Leather and Libraries
AN: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban isout people! Woot woot! So excited and pumped up! Okay, just a little warning, I'm on work experience for two weeks, starting Monday, so I may not have time to update but I probably will! I've decided to put the answers to your reviews at the bottom since there are so many! Thank yooooooou!
Chapter 14 – Your Words Help Me Fly
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and his magical world because then you would all be praising me and I would have obscene amounts of money!
The Great Hall was buzzing at dinner, everyone excited about the Christmas Holidays already. They talked about what they thought they were going to get or where they were going on holiday.
Most of them had opted to stay at Hogwarts, knowing that it was safer with the threat of Voldemort even stronger. Only a few were going home or on holiday, mostly purebloods from Slytherin that everyone was sure had a connection to Voldemort.
Hermione Granger was blatantly listening to Harry and Ron while she ate. She tried not to look at the platinum haired boy staring at her from across the hall, hopelessly trying to catch her eye in a hopefully sincere manner and hiding it well from everyone else in the Great Hall.
"Are you coming to watch quidditch practice Hermione?" Harry asked.
"What? Oh, ummm I don't know. I still have to do Snape's essay," Hermione said in a bored voice.
"But that's not due in for another 2 weeks!" Ron exclaimed.
"As I constantly say Ron, there's no harm on being on-top of things."
"But you'll end up having a mental breakdown before N.E.W.TS!"
Hermione threw up her arms in defeat. "Fine, I'll go with you, just let me get ready."
"That's the spirit!" Harry said enthusiastically, wrapping an arm around her.
Hermione chose that time to reply to Draco's now annoying staring. He titled his head towards the exit, indicating her to meet him.
She replied by shaking her head and placing her head to rest on Harry's shoulder, causing Draco's face to look like he had just been denied of everlasting life. He left the Hall noisily, attracting many peoples attention.
"Wonder what's got Ferret Boy all steamed up about?" Ron said, loading up his plate with more food.
"Maybe he 'failed' to meet Pansy last night," Seamus chuckled, the boys following his lead.
Hermione joined in a bit, but not fully. She looked at the doors, wondering if she should follow him.
'No,' She thought to herself. 'I'll just go and get ready for practice. He can stay far away from me the bastard.' But something pulled her towards the fact that she actually wanted to see him again without having to steal a look.
"Okay, I'll meet you in the Entrance Hall in ten minutes," Hermione said walking off with a fake smile.
Harry and Ron exchanged a look, not knowing what she was really doing but had a certain theory.
She went out of the doors and up the main stairs, looking into each corridor for the familiar face.
"Hermione?" A voice asked from the Muggle Studies door.
She turned around and saw Draco Malfoy there, leaning against the doorframe.
"What do you want? I've got to go get ready," Hermione spat at him. Of course she had meant to find him, but didn't want him to have the upper hand on knowing that she missed him.
"Just to talk." He grabbed her hand and dragged her in the corridor, checking that no-one saw.
"I haven't got ti-"
"I know. Just hear me out." He looked at her with pleading eyes, which surprised her.
"Okay, speak Ferret Boy." She crossed her arms defensively and gave him an emotionless stare.
He stared at her. "I'll talk about that later." He looked a bit nervous, switching his weight from one foot to the other.
'Remember this moment forever,' She thought to herself, smirking. 'Draco 'Ferret' Malfoy nervous about talking to a girl and actually giving in to his beliefs.'
"Look, I know I've been treating you like dirt but you have to understand. I'm a Malfoy. People would start to talk and then my father would get involved. I'm not afraid of him; I even look up to him in some ways, but who knows what he would do."
Hermione let out a snort. "You look up to that monster? You want to know what you're precious Father did?" She told him everything that had happened at Hogsmeade last year without an answer. How he had taunted her, leered at her and caused pain.
"Bet you didn't know about that did you?" She finished, leaning against the way and taking deep breaths so the water in her eyes would go away.
