Forgive and Forget (Chapter 13)
Chapter 13: Fear of Heights
Darest thou now, O Soul,
Walk out with me toward the Unknown Region,
Where neither ground is for the feet, nor any path to follow?
~ From "Darest Thou Now, O Soul" by Walt Whitman
Hermione slogged into the Seventh Year Gryffindor girl's dorm room feeling exhausted, confused, and more than a bit regretful. She and Draco had parted ways outside the Fat Lady's portrait a few moments before, and he had given her a brief hug before asking her to meet him at the top of the Astronomy Tower at eleven o'clock that night. Reluctantly, Hermione had acquiesced, feeling that the worst thing to do would be to try avoiding him again. That had not worked the last time she'd tried it, and besides that, she actually had no desire to avoid him. She genuinely enjoyed being with Draco. That was the problem.
For just one night, Hermione had accomplished something that she had never been able to do before - she had shut off all of her thoughts and acted purely on instinct. In doing so, she had spent an amazing night with Draco - even now, the memory of it made her blood run faster and hotter through her veins. The following morning, however, she had been plagued with doubts. A part of her hoped that maybe she and Draco could put that night behind them, writing it off as a momentary lapse of sanity; but then he had come up to her after breakfast and wrapped his arms around her in an affectionate, completely non-sexual way....It was strikingly similar to how Ron used to hold her, and by accepting that embrace from Draco, Hermione had felt like she was committing some sort of betrayal....
"Hermione, are you all right?" Ginny asked her the moment she entered their dorm room. Hermione was glad that none of the other Seventh Year girls were present at the moment.
"Yes, just tired," she mumbled, collapsing face down on her bed with a sigh.
"Where were you last night?"
Hermione raised her head in surprise at Ginny's question.
"Didn't you get my owl?"
"What, do you think I was born yesterday?" Ginny said, crossing her arms over her chest and giving Hermione one of her hard looks. "You and Malfoy both disappeared after dinner last night, and I very much doubt that you invited him to your parents' for tea. So where were you really?"
Hermione sat cross-legged on her bed, pretending to pluck at a loose thread on her comforter in order to avoid Ginny's gaze.
"We were at Draco's summer home."
"WHAT!?"
"Yeah."
Hermione sneaked a glance up at her friend, and saw that Ginny looked completely and utterly gobsmacked. Suddenly, the redhead's eyes widened.
"Hermione, did you and Malfoy...I mean did you two...?"
Hermione groaned and buried her face in her hands, knowing her reaction would answer the question for her. She couldn't believe she was sharing this with Ginny, the sister of her ex-boyfriend, but she really had no one else to confide in. If she kept her feelings for Draco a secret much longer, she thought they would eat her alive from the inside out.
"Bloody hell, Hermione! Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"
Hermione shook her head, her face still hidden behind her hands.
"No, he was a gentleman...well, at least as much of a gentleman as Draco can be. He was actually...sweet."
Ginny made a strange noise that sounded like a cross between surprise and disgust. Hermione finally dropped her hands and saw that her friend was sitting with her mouth agape, clearly at a loss for words. Finally, she seemed to regain her powers of speech.
"I just don't know what to say, other than ‘what were you thinking?'"
"I don't know!" Hermione moaned. "I don't know what's gotten into me lately! I've just been feeling so lonely and confused since Ron and I broke up, and when I'm with Draco ...It's like I'm a different person. I behave irrationally, and I don't stop to think about the consequences."
"That's...not always a bad thing," Ginny admitted grudgingly. "I mean, sometimes I get the feeling that you think too much, and Malfoy helps loosen you up a bit. Though, as for sleeping with him, I don't know if that was such a good idea, Hermione. Are you really that over Ron already?"
Hermione cringed as she saw the expression of pain on her friend's face. She knew Ginny felt torn between her compassion for Hermione and her duty to defend her brother.
"No, I'm not completely over Ron. I don't know if I'll ever really stop loving him."
"Then, what do you feel for Malfoy? Do you love him, too?"
Hermione threw her hands over her head in frustration.
"I just don't know how I feel about anything anymore! With Ron, I knew how I felt, and I knew that I loved him, but things are so much more complicated with Draco! I don't think I love him.... It would be crazy to love him because he could never love me, seeing that I'm a Muggleborn and he's absolutely forbidden to love me."
Ginny shook her head, her brown eyes softening somewhat.
"Hermione, Malfoy's parents may forbid him from marrying a Muggleborn, but they can't control who he falls in love with."
Hermione fell back on her bed and covered her face with her hands, wishing she could close the curtains on her four-poster, shut out the world, and hibernate for a few months until everything had blown over. Of course, reality would not permit such an easy solution to her problem. She would have to face Draco again, and live with the consequences of her rash decision to sleep with him the night before.
"Look," Ginny continued, "maybe you should talk to Draco about how you feel. I actually think he might understand. And if, for some crazy reason, you actually decide to pursue something with him, just tell him that you need to...slow things down a bit."
Hermione stared up at the ceiling, contemplating Ginny's advice. She certainly believed that she and Draco needed to go slower with the physical aspect of their relationship in the future...that is, if she even decided to go down that path. That was the biggest question of all: did she dare try and pursue a relationship with the Slytherin? She was, technically, free to do so. Ron himself had stated that they should both date other people, hadn't he? But he had also predicted that Draco would break her heart....
Hermione shook her head. She knew Draco certainly had the potential to break her heart, but somehow she didn't think he actually would, at least not intentionally. However, was unintentional heartbreak any less difficult to bear? Sometimes she thought it was even worse. She knew that eventually, Draco's obligations to his family would catch up to him, and where would that leave the two of them?
"You're right, Ginny," Hermione said at last. "I really need to have a talk with Draco. In the meantime, you cannot breathe a word of this to Ron or Harry. This is already too much for me to handle, and the last thing I need is to have to explain myself to those two as well."
Ginny frowned and said, "I don't like keeping secrets from my boyfriend, Hermione...or my brother, for that matter."
"Hey, I think it's only fair that I ask you to keep my sex life a private matter. Besides, I never discuss that sort of thing with Harry, and Ron lost the right to be involved when he broke up with me."
"Alright," Ginny agreed, finding no argument with Hermione's logic, "but what about everyone else? You know how perceptive Luna is. She's bound to suspect something, and she'll probably figure it out on her own before long."
"Well, then I'll just have to swear her to secrecy when she does," Hermione said resolutely. "Somehow I don't think the world is ready to accept the idea that Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy shagged last night. To be honest, I don't know if I'm ready to accept the idea myself."
