Disclaimer – I do not own anything except my original characters, my story and plot lines and my scenarios, even though they've probably been used, mauled and distorted before. PLEASE DON'T SUE ME! And, also, please don't sue me for any of the copyrighted things in here (like music and songs) unless they're my own or if I added or changed a line, that line is MINE! Scratches head sheepishly. Okay! Enjoy! I mean, really, c'mon, I were JKR, would I be posting these on this site?
Chapter 8 –Breathe: Pleasures, Popcorn, and an Unexpected Encounter
Hermione's POV
There was a slight jerk so I re-tightened my hold on Draco and clenched my eyes shut. I still wasn't used to the sensation of Apparation, how quickly everything moved. I felt Draco wobble and lose his balance then we fell. I held tighter as everything stopped and I buried my head in his chest. He just laughed.
"You can open your eyes now," he chuckled. "Hurry on, now. If you don't get off me, we'll never be able to do whatever you wanted to do tonight."
I opened my eyes to see that he was right: we were on the ground right in the middle of the road in front of the Three Broomsticks. I laughed and stood up, offering my hand down to him as he looked at me, a odd look in those molten pools of silver.
"What?" I asked with fake irritation as I stopped laughing.
He dusted off his ass and pulled me to him, holding me close. His voice was a low, throaty growl that stirred something deep inside me. "You're amazing. You can read my mind and you don't even know it."
I countered his sudden appeal with some of my own. I closed my eyes for a minute and concentrated on relaying my feelings through my eyes. When I opened them, I saw my reflection in his and was satisfied: I had gotten the results I was hoping for. My eyes had gone from bright, cheery hazel to a sexy, smoldering gold that he responded to in a very physical manner.
"That's exactly what I mean," he growled into my lips after kissing me hard. "you have this, this… Charm that you don't even know you have. That just make it all the more sexier."
"Thank you," I whispered, relishing his warmth, physical and emotional. I kissed him again and I felt his tongue dart out almost immediately to caress my lips. I gave his tongue a small nip and he pulled back. Gone were the pools of deep, molten silver, replaced with a content and happy silver that made me smile.
"Come," he prodded, stepping back from me and taking my hand. "Do you want a drink first, or shopping?"
"Oh, I really do think we should do Professor Dumbledore's business first," I replied, pulling him in the direction of Dervish and Banges.
"I supposed you're right, love," he sighed as he allowed me to drag him up the street.
Draco's POV
•••
I've been driving for an hour
Just talking to the rain
You say I've been driving you crazy
And it's keeping you away
•••
She's terribly efficient when she wants to be, I thought wryly as all the shops whizzed by me. I didn't even get the chance to look at all the new shops and stores that had appeared since the boom in this small, back-water wizarding town. Everyone had seemed to think that it was celebratory to open new establishments since the defeat of Voldemort, but I thought it was a bit of a disgrace. Why change an already good thing?
"Ah, here we are."
I looked over to Hermione, whose hand had slipped from mine, as she busied herself with something in the pocket of her cloak. "What are you looking for, Mia?"
"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to make sure that I had the Professor's money with me." She pulled out something between her forefinger and thumb and held it up. I screwed up my eyesight and leaned in closer, soon realizing that it was the formerly large sack of money that Dumbledore had entrusted her with.
"What did you do it?" I asked incredulously, holding my hand out. She dropped it into my palm and muttered a quick spell. It quickly grew to its proper size and weight, causing my hand to lose balance for a moment.
"Shrunk it," she shrugged. She pulled the money sack out of my hand. "No big deal."
I noticed that her wand was still in her pocket as we walked into the shop. Just as I was about to comment, she bustled up to the counter and began conversing with proprietor. I stood beside her and feigned mild interest as I cast glances at the many technical objects that crowded the inside of the store.
"Let me just tell Evan to get Dumbledore's Time Turner out of the back," a wiry man behind the glass case told Hermione. He yelled to the back of the store and brought his attention around again. "If you want, I can tell you what needed to be done, just in case you want to explain to Albus."
"That would be very helpful, thanks," she replied in her old, prissy tone. I rolled my eyes and leaned on the glass display case. A young man came walking out of the back room with a box in his hands. He placed it on the counter beside me and I raised and eyebrow. Hermione started to count Galleons and stack them like poker chips while the man spoke.
"… And the only real thing was to replace the sand. I took out the old stuff and put in classic movement: sand from the beaches of Normandy."
The whole time he was speaking, she nodded her head, as if enraptured by their conversation. She thanked him again, shrunk the box containing the Time Turner (without her wand, again, I noticed), pushed three small stacks of Galleons towards him and pulled me out of there.
