Disclaimer: All canon characters, plots and situations from the Harry Potter series belong to JK Rowling. We make no profit from this story.
Beta Thanks:
Cosmoswithchaos
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A/N: That darn Draco always interrupting...
She Keeps Me Warm
Chapter Ten
"... And it's you and me
and all of the people. I don't know
why I can't keep my eyes off of you…"
( You and Me - Lifehouse )
Saturday morning found the sun shining bright, and Hermione soaked up the rays with her fellow classmates as they waited to leave the grounds and head off for their highly anticipated Hogsmeade trip. Being the first excursion of the year, most of the Sixth and Seventh years had shown up.
She stood tip toe, scanning the growing crowd for any sign of her friends. Leaning back against a large pillar, she let her eyes drift over the faces of the many students. A flash of red nearby made her perk up, though her smile quickly faltered when she realized the flaming locks did not belong to Ginny Weasley.
It had been nearly two weeks since her confession, but Ron had yet to acknowledge their last spoken words. Though he wasn't being hostile - he barely spared her a passing glance - she couldn't help but feel jaded by the entire situation. She was ready to move forward, and she planned to use this weekend to establish her intent with Pansy Parkinson.
The Slytherin witch in question shoved her way through the crowd at that moment, moving into Hermione's line of vision and breaking her train of thought. Hermione's eyes widened at the sight of the girl who was dressed head to toe in muggle wear.
Her low slung jeans accentuated her legs, and a cropped tank put her toned stomach on display. Hermione stared at the girl's feet as she approached, hardly able to contain her excitement at the platform sandals. She was barely aware that her jaw had dropped to an unattractive angle until Pansy stepped up and clicked it shut.
"Cat got your tongue, darling?" Pansy spoke, taking full amusement from Hermione's display. Shaking her head in disbelief, Hermione ran her thumb along the thin velvet choker resting on Pansy's throat.
She glanced around the lawn, noting that she wasn't the only one surprised by her choice of attire. "Muggle clothing, Pansy? Where on Earth did you even get these!"
Pansy shuffled from one foot to the other, brows furrowing for a fleeting moment. "I've read muggle magazines," she shrugged. "And I sent Pippa to pick up a few items. She still answers my call, you know…" She trailed off, unsure if the awkwardness stemmed from mentioning the fall out with her father or the glare Hermione shot at the mention of using the house elf. Probably both.
Taking a deep breath, Hermione stepped closer, pressing her lips against Pansy temple and pulling her into a hug. "You look amazing," she beamed. "I mean it. I don't know what possessed you to do this, but it means a lot to me."
Pansy gripped her chin lightly, turning her head to look her in the eyes. "We're in this together, right? Let's shake things up around here." Her grin was devilish and sexy, and Hermione would have melted right into the ground had Pansy not hooked an arm around her waist to steer her away from the castle.
She could feel the eyes boring into her back, hear the whispers surrounding them, but one glance at Pansy's confident stride had her relaxing into her hold. Ginny soon fell into step with the girls, and to Hermione's surprise, Malfoy quickly joined her.
"Good morning, Malfoy." Hermione nodded cordially. "Hi Gin," she smiled.
Ginny eyed Pansy appreciatively, letting out a low whistle. "Well hell-oooo, Parkinson," she purred, causing all three girls to snort in laughter.
Draco, who seemed less amused than the rest, stared at Pansy as if she'd grown a third head. "What the hell are you wearing?"
"Oh, come off it!" she scoffed. "Like you've never seen Granger, or any of the other muggle borns dressed this way."
"Granger does not dress that way." He stared at her bare midriff before cutting his eyes to Hermione's sensible cotton t-shirt.
Both girls shrugged, apparently not seeing the point in arguing. They carried along, everyone content in their silence as they trekked down to the busy town.
"Anyway," Hermione began, "This is our first outing, you know…"
"She's implying you lot should get lost." Pansy smiled sweetly, as if she hadn't just said anything rude.
Ginny laughed, clearly not offended by the older witch's blunt behavior. Hermione grinned, thinking the girl's would easily get along fine if they gave each other a chance.
