Anyway, THANKS for the reviews from the last chapter. They were awesome! Over thirty for one
chapter! Amazing, you guys! THANKS a ton!! Oh, and for the person who pretended to be J.K.
Rowling (Trinity05)... Thanks a million for the laughs! Because I really think I would die a shameful
death if she ever got her hands on this...

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns them, and obviously I am not her. If I were, I wouldn't be starving right
now from a lack of groceries caused by a rather empty wallet, now would I?

Sometimes Hate Is a Good Thing

by Hermione-G-Weasley
 
 

Chapter 9
The Morning After
 

Okay, so maybe he would hold off on his plan just a bit longer.

Draco Malfoy was lying in his bed; the sun was just starting to peak through the window of
the seventh year Slytherin boys' dormitory. He hadn't been to sleep at all. He'd spent hours
just lying quietly in his bed, thoughts rushing through his head.

He had just taken the first step in his completely brilliant plan, but now he was thinking
more and more about putting the rest of the plan on hold for the time being.

Yes, he did fancy living, so it would probably be to his greatest benefit to keep his mouth
shut at least for a little while. It had hit him abruptly that his thoughts of Weasley murdering
him were not at all far-fetched. He made it clear every damn day that he wanted nothing
more than to beat the living hell out of Draco. God only knew what he would do when he
found out that the love of his life had been fucked senseless by his worst enemy.

Yes, a murder was definitely a distinct possibility.

And then there were other reasons to put the plan on hold as well. He did have a Potions
project to finish. And whether he liked to admit it or not, Granger was quite good help. She
was extremely smart, and she wasn't at all modest about showing off her intelligence. He
realized then why Potter and Weasley kissed her ass so much. She'd probably been doing
their homework for the past seven years. He smiled slightly imagining what a horrid mess
the Dynamic Duo's project would turn out to be now that the brains had been plucked from
their trio.

And, of course, the greatest reason of all.

There was a distinct possibility that he would be able to convince her to do it all over again.
She had definitely enjoyed herself; that was clear. And he had enjoyed himself as well. Yes,
she was definitely the best fuck he had ever had, and he was still reeling from the whole thing.

He had really gotten her.

And damn if it hadn't been the best thing in the world. She was so... responsive... and just
all together so alluring he was just a bit afraid that she had gotten to him. Okay, he knew she
had gotten to him. He couldn't wait to have her again. She had just felt so perfect writhing
like that underneath him, and he couldn't get the sound of her voice screaming his name
out of his head.

He had spent the entire night reliving the experience in his head, picturing the way she had
looked naked, remembering the way she had jumped at his touch.

Damnit.

Why did she have to be so intoxicating? He had never felt this indescribable need for a
girl ever before. She had him under her spell; no wonder she was at the top of the class-
it was a damn good spell.

Okay, so he had definitely made the decision to keep his mouth shut for the time being.
He was nearly positive that she would agree to another little escapade. She had, after all,
been having dreams about him before they even got together. A smile crossed his lips as
he remembered the horrified look that had covered her face as she made her little
accidental confession.

Of course, he'd been having the same dreams, but there was no way in hell he was ever
going to let her know that. As far as she knew, the only reason he had propositioned her
in the first place was because he was simply trying to fulfill his manly needs with the first
female he came into contact with. He'd just keep up with that act. They did have to spend
the next few weeks together finishing their project after all.

And when they were done with that, he'd spill the news to the entire school.

He pictured himself doing it. What would be the best tactic to use? Let it slip to Lavender
Brown, the school's biggest gossip? Nah, that would be too easy. Pour a bit of a truth
potion into Granger's pumpkin juice and let her be the one to break the news? No, that
would take all the fun away from him.

And then it hit him.

He'd hurt her in the most vile and painful way possible. Not to mention the only other two
people he could really claim to hate...

He'd fix it so that Potter and Weasley happened to pop in while the he and Granger were
at it.

Yes! It was beyond perfect. He could just imagine the look on their faces if they caught
their sweet little princess doing things they probably couldn't even imagine with their greatest
nemesis. Potter would probably be more embarrassed than anything, and Weasley...

Wow, wouldn't it be something if he actually cried?

"Hermione, how could you do this?" Draco laughed imagining the pitiful hurt look Weasley
would be donning at first. But then... Well, Draco would just have to remember not to remove
his running shoes that day because he would definitely need them for a getaway. Actually the
whole thing about Weasley being in love with her was just icing added to the cake. He hated
them all so much, and getting them like this was better than anything he could think of. He
wasn't even sure which one he hated the most- Potter, Weasley, or Granger.

