One Last Kiss: Chapter 8
Disclaimer: Anything sane that has been read in this fiction belongs to, non other than the great author who created the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling. Anything off from the real series belongs to non other than the peculiar mind of mine.
Thank you to those who reviewed chapter 7 and sorry if it'll be a long appreciation, I just had to do it! :D please don't hate me.. :)
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Again! Thank you to all who read and mostly thank you to those who reviewed.. :D I hope you like chapter 8.. :)
DH********
Draco and Hermione were dropped off by Hermes and Blaine at King's Cross Station. Jane never liked sending Hermione off and Narcissa had an emergency meeting at the Ministry of Magic.
"I'll miss you again, Hermy," said Blaine, hugging his big sister's leg.
Hermione squatted down and hugged Blaine. "I'll see you in June, alright, my little man?" she said and kissed his nose. "You behave so papa and mama will be happy."
Blaine nodded. "I'll behave, Hermy because I'm a big boy," he said, lifting his hand up, pertaining to his height. He then turned to Draco. "Bye-bye, Dray-con," he bashfully said, waving his little hand at Draco.
Draco, too, squatted down and hugged the little boy. "I like it if you call me Draygon," he said with a smile. Blaine beamed at this sentence since he didn't like the "C" sound in Draco's name and he likes the thought that it sounded like dragon. "See you, soon." Blaine gave him a kiss on the cheek and he tousled the little Granger's hair as he got up.
"Take care, darling. Draco," said Hermes, as he pat Draco's back. Hermione kissed her father and gave him a hug.
"See you soon, dad." Hermione, then, pushed her trolley to Platform 9 3/4 as Draco followed her.
"See you, Mr. Granger, Blaine," said Draco as he looked back. Blaine was waving at them.
As he looked at Hermione who was walking ahead of him, Draco smiled when he remembered the kiss they shared the other night. It was a different kiss. Something felt different about it. But she seemed distant the past day. No, she didn't treat him any differently. It just seemed that she was always lost in thought. He saw Hermione look back at him before she entered the barrier. And then, it dawned on him. He hurriedly walked in the barrier to look for Hermione but was surprised when he saw her waiting for him. "Hermione, I need to explain something," he quickly said.
"I know," she interrupted him, "but you don't have to. I think the whole pretend thing got to our heads and we were just overwhelmed by the situation." Hermione smiled at him. "Right?"
"Well, yes and-"
"And we have a nice friendship, right?" she said. Draco nodded. Hermione smiled and moved to kiss him on the cheek but since Draco slightly moved his head, she accidentaly kissed the side of his lips. The two looked at each other, quite surprised. "Uhm, let's go find a compartment." And Hermione took off, leaving Draco all confused. He ran his hand through his hair and followed Hermione.
They finally found an empty compartment in the train and sat across each other. Hermione looked out the window, watching the people become smaller and smaller as the train went. Draco got a box in Christmas wrappings from his bag and handed it to Hermione.
"Hermione, happy Christmas," he said, smiling. "I didn't know how to give it to you at your house so I thought now is a good time." Hermione, who was very surprised, smiled and accepted the present. She carefully removed the wrappings. "I wasn't sure what to give you but I think it suits you."
It was a box almost the same size as the one Narcissa gave them. "Are you giving me the quill your mum gave us?" she asked, eyeing the box.
Draco smirked. "Anything from my mother, I will always treasure. And it's a different box. Just open it you stubborn, woman, before I change my mind."
"Alright, alright. Keep your pants on," said Hermione. She opened the box and almost dropped it when she saw what was inside. A silver necklace with a book shaped pendant. "What the? How? Why? It's beautiful," Hermione stuttered as she ran a finger along the chain and the pendant.
Smiling, Draco got the necklace from the box. "It's like a locket, see?" he said, opening the book pendant. There was one page of silver in it where you can place a photo on each side, making the pendant able to hold 4 photos. Hermione smiled and took hold of the pendant. "Do you like it?"
Hermione smiled at Draco. "Yes! Thank you! I didn't think a pendant like this existed," she said as she turned the little page, admiring the pendant's beauty. Draco made a move to put the necklace on Hermione but she sat up straight. "Let me," she quietly said. He handed her the necklace and leaned back in his seat.
