Hermione's POV
Hermione followed Ginny back to the Gryffindor common room, hoping to see Harry. Sure enough, she found him sitting on a sofa in front of the blazing fireplace.
"Harry?" Hermione tapped him on the shoulder.
"Hermione?" Harry seemed a bit groggy.
"We need to talk."
"Hermione!" Harry suddenly remembered something. "Wait, I have something for you."
"Um.." Hermione sighed as Harry ran up the stairs to his dorm room.
"Close your eyes." Harry instructed her as he ran down the stairs.
Hermione sighed and closed her eyes. Harry walked by her and plopped down on the sofa next to her. She felt him take her right hand and slip something cold and hard on to her index finger.
"Okay, you can open your eyes now."
Hermione opened her eyes and looked down at her hand. There was a silver ring on her index finger. She gasped. It looked like it had cost a fortune.
"It's beautiful. When..how were you able to afford this?"
"Oh, it was a favor, I pulled a few strings. I picked it up today at Hogsmeade. Take it off and look inside, I got the man at the store to engrave something in it."
Hermione slipped off the ring, which fit perfectly on her finger and looked inside the silver band. "I will love you forever." She read the curly writing.
Harry smiled, "It's a promise ring. I promise I will always be there for you, no matter what happens to us. I promise that I will keep you safe from all harm, and you will always have my heart."
A tear formed at the corner of Hermione's eye.
"It's beautiful. Thank you."
"I love ya."
"Mmm.."
Hermione let herself be kissed. She felt she owed him something: a little happiness perhaps. Harry pulled away first. "So what did you want to tell me?"
"Oh, it was nothing important."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. I got to go."
"Don't you want to go to dinner with me?"
"Guess not, I don't feel so hungry."
"Okay then."
Hermione stumbled through the corridors, unable to think. She mumbled the password to her dorm, and walking through the door, she collapsed into tears against the wall.
Harry's POV
*Hermione must have loved my present. I hope she knows how I really feel about her. I would give my life to make her happy. But I wonder what she was going to tell me. Well, I guess it wasn't important, knowing Hermione, she would tell me if it was that important. * Satisfied, Harry went to dinner.
Draco's POV
Draco skipped dinner, he could not put up with Pansy for another minute. "Drakypoo, you look gorgeous today." "Draky, could you give me a smoochy?" "Draco baby, would you mind if I sat next to you?" *Yea, if she was Hermione I wouldn't mind at all, but she isn't and she will never be. * Draco smiled to himself at the thought of Hermione doing that. *Nah, she isn't that flaky. *
He walked slowly up the stairs leading to the corridor where the Heads dorm was. At the portrait he said the password and sauntered in, almost tripping over Hermione. She was curled up in a ball. Her eyes were puffy, and she looked like she had cried herself to sleep. Draco picked her up, and walked over to the sofa.
"Come on [grunts] let's get on to the sofa."
"Draco?" Hermione whispered sleepily, now clinging tightly to Draco's muscular shoulders.
"What did Potter do now?" Draco asked.
"Why would you think he did anything?"
"Well, if you didn't fail an exam, what else would make you so sad?" He sat down on the sofa and placed Hermione next to him.
"He didn't actually do anything, but he did give me this." Hermione lifted her hand in front of Draco's face. The fire dancing in the fireplace reflected on the shiny silver ring. "He said it was a promise ring, and he promised all this stuff, my happiness, etcetera."
"Well, look at the happy couple," Draco said mockingly.
"He may be happy, but I'm not."
"Why is that?"
"I was going to break up with him today. But I couldn't bear doing that to him today..after he gave me this ring."
"Oh..mmhmm..I see. Remind me again. Why break up?"
"I don't love him anymore."
"So who's the lucky guy?"
Hermione sighed. "Draco, I'm going to bed. Good night." She lifted herself off the sofa and walked toward the stairs.
"Why can't you tell me?" Draco ran after her and grabbed her wrist.
"Because Draco, it doesn't matter. He will never love me anyways." Hermione wrenched her wrist out of his grip and walked through her doorway. Draco stared at her in wonder, watching her walk into her room and shut the door.
Hermione's POV
Hermione wondered about Draco. Something about him just made her want to open up to him. But there was no way she could tell Draco how she really felt and let him step on her heart like a carpet. She went to bed, trying to block Harry and Draco out of her mind.