When Hermione reached the top of the Astronomy Tower at eleven o'clock that evening, her heart was beating so loudly in her chest that she was sure the sound would wake the entire castle. Finding Draco waiting for her, looking dashing in a grey jumper and black slacks, and standing with his hands behind his back, did nothing to slow her heart rate.
"Hey!" he said in greeting, as Hermione emerged from the stairwell and walked over to join him.
"Hey yourself. What are you hiding behind your back?"
Draco grinned, his silver eyes sparkling with mischief.
"I have a surprise for you."
Hermione eyed him with suspicion and no small amount of fear. Somehow, accepting a "surprise" from Draco Malfoy seemed a lot like sticking your hand inside of a dragon's mouth - incredibly stupid and likely to result in the loss of a limb.
"What sort of surprise?" she asked. "I thought we were just going to talk."
"We are. I just thought maybe, when we're done talking, we could do something else."
"Such as?"
His grin widening, Draco pulled his hands out from behind his back to reveal his Nimbus2001. As soon as Hermione saw the broom and realized his intentions, she took several steps backward, shaking her head so hard she thought she might get whip-lash.
"Oh no," she said.
"Oh yes."
"I don't think so, Malfoy. There is absolutely no way I'm getting on a broomstick with you!"
Draco's mouth took on a shape that looked ridiculously close to a pout.
"Don't you trust me?" he asked, blinking innocently. Hermione's snort was an adequate response to this query, and he dropped the pout. "Look, I thought this might be a way to help you get over your fear of heights."
Hermione shook her head in disbelief, recalling how Ron had tested out that theory with her once before. After weeks of pleading, he had finally coaxed Hermione into flying with him, and the experiment had not ended well. She and Ron had ended up back on the ground in the midst of a blazing row, and her last words on the subject had included her telling him exactly where he could put that broomstick of his.
"Somehow I don't think flying with you is the best way for me to get over my fear," Hermione said.
"Nonsense, the best way to conquer your fear is to face it head on..." Draco hesitated for a moment, and his next words were spoken in a more serious tone. "...And that brings us to another important topic."
"Yes it does," Hermione said, nodding. "Look, Draco, I wanted to apologize for - ."
"No, Hermione, I'm the one who should apologize," Draco said, waving his hand to silence her speech. "I don't think I was fair to you last night. I shouldn't have forced you to make such an important decision on the spot like that. I...I understand that you still lo- that you still have feelings for Weasley."
Draco stumbled over these last words, a brief frown crinkling his brow before he continued.
"I can't say exactly what I feel for you, but I know that it's more than lust, or even just friendship. Yes, I want you physically..." he smirked somewhat, and Hermione felt her cheeks flush, "...but I also know that I like being around you, spending time with you - even when we're both fully clothed. And I can't say that about most other women, believe me."
Hermione couldn't help but give him a small smile as he said this, and he smiled briefly in return. Then, the smile disappeared from his face, and he became more reticent.
"I don't know if I can ever love you - and it's not because you're a Muggleborn," he added quickly, seeing the flash in her eyes. "It's because of who I am. I don't really know if I'm capable of loving any woman in that way. However, I also know that I could never marry you, and that is because you're a Muggleborn."
Hermione stiffened at this. While she appreciated Draco's honesty, she couldn't help being upset by the fact that he was still unwilling to put his old prejudices aside. As if sensing her thoughts, Draco went on to clarify his last statement.
"Hermione, it's not as if I feel that strongly about needing to marry a Pureblood witch. But my parents do, and no matter how much I've changed in some ways, I will never lose the sense of duty I feel towards my family. Do you think you can try to understand that?"
Hermione nodded slowly, deciding that she could at least try to understand Draco's need to please his parents. She looked at him in utter bemusement.
"Draco Malfoy, since when did you start being such an honest man?" she asked.
Draco snorted and shook his head.
"I suppose I've been spending too much time with you damn Gryffindors," he said. "Apparently honesty is highly contagious."
"Don't sound so disappointed. You act as if the truth is some sort of terrible disease."
"Isn't it?" Draco asked, cocking his head to the side.
Hermione shrugged, deciding not to allow their conversation to stray into the realm of the rhetorical.
"Look," she said, "I'm not really sure what I feel for you, either, but I also know that it's more than just lust. I'd like to see what could develop between us, but I don't know if that's possible, considering that we both know it would have to end eventually. You may find it easy to live in the moment, but that's something I'm still struggling to learn."
"Maybe you just need a few more lessons," Draco said, stepping tentatively closer to her. "This may surprise you, but I can be a pretty good teacher when I want to be."
Hermione held up one hand, keeping him at a distance.
"I'm willing to give this a try, but there is one thing we need to set straight first. And that is that I don't want to go rushing the physical aspect of our...lessons. From now on, I need for us to move more slowly before we, erm...."
"Before we, erm, what? Have sex? Shag? Fuck?"
"Malfoy, will you stop being such a nasty little - "
"All right, all right, I'm sorry!" Draco said. "I don't understand why all of a sudden, you're so squeamish talking about sex. You didn't seem like such a prude last night."
"Malfoy, I swear - "
"Okay, calm down. I promise we'll take things slow, all right? Don't get your knickers in a twist...or I may just have to remove them. Okay, I'm done! I swear!"
Draco held up his hands in self-defense as Hermione took a few exasperated swats at him. When she finally relented, Draco picked up his broom once more. She eyed it warily, knowing what he was about to suggest.
"Now, for the next order of business," Draco said, raising his eyebrows at her.
"I told you, I don't think flying with you is a good idea. Can't we find some other way to conquer my fear of heights? Like going on a Ferris wheel?"
"A what?"
"A Ferris wheel - it's a Muggle thing where you sit in this little box and it makes you ride around on a big metal circle that's suspended off of the ground."
Draco shuddered at her description.
"I think my father owns a medieval torture device that works something like that," he said. "No, we'll try this first."
Draco let his broom hover in the air in front of him as he swung one leg over it and straddled the handle. He turned to Hermione expectantly, holding out his hand to her. With a resigned sigh, she accepted his hand, allowing him to help her onto the broom so that she was sitting in front of him. His feet were still on the ground, but since she was so much shorter than him, hers were dangling above it. Draco wrapped his left arm around her waist, bracing his right hand on the broomstick in front of her.
"Alright, I'm going to keep one arm around you at all times, and we're going to go very slowly, okay?"