"Wow," she gasped, almost as if needing air. "I thought he'd never stop."
I laughed as we walked slowly and leisurely down High Street. I turned to her, remembering the two charms she had pulled without her wand. "But how did you do the Shrinking and Enlargement charms without your wand?"
Her grin widened and she had a wicked look in her eyes. "A little something I picked up in the States."
I grabbed her by the waist and she yelped playfully as I lifted her up in the air.
"Elaborate or you'll go floating off into space," I playfully threatened. She laughed even harder as I stretched my arms to their fullest extent.
"Okay, okay!" she chortled. Upon seeing that I wasn't going to let her down, she explained between chuckles. "My cousin in the States, Marissa, taught me how to do it! She's a Mage, and she showed me a trick or two, that's all, I swear! Now put me down!"
I gently set her on her feet and we were off again.
"You've got to teach me some of that stuff," I commented before she pulled my over to Scrivenshaft's. "Oh, boy. What now?"
"I want to look at some new quills and monogrammed sets of parchment," she bubbled, entering the shop.
I followed her in, expecting another dreary conversation with the shop owner, but it never came. She ran around the shop like a bunny on crack, going back and forth between the aisles of quills, ink, parchment and the like.
"Will you calm down, love?" I whispered, thinking that a quaint shop like this needed silence like a library.
"Oh, Draco," she replied in a sprite-like tone, her voice shattering my image of silence. "Don't be stupid."
"Miss Granger!" a cheerful voice called from behind her. I looked to see an extremely tall man with long, flowing red robes and matching long gray hair behind her. "Good to see you again! And congratulations on becoming Head Girl!"
"Oh, thank you," she gushed. They became caught up in a conversation in the latest literature and I tried to look intelligent, but I couldn't get a word in edgewise. As they walked to the front of the store, she subtly pointed her fingers at items she wanted and they whizzed to the front counter, settling themselves neatly in a row. I watched her in amazement, then grabbed a couple extra supplies for myself. I approached the counter behind her, placing my items beside hers and pulling out my own money bag. I counted out 50 Galleons, hoping that my estimation wasn't too far off. I looked over at her purchases as they were being rung up. High-end, expensive, and top of the line items were staring at me. Then I looked closer at one of the ink pots and saw something that surprised me.
"Alright then," the shop keeper quipped with a tone of finality. "That'll come to-"
"Just take this and keep the change, sir," I said, cutting him off. I pushed the money from my hand across the counter and grinned at Mia.
We walked out of the store and the first word out of her mouth was 'show-off'. I laughed and countered.
"Would you like you bags to end up in the middle of the lake, Mia? Because I can do that from here."
"You wouldn't dare!"
•••
So just give me one good reason
Tell me why I should stay
'Cause I don't want to waste another moment
Saying things we never meant to say•••
"So what's with the baby blue ink?" I asked casually, steering her into Gladrags Wizardwear. "I honestly would've pegged you for a black or, maybe silver, kind of girl."
"I'm a sucker for pastel colours," she shrugged as a saleswitch bustled up to us.
"Welcome to Gladrags Wizardwear!" she piped, her voice squeaky. "How can I help you with wonderful afternoon?"
"Oh, it's alright," I said, flippant tone emerging. "We'll just look for now."
The woman scurried off and Mia bashed me lightly on the arm.
"Snobbish prat," she giggled. "Come, I want to look for pretty things."
"Pretty things?" I repeated. I laughed. "Since when did you become, oh, what do Muggles call them? Airheads?"
"Excuse me," she replied with faux indignance. "I am not an airhead. I am a sophisticated woman, full of womanly wiles."
She held her nose up like a snob and I almost doubled over. "You look like my mother when you do that!"
She laughed with me and started picking through racks. I did so as well, on the rack opposite hers. As I carelessly flicked through the rows and rows of women's dress robes, something caught my eye. I pulled it off the rack and held it up, grinning softly.
"Mia, come here," I beckoned. She walked over and I turned the dress around so she could get a good look.
"Oh my God," she gasped quietly. "Draco, it's beautiful!"
It was a full, strapless gown, done in muted silver satin. There was a slit on the front, revealing black a black satin layer underneath. Simple, yet elegant, I thought. Perfect for her.
"Simple, yet elegant," she whispered again, reading my mind. "Let me try it on!"
She checked the size and then rushed over to the dressing area. I sat outside the curtain, waiting for her to come out. I imagined the two of us at the Halloween dance, me holding her close on the dance floor as slow music played us into the night. In my fantasy, she was wearing that dress, and we were the center of attention, to the dismay of Weasley.
