Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything in his really cool world,
though I wouldn't mind owning Draco.
Summary (Chps. 1-19) A two-week sailing trip has been planned in April. To prepare, the students are taking a sailing class taught by Dr. Branefeld and a regular Hogwarts teacher. Fifth year Slytherins and Gryffindors are paired, with Professor Sinistra as their instructor. Draco and Hermione are to be partners and navigators for their class. They each begin to experience feelings for each other, but fight it. During a moment of unguarded passion at the Astronomy Tower, Ron and Harry burst in. Harry and Ron hex Draco. Draco performs the Cruciatus Curse on Ron. Hermione and Harry tell Dumbledore what happened. Dumbledore talks with Draco. Draco tells about the horrible stuff he dealt with over the summer. Detentions have been served-Draco's to last until December. In the library, Draco tells Hermione about his father and the horrible stuff he dealt with over the summer, much tears. They attempt to kiss twice, both times ending with Draco in pain. Hermione ends up in the infirmary, unconscious for a numbers of days. Draco visits her.
20: More Confessions
"Please take a seat, Ms. Granger." Dumbledore motioned to a comfy looking armchair across from the one he sat in. Hermione settled into the chair and took an offered lemon drop from Dumbledore with a smile. "Now, Ms. Granger, I am certain you are wondering why I have asked you to meet me in my office. And I would like to apologize for the delay. I meant to speak with you the day you were released."
She gave a nod of her head and nervously sucked on the lemon drop. "That's okay."
"Well, my dear, there is no need to fear. You are not in any trouble. Madam Pomfrey and I are just puzzled as to why you remained unconscious for as long as you did. She was unable to discover any problem, magical or otherwise, for you condition. I simply wanted to ask if you were aware of any reason you may have been in your condition."
Hermione's thoughts jumped to the hydrophanous orb. She looked down into her lap studiously looking at her hands for a few moments. Should she tell Dumbledore? He might know what the orb was and how it worked, after all he knew much more than she did. But Fred and George had sworn her to secrecy and she didn't want to break their trust. But what had happened with the orb that afternoon truly scared her. Dumbledore interrupted her thoughts.
"Ms. Granger, if you do not know what happened, I would not ask you to make anything up. My office is always open. If you can think of anything, no matter how insignificant, that may have caused your condition, please do not hesitate to inform me immediately." His kind eyes captured hers as she looked up into his smiling face.
She gave him a nod. "I will, Headmaster. I-I guess I'm just a bit worn out right now and can't think very straight."
"Completely understandable. Are you all caught up with your studies?" He waited for her nod. "Excellent, then. You may be dismissed now." He stood and ushered her to the door. "Have a good day, Ms. Granger."
Hermione exited his office and decided to spend the rest of her Saturday in the library. As she walked, she thought back over the week. It had been a bit crazy. Draco and her and talked a little each night as they completed their navigation work, but a wall had sprung up between them. She couldn't understand why and didn't know how to go about breaking it down. She hadn't spoken with Harry and Ron about Draco yet, either. She had been so swamped with makeup work, that she had been able to avoid the conversation so far.
She reached the library and headed to the back to her table, sitting down and pulling a thick book out of her bag. She opened it and began to skim through it, though her mind couldn't stay on what she was reading. A heavy sigh of frustration escaped her and she slammed the book shut, shoving it across the table. The book continued on past the edge and landed with a dull thud on the floor as Hermione put her head down on the wooden surface of the table.
"You should know better than to mistreat books, Hermione."
Hermione didn't look up. "Hello, Draco," she said.
She heard him pull out the chair next to her and sit down.
"Did the great Ms. Granger finally decide she's learned enough?" he gently teased.
A small laugh escaped her throat unbidden, followed by a choked sob.
"Hermione, what's wrong?" He reached a hand over and gently placed it on her shoulder, giving her a squeeze.
She squeezed her eyes tightly to keep back the tears, took a deep breath and finally lifted her head and looked over at him. "I don't really know."
He studied her face for a few moments, then reached down and took her hand in his. "Come with me."
Without waiting for her to answer him, he stood and pulled her along with him. She stumbled a bit as she stood, but followed him as he led her from the library, through the corridors and out to the grounds, past the curious stares of many students. He continued walking until they reached the far side of the lake where he sat down under a willow tree, pulling Hermione down to sit next to him.
"Now, what's wrong?" He kept her hand in his and turned his head to look at her.
Hermione stared out across the lake and slowly began to talk.
