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Lessons and Obsessions	By : LennaNightrunner Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 85098 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 2
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.

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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: ACCELERATION

Ginny looked up as her brother slammed the portrait hole
shut behind him and stormed up to her.�

�What�s wrong?� she asked innocently as he glared down at
her. He shook his head, apparently too furious to speak, and motioned back
toward the door. Feeling that it would be best to get this over with, and not cherishing the thought of having a
confrontation with Ron in front of half the Gryffindors,
Ginny rolled her eyes and followed her brother back out into the hallway.

�Well?�

Ron seemed to be struggling with a concept that he couldn�t
fully comprehend. He began explaining with the only word he could process. �Hermione.�

�You�ve asked her out, haven�t you?� Ginny asked cautiously.
She had thought this might be coming. Had tried to warn
Hermione, though belatedly. A part of her had hoped that somehow things
between Hermione and Malfoy would either end or come
out into the open before Ron finally made a move.

Ron nodded distractedly, as if he didn�t quite believe what
had happened. �Yeah, but she gave me some line about how it wasn�t the right
time and turned me down.�

Ginny tried her best to look surprised. �Well... maybe it isn�t the right time. I mean there�s so
much going on right now��

�There�s always so much going on! Why should that stop us? I
thought this was what she wanted. I thought...� he slammed his hand against the
wall in frustration, eyes growing bright with anger. �There has to be someone
else. She�s hiding something.�

Ginny fidgeted a bit and kicked herself mentally. She couldn�t
give Hermione away now after she�d promised so faithfully to keep the secret.
She didn�t think much of Draco Malfoy, but she wasn�t
going to snitch on her friend.

�You know!� Ron growled accusingly. �I can�t believe it! You
know, don�t you? It figures.�

�I don�t know what you�re talking about,� Ginny lied
pointlessly. Even Ron wasn�t that thick.

�There�s someone else, isn�t there?� Ron snarled.

Ginny shook her head emphatically. �I�m not going to tell
you anything.�

�Brilliant.� Ron glared at his sister. �My friend and now my
own bloody sister are lying to me. Guess there�s no point in trying to get
anything out of either of you. Tell me if you decide I deserve to know what the
hell is going on.�

Before Ginny could think of something to say, Ron had flung
the portrait of the Fat Lady open and was on his way up to the boys� dormitory.

Whatever Ron had said to Hermione, it must not have ended
well. Poor Hermione: as if things weren�t complicated enough for her as it was!
There was no way Ginny was going to be able to sleep now, so she pulled out Harry�s copy of Flying with the Canons (which he�d
left with her) and waited for Hermione to return.

It was near midnight by the time the portrait of the Fat
Lady swung open again. Ginny was the only person left in the Common Room, and
had been dozing off. Hermione did not look happy, by any means, but she wasn�t
nearly as upset as she could have been. Perhaps that had been Malfoy�s influence, if Hermione had in fact been to see
him, as Ginny suspected.

�I tried to warn you,� Ginny said quietly.

Hermione sighed, eyes still red and slightly puffy, and
stood by the door helplessly.

�Come on,� Ginny said with a sympathetic smile. �Let�s go to
your room and talk for a bit before bed. You�ve got a free period tomorrow
morning and I�ll be all right with a few hours less of sleep.�

Hermione nodded and gratefully led the way up to her
bedroom, wondering how much more difficult everything would�ve been this year
if she hadn�t had her own space to escape to.

When the door was shut behind them, Ginny sat down next to
Hermione on the bed.

�Ron�s asked you out.�

�Yes,� Hermione said quietly, still unable to believe it.

�And you turned him down.�

Hermione shrugged her shoulders in a gesture of
helplessness. �I had to.�

Ginny hesitated. �Did you tell Malfoy?�

�Not intentionally.� Hermione fidgeted with her robes. �But I
wasn�t really in a state to keep it a secret.�

�Did he offer to hex Ron into next Tuesday?� Ginny asked
with a scowl. �Because I wouldn�t mind doing that myself.�

�It�s not Ron�s fault,� Hermione sighed. �He just... he just
has bad timing.�

�There�s the understatement of the year,� Ginny muttered.

�And now he knows there�s someone else,� Hermione continued
fretfully. �And it�s only a matter of time before he finds out who it is. He�s
n-never going to speak to me again.�

�Yes, he will,� Ginny said soothingly as she rubbed her
friend�s back. Hermione had begun to cry again. �It�s just going to take time.�

Hermione wiped the tears from her eyes determinedly and
looked at Ginny. �If it were anyone else, maybe. But Malfoy? How can Ron forgive me?�

Ginny was silent for a moment. She wanted to assure Hermione
that Ron cared about her and would forgive her eventually no matter what, but
she couldn�t be sure. Especially because the War made
Hermione�s perceived offense even greater.

