Chapter Six:
Draco Malfoy had been pacing the Slytherin Common Room for the best part of four hours. The sun had finally begun to rise when Draco finally sat down and looked at the clock, which read 6: 24. Rubbing his eyes, he growled loudly to himself. He was so frustrated, unlike any other time in his life. He was tired, angry and hungry. It was not a very good start to the day. And he blamed it all on the stupid Mudblood Granger. What the hell was she thinking, kissing him like that? No one had ever kissed him like that before and faked it. It wasn't fair either, because now, Draco wasn't sure what he was going to do the next time they met, which was in exactly 12 hours and 6 minutes. She had made a complete fool of him; and he had kissed her back. And the worst part was, he had felt something. Malfoy's don't feel. But Draco had felt something, something very strong. And he had no idea what it was. The only way to know what he was feeling was to do the one thing he couldn't imagine doing while he was sane – he had to kiss Hermione Granger again. And the thing was, he wasn't dreading it.
The sun was beating down on her face. Hermione squeezed her already shut eyes tighter, and then opened them with a yawn. Blinking a few times, she realized she was still in the Common Room. She sat up and stretched, and looked around. Hermione had fallen asleep on the Common Room floor. To her surprise, Blaise had fallen asleep next to her. Standing up, Hermione remembered what had happened the night before. She left the Gryffindor Party, kissed Draco Malfoy, broke down in front of Blaise Zabini, and fell asleep. Tracing her thoughts back to Draco, she had to laugh. She wondered if he was still lying on the floor outside the Common Room. Smiling to herself, Hermione made her way over to the kitchen area and began to make some tea.
"What's so funny?" came Blaise's voice from next to the fireplace. Hermione turned around.
"Good morning. Tea or coffee?" she said, taking two cups out of the cupboard.
"What was so funny?" Blaise repeated, walking over to the bar-like table. "Tea, please."
"Nothing really. I was just thinking about something that happened last night, that's all. Sugar or Honey?"
"What happened last night? Sugar…"
"Honestly, it was nothing. I just ran into someone. Water or milk?"
"Milk. Who?"
"Does it matter? Here."
"Yes, it matters. Who? Thanks."
"Fine. I ran into Draco, happy?"
"What's so funny about that? Yes."
"Nothing. It was just something I said to him."
"What did you say?"
"Blaise! Drop it already!" Hermione said, sitting down at the counter.
"Yeah, yeah. Fine…" Blaise sighed, taking a sip of his tea. "So what did you say to him?"
"Blaise!"
"Joking, Hermione…Just joking."
Hermione rolled her eyes, and stood up. "I'm going to go down to the Gryffindor Common Room. I promised Ginny I'd stop by today."
"Hey Granger?" Blaise called after her.
"Yes?" Hermione laughed at the fact that he called her by her last name.
"You do realize you're wearing the same thing you were wearing last night?" Blaise said, taking another sip.
Hermione looked down, and he was right. She was still wearing her low-cut jeans, and white camisole. "Damn…" Hermione turned and ran up to her room to change, leaving Blaise to laugh and take another swig of his tea.
Hermione dashed around her room as she threw off her shirt and shoes, and kicked off her pants. Running to her dresser, she pulled out a pair of loose-fitting, gray, sweatpants, a nice change from her tight jeans, and a plain, black long-sleeved shirt the fit her nicely. She grabbed her socks and flat tennis shoes, and nearly fell down the stairs, trying to put both on at the same time.
Blaise, on the other hand, was having the time of his life, sitting at the bar, and watching Hermione struggle and tumble down the stairs. He just sat there, sipping his drink, as she fell flat on her butt.
"Ow!" she muttered, standing up and rubbing her bottom.
"What's the big hurry?" Blaise asked genuinely.
"Well…" Hermione paused, suddenly feeling like an idiot. "There is no hurry…damnit, why am I rushing around? That hurt! Remind me never to rush again…"
"Will do," Blaise said, as she walked to the portrait hole.
"See you."
"Yeah, yeah. Bye…" he laughed.
