A/N- Goodness me, sorry I've taken so freaking long to post this chapter. But hey, it's a biggie, so you probably prefer a substantial chapter than some small crappy ones. I've already begun chapter sixteen…gosh! Sixteen chapters and more to come! I didn't know when I started this fic that it'd get to be this long. And I'm not even close to being finished. Stay with me for more to come.
I'd like to say a massive thanks to all that have read this fanfic and reviewed. And even those who haven't reviewed, (please review!) I love you! If no one liked my story than I wouldn't have enjoyed writing this nearly as much as I have. I do appreciate every review that I get.
Now, I got one review from 'Prefect Hermione' mentioning a mistake in the 14th chapter. I got the days all muddled up. I completely overlooked that! Thanks for letting me know. I also realised another mistake in the previous chapter. I said that Draco's Quidditch match was on the Saturday, but I completely forgot to put it in. (That's what I get for writing some of my story one day, and coming back to continue it without reading what I had already written. *tut tut*)
I've tried to be very careful this chapter, so I'm sorry if there are any mistakes. I wanted to delete chapter 14 and re-post it with out the mistakes, but you cant remove the last chapter without taking off the entire fanfiction, and I don't think that would have been appreciated!
Any way, I'd better stop my blabbing and let you get on with the chapter…J
Disclaimer- Everything is J.K.'s. Everything! Now stop pestering me about it before I have a breakdown due to deep depression. (I love you, J.K. Rowling…send me the sixth and seventh books pleeeaaassseee!!!)
CHAPTER FIFTEEN- confirming suspicionsWith the wind slapping his face, Draco circled the Quidditch pitch on his broom scanning the surrounding area for the snitch. It was Saturday, and the long awaited Quidditch game between Ravenclaw and Slytherin had only been in action for a few minutes.
Slytherin were down twenty points already and the crowd was screaming. Draco felt like circling up high into the clouds to escape the noise and pressure of the match. If Slytherin won, then they'd have the chance to beat Gryffindor and end their three-year losing streak. If they lost, then Draco would be almost certain to cop most of the blame.
Chris flew passed him, and shouted a bit of advice. "Draco! Get closer to Ravenclaw's seeker! She's a very quick flyer and if she spots the snitch before you, you'd be the luckiest wizard on earth if you managed to catch it before her."
"I can find it for myself." Draco muttered, slightly offended at Chris's indication that he was a slow flyer.
"Go now! She's diving!" Chris shouted without his usual tentative manner. Draco spun his broom around and began racing across the pitch towards the Ravenclaw seeker, who was plummeting towards the center of the pitch with her hand outstretched.
The crowd roared, half praying Draco would reach the snitch first, the other half wishing Draco would fall off his broom so Slytherin had no chance of winning. Over in the Gryffindor stands, Ron, Harry and Ginny were yelling death advice to Draco. Hermione was keeping quiet.
"C'mon mate!" Ron yelled encouragingly. "Just a little to the left. The pole is right there, just hit it…"
"Down! That's where the snitch is!" Ginny shouted. "Turn the broom and fly directly towards the ground. And don't stop!"
"Here Malfoy!" Harry yelled to him, pretending to be holding out something in his hand. "Take this arsenic, drink it, fly up really high and then, wait for it…fall unconscious to your death!"
"Damn! He missed the pole." Ron cursed.
"He didn't take my arsenic." Harry muttered.
"Ha! He's headed towards the ground, at top speed too!" Ginny yelled exultantly.
Hermione stood up quickly, silently wishing Draco would slow down before he really did hit the ground. The Ravenclaw seeker was wearing an expression full of concentration, and was racing towards a point on the ground below. Draco seemed to be unable to see the snitch, and was only speeding after the Ravenclaw seeker. Hermione's eyebrows furrowed when she realised she couldn't see the snitch at all. Surely the bright sun would reflect off the gold metal, causing it to glint.
Suddenly, Hermione's eyes widened in shock. "Draco stop! She's only pretending! She's pulling a…a, damn! What's the bloody thing called again? Oh! A Wronski Feint!"
Ron, Harry and Ginny all turned to stare at her. But Hermione ignored them and continued yelling at Draco to stop flying. Draco was now only fifteen feet off the ground and still racing. As he plummeted, the Ravenclaw seeker pulled out of the dive sharply and flew off in the opposite direction. It was only now that Draco realised that he had been fooled. He gripped the handle of his broom in both hands and pulled it as hard as he could.
With only five feet of air between Draco and the ground, he stopped the broom completely. The audience let out a massive sigh, half in relief and half in disappointment. Draco gave a cheery wave towards the Ravenclaw stands to annoy them, then began to fly off in to the air again. He looked over his shoulder and gave a reassuring smirk to the Slytherins. However, he gained speed too quickly and as he wasn't looking where he was going, Draco began getting awfully close to a chaser on the Ravenclaw team.
The chaser was calling to another team member, hoping to be thrown the Quaffle and was unaware of Draco closing in. Draco slowly turned his head around, but far too late. He slammed into the Ravenclaw headfirst and was thrown off the broom. The entire student body went suddenly silent as he fell twenty meters or more to the ground. Landing hard on his back, Draco's head lolled to one side and his eyes fell closed.
Hermione's eyes were wide and her three friends were all staring at her. She began to shake and didn't take her eyes off Draco's still body. "Oh my God." She whispered, raising to her hand fearfully to her mouth. Harry took a comforting step towards her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"He'll be ok Hermione. The bastard can live through anything. Remember how he survived being bounced on the stone floor as a ferret? This'll be the same, don't worry."
"Oh, Harry. He hasn't moved." Hermione whispered, grabbing on to his cloak. Ron and Ginny shared a look, then returned their stare to the motionless form of Draco on the pitch.
***
The Slytherin team began flying to the ground as Madam Hooch blew the whistle for a break in the game. As Chris reached him, Draco lazily opened one eye to stare at the crowds and the storm clouds approaching.
"Draco! Are you ok, man?" Chris said loudly, dismounting his broom and kneeling next to him. Instead of responding, Draco closed his eye again and groaned.
