24. The Dangers of Television

Disclaimer: All of Harry Potter's world is owned by NOT ME. You know who. :)

Note: The song lyrics were written and sung by the incredible sister singing group, The Nields. Thanks to my wonderful beta, eilonwy, for everything you do! This is better b/c of you!

ooo

Chapter 24 – The Dangers of Television

Hermione arrived at the Ministry of Magic, checked in at the visitors' desk, and headed for Dean's office.

"Hermione!" he said, pleasantly surprised to see her.

"Hello, Dean!" she said, hugging him. "How are you?"

"Just great, and you?"

"I'm well. Any news of Harry?"

Dean shook his head grimly. "No, but we'll find him, don't you worry."

"I hope so. Say, Dean, I'm here on a bit of a mission."

He grinned. "Oh?"

"I need a television."

He looked at her, surprised. "A television?"

"Yeah," she said, smiling. "Got any around here?"

"Let me see." Dean went through a stack of parchment on his desk and pulled out a few pieces of parchment. He scanned each page. "Uh, we've got one that plays bad James Bond films."

Hermione grimaced. "No thanks."

Dean finished the list. "Nope, no telly."

Hermione's shoulder slumped.

"You could always, you know, buy one," said Dean.

Hermione's frown became a smile. "You're right, Dean! But I know nothing about buying a television. Would you help me?"

"Uh, sure?"

"Excellent. When can you do it?"

Dean checked the clock on his desk. "How's now?"

"Perfect! Only, I need to talk to Seamus really quick. What about if I meet you in the lobby in half an hour?"

"Sure, Hermione."

"Thank you, Dean!"

She walked to the lift and took it to the floor where Auror Headquarters was located. Seamus was at his desk, and he looked ready to pull his hair out. He looked up as Hermione approached.

"Hey, Seamus."

He sighed heavily. "Hey. Let me guess. You saw the article."

"Yeah, what's going on? What are these mysterious charges? And what evidence do they have? Did Andromeda have anything to do with it?"

Seamus chuckled. "Hermione, I wish that I could tell you."

"Could I – see her?"

"Narcissa? No, she's very top priority. Only the higher-ups get access to her."

Hermione frowned. "So, there's nothing you can tell me?"

Seamus shook his head. "Only that I don't actually think we've got anything concrete on the woman. And that's only a guess based on how evasive everyone is."

"Would it be too much to ask that you owl me if you learn anything?"

"Well, sure. But why are you so interested in Narcissa Malfoy?"

"Let's just say it's personal."

Seamus nodded, not convinced. "Well, yeah. I'll owl you."

"Thanks, I really appreciate it."

ooo

Two hours later, Hermione returned to the Edge, Malfoy's moneybags just a bit lighter. She levitated the television into the house and into the sitting room.

Harry and Draco were in the kitchen, Harry eating calmly and Draco pacing. He winced every few minutes whenever he made a sudden movement.

He heard the front door and went to scold Hermione for being gone so long. However, a large box floated past his face and headed to the sitting room. Hermione was close behind the box, arms laden with bags. Draco's jaw dropped.

"Granger! What did you do?"

Hermione set the bags down on the sofa and gently set the television box on the floor.

"I got a television, like I said," she replied.

He looked at her. "Granted, I'm no expert in Muggle things, but it looks to me like you bought a television. And what's in all those bags?" he asked, pointing.

"Films. And a DVD player. And yes, I bought it all." She saw that he was about to launch into a lecture, so she headed him off. "Dean went with me, so just relax, okay?"

Draco gritted his teeth, and though he guessed the answer, he asked the question anyway. "And, if I may ask, how did you pay for everything, since you have no job?"

She actually grinned a bit reluctantly. "Uh, thanks? I grabbed your moneybag on my way out."

He rolled his eyes, no longer the least bit angry. But he wouldn't let her know it. "My money. Of course. Why not? Spend it all! Please! I don't really want it after all."

"Malfoy, relax. I got all this stuff for you, to ward off your inevitable boredom. Well, most of it. I got one or two films for me. Okay, three, but I'll return them if you want. Well, two of them. I'm keeping one for sure."

He shook his head. "Keep them." He left the room the room then, a crooked smile betraying his amusement.

"Harry!" Hermione called. He came into the room. "Will you help me connect all this stuff?"

It took nearly an hour to get everything hooked up, since Harry wasn't really any good at Muggle equipment either. Hermione transfigured the box the television came in into something the telly could sit on. Then, Hermione read the instruction manuals to Harry, who tried to figure out what to plug in where. They were both frustrated but laughing by the time all the wires were accounted for.