She stepped out of the dressing room and I stood up, taking a step back to admire her. The dress was cut low and there was enough cleavage there to share with poor Muggle children in Africa. The dress clung to her every curve, the silver satin making her seem more tall and slender. The dress ended with a straight skirt, the black underlay showing a stark distraction from the soft silver surrounding it.
"Does it look alright?" she asked self-consciously. She looked at me, eyebrows knitted in worry. I walked over to her and held her by her hips. Her arms went around my shoulders.
"You look beautiful," I assured her. "Absolutely stunning."
She looked deep into my eyes and was reassured. "You really think so?"
I nodded in agreement.
"But I think it's too expensive for my tastes," she said with disappointment, parting from me and looking down at herself. She looked in the mirror and sighed. "And I'm not going to let you buy it for me."
"Hey, I have loads of money that I don't use, Mia!" I protested as she walked back behind the dressing curtain to change. "If I'm not going to spend it on you, who else will I use it on?"
"Draco, don't argue with me, please."
We were both quiet as she finished changing. I was going to get her that dress, no matter what she said. Just in the way of how, I still wasn't sure about.
Hermione's POV
•••
And I take it just a little bit I hold my breath and count to ten
I've been waiting for a chance to let you in
If I just breathe
Let it fill the space between,
I'll know everything is alright
Breathe
Every little piece of me
You'll see everything is alright
If I just breathe
•••
I ended up buying a few new robes, a less expensive (and less attractive) dress robe, and some cute, Halloween-themed knickers (more for Draco's benefit than mine). But that dress stuck in my mind and refused to leave. I could just imagine Draco and me, dancing at some fancy soiree…
"How about we go for a drink, then?"
"I'd love to," I said, trying to cheer myself up and forget about the dress. It had fit perfectly too…
(Oh, do stop it), the little she-devil in my head spat. (You should've just let him buy you the dress! It looked simply divine on you!)
No, I thought stubbornly. I am not going to be his cheap whore.
(Cheap whore? Where is that coming from?)
I'm not going to let him buy me things in exchange for being with me, I reasoned. I'm not going to be his whore.
"…Mia? Are you listening to me?"
I looked up at Draco, the worry in his face evident. "Sorry. Caught up with my own thoughts. It's just, that dress…"
"I know," he sympathized as he put his arm around my shoulder. He changed the subject slightly. "So what's the dress code for the Halloween dance, anyways?"
I grinned. I knew that he was thinking of us at the dance, and me in the dress. "I was thinking something along the lines of Muggle-chic."
He looked at me incredulously. "Muggle-chic?"
"Muggle-chic," I assured him. "It's this big joke Harry and I used to laugh at. You know how Muggle kids dress up for Halloween as like witches and stuff?"
He nodded, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. "Uh-huh…"
"Well, to honor that little tradition, I thought to myself, why not dress up like Muggles! That ought to put things in perspective."
He laughed. "Yeah, that would be something. I'd love to see you dressed up in some Muggle tart outfit, like Britney Spears' school-girl outfit and pigtails!"
I gasped and thumped him on the arm, vaguely wondering why he knew so much about Muggle pop culture. "You dork! Oh, yeah? I'd love to see you look like Marilyn Manson for and hour or so!"
We teased each other all the way to The Three Broomsticks, guessing which Muggle entertainer would look more hideous on each other. We entered the pub and sat at the bar.
"Hello, loves," Madam Rosemerta greeted once we had shed our cloaks and settled in. "What'll it be?"
Draco looked at me for a moment. I nodded, signaling him to order for me.
"Two mugs of warm butterbeer, please."
"Aw, look at my boyfriend," I teased. "You're so cute when you're polite and when you use your manners."
He blew me a raspberry and Madam Rosemerta returned with our drinks. She stayed and talked to us for awhile until more customers started to stream in.
"Nice seeing you again, lass," she said to me. She eyed Draco for a moment. "You've got yourself a lucky one."
I grinned wide. "I sure do."
Draco gave me a quick peck on the lips and cheered my glass. "You think you're lucky, huh? I think I am, more so than you."
I laughed at his fake competitiveness when I yelped. Two cold, wet hands slapped the back of my neck and Draco jumped up, wand at ready. The whole bar erupted in laughter and Madam Rosemerta chuckled her way to our area at the bar.
