From the Bottle

By Sarah Sparrow

Author's Note: Well, I'm incredibly happy because all the reviews I received were under the Hermione/Snape influence. That happens to be my favourite 'ship. You all kick ass.

I went back and edited the last chapter after finding a bunch of mistakes near the end. Maybe I should stop writing really late at night. It was almost three AM when I finished chapter two…D'you think that affects my writing?

Bah.

So, so sorry for the delay in updating, but the internet failed on this incredibly stupid computer, and then my family bought a new dog, so I've had to take care of it. No time at all for writing.

From the Bottle – Chapter 3: Cheat

The weeks flew by with surprising quickness for Hermione. She couldn't remember the last time they had had such an uneventful school year; on a larger scale at least. She was expecting Voldemort to pop his ugly face up and snatch Harry away in the middle of class, but everything went by smoothly and there were no signs that the Dark Lord had any new vile scheme in mind.

She and Ron had been getting along fine, despite the slight itching at the back of her mind, always reminding her of what Snape had said on their date and what was written on Malfoy's note. For some reason she hadn't thrown it out, but kept it at the very bottom of her trunk like some sort of guilty pleasure. It was anything but pleasure, however.

Potions class had even improved, at least for her. He still sneered at Harry and gave Ron horrible grades, but he left Hermione alone now. She had gotten the first 'E' on a potions essay awarded to a Gryffindor (that she knew about) only a week after that detention, one she had been deserving for years, which all her friends gaped at.

It wasn't as embarrassing to be around Snape as she had expected it to be after the date, but rather like a silent recognition of eachother; a bit of an inside joke, even. She wondered why he was always so bitter around other people when she now knew what a good companion he could be. She could even imagine Harry liking him if he had always acted like he now did around her.

The thing to break the long chain of lazy monotonous school days happened only a week before Christmas holidays, when she, Ron and Harry were on a trip to Hogsmeade shopping for presents.

"Er…Are you getting tired, 'Mione?" Ron asked nervously as they walked past The Three Broomsticks.

Hermione shook her head. "No, I'm fine. I still need to buy something for Ginny, could we stop at-"

"Because," Ron interrupted her, "you could always just go in and get a drink while Harry and I get our, er, you know…other presents."

Hermione blinked. "Really, Ron, I'm quite okay."

"Are you sure? Maybe you should just stop, you know, just in case-"

"He wants to go buy your present now, Hermione," Harry finally blurted out, rolling his eyes. Ron glared at him and blushed.

"Why didn't you just say so?" Hermione asked him in bewilderment.

"Uh, well, I thought-"

"He thought it would be more romantic and intelligent of him to fool you into stopping for a drink," Harry told her.

"I don't need a bloody translator," Ron spat at him.

"Sorry, Ron, I just didn't think Hermione spoke Prat." Harry grinned slightly and Hermione laughed.

"Ron, it's okay, I'll just go get a drink," she said, picking her bags back up.

"No use now," Ron grumbled. "You might as well come and pick it out with me."

"Don't be ridiculous," she replied. "Honestly, boys…" With a kiss on the cheek for Ron and a short wave at Harry, she strolled into the pub.

"Bloody brilliant of you, Harry, just going and telling her all our plans!" Ron exclaimed in frustration.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Well, you were going about it like Dudley would've, I thought I'd just help you out before you made a complete idiot of yourself."

"Whatever," he grumbled in reply. "Let's just go to that shop, whatsitcalled, Arnie's Abominable Girl-things."

"Abigail's Adorable Accessories," Harry corrected him absently. "Erm, listen, why don't you go ahead and choose something for her, it's a couple thing, I'm sure you'll want to do it alone."

"Where are you going?" Ron asked skeptically.

"Oh, I've got to meet someone," Harry told him with reservation, and before Ron could ask who, he waved him off and walked around the street bend out of sight.

The Three Broomsticks was warm and inviting, and Hermione was thankful she had been the one getting out of the icy weather outside. She unwrapped her frosted scarf and unceremoniously pulled off her toque, flopping down at an empty table with a contented sigh. She quickly ordered a butterbeer and let the drink's warmth spread through her chilled limbs.

