Yay! Look who is back!
Okay, first off, I want to apologize for the lack of updates in the past two months, profusely. Second, I just got a new computer which means I should have no excuses for not updating, so you guys can hold me to that, and pester me with reviews. It makes me want to update, just saying.
Lastly, for the second part of this chapter, you guys, this song fits with only how Ginny is feeling, and thinking about Harry, nothing to do with the actual scene. In advance, the song kind of hurts.
The song is 'Everything is alright' by Laura Shigihara from the video game 'To the moon'.
Disclaimer- I do not own anything Harry Potter related nor do I own any lyrics I quote in each chapter.
Chapter Nineteen
Sugar
"I've gotten in over my head,
I can't think about anybody, but you
Sugar, I can't think about anybody but you…'
Sugar by Karmin
Still Monday October 14th, 1996
Noon- Just outside the Great Hall
The sound of glass breaking followed by a horse nickering caught Hermione's attention as a ghost crashed through a window magically, while she scanned the room for someone in particular. After what happened this morning, she wanted to avoid seeing him at all costs, and thankfully, so far he was nowhere to be seen.
With a shaky sigh to steady her head that was whirling with prickly memories, Hermione then started towards the Gryffindor table when her eyes met silver ones from across the Ravenclaw table. And in that moment, just his stare alone had an uncanny ability to steal the air from her lungs forcing her to take several unsure steps backwards.
Just thinking about how she had a moment of weakness when she indulged herself by – kissing- him, made her feel angry, at Malfoy for allowing her to kiss him, but mostly at herself for wanting him. Don't get her wrong, the kiss was everything she imagined. The mere thought of the memory made her lips burn, and Hermione knew that it was wrong to want anything from it was him let alone physical contact of the intimate kind.
'Merlin why did I have to go and do that…' she thought as she spun on her heels hugging her books closer and decided she would have to eat more at dinner later. Eating was last on her long list of things on her mind right now.
"'Mione," a familiar voice called out loudly, which was instantly identified as Harry, "Hey- excuse me. Do you mind, some of us are actually walking here?" Glancing once over her shoulder Hermione watched Harry trying to make his way past a cluster of fourth years who were giggling quietly from him talking to them.
Harry's voice grew somewhat louder thus signaling he was closing in to talk with her, but talking to her friends whilst pretending that nothing was the matter seemed almost as impossible as sitting across the room from- a right confusing prat whom wouldn't give her a moment's peace.
Huffing loudly she quickly climbed the stairs as fast as she could hoping that if she went fast enough she would get a few more seconds of time to herself. Not that time alone was helping stop her stop stray thoughts about stole kisses, but it was loads better than coming across fidgety in front of a friend.
"Her-mione!" stopping at the top of a set of stairs, she turned to see red. Red cheeks inflamed with anger, but what shocked her was the sprawled mess of red hair that topped it off. Blinking multiple times as Harry showed up just behind Ron, both of them looking towards her almost as if they were waiting for an explanation.
"Ron… Let's go back to the Great hall. "Harry said quietly as he reached out to touch the red-heads shoulder but it was shrugged from his grasp before he had it.
"No, if you're not going to ask her, then piss off Harry, but I am," Ron started; his voice had knots of anger tied into his words which only confused her more. "What the Bloody Hell was Malfoy doing?"
Hermione looked between her two friends, and it was evident that she was missing what linked Ronald's anger to Draco. Shaking her head lightly, she opened her mouth to say, but she hadn't a clue as to what he was on about. Then the blonde Slytherin himself walked out of the Great Hall with Theo Nott beside him and suddenly she had a bad feeling about what was about to happen. When her eyes looked at Draco, almost in slow motion Hermione watched Ron turn to look at him and the words slipped out.
"Ron, you leave him alone- don't even think about it Ronald Weasley!" she screeched sharply as Ron stormed right over to Draco and shoved him harshly into the stone wall. In a frantic fit, Ron then ripped his wand from his robes digging the tip of it into the underside of Draco's jaw.
"Get your filthy hands off me Weasel, now!" Draco growled loudly as Ron's other hand clamped upon Malfoys custom garb.
"You- If you ever even think 'bout touching 'Mione again, I promise you that I will hex you Malfoy…" Ron spat in his face and she placed her things down before making her way over to them. Grabbing Ron's arm, she yanked him backwards so that there was space between the two of them, and then her eyes met Draco's whom only stood within an arm's reach away from her fixing his cloak.
The intensity of his gaze made the hair on the nape of her neck stand while her throat tightened in anticipation as to what he would say in this moment. Surely he would take this time to brag about her feelings, about how she kissed him not only once but twice.
"Weasley," Draco paused before taking a small step towards forward, which was incidentally towards her too, making it hard to breathe from the intoxicating scent, "If you ever touchme, or threaten me again, I assure you that you won't know the definition of a hex let alone how to conjure the simplest one when I was through with you."
