Chapter 8: "The battle begins."
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"You didn't tell me he groped you." Blaise said.
"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked confused.
"Do you enjoy being on the front cover of the Daily Prophet every week for absurd stories?" he asked dropping the newspaper. Hermione was sure that she did not want to look down at the cover but she couldn't help herself and looked.
There splattered on the front cover was a picture of Harry leaning over the table of the restaurant they were in yesterday and reaching for her breast. The Headline read: Boy wonder gropes his long term mistress.
"Oh Merlin, this is bad." Hermione groaned.
"Damn right this is bad! How could you let him do this to you!" Blaise cried.
"He did not do anything! He was attempting to brush a string that was strewn across my chest. He was not grabbing my breast!" Hermione said.
"Right. Hermione, I'm a guy. Harry, who I really do not want to associate him with being one, is unfortunately one as well. I know what he was thinking…" Blaise said.
"And what is that, Blaise." Hermione said her eyes flashing.
" He wanted to grope you, among other things." Blaise said.
"You think I would let him do such a thing! And in public mind you! What kind of woman do you think I am!" Hermione said her voice rising.
"No! I don't think you were letting him. He was being sneaky." Blaise said.
"He was not! My god, do you think I want to be on the cover of the daily prophet every week being portrayed as a whore!" Hermione yelled standing up and throwing the newspaper at him.
Blaise caught it and his eyes widened. "Of course not! I just, I don't trust him Hermione." Blaise said.
"Well maybe you should learn to trust me!" Hermione said angrily. She grabbed her jacket and walked towards his door. She turned around. "I have to get to work. Bye."
She then pulled open the door and left.
Blaise stood their staring at the door. He was a mix between upset that Hermione was furious with him and angry at Harry for getting involved in their relationship. He then knew what he had to do. He was going to pay Harry a visit.
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Harry ran a towel over his hair as he walked down the stairs to answer the door. He had just come home from a grueling practice and had just taken a nice relaxing shower. There was another knock and Harry pulled open the door. He was very surprised to see Blaise standing there.
"Blaise." he said taken aback.
"Harry. We need to talk." Blaise said staring at Harry intently.
"About." Harry said not opening the door any farther.
"Hermione." Blaise said.
Harry opened the door and motioned for Blaise to step in. Blaise entered and eyed the living room. He had an unimpressed look on his face.
"Look, if this is about the Daily Prophet…" Harry began.
"Your damn right this is about the Daily Prophet!" Blaise said shoving the newspaper in Harry's chest rather aggressively, causing Harry to teeter back on his heels. Harry mustered up all the strength to not punch Blaise right in the face.
"What do you think, gives you the right, to grope my girlfriend in public!" Blaise demanded.
"First off, how dare you come into my home, yelling and shoving me. Second, I did not grope Hermione in public! I was brushing something off. That was it." Harry said angrily.
"Right. I know that since the day you broke up with Jacklyn, you have been trying to seduce Hermione and corrupt her."Blaise said looking at Harry menacingly.
Harry laughed. " Seduce her?! Corrupt her!? How do you figure?" Harry asked crossing his arms over his chest.
"I know how you Quidditch players are. Stay up all night, party, sleep with anything that has a vagina!" Blaise said looking disgusted. "I will not let you get a hold of Hermione!" Harry's blood boiled.
" I would never introduce Hermione into that type of lifestyle! I care about her too damn much to do that." Harry said his eyes flashing.
"I knew it! You just admitted it!" Blaise said pointing his finger at Harry.
"Admitted what?" Harry said.
"You love her." Blaise said.
Harry was quiet for a moment. Then looked Blaise straight in the eye. "Yes, I do Blaise." he said simply.
"Well your going to stay away from her. I don't want you to see her or talk to her." Blaise said clenching his fists.
" I think Hermione is capable of making her own decisions." Harry said.
"Hermione's smart enough to stay away from you." Blaise said getting close to Harry."You'll hurt her. She knows that, that's why she gave me a shot. And right now she's very happy with me."
"If telling yourself that makes you feel better..." Harry said walking towards the kitchen.
