There's a Place For Us

In this Chapter-The first practice, and a little bonding.

You're giving me too many things
Lately you're all I need

Hermione awoke the next morning with an odd feeling in her stomach.  The events of the previous night came crashing back to her, and she closed her eyes and imagined herself out in the cold with her Slytherin roommate.  She took the time to decipher what the feeling inside of her was, and then she finally recognized it.  It was peace.

The most unlikely person, in the most unlikely circumstance, brought Hermione something she had been aching for so long.  Hermione would never forgive herself for her own sins, but she knew she could learn to live with them.

Down at the breakfast table, everyone was buzzing about the upcoming rehearsals.

"I have this ruddy play and quidditch practice to go to." Ron grumbled from across the table.

"Same here mate, but I think we'll manage," Harry added from Hermione's left. "And besides, it's not like we have a lot of homework to do, right?"

Hermione gave an inward grimace.  She thought she would enjoy not having to throw herself at the books every hour of the day, but secretly she felt as though a very comforting security blanket had been taken away from her.

 All too soon Dumbledore announced that the rehearsals were to begin shortly, and it would be to everyone involved benefit that they head to the rehearsal room.

Hermione gathered her books, along with Ron and Harry, and once again made the journey to the third floor corridor.

"Alright! Alright" McGonagall clapped her hands together loudly.  "Now if I can have your attention please!  If everyone that is involved in costumes, lighting, sound, props, or scenery please follow Professor Flitwick and Professor Vector into the room on the left, you will be put to your tasks immediately!  All principal characters please follow Professor Dumbledore up onto the stage, and all supporting dancers and singers please report to Professor Sprout in the right room!"

After much shifting and confusion, the crowd around Harry and his friends thinned out, and they made their way to the stage.  As the Gryffindors huddled in a group, the Slytherins took the opposite end, leaving room in the middle for Professor Dumbledore to talk to them.

"You all know, now, I can assume, what parts you are playing.  For the benefit of your fellow students, I want you each to state your character names, loudly, just in case some may not be paying attention, Let us start with you, Mr. Potter."

"I'm playing Bernardo, Maria's older, and slightly over protective brother."

"Mr. Weasley?"

"Chino, Maria's supposed boyfriend."

"Mr. Zambini?"

"Riff, a Jet."

It went on like that, Dumbledore calling out each person's name, as they replied with the one they were playing.  Dumbledore was getting to the end of the list, with:

"Miss Brown?"

"Anita, sir, Bernardo's girlfriend."

"Miss Granger?"

"Maria, Professor."

"Mr. Malfoy?"

"Tony."

Hermione was not surprised.  Not really.  She had heard Draco's tryout.  She had heard him sing.  She also knew that behind Dumbledore's very odd sense of humor, he wanted his students to learn something from this.  This story was parallel to their own, and Hermione respected it.  And this is why Hermione overlooked the dark glances between Harry and Ron, along with the general murmurs going on between both Slytherin and Gryffindor.

"Alright then!" The aged Professor clapped his hands together in a youthful manner and sighed contentedly.  "I think it's time for the rehearsals, and what better time to start a story, than in the middle?"

Hermione couldn't help but grin at her flighty Professor; this was certainly going to be an interesting time.

Dumbledore had them start right before Draco's big number.  The song Maria was both beautiful and haunting.  Dumbledore had the rest of the cast, besides Draco; sit down in the magically-made auditorium seats.  Hermione noticed how much nicer these were than the ones in the movie theaters, all bumps and odd smells were absent.

"Maria."

Dumbledore had started the music while Hermione was still pondering the magical auditorium seats, and Draco had started to sing.  He didn't seem to have any sort of stage fright.  Quite the contrary, actually, it looked as though he were back on the balcony, singing about broken hallelujahs.

"The most beautiful sound I ever heard…Maria."