Hermione nodded, her stomach feeling as if a thousand snitches were buzzing around inside it. She tried to take deep breaths, forcing the cool night air into her lungs.
"Ready?" Draco whispered.
"Not really," she muttered, "but as much as I'll ever be. Let's do this."
Draco chuckled and said something that sounded like "typical Gryffindor" under his breath, but Hermione's heart was pounding so hard in her chest that she couldn't hear anything over the sound of it. Before she could so much as think about changing her mind, Draco pushed his feet against the floor of the Astronomy Tower and sent them soaring out into the darkness beyond. Hermione held her breath, gripping Draco's arm so tightly that she was sure she must be cutting off his circulation. To her relief, he kept the broom moving at a moderately slow speed, and eased them down so that they were flying only twenty meters above the school grounds.
This isn't so bad, she thought to herself, starting to relax. I've gone higher than this when I played two-a-side Quidditch at the Burrow with Ron, Harry, and Ginny.
"How are you doing?" Draco asked her after awhile. "Ready to go a little higher?"
Hermione nodded, and Draco slowly angled the broom upwards so that they climbed another ten meters into the air, and then twenty more. As they flew higher, they flew faster as well, and several of Hermione's long brown curls came loose from her braid, while her eyes watered from the cold wind that blew against her face. Yet somehow, with Draco's arm still secured around her waist, she felt relatively safe.
"You're doing great!" he whispered encouragingly, and Hermione shivered when she felt the heat of his breath against the shell of her ear. As her fear ebbed, she began to notice the solid, comforting warmth of his body pressed up against her back. She felt the rumbling in his chest whenever he spoke, the deep timber of his voice vibrating into her own skin. Knowing it was probably a bad idea, but unable to stop herself, she leaned backwards so that her head was resting fully on Draco's chest.
Encouraged by her action, Draco bent down to nuzzle her ear with his lips. He began stroking her hip with his left hand, and when he started to suck on her earlobe, Hermione closed her eyes and gasped with pleasure. She gripped the broom handle to steady herself, and with her eyes closed, she did not realize that she had accidentally assumed control of the broom's direction.
"Hermione, you need to let go!" Draco suddenly yelled.
Hermione opened her eyes and screamed when she saw that they were currently plunging towards the earth with jaw-dropping speed. Thankfully, Draco managed to wrench her hands off of the broom handle and resume control of their flight, straightening them out mere meters before they crashed. With impressive finesse, he brought them down to a gentle landing on the school grounds, but Hermione was near the point of hysteria.
"I told you this was a terrible idea!" she shrieked, leaping off of the broom and jabbing one finger in his chest. "I told you, but you wouldn't listen to me! We could have been killed! We were mere seconds from crashing - and Draco Malfoy, wipe that stupid smirk off your face this instant or I swear you'll regret it....We are never doing that again! Never, EVER again!"
Draco watched, unblinking, as Hermione paced back and forth in front of him, shaking from head to toe as she unleashed her anger on him. Finally, she ran out of steam and stood before him, chest heaving while she tried to remember how to breathe properly.
"Okay," Draco said calmly. "So same time, same place, tomorrow night?"
For some reason, and she thought it was most likely due to the fact that her near-death experience had dislodged a crucial portion of her brain, Hermione did agree to go flying with Draco the following evening. However, she strictly forbade him to try touching her in any way that was not completely necessary to keep her on the broom - in other words, no kissing, groping, stroking, or nibbling. To her relief, Draco obeyed her rules to the letter, and there were no more mishaps during their flight.
Once Draco had landed them back down on top of the Astronomy Tower, he gave her a brief, feather-light kiss before saying goodnight and disappearing down the stairwell. Hermione knew she had been the one to establish the "let's take things slow" clause, but his kiss definitely left her wanting more. Of course, she knew that was probably the whole point. While she was an intelligent and strategic planner, she understood that if she was playing this sort of game with a Slytherin, especially a Slytherin as cunning as Draco Malfoy, she was bound to be out of her league.
For the rest of the week, they continued to fly together every evening. Sometimes they would fly in companionable silence, and on other occasions they would have stimulating debates about everything from Arithmantic Theories to the Ministry's latest laws for improving the social integration of Muggleborns.
At times, Hermione would try asking Draco questions about his childhood, and various other aspects of his personal life. Sometimes he would answer with very little persuasion, and other times he would tell her to mind her own business. Still, other times, usually when she asked about anything related to his Death Eater days, he would remain silent and refuse to respond to her question at all. Hermione ceased to be offended when he did this. She began to understand that this was just how Draco was, and sometimes there were things he just wasn't willing to share, not even with her.
By the end of one week's worth of flying lessons, Hermione was desperate for more physical contact from Draco, but he had still done nothing more than grace her with a brief, gentle kiss. Finally, on Sunday evening, after Draco had landed them on the Astronomy Tower and leaned in to give her the usual peck on the lips, Hermione took things into her own hands.
Once Draco's lips brushed against hers, Hermione laced her fingers through his blonde locks and pulled his face closer to hers, deepening the kiss. Draco made a small sound of surprise in the back of his throat, but wasn't caught off guard for long. He immediately slid his hands down her back, pulling her body more tightly against his, while he swept his tongue into her mouth. Hermione groaned at his touch, noticing that Draco's hands were slowly starting to wander underneath her jumper. Her mind was flooded with memories of how good it had felt that one night when there were no clothes between them, when she had felt the heat of his skin against hers...
Before things could escalate any further, she reluctantly pulled away.
"Sorry, that was too fast, I know," Draco said. He didn't seem overly surprised with Hermione's withdrawal from their kiss, and she supposed he had been expecting it.
"It's all right," Hermione murmured, a bit woozily. "It takes two to tango."
"I know that," Draco said, frowning as if she had somehow insulted his intelligence. "But what the hell does the tango have to do with this?"
Realizing that Draco must not have heard this particular catchphrase before, Hermione smiled and explained it to him.
"That's just a Muggle saying. What I meant is that it takes two willing participants to share a kiss like the one we just had."
Draco's frown morphed into a triumphant smirk.
"I knew that, too," he said, before sauntering back into the castle.
Hermione thought that whatever game she and Draco were playing, he was definitely winning.
"Remember to focus all of your powers on the object that you are trying to levitate. Instead of using your wand to concentrate the force of your magic, you must create a mental pathway between yourself and the object. See how Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy are doing it? Excellent attempt, Miss Weasley! I think your feather lifted a good two centimeters just then."
