Author's Note: You guys are such good readers –sighs- After reading all your reviews, I really felt compelled to get writing. Like, I got your reviews and was like, baby lets get CRACKING!
Also, I'd like my stories to be on an interval of ten, so I had to update this again, to anyone who reads The Initiation, first. XD.
There was a lot of confusion about who won and who lost. Yeah, that was intentional. XD.
Thanks to Nikki, my AWESOME beta!
Disclaimer: don't own it.
Draco let out a small growl of frustration, Blaise sighed and folded his arms across his chest and Hermione turned her eyes to the ground. Their actions were quite different, however their reason for doing so was exactly the same. Disappointment.
"Yeah, it all is very sad, isn't it?" Sheila was saying, beaming around as if she'd just won the lottery. "You're two hours later then them, so you've lost the first half. However, this just means the other team has a fifteen minute head start, you could still win the whole thing."
James nodded empathically. "Now, we were debating cleaning up Hermione and Draco first, but then we decided that for dramatic flair, you could wait a little longer!"
Hermione sighed loudly. She let her eyes leave the floor and meet Draco's. She wondered if it was possible to reveal your entire soul through your eyes. If not, she wondered, what does the rest of Malfoy's look like? It really is not fair that he has such deep eyes. It gives one the impression he actually has a soul.
"So, we've gotten your group a suite. There are three beds in it, and anything else you will find necessary for your stay here. We've placed meal times in your room, and here are your keys," he held out three key cards, "There are medi-witches and wizards waiting for you upstairs. You'll find that we've taken the liberty to have your bags taken upstairs already, I can't imagine having to do such heavy lifting!"
She rolled her eyes.
"Anyways, you're free to go upstairs. Soon, please, the muggles are looking at us." Sheila said and they saw that, indeed, they had attracted the attention of nearly every muggle in the hall.
"Let's go, then." Blaise said and they turned to go.
One escalator ride later and they were standing outside a door. Hermione's wounds were starting to hurt again, and she was extremely thankful for the healers who were waiting on the other side. Blaise pulled the key card through the slot as Draco shifted; she was quite heavy and he'd been holding her for awhile.
The minute the stepped through the door there was a bustle of activity. Hermione was placed on a small bed, much like the ones from the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts. A wizard was standing over her, his blond hair pulled back into a braid on the back of his neck. He waved his wand and she felt her bones and muscle shifting in her shoulder. She winced as he continued to wave his wand, accompanied by several wizards and witches. It didn't hurt, but the sensations were definitely uncomfortable.
She wasn't sure how long this went on, it was in flashes of cloaks and blurs of color, but they were suddenly packing up and leaving. She was lifted into a chair and suddenly the room was empty save her, Blaise and Draco.
"Quite brisk, aren't they?" Blaise muttered, sitting on a large canopy bed.
She smiled and looked around the room.
It was beautiful.
The room itself was circular and the walls were a rich gold and arched into a high ceiling. Clear glass windows that looked like they were made of crystal circled the room, giving them an amazing view of the city below. There were three large, canopy beds with cherry wood posts. The covers were a faint yellow, adorned with gold embroidered silk. Beside each bed (there were three, two facing the third on the opposite side of the room) was a very large chest of drawers, also in a cherry red. There was a large door that she assumed lead to the bathroom near the bed across the room.
Directly opposite the door was a table with four comfortable looking chairs (despite the fact that they were wooden) and a small fridge on a counter, surrounded by a microwave, oven, a series of blenders, coffee makers and machines to make any kind of drink imaginable, and a large television screen so you could sit at the table and still watch whatever show that had caught your eye.
There was a small niche in the wall that fit a couch in it, and a small sitting area was located beside a fireplace and another television. Apparently walking across the room was too much of an effort, even though she had to admit it was massive.
"Wow." She breathed, drinking it all in.
"It's suitable." Draco said haughtily and Blaise laughed. "Here's the schedule."
He picked up a piece of paper on the table. "Hm. Lunch was at 12:30, we've missed it, and dinner is at 6:30."
"Did they tell us what room the other group is in?" She asked, peering over his shoulder to look at the paper.
"No." Draco said carelessly, not sounding the least bit sorry. "Too bad, I guess you won't be seeing Potty and Weasel for awhile."
