Chapter 11

The next day, Hermione and Lucy sat in Lucy's room talking about her date. Hermione was glad to see that she wasn't the only one making his drinking a big deal. Lucy's reaction was along the same lines as her own.

"So he really kept rubbing your leg?" Lucy asked whilst putting some freshly washed clothes away in her cupboard.

"Yes," Hermione said passing her some shirts that she had folded.

"Well, normally this wouldn't be such a big deal, I mean if he hadn't been drinking. Even the most innocent things seem dirty then," she said closing the cupboard door and moving into her bathroom to collect some more dirty clothes from the hamper. Hermione followed her and leaned against the door frame with her arms crossed over her chest.

"We're going out again tonight and this time to a place where you're expected to drink alcohol," Hermione said, uneasy.

"Me and Blaise will come along Mi. Don't worry. He won't do anything. He's not that type of guy. It must have been the drink that made him act that way. Give him another chance. Let's see whats gonna happen," Lucy said straightening up with a load of washing in a basket.

"I've got to go Luce. I have a lesson with Dolby in 10 minutes," Hermione said moving away from the bathroom door.

"Ok. I better go and get this washing on then find Blaise."

Four hours later, Draco and Blaise were walking around the campus, talking. Draco was not happy about what he was hearing.

"So you're telling me that Jake," he said with a hiss, "got so pissed last night, that Granger had to apparate them back?"

"Yeah. That's what Lucy told me," Blaise said kicking a small pebble out of their path.

"And then she made another date with him for tonight?"

"That's right. She's not very happy about it though so me and Lucy are going with her."

Draco shoved his hands deep into his jeans pocket and gritted his teeth.

"Why do you care mate?" Blaise asked with a knowing smirk.

"I don't," Draco said too quickly. "I mean, it's Granger isn't it? We've known her since we were 11 and eventhough we -" he stopped pretty quickly when he saw Blaise shaking his head and smirking.

"Well if you're interested we're going to be at Club Ice tonight," Blaise said. Draco snorted pretending to be uninterested all the while making a mental note of the place.

Then to Draco's relief, distraction came in the form of Matt, Blaise and Draco's friend from quidditch which they tried to play often. All of them chatting easily, they made their way towards the quidditch pitch, but even with quidditch, which was usually a great distraction, he could not get rid of the uneasy feeling that he had pooling in his stomach.

The plan for that night changed slightly when Jake phoned Hermione to ask her to meet him early so they could spend some time alone before they went to the club. Hermione was uneasy at first but Jake managed to ease her fears.

"Hermione, I know that last night was not my finest hour and I just wanted to get my mind off things. You know the things going on with my parents and...I...I'm really sorry Hermione. Please give me another chance."

After this it was impossible for her to refuse him.

At 6:30pm, Hermione met Jake infront of her dorm again. This time he picked her up with his car, a silver Ford Fiesta. He didn't get out of the car though to open the door for her. Hermione, however, wasn't old fashioned.

"Hello!" Jake said cheerfully, putting the car into drive and pulling away from the curb, fast.

"Slow down," she said laughing and putting her seat belt on. Jake just laughed and carried on driving at the same speed. "So where are we going?"

"There's this really nice pub just half an hour away from campus. I think you'll really like it," he said smiling at her. His eyes stayed on Hermione's face for too long however and he ended up having to jerk the steering wheel to the left when a car coming from the other lane sounded its horn. With the jerk, Hermione felt herself fling uncomfortably but grabbing onto the sides of the seat, she managed to stop herself from hitting the window.

After maintaining control of the car once again Jake said; "Whoa, sorry about that."

Hermione went to reassure him when she noticed the beer bottle by his feet.

"Jake what's that?" she said pointing to it. He looked down quickly and tried to unsuccesfully hide the bottle. "Please tell me you haven't been drinking!" Hermione exclaimed holding her seat belt tightly to her chest.

"Relax. It's just a tiny drink for my nerves. It's not easy being around such a beautiful girl you know," he said in an attempt to be charming. Hermione, however, was most definitley not impressed. She huffed and turned her head facing out the side window.

They spent the rest of the drive in silence. While it was comfortable for Jake, it was unsettling for Hermione. When they arrived at the pub, Hermione didn't wait for him to come around to her door, but jumped out straight away. He met her around the front of the car and holding his hands up halted her in her tracks.

