Once Upon an Accident Chapter 11
Title: Once Upon an Accident
Summary: All that led to it was an accident. And accidents, as everyone well knows, are not meant to be purposeful. However, fate works in mysterious ways and just maybe, those accidents were not as accidental as they seem to be. Two very different people are thus thrust together by the hand of fate, all because of a little accident.
Pairings: Draco/Hermione
Rating: PG-15
Disclaimer: All characters and settings property of J.K. Rowling
Chapter 11: Out in the Open
Hermione tossed and turned in bed, trying to fall asleep, but to no avail. She got up, put on her dressing gown and plodded out of her room slowly. She hadn't been sleeping well for the past two nights and for that matter, always drank a cup of warm water to clam her nerves and help her get to sleep.
As she shuffled towards the bathroom, she pondered over the situation that she was in. Hermione was having a wonderful relationship with Draco; that was a fact that couldn't be denied. But the thing was, she didn't feel right being so sneaky about it. In fact, her sleepless nights were not caused by insomnia or anything of that sort. Her nights were spent worrying over her situation with Draco.
Those sleepless nights were not doing her any good. She had to cast a concealment charm on herself to mask the fact that she had very defined eye bags under her eyes, and she had started to doze off during History of Magic. She had taken to catching cap naps between classes, instead of studying or finishing her homework as she usually did.
Her worries were taking a toll on her, and Hermione knew it.
As she gulped down her cup of water, she calmed her thoughts and tried to put all worries out of her head. Shuffling back to bed, the last thought that crossed her mind was, I have to deal with it tomorrow...
The next morning, Draco Malfoy awoke to a shrill scream.
"We're late! Oh no no no, we can't be late!" Hermione shrieked, as she turned her room upside down looking for her books.
Draco got up and slowly made his way to Hermione's room, making sure that he took his own sweet time. He leaned again the doorframe and chuckled.
"What are you laughing at?" Hermione yelled, her face flushed from rushing around trying to get prepared for class. "We're going to be late for class and we're only got ten minutes to get ready!"
Draco chuckled again. "Today's Saturday, Miss Oh-so-hardworking-Granger," he said teasingly, his eyes twinkling merrily.
"Oh," she said, smiling sheepishly. "My bad." She turned to her room. "Oh no! Now my room's in a huge mess!" she whined. Hermione looked at Draco, and only then, realised that Draco was topless. Hermione gulped, her eyes still focused on his toned chest. It seemed that Quidditch had done him some good.
"Stare all you want," Draco said, grinning, "But don't you start drooling now."
Hermione blushed, her cheeks a flaming red, the colour red enough to beat all the Weasleys put together in a blushing contest.
Draco walked up to her and placed a light kiss on her cheek. "C'mon love," he said gently. "Let's go get dressed, go down for breakfast, and then take a walk. Alright?" With that, Draco stepped out of the room, closing the door softly behind him.
Hermione frowned. She was in such a predicament. Her problem was still weighing her down, but it was too nice a day to discuss that with Draco. It would just ruin their moods for the rest of the day. I'll just worry about that later, she thought, as she reached into her dresser and pulled out from it a clean set of clothes. Dressing as quickly as she could, she walked out, a brilliant smile on her face. She saw Draco reclining on the couch, waiting for her, a lazy grin on his face.
"All ready?"
She nodded.
"Alright then, let's go," Draco got up from the couch, and exited the portrait hole, taking her hand as he went.
While on their way to the Great Hall, Hermione has home to a fierce internal battle that was raging within her mind. Should I tell him? she wondered, as one side of her brain screamed Yes! If not it will continue to drag on, while the other a resounding no! It will just spoil the mood.
Damn my and my logic, Hermione thought to herself. Finally, she managed to pluck up her courage to discuss the subject with Draco.
"Draco," she said, tilting her head to face him.
"Yeah, love?"
"I - I -" She stammered. Hermione strengthened her resolve and continued. "I've been thinking, and I don't want to keep our relationship a secret anymore. I'm tired, Draco, of sneaking around and pretending that we still hate each other. I'm really so tired…"
Draco stared at her incredulously. For a moment, her was speechless, but he soon regained his composure.
"No." He said stonily.
"But Draco -" Hermione started.
"No!" He cut off. "It's too dangerous!"
"Why?" she retorted.
"Because it is! I can't risk my father finding out about us!"
"Oh, so it's all about you now, is it?"
"No it's not! It's just that," Draco grabbed his hair in frustration. "If Lucius finds out, I'm afraid he'll do something to you! Love, you know, I can't live without you…"
Tears welled up in Hermione's eyes. "Oh Draco, you know I'll never leave you," she said. "Whatever comes, through thick or thin, I'll be there. Your father will be no problem, as long as we face him together, united as one. All we have to do is be on the look out."
"No Hermione, I just can't risk it," Draco said, shaking his head.
"Alright, we'll talk about this another time," Hermione replied, resting her head lightly on his shoulder, arms around his waist, and they continued towards the Great Hall.
Walking through the doorway, Draco and Hermione were met with gasps of surprise, shock and even disgust. They looked at each other and realised that they were still attached at the hip.
"Uh-oh," Hermione squealed as she tried to detach herself from Draco's embrace.
But he held on.
Draco sighed. "There's no point in trying to hide it anymore. We'd better make it clear before any fantastical rumours start flying about the school." With that, he took hold of Hermione's hand and they both walked up to the teachers' dining table. Some of them were staring at them in shock, especially McGonagall, who had her mouth almost hanging ajar. Even Snape, the most composed of all of them had a disbelieving look on his face. On the other hand, Dumbledore was just smiling in glee.
Draco let go of Hermione for a moment, and stepped next to Dumbledore. He whispered ad few choice words in his ear. Dumbledore nodded heartily and when Draco stepped away, he stood up. Dumbledore clapped his hands twice, and everyone fell silent.
"Students of Hogwarts, you Head boy," Dumbledore announced, tilting his head towards Draco, "and girl," smiling warmly at Hermione, "have an important announcement to make."
"Friends, just to clear things up, Hermione and I are now officially declaring our open relationship. Although we are in a relationship, we do not share any intimate relations, put blatantly, WE ARE NOT SHAGGING. I do not want to hear of any more of such rumours around the school. Thank you." Draco declared.
The both of them stood in front of the school for a few moments. Hermione squeezed her eyes shut, expecting a barrage of insults or an uproar from the student body. Then, she heard clapping, and she opened her eyes slowly.
The school (except for a majority of Slytherins) had erupted into applause, and shouts of congratulations were heard from the students.
Hermione looked at the Gryffindor table, and Harry winked at her. She smiled at him gratefully.
All was well, at least for the time being.
At the outbreak of applause, one person was not happy. In fact, she was irate. An evil grin materialized on her face as she formulated a plan in her head…