Chapter four - Talk in the Dark
"So what you are saying is that you forgive me?" Hermione asked the following morning in the Great Hall during breakfast. The celebration had ended just a few hours ago; all the Gryffindors were very exhausted. Some even fell asleep on their plates full of eggs and bacon.
"Yes. I had some time to think about it last night, and I've realised that being mad at you was a stupid mistake," Ron answered with his mouth full of well-done, crispy bacon.
Hermione sighed. Harry looked at her in wonder. He'd thought she would've responded positively to Ron's apology. He, Ron, had been talking about how stupid he'd been all night.
"What's wrong?" Ron asked as he realised Hermione didn't smile at him as he had expected her to do.
"You forgive me, Ron?! That's not how it's supposed to be! I'm the one who has to forgive you! You shall apologize, Ronald!" Hermione yelled, she felt like the situation had been twisted and Ron thought she was the one who had messed up.
"What? Are you actually serious?" Ron had spat out all of his bacon – it didn't even land o n his plate.
"Yes, I'm serious, Ronald! You started this, so you apologize!" Hermione only called Ron by his full name when she was angry with him. Which was quite often.
An unwelcome silence appeared amongst them. Harry'd nearly not been speaking at all during breakfast. He was, too, exhausted after yesterday's celebrations and not looking forward to an entire day of studying because he was already behind with the schoolwork.
"You are aware things hardly ever turn out as they're supposed to, right, Hermione?" Ron replied with anger, finally breaking the silence after a few minutes. He felt tough. Hermione stared him down without a word until he finally broke. "Fine! I'm sorry, okay?" Ron continued, making Hermione smile – she was satisfied.
"Thank you, Ronald, I forgive you." Harry saw how much Hermione tried to hide her overwhelming happiness. She'd won the battle, which was exactly what she loved to do.
Both Ron and Hermione seemed to have forgotten about their individual rows with Harry, which he only appreciated. He liked that the three of them were talking again. They spent the entire Sunday studying and doing homework. Ron didn't fancy it much, but he didn't want to get in another fight, so he didn't protest. He seemed very happy that they were all friends again.
As December arrived, so did an invitation to Professor Slughorn's Christmas Party. For the Slug Club members only, of course. Which meant Ron was once again left out and having a row with Hermione. He'd begun dating Lavender Brown, which Hermione was very much against, but didn't dare tell him. She pretended it was all right, but ignored Ron completely. Ron and Lavender's lips were glued together. Literally… They'd spent a day in the Hospital Wing last week. Harry'd suspected Hermione for exchanging Lavender's lip balm with glue, but she'd denied with a smirk.
"I don't care who he runs around and snogs! Yes, I'd counted on him to be my date to the Christmas party, because now I've had to make other arrangements," Hermione said in the last week of school before Christmas break.
"Really, who did you invite?" Harry asked in curiosity. He didn't see Ron much neither these days.
"Cormac McLaggen," she sighed. Harry could tell that she wasn't satisfied with it at all.
"Cormac? But you hate Cormac!" Cormac McLaggen was a somewhat good-looking boy who'd tried out for the Quidditch team, but hadn't made it. He'd not been very good at all.
"Harry, I don't hate anyone. Some people just annoy me enough for me to dislike them strongly."
"Really? You don't even hate Voldemort?" asked Harry. Hermione widened her eyes and hushed at Harry. "What? Don't tell me you are afraid to speak his name now, Hermione!"
"No, not at all, but we're at the library, Harry! Have some respect." Harry'd never understood Hermione's respect for a bunch of old books stacked in wooden cases on the verge of breaking apart. Sure they'd been very useful in the past years in discovering Nicholas Flamel and a way for Harry to breath under water, but it wasn't as if they could hear what they were talking about. Or could they? Harry wasn't quite aware of what each book was capable of. He had encountered some strange ones during his brief time spent here.
