A/N: Hello there! Thank you for waiting patiently for this chapter! I'm sorry it took so long…

Anyway, thanks to all those who reviewed!

Regarding the sequel to "My Guardian Angel": Yes, I am sure that there will definitely be a sequel. I just have to… work on the details, he he!

Anyway, here's chapter nine!

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A LOVE NOT FORGOTTEN

By Rage

CHAPTER NINE

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Her eyes traveled instantly to the young, blonde, slick-haired Slytherin who sat four chairs away from her. She studied his every feature, checking and rechecking if he was or wasn't the young man in the picture.

Hermione opened her A History of Magic book and turned to the page where she slipped the old photograph. Its sides were creased, and the picture itself was close to fading. The young man appeared to be whistling a pleasant tune, and he bowed courteously to Hermione.

Hermione turned crimson. Every time she looked at the Draco look-alike, she had momentary tingling feelings and she just wanted to stare at the photograph all day. She found herself sighing dreamily as the young man flashed her a charming smile, and she giggled endlessly whenever she thought of him.

She closed her book and stared up. Professor Binns, the only ghost who taught at Hogwarts, continued droning on and on about the Year of the Giants and their great battle at Liechtenstein. He hardly looked back at the class and asked if they actually understood what he was teaching them, and for the first time, Hermione found herself bored in History of Magic.

She looked around her. Seamus Finnigan had his eyes closed and he was already drooling on his desk; Neville was already snoring albeit silently; Ron and Harry were making sword fights with their quills; Parvati and Lavender were passing notes; Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode were whispering quietly with each other and Draco Malfoy stared outside the window with a thoughtful look.

Hermione blinked. She looked at Draco from the corner of her eye and blushed. For the first time in her life, she considered the Slytherin handsome. Not just handsome, but extremely handsome.

In that very minute, everything about him was perfect.

Absolutely perfect.

His gray eyes twinkled in the sunlight, his golden hair was finely slicked back, and the look he was wearing was just… beautiful.

Hermione took the picture out once again and stared at it. She looked back at him and blushed. Draco Malfoy now looked exactly like the young man in the photograph.

But that can't be, she thought. Hermione perfectly knew that the man in the picture and the teenager sitting four seats away from her were completely different.

The Draco Malfoy she had come to know was too proud, too confident, and somewhat annoying. But the young man in the photograph was completely the opposite. She didn't know how and why she knew that, but she had a strong feeling that… he was.

She just knew.

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Draco rummaged through his trunk, looking for the photograph. He forgot where he placed it and now, he was searching for it all over the place.

Crabbe and Goyle sat on the edge of his bed and looked at him. "What are you looking for?" Crabbe asked.

"Nothing that concerns you," Draco replied irritably. He glared at the two. "What are you two doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be down at the kitchens stuffing your faces?"

"You said we should remind you that it's time for your patrolling if you ever forget."

"So…?!"

"It's eight fifteen."

"What?" Draco looked at the brass clock on the wall. It was eight fifteen and he was already fifteen minutes late. He was supposed to meet Hermione at eight o'clock sharp, and because of the search for the missing picture, he was sure that she was going to be moody.

So, he put back all his things back in his trunk and finally left the dormitory.

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"I'm here!" Draco burst out as he arrived at the Entrance Hall. Hermione was sitting down on one of the stone steps, hardly noticing that she wasn't alone anymore.

Draco walked over to where she was. "I said, I'm here."

She looked up and smiled. "Oh. Shall we?" she stood up and brushed the dust off her robes.

"What?" Draco stared at her. "Aren't you mad or anything?"

Hermione raised her eyebrow. "Why should I be mad?"

"Because you waited for me for almost thirty minutes."

"But I'm not."

"Why not?"

"So you want me to be mad at you?"

"Well—no."

"So let's go, shall we?"

~

Where could that bloody picture be? Draco searched his pockets, checking if he might have left the photograph there. He had looked everywhere for it; his trunk, his clothes, his books… where else could he have put it?

He searched his memory. When was the last time I had it? He couldn't remember.

That's what you get for being so bloody messy, a tiny voice scolded. Draco smacked himself mentally. He had lost the only clue he had that could help explain why he was having unusual illusions!

He glanced sideways at the girl beside him. Hermione was minding her own business, humming a pleasant tune to herself.

Then a thought crossed his mind. What if…what if he dropped the picture during the end of one of their patrolling? There was a possibility…

"Hermione." The name was so foreign to his tongue, but he didn't hesitate to say it again. "Hermione."

"Hm?" Hermione seemed to be surprised as he was when he had used her first name.

"Did you, by any chance, see an old photograph lying around?"

She didn't answer right away. Instead, she reached inside her pocket for something and pulled it slowly out. "You mean…" she turned it to the front and showed it to him. "This one?"

There it was. Draco heaved a sigh and nodded. "That's the one!" He took it from her and smiled. "I thought I lost it! Thanks!"

Hermione returned a tiny smile. "Don't mention it."

Draco looked at the picture. The "Draco" in the picture was dozing off as he leaned on the wall beside him, looking very similar to a young child tired of playing. Draco smiled and kept it in his pocket.

"Was that you in the picture?"

Draco glanced at Hermione. She looked quite hesitant and at the same curious and eager, and Draco wondered why she wanted to know. "Why?"

"It's just that—the guy in the picture looks exactly like you, but— he's wearing century-old clothes, and—"

"It's not me."

"Who is it then?"

"Some other member of my family."

"What's his name?"

"Same as mine. Draco Malfoy."

Hermione repeated what he said. "Draco Malfoy…"

Draco furrowed his eyebrows and stopped walking. "Why?"

"Nothing. Just curious, that's all," she replied quietly.

"Tell me." Draco put his hand on her shoulder, causing Hermione to shudder. "Tell me…please?"

Please? Draco dropped his hand and repeated the word that was alien to him. What had gotten into me? He was now using the word, please? And he was begging Hermione to tell him something he had no concern of?

Draco's thoughts were cut short when Hermione gave her reply.

"It's just that… that Draco Malfoy seems very familiar to me. I don't know why, though, but he is." Hermione paused for a moment and continued. "And there's one more thing that bothers me about him."

Draco leaned in. "Which is…?"

Hermione looked up at his gray eyes and bit her lip. "I—it's weird—I—"

"Just tell me."

"I… I think… I think I'm in love with him."

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A/N: What do you think? To be honest, I didn't know how to end this chapter, that's why I had trouble finishing it. But I hope it was good enough. I worked hard on this, even if it really stinks!

Just to let you know, school starts on June 16, which means, for me, is tomorrow! That also means that I won't be able to update very quickly, so at this early stage, I am apologizing! I will still update my stories of course, it's just that it won't be very fast.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please, all I'm asking are your reviews! I hope I can reach 95+ reviews or more!

Thanks!