And it was the most beautiful sound Hermione had ever heard.  Coming from Draco's lips, Hermione felt absolutely mesmerized, and by the looks of it, so did Lavender, and Ginny…and Parvati…

Hermione took this time to fully realize just how beautiful Draco was.  His white blonde hair and pale complexion made him look as though he was glowing, glowing how, Hermione couldn't quite place, but there he was, completely beautiful and knowing it, but not even being conscious of it.  Draco Malfoy was a contradiction in himself.

"Say it loud and there's music playing…say it soft and it's almost like praying…"

Hermione was most definitely not a swooning fan girl, but if she was, she would certainly be in big trouble.

"Maria."

"Splendid!"  Dumbledore exclaimed in the same fashion as before, "Now we are going to go over the 'tonight' scene, and get everyone in on the action!"

But everyone was still stupefied over Draco's performance.  It was almost as if Draco had somehow charmed his voice with a full body bind charm.  Hermione got up from her seat, just to make sure she could.

Her movements must have broken the spell, for the rest of her classmates followed her, although Ginny and Lavender were looking at Draco with little twinkling stars in their eyes.

"This scene is one of the most important in the entire production."  Dumbledore said to them seriously once everyone had joined Draco on stage.  "This is a scene of anger and revenge and distrust.  This is where your acting abilities will be tested, because even the way you walk needs to reflect on your attitude towards the other gang.  It is completely up to you how you want to portray your individual characters, but remember the times, and the emotions, and the complexities of the human spirit."

Harry had to grin to himself; Dumbledore spoke with such intensity about everything that he felt was worth talking about.  It never failed to inspire him, no matter what the topic.

"Mr. Zambini, you start this song," Dumbledore said with a smile behind his beard.  "I assume you know the lines?"

The tall Slytherin nodded, and with a flick of Dumbledore's wand, the music started and Blaise started the large number.

Harry surprised himself at the intensity of his own voice.  He could feel how needed it was to start this fight.  He understood Bernardo's hunger to defend himself and his family, and the ways he would go for to achieve it…it struck very close to home to Harry Potter.

Hermione watched from backstage at the goings-on in front of her.  Draco was on the opposite end; their parts were towards the end of the song. Hermione reflected back to watching the show when she was young, the intensity the boys had when they sang in the movie made Hermione wonder how anyone could be so angry.  Now, years later, Hermione saw the same intensity, but she didn't wonder anymore. 

Across the stage Draco felt as though this was one of the sillier things he had ever done before.  That didn't mean he didn't like it, however.  He liked the attention he got from singing, he knew he had a set of pipes, and he also knew the looks the girls were giving him.  It almost brought a grin to his lips.  Almost.  Singing was sacred to him, and although he wasn't fond of being paraded like some sort of animal attraction, he did like to be the center of attention, and that was just what he was getting out of this.  That and that Hermione was opposite him.  He had a connection with Hermione, and not even he knew how deep it really ran.

Hermione felt her heart beat quicken as the music pulsated through her body.  It was her turn next.  The others scurried around to their places offstage, and Hermione and Draco took the center.

Draco sang his part to perfection, looking off over Hermione's shoulder, not completely at her.  Hermione froze for a moment, not knowing how to act or what to do.  She imitated Draco and looked over his left shoulder, which incidentally was straight at Harry.  He winked at her and Ron made funny faces behind his back.  Hermione loosened up and relaxed through the rest of the performance, feeling the familiar closeness she had with her two best friends.

Once they had gone over various other numbers, including Lavenders own solo with Hermione and Hermione's blushworthy performance of "I feel Pretty", Dumbledore beckoned them to sit once more in the magical auditorium seats with enthusiastic claps.

"Wonderful!" He exclaimed through his long beard.  "Brilliant performances by everyone!  I do, however, need to go through some notes I managed to take."

Harry, who was seated next to Ron and Lavender, noticed a purple quill that was writing on its own.  Although not the acid green color of Rita Skeeter's Quick Quotes Quill, the quill seemed to be noting everything that was going on around it.

