Harry Potter 1. Chapter One: Frustration

**To the Moon and Back**

**Chapter One**

"What are you thinking about?" I asked as I twisted a particularly long strand of my boyfriend's red hair around my index finger.

"You," Ron answered. I smiled and placed my hand on the back of his neck and pulled him in for a kiss.

"You always say that," I responded, grinning against his lips.

"Then why do you keep asking?" Ron asked with a smirk. He pulled away as I rolled my brown eyes and pulled my legs underneath me and crossed them Indian style before pulling out a new roll of parchment for my Arithmancy essay. I could feel Ron's eyes on me as I wrote. I knew that he enjoyed observing me and my little habits. I stopped myself right as I was about to put my quill in my mouth, a tendency that he enjoyed pointing out. After a few moments, I looked up from my paper at my boyfriend.

"What, Ron?" Ron simply grinned before virtually _lunging_ toward me and attacking my lips with his in a fiercely passionate kiss. All rational thought flew from my brain as my _Numerolgy and Gramatica_ text fell from my lap and I wrapped my arms around his neck. He pulled my blouse out of my school skirt and placed his hands right above the waistband of my school skirt. His warm fingers traveled upward, venturing beneath the white cotton of my shirt, toward my bra, stopping just shy of the underwire.

_His bruising grip on my breasts earned him a scream of pain._

Ron broke the kiss and brought his hands out from beneath my shirt and began to unbutton it from the bottom. He slipped it off of my shoulders, leaving me in only my pink lace bra and my school skirt. He shifted his body and pulled me so that I was lying under him on the sofa. He kissed me again, but did not linger on my lips. His mouth moved down my jawline and my neck, kissing and sucking, leaving trails of fire on my skin. As Ron's fingers traced the curves of my hips and dipped beneath the waistband of my skirt, my heart began to beat faster. His fingers deftly began to unbutton my skirt. I gasped as the memories came flooding back.

"_Baby, I just want to love you. Let me love you."_

"Ron," I breathed, but I was ignored.

"_It's okay, I won't hurt you." _

"Ron." I tried again, louder this time, but still he continued. His fingers wrapped around the elastic of my knickers and I gasped in shock and grabbed at his wrists, my heart was racing and my breathing becoming erratic, inching toward hyperventilation.

_Touching, groping, violating. No way to stop it._

"Stop it!" I screamed, shoving Ron onto the floor. Ron looked up at me, his expression indignant until he saw the tears that I was trying to hold back in vain. When he noticed my emotional instability, he climbed back on the couch and tried to put his arm around me.

"Hey, are you all right?"

"Don't touch me right now." I said softly, pushing him away. Ron's face fell and he put a few inches between us. It was quiet for a minute or so and I couldn't deal with Ron's inquisitive stare. "I told you to stop." I whispered. His face displayed several different emotions in the next four seconds. Confusion, incredulity, anger and finally, amusement.

"Is that what this is about? Again?" Ron asked with a derisive chuckle. My nostrils flared as I looked away and tried to control my jumble of emotions. Part of me wanted to tell him everything, but the other part just wanted to keep everything a secret forever.

"Yes, Ronald, again!" Sometimes he just made me so frustrated that I couldn't deal with it. It's not like I didn't want to do more with him. It's just that I…couldn't.

"What is your problem?" Ron demanded.

"I just have some…issues." I responded, not meeting his eyes. I heard him sighing in exasperation and I sneaked a glance toward him. He ran his hand through his hair, something he always did when this happened.

"Your only issue is that you're a prude." Ron grumbled. I had a hard time picking my jaw up off of the floor at that comment. His face registered shock, as though he hadn't meant to say it out loud.

"What?" I growled, after I had pulled myself together. Had he honestly said that? Did he really feel that way? What the hell? It took almost all of my energy to keep myself from slapping him, so instead I clenched my fists and held my arms at my sides.

"I didn't mean to say—I mean, I don't—I'm sorry!" Ron stammered pathetically. If I wasn't so distraught I probably would have laughed at the expression on his face.

"Is that really how you feel Ron?" I said, deathly calm. "Am I not enough for you? Because if not, there's the door." I pointed toward the portrait hole, my face stony and unrelenting. Ron glanced toward the portrait and back at my face a few times, as though he couldn't decide what to do, or what was the best decision.

