The next morning woke Hermione with a smile. She felt a surge of power after remembering how she had confronted Malfoy the day before, and how she had asked Vlad out.
She'd been so confident, so sure of herself. Even after all the surprises that the year had thrust upon her so far, she was still the old Hermione Granger who always had the right answers to any questions that were thrown her way.
She practically skipped out of her room and through the common room when suddenly a single red rose appeared in her path. She picked it up and read the attached note: Thanks for the advice yesterday. Hope we can get together soon to completely solve our problem. D.M.
Hermione read the note again, frowning in confusion. Was it possible that she had given advice to another person with the initials D.M yesterday? Because the Draco Malfoy she knew would never even humour the idea of following her advice. If anything, she expected him to be angry at her for telling him what to do, not sending her a thank-you rose! What a mysterious person this Draco Malfoy was.
Continuing on her way to breakfast, she was so immersed in her thoughts that she forgot about the rose she was holding. Reaching the Gryffindor table, she put the rose down and reached for some sausages.
"Ooh, a rose! How romantic, Hermione!" Lavender suddenly gushed.
"Yes, who's it from?" Parvati asked, reaching over to grab the rose.
Hermione moved it out of her reach instantly and discreetly removed the note. "Oh, err, well, it's my birthday in a few days. It's just an early present," she fibbed.
"Yes, but birthday roses are supposed to be white!" Lavender explained.
"Really?" Ginny asked as she joined the table.
"Yes, of course! Everyone knows that! And what Hermione's got there is a red rose. And everyone knows that red roses represent love!" she winked at Hermione as if she knew some secret of hers.
Ginny's interest peaked as well. "Who's sending you red roses, Hermione?" she asked slyly. She glanced at both her brother and Vlad.
Hermione's eyes widened. "No, no, it's not from anyone here! Victor sent it!" She turned red in embarrassment at the lie but it came off as a blush.
"What?" Ron exclaimed as he also joined the table, Harry in tow. "You're still in contact with him?"
Great, just great! Hermione closed her eyes in exasperation. Malfoy was going to pay for putting her through this. Couldn't he have just said thank you to her face, like any normal person would have? Or written her a note and sent it by owl? Did he have to do everything in such an obnoxious way? Did he plan this? Her eyes snapped open at the thought. No, she was not going to let him ruin her day. Not again!
"Ron, we need to talk," Hermione suddenly exclaimed. She took him by the hand and led him out of the Great Hall, ignoring his protests about not having eaten yet.
She regarded him for a second before speaking. His face had turned red and his cheeks had a slight pinkish tinge to them. She followed his gaze to see that she was still holding his hand and dropped it immediately.
"What's this about, Hermione?" he asked anxiously.
"I asked Vlad out," she blurted, "I really fancy him and he kissed me and it was so wonderful and our first date is going to be on the Hogsmeade weekend and I'm really looking forward to it."
Ron was staring at her with a mixture of sadness, disappointment, and anger visible on his face. His hands were clenched tightly and his whole face had gone read now.
Hermione feared that he might suddenly lash out at her so she hastened to explain more. "Look, I know you fancy me but I don't feel that way about you and I'm sorry if I gave you that impression but-"
"Liar," Ron snarled, "You sent a bloody batch of birds after me just for kissing Lavender! They nearly pecked me to death and you think that you merely gave an impression that you liked me?!"
Tears welled up in Hermione's eyes. "I'm sorry! I really didn't mean to hurt you. Literally or figuratively! But that was last year, Ron! You went out with Lavender and I accepted it. I moved on."
She had thought that he would calm down after that explanation but instead he started shaking – with rage, she presumed. His mouth kept opening and closing like a goldfish and his face turned steadily redder.
"Ron . . ." She reached out to touch him, to try to calm him, but he pulled back.
"Don't! Just, don't," was all he said before turning around and leaving.
It was a few seconds later that Harry suddenly appeared and next thing she knew she was crying into his shoulder while he comforted her.
"I've ruined it. Our friendship is finished," she sobbed, "I should've just waited for him. He always comes 'round in the end."
"No, Hermione, it would have been foolish to keep waiting around. You did the smart thing by moving on. Just give him some time and he'll come 'round to that fact. He just needs to calm down a bit first. Don't worry about it – I'll explain it all to him. Now hush, alright? Breakfast is almost finished and everyone will be coming out soon. And you don't want to go to class all red-eyed, do you?" He asked lightly.
Hermione choked out a half sob/half chuckle but the tears stopped. "Thanks Harry. By the way, I'm a half blood."
"What!" he looked shocked at this unexpected and random piece of information.
"Yeah, I found out over the summer. Apparently my real dad was a pure-blooded wizard named Henry Stebbins and he died while my mum was pregnant. Mum's still a muggle though. She married by present father before I was born and he's a muggle too," she explained, all tears from before forgotten.
"And you tell me this now?" Harry asked, still shocked. "Hey, wait. There's another Stebbins in Hogwarts. Maybe you're related to them!"
