I Can't Let You Go
Chapter 3: Anything Less Than
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Author's Note: I know it took long for me to get this chapter up but I had a fever for 5 days. This chapter is longer so I guess it makes up... =D
Thanks to all my readers and reviewers even though it's not much. =] I LOVE Draco Malfoy. hehehe... and Legolas. ::drools::
"And when you cry I'll be there to tell you, you were never anything less than beautiful."
The sun was up and have been for hours now. It's rays were seeping through to rooms by windows and any other way it can. This however
seemed to go unnoticed to two people in the Granger house. As it was the summer holidays, they were sleeping in late. A ray of light shined on Hermione's
sleeping face. She squinted in her sleep and turned over. But no matter where and how much she turned, the day seemed intent on her waking up.
Eyes shut, she groaned, giving in. She got up, eyes still closed and made her way to the door, dragging her feet.
When she got into the hall, she bumped into someone.
Her eyes flew open. "Agh, it's just you..."
She closed her eyes and dragged herself to the bathroom.
Malfoy looked after her in mild surprise. He thought Granger was the type of person to be up at the crack of dawn, studying or something.
It had been a week since he had arrived and Granger have always been up before him. His face lit up as an idea came to him. He
past Granger quietly and leaned in the bathroom's doorway,arms crossed.
He smirked when she bumped into him again.
"Agh..." Hermione lifted her eyelids up a little and saw him. "Can you get out of my way? I want to use the bathroom first."
"Ah... no." Malfoy looked down at the sleepy Hermione, wanting to laugh out loud. She seemed like she was barely awake so he wanted
to play around with her. "I got here first so I'm going to use it first."
"Malfoy... move."
"I know you like Weasle and I want you to admit it. Then...maybe I'll consider your... request."
He smirked even wider.
"With my eyes closed, i can still see your smirk on your arrogant, pompous, self-righteous face. That's amazing." She had her eyes closed
with her left hand across her chest and resting on her right arm. She was indeed half asleep.
"Hm... so my talents goes beyond seeing."
Hermione raised her eyebrow but didn't open her eyes.
"Now why don't you admit you like the Weasle," Malfoy said, soothingly, leaning close to her ear.
She didn't say anything for a moment. "I li..."
Her eyes popped opened. "Malfoy! You- Ugh! How dare you try to trick me? I can't believe you but of course it's your nature so what
am I talking about-"
"Your just embarassed that you admitted that you like the Weasle. And to me." His smirk was bigger than ever.
Hermione couldn't stand him any longer.
'Okay. He got me for a second... but that's because he caught me off guard.'
"Look, Malfoy... just to get this straight, RON and I are just FRIENDS. There's nothing more to it than that."
She glared at him but he just smirked. "But you want something more, don't you?"
She narrowed her eyes as she said, "No."
She pushed past him into the bathroom.
"Would you excuse me, please. I don't think your father would be very happy to find out that you've started using the bathroom with
a Mudblod at the same time." With that, she slammed the door shut with him practically still in the doorway.
Malfoy just chuckled.
He had hit a nerve and that was what he had wanted to do. He leaned against the wall with his back and waited. he had to use the
bathroom after all, that was the reason he woke up in the first place.
His mind wandered as he waited. His father had been writing a few times a week to check up on him. His father always reminded him
of what he mist and must not do and consequences of failure. Lucius had said to take his time but it felt like he was pushing him to be faster.
When Hermione got into the bathroom, she brushed her teeth, fuming all the while.
'Living with Malfoy is absolute torture! And I thought going to the same school with him is bad...'
But what bothered her the most at the moment was his taunting if her and Ron. He had deliberately tried to take advantage of her
sleepiness. But what he said about her was true...
She put her hands on the sink and hung her head.
She had used to like Ron. It was just that he never saw her as anything beyond a friend... So she tried to get over him, burying herself into
a load of work.
When she thought she got over him, she promised not to fall for a guy like that again.
She flushed the toilet and washed her hands. 'That's over now and I shouldn't let Malfoy get to me, anyway.'
