Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, I wouldn't be living in Ohio.
A/N: Praise the Lord! I actually finished it! Sorry that I only got one chapter up before leaving on vacation. Hopefully I'll be able to write on the laptop though! Thanks so much for reviewing! It makes me feel special. Tehe. So here it is. Enjoy and review!
Unveiled Thoughts
Harry was sitting and pondering by the fire when Hermione came back into the common room. "Hey," he said as she walked towards the girls' dormitories. "How were patrols?"
Hermione looked up, startled. "Oh, I didn't see you there. Patrols were fine. They're patrols, after all. How exciting could they be? Well, I have to go now, Harry, goodnight!" She said all of this in one breath before running up the stairs.
"'Night," Harry said weakly before returning to his pondering ways. He noted that Hermione seemed—confused. He knew that Ron was going to try and get her back tonight, but her reaction made him wonder exactly how it went. Luckily, Harry didn't have to ponder further because Ron made his way into the room a few minutes later.
"Hey," Harry said again, hoping to get a better response. "How did it go?"
Ron sat down in a chair and stared into the fire. He waited a few moments before answering. "I'm not sure."
Now, Harry wasn't an exceptionally bright boy, but he wasn't stupid either. However, this statement positively befuddled him. "How can you not be sure?" he asked. "Either she said yes or she didn't. Now, which is it?"
"Well," Ron started slowly. "She said no, but I'm not sure if that's necessarily a bad thing."
If Harry Potter was confused before, it was nothing compared to how he was feeling now. He knew darn tootin' that Ron wanted Hermione back, yet when she turns him down, he doesn't know if it's a bad thing? "What do you mean that's not a bad thing? This is what you wanted, right?"
"I thought it was, but now I'm not so sure," Ron said. After Harry's confused look, he went on. "Well, I have always wanted to go out with Hermione because, I don't know, it was like that's what was supposed to happen. I think she was more of a security blanket for me. Like someone that would always be there…it's confusing, I guess."
Harry looked at his best friend with scrutiny. He knew that Ron must be telling the truth, because one: his ears turned red when he lied, and two: because this wasn't the sort of thing you lied about. You lied about Divination homework and who broke your mother's favorite vase, but never about "matters of the heart" as Lavender would say. "I understand," Harry said, even though he didn't fully. "So what are you going to do now?"
"Well," Ron responded. "I think I am going to ask out Allison."
To say the least, Harry had not expected this. "Why? As some sort of rebound? That's low, mate."
Ron looked shocked at the fact that Harry would think this, but explained anyway. "No, no…it's nothing like that. I've always liked Allison, but I never went for it because Hermione was there, you know? Now that I know that Hermione doesn't want to be with me, then I think I should listen to my heart, for once. Besides, Hermione and I are better off as friends, while Allison could be great for me. I mean, she likes the Cannons, what other proof do I need?"
Harry thought about this for a moment. "He does seem to really like Allison…and Hermione obviously isn't interested." After a few more moments of quiet reflection, he made a decision. "I think you should go for it with Allison then. As long as you know that it's what you want."
Ron gave him a small smile in return. "It is." With this, both boys decided that it was a good time to head up to their dormitories and sleep.
11.11.11
"Why did I say no?" Hermione thought as she lay in bed that night. It was about three in the morning, and she still couldn't sleep, owing to the fact that she kept turning this thought over and over in her head. "I mean, it's not that I don't like Ron, it's just that sometimes he can be so…blah. We fight more than anything else…" The brunette stayed on this train of thought for the next half hour. Yet, she still couldn't, for the life of her, figure out why she did what she did and why it seemed that all of a sudden she was acting totally different, especially towards Malfoy.
"And what is the deal with Draco, anyway?" She asked herself. "You fight with him even less than you fight with Ron, and Ron happens to be one of your best friends. What about calling him sexy? Okay, so yeah, he is rather pleasant to look at, and he is rather charming when he wants to be, but sexy? I don't know about that. I really didn't even mean it—it just sort of, slipped out. I can barely stand the guy…" Hermione pondered this for a few more moments. Suddenly, she sat up straight as a board. The prefect had just realized something, and it was disturbing indeed.
"Holy crap!"
11.11.11
At that moment, Draco Malfoy was lying in his overly-expensive bed with his silk sheets and was pondering about many a thing. Such things included, but were not limited to, "Why are bunnies so cute?", "What came first, the chicken or the egg?" and "Why are clowns so fricken scary?" Every so once in a while, he would get a thought that would actually pertain to something important, like "Where did I leave my rubber ducky?" and "Does Granger really think I'm sexy?"