"Boys, you have too much fun around here," she laughed at to the hands that were holding me. I was still rigid with shock and Draco's expression of worry immediately changed to a snarl of disgust. He muttered one single word, but I didn't hear it because my assailants kissed my cheeks at the same time.
"Hello, ducks," sprited a familiar voice to my left.
"Hello, darls," and identical voice piped in on my right. I now knew what it was that Draco had muttered. Weasleys. I turned around and jumped off my stool.
"Fred! George! You morons!"
Meanwhile, back at the castle…
Harry's POV
"C'mon, Harry! I want to see if it's there yet!"
"If what is where yet, Gin?" I asked, puzzled, as Ginny dragged me through the hallways all the way back to the tower. The Fat Lady was sitting in her frame, eating Acid Bombers (you know, those candies that literally make your head explode) and giggling to herself every time smoke came out of her ears.
"Password, please," she managed to giggle out between explosions of her face.
"Nundu," Ginny retorted impatiently. The Fat Lady giggled and swung open. "Who's dumb enough to use that disgusting creature as our password?"
I didn't say a word as we climbed through the portrait hole. As I emerged on the other side into the common room, Ginny was already running to the windows, opening them and sticking her head out of each one. I sat on one of the couches near the fire and waited for her to come join me. After fifteen minutes of sticking half her body out the windows, she jumped on my lap and buried her head into my shoulder.
"What are you waiting for, anyways, Gin?" I asked her, shifting her around so that my hard on caused by her jumping and squirming on me wouldn't bother her.
"Ron got an owl this morning from Mum, saying that the twins were going to owl both of us later on today. I was just hoping that it would've come by now."
I laughed at her eagerness and gave her a small kiss. Well, it was meant to be small.
"Ahem."
•••
Well the dark's so overrated
You're not saying how you feel
So you end up watching, chances fade
You're wondering' what's real
•••
We both pulled away and looked to the source of the voice.
"You've got an owl," a girl (an incredibly attractive one, at that) in Ginny's year spat with disgust, holding out Ron's little tennis-ball-of-an-owl Pig. Ginny knelt over me and grabbed the poor thing from the girl's clutches.
A/N: Seems like Harry has a bit of a roving eye, hmm?
"Thank you, Luisa," Ginny replied with contempt. She waited until Luisa left to do anything else, including move from her position over my lap. When the other girl was up the stairs and out of sight, Ginny patted Pig on the head gently as he cooed in her palm.
"I hope you left that nasty little bitch a present in her bed, Pig," she told the owl, moving off my lap completely and sitting opposite me on the couch so that the miniature creature was between us. Pigwidgeon hopped off her hand and on to the couch, stepping closer and closer to me. He pecked me with his beak and cooed happily.
"I guess he remembers me," I said with a shrug as Ginny laughed at me.
"I guess he does." And to the owl: "C'mere, Pig. Let's see what you've got on you, you little ball of fluff."
Pigwidgeon hopped over to Ginny, stood stock still for a moment then whipped out his left leg like an admiral's salute. She rolled her eyes and retrieved her letter. Just as she was about to pick him up and bring him to the window, he did an about face, hopped to me and pulled his "salute with the leg" routine with his right leg. I laughed with Ginny as I retrieved my letter. We walked together to the nearest window beside the fireplace and she set Pig down on the sill.
"We taught him a whole bunch of funny tricks over the summer, before you came," she explained. "Watch this."
She saluted Pigwidgeon and he lifted his wing in an awkward yet similar salute. He cooed, turned around and jumped, an audible whistle (something like the falling bombs in cartoons) following him. He fell for a few feet then with a loud squawk, then he spread his wings and was off to the Owlery.
I burst out in laughter at the owl's military farce and headed back towards the couch before I fell over from the cheap entertainment.
"We should call him something like Admiral Pig," I gasped out, trying to breath and share my thoughts at the same time.
"Oh, the twins were having a world of fun teaching him this summer, but I didn't think they managed to teach him that bomb thing!"
After we had calmed down, she snuggled into my lap and we each paid attention to our respective letters.
"Harry,
"Oi, mate! Shagging my sister now, are you? Well, better off you than that Jared fellow. He's a mighty prick that one.
"Well, I've got some news! We're here in Hogsmeade; we bought the old Zonko's place and it is now officially the first actual Weasley's Wizard Wheezes Shop! Aren't you proud? Well, George and I decided to hold our Grand Opening on your first Hogsmeade visit of the year. If I'm right, that should be next week or the week after. Oh, well. I may be wrong, so it doesn't matter much.
