Keeper
Chapter Two
Draco left the Great Hall after Hermione, keeping at a slow enough pace just so he wouldn't catch up with her; he was more than ready to escape the blazing eyes of the other students by now. He only quickened his pace, so he could be away from the noises of people talking, laughing, and generally being happier than he was. He couldn't stand it when that happened, made him sick.
He envied every single one of those brats – yes, envied.
"Damnit."
He began to slow down once more, when he had turned several corners and was absolutely sure that he was in the silence of his own thoughts, sure that he was alone. He sighed as he stuffed his hands into the depths his jean pockets, one hand steadily taking hold of his hidden wand; a basic instinct that he couldn't be rid of, a basic skill he had mastered over years of insecurity.
Draco decided inwardly to let Hermione be alone up at the quarters for a while, he couldn't bare see her and let his new-found feelings erupt again. Whatever feelings those may be, he was still quite unsure. But he was certain, he did want them to show up again anytime soon, hence he thought avoiding her would help.
Besides, it was probably best if he ventured around for a while, to clear his head and all, it might be good for him. He proceeded towards a nearby courtyard, hoping for some fresh air. Once there, Draco took a seat on a stone bench and buried his head in his hands, leaning forward on his knees as he did so.
He tried to shake Hermione out of his mind. But her face kept returning to him. Her eyes, so understanding, like they could see past his mask; and her lips, so perfectly curved, though she could easily smile around her friends, he had never been able to make her do so…
Draco snorted aloud, "What was this he was thinking?"
"Stupid boy, stop with the fooling around. You contain no feelings for anyone whatsoever."
He swept a hand through his hair, so that he could see. A chilling breeze met him and caused him to shiver, nevertheless he remained still, unaffected by the cold - or so he pretended to be. He seemed to be torturing himself again, figuring it would be the best thing to do if he thought he did something wrong.
He looked up at the sky, at his blue-moon tinted surroundings and up at the high towers of Hogwarts. He knew she would be in one of those towers somewhere, just going about her business and definitely with better things to do than to think about Draco Malfoy. He took in the beauty of the area, and maintained his locked gaze with the sky above him, as if it were a person in which he could find comfort in. One day, that sky would be the death of him. If that was the case, it would be alright; at least he would be away from all this.
He could try to run away, in the near future, but knowing his father, he would only to be dragged back into his damned life again. Dragged back into this hell, he was forced to call life.
Draco got up, and dug his hands into his pockets once more, another trademark for the "Prince of Darkness". It was about time he went inside before he froze to death, and what's more, it was beginning to get late. It seems, staring at the sky always made the ever organized Malfoy lose track of his valuable time.
Hermione looked out of her bedroom window once again and at the blue moon outside that sat outside. A harsh wind collided with her window, shaking it a small amount, but she merely ignored it due to its ordinary appearances. She wondered if someone out there was staring at the same beautiful sky as her.
She laughed silently to herself, "As if that would ever be true."
Her and her dumb inner- hopeless romantic.
Staring down at her watch, it read 11 o'clock, of course in the evening. She sighed and turned her back to the window, the blue light outlining her elegant figure, where was Malfoy? Surely he should be up by now, right? She could have sworn he was just behind her when she left the Hall. Slightly shocked, she tried to remove any thoughts of him, what in the magical world was going on with her? One moment fuming with hate, the next worried about him!
Just then, she heard a quiet swing of the portrait from downstairs and she decided to check it out. Hurrying down yet trying to keep herself discrete, she entered the common room and caught Malfoy staring around with an amazed look on his face. Surely, it mirrored her face when she first entered the Quarters, its interior was simply amazing and shall we dare say – spell binding.
"Malfoy? Where have you been?" She blurted out, before she could stop herself.
Shocked, Draco turned around at quick speed and sighed only when he saw her standing there in the shadows, at the bottom of the stairs. The last person he wanted to see tonight.
"Granger, I really don't think it's any of your business." He replied calmly, resisting the need to say something cunning.
"Oh right. Yeah." She mumbled, feeling her cheeks warm up. She thanked the dim lighting of the room, and just hoped Draco wouldn't see her blushing. But why should she be blushing? She has no need to be!
They stood there, silently, a discomfited tension building between them, only to be interrupted by Draco shuddering abruptly; he took hold of himself into an embrace to warm himself up, rubbing his arms for friction and warmth.
She gave him a confused look, and realized he was freezing. "Was he outside all this time?"
"You're practically solid cold…"
"You got that right."
The silence ensued again; and she heaved a sigh, finally giving up trying to be nice to him. She wasn't ever sure why she was trying to be nice, trying to catch attention and even trying to impress him. There was no need, Draco Malfoy will always be the Draco Malfoy she met in first year – if you understand that.
Draco's face softened as he tried to catch Hermione's eye, tilting his head to the side questioningly.
"Granger? Were you worried about me?" He grunted, laughing a little.
