Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything in his really cool world.
Summary (Chp. 1-13): A sailing class/field trip is planned. Slytherin/Gryffindor is teamed up. Draco/Hermione are paired up. The class is taught by Professor Sinistra/Dr. Branefeld. D/Hr research the Vintmoor/Island of Malnese. Hr borrows H cloak/map to go to restricted section, runs into D. When she heads back to Gryffindor, she changes her mind and goes to see D (in an empty classroom), they have a fight, she leaves, shatters her jaw on a false step. D takes her to Madam Pomfrey, fights an inner battle over his attitude towards her. Hr awakens on Monday night, remembers she left H cloak, D shows up and brings it to her. They hold hands, Madam Pomfrey tells D to leave. D makes a decision. Hagrid has his COM class start to work with Billywigs, and Fred and George give Hr a hydrophanous orb. Hr discovers that the hydrophanous orb (H. orb) is mentioned in the book from the Restricted Section. Hr and D are asked to be the class navigators. They have their first night of homework. Hr receives a necklace for her birthday from an anonymous person. D seems overly interested in necklace; they plan to meet early that night so that Hr can receive help with the nocturnal. Hr's friends celebrate her birthday.
(My summary is getting long!) _____________________________________________________________
Chapter 14: Under the Stars
Hermione had just reached the tower when she realized that she'd left her cloak behind. With a sigh, she debated if she had enough time to run back down to grab it. She left her bag by the door, and began to run down the spiral staircase.
~**~
Deep in thought, Draco turned down the hallway. He had to pull himself together. He had made his decision. When a Malfoy made a decision, he stuck with it. He couldn't figure out why he'd bought that damn necklace. Somehow, he'd just have to get it back. He reached the foot of the stairwell, and started on his way up.
~**~
Whipping quickly around the last revolution of the stairwell, Hermione ran hard into a solid object.
She braced herself for the fall.
~**~
He looked up just as Hermione came around the wall, she ran into him. Without thinking he grabbed her.
A sound of surprise escaped her lips. Bolts of electricity entered her body where his arms pressed against her.
Their eyes met. Silver melted; amber became liquid. For a flicker of heartbeats, time froze.
The next instant, a sneer plastered itself on Draco's face. He opened his arms, letting Hermione's fall continue.
"Next time, Mudblood, watch where you're running." He glowered at her. "Where are you going, anyway? Afraid I wasn't coming?"
Hermione picked herself up of the ground, brushing her robes in an attempt to straighten them back out. She returned his glower. "I forgot my cloak. I was going to run back and get it."
"Do that, and we won't have time to work with the nocturnal," he spat. She answered with a heartfelt glare. A feeling of disappointment washed over him as he watched her turn to go.
"Granger, hold on."
She paused.
"You can," he hesitated, "you can borrow my cloak."
In disbelief, she turned to look at him. "Why?"
'Good question,' he thought, but answered, snidely, "Because, if we don't do this tonight, then you can forget my help with it." He pulled off his cloak, and held it out to her.
Hesitatingly, she reached for it, stopping halfway. "What about you? Won't you be cold?"
"Malfoy's don't get cold," he smirked.
"Oh, forgive me. I forgot that you have ice running through yours veins."
"Look, Granger," he held the cloak out a little farther, "do you want to use my cloak, or do you want to freeze? Choose, now," he demanded.
Without further argument, she reached for the cloak. She pushed her arms through the long wool sleeves, and pulled the front closed. She glanced down and noticed the Slytherin crest emblazoned on the left breast.
"You look good in my cloak, Granger," he murmured.
Hermione's eyes shot upward. They were met by Draco's back as he continued his interrupted climb up the stairs. She swallowed. Hard. She could have sworn she had heard his voice quaver when he said that. Shrugging, she lifted up the cloak, it was a good five inches too long, and trailed behind him.
They moved across the stone flooring towards the section of wall where they worked on their calculations. They busied themselves getting out their books and instruments. Hermione unclasped the case containing her nocturnal, and turned to Draco.
"Okay. I don't know why, but I just can't seem to get the hang of how this works. I understand that I need to line up the arm with either Ursa Minor or Ursa Major. I also get that I need to be able to sight Polaris through the center, and I know that I need to set the dial to the correct date. But, other than that, I'm a bit lost."
He felt a gentle smile tug at his lips as she blushed at this last statement, but managed to keep his face straight.
"What about the dial for Ursa Minor or Ursa Major?"
She blinked blankly at him.
"That's your problem, then. You have to remember to turn the inner dial to point to Ursa Minor or to Ursa Major first, depending on whether you want to read solar time or sidereal time."
