A/n: Longer chapter. Lol, I know most unlikely and strange chapter but hey! A girl can dream..
Chapter 19: I...
"So, how long have you two been together?" Harry asked the grey-eyed stranger, "I'm Harry. What's your name?"
"Thought you'd never ask, Potter," a grin spread through the stranger's mouth, "I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."
Harry and Ginny froze, and Ron almost dropped his butterbeer. Nobody spoke for about a minute, avoiding each other's eyes by looking at the ceiling.
"OK, this is pathetic." Hermione broke the silence.
"What's pathetic, Hermione? This?" Ginny scowled, "You're telling us, here, this is pathetic?"
Harry was silenced and was now shaking his head at Hermione.
"What the bloody fuck were you thinking?!" Ron was red and was standing up, shaking the bottle on his left hand. He glared at the dirty blonde and back to Hermione.
"Hold your bloody thestrals, Weasley. I'm not going to kill anybody." Draco smirked, distributing the butterbeers.
"You see that smirk, Hermione? Do you see it?" Ron's eyes were widened. Hermione sat still on her chair, apparantly disbelieving how her best friends were acting.
"Ron- I can- I can explain..." Hermione nervously said to him.
"I ruddy hell sure hope you can!" Ron was close to screaming. He glared at Harry, "Well? Haven't you got a say on this, Harry?"
It was too obvious Harry didn't know what to say. He looked at her with a mixture of emotions: half-disappointed and half somewhat...suprised.
"Malfoy, Hermione?" he glanced at Draco who stood there silent, staring at his shoes, and then looked at her. "Are you...sure?"
"Harry!" Hermione looked at him sternly.
"Well, yeah- we're not here to control you, Hermione...I mean...well, we are your best friends and-well, we've known him," Harry looked darkly at Malfoy, "He—"
"Made our lives a living hell!" Ginny added, her arms crossed. Hermione was blown away.
"Guys...it's okay...he's not the one we used to know. He's changed, Harry...Ron," she stared at them seriously, "...Ginny." she looked up at her, with her arms still crossed. The three knew Hermione for a long, long time now, and by now they already know that whenever she looks serious...she's defenitley serious.
"How could you do this to us, Hermione?" Harry said gently. Draco looked more ashamed as his pale face merely flushed.
"Just give him a chance." Hermione said eagerly.
"Please." the three almost jumped in awe when they heard Draco Malfoy say this one simple word deeply.
Ginny looked like she was trying to considering it, but Ron defenitely wasn't buying anything. Harry, on the other hand, his expression was incogneto.
Nobody spoke.
Hermione sighed. "I can't believe this," Hermione said standing up, "None of my best friends can't even accept the fact that I'm trying to be honest with them and for once..."
Silence.
"Well, it seems like I'm interupting with a lot of things. I'm sorry, I better go. Bye everyone..Hermione-" Draco stood up to leave and Hermione casted her friends the saddened look and Ron made a funny moan.
"Bloody hell!"
"Malfoy. You can stay..." Harry sighed, "The last thing we need to see right now is Hermione pissed."
Hermione beamed and looked as though she was going to jump on each of them all together and hug them all.
"Only-" Ron began, "-if he promises not to be a jackass!"
Draco smirked, "Whatever you say, Weasley." Ron looked at him coldly and sat back in his chair, arms crossed again.
"Chill out." Hermione mouthed, and the end of Ron's mouth gave a slight grin.
The conversation went quite well than what Hermione expected. She kept noticing Ron eyeing Malfoy carefully as though preparing for him to take out his wand and beat them all one by one.
-
That next Saturday, Hermione and Draco met up again. They walked around exploring the old place, but seeing almost new things everytime.
Things have been going quite fine between them; Ron and Harry just learnt how to get used to it after a few weeks of practice...and Ginny? Well...she always trusted Hermione. Hermione, for one, still kept seeing her three best friends, but sometimes she was most likely to bring Draco around. The boys didn't seem to have trouble about the conversation part, (Quidditch or their precious old school memories), but it was the arguments they'd get into. Draco usually won.
...OK, almost all the time.
Draco and Hermione have been having meetings almost every Saturday, and they seemed fun and...different. They both had such different tastes it makes things even interesting for the both of them; either they'd try it, or just argue. Most of the time, Hermione gets her way...thanks to Draco of course.
--
Hermione and Draco glanced at each other once in a while when they run out of things to say. They ended up stopping in front of Obscurus Books. Hermione grinned. She looked at him and wondered why he had such a saddened face...
"You like books, I guess?" she asked to get his attention.