Hermione flicked her wrist, muttered a few spells, and soon the television and DVD player were working as they should. When it was all done, it was late, and Draco was long asleep. Hermione sighed, flipping through channels, not really interested. After a bit she turned it off and went onto the porch to read. Harry joined her.

"So, Hermione. Those feelings you discussed with me. How's that going?"

"What feelings?" she said, frowning. "Oh, Malfoy." She sighed and put her book down. "Fine. I mean, there's nothing new. He's still obnoxious and unbearable sometimes. But seeing him so beaten up was really hard. I guess it made me see that I feel something for him, but what exactly, I'm not sure."

"Yeah, it was bad, wasn't it?"

"Horrible. And Lucius did it. His own father. I don't understand how a person could hurt his own child like that."

"Mmm," said Harry, looking thoughtful. "We sometimes see Death Eaters when we're away, and usually when they see Draco, they're just a little cold to him. But whenever we see Lucius… he goes berserk. I'm beginning to wonder if we're erasing his memory effectively. He seems… irrational lately, and I guess when he saw Draco this time, he just snapped."

"You mean, more irrational than usual?" Hermione said with a cynical smile.

"Well, yes," agreed Harry. "But – it's different. I think he's slightly crazy now. The way Bellatrix has always been slightly crazy."

"Must run in the family," Hermione kidded.

"Draco's not crazy though. He is very much in control of himself and knows what he's doing."

"True," she admitted. Then she sighed. "I guess Draco really is for real, huh?"

Harry smiled. "Yes, he is. You sound surprised."

"I'm not, really, but all I ever saw was you two training. Then you'd leave for days at a time, and none of that showed me what was really happening. It was nebulous, intangible. I didn't need proof; at least, I told myself that, but it still wasn't real. I couldn't see it. Yesterday, I saw it. In black and blue."

"I understand. I've been with him so much more than you; I've trusted him with my life, and he's trusted me with his. I guess it helped speed up that trust thing. You never had to do any of that, so it's taken you longer."

She nodded. "I'm tired, Harry. I'm going to bed."

"Not sleeping out here?"

"No, Draco needs his rest."

She left. Harry knew that she didn't want Draco getting up in the middle of the night to check on her. It made him smile.

ooo

The next day, Draco watched all eleven hours of "Lord of the Rings." He didn't move from the sofa, except under most dire need – such as dealing with the result of drinking lots of pumpkin juice and those nasty potions all day, non-stop.

"Granger!!"

Hermione rolled her eyes and Harry just smiled. It was ten in the morning and Draco had already summoned her four times.

"Yes, you pathetic invalid?" she said from the doorway of the room, trying to sound cross.

"It's finished," he said, pointing at the screen.

She rolled her eyes and changed discs. "Anything else? Because I know as soon as I leave the room you'll want something else."

He shook his head, staring at the film which had just resumed. Hermione chuckled and rejoined Harry. An hour and a half later, he called for her again, when she was fixing lunch for all of them.

"Yes, your Royal Pain?" she huffed.

"It's done."

"Malfoy, maybe you could learn to change the discs yourself. There are a lot more to come, you know."

He grinned. "But why? It's ever so much more fun to watch you roll your eyes at me and come running in here to help me."

She put in the second disc. "Are you hungry?"

He frowned. "I think so. I hadn't noticed until I thought about it."

"Distraction can do that," she said. She returned after a few moments with his food and something to drink, plus his lunchtime dose of potion.

He made a face but downed it without a word.

"Thanks, Granger," he said, not taking his eyes off the television.

Draco called her again after thirty minutes. He needed to go to the loo, and wanted her to stop the film from running. She paused it and waited for him to return, then unpaused it.

He called her to bring him snacks, drinks, change discs, explain things, pause for loo breaks, and even once or twice just to annoy her.

At eight, when the film finally ended, he called her again.

"Malfoy! Merlin, what now?" she said, sounding thoroughly aggravated.

"It's done."

"Thank Merlin!" She sat down in a huff and looked at him. He basically looked like he'd sat in a dark room for eleven hours, staring at a bright flashing box. She mainly saw it in his eyes; they looked tired and watery. "How did you like it?"

"It was amazing. I've never seen anything like it." He looked at her intently. "I don't want to admit this, I really don't. But the Muggles actually did something cool."

Hermione looked at him oddly. "Astonishing, isn't it?" she said sarcastically.

