Everywhere To Me by: Michelle Branch

Turn it inside out so I can see
The part of you that's drifting over me
And when I wake you're never there
But when I sleep you're everywhere
You're everywhere

Hermione Granger was at her wit's end. Not only was she stressed about Hogwarts' end of the year exams, but she had something major on her mind. At sixteen years old just the past Saturday, Hermione was cart wheeling in work. Brown hair dipped with blond highlights and hazel eyes that could rip apart books in mere minutes, the Sixth year student more or less popular with the smarter students of Hogwarts' School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Of course, she had struck out when she'd become best friends with the most famous Harry Potter, which had scored popularity points through her years of school.

But, that had been six years ago. Eventually, she was sucked beyond the "you know Harry Potter?" phase and became merely a painting on Harry's wall to other students. She didn't care right now, though. Once she was finished with her exams, she'd be free to dwell on her other major problem – Draco Malfoy. One of the baddest of the bad. The slimiest of the slime. The hottest of the hot. Hermione groaned, tapping her feather pen against a roll of parchment. It had been almost ten months since she'd started to notice the boy in that way. She couldn't imagine why she was falling for him...he was Draco! He was their sworn enemy. Hermione could only smile slightly. It was odd how those things worked out. The good girl always falls for the bad boy.

"But the bad boy is really the bad boy in this case," Hermione muttered to herself. She had fourteen pages of parchment to write an essay on. Normally, she'd be well past done by now, but this Draco thing was really catching up with her. She'd told no one...not even Harry or Ron Weasley.

Hermione had thought about saying something. But why embarrass herself in front of everyone by telling the boy who had constantly made fun of her since the beginning that she was in love with him? Things did not work that way. Hermione knew. She hoped every night and every day that Draco would start to see her that way, but with the end of their sixth year wrapping up, and their last year approaching, Hermione didn't think it would ever happen.

"It's so unfair," Hermione said to herself, scratching a long, inky line on the parchment. She'd watched him every day of her life...Quidditch practice, classes, in the Great Hall, but she had never caught him looking back at her. Well, that's just the way things were at the moment.

The sixteen year old teen left the parchment lying on her desk, then retreated to her bed, flopping down on it with disgust. She was disgusted with herself for liking him...and she was disgusted with Draco for not liking her. When she closed her eyes...his evil face strutted into her mind...his voice like a silky ribbon twisting through her brain. Hermione shook her head. Stop it. You have more important things to do. The girl shut her eyes, trying so hard to get Draco off her mind.

Just tell me how I got this far
Just tell me why you're here and who you are
'Cause every time I look
You're never there
And every time I sleep
You're always there

The next day Hermione wrote a major exam. As hard as she tried, her thoughts were straying. Even her teachers were noticing the lack of enthusiasm which usually bubbled from the girl. Hermione brushed it off, claiming she was overly tired. The exam teacher seemed to take the bait, though. Draco had to take the exam too, and Hermione just knew he would take the opportunity to pester her about not doing well.


At the end of the class, he struck. His blond hair remained slicked back, his daring grey eyes alert and intimidating. He was six foot one, towering over five foot six Hermione.

"Not up to your usual self today, Granger?" Draco sidled alongside the teen, holding a mountain of books in his hands.

Hermione, seated in her desk, stopped moving her own mountain-load of books into her pack and looked up at Draco. She couldn't dismiss the dark circles under her own eyes, and the paleness of her skin. "No, I'm not. Merely tired, that's all." Hermione got up, grabbing her bag. As she strode off, she muttered under her breath, "and it doesn't help to be head over heels for you, either."

"What was that?" Draco called after her.

"Nothing," Hermione snapped, reaching the long, cavernous hallways of the school. To her utter amazement, the boy followed her. "Wow, Malfoy, I didn't know you were tipped enough to follow me."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Indeed. Actually, I'm going to ask you where Potter is. We've got a few issues to close."

"Well, Malfoy, I'm not going to tell you where he is. You see, whenever you two get near each other, fire courses through both your eyes. I don't need to see that. I've enough to worry about at the moment. Good day."

Hermione tried to pull away, walking quicker. The boy caught up. "No, no. I'm not letting you off that easy, Granger."

"What?"

"Well, I mean...I'll just follow you until you meet up with Potter. You have to be on your way to meet him. See," Draco tapped his head with his free hand, "I think."

"Not that much," Hermione took a left – right into the girl's bathroom. She heard Draco protest, but as soon as the door shut, she sank to the floor and closed her eyes.