"First of all," Dumbledore started. "I must implore to both Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy that you look at each other every now and again.  This is supposed to be love!  The music is all well and good, but without the actions, without the attitude, the façade falls to pieces.  You two must have a firm grasp of what you are dealing with.  Might I suggest extra practice?  I think you will both find it highly beneficial to your performances." 

Hermione and Draco looked at each other, then quickly looked away.  Guess the looking over the shoulder was just not going to cut it with their demanding Professor.

Dumbledore went on with a few other notes pertaining to lines and memorization before letting the students out for lunch and their afternoon activities.

"What do you think?"  Hermione asked Ron and Harry as they walked out of the room and towards the great hall.

"I don't know," Ron said, shaking his head.  "There's too much going on at once, and I don't get it.  What does Maria see in Tony?  He kills her brother!  You woman make no sense to me."

Hermione and Harry laughed at their friend, who looked a bit put out. 

"I think it's brilliant." Harry said.  "And I think you are too."  He blushed slightly, and Hermione gave him a gentle punch in the arm.

"Thank you, Harry."  She said.  "You don't know how much that means to me.  It's really hard to stand up there, especially with everyone judging you, and Draco being so good…"

"That git?"  Ron said loudly.  "It's probably a spell.  Leave it to a Slytherin to cheat even in a musical!"

"Ron!"  Hermione scolded.  "It's not a spell.  He's good, just admit it, okay?"  Hermione suddenly felt rather testy about Ron's feeling towards her counterpart, although the feeling was very alien inside of her.

"He's a Malfoy, Hermione!"  Ron said loudly once more.  "Nothing better than the dirt under your nails!  A slug!  A rodent!  Worse than a rodent!  I don't know why you insist on defending him; he deserves everything that has happened to him!  He-"  but before e could finish, Ron was cut off by the look of pure loathing Hermione had fixed on him.

"You disgust me sometimes, Ronald Weasley."  She said in a quiet whisper, before turning and leaving in the opposite direction, towards her common room.

Ron stood in the middle of the hall while students bustled about him, his mouth agape.

"You're very thick, sometimes, mate." Harry said somewhat scathingly.  "Sometimes I wonder if you think at all before you open your mouth."

'But…but…it's Malfoy!"  Ron said, as if that proved everything.  "He does deserve everything that happened!"

"He lost his parents, Ron."  Harry said, starting to feel very angry at his friend.  "No one deserves that, not even him."  Then for the second time in less than five minutes, Ron was left again by his best friend.

Hermione was furious.  She knew that Ron had the tendency to be quite insensitive, but this was too much.  He knew it was her, he knew that whatever Draco had suffered through the loss of his parents Hermione caused.  It made Hermione want to be sick all over the place when she brought the memory up. 

When she reached the portrait that led to the heads room, she shouted the password and violently stalked into the common room and flung herself on the couch, only to be met by a very surprised "Hey!"

Turns out, the couch was already occupied, and the occupant was now pined under Hermione, who had been too shocked to remove herself.

"Erm, Granger?"  A muffled voice from below Hermione managed to say.  "Mind getting off?"

Hermione quickly scrambled off the couch and bolted into an armchair, hastily tucking her legs under her.  "Sorry about that, I wasn't watching where I was, er, landing?"

"Don't worry about it." Draco said, sitting up and looking somewhat dazed and confused.  "Happens to the best of us I'm sure."

Hermione, however mad she was, had to grin at the Slytherins attempt at a joke.  "I'm sure," She said.  "So, how many people have you pounced on lately?"

Draco pretended to think deeply for a moment, before replying: "You know, I think I have been pounce free for…well…seventeen years!  Must be a record!"

Hermione giggled and shifted to a more comfortable position in her chair.

"So, you were upset?"  Draco asked innocently.  "What about?"

Hermione played with the hem of her robe, not really wanting to reveal to him that he was the reason she was upset, no, she didn't want that at all.

"Ron and I had a row, it was nothing."