She sat there dreamily, just watching all the customers laugh and talk with their companions, finding every person oddly fascinating.

She was about to take another gulp of butterbeer, lifting the glass up to her lips and tilting her head back, when she saw Harry walk in the door. Huh, she thought curiously, they're back fast. She got to her feet and was about to call him over when he turned away from her and smiled at someone next to him. A group of people was blocking Hermione's view so she couldn't see who it was, but Harry was obviously glad to see the person and talking animatedly. After about a minute of friendly conversation, Harry walked out again, and Hermione caught a glimpse of a dark blue scarf flutter at his side.

Wondering who on earth Harry left with without her, Hermione moved from her table and started towards the door when a hand grabbed her shoulder. She spun around to see a solemn Draco Malfoy, all in grey and black, standing before her.

"Can we…talk a minute, Granger?" He asked quietly, motioning to her table.

Hermione, all thoughts of Harry lost from her mind, nodded dumbly and sat back down. She watched Malfoy with wide eyes as he cautiously sat down in the seat across from her, keeping his gaze locked on the table.

"I'd like to apologize," He said slowly, like he was tasting a new food.

Hermione closed her eyes tightly, shook her head, and then said, "I beg your pardon?"

He sighed impatiently. "I'm saying sorry."

Hermione gaped at him. "Well, um…Thanks…What for?"

"What for?" He wrinkled his nose. "Because of what happened in detention, obviously."

"But…that was almost a month ago!"

"So?"

"You haven't just, you know, forgotten?"

"Have you?"

"Well, no…"

"And neither have I."

They were silent for a moment, then Hermione said, "but why did you apologize?"

"Because I was rude and acted inappropriately," he replied stiffly.

Hermione let out a bark of laughter. "Malfoy, you've been rude and acted inappropriately for the last five years."

"Yes, well, sorry for that too then," he said earnestly.

Hermione couldn't help it. She giggled.

"What?!" He asked in frustration.

"Sorry, mmph…It's just, you sound so funny." She was now shaking and covering her hand with her mouth.

"I'm trying to be serious," he huffed, looking offended.

"I know, but if you were me-"

"Which I'm not, so shut up," he growled.

With a few last chuckles, she took a deep breath and sobered. "You realize I can't really sincerely accept your apology for the last five years," she told him, surprised a bit when his face fell. "I mean, I've hated you more than anything except your father and Voldemort."

Malfoy flinched at the name, Hermione couldn't tell which, and nodded. "What about the apology for detention?" He asked weakly.

"Why are you so adamant to apologize?" Hermione asked, cocking her head.

"I feel guilty, evidently."

"Right." She bit her lip. "I can't believe this…Apology accepted."

Malfoy smiled a bit, making her blink because she had never seen him do so before. He looked even more different.

"That's got to be at least the fifth time I've said that in the past two months," she murmured to herself.

"What, 'apology accepted'?" Malfoy frowned and the smile was gone, leaving the room a little darker than before, Hermione thought absently.

"No, 'I can't believe this'."

"What else has been so surprising?"

"Oh, nothing really," she lied, shrugging. Then her eyes widened in horror as she saw Ron and Harry walk through the doors. "Get down!" She hissed to Malfoy.

"What?! Why?!" He asked, but complied and shrunk down in his seat.

"Ron and Harry just came in, looking for me. I'm going to get up, and walk over to them. Don't move until you hear the door chime."

"This is ridiculous," he muttered, but didn't move, and Hermione quickly distracted her friends, smiling and discreetly urging them out into the streets.

Christmas Eve found Hermione sitting in the common room, curled up in a chair with a book. Everyone around her was talking pleasantly, hushed in the muffling warmth of the fire and relaxing after the extravagant feast in the Great Hall.

The book Hermione was reading was the same one she had checked out weeks ago, about the alchemist William Dethridge. She was now entirely immersed and fascinated by the man's work and sudden disappearance, reading the book for at least the fifth time.

