A/N: Engh. :dies: hogwartsboyzrhot, I already answered that. I think it's at the end of chapter…eh, 9 or something (which means the 10th chapter on the list). :sobs: people don't read my author's notes (eh, not like I do either. But I think I put it in big, bold letters, so if you were wondering it, you could've just read it…).
CHAPTER 11: Blackmail again?
Hermione did not sleep much that night. Even though she was more comfortable in a bed that day than she ever had been, and was immeasurably reassured by Draco's arm around her, she just could not sleep. At some point, she wished that she had a clock, and so one lay on a nightstand beside her. A faintly glowing clock appeared on the ceiling, like in Draco's room. It was almost half-past one, which meant she hadn't slept at all the whole night.
She sighed sadly, and Draco mumbled, "You can't sleep either?" She just shook her head, which made her whole body ache. Draco propped himself up on his elbow and looked down at her. She curled up closer to him.
"Thank you," she murmured, looking up into his eyes. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Well, for one," he said, leaning down and kissing her forehead, "You'd have to walk back to the school all alone. For two," he kissed her cheek, "You would have to attend Death Eater meetings all alone. For three," he kissed her other cheek, "You would have to cry into a pillow rather than on me. And four," he kissed her nose, "You would probably not be cheating on the Weasel. Then again," he said as an afterthought, "You wouldn't have been blackmailed into dating him in the first place."
Though her muscles protested at the use of her arms, she reached up and pulled him down to her level to kiss him. It was a chaste kiss, and they did nothing afterward to follow up except that Draco lay down next to her again, and wrapped his arm around her. She lay her own arm across his, and the affectionate gesture gave him warm chills, so he pulled her closer.
They lay there like that for a long time, and both of them were awake most of the night. At one point, Hermione thought Draco had fallen asleep, and turned a little to look up at him, but he opened one eye slightly to reassure her that he was awake, and she smiled softly at him and settled in again.
Around three-thirty in the morning, Hermione dozed off, but when Draco got out of bed, she woke up immediately, frightened. He was pulling on his shirt and cloak, and she said hoarsely, "You're leaving?"
He jumped at the noise, but turned back to her and kissed her forehead. "I'll be right back, I promise." And with that, he left, returning a nerve-wracking thirty minutes later. Before she could say anything to him, he said, "I was getting thirsty, so I brought us some water," he placed a jug of water on the table along with two glasses. She grinned at his thoughtfulness.
"So the house elves are up even at—" she checked the clock, "—nearly half-past four in the morning?"
Draco shrugged, "A couple of them were. I'm sorry that took so long," he said, pouring them both glasses as she struggled to sit up. Draco put down the glasses and propped her up with several pillows. Frowning, he looked down at her weak form. "You're going to need a spell for that. It would look exceedingly suspicious if you could hardly walk today. Of course, rest whenever you can, you wouldn't want to overtax your muscles. You just can't walk around as if you're in that much pain."
Hermione nodded, thinking of the spell she would need. Either an able-bodied spell or a temporary painkiller would work. She couldn't do the former, because that actually changed your body's shape and figure, so she'd have to do a painkiller. The bad thing about the painkiller was that you would take on double the pain once it was off. But as your body healed itself, the pain would abate. She sighed, it would have to do. She slowly sipped her water as Draco came and lay beside her.
"I guess I'm not going to any more meetings unless invited," Draco said ruefully, running his hand through his hair awkwardly.
But Hermione took a hard gleam in her eye as she put her glass down on the table, "Oh, you'll be invited."
"Hermione, don't," he began, sitting up and leaning on her pillows with her.
"Draco, you're coming whether he wants you or not. In fact, you are not to leave my side if there's ever a meeting. If this is the worst I have to suffer through to get you to be there, then this isn't so bad," she said, snuggling up to him. Looking into his eyes, she could almost see him agreeing with her, at least about their current position.
"No, Hermione. I can't…Don't…Hermione, I can't stand to watch you be tortured like that again." He shivered. "Don't do it, Hermione, please. Don't." She was shocked to see tears in his eyes. "I can't bear to see you get hurt. Not again." Her heart melted at his tears.
