Responses:
HarryPotterFanGirlForever: haha, hold your horses! We'll get there in a second!
Bethy Ann: yes, the sky is beautiful, all the time, no matter what, even when it's, like raining. Anyways, I have unlimited text too, but not for other countries, so...oops! Thanks for reviewing.
HPGW4eva: haha, you know, do you? Well be in for a surprise...
RG: Yay! Thanks for your amazing review. It makes my day to hear that someone liked a chapter so much. Btw, the bill hasn't come yet, so for now I'm safe...
Dani4ever: yeah, she's falling down the stairs, or at least starting to fall at that point. It'll make sense in a bit. I like the idea of Draco getting jealous, but I don't really think the Great Hall would be a good place. Their relationship is still restricted to their common room for now. Glad you liked it!
Hello hello! Did you hate me enough for that cliffy? Well, if you hated me then, you'll hate me even more now, because it gets intense. You asked for drama, so you're gonna get it........well, actually, you didn't exactly ask for it, did you? No, actually that was someone else—but someone else whose opinion I value highly and therefore someone else whose suggestions I take more to heart. No offense to you guys. Anyway, whether you want the drama or not, you're gonna get it, so prepare yourselves...
Chapter 11: Falling
Draco made to grab Hermione, but all he got was a fistful of robes that slipped through his fingers.
And so she fell, and there was nothing Draco could do. She tumbled and tumbled, hitting the harsh stones over and over again until she was able to muster enough strength to put a bruised hand out to stop her descent.
When she stopped falling, almost 20 steps down from Draco, he ran to her. "Are you ok?" he practically yelled.
"Mmmm?" was his only response.
Draco was freaking out. She had to be ok. She had to.
Draco carefully stepped in front of her. Hermione was half lying half sitting on one step, one leg on the step above her, shoulders up against the rough stone wall. He knelt down before her and tried to move her into a more practical position. He took her distorted legs, which, to his horror, were covered in small cuts and bruises, and pulled them to the step he was sitting on, trying to get her to sit upright.
"Hermione?" Draco said, anxiety leading his voice.
At the sound of her name, Hermione's eyes fluttered open for a moment.
"Draco?" she moaned.
Then something clicked in Draco's head. He shouldn't just sit there, worrying about her.
Instead, he stood up, stepped down a bit, and put his arms under Hermione's limp body. Her dead weight was hard on him, but Draco was strong, and more so, he didn't care much at the moment.
Hermione moaned again when he moved her, trying to position her better, one arm under her thighs, the other on her upper back. Hermione's head found his upper arm, resting on it as he began to descend again. As much as Draco wanted to run, he stopped himself, knowing that if he fell too, it would do neither of them any good.
Draco came out onto the fourth floor landing. It was very late and very dark now.
Hermione whimpered quietly, "my head."
Draco looked down at her and, terrified, realized that there was a nasty cut on her forehead that was bleeding into her hair.
"It's gonna be ok, Hermione, I promise. I just need to get you to the Hospital Wing, and then you'll be fine, ok? Ok?" he said again when she didn't respond. He had to make sure she didn't pass out.
"Mmmm" was all he got, but it was enough.
Draco walked as briskly as he could under her weight down the two floors to the Hospital Wing.
"Madam Promfrey?" Draco yelled, not caring if he disturbed her other patients. "Madam Promfrey!"
She came bustling out of her office, exclaiming. "How dare you come in here and..." Her words died on her lips upon the sight of an almost unconscious Hermione in Draco's arms.
"I...what happened?" she asked, motioning him toward a bed.
Placing her down carefully, Draco said, "She fell down the stairs in the Astronomy Tower."
Madam Promfrey leaned over Hermione, examining her. "I've told Dumbledore time and again about these castle steps. They'll kill somebody one day." Draco's eyes widened as she said this. She looked up at him. "Oh, no, no, Mr. Malfoy, she'll be just fine. She took a pretty nasty fall, but there shouldn't be any damage I can't fix. I've seen worse cases, though admittedly this one ranks up there." When Draco became alarmed again, she changed tact. "I assume you're going back to your dormitories? It's quite late after all."
"Oh, er, well, if you don't mind I think I'll stay."
"Of course you may, my dear." She said, smiling warmly. "Would you like a sweet? They're in that corner. You can take a chair over there, and I'll get to work."
Draco nodded as she closed the curtain around Hermione's bed and walked to the area she indicated—an obvious new addition to the Hospital Wing...a waiting room. No wonder he thought after last year.
0000000000
Draco woke with a start later that night. He was lying uncomfortably on the couch. He had been dreaming about Hermione falling again. Except that in his dreams she kept falling and falling all the way down the long spiral staircase, and by the time he got to her, she wouldn't wake up.
It was early in the morning at this point, the dead of night. Draco was dying to see Hermione, but didn't know if she was in any fit state to talk to him.
Madam Promfrey had come and woken him earlier, and told him that she was asleep right now, but would be fine. There had been a few broken ribs and other bone fractures, but the only lasting damage caused was a mild concussion, and that would get better on its own.
Draco got up and walked quietly over to Hermione's bed and opened the curtain a crack. She was asleep. He walked in a little further to get a good look at her.
