Stupid Cupid

STUPID CUPID

(Prequel to "Not Just a Game")

<3 C H A P T E R 2 <3

Have you heard about Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston? Don't give me that "That is so ten years ago" look - they've separated, yes, but to break the arrow or no? Oh, maybe I should tell you about my arrows first. Many have the misconception that if I hit a couple with an arrow, that couple will be together forever. (I laugh). If only that were true. You see, how this whole arrangement works is, I put people together by shooting them with my love arrows, BUT they can be broken apart once the arrow breaks. Now, there are two ways in which an arrow can be broken: A. I break it myself, or B. someone in the couple calls it quits from the heart. Actually, I do remember this one time when the break-up was unintentional. You see, what happened was that I accidentally sat on an arrow, and it broke...but that was with Elizabeth Taylor, and I knew it was going to happen sooner or later anyway (I mean, hello, she had what, eight husbands?); so I didn't feel bad about it at all.

Anyway, back to Aniston and Pitt. You see, in Roman values, one only marries to have children. But Aniston doesn't seem ready for that kind of game. So I really don't blame Pitt for drawing back and wanting a break-up. Then the rumors come that he's crushing on Sex Goddess Angelina Jolie (which, if that is true, it is so not my doing). Can you blame him though? I mean seriously, Jolie has got skills in that category. If Daddy Zeus ever needed someone to be the Goddess of Sex, she would be getting a very flattering job offer the next time she goes to church.

Well, consulting you about this problem has made me feel a bit better, but I know you could really care less about these silly celebrity couples, so I'll continue to tell you what you really wanna know, the story of Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger.

<3*<3*<3

Draco searched his room over twice for his belt, but he couldn't find it. Then he remembered where he last had it - in the Shrieking Shack, with Hermione. He sighed and fell backwards onto his bed. He thought about kissing her again. He had never kissed anyone before her, and least of all expected her to be his first kiss.

"What am I doing?" he cursed to himself. Everything in him told him to hate her, made him hate her, but his heart beat differently around her. He felt differently around her. "It's like I'm under a spell," he thought absentmindedly.

But after how he had left things with her, he knew nothing would ever happen between them (and it comforted him in a way). He swung his legs off the bed and headed out of the dungeons. Harry had noticed him before he could turn around and run.

"So you slept with that slut, did you?" Harry spat.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Is that what she told you?" he asked.

"She didn't have to tell me anything," Harry scowled. "Stay away from her, Malfoy."

He scoffed, "What gives you the idea that I want her?"

Harry looked murderous just then. "If you don't want her...stop toying around with her feelings."

"Potter, as I always believed, you should seriously get off the Pot."

Harry advanced on him. "I love her, Malfoy. If you do anything to hurt her, I'll--"

Draco laughed. "You love her? You called her a Mudblood, genius. Way to win her heart! The only reason we spent the night in the Shrieking Shack is because of you!"

"So it's true then? You two did sleep together?"

"Yeah, we did," he lied. Harry stared at him, in shock. "And she was a good fuck."

The next thing Draco saw was the cold marble ground. Harry walked off without saying another word.

<3*<3*<3

Potions the next day was mighty uncomfortable for Draco, Hermione, and Harry. The tension was so unbearable that even Snape felt it. Draco would bury his head inside his arms every time Hermione spoke and Harry voluntarily sat in front of his (Snape's) desk. When class was over, Hermione was first out the door.

"Herm-Granger, wait!" Draco called as he chased her down the hall. He grabbed her by the elbow and caused all her books to splatter onto the floor. He instantly dropped to his feet and picked them up for her. Hermione waited patiently, expertly avoiding glances being shot at them by passing students. When Draco finally stood back up, the hall was empty. He handed the books to her. She took them, but did not thank him. He stood dumbly in front of her, suddenly at a loss for words.

"Is there something I can help you with, Malfoy?" she asked coldly. Draco took a sharp inhale.

"Actually..." he began. He looked down at his polished leather shoes. "I'm sorry," he said just above a whisper.

"What was that?" Hermione asked. Draco looked up at her, not knowing if she was tormenting him or what.