Professor Hong continued to pace around the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, offering encouragement and advice to his students. For a few weeks now, they had been learning a new lesson - attempting to do wand-less Levitation Charms. Soon they would also attempt Summoning and Banishing Charms without the use of a wand. As usual, Hermione and Draco had been the first students to master this new skill, and had already progressed from levitating feathers, to levitating heavier objects instead.
"As I was saying, the Slytherins will have an early practice tomorrow morning," Draco said after he mentally lifted a stack of books off of their desk, "so we won't be able to have a flying lesson tonight. I'll be turning in early."
"Oh," Hermione said, trying to hide her disappointment. She had grown to look forward to the time they spent together every evening. She watched as Draco smoothly lowered the stack of books back down onto their desktop and gave her a cocky little smirk. It was times like these that Hermione wished their "relationship" wasn't such a secret so that she could grab him and kiss the smirk right off his face. She reminded herself that in any case, snogging was not considered an acceptable classroom activity at Hogwarts.
"You're so full of yourself," she said instead, poking Draco in the ribs. "At this rate, you'll have a tough time at Quidditch practice tonight. Your head is so big that I can't imagine the sort of wind resistance it'll generate when you fly."
Before Draco could issue one of his usual sarcastic retorts, he was interrupted by Ginny.
"Hey, Malfoy, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," the redhead announced.
Instantly, both Draco and Hermione stiffened. Hermione was afraid that Ginny was about to ask Draco what his "intentions" were with Hermione, or something equally awkward. From the nervous expression on Draco's face, she could tell that he was thinking the same thing.
"Yeah, what is it?" he asked Ginny cautiously.
"You know that upside-down barrel roll you used in the Quidditch match against us in November? Do you think you could show me how to do it? I thought it might be a useful skill for a Chaser as well, and since the Holyhead Harpies tryout is only a few months away..."
"Sure, I suppose I can show it to you," Draco said, visibly relaxing. "I don't have time this week, but how about the next?"
"All right," Ginny agreed, going back to her attempts to levitate her feather.
"You seem to be in high demand for flying lessons these days," Hermione murmured to Draco, so only he could hear her.
"Don't worry," he said with a wink, "I won't conclude my lessons with Little Weasley in quite the same way that I conclude yours."
In his conversations with Hermione, Draco had taken to referring to Ginny as "Little Weasley" in order to differentiate her from Ron.
"You'd better not," Hermione said, only half joking, "because if you do, Harry and I would make you regret it. You may have held me off once or twice in the past, but I don't think you could handle both me and an Auror."
"Potter's not an official Auror yet," Draco drawled. "Besides, I think you underestimate my abilities."
He narrowed his eyes in concentration, and slowly, their large wooden desk began to rise into the air. In a matter of seconds, it was floating a meter off of the ground.
"Ah, excellent work, Mr. Malfoy!" Professor Hong exclaimed as he passed by. "You really seem to be excelling at the wand-less Levitation Charm!"
Draco shot Hermione a smug grin as he gently lowered the desk back to the floor. Hermione just rolled her eyes, took a deep breath, and concentrated on her own magic.
"Hey!" Draco yelped, and soon the whole class was laughing at Hermione's successful attempt at wand-less levitation.
"Sometimes I think you underestimate my abilities," she said in a mocking voice.
"Show off," Draco grumbled, scowling and folding his arms across his chest.
Hermione decided that only someone like Draco could maintain some semblance of dignity while he has hovering, upside down, two meters off of the ground.
Hermione reached the breakfast table early that Friday morning. She had risen from bed so early that the Great Hall was practically empty, and since she had no one to talk to, she chose to bury herself in a book. Being quite caught up with her studies, she had decided to indulge in a bit of pleasure reading, and was currently engrossed in Pride and Prejudice. She had just reached one of her favorite scenes, in which Elizabeth Bennett accidentally agrees to dance with the arrogant Mr. Darcy, and her friend, Charlotte, reassures her that she will probably find him to be an amiable man. Hermione was always amused by Elizabeth's response to this:
‘Heaven forbid! That would be the greatest misfortune of all! To find a man agreeable whom one is determined to hate! Do not wish me such an evil.'"
Hermione chuckled to herself and closed her book, suddenly lost in thought. She had read Pride and Prejudice many times before, starting when she was a young girl. Back then, she had always imagined Mr. Darcy as some handsome, faceless stranger. In more recent years, she had tried to picture Ron as the novel's male lead, but somehow this fantasy never quite worked out. Ron was too sweet, open, and easy-going to ever resemble the proud and enigmatic Mr. Darcy. However, upon this latest rereading of the novel, Hermione found herself picturing Mr. Darcy as a tall, blond-haired, grey-eyed man...
Draco had continued to give Hermione flying lessons on an almost-nightly basis, and while she could not say that her fear of heights had disappeared, she at least had better control over it. More importantly, she was becoming more comfortable with Draco as well. Every night after flying, he would kiss her goodnight, and what started out as a simple kiss usually escalated into an intense snogging session. Hermione thought that she was almost ready to take things to the next level with him.
She was distracted from her thoughts when an owl swooped down to deliver the early edition of the Daily Prophet. Hermione unrolled her newspaper and skimmed through the pages to see if there was anything of interest. Thankfully, with the war over, the news had become much less depressing, but it had also become a bit boring. Nowadays, the pages of the Daily Prophet were full of nothing more than idle gossip and the latest scandals, and this edition was no different. Hermione sipped her morning coffee as she flipped through the pages, rolling her eyes at some of the articles, and only pausing to read a few.
She turned to page six, and nearly spit out her coffee when she saw the black-and-white photograph that took up half of the page.
The picture was obviously taken from the street outside of a fancy restaurant, and through the window of the restaurant, there was a young couple sitting across the dinner table from each other. As Hermione watched, the man in the photo leaned over to tuck a lock of hair behind the woman's ear, and plant a lingering kiss on her lips. The associated article, written by none other than Rita Skeeter, carried the following title: "Corianna Warbeck, Daughter of Famed Crooner Celestina Warbeck, Finds New Boy-Toy."
Hermione studied the picture once more, her heart pounding in her chest. She had never seen Corianna Warbeck before, though she supposed she was a rather pretty girl, with long, wavy hair and big doe eyes. However, the man in the photo, whom Rita Skeeter had referred to as Corianna's new "boy-toy", was someone Hermione would have recognized anywhere.
It was Ron.
A/N: Of course, the "Pride and Prejudice" quote belongs to the unsurpassable Jane Austen, not me.
