Chapter 9: "What to do with `I love you's, a mistake with paint and an interview'"
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"Why are you going through my things?" Draco asked lazily. He was lying in bed shirtless and looking towards the closet which Ginny was currently in.
"Because you have yet to repeat an outfit. So I'm curious to know exactly how many articles of clothing you really have." She said. Draco sighed.
"If you must." He said and laid down on his back staring at the ceiling.
"You own 20 Janovich shirts! 20!" Ginny exclaimed. Janovich was the hottest wizarding designer. It was equivalent to that Versace person Hermione had mentioned once.
"Yes, I do. You can afford to buy one. Why are you so shocked?" he said.
"Yes, I can now. But certainly not 20 of them!" she said.
"Malfoy inheritance." He said simply.
"Ah…I see. Must be nice." She said.
"I don't really care. I don't use it that much. I wanted to save it for my children. Along with whatever I save up for them." He said rubbing his eyes.
"Oh Draco…that's the sweetest thing you've ever said." Ginny said poking her head out of the closet.
"It's coming from me. What else would you expect?" he said.
"That just ruined the moment." She said poking her head back into the closet.
He chuckled. "Are you done in there yet?" he asked turning his head to face it again.
"Hmm….not quite." She said. Then she reappeared.
She leaned casually against the frame of the closet door. His eyes widened. She was wearing his old Quidditch jumper. It reached mid thigh to her. Her auburn hair was down and dare he say it she looked absolutely sexy.
"I cannot believe you still have this." She said playing with the bottom of the jumper.
"Ye…Yea. Um, still do." He stammered staring at her. She began to walk forward.
"My brother's would kill me if they caught me in this." She said walking toward to him.
"P...Probably." he said pushing himself back against the head board.
"As a matter of fact. Probably all of Gryffindor." She said getting on the bed and straddling his hips.
He moaned and nodded. She leaned her head in and kissed his lips. He ran his hand up her smooth leg and brushed the hem of the jumper. He began to lift it up when the fire in the fireplace began to crackle loudly.
"Hey Dra…Oh sorry!" a voice said. Ginny screamed and rolled off the bed with a loud thud.
"Ouch." Her voice said from the floor.
Draco eye's widened and he looked over the side of the bed where Ginny was on the floor.
"Are you ok?" he asked. She nodded. He then turned angrily to the fireplace to see who had interrupted. Blaise's head poked from the fireplace. He had a bashful expression on his face.
"Really sorry. Um, it's just I need to talk to you. Urgently." He said his eyes darting to the floor which Ginny was getting up from and Draco. He looked at him pleadingly.
"Can't it wait…?" Draco asked looking at Ginny who he really wanted to continue having fun with.
"No, no. It's fine Draco. I'll just go to the kitchen to get something to drink." She said. She nodded at Blaise and went for the door. Once closed Draco looked to Blaise.
"Was she wearing…?" Blaise started.
"Yes." Draco answered.
"Didn't know you were into that whole role-playing thing." Blaise said chuckling.
"We're not. Was it that you wanted Blaise?" Draco asked impatiently. He got up from the bed in some baggy pajama pants.
"I'm in a predicament." Blaise said. Draco could tell that he was pacing in his study from the way his head would move back and forth.
"What kind of predicament? I swear Blaise if your sleeping with another woman while with Hermione and Ginny finds out I might just let her kick your ass." Draco said. "Especially if it's a high political figures daughter."
"No! No way. I really like Hermione…a lot." Blaise said stopping and facing Draco.
Draco looked at him and studied him. He knew what was fazing Blaise and he sighed. He sat down on the edge of his bed and looked at him.
"You're falling for her aren't you." He said. Blaise stayed quiet. Then nodded.
"Well, that's good right?" Draco said.
"Yea in any other circumstance. But that bloody Harry Potter is ruining it for me." Blaise said angrily. His blood was boiling at the thought of Harry. Draco raised his eyebrow.
"What does he have to do with anything?" Draco asked.
"Everything. Since he called things off with Jacklyn he's been trying to win her over. And I'm worried that Hermione will actually fall for it! Even after all he's done to her." Blaise said.
"I didn't think that you and Hermione were getting that close." Draco said.
"Yea, I mean in all honesty she's amazing." Blaise said. "And I will stop at nothing to get Hermione. If he's looking to fight over her I will. You have to be with me on this. You have to back me up. If he starts anything, you have me covered."
