Disclaimer: Harry Potter and everything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling, the plot however is all mine.
Summary: It is their 6th year at Hogwarts. Hermione is a prefect, a model student, and has just begun a new relationship, the year starts off splendidly. Draco Malfoy is also a prefect, and he is out to destroy everything Hermione and her friends believe in. So what happens when this naive muggle-born and this prejudiced pure-blood happen upon a curse that throws them into an unknown world far from the safety of Hogwarts?
Rating: This fic is rated T for language and possibly some scenes later on (I'm not sure yet)
A/N: I am including as much of the plot from HBP as I can, however, I began writing this fic before HBP was released, so there are several differences between this fic and the real book. I hope that doesn't bother anyone. On the other hand, if you have not read HBP yet, be aware that this fic will probably contain some spoilers.
Also, a heads up to everyone reading this fic. If you are looking for a story with a quick romance and lots of snogging, then this is NOT the fic for you. If however, you are looking for a fic with a plot, intense emotions, and a lot of tension, then you've come to the right place! This will eventually be a DM/HG romance, however it will take long time to happen, and it will move slowly. So, to all who decide to continue reading, I hope you enjoy it, and please review so I know how you like it!
Without further adieu, I present to you, "Lost"
Chapter 1: Diagon Alley
It was the dead of night, and dozens of hooded figures stood in a circle awaiting the ceremony to begin. Their robes were so dark that they were hardly distinguishable from the blackness of the night surrounding them. A lone figure stood in the center, his skin so white it appeared to glow in the darkness, and his snake-like eyes as red as fresh blood.
Somewhere far off in the distance, a clock chimed midnight. In the circle of hoods, one figure sucked in a breath and stiffened. Just like that, with the simple chime of a bell, he'd gone from being the boy he'd always been, to being a man worthy of power and respect.
The figure in the center of the circle called in a cold, snake-like voice, "Come, let us begin."
Two figures stepped from the circle to the center; the other hoods closed ranks so that all three figured were now enclosed. The shorter figure lowered her hood revealing a strikingly blonde woman with an extremely pointed face. The woman was tight lipped, and wearing a frown, as if would rather be just about anywhere other than where she was.
The wizard beside her mimicked her actions and slowly lowered his hood. He had the same blonde hair as the witch. His features, while pointed, were stronger and more determined than the witches. His steel gray eyes were expressionless, he did his best to show no sign of fear though he was shaking like mad on the inside, and he thought he might throw up because of the nerves. He gulped, and stood up straighter as the Dark Lord turned his blood-red snake eyes upon him.
"Kneel," Lord Voldemort commanded.
The young man dropped to his knees hard, almost as if some invisible force had shoved him down. Instinctively, he bowed his head.
"Present your left forearm."
The young man lifted his head and did as he was told without hesitation, and without taking a breath. He felt as if he breathed, he would vomit, and that would simply not do.
"Draco Malfoy, you hereby present yourself, on your sixteenth birthday to become a full member of Lord Voldemort's followers. As a Death Eater, you pledge you life to serving the Dark Lord. It that understood?"
"Yes my Lord," the young Malfoy responded without hesitation.
"As a part of this pledge, you are bound to perform all tasks required of you. Should you fail, or refuse to complete the task, you will be killed, is that understood?"
"Yes my Lord."
Lord Voldemort took the young man's arm in his icy spidery fingers, and in his other hand, he raised a long yew wand, with the core of a phoenix tail feather. In an agonizingly slow motion, Voldemort lowered the tip of the wand to the young man's skin. From the instant it touched, Draco knew nothing other than pain.
The memory of the pain threw the young blonde from his dreams. He was sweating and breathing hard. He reached over to the bedside table and grabbed his wand "lumos" he muttered, and a bright sphere of light erupted from the tip and threw a blinding white light into the cold darkness of his room. He held the wand in his right hand, and pointed the tip at his left forearm. There it was, in all its splendor, a serpent intertwined with a frightening skull, the ultimate symbol of power. A cruel smiled spread across Draco Malfoy's lips as he viewed the Dark Mark, the symbol of his Master.
Seeing the blood red Mark sent a wave of pride coursing through him, and as he thought of the task to which he has been assigned, his pride swelled ten times more. His Master trusted him with a task that most of the adult Death Eaters would have never dreamed of undertaking, but Draco had accepted it with utmost confidence. His Master trusted him, and he was determined to succeed.
- - - - - - - - - -
With the exception of the ceremony, things had been rather quiet around the Malfoy Manor all summer. Although Draco did have his task to look forward to once he returned to Hogwarts, there was not much he could do about it now. Lucius was still in Azkaban, no thanks to that good-for-nothing Potter. Narcissa spent nearly all of her time off somewhere or another, doing things that she never revealed to Draco. He was sure it was Death Eater duties, but he was a tad resentful that she didn't tell him where she was off to while she knew good and well what Draco's top-secret task was.