"I'm glad you liked it." Draco smiled.
After Hermione put on the necklace, she placed it under her shirt and then got something from her bag. "I have your present here, too. Happy Christmas," she said and handed him the box in her hand. With a smirk, Draco unwrapped it and opened the box. A black leather strap wrist watch rest inside. The clock itself was silver and the the face had no numbers. Instead there was a small snake design that rested beautifully on the face of the clock with a green gem for its eye. Draco didn't say anything. "It's a- Well I- Slytherin pride, perhaps?" she reluctantly said. Draco looked at Hermione then back to the wrist watch. "I haven't seen you with a wrist watch, really, and I thought you would like the serpent on it."
Draco took the watch from the box. "Thank you," he said and put it on his left wrist. "Suits me well, don't it?" he said, holding up his left hand and showing Hermione the watch.
Just then, Louise Phillips came in and sat beside Draco. "I hope I'm not interrupting something," she said, leaning her head on Draco's shoulder and sweetly smiling at Hermione. Draco looked at Hermione, waiting for her to do something.
"Fine," said Hermione. She stood up, got her bag and went out the compartment leaving a surprised Draco and a happy Louise.
"Finally! I thought she'd never leave," said Louise and she hooked her arm with Draco's.
Hermione looked for the compartment where Ron, Harry and the others were. When she found Ron and Harry, she sat with a huff, leaned back and played with the pendant of her new necklace. Ron and Harry looked at each other then to Hermione.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Harry asked, clearly knowing that one of his best friends was upset.
Ron sat beside Hermione and waited for any reaction. He watched her fondle with an unfamiliar necklace around her neck. "Or we could just sit down and stay quiet until we arrive at Hogwarts," he said as he looked at Harry.
"It's Malfoy," said Harry when Hermione still didn't say anything. "He's got to her, he has," he continued. "You were right, Ron. You read her better than I do."
"Shut it, Harry!"
"Oh! Now there's our Hermione! Welcome back, love," said Ron and mockingly hugged Hermione. Harry smiled and joined in. "Oh, hello there, Harry," Ron said, starting to laugh.
"Hello there, Ron! I see you've found the old Hermione as well," said Harry, also laughing.
Hermione watched the conversation between her best friends who were still hugging her and she started to laugh. She moved her hands and hugged the two boys. "I missed you two," she said and gave them each a kiss. "How was your Christmas?" she asked as she let go of them. The two got back to their seats in front of her.
"Nothing much. Percy announced his engagement to a muggle woman named Audrey," said Ron.
"And a very muggle she is, isn't she, Ron?" interrupted Harry. "She looked like a veela at first, too. Lovely woman. Lovely woman, indeed."
Ron looked at Harry with disgust. "Stop fancying the woman, Harry! That's my future sister-in-law," he said, shaking Harry's head a little to shake off the woman's image in his head. Harry slapped Ron's hands away from his head.
"That's lovely," said Hermione, getting back to the subject. "When will the wedding take place?" She loved weddings. She always thought that if love or a wedding isn't for her, at least she could be happy for the people she care about who are in a relationship, married or will be married.
"Spring or summer, I think," answered Ron, rubbing his hand since the slap Harry did was quite strong. "But mum wanted it to be in the summer since she wants everyone to be there."
"Yes, Mrs. Weasley wants all of us to be there, especially to help out with the wedding like Bill and Fleur's," said Harry, ruffling his hair. "And what about you? We heard Malfoy spent the holidays with you and your family." Ron and Harry eyed Hermione, waiting for the details. "I thought it was all a pretentious act to stop the other students from attacking each other?"
"Yeah, so why is it that you're spending Christmas with him?" asked Ron.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Of course it's all an act," she answered, leaning back in her seat. "Besides, the break-up thing is within this month and I can go back to being plain Hermione Granger.
"We didn't ask about the break-up. We asked about the holidays," said Harry in a way a big brother would tease his little sister.
"You're no telling us something, Hermione," continued Ron, he, too, saying it in a teasing way. "I told you before, I notice everything new about you. For instance, that necklace you've been playing with since you got here."