'Cause you're everywhere to me
And when I close my eyes it's you I see
You're everything I know
That makes me believe
I'm not alone
I'm not alone

Draco stood outside the girl's bathroom. Damn, he thought, pushing his hand against the door. He'd never find Potter now. And what was up with Granger, anyway? Draco suddenly shuddered. What was he doing? Thinking about her, that mudblood. Sickness overcame him. Draco gave the door a final thump and wandered off into the hallways of Hogwarts.

Hermione opened the door of the bathroom and came out. She had tried desperately to cover-up the splotches under her eyes from crying, and she hoped she'd succeeded. Even so, she'd know in a few minutes...when someone would come up and ask, "What's wrong, Hermione?" and she'd reply as usual..."Nothing."

Hermione cleared her throat and strode off down the hall, gracious that the exam for the day was over, and now she could spend the rest studying. The sixteen year old made her way up a concrete flight of stairs which swayed and groaned as though in protest.

The girl rounded a turn, focusing on what was ahead and not behind. Hermione knew a moment later, when someone pushed her and she went flying forward. "What the hell?" Hermione snapped, almost catching herself on the last word she used. It might have been a teacher.

Nope. It was Draco. In all his undeserved glory.

"That was a little brutal," Draco gave her a pained look. When she failed to reply, Draco smirked and brushed by her.

Hermione watched him go, her heart pounding, her brain reeling, and her body wanting more than ever.

I recognize the way you make me feel
It's hard to think that
You might not be real
I sense it now, the water's getting deep
I try to wash the pain away from me
Away from me

"And I blundered the last question," Hermione told Harry, whom she was sitting beside in the library. Around them, students were studying for the next exam the following day. It had been two hours since Hermione and Draco's run-in, and Hermione was trying to get it out of her head.

"What are you talking about? You did fine," Harry shook his head, absently rubbing the lightning-shaped scar over his eye.

"How do you know?"

"Because...you always do," Harry replied, trying to understand Hermione's fainting mood.

Hermione sighed, brushing her hair back. She picked up a four hundred page book and stood up. "I need to return this back to the other section." Harry merely nodded, but Hermione didn't wait for him to say anything. She had gotten the book from the Sixth Year Need-to-Know Section, also known as the SYNKS. It was a poorly furnished part of the enormous library, but contained many books all sixth year students needed.

The aisles were dark and quiet when Hermione reached the SYNKS. She traced her finger along the covers of books, trying to find the empty spot where hers fit in. "Ah, there it is," Hermione placed the book back, then went on the search for another. She bent down, nose to the bottom row, trying to find a book called Sixth Year Exams – Everything you need to know, and everything you don't, by a witch named Nay K. Wearly.

For the second time that day, Hermione was bumped into. She knew it was an accident – she was hardly seeable, slinking along the floor like she was. Hermione pushed her long cloak back and looked up.

"Oh. My. God. You again?" Hermione scoffed.

Draco was standing over her, about five books in his hands. He looked flustered, angry and depressed at the same time.

"Me again. This is the SYNKS, alright? I'm allowed to pass through and get books, too," Draco replied smartly, stepping over Hermione. Her heart flew, quickly followed by a flood of rejection. She stood up, forgetting about the book.

"I know. I'm going, then," Hermione said, turning on her heel. She hurried down the aisle, then turned right. Draco was standing right there.

'Cause you're everywhere to me
And when I close my eyes it's you I see
You're everything I know
That makes me believe
I'm not alone
I'm not alone

"Excuse me, Draco," Hermione asked as politely as she could, trying to step around the boy. Draco was silent a moment, then turned the other way.

"Yeah, whatever," he replied, going back down the aisle. He halted halfway, shaking his head. What was up with him? Granger was a little too much for him to concentrate on right now. He had exams...and he could not afford to fail anything. "Because if I do...Dad'll take my head," Draco mocked his father cutting off his own head.

Draco could not find the book he was searching for. He'd been up and down the aisles thousands of times, but the titles just weren't jumping at him. Draco leaned against a bookshelf...shutting his eyes. He ran a hand through his now flustered blond hair, shaking at the thought of his father knowing he had failed at least some of the exams. Pain was a price he had learned to live with...but he really did hate it.

I am not alone
Whoa, oh, oooh, oh

Hermione had just finished writing the last of her essay. It was due the following week, at the class wrap-ups, but she needed time to study. And, she still didn't have that stupid book! Harry had left a while earlier, and the number of students in the library was dwindling down. Hermione hoped no one else had taken the book, so she walked back to the SYNKS, hoping she wouldn't have to encounter the boy she loved again today.

