*(IF YOU COME BACK)*
important!! please read!! i am sorry!!
/24/6/03/
right. I know i deserved to be hex to death, roused, then hexed to death all over again. it's been blardeyily (yes i'm cursing myself) two months since i've updated, and i'm really really really sorry. i hope you guys will understand, though, because over here in Singapore it's a daily rat race. EVen for us teens our top priority is to study... study... and study. (Sometimes it's so stressful i juz feel like emigrating. but of course that's impossible). Anyways... yeah. My results have been dropping from A's to B's... which, to us Singaporeans, is a big deal. -_-" (i dun wanna care animore!!!)
i admit, i've been somewhat procrastinating. Even when i manage to get my ass in front of the comp my mind's too full of the loads of tests and homework our teachers heap upon us every day. Even now, during the hols, it's been impossible to find free time to write. Projects... school activities... plus i've got a piano concert coming up so yeah... i hope you can understand!!!
i swear... i will NOT abandon this fic. The encouragement and support you reviewers out there have provided me is enough to make me write. it's just that... updates will take much longer. I hope, though, sincerely, that you will still keep by my fic... i'd be really really grateful!!
You will notice that i've reloaded this fic... i've taken out that part about sirius. If you've read HPOotP you'd know why... it's just something minor in my fic but i'm also using this rare opportunity i have to apologise.
One thing i'd like to ask from you guys... [horrible of me i know, since i've not been giving ya guys anything by updating =(] i'd really really really like to know what you all think of the fifth book [which came out on 21st]. please, if you will, just copy this link to your browser and read my thoughts... and... if you'r kind enough, please comment in my guestbook! it's jaex . diaryland . com / hp5 . html ... no major spoilers inside there... no outright details... but there will still be some tiny hints ( i do need to mention that particular thing if i want to comment about it don't I?) that won't really affect anything if you have not read the book yet. Please, once again, just spare me a few minutes, to read my review, because i've been feeling rather...weird since i started reading the story and i do really need someone to share my feelings with.
I know i know... this has been a v long and naggy author's note... but... once again, sORRy! and please comment!
a very guilty dracoJAE
----------------------------------------------
a/n: I AM SORRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!! i know it's been almost a month since i updated, but i have valid reasons, i swear!!!!
First, well, there had been some probs wif ff.net and i couldn't upload my stuff so in the end i was so dang frustrated i didn't come on for a week. then went on a reading spree and wallowed in despair-- all the other fics are so good compared to mine! When i finally got the *urge* to write again, well, school had to start and leave me with no time! SO I AM REALLY SORRY!!! ESP TO MARGARET!!!
I'm very very very grateful to ya all for reviewing-- it really gives me encouragement! In fact the reviews were the only thing that kept me going when i was hafing my "down" mood, so THANKS! In this chappie... well... u get the gist of it out of the title! Draco's having second thoughts about Hermione!!! ::wink wink nudge nudge::
okie... betta stop wif the crap and start with the real stuff... thanks SPIKA for beta-reading!
disclaimer: i don't particularly wish that HP belongs to me, but i would love it if someone gives me Draco. (",)
CHAPTER NINE: TRUCE
"Truce?"
Hermione glanced down uncertainly at the Slytherin's outstretched hand. They were both sitting on the floor, legs crossed and surrounded by plump pillows.
The kiss earlier had caught her by surprise, truth to be told. It was as though Malfoy wanted it to happen, unlike the earlier three, where two were initiated by her out of anger and the third his means of mocking when she was feeling upset. This kiss... somehow... it was a different feeling, encompassing of a whole new set of possibilities. But no, she didn't want to go into that, not right now, anyway-- Yep. Truce. At least I can enjoy some form of civility, even if it's from him.
At last she nodded, shook his hand, and was pleasantly surprised that he smiled back at her.
If only he can smile like that more often, she mused.
*
Draco wasn't exactly sure what he was doing.
Offering Granger truce? Definitely unexpected of him.
But then again he couldn't really say that he was surprised at himself. She looked so pretty sitting there, illuminated by the numerous candles she had enchanted to float around the room, so beautiful, so sweet, so... like a... goddess.