"Anyway, who've you invited?" Hermione asked after a while of browsing around in silence. It was late so the library was nearly empty. Only Romilda Vane was studying a Potion book in a nearby corner.
Harry picked up a copy of an old Defence Against the Dark Arts book. He remembered it from his fourth year at Hogwarts.
"Luna," he whispered, replying Hermione's question a bit later than he should have.
He could hear Hermione choke.
"You are bringing Luna Lovegood to a formal party?" she asked in disbelief.
"Yes. What is wrong with that? She is actually a really sweet girl, and she knows I'm only bringing her as a friend," Harry assured. Luna'd been so pleased when Harry had asked her to be his date for the evening. Ginny'd also told Harry how happy Luna'd was.
"Nothing wrong with that, it's just that I'd hoped you would be bringing, you know, Ginny," she spoke with a lowered voice.
"Ginny? She's probably bringing Dean, anyway, so why bother asking her." Harry was still very annoyed by the fact that was their relationship.
"They fight constantly, you know, it is just a matter of time," Hermione sighed. Harry knew Hermione was aware of his feelings towards Ginny. She always knew such things before he even did himself.
At the night of the Christmas Party, as Harry was getting prepared, Ron and Lavender had placed themselves in one of the common-room's most comfortable chairs and continued their constant snogging. Harry walked by as he went to meet Luna and wrinkled his nose. He thought they looked very disgusting. It was in no way love, it was just meaningless snogging for the sake of snogging.
"Harry," a cinnamon sweet voice called his name as he was walking towards the Ravenclaw Tower.
"Hello, Luna. Are you ready?" he asked. Luna looked quite ravishing in light pink and silver robes. Harry couldn't tell what it was supposed to be, but it suited Luna very well, especially with her very long, curly, ice blonde hair. Harry'd never noticed the beauty of it before. Now he felt a sudden urge to touch it. "You look wonderful, Luna," he added without putting a thought to it.
Luna's cheeks turned reddish and her eyes searched to the floor as they always did when she felt shy.
"Thank you, Harry. You're quite handsome yourself," she replied with a smile.
"Oh, just some old robes I found in my suitcase."
Harry and her started to walk towards the room where Slughorn held his parties. They were all alone in the corridors because everybody else were having dinner in the Great Hall or getting ready to leave Hogwarts in the morning. Harry was leaving, too. He was going home with Ron to visit the Weaslys. He was not sure whether Hermione was coming with them, but he hoped so.
"I've never been to this part of the castle before," Luna admitted. They'd turned down a corridor full of lit candlelight, but still no people. They were beginning to hear the voices of the attendees. They weren't far.
Cormac was trying to take Hermione's hand - again. She gently pushed it away - again.
She was sickened by his need for intimacy. She was really not into him at all. She'd only invited him because she knew Ron didn't like him at all. Not that Ron would ever know that she was going with him. He never left Lavender's lips.
She tried to act calm about the situation, because she wanted people to think she was doing just perfectly without Ron, but as Cormac tried to hold her hand once again she lost her temper.
"Don't you understand a no or are you used to always getting what you want?!" she yelled at him. They were far away from the party, so no one was around to hear.
"Well, I honestly thought you wanted me. I mean, otherwise why would you invite me?" He smirked at her, and she felt her stomach turn. He was quite aware of himself. He was a fine lad, but despite his looks everything about him appalled her.
The party was full of people whom Hermione never talked to, music, and food that gave you bad breath. Hermione ate plenty of that so that Cormac would feel disgusted by her. It didn't work, though. He was still walking very closely to her, hoping to get a kiss. She wouldn't give him any, of course. Maybe if Ron decided to gate crash… No, she probably would not even then.
"I need air," Hermione said to Cormac as she had enough of him, and then left the room in such a hurry. She was getting a headache from all the noise and all of her thoughts.
