Nowhere but Up
Chapter 2 - Malfoy Manor
Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this story, sans for the plot. Oh, and JK Rowling is Queen.
"Oh, come off it!" Harry yelled, quite annoyed with his wife, Lavender.
"I saw the way you looked at her!" She sniffled, holding back as many tears as she could and blowing her nose rapidly on a pale pink kerchief. "And the way you just silenced me so you could talk to her!"
Harry sighed angrily. 'How thick can she get?' he thought to himself, all the while pondering on the idea of a divorce. "You know what, Lavender, you're right! I've loved Hermione since as far as I can remember and you were just second best because I knew I could never have Hermione. You were just a person to double for her and those twins right there are just to double for the twins I could have had with Hermione."
Lavender burst out crying even louder and harder. "I knew it!" She said, pointing a finger in accusation. "I knew you always wanted to take her but you couldn't have her! Well look here mister "Lavender's just second best"! I can have any man I want and I don't choose you!"
"How thick can you get, Lavender? I love you! I like Hermione, but as a friend! You are the one I want to spend the rest of my life with, not Hermione! Okay?"
"You mean it?" she sniffled, gripping Harry tightly and resting her head on her chest.
"Of course." He replied, stroking her hair. He lifted her head every so gently and looked her in the eye. "And I don't often say things I don't mean."
"Oh, Harry!" Lavender wrapped her arms around him and planted a juicy kiss on his lips. "I'm sorry for being paranoid. It's just that sometimes I get overly conscious about how I look after giving birth to two baby boys and I mean, look at her! Her body's completely perfect with no flaws whatsoever, and I mean, I'm over here with all this loose skin and stretch marks and, and-!"
"Shh. I think your body's absolutely perfect, and I love what we've created. Aren't they beautiful?"
"Not nearly as beautiful as their daddy."
"Or their mommy. Come on Lavender, let's go rest. It's been a long evening."
Hermione's POV
Three weeks passed by pretty quickly. But I still managed to pencil in a few second-guessing on the plans. What really surprised me, though, was that on the last day of term, every single house presented me with a bouquet of flowers, and oddly enough, the best came from Slytherin house. They were long stemmed white roses, and if I hadn't known better, I would say that the betters were made of silk. Gryffindor presented me with red roses, Hufflepuff daisies, and Ravenclaw chrysanthemums.
But I gathered my things and met Draco at the front gate of Malfoy Manor after traveling there by Floo powder. He was dressed in a long, black coat, a green sweater with silver writing spelling out his name, and black slacks. 'He certainly does look dashing.' I thought as his house elves carried my belongings to the mansion, even though I strongly disagreed, and gazed longingly into his almost silver eyes.
"Welcome to Malfoy Manor, Mudblood."
"Still calling me a Mudblood, are you? Well, it's the least I could expect. Now, show me to my room, Draco."
Draco's eyes twitched. I could tell that he sincerely did not want me to stay there, but what was done was done and there was no going back on it now.
"Well?" I said a little too huffily.
"Testy in the morning, are we?" Draco replied suavely. "Very well. You will be staying in the guest bedroom, and I advise you strongly to change in the adjoining bathroom and try to make your face unseen whenever you enter the room."
I blinked, somewhat stupidly so. "Might I ask why?"
"Yes, you may. You'll find out anyhow, but it probably best that I simply tell you, lest you find out the hard way. My father's portrait hangs in the guest bedroom, and you know how Father is about Muggles, correct? I haven't told him, yet. You know he can move freely from picture to picture, and in able to put a demobilizing spell on a portrait, the one it is of must be asleep. Unlucky for me he never sleeps. 'Keeps rambling on about the Dark Lord and such, though he's long gone. Scarhead really took care of him seventh year."
Draco's POV
"Oi! His fucking portrait is driving me mad! Father, would you shut up for one bloody moment?" I yelled, trying to enjoy some peace and quiet. However, Hermione had been stupid and allowed Father to see her face, and now he was running blindly through picture after picture around the house. 'Sometimes I wonder why I never disowned him. Then I look around and there it is! The reason why.'
Hermione sat on the lounge chair next to mind, sipping her butterbeer. I wanted to ask what was the matter with her, but I didn't bother. She told me anyway. "You know, Draco, there's something very wrong with this picture. Did you ever imagine that I'd be living with you? I mean, all our time spent at Hogwarts, we've loathed each other so, but now, when I need you, we're best friends?"
I rolled my eyes at her and smiled. "Yes, I don't understand either. My brain sometimes works without my knowledge."
"Try all the time." She mumbled under her breath as she sipped her butterbeer.
