For those of you hoping to see F&G in this chapter, my co-writer and I apologise... alas, they are not here. BUT they will be soon, so hold tight :) As hearty F&G lovers ourselves I can assure you when they appear they play a big part...
In other news, in this chapter the plot thickens and both our favourite characters have something more to think about.
Thank you so so so so much for all the reviews to the past few chapters... the numbers have certainly increased and it hasn't gone unnoticed. Please feel free to review again and we hope you enjoy this chapter!
As Professor McGonagall spoke, Hermione was writing frantically, taking notes on every single bit of information given. Though she did normally make excessive notes during her lessons, nowadays she scribbled down everything said by her teachers with more ferocity than normal, purely to distract herself from the stark absence of Harry and Ron in the seats beside her. In every lesson now she had a desk all to herself and it was entirely depressing. Additionally, as of late, Professor McGonagall hadn't been meeting Hermione's eye very much, nor had she asked Hermione for answers as much as she used to. Hermione knew that her classmates hadn't noticed the slight change in the Professor's behaviour, but she certainly had, and it had further fuelled her suspicion that there was something she wasn't sharing with Hermione.
Just as her hand was beginning to ache from writing her third page on Conjuring Spells, she was forced to pause when the Professor stopped abruptly mid-speech and Hermione heard the door bang open behind her. Everyone in the room turned around.
"So glad you could join us, Miss Parkinson. Sit down and see me after class."
Pansy stood in the doorway for a second, as if daring everyone to question her puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks. Whispers followed her as she walked towards the front of the classroom. Hermione noticed that she paused for a second at Malfoy's desk (which contained an empty seat) and then seemed to decide against it, fresh tears springing up in her eyes as she made her way towards Hermione's desk at the very front, where the only other empty seats were. She planted herself in the chair Harry would normally have taken –the one furthest from Hermione- wrinkled her nose in disgust and still snivelling, took out her quill, inkpot and a roll of parchment. For the rest of the lesson she sat staring blankly at it, not writing a single word, occasionally looking up to throw Hermione a poisonous glare when she saw her looking on disapprovingly.
By the end of the lesson, Hermione had written twelve pages of notes and was trying to force them into her already heavy and full bag when she was delighted to hear Pansy getting a severe telling off, a detention and twenty points from Slytherin due to her late arrival and distinct lack of notes.
She was making her way to Charms, her last class of the day, when the inevitable happened- her bag broke due to the stupendous amount of parchment and books crammed inside it. Heavy, leather bound novels, quills and ink bottles tumbled to the floor. Sighing, she set about cleaning up the inky mess that was the contents of her bag. She was siphoning up spilled ink when she heard shouting and yelling approach her.
"What were you doing with her?" came a hysteric female voice a little way off. Silence followed and so the girl repeated the question again, more desperately. At last came a reply from a male voice she recognised as Malfoy's. He sounded angry.
"Nothing Pansy! I told you, it was nothing."
"I was watching you for ages… you were looking at her differently and I heard what you said about her not being a virgin for much longer…"
"I was just winding her up! Merlin, Pansy, she's a Mudblood- I would never go near her! Stop being such a stupid bitch and leave me alone!"
So it appeared Pansy was still pestering Malfoy for the brief few seconds she had witnessed them looking remotely friendly on Friday night during patrol. The voices were no longer moving- Pansy and Malfoy must have come to a halt nearby. Hermione continued to repack her bag but listened intently.
"That's not what it looked like to me Draco!" she said tearfully. "Please," she said softly, "please, just take me back-"
"No!" he replied furiously. She heard Pansy wail. "You're only imagining this stupid thing in the first place because you still want to be with me! If you were being sensible you'd be able to accept that it's blindingly clear that I am not friends with Granger, and that I don't love you!"
There was a horrific silence and Hermione thought for a second that Pansy had either fainted or run away. Conscious that she could be discovered eavesdropping at any second, she began shoving her now clean notes haphazardly into her repaired bag, although she did pause when she heard Pansy respond through choked sobs.
"How could you be so cruel?"
Then before she knew what was happening, hurried footsteps were heading her way and suddenly from around the corner burst a fleeing Pansy. Hermione stood up, one hand clasping her bag. Pansy looked a mess. Her eyes narrowed upon seeing Hermione.
