Greatest Fear

Greatest Fear

Everyone has fears.

That is a fact. Since all of us were made into human by the Most High, it was just necessary for us to fear something. It might be petty, plain, stupid, or great, but nevertheless, they could all still be qualified as fears.

Some hate it since it can be classified as one's weakness. Fear could make you panicky and irrational. It could make you do things out of desperation. It could make you do things that you might regret once you realized that what you did was just so, so silly and stupid.

Ronald Weasley, a Gryffindor seventh year, made his fear known to many - spiders. He absolutely loathed them. Any kind of spiders gave him the willies. Either normal spiders or Acromantulas found in the Forbidden Forest, they all freaked him out. He confessed his second year in Hogwarts that the real reason why he feared spiders was because his twin brothers, Fred and George Weasley, transfigured little five-year-old Ronnie's teddy bear into a spider. And thus, his greatest fear had formed. His whole class had been shown proof when a boggart turned itself into a giant spider in his third year. Weasley, transfigured

Neville Longbottom, Gryffindor and seventh year, had a fear that might be shared by many - Professor Severus Snape. The mere sight of him made him nervous to the point that he would mess up his potion. Well, he wouldn't be blamed. Potions Master Snape's piercing glare and biting insults were enough to send any poor person away from him, wailing. Again, Neville's boggart took the form of his Potions Master. Though, every time Neville cast the spell Riddikulus, old Sevvie would turn into a bloody homosexual one who liked accessorizing with Neville's grandmother's eccentric hat and red bag.

Mrs. Molly Weasley, the well-known Weasley matron, was a jolly person and, like the typical mother, she would scold her children for their own good if they were being naughty. Her heart broke when one of her sons turned his back on his family and her heart soared when, on Christmas Day, he returned back and patched everything up with them. Yes, just like a typical mother. And her greatest fear? Seeing her children and husband die. On the summer before the Golden Trio's fifth year, Mrs. Weasley encountered a boggart while cleaning Grimmauld Place. Upon seeing it, it formed into her child's corpse that would soon change into another one and then another.

Remus Lupin was the favorite Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher of the Golden Trio. He would teach fascinating lessons, the content of which ranged from this to that. And his greatest fear surprised everyone (and of course, aroused some suspicions) - a full moon. Of course, it would have been understandable if they knew that he was suffering from Lycanthropy, causing him to take the form of a wolf every full moon.

Some minor characters also had their own fears. Like Seamus Finnigan. He feared seeing banshees. Parvati Patil, on the other hand, feared mummies, though, upon casting the Riddikulus charm, it would trip over its own bandages. Lastly, Dean Thomas feared seeing a hand that moved by itself. It was just... disturbing.

And then, there was Professor Albus Dumbledore, hailed as one of the best wizards that the Wizarding World had ever seen. One might think that this old wizard feared nothing. But in reality, amidst the wise, cool, calm, and brave face of the great wizard was a secret, buried fear - seeing the corpse of his sister, Ariana Dumbledore. Apparently, he still hadn't forgiven himself for her death.

Lord Voldemort/Tom Marvolo Riddle/He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named/You-Know-Who/The Dark Lord/The-Bloody-Bastard was known as the worst wizard that the World had ever encountered. He was the one who caused fear towards the magical beings. But actually, Tommy also had a great fear - defeat and death. Apparently, though, his fear had already happened to him.

And then, there was Harry Potter/The-Boy-Who-Lived/The Chosen One/The Defeater of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He was just a typical boy who really had a great mission in the Wizarding World. One might think that his greatest fear was dueling with Lord Voldemort, but really, his fear was encountering a mere Dementor. But, he didn't fear the beast but the things that he could hear from it - his mother's screams and pleadings.

And lastly, there was Hermione Granger, the goody-two-shoes and the know-it-all of Hogwarts. She was hailed as the smartest witch of her age. Her boggart took form of Professor McGonagall telling her that she had failed her exams. Another fear of hers was heights, that was why she hated riding broomsticks.

But really, those were not her greatest fear.

Now, she could be found in the Astronomy Tower. She was seated on the stone floor, her back against the wall. Her knees were drawn to her chest, arms wrapped around them tightly. A blanket was draped around her shoulders as she watched the snowflakes gently fall from the dark sky. She should have gone back to the Gryffindor Tower, knowing that she might die because of the cold, but she just couldn't bring herself to walk out the Tower.

She sighed and placed her chin on her knees, shivering slightly. It was stupid for her to slip out of the Gryffindor common room and leave her best friends with their significant others. But, the real reason why she walked out of her common room was the fact that Harry and Ron were busy with their girlfriends (Ginny and Lavender respectively).

