To the tune of Play that Funky Music White Boy by KC and the Sunshine Band (I think):
And I was waiting, and hoping, and thinking they were joking
and just when I turned round, I was then pointed out and heard now:
Write that Harry Potter JK
Write that Harry Potter right!
Write that Harry Potter JK!
Don't sue Atellix, just write that Harry Potter till you die
Author's Note: Okay, first of all, I am warning you guys now that you might want to read a summary of America's Sweethearts first before you try and read this. If you've seen the movie, great! Continue. For those of you who haven't and don't mind the movie being spoiled for yourself, go to Yahoo! and type in "America's Sweethearts spoiler". Then click on the 1st one that comes up (I have tried twice to put the actual page on here, but it gets deleted! Sorry guys!) That will give you a pretty thorough outline of the movie. If you don't want to spoil the movie for yourself, just read the chapter. I think, I hope, that it will still make sense whether you've seen the movie or not. Anyway, this chapter is longer than I thought, but enjoy anyway! (Oh, by the way, I know that in scenes with the movie quotes, I might have left some lines out, e.g. The Lee and Kiki scene- I know there's a whole "butter" joke that should be in there. It's been edited for importance.)
Chapter Thirteen: America's Sweethearts
Hermione sat on her bed, reading Hogwarts: A History again. She didn't keep track anymore of how many times she had read it. For some reason though, it always seemed to clear her head. She refused to think about Draco and his feelings for Jim. She would relax and worry about it later.
She closed the book for a moment to look at her watch. She had to check on Draco now. She hadn't gone back in since she hooked up the VCR for him. She had no idea what he was even watching. He was allowed to magically borrow whatever movie he wanted- apparantly Hogwarts had an underground museum full of muggle things, including a incredibly vast collection of muggle films, and of course, the VCR and television that Dumbledore had loaned them. Hermione stood up and stretched. Leaning forward, she knocked on the door.
"Come in," Draco said from the other side.
Hermione stepped in to find Draco sitting up, looking through a catalogue of all the films in Hogwart's possession. Dumbledore had left it with the equipment for Draco to look through and pick his movies.
"Find any good ones?" she asked.
Draco looked up at her and smiled. He closed the book and tossed it on the other side of the bed. "Actually... I have."
Hermione walked over to the bed and was about to sit down on the edge when Draco stopped her.
"No no... I want you to watch the movie too. Sit over here," he said, motioning to the pillow not too far away, "you'll be more comfortable."
Hermione shrugged, putting out her hand. "I'll take the tape and put it in first."
Draco smirked and gave her the tape. She stepped over to the VCR and read the top of the tape before inserting it.
"America's Sweethearts?," she said, skeptically.
Draco shrugged. "Three reasons: 1) I've never seen it, 2) I like John Cusack and Billy Crystal, plus Catherine Zeta-Jones is just hot."
Hermione smiled as she sat down next to Draco. "What's the third reason?"
Draco shrugged. "And... nothing."
"No, what's the third reason?"
Draco turned to her. "Truth?"
"Truth."
Draco shrugged. "I thought you would like it."
Hermione looked at Draco as he stared at the screen. She began having a funny feeling in her chest, right around the area of where her heart should be. She never felt this way before, and she couldn't figure out what it was. Draco turned to look at her, and suddenly she knew.
"You ready?" he asked.
Hermione smiled. "Yeah, I'm ready."
Draco turned back to the screen as Hermione swallowed, trying to face what she had just realized. She tried to concentrate on the credits as they came on the screen, but all she had was the one thought racing through her head.
She was in love with Draco Malfoy.
**********
Lee paced back and forth. He had to get Gwen and Eddie, two of the most famous couples (who had broken up) back together for a few days. He turned to his group of employees, the people that helped him work his magic.
"Book us in the middle of nowhere, where they can't escape. We need a hotel like the one in "The Shining"
Hermione couldn't help but laugh. "You know, I always wondered why Hogwarts was out in the middle of nowhere."
Draco smiled at her as she watched the movie. He turned back to the screen, trying to ignore how close she was to him.