"Josh!" Chris shouted to a Slytherin player still on his broom. "Get Madam Pomfrey down here quick!"
Josh turned and flew as fast as he could towards the castle. The rest of the Slytherin team landed near Draco and formed a circle around him, all murmuring in disappointment because they would lose without their seeker.
Within moments Madam Pomfrey was rushing across the pitch with a small bag in her hand. Shoving the other player's aside, she knelt beside Draco and began prodding him. He groaned when her fingers reached his ribs, and tried to turn away.
"Mr. Malfoy, I need to know what is wrong with you so I can heal you properly. Now lay still." Madam Pomfrey said firmly. Draco opened his eyes a little and looked at her defiantly, then he realised that she could help him get back in on the game, so he didn't move.
"Right." She said finally. "You've been badly winded, seem to have broken a few of your ribs and the back of your head is bruised. Now, swallow one of these to ease your headache." She pulled out a small white tablet. "Swallow these to ease the ache from being winded." she gave across a few little blue pills. "And drink this liquid to mend those ribs of yours."
But before she handed the vial across, Madam Pomfrey gave a warning to Draco's teammates. "Watch out for him, this is a morphine strength drug. Mr. Malfoy will suffer from a few side effects for the next hour or so, mainly drowsiness. However, acting slightly childish isn't uncommon either. As the hour progresses, he will grow up more and more. Though he still won't be acting like himself until the hour is passed."
"Can't you give him something else?" Chris asked.
She shook her head. "Only this can heal the ribs completely in just a few moments. You want your seeker back now, don't you?"
He nodded nervously, then watched her help Draco swallow the medicine. After only a minute, Draco was sitting up and stretching extravagantly. Madam Pomfrey rolled her eyes, muttered "Here we go," and left to get back to the hospital wing.
Chris signaled to Madam Hooch that they were ready to re-commence the game. She nodded and flew over to the Ravenclaw team to inform them that they were about to start.
"C'mon Draco. Up you get, time to catch the snitch." Josh said, wrapping his arm under Draco's and hoisting him to his feet.
"But I'm still sleepy." He protested drowsily.
"Nah, you're not. You want to catch the snitch for us, remember?"
"Oh yeah!" Draco said, his eyes lighting up instantly. "If I catch it, do I get a prize? Because I love lollies, and I want lollies as my prize. But make sure they're chocolate ones."
"Um…" Josh looked uncertainly at Chris. "I don't know…?"
"Pleeeaaasssse?" Draco wined, falling to his knees and grabbing Joshes robes. "You'll be my best friend."
"Sure Draco." Chris said quickly. "Anything you want if you just catch the little gold ball."
"Anything?" Draco questioned. "Because you might be lying to me. And I don't like it when people lie to me about things. I didn't like it when one time, my dad lied to me, and said that our leader was Vold-"
"I'm not lying. You can have anything." Chris said impatiently as Madam Hooch blew the whistle for the game to start. "Now get up there!"
"Yes sir!" Draco said in mock seriousness, saluting in Chris's direction. Draco seemed to think that this was extremely funny, and broke down in fits of giggles. He did, however, climb onto his broom and lift off into the air.
The Slytherin team shared looks of worry as they flew into the sky. Draco was their only chance of winning this game, and he was completely out of it. How could they ever win like this?
But Draco didn't have a clue that there was anything wrong. He just flew unsteadily around the pitch, waving to the crowd and yelling, "I'm gonna get chocolate, and you're not! So ner ner ner!"
***
"Um…did he just say 'ner ner ner'?" Harry asked uncertainly, his head slowly turning to look at Hermione. Her head was pulled back in mild surprise, and her eyebrows were raised.
Ginny's head was cocked to the side and her gaze followed Draco as he cruised passed. "I think so."
Ron nodded. "That's what I heard."
"Huh." Harry concluded.
"Must have been the medicine." Hermione mused, now shaking her head. "He'd never say something like that normally."
Slowly, three pairs of eyes turned to her. Then as if realising what she had just said, her mouth formed a circle, in a silent "oh."
"Hermione." Ron began. "You are still working with Malfoy on something." It wasn't a question.
"Well, yes. It's going to take a long time."
"What exactly is it?" Ginny asked.
"I can't say yet. I'll tell you when it's all over."
"When what's all over?"
"I can't tell you that either." Hermione said, looking at the ground.
"Can you stop it?" Harry asked her. Not because he wanted her to stop, but he was just curious of what her answer would be.
"No! I could never stop!" She said.
An accusing silence greeted her, and she looked into their faces in guilt. "I meant that I could never stop, you know…the thing that we're doing. Don't think that, you know…I didn't mean that I couldn't stop being with him. Because I couldn't…no wait! I could stop being with him, I just can't right now."
"Come on, Hermione." Ginny said. "Could you stop being with him?"
"I…don't know." Hermione answered truthfully.
"Oh Hermione." Ginny said hopelessly.
"What now?"
"He's done it to you too. I can't believe it."
"Done…?"
"Manipulated you into thinking he cares about you. I know it. He does it to everyone." Ginny said shaking her head.
"How do you know?" Harry asked sharply.
"Harry, I have ears you know. And people talk. All I have to do is sit near some Slytherin girls in my class, and I know everything. Word gets around about people like him. He has no respect for anyone. They all say steer clear."
Hermione stayed silent, Ginny's words circulating in her head.
***
Draco soon realised who the Ravenclaw seeker was, and flew around her in annoying circles chanting "I'm gonna win, you're gonna loo-ose…" She tried very hard to ignore him, but eventually just yelled at him to go away. Almost in tears, Draco flew away towards the pretty colored stands.
The people in red looked really nice, and they wouldn't tell him to go away. Flying lower, Draco scanned the crowd looking for a friendly face. As he flew passed a familiar brunette girl, she smiled slightly at him and Draco decided to tell her all his problems.
Landing in the stands next to her, he took her hand to get her attention and began talking. "Excuse me Hermione, but that girl over there was really mean to me. She yelled at me and told me to go away when I wasn't even doing anything wrong. Now I won't get lollies because I can't catch the snitch from here." He paused for a moment. "You don't have any chocolate, do you?"
