Disclaimer: nothing belongs to me
A/N: ok this is chapter 20, and um…yeah I'm really angry…wanna hear why?
Alright, so one of my friends recently informed me that somebody like totally stole my story. And I wouldn't believe her, but I checked it out anyways. Soooo…I read it…and I got rather really pissed. I don't think I'd ever been angrier in my entire life. The author like practically stole the whole thing off of me. The plot is like the same. The scenarios are the same and it's almost exactly alike. I mean, I really doubt that it is a coincidence that she came up with the exact same idea as me and the events and everything is practically all the same. I mean, I've heard about people copying other pplz stories but I never thought it would happen to me. I guess never thought there would actually be such evil, dishonest, and deceitful people in the world. I was wrong. Maybe I'm just too naïve or something. Anyhow, my friend wrote the author a note and then the author took the story off and wrote a note saying how she wasn't a cheater and that was her own idea, etc…and that got me even more pissed… Anyways I'm REALLY REALLY REALLY angry and in a really really really pissy mood. You guys might think I'm kinda overboard with this, but if it happened to you, you'd get really pissed too. Grrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks to the readers who reviewed: arimel, Batty, Rebecca, ayumi-hamasaki, tom felton's babe, Kirstills, FengBee, MoonTrail, PheonixRae, Love, heavengurl899, animegirl-mika, Rebecca Anne, Danny, A-writer-for-life, Nazgul13, AnGeL, sparkling fire fly, fifteen, RiaKatKar, luvmealways89, no name, SocialButterfly, kring, Lexi, slytheringurl, Krissy, Witchfan, Roswell4ever, MJfan, and anybody I missed
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Forever Never Ends
Chapter 20
Flashback
"Disgusting! Brussel sprouts again!" cried Ron as he stared down disapprovingly at the plate of brussel sprouts in front of him. "I can't believe they call this food."
"Oh do stop complaining, Ron! Do you know how hard the house elves work to prepare our dinner?" Hermione fired back harshly, reprimanding him.
"Not the house elves again! I thought you had gotten over that!"
"That's not what I mean! I mean that no matter how much you don't like a food, you should appreciate it because of all the hard work that was put into making it!"
"That doesn't make brussel sprouts any better tasting. Harry agrees with me, don't you, Harry?"
"Hmm? What was that?" Harry asked as he glanced up from the piece of parchment he had been writing on.
"Another letter to Cho?" teased Ron. "Are you ever not in the middle of writing her a letter?"
He leaned over to try to take a glance at it, but Harry quickly covered it with his arms and scowled at him.
"Obviously he loves Cho every much. He has so much commitment - which is more than I can say for other boys I know," she said, turning her nose up to Ron.
Ron pretended he didn't hear and started to play with the food on his plate with a shiny silver fork. Harry returned to his letter writing and the three were silent except for the sound of a quill brushing against parchment, and the crisp crunch of a salad being chewed.
"Since I'm obviously not welcome here, I'll be leaving," said Hermione as she began to stand up.
"Where are you going now?" asked Ron, with an almost worried tone.
"The library, of course," replied Hermione, giving Ron an of-course-where-else-would-I-be-going look.
"Again? How many times have you gone to the library this week? You spend more time in the library than you do anywhere else."
"Well, contrary to you, Ron, I care about my work, and I like to get good marks. I need to get a good mark on our Defense Against The Dark Arts project, because I really did rather unpleasantly on our last exam."
"What'd you get? A one-hundred-nine percent instead of one-hundred-ten?" he replied snorting.
"Ron, that's not funny." She took a glance at her watch. "I'm meeting Malfoy there in approximately five minutes so we can do some research."
Ron's eyes grew big. "So this is what it's all about. You're meeting with Malfoy, again! Is there anything else you'd like to tell me about?"
"Ron, I know how much you hate Malfoy, but I can't help it if he's my partner on this project. You know how much I'd rather work with you or Harry, but that's never going to happen." Hermione picked up her book bag from under the seat and hung it on her shoulder.
