Once Upon a Time During SEX:
"I won't do it... Just leave her be and let her be happy," Aly suggested, shaking her head as she rose from the couch. Ron was up in a moment, walking after her, chiming his apologies. Harry waited until they had breached the portrait threshold and the door had closed behind them before he relaxed into the sofa.
"Huh," he said, sounding in the aftershock of surprise. "I hadn't expected that." Ginny turned her eyes, still hard in their glare, on to his pensive face. In one fluent motion, she reached out and ripped the plaster from his forehead, causing Harry to call out in both surprise and pain. Ginny stood, throwing the little plastic bandage on the ground below him.
"She's right, Harry," she told him sternly before making the trip around the couch and disappearing up the girls' staircase. Harry rubbed his head gently, picking the sticker from the carpet with a sigh.
"Hadn't expected that either."
-----------------------------------
Chapter Seven:
Hermione shifted her shoulder bag, which was laden heavily with her students' essays, and sighed as her shoes clicked on the cobblestone hallway. It, in truth, was one of her favorite corridors; overlooking the courtyard with large glass-less windows that gave the castle a feeling of fantasy, as if it were more than simply a commonplace school.
She felt a slight tugging in her chest and slowed to a stop, letting her burden of a bag rest on the floor. Hermione sat on a window ledge and dangled a leg over the side as she watched the students that scurried about the large square of grass encased within four Hogwarts' walls. She remembered a courtyard similar at her primary school, decorated with student murals along the outer walls and littered with kick balls and jump ropes.
She felt a familiar pang in her chest, and Hermione sighed. It had happened in each of her six previous years at the academy, and she did not expect less of her seventh. She missed ignorance, muggledom, and, above all, fantasy. As a child, Hermione had dreamed of unicorns and magic and old, long bearded sorcerers. She could spend hours locked in books of science fiction and fantasy, imagining herself as one of the lucky protagonists, swept into a life of mysticism and wonder.
When her letter had arrived and her dreams had come true, Hermione was ecstatic. She pinched herself periodically throughout each of her days, hoping and praying that it all wasn't a crazy dream. Her first trip to Diagon Ally had been enough to completely enthrall her in the magical world and she made a solemn vow to learn everything about it that there was to know.
After the magical world had rejected her in her very first year, claiming her bookish and obsessive; a 'nightmare' in the words of Ronald Weasley, Hermione had gradually lost faith. She felt misplaced, as if she didn't belong, and her childhood dreams of magic and the world of fantasy were tainted with reality. For some time, Hermione continued to pinch herself; hoping that just once she might wake up, feel momentarily curious of her dream, and shuffle off to a day filled with algebra and grammar exercises.
Harry and Ron had warmed up to her after they had exchanged the favor of saving life and she had become less miserable, but even with her popularity and success, Hermione couldn't help but feel disappointed. She lived her fantasies in her everyday life and they became mundane and trite. If she wanted to see a unicorn, she needed only to ask her friend the giant to open the pen buried in the forest; to see a great feat of magic, only to wave her wand or open a text. After six years it had become, truthfully, boring and unsatisfying. As per each half semester, nearly like clockwork, Hermione sat on the ledge and imagined the simple pleasures of riding down slides and swinging from tree-bound tires, fishing in puddles and testing candies for the taste and not the transformation. She felt homesick for her muggle life, and wallowed for a moment in self-pity.
"Hermione!" called a voice from down the hall and Aly turned from where she was making her way down a hallway, allowing her mary janes to click on the cobblestones just as Hermione's had and skidding to a halt in front of her esteemed friend. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but caught herself and frowned, looking curious. "Are you all right? You look sad." Hermione smiled and turned briefly to look into the courtyard.
"Don't mind me. Did you need something?" she answered diplomatically, looking somewhat wistful. Aly looked suspicious, but decided against further questioning. She sighed, shoulders slouching slightly.
"Look, about Harry and Ron..." Aly began, fidgeting nervously, and Hermione calmed her with a grateful smile.
"Don't worry about us, Aly. I'll wait a few days and apologize, like I always do, and we'll make up once again. It's nothing to agonize about; I know how to deal with them..."
"No! You can't do that!" Aly suddenly called, and Hermione was taken aback by her uncharacteristic outburst.
"What?"
"You can't, Hermione," she repeated, this time more calmly. "That's what I've come to tell you. You can't apologize."
