The Passion of a Dragon

By: xKatx

Author's Notes: WOW! I have reviews! lol I'm so excited!! :)
Well, I'd like to update you all—I have all the chapters done except for the last two which I'm editing, so at this point you're just waiting for me to get my lazy butt to the computer and upload the chapters! I apologize for any typos or spelling mistakes—I am basically my own beta! lol :) I'd also like to let you guys know that I'm already planning my next story! For some of you who read my short lived fic containing the Fates called All's Fair in Love and War, I would like you guys to know that I am NOT reloading it. I'm taking the general idea (which I came up with, I swear) and putting it into the plot I've already created for my next story! As soon as I get a title that I'm sure about, I will post it on this story so you guys know what to look for! Thank you for enjoying this fic so much, I appreciate all the support! ::muah::

Disclaimer: I don't own HP stuff—I'd be in the mountains right now if I did—I own everything you don't recognize.

Characters You Will Meet In This Chapter:

no new characters

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Hermione spent the night crying herself to sleep; vowing that she would get all of her emotion out behind closed doors before classes started the next day. There was no way she was going to let the entire school see her break down in the Great Hall over Malfoy; she'd seen too many girls go that way.

She awoke the next morning at five-thirty, thankful that she was up before Malfoy; she knew he usually rose at about six.

She quickly grabbed a bathrobe and a towel and snuck into the bathroom, securely locking the door behind her.

While massaging her two-in-one vanilla-scented shampoo/conditioner into her hair, she decided on a course of action. She knew Malfoy wanted her; he'd admitted it during the battle.

"You will be mine, someday," he'd told her.

She decided she wasn't going to wait around for Malfoy anymore; she was sick of playing the Gryffindor prude you didn't know how to flirt or charm a man. She was going to loosen up a little.

But no loosening up as in sleeping with random guys! She told herself harshly. She was not going to be the Gryffindor slut. But she was going to have some fun with the rest of her year.

She got out of the shower, the intense smell of vanilla suffusing the bathroom, unconsciously calming her.
She wrapped a towel around her hair and tied the belt of her bathrobe.

She re-entered her room and dressed in her usual Hogwarts uniform, with the sleeves of her shirt rolled up securely. She pulled the towel off of her head and ran her fingers through her hair, the curls forming nicely. She let her hair air-dry, the frizzy curls slowly becoming silky waves in her hair. She applied dark, smokey eye-makeup, hoping to cover some of the redness brought on by her tears. She applied foundation to even out her skin, hiding the blotchiness that a night of crying had produced. She popped a mint into her mouth, applied some clear gloss to her lips, ran her hands through her wavy hair once more, and turned away from her vanity.

She made sure her socks were pulled up over her knees; the gold, black, and crimson plaid skirt hit mid-thigh, and that her shirt was tucked in, complete with the matching plaid tie around her neck. She was ready to take on the world; one step at a time.

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Hermione arrived in the Great Hall at about nine o'clock that morning. She didn't throw a single glance at the Slytherin table during that time, and found herself feeling pride that she could handle this so well in public. She put her bag under the bench and sat down between Ron and Harry.

"Mornin', 'Mione," Ron said, his mouth full of oatmeal.

"Ron, you really need to learn table etiquette," she told him, and he gave her an innocent look.

"Are you saying I don't have class?" He questioned, and Harry snorted into his oatmeal.

Hermione laughed and patted Harry on the back to make sure he didn't inhale any of the breakfast food, "That's precisely what I'm saying, Ron."
He threw her a look before swallowing and saying, in a much more normal, coherent voice, "Morning, Hermione."

"There! See, that wasn't hard, was it?"
Ron pretended to wipe away tears, "You have no idea," he said in a feigned-distressed voice.

Again, Harry nearly upset his breakfast upon seeing Ron.

"Harry, honestly, he's not that funny!" Hermione said, turning and looking at her raven-haired best friend.

"Oh, 'Mione, I'm sorry it's just... he's such a drama queen!" Harry said, laughing out loud, Ron joining in as well.

"Stop being such a drama queen, Granger," the memory of the night before came flooding back into her mind, but she pushed it away quickly, not letting her smile falter once.

"Will you two knock it off?" She asked, "It wasn't that funny, seriously."

The boys' laughter soon died down as Ginny, Lavender, Parvati, and Seamus arrived in the Great Hall.

Hermione scanned around the Hall, looking for one familiar face. She searched the Ravenclaw table until she found him.

