A/N: Your reviews are amazing! Thanks...they keep me motivated and all...! So I decided to post the next chapter a little earlier. passes around smoothies and cookies
LostSoul010103: I hate cliffhangers too...and I have two reasons why I keep on doing these to you. No. 1, I have LIMITED COMPUTER TIME and No.2, I just like doing this to you...its more fun that way. ;)
Cesia: Thank you so much for your awesome reviews...and you'll find out more about the pendants here
Eliria: well if you read chapt 14...you'll know what I mean
Deep blue quill: I knew you'd see it coming...you are one brilliant reader and reviewer...! I love your reviews!!
Muznakh, JessicaDracoMalfoy, Flavagurl: thanks for all your support. I hope I wasn't pressuring you to review...just wanted to know what you think! I hope you'll keep on reviewing... ;)
Anon11: once again...your reviews continue to motivate me
Sad-soulz, BCSS, dragonblood: thanks!
Thank you to everyone else who reviewed! Anyway, I hope this chapt is good...I'm not sure how to work it out...ideas are fuzzy as of now...but I think I know what I'm doing.
Chapter 15: To Love and To Be Loved
Hermione stared in disbelief at the man with the corn-colored hair, and Draco brushed his hair away from his eyes awkwardly, staring at Dumbledore. They couldn't bring themselves to say everything thy wanted to.
"You may be aware," Alwedian said, breaking the silence, "that the Callixtus Bond is in experimental stages?"
"You made us guinea pigs!?" Hermione said quietly, but angrily
"Not necessarily", Alwedian said calmly, "I have made sure that the chain is stable, and it is--"
"—but its not" Draco cut him off.
"No, Mr. Malfoy, it is" Alwedian said, quite sternly this time, "but I have overlooked something"
"And that is?" Hermione shot at him. She clutched her pendant even more tightly.
"That is, that the pendant developed some sort of magic"
"But you can fix that, can't you?" Draco asked, "I mean, you are this brilliant wizard and all, and an alchemist too and—"
"Mr. Malfoy, calm down," Alwedian said slowly, "Alas, this is a different kind of magic"
"—something deeper, something that is uncontrollable, something unstoppable"
"And may I ask what kind of magic this is?"
Alwedian Militates Jr. shook his head and smiled at the two. "I cannot say", he said, "You will need to discover that for yourself"
"Will you at least tell us where to look for information about it?" Hermione asked, "a library book?"
Alwedian chuckled. "Oh Miss Granger," he said, "There is no book that tells you how this magic works, because it works differently for all of us!"
Draco gasped and shook his head in disbelief. "Then how are we supposed to know how to fight it?"
"Fight it?" Alwedian repeated, "Why would you want to do that?"
And with that, he stood up and waved goodbye to Dumbledore and left the office.
"Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione exclaimed, "We don't understand"
"Now, now you heard what the man said," Dumbledore said, smiling, "Go on to your classes"
Hermione hastily got up from the armchair. Draco mumbled something and hesitantly followed suit.
"Good luck", Dumbledore added as they turned the brass knob of the office and descended the staircase that led to the hallway.
--
Draco and Hermione were still wondering about the magic that Alwedian had told them about, but they still hadn't forgotten about their fight. They still hated each other, though the anger started to lessen.
Hermione was silently debating if she should talk to Malfoy. She still had pride and Malfoy is a scumbag, yet she still couldn't forget about what had happened the past few weeks. Then she realized that she didn't want that to end...
"But it has to", she thought to herself.
Beside Hermione in the Charms class, Draco was pretending to listen to Professor Flitwick while what he was really doing was think about Hermione. He took a quick glance at her. She was copying notes, looking at Professor Flitwick intently with those beautiful dark eyes, and smoothing out that beautiful brown hair...
"No", he said to himself firmly, "No, no, no"—but even he didn't believe that.
--
They went through all their morning classes. It was hard to bear not talking to each other, not after the nights they spent, smiling and actually liking each others company. Perhaps it was more than company that they enjoyed from each other.
At lunch, they took their seats and quietly ate. "Draco", Hermione thought, hoping he'd hear her. "Draco?" she thought again. Maybe he was ignoring her, but he showed no signs of even knowing what she was thinking...
"Draco?" she said aloud.
Draco looked up, and looked at Hermione. "What?" he said, although not as angrily as he wanted.
"Sorry" Hermione muttered.
"You know what Granger?" he said fiercely, "I don't give a damn about you and I am not about to forgive you"
Hermione's face fell, and Draco saw the hurt in her eyes.
"Truth is," Draco thought, "I just don't want to admit that I was wrong"
Hermione shook her head sadly and continued eating her food. Come to think of it, she hadn't done anything wrong. The bond didn't break, and she had nothing to do with that. Like Alwedian said, there's a different magic in there that kept the bond from breaking. So what the hell was she doing apologizing to Draco?
"You know what?" she said angrily, getting up "it's not even my fault the bond won't break so don't you go and blame me!"
She had shouted so loudly that students turned from their plates to look at her. She turned red and turned to take her seat. But she managed to keep her cool by saying, "What?" loudly at the students who had turned to look.
