This fanfic is dedicated to Fox McCoy and Awks
Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Harry Potter (but I wish I did!)
Chapter Nine
All he wanted to do was tell her that it was all a lie. That it was all just part of his reputation and that he never believed any of it. That it was just his father's influence, which caused him to judge muggleborn witches and wizards as inferior, but he couldn't. He truly believed that everything his father said was true, and he did think that purebloods were superior to mudbloods. He wished that he was brought up in such a way with morals and a strong belief in equality, but he couldn't deny that he wasn't. It was hard for him to picture muggleborns as anything above the average house elf, as anything worth wasting your time on. So, when meeting Hermione in their first year, he thought of her the same way as he did every other mudblood just like her, a nothing just taking up useful space and time. However, his view on her, if not muggleborns in general, began to change. He saw her successfulness in the classroom and was threatened by it. A muggleborn was never supposed to surpass a pureblood in anything, and here Hermione was surpassing everyone in everything. Malfoy was enthralled with her, and watched her from afar transform from a bookworm into a beauty. He saw how girls envied her and her relationship with both Harry and Ron, and how boys glared with jealousy at Harry and Ron for their relationship with her. Only those with immense confidence ever approached her, and none ever did with either Harry or Ron around. She appeared to be off limits, which only enticed more boys towards her. He was sure that Ron and Harry had no idea, but Hermione was constantly asked out on dates and trips to Hogsmeade, and those who didn't have enough courage to ask her out, simply asked her for help with their homework and studying. However, Hermione always politely declined the invitations explaining she either was too swamped with work, or had already made plans. And to those who asked for help with work, she excitedly would form a study group for them to join, which was never what the boy had in mind. There was no one at Hogwarts who wouldn't give a day to be, or be with Hermione Granger. Even the Slytherin house, though they would never admit it, was envious of the Gryffindor. Then there was Malfoy, who didn't know how to think of Hermione. He spent the last six years of this life trying to become better than her, make her life miserable just so she could never say she had the perfect life, because in his view, no mudblood deserved that. Now here he was, knocking down all his defenses, forgetting about his father and his ways just because of one stupid decision after another, all dealing with Hermione. Maybe it was the fact that he couldn't have her, maybe it was the fact that she was beautiful, maybe it was that he just wanted to hurt Ron and Harry, maybe it was the fact that any relationship with her would horrify his father, but he felt that it was necessary to convince Hermione that he truly did care for her, even if he knew he wasn't allowed to.
"Hermione, I..." How was Malfoy going to explain everything to her? She would never understand, but instead probably just laugh at him. However, he was going to have to at least try.
"Forget about it Malfoy." She countered bitterly. "You and I both know that this, whatever 'this' is, would never work. So, instead I'm ending it now before either of us regrets anything."
"The only thing I regret is not telling you sooner, Hermione."
"Telling me what sooner?" She asked abandoning her plan to walk away from Malfoy, and his discriminative ways.
"That I never saw you that way. As a mudblood that is. I mean, I only called you that because it was the only way I could remind myself that you were off limits to me. I am not going to lie to you and tell you that bloodlines don't matter to me, because up until the point I met you, they did, a lot. I could never have you, and I knew that, so I never tried. You have your two bodyguards around you all the time and I have my father breathing down my neck about honoring the "Malfoy Name'. And I am sorry that I hurt you, and I am sorry I was so selfish, but it was the only way that I could keep myself from falling for you. When you asked me to back off Harry and Ron, and in return, you would tutor me, I knew that I should never have said yes. It would just ruin everything that I had tried to build up for the past six years, a barrier between you and me. However, I was weak and I agreed, and everything that I feared came true, and I fell for you Hermione." He was completely serious, and his face was hard, trying not to show is weakness to her. When he looked over at her, his heart fell when he saw her smile knowingly. He knew she would make fun of him.
"You know, Malfoy, you have an annoying habit of saying the perfect thing to get you out of trouble. It's very frustrating really." Hermione smiled sweetly at him, and despite what her head was telling her to do, she forgave Malfoy, even if not completely, at least for tonight. "You can, I'll admit make it very easy for me to hate you, but other times... I just don't know what to do with you, Draco."
He couldn't help but grin stupidly when she said his name. "I know, I know. I am a pain in the ass. Forgive me?" He spoke sarcastically, but she was able to pink up on his note of genuine guilt.
