M.J. Kobayashi - Torture? Hmm, I'll have to look into that. . . j/k. Yes,
if you smell trouble, then you have a brain!
Crystal369 - Alright, as long as you laughed. . . You're sad that it has to end? At least that means I'm doing something right.
Blueamber - Wow, you seemed to be excited. Here's more, yay, yay, yay!
Lauren - Hey, its alright, I understand. People read many many fics every day and they get muddled up into one. What is it with my writing making people want to cry? I hope it's not because they are crying for the sheer, uh, badness of it. (Sorry, its really early here, my words don't make sense.)
Purpleballerynna - You echo them, lol. Thanks, hope you love this chapter too.
ILUVRONWEASLEY - Wow, such powerful words to describe it, thank you very much.
Ickle Ronnikins Girlie!!! - Oh my, a review in all capital letters? Does that mean you're excited? Thanks for the compliments and enjoy this chapter.
Willowfairy - Just a jaw drop? Like a really big jaw drop?
Vu - Yes, I am insane. Oh, *ahem* you meant the writing. . . You don't have to wait any longer! Yes!
The SimonCowel of Fanfiction - You're in love with the fic? I'd offer to let you marry it but there may be legal complications.
Cherryplum11 - Lol, glad you made it online too. Thank you very much, I tried to make the Draco/ Hermione thing realistic, and my friend was on my back practically wanting to type for me and saying that they should have been in love already. Lol. I'm one of the best fanfiction writers? Thanks!!!
Lynseyax Heparedds - Ohh, Jade, be nice! Thanks for the review, but I don't think Lynseyax wants to bee too badly hurt, alright? Sheesh, that must have been one BIG pocket.
Mandarinn orange - That is exactly why I use cliffies! It brings the people back. If I didn't have cliffies, I wouldn't be able to know if someone was coming back or not. *sniff* I'm glad people DO come back though.
Chrissy - Thank you, and that was exactly what I was going for. I hate stories where they are 'perfect' people and they just have a change of heart overnight. It is unrealistic and over used.
SoshilaDove - Lol, yes, I did stop right at the kiss scene, didn't I? Oh well, here's more for you.
Quello Bello - Yes, cliffies are my true love... Please, don't go insane, that would be rather bad.
Rhiannon40 - Don't worry, I do plan to continue.
Love-princess1 - You like the word love huh? It's in you s/n, you review. I LOVE that YOU LOVE my story!!!
Rotae - Lol, yes, I'm sure that we do think alike. Ohh, you're evil! Me too! Me too!!! No more waiting for the next chapter, it's here.
Freakyfairy - Don't worry, there are probably three more chapters before the end. MAYBE. I don't know, I'm just going with it right now.
CrazzieAddict06 - Yay, you're back! And thank you for the applause. I love to get applause! Applause make me feel happy. Alright, that word doesn't look right, now that I've typed it a few times...
Darkmoon of Shadows - Again, wow, such a nice and long review. Thank you very much, it made me feel good. I love writing, so I don't think I'll be giving it up for quite a while now.
Artemis MoonClaw - I don't know, what will they make of it?
Beena-Pani - LOL, how did you lose the ability to make long reviews? And it's alright, the fact that you reviewed is a compliment.
Truluv438 - I really don't think I'm as good as J.K. Rowling, I wish I was.
Alamathea - NO! *grasps chest* You hate me? LOL, it's alright if you can't critique the story, I have many others that do, and thank you for reviewing.
Tayz - Eight 'so's. That is a record I think. Draco's your favorite character, huh? I wonder why. . .
Zarah with a Z - Even I was impressed that I wrote thirty chapters in like two months. I was hard-pressed to find time in between everything else I was doing, and I am happy I did it! Dead-pan instant romance was not something I was willing to write with Draco and Hermione.
~*iNfLueNZa*~ - Yeah, It was rather late when I was writing that and I didn't realize that it was in present tense. SORRY!
Dreaming One - Well, the friends thing, where is Hermione (and Draco recently) always at? The library! And wouldn't you stare too if two enemies were kissing? I hope you enjoyed the last chapter.
~chocopups~ - No, don't cry, PLEASE don't cry. Too many people have been doing that. No. More.
Naoko Ten'ou - You can sense that there will be a good ending? Well, I hope it is then, but this isn't the end yet, so you can still have your sense of a good ending, and read more. (Did any of that make sense?)
Katie - I've kept you totally engrossed? Wow, thanks very much! There are still loose ends, yes, and I hope you enjoy this next chapter.
---
Alright, so I have a new AOL screen name if you want to talk to me:
Talk2saquoia
Yes, kinda stupid but it was all I could find that was open!!!
Sorry this chapter took so long, I have been really busy, and I hope this satisfies your needs!
---
Chapter 29
"Oh my god."
At these words, Hermione was jolted rather violently back to current time and she realized just how guilty she and Draco must have looked.
