A/N:
I'm so sorry that I hadn't been able to update for so long. I just had a spurt of inspiration a while ago, so I decided to post another chapter.
Caught in the Past (my other story) is giving me a hard time, I hope you don't mind. In case you have no idea, whatsoever, I changed the recent chapter of Caught in the Past that I last posted. It's new, although the beginning is no different. What I changed was the latter part…please read it if you haven't because Hermione's life story has been changed. If you're following that story, check it out. If you haven't read it, I do recommend reading. It already has 15 chapters. Thank you.
As for this one, I hope you enjoy.
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"What?!"
"You have to kiss him."
"On the cheek, right?" Hermione nervously clarified.
She watched in disdain as Ginny deliberately shook her head slowly. She raised her fingers, and without another word, laid it on her lips.
Hermione couldn't help but gasp as she looked at her friends' dead serious faces.
Were they drunk more than she?!
Coming up and talking to a stranger were more than what she was used to and now she was supposed to just kiss him?
No…
They were not drunk…
They were insane!
Did they really believe she would agree?
She may be heartbroken…
She may be serious…
But she was not desperate…
And what was that supposed to prove anyway?
That she could kiss someone?
It was hardly any different from running around the pub naked. Actually, she would have had no reservations stripping for the entire population of Hogsmeade, was it the one asked from her.
On the other hand, kissing someone whom she didn't even know would give her nothing but trouble.
Yes, she wanted to do something that would prove she wasn't a coward, but she didn't want to do something that would make her a coward for the rest of her life, hiding from someone whom she would be offending.
For all she knew, the man could be a masked murderer and kissing him would make her his next victim!
"No," Hermione shook her head adamantly, her eyes wide with shock.
Ginny merely raised her brow in challenge. Luna sighed.
"Why not?"
"It's unethical!"
"It's a dare," Ginny said matter-of-factly, "Dares are not supposed to be ethical."
"Excuse me for being so prudish, but don't you think this is going a bit overboard?"
"Not really," Luna shrugged.
"It's the perfect thing to do!" Ginny chirped taking a sip of her butterbeer.
"I don't recall asking you to make me a slut," Hermione crossed her arms.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Kissing somebody doesn't make you a slut," and then her eyes twinkled suggestively, "Or would you rather sleep with him instead?"
"Ginevra Weasely!" Hermione cried out in indignation, her hand flying to her chest, "If you do not stop these thoughts I'm going to tell Molly!"
"What am I? Eight?" Ginny scoffed, splaying her hands in front of her. Tapping her fingernails on the table top, she leaned forward, "Oh, come on, Mione, kissing is quite simple. It doesn't have to go far. You can just plant a small one on his lips. Just a smack. You don't have to taste him if you don't want to."
Hermione could only sit and gape at how lurid Ginny's thoughts were as she continued to rant on how she could go about their dare.
As if she would…
Really…
Who in their right mind would actually do something that was as childish and reckless as the one they were trying to make her do?
It took more than the average guts to be able to stomach kissing somebody who could be sick or something!
She may be in that foxed state wherein causing a barroom fight was most probable, but she was certainly not drunk enough to agree to just swap saliva with some innocent, but pathetic, bloke, who was unfortunate enough to have been the target of her apathetic friends.
Shaking her head, Hermione finally made up her mind.
She would not do anything. She may have been the one to ask them to make that dare, but she definitely had the right to have a say in the matter, if things got out of hand.
As long as she didn't budge from her seat, she would be perfectly safe…
And then what?
After this night, what would become of her?
She would still be plain Hermione Granger.
Unexciting…
Unwilling to do anything that could give her life a bit of animation.
She had lived trying to be the person people wanted in their lives. Now that she had achieved it, she no longer found it satisfying. She may be accepted because of who she was, but it still went without saying that a little bit of change did not hurt anybody.
But was she ready to take that step?
Wasn't it just a tad too much?
Surely, they could see the basis in that…
"Give me one good reason that I should accept," she leaned forward.
Ginny flexed her fingers, and lifted one to show Hermione. "You need this."
"Of all the challenges you could have given me, why this?" Hermione whispered savagely, letting her voice drop to an audible whisper, scared that somebody might hear their conversation and think the worst of her, or her friends.
Devious or not, she didn't want anybody to think that they were naughty lunatics.
Even though they really were…
Luna and Ginny looked at each other before turning to her. They seemed to be doing that a lot lately, Hermione thought as she eyed them suspiciously.
"It's something you can't do."
Hermione frowned.
Their answer was simple enough, but it hit the right spot in her heart.
They knew she wouldn't do it. It was not enough to dare her with something that she would have the courage to accomplish. They had given her a dare that would really test her willingness to change. Something that she wouldn't have done in a million years.
Bitterly, she admitted, they were right.
