Chapter nine – Venice, the city of love?

Draco and Hermione arrived to Venice around 7 pm at Thursday, that same night they had no conference to go to. They could just settle in their hotel rooms. Hermione was really amazed by her beautiful room, it was almost as big as her apartment and it had the most wonderful view over the ocean. She walked out on the balcony and just stood there enjoyed the view and listened to the sounds of the ocean. Everything was so peaceful.

"Lovely view isn't it?"

Hermione looked around, at the balcony next to hers stood Draco, smiling at her.

"Yes, it's beautiful", she replied and looked out over the ocean again.

"Do you enjoy your room?" He asked after a couple of minutes in silence.

"Oh yes", Hermione answered. "You?"

"It's a little lonely"

"Aw, poor little Draco, scared of being alone?" She teased him without having any idea of the he really was scared of being alone. He laughed a little, but then went quiet again. "Hey you, I was teasing you, aren't you going to tease me back?" Hermione asked and smiled at him.

"Not in the mood for teasing"

"Dear Merlin, something must be terribly wrong, Draco Malfoy is not in the mood for teasing", she said and burst out laughing. He smiled at her before he, with empty eyes, looked out over the ocean again. "Are you ok?" Hermione asked after she'd been watching him stare at the water for a minute or two.

"Yeah sure, I'm just… tired!" He replied. "I should probably get some sleep now, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow", he continued and started to move towards his door.

"Yeah, I should probably get some sleep to", Hermione said. "By the way Draco", she continued just as he was about to open his door, he stopped and looked straight into her eyes. "Thanks"

"For what?"

"For this, you have no idea how much I've been wanting to attend to this conference, it really means a lot to me", Hermione explained, he smiled at her and opened the door to his hotel room.

"Good night Granger", he said before he closed the door behind him.

Hermione stayed outside for about 30 more minutes before she went in to get some sleep.

The next morning she woke up around 10, took a shower, got dressed and then she, and Draco, went down to eat breakfast. At 12 they attended to the first, out of four, conferences. Hermione listened carefully to every single word that was said. She took it all in and hoped that she could go home and improve her writing even more. Draco didn't pay much attention to whoever was talking; he was watching Hermione all the time and it brought a smile to his lips to see her take notes and listen carefully. After the conference, when Hermione had finished talking to every journalist or writer that she found, they decided to walk back to the hotel. It was such a lovely night in August, the sun was about to go down and the sky was almost pink. Hermione was full of energy and talked about all the exciting things she had learned and the people she'd met Draco just smiled at her.

"And then I talked to this amazing writer, Robert Lawson, he was so nice", Hermione said. "Have you read any of his books by the way?"

"Yes, I read 'Invisible'", Draco replied.

"That's one of my favourite books!" Hermione said and smiled brightly. Draco didn't say anything. "Ok, tell me, what's the matter with you?"

"Nothing"

"Nothing?" Hermione asked and raised an eyebrow. "You don't want to tease me, you don't want to annoy me, you're barley talking and I haven't seen your smirk since we left England, there's got to be something…"

"No, it's nothing, really, I'm just amazed by this beautiful city", he replied as they walked along a shore.

"I don't like when you're so quiet, I never thought I'd say this but I miss the old Malfoy"

"The old Malfoy?"

"Not the Malfoy who was calling me a mudblood all the time, but the Malfoy you were right before we-" Hermione was interrupted by him grabbing her arm and pulling her close to his body. She felt like she lost her breath and her heart was beating faster then ever.

"I can't hold this inside anymore", he said. "I have wanted to do this since my first day at the Daily Prophet", he whispered against her lips. Then it happened, he leaned over and kissed her. Hermione felt like she was levitating a few inches over the ground. His tongue asked for permission to enter her mouth, she gave it to him and their tongues danced around with each other. After a breathtaking minute she pulled away to get some air, her arms was still around his neck and his arms was still wrapped around her waist.

"So that's why you wanted me to come with you to Italy?" She asked and smiled at him.

"Exactly", he replied and pressed his lips against her forehead. "We should get back to the hotel before it gets to dark"

"Afraid of darkness?" She teased, he laughed a little before he took a firm grip around her waist and lifted her up over his shoulder. "No! Let me down!" She shouted.

"Scared of heights Granger?"

"This not funny!" She yelled. Draco laughed and started walking towards the water. "Oh no, you don't want to do that!" She said as she noticed where he was headed. He was still laughing as he walked into the water without caring that he had a suit on. He walked until he had water to his thighs.

"No Draco! Please!" Hermione begged, but Draco did not listen. He threw her into the water. "I hate you!" She screamed and jumped over him so that they both got under water. When they got up again she grabbed his wet shirt and pulled him close. "I'm cold", she said and tried to sound angry, but she couldn't help smiling. Everything was just so… so… perfect…

"Let me make this up to you", he whispered.

"How?" She asked.

"I know the perfect way to get you warm again", he continued and that caused Hermione to shiver. They started to walk up towards the shore again. When they finally got up from the water they both kicked of their very wet shoes and walked barefoot in the sand the rest of the way to the hotel. None of them said a word until they stood outside Draco's hotel room.

"Would you like to come in?" He asked, and there it was again, his smirk but this time Hermione didn't find it annoying, this time she thought it was damn sexy.

"Yes, you promised to make me warm again, so I'm not leaving your side until I'm really, really hot"

He smirked once again and opened the door to let Hermione walk in, he walked in after her and as soon as he had locked the door behind them they were all over each other. He pressed her against the wall and placed kisses all over her neck and shoulders. She took of his jacket, undid his tie and started to unbutton his shirt.