"Oh," Draco shifted his gaze to meet hers.  "Trouble in paradise?" 

"It's nothing."  Hermione said.  "But now I'm positively fuming.  I don't even feel like reading to get my mind off of things!"

Draco raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment.

"And he's so insensitive!  You would think he would have grown up, after all we saw, after all we've been through, all we've done!"  Hermione widened her eyes and immediately clamped her mouth shut.

"It's alright."  Draco said softly.  "You don't need to talk about it.  I understand."

"Maybe you understand."  Hermione said quietly.  "Maybe you are a killer, just like me."

Now this took Draco by surprise.  In fact, if he hadn't been sitting down, he would have been at that point.  The Hermione Granger he knew didn't talk like that, although the Hermione Granger he knew didn't kill people either.

"Granger, it was a war…" Draco began, not sure if it was his place to comfort the girl.  "Thing happen in wars…things you often regret later, many things you regret later.  It doesn't do to dwell on old demons and forget to live."

"You sound like Dumbledore," Hermione said with a smile.  "When did you become so wise and all-knowing?"

"Eh," Draco shrugged his shoulders. "It's a gift." He grinned.

"Well," Hermione said from her chair.  "We sure are bonding tonight."

Draco looked at her for a moment, then said:  "Well, Dumbledore did say we needed more practice.  Maybe we just need to be more comfortable with each other."

All of a sudden Hermione felt exactly the opposite of comfortable.  She shifted uneasily in her seat.  "What do you suggest?"  She asked meekly.

"Well, let's get to know one another better, get some information about one another."  He shrugged again.

"Like twenty questions?" Hermione asked, feeling slightly more interested.  She could handle this.

"Twenty questions?"  Draco asked.  "No offense, Granger, but all your muggle references are completely lost to me."

Hermione blushed slightly and then elaborated.  "Well, it's just a little game muggles use to pass the time.  It's played exactly how it is sounds, each person takes turns asking questions, until 20 is up.  There really arnt any winners or losers, just a way to pass the time."

"Sounds promising."  Draco said.  "I'm assuming we aren't supposed to lie, right?"

"Well," Hermione reasoned, "that would defeat the purpose, wouldn't it?"

"Touché, Granger." Draco said with a smirk.  "Would you like to start?" 

"Oh!" Hermione said, and sat up straighter.  "Well, yes, I suppose.  I guess I'll get the cliché questions out of the way…What is your favorite color?"

"White." He replied with a grin.  "I'm not going to go so easy on you…What's your favorite song?"

"Strawberry Wine by Deanna Carter.  What's yours?"

"Wandless Magic, Celestina Warbeck.  Ever been kissed?"

"Of course.  Favorite class?"

"Potions.  And really?  By whom?"

"If I must…Victor, Harry, Fred Weasley…and…Goyle.  The last was not a welcome, let me tell you.  Do you have any pets?"

"Goyle attacked you? And just my owl."

"Yes, he did, Fred saved me.  Where were you during the war?"

When you walk away
You don't hear me say please
Oh baby, don't go
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight
It's hard to let it go

The questions firing stopped there, and both looked at each other intently.

"Did you really have to ask that?" He questioned quietly.

"The whole point of this was to get to know one another…Malfoy, I-I'm not judging you, I want you to know that."

"I know that." He said. "You never were one for jumping to conclusions.  But do you really want to know the answer to that question?"

Hermione nodded her head firmly.  "I never ask questions if I have no intent on learning from them."  She answered.

"The truth hurts sometimes, you know."

"I'm not a stranger to hurt, Malfoy."

"Alright Granger."  Draco sighed and walked over to Hermione.  He looked down at her, and to Hermione's astonishment, began to roll back his sleeve.   There, on his flawless white forearm, a faint, barely visible tattoo of the dark mark laid.

"Oh Draco…"  Hermione said so quietly, and reached out to touch it.  Hs skin was warm under her touch, and the old mark was completely smooth.  She looked up at him, her hand still touching his arm.

