Unwritten

Chapter Eight





Hermione stepped up to the mic and sang, "I\'m tired of being what you want me to be; Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface; Don\'t know what you\'re expecting of me; Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes..."



Draco\'s voice came in the background as he twice chanted, "Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow," while Hermione sang, "Every step that I take is another mistake to you..."



Then, Draco practically shouted into the microphone, "I\'ve become so numb, I can\'t feel you there. Become so tired, so much more aware; By becoming this all I want to do; Is be more like me and be less like you."



Hermione smiled at Draco as she sang, "Can\'t you see that you\'re smothering me? Holding too tightly, afraid to lose control; \'Cause everything that you thought I would be has fallen apart right in front of you..."



Again, Draco joined in the background with, "Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow," while Hermione sang, "Every step that I take is another mistake to you," then, Draco said again, "Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow," and Hermione shouted, "And every second I waste is more than I can take!"



Draco slammed on his guitar as he shouted, "I\'ve become so numb, I can\'t feel you there; Become so tired, so much more aware; By becoming this all I want to do; Is be more like me and be less like you... And I know, I may end up failing too, but I know, you were just like me with someone disappointed in you! I\'ve become so numb, I can\'t feel you there; Become so tired, so much more aware; By becoming this all I want to do; Is be more like me and be less like you..."



As Draco chanted, "I\'ve become so numb I can\'t feel you there," Hermione followed softly, "Tired of being what you want me to be..."



As the song ended, Draco almost collapsed onto his favourite chair. He wiped the sweat off of his brow and grabbed a glass of water. "That was incredible," Susan said as Draco downed the drink.



Hermione smiled. "I actually like that song," she readily agreed.



Anthony joined Draco at the table and took a long draft of water himself. When he finished, he looked up at the girls. "Are we adding it to our concert list?" he asked.



Both girls nodded in unison. "There\'s another song I\'d like to add, too," Hermione commented, casting her eyes to the floor. "But, I\'m not sure you three would agree to it."



Draco tipped his head to the side slightly. "What song is that?"



"It\'s actually..." she hesitated. The Gryffindor took a big sigh and said, "It\'s a Muggle song, honestly. It\'s sung by an American, but it\'s really good and I would really like to add it to the show."



The blond Slytherin looked skeptical. "What is it about?"



Hermione pinched her lips together. "Can I sing it for you?" she questioned.



He nodded and waved his hand for her to go ahead. To his surprise, she picked up his acoustic and began strumming it. Then, she softly sang,



"There\'s a hero

If you look inside your heart

You don\'t have to be afraid

Of what you are



There\'s an answer

If you reach into your soul

And the sorrow that you know

Will melt away



And then a hero comes along

With the strength to carry on

And you cast your fears aside

And you know you will survive



So when you feel like hope is gone

Look inside you and be strong

And you\'ll finally see the truth

That a hero lies in you..."



She stopped playing and singing and looked up expectantly. Though she valued the others\' opinions, her main focus was Draco. There was a long pause where no one said a word. Hermione was nervous and prayed that the look on Draco\'s face didn\'t mean he hated the song.



Finally, after what seemed an eternity, he nodded. "We can play the song," he said, to Hermione relief. "Though, you never told me you could play guitar."



She smiled coyly. "I didn\'t want you holding it over me when I decided to leave the band. Since I\'m not leaving the band, I figure we could use another guitarist, especially when you are singing."



He nodded his consent and smiled. "Well, are we ready to practice some more? I want to try out this hero song and I have another new song I would like to play."



Hermione taught them her new song, then, once they were set with it, they began Draco\'s new song. The Gryffindor was excited as Draco handed her one of his guitars and helped her tune it. When they were both comfortable with it, he took his own guitar and smiled at her. "Ready?" he asked.



She nodded.



They began to play and he sang,



"I dreamed I was missing

You were so scared

No one would listen

Cause no one else cared



After my dreaming,

I woke with this fear

What am I leaving

When I\'m done here?