Draco stood up slowly, rubbing his eyes. He felt stiff.

"Malfoy, you have acted like a five-year-old today. Are you always so annoying when you're under the weather?"

He grinned at her. "Are you kidding? My mother would never have let me get away with all this. She'd have given me one hard stare and told me to take care of myself."

"Well, I'm glad I have nothing in common with your mother."

"You do, just a little."

Hermione scrunched up her nose. "Like what? Although I'm sure I don't really want to know."

He couldn't tell her that both she and his mother were fiercely beautiful – that would freak her out. But what could he say?

"When you're angry with me, you have the same scary look in your eye. Of course, you don't, uh, punish me the way she did." Hopefully that would do.

"I don't think I want to know the extent of the torture – I mean punishment – you received from the people who raised you."

"Aw, Granger, I didn't know you cared."

She looked at him with an expression Draco couldn't read. So much seemed to pass through her eyes. "I don't," she finally said with a huff, standing to turn off the telly and DVD player. "No more television for you today. Go – play Exploding Snap with Harry or something. Shoo!"

Draco stood up to his full height so as to be more intimidating and said in a fierce tone, "I am not, despite how I acted today, five, Granger." She flinched, but saw laughter in his eyes. She poked him hard on the arm.

Draco winced but left the room grinning.

ooo

The next day, Draco felt better. He came downstairs in sleep pants and T-shirt, smiling to himself. Hermione was at the table, writing something, deep in concentration.

"Morning, Granger."

She made some kind of grunting sound to acknowledge him and pointed to a vial on the counter. He groaned, but swallowed its contents.

"Blech. So, I'm off then. Accio broom!"

Hermione's head snapped up as he walked to the door. She whipped out her wand and locked the door. "Freeze, Malfoy. Just what do you think you're doing?"

He grinned and returned to the table to sit down. "Trying to get your attention."

"What do you want?"

"What other films did you get me?"

"They're in the bags by the sofa."

Draco went into the sitting room and found the bags. He flipped through the titles: Superman, Batman, Terminator, Predator. He liked the sound of these very much. Then he saw what must have been her films. Among them, was Sleepless in Seattle. His breath caught as he looked at it; he had to see it.

"Oh, that's mine," said Hermione. She walked to him and tried to take it from him. He pulled it away. "Hey – " she said.

"Morning," called Harry.

"Hi, Harry," said Hermione, distractedly. "Malfoy, give it back!"

Harry puffed up his chest and walked languidly over to them. "What seems to be the problem, little lady? Is he giving you any trouble?"

Hermione wanted to laugh at his ridiculous behavior. "Malfoy won't give me my DVD."

"Now, Malfoy, we don't want any trouble. Just give the DVD to the little lady and no one gets hurt."

"Uh, no. I want to watch it."

"What?" said Hermione, looking at him strangely.

Harry grabbed the case from Draco and scowled when he saw the title. "Trust me, mate, you don't want to watch this." He handed the film to Hermione, who then hit him with it. "Hey!"

"It's a good film, Harry," she said crossly.

"Whatever. It looks girlie."

"Newsflash, I'm a girl."

"Right," he said, "It's fine for you to watch it, but Malfoy won't like it."

"How do you know?" asked Draco.

"It's – girl rubbish," said Harry, not able to understand what Draco was being so difficult about the film.

Hermione hit Harry again. "It's not rubbish. It's romance."

Harry laughed. "Right. Rubbish."

She glared at him. "Just because you are not the slightest bit romantic doesn't mean romance is rubbish." Draco laughed.

"Ouch, Hermione. I can be – romantic." He spoke as though it took a great amount of effort to say the word.

"Yeah, right. Poor Ginny."

"I still want to watch it," said Draco.

"No," said both Harry and Hermione.

Draco scowled. "Why?"

"I got you boy films. Watch them."

Draco decided it wasn't the time to push the issue. He would watch it; he didn't need Hermione's permission. If he had to sneak down in the middle of the night and figure out how to turn the television on, he would watch it. But for now, he shrugged. "Okay, I'll watch the boy films."

"And I'm not waiting on you hand and foot today," snapped Hermione.

"Fine, fine. Whatever," mumbled Draco. "Show me how to use the thing." She glared at him. "Please?" Hermione rolled her eyes and instructed Draco about the use of the DVD player. Then she left the room.

Hermione kept her promise and entered the sitting room only to bring him the potion every four hours. She sat outside most of the day, talking to Harry or working on her clean-up task, which was very nearly finished.

