A/N: Soooo sorry for making you wait forever for an update, but anyway you have one now. Hope you enjoy.
Chapter Two
Draco had made it into the town just a few minuets previously and had followed his nose to the smell of freshly baked bread.
When he got to the bakery he saw someone he never imagined he would. She was with a lot of other kids her age and they were all laughing and smiling.
He couldn't help but smirk. She looked good in that outfit she was wearing. Blue was defiantly her colour. But of course he and all of Hogwarts already knew that from the Yule Ball in forth year.
She walked out first as one of the boys with her let her skip in front of him. Draco backed into the alley as much as he could. If she saw him she would tell Harry Potter who would in turn tell the ministry who would contact the Aurors who would come and lock him up. He didn't run away to get caught.
Her friends had joined her now and were walking over to some steps to sit and eat. He could still here them joking from where he was.
He also heard the comment of an old woman who had looked him up and down. It sounded something along the lines of "Up to no good".
He decided the woman was right. A teenager hiding in an alley glaring at another bunch of teenagers and mumbling things about 'Bloody Potter' and 'Good for nothing Aurors' would look a little strange to passers by.
He walked with the crowds over towards where Hermione and her muggle friends sat. He sat in the middle of two old men on a bench behind them. It was the perfect spot to listen in.
Not like anything they were saying was that important.
A couple of the girls were talking about this lip-gloss that looked fantastic on them; two of the guys were talking about some silly muggle sport.
Even though it wasn't important in the slightest, it hit Draco deep. How he wanted to sit and joke with friends out in the public, at least with our fear of being attacked.
He observed Hermione for a good amount of time. She always had a smile on her face but he could see through it. She was content but still gloomy. And Draco had one good guess what she was unhappy about.
Harry Potter. How he was coping? What he was doing? How was he surviving without his great mentor?
Draco grimaced. He had ran away to get that part of his life out of his mind. Keep suppressing it until it eventually disappeared all together. As of now he wasn't doing such a good job. Every time he saw an old man with white hair he could feel the guilt churn in his stomach.
Anything that remotely reminded him of the dead old man like a half moon, so much like his spectacles. Or the sun twinkling off water similar to the sparkle of his blue eyes, would make him quickly turn away before he cried out in the overwhelming power of shame for what he had done.
He was broken out of his thinking when he saw the eight teenagers stand and walk back up the street the way they came.
Without thinking he followed behind about ten paces. His mind was screaming at him to stop and turn the other direction before the witch spotted him. He hadn't come here to be caught on the first day. But his feet didn't respond to the orders his brain was sending them. They just continued down the cobbled stone road until coming to a stop outside a building with glass windows that the others had disappeared into.
It was the Dance studio. Through the glass he saw Hermione and a blonde girl go over to the woman behind the front desk, while the others went to the sides and took seats.
He was moved out the way of the entrance by a little girl who ran into the building skipping as she did so. Her mother gave a quick apology to him before following after her child.
This process went on many a time before there were twenty little girls lined up near a door at the back. Hermione and the blonde which he heard being called Abby allowed the girls in and followed in after tying the ribbon of their ballet shoes around their ankles.
That was the last he saw of them for the next two hours.
He had retired to a coffee shop across the street. From that spot he could see her other six friends prancing around dancing in the front room. He snickered when a short bossy girl started ordering them what to do and then sighing when some of the others fell from the more complicated moves.
"Okay kids. That's it for today, you did well. Keep practising your footwork Lara. And Millie please remember to bring your tutu next week." Hermione called over the scuffle of the youngsters grabbing their belongings.
"God, I really do love teaching them. They are so cute!" Abby gushed kicking the shoes of her feet. "I can't believe we get paid for this." She said grinning.
"Yeah I know. I always need the money and now I get paid for doing something I love."
"Do you still do dance at your boarding school?" Abby asked
Hermione sighed. She hated talking about her schooling with her muggle friends. She was always petrified that something would slip out. Also knowing that she was so bluntly lying to them made her want to slap herself.
"No I haven't had any dance classes in school since we went to primary together." Hermione said. Technically it wasn't a lie but so much more could have been said on the subject.
"Well you haven't lost your talent. I remember you and Callie used to fight over who was the best." She said with a laugh.
"Good times." Hermione said with a small smile. How she wished she had never got involved into the wizarding world or rather wished that the war didn't exist. If she wasn't involved with the wizards then she wouldn't have the friendship of Harry and Ron, which was something that she could not live without.
Harry. She grimaced at the though of him. She dreaded to think what kind of state he was in now.
"Shall we go find the others then?" Abby asked not waiting for an answer and heading towards the front room.
