A/N: Hello all….I know it's been a devastatingly long time, but I beg you for forgiveness…. I recently quit my job (just because I could) and hopefully will have more time…which hopefully equals more updates! Yay! And for those of you interested…I recently came up with another fabulous idea for a story and it's taking me all my self control not to start writing it. But alas… I need to make sure I've got the time for this story before I start another one…
On with the chapter….
Recap: ever so softly his lips met hers…
Chapter 11
A Weekend Off
SPG
Hermione Granger stiffened as a hand ghosted up her side, succeeding in sending a trail of shivers through her body. The hand traveled upwards towards her chest, but remained millimeters away from touching her. The infinitesimal separation between his hand and her body coursed with enough electricity to light the whole of London.
Her temperature soared as his warm breath invaded the skin of her neck. He gave an aggressive nip right below her pulse point and she groaned at how quick it ended. A foreign tingling along her spine became so intense that it was almost painful to remain in her current position. Her entire body was tense with anticipation and her legs had begun to shake with need. Finally, in one movement he seized her and all anticipation was replaced by pure, unbridled passion.
One hand buried itself in her curls to hold her still as his mouth waged war on hers. The other molded itself to the curve of her bum and pulled their lower bodies as close as they could come.
Hermione lost track of her hands, but knew they were flying everywhere in an attempt to gain as much knowledge and explore as much territory as possible. One of her hands took over the job of pushing their bodies together as his hand met the breast that had been so eagerly waiting for his touch.
She moaned as her hand flicked down to his belt buckle in and attempt to remove one of many barriers.
"Say something," she rasped, "anything."
She followed his tongue with her eyes as it darted out to wet his lips. Her breathing became more erratic as he opened his mouth to speak.
"It's 8 am and Wizard's Radio would like to wish you a magical day!"
He closed his mouth and his face was oddly expressionless. Hermione managed to open her mouth in surprise before her eyelids lifted and the morning light assaulted her eyes.
She groaned and reached over to turn off her alarm clock that was ringing with some cheesy wizard DJ announcing the day's weather.
"Curse whoever created mornings." She mumbled as she threw the blankets off her legs.
She managed to throw her hair into a ponytail, get out of bed, and reach the bathroom before the contents of her dream came flying back at her.
One gasp, one scream, and an extreme blush later, Hermione found herself sitting on the lid of her toilet with her head in her hands.
Hermione was horrified at the turn her subconscious had taken, not because she wasn't a sexual being. She certainly had her share of sexual encounters (none of them as intense as her dream, but that was beside the point). Neither did her mortification come from the sex dream itself because she was not a novice there either.
The reason she'd experienced such terror from the recounting of her dream solely revolved around the identity of her lover. She couldn't remember actually seeing his face, but from his touch a vague nagging in the pit of her stomach bellowed that she knew his identity.
She desperately reassured herself that her lover was just a faceless man—a man that she had never met before—or at least that's what she told herself. She consciously blocked her mind from wandering to the happenings the previous night at work and any possible connection it might have held to her dream.
She shook her head and moved to the sink to splash some water on her face. Satisfied that her hysteria was over, she glanced at her watch. She had the entire weekend to herself and many things to think over.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
She'd spent the entirety of her weekend off cooped up in her flat ignoring all floos, phone calls, and knocks on her doors. She'd used every means she could think of to keep her mind off of Harry and Draco, uh, Malfoy.
Even her beloved Hogwarts, A History hadn't succeeded in distracting her. So instead she'd given in to her mind's wishes and took every moment to analyze the actions of the last few days.
She began with Harry, obviously the lesser of two evils. This problem proved to be both simple and complex at the same time.
Obviously, Harry was the perfect man for any girl. He was sweet, loving, kind, and generous. And being the hero of the wizarding world didn't hurt either.
She should have been flattered by his feelings. She should have been delighted by his attentions. She should have been eager to see him again. She should have… therein laid the problem. She should have, but she didn't.
She loved him, God she loved him more than she can say. She would have laid down her life for Harry, and nearly did on a few occasions, but as cliché as it sounded—she only loved him like a brother.
How could she tell him that she didn't love him? He could finally move on with his life after the war, and he wanted to do that with her. She was willing to sacrifice her life for Harry, would it be so bad to give him her heart as well? She could certainly do worse than Harry?
With a sense of dread filling her chest, she decided that she would give things a shot with Harry. Afterall, she owed him so much, it was the least she could do.
She eventually exhausted that topic and reluctantly moved on to Malfoy. This topic was a little more difficult. With a blush, she remembered her last moment of work on Friday. That had certainly been interesting.
She didn't really even know where to begin. The hug alone had nearly brought her to tears. He was just so desperate and broken. But then, things had taken a turn to something even more interesting.
She scolded herself for not moving away when it had all started. But when she'd felt his hand on her cheek, she'd found herself frozen. Her mind had been screaming for her to move back with each inch he moved forwards, but her body seemed immobilized. She didn't want to question why she didn't move away. She would much rather analyze him and his reasons for "the occurrence." She refused to even associate her dream this morning with anything to do with Malfoy.
