Don't own the plot yada yada you know the stuff. Um……anyways here's chapter DOS!

Learning to Love

Hermione was quick and careful not to make a sound as she sneaked her way through Malfoy Manor. She was aiming toward the kitchens; she had woken up feeling like she hadn't eaten in ages from her nap earlier. She hadn't remembered the last time she had felt so ravenous. Tip toeing carefully she went through the large halls and save for the occasional creak of the hard wooden floors, she was a s silent as a mouse. Finally reaching the kitchens with some effort she pushed the heavy entrance door gently striving not to make a sound.

"So this is how a mudblood feeds, she steals like a common thief."

Hermione flinched, recognizing the arrogant voice's origin. She straightened her back, breathed deeply and turned around.

She bit her lip.

"Narcissa, what are you doing up?" She made her voice to sound innocent, but as per usual Narcisaa Malfoy is never fooled.

The blonde haired woman sat comfortably with a plate of what it seemed to be freshly served food. It made Hermione wonder if Narcissa had been expecting her to come to the kitchens.

"Oh no, the question is what are you doing here?" she looked at Hermione with eyes that seemed to be able to burn a hole through her, " Sit."

Hermione sighed and hesitantly took a seat opposite from her. Though in a bad position, Hermione returned Narcissa's intimidating stare. She refused to back down. For a while no one spoke. Instead both women continued to hold each other's gaze, determined to make the other look away. Their staring contest came to an end when Narcissa pushed the plate a food in front of Hermione. At first Hermione stared at the plate, unsure of eating it.

"It's not poisoned mudblood."

Hermione raised a brow questioningly.

Narcissa matched her look and smirked.

"Eat it or starve."

Hermione wanted to prove to her that she didn't need her help. She weighed her options, but her stomach rumbled loudly. Even Narcissa heard it and her smirk widened. Right now Narcissa held the cards. Hermione picked up her fork and twirled it idly before beginning to eat. So what if she were eating Narcissa's food. It didn't necessarily mean that she was bending to her will.

"We don't get along do we, mudblood."

Hermione dropped her fork and it clanked loudly.

"I have a name Narcissa."

Narcissa twirled her hand as if dismissing her comment.

"So it seems. Anyways, I have a proposition for you."

Hermione turned her attention to Narcissa.

Narcissa crossed her arms around her bosom. She shook her head absentmindedly, and sighed. Hermione sensed her next words would be painful and Hermione couldn't help but smile. Dropping her fork she propped her hands on the table in front of her and clasped them together professionally.

"Yes Narcissa?" Hermione asked sweetly. Her sugarcoated voice seemed to agitate Narcissa, and Hermione loved it.

"I propose a temporary truce for the 1 week duration of your stay."

Hermione's expression went blank. She didn't know what to say. The idea clearly wasn't Narcissa's- that was undeniable, but it sounded good none the less. As much as she loved ticking off the oldest Malfoy in the Manor, she knew it'd be easier to live in peace. The pros seemed to outweigh the cons.

"I don't see why not….." Narcissa sighed in relief, until Hermione grinned, "…..under some conditions….."

"Look here mud—"

"I have a damn name, Narcissa!"

Narcissa huffed.

"And I suggest you start using it or I will choose that ass of a son you have on purpose to leave you alone in this godforsaken manor."

That seemed to trigger something in Narcissa. She seemed to lose some of her malice. Her expression softened and Hermione was reminded that Narcissa was a mother who had an deep rooted attachment to her only son above being the intimidating Lady of Malfoy Manor.

"Alright, Granger, you will be called by your name, but you cannot choose my son. He is all I have left." She spoke the last part in a lower voice.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Hermione mumbled under her breath.

"You have virtually access to everything in the Manor. You stay out of my way; I stay out of yours, deal?"

Hermione eyed Narcissa, looking for some kind of reason to say no, but she found none. Narcissa seemed genuine about the deal and Hermione knew a good deal when she saw it. All in all, what was there to lose?

"Deal."

Narcissa smirked. "Good."