She opened the door to find him still outside. "Had to go that bad, huh?"
"You can say that." They stood there looking at each other. Then Malfoy went into the bathroom and Hermione made her way downstairs.
When Malfoy got to the kitchen, Hermione was already there, eating breakfast.
"I suppose this is mine?" He didn't wait for an answer as he sat down in front of a plate of bacon, sausages and eggs. Hermione didn't
answer him but just continued eating. They ate in silence.
She put her plate and fork into the sink and looked curiously at Malfoy. She put one hand on her hip and said, "You're being awfully
quiet. Silence is like the Draco Malfoy way of being nice, huh?"
"You're very curious," he answered, chewing bacon. "Knowledge must be food to Hermione Granger's brain or it'll die. Always have
to know everything,' he sneered.
"No, I don't," she snapped. "How do your family stand you? How do your FRIENDS stand you?"
He looked up sharply at her. "You're just jealous that I've gotmore friends than you do."
"I'm not jealous of anythign about you! What's the point of having a lot of friends when you're not close to any of them?"
His eyes flashed. "I'm not secretly in love with one of my friends."
"Ugh!" She slapped her hands on the kitchen counter. "I'm not in love with Ron! Get of it!"
He snorted. "You can deny it all you want but somethings are so obvious, it's unseen by the ones who should've seen it."
He had just added another splinter of wood to her already growing fire of anger. "You just know how to get to people, don't you?"
Her eyes narrowed and he looked at her with malice. "You have been so unlike yourself. It's like you're holding back from your usual snide
remarks. It's like you're trying to be nice! And at dinner for the past week? So polite it makes me sick because it means you're up to-"
"Are you done yet?" He spat. He stood up. "Stop acting as if you know me. You may think you know everything but you don't know me." He
said the last few words slowly, making it clear. He put down his fork with a clang and left.
'Don't worry, Malfoy... Trying to understand you is not one of the things on my list of priorities...'
***
Draco sat in his room reading a book a week later. It was the afternoon and the sun was shining brightly. He had shared a cold and quiet
lunch with Granger. She had avoided him the whole week and he didn't mind actually. He just went about his business. He didn't think that
he should avoid her. 'And why should I? She's just a silly Muggle.'
He put down his book and decided to go out. 'I need to get out of this house.'
He opened the door and narrowed his eyes. "Why is it that almost everytime I open this door, I see you?"
"Because I'm in love with you, Draco," she spat at him sarcastically. "I'm stalking you. I just can't live without you."
They glared at each other. She had been about to knock on his door to talk to him.
He walked past her but stopped when he heard her call after him. "Look, I've been thinking-" He snorted, meaning 'That's not anything new.'
She ignored him and went on. "We're going to have to live together for a few more weeks. Can we try and be civil to each other? When we get back
to Hogwarts, that's that. We can go back to hating each other and imagine each other's painful and tragic deaths. Well, I can't say we don't do
do that here also but... I don't want to disappoint my Mom. She really wants us to try and get along. At least for the summer."
She stood there and waited for his answer, apprehensively.
He turned around and she wasn't surprised to see the sneer on his face. It quickly turned into a smirk. "You're asking me for something, Granger?" He
paused, looking at her. "Even through your ramblings, you get to the point." He lefted and Hermione just stared after him. He had just complimented her in his
strange way. He also didn't answer her but she knew he had agreed.
'In his own weird way...'
For the next two days, Hermione and Draco got along better. They didn't become friends or even treat each othere pleasantly. They tolerated each other
and didn't talk to each other unless they had to. They were enemies after all.
That night after dinner, Hermione's mother suggested that she and Draco go out and see a movie or something. Her father had gone to rest. "Don't stay cooped
up in the house all summer long."
"Mom, we really don't mind staying at home." Hermione put the dishes in the sink and said, "I still have to finish my book, anyway."
"Yeah, so do I," Malfoy piped up.
"Don't be silly. You're teenagers, the both of you! Go out and have fun1 Go on." She shoved some money into her daughter's hands and pushed them out the door.