Needless to say, things had been pretty boring around the Manor for Draco. Sure it had been nice at first, he slept as late as he pleased, had free rein of doing whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. He had complete control of the house elves, who were terrified to not do as he commanded. Not to mention the fact that without Lucius around, he had been spared the usual weekly lecture about not being the number one student in the school. But after the first month, the novelty of the situation wore off and Draco found himself in need of something to do. In fact, he was so bored that he would have almost welcomed another ranting lecture from Lucius about how he was unworthy of being a Malfoy, how he was a spoiled brat, and how he was a pathetic excuse for a wizard. At least it would have added a little interest to his mundane summer.
Despite the fact that nearly every conversation Draco and Lucius had ever had involved Lucius somehow putting Draco down and making him feel like crap, Draco was still furious with Potter for landing his father in Azkaban. Draco knew that Lucius only treated him so roughly to make him stronger and more prepared for the real world after Hogwarts. Draco valued the lessons his father had taught him about being tough, hard work and discipline. But Potter had stolen Draco's father from him, and Draco was determined to make him pay dearly for it. And the task the Dark Lord had placed upon him was the perfect way to make Potter regret the day he decided to cross the Malfoy family.
Indeed, Draco had been trying to make Potter pay ever since their first trip on the Hogwarts Express back in first year when Potter had refused Draco's offer of friendship. But no matter how hard he tried, Potter always managed to weed his way out of trouble, no thanks to his two meddlesome sidekicks, and the professors who worshiped him. But this year it was different, Lucius' imprisonment was a huge blow to the Malfoy name, the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters were openly active once more, and Draco was not going to rest until Potter and all his good-for-nothing friends had gotten the punishment they deserved.
That was the main thought that Draco had been brooding over the entire summer, which put him in a rather bad temper most of the time. It was the mood he was in as he traveled through the floo network to Diagon Alley a week before school was to begin. In addition to needing new books, he needed to restock his potions supply, and purchase some new robes as he had grown a bit over the summer, and his old ones were a tad too short.
He stepped gracefully out of the fireplace, somehow completely free of soot and dust, not a spec of dirt crossed his pale skin or his shockingly blonde hair. He had arrived in the Leaky Cauldron, a small, dark, yet friendly pub that served not only as the entrance to Diagon Alley from the muggle world, but also as the floo network entrance to the Alley. Draco glanced around the pub, saw some witches gossiping over brunch, and he even saw a couple of goblins, most likely taking an early lunch break from their jobs at Gringotts, which was where Draco was headed. One major upside to Lucius being gone was that Narcissa had given Draco a spare key to one of their Gringotts vaults, which meant that he had full access to a hefty portion of his family's extravagant fortune. This thought brought a haughty smirk to Draco's face as he sauntered down the street to the massive white building that was Gringotts.
Once inside, Draco walked directly to one of the goblins at the desk, he gave him the vault number and the key. The goblin at the desk then called over another goblin, who led Draco through a pair of large doors to the carts. Draco seated himself in the cart, and braced himself for a wild ride. He didn't at all mind the speed of the carts, but ever since he was very young, he had been wary of flying off the carts if he wasn't careful, most likely because his father had threatened that was what would happen if he didn't hold on. The cart sped deeper and deeper below the ground, so deep in fact that even with the lantern the goblin held, the cavern seemed pitch black.
Suddenly, after a good few minutes of speeding past the vaults, the cart came to an abrupt halt in front of the small row of Malfoy vaults, they had three full ones in total, and that was just in Gringotts. Draco was visiting the left vault; he stepped smoothly out of the cart, and handed the key to the goblin. As the goblin used the key to open the various hidden locks on the door, Draco looked around in the pitch black cavern. There were no torches this deep underneath the wizard bank, and Draco had the suspicion that it was too damp for the fires to stay lit very long down here, even with magical aid. Plus, he reminded himself, very few people probably ever got to travel this deep to the truly high security vaults were located.
Upon hearing the creak of the giant metal door, Draco turned and set eyes on the mountains of gold which lay before him. It was a truly grand sight, and his silver eyes reflected the sparkle of the gold as he stepped inside amongst it. He took out his money bag, and stuffed it to the brim with gold galleons, not because he really needed that much money, more just because he could as there was no one to stop him.
Once he was finished at the bank, the gold in his money bag weighing down his pocket and clamoring to be spent, he stepped out into the blinding sunlight. It took him a moment to regain his eyesight, and even then he had to squint, Draco had never really enjoyed intense sun, he preferred the shade, so he quickly chose a shop, and entered to avoid the heat. The shop he had chosen was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions because out of all the things he needed, getting fitted for robes would probably take the longest, and he didn't want to have to carry around books and school supplies all day anyway.
As soon as he entered, Madam Malkin bustled over to him, "can I help you?"
"Yes," answered Draco importantly, "I need a new set of Hogwarts robes."
