Never Again

Tinsadisaster

Summary: She loved him. Now it's time to move on with her life. DMHG

Disclaimer: Not mine. Now scurry away ;O

The Beginning
It all started with an encounter near the Room of Requirement. She was walking to it because the Gryffindor Common Room, once again, was noisy and she needed to hear herself think. He was walking to it because he was finally able to ditch Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy and wanted to relish the moment. It was a late Tuesday night and everyone was starting to settle down. The silence that Hermione was desiring was now scaring her. She knew she was being stupid, walking around the halls, alone for the most part. Though she knew ghosts existed and weren't out to kill her, she still felt goose bumps. The silence that Draco was relishing was familiar; he was friends with the dark and silence.

She knew where the room was located, of course. The D.A. sessions were held there. She immediately thought of Harry and Ron, who probably saw her leave and was watching her from beneath the invisibility cloak. Wait, no. Harry was off with Ginny and Ron was off with Lavender. And she, was off by herself, once again. She thought the "Ron" issue was confirmed. Ron was her friend. That was it. She sensed she was getting near.

Draco felt a bit chilly. He knew he should've brought his cloak with him. Of course, his father had it tailored for him. High quality, elegant, and with a price tag that would blind the Weasleys. His father loved to give him gifts. Perhaps it was a replacement for his absence. No. Gifts were constant reminders that Malfoys are the best, deserve the best, and will get nothing but the best. It was also a reminder of what he would inherit one day. A cold, empty house filled with negative space. A vault filled to the brim with enough gold to last him a lifetime. Estates in muggle countries. So much. He would inherit so much. There was one exception. He had to join the Dark Lord's army and become a Deatheater.

This was one of the many differences between he and his father. He was not a conformist. He would not bow down to other man and take orders from another man. He was not a slave or servant. Muggles and other creatures occupied that space. He was his own man. He was sixteen, indestructible, and intelligent. He was not his father, though his father's face was the one he saw every time he looked into a mirror. When he was eleven, he was materialistic, snotty, and revered his father as his greatest hero. When he was thirteen, he saw his father for what he really was: a coward, incompetent, and an abusive husband. When he was fifteen, he chopped most of his hair off as defiance to his father, who wore his hair near down to his rear. His father was disappointed for a long time. The ugly look was evident on his face whenever he laid eyes on his little identical offspring. When he was fifteen and a half, he told his father he was not going to join the Dark Lord. He received the harshest beating of his life that day. But his resolve was strong. He would not be made a fool. He was Draco Malfoy. He was a god amongst men.

He stopped, his senses catching a distant sound. It sounded like... humming? He pulled his wand out of his pocket and came nearer to the sound. He followed it and it lead him to the Room of Requirement. When he thought he saw something, he immediately grabbed it and pointed his wand at it. At first he thought he caught a ghost. And then he scoffed because ghosts weren't solid. Then he thought he caught Filch. And then he scoffed because Filch didn't smell like honey and cinnamon. And then he realized he caught either a very feminine male or woman. He hoped to Merlin it was a woman. He could feel this "something" screaming against his hand. Oops. Didn't mean to suffocate you.

"What do you think you're doing, you you... psycho!" he heard a shrill voice reprimend him. It was a woman.

"Well, you were making that stupid sound. Sounded like you were about to attack me."

"I was humming a Beatles song, thank you."

Beetles? What kind of woman was this? Perhaps he had caught a psycho.

"Don't be foolish. Beetles don't sing. Lumos!" He wondered why he even bothered to conversate with her. He should just walk away.

"It's a muggle band that was famous..." She realized who she was talking to.

"Granger? I should've known it was you. Muggle insects singing and being famous. Perhaps you should stay away from that dusty old library. You're starting to sound mental. And what are you doing out here, in the dark? Alone in the halls? Hmm..." He saw a perfect oppurtunity to humiliate Granger and he was going to take it.

Hermione blushed. "I should ask you the same," she stammered.

