Author's notes:
Many thanks to the reviewers! Whew! I never expected so many reviews in my whole life and I'm sooo happy that most of them are really inspiring... hehehe... anyway, let me extend my heartfelt thanks to yeuuuu!!!
Geni5— You do realize it's only the second chapter, right? I mean, wouldn't it be too farfetched if Draco 'instantly' changed his attitude towards Hermione? okay, okay. . . just to tell you, Pansy's being an ultimate bitch in the earlier parts coz she's just being PANSY! So, just try to be patient and wait as Pansy gets what she really deserves. . . and more. ;-)
HarryPotterFreak4Ever— okay, sure. And Thanks!!
Eskimopie — woweee! Thanks a whole lot for that wonderful and oh so feel- good review! I promise to try my best and not disappoint you. . . c",)
dRaCo's-SwEeThEaRt— hehe.. thanks a lot! And please, feel free to review again. . .;-)
Daintress— thanks! And I'm definitely gonna check out your fics!!
Magick-wolf— you got that right. And thanks for liking her although I try not to 'kill' Hermione's true self and the same goes for the other characters as well...
*** To all the reviewers, Thanks a whole bunch! You don't know how much this really means to me... sob, sob. . . hehehe!!! Hope you'll continue to R&R!! ***
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Disclaimer: No! No! Honest! I don't own the characters and stuff! I just use them for fanfics! Honeeeeesssstttt!!!!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter Three
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Saturday. It was only four thirty and the sun wasn't even up yet but Hermione had woken up extra early although she had turned in very late last night. She just couldn't seem to get some sleep these days resulting to semi permanent dark half-moons under her eyes and her haggard exterior. She frowned at the mirror.
"I look like a corpse," she mumbled to herself as she picked up a hairbrush and attempted to tame her mane.
After which, she took a long warm bath before changing into her comfortable white tank top and soft cotton shorts and put on her favorite lavender peignoir as she grabbed her thick romance novel and wand before she headed down to the common room.
She sat at the soft, plush wing chair that was directly facing the fireplace.
"Lacarnum inflamare," she said softly, pointing her wand as a bright reddish-yellow spark emitted from the tip of the wand and the logs in the fireplace caught fire and warmed the once chilly common room.
She curled up, allowing the massive cushions to practically engulf her as she opened her book and started to read.
She was engrossed in her reading that she barely noticed a presence heading towards the common room.
c",)----------c",)----------------------------------------c",)
Draco leaned on the wall and crossed his arms over his chest as he watched Granger in amusement.
He had to admit, even only to himself, that she had grown to be a pretty little thing.
Who would have thought that a prissy, little know-it-all mudblood could become this attractive and not to mention so damn sexy?
He chuckled to himself and Granger's head turned sharply to his direction, in obvious shock.
"God, you scared me!" she blurted out and suddenly blushed, realizing that she was practically making a decent conversation, and not to mention, admitting weakness to him, before her expression turned stony and haughty.
"What are you doing sneaking up on me anyway?" she snapped and Draco smiled sardonically
"Is it a crime to just simply enjoy the view?" he drawled maliciously
She reddened at his comment but as she spoke again, her tone was still that annoying authoritative one,
"I suppose not. It's a free country," she shrugged indifferently and returned to her book.
There was a brief silence before Draco spoke again nonchalantly,
"What are you doing up so early in the morning, anyway?" he folded his arms and eyed her watchfully
She seemed momentarily lost for words but instantly recovered,
"What about you? What are you doing up so early?"
"Why do you always return my own questions to me? Well if you must know, I couldn't sleep. Now what about you?" he came nearer and sat on the couch a good three feet away from her chair.
"Same here," she answered, half sighing and not sounding so indifferent anymore
"Still hung up on Potter?" he asked and Hermione's hazel eyes turned steely,
"That's none of your business!" she snapped
"Well, you sure make it pretty obvious," he laughed disdainfully and she only scowled
"Why are you here talking to me anyway? You hate my guts, remember?"
Draco sighed deeply as he leaned back and rested his arms on the back of the sofa,
"Just needed a change of scenery," he said lazily as she just stared at him.
c",)----------c",)----------------------------------------c",)
Hermione had never realized, up until now, how devastatingly good- looking Draco was. What with wisps of his surprisingly unkempt blond hair falling to his eyes and partly covering them, his bored and aloof gray eyes, the perpetual smirk on his perfect lips. And he wasn't badly built also. He wasn't as buff as Crabbe and Goyle (and thank goodness for that) but he wasn't scrawny either. He was just the right size and height. He was simply perfect.
"Careful, Granger. I heard of people drowning that way," he broke her train of thoughts as she quickly shut her slightly open mouth and felt her cheeks burn up furiously. She looked away and heard Malfoy's amused chuckle.