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Darest thou now, O Soul,
Walk out with me toward the Unknown Region,
Where neither ground is for the feet, nor any path to follow?
~ From "Darest Thou Now, O Soul" by Walt Whitman
Hermione slogged into the Seventh Year Gryffindor girl's dorm room feeling exhausted, confused, and more than a bit regretful. She and Draco had parted ways outside the Fat Lady's portrait a few moments before, and he had given her a brief hug before asking her to meet him at the top of the Astronomy Tower at eleven o'clock that night. Reluctantly, Hermione had acquiesced, feeling that the worst thing to do would be to try avoiding him again. That had not worked the last time she'd tried it, and besides that, she actually had no desire to avoid him. She genuinely enjoyed being with Draco. That was the problem.
For just one night, Hermione had accomplished something that she had never been able to do before - she had shut off all of her thoughts and acted purely on instinct. In doing so, she had spent an amazing night with Draco - even now, the memory of it made her blood run faster and hotter through her veins. The following morning, however, she had been plagued with doubts. A part of her hoped that maybe she and Draco could put that night behind them, writing it off as a momentary lapse of sanity; but then he had come up to her after breakfast and wrapped his arms around her in an affectionate, completely non-sexual way....It was strikingly similar to how Ron used to hold her, and by accepting that embrace from Draco, Hermione had felt like she was committing some sort of betrayal....
"Hermione, are you all right?" Ginny asked her the moment she entered their dorm room. Hermione was glad that none of the other Seventh Year girls were present at the moment.
"Yes, just tired," she mumbled, collapsing face down on her bed with a sigh.
"Where were you last night?"
Hermione raised her head in surprise at Ginny's question.
"Didn't you get my owl?"
"What, do you think I was born yesterday?" Ginny said, crossing her arms over her chest and giving Hermione one of her hard looks. "You and Malfoy both disappeared after dinner last night, and I very much doubt that you invited him to your parents' for tea. So where were you really?"
Hermione sat cross-legged on her bed, pretending to pluck at a loose thread on her comforter in order to avoid Ginny's gaze.
"We were at Draco's summer home."
"WHAT!?"
"Yeah."
Hermione sneaked a glance up at her friend, and saw that Ginny looked completely and utterly gobsmacked. Suddenly, the redhead's eyes widened.
"Hermione, did you and Malfoy...I mean did you two...?"
Hermione groaned and buried her face in her hands, knowing her reaction would answer the question for her. She couldn't believe she was sharing this with Ginny, the sister of her ex-boyfriend, but she really had no one else to confide in. If she kept her feelings for Draco a secret much longer, she thought they would eat her alive from the inside out.
"Bloody hell, Hermione! Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"
Hermione shook her head, her face still hidden behind her hands.
"No, he was a gentleman...well, at least as much of a gentleman as Draco can be. He was actually...sweet."
Ginny made a strange noise that sounded like a cross between surprise and disgust. Hermione finally dropped her hands and saw that her friend was sitting with her mouth agape, clearly at a loss for words. Finally, she seemed to regain her powers of speech.
"I just don't know what to say, other than ‘what were you thinking?'"
"I don't know!" Hermione moaned. "I don't know what's gotten into me lately! I've just been feeling so lonely and confused since Ron and I broke up, and when I'm with Draco ...It's like I'm a different person. I behave irrationally, and I don't stop to think about the consequences."
"That's...not always a bad thing," Ginny admitted grudgingly. "I mean, sometimes I get the feeling that you think too much, and Malfoy helps loosen you up a bit. Though, as for sleeping with him, I don't know if that was such a good idea, Hermione. Are you really that over Ron already?"
Hermione cringed as she saw the expression of pain on her friend's face. She knew Ginny felt torn between her compassion for Hermione and her duty to defend her brother.
"No, I'm not completely over Ron. I don't know if I'll ever really stop loving him."
"Then, what do you feel for Malfoy? Do you love him, too?"
Hermione threw her hands over her head in frustration.
"I just don't know how I feel about anything anymore! With Ron, I knew how I felt, and I knew that I loved him, but things are so much more complicated with Draco! I don't think I love him.... It would be crazy to love him because he could never love me, seeing that I'm a Muggleborn and he's absolutely forbidden to love me."
Ginny shook her head, her brown eyes softening somewhat.
"Hermione, Malfoy's parents may forbid him from marrying a Muggleborn, but they can't control who he falls in love with."
Hermione fell back on her bed and covered her face with her hands, wishing she could close the curtains on her four-poster, shut out the world, and hibernate for a few months until everything had blown over. Of course, reality would not permit such an easy solution to her problem. She would have to face Draco again, and live with the consequences of her rash decision to sleep with him the night before.
"Look," Ginny continued, "maybe you should talk to Draco about how you feel. I actually think he might understand. And if, for some crazy reason, you actually decide to pursue something with him, just tell him that you need to...slow things down a bit."
Hermione stared up at the ceiling, contemplating Ginny's advice. She certainly believed that she and Draco needed to go slower with the physical aspect of their relationship in the future...that is, if she even decided to go down that path. That was the biggest question of all: did she dare try and pursue a relationship with the Slytherin? She was, technically, free to do so. Ron himself had stated that they should both date other people, hadn't he? But he had also predicted that Draco would break her heart....
Hermione shook her head. She knew Draco certainly had the potential to break her heart, but somehow she didn't think he actually would, at least not intentionally. However, was unintentional heartbreak any less difficult to bear? Sometimes she thought it was even worse. She knew that eventually, Draco's obligations to his family would catch up to him, and where would that leave the two of them?
"You're right, Ginny," Hermione said at last. "I really need to have a talk with Draco. In the meantime, you cannot breathe a word of this to Ron or Harry. This is already too much for me to handle, and the last thing I need is to have to explain myself to those two as well."
Ginny frowned and said, "I don't like keeping secrets from my boyfriend, Hermione...or my brother, for that matter."
"Hey, I think it's only fair that I ask you to keep my sex life a private matter. Besides, I never discuss that sort of thing with Harry, and Ron lost the right to be involved when he broke up with me."
"Alright," Ginny agreed, finding no argument with Hermione's logic, "but what about everyone else? You know how perceptive Luna is. She's bound to suspect something, and she'll probably figure it out on her own before long."
"Well, then I'll just have to swear her to secrecy when she does," Hermione said resolutely. "Somehow I don't think the world is ready to accept the idea that Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy shagged last night. To be honest, I don't know if I'm ready to accept the idea myself."