Xander Vitrikson looked up, caught her eye, and smiled. She returned the smile before turning back to her friends, who were discussing Seamus' attempt and near failure to get dressed that morning.

Little did Hermione or Xander know, a pair of steel gray eyes had watched the entire exchange, and continued to watch her. How dare she challenge him like that? She knew he wanted her; and she knew he'd fight for her if it meant that much to him.

There's no way someone like Xander is going to take her away from me, Draco told himself. He still didn't trust Xander one bit, and he had a strange feeling that the Ravenclaw was up to no good.

His eyes swiveled back to her, watching her smile and laugh and talk with her friends. He saw Potter put an arm around her, and he nearly jumped out of his seat. He was being ridiculous—she wasn't with him yet, and he needed to calm down before he did something extremely embarassing.

Little did he know, someone was watching Hermione and him as well. The owner of the eyes chuckled evilly.

"They've already grown apart," he whispered to himself, "Now all we need is to wedge them even further apart. She can take care of him; I'll take care of the girl."

The figure laughed harshly before turning away.

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Considering the students at Hogwarts had returned to classes on Friday, that evening was extremely relaxed. Homework was pushed aside until Sunday evening, and the students had free time to spend outside.

Hermione and the Gryffindor crew (minus Ginny, who had a report due for Professor Sprout, and insisted the others go on without her) decided a evening by the lake would be nice before the snow began to fall. Being it the last day of November, the snow would be coming, and so would Christmas.

The group decided to meet in the Entrance Hall after changing into warmer clothes.

Hermione walked up the stairs to the Heads Dormitory, seeing Elvira the Elusive sitting, very bored, in the frame.

"Long time no see, Miss Hermione," Elvira said, "How have you been?"

"Not all that great, Miss Elvira," she admitted to the painting.

Elvira tipped her head, "The prophecy?" She questioned.

Hermione looked up, "How did you know about that?"
"Ahh, Miss Hermione, I was here when it was last fulfilled."

Hermione's eyes widened, "You knew Taryn and Luke?"
Elvira looked shocked that Hermione knew their names, "Why, yes, I guarded this same portrait hole when they were Head Boy and Girl."

Oh shit, Hermione thought. It makes total sense. All of this. The strange attraction between me and Malfoy. It's us. I'm the Gryffindor and he's the Slytherin. We have to fulfill the prophecy.

"Um, Miss Elvira," Hermione began, trying to sound carefree and offhand, even though her true feelings were quite the opposite, "Do you know exactly what has to be done, for the prophecy to be fulfilled?"

"Ahh, on the last night before the due, the two must share an intimate act. It doesn't necessarily have to be completely physical," Elvira said with a strange look in her eye, "Why, Taryn and Luke fulfilled it that night with a kiss."

Hermione nodded, remembering the dream she'd had. She wanted to think all of it over, and therefore excused herself.

"Infinigus," she said, after saying goodbye to Elvira.

Hermione walked into the common room and immediately saw Malfoy laying on the couch, one arm behind his head and the other holding up a book. She threw one glance in his general direction before going into her room. She shut the door sharply, hoping it cemented her wish not to talk with him. It was bad enough they'd had that terrible row at the willow the night before, but now she knew that they had to fulfill the prophecy. She shook her head; she didn't want to be part of it! She hated Malfoy with a sickening passion... didn't she?

Remembering she had to meet her friends, she quickly changed out of her uniform and into a pair of hip-hugging, low-slung, boot-cut jeans, and a large gray sweatshirt with the Muggle brand "Old Navy" printed across it in navy blue letters. She slipped on a pair of Nikes (Muggle running shoes), pulled her hair into a messy bun, freshened up her make-up, and made sure her wand was tucked securely in her pocket. She left her room and was almost to the portrait hole when she heard Malfoy say something.

"What?" She questioned, turning around and facing him, her eyes burning with that same anger.

"I said," he began, putting the book down, "Is that Mudbloods never learn."
"And what haven't I learned, Mr. High and Mighty Pureblood?" She questioned, looking at him with intense hate.

He got up and sauntered over to her, his hands in his pocket.

"You haven't learned that appearances can be deceiving."

"And who is deceiving me?"
"Who do you think?"

She shook her head, "Gods, Malfoy, when the hell are you going to stop buggering me about Xander? He's fine."

He raised an eyebrow at her, looking down at her closely. Her heart started to race rapidly, but she didn't let him see any of her discomfort.

"Do you really think there's something there?" He questioned, "If you do, you're more naive than I thought."