"I cannot believe Malfoy has been sitting in front of the television for two straight days," said Harry, as they watched the sun set.

"I know. Who would have thought?" said Hermione, staring at the light and colors of the sunset playing off the water, deep in thought.

"The hater of all things Muggle."

She didn't respond.

"Hey, Hermione. You hungry? It's about dinner time," Harry said, once the sun was safely tucked behind the horizon.

"Oh, right." She stood and stretched. "I'll get it started."

"Oh, I have an errand to run tonight, after dinner," said Harry.

Hermione frowned, worried.

"Don't worry, it's nothing major, but I'll be back late."

"Okay," she said.

Half an hour later, dinner was ready, and Hermione called for Harry and Draco. Harry scarfed his down and left quickly.

After a few minutes passed, she said, "How are you feeling?"

"Much better. Dinner is good."

"Thank you," she said distractedly.

"What are you doing tonight?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.

She frowned. "Work. I'm so close to finishing my assignment." She rubbed her temples. "But I don't know, I'm not sure I can think anymore."

Draco eyed her with a small smile. "Well, I have an idea."

She looked at him, her hands still on her head. "What's that?"

"Watch a film with me." When she gaped openly at him, he said, "I'm bored. I've been in that room, all day, all alone, wanting to rip my eyes out, but I just kept watching. You brought that evil box into my house; the least you can do is keep me company while I'm contemplating whether a fork or spoon would achieve more painful results when I finally do rip them out."

Hermione smiled. "You don't have to watch, you know." She stood and cleared their plates.

"Oh, but I do. It's an evil box, I tell you." She said nothing. "Come on, you need a break. You about said as much yourself."

She sighed. She really was tired of thinking, and the idea of zoning out in front of the telly was strongly appealing. She could pretend to watch one of the films she'd got for him. Maybe she'd even fall asleep; she always felt safe, somehow, falling asleep to the sound of the television.

"Okay. I'll watch something."

"Excellent," he said. "I'll get it ready."

Hermione finished the dishes slowly, and when she finished, she went into the sitting room and found Draco reading on the sofa. Hermione's gaze fell on the television.

"Malfoy, we are not watching that." She went to the bags of DVDs she'd brought and started to look through them.

Draco grabbed her wrist to stop her. "Why not?" he asked. "I want to."

"Well, I don't," she said, pulling her arm free before she fainted from the contact. It had been like electric pulses running through her, exploding every time her heart beat.

"I thought you liked it," he said.

"I do, but – why do you want to see it? Harry's right, you'll probably hate it."

"I would like to be able to decide for myself." He couldn't tell her the real reason he wanted to see the film. So he gave her a lame excuse. "I want to see all types of Muggle films. Even this one."

She shifted uncomfortably on her feet. "I – I don't want to watch it – with you."

Draco couldn't help but be a little hurt. "Why?" he asked crossly.

She fidgeted a bit and then sat down in a chair. "Uhm, because, well, I – " she paused. " – I – always cry at that film." She shut her eyes tightly, so she wouldn't have to see him laughing at her.

Draco softened. "I promise I won't look," he said kindly.

Hermione let out a slow breath. She didn't want him to see her cry, but she really did want to watch the film. So she resolved not to cry, and that would solve the problem. "Okay, we can watch this film. But you better keep your promise."

"I will," he said, a little unsure of how he could keep it, since all he wanted to do was watch her. He'd figure it out; he pressed the play button on the remote control and settled in to watch the film.

"Okay, but Malfoy, I mean it. Eyes on the screen."

"I know, I get it. Relax, will you?"

And so for the next one hour and forty-five minutes, Draco watched Hermione watch Sleepless in Seattle. She was not able to keep her promise to herself not to cry, but instead cried in every place she usually did. Draco watched her from the corner of his eye during most of the film, but when he knew one of those scenes was approaching, he would fully give his attention to the film in order to see what exactly caused her to predictably cry every time she watched it.

As he watched her, he felt something inside him finally change. He'd made a lot of progress in the last two years, slowly gaining those emotions he'd always heard so much about. Little parts of his world started having purpose; he slowly felt things, one new emotion at a time. Hermione had been a huge part of it, completely without her knowledge. He had learned so much about her from watching over her that he knew she was at a disadvantage and had no clue. He could read her like a book, which he found to be ironic.

As each minute passed during that hour and forty-five minutes, Draco felt the final resistant cord in his heart snap. He finally felt and understood what it would be like to love Hermione. She'd been through so much, and had suffered greatly, much of it at his hand, yet she was still so tender and moved by the smallest things. Simple, honest stories of two people falling in love were still able to move her.

