Disclaimer: I am not now and never will be Joanne Kathleen Rowling.
I THINK I LOVE HIM
"Please don't hate me."
"How could we ever hate you."
" I've done something stupid"
Her two best friends looked at each other and snorted.
"You? Never?"
"Be serious. Please. This is important"
She wouldn't look at them and was pulling at her hair in the way she does when she is nervous.
Comic disbelief is replaced with worried puzzlement on the boys faces, they sit down and look up at her expectantly, "Okay. We are listening."
She sits opposite them, still not looking at them.
"I want you both to know that it wasn't planned. I didn't just wake up and think that this is what was going to happen"
"what is it? Are you sick?"
"are you leaving Hogwarts?"
"no, I'm not sick and I'm not leaving. I think I'm in love."
Now she looked at them. Both boys were sitting with stupid grins on their faces, stunned. Ron laughed.
"Yeah right. You don't have time to be in love. Between Order work and school work and all your extra duties as head girl we hardly see you let alone a boyfriend. Oh. Wait. Is it a girlfriend?"
Stunned silence.
Followed by.
"Ouch! Harry! What was that for?"
"Ron. A little more subtlety,"
"What? I was only asking, who she had time for?"
SLAP
SLAP
"Ouch! Hermione!"
"Ouch! What was that for?"
"You idiots! I am not gay. It isn't a girlfriend, it is a boyfriend. And frankly I'm a bit annoyed that you find it unlikely that I have one."
"Oh Hermione please don't think we don't believe you but, we would've known. We spend nearly every spare minute together. You knew when I was with Ginny and Ron was with Lavender, don't you think we would know if you were with someone."
ANGRY SILENCE
DEAFENING, AWKWARD SILENCE.
"Em. Hermione?"
"Harry. I think she might be mad."
"DAMN RIGHT I'M MAD! YOU THINK I'M MAKING THIS UP. WHY THE HELL WOULDN'T I BE ANGRY!"
Scuffles and loud scraping of chairs as those in close proximity decide they need some fresh air and leave the trio alone in the common room. Hermione's temper is legendary.
"Well it's good to see you can still clear a room at 400 decibels."
"SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ME!"
Both boys, rather meekly, "okay"
MORE SILENCE.
"Hermione?"
"I'm composing myself. Deciding how to approach this."
"Look Hermione. What is soo bad about this guy that you are hiding him from us?"
"It isn't that I'm hiding him from you. It's just that….. Well……. It sort of took us by surprise and we weren't sure about it ourselves……and it is really complicated……and ……we were drunk……….and we enjoyed ourselves……and……"
"Geez Hermione take a bloody breath…."
"Yeah Hermione, I have no idea what you are on about."
"Okay. A couple of weeks ago. On the last Hogsmeade trip I got drunk."
"WHAT!"
"WOAH! WHEN!"
"while you two were off doing whatever you were doing with Lavender and Ginny. I got a bit annoyed that I had been left behind and decided to go to the Three Broomsticks."
"Sorry Hermione. We never thought. You should've said something."
LAUGHTER.
"I did. But let's just say you were all otherwise occupied, so I left."
"Wait. Did you not notice that I wasn't around?"
"Of course we noticed. We just thought you must've come back here with Parvati and the others."
"And when you got back and I wasn't here?"
"Em…..We thought you were in the library or in bed. We got back pretty late ourselves."
"Oh. Right. So none of you thought to look for me. The fact that you abandoned me in the middle of Hogsmeade to make out with your girlfriends'. On my own. Never crossed your mind. You never thought to check I got back okay?"
"Look it's not our fault. You're a big girl, we knew you would be okay."
"Right. What with the hordes of Death Eaters looking to kidnap and kill anyone associated with you Harry? Of course it was safe to leave me on my own."
"Bu….."
"Never mind. It doesn't matter. Fact is I was pissed off at you both. I was freezing and it was too damn early to come back here so I went to the pub. It was practically empty so I just sat at the bar with a couple of Firewhiskey's……..yes Ron Firewhiskey, I told you I was pissed of. When he came in. Ordered his own drinks and sat near me."
