Take On Me
By
Ponderer
Chapter Four
Hermione opened her eyes and looked around in wonder. How had she ended up in her room? She remembered talking to Rosetta, like she did every night, but then what? She knew the old woman was strong, but no possibly enough to carry her. She sat up and yawned, deciding to go downstairs to ask Rosetta. Only in Harry's old jumper and her shorts, she made her way to the kitchen. The elder woman wasn't there, but instead was in the dining room with Draco. "Morning," he muttered from behind 'The Daily Prophet'.
"Good morning Miss," Rosetta smiled, setting down some coffee for the young woman before taking Draco's empty plates away.
"Morning," she replied to both.
"When will you be leaving sir?" Rosetta asked, and Draco put his paper down on the table.
"Leaving?" questioned Hermione.
"Yes, Neville called me this morning and they need me in Liverpool for a few days," he answered, then looked at his muggle watch. "I should be leaving now. Thanks for the breakfast Rosetta." Hermione followed him into the foyer where he summoned his suitcase. "Tell the others where I am would you? I didn't have a chance to see them yet," he asked Hermione.
"Sure," she nodded. They stood in silence until Hermione launched herself into his arms. The familiar smell that was pure Draco invaded her nostrils and she sighed against his chest. She could hear his heartbeat, which was what she did before he had to leave on a work assignment. Hearing that steady tone brought her faith because she knew how strong he actually was. "I'll miss you," she whispered.
"I won't be gone," he said and pulled away from her reluctantly. He kissed her cheek, again his lips lingering. She breathed in his scent once more, stashing it away in her memory bank until he returned home safely. He smiled slowly before a pop was heard. He was gone.
Harry woke up slowly, turning onto his side when a small body grasped him from behind. He felt her nakedness and suddenly remembered the events from the evening before. With a smile, he clasped their hands and kissed hers. He heard a contented sigh and then a slow deep breathing. He knew she had fallen back asleep. She must have been tired from their night together. Harry had been afraid that she would have left by the time he woke up and was surprised when she asked him for a second round earlier that morning. He had wondered if what they were doing was wrong but everything felt so right between them. Her eyes were full of desire and trust and she wanted it just as bad as he did. He didn't know where they'd go in the future, but he did know they couldn't go back.
He wanted to let her continue to sleep, so their cozy their little world wouldn't disappear but he knew they had to talk. "Ginny?" he whispered and by helping himself indulge himself, he kissed her face from her cheeks to her eyelids.
"Mmm…" she moaned, leaning in to his kisses.
"Ginny, wake up," he said again and this time her eyes fluttered open.
"Hey," she grinned, tightening her hold on his abdomen.
"Morning," he smiled back. "We should talk about last night," he continued. "It was wrong to do, because you were vulnerable, but I'm not sorry. I admit, I have some feelings for you that I don't feel for anyone else. I would like to see where this goes, but only if you want to."
"Well, I know what we did was wrong, but I've waited ten years to do that with you. I was perfectly in control last night, but I didn't stop because I didn't want to. I still don't want to," she replied, blushing slightly.
"You'll have me then?" he grinned.
"I'm all yours," she laughed and leaned in to kiss him passionately.
Later that day, after many kisses received by Harry, Ginny met up with Hermione and Ron for lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. Ginny hadn't stopped smiling all morning and it didn't help when Harry practically skipped inside. He hesitated before kissing her in front of their friends but she pulled him forward instead. Ron and Hermione were slightly shocked. They had accidentally found them in Harry's room that morning, sleeping in each others arms.
"Um, hey guys," Hermione grinned slightly, watching their friends blush as they pulled away.
"What's going on between you two?" Ron asked, his voice neutral. Harry looked a bit afraid of his friend and couldn't answer. Ginny narrowed her eyes at her brother in annoyance.
"It's none of your business Ron, but if you must know, we're a couple," she answered, Harry's hand reaching out for hers.
"Are you really? That's wonderful!" Ron exclaimed and Harry smiled greatly.
"Yes, that's wonderful," Hermione echoed just as enthusiastic, but her eyes were showing that something was a bit off.
"What's wrong?" Ron asked her. Hermione looked at him surprise.
"It's nothing really. Draco had to leave for a few days and I have yet to talk to him about the other night," she replied. "It's not a big deal."
"Did he say where he was going?" Harry questioned. "I'm surprised he didn't say anything to me."
