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Pansy's Volcano	By : Bluemidget57 Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 206366 -:- Recommendations : 6 -:- Currently Reading : 8
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Pansy's Volcano
- 2-Two
- 3-Three
- 4-Four
- 5-Five
- 6-Six
- 7-Seven
- 8-Eight
- 9-Nine
- 10-Ten
- 11-Eleven
- 12-Twelve
- 13-Thirteen
- 14-Fourteen
- 15-Fifteen
- 16-Sixteen
- 17-Seventeen
- 18-Eighteen
- 19-Nineteen
- 20-Twenty
- 21-Twenty one
- 22-Twenty Two
- 23-Twenty Three
- 24-Twenty Four
- 25-Twenty Five
- 26-Twnety Six
- 27-Twenty Seven
- 28-Twenty Eight
- 29-Twenty Nine
- 30-Thirty
- 31-Thirty one
- 32-Thirty Two
- 33-Thirty Three
- 34-Thirty Four
- 35-Thirty Five
- 36-Thirty Six
- 37-Thirty Seven
- 38-Thirty Eight
- 39-Thirty Nine
- 40-Forty
- 41-Forty One
- 42-Forty Two
- 43-Forty Three
- 44-Forty Four
- 45-Forty Five
- 46-Forty Six
- 47-Forty Seven
- 48-Forty Eight
- 49-Forty Nine
- 50-Fifty
- 51-Fifty One
- 52-52
- 53-53
- 54-54
- 55-55
- 13
- 14
- 15
In case any of you is interested, I have written some personal replies to your reviews and posted it in the review section, if you want to wander over there and see what I had to say to you. (The time line for Breathe is off by 1 year, but you�ll have to forgive me, as that was the song I wanted to use.)
The rest, of course, belongs to JKR and Faith Hill, but not to moi.

