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In Need of a Little Comfort	By : Monddame Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 45107 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter franchinse; I never have and I never will. Furthermore, I am not making any money whatsoever from this submission...even though it would be nice...but that's illegal...but still...

Chapter List
- 1-In Need of a Little Comfort
- 2-2
- 3-3
- 4-4
- 5-5
- 6-6
- 7-7
- 8-8
- 9-9
- 10-10
- 11-11
- 12-12
- 13-13
- 14-14
- 15-15
- 8
- 9
- 10
I wanted to get the chapter about the Halloween dance posted by Halloween. Pllllh. That didn�t happen. Especially since this chapter decided it wasn�t quite ready for the dance. Alas�next one! Also, if after this chapter you�re still confused about the third narrator, have no fear. The next chapter will name names, promise.

*

Hermione brushed a stray tear away as she pulled on her costume for the dance. Her meeting with Ron hadn�t gone as badly as it could have; no hexes were exchanged at least. But it certainly wasn�t a nice, understanding heart to heart either.

When he walked into the Room of Requirement, which had fashioned itself into a comfortable little library immediately calming some of her anxiety, he had looked extremely apprehensive and wary for some reason; but then again, so was she. He hadn�t more than settled into the chair across from hers in front of the pleasantly crackling fireplace before she jumped up to pace back and forth a bit. Taking a deep breath, she returned to her chair and looked Ron straight in the eye, drawing on every iota of Gryffindor courage that she possessed.

�Ron, you and I have been friends for a very long time, and I think it�s time we got something straight.�

�Why isn�t Harry here? Shouldn�t he be here? To hear what you�ve got to say?� He interrupted her, clearing his throat anxiously, and looking around like they shouldn�t begin their conversation without him, or possibly an escape route. His behavior was odd, but she was much too nervous for it to register properly.

�Um, Harry already knows what I�m going to say, mostly.� Ron shifted agitatedly in his seat and she rushed on to reassure him. �But don�t be mad, he only found out yesterday, and really only because he�d been noticing the signs and asked me himself.�

His eyes widened marginally, and he looked a great deal more uncomfortable than before.

�I just want you to know, Ron, that this won�t change anything. You and I will always be friends, no matter what, but this is just something that I have to pursue.�

At that, the redhead popped up from his chair and held his hands out in front of him as if the placate her but form a barrier between them at the same time.

�Now�now listen, �Mione, I don�t want to hurt your feelings, but�but I just�I don�t think you should. I think�no, I know that it won�t go anywhere.� Her eyes began to fill with tears at his words.

�I know that it seems impossible now, but there�s always a chance that something�� She hadn�t even really told him all the details�or really any details, and already he was condemning her relationship to inevitable failure.

�No, �Mione, nothing is going to happen. It just�can�t. I�m sorry, but it�s just not a�mutual feeling.� She gasped as her tears began to escape down her face.

�How�how can you say that? How do you know? How could you know that?� He ran a hand through his vibrant hair, looking like he�d rather sink through the floor than continue this conversation.

�Because�because I�I�� A wild look stole into his eyes that usually meant he was going to do something extremely daring, and probably pretty stupid. �Because I like someone else, that�s why!�

�W-what?� Her brows knit together and her tears dried instantly as she quickly realized that they were having two separate conversations. That or Ron�s brand of logic was more seriously flawed than she thought.

�I know, �Mione; I�m so sorry. It just happened so suddenly, and I couldn�t really control it.� Abruptly he kneeled in front of her and took one of her little hands in his own large ones and proceeded to plead with her. �But, like you said, we�ll still be friends, right? We can still be friends, can�t we? Even though I can�t return your�um, feelings.�

Part of her wanted to laugh: he thought this was about him. But another part was shocked into immobility: he didn�t want her? She knew it shouldn�t matter, because she didn�t want him like that either, but it still�hurt to hear it from his own mouth. Selfish, Hermione.

�Of-of course we can, Ron.�

He sagged forward in relief, as if the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders. He gathered her up into a brief hug before standing and beginning to start backing toward the door.