Hermione let the silence stretch as they both gazed at the
floor, until she finally gathered the courage to ask her next question. �Do you
think I�m a complete idiot, turning Ron down like that?�

�No,� Ginny said, before adding hesitantly, �Though I have
to admit that I�m surprised you�re still seeing Malfoy.�

Hermione forced down the lump in her throat. �Did you expect
something to go wrong by now?�

Ginny chose her next words carefully. �What I expected
doesn�t matter. He�s still interested, isn�t he? And he hasn�t hurt you. That�s
something.�

�I never expected him to� to want me for this long,�
Hermione said softly.

Ginny pondered that thought for a moment. �I asked you
before if you thought he cared about you...�

Hermione remembered her response very clearly: What does Draco Malfoy
care about besides himself?

�I don�t know what to think about how he feels,� Hermione
sighed in exasperation. �He can be gentle... Sometimes we laugh. There�s more
to him than I could have imagined. But I don�t know how he feels about me.�

�Do you know how you feel about him?�

She asked herself that question almost daily, and still
Hermione had no answer. Her silence seemed to be enough for Ginny, though, and
she stood, squeezing Hermione�s shoulder as she moved to the door. As her hand
touched the knob she turned back toward her friend.

�It�s not wrong, what you�re doing,� Ginny said. �It�s
difficult, and complicated, but don�t let Ron or anyone else make you feel as
if it�s wrong.�

Hermione nodded and gave her friend a sad smile as Ginny
left and closed the door behind her.

You haven�t done
anything wrong, he�d said. And now Ginny had said the same. She really wished
she could believe them. But how could she be blameless when what she was doing
with Draco was causing one of her best friends so much pain?

*****

Draco returned to the dormitories without incident. If any
of the other boys were awake, they showed no sign. They were used to him coming
and going as he pleased. As he stripped off his uniform, he felt the bulge of
Granger�s tie in his pocket. He pulled it out and absently threw it into his
trunk. He�d have to remember to give it back to her later.

*****

Breakfast in the Great Hall the next morning was a subdued
affair. Hermione and Ginny sat across from each other, but Hermione was in no
mood to talk. Ron stormed past them and stopped only to glare around the hall,
apparently to see if Hermione was watching any other boys, before taking a seat
next to Dean and Seamus. Ginny rolled her eyes at him, but Hermione only stared
resolutely at her toast.

Draco watched Weasley�s tantrum
from the other side of the hall, observing that Granger had not exaggerated the
ginger git�s reaction to her rejection. If he wasn�t
sure that Granger would stop seeing him if Weasley found out, he�d give away the secret in a
heartbeat. It was going to be even more difficult sneaking about now that Weasley was on the alert, and
Draco didn�t much fancy having to deal with Granger�s guilt and paranoia about
the whole thing. Plus he�d have the perk of being able to throw the truth in Wealey�s face. That prospect alone made Draco sorely
tempted to let the secret out.

But he couldn�t. He wouldn�t risk her refusing to see him.
He couldn�t count on his own drawing power to keep her coming back if she were
that angry with him. Draco chanced a glance at her. She sat rigid, staring
blankly at her plate, ignoring the scathing looks Weasley
was directing at her. Then she got up, collected her school things, and left
without a backward glance. He wanted to follow her. No, that would be too
obvious. Chances were that Weasley wasn�t that
perceptive, but he still shouldn�t risk it. He�d simply have to wait. Draco did
not like waiting.

*****

Classes with Draco had already been tense of late, but it
was even worse now that Hermione and Ron weren�t speaking. Without Harry there,
there was no one else in their year besides Ron that she could pair up with or
talk to in classes. Professor Slughorn seemed
oblivious to the fact that Ron and Hermione had had a falling out, and paired
them together as usual for their Potions assignment. Most unluckily, they were
forced to share a table with Draco and Blaise Zabini.

Ron seemed to think that shunning Hermione was more
important than getting a decent mark for his potion, which would require asking
her for help, so he forged ahead without knowing what he was doing. Hermione
forced herself to keep her eyes off of Draco as she began figuring out which
ingredients she�d need. Draco and Zabini seemed to be
boredly discussing how to proceed as she went to the
store cupboard.

When she got back to the table, more seemed to be brewing
than Scintillation Solution. Ron had apparently spilled half the contents of
his cauldron onto the table, and the potion was ruining the Slytherins�
carefully organized ingredients. Without thinking, Hermione began to siphon off
the spilled liquid with her wand, hoping to stop the worst of the damage. Ron,
however, batted her hand away and glared daggers at her.

�I don�t need your help, Hermione!� he snapped.

Hermione took a step back, remembering herself. Zabini raised an eyebrow and Draco smirked.