"Draco, I…I can't. I can't go there without you with me. I just—can't. I need you there," she whimpered, and tears welled up in her own eyes. He said nothing, but pulled her up onto his lap and wrapped both his arms around her.
"I'll try, Hermione. I'll try." They sat there silently for a long time, and after a while, Hermione dozed off. Draco stayed up long after and watched her sleep, thinking.
Hermione woke up again at a quarter after 5. Without looking, she knew Draco was still awake. She snuggled up closer to him as he laughed quietly. "You're awake again?"
"I can't sleep. It's not you, please don't think that, I've been far more comfortable this night than any other night. It's just…I'm sore. I hurt all over. I just can't sleep," she repeated with a shrug.
"I know," he agreed. "I haven't gotten much sleep myself."
"We don't get enough time together," she pointed out. "Detention doesn't count. And, anyways, you're finished with your detention. I still have another two weeks." She sighed.
"What are you in detention for, anyway?"
"Ah…That night that I came to see you and talk to you, Snape caught me going back to the common room. And he gave me three weeks of detention for it," she said. Draco winced, but Hermione just shrugged. "I don't mind, I just stay up a little later to do my homework." Draco nodded, but looked a little angry with himself anyway.
"I'm glad we don't have to go on the raid," Hermione said, "It's just another sleepless night, and I'm getting tired at the fluency of these."
"Yeah, I know," Draco agreed. "And anyway," he teased, "I don't have any use for more slaves at the moment. After all, I've got you." Laughing, Hermione slapped him lightly.
"Unfortunately for you, it's you who has to follow my orders. When it counts, anyway," she added. She flexed her shoulders, saying "I could really do with a bath right now." Suddenly there was the sound of running water, and her head snapped up to see a large bathtub in the middle of the floor. It was currently being filled with water. Out of sheer surprise, both she and Draco burst into laughter. "I forgot we were in the Room of Requirement," she giggled. "And even so, I wouldn't have expected it to actually get me a bath!" She rolled out of Draco's grip and took her wand with her as she went to transfigure her clothing into a swimsuit.
Hermione dropped into the pool with a satisfied groan. The water was neither too hot nor too cold, and it felt good on her aching muscles. In fact, she thought, I didn't notice, but I'm already starting to feel less sore. Maybe the warm water will help just as much as lying down did.
She grinned as Draco waded in too. He came and settled on the step next to her, pulling her onto his lap. "So," he said, "How does my lady propose we conduct secret meetings? It would not do for a poor man to never see his fair maiden," he said, drawing her hand out of the water and kissing her fingertips.
Hermione smiled at him, but as she thought it quickly became a frown. "Hm…I really don't know. I have detention for the next two weeks, so I'm not going to have much free time. And then there's Ron, and I need to at least pretend to be slightly interested in him," she said in disgust. Draco wrinkled his nose, and she laughed and leaned up to kiss it. "I'm sorry, but if I don't, they'll find out about you. That brings up Ginny, who I need some dirt on so that I can get rid of Ron and also brings another task in the picture." She sighed, thinking, this seems impossible.
"I'll find you. Sometime, anytime, somewhere, anywhere. I'll find you," he promised.
"Mmm," she mumbled, closing her eyes, "Thank you, Draco." Suddenly, Draco stood, and she sank into the water. Spluttering, she came up, "Draco!" A wave of water suddenly came and hit her full in the face. "Oh, you're in for it now," she squealed, splashing him back.
Draco backed up into the deeper end, a playful gleam in his eyes. He smirked as her splash missed him completely. Laughing, he splashed her again. She swam closer to him and splashed him back just as hard. Grinning cheekily, she ducked under so that his wave went right over her head. But when she came back up, Draco was nowhere in sight. She looked around frantically and then was lifted off her feet and heaved over Draco's shoulder.
Draco spun her around and then dumped a very dizzy Hermione ungracefully into the water. When she came up disoriented, he splashed her immediately, and was pleased when he got her to laugh. Once again, Hermione felt herself lifted off her feet, but this time she was being carried like a piece of glass rather than a sack of potatoes. Draco placed her delicately on the edge of the pool and then held himself up on the edge to steal a kiss.