What was she doing, fantasizing about Draco Malfoy that way? So, he was good looking, big deal! He's a jerk; a big time, spoiled brat kind of jerk who never misses a chance to insult, make fun of her and never fails to annoy and irritate her massively.
"Don't worry Granger. I wont tell Potter you've been drooling over me. Of course, I couldn't blame you either, for doing so. You couldn't have dumped him sooner,"
Hermione fumed, as she rose from her seat and flashed him a steely glare,
"Why you pompous, self-worshipping, big headed spoiled brat! And surely you're assuming I'd go after you, choosing you over him! How arrogantly stupid could you be? He's a million times better than you!"
"Ah, so Potter, who cheated on you, is a million times better than me," he stated slowly and sarcastically, letting it sink in to her, and smirked, "You know, I always thought you were smart Granger, but now . . ."
"Would you shut up already? I told you it's none of your damn business!" she cried out, feeling tears sting her eyes, clouding her view and she looked away, suddenly embarrassed.
"Why? Can't stand to hear the truth? It's a good thing you dumped him, otherwise . . ."
"I didn't dump him! He dumped me, okay? Are you happy now? Now you have a very good opportunity to humiliate me with your stupid insults. So come on, give me your best shot!" she practically shouted
Malfoy was quiet for a moment before a shrill voice caught her attention.
"Draco?"
She turned to the direction of the voice and almost fainted when she saw Pansy Parkinson wearing absolutely nothing but an untied robe, walking down the steps from Draco's bedroom door,
"Oh my . . ." Hermione whispered as Pansy looked at her as she walked toward Malfoy, with heavy eyelids and smirked, before she encircled her arms around his neck and leaned over and started making out with his neck!
Hermione diverted her gaze to the fireplace, as she stood there glued to the floor. Somehow, she was still in too much shock to move.
"What is it, Pansy?" she heard his lazy, almost irritated drawl as Pansy's kisses traveled toward his mouth,
"I wondered where you went," she mumbled and as he let out an irritated sigh, Hermione glanced their way,
"I just came down to have a drink but then. . ." his gaze fell on Hermione and so did Pansy's, as her lips pouted in obvious disgust,
"But then little miss mudblood started picking a fight. I know, I heard her screaming like a royally dumped filthy whore," she supplied as if Hermione wasn't in the room.
Hermione's cheeks reddened in anger as she clenched her fists.
"Well, look who's talking, you. . . you. . . naked, pug-faced slut!" She screamed before marching up to her room, unable to see Pansy's blank, shocked expression and Malfoy's miserably hidden amused smirk.
c",)----------c",)----------------------------------------c",)
"So I was thinking, since your seventeenth birthday falls on a Saturday, I think we ought to be celebrating at that new shop in Hogsmeade," Parvati exclaimed excitedly. They were walking leisurely around Hogwarts grounds. Hermione looked at her blankly,
"Which new place?"
Parvati rolled her eyes, "Oh, Hermione, you have got to snap out of it, it's totally spoiling your social life. I was talking about The Golden Cauldron!"
What social life? Hermione wanted to scream. Honestly, Parvati can be annoying at times, especially when she tends to be overly perky like now. The same goes for Lavender.
"The Golden Cauldron?"
"Oh it's absolutely marvelous! They have these great Chinese food like dumplings and fried. . ."
"Girrrrrrrllllllllsssssssss!!!" a shrill squeal interrupted Parvati. It was Lavender, running towards them, waving frantically.
"Lav! What's with the excitement?" Parvati asked, slightly annoyed
"You would never guess what happened to me last night," Lavender spoke excitedly, blushing furiously
"Ooh! What?" Parvati pulled her to the bench and Hermione followed uninterestedly. She was never into gossips.
"I slept with Blaise," she squealed excitedly and Hermione tried not to show her irked expression. She didn't like where this conversation was heading.
"Blaise? Wha? How? But he's a Slytherin!" Parvati burst out before she finally asked, "So what happened?"
Lavender laughed,
"It's a long story! Well, it started at dinner, right? Like, I noticed he was sort of glancing at me all through dinner so I made my initiative, you know, just to show him what he can't have," she looked knowingly at Parvati, who nodded in understanding.
"What initiative?" Hermione asked and both of her friends shook their heads,
"You know, let them catch a sneak preview, if you know what I mean," Lavender wriggled her eyebrows and Hermione just nodded, still not getting what they meant.
"So, as I was saying. He liked what he saw . . . he told me later that night when he cornered me by the Charms corridor. God, he was so sexy I almost lost it!"
"What were you doing at the charms corridor, anyway? That's a dead end and everybody knows it," Hermione asked again, looking at them in confusion and this time, they just looked at her hopelessly,
"Well, I guess I just lost my way," Lavender finally supplied after a brief silence, and Hermione shook her head,
"You still get lost in this castle after seven years? You are such a flake, Lav,"
They ignored her last comment as Lavender continued.
