A/N: I like this and so I'm leaving it short. There's nothing but fluff and they deserve that. I'm heading straight into the next chapter so hopefully I'll have more of the story posted this afternoon or this evening.
Be patient…
And thanks for all the support…
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Draco's Role
"Oh, Harry. You would've died if you'd seen him." She said as she tried hard to contain her laughter. "I know I really need to cut him slack now, but this is just too funny." She was laughing hard and having trouble speaking.
Harry found himself laughing with her without the faintest idea of what was so funny. He just loved watching her and it was wonderful to see her looking so happy; she looked as though she had no cares in the world and that was as it should be. "So, what did he do?" He asked, trying to bring her back down…just a little…just enough to let him in on what happened.
"I'm sorry, Harry." She said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Draco was…(laughter) he was…(more laughter)…"
"Come on, Hermione. Give me a break here." Harry said smiling. "Just tell me already."
She put her hand on his shoulder and took a deep breath in an effort to control her laughter, "He was my FAIRY GODMOTHER!" She shouted. "I mean, God…FATHER." She was laughing so hard that her eyes started to water again. She stopped suddenly and held her stomach. "I'll be back, Harry. I gotta go!" She said as she stood up on unsteady legs and made her way to the bathroom.
Harry watched her as she walked away; he stopped laughing so he could listen to her laughter as it echoed around the infirmary before it died away. This is exactly how it should be, he thought, this is what she deserves. "Draco Malfoy, the godfather, huh?" Harry picked up the Cinderella book and looked at the fairy godmother. He began to laugh as he tried to picture Draco in that dress…
"What are you thinking about, Harry?" He was laughing when he turned to find Hermione walking back to her bed, a smile still lighting her face.
"Oh." He held up the book. "I was just trying to picture Malfoy in the godmother's dress."
Hermione laughed as she climbed back on the bed and moved to sit near him. "I did the same thing when I saw him there." She said. "You should have seen him though. He may not have been in the dress but oh man…" She was shaking her head and laughing at the memory of Draco in tights.
"Well? Are you going to tell me?" He asked anxiously.
"All right, Harry, hang on. I was just picturing it first." She said as she slowly opened her eyes. "Well, it would have been more memorable if he'd been wearing the dress, but he was wearing…oh, Harry…you're not gonna believe this…"
"Hermione Jane Gra…"
"Okay, okay. Tights, Harry. He was wearing tights and a ruffled shirt and a plumed hat." She said laughing.
Harry's shoulders shook as he fought to hold back his laughter. "No way. You're kidding me, right?" He half-laughed. His nostrils began to flare and his shoulders shook before he finally could not contain it anymore and he burst out laughing. "Oh man. I really wish that hadn't been a dream. That's something I'd pay money to see. The best spent galleon ever, I'd imagine."
"Oh, Harry. It was so funny. I really wish you could've seen him." She said as her laughter subsided and she prepared to tell him the rest of Draco Malfoy's role…
Harry laid his head back on the pillow as she continued to recount the tale of Draco's role in her dream. He loved watching her; he'd always loved watching her, everything about her fascinated him. It was the first time in a long time he'd seen her so excited about something and the animated way in which she was talking soon overshadowed the story she was telling. I'll have to make sure I pay closer attention when she tells Ron about this; right now all I want to do is watch. I could do thi…
"…skirt, and boots to my knees."
"What?" Harry said suddenly, shaking his head to clear away his own thoughts. "What did you just say?"
Hermione turned to him with a start. "What, Harry? Haven't you been listening to me?"
"Yes, well...yeah…of course I have," he stammered, visibly flustered by the fact he'd been found out, "I just…"
Hermione was shaking her head and laughing at him. "You weren't listening were you?" She chided.
"No." Harry admitted reluctantly. "But it was only because…"
She placed her finger on his lips. "It's all right, Harry, you don't always have to explain. Just don't expect me to repeat the part of the story you just missed." She said as she raised her eyebrows. He laughed at the mischief in her eyes.
"Oh, you'll tell me." He laughed as he pulled her to him and started tickling her. "I'll make sure of that."
Hermione fought to pull away from him but he held on tight. She was laughing so hard her stomach was beginning to hurt and she was having trouble getting the words out, "O…kay…Har…ry…stop."
"Tell me what I missed, Hermione," he said through his own laughter, "tell me and I'll stop."
She tried to take a breath through her laughter, "Okay…stop…I'll tell…you."