Beaming, Hermione slid off the edge and into the water to be pinned between his arms. A wave of déjà vu hit her, and she knew he felt it too. But this time, he wasn't going to pull back from her, and he didn't. He kissed her sweetly, and then Hermione launched a sneak attack, splashing him. She laughed at the shocked look on his face, and then he got a look in his eye that could only mean he was going to get her back for that.
Frantically, she pulled herself out of the water, deciding she was done with her relaxing bath. But suddenly, Draco was behind her, and he dragged her down to the ground, tickling her mercilessly. She squirmed and laughed until she cried, her aches forgotten for the moment. Without warning, Draco's hands stopped tickling her, and he leaned over her. His beautiful gray eyes looked down on her lovingly, and she grabbed his neck to pull him down for a fervent kiss.
Abruptly, Draco pulled back and got up. He told her gruffly, "You should get dressed before you catch a chill," and took his own clothing with him to change. Hermione was left there with wide eyes wondering, What the hell did I do wrong this time?
Draco was silent as they both dressed, and Hermione towel-dried her hair so it wouldn't drip on her clothing. Finished with that, she hung the towel up on a hanger that suddenly appeared, and she looked up at Draco in confusion. "It's past six, you should go up to your room now."
"But…" Draco didn't even look back at her as he headed for the door. She ran and grabbed his arm. "Draco, what happened? You were fine, and then…?"
"Leave me alone," he said, brushing her off and leaving.
"Draco," she hollered as he shut the door behind him. He didn't turn around, didn't come back. She dropped to the floor in bewilderment. "What did I do?" she whispered to herself. After nearly five minutes of staring expectantly at the door, she knew for sure he wasn't coming back. Grumbling to herself, she stood and grabbed her cloak and pulled on her robe. Deciding she would get her bag on her way to breakfast, Hermione slogged to Gryffindor tower and woke up the Fat Lady to let her in.
Dropping into her bed like a stone, she stared at the ceiling, puzzled. For hours, she contemplated Draco's reaction until she heard Lavender and Parvati get up and go to breakfast. Only then did she get up and dress in new clothing and leave the room.
Draco walked quickly down the hall. He needed to get away from there, away from her. Yes, he liked her a lot. But it was nowhere near being in love. Draco didn't fall in love—he wasn't the type. But to know that he loved her, even a little, was too much of a shock for him to take easily. So he had walked away.
It had been too painful too look down into her loving brown eyes, and know without a doubt that the same look was reflected in his eyes. And he had kissed her just as passionately as she had him, and that was when he was sure. She wasn't like all the other dalliances he'd had. She wasn't like Pansy, who would just let him take her at any time he wanted and not expect anything from him. No, she wasn't like a friend-with-benefits. She was…she was someone he cared for, and who cared for him.
And the thought of that was something he couldn't bear. He couldn't stand to know that he may be in far too deep with her. That this little warm feeling he got when he thought of her could grow into something far more lively. Indeed, she was a wonderful warrior, to be able to pierce such a cold heart as his when no one else had been able to.
Perhaps that was it though. No one else had been able to warm the cold light out of his eyes before. He had no experience at loving someone, for there had been no other. He had never allowed himself (or even happened to find himself) loving someone any more than as a friend. He considered his own parents and his friends equal in his heart. And here Hermione was, and she had surpassed them all, even if it was only by a miniscule amount.
Draco was scared.
Hermione grabbed her bag as she went to the Great Hall for breakfast. She would say she was taking it to the library so she could get some homework done. It was true enough. She'd already placed a painkilling spell on herself for the day, and didn't think she would need it again tomorrow. When she'd gotten up from her bed and stretched, she was already feeling less sore, and figured it would be gone by the end of today if she hadn't used the spell.
But she couldn't risk even the littlest slip up, and so had done it anyway.