"I guess I could for tonight, seeing as it is New Years. But-" however he cut her off before she could finish, scooped her up into his arms, and held her tightly.
"Thank you, thank you Hermione!" He kept repeating into her ear, all she could do was laugh. He finally, after several moments of spinning her around, he set her down, and ran his fingers through her disheveled hair. Self consciously, she placed her own hands in her hair and attempted to smooth it out herself. He placed his hands on hers, removed them from her head, and brought them down to his waist level. He entwined his fingers with hers, and pulled her in for a polite kiss, one that shot violent chills down her spine. He noticed her shudder and he just smiled into her, and wrapped her into a warm embrace, willing to do anything just to stay like that forever.
Reluctantly, Hermione snapped back into reality, and broke with Malfoy. "What time is it?" she asked him eagerly. Not waiting for a reply, she looked down at her own watch, and noticed that it was a few minutes until the countdown to the beginning of the New Year. "Harry and Ron will kill me if I am not there for the countdown; we are together for it every year." She explained to Malfoy, who instead of looking disappointed looked understanding. She was relieved.
Kissing her softly on the cheek, he removed his cloak from her shoulders. "They will ask." Was all he said.
"Aren't you coming though?" she asked back at him.
"And get murdered by those two, I think I know better than that. No thank you, I'll just stay out here for a bit longer, and then head back to school." He smiled at her and then turned to sit on the stonewall. She walked over to him and kissed him one last time before leaving.
"Happy New Year, Draco."
He tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear said, "Happy New Year, Hermione." With that, she walked back to the Three Broom Sticks to find Harry and Ron.
* * * *
She reached the bottom of the stairs when she saw a worried Ron running around searching for something frantically. Hermione had one clue what it was.
"I am right here, Ron." Hermione said, almost sounding bored.
"Thank goodness! Where the bloody hell have you been, 'Mione?" Ron's face transformed quickly from being extremely relieved to tremendously angry.
"I went out for some air. No big deal, sorry I didn't know I had to run everything by you!"
"Oh, um, sorry. I know, you don't, I mean, you're right. Sorry, Hermione. I was just worried about you, that's all."
"Oh geez, you're right, Ron. I am sorry I snapped. I am just, I just, oh never mind. I am sorry." That last thing she needed was to feel guilty about another thing besides falling for Malfoy. "Well, I made it for the countdown!" she said cheerfully, hoping to loosen the tension. Luckily, Ron wasn't one to hold grudges against her.
"I never doubted you wouldn't!" He punched her teasingly. "I know you wouldn't pass up any opportunity to kiss me!" She laughed aloud at this and pretended to look thoroughly embarrassed.
"Oh no! You know you about my undying love for you? Oh goodness!" He smiled and wrapped his arm around her as they waited for the countdown to start.
The countdown began. Forgetting all about how Harry was missing in action, Hermione and Ron carried on chanting with the rest of the room counting down the last ten seconds until the New Year. When finally reaching 'one', Ron bent down and kissed Hermione on the lips, then broke away giving her an even bigger hug than he had earlier in the Great Hall. "Happy New Year, love!"
Enjoying being spun around in circles in Ron's arms as if she was just a child again, she screamed back at him, "Happy New Year to you too, Ron!"
Once the commotion, cheering, and kissing had died down, Hermione finally noticed that Harry was nowhere to be found. Asking where he was, Ron began to laugh.
"Oh, he is over there snogging some blonde Ravenclaw. Her name is Liz something. Apparently, they've been 'friends' for awhile."
"Really now, who knew Harry had 'friends' besides us?" she answered laughing now too.
"Honestly, I certainly didn't! Well, what do you say? Should we extend our inner circle to include some other people too?" Then smiling even wider, Ron continued. "Any boys you interested in having join, Hermione?" Her face fell immediately. Ron, fortunately didn't notice, and kept on cheering along with the crowd and throwing streamers into the air. "Well, 'Mione? Is there?" he asked again, still not looking at her.
"Uh, no Ron. No one at all."
A/N: Awks... told you I would put you in there... heh Thanks for all the reviews!! Sorry that this story is going way down hill, and that that chapter sucked so much, but ill will try to make it better... once their school picks up again! Pleaes review and any suggestions are welcome, thanks!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Harry Potter (but I wish I did!)