"I'm off to take a bath. I look filthy, especially chasing that dirty house elf, Peewee, up the chimney to catch her. She'll be immobilized for a while."
The stairs smelt horrible, like of wet paint. Father had obviously caused some leakage on one of the pictures, but it was unsure to me which one it was. "Fuck." I said annoyed. He'd obviously been with mother again and she was the one leaking because her portrait was all crooked and some of the canvas was ripped. "Dirty old man. Should learn to keep himself in his pants."
I reached the master bath that took up the entire eight floor, except for one room that it led into that continued the stairway up more levels on the mansion. The master bath was must like that of the prefects bath room with many tiny scented spheres in different colors and bath salts in every crevice. It was quite relaxing actually, which was why I fancied the master bath the most. I slipped off all my clothes and placed them neatly in the wicker hamper marked "Draco". Then I climbed into the Jacuzzi tub the size of a swimming pool and sunk down beneath the water.
The door creaked open and Hermione entered. I didn't say a thing as she slipped off her clothes and placed them in the hamper across the room marked "Hermione" that I'd had made since she was also permitted to use the master bath and she was now a "member" of the household. She climbed in tub just a few inches from me, still apparently unable to see me through all the bubbles and many colors.
"Surprise." I said, in both a laugh and a stern look of annoyance.
She jumped. "Draco?" Before I could do anything she slapped me hard across the cheek and scowled at me. "What did you see?"
"Everything, right now to your amazing figure. I didn't know a Transfiguration professor could be beautiful." I said, in a joking manner, but meaning every word.
Hermione frowned even harder. She simply moved away so that I was not quite as near to her as we had been in the beginning, but she did not get out or cry or anything as I had expected. Suddenly, an urge that was quite odd to me began to take over. I wanted to grab her kiss her hard, submerge under the water and return to the surface as one, gripping each other tightly, passionately. My urge got so uncontrollable, that I rushed forward and grabbed her head. Our lips met in a steamy kiss and her eyes began to glow brightly.
"Draco?" she whispered, clutching me, too. "Is that you?"
[[Okay, so what do you guys think? I really think that I could go places with this story, unlike my Sailor Moon story which is just kind of sitting there with me unable to do anything productive to it. Anyway, I got this chapter up fairly fast as opposed to the last one. Please review! Review! Review! Review! Thanks you guys and I just wanna say, love ya Jinxi and Cherri! You guys are always there for *kiss*]]
Chapter 2 - Malfoy Manor
Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this story, sans for the plot. Oh, and JK Rowling is Queen.
"Oh, come off it!" Harry yelled, quite annoyed with his wife, Lavender.
"I saw the way you looked at her!" She sniffled, holding back as many tears as she could and blowing her nose rapidly on a pale pink kerchief. "And the way you just silenced me so you could talk to her!"
Harry sighed angrily. 'How thick can she get?' he thought to himself, all the while pondering on the idea of a divorce. "You know what, Lavender, you're right! I've loved Hermione since as far as I can remember and you were just second best because I knew I could never have Hermione. You were just a person to double for her and those twins right there are just to double for the twins I could have had with Hermione."
Lavender burst out crying even louder and harder. "I knew it!" She said, pointing a finger in accusation. "I knew you always wanted to take her but you couldn't have her! Well look here mister "Lavender's just second best"! I can have any man I want and I don't choose you!"
"How thick can you get, Lavender? I love you! I like Hermione, but as a friend! You are the one I want to spend the rest of my life with, not Hermione! Okay?"
"You mean it?" she sniffled, gripping Harry tightly and resting her head on her chest.
"Of course." He replied, stroking her hair. He lifted her head every so gently and looked her in the eye. "And I don't often say things I don't mean."
"Oh, Harry!" Lavender wrapped her arms around him and planted a juicy kiss on his lips. "I'm sorry for being paranoid. It's just that sometimes I get overly conscious about how I look after giving birth to two baby boys and I mean, look at her! Her body's completely perfect with no flaws whatsoever, and I mean, I'm over here with all this loose skin and stretch marks and, and-!"
"Shh. I think your body's absolutely perfect, and I love what we've created. Aren't they beautiful?"
"Not nearly as beautiful as their daddy."
"Or their mommy. Come on Lavender, let's go rest. It's been a long evening."
Hermione's POV
Three weeks passed by pretty quickly. But I still managed to pencil in a few second-guessing on the plans. What really surprised me, though, was that on the last day of term, every single house presented me with a bouquet of flowers, and oddly enough, the best came from Slytherin house. They were long stemmed white roses, and if I hadn't known better, I would say that the betters were made of silk. Gryffindor presented me with red roses, Hufflepuff daisies, and Ravenclaw chrysanthemums.
