Disclaimer: Did you know that Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling? I do!


Part 7

Hermione had no idea what transpired when Ginny headed off to talk to Ron. She had come back almost two hours later, but only shook her head when Hermione tried to ask what they'd talked about. She decided to stay for a while before heading off again, though, and moved in on the couch in Hermione's flat.

During the rest of the work week, Hermione tried to finish her workload as quickly as possible so she could leave home and spend time with Ginny in the afternoon. She continued having lunches with Ron, but none of them mentioned her birthday with a single word. It was still apparent to the both of them that something was different, but it surprisingly seemed to be more of a positive change. Hermione noticed how much more at ease she felt around Ron. There were no stubborn butterflies in her stomach and no hope clinging to some corner of her mind that he would lean over the table and kiss her senseless. In fact, if he had, she would have probably thrown him across the table. She was, quite frankly, over him and the feeling was almost daunting. She couldn't even remember the last time she had only amiable feelings for Ron.

When Friday came Hermione had forgotten about the invitations she always got at the end of the week. She didn't remember until she was standing with the invitation in her hand and had Prue rubbing against her hand while cooing gently. Hermione looked over to where Ginny sat on the couch as she reached over for a parchment to write her answer on.

"Hey, it's Prue," Ginny noted when she looked up from the TV show they'd been watching.

She got up from the couch and came over to run her hand over the feathers of the spotted owl.

"What did Harry want?" she asked, looking over Hermione's shoulder.

"Invited me to a Quidditch game." Hermione looked up from the parchment she was writing on. "Since Ron hasn't been around, I've felt like I need to be there for him, you know?"

It had been like that first, at least. She had accepted all their invitations because it was Harry and he needed her, in addition to the fact that she had promised Astoria. But lately, she hadn't felt obligated in the same way. She had cancelled when she didn't want to, but when she did accept she genuinely wanted to be there.

"That's very nice of you," Ginny said, smiling. "He needs that."

"To be honest, I like spending time with them," she admitted, her quill hovering over the parchment. "I didn't so much at first. It was awkward and Malfoy was there, but oddly enough I kind of enjoy it now. It's an odd group but it works."

Ginny shook her head and smiled.

"It sounds strange, but I'll take your word for it."

Hermione laughed and found it best not to mention anything more about Malfoy. She didn't want to reveal how many thoughts she had spared him for various reasons throughout the past month or so.

"So, when are we going?" Ginny asked and fell thoughtful. "I'll probably need to change."

Hermione stopped writing and looked up in confusion.

"Going?"

"Well, Harry wouldn't mind me coming along. He probably would have invited me too if he knew I was still here."

"I just didn't think you'd want to," Hermione admitted, looking at her thoughtfully.

"Harry isn't going to drop out of my life. He'll be around a lot," she replied with a slightly amused smile. "Well, once Ron and Harry make peace, anyway. Whether or not he's serious with Astoria, he and I are still over and that's how it'll be from now on. Might as well get used to it."

She was right, obviously. There was no point in holding grudges or clinging to false hope, and the easiest was probably to accept that your ex boyfriend was in a new relationship.

"All right, I'll send him a letter letting him know we're coming," she agreed, jotting down a quick reply to send off with Prue.

She hadn't thought Ginny would want to go and now she was faced with a situation she hadn't anticipated already. He'd be there and she would have to see him again. Were they expected to talk about it? Or were they supposed to ignore it and pretend like nothing at all had ever happened? She didn't know if she could do that. It wasn't every day Hermione kissed a Malfoy. It wasn't an occasion to ignore.

There was still an hour left until they were meeting the others and they killed time by watching TV and having a quick snack before leaving. Ginny changed while Hermione flittered nervously around the flat, dusting bookshelves that were already dust-free. Soon, they headed off towards the Leaky Cauldron, which was once again the initial meeting point.

They Flooed in and made their way between the tables to find the other three waiting by the bar. The chatter was loud, so Harry signalled for all of them to follow him. They trailed after him, forming a line that walked out to the wizaring entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. Harry stopped right outside the brick wall entrance to Diagon Alley.

"We're travelling by Portkey," he announced once they were all outside. "Gather around, it activates in thirty seconds."

They all stepped forwards to grab a hold of the object Harry had gotten out of his pocket, forming a ring around the Portkey. Hermione looked up to find Malfoy standing right opposite her. This was the first time she'd seen him since the kiss that had seemed to turn everything upside down. Even as she looked at him right now, all she could see was the image of his face, wet with rain and inches from hers. She gave a small, nervous smile. He didn't return it and she frowned, certain that she was definitely being ignored. Her musings were interrupted by a familiar tug below her navel and she closed her eyes at the uncomfortable feeling.

Familiar as they all were with Portkey travels by now, they landed safely on their feet in the correct spot and found themselves outside the Quidditch stadium.

"I still prefer brooms," Harry muttered under his breath and tucked the Portkey back into his pocket.

