They stood with their eyes wide, their mouth open in revelation as they took in what they had just overheard. Violet and the guys werenât Muggles at all! They were like them; witches and wizards! Draco turned his head to look at the girl standing next to him and saw that she was in complete shock as well. Draco himself couldnât believe what he had just heard⌠Who would have thought?
âDraco? Hermione? Are you guys feeling alright?â Violet looked at her two friends in concern. They were staring at her and the boys as if they were some sort of mutated alien-creatures; their expression dazed as if in shock. Frowning, Violet stepped forward and gently laid a hand on Hermioneâs shoulder. âIs there something wrong?â
Hermione looked at her friend in disbelief. âYou guys areâŚyou all areâŚâ Hermione mumbled on, completely at a loss for words. How had she not known? She should have figured it out when she had discovered that Jessie was a witch. She stared at the three of them, wondering how on earth she should tell them that she and Draco werenât Muggles either.
âWhat is going on?â Alex exclaimed, perplexed at Hermioneâs sudden relapse. Draco rolled his eyes. Typical of Hermione to go all dumbstruck when she hadnât figured out something by herself. Coolly, Draco slid his wand out from his back pocket. Smirking at the awestruck faces before him, he pointed his wand towards Violet and muttered, âAlbusrosa!â
A pretty white rose stemmed from the point of his wand, its petals blooming with pure brilliance as they uncurled themselves. With mouths hanging wide open, Violet and the boys stared in shock at the snow-white rose. Ever so slowly, Violet reached out with a trembling hand and took the rose gently between her fingers. She looked at Dracoâs expression of triumph and turned her head to face Hermione who had a small smile resting on her lips.
âWell, well, wellâŚ.â Draco smirked, lowering his wand. âGuess we all have some explaining to do now, donât we?â
Everyone suddenly saw each other in a different light. Finding someoneâs true identity made that person seem a whole lot different. They had all returned to Violetâs room to discuss it all in private, and once she had closed her room door behind her, she pulled out her wand and smiled. âUnbelievableâŚâ
Draco, Hermione, Alex, Roger and Violet all stood facing one another; each one of them clutching onto their own wand. After a moment of silence, they suddenly burst out laughing. Hermione and Violet hugged each other, Roger thumped Dracoâs back â“ they were all overwhelmed. The thought that they had spent a whole week together thinking Violet and the boy were Muggles and vice versa was absurd and hilarious to its extreme!
Once they had all calmed down and had slowly swallowed the fact that they had something in common, they settled themselves on the couches and talked, and talked, and talkedâŚ.
âSo which school did you guys go to?â Hermione asked eagerly, still unable to fully swallow the fact that they were all indeed witches and wizards.
âSalemâs Institute of Witchcraft and Wizardry,â Violet replied proudly. âOur second homeâŚâ
âWhich school did you both go to, then?â Alex asked.
âWe went to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,â Draco replied, his words lacking enthusiasm. He was mumbling about not having much good memories about the place, when Hermione chirped in.
âHogwarts was a wonderful school!â Hermione said happily, âIt was where we grew up, you knowâŚmade new friends, learned new thingsâŚâ
âOi! You must have known Harry Potter!â Roger exclaimed. âRead it in an article somewhere. You must have seen him with his two best friends. Canât remember what their names wereâŚonly a few articles mentioned them. A pity, really. They deserved as much credit as Harry Potter.â
Hermione blushed fiercely. âOh, well you seeâŚâ
âYouâre looking at one of them right now,â Draco added without hesitation, receiving a small scowl from Hermione. He leaned back on the couch, rested his right ankle on his left knee and folded his arms across his chest as he watched Violet and the guys jump up in delight â“ as if they had just met some big celebrity. He wanted to disappear into the couch. He hoped with all his might that they wouldnât recognise him. His father, being a Death Eater, had been all over the news and Malfoy was a well known name in the wizarding world. He didnât want his new friends â“ people whom he actually cared about for the first time - to get the wrong impression of him.
âHermione Granger! Of course!â Violet shrieked in delight. She smacked Rogerâs head and exclaimed, âFor Heavens sake, Roger! It wasnât Graner!â
âHow could we have not known?â Alex said in wonder, ruffling his hair in distraught.