"But Hermione, Malfoy's rather, well, dangerous," he said with an uneasy look on his face.
"What do you mean?"
"His reputation - he hasn't got the best reputation. Everyone knows - "
Hermione rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. You don't have to brief me about his reputation."
"What I'm saying is that you should just be…careful."
"Ron, I'm seventeen years old, I think I know how to take care of myself."
"No, it's just that I don't think you should go near him for your own good." Ron reached out and grabbed her arm.
"Let go of me, Ron," she said coldly.
"Not unless you promise me that you'll stay away from that bastard," said Ron, keeping a good grip on her arm.
Hermione glared at him in frustration. "I have a project I have to do with him!"
"You spend every waking moment working on that project with him! Tell Moody that you want to change partners and that - "
"Ron! It's just a simple project! It's not like I'm going to sleep with him, okay?" She jerked her arm out of his grasp and turned to leave. "Just chill, all right?"
Before he could reply, she was already out of the doors of the Great Hall. He took his seat again, very frustrated and confused and turned to complain to Harry.
"I can't believe - I really can't believe - "
"Ron, it's okay, she can take care of herself," said Harry, rolling up the parchment and shoving it into his book bag.
"Why is it that I can't care about her and not have her get angry at me?"
"She knows you care about her, it's just she doesn't want you to act like her constant baby-sitter all the time. You know that's just how Hermione is."
Ron didn't reply, but just looked up into the enchanted sky in the Great Hall, staring into the stars.
"She knows that you love her."
"But does she love me?"
~
"Sorry I'm late, but I was - "
"-with Weasley," he finished for her, wearing a weary expression. He pulled off his glasses and closed the book that he had been reading.
She blushed. "So, have you found anything else we might need for the project?"
"We've been doing research in the library for weeks now, I doubt that there's anything else we can find that we haven't already found."
"We've only spent about two hours a day working on it. And there's millions of books."
He sighed and reached into his book bag, fishing around until he brought out a thick stack of parchments and placed them on the table. Confused, Hermione took a few sheets and began to scan them.
"They're notes," she said softly. "Where did you get all these?"
"I don't know what you think, Granger, but I do spend a lot more time doing my work than you'd expect."
She glanced down on the notes again, those pages and pages of neat handwriting taking down the smallest details. It was at that moment, perhaps, that Hermione finally realized that Draco Malfoy wasn't a just a rich boy who bought himself into the Head Boy spot. She hated it admit it, but she felt a new respect for him.
"I never thought - "
"- that I was just as hardworking as you?"
"You really need to stop finishing my sentences for me. I really can't believe this. These notes - they're hours and hours of work! Where did you find all the time for this?"
"While you were - "
"-with Ron." He looked at her in surprise but she merely smiled a you're-not-the-only-person-in-the-world-who-can-finish-someone-else's-sentence smile.
"Oh I feel terrible…all those times I was having fun with Ron and Harry, and you were here doing all this work…"
"It's all right. I've spent enough time in the library. Let's go get this experiment started."
"Malfoy, I really can't believe this. I don't know what to say. You just saved me hours and hours of research. I never knew you were this serious about work or anything. I just can't believe it."
Draco smiled to himself as he watched her pour over his notes. He never thought they would interest her so much, and he felt as if he'd gained something from her, something like appreciation or respect, or maybe both. He'd planned on bringing her to his room this night, but now he found that he just couldn't. He couldn't just…do that. It was the first time he'd ever felt ashamed of himself, of what he'd planned on doing. And he didn't even know why. He didn't know why he felt this way. Maybe it was because of the way she smiled. Or maybe the way her eyes lit up when she was excited.