"Why? Aly, what's going on?"
"Because it's their fault; you didn't do anything. Apologizing would be giving them what they want!" she said, throwing her hands up in her fit of emotion.
"Well... I don't want them angry with me, do I? What's the harm in letting them win?"
"It's principle. Surely you believe in principle!" Aly said, smiling at her humor. "You're Hermione 'Principle' Granger."
"Well, of course I do, in certain circumstances. Being angry for principle in this situation is a bit extreme, don't you think? They're just being Harry and Ron; accusatory, stubborn, and begrudging. They've always been that way, I don't rightly expect them to change," Hermione explained and Aly sighed.
"I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but I think there's something you should know," she admitted, taking a seat beside the Head Girl. Hermione looked understandably curious. "Harry and Ron did this on purpose."
"What?" Hermione asked, though she felt very much like a broken record.
"They're threatened by your blooming friendship with Draco Malfoy," she admitted, looking ashamed to be doing so. "They think you'll become friends with him and completely forget about them, so they've devised a scheme to make you feel guilty and miss them. They want you to come running back. I've already told them just what I think of their plan, but Merlin be Malfoy if they listen to me."
"Hey," Hermione warned, though she couldn't place exactly why she felt such a pull to protect Draco's namesake. In retrospect, she thought perhaps that Harry and Ron's distrust in her jump started a phase of rebelliousness. Aly smiled guiltily and blushed.
"Sorry. Bit too much time with Ron, I guess," she admitted, rolling her eyes, and Hermione laughed lightheartedly at the thought.
"Yes? And how are the two of you getting on?"
"We're officially dating as of last night at about eight thirty," Aly answered sheepishly. "He came to my common room to get me and asked, and I said yes, and then we... we went to Gryffindor Tower because he and Harry wanted to talk to Ginny and myself." She sighed and frowned. "That's when they told us about their plan. We already knew they were trying to pay extra attention to you, but the falling out wasn't mentioned until that meeting. I left in a huff and refused to talk to Ron. He didn't bother to come see me this morning, like he usually does."
"Don't-" Hermione started, then paused, straightening from her slouch. Aly lifted an eyebrow.
"What?" she asked, but Hermione shook her head.
"I thought I heard something. Anyway, don't be too hard on Ron," she said. "He means well." Aly waved her concern away.
"Oh, I know that," she said. "I'm not angry anymore." She smiled slightly. "I actually sort of miss him... just a bit. He didn't walk with me to breakfast. He always does that." Hermione smirked.
"Ron might not have a lot of experience with women, but he's lived with Ginny for all of his reflectible life. He knows better than to cross us when we're angry. He's giving you some space, bask in it. He'll be on his knees by supper."
"That'll be interesting," Aly said, laughing softly. "I'm not about to go crawling back to him, I-" She paused suddenly, creases forming in her forehead as her ears perked. Hermione nodded, looking equally as confused.
"I heard it too," she said, and they sat in silence, waiting for another note of the mysterious sound. After a moment, Hermione opened her mouth to comment, but was interrupted as a large pebble bounced off her nose and dropped onto the floor. "Hey!" she exclaimed, clamping both hands over the raw canker forming on her neb.
"Sorry!" called a low voice from the courtyard, and Hermione leaned over the railing to identify its source.
"Malfoy?"
Two stories below her, Draco was standing beside Clint Zimmerman, who happened to possess an armful of small stones that she assumed would serve as ammunition. Clint turned to his blond friend with a jeering smirk and Draco sent him a sideways glare. In retaliation, the darker boy dropped his stock of ammunition and shrugged his shoulders, turning to look up at the hovering Head Girl.
"Granger! Malfoy wants you!" he called and Draco aimed an elbow precisely between his ribs. Clint gave a howl of pain and laughed, clutching his side. "To come down, to come down! I would've said it!" Hermione smirked down at the two of them as Draco glared down his injured friend.
"All right. Going to catch me, Draco?" she teased and received a look of surprised from Aly, who hadn't anticipated her to flirt with the boys. Hermione immediately realized what she was doing and her face fell from a playful smirk to a look of confusion. She bit her lip, searching her brain for something to say to Aly, to herself which would account for her actions. Aly, however, read her loud and clear, and turned to lean over the railing as well.
