Changes of the Heart

Hermione refused to let go of Draco's hand until they had exited the apartment building and were on the sidewalk. She knew that her friends would be spying through the peephole. Pulling her hand out of his, Hermione growled at him, "You can get off me now."

Draco gave her an incredulous look. Was she out of her mind? "Granger, if given a choice I wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole. You might have figured that out had you not immediately latched onto me and refused to let go."

"Whatever Malfoy. That was for the sake of appearances and nothing more." She stated, walking off and leaving him alone on the side of the street.

"Hey Granger, where are you going?" Draco called after her, but she ignored him. Then he thought about it. Why the hell did he care if she left? She was just some filthy mudblood, gorgeous, but a mudblood just the same.

'You know that isn't true.' said a little voice inside him. 'You like her.'

'I do not!'

'Liar!'

'I'm a Malfoy!'

'And that means what?' the voice asked, uninterested.

'Malfoys don't stoop so low as to even talk to her kind, much less like them.' Draco explained, as if it were obvious.

'You are lying and you know it. You can't lie to me. I am you, and I know that you never really bought into all that crap your father spat at you.'

'Maybe not, but I don't like her!' Draco screamed stubbornly at the voice in his head. 'She's Granger for Merlin's sake!'

'Then why are you so worried about her?'

Draco was about to argue with the voice but gave up. He was worried about her. Not that he liked her or anything but it wasn't safe for a girl to walk around London at night by herself. Especially one who was dressed like Hermione was that evening. Without hesitating further he ran up the street in pursuit of the girl he had claimed to be enemies with for six years.

A few blocks down the street Draco spotted her. She was walking into a club, a hauty expression plastered on her face. Draco sighed heavily. He had no choice but to go in after her. Watching as several other extremely attractive women made their way into the club, Draco smiled. "What a hardship."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hermione walked quickly up the street and away from Malfoy. He was such and arrogant prat, thinking that she actually wanted to hold his hand! What utter nonsense!

'Oh, admit it. Holding his hand wasn't that bad. You may have even liked it.'

'No, I did not! Don't be absurd!' Hermione stated to the voice inside her, but then she thought about it.

His hand had been incredibly warm in hers, almost inviting. And she couldn't deny that he was very good looking. Playing Quiditch all those years had definitely done him good. And she couldn't deny either that before he had recognized who she was his eyes had been amazingly bright blue and had held a certain sparkle. They hadn't been the cold, unfeeling gray that had become so familiar over the years.

'So, you aren't denying that you are attracted to him?'

'No, I guess not. I suppose it would be silly to argue with my subconscious, now wouldn't it? But just because I find his physical body attractive it doesn't make me like him. He is still the same self-centered, arrogant prat he has always been.'

'Are you so sure?' the voice asked.

'Of course I'm sure! People like Malfoy don't change.'

"For Merlin's sake, I'm talking to a voice in my head!" Hermione said aloud, realizing how crazy it was.

Just then the club she had been looking for came into view. There was a line half-way around the block but Hermione didn't pay much attention to it. She knew the bouncer fairly well.

"Hi Gus." Hermione smiled sweetly up at the 6'7 black man with unbelievably thick muscles.

He grinned back at her. "Stay out of trouble, Mya."

Hermione swung the door open and winked at him before disappearing into the thick haze of smoke.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Draco reached the door of the club and stared up at the bouncer. He was a big guy. In fact, he could probably crush Draco's head in one of his oversized hands. Now, seeing as Draco was 6'2 himself with a rather athletic build, this guy was massive.

Standing up straight and taking on a confident air, Draco strode up to the doors of the club and proceeded to bypass the bouncer.

Gus put a heavy hand on Draco's shoulder, stopping the young man from advancing any further. Draco slowly turned around and removed the bouncer's hand from his body, giving him an icy stare. With an air of authority, he motioned for the larger man to come closer.

"Do you know who I am?" Draco hissed. Gus just stared.

"I am Draco Malfoy, son of Lucious Malfoy. Now let me pass." For a split second Gus' eyes grew wide but then the large man started to laugh, thinking it was just a joke.

Reaching into his back pocket, Draco pulled out his wallet and showed the hysterical man his identification. Instantly Gus sobered and opened the door for Draco, offering a thousand apologies as the younger man walked inside.