"What do I think about her?" Draco asked himself as he came back to the subject of Hermione. "I guess I really don't hate her anymore, but I don't like her either, do I?" Alas, he pondered this for the next few moments. Finally, he shook his head. "No, no I don't. How can I? A man of Pureblood heritage can never associate themselves with Muggles, no matter how pretty and endearing they may be." Quite suddenly, he smacked himself on the head.
"No! Bad Malfoy. You think Hermione is neither pretty nor endearing. Remember that." As he continued to talk to himself and wonder about the enigma that is his life, he tried not to think about Hermione. However, he rather abruptly sat up straight as a board. Draco had just realized something, and it was disturbing indeed.
"Holy crap!"
11.11.11
In the next week, the whole castle seemed to come to life with a cornucopia of Christmas cheer. Everyone, even the professors, was in a good mood and excited about the upcoming ball and holiday. The decorations were, as always, beautiful. Hagrid had brought in a dozen trees to adorn the Great Hall, each with its own signifying ornament on it. Mistletoe and garlands were hung up over the staircases and across the rafters.
After making her startling discovery, Hermione decided to let that go, not tell anyone, and see what would happen. After all, Christmas was always Hermione's favorite time of year, and she wasn't going to let anything interfere with that. She loved the overall vibe that went along with everything. She especially loved the fact that Christmastime was when she could let loose and do whatever she wanted. For example, perhaps even doing homework the day before it was due! Of course, she never told anyone this because, well, what if they thought she was a "wild child?" Then again, she would chortle at this thought every time it crossed her mind.
It was Hermione's resolve to not dwell on the fact that she turned Ron down. "After all," she decided one day. "I must have had a good reason, right?" She knew, naturally, that Ron really did like Allison (secrets never stayed that way for long in the Gryffindor Tower) and was perfectly okay with that. Ron deserved to be happy, and so did she. So, she made herself happy in any way that she could. This is how she ended up outside one cold night.
11.11.11
On Wednesday night, Hermione was restless. For some reason, she couldn't concentrate on sleeping—not with something like the full moon shining through her curtains. Finally, she decided to just throw back her curtains and take a look outside. Fresh snow was falling and the moonlight poured over the grounds, giving Hogwarts a mystical look. Everything seemed so peaceful, it was hard to imagine that somewhere Voldemort was gaining power.
"Don't think about that now," Hermione whispered as she mentally shook herself. So, she instead thought about other people, mainly Lupin and her Nana. Hermione wondered where Lupin was at that moment, making his transformation from human to werewolf. Silently, she wished him all the love and support he would need to get through it. The brunette looked back at the moon and was comforted by her Nana's spirit.
Hermione walked over to her trunk and opened it. She pulled out the photo album that her mother gave her all those weeks ago. Naturally, the prefect had looked through it countless times already, but she never got enough of it. She opened the book to the front binding. "Keep the magic in your heart," she whispered as she reread what her grandmother had written to her. She held the album closer to herself as suddenly, the serenity of the moonlight was calling to her. Hermione grabbed her cloak as she was lured outside. What she didn't know was that Draco Malfoy was acting along the same lines.
11.11.11
As Draco slipped through the corridors, the only thing he could think about was how much he wanted a Fig Newton. He would never, ever, ever mention this to anyone, since Fig Newtons, were, in fact, a delicious Muggle cookie and he should not be associated with such people.
"Although, if I really wanted to mention it, I am sure I can figure something out!" he said to himself before chuckling jovially at his own joke. As it is, no one else would have found this pun amusing in the slightest, but at the same time, no one would refute him. "Oh, ho! You are quite the witty one, Draco Malfoy."
He stopped mid-chuckle, however, when he stumbled on a familiar scene. Once again, he saw Hermione sneaking out of the big wooden doors in the entrance hall. And, again, he quickly decided to see what she was up to.
Hermione was standing by the lake with her arms outstretched and staring at the sky. Snow was falling all around her in an almost fairy-tale way, and Draco was mesmerized by the sight. He watched as she slowly started swaying to music only she could hear, once again thinking what the hell she was doing.
"I don't understand it," he whispered to himself. "Hermione Granger, model student and seemingly uptight person, dancing around in the snow in the middle of the night?" He may not have believed it, but there she was, not caring about what anyone thought.
However, if Hermione had turned around and actually noticed that Draco Malfoy was watching her prance about, she would have indeed cared of what he thought. She was in her own world, though, thinking about her Nana and how much she missed her. For the moment, she was happy and simply enjoying the feel of the moonlight on her face and the snow fluttering down around her.
