A/N: Hello! I'm almost to the 200 review mark and I love you guys for it –kisses to all even though I know you guys prefer chocolate (I ate all of it huhuhuhuhu xD)-
This is for all my faithful reviewers out there. You have no idea how much I value your virtual presence :D
This chapter is a new year gift to all you lovelies! Happy New Year!
Chapter seventeen: Whispers in the Wind.
The silence between the three was loud, carried further by the cold wind. Padma's eyes were wide, with shock, but also sparkling with excitement. She was one of Hogwarts' Gossip Queens together with her twin, Parvati, and of course the mousy Lavender Brown. Between the three they knew more about the Hogwarts students then all the others put together, and they revelled in it. However, in all her seven years at Hogwarts, Padma had not stumbled across something as scandalous and delicious as the Slytherin Prince and Gryffindor Princess kissing.
Hermione took a deep breath and broke the silence with a quiet, "Padma, please don't-" However, Padma had turned on her heel and began to run, as fast as she possibly could, a huge smile on her face.
'Shit.' Draco thought again. Hermione turned to him and smacked him on the arm.
"Is that all you can say?" She thought with a frown on her face.
'I can say a lot of things, but I'm sure you won't take kindly to them either. That hurt by the way.' Draco said pouting and rubbing his arm.
"Be a man." Hermione thought to him grinning slightly, turning around to head back to the castle. Draco raised his eyebrow and ran after her. He grabbed her waist and pulled her to him. Lowering his lips to her ear he whispered softly, "I can do that, but we would have to go somewhere a little more private for that." His voice was a little husky and a Hermione could almost taste his heavenly cologne. She shivered against his chest and a flush spread across her face.
"D-Draco this is not the time t-to-" She began, but stopped as he gently pulled on her ear with his teeth. She gasped and pulled away.
"We have to get back." She thought firmly. Her mind began to wander though as she saw him smirking at her.
He began to walk towards the castle and she followed him. He began to sing Hogwarts school songs, while Hermione began reciting Mark Anthony's speech again. They both kept thinking strictly of their chosen topics, avoiding looking at each other. As soon as they stepped inside the gates of Hogwarts, Draco quietly thought, 'We can't be seen together or it'll fuel the fire.'
Hermione nodded and began to walk away to the Gryffindor common room. She could feel Draco's gaze as she did, the skin on her back prickling.
"Draco, what does this mean? All this." She meant the kissing and he could see that. He began to walk back to his dorm.
'It means that I would definitely like to see you more often. So, if you would like to, and who wouldn't since I'm unbelievably handsome, go with me to Hogsmeade this Saturday maybe?' Draco asked. Even though Hermione heard the confidence oozing from his being, she could still sense the slight nervousness hidden deep, deep down beneath the words. She giggled at the thought of making Draco Malfoy nervous. Draco frowned. 'You wish you made me nervous.'
They both knew she did.
"I'll see you on Saturday at eight, Malfoy." Hermione thought, smiling. "And Draco?"
'Yes?'
"The only problem I have with Padma knowing about us is that Harry and Ron might get to know from an outside source. I'm not embarrassed about you or anything okay?" Hermione thought.
'Why would you be? I'm beautiful remember?' Draco insisted. But he was grateful. Being the follower of Voldemort had done the worst to the Malfoy name. Even though it still had the same power and grandeur it had always demanded, many just contributed these qualities to the immense wealth the Malfoy family had, not to the nobility of the name itself. Ever since his father had taken to rotting in prison, he had vowed to keep a low profile and not harm his family's name, or anyone else's, by doing something… Out of the ordinary. Kissing Hermione Granger, one third of the Golden Trio, was something extremely out of the ordinary.
He grinned. It was very much extraordinary.
"I can hear you, you know." Hermione thought raising an eyebrow at him.
'I was complimenting you. Don't be such a woman about it.' Draco laughed silently.