She glared, "Well I'd rather not spend it in your company."
He smirked slyly at her. "I'm sure."
Ugh! Stupid Malfoy. She huffed. "If I was given the chance, I would leave you and Blaise forever!"
"Oh really?" He smirked at her. "Then what are you going to do the two days we're here?"
She frowned. "I'll stay up here and talk to Jacob."
"Hm. I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun with that." He threw himself onto one of the beds.
"I will." She replied and took the bed next to his, as Blaise claimed the one across the room. "If I get bored, I may grace you with my presence."
"I'll be waiting right here for you, then." He smiled coyly at her and stretched his arms up, revealing a strip of skin across his stomach. She blushed furiously and looked away.
"What's wrong, Granger?" He murmured in a sultry voice. "Feeling a bit hot?"
"No!" She hissed. "I almost feel bad for you, Malfoy, that you're so desperate for sex you degrade yourself to go so low as to hit on a mudblood."
"Stop insulting yourself, Granger. You're not that bad." Draco snapped and then his eyes widened, clearly he'd expected something a bit more insulting to come from his mouth.
She opened her mouth and then closed it, slightly mollified.
There was a soft clapping and they both jumped, then turned to Blaise. "Nice show."
"Shut up." They both snarled as their other teammate chuckled.
She glared at the two Slytherins and then turned to the bags that had been deposited by her bed. Slowly she began to unpack them, knowing that she would be repacking everything the next evening.
And then her heart lifted.
She had a message from Jacob.
'"Hey Hermione, I haven't heard from you in awhile and I wanted to see how you were, and whether or not you've killed those people you live with yet. So, call me back? Bye."'
She smiled. Jacob was such a caring, sweet, amazing person. Everything about him was so ideal. She dialed his phone number quickly.
"Hello?" Andrea answered the phone.
"Hey, its Hermione."
"Oh, yeah. I should program your number into my caller ID." The girl laughed. "Oh… I suppose you want to talk to Jacob?"
"That would be ni-"
"I'm not sure I approve of you two anymore." Andrea huffed, half serious half joking. "I never get to talk to you! And all day all I hear is Hermione this Hermione that-yes this is her I'm talk-Jacob!"
"Hermione?" Her stomach fluttered pleasantly.
"Hi." She breathed.
"Where are you now?"
"I've no idea." She answered honestly. "We're at a hotel, though."
"I don't suppose there's any way I could drive there in one night?" He asked dully and she felt a thrill of happiness shoot through her. He missed her.
"No, unfortunately not. I miss you." She said and ignored the gagging sounds directed at her. "I don't know how I managed to go years without your acquaintance now."
"I miss you too." He said softly. "How long until you're back?"
"We're here for two nights, and then it's a seven day trip back." She replied, feeling downcast at having to wait so long to see him again.
"Hm. Do you think I could meet you halfway back?"
"I'd love that." She said brightly, and then became gloomy. "But we can't. We have to travel alone, its, er, a requirement."
"I could just meet you for a small bit and then drive back alone." He suggested and she began to beam.
"Sure. Here, I'll try to find a good direction to give you."
She searched through paper directions and they chatted aimlessly until they reached a destination Jacob was familiar with. They set a time and she grinned widely. Excellent. "So what have you been doing?"
"Sulking, mostly, because you're not here." He replied, "Reading has taken up nearly all my time. How about you?"
"Oh, you know. Driving, and all. We got into a little mishap, but we only ran into another car; I accidentally missed a turn." She said, editing out quite a bit of their adventure.
"Are you okay? You weren't hurt, were you?" He asked worriedly.
"Just a few bumps and bruises." She said cheerfully. "I'm fine now."
"Good." Jacob sighed and she flopped out on her bed completely. "Here hold on—Andrea, shut the fu-"
"Granger." Draco was poking her. "Granger."
"Leave me alone." She snapped. Stupid Malfoy.
"What?"
"Oh, no, sorry Jacob. I was talking to one of my friends." She said, glaring at Draco.
"Oh, okay." He said, and then sighed. "I'm sorry, I've got to go. I have a phone interview with my professor about something and I might be late."
"Oh, sure." She said and stuck her tongue out at Draco and Blaise, who were standing at the head of her bed. "Well I'll talk to you later?"