�Thanks �Mione! I�m so glad. I wouldn�t want to lose you.� He was nearly to the door while she was still frozen in place, numbed by his confession, before she blurted out the first thing that came to mind to get him to stay and hear her out.

�I�m sleeping with Malfoy!� She cringed. Stupid, overworked brain.

He froze in place, as still as a statue before slowly turning back around toward her. His face was void of emotion, which for Ron was a very, very bad thing. He just stood there staring at her for a moment before he seemed to shake himself from his stupor and really saw her there.

�You�what?� Cautiously, she approached him, searching his face for something, anything to help her figure out how best to proceed.

�I didn�t ask you here to discuss my feelings for you Ron. I really like you, I do. And I always will. But I realized some time ago that we�re just not right for each other. We would never really make each other happy. And I want you to be happy Ron. And I want me to be happy too. And�and being with�Draco, being with Draco makes me happy. He likes me, quite a lot it seems. And I�m beginning to really like him too. I know it hardly makes sense, but�� She trailed off, not knowing what more to say, frightened by Ron�s persistent silence. Hesitantly she reached out and touched his arm. �Ron?�

Jerking violently, he pulled away from her as if burned. He continued to look at her for a long minute, his visage slowly gaining anger. His cheeks turned pink, while the rest of his face paled, making his freckles stand out against his skin. His hands began to shake and she took a fearful step away from him. She didn�t really believe he would, but she was still a bit worried that if he were angry enough with her he might hit her.

�What? How� You�with� BLOODY FUCKING HELL, HERMIONE!�

�I know, I know! But�like you said�it just�it just happened.�

�Malfoy?!�

�Yes, he-�

�You�re�FUCKING MALFOY?!�

�Ronald! It�s�it�s more than that.�

�More?! What more could you being doing?� His face suddenly paled completely and he looked at her with horror. �Holy Merlin, you�re not�you�re not�pregnant, are you?�

�No, I�m not, but that�s hardly the point here!� This was why she hated arguing with Ron. There was no point/counterpoint logic involved; it was all emotional spit balling until he�d had a few days to calm down.

�Point?! There is no fucking point! How could you do this, Hermione? How could you do this to me, to Harry?�

�What in Merlin�s magical menagerie does this have to do with you and Harry?! In case you�ve forgotten, Ronald, I don�t belong to you. I�m an adult and I can see whomever I choose.�

�See? You mean you�re�you�re dating him?!� He threw up his hands and actually stomped his foot like a little girl. �Oh, this just keeps getting better and better. Next you�re going to tell me you�re getting married and Narcissa Malfoy is handing off her pureblood society queen crown to you. I�m sure that would go over well.�

�Shut UP! Shut up, shut up, shut up! It�s my decision Ron! And if I decided someday to marry him that would be my decision too! It isn�t up to you!�

�Wha-�if�well maybe it should be my decision if you�re going to pick an evil, slimy, snobby, arse-faced ponce like Malfoy!�

It was Hermione�s turn to throw up her hands and let out an enraged, frustrated shriek. Yes, this was definitely why she preferred arguing with Harry if she had to argue at all.

�Don�t call him those things!� She stomped over to the door and threw it open, turning in the doorway to see him red-faced, but rooted to the spot. Good, she didn�t want him following her, spouting more of his inane vitriol at her all the way to her common room. �You�re an idiot!�

�Oh, I�m an idiot?! I�m not the one taking up with a MALFOY! If anyone�s an i-� But, mercifully, she didn�t hear the rest as the door swung closed and cut off his tirade as she marched down the hall toward her room.

But that had been hours ago, and after forgoing dinner in favor of lying on her bed in full on pity party mode she still didn�t feel any better. She brushed aside another tear hoping that somehow Ginny would be able to get her boys to see reason. She didn�t expect them to suddenly become best friends with Draco. For fuck�s sake, she didn�t even expect them to be friends at all! Surely a little tense civility wasn�t too much to ask for, was it?