"She's so pretty," Draco thought, now having a very strong sense of déjà vu. "No wonder I fancy h…" Just then, he stopped himself. He had almost admitted what he really felt about this brunette Gryffindor. Of course, he had known this himself since that night when he made his disturbing discovery, but he had never said it out loud. Somehow, saying it out loud would make it real.
"Who am I kidding?" Draco muttered. "I want to make this real. I fancy Hermione Granger. There." Feeling very accomplished indeed, he watched her dance about for a few more minutes. "Well," he thought. "What are you going to do now?" Draco pondered for a moment, and then finally decided he couldn't take it anymore. Being this far from Hermione was killing him, and so was pretending that he hated her. "Here goes nothing," he whispered before walking towards her.
Hermione was just about to finish up her little foray in the snow when she heard a branch crack behind her. Immediately on her guard, she pulled out her wand and searched for the source of the noise. Now, whatever she might have expected, Draco Malfoy walking towards her was not one of them. "What the hell?" she said to herself as she watched him. However, after a moment, she seemed to realize what was going on and promptly became indignant.
"What the crispy are you doing here, Malfoy?" Hermione said once he was within earshot. She didn't want to yell in case she woke up one of the professors and they were caught outside in the middle of the night. "Are you stalking me or something?! How long have you been standing there? Why didn't you come up and say anything to me, instead of creeping around like some sort of…creep!?" She asked all of these questions in rapid succession. "What kind of person…" Exactly what kind of person would do what, Draco and Hermione will never find out. The prefect was cut off mid-sentence because, quite suddenly, she found her mouth occupied.
As she was chastising him, Draco ignored all of her questions, unfazed. She was talking entirely too much, he decided, so he brought her face to hers with one hand cupped under he chin and the other on the small of her back. Then…he kissed her, to put it simply. The Kiss effectively shut her up and at the same time showed Hermione how Draco felt.
Hermione was, to say the least, completely shocked. However, after a moment she slid her arms up around his neck and kissed him back. It was her turn to have déjà vu as she thought of the dream she had had. "Wait. You are kissing MALFOY!!" Her mind screamed at her as she finally registered what she was doing. The prefect abruptly pulled away from the Slytherin, no less, and looked at him from behind confused eyes.
"Grr!" She uttered fervently. "I'm not supposed to like you!" Without a backward glance, Hermione ran away towards the castle and left Draco in the snow wondering what to do next. After a few more minutes, a smug smirk graced his face.
"Did she just growl at me?" he asked himself with a chortle. He then walked off after her feeling particularly smug.
11.11.11
As he reached his room, Draco progressed to feeling duly triumphant. He carefully shut his door and then pranced about like a Scottish lad on Christmas…even though he wasn't Scottish nor was it Christmas yet. Anywho, he proceeded in this way until he bounded over to his fish tank.
"Gill!" he said as he tapped the glass. "Gill! Wake up!" The goldfish started swimming around his bowl blearily and then stood at attention. "She likes me!" Draco squealed in a very girly way. He then turned his attention to the full-length mirror in the corner.
"Well, of course she likes me. I knew it all along. After all, who could resist this?" Draco, being the very smug and very vain person that he is, spent the next twenty-five minutes flexing in the mirror and admiring his reflection. He went to bed only after he had a scare—he thought his hairline may have retreated—and slept late, missing breakfast the next morning.
11.11.11
"Okay, so I finally said it out loud," Hermione whispered as she sat in the Gryffindor common room that night. Alas, the startling discovery that she had made was that she liked Draco Malfoy. Consequently, she hated herself for it. "This is not how it's supposed to be," she tried to convince herself.
But, try as she might, she could not ignore the underlying truth. The prefect fancied her enemy and that was why she rejected Ron. She thought that once she figured out why she didn't take him back, everything would be clear and she would no longer be confused. However, it only served to make her even more confused and hurt. Hermione's world was upside-down, and she didn't like that she had no control over it.
The next morning Hermione woke up with a crick in her neck, owing to the fact that she had fallen asleep in the armchair by the fire. She had been having a pleasant dream and wondered what woke her up from it. A quick scan of the room gave her the answer. Ginny was standing behind her with an expectant look on her face.
"Well?" she asked.
Hermione, being sincerely confused, asked, "Well what?"
"Why are you sleeping in the common room?" Ginny asked in a slightly exasperated voice. "Breakfast is about to begin."
"Well," Hermione started, trying to think of an excuse. "I feel asleep here." After finishing rather lamely, the brunette avoided the youngest Weasley's eyes.
"I can see that," Ginny said. "But why were down here in the first place?"