But still, it was unfair for the man they had chosen, she thought as she stole a glance at the bar where their "victim" was currently seated, still sipping his drink slowly as if he had no care in the world. He was leaning towards the bar table, his shoulders hunched. His jet-black hair was less than immaculate, shining on his head when the disco lights hit it.
And then he turned…
And Hermione momentarily lost her ability to speak…
To think…
To hear…
All her sense went numb…
But never her sight…
Not for one moment did it even falter…
Oh no…
Her eyes were working just perfectly well…
And what a feast it was taking!
Hermione had seen his profile earlier, and she had reasonably concluded that he was not hard to look at. Now that she had a good view of him, she could no longer say that she had been sensible in making a hasty assumption. She was, technically, partially right. But she had also been wrong…
And this was one mistake she was not afraid of admitting.
The man that she was to kiss was…to put it simply….striking.
He was not the traditional good-looking men one saw when perusing over a magazine. He was not with model-looks. But rather, he was a man of power. He exuded such masculinity that Hermione wondered whether half the female population in the room was also making bets as to who could snag him at the end of the night.
And just like every other female who had seen him for the first time, Hermione's gaze dropped onto his feet and slowly made its way up.
His feet were enclosed in dark leather shoes, and his long legs, bent as he was seated, were encased in dark slim slacks. It tapered up to narrow hips and a lean waist, which led to a well-built chest, emphasized by a silk, conforming shirt. From his chest stretched broad shoulders that she was sure caught more than enough attention not only from her.
If she even dared to look around, she would see that she was right into assuming that half of the women in the room were hormonally insane at the moment. She herself couldn't help but notice the muscles rippling all over his body with each movement he made.
Hermione let her gaze travel to his face, the face that she had seen earlier which had caused her to be in such a daze.
Even from afar, she could see the way it was chiseled at the right angles. It was not sharp. Rather, it was contoured smoothly and perfectly, as if his sculptor had taken time evening it out, hoping to get that perfection.
His nose was aristocratic, straight, but not pointed. It was crooked, but not so much to make her lose interest.
His eyes…
His eyes were different.
She couldn't see the color, but she saw their depth.
And as lame as it was, she felt that she could drown in them forever --- cliches were forgiven for a woman who seemed to have no other words to describe what she was seeing and feeling.
Besides, how was she supposed to find words when she couldn't even think clearly!
Rationally enough, there was something about the way he held himself, even seated, that pulled at her. It was more than good looks, she knew even though they made her very appreciative.
It was that he looked quite alone.
She didn't miss the fact that he was actually alone. But she knew there were those who looked happy even without a companion.
Maybe the right word for him was "lonely".
That's right…
Lonely…
Odd.
Odd that she felt a strong kinship because of this…
And a desire to make him feel better…
Maybe if she just agreed, she could find out what it was that irked her about him. Or if she was right that he was more than just alone, she could offer him company.
Hermione blinked, catching herself before she could continue thinking about it.
No.
She shook her head numerous times. She shouldn't even be considering such a thing! For all she knew, he could have a girlfriend at home, waiting for him, and kissing him would only bring him trouble, not to mention cause anger for her.
He was handsome.
That was just that.
And what she was feeling was simply a physical attraction that would soon fade the moment she went home, let the night pass and prepare for a great deal of hangover tomorrow.
She didn't need any more complication in her life.
"I don't think I can do it," Hermione said.
Luna let out a breath and Ginny huffed in disbelief.
"You were practically devouring him with your eyes, Hermione!" she exclaimed, causing several people to look curiously in their direction.
Hermione turned a bit red even as her eyes narrowed at Ginny. "He's attractive, that's all I I'm going to admit. But I'm not going over there to kiss him. It's not right. He's an innocent bystander, and he doesn't deserve to be played at."
"But you said you wanted to be spontaneous," Luna reminded her.
"Yes, but I don't want others to be involved," Hermione looked at her friend with pleading eyes.
Ginny caught Luna's arm before she could speak. "Don't give in, Luna, she's luring you into her trap."
When Hermione shot her a scornful look, Ginny just waved her expression away. "She said she wanted to get over being serious, and I'm taking my role as her friend the way she usually deals with things: seriously."
Hermione crossed her arms and leaned back. "You may say all the things you want to say, but you can't make me."
"You're right," Ginny nodded, eyeing her with a challenge, "Let Lucas have his laugh. Let everyone who knows about him and his fiance think that you were not enough for him. In fact, wouldn't it be nice if all your former lovers got together and talk about you?"
"That's a bit harsh, don't you think?" Hermione asked, trying to sound nonchalant, but Ginny's words pricked at her. If she really knew Lucas, he was, as of this moment, recalling the way he had dumped her right in her office, and grinning triumphantly as to how he had made himself look good in the process.
