A/N: Hello there! It's so good to hear from all of you! I'd like to thank each and every one of you, but I'm too lazy to actually go back to the reviews page and list you all down… as I've said before, I'm an extremely lazy person at times… so I apologize. But you know who you all are, right?

Anyway, about the survey:

A lot more people seem to like the flower more than the necklace… or maybe there was a miscount… I dunno…

Hmm… I'd like to have jewelry more than bouquets of flowers unless of course the flowers'll never die, of course…

Anyway, you must be annoyed with me already… so, here's chapter ten!

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MY GUARDIAN ANGEL

By Rage

CHAPTER TEN: CAUGHT IN THE MOMENT

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It was already after New Year and the holiday feelings had already disappeared. The Christmas décor was already taken down and the castle had begun to keep quiet once again. All the students had to complete all their holiday homework, so the library, which was completely empty during the break, was full. The Gryffindor Common Room, which was bustling with excitement before Christmas and New Year, was now silent and dull.

Harry and Ron crouched over one of the tables, looking at charts and books. Hermione on the other hand, since she had already finished her homework, was reading a copy of Two Hundred Fifty-Eight Ways to Be Better in Arithmancy, which she had received as a gift during Christmas.

"A three foot essay about Miranda the Marauder," Ron said, looking up, "And a four foot essay on how to make a Self-satisfying Solution. The teachers are crazy!"

"You know that those aren't the only assignments." Harry looked up. "There's the tarot reading in Divination, the research for Transfiguration and there's that Herbology plant thing."

Ron groaned, and looked at Hermione. "Can't you at least help us, Hermione?"

Hermione looked up at him. She saw small bags forming beneath his eyes and Harry's hair was tousled. She smiled, and seeing how pitiful they looked, she decided to help. "Fine then."

The two straightened up and grinned. "Really?"

Hermione nodded. She closed her book and pulled her chair closer to their table. "Okay…" she looked at their finished work. "Ron, you've got this wrong. Miranda the Marauder never went to Iraq—she went to Iran. And Harry—you add six grams of finely crushed unicorn's horn, not sixteen."

And she continued. Ron and Harry, though they were being corrected several times, were not offended. They fully knew that they needed to get high in their grades, because they were going to take their N.E.W.T.S. in the near future, and a part of their academic achievements were going to be reflected there. So, they listened to Hermione as she made their work easier, explaining some complicated things and giving them the right information.

Hermione on the other hand, though her two friends were having a hard time understanding it all at once, tried being patient and though this was taking much of her time, she was glad to help.

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Draco sat quietly in the shadows of the Slytherin Common Room. He had tried to refrain from hanging out there, but it could not be avoided. Since there was schoolwork to be done, he had to do it there since he couldn't finish it downstairs in his dormitory or in the library.

Fortunately, after a few hours, he was done. He noiselessly crept down to their dormitory to keep away his books and slipped away silently from the Common Room. He didn't know where he was going, but anywhere was a lot better than the cold dungeons.

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"Achoo!"

Hermione turned around. Was it just her imagination or did someone actually sneeze?

She took out her wand and muttered, "Lumos." Its tip immediately emitted a faint light, but it was bright enough for Hermione to see her surroundings. "Who's there?" she said urgently.

"It's just me—Achoo!"

Hermione turned around. It was Draco. "What're you doing here?" she said, putting down her wand.

"Just wanted to walk around—Achoo!" he sneezed again. Hermione giggled slightly. "What are you doing down here?"

"Prefect duties." She replied curtly. She motioned Draco to sit down on the floor. He sneezed before doing so, and he leaned his head on the wall. "Are you feeling okay?" Hermione asked.

Draco nodded. "Yeah—just a cold, that's all," he replied, "No need to worry—Achoo!"

He groaned and took a deep breath. Hermione shook her head and took out her wand. "Blankete Apare." Draco watched her wave her wand and instantly, a big blue blanket appeared and covered his freezing body.

"Thanks." He smiled and snuggled in the blanket.