Since the library had almost closed for the night, the librarian had shut off some of the torches that were burning about the room. Hermione noticed the SYNKS was rather dark. She walked into an aisle, putting her hand on the wall of books in order to guide her way through. Suddenly, she felt something.

And when I touch your hand
It's then I understand
The beauty that's within
It's now that we begin
You always light my way
I hope there never comes a day
No matter where I go
I always feel you so

Hermione stopped, heart in her throat. She had put her hand on someone's...and that someone was Draco. Hermione didn't pull her hand away. It wasn't every day she got to touch him...plus, she didn't know why he wasn't pulling away.

"Um..." Hermione started. Draco was being awfully silent. Hermione trailed her fingers down his hand, savoring the moment, but pulling back all the same. "Sorry, I didn't see you."

Draco didn't reply. She heard him sigh...saw the dull lull of light from a nearby torch cascading over his face. Draco opened his eyes, turning to Hermione. They watched each other for a moment...not really understanding what was going on.

"I was...uh, just looking for a book. Are you okay?" Hermione had to ask. She couldn't not.

Draco hadn't said a word, and frankly, it was making Hermione a tad nervous. Was he being just weird, or had he been possessed? Hermione waved a hand in front of Draco's face, noticing his quiet, pleading eyes and his crestfallen expression. He caught her hand midway down.

"Um..." Hermione was at a loss for words. She glanced down at her hand, clearing her throat. "I, uh...well..."

Hermione felt her heart speeding up, feeling Draco's tight grip on her hand. He did look possessed, and Hermione had no idea what was bringing this on. She didn't want to pull back, but it seemed they were both stuck in time.

Suddenly, Draco leaned forward, dipping his head, blond hair splayed across his forehead. Hermione stepped back, thinking he was about to faint. But he wasn't...he was kissing her. Hermione felt the soft touch against her lips, Draco's exhale of warm breath against her cheek as his grip on her hand loosened, his other hand cupping the back of her head. Hermione didn't know what to do. She'd never been kissed before. She shut her eyes, knowing this was what she had wanted for so so long. She had absolutely no idea what Draco was doing, or why he was doing it, but she really didn't feel like thinking. Hermione half-expected the boy to pull away in a few seconds, but he seemed to be breathing sympathy with every prolonged second. He was careless...in pain...wanting the comfort now more than ever.

'Cause you're everywhere to me
And when I close my eyes it's you I see
You're everything I know
That makes me believe
I'm not alone
'Cause you're everywhere to me
And when I catch my breath
It's you I breathe
You're everything I know
That makes me believe
I'm not alone

Draco finally took a breath, and he was breathing in Hermione's smell. Both of them were breathing with a ragged undertone, mouths tingling from the preceding kiss. Hermione still had her eyes closed, feeling more whole than she had in the past year. Draco, eyes half-open, watched her actions as he tried to overcome the searing pain inside him from years of abuse.

When their eyes met...Hermione caught her breath. She was seeing Draco in a different light, one where he was just a prince on a white horse. Every bad thing he'd done slipped her mind, and the silence around them was almost as painful as inside Draco.

"What are we doing?" she whispered slowly, inches away from Draco's face. She felt drawn to him like a magnet, the tension between them rising to an incredible high.

Draco shook his head, swallowing. "Don't say anything. Please don't. I just...I'm trying to recover."

"From what?" Hermione asked lightly.

"My father," Draco replied, sincerity overpowering him. He stepped forward, pushing himself into Hermione. She drew in a breath, almost taking Draco's pain with her. Draco was kissing her again...and she didn't care. It meant he had to like her remotely. He wouldn't be doing this if he didn't....

You're in everyone I see
So tell me
Do you see me?

Hermione waited for him to end it.

"Do you see me?" she asked him, tracing a line around his face with her fingertips.

Draco nodded ever so slightly.

"Do you know who you're kissing?" she questioned, whispering so only they could hear each other.

He nodded again. "I can't help it. I need you."

"Why?" she whispered in his ear this time.

"Because I just feel it," Draco whispered back, pulling away from her. Hermione trailed her fingers to his lips. Draco kissed them. "I know it seems too wrong...but I've just been seeing you so much...every day."

It was like a dream come true. Maybe he was only using her to vanish the pain, but Hermione refused to believe he didn't like her. When he bent in to kiss her again...she was all he could see.

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A/N: Well, what do you think? That was the first time I've ever attempted a song-fic. I do have another story that I have co-written with one of my best friends. It's called "Love, Hate and A Whole New Attitude" and it's under the pen name CJ if you want to check it out. Anyway, tell me what you think and if I should just give this up now. Please REVIEW!

-Catie