"Think of it this way," Luna murmured, interrupting her thoughts, "You don't have to look as if you meant to kiss him."
Hermione blinked her eyes in confusion. "How?"
"I don't know. Figure it out."
"Or you could run as fast as you can after you surprise him," Ginny winked, "That always works. And it's easier."
Hermione looked at one best friend to another and felt her insides give in. She knew that there was no rational explanation or excuse for this insane idea. Some would even go far as calling it pointless. But insanity, even for just a brief moment, felt like a good idea for someone who had lost a great deal because of being sane. Maybe, it was not a strange thing to desire for abnormality.
"This is crazy," Hermione muttered. She bit her lip as she reached up to tuck the strands of hair that had fallen in front of her face. She eyed her friends, "Do I look all right?"
As she said this, Luna and Ginny both straightened with looks of delight on their faces. They nodded enthusiastically and ushered Hermione out of her seat. She was glad that in the dim light, they weren't making public spectacles of themselves as they murmured excitedly at her, giving her some words of encouragement.
Hermione took a deep breath as she turned around and made her way towards the man who had turned his back towards the crowd again and was facing the bar. As she walked towards him, she straightened her clothes and thought of what would be her icebreaker.
There was an empty stool right beside him, and Hermione couldn't help but wonder whether fate had really installed it there, or it was just mere coincidence.
She didn't bother to find out the answer as she slid onto the stool non-too-demurely, her nerves getting in the way.
Up close, he looked even better.
She kept telling herself that what she was doing was not as audacious as a one-night stand. But the thought didn't settle her. And now that she was actually right beside him, merely inches away, she felt nauseous.
There was still time to back out, she told herself, but a lifetime of regret was not worth the chance.
"Go ahead."
Hermione's head jerked towards the man who had spoken so suddenly.
"Excuse me?"
"Do whatever you want and then leave me alone."
Hermione blinked at the words that were thrown at her. They may have been strangers, but even strangers deserved respect!
And he didn't even bother to look at her!
Bastard.
"Excuse me?" she croaked.
This time, the man cast her a glance…a second, that was all it took, before he turned his attention back somewhere else.
"You're not being very clever, are you?" he murmured, his deep voice, which would have normally soothed her, sent her temper to a boiling point, "But then again, you're one of them."
"Them?" Hermione repeated, unable to believe what she was hearing.
How could he talk to her like that when she hadn't even said a word?
And then an idea came to her.
He must know about the dare, and was furious that he was the one they chose to be the victim.
But how did he find out?"
Curse the staff for turning the music's volume down!
But Ginny and Luna had not been very discreet about it anyway, she surmised.
Neither had she.
"I'm sorry," she offered tentatively.
He smirked, the expression causing Hermione to feel the need to hit him with something. "Just the way it is."
What was his problem?
And why was he talking as if he was bored?
Was he so conceited that he believed himself to be some sort of meat for the ladies that every time he stepped into a bar, there will always be those who would come up to him and make him feel really good about himself?
"What's your name?" he asked, still not bothering to look at her, which is another thing that made Hermione want to wring his neck.
"Why are you asking?"
"It would be difficult for me to come up with something if you don't give me one," he said, "Or would you rather pretend you were someone else? Ashamed that you actually like me?"
Like him?
She was beginning to suffocate from him!
If only Ginny and Luna had dared her to kill somebody, she wouldn't even think twice about choosing the victim!
There was something quite wrong with this man, and she would do better to be a coward than to suffer in his presence.
"What's there to like?" she said suddenly, surprising even herself.
The man brought his glass above his head and inspected the contents from under. Then, he shrugged. "A lot."
"That's funny," Hermione snorted, forgetting herself, "I didn't even think you could make jokes."
"Funny, I didn't even know you could take one," he retorted as he sipped his own brandy.
And there goes another nerve!
How much had he heard?
If somebody had not beaten the hell out of this guy, she gladly would.
Was it possible that she could feel so much annoyance over him in just a span of a minute?
Probably not…
But then, she hadn't considered that he could be infuriating.
Clearly, God wanted to have a good laugh by creating something perfect, and then destroying it by letting it have a mouth as big as the size of his head.
"You're wasting my time," he drawled out, the words were not forceful, she noted. He sounded as if he was reminding her of something.
"Has anyone ever told you how rude you are?"
"I'm not the one imposing on someone else's privacy."
"I didn't even speak before you talked to me!"
"You would have done it first," he shrugged as he playfully twirled his drink, "I just saved you from the awkwardness,"
"And what made you think I came up here to talk to you?" Hermione faced him, crossing her arms across her chest.
"Honey, there's nothing else you would want here," he tossed her a look and lifted his brow.
Hermione tried to calm herself as she thought that he would be doing her a favor, releasing her from being a captive of her own fears and insecurities. But could it be considered spontaneity if the man knew what she was up to and had even gone as far as consented to be a willing participant?