"Well, I wonder what your Mom want us out of the house for?" Malfoy said with a wide smirk as they walked towards the busy part of town.
Hermione made her sound of disgust.
"I was merely wondering... What were you thinking that I was thinking?" His smirk grew even wider.
"Malfoy- You- Just stop, would you?"
"I think I like the way your mind works, Granger. How about we do something else tonight?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"You're disgusting, Malfoy. You have no shame," she replied in disgust.
He laughed at her as they crossed the street. The night was cool and brisk. The sky was bright and the moon was full.
"You're so easy to annoy. I know just the right buttons to push to get you all wind up."
He laughed again.
She looked at him. "I thought we were trying to be civil. I don't want to have to smash your face in."
He smirked but didn't say anything. After a few moments, "Where are we going anyway?"
"I want to go to the bookstore for a minute."
"A minute? And how long is a minute to Hermione Granger? An hour? Two hours?"
"Stop teasing me, Malfoy and shut up."
They entered the bookstore.
"Never been in a Muggle bookstore before?" She picked up a book and glanced back at him.
"Not much,"he replied, looking around.
The bookstore was medium sized and everywhere you looked, there was books. Books on the shelves, books on the table. The cash register was at the
front and an employee was stacking books.
"Well, look around. Don't be scared, you won't get lost in here," she said, without looking up.
He did look around. He had never seen so many Muggle books in his life. He became considerably happy when he found a whole section on dragons. An hour
later, he was snapped out of his dragon world when someone tapped him on the elbow. He turned around and saw Granger.
"Find anything?" In answer to her, he waved the book in the air.
"Dragons, huh? Interesting."
"Fairy tales. Interesting."
"Yeah," they said at hte same time.
"Uh, let's go pay."
"Let's walk around and look at the stores. The night is so beautiful, I don't want to go home yet."
Hermione breathed in the air and let it out. "This is wonderful."
He blinked at her. "Okay..."
They walked around, talking now and then.
"We should do this again tomorrow. But in the afternoon. You got a little tan but you're still so pale."
"Maybe I don't want to," he suddenly snapped at her.
She looked at him, surprised. "Oh, okay."
'What got into him?'
They walked in complete silencenow. Malfoy seemed to be brooding and Hermione didn't feel like saying anything to provoke him into an argument. She really
didn't really feel like arguing right then. They were walking past a jewelry store when something caught her eye. She gasped, "It's beautiful..." She ran to the window
and looked at it. It was a silver necklace with a unicorn pendant. Seeing Malfoy's reflection in the window, she said, "Isn't it beautiful? Let's go inside."
She pulled the door open and waited for him to enter. "C'mon. Hurry, hurry."
He looked at her, hesitant. 'A jewelry store?' But seeing the look on her face, he decided, 'Just this once.'
She asked the clerk where the necklace was and headed off in the direction indicated, him following slowly.
"I'm getting it," she announce looking at him. "Do you want anything?"
He was about to say 'no' when something caught his eye. He reached around her and took a gold necklace with a dragon pendant.
"Whoa..." he breathed. "It looks so alive..."
"Yeah, I know. I heard the maker and owner is really a wizard."
He glanced up at her and down at the necklace again.
"I've never seen this side of you before," she said, looking at him with concentration.
"Well, everyone has a side they don't show anyone."
He looked at her. She nodded, thinking over what he just said. "You're right. You have a thing for dragons."
"Ever since I can remember... That's what my name means, after all."
"Hm, let's go."
She grabbed the necklace from him and headed to the cash register before he can say anything.
When they stepped out of the store, "You didn't have to pay for me."
"It's okay. I don't mind."
She laughed happily, looking at her newly bout necklace.
He looked down at her as they walked. "Easy to please...' he observed. 'But easily angered...' he added wryly.
"Let's go see a movie!" She suggested, putting on her necklace. "There's this one movie... I heard it's really good."
"Um... okay." She looked so happy, he couldn't say no.
'And why is that?' He wondered, confused.
"Okay," she grinned at him. Then it faded. "I don't have any money left!"