"It's the truth!" Blaise said glaring at him.
"OK." Harry said smirking slightly.
"Hermione will never be with you." Blaise said. "You've ruined your chance with her."
" Look, I made a mistake and now I'm making it up to her." Harry said turning to face him.
"Well I'm going to make sure that it doesn't work." Blaise said and with those final words he departed.
Harry stood there for a few moments, staring at the door. Trying to collect his thoughts. He knew he needed to be with Hermione. It was the one thing he felt right about. He could not stand for her to be with such a feeble-minded idiot. She was too good for him. He wanted her to be happy and Harry hoped that she would realize that it was him that could help fulfill that.
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Ginny couldn't believe it. She didn't want to believe it. But yes, Ginny Weasley had in fact, just snorted when she laughed at insanely funny joke that Draco Malfoy had just shared. It was beyond embarrassing, especially when Draco didn't not make the situation better by turning an unnatural color of red that was caused by his laughing at her.
"Oh Merlin just kill me now." Ginny groaned putting her head in the cup of her hands.
"You...that...do it again!" Draco said trying to calm down as he laughed.
" I will not! That was so awkward Draco! I usually do not do that! The elderly woman sitting at the next table gave me a dirty look!" she said giving him a hard look.
"Hey, snorts happen." he replied regaining his composure.
"Ha-ha." she said breaking off a piece of a bread stick and daintily nibbling on it.
"I guess that joke made an impression." he said eating some pasta.
"Obviously." she said rolling her eyes. "Who would have known that Draco Malfoy could be funny, not counting when he's turned into a ferret."
"Who would have known that when Ginevra Weasley finds something overly humorous she snorts." he said focusing on her.
"Oh hush!" she said looking away. Draco chuckled. The waiter brought the check over. Draco took out a massive amount of galleons, sickles and knuts. Ginny gasped.
"Draco! How much is dinner!" she said wide eyed.
"Don't worry about it." he said handing the booklet over to the waiter.
"Draco..." Ginny started.
"Don't worry! Now let's go." he said standing up and pulling Ginny's chair back so she could stand up. She gave him a frown but stood up.
They apparated to Draco's flat. It was nicely decorated for a bachelor. There was a black leather coach against the wall in the living room. Next to one of the arm's of the coach was a statue of a black panther, ready to pounce. A gorgeous glass coffee table was set in front of it. There was a metal book case filled to the brim of books.
"This is very nice Draco." Ginny said surprised at the nicely decorated place.
"I try." he said loosening his tie. Ginny set her purse down on a table and then looked at the dining room. There was a big painting of a naked woman, lying on a chaise hanging on the wall.
"Figures." she said.
"What?" he asked.
"Naturally, you would have a painting of a naked woman." Ginny said looking at him.
"This is a beautiful painting Ginny. If you study it, you will find how amazing it truly is." he said. "Let me explain. See the subtle brush strokes that he used to color her complexion. Not too much, he wanted to show the delicacy of a woman's skin. Then the very fine lines that make up the curves of her body, the artist wanted to show how enticing and voluptuous a female's body can be. Why are you looking at me like that."
Draco caught her looking at him oddly as he pointed toward the areas he was talking about.
"I'm....I'm just pleasantly surprised." she said smiling.
"What, that I can look at a woman's naked figure and now just think about how badly I want to have sex with it." he said raising his eyebrow.
"Yes, actually." she said and then laughed.
"Well, I'm pleasantly surprised that when you laugh you can sound absurdly close to a pig grunting." Draco said grinning.
"Your never going to let me live that down are you?" she asked crossing her arms over her chest.
"Never." he said smiling. He then walked towards her. She looked at him. He then gently laid his lips down on top of hers.
"See this piece of art, is such a great pleasure to describe." he said beginning to walk around her studying her. Ginny felt slightly uncomfortable though she didn't know why.
"The auburn color of her hair, delicately frames her oval face which is sprinkled with freckles. This in turn makes her beautiful almond shaped brown eyes to stand out. Her pouty lips draw attention to her gorgeous face. Her petite frame is well proportioned and the dress she is wearing shows off the divine curvature of her body which any man would go crazy for. I am proof of this." he said gracing his fingers of her hips. Ginny shivered.