"We're a bit busy here, fixing up, developing some new bits to sell (we came up with a new sort of sick pill, thing's amazing I tell you! You get all the symptoms of a certain illness but you feel amazing and it only lasts like, an hour. Best way to get out of class. We're just having trouble with the you-feeling-great part. George puked all over my boots while we were testing last week. It was disgusting.). But I've been hearing some disturbing stuff about all of you and it's getting me worried. Ron's been owling us a lot, Flooing in from time to time. But all he's been doing is ranting and bitching about how horrible everyone is being to him. I was hoping you could talk to him until he mentioned something along the lines of you being a traitor. I mean, you're his best friend, and you can tolerate him better than all of us, so what's going on?
"From his murderous rants this is all I can gather: Hermione is dating Malfoy, you're dating Ginny, no one wants to date him, you're friends with Malfoy, he's sick and tired of being everyone's bitch, and you, Ginny, and the rest of Gryffindor are all traitors. I'm 99 sure that he's just being a melodramatic drama queen, but just bring me up to speed in your reply, would you? I mean, we all know that Ron's a bit of a hot head…
"Well, I better end this here or else General Pig's not going to be able to carry both these letters (there's one for Ginny that he's carrying, too). Be good, behave, and if you do anything to my sister, I'll kill you. Have a good one, mate. Be sure to write me back.
"Fred."
I grinned at Fred's forthrightness and I vowed to myself that I'd write him back within a week.
"So what did George have to tell you?" I asked her after I folded up my letter.
"Nothing much," she replied cryptically. "What about Fred?"
"About the same," I answered, getting sick of how secretive she was being with me lately. Since we started dating, she had become all mysterious, not the same Ginny that I fell for. So if she was going to play one game, I was determined to play it right back.
She stood up and stretched. "I'm going to go upstairs for a nap now, Harry."
I stood up as well. "Alright. If you say so. I think I'm going to get started on some of my homework."
Back to Mia and Draco…
Narrative
Draco growled into his butterbeer as the Weasley twins sandwiched Hermione. They had left him out and he was ready to blast both of them if it wasn't for her.
Stupid gits, he thought nastily.
"Draco, let's go see the shop," Hermione prodded him with excitement. He wondered what she was talking about as he pulled on his cloak and took her hand. It was raining out so he pointed his wand straight up, muttering an umbrella charm over the small group.
"So, the rumors are true, then," one of the Weasley's commented. "If you're gonna be part of the family, we might as well be acting civil to you, right Fred?"
"Exactly." The other Weasley twin stuck his hand out to Draco, cutting off Hermione. "I'm Fred, and this is my brother George."
"You guys are idiots," Hermione laughed as she swatted away their hands from Draco. "Don't worry, they're just being dorks. Be civil, please."
He sighed. "Yeah, I remember you two. Had the prank thing over at Hogwarts. "
Hermione smiled and leaned closer to him as the four walked towards the twins' shop. They could see the bright orange and yellow signage beside Gladrags. Draco wondered why he hadn't noticed it before.
"Huh," Hermione commented. "I didn't notice the, um, brightness as we were coming out of Gladrags."
"Oh, yeah," said George (the one on Draco's left) plaintively. "We saw the two of you walking out of Gladrags in your own little world. Very cutesy, I should say."
Draco laughed with the twins as Hermione blew a raspberry at George. Fred continued.
"Yeah, the two of you seemed to be obsessing, so after we finished putting up the front, we followed you to the Broomsticks."
"Nice," Draco commented. He looked down at Hermione, making sure she wasn't reminded about the dress. "We have stalkers."
"As long as they don't watch us at night, then I'm happy," she replied with a laugh.
As they approached the shop, Fred whipped out his wand and muttered a quick incantation. The twins stopped Hermione and Draco at the doors. Greg swished his wand through the air and a drum roll came out of nowhere. Hermione giggled with anticipation as Draco just grinned. I could actually get used to this kind of thing, he thought.
"Presenting…. WEASLEY'S WIZARD WHEEZES!"
As the twins expertly presented the store to them, the doors snapped open, revealing brightly coloured walls that startled Draco and Hermione; the yellows, reds, blues, and myriad of other bright and neon colours were an extreme contrast from the gray and rainy October day.
Hermione gasped and ran inside, like a child in a toy store.
"Looks like someone's going to have fun," Draco laughed, following her inside with the twins on each of his sides. He had begun to relax as his girlfriend kept getting happier and happier but, with the twins hulking over him (not in stature per say, but more in menace), he felt the air get cold.
"Look, mate," Fred said in a quiet voice to Draco. "Hermione is like family to us."