There was one certain trait about the man that completely baffled her. Apparently he had been found, several times, in such a deep state of meditation that the people in his town could not wake him, and took him for dead. Imagine their surprise when he sat up in his coffin during his funeral!

"'Mione, when are you going to get your nose out of that book?!"

Hermione looked up scowling to see Ron looming over her. "It's an interesting book, Ron. You don't have to be so rude."

He had been acting sour and irritable all week, but Hermione had taken it as some sort of boy phase and forgiven him. She figured it would pass soon enough, but when he was still grumpy, and on Christmas…Well, she almost wished he had just decided to go home instead of stay with her.

"I'm not being rude, you're ignoring me," he snapped.

She shut the book and put it on the side table next to her. "You just came into the common room, I didn't even see you until now." Her tone was hard.

"Well, you should notice when I come in," he huffed, flopping onto the couch and crossing his arms.

"Excuse me if I don't worship you like some…god or something!" She flung her hands up in exasperation. "You haven't been the most polite person lately either."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" He retorted.

"It means you've been a huge git the entire week!" She got to her feet.

All the people still in the common room who hadn't gone to bed yet were listening to their argument interestedly, Harry one of them, his face a mixture of inquisitiveness and anxiety.

"Bit rich coming from you!" Ron shouted, standing as well. He and Hermione were now almost nose-to-nose.

"Oh? And what have I done to disappoint his majesty?!"

"Well- you-" Ron sputtered, his face turning red.

"Exactly!" Hermione yelled, turning on her heel and stomping off towards the portrait hole.

"At least…At least I didn't cheat on you!" Ron called from behind her.

Hermione froze and everyone held their breath.

"Excuse me?" Hermione growled, turning around again.

Ron nodded, regaining his confidence. "Yeah, yeah, that's right! I know! I saw you-"

"I've never cheated on you!" Hermione exclaimed furiously.

"YES YOU DID!" Ron thundered, making Hermione cringe. "I saw you in Hogsmeade- With Harry!" He pointed accusingly at his best friend, who was completely taken aback.

"Ron, what-" Harry stammered, stepping forward cautiously.

"Don't deny it! My best friend and my girlfriend!" Ron clenched his fists. "I can't believe I ever trusted you!"

Hermione ground her teeth. "Ugh, Ron, you complete idiot; I've never, ever in my life dated Harry! We're just friends!"

"Stop lying to me!" Ron cried. "I saw you go back into the Three Broomsticks, Harry, and I saw you two come out together, holding hands!"

Hermione and Harry just gaped at Ron, who was now panting and completely scarlet.

Slowly, another person moved forward. Ginny. "Ron," she said quietly, lightly putting her hand on her brother's arm. He tugged it away. "Ron, it wasn't Hermione you saw Harry with at Hogsmeade."

"Oh yeah? Well, who was it then?!"

Ginny let out a heavy breath. "It was me, you git."

Ron went slack-jawed, and Harry blushed profusely. Hermione shook her head, and then an expression of deep annoyance clouded up her countenance.

Harry walked over and took Ginny's hand. "Sorry we didn't tell you," he mumbled embarrassedly, "but it was just our first date and all…We didn't want to make a it a big deal until we, you know, made it official…"

"You? And him?" Ron asked weakly, looking from his little sister to Harry. They both nodded.

Hermione tapped her foot. "Well, seeing as we have that straightened out," she said coldly, "I think I'll head down to the library, where I might find a few more books to ignore you behind." She stormed out before anyone could say anything else.

Draco was sitting in the library, his feet propped up on a table in the back where Madam Pince couldn't catch him. He was only half-reading a book on the history of a famous inventing Vampire when Hermione stormed in, her face flushed.

He watched with mild interest as she randomly grabbed a book off the shelf, collapsed into a chair and literally stuck her face in it. He doubted the book was more than an inch away from her nose. He also noticed her shoulders were shaking, and he highly doubted it was laughter. The book she was 'reading' was titled The Salem Witch Trials. Hardly an amusing read. There was only one other explanation.