Hermione shook her head. "Uh, no sorry. I don't."
Harry leaned forward. "Hermione, do you need help?"
"I do!" Draco interrupted. "Harry, can you tell her to not yell at me again?"
"Uh…" Was all Harry could answer in his shock at being addressed by Draco using his first name.
"That was a first." Ron muttered.
Hermione smiled and turned back to a worried looking Draco. "Um, Draco? You better get back in the air."
"But that mean girl will yell at me again."
"No she won't. Just don't fly near her, unless she's found the snitch." Hermione said, pulling her hand out of his, and giving him a little shove. "Go on."
"Ok." Draco got back on his broom and flew up in the air. Then he shouted over his shoulder, "Watch me do this!" He did a few backward 360º flips then flew away with a wave.
"What was that about?" Ginny asked in perplexity.
"Must still be the medicine he was given." Hermione answered. "Some painkillers and sedative potions have strange side effects. That must be one of them."
They shook their heads, and continued watching the game.
***
Draco flew high around the pitch again, now giving the mean Ravenclaw seeker the silent treatment and a few glares. He noticed Chris flying passed and turned his broom to fly off after him.
"Chris! You have a really cool broom, better than mine. Maybe we could swap after the game so I could feel what it flies like?"
Chris rolled his eyes and muttered. "He's growing. This would be about ten years I think, not long till he's our normal seeker." He then spoke louder to Draco. "Yeah, sure Draco. You can fly it. But only if you catch the snitch."
Draco nodded and Chris flew off to grab the Quaffle. Draco pouted to himself, thinking that all Chris cared about was the stupid snitch. Suddenly a golden glint caught Draco's attention and he turned the broom and raced towards it. As soon as he came within a few feet, it had disappeared though. "Bugger." He cursed, then immediately covered his mouth with his hand. "Whoops! I could have gotten in o trouble if a teacher heard me say that!" Then he snickered, feeling slightly rebellious.
Flying past the stands again, he found his eyes wandering over all the girls. Most of them weren't watching him, but the girls who wore green smiled and waved as he flew over head. One girl stood on her seat and shouted, "Go Draco!"
He waved back. "Hi Pansy. I'm gonna catch the snitch, because I'm the best seeker there is!"
Pansy furrowed her eyebrows slightly. "Ookaay. You do that."
Draco continued flying, searching for the snitch. It was hard work, but he knew that a lot of girls would be watching him, and he couldn't look weak in front of them. Once more, he flew passed the Gryffindor stands. Spotting Hermione again, he smirked to himself and flew over to her.
"Hey Hermione."
"Hi Draco. How are you going?" She asked uncertainly.
"Good. But more importantly, how are you going?" Draco asked, raking a hand through his hair smoothly.
Ginny laughed, realising that he was now up to the stage where he was noticing girls. She thought he looked really funny, floating in midair, flirting with a girl in Gryffindor.
Hermione cleared her throat slightly and tried to hide her smile. "Um, I'm fine. Thanks."
Draco winked at her. "So, you've been watching the match then?"
"No duh." Ron answered under his breath. Harry laughed at him.
Hermione gave them a stern look. "Yes I have." She answered Draco. "You've been doing very well."
"I know. I'm good at every thing I do." Draco replied modestly.
"Here's where the ego kicked in." Ron muttered. Ginny covered her mouth to stifle her laugh.
Draco turned to her, and raised an eyebrow. "Hey Ginny. You look good in that robe."
Ginny's mouth opened in shock, then she blushed. "Oh. Uh, thanks. You do too…?"
Draco smiled at her, then flew a bit closer. "If you like I can-"
"Draco Malfoy!" Chris shouted from the air above. "What are you doing?"
"I was just talking to these lovely ladies." Draco replied, keeping eye contact with Ginny.
"Uh-huh. Right." Chris said. "Draco, will you please stop chatting up Gryffindor's and catch the bloody snitch! Surely it's not that hard!"
"Ha, there's a man who's never tried." Harry said softly.
"Tell me about it." Draco said knowingly. "Bloody things faster then light. Anyway," He turned his attention back to the two girls. "I'd better find the snitch now. I'll catch it for you two, if you'd like."
"Oh, sure." Hermione replied. "But go now, before the other seeker gets it."
That got Draco in the air. "She can't catch it when I'm around. I'm the fastest flyer there is. But I'll go now, just in case." Then he was gone, leaving all four friends looking after him in amusement.
"That'll be funny to shove back in his face on Monday." Ron said.
***
A quarter of an hour later, Draco seemed to be back to his usual self. He flew around the pitch searching for the snitch, and after only a few minutes, he sped in to a dive and captured the tiny golden ball moments before the Ravenclaw seeker.
The crowd erupted in to screams of joy and disappointment. The Slytherin's were ecstatic, and Draco found himself carried into the common room and dumped on the couch, all the while being patted on the back, congratulated and jostled by his fellow Slytherin's.
People milled around, talking about how cool it will be when Slytherin finally beats Gryffindor in the Quidditch Final this year. Draco kept quiet, wishing everyone else would do the same. Potter was a really great seeker, and Draco had no clue how he was supposed to go about catching the snitch before him. This year Draco had the better broom, but Harry still had the skill.
"Hey Draco. You alright?" Pansy seated herself next to him on the couch.
"Yeah. Just thinking that's all."
"Didn't think the day would ever come." She said sarcastically. "About what?"
"The Quidditch Final."
"Ah." Pansy was quiet for a few minutes, then she smiled. "Do you remember what you were acting like once Madam Pomfrey had given you that potion? You were so funny and, how should I put this…inspirational."
Draco thought about it for a few moments. He remembered wanting lollies, getting upset when a Ravenclaw player yelled at him, wanting to impress Chris and others with his flying tricks, talking to Hermione and Gin-
"Oh God." He breathed in horror. He had talked with Hermione, in front of every one. The potion must have scrambled his awareness, so he didn't know to put up a cover and pretend he didn't like Hermione.
"Ah, I see you've remembered your little voyage over to the Gryffindor stands. Have a nice chat with Granger?" Pansy asked, with a neutral expression on her face.