George continued. "Yeah. She's like a little sister to us. So if we find out that you've done anything stupid…"
"We don't care if you've pissed of Ron or whatever," Fred countered, leaving George's threat open-ended. "Because we can get over that. But if you're just using Hermione, you better hide your balls."
"Because if we get our hands on you, we'll break 'em."
"And we'll hurt you so badly, you'll wish your mother never forced you into this world. Got that?"
Draco swallowed slowly. These people just don't get it, do they? he thought fearfully. I really do love her. We may not have been actually together for a long time, but I've loved her forever…
"Draco, Draco! Look!"
Spared from making a possibly stupid move by speaking, Draco turned his head to Hermione. In her hands she held little brown, shiny things. As she ran towards him, they fell, one by one, to the floor, bouncing slightly as they hit the ground.
"What in Merlin's name is that?" he asked, the disgust on his face obvious. He had heard of all the Weasley twins' antics; hell, they were famous for it. He knew better than to trust anything that may have some out of their notorious laboratories.
•••
And I give it just a little time
I wonder if you realize
I've been waiting 'til I see it in your eyes
If I just breathe
Let it fill the space between,
I'll know everything is alright
Breathe
Every little piece of me
You'll see everything is alright
If I just breathe
•••
Hermione held a popcorn kernel to Draco's mouth. She laughed as he stepped back, his reaction to his fear of what the butter caramel-covered popcorn kernel would do to him.
"What is that?" he asked again when she didn't answer. The twins laughed as his reaction. They thought it prudent to stock some Muggle sweets as it would boost their sales and bring in some extra cash.
"Just eat it," she urged, shoving the popcorn so close to his face that he almost inhaled it through his nose. As he resisted, she shrugged.
"Be like that," she laughed as the twins grabbed some of the popcorn out of her palm.
Draco watched as Fred and George ate the sweets; he stared at them, waiting for some gruesome reaction to occur. Nothing happened except their laughter resonated through the empty shop three times louder than before.
"Draco, it's just popcorn!" Hermione laughed, pulling him closer. "That Muggle treat Harry and I were telling you about earlier!"
He turned to the Weasley's for a confirmation. "So there's nothing wrong with it?"
"Nothing," they both replied. Fred continued: "All Muggle, no magic."
"Hey! That should be the slogan of all your Muggle items, Fred!" Hermione chuckled. Turning to Draco, she offered him popcorn again.
"I swear, if I turn into a duck or something…" he threatened as he picked up and ate a piece. She could see that he was slowly coming around to it. He grinned.
"See, now that wasn't so bad, was it?"
"You suck," he said, grabbing a couple more from her hand and popping them into his mouth. He enjoyed the buttery-sweet taste that they brought, along with the slight, outer crunch on the outside then the soft inner fluffiness.
He stepped slowly into the shop, and Hermione followed him, prodding him on to check out all of the different prank items.
"Look, we can get some of this for the scavenger hunt!" she gushed, holding up a small plush teddy bear. When she picked it up, it stood on her palm, looking all cute and cuddly. Fred and George snickered behind her as she and Draco watched the figure. After a short moment, it's eyes turned red and it began to hover over her hand
"Tarantallegra!" the teddy bellowed in a suspiciously odd, deep voice.
Suddenly, Hermione's legs began to move. Faster and faster in a crazy, demented dance, her legs seemed to be moving of their own will. She screamed.
"Fred! George! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
The two twins were laughing; Draco whipped out his wand and tried to aim at her, not even remembering which spell to use to stop the spider-legs jinx. Fred (or perhaps it was George) laid a hand on his arm.
"Relax, mate," he said, still watching Hermione dance. "It should wear off in another twenty seconds or so. Just watch and laugh."
"Are you daft, man?" Draco seethed. "She looks worse than a marionette in the hands of a two year old!"
"She's used to our stupid antics, though," the other one stated, appearing on Draco's other side. He began to get the chills from being in between the two again. he readied himself for another scathing lecture, but it never came. Relaxing slightly, he watched Hermione dance through the wide aisle, slowing down after half a minute.
"Whoa," she sighed, tears of mirth streaming down her face. "That was something, eh, boys?"
They all laughed together as Hermione draped herself over Draco's arm.
"Come," Draco said to her after she could finally stand straight. He summoned two shopping baskets. "Let's shop."
Fred's POV
"So how long do you think this is gonna last?" I asked my brother quietly as the other two filled up their shopping baskets.
"I don't know," he replied in a similar tone of voice.
We followed the two of them through the store, watching them enjoy themselves with our joke stuffs.
