A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait, just been having a lot going on. Many thanks to:
Rhonda21: Fear not, you made lovely sense! Thanks for reviewing!
luv sean faris: Don't worry about it! I'm cool now! Thank you so so much! I was really trying to make the transition between good Draco and bad Draco at least partially soft, so I'm glad I accomplished that.
angelraine: Why thank you!
I know, he's mean! Actually, that's only part of the reason, as there are more adversaries coming up.
I read the fics you recommended and I really liked them, so thank you for bringing them to my attention! I think "Manic Star" was my favourite.
Mystic Dodo: Thanks, I'm glad you like it so much!
I read "Clubbing" and I thought it was amazing! Thanks so much for suggesting it!
dan-lovr: Thanks very much for your opinions and praise! I hope you continue to think so highly of the story!
shirleybobo: I'm happy you like it! A favorite favorite, huh? I'm so honored!
Thanks for suggesting stories! I haven't had time to read them yet but I'm going to as soon as I finish updating this story. I'm open to slash and pretty much anything else, as long as it's well written. I like to have an open mind about this kind of stuff.
Slytherin-Ice-Queen22: Thanks!
LovelyMaidToTheMasterInBlack: No problem! Thanks for reviewing anyway and I'm really pleased you enjoyed it so much!
scrivania: Thanks very much! I'm quite happy to hear that!
stunt101: Thanks! But what's with the caps lock? Lol, just curious.
allie00: Yes, unfortunately, she did. But he covered her up quickly! What a gentleman! But yeah, that is pretty embarrassing. Okay, it's really embarrassing but it didn't happen to either of us, so it's all good! No, he's not dead, he was just unconscious.
paris97: Thank you very much!
HeLl HaVe No FuRy LiKe A wOmAn: I'm glad you like it! You actually screamed at your screen in school? That's hilarious! Bravo! You're pretty like cool and calm about it, though, which is awesome!
CptnJack's BountyHunterGal Thanks for reviewing! Yes, Draco definitely is hot!
mugglegirl07: Lol, that's pretty cool! I'm really glad you liked it and noticed the things I was trying to do well, so thank you! Thanks for recommending the stories! I've had no time to read them yet but I'm going to either tonight or tomorrow, I promise!
PandylBas: Okay then!
fudgesuks: Glad you think so! Thanks for reviewing!
White-Pink-Fluffy-Strawberriez: Quite the rant you've got there! Thanks for reviewing!
Chapter 7!
Chapter 7: Attack
Weeks passed at a painstakingly slow pace. I hadn't spoken to Draco since the incident with Jason and I missed him. As much as I hated to admit it, I did. He was a permanent installment in my mind now, always there, his voice echoing, his face making a shadow of appearance wherever I went. I didn't know what I felt about him. There was a definite attraction, I couldn't even attempt to deny that, but there was something stronger. A fascination I couldn't place or explain. It grew every time I saw him and I began to slowly lose interest in other things: friends, family, even schoolwork. I only owled my parents every few weeks now, I often turned down offers to do things with Harry and Ron and my school marks had begun to sink ever so slightly.
"Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall pulled me to the side one day. "Is everything alright? You seem very distracted lately and your marks are starting to drop."
"Oh, I'm fine, professor," I replied, surprised. I didn't know that anyone else noticed my change in behavior. "I've just got a lot on my mind right now. It's fine, though, really."
"You're sure?" She asked worriedly and I nodded. "Alright then. You know you can come to me if you need to talk to someone." I nodded again and watched as she walked away.
Since then, I had tried to be more careful, but it was difficult. My mind constantly wandered, pondered the complicated being that was Draco Malfoy. I had only seen him a few times over the past couple of weeks, and it had only been very briefly in class or in the halls.
I walked slowly to my first class of the morning. The halls were empty as everyone was still at breakfast. I wasn't hungry again today so I just skipped it. As I walked, I started hearing footsteps behind me. I glanced behind me but couldn't see anyone. I sped up and so did the footsteps. I looked back again. No one. I broke in to a jog but the footsteps kept up. I started full out running but I couldn't outrun the person behind me. Suddenly, something blunt and solid was slammed over my head. My eyes rolled back in to my skull and everything went black.
I awoke with a dull throbbing in the back of my head. I looked around groggily and found myself in one of the beds in the hospital wing. Everything was dark and the few other residents there were fast asleep. Something shifted beside me and I let out a small shriek of terror and surprise. The thing instantly jerked up and in the soft moonlight, I saw Draco Malfoy's face.
"Draco?" I asked incredulously.
"What?" He murmured, rubbing his eyes sleepily.
"What are you doing here?" I questioned.
"I found you passed out on the floor and brought you here," said Draco, shrugging. "I decided to stay until you woke up."
"How long ago was that?"
"Three days."