She had been in the Astronomy Tower for quite a while now. It was funny that within that short span of time, she had been able to realize something... to realize what she did, in fact, have something that she greatly feared, and seeing her best friends happy with their lovers made her more afraid, causing her face to pale and lips to turn into a huge frown.

Hermione was busy contemplating and so, she didn't hear the footsteps that had just come inside the Astronomy Tower. She hadn't yet seen his pale blond hair, unusually disheveled (since it was almost always gelled back) and a frustrated look adorning his face.

Draco Malfoy did a double take upon seeing the current Head Girl huddled in a corner with only a blanket to shield her from the cold. "Granger, what the bloody hell are you doing here? It's freezing cold, for your information."

The brunette looked at him warily and sighed. "Well, what are you doing here?" she asked.

He frowned and approached her. "I asked you first, Granger."

She rolled her eyes. "I was here, thinking, when someone rudely interrupted my thoughts," she spat.

Draco glared. "Well then, I'm going to leave," he said, putting his mitten clad hands inside the pockets of his jacket.

"No wait, don't go," Hermione said, surprised at her pleading tone.

The blond raised an eyebrow and looked at her. In his mind, Hermione looked quite pathetic. It was obvious that she was freezing cold. Under her blanket, she was just wearing normal Muggle pajamas - white tank top and jogging pants. "Go back inside, Granger. You're killing yourself."

"Do you have a fear, Malfoy?" she asked him, ignoring his last statement.

Draco looked at her, surprised at her sudden question. But, he answered her nonetheless. "Of course I don't have, Granger. I am a Malfoy, remember that."

She scoffed. Out of the corner of her eyes, she watched as he slid down beside her, mimicking her posture. "Well, that's plain rubbish, Malfoy. Everyone has a fear. Even your high and mighty ol' Voldie has one."

He looked at her, amused. "What are you on about, Granger?"

Hermione sighed and released a soft groan. "I just realized something today, Malfoy," she started, not really sure why she was telling her secret to a boy... let alone Draco Malfoy. "Funny how loneliness can make you realizes things."

"Finally realized that Weasley's a bastard?" he mocked.

The brunette rolled her eyes. "No, I just realized you are a bastard," she told him sarcastically. To her surprise, Draco Malfoy just smiled.

"I have a feeling you realized that way before, Granger," he told her. "So, what's your new realization?"

Hermione sighed and placed her chin on top of her knee again. "I realized... what my greatest fear is," she softly whispered. "With the upcoming war, I'm afraid this fear of mine will happen."

"You're afraid of death, huh?" he asked her, head tilted towards the night sky. "Don't worry, Granger. You're not alone. I'm... afraid of death too, you know." He looked at her and scowled. "Stop being so smug, Granger. All right, I admit, I'm afraid of something... I'm afraid to die. Happy?"

She just chuckled and shook her head. "Malfoy, I'm not afraid of dying. It's inevitable, remember?" She released a huge sigh. "I'm afraid of something else."

"Then, what is it?"

"Promise me you won't laugh," she said.

"I'm always laughing at you, Granger," he told her. "I can't promise that."

Hermione scowled. "Then, I won't tell you," she told him. "My God, I don't even know why I'm telling you all of this. Please, go away now, Malfoy. I swear I won't stop you."

Draco snorted. "Feeling very touchy today, eh?" he asked her, noting the fact that she was shivering. "And, I think you're the one who has to go inside, Granger. For your information, you're shivering. Again."

"I'd rather sit here and think," she said, tightening the cloak around her shoulders.

"Just tell me your greatest fear, damn it!" he exclaimed. "Let's make a deal, shall we? You'll tell me your fear, I won't laugh. If I kept the part of my deal, you'll go back to Potty and Weasley. Deal?" He stretched

out his right hand, waiting for her to shake it.

Sighing, Hermione clutched his hand and shook it. "Deal," she told him.

"Merlin, your hands are freezing cold," he murmured. Hermione just ignored him and looked at the falling snow. She then suddenly stood up, walking slowly towards the railing of the Astronomy Tower. Draco followed suit, stopping just a few inches behind her.

"My greatest fear," she whispered, hair billowing, "is that I will die... without falling in love." She released a rueful sigh and turned around. She was surprised to see Draco standing too close for her own comfort. "You can laugh now, Malfoy. I know that my greatest fear is silly but really, it's true."

The blond bit his bottom lip and looked at her lips for just slightly too long. His right hand was suddenly caressing her cheek until it cupped her neck. He was pleased to feel goose bumps growing on her bare skin. He inched his face closer, his warm breath washing over the brunette's face.

"You want to know my greatest fear, huh, Granger?" he asked her huskily, eyes trained on her parted lips again.

To his surprise, Hermione suddenly closed the gap between them.