Hermione flicked her wand once again, and this time, a bowl of soup appeared. She took it and handed it to Draco. "Here. Drink this."

"What is it?"

"Muggle soup. Chicken soup. Perfect for colds."

Draco reluctantly took it, and he looked at Hermione before tasting it. Finally, he brought the bowl to his mouth and sipped the soup.

Afterwards, he licked his lips. "This is delicious!"

Hermione laughed quietly and watched Draco act like a little kid. It was like he was seeing everything for the first time and he just looked absolutely cute. His eyes were full of joy and excitement, and Hermione realized something.

He was seeing everything for the first time… he never experienced all the things a normal child did, and that might have been the cause why he was cold, distant, and mean. Their home was never filled with love, and Hermione suddenly felt pity for him. She watched him finish the soup hurriedly, and smiled.

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Snow fluttered down silently as the two teenagers sat together in the dark hall. It was the very same hall where they had first established their friendship…where Draco had cried and where he was comforted by Hermione.

"Do you mind if I sleep for a while?" Draco asked, turning to Hermione.

"Sure. Want a pillow?" Hermione grinned and prepared to take out her wand. However, Draco held his hand up to stop her.

"No, I'm okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes—Achoo!"

With that, he bid her a small goodnight and closed his eyes. And he was asleep right away. Hermione sighed and watched him quietly. And a thought suddenly crossed her mind.

Is he going to dream of the girl again? And jealousy had arrived once again. Hermione shook her head and buried her face in her hands. Why was it that every time the mystery girl was mentioned, she always felt like Draco was going to be taken away from her… not that he was hers, of course… There was always a surge of envy and jealousy running in her and she was clueless why that was happening…

She groaned silently and leaned her head on the wall. "Why, of all people, is this happening to me?" she muttered, closing her eyes. However, her train of thought was cut short when she felt Draco snuggling closer to her. She blushed straightaway and felt her body go rigid and stiff. He smells good, she thought. But she instantly got rid of the idea, punishing herself for even thinking about it.

Draco yawned and unconsciously moved closer to her. Hermione felt instant warmth and knew that her cheeks were reddening every second. She put her arm around him and pulled him closer, knowing that even if she pushed him away, he would inch closer to her afterwards. She placed his head gently on her lap and his body followed suit. She stroked his pale blonde hair and watched him sleep.

And unconsciously, as if by instinct and not by her own will, she lowered her lips and kissed him on the forehead.

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Hermione and Draco watched every girl pass in the corridor. They were behind a door and they were searching endlessly for the mystery girl. It was hard work, because there were a hundred girls in Hogwarts and they never saw all of them in one day. There were tall and lanky ones, stout ones, weird ones, shy ones, short ones, all kinds of girls… but there was no luck.

"Do you think she's older than us, younger than us or just the same age?" Hermione asked, peering through the small slit.

Draco shrugged in reply. "I have no idea."

Hermione sighed hopelessly and watched. "There's a curly-haired girl, but her hair's color red… there's one! Er—false alarm."

Draco sat beside her and looked around. "This is impossible, Hermione."

"No, it's not." She looked at him with determination. "You want that girl—we'll get that girl."

Draco gave her an appraising look. She was alive and energetic, and she thought of this search as a challenge. He grinned and looked outside. "You're right." He said, "we'll never stop until we—"

And he stopped. Hermione glanced at him. "What's wrong?"

Draco's eyes widened with surprise. He was staring at a Ravenclaw girl, who had brown curly hair, bright brown eyes, and she was beautiful. Draco gulped and stood up. He felt that they've found her and the search was done. He turned to Hermione and smiled triumphantly.

"I think we've found her, Hermione."

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A/N: I do hope you liked that chapter! I know I enjoyed writing it… especially the second to the last part! Ha ha… You'll have to wait if you want to read Hermione kissing Draco on the lips… that'll be in the last chapter. He he…

Now, goal: More than a hundred, okay?

Thanks!