Hermione opened her mouth and then closed it again, she didn't know what to say and if she did, the words decided not to come out and save her.
"I don't know…" She thought aloud, her gaze on her own two feet as they shifted uneasily.
He stopping smiling and became somewhat serious. "Had he heard her right?"
"What did you just say?"
"Nothing. It doesn't matter." She replied, flicking her long hair over her shoulders and avoiding eye contact.
"It does matter if you said it." Something inside him wanted to hear what she had said again, to know more about her, he took a step closer to her unexpectedly.
She looked, to some extent, a little scared and turned away from him.
"Good night Malfoy." She said quickly before going back (or more like running) upstairs to her room.
"That was a rather fast and intense conversation." Draco though to himself.
He stared at the spot she had been standing in, the words she spoke echoing in his mind replacing that of his fathers – which was a complete joy - and he heard the far-off slam of her door. Once it was still, he let out a deep breath, as if he had been holding it for all this time. His heart ached a little at her absence but he refused to let it consume him.
He left shortly in search for his bedroom; going up the stone staircase, he found it down the corridor to Hermione's. As he closed the door softly behind him, and fell back onto his bed, he threw his robe off, longing for some space to breathe. His chest ached for something, but he didn't know what he wanted, which was a change.
It was impossible to erase her from his brain, she was always there somehow. He didn't even know why she was there, she just was. Just there.
"What a bloody start to the year."
"GODDAMNIT!" He was on the verge of screaming.
He couldn't forget the worried look in her eye, she was worried about him! Of all people! And she had blushed too!
"How ridiculous!"
He, Draco Malfoy, could not ever have feelings for Granger, for a filthy mudblood. It was in no way possible.
He closed his eyes, desperate to get some peace.
He had ever thought anything of her before, so why start now? Right?
"Hermione, what are you doing to me?"
At that sudden moment, all he could think about was how he liked the sound of her name on his lips. Seems like the Draco Malfoy that we all know and love has changed – but is it for the better?
"GRANGER!"
Someone began to beat on her bedroom door, like it was a punching bag or something of that sort.
"FOR THE LOVE OF THE ENTIRE MAGICAL WORLD! GET OFF YOUR ASS AND WAKE UP!" Draco's voice yelled from outside her door.
She got up slowly and groggily, shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight that seeped through her deep red curtains.
"HERMIONE!"
She became fully awake when she heard Malfoy scream her first name. Rubbing her eyes again, she went and walked over towards the source of ever disruptive noise.
"GRANGER! MY GOD!"
There was another angry thump on her door before she hastily opened it and Draco fell inside – undoubtedly leaning on her door beforehand.
"What the-?" Hermione asked. She glanced at Draco full-on face in the floor and couldn't help but smile, perhaps even laugh a little.
"Well, isn't it the Slytherin Prince…" She announced, rolling her eyes and stepping over him to get to the other side of the room.
Draco looked up from where he was; feeling his head for any bumps, and saw Hermione standing over him, hands on his hips, laughing like there was no tomorrow.
"Bloody hell! It took you a half hour to get up!" He said, getting to his feet unsteadily, his knees shaky whether if it was from the fall or because he saw Hermione – he wouldn't know.
"Well, I'm sor-ry!" She said sarcastically, throwing up her hands in mock defeat.
"DAMNIT GRANGER DON'T PLAY THE FOOL!" He yelled at her, angry at her early morning games.
She took a step back, and inspected him suspiciously; he obviously had not gotten a lot of sleep over the last few days, probably had a lot on his mind or was catching up on the endless piles of homework their professors had set for them to do. "Someone has a short fuse." She stated.
"Yeah. So what!"
She rolled her eyes again, beginning to get annoyed with his tone of voice.
"What do you want Malfoy?" She asked seriously, wishing he would get to the point already.
"Dumbledore's got a job for us." He said as-a-matter-of-factly.
"Right." Hermione nodded.
"So?" He enquired impatiently.
"Just give me a few minutes." She told him, giving him a small push on the chest so that he would get out of her room and shutting the door in his face without so much of a polite farewell.
His heart stopped momentarily at the sudden contact. Smiling, he reached to where she had placed her hand previously. It was apparent, that she didn't know how much she affected him. And that was a lot.
Despite how he detested growing to like her, he did it anyway. Couldn't stop it, so he just let it be.
Over the previous nights, what he felt was just a beginning to his emotions. Now, he has starting to do something about them, even without knowing.
He turned and headed back downstairs, feeling much less deprived of sleep and overall much better.
The door creaked, as Draco put his hand to it and gave it a firm push. He and Hermione walked out onto the stone stairway while it slowly rolled down onto the empty corridor.
"Was that it?" He yelled childishly when they got outside.
Draco scratched his head as he and Hermione walked out of Dumbledore's office.
Hermione laughed at the bewildered look on his face, slightly surprising Draco.