"I'm sorry, Hermione." Ron said, hanging his head. "It's just that you make things all hot and then you just snatch it away. It's really…frustrating." I raised my eyebrow skeptically and crossed my arms.

"Oh really?" Ron nodded before continuing.

"It's just that when I was with Lavender—,"

"What the fuck, Ron?" I shouted, interrupting him. Ron looked stunned at my outburst. "You are in a relationship with _me_ right now, and I am not concerned about whatever it was that you did when you were dating Lavender. You aren't dating her anymore so whatever went down with you two isn't of any importance whatsoever. _Don't_ compare me to Lavender!"

"I'm sorry, Hermione." By this time I was furious. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"I think you should leave, Ron." I said softly.

"What?"

"Please just go," I said, pointing at the portrait again. Ron didn't speak but he attempted to kiss my lips. I turned my face from him and shook my head. He sighed and headed toward the door, glancing once over his shoulder before exiting.

* * *

After Ron left, I sat on the couch and hugged one of the embroidered throw pillows as I let my tears fall.

"I promised myself that I wouldn't let my past affect the present." I whispered to myself. "Why did you have to make everything so _complicated_?" I shouted to the air.

"Talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity." I looked up at the sound of the voice to see Draco Malfoy leaning in the doorway of the portrait hole.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" I snarled, turning my face so he wouldn't see my tears.

"What's Weasel's problem?" He asked, ignoring my question. I pursed my lips and risked turning to face him. Mistake. "Oh, I see. He's still not getting any action." Before he had time to blink I was in his face with my wand jabbing into his groin. I looked up at him and scowled, every negative emotion was rushing through me. Pain, hatred, anger, frustration.

"Are you sure you want to continue this conversation?" I growled. "Because I know thirty-seven different spells that can make it so that you aren't getting any either." I heard Malfoy's breath hitch ever so slightly and I smirked in satisfaction.

"Fine, I'm done." Malfoy sneered, trying to mask his panic. "Remove your wand from the goods." Reluctantly I pocketed my wand. Once Draco was sure that my wand was a safe distance from his groin, he pushed past me and stormed off to his bedroom.

* * *

**I'm much happier with this...its not as long as I would have liked but it will do.**


	2. Chapter Two: Unfaithful

Oh man…

**Oh man…..I was just looking at my stories list and I really need to update all of my stories…..most of them I haven't updated for a year! So I better get started….I don't know how often they will come…they may be far and few in between…but don't worry…I have every intention to finish them all!**

**Chapter Two**

Over the next few weeks, things seemed to have blown over regarding Hermione's relationship with Ron. The two of them had been getting along, and Ron seemed to be able to control his urges. Hermione was glad that he had gotten over the fact that she wasn't ready for a sexual relationship with him. Since all the talk of sex had disappeared, she felt as though the time she spent with him was more enjoyable without all of the pressure.

* * *

"No, Ron. You have to write your own essay!" Hermione stated firmly. "You're never going to learn if I keep writing them for you." Ron pouted.

"Please, Hermione?" He begged, pitifully. "I promised Harry that we would go to Hogsmeade and look at-," Hermione dropped her quill and glared at him incredulously.

"Ronald Weasley! Do you honestly believe that I am going to sit in this library writing, not one, but TWO essays, while you and Harry go off gallivanting? You must be crazy!"

Hermione's face was almost as red as Ron's hair. She was livid. "I am your girlfriend! Not some essay machine on legs!"

"Very sexy legs I might add," Ron cut in coyly.

"Nice try Ron, but I'm still not doing it." He could hear the finality in her voice as she continued her essay on the uses of a bezoar. Ron sighed as he dropped into the chair next to hers to begin his essay. The couple worked in silence for a good twenty minutes until a bag dropped into the seat next to Hermione. She looked up and smiled.

"Hey Harry." He nodded at her and directed his attention to Ron.

"Ready?" Ron began to close up his belongings and shove them into the worn out bag that he had inherited from Percy.