"I'm confused, about you." She pulled her hand from his. "I don't know what to think, or what to say to you. Like you started to say in the infirmary on Monday, you've hated me since we first met. I've hated you, too. I don't know how we have gotten to the point where we are. None of it has made much sense to me. All I know is that I want to be around you and that when you're not around, I feel a sense of-of loss, almost.
"And I am worried about Harry and Ron's reaction to all of this. They have been my friends since first year, and I don't want to lose their friendship, but the three of you have never gotten along in the slightest and I don't see you getting along in the future just for my sake. I'm not that naïve. And, then I have this-" Her voice trailed off as she realized she was about to tell him about the orb. She had promised, and she intended to keep that promise.
Draco sat in silence after she stopped speaking trying to gather his own thoughts together. He finally reached over a hand to cup under her chin, turning her face to look at him. He spoke in a soft voice. "Hermione, I have hated you. I don't really know why I did, though I did. I know I don't hate you anymore. I'm not sure what I feel about you now, but it is most definitely not hate." His eyes bore into hers as he stopped speaking.
She tried to tear her gaze from his, but it was impossible. She swallowed hard as he continued to look at her, and began to tremble the slightest bit. He abruptly pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her tightly. For a moment, she remained stiff; then she melted against him as he embraced her.
In a hesitant whisper he spoke. "I think I might be falling in love with you, Hermione. To be honest, that scares me. I've never fallen in love before. I have no reason to fall in love with you, either. But, regardless, I am. It is the only reason I can think of for why I can't stop thinking about you." He stopped and held her even tighter against him. Thoughts whirled through his mind as he held her. He couldn't figure out why he had just told her all of that. He wasn't even sure what he felt, but assumed it was love, since he'd never felt this feeling before.
Hermione's eyes closed as he spoke. She felt a weight lift from her as he told her what he felt. When he stopped, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
In a matching tone of voice, she answered him. "Draco, I understand, completely. I feel the same. I'm terrified of what I am feeling." She shifted a bit and looked up at him, waiting until his gray eyes were looking into her amber ones. "I know I'm falling in love with you. I think I started to fall in love with you when I slapped you back in our third year. Now I am terrified of what this will do, to you, to me, to our friends." She broke her eye contact with him as she thought about Harry and Ron. They would never understand this.
Draco captured Hermione's chin with his hand as she looked away and gently forced her to look back into his eyes. "I will do my best to make this easy for you. I can't promise to become friends with Potter and Weasley, but I will try to at least be civil."
She gave a slow nod and then reached up a hand to cup his cheek. "That's all I ask."
He nodded and then swallowed, preparing to speak again. "Hermione, I guess-I've been-" He abruptly stood and began to pace a bit under the swaying branches of the tree. He stopped and turned to look down at her, reaching a hand out to her. She reached up and gripped it, allowing him to pull her up. He cupped her cheek with his hand and gazed for a long time into her eyes again.
"Hermione, will you be my girlfriend?" His eyes darted briefly away from hers as he spoke. He couldn't make sense of why he was so unbelievably nervous, but he was. He reconnected his eyes with hers and waited for the answer.
She swallowed nervously and kept her eyes locked onto his. A huge part of her wanted this in an unbelievable way, but another part of her, the logical part, was ringing warning bells loudly in her head. She tore her gaze from his and stepped back a bit, turning to look out across the lake. She could feel his eyes still on her as she stood. Her thoughts chased each other in her mind as she thought of all the good and bad that could result from this. With a final swallow, she turned and looked back at him.
"Yes."
A smile grew on Draco's face as she answered him. He quickly covered the distance between them, wrapping his arms around her and lowering his lips to brush gently against hers. Her arms came up around his neck and she increased the pressure of her lips on his. A groan of pain escaped his throat and he stumbled, falling back against the tree.
"Draco! What is it?" Her brow furrowed.
He reached his hands up to hold his head, squeezing his eyes shut, and slumped to the ground. "I-I don't know."
"Is it the same pain, as in the library?" Hermione questioned, kneeling by his side, her hand brushing his hair back.
He took a deep breath, trying to bite back the pain as it slowly ebbed. He gave a nod, and opened his eyes looking up into Hermione's.
She studied his face and thought back to the other two times he had collapsed in pain. Her eyes widened as she made connections. She maneuvered herself into a sitting position, carefully placing Draco's head in her lap. She looked away from his face and quietly asked her question.
"Draco, have you kissed other girls?"
His brow furrowed a bit as she spoke and he answered her in a manner just as quiet. "Yes. Why does that matter, right now?"
She kept her eyes focused on the distance. "It was just a thought. Never mind." She choked back a small sob, silently reprimanding herself. Why did it matter that he'd kissed others? She should have guessed that, at the very least, he'd kissed Pansy what with the way she hung all over him.
