Overdrive

Batgirl

Rating: PG13
Genres: Romance
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 4
Published: 03/06/2003
Last Updated: 04/06/2003
Status: in_progress

What happens when the hero of the wizarding world gives the commencement speech? WIll sparks fly? Well, that is kind of a given...

Chapters

1. What a Prat

2. Misunderstanding

1. What a Prat

Jill Normal Jill 2 194 2003-06-03T21:38:00Z 2003-06-03T21:38:00Z 5 2421 10197 192 32 12586 10.2625 Clean Clean MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

Overdrive by Batgirl

A/N: This is my second attempt at fanfiction, hope you like it! I realize that some of the Ron and Hermione moments may be OCC, but just go with it, ok? Let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: JKR is a creative genius, and I have “borrowed” some of her ideas, without permission. I am NOT a creative genius. All praise and accolade should be directed at JKR, without whom none of this would exist. That is all.

All eyes were on him as he approached the stage. Climbing the stairs, he rehearsed his speech in his head. Stepping up to the podium, he looked across the large crowd that was gathered for this momentous occasion. It wasn’t every day that the Boy-Who-Lived graduated from the most prestigious wizarding school in all of Britain. He looked at his fellow classmates, their families, the faculty and random faces of the wizarding population. There were reporters from The Daily Prophet, Witch Weekly, and numerous other wizarding publications. Several photographers had their cameras trained on him as he took in the crowd. He opened his mouth to speak, and his words were stuck as he found a certain face in the audience. If it weren’t for her, he wouldn’t be here right now, about to give the commencement speech at their graduation. He owed her so much, and he was unsure how to repay her. He winked at her and saw a blush creep onto her face. His face followed suit and he pointed his wand to his throat, whispered ‘sonorous’, and began his well rehearsed speech.

“Fellow students, faculty, family, friends, and gathered guests, it is my deep honor to be speaking here tonight. It has been a long seven years; it seems as though we were just floating across the lake for the first time, eyeing the mysterious castle of Hogwarts with wonder and awe, thinking of the great adventures we would have and lessons that we would learn within her walls. We have learned together, loved together, suffered together, and grown together. Hogwarts has become my home and the people in it my family.” He glanced out to Dumbledore, who had a twinkle in his eye and a tissue in his hand. “I have learned so much about myself and the world as a whole, and I will never be the same. We have all made friendships that are so precious, and formed lasting relationships that will stand the test of time. Now, more than ever, we need to keep these relationships sacred. Fear not about the future, for the future has nothing to fear but us. As we walk away today, diplomas in hand, remember the words that were once spoken to me by a great, great man: It does not do to dwell on dreams, and forget to truly live. Thank you,” He stepped away from the podium, whispered a ‘quietus’ and made his way down the stairs. He was lost in thought about plans for later that evening, and the roar of the crowd did nothing to bring his attention back to the present. But when he heard her voice, it snapped him back to attention. She launched herself into his arms, tears streaming down her face.

“Oh, Harry! That was amazing! I can’t believe how well you did! I’m so proud of you,” she planted a big kiss on his lips, and abruptly pulled away in shock and wonder. He was staring at her with the same look of confusion and wonder on his face. They had never crossed that line of friendship before, and he’d be damned if they never did it again! He reached his palm up to cup her cheek and leaned in for another kiss, this time staying for a good ten seconds. He pulled away, her eyes were still closed, and she had a serene, intensely happy look on her face.

“I have been waiting for that for about three years, Harry Potter,” she sighed into his shoulder, still enraptured by the feel of his arms around her shoulders.

“Me, too” he sighed in return, ruffling her hair with his soft breath. “Sorry it took me so long, I’m a prat.”

“It’s as much my fault as it is yours, I never thought you liked me, so I never gave you any indication that I liked you,” she felt a blush creep up to her face, as she noticed that there were several pairs of eyes trained on the two of them. One face had a look of shock, one had a look of amusement, one of anger, one of disappointment, and one of sheer joy. Hermione squeezed Harry’s shoulder, and whispered, “I think we have an audience, Harry.”

