Responses:
HPGW4eva: I know, right? Draco's being such an angst-y idiot! Don't worry, though, he'll come around eventually. Hmmmm, I hadn't really thought about bringing a mentor into the equation...Draco doesn't seem the type to go to his elders for advice, especially after realizing the hard way that they usually lead him astray. However, I'll definitely take it into consideration. And yes, Ginny could be an asset to him, if he plays his cards right. But can she trust him? Hmmm, questions, questions....anyways, enjoy the chapter!
Olioli80: Yeah, she's a lot stubborn, but it's just in her nature. I can't make things too easy, now can I? Random fact: I love thunder! It's weird, because I used to be terrified of it, but then one day there was this big rainstorm and I went outside and stood in it, and suddenly I wasn't afraid of the thunder anymore. Actually, I think thunderstorms are kind of sexy, you know? Hmmmmm, that might be a great idea for my fic....I'll give that one some thought ;-). I don't know that series, sry. Have you heard of a band called the Dresden Dolls? I always recommend music to people, lol. And thanks so much! I try really, really hard to make my characters non-2D, and realistic, so that comment makes me feel like I've succeeded. Yay!!!
MysteryShadow101: Well, Draco is Draco after all, so I think it's safe to assume he would also be Draco-ish. Logic? Yes, good. But yes, it's all in the name of the story. I know what you mean about the crossing plotlines. It happens to me ALL THE TIME! No one ever thinks I'm older than my sister, because she just has a more mature look, but that's ok. My random fact, I guess, is that I HATE when people call me by the wrong name, because my dad always used to mix up my sister and I, and so I now despise anyone who slips up. I actually challenged my Spanish teacher to a fight to the death once because he called me Jennifer. Gah! But it was funny, so whatevs. Thanks for reviewing!
ROMANHOLIDAY: Thank you so much! I'm glad you agree with my interpretation of Ginny's personality, especially because Jo doesn't give us as much to go on in that respect as some other characters. I really appreciate that you thought I nailed it so well. Hugs to you! And I use that threat a bunch, but when I'm threatening someone as a joke, I actually love saying 'I will eat your soul.' It just sounds ridiculous, right? Feel free to use that one as well, it's funny. See you in a week, if my writing allows!
Kristina: That's kind of annoying. I like a lot of different things, but I mainly focus on music, and singing, because I just love it SO GODDAMN MUCH, you know? I'm really glad you liked Ginny so much. I'm thinking I might make her a pretty important character in future chapters, but it's something I'll have to consider as I formulate my final plans. I'm finally starting to figure out how to sew everything up, nice and neat. It might take 3 chapters, it might take 10. Knowing me, it's probably 10. Anyway, I'm rambling. Sorry. I'm really glad you liked the Regina songs. So I checked out the music you recommended. CocoRosie kind of reminded me of this singer I know called Joanna Newsom. She plays the harp and she's really cool, even though she doesn't have a normal 'pretty voice.' But, to be completely honest, I actually didn't like most of it. I'm not too into experimental stuff, personally, though I don't frown upon it or anything, it's just not my taste. However, it must be said that I did look it up and listen. Nothing annoys me more than people who don't research new music people recommend, except maybe people who say they will, but then don't. That drives my NUTS! Also, I hate football too! I just don't get it in general, and I can't play it at all. My random fact is that I play volleyball, and I really love it. Wow, super long response. Lo siento, seniorita. I'll shut up now.
A little more Dramione awesomeness coming your way
Chapter 21: Turn the Other Cheek
Hermione sat in an underused and secluded corner of the library, a large dusty tome opened on the table she sat at. She was scribbling furiously, doing research for an Arithmacy essay. It was lunch hour and, as tired and hungry as she was, Hermione wouldn't let any work go unfinished, so she had denied herself a sorely needed nap and meal and fled to the library to get this done.
Hermione was two thirds through and absolutely absorbed into the material she was reading when a shadow fell over her book.
Snapping her head up, Hermione's eyes fell on her favorite Slytherin. She was surprised to see him in such a studious place as the library, but didn't dwell on it as she attempted to shake off her work-trance. Draco grinned down at her.
"Hey, I've been looking for you," he stated, much too loud for the library.
"Shhhhh! What for?" she asked quietly.
He pulled out a chair on the adjacent corner and slumped down in it, putting his elbow on the table. His demeanor changed and he rubbed the back of his head in an awkward manner. "Well, I realized just a little while ago about some possible, er...repercussions I might have overlooked yesterday."
"What do you mean?"
"Um, did you...I mean, did Scarhead—" Hermione glared at him. "Fine. Did Potter actually...er, tell you about the game yesterday?"
