Love Times 5
By Cedari
Disclaimer: me? Own anything? Course not!
Inspired by the French film 5 times 2 by François Ozon. It's an amazing film and my story is of the same lay out and some of the plots and ideas are also from it. So this is a BIG DISCLAIMER to them so please don't sue me.
Oh and of course one to JK Rowling for the characters
Chapter 5: Falling in love really is the best thing.
She can't tear her eyes away from the neon colours and the streaks of tacky glitter that underline the sign's words. Ron and Belinda. Ron and his fucking Belinda. They don't even go.
Ron and Hermione.
Now that goes. It even works the other way round, Hermione and Ron.
Why couldn't he see that? Why couldn't he just see how much she loved him? Why were his fingers half in and half out of her jeans pocket? She was a muggle as well, but that's where the similarities ended. Belinda was every thing Hermione wasn't; sweet, charming, the word stubborn probably didn't even appear in her dictionary. But you know what the real bitch was, it was the fact she was beautiful. And not in that overly made up way but in that natural way. Glossy blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes and a pert arse. Hermione squashed her more than generous butt further into her seat.
Oh god and then there was that laugh. That infectious giggle that made everyone else around her laugh with her. With Hermione, her snort only made people turn and look at her in disgust.
Sure she was smart, witty and determined. But that wasn't enough anymore. She was no longer enough for him. The depressing truth made her reach for her third? Fourth? Drink of the night and gulp the fire whiskey in one go. The burning effect the liquid had on her had dulled to what was just a slight warming sensation. Shit, how much had she drunk? Even in her intoxicated state she could feel his worried eyes on her. She turned round nearly falling off her chair in the process. She could read his expression like a book. "Are you aright?" asked those bright emerald eyes. He was starting to make his way through the crowd of friends and acquaintances. Hermione shook her head, and as he knew her as well as she did him he stopped. She wanted to deal with this on her own, in her own pissed ass way and he respected that.
Hermione watched as Harry melted away, becoming just another dark haired guy in the mass of people. She turned back to her empty glass and saw her miserable face reflected back at her a hundred times in the finely cut crystal. She looked up in revulsion and caught the eye of the pretty boy barman. The only way she wouldn't be able to see herself for what she was is if she wasn't able to open her eyes. That was the grand plan, it wasn't the best but it was all she could come up with. The smiling bar man came up to her and poured her another shot of his finest. He gave her a wink before moving on to serve another patron. But it wasn't the wink that said, "Come hither", no it was an amused wink. He was laughing at her, like everyone here probably was, together with a huge dollop of pity added in. Hermione hated the thought of people feeling sorry for her and she downed her drink like a seasoned pro.
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As time passed she became increasingly lost in the blur of shapes and colours that surrounded her. Her mind drowning in its home made pool of hurt she wasn't aware of the person that had positioned himself next to her until he spoke.
"Hell. I didn't think you could get any uglier Granger."
She watched the scar contract and relax as the words left his mouth. That slither of scarred tissue had become legend over the years. It started at the corner of his right eye, descended over the plane of his cheekbone and ended at the line of his lips. He loved the attention it got and had been asked by everyone to tell the story behind it. Well everyone except her, she didn't care. No matter how much he had done, how much he had repented, how much he had sacrificed, he was still the same in her eyes.
A non-entity.
"Say what ever you want Malfoy. I can't cry even more than I already have today."
That was where she planned to end her part in the conversation.
"So who should I be thanking?" Draco asked. She was barely listening and that angered him. He wasn't sure why, but it did.
He tracked her gaze back to the Weasel. Surprise, surprise. The tall red head was presently engaged with his lovely fiancée. His left hand had immersed itself into her hair whilst his right held her waist, gently yet firmly. Though the real heartbreaker must be the manner in which he was kissing her for it looked like he could keep going forever.
Draco looked back at the girl by his side. He could practically see the fat tears that were building up behind those cloudy brown eyes.
"Ahh Weasel. Did you actually think he would pick you instead of her?"
He watched as she closed her eyes trying to desperately not to break down in front of him. However he could see her lashes glisten with the tears she could not quite hide.
"Shit you did. Look at her Granger. You're not even worthy of a comparison."
Damage done Draco was about to leave to let her sink in her own cess pit of misery alone, but her next words brought him to a halt.
"For the first time in your wasted life you're right. Who would ever want me?"
And what followed was yet another action he could not quite explain and it would hurt his brain to ponder over it in the days that followed.
His finger swept over her cheek, soaking a stray tear, as he bent over to graze her ear with his mouth, "You never know."
