"… and we talked the whole night long about how we've actually been attracted to each other for quite some time! He said he always had something for me, that's why he never insulted me or did anything mean to me as badly as he did to Ron and Harry!" Hermione said happily.
"But uh… Mione.. you DO realize that this is Malfoy we're talking about?" Ginny said, her eyes wide open ever since Hermione brought up the subject.
"Oh yes I do! That's the beauty of it! And don't call him Malfoy, call him Draco," Hermione grinned.
Ginny forced herself not to roll her eyes, and faked a smile. "I'm so happy for you, Hermione. Are you going to tell people about this?"
Hermione laughed. "Of course I am! I could end the hatred and tension between Slytherin and Gryffindor once and for all! Let's go to the great hall now."
Ginny and Hermione ran downstairs, and skipped their way into the great hall. The moment she saw Draco, she smiled and waved. Draco was unsure whether he should wave back or pretend to hate her again, but Hermione gave him the answer to his question when she skipped happily towards him, a big, beautiful smile on her face.
"Draco! I've missed you," she said, kissing him on the cheek. Everyone in the great hall turned to watch this unbelievable moment.
"Uh.. you too, Mione," Draco whispered consciously. He looked around and turned pink when he noticed everyone looking his way. "Um, Hermione, I'll catch you later okay? I'm in the middle of something with my friends," he said quickly.
"Oh, alright then. See you!" Hermione said, and hopped of to her seat at the Gryffindor table. Draco let out his breath and wiped off a trickle of sweat from his forehead.
Hermione took a seat beside Ron, who was staring at her with his jaw hanging open, eyes wide as if Nearly-Headless Nick had walked right through his body, sending a ghostly chill down his spine. "H-h-hermione…?" Ron said softly. "W-was that.. Mmmalfoy you were talking to just now?"
"Yeap. What's wrong with that, Ronnie?" Hermione replied casually.
"And not just talking.. kissing!" Ginny added.
"Like this?" Harry said beside Ginny. She turned around and smiled at him, and they embraced in a long kiss. Ron was too shocked about what happened between Malfoy and Hermione that he didn't bother to complain about Ginny and Harry kissing in public this time.
Ron's surprise and shock quickly turned into anger. She left me… for MALFOY!
"I have to go pee," Ron muttered, standing up and upsetting the plates in front of him.
"What's wrong, Ron?" Hermione asked. "You didn't even sip your pumpkin juice. How could your bladder be so full that you'd have to go the loo at a time like this?"
"It's my bladder, I'll do whatever I like with it," he snapped, and stormed out the hall.
"What did I do?" Hermione wondered aloud.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Dracoooo-eeee!" Hermione called out in a tiny chipmunk voice.
Draco turned around and smiled. Hermione ran up to him and gave him a gigantic hug, kissing him all over. "Big Quidditch match tomorrow. Are you ready?" she asked, as they headed for Divination class.
"Almost, dear. You'll be there to cheer for me, won't you?" Draco asked.
"Of course I will, silly! I'm your #1 fan," Hermione replied with a toothy grin.
As they turned round the corner, Draco spotted his group of friends at a corner, probably bullying a first year again. He hurried to them, wanting to catch up on the action, but Crabbe stopped him. "Sorry, man. This is for the SlyClub. And you're not in it."
Draco stared at him in shock. "Are you joking! I created that club!" Draco complained.
"Sorry, Malfoy. Zabini took over," Goyle answered simply.
"But what did I do to get kicked out?" Draco asked, desperate for a sensible reason.
"Zabini said you lied to him about hating Hermione, and now that you're dating that Mudblood, they can't have a traitor like you in the club. I'd have to agree, it's embarrassing, Malfoy. Get lost," Goyle snapped, and continued punching the little first year he was holding on to.
Draco turned around to look at Hermione, not believing what had just happened. He was in that club 5 years ago! He created that club 5 years ago. And now he just got kicked out by his so called best friend?
