky tonight, Granger." He sounded like he was convincing himself.
"Oh, don't be such a spoil sport, Draco," Hermione comforted, albeit the wicked grin still seen on her face. "You almost won, anyway."
"NO!" he hissed. "I should win. Let's play again."
Hermione stretched and yawned. "I don't want to play another one," she grumbled. "I'm tired."
"It's my birthday today, Granger. I dictate the schedule today."
The brunette rolled her eyes. "You're just embarrassed you lost against me for the umpteenth time" – "Because of your sheer luck!" – "Oh, admit it, Malfoy. I'm better than you." She imitated his smirk. "If you must know, Granger, I am hailed as the Wizard Chess Master by the Slytherins. All those who challenged me end up as failures." Her imitation of his voice was amazing that if Draco was not angry, he would have cracked a grin. "Ha, Wizard Chess Master my foot. I am way better than you!" To fuel his anger more, she stuck out her tongue.
"Yes, that's right, Granger. Gloat all you want." Draco pointed a finger at her and smirked. "Someday, I am going to beat your sorry ass and you will take that back."
Hermione crossed her arms and smirked. "I am going to look forward to that, Draco Malfoy."
"Deal?" He offered his hand.
"Deal." Hermione took his offered hand and sealed their deal.
Draco glimpsed at his watch and looked at Hermione in surprise. "It's almost midnight. We've been too preoccupied with our game."
Hermione grinned. "Did you have fun today, Draco?" she asked in a singsong voice.
The blond glared. "Of course not," he said. But everything on his body screamed otherwise. Hermione observed him carefully and noticed a small smile fighting its way on his lips. His mercurial eyes were unusually shining and his shoulders seemed relax.
Yep, he did have fun.
"Though, I must say that you've become useful to me today, Granger," he continued. "If you did not shove your annoying presence into my face, this day would have been frighteningly long."
Silence settled in the room. Hermione's face softened as she released a rueful sigh.
Draco broke the silence by releasing a wide yawn. "I'm tired," he announced, stretching his arm over his head. "I'm going to go to sleep."
"Wait!" Hermione said, stopping him. He looked back at her with a raised eyebrow.
"What is it now, Granger?"
Hermione looked at her watch and smiled. "It's five to midnight. I still have five minutes before your birthday is over." With three big strides, she was in front of the blond.
"What are you going to do?" His eyes were suspecting, but Hermione ignored him.
"When I was young, my mother used to do this to me before my birthday was over," she softly told him, her eyes gazing intently into his. "And I am going to do this to you, too."
"Then do make it quick! I'm really ti - ."
He was cut off from finishing his sentence when Hermione suddenly enveloped him into a comforting hug.
It was not too tight, Draco observed. It was not too awkward either. Her body was warm and it gave him comfort. He was speechless and all he did was stupidly blink. His arms were still limp against his side as Hermione started to rub his back comfortingly.
I wish you were not born here on Earth at all. Remembering those words made her tighten her hug. "Today," she started, "the day that you were born, is a precious day." Hermione was surprised when her eyes started to water and a lone tear slipped down from her right eye. "Thank you for being born."
She continued to hold him tight until the grandfather clock in Grimmauld Place rang, signaling midnight. Hermione pulled away from him and instantly wiped away her tears. "Oh, silly me, crying over a trivial thing." She looked at the blond and fondly smiled upon seeing his startled expression.
'Oh let me startle you more,' she thought as she stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his forehead. As she pulled away and looked at Draco, she concluded that it was impossible for someone to look more startled that the birthday boy in front of her. "Happy Birthday, Draco," was her farewell before turning around and trudging towards her room.
It took exactly ten minutes for Draco to snap out of his stupor.
And as he trudged back to his own room, he solemnly swore that his eyes were watery because of something that went inside his eyes and nothing else.
A/N: Yes, Draco Malfoy, the day that you were born was so precious to all of us (especially me!) Haha, yeah, so please leave a review.
Now, for my announcements: First, I am going to our province this coming Monday; therefore, no updates, dearies. I am going to a place which civilization haven't fully reached so I'm expecting that there won't be any internet connection in that place, or worse, no computers. Oh gosh, I can already imagine myself slowly dying because of boredom.
Second, my other stories might be updated once I come back, which is unfortunately on May. I'm not sure of the exact date but I am seriously sure of May. Once again, don't expect updates.
Thirdly, this story will have a sequel! If you've read my summary carefully, it said Pre-Romance. And so, I'll post a sequel with more Draco/Hermione romance. Hahaha, brace yourself for all the sap and fluff in it!
AND LASTLY, I'm looking for willing people who could volunteer to be my beta reader. My grammar still slightly sucked, although my English teacher (a really, really AWESOME one) commented that I'm getting better. I love her so much. So yeah, I still need your help in improving my grammar. Oh, and the first one to volunteer will instantly be my beta! I solemnly swear to love you with all my being and respect your opinions and such. (tiger-eye-heart, if you are reading this, tell me if you are still willing to be my beta reader. I am so sorry if I bothered you and such. Oh, and I would sincerely understand if you tell me you couldn't be a beta for me anymore and such.)
See, I'm having another stupid tirade. I should seriously stop now.
Remember, review!
With love,
2booklover4