AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you all to those who've reviewed! All your opinions/suggestions/flames/comments were all appreciated! As a thank you, here's chapter six!

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A LOVE NOT FORGOTTEN

By Rage

CHAPTER SIX: FRIENDS

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Hermione held on tightly to Malfoy, and seemed to not want to let go. There was another clap of thunder, and another gust of cold wind rushed past them. Malfoy was obviously taken aback, for his body seemed to be stiff.

"Granger—"

"Don't leave me." Hermione said in a timid, vulnerable voice. She tightened her embrace. "Please don't leave me again."

Again? Hermione blinked. Where did that come from? And why am I hugging Malfoy?

"I—I—" Hermione pulled away and stepped back. "I—I don't know what came over me." She looked up at Malfoy with flushed cheeks and he was simply staring at her.

"Goodnight Malfoy." Avoiding his gray eyes, Hermione nodded to him and ran away, leaving him alone in the corridor.

Just great, she thought, Now he's going to tell the whole school that I'm in love with him and all! She slapped her face mentally. Why had she done that? Why, oh why oh why?

"Sherry Sherbet," she said, upon arriving in front of the Fat Lady's portrait. The painting swung open and Hermione climbed in the hole. She arrived inside the unoccupied Common Room, and fell on the red couch.

Everything was just getting weirder by the day. Malfoy being quiet all of a sudden, Hermione hugging him out of the blue…

Her reputation as a Slytherin-hating Gryffindor was now tarnished.

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November came, along with the Quidditch season. The House teams began practicing in the Quidditch field, and anyone who passed by it could see blue, red, green, or yellow blurs zooming up in the air.

Harry and Ron, who were both on the Gryffindor team (Harry being the Seeker, and Ron being the Keeper and Captain), were seen carrying their broomsticks during breakfast and after classes. Hermione, being alone often since her two friends practiced every day, spent her free time in the library reading and doing her homework.

One night, Hermione sat alone in front of the fireplace, reading a book. At that moment, two people climbed out of the Portrait Hole and walked to where she was.

"Reading again?"

Hermione looked up and saw Ron and Harry looming over her. "How was practice?" she asked, closing the book.

Ron flopped down on the couch and rested his head on her lap. "Very tiring."

Harry nodded along and leaned on Hermione's shoulder. "My whole body's aching," he complained. "And it's all Ron's fault."

"My fault??"

"You are the Captain, aren't you?" Harry glanced at Hermione. "He made us practice for six hours without taking more than two breaks!"

"Well, I'm sorry if I just want to win the Cup this year! I want our team to be the best!"

"We're already the best! We give our best efforts in every practice and game that we have! All we're asking is that we have at least five breaks!"

"Fine—"

Hermione giggled. The two boys were already shouting and Hermione needed to stop them. She pulled their ears.

"Oww—Oww—"

"We're stopping! Stopping—"

"Good." Hermione smiled and let go. Harry's and Ron's ears were red, and both massaged them. "You don't want me to take points off my own House, do you?" she threatened, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, yeah…" Harry stood up and stretched his arms. "Well, we're taking a bath. See you, Hermione!"

"G'night." Ron yawned. "We still have a game tomorrow morning."

"With who?"

"With that prick Malfoy and all those Slytherin prats. Anyway, see you!"

"See you." Hermione watched the two boys as they trudged up to their dormitory. Hermione closed her book and sighed. It had been weeks since she had made eye contact with Draco Malfoy, and he seemed to be avoiding her. Though they had prefect duties together every other night, all they had ever said were, "There?", "Sure," "Right", "Uh huh", and other two to three word phrases.

All of a sudden, the embarrassing event had come flooding in her head. Hermione shook her head violently, as she tried hard to forget the memory. It was very unexpected and startling for the two of them, and luckily, the next day, Malfoy had not told anyone about it, which was very close to a miracle.

And Hermione was reminded of something. She owed Draco Malfoy a really big thanks for not telling anyone about the incident. She knew that he wouldn't normally do this under normal circumstances, and Hermione was extremely grateful for it.

"Tomorrow after the game," she decided, banging her fist on her palm.

So with that, Hermione stood up and went to her dormitory.

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"We will win this game, whether we cheat or not." The Slytherin Quidditch Team Captain looked around the room as he stood on the platform. "We cannot lose against Gryffindor. We will take back our victory, and our Cup. Chasers—"

Draco was hardly listening. He was trapped in his own thoughts as he fiddled with his Nimbus' handle, thinking about the dream he just had the previous night. It was a recurring type of dream, and it wasn't those kinds which one forgot when he woke up.

In it were two teenagers, who looked about the age of sixteen. One was a pretty, attractive girl, and the other was a handsome boy. It could've been just any other fluffy nightmare to Draco, but it wasn't. What bothered him most about it was that the boy in his dream looked exactly like him, and the girl somewhat resembled Hermione Granger.

Of all the girls in the world… Draco thought irritably.

"Malfoy!"

Draco looked up. Their captain was standing before him, looking very intimidating and impatient. "Yes, captain?" Draco asked in mock politeness.

The surly boy curled his lip. "You know what to do, don't you?" he said in a dangerously low voice.

Draco nodded. "I'll keep Potter's attention to me, and stop him from finding the Snitch."

"Good. You'd better get that bloody Snitch or else." The captain narrowed his eyes.

"Don't worry." Draco stood up confidently, and grabbed his broom. "I will."

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"AND GRYFFINDOR SCORES ONCE AGAIN! SEVENTY-TWENTY WITH GRYFFINDOR LEADING!"

A loud cheer from the audience came, and Gryffindor supporters waved crimson flags. Draco shook his head in shame and continued on flying in front of his opponent, Harry Potter.