"What did you do?"  She asked, her voice was barely audiable.

"What do you think deatheaters did, Hermione?" Draco retorted, his own voice was low and husky.  "We didn't have bake sales, if that's what you're thinking.  I did terrible things.  Terrible, and great."

Hermione felt at loss for words, and did the most logical thing she could- she hugged him.

She hugged him with such force he tripped backward, Hermione falling unceremoniously with him.  He landed on his back, with the Gryffindor landing on his chest.  A very compromising position indeed.

She looked down at him, her eyes wide with shock at what she had done, but to her surprise, he smiled up at her, and if that wasn't enough, he leaned up and covered her mouth with his own.

It was unreal.  That had to be the only word for it.  Every single second of that war didn't prepare Hermione for this.  She felt as though her poor heart wasn't going to be able to hold up much longer.  But it was, and there she was…and he…Draco Malfoy.  He had snaked his hands into her hair and drew her head closer to his, as though he needed to be as close to her as humanly possible.  She felt herself responding in ways she never has with victor, or Harry, or even the much more experienced Fred.  She tilted her head and he ran his tongue along the line of her lips, pressing for permission to enter, and permission was readily granted.  She rubbed the tip of her own tongue across the plain of his and almost smiled as she felt him shudder under her.  He bit her lip gently in reply and rolled her over, becoming the dominating one.

She was still holding onto him, pulling him so close, but there was so much in between them.  She slid her hands down the sides of his white school shirt and up his back, feeling his warm skin under her fingertips.  She wanted to feel that skin all over.  She wanted to know what it felt like to just press her flesh into his.  No barriers.  No pretences.  Just skin on skin.

She tugging on his shirt and started to unbutton it, never breaking their kiss.  She briefly wondered why breathing wasn't an issue, but didn't stop.  Never stopped.  She ripped the last button open with a frustrated growl and tugged it down his arms.  He withdrew his hands from her hair long enough to throw it, off, and she pulled at hers, asking him to do the same.

Every button was like an hour.  Every kiss was desperate and frustrated and so full of desire Hermione thought she would just simply explode.  Finally the wretched garment was off and thrown hastily away, and they continued to search for something precious and lost within one another.  Hermione finally felt his skin on hers and couldn't believe the sensation.  Every nerve in her body was burning and…alive.  Her body felt alive. 

He had one hand lost inside her hair and another cupped on her cheek.  His mouth left hers as he kissed from her neck and to her collarbone.  She let out a frustrated moan and he stopped cold, frozen in mid kiss.

He slowly raised his head to be level with hers as confusion clouded her eyes.  They locked gazes and seemed to be having a staring contest before-

"Hermione, if we keep doing this, I'm not going to be able to stop."

Suddenly the realization of what exactly this was came crashing down to her.  Hermione was floored and her heart skipped, making her shiver. 

She looked up at him, her innocence screaming through her eyes.  She hadn't felt this complete in so long, and she didn't think she could handle feeling lost again.  She reached up and fastened her arms tightly around his neck, almost afraid that he was going to just get up and walk away.  She felt his hold on her tighten as well.

"Hold me."  She whispered into his ear.  "Please Draco…just hold me."

His eyes softened and he nodded.  He held her there on the floor until they were both asleep, both finding the peace they so desperately needed in each other.

Hold me
Whatever lies beyond this morning
Is a little later on
Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all
Nothing's like before

(A/N)

Oh what's this?  Another chapter?  Goodness me!  Lol.  I did warn you…this fic is at the bottom of my fiction priorities, but I do love it so hugs.  Anywho, I hope it didn't go too fast.  Blame it on hormones and sexual tension, mmmkay?  The song is called simple and clean, or light, and it bu Utada Hikaru (I cant spell!)  It's j-pop, lol J Anyway, hope this made up for such a long time detween chapters, summer is here now, so it should be more frequent!

xoariel