Disclaimer: I do not own anything regarding Harry Potter. I also do not own the games Life, Monopoly, Twister, Scrabble, or I Never.
Summary: I can't believe that idiot Krum cursed me! He was supposed to be my ex boyfriend. Now I can't regain my ability to perform magic until I find my true love. Oh great, I guess I'll find him after I date ever guy on Earth!
Recap of Chapter 7:
"Truce?" asked Draco, smiling.
I nodded, staring at his smile.
I took his hand and we shook on it.
Chapter 8 of Immortal Love:
The next day, I was woken up with bright light streaming through my eyelids.
I groaned, grumbled, and grimaced.
"What the heck?" I managed to protest weakly.
I turned onto my stomach, and shoved my head under my pillow, trying to block out the light. That movement was only met with somebody jerking the pillow away from my fingers' tight grips.
"Nope," said a familiar voice, "It's time to wake up."
I turned around back onto my back, and opened one eye to see an oddly cheerful Draco Malfoy.
"Why are you so happy this morning?" I muttered, wanting him to leave my room, so I could continue sleeping.
"Rise and shine!" he said, smirking.
I took my wand from the table beside my bed, and muttered a charm. Numbers came soaring out of the tip of the wand, and I read aloud, "Six o'clock".
"Six? Why are you waking me up so early? I went to bed at one last night. I'm tired!" I protested.
Draco shrugged, "So? I went to bed the same time you did – maybe even later – and still, I can wake up."
I frowned, "Well," I said huffily, "maybe you're just weird!"
Draco smirked again, "Maybe I am," he said in the same bright and cheerful voice.
I rolled my eyes, "Okay, I'm up. Gosh, stop being so cheerful. I don't like seeing happy people in the morning."
"I guess somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," he drawled.
I got out of my bed and walked over to him, "Shut up!" I said.
He looked at me seriously, and I thought he would do just what I ordered him to do, when the corners of his lips twitched. Soon, a full-fledged laugh came out of his mouth. The sound, coming odd from Draco Malfoy, warmed me, and made me feel all bubbly inside.
I rolled my eyes again, despite the feeling that was churning in my stomach, "Grow up."
He shook his head, laughing, "How can I take a girl seriously when she's ordering me to shut up, wearing pajamas full of ducks on them?" he said.
I looked down at my pajamas – my grandmother had bought this embarrassing pajama for me, as well as the pink one with bears on them that Draco had seen last time – and blushed, but I pretended not to care.
"Oh, really. Get over yourself!" I said, before stalking over to the bathroom.
What made everything worse was that I had worn my duck slippers as soon as I rolled out of bed – a habit of mine – and when I stomped down hard, the slippers would quack.
I slammed the bathroom door, all the while hearing Draco Malfoy's loud laughter echoing in my head.
After I had changed, I walked outside to be met with Draco Malfoy sitting in the dining room, reading The Daily Prophet.
"Ah, the duck princess awakes!" he said, smirking while he greeted me.
"Be quiet," I said, sitting down.
The food appeared on the table a few seconds later, and I helped myself to some eggs, and a slice of toast.
A couple of minutes in silence passed, before I opened my mouth to ask Draco, who was munching on some bacon, "Any news?"
Draco looked up at me, and shook his head.
"No. Nothing, really," he said, shrugging.
I believed him, and looked back down at my plate.
"So, what are we going to do the whole day?" he asked me, looking up from the newspaper.
I raised an eyebrow; "You want to do something with me? A Mudblood?"
He frowned, "Oh come off of it! I said I was sorry!"
I grinned, "I was just kidding. But seriously, you have nothing to do?" I asked him.
He shook his head; "I finished all the work that Dumbledore assigned for the week already."
I nodded as well, "So did I."
He brightened, "Great! So we can play some games or something like that."
I smiled, despite myself.
"All right. What do you have in mind?" I asked him.
Five minutes later, I found myself tangled up with him on the floor, trying desperately not to fall on top of Draco.
We were playing a popular Muggle game called Twister, which I had brought from home. I had charmed the spinner to magically spin when I called out "spin" and then read the directions aloud.
My foot was currently entwined with Draco's foot on the red circle, and an arm reached over his torso, on the green circle. Draco had his body under mine, an arm on the blue circle and another on the yellow.
The spinner spun and called out in an automated voice, "Hermione, left hand, red."