"No," He said simply, staring at the wall behind her.
It was quiet for a couple of minutes, Draco going over what Hermione had just told him and Hermione getting over telling him. She had only told four people now about what Lucius had done, and found it harder and harder to talk about each time.
"I still have dreams about it," Hermione added, looking up. The tears were falling now but she chose to ignore them. "He hurts me. Sometimes it's physical, verbal ..... Sexual."
"What? He didn't do any of those did he?!" Draco shouted, grabbing her by the shoulders.
She shook her head. "It's just the dreams. They play with my mind and when I wake up and I think they've actually happened. I'm shaking and my bedclothes are drenched with sweat, just from something that didn't happen."
"Hermione, I'm sorry. But I'm not him. I told you that in the library, remember?"
"Yes, and I'm glad you're not, how ever close to him you are. I care about you and I don't want to see you carrying that horrid mark with him and staring at the same four walls. So, just promise me you won't follow your father; you won't turn to Voldemort."
Draco flinched slightly at his name, but still regained some composure. "When it comes to Him, you can't deny it otherwise he'll hurt the people you love ten times harder."
"But you just said –"
"Yes, but I can't fight it forever. I have to go home for the Christmas break no matter what!"
"You can stay here! Dumbledore will help you! Please don't become cold. I don't want to lose you."
She looked at him and stepped towards him.
"I can't promise anything, I just told you that."
She smiled. "I know, but try at least. Try to become a better person. There's not only Voldemort in this world. There's Dumbledore – and me..."
Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him lightly, still smiling.
"I better go but I'll see you tomorrow?" She said, walking backwards.
"On the highest mountain," Draco replied.
They both laughed and she went out, checked if anyone was there and walked up, stealing a little glance at him. She ran up the rest and to the portrait, saying the password and going up the dormitory to get a coat, and she was still smiling but worried in her heart for the boy who had a part of her and always would.
"Come on Harry!" Hermione shouted from the stands, clapping wildly even though the crowd was a whole nine people so it did not really have the 'atmosphere'. He had just gone into a dive, seeing the snitch just by the grassy outskirts of the pitch.
"Yes!" She screamed jumping up and down as Harry emerged with the snitch still clasped tightly in his hand.
Hermione rushed out and onto the pitch. "That was brilliant!"
"Whoa, calm down!" Harry said as she embraced him in a bone-breaking hug.
"And you were amazing Ron!" She shouted as Ron made his way over them. "You're getting way better!"
"Thanks Hermione," He said. "Are you waiting for us?"
"No, I'll meet you up the common room," She said, giving Ron a hug and waving goodbye.
"Don't say anything Ron," Harry said, heading towards the changing room.
"I wasn't going to!" Ron defended himself, catching him up.
"You were. But we can't tell her what to do."
"So we just sit back while she goes and shags Malfoy?!"
"We don't even know that she's seeing him yet."
"But she could be. And then how would you feel?"
"I guess I would feel betrayed but it's her life."
They went into the changing room and only one of the boys remained and he was just going as well. Ron waited until he was gone so he could reply without being overheard.
"See! So we have to know if it's going on."
"Fine then, we'll ask Hermione like we said before."
"No, she'd lie to us anyway." Ron seemed to look nervous and avoided Harry's gaze. "I was thinking ..... following her tomorrow night."
"What?! No Ron, we have to respect her privacy!"
"It's not like she's thinking of us when she's out seeing Malfoy"
"Ron, we don't even know yet!"
"That's why we have to find out. It's the only way."
They were both now changed and Harry shouldered his Firebolt. "Okay, but if we get found out it's your fault. I'm not really sure about it."
"Don't worry. I just want Hermione to not go falling for Ferret Boy! As Ginny said, she deserves way better."
