Disclaimer: After a month of vacation, I'm still WickedlyAwesomeMe. :)
A/N: OH MY GOOD MERLIN, I AM BACK. *calms down* Ahem, once again, I'm back XD God, I missed the internet and everything, but most of all, I missed "Only a Pretense". I am so sure some of you are waiting for my update huh? Huh?
Anyway, I'll keep this short. I know that some might have skipped this because they're DYING to know what would happen next.
So, because I've missed all of you, I'm wishing you'd enjoy this chapter!
Chapter Twenty-Five: Almost Close
Ancient Runes had ended wonderfully that day. Professor Flaxworth had given the class the project for the whole semester and to put it simply, Hermione was undoubtedly bubbling with excitement. They were to translate a series of almost-unreadable symbols and make a two and half feet-long of report about the translated runes. She was paired off with a seventh year Ravenclaw named Flavius Farrow and she actually didn't mind; she had worked with him numerous times before and she was confident that with his help, they would ace this project.
She just came out from the classroom and was instantly flanked by Teddy, Blaise, and Draco by her side. They had truly been inseparable for the past few days. Harry had reckoned, too (complete with a jealous pout on his face).
A smile flitted on her face as she looked up at Teddy, laughing boisterously over something that Blaise had said.
Hermione thought they seemed to be coping so well despite the continuing trainings they had under Voldemort. Teddy had been laughing so easily now; the jokes he fluidly cracked were absolutely hilarious, hands down. Blaise was charming as ever. There was always this certain… charming glint in his eyes every time he smiled at the people he passed by.
And Draco… her smile grew larger. He seemed to be the one who was coping the best of all. Gone was the Draco Malfoy she had seen on the first day of the school-year. Gone was the cranky, brooding blond who would always hide in dark corners and tried desperately hard to blend with the shadows. Gone were the dark circles under his eyes and his cheeks seemed less shallow than before.
In fact, he looked… positively radiant.
She did not really know. She could sometimes see her roommate from afar and the previous Draco Malfoy would resurface. But once he was hanging-out with his roommates, he would totally transform before her eyes.
It was downright suspicious for Hermione. After all, he should be the most stressed one among the four of them. But he seemed to be flashing that smile for almost everyday already. Teddy had even lightly commented about it (though, it completely wiped off that smile from his face).
"Hermes?"
The brunette blinked and met the worried eyes of Teddy.
"You okay?" he asked. A small smile appeared on his face. "You zoned out for a bit, you know." A chuckle then followed. "Come on, we're here. The food is not waiting for anyone!"
Hermione smiled back and was surprised when Blaise slightly touched her arm and led her towards the table. She ended up sitting beside Blaise, with Draco sitting across from her and Teddy beside him.
Her right eyebrow arched up slightly. Both Draco and Teddy seemed… displeased with their current sitting arrangement.
'But why?' she asked, frowning as she nonchalantly ran a hand through her hair. She brushed it off and started to gather food on her plate.
Come to think of it, even Blaise and Teddy were starting to act a tad… weirder around her than before. They seemed to be extra mindful of her ever since the new semester arrived… ever since the Death Eater trainings started. There were small favors that they surprisingly did for her. They were greatly appreciated, of course, but then again, they were astonishing.
And somehow, it was easy for the both of them to glare nowadays. Just look at Teddy, who was currently glaring at a subtly triumphant Blaise.
'Wow,' she thought, chuckling under her breath in amusement. Just a while ago, she reckoned that they were being cheerful, despite the grueling Death Eater meetings. But then, their mood would shift drastically over something petty she could not even understand.
'Men are so mind-boggling,' she stated matter-of-factly inside her mind. She couldn't wait to change back into a girl once again and mingle with her own kind.
"Remember," Draco suddenly uttered, breaking her off from her random thoughts. "Tonight."
Her blood ran cold. "Oh right," she thoughtfully said aloud. "Tonight. I've totally forgotten."
"Me too," Teddy helpfully offered, assuring her. "Wow, it's Saturday already? Time passes by really quickly."
"Do you think" – she visibly gulped – "we'll still be using" – she leaned closer to avoid eavesdroppers – "rats?"
At the corner of her eyes, she saw all the color from Blaise's cheek vanish. "It's been… what? The fifth or sixth training day already?" she whispered softly but enough for the other three to hear. "Will they force us to use… humans now for our practice dummies?"