She was positive that he hadn't kissed her of his own accord. He may be crazy 95 of the time, but he was still Malfoy. That meant that the curse had made him do it. But why?
She decided it wasn't healthy for her to dwell on the kiss because quite frankly she was clueless. And it scared her more than she could say.
Instead she decided to explore more of Draco's Journal.
April 12th, 1996
I'm finished. The cabinet is done and I don't know whether to be relieved or horrified. After I finished I stealthily exited the room of requirement and joined the steady flow of students in the hallway. There were dozens of people around me—people I care nothing for—but all the same, with each smile I saw and laugh I heard, the heaviness in my chest grew. Eventually it was so overwhelming that I could feel it pressing in on me, suffocating me. I decided then and there that I wouldn't tell the Dark Lord that I was finished until the last possible moment. These people, regardless of the hate I'd previously held for all of them, deserved every last minute they could get. The pain became too much and I took a sharp turn into the nearest door I saw. I ended up in a girl's lavatory. Thank Merlin there was no one inside. Before I even realized what was happening, I began sobbing like a child lost from his parents.
I'm certainly ashamed of my behavior, but I confess candidly that it did a great deal to relieve the pressure in my chest. Amidst all my distress, I was oblivious to the young ghost who joined me. Myrtle was her name. And although I found her remarkably annoying, more so even than Granger, it was a… relief to no longer be alone. Why is it that these people I don't even care for, hate even, are no the cause of my sudden despair?
Conscious does make cowards of us all.
Hermione was shocked to say the least. She didn't know where to begin. The last sentence was still bouncing around in her head. She was certain that she'd heard those words before, but where? Ever the resourceful little muggle-born, she retreated to her computer.
After a little searching, her shock increased ten-fold. The words Draco had written were a direct quote from Hamlet.
Shakespeare? Draco Malfoy knew AND quoted Shakespeare? What was this world coming to?
Hermione tried not to dwell on the ironic connection between where Draco was now and the play he'd chosen to quote. Hamlet was probably the most famous story of insanity ever written. A strange sensation filled her chest and she couldn't put a name to it.
She continued her perusal of the rest of the letter. It took all her self-control not to cry as she reread the words. He could have told Voldemort that the cabinet was finished so much earlier than he did. An overwhelming feeling of gratitude filled her at the extra days of peace he had given Hogwarts.
She had known all along about his time in the loo crying to Myrtle, but now she knew that he hadn't been crying just because of the difficulty of fixing the cabinet, but for the other students. This caused a weird reaction in the pit of her stomach. Who knew that Draco Malfoy was actually compassionate?
She felt oddly shaky and deep down she knew that the last few moments something enormous had shifted. Fear clenched her heart as she realized what had just happened in her opinion towards Draco.
Forgiveness.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Sunday Morning came at an excruciatingly slow pace. Hermione was scheduled to be at the Burrow for lunch at one, but of course had been ready to go since 10 o' clock that morning.
After finishing the latest book she'd been reading, she still had a little bit of time, so she decided to pull out that never-ending bag she'd found at Malfoy Mansion.
After she'd retrieved it from its hiding place in her underwear drawer she shoved her arm in until it was elbow-deep. She shifted through a couple of objects before she closed her hand around something cool and thin. With an excited smile she pulled the object from the bag.
Her eyes widened as she examined the beautiful necklace resting in her palm. It was luminous silver that curled around almost like a snake. Resting in the midst of its coils was a silver locket adorned with little emeralds around the edges.
It was gorgeous and she had a feeling that it was a Malfoy family heirloom. Before she could open the locket to look inside, a commotion from the fireplace distracted her.
Ginny Weasley, laden with dust and huffing grumpily, stepped forward. Hermione panicked. She didn't want to risk returning the necklace to the bag and drawing Ginny's attention towards it. Instead, she slipped the locket over her head and tucked it underneath her robes.
After dusting herself off, Ginny looked up and smiled.
"Hey 'Mione. Sorry about just dropping in like this, but I came to see if you could make it to lunch a little earlier."
Hermione sighed, relieved that it was something so simple, "Sure," she replied, "when should I come over?"
Ginny smiled sheepishly and said, "Uh, now?"
Hermione laughed gently and said, "Sure."
She flitted to the counter to get her purse and checked quickly to make sure the locket was still secure around her neck before following Ginny into the fireplace.
OOOOOOOOOOOO
Hermione entered the living room a few seconds after Ginny. From the racket coming from the lawn, she was fairly certain that she was the last member of the party to arrive.
She treaded across the lawn to hear Ron shout, "It's about time you got here! I'm hungry."
Hermione laughed and watched as Luna gave him a small pinch on his arm. His cheeks tinged a light pink and something akin to recognition passed in his eyes.
Passing it off as "just one of those Ron things" she took her seat beside Charlie. Her eyes flicked around the table, careful not to make direct eye contact with either of the twins.
