Wow, 12 chapters into it and finally Hermione and Draco start to kiss... don't worry. There's not going to be a lot of mushy stuff, but I think you may be pleased with the lemon that'll be coming soon.
Amy
AKA
RootbeerFloat
Remember, the more you drink, the better my story sounds! ;-) Just kidding, folks!
Draco's spirits seemed to rise at these words, as as swell of some emotion tried to poke itself out of its cage, but Draco wouldn't allow it to do so. Instead he smirked lightly and said, "So the idea of kissing me under some mistletoe was just too good to pass up, eh?" This was a small mistake, because Hermione frowned. "I was only joking." He added hastily. Neither said a word after that, because soon their lips crashed together in the cold open grounds, and snow fell from the clouds above.
Just then Lavender Brown and her school chums were exiting the castle to see the snow, and when she opened the door Draco fell back and landed on his back, the wind knocked out of him, on Lavender's toes. Hermione had fallen on top of him, blushing ever so slightly as she looked up to all the girls. Draco wished he could have melted into the tiles underneath him and never be seen again. Lavender looked from Hermione, to Draco, to Hermione again before saying, "Hermione! Is that you?" And hoisting the girl back up on her feet. "I thought we'd never see you again!" She wrapped her arms around the curly headed girl, and hugged her so tight she was sure she had popped her back. Hermione stood there, slightly confused, and looked down to Draco (who was standing up after a few other girls helped him).
"She doesn't know you." Draco answered so Hermione wouldn't have to speak.
"Did I ask your opinion?" Lavender snapped at him while still beaming at Hermione. "I know she doesn't, but... oh, its so good to see you!"
"I'm sure if she did remember you she wouldn't be all that pleased anyways." Said Draco, nudging for Hermione to back away from the girl in front of her.
"-Wait. Did I just see you two snogging outside?" Asked an airy voice in the back. It was none other than Luna Lovegood, a bright, cheery blond with an odd taste for weird things. "Or was that a boggart playing tricks on my mind?"
"Come to think of it," Said Lavender, "I saw a little lip lock as well. -Is THE Draco Malfoy going soft all of a sudden?" She asked, with a smirk plastered on her mouth. Draco shot a glare her way.
"Go snuff it. I don't have to answer to you lower sort." He sneered dangerously, causing the girls to become put off. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to take Hermio--Granger down to the infirmary."
"You almost called her Hermione!" Luna pointed out. "I heard it!"
"Oh come on, Loony," Said Lavender, "Its not as if he'd admit to kissing a muggle born. He's probably kissed thousands of them behind everyone's backs."
When Draco finally escaped from the crowd of Gryffindor girls and grabbed Hermione's hand, leading her away, he heard a distant, 'Granger and Malfoy snogging outside -She has a memory problem and he wants to hide...' and another saying, 'Ooh, look! He's holding her hand!'
"Why are they picking on you?" Hermione asked when they were alone in the hallway. Draco's face was turning very pink for what it had ever turned, and he knew he had to say something witty.
"Because they're jealous." He mumbled, knowing it was probably true, but they were still going to poke fun at him the rest of the school year.
"Jealous of what?" She asked.
"Of you."
"Me?"
"Yes you." Sighed Draco. "They're jealous because secretly they know they've never been kissed under mistletoe before, now can we drop the subject?" His pace picked up under his feet, so Hermione had to jog to keep up with him.
"Why?"
"Because I just---" Draco stopped dead in his tracks, as did Hermione. In front of them was a long, slender beast, purring as it licked its paw. Its face was that of a ginger cat, though it had no hair whatsoever- the hair was replaced with defined glowing scales and its eyes were bug like. Its tail curled in a spiral above its back, and when it yawned it gave out a human like voice -or voices; it sounded as if there were three. "Don't move." Draco whispered at once, not believing what was in front of his very eyes.
"What is it?" Hermione asked, wanting to take a step closer to observe, but Draco blocked her path with his arm.
