1 Day… or, 24 Hours
DISCLAIMER: JK owns most of it; CJ owns the rest.
Chapter 6: The Fifth Hour
Time: 11:35PM
Hermione felt Draco's hands roam every inch of her body in a way that made her feel like she was on fire. His touch didn't make her feel slutty or guilty about what she was doing, instead it made her feel like she had found the missing piece of her life-puzzle. Her soul was drinking him in, and pouring out her heart at the same time. Everything she had been taught when she was younger seemed to dissolve under Draco's touch, and her morals didn't seem to matter anymore. She knew she should stop, but she couldn't; her body seemed to have a mind of its own.
Draco had never felt more alive than when he was with Hermione. Hermione was like a match igniting his passion. Draco knew that if they kept this up, he wouldn't be able to stop until they had done the very deed both of them were secretly afraid to do. Luckily, Hermione helped him make his decision.
Once Hermione felt Draco's hand slip under her shirt and begin to push it up ever so slightly, Hermione knew they had to stop. They might be stuck in Hogsmeade for a while, and she didn't want them to be uncomfortable around each other if something happened to go wrong.
"Draco," Hermione breathed, out of breath, "we need to stop. I can't do this."
Draco slightly pulled back, slightly disappointed, "Yeah, you're probably right."
When Hermione noticed Draco still hovering over her and giving her the looks of a carnivorous wolf, Hermione slightly pushed him away. "I mean it Draco."
"I know you do, but I'm not sure how much more of this I can take, Hermione," Draco said, solemnly and got off her completely, resting his back against the headboard.
"What do you mean, Draco? I don't seem to follow you," Hermione sat up at a ninety-degree angle so she could look him straight in the eye.
"Hermione I can't go on like this. Being stuck here in Hogsmeade with you is killing me. Every time I look at you, I picture your satiny legs wrapped around me in the midst of passion," Draco took a very much needed breath and reminded himself that in order to share a fulfilling relationship, you must be able to talk to your partner and share your feelings, "Every time you pull away from me in the middle of a kiss, you pull away a part of me. I'm falling for you Hermione, and you are sending me crashing down. I want, no, I need you to tell me how you feel for me, because I cannot physically continue 'this' with you if you do not feel the same way about me. I never thought I would say this, I mean, I am talking to Hermione Granger, heroine of Gryffindor, but I am simply attracted to you."
Draco stopped, and looked at Hermione. Her face was white and her chocolaty eyes seemed frozen onto Draco, like a tongue on a frozen flag pole. Draco felt himself twitching with need of her reply.
"Hermione, please answer me," he said, trying to maintain his physique.
"I don't know what to say Draco," Hermione answered truthfully.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Draco asked, anxiously, but not getting his hopes up.
"I mean I don't know if I like you. Physically, I am attracted to you. I would love to know how if feels to run my hands up and down your Quidditch-ripened muscle corded back. And I would tangle my hands in your silky hair and pull you closer to me right now, but… I just don't know," Hermione trailed off, looking at the ground, afraid to look into Draco's eyes.
Hermione wanted to say so many more things, but the things she wanted to say couldn't be put into words. She was in shock because of what he just said. He always seemed so fluent with words and comebacks, and she always seemed to stumble on what to say next.
"There is something more you want to say?" Draco said, reading her mind.
There was a pause before Hermione said anything to Draco; she seemed to be collecting her thoughts and tactfulness. "Words aren't like erasable ink, Draco. You can't just expect me to pounce on you and be like, "You're forgiven; lets go have sex now." It just doesn't work that way. You have called me some really mean and hateful things that I know you meant when you said them to my friends and I definitely have an attraction for you, but I'm not sure I am ready to have a relationship with you. I'm sorry Draco."
About a million emotions crossed Draco's face before his expression became impassive. Surprisingly, he seemed to shake off whatever he was feeling and speak, "I understand, Hermione."
Hermione blinked a few times, as if not sure she heard him right, "You understand?"
"Yes, I do. I've been a complete ass the last 6 years and I have no right to put you in a position like this. I should have thought about it before I told you all of what I did," Draco said, somberly.
Hermione walked up to him and gave him a big bear hug, trapping him within her arms. "No, I'm glad you told me. It made me realize that even the seemingly cold, heartless Malfoy's do have a heart buried deep inside of them," Hermione backed away and thumped his chest, right above his heart.
Draco's cocked his head and smiled down on Hermione, "Then why don't we change the 'Slytherin's hate Gryffindor's' history and just be friends? Maybe if I am lucky, one day we might become friends."
Hermione looked up at Draco and a smile flashed across her face, "I'd like that. And maybe, that day might come sooner than you think."
xoxox
12:10AM
Once Draco and Hermione had finally finished arguing about who would sleep where…
Midnight Draco saw Hermione walk over and get a pillow from the bed and a spare blanket from the pitifully small closet in the hotel room and lay on the floor next to the bed.
