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Just a warning-some people may not understand the ending of this chapter. For those people, I would suggest reading the summary again. That may clear some things up.
The lake was as still and undistorted as a mirror. The evening stars were just beginning to peek out into the black spinel sky. The jagged tree-line of the Forbidden Forest cut like a sharp stone against the horizon.
A lone figure stood by the lake, a trumpet in each hand.
Hermione glanced around again. He should have been here by now. Admittedly she had been a little early, but she had been here for at least ten minutes. She had set up two chairs and a table, which was cluttered with sheet music and a bowl. A magic light the size of her fist hung like a cocoon in the air above the table.
He couldn't have thought she meant tomorrow, could he? Maybe he was on the other side of the lake, looking for her. Maybe he ran into Filch, and had been sent back to his dormitories. Maybe he-
No, she was just worrying unnecessarily. Of course he would show. He just wasn't here yet. And if he didn't show, then she was off the hook, and could forget this entire pen pal assignment ever happened.
He should have been here by now.
She began to pace. Maybe he…
"Go away! I don't want you to come! Why can't you just sleep at the foot of the bed like a normal pet? No! You can't eat that, that's poisonous! Hey! Get off me! I'm not carrying you! Ugh, you're getting dirt all over my robes. Dumb bird!"
Hermione's lips pulled up in a smile. So that was why he was late-that bird had slowed him up. She could see his silhouette getting closer, and the silhouette of his unwanted pet. When they reached the side of the lake, Draco lifted the bird and heaved it into the lake. There was a lot of splashing, and the silhouette of the bird emerged from the water, shaking all over Draco.
Finally, Malfoy made it to where Hermione stood, dripping wet. The first thing Hermione did was to aim her wand at him. Draco flinched, and tried to dodge, only to find that his robes were suddenly dry. He sighed-for a moment there he had thought she was going to hit him square in the face with something nasty that you weren't supposed to learn until the seventh year. Plopping down on the chair opposite of Hermione he gazed at her and her music.
"Nice spell."
"Yes, it is useful."
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence, the two gauging each other's reactions warily.
"So, shall we start?"
"Sure, but first, one question. Well, more of an offer."
Draco's eyebrows creased-offer? Where was she going with this? Was she going to offer him a way out of their deal, thinking he didn't want to be here now that he knew who she was? Well, at least for the moment she seemed willing enough to teach him. For a moment there it had seemed she was going to curse him into oblivion, but she had just helped him out.
Hermione noted his reluctance. This whole thing was going good-he hadn't turned to leave; he hadn't called her a Mudblood-all in all, better than she could have hoped. But now he showed reluctance. Perhaps he was going to leave in a more polite way…
Before Draco could answer, the Firebird made a dive for the sheep music. Draco leapt out of the chair to tackle it, but Hermione beat him to it. She had had her wand at the ready in case Draco was to use a spell against her. Flicking her wand in the direction of the golden peacock, she muttered petrificus totalus, and it froze in mid air. Shoving it off t the side, she motioned with her hand to sit back down.
"That should help. Now, my offer." Lifting the bowl sitting on the table between them, she tilted it so Draco could see inside. "Kiwi?"
Hermione had been hoping that by offering him a bowl of peeled kiwi she could solve her urgent question of why he refused to answer her, and whether or not he did like kiwi. However, she was not prepared for his reaction.
Draco sprang out of his chair and backed away from the bowl in Hermione's hand like it was a blood-splattered knife. He had gone deathly pale.
"What? So you don't like them."
"Get rid of those!"
"Why? That's wasteful!"
"I'm allergic to citrus!"
Confusion flashed over Hermione's features for a second, then understanding, then laughter.
"What's so funny? Oh, so you want me to die! I should have known!"
Shaking with laughter, Hermione managed to spit out, "No, no, that's not it. Malfoy, kiwi isn't a citrus fruit!"
Cautiously, Draco took a step forward. "What do you mean?"
"Kiwis are not citrus!"
So that's why he refused to answer, Hermione thought. He thought he was allergic to them. And no one had ever told him otherwise!