*Dreaming: Hermione and Draco are making out in the corner of an empty classroom.
"Hermione?" Hermione recognized Harry's voice and pulled away from Draco.
"Oh my God," she whispered.
"Don't worry, just keep quiet, he'll leave," Draco whispered back.
[Harry's footsteps moving closer]
"Hermione? Why are you hiding? Hullo?" Harry called as he walked closer and closer to the corner where they were. He saw Hermione and smiled.
"Hermione, what are you doing there? Come on, the common room is empty." He winked at her, reaching out a hand to help her up.
"Uh.." Hermione shifted uncomfortably. Draco was hiding under a desk next to her.
Harry looked at her rumpled, half unbuttoned shirt, and his arm dropped back down by his side. "What the..?" His eyes swept down to her skirt, which was starting to hitch up her butt. He looked over the entire classroom and his gaze landed on Draco.
"Malfoy, you sick bastard!!" Harry screamed. "What did you do to her??"
He looked at Hermione. "What is Malfoy doing here?" He gasped in disbelief, "Oh, so this is what you've been doing every night for the past week? You said you were going to study in the library. I believed you, and this is .... God Hermione, how could you do this to me?"
Harry's eyes burned with anger and hatred. "Look, you have to choose
between me and Malfoy! You can only have one of us!!" *
Hermione sat up, gaping for breath like a fish out of water. Sweat was soaked through her shirt, and she had kicked off all of her blankets. She looked at the clock in her room. *Only three in the morning. * She fell back onto her pillow trying to fall asleep, but she gave up after a minute and started gathering her clothes for a shower.
Hermione padded softly into the bathroom that connected the two rooms, and placed her clothes on a rack next to the shower. Before she turned on the water, something caught her eye. The door connecting to Draco's room was ajar. Hermione felt herself drawn by curiosity to look into his room. She stuck her head slowly into the room, careful not to let a sudden flood of light through. Her eyes fell on Draco, sleeping soundly, his bare chest rising up and down slowly. *This is where my heart belongs. I just wonder what took me such a long time to realize that. * She chuckled softly to herself, shut Draco's door, and proceeded to take a shower.
Hermione followed Ginny back to the Gryffindor common room, hoping to see Harry. Sure enough, she found him sitting on a sofa in front of the blazing fireplace.
"Harry?" Hermione tapped him on the shoulder.
"Hermione?" Harry seemed a bit groggy.
"We need to talk."
"Hermione!" Harry suddenly remembered something. "Wait, I have something for you."
"Um.." Hermione sighed as Harry ran up the stairs to his dorm room.
"Close your eyes." Harry instructed her as he ran down the stairs.
Hermione sighed and closed her eyes. Harry walked by her and plopped down on the sofa next to her. She felt him take her right hand and slip something cold and hard on to her index finger.
"Okay, you can open your eyes now."
Hermione opened her eyes and looked down at her hand. There was a silver ring on her index finger. She gasped. It looked like it had cost a fortune.
"It's beautiful. When..how were you able to afford this?"
"Oh, it was a favor, I pulled a few strings. I picked it up today at Hogsmeade. Take it off and look inside, I got the man at the store to engrave something in it."
Hermione slipped off the ring, which fit perfectly on her finger and looked inside the silver band. "I will love you forever." She read the curly writing.
Harry smiled, "It's a promise ring. I promise I will always be there for you, no matter what happens to us. I promise that I will keep you safe from all harm, and you will always have my heart."
A tear formed at the corner of Hermione's eye.
"It's beautiful. Thank you."
"I love ya."
"Mmm.."
Hermione let herself be kissed. She felt she owed him something: a little happiness perhaps. Harry pulled away first. "So what did you want to tell me?"
"Oh, it was nothing important."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. I got to go."
"Don't you want to go to dinner with me?"
"Guess not, I don't feel so hungry."
"Okay then."
Hermione stumbled through the corridors, unable to think. She mumbled the password to her dorm, and walking through the door, she collapsed into tears against the wall.
Harry's POV
*Hermione must have loved my present. I hope she knows how I really feel about her. I would give my life to make her happy. But I wonder what she was going to tell me. Well, I guess it wasn't important, knowing Hermione, she would tell me if it was that important. * Satisfied, Harry went to dinner.
