A/N: Thanks to all the reviewers!!! Um, yeah this next song lyric is called "Brand new low" from the band you all should know called Treble Charger.
Chapter 2 Nothing is what it seems
Over and over I keep wondering why...
Draco left the Malfoy Manor on mid-January, bringing some of his Quidditch equipment with him. For some odd reason, he felt like bringing his Nimbus 2001 more because...well...because.
What's wrong with me? He thought as he carried hexed the equipments down into his own basement. The last person in the world to think about is...a Mudblood...What the hell? I'm Draco Malfoy. Not a Mudblood lover, I'm a pure-blood Malfoy. What will father say if he knew!? He ran his fingers up his shiny blonde hair as he slapped himself mentally.
-
"LEAKY CAULDRON!" he bellowed. Eventually he was covered with smoke and landed with a soft thud in front of the Leaky Cauldron's fireplace. He straightened himself and tried to brush himself clean. He stared around the pub and noticed two startled eyes staring at him at the number twenty-four table, right beside the fireplace.
Then I give up and see that look in your eyes
Cuz if I trip...and fall
I'll be to blame
And If I hit the wall...
I'll still be the same...
"Well," a built, messy jet-black haired boy blurted out, "It's Draco Malfoy!"
"Hello, Potter." Draco smirked. He looked around the table and found him wrap his hands around a familiar elegant looking woman with bright auburn hair. He shifted his stare and found the impressive tall freckled redhead sitting beside a gorgeous woman with copper curls, who was reading the latest issue of Witch's weekly. At first he didn't notice who she was, but kept staring as she scanned her bright sorrel eyes on the page. The only one...
Mudblood? He thought, learing. No.
"Granger." He grinned nodded towards her. Hermione Granger jolted a little as she looked up at the voice.
"Oh, it's you." She went back on her issue, as though nothing just happened.
"It's been long." He said smoothly. Ron and Harry exchanged grins.
"Hell yeah." Harry replied, "So let's see it."
"See what?"
"It" Harry repeated and pointed his shoulder. Draco looked confused. What the hell is he talking about?
"The Death Mark, you ferret- They mean the Death mark!" Hermione retorted, rolling her eyes. She shook her head slightly and went back to reading.
Draco raised a brow and lifted his shirt slightly, finding Ron and Harry flabbergasted to see nothing engraved on his arm whatsoever.
"By now you should all have realised that I'm nothing like my father." Draco said coolly.
"Yeah, I'm sure your not." Ginny had spoken and rolled her eyes.
Draco moved to the empty chair beside Hermione and spinned it so as he sat down, he rested his arms on the backside of the chair. "I see you all have changed...physically-"
Hermione casted him a disgusted look, "I see you haven't."
"Me?" he pointed his fingers on his chest and gave out a little laugh, "Of course I've changed, Granger. Can't you see?" He spread his arms wide causing Harry and Ron snorted out loud.
"Watch out now, Malfoy- Hermione might just bite you." Ron said darkly.
"Where's Pansy?" Harry asked trying to change the subject. Hermione shifted a little, obviously despising the fact that Ron and Harry aren't minding Draco Malfoy being in their table.
"We broke up." He said flatly. This caused everyone in that table to look at him, everyone even Hermione.
"Seriously?" Harry's smirk grew wider, "Right!"
"Yeah, serious." Draco shrugged. Ron and Harry were exchanging disbelieving looks, while Ginny was trying not to laugh as she fixed her eyes on Hermione, who was just sitting there with a brow raised.
"We could just get used to you, Malfoy." Harry pursed his lips. Hermione casted her death glare, "What are you doing!?" she hissed.
"Relax, Granger. It's old news." Draco said, yet calmly.
"Oi! Two butterbeers, mate!" Ron called out to the fat bartender.
"It's on me Weasel." Draco nodded at the fat bartender who had just brought in the butterbeers for them. Ron sat back on his chair with his legs, rocking his chair with his arms crossed and eyed Malfoy carefully. Harry and Ginny exchanged impressed looks, as Hermione gave out a funny sound; a mixture of half a disbelieving and a critical sigh.
Is he serious? Hermione thought to herself as she pretended to re-read the same paragraph in the page. No. Just because the time has changed, doesn't mean he has. It's old news, my ass. It's probably another Malfoy stunt. She rolled her eyes again.
Wasting your time with your so called friends
The ones you adore and the ones you pretend
And it's kind of sad and deranged
But it's not so bad that it can't be explained
Hermione knew what Ron and Harry were doing...They were just testing Draco in case he really is "just playing"...
...Right?
Hermione thought, Why is he here? Why is he talking as though we've just met him...or even, like old best friends? Since when were we ever friends? Does Harry and Ron realise they're laughing WITH the old school asshole? Do they even realise its Malfoy!?
"Make that three," Draco smirked, hearing Hermione's funny mixture of sound and glared at her.
Draco? A gentleman? She continued thinking, as she pretended to read the same page she had been reading for the past thirty minutes. She glared at the grey-eyed blonde, still gelled back like usual. Changed. Yeah, as if.
"What's the matter with you?" Draco had now turned to hear, as if he had just noticed she had been quiet during the conversations.
"You actually want to know, Malfoy?" she asked softly. "Excuse me." She murmured. She stood up and headed to the girl's bathroom.
"She still hates me, doesn't she?" Draco asked, smirking.
"What are you talking about, still? She always hated you."
Cuz in my mind
It's all a waste of time
And there's no excuse at all
Then I realised...