Come to think of it he wasn't exactly sure what was happening to him, either.
It's just a silly thing, he thought firmly, Just some silly stage every teen guy goes through. Of course I'm stunned by her beauty-- been that way since the fourth year Yule Ball. It's not like I care for anything else-- it's just a bonus addition to the game, eh, muggle-born or not at least she's PRETTY.
Subconsciously he looked up and smiled at the Gryffindor sitting opposite him.
*
They remained silent for a few minutes-- Hermione lost in her own thoughts, Malfoy in his. Well, well, who'd have ever thought-- she was actually starting to feel glad for his offer. It, in the least, meant someone she could talk to, no matter if he be an "enemy" or not-- she had been feeling so lonely for the past few days, what with Harry and Ron gone and she hadn't any other actual friends anyway. As much as she disliked Malfoy-- she couldn't exactly say hate; it was too strong a word-- she welcomed the prospect of having an actual conversation with him.
"Perhaps we can do the introductions all over again," Malfoy spoke up-- no, Draco, Hermione corrected herself.
*
Unbelievable.
What the hell am I doing?!
Right. I'm doing nothing. I'm just going along with the game. That's all. Plain and simple. Offering truce with Hermione is the perfect way to go about my plan. Yep. And her prettiness is a bonus, not like I'm drowned in it.
Hermione? Since when did I start thinking of her as HERMIONE?
Part of the plan, part of the plan, part of the plan...
As soon as the words left Draco's mouth, he felt a strange lightness; as though he was floating on air. But that feeling soon vanished, and he shook himself.
"Well, alright," said Hermione-- No, Granger, he corrected himself. "I'm Hermione Granger, nice to meet you!"
"Draco Malfoy," he replied, and grinned at her.
It wasn't hard to do that, actually-- grinning, smiling, being nice to her. He had thought, before, that associating with a Mudblood was sure to be a challenge to his stomach-- he had wondered, initially, whether he could stand being near one without feeling the urge to run off and get soaked in a long bath. But now, sitting with her, on the floor, with her dimpling up at him in a moment of true happiness-- he was starting to think that...
He had never really known Hermione Granger, truth to be told. When they first met he had just treated her as one of Harry Potter's sidekicks-- just there, just around, just to be insulted at to piss Potter off but not to be taken notice of. In fact the only time he had truly saw her as her own person was during the fourth year Yule Ball, but even that realisation faded quickly when he saw her back at Potter's side again the next day. If only she wasn't a muggle-born, thought Draco wistfully.
There was a moment of awkward silence-- expected and accepted, of course, they had been *enemies*, or rather, THOUGHT they had been, for so long, that it was weird just being next to each other without quarreling.
"We can do our Transfiguration project, you know," he cleared his throat, then looked at her. He knew she would love that suggestion-- who were her better friends than books? She wasn't a know-it-all for nothing; even he had to admit that however grudgingly. She worked for it, and she deserved it.
As anticipated she flashed a delighted smile at him and said, "D-Draco, well, you just wait here and I'll get the stuff."
He nodded, chuckling slightly at the slight stammer in her voice when she said his name. But once again it wasn't something to be shocked at-- it was the first time in seven years she had actually called him by his name.
There was a few bangs here and there, then Herm-Granger appeared with the T package. Sitting back down she untied the thread binding the parchment carefully, then unrolled the paper and stared at it for a few seconds.
"Well?" Draco prompted, and Hermione glanced up.
"Guess what, Draco, we have to learn how to be an Animagus."
*****
What?! An ANIMAGUS?
For a while he stared at Hermione disbelievingly, but she showed him the parchment and his doubts were cleared.
"But doesn't that take real lots of experience and research and handling?" he asked before he could stop himself.
"Yeah," Hermione said, scanning the pages once again. "I'm sure Prof McGonagall or Dumbledore has their reasons, though. It'll be a lot of fun. Tonks can help us, you know, and I'm sure Prof McGonagall won't mind giving us some tips."