What a pity the dance had to be this evening. She certainly didn�t feel like going anymore, not even to satisfy her curiosity about Draco�s dancing abilities. With a heavy sigh she headed for the bathroom to wash the tears off her face and begin spelling her hair and face into compliance with her costume.

*

He spent as much of the day watching her as he could without calling attention to himself by varying too widely from his regular pattern. She was despondent after breakfast, not venturing to meet his gaze at any point. Even that oh so annoyingly endearing need to answer every question posed in class was subdued. He frowned when she gave only the bare minimum response to a question sent directly her way. Whatever that shit-head had said was clearly still bothering her. But whatever it had been, Draco couldn�t confront the bespectacled boor before he knew what was going on, because Potter certainly wasn�t going to tell him anything.

He gritted his teeth when she didn�t show up to lunch. She had this ridiculous tendency to skip meals when she was distracted or upset, and he knew that she would let herself get into the same malnourished state she had been in the week before if left to her own devices.

But then she seemed to come out of it a bit after lunch, giving him a little hope that she was going to be alright. Unfortunately, it didn�t last; as the afternoon wore down, so had her mood. And then, she�d missed dinner too! He growled as he watched a pissed off looking Weasley hiss quietly with an equally ticked Potter while the little Weasley � Ginny � looked on with an apprehensive look on her face. Barely tasting his food, he swore to himself that if the witch missed one more meal he was going to Imperiuse her and force her to eat. She should know better than to starve herself to death just because Potter and Weasley were brainless gits.

Intent on having it out with her before the dance, Draco stalked up to their common room determined to get the whole story and to also elicit a promise not to miss any more meals from the curly-haired girl. Honestly, sometimes he wondered if her brilliance came at the price of a lack of basic common sense.

The common room was empty, but her schoolbag had been unceremoniously dumped just inside the doorway indicating both that she was inside their quarters and that she was very upset about something. Hermione never left things lying around, especially any of her precious books. Entering his room to drop off his own bag, he heard muffled sounds coming from their shared bathroom. As he neared the door he recognized the sound with sharp pang in his stomach. She was crying.

Softly opening the door he felt his breath leave his chest with a whoosh at the sight that greeted him. Dressed in a demure white gown of swathed, white fabric, reminiscent of a Greek chiton, her hair half pinned to her head in glossy curls, half hanging down her back in its normal haphazard fashion, she was sitting in the claw foot bathtub, her knees to her chest, as she sobbed quietly for the second time in as many days. With a horrible, cold, wrenching feeling in his gut, Draco entered the room and wedged himself behind her in the tub, drawing her into his lap and turning her to rest her head on his shoulder. Unwrapping her arms from around her knees, she wound them around his shoulders and pressed her hot face to his neck, whimpering as she took in shuddering breaths trying to control herself. He rubbed her back gently, waiting as patiently as he could while she calmed down.

�Please tell me what�s wrong, kitten.�

�I�m s-sorry, Dr-draco.� He frowned, hoping she wasn�t preemptively apologizing for not being able or willing to tell him anything.

�Whatever for, you silly thing?�

�For b-being s-such a bothersome�g-girl with all m-m-my tears.� Smoothing her still unmanaged hair away from her face, he kissed her lightly, her lips tasting slightly salty.

�Don�t be ridiculous, Hermione. The only thing that�s bothersome is that you won�t tell me what�s upsetting you.� Tears began to well up in her eyes once more, and she bit her lip fiercely before hiding her face against his neck again.

�I�I don�t w-want to tell you. You�ll be angry.�

�I promise not to get angry at you; please just tell me.� She shook her head into his shoulder, her breathing calming steadily.

�Not at me.� She tilted her face away from her hiding place and looked up at him, her eyes bright, shiny amber from being bathed in her sorrow. �Promise me you won�t hex anybody and I�ll tell you.� He frowned again, not wanting to agree if someone�if Potter had upset her so badly she felt the need to demand such a promise. But he was fairly certain she wouldn�t tell him if he didn�t.

