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Disclaimer/Warning: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. This is slash - male x male relationships. It also contains femmeslash - female x female relationships. If this offends you or doesn't suit your fancy in any way, then do not read below this warning and the future chapters. The concept is quite simple, and a bad review on this particular topic will only make you look like an ass. Thanks!

This story has, in no way, shape, or form, been affected because of Harry Potter and the Halfblood Prince. It was always an AU, and always will be an AU.

Author's Note: I have an important note that I want you all to read, but I'm placing it at the end because I know you want to read the chapter first. The note doesn't apply to this chapter, so you're good to go! Oh, and this chapter is important so pay attention. Enjoy!

Chapter Nine – The Astonishing Past of a True Best Friend

"E-Excellent choice?"

"I believe that's what I said."

Harry had to sit down. It was too much – an indefinite information overload. Hermione was calling Malfoy Draco; Draco was calling Hermione 'Mione; the two were hugging each other like close friends; he was insane enough to plea for a hug; he got the hug; and now, Hermione Granger was saying 'excellent choice' in reference to Draco Malfoy?

What the bloody hell is going on!

On the other hand…

Why wouldn't Draco Malfoy be an excellent choice?

He was, by far, the most intelligent male wizard in the school, humorous, a natural born leader, a graceful, adept Seeker, and not to mention, abso-bloody-lutely gorgeous. When he wasn't sneering and his eyes aflame with negative emotions, Draco Malfoy, no matter how much a person disliked his nasty side, was the most delicious eye candy of them all.

Maybe Hermione realized this - maybe Hermione knew how much of a diamond in the rough Draco Malfoy really was, that being the primary reason why she said he was an excellent choice.

"I-I can't believe this." Harry collapsed into the nearest chair, staring at Hermione like she got a Muggle gender switch and changed her name to Herman. He couldn't figure out for the fucking life of him specifically why Hermione, once a Mudblood in Draco's eyes, would call said person an excellent choice, other than his half-baked theory of realizing the blonde boy's positive attributes. How exactly had Draco and Hermione's relationship got the way it was? Why did they act like lifelong best friends, like she was apart of the Slytherin Trio, even going as far as to transform it into the Slytherin Quartet?

What if…

What if she wanted him for herself, but also wanted to progress their relationship in the simplest of ways – through friendship?

That couldn't be it…could it?

Harry broke the stare, burying his face in his hands; shoulders sagged in a look of defeat. It would completely, utterly, cripplingly break his heart if the two of them all of a sudden took their relationship past the platonic stage. Although he knew for certain Draco once was together with Blaise, he still spotted Draco flirting with girls from all houses. He could easily get together with Hermione, and, not knowing Harry's feelings, hang around him with his new girlfriend.

Bah.

Which brings up another point…

How the heck did Hermione know about his feelings for Draco in the first place?

"You really wear your heart on your sleeve, Harry, when it comes to love," Hermione stated simply, taking a chair from a nearby table and placing it in front of Harry, "and no, it wasn't the hug that gave your love for Draco away. It was the smile at the beginning of the conversation; the warmest smile I'd ever seen you give anyone, let alone Draco Malfoy."

Harry gazed at his best friend, silently wondering how she answered his nonverbal question, before letting out a deep sigh and dropping his head on the table with a thud. He was a bit extreme on the smile, wasn't he? If Hermione could figure it out, and Draco was just as intelligent, if not more, then he could figure it out too! But he couldn't help it; meeting his crush over and over in such a positive way caused such a tide of elation to rise up within him…

"No worries, Harry. Draco is as dense when it comes to emotions as you are. But I supposed he was raised that way…"

She trailed off pensively while Harry sat up with indignation and put his hands on his hips. "What's that supposed to mean? And how the fuck do you know what I'm thinking?"

'Mione threw him a glance, ignoring the second part of the question. "If you don't know, then you've just proved my point."

She laughed at the huff Harry let out, but fought the urge to grin goofily for her two best friends. And yes, Draco Malfoy was one of her best friends. She saw the look of complete shock at the unexpected request, and she certainly saw the look of pure bliss that lingered on his face after he was walking away from Harry and herself. The two were in love with each other and didn't even know it!

That's just like them, she thought wistfully, two of the most powerful boys in school can't figure out the obvious. Ha.

She would leave this bit of information to herself and let it progress at its natural course, but for now, "we need to talk."

Harry was just getting ready to say those four words to his best friend. He was desperately trying to figure out what she meant in that last statement – "if you don't know, you've just proved my point." ­– but his mind kept wandering, jealously, to the relationship between Draco and Hermione.