As I reached for the red circle, my arm got caught in Draco's hair, and I fell down, ruffling his "perfectly gelled hair that he had spent gelling for an hour in the morning".
He automatically reached for his hair, causing him to lose his balance as well, and causing me to fall on top of him.
I cried, "Oomph!" and I started to laugh when I saw his hair stick out from beneath the gel.
"I thought you stopped gelling your hair," I said to him, as he stood up and hurried to a mirror on the wall.
"I did, but I wanted to try it for today," he said, trying to smooth down the ends that were sticking up.
I laughed, "It's fine! Come on, let's play another game."
Draco raised an eyebrow, "Dang, how many did you bring, Granger?" he asked.
I grinned, "More than you can everimagine."
I strolled into my room, with Draco right on my heels.
I opened up my trunk that was filled with things to occupy me when I had free time, and took in the games that were inside.
"So," I asked him brightly, "What next?"
He bit his lip, and said, "Wow! I never knew that Muggles made so many games!"
I laughed, "It's true."
He randomly took out a box from the trunk and said, "This one!"
Draco held out the box that read Life on it, and I nodded, grinning.
"Great! Let's go," I said, putting back Twister and closing my trunk.
I sat on the common room floor, opening up the box, and setting up the game.
"Okay, I want to be the red car; how about you?" I asked him.
He sat down across from me, and said, "Green, of course."
I grinned, and told him the rules.
We spend an hour playing after we both got bored.
Draco Malfoy ended up being a doctor who was married and had four children. I ended up being a scientist who was married as well, and had two children. We had a lot of laughs during that game.
For some reason, after the game was over, I couldn't shake the image of Draco laughing, rolling on the ground, shaking up and down.
It stayed with me for quite some time.
After lunch, Draco decided he wanted to play Monopoly, followed by Scrabble.
I won both games, of course.
It was now three fifteen, and I was sitting on the Gryffindor couch – lying there, rather – looking up at the ceiling.
Draco sat on the chair next to me, looking into the fire that was crackling on a cold winter's day.
"I'm bored," I couldn't help but say.
He grinned, "I know! Let's play I Never!" he suggested.
I looked at him warily, "We played that a few nights ago, remember?"
He looked put out, "Oh yeah."
He then grinned, "You admitted that you've never shagged anybody before!" he said, looking pleased with himself for remembering.
I gave him a dirty look before flinging an insult back at him, "You haven't, either, Mr. I-am-so-hot-and-sexy," I said.
He grinned, "Thanks. I never knew that you found me hot and sexy."
I bit my lip, rolling my eyes. I knew that if I talked any further, he would make me say something that I would regret.
Even though we were technically "friends" he could always turn and become the cold Draco Malfoy that I had known for six years of my life.
I couldn't expose too much to him.
"How about Truth or Dare?" he said, looking at me.
I frowned, "No."
He sighed, "Okay, fine. What do you want to do today?" he asked me.
I shrugged.
"I don't know."
Draco looked at me.
"What do you usually do with your friends, then?" he asked me.
"I always had the option of going out; I could go to the Quidditch Pitch, the lake, or to the library. I always had somewhere to go. Now I'm stuck in this room with you," I said dramatically.
Draco called out, sarcastically, "Oh gee, thanks."
I grinned, "You're welcome. You know I didn't mean it like that."
"So?" he asked, "You never answered my question. Those are all the things you do alone. What do you do with your friends?"
I looked everywhere but at where he was sitting.
"I don't know. I haven't spent much time with either Ron or Harry," I said.
He raised an eyebrow, "Really? Then how come Harry came to the common room a couple of days ago?"
I shrugged, "Maybe he felt guilty?"
Draco shook his head, "But you looked happy to see him."
I raised an eyebrow, "You saw?"
Draco nodded his head, not looking the least bit fazed, "Yeah. Anyway, you looked like you wanted to see him or something, so I guess that you sort of welcomed him, too."
I sat up, and looked down at my fingers.
"Well, he was the first best friend that I had. And Ron was, too."
Draco snorted, "Weasley is such an idiotic person. Why do you hang out with him?"
"Why do you hang out with Crabbe and Goyle, then?" I asked him, mentioning two of his idiotic cronies.
"Hey, despite what people may think, they actually are good friends," said Draco, coming quick to their defense.