�What�s the matter, Weasley? Split
up with your girlfriend?� Zabini taunted.

Ron turned bright red. �She�s not my�!�

Draco cut him off. �Well, let me be the first to
congratulate you, Weasley,� he drawled. �Blood traitor�s only a small step up from mudblood,
but it is a step up. You don�t need her dragging you down even lower.�

Zabini chuckled lowly as Hermione
tried to keep her face expressionless. It was good, she told herself, for Draco
to act this way around Zabini and Ron. He had to act
as if she meant as little to him as she always had. But why did he have to be
such a good actor?

�I don�t know, Draco,� Zabini said
smoothly, his eyes landing on Hermione. �Maybe Granger�s the one who broke it
off. After all, the Head Girl might be ashamed to be seen with such a sorry
excuse for a wizard.�

Ron bristled, and Hermione kept her gaze resolutely on her
textbook, though she couldn�t keep her cheeks from burning.

�You know, you may be right,� Draco said to Blaise conversationally. The taunts came back to him as
easily as riding a broomstick. �Better a mudblood who
can work a wand than a blood traitor with no talent for magic whatsoever.�

He turned to Hermione, who met his mocking eyes, even though
it took the last ounce of her Gryffindor courage. �Hey Granger, if you need a
shoulder to cry on, I think I�ve got a spare set of robes that I could burn
afterwards.�

Zabini snickered and looked
Hermione up and down appraisingly. �I�d give her more than my shoulder. Looks like she could use it.�

Draco forced down the possessiveness that had flared up at Blaise�s words, and sneered, �Not for all the galleons at Gringott�s. It�d take too long to wash the dirt off when I
was done.�

Hermione�s eyes fell. She looked at Ron, but he was working
on his potion again, and seemed to be pretending not to hear the exchange. She
had been spoiled by the last few months, she supposed. She had forgotten how
cruel Draco could be. She had forgotten why she used to hate him so much. She
was the only one there besides Draco who knew the irony of his words in the
light of how many times he had touched her in passion. She knew it was an act,
but it still hurt.

She couldn�t think of anything to say in response. No witty
retort. But she was saved by Slughorn, who appeared a
moment later and asked jovially, �How�re we all doing over here? Tut tut, three of you have barely begun! Miss Granger, are you
quite all right? I�d�ve expected you to be nearly
finished by now!�

Hermione smiled falsely at the professor and began cutting
up some roots. �Sorry, Professor. The boys were trying
to figure out who had the largest gurdyroot, but I
think we�ve got it sorted now.�

With that, she began working on her potion, and as soon as Draco
and Zabini recovered, they started theirs as well.

She was almost as good of an actor as he was, Draco thought
to himself as Blaise went to the store cupboard. But
he could see the part of her hurt that was real. She would thank him later,
though. The altercation would definitely throw Weasley
off their scent for a while, and that was what she wanted.

The table was silent for the rest of the class period.

*****

Draco was finished before Granger for once. No doubt she was
determined to make up for all the time she�d lost and get the potion perfect.
He didn�t want to hang around to witness the tension between her and Weasley, so he left.

It was the last class of the day, and he wanted a chance to
get Granger on her own before dinner, so he waited in
the hallway, telling Blaise to go on without him. Weasley stalked past him without a second glance, and he
watched as the rest of their classmates filed up to the Great Hall.

Finally she walked by, seemingly intent upon ignoring him as
well, but he grabbed her by the arm.

�What do you want?� Hermione asked,
her voice icy.

�You,� he said with a confident smirk, but she seemed immune
to his charm. Nevertheless, as he pulled her toward the nearest classroom and
shut the door behind them, she didn�t put up much of a fight.

�We�re supposed to be at dinner,� she said as she freed
herself from his grip.

Draco shrugged. �I�m not hungry.�

�Well maybe I am.� Hermione crossed her arms in irritation
and leaned against the nearest wall. She was in no mood for Malfoy�s
games.

�You�ve no right to be angry,� Draco said calmly.

Her face flushed. �Don�t I?�

�No,� was Draco�s firm response. �I did what you wanted. I
made Weasley think I would never touch you.�

�You needn�t have been quite so convincing,� Hermione
scowled.

�Anything less would�ve given us away, to both Weasley and Zabini! Use that
brain, Granger!�

She looked away from him, still upset, but more at the fact
that she knew he was right than because of how he had insulted her.

�You can�t tell me that you believed any of that.� Draco
gritted his teeth in exasperation. �Grow up, Granger.�

�I never know whether you�re lying,� she protested.

�You should be glad I�m good at lying! I�m trying to keep
your precious secret safe.�

Hermione sighed, feeling more than a little foolish for
being so upset about a silly insult. �Maybe you�re too good at it.�

�Then don�t listen to what I say.� Draco pinned her against
the wall and kissed her roughly without warning, grinding his hips into hers,
letting his fingers tangle in her hair.

