A/N: As always, thanks for reading. And reviewing (hopefully!). I honestly hope I'm succeeding in entertaining you all.
I don't think this worked in the last chapter. I have a lovely cover art for the fan fiction. You can see it here: http // img .photobucket. Com /albums /v91 /SpikeStalker /hpcover new .jpg Just take out the spaces! Thanks Willowfairy for the advice.
Disclaimer: Don't own HP, blah-diddy-blah-blah-blah.
Special Notes For Chapter 6 Reviewers
Everyone: Go read Love me For Me by Rilicious. It's amazing and it needs more reviews. It's a gem!
Yellowrosesinateacup: As I was proofreading that chapter, I realized it sounded a lot like the Ring 2. Other than that scene, the storyline doesn't seem to follow any other characteristics of the movies, so I decided to leave it be. Anyway, thank you SO much for reviewing!
Antanaqui: Thanks for reviewing! Well, I can say that her pregnancy caused the insanity. But we'll have to wait to find out if the effects are permanent or not.
Lizbeth16: Thanks for reviewing! Keep on reading.
Cherbi161: You just made my head so big. I'm really excited about this plot. Usually when I write stories, I just kind of go with it. Then I got to that chapter and realized I didn't want to write a story that was just about romance. I wanted to do something different. So I actually planned a plot ahead. It took me ages, but I'm pleased. Thank you for the review! You made me so happy!
Rilicious: Haha, crazy girl. Walking dictionary? That's awesome. Thanks for the review and keep on writing your story!
CoolChick0506: I really enjoyed your story. I'm hoping for a sequel. Read over chapter 5 carefully and you might find out what the photo is. Thanks for reviewing!
Southernbelle: Well thank you! I love photography and I admire those who can do it, so I decided to give that to Hermione.
Willowfairy: Thanks for the advice. I'll try posting that again!
Lilcarverjb: Thanks for all your reviews! I'm glad I can make it like a movie in your head. That's what I look for when I'm reading something.
Hermione sat nonchalantly at her desk near the end of tutoring…or so it appeared. In all reality, she was quite tense. Underneath the table, her hands were clutched nervously at the hem of her robes. It had been several days since she'd spoken to Malfoy and he hadn't come to tutoring since. She'd covered for him, of course, it was a civil thing to do for anyone. Although she didn't enjoy Malfoy all that much, she was beginning to find herself worried for him. What if he died and it was her fault for not telling anyone? She would never forgive herself. The night had been relatively slow, a fact she resented. If she'd been busy, her mind might have lifted from her worries for at least twenty minutes. She'd only helped one student and argued with Layla for several minutes about where her "precious Draco" was. Layla had finally given up and stomped out the library, squealing loudly.
Hermione watched tensely as the prefects filtered out of the library. Nobody had asked her any questions about Malfoy's whereabouts and she suspected they didn't really care. Most of them didn't pay him any mind, either because he terrified them, or because they hated him. She stared at the book cart beside her desk. Without Draco, she hadn't been able to move the book cart lately, and she'd let it pile up. Now books were sticking off haphazardly, about to topple onto the ground. She stood, pushed up the sleeves of her robes and pressed herself against the cart. It moved ever so slightly. She continued pushing with all her strength, making advancements of about a foot per minute. She stepped backwards and took a huge heave at the cart. It didn't budge. She knelt down to the ground, seeing that the front wheel was stuck on the corner of a bookshelf.
"Bloody hell." She cursed, gripping the leg and trying to wedge it off.
"Need some help?" A cool, flat voice sounded besides her and she jumped a little bit. People were never in the library at this time. Well, except her.
"Malfoy?" She jumped up and spun around, not sure if she wanted to hug him or slap him. She chose the latter.
"What the hell, Granger?" Draco gripped his reddening cheek angrily. "What the fuck was that for?"
"I covered for you and you couldn't even tell me if you were okay? Or coming back?" Hermione's fists were balled up with rage. "I don't know why because I can't stand you, and right now I want to boil you alive, but I was worried sick, you prat!"
"Get a grip, Granger." Draco backed away, slightly fearful of the screaming female in front of him.
"I certainly will not. I could have gotten expelled for protecting you like that, you know."
