A/N: I AM SOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO INCREDIBLY SORRY!!! I AM
SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRY!!!!! I really am, I feel like an ass, here you
guys are so great, and you always read and review, and I'm a total schmuck
and I don't even post for TWO MONTHS!!!!!! I'm a bitch, I'm sorry, I
really am. From now on, I'm REALLY going to try to get this out bi-weekly,
there are still a few more chapters left. I am SO incredibly sorry!!! So,
here it is:
"I'm really sorry I, uh, kind of have to go. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye, Maria."
Maria glared at Draco as he turned and sped away. A movement about a block in front of Draco caught Maria's eye.
"That Mudblood bitch!" she gasped.
She followed the brunette with her eyes as she disappeared into the hotel, and then watched as Draco entered a minute later.
"Daddy will be interested to hear about THIS."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hermione opened her eyes slowly, and her eyes immediately fell on the clock, which read nine o'clock.
"Mmm, good, I have another hour to sleep," she mumbled to herself.
"Talking to yourself again?" came a voice from behind her.
She started and gasped, but quickly realized what had transpired the night before. She felt a pair of arms around her waist and smiled.
"Just thinking about you, Harry."
"WHAT?"
Hermione giggled and turned around to face the indignant Draco. She smiled at him.
"Kidding!" she exclaimed brightly, and gave him a peck on the nose.
"You can do better than THAT, can't you?" he asked with a sly grin.
"Not with that morning breath, I can't," she laughed.
"Oh, I'm sorry, not only are you beautiful and intelligent, you also manage not to have bad breath in the morning," Draco replied.
"Being skilled at charms and having dentist parents has its advantages," and she blew a stream of minty fresh air into his face.
"You charm your breath? You're such a girl, Hermione!" he laughed.
"Lucky you, I guess!" she flopped over on her side to look at Draco, and smiled.
"What're you smiling at?"
Hermione giggled and shook her head, "Am I not allowed to smile?"
"I don't like joy, Granger, you should know that."
"Right, Draco Malfoy, glutton for punishment. It's a wonder you didn't stay back to tutor Neville in Potions instead of coming to Venice with me!"
"Well," Draco said, rolling over on to his back, "Longbottom's not much of a kisser, truthfully, I thought I'd have to snog you for a bit."
Hermione smiled at him, and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Though, I do think Neville has a nicer arse than I do."
Draco laughed, and his eyes crinkled up in the corners, Hermione noticed. She laid there, staring at him for a few moments, then wrapped her arms around him, and put her head on his chest.
Draco looked down at the girl in his arms. "Mione… I meant what I said last night, you know."
She lifted her head up to look at him, "I know, Draco, me, too." She put her head back down, and dozed off.
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! KEVIN, YOU WIN!!!"
Hermione awoke with a start from her sleep to find Daisy standing in her doorway, grinning madly. A split second later, Kevin appeared behind her, peering in at Draco and Hermione, who had begun trying to extricate themselves from each other.
"Nice! Where is everyone, I am owed some serious money for this! Marine! Eleanor! Sophie! Guy! Jerome! You all have to pay up."
Hermione tumbled out of her bed, Draco following, as they grumpily trudged into the common area. Hermione shot Kevin a glare.
"You BET on us?"
Kevin laughed, "Of course! I knew it was coming. Besides, what's a little extortion among friends?"
The others ran into the common room, and upon seeing Hermione and Draco still in their clothes from the night before, began to applaud and whistle loudly. Hermione turned a bright shade of scarlet, Draco, however found the whole thing quite amusing. He turned to Hermione, whose gaze was locked on the floor, and swept her up into an embrace, and kissed her passionately on the mouth, eliciting more yells from the spectators.
Hermione shot Draco a Look, but couldn't help but smile. "OK, show's over! We have to listen to the lovely Maria in an hour, so make sure not to eat too much at breakfast!"
They each returned to their individual rooms to get ready for the day. Hermione closed her door behind her, and sat on her bed for a moment. She lifted up the tearstained pillow left over from last night; it smelled like him, she thought with a smile.
After breakfast, they filed into the conference room again. Draco and Hermione sat next to each other, and in between their Belgian and American friends.