"So, like, we started kissing, you know, and his hands started to travel places . . ." she trailed off as Parvati leaned over attentively, prodding her to go on,
"So, I pulled away, you know, just to seem not too eager and hard to get, and told him that we couldn't possibly do it and I don't want him, you know?"
Parvati nodded and Hermione frowned, trying to catch the story. So Lavender wanted Blaise but she didn't want him. Huh? Honestly, the girls' silly antics were getting worse.
"So, before I knew it, He invited me over to the astronomy tower to 'watch the stars' and went on it all night and I do mean all night. I mean it was so exciting! Like when Hermione came over to do her rounds, we hid under the table and you didn't see us, did you Hermione?" Lavender faced Hermione
Hermione stared at her, "I thought I heard someone giggling. But I thought that was just my imagination," as she spoke, she saw Harry and Ginny walking hand in hand a few meters away. They were probably heading to the lake.
Hermione frowned. The lake was where she and Harry usually hung out when they were still together. It was like their very own personal, private spot and it irritated her that Harry was taking another girl to it.
They were probably talking about how their classes went or complaining about the teachers or maybe even kissing right now, just like what he and Hermione had done before.
Lavender was giggling, "That was when Blaise tried to continue what we started regardless of Hermione's presence,"
Lavender's voice seemed to fade as her head throbbed harder and faster with too much anger and frustration at the sight of Harry and Ginny getting sickeningly sweet and practically getting goofy all over each other, until she felt like it was going to explode any second now.
"You won't take points from us, would you Hermione?" Lavender's voice popped back
"I won't what?" Hermione turned to her blankly and her friends just looked confused and a bit worried. Hermione couldn't bear to let her friends think that she'd been zoning again but she just couldn't remember what the conversation was about.
Let's see. Astronomy tower. Lavender. Blaise. Patrol. Giggling. Points.
She examined Lavender and Parvati's expressions, hoping to find some clues, before she answered,
"Well, I guess. . . I wouldn't?" she guessed and she seemed to have given the right answer since her friends smiled at her in relief.
"Thanks Hermione. You're the best," Lavender squeezed her in a hug and she hugged back, totally confused
"No problem,"
c",)----------c",)----------------------------------------c",)
"So how'd it go with Pansy last night?" Blaise Zabini asked Draco as they ambled lazily towards the school grounds later that morning,
"Same old thing," he shrugged and Blaise smiled, a little too widely and Draco had a sneaking suspicion as to why. "So, I get the feeling you got a little something last night,"
Blaise smiled even wider. Draco was glad Blaise and he had hung out recently. They both agreed on many things and he's way much better than Crabbe and Goyle in providing decent communication.
Blaise's smile answered Draco's suspicion as he grinned amusingly,
"So, who's the girl?"
"Brown from Gryffindor," Blaise shrugged, trying to look aloof but the stupid, proud grin on his face couldn't be wiped off and Draco knew why.
Of all the female sixth to seventh grade population at Hogwarts, the Gryffindor girls are brave or stupid enough, it depends on your point of view, to turn down offers of sex from the Slytherin guys, and Lavender used to be one of them.
"So you screwed a Gryffindor! Way to go!" they high-fived each other
"So what about you? Would you dare take on a Gryffindor virgin?"
Draco paused for a moment, "Are there still virgins in Gryffindor?" he asked and Blaise smirked
"Of course,"
"Well, who? But I gotta tell you, I don't do fifth years or younger," he warned and Blaise laughed
"Oh no! She's definitely in seventh year,"
Draco scrunched up his nose in concentration and started mumbling to himself.
"Let's see. Patil? No. She did it with that loser Longbottom. Brown? No, definitely not. Brell? Nah, I heard Taylor from Ravenclaw that he did it with her at the greenhouse. . ." he finally looked up, "I give up. Who is she?"
"Granger of course!" Blaise looked at him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world
"Granger?" Draco made a face, "How can you be so sure she didn't do it with Potter?"
"I checked. They never did it. And he's the only boyfriend she ever had. And I'm not totally surprised, Potter's a loser after all,"
"True," Draco agreed. Potter is definitely a loser.
"So you take the dare?"
"What? Sleep with Granger? That's insane!"
"So you admit you couldn't screw an innocent Gryffindor virgin," Blaise taunted and Draco narrowed his eyes at him,
"Of course not! I could take on anybody anytime. I'd just rather not waste my time with that ice queen mudblood. She's simply just isn't worth it."
"Oh isn't she?" I think she's definitely worth my time, if you ask me," Blaise gestured over to the bench where Granger was seated with Brown and Patil and Draco turned to them. She was wearing a purple, turtleneck and tight fitting jeans, and even though she was unmercifully concealed, Draco couldn't deny to himself that she still looked so damn hot. Her wavy brown hair shone under the bright sun as her mouth curved into a sexy half smile as she listened to whatever her friends were saying. Draco's eyes traveled to her full breasts, down to her tiny waist, and long shapely legs and smiled to himself.
