Disclaimer: These characters are not my property and they have been made by my guru J.K Rowling (hehehe).
Title of Story: When Darkness Catches the Light
Summary: Can two sworn enemies ever find true love in each other? What happens when a seductive mission comes along to prod them in the right direction? Draco/Hermione
Rated: PG-13 for language, angst descriptions and some sexual connotations.
Chapter One: Nostalgia
Sometimes I watch the world go by
I wonder what it's like
To wake up every single day
Smile on your face
'Til I Get Over You, Michelle Branch
Hermione Granger woke up at six o'clock in the morning, to the relentless ringing of her alarm clock.
She groaned and rubbed her eyes furiously, willing her mind to wake up from its sleepy daze.
Then her eyes widened.
It was September 1st today... the first day of her seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Hermione grinned mechanically, as memories of the past six years at Hogwarts fleeted through her mind. Harry... Ron... Ginny... she couldn't wait to see them all again.
Ron. Hermione felt herself go red at the mere thought of him. She was grateful that no one else was in the room to witness her childish embarrassment at the thought of her... boyfriend...
She shivered slightly. They had only been going steady for the past two months, and the whole concept of boyfriend-girlfriend was relatively new to Hermione.
She always saw the other girls in her year sift through the boys, like they were some sort of ornaments in an antique shop – interesting to look at, but not something you would really buy and cherish forever...
But Hermione... needless to say, she was different. She was much less whimsical, and her assets did not merely consist of everything below the shoulders. She had what few girls in her year had.
Intelligence.
Her intelligence had its downside, being that Hermione would never really give herself away to another boy if she did not sense a real... connection with him first.
As a result, Hermione generally stayed away from the dating game, finding it mildly amusing but not completely predictable and safe.
She always liked structure, rules, that feeling that something was so fool- proof it could not go wrong or act capricious. Hermione sticked to her books, her solid, reliable, veritable books, books that would probably never snap at her face or turn to noxious goo in her hands.
Everyone always kept asking her when she would ever get a boyfriend, but Hermione always smiled faintly and said, "When the time is right."
Had the time been right to get together with Ron though?
Hermione knew Ron for what seemed like eons. She trusted him.
But everything was moving so fast, much like a roller coaster, but minus the thrilling highs and startling lows. Sure, Ron was fun but he wasn't... The One...
She still dreaded the memory of that day when her Advanced Potions class assignment – a freshly-prepared, complicated concoction of Veritaserum – had dropped into Ron's butterbeer...
Hermione trembled at the mere memory of it. She could be so damn clumsy sometimes! And some of the splashback had landed on Ron's tongue and...
Next thing she knew, there was a drunk and intensely outspoken redheaded boy at her feet, pronouncing his years of undying love for her. Hermione had never been so embarrassed in her life, but what frustrated her so much was that everyone found it highly entertaining.
In particular, she had never gotten over Ginny's immature outburst, consisting primarily of, "Gee, we could be sisters-in-law before you know it!"
Hermione forced a laugh, but instantaneously retreated to her dormitory and did not emerge from it until the next morning, her eyes sore and hair dishevelled.
Ron did not speak to her for days, turning a shade of bright scarlet every time Hermione asked him to pass the juice or uttered some other innocent comment.
Seamus and Dean kept debating about which of them should be the best man and Ginny teasingly asked Hermione if she would prefer a Muggle or Wizarding wedding procession. Hermione tried to maintain a composed state of mind and knew better than to trigger another argument with her friends.
Friends? Could her so-called 'friends' really be the ones to patronise her so much? They didn't even send her so much as one letter over the holidays! They were worse than even Malfoy, who hadn't been sustaining his usual demeanour of taunting her at every opportunity in school.
Malfoy?! At this moment, her train of thought had been directed to Malfoy?
Hermione sighed wearily. It wasn't the first time the blonde rebel had crept into her mind over the holidays.
Her dreams consisted sometimes of Ron, but more often then not his stature seemed to shorten slightly, his freckles seemed to disappear, his hair seemed to lighten considerably... and his warm smile was substituted by a certain characteristically condescending smirk...
Hermione growled and threw the covers over her head, as if she was scared that her thoughts were being telepathied over to Ron's mind...
She shuddered as she recollected her thoughts.
Hermione remembered how, during her and Ron's fight, she was frequently resigned to staring at the red and gold common room walls of Gryffindor House, until finally Harry could convince Ron to speak to her again.