"It's alright, Draco. You don't have to be in that stupid club anyway," Hermione said sympathetically, touching Draco on the shoulder. He shrugged her off, irritated. He knew she didn't mean it, but he was still angry, yet decided to hold it in for her sake.
"I was thinking, do you want to sneak out tonight and spend some time together?" Hermione asked. Draco smiled and nodded, his anger slipping. "That would be great."
At midnight that night, Draco snuck out and hurried to the lake before anyone saw him. He sat on the damp grass and waited. Moments later, a slim, dark figure came running quickly towards him, and when she came into clearer view, he grinned, and kissed her.
"Hey girlfriend," he greeted. They lied down on the grass, staring at the beautiful sky with a million stars, the moon shining brightly at the corner of their view.
"It's so beautiful out here," Hermione commented, resting her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat. She giggled, and looked up at him. "Are you nervous, Mr. Malfoy? Your heart is beating pretty fast."
Draco blushed and kissed her again, saying nothing.
"Silence is beautiful," he whispered to her a few moments later. "You are beautiful."
"Tell me you love me, Draco," Hermione said softly.
"I love you," Draco replied.
"Tell me you need me," Hermione said again.
"I need you," Draco followed.
"And tell me I'll be with you forever…" Hermione whispered so softly, it was barely audible.
"You'll be with me… forever."
They lay together in silence, staring at the sky, feeling nothing else but happiness.
The next morning, everyone hurried through their breakfast and rushed to the stadium for the first Quidditch match of the year. Hermione took a seat on the benches while Ron and Harry were in the changing room with the team for a group meeting. It was a beautiful day, the sky a uniform pearly white, with no wind to blow them off course.
"Okay," Harry said. "I want to win this, for the glory and also to show the Slytherins that we are a million times better than they are. I'm going to need everyone's full spirit and participation to win this match." Harry glanced at his watch. "It's time. C'mon everyone… and good luck."
The team rose, shouldered their brooms and marched in single file out of the changing room and into the dazzling sunlight. A roar of cheers and whistles greeted them, louder than the cheers the Slytherin team was getting.
Draco stood in the front of his team, caught Harry's eye, and smirked, showing him the victory sign.
The balls were released and fourteen players shot upwards. Ron streaked off towards the goal hoops, flying around frantically. Harry zoomed higher and higher, dodging a Bludger, and gazed around for the Snitch. On the other side of the stadium, Draco was doing exactly the same, searching for a glint of gold.
Finally, Draco spotted it, and shot down to grab hold of it. When Harry saw him charging down, he too followed behind, speeding up.
"It's Felton, Felton with the Quaffle. And now it's with Radcliffe," the commentator's voice ringing through the stadium.
Draco was so close to the Snitch. From the corner of his eye, he saw Harry charging down him, his hand outstretched. Potter can't beat me, Draco thought. He caught up to it, and stretched his hand as far out as he could and almost touched the Snitch, when he heard someone scream his name, distracting him. He turned around to see Hermione jumping up and down from a distance.
"Go, Draco! I love you!" Hermione yelled. "Uh, go Harry too!" she added meekly.
Draco looked back in front of him, but it was too late. The Snitch was gone, and worst of all, he was about to smack right into the wall.
And that was all he could remember, until he woke up, Hermione looking up at him with big, concerned eyes. He looked around, and saw the familiar looks of the hospital wing.
"You alright, dear?" she said, stroking his hair.
If she didn't distract me, I could've gotten the Snitch and ended the whole darn game, Draco thought angrily. All the love he felt for her the previous night flew away, leaving him with anger. He sat up, and glared at her.
"Why did you call out to me when I was in such concentration, Mione? You ruined everything for me!" Draco yelled at her, losing his temper. Hermione jumped back, startled, unable to react.
"But, Draco.. I… I didn't know it was wrong.. I'm sorry," Hermione whispered softly.
"That match meant everything to me! Do you know how I feel now?" Malfoy continued to yell.