The first thing that ran through her mind, however, was the fact that they had, inadvertently, ruined the most perfect kiss that she would have ever had in her life and there would never again be a kiss that could match the importance of this single one.
It WASN'T ending up like the movies did anymore. Out of everything that they had gone through, in everything that had happened, of all the parts to no end like movies, it had to be the best part.
The six in front of them seemed to find their voices after a labored pause and to an outsider, it would been rather comical. Everyone spoke at once, creating an odd, resounding noise, but it was easy to pick out each individual's words.
"Drakie?" Pansy said tearfully.
"Hermione?" Harry said in a shaky voice and Ron, as you could tell by his facial expression, was completely beyond being able to express what he was thinking and feeling in mere words.
Even his facial expression was beyond the "fish-out-of-water" expression, and more along the lines of "fish-sailing-over-New-York" status, if not the "oh-my-freakin'-god" status.
"Granger?" Goyle managed to say in his troll-ish voice, and he didn't sound shocked, more remotely surprised that he had seen something and understood what he was seeing as well.
"Huh?" Crabbe said. Or really, he didn't SAY it, but it is the closest we can expect from our dear Vincent Crabbe. It appeared that his brain was unable to function at all when it was during the school year.
"H-hermione?" Ginny choked out, staring incredulously at the two of them. Hermione could feel the amount of shock that was building up in the room and she knew that nobody WANTED to believe what they had just seen.
It was FAR too late to claim that something else had happened. They had all SEEN the two of them, they had probably seen more than just the brief second between their entrance and 'oh-my-god'. It had probably taken them a few minutes to render themselves able to talk, and now there was no way to deny it.
They had seen the kiss and that was that.
It soon became apparent that everyone's eyes were sweeping up the pair of them, trying to grasp some of the concept, but they were failing, and as they looked at the pair of them, it became obvious that they were having a hard time understanding what else they were seeing.
Draco's shirt and robes were covered in blood, his hair was completely matted and sticking to his head in an unflattering way, there was a large, gaping hole where the knife had sliced clearly through his clothes and, Hermione remembered with a cringe, his skin.
If they had looked to her for some shred of sanity, they were sadly mistaken because she didn't look presentable, in fact, Hermione looked no better off that Draco did himself. She had suffered through no less than he had.
Her hair was completely burnt off at the ends, leaving a black singe mark around her head, ashes were covering random places on her face and arms, blood covered her robes and her neck still had a slash mark where the knife had cut through her skin and killed her (Hermione still couldn't quite grasp the concept that she had died) and her robes were torn in the places where men had grabbed her and tried to restrain her.
"Hey. . . guys . . ." Hermione managed to say, very pitifully and pathetically even. She needed to distract them and get their minds off of what they were seeing.
"How - how was the trip?"
Nobody answered. In fact, nobody breathed and it appeared as though every one of the six people in front of Hermione and Draco were trying to wash the memories out of their minds and believe that they had not seen what they just had.
There really wasn't any room for someone to blame them either. All of them had thought they really knew the two in front of them, and then they had just watched them do the most uncharacteristic act of all time, reducing the six of them to gaping morons.
As she watched them, Hermione already knew what each of them would do that night.
Harry would put the memory into a penseive, trying to find either something that would prove it was fake, or just to get the memory out of his head. He would try again and again to find some shred of logic within the illogical and improbable happenings, but he would come out fruitless and decide to blame it on hormones.
Ron would sit on his bed and stare at the wall until he fell asleep, muttering random curses under his breath. It would take quite a while for the truth to actually set into his mind and even longer for him to overcome the intense denial it was sure to bring.
Ginny would go and tell every person that she came across that she had seen something utterly 'unbelievable' and she needed time to think about it before she was willing to talk to anyone anymore. She would then meditate, a muggle habit she had picked up on, and try to make sense of things.
As for the Slytherins, they were quite different.
Crabbe, as well as Goyle, would puzzle stupidly over what had happened until someone told them what to think and then they would stick with that. It would most likely be Draco, who told them he didn't care for Hermione in the slightest and say that he had won a bet and that would be the end of their questions.
Pansy would protest and argue with Draco over and over and over again until he admitted that he liked her far better than a pathetic mudblood and say that she was the only one for him and he would be forced to apologize to her and publicly humiliate Hermione in front of the school.
Hermione found it ironic that she knew how each of them were going to act, but they had no idea what she would have done in the same situation. In fact, she really wasn't sure what she would do in any situation anymore. She had changed.
As for her, she didn't know what SHE was going to do; all she knew was that she needed to get out of the situation. Now.
"Well, I have to get to class." Hermione said vaguely, gesturing to her clothes and invisible book bag. "Talk to you guys later, alright?" with that she turned and walked about three steps before a commanding voice stopped her in her tracks.