"No, he didn't say. Besides, he only found out this morning about it, so he didn't have time to say anything to you," she replied and then looked at her watch. Standing, she continued. "Again, it's nothing. But, I must be going. Rosetta said there was a book sale and I need to head over there before work. I'll see you at dinner." She hugged everyone quickly before practically skipping to her favorite place in Diagon Alley. Harry and Ginny looked toward Ron, as if he knew something they didn't.
"What's going on?" Ginny asked.
"What do you mean?" Ron replied, trying to act innocent.
"I know she told you about their date. Did Draco finally tell her?" she cried out. Ron sighed, shaking his head no. Harry looked confused towards Ron.
"Draco's in love with Hermione. That's why he asked her to dinner, to tell her."
"I knew something was going on the way he looked at her," Harry said prod of himself, but saddened. "Poor Draco. I wonder if he's okay."
"Evidently not too well by the look of things. He did leave rather quickly," Ginny replied.
"I talked to him afterwards, yesterday morning after I spoke with Hermione. I gave him some tips to woo her," Ron explained.
"You told him to woo her?" Ginny laughed.
"Yes, he agreed to do it. He just needs us to help him a bit. He was a bit afraid to do it, but he'll be all right once we get a plan in order," Ron continued.
"Do you think it'll work?" asked Harry.
"Let's hope so," Ginny replied.
Draco returned home three days later, completely exhausted. He cringed slightly as the front door creaked open, hoping not to wake anyone. He shut it behind him and dropped his suitcase on the floor. He could vaguely smell something delicious so he made his way to the kitchen.
Hermione and Rosetta sat in the kitchen, discussing on-goings quietly, as if they could wake anyone up but it was simply out of habit. Ron was elsewhere while Harry was staying at Ginny's for the night.
"You shouldn't e up so late Miss. You've barely slept at all this week," Rosetta said concerned. Hermione sighed and stared into her glass.
"I just haven't been too tired lately," Hermione answered with a sigh.
"Is it because of Mr. Malfoy's trip away?"
"I don't know. It's difficult to explain. You know about the whole dinner thing. When he said he was in love with some girl, I felt all… confused."
"Could you be holding special feelings for him?" the maid asked.
"Rosetta, Draco's one of my best friends," Hermione exclaimed.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean you can't love him more than that," the old woman continued. After a pause, she said, "Well Miss, I'll be going bed. I suggest you do the same."
"Goodnight Rosetta," Hermione mumbled as she was left alone. She gazed into her teacup before standing to put it in the sink. Then, as she stood there, she felt a tingle go down her spine as two arms grabbed her from behind. She gasped as she was turned around to face her captor.
"Draco?" she half-whispered, throwing herself into his arms. He was surprised how she reacted so quickly when she saw him, so it took him a second to respond. He wasn't the only one surprise though. Hermione hadn't realized that she had missed that much until he was right in front of her. Finally, they pulled away but stayed in one another arms.
"I didn't think you'd miss me that much," Draco smirked. He had of course missed her, more than he thought possible. He hadn't slept at all, only lying in his room thinking of her. He could still smell her hair or the way she looked, and she haunted him in his dreams.
Hermione pulled from their embrace and looked at him for the first time. His face and eyes looked tired, mirroring her. His blond hair was simply hanging down over his forehead. His cheeks were pale, but a medium sized scratch was on the left side. Her small hands reached up and touched the red. When he finer brushed, he cringed because it looked better than it really was. Hermione's brow furrowed and suddenly her finger lit up and she ran it over his cut as she murmured a few magic words. His gray eyes stayed on hers the whole time and she realized that rather quickly. She stared back at him, brown meeting gray, and she kept her hands on his cheek that was now scratch free.
"Hermione… I…" Draco started but was interrupted when he felt a feathery kiss on his cheek. He closed hi eyes from the contact and when he reopened them, she was already at the door, a soft grin on her face.
"Welcome home," she said simply and left with turning back. Draco stayed put, staring after her for a few moments. Then, closing his eyes, he touched his cheek and smiled, remembering the feeling she had given him when she kissed him there.
"It's good to be home," he replied to the silence.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I would just like to say thank you for being so patient for this chapter. It's not much, but it's here. I tried uploading it earlier this week, but since I'm stupid with computers and couldn't find out why it wasn't saving to disk, I had to wait for my friend Trina to help me out. So, here it is! So, please, review and continue reading!!!
Thanks!
-- Ponderer