Moonlight Serenade Ch. 8
After the fiasco in the Great Hall, it was all Hermione could manage to walk back to her room and lie down on the floor. She didn't even manage to make it to her bed, she was so mentally and physically tired. The cold stone of her floor woke her up a little, and stopped the taunting comments that had been running through her head on a continuous loop.
She tried to scream into the cold floor, but her cry of "no" came out like a muffled groan. She rolled over onto her back and closed her door with a flick of her wand, locking it as well. She didn't need... him walking in on her. Hermione got up, and sat down on her bed, hugging her pillow. It was bad enough that the Grand Hall thought she and Draco were sleeping together, but now she was singing with him and sleeping with him? Hermione winced, both at the use of his first name --again-- and at the reaction she would get tomorrow. Actually, the day wasn't over yet... it had barely begun.
An owl flew up to her window, pecking at the glass. She wearily reached over to flip open the latch. The brown owl dropped a letter in her lap, ate a few of the pellets on her windowsill and flew off. Hermione looked down at the letter, and cautiously opened the seal. It was from McGonagall, as usual, and she was apologizing for the abrupt announcement. Hermione threw the letter on the ground and laid back down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling with mixed feelings. The Headmistress had also said something about excusing her from her classes for the day, but Hermione knew that she needed to catch up on her schoolwork. Her misery could wait till later. She sat up and picked up her bag. She stood there for a moment, patting down her curls and breathing deeply. She could handle this.
She knew she could.
As Hermione went from class to class over the day, she noticed whispers and stares when she walked by. She tried to ignore it, but it got even worse when she and Draco happened to be walking in the same direction --it didn't occur to her that they had the singing class next--. The whispers got louder, and she even heard one girl say, "How come she gets him? It's not fair!" Hermione glanced back to see who it was, but she only caught a glimpse of a black haired girl walking away with a group of her friends.
Draco attempted to talk to her, but she waved him off by walking faster. She couldn't deal with him, whether it was sympathy, pity or jokes that fell out of that perfect mouth of his. It had been a long day, and thankfully, it was almost over. Hermione couldn't even begin to stomach the idea of talking with Ron or Harry. The thought of confronting her best friends about their earlier encounter made her sad, and a bit angry.
She reached the doorway to the room, and glanced behind her. Thankfully, none of the girls she had dubbed the "DFGs" (Draco FanGirls) had followed her. Draco, surprisingly, wasn't behind her either, which was a bit strange. She shook her head, and opened the door. To her surprise, there was music already floating in the air.
Curious, she looked around, but saw nothing. She only heard the sweet melody to Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin --a muggle band her father loved--. Hermione looked around, but no one was on the stage. Strangely enough, it wasn't piano music, either.
It was guitar, and electric, at that.
She walked inside, carefully placing her bag near the door. Hermione followed the music to the recording room, where she saw a strange sight... Draco Malfoy himself, playing the guitar on one of the stools with headphones on his ears. She wondered why she could hear it, because usually the booths were soundproof. Then she saw that the door was ajar.
He began to croon the lyrics into the circle shaped microphone, his eyes half-lidded. Hermione was paralyzed by his voice, and the sounds he was making. Had she known he could play guitar?
However, it didn't really matter at the moment. All that she could hear or see was filled with Draco. She walked forward, and listened carefully, watching his fingers intently. He wasn't always this calm, was he? At least, she hadn't seen him like this... ever.
The song went on for a good five or six minutes, until he spun off into the ending, singing softly and trailing off. Draco took off his headphones and stood up, hanging the red electric guitar on a hook in the booth. He turned and yawned, stretching a bit. He wasn't wearing his robes, so Hermione could clearly see his pale stomach below his shirt --it had ridden up-- and the thin trail of hair that led down into a region that she didn't want to think about. Even though she had seen him shirtless --had touched him shirtless-- it was still a bit of a shock.
He reminds me of a fallen angel. So perfect, yet deeply flawed. Hermione gazed at him until he surprised her by looking straight at her. "Hermione?" he said in confusion. "I mean, Granger, what're you doing here..." Hermione's eyes widened at his use of her given name. He seemed to realize his gaffe, and he blushed a bit. "What, surprised I can play the guitar and sing? I told you, I have many talents." He walked out of the booth, and brushed by her to go into the auditorium.
Hermione composed herself and followed close behind. "How long?"
"Eh, only for about four years. My father used to play, and he gave me his old guitar." Hermione made a strangled sound in the back of her throat. "Lucius Malfoy played electric guitar?" she said in disbelief. Draco shook his head as he riffled through his bag. "Actually, it was mostly bass. He played in a band. I have a picture, somewhere... he had really long hair, though." Hermione's eyes bulged, and she cleared her throat. "Excuse me?"
"Maybe you've heard of them... Or perhaps not, they weren't very popular with Muggles." Hermione stopped short at the use of the word 'muggle'. He hadn't called her a Mudblood. Usually, he'd take any opportunity that involved 'her type of people' and use it to insult her. Instead, he was actually making conversation. How strange.
"They were called The Forsworn. They split up a long time ago, but some of their songs were still popular... Grandfather used to hate it that father played with them. Threatened to disown him." Draco continued, but Hermione wasn't listening. His father, Lucius Malfoy, had been the bassist for The Forsworn? This was too much information to take in for the poor girl.
"The Forsworn? Are you sure??" Hermione managed to squeak out. Ginny had given her a few CDs of the band. She probably hadn't know that Lucius Malfoy was their bass player... "Isn't this some great scandal or something?"
Draco shrugged as he continued to look through his bag. "Nah, he went by some fake name, and wore sunglasses 24/7. His name was--"
"Stone Rockwald." finished Hermione. "Your dad is Stone Rockwald? They don't look at all alike."