"It must have been the potion." Draco tried to use as an excuse.
"No. I don't think so. I stopped by the Hospital Wing on my way here after the game. Madam Pomfrey said that drinkers of the potion still know whom their friends and enemies are, they just act differently. You still should have known to steer clear of the Godly Gryffindors. Unless…" Pansy trailed off and eyed Draco suspiciously.
"What?" Draco demanded, even though he knew what was coming.
"Unless you are friends with them. Or at least Granger, as she was the one you talked to the most."
Draco shook his head in disgust. "Granger? That's disgusting Pansy. I was drugged up, didn't know what I was doing, or who I was talking to. How could you possibly think that I'd be friends with someone as filthy as Granger? She's stuck-up, annoying, a mudblood and a Gryffindor for God's sake! I would never ever sink that low. Do you seriously think that I would?"
He didn't wait for an answer. Draco stood up and stormed out of the room.
"At this point in time Draco," Pansy whispered softly to herself. "I think you would."
***
As soon as Draco left the Slytherin Common Room his composure fled. Just thinking about what he'd said to Pansy about Hermione made him want to punch himself in the face. How could he have even lied about it? Hermione was beautiful, and didn't deserve to have Draco insulting her behind her back.
Reaching the astronomy tower, Draco looked out over the grounds. Tiny water droplets were starting to fall. It was the beginning of a spring storm. Draco heard a faint bang and realised it to be the front doors of the castle slamming shut. He peered over the railing and saw Hermione running across the grounds towards the forest. Guilt wracked his body as the words he had said about her ran through his head. He had to go talk to her. Apologize. And he knew where she would be.
***
Hermione stood in the clearing, feeling the rain fall around her and breathing in the fresh air. Her eyes were closed and she was focusing on the image of the Unicorn. Hermione concentrated as hard as she could, and tried to vision herself as a Unicorn. Suddenly, she felt an itching sensation spread over her entire body. Opening her eyes in shock, she saw a silver pelt growing out of her pinkish skin. It stopped as soon as her concentration broke.
Shuddering and closing her eyes once more, Hermione felt the changes continue. Her neck thickened and lengthened, her backside grew and her arms extended. She felt her feet and hands harden and become hooves. Her forehead erupted painlessly as the horn grew and reached its point. A tail sprouted from the bottom of her spine causing Hermione to tremble in disgust.
Hermione opened her eyes when she fell forward, landing on her front legs. The change was complete. She was a Unicorn! One of the most beautiful creatures on the planet. Hermione suddenly felt the urge to run. To run and keep running until she was completely worn out. So she did. The rain poured down around her, but this didn't hinder her at all. She ran through the trees, jumping over fallen trees and darting passed the trunks.
Hermione heard thunder and the Unicorn became scared, but Hermione paid it no heed and kept running. In her wonder at being a completely different creature, Hermione lost track of time, but she was snapped back to reality when she heard a voice calling her.
"Hermione!" It cried urgently.
She turned and began cantering towards it, narrowly missing a few tree trunks in the process. The voice grew increasingly more desperate as she got closer. "Hermione! Can you hear me? Hurry!"
Hermione reached the clearing close by the cabin and stopped short in shock at what she was seeing. Draco knelt at the far end of the clearing next to a tree that must have fallen in the storm. He was straining to lift it off the ground but wasn't having any luck. Draco stood and raised his hands to his mouth. "Hermione!" he screamed, turning to face the end she was standing at.
He dropped his hands at the sight of her. His brow furrowed, but he stepped aside and pointed to the fallen tree. Hermione looked and noticed the reason he was trying to lift the tree. A golden pelt could be seen beneath it, squirming slightly. It was the young Unicorn, trapped and unable to get out.
She raced across the clearing, covering the distance in seconds. Lowering her head, Hermione slid her horn underneath the tree trunk and heaved alongside Draco. They strained for a few moments with no results, then slowly the tree began to shift. A small, wet nose poked out from underneath and let out a soft whinny.
"Just wait. You'll be free soon." Draco murmured to the young Unicorn. The tree shifted some more and the Unicorn wriggled out of the gap Draco and Hermione had created. Releasing their grip, they stumbled backwards in exhaustion. The Unicorn stood on wobbly legs and made its way over to Hermione. It sniffed her and rubbed its head against hers.
'You freed me.' She said to Hermione, who didn't have a clue how she knew what it was saying. It then ran off into the forest to find its mother, leaving Hermione staring after it in perplexity.
"Hermione? That is you, isn't it?" Draco questioned her from the ground, where he had collapsed moments earlier.
She turned her silver body to face him and looked down. Draco shuffled backwards uncomfortably. He wasn't positive that she was Hermione, and having a grown Unicorn point its horn at you isn't the most comfortable of situations.
Hermione focussed on her human body and slowly she began to change. Draco's eyes widened in wonder at what looked like Hermione emerging from the melting body of a Unicorn. When she was herself again, Draco swallowed hard and stood up.
"Thanks for the help." He said, indicating to the fallen tree.
Hermione gave a small smile in response. "What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I wanted to talk to you."
"Oh. I need to talk to you too."
Draco looked at her for a few moments, as if trying to figure out what she was going to say. He then shrugged and said, "You go first."
Hermione sighed. "Well, basically…I'm sorry. I've thought about you almost non-stop over the past few weeks and I realised that I was being stupid when I said I didn't want to be with you. Because it's the only thing I want to do." She turned and walked over to the shore of the lake and sat down in the rain. Draco followed and sat facing her. Hermione continued, "When I saw you fall today, I thought you were…you know. It was stupid of me, but you looked so pale and you didn't move for ages. I was so scared. All I could think about was having the chance to be with you, and turning my back on it."
Draco smiled and leaned towards her, cupping her face with his hand, he kissed her softly on the lips. Draco then stared across the lake, watching the drops of water hit the surface and cause splashes and ripples. He glanced at Hermione with a look that confused her. Guilt. She frowned and waited for him to say something.
"I've been dying to hear you say that Hermione." He said truthfully, but Hermione knew he was hiding something from her by the hesitation in his voice.
