~.~
(iv)
"What do you mean?"
Telling your best friends about your secret relationship with their enemy was not supposed to be like this. They were intended to do it in an orderly fashioned way, complete with shielding spells to avoid hexes being thrown away. They were not supposed to tell them in a compromising situation, with her naked chest shielded behind his still-clothed back.
She knew, sneaking into one of the classrooms to have a quickie with her boyfriend would be a bad idea. Especially it was close to the Gryffindor's Common Room.
"It means that I am with Draco, whether you like it or not."
"Hermione, he's a Death Eat-"
"I'm not deaf, and I can assure you that I haven't been one since the war."
"But, you're-"
Harry, who had been observing them with an intent gaze, stopped Ron with a flick of his hand. Draco had shown a great amount of compassion and protectiveness towards Hermione, guarding her against them with determination yet carefulness when he helped her hide her modesty. He clutched her hand and stared at them defiantly, all the while sporting a supportive wall so Hermione could lean on. Even the blind could tell that Draco cared for her greatly.
"Ron, let's leave them alone."
The latter glanced at him. "Why should we? We deserve some answers from-"
"From what? Ron, as far as I'm concerned, Hermione can take care of herself. It's a no-brainer that she could be trusted."
"I trust her; it'shim I don't trust."
"Well, it's a good thing I don't give a shit then."
Hermione pinched his shoulder for swearing, and even though Harry saw how hard Draco tried not to; he flinched slightly at the pain.
"If Hermione trusts him, then I think we should give him the benefit of the doubt."
"But-"
Hermione's glare stopped him this time. "No buts. I can take care of myself, and you don't have to act as if I'm a four-year-old that you can baby on. I'm nineteen, and if you haven't noticed, I am the brightest witch of my age."
Hermione's declaration took them slightly by surprise; it was evident on how Draco had influenced her on how arrogant she sounded a few seconds ago. Not to mention, with a little bit more confidence too.
Maybe dating the ferret couldn't be all too bad.
"C'mon. Let's go."
"But-"
"Nothing. We are going to leave them alone, let them finish-" Harry glanced at them, appalled "-whatever this is, and we'll talk about it. Later."
Harry gripped Ron's shirt and dragged them away, locking the door as they crossed out the room. The awkward tension created an uncomfortable silence between them, but it was broken when Draco started laughing.
Hermione pulled away from him and walked in front of him. Frowning, she said, "Why are you laughing?"
"Did you see the look on his face? Bloody idiot looked like he was about to burst."
"I hardly find that amusing."
"Of course you don't. You spent so much time with him that you're immune to his stupidity. But I, however, am not used to it, so please let me humour myself for once in a while, woman."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yeah. We have to make ourselves look presentable. They're probably waiting for us outside."
Hermione was about to pick up her discarded bra on the floor, but she was pushed against the wall before she could do anything further. He attacked her with a hungry kiss, and while she tried to stop him at first, the movement of his lips against hers persuaded her otherwise. With a moan, she wrapped her arms around his neck and played with his hair by the nape of his neck. He groaned at her touch, and clutched her hips nearer to his, creating a friction that was all too familiar.
Something knocked her into her senses because she pulled away from him when he tried to cup her breast. "We shouldn't be doing this now."
In his rarest moments of playfulness, he pouted. "Why?"
"Because my best friends are waiting for us behind those doors, and if you don't stop now, we won't be able to later on."
"Exactly my point. Who wants to stop, when you have a perfectly good reason not to?"
"Draco."
Her warning tone made him sigh. "Fine, we'll stop; but it doesn't mean we're finished here."
She answered him with a small smirk, the one that would make him fall onto his knees if she wanted to. She leant forward and rubbed the front of his trousers, saying:
"Oh, darling. We are far from over yet."
She withdrew her hand and glided to his side to retrieve her bra off the floor. He gulped and twisted around to help her get dressed, all the while sporting a raging hard-on in his pants.
He had never hated the demented duo more before this moment.
~.~
"Alright." She huffed as she landed the books in her hands on the coffee table by the fireplace in their common room. "I think these should be enough, shouldn't it?"
She could've sworn that Draco rolled his eyes at her.
