Truly Madly Deeply

Chapter Twenty-Two - Hermione Annoys The Crap Out Of Everyone

~ Great Hall ~

Harry sat down beside Hermione with a sigh and helped himself to some lunch.

"How do you think you went in your Divination exam?" she asked him curiously.

"Okay, I guess. I just made stuff up, as usual. I told Trelawney that she was going to die a gruesome death next week." he replied through a mouthful of bread.

Hermione had been drinking her pumpkin juice when Harry calmly announced his 'prediction' but now Seamus was wearing her juice. He accepted the napkin Ginny passed him with a sigh.

"Sorry," Hermione said dismissively and turned back to Harry, totally missing the face Seamus made at her.

"You actually told her she was going to die? What did she say?" Hermione said eagerly, failing miserably to look disapproving of such behaviour.

"She told me off for making such a nasty prediction and said that people do not like to be informed of their death so I shouldn't do it again," Harry replied, grinning at the sheer irony of it.

"Did you say anything to her? About the way she's been predicting your death for the past five years?" Ginny asked curiously.

"It wasn't worth it. I'll never have to see her again anyway. It's this afternoon's Potions exam that I'm really worried about. This is Snape's last chance to damage my academic record. Either that or poison me," he said mockingly.

"How long before Ron finishes the Divination exam?" Hermione inquired.

"Trelawney's doing them individually in alphabetical order so it shouldn't be too long before he joins us. How was Arithmancy?" Harry said as he reached for his pumpkin juice.

"Great! I think I did really well. Question sixteen was a little tricky but then I remembered...."

Harry tuned out Hermione's voice as he glanced over at the Slytherin table. Draco was laughing and joking with his friends. Crabbe and Goyle looked a little confused about what they were talking about but they were laughing along with the others. Millicent had her arm around Pansy and was whispering in her girlfriend's ear. On the whole, the Slytherin group looked much happier and more light-hearted since the defeat of Voldemort.

Look at me, Harry thought hard, trying to project his will onto Draco. Harry congratulated himself when Draco looked over and caught Harry's eye. The blond flashed him a killer smile and returned to his conversation with Blaise.

"...and then I thought to myself, Hermione, you silly girl, the answer is obviously d."

"Obviously," Harry said as he rejoined the conversation, grinning at Ginny, who had noticed his distraction. Luckily Dean and Ron arrived then and Hermione enthusiastically began to tell Ron of her valiant battle with tricky question sixteen, allowing Harry to leave the Gryffindor table so he could join the Slytherins.

Harry dropped down next to Draco.

"Hey, Wonder Boy, what are you doing over here?" Draco asked, curious but pleased.

"You guys looked like you were having so much fun that I wanted to join in. Besides, how could I resist that smile, my dragon?" Harry said with a smile.

Pansy snickered but stopped when Draco glared at her.

"We need to talk about where we are going to live in two weeks," Draco said to Harry.

"Please don't be offended by this, but I don't think I can live in Malfoy Manor. I'm sorry, but it just doesn't feel right...you know, what with your Dad trying to kill me and all," Harry said tentatively.

He wasn't sure how Draco would feel about that. Draco had said once before that he would live in Malfoy Manor because it was his heritage, but that had been when his father was alive. Maybe now he'd agree to find a neutral place to live, not one tainted by evil.

"Of course we're not going to live in the Manor," Draco said, aghast at the very suggestion. "Mother lives there. I'm not some loser who's going to live with his mummy for the rest of his life. Give me some credit."

Harry held up his hands in mock surrender, "Sorry. You just said one day a few months ago that you were going to live there-"

"Yeah, when my...when Lucius was alive. Not now. We need our own space. Besides, that place is so dreary," Draco said knowingly.

"Okay, so where will we live? I only really know Diagon Alley, the Burrow, Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. Oh, and that graveyard Voldemort once took me to. Ah, we had some good times," Harry said mock nostalgically. "Anyway, I don't know much about the magical world. Where is a good place to live?"

"Well, at the moment, the trendiest place to live is Godric's Hollow, just outside London. It has some happening clubs, cool cafes and all these quaint houses that have been renovated in a more modern style," Draco said informatively.

"Godric's Hollow....hmmm where have I heard that before?" Harry mused.

"There was a write up about it in this weeks Witch Weekly," Draco said, and when he saw Harry's expression he quickly added, "Pansy was showing me last night. Honestly."

"Sure," Harry said with a grin.

"She was!" Draco said hotly, hitting Harry's arm.

"Ow!" Harry clutched at his arm, which didn't hurt at all, and managed to produce a forlorn expression.

"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie," Draco scooted closer to Harry and gently rubbed his arm. "Sometimes I don't know my own strength. Stop giggling, Pansy!" He glared at the blonde girl who had started laughing at Draco's use of the endearment 'sweetie'.

"Sor-ry," she said snootily, "I'm going to Potions."

"Whatever," Draco said, more concerned with Harry's 'sore' arm than anything else.

"You know what will make it feel better?" Harry asked with a sly grin.

"What?" Draco replied, wrinkling his nose in confusion.

"A kiss or two," Harry said, grinning.

Draco grinned back and leaned forward to briefly brush Harry's mouth with his own.

"Better?" Draco asked politely.

"Not quite what I had in mind," Harry replied.

Draco leaned in again and pressed his lips to Harry's. He ran his tongue seductively along Harry's lips, coaxing them open and his tongue played with Harry's.

"Better?" Draco asked breathlessly.

"Much," Harry replied, pulling Draco's head back towards his own.

"Ahem," A loud voice interrupted their private moment, as they reluctantly pulled apart.

"Mr Potter, Mr Malfoy," Snape said coldly. "Were either of you planning on attending my exam this afternoon?"

Chapter Twenty-Two - Hermione Annoys The Crap Out Of Everyone