Highly Attracted ~hotsleekeyz~

Chapter 3

Sometime Soon

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Draco immediately took Hermione in his arms and carried her fast to the infirmary. His thoughts came in a rage and he could not understand why such happened.

//It can't be. . . it can't be. . .//

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Hermione woke up early in the morning, quite feeling sick. She felt like she wanted to throw up though she hasn't eaten anything else.

//Why am I in here?//

Madam Pomfrey came out of her office and hurried to Hermione's side.

"Good Lord! You little girl! You shouldn't tire yourself too much. All your school work has been towing on you. You should take some rest the whole day. I advise you not attend your classes. We don't want you found on the floor unconscious once more any time soon. Lucky you, someone brought you here"

Hermione frowned on the words 'little girl' for she wasn't one. Any one could attest that she has grown into one beautiful, young lady despite her already minimal curls of her hair that she manages to fix every so often if her time allowed her.

"Did I--- collapse or something?", Hermione asked though she felt nothing more than wanting to throw up.

"I reckon you did but I assume it has been because of all the work that you are forcing yourself to manage doing all those years. . . somehow, it will take tow on you"

Footsteps came rushing from outside and the door opened for two young men who had worried look on their faces.

"Hermione! Are you alright?", Ron immediately asked, seeing Hermione on the bed as if she was bed-ridden for years.

"Reckon so. I guess I'm fine. Had breakfast started already?", Hermione asked as she smiled.

"It will in a few minutes. We better get down now. First subject is with Snape. We wouldn't want to get late for his class again, now would we?", Harry replied cheerfully while he tried to fathom what's wrong with his friend.

Madam Pomfrey cut in. "Very well, but she can't take her classes today. You go down to the hall and take her to her room afterwards. She needs to rest"

Hermione just rolled her eyes and she jumped off the bed with Harry and Ron assisting her side-by-side. They took her arms as they went out of the hospital wing. As soon as they got out, Hermione brushed her arms away from Ron and Harry.

"Okay you two. I'm fine. Don't make it seem I can't walk on my own", Hermione spat irritatingly.

"But Mione what really happened last night? We were dead worried you know! We tried looking for you for half an hour all over the place only to find you here", Harry said as he eyed Hermione of any answer.

"I have no idea, I tell you. I just remember being in the library and then, the next thing I knew, I was on the bed inside there", Hermione claimed as she pointed towards the infirmary.

"Madam Pomfrey told us last night that you were found unconscious, thought no one could tell who brought you here. Maybe it's a good thing someone saw you last night. . . by the way, were you with anyone?", Harry queried.

Hermione tried to recall what happened the night before. She then saw images of Draco with her inside the library from the moment they met at the corridors.

"I, uhhh--- I was alone last night. Don't really remember a lot of students inside the library at that time of the night. It might have been Madam Pince who took me here. . . yeah, it could have been her", Hermione lied as she went on her heels and headed towards the staircases to have her breakfast down at the hall.

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Hermione sat alone in her room while going through some of her work for the next month almost half-done.

A tapping noise came from outside her window, and so she led her eyes towards that direction and saw an owl carrying a package for her. Hermione opened the window and took the package at once.

She took it on he desk, and there she opened the neatly sealed package. There was no addressor, so she decided to open it just the same without even knowing from whom it came.

Hermione took the content in her hand. It was a golden necklace with a heart-shaped locket for a pendant.

//Who would give this to me?//

She opened the locket and saw a picture of a gorgeous woman on one side and a cute baby girl on the other.

Hermione's suspicions grew so she dug through the box again and saw a letter inside. She opened it and read.

~ ~ ~Ms. Hermione Granger, I believe that it is time that this should be given back to you. It is the only possession that your mother had left. ~ ~ ~

//Mum. . . but who sent this?//

Though perplexed at the idea that something that belonged to her mom was given to her, she found comfort knowing that she, at last, had a connection with her mother again, after her unexpected death. Hermione's father won't tell her how her mother died a year before that even though Hermione knew that her father was just hiding something from her.

Hermione wore the necklace and put away the box. She went back to her work, but try as she did, she couldn't concentrate on it. Hermione was too occupied with thoughts about her mother. She thought that there could have been a link to the person who sent it from the death of her mother.

//Who could have sent it?//

A knock came of the door and Hermione thoughts were interrupted.

"Come in", Hermione said as she looked who was it knocking behind the door.

The door didn't open.

"Come in!", Hermione repeated.

The door, still, didn't open.

"I said you can come in!", Hermione spat as she got irritated at the person behind the door.

Losing her patience, she stood from her seat and went to the door. When she opened it, a scary-looking woman with huge, sulky eyes, long crooked nose, and sharp yellow teeth pushed Hermione to the floor and flew inside the room with her shrilly voice echoing inside it. The creature yelled an odd dialect that rung greatly in Hermione's ears.

