Chapter Twenty-two Hearts

I am writing frantically now, determined to get this series finished soon, and it will be. For those who are determined to find out what happens, the end is near! So keep reading, it's worth it (at least I think so anyway).

I don't own Harry Potter, etc. etc.

Cherise- you cried? Another one who has found my story emotional! Thank you so much and please keep reading, I hope to hear from you in the future.

Gazy- thanks for another long review! Smilez! Sorry about the sentence thing, it happens to be a bug with my PC. Whenever I put a dash to link two sentences together, it appears as a full stop, so it looks like I've forgotten to put a capital letter in. I have reduced the amount of dashes in my story but there is only so much I can do; sorry about that. And I agree that Pansy has to be the biggest bitch. It's pretty obvious I hate her in later chapters!

Vincie- I don't know how long I'm banned but it REALLY frustrates me, grrrr. Keep reviewing pal!

NSR- greetings Trelawney! But whoops, in this chapter Pansy is absent. Did the great Trelawney predict something WRONG? Dearie me, is Trelawney a fraud? Nah, course not. ;) Thanks for the review girlie, keep posting please.

Danihell- these posts are quality not quantity girl and your reviews are definitely quality! Thanks again.

Dracowar- lol that sadistic prediction could actually turn out to be true… * puts finger on lips * I won't say anymore or it'll give it away…

C-h-l-o-e-06- don't worry, Hermione will never TRULY forgive him totally, but she doesn't feel the same raw anger anymore because six months have passed and she has other feelings for him too…

Natyslacks- *blushes* Aww shucks you're a sweetie pie!


For the first time in a long while, Hermione woke up without a feeling of dread in her stomach and a desire to cry that just wouldn't come. Yawning, she pulled back the covers and dressed quickly. It was a Saturday and she was hoping to mess around with Harry and Ron like in the good old days.

Then, just as she was stepping down the stairs, the remembrance of yesterday hit her with a thud. She had screamed and shouted in front of almost the entire school. Knowing the other students, gossip would be rife today. She sighed and straightened her cream jumper. It won't get to me, she decided.

When she entered the Common Room, everything went silent and then a buzz of talking hissed around the room. Hermione found herself being hugged by an eager Seamus Finnigan, and then Dean Thomas, then Neville then-

"Well done, Hermione!" Ron beamed, gripping her tightly. "I couldn't believe how great you were in front of everyone. I mean, yeah it was a bit crazy, but Malfoy deserved it!"

"We were all egging you on- er- inside," Harry said heartily. "You should have seen his face! Then of course he left and went after you, didn't he?"

"No," Hermione said quickly. She wasn't going to break her promise to Malfoy in any hurry, even if she did still sort of detest him. "No, I didn't see him. I went to the library."

After more congratulations and compliments from the other Gryffindors, Hermione went down with Ron and Harry to breakfast.

"Where's Ginny?" Hermione asked, as she spooned down cereal.

"Ill," Harry said wistfully. "Got food poisoning, but you know Madam Pomfrey, cured it quick as a flash. No, Ginny needs 'rest and recuperation'." He spoke the last three words with a lot of scorn.

"I'm sure she'll be back up and healthy soon," Hermione said sympathetically, though inside she was pleased. It had been a long time since she had spent the whole day with just Ron and Harry, and to be honest she preferred it that way.

"Look up, seems like your little rant yesterday has made an impression," Ron smirked, nudging Hermione. She glanced across saw Draco staring at her, his steely grey eyes impaled into her. Flinching with the intensity, she looked down quickly and felt her cheeks go furiously red. Why do I always do this, she thought to herself angrily. WHY?

"I'm done," Harry said. "What shall we do? I think-"

"-We should go outside, great idea Harry, let's go, and quickly," she gabbled, grabbing her two puzzled best friends and heading for the doorway. She didn't stop until they were outside in the heat.

"What's the rush?" Ron asked.

"Nothing, I just really want a suntan," Hermione lied. She laid against their favourite tree, looking over the lake. It looked beautiful in the summer sunshine; it rippled slightly in the very small breeze, golden light danced upon the surface and reflecting into their eyes, dazzling them. It was incredibly beautiful, like a huge pool of glittering golden sunlight.

Ron and Harry sat beside her, talking about Quidditch. It bored her intensely. She loved her best friends more than life itself- but more often nowadays she found herself thinking she'd outgrown them. In fact, all she wanted to do right now was go to the library. She longed for the calm quiet, peaceful and undisturbed reading.

"I'm off - going to see Cho," Ron said, getting up from the grass. "See you two later," and he headed off, whistling, in the direction of the school.

"The cheek of that," Harry said in mock disapproval, his eyes twinkling. "Abandoning us for Cho, eh?" He laughed, and then noticed his friend wasn't laughing along with him- in fact, she was staring into the distance.

"Hermione, what's up?" he asked, concerned.

"Oh, nothing," Hermione muttered, looking quite frantic. Little did Harry know who Hermione had just seen making their way across the grass towards them in the distance. Malfoy. "You know what, I'm going too," she gabbled. "Bye." And she ran off as fast as her legs could carry her, a shocked Harry watching her leave.

Hermione didn't stop until she was hidden behind the tallest tree she could find, and there she leaned against it, struggling to get her breath back. Had he seen her? She doubted it; she had very good eyesight, and had only recognised him from his pale, almost white hair. Now she could see him approaching Harry. Heart in mouth, she crept slightly closer.

