Reviewers-You have absolutely no idea how much I want to take up half of this chapter with individual thank you's to every one of you, but I know how much people hate it when authors do that, and I want you to know I read every single review and appreciated them all. You all are incredible. Just wonderful.
This chapter is dedicated to Kole, because that was one of the most flattering things anyone has ever said about my writing. That, was so sweet. Did you really think it was poetic? Which parts were you thinking of? Thank you for all of your input, I took your advice. )
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And there, against the wall of some hallway we don't even remember how we found, we shared our first, official kiss. We lost ourselves in each other. It was monumental. I don't believe it would've ever ended, if it hadn't been for-
"Mister Malfoy! What are you doing? You are on school grounds, this kind of interaction is no—Miss Granger? Ten points from Gryffindor, for poisoning the mind of my pupil!" said a disturbed Severus Snape, billowing away.
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It was almost natural, that such an earsplitting silence would once again follow their kiss. It was like a tradition for the two of them. Other couples met in the Astronomy Tower, or cuddled in their common rooms, but these two were different. Such generic actions were almost laughable for the pair. No, their tradition was more subtle. They were, after all, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger.
And so they stood, for Merlin knows how long; entwined in each other and swallowed by silence. They were only a breath away, and their eye contact remained so strong that the tension was practically radiating off of them. Each of them was challenger the other to speak, but neither one dared to break the orb of silence that had surrounded them.
It wasn't until they heard distant voices that their trance was broken.
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"Harry, mate, where do you reckon she went if she's not up in the commons?"
"Dunno, but I bet she's in the library, you know how much she adores that place." Harry replied, rounding a corner up ahead.
And as if a wave of reality crashed upon her, her features immediately hardened. She looked at him as if he had transformed into the scum he used to be. Brown eyes were glazed with a frost of malice that affected him more than it should have. To see this girl with such a look was just so terribly wrong. It was like seeing Santa Claus robbing a bank. It was like Dumbledore beating up orphans. It was the Gryffindor Princess glaring hatred at him, and never had he seen this kind of edge to her.
"Why the bloody hell did you do that Malfoy?" she hissed at him.
"Back on a surname basis, are we Granger? That's pretty rich," he chucked, almost bitterly. "Because last time I checked, it takes two to kiss."
"That isn't true Malfoy!" she barked at his retreating form.
"You're so damn afraid of how you feel! You want me and it scares the hell of out you! Gryffindor, my arse. If that's the way you want things, that's the way you'll have them!" he shouted back, swiftly turning a corner and disappearing from her view.
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Although it was one of the most difficult things I have ever done, I did not cry until I was sure he was out of earshot. To cry would be to admit defeat. I was going to deal with him the Malfoy way. I was going to be elegant and I was going to salvage my pride.
I slid down the wall, and dissolved into silent tears. This was not the way my sixth year was supposed to go. I was supposed to keep my crush on Ron and start a relationship with him that would lead to our falling in love and getting married. Ginny and I planned it out in second year, for Merlin's sake!
Nothing about Ron Weasley appealed to me romantically anymore. I used to think his nature was cute, but now he's just klutzy compared to the debonair young man who has invaded all of my thoughts. With only one kiss, he has turned my life upside down.
I will not be that girl.
I refuse.
I will not let a man define who I am. I will not allow him to change my life. I had all of these plans, and they must stay alive, because without them, I don't know who I am. My perfect plans aren't perfect for me anymore, they just don't fit. They're shattered, and as much as I hate to admit it, he has changed my life, with just one kiss. To kiss anyone else, after an experience like that will lead to nothing but comparison. Numbers and ratings. He will always be in the back of my head, haunting my thoughts, because as much as I hate him for it, nothing can compare.
I hate him, but most of all I hate myself. How could I be so selfish, allowing myself to dip my toes into water that is not my own? I'm ruining lives on both sides of the war. Even if I do not see him in the slightest romantic light, Ron will still look at me the same way. He will still have a crush on me. And I will crush him. It could very well ruin our friendship, when it comes down to it. Love isn't pushing me against a wall and having his way with me. Love is being there for me for six years. It is so wrong, that I have no choice but to be enchanted with Draco over Ron, but it is who I am.
Draco Malfoy is leading me into a downward spiral, and I cannot allow it to continue. I will do things his way: with elegance and pride.
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Hermione Granger ran to the library as fast as she could.
After finding a book, and pretending to be engrossed in it, her two friends came up from behind her and pulled up chairs at her table.
"She's reading again, eh?" said Harry, flashing a smirk, "Surprise, surprise!"
"You know what I think needs to be done here, Mr. Potter?" said Ron with a crooked smile.
"We need to kidnap Hermione and get her as far away from the library as possible, Mr. Weasley?"
"I think that sounds brilliant, mate."
And with this, Harry levitated her into the air and grabbed her arms.
"Take her legs, Ron, and…GO!"
Many heads turned as Harry Potter and Ron Weasley carted a squealing Hermione out of the library doors.
In Harry's entire backward running majesty, he accidentally ran into an unhappy Goyle. He quickly turned to face his opponents and in doing so dropped Hermione on her bum.
"Thanks guys" she said sarcastically from the ground.
"Sorry 'Mione." replied a chuckling Ron.
"You'd think at least one of her boyfriends would pick the ugly little thing up when they dropped her, but it looks like you two couldn't care less, eh?" said a sneering Crabbe.
"Congratulations are in order Malfoy! You've finally trained Crabbe to speak!" said Harry, helping Hermione up to her feet.
"Gregory, Vincent, would you excuse me for a moment?" said Malfoy curtly, as the two larger boys blundered around a corner to wait for him.
Harry whispered something to Hermione, and with that, she left to go the opposite direction.
"Why don't you just bugger off? Nobody wants you here!" said Harry, glaring the other boy down.
"Yeah Malfoy, why don't you just join that failure father of yours down in Azkaban?" said Ron without thought.
A short silence passed, and Ron knew immediately he had crossed the line.
"I wouldn't be so cocky if I was you, Weasley," hissed Malfoy dangerously, spitting his name with that loathing twitch.
"And why is that Malfoy? Because I've got a life, because I've got friends?"
"You are such a complete fool sometimes. Don't assume you know everything about your friends."
"What are you trying to say?" hissed Harry dangerously.
"I don't know Potter. Maybe that you've been in lust with the little Weaslette for a year, or maybe that the filthy little mudblood you're so enamored with can't keep her hands off of me."
"You're lying Malfoy! You're just trying to bait me, I'm not stupid!"
"Really Weasley? Then why in Merlin's name did you ever think someone with a mind like Granger's would EVER be interested in the likes of you. She couldn't bloody resist me!"
Harry looked as if he was slowly going purple, and Ron was inhaling deep, shallow breathes.
"You see that corridor down there? I assume you saw her leave after dinner, and I not long after? For someone so filthy, she is terribly attractive you know. And then we kissed, and believe Weasley,she was all over me. She was drawn to me in a manner you could never imagine, because no woman, especially her, will ever want you in that way. The little whore does this thing when you kiss her, you know, and it's really quite pleasurable you see,-"
He was cut off the crack of two fists meeting his face.
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So…hate it? Love it? Flame it? ANYTHING! Just review! The longer the better. The more input the easier it is for me to continue the story, eh?
Update-I updated the last scene a little, because it was a tad choppy. Thanks for pointing that out, TwilightGirl!