"So, change your mind? If not, I could do the honors. . ."
"Okay fine," Draco cut him off, "I'll do it."
"Great! So you know the drill, get her to bed and dump her. Easy as that," he shrugged
"Well, Granger's a different case. She's no slut, I tell you. She's as stiff as an old lady. I'll probably need more time," Draco said, mostly to himself, his eyes never leaving her. She was now staring at the sky, half squinting and even so, she still looked hot. Draco shook his head.
He shouldn't be attracted to a girl that much.
"Okay, how about a month? Surely that's long enough for you," Blaise finally said and Draco nodded decisively,
"It's a deal then. A month it is," he smirked confidently although he wondered how the hell he would be able to do it.
c",)----------c",)----------------------------------------c",)
Hermione sat at her favorite spot at the library and began to scan the thick book (Advanced Potions volume 17) and started to read. She was only halfway through the second page when somebody cleared his throat behind her. She turned her head and her mouth slightly opened when she saw Draco Malfoy standing behind her, looking serious and absolutely gorgeous.
"Um, hey," he said, his deep voice causing her heart to leap.
"Hey," she repeated, dumbfounded.
What is he doing here? And why is he talking to me? And why oh why do I find him so strikingly handsome?
"May I join you?" He asked in his deep and sexy voice and Hermione eyed him warily. There seemed to be no trace of sarcasm in him so after a brief pause, she finally nodded.
"Sure," she shrugged, her expression the complete opposite of the ruckus that was going on inside her body, as he sat down across the table from her
"Um, what are you reading?" he asked and finally Hermione couldn't contain it any longer,
"What do you want, Malfoy?" she blurted as he blinked and looked surprised for a moment before returning to his calm one,
"Is it wrong to ask you questions?" he asked innocently, obviously stalling for time
"No, but with you, I'm not so sure," she shot back, trying to remain collected, "Now what do you want?"
"Well, since you're so forward about it, okay. Will you go out with me?" he finally asked and Hermione's head swirled.
"What did you say?" she whispered, her eyes wide with shock
"I said 'will you go out with me', on a date," he stated and Hermione shook her head, laughing disbelievingly,
"Oh my, Malfoy, I've always thought you're of silly antics were the lamest but I gotta hand it to you, this beats all the others," she motioned to stand up and grabbed her things when Malfoy's hand gripped her wrist urgently.
"I'm serious, Hermione," he said seriously and Hermione was surprised to hear him call her by her first name. She looked at him warily. He did look serious.
"What? Have you gone mental?"
Draco just stared at her, not displaying any obvious emotion
"Oh my god, you're really serious?" she asked him and it took him a second before he nodded and Hermione sat back down, still trying to be able to explain what's happening around her.
"Why? Why would you, after making it so goddamned obvious to the world that you totally loathe me, ask me to go out with you?"
He took a deep breath, "Because I find you . . . interesting," he answered and Hermione narrowed his eyes at him, still refusing to believe his answer. After all, this is Malfoy we're talking about.
"Interesting? Listen, Malfoy, I'm really not in the mood for your sick games . . ."
"Listen, Hermione," he cut her off, "I'm just asking for a date, that's all. What's the harm in going out with me for one night?"
"With your track record, Malfoy, I'm afraid I just can't take the risk of being alone with you on a date. And besides, don't you have any plans with your . . . your . . . bed partner?" she made a disgusted face
Draco finally smirked, "Spoken like a true virgin,"
Hermione reddened as she motioned to stand up again when he stopped her.
"Hermione, wait," he said and she exhaled deeply,
"What?"
"Sorry. I just . . . just forget it. If you don't want to go out with me, then don't. I'm not forcing you," he said coolly as he stood up and walked past her.
Hermione stood frozen in her place. That definitely didn't sound like Malfoy at all. Before she realized it, she was walking rapidly to catch up with him.
"Wait," she called out as soon as they stepped out of the library. Malfoy looked at her and without thinking, she blurted out,
"Okay. I'll go out with you,"
His lips turned slightly upward and said,
"So I'll see you tomorrow after dinner by the lake?"
All she could do was nod
"See you then," he said before finally walking away.
Hermione what have you just done? Have you really accepted Malfoy's invitation for a date? You really have lost it. Have you forgotten that you hate each other so much that you could just kill each other? And what about the fact that you just saw Pansy naked in his arms earlier? This just proves that he's a big time pervert!
Hermione just sighed as another part of her simply answered.
I know, but doesn't he look so gorgeous?
c",)----------c",)----------------------------------------c",)
Author's notes: So how is it so far? Hopin' you'll continue to R&R. . .