"Of course, right this way," Madam Malkin led Draco over to the fitting mirrors and began taking his measurements. As she was working, Draco observed the people passing out the window with a lazy expression on his face. They were mostly small groups of witches out for a day's shopping, however he did see a few groups of Hogwarts students, though none who he would ever be caught dead speaking to. Once Madam Malkin was finished with the measurements, she disappeared to fetch the appropriate sized robes; Draco stepped off the platform, and continued to watch the passing people. Much to his disgust, a head of red passed by, and next to it followed a head of bushy brown hair. Draco sneered in disgust, the weasel and the mudblood, Potter's two pathetic sidekicks. But wait a moment, there were the sidekicks, but where was Potter? Draco stepped closer to the window, but still saw no sign of the pathetically annoying boy-who-lived. 'Could it be' reasoned Draco, 'Weasel and Granger actually have lives of their own?' Draco turned his attention to the retreating backs of Potter's friends, and was repulsed to see that they were holding hands. A disgusted sneer crawled over his face, of course it was no surprise to him that Granger and Weasley had gotten together, Draco thought it had been obvious for ages, or at least since the Yule Ball fourth year. But still, actually seeing the pair of them together brought a horrible feeling to his stomach.
The clearing of a voice behind him pulled Draco's attention away from his school enemies and back to the shop. He turned, and took the sets of robes from Madam Malkin. He then went to the counter to pay for them. By the time he was finished purchasing his robes, he decided to grab a bit of lunch before buying his books, so he returned to the Leaky Cauldron. He chose a seat partially hidden in the shadows in the corner. It was a spot where he could observe without being observed. Draco found that he enjoyed people watching; he was very observant and could often catch tiny physical cues that indicated someone's thoughts. They were the types of cues that most people would miss. Draco was proud of his observational skills, and he always used them to his advantage.
Yet at the moment, there were no particularly interesting people to observe, so he lowered his eyes from the room and instead perused the menu for a moment. Once he decided on what sounded like a decent meal, he ordered his food from the old waitress on duty. As he waited, he scanned the room for an interesting customer to observe. To his disappointment, the place was mostly filled with middle-aged gossiping witches, hardly anyone worth observing for any length of time.
Draco rolled his eyes, looking extremely bored in his lonely corner. He turned his head to the waitress when she returned with his meal, but before he lowered his head to begin eating; his eyes caught a flash of red. Draco shifted his chair so that he could observe two of the students who had helped make his school life a living hell over the past five years. Weasley and Granger were lunching together in an even more secluded spot than Draco had chosen; no doubt they thought they would not be seen. Draco smirked as he watched them, 'busted!' he thought with pride, thinking that if he had to have seen them, then at least he had something to taunt them about as soon as they got back to school. But still, even with the knowledge that he would be able to piss them off first chance he got, watching them now was incredibly difficult for Draco to stomach. It was clear that they were flirting, and it was disgusting for him to witness. Weasley was so acting so awkwardly that it was like watching a comedy show of how a guy should not behave around girls. Although, Draco reasoned, obviously Granger has no clue how a guy is supposed to behave around a girl either, since she spends all of her time around the two most clueless guys on earth, and when she's not around them, she's in the library, not much valuable experience with males to be found there.
Draco found it astounding that people could be so naïve when it came to appropriate behavior around the opposite sex, but these two were shining examples of how clueless some people could be. As Draco was finishing his meal, he noticed even from across the room that Weasley's movements were becoming jerky and even more awkward then usual. Then all of a sudden, as Draco was taking a drink of his butterbeer, Weasley practically fell into Granger and planted a kiss on her lips. Draco couldn't help himself; he spat his butterbeer all over his plate and attempted to cover up a choked cough. From what he saw, Granger had been just as taken aback as he was, maybe even more so, though rather than nearly choke herself to death, she was kissing Weasley back. Draco cringed as if he had just eaten something revoltingly bad; he felt his lunch threatening to come back up if he watched the two Gryffindors any longer. Draco shut his eyes as tight as he could, and vigorously rubbed them as if hoping to erase what he had seen. He felt like he needed to wash his eyes out from the disgusting horror he had just witnessed. Desperate to get away from the Gryffindor couple, he threw some gold onto the table and flew out of the pub as fast as he could without running or making a commotion.
Once he was back outside, he shook his head in an attempt to rid himself of the vile image of Weasley and Granger lip-locked. Desperate to distract himself from the grotesque images crowding his conscience at the moment, he made his way to the apothecary to replenish his potions supply. And then he was off to Flourish and Blotts. Before purchasing his schoolbooks, he browsed the titles to see if anything caught his eye. Occasionally in the past, buried amongst the shelves he had spied an interesting volume, but not this time. With a slight sense of disappointment, he gave a shopkeeper the titles he needed, and within moments, was handed a stack of thick books. He paid for them, and exited the shop once more. Deciding that he might as well replenish his ordinary school supplies such as parchment ink and quills as well, he headed over to a small store that happened to be located next to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He scowled furiously at the store, disgusted by the fact that the Weasley twins actually owned a highly successful shop here. And even more disgusted with himself for actually being tempted to enter the filthy store. He rolled his eyes before passing it by.
