Chapter Fourteen

Hermione woke up the next morning, her head still throbbing from the night before. She felt Draco's arm slung over her waist and immediately felt a great wave of bitterness roll over her. Why did it have to be like this? Why did he have to kiss her? Why did he have to not mean it?

She could feel hot, burning tears making their way up to her eyes again and she tried to hard to keep them back. She wouldn't waste anymore tears on this asshole. She had convinced herself that he wasn't worth it if he couldn't even be sober for their first (and probably last) kiss.

She resisted the impulse to push his arm away, and tried to go back to sleep, but she couldn't - the memories of last night were so fresh in her mind…especially since Draco was still lying next to her in the bed. She couldn't help but marvel at her bad luck - not only did she have to like her worst enemy, but she had to like him in a 'more than just friends' way and share a drunken kiss with him, which he obviously didn't mean, and would have no memory of when he woke up this morning.

But damn, she had been so sure that he was sober…that look that he had given her just before he had kissed her…it wasn't a look of a drunk boy. It was a look of a boy who had just figured out something…

"Hermione? Are you awake?" Draco breathed into her ear softly.

She jumped.

"Uh- yeah…" she stammered, not wanting to look at him.

"Had a good sleep?" he asked lazily, as though he hadn't a care in the world.

"Yes. Are you hung over?" she ground out in response.

"A little." he replied with a grin that she could hear in his voice. There was a silence as Hermione stubbornly refused to respond to him or turn around to face him.

"What's wrong?" asked Draco after awhile, "Why wont you turn around to look at me?"

"I would, but your arm is restricting my movement." she replied dryly.

"My arm? Oh…sorry." Draco lifted his arm from her waist.

But she still didn't turn over - in fact, she got up off the bed. Draco's hand shot out instinctively to grab her arm to stop her from leaving.

"Hermione. Talk to me - what's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

She turned around to look at him. Her eyes were like brown embers, burning fiercely with a sort of disgust, frustration and anger. But when she spoke, her voice was steady and normal.

"Nothing. Everything's fine."

"Are you sure?" Draco pressed, his eyes searching hers, just like he had done last night…

"Actually, just out of interest, do you remember anything from last night?" she asked quietly.

He seemed taken aback. Her eyes held his in a cool gaze, she seemed unaffected, indifferent to his response.

"I - no…I don't remember. Something about a room full of annoying young women and that's about it." he answered thoughtfully with a small grin, "Why? Did we do something that -"

"No. Of course we didn't. Would you let go of my arm now?" Hermione asked sullenly.

"Uh, yeah ok…sorry." he apologised softly, watching her stalk to the bathroom, and shut the door behind her.

"Shit. What have I done?" Draco muttered to himself.

-

Snape had arrived at Malfoy Chateau. He didn't bat an eye at the opulence and grandness of the estate - he was used to seeing evidence of the Malfoy family's wealth. Now the problem was how to ask about Draco without arousing any suspicion. He stood on the very wide doorstep and hesitated before he knocked sharply three times.

Almost instantly, a butler answered the door.

"Bonjour, Monsieur. How can I help you?" he asked politely.

"Is a Mr. Julien Draco Malfoy living here at present?" asked Snape, giving the man a stern look. The butler hesitated, and then excused himself, asking Snape to wait. Several minutes later, a young man appeared at the door. He looked remarkably like Blaise Zabini.

"Monsieur, my name is Xavier Malfoy and I am Julien's brother. He is not here at the moment. What is it that you want to discuss with him?" asked the man haughtily.

"Mr. Malfoy, my name is Severus Snape and I am a Professor at a very prestigious school in England. Julien has been accepted into our school, and -" explained Snape before he was rudely cut off.

"Monsieur Snape, I'm afraid that I can not help you. Julien is not living with us anymore and we are unsure where is he now so I am unable to pass on your message." said Xavier flatly.

"Oh. I see…how long has he been away?" asked Snape anxiously.

"Only three days." answered Xavier.

"So is there any way that I can find him? This is a very rare offer, and I'm sure Julien would like to be informed of it." Snape persisted.

Xavier looked like he was about to yell at him for being so annoying, but then his face softened, and Snape could almost see a light switching on in his head.

"Actually Monsieur…there is a way…" he said slowly.

"Yes?"

"Come in Monsieur, and I'll tell you about my idea…"

-

Hermione was glaring at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy and red and her expression was glum. She felt so stupid - she had been such an idiot to cling onto that small sliver of hope that Draco was sober when he had kissed her. But she had heard it straight from his own mouth - he had absolutely no memory of it.

But still, she couldn't blame him for something that he didn't even know that he had done. And maybe, just maybe he had done it subconsciously or something…maybe he did have feelings for her too.

Feeling slightly less angry, Hermione cleaned up her face and did her hair up. Then she went back into the room, only to find that Draco wasn't there anymore. He had left her a note though, scrawled in his beautiful elegant handwriting-

'Sorry for whatever I did to upset you. Hope you're feeling better by the time you've read this. I've just gone out for a walk, I'll meet you at the dining hall for lunch. Draco.'

Well he really wasn't too bad, thought Hermione to herself, allowing herself a small smile. She quickly got changed into a beige coloured corset-less dress and glanced her the clock on the mahogany table. It read 12.45 pm which meant she had 15 minutes to get to the dining hall. Luckily it was only about 5 minutes away at most. She had plenty of time so she decided to look around the ship for Draco, so that they could enter the dining hall together.