"Can't find the bloody Snitch, can you, Scarhead?" he sneered, as he made a double somersault with his broom. "I guess your skills have deteriorated!"

Harry smirked. "At least I have skills, unlike some other blonde prick here."

Draco gritted his teeth. Gryffindors always had clever, witty comebacks, and Draco had hated that ever since. Clever? Draco was instantly reminded of a certain Gryffindor.

Draco shook his head and concentrated instead on Harry. "I won't let you get the Golden Snitch this time, Potter!"

However, Harry wasn't listening anymore. He was looking behind Draco, and a triumphant smile began to form in his face. Before Draco knew it, his rival had zoomed for whatever he saw behind him, leaving the Slytherin boy alone.

"AND HARRY POTTER HAS SEEN THE SNITCH!" The commentator said excitedly. "HE'S SEEN IT!"

A loud gasp came from the audience and everyone began screaming. Draco gripped on his broom's handle and followed Harry. He wasn't going to lose to his enemy once more; he was sick and tired of it. He urged his broom to go as fast as Harry's Firebolt, and luckily, his Nimbus 2001 had caught up with the Firebolt's incredible speed.

"I'm getting the Snitch this time, not you!" Draco told Harry, bumping him on his side.

"Haven't you told me that for the past four years?" Harry sneered. "You haven't succeeded in any game of ours."

Draco was getting angry. Not because Harry was insulting him, but because what he just said was true. Adrenalin and a desire to win were surging through his veins and unbelievably, his Nimbus zoomed much faster than the Firebolt.

Draco's attention was fixated on the tiny ball just fluttering down below, and he was sure that Slytherin was going to win this match. He extended his arm out, and reached for it—

When suddenly his surroundings changed. The Quidditch field below had disappeared and was replaced by tall bushes of grass, the tall poles had changed into pine trees, and the noise from the crowd turned into the pleasant singing of birds.

Draco was still riding his broom, but now he was accompanied by a young girl. "What are you doing here? Where am I?" he demanded, but no noise came out. Instead, another voice, which was unmistakably still his, said, "Are you excited?"

The girl turned her head and smiled up sweetly at him. Draco felt himself blush. "Yes, of course." She said in a lovely voice. "Where are you taking me?"

"It's a surprise."

"Is it somewhere nice?"

"Yes."

The girl leaned her head on Draco's chest. "I love you."

Everything swirled once again. Draco closed his eyes for a brief second, and when he opened them once again, he was back in the game, floating in midair. "What the—"

"WHAT IN MERLIN'S BEARD ARE YOU DOING, MALFOY?!"

Draco turned his head and saw the Slytherin Captain raging. "GO AFTER POTTER!" he shouted, pointing at a small figure. "GET THE SNITCH!"

"What the—" Draco gripped the handle and zoomed down after Harry. Wasn't he leading just a while ago? But it seemed that it was the other way around already. Harry was ten meters away from him, and he was very close to getting the Golden Snitch.

Draco urged his Nimbus to catch up to Harry, but it was too late. After about six seconds, Harry had stopped, raised up his hand and showed everyone the Golden Snitch. He was clutching it tightly in his hand, and everyone (except the Slytherins) in the stadium burst out cheering and waving their banners and flags.

"AND GRYFFINDOR WINS! TWO HUNDRED THIRTY POINTS TO FORTY!"

Draco punched himself mentally, and flew down to the field. It was his fault, and there was no point in denying it. He was already about to catch the Snitch, but as usual, some sort of image came to him and distracted him from winning.

Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor team were being crowded by their fellow Housemates, and Draco gritted his teeth. He turned around and there stood the Slytherins, each and every one of them. Their captain stood in front of everyone and he shot Draco a deadly, threatening look.

"You'd better win the next match, Malfoy," he hissed. "Lucky for you this is just our first game."

Draco just glared at him, and he walked away.

****

"Malfoy?"

Draco turned around and came face to face with Hermione. "What?" he spat. "Came here to gloat?"

"No."

"Well, what did you come down here for then?" He knew that he had no reason to get irritated at Hermione, but he was still angry for losing the match against Gryffindor. He stared at her.

"I just wanted to… you know… thank you for not telling anyone," she said quietly, shuffling her feet.

Draco furrowed his eyebrows. "For not telling anyone what?" He searched his memory. Was she referring to the time when she hugged him? "For… the incident?"

Hermione looked up, her cheeks slightly pink. "Er—yeah."

Draco nodded. Was Hermione Granger apologizing to him, Draco Malfoy? Then a thought came across his head. Why had he not told anyone about the litle incident? He knew, and obviously, the girl in front of him, knew that normally, he would have already spread it like wildfire in the school by this time.

"Thank you," Hermione smiled. She extended her hand. "I guess I can… trust you a bit."

Draco stared at her hand. If he shook it, that meant that the two of them would become acquaintances, or even friends. If he didn't, Hermione would hate and despise him more, and the thought of Hermione disliking him more than she already did unbelievably displeased Draco.

So…

Draco shook it. "You're… welcome."

The words seemed so foreign to Draco's tongue. He had never said those two words before, and saying it to Hermione was very pleasing. Hermione, though looking quite shocked, nevertheless smiled. Draco smiled back and he stared at his hand and Hermione's.

This was a start of a real friendship, which Draco never really had. Though it was with a Gryffindor, not to mention a Muggle-born, it still counted.

Draco knew that this, in the future, would be forbidden. However, being friends with a Mudblood at least for a while couldn't hurt…

Right…?

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A/N: Finally done with the sixth chapter. I hope that it was:

LONG enough

NICE enough

CAPTIVATING enough

And I do hope you enjoyed it all and I hope you all review! You may think that they're being friends right away, but I promise you that I will do it little by little.

Anyway, I hope I can reach at least up to 60-65 reviews or more!