"What's the matter? What have you done?" she asked.
"It's what I haven't done that's the problem." Draco answered, now staring at the sky.
"Well that told me a lot." Hermione said sarcastically.
"You've had problems with your friends, because they're aware we're working together. But I haven't had any problems, because I haven't told my friends about you." He sent her another guilty look. "In fact, this afternoon I was talking with Pansy and she said something about you and me. Instead of telling her the truth, or at least staying quiet, I insulted you. I said awful things about you, and you don't deserve me doing things like that to you."
Hermione stayed quiet and breathed deeply. Had Ginny been right when she'd said that Draco was no good? That he didn't respect any of the girls he went out with, or even the girls he hadn't yet gone out with. But why would he tell her about this, if he wasn't truly sorry about it?
"Uh…I'm confused." Hermione concluded.
Draco looked surprised that she hadn't slapped him or walked away. "Ok. About what?"
"You haven't said whether you regret saying those things to Pansy, whatever they might have been. I mean…are you sorry or not?"
"Of course I am! Damn, I can't believe I left 'sorry' out of that speech." He shook his head. "Sorry Hermione."
She smiled at him, but it faded very quickly. "If you're so sorry about it, what are you planning on doing?"
"As in…?"
"Will you tell Pansy? Or Crabbe and Goyle? About me, I mean."
"Oh. I'm not sure yet."
Hermione sighed. "Well, this hasn't turned out how I planned it." She muttered to herself.
"Sorry? What did you plan?" Draco asked curiously.
Hermione sighed again, thinking there wasn't much point in hiding her ideas from him. "I have been wanting to tell you that I want to be with you for a while. And I've developed a few different ways that might have resulted in you giving me another chance."
"Which were?" Draco smiled.
"Well, one was simply kissing you in front of my friends, so you'd know that I wasn't embarrassed or trying to hide my feeling about you from them. Another undeveloped plan was to wait till you came to the cabin, then use my Unicorn form to lead you to a secluded spot I've found and tell you there. That way, you couldn't chose not to listen, and walk away from me. But, I hadn't thought that you'd be wanting to talk to me too."
Draco rubbed his chin and raised his eyebrow, feigning thoughtfulness. "I see. Sorry to ruin your plans, but now they seem unnecessary. I suppose I'll give you a second chance…if you strip for me."
"Draco!" Hermione gasped, horrified at the thought.
"I'm only joking Hermione. Don't stress yourself out about it. Unless…?"
"No." Hermione said firmly. Then, changing the subject she asked, "Have you practiced the changing appearance charms? I hope you have, so you wont embarrass yourself by forgetting your shirt again."
Draco smiled slyly, but didn't say anything.
"What?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, nothing."
"Don't give me that. Tell me what you're smiling at."
"Slightly altering my appearance is a charm I've known more than half my life. I was told it'd be necessary for things I'd do in the future. Which it has, many times."
Hermione furrowed her brow. "So…you're saying you already knew how to do that charm?"
"Basically."
"Then why did you pretend you didn't? Why did you make me come over to help you-" Hermione paused. "Oh. What an interesting way to get my attention."
"You didn't seem to care about me." Draco continued. "So I thought that by forgetting my shirt, you might realise what you had passed up."
"Draco, there's more to a person than their body." Hermione reprimanded.
"I know. But it's the first thing you notice about a person, so it sticks. Plus, I know you're not as shallow as to only think about someone's body. It'd just get your attention, and then get you thinking about the mind. Can I ask, did it work?"
"I hate to disappoint you, but it didn't actually. All it did was make me think there was something I could do better than you. But now by sharing the truth with me, you've just gotten me all depressed." She pouted, pretending she was upset.
Draco laughed. "You prat. You're better at most things than I am."
Hermione smiled at him. "Ladies and Gentlemen, the day we never thought would come has finally arrived. Draco Malfoy put himself below a Gryffindor. Amazing stuff."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Can't you accept a compliment without denying it or being sarcastic?"
"Of course I can." Hermione said defensively.
"Alright. Let's try something then. I'll compliment you, and you have to say 'thank-you.' That's it. Ok?"
"Fine. But it's stupid. I can accept compliments." Hermione argued.
"Sure sure. Now, lets see…You're the smartest girl I have ever met, and you're also the most beautiful."
Hermione rolled her eyes, and said "Thank-you."
Draco shook his head. "No. You rolled your eyes. That means you don't believe it. Try again."
Hermione laughed helplessly. "This is ridiculous, Draco."
"Just shut up. Hmm…on our first day at Hogwarts, the first thing I thought when I saw you was 'I hope she gets put in Slytherin.'"
"You did not." Hermione said. "Oh, oops! I mean, thank-you."
"Hermione! You are hopeless!" Draco said, shaking his head again.
"No, I'm not! One more, one more." She pleaded. "I know I can do it this time. Go on…unless you cant think of another one," she said, realising that she wasn't great enough to have countless praises regarding her.
"I could never run out." Draco said, grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze. "Now, continuing my previous praise…when I watched you get sorted into Gryffindor I realised you must have brains as well as beauty. Even though I knew it would never happen, I wished the sorting hat would put me in Gryffindor so I could get to know you. You, Gryffindor's Golden Girl."
Hermione tried as hard as she could to contain her laughter. Taking a deep steadying breath, she said "Thank-you."
Draco stared at her. She stared back. They both burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, that was too much. Draco, that was the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Hermione said, still laughing.
"I know. I just wanted to see how strong your determination was. You passed though, well done. You can officially receive a compliment."
"Thanks. I'm so proud." Hermione said, sarcastic once more. "Where on earth did you pull 'Gryffindor's Golden Girl' from?"
"Just something I made up on the spot."
"None of that was true, was it?" Hermione asked.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I wasn't that wistful when I was twelve." Draco told her.
They were quiet for a few minutes. The rain continued to pour and the lightning flashed in the sky above. Hermione and Draco were both so soaked that they didn't care about the rain, just sat there holding hands. Hermione rested her head on Draco's shoulder, but soon lifted it back off when she started laughing.
"What are you laughing about?" Draco asked.