"Hermione." Someone said and Hermione didn't dare move. Never before in her life had she heard Harry use that kind of tone with her, no matter what. Even if they weren't friends anymore, she would have never expected him to use the harsh, cold tones that he used now. The three syllables sent a chill down her spine and she didn't want to turn to face him and see his disappointment in her for being with his enemy.
Hold on just a minute now.
Why was she afraid to see HIS disappointment? Moreover, his disappointment in HER? Had he ever been afraid to see HER disappointment when he ignored her or called her names? No. Had he ever tried to steer clear of hurtful actions? No. When had he proved that he cared enough about her to still talk to her even when they were friends? Never. Never ever, ever.
By the time Hermione had turned around, she was seething with anger and she didn't want to give him a chance to talk, she didn't want to have to listen to what he was going to say to her, but she supposed she was going to have to because his mouth was already open, words were already leaving his mouth and forming in the air in front of him. The words slowly met Hermione's ears.
"I don't know how you can do this to me-" Hermione didn't bother to let him finish what he was saying. She simply didn't want to hear it. She didn't even want to THINK it. She couldn't breathe at all, the anger had caught in her chest and she was going blind with anger and rage. How dare he? Did he think he owned the world, all because he was Harry Potter?
"To you?" she said. "TO YOU?" she shrieked at him, anger bubbling and frothing madly inside of her like a pot of water boiling over too high. How did he get off with saying 'how did you do this to me' and nobody else had noticed that it was rude? How did he let himself get off with it?
"What do you MEAN to YOU? None of this has to DO with*YOU*." She said, her words very loud, especially for the library. She had caught the attention of anyone that was on the same floor as the library was, but she didn't really care at that point. She just wanted to get her point across to Harry.
"None of this will EVER have to do with YOU. You know why?" she asked the question as though she were dealing with a young child. Her words were full of malice and sugar-coated anger. "Do you know why, Harry?" she didn't wait for his answer, she just let the anger flow.
"BECAUSE YOU STOPPED BEING A PART OF MY LIFE WHEN YOU TURNED FROM ME AND TOLD ME THAT GIRLFRIENDS WERE MORE IMPORTANT THAN I WAS." Hermione allowed herself to breathe now, enjoying the reaction she was getting from Harry. He seemed shocked that her voice was raised at him, or maybe that was his neutral expression now.
"It's-" Ron tried to say, but Hermione cut him off too.
"NO. Stay out of it, Weasley." Hermione snapped, not realizing until much later that she hadn't even used his name, and called him by his last name.
Ron mouthed like a fish by stayed silent. This, however, seemed to upset Ginny more than Hermione had ever seen her upset before.
"HERMIONE!" she exploded. "HOW could you treat your friend like that?" she asked, the very way she screamed told her that she was completely appalled that she would even think of speaking to her brother like that. To be completely honest, there were no words to describe what Hermione was feeling.
The rage and anger were surging through her mind, body and soul, all she felt like she wanted to do was strangle everyone she could get her hands on, and she was almost certain that her face was growing redder and redder with compressed anger as the seconds went by. Her hands were shaking and she was trying to make them still.
"Now that you're done-" Harry began to say, but his words simply set Hermione off again. She was NOT done.
"I am most certainly NOT DONE." She screamed at him. "AND, don't you EVER make assumptions about what I am anymore." She said in a deathly dangerous voice.
Everything was annoying and infuriating her, but the thing that was bothering her most was the fact that Draco was completely silent in this entire exchange. She hadn't even HEARD him attempt to talk, let alone try to explain anything.
In fact, she took a few seconds to herself, turned around to say something to her, and she had turned around just in time to see his robes swish around the corner. He had just left her.
She turned back and Harry said something spiteful to her, and she lost it completely. Her barrier of self control broke the second that she had seen Draco had walked away, leaving her to deal with her friends, or ex-friends anyway. This was the beginning of a rather loud fight between Harry Potter and Hermione Granger.
~+~
Eventually the fight died. The words became less harsh, the voices lowered, and the glares subsided, leaving seven stricken people, all tired from yelling and screaming, and everyone was casting wary glances at Hermione, who was casting wary glances at every one of them in turn.
Nobody spoke, it was as though they had all planned to become silent at the same time. No one was really sure whether their opinions and feelings had been understood, Hermione didn't know whether she had been able to explain to them why she had kissed Draco, she wasn't even sure whether she had been able to explain it to herself, but it was beside the point.
They needed to understand that it was her bloody life and they had no say in it, whatsoever. They never did and they never would.
"Does, does Drakie still love me?" Pansy finally managed to choke out, and Hermione barely caught herself from rolling her eyes.
"I don't know." She said, clearly accenting every syllable. How the heck was she supposed to know? She had thought he liked her, because he had kissed her, but then he had left her to defend herself in front of six, ravenous people, that were ready to tear her from limb to limb.