She came back from the library, and after spending three hours in there, she had finally found a couple of books (which, in Draco's definition, were at least twenty) that might be able to help them. She had attracted many curious glances from her peers, especially from the librarian herself. With a firm nod, and showing off her badge saying that it was an official Head Girl's duty; she checked out the books without any more difficulty.
The first book was about reversal spells, and page after page, she read through them, hoping to find the answer to their problem. Once, she saw a spell on how to reverse the effects of Animagi, but once she was sure that Draco wasn't an unregistered Animagus, she moved on to the next page. She also saw another spell that could inverse the effects of a Changing Spell, but with a wave of her wand – and a head-shake from Draco – she confirmed that he was under the influence of a potion. Since another potion could only reverse most potions effects; she had stopped her search on the book.
This was why she moved on to the next one, a book about antidotes for common potion mistakes. Even though what happened to Draco was far from it being a mistake, she rifled through the book anyway. She almost hit the jackpot when she saw a potion to change the effects of a transfiguration potion, but it would take her four days to brew it. And she only had four hours to mend this mess.
His proximity had caused a stab in her heart, as every time he brushed her against his tail or any other parts of his furry little body; it would remind her about their fight. She kept on telling herself that after this was all over, they would go on with their separate ways. He would marry that Greengrass girl, and she would stay in her room, eating ice cream and watch sad films in her pyjamas.
She sounded pitiful, even to her.
As tempting as it sounded for her to leave him like this so that he would forever be with her, she knew that she wouldn't let herself do something so cruel.
Almost three hours later, she cried in defeat. "Why can't I find anything?"
Draco was woken up roughly by her shouting. When it was clear that he was of no help whatsoever, Hermione persuaded him into sleeping, and he was more than happy to incline. He was already so tired; running around the dungeons with four stubby paws weren't as easy as any other animals perceive it to be.
"I mean, there's got to be something that I'm missing here!"
Draco crawled his way to her side, shifting his snout closer to the page she was reading. It was an entry for a potion to cure excessive diarrhoea, so he glanced at her questioningly.
"I got desperate."
Recurring squeaks was heard from him, and even trolls would know that he was laughing. She glowered defiantly and crossed her arms on her chest.
"I like to see you try."
He stopped abruptly and looked at her with a twitch of his whiskers.
"Can't really do that, can you?"
He lifted his tail in a snobbish manner, an act that made Hermione smile. He glanced at her smile; licking his own lips. When he snapped his gaze to her, she was surprised to see the longing in his eyes. She was also sure that her eyes reflect the same thing too.
They were interrupted by the undesirable chime of the grandfather clock in the common room, marking its eleventh hour. Hermione gasped at the offending timepiece, and started to frantically flip through the pages of the book.
"I only have an hour left. And if I can't find the solution for this mess, than you're going to be stuck like this forever!"
Draco just stared, but she wasn't expecting him to reply. She tried to return to her books with a sudden vibe of urgency, but Draco caught her hand with his tail, preventing it from moving any further.
"What are you doing? Let me go!"
With a subtle shake of his head, Hermione's eyes broaden.
"Are you saying that I should just give up?"
He nodded. She did the opposite.
"I'm not going to give up on you!"
She seized her hand from his grasp and (ignoring the horrible stench that came from a skunk) she ran towards the nearest book by the opposite side of the table. He stared ahead, marvelling at her persistence. Even when he was a complete bastard to her, she still wanted to change him back. At first he was puzzled as to why she was so determined, thinking that her bleeding heart had taken over her at the time. But when he saw the unhappy expression that took over her face at the possibility of losing him to a state like this, he had finally understood the reason behind her perseverance.
She still loved him.
It made him feel more like a dick than he already was.
The grandfather clock chimed again, letting them know that there was only ten minutes left.
"Shit!"
Draco glanced at her sadly, and used his tail again to stop her once more. She pursed her lips and closed her eyes, as if she was in a lot of pain. Her shoulders shook and she whimpered loudly. It only dawned on him that she was crying.
"I'm sorry. You must be so disappointed in me."
