A Very Sudden Change

A Very Sudden Change

By Kay Elle Hunter

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It been be quite an unusual day for some at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Hermione Granger included. Instead of sitting down in the library with twenty odd books in front of her like usual, she was in some sort of mood for change; adventure. But where could she get it? What could she do to get it? And who would give it to her? It was late afternoon and she hadn't found her answer yet, but it came to her the moment she rounded the corner and bumped right into an average sized boy with silver-blonde hair and rather cold grey eyes.

"Watch it Granger!" Draco Malfoy barked, as it was he she bumped into.

"It was your fault too, Malfoy," Hermione snapped.

Draco and Hermione were enemies, arch enemies, and no matter what happened he always seemed to have some sort of insult to throw at her, whether it made sense or not. They also knew and talked to each other on a last name basis instead of a friendly first name basis. But Hermione never understood why he hated her...other then the facts she was Harry Potter and Ron Weasley's -whom he appeared to hate more and for longer then then herself- best friend and her being Muggle-born. Come to think about it she wasn't sure why she hated him so much if you take out the part about him insulting her and her friends as well as others, but she didn't know him very well; didn't know what he was like behind his cold heart, or, rather, the part of his heart that was cold.

"Damn it! Now I have to go have another very long bath to get all your filthy Mudblood slim off me," Draco sneered.

"Oh that's such a shame, Malfoy," Hermione sneered sarcastically, "at least you won't smell as bad."

"I don't smell anywhere near as bad as you do, Granger," Draco snarled. "It's about time you took a bath, your hairs been looking that dirty since first year."

"You can't take a bath, because the water probably freezes from the coldness of your heart!" Hermione snapped.

Draco stared at her with a blank face, but Hermione saw something flicker across his eyes, but she couldn't quite read it. Was it emotion; pain?

He hadn't expected her to say something like that and for the first time in his life, deep down, he felt hurt by it.

She hated it how he always had something to insult her about and her mood automatically changed, she felt like slapping him, with all her strength, just like she had two years ago, in their third year, but for some god awful reason, she couldn't bring her self to do it.

She felt something towards him, other then hate, something of the total opposite, something that disturbed her slightly, but made her feel warm deep inside at the same time and for some odd reason, everything flew from her mind and she found herself apologising.

"S-sorry, I didn't mean that. I really didn't," she said awkwardly, staring down at her feet.

"I can be nice you know," Draco said before he could stop himself. The statement took her by surprise and she looked up quickly to meet his grey eyes, which were now staring into her brown ones, as if lost in the depths of them; as if he wanted to jump right into them; into her. She slowly became aware of it and looked away, turning her gaze to the view outside the window near by as if she was interested in something that was out there besides the luxurious and beautiful view of the sun starting to set behind the mountains, casting a red-orange glow over the lake. Draco followed her gaze and looked out the window as well.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Hermione said breathlessly, noticing he too was looked at it.

"Yeah," Draco agreed. "I haven't been out there at sunset since the Yule Ball last year." He shuddered at the memory, as the unpleasant image of Pansy Parkinson -his date- in her frilly pink dress robes came back into his mind.

'Why is he acting so...so...different?' Hermione asked herself mentally, as she turned her gaze back to him and seeing him shudder. "Pansy?"

Draco absent-mindedly nodded. "I nearly had my first kiss with her that night," he said, shuddering again at the thought of kissing Pansy, "God I'm glad I said no, but if I said yes at least I wouldn't have to admit I'm a fifteen year old boy who has never kissed a girl before."

"There are quite a few fifteen year old boys who are like that you know. And girls, me included," Hermione said. 'Why is he telling me this? Why am I telling him this?' she thought. "I have to go," she said abruptly at the last thought, coming to her senses at once, no longer wanting change or adventure. She rushed past Draco and once she was out of his sight, she started running as fast as she could, not towards Gryffindor Tower, but outside, not noticing Draco following her at a fast walk.

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Draco watched her leave, absent-mindedly wondering if he should follow or stop her, but his legs didn't need an answer because they were already moving and following her path.

He didn't know why he was following her or even know why he wanted to follow her, but he was and there was no way his legs would let him stop or turn around. He was determined to catch with her, to do what, he didn't know, but right now he was feeling something strange within his heart; something that had only appeared while they were talking. 'Why did I tell her that?' he asked himself mentally, as his words came back to him. 'That was private stuff I would never tell her in normal circumstances.'

But how was this different to normal circumstances? Maybe he was going through a sudden and extreme change, where he saw her as more then the bushy-haired girl his father made him hate and make fun of because she was she was Muggle-born, or as he said, a Mudblood; where he saw her as an equal he could trust, befriend and maybe even -though it didn't cross his mind- love.

He continued to follow her, through corridors, down stairs and finally out the large, heavy, hard wood front doors to outside, where he found her sitting by the lake, watching the sun which was still slowly setting behind the mountains in the distance, the water of the lake calm and reflecting the colours of the sky, which was dyed with pink and orange, looking just as beautiful as the view from the window.