Pansy whimpered and buried her head in Goyle's chest, and Goyle didn't even appear to be able to acknowledge the fact that there was a girl, sobbing into his chest. It was as though he didn't SEE her.
"Hermione," Ginny said finally. "Why did you kiss Draco Malfoy?" she asked, and Hermione hated the way she was talking to her. It made it sound as though Hermione were three years old or incredibly slow.
"Ginny," Hermione said in the same tone. "Do I look like I know that?" she asked, her voice the same silky, annoying tenderness as Ginny's had been.
"Hermione, I'll never understand you."
~+~
Hermione sat, curled up on her bed, staring out the window when someone entered the room, and she stiffened. She didn't think she could talk to anyone at the moment, seeing as the memory of what had happened only a few hours ago was still being burnt into her skull. She could almost see their looks of disappointment and confusion when she closed her eyes, as though the image had become fused to her inner eyelids.
Pansy had declared that she needed to think about things and left in tears, muttering things about worthless Mudbloods and purebloods that weren't any better, Crabbe and Goyle had been their usual, dumb selves, seeming to not have understood anything that had happened besides the kiss that they had seen, it was as though words were unable to penetrate their skulls.
Her fellow Gryffindors had been no better off.
Ron had been unable to look her in the eye after what she had said about girlfriends meaning more than she did, it was as though he were ashamed of what she said being true, or that he had been afraid he would look into Hermione's eyes and the devil would be looking back out at him, which hurt Hermione's feelings rather hard. After all, even if they weren't friends now, they had been, and she would have hoped that he would have at least looked at her, but he didn't, not even once.
Ginny had been to shocked to speak after Hermione had tried to explain things to her, it was as though she were trying to silently say that anything she spoke aloud would either come out wrong or rude. That or she was just counting on Hermione 'coming to her senses' and she would realize what she had done wrong and everything would become perfect as she had always thought it was.
The worst reaction had been Harry's though. Harry had been beyond any emotion that Hermione recognized as something that she could precisely pinpoint. It was as though he was embarrassed that she had kissed his enemy, yet he was angry at her for being 'so childish and immature' as he had eloquently put it. It hit her hard to learn that he thought he was an influential figure in her life and he was revaluating what he had done as though he had done something wrong to drive her to act the way she did.
Her thoughts ended abruptly and she flinched as she felt the air from the door waft toward her and she heard the door close. She knew who it was, and he was the last person that she wanted to talk to.
In fact, she WOULDN'T talk to him, she was going to ignore him and show him the same respect that he had shown her by leaving. If he didn't think she was important enough to help, then she wasn't going to accept him as important enough to have her respect.
"'Mione?" the voice said tentively, and she didn't turn or make any movement that would suggest she had heard him speak at all. He sighed and walked around her bed and came to a stop in front of her.
"Mione?" he said again, his voice a little stronger this time, but still tentive, as though he were afraid that she was going to lash out. And why shouldn't she?
"Hermione." She corrected rudely, and she turned her head so that she wouldn't have to look at him - not directly at least.
"Hermione," Draco said, immediately agreeing with her rude request. Apparently he found that if he agreed, it would be easier for him in the long run, and it surprised even Hermione with how quickly he agreed to her snappish request.
"What?" she asked, again her voice being rather rude, and it even sounded harsh? She wasn't sure why she was feeling like she was, but for some reason she found that she wanted to be as rude as she possibly could toward him.
"Sorry." He said, and it took her mind about ten seconds to process what he had just said. DID he say what she thought he had just said? Was it really true that Draco Malfoy had just said he was sorry?
Hermione told her mouth to form the words, 'It's okay'. That was all she wanted to say, and she had images of them hugging, maybe even kissing, but the words were lost somewhere in the transaction, and the words she was planning didn't come close to her mouth.
"You should be." She said, and she longed to clasp a hand to her mouth and whack herself in the head with the other. Why on earth should he have been sorry? He hadn't done anything wrong - well, except for leave her alone with six people - why was she acting so hostile? Why?
"I should?" Draco echoed, sounding slightly amused, and she wanted to laugh, to make the situation light, but she found that words were escaping her lips before she could stop them, and it was rather annoying.
"Yes, you should." She said feverently and Draco raised an eyebrow. (It wasn't that she WANTED to see his face, but her head kept turning slowly toward him of its own free will.)
"Why?" he asked, and Hermione was silent.
After a few minutes, she turned to look at Draco, and burst out laughing. There was no reason, other than the fact that she hadn't laughed, truly, for a long time, and it just felt good to be laughing.
~+~
Somehow, Hermione ended up lying on Draco's chest, and she was slowly drifting off to sleep. He was saying something, she didn't quite know what. All she knew was that she wanted this moment to last forever.
-
A/N: Alright, yes, fluffy chapter ending. Hahaha.
Next chapter more things are addressed. Sorry it took so long!