Hermione smiled shyly. âWell, you thought of us as Muggles,â she said comfortingly. âItâs not your fault you didnât recognise me.â
Draco silently watched as Hermione told them all about Potter and his other sidekick, Weasley. He rolled his eyes as he saw that the other three were completely absorbed in her tale â“ sitting at the edge of their seat and listening to each and every single word that rolled out Hermioneâs mouth. However, he was grateful that the topic hadnât turned towards him. He tried to blend into the background, avoiding all the questions directed towards him.
Groaning and stretching on her bed, Jessie grudgingly sat up and yawned. She sleepily rubbed her eyes and rested her head against the head board, silently looking around her room when last nightâs events came crashing down on her. Jessie sighed in frustration as she recalled them. Nothing, absolutely nothing, had gone right for her. She had lost her treasured perfume, completely blew it off with Draco and had even witnessed the most disgusting scene in her life: Draco gently taking hold of Hermioneâs hair, their faces merely inches apart. She had watched in horror as his fingertips brushed against her cheek, trailing down Hermioneâs neck and into her hair where they held it into a pony tail. Her insides had burned with jealousy as she saw him say something to Hermione, making her blush.
She didnât understand why and how Draco resisted her charms. What was so special about Hermione that made him go after her anyway? The fact that she had not succeeded lit a fire within Jessie â“ a whole new wave of ideas was rolling through her head. Draco was the first person that had somehow defied her and because of it, she wanted him even more.
She recalled seeing Hermione with a rather handsome-looking sailor a few days backâŚWhy not use him to her own advantage? She smiled in satisfaction â“ her mind dancing with joy as she mentally laid out her plan. âThis better workâŚâ
âI really canât believe weâre leaving the day after tomorrowâŚâ Violet said, nibbling on her eggs and toast. âItâs gone by so fast.â
âTell me about it,â Roger said between a mouthful of scrambled eggs. âI can clearly remember the feeling of first stepping on to the ship. It seems like it were yesterdayâŚâ
All of them were sitting and having their breakfast in a place called âToastâ. Hermione and Draco, who had already eaten as much as they could back in Dracoâs room, gladly gave them company as they ate. The atmosphere was a whole lot different since they had last eaten together. This time they werenât hiding anything. This time they wouldnât have to be so cautious with each other â“ afraid that they would reveal their magical abilities by mistake.
âI heard thereâs going to be a formal celebration held tomorrow night,â Roger proclaimed. âLike a farewell party.â
âI heard too!â Hermione squealed in delight. âOf course, I did a lot of research before I came here, so I know the schedule, the events, the facilities, the -â
âIâm sure, Hermione,â Draco cut in, rolling his eyes. âThere is absolutely nothing you donât do research on. Youâve probably even looked up how to get on everyoneâs nerves, because youâre doing a fine job right now.â
Scowling, Hermione snapped, âAt least Iâm well informed unlike you, you ignorant little git.â
âCalling me a âgitâ really hurt my feelings,â Draco said sardonically, sighing at her petty insults. He leaned towards Hermioneâs ear and whispered, âYouâve got a dirty little mouth, havenât you? Calling me names like âjerkâ and âflirtâ â“ you really know how to get under my skin.â
Hermione shuddered as she felt his lips nearly graze her ear â“ just teasingly near enough for her to feel the heat rise up to her cheeks; for her emotions to go haywire. She watched as Draco leaned back, his stupid, trademark smirk plastered across his face. She scowled at his sarcastic remark and stood up abruptly. With her nose held high, she spat, âWell, Iâm going to go and find out what time it is going to be held.â
âOh for heavenâs sake, Hermione, sit down â“ youâll find out later. Theyâll be sending out invitations anyway,â Violet said incredulously.
âNo, itâs ok. I see Bob standing outside, so Iâll ask him. And anywayâŚI canât stand his company right now.â With one last glare at Malfoy, she stalked off towards the glass doors, where Bob was patrolling around at the moment.