"Hermione." He pushed himself into a sitting position and gripped her face, gently turning it to once again face him. "Yes, I have kissed others, but-Hermione, I never fell in love with any of them. Now, what are you thinking?"
She reached up a hand and took his hand from her face, bringing it down to hold between both of hers. "Like I said, never mind. It was a silly idea."
"Hermione, I know I've made fun of you relentlessly in the past, but I always knew that you never had a silly idea. Now, tell me."
She swallowed a bit and looked carefully at him. "Well, I just was thinking. When was the first time you felt this pain?"
"Last week, in the library."
"You are sure that was the very first time you ever felt that pain?"
"Positive."
"Okay. And you experienced this pain how many times including the times in the library?"
"Three."
"And each of these times, Draco, what were you doing?"
His eyes widened the slightest bit as he whispered, "I was kissing you."
She whispered back, "Exactly."
"But, what does that have to do with anything?"
"Draco, I don't know. But, maybe we-we shouldn't kiss until we find out?"
After a moment of hesitation, he gave a small nod. "Yeah, okay. I suppose you're probably right. So, now what?"
"Well, we will have to see if we can't figure this out. But, Draco," she turned to face him, "we will both have to completely honest with each other if we are to do this." She waited for his nod. "Good. Well, let's go and do some research." She moved to stand, but Draco gripped her arm and pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her.
"The research can wait. Right now, I want to be with you." He gave a smile and brushed his fingers into her hair. She gave him a nod and wrapped her arms around him, leaning her head against his shoulder.
~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~
"Where have you been all afternoon, Hermione?" Ron asked as she entered the common room that evening. "We haven't seen you since lunch."
"Oh, I was in the library."
"No, you weren't. We checked," Ron admonished, as his knight moved across the board to confound Harry's next move.
"Well, let me finish. I was in the library, and then I went to the lake."
Harry carefully watched her face. "You're leaving something out. What's going on, Herm?"
She gave a shake of her head. "Nothing. You two have fun playing your game. I'm gonna head upstairs and-do some stuff." She made her way to the steps, but was stopped by a hand gripping her arm.
Harry spoke in a quiet voice. "Herm, you've been avoiding this since you got out of the infirmary. You can't tell me you have any homework to do, because I know you've finished it. We don't have any exams coming up that you need to study for at this moment. Now is the time to talk."
Her eyes slid closed as he spoke and she gave a quiet sigh. "I know." She turned and walked over to a couch in the corner, sinking into it as Harry and Ron each took a seat on either side of her.
"Herm, what's going on with Malfoy?"
She looked over at Harry and gave a short laugh. "No warming up to it? Just tell you, right off the top?"
"I figured it was the best idea."
"Herm, look, I promise to keep my cool, okay?" Ron said, giving her arm a squeeze.
She looked over at him and gave a curt nod. "I hope you'll say the same after what I tell you, Ron. I know how you are about-about Draco."
"Well, then, we're waiting," he replied.
Hermione took a deep breath and looked across the room as the two boys shared a look and then focused on her.
"Okay, it's like this. At the beginning of the year, I was mortified when Sinistra paired me with Draco, you remember that. Well, I don't exactly know when it happened, but I began to not find him so annoying."
Ron snorted a laugh. "Malfoy, not annoying?"
Hermione leveled a glare at him. "Do you want me to tell you or shall I head up to my room?"
"Herm, please, continue," Harry encouraged, giving Ron a look.
"No more interruptions. This is hard enough as it is." She looked at both boys and waited for their nods before continuing. "Well, as I said, he's not as annoying as I thought. That night I borrowed your Cloak, Harry, Draco found me in the library. He'd come in there to look for more info about the ship as well. We decided to help each other, and found that book I told you about. We were looking through it, when we heard Mrs. Norris." She paused a took a deep breath, steeling herself to tell him the next part.
"I threw the Cloak around me without thinking. Draco ended up under the cloak with me and we managed to escape from Filch." She looked over at Draco, her eyes pleading. "I'm so sorry. He knows you have and Invisibility Cloak. He swears he won't say a word to anyone."
Harry looked at her for a moment and then turned his gaze to look at the fire across the room. "Go on."
She took another deep breath and continued. "Well, we fought, and I left to come back here. I was at the portrait when I pulled out the Map again and noticed that Draco hadn't gone to his room. He was in a classroom. For some reason, I went to the room. We talked, he made a comment, I slapped him and then left. That's when I stepped through the false step.