He thought about the first night she'd been at the Edge, when he'd gone out onto the porch with her. She'd appeared free of all the cares of the world, and he remembered it had moved him. In the same way, she'd let herself get lost in a film, be drawn along with the characters and touched by them.

Slowly he felt the remaining ice melt from his heart, the lump in his chest which had only ever served to push blood through his body finally beating with a new life.

Needless to say, as the film drew to an end, Draco found himself in quite a pickle.

He knew, finally, that he had fallen for Hermione. It angered him, because he'd tried so hard not to. Despite everything, despite his best intentions and all the things he wished he could be, he knew he would end up hurting her in the end. It was inevitable. He must have lost his mind, must be going insane, to even think about it. The answer was simple; he couldn't think about it.

Hermione sniffed rather loudly, bringing Draco out of his thoughts. He noticed that the credits were running, and that she was trying her best to wipe her eyes without him noticing. The barest hint of a smile crept onto his face; what mystified him the most about her was the fact that she cried her eyes out every time she watched this film.

"Sorry, I don't understand."

Hermione looked up from her sniffling. Her eyes were red and watery, her cheeks and lips pink from crying. In this newfound insanity called love, he thought she was more beautiful than he'd ever seen her.

"What do you mean?" she sniffed.

"What was that ending? They just – walk off, staring at each other? That's rubbish."

"Were you watching the film at all?" Hermione asked, incredulously. "When he said, 'You touch her for the first time, and suddenly... you're home. It's almost like... Magic.' That's what happened at the end. They touched, and – magic."

"Magic?" he said with a look of disbelief. "I didn't see any magic."

Hermione refused to roll her eyes. "Well, not magic like 'point your wand and mutter a spell,' magic, no."

"Then what? What did that mean?"

"Malfoy, have you ever held a girl's hand?"

He froze. The conversation had abruptly taken a very wrong turn. "What kind of question is that?" he snapped.

She was surprised at his quick hostility, but simply said, "Just a question, keep your shirt on. In the film, when they held hands, they felt something. They knew they were meant to be."

"Meant to be what?"

This time, she did roll her eyes. "Together, dimwit."

"Oh." He thought for a second. His mind was churning and he even ignored her name-calling. "How did they know?"

"They could feel it when they held hands. It was magic."

"That is circular reasoning, Granger. You're not answering the question."

She let out a frustrated groan. "They just – knew. Sometimes all it takes is one simple touch to know you feel something quite strong for the other person."

As soon as she said it, she realized what she'd actually said. About touch. She tried to keep herself composed in front of him, but all she could think about was what happened every time they touched.

Draco had a similar thought, only he had a theory as to the cause for the jolts, so he didn't worry so much about that. What did worry him was what he'd felt the last time he touched her to wipe tears from her cheeks. He felt that somewhere different altogether. Around his midsection. Oh, and his heart had felt ready to burst out of his chest. It was an amazing feeling, but at the same time, he'd thought he might be sick.

"So, uhm, what exactly is that, Malfoy?" he heard Hermione say in a volume just above a whisper.

"What's what?" he asked.

"That – thing – that happens. When, you know, your skin comes into contact with mine."

"Magic," he said absently. Hermione didn't speak, so he looked at her. The expression on her face was something like a mixture of fear, horror, pain and delight, all together. "Of the 'point your wand and mutter' variety," he added quickly.

"I knew that," she snapped. She hadn't, in fact, known that, but she wasn't about to let him knowthat shehad, just for a second, thought he was about to confess something huge and awful to her. Because it would be awful, right? She glared at him because he'd made her think something she didn't want to think.

But he of course had no idea why she was suddenly quite hostile to him.

"So whenever you touch someone, that happens." She asked, though it wasn't really a question.

He took a deep breath before answering. "No. Just you."

Her head shot up to look at him. "What do you mean? Why just me?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "I actually don't know. But my theory is that it is a side effect of a spell I cast two years ago."

"What spell?"

"The Binding Spell."

"What?" she cried. "That's impossible. You – you can't do that spell without both parties involved. There's no way you could have done that without my permission and cooperation, which you certainly would not have had two years ago, and probably would not even have today!"

"Actually, I could have, and I did."

She was speechless. What he was suggesting meant – well, it meant he was very powerful, very skilled, and very advanced. And, she remembered, he'd done the Fidelius Charm by himself too. She hadn't even known that was possible.

But she couldn't let herself get sidetracked. "There aren't any side effects to that charm," she said.