Hermione didn't know whether she should be scared of the creature that look as if it was a female version of a dementor, or she should get mad for the irritating high-pitched voice of scary being.

"Who are you?", Hermione inquired with her voice evidently showing fear and anger. She tried to search for her wand inside the pocket of her robe but it wasn't there. Her eyes quickly directed over her desk, and sure enough, the wand was there. As she was still on the floor, Hermione hesitated to move, thinking that the creature would hurt her if she did so.

A cold guffaw filled the room. . . the creature's evil laugh echoed over and over inside Hermione's head as if it had no end. When the woman, at last, stopped laughing, her eyes turned maliciously towards Hermione as her long, thin lips stretched into something that could have passed for a scary grin.

"Hermione Granger. . . What a pleasant surprise to see you once again. . ."

"I'm afraid I haven't seen you before"

"Oh dear, don't be too harsh on me. . . yes, you haven't seen me before, but I did. Years had gone by so fast my dear. . . you've grown beautifully as you were expected to be. . ."

"What are you talking about?"

"A little more time, a little more time, and you shall come back where you belong"

"Excuse me?", Hermione's brows met at the oddity of the situation. She couldn't fathom what the old woman was talking about.

". . . Back into the place where you once lived for a day in your dreams. . ."

"Could you tell me exactly what you're talking about? I don't understand a thing you're saying!"

"Soon enough dear, soon enough you will understand. Beware of a sly man who's lurking behind, over, and around you. . . he is after you my dear. Beware of this man, I tell you. He will bring about your destruction, just as he did to your mother. . ."

"What do you know about my mother's death?"

The woman glided through the air out of Hermione's room.

"Wait!", Hermione yelled.

Hermione witnessed the old woman fly down the stairs into the common room, then suddenly disappear in the wind.

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"Professor, have you found who the thief was?", Draco asked in a lower voice than he did the night before.

"By far, we haven't, Mr. Malfoy. The thief could not be found anywhere near Hogwarts grounds", Dumbledore replied rather unbothered.

"But I have to find it soon before my father could hear of this!"

"We know that Mr. Malfoy, and that is why we are trying our best to bring your possession back to you. If you don't mind me asking, why was it entrusted to you as early as the age you are in right now? Isn't it quite early for you to have it?"

"Father reckons that soon enough I will find the one who will own it once again. . . very soon, as a matter of fact"

"By the way you say it tells me that the person IS inside Hogwarts"

"I don't know Sir but we will find out soon. But now, I need it back before Father could be informed by Professor Snape"

"I'd say you are right there, Mr. Malfoy. We better have it in our hands soon"

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Hermione was alone that whole day and so she walked out of her room out to the hallways to have some fresh air. The confines of her room suffocated her too much, and also, the thought of the old woman back there.

She walked through the hall hoping she would see any of her friends. Hermione went pass staircases and hallways but no one seemed to be outside. . .When all of a sudden. . .

"Hmph!"

Hermione's mouth was cupped by someone behind her, and she was dragged into the empty classroom beside her. She struggled much but to no avail of getting lose.

The moment the person who took her released his hand from Hermione's mouth. . .

"What the hell are you doing? You---", Hermione was cut the time she turned around to see the person behind her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to drag you in here like that. I just thought you might have forgotten that we are CIVIL to each other already, and snap at me like crazy outside", Draco said in defense as he brushed his hair back from his face.

"God, Malfoy! You got my heart beating fast with what you did! I thought you were to abduct me!", Hermione yelled as she clutched her chest with her heart beating like as if she was being chased after.

"I'm sorry, okay?", Draco repeated.

Hermione bowed her head and then nodded. "It's okay. I'm sorry too. . . By the way, what do you want? Do you need anything from me at this time of the day?"

"Not really. I just need someone to confide with right now. My apologies but I thought it wouldn't be a good idea to have either Crabbe or Goyle to talk about it, you know, with the pea-sized brain they have in their skull. . ."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. . .", Hermione approved with a smile.

"I hope it's fine with you that I talk like this. I mean, I didn't really expect to find a friend in someone like you, it's just I felt like I can share my thoughts with you right now as I am really bothered, and it seems that if I won't let this out, I'd burst or something---"

"Its okay, Malfoy. I understand"

Draco then realized he just talked too much.

"Oh, I'm sorry"

"It's okay Malfoy". Hermione smiled again and continued, "I'm not used to being like this. I thought you didn't know how it is to apologize"

"What do you think of me Granger? A stone-hearted person or something?", Draco queried with a hint of arrogance in his voice.

"Exactly that, that I'm thinking"

"Oh"

"By the way, what's it you want to talk about?"

Draco waved his hand in gesture for Hermione to sit down on a chair. After Hermione did as Draco told him to do, Draco followed.