"Keep it straight, Malfoy, you're in love with Jim. Everybody knows. It's fine with everyone," he thought to himself. Suddenly he heard a voice inside, from what he thought was his heart, ask him, "So why do you still have feelings for Hermione? Who do you want to be with, Malfoy? Who?"
Draco shook his head, receiving a curious glance from Hermione. She soon turned back to the movie as Draco cast a side glance at her. Sure, he was in love with Jim, but... there was just something about Hermione that he couldn't shake off. Something... (he dared to think), similar between the two. He thought for the longest time that Hermione was just a friend- someone he had decided to put up with because they were both Head students. But over the past few weeks... something had changed.
Kiki looks at her sister, Gwen. "I bet you've never read a book in your life."
Gwen laughs. "Ha! I read all four Harry Potter books."
Hermione turned to Draco with a puzzled expression on her face. "Harry Potter? What's that? I've never heard of that book series."
Draco smiled. "What kind of muggle are you, Granger? I thought you knew everything."
Hermione looked serious and confused. "I know. But I've never heard of those books."
Draco shrugged. "It's probably just some crazy collection of stories that will end up spawning a cult following and encouraging muggles to do what they want with the characters by writing their own fiction."
Hermione nodded and shrugged. "You're probably right."
The two sat in silence as the movie continued. Hermione watched amazed as Eddie spots a woman dressed all in white by the pool. He sees her as the woman he wants to marry. He tells Kiki that he saw Gwen by the pool, dressed all in white, and says that that girl by the pool is the one he wants to spend the rest of his life with.
Suddenly Hermione is paying even more attention to the film. "Eddie didn't see Gwen by the pool. The woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with is Kiki, not Gwen," Hermione thought to herself, letting out a small and unnoticeable sigh, "Kiki has the same problem that I do- Draco's not in love with Jim. Draco's in love with me... isn't he?"
**********
The movie went on, and Draco couldn't help but feel as though he was in Eddie position part of the time. Two women- one that he thought he was in love with, one that he might want to spend the rest of his life with. He watched carefully to see how this could turn out.
Kiki stormed down the front walkway and onto the sidealk as Eddie came running out behind her.
"Kiki..."
Kiki shut him up. She wanted to be able to speak her peace. All Gwen had to do was call his name and he would come running. He thought because he had seen the woman at the pool that he would get back together with Gwen. Kiki stopped Eddie.
"I just... I just need you to know one thing. That woman that you saw by the pool the other night... no... that woman that you just have to spend the rest of your life with... that was me."
"That was me," Julia Roberts voice echoed in Hermione's head. Could it possibly be that easy to tell him? She had to set him straight. She decided that after the film, she would tell him the truth. She had to. Like Kiki, she just couldn't hold it in any more.
Lee sat there, helplessly watching as Kiki sat at the table across from him, eating as much as she could. The table was covered with things that she would have never eaten in such large amounts: bacon, butter, bread, eggs, pancakes, syrup, etc. Lee looked at her, feeling sorry.
"What the hell happened?"
"Bad morning. Preceded by 33 bad years," Kiki answered.
Lee paused. "So you're in love with Eddie?"
"Wouldn't that be stupid?" Kiki snapped back, sarcastically.
Lee leaned forward and looked earnestly at Kiki, who was looking back. "I've done every one of their movies. He never looks at her the way he looks at you." Lee paused as Kiki sat there, thinking for a moment. He gave a faint smile.
"If you're in love, you should just go for it... The way you went for this breakfast."
Draco stopped. That was good advice for anybody. He turned to Hermione, who was giving her complete attention to the story. A sudden impulse came over Draco, and he tried hard to fight it. He couldn't do it. He loved Jim. He tried to tell himself that as Hermione turned to look at him. "If you're in love, you should just go for it..." Crystal's voice echoed in his head. Hermione frowned at him.
"What's the matter?"
Draco didn't respond as he leaned in towards Hermione.
*********
Hermione didn't have time to react as Draco's lips met hers. Trying to think, she was about to push him away as her heart took over. Draco shifted towards her as Hermione wrapped an arm around his neck, returning the kiss. She felt Draco's lips smile against hers as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer, ignoring the pain in his ribs.
