Music To My Ears

Disclaimer: Characters, actions, words etc... taken from JKR's Harry Potter © and used in this fanfiction do not belong to me.

A/N: read and review xoxo TBG


Chapter 3: Not Telling the Truth

Hermione ran first to her room to get a new pair of panties, then into the Great Hall and searched the Gryffindor table for Ron and Harry. When she caught sight of them, she hurried over and plopped down in between them. They both watched as she grabbed everything and anything that was in arms length and started to wolf it down. They both looked at each other, shocked at Hermione's behaviour.

"Hermione are you okay?" Harry asked, while she wiped her mouth.

"Yeah. Why?" She replied. She saw the look of disgust on their faces and she stopped eating.

"Well sorry. I was studying in the library and I completely lost track of time. I'm really hungry and I didn't want to miss lunch, so sorry if I'm disgusting you" she retorted.

They just watched as she wolfed down the rest of her plate. Harry turned his head away, when he suddenly noticed Malfoy watching their table as Hermione ate.

"Why is Malfoy looking over here?" Harry whispered. Hermione's head perked up and she looked over. She saw him give her a smirk as if to say, 'I know its because of me that you're so hungry'. Harry turned away from Malfoy's smirk and caught sight of Hermione's neck. It was covered with hickeys that led a trail from the top of her neck and continued underneath her top.

As they got up for their next class, Harry pulled Hermione to the side and told Ron that they'd meet him in class. Ron shrugged and said okay. He thought Harry was about to give Hermione a good talking to about her eating skills. He was sure she needed some. Harry turned and really looked at Hermione. Her hair was bushier then usual and her clothes were all wrinkled. She'd even buttoned her shirt wrong. She looked like she'd been attacked or maybe…

"Hermione, why were you really late for lunch? And don't try to lie and say you were in the library because the way you look makes me think whatever you were doing you weren't doing alone." He crossed his arms, waiting for her answer.

She looked up at him and knew she wasn't going to be able to leave until she told him.

"I was….um….." she stumbled. Harry just lifted an eyebrow.

"Okay I was with guy. Happy now? Can we go? We're going to be late for class." Harry just looked her up and down and performed a repair charm. It restored her hair and clothes back to their ironed splendour. Hermione realised then, she must have looked a mess and smiled.

"Thanks Harry."

"You're welcome. But do put something on those hickeys on your neck, so people don't think you were attacked by something."

Hermione dove into her bag and quickly dabbed her neck with some concealer and started walking with Harry. He quickly pulled her into a hug.

"Hermione I know I never said it before, but I'm sorry I ever hurt you. You're my best friend and the last thing I'd want to do is hurt you or see you hurt. So whoever this guy is, make sure he doesn't hurt you." He whispered on her hair as he held her.

"Thanks Harry. And I will." He kissed her forehead and let her go but still held onto her hand. They walked into Transfiguration like that and Draco immediately noticed. He felt hot anger bubbling up inside of him at the affection Harry was showering on Hermione. He didn't like it one bit.

Draco didn't hear one word Professor McGonagall said during the entire class. All he did was watch Hermione, Harry and Ron at their table. Every time one of them touched her hand or tickled her, Draco would get angrier.

By the end of class Draco was seething. He didn't like the way that Harry and Ron continually got to touch Hermione and how she continually reacted to it. The second they got to leave, Draco stormed out. Hermione noticed as his long robes flipped out the door.

As Harry, Ron and Hermione left and started to go to the common room, Hermione tried to slip away. Ron noticed as she tried to go down another hallway.

"Oi where are you going?" Ron asked. Harry turned and gave Hermione a look of concern.

"I'm just going to go to the library and look up on Tornicit Potions. Is that a problem?" She put her hands on her hips.

"No. Just…take care of yourself. We'll see you later." Harry replied. Ron gave them both a look, shrugged and walked away with Harry. Hermione watched them go and went back to the room on the fifth floor and right as she reached the door, she was pulled into it. She was pulled in and slammed against a wall. It momentarily knocked the air out of her.

"Whoa. I think we shouldn't be getting too rough just yet. That's for later…" She had just looked up into the stormy grey eyes and noticed a flame of anger growing in their depths.

"Draco what's wrong?" She asked with concern.

He looked into her hazel eyes, all innocent as they stared up at him and then he remembered her smiles and hugs and laughs with Potter and Weasley and squeezed her arms and pressed her into the wall harder. He saw the look of pain on her face and somewhat enjoyed it.

"Draco, you're hurting me." She wondered and was afraid of what could have happened to make him this way.

"I don't want Potter and Weasley touching you the way they do. You are my girl and I don't want other men touching you. Got it?" He shook her slightly with his last words.

"Yes…I do. But please let go." Draco instant let her go. Remorse coursed through him as he looked at her slightly pained expression. He pulled her into a hug and didn't speak until he felt Hermione wrap her arms around him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I just get so….I don't know. I don't know how to explain how I felt when I saw you and your friends today. When I saw you playing and smiling with them, I realize that we'll never have that unless we're in private like this. It hurts is all." Hermione thought about that for a moment.