Read and Review! (Actually, it's just review, because by the time you're here, you've already read...)
--Saquoia--
Crystal369 - Alright, as long as you laughed. . . You're sad that it has to end? At least that means I'm doing something right.
Blueamber - Wow, you seemed to be excited. Here's more, yay, yay, yay!
Lauren - Hey, its alright, I understand. People read many many fics every day and they get muddled up into one. What is it with my writing making people want to cry? I hope it's not because they are crying for the sheer, uh, badness of it. (Sorry, its really early here, my words don't make sense.)
Purpleballerynna - You echo them, lol. Thanks, hope you love this chapter too.
ILUVRONWEASLEY - Wow, such powerful words to describe it, thank you very much.
Ickle Ronnikins Girlie!!! - Oh my, a review in all capital letters? Does that mean you're excited? Thanks for the compliments and enjoy this chapter.
Willowfairy - Just a jaw drop? Like a really big jaw drop?
Vu - Yes, I am insane. Oh, *ahem* you meant the writing. . . You don't have to wait any longer! Yes!
The SimonCowel of Fanfiction - You're in love with the fic? I'd offer to let you marry it but there may be legal complications.
Cherryplum11 - Lol, glad you made it online too. Thank you very much, I tried to make the Draco/ Hermione thing realistic, and my friend was on my back practically wanting to type for me and saying that they should have been in love already. Lol. I'm one of the best fanfiction writers? Thanks!!!
Lynseyax Heparedds - Ohh, Jade, be nice! Thanks for the review, but I don't think Lynseyax wants to bee too badly hurt, alright? Sheesh, that must have been one BIG pocket.
Mandarinn orange - That is exactly why I use cliffies! It brings the people back. If I didn't have cliffies, I wouldn't be able to know if someone was coming back or not. *sniff* I'm glad people DO come back though.
Chrissy - Thank you, and that was exactly what I was going for. I hate stories where they are 'perfect' people and they just have a change of heart overnight. It is unrealistic and over used.
SoshilaDove - Lol, yes, I did stop right at the kiss scene, didn't I? Oh well, here's more for you.
Quello Bello - Yes, cliffies are my true love... Please, don't go insane, that would be rather bad.
Rhiannon40 - Don't worry, I do plan to continue.
Love-princess1 - You like the word love huh? It's in you s/n, you review. I LOVE that YOU LOVE my story!!!
Rotae - Lol, yes, I'm sure that we do think alike. Ohh, you're evil! Me too! Me too!!! No more waiting for the next chapter, it's here.
Freakyfairy - Don't worry, there are probably three more chapters before the end. MAYBE. I don't know, I'm just going with it right now.
CrazzieAddict06 - Yay, you're back! And thank you for the applause. I love to get applause! Applause make me feel happy. Alright, that word doesn't look right, now that I've typed it a few times...
Darkmoon of Shadows - Again, wow, such a nice and long review. Thank you very much, it made me feel good. I love writing, so I don't think I'll be giving it up for quite a while now.
Artemis MoonClaw - I don't know, what will they make of it?
Beena-Pani - LOL, how did you lose the ability to make long reviews? And it's alright, the fact that you reviewed is a compliment.
Truluv438 - I really don't think I'm as good as J.K. Rowling, I wish I was.
Alamathea - NO! *grasps chest* You hate me? LOL, it's alright if you can't critique the story, I have many others that do, and thank you for reviewing.
Tayz - Eight 'so's. That is a record I think. Draco's your favorite character, huh? I wonder why. . .
Zarah with a Z - Even I was impressed that I wrote thirty chapters in like two months. I was hard-pressed to find time in between everything else I was doing, and I am happy I did it! Dead-pan instant romance was not something I was willing to write with Draco and Hermione.
~*iNfLueNZa*~ - Yeah, It was rather late when I was writing that and I didn't realize that it was in present tense. SORRY!
Dreaming One - Well, the friends thing, where is Hermione (and Draco recently) always at? The library! And wouldn't you stare too if two enemies were kissing? I hope you enjoyed the last chapter.
~chocopups~ - No, don't cry, PLEASE don't cry. Too many people have been doing that. No. More.
Naoko Ten'ou - You can sense that there will be a good ending? Well, I hope it is then, but this isn't the end yet, so you can still have your sense of a good ending, and read more. (Did any of that make sense?)
Katie - I've kept you totally engrossed? Wow, thanks very much! There are still loose ends, yes, and I hope you enjoy this next chapter.
---
Alright, so I have a new AOL screen name if you want to talk to me:
Talk2saquoia
Yes, kinda stupid but it was all I could find that was open!!!
Sorry this chapter took so long, I have been really busy, and I hope this satisfies your needs!
---
Chapter 29
"Oh my god."
At these words, Hermione was jolted rather violently back to current time and she realized just how guilty she and Draco must have looked.
