Hey everybody! I've got the latest installment of the Seventh Year! And guess what! I'm "co-writing" (aka, giving helpful hints and making a cameo) a fic with my best mate, so hopefully it'll be up soon. I'll keep you posted! Until then, here's the latest chapter!
Chapter 8
[Previously]
"Karma!" Hermione laughed.
Once the laughter had died down to a lull, Hermione and Draco just sat there, sipping their respective drinks and not meeting each other's gaze. They both finished their drinks rather quickly. Their eyes met once Hermione's empty mug met the table with a -clink- and they both nodded. They rose from their seats, and Draco once again fished around in his pockets, finally tossing down a golden Galleon onto the tabletop. The woman swooped in a picked it up, waving cheerfully as the two exited.
"What a cute couple," she said idly as she picked up the empty mugs.
[End]
The clock in the stone clock tower down the street rang a few times, and groaning could be heard from every Hogwarts student. It was time to go back to the school, and the students reluctantly filed back towards the looming stone buildings in the distance. Hermione and Draco walked in the back of the pack, while everyone else hustled past them.
"Hah, to be honest with you, I never knew I'd have this much fun with you," Hermione said, trying desperately to make conversation.
"You're not so bad yourself...Hermione," Draco said, resisting his instinct to call her Granger.
"Kind of hard to believe this is our last year, here at Hogwarts," Hermione said, staring fondly at the school.
"Yeah. I can't wait to leave it behind, but in a way, it's like a second home – just not as nice and I actually have to do physical chores," Draco drawled.
"You're such a spoiled brat, you know that?" Hermione laughed, punching him in the arm lightly.
"I know, but you wouldn't like me any other way," Draco said, lightly pushing her back. Hermione feigned that she had been hit really hard and looked at Draco in false horror.
"You never hit a lady! We're too fragile!" Hermione said in an overly-girlish tone. Draco snorted.
"I didn't know you were a lady! Congratulations on the sex change!" Draco laughed. But he wasn't aware that he had struck a nerve. Hermione huffed, shot him a dirty look, and hurried ahead.
"Oh come on, I was kidding!" Draco said, rolling his eyes in exasperation as he jogged to catch up with the angry Gryffindor.
"Could've fooled me," Hermione said bitterly, her hair whipping about her face as she turned to give Draco a cold look. Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off.
"Don't you have someone else to bother, Malfoy?" Harry said angrily as he and Ron approached Hermione and Draco.
"As a matter of fact, I don't. Now bugger off!" Draco replied, just as angry.
"I don't think you understand, Ferret. Leave. Hermione. Alone!" Ron threatened, cracking his knuckles at the end of his statement.
"Ooh, I'm so scared. What's the Weasel King going to do?" Draco taunted.
"Would all of you just shut up!" Hermione yelled before running up the path, her fists clenched.
The three boys stared after her silently, then looked at each other. Ron and Harry threw Draco a few dirty looks, and in response, Draco spat in their direction. Harry and Ron narrowed their eyes and kept walking.
Once inside the castle, Hermione stormed angrily about. She didn't want to go back to the Head dormitories because she knew Draco would be there. Instead, Hermione opted to walk around the castle grounds under the guise that she was 'patrolling' as it were.
Hermione walked around the stone dungeons and through the dimly lit corridors. She was thinking about what he had said. He was probably kidding, but it still hurt. It was bad enough that she had been called boyish most of her life (which is why she grew out her hair) and it was even worse when she was considered the fallback date for Ron and Harry. She thought she had overcome those days of embarrassment, but maybe she thought wrong.
Hermione stepped silently up the stairs of the Head Tower, unaware that a certain blonde boy waited inside.
"Argh!" Draco yelled in frustration, tipping the shoe box over, causing it's contents to spill out onto the table.
Currently, the pureblood had no idea what he was doing. He had seen very few models of a muggle living room, and even then, they were merely the corners of the rooms. But no, Draco had to design a WHOLE room. He combed through his hair with his fingers, once again picking everything up, placing it piece by piece.
First came the couch, which he set in the center of the 'room.' Secondly, he set a miniature coffee table in front of it. So far so good. Then he placed the model of the television behind the couch. Draco shrugged and picked up a lamp, which he set precariously on the narrow coffee table. After that, he put a recliner directly across from the couch, and set a tiny end table next to it. And finally, he set the stereo system backing up against a wall, and across from that he set the bookshelf.