"Shove off M-Malfoy," Hermione stuttered at his name slightly in attempts to make no one see the difference between them, "I think the both of you have done enough damage for one day. So, if you don't mind, I have places to be."
The only place she had to be was the girl's lavatory where none of these stupid boys could follow and pester her until she spilled every last detail about what was going on. Snatching her things off the floor she yanked upon Ronald's sleeve once more in attempts to separate the houses as quickly as possible. As soon as they climbed the set of stairs towards the Gryffindor common room, Hermione let go of the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.
"Whatever you think you saw this morning, " Hermione hissed under her breath before glancing sideways at Ron, "Was not only none of your business, but nothing to get worked up over. I told you when I was partnered with Malfoy that I could handle him, which I have."
Stopping where she was she turned to face Harry and Ron whom both were looking away from her but also stopped. It was clear that they were irritated at the very least with her, and she could only hope what they say in potions made her out to look like she didn't like him touching her. Judging by their reactions though, it was probably untrue.
"Ron wasn't the only one who saw it 'Mione," Harry said softly rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly but then chuckled. "But judging by the way you shoved err, him- away. Well it was safe to say it looked as if you were going to hex him. So there is that."
Hermione noted that no one else laughed, well more specifically Ronald didn't. He stood there stiffly and angrily as if Malfoy was still standing next to them. Rolling her eyes, it infuriated her that either he was angry about who it was, or the fact that there were other guys interested in her. It wasn't like Lavender hanging all over him didn't bother her at all because it did, somewhat less than it used to, but that was beside the point.
"Are you going to say something," Hermione finally said to Ron whom continued to look anywhere but at her, "Well maybe explain what in Merlin's name the purpose of attacking Malfoy was? Or are you just going to silently follow me picking and choosing when you want to interfere in my life- without permission I might add."
Ron looked up at her for a second; there inside her, with the single look he gave her, she sensed a small pang of guilt that she shouldn't have to feel. Scoffing aloud, knowing full well that he wasn't going to talk to her about it, Hermione spun on her feet leaving the two of them to talk. Maybe Harry would have a bit of luck pulling some words out of him, because frankly she was too drained from what happened with Malfoy to even try.
"Short steps, deep breath
Everything is alright
Chin up, I can't
Step into the spotlight
She said, "I'm sad,"
Somehow without any words
I just stood there
Searching for an answer
When this world is no more
The moon is all we'll see
I'll ask you to fly away with me
Until the stars all fall down
They empty from the sky
But I don't mind
If you're with me, then everything's alright…"
Everything's Alright by Laura Shigihara
Still Monday October 14th, 1996
Three in the afternoon- Court Yard
The thing about rainy days, were not many liked to spend their time outside, which help Ginny avoid talking to anyone. Thankfully putting a smile on for her friends was part of the curse that Theo put on her, because without that part, there was no way she would smile otherwise. At least that was what she convinced herself.
Sighing as she watched the droplets of water collect upon the paved stone just a few feet from where she sat under the cover where she stayed dry. There were options with how she was going to deal with Theo, but they were limited and drastic.
Over the past three days, well since she got the Liquid luck from Hermione's trunk, Ginny had been trying to come up with ways to get out of this situation. First idea was that she could try to break the curse, which from research she did, told her she had to die or to kill the caster. Which led right into number two, kill Theo before he did something else like killed more innocent people. Lastly, she could find a way around the curse to tell some about it, which was easier, said than done.
The only thing keeping her sane these days was her dreams and the thought of talking with Harry about them. It was comforting, and even though they were through potions, they were the best thing she had at the moment.
Sighing noisily, Ginny fixed her mitts while exhaling heat into them in attempts to warm them up somewhat. A con to being outside where she could think alone, it was really cold out.
"Looking a bit peaky there, you alright?" the sudden intrusion of the persons voice competing with the rains volume made Ginny jump. Turning to her right she saw Blaise Zabini standing a few feet away with his hands in his pockets. It was rater surprising for him to ask a Gryffindor that let alone her.
"Sod off Zabini," she spoke only loud enough so that he could hear her just over the pattering rain, not looking back towards him for his reaction. "I don't know what you Slytherin's are up to but you all just need to leave me the Hell alone."
"You're sure in need of a kip, there's no need to get cross with me." He retorted with a small smile while Ginny stood and started shuffling her way back towards the castle. "Hang on there, what did you mean by that? How many Slytherin's are bothering you exactly?" Ginny then stopped walking for a second to look at him, wanting to see if she could figure out why he was asking this.
"I'm not sure if I can say, why?" she spoke to him in a more mild tone so that he had to take a few steps closer to her.