"You scared me Draco. Next time just talk to me, or else I'll have to hex you. You were really hurting me for a moment there," she said with a muffled voice as she pressed her face into his chest.

"Alright I will. And I think I know something that won't hurt but will help make up for what I just did…"and at that he kissed her. Softly at first and then he licked her bottom lip and at her sigh, he delved deeper into her mouth, eliciting a passionate response from her.

Hermione melted in his arms as he deepened the kiss. She stopped him when he reached for her top button.

"Draco, I don't like all this lying I'm doing. I think Harry's getting suspicious and it's only been one day. He was questioning me today and I just don't like feeling like I'm keeping something from them. They're my best friends."

"Best friends who would rather see me dead than alive?" She looked down at the truth his words rang. She looked up again and met him with her words.

"That's not completely true. But Draco, I don't want to lie anymore."

"Lie is such a harsh word. How about not telling the truth?"

"Draco?"

"Your friends aren't exactly friendly with me….so if you tell them about us…I think they might kill me. Literally."

Hermione sighed and looked down. She knew what Draco was saying was true but she hated lying to her best friends. Tears started to well up in her eyes. Draco lifted her head.

"I promise that you won't have to 'not tell the truth' for long. When the time is right….I will personally tell them the truth or we will both tell them, together. Ok?"

Hermione smiled through her tears.

"Okay." He pulled her close and kissed her with all the feelings he felt inside his heart.

Back in the Gryffindor common room, Harry and Ron were finishing up their large pile of homework.

"I wonder where Hermione is. I wanted her to check over my work." Ron said as he scratched out another line on his parchment.

"I know I wanted her to look over this as well. And I don't know where she is" Harry replied.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, continuing to do their homework.

"Hey, let me check the Marauder's Map and see where she is." Harry suggested.

"Ok. But hurry up. I really need some help." Ron said as he scratched out yet another line.

Harry got up and went to his room. His other roommates were asleep as he pulled out his Marauder's Map and put the tip of his wand on it.

Then he whispered, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good". From the tip of his wand, flew ink lines all across the paper until the paper was covered with moving dots with names above them.

Harry turned the pages looking for Hermione. He turned to the fifth page and found her in a classroom on the fifth floor. He was about to put down the map when he saw another figure in the room. It was labelled Draco Malfoy.

Harry began to panic. Malfoy was capable of anything to Hermione. Harry watched for a moment but it didn't look like Draco was doing anything bad to Hermione, so Harry put his wand in the middle of the room on the map and whispered, "The no good I want to do, is eavesdrop."

A small screen popped out of the map and showed the classroom fully. There in the middle of the room were Malfoy and Hermione. They were just talking, but it was strange because they had never been civil to each other before, so Harry turned up the volume so he could hear what they were saying.

"Draco, you do realize you have to do the assignment? I'm not going to do it for you."

"Alright, fine. You know you are a real bossy pain right? He said with a smirk.

"Yeah I know. I'm especially bossy when it comes to work, so get to it."

Harry's panic disappeared. She was just tutoring him. That was ok. Harry knew Hermione would come back when she was finished with Draco, so Harry tapped the map and whispered, "Mischief managed".

He jumped off his bed and put the map away. Harry didn't want to upset Ron, so he decided not to tell him about Hermione tutoring Draco. Harry figured when Hermione was ready to tell them, she would.

Harry left his bedroom, hoping that he wouldn't be questioned about Hermione's whereabouts by Ron.

Harry entered the common room again and sat down by Ron. He looked up expectantly.

"So did you find Hermione on the map?" Harry shook his head.

"I don't know why I couldn't see her. Hse must be in the Room of requirement or something. We'll just have to wait for her." Ron sighed and continued trying to salvage his charms essay.

Hermione and Draco strolled under the moonlight. They walked arm-in-arm, and as they got under the tall oak tree by the lake, Hermione stopped Draco and turned him to face her.

"Draco….if you see Harry, Ron and I being 'friendly' please try to control yourself because you know, they will always only be my friends but you are my boyfriend. Don't forget that." She kissed him after her last words.

"Hmm…boyfriend. I like it." He kissed her again and began to deepen the kiss but Hermione stopped him again.

"Arrrggghhh….you need to stop doing that." He grunted.

"I'm sorry but I need to ask you something else."

"What?"

"Why did you take my panties this afternoon?"

"Well I needed it as insurance."

"Insurance?"

"Yes. So that if you regretted what we did, you'd have to come back to me because you'd obviously want them back. And we'd have to be in private for me to give them back so…"

"So, it was a ploy to seduce me again?"

"Yup. Are you mad?"

"Surprisingly, no."

He smiled at her words.

"And would it have worked?" He asked.

"Surprisingly, yes."

He smiled even harder. He pulled her panties out of his pocket.

"Then you can have them back." He handed them to her. She took them and put them in her bag.

"But Draco, you know you wouldn't have needed those to seduce me again?" She looked up at him with lust in her eyes. Her eyes pulled him in and he started to lean in.

"Oh yeah?" he whispered as he leaned in closer.

"Yeah," she whispered back as she leaned up and met his kiss, under the stars and glowing full moon.