"Three days?" I cried and his warm palm was immediately covering my mouth.
"Quiet," he hissed. "You'll wake everyone. And yes, three days. The concussion knocked you out."
"Concussion," I murmured against his hand and he removed it from me. "Draco, what happened to me?"
"No one knows, Granger," he said, exasperated. The use of my last name stung a little but I pushed it aside. "Madam Pomfrey thinks you've been attacked. The rumors have spread over school like wildfire. It's all people talk about."
I rubbed my forehead, taking it all in.
"Have you been here all three days?" I asked him. I couldn't get in to his eyes. They were blocked and I couldn't understand why.
"I left only to go to class," he said. He knew I was searching for answers but he wouldn't give me any.
"Why?" I asked. He shrugged. "Come on, Draco. There's got to be a reason."
"I don't know the reason myself," he said eventually, looking away from me.
"I don't get you, Draco," I said, shaking my head. There was a tinge of sadness in my tone.
"Go back to sleep," he said, still looking away.
"No!" I cried and his head snapped back to look at me. "What do you even feel for me?"
"Nothing," he said stonily.
"You're lying," I argued. "Of course you feel something. Why else would you have stayed here for three days?"
"Drop it, Granger," he said warningly.
"I won't," I resisted. "You're screwing me around, Draco, and it needs to stop. Sometimes I feel like you're my worst enemy, other times like my best friend, sometimes like you're more than that…" I clamped my mouth shut after I let that slip.
"It's better not to get involved with me, Granger," he said wearily, as if he had had this conversation a hundred times before.
"It's too late for that now," I muttered, leaning back against my pillows. There was a long silence. "Maybe you should just leave."
"You don't want me to," he smirked.
"That is what I'm talking about!" I cried out. "It's when you say things like that! It confuses me because the next minute you might be ripping my bloody head off."
He said nothing but laid his head down on my lap. He stroked my side gently underneath my shirt. I put my head back, closed my eyes, and wound my fingers in to his silky hair.
"You can't keep up with someone like me, Granger," he said softly. "No one can."
"Maybe you're right," I said, defeated. "Maybe I should stop trying."
He sighed heavily. The silence that followed seemed to last an eternity.
"What is this, Draco?" I asked.
"I don't know, Granger," he said, his voice muffled from the blanket.
"I mean, I'm definitely attracted to you," I said, half to him and half to myself. "But there's something else. You're so different from everyone else. I have this fascination with you and I think it's caused by your past because I think that what you've been through is sort of like what I've been through and because of that, I feel like I'm starting to really know you and-"
"Granger," his smooth voice interrupted me. "You're babbling."
"Sorry," I said sheepishly. "But I think I got my point across and I know you feel the same way."
"Oh really?" He said, propping his head up on his hand and giving me an amused look. "And what makes you so sure?"
"I don't know," I said. "I can just feel it."
When he said nothing, I had my answer.
"Draco," I said tentatively. "Why can't we at least try?"
"Because Granger!" He cried, annoyed. "You know as well as I do that there are too many differences, too many things between us!"
"So what?" I countered. "That doesn't mean anything. People deal with obstacles in relationships all the time."
"These are not regular obstacles," said Draco. "This is a matter of you and I keeping our lives. Do you even comprehend how dangerous it would be for us to be together?"
I was silent because, truth be told, I didn't understand. In reality, I barely knew him at all.
"Of course you don't," he said softly. "Because we're nothing alike. Why can't you see that?"
"That doesn't matter, Draco," I snapped. "It doesn't matter how different people are, what matters is how they feel about each other."
"I don't even know how I feel about you," said Draco. The next part he said so softly, I could barely understand him. "Malfoys don't have feelings."
At long last, I shut up.
He left about five minutes later. The weird friendship slash relationship we had had been damaged and I didn't know how to fix it. Neither did he. It was all so confusing. I didn't even really know exactly what I felt for him, I just knew that I wanted to understand and know him. I wanted to be with him and I didn't know why.
His last words stuck with me for the rest of the night. Malfoys don't have feelings. It was comments like that that made me want to know him, understand why Malfoys don't have feelings. And I wanted to show him that he could have emotions and how to show and express them. But how could I of all people do that? I was messed up enough as it was, why would I be able to help the dragon? It wasn't logical, unlike everything else in my life, but I felt like I could do it. I felt that we could be perfect for each other.
I shook my head and peered out the window and the night disappearing and the sun rising. A relationship with a Malfoy… it was nothing really. It was an idea, a wish, a longing that vanished in to the air like the night being pushed away by the reality that was the sun. Nothing more than a wisp of a dream.
A/N: There you have it! I hope people don't think that this is moving too fast, but remember that sometimes in the story, there are weeks that pass in between chapters when things do happen but aren't important enough to mention. Anyways, please review and tell me what you think!