Many thanks to the reviewers! Whew! I never expected so many reviews in my whole life and I'm sooo happy that most of them are really inspiring... hehehe... anyway, let me extend my heartfelt thanks to yeuuuu!!!
Geni5— You do realize it's only the second chapter, right? I mean, wouldn't it be too farfetched if Draco 'instantly' changed his attitude towards Hermione? okay, okay. . . just to tell you, Pansy's being an ultimate bitch in the earlier parts coz she's just being PANSY! So, just try to be patient and wait as Pansy gets what she really deserves. . . and more. ;-)
HarryPotterFreak4Ever— okay, sure. And Thanks!!
Eskimopie — woweee! Thanks a whole lot for that wonderful and oh so feel- good review! I promise to try my best and not disappoint you. . . c",)
dRaCo's-SwEeThEaRt— hehe.. thanks a lot! And please, feel free to review again. . .;-)
Daintress— thanks! And I'm definitely gonna check out your fics!!
Magick-wolf— you got that right. And thanks for liking her although I try not to 'kill' Hermione's true self and the same goes for the other characters as well...
*** To all the reviewers, Thanks a whole bunch! You don't know how much this really means to me... sob, sob. . . hehehe!!! Hope you'll continue to R&R!! ***
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Disclaimer: No! No! Honest! I don't own the characters and stuff! I just use them for fanfics! Honeeeeesssstttt!!!!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter Three
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Saturday. It was only four thirty and the sun wasn't even up yet but Hermione had woken up extra early although she had turned in very late last night. She just couldn't seem to get some sleep these days resulting to semi permanent dark half-moons under her eyes and her haggard exterior. She frowned at the mirror.
"I look like a corpse," she mumbled to herself as she picked up a hairbrush and attempted to tame her mane.
After which, she took a long warm bath before changing into her comfortable white tank top and soft cotton shorts and put on her favorite lavender peignoir as she grabbed her thick romance novel and wand before she headed down to the common room.
She sat at the soft, plush wing chair that was directly facing the fireplace.
"Lacarnum inflamare," she said softly, pointing her wand as a bright reddish-yellow spark emitted from the tip of the wand and the logs in the fireplace caught fire and warmed the once chilly common room.
She curled up, allowing the massive cushions to practically engulf her as she opened her book and started to read.
She was engrossed in her reading that she barely noticed a presence heading towards the common room.
c",)----------c",)----------------------------------------c",)
Draco leaned on the wall and crossed his arms over his chest as he watched Granger in amusement.
He had to admit, even only to himself, that she had grown to be a pretty little thing.
Who would have thought that a prissy, little know-it-all mudblood could become this attractive and not to mention so damn sexy?
He chuckled to himself and Granger's head turned sharply to his direction, in obvious shock.
"God, you scared me!" she blurted out and suddenly blushed, realizing that she was practically making a decent conversation, and not to mention, admitting weakness to him, before her expression turned stony and haughty.
"What are you doing sneaking up on me anyway?" she snapped and Draco smiled sardonically
"Is it a crime to just simply enjoy the view?" he drawled maliciously
She reddened at his comment but as she spoke again, her tone was still that annoying authoritative one,
"I suppose not. It's a free country," she shrugged indifferently and returned to her book.
There was a brief silence before Draco spoke again nonchalantly,
"What are you doing up so early in the morning, anyway?" he folded his arms and eyed her watchfully
She seemed momentarily lost for words but instantly recovered,
"What about you? What are you doing up so early?"
"Why do you always return my own questions to me? Well if you must know, I couldn't sleep. Now what about you?" he came nearer and sat on the couch a good three feet away from her chair.
"Same here," she answered, half sighing and not sounding so indifferent anymore
"Still hung up on Potter?" he asked and Hermione's hazel eyes turned steely,
"That's none of your business!" she snapped
"Well, you sure make it pretty obvious," he laughed disdainfully and she only scowled
"Why are you here talking to me anyway? You hate my guts, remember?"
Draco sighed deeply as he leaned back and rested his arms on the back of the sofa,
"Just needed a change of scenery," he said lazily as she just stared at him.
c",)----------c",)----------------------------------------c",)
Hermione had never realized, up until now, how devastatingly good- looking Draco was. What with wisps of his surprisingly unkempt blond hair falling to his eyes and partly covering them, his bored and aloof gray eyes, the perpetual smirk on his perfect lips. And he wasn't badly built also. He wasn't as buff as Crabbe and Goyle (and thank goodness for that) but he wasn't scrawny either. He was just the right size and height. He was simply perfect.
"Careful, Granger. I heard of people drowning that way," he broke her train of thoughts as she quickly shut her slightly open mouth and felt her cheeks burn up furiously. She looked away and heard Malfoy's amused chuckle.