Oh, well. It didn't matter. They'd all be reeling from the aftereffects of this. And Draco would
be sitting back watching the breakup of the Golden Trio of Hogwarts with a smile on his face.
Because he would have been the one to cause it all.

All of this could go into effect very soon. In just a few weeks time.

And, in the meanwhile, he'd be getting to fuck Granger all the time.

Yes, life was perfect for Draco Malfoy.

************************************

Hermione awoke the next morning feeling incredibly tired. She realized immediately that
she hadn't slept well at all because she had continuously been awaken by her dreams. She
remembered one in particular. It had been so realistic...

She immediately realized that it had not been a dream at all as she made a move to get out
of bed and was met with a horrific pain in her lower regions.

Holy shit.

She lay back down against her pillows and stared straight up at the ceiling. Taking a deep
breath, she allowed herself to remember the night before. It all came rushing back to her a
million miles a minute. She had really done it. She had engaged in shameless, spontaneous,
meaningless sex.

With Draco Malfoy.

But then again, that's what she had wanted for a good while now. So, she didn't really regret
it at all. She just couldn't believe that it had really happened. But it had.

She was no longer a virgin.

Wow, she couldn't help but smile at this revelation. Did she feel different? More grown-up
maybe? No, not really. But she did feel extremely elated as the memories came rushing back
to her.

It had felt so good! So incredibly good.

She hadn't even been able to imagine it that good, and she fancied herself quite good at
imagining- she'd had plenty of practice. It had just been... There weren't even any words
to describe it.

Just one time to get it out of her system...

She remembered thinking this earlier in an attempt to justify her fantasies. She now
knew that just one time was not nearly enough. Now that she'd had a taste of what sex
with Malfoy was like, she knew that she would need much more to satisfy her hunger.

But would he be up for that?

He had made it clear that the only reason he even wanted her in the first place was because
she was the only girl around. Well, she'd be the only girl around for a few more weeks, right?
They did have a project to finish, and thanks to their little fiasco the night before, they were
now behind. Yes, they would probably need every single night of the next three weeks to
finish up.

And she could definitely think of better things than reading to do on the rest breaks they
took while working. Of course, none of them even slightly contained anything restful.

She wondered if he would say yes if she were to propose that they keep up with their
"relations." He had liked it, too. She knew that although he had tried to pretend as though
it were just any normal sexual experience to him that he had felt the fireworks erupting
between them as well.

It was just so... dangerous.

Yes, and she was always up for a good adventure, wasn't she? One of the perks of being
Harry and Ron's best friend was her newfound love of a dangerous challenge.

Harry and Ron.

She sat up slowly and placed her feet onto the cold hardwood floor of the Head Girl's
room. She was more than a little sore as she reached for the uniform she had laid out the
night before, and her mind drifted back to her best friends as she got dressed.

They couldn't find out. They just couldn't. Oh, God, they would hate her forever if they
found out. They would never speak to her again; of course, she might never see Ron again,
as he might very possibly be serving a life sentence in Azkaban for the murder of Draco
Malfoy. No, they most definitely could not find out; she'd just have to make sure they didn't.
She wasn't going to tell, of course, and she was sure that Malfoy would rather die than tell
anyone he'd had sex with a Mudblood Gryffindor. So, maybe she'd be safe. Maybe Harry
and Ron would never find out. It wasn't like she was going to pursue a relationship of any
kind with Malfoy; she still hated him terribly. So, yes, maybe she was safe.

After she finished the buckle on her shoes, she ran a comb through her hair and hurriedly
brushed her teeth. Then she grabbed her bag and slowly walked down the steps to the
Common Room. It hurt to walk, but that's not the reason she was going so slow. She just
had a horrible foreboding that facing Harry and Ron was going to be terrible even if they
didn't know anything.

She was right.

"We waited up for you last night," Ron said as soon as she had joined the two boys. "But
it didn't look like you were coming back, so we went on to bed."

"Yeah, what took you so long?" Harry asked as they exited the portrait hole and started
making their way to the Great Hall. "We didn't go to bed until well after midnight."

Hermione looked down at her shoes, carefully avoiding both sets of their eyes. "Umm...
We were just working really hard, and neither of us noticed how late it was getting."

"He didn't do anything to you, did he?" Ron asked suddenly, and Hermione looked up in
surprise.

"No, why?" Please, God, don't let him know.

Ron just shrugged. "I don't know. You just hesitated like it was something you didn't want
to tell us. You do know that if ever does anything to you, I'll kill him, right?"