I grinned, "Sure. I know the truth. You're just a lonely and insecure boy who wants attention, right?" I asked him.
Draco rolled his eyes, "Yes. You were right on the mark. So about Potter…"
I groaned, "What about him?"
"What's up with you and your friends?" he asked me.
"What do you mean?" I asked back, avoiding the subject.
"I've seen you around Hogwarts. You're always by yourself."
"Why should I tell you? How do I know if I can trust you?"
Draco's voice grew sharp, "What do you mean?"
"Well? Like the other night; I talked to you and the next day you pretended that that talk never happened!" I protested.
Draco sighed, "I told you that I was sorry, didn't I? We called a truce. I won't betray your confidence, Hermione."
A bit my lip, before deciding to tell him.
"Well, people change, I guess. I never expected Harry or Ron to change. Not dramatically, at least."
"And did they? Change dramatically, I mean," asked Draco.
I nodded, "Well, of course. In the first couple of years – first year, second, third, fourth, fifth, we were the best of friends. We went everywhere together."
Draco smirked, "You were part of the Golden Trio."
I nodded my head, smiling sadly, "Yes, but … I guess in sixth year, things changed."
"What do you mean?" Draco asked me.
"They started going out on dates. At first, they'd ask me if I wanted to come along – out of courtesy, I guess – but after I refused time after time, they stopped asking me. Ron and Harry both started to go out with girls, and I would be left behind with my books. I guess it sounds stupid, but more than anything, I really wanted to have a boyfriend … or somebody close that I could talk to at that time," I said awkwardly.
"How about that she-weasel?" asked Draco curiously.
"Ginny? She was going out with Harry. Everybody practically assumes that we're best friends, but the truth is, we're not. I'm not close to her. She tells me her problems, but I don't tell her mine," said Hermione, shrugging.
"It's not as if I care anyway, I never did like her," I admitted to myself more than to Draco.
"Go on with the story," asked Draco, looking quite interested in what the seventh-year Gryffindor had to say.
"There isn't much more to say. I'm happy for Harry and Ron, yes. I would never want them to suffer or go through pain. What's the fun in life for me, if I wish them pain everyday?" I asked.
Draco shrugged, "What's wrong with wishing them pain?" he asked, grinning.
I laughed.
"As you can see, our friendship started to tear apart. Harry and Ron became closer, while I drifted away. But I didn't really drift away. I was still there. Nobody cared about me, that's all. Harry and Ron would talk to each other during class, during lunch, during everything. Of course, they both played Quidditch, and they both went out on double dates, occasionally. The only time either one of them talked to me was when they needed help with homework, or somebody to tutor them."
"So did you tutor them?" asked Draco.
I nodded.
"Why?" he asked, looking aghast.
"I guess I was desperate. I wanted people to talk to," I said, my eyes becoming unfocused, remembering when I tutored my 'friends'.
"When I tutored them or helped them with their homework, they would always listen to me. They'd ask me questions about my day, or whatnot. I felt needed. But now that I think about it, I don't think they were really listening to me at all," I said.
"Do you still care for them?"
"Yes, I do. I mean, I had practically seven years of friendship with both of them. Even though they may not care about me, I still care about them. It's hard to break a friendship."
Draco nodded, "Yeah, I guess so."
My mind began to start wandering.
"How about you? What about your friends?" I asked him, feeling interested.
"I don't have any."
My mouth dropped open, "Really? How can you survive Hogwarts without any friends?"
"I don't need them," he simply stated.
"Really, now."
"Yes, friends come and go. And besides, everybody in Slytherin – as well as everybody in Hogwarts – is afraid of me. I have power. If I have power, then I obviously don't need friendship," he said.
My eyes widened, looking at the blond-haired Slytherin sitting across from me.
"Whoever told you that?"
"My father."
I had to suppress my urge to roll my eyes.
"Oh."
Draco slowly got out of his seat, and walked over to me, sitting down on the spot that was next to me.
"I know that this may seem dumb, but this is the most fun day that I've ever had," he admitted quietly to me.
I smiled at him, appreciating his sincerity.
"I'm glad you had fun – with a Muggleborn, no less."
He looked at me, "I never thought it would be possible- to talk and have a civil conversation with one."
He shrugged, "Hey, that's what my father said," after seeing me stare at him unbelievingly.