"Better yet, why don't the two of you come up? Tailor to a lady, won't you?" she called, laughing foolishly to herself, and Hermione gave her a little push in mock indignation. Draco and Clint shared a look, then a shrug before producing their wands and casting simple levitation charms upon one another. Aly and Hermione distanced themselves from the railing in anticipation of their arrival, giggling like the school-girls they were, and the boys landed beautifully on the stone. Clint, being the evidently smarter of the two, lifted a leg to seat himself safely on the railing, but Draco locked his shoes into place between the banisters and remained exposed to the courtyard. Hermione crossed her arms and took a step toward him.
"Malfoy, come over the railing," she demanded, cocking her hips and waiting impatiently. Draco shared a look with his friend, who had sat back to watch the show, and smirked evilly at his academic equal.
"Why should I?" he asked innocently and Hermione looked surprised at his blatant disregard for her order.
"Because I told you to, that's why," she seethed, eyes slightly narrowed. Draco rested his chin upon a closed fist.
"What are you going to do if I don't? Take house points?" he teased and Hermione kept up her facade of anger, taking a threatening step closer.
"I'll push you," she warned and Draco lifted an eyebrow.
"Would you, now?"
"Don't test me, Malfoy. I've no problem holding Sunday's class in the hospital wing," she said and Draco smirked, straightening up.
"Well, Granger..." he started, playfully swinging his body outward while grasping the handrail with whitened knuckles. Hermione inadvertently gasped, locking both hands around one of his wrists before she could consider what she was doing.
"Draco," she breathed, countenance of anger dissipated. All four occupants of the hallway looked surprised.
"Ah, worried about me, are you?" Draco prodded, unable to let such an uncharacteristic and mortifying action slip unnoticed. Hermione, frowning in defeat, lifted a hand to rest against his chest while the other slipped from his wrist. She moved very close, nodding her head at his accusation, and rested her cheek against his shoulder. Draco, though surprised at her acceptance of his mockery, said nothing to dissuade her. "All right, Granger, I'll come over," he said and made to lift his leg. Unexpectedly, Hermione gave a great and unexpected push, sending Draco flailing over the side of the balcony and making disgruntled sounds of fear as he neared the ground. Having anticipated her own actions, Hermione held her wand ready and stopped him a decimeter from the ground, only yards from a bunch of fifth years who were watching the scene with intense interest. Draco allowed himself to breath once he had stopped, pale against the grassy knoll below him. Hermione waited a few seconds, then appeared over the railing, holding in her hand the same pebble that had jostled her nose.
"Asshole!" she called down to him before throwing the rock with incredible force. It connected with Draco a few centimeters northeast of his navel and he fell the short distance to the ground in effect of the force. Hermione let out a 'humph' of satisfaction and lifted her bag over her shoulder. "Come on, Aly. We've got a t-fig test in twenty minutes; let's go study."
"Yeah," Aly said, unable to stop smiling as result of what she had witnessed. "Sure, Hermione. Bye... Slytherin boy," she said, waving to Clint, who acknowledged her casually and tipped his head in her direction. After the girls had disappeared down the hallway, Clint leaned slightly over the railing. Draco was still laying spread eagle on the ground, admiring the rock which had bruised his abdomen.
"That went well, don't you think?" Clint called down to his friend and Draco replied by exposing one well placed finger directly between his pinky and thumb.
-x- -x- -x-
Hermione sat cross legged on the couch, poking at a box of chocolates while licking droplets of the previously melted brown confection from her fingertips.
"Ah, here, love," she said, finally uncovering a pineapple cream and offering it to her messenger. He took her furnished morsel appreciatively, wrapping a little pink tongue around the tip of her finger as he polished it off. Hermione giggled childishly and placed a kiss on his forehead. "Off you go, now," she said, waving her hand to shoo him away. He hopped off the couch and bounced three times on the floor before taking flight and exiting through the open window. Hermione smiled after him and turned back to her chocolates. "The school owls are so amiable," she muttered to herself while tasting a brilliantly savory dark chocolate/coconut interfusion.
Draco Malfoy burst through the common room door in a huff, and Hermione pretended that his presence meant absolutely nothing to her and spared not a moment of her time to glance up at him. Draco seemed to do the same, lodging fingers in his already tousled hair as he paced back and forth through the common room and mumbled incoherently to himself. Though she was still occupied with her chocolates, Hermione spied him from the corner of her eye; annoyed at his incessant moaning and groaning as if in pain. Finally fed up, she dramatically rolled her eyes and folded her arm over the back of the couch to act as a resting place for her chin as she watched him.
