Disclaimer: I don't any of the characters in this story but Derek. I do own the plotline, so no copying! If you do, I will hunt you down and neuder you!
A/N: Thank you all who reviewed! I really appreciate it and look forward to more. Now, I have to dedicate this to my dear kitty kat Roxie who died three years ago from yesterday...quite tragic...so this is in her memory. Read, review, and enjoy!
A Silent Wish.
A Vary of Interest
Hermione woke the next morning to the sound of blue birds chirping. It didn't seem to match the unsettling mood that clung to the pit of her stomach, her dreams that were being haunted by this man.
With great effort, Hermione heaved herself out of her bed. When she arrived in the kitchen, she found the others already awake and thriving. Harry and Ron say on opposite sides of the coffee table in the living room and Ginny say opposite the kitchen watching them play, but her mind seemed to be elsewhere. Hermione walked in just as Ron's knight flew across the table to attack one of Harry's helpless ponds; Ginny stared up at her with an awkward stare.
"Hey, guys," Hermione spoke stretching as she walked over to join the show.
"Oh, hey Hermione," Harry said absently, acknowledging her with a side-glance and quickly putting his attention back on the chess game. Ron gave a little wave and Hermione nodded.
She looked across the table and gave Ginny a warm smile. Ginny twitched a smile and put her eyes back on the game. Hermione looked at her, concerned, but shrugged it off.
"Check mate!" Ron said jumping up and throwing his fist into the air in triumph.
"Oh!" Harry said slapping his knee as Ron's Queen swiftly moved diagonally to the king where she ripped him to pieces.
"Good game, mate," Harry said gathering up the broken pieces and putting them back to place. Ginny moved around the table to help.
As Ginny helped Harry, Ron turned to Hermione and asked, "So, how did you first training day go?"
Hermione gladly told him of the time in the waiting room, Neville being there, the room her class was in, and the class itself.
"Must have been great," Ron said bitterly looking away from Hermione's gaze.
"Oh, don't be like that, it would be so much better if you two were bother there. I'm just glad Neville is there," she said with a sigh of relief.
"What about you, have you decided if your going to apply for a teaching job somewhere?" Hermione asked curiously.
"I'm not sure, I don't know if I'm ready. Plus, what class would I teach?" Ron asked her.
"I think you should do Defense Against the Dark Arts. After all of those D.A. meetings and the experiences you had fighting those Death Eaters, there's no one better qualified," Harry said reassuringly.
"No one but you," Ron said with sorrow in his voice.
"I'm not a teacher, Ron," Harry responded.
"You taught the D.A. meetings," Ron said back.
"Those were people our age, I wouldn't be able to teach children," Harry said.
Ron hesitated before saying, "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"What about you, Harry, have you decided on any job yet?" Ginny asked.
"Yeah, I've decided on a lot, but the Ministry has declined all of my offers. They still seem to be mad at me for not being their little mascot," Harry said in a frustrated tone.
"That's OK, at least you have plenty of money to keep you going for the next thousand years, Mum and Dad just threw me out to fend for myself," Ron said with a sour voice.
"Don't talk like that about Mum and Dad, they did it for your own good. They couldn't continue to treat you like a child, you were of age. Plus, it isn't like they have enough to deal with right now," Ginny said defensively.
"Well, it sounds to me that Hermione is the one here who is successful first, just like old times, eh?" Harry said humorously. Hermione blushed and waved it of. There was a silence as Harry and Ginny finished clearing all evidence of the chess match and Hermione stood up to get breakfast. Ron, however, leaned back into the armchair he was in and closed his eyes.
The day went on slowly as the all roamed around the house doing their own thing. Eventually, Ron headed out the door with Harry to the Ministry, each with their own reasons. Ginny had quietly kept her distance from Hermione and in mid afternoon, retired to her room.
Hermione was left alone in the house as she read yet another chapter from her Aurors in Training course book. She finished the chapter and closed the book and she was left with nothing but the sound of a slowly dying, crackling fire. She hadn't talk to Derek in nearly two days. Making up her mind, she made her way to the waiting phone by the kitchen.