"Though there is more to this craft than just sex appeal. It is pure beauty that not many can achieve. However, the beauty is not merely on the outside alone. She contains even more desirable traits, inside. Intelligence, passion, sincerity. Any man would instantly fall, and this man is beginning to." he said tilting her chin up as he stood in front of her. She looked into his gray eyes momentarily. Then she was overcome with a wave of emotion. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. It was gentle kiss but was overflowing with feeling. She pulled away and smiled.
"This woman is more than willing to welcome these feelings from both herself and this man." she said. He smiled and kissed her.
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"It's such a beautiful day out." Luna said dreamily. She looked out the window and smiled.
Hermione raised her eyes from the paperwork she was doing. She then moved them toward the window. The rain was splattering against the window hard. She then turned them toward Luna again with a raised eyebrow.
"It's raining..." she said.
"I know." Luna said nodding her head.
"OK..." Hermione said rolling her eyes and getting back to her work.
"Samuel the purple shiny horned imble timble octohippogirafiger was the best octohippogirafiger! Though he never knew he was a octohippogir...." Luna sang.
"Luna!" Hermione interrupted irritably.
"Yes?" Luna said cocking her head to the side.
"Shut up." she said.
"OK." Luna responded.
"Hey, Hermione. Luna." Ginny said walking into the house smiling.
"Guten tag!" Luna said.
"Hello." Hermione said simply.
"Do you guys want to go meet Ron and Harry at the bar tonight to play some billiards?" Ginny asked setting her purse down on the table.
"Sure!"
"No."
"Oh Hermione come on! You've been doing work all weekend. Time for a break." Ginny said sitting down next to Hermione and putting her arms around her shoulders.
"Look I'm on my last paper. After this I want to get a head start on next weeks papers." Hermione said marking something down on the paper.
"Uh Uh." Ginny said shaking her head. "I don't think so. Your coming with us tonight."
"No Ginny I'm not." Hermione said.
"Yes, you are. Be ready by 7." Ginny said. She got up and then walked towards her room.
"Ginny, I don...." Hermione began.
"La La La. Can't hear you." Ginny said covering her ears and closing her door.
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"Ah ha! I knew you'd come." Ginny said grinning.
Hermione smiled. She knew she needed to get her mind off of her work and of the argument with Blaise.
"Oh you look so pretty Hermione!" Luna said smiling. Hermione had opted to wear a pair of semi form fitting jeans and a red halter top. She wore a matching jean jacket. Her hair was in loose curls.
"And you do to." Hermione said looking at Luna. She was wearing a light pink shirt and jean skirt.
"Ok." Ginny said. "Let's go." They all apparated to the bar. It was already full when they got there. There were loud voices over the already loud music. Cigarette smoke caused a haze. They saw the guys sipping a beer and laughing. Harry was leaning against a billiard stick while Ron set his down on the table.
"Hey Ronald!" Luna said wrapping her arms around him and kissing him. Ron smiled.
"Hey." he said his arm around her waist. Harry then saw Hermione. He couldn't help but stare. She did look quite beautiful. She smiled warmly at him and he returned the gesture.
"Hey." he said hugging her. She wrapped her arms around him and breathed in. She loved the way he smelled. A mix of cologne and aftershave.
"Ok. So the teams!" Ginny said. "Same as always?"
"Yup. Harry and Hermione go first. As usual since they always win. I don't even know why we bother to play." Ron said setting up the balls.
"Don't be bitter Ron." Hermione said laughing.
"I'll go get us some drinks."Luna said and walked towards the bar.
"You know he always says the same thing." Ginny said rubbing some chalk on the edge of her stick. Hermione was up first. She took off her jacket revealing her smooth shoulders. Harry stared. As Hermione bent over the table to break she flipped back her brown hair.
"Wow..." Harry said without noticing.
"Huh?" Hermione asked turning her head.