A light appeared in her eyes. "That's what my problem was! I kept trying to read both the sidereal and solar times on the same dial." Giddy with excitement, she turned to face the sky, lifted the nocturnal, and began to fiddle with the mechanics.
Draco, struggling to ignore the cold air, felt his heart begin to beat faster as he watched her. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so carefree. Always, he was calculated. Okay, so maybe lately, around her, he'd been behaving strangely.
With a silent sigh, he gave into his inner voice, again. He stepped quietly behind Hermione, and reached his arms around her, grasping her hands, and the nocturnal. He felt her stiffen.
"Here, like this," he murmured, close to her ear. 'Damn, her hair smells nice.' He felt her shiver, or maybe it was he. Draco helped her sight Polaris through the center hole, and aided her in moving the arm until it was lined up properly with Ursa Minor. "Now, what is the solar time?" This time he was positive, she shivered, slightly. His knees began to feel weak.
"11:10." Her voice was breathy. She had a hard time focusing with his strong arms around her, and his warm breath caressing her cool cheek.
"Now, turn the dial to Ursa Major." His voice was getting husky; his heart was thumping in his ears. "Now, resight Pola-" his voice died out.
With his left hand, he pulled Hermione around to face him. The nocturnal clattered to the stone floor beneath them, ignored. Her cheeks were flushed; her cinnamon eyes were luminous. The fingers of his right hand reached up and gently traced along her temple, down her cheek, and back into her unruly brown hair.
They gazed into each other's eyes, neither wanting to interrupt the moment by speaking. Unconsciously, Hermione wet her lips with her tongue. Lightening shot through Draco. He tore his gaze from her eyes, glancing down at her now glistening lips, before staring into her eyes again. 'I want to kiss her,' the thought shot through his brain.
With a deep, ragged moan, he broke his eye contact with her a second time, and enveloped her in his arms, crushing her against his chest. He could feel her body shaking.
Hermione couldn't believe what had just happened. It felt good, though, being wrapped in Draco's arms. Her heart was racing. She took a deep breath. He smelled so good. Her arms, finally, wrapped themselves around Draco's body.
He was sure she could both feel and hear how fast his heart was beating. It felt like it would tear from his chest.
Resting her head against his chest, she could hear his heart. Its furious tempo matched hers. Slowly, she stopped shaking; so, he was nervous, too. She allowed a small smile to grace her face.
"Gran-Hermione?" he whispered.
"Hmmm?"
He loosened his arms, and pulled back from her a bit. His right hand reached up and cupped her cheek. His eyes bore into hers; she felt as if he was penetrating her soul. His thumb slowly rubbed against her soft cheek. He glanced down to her necklace. Now he was glad he'd given it to her. He'd made the right choice, at least about that.
"Hermione," he said again, to feel the sound of her name on his lips. His hand left her cheek, and reached down to pick up the necklace around her neck. "There should have been more to that note."
"Huh? What note?" Her brows knit together in confusion.
Taking a deep breath, he allowed that new voice to take over. "I meant to write more." She opened her mouth to speak; he placed a finger gently across her lips. "Shhh-let me speak." He closed his eyes, briefly. "I meant to say-"
A loud bang interrupted him. Hermione and Draco whipped their heads towards the sound. A red-faced Ron and a pale-faced Harry, wands gripped tightly in their hands, stood in the open doorway. They stared slack-jawed at the sight before them.
_____________________________________________________________
Now, REVIEW! Mwhahahahahahaha!!!
-CatalinaRose: I forgive you. I'm glad you liked the necklace. I wasn't sure about the whole thing, but it was needed. Hope you liked this chapter.
- Akuma Kanada no Tenchi: Hope you liked his further melting in this chapter. =)
- Fiery-chan: I behoove you to review this chapter. **tee hee** It's okay that you haven't reviewed in a while. Life can be busy. Yes, I believe you have told me that you are enjoying my story, and I am very happy about that. To be really honest, I am not quite sure what the orb does, though your hypothesis is very intriguing. I hope that I can keep my "air of mystery" as I continue.
