Chapter 7: The charm of birds

It was like nothing she had experienced before. The moment she touched his lips, Draco froze completely, but only for an instant. That should have discouraged Hermione; it should have prevented her from going any further but something in the way he remained paralyzed, not pushing her away, gave room to more of her stubbornness. Surprising even herself, her mouth claimed his tentatively, breathing lightly against his face, threading sweetly until he gave in and followed her lead. Little by little, he reciprocated into something less innocent, more demanding and reminiscent of the selfish Slytherin she knew.

Hermione ignored the incriminatory thoughts thumping incessantly at the back of her mind and focused on how he tasted instead: delightful and treacherous altogether. Better than any dream. And for once, at her mercy. He surrendered to her rhythm, going as far as letting her have her way in touching his face, pulling him into her completely. It was only when Hermione's hand lowered and slipped beneath his jacket to rest instinctively on his chest that he finally realized what was going on. He broke the kiss instantly, pushing her away in understandable panic.

"No…" he voiced out, taking a few steps back and stumbling like a drunkard, unable to even look at her. He brought his fingers to his lips, trying to catch his breath in the process.

"Draco…" Hermione whispered, attempting to approach him once more.

"Fuck no!" He threatened, stopping her in her tracks, arm raised in defense. But at least he was finally looking at her.

An array of emotions battled it out in his eyes; confusion, outrage, awakened desire - and, above it all, disbelief at him for doing something so ungodly with her. Hermione figured his heart was beating just as loudly as hers, making it impossible for him to make sense of the moment, especially when the worst thing that could have happened had materialized directly out of what they could only categorize as a mad impulse.

"Just …stay away from me," Draco instructed in a voice that sounded more desperate than menacing. His expression became faintly more composed as he began moving in the opposite direction, leaving Hermione to deal with her emotions in the aftermath of his receding footsteps.

It was only when she could no longer see his back anymore that Hermione understood what had transpired between them. She had kissed Draco Malfoy, enemy extraordinaire. She had acted on pure, raw instinct. Hermione had wanted something and reached out and got it. The bad news? It felt so dangerously good.

She tried to calm her rampant heartbeat, trying to convince herself that she did it for the sake of their future. For Harry and Ron. No matter how much she berated herself, Hermione still couldn't understand what possessed her to assault him so shamelessly. He had provoked her with that smug smile of his, throwing in words he couldn't even take responsibility for and she just…snapped. There were simply too many things in the mix; him in a suit, the concealing darkness of corridors and their sudden proximity - they all made her feel as if only she and Draco existed and consequences faded in front of her desires. Gulping down worries, she felt confounded just imagining what was going on now in his head. Did he think her a fool or was he just as conflicted? She had no idea what he felt or thought but at least she was certain he wouldn't be mending the cabinet that night anymore. So …10 points for Gryffindor, right?

OOO

The following day, Hermione wished she could skip breakfast. She was simply unable to face Draco just yet, not to mention Harry or Ginny. Oh, Merlin, how was she even supposed to look Ron in the eye after what had happened the previous night? He would hate her and he would be incredibly hurt, it was inevitable. She knew he already fancied her but found no words or opportunities to voice out his feelings and currently, Hermione had to do everything in her power to delay that scenario as much as possible.

She reunited with her friends in the Great Hall eventually and even saw Draco tending to his breakfast, sitting in his usual place next to Pansy and Zabini. Arriving slightly later than usual, Hermione took a seat next to Harry as inconspicuously as possible and managed to evade Draco's notice.

"You're late," Harry observed as Hermione pulled a plate closer to her. "You're always the first one to arrive. What's wrong?" Really, nothing went unnoticed by him, yet he was immune to Ginny's blatant feelings.

"Nothing," Hermione replied, trying her best to avoid looking in Draco's direction. Easier said than done.

He kept staring at his fellow Slytherins, seemingly paying attention to what Nott was busy explaining although Hermione knew better. Trivialities were the last thing on his mind, which of course didn't mean she had to be at the top of his contemplation by default. Most likely, he was scheming on how to off Dumbledore the cowardly way.

