Disclaimer: In conjunction with Tom Felton's painfully attractive hands, I
do not own Harry Potter
CHAPTER FORTY FOUR: Yuletide Tomfoolery Pt. 5
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"Draco, can I talk to you?" Hermione asked as she crawled from the foot of the bed to the head and Draco looked up from the book on wand-less magic.
"Sure, love. Is something wrong?" he asked from his horizontal position beside her. Hermione didn't answer, just crawled beneath the covers with him, moving close. Draco lifted his arm to let her crawl below it, his book closed over his thumb. Hermione remained silent for a while and Draco began to fiddle with her hair.
"Do you remember when I told you that I slept with Krum, then I told you that it wasn't really all that involved?" she said quietly and Draco briefly paused before continuing to twist her hair between his fingers.
"Mm," he said in answer and she paused again.
"I think I'm misleading you on that; it was even less than you think. There was no actual... penetration, we'll call it. Victor didn't make it through foreplay," she said and Draco remained quiet, not quite sure what to make of this new information. "Remember when I told you about Zane, and I said that all he ever did was slap me?" she continued and he looked at her.
"Yeah," Draco said worriedly and Hermione nodded.
"I'm misleading you a bit there as well," she said and became quiet, closing her eyes. Draco looked concernedly at her.
"Hermione?" he asked, his unease shining through.
"Unsurprisingly, after a while he grew bored of his tiny concurs over me and decided it was time to move on. He asked me to sleep with him, but I refused, and he got mad. I should have just let him, but I was scared... he said it didn't matter, said there were other ways to make me his. He demonstrated, then asked me again, but I said no, so Zane gave up and forced me. I managed to avoid him for the next few days, then term started and I haven't seen, nor did I wish to see, him since. I'm sorry; I should have told you when I told you about Krum, but I honestly didn't remember. I've blocked him from my subconscious... he didn't exist until this morning," she said, uninterrupted, then fell silent again.
"I'm sorry, love," Draco said quietly and pressed his lips into her hair. Hermione cuddled into him, trying to bring forth the protective feeling he gave her. "Can I ask you something about this?" he asked in a whisper and Hermione nodded. "What do you mean by 'he demonstrated'?" She sighed and paused a moment before pushing slightly away. "No, love, I'm sorry... don't go, you don't have to answer," Draco said pleadingly and Hermione smiled a little and gave him a kiss.
"I can't show you unless I get my wand, and my wand is in the common room," she explained. Draco looked thoughtful for a moment, then smiled curiously. He held out a hand toward the door and laughed a bit before speaking.
"Accioway," he said and, surprising to both of them, Hermione's wand flew into his hand. Both looked wide-eyed at the wand, then turned to face each other.
"How the hell did you do that?" Hermione asked in surprise and Draco shook his head.
"I don't know... I-I didn't think it would work, I thought this was all some joke," he said in disbelief.
"What do you mean?"
"This book I was reading... the first chapter basically says that if you aren't touching a wand and you say a spell in Pig Latin, it will still work... then the rest is how it was discovered..." he explained and Hermione blinked.
"That's insane," she said, "It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever."
"That may be true, but it still works, and I have to say, that's bloody brilliant," he said, then looked up at her. "Your wand," he said, the smile he had gained through discovery dropping to compliment his remembrance of why she needed it.
"Oh, right," she said, also dropping her smile. Hermione took the wand from him and pointed it toward herself. "Finite incantrum," she said quietly and kept her eyes closed. Draco nearly gasped.
"My god, Mia, what happened?" he asked, gingerly brushing his fingers across her darkly bruised cheek.
"What?" she asked, bringing a hand to her face, a little too quickly, and winced. "Oh, that... it's not that bad, really... it wasn't all done at the same time. They don't heal when you put the spell on it, so each new one is added to the rest," she said calmly, as if it were nothing to even acknowledge. Draco was surprised by her unbothered attitude. "But that's not what I need to show you... the bruises I had to hid from the beginning, but this I let heal first," she explained and began to unbutton her nightshirt. Draco watched her with interest and a smile, but it fell when his eyes landed on upon her surprise. To his horror, she laughed. "He said he was just like Zorro."
"Hermione..." **Bastard...** he cursed, reaching a hand to the spot just above her stomach, where, written in jagged scar, a large letter 'Z' proclaimed Zane's legacy. "That wasn't there the night you left the hospital wing... I would have noticed," he said as he ran his fingers over the rough skin. Hermione laughed.
"Well, you were a little preoccupied," she pointed out, expected to generate at least a smile, but Draco just stared at her scar. "And I had the spell on, so you couldn't see it. Oh, but hey, now that I'm sharing secrets, I have another one. That spell covers up any unnatural body marking, which, unfortunately... includes tattoos," she said with a slight smirk and Draco looked up at her. **How can she be so calm about this? This is horrible, no one deserves to be treated this way.** he thought, but decided that it wouldn't make sense to alert her to the pain she should be feeling.
"You have a tattoo?" he asked instead and Hermione's smile grew while she nodded eagerly. Without another word, she sat up and turned away, then let the silken shirt slide down her arms, exposing the skin from her shoulders to waist. On the small of her back was a blood red, black winged, snitch, with a wingspan of no more than three inches. "Wow," he said, sounding surprised. Hermione giggled.
"Do you like it? I haven't seen it in forever," she said and turned away from him, trying as best as she could to see her marking. Finding this to be unsuccessful, Hermione turned back ahead with a pout. Then, she thought of something and a curious look came about her. "Accioway," she said, holding out her hand, and a small mirror flew immediately into it. Hermione laughed in amusement and held it behind her, looking at the reflection of her tattoo.
"I do, but hey... what about that mark from the Singtransion? Why was that visible?"
"Because it was a curse, so it registers like a mole would, which is natural. If Harry tried this spell, his scar would still be visible," she explained and he nodded. Draco watched her silently, admiring her untouched skin and running things through his mind. ** How can someone go through something like that and be so unaltered by it?** he wondered, but smiled as Hermione flipped her shirt back over her shoulders and began re buttoning it.
Hermione turned and smiled at him, stopping her buttoning prematurely, leaving the top three undone, then spun and crawled back in beside her Slytherin. Lifting her wand, Hermione re-preformed the covering spell, then tossed the stick on the bedside table and blew out the candle.
"Are you okay?" she asked, eyeing Draco suspiciously as she settled herself back down. Draco smiled and nodded.
"I love you, Hermione," he whispered to her and she sighed happily and closed her eyes, her head resting on his arm. "I really do. I don't know how, but I'm going to save you from this. I won't let him or anyone else hurt you ever again, and with that I give you the Malfoy word," he said soothingly as Hermione fell closer to sleep. Draco placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and Hermione sighed.
"I'm sorry, Draco. This was our first Christmas; it wasn't supposed to be like this. It would have been so perfect if they had never come home... I had so much planned for us..." she said sleepily, her lips the only movement she made.
"Shh," Draco said quietly. "At least it will be memorable." Hermione made a slight and breathy laugh, then sighed and let Draco's gentle kisses lull her to sleep.
* * * * * * * * * *
The week between Christmas and New Year's Eve, for Draco and Hermione, was spent writing a few letters, talking with Angelina, testing out Hermione's new broom against Draco's 'baby' (also known as the Cumulonimbus; fastest and most powerful racing broom ever sold; public or privately), and amusing themselves with wand-less magic. It was quickly discovered that many spells were harder to accomplish without magic than the summoning charm and required practice...
"You're never going to get it, love," Draco said, shaking his head with an arrogant smirk.