"I can pay. I still got money."
She turned quickly towards home. "No, no. You're the guest. I'll pay and don't argue with me." They argued on their way back.
"Granger, honestly."
"It'll be really quick. Wait out here for me. I'm just going to grab some money." She ran up to the door and unlocked it.
Draco just stood there, not having any choice but to wait.
Hermione hummed as she made her way into the house. She dropped her bag on the floor. The lights weren't on and it was dark. When she got near the living
room, she can hear shouting. It was coming from her parents room and she edged closer to find out what they were shouting about.
"...how can you say that, Eric? Nothing is going on between us!"
It was her Mom's voice.
"Then why did he contact you? Obviously there's something going on! You knew him in the past! You knew Lucius Malfoy! You won't even tell me what happened
between the both of you, Rach. How can you ask me to trust you?"
"But that was the past and-"
Hermione backed away from her parents room and ran. When she got to the stairs, she collapsed, tears running down her face. A few seconds later, she heard
her father leave. Then, she heard her mother leave.
Draco came into the house and didn't see Hermione. He had heard something at the side of the house so he went to investigate. He had found nothing and when
came around to the front, he saw Mr. and Mrs. Granger disappearing down the block.
Draco stopped when he got to the stairs. She was sitting on a step, back and head leaning on the wall. He hesitated when he saw that she was crying.
'What's going on?' His brows furrowed. He stood on the step she was on sitting on and looked down at her. He didn't know what to say. He sat on the step
above her. 'What am I supposed to say?'
"What happened?" was all that came out of his mouth. He figured he can't do anything unless he knew what had happened.
She sniffed then looked at him. She was still crying when she answered him, "My parents were fighting."
She wiped her cheeks with the bottom of her palms. She didn't stop crying, though. "They never fight... They love each other."
"What were they fighting about?"
"Your father."
"W-what?" He was shocked and confused as to why they would've been fighting about his father. Unless his father had a part in this. His father did something."
"Your father and your mother knew each other before and my father just blew up when he found out. Especially the fact that they have been keeping recent contact."
'So my dearfather did have something to do with this.'
"My father never mentioned knowing your mother. He hates all Muggles as we all know." He added, dryly.
"I jus don't know..." She began to sobbed and impulsively wrapped her arms around him.
He just sat there, not knowing what to do. She was crying in him and...
He patted in the back gently and uncertainly. He slowly wrapped his arms around her as she continued to cry.
Draco felt strange emotions stir inside him. he never felt like this before. He never done something like this before, either... holding someone as they cried...
It just wasn't something Malfoys do. Malfoys don't cry. Malfoys are too cold-hearted to cry or to care about anyone else.
So then... why did Draco feel as though he cared? Why didn't he feel cold-hearted? Especially since it's towards a Mudblood? Maybe it was because this
reminded him of home...
Eventually, she calmed down. She pulled away and wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
"Oh, I'm so sorry." She looked up at him. "I got your shirt wet." She sniffed. "I'll get you some tissues."
She started to get up but he pulled her back down. "It's okay," he replied, softly.
They sat in silence for a few moments. "You want some tea?" She got up. "I'll make some tea."
He went after her and caught her arm before she entered the kitchen. "Gran- Hermione... Just sit down." He pulled her into the living room and onto the couch.
"Lay down. Sleep."
She looked at him for a moment before nodding, lying down. He sat down in the armchair across from her.
"Do your parents fight a lot?" She murmured.
"All the time," he repiled, quietly.
"Looks like we have something in common then."
He paused. "Yeah, I guess," he whispered, thinking that over as she drifted off.
He watched her sleep, not feeling tired at all. 'She looks so small and innocent. Like she needs protecting.'
As Draco Malfoy watched Hermione Granger sleep, he felt a flip flop of his heart. He didn't know what it meant... but he like the feeling.
He wasn't scared if this new feeling.
No, not at all.
Author's Note: Well, that's it... I hope it was more interesting. Keep reading and keep reviewing! =D Next chapter as soon as possible!