When Hermione reached the top of the Astronomy Tower at eleven o'clock that evening, her heart was beating so loudly in her chest that she was sure the sound would wake the entire castle. Finding Draco waiting for her, looking dashing in a grey jumper and black slacks, and standing with his hands behind his back, did nothing to slow her heart rate.
"Hey!" he said in greeting, as Hermione emerged from the stairwell and walked over to join him.
"Hey yourself. What are you hiding behind your back?"
Draco grinned, his silver eyes sparkling with mischief.
"I have a surprise for you."
Hermione eyed him with suspicion and no small amount of fear. Somehow, accepting a "surprise" from Draco Malfoy seemed a lot like sticking your hand inside of a dragon's mouth - incredibly stupid and likely to result in the loss of a limb.
"What sort of surprise?" she asked. "I thought we were just going to talk."
"We are. I just thought maybe, when we're done talking, we could do something else."
"Such as?"
His grin widening, Draco pulled his hands out from behind his back to reveal his Nimbus2001. As soon as Hermione saw the broom and realized his intentions, she took several steps backward, shaking her head so hard she thought she might get whip-lash.
"Oh no," she said.
"Oh yes."
"I don't think so, Malfoy. There is absolutely no way I'm getting on a broomstick with you!"
Draco's mouth took on a shape that looked ridiculously close to a pout.
"Don't you trust me?" he asked, blinking innocently. Hermione's snort was an adequate response to this query, and he dropped the pout. "Look, I thought this might be a way to help you get over your fear of heights."
Hermione shook her head in disbelief, recalling how Ron had tested out that theory with her once before. After weeks of pleading, he had finally coaxed Hermione into flying with him, and the experiment had not ended well. She and Ron had ended up back on the ground in the midst of a blazing row, and her last words on the subject had included her telling him exactly where he could put that broomstick of his.
"Somehow I don't think flying with you is the best way for me to get over my fear," Hermione said.
"Nonsense, the best way to conquer your fear is to face it head on..." Draco hesitated for a moment, and his next words were spoken in a more serious tone. "...And that brings us to another important topic."
"Yes it does," Hermione said, nodding. "Look, Draco, I wanted to apologize for - ."
"No, Hermione, I'm the one who should apologize," Draco said, waving his hand to silence her speech. "I don't think I was fair to you last night. I shouldn't have forced you to make such an important decision on the spot like that. I...I understand that you still lo- that you still have feelings for Weasley."
Draco stumbled over these last words, a brief frown crinkling his brow before he continued.
"I can't say exactly what I feel for you, but I know that it's more than lust, or even just friendship. Yes, I want you physically..." he smirked somewhat, and Hermione felt her cheeks flush, "...but I also know that I like being around you, spending time with you - even when we're both fully clothed. And I can't say that about most other women, believe me."
Hermione couldn't help but give him a small smile as he said this, and he smiled briefly in return. Then, the smile disappeared from his face, and he became more reticent.
"I don't know if I can ever love you - and it's not because you're a Muggleborn," he added quickly, seeing the flash in her eyes. "It's because of who I am. I don't really know if I'm capable of loving any woman in that way. However, I also know that I could never marry you, and that is because you're a Muggleborn."
Hermione stiffened at this. While she appreciated Draco's honesty, she couldn't help being upset by the fact that he was still unwilling to put his old prejudices aside. As if sensing her thoughts, Draco went on to clarify his last statement.
"Hermione, it's not as if I feel that strongly about needing to marry a Pureblood witch. But my parents do, and no matter how much I've changed in some ways, I will never lose the sense of duty I feel towards my family. Do you think you can try to understand that?"
Hermione nodded slowly, deciding that she could at least try to understand Draco's need to please his parents. She looked at him in utter bemusement.
"Draco Malfoy, since when did you start being such an honest man?" she asked.
Draco snorted and shook his head.
"I suppose I've been spending too much time with you damn Gryffindors," he said. "Apparently honesty is highly contagious."
"Don't sound so disappointed. You act as if the truth is some sort of terrible disease."
"Isn't it?" Draco asked, cocking his head to the side.
Hermione shrugged, deciding not to allow their conversation to stray into the realm of the rhetorical.
"Look," she said, "I'm not really sure what I feel for you, either, but I also know that it's more than just lust. I'd like to see what could develop between us, but I don't know if that's possible, considering that we both know it would have to end eventually. You may find it easy to live in the moment, but that's something I'm still struggling to learn."
"Maybe you just need a few more lessons," Draco said, stepping tentatively closer to her. "This may surprise you, but I can be a pretty good teacher when I want to be."
Hermione held up one hand, keeping him at a distance.
"I'm willing to give this a try, but there is one thing we need to set straight first. And that is that I don't want to go rushing the physical aspect of our...lessons. From now on, I need for us to move more slowly before we, erm...."
"Before we, erm, what? Have sex? Shag? Fuck?"
"Malfoy, will you stop being such a nasty little - "
"All right, all right, I'm sorry!" Draco said. "I don't understand why all of a sudden, you're so squeamish talking about sex. You didn't seem like such a prude last night."
"Malfoy, I swear - "
"Okay, calm down. I promise we'll take things slow, all right? Don't get your knickers in a twist...or I may just have to remove them. Okay, I'm done! I swear!"
Draco held up his hands in self-defense as Hermione took a few exasperated swats at him. When she finally relented, Draco picked up his broom once more. She eyed it warily, knowing what he was about to suggest.
"Now, for the next order of business," Draco said, raising his eyebrows at her.
"I told you, I don't think flying with you is a good idea. Can't we find some other way to conquer my fear of heights? Like going on a Ferris wheel?"
"A what?"
"A Ferris wheel - it's a Muggle thing where you sit in this little box and it makes you ride around on a big metal circle that's suspended off of the ground."
Draco shuddered at her description.
"I think my father owns a medieval torture device that works something like that," he said. "No, we'll try this first."
Draco let his broom hover in the air in front of him as he swung one leg over it and straddled the handle. He turned to Hermione expectantly, holding out his hand to her. With a resigned sigh, she accepted his hand, allowing him to help her onto the broom so that she was sitting in front of him. His feet were still on the ground, but since she was so much shorter than him, hers were dangling above it. Draco wrapped his left arm around her waist, bracing his right hand on the broomstick in front of her.
"Alright, I'm going to keep one arm around you at all times, and we're going to go very slowly, okay?"