"You have to admit," George began, "you have to admit that she's really grown up quite a bit this year."
Instead of replying, I just looked at her, trying to see what Malfoy and Ron saw. Then it dawned over me. She was beautiful. More than just beautiful, actually. If one cared to look, I thought that she was actually more beautiful than Fleur. Fleur was beautiful in the glamorous, show-offish sense. This was an angelic type of beauty in Hermione.
"Fred, George! What do you think?"
Her and Malfoy stood side by side wearing t-shirts that had "I'm with him" and "I'm with her" with little arrows on them pointing to each other. I checked my tone of voice then answered.
"You look absolutely stunning, in a Muggle novelty sense," I joked, moving forward and charming the shirts so as they each changed to say 'He/She makes me sick'. "But I think this is a much better sentiment."
Both shirts spewed vibrantly green puke on the floor. They jumped back as George lazily pointed his wand at the mess, cleaning it up instantly. The shirts puked again.
"That's not funny, mate," Malfoy said with a laugh, pointing his wand at the shirts and reverting them back to the original text and state. "But it would be useful if any little imps decided to get these shirts as well."
"That's such a good example, Draco," Hermione scolded with sarcasm. "Hex the midgets when you don't approve. Tsk, tsk. Men."
"Watch it, 'Mione," George threatened playfully. "It's three against one in the gender department."
George and I started advancing on her and Malfoy grinned wolfishly.
"Yes, love. I do believe the two men are right," he growled, grabbing her waist and tickling her with abandon.
I held my tongue and stood back, holding George back, too. Malfoy stopped and 'Mione stood, once again out of breath.
"Whew! Now will you all just stop picking on me?"
"Impossible, Mia," Malfoy said, joining her in laughter.
Mia? I thought, peering closely at the two of them. She certainly didn't seem to be under a spell of any sort. On the contrary, she seemed to be enjoying herself, like she did every time she came over to the Burrow for the summer…
Draco's POV
•••
Should I whisper in the dark,
Hoping you'll hear me
Do you hear me
If I just breathe
Let it fill the space between,
I'll know everything is alright
Breathe
Every little piece of me
You'll see everything is alright
If I just breath
•••
We decided to walk back to school from Hogsmede. As I held her waist with one arm and held as many bags as I could with the other, I grinned. We had spent the whole afternoon shopping with those Weasleys at every single shop in Hogsmede. Half the items we bought were for the dance and the scavenger hunt. The rest was for us. There were so many purchases that whatever I couldn't hold, we had shrunken down and pocketed.
"Homeward bound," Hermione said quietly as we walked the tree-lined path back to Hogwarts.
"Hmm," I agreed agreed, pulling her closer. I felt an inner warmth thaw my frozen ears when she said 'home' and I liked it; that feeling always reminded me of her.
"What are you thinking about, Draco?" she asked innocently, tilting her head up to me with a slight look of honest inquiry.
"Hmm… You. Me. Everything," I replied simply, nuzzling her neck
She quirked an eyebrow at my sappiness. "At a loss for words, are we?"
"No," I countered into the flesh of her neck. She melted slightly at the touch and I just kept on walking, forcing her along with me. "I just feel like getting back home, to our couch, lying down with you and sleeping forever with you in my arms."
"Home?" she questioned softly, her expression going from playful to serene.
"Yeah, home," I answered, matching her tone. I sighed. "I've spent more time there than anywhere else my whole life, and that's saying something. I mean, this is the only place where I feel like I've ever belonged…"
"I know what you mean… I mean…" she trailed off as she searched for the words. I stopped her just as she opened her mouth.
"It's just more familiar, somehow," I finished for her. She sighed and nodded.
There was a comfortable silence between us as we walked. Far off in the distance, I could just barely make out the topmost posts of the gates. She started singing quietly and I listened to her, loving how optimistic she made the tune sound. I breathed in her scent, loving her smell and her voice combined. It filled me with the same optimism and a sense of hope.
"How much did we spend today?" she asked, cutting herself off.
"Did you have to stop singing?" I teased, quirking an eyebrow as she tilted her head to look at me. "You could've at least done the song some justice by finishing it, my dear."
"Any other boy would've complimented me," she teased back, faking haughtiness. I nibbled at her ear slowly. She began to squirm.
"But, I regret to inform you," I growled into her ear, "that I am no boy. I am a man who faces his woman with sheer honor."
"Or sheer stupidity," she replied, breaking free of my hold and running ahead of me.
"Stupidity, eh?" I called after her. She stopped, turned, and looked me square in the face.