âBob?â snorted Draco. âWho the hell is Bob?â
Roger, who now knew all about Hermione and Dracoâs past enmity, asked, âYou guys quarrelled like this for seven years?â
Jealously eyeing the sailor who was talking with Hermione, Draco muttered, âIt was worse⌠much worse.â The two other boys whistled, shaking their heads as if they couldnât believe their ears. They said something to him, but Draco wasnât listening. He was carefully watching the sailor Hermione was eagerly talking to. Something was amiss, but Draco couldnât put his finger on it. There was something disconcerting about this Bobâs eyes. He seemed not to pay attention to a word Hermione was saying and instead was looking at her with an expression of longing. Draco frowned. What was really going on between those two? Without taking his eyes off the pair of them, he asked, âHow does Hermione know this sailor?â
âOh, she met him on the first day aboard the ship,â Violetâs voice came from behind the newspaper she was reading. âThatâs what she told me anyway.â
Without warning, Draco felt a wave of resentment course through him as he spotted Bob sensually slide his hand up Hermioneâs arm to rest on her shoulder. For some reason, he couldnât bear to watch another man touch her the way Bob just did. She was so naĂŻve, so innocent and pure that it just seemed wrong. He wanted to look away, but couldnât bring himself to it â“ and lucky for Hermione he didnât, because at that moment, Bob had taken her hand in his and pulled her towards an empty corridor, much to her shock and surprise.
Draco, who hadnât missed the expression of fear momentarily wash over her face, immediately got up, startling everyone around the table.
âWhatâs going on, mate?â Alex asked in disbelief, picking up his piece of toast that had fallen on the parquet floor.
âIâll see you guys later,â Draco said quickly, making his way around the tables as fast as he could. He hoped that Bob hadnât gone too far â“ he wanted to give him a piece of his mind.
âOi! Draco! Where the bloody hell are you going?â Roger yelled out. But Draco didnât reply. His eyes were fixed â“ his mouth set. Only one word was running through his mind as he finally ran past the glass doors: Hermione.
Hermione uncertainly looked up at Bob, who had slowly snaked his hand up her bare arm, and gasped in surprise. His eyes were filled with desire and his face wore an expression of deep love. Bob â“ her new friend who couldnât possibly have fallen in love with her â“ was gazing at her as if she were his prized possession.
âErmâŚBob? Are y-you okay?â Hermione asked timidly, his intense stare frightening her a little.
âHermione,â he whispered, still staring at her lovingly, âI think Iâm in love with you.â
âW-what?!â Hermione stuttered in alarm, slowly taking a step back. But before she knew what was happening, Bob had taken hold of one of her hands and was pulling her towards an unknown corridor, the bleak walls staring at her as if they knew what was to come.
Terrified, Hermione started to struggle against his fierce grip. âLet go of me!â she demanded shrilly, frantically trying to wriggle her wrist free. But he ignored her and continued to walk on, his hold on her never wavering. âBob, whatâs gotten into you? Let go of me, pleaseâŚ.youâre hurting me!â Hermione whimpered as he pulled her along. Her heart was pounding against her chest and the pain on her wrist started to travel up her arm. Panicking more than ever, Hermione decided to do the unenviable and use her wand against the Muggle. But as she pulled put her wand and was about to cast the âBody-Lockingâ spell, Bob stopped, turned around and pushed her up against a wall.
Hermione yelped in surprise, her wand clattering to the floor â“ the sound resounding in her ears. She felt Bob pin her arms against the cold wall behind her, never taking his eyes off hers. âI donât want to hurt you, Hermione,â he muttered breathily, âIâd never hurt you.â He leaned in for a kiss, but Hermione had turned her head and he ended up kissing her cheek.
âStop it! Bob, please, youâre not in the right state. Please, let go!â Hermione kicked, shook her head vigorously, tried to release herself from his grip but to no avail. However, it did stop him from trying to kiss her â“ her jerky movements prevented him from even bringing his face near hers.
âI love youâŚ.just one little kissâŚâ
âLay off me!â Hermione yelled with all the energy she could muster. Her strength was slowly fading away, and the mere thought of not being able to fight back made a shiver run through her body.