Most of the bruises on her face and arms were gone and there was one bandage around her left elbow, another at her hairline, where she had hit her head. Draco felt his heart clench for a mixture of reasons as he looked at her pale form.
He sat down slowly, not wanting to disturb her, and put his hand over hers.
However she felt the movement and woke up a bit.
"Draco?"
He pointed his wand to the curtain and whispered silencio. "Hey there"
"Draco," she giggled, "you're holding my hand!"
He quirked an eyebrow at her strange behavior and removed his hand.
"Wait! No, put it back. That was nice."
Draco placed his hand on hers again. "Mmmm," she said, closing her eyes.
"How're you feeling?"
"I'm alright. My head hurts a bunch. I'm feeling quite out of it." She giggled again. "Everything in my mind is all jumbled! If anyone were to want to take advantage of me, now would be the time to do it." She laughed raucously, in an embarrassed sort of way.
Draco was shocked by her words, and his eyebrows popped up, but he smirked. This wasn't the real Hermione. This was the concussion-Hermione. He kind of liked her.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I'm not sure. I don't really know what I'm saying. It's like all the walls and filters in my brain have liquefied and my thoughts are popping like bubbles and coming out of my mouth. I am sane and insane at the same time."
Draco laughed at her. She was acting so childish and it was the funniest thing.
"What are you laughing at?" she pouted.
Draco disregarded her question. He suddenly had an idea. "So, if you have no more filters, I could ask you anything, and you'd say the 1st thing that came into your head?"
"Theoretically, yes"
"Alright then. Are you a virgin?" This was just a test question. He knew the answer, but wanted to ask her something she wouldn't tell him under normal circumstances.
"Er, well, no," she said. Draco's mouth dropped open and he stared at her. Hermione's hand came up to her mouth and she looked worried for a moment before grinning into her fingers and saying "oops."
"How?" Draco couldn't stop the question from coming to his lips. He almost feared the answer.
She again looked worried, before saying, "well, after the last battle, once everything was sorted out, I went to Australia to fetch my parents, because I sent them there so they wouldn't get hurt. But they really liked it there, so we stayed for a while because I wanted to get away from the drama of being here. And I met this guy and he was really hot and acted really sweet and I was really sick of being the virgin princess, so..."
Draco didn't answer. He needed a moment to process the information. Hermione Granger was not the innocent girl he thought she was.
After a full minute of silence, Hermione spoke up. "Draco, am I in trouble?"
He laughed out loud. She had a child-like look on her face. "No, Hermione, you're not in trouble. I'm just surprised is all."
"What! I'm no saint!"
"You sure aren't," he said, half to himself.
"Anymore questions, my dear sir?" she asked, while turning her clasped hand upward so their palms faced each other. That simple action stirred him to speak again, despite the possible consequences.
"Do you like me?"
"Well of course I like you, silly! What kind of question is that?"
When he didn't answer, she giggled again, that loopy, un-Hermione-ish giggle, and said, "Ohhhh, you mean that kind of like."
She motioned to him and he leaned in as she whispered conspiratorially, "I like you very much." She laughed again, and moved away from him slightly. "You have this affect on me." She put a hand under her chin as if deep in thought. "I can't quite explain it, but whenever you're around me I feel all flustered and nervous and tingly and all I want to do is kiss you. I'm falling for you." She blushed madly. "Oh, I don't mean that. I'm sorry I said it. Well, I'm not but I am. Oh, I don't know what I mean."
Draco laughed for a very long time, almost doubled over. She was behaving so oddly, but she was so cute and quirky this way. And moreover, she likes me! I can barely believe it! But wait...
"Granger, do you really think you're actually going to remember this conversation?"
"Remember it? Mr. Malfoy, I don't even believe it is happening! This is a dream, isn't it? Well, it feels like one. Everything's all fuzzy and strange. I mean, you're holding my hand! That would never happen in real life!" She beamed at him for some reason.
Draco couldn't help himself. He leaned forward, breathing on her face, and murmured, "so would this happen in real life?"
But instead of putting his lips on hers, he felt a finger pressing into his mouth.
"Now, Mr. Malfoy," she said, eyeing him in a scolding sort of way. "I don't think I'm asleep enough for that kind of behavior." She grinned.
He sighed. This Hermione had no logic whatsoever. "Goodnight, Granger. Have strange dreams of me." He smiled, letting go of her hand and getting up. She nestled back under her covers.
Draco left the confines of her curtain, reversed the Silencing Charm, and walked back to his dormitories, feeling that there was no point in staying now that he new she was ok...at least physically.
Instead, Draco began to plan his next move.
Did you recognize the line in there from Pirates of the Caribbean? I LOVE that movie. Captain Jack Sparrow is the ultimate bad boy. *grins*
So what did you think? Was it epic enough for you? Sux for Hermione. :-( but great for Draco. Right? Of course right.
I was inspired to write this partly from the other day, when I poured hot coffee on my hand which was excruciating for a while (I didn't know such a sound could escape my lips) and mostly from the time when I got a very mild concussion when a friend of mine tried to take the chair I stole from him back by sliding me out of it, except that my head hit the wooden frame really hard. It was a strange experience. I really did feel loopy and especially vulnerable and unable to control exactly what I said. And out came this chapter.
Hope you liked it! review!
-Ginger