At the corner of her eye, Hermione was dimly aware that the music had gone up again and that many people were already on the dance floor. There was some commotion just by the entrance, but she didn't bother to consider what it was. The distraction it was causing was an advantage for her. If she wanted to get away with no more than just self-humiliation, she must get the dare done and over with when everybody else was busy with their own affairs.
The man she was with still had not moved from his position.
Hermione bit her lip at another difficulty. How would she manage to plant a chaste kiss on him when she wouldn't even be able to graze his face with her breath at the position he was in. If she leaned towards him, he may turn away.
She needed to catch him by surprise even if he knew about the dare. At least that way, she would be considered spontaneous.
Behind her, the commotion was getting louder, and the room was growing slightly brighter by the minute. Hermione refused to think as she slid off the booth and stepped closer to him, whose name she didn't and would never intend to find out.
He seemed oblivious to what she was doing as he watched her with that same bored look he had given her the moment she sat down.
Good, she thought, this would be easier.
"Leaving already?" His voice was hard, but there was a smile playing across his lips.
His grin was quite different from the smug looks he had given her earlier, and Hermione didn't even pause to think about what the sight made her feel. All that mattered to her was that she got to be the artless person she had never been for so long.
She closed her eyes, leaned forward abruptly and thought no more as she felt her lips softly meet his.
If Hermione believed that the first kiss could tell everything that could go in a relationship, she would have said that her relationship with this man would definitely be a smooth sail.
She used to think that kissing a stranger, even long time friends, would be repulsive, but there was nothing sordid about kissing this particular stranger, she decided, as the lips that were frozen against hers began to respond with growing enthusiasm.
In fact, it was kind of…thrilling.
She tasted his surprise and his reluctance the moment she claimed the distance between their lips, and she also felt his unwanted pleasure. He already had a hand grazing her cheek when a blinding flash made him snatch it back.
Before Hermione could open her eyes, the man had her by the wrist, and was pulling her towards the back door of the pub.
Thinking that he might have been so angered by her intrusion that he was taking her away to punish her, she looked back to catch the attention of her friends, who were no doubt, watching the episode with amused gazes.
But all she saw were a few men with cameras and women with notepads, flocking and clawing at one another to surpass the other.
Hermione would have asked what was happening, had it not been for the fact that she had managed to conclude, between the pulling and the chasing, that they were being followed and this was no ordinary man she was with.
She heard them calling, but the sound was droned out when the doors to the pub closed behind them with a loud bang.
They were now amidst the muggles, Hermione realized, as she saw the London Streets ablaze with light, people still walking around despite the wee hours of the evening.
On the side, a ford was solely stretched out luxuriously.
For some unknown reason, Hermione was not surprised when the man started walking towards it. She even had the chance to admire the vehicle as he fished inside his pockets for the keys and opened the passenger side.
There was barely enough time to think, however, about the consequences of being with a stranger in a car before he shoved her hard inside. She considered running away as he went around to get inside himself, but thought better of it.
In movies that she had watched, women who were in the same situation only tired themselves out by trying to escape. If he were to do violence to her, at least she would have the strength to fight.
At the exact moment he closed his door, the one from the Leaky Cauldron burst open and out came the people who had been following them.
But merely a few seconds later, they became tiny dots at the end of the road as the engine roared to life and he drove them away.
For minutes, they took several turns around corners in silence.
But if thoughts could be heard, they would probably be deaf by now.
Hermione was vaguely aware that she wasn't with a normal person. But still, she was not satisfied. There were so many reasons concerning her right that moment that she didn't notice they had stopped at the top of some sort of hill.
Around them, it was very dark. And if it hadn't been for the car's headlights, she would have sworn they were floating into oblivion. The trees weren't helping either as they cast an eerie feeling that they were surrounded. The only other lights visible were those of the street below, flashing and blinking.
Hermione shivered.
Was he planning to ravage her here?
She frowned.
In any other circumstance, it would have been romantic.
But not now.
When he shut off the engine and got out, slamming the door behind him forcefully, Hermione felt insulted, forgetting that she had been nervous a minute before.
Why wouldn't she be angry?
There she was, having been dragged across half the city without so much as an explanation, and he was the one having a tantrum?
Fuming, she unlocked her door and got out, stomping to where he was standing, his arms on his waist.
She stopped right beside him and gazed up to look at his face at the exact same moment he turned to stare down at her.
Oddly enough, they spoke at the same time.
"Who the hell are you?!"
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A/N:
I hope you liked it. It took me 2 hours and 30 minutes to come up with the chapter. And it has not been edited as of yet. Please bear with the mistakes, and tell me what you think. It has been a while since I updated for this story, so it's quite raw.
Please review…thanks!
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