Hermione had to do everything she could to keep herself from grinning. She was kissing Draco Malfoy, and she liked it. She pulled back slightly for air. Suddenly she heard Draco say something, and her heart fell through the floor.
"Jim..."
Hermione felt as though she was about to cry. Judging by the look on Draco's face, he didn't realize that he had said anything. Reaching behind her, she took apart Draco's hands, whose fingers were linked behind her back, and got off the bed. Without saying a word, she walked to the door and closed it behind her, not even looking back.
Draco sat there in shock. What had happened? He thought... he had hoped that Hermione shared his feelings. Draco groaned. He couldn't make up his mind, and he hated himself for it. And now, he had probably just blown the only friendship that had mattered to him. He groaned, dropping his head into his hands.
"What have I done?"
********
*******
*****
***
*
Hermione paced back in forth in her room, the sounds of a movie coming from Draco's room across the hall. She had made sure that the common room had been soundproofed, because Draco had told her that he liked to watch his movies very loud. She wasn't sure why she didn't soundproof Draco's room itself. Maybe because she wanted to know exactly what he was watching in there. Right now, it sounded a lot like Air Force One with Harrison Ford, a very good-looking muggle actor. She stopped pacing for a moment to listen.
"You may remind the President that I have his wife, his daughter, his chief of staff, his national security advisor... and his baseball glove!" someone said in a deep Russian accent.
Hermione sighed and began to pace again. She didn't know what to do. She hadn't expected this at all. He had kissed her! Draco was in love... with her? No no... he was in love with Jim but... Jim was her! Hermione groaned and shook her head. She was so confused. She had no idea whether Draco liked her, or the pretend her. She sighed and collapsed onto her bed.
She knew that Draco had suffered an enormous amount of pain this summer, and he was still simply going through the motions without thought when he was on the train. He had needed someone to talk to, and she had just happened to be there, except that she wasn't. Jim was nothing more than a comfort to him. Someone he could lean on for support. Someone who would always be there for him. Someone he could...
Hermione sat up. Is that why Draco was in love with Jim? Because it was someone he could learn to love, the first person he could learn to love and be loved by? Hermione sighed as she thought of the famous quote from the film Moulin Rouge, that was said by Christian: "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is to love, and be loved in return". Was that what had caused such a change in Draco? The fact that Jim was the first person he had connected with since the true reality of summer had hit him, and he had felt for the first time that he truly was capable of loving and being loved?
Hermione laughed at herself. This was crazy. She could speculate for the rest of her life, but it wasn't getting her any closer to finding a solution. She sighed and closed her eyes. She hadn't gone in his room since the movie. She knew that she would have to find a way out of this sometime. But not tonight. Tonight she would act like nothing was wrong. Lying down on her bed, she closed her eyes for a brief moment. In that split second that she had decided to let her guard down, sleep crept over her and she soon fell under his spell.
*********
The room was dimly lit as Hermione opened her eyes. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, unaware of the figure sitting in a chair two feet away.
"Have a good sleep, Granger?"
Hermione's eyes shot to the chair next to her bed. Draco sat there, smirking, and Hermione noticed that he was sitting in a wheelchair. Hermione's gaze fell on the wheels, then to Draco's face.
"How did you..."
Draco smirked again. "Like I've said before, Granger, it's not hard to move a chair. Even if it is on wheels"
Hermione rolled her eyes and swung her legs over the side of her bed as Draco said "Dumbledore stopped by and gave it to me. He thought that I might like to do a bit of cycling." Draco's face seemed to darken. "He asked where you were, and I had assumed you were sleeping. After he left, I cycled in here, and sure enough, there you were, breathing away on your bed. Do you have asthma or something?"
Hermione glared at Draco. "No. And I don't see how my breathing can fascinate you so much"
It was Draco's turn to roll his eyes. "Like I care. You know what they say though. The dwarf breathes so loud, we could have shot him in the dark."
Hermione sighed and stood up. "Okay, whatever Malfoy," she said, starting to walk away.
Draco looked like someone had smacked him clear across the face. "What's wrong?"
Hermione spun around. "Nothing's wrong."
Draco rolled forward towards her. "Yeah, right. When you don't start naming movies, I start to wonder."
