Author's Note: Hello there! This is I once again, and here is chapter seven…
Thank you to all those who've reviewed: Super Geek, Sabriel4, eri, delila-malfoy, krissy, tom4eva, wintermoon, silentsong, anaA, Btrfly, moulin-lady, Amy, Andrea, Kerbi, purpleballerynna, hello and hi!, Xaein, sierra muffin, Illusion, DazzilinAngel555, Crackhead, CarmenSanDiego, Iris, leonsalanna, Cindylea, erica, sara, Deimos, and all those who reviewed. (I couldn't open the last page of my reviews because my Internet connection failed and was pending. So sorry!)
Here's chapter seven, and once again, I hope you all like it!
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A LOVE NOT FORGOTTEN
By Rage
CHAPTER SEVEN
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Night was falling ever so slowly, and the sky grew dark. The moon shone brightly, and several stars shimmered quietly. Draco was at the Owlery, writing a short note to his mother.
He wrote:
Dearest Mother,
How is everything at the Manor? I hope everything is fine, and I pray that you aren't bored. I'm doing well, of course, and as usual, my grades are quite excellent. I've made a new acquaintance, if you must know…
Anyway, the reason I wrote to you all of a sudden was because I have question regarding our family. Was there any other Malfoy who was named… Draco?
Please answer right away. And if it's possible, could you send our family photo album along with your reply?
Your son,
Draco
Draco wrote his name with flourish and he folded the parchment. He looked up at the wooden ledges and searched for his owl. "Guinevere!" he called out, and instantly, a large bronze owl swooped down in front of him.
Draco stroked Guinevere's feathers, and he hooted softly. "You bring this straight to Mother, alright?" Draco said. The owl hooted once again in reply, and Draco stepped back. Guinevere spread his wings and immediately flew off into the night.
Once his owl disappeared in the horizon, Draco pocketed his quill and ink, and exited the round room. As he walked down the stone steps, he looked at his watch, and realized it was already ten past seven in the evening. Dinner had already begun, and so, he headed off to the Great Hall.
~
Draco stood at the entrance to the Great Hall. He looked around the large room, and observed all four tables. Three tables were noisy and cheerful, yet one was completely the opposite. That one table was where he belonged, the one of Slytherin. Unlike the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, the Slytherins were always silent, mysterious and hostile.
People from the other Houses didn't care if their voices were loud or annoying, and they always seemed to be happy, and they talked about light things. However, students from Slytherin talked in low voices and always looked around suspiciously. They conversed about serious matters, or sometimes, they didn't even talk at all. All they did was just sit there and eat in silence.
Draco, being in Slytherin, was immensely proud that he belonged in such a House. To him, it had always been an honor, and he simply loved being a student from Slytherin. He wouldn't exchange his place even for money or power, but now… making this observation…
Draco would have gladly paid any amount of money to be in any other House other than the current one he was in. He wanted to know how it felt like just laughing out loud with people he considered as friends, not giving a care in the world.
Oh, how he just envied those lucky people who were in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff… how he wished he could just sit at those other three tables…
But sadly he couldn't. He walked to his appointed table and sat down beside Crabbe and Goyle. The two boys ate their dinner quite sloppily, and Draco made a face of pure disgust. "Can't you two eat properly?" he snapped.
Crabbe and Goyle shook their heads in reply and continued on eating. Draco turned away, resisting the desire to hurl. He filled his empty plate and took a spoonful of food when…
Suddenly, everything around him swirled around. Draco dropped his spoon and looked around. It was happening yet again… the long wooden table was replaced with a round glass one and everyone in the Great Hall disappeared. His plate turned into a small teacup and the Great Hall itself had changed into a vast garden full of luscious green plants.
Draco sat there, looking around. This was the second time this had happened to him. It was like he was transported back in time. But he wasn't so sure… and a thought crossed his mind… a very unlikely idea…
He came to believe that his dreams were turning into reality…
"Draco?"
A female voice spoke up. Draco looked up in front of him and came face to face with the same girl he had been dreaming of lately. And he gasped.
"Granger??" he said incredulously. He couldn't believe it. The girl sitting right in front of him looked exactly like the Gryffindor girl he knew. She had the same brown eyes, the same curly hair, and the same expression he had seen rarely. Though he had seen this girl in his dreams so many countless times, he had never really seen her face clearly. But now, he did. And she looked exactly like Hermione Granger.
"What did you say?" the girl said, looking at him curiously.
"Are you—are you Hermione Granger?" Draco asked reluctantly.
The girl laughed. "Well, I am Hermione," she replied, "But my family name's 'de Cicely Rarington'. Did you forget?"
Draco shook his head. "No—of course not."
"You're acting funny today, love." The Hermione in front of him said. She reached for his hand and held it tightly. "Anything wrong?"
She stroked his hand gently and Draco enjoyed the feeling. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, and opened them once again, realizing that this was just a dream.
But a dream can't be this real, he thought, staring at the girl in front of him. She smiled sweetly at him and Draco felt himself blush.
"I love you, you know…" Hermione turned away shyly and blushed as she said those words. She glanced at him. "Do you love me too?"
Draco blinked. "What??"
At that very instant, everything swirled once again. The girl, the garden, the table… everything disappeared. The Great Hall had once again emerged, and the same noise that filled the huge room was heard once again. Draco looked right in front of him and realized that it was not the girl any longer. He was staring at Pansy Parkinson's pug face, and he immediately turned away.
"Bedazzled by my radiant beauty, Drakie?" she asked in a sickeningly sweet voice. Instead of sounding melodious and beautiful, her voice was close to the shrill and head-splitting noise made by a banshee.