Hermione and Ginny laughed as they followed him towards the entrance of the stadium.

"You don't think Ron will be here, do you?" Ginny asked to no one in particular.

It was the home stadium of the Chudley Canons, so the possibility was definitely there. Hermione couldn't remember the last time he had actually been to a live match, though.

"I doubt it," she answered as she just managed to dodge a kid that came running out of the entrance to the stadium.

"If I was a fan of this ridiculous team, I wouldn't be showing my face at the match either," Malfoy noted from behind them.

Hermione turned to glare at him at the same time as Ginny gave a trilling laugh. She never did understand her brother's fascination with the team either.

"Not everyone can cheer for the winning team, Malfoy."

"Malfoys always cheer for the winners," he replied back.

Hermione raised an eyebrow in response but said nothing. That may have been the most ridiculous statement Malfoy had ever uttered, considering the outcome of the war. Although, she supposed they thought they had been cheering for the winners for quite a while.

"We're up here," Harry said from up front, pointing up a steep staircase.

They climbed upwards, the staircase looking suspiciously old and worn out, but seemed to hold all the people heading up to their seats without problems. Hermione was keenly aware that she had Malfoy behind her as she walked up the steps. She felt suddenly self-conscious, which wasn't really that odd considering they had kissed and were now pretending it never happened.

He seemed different today, somehow. The more easy-going Malfoy from the past couple of weeks seemed to be gone and the Malfoy she had seen at the picnic had surfaced again. She couldn't help but wonder what had brought about the change.

They came up into the stands and found themselves high up in the stadium in rather mediocre seats, or so Harry claimed, anyway. To Hermione, the seats seemed perfectly fine, and she couldn't quite see the point of paying a ridiculous amount of Galleons for the so-called better ones.

"Oh, they're playing the Holyhead Harpies!" Ginny exclaimed. "I wanted to try out for their team when I was in Hogwarts."

"I think they could need you," Astoria said as she took her seat next to Harry. "Their Chasers have been abysmal this season and rumours say that they're looking to get rid of them as soon as they have replacements."

"I haven't played Quidditch in ages." Ginny looked out onto the pitch rather wistfully. "Though, if I got the chance, I'd gladly take it."

"This isn't like the Hogwarts house teams, you know," Malfoy said in a sour tone. "It's professional Quidditch. Mediocre Chaser skills won't cut it."

Ginny arched a pale eyebrow, about to open her mouth to retort as Harry and Astoria stared at Malfoy in surprise. The redhead didn't get a word in as Hermione had whipped her head towards Malfoy and jabbed her finger into his side.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she asked loudly. "You've been a right git all day."

People around them laughed and Malfoy coloured at the reprimand.

"Shut up, you stupid hag," he growled through gritted teeth and Hermione jumped to her feet.

A month ago or so she would have accepted Malfoy acting like an idiot, because she was certain that's exactly what he was, and there was not point trying to change the course of nature. Now, though, she knew this was about something else entirely and she wasn't about to let it go.

"Up," she commanded, but he remained seated.

She narrowed her eyes at him and lowered her voice into the tone all of her friends and co-workers knew meant trouble.

"Get your arse off the seat," she said in a low voice.

She climbed past him and headed towards the stairs they had climbed not too long ago. Leaning against the wall by the entrance, she saw him follow her and smiled in satisfaction to herself. She knew he would follow her eventually, after he waited long enough to feel like he had made the decision on his own and not been commanded by her.

"What's got your knickers in a bunch," he muttered as he stopped beside her.

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing." She had her hands crossed over her chest, but she unfolded them and signalled for him to follow her down the stairs.

She headed down a hallway when she reached the bottom of the stairs and tried a couple of doors. All of them were unresponsive to her unlocking charms, except the last one. The door creaked open and she dragged Malfoy in with her, closing the door behind them. It was pitch-dark and she stumbled a bit as she moved inside. She heard a mutter from somewhere else in the room and within seconds Malfoy's wand was lighting up the room.

Hermione had dragged them into a storage room of sorts. There was training equipment and broken brooms that all lay on a shelf named 'repair'. She turned around and found a table behind her, littered with Keeper gloves and broken Bludgers. Hoisting herself up on it, she sat on the middle of the table, her feet dangling off the edge.

She burned to discuss the kiss they had shared, but it would have to wait. Whatever was bothering him now was more important to get to the bottom of.

"I know something is wrong," she said, looking straight at him. "You haven't acted like this in weeks and it's obvious that something is up. So spill."

He looked at her incredulously and gave a hollow laugh.

"Why on earth should I tell you?"

Because you kissed me? No?

"Who else are you going to tell?" she asked, arching an eyebrow challengingly. "Harry?"

He rolled his eyes and leaned back against the shelf, looking down onto the floor, his hair falling into his eyes.

"You and Harry having a man to man talk about how you've been trying to steal Astoria from under his nose. That'll go over well."