Draco looked at him with hesitation. Blaise was his best friend. But Ginny was his girlfriend, who happened to be friends with Harry and Hermione. If he punched Harry, Hermione would most likely hate him, tell Ginny and Merlin knows what she would do to him.
"Look mate, I don't think starting anything with Harry would be a good idea." Draco said trying to talk Blaise out of it.
"He's the one who started with this first! I need to know do you back me up on my decision to get Harry out of the picture!" Blaise said his eyes looking at Draco.
"What do you mean by getting Harry out of the picture?" Draco said he was now looking at Blaise concerned for his friend.
"I'm not going to kill the guy but just screw with him a bit. Make a lot of horrible things happen to him…get kicked off the team, make Hermione absolutely hate him." Blaise said his eyes wild.
Draco was taken aback. "What's going on with you Blaise?" he said. "Why would you do that."
Blaise looked at Draco with outrage. "What's wrong with you?! Normally, you would be right behind me but you're acting almost as though you don't want to do it?" he said.
"You're not thinking rationally. There has to be another way you can try to get Harry out of the way." Draco said.
Then Blaise started to laugh. "I know what this is all about…Ginny." He said.
"What about Ginny." Draco said getting defensive.
"You're becoming all soft because of her. Just because of her friendship with Harry. Is this how a friend treats his best mate?" Blaise said angry.
"I am not turning soft. I am trying to not get you in trouble with Hermione if she finds out about your plan! I'm trying to find an alternative." Draco said his temper rising.
"No! That's a lie. You're worried that precious Ginny will be on your case. You've changed because of her. You're not as outgoing." Blaise said his voice rising.
That was it. Draco was sick and tired of Blaise's absurd behavior and his attempting to attack Ginny. He stood up angrily.
"Maybe I have changed because of her! In a good way. And I would not be one to talk about changing because of their girlfriend. Have you even paid attention to what you've been saying! Thinking of sabotaging Harry's career for your own pleasure!" Draco yelled.
"A couple of years ago you would have been with me on that!" Blaise yelled back.
"Back when we were children! This is what you are acting like at the moment!" Draco yelled, breathing hard.
"You know what! I don't need your help. I'm going to do this on my own. I really thought you, being my best friend, would help me. I guess I was wrong." Blaise said and with that disappeared from the fireplace.
Draco stared hard into the fireplace. He attempted to get his breathing back to normal. He was absolutely furious with Blaise. Sometimes he regretted setting him and Hermione up.
He heard the door open and Ginny's voice.
"Is everything alright? I heard yelling." She said putting a hand on his shoulder as he continued to look into the fireplace.
"No, things have just gotten worse." Draco said looking down.
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Hermione stood in front of the mirror and brushed her hair. She was on her way to Harry's house. She was getting very nervous and was thinking about not going. After what had happened the night before she was scared of what might happen.
She sighed as she set the brush down. She had chosen to wear a pair of loose fitting jean shorts and white t shirt, since she was going to painting. She walked out into the hall where Luna was coming from the opposite direction.
"Hey Luna, I'm going to head over to Harry's now." She said.
"Ok. Have a good time." Luna said faintly.
"Are you ok?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, I'm just fine. Thank you for asking." She said and smiled.
"You're not sick or anything?" she asked.
"No, I'm as healthy as a horse." Luna responded. Hermione looked at quizzically.
"As a horse? No strange creature that you just made up?" Hermione said studying her.
"I never make up any creatures." She said in a delicate voice. "But yes a horse."
"Ok…I'll be back soon." She said and giving one last glance at Luna walked out of the house.
She was in front of Harry's house in a manner of minutes. She took a deep breath and raised her hand to knock. She was surprised when the door opened with her hand centimeters away from it.
"Oh, Harry! You scared me." She said clutching her heart.
"Sorry bout that. I'm anxious to start painting." Harry said smiling. He was wearing a sleeveless undershirt and some worn out jeans. `Merlin he looked so good' she thought. Hermione smiled nervously.
"Yeah…" she said. She stepped into the house. The living room floor was covered in plastic so as not to drip paint on the floor.
"What color have you decided to paint the walls?" Hermione asked.
"I was thinking this maroon color." Harry said walking towards the cans on the floor. He opened one and showed her.