Teddy seemed to perfectly grasp what she was trying to say, because right there and then, he paled. Draco was the only one who seemed unaffected with her apprehensive question, although his jaw clenched tighter.
"I doubt that, nuisance," the blond said after a few seconds of thinking. He rolled his eyes and focused his attention to his dinner. "It's too… early."
"You think so?" she asked, followed by a humorless laugh. Blaise and Teddy seemed to flinch with the bothersome sound she was emitting. "Don't you feel it? The Second War… it's looming, Malfoy. They're running out of time."
I'm running out of time.
His eyes lifted up from his plate and he stared directly at her eyes. The brunette almost gasped back because of the great intensity of his stare. By the way that he was looking at her, he seemed to understand her unspoken cry.
"The… you-know-whats of You-Know-Who still need a lot of trainings, Austen," Draco calmly stated, averting his eyes to look at Teddy and Blaise. "He cannot afford to have reckless followers now, eh? Recklessness only paves way to a greater possibility of failure."
She cringed. There he was again, hitting almost every nerve in her body. Ever since their talk in the library, Draco seemed more adamant as more days passed by for her to be careful and follow Dumbledore and Harry's order – rest.
And rest, she did. Although it made her more apprehensive, she managed to set aside everything that had to do with her parents and their rescue for a while. She resisted the temptation of researching for the countercurses of the hexes and jinxes warding her parent's room for a whole week. She even resisted the temptation of going to her grave for a visit; just seeing it fueled her determination to save her parents.
But she had to rest.
Soon, the week had passed and she was eternally grateful for that. She had poured her whole self in the library as soon as the Sunday of the new week arrived. She had neglected Teddy's persistent pleas for her to join them in a fun game of Quidditch that day. She had neglected Blaise's offer of help. It would be appreciated, but then, she did not want Blaise getting suspicious as she researched about the countercurses.
Draco had confronted her once again about her recklessness but she brushed them off. Fine, she admitted that he had knocked off some sense in her, but now that a new week arrived, she would not listen to him anymore.
She was planning on visiting her parents' room that Saturday. Tonight. Oh no, she was not planning to save them just yet. She merely wanted to see if the countercurses she had gained from the library were all effective.
And Malfoy should not know about that.
Teddy's whistle had broken her trail of thought. "Intense much?" he asked, trying to lighten up the tensioned ambiance. Draco openly rolled his eyes at his weak attempt, yet Teddy was unfazed. "Can we change the subject? Talking about… those kinds of things loses my appetite."
Nobody interjected his request.
"Where are you going?" Blaise asked, as soon as the Head of the Death Eaters announced a little break from their training.
Hermione was ready to bolt out of the door to carry-out her plan, but then, Blaise emerged and blocked her off her exit.
"Nowhere, Blaise, just the loo," she calmly said, although her heart was pounding loudly in her ribcage. She swore that if the people inside the room were quiet, her heartbeat would be heard all over the place. "Nature's calling, you know. I cannot hold it in anymore."
He frowned, marring his handsome face. "Draco perfectly told me to accompany you wherever you go tonight," he said, scratching the back of his head. "Even though he did not give the reason why."
Ah, Malfoy. He was far too perceptive and cunning for her own liking. She suspected that he was suspecting her; she suspected that he anticipated that on the fifth day of their training as Death Eaters, she would at least do something about her progression in her task.
Looking around, she was relieved that Draco was nowhere to be found. She remembered that the senior Death Eaters had an impromptu meeting with Voldemort. Draco was considered as one now, considering the fact that he had been a Death Eater for almost two years already.
"Malfoy's being too paranoid, Blaise," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Tell him that no monsters will grab me from behind and eat me whole."
To her surprise, a charming smile appeared on Blaise's face.
"What?" she asked, frowning.
"You know," he started, "you've said exactly the same thing to me ages ago. Don't you remember?"
Hermione blinked, racking her brain for any remembrance. "Oh," she said, chuckling as she remembered. "Right." She had uttered the same words on the day of Draco's confrontation. "That seemed ages ago, Blaise."
"I know," the Italian said.
'Perfect,' she thought, the smile on her face turning mischievous. 'He seemed distracted now.'
"Uh… I'll get going, then," she said, sidestepping Blaise. "To the loo. Where no icky monsters lurk."
How ironic since she was currently standing in a room full of Death Eaters. Blaise seemed to realize it, too, because his smile went back on his face.
"Just make haste," he said. "Draco's going to have my head if he discovered I let you leave out of my sight."
