A/N…Ah, I really have missed writing. Therefore, you get another chapter! Be happy!
Disclaimer…Does it really need to be said? Its obvious that I'm not JK Rowling.
Hermione woke up the next morning and went out to the beach to watch the sun rise. She slipped on a pair of shorts and a tank top and walked quietly through the house so that she wouldn't wake anyone. She walked without shoes on down to the beach and sat down in the sand, playing with it in her fingers.
It was a bit chilly out, but she didn't really seem to notice, she was busy watching all the marine life crawling around her, little fish swimming in the tide pools. She scooped up some water with her hand and let it run through her fingers.
"It's a whole different world out there." She heard a voice say from behind her. She turned around with a gasp.
"Jeff!" She stood up to hug him.
"Hey, Hermione." He smiled, hugging her back.
"What are you doing here!"
"My family is staying at the condo down there on vacation. I was walking along the beach last night and I saw you. I didn't say anything because you were talking to some blonde kid and then you stormed off into the house."
Hermione laughed, "Oh, Draco."
"Draco? Malfoy?"
"The one and only." She sighed and sat back down on the sand, looking up at him and waiting for him to sit next to her. He sat down and she told him the entire story of her vacation so far. They also watched the sunrise together.
Once she was done with her story, Jeff stared off as the last bit of the sun came over top of the ocean. "Unbelievable."
"I know. And now you're here, so you'll make this week a lot easier." She smiled at him and he looked down at her.
"Hermione, you look so pretty sitting there." He said suddenly and very seriously.
She was a bit taken aback but smiled in return, "Thank you."
"No, I'm serious. Hermione, you're really stunning, underneath all that hair of course." He laughed and brushed a stray piece of hair from her face. Hermione seemed to stare at him in wonder as he did so. It wasn't often that a boy said or did such things to her.
She smiled at him and he leaned in to kiss her softly on the lips. Her hand went to his face and his arm went around her neck. After a moment, they pulled away from each other, Hermione's head still spinning.
"This is going to be an interesting vacation." He whispered, rubbing his thumb over her cheek. She smiled and leaned into him and the pair sat back in the sand and watched as the sun climbed higher over the ocean.
After a while, Hermione said, "I should probably get back, they're all getting up now I'm sure, and probably wondering where I am."
They both stood and wiped sand off themselves, and Jeff leaned in for just one more kiss. "Will you be out later today?" He asked.
"Probably, I should at least get a tan while I'm here." She laughed and began walking toward the condo. Jeff stood, watching her, for a moment before turning to go in the direction of his own vacation home.
As Hermione walked onto the back deck, Draco sat in one of the swings, a grim smile on his face.
"Who was that?" He asked her.
"Why does it matter to you?" She snapped.
He shrugged, "Just curious I guess."
She glared at him and walked into this house, wondering why she had actually wanted to tell him but had refrained from doing it. Sighing, she sat down on the couch in the living room, turning on the television and wondering exactly what Harry and Ron were doing at that moment.
Draco stayed out on the back porch, staring at the spot where Hermione and the mystery boy had just been. "Damn." He mumbled, wondering why it bothered him so much that she had been out there with another boy. "This doesn't make sense," He sighed, getting up and walking over to the edge of the deck and looking down at the beach.
The two carried out their mornings, trying their best to avoid each other and eating their breakfasts in their rooms. Much to their dismay, the Granger's and Narcissa had started to become friendly and were talking all the time. Both of them were afraid of what was going to happen at the end of the week when another condo opened up and one family had to move out.
Around noon, Hermione put on a swimsuit, grabbed a towel and a book, and walked down to the beach. She had been looking forward to laying on the beach and reading since they had reached the condo.
She was about three chapters into her book when she felt a breeze next to her. She looked over and saw Draco fluffing out a towel next to her and laying it on the ground.
"What are you doing?" She said, annoyed by the interruption.
"Laying on the beach. What does it look like I'm doing?" A smirk was plastered across his face.
"It looks like you're annoying me." She sighed, rolling over and going back to her book.
"What ever happened to being civil?" He said, laying down next to her.
"Were you ever civil to me?"
"Fine. We don't have to be civil, I can go back to calling you a Mudblood." He said, his voice getting more malicious.
She sighed and rolled over to face him, he was laying on his stomach, his head propped up on his arm. "Fine. This isn't going to work unless we just stop and be nice to each other. Civil obviously isn't going to work. We only have to be together for 5 more days. Do you think we could just forget the past and attempt to be friends?" She said, obviously swallowing her pride.
Draco contemplated it, looking her in the eyes. Hermione couldn't help but feel a little shiver go down her spine as she looked into his icy blue eyes. He looked so deep in thought that she didn't want to disturb him.
"I'll have to think about it. That's asking a lot." He said, rolling over onto his back and closing his eyes.
Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed, grabbing her book and going back to reading.
"Fine." She heard him say a few minutes later.
She didn't reply but kept reading her book. The two lay there side by side for a while until they were both nearly asleep.
"Hey Hermione!" They were both woken up by a voice cutting through the overpowering sound of the surf.
Hermione rolled over to see Jeff walking toward her, she smiled and sat up to greet him. "Hey Jeff."
Jeff seemed startled and took a moment to survey her, "Hermione, you look amazing."
A scoffing noise came from behind Hermione and Draco sat up to look at Jeff. "Honestly." He mumbled, getting up and walking away from the two of them and toward the house.
"What got into him?" Jeff asked.
Hermione shrugged, "I wish I knew."
The two decided to go for a walk down to the pier that was a mile down the beach. They had walked for a few minutes just talking when Hermione felt Jeff's hand reach for hers. Her heart did a little flip and she grabbed it back, moving herself a little closer to him.