Draco held his hands up in defeat, and Ginny tucked her arm into the crook of his elbow and pulled him off into the crowds.
"And then there were two…" Hermione spoke softly, glancing around the village. She contemplated what they should do with their day away from the castle.
Normally, she would tuck herself away in the corner of Flourish and Blotts, devouring as much reading material as she could before following the boy's around Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes - Fred and George's Joke shop - making sure they didn't get into too much mischief.
"Shall we be totally cliche and go to Madam Puddifoot's? I'm sure she doesn't see couples like us every weekend," Pansy smirked.
"Tea sounds lovely." Hermione returned the smile, strangely nervous that this was the place to go with your significant other.
It felt so… official.
Despite her nerves, she took Pansy's hand gently in her own and headed for the little shop.
oOoOoOo
Draco watched in amusement as Ginny Weasley's ooh's and ahh's rang merrily through the small building. Leaving the girl's to their own devices, the pair had wandered into Spintwitches to look at Quidditch supplies, naturally.
"I must be terribly embarrassing," she blushed, fingers tracing a pair of dragonhide riding gloves. "It's not often I get the chance to see such shiny new things. Large family," she murmured, "lots of hand-me-downs."
"You're not embarrassing," he shrugged, feigning nonchalance, but he watched her curiously, taken back at the honesty in her words. Admitting a weakness, or letting others know your faults wasn't something done by his peers.
He thought briefly of his own riding gloves. He probably had a dozen pair at his disposal. Something as minuscule as gloves wasn't anything he ever considered someone may not be privy to.
His mind quickly played through all the times he'd poked fun at the Weasley's for their lack of money and frowned at the realization that it was often - too often.
Ginny offered him a small smile before moving towards the broom display, a gleam in her eye he was all too familiar with. Flying was his passion, too.
While she was momentarily distracted, Draco moved over to the gloves she'd been caressing, picking out a soft pair clearly made for petite hands. He weighed his options quickly, wondering how she'd take his gesture. Grateful, happy, he thought. Or like I pity her…
He shook the last thought away, his decision made. She didn't seem the type to play charity, and he was fairly certain she'd appreciate the gesture. Something about the witch drew him in, and he wanted to be the reason for her smile.
Draco dropped a few galleons on the counter, nodding at the shopkeeper before tucking the gloves into his robes. Scanning the shop for the girl, he spotted her tossing a snitch from hand to hand and grabbed her by the elbow to pull her from the shop.
"Malfoy!" she shrieked. "I didn't pay for this!" She struggled, trying to break from his grip.
His laugh was loud, and she smiled at the sound. "I gave the man more than enough to cover a little practice snitch, Weasley. Let's go!" He pulled her along, his eyes set on the Hogshead Tavern.
The pub was dusty and worn down, and a few wayward wizards sat along the bar sipping ale and firewhisky. They eyed the slender witch as she entered the building, but a sneer from Draco and his hand on the small of her back was enough to turn their stares elsewhere.
"I'll be honest," she whispered, "this isn't somewhere I would normally frequent."
He reached out to give her hand a gentle squeeze before slipping away for a moment. Draco greeted the bartender - Aberforth - and came back to the small booth with two glasses of mead.
Ginny had scourgified the table, and he couldn't help but chuckle at the distasteful look she was giving the tavern.
"My mum would have an absolute fit if she saw the dust in this place," she spoke after swallowing a small sip of her beverage.
"Your mum?" Draco chuckled. "My mother would hire a whole family of elves to clean every last inch of this lot." He smiled fondly. "Nothing but the best, Dragon," he mimicked in a tight, high pitched voice.
Ginny's laughter rang across the dingy bar, causing most of the patrons to turn in her direction. She snorted loudly in her attempt to stifle the laughter, causing Draco's own chuckle to escape.
Tossing back a large chug from his mug - liquid encouragement, he thought - he reached out to take the girl's hand, cupping it softly and choosing his words carefully.
"I enjoy your company, Ginny Weasley," he said.
A blush crept across her face, illuminating her freckles and warming her skin, and in that moment he knew he was falling.