"Yeah, well, he had some magical help, to say the least." Draco yawned, as if the whole topic bored him to tears. "Shall we sing?" He met her eyes, and smirked. He had successfully diverted her attention, and made her think about something else other than her earlier humiliation. "Professor Finn isn't here till four, so we have time."
Hermione nodded, still a bit dazed. He was good at distracting her, she realized. One of his many talents, once again. "Um, sure... What do you want to sing?"
"Something out of memory... Perhaps you play piano and I sing this time? Or would that be too hard for you... After all, it must be terribly hard to live up to my amazing playing." he said, smirking. Hermione rolled her eyes. Here was the old Malfoy, annoying, self confident and handsome. Ack, no, not handsome...
"How about some Three Days Grace?" he said, lying down on the stage. He tapped his throat with his wand and muttered a spell. When he spoke next, it sounded triple the volume. "You know the song (I Hate) Everything About You?" He yawned, rolling over to meet her eyes. Hermione blinked, and sat down on the piano. "Um... sure, I'll try and play the melody line. There isn't much piano in that song."
Draco nodded, and leaned back once more. His eyes fluttered close, and Hermione couldn't help thinking about Michelangelo's David. Good God, he was perfect. Her fingers hovered over the piano, and she began to play, fumbling a bit till she hit her stride. She waited for Draco to come in, patiently playing and replaying the opening bit.
"Every time we lie awake Every roommate kept awake Only when I stop to think about it
After every hit we take
Every feeling that I get
But I haven't missed you yet
By every sigh and scream we make
All the feelings that I get
But I still don't miss you yet
He paused, and his eyes shot open. Hermione watched him, letting the piano fade out till he came in again,
"I hate everything about you Every time we lie awake Only when I stop to think about it
Why do I love you
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you
After every hit we take
Every feeling that I get
But I haven't missed you yet
He paused once more, tapping his foot on the floor.
"I hate everything about you Only when I stop to think I hate everything about you I hate I hate everything about you
Why do I love you
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you
About you, I know
Only when you stop to think
About me, do you know
Why do I love you
You hate everything about me
Why do you love me
You hate
I hate
You love me
Why do I love you..."
He trailed off, his voice surprisingly harsh on this song. Hermione faltered on the piano, and she struck a discordant note on the keys. He looked over at her, for once expressionless and silent. Hermione got up and turned around, hiding her flushed cheeks. God, every day was like this... it felt like deja vu again and again. When would it stop? Singing with him was just so... filled with strange energy. She felt uncomfortable.
"Um... the class is over, and Professor Finn isn't here. I'm leaving for dinner." she said in a hushed tone, not looking back at him. She walked over to her bag and picked it up. "Hey, Hermione..." said Draco softly.
Hermione glanced back, startled. "Wait for me, I'm coming." He went to pick up his bag. "No, you can't, it'll only encourage nasty rumors." said Hermione, looking away and heading out the door.
"Hey, wait." said Draco, catching up with her and stopping her with a hand on her shoulder. "What if I don't care? What if I want rumors?" His gaze was steady, holding hers with an undeniable force. Hermione was trapped, caught like a deer in the headlights. He turned so he was facing her, their bodies mere centimeters apart. "So... do you really care, Granger? Do you?" His entire demeanor challenged her, with the use of her last name, and the proximity of their bodies. His hand slowly slipped around her waist, tugging her till they were pressed against each other. His other hand came up till it rested on the side of her face.
Oh my god, oh my god... Draco Malfoy was going to kiss her. Draco Malfoy was getting closer... What was she going to do??
His face got closer to hers till she could feel his breath on her face. Her lips parted unconsciously, and her eyes fluttered closed. "I knew you didn't really care, Granger..." he whispered in her ear. Then, suddenly, she found herself bereft of Draco's touch. Her eyes opened, and he was standing in front of her with a smirk. "Now, walk with me to the Great Hall."
Hermione's eyes almost popped out of her head. He didn't kiss me he didn't kiss me he didn't kiss me... Her thoughts whirled, and the scent of some spicy aftershave filled her senses. "Malfoy!" she hissed, glaring at him.
"What? I just proved you didn't care about the rumors. Did you want me to... kiss you?" His eyes were wide with innocence, but she detected the telltale signs of amusement; a quirk at the corner of his mouth, and his entire manner. "Oh... you... oh... never mind." She gave up, sighing deeply. Her face was very red, and she looked thoroughly defeated.
She heard Draco whisper something, and she glanced at him. "What was that?" she said, raising a brow. "Oh, nothing, just... maybe some other time, Granger."
Hermione was staggered. "Maybe some other time? What does that mean?" Draco yawned, and began walking to the Great Hall. "Eh, you heard me. Figure it out."
Wait... did he mean he said maybe some other time to the whole 'wanting him to kiss me' thing, or did he mean maybe some other time he would tell me what he said?? Hermione rubbed her temples, and shook her head.
She'd figure it out some other time. Right now, she was hungry. So she followed Draco to the Great Hall, keeping a respectful distance of about ten feet between them. Just in case any DFGs were lying in wait, she didn't want to give them the wrong idea.
There was nothing going on between them... nothing.
But, as Hermione remembered the way she had submitted to his hands on her, his face near hers, and almost let him kiss her... It was a bit harder to believe than it had been.
A/N: w00t. Another chapter, yay! Thanks again to shortie4life, my beta. This was a longer chapter than usual, if I'm not mistaken. Eh, maybe I am. Ah well. I'm bad, aren't I, though... I deprived Hermione of a kiss. TT-TT I feel bad already. See you next chapter, and thank you to all my reviewers!
Su-Su