"Yeah, hopefully I'll catch you while you're free?"
"Hopefully."
"Bye, love." He said and she said goodbye and hung up.
"What?" She asked loudly, exasperated.
"We were telling you that we were going to check out the hotel's assets, and asked if you wanted to join us." Draco said through gritted teeth.
"I'd like to go." She said truthfully. "But I want to shower first."
Draco turned to Blaise abruptly while he pointed to Hermione with a raised hand. "See! Granger wanted to do that first, too!"
Blaise looked amused. "What Granger does is really none of my concern."
"But you find it fitting to intrude in my life!" Draco demanded, sounding harassed.
"Pretty much, yeah." Blaise said simply. "And just for that, I get the shower first."
"Wha-" Draco let out a strangled yell and took off racing to the other side of the room after Blaise. They pushed and shoved each other for a bit by the door, and it ended with Blaise faking consent and then pushing Draco to the floor at the last second.
"Stupid Slytherin." Draco mumbled and resumed his position on his bed. "So Granger, I've a question about muggles?"
"Okay." She said, trying to hide her excitement at those words.
"Are there many who would sleep with someone they don't know, or are they all hung up about relationships before sex like you?" He asked and she flushed furiously.
"Yes, there are still girls who would fuck you without knowing your name." She said through gritted teeth and he looked at her in surprise. "And I would appreciate it if you wouldn't continue to make judgments about me, Malfoy."
With that she scowled and then turned her back on him to dig through her bag, throwing things heavily on her bed as she looked for her laptop. Being the organized woman she was, she was going to program in their meal times and the other information included on that piece of paper into her laptop so it would alert her when she should get ready.
"Granger?" Draco got off his bed and walked closer to hers, only to have the top half of a bikini thrown into his face. "Granger, come off it."
She reached her laptop from the bottom of her second bag and pulled it out. Wit both hands she scooped up the clothes from the bed, grabbed the top from Draco and dumped them onto the floor by her bag. Stupid, stupid Malfoy!
"Granger, listen to me."
She ignored him and sat on her bed, turning on the laptop. He rolled his eyes to the ceiling and then sat down across from her. "Granger."
She didn't answer and he spoke again. "Granger."
"What, Malfoy?" She looked up and snapped. "Honestly, you're so bloody annoying."
"I was asking what I did to annoy you." He said haughtily. "But if it is such an imposition, I'll leave you alone!"
"Fine." She retorted and pulled up her organizer.
"Fine." Draco mimicked her and didn't move. They sat in silence for several minutes. "Look, just tell me what I did! I don't fancy having a mental beaver mad at me."
"Figures the only reason you would press someone to tell you what was vexing them was for your own selfish purposes!" She snarled and then typed furiously, only to find that she had to go back and re-type it all.
Draco paused, looked thoughtful, and then laughed. "Basically, yeah."
She glared.
"Seriously, Granger, did you really think I wanted to know what was wrong with you because I cared about you? I'd rather not get on your bad side now, since I'll be stuck with you in a car for another seven days."
"Too late, Malfoy." She growled. "You're already on it!"
He frowned at her and opened his mouth to reply, but it was cut off as Blaise opened the door to the bathroom and steam poured out the door.
"There are two shower stalls." He informed them, and then laughed. Draco was sitting across from Hermione on her bed and they were both leaning in and glaring. "I hope I'm not interrupting something?"
"No!" Hermione sat back and lost her balance. They both sniggered as she fell off the bed backwards. "No you were not interrupting anything!"
"Okay." Blaise said mockingly and threw his clothes onto the floor beside his bed. "Anyway, you can both shower now if you want."
"I'm not showering with him!" She protested, blushing and she stood up from the floor. Stupid Malfoy.
"There are two stalls." Draco said slowly, as though talking to a five year old. When she was five, and people talked to her like that she aimed a kick at their shins and shouted, "I can speak English!"
She couldn't think of anything intelligent to say, so to avoid further humiliation she grabbed her shower kit and headed to the bathroom. Steam was covering the mirror in a thick fog and she sighed, wiping some of the perspiration from its glass surface. She looked at her reflection and smiled. Her hair was extremely frizzy and looked like it was floating around her head. Her freckles stood out poignantly on her face, flushed from the heat of the room, and her chocolate brown eyes stared imploring back at her. Same old Hermione.