And he knew that she loved Weasley. He didn't know what it was, but just the thought of Weasley now brought on a feeling of…well, jealousy. He wished that maybe one day, someone would be able to love him the way that Granger loved Weasley, the pure, untainted kind of love that would never end. None of the girls he'd been with ever loved him - no, they weren't even close. They loved his looks, his power, and above all, his large fortune deep in the underground of Gringotts. But Granger, she was different. After spending hours with her in the last few weeks, and getting to know her so much better, his feelings changed towards her. She had been a tool - a tool he could use to get back at Ron, but now he felt like he couldn't carry through with his original plan. She was so different. Maybe that was why he was so intrigued.
"Gosh, and here I was, complaining to Ron about working with you, while you were working your butt off on this. You know, if I'd have been working with Ron, we'd never get anything done. He never does any work you know." There was a slight pause. "I'm glad I'm working with you."
The last part was said softly, but he could hear the honesty in it, and hearing it made him feel better than he'd ever felt when he received a compliment. And he had no idea why he felt this way. Maybe he didn't want to know. Maybe it scared him.
"Why are you so quiet? We really should get going."
"Yeah, yeah," he said, snapping out of his reverie. "Where do you want to brew the potion?"
At this, she smiled mischievously. "I know the perfect place."
~
"Where are you taking me?" he asked.
"You'll see," she replied, walking a bit faster now.
Soon, they approached a small corridor and made a left turn. At the end, there was a door and on it was posted a sign: Out of Order.
Hermione pushed open the door and began to walk through, but then realized that Draco was standing there with a look of horror on his face.
"Come," she said, walking back towards him.
He gulped. "That's the girl's bathroom!"
"It's alright, there's nobody in there."
"But-but-"
"Malfoy," she said slyly, "don't pretend that you've never wanted to peek into a girl's bathroom before. There aren't any girls in there, I swear, and besides, it's not like you haven't seen it all before."
The last part came out of her mouth before she could stop it and when she realized what a naughty thing she had said, she clamped her hand over her mouth and muttered a small, "Sorry."
He shrugged, and pretended that he didn't care. He didn't know why, but her comment stung. That was the way she thought of him, he knew - the only way she'd ever think of him. And it hurt. He didn't know why. Perhaps he didn't want to know.
"If you're not going to come Malfoy, I'll have to drag you in there," she said, and before he knew it, she had taken his hand into her own and was pulling him into the bathroom.
The soft and warm feel of her hand surprised him and his first instinct was to pull his hand away. However, she kept his hand grasped firmly and managed to drag him in.
"We'll work here," she said, and set all their supplies down, including a small cauldron.
Suddenly a loud wail pierced the air.
Draco turned in surprise and looked at Hermione for an answer. Hermione leaned over and began to whisper in his ear.
"Moaning Myrtle lives in here. She's rather moody. I don't like her much, but we'll have to put up with her."
Draco didn't hear a word she said because he was too busy enjoying the warmth created from her breath on his ear.
"Are you whispering secrets about me? You're a bad, bad girl Hermione!" came a shrill screechy voice from one of the toilet stalls.
"Who's Hermione?" asked Draco.
She stared at him. "Well to some people, I'm more than just 'Granger.'"
And then he remembered that her name wasn't just Granger. It was Hermione Granger. How could he forget something like that?
"Sorry," he muttered, turning red. "I, uh, forgot."
Hermione smiled, not seeming angry at all. "You forgot, or you never knew?"
"Uh, both?"
She laughed at him good-naturedly and began setting up the experiment.
"How'd you find this place?" he asked, as he knelt down and began to help her.
"Well," she said with a sly look, "I don't know if I should be telling you this…but…"
"Tell me, you've got me interested already."
"Okay, but you have to promise that you won't get mad and beat me to death or anything, alright?"
He nodded.
"So back in second year, there was that whole chamber of secrets thing going on, right? Harry, Ron, and I thought that you were the heir of Slytherin, and we really wanted to find out…so…"
"So what?"