- SophieBabe: Thank you so much for your kind review. I'm glad you are enjoying my story so much. I hope that my future chapters will only become better. I'm looking forward to YOUR next chapter, too. =)
- Sage of Darkness: You have no idea how hard I worked on that party. I didn't want to add muggle aspects to it, so it made the writing difficult. Thank you for commenting on it. Oh, and I may possibly need your assistance in the future. I have an original story I wrote like 7 years ago that involves a guy from Australia. Maybe, when I begin to rework it, I could send you some of it for some authenticity? Okay, going now. =)
Summary (Chp. 1-13): A sailing class/field trip is planned. Slytherin/Gryffindor is teamed up. Draco/Hermione are paired up. The class is taught by Professor Sinistra/Dr. Branefeld. D/Hr research the Vintmoor/Island of Malnese. Hr borrows H cloak/map to go to restricted section, runs into D. When she heads back to Gryffindor, she changes her mind and goes to see D (in an empty classroom), they have a fight, she leaves, shatters her jaw on a false step. D takes her to Madam Pomfrey, fights an inner battle over his attitude towards her. Hr awakens on Monday night, remembers she left H cloak, D shows up and brings it to her. They hold hands, Madam Pomfrey tells D to leave. D makes a decision. Hagrid has his COM class start to work with Billywigs, and Fred and George give Hr a hydrophanous orb. Hr discovers that the hydrophanous orb (H. orb) is mentioned in the book from the Restricted Section. Hr and D are asked to be the class navigators. They have their first night of homework. Hr receives a necklace for her birthday from an anonymous person. D seems overly interested in necklace; they plan to meet early that night so that Hr can receive help with the nocturnal. Hr's friends celebrate her birthday.
(My summary is getting long!) _____________________________________________________________
Chapter 14: Under the Stars
Hermione had just reached the tower when she realized that she'd left her cloak behind. With a sigh, she debated if she had enough time to run back down to grab it. She left her bag by the door, and began to run down the spiral staircase.
~**~
Deep in thought, Draco turned down the hallway. He had to pull himself together. He had made his decision. When a Malfoy made a decision, he stuck with it. He couldn't figure out why he'd bought that damn necklace. Somehow, he'd just have to get it back. He reached the foot of the stairwell, and started on his way up.
~**~
Whipping quickly around the last revolution of the stairwell, Hermione ran hard into a solid object.
She braced herself for the fall.
~**~
He looked up just as Hermione came around the wall, she ran into him. Without thinking he grabbed her.
A sound of surprise escaped her lips. Bolts of electricity entered her body where his arms pressed against her.
Their eyes met. Silver melted; amber became liquid. For a flicker of heartbeats, time froze.
The next instant, a sneer plastered itself on Draco's face. He opened his arms, letting Hermione's fall continue.
"Next time, Mudblood, watch where you're running." He glowered at her. "Where are you going, anyway? Afraid I wasn't coming?"
Hermione picked herself up of the ground, brushing her robes in an attempt to straighten them back out. She returned his glower. "I forgot my cloak. I was going to run back and get it."
"Do that, and we won't have time to work with the nocturnal," he spat. She answered with a heartfelt glare. A feeling of disappointment washed over him as he watched her turn to go.
"Granger, hold on."
She paused.
"You can," he hesitated, "you can borrow my cloak."
In disbelief, she turned to look at him. "Why?"
'Good question,' he thought, but answered, snidely, "Because, if we don't do this tonight, then you can forget my help with it." He pulled off his cloak, and held it out to her.
Hesitatingly, she reached for it, stopping halfway. "What about you? Won't you be cold?"
"Malfoy's don't get cold," he smirked.
"Oh, forgive me. I forgot that you have ice running through yours veins."
"Look, Granger," he held the cloak out a little farther, "do you want to use my cloak, or do you want to freeze? Choose, now," he demanded.
Without further argument, she reached for the cloak. She pushed her arms through the long wool sleeves, and pulled the front closed. She glanced down and noticed the Slytherin crest emblazoned on the left breast.
"You look good in my cloak, Granger," he murmured.
Hermione's eyes shot upward. They were met by Draco's back as he continued his interrupted climb up the stairs. She swallowed. Hard. She could have sworn she had heard his voice quaver when he said that. Shrugging, she lifted up the cloak, it was a good five inches too long, and trailed behind him.
They moved across the stone flooring towards the section of wall where they worked on their calculations. They busied themselves getting out their books and instruments. Hermione unclasped the case containing her nocturnal, and turned to Draco.
"Okay. I don't know why, but I just can't seem to get the hang of how this works. I understand that I need to line up the arm with either Ursa Minor or Ursa Major. I also get that I need to be able to sight Polaris through the center, and I know that I need to set the dial to the correct date. But, other than that, I'm a bit lost."
He felt a gentle smile tug at his lips as she blushed at this last statement, but managed to keep his face straight.
"What about the dial for Ursa Minor or Ursa Major?"
She blinked blankly at him.
"That's your problem, then. You have to remember to turn the inner dial to point to Ursa Minor or to Ursa Major first, depending on whether you want to read solar time or sidereal time."