Draco slowly shook his head. "I was just following wherever you were going."
Hermione grinned and flushed, "I thought that was my job!"
As they walked along the paths of Diagon Alley, something made Hermione jump.
"Quick hide!" she said quickly.
"W-wha-" confused and too late, Hermione had pushed Draco to the other side of the sidewalk, almost colliding on the door. 'Sorry!' she mouthed. Why the hell did she just do that?
Draco wanted to run back to her and asked what her problem was, he tried to catch her eye but she wouldn't look. He thought it wouldn't be such a good idea.
"Hermione!" a woman with long dark brown hair exclaimed, "How are you?"
"Oh, I'm fine, I'm fine. How have you been, Parvati?" Hermione replied, a little too nervously.
"Great, so far. Just going shopping with Nevy over here." She smiled at the short man beside her.
"Nevy?" she smirked, "Hi Neville."
"Hey, Hermione."
"So, Hermione. Who are you with?" Parvati glanced around Hermione and saw no one near or behind her, whatsoever.
"Nobody I'm by myself," Hermione forced out a smile.
"Well, maybe you can come shopping with us—"
"No!" Hermione said quickly, "I-I-mean no...thank you." She added as she saw the dumbfounded look on the couple's faces. "I'm in sort of a hurry to meet...somebody...sorry, Parvati...Neville..."
"Suit yourself then." Neville shrugged and they were off, hand-in-hand...made Hermione laugh.
She looked back just to make sure they were far enough, before she could get back to Draco.
"What was that all about?" Draco asked rubbing his left arm.
"Sorry baby" Hermione said quickly.
Draco's eyes lit up, "What?"
"Huh?" Hermione flushed, "I said sorry...bas...tard..."
"You called me baby." Draco smirked.
Hermione rolled her eyes, "We can't be seen yet, ok?"
Draco gave her another glance, "You've got quite a push there!"
After a few minutes of walking, they finally reached a new place called- The Mer. ('Enter the Tavern of song')
"It looks like fun." Draco grinned as he dragged the apalled Hermione, who was looking at the sign of the new pub.
"The Mer?" she couldn't help but snort.
"Yeah, give them a break." they entered, and only some tables were occupied. Older wizards were sitting at the front, and they scanned the place to make sure they saw nobody familiar...you know, just in case.
A slim looking lady, with long silver hair walked up to the table Hermione and Draco sat on and asked for their order.
"What you want, young'ns?" she asked, sticking her hip out to write.
-
The pub was soon raged with applauses and laughter as the curtain at the front opened up. A small fat man with a messy moustache walked out and introduced the performers. Hermione and Draco raised a toast to themselves as they enjoyed their lunch.
"This is like...a kareoke bar." Hermione said to herself.
"A what?"
"A kareoke bar. You know...where you sing on a microphone...and words come on the screen-"
"Yeah, I guess it's carry-oak-tree bar." Draco said, "and what the hell's a microphone?"
"Five min's to whoever wanna sing, eh, come up now mates- now's the chance!" the fat man interupted, after the five performers were finished. Draco caught Hermione's eye and grinned. Hermione didn't understand what he was trying to say, until his grin widened as he nodded to the stage.
"No!" she said disbelief and he nodded. "I hope you're not trying to tell me...what I think...you're trying to tell me..." Draco nodded and he widened his grin like a maniac. Hermione shook her head enthusiastically as Draco kept nodding.
"If you're not, I will." He told her. Hermione couldn't help but burst out in laughter.
"You?" Hermione said between breaths, "Draco Malfoy? SING?" she laughed some more. Draco shrugged as she suddenly gawked at him. "You're not serious?"
"Why should I be serious?"
"Cause it's you! " Hermione was still trying to recover from the laugh gas. She knew a lot of things about Draco...he was a real pain in the ass back in the day, and now is a total different person- she understood that. But a singer?
"Well, are you a good singer?"
"Who knows?" he shrugged, walking up to the registration.
She laughed even harder. Hermione's face was a mixture of many expressions: disbelieving, amazed, stunned and a little...scared. Draco's actually willing to sing up there? As a Slytherin, Hermione didn't remember the sorting hat mentioning anything about taking the risk. But anyways, Malfoy?
"Right, mates- Five min's up...up we go-" he pointed at a tall blonde haired woman, with a long nose to come up and pick out her song. Eventually, she just nodded and walked up to the stage. Music started...words in thin air, flashed in front of the crowd. Amazing...
After the blonde haired woman, two other men got up and sang. After them, was a little girl who sang her nursery rhymes.