"When I awoke in the infirmary, I remembered I had left your Cloak in the classroom. I got up to go and get it, but Draco was there. He had brought it back. We talked a little that night before he left. Then we had another fight, I suppose you could call it. That's when we were given the navigation assignment.
"You guys remember that star necklace I had gotten for my birthday?" The boys both said they did. "The night that Draco-cursed-you, Ron I think that he was about to tell me that he got it for me, when, well, when you two showed up. And then, well you guys know what happened. I ignored him pretty much after that. Until the night I went to the library last week with the Cloak again.
"He showed up and well, I kissed him."
Ron bolted from the couch and turned to face her, his face deep red. "You what?" he bellowed. "Hermione! No wonder you're acting so strange. He must have hexed you or-" Harry grabbed him and forced him to sit.
"Ron! We promised to hear her out. Now, sit down and shut up!" He waited for Ron to give a nod and then sat back down. "Herm, please, continue."
She gave Harry a grateful smile and picked up her monologue. "We talked that night; for a long time. Most of the night, actually. We talked some more today and he asked me to be his girlfriend." She stopped talking, leaned back against the couch and waited.
Harry was the first to break the silence. "Herm, did you say girlfriend?"
She gave a nod.
"And what did you tell him?"
"I said yes," she whispered.
"Well, that proves it, then!" Ron rose his voice. "Come on Harry, let's go take care of that prat this second. He's obviously done something to Hermione." He was already halfway to the door as he finished speaking, Hermione right behind him. She grabbed his arm.
"Ron! He did nothing to me. I want to be with him."
Ron stared at her in disbelief. "You what?"
Hermione stood as tall as possible and looked Ron in the eye. "I want to be with him."
Ron shook his head in disbelief, glared at Hermione, and left the common room. Hermione turned to look at Harry. He was standing by the couch. Hermione slowly walked back over to him.
"Harry?"
"Hermione, if this is what you want, I can't say anything. I'm gonna go practice for Quidditch." Harry stepped around her and left. Hermione stood alone, staring at the fire.
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~Misty: So sorry for the delay. I'm trying to keep moving. And here are your chocolate frogs. *hands them over* ENJOY!
~asd: You will have to wait to find out about the orb. I hope you enjoyed Harry and Ron's response to Hermione and her explanation.
~hedwig7up: I am sorry you didn't like the last chapter. I hope this one will please you. And I am honored to be in your list of best ever fanfics.
~Rebecca: Again, I am grateful for your wonderful review. You have no idea how reviews like yours keep me going. I am honored that you have taken a quote from my story and written it done. Hope this new chapter continued to meet you standards.
~CedricDiggory: Thank you! And I am glad I got you in my email. I try to keep up and I am glad I did. Sorry for the wait. I hope to not take as much time before the next chapter.
~wellduh.: GREAT NAME! You're idea about the orb is interesting. I'm still working on how the orb works, so if your idea makes it in, I'll acknowledge ya. I work hard to keep the sappiness to the bare minimum. I can't promise to never do it, but I will try not to. I am also glad that you noticed the way I ended the two viewpoints in chapter 11. I worked hard to make it work that way. And you are right-poor Ginny! The pace is trying to pick up, I promise. I just don't want to rush things. And, now that they are together, you will see more of them building their relationship. They are not out of the water yet, so to speak.
~E: What do I win???? You didn't say! And thanks!
~CatalinaRose: *does the Ice Man sniff* I know it's good. And my gosh yes! Draco is never afraid of the infirmary in my story. I don't get it. Maybe I should take care of the being out of the dorms after 8? NAW-the funnest stuff happens after 8 anyway. OH YEAH-my chapter! Well, Herm passed out because-hehe-not saying! Not yet, anyway. And boy am I glad that Lav and Draco made up! This last three weeks were tortourous! And, what do you make of that new guy, Ethan? My gosh! Could he BE anymore awful?
~draconas: Thanks! I enjoyed writing the scene in the hall. Hope you liked this new chapter.
~SophieBabe: Thank you very very very very very very very very very much!
~Roseadra: I didn't know that I had my characters nod so much. I will watch that. Thanks for you praise. It was wonderfully uplifting.
~Margot: Thanks. Okay, question #1: all about the kissing will be revealed in the next few chapters. #2: I researched on the internet about the navigation equipment. Okay, hope you liked this new chapter.
~Glenda the owl: *huge grin*
~me: LOOK! *points up* I updated!
~SugarGirl: You are the bestest friend! Thank you SOOOO much for reading my story. I can't tell you how hard it has been to hold the reins back. But, it makes for a better, more realistic story. I hope you don't stress out too much! And YES-Rainforest SOON. See ya, chick!
