Disclaimer- Don't own HP, or J.K. Rowling stuffs. Just the plot.
A/N Wow- nearly a year later, we are back with our little stories. We reread our stories and I was so embarrassed. My romance really needed work. Oh well, I'm back a year later- my work slightly better. I'm gonna edit my first one- because its really bad.
WARNING- Dance terminology may be needed to understand bits and pieces.
Here- For those at loss…
Posse- not the people you hang out with. Posse (pronounced Pos- say) is when you lift one foot to rest on the inside of your knee and the knee of the resting foot is pointed forward
Releve- (pronounced Reh- Lah- Vay) when you rise from being flat footed, to on the ball of the foot, or the point of the toes
Pirouette- turn of the body on the ball or point of the foot
The Fourth Story In the Serendipity Series- Hermione/ Draco
Hermione slipped on her black cotton capris over her red fishnet leggings. She tugged on a red tank top and put on a black shrug to cover her shoulders. She grabbed her dance bag, tossing her shoes: jazz, tap, and sneakers, in. She grabbed her mary-janes, hopping on each foot as she put them on. Right as she got her second shoe on she was gone in a POP as she landed clumsily in an old store that was located in a bad spot for cars to pull in and out of. It would never sell.
She gathered her self as she walked out of the store, never noticed by the oblivious muggles. They never paid attention to notice anything. She jumped as she was met with water. She looked up to see pouring rain and she was standing in the middle of it. She smiled and took the long way to class, letting the rain drench her. She even did an occasional twirl, but stopped when she hit the fifth person. They walked off with a grumpy growl and a shake of their umbrella.
Hermione walked up to the dance studio, took out her key, opening the door. She walked in and tossed her hair. She closed the door, turning the lock. She took her wet hair in her hands and as she made her way to the inside the studio she twisted it into a wet bun. She stripped off the wet shrug that was sticking to her skin and left her other clothes to dry. She switched the fluorescent lights on and looked at her damp self in the mirror. She smirked and sat down against the wall.
She pulled off her mary-janes and tugged on her dance sneakers. She laced the shoes on and reached into her bag for her CD's. She grabbed the CD she wanted and hopped up. She spun her way to the stereo, switching from the ball of her toe to the point of her toes. She popped the CD in and pulsing music surrounded her and she slid down into a split to warm up.
The teacher clapped her hands to keep the class in beat as then all balanced on the ball of their toes, stepped, posse, switch, step, and posse. They separated into three groups and all three groups pirouetted. The music was cut and the girls stopped. Hermione placed her other foot on the ground and turned to face the instructor.
"All right, girls. Remember, the recital is in a month. And for those in the hip-hop class, I'll see you in an hour. Great job, see you here on Thursday."
Hermione moved to change her shoes, but the teacher called her. Hermione jogged up to her.
"Hermione, did you come to practice again this morning?"
"Yes, I did."
The instructor nodded. Hermione almost thought she was in trouble. But she smiled in relief when she instructor smiled and handed her the CD.
"Then this must be yours."
"Thank you." She mumbled. And she moved to turn but the instructor had more to say.
"Oh, Hermione? I know it's late in the year, but could you do me a favor?"
Hermione turned back around. "Yeah, anything."
"Could you come in the mornings every Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday?"
"I do anyway. But why do you ask? Am I not performing well?" Hermione bit her lip.
"Oh, no, Hermione. You're doing excellent. We just have a new student. He's outstanding, although you would never know it by looking at him. But anyway, I want you two to do a solo for the recital. You two and your talents would steal the show. If it works out I want you to perform for the competition in May."
"Of course. You want to meet here on Tuesday? At what time? I come in at six." Hermione said thoughtfully.
"I'll be here at seven, as will he. You have a key so feel welcome to come whenever you want."
Hermione nodded. "I'll be there. See you in an hour." Hermione walked away, carrying her bad and going out to eat breakfast before her hip-hop class.
Hermione spent her time between Saturday and Tuesday slowly, working and reading. She currently worked at the library and wasn't in any hurry to find a real job.
She woke up early on Tuesday, dressed in gray cotton capris over purple fishnets (Hermione is a fan of fishnets and other funky clothing like that). She put on a black tank top and strapped on her purple Converses (A/N LIKE MINE!). She twisted her hair into a bun and went into the kitchen, grabbing a muggle book as she maneuvered around the kitchen, making her self some toast and a pot of coffee.
She finished her breakfast and headed down the studio in anticipation. She couldn't wait to meet her new dance partner. This would be her fourth duet and she loved all of them. She apparated in the shop and arrived at the studio at around six thirty, not wanting to wait around forever and not having time to practice any of her own choreographed dances. She just arrived early to stretch and do a few numbers by herself.
She changed from her purple converses to her black jazz shoes that fit to her foot like a glove. She put on some music and began to stretch. She was down in a center split reaching over her right knee when she didn't hear someone come in.