"I said ow. I stubbed my toe." Harry said. Hermione turned back to the table and pulled back the stick. She shot it forward and the balls moved everywhere. Harry looked at Ron and Ginny who were smirking back at him.
"We're solid." she said turning around.
Harry nodded. Luna then came back with three beers. Hermione took one and so did Ginny.
"Cheers." Ginny said and all of them raised their glass. They all took a drink. Harry set his down at the table where Ginny and Luna were sitting.
He then walked over to the pool table. He aimed for the red and yellow solid ones. He got them in.
"Good shot." Hermione said smiling.
"Thanks." he said and grinned.
"Yeah, yeah. My turn." Ron said.
"Oo! Go Ronald!" Luna cheered.
"At least you have one fan." Ginny cracked.
"Shut up." Ron said. "Next time your not going to be on my team!"
Ginny clutched her heart. "No! Don't do this to me Ron." she exaggerated. Harry and Hermione laughed. Ron grumbled as he bent over the table prepared to hit.
Hermione sipped her beer. She caught Harry looking at her. She turned toward him and he smiled awkwardly.
"Good beer huh?" He said lifting up his mug. Hermione nodded, tucking a curl behind her ear.
"You know Hermione, I wasn't sure whether or not to tell you..." Harry said looking down. He wasn't sure if he should tell Hermione about Blaise's visit or not. He knew she would be more than upset with Blaise if she found out that he was undermining her decision on who she could and would see. But he didn't want to be seen as a rat either.
"What is it Harry?" she asked.
"Um, well, I've decided to um paint my house and I wanted to know if you would help me." Harry said making something up.
Hermione looked at him surprised. "That's it? That's all you wanted to ask?" she said.
"Well, yes. I know your busy and all and..." he said.
"Of course I'll help you Harry." she said chuckling. Harry smiled.
"Great." he said.
"Hermione, it's your turn." Ginny said walking to her seat. Hermione nodded and stepped up.
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"HAAAAA! Ronald! Your so funny!" Luna said laughing hysterically. It was 1 in the morning and Ron and Luna were holding on to each other for dear life.
"You are to! Your so gorgeous!" Ron said and then pushed her against the wall and they began to make out.
Hermione giggled as Harry laughed. Ginny rolled her eyes. She pulled the two of them apart.
"All right you two. Let's get you home." Ginny said. She turned towards Harry and Hermione.
"I'll see you Harry. I'll see you later Hermione." Ginny said and walked them out the door.
Hermione shook her head still laughing. She turned toward Harry who was smiling as the door closed behind a very drunk Ron and Luna. He then looked down at her.
"Well, I guess I better be going." Hermione said.
"Yeah...Oh he's your jacket. Here let me." Harry said holding her jacket out. Hermione put her arms through it and turned back.
"Thank you." she said and smiled.
"No problem." he said. They looked at each other for a moment. Harry tucked a curl behind her ear. His fingers brushing over her jaw line. She closed her eyes enjoying the touch of his hand.
They found themselves in a dark secluded corner. Harry began to trail his thumb along her lower lip. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw Harry's emerald eyes staring at her. They were deeper shade of green and Hermione could almost read the message he was sending her. She felt her body begin to change. Her breathing began to come out more ragged. Her heart rate began to speed up. She knew where things were headed and thanks to the alcohol she didn't care. Harry leaned down, his lips so close to hers. She wanted this, Merlin did she want this. Then the rational part of her brain kicked in.
'What the hell do you think your doing Hermione! You have a boyfriend and your about to kiss your best friend!' it screamed.
Hermione pulled back. "Um...I'll see you tomorrow Harry to help you paint. Um....good night." she stammered and quickly walked out of the bar. Harry stood there. Trying to calm down, his heart was beating a mile a minute. He had been so close to kissing Hermione.
'Good job, idiot. You scared her away.' he mentally cursed himself. He then turned around and walked out of the bar.
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AN: All I can say is that I LOATHE computers. They hate me and they have secret society where they plot to make my life a living hell. Ok So there's chapter 8. I really do hope you enjoyed and please review! It always makes my day when u do!