Disclaimer: A few characters are mine & the plot of course, but the rest belongs to J.K. Rowling
Author's Note: Man oh man oh man, I feel like I'm dancing on Cloud 9 right now! Thanks for all your wonderful reviews! And as for that thing I mentioned about this fic coming to an end soon...uhm, I don't think think it's coming very soon--it'll take a while before it ends, but who knows, right? *grins* Nevertheless, enjoy the succeeding chapters and don't forget to leave your mark!
Summary: Hermione & Draco received a nasty blow to the head when an out of control bludger careened towards where they stood bickering during a Quidditch practice. They woke up in the hospital wing not knowing each other--but they know everyone else--and an instant attraction towards each other soon formed.
Setting: 6th year
Pairings: Draco & Hermione
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XX. Crying in the Night
Later that evening Hermione snuck out of the Gryffindor tower to take a stroll down the lake. There was a full moon outside and she felt like it was just beckoning her to join the moon and its beauteous glory outside. She asked Harry earlier before the boys went to sleep if she could borrow his Invisibility Cloak. Her friend was skeptical at first, but after careful reconsideration he knew why Hermione was asking him if she could borrow his most precious cloak.
"You need to get away from here, don't you?" Harry asked as he handed the bundled-up cloak to her.
"I might need some space to think. And I can't very well think if I'm locked up inside a dorm room with four other girls, can I now?" she replied tartly after taking the cloak from him.
"You need to talk it out, Herm?" he asked worriedly.
"No...maybe...I don't know, Harry. I'm all confused right now and it's not really healthy for me." she pouted and sat on Harry's bed.
"Herm, I know you wouldn't like what I have to say, but from the looks of it I think Draco has already moved on with his life. Why don't you do the same? There are a lot of other guys out there waiting in the wings for you." he pointed out, sitting on the other side of his bed facing her.
She took a deep breath and shook her mop of short, curly dark brown hair. "It's hard. I tried numerous times to forget about him, but I just can't."
"Herm, I know you love Malfoy, but you know right from the start that it's just a one-sided thing. He's a player, you already witnessed that for yourself this past week alone."
Hermione lifted her gaze and met her best friend's solemn and comforting green eyes. Breaking into a sad smile, she sniffed and took a deep breath, "Yeah, I've seen that side of him, and it hurts me to know that whatever he felt for me meant nothing to him. I was just another knob to add to his bedpost."
"Well at least you didn't make a fool of yourself like his other discarded ones." Harry smiled.
Hermione couldn't only smile and nod. Actually she did make a fool of herself with Draco that night Ron walked in on them making out. But she wouldn't tell Harry that. It was just hers and Ron's little secret.
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Draco was trying to drown himself with the huge bottle of rum Crabbe and Goyle transformed for them to binge on earlier in the evening. He had no intention of drinking tonight, but after this afternoon's confrontation with Hermione the beckoning of alcohol became too tempting to refuse. His two goons were already passed out in the Slytherin common room when Draco decided he needed to get some fresh air. There was a full moon tonight, it would be nice to watch it hang from the sky seated against one of the big, sturdy trees by the lake with a bottle of rum in his hand.
He needed some time to think. When he concocted the plan of making Hermione jealous, he didn't expect for it to backfire on him. He saw the way she interacted with Potter in Binns' class yesterday afternoon. No decent male friend would be caressing his female friend's exposed kneecap the way Potter did. And them interlacing their fingers together absentmindedly as they listened to their fellow housemate tell them something? It was too much for him to take.
Then there was Weasley. He was sitting under the shade of some big tree a few yards away from where Hermione and Ginny placed their picnic blanket when he saw Weasley approached them. The look on Hermione's face confirmed what Draco already knew: she loves the boy. Potter was just a distraction, a fling, but her heart secretly belonged to Weasley.
"Ah, dammit!" he hissed and took another swig of his drink.
"Don't you think you've had enough of that stuff?" questioned a feminine voice standing not too far from him.
Draco whipped his messed-up blond head around, squinting his eyes in the dark in search of the owner's voice. He knew it was Hermione's voice, but where could she be?
"Where are you?" he called out, scanning the vicinity behind him more carefully. "I know I'm drunk but I'm not blind."
"Oh please..." he heard Hermione hissed and a rustling sound of cloth was heard, then she appeared just right behind him.
"Holy shit!" Draco hissed and stumbled backwards when Hermione suddenly manifested right before him.
"Sorry." she apologized as she folded the cloak and placed it on the ground beside a dumbstruck Draco and sat on it, "You did ask me to show myself so here I am." she pointed out a matter-of-factly.
"What are you doing skulking in the dark with an Invisibility Cloak on anyway?" Draco asked irately, taking another swig of his drink.
"You know you should stop drinking that before you get into trouble." she reminded him.
"What do you care?" he snapped. "It's my life."
"I'm only worried about you. I don't know why I should, but if you're this ungrateful why should I even bother?"