Hermione�s body responded immediately and she arched into him, returning his kiss in kind, shivering at
the almost painful way he tugged at her hair. She understood the point he was
making: no matter what they said, their bodies didn�t lie to one another. She
knew he was trying to keep Ron from finding out about them. What did it matter
what he said compared with what he conveyed through his hands, his lips? And if
somehow even his touch were a lie, she wasn�t sure she cared as long as she had
it.

Draco pulled away from the kiss and looked into Granger�s
eyes. �You�re nothing to me.�

His lips crashed against hers once more and the kiss was
fierce and passionate and then it was over. Before Hermione could recover,
Draco had pulled away and left the room.

*****

A/N: Okay, so I know this was kind of a transitional
chapter, but I think it�s necessary. Hopefully you guys can enjoy this
breathing space before we move ahead. I�m sorry it took me a while to update,
but life is busy and unfortunately fic-writing can�t
come first. I appreciate your patience and I hope you�re all still enjoying the
story. Rest assured that I intend to see this fic
through to the end, which is drawing near, so even if it takes me a little
while to update, I�ll still get there. Thank you all for your continued support
by reading and reviewing. I don�t want anyone to ever feel obligated to review,
but it is nice to know that you guys are out there enjoying what I�m writing,
and it�s very motivating to think of all of you waiting for the next chapter
when I�m trying to motivate myself to write!

kazfeist�Thank you! I certainly hope so, though I�m sure there will
be rough patches along the way, as there are for everyone. Who knows what Draco�s
going to do at this point? He does seem protective of Hermione, but it�s so
tough to make him commit to anything. Guess we�ll see!

MegNutz�Thanks! Sorry that you
thought it was taking so long, but really even though a month is a long time,
it�s not so long in the grand scheme of writing. When you get really busy, a
week can go by without writing and you can barely notice! But I�m glad the
chapter seems to have been worth waiting for and that you really liked it.
Thanks for reading!

angeles�Thanks :) I plan to keep them coming until the end!

Liz�Thanks! I�m enjoying the engagement and working through
the health stuff.

Draco_Lover�Yeah, these two seem
to have a lot of trouble working out how they feel, don�t they? It can be very
frustrating to write, but that just seems to be how they work! I�m not sure
what to feel about Ron. I mean, I can�t blame him for loving Hermione, and for
being shy about it, but he can handle things in the wrong way sometimes. I don�t
think he�s a bad guy, just an awkward one with bad timing.

caseyjarryn�I hope they can remain friends, too. Sometimes it�s hard to
accept that the person you�re in love with doesn�t see you that way. So I feel
a little bad for Ron, even if he didn�t handle things very well. As for Draco,
who knows what he�ll do? He�s such an unpredictable guy!

jaceni�Thanks! That�s a big compliment, since I spend a ton of
time trying to get my characterization right. Glad you�re enjoying the fic, and I hope that you continue to do so!

RomanceJunkky�Haha, yes I do know
that feeling, but I�m glad you don�t feel that way about my fic!
Thanks for the love :)

wonderwall05�No worries, reviews are optional. Plus, you
gave me a huge compliment! I love PWP as much as the next person, but I do
think that when there�s good plot and characterization, it can make the smutty
stuff much better. I�m really glad you�re enjoying the fic
and I really appreciate you taking the time to tell me so. Hope you like the
rest of it!

scarletwitchextreme�Haha
Scarlet you always write the longest reviews! Please don�t be stressed about
reviewing: I understand how crazy and busy life can get, and I hope your mom is
feeling better and that you had a wonderful birthday. Glad you liked Narcissa and Lucius: that part
turned out a lot better than I expected and I really like it now, too. I can�t
promise you a whole fic, but I can probably do a drabble or a one-shot. I know you want a surprise, but
some guidelines would really help me figure out what to write. What pairing do
you want? I love Dramione, but I�m open to writing
other pairs or trios. What kind of genre (romance, comedy, etc)? What rating?
If you have a livejournal account that would make
things much easier for me. If you do, my LJ name is �lennanightrun�
and you should friend me. A lot of great Dramione
authors are on LJ. If not, I�ll hang on to your e-mail and get back to you when
I have a chance. It may take me a while since I�ve been so busy, but I won�t
forget about you. Anyway, back to the review: I don�t blame Hermione for feeling
bad for Ron. I mean, they are best friends and she does care about him. I think
it would be hard to just let all of that go. Yeah, Draco has a hard time
expressing how he feels, but hopefully he�ll get there in the end. I guess we�ll
have to wait and see! I�m not completely well, but it�s an ongoing progress and
I�m happy and able to work and write, so that�s the important part. Take care!
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Lessons and Obsessions