He turned around, and his coloring matched hers as he took in the wide array of emotions on the different faces watching them. Dumbledore had a twinkle in his eye as he winked at the couple, the amusement dripping from his face. Hagrid was shocked, he was certain that they would never share their mutual feelings of attraction to each other. The disappointment belonged to Ginny Weasley, she was convinced that she and Harry were destined for each other, but realized as she looked at them that they were not going to be separating any time soon. Sheer joy was shining in the face of a big black dog, his tongue was flopped out, and his tail was going a mile a minute. ‘Snuffles’ walked up to Harry and Hermione and licked each of their faces in congratulation. He was so happy that his Godson finally realized how madly in love he was with Hermione. The last face belonged to Ron Weasley. He was angry. Very angry. He had liked Hermione for two years now, but was waiting until after graduation to tell her. He was sure that he was in love with her, and thought that maybe she liked him, too. The fact that his best friend was doing that precise thing at that precise moment was too much for him, and he took off running in the direction of the castle.

“Oh, no,” Harry wondered whether he should go after him, but thought that maybe that wasn’t the best thing he could do right now. Ron looked pretty mad, and if Harry went after him, he was sure that he would return with a black eye, or a bloody nose, or worse. Hermione looked at him, kissed him on the cheek for reassurance, and took off after Ron.

“Ron! Wait up!” She called after him, running into the castle, in the direction of Gryffindor Tower. He didn’t seem to be slowing, so she chased him all the way there without a confrontation. Only when he got into the common room did he turn around and face her.

“Hermione. How could this happen? It wasn’t supposed to be this way. You are supposed to be with me. Not Harry, not Harry,” he sank onto the sofa in front of the fireplace, which was roaring despite the time of year. She sat down next to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

“Ron, I had no idea you felt this way about me. Why didn’t you say anything before?” she asked him.

He blushed, sighed, and looked her in the eye. “Well, I don’t know, I guess I was afraid you would tell me that you didn’t like me like that, and that you were madly in love with Harry. I guess I knew deep down that you liked him, but I never wanted to admit that to myself. As long as I never heard it from you, I could pretend it wasn’t true. I’m sorry Hermione. I’m so sorry.” He put his head in his hands and tried to calm his breathing. She thought about what he said, and wondered how many other people knew she had liked Harry, and wondered why nobody ever said anything.

“I’m sorry, too, Ron. I won’t say that I wish I could change the way I feel about Harry, because I am sure that I love him. I can’t just turn that off. I hope that we can still be friends; you mean so much to me. I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose you,” she touched his shoulder, and pulled him in for a hug,

“Thanks, Hermione, I think we can still be friends. I want you to be happy, and if happiness will come with Harry, then I want you to be with Harry. He’s my best mate, and I know that he’s a great guy. Besides, if he treats you bad, I know where he lives!” He laughed and pulled away from her. “I’m going to go find my family, I’m sure they’ll be wanting photographs or something.” He got up and exited through the portrait hole. She sat there and watched him, her emotions going into overdrive and taking over her. Ron had changed so much over the last seven years. He was no longer a gangly boy with a large nose. He had grown into his frame, and added muscle to his lean body. He was actually quite handsome, but Hermione had never wondered before why he never had a girlfriend. Now she knew. Tears began slipping out of her eyes, and she didn’t see the figure enter through the portrait hole five minutes later. Harry came and sat next to her, pulling her onto his lap, and into a hug.

“’Mione? What’s the matter?” He asked her tenderly. She threw her arms around his neck and let the tears fall.

“There is just so much going through my head right now. I mean, I just found out that my best friend has feelings for me, which I return fully, and also that my other best friend has feelings for me, but I do not return those. We just graduated, I haven’t decided on a career yet, and I am so confused!” She wiped at her eyes with balled up fists, and leaned her head on his shoulder. He gave her a squeeze and looked into her eyes.

“You know that you could get any job you wanted. Who would turn down the Valedictorian of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? No one with a brain, that’s who. And as for these new feelings, just follow your heart. I know that you care about Ron, and I know he cares about you. If I’m not mistaken, I know that he’d want you to be happy above all else, so whatever you decide, you can count on him to be there for you. As for me, you know what I want. I want you to be with me. I want you to come to me at the end of the work day and tell me how it went, I want to see you wake up in the morning, get dressed and ready to go. I want to see you before I go to bed at night, feel your presence as I sleep, and have you there when I wake up in the middle of the night. I love you, Hermione. With all of my heart, I love you.” He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. Every dream he’d been carrying around with him for two years was materializing right in front of him.