"Gee Ace, thanks for the support," Hermione said sarcastically and held her hand forcefully toward the teacup which was begging to become a canary. "Orinthioway." Nothing. "Err! Not even one stupid feather! How can you be so good at everything?" she complained in frustration. Draco chuckled and came up to her, giving her a kiss below her ear.
"You beat me in Transfiguration last year," he told her and she groaned.
"Don't remind me," she begged and he laughed.
"Try again," he said. Hermione sighed and closed her eyes.
"Orinthioway," she said dispassionately and slowly opened her eyes, not expecting to see more than the teacup. **A yellow teacup, if I'm lucky,** she thought. What she saw was indeed yellow, but nowhere near a cup; it was a large canary, looking a bit dazed and glassy, but a canary just the same. She shrieked, startling both Draco and the bird. "I did it!" she yelled happily, twirling around once and coming back to face a smiling Slytherin.
"I knew you could," he said proudly, giving Hermione's smirking lips a kiss.
"What's that, my reward? No cookie? And I distinctly remember you saying something along the lines of 'You're never going to get it, love.' That doesn't seem consistent with 'I knew you could,'" she pointed out and he laughed.
"I was trying to get you to stop trying so damn hard. That was your problem the entire time; too much effort," he told her and Hermione shook her head.
"Too MUCH effort? That's absurd, there is no such thing," Hermione argued and he laughed again.
"Have you ever seen the way Pansy does her make-up?" Hermione thought about this for a moment, then nodded.
"Okay, so maybe it exists, but it doesn't apply here," she insisted.
"Who are you kidding, Mia? That last time, the only time it worked, mind you, you barely put in any effort at all. Admit it, I'm right, you were trying too hard," he dared and she rolled her eyes.
"Alright, I'm an overachiever and it's finally bitten me in the arse. Happy now? I'm only agreeing because you'll hound me forever if I don't... now, let me try to turn it back into a cup," she suggested and held out her hand.
"Try not to incinerate this one, will you? Poor Chester... he didn't deserve such an untimely end. I miss him already." Hermione laughed.
"Draco, you owned Chester for about three seconds, he was in reality a piece of pottery, and I've repeatedly apologized. Please, just get over it already. It's not like I blew up your cat," Hermione said and Draco turned his head toward her.
"Hey, Hermione... promise NOT to blow up my cat, should such an opportunity arise?" he asked seriously and Hermione stared.
"Of course not, why would I do that?" she assured him and Draco smiled.
"Just checking."
"You're so weird," Hermione stated and turned back to her canary.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Hermione, when do you want to leave tomorrow?" Draco asked, looking up from his book of drawings. Hermione, who was seated in a chair close to the sofa he was sprawled over, looked from 'The History of Beauxbatons' to her boyfriend, her face clueless.
"Don't ask me. Once again, I have no knowledge of any of the mechanics of this trip, nor do I know what's in store for us on the other side. When do YOU think we should go?"
"I think we should go right now, but I have a feeling you won't go for that," Draco said with a smirk, speaking, of course, of the trip to Gulden's Park. Hermione giggled.
"No, that would be right. How about... whenever we wake up?" she suggested, but Draco shook his head.
"I don't think I'll be going to sleep. I've always wanted to go there for real; it's not as fun when you buy the Glings," he told her and Hermione stuck out her bottom lip.
"You have to go to sleep, Ace! If you don't, you'll turn into zombie from planet dead again. You know, this one time, you were sitting and just staring at the wall... it was rather creepy so I tried to get your attention. I swear I called your name ten times and you didn't even blink. I thought you were just sleeping with your eyes open, so I left you alone. And what the hell is a Gling?" Draco laughed.
"Wow, was I really THAT bad?" She nodded. "Sorry. Oh, and a Gling is actually called a Generated Life-port Ring; Gling is just what everyone calls them. It's sort of like the rugby-box I was watching with your dad, but better. You buy the ring and put it on, then say where you want to go and it takes your mind there, but your body stays where it is. It's like you're remembering being there and not moving or talking or anything. Mum sends me one every year, but I told her we were going for real, so she didn't bother," he told her and she nodded.
"Like virtual reality," she said and Draco was obviously a little confused.
"Yeah... sure," he said, assuming it was true. Hermione laughed.
"And it's called a TV, not a rugby-box," she said and he shrugged.
"Whatever."
"Hey, want to play cards with me? I'll teach you go-fish... it's simple," she asked and Draco clicked his teeth semi-nervously.
"Um, okay... if you want to," he agreed and she giggled in excitement.
"Good," she said happily, putting her book on the floor. Hermione pointed a finger toward the tiny table with their chessboard and the pieces immediately began to put themselves away. She pointed again and the table came toward her, filling the small space between herself and Draco. Then, she splayed her fingers and smiled as her deck of cards appeared in her hand.
"Wow Mia... you're getting good," Draco complimented and Hermione smiled wider, then opened her mouth to speak a thank you, but didn't get a chance. "See? Not so hard when you don't try. Grandfather's book actually says 'magic such as this is not something a person can learn, it's simply something each possesses.' If you already have it, you don't need to work to get it."
"Alright, I get it, you were right, I was wrong, end of discussion. I knew you would bug me about this," she said irritably as she dealt the cards.
"Well, you did call me a grasshopper. Isn't that what grasshoppers do?" he retorted and Hermione shook her head, ignoring him as she began to explain how to play this game.
Draco, as always seemed to be the case, caught on quickly, but was bored with the game before half an hour had passed. In light of this, Hermione opted for a new approach.
"Alright, we'll try a new one. Let's see; there's old maid, but it's boring with two people, blackjack, palace, bullshit...which is pointless, forget I mentioned it, war... or we could try poker," Hermione listed and Draco smirked.
"We can't play poker; it's nine o'clock; every teacher is sleeping," he said and she laughed. "Teach me war, it sounds the most interesting," he said and Hermione began to deal again with a slight nod and a wide smile.
* * * * * * * * * *
The next day, New Year's Eve, Hermione woke Draco promptly at seven o'clock. She was already showered, but only partially dressed, wearing a towel over her undergarments.
"Draco," she said warmly, smiling at his sleeping form. At his failure to respond, she smiled and leaded in close to his ear. "Fie, you slug-abed!" she practically yelled, causing Draco to jump. She giggled as he grumbled. "What, not a word? You take your pennyworths now; sleep for a week; for the next night, I warrant, The County Paris hath set up his rest, that you shall rest but little," she said and Draco laughed.
"God, I hope not. Hm... no the most innocent of Shakespearian quotes you've chosen, is it?" he said sleepily, opening one eye. Hermione smiled.
"No, but it suited my purpose, didn't it? And it fit quite well, other than the whole Paris romping you next week part," she said.
"I'm okay with it as long as you're Paris," he said slyly, blinking the other eye open. Hermione giggled and leaned in to kiss him, placing a hand on his chest.
"We'll see. Right now, you have to get up Mr. I'm-not-going-to-sleep," she said and stood up, hands on her hips. Draco mumbled some obscenities and reluctantly obeyed, moving slowly. Hermione giggled and he turned to her, eyes widening a bit as he noticed her attire. Draco swallowed and looked her up and down.
"What's that you've got on, love?" he asked stupidly and Hermione looked down.
"It's a towel, Draco... what does it look like? I haven't decided on what to wear yet," she said and Draco smirked, taking a step toward her.