"I said I'm sorry," he repeated, this time with less sincerity. Hermione looked taken aback. "I feel things for you that I've never felt before...and I can't control them. Believe me, if I could, I'd be the same old Malfoy to you right now, but every time you're around me, everything else vanishes. I can't stop thinking about you, and I just want to kiss you again." He took a step closer to her. She felt herself pull away.

"I'm not lying, Hermione," he continued softly. "I think I'm falling for you."

Silence fell upon them. Then Hermione began to cry. Draco looked alarmed as he watched the most independent woman that he knew drop to her knees and cry. He knelt down beside her and put an arm around her shoulders.

"What're you crying about?" he laughed gently. "I'm really here. I'm yours."

She looked up at him with a tear stained face. "Really?" her voice staggered. Draco kissed her.

"Really, really."

Harry crunched his jaw together as he watched Hermione hold Draco affectionately. He hid himself behind a wall and slid down to the floor, on the verge of tears himself.

<3*<3*<3

"I'm not doing it," Draco protested, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Malfoy! Don't argue with me, just give me your hand!"

"No!" he exclaimed, tapping his foot impatiently on the ground.

Hermione scowled. "Fine! If you're going to be like that..." She walked off. Draco stubbornly refused to go after her.

"I'm not going!" he called loudly. She clenched her fists and disappeared around the corner. Draco huffed and looked around the empty hall. "Unbelievable," he muttered. Then, before he realized it, he was zooming down the hallway. He skidded to a sudden stop at the point of Hermione's wand.

She grinned. "Much better."

Draco's mouth fell open. "Did you just summon me?!"

She laughed and offered him her hand. "Now?"

"No."

She glared at him.

"I'm not walking down the halls holding your hand, Granger! That's just...embarrassing!"

She laughed. "Oh really?! Embarrassing? For me or for you?"

Draco clenched his teeth. "You're asking too much," he said, shaking his head.

"I'm asking too much? At least I'm making an effort to make this relationship work - or better yet, begin!"

"Can't we just take things slow? I'm not even used to 'us' yet!" he cried.

"At the rate we're going, Britney Spears' marriage will look like a lifetime compared to us!" she shouted.

"Well, then so be it!" he replied equally loud (probably because he had no idea who Britney Spears was).

They glared angrily at each other, nose barely an inch apart, and then crashed into the wall, kissing passionately. Draco kissed her again on the forehead when they came apart.

"Now, please?" she pleaded, holding out her hand.

He rolled his eyes and reluctantly gave her his hand. "Alright, let's go."

<3*<3*<3

The whole school fell quiet when Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy walked through the doors of the Great Hall hand in hand during lunch. Both of their faces were redder than ripe strawberries, but they continued inside.

"Great, where are we gonna sit?" Draco muttered under his breath.

"Gryffindor, of course," she replied discreetly.

She felt Draco's grip tighten. "There's no way in hell you're going to make me sit with Pothead and Weasel."

They were crawling at snail pace, trying to decide which way to turn.

"Well, I'm not sitting with your evil minions," she objected. "We're sitting at Gryffindor."

"No!"

They glared at each other. "Can't you just do what I say?!" they shouted at the same time. The room rang with laughter. They quickly broke apart, even redder than before.

"This isn't going to work," Hermione muttered darkly. "You go sit at your table, and I'll sit at mine."

Draco gritted his teeth and watched her go. Some younger girls sitting at Hufflepuff threw him nasty glares and pointed for him to go after her. He scowled at them. Then, he looked over at the Slytherin table, where his friends were. Their expressions were not at all amused, and expected him to walk over to them. Then he looked over at Hermione, who was looking back at him. He cursed himself softly and walked toward her.

Everyone but the Slytherin table and Harry applauded. He caught up to her and took her hand again. "There, happy now?" he sighed under his breath.

She grinned and kissed him on the cheek. "Yeah."

They sat down and the meal began.

"So Malfoy, you always do what your girl says?" Dean taunted.

