Chap. 10 Distraction

Hermione and Draco sat on opposite sides of the furnace room now. Hermione did not look at Draco once...Draco, however, couldn't take his eyes off her.

He was burning inside with passion. He liked what he was getting from Hermione a few minutes ago. He wanted her...bad. He almost broke the little virgin.

'I could have had her.' He thought to himself.

Then he thought a little longer about that. 'I could have had her?' Did he just want to take her virginity still? There was not doubt that he DID want to penetrate her, but was that all he wanted?

He looked at her again. Her knees were brought up against her chest, her face down on her knees. Her long, brown hair cascading down her shoulders. She was beautiful. Why had he never noticed it before this year? Was it because Blaise and others thought she was too? Was it because she was pure and innocent? She was something different, but something so familiar at the same time. He was enamoured with her. Well, he was enamoured at the thought of her. She never given herself up to anyone and she had nearly just given herself to him...Draco Malfoy. Hermione Granger just went further than she ever had with any guy, and it was Draco Malfoy who brought her there.

-

Hermione was feeling vulnerable. She had just let Draco Malfoy snog her, touch her, feel her in places he shouldn't have. She held herself close. She didn't want to look at Malfoy. She didn't want to think of him...but that was inevitable.

'He felt so good.' She thought. She had never let anyone touch her like that; not even

Ron and she went out with him for four months. They had been alone many times and she

never let him. She was with Draco, her archenemy, for an hour or so and she let him.

'Is something wrong with me?' She wondered. She wanted to take a look at Draco...just

one glance. She decided to risk it and take her eyes from her knees. She looked up and saw him staring right back at her. As soon as he realized she was looking at him, he turned his head sadly. She continued to gaze. He was so gorgeous. They way he sat with his shoulders high. His right leg lazily thrown out, while the other was bent and holding his arm up. She saw his eyes when he was looking at her. They were so intense. She felt as if she could stare at them for hours. His light skin was soft and smooth, and gentle when he touched her.

'No...no...I can't think about that.' She said scolding herself. 'I must forget about Draco Malfoy.'

She brought her eyes back to her knees. She closed them tightly trying to force away the pleasurable memories. Soon, she fell asleep in the warm room.

--

Draco opened his eyes to see Hermione asleep. He didn't remember closing his eyes. He saw the furnace fire was nearly out.

'What time is it?' He wondered. 'Did I fall asleep?'

He wanted to go out and see the clock...see if it was morning yet. He got up quietly, so he wouldn't wake up Hermione.

He walked over to the door and opened it slowly. He then quickly shut it. There were people out there!

He ran over to Hermione and shook her.

'Granger! Wake up!'

'Mmm?' She murmured. She rose her head and her eyes went to Draco's. A few seconds of time was spent staring into each other's eyes.

Draco snapped out of it first by snatching his hands away from her shoulders.

'There are people out there! It must be morning already! I fell asleep.'

'What?' She asked quickly getting to her feet.

She walked with Draco over to the door. There were some workers looking around the bar and talking to each other, they looked upset.

'Oh shit!' Draco muttered closing the door.

'What?' Hermione asked.

'If we go out there, they are going to think we stole all that alcohol!'

Hermione's eyes widened and then she fell back against the wall.

'We are never going to get out of this hell hole!' She cried in a whisper.

'Hell hole is a litote of what this place is.' He snapped.

(A/N: a litote is a literary term for 'understatement'...Draco's smart so he'll use

intelligent sounding words)

'We need to stop bickering and figure out how we're going to get out of here, Malfoy.'

Draco looked around the room. He looked at the furnace...then the pipes it was connected to. He followed the big smoke stack pipes up to the ceiling and saw a hole in the ceiling for the pipes. It was not a big hole...but it was a hole. He then looked back at Hermione and noticed how small she really was.

'I think you can fit through that.' Draco commented.

Hermione looked up at the hole.

'I don't think so.' She retorted.

'Granger...I just held your entire body last night...you aren't that big...you can fit.'

Color rose to Hermione's cheeks at this statement.

'I'll try.'

Draco walked over to the furnace, muttered a spell to turn it off and cool it down so Hermione wouldn't burn herself trying to get through the hole.

'Come here, I'll help you up.'

'I can get up by myself thanks.' She said rather quickly.

'Fine. Fine. Suit yourself.' He snapped. He crossed his arms and stood back.

Hermione stepped up on the edge of the furnace and reached up, trying to place her hands on the top of the furnace, where the piping starts. She couldn't reach, she was five inches short.

