Disclaimer: Again I don't own Harry Potter :)
A little note before I start this chapter: I hope you guys still enjoy and please do Review. It let's me know if I'm doing something right or wrong even! Some nice constructive criticism would be great! Also characters may be a little OCC but oh well it's my fic and I like the way I've written it! I'd also like to say thank you to those who have review! I appreciate the kind words so much and I'm glad you guys are interested in the story! Thank you so much Green Eyed Lana Lee, alebaybaker, .9 and the guest who commented on the last chapter!
Hermione's head spun around and her gaze was quickly captured by Draco's. "Gra- Hermione... are you sure I can't give it a try?" Hermione's mouth opened in shock and she turned to Hagrid who looked equally as shocked as she did, but he slowly nodded. "Sure Malfoy, why don' you give 'im a go. If anything goes wrong, you've got 'Mione and me ere to stop 'im." Draco nodded with a slight level of confidence; Hermione however couldn't stop the frightened feeling that had begun to rise in the pit of her stomach. She could already hear Buckbeak angrily pawing at the ground, but Malfoy still stepped into the clearing and faced the Hippogriff head on. "Hey there Buckbeak, remember me?" Buckbeak let out an angered grunt, causing Malfoy to flinch, clearly frightened by the hippogriff's reaction. Nevertheless, he regained his composure, quickly, and Hermione was amazed to see him bow to Buckbeak. Buckbeak's eyes instantly locked onto Draco's, but he did not bow back. "It's taking to much time fer 'im to respond." Hagrid finally said," back away Malfoy. Back away!" Draco obeyed, but it was too late. Buckbeak had already begun to charge towards him. Hermione gasped and quickly ran to Draco, pushing him aside. She wasn't fast enough; however, to get away from Buckbeak because as the hippogriff reared its front legs and came down, Hermione felt something sharp pierce her shoulder. She let out a small yelp of pain and found that she had been thrown to the ground.
Hagrid quickly pulled Buckbeak away, tethering him to a nearby tree. Draco was already at Hermione's side, examining her wounds. Hermione grimaced and looked into Draco's silver gray eyes. "How bad is it?" "Not too bad, you'll be ok Hermione." Draco said, looking back at her. "Damn now I know what you were complaining about in 3rd year, this hurts." Draco gave her a condoling smile than Hermione watched as his face contorted into anger. "Why did you stop him Granger? I deserved it." Hermione slowly sat up, shaking her head. "No you don't Draco. Besides, to be honest with you, I thought I could move out of the way in time, before Buckbeak had a chance to get me. It's my fault I got injured, honestly." Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Here give me your arm." Hermione's eyebrow rose in confusion at this. "Just, please trust me Hermione; I know a charm that heals wounds like this." Hermione hesitantly raised her left arm to him. Her gaze turned serious as she stared at him. "Please don't try and get Buckbeak killed again." Draco frowned and looked over at the restrained Buckbeak. "You are still defending that bloody chicken?" He said, as he pulled his wand out of his robes. "Draco, I don't think you'll ever understand just how much this "bloody chicken," as you're so keen on calling him, has done for me. This "bloody chicken"... well I owe my life to him." Draco's eyes softened and Hermione mad sure to make a mental note of it.
Draco raised his arm to Hermione's arm and she sat in amazement as the wound practically healed itself in front of her very own eyes. When he was finished, it was a light pink as opposed to the deep red it had been before. "Draco... that's amazing." His signature smirk slithered its way back onto his face at her comment. "Well, I'm glad to hear that Ms. Know-it-all, Hermione Granger, finally sees my potential." Hermione tried to hide the smile but it easily won its way onto her face. She playfully slapped his arm playfully and he flinched back, away from her touch. "Hey! Damn women, you have the strength of a full grown dragon." Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh please, don't be such a big baby. I'm the one who just got attacked by a hippogriff here, and yet you don't see me crying about it." Draco couldn't stop himself from laughing at her snide comment. "Oh shut it Granger."
Draco offered his hand to Hermione to help her off the floor. "You know when you said I would never understand about you and the chi...Buckbeak?" Hermione let out a small giggle as she nodded. "Yes Draco, I remember like 5 minutes ago silly." She was surprised; she had never seen Draco smile as much as he was right now in this very moment. Her attention was so focused on him that she instantly notices his gaze drift down towards the ground and he shifted from one foot to the other. Hermione's eyebrows rose as she watched his cheeks turn a soft pink.
She heard him mumble a question to her, but she could barely hear any of it. "Draco... I can't hear you." She put his hand under his chin and forced him to look at her. "Um... right sorry. When the hell did I get so bad at this?" She cocked her head to the side, confused. "Um... alright... I know next weekend is going to be the first Hogsmede trip. Would you maybe want to meet with me then, and tell me some more of those stories that I'll never understand?" Hermione looked at Draco, her mouth slightly ajar in shock. Was he... asking her out? "Oh, are you sure Draco? You'll have to be seen in public with a filthy little..." Draco's hands flew to her mouth, covering it. Hermione's eyes widened. "Please don't call yourself that Hermione. It's-it's not what you are." She nodded and he dropped his hand away from her mouth. "Then please Draco, enlighten me, what am I exactly?" Draco's eyes lit up and he smiled at her. "You are a brilliant girl who, during my time of self loathing, allowed me to talk to you, even find comfort in you. Now I want a chance to get to know you better Hermione, so I can discover who and what you truly are." Hermione looked away from Draco, trying to hide the blush that had snuck its way onto her cheeks. "Alright Draco." She turned to look at him again; she wanted to see his reaction when she gave him her answer. "Yes I would love to meet with you next Saturday. Where would you like to meet?" Draco's smiled was the biggest she had seen on any man ever. "How about we meet out front of the school, we can walk there together." She nodded. "Alright sounds like a plan to me."
Hagrid was glad Hermione was ok, but a little weary that it had been Malfoy who had helped her. The two of them walked up to the great hall together and then broke apart to go to their respected tables. Hermione sat alone at the very end of the table again, but despite being alone, she couldn't stop herself from feeling... happy again.