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Just Like Him

Chapter 7

Draco was finally back in his own room at Hogwarts and loved the feeling of privacy. No nosy nurses popping their heads in and out anymore. Ron got released a few hours earlier than he, which meant he had that much longer to get his hands on Hermione.

As he lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, the agonizing thoughts of Weasley and Hermione were running amuck. Just knowing Ron had kissed Hermione; his girlfriend as far as Weasley knew, made him angry enough to make steam blow from his ears.

He couldn't just lie there anymore. He was wasting time. He needed to get back on the horse and start reliving. Even though the doctors said "take it easy", he had no intentions to. Draco started to undress as he headed to the bathroom. He turned the shower on; to get hot before he hopped in it. Walking back into his room, he ripped his shirt off and undid his belt.

He heard a sudden knock on his door and went to answer it. He knew it was Hermione because of her dainty knock. Opening the door in a swooping motion, he looked like a man who would be on the cover of a romance novel; like Fabio.

Hermione's mouth dropped when she saw the toned, young quidditch player.

"Y-You're back." she stated talking to his abs.

"Yeah." Draco replied with a grin.

Hermione didn't mean to be so obvious as she admired his body. But, when something like that is staring back at you, sometimes it's harder to stay composed than you think.

"Granger?" Draco asked. He snapped his fingers and she came out of her trance.

"Right." She answered. "I just wanted to say welcome home and tell you I'm ready to hear what you want from me."

"What I want from you?" he asked confused.

"Yes. You kept up with your part of the deal and I'm returning my end." He nodded slowly. "So, what do you want from me?" Her question was not impatient or bitter. It was curious and careful.

Draco looked at her and realized what he wanted…she would never give him.

"Nothing." he replied generously after a few moments.

"Nothing?" she asked surprised.

"No strings." he answered.

"Uh-um." she put a hand to her head as she tried to understand. "I don't-"she shook her head and looked into his eyes.

"You're free to go, Granger." he said explaining. "You don't owe me anything." he said slowly as if she was a child.

"Why?" Hermione asked bluntly.

He shook his head leisurely.

"I'm really confused." she replied. "Why the change of heart?"

"I'm trying to be a good person here, Granger. It's new to me. So, just go."

He started to close the door and she stopped it and walked right into his room.

"Are you planning on asking me for something later? Or are you planning on doing something to embarrass me and then tell everybody how gullible I am?"

"No." he stated.

"But, I don't understand!" she cried out confused. "Am I really that much below you?"

"It has nothing to do with that. I'm trying to be a decent person here! Take it or leave it."

"Leave it." she replied.

"I don't understand you." he said frustrated.

"I don't understand you."

"I should be the angry one here. You make me sound like a bad guy."

"You are a bad guy." she said. "You pick on the helpless." she said proving a point.

"Granger just go, please." he said earnestly. That was the first time he even ever used that word.

This new sign of respect that Malfoy was portraying was making him more appealing than ever. Not only that, but he was shirtless and unintentionally inviting.

Hermione's head began to spin and she only saw the sight of him; as if he was the sunlight at the end of a dark tunnel. Definitive. He helped her out and then told her that he didn't want anything in return. He was being selfless…

Hermione felt her self-control bidding her farewell. She didn't know why she didn't just take his random act of kindness and leave while she had the chance.

"Granger, you need to go." he demanded as he cupped her elbows and tried to lead her out of his room. It didn't work. It backfired actually. Losing all the self-control she was desperately hanging onto, Hermione leaned up and kissed Draco unexpectedly.

As if they were magnets, Draco's lips linked to hers within the very minimal amount of a touch. It didn't take him a millisecond to respond to her kiss.

What was she doing? Kissing Malfoy? She hadn't talked to Ron since yesterday, but the very thought of kissing him in the same manner she was kissing Draco, made her uneasy. It didn't seem right to do it with anyone but the blonde haired Slytherin. But, that wasn't what she wanted. She wanted to be as in love with Ron as she was before. She wanted them to be soul mates. She wanted to know she found her one true love.

But, you don't always get what you want. Sometimes, things choose you whether you want them or not. Like after you're born. You don't get to choose your name, or where you were born. You don't get to choose the type of jobs your parents have or your family for that matter. But even so, everything happens for a reason. The experiences in life where chosen specifically for you. Whether it be unconventional like Hermione and Draco, or safe and impressive like Harry and Ginny.

It was as if both their bodies had been electrocuted. Bolts flew through their frames and made their skin tingle with excitement and eagerness. It was exhilarating the way Draco sounded when Hermione's hands unknowingly found their way to his chiseled chest. Getting sucked into the vortex of hunger for the other was too much to handle.