"Oi!" the fat man called out to the dirty-blonde boy, "You're up next. Pick out your song." He reached for a long piece of parchment. He cast a final glance at Hermione, who was in total awe, jaws dropped open.
"Sonorus!"
After about, five minutes, the music dropped and applauses were heard. Draco got up with a proud look on his face, and Hermione knew that he was hiding a nervous face.
He cleared his throat, causing a loud groggy sound. He stayed still on the spot, and scanned around the crowded pub. It wasn't as empty as they thought it would be. He finally smiled, as he caught the figure with hazelnut hair and arms crossed.
His wand was held tightly in his hands, and his voice was charmed with the sonorus spell, not needing a "microphone". A chair appeared in the middle of the stage, where Draco was suggested to sit. Eventually, three witches with sparkling robes, appeared and walked behind him.
He cleared his throat once more, causing a loud groggy sound.
"This is for you...you know who you are-" he smiled, causing Hermione to flush and burry her hands on her face.
"Don't say my name...please, Draco, don't say my name..." she muttered to herself.
"...Granger."
"Damn it, Malfoy!"
Someone tooted, and half the pub laughed, including Malfoy.
The music starts...
"All day...starin' at the ceiling..." he started, his deep voice echoing in the pub. Hermione's face grew hot as she lifted a finger up so one eye could see what was going on.
"...making friends with shadows on my wall..."
The pub was quiet.
"All night... hearing voices telling me...." Hermione wished she hadn't let him go. His voice wasn't changing...and she doubted he would...he sounded like he was talking to somebody! It was a good thing there was music on the background.
"...that I should get some sleep..."
Change you're tune...change you're tune...
"Because tomorrow might be good for something..."
"You look like a fag up there..." she muttered to herself. "Why are you doing this..." she covered herself with her hands again.
"Hold on...feeling like I'm headed for a..."
"... breakdown..."
"..And I don't know why..."
Drums.
"But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell..."
"I know right now you can't tell"
The pub raged with applauses and screams. Draco got his courage, he stood up and he sang louder-
"But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see..."
The three witches, who appeared behind him, chorused along. So that's what they're for... Hermione thought.
"A different side of me....
I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired
I know right now you don't care..."
He pointed towards Hermione, who didn't seem to realise her hands werent on her face anymore. Her jaw dropped...
"But soon enough you're gonna think of me...
And how I used to be..."
"...me"
The pub was now screaming with enthusiasm. Draco Malfoy, stood there, gelled and dyed dirty-blonde hair. His grey eyes glittering in the spotlight...his hooded grey sweater and slacked black pants.....singing.
"I'm talking to myself in public...
Dodging glances on the train..."
Hermione raised a brow and she couldn't help it but smile at the fact Draco, was up there...singing and pointing to the crowd.
"And I know..."
"...I know they've all been talking about me..."
He nodded at her. She felt the butterflies in her stomach, and remembered...
"I can hear them whisper..."
"And it makes me think there must be something wrong with me..."
To Hermione, and even Draco's suprise...there were many in the corner hollering and whistling.
"Out of all the hours thinking
Somehow I've lost my mind"
"But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell
I know right now you can't tell
But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see
A different side of me"
"I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired
I know right now you don't care..."
She never knew..she never knew he was so into music...
"But soon enough you're gonna think of me
And how I used to be....me"
The loudness of the pub kept going as Draco raised his voice in tune.
"I've been talking in my sleep
Pretty soon they'll come to get me
Yeah, they're taking me away..."
Draco was exchanging beams with the crowd-
"But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell
I know right now you can't tell
But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see
A different side of me..."
"I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired
I know right now you don't care
But soon enough you're gonna think of me
And how I used to be...."
His voice deepend as his tune dropped a little lower...
"Yeah, how I used to be
How I used to be....."
"Well, I'm just a little unwell
How I used to be...
How I used to be.."
"I'm just a little unwell...."
Before Draco could even bow, almost everybody was giving him a standing ovation.
Apparantly, nobody knows he's Draco Malfoy, Hermione thought to herself. She shrugged and stood up to clap.
-
"I didn't know you could sing!" Hermione told Malfoy as they got out of the pub. It took about five minutes just to get out, not wanting to be rude and avoid all the many greetings and compliments.
"I didn't either." Draco grinned, "Remind me not to do that again..."
Hermione's eyes widened, "Damn right. But you you know what?"
He raised a brow. "That back there, was unbelievable." She grinned.
"I'm not crazy I'm-"
"Oh just shut up!"
Moments later, they hadn't talked for a few seconds. Hermione then realised that same depressing look on Draco's face...