"So, Hermione, should we all start coughing really loud in the middle of The Bitch's speech?" Daisy hissed, her eyes glinting.
"Don't, she doesn't need any more reasons to hate us."
"So, Draco, now that you're taken, think she'll go for me?" Kevin asked with a grin.
Hermione and Daisy glanced at Eleanor, whom, they knew, had developed a bit of a crush on Kevin.
"Well, I dunno, Kev, I think she's still hot for me. And maybe Franco's more your type?" Draco laughed.
Kevin whacked Draco on the knee, "No, Draky, I think YOU'RE more my type."
"Excuse me!" A loud bossy voice rang from the front. Maria was standing there, looking down over the entire audience.
"We will begin now, I ask you all to remain silent during the presentation," she commanded.
Daisy let out a loud snort, and Maria glared at her. Franco stepped up to the podium.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentleman, I'm Franco Alaimo, and this is Mar-"
"I am Maria Venzetti, and I welcome you all to my home, the city of Venice. I will be presenting today about International Wizard Business."
Franco and Maria began their speech. The students noticed that Maria seemed to interrupt her partner every other sentence, practically. Franco kept shooting Maria glares, and the presentation slowly seemed to turn in Maria's presentation of her father's assets, and how wealthy her family was, and exactly what they did to acquire their wealth. Maria dimmed the lights for a slide presentation.
"Mione, can we, uh… go?" Draco whispered.
"No, we have to stay, you know that."
"But I really really don't like Maria."
Hermione laughed, "You think I do?"
"But you didn't have to listen to her brag."
Hermione turned to face him, with her eyebrows raised, "So, when was the last time she called you a worthless, overachieving Mudblood, insulted your friends, and told you that people only pretended to be your friend?" she asked pointedly.
Draco's eyes darkened. "Did she say that to you?"
Hermione shrugged, "Yeah, but I don't care, Draco."
"I swear to God, I'll kill her," he said through gritted teeth.
Hermione looked at Draco, surprised, she'd never seen him this worked up over something, she could see through the dark that his face had turned bright red, and his eyes were flashing with anger.
She took his hand, and rubbed it, "Draco, I don't care what she thinks. She's just nasty and prejudiced, I don't care." She gave him a light kiss on the cheek. "It doesn't matter, we won't have to see her after this."
"I can't very well stand by and have the stupid b-"
"Draco," she hissed warningly, and elbowed him.
"That stupid PRAT insult my girlfriend," he whispered threateningly.
Hermione's eyes softened, "I'm your girlfriend?"
Draco looked at his lap, trying to hide the blush on his face. "Of course you are… I love you, Hermione."
Hermione's eyes began to well up, and she squeezed his hand tightly.
"Ow," he hissed, "you're cutting off my circulation! And don't cry, I'm not that great."
"You are to me," she mumbled.
Draco raised her hand up, and kissed it, "Thanks."
Just then, the lights came up, and Draco and Hermione could see that their friends had been watching them the whole time, Marine's eyes were a bit glassy.
"That was so sweet," she choked out.
Hermione gaped at them, "I can't believe you were eavesdropping!"
"Well, we-"
Someone cleared their throat loudly at the front of the room, and the group looked up to see Maria glowering at them, while Franco was delivering his ending statements. They all quieted down, and paid attention for the last few minutes of the presentation.
"So, as you can see here…" Maria wasn't paying attention to Franco. She looked out over the darkened room, and saw the Mudblood and Draco sitting awfully close.
'What the Hell does he think he's doing?' she though viciously.
She had to stifle a gasp when she saw him kiss her hand.
'So, it seems that a Malfoy has taken to a Mudblood. I wonder what papa and his friends will have to say when I tell them this. I'm sure they wouldn't want Lucius Malfoy's memory tarnished.' She smirked in spite of her anger. If she couldn't have Draco, then she would make him pay for making the wrong choice.
A/N: Yeah., well, this is for those of you who didn't hate her enough already, haha. Ummmmm…… you guys know I always do individual thanks, but I'm leaving in 20 minutes, and there are, like 5 billion reviews for 35, so regular thanks will be back next chapter. But, thank you all SO much for reviewing, and letting me know that you're still there. I'm SO thankful to all of you, especially those of you who've been with me since the start, you're all SO great and SO fabulous, and once again, I'm really really sorry about the delay! Thanks SO much again, and I hope you all have a great week!!