Hermione nodded, her stomach feeling as if a thousand snitches were buzzing around inside it. She tried to take deep breaths, forcing the cool night air into her lungs.
"Ready?" Draco whispered.
"Not really," she muttered, "but as much as I'll ever be. Let's do this."
Draco chuckled and said something that sounded like "typical Gryffindor" under his breath, but Hermione's heart was pounding so hard in her chest that she couldn't hear anything over the sound of it. Before she could so much as think about changing her mind, Draco pushed his feet against the floor of the Astronomy Tower and sent them soaring out into the darkness beyond. Hermione held her breath, gripping Draco's arm so tightly that she was sure she must be cutting off his circulation. To her relief, he kept the broom moving at a moderately slow speed, and eased them down so that they were flying only twenty meters above the school grounds.
This isn't so bad, she thought to herself, starting to relax. I've gone higher than this when I played two-a-side Quidditch at the Burrow with Ron, Harry, and Ginny.
"How are you doing?" Draco asked her after awhile. "Ready to go a little higher?"
Hermione nodded, and Draco slowly angled the broom upwards so that they climbed another ten meters into the air, and then twenty more. As they flew higher, they flew faster as well, and several of Hermione's long brown curls came loose from her braid, while her eyes watered from the cold wind that blew against her face. Yet somehow, with Draco's arm still secured around her waist, she felt relatively safe.
"You're doing great!" he whispered encouragingly, and Hermione shivered when she felt the heat of his breath against the shell of her ear. As her fear ebbed, she began to notice the solid, comforting warmth of his body pressed up against her back. She felt the rumbling in his chest whenever he spoke, the deep timber of his voice vibrating into her own skin. Knowing it was probably a bad idea, but unable to stop herself, she leaned backwards so that her head was resting fully on Draco's chest.
Encouraged by her action, Draco bent down to nuzzle her ear with his lips. He began stroking her hip with his left hand, and when he started to suck on her earlobe, Hermione closed her eyes and gasped with pleasure. She gripped the broom handle to steady herself, and with her eyes closed, she did not realize that she had accidentally assumed control of the broom's direction.
"Hermione, you need to let go!" Draco suddenly yelled.
Hermione opened her eyes and screamed when she saw that they were currently plunging towards the earth with jaw-dropping speed. Thankfully, Draco managed to wrench her hands off of the broom handle and resume control of their flight, straightening them out mere meters before they crashed. With impressive finesse, he brought them down to a gentle landing on the school grounds, but Hermione was near the point of hysteria.
"I told you this was a terrible idea!" she shrieked, leaping off of the broom and jabbing one finger in his chest. "I told you, but you wouldn't listen to me! We could have been killed! We were mere seconds from crashing - and Draco Malfoy, wipe that stupid smirk off your face this instant or I swear you'll regret it....We are never doing that again! Never, EVER again!"
Draco watched, unblinking, as Hermione paced back and forth in front of him, shaking from head to toe as she unleashed her anger on him. Finally, she ran out of steam and stood before him, chest heaving while she tried to remember how to breathe properly.
"Okay," Draco said calmly. "So same time, same place, tomorrow night?"
For some reason, and she thought it was most likely due to the fact that her near-death experience had dislodged a crucial portion of her brain, Hermione did agree to go flying with Draco the following evening. However, she strictly forbade him to try touching her in any way that was not completely necessary to keep her on the broom - in other words, no kissing, groping, stroking, or nibbling. To her relief, Draco obeyed her rules to the letter, and there were no more mishaps during their flight.
Once Draco had landed them back down on top of the Astronomy Tower, he gave her a brief, feather-light kiss before saying goodnight and disappearing down the stairwell. Hermione knew she had been the one to establish the "let's take things slow" clause, but his kiss definitely left her wanting more. Of course, she knew that was probably the whole point. While she was an intelligent and strategic planner, she understood that if she was playing this sort of game with a Slytherin, especially a Slytherin as cunning as Draco Malfoy, she was bound to be out of her league.
For the rest of the week, they continued to fly together every evening. Sometimes they would fly in companionable silence, and on other occasions they would have stimulating debates about everything from Arithmantic Theories to the Ministry's latest laws for improving the social integration of Muggleborns.
At times, Hermione would try asking Draco questions about his childhood, and various other aspects of his personal life. Sometimes he would answer with very little persuasion, and other times he would tell her to mind her own business. Still, other times, usually when she asked about anything related to his Death Eater days, he would remain silent and refuse to respond to her question at all. Hermione ceased to be offended when he did this. She began to understand that this was just how Draco was, and sometimes there were things he just wasn't willing to share, not even with her.
By the end of one week's worth of flying lessons, Hermione was desperate for more physical contact from Draco, but he had still done nothing more than grace her with a brief, gentle kiss. Finally, on Sunday evening, after Draco had landed them on the Astronomy Tower and leaned in to give her the usual peck on the lips, Hermione took things into her own hands.
Once Draco's lips brushed against hers, Hermione laced her fingers through his blonde locks and pulled his face closer to hers, deepening the kiss. Draco made a small sound of surprise in the back of his throat, but wasn't caught off guard for long. He immediately slid his hands down her back, pulling her body more tightly against his, while he swept his tongue into her mouth. Hermione groaned at his touch, noticing that Draco's hands were slowly starting to wander underneath her jumper. Her mind was flooded with memories of how good it had felt that one night when there were no clothes between them, when she had felt the heat of his skin against hers...
Before things could escalate any further, she reluctantly pulled away.
"Sorry, that was too fast, I know," Draco said. He didn't seem overly surprised with Hermione's withdrawal from their kiss, and she supposed he had been expecting it.
"It's all right," Hermione murmured, a bit woozily. "It takes two to tango."
"I know that," Draco said, frowning as if she had somehow insulted his intelligence. "But what the hell does the tango have to do with this?"
Realizing that Draco must not have heard this particular catchphrase before, Hermione smiled and explained it to him.
"That's just a Muggle saying. What I meant is that it takes two willing participants to share a kiss like the one we just had."
Draco's frown morphed into a triumphant smirk.
"I knew that, too," he said, before sauntering back into the castle.
Hermione thought that whatever game she and Draco were playing, he was definitely winning.
"Remember to focus all of your powers on the object that you are trying to levitate. Instead of using your wand to concentrate the force of your magic, you must create a mental pathway between yourself and the object. See how Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy are doing it? Excellent attempt, Miss Weasley! I think your feather lifted a good two centimeters just then."
