Summary
Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy. A summer and then the year. Please Read and Review! 'Nuff said. HgDm, HpLl, BzGw, RwLb
Author's Note
Hello readers! This is my second fanfiction, but I'm really hoping to finish this one. The first, Secret Haven, wasn't what I imagined it to be, and it wasn't getting the responses that I'd hoped for, so I'm starting a new one.
Anyways, as a sub-summary, I'm going to lay out a small outline for you:
Era: Hogwarts The first couple chapters are in the summer after the Trio's sixth year, and they will be going into their seventh year eventually.
Pairings: Draco/Hermione, Harry/Luna, Blaise/Ginny, and an on-off again Ron/Lavender.
Locations: Draco/Hermione/Luna/Blaise/Ginny/Lavender are at Hogwarts while Ron/Harry are searching for the Horcruxes. However, Ron and Harry may come back for a couple chapters to visit.
Note: Dumbledore is not dead, and Snape and Draco are not Death Eaters. And just because I don't think I'll mention it in the story, and for curious readers, Hermione doesn't have bushy hair or buck teeth. She isn't gorgeous, however she is far from ugly. Her hair is curly/wavy, and she still has brown eyes. Draco has the same blonde hair, however it instead is used without gel, and he's about a foot taller than Hermione their heights are to your discretion, unless I end up putting it in the story later on, and muscular, only not bulky-looking very much the tall and subtle muscles. He has the blue/grey eyes, that I will definitely take note at some point in the story.
Have fun reading! Hope you enjoy! Reviews much appreciated.
Chapter One: Man Insane
"Dear Hermione Granger,
We at Hogwarts are pleased to announce that you have been made Head Girl for the up and coming school year. We realize that Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasely will not be present; however we look to you to present a picture of responsibility to the students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please be on the Hogwarts Express by Noon on the first of September to discuss your duties with the Head Boy.
Thank you, and enjoy the rest of your summer,
Headmaster Dumbledore
P.S. Mister Potter and Mister Weasly told me to tell you that they are extremely sorry that they will not be attending this coming year. They are going to be searching for Horcruxes and requested that you stay at Hogwarts to "become even more bloody brilliant that you already are".
Hermione Granger read the letter from Hogwarts with distain. She had not received one owl from Ron and Harry the whole summer, and when she realized that she wasn't even allowed to go with them instead of going to school, she was furious.
The Order, in which Harry, Ron, and Hermione joined at the end of fifth year, deemed Harry and Ron capable to go off in search of the Horcruxes, while Hermione was given the task of looking after the school, and reporting any mysterious behavior.
At the end of fifth year, the trio had been afraid that the final battle was going to happen within days, and having the resolve of stone; Hermione told Ron her feelings towards him. Ron had been shocked, and told Hermione, not so gently, that he didn't like her back, and that he and Lavender Brown had been a couple for a few weeks at the time. He ended up breaking up with Lavender a couple days before he and Harry left to find the Horcruxes, in fear of putting Lavender in serious danger.
Hermione didn't cry, but instead enrolled in dancing classes to channel her anger, enrolling in the same class as Draco Malfoy. He had grown from the scrawny, hair gelled back, malicious eleven years-old boy, to a muscular, tall, and silky haired, still malicious, seventeen year-old man.
The beginning of the class was hell for Hermione and Malfoy; bickering took up most of the practice time. Eventually, they learned to work together in a routine that didn't involve talking.
The two developed a code in which to know what the other one was thinking. A nod of the head from Malfoy meant to step back and let him quickly walk to her, and dip her. An upward jerk of the head from Hermione meant for Malfoy to let her dance into his arms. When either one looked to a specific direction, it meant that they would dance in that direction.
And thus, the story began.
"No, no, no, no, NO!" screamed Madame Rosette, Hermione and Draco's dance instructor. "You must have eye contact at all times, and Draco, when you are bringing Hermione down from the life, you must almost kiss her! I realize that it is an intimate act, and I realize that it may be uncomfortable, however there is supposed to be passion, and love in this dance! I expected more of you two. Please do one more lift, and this time do it right!" Madame Rosette finished with a huff. Hermione and Draco gulped and nodded in understanding.
Their eyes met and they got in the starting position. Hermione then started off in a run and Draco braced himself to pick her up into the air. As Hermione's waist came in contact with Draco's hands, Draco lifted Hermione up, and Hermione bent her leg and looked down into Draco's eyes. As their gazes locked, an electric shock went through the two, and Draco lost balance and he let Hermione drop backwards, falling onto her bum, Draco slipping and slamming his head onto the dance floor.
Madame Rosette sighed, and hung her head, disappointed. "Our time today is up, however if you two do not come back improved, I will refuse to put you into the recital. Now, I do not have another class today, so if you wish to use the room for the night, feel free. I will see you both on Thursday at 4 p.m. sharp, and if I see no improvement, you are both truly, a lost cause. Au revoir."
Hermione and Draco looked at each other as Madame Rosette left.