Hermione finished her meal quickly. She was about to leave, when she glanced back at Narcissa through the corner of her eye. Narcissa wasn't as young as she once was, but still managed to appear as the beautiful intimidating woman she had been when Malfoy was only a teenager. However, she didn't seem so at the moment. At the moment she seemed like a woman who had been worn down by years of trial and misfortune. She looked lost and Hermione actually felt sorry for her. She knew she was witnessing a rare moment in time- Narcissa Malfoy actually vulnerable. And like that a little piece of admiration grew inside Hermione for the Malfoy woman.

Hermione walked out of the door, but came back and stuck half her body through the door.

"And Narcissa….."

The oldest Malfoy looked up questioningly.

Hermione smiled genuinely.

"Thanks for the food."

-- -- --

-- -- --

Draco Malfoy sat with his best friend, Blaise, on a couch and sighed tiredly. Both men found it hard to be in a good mood once that dammed Harry Potter arrived. He had arrived a few hours ago and all he seemed to do was steal Hermione away and take up all her time. Both Slytherins sat in an uncomfortable miffed silence.

Draco wasn't all together mad, just annoyed. He knew Potter was a contender, if you could call it that, in the law's husband options, but there are also two others listed in the law's rules. Just because he already had ties to Granger didn't mean that he was the obvious choice for her to pick. For a moment he considered trying to get picked on purpose to show that Harry wasn't going to get picked outright. Plus the sweet victory over Potter would be more than self-satisfying, but then he remembered to gain that victory meant marrying the muggle and when Malfoys married there was no way out.

"Hermione deserves better than Potter."

Draco looked up surprised at Blaise. What had goaded Blaise to say that escaped Draco. Nevertheless, he humored Blaise.

"Oh and why is that?"

Draco watched Blaise intensely. He seemed to go in a thoughtful state. He no longer seemed like the large daunting man that he was, but just a man lost in his thoughts. Draco had never seen him like this, and in all honesty it startled him. Blaise was more of a brawns over brains kind of guy.

"Hermione…." He said her name like she was a precious jewel, "……she's special; she deserves someone great, someone who can make her happy."

Draco wanted to laugh, but restrained himself. Granger- actually worth something? Ha! What a bunch of crap. But Draco was curious, why was Blaise feeling all this for the muggle, anyway?

"What is so great about the girl, Blaise?"

"She's not a girl, Drake, she's a woman. She's beautiful with that soft hair of hers, those mischievous deep hazel eyes, those lips that always seemed to wish to be kissed, and those deliciously long legs. She's smart beyond belief. She's funny and kind and….and perfect. She's amazing……."

Draco was rendered speechless.

He couldn't even begin to fathom a response. What was he supposed to say? He didn't even have the nerve to rebuke Blaise's statements. He merely sat there with his mouth ajar. He watched Blaise rise and noticed the determination that flooded his eyes. He had his fists clenched at his sides and he stood straight. Draco knew enough about Blaise's body language to know that that meant Blaise was about was about to go through with something he had been planning for a long time, something that took a lot of nerve to do.

That was when Blaise turned to Draco, eyes resolute.

"I'm going to take Hermione out tonight."

-- -- --

-- -- --

It was now eleven o' clock at night, about four and a half hours since Blaise and Hermione had left, and honest to God Draco was pissed off. The saddest part was that he didn't even know why. He couldn't quite pinpoint the origin of his annoyance, but he had faint idea that it had to do with Granger. She seemed to be the origin of all his annoyance these days.

He stared at his ceiling with his arms surrounding his head, deep in thought. He knew he should just call one of his many girlfriends to get his mind off whatever was getting him mad, but he couldn't bring himself to pick up his phone let alone dial. For the first time in the 25 years he had lived it seemed wrong to call them. He sat back on his bed, defeated.

His defeat rapidly grew to anger. How dare Granger's presence make it wrong to call up girls and have a one night stand with them! How dare she do that without even knowing it. Jumping out of bed he began to pace. What were she and Blaise even doing anyway? What the hell could they be doing that takes up nearly five hours.

'She's probably fucking him.'