"Its a tarrywinkle." He said sharply in a whisper, "Don't move. They're poisonous." He edged himself and Granger up against the wall as the tarrywinkle's black eyes followed the pair. It made no indication of moving, nor letting Draco and Hermione move. Instead it cocked its head to the side before giving out a tremendous screech, so much that it broke one of the windows nearby. Draco and Hermione covered their ears with their hands, trying to muffle the horrendous noises. When the beast finished it purred happily and licked on its talons that were nails.
Hello, Master Malfoy. A voice said in Draco's head. I ssssssee you're a pureblood -well thissss is very interesting. I'm debating on which I hate more -pureblood wizardssss or mudbloodsssss. Both sssseem to distasssste me. Courssssse, my main objective is to look for a Sssslytherin...
Draco looked around for an indication of where the voice had come from, and all that remained was the cat-like terry winkle in front of him. Yes, yes, over here. I'm nowhere elsssse, now am I?
"Draco, its scaring me." Said Hermione, grabbing onto his arm. "Its talking."
"Its not talking." Said Draco, "Its thinking."
Very good, Malfoy, yesssss, I am thinking. So goooood that you noticccced.
"What do you want?" Asked Draco, feeling himself crowd back against the wall with Hermione. "To kill us?"
Quittttte on the contrary, I want to hurrrrrrrrt you. There'ssss a difference.
"Draco did you hear--?"
"Shit, yeah I heard." Draco swore, moving sideways with Hermione's hand in his. "Still don't believe in magic?"
"Oh, I believe." Hermione said, gulping. "I believe very much."
Quitttt moving. It wont be that paiiiiiinful, I promisssse.
"The Hell you'll hurt us." Draco said, pulling out his wand quickly. "Umm... Granger, now would be a good time to get your old memory back. I don't know what spells work on Tarrywinkles."
"You're supposed to be the wizard!" Hermione screamed at him as the tarrywinkle moved closer. "I'm just the muggle born who doesn't know what's going on!"
"You're more than a muggle born!" Draco shouted back at her, and the cat gave another yawn. "Think of something!"
"Why don't you think of something!"
"I'm trying!... RUN!" And with that both sped off to the side and down the hallway. The Tarrywinkle gave another bored yawn before frolicking behind them, its paws fast as lighting, so by the time Draco and Hermione made it to the edge of the hallway, it was already blocking the painting to the Slytherin Common Room.
"I say!" Said the painting of a Knight, who was filling in for the original Slytherin painting, "What is THAT?" But before Draco or Hermione could answer him, the tarrywinkle gave out a tremendous scream and the painting stopped moving. It was as a muggle portrait.
"I didn't know they could do THAT!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Neither did I!" Said Draco. "It canceled out the magic!" Draco gulped and thought here goes nothing before saying, "Pertrificus Totalus!" But the spell bounded off the tarrywinkle and hit the wall, missing the pair by an inch. "Expelliarmus! Tarantallegra! Rictusempra!" No matter what the spells seemed to cancel out. In a final hope, Draco shouted out, "Serpentsortia!" A giant snake shot out of his wand and to the Tarrywinkle, hissing and slithering. The Tarrywinkle looked at it amused for a moment before slapping it on the head. The snake gave out a giant hiss and bit at the Tarrywinkle's nose. "Come on," Whispered Draco, "While we still have a-" But at that moment the tarrywinkle used its paw and squashed the head of the snake into a puddle of blood. "-Chance."
"AHA!" Someone shouted at the other end of the hallway. "I knew Tarrywinkles were invading the school!" It was none other than Peeves The Poltergeist, making an annual trip down the hall. "Aw, and poor Malfwoy and Gwangy are twapped, eh? This should be a funzy show to watch!"
"Peeves!" Shouted Draco, "Go get help!"
"No thank you." Peeves answered him. The Tarrywinkle moved itself closer to Hermione and Draco, and in an instant curled in between Hermione's legs. She gave a small whimper, looking from Draco to the tarrywinkle in fear. "Draco..." She whispered.
"Don't move." He said to her. "Just don't move."
Yesssss, becausssse if she issss to move I'll have to bite herrrrrr.