So if you\'re asking me

I want you to know



When my time comes

Forget the wrong that I\'ve done

Help me leave behind some

Reasons to be missed



Don\'t resent me

When you\'re feeling empty

Keep me in your memory

Leave out all the rest, leave out all the rest..."



It was at the end of the song when Hermione Granger realized she just might be in love with Draco Malfoy.



(II)



Hermione pulled the younger girl towards the dungeons. "Now, you have to promise you won\'t say a word to anyone. Not Harry, not your brothers..."



Ginny gave an aspirated sigh. "I promise I won\'t say a word. Not to anyone. Not even to my pigmy puff."



The older Gryffindor giggled. "Ooo, you are going to love this. Now, mind you, it\'s a bit cramped, so you\'ll probably have to stand against the wall."



"You still haven\'t told me what we are doing," the redhead complained.



"That\'s because it\'s a surprise!" Hermione assured her.



The older of the two knocked on a seemingly random door and was greeted with a stout, "Who is it?"



Hermione giggled, "I have brought my prisoner."



The door opened and she led Ginny into the band\'s practice room.



Anthony laughed. "See? At least I brought someone who wasn\'t too sane. You\'re going to torment Weasely!" he chortled.



Hermione placed her hands on her hips and gave him a mock glare. "How dare you suggest that Luna is not sane!" she teased back.



But, there was no questioning the blond girl\'s sanity. As the two band members playfully bickered, Luna absentmindedly ran a hand over the drum set. Ginny, on the other hand, was astounded by the room.



"Is this where you\'ve been running off to, Hermione?" she asked.



Hermione nodded in confirmation. "We have started practicing every night. McGonagall is allowing us to perform a concert in the Great Hall after finals, so we\'ve been pushing it a bit."



"Don\'t tell me you\'ve been studying, too!" the younger Gryffindor complained.



"And she\'s been working on our wardrobe," Susan added as she entered with Justin Finch-Fletchy. "I honestly don\'t know how she\'s doing it. I\'ve even offered to help."



Ginny looked at Hermione in shock but didn\'t get a chance to say any more as Draco entered with Blaise Zabini. The black pureblood immediately sneered at the group. "Is this what you brought me here for? It\'s bad enough I have to be around these idiots with Slughorn," he growled.



"Cool it, Zabini," Draco hissed. "Just hear us out, that\'s all I\'m asking. If you don\'t like it, you can leave. But, hear us out first."



Draco hesitated a moment when he saw Ginny, but then continued on to his guitar. He pointed to a spot on the wall. "If you\'d like, all those not playing can stand against that wall there. We\'ll be playing towards that wall," he informed them.



Zabini glowered, but he followed his friend\'s instructions. Ginny and Justin followed with curiousity, while Luna seemed to float to the wall.



"Now, the four of you are getting a rare treat," Hermione told them. "The concert is still a few months away and we do not have all of our songs completely ready."



"But, we decided we wanted to test what we have now and see how others like it," Draco added.



That was when Susan chimed in, "We know we have taken you by surprise and completely off guard. For that we hope you can understand and appreciate our need for secrecy."



"We aren\'t exactly what Hogwarts expects when they think of rock bands," Anthony confessed. "But, we are called Hogwarts United and we have a few songs for you to listen to tonight."



"Like Draco said, if you decide that you don\'t like them," Hermione continued, pointing to the door, "you can see your way out and forget about us."



"But, if you do like them," Draco finished, "let us know. We appreciate any creative criticisms you can give us."



"And now, on with the show!" Susan shouted.



Anthony tapped his drumsticks and yelled, "One! Two! Three!"



They played a total of four songs. Of course, they could have continued to play, for their friends seemed to be completely enjoying themselves. Even Blaise Zabini was tapping his foot and nodding his head to the music. At the end of the short show, the eight friends were exhausted but excited. None of them could wait until the concert.

---

Author\'s Note: Ok. Songs sang was, "Numb," by Linkin Park, "Hero," by Mariah Carey, and "Leave Out All the Rest," also by Linkin Park.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEt18epW6jA&feature=channel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMNyq-6M-mc&feature=channel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjyzcRmjjtM