Disclaimer time - ok . . .blah, blah no, I do not own Draco (much to my
great dismay), Hermione or any other characters you may recognize, if I did
the movies would get far more interesting, trust me. I know I've been a
terrible fanfic writer & have left this story hanging for far too long,
well my life get very complicated & difficult for awhile - things aren't
particularly better now, but inspiration, at least has returned. I have no
intention of abandoning this story & have even begun writing the next
chapter. Anyway, let's skip the AN & get back into the story . . .
Hermione,
The music was set to go off to give you enough time to get to Arithmancy, which starts in 20 minutes, your books are on the table along with your homework and don't ask how I got them, because you probably won't approve. If I had my way, you'd still be sleeping, but I figured if I allowed you to miss class, you might try to hex me into the next century.
By now, you're probably thinking that I'm a bastard, a belief that under the circumstances I won't try to argue. Sitting here and watching you sleep, I realize that I may have been a bit out of line, but relationships aren't my strongest point, so I hope you can forgive me. I'm not particularly good at explanations and even worse at apologies, having made very few in my life. I won't lie, I knew what I was doing when I did it, but I hadn't intended things to go as far as they did.
I fucked up, but hopefully not beyond complete redemption, which brings to why I'm not here right now. I lost control, something that rarely happens to me and I need to figure that out, at the same time, I realize that I've been less than fair to you, so I'm trying to give you some space.
What happens now is up to you. If it means anything I am sorry.
Draco
Rereading the letter one last time, Draco finally decided that it held enough resemblance to his emotions to ring true. Propping the letter up where he was sure that she would see it, he then walked over to his stereo and adjusted the settings, before making his way back across the room. Sitting next to her still figure, he was unaware of the bittersweet smile that briefly twisted his lips, while his hand lifted, almost of its own accord to brush a tendril of hair off her face. Draco abruptly jerked his arm back, as he clenched his jaw and his face hardened, taking on an almost cruel cast.
Running his hand restlessly through his hair, he stood up and began erratically pacing around his room. Snagging a pack of cigarettes off his dresser, he lit one up as he continued pacing like a caged animal, trying to rein himself in and bitterly smirking. With everything going on, this was the worse possible time for him to begin to lose it - he was being too impatient, too impulsive and too damn reckless - making mistakes he knew he couldn't afford.
It had been too long since he had last heard from his father or any of the other deatheaters and that was never a good sign. Something was definitely going on, but figuring out exactly what *it* was, well that was going to be a little more difficult. Sucking the harsh smoke deeply into his lungs, he glanced over to Hermione, innocently sleeping on his bed. Up until this point, he still believed that while he was playing to win, he was just playing a game; losing wasn't part of the plan. She was supposed to make up for everything else fucked in his life and he had no intention of losing her, but if he couldn't control himself, he knew he wouldn't be able to control anything else and that could be disastrous.
Leaning over her, he whispered the incantation that would begin to bring her out the spell induced restorative sleep he had sent her into, quickly moving away from her, with a long pensive stare. Abruptly putting out his cigarette, he forced himself to walk out of the room without a backward glance, as much as he wanted to stay, he knew he had to go somewhere and think, anything would be too much of a temptation. Hermione's eyes slowly drifted open, realizing once again that she was in Draco's room. Draco was standing a few feet away from her, smoking yet another cigarette, seemingly lost in his own world. She opened her mouth to ask him what was going on, before some instinct cautioned her not to.
Instead she remained very still, feigning sleep, as he stalked out of the room and took a deep breath and she began remembering the earlier events of the day. Carefully, lifting her robes she saw the bruises he had left on her legs and as if in confirmation, she became aware the slight soreness between her thighs and the renewed sense of frustration and she shook her head, trying to sort out her feelings. She sighed, listening to the music that softly played in the background and inhaling the still faint taint of smoke in the air as she tried to figure out the precise point where her life began to devolve into a fucked up after-school special.
She wasn't mad at Draco *exactly* which she knew was probably wrong on her part, to be honest, in a sort of perverse way, she was actually enjoying his proprietary behavior. This was all just very confusing and very sudden, but she didn't know what to do about it all. She had the distinct impression that if she suddenly cut Draco out of her life that things would take a turn for the worse - not only could he make things very difficult, but she had to admit that despite everything, she was for the most part enjoying, if not encouraging, all of it.
Whatever was going on between her and Draco, she decided it was time for a serious discussion, because while she was enjoying most everything, she was no doormat, nor would she allow herself to be cast in that role. Having made her decision, she figured there was no time like the present and besides, considering that they were missing DADA, the quicker this was sorted out, the sooner would things be back to whatever qualified for normal around here. Turning her head, she saw the folded paper with her name written in bold ink and rolled her eyes, slightly laughing - he wrote her a note?!?
"Infinity Owens, I've gotta say that you are the last person, I ever expected to see teaching at Hogwarts and teaching Arithmancy, of all things. Especially, when as I recall this was always your worst class. And to suddenly reappear without even owling your old friends . . . " rebuked a low and masculine voice. Sitting on top of her desk, with one leg swinging in the air, amid papers scattered haphazardly around her, Infinity smirked without even glancing towards the figure leaning into her empty classroom.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah - it's good to see you too, Remus," Infinity said with a smile, hopping off her desk.
Walking fully into the room, he swept her up into a bear hug and held her suspended in air for a full second or two, savoring the moment, before releasing her back onto her feet. "Damn, Infinity, it has been far too long since I've seen you. Where the hell have you been, hmmm?"
Unable to resist laughing at him, Infinity responded, "Yeah, Remus, I missed you too." Lupin rolled his eyes, as she tugged at his arm, pulling him towards the front of the room. "Come on, come on," she coaxed him, "I've got a bit of time, before my first class starts and you can distract me until then, ok?" Sitting down on one of the tables, she turned to him, "so give me the 'low down' on my students."
"Ha, only after you explain what you're doing here," Remus retorted.
Rolling her eyes for a moment, she sighed, "you really are such a brat, you know that, right?"
"But you love me for it," was his quick reply.
She smirked at him for a moment, before shrugging her shoulders as her mood visibly darkened, "What do you want to tell you? I mean you know what really happened to Vector, right?" At his nod of agreement, she continued, "Well, with You-Know-Who having the audacity to attack a Hogwarts professor, someone high up, Fudge I'm guessing, wanted to bring the Dementors back, but Dumbledore refused outright. Apparently, they negotiated and finally agreed to not bring the Dementors back on the condition that an Auger be brought in to replace Vector. I had just finished a major assignment and was about to go on sabbatical, but then Dumbledore called, asking me personally to take the position. What could I do, old habits die hard, I guess. So, of course, I agreed to come, before I realized that I'd be expected to teach Arithmancy . . . " She shook her head, "Not Transfiguration, Charms, DADA or even Muggle Studies, but bloody Arithmacy, it figures."
"Aww, come on Infinity, how bad could it really be?" Lupin asked.
"Ha, you say that because you only took it one year, besides between Lilly helping James and James letting you cheat off him, it's not like you actually had to work to pass that damn class." Infinity got up and began pacing, "I don't even know where to begin teaching it - I think I effectively blocked anything I ever learned in this class. Sure you don't want to trade it for DADA?" She looked up at him, with a half serious smile.
"Right . . . " Remus drawled, "because that is really going to happen."
Infinity glared at him for a moment, before breaking into a rueful smile, "yeah, I figured as much." Sitting back down, she began swinging her legs impatiently again. "Well, since you're unwilling to bail me out, you could, at the very least, give me some info on my new students."
"Info? Like what?"
"Oh, come on Remus, you know what I mean. It's not like these are just your average students, or normal times. If I going to be in the position of protecting them, as well as actually teaching them, I need to know who I should be paying particular attention to. Besides, you've taught these kids before, you should be able to give me some dirt."
"Dirt? Infinity, I don't think this is really my place - " he began, only to be suddenly cut off.
"I don't believe this. Remus Lupin, is being cautious, since when?" Her expression bordered on incredulous, "If I didn't know better, I'd say you're playing coy."
Holding up his hands in mock defense, "Coy? Me?" He laughed, "When have you ever known me to be coy? I'm usually noted for being quite blunt when I want something."
"So spill the info then . . ."
Remus laughed for a moment at her overly exaggerated pout. "I'll 'spill the info' when you tell me what you're really up to, Infinity. Somehow I doubt they sent you completely unprepared and your insistence on playing the part makes me a bit suspicious, besides as I recall gathering info in the most unlikely of places was always your specialty."
Smirking, she said in a wry tone, "well, I figured you'd see through me, but thought it was worth it a shot anyway. I'm responsible for more than just teaching Arithmancy," rolling her eyes, "or even for acting as an Augor, but Dumbledore wants to keep it very quiet. Trust me, you really don't want to know, assuming I can pull it off, enough heads are going to roll, if I can't and more people than necessary know about it, well, that will just make matters even worse."
He heavily sighed, before looking up at her, serious for the first time. "If you can't talk about it I understand and won't press you, but don't forget, Infinity, if you need my help, I'm always here for you, ok?"
Nodded her head, with a slight smile, she quietly replied, "hopefully it won't come to that, but thanks for the offer, Remus, it's good to know that I can count on my old friends."
The slightly awkward silence between them was suddenly broken by students entering the room, Infinity quickly hopped off her desk, blushing slightly, as she began to reorganize her materials. "Looks like we'll have to pick this up later, ok?"
"Well, at least we'll have to catch up on old times, so I'll see you later in the Great Hall." He raised his hand in a quick wave on his way out of the room.
Turning back to the face the now nearly full room, Infinity slightly leaned back against her desk, smiling when one of the students she was most interested in meeting finally arrived. Hermione quickly found a seat in the second row, thankful she was able to get to class on time, just in time to look at her new teacher.
TBC
Ok . . . if you've left me your email, I added you to my brand new mailing list for this story, so you get a happy little email each & every time I update, if I didn't get one, well obviously I don't have your email or I missed it somehow. If you review this chapter & leave your email in the review or I can off your profile, I will gladly add you. For expecting smut in this chapter, sorry I had to get back to the plot, but never fear, for the lemony chapters will soon arrive. Once again, I'm really sorry about the delay, like Draco, things got out of my control. I promise if you continue to review & show interest in this story, I will definitely continue to write it. So please, read, enjoy & review ;)
Hermione,
The music was set to go off to give you enough time to get to Arithmancy, which starts in 20 minutes, your books are on the table along with your homework and don't ask how I got them, because you probably won't approve. If I had my way, you'd still be sleeping, but I figured if I allowed you to miss class, you might try to hex me into the next century.
By now, you're probably thinking that I'm a bastard, a belief that under the circumstances I won't try to argue. Sitting here and watching you sleep, I realize that I may have been a bit out of line, but relationships aren't my strongest point, so I hope you can forgive me. I'm not particularly good at explanations and even worse at apologies, having made very few in my life. I won't lie, I knew what I was doing when I did it, but I hadn't intended things to go as far as they did.
I fucked up, but hopefully not beyond complete redemption, which brings to why I'm not here right now. I lost control, something that rarely happens to me and I need to figure that out, at the same time, I realize that I've been less than fair to you, so I'm trying to give you some space.
What happens now is up to you. If it means anything I am sorry.
Draco
Rereading the letter one last time, Draco finally decided that it held enough resemblance to his emotions to ring true. Propping the letter up where he was sure that she would see it, he then walked over to his stereo and adjusted the settings, before making his way back across the room. Sitting next to her still figure, he was unaware of the bittersweet smile that briefly twisted his lips, while his hand lifted, almost of its own accord to brush a tendril of hair off her face. Draco abruptly jerked his arm back, as he clenched his jaw and his face hardened, taking on an almost cruel cast.
Running his hand restlessly through his hair, he stood up and began erratically pacing around his room. Snagging a pack of cigarettes off his dresser, he lit one up as he continued pacing like a caged animal, trying to rein himself in and bitterly smirking. With everything going on, this was the worse possible time for him to begin to lose it - he was being too impatient, too impulsive and too damn reckless - making mistakes he knew he couldn't afford.