"Not under usual circumstances, no. But I think because I did it without your knowledge, a built-in fail-safe was activated. Should anyone ever do what I did, the fail-safe would alert the ignorant party if he or she were to ever come into contact with the spell-caster. It's odd, though; I'm not really sure why it happens. It doesn't make sense that physical contact is required, but that's the best explanation I've come up with."

Hermione was livid. "Why would you cast that spell on me?"

Draco knew she was angry, and that his answer would only make her angrier. "I can't tell you."

Hermione's reaction scared him. She said nothing for a moment, but Draco saw that her eyes were swarming with the colors of fury. He braced himself for the tired, but it didn't come. At least, not the way he expected.

"This is about your island, isn't it?" she asked, sounding almost tired. "You don't want to tell me for whatever reason, and you're going to say you'll tell me later."

"Actually, yes."

Very quietly, she said, "I am so sick of your bloody island! I mean, where are we now? Ten years and four cherries?"

"Actually, I'm not a huge cherry fan, so we can keep it at three."

She gave him a deadly smile. "You don't like cherries."

"No – "

"Then why in the world am I supposed to make a chocolate cake with cherries on top?" she yelled.

He sighed. "Okay, Granger. You know where this is going. It won't be ten years that I tell you, it'll be whenever I decide it will be, and you won't have time to make the stupid cake. So, I'm officially dropping it from the requirements."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, thanks awfully. And how dare you perform such a spell without my knowledge? What would ever possess you – and how could you do it, even if you could manage to do it without my consent? I was nowhere around you two years ago, unless you kidnapped me without my knowledge – " She turned white. "Did you?" she yelled and jumped out of her chair, looking positively wild.

"No! Down, Granger. No, of course not." He stood up and put his hands on her shoulders. Which was the wrong thing to do.

She jerked out of his grasp.

"Hermione, I wouldn't do anything to hurt you." He really, honestly meant it, too. And it was the completely wrong thing to say.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Do you honestly expect me to believe that piece of rubbish lie, Draco Malfoy? You were a Death Eater until about five minutes ago, and I doubt that two years ago, when you performed that spell on me, your intentions were noble. You killed my parents!"Now she was screaming in his face. "You caused me more hurt than anyone has ever caused, so do not stand there and tell me you would never hurt me!" With that she pushed him out of her way and ran to her bedroom, slamming the door so hard he heard the windows rattle.

Draco closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He ended up taking six deep breaths before he trusted himself not to do anything stupid – like run up to her room and kiss her senseless – or tell her the absolute whole truth – or throw himself off the cliff without a wand – or walk up to the Dark Lord and spit at his feet. Or call him a Half-blood. That thought seemed to snap Draco out of his funk.

He shook his head and slowly climbed the stairs to his room. He paused at Hermione's door, but heard nothing. He flung himself on his bed and drove his knuckles into his eyes until he saw stars.

Tonight had been interesting. He'd gone insane – that's what he had to call it. Then the object of his insanity – read 'affection' – had screamed at him so loudly that he was sure he'd have this ringing in his ears for the rest of his life.

Could one go straight from sane to insane – from feeling nothing straight to love – with no in-between? Only, he knew it hadn't been nothing, that he'd been struggling for some time against his growing feelings for the girl. Still, it had felt like it had gone from nothing to love. And it had been while watching the film that he had watched her watch for almost two years. He was in love. With the most infuriating girl he'd ever known. He had no idea how it happened, but it had. To him. The snowman.

Once, he'd gone to America for the Dark Lord. He'd had a free night, so he'd gone to a bar somewhere in New England – what did that mean anyway? – and it was his lucky night. There was a small concert going on. Two pretty girls sang a song about him. He'd met them afterwards and asked for the words to it. Sure, he'd since lost them, probably that same night after he'd drunk himself into a stupor.

But he still remembered them.

"It's all right; it's okay. If I freeze I can't decay. You touch, and I freeze, there is ice, where my heart should be. I'm a snowman. Cold is all I understand. I'm a snowman. You can't hurt me, no one can."

And yet here he was, melting. He could decay; he could hurt, and not just physically.

He sighed, and got up to check on Hermione. There was a note on her door that said, "Bugger off, Malfoy." He smiled and took the note down, then returned to his room and fell into bed.

ooo

A/N: Well, this was going to be posted last night, and I was excited to get it posted early, but my internet went haywire and I couldn't. So, bummer. But I hope you like it, kind of a fun chapter, and that you REVIEW:)