Summary (Chps. 1-19) A two-week sailing trip has been planned in April. To prepare, the students are taking a sailing class taught by Dr. Branefeld and a regular Hogwarts teacher. Fifth year Slytherins and Gryffindors are paired, with Professor Sinistra as their instructor. Draco and Hermione are to be partners and navigators for their class. They each begin to experience feelings for each other, but fight it. During a moment of unguarded passion at the Astronomy Tower, Ron and Harry burst in. Harry and Ron hex Draco. Draco performs the Cruciatus Curse on Ron. Hermione and Harry tell Dumbledore what happened. Dumbledore talks with Draco. Draco tells about the horrible stuff he dealt with over the summer. Detentions have been served-Draco's to last until December. In the library, Draco tells Hermione about his father and the horrible stuff he dealt with over the summer, much tears. They attempt to kiss twice, both times ending with Draco in pain. Hermione ends up in the infirmary, unconscious for a numbers of days. Draco visits her.
20: More Confessions
"Please take a seat, Ms. Granger." Dumbledore motioned to a comfy looking armchair across from the one he sat in. Hermione settled into the chair and took an offered lemon drop from Dumbledore with a smile. "Now, Ms. Granger, I am certain you are wondering why I have asked you to meet me in my office. And I would like to apologize for the delay. I meant to speak with you the day you were released."
She gave a nod of her head and nervously sucked on the lemon drop. "That's okay."
"Well, my dear, there is no need to fear. You are not in any trouble. Madam Pomfrey and I are just puzzled as to why you remained unconscious for as long as you did. She was unable to discover any problem, magical or otherwise, for you condition. I simply wanted to ask if you were aware of any reason you may have been in your condition."
Hermione's thoughts jumped to the hydrophanous orb. She looked down into her lap studiously looking at her hands for a few moments. Should she tell Dumbledore? He might know what the orb was and how it worked, after all he knew much more than she did. But Fred and George had sworn her to secrecy and she didn't want to break their trust. But what had happened with the orb that afternoon truly scared her. Dumbledore interrupted her thoughts.
"Ms. Granger, if you do not know what happened, I would not ask you to make anything up. My office is always open. If you can think of anything, no matter how insignificant, that may have caused your condition, please do not hesitate to inform me immediately." His kind eyes captured hers as she looked up into his smiling face.
She gave him a nod. "I will, Headmaster. I-I guess I'm just a bit worn out right now and can't think very straight."
"Completely understandable. Are you all caught up with your studies?" He waited for her nod. "Excellent, then. You may be dismissed now." He stood and ushered her to the door. "Have a good day, Ms. Granger."
Hermione exited his office and decided to spend the rest of her Saturday in the library. As she walked, she thought back over the week. It had been a bit crazy. Draco and her and talked a little each night as they completed their navigation work, but a wall had sprung up between them. She couldn't understand why and didn't know how to go about breaking it down. She hadn't spoken with Harry and Ron about Draco yet, either. She had been so swamped with makeup work, that she had been able to avoid the conversation so far.
She reached the library and headed to the back to her table, sitting down and pulling a thick book out of her bag. She opened it and began to skim through it, though her mind couldn't stay on what she was reading. A heavy sigh of frustration escaped her and she slammed the book shut, shoving it across the table. The book continued on past the edge and landed with a dull thud on the floor as Hermione put her head down on the wooden surface of the table.
"You should know better than to mistreat books, Hermione."
Hermione didn't look up. "Hello, Draco," she said.
She heard him pull out the chair next to her and sit down.
"Did the great Ms. Granger finally decide she's learned enough?" he gently teased.
A small laugh escaped her throat unbidden, followed by a choked sob.
"Hermione, what's wrong?" He reached a hand over and gently placed it on her shoulder, giving her a squeeze.
She squeezed her eyes tightly to keep back the tears, took a deep breath and finally lifted her head and looked over at him. "I don't really know."
He studied her face for a few moments, then reached down and took her hand in his. "Come with me."
Without waiting for her to answer him, he stood and pulled her along with him. She stumbled a bit as she stood, but followed him as he led her from the library, through the corridors and out to the grounds, past the curious stares of many students. He continued walking until they reached the far side of the lake where he sat down under a willow tree, pulling Hermione down to sit next to him.
"Now, what's wrong?" He kept her hand in his and turned his head to look at her.
Hermione stared out across the lake and slowly began to talk.