"Just wear that; it's nice," he said, moving his lips close to hers. Hermione parted her lips to begin a retort, but Draco silenced her with his own. His hands moved slowly up her back until they reached her shoulders, then he slid his fingers beneath the black bra straps, which sprouted from the white cotton blanket, and traced down to the rim of the towel. Never breaking away, his hands moved to the front of her covering and parted the ends, letting the material pool at their feet. Hermione giggled into his mouth as his hands became a little fresh, and let them have their fun for a minute, then reached to stop them, finishing the kiss hardly and pulling away.
"We can play Paris and Juliet later. Right now, you should go take a shower, and might I suggest; a cold one?" she whispered, pulling Draco's hands away. He smiled and kissed her one more time.
"Sorry," he whispered back, then turned to go, looking back in time to see Hermione recover herself with her towel. He stuck out his lip, an action no one can resist, and Hermione smiled as she quickly reopened and again closed the covering, giving him one last glimpse of her scarcely covered skin. He smiled and winked before leaving the bedroom.
Halfway to the bathroom, Draco had a thought. He held up his hand with a smirk and in seconds was holding a white cotton bath towel. He waited for a moment, and, sure enough, Hermione yelled to him.
"Draco!" she scolded and he chuckled a bit.
"You looked better without it!" he called back and quickly retreated to the lavatory.
* * * * * * * * * *
"I don't want to be Paris; he tried to screw a dead girl," Draco said as the head couple made their way down the Hogsmeade path once again.
"There is so much wrong with that sentence I don't even know where to begin. First off, although that's what I though too, we don't know for sure that that's what Shakespeare was implying. Paris might have just been paying last respects... in the middle of the night. Secondly, she wasn't really dead," Hermione said back, shaking her head a bit at the pointlessness of this conversation.
"Yes, but he thought she was," Draco pointed out and Hermione nodded.
"True, but anyway, I thought I was Paris?"
"You can't be, because if you are, that makes me Juliet... and that's just wrong. How about I just stick with Romeo, hm?" he suggested and Hermione nodded.
"It doesn't matter; she was supposed to sleep with both of them... but you know, it's kind of funny; if you're Romeo, that makes Crabbe and Goyle Benvolio and Mercutio and your parents the Montague's... I'd have to suggest McGonagall and Dumbledore as the Capulet's, however... it makes more sense rivalry wise," Hermione said with a smile and Draco did the same, liking this conversation quite a bit.
"Oh, I don't know. Capulet lets Romeo stay at the party, but his wife sides with Tybalt on his leaving, although she doesn't say as much. Slightly like Christmas."
"Okay," she said and shrugged. "My parents are the Capulet's, then. Ron is Tybalt and Harry is Paris, but only because Ron is more apt to try to kill you than Harry. McGonagall is the nurse then, because of that whole grandmother thing..." she paused for a moment, then smirked. "Dumbledore is Friar Lawrence, making Snape Friar John because he never delivered that message to you," she continued.
"Yeah, and because I want him to contract the plague," Draco said evilly and Hermione shook her head.
"Friar John never contracted the plague," she reminded him and Draco nodded.
"I know, but he came pretty close. Now, who's Roseline?" he asked and Hermione looked up to the sky blissfully.
"Um... Ginny," she said and he nodded.
"That makes sense if Ron is Tybalt... I'm not sure if he and Roseline were brother and sister, but they must have been related," he said and she nodded. "Alright, but that means I've been pining Ginny... which is as far from the truth as possible. I actually thought her name was Jenny until at least third year," he said and Hermione laughed.
"Well, it has to be someone from my side, so it's either Ginny or Thisbe, and Ginny makes more sense, considering the Ron relation and the fact that Roseline won't give Romeo the time of day and if you showed even the slightest bit of interest in Thisbe, and I wasn't yet in the picture, she'd be on you like Harry on a snitch..." Hermione said. "So Ginny is Roseline. Like it or not, you pined her. Pined, past tense. You're mine now."
"Of course," he said and looked down the path. "That's what your mother thought, wasn't it? That there was something between Thisbe and I?" Hermione's smile dropped and she nodded sadly. "It's not true, Hermione. I swear. All that happened was she asked me to zap her shoes, so I did and she got all excited so I told her she was easily amused and she said that I was too, because of the E-mail, and I agreed. Then we started downstairs and heard you yelling; half the time we were just waiting for a good time to intervene," he said urgently and Hermione nodded.
"I know; I believe you. Neither of you would do that; my mum is a nutcase. She was trying to turn me against you. Don't worry, I never even rethought it," she said and Draco took her hand.
"Good. I feel I should tell you, though... I think Thisbe has a little more than a friendly attraction to me, and to be honest, it's freaking me out. She is the most obvious crusher I've ever met," he told her and Hermione laughed.
"Yeah, I noticed that too. I should have expected it, though. She falls in love with at least ten guys a day," Hermione said and Draco breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"Wow, now I feel special."
"Well, would you rather it be you're the only guy she's ever admired and she can't have you because she knows you're mine, so she pines you like Romeo pined Roseline, except Roseline runs off with Paris leaving Romeo alone forever, searching for you while Juliet suffocates in the Capulet tomb because no one came to let her out? Do you really want that on your conscience?" Hermione asked and Draco stared for a moment, then shook his head.
"Whoa... you lost me around where we got back into Shakespeare." Hermione laughed.
"Never mind... it's not important," she said, sighing happily.
* * * * * * * * * *
As they walked through the tiny town, Draco apparated without warning, which was surprising, but not unpleasant, for Hermione and caused her to let out a stream of amused giggles as the tingly feeling of surprise drifted away. Draco smiled at her as the world changed from Hogsmeade to Gangory, Wales, home of Gulden's Park. Once again, the couple found themselves in the woods.
"Is the scenic route always necessary?" she asked, but didn't sound upset and Draco nodded.
"Less visibility... muggles and what not. The park is a 'for wizard eyes only' type of place, though. No muggles. Come on, it's only nine; we might still get a seat," he said and pulled her toward a marked path. As they briskly walked, Hermione repeatedly adjusted the shoulder bag she had brought along, which was getting rather heavy. Inside was their wands and money, as well as Draco's wand-less magic book, the deck of cards, Hermione's book on Beauxbatons and various other things they might need.
She wondered why she hadn't put a featherweight charm on it, and considered doing so now, but remembered that her wand was in the bag. After a few more minutes, Hermione realized that she needn't have her wand for such a simple spell and placed her hand on the course fabric, saying the words and sighing happily as the weight was lifted.
* * * * * * * * * *
Gulden's Park was more like the Quidditch World Cup than Times Square. There was a gigantic stadium, which was able to hold well over a hundred thousand people, and Draco and Hermione were fairly lucky in finding a seat; almost directly in the middle, which Draco said was best.
"I'm going to get some coffee, love. Save my seat, would you?" Draco asked after almost two hours of watching the Fire-faeries dance on the field below, simply for entertainment purposes. Hermione smiled at the thought of the warm beverage as Draco stood.
"Sure," she said and he bent down for a quick kiss, then headed off down the stairs; it was convenient to sit on the end of a row.
True to her word, Hermione swung her feet up on the metal bench, saving her boyfriend's seat. The surface was charmed to be warm and was quite comfortable, despite the cold air. Hermione crossed her arms and leaned sideways against the backrest. Normally, in a situation like this, she would have tucked her wand up her sleeve, but Hermione felt confident with her wand-less skills. She believed that every spell she could do with her wand could also be accomplished without it. Confidence was nice when surrounded by strangers.