She looked angrily at Malfoy. "You are such a prat, a dirty scumbag, a shithead, a git... a...a—"
Draco hesitated and looked her in the eyes, the beautiful, amazing eyes. He breathed and finally he said, "You're right"
"What did you say?" Hermione said, confused. She was surprised. She didn't expect this reaction from—from...him.
"I said you're right" Draco repeated, "what else do you want from me?"
"N-nothing" she stammered.
Draco rolled his eyes, and Hermione looked at him suspiciously. "You're joking" she said flatly.
"No" Draco said, "I'm not" and he smiled.
Hermione hesitated, but she smiled back.
--
They took all their classes in a laid-back manner occasionally raising their hand to answer some question a teacher asked. They were happy, yet they were still angry at who-knows-what because the chain hasn't broken yet.
Sometimes, Hermione would just smile at Draco, and he's smile back, for no reason at all. She found herself biting her lower lip all too often, and clutching her pendant tighter than ever. She'd have butterflies all the time, and find her mind drifting away from lessons. It was Perfect Bliss, if you'd ask her. She smiled.
Draco found it hard not to gaze at Hermione the rest of the day and he'd find himself in a whole load of trouble once he'd start daydreaming. He's just stare blankly into space forgetting about lessons, the pendants, and most of all, reputation.
--
"Mr. Malfoy!" McGonagall bellowed in Transfiguration class later that afternoon, "Are you even trying to pretend to listen?"
She sighed and told him to stand up.
"Honestly," she told Draco as he clumsily stood up to face McGonagall, "I have never seen you act like this!"
Draco looked down, trying to hide the shame.
"If you are daydreaming about some girl—"
Most of the class sniggered. Hermione wasn't one of them. She just kept quiet, and pretended to be copying notes.
"—I suggest you do your trivial daydreaming elsewhere if you expect to pass my class"
"Sorry Professor"
"You better well should be", she said, "Sit down...and this time, please listen!"
After the class, McGonagall announced the homework, giving Malfoy some extra assignments.
--
"That—that..." Malfoy said as he and Hermione exited the classroom.
"Don't talk about a teacher like that", Hermione snapped, but she was smiling.
"So...were you daydreaming?"
Draco felt blood rush to his cheeks. He had been thinking about Hermione the entire day, and it made him feel guilty that she was just right there beside her. He knew it was safe because the mind-reading spell had started to disappear like Dumbledore told them it would.
"No" he said, a little too defensively.
Hermione didn't believe him. She raised her eyebrows, her eyes glinting. Draco found it hard to resist her eyes. They were so powerful.
"What is it to you if I was?"
"Oh nothing," Hermione laughed.
Draco hadn't heard Hermione's laugh until now. It was absolutely addictive. He laughed too, although he tried not to attract attention. That's when they came across Pansy Parkinson.
--
"Drakie," Pansy said in her high-pitched voice, "What are you doing with this—this, MUDBLOOD?"
Draco, although offended with Pansy calling Hermione a mudblood said, "None of your business if that Muggle-loving fool Dumbledore wants me and Granger to spend sometime with each other"
Hermione frowned. Reputation again. Yet she couldn't help but notice her pendant. It was glowing ever so brightly.
"Hmph" said Pansy and left.
Hermione breathed. Draco turned to her. "What?" said Draco, although he knew what was bothering Hermione.
"Nothing" Hermione said and smiled. She was preoccupied by her glowing pendant. She wanted to know why it was glowing so brightly even though she was a little frustrated about what Draco had said to Pansy.
--
"Hey", Draco called from the common room.
Hermione changed into her pajamas quickly, and put on a robe. She came out of the bathroom, drying her hair with a bright pink towel.
"What?" she said.
"Hate to admit it, but Transfiguration is my worst class"
"How'd you scrape up an O in your O.W.L.s then?"
"Studied 8 hours a day and I had a tutor every weekend"
"Who?"
"Father's friend. I'd meet her at the lake every weekend"
"Figures" Hermione said, and she sat down on the couch across Malfoy.
"Will you help me out then?" he asked.
"Malfoy?" she said in mock surprise, "asking for my help?"
She laughed that addictive laughed of hers, and found himself concentrating on her more than on the spells she was trying to teach him.
"Draco?" Hermione tried to catch his attention. His mind had drifted away again. He looked up. She was asking him to try the spell.
In an effort to impress her, he performed the spell perfectly in one attempt. Hermione smiled.
"Now, wasn't that easy?" Hermione said shortly.
They practiced the rest of the night. Finally, Hermione stood up and headed for the bedroom.
"Good night", she smiled at Draco, and she closed the door behind her.
--
She couldn't fall asleep as easily as she wanted. She didn't understand all these butterflies, these involuntary glances she was making at Draco every few minutes. She didn't get why she was thinking of him non-stop, not paying attention in class. Everything on her mind was pushed aside and Draco's face replaced it.
Was it her, or was she falling in love...?
--
Draco entered the bedroom just a few minutes after Hermione did, and he found himself staring at her face, like he did before. Even more than that, his mind was full of thoughts, focusing on one thing: Hermione. He thought of her non-stop. He never listened in class anymore. He kept on looking at her than turning his head once she turned hers.
Was he imagining it, or was he falling for her?
A/N: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!! Thanks!! ;) Hope you liked this chapt! It took me quite a long time to write it...and thank you again for all your reviews! ;)