"Yes, yes I do.. B-but… I had no idea at that time that it would distract you! I'm sorry Draco honey, forgive me please!" Hermione pleaded. Draco didn't reply, he just lay back on the bed and turned his back to face her, and fell back to sleep, leaving Hermione sitting there in sadness.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Hermione, you look awful!" Ron commented. He was in the common room early that Sunday with Harry, hurrying through their homework. "What did Malfoy do to you!" he said right away.
"It's nothing, Ron, we just had a fight, that's all," she said, rubbing her eyes. "I was up all night studying, not worrying about the fight. It was a small matter, everything is fine," she lied.
Ron looked unconvinced, but decided to leave it at that. "I'm gonna go to the kitchen and see if I can get anything from Dobby," Hermione muttered, walking out of the common room.
Ron sighed and went back to his Potion's essay, and sighed one more time. Harry chuckled, and looked at Ron. "You still fancy her," he confronted simply. Ron's cheeks burned and he looked at his shoes. "Yeah, so what if I do?" he weakly tried to defend himself.
Harry chuckled again. His chuckle was starting to annoy Ron very much. "You're so jealous of her and Malfoy, it's obvious."
"Oh please. I'm not jealous, just confused and upset. How could Hermione go for someone like Malfoy? He's a horrible old fag with a baboon's backside. If I were Hermione, I wouldn't even want to go near that wart-hog," Ron muttered.
Harry chuckled again. "Would you stop chuckling!" Ron snapped. Harry apologized, and went back to his work quietly. Ron huffed and too continued with his work, but wasn't paying much attention. His mind kept running back to Hermione, how beautiful her big brown eyes were, how her smile made him smile…….
Draco was walking down the hallway, already recovered from his injuries. He took his time to walk as he had no destination, and he couldn't stop thinking of Hermione. Sometimes he felt so in love, so happy that he was with her, but when he thought about all those times she had embarrassed him in front of his friends and the whole school, his love for her faded away slightly. He felt guilty for hurting her, but still felt like she had deserved it. He needed someone to make him happy, someone to make him smile again.
"Draco," someone called out his name. He turned around and saw Pansy, looking very different today. Her short black hair was neatly combed, and it seemed like she had put on some make-up, disguising her pudgy nose and enlarging her eyes.
"You look upset.. let me help you feel better," she purred. Draco stood there, somehow unable to move, and he didn't really want to. She walked over to him and touched him, sending a chill through his body. She rubbed against his body, and her face got as close as it could get to his. "Don't be afraid.. your little girlfriend is far from here."
With that, she leaned over and kissed him, and Draco did nothing to resist. He had no feelings for Pansy any longer, but he just wanted to forget about Hermione for just one moment, and kissing Pansy was working well. They embraced, their hands getting everywhere, touching each other in places they weren't supposed to. Nothing could feel as good as this at that moment to Draco, and he didn't want it to end.
Hermione hurried down the stairs, reaching the main hall, and headed for the pathway to the school kitchen. She was feeling hungry after not eating for so long from all that depression. She was practically dying, not being able to kiss Draco, to touch him, to feel him, to love him…
She jogged down the hall, and turned to the corner, almost bumping into someone. She jumped back to look at who she was about to hit, and saw two people kissing each other rather passionately and vulgarly. She looked closer and realized it wasn't just two normal Hogwarts students. It was her boyfriend, Draco Malfoy, and Pansy Parkinson.
Draco finally pulled away from the kiss, trying to catch his breath. He looked up at Pansy, and saw that she was staring at something. He urned his head to see who she was staring at, and saw none other than Hermione standing before him, tears running down her cheeks, damping her robes.
"Hermione, I-.." Draco started, but Hermione cut him off.
"No, don't say anything. I don't want to hear anything that comes out of your filthy mouth. You really are a player… to think I ever trusted and loved you," Hermione spat, and turned around, leaving a smiling Pansy and a heartbroken Draco behind.
Boring chappie, I know! I'm sorry… I tried . … I hope this chapter wasn't going as fast as the previous chapters did.. I really am trying! Please review; tell me what you think about this chapter, and whether I should keep on writing this way, or go faster or slower… that's all. Thank you!