"Enjoy the show?" she cried. "This is all fault anyway, you filthy Mudblood!" She shot her a dirty look and then sprinted away, probably to the girls' toilets, thought Hermione.
She was thoroughly embarrassed to be caught listening in on a private conversation and was glad that Pansy had been too busy running away to notice her flaming red cheeks- at least, she was glad until she turned around and found herself caught in the gaze of a very irritated Malfoy, who was standing in the corridor.
"What're you doing here?" he asked.
"Oh… I… my bag broke," she said gesturing to the fixed bag in her hands, and Malfoy stared at her.
His face flushed in rage and his brows knotted.
"Well it seems perfectly fine now. Shouldn't you be in Charms?"
"Shouldn't you?" she retorted.
"That's beside the point Granger. I wasn't the one spying," he said coolly, before swaggering away in the opposite direction to Charms.
Realizing with a jolt of panic that she was late, Hermione had no time to feel guilty for being so nosey and to dwell on what she had just heard as she ran to Professor Flitwick's classroom.
Draco was bleeding profusely for the third time since Monday afternoon; this time it was because he had struck his bedroom wall in frustration and the stone had torn his skin. Yesterday he'd bled after he'd punched a hole in his window, and Monday evening he had stubbed his toe when he'd kicked a wall very hard as he walked to the Great Hall for dinner after skipping Charms. Lashing out at things was currently the only way he could let out his emotions. As he conjured bandages to dress his aching knuckles, he groaned and then threw himself face down onto his four poster bed.
He had (very unfortunately) been thinking virtually non-stop about Pansy for the past two days. She was almost unavoidable and though he'd been incredibly harsh on her after Transfiguration the other day, she still hadn't given up on him, much to Draco's dismay. She had taken to either staring at him across classrooms then starting to cry when he caught her gaze and looked back, or passing him notes that were doodled with little hearts- none of which he read. Though he had initially felt more than a bit sorry for her because of the horrifically cruel way in which he'd spoken to her, her annoying new mannerisms were making it very difficult for him to sympathise with her. He had realised that in his irritation he had really hurt her, something he had never wanted to do, but she had really pissed him off when she'd accused him of actually liking Granger.
But like he'd done more and more these days, he'd been forced to bottle up his emotions because he had no one to talk to. He was very much isolated, and it was no wonder he'd been so ridiculously civil to Granger during their last patrol. He'd made the mistake of venting to her once, but it would never happen again, he assured himself; he'd simply allowed himself to become too familiar with her and he'd have to correct that as soon as possible.
He was beginning to feel a little claustrophobic in his room. It stifled him, and as he'd spent the majority of his free time since Monday locked inside of it, it seemed less like a haven of peace and quiet and more like a cell. What he needed to do was get out of his own head for a while and forget about Pansy, forget about Granger and forget about his desperate craving for a relationship that still haunted him in moments of solitude, and he wouldn't achieve that trapped inside his room. Hastily, he stood up, intent on having a wander around the castle. He didn't really care where he went; he just wanted to let his feet take him where they would while he tried to sort out the mess that was his head.
He tried to look at his problems logically so he could at least try to solve them. On the relationship front, he thought as he walked through the portrait hole, he had made little to no progress. It didn't help that he was not an expert on relationships at all- even his friendships were pretty fucked up. In actual fact, he realised, probably the main reason he'd been so compliant with Granger lately, with her questions on patrol, teasing her like they were friends, was because he craved intimacy so much that he'd played along with her a bit. Merlin. He sounded like a bloody girl. Was he really desperate enough that he'd allowed Granger to see a side of him he never showed anyone? He felt ill at that awful idea. But how had she felt? She'd smiled back, responded almost warmly to his humour… Then again, he really did have bigger, and more pressing problems than Granger smiling at him once or twice.