"Are you sure you're alright? You seem distracted lately," Harry pressed, searching Hermione's face for clues.

"I'm sure. I appreciate the concern Harry but I swear I'm fine," she said, suddenly uncomfortable at the number of lies she had delivered in the past week only.

"If you say so," Harry said sounding anything but convinced. He had to put a stop to the interrogatory when Ron entered the hall, derogatory words being thrown in his friend's direction, particularly from the Slytherin table.

Harry had never seen Ron so anxious before; his face was an unsightly pale color, gulping instinctively before every word he spoke. It was going to be his first Quidditch match after all and he was finally experiencing the pressure of his responsibility. His classmates were counting on him to bring them to victory but Ron never was one to have complete faith in his abilities, was he?

"So how was it, then?" He asked in a strangled voice, trying to distract himself from the upcoming terror.

"How was what?" Hermione asked, ungluing her eyes from the newspaper she was browsing through, in her own attempt to divert her attention from Draco Malfoy.

"Your dinner party," he insisted, sounding awfully annoyed.

"Pretty boring, actually," Hermione said, musing that the word "boring" couldn't be further away from the truth. She had dolled herself up, had made conversation with Malfoy throughout the entire evening and then concluded said dinner with an impulse kiss in the darkest corridor Hogwarts could provide them with. So yes, just a regular ending to a pretty boring day.

"Though I think Harry enjoyed dessert," she added with a tiny smirk, unable to help herself as she thought back to him and Ginny.

"Apparently, I was not the only one," Harry counteracted, shooting her an all-knowing gaze.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron asked with a frown.

"Nothing," Hermione hurried to reply in Harry's stead.

Hermione knew how astute Harry was and above all, how well he understood her. He could read into the tiniest of her gestures and realize whether she was uncomfortable, worried or even lying. Without a doubt, he sensed something was going on with her and Malfoy but to what extent, he had yet to find out. With a bit of fortune, he would never find out, Hermione hoped.

Prancing on her way to their spot, Lavender Brown arrived just in time to wish Ron her best. She really was besotted and Hermione couldn't really blame her, she had been too at one point. She watched on with nostalgia as she smiled at him, all a bundle of obsession and emotions.

"Good luck today, Ron. I know you'll be brilliant," the Gryffindor said, smiling at him as she walked away.

Unable to hide his anxiety, Ron forced a smile and leaning over, said the words Hermione remembered all too well:

"I'm resigning. After today's match, McLaggen can have my spot."

"Have it your way," Harry said, sliding a cup in front of his friend. "Juice?"

"Sure," Ron took the cup, clueless as to what it was supposed to contain.

"Hello, everyone," Luna chimed in from their right, an obnoxiously loud lion head hat adorning her head. She settled her gaze on Ron, addressing him in her usual dream-like state. "You look dreadful, Ron. Is that why you put something in his cup? Is it a tonic?" She asked Harry, drawing all of the attention to him, just in time for them to see him put the vial of Felix Felicis in his pocket.

"Liquid Luck," Hermione said defeated, the feeling of deja vu overwhelming her to such an extent, she barely had the desire to fight the notion anymore. This time, she didn't warn Ron; she knew for a fact that Harry hadn't put the tonic in and that the Placebo effect would do the rest. Under all of their supervision, Ron took big gulps out of his cup, his expression instantly lighting up with the prospects of good fortune. He stood up and grabbed Harry's hand in solidarity, confidence filling him up to the brim.

"Come on, Harry. We've got a game to win."

They both stood up, Ron almost stumbling on someone, as they passed behind him. Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini were making their way out of the Great Hall when out of the blue, Ron also happened to stand up and detach himself from the table. Draco ignored Ron completely but regarded Harry for a second and then his eyes eventually settled on Hermione. He looked like his usual self but she could swear she saw a slight twitch in his facial muscles. She wondered how he would look at her after what happened. Would he torment her or make fun of her? Even worse, snitch on her to Harry and Ron? Now was the perfect chance. Her eyes widened at that possibility, having not considered it beforehand. That would be her worst nightmare. For him to mock her in front of those two. She could see him capable of doing it, enjoying it fully, so why was he not saying anything?