His head jerked up and he sneered at her.

"What the hell is your problem?" he barked.

"Hey, if you're going to be an arse I'm going to be an arse back," she said, shrugging and throwing her hands out for emphasis. "Just tell me what's going on."

She wasn't intimidated by him in the least anymore. He was all words and she knew his behaviour was a symptom of something else entirely. She had seen him when he wasn't like this at all, and recognised the walls he put up around him.

"I told you about Ron," she said in a quiet, but firm voice.

He met her gaze and she was certain that both of their thoughts had moved to the same part of that evening. And that part had nothing to do with Ron at all. Finally, he sighed and looked away again, drawing a hand through his hair in exasperation.

"What do you want to know?"

"You've been in a perfectly fine mood the past few weeks," she noted and was about to ask why it had changed so abruptly when he snorted.

"Of course I've been. That's when I was under the illusion that my bloody plan was working," he exclaimed and his jaw clenched in a stony expression.

She grimaced. Perhaps she really should have enlightened him sooner about the flaws in his plan.

"Tory had been ranting to me about Harry. Some of the things he did seemed to be getting on her nerves and I figured that this was it. I had gotten what I had planned all along."

He shrugged and didn't look up to meet her gaze. She was sure he felt her eyes on him, though. When he didn't say anything else, she sighed.

"Being annoyed with your partner is a pretty normal part of a relationship," she said hesitantly and she saw him grimace.

"How should I know? I've never been in one."

That was a valid point, indeed.

"Astoria and Harry are going strong. If you're waiting for them to fail, I'm afraid you'll be waiting for a while," she said earnestly.

"Don't you think that's exactly what I've figured out?" he asked, anger lacing his voice. "Astoria is telling her parents."

Hermione looked at him in surprise.

"Oh."

It was quite possibly the lamest response she could've come up with, but it was the only thing that was willing to come out of her mouth. At least that explained his foul mood. If Astoria was telling her parents, that meant there was really no hope left in the idea that they were meant to marry. At least not unless her parents forced her to, but that was hardly something he'd thrive for.

"No one gets it," he muttered, throwing his head back against the shelves. "I lost everything in the war. My father is in Azkaban, my reputation is dirt and I'm lucky to have a job at all. My name means nothing anymore. Some might say I deserve it, but it's all I've ever known. The only thing I still had were the plans my parents had for me to marry a pureblood."

"It doesn't sound like you wanted Astoria for her," Hermione noted after a moment of silence. "Don't you think she deserves to be with someone who loves her?"

"I love her," he retorted, stumbling slightly over the word 'love'.

"Romantically?" she asked then, but already knew the answer.

"No," he admitted. "I do...did...have feelings for her, because I've been prepared to be with her for so long, but I...I guess I don't love her romantically. I never needed to. It wasn't a requirement."

"Maybe it was a requirement for Astoria."

Hermione gave a slight smile. She could appreciate that he was lost and didn't know what to do when everything he knew had been ripped out from under his feet. He gave a wry smile in return.

"Seems it probably was," he admitted.

He no longer looked angry, just defeated and confused. A feeling of sadness for him came over her as she watched him looking lost.

"What do I do now?" He asked and looked at her then, probably for the first time since they had entered the storage room.

She held her breath. Not once since she had known him had he asked her a genuine question about anything. If she stood completely still she could almost feel the world shifting on its axis. Looking over at him, she met his hesitant gaze and a strange feeling spread in her chest.

"Start over," she replied, smiling. "It's not as bad as it seems."

[---]

"What's the score?" Hermione asked when they found their seats again.

"40 – 10 to the Harpies," Ginny answered, her eyes on the game. "Though, the Chasers really haven't been that good."

"Of course, you rarely have to be that good against the Canons," Harry muttered, looking exasperated. "It's like they're not even trying."

"They do have one goal, though," Hermione commented. "They can't have been entirely out of it."

"Keeper miss," Ginny, Harry and Astoria said in unison.

"Oh..."

Hermione found it best to shut up at this point, as she obviously had no clue about the game. She followed the game in silence instead, glancing sideways at Malfoy once in a while. He was quiet, but not as irate as he had been before she dragged him off to interrogate him. In fact, he seemed to be deep in thought, rather than directly miserable.

"What was that about anyway?" Ginny suddenly whispered in her ear and Hermione nearly jumped in her seat.

"Nothing much, really," she muttered almost soundlessly back. "I just got fed up with the attitude."

"What did you say to him, though? I mean, he's nowhere near as foul as he was earlier."

Hermione grinned, shaking her head.

"It's a long story," she whispered.

Plus, it was hardly her story to tell at any rate.


A/N:

I love, love, love all of your reviews! ♥

The next chapter is the last one :) I'm sorry it's not longer, but as said it was for a 20k word fic challenge, so I didn't personally have time to expand any more on it. And I feels like the story ends in a natural place anyway XD