Chapter Fourteen

Reality returned with a vengeance the following morning. Hermione awoke in her own room with Crookshanks snoozing on the end of her bed, but she couldn�t exactly remember how she arrived there. She had a strange feeling that she had done something which might be considered inadvisable, but couldn�t exactly put her finger on what precisely it was.
She had clear recollections of Malfoy turning up at the most inopportune moment he could have chosen, and of herself yelling at him in a whisper in a corner of the Hall. But in between that and walking back to the Gryffindor Common Room with Ron, Harry and Ginny her memories were disturbing and elusive as mist.
She thought she could recall dancing very intimately with Draco Malfoy - snuggling even? But that couldn�t have actually happened because she was very clear on the fact that Ron had escorted her back to her dormitory smiling and holding her hand, and there was no way he would have been so calm if she had been cuddling with Malfoy, after what he had overheard last night. More likely he and Malfoy would both be in the infirmary right now if those things which Hermione thought she remembered had really occurred. She concluded she would have to put it down to a disturbingly realistic stress-induced dream which she must try and forget.
Frustrated, she shook her head and decided to analyse it later - after breakfast. She chose to walk directly from her room to the Great Hall; for some reason she felt confident she would not run into the Head Boy in their study this morning, although she moved at something approaching an undignified sprint between her bedroom and the outside door.
When she entered the Hall a loud cheer rose up from her table, and she flushed, elusive images of muscular arms and soft caresses popping up in front of her eyes again. Luckily it soon became clear that their admiration was rather for the whole of last night�s entertainment than one specific incident. More guilt, for it really had been all down to Malfoy, and in retrospect she recognised that she had made little contribution other than to show up and dance with lots of boys. But no point in telling the Gryffindors that; they would never believe any good of the Head Boy anyway.
�Actually, it was mostly Malfoy�s idea,� she said as she sat down beside Dean Thomas, with her back to the Slytherin table. There was a round of accompanying snorts which Hermione hardly heard as she berated herself for speaking in his defense when she had absolutely and totally decided she wouldn�t do so. Apparently even her voice wasn�t under her own command any more. She glared at her cereal as if it alone had caused her indiscretion.
She was still brooding over her imperfect recollection of the night before when Harry, Ron and Ginny arrived together at the table. Ron poked Dean between the shoulder blades encouraging him to move along so that he could sit beside Hermione. Harry and Ginny settled opposite and after a quick compliment on the success of the evening, Harry cleared his throat and announced, �Well, now that the fun�s over, we have to knuckle down! We�re playing Slytherin next Saturday, the opening game of the tournament.�
Hermione sighed. There was nothing better guaranteed to bring a body back to earth with a bump than Quidditch. It also meant she would get no sensible conversation from the three of them this week; but close on the heels of that thought, she realised whom Harry had said their opponents were to be. So far she had managed to avoid attending any of the pre-season games despite it being generally expected of the Head students to visibly support all extra-curricular activities, and had therefore been spared the temptation of Malfoy in leather. It was still early in the year and both teams had only played one friendly game each and had won that one. The season opener was one game she had no hope of missing.
�I�ve been watching the Slytherins closely this year,� Harry continued. �I have to say that Malfoy has put together a very tight team. He�s completely overhauled the style of previous years; the other Captains preferred to rely on muscle and sheer size for intimidation tactics. I know that last year Malfoy went with that approach, but with two of his goons leaving, he�s taken the opportunity to streamline the team, and it seems to be working.�
Ron and Ginny were absorbing their Captain�s insights. Dean and Seamus were also leaning closer to Harry, hanging onto his every word although neither of them was on the team. Hermione considered leaving them to get on with it; after her disturbing dream about the previous night�s events, she really didn�t want to sit in the middle of a crowd of people whose chosen topic of conversation was an analysis of the one person causing all of her current paranoia. However, Ron�s hand rubbing gently over her knee prevented her escape, and held her captive to Harry�s pre-games dissection of the Slytherin Captain.
�He had days of tryouts for this years team,� Ginny inserted a this juncture. �The Snitchers were up at the crack of dawn for nearly a whole week -�
�The what?� Hermione couldn�t help the question; she knew Quidditch wasn�t her forte, but she had never heard that word used before. �What�s a Snitcher? Is that a new kind of position?�
There was a moment of silence as the others processed her question, followed by gales of laughter. Ron hugged her suddenly to his side. �That�s my Hermione!� he managed to gasp through his mirth. �Thank Merlin you�re not one of them!�
Hermione scowled. They were making so much fuss she was sure people at other tables were all looking at her.
Ginny was also glaring at her brother, and kicked him under the table. �Hermione, it�s a kind of nickname for Quidditch groupies. Those girls who just hang around the locker rooms- you know, the ones who only want to be seen with the sports players,� she explained, and Hermione had a sudden flash of Luna and Amber in the potions corridor the day that all this mess started. Obviously Ginny was thinking of the same incident, and she shook her head at Hermione. �No, much worse than that!� she exclaimed. �I�ve had anonymous owls threatening hexes and all kinds of obscene things from Harry�s fan club -�
�What?� Harry spun around and fixed a shocked look on his girlfriend. �You never said anything to me about that!�
�That�s because I can deal with it myself, Harry,� Ginny replied with a roll of her eyes. �Do you honestly think I can�t sort out a few sexually frustrated witches when I�ve spent my life with six older brothers? Get a grip, Harry; you just concentrate on winning us the cup and leave me to deal with the fans.�
Harry grunted but his annoyance subsided noticeably. Hermione thought it sweet how totally under Ginny�s thumb he was; he had been required to protect everyone in their world for so long, but just knowing that Ginny was there to take care of the little details had grounded him no end. He had been so much more relaxed and lighthearted in the nine months since they became a couple. His sudden bursts of temper and retreats into brooding were few and far between these days, and Hermione was happy for both of them. They complimented each other so well.
�Ok, then,� he said.� Gin is in charge of keeping the fans away from me.� He looked at Hermione and winked, �Guess it�ll be your turn next then, having to fight off Ron�s rabid fans!� He grinned at her while Ron choked on his pumpkin juice and cast a wild glance around the Great Hall as if fearing the sudden appearance of hordes of Quidditch-obsessed females. Despite having been on the team for two years now, Ron still tended to doubt his own ability, another crime which could be laid directly at Malfoy�s door. His dreadful ditty composed at the beginning of 5^th year, which had resulted in Harry and the twins being banned from Quidditch, had undermined Ron�s self confidence to such a degree that even now, two years later, it still hadn�t recovered.
How could she ever forget behaviour like that? How could she honestly be feeling the things that she undoubtedly was for a person who had lied, cheated, sneaked and manipulated his way through the past six years of their schooling. How could she have sunk into his arms last night as if she was coming home, (and somehow she knew this had happened), when he was Draco Malfoy, author of all their worst experiences. Damn, she was in trouble.
�So, I�ve been privately watching Slytherin practice,� Harry continued. Ron, Hermione and Ginny correctly took this to mean that he had been sneaking around at their practice sessions under his invisibility cloak, gathering information. They had been joined now by Alex Taylor, a 5^th year and one of the new Beaters, who was eager to get out on the pitch and prove himself. �Malfoy�s got them under a very tight control this year. No girls on the team as usual, but the new players seem very focused, and fast. They are fliers, not thugs. We�ll have to be very careful not to expect the same type of intimidation tactics that we have been used to seeing from Slytherin in the past.