Finally looking up at her, Hermione regarded the redhead for a moment. She decided that it would be better for her to simply tell the truth. "I'm sleeping here because I snuck out last night again…" she began. Hermione told Ginny everything, starting with her being restless the night before and ending with her telling Ginny the story now. The redhead didn't say anything, even when the prefect reluctantly stumbled over the part of this kiss. This was due to the fact that she was secretly thinking, "It's about time" through the whole discourse.
When she was done, the first thing Ginny said was, "Wow."
"I know," Hermione replied. "I know."
"Well, what are you going to do now?"
"I don't know, to be honest," Hermione replied. "I mean, it's still Malfoy. All I know is that I really need some coffee." With this, both girls got up and walked down to breakfast in the Great Hall.
11.11.11
It was all Hermione could do to not think about Draco and stay as far as she could from him in the next two days. Of course, she was used to trying to avoiding him, but now it was different because she was torn. Part of her wanted nothing to do with him and another part wanted to see him as much as she could. Unfortunately, her efforts were proving to be futile.
Everywhere she went, it seemed, Draco was always nearby. She honestly couldn't get away from him, and it was slightly miffing her. She still hated herself for liking him, and he wasn't making it any easier on her. Every time they crossed paths, he would smile at her, and she would never be able to stop herself from smiling back. The only thing she did manage to do was not talk to him, but even that was proving to be harder than she thought.
Draco knew, of course, that Hermione was trying to get away from him, but he really couldn't understand why. He wanted to know if anything would ever happen between the two of them, but Hermione was refusing to talk to him. Most of all, he really wanted to know why she would dance under the full moon, since it was obviously it wasn't a one-time-only thing. He got his opportunity to find out on Friday after their Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson.
Hermione was lagging behind to clarify some points on that day's homework with Professor Tonks, so Draco waited by the door. When she finally came out, he walked up to her.
"Hey," he said. "Can I talk to you?"
"I'm actually busy right now, Draco," she replied. She tried to step around him but he blocked her way. The brunette moved to the other side and found her way blocked again. "I don't have time for your games, Malfoy. Please move."
"Only if you talk to me for a few minutes," he retorted.
Hermione sighed and then consented. "Okay, but only for a few minutes." In truth, she really didn't want to talk with Draco, because she had a good guess of what it might be about. He led her into an empty classroom and they sat down opposite each other.
"So, what do you want?" Hermione asked, wanting to get to the point.
"I want to know what's going on between us," Draco said bluntly.
"Well, you tell me, Draco. You're the one who kissed me," Hermione replied.
"Yes, but you kissed me back."
Hermione squirmed at the thought, but then decided to be honest. "I don't know what's going on between us, and I don't know if anything ever could happen."
"Maybe it will though, eh?" Draco said with a small smile.
"Maybe, Draco," Hermione voiced. "Is that all you wanted?"
"No, I have one more question."
"Okay, shoot."
"Why is it that I have twice found you dancing outside under the moon in the middle of the night?" he asked.
Hermione, who was really only half-listening, blinked a few times as something clicked in her brain. "Wait, what do you mean twice?"
"Oh, that…well I saw you the first time you went out, too," the Slytherin replied sheepishly.
The teenage girl didn't know how to react to this, but then decided she was too tired to argue. "Well, if you really must know, I do it because of my Nana…she died a few months ago." She paused as Draco said "I'm sorry" with true sympathy. Then she went on.
"We used to dance under the full moon, every month, when I was little. It was a time where it was just us, and no one could take that away. We would go through her old ballet costumes and find the perfect ones for that night. She would always say we were putting on a show for the moon and stars, and I loved every minute of it. When I was accepted into Hogwarts, I didn't see her as often and now it's too late. I don't know. Now I guess I'm just trying to feel close to her again. So there it is, go ahead and laugh."
Draco, who had been listening intently, spoke up. "I wasn't going to laugh. I think it's nice that you have something to believe in so strongly. It makes me wish I was closer to my grandparents."
Hermione gave him a small smile and was relieved that he wasn't going to laugh. She had never told anyone, not even Ginny, about how close she was with her grandmother, and was surprised that it was so easy to open up to Draco. "Yes, well, I guess I should be going now. See you around, Draco."
She was just about to walk out the door when she was stopped by his voice. "You know, Hermione, I might just surprise you one of these days. You never know, something could happen between us, and maybe that wouldn't be such a terrible thing."
She listened to all of this with her back turned to him, but when he was finished she turned around. He had a sincere look in his eyes and a smile on his face. She found herself thinking that maybe he was right. Hermione smiled back and then made her way out of the door, but not before saying one last thing.
"We'll see, Draco."