"Dumbledore would never expel you, mudblood. You're too goddamn brilliant. You have nothing to worry about."
"Flattery goes a long way, Malfoy." Hermione's face softened and she took a deep breath. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I just had some stuff to do."
"Did you see your mother?"
"Why are you asking me all these bloody questions?"
"I want to know."
"Well, for your information, yes, I did see my mother."
"How is she?"
"She's a nutcase. What do you expect?"
"I'm…sorry."
"No you aren't." Draco frowned disbelievingly.
"I really am. It must be hard seeing her like that."
"It is."
"Did she tell you what happened to the--her baby?" Hermione sat down on the floor next to the book cart and Draco followed suit.
"Not really. She kept calling it the darkness, saying it shouldn't live."
"Spooky." Draco nodded.
"She said it hurt her, or something." He rubbed his temples. "I don't know if I should take her seriously or take her threats as psychotic ranting." Hermione seemed to roll this around in her brain for a few minutes.
"I could…look into it, if you want. I'm sure they have something about this sort of thing in this huge library." Hermione wasn't completely sure why she was helping Malfoy. It was just that…he seemed to need help, as simple as that. Draco considered saying something rude, but as much as he hated taking assistance, he could admit he could use it right now.
"Okay."
"After tutoring tomorrow, then? We can start researching." Hermione stood up and pulled the sleeves of her robes down self-consciously. The way Malfoy was looking at her, with such gratitude in his eyes, was making her uncomfortable.
"Er--okay. Thank you." He stuttered with the words. Hermione looked up at him and gave him a little half-smile.
"You're welcome. Just don't be a prick to me after I've thrown my ass on the line for you, Malfoy."
"Okay, mudblood."
"And don't call me mudblood." Hermione looked up into his silvery eyes, searching for some sort of agreement. He nodded. He reached out and gave her slightly awkward pat on the back, like something you give to a distant relative who smells funny, gives you wet kisses, and calls you 'kiddo'.
"Bye." Draco waved to her, walking out of the library, his eyebrows knitted together in an awful confusion.
Hermione woke up the next morning, with the faint realization that it was, in fact, her seventeenth birthday. She'd never made a big fuss over birthdays. She'd been brought up to accept that one or two presents and dessert at dinner was a doting holiday. She smiled, remembering the two presents at the bottom of her trunk from her parents. She clambered out of bed, opened her trunk, and dug around for several minutes. Finally, she found the two brown-bagged gifts. She yanked them out and sat them in her lap, smiling. Her eyes lingered on Crookshanks's napping form and she patted the top of his head affectionately. She tore her fingers into the brown paper of the larger present and pulled out a portable CD player. She laughed, half entertained and half disappointed. Her parents obviously wouldn't know that electronics wouldn't be of much use at Hogwarts. She sat the CD player aside; she'd put it to good use during the summer. The second gift was a bit more neatly wrapped. She took a little big longer opening it, as it's delicate wrapping seemed to call for a gentler undoing. She sighed as the present came into view. A book. A nice, safe book. Siddartha by Herman Hesse. She thumbed her way through the book, the scent of new pages exciting her senses. She loved the way new books smelled, fresh and ready to read. Now she had something to look forward to every night.
Draco sat at breakfast, anticipating the owl that would come with his punishment. He was fairly sure Dumbledore had clued in to the fact that he missed three days of school. Sure enough, just as he was halfway into his eggs, an owl swooped over the table and landed on his plate, effectively squashing his toast and marmalade. He untied the letter, scowling, and carefully unfolded it.
Mr. Malfoy,
Your tutoring sessions with the prefects will be extended one extra week due to your absence in your classes. You will also be asked to work with our Head Girl in planning Halloween festivities. Remember, leaving school is a serious offense. If this happens again, it won't be taken lightly. 100 points was also docked from your house.
Headmaster Dumbledore
Draco tossed the letter down into his plate. "One hundred points," The shrill voice of Pansy Parkinson shrieked from beside him. She glared angrily.
"Like you care, Pansy." Draco narrowed his eyes at her, stood up with his plate, and stomped over to an unoccupied section of the Slytherin table. It wasn't long before the empty seat next to him was taken by none other than Layla.
"Where have you been?" Her big green eyes quavered at him as he considered the answer.