She kissed him back, amazed by the softness of his lips. She reached her hand up to caress his scalp, beneath his untidy hair. He ran a hand down her side, and around to her back. They sat that way for quite some time, until Harry boldly deepened the kiss by stroking the tip of his tongue against her bottom lip, she gasped at the feeling of it, and he took the opportunity to explore her mouth. His tongue ran along hers, seeking every small nook and cranny. She timidly imitated his actions, feeling dizzier by the moment. Heat was building between them, coupled by the blazing fireplace.

“Oh my goodness! I never dreamed that I would be doing this with HIM. Ok, well, maybe I did dream it, but that’s all it was! A dream! This is a dream come true,” Hermione’s thoughts were going a mile a minute and they all just faded away as Harry’s tongue worked magic inside her mouth. He broke the kiss and began running kisses down the side of her jaw, to her neck. He found that spot just where the two places meet, and it sent shivers up her spine. He laid her back against the couch and she squirmed until she was comfortable. They continued as before, forgetting the world around them. Neither one could tell you what day it was, what time, or even where they were. All they knew was right there. They knew that they loved each other, and that was all that mattered.

Harry sat up after a few more minutes, and said, “Mione, I think we should stop, before this gets out of hand. If we get too much further along, I just won’t be able to stop, and I don’t want my first time to be on the couch of the Gryffindor Common Room. Is that ok with you?” He eyed her slowly, his love for her oozing out of his very pores.

“I think that is a wise decision, Mr. Potter. I would prefer that my first time be somewhere a little more, uh, romantic, and with the promise of something more permanent, if you know what I mean.” She grinned at him and sat up as well. She placed a kiss on his lips and got up. “Now, if I am not mistaken, I believe there are a lot of people put there waiting for a chance to congratulate their hero. What do you say we go back outside?”

“I guess so, but I’d rather stay here with you,” he smiled at her, and followed her through the portrait hole.

“Well, maybe later, Harry,” she said with a devilish grin on her face. Harry could only imagine what she had in mind, and decided that he was the biggest idiot in the world for waiting so long to let her know his feelings. At least he had later to be hopeful about.

2. Misunderstanding

Jill love hair never eye draco Harry was handsome. Even Ron was handsome. Hermione had won out, but only by a little bit. Harry and Hermione were locked in a tight embrace, kissing. To his great surprise, she also smiled. Normal Jill 3 86 2003-06-04T02:54:00Z 2003-06-04T03:16:00Z 3 1814 10343 86 24 12133 10.2625 Clean Clean 10 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

Overdrive: Chapter Two

Disclaimer: JKR is still a creative genius, and I have “borrowed” some of her ideas, without permission. I still am NOT a creative genius. All praise and accolade should still be directed at JKR, without whom none of this would exist. That is all.

A/N: I wanted to warn you all that this chapter is D/G. This fic will be both H/Hr and D/g, so I just wanted to make sure you knew that before continuing. Ok, this time I think Draco might be a little OCC…did I say a little? Riiight…just go with me on this. Don’t forget to review! It makes me happy, and helps me get better. i.e., constructive criticism is VERY welcome.

She looked at him, wondering if he felt anything for her. She had been watching him for two years, every insult he threw at her, her brothers, and her family in general just rolled off her back. They were at least acknowledgements that she existed, right? How could a person with such a venomous tongue be so beautiful? That was the only word she could think of to describe him. He was too delicate looking to be called handsome. Harry was handsome. Even Ron was handsome. But not him, he was beautiful. He was no longer a skinny little boy with angular features. He had grown into his nose, his silvery blonde hair was longer, and he had stopped slicking it back in fifth year. He was tall, and playing Quidditch for six years had done wonders for his body. His shoulders were broad, and his back muscles rippled underneath his robes. His eyes were the same flint gray color, but there were sparks in them whenever she looked at him. She thought she could see all the way to his soul by looking into those eyes. But, she had never gotten the chance. He was the prince of Slytherin Tower, and she was a lowly Gryffindor. How could he see beyond her house colors and see the real Ginny? She knew that if he gave her a chance he would love her.