"Granger?" He said her name loudly. She didn't react. Draco was now sure the book was simply leaning against her forehead. "Hey, Granger!"

Sighing, he got up and walked over to her chair. "Have you suddenly gone deaf, Granger?"

"Sod off, Malfoy," she said from behind the book, her voice broken and muffled.

"Granger, honestly I would, but I have nowhere to actually sod off to, so I'm afraid I'm just going to stay here until you talk to me." When she was silent, he promptly pulled the book out of her hands.

Her face was tearstained and still flushed pink, and she grabbed madly for the book. "I said, sod off!" She hastily wiped her eyes with her robes and glared up at him. "Why do you care, anyway…"

He shrugged. "So, what was Weasley accusing you of this time?"

She gasped. "How did you know that?!"

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly. "Now I do."

"Ugh, go away."

"Granger, I have no friends. I have no life. I have no purpose. My only reason for living is to hear you bawl out your thrilling angst-filled relationship with the Weasel."

"Don't call him that," she sniffled.

He sighed. "Girls…Hey, you know what? Come on." He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her out of the chair.

She squealed. "Malfoy, what in hell are you-" She clawed angrily at his hand as he dragged her out of the library. "For the love of Merlin, let go of me!"

"Step lively, Granger!" He pulled her all the way to the grand staircase, her angry protestations echoing in the empty halls.

"Malfoy, if you don't let go of me this instant, I'll hex you all the way to…to...Erg, let go!"

He abruptly dropped her hand. "Granger, for once, I'm not luring you to a slow and painful death. Would it hurt to just trust me for a minute?" He tilted his head, then turned and rushed up the staircase. "Hurry before it moves!" He called to her, already climbing onto another.

Hermione struggled with herself, looking anxiously down the hall and then up the stairs. "Damn you, Malfoy!" She yelled, and then dashed after him.

He led her up what must've been at least five flights of stairs before she even had an inkling of where they might be headed. "Are we going to the Astronomy tower?" She shouted, as he was still quite a ways ahead of her.

"Brilliant deduction, Granger," he called back. She rolled her eyes.

They finally emerged out onto the tower, the chilly night air wrapping itself around them. Above, the clear sky was a sheet of black velvet, pinpricked with little gem-like stars.

"Wow," Hermione breathed, tilting her head back.

"Don't slow down yet, Granger," Draco said, standing in front of a blank stonewall as though inspecting it.

"What're you doing?"

He reached out with his wand and tapped three of the stone blocks. They shifted and formed a small archway, revealing a small set of stairs. Draco led her up them and onto an even higher, private tower.

"Where'd you learn that?" She asked.

"Oh, my mother told me about it. She said some group of students who called themselves 'Marauders' charmed it in her year and took their girlfriends up here."

Hermione immediately realized the heavy implications of Draco taking her up here, and blushed in the darkness.

"Don't get any ideas, Granger," Malfoy added teasingly, as though he had heard her thoughts. He leaned against the stone, hands in his pockets, and gazed up at the sky.

"D'you come up here often?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Just to think, sometimes," he replied absently.

"Why did you show it to me?"

He now turned his head and looked at her squarely. "You seemed like you needed to think."

"Oh." They were silent for a time, just admiring the stars and bright orb of the moon. Hermione leaned against the wall next to him. "Well, thanks," she mumbled quietly.

"No worries," he replied, glancing at her quickly. "Um, Granger?"

"Mhm?"

"Granger, I-" he paused and exhaled. "Can I call you Hermione while I say this? Granger seems so…formal."

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Sure," she replied after a time.

"Thanks," he said, sounding relieved. "Listen, Hermione, I just want you to know, I wasn't really…me…when I said all of those things about you, in the past."

"Er," Hermione stammered awkwardly.

"I mean, I was me, but I was only doing what I was trained to do. I was too young to think differently about what my father told me and what my future might turn out like and…I swear, if I could go back now and relive everything, I never would've acted like I did." He gave her a desperate look. "You can't believe how…guilty…and- and stupid I feel. You have to understand."