Why, she asked herself, am I hiding? She didn't really know the answer… all she knew was that she couldn't face Draco now; she'd rather face Snape in a bad mood than talk to him. When he was around she couldn't control herself, and found herself doing things that a year ago she wouldn't have dreamed of doing. And whenever he was near her, things seemed to rush out her mouth and her heart was in her mouth, beating away like she'd ran a marathon. And the strange sensations she got in her stomach… she seriously doubted they had anything to do with hate.

Did she still hate him?

No.

I don't, she realised. I don't hate the killer of my baby.

Shaking herself, she crept even closer, eager to hear what Draco would say to Harry. She was close enough now to see Draco's cold grey eyes, and Harry's emerald green ones, but they couldn't see her because she had conveniently hidden herself behind a large green bush with little holes in the branches that she could peer through.

"…Where is she?" Draco was demanding sharply, pulling Harry to his feet aggressively. Harry scowled and shoved Malfoy, his hands grinding into the blonde boy's shoulders.

"Why should I tell you? And why do you want to know?"

"That's of no importance to you. Now TELL me, or you'll regret it."

"What are you going to do?" Harry sneered, obviously thinking he was protecting Hermione. "You're a cruel git. I know what you're like. You probably want to smack her over what she said yesterday, don't you? Well take your anger out one me, because I sure as hell won't be letting you near Hermione sometime soon."

Draco paused, noticing the stubborn expression on Harry's face.

"Looks like you're not going to give in, Potter," he sighed, sitting down on the grass. "Well sit down then, I'm not going to bite… unless you give me reason to." Harry slowly and reluctantly lowered himself to the ground, a fair few feet away from his enemy. Silence followed for a few seconds, and all that could be heard was the buzzing of the bees and the flies around the pretty flowerbeds.

"What happened between you and Hermione?" Harry asked eventually, no note of anger in his voice. He genuinely wanted to know.

"You'd never understand. It was… it was a mistake to sleep with her. Stupid. If my father-"

"Your father," growled Harry, "is a nasty stuck-up prick that thinks he's better than everyone else. And if you're here just to call Hermione then you'd better go."

"Alright I get the message. Anyway… I don't know… it was like, like a spur of the moment thing really. I fancied the arse off her, crazy as it sounds. Me: handsome, popular, rich, pureblood-" (Harry snorted) "-and Granger: goodie-goodie, show off Mudblood. Get the picture? I slept with her because I thought she was pretty, and it was another notch on my bedpost."

Hermione listened, tears silently leaking from her eyelids. Was this all that he felt for her? And why the hell did she care anyway?

"And?" Harry prompted. "Is that all?"

"No," Draco said softly. "No it isn't. Afterwards I didn't want to know, because let's face it, who wants to face a one nightstand the day after? Well I ignored her and then… then she told me she was pregnant, and everything changed.

"I hated her…. I really hated her, for everything. She was going to ruin my reputation, my popularity, my family life (just think about what my father would do if he had found out) and pretty much all that mattered to me. Then she lost it, and I felt guilty."

"Why?" Harry asked, curiosity overcoming his hatred. Hermione took a deep breath. Would he tell Harry the truth? The horrible, cold, violent truth?

"Because I should have helped her," Draco lied smoothly, his face not betraying him. "I should have supported her and everything. Now she wouldn't want to know, and I had everything I always wanted. Money. Popularity. My reputation still intact- and I'd gained the best night's pleasure of my whole life." Draco stopped, looking into the distance. "I don't know why I'm telling YOU all this- you'll probably run and tell Weasel, then everyone'll know."

"You know I won't. I'm Hermione's friend, I need to understand. Please- carry on." It seemed Harry and Draco had put aside their differences for now.

"Well I tried to forget her, I really did, but nothing seemed fun anymore. Even winding people up lost its pleasure. I began to wonder what the point of life was, and I really honestly did try to battle my feelings. But it seems nobody is perfect, not even me. Because she's not that beautiful, I've seen prettier, and her personality's not the best- yet I still can't get her out of my mind. I could have anyone I wanted, and they're not good enough for me. What's WRONG with me?" Draco ran his fingers through his hair, obviously frustrated. "It's like I've come down with a disease or something.

"The way I feel when she's around is like nothing else. It's like a drug. Initially I liked her for her looks and figure but now… it's not just that. She's brave. And I love the way she shouts when she's angry, and her cheeks get little red dots on them… and the way her hair can stick on end when she's just woken up. And the way she smiles when she's happy." He broke off, bowing his head and chuckling to himself. "And she's really clever, and that sometimes pisses me off, but she's not some bimbo. She's the total opposite of Pansy for instance-" (he shuddered) "-and I don't know… she's just wonderful in every way to me, and I don't even know why. I should hate her. I really should."

"Whoa," Harry said, frowning. He seemed to be thinking hard. "You're not good enough for her. You're a nasty twat. You should have helped her, and you've given her a really hard time this past year. If you care for her, why did you do that?"

"I thought you'd know me by now Potter. Since when have I walked around being all romantic and gooey? Don't think I'll EVER do that; I'd rather die than be like that. But it's her… when I'm with her I'm a different person. And I didn't help her because I didn't want to like her. Who in their right mind would want to like her that way?"

Hermione stepped back, her heart still thudding and her head whirring, but they were still talking. She leant in closer, making sure that they couldn't hear her.

"It's more than like," said Draco, gulping. "I don't LIKE her. Potter, I know I sound stupid but… I think I love her. I LOVE Hermione Granger."


And the fluff goes on, yay! But for all those stooges out there, note I am doing my best to keep Malfoy in character. He hasn't gone from hating to loving her in one chapter- it's built up and up. And it's tough ya know, when all I want them to do is jump into each other's arms! But I know I know, being OOC is the most heinous crime that can ever be committed, so I'm taking it slow, no matter how much it kills me.