Chapter 3: Anything Less Than
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Author's Note: I know it took long for me to get this chapter up but I had a fever for 5 days. This chapter is longer so I guess it makes up... =D
Thanks to all my readers and reviewers even though it's not much. =] I LOVE Draco Malfoy. hehehe... and Legolas. ::drools::
"And when you cry I'll be there to tell you, you were never anything less than beautiful."
The sun was up and have been for hours now. It's rays were seeping through to rooms by windows and any other way it can. This however
seemed to go unnoticed to two people in the Granger house. As it was the summer holidays, they were sleeping in late. A ray of light shined on Hermione's
sleeping face. She squinted in her sleep and turned over. But no matter where and how much she turned, the day seemed intent on her waking up.
Eyes shut, she groaned, giving in. She got up, eyes still closed and made her way to the door, dragging her feet.
When she got into the hall, she bumped into someone.
Her eyes flew open. "Agh, it's just you..."
She closed her eyes and dragged herself to the bathroom.
Malfoy looked after her in mild surprise. He thought Granger was the type of person to be up at the crack of dawn, studying or something.
It had been a week since he had arrived and Granger have always been up before him. His face lit up as an idea came to him. He
past Granger quietly and leaned in the bathroom's doorway,arms crossed.
He smirked when she bumped into him again.
"Agh..." Hermione lifted her eyelids up a little and saw him. "Can you get out of my way? I want to use the bathroom first."
"Ah... no." Malfoy looked down at the sleepy Hermione, wanting to laugh out loud. She seemed like she was barely awake so he wanted
to play around with her. "I got here first so I'm going to use it first."
"Malfoy... move."
"I know you like Weasle and I want you to admit it. Then...maybe I'll consider your... request."
He smirked even wider.
"With my eyes closed, i can still see your smirk on your arrogant, pompous, self-righteous face. That's amazing." She had her eyes closed
with her left hand across her chest and resting on her right arm. She was indeed half asleep.
"Hm... so my talents goes beyond seeing."
Hermione raised her eyebrow but didn't open her eyes.
"Now why don't you admit you like the Weasle," Malfoy said, soothingly, leaning close to her ear.
She didn't say anything for a moment. "I li..."
Her eyes popped opened. "Malfoy! You- Ugh! How dare you try to trick me? I can't believe you but of course it's your nature so what
am I talking about-"
"Your just embarassed that you admitted that you like the Weasle. And to me." His smirk was bigger than ever.
Hermione couldn't stand him any longer.
'Okay. He got me for a second... but that's because he caught me off guard.'
"Look, Malfoy... just to get this straight, RON and I are just FRIENDS. There's nothing more to it than that."
She glared at him but he just smirked. "But you want something more, don't you?"
She narrowed her eyes as she said, "No."
She pushed past him into the bathroom.
"Would you excuse me, please. I don't think your father would be very happy to find out that you've started using the bathroom with
a Mudblod at the same time." With that, she slammed the door shut with him practically still in the doorway.
Malfoy just chuckled.
He had hit a nerve and that was what he had wanted to do. He leaned against the wall with his back and waited. he had to use the
bathroom after all, that was the reason he woke up in the first place.
His mind wandered as he waited. His father had been writing a few times a week to check up on him. His father always reminded him
of what he mist and must not do and consequences of failure. Lucius had said to take his time but it felt like he was pushing him to be faster.
When Hermione got into the bathroom, she brushed her teeth, fuming all the while.
'Living with Malfoy is absolute torture! And I thought going to the same school with him is bad...'
But what bothered her the most at the moment was his taunting if her and Ron. He had deliberately tried to take advantage of her
sleepiness. But what he said about her was true...
She put her hands on the sink and hung her head.
She had used to like Ron. It was just that he never saw her as anything beyond a friend... So she tried to get over him, burying herself into
a load of work.
When she thought she got over him, she promised not to fall for a guy like that again.
She flushed the toilet and washed her hands. 'That's over now and I shouldn't let Malfoy get to me, anyway.'