Noticing how she was playing with the pendant, she placed it back under her shirt. "Fine. He was there with us with his mother," she started, annoyed with how she was being interrogated by the boys. "They lost everything after the rumor that Lucius Malfoy tipped off the Aurors about Voldemort and they're trying to re-establish themselves in the muggle world. They were with us because it turns out, Narcissa Malfoy and my mother were childhood friends." Ron and Harry looked at each other with very surprised expressions on their faces and then looked back at Hermione. "And this necklace was a Christmas present from Draco," she continued.
"And the kiss at the Patil residence?" Harry teased. Ron looked at him and smiled like a baboon.
"Of course!" Hermione gave up. "Of course they're gossiping about it," she said, moving her hand in exasperation. "That was an act. Because the only people who know we're pretending are me, him, you, you, Lavender, Ginny and the Heads, remember?"
"And you were upset earlier because?" Ron asked.
"Because Louise Phillips is an exception," answered Hermione, frustrated and annoyed emotions running through her. She saw Ron move his hand and clapped it with Harry's. They did it again. They tricked her into telling them something she didn't want to talk about. She should've known from the questions they were throwing at her. She breathed deeply as she tried to let her annoyance out. "I can't believe I'm friends with the both of you," she said, sighing.
Harry sighed and held Hermione's hand. "I can't believe you're feeling like that over Louise Phillips," he said to her, smiling.
"Louise Phillips is nothing but an insecure woman who uses her sexuality to get what she wants," Ron said coolly. "I have no idea why she's put in Ravenclaw. Sort of thick, isn't she? Not even pretty," he blurted out. Hermione stifled a laugh and Harry looked at him with wide eyes. "Bloody hell, I'm starting to sound like Lavender, aren't I?" he said worriedly. "Bloody hell. Bloody hell," he kept muttering, to maybe wash off the way Lavender talks rubbing on him.
"But I like your Lavender-ish ways," said Hermione, laughing with Harry.
Ron glared at his best friends who were in fits of laughter. "Oh, shut it, you two."
DH********
Hermione waited outside the Great Hall for Draco. Everyone was talking about him stepping out of the train with Louise and not her. The break-up gossip was starting already. She leaned at the wall and played with the necklace. She also thought of the photos to put inside. While waiting, she heard a few students who came out of the Great Hall, gossiping about her and Draco.
"Maybe she was boring."
"Or she didn't give it to Draco."
"Was she a bet or something?"
"Draco and Hermione never belonged together."
"But they look adorable together."
"You need to get your eyes checked. Draco was playing Hermione."
"Maybe Hermione thought she could change Draco."
"What? Make him celibate?"
"Not a chance."
"They don't deserve each other. At least Draco and Louise are in the same category, unlike Hermione who's much of a goody-goody."
That last comment before the girls disappeared in a corner got Hermione thinking. Draco wants Louise. She agreed to their "public display of affection" because of Louise. It's just Louise.
"Hermione?" Draco snapped his fingers in front of Hermione's face. "Hermione?" He stopped her from playing with her necklace. That got her out of her trance.
"Hi, I didn't see you there," Hermione said, quite embarrassed for her lack of attention. "Uhm.. I was wondering if we could talk about earlier," she said and started to walk. Draco grabbed her hand and held it as they walked. She stopped, a little surprised at his gesture. "Somewhere private?"
"You heard?" Draco asked as he led her through the corridor to look for an empty classroom.
"Heard what?"
"She tried to kiss me when you left," said Draco, smirking.
Hermione looked at Draco. She did expect Louise was going to make a move at him but didn't expect it to do it on the - wait. "Tried?" asked Hermione when she realised what Draco had said. "Tried?" she repeated.
Draco looked at Hermione as if she said something weird. "Yes, tried."
"But doesn't that mean that you didn't let her kiss you?" said Hermione as she was led in an empty classroom, by Draco. She saw him nod. "I don't get it. Isn't that what you want?" she asked again, quite confused.
