A/N: I've decided to write one author's note per chapter, unless I have a big fuck-up and want to correct it. It should be sufficient.
First off, I would like to thank you all for your sympathies. I appreciate it. Smooches to all.
Someone asked about Draco and Hermione's ages. They are 23. I have no idea when their birthdays are, but, um, yeah.
It was also recently brought to my attention (a few nights back) that Blaise Zabini is actually a girl. I'm not entirely certain, and I haven't been able to check that fact on account of my cousin having borrowed my book – I think it was the first book – and she hasn't brought it back. Anyway, if that's true, then I apologize for making Blaise a boy, but after all it is my fic and I can do whatever I want. sticks out tongue Take that, all you nonbelievers.
Okay, okay, I suppose I should do the story now, huh? Hehehe, okay, here goes.
Hermione was still feeling slightly nauseous from the burping contest when she finished the dishes. She dried them and put them away. She was reaching to put the biggest plate in the top cupboard, where it belonged, but she couldn't. Shit. I hate being short. She struggled for another minute. Then she felt strong hands wrap around her waist.
She was so shocked she nearly dropped the plate. "What the hell are you doing?" she shrieked.
Draco lifted her up so she was on eye level with the cupboard. "I'm lending a helping hand," he stated with a cheeky grin.
I don't think I've ever seen him grin before, she mused. He should do it more often. Out loud, she replied, "That is so cheesy."
"Yeah, I know, but it had to be said." He smiled at her. "You know, you should probably put that plate away before I drop you." As he said that, he pretended to drop her, which caused her to shriek again. He caught her and lifted her up higher. "Actually, I was serious. I'm dead clumsy."
This made Hermione more uneasy than she already was from having his hands on her. She quickly put the plate away, but Draco didn't let go. "Okay, I'm done, you can put me down," she said, trying to twist in his arms so she could look at him. Unfortunately, she found out he wasn't lying when he said he was clumsy. He actually dropped her. Centimeters from the floor, he caught her again, thanks to his quick reflexes. She looked slightly paler than she had during the burping contest. She had unconsciously wrapped her arms around his neck. This caused him to take a better look at her.
I never noticed how pretty her eyes were, he thought to himself.
That's because you never had reason to notice, seeing as she is a MUDBLOOD, you idiot.
Go away. You are bothering me, he told the little voice.
So? You need to think about what you're doing. you idiot. You can't think that… thing is attractive. It's not allowed.
Why not? Why can't I like whomever I want?
It's, um, well, the voice replied, it should be a law.
Ah, but you know the Malfoys aren't ones to follow the rules.
Oh, shut up.
Grinning slightly now, he picked Hermione up, carrying her like a groom would carry his bride over the threshold. When Hermione realized what he was doing, she started to squirm.
"I suggest you hold still unless you want me to drop you again."
Hermione quit squirming, only to realize he didn't need to be carrying her anyway. "Well, you can put me down, I don't think I'm going to be falling anywhere else anytime soon. Well," she added as an afterthought, "I don't think I'll fall anywhere unless you continue to hold me." She smirked at him.
"Oh, yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Fine." With that, he dumped her on the floor without warning. She cried out when she landed on her booty.
"AAAAHHHHH, you pompous ass! You know I didn't mean drop me onto a hard stone floor, I meant put me down so I can walk on my own." She stood up slowly, wincing. She slowly stretched, making sure nothing was permanently damaged. When she determined all she was going to have was a sore butt and a bruised ego, she brushed the dirt off her jeans.
Draco stood transfixed by the sight in front of him. Mmmmm. Wonder what I have to do to tap that ass.
WHAT?!? The little voice screamed, but Draco ignored it.
XXXXX
Pansy was shocked and slightly disgusted. Does he have to tell me every single disgusting detail? I don't want to hear him talking about her ass like that. She paused in her thoughts. Well, now that he mentions it… NO, NO, NO, I did not just think that. She shuddered a little.
Draco had noticed this little display of emotion dance across Pansy's face. She complains about me being a pervert, but look at what she's doing. He knew what thought had just run across her mind. He hadn't been her friend for fifteen years for nothing.
He noticed Pansy was mumbling something about having to go home. So she wants to escape, huh?
"I thought you wanted to hear my story, Pansy."
"Yes, well," she answered, flustered. "I didn't realize it was going to take so long, and I have to work tomorrow, and the dishes aren't done, and I have to –"
"Pansy. Shut up. You have house-elves. You have no dishes to do. Not only that, but you're a freelance editor and have nowhere to be tomorrow morning." He smirked at her. "If you don't want to listen, fine, just say so. You're a really bad liar."
Pansy flushed just a little. Dammit. I don't want to hear anymore. It's just too gross. "Okay, fine. I don't want to hear anymore. Happy?"
"Nope. You asked for it, now you're gonna get it." Draco watched her jaw drop. He knew he was being a prick, but he didn't care. She brought this on herself.
"You're an ass."
"Yep. Sure am. Now, get something else to drink. I'm not done yet."
Pansy let out a sigh and ordered another tea.
XXXXX
Hermione felt like someone was watching her. She turned around and caught the expression on Draco's face. What a pig. Can't I just be friends with a guy that won't automatically think I want to jump into bed with him? Well, she could tease him, anyway.
Moaning, she rubbed the left side of her butt. Her eyes fluttered, and she moved over to stand in front of Draco. She put on a pouty face and looked up into his eyes. "My butt hurts now. It's going to hurt all day. See what you've done?" She turned around, bent over slightly, and pointed at her booty. "If I was a little kid, I'd ask you to kiss it and make it all better."
She couldn't see, but when she said those words, Draco actually took a step forward to do just that. He wanted to touch that ass, and if that meant kissing it, so be it.