After completing the necessary shopping, he headed to Quality Quidditch Supplies. Nothing served to heighten his mood like quidditch, unless of course he was playing against Potter in which case it just made his mood ten times worse. He admired the sleek firebolt sitting in the shop window; however his pride prevented him from even considering buying it. He refused to buy anything that Potter considered good, Draco knew he was better than Potter, and therefore would be lowering his standards if he settled for what Potter had. So rather than marvel at the broom as so many other young boys were, Draco toured the store. He admired a set of quidditch balls, but refrained from buying them as he really had no use for them while he was at school. Earlier in the summer he may have been tempted, but now there was really no point.
So, with a slight feeling of disappointment, and no new quidditch supplies, Draco exited the shop. Once he was back in the street, he glanced down the entrance to Knockturn Alley. He had one minor bit of business to attend to with Mr. Borgin in Borgin and Burkes so he traveled there to get business over with.
The shopkeeper was as sniveling and pathetic as ever, but with on glance at the Dark Mark which was emblazoned on Draco's left forearm, he immediately took Draco's orders seriously. They discussed the matter of a particular Vanishing Cabinet that Draco was highly interested in repairing, and then, Draco quickly exited the shop. He knew that in these times it was not wise to linger in Knockturn Alley, particularly when you had a father who was in Azkaban for being a Death Eater.
Upon exiting Knockturn Alley, Draco noticed a small shop positioned in between the two Alleys which he had never taken the time to notice before. As it linked the entrance between Knockturn Alley and Diagon Alley, and Draco was not entirely sure which Alley it was meant to belong to. There appeared to be no sign which only served to heighten Draco's curiosity.
He slowly strode over to the shop, and stepped inside. A tiny bell sounded distantly within the shop, and with the exception of himself, there were no customers. He paused, expecting to see a shopkeeper, but when no one came, he shrugged and began browsing the merchandise. Nothing in the store seemed to be a glaringly dark magic item, but it didn't seem like the type of stuff one would find in any of the other shops in Diagon Alley either. Rather, all of the items in here seemed to be a transition between the two. Which, Draco figured was probably the reason for the shop's placement in between the two alleys. It wasn't until he reached the left wall that he saw something that really spiked his interest.
It was a silver statue, barely the size of Draco's hand. The statue depicted a stalking panther, it had royal blue jewels for eyes, and its mouth was open as if it was ready to attack. Draco admired it for a moment, and was about to reach out and touch it when an old voice broke the silence. "Ahh, I see you are a young man with a taste for power."
Draco spun around instantly, and found himself facing the ancient looking shopkeeper who was surprisingly close. He was indeed very old, but he had the air of a healthy active man, rather like Dumbledore, minus the annoying muggle-loving part. "I beg your pardon?" asked Draco firmly, for he really had no idea what the shopkeeper had meant by his comment.
The old man grinned knowingly, "the panther is a symbol of power, it is one of the rarest and most powerful magical animals in the world." Draco raised his eyebrows skeptically, he had always considered himself to be rather knowledgeable of powerful things in the magical world, yet he had never heard of panthers being particularly magical. The shopkeeper seemed to have read Draco's thoughts as he continued speaking, "They are so rare because there are two types, a non-magic type, and an immensely powerful magical type."
Draco didn't bother to hide his look of confusion as to why the old man was telling him this. Instead he continued to listen, intent on asking what the silver panther did without seeming overly interested or excited, for Malfoy's were never either of those things.
The old man continued with his tale, "You see, there is a type of panther that muggles are familiar with, yet those animals all have yellow eyes. However, as you can see, this model has blue eyes; they are the only way to tell a magical panther from a non-magic one."
Draco frowned and finally decided to interrupt, "and what is it that panthers do that makes them so powerful?" His tone was doubtful, as if he didn't think that the shopkeeper was telling the truth.
The old man grinned, "Panthers are probably the most intelligent, and most respected of all magical creatures, therefore, they can control most any other animal. The roar of the panther strikes fear and commands obedience from even the most dangerous a magical beast. They are deathly protective of what is theirs, be it a mate, their cubs, their territory, anything they value. It is for this reason that they are known as the protectors of all magical creatures. They will do anything to keep what is theirs safe," Draco looked mildly impressed at these pronouncements. The man continued, "Panthers also are able to become invisible for limited periods of time, which is the main reason why magical panthers are so rarely seen. And finally, when blue-eyed panthers feel a particularly large surge of magical energy, they can leap so far that some claim they are flying."
Draco could not help but show interest in response to the last to facts about panthers. He turned to again admire the silver panther statue, "so, does thing actually do anything?"
"Indeed it does. This statue has been cast with panther blood in its core, therefore, it embodies the power of the panther. The keeper of this statuette, in time will be able to harness some of the powers of the panther."
"You're saying whoever own this would be able to become invisible?" asked Draco skeptically, finding it a bit more difficult to restrain his interest now.