"Hold on Hermione. Are you saying you picked someone up in The Three Broomsticks? Are you mad? don't you know how dangerous that was?"
"Oh come over all protective and worried now haven't you? Don't worry Ron. He wasn't a stranger. He goes to this school"
"Oh."
"Really? Who is it? Seamus? Dean?"
Exasperated sigh.
"No. It isn't anyone from Gryffindor. If it was, this wouldn't be so difficult to say"
"So who is it?"
"Before I tell you, you both have to understand that we were really really drunk but we were careful. We took precautions."
"YOU SLEPT WITH HIM. AFTER ONLY MEETING HIM. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!"
"I told you Ronald. I was pissed off, annoyed, upset and if I'm honest a bit jealous. You and Harry both have someone to be close to and I didn't. I just wanted to be wanted if you know what I mean."
"Okay Hermione, I get it. But you are normally so level headed. This just doesn't sound like you."
Humourless laughter.
"What's so funny?"
"I was drunk Ron."
"Oh yeah. But still Hermione."
"Look no one was more shocked than we were. Mainly because we really got on with each other. So we stayed the night and spent most of the next day together…..talking Harry, just talking about things.. before coming back here. That was nearly 2 weeks ago and we have spent nearly every night together ever since. We aren't really ready to go public due to how things are but he agrees that you two need to know."
"Okay now you are really worrying me. You have been seeing him all this time and we have had no idea. Please tell me it isn't a Slytherin Hermione?"
"Em….it is actually."
"Oh Lord Hermione it isn't Zabini is it?"
"No."
"Nott?"
"No"
"Well that only leaves……??????"
"Malfoy!!!!!!"
"WHAT!"
"Oh no Hermione. Please tell us it isn't Malfoy"
"Emmmmm……."
"What the hell were you thinking? He's got the be the biggest prick in the world. He is as close as you can be to Voldemort without being in his inner circle. He's just ……..Fuck!"
Angry silence ensues during which Hermione looks suitably ashamed but also defiant.
"He's not as bad as you think, you know. He….."
"HE'S DRACO FUCKING MALFOY! THE GUY WHO HAS SPENT THE LAST 7 YEARS CALLING YOU A MUDBLOOD AND GENERALLY MAKING OUR LIVES HELL!"
"Harry, I know. Believe me I know. We both know. "
"So you shag Draco Malfoy and suddenly he's not that bad a guy. Is that right?"
"When you put it like that Ron it does sound bad, but please listen to me. You both promised to try and understand."
"No way Hermione. He's a bastard and if he doesn't already have it he is well on his way to getting his Dark Mark."
"Harry, please…………."
She looks at Ron for help and is pleased to see him place a steadying hand on his friends arm.
"Wait a minute mate. We did say we would listen to her. At the end of the day, it's Hermione."
"Okay Hermione. I'll listen but I don't have to like it."
"Thankyou. Both of you. I have thought this through, we both have done nothing else since that day in Hogsmeade. Just so you know he doesn't have the Dark Mark Harry and he has no intention of ever getting it."
"And you love him?"
"Yes. I think I do. I think I love him."
And so she sat facing her best friends telling them about the boy she had hated and should still hate but now loved.
Author's Note: I wrote this ages ago and didn't publish it. Please read and review as constructive critisim always helps, but be gentle!! I'm a nervous writer.
I want to thank those of you who have read, reviewed and added this to your accounts, it means so much to me that you enjoy it.
I also want to thank Vampyre,Vampyre for their constructive review, I appreciate you taking the time to write your thoughts on how I could improve my writing and I will take onboard everything you say, however I would like to address some of the issues you raised:
This fic was never, ever meant to follow Canon, perhaps I should have put that in the disclaimer and I apologise for not doing so.
I know that the 'real' Hermione would never just go out and get drunk and end up sleeping with her worst enemy let alone fall in love with him, but I do like my Hermione/Draco and this was just a bit of fun to see if it worked and in the main I think it did, but meh what do I know, I never studied past high school!!LOL
Anyway, please keep reading and reviewing, but I would like to reply personally to you all so please leave me a way to get in touch.