For a moment, Hermione had no idea what Draco was talking about. Why would Harry have had to tell her about anything? But as her mind finally fully resurfaced from Arithmacy, the events of yesterday's Quidditch game came back to her, and Hermione realized what he was referring to.
"Yes, he did." She looked at him pointedly.
"Well, I mean, how did he react to that? I wasn't really thinking when I said it, and I just want to make sure Scarhead didn't blow a gasket or something."
Hermione chuckled, realizing that Draco was actually in the dark on this subject.
"Well, you see, Draco, despite the fact that you...what were his words?...'Used that extremely inopportune moment to remind him of the state of our relationship,' Harry actually already knew.
Draco looked dumbfounded and Hermione sat back in her chair, smirking, happy to have finally left Draco Malfoy speechless. He took a minute or 2 to process the information. Then he asked, "first of all, when did you tell him? Second of all, why did you do so, and then fail to mention it to me? Third, why hasn't he tried to curse me yet? And fourth, if he already knew, then why did it succeed in, er, distracting him yesterday?"
"Full of questions, aren't we, Mr. Malfoy?"
"As always, Miss Granger."
She smiled. "Well, I confessed to him toward the end of Christmas break, I guess because I just needed someone to talk to. Of all my friends, he's actually the most passive, and he doesn't hate you as much as everyone else seems to."
"Good to know" Draco murmured to himself.
"I didn't tell you because it didn't really cross my mind that it would be of any importance. And as for why it threw him off, from what Harry said, I think it was the combination of any distraction at such an important moment coupled with the explicit nature of whatever you said that messed with his head." Draco nodded. "I have to say, Draco, I'm not sure if I approve of such a tactic."
"Sorry 'Mione, I don't know why I did it. I guess I was kind of panicking, because I was so bent on winning, and it just slipped out."
But Hermione's thoughts were no longer on Quidditch. "What did you call me?"
"Um, well, I heard the Weaslette call you 'Mione' earlier today. You don't mind if I use it, do you?"
"Actually, I do." Draco looked somewhat taken aback and hurt. "She placed her hand on his to reassure him. "No, Draco, it's got nothing to do with you. See, my friends took it upon themselves a couple of years ago to find a nickname for my supposedly long name because they were too lazy to just say the whole word 'Hermione' all the time. Anyway, that's what came of it, and I hate it."
"So why don't they stop?"
"Oh, well, they know I dislike it, but it stuck so well, I've finally given up trying to convince them. I much prefer to be called Hermione, but I've learned to live with the nickname from them. But not from you."
"That's quite alright." He held up his hands. "I promise not to call you that. But if you're interested, my friends call me Drake sometimes."
Hermione considered this for a moment, but made her decision quickly. "No, I don't think I will."
"Why not?"
"I guess to me Drake is such a cavalier name, much too casual for you. I really actually do like the name Draco. * It just rolls off the tongue, you know?"
Draco smirked. "Yes, I have noticed how my name just rolls of those beautiful lips of yours. It's quite intoxicating, if I do say so myself."
Hermione's cheeks colored, but she smiled nonetheless.
They were silent for a minute, but then Draco piped up, "well, I guess since I know you told Potter, you might as well know I told Blaise."
"That's perfectly alright with me." Hermione laced her fingers and placed her chin on them, leaning forward with her elbows on the table. "I believe a person should always have one confidante."
"Well, the problem with that sentiment is that you are essentially my confidante, but I can't very well talk to you about you."
"True...so does that mean that everyone has to have two confidantes? How very complicated."
"Not necessarily. Maybe one should always have a confidante, and then someone else whom one talks to about his or her confidante. Does that make sense?"
"Complete sense"
Draco grinned broadly, and Hermione returned it. He was just so very clever, wasn't he?
But in the pause in conversation, Hermione glanced down and remembered her Arithmacy work. "Oh, bugger. As much as I love hanging out with you, Draco, I really have to get this done. Stupid Arithmacy essay"
"Want any help?"
She smirked. "Why on earth would I need help from you? Brightest witch of my age, here, remember?"
Draco rolled his eyes. "How can I forget?" She giggled.
But as she went back to work, she noticed that Draco didn't move, simply sat there. She could feel his stare.
Without looking up from the parchment, Hermione asked, "so are you going to sit there all day and stare at me, or don't you have some work you could be doing?"
"I have actually finished all of my work, thank you very much. And I do love staring at you. You look so very enticing while you work."
Enticing—she almost chuckled at the many different implications it held.
"Well, as charming as that sounds, people are bound to notice that you're sitting at my table, doing nothing but staring at me, when we're just supposed to be polite acquaintances." Actually there was virtually no one around this part of the library, but Hermione wasn't taking any chances.