"Don't moves, he says! But Granger'll soon be in a pool of blood," Sang Peeves, "And no one to save the poor veins with mud!" Draco had to think quick if he wanted to get this tarrywinkle away from Hermione, and the only way he could think of was... well, some things had to be done. Imagine if she died with him as a witness? After he was the witness to saving Granger, he didn't think it would go over too well with the school if she were to die under his possession. So, with a hasty shove of nerves, he moved away from Hermione, causing the tarrywinkle to turn abruptly to him.
What'ssss thissss? Some new form of trickssss?
"Here kitty, kitty, kitty," Draco smirked, backing up away from Hermione and the tarrywinkle, who was unwrapping itself from her leg and nearing Draco by the moment. "Come here you little bastard or bitch. Not sure which you are."
"Draco, what are you--?" Hermione asked, but Peeves sang out,
"Tis distracting the tarry, so you best not tarry, for soon Malfoy will be eaten, and you will be beaten, should you not go and get help!" Peeves finished his song with great glee and did a bow. The Tarrywinkle's eyes seemed to glow red with fury as Draco insulted it moment by moment, nudging for Hermione to find help.
"Come on you little beast, bet you've never seen uncle Malfoy kick his cat out the window when he was two, eh? You're nothing but a little insignificant..." But before he finished he took off down the hallway running, while Hermione did the other way to get help. The Tarrywinkle looked lazily to both, wondering which to choose, before deciding on Malfoy. It ran with great grace and speed down the hallways, though Malfoy had a decent amount of time ahead of him. He spun down a corridor, through a passageway, and right to the doors where he was found snogging Granger only minutes before. The Tarrywinkle looked at him curiously, eyes still burning a smokey red, as Draco smirked. He backed up against the door before opening it up, spinning around, and bounding out the door as if his life depended on it (which it probably did.) The Tarrywinkle made it through the door right as it almost shut, and with cheetah like reflexes caught up with Malfoy as he made it to the Quidditch pitch. The Tarrywinkle was not expecting a human to be so fast on its feet, because it had not anticipated Malfoy living this long,. Its cold red eyes burned now a brilliant orange as it made its way to the field, looking for any signs of life near the hoops or stands. It could see nothing.
Just before it was about to turn back, however, Draco came bounding out of the Quidditch Locker rooms, with a bludger in one hand and a beater club in the other. The Tarrywinkle looked at him with a questioned face before:
Ahhh, I sssssee, a game issss it?
"Not a game." Said Draco. "Quidditch." And with that he tossed the bludger in the air and hit it, smacking the tarrywinkle in the side. The bludger made a large dent in the scales of the Tarrywinkle before coming back to Draco as he caught it. The Tarrywinkle seemed to be shocked, for its eyes now grew into a brilliant shocking blue.
You dare usssse our weakness againsssst ussss?
"Of course." Smirked Draco. "Course I know the bludger isn't what you're afraid of." He pulled out of his pockets the golden snitch, which had been wrapped carefully up in cloth so it wouldn't fly away. "This is what scares you, isn't it?" The tarrywinkle's eyes went dead wide. It made a large hiss sound.
Get it awayyyy!
"What's the matter?" Draco asked. "Scared of a little snitch?" He held it out closer to the Tarrywinkle. "You know, when they said terrywinkles had disappeared when Quidditch appeared, it was a slight shock to me. But the more I think of it the more it makes sense. -You're chicken of magic and fun." He smirked. "And any fun, like a game, would set you off immediately."
Sssso, you have found ourrr one weaknesssssss. Congratulationssss... it may be the lassst thing you rememberrrr.
And with that the tarrywinkle gave out another giant screech, and when Draco let go of the snitch to cover his ears, the cat-like beast jumped out and bit his leg, deepening its vampirish fangs into his flesh, before turning into a cloud of sand and disappearing. Draco felt his heart go cold, as if ice had frozen in his veins. He could hear someone off in the distance, yelling, "Mr. Malfoy!" And "Draco!" But soon everything went dark.
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Amy
AKA
RootbeerFloat