"You. When you were playing Quidditch, you were acting really cute."
"I'm always cute, Hermione."
"Jeez, you don't only accept a compliment, you add to it." she said.
He ignored her, though he did smile. "…And I'm always sexy, charming, witty, irresistible, friendly-"
Hermione interrupted him. "Ahem…did you just say friendly? Are you losing your mind?"
"You didn't let me finish. I'm always friendly to some Slytherin's…and one Gryffindor." He finished.
Not long after, they both used their amulets to get back to their dorms. As Hermione crawled into bed, the image of Draco's face went through her mind when they said good night. He had smiled slyly, winked at her, then said, "Thanks for the advice. See you Monday."
Hermione hadn't really thought about this statement when he said it, but now it made her stare at the ceiling of her four poster in perplexity. She hadn't given him any advice, what had he been on about? She thought about their conversations, but couldn't think of anything that may be considered as 'advice.'
She'd just have to wait until Monday to find out.
***
Draco sat in the back of the Transfiguration classroom, staring absently at the back of Pansy's head. He was running his idea through his head for about the tenth time that morning. He would wait until Charms. He would act like a dumb ass again. Hermione would hopefully come over again, then-
"Draco, why are you staring at me?"
"Huh?" Draco shook his head, and realised Pansy had turned around in her seat and was now staring back at him with raised eyebrows.
"I've been feeling your eyes boring into the back of my head all morning. What are you thinking about?"
This question caught Draco off guard. "Uh, I'm not…"
"Not thinking? Well that's rare." Pansy said sarcastically. She received a glare from McGonagall and grudgingly turned back around to do her work.
Draco's eyes glazed over again and the thoughts came back to play themselves through his head. He couldn't do it; there was no way that he could! It was insane just to think about it. He needed his friends, and if he did this he would risk the chance of ever having them again. But he needed Hermione almost as much-
"Draco! Will you stop it? It is very distracting. I know the back of my head is very alluring, but will you please 'not think' with your eyes somewhere else?" Pansy had turned around again, and a few surrounding students glanced over.
"Oh sorry." Draco said. Then he put his hand on the side of his mouth, as if he were about to tell Pansy something secret, and said in a stage whisper, "But I could swear that I can see little things crawling around in your hair. Does it itch?"
Pansy's eyes narrowed, as if trying to find something that would give him away for lying. After a few moments, her hand moved unconsciously to scratch her head.
"Ha!" Draco smiled triumphantly. "Made you unsure of yourself, didn't I?"
Pansy pulled her hand down as fast as she could, and slammed it on the table. "Draco, that's not funny! And will you stop staring at me; you're beginning to make me uneasy. I know you want me, you told me that last night. But if you would recall, I told you no. I've heard that your…um, how should I put this? That your masculine attributes aren't all their cracked up to be."
Draco's eyes widened in horror, and Pansy smiled at him, then whispered "Now will you please just do your work, Draco? It's fun to embarrass you, but I'd prefer not to get a detention over it."
"Excuse me!" McGonagall interrupted, with her eyes flaring. "Will you students begin to do some work? Or I will give you to Filch for a night and see how willing you are to chat in class after that." Even though it was a marvellous threat, the students could tell she wouldn't really give them to Filch, by the disgusted expression on her face when she said his name.
Pansy winked at him, then turned back to continue copying her notes from the board. Draco forced his concentration on to his work so he wouldn't have to do it that night. But after a few minutes, laughter echoed around the classroom, interrupting those few students who were actually trying to do their work. Draco turned ungraciously towards the Gryffindor side of the classroom and glared at the group who had broken his concentration. Because of them, he would probably have to copy these notes down for homework.
However, as soon as Draco saw the reason for their laughter, he couldn't help but smirk himself. Neville had somehow turned his hands into a beautiful white bird. He held them high above his head, and the bird flapped his wings in an attempt to escape, without knowing that it was attached to the rest of Neville. The bird had, in its fear, pooped all over Neville's head.
"Neville Longbottom! I told you to just copy down the instructions this class, and that we would complete the spell next class. Not only have you tried to do this spell without instruction, but also you have used the wrong spell. The one on the left of the board is for objects to be turned into living creatures. The one on the right is for living creatures to be turned into objects.
I have noticed, Mr. Longbottom, that you have used the spell on the left to turn a living creature; your hands, into another living creature; the dove. That is not what I asked you to do."
Most of the Gryffindor's stopped laughing, but Seamus and Dean couldn't help themselves. They covered their mouths with their hands and pretended to cough, which just made them laugh harder.
Hermione, naturally, made her way over to Neville with a forced straight face to help the Professor turn his hands back.
The Slytherins started snickering and sending sly comments to the Gryffindors, and they began yelling them back.
With a spell said in unison by McGonagall and Hermione, the dove separated itself from Neville and flew swiftly out of the room, screeching.
Ron, Harry and some other Gryffindors were yelling at Pansy, Crabbe and some other Slytherins.
"SHUT UP!"
Every thing stopped.
Every pair of eyes in the classroom turned to Professor McGonagall, who was standing as if she as about to kill them all. Her eyes were flaring yet again and her hands were balled up in fists at her side. She began to speak very quietly, and every student could hear what she was saying. "I am disgusted at you. Not since your early years at Hogwarts have you acted like this. Not one student has completes their work yet-"
"Well, actually Professor-" Hermione began.
"Shush!" McGonagall snapped. "Fine. One student has finished their work. I know I can't make you do your work, but-"
"You could always pay us." Draco suggested, receiving a few giggles from the Slytherins and a few disgusted looks from the Gryffindors.
"This is exactly what I am talking about! You will all complete chapter three questions from the textbook. I expect them on my desk by next class."
"But that's tomorrow, Professor-"
"I know. Now get out of my classroom. If you ever act like this again, I promise you that Mr Filch and I will be making arrangements, no matter how tasteless." She turned to the blackboard and began rubbing off the notes Draco had failed to complete copying. He needed the notes to complete the extra work she had just set.
"Fucking Gryffindors. It's all their fault." He cursed angrily. Suddenly he received a painful jab in his ribs. He looked up, ready to yell, but stopped when he saw Hermione's brown eyes glaring at him.