The first thing Hermione heard as she stepped through the door was.
"NO NO NO. I told you. You do it like this!" Callie shouted at Sabrina who actually looked quite scared.
"I'm sorry." Sabrina said in a small voice. She looked as though she was going to cry. "I just can't get the hang of it."
"Callie give it a rest already!" Marisa shouted from the opposite side of the room. Whether out of frustration or if she was sticking up for her sister no one knew.
"Fine be that way. I have to go anyway, I was supposed to be home… ten minuets ago. See you next week."
She picked her bag up from the floor and walked out of the building before anyone of them could say anything. Callie had her days like this. She would get all bossy and angry when they didn't do it perfectly. She usually was only like this when she hadn't had much sleep. Or that time of the month.
"Guys you have an hour before you have to go. So hurry up and do whatever you wanna do." Mandy called from the desk ticking something off in a book.
"Well I'm tired as hell so I'm gonna head home. See you next Saturday." Marisa said and walked out with Sabrina following with a quick wave to the rest of them.
Everyone else departed for similar reasons. Whenever Callie had one of her days everyone else suffered from it as well.
Finally there was only Hermione left. But she decided to stay, there was nothing at home for her.
"Can I practise in the back room Mandy? I can stay for a bit longer." Hermione said and Mandy nodded with out looking up.
Draco wondered why they were all leaving her there. He watched as the last friend disappeared around a corner. Hermione asked the woman in the shop something who nodded and allowed Hermione to walk into the back.
The next thing he heard was the quiet sound of a fast paced song coming from the building.
He couldn't get the image of her laughing face out of his mind. Was it possible for him to smile again? He knew he would be found eventually and he needed to be protected from that. Could that girl really protect him? If he had Hermione Granger on his side, it would change a lot. The Order might take pity on him. If they understood what actually happened that night they may decide to not let his father murder him.
After a few more minuets of silent thinking he got up and crossed the street to the dance studio. Worth a try right?
He saw Mandy looking through the books on the desk and went straight to the back door.
"And where do you think your going eh?" The woman asked standing in front of him blocking the door way. "That's a private room." She said folding her arms across her chest.
"I just need to talk to the girl in there" he said planning on stepping around the woman but she blocked his path again.
"No one is aloud back there unless they take dance lessons." She said giving him the once over.
"So you will have to pay for a lesson and then come back next week to get into that room."
Draco was close to exploding. How dare a worthless little muggle talk to him like that? He was fighting with himself not just to reach for his wand and blow her head off.
"Listen lady," he growled. "I don't care about the room. It's what's in it that I need to see!" he said his voice getting louder every second. Hermione wouldn't be able to hear as the music was still blaring away.
"Okay," she sighed. "One lesson is £20 but since you want to have a private with Hermione now that will be £30 please?" she said holding her hand out.
Draco snarled. What was this woman not understanding when he said he had no interest in learning how to dance. Not like they could teach him anything knew. His mother had made him learn to dance when he was a child and he was a great dancer… now.
"I don't want a lesson!" he said between clenched teeth.
"Well then you need to pay to get into that room. The studio is actually closed so you shouldn't actually be here. I will lower it back to £20. Just for you." She smirked.
Draco gave a fake smile and dug a muggle £20 note from his pocket and not to gently slapped it onto the woman's hand.
"Thank you. Off you go." She said and pocketed the money and headed off towards her desk once again.
Draco shook his head. He couldn't believe he was just conned by a muggle.
He slipped into the room without a second though. There in front of him was a sight he never thought he would see.
Hermione was moving so fast and in ways that would even make Voldemort look twice.
There was a sheen of sweat on her chest and for head. She hadn't noticed him yet. But she must have heard the door open and close because she called out to him.
"Hey Mandy. What do you think of this move?"
She turned away from the mirror so that her back faced him. She was swaying her hips to the fast beat of the music and moving her head from side to side making her hair fan out. She slowly bent down to come back up even slower, giving Draco a nice view of her backside. And he didn't mind at all. When she was stood upright again she brought her hands above her head and spun so fast that he didn't even see her face. She came to a stop and was now facing him. Her eyes closed and her chest rising and falling rapidly.
"So what you think?" she said turning away to turn the music down so that she could hear Mandy.
Draco was debating whether to answer or letting her find out for herself that it was actually, well, him.
Oh sod it. He though, cheering himself on.
"It was very… womanly." He drawled holding back a laugh as she spun around and almost fainted on the spot.
"Hello Granger."
"M-Malfoy?"
A/N: Yes I'm cruel, I know. Hope you liked it.
Ox-LAURA-xO