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Her head felt liked it was being pecked away by a dozen woodpeckers. She had woken up this morning, her mouth feeling like sandpaper, her breath stinking of day old alcohol and the ghost of Malfoy's finger tracing her skin. To tell you the truth she couldn't for the life of her remember whether that caress had actually happened or whether it was the result of her twisted imagination punishing her for the gallons of alcohol she had consumed. She chose to believe it was the latter; the former was far too bizarre and scary to contemplate. Though in every second of peace she had at work a sudden tingle would shoot up her spine as her brain would replay the moment again. The action being slowed down so she could catch every detail; the closing of her eyes as his lips first graced the shell of her ear, the way his finger lingered before finally moving away from her blushing skin. It would bring a rush of heat to her face to the ridiculous extreme that her secretary questioned whether she wanted the window opened despite the fact that it was the middle of winter. No. She needed to get out. Grabbing her cloak she rushed out of her office, ignoring her secretary who was desperately waving her arms in the air to get her attention. Thus head full of infuriating images of Malfoy and his damn fingers Hermione would never get Ron's
call or his plea to meet with him so they could have a talk.
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Draco tutted in annoyance at having to clean the spine of yet another book just to see its bloody title. Imelda Grimsberry, the new owner of Flourish and Blotts, had enough business sense to know who to butter up in the wizarding world and who not to. Thus on receiving the crate full of ancient, precious books that were said to reveal further knowledge on the practise of the dark arts she immediately owled Draco Malfoy; inviting him to peruse the collection. Allowing him to claim what he wanted, at the right price of course, before handing the potentially dangerous contents to the appropriate officials at the ministry. However she had failed to tell him that for the last thousand years they had been submerged in the cellars of a family with too much money and greed and too little brain to ever realise what they had had in their possession, and so were coated in a thick layer of grime and dust. To Draco's disgust, out of fear of damaging the books with a common cleaning spell, the corner of his sleeve was now stained with a grey like gunk that smelt vaguely of rat's droppings. Though perhaps even more nauseating than animal excrement was that he couldn't get Granger's face out of his head. The vision of her frizzy hair was enough to distract him from fully exploiting his current situation. The answers to the most debated questions in the academic wizarding circles could very well be within his grasps yet all he could think about were clear tears leaking from brown eyes. Shit. He threw the book in his hands on the floor and could feel the anger inside of him somewhat subdued with the resounding smack it made with the concrete flagstones.
" Mr Malfoy?" Her abnormally low voice floated down the stairs and he could hear her stilettos clacking with each step she made. A round face topped with a greying mop of hair appeared from round the corner. Her thin lips slid into a frown when she saw the mess the Malfoy brat had made with her precious books. However when she realised he was staring at her expression she forced herself to smile. He may be a brat but he was a rich one.
"Are the books not to your liking Mr Malfoy?"
"No they're fine. But I'm finding it difficult to concentrate in these cramped conditions. Could you transfer them to your upstairs office. I'll be back in the afternoon."
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"Malfoy"
"Granger. The hung-over look really doesn't suit you. If I were you I'd go back home and crawl into bed and stay there for the next few days."
"Charming as always."
"Ah still upset over Weasley?"
"Piss off"
"Crude and unattractive. I wonder if he knows what he's missing."
"Then why are you still talking to me? Shouldn't you have left ten minutes ago?"
"Perhaps but I suppose in a strange way I enjoy insulting you."
"Perhaps you need to get some hobbies."
"Perhaps. Shall we continue this thrilling conversation at 'The Royal Niffler' for the cold seems to be adding to your already unpleasant features."
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They both knew that in five minutes they could be on her bed, their hands on hot, smooth flesh not caring that the blinds were open and the neighbours were getting an eyeful. But Hermione was not that kind of girl and Draco knew that, so they remained on her doorstep staring at each other.
"Well I better get going."
Her fingers were curled around the door knob and she was about to twist it open when two large hands grabbed her face and forced her to come face to face with their owner. His lips were curled into a scowl and his eyes were dark with the consuming emotions of anger and lust.
"You win this time Granger."
Before she had a chance to gloat his lips were on hers with his tongue invading her warm mouth. Their courtship had been a game, seeing who would be the first to make the new step towards an adult relationship. Who needed who. Up till now Hermione had been winning by a point but with his hands currently sliding down her arms to entwine his fingers with hers she couldn't give a fuck. All she could think about was how good he tasted and how her legs were starting to shake. She was getting dizzy from the lack air and yet she couldn't bear to tear her lips away from his.
For at that moment they were tottering on the invisible edge that came before being swept away by that whirlwind of opposing joy and pain that described every affair. God only knew where it would spit them out, but when they finally broke apart and he whispered, "I need you," she tightened her grip.
And they made that final jump together. Falling in love really is the best thing.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo THE END ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
there we have it folks!
If u have time, even if u haven't reviewed any of the other chapters, id like it if u let me know if u enjoyed it as a whole, or hated it completely. Reviews always make my day.
NEhow hope yall all have a lovely summer!
Luv Cedari