"Stupid… buttons", she mumbled. Draco pulled away from her.

"Do you need some help?" He asked and without waiting for her to answer his question he undid the last buttons and pulled of his shirt. Hermione couldn't help staring at his perfectly shaped chest. "Come on", he said and lifted her up again.

"I am perfectly capable of walking myself Draco", she laughed. He smiled and gently put her down on top of the bed. "What are you waiting for?" She asked as he just stood there and watched her.

"Nothing", he whispered and climbed on top of her, they started to kiss, soft and slow at first but it got more and more intense and passionate. He unzipped her, still soaking wet, dress and she helped him to pull it of. She threw it away on the floor and they continued to kiss. "Still cold?" He mumbled between the kisses.

"A little", she lied and giggled as he started kissing his way down to her bellybutton and up to her lips again. He stopped and looked her deep into the eyes.

He is amazing, she thought and smiled as he rolled off her to take off his pants, and then rolled back on top of her. This is amazing…

"I'm back", he said with a bright smile on his face and kissed her softly on the lips.

Oh dear Merlin, this is good, she thought and started to play with her fingers in his hair. Exactly the way Ron kissed me, her thoughts about Ron ruined it all. She opened her eyes, looked at the engagement ring on her finger. Then she thought about Draco's engagement ring. No, this is wrong! I can't do this, I have to go! She felt panic-stricken as Draco continued to kiss her neck.

"Draco"

"Already calling out my name", he said between the kisses. "I like that", he mumbled. Hermione felt his arms around her back, heading for her bra.

"Draco, please, stop", she begged and felt the tears burn under her eyelids. She put her hands against his chest and pushed him away from her. "I'm sorry, but I can't do this", she sobbed and quickly got up from the bed. Draco sat up at the edge of the bed and watched her put on her wet dress again.

"Hermione, what's wrong? Did I do something wrong? Am I moving to fast?"

"It's not you", she said and fought hard not to cry. "I have to go", she continued and left the room. Draco heard the door slam, and then he heard her slam the door to her hotel room. He wanted to transfer himself into her room, just to see if she was ok but he guessed a visit from him wouldn't be much appreciated. I'll speak to her tomorrow, the first thing in the morning…

Oh no, stupid, stupid me! Why did I have to destroy everything? Why did YOU have to destroy everything? Hermione thought and glared at the golden ring on her finger. She took it of and looked at her hand without the ring on, it looked empty and it felt empty, she quickly put the ring back on. Why am I so scared to let go of Ron and this stupid ring?

"Ronald Weasley would you please get out of my mind?" She sobbed and changed from her wet dress to her white nightdress. She tuck herself into bed.

I never should have left England; I should have listened to what Ginny said about going to Italy with Draco… How am I ever going to look him in the eyes again? He must think I'm the biggest freak in the whole wide world. One minute I'm flirting with him, and the next I'm telling him to get off me…

The next morning Hermione woke up early and left for the second conference without telling Draco that she left. He was awake when she left and planned to bring her some breakfast, but when he knocked at her door he got no answer. He became worried and transferred into her room with a snap of his fingers…

"Hermione?" He called out, he looked around but no one was there. Maybe she's left? He thought but then saw her clothes and her bags; he looked at his watch and understood… She must have left for the conference. He transferred back into his room again and used floo-power to get to the building where the conference was held. He waited outside the conference hall; he didn't want to go in. His mind was full of so many things at the moment; listening to a bunch of people talk would just make it worse. He waited, and waited… After three hours, the doors flung open and people started to come out. He noticed her at once; she was talking to a witch with long red hair.

"Hermione!"

She turned to look at whoever was calling her name. Oh no, not him, keep walking Hermione, keep walking. I hope he didn't notice that I heard him… She thought and pretended like he didn't exist, but Draco knew that she'd heard him. He slowly made his way through the crowd and as soon as he got up next to her he had to walk very fast to keep up.

"Hey, slow down", he said and grabbed her arm.

"Don't touch me!" She exclaimed and released her arm from his grip.

"Hermione!" She stopped. Finally, he thought, he was just about to say something when she slapped him on the cheek. "Ouch"

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry", she said and immediately felt regret. "I don't know why I did it!" She continued, not noticing that people around them stopped and stared. "Draco I'm really sorry"

"What are you looking at?" Draco snapped and looked at the people who were staring at them. "Don't you have something better to do?" He yelled, and the crowd started to move again. He looked at Hermione and they walked into the conference room so that they could speak in privacy. "Now please tell me, what the hell did I do to deserve that slap?"

"Nothing, I said I don't know why I did it"

"Embarrassing me in front of some of the world's most famous writers and journalists, can you just imagine the headlines tomorrow?" He snapped. "And now, now I can't go anywhere this conference weekend without people looking at me and thinking 'oh there's that guy who got slapped in the face, isn't he the owner of the Daily Prophet?'"

"I said I'm sorry", Hermione said.

"And what about last night? Huh? What did I do wrong then?"

"Nothing"

"Nothing eh? Then tell me Granger, were you just using me to get a raise but in the middle of the act your know-it-all brain took over and told you that it was wrong using me. Huh?" He yelled. "Or were you just hungry for love because you haven't slept with anyone since your precious Ron died, and then you couldn't do it anyway because you still love him?"

Hermione slapped him again, this time harder. "That one… You deserved!" She said angrily and glared at him with hate. "I'm going home!"

"Yes, please go home!" He shouted after her. "Cause I sure as hell never want to see your face again"

Hermione packed her bags as she got back to the hotel, and with tears coming from her eyes she used floo-power to get back home…