"Yes, Mister Manly Man," she bellowed sarcastically from 30 yards away. "You heard me!"
Trying to hold on to the multitude of baggage that I was carrying, I chased after her all the way to the gates. She had stopped at the left entrance post, clutching her side, breathing hard and laughing.
"Don't… Even… Think… Of hexing… Me!" she sputtered, out of breath. I jogged up to her easily.
"Out of breath, woman?" I teased, taking great efforts to show off my athletic prowess.
"Die… Bastard…" she replied, looking up at me darkly. "I… Hope you… Trip and fall… On the way… In."
"Now, now," I scolded playfully. I began to circle her. "That's not a very pleasant thing to say, is it, Miss Granger?"
"You great… Prat," she managed, slightly quicker than before.
"Oh, Mia, what was that song you were singing again?" I asked cockily, tapping my wand on my cheekbone. The lyrics and the tune floated in my head upon the third tap of my wand. "Ah, yes… Breathe/Every little piece of me/You'll see everything is alright/If I just breathe…"
She punched my chest lightly and stared me straight in the eye. Blinking once, the tune in my head disappeared just as I began to sing further. My eyes widened. What did she just…
"You know, you have a wonderful voice," she said, smirk on her face. "Now only if you would use it properly."
I opened my mouth to speak, but I could only mouth the words. Once I had realized that she had silenced me, I stalked menacingly towards her.
"Undo the spell," I mouthed. She shook her head. I mimed throwing the bags into the direction of the lake. She just laughed.
"Undo the spell yourself," she replied, hands on her hips and smirk growing wider.
I rolled my eyes, dropped the shopping unceremoniously on the dirt path, pulled my wand out, and once again laid it on my cheekbone. Mia walked towards me, shaking her head slightly.
"You're smart. Do it without the wand."
I gave her a menacing glare that clearly meant not to tease me.
"I'm not teasing, you great prat. Just concentrate really, really hard."
I gave her a stern look and she just prodded me on. Annoyed, I complied with her request and put my wand away. I closed and eyes and felt her staring at me intently.
"Now think of the spell. Imagine yourself saying it. The magic's inside of you, Draco. The wand is just a way of concentrating it…"
After thinking of the reversal spell for almost thirty seconds. I breathed hard.
"It's not working," I said, intending on mouthing the words. I wasn't even aware of my voice; I thought it was all in my head.
"Pardon me?" she asked innocently, grinning wide.
"I said that…" It dawned on me. I grinned in awe at her. "Did I just…?"
"Yes you did," she replied, hugging me. She looked up at me, the twinkle in her eyes dancing with happiness.
"And you didn't do it for me?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. I didn't mean to doubt her, but I could never stand to be fooled.
"No," she said, looking hurt for a moment. She hid it with much grace, but I still caught that split second of darkness. "But you did it!"
"So that's what it's like…" I mused, holding her and kissing her with great abandon. I felt guilty for doubting her so I tried my hardest to kiss it away.
Beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep!
I pulled away, bewildered by the annoying electronic sound.
"What in bloody blue blazes is that?" I asked her, certain that the sound wasn't coming from anywhere on my person.
She pulled her arms away from my shoulders and pushed up her left sleeve. She sighed. "C'mon. It's ten to six."
"That was your watch?" I asked incredulously. "I never figured that a simple mechanism could be so damned annoying!"
We both bent down to pick up the bags that I had dropped. I spied my large Gladrags bag and made a grab for it. She noticed my sudden movement.
"What was that?" she asked absent-mindedly as she reached for the last of the bags, incidentally containing bunch of Weasley Wizard Wheezes. Just as she grabbed the bag handles, a miniature toy gnome (even smaller than the real thing) pulled itself out of the top and started swearing a blue streak in its squeaky little voice. She jumped back in surprise.
"Vulgar little thing," I muttered, kicking it back into the bag. She forgot about her question and I was saved from lying to her. Whew.
It began to rain again, so we ran back to the castle, laughing at ourselves as we struggled to sprint with humongous bags, dropping things ever so often and getting absolutely soaked as we ran back to pick them up.
"Whew!" Mia gasped loudly as we finally made it through the entrance doors freezing and sopping wet.
I laughed and shook my head wildly, trying to rid my head of its excess moisture.
"Remind me to check the weather before we go ahead with one of you schemes," she giggled, shielding herself from my water shower.
"Gladly," I replied, offering her the crook of my arm. She took it in her own and we laughed all the to the doors of the Great Hall, where people followed us in for supper.
•••
I've been driving for an hour
Just talking to the rain…
•••