Here We Go Again
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot in this fic :) The title is an Everclear song - the lyrics are completely unrelated to this story but the title is somewhat related. I'm not sure how far I'm going to continue this fic but I'm hoping, when I get a minute, to write at least 3 or 4 more chapters. Enjoy!
If this was a film, this is how it would begin.
The set: a busy market street in Covent Garden, near to the Ministry of Magic.
The character: a tired Hermione Granger two years after graduating from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The camera: bird's eye view shot of the busy street before zooming in to where Miss Granger is stood.
If this was a film, it would be narrated.
Hermione sighed and tapped her foot in boredom. She had been out in the cold for about fifteen minutes now and her fingers were practically numb. She brought them close to her mouth and exhaled warm air over them; they warmed briefly but a gust of wind blew and they were freezing again.
She hated this part of her job. Hermione had graduated with flying colours from Hogwarts, her head girl status noted on her CV and her ambitions high. It hadn't really occurred to her to what extent she would have to 'work her way up to the top.' She had begun working at the Ministry as the secretary of Melody Harpinger, co-writer of The Daily Prophet. Her job wasn't particularly well paid by she was mainly in it for work experience.
Hermione sighed again. Today was a Saturday and the busy streets of Covent Garden were full of tourists - tourists who just happened to fill the seemingly endless queue that made its way out of Starbucks and all the way back to where Hermione was stood. Every Saturday morning, Melody would send her out to collect the coffees for the whole of the News department of the ministry. This was definitely the most tedious thing she did each week; it was even worse than filing documents all day long – at least she was inside in the warmth when she did that!
On her way from the Ministry, Hermione had briefly dawdled in a bookshop with huge neon signs saying '50 OFF' and 'BUY 1 GET 1 FREE' deliberately set out to fool bookworms like herself into spending their entire weeks wages in them. She had regretted her meander as soon as she'd arrived at Starbucks to queue for coffee – the block of people before her wasn't moving and it didn't look as if it was going to any time soon.
She sighed again and the person in front of her gave her a dirty look; she had sighed four times in the past minute. Although she knew that being the secretary of a well known, hard working journalist would look really good on her CV it killed Hermione's pride to constantly be running errands.
Her job was never mentally satisfying and she was beginning to grow tired of being Melody's maid, no matter how nice she was to her.
Hermione surveyed her surroundings; yawning loudly. A tall, elegant looking man was standing near to the queue in front of her and her eyes narrowed slightly as she saw him start to nudge his way in front of some bemused tourists.
'Sir,' Hermione spoke, her voice businesslike and bossy, 'I think you'll find that the queue starts back there.' She gestured behind her and glared at the back of the man's blond head.
He turned slowly to glare at Hermione and then took a double take. Holy mother of Merlin, it was Draco fucking Malfoy.
Her mouth fell open and she stared at Malfoy; his expression mirroring hers. He cleared his throat quickly and closed his mouth, turning away from her and back to where he was pushing into the queue.
If this was a film the camera would pan to a close-up view of Draco Malfoy's face.
Draco swallowed firmly, regaining as much of his composure as possible. He couldn't believe he had just seen Hermione Granger. He couldn't believe that she was now standing less than four metres away from him!
He hadn't seen her since graduation... since he'd told her. The memory of what had happened had clearly been flashing through her head as it had his as soon as their eyes had locked. Draco shivered, a slender hand reaching up to run through his pale, perfect hair.
If this was a film, the camera would zoom in to where Draco's hand brushed through his hair and keep zooming until the screen went dark. The camera would then zoom out to show the same Draco but two years previous, running his fingers nervously through his hair as he stood before a confused looking Hermione Granger.
Think Draco, think. Draco's mind was going blank. All he could do was open and close his mouth like a goldfish as Hermione Granger glared at him from where she was standing in front of him.
'What, Malfoy?' She demanded, arms folded across her chest.
'I-I-'
What on earth was he doing? He was never lost for words; he always had something to say. Draco Malfoy's badboy image was waning. He cleared his throat.
'Malfoy, you haven't spoken to me for at least a term and when you have it's just to be a bastard so I don't see why I should wait if-'
'No.' He cut across her. A short, simple response. Okay, she'd shut up, now what?
She sighed and rolled her eyes, 'no what?'
'I don't fucking know!' He was annoyed now, but not with her. He wouldn't meet her eyes.
Hermione scowled and uncrossed her arms,
'You have no reason to be pissed off at me you little shit,' she began, 'you're the one who demanded to speak to me.'
Draco's lip curled slightly, half in amusement. But then he remembered why he had asked to speak to her and his face fell again.
He looked directly at her momentarily but this was a mistake. That tightening feeling in his stomach; that desperate want and need. She looked fucking gorgeous. Her dress was too beautiful for his own good. Her creamy skin was too delicate and smooth, her eyes too bright and golden, her lips too plump and perfect. He wanted nothing more than to bite down on them, making her moan into his mouth as he always imagined she would when with him.