"555-0198," she thought as she dialed in the number; she had memorized the number long ago. She waited as the first ring went by, then the second, the third, fourth, and finally, the fifth. A feeling of disappointment went through her as the answering machine started: "Hey, this is Derek, sorry I missed your call, but if you leave your name and number, I promise I'll get back to you as soon as possible, thanks!" and the tone beeped.
"Hey, Derek, this is Hermione, just called to talk. I haven't talked to you in a couple of days now, so if you could call me back when it suits you, that would be great. You know the number, bye," Hermione said politely, adding more cheer into the last few words.
When she finished, she slowly hung up the phone on its place. It was particularly strange for him to not answer, but she didn't worry, she was sure he would explain himself the next time she spoke to him.
But as she slumped into a chair at the table, she felt a sudden lonely feeling, or maybe it was boredom, whatever it was, she felt the need to be with people. Since Harry and Ron were at the Ministry and had no idea of when they would be back, and Ginny didn't seem to want to be in her company, Hermione decided to go out. She didn't know where she was going to, but she decided, at least a walk would be good for her.
Hermione wrote and quick not, placing it on the refrigerator (Ron would surely see it) and grabbed a coat from the rack before heading out the door.
The sun was just setting as she walked out the door and she could see the beautiful reads, yellows, and purples stretch across the clouded skies where the clouds soaked them in like a canvas. She stood admiring the sun set for a few minutes before she proceeded on. Families were retreating back home with smiles of satisfaction on their faces when her eyes scanned the park and she started down the street, tucking her coat tightly around her.
Her mind soared in thought, as it often did when she was peaceful. It flew to the thought of the upcoming class and she became impatient with the thought. It was hard enough during the summers trying to busy herself with schoolwork, but now that she was finally in a class again and having to wait a day or more for the next, it was almost unbearable.
From that, her thoughts strayed to Ron, Harry, and Ginny. She was going to miss Ginny when she went back to Hogwarts for her last year. Her last close, womanly support would be gone.
Hermione was concerned for both Harry and Ron's well being, but felt it wasn't right to interfere. They were of age and needed to act it. Plus, it wasn't like they could give her their rough draft of life and expect her to fix the imperfections. No, the old times were not going to help them anymore.
She turned the corner of what seemed the hundredth street as her thoughts bumped to Derek. As she realized she had told herself several times, she cared for him. There was something about him that drew her to him. It could have been his good looks, it could have been his all around great personality, she wasn't sure, but it was there and it was strong.
And as she smiled at the thought of him, a new man came to mind, the stranger. It had only been last night that she saw him, but she had completely forgotten about him. He was just what she hated; a vain, self-centered, mind game playing, rotten man that made her feel stupid, even in her own house. Yet, she found a deep attraction to him. However, sometimes, it made her sick to the stomach at the thought of it, him coming to her when she was helpless and having his way with her, but strangely, she didn't mind. In fact, you could say he liked it, but then she cringed at her awful thought again. But, whether she was willing to admit it or not, he was always there, waiting for her in the dark…
It was then that a thought struck her. It was then that she realized she had the key to her company problem. She stopped where she was and looked up at the street signs. Only a few blocks, she thought and walked a little more swiftly. A quarter of an hour later, Hermione arrived at her destination and stepped inside.
The music blared and a few people looked at her strangely as she entered in warn down jeans, sneakers, and an old jacket. She ignored them and moved directly to her right where a steep staircase was. She began to climb the steps just as the foam his her knees.
When she reached the top, she took a sharp left and came to a door on her left again. She hesitated before putting her hand on the knob and pushed it slowly open. To her relief, the room was empty just as before. She stepped into the room and stopped. This was her last chance to go back, to forget the whole thing. If she closed the door, she knew there was no going back, he wouldn't let her. She closed the door.