Draco shifted his paw after the other, pointing his snout on her hand. She got the hint, lifting it and as fast as he could, he wormed his way under hand. He raised his head at her, showing his pleading eyes, hoping that she would understand what he was trying to convey.
It's okay to fail sometimes.
You did your best.
And for some reason, she did.
"I feel like I've failed you."
I failed you.
"You don't deserve to live like this."
I don't deserve you even more.
Then the grandfather clock chimed, a full minute was left before it stricken midnight. Hermione pulled her hand away from Draco, and smiled through her tears.
"For all its worth, I just want you to know that I forgive you."
With a sad glance at him, she paced slowly towards her room, allowing the sobs to finally break out. A loud squeak of pain was heard across the room, but in her fragile state, she didn't have the will to look back.
~.~
With her eyes closed, Hermione clutched her pillow, the one that was charmed so it could retain Draco's scent. The smell of his cologne wafted through her nose, and she realised that she will never have the real thing ever again.
She had failed him.
She was supposed to help him, but she let him down. He might be roaming around the castle right now, trying to get used to the fact that he was a skunk forever. In any times, the situation would be funny, but for the fact that she was the one who was supposed to help him, but didn't; it just made the situation a lot worse.
Hermione Granger was not known to fail.
A few tears ran down her cheek as she mourned the loss of her love; even if he was not dead, it would never be the same again.
That was until she opened her eyes.
A gentle hand reached out for her cheek and brushed her tears away, drawing a gasp from her. She cupped the hand on her cheek, and looked at the owner in disbelief.
"Draco?"
He didn't say anything, instead climbed onto the bed; making himself comfortable on top of her. Only then, she realised he was naked. She drew a deep breath as he leaned down to capture her mouth. Not being able to resist him since the first time, she wielded willingly. His soft tongue brushed against her lips, asking for entrance. She granted it with a swipe from her own tongue, and soon their kisses escalated. He pulled back to allow them to breathe, and reached for the hem of her nightgown.
"Draco," she whispered. He still hadn't said anything, too mesmerised by her.
Sometimes, he still couldn't comprehend how lucky he was.
Right before anything else happened, he pulled back from her lips and looked at her in the eyes.
"I love you."
She didn't have the chance to reply because a loud keen escaped her mouth as she felt his finger sliding up her thighs. It wasn't until they reached the end did she realised that it was half past midnight.
~.~
On their afterglow, with his arms around her, she sighed.
"What's wrong?"
Hermione's lips quirked up in befuddlement. "How did you-? I mean, I couldn't find anything to save you, and yet here you are."
He smiled. "I knew I had forgotten something."
He ran out of her bedroom, only to be back with a pair of boxers (much to her dismay) and a parchment in his hand. He flicked between his fingers as he scrambled on the bed, looking at it with curiosity.
"Didn't think she would give me this. After all the shit I've been through, I didn't expect her to give me a letter out of all things."
Hermione took the letter and read it out loud:
Congratulations, you made it!
Draco can tell you who turned him into a skunk now. I am so glad you guys finally get your shit together. Two weeks of wallowing in self-pity are never attractive, and I knew I had to do something about it.
The potion's effects would wear off once their true love forgives the drinker for their mistakes. Who knew the wizard folk in the 16th Century would be so tacky, huh?
If I see, hear or even smell something's wrong between you two, I will see to it that you would end up like Nearly Headless Nick.
For lack of better threats.
Well, maybe not; but it will still be bad.
In other news, Happy Valentine's Day! See you later at the ball!
By the way, I have something to say to the both of you, but I think I'll do it face to face.
Audrey Winslow
"Your cousin-?"
"Yes, it was her."
"She turned you into a skunk just so we could give each other another chance?"
"I believe so."
"That's a very strange way to do so."
"Well, she's a Slytherin. You can't blame her for using underhanded tactics to get what she wants."
Hermione raised an amused eyebrow at him. "You're very proud of her, aren't you?" Hermione smirked.
"Very." He said it with such a grave voice, that it made her giggle. He joined in her laugh; it was contagious, but soon recovered once he recalled what he was going to say before he saw the frown on her face a few minutes prior.
"Hermione."
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry."
Her body tensed at his apology and she twisted around to stare at him in disbelief. "What?"