'Enjoying the view?' She muttered sarcastically. He met her eyes briefly before looking down again.
A couple of seconds passed, she glared at him while he stared at anywhere but her.
A couple more seconds.
'Oh for Merlin's sake,' she cursed under her breath and turned to walk away in the opposite direction. Back to Scarhead and his Weasley friend. Away from him.
Before he knew what the hell he was doing, Draco had reached out and grabbed on to Hermione's wrist, turning her around.
'Wait, Granger, please.' Please? When did Malfoys ever say please?
But then again, when did Malfoys ever pull mudbloods to them and kiss them soundly on the lips? This was something that a Malfoy would never do. And yet Draco Malfoy, heir to the ridiculous Malfoy richboy throne, was doing just this.
Hermione protested,
'Malfoy, wha-' but she was cut short once again when their lips met.
A few moments passed, maybe two. His lips melting against hers in the most tender of touches. The most un-Malfoy-like of touches.
Draco Malfoy should have been all wondering hands and clashing teeth and biting down and drawing blood.
But this Draco Malfoy, the one currently kissing Hermione Granger, was all delicate touches, twirls of hair and gentle, soft lips kissing hers like he had wanted to for a very long time. Which, of course, he had, but no one need know that.
All good things come to an end. Fair enough, but it ended so suddenly. Her hands pushing hard against his chest so he fell back against the wall behind him, breathing heavily.
She stared at him, her confused, angry face half shrouded in the torch light.
'What the fuck do you think you're doing, Malfoy?' she spat, hands reaching up to wipe across her lips.
He stared back at her, eyes wide. Disbelieving of what had just happened.
'Why did you kiss me? Was this some sort of sick joke?'
Why was she so angry? Why did she make him stop? She wasn't the only one with questions.
'What the fuck? No!' He insisted, leaning towards her. She flinched away from him and he frowned at her.
'You have ten seconds to explain to me what the hell just happened and then I'm leaving, Malfoy. I have a graduation ball to attend.' Her voice was quieter now but her tone was just as angry.
10 seconds. 10 seconds to explain to her exactly why in Merlin's sweet name he had just locked lips with a mudblood. Summarise everything in 10 seconds. Go on, Draco, I dare you.
'I…' he began slowly, 'Christ, Granger, I love you.'
Momentary shock crossed her face; then scepticism.
'Oh piss off Malfoy.' And she was off again. Hips swinging gloriously as she paced angrily away from him, her heels clicking on the stone floor.
'Stop fucking walking away from me, Granger!'
She stopped at turned to him, her expression incredulous.
'If you'd stop fucking lying then I wouldn't have reason to, Malfoy!' She spat.
'Granger, I love you.' Too late, he'd said it again now. It could no longer be passed off as just a joke. He'd said it twice.
Her left eyebrow raised slowly.
'I have no idea why but I do.'
'Gee, thanks, Malfoy. Don't I feel great.'
'That's not what I meant.'
'Then what the hell do you mean, Malfoy? Because I'm running out of patience.'
'You're a mudblood,' she flinched and he hated it, 'but I can't stop fucking thinking about you and your eyes and your dress and you look so damn beautiful and I can't think straight…' His voice trailed off.
'If you think this is another chance for you to humiliate me in front of your evil Slytherin cronies then you can fuck right off.' She still didn't believe him. Why? Why in Merlin's name not?
'Granger, I mean it. I love you. I don't know how else to put it.' Blunt. Simple. What would she say to that?
'Well I don't bloody love you, Draco Malfoy. You've been nothing but an absolute bastard to me since we first met and if you think that you suddenly developing a crush on me is going to change anything then you don't know shit.' Ouch. He hadn't expected that. Way to rub salt into the wound, Granger, he knows you don't love him. Such horrible words from such a heavenly mouth.
Draco blinked.
'Just because you've momentarily lost your arrogant toe rag attitude does not mean I'm going to be jumping into your arms and telling you how much I love you back. Your head's in the clouds, ferret.'
He laughed slightly. It wasn't funny but what else was there to do?
Perhaps there was something. He looked up at her again, their eyes meeting but this time he didn't look away. He looked at her. Right at her. Seeing her properly, seeing inside of her. Right down to her heart. It unnerved her. He loved it.
'What?' she asked, trying to maintain her angry attitude but her voice betraying her by faltering slightly in anguish.
'You're just mind twistingly beautiful, that's all.'
She blinked, opening her mouth and shutting it again.
He smirked. She scowled, eyes narrowing.
And then he lunged towards her, pressing his lips against hers again. His hands came up to cup her face and he sipped at her lips, running his tongue along them; trying to tempt her.