"It's nice." She said. Harry picked up two paintbrushes.
"Shall we start?" he asked. She took one and smiled.
"We shall." She responded. She dipped the paint in the pail and then began.
They began making small talk, discussing how close the Chudley Cannons were in making it to the finals. Just one game away.
"That's great Harry! Are you nervous?" she asked.
"Naw. I'm more excited. We've trained so hard for it." He said doing long brush strokes.
"Yea I know. Luna would complain about how she wasn't having enough sex as she would like to with Ron. Which I really didn't want to know." She said shaking her head.
Harry laughed. "Naturally Luna would tell us things that we may or may not want to hear." He said.
"You know I never would have thought the two of them would be together." Hermione said.
"Yea well Ron is a very hot headed person and Luna is very tranquil. They balance each other out." Harry said smiling as he redipped his brush.
"Very true." She said.
"Would you like something to drink?" he asked.
"Yes, pumpkin juice would be fine." She said.
He nodded and walked into the kitchen. Hermione was relieved that he hadn't mentioned anything from the night before. She wasn't sure how she felt about what had happened between the two of them. She could blame it on the alcohol of course but she knew deep down inside that it hadn't affected her that much to not know what she was doing. Harry came back and handed her a glass. She took a sip from her cup as he did the same with his.
Then there was a moment of silence. A very awkward moment of silence. Then Harry took it upon himself to make it worse.
"Listen Hermione about last night…" he began. Hermione then began to choke embarrassingly on the drink. She started to cough excessively. Harry then rushed to pat her on the back. Once she was done her face was bright red, she could feel it.
"Are you alright?" he asked concerned.
"Yea…it just went down the wrong pipe." She said putting a hand to her hot face.
"Look, if you don't want to talk about it, its ok. I just want to know what you thought about it." Harry said setting his cup down on the coffee table.
"Harry…I…what happened shouldn't happen again. If Blaise found out…" she said avoiding his eyes.
"You didn't tell him?" he asked surprised.
"No! Of course not! He would have a fit and most likely go after you! I do not want that." She said picking up the paintbrush and continuing to paint.
"Well I just figured you would blame it on the beer or something…" Harry trailed off.
"No, I wasn't that drunk." Hermione said absentmindedly. Then her eyes widened at what she had just revealed. Harry looked at her with a smirk on his face. She turned towards him.
"I did not mean that. And get that look off your face." She said holding the paint brush towards him. He chuckled.
"And if I don't." he said challenging her while raising an eyebrow.
"I'll do this." She said getting frustrated and smearing paint all over his shirt. Harry gasped in a joking manner while looking at it.
"Your dead." He said. He pulled off his shirt. "This is war." Then grabbed his paintbrush.
"Harry no!" Hermione cried, laughing.
She grabbed her brush and began to run away. Harry grinned and chased her. She was thankful that his house was big and quickly hid in spare room. She was panting slightly and yelled at herself mentally for not being in better shape. She held her breath as she heard footsteps on the other side of the door. Then sighed as they went away. She opened the door and cried out when Harry appeared. Her grinned and then put her over his shoulder.
"Harry! Put me down! Now! Harrrry!" she yelled kicking. He then put her down and pinned her against the wall. He cocked his head to the side and smiled evilly while lifting up the paintbrush.
"Don't you dare!" she said. Then she felt him spread it all over her shirt.
"Harry!" she said and passed her brush all over his chest. His hard, lean chest. Hermione couldn't help but admire his fine abs. Then gasped as Harry drew the paint along her thigh. It sent shivers down her body as she felt the cold paint against her skin.
"That's cold…"she whispered looking down as his hand dropped the paintbrush and touched her thigh where the paint was.
"How do you think I feel?" he murmured near her ear.
She looked at where she had spread the paint on his arm and chest. She raised a hand to his chest and his muscles flexed. He took hold of her hand. She looked up and then felt the most wonderful feeling. Harry's lips pressed themselves gently onto hers. They were soft and warm and Merlin they felt so good against hers. She felt her hand let go of the paintbrush and wrap itself in his hair as her body was pinned with his against the wall. She deepened the kiss. So many emotions were running through her body and all of them she knew she had never felt with Blaise. Harry's tongue brushed itself against her lips and she more than happily obliged to open her mouth. She hadn't thought it could have felt better but she was proved wrong as she let Harry kiss her into oblivion. They're tongues intertwining.