* * * * * * * * * *
Draco had been gone for about twenty minutes when something unexpected happened. Hermione was still sitting with her feet on Draco's seat, but now had her eyes closed, appearing to be asleep by any passerby; which was just what one tall and lanky old man thought. As he made his way down the stirs, the old man noticed Hermione and a menacing glint infested his eye. Slowly, the geezer crept up to her, keeping an eye on hers to make sure Hermione didn't wake up, and slowly reached a hand to pilfer her knapsack.
Hermione, who was in fact not asleep, knew of a person rummaging her possessions and at first thought it was Draco. It didn't take long to realize that it wasn't, however... the aura of protection and warmth that accompanied him was not present; she knew almost immediately that it couldn't be the Slytherin.
Instead of alerting the thief, Hermione remained still and quiet, waiting for something to happen. She heard he unwanted guest pull her bag across the ground, then stand and stealthily walk away. Now was the time for action.
"Hey!" she called, spinning to place her feet on the ground and standing, looking angry. The old man, upon hearing her call, began to run. "Get back here, you prat!" Hermione yelled and began following him. Upon the realization that he was much faster than she, Hermione held out her hand. "Etrificuspay Otalustay," she said quietly so no one would hear. The man stopped dead in his tracks, arms snapping to his sides and bag falling to the ground. Hermione jogged up to him and picked up her bag, then turned and sneered at the man. "I believe this is mine, thank you."
"Excuse me, Miss. Is there a problem here?" said a tall, thin, young man with dark olive skin and scarlet red hair. He wore a black uniform with a badge that proclaimed him security on his left breast, and one on his right introducing him as Freddie Valentine. Hermione smiled sweetly at the security guard, then turned back to the man she had followed.
"Actually Sir, there is. This man here took the liberty of stealing my bag; not the nicest hello I've ever received," she said irritably and the officer nodded.
"Is that so? Well, we can't have that. Are you alright, Miss?" he asked and Hermione nodded. "Good, good. I suppose I'll be taking this gentlemen to Park Quarantine, then," he said and took hold of the man's stiff-arm.
"Just a moment, please, officer," Hermione said, stopping the men from apparating. She stepped up to the burglar and gave him one hard slap across the face. Freddie laughed.
"If anyone bother's you again, I'll be patrolling this area tonight. Just call for officer Valentine and I'll be with you right quick Miss...?"
"Granger," Hermione provided and Freddie nodded.
"Miss Granger. Enjoy your evening," he said and disappeared with a pop. Hermione lifted her bag onto her shoulder and started back up the stairs. She hadn't gone long when what felt like the hand of god lifted her from the ground and pushed her quickly back to her seat... and into the waiting arms of Draco Malfoy. Hermione smiled as she felt herself unintentionally advancing on him at a quiet alarming rate and opened her arms to him as she was roughly pushed into his embrace. She giggled as he squeezed her.
"You're back," she said happily, embracing him equally hard. Draco squeezed tighter for a moment, then let her go.
"Yes, but you weren't," he said, sounding almost as if he were scolding her. Hermione smiled and kissed him, causing Draco to forget his worries for a moment and focus on her 'punishment.'
"I'm sorry," she said when they broke away. "But this stupid git took my bag and I had to go chase after him."
"What? Are you alright, love?"
"Oh, yes, I'm fine. I stunned him and found a cute security guard to take him to Quarantine. Hey, you wouldn't happen to know what just happened, would you? That was kind of fun, actually," Hermione said, speaking of her antics as if they happened everyday, then smiling as she spoke of the flight. Draco nodded, looking smug.
"Of course, I summoned you," he told her and she blinked.
"Like a death eater?" Hermione asked in wonder and Draco laughed.
"No, more like a towel," he said, lifting his eyebrows three times. Now she laughed.
"Gee, Ace. I didn't know you wanted me that badly," she teased, moving her head to his shoulder for another hug. Draco groaned, generating another soft Gryffindor giggle.
"You have no idea," he said in a husky whisper and squeezed Hermione close again.
.
A/N: YES! LAST CHAPTER OF CHRISTMAS! Woo-hoo! Zane's an even bigger arse than we thought! How barbaric was that? ::Shudder:: let's all hope New Year's goes better. Christmas just sucked. Do you think I'm THAT mean that I would mess up their New Year's after I messed Christmas ROYALLY? We'll find out... more fun ahead!
I just realized something. Tom Felton has the most attractive hands I have ever seen in my entire life. If I ever find another guy with hands like his... I don't care if he's Zane's reincarnation... I'm going to capture and never let him go. Honestly... find a picture where you can see his hands; I want them so badly! My hands! Mine!
PRF:
Tom*Feltons*Babe: Zane sucks and Mione's mom is wacko!
My Arwen: Is Arwen a popular character? It's from LOTR right? I have another reviewer who's just Arwen. Anyhow...and yeah, I know... it's kinda long. Thanx for spending so much time on my fic!
Kat19: Lol, god knows... and thanx.
Marina: I don't mean to sound like a freak or mean or anything, but could you specify what you think is redundant? I've tried and tried and I don't quite see what you mean... not that I'm proclaiming my story immaculate or anything, I'm just confused. I'd like to fix anything I can. Thanx for reviewing.
*Karly*: No, Hermione's mum DOESN'T know what Zane did. Even a bad mother would keep her kids away from someone like THAT. Mione just doesn't feel comfortable sharing. I will get into more detail about this later when the whole 'You have to go home and I can't come with you... and he's there' thing comes up at the end of school. Such plans I have.
Purplerks: I'll read your story if I get a chance, but right now I'm swamped! You guys are lucky I'm even posting! Thanx for all the wonderful comments, though! Hehe.
Erilyn Rose: Thisbe will NOT lay a FINGER on Draco while Hermione's around... despite what Mrs. Granger may thing. Yes, she insane, and yes, Zane's off the deep end... but yeah.
XxSleepygirlxx- There's nothing wrong with Thisbe. She's on the good side. So what if she's attracted to Draco? She's keeping her hands off. I'd be attracted too... lol. But you can hate Mione's mum. She's a freak.
Little Witch: Lol, I read your review and I was confused for a minute... first you said Malfoy, then Draco. Usually, people who like stories where Draco is the bad guy say Malfoy, and people who like good guy Draco's say Draco... but then I realized you were making reference to Mia's whole schizophrenia theory... lol. And you're right, by the way.
Hermiown: I thought Hermione's name was pronounced 'Herm-e-own' or Hermion, I guess, throughout like half the first book, but then I watched the movie and I'm like OH! Lol. Thanx for the review!
Joebob1379: I almost wrote Hoebob, lol. And I know it's weird, but HELL YEAH, I READ REVIEWS! Lol. And that 'remember what happened last time' thing won't really be elaborated on... it was just like a foreshadowing type thing telling you that Zane was abusive. No specific situation... yeah.
Girl Named Belle: Yes, I agree. But I can't yet. He comes into play later. Anyway, yes, his name is cool. I overheard my friend Sam talking about this kid from another school named Zane and I'm like, that's cool. I didn't mean to diss him by makin him all evil, but it was the only new character I needed. Same thing with Reif (you'll meet him later) I got that name from an English test on point of view in stories (so EASY! LGG is Third Person Limited. MPES is First person. Flames is TPL.... and Twist is TPL. I like TPL, lol)
Cat: I will. I have up to their written, I just need to type it. Soon, soon.
Jade-Snake: Thanx. I thought it was pretty cool too.
I am happy to announce that FLAMES OF ECSTASY is quite close to completion. I'd say within sixty chapters. Don't worry, there will be a sequel. It was originally said it would be called ALL TRUTHS BEGIN IN WHISPER, but that's not definite. I'm thinking about it. It's hard when you haven't written it all... I'm not exactly sure where it's going. Thanx for reading and whatnot!
