A gentle note of a song met Draco's ear as he made his way into the grand staircase hall. The song was getting louder, so he must be getting closer. He rushed down the staircase, intent on his need to talk to Hermione. He didn't care if she was in the middle of a church service—he needed to tell her everything now. He intended on telling her about how Jack's spirit had visited him and sent him back, and had apparently sent her back, too. He reached the door and was stopped by two stewards.
"Look, you, you're not supposed to be here."
He looked at them, a little frustrated. "But I was just here last night...don't you remember?" he asked, a little frustrated. He looked up to see Lovejoy approaching them. "He'll tell you," he said quietly to the stewards.
"Mr. Hockley and Mrs. DeWitt Bukater continue to be most appreciative of your assistance. They asked me to give you this in gratitude—" He held out two twenty dollar bills, which Draco refused to take. He didn't want any damned money! He just wanted to talk to Hermione!
"I don't want your money. I—"
"—and also to remind you that you hold a third class ticket and your presence here is no longer appropriate," said Lovejoy smugly.
"I just need to talk to Her—Rose—for a—"
Lovejoy cut him off by addressing the stewards. "Gentlemen, please see that Mr. Dawson gets back to where he belongs." He gave the twenties to the stewards, smiling. "And that he stays there," he added.
"Yes, sir!" said a steward, saluting Lovejoy. The steward pushed him forward gently. "Come along, you."
Draco looked over his shoulder back at Hermione, who still hadn't noticed the commotion going on outside. "Damn it..." he muttered under his breath as the stewards led him away. He yanked his hands out of their grip."I can walk by myself, thanks," he growled. The steward on his right just gave him a funny look and continued forward.
But it didn't matter.
He had a plan.
*****
Mr. Andrews, their guide, led them through the gymnasium, droning on and on about how this machine worked, and how that machine helped your muscles and what not. Frankly, Hermione wasn't listening. She had her mind on last night, as she had for the past few hours. She couldn't get it out of her head, no matter what she did. And the one image that kept swimming before her eyes was none other than the ferret Draco Malfoy, his luscious hair falling into his beautiful icy eyes—
Oh, Merlin. I have to stop thinking like this! thought Hermione, outraged. This was the ferret, for Merlin's sake!
Mr. Andrews led them out of the gymnasium, but even then Hermione could not help but think of the previous night. She was completely zoned out. She only came back to the land of the living when she realized they were on a tour of the bridge. A wireless operator ran in, skirting around the tour group, and handed something to Captain Smith.
"Another ice warning, sir. This one's from the Baltic," said the operator.
"Thank you, Sparks," said Smith, nodding to him. Smith read the message and then folded it up and put in his pocket. "Oh, not to worry. It's quite normal for this time of year. In fact, we're speeding up. I've just ordered the last boilers lit." Hermione saw Andrews’ face distort in a small scowl as he led them out of the room.
Mr. Andrews led them along the boat deck, and as he did so, Hermione saw the lifeboats hanging over the side of the ship.
"Mr. Andrews," said Hermione. Mr. Andrews stopped and looked back at her. "I did the sum in my head, and with the number of lifeboats times the capacity you mentioned...forgive me, but it seems that there are not enough for everyone on board."
"About half, actually. Rose, you miss nothing, do you? In fact, I put in these new type davits, which can take an extra row of boats here," he explained. He gestured along the deck with his left hand. "But it was thought...by some...that the deck would look too cluttered. So I was overruled," said Mr. Andrews gravely.
"Waste of deck space as it is on an unsinkable ship!" said Cal, slapping the side of the ship.
"Sleep soundly, young Rose. I have built you a good ship, strong and true. She's all the lifeboat you need." Hermione nodded glumly, but she knew it wasn't true. They continued with the tour. As they circled past the gymnasium again, Hermione felt a tap on her shoulder. She whipped around to look into familiar icy-blue eyes. Her eyes flashed up as a lock of platinum blond hair fell out of the hat and hung into his eyes.
It was none other than Malfoy, the ferret.