"I'm confused, about you." She pulled her hand from his. "I don't know what to think, or what to say to you. Like you started to say in the infirmary on Monday, you've hated me since we first met. I've hated you, too. I don't know how we have gotten to the point where we are. None of it has made much sense to me. All I know is that I want to be around you and that when you're not around, I feel a sense of-of loss, almost.
"And I am worried about Harry and Ron's reaction to all of this. They have been my friends since first year, and I don't want to lose their friendship, but the three of you have never gotten along in the slightest and I don't see you getting along in the future just for my sake. I'm not that naïve. And, then I have this-" Her voice trailed off as she realized she was about to tell him about the orb. She had promised, and she intended to keep that promise.
Draco sat in silence after she stopped speaking trying to gather his own thoughts together. He finally reached over a hand to cup under her chin, turning her face to look at him. He spoke in a soft voice. "Hermione, I have hated you. I don't really know why I did, though I did. I know I don't hate you anymore. I'm not sure what I feel about you now, but it is most definitely not hate." His eyes bore into hers as he stopped speaking.
She tried to tear her gaze from his, but it was impossible. She swallowed hard as he continued to look at her, and began to tremble the slightest bit. He abruptly pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her tightly. For a moment, she remained stiff; then she melted against him as he embraced her.
In a hesitant whisper he spoke. "I think I might be falling in love with you, Hermione. To be honest, that scares me. I've never fallen in love before. I have no reason to fall in love with you, either. But, regardless, I am. It is the only reason I can think of for why I can't stop thinking about you." He stopped and held her even tighter against him. Thoughts whirled through his mind as he held her. He couldn't figure out why he had just told her all of that. He wasn't even sure what he felt, but assumed it was love, since he'd never felt this feeling before.
Hermione's eyes closed as he spoke. She felt a weight lift from her as he told her what he felt. When he stopped, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
In a matching tone of voice, she answered him. "Draco, I understand, completely. I feel the same. I'm terrified of what I am feeling." She shifted a bit and looked up at him, waiting until his gray eyes were looking into her amber ones. "I know I'm falling in love with you. I think I started to fall in love with you when I slapped you back in our third year. Now I am terrified of what this will do, to you, to me, to our friends." She broke her eye contact with him as she thought about Harry and Ron. They would never understand this.
Draco captured Hermione's chin with his hand as she looked away and gently forced her to look back into his eyes. "I will do my best to make this easy for you. I can't promise to become friends with Potter and Weasley, but I will try to at least be civil."
She gave a slow nod and then reached up a hand to cup his cheek. "That's all I ask."
He nodded and then swallowed, preparing to speak again. "Hermione, I guess-I've been-" He abruptly stood and began to pace a bit under the swaying branches of the tree. He stopped and turned to look down at her, reaching a hand out to her. She reached up and gripped it, allowing him to pull her up. He cupped her cheek with his hand and gazed for a long time into her eyes again.
"Hermione, will you be my girlfriend?" His eyes darted briefly away from hers as he spoke. He couldn't make sense of why he was so unbelievably nervous, but he was. He reconnected his eyes with hers and waited for the answer.
She swallowed nervously and kept her eyes locked onto his. A huge part of her wanted this in an unbelievable way, but another part of her, the logical part, was ringing warning bells loudly in her head. She tore her gaze from his and stepped back a bit, turning to look out across the lake. She could feel his eyes still on her as she stood. Her thoughts chased each other in her mind as she thought of all the good and bad that could result from this. With a final swallow, she turned and looked back at him.
"Yes."
A smile grew on Draco's face as she answered him. He quickly covered the distance between them, wrapping his arms around her and lowering his lips to brush gently against hers. Her arms came up around his neck and she increased the pressure of her lips on his. A groan of pain escaped his throat and he stumbled, falling back against the tree.
"Draco! What is it?" Her brow furrowed.
He reached his hands up to hold his head, squeezing his eyes shut, and slumped to the ground. "I-I don't know."
"Is it the same pain, as in the library?" Hermione questioned, kneeling by his side, her hand brushing his hair back.
He took a deep breath, trying to bite back the pain as it slowly ebbed. He gave a nod, and opened his eyes looking up into Hermione's.
She studied his face and thought back to the other two times he had collapsed in pain. Her eyes widened as she made connections. She maneuvered herself into a sitting position, carefully placing Draco's head in her lap. She looked away from his face and quietly asked her question.
"Draco, have you kissed other girls?"
His brow furrowed a bit as she spoke and he answered her in a manner just as quiet. "Yes. Why does that matter, right now?"
She kept her eyes focused on the distance. "It was just a thought. Never mind." She choked back a small sob, silently reprimanding herself. Why did it matter that he'd kissed others? She should have guessed that, at the very least, he'd kissed Pansy what with the way she hung all over him.
