A/N: Hey there! I'm so sorry it took so long! It was my graduation last Apr. 8 and the next day, we went to the beach and stayed there for four days! It was so beautiful there! White sand, native delicacies… aah… beautiful. And then we went snorkeling and all kinds of fishes were present! From really small fishes to angel fish-sized ones… and they came in many different colors! It was so relaxing there!

Anyway…

To my reviewers:

dude: Hey, I'm sorry! For crying out loud, I'm only thirteen! And I'm not really that good a writer! I'm sorry if Harry and Ron are ooc, but this is a FANFIC! Anything CAN happen, GOT IT?

Girl-named-Belle: It's okay… only three more months. In July, it's the rainy season and it's going to be stormy here… and we've got school…

Embers: Thank you for the info. I will try to make it longer. :)

Aidel: We never experience snow here in this part of Asia… but thanks for informing me!

And to my other reviewers, thanks for reviewing and hating/liking my story! Keep on reviewing!

On to the story now!

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MY GUARDIAN ANGEL

By Rage

CHAPTER EIGHT: THE SEARCH

****

Draco had dreamt of the girl once again. And this time, he had asked her an important question.

Are you real?

And it was confirmed that… she was. She had said yes to him and Draco's heart literally leapt with joy. The girl of his dreams was real and he would finally get to meet her in reality. The only problem was…

He didn't know her name. All she said was that she was just nearby him that he would never ever think that it was she. That meant that it could be anyone in this school… and that resulted to a problem. There were a hundred girls in Hogwarts and there were four houses. Maybe even the teachers were included as well! But Draco shuddered in disgust and instantly got rid of the idea.

Draco groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. "Where there's a will," he muttered, standing up, "there's a way."

He was determined to find out who the girl was and he'd do anything to meet her. Anything just to meet her…

Because he had already fallen in love with her… with the mystery girl.

****

It was Saturday and the sun was already setting. Hermione was sitting on the stone steps of the castle, and she was in deep thought. She was recalling what she had said to Draco two days before, and she was mentally punishing herself.

You know, I'm quite jealous of that girl…

What was she thinking, saying a thing like that to Draco Malfoy? Sure, he had already softened up, but that wasn't an excuse to say such a foolish thing to him! Hermione buried her face in her hands and shook her head in shame. "Hermione, what's gotten into you?"

She looked up at the dark velvety blue sky and sighed. "What happens, happens," she consoled herself, resting her chin on the palm of her hand. "How I wish I had my old Time-Turner, then I could go back and knock some sense into me."

"Haven't you got enough common sense?"

She turned around and looked up. It was Draco, wearing his striped scarf and black cloak. But it wasn't just Draco… it was a handsome Draco. He looked absolutely dashing at the moment, and he matched perfectly with the scenery. Hermione felt her cheeks redden, and she gulped.

"Er—Malfoy. Hi."

"What are you doing here?" Draco asked, sitting beside her.

"Oh, just wasting my time." Hermione goofily smiled. "You?"

"I was going to tell you something important."

Hermione raised her eyebrow. "What?"

Draco grinned and replied, "She's real."

"Who? The girl?"

"Yes."

"The girl?"

Draco nodded. Hermione gasped and squealed in excitement. "Well—who is she?"

"Er…" Draco scratched his head. "Well, I don't know—yet."

"Okaay… that's a problem, isn't it?"

Draco nodded and sighed. "That's why…I… er…"

"Let me guess. You need my help." Hermione smiled and sighed heavily. "Why not? It'll keep me busy during the holidays."

"Don't we have homework for the holidays?"

Hermione grinned. "I already finished them."

Draco grinned back. "I forgot. You are Hermione Granger." He stood up and brushed the dust off his cloak. "Well—I'll be off now. It's time for dinner."

Hermione nodded and stood up as well. "We'll start tomorrow, shall we?"

Draco smiled. "Sure. See you."

Hermione gave him a cheery wave and turned around. "Bye." She started walking off, but before she could turn around the corner, Draco had called her name.

"Hermione."

Hermione stopped abruptly and glanced at him. "What?"

"Thanks."

****

"Brown hair that falls gracefully in curls… vivid, beautiful brown eyes… quite tall…" Hermione read the note slowly. Draco had finally given her the physical characteristics of the mystery girl. However, it really didn't help Hermione that much to identify the girl. "This sounds like a love letter!" she muttered grumpily, crumpling the small piece of paper. She sighed heavily and looked around the Great Hall.

"Maybe it's her… no, maybe that's her—wait—aargh!" Hermione ruffled her hair in frustration and banged her fist on the table. "Why am I even doing this?! For Malfoy!"