She gave him the most innocent smile she could muster. "Of course, Blaise."
With that, she completely stepped away from him.
"Hermes?"
She halted in her steps, and swiveled around, a frown on her face. "What is it, Blaise?" she asked.
"Be careful," he softly stated for her to only hear. It was merely a whispered warning, but it spoke volumes of what Blaise was truly feeling.
Hermione blinked, surprised at the sincerity of his words, and smiled. Blaise was truly kind and she was happy to have a friend like him. "I will," she said. She gave him another smile and waited for him to return it with his own before turning around and continuing her small journey.
Her eyes were trained intently on her hand-drawn map, pointedly ignoring the sneers and side comments from the portrait of the Malfoy family.
As soon as she stepped on this corridor, her eyes grew large at the huge and ostentatious portraits of the Malfoy clan, dating back from the fourteenth century. Some seemed fairly normal, others were downright frightening. But all of them had the same similarities: blond hairs and the distinct Malfoy grace. They were there, from the very first painting up to the very last.
The very last had caught her attention.
Draco Malfoy.
His portrait had completely diverted her attention away from her current task.
Unlike the other portraits in the corridor, his painting was not moving because of magic. Even Lucius'. She believed it was probably because they were still alive and roaming on Earth. She guessed that once they died, their portraits would magically come to life.
'Interesting magic,' she thought, gazing pensively on Draco's portrait.
Like any Malfoys she had seen, he was bearing the infamous blond hair. She actually expected him to have the trademark Malfoy smirk on his face but no, it was not there at all. She was surprised to see that he was sporting his infamous Draco smile. Ever since Christmas, she had dubbed that facial expression of his as such.
She reckoned his painting was made when he was fifteen, still free from the Dark Mark on his left arm. He actually looked… happy on the painting. The painter, which was an unnamed person, was able to fully capture everything on the blond. The way he parted his hair, the way his hands always seemed to come together when he was not doing anything, the way his small dimple enhanced his good looks, the way his mercurial orbs seem to sparkle with unknown emotions…
Blushing, she looked away. She could not believe that she knew those small things about Draco Malfoy. Self-conscious, she tucked a stray hair strand behind her ear and took a few steps away from his portrait.
"Focus, Hermione," she ordered herself under her breath, refusing to look back at Draco's portrait. "Focus on your task."
She secretly looked back on the portrait and her blush came back full-force.
Oh Merlin, he was so handsome.
Her eyes widened and she hastily scampered away from the corridor, afraid that her traitorous mind would conjure more embarrassing thoughts and completely distract her away from her current task.
As soon as she was out of the corridor, she sighed in relief. Absentmindedly, she rubbed her inflamed cheeks and scanned her map once again.
Thankfully, she was nearing the room of her parents.
The West Wing of the Malfoy Manor had so far been quite an… interesting part of the whole house. It was extremely different from the East Wing, where the dungeons and such things were located. The West Wing almost seemed uninhibited, although everything was perfectly clean. She thought it was wise for Voldemort to order his parent's imprisonment in the West Wing, away from prying eyes.
It also held a lot of mysterious artifacts Hermione did not dare to touch or at least scrutinize. The West Wing was screaming with Dark Magic, and she was afraid that if she were to touch one single antique, something bad would happen to her. After all, she was in a grand Manor. It would make sense if the Malfoys bewitched their possessions to ward of potential thieves. Not that she would steal anything, anyway.
Hermione's eyes landed once again on her map and halted. Confused, she looked behind. She had already passed by her parents' room without even noticing it!
'That's why you should focus, Hermione,' the brunette, reprimanded herself, taking a few steps back.
She came face-to-face with a bookshelf, holding both Wizarding and Muggle literature. Her eyebrows raised upon seeing "Crime and Punishment" sandwiched in between "Magick Moste Evil" and "Secrets of the Darkest Arts".
Shivering, she looked away. She remembered seeing those books in the Restricted Section of the library, containing evil things and the darkest arts, indeed.
Hermione then brandished out her wand and pointed it directly on the bookshelf. She mouthed the spell again and again before saying it aloud with the accompanied wand movement.
To her immense relief, the bookshelf had moved itself to reveal an ornate door with a snake for its door handle.
Staring, she swallowed a lump that was forming in her throat.
She was finally a door away from her parents.
Chuckling breathlessly, she shook her head. Of course, there were a few more complicated spells that guarded her parents' door. But still, she was finally here; the closest thing she had ever been to her parents ever since they were held captive by Voldemort.