She rolled over to the middle where she reached over to bend on her elbows.
"Are you going to keep me waiting, or are you going to get up off your lazy ass and dance?" She jumped at the sudden voice. She spun around, bringing her legs under her.
"Excuse me? Who do you th-" her voice got stuck in her throat at the sight in front of her. The man was tall, probably of six feet, wearing loose black pants that rustled when he moved and a tight green T-shirt. His hair was a distinct white-blonde and his eyes could be color coded as they're own. The gray was so shockingly distinct that it hit her with powerful déjà vu.
Hermione's breath was caught in her throat. The first words that came to her mind were vocalized.
"No, no, no, no."
His handsome features twisted into a scowl. "Excuse me? No? No one tells me no."
Hermione got up, gracefully standing up on her feet. He squinted then his eyes widened slightly. "Granger? No freaking way."
"You're here for maintenance, or props or costumes or something. Not here to dance."
"And you can't possibly be able to actually dance."
"Excuse me, I've been dancing since I was fourteen." She said crossing her arms over her chest.
"Doesn't make you any good." He said, scoffing.
"If I weren't any good would I be here?" She said matter-of-factly.
"The teacher could be delusional."
"Yeah, for thinkingyou could dance."
"Have you ever seen me dance?" It was his turn to speak matter-of-factly. Hermione shifted uncomfortably. "Thought so." He said.
"Yo-"
The teacher walked in. "Oh, good! You've met! Draco, you're early."
Hermione laughed. "Can't believe he got up." She muttered. He glared at her. She rolled her eyes. The instructor set her stuff down and walked up to them.
"Okay, lets get started." She said cheerfully, clasping her hands together. "Draco, in the beginning, you're holding Hermione in a dip."
"What?" They said in unison. "We actually have to touch each other?" Draco choked out. Hermione whipped around to look him the face. "You are so childish." She said placing a hand on her hip. He did a mirror image.
"Speak for yourself, Granger." He said sticking his nose in the air. Hermione rolled her eyes again. And turned to the instructor who had her eyebrows raised.
"Can't we arrange it so we are not in a dip?" Hermione asked politely.
"Oh please, Granger. Now we're afraid of cooties?"
"What? You're the on-"
"Come on, Granger, you were thinking the same thing."
"I bet you couldn't even hold me."
"Only because you're fat as a pig."
Hermione, infuriated, placed one hand on his shoulder and the other on his hand and wrapped it around her waist. She leaned backwards, wrapping her hand around his neck, nearly squeezing it. His other hand went up to his neck and grabbed her hand and held it properly for a dip. She smirked in satisfaction.
The teacher clapped in approval. "Very good. Now we'r-" Hermione let out a shriek as she tumbled to the floor. Draco straightened himself. He smirked. Hermione glared. The class continued in suite.
Hermione packed her stuff and put on her converses. On the way out she ran into Draco.
"Could you be any more childish?" She asked. She stopped in front of him.
"Sure." He said and walked off.
Hermione growled and head home.
"Ginny, he's ridiculous! And childish, and very elementary! He's driving me crazy!"
"Hermione, its only been one hour with him. He can-"
"But he is. You remember him!"
"Okay. What did he do?" Ginny said, seeming more interested in her tea than Hermione's story.
Hermione took a deep breath, stared intensely, then whispered. "HE DROPPED ME." Ginny stared at Hermione, cocked her head to the side and gave her a blank stare. Then she burst out laughing.
"He" laugh "Did" giggle "WHAT?" Hysterics….
Hermione, who had taken a sip of her tea, smacked the cup on the porcelain plate. "You think its funny?"
Ginny was holding her side. "Owie.. Owie.. my stomach hurts." Her face was red from laughing at the mental image.
"I can't believe you. You think this is hysterical." Hermione said in disbelief.
"Oh my Hermione. Its bloody incredible. Draco Malfoy drops in after seven years, then drops you. Its masterful."
Hermione held her head in her hands. "Ginny, go away."
Ginny giggled some more. "Okay, I have a meeting in ten anyway." And she popped out of Hermione's tiny dining room.
"Are you daft, Malfoy? Its your right leg, not your left." She growled, before sliding out of his arms. Hermione cut the music.
"Jesus, you really are a bitch aren't you?" He said running a hand trough his hair.
"If you could actually dance, I wouldn't have to be." She said, crossing her arms over her chest. Draco stared her in the eye.
"One mistake." He said simply. Hermione scoffed.
"I thought Malfoys didn't make mistakes."
"Does everything have to be perfect, goody-two-shoes?"
Hermione sighed and shook her head. She turned the music back on, pushing herself into the dip. Draco grunted in annoyance, but they stopped arguing, much to the instructor's liking. This time Draco got the leg right, but Hermione didn't, stepping on his foot. Draco stepped back, laughing.