Draco, more pleased than surprised, wrapped his other arm around her waist and pulled her flush against his body. She was leaning against the railing, her back arched slightly. It was quite painful but she just didn't mind. Her hands were too busy running themselves through his hair.

The kiss was heated... passionate. Even the snow would burn because of its intensity. Soon, Draco was kissing her lips repeatedly. Hermione moaned against him, his lips attacking her jaw down to her neck.

Hermione's cloak fell to the floor, abandoned. Draco's body was doing quite a nice job of keeping her warm.

His lips found their way back to hers again. Hermione eagerly kissed him back, murmuring his name, his first name, softly against his lips.

He smirked and kissed her lips one last time before pulling away. Draco watched as she fluttered her eyes open, a dazed look on her face. He was proud to observe that her lips were swollen from their kissing session and her cheeks were flushed.

"My greatest fear," Draco murmured, tucking a stray strand of brown hair behind Hermione's ear, "is that if I... if I kissed the girl I liked the most, she wouldn't kiss me back at all." He watched as her cheeks flushed redder and her eyes widened in shock. "Glad you reassured me that won't happen at all...Hermione."

Hermione heaved a sharp intake of breath. Merlin, help her. Her name...him... He said her name. Not Granger. Not Mudblood. Not anything. Just Hermione. Plain Hermione. And strangely, her name sounded so beautiful rolling out from his mouth. The mouth that was just pressed against hers a few seconds ago.

"Malfoy... what?" she asked, fingers immediately caressing her swollen bottom lip. "You... I mean, I - ." She stopped abruptly as a cold, biting wind angrily brushed itself against Hermione's bare shoulder as if telling her what she did a while ago was bad, very, very bad... and punishable. Yes, punishable.

To her surprise, Draco took off his thick and comfy-looking jacket. He then gently placed it around the brunette. Hermione tried to suppress her sigh of comfort though failed miserably. He pulled her towards him again and he just hugged her, his head buried in her brown tresses.

"Malfoy, please tell me, what... what are you doing?" she asked, horrified to discover that her eyes were misting.

"Don't... just don't," he whispered, kissing the place below her right ear. "You want to know my new greatest fear, Granger?" he asked.

The brunette frowned. He should have called her by her first name. "Please, just go... go back to your own common room," she begged.

Draco pulled away from her, his hands firmly yet gently gripping her shoulders. "Do you want to know my new greatest fear, Hermione?" he asked.

Hermione gasped. He had said it. Her name. Again. The brunette closed her eyes and was surprised when a tear slid down from her right eye. His thumb brushed it away as another tear slid down from her other eye. "Please, don't do this, Malfoy. Just, go back to your own common room and forget this had happened."

He placed his lips against hers again, this time kissing her slowly and gently. Hermione couldn't help but succumbed against his kiss. She was angry with herself because her knees instantly became weak and wobbly. "I'm afraid that this won't happen in the near future, Hermione," he said, forehead pressed against hers. "That's my new greatest fear."

The Malfoy heir then gave her one last kiss before completely pulling away from her. "Granger," he said, going back to his usual haughty, bastard-y, bow-down-to-me attitude. "Go back inside. You're killing yourself." And with that, he disappeared completely from her sight.

Oddly, Hermione felt empty. She hugged herself tighter, faintly smelling Draco Malfoy's cologne.

Tonight was strange. Everything was blissfully strange. Hermione had just decided to go to the Astronomy Tower so that she wouldn't witness the bloody, revolting lovey-dovey moments among her best friends and their girlfriends. She just wanted to be alone and think about things... but Draco Malfoy showed his bloody face and ruined this perfect, peaceful moment. He just had to kiss her... kiss her damn it! And then, he left her with a lot of things rushing in her mind.

'So he likes me, huh?' she asked herself, fingers brushing against her lips again. Draco Malfoy just practically confessed that he loved her... liked her, rather. Love was too powerful. Love was too early to say. But still, he liked her... the girl he liked the most according to the blond. And strangely, those words made Hermione feel something different... something she had never felt before. Alive. Yes, he had made her feel alive. His brief kisses which held a lot of emotions, his warm and tight embrace, and the way his chin perfectly fitted on top of her head...

"UGH!" the brunette thought, clutching her head. She was turning into a sappy, hopeless romantic, silly little girl. 'Oh, he's making my blood boil,' she told herself. 'How dare he kiss me! How dare he hug me! How dare him! How dare him! How dare he leave me without explaining all of his weird actions! How dare him! How dare he make me feel those stupid feelings like a stupid little girl who just happened to have a new stupid crush.'

Hermione calmed herself and bent down to pick up her discarded blanket. As she walked out of the Astronomy Tower, a new goal formed in her mind.

She had to reassure Draco Malfoy that his new greatest fear wouldn't happen at all.