Tom Felton has godly hands!
CHAPTER FORTY FOUR: Yuletide Tomfoolery Pt. 5
.
"Draco, can I talk to you?" Hermione asked as she crawled from the foot of the bed to the head and Draco looked up from the book on wand-less magic.
"Sure, love. Is something wrong?" he asked from his horizontal position beside her. Hermione didn't answer, just crawled beneath the covers with him, moving close. Draco lifted his arm to let her crawl below it, his book closed over his thumb. Hermione remained silent for a while and Draco began to fiddle with her hair.
"Do you remember when I told you that I slept with Krum, then I told you that it wasn't really all that involved?" she said quietly and Draco briefly paused before continuing to twist her hair between his fingers.
"Mm," he said in answer and she paused again.
"I think I'm misleading you on that; it was even less than you think. There was no actual... penetration, we'll call it. Victor didn't make it through foreplay," she said and Draco remained quiet, not quite sure what to make of this new information. "Remember when I told you about Zane, and I said that all he ever did was slap me?" she continued and he looked at her.
"Yeah," Draco said worriedly and Hermione nodded.
"I'm misleading you a bit there as well," she said and became quiet, closing her eyes. Draco looked concernedly at her.
"Hermione?" he asked, his unease shining through.
"Unsurprisingly, after a while he grew bored of his tiny concurs over me and decided it was time to move on. He asked me to sleep with him, but I refused, and he got mad. I should have just let him, but I was scared... he said it didn't matter, said there were other ways to make me his. He demonstrated, then asked me again, but I said no, so Zane gave up and forced me. I managed to avoid him for the next few days, then term started and I haven't seen, nor did I wish to see, him since. I'm sorry; I should have told you when I told you about Krum, but I honestly didn't remember. I've blocked him from my subconscious... he didn't exist until this morning," she said, uninterrupted, then fell silent again.
"I'm sorry, love," Draco said quietly and pressed his lips into her hair. Hermione cuddled into him, trying to bring forth the protective feeling he gave her. "Can I ask you something about this?" he asked in a whisper and Hermione nodded. "What do you mean by 'he demonstrated'?" She sighed and paused a moment before pushing slightly away. "No, love, I'm sorry... don't go, you don't have to answer," Draco said pleadingly and Hermione smiled a little and gave him a kiss.
"I can't show you unless I get my wand, and my wand is in the common room," she explained. Draco looked thoughtful for a moment, then smiled curiously. He held out a hand toward the door and laughed a bit before speaking.
"Accioway," he said and, surprising to both of them, Hermione's wand flew into his hand. Both looked wide-eyed at the wand, then turned to face each other.
"How the hell did you do that?" Hermione asked in surprise and Draco shook his head.
"I don't know... I-I didn't think it would work, I thought this was all some joke," he said in disbelief.
"What do you mean?"
"This book I was reading... the first chapter basically says that if you aren't touching a wand and you say a spell in Pig Latin, it will still work... then the rest is how it was discovered..." he explained and Hermione blinked.
"That's insane," she said, "It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever."
"That may be true, but it still works, and I have to say, that's bloody brilliant," he said, then looked up at her. "Your wand," he said, the smile he had gained through discovery dropping to compliment his remembrance of why she needed it.
"Oh, right," she said, also dropping her smile. Hermione took the wand from him and pointed it toward herself. "Finite incantrum," she said quietly and kept her eyes closed. Draco nearly gasped.
"My god, Mia, what happened?" he asked, gingerly brushing his fingers across her darkly bruised cheek.
"What?" she asked, bringing a hand to her face, a little too quickly, and winced. "Oh, that... it's not that bad, really... it wasn't all done at the same time. They don't heal when you put the spell on it, so each new one is added to the rest," she said calmly, as if it were nothing to even acknowledge. Draco was surprised by her unbothered attitude. "But that's not what I need to show you... the bruises I had to hid from the beginning, but this I let heal first," she explained and began to unbutton her nightshirt. Draco watched her with interest and a smile, but it fell when his eyes landed on upon her surprise. To his horror, she laughed. "He said he was just like Zorro."
"Hermione..." **Bastard...** he cursed, reaching a hand to the spot just above her stomach, where, written in jagged scar, a large letter 'Z' proclaimed Zane's legacy. "That wasn't there the night you left the hospital wing... I would have noticed," he said as he ran his fingers over the rough skin. Hermione laughed.
"Well, you were a little preoccupied," she pointed out, expected to generate at least a smile, but Draco just stared at her scar. "And I had the spell on, so you couldn't see it. Oh, but hey, now that I'm sharing secrets, I have another one. That spell covers up any unnatural body marking, which, unfortunately... includes tattoos," she said with a slight smirk and Draco looked up at her. **How can she be so calm about this? This is horrible, no one deserves to be treated this way.** he thought, but decided that it wouldn't make sense to alert her to the pain she should be feeling.
"You have a tattoo?" he asked instead and Hermione's smile grew while she nodded eagerly. Without another word, she sat up and turned away, then let the silken shirt slide down her arms, exposing the skin from her shoulders to waist. On the small of her back was a blood red, black winged, snitch, with a wingspan of no more than three inches. "Wow," he said, sounding surprised. Hermione giggled.
"Do you like it? I haven't seen it in forever," she said and turned away from him, trying as best as she could to see her marking. Finding this to be unsuccessful, Hermione turned back ahead with a pout. Then, she thought of something and a curious look came about her. "Accioway," she said, holding out her hand, and a small mirror flew immediately into it. Hermione laughed in amusement and held it behind her, looking at the reflection of her tattoo.
"I do, but hey... what about that mark from the Singtransion? Why was that visible?"
"Because it was a curse, so it registers like a mole would, which is natural. If Harry tried this spell, his scar would still be visible," she explained and he nodded. Draco watched her silently, admiring her untouched skin and running things through his mind. ** How can someone go through something like that and be so unaltered by it?** he wondered, but smiled as Hermione flipped her shirt back over her shoulders and began re buttoning it.
Hermione turned and smiled at him, stopping her buttoning prematurely, leaving the top three undone, then spun and crawled back in beside her Slytherin. Lifting her wand, Hermione re-preformed the covering spell, then tossed the stick on the bedside table and blew out the candle.
"Are you okay?" she asked, eyeing Draco suspiciously as she settled herself back down. Draco smiled and nodded.
"I love you, Hermione," he whispered to her and she sighed happily and closed her eyes, her head resting on his arm. "I really do. I don't know how, but I'm going to save you from this. I won't let him or anyone else hurt you ever again, and with that I give you the Malfoy word," he said soothingly as Hermione fell closer to sleep. Draco placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and Hermione sighed.
"I'm sorry, Draco. This was our first Christmas; it wasn't supposed to be like this. It would have been so perfect if they had never come home... I had so much planned for us..." she said sleepily, her lips the only movement she made.
"Shh," Draco said quietly. "At least it will be memorable." Hermione made a slight and breathy laugh, then sighed and let Draco's gentle kisses lull her to sleep.
* * * * * * * * * *
The week between Christmas and New Year's Eve, for Draco and Hermione, was spent writing a few letters, talking with Angelina, testing out Hermione's new broom against Draco's 'baby' (also known as the Cumulonimbus; fastest and most powerful racing broom ever sold; public or privately), and amusing themselves with wand-less magic. It was quickly discovered that many spells were harder to accomplish without magic than the summoning charm and required practice...
"You're never going to get it, love," Draco said, shaking his head with an arrogant smirk.