Draco stopped dead in his tracks. Could that be what they were doing? Is that why he was annoyed? Couldn't he stand the thought of knowing that they were possibly having sex? He was about to further his assumption, when he heard voices.

He cautiously opened his door a crack to see what was happening in the hall. He strained his eyes down the hall and spied Hermione and Blaise, in fact very close together. They seemed to be talking, or at least from his view they were, that is until he saw Blaise wrap an arm around Hermione's waist and bring her close, pelvis to pelvis. He then saw her bring a hand to his cheek and caress it lightly.

Draco wasn't sure what was he was feeling, but it was unsettling. He didn't like it. His chest throbbed painfully. He didn't like how close Hermione willingly put herself against Blaise. He didn't like how Blaise was whispering things that made her grin impishly. He didn't like any of it at all. He held his breath when Blaise leaned low to kiss her. He thought she would push him away and yell at him for even daring to try to kiss her, but as unpredictable as she was she didn't. He cringed when he saw her connect her arms around his neck and kiss him back. His stomach lurched when he saw them break apart and still remain close. With their foreheads together he watched them speak their parting words before giving one last intimate embrace and then part ways. He didn't have to look to know Hermione was smiling as she slipped into her room.

Once he saw her disappear into her room, he shut his door and sank to floor. He knew what he saw, but he still couldn't believe it. It was like his brain couldn't register as it something that would actually happen. He was about to rise when he spied the corner of a book hidden under his bed. Narrowing his brows he picked up the book.

He then got up and laid back on his bed. Unbeknownst to him, he smiled as he realized the book was his Hogwarts yearbook. It, of course, had magical qualities. One of them specifically was that it could show any one of the seven years the owner spent at Hogwarts. It was thin, yet held seven years of memories and adventures Draco had been involved in.

"Draco Malfoy, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Year 1."

And with a bright light his yearbook opened by itself, showing pictures of his class when they were only 11 years old. He looked at a picture of himself and laughed openly. He had almost forgotten how his hair was styled back then. Back then his father said if it was gelled back, he would look dignified, like a real Malfoy. He grinned, judging from the picture it looked more dork-ish. He scanned a few other pictures: Lovegood, Longbottom, Potter, Brown, Weasely, and then his eyes fell on Hermione's picture.

He stopped smiling and his expression grew curious.

That was back when he used to make fun of her teeth and her wild hair. He unintentionally sighed. That was when she looked so innocent, maybe even a little cute. He remembered learning she was defiant even back then. Always burying her head in books she would hide from people. Though so young he could see the undeniable passion buried in those bright hazel eyes of hers.

He then said the words to see his fourth year at Hogwarts. He smirked proudly. That was the year he had really began to rebel against his father. The first step was letting his hair grow out. He liked it and had loved that the girls had liked it. He slid to Hermione's picture instinctively and smiled. The 14 year old version of herself smiled back radiantly. Maybe some of the things Blaise had said were true. She may not be beautiful in a conventional sort of way, but she had a way of catching his attention and her smile had a way of lifting a smile to his lips without even being there.

He turned the page and came to the pictures that had been taken at the Yule ball. He had to admit she did look enchanting in that dress. He remembered he had seen her having a good time and Krum had somehow gotten her to loosen up and dance. Her happiness seemed to make her glow that night.

Finally he came to their seventh year. He found her picture easily and looked her over thoroughly. She was pretty, definitely. That was undeniable, she was even close to beautiful…….. With the back of his hand, he touched her picture gently. Her hair was curled prettily, golden brown waves framing her face attractively. Her eyes were bright and captivating and she wore a small smile. Her lips curled up appealingly and he couldn't help but be captivated by her. She had been dating Weasely that year. It didn't bother him then, but it did a little now. His chest throbbed dully, kind of like it had when Blaise was kissing her, but not quite as extreme.

He laid the book on his nightstand and sighed. Those were hard times, the duration of the war, he thought. It was when every move of his family had been monitored very carefully by Voldemort. In that time he had done a lot of changing, both body wise and character wise. Now he was working on getting rid of his prejudice, but it proved to be harder than he thought. It was just very difficult to get rid of a belief that was literally beaten into you for many years. Deciding not to dwell on the matter, he got ready for bed and was about to turn out the lights when he heard voices again from down the hall. However, these voices were harsh and muffled, like two people were trying to conceal that they were arguing. He looked over at his clock.