The first thing that ran through her mind, however, was the fact that they had, inadvertently, ruined the most perfect kiss that she would have ever had in her life and there would never again be a kiss that could match the importance of this single one.
It WASN'T ending up like the movies did anymore. Out of everything that they had gone through, in everything that had happened, of all the parts to no end like movies, it had to be the best part.
The six in front of them seemed to find their voices after a labored pause and to an outsider, it would been rather comical. Everyone spoke at once, creating an odd, resounding noise, but it was easy to pick out each individual's words.
"Drakie?" Pansy said tearfully.
"Hermione?" Harry said in a shaky voice and Ron, as you could tell by his facial expression, was completely beyond being able to express what he was thinking and feeling in mere words.
Even his facial expression was beyond the "fish-out-of-water" expression, and more along the lines of "fish-sailing-over-New-York" status, if not the "oh-my-freakin'-god" status.
"Granger?" Goyle managed to say in his troll-ish voice, and he didn't sound shocked, more remotely surprised that he had seen something and understood what he was seeing as well.
"Huh?" Crabbe said. Or really, he didn't SAY it, but it is the closest we can expect from our dear Vincent Crabbe. It appeared that his brain was unable to function at all when it was during the school year.
"H-hermione?" Ginny choked out, staring incredulously at the two of them. Hermione could feel the amount of shock that was building up in the room and she knew that nobody WANTED to believe what they had just seen.
It was FAR too late to claim that something else had happened. They had all SEEN the two of them, they had probably seen more than just the brief second between their entrance and 'oh-my-god'. It had probably taken them a few minutes to render themselves able to talk, and now there was no way to deny it.
They had seen the kiss and that was that.
It soon became apparent that everyone's eyes were sweeping up the pair of them, trying to grasp some of the concept, but they were failing, and as they looked at the pair of them, it became obvious that they were having a hard time understanding what else they were seeing.
Draco's shirt and robes were covered in blood, his hair was completely matted and sticking to his head in an unflattering way, there was a large, gaping hole where the knife had sliced clearly through his clothes and, Hermione remembered with a cringe, his skin.
If they had looked to her for some shred of sanity, they were sadly mistaken because she didn't look presentable, in fact, Hermione looked no better off that Draco did himself. She had suffered through no less than he had.
Her hair was completely burnt off at the ends, leaving a black singe mark around her head, ashes were covering random places on her face and arms, blood covered her robes and her neck still had a slash mark where the knife had cut through her skin and killed her (Hermione still couldn't quite grasp the concept that she had died) and her robes were torn in the places where men had grabbed her and tried to restrain her.
"Hey. . . guys . . ." Hermione managed to say, very pitifully and pathetically even. She needed to distract them and get their minds off of what they were seeing.
"How - how was the trip?"
Nobody answered. In fact, nobody breathed and it appeared as though every one of the six people in front of Hermione and Draco were trying to wash the memories out of their minds and believe that they had not seen what they just had.
There really wasn't any room for someone to blame them either. All of them had thought they really knew the two in front of them, and then they had just watched them do the most uncharacteristic act of all time, reducing the six of them to gaping morons.
As she watched them, Hermione already knew what each of them would do that night.
Harry would put the memory into a penseive, trying to find either something that would prove it was fake, or just to get the memory out of his head. He would try again and again to find some shred of logic within the illogical and improbable happenings, but he would come out fruitless and decide to blame it on hormones.
Ron would sit on his bed and stare at the wall until he fell asleep, muttering random curses under his breath. It would take quite a while for the truth to actually set into his mind and even longer for him to overcome the intense denial it was sure to bring.
Ginny would go and tell every person that she came across that she had seen something utterly 'unbelievable' and she needed time to think about it before she was willing to talk to anyone anymore. She would then meditate, a muggle habit she had picked up on, and try to make sense of things.
As for the Slytherins, they were quite different.
Crabbe, as well as Goyle, would puzzle stupidly over what had happened until someone told them what to think and then they would stick with that. It would most likely be Draco, who told them he didn't care for Hermione in the slightest and say that he had won a bet and that would be the end of their questions.
Pansy would protest and argue with Draco over and over and over again until he admitted that he liked her far better than a pathetic mudblood and say that she was the only one for him and he would be forced to apologize to her and publicly humiliate Hermione in front of the school.
Hermione found it ironic that she knew how each of them were going to act, but they had no idea what she would have done in the same situation. In fact, she really wasn't sure what she would do in any situation anymore. She had changed.
As for her, she didn't know what SHE was going to do; all she knew was that she needed to get out of the situation. Now.
"Well, I have to get to class." Hermione said vaguely, gesturing to her clothes and invisible book bag. "Talk to you guys later, alright?" with that she turned and walked about three steps before a commanding voice stopped her in her tracks.