"I'm sorry. During these two weeks, I did a lot of thinking."
"Did you?" Hermione teased, trying to lighten up the mood.
"Shush, woman! I'm trying to be romantic here." Hermione giggled; she had never laughed so much in days.
"Well, as I was saying, before you rudely interrupted." Draco playfully pinched her. "I realised what I've done to you, holding you back from everything; it's the most fucked up thing I've done. And because of that, I've almost lost the most important person in my life."
Almost. How happy she was to prevent it from being permanent.
"The truth is, I'm scared. I'm scared that once everybody found out about us, people would try to steal you away, or ask you to change your mind. And while I know you're not as naive as people ought to think, there was a moment of fear that I had in me, and I hate it. I hate it mostly because I love you too much to lose you. I've lost my father, and I almost lost my mum too; I don't want to lose you too."
Hermione sniffed, feeling overwhelmed by his heartfelt confession.
"And calling you a mudblood was one of the biggest mistakes I would ever do. You're definitely not inferior to me, you've already proven your worth to anyone and everyone! I'm sorry for even thinking about that word."
Hermione placed her finger on his lips. "That was mostly my fault. I pushed you, when I knew I shouldn't have."
"I don't blame you, though."
"I still feel bad."
"I guess we're even then."
Hermione quirked up her lips in amusement and bent forward to capture his lips in a kiss. Once they pulled apart, he grimaced.
"Don't be mad."
"What?"
"Is it wrong for me to tell you that I've already told my mum about us?"
"You did, what?"
"I already told you. These two weeks got me thinking, and when I've done that, I realised that I want what you want too. For us to be together out in public. Having the thought of letting everyone know that you're mine is a good thing, I can have the permission to beat the shit out of anyone if they dare to look at you in a different way."
That earned him an indignant slap on his chest.
"But the best part is, I get to show the world that I've changed for the better, because I got the kindest, sweetest, and not to mention the most beautiful girl by my side."
He took her hand and traced his thumb over her fourth finger, his face in a daze. Maybe, it was too early for that proposal, but he surely could ask her this instead:
"So, Hermione Granger, would you do me the honours of being with me during Valentine's Ball? Would you do the honours of walking by my side, always?"
With tearful eyes, happy ones thankfully, she said, "I would be honoured."
~.~
When she came down from her room the next day, he could almost swear that he had never seen such a beautiful woman in his entire life. She was wearing an emerald green halter dress with silver strapping by her neck. The neckline wasn't too low, but it was enough to show off a little cleavage. She had her hair up into a French plait and had a tiny amount of makeup on.
Besides, she was wearing his house colours. If they didn't have to attend the stupid ball, she would've been on the couch naked by now.
When they arrived at the entrance of the Great Hall, they took a deep breath. With her hand on his arm by the crook of his elbow, they walked in with a slight nervous skip in their feet.
Everybody fell silent; staring at them with shock in their faces. But as soon as it started, most of them had shrugged and returned to their conversations respectively. Draco and Hermione glanced at each other, grateful that they had taken it so well.
No wands were drawn. Thank God.
Guess the war did change everyone.
They were heading towards the tables to get something to eat, but something by the corner if their eyes caught their attention. They gaped at the smirking couple, not much different from the others a few minutes back, and suddenly it all clicked.
"So, it was the two of you that set us up?" Hermione asked.
"Yep." Ron leered.
"And why did you change me into a skunk out of all the bloody animals in the world?" Draco scowled at the pair while their cheeky smiles grow bigger.
"Well, you see, the potion works by revealing the drinker of their true nature or personality into the form of an animal that resembles it. And I don't know about you, but it totally works."
"Well, at least it's not a ferret," Ron said as he smirked at Draco with glee. He shuddered at the memory of turning into one, particularly in the part where he was forced to be shoved into Goyle's trousers. And only God knew how many times he washed those.
"Shut up."
"One would think being stuck with the brightest witch of her age would make you think of better replies other than 'Shut Up'."
Hermione looked up at Draco, who was still glaring with playful malice at Audrey and placed a small kiss on his jaw. He snapped his attention to Hermione and smiled at her with subtle affection. He leant down to place a kiss on her forehead but stopped when he saw the identical grins of the couple in front of him.