Malfoy smirked, ready to attack her, word-wise, of course. "Could you have been on a late out rendevouz with someone special? A little snog here and little shag there? Perhaps? Oh, who could it be? Weasel? Scarhead? Or maybe... Filch?" He watched her turn a dark shade of red. He loved making fun of her. It wasn't that he liked her. He wasn't the little boy who pulled pigtails because he liked the girl. She just made herself an open target. Always. It humored him.

"What are you doing out of bed? I'm a Prefect! Your house could lose points, you know" she said. She wanted to get out of his sight quickly.

"Perhaps all that mass called your hair is stopping your brain from functioning. You should recall that I am a prefect also. Although I don't wear the badge night and day, like someone I know but I won't tell you who. You know her. Very well." Draco wanted to keep her there. He could see her inching away slowly. He countered by stepping closer to her.

"W-Well, I was going to the Room of Requirement to be by myself but you..." She was backing away and he was coming after her. She felt like a player in the cat-and-mouse game. She wasn't feeling like the cat either.

"When you say be by yourself, you mean with some randy boy who'll surpass your looks just for a feel, right?" Draco realized how excited he was feeling at this moment. Granger was an interesting person, aside from the fact that she embodied everything he was taught to hate. He stared into her round, brown eyes and loved the look of fear. Granger was an open book when it came to emotions but lucky for her, her friends are as illiterate as Crabbe and Goyle. He heard her murmur "Ow.." and saw that he had backed her up against a dirty castle wall. "Oh, what a predicament we are in." He placed his hands some distance from her head.

"Malfoy, stop this right now. You don't know what you're doing. This is sexual assault..." She tried to distract him while she fumbled through her clothes for her wand. Shoot. I must have left it on my nightstand.

"Granger, this isn't sexual assault. Obviously you've got your facts wrong. If it was sexual at all, you'd be wearing nothing at all. And I'd be excited. You know excited? But I'm not." Liar. You know you're loving this, he told himself. He peered into Granger's eyes. He wanted to know what she was thinking. "Unless you want to make it sexual. Be my guest."

Hermione made a small sound that resembled a "meep." Her head was spinning. She could feel his breath on her cheek, his eyes on hers. She could smell the musky cologne he wore. He was too close. She could reach out and touch his face. She could but she wouldn't. Her stomach was doing somersaults and she didn't know why. She wanted to push him away and flee but her knees were turning into jelly for some reason. And then he started doing something very strange. He moved his face close to hers but he never touched her. His eyes were open and for the first time she realized his eyes were grey and not blue. She'd have to tell Ginny this.

"What would you do if I kissed you, Granger?" he asked, awkwardly.

"Kissed me?" she felt her stomach do something very strange. It was an unfamiliar feeling and she couldn't quite describe it. "Why?"

"No reason really. Now answer my question. What would you do?" He moved his face so close that he could feel her fear radiating from her body. For some reason, his body was about ready to leave but his mind started asking these subsequential questions. What would you do if I humped you right here and now? What would you do if I frenched you? What would you do?

She stared at him for a long time. She wanted him to lose his patience and walk away. She waited. Apparently, he had more patient that she thought he had. His hands were becoming dirty and his arms tired so he placed them by his side, nearly touching her hand.

"Answer me, Granger. What would you do?" He wanted his answer.

"I don't know." Finally she answered him and she knew he was disappointed.

"Liar." he said. He was tired and wanted to go to bed. It was enough for tonight. He fixed his appearance and started to walk away. He heard Granger exhale loudly and smiled. So then he twirled around, in a manly fashion of course, and grabbed Granger, who was arranging her skirt, by the waist and pulled her towards him. He heard her gasp a little and he whispered in her ear. Then he abruptly let her go and walked away cooly.

Hermione was shocked, for the hundredth time this night. She could smell him on herself. Why did he have such strong cologne? Why did he do what he did? And why did he say to have an answer the next time they'd encounter each other? There was going to be a next time?

This was the first of many next times. This was the first night he intruiged me. This was the first night I started falling in love with him. And this was the first night he started breaking my heart.

A/N:) Review, my friends.

Love and Punch,

Tinsadisaster 3