"I'm really sorry I, uh, kind of have to go. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye, Maria."
Maria glared at Draco as he turned and sped away. A movement about a block in front of Draco caught Maria's eye.
"That Mudblood bitch!" she gasped.
She followed the brunette with her eyes as she disappeared into the hotel, and then watched as Draco entered a minute later.
"Daddy will be interested to hear about THIS."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hermione opened her eyes slowly, and her eyes immediately fell on the clock, which read nine o'clock.
"Mmm, good, I have another hour to sleep," she mumbled to herself.
"Talking to yourself again?" came a voice from behind her.
She started and gasped, but quickly realized what had transpired the night before. She felt a pair of arms around her waist and smiled.
"Just thinking about you, Harry."
"WHAT?"
Hermione giggled and turned around to face the indignant Draco. She smiled at him.
"Kidding!" she exclaimed brightly, and gave him a peck on the nose.
"You can do better than THAT, can't you?" he asked with a sly grin.
"Not with that morning breath, I can't," she laughed.
"Oh, I'm sorry, not only are you beautiful and intelligent, you also manage not to have bad breath in the morning," Draco replied.
"Being skilled at charms and having dentist parents has its advantages," and she blew a stream of minty fresh air into his face.
"You charm your breath? You're such a girl, Hermione!" he laughed.
"Lucky you, I guess!" she flopped over on her side to look at Draco, and smiled.
"What're you smiling at?"
Hermione giggled and shook her head, "Am I not allowed to smile?"
"I don't like joy, Granger, you should know that."
"Right, Draco Malfoy, glutton for punishment. It's a wonder you didn't stay back to tutor Neville in Potions instead of coming to Venice with me!"
"Well," Draco said, rolling over on to his back, "Longbottom's not much of a kisser, truthfully, I thought I'd have to snog you for a bit."
Hermione smiled at him, and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Though, I do think Neville has a nicer arse than I do."
Draco laughed, and his eyes crinkled up in the corners, Hermione noticed. She laid there, staring at him for a few moments, then wrapped her arms around him, and put her head on his chest.
Draco looked down at the girl in his arms. "Mione… I meant what I said last night, you know."
She lifted her head up to look at him, "I know, Draco, me, too." She put her head back down, and dozed off.
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! KEVIN, YOU WIN!!!"
Hermione awoke with a start from her sleep to find Daisy standing in her doorway, grinning madly. A split second later, Kevin appeared behind her, peering in at Draco and Hermione, who had begun trying to extricate themselves from each other.
"Nice! Where is everyone, I am owed some serious money for this! Marine! Eleanor! Sophie! Guy! Jerome! You all have to pay up."
Hermione tumbled out of her bed, Draco following, as they grumpily trudged into the common area. Hermione shot Kevin a glare.
"You BET on us?"
Kevin laughed, "Of course! I knew it was coming. Besides, what's a little extortion among friends?"
The others ran into the common room, and upon seeing Hermione and Draco still in their clothes from the night before, began to applaud and whistle loudly. Hermione turned a bright shade of scarlet, Draco, however found the whole thing quite amusing. He turned to Hermione, whose gaze was locked on the floor, and swept her up into an embrace, and kissed her passionately on the mouth, eliciting more yells from the spectators.
Hermione shot Draco a Look, but couldn't help but smile. "OK, show's over! We have to listen to the lovely Maria in an hour, so make sure not to eat too much at breakfast!"
They each returned to their individual rooms to get ready for the day. Hermione closed her door behind her, and sat on her bed for a moment. She lifted up the tearstained pillow left over from last night; it smelled like him, she thought with a smile.
After breakfast, they filed into the conference room again. Draco and Hermione sat next to each other, and in between their Belgian and American friends.
"So, Hermione, should we all start coughing really loud in the middle of The Bitch's speech?" Daisy hissed, her eyes glinting.
"Don't, she doesn't need any more reasons to hate us."