"What do you think you are doing?" Draco asked, curiously.
"I'm sleeping on the floor. I don't think it's a good idea if we share a bed at this point in time," Hermione said as she lay down on one side of the blanket, wrapping the other side over her.
"No way," Draco said, getting off the bed in order to grab the blanket and pillow Hermione was currently using. "There is no way that I am allowing a woman to sleep on the floor while I sleep on the bed."
"But Draco…" Hermione protested, fruitlessly.
"No buts, Hermione. If anybody should be sleeping on the floor, it's me, but I refuse to do that. You are going to sleep right here," Draco patted the spot on the bed next to him, "next to me."
Hermione stared at him, eyes wide, as if contemplating if she should protest more or give in to his claims. Realizing that Draco wouldn't take no for an answer, Hermione gave in to his request. Or maybe it was just the satin sheets and fluffy looking bed that was so inviting to her. Or maybe it was the silhouetted figure of Draco lying on his side facing her… She was on the bed in no time, even if they were just friends.
…They both got into bed and attempted the journey through slumber. Even though there was about a mile in-between the two bed-sharers, Hermione still felt really uncomfortable. She was curled up in a fetal position on the very edge of her side of the queen bed, and Draco was, well, not. Draco seemed more comfortable sleeping next to Hermione than she was next to him.
xoxox
12:15
RUSTLE, RUSTLE, RUSTLE.
Draco turned around and saw Hermione twisted up in the sheets; her position kept changing every few seconds. Who would have guessed that Hermione Granger was an insomniac?
Hermione couldn't fall asleep. Every time she was about to drift off, she thought about Draco lying right across the bed from her. What if she snored or ground her teeth in her sleep? Draco would never let her live it down. She made up her mind that she wouldn't allow herself to fall asleep until Draco was playing 'super hero' in his dream world.
"Hermione?" Draco whispered, his voice almost tangible in the blanket of darkness gloved around them.
"Huh?" Hermione answered in a half-awake mumble.
"Are you asleep yet?"
"Does it sound like I am?" Hermione asked, slightly annoyed that Draco wasn't saving the world, or in his case, destroying the world, yet.
Keeping his body flat, Draco turned his head towards Hermione. "Nope, I guess not."
Hermione imitated Draco's actions and gave him a slight smile with her eyebrows raised, "Good night Draco." Hermione turned her head away from Draco and stared at the stucco ceiling through closed eyelids.
xoxox
12:18
Draco's eyelids, heavy with sleep, finally shut and his breathing became slow and shallow.
Hermione noticed this, and finally, she was able to relax and realize just how tired she was. Right now, more than anything she wanted to fall asleep. Except, as Hermione recognized, when you try to fall asleep, it never works. Suddenly the room was too hot and stuffy, the thin sheets were sticking to her half clothed form, and she had to pee. Badly.
Hermione peeled the sticky covers off of her and slowly sat up, her feet dangling off the end of the bed. She got up and tiptoed to the bathroom, careful not to wake Draco up. 'I already had to wait for him to fall asleep once; I'm not too confident that I can do it again,' she thought.
She opened the bathroom door and squinted through the blinding, bright lights, accidentally knocking over a few of the hotel bathroom goodies. "Too bright, too bright," she mumbled before hushing herself. She performed the humanly ritual that overcomes us all, and, now that her eyes had adjusted to the bright light, looked at herself in the hotel mirror.
She wasn't staring back at the same Hermione that she was for 18 years of her life. This was the new Hermione who had gone and made out with the one person she once thought was the most horrific person on earth, and for once she had not cared about how many rules she was breaking. Because that's what they were doing, right? Breaking rules. They stole from Honeyduke's and they broke into the Hog's Head. How much more would she have to do here with Draco before she was considered the person she swore she would never be? Sighing, she walked out of the bathroom and carefully got back into bed. Not before changing the temperature on the WizTemp5000, though.
xoxox
12:28
Waiting for sleep to bless her waning body, Hermione remembered that it only takes the average wizard or muggle seven minutes to fall asleep.
Only seven minutes…
xoxox
12:35AM
If only she had conjured herself a dreamless sleep potion, she would have saved herself from a night of tumultuous, but passionate, dreams.
xoxox
A/N: Jenn here. Took awhile, but this chapter is finally out. If you haven't been able to tell yet, this story is going to be full of twists and turns, so put on your helmets; you are in for a bumpy ride! We probably won't be able to get another chapter out this weekend because, like you all know, it's a holiday. I wish I could read you all of the emails I sent Catie this week. They basically went along the lines of, "OMGOMGOMGOMG. They like us, they really like us!!!!" (I'm talking about the reviews, incase you guys didn't catch on. You are all amazing; we love you all! Thanks to:
· Daydreamz87
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· pixieballerina
· XxAnimeLover14xX
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· Jessjica- haha, loved your review; it was very cute and sweet!!! :-)
· Hells Angel
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