"Polite acquaintances don't stare at each other?"
She glanced up at him, amused. "No. Besides, I'm finding it difficult to concentrate like this."
"You mean you can't focus while I'm so close? How charming!" Hermione just rolled her eyes and went back to her essay. "Alright, I'll leave you alone then, love."
As he stood, though, Draco bent closer to her, and Hermione looked up at him. Before she knew what was happening, his lips were on hers.
It was the shortest, most chaste, regular old kiss they had shared—which seemed somewhat ridiculous to Hermione—but it still sent tingles all the way to her toes.
And as Hermione watched him walk away, she had a mental flash of what it might be like to actually officially date him. They wouldn't have to sneak around or hide from anyone. They could go on real dates and hang out wherever they wanted. He could lounge near her in the library and put his arm around her while she read, and they could sit next to each other in class without the constant whispering. They could kiss goodbye and no one would have a right to call them out on it.
While considering all the possibilities this option held, Hermione was aware of a longing growing inside of her for it to become a reality. She hated sneaking around, lying to people, being so secretive. Hermione wanted to be absolutely open with how she felt, and ignore anyone who disapproved.
Hermione slowly realized that she truly wanted Draco to make an honest woman out of her. She snorted at the thought of Draco having anything to do with honest women, but the idea stuck, and before she knew it, Hermione realized she was very aggravated with the situation she found herself in. Suddenly, Hermione didn't just want to be the girl Draco 'loved to hang out with and snog senseless'. She wanted more than that.
But would he be willing to give it?
00000000000000
Draco lounged in his seat in Charms next to Greg. It was common knowledge that Professor Flitwick was always a few minutes late to his classes. Draco took this time to ponder of his predicament.
So Potter knew…How interesting. And more so, he obviously hadn't fought Hermione on the subject as much as the Weaslette, which intrigued him even more. What could have brought this about? Maybe after defeating the Dark Lord, Potter had lost what little fight and hatred he had left. It was a longshot, but that really wasn't a pressing matter to Draco. Draco was wondering how he could use this weakness in the ranks to his advantage. However, still unsure of his goals, Draco wasn't exactly positive of what he could do with this. So he simply stored the piece of information into the back of his head to utilize at a later date.
But, now, with nothing to dwell upon, and Draco's mind began to wander, which was a bad thing these days. Because sometimes he would see or hear something that vaguely reminded him of an experience last year, and the image would pop up in his head. It was becoming harder and harder to control.
Luckily, at the present moment, he didn't have to force the memories out of his head. His distraction, though, came as a surprise.
"Malfoy?"
Draco's head snapped up over his right shoulder and he spotted an uncomfortable-looking Ronald Weasley.
"Yes?" He rose stiffly and turned to lean against his desk. If Weasley wanted to berate him again, he wanted to at least be on eye level. Draco mentally prepared himself for the onslaught.
It didn't come.
"I'm sorry."
Draco was taken aback. "What?"
Weasley seemed annoyed at having to repeat himself, but grudgingly forged ahead. "I said I'm sorry." When Draco didn't respond, he crossed his arms over his chest and went on. "I mean, for yelling at you yesterday. It was way out of line. I mean, you can understand I was really pissed about loosing, but I shouldn't have snapped like that."
Draco was struck dumb by the revelation that Weasley was actually...apologizing to him. He was almost impressed when he noticed Weasley glance over his shoulder at a couple of students sitting a few seats down. Hermione was standing there with Scarhead, looking pleased. Of course, I should have known Hermione was behind this. Figures that Weasley wouldn't have the guts to do the noble thing and apologize without a push from her.
Draco was still beyond upset with Weasley for calling him out the way he had. However, it had to be said that Weasley hadn't actually known what nerves he'd hit, so he couldn't be too hard on the bloke, right? And besides, if it was for Hermione's sake...
"It's alright. I probably would've been just as upset if Slytherin'd lost. Just cool it next time, ok?"
"Sure," and Weasley retreated back to the Gryffindor side of classroom with remarkable speed.
Sitting back down next to Greg, they two Slytherins looked at each other, somewhat perplexed. Greg raised a hand and scratched his head. Draco laughed quietly at the stereotypical expression of confusion on his friend's face.
"Well that was beyond weird," Greg stated.
"You can say that again." When Greg opened his mouth, Draco cut him off. "Don't, actually." They both grinned.
As Draco was about to say more on the subject of Weasley's apology, however, Professor Flitwick finally walked in, calling squeakily for everyone to take their seats.