She walked down a deserted corridor. She could still hear the voices and horrible music in the background. She sat down with her back towards the cold stonewall, placed her head on her knees and started to sob. She was so tired of everything. Tired of Ron, Cormac, Quidditch... It all hit her like a stroke of lightning and her tears were the rain that came with it. They floated down her red cheeks and ruined her perfectly put mascara. She didn't have enough control to stop them from falling from her chocolate brown eyes.
After what seemed like hours to Hermione she finally got up and started to walk back towards the dinner. But truth to be told, she was lost. She couldn't remember whether it was the left or right side she had come from. With her head spinning in confusion she started to walk to the right. A little further down the corridor a tall silhouette was standing, leaning against the wall. Hermione stopped. She didn't know if she should walk any closer. If the person hadn't seen her it might be best for her to just disappear. She probably looked all puffy and red after crying, and she didn't want anybody to see her like that. But she couldn't tell if the person had seen her or not. She couldn't make out the face, so she just slowly turned away.
"I know you're there," the figure, a male, said when Hermione started to leave. She froze and turned back towards him. She recognized the voice very well. How could she not? That exact voice had been calling her nasty words ever since she'd started at Hogwarts six years prior.
"Why are you here?" Hermione asked with a fragile voice. She took a few steps closer, not sure if that was a good idea.
"Oh, it's you, Granger. What are you doing away from the oh-so-fine party? Don't want to miss out on the fun, do you?" Draco Malfoy said with a strong indication of sarcasm.
"Really, it's not much fun," Hermione replied, her voice still shaky. She wasn't comfortable at all with the situation.
"Really? It sure sounds like it, though." He was right. She could still hear the party from afar and it did sound like a lot of fun. It just wasn't her idea of fun.
"I don't understand why you're here. Shouldn't you be in the Dungeons packing your suitcase or something?" she asked and walked even closer to the boy. The face of the silhouette was visible now. He looked beautiful in the moonlight, she caught herself thinking.
"I didn't bring a big suitcase," was all he said. His nearly transparent blonde hair was shining bright.
"Oh." She didn't know what to say, but for some reason didn't want the conversation to end.
"Yes, oh." Draco and Hermione were face-to-face, not far apart. She felt the urge to ask him why he'd been looking - no, starring - at her during the match, but she was afraid of the answer. Afraid that she'd misunderstood it all, that it meant nothing.
"Draco, what are you doing here?" she asked again. She felt like there was something he wasn't saying.
"Granger, Granger, Granger," Draco started with a chuckle, "Since when have you called me Draco?"
Hermione chuckled lightly. She found it very entertaining that Draco caught such small details.
"Since when did you start hiding in the corridors late at night?" she asked in return.
"I don't see why that's any of your business," he said, but in a gentle tone.
Hermione sat down next to Draco, who was still standing up. His face looked pale.
"What is it about a huge, fabulous party full of smart people that pushes you away?" Draco asked after a while of silence. Hermione moaned.
"Don't get me started," she said. "Smart is not exactly a word used to describe those people," she continued with a smile. "They are more a group of people with good connections, who loves to brag about them."
"I thought your friend Potter was a member."
"Oh yeah, he is. And so is Ginny. But everybody else are just..."
"Fake," Draco finished her sentence. Hermione looked up and met Draco's eyes.
"… Exactly." Hermione was surprised how exact Draco's word described her thoughts. As had he been reading her mind. But Hermione was almost sure that Draco didn't know Legilimency. She didn't, so how could he?
"I know the type," Draco said with a snort. He spoke with a voice that Hermione had never heard from him before – almost soft and kind. And then she realised that she was actually having a conversation with Draco Malfoy and enjoying it. Hermione quickly got up from the cold stone floor.
"It was, er, nice to talk to you, but I have to get back," she said and started to walk hastily down the corridor. She stopped and turned around, facing Draco again. "There's a room full of fake people waiting for me," added she with a smirk.
She heard Draco chuckle shortly in the dark. He had laughed with her. That was something she'd not seen coming. She wondered if he'd forgotten about her punching him in the face - breaking his nose - a few years back.