"Hermione." He pushed himself into a sitting position and gripped her face, gently turning it to once again face him. "Yes, I have kissed others, but-Hermione, I never fell in love with any of them. Now, what are you thinking?"
She reached up a hand and took his hand from her face, bringing it down to hold between both of hers. "Like I said, never mind. It was a silly idea."
"Hermione, I know I've made fun of you relentlessly in the past, but I always knew that you never had a silly idea. Now, tell me."
She swallowed a bit and looked carefully at him. "Well, I just was thinking. When was the first time you felt this pain?"
"Last week, in the library."
"You are sure that was the very first time you ever felt that pain?"
"Positive."
"Okay. And you experienced this pain how many times including the times in the library?"
"Three."
"And each of these times, Draco, what were you doing?"
His eyes widened the slightest bit as he whispered, "I was kissing you."
She whispered back, "Exactly."
"But, what does that have to do with anything?"
"Draco, I don't know. But, maybe we-we shouldn't kiss until we find out?"
After a moment of hesitation, he gave a small nod. "Yeah, okay. I suppose you're probably right. So, now what?"
"Well, we will have to see if we can't figure this out. But, Draco," she turned to face him, "we will both have to completely honest with each other if we are to do this." She waited for his nod. "Good. Well, let's go and do some research." She moved to stand, but Draco gripped her arm and pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her.
"The research can wait. Right now, I want to be with you." He gave a smile and brushed his fingers into her hair. She gave him a nod and wrapped her arms around him, leaning her head against his shoulder.
~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~
"Where have you been all afternoon, Hermione?" Ron asked as she entered the common room that evening. "We haven't seen you since lunch."
"Oh, I was in the library."
"No, you weren't. We checked," Ron admonished, as his knight moved across the board to confound Harry's next move.
"Well, let me finish. I was in the library, and then I went to the lake."
Harry carefully watched her face. "You're leaving something out. What's going on, Herm?"
She gave a shake of her head. "Nothing. You two have fun playing your game. I'm gonna head upstairs and-do some stuff." She made her way to the steps, but was stopped by a hand gripping her arm.
Harry spoke in a quiet voice. "Herm, you've been avoiding this since you got out of the infirmary. You can't tell me you have any homework to do, because I know you've finished it. We don't have any exams coming up that you need to study for at this moment. Now is the time to talk."
Her eyes slid closed as he spoke and she gave a quiet sigh. "I know." She turned and walked over to a couch in the corner, sinking into it as Harry and Ron each took a seat on either side of her.
"Herm, what's going on with Malfoy?"
She looked over at Harry and gave a short laugh. "No warming up to it? Just tell you, right off the top?"
"I figured it was the best idea."
"Herm, look, I promise to keep my cool, okay?" Ron said, giving her arm a squeeze.
She looked over at him and gave a curt nod. "I hope you'll say the same after what I tell you, Ron. I know how you are about-about Draco."
"Well, then, we're waiting," he replied.
Hermione took a deep breath and looked across the room as the two boys shared a look and then focused on her.
"Okay, it's like this. At the beginning of the year, I was mortified when Sinistra paired me with Draco, you remember that. Well, I don't exactly know when it happened, but I began to not find him so annoying."
Ron snorted a laugh. "Malfoy, not annoying?"
Hermione leveled a glare at him. "Do you want me to tell you or shall I head up to my room?"
"Herm, please, continue," Harry encouraged, giving Ron a look.
"No more interruptions. This is hard enough as it is." She looked at both boys and waited for their nods before continuing. "Well, as I said, he's not as annoying as I thought. That night I borrowed your Cloak, Harry, Draco found me in the library. He'd come in there to look for more info about the ship as well. We decided to help each other, and found that book I told you about. We were looking through it, when we heard Mrs. Norris." She paused a took a deep breath, steeling herself to tell him the next part.
"I threw the Cloak around me without thinking. Draco ended up under the cloak with me and we managed to escape from Filch." She looked over at Draco, her eyes pleading. "I'm so sorry. He knows you have and Invisibility Cloak. He swears he won't say a word to anyone."
Harry looked at her for a moment and then turned his gaze to look at the fire across the room. "Go on."
She took another deep breath and continued. "Well, we fought, and I left to come back here. I was at the portrait when I pulled out the Map again and noticed that Draco hadn't gone to his room. He was in a classroom. For some reason, I went to the room. We talked, he made a comment, I slapped him and then left. That's when I stepped through the false step.