Tonks. Nymphadora Tonks. Once a member of the Order of the Phoenix she had recently taken up the Defence Against Dark Arts post. She had been a very helpful witch... too helpful, in fact, in areas concerning the Boy-Who-Lived. Perhaps Draco was jealous-- whatever. True, he was starting to feel more and more neutral towards H-Granger (who am I kidding? I lik--disconcerted he pushed that nagging thought out of his mind), but one principle of his still remained. Never ever to ask help from anybody who was chummy with Potter. Because it'd be like he was admitting defeat to them. Granger was, of course, a different case, but then again she was his assigned partner.
"No, Hermione." he said, after inhaling a deep breath.
"No what?"
"No asking Tonks."
Startled, Hermione stared up at him. "What do you mean?" she asked slowly.
"I don't wanna get any form of help from anybody with relations to Potter," he replied curtly, then almost grimaced at the look that flitted past her face.
"Oh? So what about me?" she inquired sarcastically, and he opened his mouth but closed it again. He didn't really know what to say.
"I'm Harry's friend, too, you know. Were you offering the truce as a joke? Eh? To poke fun at me, or something, probably you've got a wizard camera with you hidden somewhere, now, then you can show it to the Slytherins-- 'Look, guys, Look at that mudblood, so obedient to me!' Is that what you are going to do? Huh?"
For once in his life Draco Malfoy was speechless.
"I'm sorry, Draco, I thought you were really being nice, for once. Looks like there's no such word as 'nice' in your dictionary, huh, so please, get out of my room. I'm angry and exhausted and tired and I've enough emotional mood swings today to last me a whole year. I don't need you to add to them so PLEASE, get out."
He longed to reach over, then, caressed her cheek with his fingers. But the fiery light he knew so well was in her eyes-- and not looking for a fight he sighed wearily and got up.
Before he exited the room, however, he turned back and said, "It's up to you, you know, whether to trust me or not."
*
Hermione stared, involuntarily, as Draco Malfoy strode out of her room with a sweep of his robes.
Perhaps I had been too harsh, she thought. Perhaps he DID mean it.
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
[JaE sPeAkInG]
right. guys. I'm VERY VERY VERY SORRY, ONCE AGAIN, FOR THE INHUMAN DELAY!!! ::Please forgive me?:: -sheepish look-
aniwaes, well, this chappie... quite okay, i supposed, but once again, plz R&R!!! is it too much to ask for 15 more? LOL!
here's the review-replies...
to Paypay,Mione-n-Draco4ever, gwen, dansGurl21, raindrops, Elena and Harmoni, thanks a lot!
Lenia: well yeah i thought so, too, lol, thanks for reading and sorry for the delay!
yiming: lol... tom's gorgeous okie! btw... didya know i'm your cousin when you first read this story? =)!
Janice: wow, long analysis! hahahah... yep... serves Ron right!!! haiz, though, poor Ron... but then again Draco is so much better, huh? lol!
yao: muz think of a dramatic way to end mua... hahaha... no kissies in this chap!
dracoism: well meat NVM! thanks for reviewing~!
magicalferret: oops... i'm sorry sorry sorry sorry!!! really sorry!!! here's the chappie!
Kerbi: hey you were my 100th reviewer, at first, :P, but there was this real insulting reviewer in front of you whom i deleted therefore now you'r the 99th but NVM! thanks for r&r and supporting me all the way thru!
Girl-named-Belle: good for you... lol... we still have tests every week =(.
Margaret: I'm VERY SORRY!!! ::conks my head on the wall to apologise:: but i've been really bz and all that-- here's the next chp aniwaes!
CindyLea: hey thanks for visiting my personal archive!
junz: longer pillow fight? muahahha... nvm nvm... ahh... this chappie...
Cindy: hahahah OF COURSE! way to go @!
right, whew, finally done. once again i apologise for the ridiculous delay-- but i'd love it if ya all can take the time & visit my personal fanfic archive! it's "(", and not really completed, but i'd really appreciate your comments. also i've got a new story ".Thoughtbook of My Life.", it's a D/Hr fic, of course, in Hr's POV, her journal-- you can find the story under my bio, too. i've created a site just for it, so mebbe you might go there and drop a note? teehee!
that's all, gals, plz R&R!
important!! please read!! i am sorry!!