"Listen Hermione, I know you think I have some big drink problem, but I honestly don't. Please don't let one beer ruin our evening. Hey you agreed to give me another chance," he said placing two fingers under her chin and gently lifting her face up so as to be able to look in to her eyes. He gave her a pleading look. Hermione searched his eyes for a sign of drukenness but there weren't any. His eyes were as bright and big as ever, cheerfully blinking at her in the dim light of the car park.

"Ok. Let's start over than," she said smiling softly at him. The smile that graced his lips was dazzling. He slowly leaned in, his eyes never leaving hers, and closed the gap between her lips and his. Two fingers still gently holding her chin in place. The kiss wasn't long. Just a kind of prolonged peck, eventhough there were no fireworks.

"Come on," he said and grabbing her hand, started pulling her into the pub. Inside, they sat in a corner booth and talked quietly while Hermione drank a fruit coctail and Jake, after asking her permission jokily, a beer. Hermione was amazed at the change in Jake. He was back to being the funny, sweet guy that she had liked in the first place. He was attentive, listened to everything that Hermione said, asked all the right questions and relayed some of his funny memories from his childhood. They kept the topics neutral and light. Before they knew it the time was nearing 9:30pm. They were to meet Lucy and Blaise at 10 o'clock and it was a half hour drive to Ice from here. Jake had been good and had drank the same beer during the whole time that they had been at the pub.

When they arrived at the club half an hour later, Hermione was having a great time. Their conversations had not stopped for a moment in the car as well.

They quickly found Lucy and Blaise sitting in a booth close to the dancefloor. Hermione introduced Blaise to Jake and they all sat down talking easily, Blaise making small talk, trying to get to know Jake. Hermione quietly motioned to Lucy that she was in dire need of the ladies room and making their excuses they quickly slipped out of the booth.

As soon as they were in the ladies room, and they were sure that there was no-one else in there, Hermione proceeded to give a quick recount of the night so far. Lucy gave a loud catcall when Hermione told her about the kiss.

"I'm really glad Hermione. I was starting to get really worried," Lucy confessed honestly while wiping her fingers under her eyes to get rid of any smudged eyeliner. Hermione smiled at her friend as she applied an even coat of red lip gloss to her lips.

"Me too," she said.

When they went back to the boys, Hermione was not surprised to see them deep in conversation. Both Jake and Blaise were really easy to talk to and obviously they had no trouble talking with each other. As soon as they made to sit down, however, Jake grabbed a hold of her hand and with a pleading look dragged her onto the dancefloor. Mcfly's 'If U C Kate' was blaring loudly from the speakers.

"Hey you know? This song kind of reminds me of you," Jake said laughing.

"Why?" Hermione asked confused.

"Just listen," Jake said twirling her around.

I should have talked to her

I should have tried

But I was breathless by the look in her eyes

"I don't understand," Hermione said still confused.

"That's how I felt when I first saw you Mi," he said laughing. Hermione blushed a deep red. She didn't know where to look and spun herself in the hope of not having to look him in the eye. He laughed again and spun her back around and loosely hugged her.

Unbeknownst to any of them, Draco was sitting at the corner of the bar watching Hermione and Jake. There was something off about the guy and he couldn't place it. He watched as he and Hermione went back to their booth with Lucy and Blaise and excuse himself. Draco watched Jake walk past him into the men's bathroom. He didn't have to wait long for him to come back. When he walked past Draco, he left behind him a trail of a weird smell. Draco sniffed the air, wincing a little and when he turned to look back at Jake, he saw him rub his nose vigorously. He watched him sit next to Hermione and hug her tightly. She didn't seem too uncomfortable. Draco took a swig of his Bacardi all the while watching out of the corner of his eye.

The night carried on with Jake making many more trips to the bathroom and coming back to hug Hermione even tighter. She got more and more flustered each time and Draco got more and more annoyed until it all blew up.

Jake had dragged Hermione onto the dancefloor yet again. Eventhough the song was not a slow one, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her tight against him. At first she didn't know what to do with the hold that he had on her. She gradually began to relax – until his hands started moving lower down her body. He moved them down until he touched the top of her bottom. She wriggled slightly under his touch which caused him to move his hands up her sides and start caressing the underside of her breast. She squirmed trying to get free but to anyone watching outside, it looked like a dance between two people who were so in love that they couldn't keep their hands off of each other. To Draco, Lucy and Blaise however, it looked like anything but that.

