Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing in this story. Except the delicious food, which is in my tummy right now.

Chapter 7: Of Cheesecake and Sore Bums

Hermione woke up and rubbed her eyes. Her head was pounding, and she was having that dream again. About Him. About Night. Her stomach gave an uneasy quench, and she picked up a glass of water from her nightstand. She's been having this dream a lot lately. And this time, he was about to reveal himself to her, but the dream ended right there. Maybe she wasn't supposed to know who he was… maybe… maybe there was a reason, for her own sake, or maybe this is some sort of puzzle, that I need to figure out on my own… she sighed. Ahhh my brain hurts. Best not dwell on it right now. It's a new day! After popping an Advil in her mouth to get rid of her weird headache, she checked her cell phone. Draco hadn't called yet, so she sat there thinking about what she wanted to do for the day. Her eyes traveled around the room, until they landed on her skates. She smiled. Of course! she thought. She took a shower, got dressed in something comfortable, and then went to the ice skating rink.

Draco had awoken at about 11 o'clock. He had just taken a shower and was sitting on his bed in his bathrobe trying to call Hermione. (A/N: Draco in a bathrobe! Ooohhhh goodness…) she wasn't picking up thought. He frowned. Where the hell could she be? he wondered. He waited a few more minutes but then decided she probably wasn't going to call. Wait.. why am I waiting for Granger to call? I'm here to have fun… (he chuckled as he remembered last night's turn of events) not to wait around for Granger and do whatever the hell she wants… but… no. No. I guess I could check out some more of this ship… he thought. Hermione had told him about a skating rink somewhere. Maybe he could head over there. He got dressed and left his room, slowly making his way to the ice skating rink.

It was about 11:30 when Hermione arrived on the ice.

Ever since she was young, Hermione loved to skate. Just being on the chilling ice and skating aimlessly allowed her to clear her head of the confusion and confliction thoughts she would have. Especially now, she needed to make sense of all this... craziness or something. She couldn't even name it. She spun quickly in place a few times and then circled the rink. One main question was on her mind: Why is Draco being so nice, and why do I feel like I know him so well, as if we've been on friendly terms like this before? Actually, that's two questions, but still, she didn't know what was going on with him. She jumped high into a double axel, making a perfect landing. She hated not knowing something! She sighed, deciding to forget about it as she let her feet carry her across the smooth ice.

Draco Malfoy opened the doors and stepped into the chilly arena. The rink was empty, save one girl who was gliding across the ice very elegantly… he watched her closely, his face assuming a blank, impenetrable expression as his eyes followed her. Wait... she looks very familiar, I swear I've known her from somewhere… oh shit, that's Granger! he thought, though his face didn't betray any surprise as he stayed quiet and leaned on the railing, his silent aqua eyes gazing at her.

After a couple more jumps and laps around the rink, Hermione skated over to the edge to get some water. However, she didn't expect to see Malfoy standing next to her bag, watching her. "Malfoy? What are you doing here?" she asked him, the surprise evident in her voice.

"Well you didn't call or anything this morning, so I thought I'd just wander around. I also remembered you telling me about the ice skating rink and now I'm here to check it out," Draco replied, casually shrugging.

"Oh..," Hermione said. "So what do you think? Do you like it?"

Draco looked around. "Yeah... it's a pretty good sized rink... I've seen bigger, but this one is rather large too."

Hermione drank a sip of her water. What does he MEAN he's seen bigger? This rink is huge! Stupid Malfoys and their rich lifestyle.

"You're a really good skater," Draco commented.

Hermione nearly choked on her water. Malfoy complimented me? Wow... that's soo not him. Then again, he isn't really being himself at all lately... strange... "Thanks, I love skating. It just... relaxes me, I guess," she said, skating out to the middle of the rink. "Do you know how to skate?" she called out behind her. When she didn't hear an answer, she turned around to see him staring into her eyes. "Well? Can you skate?" she repeated.

"Of course." he replied confidently.

Hermione raised her eyebrow. "Really? Then why don't you grab a pair of skates and join me on the ice?" she asked.

Draco processed the question and pondered the possibilities (AN: lots of 'p's!), "Alright Granger." he found a pair at the desk and began lacing them up. Slowly. Very slowly.

Typical Malfoy! Just takes all the time he wants, as if time were at a standstill only to allow him through... yeesh. "You know, Malfoy, I kind of wanted to skate sometime before this cruise is over," she said impatiently, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Okay woman," he mumbled. "Hey, I don't have a set time to be out on the ice," he called out to her. "I could take as much time as I want to," he said, slightly smirking when he heard her groan in frustration.

"You know what, whatever. Suit yourself," she replied, forcing herself to control her petty anger and skating farther out. She did a lap around the rink and saw Malfoy standing just outside of it. "Well?" she prompted. "Now that you're all laced up and you think you've wasted enough time, are you going to get your arse on the ice?" she asked, putting her hair up in a messy bun as she said this. Well, as much as she could get into the ponytail, seeing as her hair was big and curly and bushy enough. (AN: kinda like my hair, I can't do anything with it cuz it's so thick and wavy :P )

"I'm trying to, you know, it's not as easy as it looks," Draco said as he slowly wobbled his way towards her.

Hermione stopped skating and turned to face him, "Hold on, you're a Malfoy, I thought you're supposed to be really good at everything you do," she said.

"Not really good, the best," he said.

"Doesn't look like it to me," Hermione smirked, looking pointedly at his feet. "You seem to be tap dancing really horribly in mud or something… doesn't really seem too skilled, Malfoy."