"She just needs to know her place," was Draco's plain answer. No one rejects Draco Malfoy and gets away with it that easy. And Louise Phillips, even for a Ravenclaw can be a little thick to. Afterall, people say that the smarter the person, the more foolish they are when it comes to relationships, or so he heard. "She thought I would give in easily to her request and now she's even up for being the other woman."
Hermione rolled her eyes and crossed her arms against her chest. "I can't believe I'm dragged into such childish nonsense," she muttered under her breath. "What's your plan, then?" she asked as she sat on the table nearest her.
Draco walked up to her and placed both his hands on the table on each side of Hermione. He brought his face close to hers. Hermione leaned back a little, wondering what Draco has up his sleeve. "What if I don't want to break up?" he asked her in a serious tone. Hermione just looked at him, surprised and speechless. "For now?" He smiled when he saw Hermione frown.
"Fuck you, Draco Malfoy," said Hermione. Her heart was racing so fast when she heard the first question, she thought she forgot to speak. She didn't even know what to feel about it, let alone what to say about it. She pushed Draco away from her, stood up and sat far away from him. "If you're going to be with her after this, at least don't play with her feelings," said Hermione, looking down at Draco's ring. She thought it turned a different shade. Right now it was darker than the time he gave it to her, at least she thought it is. This was what she was afraid of, discoloring the ring that wasn't even hers. She rubbed her finger against her robe, hoping it would lighten a little and Draco won't notice. "She may see you as a prize or a posession but maybe she really does like you," she continued.
"You're not a very good judge of character," said Draco, leaning against the table Hermione previously sat on.
"It's not something I take pride on," Hermione told him, looking down at her hands on her lap.
Draco smirked. "Shouldn't we talk to Arnaud and Leigh about this? They are, after all, the ones who forced us in to this," he said.
DH********
A week after..
"What? You mean no sparks in those 3 months?" Arnaud looked at the two Prefects in front of him. Draco looked at Hermione who, again, was playing with her necklace. He saw her sway her head in a no gesture. "No fun." Leigh was in a class so she was unable to see the two.
"Just tell us your terms, Canfield," said Draco, annoyed with the Head Boy's playfulness.
"Watch your tone, Malfoy," said Arnaud, looking sternly at his Slytherin Prefect. "Hermione, are you not going to say anything?" he asked when he noticed how quiet Hermione was. She, again, swayed her head, no. "Very well," he said as he clapped his hands together. "No fighting, no cursing, no slapping or what lovers in quarrels or break ups do. We need a quiet break up," he told them, looking between Draco and Hermione. "Clear?" The two nodded. Both got up and proceeded to the door. "You know, you don't have to do it if you don't want to," he called out and the only reply he got was the door being slammed.
During the past days, Draco and Hermione spent less time together. Hermione spent her time at the library again or sometimes with her friends while Draco spent his time more at the Slytherin common room. They didn't walk each other to classes anymore and they sat away from each other, except for Potions, DADA and Muggle Studies where they had to work as partners. At classes, as planned, they also bickered about the smallest of things. A lot of students, of course, have noticed it and talked about it any chance they could.
After their last class which was Muggle Studies, Draco told Hermione meet him at the Quidditch Pitch after dinner, making sure the other students heard him.
During dinner, everyone was watching Hermione and Draco, ready to stop eating once the two stood up. Hermione already gave a heads up to Ron, Harry, Ginny and Lavender who were also going to the Quidditch Pitch.
"I can't take this," said Hermione, noticing the eyes on her. "I can't eat properly. This school is like a zoo," she whispered to her friends. "I'll go ahead," she said, stood up and walked out the Great Hall. By then, the other students who were watching Hermione looked at Draco.
Hermione waited for Draco on the grounds of the Quidditch Pitch. It was cold that night and she forgot to bring her gloves. She rubbed her hands together and blew on it, trying to warm it. Remembering the ring, she tried to remove it again so she could give it back to Draco when they do their break up scene, but it still wouldn't come off. She looked at it, inspecting its color, if her cleaning ritual for it worked. That night it was a shiny shade of silver, then it would change to a darker shade, then to a shiny shade again. Hermione thought it was the moonlight causing the change of color. Cold, she fixed her scarf so it was covering her mouth. Just then, she saw Draco from afar, walking towards her. Her heart started to race. For the past days she was confused over their plan for the break up. The kiss they shared in her home kept coming up in her head and the words Draco whispered to her echoed in her ear. The voice inside her told her to ask him, but another voice told her not to, telling her that she shouldn't let a little thing like that mess her over. And Hermione knew very well who she wanted to listen to.