"Today we're going to practice the Dancing charm. We've already discussed the wandwork, and you should have all read chapter 14 by now. I am putting you all in pairs, and you will each attempt to cast the spell on your opponent. Once you've done this, be sure to remove the spell using its counter charm. Is that clear? Now once I'm done calling names, everyone grab the enlarged cushions from the closet on the far right and get to work. Alright? Now the pairs are Mr. Goyle and Mr. Corner, Miss Rosenthal and Miss Santiago, Mr. Creevey (A/N: Dennis, obviously, not Collin) and Miss Granger, Mr. Kaltman and Miss Shafran, Mr. Potter and Miss Dawson, Miss Weasley and Mr. Malfoy..."
Draco, hearing his name, met the eyes of the young redhead he had had the pleasure of encountering earlier and grinned inwardly. She looked pleased, and there was a scheming glint in her glance. This was going to be an interesting class.
As the class stampeded toward the closets, Draco hung back, trying not to get trampled. It was actually a smaller Charms class than most. Very few 7th years had chosen to take the NEWT course, so the school had decided to group all 4 houses in the same class to make up for time. Draco didn't mind. Usually he was in this class with the Hufflepuffs, and that was never an especially joyful experience. This year, well, Hermione was here, so how could he complain?
As the crowd thinned, he darted forward and grabbed a large pillow from the pile that had spilled out of the closet by that point. Draco then turned to find the Weaslette waiting for him, foot tapping.
"I was wondering when you'd wake up and join the rest of the class."
Draco just rolled his eyes. "Let's get this over with, Weaslette."
As they strode together to an empty space in the classroom, that mischief-ridden look came over the Gryffindor again. "You know it's kind of cold in this classroom," she said. "I really wish I had warmer robes." Draco found this statement odd and out of place. He just raised an eyebrow at her, remaining silent.
They faced each other, cushions positioned, and Draco spoke, bowing. "Ladies first"
She simply narrowed her eyes at him and took a stance before waving her wand in the now-familiar jabbing/twisting motion that came with the word, "tarantallegra."
Immediately, Draco felt his legs jerk out from under him as they began moving and twisting of their own accord. Losing his balance, Draco fell with a loud "Oomph" after only a few seconds. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hermione snicker at him. She had, he noticed, yet to be charmed properly, as Dennis was not the most capable of spell casters. But he would love to see when she did.
When the Weaslette just stood and watched as his sat on the pillow, legs flailing before him, Draco grew slightly annoyed. "So are you gonna just stand there all day or let me try it out myself." She just rolled her eyes and muttered the counter-charm (nerellegro). Righting himself, Draco took his own attack stance, but was interrupted before the spell crossed his lips.
"You know, I was just thinking how big this room is. It's more than twice the size of my bedroom at home."
Again, Draco was perplexed as to why the witch would bring something so random up in a virtually nonexistent conversation.
And then it dawned on him: she was trying to get him to insult her! She knew the kinds of jibes he usually made and was literally egging him on, giving him all the fuel he could ask for. Thinking back, Draco probably could think of a lot of ways to belittle the girl before him, along with her family, her money situation, her home... But of course Draco wasn't actually going to say any of that. It was really quite juvenile.
However when she furrowed her eyebrows at his silence, Draco almost laughed out loud. He even considered confronting her, but knew it would do no good. The redhead could go on as long as she wanted. He really didn't care. And if this was some sort of test, he was going to pass. Draco could use an ally within enemy territory.
"Weaslette, I honestly don't know what that has to do with anything at all, so if you wouldn't mind, please stay still so I can curse you."
She seemed to be trying to find a way to take offense at his words, but there was no malice behind it, and therefore no foothold for her own indignence. Without further ado, Draco cast the charm.
She fell to the floor immediately and Draco smirked down at her. This was fun. It was no surprise they were both masters of the charm already. This spell was one of the many he had learned last year (Draco tried not to shiver at the thought) and he assumed the Weaslette had also been taught quite a few from that silly Defense club earlier on. What was it called? Oh, right, Dumbledore's Army. Honestly, what kind of name was that?
And then he saw movement across the classroom and caught sight of Hermione lying on top of a cushion, her legs jerking widly as if they did not belong to her, but were being pulled by some invisible, maniacal puppeteer. Draco snorted at the sight, and his grin broadened when he swore he could see up her skirt for a moment.
Sadly, at that moment, the Weaslette piped up in front of him. "If you don't mind pausing in making eyes at my best friend long enough to lift this blasted curse, I would greatly appreciate it."
It was Draco's turn to roll his eyes before revoking the charm.
