Disclaimer: If you don't ship Dramione...you're drunk, go home! ;)
Ch. 49
My fingers slid across the silken crimson fabric of my bedsheet to touch him. As usual...Draco wasn't in my bed. He'd never been there in the first place - no matter how much I wanted or wished him to be.
It'd been three weeks. Three solid, miserable weeks without him. Three weeks without his drawling, teasing remarks...Three weeks without that little smirk grazing the outline of his lips. Three weeks without... -
"Ugh, just stop it Hermione! There's no excuse in being this foolish! He isn't even your boyf-!"
I stopped myself there, angrily grabbing my comforter in fistfuls before vanishing beneath it. Darkness consumed me, and I couldn't tell if my eyes were open or not. It didn't matter either way.
"Ha...Boyfriend...Right, Hermione, that's rich." I muttered to myself, beginning to suffocate underneath the cover. Draco Malfoy wasn't my boyfriend...He wasn't just my friend, he wasn't my anything. I guess we'd come to a certain point where we were just...stuck. There was a Muggle term for that, Hannah had mentioned it once before...was it 'Friendzone'?
My brain clicked, linking the pieces together.
Yes, that was exactly what were. Friendzoned.
Or maybe I was reading too much into it? Sure we'd kissed a few times but - Oh for the love of Merlin, who was I kidding?
I rolled out of bed, taking half of the bedsheets with me and making a mental note to fix them as soon as I could.
I had to take care of something first.
VVVVV
It was a surprise to find Draco in the Library, the first placed I'd looked. I couldn't lie - seeing him nearly made my heart jump out of my chest. I'd purposefully gone to great lengths to avoid him in order to clear my head. This meant not eating lunch in the Great Hall, making sure we had seperate corridor duties, and walking as briskly as I could through the halls. To my surprise, it had actually worked. Seeing him now was like seeing someone coming home from the airport. The feeling of wanting nothing more but to run directly into his arms was nearly overwhelming, it was something I'd never felt before. Why couldn't I breathe? Was I going to be sick?
As I peered at him through the bookshelves, I nearly slapped myself. I scoffed, the smile still on my face.
"Who would've thought," I muttered to myself, "Sensible Hermione Granger, peeking at Draco Malfoy through a bookshelf like a First Year girl."
I rolled my eyes, inhaling briefly. What did it matter now? I'd taken my time to see if this was what I really wanted - if he was what I really wanted...And this was what I wanted. He was. As hard as it had been to figure that out, it all seemed so simple now.
"It's as simple as that, Hermione. No nonsense, you want him...Now go get him!" I revved myself up. It felt completely idiotic. Without a second thought, I emerged from behind the shelves and began to make my way towards Draco's study table, eyes locked on the lone chair in front of him. My breaths seemed to shift to match my footsteps. The short walk to him seemed to happen in slow motion, while my brain seemed to say "This is it" repeatedly.
It is said that the things in life we anticipate the most never seem to go as planned.
As Pansy's lithe form magically appeared from a few bookshelves ahead and sat in that empty chair, that saying couldn't have had more meaning.
The enviornment dulled to a buzz. Everything blurred. My steps faltered along with my breaths...
And as I looked on, stunned in the middle of the floor, Draco graced Pansy with the most sincere smile I'd seen him give in a while. In return, he was probably given an even more dazzling one by the raven haired Witch herself.
What I wouldn't have paid to have someone grab me by the collar at that exact moment, rather than have had to stumble messily back into the shelves again. I pressed my face against the book spines and inhaled the mildewy scent until I became lightheaded. Then, I waited, listening to Draco's low voice mix in with Pansy's tittery laughter.
I left then, feeling the stupidest I'd ever felt...probably ever.
If only I'd seen Draco's eyes linger sharply over the Library doors, swearing he'd seen a glimpse of unruly curls.
VVVVV
It was a weird feeling, to be able to feel so powerful one moment and so unexplainably helpless the next.
I let my feet decide where to take me, my brain wouldn't work. I couldn't breathe, or even blink. My mind seemed like a broken record uttering the same words over and over again.
Stupid, Stupid, Stupid.
As everyone knew, I was the smart girl. Always had been. But the whole 'Brightest Witch of Her Age' thing had never applied to Draco. The moment I'd realized that, was the same moment that I'd given nearly every ounce of my power over to him. He puzzled my mind. I never knew what to do or how to act around him, and that was scary to me. I'd never been so unsure of something - of someone.
I tried not to cry, not to be weak.
But, that didn't matter. Draco came after me anyway. Like he always did.
"You know...," that familiar voice drawled behind me, "You'd think that all those times you've snuck around as part of the Golden Trio would teach you to make a quieter exit." Draco shrugged, playful smirk tracing his lips. "But...Apparently not."
I froze, an overwhelming rush coming over me. It was close to the feeling that came when someone was chasing you, when you could feel the tiny space in between your body and theirs right before they caught you. I turned on my heel slowly to see Draco standing in the middle of the corridor, utterly relaxed. Blue-grey eyes regarded me intensely in the way that only he could muster. His hands curled in pockets as he shifted his weight, clearly waiting for me to make a move.
So I did.
If you were to ask me whether or not I'd been aware of how or when I'd closed the space between us, I wouldn't have an answer.
Draco caught me instantly, hands firmly holding my thighs. My legs curled around his abdomen.
And I crashed my lips onto his.
VVVVV
*Grins sheepishly and waves* Hiiiiiiiiiiiii! How is everyone? I know you all want to slap me, but I'm back! I told you I'd have a surprise for you before chapter 50, and here it is. And there's more to come, TRUST me. The past few months have been both immensely stressful and exciting for me. I've graduated, and ALOT more has happened. So much, in fact, that I wouldn't even have time to explain it all even if I could. But that's besides the point. I know that I've kept you guys waiting for an agonizingly long time, and I know it can be frustrating, so I just really want to take the time to say thank you to all of you readers, especially the ones who have been extremely polite and patient while waiting for me to update. I really appreciate it, and I love you all so much. If I could hug you all and bake you cookies, I would haha! Also, I know this chapter is sort of short, but I really just wanted to get to the point with it, so it has a purpose!
Now, some of you might have realized that I have a new story out. For those of you wondering what the hell I'm talking about, it's a Joker/OC fanfiction called LOCKDOWN, and I've been working on it on some of my downtime (when I wasn't struggling with this beauty of course), so if you want to check that out feel free to do so. Even if you don't really like Batman fics and all that, if you like the style of my writing then maybe you'll fancy giving it a chance! Maybe you could read that while you wait for me to update this! It's up to you! I have a bunch of chapters that have been pre-written for the longest time for LOCKDOWN so I'll be updating that periodically. I'm saying this now so that you all don't think I've abandoned this story for my other. If any of you know me well by now, you know how many times I've said I'll never do that. I mean it! When I write Dramione, I really like to give it my all, and that's why it sometimes takes a long time, especially with writer's block and all that, but don't worry, I'm not leaving this story unfinished.
Leave me some reviews as a welcome back? I'd really appreciate it, I miss interacting with all of you! Also, what did you think of Hermione's sudden action to kiss Draco? I'd give her some credit, she was pretty damn brave about it! See you all soon! Love to all! x