1:47a.m.

'Who the hell is arguing at this time of night?'

He opened his door and followed the voices the voices to Hermione's door. He recognized Hermione voice easily, it was her angry voice, and God knows he had heard an earful of that at Hogwarts. He discretely looked through her door's key hole and saw Potter. He whispered a spell so he could hear them more clearly.

"You don't have the right to tell me who I can pick, Harry."

"I know that! But the Slytherins? Honestly….."

"Yes, honestly. Blaise is charming and sweet and—"

"Not right for you."

He could hear her sigh.

Mumbling an enchantment he turned himself intangible to go through the door and see the scene more visibly. Like a ghost he passed through the door and hid in the corner of Hermione's room. This spell made it perfectly easy to eavesdrop.

He watched as Hermione wrapped her arms around herself, defensively. It was plain to see she felt uncomfortable.

"Harry, I have three men to pick from, not just you."

Her words held a soft fierceness, as if she were restraining herself from yelling.

This seemed to make Harry more upset.

"I! I AM the obvious choice, Hermione! Can't you see that?" He waved his arms in the air dramatically and was constantly pointing to himself as if he were the most important person present in the room. To any passerby it would look like he was just having a hissy fit.

His voice was harsh and strained. Draco had never heard anything like except maybe from his father. It annoyed him and seemed to upset Hermione.

"At least don't pick Draco."

Draco could visibly see Hermione become tense.

"He's not even a choice," her voice trembled slightly, "I couldn't pick him even if I wanted to."

Draco took a little offense at her first statement, then grew curious after hearing her following statement.

If anything her answer seemed to get Harry more edgy. He grabbed a hold of her arms roughly that even Draco could tell he was hurting her from the corner of the room. He saw Hermione wince slightly, but knew she wouldn't show that she was in pain. She was too proud. Nevertheless it became more obvious that Harry was hurting her, because her arm was already starting to bruise and change color. Plus, the small tear that threatened to fall, gave her away.

Draco saw Harry force Hermione close to him. He brought her close much like Blaise did, but he was more violent and demanding. Instead of seeing Hermione happy, he could tell she was nervous. He had to strain his ears to hear Harry's next words.

"You will forget them, or else."

-- -- --

-- -- --

It was about two hours after Harry and Hermione's 'spat' and Draco was still silently hiding in her room. After Harry delivered his threat, Draco decided to stick around a bit. She looked so stressed, that he actually felt some apathy for her. It somehow didn't seem right to leave her alone. He heard her silently cry into her pillow until she cried herself to sleep, and he felt bad. He hated when women cried.

'And they say I'm an ass. Potter seems to beat me for that title.'

When he was sure she was asleep, he canceled his invisiblility/intagibility charm. Walking towards her bed, he sat on its edge and examined her. She slept on her side, obviously troubled. He slowly reached over to her silent sleeping form. The more he looked at her, the more the qualities Blaise had mentioned seemed apparent about her. He gently reached over to run a hand through her hair. Though askew and messy, she could still draw him to her. It was just as soft and silky as it looked. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear to better see her face. Even distressed and unaware of her surroundings, she was still alluring.

Faint streaks from her tears could be seen on her cheek. He smiled sadly. She wore a small frown as she slept and her breathing was a tad uneven, as if she trapped in a bad dream. He stroked her cheek softly and smiled at the softness of her skin. He delved low to place a kiss on her forehead. He wasn't sure what possessed him to kiss her, but it seemed almost natural to do. Her breathing leveled after he kissed her, though she stirred a bit and he froze.

"Mmmm……...Blaise…." she murmured before turning on her other side, giving Draco her back.

Suddenly his pity for her vanished and a new feeling emerged. He couldn't quite describe it.

'It surely isn't jealously'; he reasoned…….'just a bit of anger….or something…..'

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