Draco's POV
Draco skipped dinner, he could not put up with Pansy for another minute. "Drakypoo, you look gorgeous today." "Draky, could you give me a smoochy?" "Draco baby, would you mind if I sat next to you?" *Yea, if she was Hermione I wouldn't mind at all, but she isn't and she will never be. * Draco smiled to himself at the thought of Hermione doing that. *Nah, she isn't that flaky. *
He walked slowly up the stairs leading to the corridor where the Heads dorm was. At the portrait he said the password and sauntered in, almost tripping over Hermione. She was curled up in a ball. Her eyes were puffy, and she looked like she had cried herself to sleep. Draco picked her up, and walked over to the sofa.
"Come on [grunts] let's get on to the sofa."
"Draco?" Hermione whispered sleepily, now clinging tightly to Draco's muscular shoulders.
"What did Potter do now?" Draco asked.
"Why would you think he did anything?"
"Well, if you didn't fail an exam, what else would make you so sad?" He sat down on the sofa and placed Hermione next to him.
"He didn't actually do anything, but he did give me this." Hermione lifted her hand in front of Draco's face. The fire dancing in the fireplace reflected on the shiny silver ring. "He said it was a promise ring, and he promised all this stuff, my happiness, etcetera."
"Well, look at the happy couple," Draco said mockingly.
"He may be happy, but I'm not."
"Why is that?"
"I was going to break up with him today. But I couldn't bear doing that to him today..after he gave me this ring."
"Oh..mmhmm..I see. Remind me again. Why break up?"
"I don't love him anymore."
"So who's the lucky guy?"
Hermione sighed. "Draco, I'm going to bed. Good night." She lifted herself off the sofa and walked toward the stairs.
"Why can't you tell me?" Draco ran after her and grabbed her wrist.
"Because Draco, it doesn't matter. He will never love me anyways." Hermione wrenched her wrist out of his grip and walked through her doorway. Draco stared at her in wonder, watching her walk into her room and shut the door.
Hermione's POV
Hermione wondered about Draco. Something about him just made her want to open up to him. But there was no way she could tell Draco how she really felt and let him step on her heart like a carpet. She went to bed, trying to block Harry and Draco out of her mind.
*Dreaming: Hermione and Draco are making out in the corner of an empty classroom.
"Hermione?" Hermione recognized Harry's voice and pulled away from Draco.
"Oh my God," she whispered.
"Don't worry, just keep quiet, he'll leave," Draco whispered back.
[Harry's footsteps moving closer]
"Hermione? Why are you hiding? Hullo?" Harry called as he walked closer and closer to the corner where they were. He saw Hermione and smiled.
"Hermione, what are you doing there? Come on, the common room is empty." He winked at her, reaching out a hand to help her up.
"Uh.." Hermione shifted uncomfortably. Draco was hiding under a desk next to her.
Harry looked at her rumpled, half unbuttoned shirt, and his arm dropped back down by his side. "What the..?" His eyes swept down to her skirt, which was starting to hitch up her butt. He looked over the entire classroom and his gaze landed on Draco.
"Malfoy, you sick bastard!!" Harry screamed. "What did you do to her??"
He looked at Hermione. "What is Malfoy doing here?" He gasped in disbelief, "Oh, so this is what you've been doing every night for the past week? You said you were going to study in the library. I believed you, and this is .... God Hermione, how could you do this to me?"
Harry's eyes burned with anger and hatred. "Look, you have to choose
between me and Malfoy! You can only have one of us!!" *
Hermione sat up, gaping for breath like a fish out of water. Sweat was soaked through her shirt, and she had kicked off all of her blankets. She looked at the clock in her room. *Only three in the morning. * She fell back onto her pillow trying to fall asleep, but she gave up after a minute and started gathering her clothes for a shower.
Hermione padded softly into the bathroom that connected the two rooms, and placed her clothes on a rack next to the shower. Before she turned on the water, something caught her eye. The door connecting to Draco's room was ajar. Hermione felt herself drawn by curiosity to look into his room. She stuck her head slowly into the room, careful not to let a sudden flood of light through. Her eyes fell on Draco, sleeping soundly, his bare chest rising up and down slowly. *This is where my heart belongs. I just wonder what took me such a long time to realize that. * She chuckled softly to herself, shut Draco's door, and proceeded to take a shower.