"HA! See! You… you… HA! You made a mistake!" He said, eyes wide and amused. Hermione whipped around.
"You are insufferable!" she yelled.
"I'M insufferable? You're the one who scolded me in the first place."
"But I didn't laugh!" she barked back.
"What? You called me daft!" He said, aghast.
"At least I didn't... oh……" She turned, grabbed her bag and stormed off, the door slamming behind her. Draco turned to the instructor. She smiled. 'Well, that went well." Her smile faded and she returned to other work with a skeptical look on her face.
Hermione walked into the library, still clad in her dance clothing. She sat herself behind an empty desk and picked up books someone set on her desk. She scanned them into the computer, checking them in. People with books to check out came up to her and she did that business, typing into the computer and ordering books on the recommended list and doing random things needed to be done in a library.
Her anger died down in her busyness. But the agitation stayed with her. She was short and impatient with her customers and snapped every now and again at her fellow employees.
A customer walked up to her desk and handed her a pile of books. Se didn't even look at them. She scanned book after book. Then she caught the name of the titles. Learing To Dance, Dance Cooperation, Jazz, Tap and Hip- Hop Dynamic DanceDuos, How To Work With Your Dance Partner. Hermione looked up to see a tall, blonde man leaning on her desk. His glare was petrifying,
"Listen Granger. The recital is less than a week away. If you would TRY to work this out, then we could get out a decent performance. But, if you choose to be incapable of working with an ass like me, then why do we try?"
Hermione started to laugh. "Draco Malfoy is trying to make-up, with me. This certainly is the apocalypse."
"Bloody hell, Granger. Listen, you filthy little mudblood. Get it through your head, I am not going let you ruin this performance. You better get it right, listen to me, and not be the bitch that you are for one week, Then we'd be fine Got it?"
Hermione's face was hard as stone as she stood up, books in hand. She snatched the receipt from the printer and shoved it and the books at him.
"Your books are due May 14th." She growled and walked into the office. Draco stared dumbfounded, book in hand. He didn't know why, but he walked out of the library, books in hand.
Hermione didn't attend class with Draco or her normal classes. She stayed at home, writing nonsense and reading nonsense. She was bitter and cynical and hard to hang around. Harry and Ron, with their wives, Ginny and Cho (no incest) stopped by to say hi, but left within five minutes, not agreeable with her mood.
She never got up from the couch, but instead levitated things to herself. She was bored as hell, but just as stubborn.
Then it came time for the recital. Hermione was nervous and dreading everything at the same time. She got her four costumes, one for her tap routine, one for her jazz routine, one for hip-hop, and a little red number for her duet.
She had to go to the rehearsal the night before, but Draco never showed up, so they skipped the rehearsal of the duet.
Hermione was dressed for her first dance; they were up first. It was a black glittery pantsuit with the back open and the middle of the front cut out and straps down the sides. She hated the glitter, but it made more dramatic for the audience. She threw tank top over the outfit and walked around in the polyester/ spandex pants.
The auditorium was nice, part of an university. She loved it there, with the marble floors and spiral staircases, it made her feel important to be performing there. She walked around in her converses before the house opened. When it came around to 7:00, she went into the dressing rooms to switch shoes and get backstage. She made her way to the back but stopped when she saw the tall blonde. He turned her way, as if he felt her stare. She blushed and dodged into the room.
She looked into the mirror and scolded herself for blushing. She yanked off her tank top and pulled off her converses, sliding on her tap shoes. She sighed and floated into the chaotic mass of dancers.
Hermione only saw Draco once the entire night before the duet. He was in her hip-hop class, which performed tenth out of thirty-two. He was directly behind her and when they made a transition from front to back or vise versa, they brushed hands. Hermione pretended she didn't notice, but when the front row did a pirouette, she saw him pick her as a focus point.
Hermione was tense the whole night, which she hated because it jinxed her performances. But she dressed into her dress, feeling incredibly sexy. She put on her jazz shoes, her hip-hop sneakers not being a part of the costume. She did her hair differently, twisting it up into a sturdy French twist. The thirty-first number went on and Hermione got on her side of the curtain. She knew Draco was on the other side, just making out the shape of her figure in the shadows. Hermione was doing the same with him.
Hermione felt nervousness hit her as the tap ground ended and the lights were cut. The announcer introduced the couple as they moved to the center stage, the lights still cut. He stood mid stage and she looked up at him, they shared a moment, but hurried into position when the announcer cut off. He held her in the dip and she felt his gaze, even in the dark. The lights cut on and he looked at her, in her tight red silk dress.
The dress was knee length and fluttered out into a full circle when she spun, and had one split up the side. There was a bead embroidery, but wasn't low cut, much to Hermione's relief. But she felt Draco's stare and almost began to worry that he wouldn't hear the music. But he spun her out of the dip perfectly.