It had been too long since he had last heard from his father or any of the other deatheaters and that was never a good sign. Something was definitely going on, but figuring out exactly what *it* was, well that was going to be a little more difficult. Sucking the harsh smoke deeply into his lungs, he glanced over to Hermione, innocently sleeping on his bed. Up until this point, he still believed that while he was playing to win, he was just playing a game; losing wasn't part of the plan. She was supposed to make up for everything else fucked in his life and he had no intention of losing her, but if he couldn't control himself, he knew he wouldn't be able to control anything else and that could be disastrous.
Leaning over her, he whispered the incantation that would begin to bring her out the spell induced restorative sleep he had sent her into, quickly moving away from her, with a long pensive stare. Abruptly putting out his cigarette, he forced himself to walk out of the room without a backward glance, as much as he wanted to stay, he knew he had to go somewhere and think, anything would be too much of a temptation. Hermione's eyes slowly drifted open, realizing once again that she was in Draco's room. Draco was standing a few feet away from her, smoking yet another cigarette, seemingly lost in his own world. She opened her mouth to ask him what was going on, before some instinct cautioned her not to.
Instead she remained very still, feigning sleep, as he stalked out of the room and took a deep breath and she began remembering the earlier events of the day. Carefully, lifting her robes she saw the bruises he had left on her legs and as if in confirmation, she became aware the slight soreness between her thighs and the renewed sense of frustration and she shook her head, trying to sort out her feelings. She sighed, listening to the music that softly played in the background and inhaling the still faint taint of smoke in the air as she tried to figure out the precise point where her life began to devolve into a fucked up after-school special.
She wasn't mad at Draco *exactly* which she knew was probably wrong on her part, to be honest, in a sort of perverse way, she was actually enjoying his proprietary behavior. This was all just very confusing and very sudden, but she didn't know what to do about it all. She had the distinct impression that if she suddenly cut Draco out of her life that things would take a turn for the worse - not only could he make things very difficult, but she had to admit that despite everything, she was for the most part enjoying, if not encouraging, all of it.
Whatever was going on between her and Draco, she decided it was time for a serious discussion, because while she was enjoying most everything, she was no doormat, nor would she allow herself to be cast in that role. Having made her decision, she figured there was no time like the present and besides, considering that they were missing DADA, the quicker this was sorted out, the sooner would things be back to whatever qualified for normal around here. Turning her head, she saw the folded paper with her name written in bold ink and rolled her eyes, slightly laughing - he wrote her a note?!?
"Infinity Owens, I've gotta say that you are the last person, I ever expected to see teaching at Hogwarts and teaching Arithmancy, of all things. Especially, when as I recall this was always your worst class. And to suddenly reappear without even owling your old friends . . . " rebuked a low and masculine voice. Sitting on top of her desk, with one leg swinging in the air, amid papers scattered haphazardly around her, Infinity smirked without even glancing towards the figure leaning into her empty classroom.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah - it's good to see you too, Remus," Infinity said with a smile, hopping off her desk.
Walking fully into the room, he swept her up into a bear hug and held her suspended in air for a full second or two, savoring the moment, before releasing her back onto her feet. "Damn, Infinity, it has been far too long since I've seen you. Where the hell have you been, hmmm?"
Unable to resist laughing at him, Infinity responded, "Yeah, Remus, I missed you too." Lupin rolled his eyes, as she tugged at his arm, pulling him towards the front of the room. "Come on, come on," she coaxed him, "I've got a bit of time, before my first class starts and you can distract me until then, ok?" Sitting down on one of the tables, she turned to him, "so give me the 'low down' on my students."
"Ha, only after you explain what you're doing here," Remus retorted.
Rolling her eyes for a moment, she sighed, "you really are such a brat, you know that, right?"
"But you love me for it," was his quick reply.