He concluded that with everything that went on in sixth year – the war, the training, and the school work – he himself didn't really have time to have a social life, but Hermione managed to squeeze one in between school work and her own role in the war. Blaise, he noted with satisfaction, also called the girl Hermione. The only one who didn't was Pansy, but then again, she didn't directly address the Gryffindor girl either. Something must have happened between them.

Harry needed to know; he honestly did miss his 'Mione, and the fact that others got to be so close to her and enjoy her company extensively miffed him just a bit. While Ron was for chatting about insignificant things, Hermione was always, and always will be, his confidant. "Let's talk then."

While Hermione got herself situated, Harry took the time to examine the girl he'd known and been best friends with since his first year at Hogwarts. He noticed with shock that her chocolate brown hair reached about mid-back with not a single kink or curl in its many layers. Her lips were still thin, but not covered in any makeup or gloss, her entire face very much the same way. It suited her perfectly – the completely natural look. Many witches had adopted the habit of putting way too much Muggle makeup on their faces, making them look doll like. Hermione never liked makeup, Harry remembered, and he was glad that that fact remained constant.

She was petite, but still had the presence of a full-grown, powerful woman. Curvaceous in fact, although Harry didn't know where that came from. She certainly didn't have that bosom last year.

Not that it affected him.

"You really are gorgeous, 'Mione," he whispered in awe. "How come I didn't notice this before?"

"Because you're blind as a bat and dumb as a doorknob!"

Green eyes widened comically so. "W-wha…!"

A smirk was his only response. "Just kidding!"

A stare was a counter response.

Her eyes had a mischievous light to them that wasn't there before either. She seemed a lot more carefree than she ever had been before, and it was bugging him that he couldn't figure out how and when she became this way. He was ready wholeheartedly for that talk now. "Should I go first?" he asked as she propped her legs up on the table.

When has she ever done that? Merlin, so much has changed!

"Actually no," she said leaning up a bit. "We all have secretive natures, but you've been a bit more obvious in yours so I'll go ahead and tell my story."

Harry shot her a glare. She shrugged.

"Besides, I'm sure you're just dying to know how Draco and I are the way we are now, aren't you?"

He had to concede with that point, but still held his glare.

In a move that was nothing if Malfoy-esque, Hermione gave him a triumphant smirk in response before it melted into a sad smile. She started her tale with, "I wronged Draco Malfoy back in our sixth year, after a particular DADA class. But he allowed it, and in doing so, I got to see how Draco really works…"

Flashback

"I have to talk to Professor Lupin, guys. Go on without me."

Hermione said the statement without her usual exuberance for academia, but with good reason. It was the beginning of the middle of sixth year, and already, she was overworked and under appreciated when it came to her research on wards with offensive properties. With the added stress of sixth year classes – classes that were preparation for NEWT level classes and hard times to come – Hermione was beginning to hate anything remotely educational. She had absolutely no fun; the students here at Hogwarts were so stressed and worried about their parents that even the most light-hearted conversation could be transformed into a serious discussion.

In fact, no one made an effort to initiate these so called "light-hearted" conversations anymore – everyone was treading on thin ice, some even falling through.

Ron and Harry threw sympathetic if not pitying looks at her worse-for-wear form, before treading their worse-for-wear forms down to their next class. Hermione watched them disappear round the bend of the expansive hallway, sighing and too heading to her destination. However, the soft whispers of distance voices stopped her mere inches from the plain door sheltering the Defense Against The Dark Arts classroom.

Through the sliver of an opening, Hermione spotted the telltale shock of blonde hair and the shabby, bland robes of her professor. But what she couldn't grasp was how the two bodies were crushed together in a tight embrace; how Malfoy's muffled statement caused Professor Lupin to laugh more genuinely than he ever had since his best mate Sirius Black died. She couldn't grasp the animation of Malfoy's wide gestures once the two broke apart either, and how his face just lit up with delight as he explained his ideas to Remus Lupin, a man who used to be nothing more than a dirty werewolf—

—and how Draco Malfoy was now standing in front of her, arms crossed but expression craftily blank.

The door was shut completely, and judging by their positioning in the vacant hallway, the two had moved back five paces away from the classroom entrance. Hermione froze, too stunned to speak, too bewildered to belittle the boy she thought she hated with every fiber of her being. It was like having a chained puppy bite you over and over, and you growing to hate it and stay away from it in response. But then you find one day that another has come along, freed the puppy, and began playing with it and you see the puppy with its tongue lolled out of its mouth and its big eyes filled with nothing but playfulness, a thing you thought the damn dog wasn't even capable of and you're baffled because…

Well, it bit you, and you, or so you thought, were a nice person to be around.