The class progressed slowly, with thrashing students all around. Flitwick strode through the lines, commenting when anyone was doing something wrong. The Weaslette made more and more comments which, he assumed, were directed in order to entice him to verbally assault her. Draco wouldn't take the bait, but as the class wore on, it started to get on his nerves, and the redhead seemed just as aggravated that she wasn't getting a response out of him.
Finally, when another 20 or 30 minutes had passed, after a particularly hard drop to the ground when he missed his cushion, Draco's resolve lessened. The moment he was standing, Draco again cast the spell on his Gryffindor opponent, and as she attempted to keep her footing, Draco strode up to her and removed the spell a moment after she had finally fallen.
"Look, Weaslette, I don't know what you're trying to do, but it's not going to work. I'm just trying to be civil here. If all you want is to try and make me insult you, well that's your problem, but it's really pointless." He held out a hand to help her up, which she accepted after a moment of hesitation. Pulling her to a standing position, he spoke calmly, looking her straight in the eye. "I don't want to fight, ok? Can you just realx?"
The Weaslette looked absolutely shocked, and Draco was glad of it. Maybe he had surprised her enough to make an impression on her. Draco smiled slightly when her jaw set and she nodded, looking at him like he was a different species. Feeling triumphant, Draco dropped her hand and looked over to Hermione, who he found was studying the scene with a confused expression on her face.
Before Draco got a chance to wonder at it, however, class was dismissed and a 17-inch paper was assigned for Friday on the spell they had just been practicing.
As Draco packed up, he noticed out of the corner of his eye Hermione hurrying out of the room. He ran to catch up with her.
"Wait! Hermione!"
She paused in her stride and waited for him to catch up to her. It was their last class of the day, and Draco assumed they would walk back to their dorm together.
As he fell in step with her, he noticed her stiffness and wondered at it. "What up?" he asked.
"Nothing." She said, almost too quickly.
"Oh, um, alright." There was an awkward silence. Draco hated awkward silences.
So he pulled a rabbit out of his hat. "So I was thinking, since we had such a good time on Saturday, would you like to go on another…er, date?"
There was some hesitation in the brunette's voice as she asked, "what were you thinking?"
Improvising, Draco said, "what about star-watching? I know you like stars."
She glanced at him over her left shoulder as they walked along, side by side. "Well, Draco, you are aware that it's January and the temperatures outside get below freezing at night."
"Outside, yes. But what about the Great Hall, or even better, the balcony?"
Seeming to relax slightly, she turned to him at an intersection. He could sense the whispers and stares they were attracting as she looked up at him, smiling lightly. "I'd love to, Draco." He grinned. "I'll see you later, ok?"
"Where are you going!"
"To the library, of course. That Charms paper isn't going to write itself, you know."
She began to back away and Draco rolled his eyes. "Do you ever stop working?!"
Hermione just laughed over her shoulder. "It's NEWT year, Draco, what do you expect?"
Amused, Draco watched her lope away, hips swinging over so enticingly. The moment she turned the corner, though, Draco noticed a small crowd of people staring at him with confusion and distrust written over their faces.
"What're you staring at! Get going!" And he strode away, back to his room to get his own homework done.
000000000000
*You have no idea how much I wanted right there during the 'I enjoy calling you Draco' part to just go ahead and quote the Importance of Being Earnest and say 'You may find it quite silly of me, but I've always had this girlish dream of falling in love with a man named Draco. There is something in that name that inspires absolute confidence.' I've been reading it in Comedy class and love it SO MUCH. I really just want to give Oscar Wilde a big hug for so perfectly capturing upper class British society of the late 19th century. Too bad he was executed in Paris before getting to write another hit when he was convicted for being homosexual. Yes, it was actually a crime back then. Ah, society at it's greatest, no?
And I apologize for always quoting things at you guys. It's kind of ingrained in my nature, so I virtually can't help it. I only hope that some of you know what I'm talking about sometimes...which is unlikely because I have memorized the most random things. For example:
"My rhymes are so potent that in this small segment I made all of the ladies in the area pregnant"
Anybody know who that's by? Come on, someone must watch that show. Maybe?
OK, so anyways, I know that wasn't a really enticing chapter, but I thought it was fairly important for the plot development nonetheless and so I hope you don't mind the tedious quality of it.
Also, I'm finally starting to find a way to bring the story to a close. Not that it will be anytime very soon, though, because you know how I like to elongate, complicate, and just generally go nuts with my chapters. And of course you still don't know who the shadow is. Don't' worry, we'll get there. All in good time…
Review review! Let me know what you thought, and any recommendations or suggestions I welcome!
Or of course you could review just to put in a random fact. That's cool too, though not as cool.
RF: I hate mac computers. They're just too complex and pretty. PC all the way!
-Ginger