"So, Draco, now that you're taken, think she'll go for me?" Kevin asked with a grin.
Hermione and Daisy glanced at Eleanor, whom, they knew, had developed a bit of a crush on Kevin.
"Well, I dunno, Kev, I think she's still hot for me. And maybe Franco's more your type?" Draco laughed.
Kevin whacked Draco on the knee, "No, Draky, I think YOU'RE more my type."
"Excuse me!" A loud bossy voice rang from the front. Maria was standing there, looking down over the entire audience.
"We will begin now, I ask you all to remain silent during the presentation," she commanded.
Daisy let out a loud snort, and Maria glared at her. Franco stepped up to the podium.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentleman, I'm Franco Alaimo, and this is Mar-"
"I am Maria Venzetti, and I welcome you all to my home, the city of Venice. I will be presenting today about International Wizard Business."
Franco and Maria began their speech. The students noticed that Maria seemed to interrupt her partner every other sentence, practically. Franco kept shooting Maria glares, and the presentation slowly seemed to turn in Maria's presentation of her father's assets, and how wealthy her family was, and exactly what they did to acquire their wealth. Maria dimmed the lights for a slide presentation.
"Mione, can we, uh… go?" Draco whispered.
"No, we have to stay, you know that."
"But I really really don't like Maria."
Hermione laughed, "You think I do?"
"But you didn't have to listen to her brag."
Hermione turned to face him, with her eyebrows raised, "So, when was the last time she called you a worthless, overachieving Mudblood, insulted your friends, and told you that people only pretended to be your friend?" she asked pointedly.
Draco's eyes darkened. "Did she say that to you?"
Hermione shrugged, "Yeah, but I don't care, Draco."
"I swear to God, I'll kill her," he said through gritted teeth.
Hermione looked at Draco, surprised, she'd never seen him this worked up over something, she could see through the dark that his face had turned bright red, and his eyes were flashing with anger.
She took his hand, and rubbed it, "Draco, I don't care what she thinks. She's just nasty and prejudiced, I don't care." She gave him a light kiss on the cheek. "It doesn't matter, we won't have to see her after this."
"I can't very well stand by and have the stupid b-"
"Draco," she hissed warningly, and elbowed him.
"That stupid PRAT insult my girlfriend," he whispered threateningly.
Hermione's eyes softened, "I'm your girlfriend?"
Draco looked at his lap, trying to hide the blush on his face. "Of course you are… I love you, Hermione."
Hermione's eyes began to well up, and she squeezed his hand tightly.
"Ow," he hissed, "you're cutting off my circulation! And don't cry, I'm not that great."
"You are to me," she mumbled.
Draco raised her hand up, and kissed it, "Thanks."
Just then, the lights came up, and Draco and Hermione could see that their friends had been watching them the whole time, Marine's eyes were a bit glassy.
"That was so sweet," she choked out.
Hermione gaped at them, "I can't believe you were eavesdropping!"
"Well, we-"
Someone cleared their throat loudly at the front of the room, and the group looked up to see Maria glowering at them, while Franco was delivering his ending statements. They all quieted down, and paid attention for the last few minutes of the presentation.
"So, as you can see here…" Maria wasn't paying attention to Franco. She looked out over the darkened room, and saw the Mudblood and Draco sitting awfully close.
'What the Hell does he think he's doing?' she though viciously.
She had to stifle a gasp when she saw him kiss her hand.
'So, it seems that a Malfoy has taken to a Mudblood. I wonder what papa and his friends will have to say when I tell them this. I'm sure they wouldn't want Lucius Malfoy's memory tarnished.' She smirked in spite of her anger. If she couldn't have Draco, then she would make him pay for making the wrong choice.
A/N: Yeah., well, this is for those of you who didn't hate her enough already, haha. Ummmmm…… you guys know I always do individual thanks, but I'm leaving in 20 minutes, and there are, like 5 billion reviews for 35, so regular thanks will be back next chapter. But, thank you all SO much for reviewing, and letting me know that you're still there. I'm SO thankful to all of you, especially those of you who've been with me since the start, you're all SO great and SO fabulous, and once again, I'm really really sorry about the delay! Thanks SO much again, and I hope you all have a great week!!