Draco stayed a fair distance away, wanting her to be alone as she watched the sun finish setting, unable to read the feelings and emotions he had as he watched or thought of her right now. It disturbed him slightly and made him feel uneasy. Was he really starting to have feelings for Hermione, someone he'd hated since first year? What it even possible?

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Hermione sat by the lake as the sun set, unaware of the close presence of Draco, who sat nearby, watching her every move. She loved it out here, especially when she felt troubled or confused, and right now, she was both as well as other things, like disturbed and it all had to do with Draco. She was confused by the way he -and she- was acting; she was troubled because she was disturbed and she was disturbed because she was actually starting to like Draco, but it was just like, it was like in a way that she was rather fond of him. But this crush, as you may call it, appeared only after he told her something that seemed to be rather private; in a matter of ten, maybe fifteen minutes.

The sun finally disappeared behind the mountains and she eventually became aware of the cool breeze blowing across the lake to where she was sitting. Giving a light shiver, she curled her legs up so her knees were pressed against her chest, wrapping her arms around them in an attempt to stay warm.

"You should've thought of bringing a cloak out before running out here into the cold," Draco said, walking over and sitting next to her.

"I blame you for that, Malfoy," Hermione said, turning her head to look at him. "Did you follow me out here?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Hermione asked, watching the giant squid repel across the water in the distance. "Why did you follow me, and why were -or should I say are- you acting so weird? What do you want? Do you want your first kiss, which for some reason you told me you haven't had yet? It that what you want, Draco?"

"I- Wait a second, since when did you start calling me by my first name?" Draco asked. Hermione went a bright red but didn't answer, only continued to talk.

"Look, Malfoy, I know I don't know you very well, but I definitely know you were -or are- acting very strange this evening, and I know I have as well, but I would really like to know why..." She was quite aware she was rambling and of Draco staring at her, but she wasn't aware that Draco had moved closer to her.

"Hermione," Draco said suddenly, "I don't know why I am here or what I am here for or why I am acting so strangely, but I definitely know that it has something to do with me changing very suddenly and very extremely and I'm also quite sure it's because of you and the feelings I hold for you which have just suddenly turned from hate to like."

Hermione sat there unable to think of something to say, so she got up and started to leave, but Draco had stood up abruptly and had grabbed her upper arm and had spun her back around to face him.

"Malfoy! Let go of me!" Hermione yelled, struggling to get out of his grip. "If you think your going to get that first -!" she continued shrilly, but she was cut off by Draco placing his lips on hers. She gasped but he ignored it and took the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth and start exploring the contents. Getting over the shock of him kissing her, Hermione responded shyly, while wrapping her arms around his neck and unknowingly running her fingers his hair, which felt like silk between her fingers. Shivers run down her spin; pleasant chills and even though she had nothing to compare it with, she found Draco to be a very, very good kisser. Draco's hands were resting on her waist and as her knees were becoming weak, she felt as if he were holding her up.

They finally broke off to get air. Hermione left her arms around his neck and rested her head gently on his shoulder, both breathing deeply. Draco silently pulled her closer, breathing in the soft floral scent of her hair and gently running his fingers through it. "Thank-you," he whispered softly in her ear. She felt his warm breath on her skin, sending more pleasant chills run through her and it made her feel oddly light-headed, but it only lasted a moment, as it was gone in an instant.

"For what?" she asked, looking into his now warm grey eyes. Draco just shrugged and kissed her softly on the lips. "What did that k-kiss mean?"

"That you're mine," Draco replied, this time kissing her on the forehead.

"Harry and Ron will kill me," Hermione said, getting worried.

"Not if they don't find out."

"What do you mean they won't find out?" Hermione asked, "They're my best friends for Merlin's sake, I tell them everything."

"Were you aware of Potter going out with Cho Chang?"

"No. He's not is he?"

"From what I saw on the Quidditch Pitch the other day, they are," Draco said, "and believe me it wasn't just a kiss, it was more like a 'I'm going to stick my tongue down your throat' kiss."

"I don't believe he hasn't told me!" Hermione said.

"So what do you say, will you be my 'secret' girlfriend?" Draco asked, smiling for what Hermione thought was the first time since she'd met him.

"Mmm...Okay," she answered, kissing him on the lips and grabbing his hand to walk back to the castle.

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A/N. Rushed, yeah, and a bit out-of-character, I admit, but I have to say it's my best so far, and that's definitely saying something! The title's a bit...well crapping or corny basically describes that. There is one paragraph I am NOT satisfied with, but my beta readers Trident 'n' Peridot -who I would like to shout a big 'Thank-you!' to- say it's okay, that's the 'Hermione being confused, troubled and disturbed' one.

Anyway, I was thinking of making a sequel so when and if you review -which I hope you do- please tell me if you have any ideas for the sequel, or maybe even sequels or you can email me at [email protected].

Anyway, Please review!

Cheers,

~ Kay Elle Hunter.