Slowly, he took a step forward. Then another step. Then, slightly fast now, another. Reaching out, he gingerly plucked one from the bowl with two fingers, obviously expecting to break out in rash. When his skin stayed the same, he brought it up to his face, examining it. Slowly, like a sloth bringing leaves to its mouth, he brought the emerald fruit to his lips and took a miniscule bite. Upon not dropping dead, he took a larger bite.
Hermione smirked to herself as Draco ate.
"So, what do you think?"
He paused before he answered. "Odd. It's strong, but not in a bad way. I like it."
Hermione offered him the bowl again. This time, the reception was much warmer.
Kiwi in hand, eating in silence, she watched Draco's facial expressions with interest. Curiosity was the most frequent.
He seemed willing enough to stay. Besides, if he thought he was allergic to kiwis, (which she would never have guessed) and didn't want to be there now that he knew she was his pen pal, wouldn't he have taken that opportunity to leave? He seemed to want to stay despite his teacher…
The number of kiwis eventually dwindled and Draco reached for one of Hermione's trumpets. No sooner had he clasped the trumpet that Hermione's hand clamped down on his like a bear trap.
"Nope. That's not were we start. You probably won't even pick that trumpet up today."
"What are you talking about? I'm here to learn how to play the thing!"
"You won't be able to make a sound."
"And why not?"
"Because your facial muscles need to be in a certain position at all times while playing."
"What? Whatever for?"
"This isn't the piano-you play with your mouth."
"So? I just blow in the thing, right?"
"Not even close."
Reaching down, Hermione removed the mouthpiece from the trumpet like a bottle cap and handed it to him.
"Now, make a small hole with your lips…"
And so Hermione began to instruct Draco on how to play the trumpet. Draco stayed for the entire lesson. He kept waiting for Hermione to turn away in disgust, Kept waiting for her to say those dooming words. He enjoyed talking to her face to face and slowly but surely built up a friendship with her that was composed of more than just music, though the two still often talked about it. Hermione never left the lesson-she, rather like Draco, kept waiting for him to insult her blood and leave. She liked having a friend who was interested in music. She could never have discussions like this with Harry and Ron. And so she kept coming back, day after day, to work with him.
It started a little bit stiff, with both parties slightly suspicious of one another. But over time, their friendship blossomed. Harry and Ron were suspicious that she was meeting someone, but they never found out whom it was.
Draco and Hermione continued to send letters over the summer, and when school let back in the next year Hermione continued giving him lessons. This year, though, Draco returned the favor and taught her to play piano.
They began to explore topics outside of school. One of these topics was cooking.
It took some convincing on Hermione's part-Draco didn't really want to get anywhere near a stove- but eventually she got him on board. During the weekends they would go down to the kitchens and 'help' the house elves cook. They were often times more of a hindrance than a help, but not a one of the house elves ever tried to stop them. The two would bake pies and get flour all over the floor and berries all over their faces. They often times set something on fire.
They did eventually loose the Firebird-Hagrid returned from his trip, and the substitute professor was not needed. The Firebird and Hagrid took an instant liking to each other, and the Firebird began to sleep in Hagrid's hut, much to Draco's delight.
Ginny began to notice when Hermione and Draco always seemed to wind up being the last two without a partner, and so had to be paired together. She didn't say anything to Harry and Ron-instead, she just smiled and waited, watching to see how this played out.
They began spending their Hogsmead trips together. Hermione told Harry and Ron that she was with a close friend who was in desperate need of comradely good fellowship. They went to three Broomsticks together when bands came to play and listened together, commenting on their styles and quality.
Then, it happened. About half way through the year, up in the owlry during Draco's lessons, Draco leaned over and kissed Hermione. She was shocked, happy, and slapped him the instant their faces were no longer connected, and then kissed him again.
If one were to make a piece of music based off their life after this, it would be a varied piece with lots of bridges and crescendos, but would end on a light, happy note.
Please Review!
Ok, there are a couple things I could do now:
1. I could end the story here and just write and epilogue or two.
2. I could delete that last part, and instead of just ending the story before August, put it on hiatus for August and continue it when I return. (In this case, I would actually write out that whole summary of what happened after and add a bunch more.) In this case, I would modify the summary so that 'story of how they met' part was gone.
3. I could end it here and write an epilogue or two and then write a sequel, which would basically be option number two, only with the story divided into two parts.
Tell me what you think!