He stopped tickling her but he didn't remove his hands from her sides. She was lying across his side with her arm on his chest, her face a few inches from his own and a smile that lit up her eyes in a way he'd never seen before. God she's beautiful, he thought.
She watched as his eyes changed in an instant, from the brighter green of laughter to a darker, deeper green of desire. She watched him as he watched her and she could feel the tension as her body tightened in anticipation of his kiss. She licked her lips and moved closer to him. He smiled as she closed the distance between them. Closer…closer…
"AHHHH!" Hermione screamed as Harry began to tickle her once again.
"Thought you could distract me, didn't you?" He said through his laughter. He stopped abruptly but once again refused to let go of her. "Come on, Hermione, I want to hear about the boots and…um, skirt, was it?"
Hermione smacked him on the shoulder as her laughter finally began to recede. "That was so not fair, Harry, you know that, don't you?" She said in mock frustration. He just smiled at her and raised his eyebrows in response.
"All right. You win." She said with a great show of feigned annoyance. "As I was saying, Draco was teasing me about how in the role of the fairy godf…"
"Wait a minute!" Harry interrupted. "The fairy?" He burst out laughing again. "Draco the `fairy' godfather? Oh, that's rich! I bet he liked that! This is too good. I can't wait until Ron hears about this."
"You really weren't paying attention to me, were you?" She said with a trace of annoyance.
"I'm sorry, Hermione, really. I got so caught up in watching you that I stopped listening to what you were saying." He said thoughtfully. "I did hear something about boots and a skirt though." He added hopefully.
Hermione shook her head. "Men!"
"Ah, come on, Hermione. I'm listening now, I promise. In fact, I'll even close my eyes so I all I can hear is your voice. See, look…" He said as laid back on the pillow and squeezed his eyes shut.
Hermione laughed. "All right." She said again. "I told you already that Draco had a real problem with being called a fairy anything. We kept going back and forth, teasing each other. I was teasing him about the dress and how funny his role was and he was teasing me about how he'd get to `dress' me for the ball." Harry's eyes and mouth simultaneously opened wide and Hermione laughed. "You look like a fish, Harry. Close your mouth." His mouth snapped shut but his eyes remained wide as she continued, "Stop looking like that. I told him he wasn't there to dress me, that I could handle that part myself if I needed to." Harry breathed a sigh of relief and laid his head back on the pillow.
"Okay," he said, sounding pleased, "go on."
"Thanks." She said as she rolled her eyes at him, men! "Anyway, he produced this beautiful carriage with a driver and some of the most magnificent horses I've ever seen. His magic was brilliant, Harry. Then he smirked when he looked at me in the old dress I was wearing. When he waved his wand my outfit changed to a tight, sleeveless shirt that showed way too much stomach and a micro-mini skirt that showed way too much leg. To top it off, he put me in a pair of knee-high boots. I tried to cover myself up and I yelled at him to fix it. He told me I was no fun, but he fixed it anyway. You should have seen it, Harry; he put me in the most beautiful blue satin dress. I've never felt so beautiful in my life. After that he helped me into the carriage and then sent me on my way." She opened her eyes slowly, a soft smile on her face, as the memory of the dress and Draco and the fun she'd had faded away. She raised her eyes and found Harry staring out her with an expression she hadn't seen before and for a moment she felt uneasy.
"What, Harry? Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked anxiously.
Harry shook his head and looked directly at her before he spoke, "So, you mean to tell me that Draco Malfoy has seen more of you then I have?"
Hermione laughed as she released the breath she'd been holding. "Oh, Harry. You're hopeless, you know that? Hopeless!"
"What?" He asked innocently, "What did I say?"
Hermione just shook her head and continued to smile at him. She'd never admit to him that she couldn't wait for the day when he'd see more of her…especially since it meant she'd see more of him!
"You know, Hermione, I lied earlier." He said softly as he reached up to caress her cheek.
"About what?" She sighed contentedly.
"I'd much rather pay money to see you in that outfit then to see Draco in tights." He said softly as his eyes darkened once again.
She closed her eyes and smiled before she moved closer to him. She was near enough to kiss him when she stopped to whisper, "One day you'll see me in less than that…and it won't cost you a thing."
She looked into his eyes as he moved his hand to the back of her head and pulled her to him in a passionate kiss; a kiss that held promises of forever within its depths. Hermione felt like she would fly away if she let go and so she held on tight and made a silent vow to never let go.
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