She had broken through a few spells already and as more spells were released, more tears gathered at the corner of her eyes. Her heart was thudding loudly inside her ribcage and she couldn't perfectly perform a spell without stopping for a while to control the shaking of her wand hand.
One spell proved to be the most difficult of all. Hermione had been so frustrated of not executing it properly. To her immense horror and frustration, she realized she had spelt the incantation wrong. Grumbling under her breath, she had corrected it and was finally able to break it.
"OI!"
Hermione gasped and whipped around, only to come face-to-face with an older Death Eater. Squinting, she was able to recognize him as Rookwood.
"It isn't the time to visit them for the day," he drawled, obviously annoyed.
The Slytherin in disguise cursed herself for overlooking one important matter – the corridor was guarded by random Death Eaters. She almost cried right there and then, but she was frozen on the spot, unable to move.
Terror ran down her spine. What if she was busted? Oh Merlin, she was right in front of the door of her parents!
"Females are only allowed to enter the room, newbie," he sneered, taking a few steps toward her. As he glanced at the room, he was surprised to see that half of the guard spells of the room were broken. With eyes wide, he looked back at Hermione. "How did you…?" His eyes narrowed menacingly. "Who are you?"
She tumbled a step back, involuntarily scrunching her nose in disgust. His breath smelled awfully foul and she had to turn her head away to hide her disgust.
"Answer me," he demanded, brandishing his wand out and pointing it directly under Hermione's chin.
Unable to stop it, she quivered in fear.
Rookwood seemed to relish with her terror and took another menacing step towards the trembling brunette. "Who are - ."
"Rookwood."
Surprised, both he and Hermione looked at the direction of the newcomer's voice, only to see Draco Malfoy calmly standing a few feet away from them, his arms crossed against his chest.
"Young Malfoy, what a surprise," he said, slightly withdrawing his wand away.
To Hermione's horror, a terrified whimper escaped from her lips.
Draco's mercurial eyes landed squarely on her and she was taken aback at the raging storm of emotions swirling in his orbs.
"I assume that the meeting is done now," Rookwood snarled. His bitterness was apparent, and Hermione reckoned it was probably because he wanted to be part of the meeting instead of guarding a boring corridor.
"Yes," he said, his eyes still stared intently on Hermione. "Austen, come here."
Hermione took a few staggering steps towards Draco but was then suddenly stopped by Rookwood. A gasp escaped from Hermione's lips and she tried to struggle free, but then, Draco's hand suddenly clasped her free wrist to steady her.
His grip was eerily tight.
"You can't let him escape, Draco," Rookwood said, glaring at Hermione. "I've caught him breaking off the wards of the filthy Muggles. The Dark Lord has to know. He'd be pleased with what I've brought him."
Draco's façade never broke. The only indication of the sudden surge of anger coursing through him was the tighter grip he had on her wrist. Hermione couldn't help but to wince in pain.
"Rookwood, trust me, this one is extremely idiotic," Draco said through gritted teeth. "He tends to lose his way, even in the most dangerous places. I know him and he's a reckless bastard. There's no need to alert the Dark Lord."
Rookwood's grip with her arm went limp. Without any second thoughts, Hermione scrambled beside Draco.
"What about the wards, Malfoy?" the Death Eater asked, inclining his head towards the exposed door. "This cannot be done by a mere idiot, I tell you."
The blond sighed in frustration. "Just restore the wards," he growled. "It isn't a grueling task, compared to breaking them, right?"
"Getting cheeky now, m'boy?" Rookwood snarled, raising a filthy eyebrow.
Once again, Draco sighed and grabbed a money pouch from his pocket. He thrust it towards the Death Eater. "Here, take this just to keep your mouth shut," the blond continued, getting more and more furious as more minutes passed by.
Rookwood peered inside the small sack and gasped at the surprising amount inside. His eyes shone as he stared back at Draco, a huge, feral grin on his face. Hermione shrank back in fear.
"If you say one word, just one, tiny word to the Dark Lord, expect to not to wake the very next day, do you understand?"
Hermione had stared at Draco with wide eyes. His threat sounded anything but empty.
Rookwood seemed to realize it, too, because a small flicker of fear flashed through his eyes. Soon, it was gone, replaced by once again, a huge grin on his face. "Lucius seemed to rub off into you, young Malfoy. He should be proud," he said, pocketing the money bag. "I swear, not a word."
