Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Through Her ❯ Why? ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: I'm already to chapter 5... and yet I still don't own anything... sigh...

Chapter 5: Why?

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"Malfoy?" Hermione asked quietly, not believing her eyes.

He just stood there staring at her, when he went to open his mouth, nothing came out, and he closed it again.

Come on, say something, Draco thought to himself,Some witty comment, something sweet, something comforting, even a simple 'Hey Granger' would work! His mind seemed to scream at him.

"Hi," he finally said after a minute. 'Hi' that's all I can come up with! Draco chided himself.

"What are doing here?" she asked him.

Her eyes were questioning, not angry, but interested. She had looked upset when he had seen her walking up this way, and even when she had turned around. But now, the only look he could see was one of concern, she wasn't asking him why he was bothering her, what he was doing at the Shrieking Shack, but rather, she was asking him why he was standing there in front of her. Like she knew he wasn't there for a leisure walk, but he was there to see her. He didn't have an answer. Sure, he had the reason that he was supposed to use, he had to get her to trust him, but he didn't have anything planned to say.

"I..." He started, staring deep into her eyes and finding comfort there, enough to find the words to continue, "I saw you coming up here," he said, there was no reason to lie to her, not many people randomly wandered up to this place, "I saw you coming out of the Three Broomsticks, you looked upset and I guess I just wanted to see if you were okay. I don't really know why I care so much, but I just... do," his heart was beating fast, he didn't know how he had just said that without anything written out for him to remember. It must have been because he had a way with women and words. Yes, that's it, he thought.

She just sat there staring at him. Please say something, he thought, anything.

"Oh," she said. She waited a minute, processing what he'd just said before she continued. "Well, yes, I guess I'm alright," she told him.

He let out a breath he hadn't noticed he'd been holding and walked closer to her, sitting on a rock opposite hers.

"So what made you come up here?" he asked.

"Well,” she hesitated, she didn't really know what to say, this was still Malfoy after all, but there just seemed to be something reassuring about the way he looked at her. She took a deep breath and continued, "I got a bit angry at one of my friends, so I decided that it would be better if I just left it alone for a little while to calm down before I said something stupid," she looked into his eyes, they looked caring and thoughtful. She looked away before she read too much into them. She found it was incredibly easy to get lost in those deep silver orbs.

"I know what you mean," he told her honestly, "Sometimes you just need to get away from things before they get that one step too far," he was trying to catch her eye, but she seemed to be avoiding his.

"Yeah," she said, transfixed with a leaf that kept getting thrown around in the light breeze, "I mean, it's not even that big of a deal, I just wanted it to be a nice trip into Hogsmeade with my friends, but I guess I just get so sick of those little comments that I always get, when I can't figure out whether they're making a joke, or trying to give me a compliment, and if it was the former, then they're the jokes that I just... that I get so sick of," she noticed that she had been rambling on, so she shut her mouth and turned her attention over to the Shrieking Shack.

"You probably don't ever get jokes made towards you by your friends though, being the leader of the pack, huh?" she asked.

"Well, not from the majority of them, but Blaise and I often throw jokes at each other, sometimes they're harmless, other times, they're a bit malicious, but either way, we know they're jokes, and we know we're still going to be there for each other afterwards no matter what. I guess it's just something that goes along with friendship. Maybe one of those things that are just for best friends," hopefully he didn't sound like a pussy.

She finally looked over at him with a crooked smile on her face, "You're right," she said, "We do joke around a lot, it usually doesn't get to me, I guess that because of who it was, and the circumstances that it just got under my skin this time, I'm sure he didn't even mean it the way I took it, and I know I'm going to be there for him, I just wanted to get away for a minute," she said.

"You looked deep in thought by the time I got up here, it couldn't have possibly all been because of that, could it?" he asked, cautiously, not sure how she would respond because he didn't know what it was she had been thinking about.

"No, that wasn't all of it, it's just that this place kind of means something to my friends and I, and I didn't really notice where I was headed until I got up here, and it brought back a memory that led me to think about some other things too," she told him.

"Ah, I understand." he nodded. "Was it anything you don't mind telling me about?" he asked.

"It's ironic, really,' she started, looking back over to the Shrieking Shack, "It's just that this was the place where I've seen one of my friends the happiest he'd ever been, only to lose it soon after." She looked back at him, "It's a vicious cycle, such a cruel world we live in. It's hard to imagine that someone could have the power to end a life. A power greater than any other that affects so many people, and so many other things. I don't think anyone really understands what it does. It was so great seeing him happy, having him know what it felt like to have someone who was like a parent to him, and then, seeing him lose that, before he even had the chance to really explore it, he was so hurt, and it killed me that I couldn't do anything about it," she was still staring into his eyes when she finished.

He sat there, taking in everything that she was saying. He couldn't believe how deep it was, she wasn't just some air-headed school girl, she was above the other girls at Hogwarts, she was intelligent, she understood things that other people, even older people, couldn't grasp. He was transfixed by her.

"I'm sorry," was all he could get out, "I didn't mean to make you think about it again."

"It's one of those things that doesn't go away, not really, it's always there in the back of your mind," she said, her eyes boring into his.

"That, I can relate to," he said, a crooked smile playing on his face, "So who is it that made you angry earlier?" he asked.

"Oh just one of my friends," she said, looking away again.

"Let me guess, it was the Weasel, wasn't it?" he said.

"Yes, it was Ron." She said, “But it's really not that big of a deal."

"You like him, don't you?” he asked.

"He's one of my best friends," she answered, trying to avoid the real question.

"Yes, I know, but you like him, you have for a long time, it's quite obvious," he told her, standing up and walking over to her.

"I don't know, he's just a friend," she said, her voice getting quieter as he got closer to her.

"I was hoping you'd say that," he said in a whisper when he was about a foot away. Their eyes were locked on each other, both studying the person opposite them.

As he leaned in closer, he saw her eyes close, and smirked, closing his as well. He put his hand on her cheek and gently touched his lips to hers. She returned the kiss and let herself get carried away in the moment. She slid her hand to the back of his neck and pulled him closer, taking in whatever she could, the way his kiss felt, his scent, the way his fingers caressed her cheeks...

After a minute, her eyes shot open and she backed away, jumping off the rock.

"I have to go," she said breathlessly as she turned and ran back towards Hogsmeade.

What have I done? What just happened? Was that real? How did that happen? Those were the only thoughts going through her head as she made her way back to the village.

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Draco didn't know whether to be happy or upset, he could tell she wanted to give in, but she wasn't ready yet. She had left him there looking like an idiot.

He could still feel her lips on his. That was a good act, he smirked to himself. Although, there was still a voice at the back of his mind screaming at him that it was not an act, that everything he had said had not come from his devious mind, but from his heart, but he couldn't listen to that voice, for his own safety and sanity, he wouldn't listen to that voice.

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A/N: hey! Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter!! thanks to my awesome reviewers, you guys make my day! Pleassse review!

Jenny