She heard his breathing become slightly ragged. Okay, that's enough for now, otherwise he'll be jumping me in the hall. She giggled to herself.
She stood up and continued rubbing her left cheek. As she did so, she turned slightly so she could see his face. His mouth was open and his eyes were staring at the motion of her hand grabbing and rubbing her butt. She couldn't help it; she laughed out loud.
- - - - -
Draco finally tore his gaze away from the round perfection that was her ass and looked up at her. He had a slightly dazed look in his eyes, which only made her laugh harder. He seemed to snap out of his trance and realized she had done it on purpose. Oh, gods, am I really that attracted to her? Slightly embarrassed, he decided two could play at this game.
He took the two steps required to bring them face to face. He wrapped his arms around her and placed both hands on her butt and squeezed. He watched the laughter die on her face to be replaced by a look he couldn't readily interpret. Her hands ran up his arms and came to rest on his shoulders. Without warning, his heart started to pound. Holy shit, I want her. He was so into it at that moment that he didn't hear Tonks making her way back from the washroom.
"Well, I'll be going ho—OH, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. I'll just be going now, I'll see you later." With that, she slipped out the door and slammed it shut behind her.
- - - - -
The slamming of the door seemed to shake Hermione out of her thoughts. She was so relieved; if they hadn't been interrupted, she didn't know what might have happened. She could guess, though. Strangely enough, the idea of snogging Draco didn't disgust her as she had expected. It was mainly this thought, that not only did the sight of him not make her ill but also actually made her heart race, that made her tear herself out of his embrace.
"W-w-what do you think you're d-doing?" she stammered. How dare he touch me? He's… he's… oh, shit, why did he have to touch me like that?
- - - - -
"Helping your boo-boo feel better. Why, what did you think I was doing?" This was a complete and utter lie. He was feeling her up, plain and simple. Thankfully, though, Hermione hadn't looked at his pants, which would have pointed this little lie out in a second. He was starting to get a little irritated. He was running out of distracting thoughts to use to get rid of his pointing problem. He was going to have to start each morning with a really, really cold shower. Hell, if this continued, he might have to take a cold shower every half an hour or so.
Hermione saw the look on Draco's face. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
No, I'm not okay. I want to bone you right here, right now, and keep doing it all day… maybe even all night. He sighed. Did I really just think that?
Out loud, he said, "I'm okay, just a little uncomfortable right now." At least that was the truth. If his jeans got any tighter, he wouldn't be able to get them off.
He saw than same unidentified emotion run across Hermione's face. "I'm sorry. This… it shouldn't have happened. I'm sorry." She made to turn away.
He grabbed her arm before she could run. "Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything wrong. It's normal for a woman such as yourself to be attracted to me." Which was true; occasionally, for no apparent reason, a woman would run up to him and beg him to take her. Depending on how long ago his last fuck was, sometimes he would accept; others, he wouldn't.
- - - - -
She couldn't believe what she just heard come out of his mouth. 'It's normal for a woman such as yourself to be attracted to me.' How arrogant could he get? The pompous bastard had no idea what he was talking about! That's not what I was thinking about at all!
Liar, a voice in her head said.
Shut up. I hate you. I wasn't thinking about how smooth his chest looked, or how muscular he is, or the fact that we slept in his bed last night –
Then how are you coming up with all these flimsy excuses so quickly? the voice asked.
I thought I told you to shut up. I'm not having this conversation anymore.
She voiced her thoughts. "You pompous bastard! How arrogant can you get? I wasn't thinking about that AT ALL!" With that, she made to walk off again. Again, he grabbed her arm.
"Let go of me."
"No. I want to know what you were thinking about."
"Well, you're going to wait a long time, because I'm not telling you." She stuck her tongue out at him.
"Okay. Have it my way." He picked her up and slung her over one shoulder. She started pounding on his back, yelling at him to put her down, knock it off, she meant it, he was going to have to face her wrath, etc. She didn't even realize where he was taking her until her feet ran into the door. If she hadn't moved to the side, her head would have been rammed through the wall. She heard the door click open and he walked into the room. He threw her on the bed unceremoniously and stood, towering over her.
"What were you thinking about?"
"I told you, I'm not saying."
"Wanna bet?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "If you think you can make me, go ahead and try."
He leaned over the bed, his hands on either side of her face. Her hair was fanned out behind her, leaving a dark auburn spot on the gray blanket. Her cheeks were flushed, and her lips glistened in the sunlight still streaming in the window.
All thought flew out of his head when he looked into her eyes. He saw pain (he hoped he wasn't the cause of it), anger, and surprise, along with that other unidentified emotion. Her eyes are brown, he thought. They're… beautiful. She's beautiful. The other voice was screaming in his head, but Draco neither knew nor cared what it had to say. He was busy. He slowly lowered his face closer and closer to hers.
- - - - -
She didn't know what he was doing. Why is he getting closer? It's not me, is it? He was looking straight into her eyes. She looked at his. I knew they were silver, but I never knew they were this beautiful. They kind of look like the silver lining of a storm cloud. She lost track of her thoughts as his lips gently brushed hers. Her eyes opened wide.
I meant to be attractive, not sexy. He pulled back from her, eyes slightly unfocused. Am I leading him on? Oh, what have I done? What do I do now?
She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off. "Don't you dare say it."
She felt slightly confused. "Say what?"
"You were about to apologize. Weren't you?"
Hermione looked towards the floor. "So what if I was? I didn't mean for it to happen, and you're not the only one to blame. I could have stopped it."
His eyes lost a little of the shine they had possessed and turned darker. "You think that was a mistake?"
"Well, a little, yes."
"You're wrong. I never make mistakes." With that, he got off her and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.