He grabbed her arm gently and led her into the gymnasium. He closed the door and looked to make sure they were alone. There was no one else in the room except for the two of them.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" Hermione said half-heartedly, staring back at him. He was silent for a few minutes before speaking.
"Hermione..." He ran his hand through his hair nervously. She looked at him, confused and anxious. "Hermione, we need to get out of here. The ship will sink in...what, around twenty-four hours or so?" he asked. She noticed his voice crack and break slightly. She had never seen him like this before, and it concerned her.
"Draco, what can we do?" she asked him desperately. For once in her life, Hermione Granger did not know what to do, and it was bothering her.
"There's something I need to tell you, Hermione. Something that happened before we got sent back..." He looked down, shoving his hands in his pockets. Her curiosity being aroused, she gazed at him, ready for him to spill.
"Well, the night when I was sent back, I was recovering from..." His voice broke and he continued again, his voice a bit stronger. "…recovering from a sickness. I fell asleep and I had this vision. This man visited me and said he was a passenger from the Titanic. He said that me and another one of my kind were supposed to be sent back to rewrite history and stop things from happening. He said we were the only hope," he said in a rush.
Hermione looked at him, confused. "I still don't understand," she said slowly, confusedly.
He closed his eyes and took a breath. "Hermione, the man who was in my vision said his name was Jack."
Suddenly, everything made sense to her. "Oh," was all she could say without sounding stupid. She looked up at him and his gaze met hers, ice colliding with fire. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, trying to read each other's thoughts, before Draco spoke again in a near whisper.
"Hermione...there's another reason I wanted to speak with you alone," he murmured. His eyes darted away from hers nervously and he stopped, swallowing. Hermione watched his Adam's apple bob up and down.
"I don't even know how to put it in words," he stuttered. Deciding that actions spoke louder than words, Draco Malfoy leaned forward and kissed Hermione Granger lightly on the cheek.
Her eyes widened in surprise, and then she pushed him away. "Draco—Malfoy, we can't. This situation is hopeless. If we don't get off of this ship in twenty-four hours, we're going to die." She completely ignored the fact that he had kissed her. She didn't want to think about it, for fear that those feelings would start coming back again. Those feelings that she got in the pit of her stomach whenever he was near; the way her brain fogged up whenever he spoke; the way her heart melted whenever he looked at her, and the way—dammit! She needed to forget it!
"I'm sorry, Draco," she murmured in his ear as she brushed past him, exiting the gymnasium.
Draco Malfoy stood alone in a the warm gymnasium of the ship, but despite the warm temperature, it felt as cold as ever.
She had rejected him. He didn't know what else to do.
Frustrated, he opened the door of the gymnasium and stormed out onto the deck of the ship, heading towards the bow. He felt a drop of wetness on his face and reached up to feel it. A tear. He was crying.
For the first time in his life, Draco Malfoy had been rejected.
*****
She had made a decision.
Hermione wound her way through the crowds of people that littered the ship and stopped at the bow of the deck, where the one person she was looking for sat. Draco Malfoy sat on the ship’s bow, face to the wind, his hair fluttering around wildly, messing it up. She could tell he was upset because he wasn't even putting any effort into fixing it.
"Draco," she called out softly but firmly. He turned around, his gray eyes full of hope. When they had first arrived on the Titanic, she had first looked into his eyes and got the impression that the ice in them was melting. Now, however, it looked as if the ice in his eyes had melted all the way, and was being replaced by a cool puddle of water.
"Hermione," he murmured. He walked towards her and drew her into a hug. This time, she didn't fight, but hugged back. They stayed like that for a few minutes, holding each other, comforting each other. "What made you change your mind?" he asked her softly.
"Well, for one, the fact that I don't like giving up, and secondly…because…well, because I have feelings for you, too," she admitted. He pulled away, tilting her chin up so that he could look into her eyes. Unable to say any words that would capture how he was feeling at the moment, he leaned forward cautiously and kissed her full on the lips. This time, she didn't fight it, but responded back, kissing him eagerly.
After several moments, she pulled away and looked at him, a twinkle in her eye.
"I have a plan."