She made her way across the pitch-black room to the bed as her heart beat wildly in her chest. Come on, come on, Hermione thought impatiently. He should be here by now, she told herself looking around the room, though she saw nothing.
A moment later, almost on cue, she felt a hand grip her chin and pull her head upward as if she was being examined.
"I knew you would call to me someday," the voice said in a proud tone.
Hermione said nothing. She had come accustom to saying nothing and let her actions speak for her. He tend to understand her either way, but if she kept quiet, the games he played with her were less severe.
"Let me guess, lonely? Bored? Or is it that you miss me already?" He asked in a mocking tone that made Hermione flare up inside. She ignored it though; she was there for his company, not to get in a row with him.
"Well, then," he said slowly moving his gloved hand from her chin to cup her cheek, "let me be your escape," he finished and ran his hand down her arm to her hand. She gripped it and she stood as he pulled her up. Slowly, he led her from the bed and across the room. He sat down on a chair and pulled her on to his lap.
It felt awkward sitting in his lap and she blushed to herself. He brushed the top of her thighs with his fingers and moved them slowly up her body. He snaked them under her jacket that had parted from her body limply. As he reached her shoulders, he moved his fingers to slowly push the fabric off her shoulders and on to the ground.
Hermione gasped at the disregard of her jacket, but he spoke in a coming voice, "Don't be scared." He continued on moving up her neck to her face. He cupped both sides of her cheek and kissed her gently. The hair on the back of her neck stood up at the simple sensation and she brought her arms around his neck where she relaxed them.
He, on the other hand, wouldn't let his hands relax. He quickly moved one hand from her cheek around to her back and messaged her tenderly. She moaned and he deepened the kiss. She responded by pressing her hips closer to his. He smiled against the kiss, but she didn't seem to notice for she didn't waver or hesitate. With his other hand, he moved it down her body to her outer thigh where he caressed her gently.
Hermione inched her hands from around his neck to his shoulders and chest. She found the button on his cloak and pulled it open. To her dismay, a layer of clothing stood between her hands and her goal.
As she found the top of the vest and started to open, he parted from her lips and proceeded on to her neck. She paused briefly as she adjusted to the new feeling, but continued on undoing his vest. Once she had finished, she moaned in disappointment to find yet another layer in her way. The thin piece of clothing hardly did anything to hide his physique though, and she moved quickly to unfasten it from his body.
Hermione ripped it open and placed her hands on his warm chest. He let out a small groan as her hands came in contact with his skin. She smiled in satisfaction and continued to roam his body.
His chest was firm under her hands and she explored his stomach to find his abs well formed. She reached his belt line and tickled the sensitive skin near it. Hermione felt his skin recoil as the muscles close to her fingers flexed. She abandoned the area and began to rub up his chest in small circles with only her fingertips.
As she moved on his body, he brought his hand that had been on her thigh up to her back with his other hand. She moved over his shoulders and his arms brought her closer to him. As if in slow motion, her rhythmic fingertips moved down his upper arm, past his biceps and triceps.
Hermione had managed to push the fabric of his cloak, vest, and undershirt to his elbows where she intended to move on, but he quickly snapped his left arm to his chest, trapping her dainty fingers between his crushing bicep and forearm.
Hermione gasped in pain, but he spoke before she could say anything. "No," was all her spoke and Hermione was at a loss for words.
All of a sudden, he hooked his hands under her arms and hoist to her to a stand. She heard the movement of clothing and assumed he was re-buttoning his garments.
"Good day, Miss Granger," he said, no longer in a pleasant voice, but an irritated one. A loud pop erupted and she was alone once again.
When she emerged from the lone stairs again, she could see that the floor had nearly doubled in people. Even on a Tuesday evening, the place was crowded. As she pushed her way through the crowd, she got more strange looks, but she didn't care, she had other things on her mind.
The night air was cool against her face as she walked home. She had decided this was definitely something to tell Ginny; maybe she could help Hermione figure out who this man was…
A/N: Read & Review!