Overall, Hermione's day was miserable. She worked on her homework in the library, wishing for Draco to come in and do or say something. But he didn't come, and she worked diligently, dropping into the Great Hall for a sandwich before holing up in the library again. She finished her Ancient Runes project that day, a project estimated to take a week. But she worked attentively, not bothering for breaks or any other distractions.
Draco did not come to her that day. And after dinner, when Ron took her off to snog her, she snogged him back fiercely, getting out all of the frustration Draco had instilled in her. He pulled back looking astonished at her intensity, but she yanked him back down to her. The door of the formerly-empty classroom opened, and Hermione jerked her head back from Ron to see Draco standing there. Ron, oblivious to Draco's presence kissed her neck while she looked at the blonde.
Draco's expression was stricken, and Hermione was expressionless. But then he took a step back and closed the door in front of him. Disappointed, she pulled back from Ron. "Ron, I'm sorry, but I want to finish up my Ancient Runes homework." It was true enough, she still had some homework, though she'd finished the project that was due in two weeks. She kissed him on the cheek and escaped to the library.
As the tears threatened to fall, Hermione pushed away her work so she wouldn't get it wet. "Damn him," she muttered under her breath as a frustrated tear fell on the table. "Make up your mind," she snarled at the table as if it was Draco. "Do you want me or not?" Another tear fell, and she wiped the table clean, drying off her eyes. Two tears. That was enough. No more. She sighed as she pulled her homework to her and finished it up. Looking at her homework schedule, she noticed a Charms essay due in a week. Trying to keep her mind off the annoying blonde, she got out her supplies for Charms and began to work on it.
Before she knew it, it was already ten o'clock, and Madam Pince was ushering her out. Sighing tremulously, she scanned her mind for other places she could go, and decided on her common room. She could immerse herself once again in homework there, and therefore not think about a certain Slytherin.
This is his problem, not mine, she reminded herself. Too bad I'm the one he's hurting. Gryffindor tower was a flurry of activity. Hermione grabbed the closest person—Colin Creevy—and asked them what had happened. "Neville's toad was transfigured into a spider," he said excitedly, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like 'too bad I can't get close enough for a picture' under his breath.
Hermione waded through the screaming girls and pushed aside boys that looked on with interest as she clicked through her brain for the right spell. When she got to the cabinet where the toad-turned-spider had hidden itself under, she pushed everyone aside, grumbling under her breath. Could no one get a spell right around here?
She used a levitating spell to get the cabinet off the ground and got down on her hands and knees. A large, skinny spider that looked a sickly green color was cowering in the corner. Muttering the correct transfiguration spell, she made it back into a toad and handed it to Neville. Hermione glared at the seventh years that had merely looked on in amusement without offering a helping hand and gathered up her things, deciding do go to bed early.
Hermione flopped onto her bed with an annoyed sigh. It had not been a good day. She frowned up at her ceiling, and undid her painkilling spell. Before long, she was dozing off when Lavender and Parvati came in.
"Oooh, she's asleep already," Parvati whispered, putting her bed curtains back.
"Then shut up and let her sleep," Lavender said softly. Hermione rolled over and fell into the deeper clutches of a true sleep.
The morning dawned bright, and Hermione woke up with a groan. Instantly, her thoughts plummeted to Draco. She wished she could say yesterday had been a dream, but she knew it wasn't. Already knowing her day would be miserable, she succumbed to the unending depression that was beginning to be her life and she packed up her bag to plunge into another day of intense focus on her studies. Skipping breakfast (she didn't feel too hungry anyway), she went straight to the library, where she picked a table far in the back and spread out the work she wanted to get done that day. There was a two foot long Defense Against the Dark Arts essay due on Tuesday that she wanted to finish (it was already a healthy three feet long), and then there was also a potion recipe for Potions (they were working on the effects of certain herbs and items in potions, and so Snape had told them to make their own potion recipe so long as it fit his guidelines). Surprisingly, there was even a foot-long Herbology essay that she as ashamed to admit was due the next day, which Hermione hadn't even started.
She got to work. By one in the afternoon, she had already finished the work she'd set out. Frowning, she decided to find Harry and Ron and see if they wanted to visit Hagrid. They hadn't seen the friendly half-giant in a while.