Hermione followed Draco with her gaze until he passed them, robe fluttering with his motion. To her disappointment, his expression from last night was nowhere to be seen; he was back to jaded, disgusted Draco and he made sure to pound that reality deep into her head.

"What's Malfoy's problem?" Ron questioned watching him depart, eyebrows curling in a curious manner.

"That's just his face," Harry said, leveling the Malfoy heir with the same intensity. "Come on, let's go."

Hermione heard Ginny say something to her but she could not be bothered - Draco's expression was all that she could think about. How could he appear so unaffected? Did he really not care about what happened the previous evening? Was she that unimportant that he was able to compartmentalize her in the far end of his mind while he went back to being the absolute villain? She hated that scenario - Hermione didn't wish to be the only one hung up on their kiss otherwise, how else was she to advance with her plan? Could it be that while she had physically gotten closer to him, she had simultaneously widened their gregarious connection?

He hadn't even attended the Quidditch game. Hermione had pointlessly tried to search for him in the tribunes, he was nowhere to be seen. She had spent the majority of the match looking for him instead of cheering Ron on who, mind her, had done a lovely job at defending each and every goalpost. A round of loud cheers announced the end of the match and also the Gryffindor match, winning Ron the hero of the day title.

Back in their common room, Gryffindors chanted Ron's name in unison, clapping in absolute utter bliss at their victory over Slytherins. At the center of attention, where he always wanted to be, Ron basked in the fruits of his glory, smiling wide and cheekily at his supporters, finally understanding how good it felt to be on the winning side. Standing next to her, Harry turned his head to her.

"I expected you'd tell me off for giving him Liquid Luck before the game."

"I would have only that you didn't put it in his cup, did you?" Hermione verified.

"How did you know?" Harry grinned, visibly impressed with her guess.

"I just did," she said bitterly, aware that she couldn't trace back that piece of information to her intuition after all. She had lived it and now she was reliving it.

A higher intensity of cheers alerted both Harry and Hermione that something was going on and sure enough, Lavender Brown grabbed Ron and gave him a shameless kiss in front of everyone. Looking back to when she first experienced that moment, Hermione concluded that not only had her thoughts altered but her feelings as well. This was her future husband kissing another young woman and yet, it didn't hurt her as much as it did the first time. In fact, it didn't hurt at all. It felt as if she was watching two strangers sharing a kiss, nothing in that particular event evoking anything besides nostalgia. Ironically, she thought about another kiss, one just as recent but completely different and suddenly felt she couldn't be in that room anymore. She split past Harry and went to cool off at the bottom of a staircase, conjuring the Avis charm.

A minute later, she recognized Harry's footsteps as he descended towards her, set on comforting her, no doubt. He came into her line of vision, eyeing the flock of small birds.

"Charms spell. I'm just practicing," she explained, no tears in her eyes this time.

"Well, they're really good," Harry praised and sat down next to her. He took a few seconds before he spoke again as if trying to find the proper words to explain what was on his mind.

"You know, under normal circumstances, I would say you left the room because of Ron but now, I'm not so sure anymore. Doesn't it bother you that he kissed Lavender back?"

Hermione shrugged. "Not as much as I would hope."

"Clearly," Harry concluded, slightly annoyed by her apathy. "Hermione, I was under the impression you liked Ron. Do you? Like him?"

That was indeed, a very good question. She would never stop liking Ron, she was part of her world, always and forever. But like him enough to love him more than a friend? She figured that level of affection had been extinguished somewhere in the future, among fights and misunderstandings and goals that were only memories now. That had to be it, or else she would direct more effort toward pursuing a romantic relationship with him and even Harry had noticed her change of heart.