"It's like this. Remember last night? I told you that there was this thief who got in my room and stole this thing from me"

"What is it that the thief stole from you?"

"I'm coming to that. . . anyways, I reported the incident to the Headmaster and he's been doing everything to get it back. It's a prized possession of mine. My Father gave it to me just this summer that'd passed. Before he handed it to me, Father told me that it has been in the family for over 700 years already and that it was my turn to have it"

"What is it?"

"It's a diamond ring that father gave Mother when they got engaged"

"Engaged? Why would they have to pass on an engagement ring? Shouldn't that be the wedding ring that they'd give you?"

"Umm, Granger, the ring itself is studded with diamonds and it's not an ordinary ring as you might be thinking it is. The Malfoys aren't into the wedding ring as they believe that the engagement ring alone could suffice as it is too precious already. They also think that there is no turning back the moment you are engaged with a Malfoy. So, there is only one ring that has been passed on for generations", Draco said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"And now it is with you"

"It is SUPPOSED to be with me"

"What will happen now?"

"I have to find it before my Father could be informed of its loss. Dumbledore said that the thief couldn't be found anywhere near Hogwarts. I would be so busted when Father would know of this"

"But Malfoy, isn't it that your Father gave it to you during the summer? And that it was your turn to have it into your possession? But why now? You're too young for things like that!"

"I know. But my family has decided I should find the woman to marry before the year ends"

"They're expecting you to do THAT?"

"Yes"

"And how would you be able to manage that? Of course you need to go out of the school to find someone who is worthy to be your wife. If not, you have to settle with one of the students, not unless your parents would be the one who will take care of everything"

"I will not let them do that!", Draco retorted at once.

"But it seems you have no other choice"

"Well I guess I could manage picking one of the girls around here. It couldn't be THAT bad"

"Good luck with that. . . that would be really hard on your part as you need to study and manage to find the wife for you. . . not to mention, find the missing ring. That's too much pressure, I'd say, considering that you are that young"

"Yeah, I know"

Draco enjoyed the moment that for the first time in his life, he was able to confide to someone that easily. He didn't expect Hermione to be that open and warm in talking to him, which made him feel very much at ease.

"I hope you find it soon. . . "

Draco eyed Hermione intently. He saw that Hermione was also bothered at that time, ever since they step foot inside the dusty old classroom.

"Anything bothering you Granger?"

"Yeah", Hermione said in a frown.

"What is it? I guess you could tell me, now that we've been talking for some time already"

Hermione stared at Draco for a while, and then nodded. "Just this morning, I was alone inside my room going through my homework when all of a sudden, a knock came off my bedroom door. The person won't come in even if I told her to do so, so I got up and opened the door. A scary-looking woman came swooshing inside my room and she glided through the air with her shrilly guffaw filling my room. Before all of that could happen, I got a package with a possession of my mum's inside it. It was a necklace with a locket containing the picture of my mum and I in it. So, going back, the old woman was telling me weird stuff like I would be going back to where I came from, or once came from---something like that. And then, she asked me to be aware of a man who's stalking me. That's probably the one I mentioned to you before---the stalker sent me the skin of the frog I dissected back in 2nd year, and to think it was with him all these years! It makes me feel uneasy knowing someone has been after me like THAT"

"I don't know how to react to that Granger, but yeah, I guess that must suck big time. Looks like we're both having some sort of odd problems right now, aren't we? And it all happened to fast that the last time I could remember us snapping at each other was the other day. It's really odd"

"Yeah, I know, and here we are talking as if we haven't been enemies all these years. It's hard to accept the fact that this is happening. Maybe soon, I'll be able to understand how these came about. . . Sometime soon perhaps. . .", Hermione stated as she started to blush. She turned her head away to hide her face.

"Were we enemies at all?", Draco asked as if expecting a kind answer from Hermione.

"It's hard to tell, really. Right now, I'm too overwhelmed to be here with you, talking as if we are friends"

"Aren't we?", Draco asked with a warm smile on his face, as he clutched Hermione's hand with his.

"I guess we are, Draco. . . I reckon we already are. . .", Hermione replied as she smiled back at Draco.

~Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns characters, setting, etc. Except: the plot is mine.~

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3rd chappie up!

Ola amigos! I hope you liked this chapter. I haven't gotten anything good of an idea in my head how this will come about, but I think I'll manage to do that soon. But for now, what I want you to do, is drop a review and tell me your comments, and if you will, suggestions, so that the story will come out better with a piece of your minds in it, and of course, constructive criticisms. If you are going to flame me, better be sure it is rude enough to touch my heart made of stone [lol] [Draco, is that you? Lmao] make sure that it could ignite a matchstick. So far, there's been only one flamer that was kind enough to tickle me with her not-so-blunt words.HAH. Sorry girl, you have to wake up earlier to do better than that [by the way, it was for another fic, not this one]

Kindly review!

Thanks you guys!