Draco shuddered, and shot a contemptuous glare at her. "No, I was just wondering why you look like a hag, that's all," he sneered.
Pansy scowled and turned away. She made an indignant sound, and chatted away with another girl. Meanwhile, Draco's head was filled with thoughts about what just happened, with a mixture of Hermione Granger. He took a brief glance at the Gryffindor table and searched for her. He spotted her after a short while and observed her.
Hermione, as usual, was sitting beside her two friends. Harry and Ron were talking to each other, and Hermione was just eating quietly. Must be about Quidditch, Draco thought, smirking. He always knew that she was never really interested in the sport. That was why she never usually joined in the two boys' conversation.
However, something was wrong. Hermione absent-mindedly put an empty spoon in her mouth and didn't seem to notice. Her two friends didn't notice it either, because they were still conversing. Draco squinted his eyes a bit more to get a closer look. Hermione had an unusual expression on her face. She looked quite dazed, and a bit shocked.
It was somewhat similar to his reaction, Draco noted, when he had 'traveled back in time'. Then a thought struck him.
Maybe, just maybe… Hermione had the same experience just a while ago…!
****
Hermione paced back and forth as she waited for Draco. She had too many things in mind, one of which was what happened a while ago at dinner time. It was just… weird and… strange. Everything had just changed and all of a sudden, she had come face to face with Draco Malfoy.
Only it didn't seem like the Draco Malfoy she had come to know and hate. He was sweet, tender, loving and charming, which was totally unlike him. He had kissed her forehead so gently, which made her tingle with excitement.
And then, when he had said that he loved her, everything went back to normal. She was back in the Great Hall, surrounded by Hogwarts students once again. She tapped Neville Longbottom asking if anything strange had just happened, but he shook his head. "Why? I-Is anything bad happening?" he had stuttered, starting to get nervous.
Hermione shook her head and groaned in frustration. "What is wrong with me??"
"A lot of things."
Hermione twirled around, and saw Draco Malfoy standing in front of her.
"And good evening to you too," Hermione said nastily, crossing her arms.
Draco replied with a smirk. "Care to give me another hug?" he joked, opening his arms wide.
Hermione turned red, and fumed. "Very funny." She resisted the urge to pull out her wand and curse him, and so she put on a strained smile. "Shall we?"
Draco simply grinned.
****
"Can I… ask you something?"
"Fire away."
Hermione hesitated. "It—It's nothing. Never mind," she laughed nervously. She looked away and instead concentrated on the night sky.
"Do I have to threaten you to tell me?"
"Do you want me to curse you?"
Draco stopped and turned Hermione to him. A mischievous grin was present on his face, and Hermione stared at him. "Tell me… or I'll tell everyone about our… intimate moment."
"You're not serious." Hermione gulped. Draco Malfoy was blackmailing her. "You can't do that!"
Draco laughed evilly. "Yes, I can. And I will—unless of course you tell me what's bothering you."
"You're pure evil, Malfoy, you know that?"
"Why, thank you, Granger. Stating the obvious, but thank you all the same." Draco snickered loudly. "Now, tell me."
"No."
"No?"
"No."
"Fine then." Draco started walking away. "I'll just go down to the Great Hall and start telling everyone… see you—"
"I'll tell you, I'll tell you!" Hermione practically screamed to him, and ran to where he was.
Draco burst out laughing and Hermione hit him hard on the head. "If you weren't an annoying prick, you'd make excellent friends with Ron and Harry, you know that?!" she pinched his ear, causing Draco to stop laughing. However, he was still somewhat red.
"Let go of my ear!"
"Stop teasing me then!"
"Fine!"
Hermione let go and crossed her arms. Draco sank to the floor, carressing his now swollen ear. He looked up at her and grinned. "You have quite a grip, you know that?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "You boys are all the same."
Draco stood up, still holding his ear. "Fine. I give up." He put his hands in his pockets and began walking once again.
Hermione sighed in relief, and followed him in silence.
~
Draco wondered what Hermione wanted to ask him. She had looked so lost and quite reluctant to do so, which meant that it was something important. He wondered if it was about the "time travel" event at the Great Hall.
Could she have experienced it too? He thought, glancing at her. He knew he wouldn't know the answer unless one of them asked the question first…
"Granger."
Hermione grunted in reply. She had not taken her eyes off the sky.
Draco ran his fingers through his gelled hair and bit his lip. How was he going to ask her? "Did—did you…" Draco scratched his head. "Did anything… strange happen during dinner?"
Hermione turned her head sharply to him. "What—what do you mean?" she quivered, blinking several times.
Both stopped walking. "I mean… was there some… odd occurrence happening?" Draco queried, turning away.
Hermione kept silent before giving her reply. She thought deeply, before speaking up again. "I—er—"
Draco bit his lip with eagerness. So she did experience it after all!
"No."
Draco blinked. Did he hear just right? "What?"
Hermione gulped and turned away. "I don't think so," she said quietly.
Draco turned to her. She had her attention on the night sky once again, and he sighed. He was so sure that she knew what he was talking about! How could she not know?
Draco held his hands tightly in fists and glared at Hermione's back. "You're lying."
Hermione didn't react.
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Author's Note: Finally done with chapter seven! I liked this story a bit, even though nothing fluffy happened here…
I do hope you understand why Hermione lied… I don't want to explain it in the next chapter! As I've said, I am a bad explainer. But, if you have any questions, feel free to ask in your reviews!
Yes, I promise that there will be more romance and fluffiness and mushiness in the next one! But I won't rush it of course…
So, all you have to do is REVIEW!
I do hope I reach at least 75 reviews or more! Thanks a bunch!