"Where's Harry?" she asked.
Her confusion grew as the raucous group grew quiet and Ron's ears grew read. It was a fidgeting Molly Weasley that told her, "He's at the office dearie."
"The office? On a Sunday? And during a Weasley lunch? What is wrong with this picture?" she asked.
It was now everyone else's turn to look confused. It was finally Ron who piped up, "Did you not hear the news?"
Taking in the somber expression on his face, Hermione blanched. This couldn't be good.
"I guess not. What happened?"
She noticed that both the twins had lost their playful demeanor and were not gripping the table with white knuckles.
Arthur became the bearer of bad news, "Um, Friday Night…" he paused.
Her face paled further, Friday night was when she ditched Harry at the Restaurant. She sincerely hoped that he hadn't done something stupid.
"Lucius Malfoy escaped from Azkaban."
Hermione gasped. That certainly hadn't been what she'd expected. She hated herself for feeling relieved that it wasn't something she caused. A sense of dread was building in her chest.
"Oh no… poor Harry." She whispered.
Ron snorted, "Poor everyone."
A few moments of silence passed and then the clamor began once more. People were shouting requests for other to pass the food. Ron, of course, was just reaching across everyone to grab what he wanted.
Hermione's eyes were unfocused and she had reached up to her neck to finger the locket just below the material of her robes.
"Hermione?"
She couldn't believe all the things that had gone wrong over the last few days.
"Hermione?"
There was that disastrous date with Harry and the Senior Malfoy's escape.
"Mione? Hello in there!"
She didn't even want to think about Draco and everything that was drastically wrong with that situation.
"MIONE! Snap out of it!"
She blinked and her trance was broken.
"Oh… I… sorry." She blushed and lowered her eyes.
She turned to meet the large blue-eyed gaze of Luna Lovegood-Weasley.
"Are you alright?" Luna asked.
"Yeah." Hermione nodded, "Yeah. I'm just not hungry. I'm going to grab some coffee out of the kitchen."
Hermione smiled and excused herself before she retreated inside to the kitchen. Several members of the Weasley family exchanged curious and worried glances.
Her mind and heart were both racing when she entered the kitchen and she couldn't exactly pinpoint why. Luna quietly tiptoed into the kitchen and sent a curious glare towards her friend.
"I'm pregnant." She said.
Hermione whipped around to see Luna leaning against the kitchen counter, a Luna who was apparently expecting.
"You're pregnant?" Hermione gasped, still shaky from her previous thoughts, "How far along?"
"Four months actually," Luna smiled, "It's been hell hiding the little bulge in my belly."
Hermione's eyebrows rose, "Why hide it so long?"
"There never was a perfect time. We were planning on doing it today, but all this stuff with Lucius sort of put things off." Luna paused and her eyes seemed to drift to point over Hermione's shoulder.
"Then why tell me now?" Hermione was confused (Of course that was normal in the presence of Luna).
"Ron and I made a deal." She smiled dreamily, "He gets to tell Harry and I get to tell you. Then we'll tell everyone else when the intensity dies down a bit."
Hermione smiled and hugged Luna tightly, "Congratulations. Thank you for telling me. It's an honor, really."
The girls giggled and hugged a few more times before Hermione's thoughts seemed to sober up and return to their previous venue.
Luna noticed the darkening in Hermione's gaze and asked, "Is it Harry?"
"The reason why you're so… shaky… is it Harry?"
Hermione paused and took a little bit more time that she should have to answer.
She nodded, "Yes. Of course, it's Harry."
Luna fixed her with a calculating stare and shook her head, "No. It's not that is it?"
Hermione laughed and said, "Of course it is Luna. I know this is going to be really rough on him."
"Yes." She answered, "It is. But that's still not what is bothering you. Is this about your date on Friday?"
Hermione forced herself to turn around and began pouring a cup of coffee. "You heard about that?"
"Well. Not exactly. Harry has been acting like nothing happened, but we all saw the papers." Luna sighed.
Hermione groaned. She really needed to pay more attention to the news.
"Well…yeah. That's it Luna. It was a disaster and it's just been throwing me off lately." Hermione finished quietly.
"Uhuh." Luna said, staring intently at Hermione's back.
Hermione took a breath and poured out the contents of her coffee cup. Without turning back around she called over her shoulder, "I've got to run Luna, give my regards to the family."
Hermione was halfway out the door when Luna called, "How's work?"
Hermione immediately stiffened and had to grab the door frame for support. She steadied herself with a breath and turned around with a half-smile on her face.
"It's great Luna. Thanks for asking."
Without looking back, Hermione disappeared from the door and left Luna alone in the kitchen wearing a satisfied smirk.
She whistled as she made her way back to the table, suspicions all the while churning in her mind.
A/N: gosh… I had planned to fit so much more into this chapter…but it just didn't happen. So unfortunately…this didn't have any Draco/Hermione action… but hopefully I'll make up for it in the next chapter.
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