She smirked at him for a moment, before shrugging her shoulders as her mood visibly darkened, "What do you want to tell you? I mean you know what really happened to Vector, right?" At his nod of agreement, she continued, "Well, with You-Know-Who having the audacity to attack a Hogwarts professor, someone high up, Fudge I'm guessing, wanted to bring the Dementors back, but Dumbledore refused outright. Apparently, they negotiated and finally agreed to not bring the Dementors back on the condition that an Auger be brought in to replace Vector. I had just finished a major assignment and was about to go on sabbatical, but then Dumbledore called, asking me personally to take the position. What could I do, old habits die hard, I guess. So, of course, I agreed to come, before I realized that I'd be expected to teach Arithmancy . . . " She shook her head, "Not Transfiguration, Charms, DADA or even Muggle Studies, but bloody Arithmacy, it figures."
"Aww, come on Infinity, how bad could it really be?" Lupin asked.
"Ha, you say that because you only took it one year, besides between Lilly helping James and James letting you cheat off him, it's not like you actually had to work to pass that damn class." Infinity got up and began pacing, "I don't even know where to begin teaching it - I think I effectively blocked anything I ever learned in this class. Sure you don't want to trade it for DADA?" She looked up at him, with a half serious smile.
"Right . . . " Remus drawled, "because that is really going to happen."
Infinity glared at him for a moment, before breaking into a rueful smile, "yeah, I figured as much." Sitting back down, she began swinging her legs impatiently again. "Well, since you're unwilling to bail me out, you could, at the very least, give me some info on my new students."
"Info? Like what?"
"Oh, come on Remus, you know what I mean. It's not like these are just your average students, or normal times. If I going to be in the position of protecting them, as well as actually teaching them, I need to know who I should be paying particular attention to. Besides, you've taught these kids before, you should be able to give me some dirt."
"Dirt? Infinity, I don't think this is really my place - " he began, only to be suddenly cut off.
"I don't believe this. Remus Lupin, is being cautious, since when?" Her expression bordered on incredulous, "If I didn't know better, I'd say you're playing coy."
Holding up his hands in mock defense, "Coy? Me?" He laughed, "When have you ever known me to be coy? I'm usually noted for being quite blunt when I want something."
"So spill the info then . . ."
Remus laughed for a moment at her overly exaggerated pout. "I'll 'spill the info' when you tell me what you're really up to, Infinity. Somehow I doubt they sent you completely unprepared and your insistence on playing the part makes me a bit suspicious, besides as I recall gathering info in the most unlikely of places was always your specialty."
Smirking, she said in a wry tone, "well, I figured you'd see through me, but thought it was worth it a shot anyway. I'm responsible for more than just teaching Arithmancy," rolling her eyes, "or even for acting as an Augor, but Dumbledore wants to keep it very quiet. Trust me, you really don't want to know, assuming I can pull it off, enough heads are going to roll, if I can't and more people than necessary know about it, well, that will just make matters even worse."
He heavily sighed, before looking up at her, serious for the first time. "If you can't talk about it I understand and won't press you, but don't forget, Infinity, if you need my help, I'm always here for you, ok?"
Nodded her head, with a slight smile, she quietly replied, "hopefully it won't come to that, but thanks for the offer, Remus, it's good to know that I can count on my old friends."
The slightly awkward silence between them was suddenly broken by students entering the room, Infinity quickly hopped off her desk, blushing slightly, as she began to reorganize her materials. "Looks like we'll have to pick this up later, ok?"
"Well, at least we'll have to catch up on old times, so I'll see you later in the Great Hall." He raised his hand in a quick wave on his way out of the room.
Turning back to the face the now nearly full room, Infinity slightly leaned back against her desk, smiling when one of the students she was most interested in meeting finally arrived. Hermione quickly found a seat in the second row, thankful she was able to get to class on time, just in time to look at her new teacher.
TBC
Ok . . . if you've left me your email, I added you to my brand new mailing list for this story, so you get a happy little email each & every time I update, if I didn't get one, well obviously I don't have your email or I missed it somehow. If you review this chapter & leave your email in the review or I can off your profile, I will gladly add you. For expecting smut in this chapter, sorry I had to get back to the plot, but never fear, for the lemony chapters will soon arrive. Once again, I'm really sorry about the delay, like Draco, things got out of my control. I promise if you continue to review & show interest in this story, I will definitely continue to write it. So please, read, enjoy & review ;)