"Hermione." Someone said and Hermione didn't dare move. Never before in her life had she heard Harry use that kind of tone with her, no matter what. Even if they weren't friends anymore, she would have never expected him to use the harsh, cold tones that he used now. The three syllables sent a chill down her spine and she didn't want to turn to face him and see his disappointment in her for being with his enemy.
Hold on just a minute now.
Why was she afraid to see HIS disappointment? Moreover, his disappointment in HER? Had he ever been afraid to see HER disappointment when he ignored her or called her names? No. Had he ever tried to steer clear of hurtful actions? No. When had he proved that he cared enough about her to still talk to her even when they were friends? Never. Never ever, ever.
By the time Hermione had turned around, she was seething with anger and she didn't want to give him a chance to talk, she didn't want to have to listen to what he was going to say to her, but she supposed she was going to have to because his mouth was already open, words were already leaving his mouth and forming in the air in front of him. The words slowly met Hermione's ears.
"I don't know how you can do this to me-" Hermione didn't bother to let him finish what he was saying. She simply didn't want to hear it. She didn't even want to THINK it. She couldn't breathe at all, the anger had caught in her chest and she was going blind with anger and rage. How dare he? Did he think he owned the world, all because he was Harry Potter?
"To you?" she said. "TO YOU?" she shrieked at him, anger bubbling and frothing madly inside of her like a pot of water boiling over too high. How did he get off with saying 'how did you do this to me' and nobody else had noticed that it was rude? How did he let himself get off with it?
"What do you MEAN to YOU? None of this has to DO with*YOU*." She said, her words very loud, especially for the library. She had caught the attention of anyone that was on the same floor as the library was, but she didn't really care at that point. She just wanted to get her point across to Harry.
"None of this will EVER have to do with YOU. You know why?" she asked the question as though she were dealing with a young child. Her words were full of malice and sugar-coated anger. "Do you know why, Harry?" she didn't wait for his answer, she just let the anger flow.
"BECAUSE YOU STOPPED BEING A PART OF MY LIFE WHEN YOU TURNED FROM ME AND TOLD ME THAT GIRLFRIENDS WERE MORE IMPORTANT THAN I WAS." Hermione allowed herself to breathe now, enjoying the reaction she was getting from Harry. He seemed shocked that her voice was raised at him, or maybe that was his neutral expression now.
"It's-" Ron tried to say, but Hermione cut him off too.
"NO. Stay out of it, Weasley." Hermione snapped, not realizing until much later that she hadn't even used his name, and called him by his last name.
Ron mouthed like a fish by stayed silent. This, however, seemed to upset Ginny more than Hermione had ever seen her upset before.
"HERMIONE!" she exploded. "HOW could you treat your friend like that?" she asked, the very way she screamed told her that she was completely appalled that she would even think of speaking to her brother like that. To be completely honest, there were no words to describe what Hermione was feeling.
The rage and anger were surging through her mind, body and soul, all she felt like she wanted to do was strangle everyone she could get her hands on, and she was almost certain that her face was growing redder and redder with compressed anger as the seconds went by. Her hands were shaking and she was trying to make them still.
"Now that you're done-" Harry began to say, but his words simply set Hermione off again. She was NOT done.
"I am most certainly NOT DONE." She screamed at him. "AND, don't you EVER make assumptions about what I am anymore." She said in a deathly dangerous voice.
Everything was annoying and infuriating her, but the thing that was bothering her most was the fact that Draco was completely silent in this entire exchange. She hadn't even HEARD him attempt to talk, let alone try to explain anything.
In fact, she took a few seconds to herself, turned around to say something to her, and she had turned around just in time to see his robes swish around the corner. He had just left her.
She turned back and Harry said something spiteful to her, and she lost it completely. Her barrier of self control broke the second that she had seen Draco had walked away, leaving her to deal with her friends, or ex-friends anyway. This was the beginning of a rather loud fight between Harry Potter and Hermione Granger.
~+~
Eventually the fight died. The words became less harsh, the voices lowered, and the glares subsided, leaving seven stricken people, all tired from yelling and screaming, and everyone was casting wary glances at Hermione, who was casting wary glances at every one of them in turn.
Nobody spoke, it was as though they had all planned to become silent at the same time. No one was really sure whether their opinions and feelings had been understood, Hermione didn't know whether she had been able to explain to them why she had kissed Draco, she wasn't even sure whether she had been able to explain it to herself, but it was beside the point.
They needed to understand that it was her bloody life and they had no say in it, whatsoever. They never did and they never would.
"Does, does Drakie still love me?" Pansy finally managed to choke out, and Hermione barely caught herself from rolling her eyes.
"I don't know." She said, clearly accenting every syllable. How the heck was she supposed to know? She had thought he liked her, because he had kissed her, but then he had left her to defend herself in front of six, ravenous people, that were ready to tear her from limb to limb.
Pansy whimpered and buried her head in Goyle's chest, and Goyle didn't even appear to be able to acknowledge the fact that there was a girl, sobbing into his chest. It was as though he didn't SEE her.