She packed everything up and went in search of the boys, finding them playing wizard chess in the common room. She sat and watched until their game was over before saying, "We haven't seen Hagrid in a while, can we go down and visit him?"
Harry and Ron shared a guilty look. Harry smacked his head and said, "I forgot about him…oh, how could I have forgotten? It's already late October, and we haven't even seen Hagrid."
"Then let's go," Ron said. Quickly packing up the game, the trio left. Ron's hand automatically found Hermione's, and she ignored it. Fang barked loudly as they knocked, and Hagrid let them in with an oddly grim look on his face. "So, Hagrid," Ron said into the awkward silence, "How's it been?"
"Oh, good, good. Yeh know, I only have a few sixth years now, so classes are a bit more intimate," Hagrid said accusingly, looking at them.
"Oh, Hagrid," Hermione said briskly, "We're sorry, but none of our future careers involve magical creatures. Or, at least," she said, glancing to Harry, "Not caring for them."
Hagrid nodded acceptingly, but still looked hurt. "I know, I know, do any of yeh want scones?" he said. They all took some, though they nearly broke their teeth on them. Hagrid bustled around making tea and said, "I wish yeh would come over more often though, it's been getting kind of lonely with Fang here. We can all go and visit Grawp even. He can speak pretty good now, he can," Hagrid said proudly.
Hermione's spirits brightened a little after their visit with Hagrid. That hadn't been so bad, though she worried about her teeth after the scones. Smiling gently to herself, she went back to the library where she did some Arithmancy work before dinner.
Dinner wasn't so bad either. Ron was too immersed in talking to Harry about quidditch to even try to be boyfriend-ly to her. So she ate without Ron hanging on to her, and listened to Lavender and Parvati's consistent prattle about useless things while she sat silently.
Ron tried to pull her off that night, but she made the excuse that she wanted to bathe again that night and peeled off from him to do so. But the bath was unsatisfying, and while it eased away the last of her aches and pains, she wanted to get out before a half-hour was up. But she stayed in only because she didn't want to go back to the common room before ten, on the hopes that Harry and Ron would already be in bed.
Sighing in disappointment, Hermione left the warm bathing room at nine thirty precisely, unable to stand being in there anymore. She dragged herself up the stairs, feeling dismayed that she was going up to Gryffindor tower so early. Quite suddenly, something bowled her over and virtually threw her into an empty room. Her wand was drawn even as she stumbled. She glared up at the person only to be hugely confused.
"Draco?" she asked. He looked extremely apologetic, which seemed odd on his features.
"Hermione, I…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…I didn't mean to…" he didn't seem to know quite what to say. She stood stock still as he walked over to her and embraced her, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to…" but Hermione wasn't looking at him anymore, she was looking out the door, which Draco had forgotten to close behind him.
"Idiot," she hissed gleefully. She stood on tiptoe and gave him a peck on the mouth to let him know she accepted his apology and then she indicated he be quiet and follow her. She didn't need to hear anything to know whom it had been walking past the door of the room. She already knew who the person was and where they were going. She smirked as she began her hunt.
Ginny was going to Professor Wood, and Hermione would be there to catch them if anything happened.
Ginny scurried down to Orlando's quarters. She was going to be late, she knew. She slowed to a walk on his corridor though, so that by the time she got there, she wouldn't be breathing heavily. The door opened without her even needing to knock. She slipped into the room, checking that no one else was in the hallway. Orlando shut the door with a snap.
"Sorry I'm late," she said breathlessly.
Orlando just shrugged. "Tea?" he asked. She nodded vigorously and he handed her a cup. She took a sip to see if it already had sugar in it and grinned at him while he poured his tea, ignoring her scalded tongue. "Oh, it already has sugar in it," he added, not realizing she already knew that.
"I noticed, and thank you," she said, waiting for him to sit in his big armchair. When he did, she established herself on his lap, and they sipped their teas in the empty silence. "So," she whispered, "How was your day?"