'Keep moving your hands you prick and you'll get it,' Draco thought to himself, half rising from his seat. And almost as if he wished it, Jake moved his hands down to completely cup her bum. That was Draco's undoing. He placed his bottle down on the bar with a bang and jumped out of his seat racing towards them. At the same time, Blaise and Lucy had left their booth too but upon catching sight of Draco running towards Hermione and Jake, Blaise grabbed a hold of Lucy's arm, halting her in her tracks.

Draco grabbed a hold of Jake's collar from behind and yanked him back almost choking him in the process. Hermione stiffled a small scream, but upon realising that it was Draco, she breathed a small sigh of relief. Draco slammed Jake to the ground and promptly started pummeling him. Hermione freaked out at the sight and was grateful when Lucy rushed over to her. Blaise pulled Draco off of Jake.

"He's not worth it mate," He said to Draco.

Jake stayed lying on the floor bleeding steadily from his nose and a cut in his bottom lip, breathing deeply. He looked up at Draco with beady pupils and an unsteady gaze. Draco leaned down once more and grabbed him from the collar of his shirt. Getting right up in his face; "Stay away from her" he hissed menacingly. With that, he turned around, took Hermione's hand in his and pulled her outside. It didn't escape his notice that she was shaking. He made her sit outside on one the benches just across the club.

"Are you alright?" he asked with concern. "I didn't like the way he kept touching you and I - " he was cut off abruptly when Hermione threw herself into his arms hugging him so tight that his ribs might have broken had it not been for his daily workouts.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," she whispered continuously into his ear.

"Hey it's ok. You're safe now from that creep." She pulled back to look at him and before either of them had time to think, she closed the gap between them and kissed him hard. At first he was shocked but it didn't take him long to respond. He kissed her back with just as much fervour. She moved her arms up around his neck pulling him closer, while he wrapped his around her waist pulling her even closer. Just at that moment, Lucy and Blaise walked out of the club doors. Upon seeing the two kissing like there was no tomorrow, she gave a knowing wink to Blaise who was also smirking. As they watched, Hermione and Draco broke apart.

He smiled sheepishly at her and she blushed, also smiling. Blaise and Lucy walked up to them, pretending like they had not seen them.

"I think we'll go back to our dorm now," Draco said holding onto Hermione's hand, while she nodded her consent.

"We were going to stop and have some ice cream, don't you guys want to join?" Lucy asked already knowing the answer.

This time, it was Hermione that answered. "No, I think we should go back. It's been a long day, and night," she added as an afterthought. With that and a couple of farewells, Draco and Hermione were back in their room. They both got ready for bed and lay down facing each other.

"I'm really sorry about tonight Hermione," Draco whispered.

"Why are you sorry? You saved me. You're the last person to be apologizing," she whispered back urgently.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through all that touching from that creep. I'm really glad I was there though," he said turning around to lay flat on his back, facing the roof.

"Me too," she whispered softly. She wasn't even sure if he had heard her until he turned to look at her. Really look. Straight into her eyes. That's when Hermione managed to gather all of her Gryffindor courage and whisper; "Can I lay with you tonight Draco? I just want you to hold me"

If he was shocked, he didn't show it. All he did was slide close to the wall, and pull back his covers for her. Quickly she slid out of her bed and went to lay down next to him. He shifted a little so that she could lay her head on his bare chest as he curled his arms around her. Now that she was nestled in Draco's warmth she felt the exhaustion of the day catch up with her and within minutes she had fallen into a deep sleep, never knowing that Draco had stayed up for most of the night just breathing in her scent and watching her face as she dreamt about Merlin knows what. It was the best nights' sleep, that either of them had ever had.

Hey Everyone! I told you I was back haha..So here's another chapter up..I think this is my new favorite. I really enjoyed writting it, I hope you all will enjoy reading it..Anyway let me know what you all think..Also a thank you to all of you who have reviewed and added my story to your favorites/alert lists..And a special thank you to 23Nelly for her lovely suggestion..I hope you enjoyed my mention of the epic Mcfly song! Let me know what you think everyone..