And you stick around because it's too strange of a scene to comprehend what transpired.

Her embarrassed gaze currently rested on the floor space between their bodies, albeit feeling the piercing silvery gaze on her form. As if moved by her personal venquilitrist, she lifted her gaze and locked eyes with Malfoy.

Feeling herself, against her will and to her shame, attempting to plunge into the thoughts of Draco Malfoy through Legilimency.

It was one of her special talents; she was the top Legilimens like Harry was the top Seeker. The staff and Headmaster Dumbledore had agreed to start teaching the sixth years more advanced forms of magic; more specifically, Harry, Ron, and herself. On her first try, she broke past Harry's and Professor Snape's Occlumency shields, although the furious professor threw her out pretty roughly.

With a start, she realized - Malfoy was the top Occlumens of the school.

She met the his powerful shields – more powerful than Harry's and Professor Snape's combined, she noted with surprise – with glee,ready to make her way out, but Malfoy once again stunned her into silence.

He brought down his shields entirely, flinging her into his emotions and the memories connected to them.

She felt his relief when Remus announced with such conviction that he loved Lucius Malfoy.

She felt his love for his best friends,' Pansy and Blaise, unwavering loyalty, standing by him through thick and thin, never showing him their doubts by gently, thoughtfully, helping half-baked schemes come into fruitation.

She felt his exhaustion at the continual mask of indifference he wore more often than a smile, wanting to show those not directly involved his struggle - his hard, yet unknown work to keep the Dark Lord at bay until Potter was ready.

And she felt his anguish, still mourning the lost of a mother and still mourning the disappearance of a father on the run, who did what he did for the one thing he had left – his son.

There were so many more emotions swirling deep with memories drifting by like a fast forwarded Muggle film, showing the stressful day, revealing the endless nights, presenting the rare moments of happiness and fun like pieces to be treasured…

And then she was thrown out – Malfoy obviously felt that she had seen enough. Had she disagreed with his decision, she would have merely forced herself back in, but for once, she wholeheartedly agreed to be let out and never allowed go back in again.

Collapsing with a wail, the brown-haired girl buried her face into her lap, body convulsing with sobs from the very depth of her being. There were so deep, so full of sorrow that no sound came out. She soon found herself unable to breathe.

"Shush," came the quiet command. She was wrapped in his arms then, soft silky hair tickling her sweat-drenched forehead, and with a muttered "Elanguesco," he tightened his embrace as he ran his fingertips up and down her back. Hermione visibly relaxed in his arms from the spell, but unfortunately the tears did not stop and neither did her whispers.

"I'm so sorry, so sorry, such an idiot to think- please forgive me please, oh merlin…"

The soft stride of Professor Lupin was not drowned out by Hermione's calls. He stopped a few feet from the scene, ready to find out exactly what happened, but Draco turned to him and fixed him with a look that said, "later, I'll tell you later."

Respecting the wishes of his love's son, Remus backed away and watched with wide eyes as Draco wiped the tears from Hermione's face and said, "Your words mean nothing to me."

Hermione immediately wrenched herself from his embrace, feeling every bit of an idiot for allowing Draco Malfoy of all blokes to see her in such a state—

"I know you Gryffindors have a habit of forgiving everyone who mutters a half-hearted apology," he started, seemingly unsurprised by Hermione's reaction, "but as a Slytherin, and the King at that, I need to see hardcore proof."

Draco then smiled warmly at her, and once more, Hermione found herself stunned into silence. "Action, Hermione. Action."

End Flashback

Harry didn't know what to say. How was he to respond to such a powerful story, a true learning experience that rose Hermione's already high maturity level? He vaguely remembered that day – he remembered Remus asking Draco to stay after, but had no clue that such an important event happened at that moment. He almost wished he had agreed to stay with Hermione that day. Maybe his relationship with Draco would be at their level, if not more, as well.

Hermione was lost in reminisce, no doubt reliving all the good times she had had with the Slytherin, so Harry took the time to do some thinking himself. 'Mione hit the nail on the head when she said she had wronged Draco. No matter how unpleasant the boy had been in the past, that was no excuse to try to break into the mind of another student without having proper permission to do so. She could have easily been expelled, had the wartime laws not kicked in during the course of the year.