Draco was stealthy and charismatic enough to get Hermione over to his bed without her even noticing. Falling onto the bed wasn't the wisest idea because Draco forgot about his recent hospital visit.

He groaned as a sharp pain erupted in his left hip. He pulled away and covered the hurt area with both hands.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked worried. Draco held his side and tried to catch his breath. He groaned again and dipped his head back as he tried to make the pulsing ache in his side go away.

"Too much too soon, apparently." he said annoyed.

"I'm sorry."

"You always manage on making me cry out one way or another, Granger."

Hermione blushed at his comment.

"I honestly didn't intend to barge in that way." She got off his bed as quickly as possible. "I feel irresponsible. You really should be taking it easy. I need to stop provoking you. Not to mention, I don't know why I keep doing that." she rambled. "Are you really okay? I can go get Madam Pomfrey."

"I'll be fine." he said.

"Is this the masculine charm you're trying to pull off here? If you're hurt, you don't have to pretend that you're not."

"Don't underestimate my masculinity." he warned. "I bounce back fast."

"I really should go." she told him.

"You always do that." he said casually.

"Do what?"

"Run away."

"I…don't always…"

"You do always." he informed her. "Obviously, you can't hide from the fact that this is snog number two…or is it three?" he thought and even put a hand on his chin as he did so. "Either way, you don't always need to run off. No one's chasing you, Granger."

"You don't feel awkward right now?" she asked him. "I mean "this" doesn't freak you out?"

"I mean it's a bit strange. But, you don't see me racing out of here like a bat out of hell."

"Yeah, I don't understand how you handle It." she confessed. "What we're doing is…against everything we've ever known. You and I have been bitter rivals since before we even met. How can snogging me suddenly change your mind about everything we've been through?"

It was one simple answer.

"Moving on. It's the only choice you have in life; otherwise you're just going to be swept underneath the world as it crumbles over you."

"Easy for you to say. Sometimes it's not so easy to forgive."

"Nor forget." he replied. "But, eventually it's the only choice."

"It must be pretty easy."

"Never." he said sitting up. "But, I suck it up and keep going. The people here think what they want to think about me. All they know is I'm terribly rich, my father's a Deatheater, I'm mean and I hate Mudbloods."

"They're pretty accurate." she replied.

"Are they?" he asked. "Granger, did you know that my mother and father had an arranged marriage? My mother hates my father. She loathes him." he told her. "The day she got knocked up was the day my father threatened her; if it wasn't a boy, it wasn't going to be anything." Hermione was appalled to hear that.

"Nine months later…I wasn't born." He told her as he got lost in the trap of his mind. "I had a sister. My father ripped her from my mother's arms and disposed her the only way he knew how. Painfully." Draco sounded distant. "Not a month went by before he was trying for a boy again."

Hermione covered her mouth, feeling nauseous.

"He got angrier the longer it took to conceive. He abused my mother saying it was her fault that he was wasting all his precious time. But, eventually it happened. Once again; another baby, nine months later…I came into this world. More like, ripped out and thrown into the world." Draco's face looked pained the more he talked. "I grew up being just like him. My father was my hero and my worst enemy. I hated him more than I hated anything. But, still…" he talked so openly. "I wanted to be…just…like…him."

"I didn't want to hate you when I met you. But, it's all I ever knew how to do." he looked up at her. "Give me the chance Granger, to try and be better than him. Better late than never."

"You're nothing like your father." she told him, looking deeply into his eyes. "Your father is a monster. He's nothing but a horrible, horrible man."

"You say that cause you don't know the real me, Granger." Draco sucked up the pain and stood up. His 6'1 frame towered above her petite one. "I can be vicious." he told her. "I can be more painful than the entire being of misery."

Hermione felt intimidated and backed away slightly.

"When people get in my way…they get hurt." His tone was strict and unbreakable. "I can do things you could never imagine. Thoughts I have in my head are almost as unforgivable that of a murderer." Draco's stone cold blue eyes looked as though you could see right through them. "Everything I know…I learned from him." Draco gulped because even he knew the truth inside. "And, sometimes…waking up and living isn't worth the pain." Draco realized what he was trying to say. "You need to leave now." he told her. "Because…you need to go be with Weasley."

Hermione didn't know if she was disappointed or relieved that he was pushing her into the arms of another man.

"You don't need me anymore." Draco kept a safe distance from her, just in case. He backed her out of the room and talked to her in a steady, confident tone.

"You have everything you could possibly want." he informed her. "Don't take it for granted."

And with those final words, Draco shut his door.

A/N-So, definitely some new factors have taken place. What do you think? Review!