Damn them for knowing her so well. She hadn't thought the hesitation had been that
obvious, but apparently Ron and Harry knew her well enough to pick up on it immediately.
And, of course, she knew Ron would kill Malfoy. That was precisely the reason she had
hesitated. Needing to cover up for herself, she quickly said, "Yes, Ron, I know. But you
needn't worry because he hasn't done anything. And he won't either. You do realize I am
a big girl now, don't you? I can take care of myself, you know?" She had finished up with
a note of sarcasm.

Ron scowled a moment and then muttered, "Sorry, I was just trying to help."

Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed. "I know. I'm sorry. But seriously, I'm not worried
about Malfoy, so you shouldn't be. I am more than capable of holding my own against him."

"How's your project going anyway?" asked Harry.

Hermione was grateful for the sudden change of topic. "Oh, it's coming along fine. He's
actually really smart, you know?" Where had that come from?

Now, Harry joined Ron in the scowling. "Nice to know, Hermione. Thanks." The sarcasm
was now being directed at her.

She was not going to get into a fight with them. "Whatever. Let's just go eat."

She walked a little faster and ended up ahead of Ron and Harry a bit. She could
practically feel the strange looks being directed at the back of her head.

When she entered the Great Hall, she deliberately walked straight to the Gryffindor table
and sat down without looking at anyone. She felt Ron sit beside her and Harry sit in front
of her, but she continued to study her empty plate as though she was suddenly very
interested in the design of the china.

Neither of her friends spoke to her at first. They engaged themselves in a conversation
about the Chudley Cannons' recent loss to the Wimbourne Wasps, a topic Hermione had
no desire to join in with. She watched as their breakfast appeared before them and saw
Ron and Harry both dig in immediately.

She, however, did not eat.

She could feel Malfoy's gaze burning into her as she sat with her head ducked down,
picking at her scrambled eggs. He was daring her to meet his eye. He was absolutely
daring her to. She could picture the smirk that was playing across his lips as he
watched her deliberately avoiding him.

Fine.

Looking up nonchalantly, she glanced at the Slytherin table. Sure enough, Malfoy was
watching her intently, completely ignoring the conversation that Pansy Parkinson was
trying to have with him. Hermione refused herself the urge to look away. There was no
way in hell she was going to give him the satisfaction of knowing how uncomfortable
she felt at that moment. Instead, she stared right back him just as intently.

He looked a bit surprised, but soon enough, she was watching that stupid smirk cover
his face. He winked at her ever-so-slightly in a way that no one but she would notice. It
made the hair on the back of her neck stand up because it reminded her of the wink he
had given her the night before. Suddenly replaying the entire night in her head- the way
his hands felt on her body, the way his lips felt against her own, the way he felt inside of
her- she shivered against her own will.

Looking straight into Malfoy's eyes, she saw him grin at her sudden reaction. He
obviously knew what he was doing to her. In the same ever-so-slight manner, he let
his tongue dart  out to quickly moisten his lips before smiling at her once again. Yes,
he was obviously enjoying making her squirm to the fullest extent.

Hermione was interrupted by Ron's voice. "Hermione, what are you staring at?"

She jumped a bit and turned to look at her red-headed friend. "Huh?"

Ron followed her previous gaze to the Slytherin table where Malfoy had thankfully
gone back to talking with Pansy. "Don't let that asshole get to you."

"What?" Hermione wrinkled her forehead. "I'm not, Ron. I just glimpsed him, and it
made me think of what all we have left to do on our project."

"Much more?" asked Harry in between bites of smoked ham.

Hermione nodded quickly, once again looking down at her eggs. "We've probably got
another three weeks left at least."

Ron scowled. "I can't believe you have to spend almost a month with that prick. I really
feel for you."

"I am fine, Ron," she reiterated. "Really. And besides, it's not like I have much of a
choice, now do I?"

Ron shrugged, and he and Harry got caught up in more Quidditch talk. Hermione looked
once more at Malfoy. He was staring at her again, his eyes laughing an evil, cruel laugh. He
was enjoying every single second of this.

She was not going to let him get away with it.
 
 
 

So? I know it's not that great of a chapter, but I needed a fill-in chapter to prepare for the coming
ones. I'd still LOVE to hear your replies! They really mean everything, you guys. Now, I think I'm
going to work on my Ron/Hermione stuff now...

Thanks to everyone who's looking for a pic of Hugh Mitchell! PLEASE if anyone finds one, let me
know!!!! THANKS!
 

Back to Chapter 8
Chapter 10