"Watch your tongue. It's not all our fault. You had your fair share of angering McGonagall." She looked very unhappy.
"Well, please excuse me for not apologizing profusely-"
"Just shut up." Hermione snapped. She obviously didn't enjoy being set extra homework.
Draco raised his eyebrows and muttered "Oookay."
Hermione walked off to join Ron and Harry who were waiting for her just down the hall. They stared at Draco with identical neutral expressions. He stared back, looking sure of himself, but really wishing he knew what they were thinking.
After lunch, Draco made his way to Charms. Professor Flitwick was already there, so he went into class and sat down in the back corner.
"Hello, Mr. Malfoy." Flitwick said cheerfully. "Have you practiced the transformate spell at all?"
"Nuh." Draco said, enjoying the look of despair on the Professor's face.
"Oh. Well we'll see what we can do today. Maybe I'll get Miss Granger to help you again. She seems to know what she's doing." Flitwick mused.
Not long after, the room was full of students who were all changing single parts of themselves to alter their appearances. Draco put a look of deep concentration on his face and pulled out his wand.
After a few 'false starts', Draco approached the Professor. "I need help again." He said rudely.
Flitwick looked at Draco, and obviously thought about a whole class being stuck helping him. "Um, okay. I'll just get Miss Granger for you."
Draco scowled, but inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. His little plan was working. If Hermione would stick around him long enough, he could redeem himself to her. And if she yelled at him about it later, he could always just tell her it was her idea. Because it was.
***
"Miss. Granger, would you please assist Mr. Malfoy again? He still seems unable to do this simple spell."
Hermione turned around and met eyes with Professor Flitwick, who looked at her pleadingly. She smiled. "Sure. I'd be glad to. Well, maybe not glad. But…Uh…Of course."
Flitwick walked away, and Hermione faced Ron and Harry. Ron sighed. "Fine Hermione. Just leave us for him." he joked. "We don't matter. We're just your little insignificant friends…"
Hermione smiled at him, then turned hesitantly to Harry.
Harry stepped forward. "Hermione. It's your choice, we can't stop you. And we'll still be here for you when you get back." Hermione still hesitated. She didn't want to help Draco if Ron and Harry really didn't want her to. "Go on, Hermione. Go help that stupid, brainless git. If you're falling for him, you may as well be falling for someone who can match your intelligence. For that, he'll need your help. So go."
Hermione gave a tiny peal of laughter. She hugged Harry and Ron, then walked over to where Draco was standing in the middle of the room. She sidled up next to him, and made it look like she was giving him instructions. Instead, she said, "What is wrong with you? You told me you have been able to do this since you were seven. Why are you still pretending you can't do this?"
"Same reason as last time." He smiled.
"But-" Hermione shrugged. "Fine. Whatever. Let's do this. What were you wanting to change?"
"Your view of me."
Hermione's eyebrows furrowed. "Huh?"
"You think I'm embarrassed about liking you. That I won't tell my friends and that I even put you down in front of them."
"Draco, I never said that."
"No, but I know you thought it. And now I want to change that."
"Draco, you're not making any-" Hermione was cut off by Draco's soft lips pressing themselves against hers. Her eyes widened, and met with his beautiful grey ones. Draco's hand snaked around her waist and pulled her against him. After a few moments of not being aware of anything around her except for Draco's lips moving on hers, Hermione realised the entire classroom had gone silent.
Students stared in bewilderment, their eyes nearly popping out of their heads. Mouths hung open so wide that if anyone had tried to walk they would have tripped over their own chins. Were they mistaken? Was that really Draco, kissing Hermione? The 'Mudblood' in his eyes? It couldn't be, it must be Pansy. She must have changed her appearance to look like Hermione. But why on bloody Earth would she do that? They were friends, not interested in each other like that. But Pansy would make more sense than Hermione.
Pansy, who was staring with a look of dawning comprehension on her face, found all eyes turn to look at her. She shook her head at them.
Ron and Harry exchanged a look. Ron rolled his eyes. "Jeez, I didn't know Hermione was that desperate. I would have given her my encouragement weeks ago, if that's all she was waiting for. "
Harry smiled and nodded. He then looked back at the two of them. "Bloody hell, they're still at it."
Hermione wound her arms around Draco's neck and deepened the kiss. She now realised what he had meant the night before when he had thanked her for the advice. He was using her idea of kissing in front of their friends, to make Hermione realise that he wasn't embarrassed about her. Now everyone who attended or taught at Hogwarts would know as soon as the class was dismissed.
Draco pulled back and moved his arm up to drape across Hermione's shoulder in a protective manner. They stood, breathing heavily, facing the silent class. Flitwick decided that this was probably an important moment for the student body, and acted as if he hadn't noticed anything. He turned to look out the window, which required standing on a stack of large textbooks, and looked over his shoulder every now and then to see how things were going. He was also trying to put this event into words, so he would have a killer story to tell the rest of the staff over dinner. It would certainly beat Dumbledore's episode in the Owlery.
Pansy moved slowly towards the two. She stopped with her face inches away from Draco's, and Hermione watched with dread. Pansy could be really foul when she wanted to be. But Hermione got the biggest shock of her life when Pansy's face spread in to a sly smile.
"I knew something was up with you. I knew it, and I'm never wrong." She sent Hermione a sideways glance. "She must be better than I've ever noticed her to be, if you've fallen for her. Krum was just an idiot and would go out with anyone. But you…let's hope you've read her properly, Draco. See you later." With that, Pansy left the classroom.
Crabbe and Goyle walked after her, sending Draco small smirks. Draco knew these looks to be approval. He knew they wouldn't judge him anyway; it had only been Pansy's reaction that he had cared about.
Most Gryffindors looked at Hermione like she was crazy, but didn't say anything. Lavender and Parvarti gave her thumbs up and a small wink on their way out. Soon it was just Hermione, Draco, Ron, Harry and Flitwick who kept his gaze carefully out the window. However Hermione was sure that even though his eyes were looking the other way, his ears were straining to overhear what was about to be said.