'Malfoy?' She asked hesitantly.

'I'm coming...' He sighed knowing she would need help.

He stepped forward, under her.

'Want to sit on my shoulders? I'm like six inches taller than you...you'd be able to reach and pull yourself through.'

'Yeah, thanks.' She smiled.

He nodded.

He then bent over as she swung her leg around his shoulder, placing herself gently on top of them.

He stood straight up easily.

'Am I too heavy?' She asked nervously.

'No, not at all. Just see if you can reach, Granger.'

He walked up, leaning against the furnace. She reached up high. She could feel the other side of the ceiling.

'Can you pull yourself up?' He asked.

'Yes. I think so.'

He went up on his toes, helping her pull herself up. She was inside the whole in a matter of seconds.

He looked up...he couldn't see her. He got a bit worried, then he saw her beautiful face peer down at him.

'What should I do now?' She asked.

'What do you see up there?' He asked.

Her face disappeared again. A few seconds later she came back.

'I can get outside from here!'

'Okay, this is what I need you to do. Go outside, distract the workers from here to go outside, then I'll sneak out the front door. Can you do that?'

'How do I distract them?' She asked.

'I'm sure you'll think of something...you're a bright girl, now hurry and go. Scream something, anything, when they are all outside, okay?'

She nodded.

He then heard her move above him...once he couldn't here her anymore he figured she was outside so he ran to the door to listen.

-

Hermione opened a shoot through the ceiling and crawled to the roof. She then sat on the edge of the small shack and slid down to the ground.

'Distract them...distract them...how do I distract them?' She asked herself hysterically.

She went to the front of the shack and looked in the window. There was a woman and an older man in there searching the bar.

She looked around her. She saw a horse and carriage.

'A way back to Hogwarts...' She thought.

She wanted to forget about Malfoy...and the night they had. What a better way to forget about him.

'I'll leave him here!' She cried.

She ran over to the carriage and got onto the horse. She reached for the reins. But she couldn't give the order. Malfoy was being civil to her. Malfoy had helped her, too. He trusted her to get them both out of here. She couldn't leave him.

'Yah!' She cried, snapping the reins.

The horse neighed loudly. It started running, she pulling the reins to the right, causing the horse to circle around the plaza.

'Hey!' the bartender cried from inside the Three Broomsticks.

'That's my horse!' The old man yelled.

Draco heard Hermione yelling at the horse to go. He then heard the two people run out of the bar.

'Thanks Hermione.' He said aloud even though he knew she couldn't hear him.

Draco ran out of the room and then sneaked out of the bar. He moved to the side of the building, watching the two people trying to catch Hermione on the horse. The carriage broke and fell from the horse, causing the two bar workers to fall over it.

Draco then whistled for Hermione's attention. She heard and looked over at Draco. She steered the horse over to him.

'Our ride back.' She grinned.

Draco smirked and jumped up on the horse, moving her back.

'I'm in front.' He said firmly.

'Go ahead. I don't know how to drive this thing!'

'You did a pretty good job back there.'

'Luck.'

'Yah!' Draco cried snapping the reins.

The horse took off quickly, causing Hermione to instinctively grabbing onto Draco and wrapping her arms around his waist.

Draco snapped the reins again, hoping Hermione would grab him tighter...and she did.

Once they got out of Hogsmeade Draco slowed the horse down.

'Whoa...' he said soothingly. The horse slowed from a trot to a slow stride. Draco took a

deep breath and said, 'Thanks for the distraction.'

It was obviously hard for him to say be grateful and admit it.

Hermione felt bad. She was going to leave him and here he is, lowering himself from his normal arrogant self to thank her.

'I have to tell you something.' She said quietly.

'What?'

'I was going to leave you.'

'What? What are you talking about?' He asked, thoroughly confused.

'Back there. I got out of the building, saw the horse, got on and I was going to just leave.'

Draco was silent.

'I'm sorry.' She added.

'Why didn't you?'

'What?

'Why didn't you just go?' He asked.

'Umm...I didn't think it was right.'

'Oh. I see. Yeah that sounds like something you would say.'

'What did you want me to say?' She asked.

'I didn't know. Thanks for not ditching me.'

'What are we going to do when we get back?' Hermione asked.

'We won't have to worry about getting in trouble. It's Saturday. No one probably knows we're gone. We can just say we were sleeping all day.'

'Both of us were sleeping all day?'

'Well, either that or you can say you were in the library...that's believable. I don't think it's anything to worry about, Granger.'

Hermione nodded and they rode back to Hogwarts in silence.