"Why would there be?"
Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I can think of one thing..."
"That meant nothing," Hermione interrupted.
Draco stopped for a minute. She couldn't mean it... could she? He looked at her. "Really?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Luckily for me, I don't think that one kiss is a really big deal. Contrary to popular belief, Malfoy, the world does not revolve around you."
Draco paused. "So, if there's nothing wrong, let's try it again. The dwarf breathes so loud, we could have shot him in the dark"
Hermione shrugged. "Maybe I haven't seen that one."
"No, I think there still something wrong with you."
Hermione crossed her arms. "There is nothing wrong with me, Mister Malfoy," she said, her voice annunciating his name.
Draco frowned. "Pop quiz, hotshot. When someone suddenly has an attitude problem, I would assume that something is wrong."
Hermione was losing her patience. She grabbed a book off of her bookcase. "Well you know what, Mister Malfoy, you don't know everything, no matter how much you might like to think you do. You are so busy making everyone's life a living hell that you never stop to figure out what it is that you want. You're in love with some girl named Jim. That's great. Congratulations! So what the hell are you doing kissing me? You have no idea what you want. You can't make up your goddamned mind. And you know why? Because you are too busy poking into everyone else's lives and their personal business. You are constantly poking into my business. Okay, yes, maybe there is something wrong with me, okay? But you know what? It is NONE OF YOUR GODDAMNED BUSINESS!"
Draco barely had time to duck as the book came flying at him. It hit him square in the chest, causing him to groan in pain. The book slid off his lap and landed on the floor in front of him. Hermione was frozen, shocked at what she had done. She covered the bottom half of her face, waiting for Draco to react.
Draco was hunched over, waiting for the wave of pain to stop. He opened his eyes, everything he saw coated in red. He concentrated on breathing. He looked at the book in front of him. Everything slowly started to calm down, his nervous system coming back to a normal working level. Suddenly, his line of vision cleared and he looked at the book.
It wasn't very big. It was a small black notebook, almost like a diary. Draco leaned over and picked it up. Anger suddenly burned throughout his body, racing through his veins. He sudenly saw memories flash past his eyes: his mother crying, his father beating him, his mother's crumpled form. He gripped the book tight. Suddenly he raised his arm, ready to throw the book back at Hermione, when suddenly he saw it. There, on the side of the notebook facing him.
A film reel.
*********
Author's Note: Gasp! What will happen next! Hee hee hee! This chapter turned out a little more... well... different then I had originally anticipated. I had written the last part first, but then I thought "Okay, where's the movie going to go?" Then I decided to put the movie first, and everything else at the end. It justifies Hermione's actions a little bit more, I think. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Don't forget to review for me!
Okay, I wrote this review song in two minutes, so it's not all that great. Be gentle.:
To the chorus of Can't Fight the Moonlight by LeeAnn Rimes:
You can try to resist
But you want to assist
so you know, and you know that you
can't help but review
Deep in the dark
as you wait for that spark
cause you know, cause you know that you
can't help but review
No, you can't fight it
You're waiting for that one spark
If You Liked this Fic, try...
- Haunted by Kara Black
- Secrets by Rebeltawn
- The Moment by Sabriel4
** Don't forget, if you want your fic added to this list, don't hesitate to e-mail me and ask, or tell me in your review! **
To My Reviewers:
SilverDragon: Hi! Welcome to my fic! I'm glad you did find it though- that's what really matters. Anyway, I'm glad that you are enjoying. It wouldn't be good if you foundit and didn't enjoy it! Thank you for the compliments, though I'm sure that I don't deserve so many! (lol). Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for the review!