AN: Hmmm different feelings in this one. I missed precious Draco so I had to write him in talking about Lucius.
sirius-black-4eva – Lolz twisted sense of humour... Join the club! Noooo Draco's too shexy to die and plus he's my muse :P
ShimmeringEvil – But Draco's always an arse! Yeah Pansy is an evil bitch so that's why I love writing her!
jesska-14 – Yeah bless his little cotton socks! He's so hopeless without her which I will shed a little more light on soon ;) This is your shout out! Hehehe thanks for the wonderful comments!
Kimberly-Grace – Wow you left a lot of reviews! Here I go:
3 – Yes Malfoy can feel (although that is debatable)
5 – Blame my appalling grammar and spelling for those mistakes! It was so corny you could bite on it and it would chip your teeth!
7 – Yeah but I just came up with a theory that he's gay! Don't ask.... He is just so snogable!
9 – I hate OOC! It can't be avoided sometimes though especially with nice Draco in a relationship with anger driven Hermione!
12 – Drakie made me laugh! Stupid nickname she has for him!
13 – No need to resort to that knife! There is no relationship with Harry and Hermione in this story (that I have thought of yet) but they are really the same person. Ron isn't really like them so when they confide in each other, their like brother and sister since they both have no siblings.
Phew, got through that alive!
fireballazur - Oh my god I haven't heard the word 'Snazzy' in ages! Definitely a cool word! Yeah the what not has improved slightly and my English teacher says it isn't up to scratch –rolls eyes-
BabyRuth – You left a lot of reviews as well! –Off on the replying ship-
2 – I wouldn't personally do that so drastically so that was why I put Hermione's reaction in there because I'm like her :P But it's nice to know you would do that!
4 – As Karen would say 'This is too much for my naïve eyes! But a kiss is inevitable with sexual tension like that!
6 – No, men are always horny and it get's on women's nerves!
9 – Which bit now? She tends to do a lot of stupid things at the moment.
10 – This was definitely the best chapter I got to write so far! Yeah, Ron still has feelings for her so it would hurt but he wants to forget them as he now has Hannah OTP!
12 – Yeah, Hermione isn't as plain and naïve as some people make her out to be. Guys can be gits.
-Is about to drop dead-
BlackPearl07 – Yes! Finally they are no longer stupid! It's the same with me, I live in Fairwater but I say Fairwa'er since I have never pronounced the T's all my life which annoys my singing teacher!
BellaCubanita15 – Lolz well here's the new chapter and I'm working on Feathers and Fire and Feelings Of A Broken Heart. But mostly in my free time I write the short stories you see in my bio! Thank you!
Kittykins – Squealing? Hmmm... Thanks for the comments! Made me blush as red as my hair! Well I'm ginger so it's not red.... Oh well, Draco is a complete and utter arse when it comes to his pride and evilness and to sum up Draco-isms!
elvenrarehunter – Awww thanks! God I'll get big headed with all these fabby comments and compliments! Always interesting to know what will happen after a couple has their first real argument – sweeps away tear- Young Love!
silvereyedelven – Yes I quite agree! Thanks for the pop I'll store it in me on-line fridge! Ginny is just too nosy (like me!) but she's just looking out for her friends but she could tend to keep her mouth shut! Sorry lolz. I think Draco isn't that blond but he will do crazy things, maybe not in this story –wink wink nudge nudge- Yeah the Slytherin's would be tainted! Your review made me laugh!
HaftHand - -does evil finger thing- Ah ha! We meet again! Malfoy should swallow his pride along with that stupid bitch of a friend he call's Pansy! Read my name at the bottom!
Also, thanks to jackyskipskip and blackdragonofdeath13 for their reviews and comments!
Okay, my emotional levels seem to be going AWOL with these reviews! Lolz. Thank you sooo much for all the reviews! They truly mean the world to me since this is a story I've been working on for four months now! I feel like having one of those BIG HUGS for some reason :S And I just had to answer all of them, no matter how dead I feel now!
Star x aka Queen-of-Finding-Out-What Happened-to-Narcissa-in-HaftHand's-story! :P