Draco looked at Hermione as he walked towards her. He smiled when he saw her scarf wrapped around her the way it was. He saw her rubbing her hands together and the moonlight reflected on to his ring. He saw how it glistened in the moonlight and remembered the words his mother told him on how it changes into different shades. When he was near, he saw Hermione reach out her hands to him. He took it and wrapped his hands around her. He felt how cold her hands were. "You're really stubborn," he huffed through the cold air. "I told you it will be this cold tonight."
"I didn't do it on purpose, if that's what you're implying," said Hermione holding her hands tightly in Draco's. They looked around them, thinking the other students would show up shortly, and lo and behold, they did. The other students tried to be discreet about it, but of course, to no avail. "I feel like I'm in a play in the final scene," whispered Hermione, removing her hands from Draco's. "Oh, before I forget, I can't remove your ring," said Hermione, showing him her hand.
"You can't?" asked Draco, looking at the shiny silver snake around Hermione's finger.
"I just thought I should give it back to you since we won't be together anymore," explained Hermione. "Maybe Louise would like it."
Draco held Hermione's hand and slid the ring off of her finger. "Lean in," he whispered. He untied Hermione's scarf when she moved closer, looked for the opening of the necklace and slid the ring in. "Keep it for the mean time," he said when Hermione looked at him weirdly. "Show time." He looked around and saw some students scattered around them but far away. "This isn't working out anymore, Hermione," started Draco. "Maybe we need some time off. We're drifting apart and we both knew it would never really work out."
"But you told me we're going to try, no matter what," Hermione said, following the script according to their plan. "What about coming through, whatever challenge comes our way? The promises?"
"Hermione, we tried, but look at us? We haven't spent time together since we got back."
"I'll miss you," she said, looking into his eyes. Her heart was still racing, and when Draco turned his back on her, it was beating even faster. "Draco."
Draco heard Hermione call out to him. When he turned around, Hermione put her scarf over his head and pulled him softly for a kiss and for awhile, everything was quiet. He looked at her and then walked away and didn't look back. The other students walked back to the castle while the others acted like they were minding their own business when Draco passed by them. He could smell from his hair, his scarf and his gloves, Hermione's vanilla perfume.
Hermione walked back to the castle and straight to the Prefects's dormitory. She sat in front of the fire to warm her hands. She touched her lips, remembering the last kiss she gave Draco. Minutes later, Draco came in the common room.
"Nice acting, Granger," said Draco when he saw Hermione in front of the fireplace.
"Likewise, Malfoy." Hermione looked behind her when she heard Draco's voice. "Wow, I missed calling you that," she said, trying to lift up the awkwardness of their recent "break-up".
Draco sat on the sofa and just watched Hermione warming her hands. He thought of the ring. Was it always right? Draco refused to let the ring play a part in his life. He won't let a ring, especially a ring that used to belong to a man who couldn't show love, meddle with his beliefs and feelings.
"Maybe we should try the last name basis thing again, you know?" said Hermione as she stood up from the floor. She could feel Draco's eyes on her back and it made her feel uneasy, especially because of the different emotions running inside her. "Since I wasn't really 'happy'," she said with her hands doing a quoting gesture, "about being dumped. And maybe a little more bickering." She sat beside him, trying to act normal. Normal act after a fake break up.
Smirking, Draco faced Hermione. "I was thinking the same thing," Draco said maliciously. "Lot of things to reveal, eh?" He winked.
Hermione frowned. "On second thought, no bickering." She started to play with her necklace again. "Or better yet, no provoking for a session of bickering," she said, knowing how Draco knows which buttons to push.
"You know me too well," he said, smiling slyly.
Giving him an annoyed smile, Hermione stood up and said good night.
DH********
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