The dance crashed, the first five steps were perfect, but then Hermione began to panic, his touch burning there, and here and everywhere. She couldn't understand. And when it came to the infamous leg switch, Hermione missed it, causing him to trip.
The song ended with both of them exiting out of the same curtain. Once they were out of view, Hermione jerked from Draco's grasp and off to the backstage exit. Draco stormed after her.
"What was with you tonight, Granger?" He asked after her turned back. She spun around, tears gathered in her eyes.
"Back off, Malfoy." She nearly screamed. Draco walked closer. She turned around to leave but her reached out and grabbed her arm. She turned and shrugged away.
"Don'ttouch me." She hissed. He let go.
"I'm sorry, I-"
"Bloody hell… You're apologizing?" She said, swiping a tear away from her cheek.
"Uh….yeah. I didn't mean to sound critical. I jus-"
"You're confusing me. Did you have a mind swap or something? Since when are you so sincere?"
"Look Granger, I was just checking to see if you were all right. I wanted know what was up." He asked, leaning against the wall. Hermione tried not to blush but she looked away. She heard the rustle of his pants as he moved closer. She saw his shadow over her and she looked up to see what he was doing. But her movement was greeted with a touch of lips.
Hermione's eyes widened as he leaned in closer, placing his hands on her hips. His eyes were closed as she thought to push him away. But her heart told her mind to shut up. She leaned into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck, feeling something close up, that she never knew was empty. She closed her eyes and melted. She felt Draco pull away and she slowly opened her eyes. Reality slipped in when she met his cool gray eyes. Alarmed, she pulled back and dodged into the women's dressing room.
"Hermione?" Draco called. Hermione grabbed her bag and pushed passed him. She ran down the hallway, very well aware of Draco chasing her. She dodged up the stares, tears blurring her vision. She made it into the lobby, which was swarming with people who were talking and appraising the dancers and for their accomplishments. Hermione drove her self into the chaos, hoping she could lose Draco. She dodged into the public bathroom and into the nearest stall, apparating into her apartment.
Hermione hadn't returned to dance class in two weeks, claiming she was sick. The competition was in five days and she had already told the dance instructor through the phone that she would be there. But Hermione wasn't sure herself if she would have the guts to make it.
It was late one night in May, Hermione took the late shift. She had no idea why this library was open twenty-four hours. It was the only library she had ever heard of that was open twenty-four hours, but she worked the late shift on Tuesday nights, slept Wednesday and worked the late shift Wednesday night. She read random books each night, finishing about three each night. She always got college students that came late at night to study, especially in May, when the universities were giving exams.
Hermione was halfway through a John Grisham book, when someone approached her desk. She set her book down and looked up at the person in front of her. She took a deep sharp breath at the sight of cool gray eyes and a normally tone cold face, written with sincere worry all over it.
"My books are due today." He said. Hermione almost laughed. A smile played at her mouth.
"Those books are due the fourteenth, you're a day early." Hermione pointed out. Draco shook his head then nodded toward the clock. Hermione turned around. The clock read 12:04.
"Oh." She said. "Then I'll take those." She said, reaching to take the books from him. He grabbed her wrist. "Hermione." He said. Hermione looked up at him, questioningly.
"I… I want to apologize. For what I said last time we were here, and for criticizing you for you performance a couple of weeks ago, and for kissing you when it was completely off guard."
Hermione smiled and looked down shyly. "Thank you for being so sincere."
"Oh yea, and for being such an ass. I guess its just part of my childhood, seeing you again." He said, a tint added to his pale cheeks. Hermione laughed, not quite sure what to say, but she looked into his eyes and that seemed to be enough. He smirked. And then looked at the radio she was playing. A song with a good beat came on and he looked at her.
"Miss Granger, may I have this dance?" He asked. Hermione laughed.
"How could I say no?" Hermione smiled and took his hand. He led her around her desk and into the lobby of the library, but not before turning the music up.
"Shh! It's the library." She whispered, giggling. He smiled, then he pulled her into the dip and they repeated their routine. They ran out of music, but kept on dancing anyway. A slow song came on and when they finished he pulled her into a slow step.
She rested her head against his shoulder, praying she wasn't being too forward. They stood like that for a while until she lifted her head and looked at him. He stared at her in a way that made her feel gorgeous.
"Can I kiss you Hermione?" he asked. Hermione was a little taken aback, but after a moment she smiled and leaned forward, letting him kiss her. The kiss was slow and gentle, and she pulled back first.
"Next time, don't ask." She said. He smirked and leaned in for another kiss.
EPILOUGE- Hermione and Draco won first place in the Competition in overall and in duets. They both got the leg switch.
A/N I know the Epilouge could've been incorporated into the story, but I'm lazy. I hope you liked it. I'm off to edit my first story, Honeysuckle.
Allie