What was she doing, fantasizing about Draco Malfoy that way? So, he was good looking, big deal! He's a jerk; a big time, spoiled brat kind of jerk who never misses a chance to insult, make fun of her and never fails to annoy and irritate her massively.
"Don't worry Granger. I wont tell Potter you've been drooling over me. Of course, I couldn't blame you either, for doing so. You couldn't have dumped him sooner,"
Hermione fumed, as she rose from her seat and flashed him a steely glare,
"Why you pompous, self-worshipping, big headed spoiled brat! And surely you're assuming I'd go after you, choosing you over him! How arrogantly stupid could you be? He's a million times better than you!"
"Ah, so Potter, who cheated on you, is a million times better than me," he stated slowly and sarcastically, letting it sink in to her, and smirked, "You know, I always thought you were smart Granger, but now . . ."
"Would you shut up already? I told you it's none of your damn business!" she cried out, feeling tears sting her eyes, clouding her view and she looked away, suddenly embarrassed.
"Why? Can't stand to hear the truth? It's a good thing you dumped him, otherwise . . ."
"I didn't dump him! He dumped me, okay? Are you happy now? Now you have a very good opportunity to humiliate me with your stupid insults. So come on, give me your best shot!" she practically shouted
Malfoy was quiet for a moment before a shrill voice caught her attention.
"Draco?"
She turned to the direction of the voice and almost fainted when she saw Pansy Parkinson wearing absolutely nothing but an untied robe, walking down the steps from Draco's bedroom door,
"Oh my . . ." Hermione whispered as Pansy looked at her as she walked toward Malfoy, with heavy eyelids and smirked, before she encircled her arms around his neck and leaned over and started making out with his neck!
Hermione diverted her gaze to the fireplace, as she stood there glued to the floor. Somehow, she was still in too much shock to move.
"What is it, Pansy?" she heard his lazy, almost irritated drawl as Pansy's kisses traveled toward his mouth,
"I wondered where you went," she mumbled and as he let out an irritated sigh, Hermione glanced their way,
"I just came down to have a drink but then. . ." his gaze fell on Hermione and so did Pansy's, as her lips pouted in obvious disgust,
"But then little miss mudblood started picking a fight. I know, I heard her screaming like a royally dumped filthy whore," she supplied as if Hermione wasn't in the room.
Hermione's cheeks reddened in anger as she clenched her fists.
"Well, look who's talking, you. . . you. . . naked, pug-faced slut!" She screamed before marching up to her room, unable to see Pansy's blank, shocked expression and Malfoy's miserably hidden amused smirk.
c",)----------c",)----------------------------------------c",)
"So I was thinking, since your seventeenth birthday falls on a Saturday, I think we ought to be celebrating at that new shop in Hogsmeade," Parvati exclaimed excitedly. They were walking leisurely around Hogwarts grounds. Hermione looked at her blankly,
"Which new place?"
Parvati rolled her eyes, "Oh, Hermione, you have got to snap out of it, it's totally spoiling your social life. I was talking about The Golden Cauldron!"
What social life? Hermione wanted to scream. Honestly, Parvati can be annoying at times, especially when she tends to be overly perky like now. The same goes for Lavender.
"The Golden Cauldron?"
"Oh it's absolutely marvelous! They have these great Chinese food like dumplings and fried. . ."
"Girrrrrrrllllllllsssssssss!!!" a shrill squeal interrupted Parvati. It was Lavender, running towards them, waving frantically.
"Lav! What's with the excitement?" Parvati asked, slightly annoyed
"You would never guess what happened to me last night," Lavender spoke excitedly, blushing furiously
"Ooh! What?" Parvati pulled her to the bench and Hermione followed uninterestedly. She was never into gossips.
"I slept with Blaise," she squealed excitedly and Hermione tried not to show her irked expression. She didn't like where this conversation was heading.
"Blaise? Wha? How? But he's a Slytherin!" Parvati burst out before she finally asked, "So what happened?"
Lavender laughed,
"It's a long story! Well, it started at dinner, right? Like, I noticed he was sort of glancing at me all through dinner so I made my initiative, you know, just to show him what he can't have," she looked knowingly at Parvati, who nodded in understanding.
"What initiative?" Hermione asked and both of her friends shook their heads,
"You know, let them catch a sneak preview, if you know what I mean," Lavender wriggled her eyebrows and Hermione just nodded, still not getting what they meant.
"So, as I was saying. He liked what he saw . . . he told me later that night when he cornered me by the Charms corridor. God, he was so sexy I almost lost it!"
"What were you doing at the charms corridor, anyway? That's a dead end and everybody knows it," Hermione asked again, looking at them in confusion and this time, they just looked at her hopelessly,
"Well, I guess I just lost my way," Lavender finally supplied after a brief silence, and Hermione shook her head,
"You still get lost in this castle after seven years? You are such a flake, Lav,"
They ignored her last comment as Lavender continued.