"The usual Sunday routine, you know, grading papers, eating, meeting with you." She grinned at the sparkle in his eyes and snuggled closer to him.
"Gin, you shouldn't," he began. She put her cup down with a snap.
"Orlando, I don't care what I shouldn't do. You tell me I shouldn't do this, I shouldn't do that, and you don't kiss me goodbye every night, not even on the cheek!" she snapped at him, frustrated.
"Gin," he tried to reason.
She stood up angrily. "Orlando, I don't care that you're that much older, you're the only one I want. Can't you see that?" she accused in dismay.
He stood too, "Gin, we can't just do everything that most couples do. I thought you understood that." His voice was cold, and he gave her a hard stare. "You said you could wait."
"I can, but…Oh, Orlando! You can't even kiss me on the cheek once in a while? Not even when we're alone?" she whimpered.
"Oh, Gin," he said, coming and wrapping his arms around her. "I knew this would be hardest on you. You have to be—" But Ginny didn't wait to find out what she had to be. She kissed him before he could finish, and was surprised when he let it be. The kiss went on a bit longer than she thought it would, and she could feel the underlying feelings behind it.
And it was then that she knew his side too. He would be just as faithful to her as she would be to him. When he pulled back and kissed her forehead, murmuring, "Be satisfied," under his breath, and all she could do was nod. He loved her too, and it just bowled her over that he did. She grinned into his chest.
"Why you little bitch," a male voice sputtered. Ginny froze, realizing the position she and Orlando were in. Turning slowly, she saw Hermione and Malfoy leaning against the wall next to the door. Draco continued, "How the hell can you—"
Hermione put her hand on her arm to quiet him. Orlando stepped away from her. "Why Ginny," Hermione said softly, her tones rich with amusement, "It seems that you have your own dirty little secrets."
"Oh, Hermione, you wouldn't dare," Ginny growled.
"Wouldn't I? Oh, yes, Ginny. I would dare. And unfortunately, the only thing you can expect of this is blackmail. After all," Hermione looked down at her fingernails casually, "That's exactly what you did to me."
"You can't tell them!" Ginny shrieked.
"Can't I?"
"If you tell them, then I'll tell them about you two!" she growled.
The tension grew, and Hermione opened her mouth to say something before a confused look crossed her face. The oddness of the situation also seemed to hit Ginny, and in unison, the girls began to laugh. Ginny staggered over to Hermione between her giggles and gave her a big hug, "Oh, Hermione, I'm so sorry, I've been so mean!"
"Can you believe what we just did? That was so stupid! I can't believe us," Hermione interjected between her laughs.
"Oh, Hermione, I'm so sorry!" Ginny said, hugging her tighter.
Hermione squeezed her back, "I know, me too!"
Ginny leaned up and whispered excitedly in Hermione's ear, "We've been pen pals for over two years, and I think I might be in love with him."
"Gin, that's wonderful!" Chatting frantically in order to try to catch up on lost time between the two of them, they walked out of the door together with linked arms, barely remembering to wave goodbye to their respective boyfriends.
Draco looked at Professor Wood in bewilderment. "What the bloody hell just happened?" he asked him.
Professor Wood gaped at the door. "I have no idea." He went over to a cabinet and took out a flask of whiskey. He took a long drag, and offered it to the younger blonde. Draco took it and took a swig too.
"So, ah, you and Hermione? That's certainly interesting," the young professor said, taking another gulp from the flask.
"Huh, I think your thing with the Weasley girl is even more interesting, Professor Wood," Draco said, taking back the flask and having one last swallow.
"Oh, please, call me Orlando," he said, chugging the last of the whiskey and putting the empty flask down on the table. "So, how long have you two been…ah, together?"
"Since that night when she was crying and I dragged her out of there, and then we came back. Kind of a weird story, in fact," Draco said, beginning to tell the tale.
The student and professor sat there long into the night, discussing their relationships, and then moving on to quidditch afterward until Draco went off to his bed around midnight.
We're friends when you're on your knees
Make them dance like we were shooting their feet
—Fall Out Boy "Our Lawyer Made Us Change The Name Of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued"