/24/6/03/
right. I know i deserved to be hex to death, roused, then hexed to death all over again. it's been blardeyily (yes i'm cursing myself) two months since i've updated, and i'm really really really sorry. i hope you guys will understand, though, because over here in Singapore it's a daily rat race. EVen for us teens our top priority is to study... study... and study. (Sometimes it's so stressful i juz feel like emigrating. but of course that's impossible). Anyways... yeah. My results have been dropping from A's to B's... which, to us Singaporeans, is a big deal. -_-" (i dun wanna care animore!!!)
i admit, i've been somewhat procrastinating. Even when i manage to get my ass in front of the comp my mind's too full of the loads of tests and homework our teachers heap upon us every day. Even now, during the hols, it's been impossible to find free time to write. Projects... school activities... plus i've got a piano concert coming up so yeah... i hope you can understand!!!
i swear... i will NOT abandon this fic. The encouragement and support you reviewers out there have provided me is enough to make me write. it's just that... updates will take much longer. I hope, though, sincerely, that you will still keep by my fic... i'd be really really grateful!!
You will notice that i've reloaded this fic... i've taken out that part about sirius. If you've read HPOotP you'd know why... it's just something minor in my fic but i'm also using this rare opportunity i have to apologise.
One thing i'd like to ask from you guys... [horrible of me i know, since i've not been giving ya guys anything by updating =(] i'd really really really like to know what you all think of the fifth book [which came out on 21st]. please, if you will, just copy this link to your browser and read my thoughts... and... if you'r kind enough, please comment in my guestbook! it's jaex . diaryland . com / hp5 . html ... no major spoilers inside there... no outright details... but there will still be some tiny hints ( i do need to mention that particular thing if i want to comment about it don't I?) that won't really affect anything if you have not read the book yet. Please, once again, just spare me a few minutes, to read my review, because i've been feeling rather...weird since i started reading the story and i do really need someone to share my feelings with.
I know i know... this has been a v long and naggy author's note... but... once again, sORRy! and please comment!
a very guilty dracoJAE
----------------------------------------------
a/n: I AM SORRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!! i know it's been almost a month since i updated, but i have valid reasons, i swear!!!!
First, well, there had been some probs wif ff.net and i couldn't upload my stuff so in the end i was so dang frustrated i didn't come on for a week. then went on a reading spree and wallowed in despair-- all the other fics are so good compared to mine! When i finally got the *urge* to write again, well, school had to start and leave me with no time! SO I AM REALLY SORRY!!! ESP TO MARGARET!!!
I'm very very very grateful to ya all for reviewing-- it really gives me encouragement! In fact the reviews were the only thing that kept me going when i was hafing my "down" mood, so THANKS! In this chappie... well... u get the gist of it out of the title! Draco's having second thoughts about Hermione!!! ::wink wink nudge nudge::
okie... betta stop wif the crap and start with the real stuff... thanks SPIKA for beta-reading!
disclaimer: i don't particularly wish that HP belongs to me, but i would love it if someone gives me Draco. (",)
CHAPTER NINE: TRUCE
"Truce?"
Hermione glanced down uncertainly at the Slytherin's outstretched hand. They were both sitting on the floor, legs crossed and surrounded by plump pillows.
The kiss earlier had caught her by surprise, truth to be told. It was as though Malfoy wanted it to happen, unlike the earlier three, where two were initiated by her out of anger and the third his means of mocking when she was feeling upset. This kiss... somehow... it was a different feeling, encompassing of a whole new set of possibilities. But no, she didn't want to go into that, not right now, anyway-- Yep. Truce. At least I can enjoy some form of civility, even if it's from him.
At last she nodded, shook his hand, and was pleasantly surprised that he smiled back at her.
If only he can smile like that more often, she mused.
*
Draco wasn't exactly sure what he was doing.
Offering Granger truce? Definitely unexpected of him.
But then again he couldn't really say that he was surprised at himself. She looked so pretty sitting there, illuminated by the numerous candles she had enchanted to float around the room, so beautiful, so sweet, so... like a... goddess.