When it came to Pansy, as he saw it, he had three options: he could tell her to stop being so obsessive and get over him; he could hope that in her own time she would get over him; or he could just stop caring about what she did. He highly doubted that his first option would work because she hadn't listened to what he'd already said to her, and nor did he believe that Pansy would get over him in the near future. It wasn't that he was arrogant (at least not in this instance), but he'd had an on/off thing with Pansy since about second year, and he didn't think it would be a quick process for her to get over something which had spanned so many years. It seemed that the latter of his options would be the most likely scenario, because if Pansy continued with her annoying antics, Draco knew his patience would very quickly wear thin and he'd just start feeling sick of her stupid behaviour.
At the very least, Pansy would hopefully at least come to see that Draco was most definitely not friends with or interested in Granger, and she would stop fuelling rumours around the school that not only were the Head Boy and Girl actually on good terms, they were friends. As Pansy had spread more and more disgusting and entirely untrue gossip, more lies had sprung up amongst the students: there were even some people who claimed that he and Granger were dating secretly. He had done his best to deny these rumours, and while his housemates had claimed to believe him, he could see the seeds of doubt sown within them. How Pansy thought that trying to win Draco back by spreading shit about him was a good idea he didn't know.
Suddenly, he became aware of his surroundings, and Draco found himself halfway up the stairs of the Astronomy Tower. He stopped sharply. A cold sense of déjà vu crept upon him; this place held nothing but bad memories for him about his almost betrayal last year, memories that made him hate himself and caused his stomach to contort into odd shapes. Every part of him wanted to walk back down the stairs and get as far away as he could (and he thanked Merlin that he'd given up Astronomy after fifth year), but he didn't. Why should he feel so guilty, he wondered? He wasn't a bad person- he had just done a bad thing, and actually, he hadn't even been able to go through with his awful task. He scratched his left forearm anxiously. This was childish and ridiculous, he chided himself. Determined to at least fix something in his head tonight, he purposefully strode up the spiral staircase.
He thought the sun must be setting- the little light that reached the staircase was almost golden. As he climbed higher, he got dizzier, so he began climbing at a slower pace. He had forgotten how many stairs there were, and he was panting by the time he had almost got to the top, and then he stopped completely when he heard some strange noises.
They were mewling little moans, clearly slightly restrained, and breathy gasps mingling with heavy panting that wasn't Draco's. They were familiar noises because up until recently, he had heard them regularly within his bedroom- there were people having sex at the top of the Astronomy Tower.
Draco did not consider himself a pervert, but he couldn't help but be a little curious as to the identity of the mysterious exhibitionists. He had before heard stories of the more adventurous couples heading to the top of the tower for a cheeky rendezvous, and even Blaise had claimed to have done it, but he had never believed the tales… or at least not until now. He decided that he would pop his head up and have a glance at who it was, and then have a good laugh about whoever it was with Blaise the next time he saw him.
Tentatively, he climbed the last few stairs and he poked his head out to look at the couple. His eyes took a second to adjust to the low evening light and then he saw the pair silhouetted against the sunset and instantly wished he hadn't.
They were in a compromising (and very exotic, thought Draco) position and both were completely naked. But it wasn't the unusual position, or the naked man in front of him that startled Draco; it was who it was and who he was shagging.
It was Dean Thomas, one of those Gryffindor arseholes, who Draco knew vaguely from the many classes he unfortunately shared with the Gryffindors, and he was currently nude behind a very enthusiastic Daphne Greengrass. She was biting her lip and she had her eyes closed. As Draco tried very hard not to feel violently ill at the appalling sight before him, he realised he had hesitated on the stairs a second to long. Daphne's eyes shot open and flew over to him, and through the arousal clouding her features, horrified comprehension dawned on her face. She screamed and tried to cover herself up a little.
"Malfoy!"
Dean nearly jumped out of his skin and realisation and embarrassment flooded his features.
"Get the fuck out of here!" Daphne cried, and he obliged running so fast down the stairs that he nearly fell and broke his neck. Trying desperately to keep calm, he stood in the corridor with his back against the wall, attempting to process what he had just witnessed. He vowed never to set foot in the Astronomy Tower again not now he had more awful memories to associate with it.
Why was nothing in his life ever straightforward?
As if he didn't have enough stuff to feel shit about, he now had to figure out what to do after seeing Blaise's girlfriend having sex with someone who was very clearly not Blaise. He needed to have words with Daphne.