"Gee Ace, thanks for the support," Hermione said sarcastically and held her hand forcefully toward the teacup which was begging to become a canary. "Orinthioway." Nothing. "Err! Not even one stupid feather! How can you be so good at everything?" she complained in frustration. Draco chuckled and came up to her, giving her a kiss below her ear.
"You beat me in Transfiguration last year," he told her and she groaned.
"Don't remind me," she begged and he laughed.
"Try again," he said. Hermione sighed and closed her eyes.
"Orinthioway," she said dispassionately and slowly opened her eyes, not expecting to see more than the teacup. **A yellow teacup, if I'm lucky,** she thought. What she saw was indeed yellow, but nowhere near a cup; it was a large canary, looking a bit dazed and glassy, but a canary just the same. She shrieked, startling both Draco and the bird. "I did it!" she yelled happily, twirling around once and coming back to face a smiling Slytherin.
"I knew you could," he said proudly, giving Hermione's smirking lips a kiss.
"What's that, my reward? No cookie? And I distinctly remember you saying something along the lines of 'You're never going to get it, love.' That doesn't seem consistent with 'I knew you could,'" she pointed out and he laughed.
"I was trying to get you to stop trying so damn hard. That was your problem the entire time; too much effort," he told her and Hermione shook her head.
"Too MUCH effort? That's absurd, there is no such thing," Hermione argued and he laughed again.
"Have you ever seen the way Pansy does her make-up?" Hermione thought about this for a moment, then nodded.
"Okay, so maybe it exists, but it doesn't apply here," she insisted.
"Who are you kidding, Mia? That last time, the only time it worked, mind you, you barely put in any effort at all. Admit it, I'm right, you were trying too hard," he dared and she rolled her eyes.
"Alright, I'm an overachiever and it's finally bitten me in the arse. Happy now? I'm only agreeing because you'll hound me forever if I don't... now, let me try to turn it back into a cup," she suggested and held out her hand.
"Try not to incinerate this one, will you? Poor Chester... he didn't deserve such an untimely end. I miss him already." Hermione laughed.
"Draco, you owned Chester for about three seconds, he was in reality a piece of pottery, and I've repeatedly apologized. Please, just get over it already. It's not like I blew up your cat," Hermione said and Draco turned his head toward her.
"Hey, Hermione... promise NOT to blow up my cat, should such an opportunity arise?" he asked seriously and Hermione stared.
"Of course not, why would I do that?" she assured him and Draco smiled.
"Just checking."
"You're so weird," Hermione stated and turned back to her canary.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Hermione, when do you want to leave tomorrow?" Draco asked, looking up from his book of drawings. Hermione, who was seated in a chair close to the sofa he was sprawled over, looked from 'The History of Beauxbatons' to her boyfriend, her face clueless.
"Don't ask me. Once again, I have no knowledge of any of the mechanics of this trip, nor do I know what's in store for us on the other side. When do YOU think we should go?"
"I think we should go right now, but I have a feeling you won't go for that," Draco said with a smirk, speaking, of course, of the trip to Gulden's Park. Hermione giggled.
"No, that would be right. How about... whenever we wake up?" she suggested, but Draco shook his head.
"I don't think I'll be going to sleep. I've always wanted to go there for real; it's not as fun when you buy the Glings," he told her and Hermione stuck out her bottom lip.
"You have to go to sleep, Ace! If you don't, you'll turn into zombie from planet dead again. You know, this one time, you were sitting and just staring at the wall... it was rather creepy so I tried to get your attention. I swear I called your name ten times and you didn't even blink. I thought you were just sleeping with your eyes open, so I left you alone. And what the hell is a Gling?" Draco laughed.
"Wow, was I really THAT bad?" She nodded. "Sorry. Oh, and a Gling is actually called a Generated Life-port Ring; Gling is just what everyone calls them. It's sort of like the rugby-box I was watching with your dad, but better. You buy the ring and put it on, then say where you want to go and it takes your mind there, but your body stays where it is. It's like you're remembering being there and not moving or talking or anything. Mum sends me one every year, but I told her we were going for real, so she didn't bother," he told her and she nodded.
"Like virtual reality," she said and Draco was obviously a little confused.
"Yeah... sure," he said, assuming it was true. Hermione laughed.
"And it's called a TV, not a rugby-box," she said and he shrugged.
"Whatever."
"Hey, want to play cards with me? I'll teach you go-fish... it's simple," she asked and Draco clicked his teeth semi-nervously.
"Um, okay... if you want to," he agreed and she giggled in excitement.
"Good," she said happily, putting her book on the floor. Hermione pointed a finger toward the tiny table with their chessboard and the pieces immediately began to put themselves away. She pointed again and the table came toward her, filling the small space between herself and Draco. Then, she splayed her fingers and smiled as her deck of cards appeared in her hand.
"Wow Mia... you're getting good," Draco complimented and Hermione smiled wider, then opened her mouth to speak a thank you, but didn't get a chance. "See? Not so hard when you don't try. Grandfather's book actually says 'magic such as this is not something a person can learn, it's simply something each possesses.' If you already have it, you don't need to work to get it."
"Alright, I get it, you were right, I was wrong, end of discussion. I knew you would bug me about this," she said irritably as she dealt the cards.
"Well, you did call me a grasshopper. Isn't that what grasshoppers do?" he retorted and Hermione shook her head, ignoring him as she began to explain how to play this game.
Draco, as always seemed to be the case, caught on quickly, but was bored with the game before half an hour had passed. In light of this, Hermione opted for a new approach.
"Alright, we'll try a new one. Let's see; there's old maid, but it's boring with two people, blackjack, palace, bullshit...which is pointless, forget I mentioned it, war... or we could try poker," Hermione listed and Draco smirked.
"We can't play poker; it's nine o'clock; every teacher is sleeping," he said and she laughed. "Teach me war, it sounds the most interesting," he said and Hermione began to deal again with a slight nod and a wide smile.
* * * * * * * * * *
The next day, New Year's Eve, Hermione woke Draco promptly at seven o'clock. She was already showered, but only partially dressed, wearing a towel over her undergarments.
"Draco," she said warmly, smiling at his sleeping form. At his failure to respond, she smiled and leaded in close to his ear. "Fie, you slug-abed!" she practically yelled, causing Draco to jump. She giggled as he grumbled. "What, not a word? You take your pennyworths now; sleep for a week; for the next night, I warrant, The County Paris hath set up his rest, that you shall rest but little," she said and Draco laughed.
"God, I hope not. Hm... no the most innocent of Shakespearian quotes you've chosen, is it?" he said sleepily, opening one eye. Hermione smiled.
"No, but it suited my purpose, didn't it? And it fit quite well, other than the whole Paris romping you next week part," she said.
"I'm okay with it as long as you're Paris," he said slyly, blinking the other eye open. Hermione giggled and leaned in to kiss him, placing a hand on his chest.
"We'll see. Right now, you have to get up Mr. I'm-not-going-to-sleep," she said and stood up, hands on her hips. Draco mumbled some obscenities and reluctantly obeyed, moving slowly. Hermione giggled and he turned to her, eyes widening a bit as he noticed her attire. Draco swallowed and looked her up and down.
"What's that you've got on, love?" he asked stupidly and Hermione looked down.
"It's a towel, Draco... what does it look like? I haven't decided on what to wear yet," she said and Draco smirked, taking a step toward her.