Chapter Nine
All he wanted to do was tell her that it was all a lie. That it was all just part of his reputation and that he never believed any of it. That it was just his father's influence, which caused him to judge muggleborn witches and wizards as inferior, but he couldn't. He truly believed that everything his father said was true, and he did think that purebloods were superior to mudbloods. He wished that he was brought up in such a way with morals and a strong belief in equality, but he couldn't deny that he wasn't. It was hard for him to picture muggleborns as anything above the average house elf, as anything worth wasting your time on. So, when meeting Hermione in their first year, he thought of her the same way as he did every other mudblood just like her, a nothing just taking up useful space and time. However, his view on her, if not muggleborns in general, began to change. He saw her successfulness in the classroom and was threatened by it. A muggleborn was never supposed to surpass a pureblood in anything, and here Hermione was surpassing everyone in everything. Malfoy was enthralled with her, and watched her from afar transform from a bookworm into a beauty. He saw how girls envied her and her relationship with both Harry and Ron, and how boys glared with jealousy at Harry and Ron for their relationship with her. Only those with immense confidence ever approached her, and none ever did with either Harry or Ron around. She appeared to be off limits, which only enticed more boys towards her. He was sure that Ron and Harry had no idea, but Hermione was constantly asked out on dates and trips to Hogsmeade, and those who didn't have enough courage to ask her out, simply asked her for help with their homework and studying. However, Hermione always politely declined the invitations explaining she either was too swamped with work, or had already made plans. And to those who asked for help with work, she excitedly would form a study group for them to join, which was never what the boy had in mind. There was no one at Hogwarts who wouldn't give a day to be, or be with Hermione Granger. Even the Slytherin house, though they would never admit it, was envious of the Gryffindor. Then there was Malfoy, who didn't know how to think of Hermione. He spent the last six years of this life trying to become better than her, make her life miserable just so she could never say she had the perfect life, because in his view, no mudblood deserved that. Now here he was, knocking down all his defenses, forgetting about his father and his ways just because of one stupid decision after another, all dealing with Hermione. Maybe it was the fact that he couldn't have her, maybe it was the fact that she was beautiful, maybe it was that he just wanted to hurt Ron and Harry, maybe it was the fact that any relationship with her would horrify his father, but he felt that it was necessary to convince Hermione that he truly did care for her, even if he knew he wasn't allowed to.
"Hermione, I..." How was Malfoy going to explain everything to her? She would never understand, but instead probably just laugh at him. However, he was going to have to at least try.
"Forget about it Malfoy." She countered bitterly. "You and I both know that this, whatever 'this' is, would never work. So, instead I'm ending it now before either of us regrets anything."
"The only thing I regret is not telling you sooner, Hermione."
"Telling me what sooner?" She asked abandoning her plan to walk away from Malfoy, and his discriminative ways.
"That I never saw you that way. As a mudblood that is. I mean, I only called you that because it was the only way I could remind myself that you were off limits to me. I am not going to lie to you and tell you that bloodlines don't matter to me, because up until the point I met you, they did, a lot. I could never have you, and I knew that, so I never tried. You have your two bodyguards around you all the time and I have my father breathing down my neck about honoring the "Malfoy Name'. And I am sorry that I hurt you, and I am sorry I was so selfish, but it was the only way that I could keep myself from falling for you. When you asked me to back off Harry and Ron, and in return, you would tutor me, I knew that I should never have said yes. It would just ruin everything that I had tried to build up for the past six years, a barrier between you and me. However, I was weak and I agreed, and everything that I feared came true, and I fell for you Hermione." He was completely serious, and his face was hard, trying not to show is weakness to her. When he looked over at her, his heart fell when he saw her smile knowingly. He knew she would make fun of him.
"You know, Malfoy, you have an annoying habit of saying the perfect thing to get you out of trouble. It's very frustrating really." Hermione smiled sweetly at him, and despite what her head was telling her to do, she forgave Malfoy, even if not completely, at least for tonight. "You can, I'll admit make it very easy for me to hate you, but other times... I just don't know what to do with you, Draco."
He couldn't help but grin stupidly when she said his name. "I know, I know. I am a pain in the ass. Forgive me?" He spoke sarcastically, but she was able to pink up on his note of genuine guilt.