From what she told him, Draco was the best Occlumens in the school – he could have, without the slightest bit of trouble, kept her from seeing his memories and emotions. But he allowed her too; he granted her permission to peruse the inner workings of his mind to make her understand. It must have been something he was planning to do in the near future; Hermione's unconscious prying only jumpstarted the plan.

Harry was truly amazed. Once again, the thought of Draco Malfoy filled him with a surprised delight. Boys were often said to be simple beings, and for the most part, it was true. Take Ron for example. But Draco was a complex being, and Harry loved puzzles.

He was sure that there was more unexplored terrain concerning the blonde Slytherin; oh, how he couldn't wait to figure him all out.

"Harry?"

Hermione was gazing at him. From the looks of it, she had been for quite sometime while Harry was lost in thoughts of Draco. He focused on her. "Yea?"

"If there is some chance that you do get together with Draco, I just want you to know that you have my full support! He is such a wonderful person, Harry. Can he be a snarky git? Yes. Can he be a complete arsehole? Yes. But so can we, and you bloody well know it. I can be a bitch sometimes and you can be an arse sometimes so what does it matter? When you get to know him, his positive attributes far outweigh the negative."

Harry was so happy that he had her support so wholeheartedly that he leapt from his seat and brought her into a bone-crushing hug, which she returned with laughter. She rocked them from side to side before letting him go and planting a chaste kiss on his forehead and lips. "You have amazing taste, Harry. You really do."

Laughing more freely than he ever had in months, Harry nodded with a smirk and responded, "Of course!"

"So you know that if you hurt him, I'll have to kill you."

"Yes, I know. But trust me, 'Mione, I'd never do anything intentional to hurt him. He's just so…I can't even describe it."

He did his patented happy dance - a quick gyrate of slender hips and a seductive shake of lean shoulders - for good measure before collapsing in Hermione's lap and kissing the crown her head.

Silence.

"Harry?"

"Mm?"

"Draco Malfoy is like a multi-layered dessert."

A raise of eyebrows.

"Delicious all the way through."

---

To Be Continued…

Important Note! Please Read!

When I think of this story, I think of it as a romantic dramedy – romance/comedy/drama. You've gotten splashes of romance and a bucket of comedy, but only a few drops of drama have been added in the mix so far and that is about to change.

Chapter Ten is the pivotal moment for this story. No worries! I'm not going to change the way it has been going for anyone! But after chapter ten (which is the last chapter set on Hogsmeade Saturday) there is going to be progression on time, friendships (the joining of the two Triumvirates), and of course, relationships, particularly our star couple. This isn't a story were I promise one thing then all of a sudden come up with another random idea and trash the promise I made. Harry and Draco will be together – sooner or later than you think.

(insert evil laugh here)

I'm really happy you guys are liking this story as much as I enjoy writing it, so there are a few things I'm going to let you know about me to help you understand why I write this story the way I do.

MercuryGoddess' Top Six Loves. And One Hate

1) I love Draco Malfoy – Pure and simple, he is the love of my life. I'm so sick of Wimpy!Draco, Girly!Draco, and All-The-Time-Arse!Draco so I will make my Draco as likeable as possible without making him become completely OOC.

2) I love Slytherins in general, particularly Pansy and Blaise – Again, the whole Evil!Slytherin thing annoys the hell out of me. I'm also sick of Smart!Crabbe & Smart!Goyle. So I stick with Pansy and Blaise since they have more depth and also have the capabilities of thugs. Ha, at least I think so!

3) I love the Golden Trio, particularly Hermione Granger when she isn't portrayed as an anal retentive know-it-all, but I hate Ginny Weasley – Hey, who reads Harry Potter books and doesn't have some measure of like towards the three? Harry is runner up for being the love of my life, Ron can be a good character if an author doesn't completely screw up the characterization, and Hermione is…well, an honorary Slytherin in my opinion. Weaselette Fans – she's not in this story. At. All. I won't mention her if I can help it, I hate her so much.

4) I love OC's; original characters/original content – What can I say? I like making stuff up. Prepare for new items, people, and magic. Warning here.

5) I love flashbacks – I always thought they were cool and have become obsessed with them. I like to retell the past that way instead of someone monotonously saying it to another person. Prepare for those too.

6) I love the LBG (Lesbian/Bisexual/Gay) community! – There are grotty heteroes in this story…they're just not important…haha!

Well folks, it's been fun. Stay tuned for the next episode of Of Spilled Ink and Crumpled Parchment!

-MercuryGoddess-