Most of it seemed right to him, but he was still thoroughly confused about the television and the stereo, which was portrayed by a modest jukebox.
And yet, even if he wanted to, he couldn't wholly concentrate himself on his task at hand. His mind kept drifting back to Hermione. He felt bad for saying mean things to her, even if it was in fun. He sighed and hunched over the table, where he sat for a few moments, looking at his project.
"Dammit Granger," he said at last, standing up and retrieving his cloak. But just as he was about to tie it about his neck, the girl in question stumbled through the portrait hole. Her eyes were sad and downcast, and she shuffled lightly on the wooden floors.
Hermione pretended not to notice Draco staring at her, and she pretended that the tears welling up in her eyes were from anger, and not sadness. She shuffled her feet against the floor, slowly making her way towards her room. She had just reached a hand out to turn the door knob to her room, when Draco caught her arm, and spun her around carefully.
"Hey look...About what I said. I'm sorry," Draco said softly, tilting her head up with his index finger.
"No you're not. You, like everyone else, thinks I'm just a...a...a BOY!" Hermione yelled, hot tears streaming down her face. Draco sighed inwardly and rubbed her tears away. The curious thing was, that Hermione let him.
"You're not a boy. I just said that because I was just being dumb. You're a very beautiful girl, Hermione," Draco said.
"No I'm not! You're only saying that to make me feel better!" Hermione cried, going on and on about how she looked like a boy. Draco thought hard: he needed to stop her, and fast. Now...how had he always shut Pansy up when she was being obnoxious? OF COURSE!
In midsentence, Draco leaned down and captured Hermione's lips with his own in a soft, tender kiss. He leaned back after a few seconds, and Hermione stared at him with saucers for eyes. She tentatively reached up a hand, and touched her lips with her fingers.
"What was that for?" Hermione said.
"Because you're a beautiful girl, and since I don't kiss boys, I guess that proves you're a girl," Draco explained. Hermione thought about it for a second.
"Otherwise I would've melted, right?" Hermione quipped, before a wide smile crept across her face. Draco smiled in relief.
"Right," he joked back. Hermione smiled up at him before engulfing him in a warm, friendly hug. Draco didn't hesitate this time, to hug back.
"So, you going to help me with my project, or what?" Draco said, once she left his arms, leaving him feeling a little colder than he had felt before.
"Sure," Hermione laughed in agreement as they walked over to see Draco's project. Hermione took a few minutes to survey it, before turning to Draco.
"Overall, most everything is in the right place. You just need to... 'fine tune' it a bit," Hermione said.
"Alright, so show me what I messed up,"
"First of all, the television goes in front of the couch, and the recliner goes on either side of the couch. Second of all, lamps usually go on end tables,"
"That's what I thought, but some muggle ways are so twisted," Draco said. Hermione threw him a look. Draco put his hands in the air in surrender and allowed the girl to continue.
"So yeah, just move the recliner to the side of the couch like so, and put the end table on the side like this. You put the lamp here, and put the coffee table like so, and voila!"
Draco bent down to survey the room a little closer, and smiled in approval. He righted himself and turned to Hermione.
"Thanks for putting the furniture in the correct way for me," Draco said. He then cast her a quizzical look when she picked up the box.
"Whatever do you mean? I didn't put it together for you. You have to do it for yourself," Hermione said as she shook up the contents of the box.
"No! What're you doing?!" Draco cried out when he saw the contents of the box bouncing around in the box.
"You have to do it yourself, dear. Now, if you need me, I'll be in the shower," Hermione said over her shoulder, as she triumphantly made her way into the bathroom.
Draco glared daggers after her. All his hard work!
'What are you talking about? She did most of the work, fixing your flaws,' his inner voice said.
'Shut up...And why do you only show up to point out my mistakes?'
'Do you really want me around more often?'
'You have a point...'
'Yes I do. Now...GET BACK TO WORK!' the voice reprimanded him.
"Alright alright, back to work," Draco said with a resigned breath as he poured the items out of the box and began to rearrange it.
Inside the bathroom, Hermione was quite pleased with herself. She took her time, covering her body from head to toe in sudsy bubbles, rinsing them off, and starting the process over again. As much as she cleansed her body physically, she still felt a little tainted because of Eric. She shuddered as a cold chill ran down her spine. Goosebumps sprang up all over her arms and legs, despite the warm water that poured over them.