"Doing what?"

Hermione turned around and glared at her two best friends who had just arrived. "Do not even try to mess with me!" she snapped, pointing her finger at the two.

Ron backed away and Harry jumped. "Got up on the wrong side of your bed?" Ron asked, taking a seat two places away from Hermione.

"I'm sorry, you two. It's just that I'm quite… er… preoccupied and stressed at the moment."

Harry raised his eyebrow and sat down. "Just to inform you, it's the Christmas holidays."

"Yes, I believe I know that." Hermione replied flatly. "I'm just troubled with something."

The two boys looked at each other and grinned. "Maybe we can help." Harry said.

Hermione snorted. "Are you sure?"

"Well, we'll give it a try," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Unless of course it involves arithmancy or something."

Ron nodded in agreement. Hermione stared at her two friends and sighed. Why not? She thought, as she flattened the small piece of paper. They might actually know her. She gave them the note and said, "Do you know any girl who looks like this?"

Harry took the note and read it. Ron looked over his shoulder and read some parts of it out loud. "…falls gracefully in curls…brown eyes…tall…waaiit a minute." Ron grabbed the paper from Harry and looked at it closely.

Harry raised his eyebrow. "You know her?" he asked, looking over Ron's shoulder. Ron gave him a flat look and grabbed the end of his robes. He whispered something to Harry, and as he did so, Harry's eyes widened. "Yeah?" He took the note and read it again, pausing every time to look up at Hermione. Hermione continued staring at the two, until finally, they spoke to her.

"Well? Do you personally know her?" Hermione asked.

Harry and Ron glanced at each other and then stared back at her. "Hermione, when was the last time you looked at a mirror?" Ron asked, giving back the note.

"What do you mean?" she looked at them weirdly as she put the paper in her bag. "What, I look like this—this girl?"

The two looked at each other and nodded. "Well—yeah. Sort of." Harry said, shrugging. "Actually, if I didn't know you any better, I would have thought that this was you."

Hermione blinked before she could take in everything they had said. When finally she did, she opened her bag, took out the paper and read it again. "What're you talking about?" she exclaimed. "No, it doesn't."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Hermione, you have blondish… er…brown curly hair. You have brown eyes and you're catching up to Harry and me." Harry nodded.

Hermione wrinkled her forehead. She snorted. "You're out of your minds, you two." She grabbed a piece of bread, took her bag and prepared to leave. "I'll see you later. And thanks for your help."

She waved goodbye to them and left the Great Hall.

****

"Dasher and Vixen," Hermione told the Fat Lady. However, since she was talking her friend, Violet, she hardly heard her. Hermione rolled her eyes and stomped her foot. "Excuse me!"

Fortunately, the two ladies heard her. "Yes, dear?" The Fat Lady asked pleasantly, while Violet crossed her arms and muttered, "Impolite girl…"

"Dasher and Vixen. I want to get in the Common Room please." Hermione said grumpily. The Fat Lady chuckled and opened her portrait. Hermione muttered a thank you and climbed in.

Finally inside, Hermione proceeded to her dormitory, placed her bag on the floor and fell on her bed. She didn't know why she was in such a bad mood, but she had a pretty good feeling that it was because of what Ron and Harry said. She shook her head and muttered, "She just looks like me, that's all… but then again…"

Hermione stood up and walked in front of the full-length mirror. She examined herself and turned sideways every other time. And much to her dismay, her two friends were… well, quite right. She did have beautiful brown curls…she had chestnut brown eyes that were very alive and bright… and she was almost 5'6". And to top all of that, she was, in her and everyone else's opinion, a very pretty young lady.

However, Hermione sighed heavily. Yes, she was pretty, but the girl Draco was looking for was surely going to be much prettier than she. And to her surprise, she felt a tinge of jealousy. It was just a small pang, but all the same, a part of her was jealous. And she didn't know why.

****

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I hope that this is long enoughfor you already. I'm dying to post it up already! And I hope you all review! I need 'em badly, understand? I cannot live without your reviews! It is my oxygen! He he… just kidding… but all the same, REVIEW! I even wrote a poem!

What I really need from you

Is your awaited good review

May it be bad, May it be good

May it be nice, may it be rude

My story badly needs it now

So review. I'll show you how.

Click that 'Go' Button down below,

Review and that's how I will know:

Someone actually likes my story

Or thinks that it's sickeningly gory.

SO REVIEW!!!

PS. I worked hard on the poem, so you have to give me credit by REVIEWing!!