Come to think of it he wasn't exactly sure what was happening to him, either.
It's just a silly thing, he thought firmly, Just some silly stage every teen guy goes through. Of course I'm stunned by her beauty-- been that way since the fourth year Yule Ball. It's not like I care for anything else-- it's just a bonus addition to the game, eh, muggle-born or not at least she's PRETTY.
Subconsciously he looked up and smiled at the Gryffindor sitting opposite him.
*
They remained silent for a few minutes-- Hermione lost in her own thoughts, Malfoy in his. Well, well, who'd have ever thought-- she was actually starting to feel glad for his offer. It, in the least, meant someone she could talk to, no matter if he be an "enemy" or not-- she had been feeling so lonely for the past few days, what with Harry and Ron gone and she hadn't any other actual friends anyway. As much as she disliked Malfoy-- she couldn't exactly say hate; it was too strong a word-- she welcomed the prospect of having an actual conversation with him.
"Perhaps we can do the introductions all over again," Malfoy spoke up-- no, Draco, Hermione corrected herself.
*
Unbelievable.
What the hell am I doing?!
Right. I'm doing nothing. I'm just going along with the game. That's all. Plain and simple. Offering truce with Hermione is the perfect way to go about my plan. Yep. And her prettiness is a bonus, not like I'm drowned in it.
Hermione? Since when did I start thinking of her as HERMIONE?
Part of the plan, part of the plan, part of the plan...
As soon as the words left Draco's mouth, he felt a strange lightness; as though he was floating on air. But that feeling soon vanished, and he shook himself.
"Well, alright," said Hermione-- No, Granger, he corrected himself. "I'm Hermione Granger, nice to meet you!"
"Draco Malfoy," he replied, and grinned at her.
It wasn't hard to do that, actually-- grinning, smiling, being nice to her. He had thought, before, that associating with a Mudblood was sure to be a challenge to his stomach-- he had wondered, initially, whether he could stand being near one without feeling the urge to run off and get soaked in a long bath. But now, sitting with her, on the floor, with her dimpling up at him in a moment of true happiness-- he was starting to think that...
He had never really known Hermione Granger, truth to be told. When they first met he had just treated her as one of Harry Potter's sidekicks-- just there, just around, just to be insulted at to piss Potter off but not to be taken notice of. In fact the only time he had truly saw her as her own person was during the fourth year Yule Ball, but even that realisation faded quickly when he saw her back at Potter's side again the next day. If only she wasn't a muggle-born, thought Draco wistfully.
There was a moment of awkward silence-- expected and accepted, of course, they had been *enemies*, or rather, THOUGHT they had been, for so long, that it was weird just being next to each other without quarreling.
"We can do our Transfiguration project, you know," he cleared his throat, then looked at her. He knew she would love that suggestion-- who were her better friends than books? She wasn't a know-it-all for nothing; even he had to admit that however grudgingly. She worked for it, and she deserved it.
As anticipated she flashed a delighted smile at him and said, "D-Draco, well, you just wait here and I'll get the stuff."
He nodded, chuckling slightly at the slight stammer in her voice when she said his name. But once again it wasn't something to be shocked at-- it was the first time in seven years she had actually called him by his name.
There was a few bangs here and there, then Herm-Granger appeared with the T package. Sitting back down she untied the thread binding the parchment carefully, then unrolled the paper and stared at it for a few seconds.
"Well?" Draco prompted, and Hermione glanced up.
"Guess what, Draco, we have to learn how to be an Animagus."
*****
What?! An ANIMAGUS?
For a while he stared at Hermione disbelievingly, but she showed him the parchment and his doubts were cleared.
"But doesn't that take real lots of experience and research and handling?" he asked before he could stop himself.
"Yeah," Hermione said, scanning the pages once again. "I'm sure Prof McGonagall or Dumbledore has their reasons, though. It'll be a lot of fun. Tonks can help us, you know, and I'm sure Prof McGonagall won't mind giving us some tips."