"Just wear that; it's nice," he said, moving his lips close to hers. Hermione parted her lips to begin a retort, but Draco silenced her with his own. His hands moved slowly up her back until they reached her shoulders, then he slid his fingers beneath the black bra straps, which sprouted from the white cotton blanket, and traced down to the rim of the towel. Never breaking away, his hands moved to the front of her covering and parted the ends, letting the material pool at their feet. Hermione giggled into his mouth as his hands became a little fresh, and let them have their fun for a minute, then reached to stop them, finishing the kiss hardly and pulling away.
"We can play Paris and Juliet later. Right now, you should go take a shower, and might I suggest; a cold one?" she whispered, pulling Draco's hands away. He smiled and kissed her one more time.
"Sorry," he whispered back, then turned to go, looking back in time to see Hermione recover herself with her towel. He stuck out his lip, an action no one can resist, and Hermione smiled as she quickly reopened and again closed the covering, giving him one last glimpse of her scarcely covered skin. He smiled and winked before leaving the bedroom.
Halfway to the bathroom, Draco had a thought. He held up his hand with a smirk and in seconds was holding a white cotton bath towel. He waited for a moment, and, sure enough, Hermione yelled to him.
"Draco!" she scolded and he chuckled a bit.
"You looked better without it!" he called back and quickly retreated to the lavatory.
* * * * * * * * * *
"I don't want to be Paris; he tried to screw a dead girl," Draco said as the head couple made their way down the Hogsmeade path once again.
"There is so much wrong with that sentence I don't even know where to begin. First off, although that's what I though too, we don't know for sure that that's what Shakespeare was implying. Paris might have just been paying last respects... in the middle of the night. Secondly, she wasn't really dead," Hermione said back, shaking her head a bit at the pointlessness of this conversation.
"Yes, but he thought she was," Draco pointed out and Hermione nodded.
"True, but anyway, I thought I was Paris?"
"You can't be, because if you are, that makes me Juliet... and that's just wrong. How about I just stick with Romeo, hm?" he suggested and Hermione nodded.
"It doesn't matter; she was supposed to sleep with both of them... but you know, it's kind of funny; if you're Romeo, that makes Crabbe and Goyle Benvolio and Mercutio and your parents the Montague's... I'd have to suggest McGonagall and Dumbledore as the Capulet's, however... it makes more sense rivalry wise," Hermione said with a smile and Draco did the same, liking this conversation quite a bit.
"Oh, I don't know. Capulet lets Romeo stay at the party, but his wife sides with Tybalt on his leaving, although she doesn't say as much. Slightly like Christmas."
"Okay," she said and shrugged. "My parents are the Capulet's, then. Ron is Tybalt and Harry is Paris, but only because Ron is more apt to try to kill you than Harry. McGonagall is the nurse then, because of that whole grandmother thing..." she paused for a moment, then smirked. "Dumbledore is Friar Lawrence, making Snape Friar John because he never delivered that message to you," she continued.
"Yeah, and because I want him to contract the plague," Draco said evilly and Hermione shook her head.
"Friar John never contracted the plague," she reminded him and Draco nodded.
"I know, but he came pretty close. Now, who's Roseline?" he asked and Hermione looked up to the sky blissfully.
"Um... Ginny," she said and he nodded.
"That makes sense if Ron is Tybalt... I'm not sure if he and Roseline were brother and sister, but they must have been related," he said and she nodded. "Alright, but that means I've been pining Ginny... which is as far from the truth as possible. I actually thought her name was Jenny until at least third year," he said and Hermione laughed.
"Well, it has to be someone from my side, so it's either Ginny or Thisbe, and Ginny makes more sense, considering the Ron relation and the fact that Roseline won't give Romeo the time of day and if you showed even the slightest bit of interest in Thisbe, and I wasn't yet in the picture, she'd be on you like Harry on a snitch..." Hermione said. "So Ginny is Roseline. Like it or not, you pined her. Pined, past tense. You're mine now."
"Of course," he said and looked down the path. "That's what your mother thought, wasn't it? That there was something between Thisbe and I?" Hermione's smile dropped and she nodded sadly. "It's not true, Hermione. I swear. All that happened was she asked me to zap her shoes, so I did and she got all excited so I told her she was easily amused and she said that I was too, because of the E-mail, and I agreed. Then we started downstairs and heard you yelling; half the time we were just waiting for a good time to intervene," he said urgently and Hermione nodded.
"I know; I believe you. Neither of you would do that; my mum is a nutcase. She was trying to turn me against you. Don't worry, I never even rethought it," she said and Draco took her hand.
"Good. I feel I should tell you, though... I think Thisbe has a little more than a friendly attraction to me, and to be honest, it's freaking me out. She is the most obvious crusher I've ever met," he told her and Hermione laughed.
"Yeah, I noticed that too. I should have expected it, though. She falls in love with at least ten guys a day," Hermione said and Draco breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"Wow, now I feel special."
"Well, would you rather it be you're the only guy she's ever admired and she can't have you because she knows you're mine, so she pines you like Romeo pined Roseline, except Roseline runs off with Paris leaving Romeo alone forever, searching for you while Juliet suffocates in the Capulet tomb because no one came to let her out? Do you really want that on your conscience?" Hermione asked and Draco stared for a moment, then shook his head.
"Whoa... you lost me around where we got back into Shakespeare." Hermione laughed.
"Never mind... it's not important," she said, sighing happily.
* * * * * * * * * *
As they walked through the tiny town, Draco apparated without warning, which was surprising, but not unpleasant, for Hermione and caused her to let out a stream of amused giggles as the tingly feeling of surprise drifted away. Draco smiled at her as the world changed from Hogsmeade to Gangory, Wales, home of Gulden's Park. Once again, the couple found themselves in the woods.
"Is the scenic route always necessary?" she asked, but didn't sound upset and Draco nodded.
"Less visibility... muggles and what not. The park is a 'for wizard eyes only' type of place, though. No muggles. Come on, it's only nine; we might still get a seat," he said and pulled her toward a marked path. As they briskly walked, Hermione repeatedly adjusted the shoulder bag she had brought along, which was getting rather heavy. Inside was their wands and money, as well as Draco's wand-less magic book, the deck of cards, Hermione's book on Beauxbatons and various other things they might need.
She wondered why she hadn't put a featherweight charm on it, and considered doing so now, but remembered that her wand was in the bag. After a few more minutes, Hermione realized that she needn't have her wand for such a simple spell and placed her hand on the course fabric, saying the words and sighing happily as the weight was lifted.
* * * * * * * * * *
Gulden's Park was more like the Quidditch World Cup than Times Square. There was a gigantic stadium, which was able to hold well over a hundred thousand people, and Draco and Hermione were fairly lucky in finding a seat; almost directly in the middle, which Draco said was best.
"I'm going to get some coffee, love. Save my seat, would you?" Draco asked after almost two hours of watching the Fire-faeries dance on the field below, simply for entertainment purposes. Hermione smiled at the thought of the warm beverage as Draco stood.
"Sure," she said and he bent down for a quick kiss, then headed off down the stairs; it was convenient to sit on the end of a row.
True to her word, Hermione swung her feet up on the metal bench, saving her boyfriend's seat. The surface was charmed to be warm and was quite comfortable, despite the cold air. Hermione crossed her arms and leaned sideways against the backrest. Normally, in a situation like this, she would have tucked her wand up her sleeve, but Hermione felt confident with her wand-less skills. She believed that every spell she could do with her wand could also be accomplished without it. Confidence was nice when surrounded by strangers.
* * * * * * * * * *
Draco had been gone for about twenty minutes when something unexpected happened. Hermione was still sitting with her feet on Draco's seat, but now had her eyes closed, appearing to be asleep by any passerby; which was just what one tall and lanky old man thought. As he made his way down the stirs, the old man noticed Hermione and a menacing glint infested his eye. Slowly, the geezer crept up to her, keeping an eye on hers to make sure Hermione didn't wake up, and slowly reached a hand to pilfer her knapsack.