"Problem, Malfoy?" she asked and Draco started quite violently, ripping his hands from his hair with such carelessness that his ditch-water locks stuck straight up with their misused gel base. Hermione buried her face into her arm to stifle a giggle.
"Granger," he said, sounding very much surprised to see her, and Hermione gave an innocent wave. Draco stared for a moment, breathing rhythmic and labored, before he straightened and prodded the air between them with a rigid index finger. "You," he said accusingly, and Hermione batted her eyelashes.
"Me?" she mocked and he sprang into action by coming around the couch and taking a seat beside her while nearly squashing her tray of chocolates in the process.
"You can help me. You have to help me. Please, Granger," Draco rambled and Hermione shut him up by stuffing an English toffee into his mouth.
"All right, Malfoy, we'll get through this," she teased, smirking insanely. "Just breathe for a bit... that's right." Hermione waited patiently as he finished his toffee. "Good," she said as he swallowed. "Now, what seems to be the problem?"
"I have a t-fig midterm on Monday; first module. I'm doomed, Granger. I spent all night in the library; there's no way in Hitler's Hell that I can even pass much less get a satisfactory grade. I hate McGonagall. She signed me up to spite me, I know she did..." Draco spilled, hiding his face with his hands, and successfully missing the incredible smirk which appeared on Hermione's face.
"No you don't," she said simply, and Draco's attention was placed solely on her. He lifted his head and stared with a narrowed gaze.
"What do you mean 'no I don't'? Yes I do! She told us today in class; you've got NEWT Transfiguration. Don't you have a midterm?"
"Well, yes, of course I do. But you, my esteemed colleague, do not. You missed breakfast this fine Saturday morning and likewise missed mail call. Evidently, this came for you. Thank Clint; he passed it along," she said, lifting her box of chocolates and handing him a selected letter from the pile of mail which lay hidden below. Draco took the note warily and eyed her suspiciously as he broke the seal.
Dear Mr. Malfoy,
It has been brought to my attention that you have been given an increase in workload from Professor Dumbledore in response to the newly acquired information regarding students and their ideals in the department of sexual education. It is for this reason that I am giving you my consent to drop NEWT level Transfiguration from your resume. It is not required of you to do so, but your frequent attempts to receive my permission in the past caution me not to anticipate your presence in my class on Monday. Do enjoy your weekend, and thank Miss Granger for bringing this to my attention.
Sincerely,
Professor M. McGonagall
"You," Draco mumbled, looking up with admiring eyes, and Hermione giggled.
"I believe we've already established that, Draco."
"Granger, go brush your teeth, because I want to kiss you!" Draco exclaimed quite boorishly and, though Hermione knew he was jesting, she self-consciously ran her tongue over the front enamel of her teeth. Draco, meanwhile, was still in the throws of gratitude. "Ha! This is brilliant! This is amazing! This is... this is... hell, Granger, why?"
"I promised you I would, remember? In repayment for coming with me to speak to Dumbledore. I waited a bit so I'd actually have grounds to falsely gauge your workload, but I always keep my word," Hermione explained, allowing herself to smile at his happiness. Draco stared at her with widened eyes, his note from McGonagall still clutched tightly in his hand. Hermione shared his gaze, smiling crookedly at all the radiant joy he emitted, and fiddled with the corner of her chocolate box. Without warning, Draco pitched forward and embraced her, pausing a moment before backing away.
"Thank you, Hermione," he said sincerely, holding her shoulders in his palms. "I owe you a million." Smiling awkwardly, Hermione shook her head.
"That's the beauty of it, Draco. You don't owe me anything; it was payment, in full with interest. It shall never again be mentioned. Clear?" she prodded playfully, and Draco smiled, nodding.
"Sure," he said, pulling back slowly and leaning into the couch. He sighed. "God, this is such a relief."
"You know, you could still take the test," Hermione suggested and Draco turned to her as if her head had burst into flames. Subconsciously, she lifted a hand into her hair to be sure. "What?" Hermione asked, somewhat annoyed. "It's not that far-fetched. You did spend all night in the library. I assume you were studying, but then again..."
"I read NEWT Review: Transfiguration six times, cover to cover," Draco deadpanned, looking blankly at the carpet in front of him. Hermione was surprised.
