IMPRESSIONS chapter nine
Disclaimer: Don't own anything, except for stuff you don't recognize.
Summary: An emotionally, physically, and mentally wounded Draco needs someone to help him, whether he wants to admit it or not, after his father lands in Azkaban, his mother is committed to St. Mungo's, and his entire world crumbles. Romance/Angst.
Author's Note: Please review!
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Hermione stormed into the Arithmancy classroom the following morning, dreading every second of the day's class. As she feared, Malfoy was sitting lazily in his customary seat at the back of the classroom, with a novel and a glass of pumpkin juice.
"Come back for more?" he asked, not lifting his eyes from the page.
"How dare you? Do you know what I had to say to get Harry and Ron off my back? Ron isn't even speaking to me, and it's your fault! Neither of them trust me, they think I'm going to go off gallivanting with you!" said Hermione furiously, stomping over to his desk.
"Well, that's hardly a loss, isn't it?" said Malfoy calmly.
"What is?"
"Weasley not talking to you. Did he ever have anything to say that interested you?" said Malfoy, smirking.
"What-? Of course, Ron is one of my best"-
"Yes, but does he say anything? To my knowledge, he's perfectly content with rambling on about Quidditch," said Malfoy.
"All boys do!" said Hermione.
"So you agree with me, then?" said Malfoy, his eyes glinting with amusement.
She seemed to deflate. "No. And why in bloody hell did you kiss me?"
"Don't worry, Granger, it was nothing personal," Malfoy shrugged.
She blushed red. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means, Granger, that any other girl would have done just as nicely," said Malfoy patiently, with the air of one explaining basic addition to a three-year-old.
She slapped him. "You arrogant prat!"
He touched his stinging cheek with a pale, slim finger and frowned. "What was that for?"
"For being an insufferable git!" she shouted. "You are a slimy, priggish prick who uses girls!"
"So that kiss meant something to you?" said Malfoy, looking up from his book, leering.
He eyes went wide. "NO! It was just"-
"Don't tell me!" said Malfoy gleefully. "That was your first kiss?"
She went very red with embarrassment. "Of course not!"
He sniggered. "That's great," he said. "I mean, I knew you're a prude, but even most prudes have kissed before"-
She slapped him a second time. "Come off it, Granger!" he said, annoyed.
"I am not a prude!"
"Prove it," said Malfoy, smirking at her.
"What?" she was caught entirely off guard, and Malfoy took the opportunity to grab her robes and pull her down to his mouth a second time.
She was scarlet when he finally let her go. "No, you're still a prude," said Malfoy, wiping his mouth and leaning back into his chair. "You'll be one until you kiss me of your own accord," he said, barely repressed mirth evident even in his tone.
She glared at him and turned. "I'm not speaking to you. And you can sort out your problem without me."
He ignored her, and she ignored the fact that she was annoyed at his ignoring her decision.
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At lunch, there was a solitary owl (an eagle owl, to be more precise) that flew down from the open window. The beautiful creature dropped an envelope at Hermione's plate and she glanced at it apprehensively.
"Who's it from, Hermione?" asked Harry, trying to resume a normal relationship with the girl after catching her with his enemy.
"Um, my parents, I think. I'll go and reply to them," lied Hermione, collecting her bag and the envelope and rushing out of the Great Hall. Harry continued to stare at her retreating back with a perplexed expression.
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New information. Abandoned classroom on fourth floor. Skip next class, I need your help.
D.L.G.M.
Hermione sighed. She did honestly want to help him, but because of – recent events – she wasn't sure she should go. She glanced at her schedule, and moaned when she saw that she had double Care of Magical Creatures next, with some rather scary giant lizards. She glanced at Malfoy's note a second time, and let out a whoosh of air.
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"What new information have you got?" asked Hermione as she walked inside the dusty classroom. Malfoy was lurking in the shadows, no doubt.
"I went to the library last night," he said, walking out from the corner of the room. "I found out that it only works if the caster hates the person whom he is cursing." His eyes looked troubled.
Hermione repressed the sympathy that had billowed up at his statement. "Oh"- she began uncomfortably.
"It's not as if I thought he loved me or anything, but…" Malfoy trailed off and Hermione felt a second pang of sadness. She just peered at him, at a loss of what she should do. She had never seen him like that before.
His clouded face cleared. "Also, it didn't mention a specific spell, but the book I read hinted that there was a cure."
"Well, that's good news," said Hermione.
"Why? I thought I was… Let me quote… A 'slimy, priggish prick,'" he said coolly. "And I thought you weren't speaking to me?"
Hermione flushed red as he quoted verbatim her words. "I was just upset, is all. And since you need help…"
His eyes narrowed. "I don't 'need help.' I am perfectly capable of handling this on my own, thanks," he spat.
Her eyes went round. "Fine, then," she mumbled. "I don't even know why I bothered to skive off."
He looked delighted. "Oh, right. What class did you have?"
"Care of Magical Creatures," said Hermione sullenly. "A double period."
"I'd say it's good you skived off then. Might end up with a horrible gash on her arm," he said, grimacing and touching his forearm like the injury three years previous still pained him.
"Oh, get off it. You were faking it, just to try and get Hagrid fired!" Hermione said angrily.
He smirked. "Yeah, well, we all need entertainment, right?" he said.
"What? Do you have any idea what you put Hagrid through?" said Hermione furiously.
For the third time, and second of the day, he cut her words off by a determined kiss.
Hermione felt her knees go weak and her head spin, as it did every time he kissed her. The shock never lessened. To her horror, he slipped his tongue into her mouth this time, and that made the duration of the kiss much longer.
When he let her go, she stepped away from him, her eyes wide and quite unsure of what to do. He crossed his arms. "Getting better, Granger," he observed.
Her cheeks went crimson. "What do you want, Malfoy? I come, thinking you won't pull anything, and every time-!"
"What do I want?" he seemed to pause thoughtfully. "I don't know. I suppose it's just amusing to kiss you. You go all red and ball your hands up… Not to mention, the look on Weasley's face. And, of course, the fact that you're a girl," he added lastly.
She glowered at him and didn't say anything for a few minutes. "You kiss me to piss off Ron?"
"Does it really matter that much? It's not as if I'm proposing or something." Malfoy chuckled at his joke. "Cool it, Granger. It's a perfectly natural thing"-
"That's it. I'm leaving," Hermione announced. "I'm not doing this anymore, lying to my friends to come and meet you."
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Author's Note: Wow, I'm on a roll… Three chapters in two days! And I expect I'll write another one when I get home from school today (We had a 90-min delay today, so I spent an hour of it writing this)! Well… I thought I should include more kissing. Also, DRACO DOES NOT LIKE HERMIONE. He's kissing her only (to use a phrase that lucidity used) "to satisfy his desires." Tu comprends? Okay, good. Thanks a bunch to all my reviewers! I'm extremely excited about the response!
Lucidity: Thank you so much for your reviews and the information on Schizophrenia. I appreciate it very much. NOTICE: Read her story, it's great…
Postscipt: Don't worry; Schizophrenia has nothing to do with this story…