"Yes, well, I'm only part Stebbins and that's only by blood. Otherwise I'm still Hermione Granger," she told him proudly. "And Harry, you are the best of friends! Thank you!" she hugged him tightly and turned her head to kiss his cheek.
"Don't let Ron hear you say that," he teased.
Hermione pretended not to hear him. "Come on, I don't want to be late for potions!" And she tugged him away.
-!-!-!-
Vlad looked around the potions dungeons worriedly. Class was almost about to start and Hermione was no where to be seen. The classroom was almost full and Professor Slughorn was chatting away with some of his 'Slug Club' members at his desk. He noticed Ron sitting alone at a table in the back, looking forlorn and lost in his own world. He decided he would go ask him if he knew of Hermione's whereabouts.
"Hey," he said as he approached Ron. "Do you know where Hermione is? Class is about to start and she's not here yet."
For some reason, Ron would not look at him. "I dunno where your girlfriend is. Should've taken better care of her, knowing where she is," he mumbled in a shaky voice.
Vlad returned to his seat, thoroughly confused at Ron's behaviour. Just then Hermione rushed in with Harry coming in behind her. Hermione came to sit beside him while Harry went over to Ron.
"Hello there," he greeted, leaning over to give her a kiss. Surprisingly, she leaned back. What was going on with everyone today?
"Not in class," was her explanation.
Alright then. He had no problem with that. Lucky for him that both of them had a spare next period.
Meanwhile Ron was finally looking at Vlad. Or, at least the back of Vlad.
"Looks can't kill, Ron," Harry reminded him.
"Well, that's lucky for the bastard. I knew there was something going on between those two. Bulgarians – you can't trust them."
Harry wisely kept silent.
"And you." Ron turned on him. "You knew, didn't you?"
"No mate, I had no idea. I thought they were just friends," Harry answered truthfully.
"Then why are you all chummy with Hermione and him?"
"Hermione's my best friend, Ron, just like you. And if you were a real friend then you wouldn't make me choose a side in this . . . whatever it is."
Professor Slughorn called everyone to attention at that moment and class began.
-!-!-!-
There was a thunderous storm that night. Rain pelted heavily against the windows of the castle and lightening would flash every now and then. Hermione and Draco were on their rounds that night when Hermione made a startling discovery.
Draco Malfoy was afraid of thunder.
"No I'm not! I just have sensitive ears and the noise is too much for them!"
Hermione snorted. "That's got to be the lamest thing I've every heard."
"Yeah, well, it's true," he replied indignantly. Thunder rumbled overhead and Draco jumped while grabbing Hermione's arm.
"Of course, Malfoy. Thunder bothers your sensitive ears. I bet you jump because of your sensitive ears too, right?" she laughed at him, not giving a thought to the fact that he was still clutching her arm. It had happened too many times already during the night.
"Fine, I don't like thunder. It bothers me. Are you happy now, Granger?" he admitted sulkily.
"Well, yes actually. I now have something to hold over your tough-guy act. Not only are you afraid of thunder, but you also send thank-you roses!" she teased him. It felt weird that suddenly they were so civil but the rose probably did that.
"That was my one and only time doing that and even then it was only because I didn't have time to say it to your face."
"And a normal owl wouldn't have sufficed?" she asked him curiously. "And why a red rose? Do you even know what they stand for?"
"Am I bothered? Besides, I just ordered one rose, no specifics."
"I see." So the commotion at her table had not been planned by him. Then again, this was Malfoy and she knew better than to unquestioningly believe him. Another clap of thunder sounded and this time he grabbed her whole form.
"Malfoy! Get off me!" she screamed at him. "I have a boyfriend!"
He let her go and said, "You also have a fiancé. And he came along first, if you've forgotten."
"It doesn't matter who came along first! I chose Vlad. Besides, what about what you said in that note. You wanted to 'completely solve our problem,' remember?"
"Alright, alright," Draco raised his hands in mock surrender. "I wasn't trying to literally hit on you or anything. I just have this little phobia of thunder, you remember?"
Hermione looked at him suspiciously before nodding. "Yes, fine. I suppose I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions."
"Good. Now why don't you take the corridor to the left and I'll take the right and we'll meet on the sixth floor," he suggested.
"Will you be okay all alone? The storm's still going pretty strong," Hermione seemed genuinely concerned.
"Don't worry about me, Granger. I'll be fine." He turned around to hide the smirk that was making its way on his face.
Pretending to be afraid of thunder had never been more fun.
-!-!-!-
Draco's definitely having fun pretending. And this won't be the first or last time he's doing so! And again, there actually is a Stebbins in Hogwarts during Harry's time at Hogwarts. I didn't know about this one when I made Hermione's 'real' dad and just stumbled upon him while re-reading Goblet of Fire. No idea what year Stebbins is in as it doesn't state I but I know he's in Ravenclaw and got points taken away for running after a girl during the Yule Ball, lol. You can find him at: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 23: The Yule Ball, he appears in the middle of Snape and Karkaroff's conversation.