"You would have to harness quite a bit of the statues power, which takes much time and quite a bit of magical energy. You would also have to fully trust in its ability, but yes, given enough time, you would be able to become invisible for short periods of time. Of course you understand that the statue only works as long as you are in possession of it; otherwise it is just another silver statue."
Draco examined the panther statue more closely, he wasn't sure he believed what the old man said, in fact he doubted it very much, but as he had the money to spend, and had promised himself a gift, he went for it. The old man seemed very pleased with Draco's choice, though Draco suspected that was just because the man probably didn't get very many customers in his tiny store. The man offered to wrap up the statue, but Draco preferred to carry it himself. As he took the figure, he noticed that the eyes seemed to momentarily shine brighter, but he blinked and the feeling was gone, so perhaps he just imagined it. He pocketed the panther, and with his money bag much lighter, but his spirits lifted, he made his way back to Gringotts to refill his money bag, simply because he could.
Two wild rides on the Gringotts carts later, Draco returned to the Leaky Cauldron along with his purchases to return home. Subconsciously, his eyes glanced over to the shadowed corner where he had spied Weasley and Granger earlier, but apparently they had long gone. Draco scowled as the images from the afternoon returned to the forefront of his thoughts. He tossed some floo powder into the fireplace, shouted 'Malfoy Manor!' and stepped inside. It was a bit rougher traveling this time; his bags were tossed around into him as he went spinning through the floo network. He stumbled slightly when he finally arrived in the Manor, but he still managed a more graceful exit than most people can achieve even on their best days. Luckily, as it was his own house, no one was around to see the perfect Draco Malfoy stumble.
As soon as he dusted his robes, he dropped his bags and called to one of the house elves, ordering him to deliver the bags to his room immediately and pack them in his trunk. The house elf bowed so deeply that its long ears drooped to the ground, and his nose pressed against the shiny polished wood floor. Then the house elf proceeded to wordlessly carry out Draco's order. Draco meanwhile, glided through the imposing rooms and through the halls with the high ceilings to one of their many family rooms. He settled himself in the brown dragon leather couch in front of the grand fireplace, which was crackling with warm flames. Though this room was larger than the rooms in most people's houses, it was one of the smaller rooms in the Manor, which was why Draco liked it. He often found that too much empty space made him feel rather isolated, but this room was just the right size in his opinion, especially when one was alone in the Manor. He leaned his head back against the arm, and pulled the panther statuette out of his pocket. He ran his fingers along the smooth sleek surface, and looked deeply into the jeweled eyes, trying to see if they would shine again. It was only then that he noticed that something had changed, the mouth was no longer open in attack position, and instead it was closed. Draco frowned and furrowed his brow, wondering when that change had taken place.
He held the panther in his hand so that it stood upright on its own, and continued to examine it, when something happened that nearly caused him to drop it in surprise. The panther moved. Its head turned from side to side, as if examining its new surroundings. It leaned its head down apparently to sniff Draco's hand. It then walked back and forth across the palm of his hand, and apparently deeming it satisfactory, curled up for a little cat nap. Draco was a little disappointed that that was all that happened, but perhaps after it had a while to sleep; it would do something more exciting. In the meantime, Draco decided to do a little research to see if he could discover how to tap into the statues powers, if that was even possible, which he still doubted. Draco figured that he would first attempt to confirm that what the old shopkeeper had told him about panthers was true. Surely at least one of the books in the family library would have something about panthers.
Draco's steps echoed through the cavernous hallway as he strode purposely to the library, the panther statuette safely slumbering in his pocket. He opened the heavy wooden door and found himself surrounded by tall shelves of books. Most of the books in here were harmless enough, just the classics you would expect any old wizarding family of great wealth to own. However, hidden amongst them were also a great number of dark magic books. Books which Lucius always tried to keep Draco out of by saying that he would be able to read them when the time came. 'Ha, no Lucius to stop me now,' thought Draco defiantly. But somehow, the lack of challenge turned Draco off the idea, it wasn't as though he actually cared what was in those books, he just wanted to read them because it was forbidden. But if he knew no one would stop them, the books suddenly lost their appeal. Besides, he had come here with a purpose, and that was what he intended to accomplish. The only problem was he had no idea where to begin looking. 'Did the Malfoy library contain any books on powerful magical creatures?' Draco had to assume yes, though he couldn't recall ever coming across one himself.
Draco shrugged and began his search, starting in the area which contained the books that started with 'P' figuring that it was as good a place as any to begin a search for a book about panthers. Surprisingly enough, it was not long before he found a title that seemed appropriate, Panther: A Feline of Power and Perfection. Draco smirked and pulled the shiny ebony book off the shelf. He ran his finger over the silver title on the front cover, and saw that it was emblazoned with two brilliantly blue eyes, the same color as the jewels in his panther model. He removed the statuette from his pocket, and carefully placed it on the desk, it was still sleeping. Draco slowly opened the book, and began to read.