"At least my girl wants to be with me," he drawled, eyeing Ginny. She quickly looked away and buttered her toast. Dean scowled, but didn't say anything, since Hermione was holding her knife in a very unflattering position.

Harry and Ron had moved to the other end of the table, talking quietly amongst themselves. Hermione looked sad. Draco sighed and walked over to them.

"You guys wanna go sit with us?" he offered as nicely as his pride would allow.

"Why would we want to do that?" Ron snarled.

"Because Hermione wants you to," Draco said, now dangerously serious. Ron was surprised to hear those words out of his mouth. Harry laughed sardonically.

"Because Hermione wants us to? That's pathetic," he replied.

Draco forced himself not to smack him across the back of his head. "Potter, don't make things worse. She wants to stay friends with you guys, and I'm trying my best to make it work."

"Well, maybe you're trying too hard. And since when did you care about anyone but yourself? Aren't you a bit out of character right now?"

Draco raised an eyebrow. "I've been out of character all my life until now," he replied. Harry had nothing to say to that. Draco glared at the both of them, and they eventually caved in.

Hermione felt a bit happier when she saw the three of them walk over together. Draco sat back down next to her.

"Thanks," she whispered, he didn't reply.

<3*<3*<3

The skies turned to ash in the afternoon. Rumbles of thunder foreshadowed the storm ahead. No one wanted to be stuck inside a dreary classroom; this was a perfect day for a book by the fireplace.

"Wanna go somewhere fun?" Draco asked as he met up with Hermione after class.

"Where?"

Draco took her hand. "Just come."

She smiled and let him lead her away. It wasn't until they were in front of the Entrance Hall that she realized where he was going to take her.

"I'm not going outside," she protested immediately.

Draco laughed. "Have you ever been out in the rain?" he asked.

"No. But there's a reason for that!"

"Are you afraid of getting wet?"

"I have taken a shower before, thank you," she responded light heartedly.

"Then come. I promise you, being in the rain is not what people make it out to be. It's fun and refreshing. Plus, even if it isn't, being with me will suffice."

Hermione laughed loudly, putting a dent in his ego. "Okay, but if I get sick, you're doing all my homework for the next week!"

<3*<3*<3

Both of them were soaked down to the bone by the time they made a circle around the Great Lake. "I'm cold," she whispered. Draco smiled and pulled her against his body.

"I'll keep you warm." He took her hands and ran towards the Quidditch field; she had no choice but to follow.

He closed the boys' locker room door behind them. "Sit," he offered, pointing to a wooden bench. She shivered and sat down. Draco disappeared behind a wall and came back with a stack of robes.

"Here, put these on."

She took them but kept her eyes on his. He smiled slightly and turned around. "Go on, change."

Hermione suppressed a grin and began taking off her robes. Draco took a few steps away from the bench and stuck his hands nervously inside his pockets. She stifled a laugh and stood up, taking off her pants.

It seemed like forever before she was dressed again. She walked over to him and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'm done," she said. He turned around.

"You look good in green," he commented. She grabbed his drenched robes and stripped it off of him.

"You don't," she replied. Draco grinned and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"My tie's green," he said. She pulled it off. "My shirt could be green," he suggested. She took that off too. Draco gazed into her eyes and then kissed her. She ran her hands down his smooth back and pushed him up against the lockers.

He grinned and let her tongue into his mouth. She reached for his belt and took it off. Draco pulled back and held her face with both hands.

"You're sure about this?" he breathed. She nodded.

"I want you to be my first." They kissed.

<3*<3*<3

Hermione returned to the Gryffindor tower early next morning, unusually happy. Harry was sitting in a chair by the fireplace, watching for the portrait hole to open. Finally, at five-thirty in the morning, it did. He saw a skinny little girl crawl into the common room.

"Morning," he said. She jumped and screamed.

"You trying to scare me to death, Harry?" she exclaimed.

Harry stood up and walked over to her. "Where were you?"

"You like asking me that question, don't you? I don't have to tell you what I do with every second of my life."

Harry angrily clamped his hands on both her arms and shook her. "Where were you?!" he shouted.