"Wow," she said softly, and a silence ensued for a prolonged moment. Hermione tilted her head. "Do you want another toffee?" she asked sympathetically, as if he had been through a taxing ordeal and deserved a break. Draco snapped from his glossy-eyed reverie and smiled at her, helping himself to the remaining chunk of crunchy heaven.
"Have a distaste?" he asked conversationally, popping the morsel into his mouth. Hermione shook her head and went about finding a prize chocolate for herself.
"Actually, they're my favorite, but you deserved it that time," she admitted and Draco paused in his munching to view her incredulously. Hermione smiled sheepishly under his gaze and occupied herself by pinching various chocolates to identify their innards.
"Well, I might've known. Not a true English girl in the world who hasn't a fondness for toffee and tea," Draco said, more so to cover the awkwardness than spark response from his flatmate. Hermione, however, shook her head.
"Well, that's another thing. I won't drink tea unless it contains ice, a cup of sugar, and about two dozen raspberries," she said and Draco laughed.
"Bloody muggles and their habits of icing things that needn't be iced. Tea, coffee, vegetables, meat... hell, even seamen," he listed, naming off each of his fingers. "Have you heard about that? Chry-o... C-rr.."
"Cryogenic freezing; yes, I've heard of it, and I've a list a kilometer long of reasons why it's a good thing. I'd advise you not to start with me," she retorted mock-threateningly and Draco lifted his hands in defense as he chuckled in her expense. With a sigh of disappointment at the break in conversation, he allowed his finger to travel into his mouth and pick the bits of toffee from the surface of his molars.
"What's all this, anyway? Have yourself a secret admirer?" Draco asked and Hermione laughed softly, shrugging.
"You might say that. I finished the essays yesterday morning and sent letters to all the students that I thought knew enough not to need the class. Namely; Neville, Aly, and about half the Slytherin. So far, Neville is the most appreciative. These are from him," she said, gesturing to the box on her lap. "They were addressed to me, but I thought I'd share with you." Draco relaxed into the couch with a sigh.
"So, how many students have we lost?" he asked, letting his lids drift downward to cover his weary eyes.
"I wrote eleven letters, but Aly says she'd like to stay with Ron, so we've lost an even ten."
"Nine Slytherin?" Draco asked, smirking to himself. "Suppose we know which is the more intelligent house."
"No, we know which is the most heartless. Most of them wrote something along the lines of What's the blinking Third Moon? at some point in their essay. Similar to you, their parents never bothered to soften the blow. It must be un-pureblood-like to possess childlike naivety. Were you toilet trained at two?" Hermione teased, and Draco eyed her curiously.
"What do you think I am, Granger? Retarded? My mother's nursemaid trained me the day I stood up. By two I was showing the younger house elves how it was done."
Hermione laughed and opened her mouth as if to speak, but her train of thoughts was impeded by a sudden and violent knock on the door.
"Hermione!" called the unmistakable voice of Ronald Weasley.
"Let us in, we need to talk to you!" chimed his green-eyed comrade.
"I told you to leave her alone, Harry!" a third party joined, fiery and sharp tongued.
"Ginny, belt up, this is none of your business," Ron scolded her, and she audibly huffed. Harry was heard defending his girlfriend after a squeal of pain Hermione attributed to a pinch from said sixth year. A commotion broke out between the trio of Gryffindor, punctuated only by a groan from a misplaced blonde Ravenclaw.
"Hermione, help me!" she begged through the portrait, and Hermione stood straight from the couch, spilling her tray of chocolates over the lap of her colleague.
"Watch it, Granger," Draco bit, but half-heartedly, too amused by the scene outside the portrait door. Hermione slapped him upside the head and shoved a large coconut custard into his smirking mouth.
"Belt up or I'll let them in. I'm sure they're here to talk about yesterday afternoon; care to join in explanation?" Hermione asked him and Draco, who had been chewing furiously with intent of adding to the conversation, stopped altogether and smirked. He swallowed his half-chewed morsel and beamed up at her.
"Actually, Hermione, I'd like that very much."
-----------------------------------
A/N: Sorry for the incredibly late update. End of the year's a hectic time. I've my last test tomorrow, and then I'll be done with sophomore year. (Yips, hoo-rahs, and yeys!) :oD Thanks for tuning in! Reviews are nice...