Professor Hong continued to pace around the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, offering encouragement and advice to his students. For a few weeks now, they had been learning a new lesson - attempting to do wand-less Levitation Charms. Soon they would also attempt Summoning and Banishing Charms without the use of a wand. As usual, Hermione and Draco had been the first students to master this new skill, and had already progressed from levitating feathers, to levitating heavier objects instead.
"As I was saying, the Slytherins will have an early practice tomorrow morning," Draco said after he mentally lifted a stack of books off of their desk, "so we won't be able to have a flying lesson tonight. I'll be turning in early."
"Oh," Hermione said, trying to hide her disappointment. She had grown to look forward to the time they spent together every evening. She watched as Draco smoothly lowered the stack of books back down onto their desktop and gave her a cocky little smirk. It was times like these that Hermione wished their "relationship" wasn't such a secret so that she could grab him and kiss the smirk right off his face. She reminded herself that in any case, snogging was not considered an acceptable classroom activity at Hogwarts.
"You're so full of yourself," she said instead, poking Draco in the ribs. "At this rate, you'll have a tough time at Quidditch practice tonight. Your head is so big that I can't imagine the sort of wind resistance it'll generate when you fly."
Before Draco could issue one of his usual sarcastic retorts, he was interrupted by Ginny.
"Hey, Malfoy, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," the redhead announced.
Instantly, both Draco and Hermione stiffened. Hermione was afraid that Ginny was about to ask Draco what his "intentions" were with Hermione, or something equally awkward. From the nervous expression on Draco's face, she could tell that he was thinking the same thing.
"Yeah, what is it?" he asked Ginny cautiously.
"You know that upside-down barrel roll you used in the Quidditch match against us in November? Do you think you could show me how to do it? I thought it might be a useful skill for a Chaser as well, and since the Holyhead Harpies tryout is only a few months away..."
"Sure, I suppose I can show it to you," Draco said, visibly relaxing. "I don't have time this week, but how about the next?"
"All right," Ginny agreed, going back to her attempts to levitate her feather.
"You seem to be in high demand for flying lessons these days," Hermione murmured to Draco, so only he could hear her.
"Don't worry," he said with a wink, "I won't conclude my lessons with Little Weasley in quite the same way that I conclude yours."
In his conversations with Hermione, Draco had taken to referring to Ginny as "Little Weasley" in order to differentiate her from Ron.
"You'd better not," Hermione said, only half joking, "because if you do, Harry and I would make you regret it. You may have held me off once or twice in the past, but I don't think you could handle both me and an Auror."
"Potter's not an official Auror yet," Draco drawled. "Besides, I think you underestimate my abilities."
He narrowed his eyes in concentration, and slowly, their large wooden desk began to rise into the air. In a matter of seconds, it was floating a meter off of the ground.
"Ah, excellent work, Mr. Malfoy!" Professor Hong exclaimed as he passed by. "You really seem to be excelling at the wand-less Levitation Charm!"
Draco shot Hermione a smug grin as he gently lowered the desk back to the floor. Hermione just rolled her eyes, took a deep breath, and concentrated on her own magic.
"Hey!" Draco yelped, and soon the whole class was laughing at Hermione's successful attempt at wand-less levitation.
"Sometimes I think you underestimate my abilities," she said in a mocking voice.
"Show off," Draco grumbled, scowling and folding his arms across his chest.
Hermione decided that only someone like Draco could maintain some semblance of dignity while he has hovering, upside down, two meters off of the ground.
Hermione reached the breakfast table early that Friday morning. She had risen from bed so early that the Great Hall was practically empty, and since she had no one to talk to, she chose to bury herself in a book. Being quite caught up with her studies, she had decided to indulge in a bit of pleasure reading, and was currently engrossed in Pride and Prejudice. She had just reached one of her favorite scenes, in which Elizabeth Bennett accidentally agrees to dance with the arrogant Mr. Darcy, and her friend, Charlotte, reassures her that she will probably find him to be an amiable man. Hermione was always amused by Elizabeth's response to this:
‘Heaven forbid! That would be the greatest misfortune of all! To find a man agreeable whom one is determined to hate! Do not wish me such an evil.'"
Hermione chuckled to herself and closed her book, suddenly lost in thought. She had read Pride and Prejudice many times before, starting when she was a young girl. Back then, she had always imagined Mr. Darcy as some handsome, faceless stranger. In more recent years, she had tried to picture Ron as the novel's male lead, but somehow this fantasy never quite worked out. Ron was too sweet, open, and easy-going to ever resemble the proud and enigmatic Mr. Darcy. However, upon this latest rereading of the novel, Hermione found herself picturing Mr. Darcy as a tall, blond-haired, grey-eyed man...
Draco had continued to give Hermione flying lessons on an almost-nightly basis, and while she could not say that her fear of heights had disappeared, she at least had better control over it. More importantly, she was becoming more comfortable with Draco as well. Every night after flying, he would kiss her goodnight, and what started out as a simple kiss usually escalated into an intense snogging session. Hermione thought that she was almost ready to take things to the next level with him.
She was distracted from her thoughts when an owl swooped down to deliver the early edition of the Daily Prophet. Hermione unrolled her newspaper and skimmed through the pages to see if there was anything of interest. Thankfully, with the war over, the news had become much less depressing, but it had also become a bit boring. Nowadays, the pages of the Daily Prophet were full of nothing more than idle gossip and the latest scandals, and this edition was no different. Hermione sipped her morning coffee as she flipped through the pages, rolling her eyes at some of the articles, and only pausing to read a few.
She turned to page six, and nearly spit out her coffee when she saw the black-and-white photograph that took up half of the page.
The picture was obviously taken from the street outside of a fancy restaurant, and through the window of the restaurant, there was a young couple sitting across the dinner table from each other. As Hermione watched, the man in the photo leaned over to tuck a lock of hair behind the woman's ear, and plant a lingering kiss on her lips. The associated article, written by none other than Rita Skeeter, carried the following title: "Corianna Warbeck, Daughter of Famed Crooner Celestina Warbeck, Finds New Boy-Toy."
Hermione studied the picture once more, her heart pounding in her chest. She had never seen Corianna Warbeck before, though she supposed she was a rather pretty girl, with long, wavy hair and big doe eyes. However, the man in the photo, whom Rita Skeeter had referred to as Corianna's new "boy-toy", was someone Hermione would have recognized anywhere.
It was Ron.
A/N: Of course, the "Pride and Prejudice" quote belongs to the unsurpassable Jane Austen, not me.
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