She opened the door to find him still outside. "Had to go that bad, huh?"
"You can say that." They stood there looking at each other. Then Malfoy went into the bathroom and Hermione made her way downstairs.
When Malfoy got to the kitchen, Hermione was already there, eating breakfast.
"I suppose this is mine?" He didn't wait for an answer as he sat down in front of a plate of bacon, sausages and eggs. Hermione didn't
answer him but just continued eating. They ate in silence.
She put her plate and fork into the sink and looked curiously at Malfoy. She put one hand on her hip and said, "You're being awfully
quiet. Silence is like the Draco Malfoy way of being nice, huh?"
"You're very curious," he answered, chewing bacon. "Knowledge must be food to Hermione Granger's brain or it'll die. Always have
to know everything,' he sneered.
"No, I don't," she snapped. "How do your family stand you? How do your FRIENDS stand you?"
He looked up sharply at her. "You're just jealous that I've gotmore friends than you do."
"I'm not jealous of anythign about you! What's the point of having a lot of friends when you're not close to any of them?"
His eyes flashed. "I'm not secretly in love with one of my friends."
"Ugh!" She slapped her hands on the kitchen counter. "I'm not in love with Ron! Get of it!"
He snorted. "You can deny it all you want but somethings are so obvious, it's unseen by the ones who should've seen it."
He had just added another splinter of wood to her already growing fire of anger. "You just know how to get to people, don't you?"
Her eyes narrowed and he looked at her with malice. "You have been so unlike yourself. It's like you're holding back from your usual snide
remarks. It's like you're trying to be nice! And at dinner for the past week? So polite it makes me sick because it means you're up to-"
"Are you done yet?" He spat. He stood up. "Stop acting as if you know me. You may think you know everything but you don't know me." He
said the last few words slowly, making it clear. He put down his fork with a clang and left.
'Don't worry, Malfoy... Trying to understand you is not one of the things on my list of priorities...'
***
Draco sat in his room reading a book a week later. It was the afternoon and the sun was shining brightly. He had shared a cold and quiet
lunch with Granger. She had avoided him the whole week and he didn't mind actually. He just went about his business. He didn't think that
he should avoid her. 'And why should I? She's just a silly Muggle.'
He put down his book and decided to go out. 'I need to get out of this house.'
He opened the door and narrowed his eyes. "Why is it that almost everytime I open this door, I see you?"
"Because I'm in love with you, Draco," she spat at him sarcastically. "I'm stalking you. I just can't live without you."
They glared at each other. She had been about to knock on his door to talk to him.
He walked past her but stopped when he heard her call after him. "Look, I've been thinking-" He snorted, meaning 'That's not anything new.'
She ignored him and went on. "We're going to have to live together for a few more weeks. Can we try and be civil to each other? When we get back
to Hogwarts, that's that. We can go back to hating each other and imagine each other's painful and tragic deaths. Well, I can't say we don't do
do that here also but... I don't want to disappoint my Mom. She really wants us to try and get along. At least for the summer."
She stood there and waited for his answer, apprehensively.
He turned around and she wasn't surprised to see the sneer on his face. It quickly turned into a smirk. "You're asking me for something, Granger?" He
paused, looking at her. "Even through your ramblings, you get to the point." He lefted and Hermione just stared after him. He had just complimented her in his
strange way. He also didn't answer her but she knew he had agreed.
'In his own weird way...'
For the next two days, Hermione and Draco got along better. They didn't become friends or even treat each othere pleasantly. They tolerated each other
and didn't talk to each other unless they had to. They were enemies after all.
That night after dinner, Hermione's mother suggested that she and Draco go out and see a movie or something. Her father had gone to rest. "Don't stay cooped
up in the house all summer long."
"Mom, we really don't mind staying at home." Hermione put the dishes in the sink and said, "I still have to finish my book, anyway."
"Yeah, so do I," Malfoy piped up.
"Don't be silly. You're teenagers, the both of you! Go out and have fun1 Go on." She shoved some money into her daughter's hands and pushed them out the door.
