A/N: Hey guys! Wow, I updated faster than I thought I would!
This chapter is my favorite so far, I don't know why, it just is. Must be the scene with Ginny or something...I dunno :D
Thanks for reading/reviewing, and enjoy!!
Chapter 11: Hate?
Draco awoke that morning and instantly looked around. He found himself laying on a couch in the common room—with Hermione's light form on top of him. Her head lay on his chest and she was still sound asleep.
'Holy hell...did we both fall asleep here last night? What time is it?' Draco thought to himself in a rather panicked tone.
Just then, Hermione stirred a bit. Her eyes fluttered open and she slowly got up, yawning.
"Good morning...did we fall asleep here?" she said in a sleepy tone, stretching her arms toward the ceiling.
"Yeah, I guess...you fell asleep on me, and uh, I didn't want to wake you up, so I guess I fell asleep, too," Draco explained quickly.
Hermione shrugged. She stood up and walked over to the door of her room.
"This is my room, right?" Hermione asked, turning toward Draco.
He simply nodded, as she disappeared through the door.
Draco sighed. He couldn't let Hermione get off thinking this whole incident was intentional. He would have to prove it to her later.
Or better stated, prove it to himself.
--
After a quick shower, Draco headed down to breakfast. His mind was scrambled with thoughts and confusion.
'You should've done something, Malfoy,' he thought to himself.
'But you didn't want to,' he thought again.
"I have got to stop talking to myself," Draco muttered under his breath.
On his way however, a rather angry Seamus greeted him.
"Eh, Malfoy, what's your problem?" Seamus glared, attempting to shove him.
Draco held his ground and replied coolly, "You seem to be the one with the problem, Finnigan."
"No, you did something to my girlfriend! She doesn't fucking remember me!" Seamus said, his voice raised a bit more.
"I didn't do anything to her," Draco answered, once more calm.
"THEN WHY DOESN'T SHE FUCKING REMEMBER ME?!" Seamus was now yelling.
Draco took a step forward, causing Seamus to shrink back a bit.
"Because, you git, did you ever think that maybe you weren't...important to her?" Draco sneered.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?! SHE...," Seamus fumbled a bit. "YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER!" he roared.
"YOU'RE the one who needs to stay away from her! 'Good' boyfriends don't hurt their girlfriends! But I'm sure this comes as news to you," Draco spat.
"NO! I LOVE HER! BUT I DON'T EXPECT YOU TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT!" Seamus yelled.
Draco pulled Seamus up by his collar.
"Don't go making stupid assumptions about things you don't know."
With that, he roughly dropped the squirming boy onto the floor, and turned to leave.
---
Draco stormed down to breakfast, quite angered.
Another person thought he didn't have emotions.
Sure, Draco didn't show his emotions, like most idiots he knew. He had always learned that showing emotions too easily was for the weak.
And it would always end up not too pleasantly.
But that didn't mean he didn't have emotions.
Especially love.
Draco was known for hate. Oh, he had plenty of hate. But not in the way people thought he did.
All those times as a child, Draco remembered his precious mother protecting him, standing up for him. He loved (and still did) her more than anything. Now his father, that was a different story.
There was anything but love for his father. There was hate.
A young Draco curled himself further into the corner of his room. It was a stormy, thundering night outside. He was afraid.
"'Lucius, please, don't hurt your own son," Narcissa pleaded.
"Foolish whore," Lucius spat, throwing his wife to the ground by her long, blonde hair.
She let out an anguished scream as Lucius brought his cane down on her, and proceeded over to Draco.
With all her might, Narcissa stumbled over to her trembling son. She wrapped her arms around him protectively, as Lucius began to yell more curses.
"You will not... hurt... my son," Narcissa managed to stutter, with broken breath.
Lucius pulled out his wand.
"CRUCIO!" he yelled.
Draco turned away as he heard his beloved mother shriek in terror.
Draco quickly shook the haunting memories from his mind. He reached the Great Hall and did not hesitate to take a seat at the Slytherin Table, far from the others.
The annoying Pansy Parkinson seemed to take notice.
"My poor Drakie seems hurt...maybe I should see what's wrong," Pansy whined in her plastic tone.
"Holy hell Pansy, will you shut the fuck up already? Draco could care less for a Blast-Ended Skrewt, so leave him alone!" Blaise snapped in an annoyed tone.
Pansy let out a small "hmph" but refused to shut up.
"Well, I think it's that stupid Mudblood. She's got poor Drakie all twisted up," Pansy wailed.
Pansy had no idea how right she was.
---
That day, Classes passed by like slow hell for Draco. All day, he had been in a most depressing, yet simultaneously indignant state. Every glimpse of Hermione in the halls, every glance of her bright smile, made him unwillingly weak. His hidden feelings were mostly at fault. Draco was afraid he would be able to restrain these emotions no longer.
After a very long day, Draco trudged to his common room. On the way however, he came across none other than Ginny Weasley.
"Great, another one of her friends," Draco muttered.