She glanced at the closed door and pulled off her clothes quickly, before ducking into the shower and turning the spray onto scalding. Hot water had always soothed her. Perhaps partly because hot water would always be hot. It would always heat your skin to the brink of burning, but when you step out of the shower into the cool, steamy air and you would feel cleansed. It was a constant and would never change.
Hermione wasn't like hot water. She felt different, as though some part of her had shifted and changed while she wasn't looking, and that disturbed her.
"Shit!" Draco-or she assumed it was Draco- stumbled through the bathroom door. From the sounds of it, he'd been pushed. He took a minute to compose himself. "Granger, which one are you in?"
She stuck her leg out under the shower curtaining. "Here."
"Okay." He said, no doubt smirking "Nice leg, by the way. Thanks for the viewing."
She pulled her leg back in and yelped as it hit the water. "Don't come near me, Malfoy."
"I wasn't going to, but now that you mention it, I think I might." He said and she heard light footsteps nearing her shower.
Oh damn it, now you've provoked him. She groaned inwardly and silently debated the chances of him actually trying to rip aside her shower curtain. If he does, I'll kill him.
"Granger, if I pulled this curtain aside," he said conversationally, "What would be your first reaction?"
Oh dear God he's right out there. "I would hex you until you couldn't walk, then open the window in the room and push you out." She said, doing her best to imitate his snotty tone. "And then I would laugh hysterically."
"You shower with your wand? What are you doing in there?" He asked and she was quite sure there was a suggestive edge to it. "Maybe I do want to come in there."
She blushed furiously and pulled the curtain around her body, sticking her head out. "No you don-aaaahhhhhh!"
She screamed and, in an attempt to jump away from him lost her balance in the water and fell onto the floor, shower curtain and all. She did, to her utter humiliation, one of the falls where you try to stumble and end up with wildly flailing limbs and fall no matter what you do. And Draco saw it all.
Apparently Draco wasn't concerned about his state of undress, as he didn't scream and make a mad dash to hide the fact that he was only clothed in boxers. He simply laughed. Somewhat hysterically.
She remained on the ground, slightly stunned, with the water pouring down onto her head and the shower curtain wrapped around her to significantly cover her modesty. "You-you idiot!"
Honestly! Who told him to stand naked outside of my shower? Anyone in their right mind would be completely surprised if he happened to be staring near their shower curtain!
"Now, I'm going to get into the shower now, don't look unless you really want to." He said through bursts of laughter. She closed her eyes, heard cloth hit the floor and then the closing of his shower curtain.
Her face burning with mortification she stood up and fixed the curtain. Stupid Malfoy.
-
-
As they strolled down to the elevator Blaise laughed loudly as Draco recounted the shower story and did excellent reenactments of her exact arm flailing, high pitched screaming glory.
"Shut up." She said, her face hot with a blush. "It was an accident. I wasn't expecting to see you half naked outside my shower."
"You enjoyed it." He said and Blaise sniggered. She was going to throw a glare at him, but decided that since their fight in the car she shouldn't get on his bad side.
"I did not enjoy it." She replied tersely and his reply was cut off as the elevator doors opened and they stepped inside. Unfortunately, it was rather crowded, meaning they had to squeeze in and then had no room to move.
Blaise was pushed against the wall almost immediately and was squashed by a male of about twenty, who kept looking at him slyly. She ended up pressed between Draco, two businessmen who were talking to each other and an almost too perfect to be real female. She scowled as Draco gave the girl a once over, taking in her long, thin legs, perfectly sized hips and too-large-to-be-real-but-the-guys-all-like-them-anyway breasts.
"Hello. My name is Draco." His voice lost all of the haughtiness instantly and he spoke quite flirtatiously. "I would shake your hand, but they're both stuck somewhere down there."
She let out laugh that, to Hermione's ears, was too loud and extremely irritating. "I'm Helga."
"What a lovely name." He purred and Hermione let out a 'hmmpf'. It was the most horrific name she'd ever heard! "Yes?" He turned to look at her, and she realized with disdain he was pretending not to know her!