With a wave of his wand, the wards were placed back once again and the bookshelf went back to its original place with a loud 'bang'. "Goodnight," he inclined his head before turning around and leaving the two alone.
As soon as he was gone, Draco tightly gripped Hermione's hand and forcefully dragged her back to the training room.
She had let him without any protests.
Teddy released a wide yawn as soon as they stepped inside the room. "Merlin, it's our fifth training but still I'm not used to this late night shenanigans." He ran hastily towards his comfortable bed and dove, burying his head under his pillow.
"If Dumbledore wants to know who the Death Eaters are, he should suspect those with huge bags under their eyes," Blaise said, chuckling tiredly.
"Hear, hear," Teddy mumbled, his voice muffled by the pillow. "I'm so happy it's a Saturday today… oh wait, it's Sunday already. I can sleep in as long as I want."
His head emerged from the pillow and grinned. "Say, I think you're awfully relieved that we're still practicing on rats, eh, Hermes?"
He watched as his roommate crossed the threshold, his smile magnetizing down into a frown.
"You okay, Hermes?" he asked, slowly sitting up from his bed to stare worriedly at his roommate. "You seem… fidgety."
"I-I'm fine," Hermione lamely answered, blindingly sitting on her own bed.
"Are you sure?" It was Blaise who asked it this time. His voice was also laced with obvious worry. "Merlin, Hermes, you're pale." At the corner of his eyes, he saw a pensive Draco slowly sitting down his own bed, his eyes intently trained on the disguised brunette.
"Draco," the Italian continued. The blond's eyes averted themselves away from Hermione. "I… did something happen? I'm… sorry I broke my promise. Hermes was being persistent!" A charming smile graced his handsome features but then, it disappeared when Draco merely stared.
"It's fine, Blaise," he said, although it was obvious it was anything but.
"Hey, mate…" Blaise continued, although his voice faltered when Draco once again averted his attention back to Hermione. "Did… something happen?"
Sleep completely wiped off from Teddy as his back snapped straighter, alarmed. "Hermes?" Teddy asked. "I… I don't like how you're looking right now."
And to the immense horror of the other three, Hermione had suddenly burst into tears. It was not the soft and silent crying. It was more of a huge, heaving, guttural sobbing and within seconds, it brought an extremely horrified Teddy to his knees, just beside Hermione.
"O-o-oh, damn," she managed to gasp out, covering her face to hide her tears. "T-t-this is e-e-embarrassing."
"Draco!" Teddy beseeched as the Italian also joined him. "What happened?"
The blond tiredly sighed and closed his eyes. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and soon opened his eyes once again. "Theo, Blaise… can you get something for Austen. Butterbeer perhaps?"
Teddy seemed reluctant to leave her side but nodded nonetheless. "All right," he said, now standing up. "Will you be all right, Hermes? Please… tell me."
Hermione, not trusting herself to speak, merely nodded her head. Teddy ran a hand through her hair for comfort and it took her a great effort to give him a smile. The carefree Slytherin couldn't help but hug her for comfort.
"I'll bring you something for comfort, I swear." He said it with so much conviction; she managed to release a soft chuckle, although it more of sounded like a strangled gurgle. Nonetheless, it slightly relieved Teddy.
"Blaise," he said, clutching the Italian's arm. "Come on."
"No," he said, his eyes never leaving Draco's face. "I'm staying until you tell me what happened."
"Blaise, don't make me beg," Draco said, his exhausting growing. "Just… leave. I'll take care of this myself."
He had narrowed his eyes and Draco was surprised with the sudden stubbornness of his best mate, although, he did not show it.
Finally, Blaise budged and allowed Teddy to help him stand up. "We'll be back as soon as possible, Hermes," he swore, his tone changing into a gentle one.
Hermione nodded and with that, both Blaise and Teddy disappeared from their room.
Draco mentally counted from one-to-ten, before thundering a furiously whispered, "What were you thinking?"
The brunette flinched and cried louder behind her hands. "I-I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I'm sorry."
"That was dangerous, Austen. You could have been caught," he continued, although the initial fury had mellowed.
"I-I know," she cried. "I'm sorry."
The fury instantly melted away and Draco sat down on Blaise's bed, parallel from Hermione's. Oh Merlin, he always hated it when he sees Granger cry, especially if he was the reason for her tears. But seeing her so distressed unlike before made his heart ache.
'Please stop crying, please. I absolutely loathe it when you cry,' he beseeched silently but he was too cowardly to voice it out loud.