Draco raised an eyebrow and looked at her, smirking in disdain.
"Who asked you to anyway?"
Draco knew he said the wrong thing when anger flashed in her eyes and a resounding SMACK! echoed the still air. Hermione's breathing was coming out hard from anger and the imprint of her hand left a stinging mark on his face.
"Damn you, Draco Malfoy! I never wanted to care for you in the first place. And after all you've done to me, after all that you've put me through I still care for you!" having said her piece Hermione got up and snatched the Invisibility Cloak. She angrily stalked back the way she came, throwing the cloak over her and intending to disappear into the night.
Draco ran after her, catching her on time before she covered her head with the cloak.
"Hermione, wait." he clipped her shoulder and forced her to turn around, but she shrugged his hand off and kept right on walking.
"Dammit Hermione. I said wait!" he walked in front of her, clasping her arms and hauling her close to him until their noses were only inches apart.
"Let go of me!" Hermione tried to wriggle away from him, but Draco had a firm hold of her arms.
"Stop struggling." he hissed ducking his face away to avoid her flailing arms.
"I'll stop if you let go of me."
"I can't." he whispered harshly.
"What do you mean you can't?" she asked incredulously, "Of course you can! It's just a simple task of removing your hands off me. Simple elementary, Einstein." she said sardonically.
"I can't, dammit. God knows I tried letting you go numerous times but failed miserably." he bit out gratingly before covering the short distance between their lips.
Hermione was shocked to feel the gentleness of his kiss amidst he anger he was showing. He nibbled gently on her lower lip, his tongue snaked out to trace her lower lip and cajoled them to part.
When Draco's grip on her arms slackened, Hermione moved closer to him, her hands creeping up to rest on his chest. Draco's arms locked around her waist then, gathering her closer and pressed her against his hard arousal, earning him a surprised gasp from Hermione. He pressed her against him, molded her to his form until they were both panting and wanting for more. He trailed kisses down the side of her face, kissing downward until he reached the base of her throat where the cloak covered her. He pushed it out of the way and off her shoulder, landing with a soft rustle on the grassy ground as he continued kissing her...
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to be continued...
A/N: better leave the necking couple as it is right now *lol* I am having some writer's block right now so chapter 21 might be a bit delayed being posted, hehehe, but don't worry, this fic ain't going to end any time soon.
Queen Li: I'm glad the last couple of chapters I posted yesterday didn't disappoint you
Hermione18: *blushing* thanks for the compliment/comment about my fic being one of your faves, hope you enjoy reading the rest of it when I get the chance to post the succeeding chapters
anjel: thanks for leaving your mark! and thanks for liking the story
[anonymous reviewer]: thanks for leaving your mark hope you enjoy the rest of the fic
CrystallineLily: thank you very much for reading & reviewing
Starrynights13: I am doing the best I can to upload as many chapters as I could in a day, but my work seems to get in the way most of the time plus I have to deal with some writer's block every now and then, but don't worry, I'll be uploading soon
Draco's one and only: what do you mean how do I get the chapters uploaded so fast? I just upload it on ff.net as soon as I'm done typing up each chapter--and sometimes it only takes me one sitting to finish a couple of chapters, typing up one after the other as I go along. It also helps if I'm really inspired by something then I finish a chapter right away
Angela: glad to hear I'm not the only one excited about the upcoming movie. I'm trying to score free premiere ticket passes for this Sunday (Nov. 10) screening of the film, but seems like everybody else wants to have those tix too! *lol* And as for the books...I love 'em all! Which one of the 4 books released is your fave? Now I can't wait for the 5th book to be released...
Rebecca: *lol* well what can u expect when 2 people are in love and are doing their damnedest to hide their true feelings from one another? THEY ACT STUPID! *lol* and fear not, babe, this fic ain't seeing the end of the tunnel--yet *winks*
Akuma Kanada no Tenchi: thanks for leaving your mark, and the reason why I can use Italics, Bold & Underline is because I'm using Microsoft FrontPage to type up each chapter--makes it easier for me. FrontPage enables me to use bold, italics and underline. It even lets me use the TAB key too *lol*
CindyLea: yep, our hero and heroine are back to square one again--square one being them being far away from admitting to one another their true feelings. and Ron's a cool guy, just a bit blinded by his feelings for Hermione, hehehe
jubes: shocked??? why?
kristatwen: I'll sure to check your ff when I have the time to do more than just upload and check for reviews on the Net *lol*
nessa-girl: that sux that u were stuck in a place with no comp for 2 days, and thank you so much for loving this fic. I was worried when I first posted it that nobody would like the story because...well, because it's so unlike the ones I read about mostly that are posted on ff.net. And the secret Ron doesn't know that Harry & Ginny does? Hermione's feelings for Draco of course! *grins*
maxzoid: thanks for liking the fic so far & finding it exciting...I'll do my best to keep it as exciting as it already is! *lol*