It was all a daze to her as she felt herself being picked up and feeling herself wrap her legs around his waist. Her hands running through his hair as he set her down on the table. He leaned forward causing her body to recline on the table. His upper body covered hers as he continued kissing. His hand running along her legs making her moan as he continued brushing it up along her side. He began to kiss her neck causing her to moan even more. She then gasped as his hand went underneath her shirt. He pressed his hips into hers and she soon felt the evidence of how much this was affecting.
Then there was a heavy knock on the door. They both turned towards the sound and then at each other. It finally dawned on Hermione at what exactly they had been doing. She rather aggressively shoved him off of her and hopped off the table.
"I …I have to go! Bye Harry." She said straightening her clothes and then apparated.
Harry looked at the spot where she had just stood a moment before and tried to calm down his body. Then there was another heavy knock on the door. He then turned angry and stormed toward the door. He yanked open the door and was shocked to see who stood in the doorway.
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The one thing Jacklyn O'Brien knew was how to get what she wanted. And how to get it fast. Another thing she was very good at was revenge. Coincidentally, she had used both strategies on Harry. Well, she was about to use the last one on Harry momentarily. She paced her living room waiting for there to be a knock at the door. As if on cue, a delicate knock sounded. She opened the door and there stood the middle aged Camilla Stratslater. She smiled with a glint in her eyes. She had a red skirt suit on, with matching red stilettos and held a notepad in her arm. Her quill was floating next to her.
"Jacklyn, darling. It is so wonderful that you contacted me." She said stepping in. She air kissed Jacklyn on both cheeks and then fluffed her brown curls.
"Yes, well, you've written such fabulous stories about me before." Jacklyn said sarcastically closing the door.
"I know. Weren't they fantastic, darling." She said looking at Jacklyn's living room and smirking.
"Ok. Let's just get started." Jacklyn said gesturing for her to sit down on the couch.
"Oh darling, this is the finest cashmere. I need something to sit down upon. By the looks of it, your couch is infested with lint." Camilla said looking around for something. Jacklyn rolled her eyes.
"Didn't know that it was that expensive." Jacklyn said.
"Of course you didn't darling. Look at what you are wearing." Camilla said commenting on the white tank top and gray pajama pants Jacklyn wore. Jacklyn tossed her blonde hair back angrily. Then Camilla found a book and sat down upon it.
"That's my first Quidditch book that Beatrice Suthers wrote about me!" Jacklyn said thinking Camilla hadn't noticed.
"Oh I know darling, I hate her writing it's absolutely dreadful!" Camilla said not caring. She opened her notepad and then looked at Jacklyn with her dark eyes. "Let's begin."
Jacklyn calmed herself down and sat down on the couch instead of yanking the book from underneath Camilla's arse and smacking her over the head with it.
"So, you were born in Dublin, Ireland darling." Camilla said. The quill began to zoom across the paper.
"Wexford." Jacklyn corrected.
"Right darling. You have 20 brothers and sisters." Camilla continued.
"What! No I only have one older brother!" Jacklyn said shocked.
"Of course dear." Camilla said nonchalantly. Jacklyn had a feeling she wasn't even paying attention to what she was saying. She stood up.
"Look, I sent you an owl yesterday to give you this interview fast and to the point. I do not have time to have you ask me pointless questions about my childhood." Jacklyn said standing in front of Camilla with her arms crossed over her chest. Camilla put a smile on her face which left Jacklyn with a bitter taste in her mouth.
"Of course darling! We'll make this incredibly speedy." She said with sweetness which Jacklyn could sense was fake.
"Look. Do you want the inside scoop on me and Harry's relationship or not!" Jacklyn said angrily.
"Of course darrrling, why else would I be here. This information is sure to be on the front page of all the popular newspapers throughout the wizarding world." Camilla said smirking again. "Now tell me. Did Hermione Granger really break up your relationship with Harry because of him cheating on you with her?"
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AN: Yay! Here's chapter 9 which I am incredibly proud about. I was stuck in the beginning but once I got started it all started to flow. I must say that I was not going to have Harry and Hermione kiss in this chapter but it just seemed right and I hope you all enjoy. I loved your reviews from the last chapter and of course I would love for you to review again for this one! Love you all! You make me want to continue writing! Read and Review!
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