Hermione entered the corridor, still feeling exceptionally stupid. There was nothing like making a fool of yourself in front of a Slytherin. It was unusually dark in the hallway, and Hermione wrapped her arms around herself. She never really liked the dark. There was too much opportunity for someone to sneak up on you. Little did she know that was exactly what was happening. Draco had extinguished all the lights in the hallway, and Hermione, completely oblivious to it, had been traveling further into the castle, in the opposite direction of the Gryffindor Common Room.
Hermione pulled out her wand and muttered, "Lumos!" The tip of her wand ejected a bright blue light, and Hermione looked around. She did not recognize the corridor. Fear rising in her body, she shivered slightly.
"He…Hello?" she muttered as she raised her wand higher up. Suddenly, there was a sound from behind her. Hermione whipped around only to meet a pair of beautiful blue eyes. No, there weren't totally blue. They had swirls of silver in them, which right now, kept Hermione entranced. Hermione felt her breath catch in her chest. She tried to look away, but those eyes forced her gaze. They were amazing. All of a sudden, Hermione realized how close she was standing to the body and backed away slightly. Her wand lit up the face, and she recognized the face of Draco Malfoy. Hermione gasped inwardly. He was close…too close.
"What do you want?" she said, demanding, but quietly.
He just moved closer.
"What do you think you are doing? What the hell do you want Malfoy!" Hermione said. She didn't like the idea of being alone in a dark hallway with Malfoy, no matter how gorgeous his eyes were.
"Temper, temper Hermione. And such language, from the Head Girl? Now, I'm not sure that is entirely proper…" he said, barely whispering. Hermione felt shivers go up her spine. She backed away slightly, only to be greeted by a stonewall. She had nowhere to run. She closed her eyes briefly, praying he wasn't going to kill her.
"What do you want?" she choked.
"You," he whispered, his voice almost inaudible.
Hermione looked up at him, her eyes locking with his again. She was utterly confused. She felt his hand on either side of her, barring her against the wall. Not letting go of his gaze, Hermione tried to figure out what was going on. One of his hands left the wall and cupped her chin. Hermione searched his eyes for some sort of clue. He smiled gently at her. Draco lowered his lips onto hers. Hermione stiffened, not knowing what to do, or if this was real. Draco Malfoy was kissing her out of his own free will. Something clicked inside of Hermione, and she dropped her wand. It made a soft clunk on the floor. Her hand somehow found the back of Draco's neck and she pulled him closer. She could barely feel anything but how wonderful his lips against hers felt. Draco's other hand slid down the wall and tenderly onto Hermione's waist. She shuddered at his touch. He broke the kiss and looked at her.
"Are you cold?" he whispered. She shook her head. He moved back forward and placed his lips back on hers. She felt his tongue on her bottom lip, but debated what she was about to do. The moment getting the better of her, Hermione parted her mouth slightly and gave into him. They stood there, kissing for almost ten minutes before Hermione gently moved away. Draco looked at her, slightly confused. "What is it?" he asked.
Hermione slid down the wall and sat down on the floor, grasping her turned off wand. "You don't feel how weird this is?" she murmured. Draco sat down next to her, his hands propped up on his bent knees.
He stared straight ahead into the darkness. "This confirmed all of my worst fears Hermione."
She looked at him. "I don't understand."
"After…after last night, I felt really…really…different," he began, obviously not knowing how to say how he was feeling. "I didn't know…I felt something, and Malfoy's don't feel anything very often. But, I didn't know what it was. All I knew was that I had…I…I had to kiss you again. To figure out what was going on in my head. And now…" he faded off.
"And now…what?" Hermione breathed.
Draco just leaned over and kissed her again. Not as intense as before. But, simple and sincere, sweet and effortless. It was perfect.
Hermione looked at Draco, registering what the kiss meant.
"This is so surreal. The worst thing I was told could have happened to me just did, and it wasn't. It was the best thing that has ever happened to me. It was so completely and undeniably wrong. But it felt…so…right…" Draco whispered, his eyes meeting hers. All Hermione could do was nod. He was right. Hermione looked around.
"Where are we?" she asked genuinely. Draco laughed.
"Near the dungeons…" Hermione looked at him again, her eyes wide. He laughed again. Pulling out his wand, he turned the torches back on, lighting up the corridor.