"A Ball?" He asked, turning to her.
"That's what Dumbledore said." She replied, laughing aloud again.
"But what am I supposed to know about organizing a ball?"
"And you think I know how to organize one?" She questioned.
"Well you're the smart one."
She stopped in her tracks. Draco walked on a bit before realizing that she wasn't by his side, he then spun around to look for her.
He raised an eyebrow.
"You just called me smart." She said.
"It's a compliment.. from you!" She continued when he stared at her blankly.
"Yeah. Don't think anything of it." He shrugged and walked on.
Hermione smiled and ran after him; somthing inside changed, she was beginning to take a strange liking to him. Maybe he was softening up, or maybe it was just a whole new side of Malfoy that she had never seen before.
When she caught up with him, he looked over at her from the corner of his eye and thought of something to say.
"Don't think that I'm going to be nice to you just because... we have to talk now."
"Okay." She said, still smiling.
"Would she ever stop grinning?" He sighed.
"So, where are you going?" Draco said, breaking the empty silence.
"Er, breakfast. Why?"
"Nothing. Just wanted to know."
She stopped walking again.
"Granger, what now?"
She looked incredibly puzzled.
"Hello?" He said, clicking his fingers in her face.
"Are you feeling alright Malfoy?"
"Yeah. Wh-?" He gasped as Hermione placed a hand on his forehead, to check if he had a fever or something.
He wanted to take hold of her hand in his, but instead he flinched and took a quick step back.
"Ergh, Granger. I understand you can't keep your hands of me, but watch where you put them." He told her mischievously.
"But you're being so nice."
"So what?"
"It's strange."
"And?"
"Why?"
"Because."
Hermione sighed, "Sometimes I wonder what's wrong with you?"
He laughed, "I think exactly the same thing about you."
She found herself laughing with him before she walked ahead into the hall and took a seat at the Gryffindor table by her usual friendship group.
Draco too, made his way towards his house table, without keeping his eyes off her.
He was only interrupted when he sat down, by Pansy grabbing onto his arm and trying to kiss him.
"This was not the time."
He had taken a great comfort in her for all these years, he felt she was the only person who could love him, even if it was false pretense. But recently he had been a bit "off" with her, always feeling disgusted by her going away with all the guys she could get, when usually and previously he didn't mind at all. It was absurd, it was like he was going soft.
Things had changed.
He didn't want her anymore.
Draco drew his eyes away from the Gryffindor table and looked at Pansy.
She twirled a blonde strand of hair around her finger, and gave him her "supposedly-cute" pout, begging him to hang out with her for the day.
He tried to push her away from him, which shocked everyone at the Slytherin table; and he also obtained a few gasps from the other house tables.
It appeared, the Slytherin King and Queen were having another break up. Everyone's eyes turned to the two of them.
"Draccy? What's up?" She whined, trying to latch onto him again.
"Pansy, just piss off."
She, and everyone else in the hall, looked extremely stunned. She took a deep breath, as if she was about to cry. Draco, simply ignored her, he knew that she would just be off with some other guy later on in the day anyway. He was only a fill-in until she could find a worthy victim.
She scooted over to sit with some other girls when she got no reaction from him, pretending that nothing at all had just happened to humiliate her entirely. Draco sighed inwardly, trying to concentrate on eating. But he didn't have the stomach for any of it.
A whole lot of whispers blew up around the hall, ringing in his ears until they hurt. He had just become the top gossip of the day, "how wonderful."
He looked up from the floor and at the Gryffindor table, where he heard the loudest amount of laughing from the "Potty" and his God damned group of friends. Hermione, however, was trying to either stop them or be away from them, but they wouldn't listen to her.
He cast them a cold glare, but then his eyes met with Hermione's, who gave him an apologetic gaze.
She had no reason to apologize, for them or herself.
Things were taking a turn for the worse, and even better, he didn't know what in the name of God was wrong with him.
He took one last glance at Hermione, before getting up and leaving the hall for some air. He couldn't take it all any longer.
Hermione watched as he left, and the whispers about him grew louder now that he was gone.
She knew that Harry making jokes about him would certainly hurt and do no good for anyone. Though he may have a tough coating, he was just as vulnerable on the inside.
Hermione had a mental debate with herself about whether she should go or not, in the end she followed her heart.
She hurried after him, unaware that everyone was now looking at her.
Things certainly would turn in the opposite direction.
She could no longer act like she was unaffected.
A/N : So there you all go, chapter two is now up for those of you who actually care. As I have said many times previously, please review and tell me what you absolutely think. Be honest, not rude. I will promise to update whenever I can and again please review. I'm not really sure, if I'm doing a good enough job of this. I can assure you, that it does get better and hopefully my writing will improve too. I'm going to go now, not sure why, but I will. Ta-ta for now!
Enjoy it while you can!
-Fallen11angel