"Hermione," Ginny said finally. "Why did you kiss Draco Malfoy?" she asked, and Hermione hated the way she was talking to her. It made it sound as though Hermione were three years old or incredibly slow.
"Ginny," Hermione said in the same tone. "Do I look like I know that?" she asked, her voice the same silky, annoying tenderness as Ginny's had been.
"Hermione, I'll never understand you."
~+~
Hermione sat, curled up on her bed, staring out the window when someone entered the room, and she stiffened. She didn't think she could talk to anyone at the moment, seeing as the memory of what had happened only a few hours ago was still being burnt into her skull. She could almost see their looks of disappointment and confusion when she closed her eyes, as though the image had become fused to her inner eyelids.
Pansy had declared that she needed to think about things and left in tears, muttering things about worthless Mudbloods and purebloods that weren't any better, Crabbe and Goyle had been their usual, dumb selves, seeming to not have understood anything that had happened besides the kiss that they had seen, it was as though words were unable to penetrate their skulls.
Her fellow Gryffindors had been no better off.
Ron had been unable to look her in the eye after what she had said about girlfriends meaning more than she did, it was as though he were ashamed of what she said being true, or that he had been afraid he would look into Hermione's eyes and the devil would be looking back out at him, which hurt Hermione's feelings rather hard. After all, even if they weren't friends now, they had been, and she would have hoped that he would have at least looked at her, but he didn't, not even once.
Ginny had been to shocked to speak after Hermione had tried to explain things to her, it was as though she were trying to silently say that anything she spoke aloud would either come out wrong or rude. That or she was just counting on Hermione 'coming to her senses' and she would realize what she had done wrong and everything would become perfect as she had always thought it was.
The worst reaction had been Harry's though. Harry had been beyond any emotion that Hermione recognized as something that she could precisely pinpoint. It was as though he was embarrassed that she had kissed his enemy, yet he was angry at her for being 'so childish and immature' as he had eloquently put it. It hit her hard to learn that he thought he was an influential figure in her life and he was revaluating what he had done as though he had done something wrong to drive her to act the way she did.
Her thoughts ended abruptly and she flinched as she felt the air from the door waft toward her and she heard the door close. She knew who it was, and he was the last person that she wanted to talk to.
In fact, she WOULDN'T talk to him, she was going to ignore him and show him the same respect that he had shown her by leaving. If he didn't think she was important enough to help, then she wasn't going to accept him as important enough to have her respect.
"'Mione?" the voice said tentively, and she didn't turn or make any movement that would suggest she had heard him speak at all. He sighed and walked around her bed and came to a stop in front of her.
"Mione?" he said again, his voice a little stronger this time, but still tentive, as though he were afraid that she was going to lash out. And why shouldn't she?
"Hermione." She corrected rudely, and she turned her head so that she wouldn't have to look at him - not directly at least.
"Hermione," Draco said, immediately agreeing with her rude request. Apparently he found that if he agreed, it would be easier for him in the long run, and it surprised even Hermione with how quickly he agreed to her snappish request.
"What?" she asked, again her voice being rather rude, and it even sounded harsh? She wasn't sure why she was feeling like she was, but for some reason she found that she wanted to be as rude as she possibly could toward him.
"Sorry." He said, and it took her mind about ten seconds to process what he had just said. DID he say what she thought he had just said? Was it really true that Draco Malfoy had just said he was sorry?
Hermione told her mouth to form the words, 'It's okay'. That was all she wanted to say, and she had images of them hugging, maybe even kissing, but the words were lost somewhere in the transaction, and the words she was planning didn't come close to her mouth.
"You should be." She said, and she longed to clasp a hand to her mouth and whack herself in the head with the other. Why on earth should he have been sorry? He hadn't done anything wrong - well, except for leave her alone with six people - why was she acting so hostile? Why?
"I should?" Draco echoed, sounding slightly amused, and she wanted to laugh, to make the situation light, but she found that words were escaping her lips before she could stop them, and it was rather annoying.
"Yes, you should." She said feverently and Draco raised an eyebrow. (It wasn't that she WANTED to see his face, but her head kept turning slowly toward him of its own free will.)
"Why?" he asked, and Hermione was silent.
After a few minutes, she turned to look at Draco, and burst out laughing. There was no reason, other than the fact that she hadn't laughed, truly, for a long time, and it just felt good to be laughing.
~+~
Somehow, Hermione ended up lying on Draco's chest, and she was slowly drifting off to sleep. He was saying something, she didn't quite know what. All she knew was that she wanted this moment to last forever.
-
A/N: Alright, yes, fluffy chapter ending. Hahaha.
Next chapter more things are addressed. Sorry it took so long!
Read and Review! (Actually, it's just review, because by the time you're here, you've already read...)
--Saquoia--