"Shove off, Malfoy," she said, "You wouldn't know caring or feeling if it punched you in the face."

"Oh, that's where you're wrong, Granger," he said, "Very wrong."

"Oh yeah?" She hissed, getting right up into his face, their noses and lips almost touching, "Prove it, pureblood."

She glared at him for a moment longer, feeling something like a cosmic force wanting her to kiss him, but she fought against it, turning away and leaving the common room.

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Hermione arrived in the Entrance Hall to find her friends already there.

"Sorry I'm late, you guys," she apologized upon reaching the group.

"No problem," Harry replied, draping a friendly arm around his tired looking best friend, "Have another row with Malfoy?"
Hermione sighed, "Yeah," she admitted, "But it wasn't terrible."

Harry nodded as Ron spoke up, "If that prat does anything unusually cruel, let us know and we'll take care of it for you."

Hermione nodded with a smiled, putting an arm around Ron's back, her two best friends on either side of her, "Did I ever tell you guys how awesome you are?" She asked.

Ron put his arm around her, and the Golden Trio walked to the lake with the other three friends, "I think you mention once a year or so, so you're due."

Hermione laughed, "Well, you guys are awesome."
"You are too, 'Mione," Harry replied as they reached the edge of the lake.

The group settled under a tree about twenty feet from the edge of the lake, deciding what they should do. Seamus produced a smaller version of a Quaffle and suggested he and Ron toss it over the lake. Ron agreed and Hermione shook her head at the childish game they'd come up with. But nonetheless, Ron ran to one side of the lake, and Seamus to the other, Parvati and Lavender moving closer to the water to watch. The two boys threw with all their might to make sure the Quaffle didn't land in the water.

Hermione lay on her back in the grass, her knees up and her arms crossed. She stared at the some of the stars that were slowly becoming visible as the sun slowly faded down past the horizon.

Harry scooted over and lay next to her, his hands behind his head.

"What's up, 'Mione?" He asked in a quiet voice.

She looked at him before turning back to the stars, "Nothing, Harry, why?"

"Because you haven't been yourself in about a month. You're not eating, you barely last twelve seconds without daydreaming—what's up?"

She sighed, deciding she would explain it to Harry, just without the intimate details (such as the fact that the man she was conflicted about was Malfoy).

"Well, there's this guy," she began, and Harry broke into a large grin.

"What?" She asked, looking puzzled at his reaction.

"I knew it was a guy who had you down, Hermione," he said, before clearing his throat, "Go on."

"Well," she said, "We don't get along at all sometimes, but at times we flirt up a storm, and then.."

"You snogged a couple times, didn't you?" Harry asked with a curious glint in his green eyes.

"Harry Potter, I sometimes wonder if you aren't a mind reader," she exclaimed with a smile.

He smirked, "I know you, Hermione, that's all."

There was a short pause before he bumped her arm gently with his shoulder, "Go on," he said.

"Well, we did snog, twice, and then he started getting really jealous about me hanging out with Xander."

Harry listened attentively, his brows furrowed in contemplation and attentiveness.

"We got in a huge row the other night, and now it's just back to us not getting along. I don't know, it just... I kind of liked things the way they were before we got into a fight, you know?"

Hermione casually left out the fact that they were to fulfill the prophecy, considering Harry would have easily guessed the true identity of the man in her story had she mentioned that.

Harry lay still for a while, looking up at the stars, with Hermione anxiously waiting for his advice.

"Well, 'Mione," he said, "I say if you really want him and the things he brought when you two got along together, I say you go for it—be with him, and make it work."

Hermione wanted to object, telling Harry "His father's evil! He's a Slytherin! He's MALFOY!", but she didn't. She smiled and nodded.

"Thanks, Harry," she said, "I guess I just needed someone to talk some sense into me."

Harry gave her a warm smile, "Hey, I owe you after six years of coming to you for advice."

Hermione reached over and gave her best friend a big hug.

"I love you, Harry," she said, "You're the best friend I've ever had, and probably every will have."

"I love you too, 'Mione, and Ron loves you," he assured her, patting her back, hoping to take some of her troubles off of her mind, "We'll always be here for you, okay?"
She nodded, at that moment feeling like the luckiest girl in the world to have two best friends such as Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley.

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A/N: THEY DO NOT ROMANTICALLY LOVE ONE ANOTHER! Just so we get that straight; I have a ton of guy friends, and I always tell them I love'em, so make sure you get the idea that they love each other as best friends/practically family. smiles brightly Thank you for your time, and MAKE SURE you R&R! :)