"So, like, we started kissing, you know, and his hands started to travel places . . ." she trailed off as Parvati leaned over attentively, prodding her to go on,
"So, I pulled away, you know, just to seem not too eager and hard to get, and told him that we couldn't possibly do it and I don't want him, you know?"
Parvati nodded and Hermione frowned, trying to catch the story. So Lavender wanted Blaise but she didn't want him. Huh? Honestly, the girls' silly antics were getting worse.
"So, before I knew it, He invited me over to the astronomy tower to 'watch the stars' and went on it all night and I do mean all night. I mean it was so exciting! Like when Hermione came over to do her rounds, we hid under the table and you didn't see us, did you Hermione?" Lavender faced Hermione
Hermione stared at her, "I thought I heard someone giggling. But I thought that was just my imagination," as she spoke, she saw Harry and Ginny walking hand in hand a few meters away. They were probably heading to the lake.
Hermione frowned. The lake was where she and Harry usually hung out when they were still together. It was like their very own personal, private spot and it irritated her that Harry was taking another girl to it.
They were probably talking about how their classes went or complaining about the teachers or maybe even kissing right now, just like what he and Hermione had done before.
Lavender was giggling, "That was when Blaise tried to continue what we started regardless of Hermione's presence,"
Lavender's voice seemed to fade as her head throbbed harder and faster with too much anger and frustration at the sight of Harry and Ginny getting sickeningly sweet and practically getting goofy all over each other, until she felt like it was going to explode any second now.
"You won't take points from us, would you Hermione?" Lavender's voice popped back
"I won't what?" Hermione turned to her blankly and her friends just looked confused and a bit worried. Hermione couldn't bear to let her friends think that she'd been zoning again but she just couldn't remember what the conversation was about.
Let's see. Astronomy tower. Lavender. Blaise. Patrol. Giggling. Points.
She examined Lavender and Parvati's expressions, hoping to find some clues, before she answered,
"Well, I guess. . . I wouldn't?" she guessed and she seemed to have given the right answer since her friends smiled at her in relief.
"Thanks Hermione. You're the best," Lavender squeezed her in a hug and she hugged back, totally confused
"No problem,"
c",)----------c",)----------------------------------------c",)
"So how'd it go with Pansy last night?" Blaise Zabini asked Draco as they ambled lazily towards the school grounds later that morning,
"Same old thing," he shrugged and Blaise smiled, a little too widely and Draco had a sneaking suspicion as to why. "So, I get the feeling you got a little something last night,"
Blaise smiled even wider. Draco was glad Blaise and he had hung out recently. They both agreed on many things and he's way much better than Crabbe and Goyle in providing decent communication.
Blaise's smile answered Draco's suspicion as he grinned amusingly,
"So, who's the girl?"
"Brown from Gryffindor," Blaise shrugged, trying to look aloof but the stupid, proud grin on his face couldn't be wiped off and Draco knew why.
Of all the female sixth to seventh grade population at Hogwarts, the Gryffindor girls are brave or stupid enough, it depends on your point of view, to turn down offers of sex from the Slytherin guys, and Lavender used to be one of them.
"So you screwed a Gryffindor! Way to go!" they high-fived each other
"So what about you? Would you dare take on a Gryffindor virgin?"
Draco paused for a moment, "Are there still virgins in Gryffindor?" he asked and Blaise smirked
"Of course,"
"Well, who? But I gotta tell you, I don't do fifth years or younger," he warned and Blaise laughed
"Oh no! She's definitely in seventh year,"
Draco scrunched up his nose in concentration and started mumbling to himself.
"Let's see. Patil? No. She did it with that loser Longbottom. Brown? No, definitely not. Brell? Nah, I heard Taylor from Ravenclaw that he did it with her at the greenhouse. . ." he finally looked up, "I give up. Who is she?"
"Granger of course!" Blaise looked at him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world
"Granger?" Draco made a face, "How can you be so sure she didn't do it with Potter?"
"I checked. They never did it. And he's the only boyfriend she ever had. And I'm not totally surprised, Potter's a loser after all,"
"True," Draco agreed. Potter is definitely a loser.
"So you take the dare?"
"What? Sleep with Granger? That's insane!"
"So you admit you couldn't screw an innocent Gryffindor virgin," Blaise taunted and Draco narrowed his eyes at him,
"Of course not! I could take on anybody anytime. I'd just rather not waste my time with that ice queen mudblood. She's simply just isn't worth it."
"Oh isn't she?" I think she's definitely worth my time, if you ask me," Blaise gestured over to the bench where Granger was seated with Brown and Patil and Draco turned to them. She was wearing a purple, turtleneck and tight fitting jeans, and even though she was unmercifully concealed, Draco couldn't deny to himself that she still looked so damn hot. Her wavy brown hair shone under the bright sun as her mouth curved into a sexy half smile as she listened to whatever her friends were saying. Draco's eyes traveled to her full breasts, down to her tiny waist, and long shapely legs and smiled to himself.