"Sorry, I just smelled something atrocious. I think I might be allergic." She smiled innocently and then sniffed suspiciously at Helga. "I suppose you can't help it if you smell funny."
"I think you smell delicious." He said softly to Helga. "I love vanilla."
She bit back a laugh. The only smell she was getting from that stupid girl was way, way, way too much perfume and the dusty smell of makeup. She, on the other hand, was wearing a light vanilla body spray in her hair and on her neck.
"Ooooh I love vanilla too!" Helga said and bounced on the balls of her feet.
She only did that so everyone in the elevator will look at her chest! Hermione thought, inwardly groaning at the humiliation every other woman in the world was now undergoing from such derogatory behavior.
Once Draco refocused his gaze on Helga's face- which took way too long for Hermione's liking- Helga smirked at him suggestively. "So are you from around here?"
"No, but I might consider moving here. The girls are much more appetizing." He moved closer, which was quite a feat since they were pressed as close as you can get. Hermione guess that if Helga lowered her incredibly large chest, there might be enough room on the elevator for fifty more people. She was a bit tempted to say so and then ask where she might find herself another set, just for the effect, but figured that would be a bit too much.
Draco moved forward and then he and Helgastarted snogging like they'd had a lifetime of sexual tension between them. Unfortunately, Hermione ended up flat against a fifty year old pervert, who made passes at her for the rest of the ride, which turned out to be quite long and involved another ten people getting on the elevator. For one, terryfing moment she thought she heard the grinding sound of metal on metal and feared they would be stuck there forever, but the moment passed and then she was only aware of the hand creeping down her back.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, Malfoy!
-
-
They left the elevator in really bad moods. Well, Hermione did anyway. Blaise looked considerably cheerful (flushed, though, she tried to recall if he'd been flirting with any girls, too) and Draco just looked thoroughly snogged. So, really it was just Hermione who was in a bad mood, and no doubt it showed, if the looks of interest she got were any indication.
They spent the next hour or so looking around the hotel. Over the course of that time she found her irritation dissipating slightly, to the obvious relief of her teammates, who'd been rolling their eyes at her when they thought she wasn't looking. It wasn't until they'd walked out of the recreation room and continued down the hallway that she made any attempt at conversation.
"I wish they'd told us where Harry and Ron are." She said and sighed, though it sounded a bit angry.
"Who cares?" Draco said loudly, attracting the attention of several guests. "I could certainly do without the sight of you and those two getting it on."
"We do not get it on." She snapped furiously, "Unlike you and Helga, who have no sense of public decency."
"Granger, if you had any sense of public decency you wouldn't leave your room." He snapped back. "Can you blame me? I've been cooped up in first the house and then the car, I can't go that long without-"
"That's because you have the sex drive of a rabbit." She said in exasperation, sighing loudly. "And now you smell equally disgusting. Apparently Helga's perfume is easily distributed."
"Is that what that is? I thought that was you." He sniffed the sleeve of his shirt. "That's disgusting."
"Do you honestly think I would ever wear something that horrific, and in such a high concentration?" She replied curiously. After six years he hadn't picked up that she preferred to keep things simple?
"I thought maybe you…wanted to…I don't know." He mumbled and then his face turned a curious shade of light pink, which she noticed immediately in contrast to his pale skin.
"I wanted to what?" She asked suspiciously.
"He thought you were trying to catch his attention." Blaise said and smirked widely.
"No, I didn't!" Draco protested and she smiled slightly.
"Let's keep looking. Maybe we'll see the other group." She didn't think much of Blaise's comment, he seemed to enjoy making Draco squirm.
Draco ignored Blaise up until they were getting ready for dinner, and then spoke frostily for the rest of it.
-
-
"He holds a grudge like a girl." Blaise told her as they waited for him to be finished with the bathroom to change. On their schedule it said to dress formally, so she intended to wear one of the dresses her mother had insisted she wear if she could on the show. After that one night she would no longer have any obligation to do so, and would be free of them.
"He's certainly spent enough time in there." She gestured to the bathroom with the hand not holding her dress.
"We had to get another bathroom put into our dormitory because he took so long no one else could get a chance to use it." Blaise said, his eyes sparkling with amusement as they both watched the closed door.
Hermione laughed and Draco came out of the bathroom scowling. "No, they didn't."