âI think the lady asked you to step back.â
That lovely familiar voice sent a wave of relief through Hermioneâs body. She immediately ceased to fight back and turned her head to the side so that she could look at that face that she had grown so accustomed to.
Draco briskly walked towards the pair of them, his fringe delicately shading his eyes, which were filled with anger, jealousy⌠and worry. At that very moment, Draco realized that he very much cared about what happened to her, but the question he kept asking himself was âwhyâ? How could he just suddenly care about a person who he had hated for almost his entire life?
Setting his thoughts aside, he focused on the task at hand. Bob had still not moved â“ he still held onto Hermioneâs hands, his face much too close to hers for his liking. Draco frowned and said darkly, âThe girl asked you to step away, so I advise you to lay off.â
âDraco! Heâs not in his right mind,â Hermione said quickly. âWeâve got to reason with him!â Bob was attempting to kiss her once more and Draco was afraid he would succeed in doing so this time. Hermione strained her neck away from him as much as possible, closing her eyes so that she couldnât see the lust-filled eyes that couldnât possibly belong to the Bob she had gotten to know.
Bob never even got his second chance. Once Draco had gotten close enough to them, he clenched his fist and punched Bobâs lower jaw with all his might; the blow knocking him to the floor. He lay sprawled at Dracoâs feet â“ completely knocked out of consciousness. Smirking, Draco took a step back and rolled his shoulders. He looked down at the sailor and sneered, âI told you to lay off.â
Hermione massaged her wrists and timidly went to stand next to Draco, his tall frame providing her with comfort and security. âWell, that wasnât my idea of reasoning with someone, butâŚâ
âYouâve got a talent of throwing yourself into trouble, donât you?â Draco snapped, turning his head to the side so that he was looking straight into her eyes. âCanât you go through one day without getting into a problem?â
âW-what?â Hermione asked in surprise.
âYou heard me,â Draco said angrily. âDo you like being in dangerous situations all the time? Or do you like the thrill of it? I mean, seriously,â he lectured, âcanât you try and not get yourself into trouble?â
Hermione looked at him with hurt and disbelief. âYou think I like being drowned or to be forced to kiss someone?â Hermione demanded in an injured voice. âI didnât ask for this to happen, you know.â
âThis wouldnât have happened if you hadnât stormed off to talk to your dear old sailor,â Draco scoffed. âMerlin, I donât know how youâve even managed to survive these past few years. Did Potty and Weasel check up on you all the time? â“ Making sure that you stayed out of trouble?â
Tears welled up in Hermioneâs eyes. The whole incident with Bob had shaken her up, and now suddenly receiving a lecture from Draco Malfoy â“ about something completely irrelevant â“ made her feel worse. But she was a strong girl and she refused to give in to her tears. Instead, she whispered dangerously, âYou no-good jerk.â She took a step back, pointed her finger at him and shouted, âYou have no idea what youâre talking about, do you? Whatâs youâre problem anyway, Malfoy?â
âYouâre the problem,â he shot back. âYou wouldnât have lasted one day if I wasnât there to -â
âTo what?â she spat. âTo save me? I didnât ask you to be my personal body guard, ferret.â Hermione quickly looked away as she felt tears run down her cheeks. Unable to hold them back anymore, she turned her back to Draco and wiped them off. âNo one asked you to come after me.â
Dracoâs shoulders fell. He had wanted to show his relief, hug her comfortingly after what had happened, but he couldnât. It just wasnât in his nature. He knew he shouldnât have made those remarks about her after being so shaken up, but it was his way of expressing his concern. He didnât know any other way of showing how much he cared about her or how scared he had been for a moment. How he had come to care for this girl he didnât know, but he could not deny it any longer â“ he cared for Hermione whether or not he understood why.
Without another word, Hermione slowly sat down next to Bob. She shook her head as she spotted the bruise that was now forming below his jaw and gently brushed away a strand of hair. The first thing she thought about when she saw Bobâs unfamiliar eyes, was Jessie. There was no other explanation to it â“ all this was some kind of ploy to break up her ârelationshipâ with Draco. The incident with Ron and Romilda Vane in her sixth year came crashing down on her, and she sighed grimly. Jessie must have used some kind of technique to make him fall in love with her - the same sort of method that Romilda had tried. Some girls, like Romilda and Jessie, were just too much.