Hermione whimpered and tried pushing him away. "Let me go, Harry!"

He released her. "What the hell is wrong with you, Hermione? Why are you with Malfoy?"

"Why can't I be with Malfoy?!"

"Because you're nothing alike! Because he's an asshole, and you know it! Because you're falling into a trap that I'm going to have to dig you out of..." his voice grew weaker as he continued. "Because I'm still in love with you," he confessed at last.

"Harry," she whispered. "I'm with Draco now. I thought you knew--I thought you understood that we were over."

He looked like her words had cut him open like a thousand pieces of shard glass. "It'll never work..." he said bitterly.

Hermione refused to hear it. "I'm going to bed," she said, and she walked up the stairs.

"I'll still be here, Hermione. I'll wait. I don't care if it takes you one month or one year to figure out that he's not the one for you. But when you do, I'll be here. I'll be waiting for you."

She took in a deep breath and continued up the stairs. "Good night," she said, then without looking at him, she closed her door.

<3*<3*<3

Harry angrily stormed into his room. He punched the wall (then spent the next five minutes crying over his bruised hand). He couldn't decide whether he wanted to kill himself, Hermione, or Draco, or maybe both of them and then himself. He paced around his room as if he was waiting for a muse to visit him. Then a knock came at his door.

"Go away!" he yelled.

"Harry, it's me, Ron."

Harry growled but still opened the door. "What do you want?" he spat.

Ron furrowed his eyebrows. "You alright, mate?"

"No. I'm not. Now go away."

Ron opened his mouth but decided not to speak. He nodded his head once and left. Harry shut the door immediately and screamed. He wanted to make this go away. He wanted Hermione to break up with Malfoy. And there was only one way that he knew of to make that happen.

<3*<3*<3

Lucius Malfoy was in the middle of punishing a House Elf for being visible when a letter flew through his fireplace. He dropped the poor, beaten slave onto the cold marble floor and picked the piece of parchment up. It had no return address and did not state who it was from. He opened it precariously and held it at arm's length.

Mr. Malfoy,

Out of my concern for your family's reputation, I think it is imperative that you are aware of your son's unhealthy obsession with a Mudblood. Draco has been seen holding hands with this girl and even showing unneeded public affection. I leave it to you to deal with him.

Lucius crumbled the letter in his fists and stormed out of the Malfoy Mansion.

<3*<3*<3

Draco and Hermione were just about done with breakfast when an unexpected visitor stormed into the dining hall. The visitor's cold grey eyes at once fell upon them with disgust. Draco almost gasped out loud. He stood up but didn't dare walk over to his father.

Lucius took his time strolling to their table. Dumbledore watched from the staff table, ready to take action, but refused to do so if unneeded.

"Son," Lucius greeted. Draco nodded his head, partly because he couldn't find his voice. "May I ask who this young lady is?"

Hermione stood up and kept a firm grip on her butter knife. "You know who I am, Mister Malfoy."

Lucius gave her a cold glare. "A woman should not speak out of turn. Sit down!"

Draco held her arm, in case if she was actually going to obey. "Father, what are you doing here?"

"I received an interesting letter last night, Draco." He withdrew something out of his robes and tossed it to him. He caught it and read it.

"So what are you going to do about it?" Draco asked as he neatly folded it back up.

"Well, it all depends," Lucius began. "Do you love her?"

Draco swallowed hard. "Maybe."

"Maybe?" his father laughed. "Do you love her more than your life?"

Hermione felt his grip tighten on her.

"No." If he squeezed her any harder, Hermione thought her arm would have exploded.

His father smiled sinisterly. He looked over at Hermione. "You hear that, Miss Granger? Would you ever want to be with such a selfish and cowardly boy?"

"You're putting words in his mouth," Hermione replied hotly.

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Then tell me, when was the last time he told you that he loved you?"

Stumped by the question, she looked down at her plate.

"That's what I thought," he sneered.

Lucius took off his glove and slapped Draco sharply across the face with it. "Consider this a warning son. If I hear any more of this nonsense, I will punish you."

He turned away to leave.