Deciding to break the tension, Draco spoke. "Look Granger, my father may have gotten the Dementor's Kiss, and my mother may have depression to deep to fix, but I do know that if I fail and show my mother that both the men in her life have failed, she will kill herself. So I'm not leaving this room until we get it right. And" as Draco spoke, he took out his previously hidden wand and muttered a locking spell on the room, "neither will you."
Hermione, partially in shock that Draco spoke such a moving and long dialogue, could only reply with an alright. "But first", she added, "I need to call my parents first. They'll be suspicious if I'm not home after practice." Draco nodded and Hermione walked to her bag in the corner of the room and snatched her cell phone from the pocket. She turned away from Draco, but he could make out a full sentence in which Hermione's voice raised a couple octaves. "Mom, I know that I told you he was a git before, but he's different… he's… changed, Mom." Hermione paused, listening to her mother. Finally, she spoke again. "Alright Mom. I'll see you when I see you. I don't know how long we'll be here, but I have my phone if you need me. Love you, bye."
Hermione put her phone into her backpack and walked over to Draco. "So Granger" Draco looked up, "what song?"
"Granger! I said STEP, not turn!" Draco glared and stalked off into his starting position. They had been working on the same dance routine for the past two hours, and Hermione kept missing a motion in one part of the routine. "Now. I want you to do your thing over to me, and STEP into the movements, not TURN!" Draco yelled.
Hermione just nodded, feeling stupid for doing the wrong movements, and waited for Draco's count.
"Alright. One, two, three, four, five and six" Draco chanted. "Walk to me, walk to me, take my hand, and STEP!" Draco chanted again while Hermione did the movements. Once again, instead of stepping, she turned into Draco.
Draco growled in frustration and yanked Hermione to his chest. "Granger! Why can't your brainy head understand the words, take my hand, and STEP! I've tried to be patient, but it's wearing thin, and we've been doing this for TWO HOURS! I can't BELIEVE that I've agreed to this lunacy!"
Hermione could only wince as Draco yelled into her ear. She wasn't the least bit frightened, however she was slightly annoyed that Draco had her so close to his body, and not letting her move from the position as she was struggling to get out of his grasp. "Let me go, Malfoy!" Hermione struggled to get out of his hold on her.
Draco bent down to her ear and whispered menacingly, "If you mess this up for me Granger, I can promise you that your life at school will be hell. So if I were you, I'd get the damn step right, and stop pretending that you don't understand, because I know that you do."
Hermione shivered, and Draco almost felt sympathetic; if it weren't for the two hours of frustration from her not getting the step correctly. Hermione was smart; she had the highest ranking grades at Hogwarts, meaning that she wasn't dumb enough to not understand what she was supposed to do. It really was quite simple; she just had to take Draco's hand, take a step towards him, and he'd lead the rest. Simple.
Still feeling slightly sympathetic, Draco asked, "Are you cold?" Hermione looked up, shocked that he seemed to care.
"A little", Hermione admitted. It had gotten cold the minute that they had stopped dancing. Draco released his hold on her, and walked over to the corner where he put his things. He opened his gym bag, and fished around for a moment before he pulled out a fleece jacket. He walked over to Hermione and threw the jacket to her, only giving a "here" as an explanation to his kind actions. Hermione looked at him curiously, wondering what in the world had happened to the Draco Malfoy that she knew.
Draco saw the look, and snapped out, "Well, I couldn't do this dance with you dead from the cold." Hermione nodded and shoved her arms through the sleeves and shrugged the oversized jacket on.
Draco then seemed to then mule over something else. "Granger." Hermione peered at him where she then sat on the floor. "What would you say to the idea of taking a break?" Draco couldn't understand why he loved that jacket on her so much. It wasn't like he was attracted to her; he just knew that they both needed to stop dancing for the moment, so that the tension could let loose a little.
Since his father's Dementor's Kiss, his mother had been reclusive and unresponsive. Every time Draco would ask his mother a question about his summer homework, she would reply with the answer and give him blank eyes that held no feeling. He couldn't take it for long, which was why he joined the dancing class. He wanted to put his aggravation into something, and the only thing that he didn't already know how to do, was to dance. He wanted to have the most attention, so he signed up for a private class. Luckily for him, he had a partner, (however annoying she may be, if it weren't for her, he wouldn't be able to have private lessons), and he was able to learn a variety of dances.
He originally wanted to learn the Tango, Ballroom, and Flamingo. When Madame Rosette introduced her own version of the Tango mixed with Ballroom (which she called 'Tanroom'), Draco and Hermione both jumped at the chance to learn it.
From the start, they had some chemistry with the dance. They both understood the basics, and they flew through the beginner's dances. It wasn't until they came to the advanced version that Hermione started to become nervous and less confident in her dancing. Draco couldn't comprehend why she was so uneasy with the dance. The dance was made to be a very sensual and intimate routine, so maybe that was why Hermione was so unsure of herself. There had been times when he had to mess up the dance in order to keep from shoving her against the wall and snogging her senseless. The sheer beauty of her body in movement would make any man insane.