�Alright, I promise not to hex anyone in light of what you tell me.� Her eyes narrowed, and despite her tears her lips curved up a bit into a slight smile.

�And no finding convenient other reasons to hex the involved parties that don�t have to do with what I tell you.� He smiled, caught in his Slytherin attempt to work around her promise. Too clever for her own good by half, this one.

�Fine, I promise not to hex the involved parties in any situation other than one that might have induced hexing before the knowledge of what you tell me.� She smiled a bit brighter at him, belying her exasperated sigh.

�Wouldn�t it be easier just to promise not to hex them at all?�

�Of course it would, but since that�s not going to happen, you might as well just tell me already.� She smiled at him fondly with an amused shake of her head dispelling some of the cold dread in his abdomen. But her smile faded quickly as she returned to her previous line of thought.

�Yesterday�yesterday Harry asked me about�you. He�s noticed that we�that I�he figured out something had changed, and he asked me about it. I told him we were�friends. I didn�t really know what else to say. But he kept pushing me and pushing, and I�accidentally, maybe, sort of let it slip that we�that we had�were�are sleeping together. And, as I�m sure you can imagine, he took it rather badly. He doesn�t like you very much, you know.� Draco couldn�t keep from huffing in amusement; that was putting it lightly, and the feeling was certainly mutual. �He�he said he wasn�t sure�he didn�t know if he�if he could accept what I�d done. He�s like my brother, Draco. What�what if��

Her voice had descended to barely more than a whisper and tears started streaking out of her eyes once more. He felt a growl growing in his chest, but he restrained it, with a great deal of effort, sensing there was more.

�And then today, I told Ron. I had to, because Harry would have told him eventually, and then he�d be even more upset because I hadn�t told him myself. But�he thought I was talking about something else, and�and it came out wrong�and he�he just yelled at me.�

She began shaking silently as her tears began again in earnest and Draco felt pulled in two directions, consumed by his distress that this lovely girl was hurting at the hands of her �best friends� and by his fury at the two self-righteous bastards who only stuck by her when she was doing what they wanted her to. And he was also very put out that she�d made him promise not to hex the brace of fools who�d wounded her so. Still, even though it hadn�t been covered in his promise, Draco decided not to have someone else hex the fucking blockheads for him either, at least not yet. Fucking wankers.

Lifting her face from his shoulder, he began brushing her tears away with the pads of his thumbs, pressing gentle kisses to her lips over and over as he tried to soothe her.

�Enough. No more crying over those dolts. They�ll come around; they always do, don�t they? I�m sure they like you a great deal more than they hate me.� He turned her again so that she was straddling his lap and slid his hands up her thighs under the hem of her dress, which he assumed was part of her costume for the dance. �Besides, who needs them? You�ve already got one of the most handsome wizards in Britain at your mercy, in the bathtub no less.�

His words had the desired effect and she giggled a little, batting him lightly on the shoulder, before she leaned forward and snuggled against his chest for a moment.

�Thank you Draco.� Sitting up she smiled at him with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. �Who would have ever thought we�d see the day when you were comforting me over something Harry and Ron said to me, hmm? How do you feel at this reversal of roles, Mr. Malfoy?� He smirked at her as he slowly slid his hands further under her dress.

�Other than the need for me to comfort you at all, I like it just fine. Though, I do hope that the Boy-Wonder and his trusty Weasel sidekick never comforted you like I do.� His fingers slid under the fabric of her knickers and brushed against her clit, drawing a surprised gasp from her lips.

�No, they- oh!- certainly haven�t.� Her breathing rate picked up again and her eyes nearly closed in pleasure as he continued to stroke her. �Draco, we- Merlin- we shouldn�t. We�ll- oh yes- we�ll be late.�

�Don�t be silly, kitten. I�ll make sure we both come in plenty of time.� He gave her a naughty smirk and she nearly purred in response.