A light appeared in her eyes. "That's what my problem was! I kept trying to read both the sidereal and solar times on the same dial." Giddy with excitement, she turned to face the sky, lifted the nocturnal, and began to fiddle with the mechanics.
Draco, struggling to ignore the cold air, felt his heart begin to beat faster as he watched her. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so carefree. Always, he was calculated. Okay, so maybe lately, around her, he'd been behaving strangely.
With a silent sigh, he gave into his inner voice, again. He stepped quietly behind Hermione, and reached his arms around her, grasping her hands, and the nocturnal. He felt her stiffen.
"Here, like this," he murmured, close to her ear. 'Damn, her hair smells nice.' He felt her shiver, or maybe it was he. Draco helped her sight Polaris through the center hole, and aided her in moving the arm until it was lined up properly with Ursa Minor. "Now, what is the solar time?" This time he was positive, she shivered, slightly. His knees began to feel weak.
"11:10." Her voice was breathy. She had a hard time focusing with his strong arms around her, and his warm breath caressing her cool cheek.
"Now, turn the dial to Ursa Major." His voice was getting husky; his heart was thumping in his ears. "Now, resight Pola-" his voice died out.
With his left hand, he pulled Hermione around to face him. The nocturnal clattered to the stone floor beneath them, ignored. Her cheeks were flushed; her cinnamon eyes were luminous. The fingers of his right hand reached up and gently traced along her temple, down her cheek, and back into her unruly brown hair.
They gazed into each other's eyes, neither wanting to interrupt the moment by speaking. Unconsciously, Hermione wet her lips with her tongue. Lightening shot through Draco. He tore his gaze from her eyes, glancing down at her now glistening lips, before staring into her eyes again. 'I want to kiss her,' the thought shot through his brain.
With a deep, ragged moan, he broke his eye contact with her a second time, and enveloped her in his arms, crushing her against his chest. He could feel her body shaking.
Hermione couldn't believe what had just happened. It felt good, though, being wrapped in Draco's arms. Her heart was racing. She took a deep breath. He smelled so good. Her arms, finally, wrapped themselves around Draco's body.
He was sure she could both feel and hear how fast his heart was beating. It felt like it would tear from his chest.
Resting her head against his chest, she could hear his heart. Its furious tempo matched hers. Slowly, she stopped shaking; so, he was nervous, too. She allowed a small smile to grace her face.
"Gran-Hermione?" he whispered.
"Hmmm?"
He loosened his arms, and pulled back from her a bit. His right hand reached up and cupped her cheek. His eyes bore into hers; she felt as if he was penetrating her soul. His thumb slowly rubbed against her soft cheek. He glanced down to her necklace. Now he was glad he'd given it to her. He'd made the right choice, at least about that.
"Hermione," he said again, to feel the sound of her name on his lips. His hand left her cheek, and reached down to pick up the necklace around her neck. "There should have been more to that note."
"Huh? What note?" Her brows knit together in confusion.
Taking a deep breath, he allowed that new voice to take over. "I meant to write more." She opened her mouth to speak; he placed a finger gently across her lips. "Shhh-let me speak." He closed his eyes, briefly. "I meant to say-"
A loud bang interrupted him. Hermione and Draco whipped their heads towards the sound. A red-faced Ron and a pale-faced Harry, wands gripped tightly in their hands, stood in the open doorway. They stared slack-jawed at the sight before them.
_____________________________________________________________
Now, REVIEW! Mwhahahahahahaha!!!
-CatalinaRose: I forgive you. I'm glad you liked the necklace. I wasn't sure about the whole thing, but it was needed. Hope you liked this chapter.
- Akuma Kanada no Tenchi: Hope you liked his further melting in this chapter. =)
- Fiery-chan: I behoove you to review this chapter. **tee hee** It's okay that you haven't reviewed in a while. Life can be busy. Yes, I believe you have told me that you are enjoying my story, and I am very happy about that. To be really honest, I am not quite sure what the orb does, though your hypothesis is very intriguing. I hope that I can keep my "air of mystery" as I continue.
- SophieBabe: Thank you so much for your kind review. I'm glad you are enjoying my story so much. I hope that my future chapters will only become better. I'm looking forward to YOUR next chapter, too. =)
- Sage of Darkness: You have no idea how hard I worked on that party. I didn't want to add muggle aspects to it, so it made the writing difficult. Thank you for commenting on it. Oh, and I may possibly need your assistance in the future. I have an original story I wrote like 7 years ago that involves a guy from Australia. Maybe, when I begin to rework it, I could send you some of it for some authenticity? Okay, going now. =)