"I-I was almost close, Malfoy," she whispered, sniffling. The brunette lifted her tear-stained face and stared directly into Draco's eyes. "Ju-just a few more countercurses; a few more spells a-a-and I was almost able to see" – she swallowed a huge lump – "m-m-my p-parents."
A new round of tears started and she desperately tried to wipe them away. "Oh Merlin, I should be strong," she sobbed. "I-I-I won't accomplish anything if I s-s-sob like a bloody baby every time I-I-I'm closer to them."
She tried to chuckle nervously, but failed. Immensely.
Draco found her struggle ridiculously adorable, although, he never told her. Sighing, he retrieved a handkerchief from his trousers and offered it gingerly to the brunette.
Hermione seemed surprised with his sudden gentlemanliness but gratefully accepted the offered handkerchief, nonetheless. "Thank you," she whispered, dabbing the material against her wet eyes. She subconsciously commented mentally that his hanky smelled so much like him.
"Will you be all right?" Draco asked, repeating Teddy's earlier question.
The brunette seemed to realize this, too, because she cracked a small smile. "Of course, Malfoy. I'm just being plain silly today." She unbecomingly blew her nose with the usage of his hanky. Smiling sheepishly, she said, "I'm sorry. I think I'm ruining your handkerchief."
"It's fine," he said, brushing it off.
"Dr-Draco?" she asked.
His eyes widened.
"Can I call you that?" she asked timidly, her eyes trained intently on the cloth on her hands.
"Of course," he said, trying to sound nonchalant while demanding his heart to slow down its beating.
"Draco?"
A pleasant thrill ran down his spine. His name sounded so beautiful rolling out from her mouth.
"Y-yes?" he stuttered, faintly blushing.
"Thank you."
"For what?" He nervously ran a hand through his hair and stared straight at the brunette. To his surprise, she was also looking back at him. Thankfully, her sobbing had slightly ceased.
"Well, for your information, you had this weird habit of suddenly popping into rescue every time I'm in dire need," she said, wiping a lone tear that traveled down from her right eye. "But that weird habit of yours had saved me countless times already. So, thank you."
His heart warmed with her words.
"He-Hermione." Her name sounded so foreign while uttering it aloud. He was so used in thinking about her name. Saying it aloud was a different thing. She seemed to be surprised, though, but then, a pleased smile flitted on her face.
"Yes, Draco?"
He beamed, this time voluntarily. She seemed taken aback by the sudden facial expression on his face.
"Hermione," he stated once again, loving the fact that he was freely uttering her name aloud without seeing her cringe in disgust or annoyance. "You are welcome."
A huge smile stretched on her face. Draco imprinted that expression on her face; heck, engraved it in his brain even. He officially had a new memory to dream of and relieve of everyday, every night.
A/N: And, end of chapter twenty-five? SO, how was it? Was it all right? It's not perfectly edited since this chapter is unbeta-ed. I think my Beta Reader is still on vacation XD
Anyway, I had fun during my vacation, but I was slowly growing insane with boredom… See the irony? Bah, I think I'm really addicted to the internet anymore. I feel queasy every time I cannot check my email!
Speaking of emails, I received a lot of reviews/favorited/alerted notifications not only for OaP but also to my other stories. Good God, six more reviews and my 11 Things will have 600 reviews already! Still makes me cry that a lot of people are supporting my already finished story. I also noticed that my OaP had attracted more attention :D; hence, I'd like to thank all those who reviewed (oh, especially you, people), favorited, and alerted OaP. I'm seriously happy.
I found new loves during the summer by the way. First is the awesome Wii. Thank Merlin my father bought one or else I'd be bored to death. Another is the NBA Playoffs… XD Yup, I love basketball. Does anyone watch that, too (GO BOSTON CELTICS). And lastly - *drum roll, please* - Phineas and Ferb. I ADORE THAT CARTOON. I can't believe I just started watching the episodes last month.
So, that's all for now. I hope you'll review this chapter, too.
From the Heart,
WickedlyAwesomeMe
PS: I have a new story… *smiles evilly* Long vacations always do me good. I formulated 11 Things during the summer two years ago. I formulated Only a Pretense during the summer last year. And now… this. I'm not telling anything yet about this new story of mine, except that I'm currently typing chapter two of thirty plus chapters. I'm still starting, but I'm so satisfied with the outcome of my outline. I'll reveal more things about this soon. WAM :D