It was well past dinner time when the rumblings of his stomach finally ordered him to leave the library and go to the kitchen. Draco marked his place in the book and carefully returned it to its proper spot on the shelf. He noted where it was so he could come find it again. The statue had awoken a short while ago, and was now prowling stealthily across the desk amongst the quills and ink bottles. Draco scooped it up, and then he swept out of the library towards the kitchens to demand that the house elves serve him dinner.
- - - - - - - - - -
In her family's flat outside of London, Hermione Granger awoke to a bright and sunny morning the week before the Hogwarts Express was due to leave for school. She awoke in a good mood, but could feel nervous butterflies fluttering excitedly in her stomach. She glanced at the alarm clock by her bed; she still had time for breakfast and a shower before she needed to leave. She munched on a croissant as she watched the morning news, and then she slipped into the shower. As she washed her overly frizzy hair, she giggled slightly at the butterflies that were continuing to stir restlessly in her stomach. Thinking about who caused them brought unexpected smile to her face. She couldn't believe that Ron Weasley, one of her first two friends at Hogwarts was the cause of these nervous butterflies. She had been fancying Ron a bit ever since fourth year, even though she had gone to the Ball with Viktor Krum. She had had a splendid time that night, but couldn't help occasionally thinking that she had wished Ron would have asked her first. But as the saying goes, 'better late than never' and indeed the saying was true.
Hermione slipped out of the shower, for once thankful that she was in the muggle world and not the wizarding one. She blow dried her hair with a muggle hair drier, which served to make it much straighter and less bushy than usual. 'Too bad it never looks like this at Hogwarts' she thought to herself as she critiqued her reflection in the mirror. It wasn't that Hermione cared about her looks really, but occasionally even she sometimes found herself wishing she could look nicer, like the other girls in her year. Not that she would ever ask any of them to help her look more like them. She had too much pride for that, plus she had a feeling that if she allowed Lavender or Parvati to make her over, they would go way too far. No, she was much happier being herself, even with the bushy hair, than she would be if she tried to be someone else.
As she traveled through the London Underground towards The Leaky Cauldron, her thoughts again drifted to the source of the butterflies, the guy she was traveling to meet with right now. Ron and Hermione had been growing closer over the years, especially during fifth year. They had spent so much time together without Harry, what with prefects meetings, and Harry being so concerned with more important matters pertaining to Lord Voldemort, that they had been able to get to know each other in ways that Hermione had never gotten to know Harry. Especially towards the end of the year, things had been starting to feel a bit awkward all the time they were around each other. It was almost a relief when Harry was around because then the focus was on him and his problems instead of on them, and Hermione found it much easier to ignore her growing attraction to Ron if she was occupying her mind with Harry's problems.
But now that school was over, summer was here, and Hermione didn't have her wizarding friends around to distract her, she had found it much more difficult to erase Ron from her mind, and apparently he was feeling similarly towards her. Hermione was constantly being sent owls from Ron, and it was becoming clearer and clearer in his letters how much he missed her. Seeing the hooting overexcited feather ball which was Pigwidgeon made her heart beat in anticipation of what Ron's letter said. While he never openly said that he liked her, Hermione could read between the lines and get the hint anyway. She only hoped that he was as observant of the meaning behind the words of her letters as well, though when she was honest with herself, she doubted it. No matter how she felt about Ron, as friends or as something more, she had to admit that he was very slow on the uptake, and subtlety wasn't his strong suit.
About a week ago, Pig had arrived with a letter requesting what Hermione had been hoping for all summer. Ron wanted to get together in Diagon Alley a week before school started, and he wanted to meet her without Harry. Hermione did her best to contain herself from jumping around the house like some silly over excited puppy; 'does this mean it's a date?' she kept thinking as she wrote her carefully worded response accepting the invitation, and hoping that it was meant to be a date. She had sent little Pig back with the letter, and began counting down the days until it was time to meet Ron. In his letter, he had said that he was going to get school supplies 2 days before leaving for school, but he wanted to know if they could get together a week before school just to hang out. Hermione had agreed to come to both meetings because she wanted to be with Ron, and she still needed to purchase her school supplies.
Hermione arrived in Diagon Alley the muggle way through the Leaky Cauldron, and she walked down the street to the Post Office where she had agreed to meet Ron. Apparently, Mrs. Weasley had wanted to send an owl out to Charlie, and Errol in his feeble state just didn't seem up to the journey through dragon country. Hermione waited eagerly outside, not sure if Ron would have arrived yet, he wasn't the most punctual person on Earth. Hermione was watching the people, trying not to look too excited when Ron's voice called to her, "Hermione!"
Hermione turned, and was greeted by Ron rushing down the steps towards her. He was taller than ever, his pale skin covered with freckles, and his red hair growing longer and shaggier. Without thinking, Hermione hugged him in greeting, but as this was awkward, she quickly stopped. They were both blushing profusely, though Ron certainly didn't appear to mind the gesture. After a very heavy pause, Hermione broke the silence, "so umm what do you want to do?" She kicked herself after she said it, thinking that it must have sounded incredibly stupid.