âWhatâs going on here?â
Speak of the devil. Hermioneâs heart beat with fury as she heard that voice. Anger, revenge and hatred fueled within her â“ she was ready to give this girl a taste of her own medicine. Jessie had no clue she was messing around with one of the most gifted witches in her generation.
Draco swivelled around and watched as Jessie sauntered towards them â“ her hips sashaying purposefully with her lips slightly pouted. He gave her an incredulous look and turned around to see Hermione slowly standing up. As she turned around, Draco felt the electricity radiating out of her. Her hair looked as if it were standing on end and he was sure he could hear sparks crackling around her. Her eyes looked murderous â“ oh, Jessie was in so much trouble.
âHermione! Well, what in the world were you doing, hovering over the sailor like that? One would think that something was going on between the two of youâŚâ
Hermione, in Dracoâs opinion, seemed to grow in size. Any moment now, Jessie was going to get it real bad. An angry Hermione was not someone you wanted to be confronted by â“ she looked absolutely terrifying. Knowing that it was a battle between her and Jessie, Draco gladly stepped away from their paths and stuck to the wall, anticipating for what was to come and preparing for the show.
âAll this was your doing, wasnât it, Jessie?â Hermione said in a dangerously low voice. She narrowed down her eyes at her and said, âThe Amorodor, what you did to Bob⌠I mean really, are you so desperate? You love Draco that much? Instead of winning over his heart, you decide to use love potions. You disgust me.â
Jessie stopped in her tracks. None of what Hermione had said had registered in her brain except words such as Amorodor and love potions. âHow do you know about Amor -?â
âYouâre messing around with the wrong witch, Jessie,â Hermione said triumphantly. âYou have no idea of what Iâm capable of when someone really gets on my nerves.â Hermione smoothly brandished her wand and smirked as Jessie took a step back, astonishment etched across her features. âSee, unlike youâŚâ Hermione continued, âI prefer using wands instead of potions.â
âAnd physical abuse,â Draco muttered quietly, remembering the time when she had punched him in front of his friends.
âI-impossibleâŚ!â Jessie stuttered unbelievingly, taking another step back as Hermione took one step forward.
âOh, itâs very possible,â Hermione said smugly, relishing the effect she was causing. âAnd Iâll happily prove it to you.â She coolly pointed her wand at Jessie and yelled, âPetrificus Totalus!â
Jessie, who had no time to react, fell to the floor like a stiff cardboard â“ the thud of her body crashing against the floor resounding through corridor.
âThatâs it!?â Draco said in exasperation. âYouâre going to get your so called ârevengeâ by paralysing her?â He had been anticipating a full-fledge girl fight! He hadnât expected it to be over within a minute!
Hermione gave him an Iâll-deal-with-you-later kind of look and walked over to Jessieâs unmoving body. Oh, she was far from done with her. Of course, it wasnât in Hermioneâs nature to bodily harm someone, but she had other things planned for her. She had had enough of her⌠It was time to teach her a lesson.
A/N
Hello, hello, hello! Yes, you all have the right to be angry with me...It has taken me a ridiculously long time to update, but seriously, exams have been really hard this year! Anyhoo, atleast it's finally up hmm? I know there isn't much Dramione action - oh, but just wait till the next one...My fingers are just itching to type it all out! Chapter 21 is definately going to be my favourite!!! Oh, another thing, if anyone has any suggestion about what Hermione could do to Jessie, let me know...(of course, something Hermione would actually do!) e-mail me at shaheenkripalani@hotmail.com *smiles*
The next update will take time, I'm forewarning everybody *winks* I've got o-levels coming up, so I really need to focus! However, once they're over, I'm free - no more school and no more exams!! Anyway, REALLY hope you enjoyed reading...Let me know how you liked it by leaving a review =D
Oh, yes! Forgot to say this...I really consider Draco (only in this chapter) as Spike in this chapter. The way he rolled his shoulders and sneered..it just kind of reminds me of him haha! So if you want to imagine that scene..just think of how Spike would do it lol! (spike from buffy btw) *winks*