Unfortunately, Hermione didn�t get to have her way with him in the bathtub, because without water in it as a cushion, the porcelain tub was really too restrictive and quite uncomfortable. Not that the bathroom floor was all that much more comfortable, but at least there was a fluffy blue bathmat offering a little protection from the cool tile.

Lying with her in his arms in a post-orgasmic haze of fulfillment, the top of her dress pulled down exposing her full breasts, the skirt pooled up at her waist, he couldn�t help but bask in the delicious felicity of her interest in him. He also couldn�t quite keep his damn brain from utterly ruining the moment by whispering prayers that Potter wouldn�t serve an ultimatum to the lovely little lioness. Because he was quite certain that if she were forced to choose between himself and Potter he�d lose her. And he wasn�t ready for that. Not by a long shot. Maybe not ever.

He rolled on top of her, thinking he was just about ready for another round, when she started laughing and trying to wriggle away from him.

�No, no! If we don�t move to get ready now, we�ll never make it on time!� Groaning, he continued kissing her, gently tweaking one of her nipples.

�Can�t we just skip it, and go to bed instead?� She laughed again and gave him a soft smile as she stroked his face.

�Hmm, I think I would prefer that. But I don�t think it�s a good idea for the Head students to miss the first all-school event bar the Opening Feast. Besides, I want to see your costume.� He smirked at her and heaved an exaggerated sigh as he rolled off her onto his back next to her.

�Fine, but only if you promise that we can skip out of there as soon as possible.�

�Alright, although I�m not sure you�re going to agree with what I deem �as soon as possible.�� He groaned again. �But if you�re a good boy and don�t make any first years cry I�ll make it up to you when we get back.� Growling as he rolled back on top of her, he attacked her neck, kissing and nipping at her soft skin making her giggle.

�You�d better make good on that promise, witch.� Her eyes sparkled as she gently pushed him off of her and stood, adjusting her dress.

�Well, we�ll just see if you can mind your manners then, won�t we?�

With a sexy little wink, she picked up her wand off the counter and went into her room, closing the door quietly behind her. With a sigh at his unfulfilled lust he too stood, gathered up his discarded clothes and retreated to his own room to get ready. That little vixen had better not have had plans for tomorrow, because he had plans for keeping her up all night.

*

Nervously tugging on her charmed hair, she studied herself in the mirror. Fuck. This was definitely a bad idea. Not the charmed hair, her now waist-length ebony tresses looked fucking gorgeous. She was seriously considering just leaving them long even after the dance was over.

No, it was her costume, or the scraps of fabric that were trying to pass as a costume, that was worrying her. It had seemed like such a good idea at first, but now that she was actually approaching the moment of leaving her bedroom in such little clothing she was wondering if maybe she had gone too far.

A sudden image of his grey eyes flashing as he yelled at her in front of everyone had her squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin in defiance. Fuck it. She�d show him how it felt to be humiliated and what he was missing at the same time. Stupid bastard!

She felt a sudden flush heat her cheeks as those flashing grey eyes became a sparkling blue and her wayward subconscious wondered what he would think of her costume. She shook her head, her long hair whipping about her face, as she tried unsuccessfully to dislodge the ginger boy from her thoughts. She sighed heavily. Oh well, fuck that too. She would just enjoy his company tonight and begin a rigorous regimen of avoidance tomorrow.

*

A/N: So, I�ve had a significant decrease in reviews for the last few chapters (which doesn�t bother me personally, but rather artistically, I suppose) and I�m just wondering if there is something that is putting people off? I know indifference breeds apathy which equates to inaction, so if there is something about the way the story is progressing that you find unsatisfying please let me know! I crave the feedback to give me an idea of how I�m doing (because my own opinion is hardly reliable). I�d love to hear from the lurkers I know are out there too.

That being said, a hearty thank you to those who did review: angeles, Dreamweaver, Kayrox133, scoobysnakz (I am so jealous! Was he as good looking in person?), Harlot, and Sarah Whitman.

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In Need of a Little Comfort