"What?"
Audrey shrugged. "Oh, nothing."
He looked at Ron. "So, you're the mysterious boyfriend, huh?"
"Didn't see that one coming; did ya?"
Draco frowned at him. "Not to say I have, no."
"Why? The Prince of Slytherin couldn't handle a little of manipulation from others?"
"No. It's because I didn't know Audrey has such low standards."
Even Hermione, who was usually quick when it came to defending her friends, laughed at Draco's snide comment. Audrey made a small noise of amusement at Ron, whose face was redder than the ripest tomatoes.
To save him out of his misery, and to boost his ego slightly; she said, "No, it's because he knows how to use his tongue."
Draco and Hermione curtly stopped laughing at her remark.
"Don't ever say that again."
"Ahah! Now you know what I feel when you told me you thought vacuum cleaners are sex toys!"
"You did that?" Hermione's eyes sparkled with enjoyment.
"It's not my fault I'm a wizard! We have magic for a reason, you know! Besides, if you haven't told me about dildos, I wouldn't even know what sex toys are!"
"You told him about dildos? Why?"
Audrey lifts a shoulder. "He asked."
"I don't think I'll trust you alone with him any longer."
Audrey had no reply; she just put on a mischievous smile.
Draco's face turned serious when he regarded Ron; his attentions were clear. "If you ever hurt her-"
Ron put up a hand between them, promptly making Draco close his mouth in shock. Not once had the Weasel's been brave enough to do so, but he was courting his cousin, so maybe he did have some balls in him.
"Let's just make a deal. I'll take care of her," Ron's hand squeezed slightly on Audrey's waist, "if you'll take care of Hermione for me."
Without missing a beat, Draco held out his hand.
"Deal."
Ron shook his hand. "It's a pleasure doing business with you."
"I hope this is the first and the last one. I don't think I'm capable of compromising with you anymore."
Everybody laughed; Ron decided to just smile in elusive amusement.
"Something's got me thinking," Ron said suddenly.
"Oh, that's dangerous," Draco muttered.
"What?" Audrey prompted him as she ignored Draco's jibe.
"What is a vacuum cleaner-?"
"Oh, don't get me started."
~.~
The ball was in full swing, and everybody danced along with the music. Most of them had smiled and waved in respect at their choices. While others seemed to glance at them now and then, sending heated glares and poorly hidden jibes; Draco and Hermione ignored them with a proud raise of their heads. Pansy was glaring, Neville was gaping, and they could see that Seamus had proudly retrieved ten Galleons from Dean.
The latter had raised a few eyebrows from them.
They were laughing at something Draco had said, but they were interrupted when someone tapped Ron on his shoulder, averting his attention from them.
"I don't mean to disturb you and all, congratulations to you two, by the way-" Ginny smiled at Draco and Hermione, "-but have you seen Harry?"
Hermione frowned. "Wait, you weren't with him this whole time?"
"We planned to meet here by the entrance before the ball starts, but I've been waiting for an hour now, and he is still not here."
Unexpectedly, Ron tensed his shoulders. He dropped his punch glass, spilling it all over the floor.
"Shit."
"What do you mean, 'shit'?" Ginny glared at him.
Ron sputtered and hesitated, looking everywhere but her.
"Ronald Weasley, what did you do this time?"
His fearful stare stunned Ginny.
"I totally forgot!"
He sprinted off to the exit, leaving them confused.
"What did you do!"
And with that, she followed after him; holding her wand by her side.
"I wonder what that's all about," Draco murmured.
"I have no idea," Audrey muttered.
~.~
By the third floor, near the corridor which held the Room of Requirement, a door to an abandoned closet was shaken and pounded on. Angry shouts were heard from the other side, though there was no one there to hear him.
"This is not funny anymore!" Harry hit the door with his fists.
"Someone, get me the fuck out of here!"
FIN
A/N: That ends this little ficlet. Please leave a review; I love to hear your thoughts. And I worked quite hard on this one; I should be able to ask something in return, something as simple as a review, right? Anyway; hope you enjoyed reading this, as much as I had enjoyed writing this silly fic. :)