Hermione didn't know what to think. She had just kissed Draco Malfoy, her enemy of seven years. Nothing good could possibly come from it. She didn't know how to react, or whether or not they were a couple now…A million thoughts were running through her head. What would she tell Harry and Ron? Not to mention it would complicate the potion-making situation. Everything was way too confusing now.
"We can't do this Draco…" she whispered, determinedly not looking at him. She felt him stiffen next to her.
"Do what?"
"This…sneak off into dark corridors and kiss. We can't be together. It's not right. We've hated each other for seven years. This isn't logical. And besides, you hate Harry and Ron and they hate you. And the whole potion thing…what will Blaise think –" Hermione said this all very quickly, but Draco cut her off.
"What does this have to do with Blaise? You don't like him, do you?" he said, turning her face towards him.
"No! No, are you insane? He's just a friend -"
"Hermione, you don't know him. Don't get too friendly with him, don't get to close. He's not who you think he is. There are things about him you don't know, and don't need to know. I'm warning you, and telling you for your own good. If you ever listen to anything I say, let it be this. Do not fall in love with Blaise Zabini."
"I'm not in love with him Draco! But you're supposed to be his friend, how could you say stuff like that behind his back?"
"His friend? Hermione, Blaise and me could not be more different, and we certainly aren't what you would classify as 'friends.' When there are people around, we act civilized, but that's as far as it goes. There are things you don't know about Blaise, and about me, and our relationship for lack of a better term. Don't get to involved with him," Draco said, dropping her gaze. Hermione stood up.
"You're just saying that because you like me and want me to be with you! You're just jealous because you think I like Blaise, and that he may have a better chance with me than you do. Well, just for your information, I don't like Blaise!" she said.
Draco stood up and looked at her, dumbfounded. "Then who do you like?"
Hermione looked at the floor for a moment. She then quickly leaned forward and planted a kiss right on Draco's lips. Then, without so much as a look back, she turned and walked briskly down the corridor.
Draco slid back down the wall with a small smirk playing on his mouth. He touched the spot where she had kissed him and his smirk grew into a smile. Then, realizing what he was doing, he jumped, resulting in him hitting his head on a rather jagged rock on the wall.
"Ow…" he cursed, before standing back up and smiling.
Hermione nearly ran to the Gryffindor Common Room. She stopped before turning the corner, until her breathing returned to normal. She was wondering what she was going to tell her best friends. Walking to the portrait, she said the password and she closed her eyes as she entered. Sighing heavily as she thought about what she was about to do, Hermione opened her eyes.
"Hey Hermione! Over here!" Ron's voice swept through her ears. Hermione turned and saw Harry and Ron playing chess as usual by the fireplace. Ginny sat next to them, petting her cat, Snooks. A grin spread across her face as Harry's knight dragged Ron's queen off the board. She leaned over and planted a kiss on Harry's cheek, which made him smile, and Ron's expression go completely vacant. Hermione sat down opposite Ginny.
"When did this happen?" she laughed, referring to the kiss.
"Last night," Ginny said, smiling and slipping her hand into Harry's free one. Hermione looked back to Ron, who looked somewhere between 'about to vomit,' 'worry,' and 'aw.'
"You alright there Ron?" Hermione said, patting him on the back.
Ron shook his head and looked at Hermione. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine, bloody brilliant." Hermione hoped Harry and Ginny didn't notice the sarcasm in his voice, and they hadn't. Hermione smiled sympathetically at him, put her hands together and took a deep breath.
"What about you? You okay?" Ron said, pushing his pawn forward.
"No, actually. I have something to tell you guys," Hermione breathed slowly. Harry and Ginny broke apart and looked at her.
"What is it?" Harry asked, frowning.
Hermione closed her eyes again. "I did something…"
"Something, what?" Ron said.
"Something bad."
(A/n: hey guys sorry its so short. I promise the next one will be longer)
FarDeep: Aw, thanks! I'm glad you thought so. I hope you like this one too.
Lady Ghost Buster: Sorry I took so long
LadySnake: Wait and see, then make your judgment. That's all I'm saying!
HPFreak2gd4u: Grazi (thanks)
Doodleflip: The ending is sweet…the story isn't ;)