Hermione struggled. One of Draco's hands left her face to tangle in her splendidly silky hair, stroking softly at her neck. The hand remaining on her face massaged her jaw and Draco's eyes flicked open momentarily.
Her eyes were closed. She began to kiss him back. How absolutely fucking marvellous.
Her lips opened to his and he slipped his tongue into her mouth, willing her to continue kissing him back. Her tongue moved against his and he wanted to jump for joy in a most un-Malfoy-like manner.
Their tongues tangled and it was too good. Draco's mind was buzzing at he was sure there were stars flying in front of his eyes.
He nibbled at Hermione's lip and she moaned softly against him. She moaned. She bloody moaned!
The sound shot straight down in Draco's body and he moved against her, pushing her up against the wall and closer to him. It was his turn to groan, she was so warm and soft and perfect under his hands.
But this couldn't be real. Why was she kissing him back? She didn't love him, he was sure of that. And if she didn't love him than this wasn't real. He knew that. He pulled away from her. The loss of warmth from his body made the moment even colder for him.
Hermione stared into Draco's clouded grey eyes.
'Why are you kissing me back?' He murmured softly, voice almost lost under his loud breathing.
'I don't know.' Her voice quiet and scared but soft.
'You don't love me, do you?' Desperation. Willing her to say yes.
'I don't know.' Wrong answer. That wasn't what she was supposed to say.
He stepped back, away from her. His first clichéd 'hardest decision of his life' made.
She stared into his eyes.
'I'm sorry,' she whispered. She knew she couldn't continue. There was so much more than lust in his eyes. It was eating into her; she couldn't play him like that. She's wasn't like that. She was Hermione Granger - Little Miss Moral.
He cleared his throat. Shuffled about on his feet. Existed.
'Don't be,' he whispered, 'my head's in the clouds, remember?' He smiled softly before turning and heading back towards the bright lights and laughter of the Graduation Ceremony in the Great Hall.
'Where have you been Draco?' Pansy Parkinson asked him as he entered the Hall. 'Has the mudblood been being a bitch again?' She asked, clinging to his arm.
He laughed bitterly. How disgustingly ironic.
'For once, no.'
If this was a film, the screen would go dark and would cut to Hermione Granger's confused face, still waiting in line at Starbucks.
Hermione swallowed hard. Draco Malfoy, after such a long time. So much had happened in the year that they hadn't seen each other.
Lord Voldemort had gone into hiding after all but one of his Horcruxes had been destroyed and Harry Potter was training to be an auror at the Ministry. It was great to have him so close to Hermione all the time, it gave her a real sense of security and someone to lean on when her work got particularly boring.
Her romantic feelings had long since faded. Although she had been in love with him for her entire last year at Hogwarts, nothing had ever come of it. They had shared a few intense kisses but Harry had eventually ended it, saying, 'I love you, Hermione, but we can't do this to Ron.'
Ron who she loved. Ron who never knew what he wanted and even if he did would probably never go after it.
They had decided – no, Harry had decided – that it would be best if they didn't see each other for a few months after school had finished so that things could go back to normal. This had only made Hermione want him even more and she had missed him terribly, telling Ron, whenever he asked, that yes, I have spoken to Harry recently; I've just been very busy.
That night when Draco told her he loved her, at graduation, that had been the night Harry had said that they shouldn't see each other anymore. It was ten minutes afterwards to be precise. Hermione had been searching for somewhere to sit, cry and wallow in self pity but Draco had found her first and had told her he had something urgent to talk to her about.
She had assumed it was something Head Girl/Head Boy related and so had followed him.
When he had told her he loved her, something inside her seemed to smile – as if she loved him back. But she knew she didn't. She knew it was just because of what had happened with Harry. That was why she had kissed him back.
That and because he had been such a fabulous kisser.
It was only after he'd pulled away that she had realised how much he really did mean that he loved her.
When she had gone back into the Hall a few moments after him, she saw him and Pansy Parkinson involved in a heated embrace in the Slytherin far corner of the room.
Some thing's never change, she had thought.
But now, as she stared at the back of his head in the queue, she could almost feel the change.
The physical change in Draco was the most obvious. He had always been tall and attractive but his hair was longer and his shoulders had broadened out. This was probably thanks to having been playing seeker for the professional England team since after having left Hogwarts.
'Malfoy,' Hermione piped up again, 'you may be a celebrity now but that doesn't give you the right to push in to a queue that some of us have been in for at least twenty bloody minutes now.' She glared at him and he laughed.
He turned to her and his eyes lit up beautifully in a way that Hermione had never seen before and it left her momentarily speechless.
'Some thing's never change, do they Granger?'
He laughed at her shocked expression.
'Can I buy you a coffee?'
Thanks for reading! Leave a review -good or bad- if you have a minute.
P.S. Sorry about the 'Malfoy is suddenly hot and muscley 'cause Quidditch does the body good!' cliche. I couldn't resist it :)