"I love her," Draco said hoarsely. The room froze. "I love Hermione," he repeated. Lucius didn't turn around to look at him. "I've denied it many times over. I've even hated myself for loving her. Most of the time, I can't tell you why I love her. But I do. And I know I can't live without her."

He walked around the table and stood a bold foot away from his father. "You might as well kill me if you expect me to stop."

Even from behind, Lucius looked murderous. "Very well then," he said in fake calmness. "I disown you."

He straightened his back and walked away.

<3*<3*<3

Okay, so I didn't mean for Draco to be disowned by his own father, but at least he has confessed his love for Hermione (point for Cupid!). But Lucius Malfoy is not a retard, no siree. He quickly had his connections check out the situation, and hey, all the arrows pointed to me. They sent me a threat (how dare they!) saying that if I didn't give them Draco's arrow, they'd bring war like never seen before. So I decided to pay them a visit.

<3*<3*<3

"Sir..." a little house elf chirped. Lucius appear out of his study.

"What?!" he snarled nastily.

"Sir...there's a little baby at the door!" the house elf replied. His master looked at him with disgust.

"Get rid of it!" he ordered.

"But sir, this isn't an ordinary baby - he has wings - and he says he's here to talk to you about Draco..." the bold servant continued.

Lucius clicked his tongue on his teeth in annoyance. "I'll deal with it, you disappear now!"

Three minutes later, I was finally invited (well, that's an extreme euphemism) into the house.

"So you're Cupid?" Lucius asked disrespectfully, taking a seat by the fireplace.

I flew above him. "So I am. On what bases do you have the right to threaten me, a God?"

"You stay out of my son's life!" he hollered furiously. "And give me that goddamn arrow this instant!"

I wanted to stick the arrow up his as-butt that would have turned out against my cause. I casually drew the golden arrow out from my sheath and placed it before him, and he snatched it off the table before it had time to collect dust. At once, he worked himself into a fit trying to break it.

The right thing for me to do at this point was to explain that there was no possible way that he could break the arrow, but seriously, watching the great Lucius Malfoy make a fool of himself was not something I was willing to pass up!

After he exploded a couple of things in his living room, he finally gave up and glared at me, knowing I was secretly laughing at him.

"How do you break this?" he hissed. I happily flapped my wings around the room and returned to him with a shrug.

"Why should I tell you? You'll only undo the beauty that I've created."

He sneered and launched himself at me, but I flew a couple feet out of his reach. "Stupid Cupid! Tell me how to break the arrow!"

"No," I replied after feigning some deep thought. The usually pale man was now radish red, and his hair was everywhere (it looked worse than that Felicity girl's bad hair cut!). He calmed himself down and took his seat again.

"Cupid..." he said in a business like manner. "Wouldn't you like to know if they'd still lo--be together after I break the arrow? That way, it's true love?"

I knew he was just trying to get to me...I did. But there was something about the way he said it that was both insulting and challenging at the same time. And I knew I shouldn't have handed the arrow over to him...but I did.

"They will still love each other, Lucius!" I declared. "You just wait and see!"

He swept the arrow out of my hand with his and tucked it safely inside his pocket. "Now, how do I break it?"

I grinned. "Only Draco or Hermione can."

<3*<3*<3

Draco didn't talk to Hermione for the rest of the day. She tried to comfort him, but he'd just push her away.

"Draco, it's not your fault..." she said.

He closed his eyes and buried his head inside his arms.

"Please...talk to me. That's what I'm here for."

Suddenly, Draco began to cry. He tried to hide it, but Hermione knew he was crying. She rubbed his quaking back with her hand and placed his head on her shoulder. He cried even harder now, and wrapped his arms around her so that she couldn't see him crying.

"I'm scared," he whispered between sobs. She squeezed him.

"About what?"

"I'm scared because I really do love you Hermione," he sniffed. "I really do. And I hate myself for not caring about what my father said to me today. A year ago, I would have been down on my knees apologizing to him, but now...all I want...all I want now is you."