"What's wrong?" she finally asked, exasperated. He looked at her with both his eyebrows raised.
"Nothing..." he lied. What's he keeping from her? Why's he making this face...wait...was it something she did? Hermione shrugged it off and continued walking along.
Suddenly, she saw Draco jump and all out of nowhere, he pinned her towards the wall.
"What? What!" she asked, trying to cover her head as though someone's about to drop something on her.
"Just play along alright?" he whispered and looked back to something Hermione couldn't see. "Quick, put your hands around me."
"H-huh?"
"Do it...for fun."
Hermione reluctantly, and slowly, put her hands around Draco's hips as he rested his palms on the wall behind Hermione. Draco looked back again.
"Who are you looking at?"
"It's Pansy Parkinson..." Draco replied. Hermione had a look that gave Draco an idea that she might slap him any time soon. "I'll explain later."
"Well, why are we like this?"
"I'll explain later." Draco looked down on her, and rolled his eyes to the side, where Hermione saw in a small space below Draco's arms: red-faced Pansy Parkinson, angry and jelous.
Draco smirked and turned back to Hermione. He cupped his hands on her face, and Hermione saw Pansy had stopped dead in her tracks. Hermione thought he was just about to...about to...kiss her...or something. She wanted to just turn back and leave Malfoy there...but she couldn't...Pansy was watching.
Draco lured his face once more, but didn't touch her. He was too close but Hermione saw the large smile on his face. He winked and whispered, "Play along."
She raised a brow and decided to wrap her hands around his neck, and they both pretended to bob their heads slightly. You better have a convincing explanation, Malfoy.
"Alright," Malfoy mouthed, "Is she looking?"
Hermione nodded, "What does she want? More?"
"I dunno..."
"Well let's see shall we?" Hermione smirked at Draco's lit up face. She pulled her leg up to his waistline. Draco was about to put his hands behind her—
"Can I?" he asked quietly. Hermione rolled her eyes and nodded. "Touch me anywhere else, and die."
Draco gave a small laugh, and put his arms gently behind her back, with one of his hands balancing on the wall.
Hermione gave out a loud, obvious giggle. Draco couldn't help but instead of laughing at her acting abilities, he held it in.
"Shut up, we gotta make it real," she whispered as he snorted a little too loud. "She's still watching...watch this."
Draco didn't think this would be as fun as he thought it would be...
"Oh Draco!" Hermione said loudly. It was too clear Parkinson gave a little 'Ugh!'.
Draco's eyes lit bright with a big fat smirk on his face. "Whoah, Hermione. You're turning me on!". Hermione resisted slapping him but just casted him one of her death glares.
"Keep it up and you'll defenitely give me a hard on." He faked a wink as she slapped him hard on the arm. "Shut up, I'm doing you a favour!" she whispered back hoping Pansy couldn't hear them.
Draco couldn't help but laugh out loudly, but it didn't matter...Pansy won't be able to realise the difference. Hermione glanced behind Draco's shoulder and saw Pansy had stuck out her nose and kept walking. The two dramatis let go of each other, laughing hard; Draco was practically kneeling, using the wall to balance himself from falling to the ground.
"Wow, that was great." Draco said at last, "I haven't done anything funnier than that!"
Hermione crossed her arm, "You mean, have you done that with someone else too?"
"Well..." Draco pulled himself up from the ground, "Like I said, this was probably the best."
She rolled her eyes, "So, what was that all about?"
"Parkinson?" Draco sighed, "Oh, yeah. She just needs to get a life. She's fancied me ever since Hogwarts."
"Oh, yeah. Well I knew that. But that was kind of mean to get her jelous like that."
"Oh please. You helped me to it. Besides, nothing beyond 'mean' can compare to her!"
"I wouldn't talk." Hermione said coolly. Draco playfully hit her on the arm, and she kicked him on the shins causing him to walk forward in advance, which caused Hermione to accidentally trip over his leg. Draco dived as he stretched out his hands right on time to catch Hermione from hitting the ground....
Nobody moved or pulled back, or even talked...
Hermione stared at his big grey eyes as he stared at her shining hazel eyes. "Hey Granger..."
"Hm?"
"Before you leave...I know we've just, well- sort've met...and I just...I just wanted to tell you..." Hermione knew Draco was thinking of the words carefully, "I love...."
A/n: Yeah yeah, that song was really nice, wasn't it? Hehe. I listened to my mom's radio and I thought it was nice. Anyways, it was called Unwell by Matchbox 20. Iknow, the wizarding world don't know about the Muggle songs blah, blah, blah...but you know, I don't even know any wizard songs.