She looked over at him, still smiling. She was quite sure that after her first glance, her eyes bugged out of her head in a very embarrassing fashion. He was dressed in a formal grey suit with a green and silver tie. It looked amazing on him, and seemed to be the kind of suit someone would wear to a film premier, not a somewhat casual dinner. "You look presentable. I won't be ashamed to be seen with you in public, like usual." She said, winking at him and passing by into the room he'd just vacated.
Did I just wink? She made a face at the mirror in the bathroom. Who am I, Helga? That was supposed to be a jab at his fashion sense and overall self dignity, the best way to really annoy him, until I winked! What was that?
She changed into her dress, its cool grey silk swishing slightly as she pulled it up. It actually seemed to match the colour of Draco's eyes quite well, she noted with slight interest. The straps had gatherings on her shoulders and then fell into a modest and still attractive V. The smooth material hung on her frame perfectly and had a jaggedly layered hem that angled to her right calf, ending just above her knee on the other. The feature that had made her mother declare instant love for the garment was the fact that it plunged down to the small of her back from behind, and that had, of course, been the deciding factor in its purchase.
After fixing a small silver chain with a single pearl on it – curtsey of her grandmother on her 12th birthday – she stared at herself in the mirror. When her mother had made her promise to wear it at least once she'd agreed reluctantly, hoping an opportunity never arose for that. But now, seeing it on and the way it made her look, she couldn't help but smile. She looked elegant. It was definitely miles away from her Hogwarts robes, but she felt good. It made her feel beautiful.
When at last she'd looked at herself enough to make her feel incredibly vain she stuffed her discarded clothing into a bag and stepped outside the room. "Blaise, feel free."
When he caught sight of her Blaise began to grin, and Draco looked merely aghast. Even after the third member of their team and had left them his eyes lingered on her, making her uncomfortable. "Er, Malfoy?"
He shook his head, smiling ironically. "I was just thinking…If Helga ever tried to pull off that dress, she would fail miserably."
She laughed lightly, the dress putting her in a charitable enough mood that she didn't want to say something that would escalate to an argument. "Do you like her?"
"Helga? No." He snorted. "She smelled disgusting. And honestly, her breasts were much too big. Couldn't even get near her. It was disgusting. I doubt one smart thing will come out of her mouth her entire life. I regret fouling my mouth with her now."
"Should I change?" She asked suddenly as she thought of something. '…if she tried to pull off that dress.' Maybe she couldn't pull the dress off. Hermione Granger was not a fashion icon, or obsessed with her clothes and looking good, but she was not going to wear around a dress that made her look stupid. She abhorred looking stupid.
"No!" He said quickly and then cleared his throat, averting his eyes. "No, it looks fine. And we've got to go, look, there's Blaise."
She smiled to herself as they were joined and the three moved to the door, leaving their room behind them.
Stupid Malfoy.
Author's Note:
Read TANGLED UP by HANNAH LONGBOTTOM!!!!
And then review. It's her first story, and anyone out there who's ever written one knows the intense nail biting stage you go through for awhile when you wait for people to read it. And review. It really is a great fic so far. XD. Please check it out!
I forgot to mention (since I didn't know) but my last update marked my one year anniversary with this fic! It's AMAZING! So thanks everyone! (The bolded ones are reviewer's names (to make it easier, if you're like me and will search through all of them just because I want to find my name XD), and the things in italics are short responses.)
TheVampire89,arathigal, bestavvie, burnin4Christ, q8iya(you're WAY too sophisticated for me to handle, XD) AileenDewhurst (thanks for that, its good to have someone recognize that. XD.), MiaMiaMi, GuardianOfTime808, Max Ride Fan 13 (the beta of AWESOMENESS!), cemicool, Eternal Eyes, lilly (after the road trip, XD, all in good time!), Xonthespot (I really did appreciate your review, it was good to have some criticism), AmOrFoReVeR (thanks so much for all your compliments, :D) untamedspiral(I debated for a LONG time what Hermione was going to be, and then I realized that it wasn't what her true animal form was, it was only what Sheila and James thought she should be.), Zarroc, ThenxtMrsEdwardCullen, and last but not least, Isadora120!!!
You guys are the best reviewers in the world. XD. Thanks so so so much for all your support.
Review review review!