�Much as I hate to admit it, Malfoy is a bloody good Captain. I know we all like to think he bought his way onto the team with those brooms back in 2^nd year, but five years of going head to head with him has forced me to admit that he knows what he�s doing in the air. And you�ve got to admit he has the whole of Slytherin house eating out of the palm of his hand. He says jump, they ask How High? He�s even dropped those two muscle bound Neanderthals he keeps around for protection from the team, and it appears they went without a murmur.�
Hermione frowned, thinking of what Pansy had unwittingly revealed earlier in the term about the nature of Malfoy�s relationship with Crabbe and Goyle, and wondered if she should mention it to Harry. But to do so would open a writhing great can of flobberworms and could possibly lead down avenues she had no desire to travel with Ron present.
Harry continued, �When he thinks he�s alone with his team he�s actually quite a charismatic leader,� Ginny nodded thoughtfully, remembering his manner during the prefect meetings prior to Halloween, which Harry had not been privy to. �But,� Harry paused, sweeping his glance over everyone who was listening. �He wants to annihilate us. That�s the whole reason for this revamp of the Slytherin team. He�s out for Gryffindor blood. It�s his last year to beat us at anything, and I�m telling you, he�s manic! Right! Pitch is booked from noon till two, I am trying to get something squeezed in at least every other day up until the match. So I expect to see you outside at midday. We need to focus here. If Malfoy is as determined as I think, he�ll be watching us too, looking for weaknesses, anything he can exploit during the game for Slytherin�s benefit!�
Hermione shivered as the others dispersed from the table. �You�ll come and watch the practice won�t you, Mione?� Ron asked, but Hermione�s mind was focused on something else entirely.
�Ron,� she asked carefully, �Did you enjoy yourself last night?� The more pressing matter of discovering whether she had dreamt her encounter with Malfoy took precedence over everything including Quidditch.
Ron flushed and she knew he was thinking instead about her impulsive question just before Malfoy interrupted them, and she braced herself for an uncomfortable conversation. She was surprised when it never materialized. Ron stroked the back of her hand absentmindedly and seemed to be searching for the right words to express to Hermione what appeared to be preying on his mind. Hermione suddenly realised that he might be more worried that his answer could be upsetting for her than he was over the fact of Malfoy�s getting some ammunition out of it. Which gave Hermione her answer without any words of his behalf. She felt strangely ambivalent about it; more surprised than hurt. More curious as to how there had been an opportunity when the three of them were so rarely apart, than upset at the fact.
However, it seemed that in some kind of weird male solidarity type of mentality, that as a girl was incomprehensible to her, Ron would only have been embarrassed by Malfoy�s overhearing her question, had the answer been yes. Apparently some primal male bonding ritual extended even to members of Slytherin rather than one�s actual girlfriend, if they were the only Y chromosome in the immediate vicinity.
She wondered if she should take pity on Ron, and let him off the hook, but some secret calculating Slytherinish part of her was enjoying the fact that, for this single moment in time, she was not the only one being wracked by feelings of guilt.
�Mione, the thing is - you see. What you were asking about last night -� Ron began, stammering over his explanation, and suddenly gripped her hands so tightly she felt that bones might be in danger of getting crushed.
�No.� He said finally and simply, unable to prevaricate in the face of her regard, and she gave what she hoped was an encouraging and non-judgmental smile. �It wasn�t anyone from school, Mione,� he rushed on obviously trying to salvage a potentially bad situation, but not knowing exactly how to do so. �It was back before I ever hoped you would think of me in that way -�
�Ron,� Hermione tried to interrupt his flow, but he shut his eyes and shook his head.
�No, Mione, I want to get it all out or I might lose my nerve. It was last Christmas when we went to visit Bill in Egypt, and I met her at the campsite -�
�Ron,� Hermione interrupted firmly. �It�s okay, really. I neither want nor need details. You have nothing to feel guilty about,� unlike me �I was only expecting a simple yes or no answer, and now I have that. Let�s move on.�
Immediately she regretted her choice of words, for Ron�s eyes lit up with hope and she realised exactly where he wanted to move to. �Oh, Ron,� she sighed. �Not quite yet, Ok?� He deflated quickly, nodding resignedly, and on impulse she reached over and guided his mouth to hers. She was usually careful to avoid overtly public displays of affection, but she felt so bad about her recent behaviour and her inability to commit to something more physical with Ron that she simply acted on impulse.
When Ron finally released her and took her hand out to walk her out of the Hall, she found herself suddenly face to face with the last person she wanted to see. Malfoy was glaring at them from the doorway looking absolutely furious. Ron scowled back and gripped her hand even tighter, convincing her that he hadn�t been as accepting of last night�s events as he had seemed.
Draco stared hard at them until they drew level with him and at the very last possible moment stepped out of the way, forcing eye contact with Hermione as they passed. He looked just like she felt, she thought; confused, angry and afraid. She felt panic welling up inside her at the thought that perhaps it had been more than a dream, but almost before she could recognise the emotions on his face, his habitual sneer dropped back into place and he settled for sweeping his glance over Ron�s fuming countenance before turning his back on them and heading for his own table.
Hermione found that, brief though the encounter was, it had left her shaking and brought back all the worries she had been able to repress whilst surrounded by people concentrating on other issues. It was mid-morning Sunday, and yesterday - before the Halloween Ball - Hermione had planned to spend the time working on a progress report for the Herbology project, which Pansy Parkinson had abandoned any pretence of interest in when Hermione sent her off with a flea in her ear about spying. The Venis had grown alarmingly, and waved its viny tendrils at Hermione in a most threatening manner whenever she opened the box to feed it.
Now, given her distracted mental state, Hermione decided that it would be unwise to spend a couple of hours with a poisonous, aggressive plant. That was how accidents happened. She opened the box and dropped a few dried grasshoppers inside, then shut the lid quickly as the Venis began rustling its vines together in manner that almost sounded like whispering.
Of course, now that she wasn�t actually working, her subconscious gleefully began sending her images of things which she couldn�t believe had really happened last night. She could hear a song playing in her head, one she had at home in her cd collection. But she would never be able to hear it in the same way again; now she would always associate it with Malfoy, with his hard, athlete�s body wrapped around hers as they drifted slowly across the Great Hall lost to the rest of the world.
She could still smell him, feel the imprint of his hands on her back , the caress of his fingers as he traced little circles at the base of her spine. She thought, but was not entirely certain that he had even kissed the top of her head. She knew she had laid her head against his shoulder and thought, to Hell with everything, as she did so. She had danced with one arm tight around his waist, and the other pressed against his chest directly over his heart, entranced by the accelerated thumping.

I can feel the magic floating in the air; surely it had written expressly for them, for the halls and corridors of Hogwarts itself. Of course, she knew that it hadn�t; the singer was an American Muggle - but if not, then it could not have been a coincidence that it was the last song of the evening, and that she and Malfoy had been expected to dance to it.
Something had definitely happened last night, and there had been magic involved; more than just the magic of one man�s chemistry with one woman. There had been an interference. Hermione was suddenly as sure of this as she was of her own name; that was the only possible excuse for none of the other students mentioning it this morning.
Oh, Merlin! So then, she had danced with Draco Malfoy liked she wanted to crawl inside his body and never leave; and if she had reached this conclusion, it was a fair assumption that Draco would not be far behind. She may have hated him for years (before you decided to fall in lust with him, taunted the voice,) but she had never underestimated his intelligence, which was second only to hers. Malfoy would work out soon that she had

clung to him like a - a Snitcher! last night and her pathetic crush would be exposed.
Dear God, who could have created such a distortion spell? Who could have interfered with the course of the celebration in such a manner and remain undiscovered. Who already knew her shameful secret?

**********

Will Hermione work it out? Will Draco work it out? Will there be smut in Chapter 15?

Survey says - Yes! (To one of the above!)
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- 15
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Pansy's Volcano