"I don't know," said Ron sounding equally unsure of himself, "I just thought we could, maybe, hang out together for a while or something." Ron's voice was shaky and he sounded incredibly nervous, also it seemed as if he had something else on his mind, but for some reason wasn't telling. The pair made a few stabs at conversation, but there seemed to be a huge mountain standing in the way of them behaving as they normally would around someone that counted as one of their best friends. Ron especially seemed as if he was preparing himself for a particularly dangerous quidditch match or something.
They had walked up and down the street three times before Hermione mustered up the courage to say something about the awkward tension between them. "Ron, are you alright?" she tried to sound caring, and not too disappointed at how bad the day was going so far. "You seem preoccupied, and really nervous."
Ron's ears turned beet red, a telltale sign that he was hiding something. He gulped, "Well . . .you see . . . the thing is . . . ." Ron clearly was trying to tell Hermione something, but for some reason was having difficulty finding the words. "it's just . . . .IreallylikeyouHermione!" He blurted out all in one breath before turning even redder and redirecting his eyes anywhere but at Hermione
It took Hermione a short moment to work out what he had said. But once she had, she smiled "I really like you too Ron," she said soothingly. Inside her heart was racing, she was desperate to know for sure if what he had said meant what she wanted him to mean.
"No, not like . . .I mean . . . . I like you as more than a friend." Ron's face was now so red that he appeared to be sun burnt, and he was staring determinedly down at the ground, apparently afraid to made eye contact with Hermione.
Hermione did her best not to look too overjoyed, but her heart was pounding furiously in her chest, and she was positive that the whole street, if not the whole world, could hear it. She felt as if her heart were beating so hard that it was about to burst through her ribcage. She looked up into his eyes (which was rather difficult as he was so much taller than her), "I like you as more than a friend too," she said with a joyful smile.
"Really?" he cried in relief. A huge smile spread over his face. He placed his hands over hers, "then Hermione, would you be my girlfriend?"
Hermione felt like she could have kissed him right then and there, although she didn't of course. Instead she threw her arms around his neck, "I would love to be your girlfriend," she cried gleefully.
Ron seemed too thrilled for words; instead he pulled Hermione into a tight hug, and then released her. Together they began to walk back down the Alley in the direction of the Leaky Cauldron. The streets and shops were somewhat crowded, but Ron and Hermione felt as if they were the only two there. They were walking so close that their arms brushed against each other with every step they took, and as they passed Eyelops Owl Emporium, Ron took Hermione's hand in his. Hermione blushed and smiled brightly, though she tried to hide her reddening cheeks. The two of them were so wrapped up in their own world as a brand new couple that they didn't even notice a pair of dark steely gray eyes half hooded beneath a head of shockingly blonde hair following them from inside Madam Malkins Robes for All Occasions.
By the time the two of them reached the Leaky Cauldron, it was lunchtime. Ron led Hermione over to a secluded table in the corner. They sat next to each other and ordered their meals. It was very strange, how two people who had never had before a lack of things to say to one another in all the time they knew each other, could suddenly struggle to maintain a decent conversation. But that's what happens when two best friends finally admit to each other that their feelings run deeper than friendship. Hermione had to work hard to keep from blushing profusely the entire time, and from the looks of it, Ron was facing a similar battle with his reddening cheeks. Yet that wasn't the only thing that was interfering with her conversational skills. After they were about halfway through with their meals, she had felt the strange sensation that they were being watched, though she didn't want to look around to see if she was right.
"Hermione?" said Ron trying to get her full attention.
"Yeah?" she said as she forced herself to ignore the nagging feeling and instead look into Ron's eyes.
"Are you feeling as weird about this as I am?" he asked, with a concerned expression.
Hermione smiled, "probably, I don't know, I just have this weird feeling like someone's watching us, it's creepy."
"That's just nerves," Ron assured her knowledgably, "you just need to relax." Ron rested his hand on top of hers; Hermione immediately felt her heart speed up, she shifted excitedly in her seat, Ron had a strange look in his eye, one she had never seen before. It was almost a hunger sort of look, only Hermione was sure that it had nothing to do with food. Suddenly, he jerked forward, and their faces were smashed together. It took a moment for Hermione to register what was happening, 'He's kissing me!' she thought frantically with her eyes wide open, 'What do I do, what do I do?'
Not knowing what else to do, she closed her eyes and kissed him back, but before she could relax, she felt his lips leave hers. Hermione did her best not to look as completely shocked as she felt. Luckily, Ron took her stunned silence to mean that she was impressed with his kissing skills. He smiled at her, suddenly she felt the tension on his side of the table vanish. Yet, while he was obviously much more relaxed, she only felt tenser, sure she had imagined Ron kissing her, but this was certainly not how she had ever pictured it happening.
