It had been a few days since what had happened with Granger. Everyone knew now. It was very, very, very bad. Everyone was avoiding me, even my father, he hadn't contacted me at all, which meant something bad was going to happen when I finally did see him again. This didn't happen. Ever.

"You need to eat, man." Blaise said as he came into our dorm. "I can't face everyone today; I can't do it." Blaise rolled his eyes, "You have to get over it Draco. You never cared what anyone thought before this. It shouldn't be any different." Draco mumbled into his pillow, face down. "I need coherent words, mate." Draco slowly lifted his head off his pillow, with an annoyed-meets-disappointed look on his face, "But it is different. It's Granger." He stuffed his face into his pillow again. Blaise sighed and waqlked to the door, stopping in the frame, "It'll only get to you if you let it, you know." Then he walked out of the room.


I was trying not to let everyone get to me, about the whole Malfoy thing, but it was hard. Very hard. Gryffindors kept giving me dirty looks, probably thinking I was a blood traitor, which I was not. I hadn't done anything, hadn't said that I like him back, if anything, I'm the victim in this! He was ruining my life, ruining my home. Harry was talking to me, he was weirdly ok with this, although I think he's just trying to make this easier for me. Ron on the other hand was full on blocking me out. He hadn't spoken to me in three days, since he asked about it in the common room.

Keeping Malfoy out of my mind also proved to be a difficult task. I kept thinking what would happen if we did get together, I'm not sure if anyone would even speak to me again, including Harry. I don't think he'd like that at all, even though he's been really good with Draco liking me, well too my face anyway. But then every time I caught myself thinking this and got angry with myself all over again. Ugh, I thought, I don't even like him, stop thinking like this, he's getting to your head.

I needed to focus that week too, with exams coming up. If this effects my grade I'm going to punch Malfoy in the nose again. Maybe even break it this time. And with that thought, I went to the common room, ignoring the obvious stares of my fellow Gryffindors, and tried to study.

'Transfiguration is a skill that…' I kept reading that sentence over and over again, not able to keep my thoughts on my study. Here we go again, the thinking about Malfoy has started again. "Granger," I jumped when I heard the voice, the voice that was not Harry's, and not anyones I would expect to hear, it was Malfoy's…


I had to talk to her, to tell her I didn't mean it, even though I did. I could tell it was killing her and everyone around her, I could tell that it was ruining her whole life, even if no one else could, so I went down to the library where I knew she had moved. I walked in the front door and didn't see her immediately, what I did see was a bunch of third years crowding around a table and whispering to eachother, constantly looking over in the direction of the corner of the library. When one of them saw me, neither of us moved for what seemed like hours but in reality was only seconds. None of the girl's friedns had noticed until she nudged the girl next to her and whispered in her ear. The other girls eyes widened as she heard, and she looked up to see me, but I was already gone.

I walked in the direction of their stares, assuming from the amazed look on the girl's face that it was
Granger they were talking about. As I suspected, sitting in a corner with a pile of textbooks, notepads, quills and pots of ink surrounding her. She kept reading the same sentence over and over again, eyes darting from one end of the line to the other. She still hadn't noticed me when I was standing right over her table. "Granger," She jumped when she heard my voice, or maybe it was just that name. Her eyes widened in realisation of who I was and then narrowed in suspicion, "What do you want Malfoy, as you can see I've got tones of work to do and-" "And you don't need more of me on your mind? Well that's exactly what I have come to do, I've come to tell you that what I said, I didn't mean, it just slipped out, I didn't know what else to say."

For a moment I thought I saw disappointment flash in her eyes, but it was gone as soon as I noticed. "Didn't look like that." She mumbled under her breath, "What was that?" "I said, you didn't really hesitate did you? On that day? Not that I care, you just don't seem like the type of person who would say something like that so quickly without meaning it." She was right, I wouldn't and I didn't, but she didn't need to know that. "But like I said, it's not like I care what or who you like." And then she packed up her textbooks and left the library.


I hoped my disappointment didn't show in my face, because that was what I was, totally and utterly disappointed, there was no doubt in it, there was no chance that I didn't like him because when he told me that he didn't mean what he said, my heart deflated like a balloon. At that moment I had nothing, no one, except Harry and he was never around. Everything I had was gone, all hope that everything would be ok, because at that moment I couldn't think straight, all I could think about was how Draco Malfoy and I would never happen.

As I walked back to the common room I got lost five times, not paying attention to where I was going, letting my feet take me wherever, which happened to end up back at the library, which was when I knew I had to stop thinking about Draco, because there was nothing to think about, he didn't like me, not even as a friend.

"Hermione where have you been?" As soon as I stepped into the common room Harry's voice echoed to the door. "The library. I thought I told you." I said, knowing full well that I didn't, "No, you didn't. Last I saw you, you were in here studying, why'd you go to the library?!" "MAYBE BECAUSE I WANTED TO AND I DON'T HAVE TO TELL YOU EVERY DAMN THING THAT I DO!" I stormed off. And didn't look back.