Harry and Ron approached them. Harry smiled faintly at Hermione, as did Ron. Harry's gaze then turned to rest on Draco. Draco made a point of not looking hostile, he attempted friendly, but that didn't work very well. He decided neutral was the safe option and left it at that.
"How long?" Harry asked.
Hermione and Draco shared a look.
"Maybe two or three months." Draco answered.
Hermione turned to look at him incredulously. "You've liked me that long?"
"I think so. As I think I've told you before, I grew up knowing how to hide my emotions."
"Oh. Right." She nodded.
'Hermione?" Ron asked.
"Yes Ron?" she answered nervously.
"Can you please ask your boyfriend to give me my History text book back?"
"Huh?" Hermione said in confusion. "But Ron, you don't do History this year. What are you talking about?"
"I did last year. He stole it from me when I left class once to go to the toilet. I never saw him with it, but I know it was him."
Hermione turned questioningly to Draco, who had a huge grin on his face. "Ha! I'd forgotten about that. I'll get it, and give it to you tomorrow. Sorry about that."
"Ron, if you don't do History, why do you need your book back?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Oh. Mum wants to sell it…says it's probably still worth a good couple of galleons." Ron muttered, his face going slightly red.
Draco began to smirk, then thought better of it. He looked at Hermione who was watching him to see his reaction. Harry was doing the same thing.
Draco cleared his throat uncertainly. "Uh…yeah. It's still pretty presentable. I didn't rip any pages out or anything. I don't think. No, no I didn't. Should get you two or three galleons."
Hermione smiled at him in relief and squeezed his hand. Draco sighed. He grabbed his and Hermione's books and began to walk out of the classroom. Hermione left with him and Ron and Harry trailed along behind.
Once they were outside, Ron left Harry to go send Pigwidgeon to Molly so she knew to expect the History book. Harry walked through the halls slowly, thinking about what had just occurred. Surely it was a record of some sort. A Slytherin and a Gryffindor. That just wasn't heard of. Until now.
"Harry!" A squeal came from the corridor behind him. He turned to see Ginny running towards him with her red hair fanning out behind her. She had a look of shock on her face and sped towards him as fast as she could. Harry smiled at her, but his smile faded when he realised that she had misjudged the distance between them and was about to plow into him. Instead of stepping out of the way, he opened his arms and grabbed her. He had hoped to grab her around the waist and swing her around in a circle, but that just didn't happen.
Ginny ran into him and they both fell down and landed hard on the ground. Their books were sprawled all over the ground and Ginny was slumped over Harry's chest. She slowly raised her head. "Oops."
For a single moment they stared at each other, their faces only centimetres apart. Harry looked at Ginny and noticed that she was beginning to blush in embarrassment, as bowling over the guy you had a major crush on for six year wasn't something you'd feel proud about. Suddenly Harry burst out laughing and Ginny gave a weak smile.
She clambered off him and collected their books while Harry stood and brushed himself off. "I'm so sorry Harry, I didn't mean to."
"I know, Gin. And it wasn't just your fault. I could've moved out of the way." Harry said reassuringly. "Now, why were you racing down this corridor like the world was just about to end?"
Ginny's eyes widened and her face became intent. "Is what everybody's saying about Hermione and Malfoy true?"
"Depends what they're saying." Harry said, wondering how on Earth news could have spread that fast around the school.
"That they kissed in front of a whole classroom full of students. That Pansy didn't care. And that they're together now."
"Oh." Harry acted casual. "Yeah, I suppose all that's true."
"What!?" Ginny shouted, then she lowered her voice. "Are you serious?"
"Yep."
"Bloody hell. What did you and Ron do after that?"
"We talked to them. Draco wasn't his usual self. I think he tried hard so he wouldn't let Hermione down."
Ginny was silent. "Do you think we can trust him? Do you think he'll be a prick to Hermione?"
Harry shook his head. "I think he truly does like her, and will try to be as good as he can to her. As insane as it sounds, I think Hermione is happy with him. At least for now…"
Ginny smiled a sad kind of smile. "Well, at least she's happy with someone."
Harry knew she meant more then she gave away with that last line. "What do you mean?"
"I just meant that I'm still waiting for…someone." Ginny barely stopped herself before she said something she may regret. She had Harry's friendship to live with, even though she'd give anything to have more. But if she didn't have the friendship, she'd have nothing.
"Do you know who that someone is?" Harry asked, though he wished he hadn't as soon as it was out of his mouth. It was a very personal and impolite question. Although he had been extremely curious about this particular aspect of Ginny's life for a long while now.
"Um…yes. I think I do." Ginny answered carefully.
"Do I know him?" Harry couldn't stop himself.
"I'd say so. Unless you walk around with your eyes and ears closed, but even then…" Ginny cut off and hoped desperately that Harry was as dense as Ron was most of the time.
Harry's eyes narrowed as he ran through all the guys he knew. It wasn't Dean, they had already tried going out at the end of fifth year. Neville was out of the question. Obviously not Ron, that was just gross. Seamus perhaps? For some reason Harry doubted it. Who would he know, even if he walked around with his eyes and ears closed? That didn't make any sense, he would only be aware of himself-
"Oh." Harry said dumbly, as it hit him.
Ginny looked at the ground and her face burned so red that the whereabouts of her hairline was uncertain. Harry could have fallen on the floor in relief. After so long, Ginny still liked him. He watched for a quick moment, and realised that she was embarrassed beyond imagining. 'Just leave Harry,' he told himself. 'Just go, and act normal.'
"I'd ah…I'd better go to the, you know. Just go to the place. The…the place where we all go after class. You know…the common room! That's it. I'll just head off now. Got lots of homework to do. Need to get that done before yesterday…I mean tomorrow, not yesterday. Tomorrow. But I'll go there now. See you later. Bye."
Ginny didn't look up, just nodded. As Harry walked off, he could have shot a hole through his own head. How stupid did he sound? He had just taken about twenty seconds to say something that should've taken three. 'Good job Harry,' he said dryly to himself. 'So much for acting normal.'
***
A/N- that's it for now. Give it a review, if it's not too much trouble…