"I don't know anymore…" She said in a tone that made Harry beyond nervous.

"Well, I think you don't," He said, reaching his own verdict. "Truth be told, you've spent a good deal of this semester ignoring him. And the way you've been acting lately, it seems you're more interested in Malfoy than…"

"Please, Harry, don't go there," she cut him off, physically unable to hear him address her identical concerns.

"Where? I'm just stating facts, aren't I?" He questioned, arms flailing in frustration as he stood up.

"I saw the way you were looking at him during Slughorn's dinner and the manner you were talking to him, that familiarity…have you been spending time with him behind our backs?"

"Harry…"

"Because something tells me you have. You're hiding things from us and that's only going to get you in trouble," He continued talking, pouring word after word, worry after worry. It was clear he had noticed something unholy the previous night at dinner but it still bothered Hermione how much he made a point out of doubting her actions.

"Why can't you trust me?" She demanded, slightly offended by what she could identify as purely good intentions.

"This is not about trust!" Harry raised his tone. It was more about his inability to comprehend his friend's motives, especially since they involved one of his worst nemesis. "This is about you trying to befriend Malfoy. It's ridiculous and dangerous and I just loathe the idea of you and him getting closer. This won't end well, you have to understand that. At this point, I don't even care about him being a Death Eater. I won't risk your safety for something as petty as information."

"Even if it would give us the upper hand? We can't stand losing any more people, Harry…" She tried, grabbing his hands and pulling him gently down, thus reclaiming his spot next to her.

"Be that as it may…You and Malfoy can't be friends, Hermione," Harry tried to reason with her. "Draco hates us. He hates you. So please, wake up, before you lose sight of what's truly important," He told her, his earlier vexation melting away by the second. "I already have so much on my plate trying to befriend Slughorn and finding out what he's hiding about Voldemort, I can't worry about you too."

Hermione sighed, feeling impossibly old and tired. She never thought she would have to worry about Voldemort and his acolytes ever again yet here she was, having to measure her steps and devise plans all over again. It was gruesome and exciting. But so incredibly tiresome to navigate alongside comrades who had no clue what was truly going to happen soon. "I promise you, there's nothing for you to worry about. In fact, you should worry about your own love life," She gave him a tiny nudge. "How much longer until you confess to Ginny?"

"So you knew…" Harry remarked in surprise.

"Of course I did. You're my best friend."

"You're not being fair, changing the subject this way…" He softly criticized, proving he had forgiven her already.

Lavender's sharp giggles could then be heard echoing in the hallways, and soon enough, both she and Ron appeared out of nowhere, stopping in their tracks at their sight.

"Oops," she said, tightening the grip around Ron's arm. "I think this room is taken," Lavender teased, taking full advantage of Ron's euphoric state.

"What's with the birds?" He asked, clueless to what should have been a jealous, crying Hermione. Instead, he found a different one who despite having less against his escapade with their female classmate, still felt sorry for the girl she once was, finding comfort in Harry, wondering when Ron would notice her affections. Still, she no longer used the Oppugno jinx to scare him off.

"Finite Incantatem," Hermione uttered and swished her wand at the birds, the flying creatures vanishing without a trace.

"It's just a charm," Hermione told him. "Go, Lavender is waiting for you."

"Okay. Yeah, fine," he said, sounding a lot more disappointed than he intended but left to catch up with the Brown girl nevertheless.

"Are you sure you're not going to regret this?" Harry asked her, watching Hermione rise to her feet. "And where are you going?"

Hermione gave a pained smile, looking back at Harry as she began walking away, in an opposite direction than the one she was supposed to go to. She was done with leaving things to chance.

"To find out if there are other things I should regret."

OOO

Author's note: Hello, everyone! Hope you like the latest chapter, things will start building from here. I do want to mention that I'm following the movies rather than the books because it suits my plot a bit better. Some things will be reversed to attest to the element of going back in time but nothing too serious. Thank you for your comments, your support means a lot to me. See you next chapter! Hugs!