Chapter Six

Hermione awoke groggy and disoriented. She licked her lips, and immediately recognized the lingering sweet taste on her tongue. She'd been fed a sleeping potion. Curse that Draco Malfoy! He had drugged her! In a sudden panic, she wondered if he'd done something else to her while she'd been unconscious, and she flew into a sitting position. The blanket that pooled around her waist put that fear to rest, however.

She supposed Draco had meant well, but he had caused her to miss class! Judging by the angle of the sunlight streaming in through the window, it was late afternoon. Hermione growled in frustration. She had missed all of her lessons. That was just great! Stupid Draco Malfoy had no idea what he'd done. Not only was she going to have to work twice as hard to get her homework done, but she also had tarnished her reputation of never missing a class. She suddenly hated him for forcing her to sleep.

In a fit of rage, she decided that she didn't just want to humiliate Draco at the Easter ball in nine more days. She was going to put him through hell by being as horrendously annoying as possible. If he was brave enough to stick it out that long, then she'd be perfectly ready to dump him on his sorry arse.

When the door to the common room opened, Hermione's head swiveled to meet Draco's gaze. He smiled at her warmly and held out a small bouquet of daisies.

"Feeling better?" he asked softly.

Hermione bit back the angry retort on her tongue and nodded. "Much better, thank you."

"Good. Are you doing anything right now?"

She bit her bottom lip. "I should be doing homework. Why?"

Draco shrugged. "I was wondering if you wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me for dinner."

"Oh." She was about to agree when she was hit with a moment of inspiration. "What if we were to go to London instead? We could just Apparate there."

"Wouldn't we get in trouble for leaving the grounds? Besides, we have classes tomorrow, " he said.

Hermione shook her head. "We'll be fine so long as we get permission from McGonagall first."

He cocked an eyebrow. "And she'd let us go? Just like that?"

"There are plenty of prefects to cover for us while we're gone. We'll be gone for a few hours, not a few days." She chuckled at her little joke.

Draco frowned. "What exactly did you want to do in London?"

She smirked. "I was hoping you'd be amenable to experiencing a bit of my culture for a change."

His eyes nearly popped out of his head and his face went even paler than usual. "Oh, I—well . . ."

"Don't be a chicken," Hermione goaded. "The Muggles won't kill you. Probably."

He gulped visibly. "I—I guess I could go try something."

Hermione took a little pity on him. "I think I'd just like to go to the cinema. It'll be great fun."

"What's a cinema?" he asked warily.

"It's kind of hard to explain," she hedged. "It's like reading a book, but you watch it on a really big screen."

Draco raised his eyebrow again. "I guess I'll just have to see what you're talking about."

She nodded. "Do you want to grab something for us to eat while I go ask McGonagall for permission to leave?"

"Sure. Meet you in the entrance hall."

The two left their common room together, and Hermione was mildly surprised that Draco didn't attempt to hold her hand. They parted ways at the staircase; Hermione went up toward the headmistress's office and Draco went down to the Great Hall. She plotted ways to embarrass her "boyfriend" as she climbed the stairs. Taking him into Muggle London was a great start because he would be so far out of his element. But it wasn't enough. Her musings came to an end when she reached McGonagall's office. Time to put her plan into action.

She knocked lightly on the door and entered upon receiving McGonagall's permission.

"Miss Granger, what can I do for you this evening?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Okay, so this requires a little bit of background information," Hermione started. "I don't know if you're aware, but Draco Malfoy and I are sort of dating now." She grimaced at the headmistress.

McGonagall smiled. "Oh, I've heard. I'm certain everyone from here to America has heard, my dear."

Hermione blushed. "Well then. So, er, Draco and I were talking, and I really want to introduce him to some of my culture. So I was wondering if we could have permission to leave campus for a few hours so I can take him to the cinema?"

McGonagall pursed her lips. "Well, I suppose no harm can come from it," she mused. "Don't stay out past castle curfew, though. Wouldn't want to give younger students the wrong impression."

Hermione nodded. "Absolutely. We'll be back long before then, I promise."

"All right, then. I hope you two have fun."

With that, Hermione spun around and sprinted back down to the entrance hall. Draco was waiting right where he said he'd be, with his book bag slung over one shoulder. He smiled warmly at her as she approached, and she quickly tamped down the butterflies that attempted a riot in her stomach. It simply would not do to fall for the ferret. Not at all.

"You ready?" Draco asked.

She nodded. "Are you?"

He swallowed. "Y-yeah. Sure."

"Let's do this, then."

The two walked across the grounds of the school and out to Hogsmeade Station, where there was a public Apparition point. Hermione gingerly took Draco's hand in hers, then turned on her heel and Apparated them to a small cinema in a relatively unpopulated neighborhood in London. Draco stared up at the flashing lights on the marquee and examined the titles of the shows currently playing.

"What is Psycho?" he asked incredulously.

Hermione laughed. "A horror film. My dad tried to get me to see it over Christmas holiday. It's about a serial killer or something. If you like that sort of thing."

Draco shuddered. "No thanks. I've had enough of serial killers to last me a lifetime, especially since one lived in my house for nearly a year."

"I get it, believe me," she agreed. "So what about this one called Message in a Bottle? My mum wrote me about it; it's a love story, supposed to be really romantic."