"We snuck into Snape's cabinets and got ingredients to make a polyjuice potion. We made that here, and then drugged Crabbe and Goyle and Harry and Ron drank the polyjuice to pretend to be them and totally tricked you and found out that you weren't the heir. Anyhow, that was an awful thing to do. And I suppose I'll apologize to you now for the three of us."
"You what?"
"Don't kill me! I've already suffered my consequences! It was terrible. You know what happened to me? I was supposed to be Millicent, but apparently I accidentally took one of her cat hairs…so I was turned into a half cat and spent weeks in the hospital wing. It was miserable."
He laughed. "Served you right. We all wondered where you were. Pansy was hoping you'd have been eaten by a hippogriff."
For the next three hours they concentrated on making the potion. Every single measurement had to be perfect, and was checked and double-checked numerous times. They were both hard workers, putting all their effort into their work.
"Well, I guess that's all we can do now," said Draco. "We have to wait exactly twenty seven hours before we can put the rest of the ingredients in."
"Yeah, I'm tired," said Hermione, yawning. "What time is it?"
"Eleven."
"Oh, shoot," she said. "I've got an essay for Binns that I need to do last minutes touch ups on. I've got to go now."
"I'll walk you back."
She nodded. "Sure, if Snape catches me, then you'll cover up for me, won't you?"
The two of them left the bathroom and hurried through all the corridors and down and up and down numerous stairs.
There was a sudden thud. "Ouch!"
Draco looked behind him and saw that Hermione had fallen in the trick stair and hurried to help her.
"Ow, my foot's stuck. I keep forgetting that there's a trick stair here. I mean, I've been here for seven years! You'd think I'd know!"
"Here, hold on," he said as he leaned over to try to pull her leg out. To keep her balance, the only thing Hermione could do was do hold on to him by his shoulders. In short, they were in a very uncomfortable position, and if anyone had seen them, he would have thought that they were doing something naughty.
With one big jerk, he finally was able to pull her leg out of the trick stair.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah," but the look on her face told him that she definitely was not. "It's just my ankle really hurts. I think I sprained it. Let me try walking."
She closed her eyes and took one step, but her ankle wouldn't support her so she fell. Luckily, Draco was there to catch her before she fell to the hard floor.
"I'll just hop back, I guess."
"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, with true concern.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, forcing a smile.
He shook his head. "Liar. You are not fine."
"Do you have your wand?" she asked.
"No."
"Damn, neither do I. If I did, I could perform a healing spell." She sighed.
All of a sudden, Draco took her hands and put them around his neck, and she looked at him with surprise. "Hold on."
Then he swept her up in one graceful movement so that he now looked like a groom carrying his bride over the threshold of their new home.
"Malfoy!" she cried, almost in anger.
"Just hold on, alright? I'll carry you back since you can't walk."
Hermione didn't remember ever having been carried in her life. She couldn't help feeling his nicely toned chest against her body and not wanting to sink closer to him.
Soon, they arrived at the portrait leading to her quarters.
"You can put me down now."
He hesitated, but slowly did as she requested. "Are you sure you won't have any trouble getting in?"
"I'll be fine."
"I don't trust you when you say that."
"I swear I'm fine." She stood up on one foot with one hand on his shoulder and brushed her clothes with her free hand. "Thank you."
Her voice made him walk to melt. He couldn't find his voice so he just smiled and shrugged.
Their faces were only separated by inches now, and their eyes connected for an eternity. He couldn't help but lean in to kiss her.
Perhaps she was scared, or perhaps for another reason, she turned away before he could plant his kiss, and hurried into the hole behind the portrait, her ankle hurting and all.
I love Ron, she thought as she fell on her bed, Draco Malfoy just wants to get in my pants…I hate Malfoy…I'm in love with Ron…I'm in love with Ron…I don't like Malfoy at all whatsoever…I'm in love with Ron…
Hermione had no idea that she haunted Draco Malfoy's dreams that night, and would many nights to come.
TBC
~
A/N: ok, the end of chapter 20. I have finals this week…yuck!
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