"Ron you didn't finish your-"

"I know, I'll get to it later. I promise." And with a swift kiss on the mouth, the two boys were gone. Hermione rolled her eyes and went back to work on her foot long essay that she had almost completed. About two minutes later, she felt that she wasn't alone. She figured it was Harry or Ron coming back for something so she didn't look up.

"What did you forg-," She began, but she cut herself off with a gasp. Instead of meeting the warm brown eyes of her boyfriend or the familiar green ones of her best friend, she found herself staring into the cold grey eyes of Draco Malfoy.

"Hello, Mudblood." Hermione struggled to hide her nervousness.

"Malfoy," She responded curtly. He was so close that she could feel his breath on her cheek and it made her uncomfortable.

"I hope you didn't forget that little promise I made you." Hermione's face went pale despite her efforts to stay calm. What was he going to do to her? "Don't worry, Muddy. This is your warning. Next time I won't be so nice."

Malfoy's warning kept Hermione on her toes for the next few weeks, but after about two weeks, she saw no signs of immediate danger so she began to forget about his threats.

* * *

"Ron?" Hermione knocked on the door and pushed it open revealing the boys dormitory and her boyfriend still in bed. "Ron, are you alright?" Ron opened his eyes and looked across the room at his girlfriend.

"I'm actually not feeling so well," He muttered. "I think I'm going to have to pass on the Hogsmeade trip today." Hermione unsuccessfully tried to hide her disappointment. She had planned a nice lunch for them at a quaint little cafe in the village.

"Okay, Ron. I'll bring something back for you." She blew a kiss across the room to him and headed down to the main entrance to meet up with Harry and Ginny. Maybe there would be some room for her in their party.

That afternoon, Hermione ran up the stairs to the boy's dorm, her hands and pockets full of candy and sweets from Honeydukes that Ron had missed out on. She hoped that it would make him feel a little bit better. She knocked softly on the door, just in case he was asleep. She listened for a response but all she could hear was a strange groaning sound coming from inside the room.

"Ron, are you alright?" Hermione pushed open the door and peeked inside. What she saw made her stomach drop. On Ron's bed in a tangle of sheets and naked limbs was Ron on top of an orgasming Lavender Brown.

"Ron, how could you?" she whispered, heartbroken. Ron looked up at the sound of her voice.

"Hermione!" Ron got off of Lavender as fast as he could and grabbed a pair of pants. Hermione threw the candy at him as hard as she could and spun on her heels and ran down the stairs and through the common room. Ron followed suit. By the time he caught up with her, she was halfway to the Heads dorm. Ron grabbed her arm and she spun to face him.

"Don't even try to tell me that it wasn't what it looked like!" She screamed. "Was she a cure for your illness, Ron?" Hermione jerked her arm away and snarled, "You make me sick!" Ron watched, bewildered as she stormed off.

* * *

Hermione spent the rest of the weekend holed up in her dormitory, thinking about what she had done wrong. It was obvious that Ron didn't love her enough to wait until she was ready.

Hermione lay in her bed on Monday morning, unwilling to get up and face Ron, who was in most of her classes. Eventually she managed to drag herself out of bed and into the shower. Surprisingly there was no sign of Malfoy, and for that she was grateful.

Once she was dressed, she looked at the time. It was 8:10, still early. Hermione decided to skip breakfast and avoid the Great Hall all together. With forty minutes to spare before she had to head to class, she decided to take an early morning walk around the grounds. She opened the front entrance doors and headed out into the crisp November air. Hermione inhaled deeply and smiled. She had always loved fall, the scent of falling leaves had always appealed to her for some reason. She skipped down the front steps of the castle and trudged through the piles of dry leaves and headed down toward the lake. She took a seat on a boulder underneath a large evergreen tree. After about ten minutes of sitting, Hermione realized that it wasn't really a good idea for her to come out there. The alone time was making her think about things that she didn't want to remember. It was her goal to push everything that concerned her relationship with Ronald out of her mind. Thinking about him still hurt her. It was as though she had a permanent thorn in her heart. Against her will the tears filled her eyes and threatened to spill over. _Why me? Why did he have to affect my life so much? I should have known that a relationship with me wouldn't work. Why did I even bother? It was just a recipe for pain. Maybe Ron was right to choose someone else…..I wasn't satisfying his needs. Maybe things with Ron would have been different if he knew…NO…I can't tell anyone. People wouldn't understand. Things are bad enough now. I guess I'm just doomed to be alone forever._