"Oh...M-Malfoy. I had been meaning to talk to you," Ginny reluctantly said.
Draco raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Are you right in the head, Mini Weasel?" Draco asked.
Ginny sighed.
"Malfoy, let me get to the point. I came into your common room last night, and saw you and Hermione...well, you remember, I'm sure," Ginny quickly said.
Dracos' eyes grew wide.
"Y-you saw us?!" he said, obviously surprised. "I swear, it wasn't what it looked like, really—" Draco began, but was interrupted.
"Hush it, Malfoy, I know what I saw," Ginny grinned slyly. "Seeing as Hermione's currently an amnesiac, she's got an excuse. Now, do you?"
Draco searched desperately for words. Why was this girl so damn smart?
"Uh, I don't know, I was probably drunk or something, why else would I even get near that mudblood?" Draco said, as if in disgust.
"That's not what it seems like to me. She remembered you out of all her friends," she said, poking his chest. "You must have something to do with that."
"No, I'm telling you, I don't! I don't know why Granger remembered me, perhaps because I'm so devilishly handsome?" Draco smirked.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "No, Malfoy, there's no good in denying it. Listen to me, now. A few nights back, before the accident, Hermione told me a thing or two. Why do you think she was unhappy with Seamus? Hmm?"
Draco did not want to believe the truth, although he knew it.
"I don't get what you're saying," he lied.
"Oh Merlin, Malfoy. Don't play stupid. You can deny it to me, hell; you can deny it to your pet snail. But you can't deny it to yourself. As far as I'm concerned, there are feelings in there. And I don't mean just hate. I unfortunately know all too well that it's not in your nature to be kind to Hermione. If you feel something, too, I'd suggest you come out with the truth, Malfoy. It'll only haunt you in the end."
Draco screamed mentally. This girl was like his conscience in red-head form.
"...I don't get you, Weasley," Draco said simply.
"Whatever, Malfoy, whatever. You know what you feel, and it's no good hiding it from yourself. Remember that, Malfoy, remember that. You won't regret it."
And with that, Ginny turned on her heel and continued down the now empty hall.
--
Draco did all he felt he could. He ran. Ran, tried to run from his emotions. Conveniently, he ran straight to his common room.
Ginny's words rang through his head as he ran through the portrait.
"You know what you feel, and it's no good hiding it from yourself. Remember that, Malfoy...remember...remember..."
The words grew faint as he stopped in his tracks. Hermione was inclined comfortably on a couch, deeply concentrated on a novel. Draco could make out "Romeo and Juliet" on the cover. She looked up and smiled.
"Hello Draco," she greeted, putting her book aside.
"Alright Granger, I need to know something here," he said quickly, ignoring her greeting.
Hermione tilted her head in bewilderment.
"Yess..." she said slowly, standing up.
"Tell me there aren't any feelings between us," Draco said firmly.
Hermione cocked an eyebrow
"Don't you...I mean, haven't you always liked me?" she managed to ask.
"We've been enemies since our first year! So, no, obviously!" Draco exclaimed.
Hermione's eyes were glistening with tears. "We...have? Then...w-why didn't you tell me?" she said with a small sniff.
"That's the thing! I-don't-know! I hate what you do to me, Granger, but I don't know if I hate you anymore. I don't know if there are feelings between you and me, other than hate. I just don't know!" Draco yelled, throwing his hands up in frustration.
"Then by all means, Draco, why don't you bother to find out?" Hermione said quietly with closed eyes, a tear falling down her cheek.
Without a second thought, Draco's strong arm wrapped around Hermione's small waist and pulled her toward him.
He looked her in the eyes, a soft expression his face.
"I hate what you do to me Granger. But I don't hate you."
He placed his lips on hers, kissing her gently yet lovingly. After lingering for a bit, he pulled back and looked into Hermione's large, chocolate orbs.
She blinked a bit as if utterly confused.
"Ferret Boy?"
--
A/N: Cliffie :) See if you figure out what happened. That's all I've got to say...
Oh btw, thanks for the clarification on "Zabini." I had always thought it was Zabini without the "m", but Camille on the other hand needed reassuring.
Camille: I still say its Zambini. :)
Some thanks to my reviewers (keep on with the great reviews, guys!)...
MJ432: Another of my faithful reviewers! Thanks for reviewing so often Yeah. Hermione's all...lost, giddy, happy, etc. And Draco's , angsty, also lost, etc. Heh. Yes, Romeo and Juliet XD Thanks!
sw33tdohtee: Sigh, don't we all...thanks for the review!!
x g r e e n - e y e s x: Aww, thanks! Glad you like it ! Yep, a twist is what I planned for :) Thanks for reading, and enjoy!
Orlis-Diamond: Lmao, go me, ohhh yeah...eh-hem. Yay, thanks!! Yeah, I tried a lot to keep it all very in character...and the real, R romance will come soon enough. COUGH :D
paper-sky: My pleasure! Glad you're enjoying it xD Heh, yeah, now you get an alert every time I update :) Much easier...
Once again, thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing! On with the next chappy...