"Well, I wonder what your Mom want us out of the house for?" Malfoy said with a wide smirk as they walked towards the busy part of town.
Hermione made her sound of disgust.
"I was merely wondering... What were you thinking that I was thinking?" His smirk grew even wider.
"Malfoy- You- Just stop, would you?"
"I think I like the way your mind works, Granger. How about we do something else tonight?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"You're disgusting, Malfoy. You have no shame," she replied in disgust.
He laughed at her as they crossed the street. The night was cool and brisk. The sky was bright and the moon was full.
"You're so easy to annoy. I know just the right buttons to push to get you all wind up."
He laughed again.
She looked at him. "I thought we were trying to be civil. I don't want to have to smash your face in."
He smirked but didn't say anything. After a few moments, "Where are we going anyway?"
"I want to go to the bookstore for a minute."
"A minute? And how long is a minute to Hermione Granger? An hour? Two hours?"
"Stop teasing me, Malfoy and shut up."
They entered the bookstore.
"Never been in a Muggle bookstore before?" She picked up a book and glanced back at him.
"Not much,"he replied, looking around.
The bookstore was medium sized and everywhere you looked, there was books. Books on the shelves, books on the table. The cash register was at the
front and an employee was stacking books.
"Well, look around. Don't be scared, you won't get lost in here," she said, without looking up.
He did look around. He had never seen so many Muggle books in his life. He became considerably happy when he found a whole section on dragons. An hour
later, he was snapped out of his dragon world when someone tapped him on the elbow. He turned around and saw Granger.
"Find anything?" In answer to her, he waved the book in the air.
"Dragons, huh? Interesting."
"Fairy tales. Interesting."
"Yeah," they said at hte same time.
"Uh, let's go pay."
"Let's walk around and look at the stores. The night is so beautiful, I don't want to go home yet."
Hermione breathed in the air and let it out. "This is wonderful."
He blinked at her. "Okay..."
They walked around, talking now and then.
"We should do this again tomorrow. But in the afternoon. You got a little tan but you're still so pale."
"Maybe I don't want to," he suddenly snapped at her.
She looked at him, surprised. "Oh, okay."
'What got into him?'
They walked in complete silencenow. Malfoy seemed to be brooding and Hermione didn't feel like saying anything to provoke him into an argument. She really
didn't really feel like arguing right then. They were walking past a jewelry store when something caught her eye. She gasped, "It's beautiful..." She ran to the window
and looked at it. It was a silver necklace with a unicorn pendant. Seeing Malfoy's reflection in the window, she said, "Isn't it beautiful? Let's go inside."
She pulled the door open and waited for him to enter. "C'mon. Hurry, hurry."
He looked at her, hesitant. 'A jewelry store?' But seeing the look on her face, he decided, 'Just this once.'
She asked the clerk where the necklace was and headed off in the direction indicated, him following slowly.
"I'm getting it," she announce looking at him. "Do you want anything?"
He was about to say 'no' when something caught his eye. He reached around her and took a gold necklace with a dragon pendant.
"Whoa..." he breathed. "It looks so alive..."
"Yeah, I know. I heard the maker and owner is really a wizard."
He glanced up at her and down at the necklace again.
"I've never seen this side of you before," she said, looking at him with concentration.
"Well, everyone has a side they don't show anyone."
He looked at her. She nodded, thinking over what he just said. "You're right. You have a thing for dragons."
"Ever since I can remember... That's what my name means, after all."
"Hm, let's go."
She grabbed the necklace from him and headed to the cash register before he can say anything.
When they stepped out of the store, "You didn't have to pay for me."
"It's okay. I don't mind."
She laughed happily, looking at her newly bout necklace.
He looked down at her as they walked. "Easy to please...' he observed. 'But easily angered...' he added wryly.
"Let's go see a movie!" She suggested, putting on her necklace. "There's this one movie... I heard it's really good."
"Um... okay." She looked so happy, he couldn't say no.
'And why is that?' He wondered, confused.
"Okay," she grinned at him. Then it faded. "I don't have any money left!"
