"TAKE MY HAND" A Draco Malfoy Love Story

GRANGER

I was sitting in the library, invested in my home-work, when a girl slopped beside me, pile of books on the table.

"So much to do, I cannot disappoint Professor Lockhart....." She kept on muttering her plans to herself; although she didn't mean to, yet she was being loud.

"You are being a bit loud." I said looking up at her now.

"I am so sorry.....Florence.....right?" she asked me, a bit nervous whether she got my name right.

"Granger.....Hermione.....right?" I asked her back with a smile. Of course everyone knew them. The Golden trio and the girl among the trio that Draco loathed the most, because she was a Muggle –born and was the top of our class, even better than Draco.

"You don't mind me sitting here, do you?" she asked with a hint of doubt in her voice. I knew where that came from, it's not new now. Everyone knows that I and Draco are good friends and in fact I have been the 'Innocent bystander' a few times when he was bullying others, especially previous year when he jinxed Longbottom with that leg-lock curse and I simply watched him. Since them Longbottom has stopped talking to me. Not that he said much, he smiled quite a few times, but now he doesn't even do that.

"No of course not," I smiled at her. Draco was out for Quidditch practice; he got into the Slytherin Quidditch team as the new Seeker. And his group followed him wherever he went. So for now, I was out of danger.

We silently did our home-work, when Justin joined us too. He was holding a comic book of some sort. I snatched it away from him, because I knew what it was. I gave a good look at him and smiled up at him.

"You never told me you like Captain America." I asked him.

"I am Muggle-born. I know Captain America and his legends. How the hell do you know that?"

"Oh please, he is a legend. I love Captain America. I have managed to come across some comics myself." I replied, flipping the pages of the comic.

"Captain America.....I have read about him too." exclaimed Hermione.

"I didn't know you were a comic book girl Hermione." I looked at her.

"Oh please. I love reading good stories."

"That's new." Hermione blushed.

"Have you ever been to his museum in America?" Justin asked us both.

"I have been there." Hermione said.

"Me too," Justin exclaimed.

"I have never been there." I said with a sad face.

"You can go there any time. It's a really nice one. They have actual footages of Captain America during the war." Hermione said.

"Yes I have heard. But my father will kill me if I ever tell him that I follow Muggle stuff." I said jokingly, only I knew how much of it were actually a joke. They both felt silent.

"It's alright, once I turn seventeen, I will go there by my own." I tried to cheer them up.

"That's a good idea." Justin gave an encouraging smile, so did Granger.

We three soon bonded over other Muggle stuff while completing our home-work. Then we went for dinner together. When we reached the Great Hall, Hermione turned towards me and said, "Florence, it was nice talking to you. We should talk more. I am sorry I misjudged you. You are nothing like Malfoy. I don't know how you are his friend."

"Well I grew up with him, and when you grow up together, you make excuses for people, especially the morons." I shrugged my shoulders.

No matter how good of a friend Draco was, I can't forget that he acted like a total moron to others, especially to Hermione and her friends.

"I don't understand. Hope people see you more often the way I saw you today."

"Hopefully," I whispered.

"Right I should go for dinner. See you in classes." I smiled at her and shook her extended hand and walked away.

I joined the Hufflepuff table with Justin and others. I turned my head towards the Slytherin table and met Draco's grey eyes and felt a blush creeping up my cheeks, because I am reminded of the sweet little peck I placed on his cheek last Christmas. But he was looking angry.

I mouthed him, "What?" He simply looked away. 

After finishing my dinner, I excused myself from the Hufflepuff table and went towards the Slytherin table and sat beside Draco. Ernie and Hannah always gave me this displeased looks, whenever I reminded them of my friendship with Draco unlike Justin and Susan, they just smiled at me. They somehow understood me better than them. However Ernie and Hannah were still my friends.

"How was the Quidditch practice Draco?" I asked him. He scoffed.

"Why were you talking to that Mudblood?"

"Which one you are referring to? There are lots of them. It will be easier if you take the name."

"You know damn well who I am talking about.....it's Granger.....why were you talking to her now?"

"Oh her, she just helped me out with a bit of home-work before class. So I was being nice." I lied, without blinking.

"Home-work.....why ask her, you could have asked me."

"Well you were busy with Quidditch and I thought maybe you will be tired after practice so I didn't want to wear you out anymore."

"That's an excuse."

"No it's not." I furrowed my brows. He can be really childish sometimes. He kept giving me those curious looks, trying to see through my façade. "Oh c'mon Draco....." I started to tickle him. I knew his tickling spots. He gave up and laughed out loud, trying hard to brush my hands off him.

"Stop, alright. I give up." He blurted out, still laughing.

"How was Quidditch practice?"

"It was good. My new broom Nimbus two thousand one is so fast. I loved it." He exclaimed like a two year old getting a new toy.

"It's nice to see you play. You really loved the game." My eyes met his. Blush again crept to my cheeks.

"Are you okay? Your cheeks are all red." Draco asked me. I looked around; Pansy and another girl were now listening to us.

"Yes I am fine. I am feeling too hot in these robes after dinner. I am going to sleep. Bye." I waved at him and left. I didn't want him to start making any assumptions. It just happens. I don't know why.