She watched him walk across the stage to claim his diploma. He had graduated second in his class at Hogwarts, second to Hermione. That seemed to ruffle his feathers to no end. Everyone knew about the rift between those two, they had been battling for top position for years. Hermione had won out, but only by a little bit. He hated to be second at anything, but especially to Granger and Potter. Good thing the Weasel never got much attention for skill in anything. He made a fairly good keeper on the Quidditch team, but Draco didn’t have to compete with that as a seeker.

After the ceremony, and Harry’s riveting speech, Ginny went to congratulate the trio on a job well done. As she neared Ron, she saw a look of anger on his faced and turned to see what he was looking at. The sight before her had disappointed her to no end. Harry and Hermione were locked in a tight embrace, kissing. Even though she had carried a torch for Draco for the last few years, her crush on Harry had never dwindled. She could still see herself marrying him, if only he would see her as more than Ron’s little sister. But those hopes and dreams went down the toilet as she saw him with Hermione. They obviously loved each other, and it didn’t look like anyone could change that.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ron take off, to be followed shortly by Hermione. Ginny cast her eyes to the ground and slowly started her way up to the castle. In her mindless walk, she bumped into someone and fell to the ground. That seemed to be the last straw, and she began to cry. All the tears over the loss of potential love from Harry, the loss of her brothers from Hogwarts, and her dream that Draco might notice her, came pouring out, her emotions going into total overdrive. The person who bumped her just stood there staring at her, wondering how a little tumble to the ground could make someone cry so much. He ran a hand through his silvery hair and sighed.

What Ginny didn’t know is that he had been watching her, too. The only reason that he had made fun of her so much, was so that he could be near her. She could never like a mean, nasty Slytherin, so that seemed to be the only logical way for him to be around her. He had been watching her for about two years, wishing that he could be the one to comfort her when she was sad, even though he was usually the one making her sad. He knew that she was in love with Potter, and that fueled his anger towards Mr. Hero even more. He loved to watch her study in the library, when she thought no one else was there. She would nibble on her sugar quills, sometimes stretching and showing a little bit of her midriff underneath her robes. He loved to see her run her fingers through her curly red hair. How he loved her hair. No one he had ever seen had hair like that. It looked as though her head were on fire, but a calm, contained sort of fire that invited you to touch it. How he longed to touch her hair. She wasn’t as tall as him, she came up to about his shoulder, but he liked it that way. She had grown into her body, filling out in all the right places.

“Now what could be making her cry? Surely not because she fell down, it wasn’t that hard of a fall,” Draco thought as he stood above her. ”I bet it has something to do with Potter. It always has something to do with Potter,” this time he was bitter in his thoughts.

“Weasley, what are you crying for? You’re making my Italian leather shoes get wet.” He tried to fill his voice with disdain, but all he managed was a slight annoyance. She gasped and looked up to him.

“What do you care, Malfoy? Can’t your daddy just buy you a new pair?” She was humiliated that he had seen her like this, messy and vulnerable. She struggled to stand up, and to her great surprise, he helped her.

“You’d be surprised how much I care, Weasley,” he tried to smirk, but it came off as a nice smile. What was wrong with him? He never let her affect him like this! She was looking into his eyes, and he was afraid of what she might see there. To his great surprise, she also smiled.

“Would I, Malfoy?” She couldn’t help but smile, because she had been right! She could see into his soul through his eyes. And she liked what she saw. She didn’t see hatred, disdain, or even annoyance. She saw longing and desire. And that sparked those feelings within her as well. She looked down at her hands, and realized that Draco was still holding them. He, seeing her gaze shift there, dropped them immediately. She looked to his face, amazed to see a slight blush creep across. She had never seen Draco blush. Ever. Why was he doing it now? Could it be possible that he did like her? She had to find out!

“Draco, do you want to go for a walk with me?” She hoped he wouldn’t just throw her kindness in her face, as he would normally be prone to do.

“Did you just call me Draco? Can you say it again? I like the way it sounds in your voice,” Draco smiled, and took her hand, beginning a walk toward the lake.