"That's touching," a cold voice remarked. Both Draco and Hermione jumped, unaware that they were being watched. Lucius Malfoy approached them and drew something out of his jacket. Hermione's eyes popped open, thinking that he was going to attack them with his wand, but what he revealed was rather unexpected.

"What is that?" Hermione asked, denying what her mind what telling her. Lucius smirked.

"I'd thought that you would know..." he replied slyly. "This is the reason why you two are together, right here and now."

Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "It's Cupid's arrow, isn't it?" she exhaled slowly.

Lucius's smirk slivered into a sinister grin. "That it is."

He took Draco by the arm and jerked him upright. "Don't you find it shameful to be crying in front of a girl, Draco Malfoy? Is that how I raised you? To be weak?!"

Draco made a visible effort to even out his breathing. "No, sir."

Lucius threw his chin in the air. "That's what I thought."

Hermione stood up now and took a step closer to the father and son. It was eerie how similar they were, but so different at the same time. "So I suppose you're here so that one of us will break the arrow?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"You ask that as though you don't want it to be broken," Lucius commented boldly.

Hermione didn't reply. Draco looked at her now. "If...if that's a Cupid Arrow, then...this...us...none of it is real?" he stammered.

His father laughed. "That's right. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she went and had Cupid do this to you!"

"That's bullshit!" Hermione screamed at once. "Why would I have done that?"

"Power, money, a place in the Wizard society that you'll never have..."

Draco punched his father. "She's not like that," he scowled.

Lucius got back up and held his face incredulously. He raised his arm to hit him back, but stopped in midair. He put his arm down and sneered. "You are a shame to me, son," he said quietly. "So I no longer find any point in punishing you, for you will never learn."

"Give me the arrow," Draco demanded like he didn't hear him. His father put it in the center of his palm. He held it tightly in a fist and looked at Hermione. "Let's go."

"Aren't you going to break it?" both Lucius and Hermione asked harmoniously.

Draco looked hurt when he heard it from her. "Why should I?"

"Draco...I need to know if I really love you or not..." Hermione said.

"You have doubts?" he said, now unable to hide his pain.

Lucius smiled. "Draco is too much of a coward to find out, dear. I'm afraid you'll be trapped under the spell forever..."

Hermione held Draco's fist in her hand, "Please, Draco."

He bit his bottom lip, and before she could stop him, he ran away.

<3*<3*<3

"WHY?!!!" Draco screamed with both arms flung open towards the sky. "Why did you have to do this to me?!"

He fell to his knees and buried his head in his arms. "Why..." he rocked himself back and forth.

"Get up," said a voice. Draco looked up, and saw the last person that he wanted to see at that moment.

Harry Potter stretched his arm out to him. Draco looked away. "It's all a lie..." he whispered.

Harry kneeled down next to him. "Is it Hermione?" he asked, skillfully hiding the hope in his voice.

Draco didn't reply.

"What's that in your hand?" Harry asked.

He scoffed softly and loosened his grip on the arrow. "She wants me to break it."

Harry took the arrow into his own hand and examined it. "What is it?"

"Cupid's Arrow."

Harry's eyes widened. "You mean..."

Draco nodded. "Happy now?"

But Harry wasn't listening to him anymore, he was too busy trying the crack the arrow in half. Draco angrily turned around and whacked him across the back of his head. "You can't break it, Potter! Don't you know anything? Only Hermione or I can break it."

Harry looked more disappointed than a baby who had candy taken away from him. Draco heaved a heavy sigh.

"She said she wanted to know if she really loved me..." he confessed. He gave Harry an envious look. "She still loves you."

Harry held back a victorious smile. "I'm sure she loves you too..."

Draco scoffed. "Not half as much as I love her."

"Draco..." Harry said seriously. "Don't you want her to be happy? You know Hermione...she has to know the truth."

"I know," he whispered. "You're not making me feel any better, Potter."

Harry looked down. "Sorry."

"Whatever."

Both of them looked up at the starry sky. Then a snap rang crisply in the cold night air. Harry's head dropped down, and between Draco's two hands, he saw two broken sticks of wood.

A wind blew past them and Draco began to cry.

<3*<3*<3