Hermione finally rinsed her hair free from conditioner and stopped the water. She stepped out onto the cream bath mat, and wrapped a towel around her torso. She brought her hands up to her head and wrung out the excess water in her hair, then let it hang limply over her shoulders. She found her comb and calmly brushed her hair. Hermione wasn't in any hurry to go anywhere except for bed, so she took her sweet time doing her nightly ritual.
She picked up her pajamas from the hook she kept them on, and pulled on some fresh underwear. By now she had learned to leave a new change of clothes or PJ's in the bathroom, so as not to get caught 'semi-streaking' again. She pulled a white tank top over her head, which said 'GRYFFINDOR' in red faded letters across the chest. Then she pulled on her plaid pajama pants and slipped her feet into some comfy pink slippers – gifts from Ginny.
Hermione wrapped her hair in a towel and stepped out of the steamy bathroom. Draco was relaxing on the couch with his eyes closed. He kept his eyes screwed shut, even though he felt and heard her presence nearby. Hermione meanwhile, surveyed his work. Everything was back in place, and he had even charmed a fake fireplace with a glowing fire in it.
"Very impressive. I like the fireplace touch," Hermione said, taken aback at how seriously he took his work.
"Thank you," Draco said, still refusing to move or even open one eye. Hermione saw this and bent over him. The end of her towel came undone and the tip of it touched Draco's forehead. He still refused to open his eyes, but swatted at the offending article, and mussed his hair in the process.
Hermione let her hand slowly make its way down to his hair and she stroked it lightly, brushing it out of his eyes, where it had rested moments before. Draco's hand shot up, and he opened his silver blue eyes. His pupils dilated as he focused on Hermione's face.
"You're hair is so soft," Hermione said. She wasn't even trying to break free of his grasp, even though seconds later he let go on his own accord.
"Well this is after years of brushing and caring for it properly," Draco drawled.
"Tell me about it," Hermione said, sitting down next to him on the couch.
"There used to be a rumor going around that you used baby shampoo. Is it, or was it true?" Hermione questioned, staring at his platinum gold locks.
"No, I DID NOT and DO NOT use baby shampoo. Maybe when I was a baby, but not since then!" Draco said, highly offended. After all, Malfoy's used only the highest quality wizarding salon shampoos and conditioners.
"I don't know...Your hair IS awfully soft," Hermione taunted.
"Shut up!" Draco yelled, jabbing a few fingers in her side. Hermione squealed and fell over onto the floor. Draco peered over the edge of the couch as Hermione wriggled about before standing up again, a bright red blush creeping across her features.
"What was that all about?" Draco asked mid-laugh.
"I'm umm...ticklish," Hermione admitted. She soon realized it was a mistake, because as soon as those words registered in Draco's brain, Hermione was tackled and was being tickled to death.
"No! Hahah! Stop! Hahah! Please!" Hermione screamed, trying not to give in and laugh herself silly. But Draco wouldn't have any of it. He smirked as his fingers flew across her stomach and sides, roughly tickling her through her night shirt. Hermione gasped as one of his warm hands found its way under her shirt and kept tickling.
"No! I give up! Hahahah! Uncle! Stop! Hahahah! I'm ahaha begging you! Ahahah!" Hermione screamed as she writhed about beneath him, trying to turn and escape his long arms. Finally Draco let up and allowed Hermione to breathe. They both sat up, Draco with a triumphant smile upon his face, and Hermione, red in the face from laughing so hard. Her head pounded as a migraine came on.
"Ohh," She moaned. "What was that for?"
"That was for messing up my project after we had finished it," Draco said.
"And here I thought it was because I insulted your hair products,"
"That too,"
"Ow. All that laughing gave me a migraine. Thanks a lot, Draco!" Hermione said loudly, rubbing her temples in circular patterns.
"Anytime," Draco said happily.
"Hmph. I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning. Good night, Draco," Hermione said finally, ending their conversation and heading towards her room.
"Night, 'Mione," Draco said absentmindedly as he stumbled into the bathroom. Neither had noticed he had called her 'Mione', which had only been used by Hermione's most intimate friends, which was basically limited to Ron, Harry, and Ginny. Instead, Draco shut the door and went about his nightly rituals.
Aww, how cute. They're getting alone ;) I'll post more later! Lots of love to everyone, and if you love me, you'll review! Hugs and kisses!
English-Foxlette