He felt her tighten the grip on his hands, and when she smiled at him, he let himself believe that she felt this too.
"I enjoy your company, Draco Malfoy," she said with fondness in her voice. "Honestly, those are words I never thought would come from my mouth!"
"I'm glad you're giving me a chance." He scooted closer, taking in that scent he'd come to crave.
Without any further hesitation, he cupped her cheek in his hand, pulling her in and locking eyes, giving her the chance to stop if she didn't want this.
His breath left him in a rush when she closed the gap, slanting her mouth across his. She tasted every bit as sweet as he imagined, and he cheered victoriously in his head because he did it, and she made him feel like he was flying on the finest broom ever made.
He brought her here, not because he was ashamed to be with her - a Weasley, someone his family pegged less than the Malfoy's - but the privacy allowed them to share this moment, this bliss.
She broke the kiss, much to his reluctance, but those cheeks were still flushed and she had a gleam in her eye that was wild and lustful, and so absolutely right that he yanked her back in and snogged her so completely that she would never forget that it was him who made her head spin.
"For you." He pulled the gloves from a fold in his robes, handing them over with an out of place nervousness in his voice.
For a moment she did nothing but stare at the pair, but finally she spoke and he wasn't sure whether she was angry or ready to cry.
"Malfoy, you absolute prat! I don't… You shouldn't… You didn't need to do this!" she finally settled to say.
"I wanted to," he said. "Besides, you ought to have a good pair of riding gloves if you think you've got any chance of beating Slytherin for the Quidditch Cup."
He winked, and she scowled, and they chatted with their heads held close - two very different people who were utterly right.
oOoOoOo
Tea went as well as tea can go in an overly cramped shop with too many couples, too much snogging and not enough privacy.
They'd had their cuppa, shared a scone and much to Hermione's pleasure, wandered the aisles of Flourish and Blotts for over an hour.
The girls found themselves wandering out of the shop, smiles plastered on their faces because the day went exactly as they'd hoped thus far.
As if anything could ever be that wonderful, it turns out, there were still people waiting in the shadows to crush their rapturous afternoon.
"When my mum wrote to me last week, I thought for certain it was merely silly gossip," a student passing by whispered, if you could call it that.
"Someone call Rita Skeeter! We've got ourselves a couple of celebrities," a wizard jeered. "I can see the headlines now: Lesbian Liaison rocks the sanctity of Hogwarts. Parents fear their daughter will be next!"
The small group of students - Ravenclaw, Pansy noted - laughed maliciously at the joke.
She felt Hermione stiffen beside her, and one quick glance at the girl's flared nostrils told her this wouldn't end well.
"I'm sure you aren't that foolish to speak ill of someone to their face?" Pansy questioned, pushing her raging witch slightly behind her frame.
As if I could stop her… Pansy smirked, knowing full well you shouldn't wake the sleeping giant that was Hermione Granger.
"I call it as I see it, sweetheart," the Ravenclaw wizard jeered. "Say, you wouldn't happen to be offering services to both sides, would you?"
She knew as soon the words left his mouth that he would regret it, and right she was.
Hermione stepped around Pansy, moving swiftly to the group of students and winding up before he could even process what was happening.
The crunch of bone was audible, and the others stood stunned as Hermione pulled her fist back, shaking it to loosen the pain of the punch.
"Crazy bitch!" the boy shouted while cradling his face before scampering off.
Pansy couldn't keep the lust off her face. This was ten times better than the famous Malfoy punch in the third year because this time, she had a front row seat.
Her witch, hers, was powerful, fierce, and perfectly wild. In that moment, she was overcome with love for this girl who would defend her without a second thought.
Pansy didn't care that they caused a scene, that they were in the center of a busy street or that half the upper class was watching them with curious eyes. She spun Hermione around and planted their most passionate kiss yet.
The unwanted stares faded to the back of her mind as she lost herself in her desire, her witch, in a kiss that made her want to scream to the skies and thank whoever was out there for giving her the most beautiful creature ever made.
oOoOoOo