"I was wondering," he said pausing as some younger fifth year walked past the two of them in a hurry, "Well, about what you and Theo had been talking about the other day when you came out of the library. I know you were talking with him, what I can't figure out is what about because Theo doesn't do serious relationships, if that's what it was about."
"You know I was talking with- with him, so why don't you go and ask him? You two are friends, aren't you?" she asked crossing her arms as she looked back towards the rain that was lighting only a bit.
"That is true, but unfortunately I have a feeling he doesn't have you're best interests at heart in any way so I wanted to warn you and selfishly, I possibly wanted receive some honest answers for a change. Slytherin's tend to beat around the bush unless it helps them; at least the friends I've chosen do that." Blaise answered swiftly while Ginny listened intently.
Wondering if there would be some way he could ask questions that could help her and maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't have to live under Theo's curse much longer. It was worth a shot.
"I think that if you ask the right questions you might be able to help us both…" she said with a small glint of hope, praying that he wasn't as bad as most Slytherin's.
"My face above the water
My feet can't touch the ground
Touch the ground and it feels like
I can see the sands on the horizon every time
I'm slowly drifting away, drifting away
Wave after wave
And it feels like I'm drowning
Pulling against the stream…"
Waves by Mr Probz
Still Monday October 14th, 1996
Quarter until Midnight- Hallway just outside the room of requirement
A singular dim glow emitted from the tip of Draco's wand as he quickly made his way down the hall avoiding paintings and the last of patrols. Today was one hell of a day, and there were moments that he was still trying to understand himself.
After that Weasel basically attacked him, there were so many things he wanted to do in that moment to show- to remind everyone something they kept forgetting, but stopped only because of the look in her eyes. Running a hand through his hair with a huff, he pushed her away, and thought back to Weasley-, who obviously needed reminding that he was a Malfoy, and Malfoy's do not get manhandled nor do they get threatened by anyone below them.
'The gall- Weasley needs a little reminder where his place is at…' Draco thought, sneering to himself lightly as he reached for the door.
Then thoughts he tried to stop thinking about but couldn't as replayed in his mind, starting with what happened when he found Granger when she stormed out of potions class earlier. More specifically when she kissed him, and how in that moment the shock took over, it kicked in and wanted to taste every inch of her the he could get his mouth on. That memory haunted him every time he was near her and it was beginning to ruin his thought process which was unacceptable.
Once inside, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny bright green apple that he took out, and stopped in front of a tall cabinet. Yanking away the cloth covering it, he then opened the door slowly placing the apple inside, shutting it.
Draco couldn't decide how he felt that Granger kissed him, there was so much to factor into his situation, which he just now realized that in that moment had been kissing a mudblood, pure and simple. She was impure, she was a know-it-all, she was impractical for him in every way, and yet, he still found that it was the only kiss he ever had that made him feel, alive.
'More alive… If that isn't some cheap cliché from a poor sod, then I don't know what is… It's pathetic.' Draco scoffed as he started muttering the spell, wondering what exactly had been said to Weasley about his outburst from Granger. On one hand it was rather amusing that Granger of all people put up with the gingers anger problems let alone his stupidity, then again on the other hand it was almost sad how much she put up with.
Deciding he would never understand Granger's mind, he heard a sucking pop just before he continued to open the door to a now empty closet. Reaching in his pocket, he pulled out the coin that started to burn in his hand; he then closed the door once more and resumed muttering the spell under his breath. Accidentally breaking his concentration, the thought about Granger and how she told him that she didn't want him to stop. He recalled it initially that he was just to take the mickey out of her, but then, he realized it was because he too felt the pull between them.
When he wasn't with her or near her, he was thinking about her, and he was sure that no sane guy thought this much about one girl unless he felt something towards her. Kicking the wooden cupboard in front of him because of that thought, Draco cursed aloud in pain, still allowing the thought of the truth to sink in. He had basically admitted it to her in the library before when they were talking about their first kiss, but this time felt different for some reason.
Draco then whispered the spell aloud once more, followed by a similar popping sound while he yanked open the door to the newly appeared apple from before. Leaning forward, Draco took the apple in hand spinning it to see a bite mark, he thought about how, he Draco Malfoy, was physically attracted to Hermione Granger. And not just her looks, but also for her personality, for her insane intellectual knowledge on magic and because she was the book worm fuzzy haired know-it-all he'd been bullying for years now.
Swallowing the recently added tightness in his throat from that thought, he threw the apple as hard as he could at the wall across the room watching it burst. Bits and pieces fell to the ground while he wondered whether he was angrier about it or more shocked. He didn't want to kiss just anyone, he didn't just want a girl, he knew that he wanted Granger, and only Granger.
'This was her fault, kissing me, forcing us to work together as lab partners when I know for a fact that she has a way out of it. Whatever she is playing at, I will find out, and the only way to do that is to pester, pester her until she gives in…' With that thought Draco used his wand to cover the cabinet once more just as he left the room.