Kara Black/Mystical Ring: Hey! Thanks for the review! Every time I see your name, I want to say, "It's Black... Kara Black. Agent of himself, the honorable Headmaster Dumbledore" or something like that (I need to lay off the chocolate! lol!) And the suspense about Jim cause Hermione is Jim but Draco doesn't know that Hermione is Jim... ahh, everything shall come to pass. And it'll be one hell of a party, I'll tell you that! And I would be happy to read your story. I have also added it to my list! Thanks you for suggesting it!
vegetarianxtc: Woo hoo! See, now every time I see your name, I want to sing "Here she comes to save the day!!!" (almost like Jim Carrey in Man on the Moon- if you haven't seen it, see it. I cried.) And I don't care what you say- you are a stalker, because everyone needs to have their own personal stalker! (lol!) Actually, I'm in a little place called Holiday, right up the highway (I would say road, but it's not a road) from New Port Richey. I've been coming down here since I was an infant, so Florida is almost like my second home. All my friends call me "Florida Laura" when I get home. Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter so far. I'm glad you like how I write back to everyone (just between us, there's one writer who I used to review, but she would only review three out of the twenty people who reviewed. That makes me feel like they have their favorites, and that's not fair.) Thank you for all of the compliments. I hope I'm a good enough writer that people will continue to read my stuff. That's all I can hope for. Thanks for the review! I'm always happy to see your name!
leonsalanna: Hey! Thanks for the review! Good to see you again. I have some bad news. There's this place that I post notes about writing and stuff, and you know how they have those pictures on the left that shows up every time you post to show that it's yours? Well, anyways, someone had one of those pictures that changes every couple of seconds and shows three or four different pictures, except they were blocks of writing. I accidentally read it, so now I know the ending of the fifth Harry Potter book. I didn't finish reading it yet because I left it in Canada, which is about 1500 miles away from me right now. Bah! Anyway, I agree- Matchbox 20 does rock. I didn't think too much of them before, but this new CD that they came out with (well, not new. It's 2002 I think) is awesome! I think I'm going to buy it. Anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Don't worry- the plot shall thicken! Probably thicken enough until it makes a nice pea soup... mmm, pea soup...
dragon tamer: Hey, thanks for the review! You know, you have a point- it does remind me of "While you Were Sleeping". It also reminded me of "America's Sweethearts" (as you can tell after this chapter). Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I humbly apologize that it took so long to get out for you guys. You guys are what keep me writing. Thank you so much for the review! Drop by again sometime!
AndinaodRivendell: Hey, easy girl! (lol!) And I thought that I was the only person who foamed at the mouth (I just saw Pirates of the Caribbean a few days ago. I swear to God, Orlando Bloom in that movie- I saw it a second time and I was foaming. Foaming like a friggin' bubble-maker (if they have those anymore). But anyway, aside from Orlando Bloom, I'm glad you enjoyed this so far. I hope you like this chapter a bit more! Thanks for the foaming... I mean the review. Thanks for the review. Thanks for the foaming too! (lol!)
*karly*:Hee hee! Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked it. You want to know something weird? The day I read your review about talking over the world, I went into my bedroom as my sister was watching Lizzie McGuire (Adam Lamberg- another cutie!) and Gordo (Adam) was like "Why do people want to take over the world? I mean, think of the responsibilities! What if there was a power outage in Sweden? Or a flood in Somalia?" I couldn't help but laugh. I've now decided that I don't want to take over the world. We must think of a new plan. We must think of something else to take over. Let me know if you think of anything! Aside from the world domination, I hope you liked this chapter too. I'm sorry the last one was so short. Someone else told me that my story was too long! Hmm... I'm sensing a conspiracy. Meh. Anyway, thanks for the review! Come back soon!
Sila-chan: Woo- hoo! Go Atellix, go Atellix! It's your birthday! Hee hee hee... I always get the funniest picture when I imagine Draco getting hit by the bludger, and I don't know why. I'm so mean. Maybe I should just kill him off! (I'm kidding! I'm kidding! I would never do that!) Oh, I just had another idea. Hee hee... see, writing thanks yous to you guys helps me think. It clears all the junk and stuff out of my head. I'm glad you enjoyed it so much. And I apologize about the gap- I just realized it when you mentioned it. Anyway, thanks for the review! Come back again!
Rebeltawn: Thanks for the review! As you can see, I have added your fic, and I am glad you mentioned it. Thank you for that. I'm glad you enjoyed it. And as to how Dumbledore knows what a VCR is, well... I kind of see him as Yoda, or the Oracle from the Matrix- all seeing, all knowing... that is my answer. Take it or leave it (lol!) I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. Waiting to hear from you soon!