Suprised
You were right all along
Hermione found herself in a cubicle. What should she do? She doesn't want to accept Malfoy, even if he changed himself two hundred times. No, she told herself, you go out there and talk to Harry and Ron. They're both mad!
She sighed and slowly walked out of the bathroom. She walked to the table only to find Draco Malfoy by himself.
"W-where's everyone else?" Hermione looked at him suspiciously.
"I killed them all." Draco winked. Hermione didn't sit down...but she stood stationary in front of him with her arms crossed. "Where are they, Malfoy?"
"Ease off, Granger." He had already spinned the chair back into place and was now rocking on it with his feet partly on the table. "They're gone to get some ice cream. Don't worry, they'll get you some."
Hermione tried to grab the Witch's Weekly from her chair, but his arm caught hers, "If you'll excuse me. I'll go and catch up—"
"You're not leaving me here, are you?" he asked her. She looked at his disheartened grey-eyes, he was still holding her arm.
"What if I want to?" she replied, pursing her lips, "I'm not staying here with you, thanks." She got out of Malfoy's light grip and grabbed her paper. Draco leveled the paper back down to where it came from.
And I want to know
Have I gone too far?
Have I sunk to a brand new low?
And I want to know
If I've gone too far
Cuz I've lost all my self-control
"What do you want?" Hermione taking her hand back.
"Do you still hate me?" Draco asked out of nowhere.
Hermione gave him a weird look, "Of course I do."
"Well, I'm sorry to hear that." He replied coolly. For a second, there was silence. "You know, there's no point of going there. They're probably coming back now."
Hermione didn't want to admit it, but he was probably right. She sat down on Ron's chair, trying to stay away from Malfoy as possible.
"Why are you so quiet?" he put his legs back down and looked at Hermione with curious eyes. "That's not the Hermione I know."
Hermione's heart did a flip as he spoke her name. She probably didn't notice but she was giving Draco a funny look.
"Because I'm wondering," she said, "why you're here."
"Why not?"
"Um, well, let's think." She put her index finger on her lip, "you're Draco Malfoy. Draco Malfoy talking to us. I was expecting more of a sneer than a conversation."
"Well, I guess you thought wrong." He shrugged giving her a smile, which made the hairs on her back stand up.
What does he want from me? She thought.
"You're not so bad, Granger." Draco found himself saying. Hermione waited a few seconds hoping right away he'd say he's only joking.
She laughed, "Coming from you? You're joking...right?"
Draco curled his bottom lip and shook his head, as he stared at the ceiling, "No joke. I'm more suprised than you."
She raised a brow, not realising she shifted herself up so her elbows were resting on the middle of the table, face to face with him. "Wait a minute...so back there, you were talking about how you, Draco Malfoy, have changed, a different man...after all these years?"
"That's what I, Draco Malfoy, say to you, Hermione Granger." Draco said sarcastically.
"No." she said a little too high-pitched.
"No?"
"No. I don't believe you." She shook her head. Malfoy moved up forward on the table, and was now almost an inch away from Hermione. She had never seen his eyes this close before...for the first time...she realised...they were the most amazing pair of grey eyes she's ever seen....
"I like you." he whispered.
Guilty as charged
I've been convicted and tried
Was it too much to ask you to take my side?
Hermione's heart did another flip, and looked at him as though she just noticed he was there. "Don't say that." She said seriously.
"I like you." He repeated, grinning.
Cuz there's nothing left to defend
When it's always me
That you blame in the end
"Shut up!" she went back to her chair, seated straight up. "Shut. Up." Hermione was shaking her head.
Draco on the other hand, stayed where he was, shrugging. "I can't help it. I've been thinking. A lot. And that's the only reason—it makes sense--"
Cuz In my mind, it's the perfect crime
And there's no excuse at all when I realise
"Stop it, Draco!" she covered her mouth in horror, realising she had just mentioned his first name, "Stop it." She said softly, "I don't. You don't mean it. I don't want to hear it."
"I-" Draco started gently.
"It doesn't make sense!" she pushed herself forwards on the table...Malfoy was astonished.
Damn it! She flushed. She had pushed herself forward too much that she had accidentally crashed her lips on his. She didn't move back, she looked at him, wide eyed...aghasted...
Malfoy's mouth was merely open when this happened...he too, froze as he looked at her discomforted face.
Suprise.....
You were right all along...
"I..." she began softly, breathing heavily, hoping...if she could just...wake up and realise this was all...a bad...bad...dream...
Nothing is what it seems
To me you're sleeping without the dreams
Without you, nothing defines me...
Before she knew it, Draco had moved his face closer to hers...as their lips met...Hermione broke it out in an instant.
Her expression was nameless...she covered her mouth with her hands. "I...I'm seeing..."
Draco sat back on his chair, rocking it like he did before. "Seeing...what?"
"Seeing...I'm seeing..." she bit he lip as she tried to think of something to say, "someone else."
Hermione knew Draco was stunned, but he had a good way of hiding it. He just shrugged.
"That's all I needed to know." He said...to Hermione's suprise...gently. "I just wanted to tell you...that..." he stood up, "Thanks for your time, Hermione."
"But-"
"See you around, Granger." He nodded and headed off.
When I'm slipping away
It's only you that can find me
And I'm over my head again
I'm falling from end to end...
Hermione's elbows were almost falling out of the table, as she watched Draco walk out of Leaky Cauldron.
What have I done...
