Author's Note: I'm sorry that I'm so late on updating this! I had so many other stories in the process, and I forgot all about this one. Well, here's the final chapter to this two-shot. :D
"How is there nothing in here about reversing a love potion?" Hermione asked; she sounded exasperated. Ron and Harry continued to flip through potion books, finding nothing.
"Because Snape is the only one who knows how to do it," Harry concluded, slamming his book shut. Hermione glared down at her hands, taking a deep breath. Draco was the last person that she wanted to have intense feelings for, and being that she couldn't control them, it drove her crazy even more.
Suddenly, Draco strolled into the library with Crabbe and Goyle; it seemed as if they knew exactly where Ron, Hermione, and Harry would be. They had nasty smirks on their faces as they moved to sit across from the three Gryffindors.
"This is great," Ron muttered, looking away from them. Hermione instantly perked up, her cheeks reddening. Draco smiled at her, and she let out an unfamiliar squeal. Ron and Harry turned to her, their eyebrows scrunched.
"Uh…" Harry began, eying her suspiciously.
"That was very… un- Hermione-like," Ron said, a bitter edge to his tone.
"That's because she's not herself, Ron," Harry reminded. Ron didn't even realize that his fists were clenched until he loosened them up.
"Hermione, I was wondering if you wanted to accompany me to the restricted section tonight. I have some… books I'd like to look for," he said, smirking as Crabbe and Goyle chuckled beside him. "We could make it a date."
Ron growled as Harry rolled his eyes animatedly. All Hermione could do was tug at her lip, giving Malfoy a look of pure desire.
"Of course," she said, nodding enthusiastically. "Even though it's against school rules and we could get detention for ages, I'd love to go out with you."
"Don't let him fool you, Hermione. He's just trying to get you into trouble," Ron whispered frantically. This whole ordeal was upsetting him ferociously.
"Shut it, red head. This doesn't concern you," Crabbe threatened, giving Ron a slanted look. Ron glared back, but said nothing more.
"I'll see you when curfew starts," Malfoy said, rising from the table. The three of them exited with loud laughter, receiving irritated stares from the studying students.
As soon as they were out of eyesight, Hermione blinked twice. Ron and Harry watched her carefully, sighing of content when she slammed her head onto the table.
"I hate you guys," she grumbled, lifting her head up. She had a bright red mark on her forehead.
"It's not our fault," Ron argued, turning away from her. "You're the one giving that jerk the time of day," he mumbled.
"As if I can control it!" she spat. "Every time he's around I just… can't help myself. I get lost in those eyes of his, and his hair… that gorgeous blonde hair… so exhilarating—
"Stop!" Ron shouted, causing all eyes to avert to him.
"Shhhh!" Pavarti Patil shouted from two tables over. Ron rolled his eyes and gathered his things, leaving the library. Hermione narrowed her eyes, looking over at Harry.
"What's his problem?" Hermione asked, turning up her nose. Harry shrugged, and opened up another one of the potion books.
"He's probably tired," Harry said, even though he knew in his heart what was truly wrong with him; Ron didn't want Hermione to have feelings for another guy –especially Draco- even if they were forced feelings. "Just… don't meet Malfoy tonight."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Hermione said, hiding her face embarrassingly. Truthfully, the thought seemed tempting. The thought of sneaking off with Draco seemed exciting. She didn't know what she was going to do.
…
Hermione hid in the Gryffindor common room, watching the clock. Surprisingly, Ron and Harry were nowhere in sight.
That's a good thing, she thought, because what she was about to do was not at all what they would approve of.
It was officially past curfew, and Hermione was prepared to meet Draco. She didn't know what tempted her to do it, but the more she thought about him, the more she wanted to.
Ron and Harry stood by the doors of the library, hidden by Harry's invisibility cloak. Ron simply didn't trust Hermione's word, so he persuaded Harry to sneak out with him to make sure she followed through.
"Ron, I seriously doubt that Hermione is going to meet up with Draco. She's only love struck when he's around, remember?" Harry whispered, yawning afterwards; he always went to bed early around the end of the school year.
"I don't give a—shh, someone's coming!" Ron whispered sharply. The muffled voices coming down the hall could only be matched to three ruthless Slytherin's.
"Alright, guys. Wait five minutes, and then run to Dumbledore and tell him that you heard voices coming from the library while on your way to the bathroom," Malfoy instructed as they came into clear view. The three of them stopped by the library, and Malfoy continued talking. "I'll be out of there by then."
Ron's fists clenched, and he almost made a move to scramble from up under the cloak. Harry grabbed his wrist, warning him not to start trouble.
"Alright," Goyle said, punching fists with Crabbe. The two of them headed down the corridor as Malfoy waited for Hermione.
"Pathetic mudblood," he spat, laughing to himself. Ron groaned, and Harry elbowed him in the gut. Malfoy looked around suspiciously, a slanted look on his face. For a minute, Harry thought they were caught, until footsteps began making their way toward the library.
"Woah," Malfoy breathed as the figure came closer to him. The female had on a burgundy skirt that was a little short for the school dress code, and a white button down shirt. She had her hair down, and her delicious scent instantly tingled Malfoy's nostrils. The closer she came, he realized that it was Hermione. It was really her.