Suddenly Hermione heard an anguished cry come from the other side of the tree, breaking her train of thought. She had been quiet up until now, so anyone on the other side of the tree would not be aware of her presence. Curious, Hermione stood up and crept to the other side of the tree and to her absolute surprise, Draco Malfoy sat under the tree with his knees drawn up to his chest and his head buried in his arms. In his tightly fisted hand he clutched a piece of crumpled parchment. It was within a momentary lapse of judgment that she decided to speak to him.

"Malfoy? Are you alright?" His head jerked up to look at her. His normally cold, grey eyes were blood shot and it was obvious that he had been crying.

"What do you want, Mudblood," He snarled, Hermione thought that she could detect some extra venom in his remark.

"Were you crying?" She couldn't hide the incredulity in her voice. Malfoy's scowl deepened and he whipped out his wand and pointed it in her face.

"What's it to you?" He hissed. Hermione instinctively took a step backward and raised her hands in surrender.

"I'm not trying to insult you, Malfoy. I'm genuinely concerned, as bizarre as that sounds."

"Really?" He asked with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. Hermione nodded, just as surprised as he was. For a moment, Malfoy looked as though he was going to accept her offer of sympathy, but just as quickly as it appeared it was gone and the scowl was back. "I don't need your pity, Granger." He growled as he stood up and stormed back up to the castle. However, Hermione smiled, because although it was only for a moment, she caught a glimpse of the real Draco Malfoy.


	3. Chapter Three: Um, thanks?

**Chapter Three**

Hermione trudged back up towards the castle after a few more minutes alone with her thoughts. The event with Malfoy gave her something else to add to her list of thoughts. What was on that piece of parchment that he clutched so tightly? What could have possibly made Draco Malfoy cry? She didn't have too much time to think about it before she had to run to class. Hermione Granger had never been late for a class and she didn't intend on starting now.

* * *

When she entered the classroom, there was no sign of Ron. Harry sat alone at a desk near the front of the room. She strode across the room quickly before one of the many students milling around could take the empty seat next to him. Hermione dropped her bag next to the chair and sat down, giving Harry a weak smile. Harry returned the smile somewhat confused.

"Why aren't you going to sit with Ron?" Hermione stopped in her tracks and looked at her best friend incredulously.

"Are you kidding me? After what he did?" Harry gave her a blank expression. It was apparent that he wasn't informed on the situation.

"I can't believe he didn't tell you. Well actually I can." She said, rolling her eyes. Hermione explained in a hushed voice what transpired on Saturday afternoon. Harry's eyes glinted with something that looked like fury. As Hermione finished her story, Ron walked into the room and headed toward him, but after the intense glare he received from Harry, he thought better of it. He looked toward Hermione but the look on her face told him that if he came any closer, he would very likely have problems peeing straight.

* * *

After class, Ron dared an approach. Harry had calmed down, if only slightly. As Ron got closer, Hermione noticed Harry clutching his wand so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. Ron looked increasingly uncomfortable under their glares, and he shifted his weight from one foot to the other a few times before Hermione prompted him to speak.

"What, Ronald?" She barked. Ron jumped at the sharpness in her tone.

"I just wanted to apologize and explain what happened." Hermione laughed, but there was no humor in it.

"An apology won't get you out of this one, mate." Harry said coldly.

"What are you going to say, Ron? That she raped you?" Hermione sneered. "You seemed to be enjoying it every bit as much as she was."

"No, Hermione, I-,"

"Save it Ron." She said, cutting him off. "It's over." Hermione brushed past him and strode off down the hall in the direction of her next class. Ron ran his hand through his red hair and sighed.

"Can you believe her?" He scoffed. Harry snorted derisively.

"Yeah, I can. How could you do that to her?" Harry snarled, and without waiting for an answer he followed Hermione towards History of Magic, leaving Ron standing alone to revel in his solitude.