"So, change your mind? If not, I could do the honors. . ."
"Okay fine," Draco cut him off, "I'll do it."
"Great! So you know the drill, get her to bed and dump her. Easy as that," he shrugged
"Well, Granger's a different case. She's no slut, I tell you. She's as stiff as an old lady. I'll probably need more time," Draco said, mostly to himself, his eyes never leaving her. She was now staring at the sky, half squinting and even so, she still looked hot. Draco shook his head.
He shouldn't be attracted to a girl that much.
"Okay, how about a month? Surely that's long enough for you," Blaise finally said and Draco nodded decisively,
"It's a deal then. A month it is," he smirked confidently although he wondered how the hell he would be able to do it.
c",)----------c",)----------------------------------------c",)
Hermione sat at her favorite spot at the library and began to scan the thick book (Advanced Potions volume 17) and started to read. She was only halfway through the second page when somebody cleared his throat behind her. She turned her head and her mouth slightly opened when she saw Draco Malfoy standing behind her, looking serious and absolutely gorgeous.
"Um, hey," he said, his deep voice causing her heart to leap.
"Hey," she repeated, dumbfounded.
What is he doing here? And why is he talking to me? And why oh why do I find him so strikingly handsome?
"May I join you?" He asked in his deep and sexy voice and Hermione eyed him warily. There seemed to be no trace of sarcasm in him so after a brief pause, she finally nodded.
"Sure," she shrugged, her expression the complete opposite of the ruckus that was going on inside her body, as he sat down across the table from her
"Um, what are you reading?" he asked and finally Hermione couldn't contain it any longer,
"What do you want, Malfoy?" she blurted as he blinked and looked surprised for a moment before returning to his calm one,
"Is it wrong to ask you questions?" he asked innocently, obviously stalling for time
"No, but with you, I'm not so sure," she shot back, trying to remain collected, "Now what do you want?"
"Well, since you're so forward about it, okay. Will you go out with me?" he finally asked and Hermione's head swirled.
"What did you say?" she whispered, her eyes wide with shock
"I said 'will you go out with me', on a date," he stated and Hermione shook her head, laughing disbelievingly,
"Oh my, Malfoy, I've always thought you're of silly antics were the lamest but I gotta hand it to you, this beats all the others," she motioned to stand up and grabbed her things when Malfoy's hand gripped her wrist urgently.
"I'm serious, Hermione," he said seriously and Hermione was surprised to hear him call her by her first name. She looked at him warily. He did look serious.
"What? Have you gone mental?"
Draco just stared at her, not displaying any obvious emotion
"Oh my god, you're really serious?" she asked him and it took him a second before he nodded and Hermione sat back down, still trying to be able to explain what's happening around her.
"Why? Why would you, after making it so goddamned obvious to the world that you totally loathe me, ask me to go out with you?"
He took a deep breath, "Because I find you . . . interesting," he answered and Hermione narrowed his eyes at him, still refusing to believe his answer. After all, this is Malfoy we're talking about.
"Interesting? Listen, Malfoy, I'm really not in the mood for your sick games . . ."
"Listen, Hermione," he cut her off, "I'm just asking for a date, that's all. What's the harm in going out with me for one night?"
"With your track record, Malfoy, I'm afraid I just can't take the risk of being alone with you on a date. And besides, don't you have any plans with your . . . your . . . bed partner?" she made a disgusted face
Draco finally smirked, "Spoken like a true virgin,"
Hermione reddened as she motioned to stand up again when he stopped her.
"Hermione, wait," he said and she exhaled deeply,
"What?"
"Sorry. I just . . . just forget it. If you don't want to go out with me, then don't. I'm not forcing you," he said coolly as he stood up and walked past her.
Hermione stood frozen in her place. That definitely didn't sound like Malfoy at all. Before she realized it, she was walking rapidly to catch up with him.
"Wait," she called out as soon as they stepped out of the library. Malfoy looked at her and without thinking, she blurted out,
"Okay. I'll go out with you,"
His lips turned slightly upward and said,
"So I'll see you tomorrow after dinner by the lake?"
All she could do was nod
"See you then," he said before finally walking away.
Hermione what have you just done? Have you really accepted Malfoy's invitation for a date? You really have lost it. Have you forgotten that you hate each other so much that you could just kill each other? And what about the fact that you just saw Pansy naked in his arms earlier? This just proves that he's a big time pervert!
Hermione just sighed as another part of her simply answered.
I know, but doesn't he look so gorgeous?
c",)----------c",)----------------------------------------c",)
Author's notes: So how is it so far? Hopin' you'll continue to R&R. . .