"Yes, Granger, but once somebody teaches me, give me a couple hours, and I will be the best at the ice skating thing," he said, absolutely oozing arrogance all over the slick ice.

"Okay Malfoy, whatever you say. Just hurry up and get here," she tutted impatiently while tapping her foot. "Scratch that, I'll skate to you. Stupid waste of time…" she continued to mumble to herself as she quickly skated towards where he was standing, arms crossed over his chest.

"Alright... let's see… you have never skated before? EVER?"

"Nope," he replied.

"And that is because…I mean, I thought as a Malfoy you'd be 'educated in the arts' and whatnot," Hermione said, raising an eyebrow.

"Will you quit that? You obviously don't know anything about the Malfoys. Besides, ice skating is a feminine sport, my mother never even considered to teach me," he shrugged.

"Right... well, just like you're walking... slide one foot forward and slightly out... and the other... yes... that's good… yeah just keep-"

SMACK!

Hermione chuckled as she moved over to help Malfoy get up off the ice; however, seeing his facial expression as he rubbed his sore bum caused her to laugh even harder, accidentally letting go of his hand and causing him to fall to the ground once more. On his bum. His sore bum. Poor Draco. Well.. that's not what Hermione was thinking… this is a story I've GOT to tell Harry and Ron…

"Hey Granger, you're here to teach me, not laugh at me!" he said loudly.

"Actually, I came here to skate alone, and you just turned up and demanded me to show you how to skate," she said as he finally stood up, desperately trying not to fall again.

"Here, give me your hands, ok… hold on… now try, I'll just guide you," she said slowly as she skated backwards in front of him, holding hands, with his eyes never leaving his feet. "No, look up. It'll help your balance," she commanded.

And as his eyes met hers, Hermione couldn't help but give the tiniest of smiles, while trying very hard to keep the blush from creeping up her cheeks. His eyes twinkled a bit… well, she couldn't place the emotion.. it was just pleasant, rather than the fierce glare that she was accustomed to seeing at school. He was improving rapidly, and they were soon gliding smoothly across the ice, his hands still in hers. He began to skate a bit faster… slowly closing the distance between them... until-

THUMP!

Hermione fall backwards on to the ice, and Draco fell right on top of her. "OOF!" she mumbled, although her face was smothered by his shirt. "Oww…" she moaned, as he scrambled to his feet.

Darn it.. why couldn't this be like how it is in the movies? When the guy falls on top of the girl.. and they look into each others eyes and they realize all their deepest truest feelings for each other.. and the slowly lean in and embrace in a passionate kiss that makes everybody watching the movie go "aww…"…

Wait! What am I thinking? Who says I want to be in a "passionate embrace" with Malfoy? Shake it out! You're just a little woozy from hitting your head on the ice!

"Eh… sorry Granger, I lost control of my feet there," he said apologetically.

Or your mind, and possibly mine! She thought dizzily as she watched him rub his shoulder. "It's ok. I've got to go anyways. See you later, Draco!" she quickly skated to the side and left, not even bothering to take off her skates until she was in the elevator.

Which left Draco standing in the middle of the ice, completely bewildered, a thousand thoughts racing through his mind. Like:

How does she walk on the ground in ice skates?

And-

Why do I feel lightheaded?

And it's not from the fall on the ice. (A/N: hahah.. he FELL for her, get it? HAHAHA slaps knee okay. I'm done. :P )

Hermione stepped into the dining hall, the sweet scents and aromas of about a thousand foods meeting her nose. Pastas, pizzas, burgers, Chinese, sushi, SEAFOOD… Hermione gasped. They had grilled salmon, boiled salmon, garlic lemon salmon, shrimp- oh boy, there were at least 20 different kinds of shrimp, cooked in everyway imaginable, and even lobster! Mm-mm-good, she thought to herself. But where to start! She decided to begin with the salds of course… just a modest Caesar salad and a crab salad, gradually working her way to the seafood; although there was such a variety of foods, she knew she was going to be here on this ship for 7 or 8 more days, so why not cover a different style of food each day? Right? Hermione grinned to herself as she finished her last crab claw; she was so completely stuffed that she had forgotten about the desserts. Well… maybe one slice of cheesecake won't hurt…

Meanwhile, Draco sat on his bum in the middle of the Giant-Ice-Platform-of-Draco's-Torment, (as he'd decided to name it). He'd tried to come to terms with the fact that even though he is a Malfoy, and Malfoys are supposed to be naturally good at everything, he just isn't that great of a skater. At the moment. See, his natural talent was still hidden, waiting for the opportune moment to spring out and impress everyone. That was the simple truth. And the only explanation. Draco scowled, thinking that half an hour ago would have been the perfect moment. I'll show her…. He stood up, momentarily forgetting the fact that there was ice underneath him, and promptly landed on his bottom. For the fourth time that day. He rubbed the sore spot, thinking, what the heck, theres nobody here; I can just crawl there. At the same moment, a voice popped into his head; his own, actually. Where's your dignity? You are going to stand tall and march off that ice, you hear that? With grace! And that he did. With much struggling, a lot of time, and a sour, grumpy look on his face he left the rink to contemplate just why his 'laiden talent' hadn't chosen to appear yet.

Author Notes:

BW: Hmm... what will happen next? I have absolutely no idea. Actually, I do have an idea but that's only because you told me ;)

Reesie: Oh, and is anybody wondering what happened to this surprise show? Well, it was rather interesting. You'll find out soon, don't worry. Today wasn't the right time to tell about it…

Question:

Would you like to see Draco to get drunk soon or Hermione? Which will you enjoy more? Let me know please!