But I gathered my things and met Draco at the front gate of Malfoy Manor after traveling there by Floo powder. He was dressed in a long, black coat, a green sweater with silver writing spelling out his name, and black slacks. 'He certainly does look dashing.' I thought as his house elves carried my belongings to the mansion, even though I strongly disagreed, and gazed longingly into his almost silver eyes.
"Welcome to Malfoy Manor, Mudblood."
"Still calling me a Mudblood, are you? Well, it's the least I could expect. Now, show me to my room, Draco."
Draco's eyes twitched. I could tell that he sincerely did not want me to stay there, but what was done was done and there was no going back on it now.
"Well?" I said a little too huffily.
"Testy in the morning, are we?" Draco replied suavely. "Very well. You will be staying in the guest bedroom, and I advise you strongly to change in the adjoining bathroom and try to make your face unseen whenever you enter the room."
I blinked, somewhat stupidly so. "Might I ask why?"
"Yes, you may. You'll find out anyhow, but it probably best that I simply tell you, lest you find out the hard way. My father's portrait hangs in the guest bedroom, and you know how Father is about Muggles, correct? I haven't told him, yet. You know he can move freely from picture to picture, and in able to put a demobilizing spell on a portrait, the one it is of must be asleep. Unlucky for me he never sleeps. 'Keeps rambling on about the Dark Lord and such, though he's long gone. Scarhead really took care of him seventh year."
Draco's POV
"Oi! His fucking portrait is driving me mad! Father, would you shut up for one bloody moment?" I yelled, trying to enjoy some peace and quiet. However, Hermione had been stupid and allowed Father to see her face, and now he was running blindly through picture after picture around the house. 'Sometimes I wonder why I never disowned him. Then I look around and there it is! The reason why.'
Hermione sat on the lounge chair next to mind, sipping her butterbeer. I wanted to ask what was the matter with her, but I didn't bother. She told me anyway. "You know, Draco, there's something very wrong with this picture. Did you ever imagine that I'd be living with you? I mean, all our time spent at Hogwarts, we've loathed each other so, but now, when I need you, we're best friends?"
I rolled my eyes at her and smiled. "Yes, I don't understand either. My brain sometimes works without my knowledge."
"Try all the time." She mumbled under her breath as she sipped her butterbeer.
"I'm off to take a bath. I look filthy, especially chasing that dirty house elf, Peewee, up the chimney to catch her. She'll be immobilized for a while."
The stairs smelt horrible, like of wet paint. Father had obviously caused some leakage on one of the pictures, but it was unsure to me which one it was. "Fuck." I said annoyed. He'd obviously been with mother again and she was the one leaking because her portrait was all crooked and some of the canvas was ripped. "Dirty old man. Should learn to keep himself in his pants."
I reached the master bath that took up the entire eight floor, except for one room that it led into that continued the stairway up more levels on the mansion. The master bath was must like that of the prefects bath room with many tiny scented spheres in different colors and bath salts in every crevice. It was quite relaxing actually, which was why I fancied the master bath the most. I slipped off all my clothes and placed them neatly in the wicker hamper marked "Draco". Then I climbed into the Jacuzzi tub the size of a swimming pool and sunk down beneath the water.
The door creaked open and Hermione entered. I didn't say a thing as she slipped off her clothes and placed them in the hamper across the room marked "Hermione" that I'd had made since she was also permitted to use the master bath and she was now a "member" of the household. She climbed in tub just a few inches from me, still apparently unable to see me through all the bubbles and many colors.
"Surprise." I said, in both a laugh and a stern look of annoyance.
She jumped. "Draco?" Before I could do anything she slapped me hard across the cheek and scowled at me. "What did you see?"
"Everything, right now to your amazing figure. I didn't know a Transfiguration professor could be beautiful." I said, in a joking manner, but meaning every word.
Hermione frowned even harder. She simply moved away so that I was not quite as near to her as we had been in the beginning, but she did not get out or cry or anything as I had expected. Suddenly, an urge that was quite odd to me began to take over. I wanted to grab her kiss her hard, submerge under the water and return to the surface as one, gripping each other tightly, passionately. My urge got so uncontrollable, that I rushed forward and grabbed her head. Our lips met in a steamy kiss and her eyes began to glow brightly.
"Draco?" she whispered, clutching me, too. "Is that you?"
[[Okay, so what do you guys think? I really think that I could go places with this story, unlike my Sailor Moon story which is just kind of sitting there with me unable to do anything productive to it. Anyway, I got this chapter up fairly fast as opposed to the last one. Please review! Review! Review! Review! Thanks you guys and I just wanna say, love ya Jinxi and Cherri! You guys are always there for *kiss*]]