~Hermione POV~
Hermione glared up at her two friends. Ever since she had started being involved with Draco, they had been terrible friends, and it was as if they had forgotten she was still the same old Hermione, but just happier now. Draco. She wondered what he was doing. She missed his stubbornness, his cheeky grin, his arms around her, his pale lips on hers… "But 'Mione, I just don't see how your blood status isn't getting in the way of this so called 'relationship'!" Ron protested. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "He's changed Ronald, you don't even know him. Since… since previous events, he's changed his views. We're happy together, why can't you just accept that?" she spat, standing up now with her arms crossed defensively in front of her.
Ron paced around the kitchen and kicking a chair over in the process, he spun round, his ears flaming. "Yeah? Happy, are you? Then why hasn't he contacted you in over two weeks? Answer me that. He hasn't even thought about you since you met up in Hogsmeade. Take a hint Hermione. He's scum and you know it. He's bad for you!" he hissed, with his hands bunched up in fists. Harry, who had been quiet during this argument, stood up and pushed Ron back slightly and whispered something to him. Hermione rolled her eyes and huffed.
Looking up, she noticed Ron had gone out of the room and it was just her and Harry. Harry stepped forward and smiled sheepishly, his green eyes glittering behind his glasses. Hermione relaxed her stance and put her arms to her side and stood there awkwardly.
Suddenly, she felt tears gathering behind her eyes and flung herself at her old friend, gasping for air and sobbing in his hold. "It's… it's just not fair, Harry! How can he accept you and Ginny and not me and Draco? Love is love, isn't it?" she sobbed noisily into his shoulder. Harry patted her awkwardly on the back and pulled away. Focusing on the clock behind Hermione's head to avoid her eyes, he said, "Hermione, you have to understand where he's coming from though. Malfoy has always bullied you and teased you and it will just take a bit of time for him to understand that now you're… that you're now… you know." Harry stood back uneasily and watched the tear stained Hermione carefully. "Look" he soothed, "We want you to be happy, but just don't expect Ron to be accepting any time soon." Hermione looked down at the old stained floor beneath their feet and nodded slightly. She whispered, "And you?" Looking up she saw Harry shrug apologetically and walk out the cosy kitchen.
Not long after, Hermione heard someone else's footsteps approaching the kitchen. Wiping her eyes, she composed herself and looked up to see Ginny looking at her oddly. "For the record" Ginny stated, "My brother is an ass and doesn't deserve you as a friend. Who cares that you're going out with the ferret-" Ginny smirked at Hermione's frown and carried on, "-if he makes you happy, then that's what's important right? Besides, I think bringing down You-Know-Who and his little followers is more important. You just need to be careful not to get involved in all that Pureblood supremacist crap. We don't want you going Dark now, do we?" she teased. Hermione smiled slightly and avoided her eyes. Ginny hadn't realised what she'd said. She didn't know exactly what Hermione had planned to do. "Pull yourself together, act natural, act natural!" Hermione silently scolded herself. Meeting her gaze again, Hermione jumped up and beamed at her ally. "So," she said, hoping to change the subject, "what are you getting for Harry's birthday? I know its ages away, but you want it to be good, right?" The rest of the evening was spent in Ginny's room deliberating what to get Harry and giggling over the thought of giving him one of the famous Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes products.
Later that night, Hermione lay in her bed listening to Ginny's deep breaths as she slept. Lucky her, she thought bitterly. At least her boyfriend was in the same house as her. Hermione thought back to the time in Hogsmeade. Maybe she had left the café too quickly? She was in a rush and Ginny would have been angry with her. Hermione bit her lip wondering if Draco was okay. She then thought of the plan. Could she really change her blood status? She had no immediate family left anyway, and all her other relatives had disowned them; they weren't so excited at the prospect of having a witch in the family. .. People thought she was proud of her Muggle born heritage, but in reality, she was ashamed of it. As she had stated many times before, book knowledge did not compare to natural talent. But when she said natural talent, what people didn't realise was that she meant blood status.
She hated being labelled as a Muggle born, and a 'filthy Mudblood'. Although she had never needed popularity to be successful in her studies, she knew that Purebloods were favoured over Muggle borns no matter what anyone said and it made no difference if some of the Hogwarts professors labelled her as 'the brightest witch of her age'. In the real world, the working world, it made no difference. But blood did. She didn't think employers were supposed to discriminate, but she bet they did. What was stopping her from changing her blood? Even if she didn't stay with Draco, she would be forever in his debt for helping her. But fingers crossed she would be with Draco for as long as they both loved each other. She knew she would do anything for Draco and she hoped that he felt the same.
Sighing, she raked through her knowledge of blood status potions and realised she didn't know anything. She didn't dare think on where Draco had got the information of the possible way to change her blood, she knew it would haunt her and would definitely make her question her morals. But what were morals in this world anyway? Muggle morals were entirely different to Wizarding morals. Hermione rolled over on to her side and stared at the photo frame containing her, Harry and Ron waving at the camera and jokingly jostling each other. It had been just before the start of their Second year and the photo had been taken in Diagon Alley outside of Ollivanders. She had so many memories with these two boys. They would hate her if they knew what she was thinking of doing, and probably something worse if she actually went through with it.
But did she want to go through with it? The past 4 months had gone so fast, and she supposed that lovesick Muggle authors may call it a 'whirlwind romance'. Forbidden lust and raging hormones had played key parts in the starting of the relationship, and while she was scared at first, people had become accepting. Hermione had told her own Gryffindor friends that Draco would be loyal to her, and he made her happy. She didn't know what Draco had told the cunning Slytherins. Sighing again, she rolled over on to her other side and was startled to see Ginny staring blankly at her. Hermione curiously stared back and cocked her head to the left.
"Everything's going to be okay you know?" Ginny whispered encouragingly. Hermione looked down with doubts filling her mind.
"Ginny… sometimes… sometimes I wish things were different you know? I'm ashamed to say it, but I resent my parents for not being Pureblood. Things would be much easier." Hermione looked up, fearing judgement in her dear friend's eyes, but instead was met with a head of hair. Ginny had obviously fallen back to sleep as fast as she had woken up. Hermione was thankful for this; Ginny probably wouldn't be so approving of what she had said.
Staring back up at the cracked ceiling, Hermione started counting the days to when she would see Draco again. What Ron said wasn't completely true… Draco had been in contact with her, albeit only briefly and under another name. That name was Viktor Krum, and Hermione was surprised that Ron hadn't made more of a fuss about that. The message had simply said 'July 3rd. Leaky Cauldron. 3 o'clock. Viktor.' That letter was still crumpled in her jacket pocket. Hermione would know Draco's handwriting from a mile away. Since Viktor Krum's departure after Fourth Year, they had decided it was a name that would make most sense for her to be keeping in contact with and a good disguise. It was just in case the owl would be intercepted by the Ministry and wonder why the famous Malfoy heir would be contacting the lowly Mudblood. Glancing down at the scar on her arm, she actually smiled. Although she resented that… that bitch for doing it to her, it was what had brought her and Draco together. Pulling up the blankets around her, Hermione descended into a troubled sleep full of nightmares and terrifying thoughts.