"Away."
"Well obviously." Layla twirled a blonde strand of hair around her pinky finger. "I missed you." She slid her opposite hand on to Draco's knee. Draco felt his body tense up at the contact. He moved his hands towards hers, and Layla's face began to light up. Her features fell, however, we he used his hand to slid hers off of his knee. Draco could see her green eyes darken, as if she was plotting her next move. He felt as if he was being cornered, the predator getting ready to pounce on him.
"You're scared," she purred.
"What?" She was leaning into him, batting her eyelashes manically.
"I don't mean to intimidate you," she placed her hands on his shoulders. Draco shrugged them off.
"You don't intimidate me. Although you do freak me out a little." Draco spat, completely irritated with Layla's forward actions. Layla cocked an eyebrow, obviously an attempt to lure Draco into her trap.
"Oh, stop." She slapped him playfully on the shoulder, giggling.
"Fucking hell." Draco pushed her away, stood, and stomped off to his first class, leaving Layla pouting and confused.
"Well that was an interesting session." Hermione tossed her books onto the table and sat down next to Draco. He nodded, groaning a bit. "Layla wasn't in here today," Hermione added, "Disappointed?"
"Hardly." Draco made a 'crazy' motion, twirling his finger by his temple. Hermione chuckled, brushing her hair away from her neck.
"Well, I've pulled a few books from the shelves…just things that might have relevance." She pushed a stack of five or six books towards Draco and he grimaced.
"God damn, Granger."
"What?"
"You're just so..so…academic." Hermione opened her mouth, slightly offended.
"And that's a bad thing?"
" It's just…do you ever get out?"
"Of course I get out, Malfoy. Now, this book has several chapters on birth.." Hermione flipped to the center of a particularly large book.
"I think I just proved my point." Draco leaned toward Hermione, reading the tiny print of the book.
"This isn't going to help," Hermione traced her pointer finger down the page, "This is just about magical birthing techniques."
"Ugh." Draco looked down at the picture splashed across the page. Hermione slammed the cover closed and pushed it across the table. Draco flipped through the pages of his book, but was only met by similar information.
"Maybe my mum's just ranting." He frowned, considering this.
"What if she's not?"
"Then we're all fucked," Draco grinned sarcastically. He grabbed another book and began to page through it. "So," he began, swallowing, "I guess I have to work with you on the Halloween stuff this year." Hermione's eyes widened.
"What? But, why?"
"Punishment for up and leaving," Hermione frowned, looking disappointed, "What? Feeling threatened?"
"Not one bit, Malfoy," Hermione's face tightened, looking extremely smug. Draco sighed.
"I don't think these books are going to help, Granger. I think I'll just look into it on my own."
"Like you could." Hermione reached for another book, her elbow accidentally knocking against her bag. The bag toppled to the floor, it's contents spewed all around the table. She knelt down, picking up quills, parchments, several books, and a stack of birthday cards.
"When was your birthday?" Draco wasn't sure he was asking. He convinced himself he was just curious as to what kind of freak carried around stacks of birthday cards.
"Today." Hermione shoved everything back into her bag and set it beside her chair.
"Oh." Draco didn't say anything, but he was floored. He couldn't believe that Granger, of all people, had given up her birthday to help him. It was just another item to add to his list of things that confused and/or fascinated him about the mud blood.
"It's late," Draco closed his book, "Let's call it a night." Hermione nodded.
"All right."
"Plus, you can go celebrate. With Potty and Weasel. If they count as friends, I mean."
"Why wouldn't they?"
"Well, it's all a matter of perspective. Do fuckbuddies count as friends, Granger?" Draco couldn't help himself. It was too good of an insult.
"What's your problem, Malfoy?"
"Or are you too frigid for that?" Malfoy was on a roll. He couldn't have stopped even if he wanted to.
"I was being perfectly nice to you." Hermione's lower lip began to quiver as she narrowed her eyes onto his face. "Why are you always such an ass?" Her brown eyes filled with tears as she clenched her fists. Draco shrugged.
"Second nature." Hermione stood there for a second, contemplating the situation, before grabbing her back and stomping out of the library in a huff.
Such a Malfoy. Turning down good help in favor of self pride.