She had been walking around for about three minutes when she heard his voice from around a corner. She was about to go and greet him when she heard another sickeningly familiar voice reply to him.

"Oh I know…Thomas is like that too. Dreadfully boring." Priscilla Griffith purred.

Hermione cautiously poked her head around the corner to confirm whether it really was that horrible woman and Draco talking. It was, of course. Now what the hell was she doing with Draco!

"So, tell me about your wife." Priscilla continued, placing a hand suggestively on his arm. Draco gave her a look, and then shrugged. Priscilla smiled knowingly, and moved closer still.

"You don't want to talk about her? Or is she so boring that she doesn't even be deserved to be talked about?" she asked nastily.

Draco looked like he was about to reply, but no one would ever know what he would've said because at that moment Priscilla Griffith had latched herself onto him and was kissing him fiercely.

Hermione felt the familiar sting of burning tears as they rushed up to the surface and poured down her cheeks. She couldn't believe this was happening…just when she had gotten over their kiss last night. He even looked like he was enjoying the kiss, that asshole! He found her insufferable and yet he was allowing her to kiss him. Why? Hermione would never understand.

"You bastard." Hermione spat coldly at Draco, coming around the corner to stand in plain view of him.

He let go of Priscilla in surprise and was looking at Hermione with wide, somewhat panicked eyes, while the Priscilla glanced coolly in her direction.

"Oh, speak of the devil, its your wife, Oscar." she sneered. He gave her a glare, and then pushed her away roughly, moving towards Hermione.

"Herm-Lucinda…" he said softly.

"Stay away from me." Hermione bit out from between clenched teeth.

"Its not -"

"I don't want to hear it." she cut him off icily, then she turned to Priscilla, "And you, you should be ashamed of yourself. Going behind your husband's back and stealing other people's husbands instead."

"Well I wouldn't say 'husbands' since its only yours that caught my eye." Priscilla retorted.

"Good for you then. You two suit each other perfectly - you're both backstabbing bitches." And with that, Hermione spun on her heel and stormed off.

"Hermione!" Draco yelled, hurrying after her.

"Oscar, you heard the girl, she doesn't want you anymore!" Priscilla shrieked after him, but he pretended not to hear her and ran off after Hermione.

He reached her soon and caught her arm.

"Hermione. Listen to me please." he pleaded.

"Let go of my arm, Malfoy." she answered indifferently.

"No! Not until you listen!" he responded angrily, "It wasn't what it looked like! She just kissed me out of the blue! I didn't want to -"

"Oh, yeah you sure looked like you were in pain when she was kissing you." Hermione shot back at him sarcastically.

"I'm being honest here!" Draco spluttered indignantly.

"Well then why didn't you try to push her away?" asked Hermione coolly. His silence said more than any words could have. Feeling even more bitterness, mixed in with jealously within herself, Hermione slapped him hard across the face.

Still he was silent, but his eyes were showed how pained he was, and they were pleading with her to forgive him.

But she couldn't.

How could she? He was supposed to be her husband, and even though he technically wasn't really, he should've at least acted like he was. He had been doing a very good job, until just then. And it hurt her, because he was such a liar - he had spent so much time telling her how annoying Priscilla was, and how much he hated her…and yet…

And god she was so jealous of Priscilla. Draco was right last night, this whole husband and wife thing between them wasn't just for show anymore. It was for real - she really did like him and he…well Hermione didn't know how he felt about her.

But she couldn't forgive him just like that. She had felt like someone had hit her over the head with a broomstick as she watched Priscilla kiss Draco like he was all hers. God. How long had this been going on? They had only been aboard the ship for two days…but there were plenty of times where she wasn't with Draco…and…

"Please Hermione." he whispered, clutching her arm tighter.

"Why do you care what I think about you anyway? This whole thing between me and you is only for show isn't it?" Hermione said silkily, giving him a look.

"That's not -"

"Look Malfoy, whatever you may think that we've become in the past few days as a result of this, its nothing. There is nothing between us. We're just two enemies, forced to be together by some cruel twist of fate. You don't have to explain to me why you two were kissing because -" said Hermione resolutely, while tears were running down her face.

"Because you don't care?" asked Draco softly.

"Yeah. I don't care what you do with other girls." she replied just as softly.

"Then why did you act so angry when you saw us together?" he asked quietly, searching her eyes. She hesitated before she answered firmly.

"I - I was just playing my part."

"Oh. Yeah, right…of course." Draco looked like he had just been hit in the gut.

"And I thought that you had changed. But I guess I was wrong." she added quietly, glimpsing Draco's hurt expression as she turned to go back to their room. He didn't follow her.

-

A/N: Ugh! Angst, angst and more angst! Another truly horrible chapter to write…will those two kids ever sort it out? Lol, anyways hope you guys enjoyed that anyway - GOOD NEWS - I've got an idea of how to continue the story. Because before I had no idea what I was going to do after the ship but now I have a plot! Yay! So stay tuned for the next chapter!

Thanks to my fabulous reviewers, you guys rock! Keep the reviews coming please…or will I be forced to threaten you guys again by not posting until I get enough reviews? Hopefully not. Thanks for reading the story everyone!

Special thanks to those who DID review this week: PR chick, Chalindra, xOxOkIsSmYaSsXoXo, who cares, Lady-Delphinea, TheConductorsLEASTfavorite, Monday Mornings, Hgbookworm, vote-larry4prez, Shimmering Evil