Tonks. Nymphadora Tonks. Once a member of the Order of the Phoenix she had recently taken up the Defence Against Dark Arts post. She had been a very helpful witch... too helpful, in fact, in areas concerning the Boy-Who-Lived. Perhaps Draco was jealous-- whatever. True, he was starting to feel more and more neutral towards H-Granger (who am I kidding? I lik--disconcerted he pushed that nagging thought out of his mind), but one principle of his still remained. Never ever to ask help from anybody who was chummy with Potter. Because it'd be like he was admitting defeat to them. Granger was, of course, a different case, but then again she was his assigned partner.
"No, Hermione." he said, after inhaling a deep breath.
"No what?"
"No asking Tonks."
Startled, Hermione stared up at him. "What do you mean?" she asked slowly.
"I don't wanna get any form of help from anybody with relations to Potter," he replied curtly, then almost grimaced at the look that flitted past her face.
"Oh? So what about me?" she inquired sarcastically, and he opened his mouth but closed it again. He didn't really know what to say.
"I'm Harry's friend, too, you know. Were you offering the truce as a joke? Eh? To poke fun at me, or something, probably you've got a wizard camera with you hidden somewhere, now, then you can show it to the Slytherins-- 'Look, guys, Look at that mudblood, so obedient to me!' Is that what you are going to do? Huh?"
For once in his life Draco Malfoy was speechless.
"I'm sorry, Draco, I thought you were really being nice, for once. Looks like there's no such word as 'nice' in your dictionary, huh, so please, get out of my room. I'm angry and exhausted and tired and I've enough emotional mood swings today to last me a whole year. I don't need you to add to them so PLEASE, get out."
He longed to reach over, then, caressed her cheek with his fingers. But the fiery light he knew so well was in her eyes-- and not looking for a fight he sighed wearily and got up.
Before he exited the room, however, he turned back and said, "It's up to you, you know, whether to trust me or not."
*
Hermione stared, involuntarily, as Draco Malfoy strode out of her room with a sweep of his robes.
Perhaps I had been too harsh, she thought. Perhaps he DID mean it.
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
[JaE sPeAkInG]
right. guys. I'm VERY VERY VERY SORRY, ONCE AGAIN, FOR THE INHUMAN DELAY!!! ::Please forgive me?:: -sheepish look-
aniwaes, well, this chappie... quite okay, i supposed, but once again, plz R&R!!! is it too much to ask for 15 more? LOL!
here's the review-replies...
to Paypay,Mione-n-Draco4ever, gwen, dansGurl21, raindrops, Elena and Harmoni, thanks a lot!
Lenia: well yeah i thought so, too, lol, thanks for reading and sorry for the delay!
yiming: lol... tom's gorgeous okie! btw... didya know i'm your cousin when you first read this story? =)!
Janice: wow, long analysis! hahahah... yep... serves Ron right!!! haiz, though, poor Ron... but then again Draco is so much better, huh? lol!
yao: muz think of a dramatic way to end mua... hahaha... no kissies in this chap!
dracoism: well meat NVM! thanks for reviewing~!
magicalferret: oops... i'm sorry sorry sorry sorry!!! really sorry!!! here's the chappie!
Kerbi: hey you were my 100th reviewer, at first, :P, but there was this real insulting reviewer in front of you whom i deleted therefore now you'r the 99th but NVM! thanks for r&r and supporting me all the way thru!
Girl-named-Belle: good for you... lol... we still have tests every week =(.
Margaret: I'm VERY SORRY!!! ::conks my head on the wall to apologise:: but i've been really bz and all that-- here's the next chp aniwaes!
CindyLea: hey thanks for visiting my personal archive!
junz: longer pillow fight? muahahha... nvm nvm... ahh... this chappie...
Cindy: hahahah OF COURSE! way to go @!
right, whew, finally done. once again i apologise for the ridiculous delay-- but i'd love it if ya all can take the time & visit my personal fanfic archive! it's "(", and not really completed, but i'd really appreciate your comments. also i've got a new story ".Thoughtbook of My Life.", it's a D/Hr fic, of course, in Hr's POV, her journal-- you can find the story under my bio, too. i've created a site just for it, so mebbe you might go there and drop a note? teehee!
that's all, gals, plz R&R!