“Draco, I like the way it sounds, too. You say my name, now.” She giggled at the thought of herself walking along the lake with Draco Malfoy. Maybe there was hope for her, yet.

“Ginny, or would you prefer Virginia? Or how about Gin?” He enjoyed saying her real name, not just saying Weasley all the time. He loved hearing her giggling, and he wanted to kiss her with everything that he was, but he could not just attack her mouth in plain view of all the Weasley clan, who he noticed were all glaring in their general direction. Well, all except the Weasel.

“Hmm…call me Gin. I like the way that sounds,” she sighed as he squeezed her hand, wishing that he were kissing her, not just squeezing her hand. They walked until they were down by the lake, out of sight of all the graduation attendees. He sat down on a log, and patted the spot next to him, inviting her to sit as well.

“I was done walking, I thought we could take a break,” he said as she sat down next to him. He snaked his arm around her waist, waiting to see her reaction before doing anything else. He couldn’t believe his luck! The Gryffindor Princess was out on a walk with him, sitting with him, enjoying his company! It was as though all of his dreams were coming true.

She gasped as she felt his arm around her waist, warmth spreading throughout her body. She could feel his muscles tightening around her, and she was reminded of just how beautiful he had become over the last few years. She longed to tell him, but she was afraid of how he would respond. She decided she would let him do the talking, just for awhile anyway. Without thinking, she put her arm around his waist as well, and leaned her head on his broad shoulder, relaxing into him completely.

Draco sighed as she relaxed into him, using this opportunity to smell her hair, which had a scent of lilacs and lavender, he guessed. It smelled beautiful. He wanted to touch it. So he did. He ran his hand up her back and into the long mass of curls. It was so soft, and yet strong. The curls seemed to have a mind of their own, and there really wasn’t a pattern to them. The just lay there, creating swirls of red, scarlet, bronze, and even a hint of blonde.

“Gin, I have to tell you that I have been watching you for quite some time, hoping that I could someday have a chance with you. You may be wondering, if I like you, why did I torment you? Well, the only explanation I have for that is, it gave me an excuse to be near you. I never thought you could like a Slytherin,” He dropped his other hand into her lap, taking up her small hand into his.

“Oh, Draco. If only you had told me! I, too, have been watching you for quite some time. I wished and hoped that you would notice me. I didn’t get as upset about all your teasing as I should have, because I thought that if you were making fun of me, it meant that you knew I existed. That’s sad, isn’t it?” She looked up to him, tilting her chin just so, and he took that opportunity to kiss her. It was soft and gentle at first, but both of them helped it along, moving it to hard and rough in no time. Ginny shifted around so she was facing him, and he wrapped his arms around her. She sighed with utter happiness, and he took that to mean that she wanted more. He deepened the kiss, introducing their tongues to each other for the first time. The heat between them was intense; it was as though there were sparklers going off in the air around them. Ginny loved the feel of his tongue in her mouth, and wished it would never end.

He broke apart, and they both sucked in deep breaths. He beamed at her, and she gazed at him with a look of pure adoration. She was glad that she didn’t have to hide these types of looks anymore. She couldn’t believe this was happening it was perfect.

“Gin, why were you crying before? It couldn’t be because you fell down. What happened?” He was so happy that he would be the one to comfort her this time.

“Well, I don’t know, so much is happening right now, my emotions just went into overdrive. Specifically, the three things that set me off were you, Harry, and Ron.”

“Me? Why me?”

“I was convinced that you would never like me, and it just got to be too much to bear. Before you ask, I’ll just tell you the others as well. Ron, because he graduated, and that leaves me as the only Weasley left at Hogwarts. I missed all my other brothers so much these past few years, and now he’s gone too. Harry because I saw he and Hermione kissing, and I realized that he would never like me, either. No one will ever come between those two, they were definitely meant for each other.” She sighed at the sadness of her brothers again, failing to notice the look of disgust on Draco’s face.

“Potter? You were upset because you still like Potter? What are we doing here then? Is this just a game to you? I will not be made a fool, Virginia Weasley!” With that said, he stormed off in the general direction of the castle.

“Draco! Wait! It’s not what you are thinking! It’s you! Only you!” She tried to run after him, but she slipped on a wet spot, and her emotions again went into overdrive, blurring her vision and breaking her heart.