Chapter 15: The Promise

The 'maybe date' had been a lot of fun so far, actually. Draco was quite charming when he wasn't insulting me or my friends to the max. I suppose that's why the girls at school always were obsessing over him (especially the Slytherins), but I don't recall him ever having a long term girl friend, except some brief stints with Parkinson. , I thought, but I'm not sure how that would make a difference.

We had grabbed the book I had wanted from the shop, and then, as promised, stopped in at the Three Broomsticks and I tried fire whiskey again for the first time in years. "Yep," I had said, trying to swallow what felt like liquid fire, "Just how I remember it. Absolutely terrible."

He had laughed at that, then proceeded to drink both his shot and mine. Obviously he could hold his liquor, but I wasn't surprised. He had admitted jokingly that he and his friends snuck this stuff into the castle often, which didn't surprise me. Slytherins are Slytherins, I supposed.

He invited me to come along with him to one of their Slytherin parties sometime, but I refused. His friends hated me, anyway.

"Blaise doesn't," Draco had told me, "He's the only one who I told about... myself."

So why Blaise was always smirking and winking. I laughed to myself thinking about it. "So that's why all of a sudden he changed his view on me, then?" I had asked.

Draco nodded, and explained, "It didn't take long to convince him you weren't that bad."

He seemed sincere about that. , I thought, .

After me having a butter beer, and him having a bit more fire whiskey, we had decided that we didn't want to risk being caught getting back after dark or in the rain. We had been walking down the gravel road when the weather decided it wasn't going to hold, and the clouds started leaking again.

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"Gagh!" She exclaimed as the first few raindrops hit her, "Thank goodness the books are wrapped in plastic!"

"Always about the books, huh?" I asked, smirking.

We ran the whole way back, laughing most of it and trying not to slip on the wet cobblestone.

Once we got back under the gate of the castle where it was dry, we stood in silence, watching as the sun set. Well, she was watching the horizon, and I was looking at her as nonchalantly as possible. She looked amazing, Weaslette had worked some serious magic.

, I thought.

That was definitely a possibility. "Hey, Hermione?" I asked, almost without thinking.

She turned around to face me. "Hmm?" She replied.

"This..." I tried to gain my confidence back, "This was a lot of fun. You wanna go again some time? Maybe when the weather's better?" I joked.

She took a second, perhaps one of the longest of my life, but nodded and put a smile on. "Sounds good to me," she said with a shrug, "Oh, I'm going up to Gryffindor tower, don't wait up."

I nodded, and at that she went down a corridor and disappeared out of sight. I watched her go, and then watched where she had just been seconds ago.

I thought.

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"Hey guys!" I exclaimed as I greeted my friends.

They were sitting in the common room... again. ? I asked myself.

Ginny turned to me. "Caught in the rain again?" She asked, "How was your with Malfoy?"

I smirked when she avoided calling it a date, but now Harry and Ron had turned to look at me. they were interested. "It was a I said matter-of-factly as well as honestly, "And don't be surprised if I go with him again."

Ron and Harry scoffed in unison, and Ginny chuckled at them. "I'm not borrowing you any more clothes," she said gesturing to my soaked ensemble, "Excaresco."

I felt a hot gust of wind blow past me, and it warmed me up, too. After opening my eyes, I noticed that my clothes were dry. , I thought, ? "Nice," I mumbled.

"What happened?" Harry asked, skeptically.

I took a seat next to Ginny on the love seat. "I got that book I wanted. You know, the ?"

They all nodded. "Well, I bought it, I'm excited to start it tonight if I have time. I bet it'll really help me out on my History of Magic fin-"

"Hermione!" Ginny interrupted me, "Skip the book part!"

, we went into Honey dukes and checked out some of the new candy they had shipped in recently. Oh! And then we went to the Three Broomsticks, and he had me try Fire whiskey. I hated it, of course. I probably always will."

Ginny laughed, she probably wasn't surprised at that. Harry and Ron were still listening suspiciously, probably waiting for the part about him hexing me or ditching or something.

"I bought a butter beer then, but he had quite a bit of that nasty drink. Apparently him and the Slytherins sneak it in often," I explained with a laugh, "But then it started getting dark and it started to rain really hard, so we ran back to the castle, and that's why I'm soaked. Again."

"So it was... fun?" Harry asked, obviously surprised.

"Yes," I answered, "But now I'm back here, and we've got an hour before I have to go back."

Ginny smiled, and put her arm around me. "Yeah, it's about time had some Mione time," she said, giggling.

We all laughed. "Actually," Ron said, turning away from Harry to me, "I do need some help on my Potions essay."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course you do," I said, and all four of us laughed.

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After saying goodbye to my friends, helping Ron and Harry with homework, I left Gryffindor tower. I walked fast, I only had a few minutes to get back to my common room before curfew. Checking my watch often, I broke into a slow run. Only a few minutes late, I rushed past Dumbledore's portrait and into the common room, glad that no teachers had seen me.

"Hey," Draco said to me as I walked in.

I nodded in response, and plopped down near him on a chair, exhausted. I glanced at him. He was reading, again. "Friend's keep you late?" He joked.

I nodded again. We sat in silence for a bit, him reading, me watching the fire. "U-uh, Hermione?" He stammered.

I looked at him, quizzically. "I..." he paused, "I just want to apologize in advance, for anything I do in error in the future."

I waited a bit before responding. "Anything you'll do... to me?" I wondered.

"No!" He exclaimed.

I was taken aback by his sudden change in volume, and he must have sensed my surprise because he softened his tone. "No, of course not," he added, "In fact, I also want you to know that I'd hurt you on purpose. But I'll apologize because especially... now, I won't always make the most choices. You understand, right?"

I looked up. "Not really," I replied, cocking my head to the side a bit, slightly confused.

He put his hand to the back of his neck nervously, obviously trying to avoid being blunt. "Just... promise me you won't get irritated with me every time I... I don't know..."

I knew what he meant; his Veela instincts, and what Ama talked to me about. How he wasn't in control of his actions all the time, and in time he might become... possessive.

"What do you mean?" I feigned nescience.

I knew what he meant, but I wanted to see how he would word it himself. But in the end they were feelings, but it was cruel, I suppose, and I instantly regretted asking.

"I-I'm sorry," I apologized, "It's not really my business."

"No," he said again, "It's completely and utterly your business to know. Look," he sighed awkwardly, "I'll become overprotective, possibly clingy, and overbearing at worse. I just know it'll happen. It just... does, I think."

He sighed again. Being the famously arrogant Malfoy, it was probably painful for him to explain. "So," he started, gaining a bit more confident composure, "Just don't resent resent me for it, please?"

I stared into the flames, thinking again. Seeing as I wasn't responding, he spoke again. "Hermione?"

I looked up, and nodded quickly. "Of course, I promise."

He smiled. "Thanks," he said, "I just... wanted to... make sure," he stuttered, and then closed his book in his lap.

"Thanks... again," he said, getting up starting to ascend the staircase. I watched him climb it but then turned back to the fire when I heard his door close.

, I thought. I wonder why Malfoy- or Draco, wanted to make sure I wouldn't become angry with him whenever his 'instincts' kicked in, you could say.

I wished I could stay I understood what was happening to him right now, but I really didn't. , huh? Ron was sometimes... overbearing I suppose, but I blame him for being like that, it was only his personality. But it'd only be because we were so close, and he cared about me. , I scolded myself.

He said he knew it happen, future tense, and I should have known because he was still as relaxed as ever. I s'pose I could ask Ama for more information, but I really wasn't sure I wanted to know the details. , I thought,