"Unlike many woman going on guesswork, I can see you mind, Draco. You're thinking like kissing me was some achievement you unlocked in a video game." Hermione thought.
'… Video game?' Draco asked confused.
"Oh right, spoiled pureblood brat you are." Hermione smirked. "Well, you're behaving like you did something worthy of getting 50 points for Slytherin for."
'Well, why shouldn't I? I just kissed the Gryffindor princess who boys are scared to come near, because her two bodyguards are the freaking Boy Who Wouldn't Die and well… The Redhead Who Has the Temper of the Witch Who Killed Bellatrix. Also, she's the smartest witch of her age. Oh, and she's extremely beautiful as well as the Head Girl so excuse me if I'm not rather pleased that I'm so charming and handsome that I kissed her even though I was notably the worst enemy of hers." Draco gallantly informed her blushing self. "Also I'm not a brat."
"You are." Hermione replied slightly flushed. "And Ron's not just that."
Draco shook his head smiling. Any other girl would concentrate on anything, but those two points in his whole speech. He entered the Slytherin common room and quietly slipped into his room to meet a queer sight.
Blaise was sitting in the middle of the room with his hands around his knees. His eyes were closed and he was humming an eerie tune. Xavier and Goyle were standing in a corner, fear in their eyes. They jumped when Draco entered and retreated further into their corner. Draco looked around the room and found it in chaos. There were papers and ink everywhere. Everything that could be broken was, and one bed was upside down.
"Blaise?" He asked quietly.
Silence hung in the air like a dead man on a noose.
Blaise slowly opened his eyes which fizzled with crazy magic. A crackle of magic whipped in his hair in sparks of electric blue whips. He smiled slowly.
"B-Blaise?" Draco was now definitely scared. Hermione had stopped in the middle of the hallway, waiting for something to happen, holding her breath.
"Xavier and Goyle? Get out." Blaise said in a sweet voice. Draco began to panic. It was the kind of sweet Umbridge used. His skin started to crawl. Xavier and Goyle tripped upon their own feet, running out of the room as if for their lives. Blaise's eerily sparkling eyes never left Draco's. He stood. The air in the room began to get heavier. Draco watched with widened eyes as Blaise began to lift into the air, the bubble of magic around him increasing.
"You hid your relationship with Hermione from ME?!" Blaise thundered coming at him.
"We just kissed Blaise! I swear!" Draco yelled backing away. The door slammed shut loudly. Draco began to sweat. How did he find everything out so damn fast?!
"And you didn't tell ME?!" Blaise accused.
"It just happened! You are the first person I came to tell Blaise! Merlin calm down!" Draco yelled.
"Oh."
Hermione laughed at the theatrics of the Slytherins as she made her way to the Gryffindor common room, preparing herself for the theatrics of the Gryffindor. She just had to get to Harry and Ron before anyone else did. And since Blaise Zabini, a Slytherin, who had nothing to do with Padma, had found out so quickly, she worried more.
'Don't worry! Blaise has a lot of contacts. He's like the quiet Gossip Queen of Hogwarts. I bet he knows as much about Hogwarts as Dumbledore did.' Draco said ducking behind a desk. Blaise and Draco had begun duelling since Blaise had a lot of pent up magic and only Draco was around.
"That was weird." Hermione grinned, thinking about Blaise and the dramatics.
'Yes, but it keeps me on my toes.' Draco thought. He laughed jeeringly at Blaise as he dodged spell after spell.
Hermione shook her head at the boys and took a deep breath before entering the Gryffindor common room. She stepped inside the warm, red and gold room, smiling at all the memories she had had here.
"BLOODY HELL HOW COULD YOU?!" A familiar voice erupted from the fireplace.
'Merlin's baggiest pants.' Hermione swore rather unsually.
A/N: There, a long chapter for you awesome people. I hope I made up for the previous short chapter. Kisses to all.
PLEASE REVIEW.
Ciao, Alexia.