Back at the beach house, Draco sat on the porch eating some potato crisps. He had been mulling over why he had wanted to beat Jeff over the head with the nearest blunt object when he had complimented Hermione.
"She's a Mudblood, Draco. She doesn't deserve a pureblood like him. That has to be it. Doesn't it?" He reasoned aloud, trying to make himself sound less crazy than he knew he was. Inside, he knew the exact reason for why he had wanted to murder Jeff, but he wouldn't ever bring himself to say it aloud.
He wandered into the house to find something else to get his mind off of the strange feelings that he was having in his stomach and his heart.
Hermione and Jeff finally made it to the pier when the sun was highest in the sky and was beating down on their backs. Hermione wished that she had brought a cover up or some sun block because she knew that she was probably going to be burnt by the time they returned to the condo.
They walked all the way out to the end of the pier, which was a good half mile out to sea. Hermione was amazed at how far away the beach seemed and yet they were still on something solid. She bent over the edge and looked down. There was a sting ray floating off the edge of the pier and many fish were swimming around the poles going into the ocean.
"Its incredible. It really is another world out there." She said, looking out at the ocean.
"Yeah, kind of like our world. Its all a mystery." Jeff whispered, stepping closer to Hermione.
"I'd love to see it though, I haven't really gone swimming out there yet. I want to go out and really see all the life out there." She said, looking back down at the stingray.
"I'm sure you'll get to sooner or later." He said, a smiling crossing his face.
Hermione looked at her watch, "We should probably get back soon, my mom is making lunch. Would you like to join us?"
"Sure, I'd love to meet your parents."
Hermione frowned, "Oh yes, well, I should warn you. My father likes a strong hand shake, and my mother will fall for anyone with a nice smile. So you have my mother won over already." She laughed.
"I think I can do the strong hand shake, and I'm not worried about impressing either of them, it won't be too hard, right?"
Hermione shrugged and began walking down toward the other end of the pier. Jeff smiled and followed her back down the beach.
When they returned, Hermione saw that Draco was laying out on the towels they had been on before. She didn't bother him and instead went into the house, Jeff in tow.
"Mum? Dad?" Hermione called out, walking through the sliding glass door leading to the living room.
"In the kitchen, love." Hermione heard her mother call, she looked back toward Jeff who gave her a slight smile and began walking toward the kitchen.
"Mum, Dad, this is Jeff." Hermione beamed as they walked into the kitchen. Her mother turned around from the stove where a pot of tea was boiling.
"Jeff." Her father said, his voice an octave deeper than what it normally was. He stuck out his hand and Jeff shook it as firmly as he could. Hermione tried her hardest not to laugh.
"Hello, Jeff." Her mother said, holding out her hand as well. Jeff was obviously a lot more gentle with her mother.
"Jeff is from school, he was Head Boy with me this year." Hermione informed them.
"Oh, so he's a…" Hermione's mother stopped herself as Narcissa glided into the kitchen.
"Jeffery?" She squealed, running over to hug the boy. Hermione looked at her parents, confusion evident all over her face.
"Hello, Aunt Narcissa." Jeff replied with a smile. It was obvious that the two knew each other. Hermione looked toward Jeff, waiting for an explanation. "Narcissa and my mother were best friends a long time ago, she is my God-Mother." He explained.
Hermione nodded, allowing the idea to sink in. It still seemed strange to her that two people who were so different could ever have any relation.
"Well isn't this a wonderful little reunion." Draco drawled, leaning against the doorframe leading to the kitchen.
Narcissa didn't seem phased by her son entering the room, she was still fawning over Jeff. "Is your mother here as well?"
He nodded as she squealed again, she seemed like a five year old girl who just found out she was going to the fair.
"Well, you're going to have to take me down there right now so I can see her!" She said, dragging him toward the door.
Jeff looked toward Hermione with a look that screamed, "Save me!"
Hermione shrugged as Narcissa dragged him from the house and turned back to her parents.
"Well, he seems nice." Her mother said, as if nothing had just occurred.
Hermione rolled her eyes and went to her room to lay down until Jeff was released from Narcissa's grip. Unknown to her, however, Draco had followed her down the hallway.
"Jeff Bowen." He smirked, again leaning against the doorframe to her room.
Hermione glared at him from her bed. "Why do you care so much, Draco?"
"He's a relation, and a pure…"He stopped himself before finishing his sentence. Hermione looked at him intensely.
"A pureblood? Is that what you were going to say, Draco? Didn't want to get the pure blood and mine mixed? Is that it?" She glared at him, her voice so intense that Draco couldn't figure out if she was more angry or hurt.
"I'm…" He couldn't find the right words.
"Get out of my room." She said, her voice as calm as possible.
Draco nodded, defeated, and turned around to walk out of the room. When he finally shut the door behind him, Hermione couldn't decide if she wanted to cry or scream. She buried her head into her pillow and did both.
Draco stood outside the door, listening to her sobbing. For once in his life, he wished that he could just reach out and take back his own words. He actually felt sorry for the girl who he had hated all of his life.
He sighed and walked out to the beach, he knew that he was going to need a long walk to figure all these feelings in his head out.
A/N…Ah…yes…No Draco/Hermione action quite yet…but its coming, I promise!
Thanks to the following for reviewing: KangaRoo526, Princess Sweety, no.1slytheringurl, A Story of the Year, Slythrin Corps, OneWhiteTulip, and marshmallowey-pumpkin.
Another thanks to the following who put me on their alerts and favorites list: ErikaSnape, no.1slytheringurl, pomme2terre, A Story of the Year, aperfectattitude, MotorMouthMilli, and Sylthrin Corps.
The next chapter will be coming soon, I hope. Probably around Friday/Saturday. Leave comments guys, I love them!
Love and Fluff,
Natalie
