Can't Make You Love Me

Chapter Seven

By

Ponderer

            After Hermione had left, Harry had tried to grasp onto what had recently happened. He had kissed her. He kissed Hermione. After all these years, after both being in different relationships, he decided to kiss her. But, had he decided to kiss her or had it just happened? They were both caught up in the moment, both angry at one another. So, why had he kissed her. Sure, he'd thought of it, dozens of times. Smacking himself, Harry threw himself on the couch and screamed out in frustration.

            Harry could vaguely remember the exact moment when he knew he was going to kiss Hermione or how he did it. All he could remember was the taste of her lips, and how she kissed him back. Then, how she pulled away so suddenly, and the look in her eyes; that haunting stare that would haunt his dreams for nights to come. Harry didn't know what had come over him when he decided to kiss her again. He knew it was wrong, especially because of the words that had come from her mouth, telling him to leave her alone. But, he hadn't. He was somehow someone else in those few moments, acting like an animal on the prowl, looking only for one thing: the taste of Hermione once more.

            He knew he was hurting many people by kissing her. Hermione, for one, her new relationship with Stephen, himself, and Christiana. Oh, Christiana. How could he do that to her? He thought he loved her, so why would he do something like kiss his best friend? Maybe he felt alone since his girlfriend was across the world. Yes, he must have been lonely. Hermione was the closest female and he needed to release his male frustration. So why did it feel so good to hold Hermione in his arms, to feel her quiver against him, to have her lips pressed against his. Thinking about their kiss made him grow with desire and he groaned. He didn't need this. He had Christiana. She was perfect. She was his. Hermione was simply someone he'd loved but he'd moved on.

            He just had to convince himself.

***

            Hermione stayed awake almost all night, thinking of what she had done previously that evening. She had been having fun with Stephen. A grand time even. Their kiss was small, polite, something she wouldn't mind doing again. But, then she went home and shared a hot kiss with Harry Potter, her best friend, her roommate. Why had she kissed him back? She knew back in her mind that she should have pulled away sooner, slapped him even, but she didn't. She had gave in and kissed him back. It upset her that she could be so foolish. Honestly, kissing the one person on Earth she never imagined kissing? Harry was her best friend, the man she could trust or talk to about anything, except now, she couldn't talk to him. She couldn't trust herself at the moment because just thinking of the kiss again made her want to relive the moment over and over again.

            Then she remembered Christiana. Harry was dating her. Christiana was out of the country, across the world even. He was lonely, needing to hold himself over until his girlfriend returned. But, that look in his eyes, that look she'd never seen before, it kept popping into her mind, flashing over and over. It was a look filled with desire, want, and sadness. It was the kind of look you'd give to something you'd always want, but never have. Harry wouldn't want her in that way. He had a beautiful girlfriend, someone very special and Hermione was just, well, she was just Hermione. Simple was her motto. There wasn't anything extravagant about her. So, why of all the witches in the world, did he kiss her?

            The pressure of the whole situation made Hermione feel like she hadn't slept in days when it actually had only been hours since she'd left Harry alone in the flat. She had drunk the tea Draco had given her before falling into a restless sleep, waking up at every sound. She knew she was intruding, and she felt horrible for doing it to both her friends, but she didn't know where else to go. She thought for sure Harry would come looking for her sooner or later, and she wished it would come later. She needed time and space, lots of it.

            Ginny walked into the spare bedroom, unnoticed by Hermione. Draco had left to visit Harry, while it was Ginny's job to comfort Hermione at all costs. She knew they would never be best friends, but the closest to being a best friend they would be. It had hurt her when she was younger to see how close the trio had been with each other but after time went by, the closer they grew, but their group of friends grew as well, adding both Draco and Ginny. That was when she fell in love with Malfoy. He had turned in his father, then going to the good side, making Ginny melt in his gaze, as he had with hers. It was love that was meant to be forever and she thanked her lucky stars everyday. So, she also owed Hermione as well, for giving her the courage to be with Draco through the whole fiasco of him being a Malfoy, her being a Weasley.

            She watched her friend carefully, sensing all the tension in her shoulders, the furrow of her brow and it saddened her. She didn't really understand what had happened, but she was going to find out. "Hermione?" she asked softly. Hermione turned to her friend's voice and smiled a small smile.

            "Hey," she said, sitting up on the bed, giving room to her red-headed friend.

            "How are you doing?"

            "I guess," Hermione sighed, "that I'm as good as I can be in this situation."

            "That bad eh?" Ginny smiled slightly, watching Hermione shake her head, her own smile widening.

            "I just, I'm just confused. And that's never, ever, happened before. I've always been so prepared you know? And this, was like this big blow to my head. I didn't see it coming. Never expected it to anyway," Hermione explained with a frown.

            "Well, maybe you'll feel better if you talk about it. It's cliché and all I know but we're girls and I think it would help. Plus, girl talk is always fun," Ginny said, trying to keep the conversation as light as it could be. Hermione looked at her thankfully but still hesitant.

            "I don't know Ginny…"

            "If you're worried about it being a long conversation, don't worry. I have all night. I sent Draco away for a bit anyway," Ginny told her.

            "Where did you send him to?" Hermione laughed slightly.

            "Just, somewhere where he's out of the way. So, tell me what happened," Ginny laughed.

***

            Harry continued to sulk on the lounge as the minutes passed by. He stared at the spot Hermione had left from hours ago, and he could swear he could still smell her perfume. And when he heard a *pop*, he thought it was her, but Draco's tall figure loomed ahead of him instead. "Malfoy," he muttered, sighing.

            "Potter, nice to see you too," Draco smirked, taking his cloak off and placing it on the empty couch before making himself comfortable on the chair.

            "Ginny sent you over to talk didn't she?" Harry asked, laying back on the lounge, placing his arm over his eyes to block out the light to help his headache he'd had since Hermione had left.

            "What do you think?" Hearing Harry's groan, Draco continued, "And, I think she's right. You're in sad shape."

            "I'm in sad shape? Look who's talking!"

            "What do you mean?"

            "Listening to your girlfriend's ever word?" Harry asked, glad to take his anger out on someone, even though he knew it wasn't right to do it on Draco but he went on anyway. "It's sad Malfoy, honestly. It's like she has you on a leash or something. It's pathetic really. The man should be in control, why should he listen to the woman? She doesn't know what she's doing. One day, it'll be perfect then the next, it's all ruined. And it's ridiculous," Harry exclaimed, now pacing the floor, red in the face. Draco sat calmly, knowing Harry's speech wasn't directed at him, it was directed to himself. It was Harry's way to let his frustration go, and Draco let him go on. It was the only way to get anything out of Harry anyway.

            "Are you quite finished with your babbling yet? I have better things I could be doing," Draco asked after a few moments of silence between the two.

            "Thanks Malfoy," Harry said quietly.

            "Anytime Potter."

Author's Note: Okay, well, this came out a lot sooner than I expected. And I think the reason is is that I'm going away for spring break with my family, and I kinda wanted to have one more chapter up before I left. I don't think I'll write more before that, but if I finish it, I'll post it. But, I will be writing while I'm away, so please don't stop reviewing or reading.

I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter because I think it's my favorite. I don't really think I'm good with writing in detail of someone's feelings so I'm really proud of this chapter. It still needs work but I'm really excited that I finished this. If there's any errors, I apologize. I'm not the best grammar or speller person.

As always, please review, leave comments (good and bad), or give some ideas! I'm up for anything. I'm just kinda going with this story now so, who knows! Thanks for the reviews from the last chapter! I love the feedback!

- Ponderer

P.S. Have a wonderful Spring Break!!!