She looked up at him, an odd churning in the pit of her stomach. "I…think I do," she murmured, unsure.

He smiled slightly. "I'm not asking for forgiveness, I just need someone to understand that I've changed. I don't want to just be 'Lucius Malfoy's son', I want to be Draco Malfoy."

"I know," she said softly, and she realized with surprise that she actually did.

"Thanks," he said, quiet as a sigh. "Thanks, Hermione."

She smiled faintly. "Are we friends now, Draco?"

He laughed softly. "If you called me Draco, I guess we are."

She licked her lips. "…Weird."

"Very eloquent of you."

"Thanks. And, thanks for telling me all that. For trusting me."

"My pleasure," Draco replied. He took his hands out of his pockets, and their fingers brushed eachother just before Hermione pulled her hand away. "Sorry," Draco said quickly.

"No, that's-" She looked up at him to find he was staring straight back at her. "…Okay…" She finished slowly.

Almost reflexively, his head bent down. Hermione cautiously leaned forward, every cell in her body screaming with awareness.

Their lips met lightly at first, only just grazing eachother. Then, leisurely, the kiss deepened, and Hermione felt Draco's arm slip around the small of her back. She clutched the sleeve of his robe and pulled herself closer. Everything seemed like it was in slow motion, moving forward with caution and vigilance, neither one daring to take the next step.

Hermione felt the frostiness that the winter air had covered her body with ebb away and be replaced by an tingling warmth, her lips the furnace. It was odd, because she had always imagined Draco like a chip of ice, but now everything was heat and flame, their bodies fusing together.

When Draco pulled away, still slowly, Hermione kept her eyes closed for a moment, trying to instill the feeling in her skin, to keep it forever. But the cold night soon returned, and she sadly opened her eyes.

Draco was looking at her fearfully, like he was just waiting for her to blow up in his face.

She blinked, opening and closing her mouth. Finally, she managed to whisper, "oh."

And then she kissed him again.

It past midnight when Hermione returned to Gryffindor tower, saying goodnight to Draco at the stairs with a sweet, lingering kiss. When she stepped back, she lightly grasped his hand in hers. "What now?"

Draco brushed his hair out of his eyes subconsciously. "Well…You already have a boyfriend." She winced and he sighed. "I can't promise that I'll always be there for you," he told her softly. "And if we ever had, you know…a…relationship…Lots of people would be angry with you. I mean, the entire school loathes me."

"What if we kept it a secret?" She whispered.

He stared at her. "You would do that?"

She smiled thoughtfully. "If I decide you're worth it."

His mouth formed a lopsided grin. "And when will you decide that?"

She leaned forward and gave him a light peck on the lips. "Meet me tomorrow, back at the astronamy tower. Around three o'clock." She let go of his hand and turned away. "Good night."

Harry and Ginny were sitting in front of the fire when she climbed through the portrait hole. They both stood up when they saw her, smiling in relief. "Hermione!" Harry exclaimed, coming over and hugging her tightly.

"We were worried about you," Ginny murmured. "Here, sit down." She motioned to the spot on the couch next to her.

"Why were you worried?" Hermione asked, taking a seat, along with Harry on Ginny's other side. She was a little disappointed that Ron wasn't there, but then decided she wouldn't be able to handle seeing him anyways.

"We thought you might do something…er…naïve," Harry admitted.

Hermione laughed lightly. "No, I'm fine, really."

"You are?" He asked incredulously, looking a little bewildered.

"What are you going to say? To Ron, I mean," Ginny questioned, looking a little suspicious.

Hermione sighed. "Okay, maybe I'm not fine. But I'm not in a blind rage any more."

"He was really embarrassed after you left," Ginny told her matter-of-factly. "Everyone glared at him and he just rushed upstairs. He wouldn't talk to Harry when he went up either."

Hermione couldn't help but feel a little smug. "Well, honestly, I would be too if I had falsely accused my boyfriend of chea…" She drifted off in midsentence.