* * *

Hermione climbed through the portrait to the heads' dormitory after a long day of avoiding Ron's attempts to apologize. She dropped her bags at the door of the common room and sank into the plush cushions of the navy blue sofa. Hermione didn't know how long she sat there staring into the leaping orange flames in the fireplace, but she was startled out of her reverie when Malfoy climbed through the portrait hole. It was obvious that he was back to his usual arrogant self as soon as he opened his mouth.

"No Weasel today?" He sneered. Hermione looked up at him with sad eyes. Draco was thrown off guard by the pain in her expression and the lack of a snarky reply. She simply shook her head and went back to staring into the flames. Malfoy looked at her quizzically. He could tell that there was something off with her today. "Was it the Weasel or Pothead?"

"The Weasel," Hermione answered bitterly. Draco almost laughed when she used his rude nickname for Ron, but he could tell his amusement would not be appreciated. Draco dropped his books next to hers and sat down beside her on the couch. Hermione looked up in surprise at his unexpected presence.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Do you want to talk about why you were crying down at the lake this morning?" Hermione asked, not expecting an answer. Draco's grey eyes darkened his guarded mask back in place. "I didn't think so." Hermione replied and turned to face the fire once more. Draco quickly stood up and snatched his books from the floor.

"Forget I even asked," He snarled as he stormed into his bedroom. It didn't escape Hermione's notice however, that for the first time there were no 'Mudblood' comments involved in their conversation. Despite her shitty mood, this small piece of knowledge brought a tiny smile to her face.

* * *

The next morning, Hermione headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. It still felt strange to walk alone without Ron's talkative presence to break the silence. However, as she thought about it, she realized that she didn't miss it as much as she thought she would. As she waited for the moving staircase to return to its post in front of her, she heard footsteps approaching. She glanced over her shoulder, hoping it wasn't Ron, and to her relief it wasn't. Draco stopped next to her, dressed head to toe in black, his Slytherin robes draped over his left arm.

"Morning, Granger." He grunted. Hermione was caught off guard by his uncharacteristic politeness and could only nod. The staircase locked into place in front of them and she hurried forward, anxious to get away from Malfoy. She walked into the Great Hall, her eyes scanning the Gryffindor table for Harry. Hermione's heart skipped a beat when she saw Ron sitting across from Parvati Patil and holding hands with Lavender. Lavender felt Hermione's gaze and looked up. When she noticed who was staring at her she smirked and raised one perfectly plucked eyebrow. Turning toward Ron, she planted a wet, over the top kiss on his lips. Ron, clueless as ever, eagerly returned the kiss. Hermione pursed her lips and continued to walk past them to take her seat next to Harry, not noticing the perplexed expression of Draco Malfoy who had witnessed the entire exchange.

* * *

After breakfast, Harry and Hermione parted ways so that Harry could walk Ginny to her History of Magic class. Hermione headed downstairs to the dungeons toward Potions. As she approached the classroom, she could hear Lavender's obnoxious giggle behind her.

"Oh Ron, you are _so_ funny!" Hermione rolled her eyes; she knew from experience that Ron was not actually that funny and that Lavender's exclamation was for Hermione's benefit. Suddenly, Hermione was pushed up against the wall by a heavy male body. A hand discreetly covered her mouth before she could even gasp in surprise, to anyone watching it would look like a loving caress.

"Play along," Draco's gruff voice whispered in her ear. His hand dropped from her mouth to her neck. He placed feather soft kisses on her ears and her jaw. Her eyes fluttered shut, but not before seeing Ron and Lavender's shocked expressions. Hermione felt a rush of triumph and then something that felt like pleasure. Draco's fingers left tingles in their wake as they traveled downward towards her waist. His lips left a burning sensation on her jaw as they left her skin. After Ron and Lavender entered the Potions classroom, Draco stepped away from her.

"Why did you do that?" Hermione whispered. She was still feeling a little weak from his touch.

"I saw what happened in the Great Hall this morning. Weasley's a git."

"Lavender is the biggest gossip in Gryffindor. The whole school is going to know by dinner." Draco shrugged. He didn't care; it wasn't like he talked to any of the Slytherins anymore.

"Thank you." Hermione smiled and turned to head into the classroom just as the warning bell rang.


End file.

Harry Potter, Romance