"Hi, Draco. Sorry I'm late; I had to make sure the coast was clear," she said, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"Um… woah," Malfoy repeated, looking her up and down. He had to clear his vision to make sure that this was truly Hermione Granger, the girl that he tormented all four years of school. She was currently making him drool from her beautiful way of cleaning up herself.
"We have to stop this!" Ron whispered frantically. Harry's heart was running rapidly in his chest, and he began to fidget with the fabric of the cloak.
"W-well, we should head to the restricted section then," Malfoy said, even though he was unsure of whether or not he wanted to go through with his plan or not. Hermione smiled warmly, and trailed after him. Before the door could close, Ron and Harry shuffled through the crack.
"So, where did you say the restricted section was at?" Malfoy asked, even though he clearly knew where the restricted section was located.
"Over here, I'll show you," she said, walking in front of him. Suddenly, the doors to the library burst open.
"I heard noises coming from just down there!" Crabbe shouted, a tired Dumbledore dragging behind him. Malfoy scurried behind one of the book shelves, while Hermione remained exposed in the center of the library.
"We have to get to her!" Ron urged, making his way toward her.
"Where did you hear it?" Dumbledore asked again, as they made a move to round the corner.
"It had to be somewhere down here," Goyle said, making a turn for the restricted section. Hermione began to panic, until something invisible pulled at her. She almost screamed, until she noticed the presence of her two best friends. They swept her under the cloak, hiding off behind one of the book shelves.
By the time Dumbledore, Crabbe and Goyle made it over to the restricted section, they didn't see anything. Crabbe and Goyle narrowed their eyes, but Dumbledore simply huffed.
"And what is this noise you speak of?" he asked, his natural calmness confusing the two boys.
"Uhhh… ergh—
They heard a cough coming from behind one of the book shelves, and Malfoy stepped from behind it. Crabbe and Goyle raised their eyebrows, confused at what their friend was doing.
"S-sorry, professor. I must have been sleep walking again," Malfoy lied, searching around for Hermione. Silently, he was relieved that she hadn't been caught. For some reason, it didn't feel right trying to get her in trouble. For some reason, he didn't want to.
Dumbledore didn't look fooled, but he simply nodded. "Let's hope this doesn't happen again, or your sleep walking will get you in a whole lot of trouble."
Dumbledore ushered the boys out of the library, and Harry could finally rip the cloak off. They were all breathing heavily, relieved that they hadn't been caught.
"Thanks, guys. You really saved me back there," she said, frowning down at herself. She couldn't believe that Malfoy could trick her like that; well, she believed it, but her newfound feelings for him didn't want to.
"You should have listened to us!" Ron reasoned, crossing his arms. Harry thought he was being a little hard on her, but she seemed to agree with him.
"I know," she said, sitting down on the ground. Her skirt was riding up, but she didn't seem to care. "I hate this stupid spell."
"Don't worry, Hermione," Ron said, his voice softening up. Him and Harry moved to sit on either side of her, and Harry put his hand on her shoulder. "We're gonna force that spell reverse out of Snape if it kills us."
"I love you guys, you know that?" she said, giggling lightly.
"We know," they said in harmony, chuckling afterwards. They shared brief hugs before scurrying out of the library.
…
The following day, Hermione was overly nervous. As her, Ron and Harry headed for Snape's classroom, they ran into Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy looked off; almost different. He stared at Hermione, an apologetic look on his face.
"Sorry about last night," he whispered, shrugging his shoulders. She gaped at him, confused as to what the actual hell was going on. Was Draco Malfoy apologizing?
"Huh?" she asked. Harry and Ron looked just as puzzled as she did. He reached into his robes, and pulled out a tiny bottle.
"I fetched this out of Snape's office this morning. It's the reverse to the love potion," he said, handing it to her. He gave her one last look before trotting off with two confused bullies.
"You don't think that's poison, do you?" Ron asked, his eyes fixed on the bottle. Hermione gulped, and twisted the cap off.
"There's only one way to find out," she sighed, downing the bottle. She gagged at how disgusting it tasted, shuddering. Ron and Harry stared at her with fear-filled eyes, praying that she wouldn't stiffen up and fall at their feet. After a few seconds of worrying, they narrowed their eyes.
"How do you feel?" Harry asked, stepping closer to her.
"I feel… normal," she said, looking at them with nonchalance.
"You don't feel like kissing Malfoy right now, do you?" Ron asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Gross! No," she said, shaking her head quickly. Ron breathed a deep sigh of relief and hugged her.
"I'm glad you're back," he said, pulling away. She laughed timidly as they strolled into the classroom. The bell rung just in time, and they sat to their seats.
As Snape began his boring lecture, Hermione caught herself looking at Malfoy. When his eyes found their way to her seat, he smiled a bit. She couldn't help the urge to smile back, and she knew that it had nothing to do with the potion.
"Bloody hell," she muttered, shaking her head. Even if by some crazy chance she caught feelings for Malfoy, she'd never admit them. They were too different, and just their names in a sentence was screaming for trouble.
Hermione and Draco.
She laughed at the thought, shaking her head again.
"Something funny, Granger?" Snape asked, his wrinkles growing deeper. She cleared her throat, and shook her head.
"Oh, nothing sir," she said, looking over at Malfoy once again.
And that's exactly what it was; nothing.
Author's Note: I hope I didn't crush any hearts out there. ;P leave me some reviews, lovelies!