"I guess I could for tonight, seeing as it is New Years. But-" however he cut her off before she could finish, scooped her up into his arms, and held her tightly.
"Thank you, thank you Hermione!" He kept repeating into her ear, all she could do was laugh. He finally, after several moments of spinning her around, he set her down, and ran his fingers through her disheveled hair. Self consciously, she placed her own hands in her hair and attempted to smooth it out herself. He placed his hands on hers, removed them from her head, and brought them down to his waist level. He entwined his fingers with hers, and pulled her in for a polite kiss, one that shot violent chills down her spine. He noticed her shudder and he just smiled into her, and wrapped her into a warm embrace, willing to do anything just to stay like that forever.
Reluctantly, Hermione snapped back into reality, and broke with Malfoy. "What time is it?" she asked him eagerly. Not waiting for a reply, she looked down at her own watch, and noticed that it was a few minutes until the countdown to the beginning of the New Year. "Harry and Ron will kill me if I am not there for the countdown; we are together for it every year." She explained to Malfoy, who instead of looking disappointed looked understanding. She was relieved.
Kissing her softly on the cheek, he removed his cloak from her shoulders. "They will ask." Was all he said.
"Aren't you coming though?" she asked back at him.
"And get murdered by those two, I think I know better than that. No thank you, I'll just stay out here for a bit longer, and then head back to school." He smiled at her and then turned to sit on the stonewall. She walked over to him and kissed him one last time before leaving.
"Happy New Year, Draco."
He tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear said, "Happy New Year, Hermione." With that, she walked back to the Three Broom Sticks to find Harry and Ron.
* * * *
She reached the bottom of the stairs when she saw a worried Ron running around searching for something frantically. Hermione had one clue what it was.
"I am right here, Ron." Hermione said, almost sounding bored.
"Thank goodness! Where the bloody hell have you been, 'Mione?" Ron's face transformed quickly from being extremely relieved to tremendously angry.
"I went out for some air. No big deal, sorry I didn't know I had to run everything by you!"
"Oh, um, sorry. I know, you don't, I mean, you're right. Sorry, Hermione. I was just worried about you, that's all."
"Oh geez, you're right, Ron. I am sorry I snapped. I am just, I just, oh never mind. I am sorry." That last thing she needed was to feel guilty about another thing besides falling for Malfoy. "Well, I made it for the countdown!" she said cheerfully, hoping to loosen the tension. Luckily, Ron wasn't one to hold grudges against her.
"I never doubted you wouldn't!" He punched her teasingly. "I know you wouldn't pass up any opportunity to kiss me!" She laughed aloud at this and pretended to look thoroughly embarrassed.
"Oh no! You know you about my undying love for you? Oh goodness!" He smiled and wrapped his arm around her as they waited for the countdown to start.
The countdown began. Forgetting all about how Harry was missing in action, Hermione and Ron carried on chanting with the rest of the room counting down the last ten seconds until the New Year. When finally reaching 'one', Ron bent down and kissed Hermione on the lips, then broke away giving her an even bigger hug than he had earlier in the Great Hall. "Happy New Year, love!"
Enjoying being spun around in circles in Ron's arms as if she was just a child again, she screamed back at him, "Happy New Year to you too, Ron!"
Once the commotion, cheering, and kissing had died down, Hermione finally noticed that Harry was nowhere to be found. Asking where he was, Ron began to laugh.
"Oh, he is over there snogging some blonde Ravenclaw. Her name is Liz something. Apparently, they've been 'friends' for awhile."
"Really now, who knew Harry had 'friends' besides us?" she answered laughing now too.
"Honestly, I certainly didn't! Well, what do you say? Should we extend our inner circle to include some other people too?" Then smiling even wider, Ron continued. "Any boys you interested in having join, Hermione?" Her face fell immediately. Ron, fortunately didn't notice, and kept on cheering along with the crowd and throwing streamers into the air. "Well, 'Mione? Is there?" he asked again, still not looking at her.
"Uh, no Ron. No one at all."
A/N: Awks... told you I would put you in there... heh Thanks for all the reviews!! Sorry that this story is going way down hill, and that that chapter sucked so much, but ill will try to make it better... once their school picks up again! Pleaes review and any suggestions are welcome, thanks!