Hermione, who was in fact not asleep, knew of a person rummaging her possessions and at first thought it was Draco. It didn't take long to realize that it wasn't, however... the aura of protection and warmth that accompanied him was not present; she knew almost immediately that it couldn't be the Slytherin.
Instead of alerting the thief, Hermione remained still and quiet, waiting for something to happen. She heard he unwanted guest pull her bag across the ground, then stand and stealthily walk away. Now was the time for action.
"Hey!" she called, spinning to place her feet on the ground and standing, looking angry. The old man, upon hearing her call, began to run. "Get back here, you prat!" Hermione yelled and began following him. Upon the realization that he was much faster than she, Hermione held out her hand. "Etrificuspay Otalustay," she said quietly so no one would hear. The man stopped dead in his tracks, arms snapping to his sides and bag falling to the ground. Hermione jogged up to him and picked up her bag, then turned and sneered at the man. "I believe this is mine, thank you."
"Excuse me, Miss. Is there a problem here?" said a tall, thin, young man with dark olive skin and scarlet red hair. He wore a black uniform with a badge that proclaimed him security on his left breast, and one on his right introducing him as Freddie Valentine. Hermione smiled sweetly at the security guard, then turned back to the man she had followed.
"Actually Sir, there is. This man here took the liberty of stealing my bag; not the nicest hello I've ever received," she said irritably and the officer nodded.
"Is that so? Well, we can't have that. Are you alright, Miss?" he asked and Hermione nodded. "Good, good. I suppose I'll be taking this gentlemen to Park Quarantine, then," he said and took hold of the man's stiff-arm.
"Just a moment, please, officer," Hermione said, stopping the men from apparating. She stepped up to the burglar and gave him one hard slap across the face. Freddie laughed.
"If anyone bother's you again, I'll be patrolling this area tonight. Just call for officer Valentine and I'll be with you right quick Miss...?"
"Granger," Hermione provided and Freddie nodded.
"Miss Granger. Enjoy your evening," he said and disappeared with a pop. Hermione lifted her bag onto her shoulder and started back up the stairs. She hadn't gone long when what felt like the hand of god lifted her from the ground and pushed her quickly back to her seat... and into the waiting arms of Draco Malfoy. Hermione smiled as she felt herself unintentionally advancing on him at a quiet alarming rate and opened her arms to him as she was roughly pushed into his embrace. She giggled as he squeezed her.
"You're back," she said happily, embracing him equally hard. Draco squeezed tighter for a moment, then let her go.
"Yes, but you weren't," he said, sounding almost as if he were scolding her. Hermione smiled and kissed him, causing Draco to forget his worries for a moment and focus on her 'punishment.'
"I'm sorry," she said when they broke away. "But this stupid git took my bag and I had to go chase after him."
"What? Are you alright, love?"
"Oh, yes, I'm fine. I stunned him and found a cute security guard to take him to Quarantine. Hey, you wouldn't happen to know what just happened, would you? That was kind of fun, actually," Hermione said, speaking of her antics as if they happened everyday, then smiling as she spoke of the flight. Draco nodded, looking smug.
"Of course, I summoned you," he told her and she blinked.
"Like a death eater?" Hermione asked in wonder and Draco laughed.
"No, more like a towel," he said, lifting his eyebrows three times. Now she laughed.
"Gee, Ace. I didn't know you wanted me that badly," she teased, moving her head to his shoulder for another hug. Draco groaned, generating another soft Gryffindor giggle.
"You have no idea," he said in a husky whisper and squeezed Hermione close again.
.
A/N: YES! LAST CHAPTER OF CHRISTMAS! Woo-hoo! Zane's an even bigger arse than we thought! How barbaric was that? ::Shudder:: let's all hope New Year's goes better. Christmas just sucked. Do you think I'm THAT mean that I would mess up their New Year's after I messed Christmas ROYALLY? We'll find out... more fun ahead!
I just realized something. Tom Felton has the most attractive hands I have ever seen in my entire life. If I ever find another guy with hands like his... I don't care if he's Zane's reincarnation... I'm going to capture and never let him go. Honestly... find a picture where you can see his hands; I want them so badly! My hands! Mine!
PRF:
Tom*Feltons*Babe: Zane sucks and Mione's mom is wacko!
My Arwen: Is Arwen a popular character? It's from LOTR right? I have another reviewer who's just Arwen. Anyhow...and yeah, I know... it's kinda long. Thanx for spending so much time on my fic!
Kat19: Lol, god knows... and thanx.
Marina: I don't mean to sound like a freak or mean or anything, but could you specify what you think is redundant? I've tried and tried and I don't quite see what you mean... not that I'm proclaiming my story immaculate or anything, I'm just confused. I'd like to fix anything I can. Thanx for reviewing.
*Karly*: No, Hermione's mum DOESN'T know what Zane did. Even a bad mother would keep her kids away from someone like THAT. Mione just doesn't feel comfortable sharing. I will get into more detail about this later when the whole 'You have to go home and I can't come with you... and he's there' thing comes up at the end of school. Such plans I have.
Purplerks: I'll read your story if I get a chance, but right now I'm swamped! You guys are lucky I'm even posting! Thanx for all the wonderful comments, though! Hehe.
Erilyn Rose: Thisbe will NOT lay a FINGER on Draco while Hermione's around... despite what Mrs. Granger may thing. Yes, she insane, and yes, Zane's off the deep end... but yeah.
XxSleepygirlxx- There's nothing wrong with Thisbe. She's on the good side. So what if she's attracted to Draco? She's keeping her hands off. I'd be attracted too... lol. But you can hate Mione's mum. She's a freak.
Little Witch: Lol, I read your review and I was confused for a minute... first you said Malfoy, then Draco. Usually, people who like stories where Draco is the bad guy say Malfoy, and people who like good guy Draco's say Draco... but then I realized you were making reference to Mia's whole schizophrenia theory... lol. And you're right, by the way.
Hermiown: I thought Hermione's name was pronounced 'Herm-e-own' or Hermion, I guess, throughout like half the first book, but then I watched the movie and I'm like OH! Lol. Thanx for the review!
Joebob1379: I almost wrote Hoebob, lol. And I know it's weird, but HELL YEAH, I READ REVIEWS! Lol. And that 'remember what happened last time' thing won't really be elaborated on... it was just like a foreshadowing type thing telling you that Zane was abusive. No specific situation... yeah.
Girl Named Belle: Yes, I agree. But I can't yet. He comes into play later. Anyway, yes, his name is cool. I overheard my friend Sam talking about this kid from another school named Zane and I'm like, that's cool. I didn't mean to diss him by makin him all evil, but it was the only new character I needed. Same thing with Reif (you'll meet him later) I got that name from an English test on point of view in stories (so EASY! LGG is Third Person Limited. MPES is First person. Flames is TPL.... and Twist is TPL. I like TPL, lol)
Cat: I will. I have up to their written, I just need to type it. Soon, soon.
Jade-Snake: Thanx. I thought it was pretty cool too.
I am happy to announce that FLAMES OF ECSTASY is quite close to completion. I'd say within sixty chapters. Don't worry, there will be a sequel. It was originally said it would be called ALL TRUTHS BEGIN IN WHISPER, but that's not definite. I'm thinking about it. It's hard when you haven't written it all... I'm not exactly sure where it's going. Thanx for reading and whatnot!
Tom Felton has godly hands!