"When I awoke in the infirmary, I remembered I had left your Cloak in the classroom. I got up to go and get it, but Draco was there. He had brought it back. We talked a little that night before he left. Then we had another fight, I suppose you could call it. That's when we were given the navigation assignment.
"You guys remember that star necklace I had gotten for my birthday?" The boys both said they did. "The night that Draco-cursed-you, Ron I think that he was about to tell me that he got it for me, when, well, when you two showed up. And then, well you guys know what happened. I ignored him pretty much after that. Until the night I went to the library last week with the Cloak again.
"He showed up and well, I kissed him."
Ron bolted from the couch and turned to face her, his face deep red. "You what?" he bellowed. "Hermione! No wonder you're acting so strange. He must have hexed you or-" Harry grabbed him and forced him to sit.
"Ron! We promised to hear her out. Now, sit down and shut up!" He waited for Ron to give a nod and then sat back down. "Herm, please, continue."
She gave Harry a grateful smile and picked up her monologue. "We talked that night; for a long time. Most of the night, actually. We talked some more today and he asked me to be his girlfriend." She stopped talking, leaned back against the couch and waited.
Harry was the first to break the silence. "Herm, did you say girlfriend?"
She gave a nod.
"And what did you tell him?"
"I said yes," she whispered.
"Well, that proves it, then!" Ron rose his voice. "Come on Harry, let's go take care of that prat this second. He's obviously done something to Hermione." He was already halfway to the door as he finished speaking, Hermione right behind him. She grabbed his arm.
"Ron! He did nothing to me. I want to be with him."
Ron stared at her in disbelief. "You what?"
Hermione stood as tall as possible and looked Ron in the eye. "I want to be with him."
Ron shook his head in disbelief, glared at Hermione, and left the common room. Hermione turned to look at Harry. He was standing by the couch. Hermione slowly walked back over to him.
"Harry?"
"Hermione, if this is what you want, I can't say anything. I'm gonna go practice for Quidditch." Harry stepped around her and left. Hermione stood alone, staring at the fire.
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~Misty: So sorry for the delay. I'm trying to keep moving. And here are your chocolate frogs. *hands them over* ENJOY!
~asd: You will have to wait to find out about the orb. I hope you enjoyed Harry and Ron's response to Hermione and her explanation.
~hedwig7up: I am sorry you didn't like the last chapter. I hope this one will please you. And I am honored to be in your list of best ever fanfics.
~Rebecca: Again, I am grateful for your wonderful review. You have no idea how reviews like yours keep me going. I am honored that you have taken a quote from my story and written it done. Hope this new chapter continued to meet you standards.
~CedricDiggory: Thank you! And I am glad I got you in my email. I try to keep up and I am glad I did. Sorry for the wait. I hope to not take as much time before the next chapter.
~wellduh.: GREAT NAME! You're idea about the orb is interesting. I'm still working on how the orb works, so if your idea makes it in, I'll acknowledge ya. I work hard to keep the sappiness to the bare minimum. I can't promise to never do it, but I will try not to. I am also glad that you noticed the way I ended the two viewpoints in chapter 11. I worked hard to make it work that way. And you are right-poor Ginny! The pace is trying to pick up, I promise. I just don't want to rush things. And, now that they are together, you will see more of them building their relationship. They are not out of the water yet, so to speak.
~E: What do I win???? You didn't say! And thanks!
~CatalinaRose: *does the Ice Man sniff* I know it's good. And my gosh yes! Draco is never afraid of the infirmary in my story. I don't get it. Maybe I should take care of the being out of the dorms after 8? NAW-the funnest stuff happens after 8 anyway. OH YEAH-my chapter! Well, Herm passed out because-hehe-not saying! Not yet, anyway. And boy am I glad that Lav and Draco made up! This last three weeks were tortourous! And, what do you make of that new guy, Ethan? My gosh! Could he BE anymore awful?
~draconas: Thanks! I enjoyed writing the scene in the hall. Hope you liked this new chapter.
~SophieBabe: Thank you very very very very very very very very very much!
~Roseadra: I didn't know that I had my characters nod so much. I will watch that. Thanks for you praise. It was wonderfully uplifting.
~Margot: Thanks. Okay, question #1: all about the kissing will be revealed in the next few chapters. #2: I researched on the internet about the navigation equipment. Okay, hope you liked this new chapter.
~Glenda the owl: *huge grin*
~me: LOOK! *points up* I updated!
~SugarGirl: You are the bestest friend! Thank you SOOOO much for reading my story. I can't tell you how hard it has been to hold the reins back. But, it makes for a better, more realistic story. I hope you don't stress out too much! And YES-Rainforest SOON. See ya, chick!