It was amazingly exciting, yet at the same time, much less romantic than she had always pictured her first kiss being, in fact it wasn't romantic at all. To the outside world Hermione was a book-worm, not a dreamer. But that didn't prevent her from having a few secret fantasies of her own. They were the sort of thoughts that she did not share with anyone because they were not the sort of thoughts that 'brainy Hermione Granger' should be thinking. Nevertheless, she did have those thoughts, and one of her daydreams was about what her first kiss would be like. She had always pictured her first kiss happening at the end of a romantic date, they would be under the stars, gazing into each others eyes. The wind would be softly caressing her cheeks. His hands (the hands of whoever the 'he' happened to be, she had never pictured a particular person,) would be holding her gently around her waist. He would lean in slowly; her heart would be racing with anticipation and excitement. Then, their lips would touch, the kiss would be gentle and passionate, it would seem to last forever, but when it did end, it would leave her thirsting for more. In a word, it would be perfect.
But what had just happened was a stark reminder that reality was never perfect and real life could never match the fantasy she had built up in her mind. She sighed, wondering if Ron realized that kissing her then and there had not been the move she was expecting, or wanting at the moment. But Ron was clueless to Hermione's perception of how things were going. 'What else should I expect?' she asked herself as she rolled her unfinished lunch around on her plate with her fork, 'he's always been clueless, so why would he be any different now?' She looked up and found him smiling at her, and she couldn't help but smile back, even though he was clueless, he was still adorable, like a little puppy that she just couldn't help but love.
The date didn't last much longer. Ron had suggested they go to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor for desert, but Hermione was not in the mood to eat. So instead, after lunch Ron had dragged Hermione into Quality Quidditch Supplies, and she had forced him to endure a visit to Flourish and Blotts. But even a trip to the bookstore wasn't enough to distract Hermione from her thoughts. Hermione found that no matter what she did, she could not remove the thought of the kiss from her mind, even if she only wanted to forget about it temporarily. The fact that Ron was standing right beside her at all times wasn't helping her clear her thoughts any.
After the kiss, Hermione felt like she needed some time alone to think. She still liked Ron and wanted to be his girlfriend, but the kiss had left many questions in her mind. And Hermione was not one to allow questions to rattle around in her conscience for long without being addressed. She had told Ron that she needed time to get home so that her parents wouldn't worry. She reminded him that unlike the floo network, the muggle underground was not nearly as fast and reliable as wizarding transportation. Hermione had had to endure a slight amount of Ron begging her to stay longer, but she had insisted, and in the end he had conceded. Once they were back in the Leaky Cauldron in front of the fireplace, Ron had moved to kiss Hermione again, but she dodged him and instead gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. She could tell he was a little disappointed, so she smiled up at him sweetly and assured him that she has had a wonderful time. Her assurance served to cheer him up, so he smiled and gave her a big hug before stepping into the fireplace.
Hermione replayed the date over and over on her journey home. Surprisingly, she found that the more she thought about it, the less the awkwardness of the kiss bothered her. Sure it had been weird, but she supposed that all first kisses probably felt that way. Especially for someone like her who was rather shy and inexperienced with relationships. 'Yeah,' she tried to convince herself, 'my awkward feelings have nothing to do with how Ron kissed me, it's just because I was nervous.'
By the time she unlocked the door to her flat, she had managed to convince herself on some level that what she was telling herself was the truth. Yet deep down, in a silent chamber of her heart, she doubted herself. Part of her just could not accept the fact that what she had imagined feeling in her fantasy was entirely wrong. That part of her heart craved for the fantasy to be real, and that part of her heart simply could not picture Ron fulfilling those deep, secret desires. Those desires however, were so secret that even Hermione herself was not conscious that she felt them.
The feelings that she was aware of, were that despite the fact that throughout most of the day she had felt unusually awkward and uneasy, she did have a nice time. She felt butterflies fluttering lightly around in her stomach as her mind adjusted to the thought, 'I have a boyfriend'. Despite a valiant effort, she could not suppress a wide overjoyed smile as the thought sunk in. She, Hermione Granger, the bushy-haired Gryffindor know-it-all, had a boyfriend. For the first time in her life, she truly understood why Parvati, Lavender and Ginny always got so giggly when they were talking about guys. Right now, she felt like if the girls from Gryffindor house were around, she'd be able to join right in on all the giggling and gossiping.
Her parents were not home when she returned, but they left her a note telling her to order herself some pizza for dinner and that they had gone out to dinner with some of their dentistry colleagues. Hermione dialed the pizza place, and after ordering, she curled up on the couch with a big book while waiting for her dinner to be delivered. But for once, she found that she couldn't concentrate on her reading. Instead, her mind kept visualizing Ron's adorable face. She giggled happily and smiled to herself, thinking that her life had never felt more perfect than it did right now.
A/N: Never fear, this will turn into a DM/HG fic, but at first there is a little HG/RW and perhaps a bit of DM/PP, But I promise that all the real intense stuff happens between Draco and Hermione. Also, anything I say about magical panthers is stuff I made up, however all other magical creatures mentioned in this fic come from Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them.
I hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter, and I hope you come back for more when I post chapter two. Please review so I know what you think of it! Thanks:o)
Slytherin-kittycat