"I can pay. I still got money."
She turned quickly towards home. "No, no. You're the guest. I'll pay and don't argue with me." They argued on their way back.
"Granger, honestly."
"It'll be really quick. Wait out here for me. I'm just going to grab some money." She ran up to the door and unlocked it.
Draco just stood there, not having any choice but to wait.
Hermione hummed as she made her way into the house. She dropped her bag on the floor. The lights weren't on and it was dark. When she got near the living
room, she can hear shouting. It was coming from her parents room and she edged closer to find out what they were shouting about.
"...how can you say that, Eric? Nothing is going on between us!"
It was her Mom's voice.
"Then why did he contact you? Obviously there's something going on! You knew him in the past! You knew Lucius Malfoy! You won't even tell me what happened
between the both of you, Rach. How can you ask me to trust you?"
"But that was the past and-"
Hermione backed away from her parents room and ran. When she got to the stairs, she collapsed, tears running down her face. A few seconds later, she heard
her father leave. Then, she heard her mother leave.
Draco came into the house and didn't see Hermione. He had heard something at the side of the house so he went to investigate. He had found nothing and when
came around to the front, he saw Mr. and Mrs. Granger disappearing down the block.
Draco stopped when he got to the stairs. She was sitting on a step, back and head leaning on the wall. He hesitated when he saw that she was crying.
'What's going on?' His brows furrowed. He stood on the step she was on sitting on and looked down at her. He didn't know what to say. He sat on the step
above her. 'What am I supposed to say?'
"What happened?" was all that came out of his mouth. He figured he can't do anything unless he knew what had happened.
She sniffed then looked at him. She was still crying when she answered him, "My parents were fighting."
She wiped her cheeks with the bottom of her palms. She didn't stop crying, though. "They never fight... They love each other."
"What were they fighting about?"
"Your father."
"W-what?" He was shocked and confused as to why they would've been fighting about his father. Unless his father had a part in this. His father did something."
"Your father and your mother knew each other before and my father just blew up when he found out. Especially the fact that they have been keeping recent contact."
'So my dearfather did have something to do with this.'
"My father never mentioned knowing your mother. He hates all Muggles as we all know." He added, dryly.
"I jus don't know..." She began to sobbed and impulsively wrapped her arms around him.
He just sat there, not knowing what to do. She was crying in him and...
He patted in the back gently and uncertainly. He slowly wrapped his arms around her as she continued to cry.
Draco felt strange emotions stir inside him. he never felt like this before. He never done something like this before, either... holding someone as they cried...
It just wasn't something Malfoys do. Malfoys don't cry. Malfoys are too cold-hearted to cry or to care about anyone else.
So then... why did Draco feel as though he cared? Why didn't he feel cold-hearted? Especially since it's towards a Mudblood? Maybe it was because this
reminded him of home...
Eventually, she calmed down. She pulled away and wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
"Oh, I'm so sorry." She looked up at him. "I got your shirt wet." She sniffed. "I'll get you some tissues."
She started to get up but he pulled her back down. "It's okay," he replied, softly.
They sat in silence for a few moments. "You want some tea?" She got up. "I'll make some tea."
He went after her and caught her arm before she entered the kitchen. "Gran- Hermione... Just sit down." He pulled her into the living room and onto the couch.
"Lay down. Sleep."
She looked at him for a moment before nodding, lying down. He sat down in the armchair across from her.
"Do your parents fight a lot?" She murmured.
"All the time," he repiled, quietly.
"Looks like we have something in common then."
He paused. "Yeah, I guess," he whispered, thinking that over as she drifted off.
He watched her sleep, not feeling tired at all. 'She looks so small and innocent. Like she needs protecting.'
As Draco Malfoy watched Hermione Granger sleep, he felt a flip flop of his heart. He didn't know what it meant... but he like the feeling.
He wasn't scared if this new feeling.
No, not at all.
Author's Note: Well, that's it... I hope it was more interesting. Keep reading and keep reviewing! =D Next chapter as soon as possible!