"Hermione?" Harry gave her an anxious look as she paled considerably. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Oh no," Hermione groaned, putting her head in her hands. Ron accused her of cheating. What had she done? Went and cheated on him. With Draco Malfoy, no less.

"Hermione?" Harry repeated. "You didn't…You didn't actually cheat on him at Hogsmeade, did you?"

"No!" Hermione replied quickly, and truthfully. Then she added quietly, "not at Hogsmeade…"

"What?!" Ginny exclaimed. "You mean, you have cheated on him?!"

Hermione stood up quickly. "I don't know!" She cried, and ran up the stairs to the girls' dormitories.

The next morning, Hermione got up early and rushed down to breakfast, determined to avoid her friends. She knew Ginny and Harry would be after her about last night, and the last thing she wanted was for them to find out what she had done. If only they knew Draco like she did! Well, maybe not exactly like she did…But still.

She figured the first place they would look for her was the library, so she randomly chose a few books and, around eleven, plowed through the snow to Hagrid's.

"Well 'Ermione, certainly haven't seen you in a while!" Hagrid said, smiling warmly as she brushed the white flakes from her cloak.

"Sorry I haven't come around," she said sincerely. "I've been really…preoccupied. Is it okay if I read here for a while?"

"Of course." He pulled her up a chair and started boiling some water to make tea. "It's righ' nice to see ya and all, but if you don't mind me askin', why can't you read in the lib'ry?"

"Er…" She bit her lip. "I just…didn't want to be interrupted. That's all." True enough, she thought to herself.

After several hours of reading and gnawing her way through Hagrid's treacle tarts, Hermione looked at the clock and saw it was already two o'clock. She supposed she could go early to the astronamy tower and wait for Draco…Though it would be awfully cold…

"Thanks again, Hagrid," she said, giving him a quick hug and dragging her feet back to the school.

She only ran into a few people, since most of the students were away for the holidays, and just as she thought she might make it without one of her friends seeing her, a hideously familiar voice called to her when she was stepping onto one of the staircases. She turned around to see Harry standing there, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.

"Hi Harry," she greeted him weakly. He almost ran down the corridor and grabbed onto her arm, as though afraid she would disappear again.

"Hermione! Everyone's been looking for you! Where've you been?"

"Oh, I had things to do," she mumbled. Harry's smile quickly faded.

"I've been meaning to ask you about last night-" He started.

"Harry, can we please talk about this later?" She begged him.

He hesitated, then said, "If you were cheating on Ron…"

"I…I wasn't…Only…Just last night, I…" She stammered, looking at the floor.

"If it was last night, when you were angry, I guess I can understand…" Harry said slowly, thinking hard.

Hermione suddenly grabbed onto both of his robe sleeves and looked him in the eye. "I wasn't thinking properly!" She cried desperately. "I'm honestly sorry, Harry, I- Well, sort of sorry, anyways, but really- If I had thought of it as cheating then, I wouldn't have kissed him! I wouldn't've, I swear…" She burst into tears and sunk to her knees. "I wouldn't have kissed Draco…I love Ron…I would never cheat…" She mumbled between sobs.

Harry kneeled to match her and lightly held her shoulders. "Hermione, stop crying, please stop, it's okay…Did you say Draco?"

She immediately stopped crying and froze, looking at her knees in horror.

Harry released her shoulders suddenly, as though he had touched something with a disease. "Hermione, you didn't kiss Draco Malfoy…He must've seduced you, or cursed you, or poisoned your drink, or- or something! He's a complete prat, Hermione, how could-"

She jumped to her feet. "Don't talk about him like that!" She yelled hoarsly. "You don't even know what he's like now!"

Harry gaped at her. "You did kiss him?!"

Hermione groaned, then turned and dashed up the stairs and out of his sight before Harry could do anything.

Honestly, I'm never writing late at night again. That was awful. I really did NOT like that chapter. This story is so much better when Snape's around. I promise you (and myself) he'll be in the next chapter.

-sigh- I think I'll go drool over some more Alan Rickman pictures…

Sarah - xoxox