"Er, if that's what you want to see, sure." He shrugged, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"The other movie isn't playing for a few hours yet," Hermione noted. "So it's either Psycho or Message in a Bottle."

"Looks like we're going to see a romantic . . . film, was it?"

She nodded. "Shall we?"

Draco extended his arm for her to take. "We shall."

They walked inside and Hermione purchased two tickets. They bypassed the snack stand, as Draco still had his book bag full of food from the Great Hall, and found perfect seats in the theater, just where Hermione liked: dead center. They were alone but for a rather burly man in the row behind them and an elderly woman close to the front.

As the film started, Hermione found herself the tiniest bit reluctant to follow through with her plan for the evening. Draco handed her a small flask filled with pumpkin juice, and she sipped on it contemplatively. She was at war with herself. He had surprised her quite a bit since they'd left Hogwarts—hell, he'd surprised her by agreeing to leave at all! Still, she forced herself to remember his douchebaggery in order to retain her steely resolve. Hermione Granger was many things, but a quitter was not one of them.

She let the first twenty or so minutes go by in silence, but then leaned in to not-so-quietly whisper in Draco's ear, "Aww, this is so romantic, don't you think?"

He nodded, his gaze practically glued to the screen. "Shhh."

"I just love romantic films," she continued. "I've never been to see one with an actual boyfriend before."

The man in the row behind them cleared his throat. "Quiet. I'm trying to watch the film."

Hermione rolled her eyes and leaned her head on Draco's shoulder. She trailed a finger along his collarbone wistfully. "What are you thinking about, Draco?" she asked.

"Nothing. I'm just watching the film," he whispered back.

"Oh, come on. What are you thinking?" she persisted in a slightly whiny tone.

"SHH!" the man behind them spat out. "I like this movie."

Hermione spared the man a withering glance and returned her attention to Draco. "Am I really supposed to believe your mind is a complete blank right now?" She folded her arms. "Who is she?"

"Who's who?" Draco asked in bewilderment, finally tearing his attention away from the film.

"The girl you're thinking about!" Hermione demanded, snickering internally.

"I can't hear," the man behind them growled.

"I'm not thinking about a girl," Draco murmured, looking at her with wide eyes.

She stuck out her bottom lip. "You can't watch a romantic film like this, with a gorgeous woman like that" —She waved her hand dramatically at the screen— "in front of you and not be thinking about another girl!"

"Shh!" came the demand from behind.

"You want to know what I'm thinking about?" Draco muttered.

She nodded and leaned in closer to him.

"Now I can't hear, and I can't see!" the man behind them practically shouted.

A sudden idea popped into Hermione's head, though it was potentially dangerous. She spun around in her seat to face the man behind her. "If you don't shut up, my boyfriend is going to come back there and pummel your arse."

Draco's eyes popped wide and his face whitened.

The man simply sneered at Draco and said, "Next time you bring the girl out in public, do the world a favor and tape her mouth shut."

"What?!" Draco exclaimed. "You can't talk about her like that."

The man's glare darkened. "You, outside. Now."

Without hesitation, Draco stood up and left the theater. The look on his face had been nothing short of murderous. Hermione gulped. Perhaps her plan had backfired. She grabbed Draco's bag and dashed out of the theater behind the two men, suddenly feeling very anxious.

". . . talk to me like that, fine. But don't speak to a lady like that. It's completely inappropriate in a public place," Draco was saying.

The other man clenched his fists.

"Draco, wait," Hermione stuttered out as she approached. "I-I didn't mean it, don't fight, please."

He lifted a hand in reassurance and said, "I'm not looking for a fight, honestly. Sir, just apologize to her and—"

He was abruptly cut off when the other man slugged him in the face. He crumpled to the ground.

The man shook out his hand. "Now I'm going back in to enjoy Message in a Bottle!" And he stormed back into the theater without a backward glance.

"Oh Merlin! Draco!" Hermione dashed over to where he had fallen on the floor and dropped to her knees beside him. "Oh Godric, are you okay? I'm so sorry, this is all my fault."

He raised a hand to his jaw and winced at the bruise already forming there. He wiped a small trickle of blood from the corner of his lip. "Well, that didn't go as planned," he deadpanned.

Hermione burst out laughing. "No, not really. I'm so sorry." She helped him into a sitting position and carefully examined his jaw.

Draco slumped against her and rested his head on her stomach. "That actually hurt quite a bit."

"Do you want some ice?"

He wrapped his arms around her waist and raised his head a bit. "No, I think it's starting to feel a bit better actually."

"Really?" she asked worriedly.

Draco smirked and raised his head to rest against Hermione's breasts. "Much better," he mumbled as he rubbed his head back and forth.

"Draco!" Hermione said, scandalized.

He laughed. "Aw, come on."

She lightly slapped his arm and pushed him off of her. "Come on, let's go."

He reached up as if to ask for her to help him to his feet. She took his hand and heaved, all the while rolling her eyes in amused exasperation. Once he had regained his footing, he placed a hand over his jaw. Hermione's eyes widened when she saw the ripple of wandless magic that healed his injury. He smirked at her again.

"Surprised?" he asked in a low, silky voice.

Hermione gulped. "Er, no?"

He chuckled and pulled her hand until she was flush up against him. Her eyes grew wide, and her heart started pounding. This was definitely not going according to plan. But as Draco's lips descended upon hers, she had to acknowledge that when Draco Malfoy was involved, her plans never played out how she intended.