She didn't terribly miss Ron's company. Indeed, it was a relief to abstain from their otherwise constant bickering. His absence even gave Hermione a chance to think, to really think, about the situation and put her inherent analytical skills to practical use.
Everyone had such high aspirations for her and Ron. Everyone would be so happy if they were to go out. Ron would be so happy. She didn't have the heart to let her best friend down, especially after all he had done for her.
Yet she and Ron were best friends. There was a line that she thought she could never cross with him or Harry. She would never feel entirely comfortable kissing either of them passionately on the lips or carry out any other romantic gesture.
So what did the quiet, nerdish, single Hermione do?
Give in to the others' wishes, of course. Yet again, compromise her own feelings for the happiness of others.
If only temporarily.
The next two months were hardly different from the usual life at Hogwarts, except for the awkward clasping of hands and innocent pecks on the cheek. Hermione shared her first, passionate kiss with Ron probably a month after their public relationship was initiated, and even that wasn't as great as she thought it would be.
Ron was gentle, true. She admired him for that. That, and his bravery at making the first move. The kiss was calm and sweet, but Hermione had expected blazing fireworks!
Alas, from then on, Hermione knew that her feelings for Ron were merely platonic. And that's all they ever would be.
Hermione glanced at the clock.
Woah! she thought. Seven o'clock already?!
Hermione was fully clothed in her blue off-the-shoulder top and denim skirt in a half hour. She looked at herself in the mirror, blushed at her seemingly scantily clad mildly-tanned body, and then swung a stylish woollen jacket over herself to cover and complete the ensemble. She was confident, but not too confident.
She grinned at her reflection. Now that's more like me, she approved. She picked up Crookshanks and strode toward the car.
Her mother drove her down to the train station.
Hermione had always thought she looked different to her stunning mother. It was a thought that had tugged at her subconscious mind every breathing moment.
Her hair was brown and bushy, but her mother's hair was black and straight. Hermione's eyes were brown, yet her mother's were olive green. Hermione was very beautiful in her own innocent way, but her mother was simply gorgeous...
"My Hermione is growing older," Hermione's mother interrupted her train of thought, "so she must take care of herself and her body-" here she paused for effect, "-and grow into a mature and responsible young women. Not that you aren't responsible already," she added, seeing the scandalised look on Hermione's face.
Yet her mother's words ringed through Hermione's ears like a relentless chime, as she boarded the Hogwarts Express.
It was true, she was growing older and that meant she did indeed have to watch out for herself more. Good thing I have to cover myself up in robes then, I guess, Hermione thought pensively.
"Hermione!"
Hermione's eyes closed long-sufferingly as she recognised the voice.
"I missed you, my girlfriend," Ron announced proudly, and planted a soft kiss on her cheek.
Hermione grinned despite herself and nodded, but she couldn't quite bring herself to return the comment. Ron had never been very open about his feelings toward her... until today, that is...
"But you didn't reply to my letters," Ron interjected, his tone of voice slightly accusing.
Hermione frowned. What on earth was he talking about?
"Sorry, Ron, what did you say? You sent me letters over the holidays?"
"Well yeah," Ron went red. "I didn't mean to annoy you by sending them, its just I hadn't talked to you in a while and I just thought..." his voice trailed off.
Hermione didn't get a chance to reply as she felt two hands covering her eyes.
"Guess who!"
Hermione smiled yet again.
"Don't even make a move to disguise your voice, Ginny Weasley," she teased sarcastically.
Ginny removed her hands and Hermione turned to see her in Harry's arms. Hermione raised a questioning eyebrow at Harry and he reddened and merely nodded.
Hermione laughed and soon they were all caught up in hysterics.
Hermione couldn't believe that she had been upset at her friends over the holidays. They all seemed to gel together nicely, the four of them.
She just couldn't break up with Ron... at least not yet. Perhaps she would grow to love him, with time.
Everything at that moment seemed perfect to Hermione. Yet just then the compartment door opened haphazardly...
"Sorry to interrupt your meeting of the Great Laughing Hyenas, but what the hell are you doing here, Granger? You're meant to be in the Head compartment up front."
A/N: Hey people! This is my first story so I hope its good and I would really appreciate all of your reviews whether bad or good. I have some really good ideas for this fic and I just hope you'll support me! Thanks for reading :)