He reached over and hugged me – awkwardly.
I giggled, before reaching up and wrapping my arms around his neck.
"Thanks for talking to me, Draco," I said softly.
"This may seem dumb, but," he paused.
"But?" I urged him.
"But … er, if you ever need somebody to talk to, you can always come to me," he said, looking away quickly after he finished his sentence.
I grinned, "Thanks. And you can always talk to me if you need somebody to talk to."
He looked at me, and said, "I really … am sorry for all those mean things I've done to you over the years."
I shook my head, "It's okay. I understand that your father and you had problems and everything."
He smiled, and suddenly, I was aware that he was looking at me very intently.
His face moved towards mine, and just when he was about to kiss me, the fire next to us made a crackling sound, and the two of us jumped apart.
"Ahem," said a voice.
I looked up and saw the Headmaster standing next to the two of us.
"Pro-Professor Dumbledore," I stammered, standing up quickly.
I looked over at Draco and saw him smirk, before standing up next to me.
"I … ah, see that the two of you have … bonded?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
I blushed.
"Anyway, I came here to speak with Mr. Malfoy. If you don't mind, Ms. Granger," he said, trailing off.
"Oh!" I exclaimed, before nodding and exiting the room, giving the two of them privacy.
"What?" I asked Draco, not believing what I had just heard.
"It's true. Dumbledore told me that while we were in here, there was a war going on in the Wizarding World," he said, snapping close his trunk.
We were inside of Draco's room.
"But … Harry … Ron, the Prophecy?" I asked him, at loss for words.
"Everybody's safe. Nobody died. I don't know how they did it. The Ministry managed to prevent anybody from dying. They caught all of the Death Eaters, and put them in Azkaban."
"But, your father!"
"Yes, I know. I'm glad that he's in Azkaban, actually. Maybe I'll get to spend some time with my mother, and help her recover from all those curses that Father inflicted upon me," he said, nodding his head.
"How about Voldemort?" I asked Draco.
"He died."
"How?"
Draco shook his head, "Dumbledore wouldn't say. He told me that I'd find out eventually. I guess Voldemort died, and the Death Eaters were at lost for what to do. My father, being a tyrant, tried to convince everybody that he was next in line for being the Dark Lord."
Draco rolled his eyes, and said, "Stupid man. The Death Eaters did listen to him. But then my father made an unreasonable command, and the Death Eaters turned on him. They all started to fight, and the Ministry appeared to lead them all away to Azkaban."
I sighed, "So you're allowed to leave now?"
He nodded.
"I'm going to stay here by myself?"
"I would think so," said Draco, smirking.
"But … but that's going to be so boring!"
"Can't survive life without me, huh? Don't worry; I'm pretty sure you'll get out sooner than you think. I'll keep what you told me a secret. You do that for me, as well."
I nodded my head.
He took a glance around his room, making sure he didn't leave anything.
"I'll see you soon, okay?" he said.
I groaned, "Argh, all right."
I jumped over his trunk, and reached over to give him a big bear hug.
"I'll miss you," I told him.
He grinned, "I'll see you in a couple of days, probably."
I shook my head, not believing him.
How would I find my true love without living with anybody, let alone seeing anybody?
"I have to go now, Hermione. It's not as if I'll forget our friendship."
I released my grip from around him, and stared up at him into his gray eyes.
"Do you promise?" I asked him.
He grinned, and nodded, "I promise."
Picking up his trunk, he said, "Take care of yourself. I'll see you later."
He walked out of the common room, leaving me to sit on his bed … all alone.
That's when the tears began to fall.
I cried.
I cried for everything.
I cried for my friendship with Harry and Ron.
I cried for the days when I was lonely.
I cried for Draco.
After I was all cried out, I curled up into a ball on top of Draco's bed and fell asleep.
Author's Note: Ack, I know that I haven't updated for about eight months. I haven't given up on my fanfictions.
I've been really busy with school, swimming, and everything. And then I had a low blow when I didn't get accepted into the newspaper at my school. But, I'm back and I will try to update as soon as I can.
Please read and review.
This fiction is almost done, believe it or not. There are two more chapters, and an epilogue. I've planned out everything. I sort of didn't want to update this fanfiction, but once I started to type, I couldn't stop. This chapter is more of a 'get to know you' chapter, than anything. I hope you all like it.