He stood against the wall for half an hour listening intently to hear if anyone was coming down the tower stairs. Eventually, he heard hasty footsteps which were followed by the sounds of kissing, and a whisper so quiet that Draco would have missed it if he hadn't been listening so intently.
"Wait here for a little while after I go, okay? I'm so sorry we have to keep doing this. I'm sorry."
There was a silence which was then followed by more sounds of kissing. Draco tried to contain his anger and shrunk further into the growing shadows.
"Owl me tomorrow?"
Yet more kissing, and then a cautious Daphne swept down the stairs and into the corridor, looking surreptitiously around her. He paused for a couple of seconds then made his move.
"Do you want to explain to me what the fuck I just saw?" he hissed viciously, stepping in front of her and blocking her path. Her face flushed guiltily.
"Not here," she replied looking around once more. There was no-one else about but she grabbed him and led him into a secluded hallway near some Arithmancy classrooms.
"What the hell was that?" he asked. He ran a hand through his hair, feeling incredibly stressed. His walk was supposed to make him feel better, not add to his troubles. Daphne didn't directly answer him.
"Please don't tell Blaise."
"How can I not tell him? I can't keep something this terrible from him! You're his girlfriend- you've been seeing him since the holidays! The only person you should be screwing is him, not some random Gryffindor!" He couldn't believe that it was him of all people who was giving Daphne a lecture on morals and honesty. Her eyes were glistening. "Don't you dare cry, like you're the victim in all this? You're a liar and a cheat! I have to tell Blaise. He's my best friend and he deserves to know what you're really like." He attempted to leave but Daphne caught his arm.
"Don't!" she squeaked. "Just… just let me explain."
Draco sighed heavily, wrenching his arm from her grip. He scowled at her.
"You have thirty seconds."
"Dean isn't just some silly fling. I love him." He scoffed and she scowled. "I do! We've been dating in secret since halfway through sixth year-"
"But you were hooking up with Blaise all summer!" he interrupted angrily.
"Keep your voice down!" she whispered, terrified, and she looked around again in fear. There was a sound, almost like a footstep, and both were silent. They didn't hear anything after another few seconds, and Daphne continued.
"Let me finish… I've been seeing Dean since last year. We both had detentions with McGonagall for not finishing a Transfiguration essay and then we started talking a bit, and then we became friends, and then after a while-"
"Spare me the gruesome details," he spat bitterly. "So why are you sleeping with both of them? Unless you just enjoy whoring yourself out at the top of towers?" His harsh words caused her to hang her head in shame and she started crying. Draco didn't care if she was upset; she deserved all the sadness she got for being so cold-hearted.
"Dean's a Muggleborn- you know what my parents would do if they found out. He wasn't even supposed to come back to Hogwarts this year and we tried to end things over summer but it was too hard. So he came back even though the Dark Lord could take over any day now… and if he does, Dean's going have to go on the run. Plus if they find out that he's 'corrupted' a Pureblood they'll make him a priority. I don't want to lose him… I can't lose him."
She choked as though the idea was physically painful. Draco was repulsed.
"So while I thought Dean and I were over my mother tried to set me up with Blaise… you know the deal, a convenient arranged marriage to preserve the bloodline." She pulled a face through her tears. "And I still missed Dean but I had to pretend that I liked Blaise to make my mother happy. But then Dean and I got back together but I couldn't get out of my thing with Blaise because it would have been too suspicious. I didn't have a choice. There's probably no way I'll be able to be with Dean properly after Hogwarts so I have to take what I can get now, and then at least I'll have Blaise." She sobbed harshly. "We'll probably end up married with kids," she said in disgust.
"So you're using Blaise as a back-up?" Draco cried. He couldn't believe how selfish she was being. "Do you know how he feels about you? He's pretty much head over heels in love with you! You bitch, how could you lead him on like that?"
"I have to!" Daphne wailed. "You of all people know what's expected of me! But if Blaise really does love me… you can't tell him about Dean. I like Blaise but I don't love him back. If he finds out I'm cheating on him it'll break his heart-"
"Don't pretend like you want me to lie to him for his own good," retorted Draco contemptuously. "You just don't want people to know that you're fucking a Mudblood and lose everything. You're asking this to save your own skin."
Daphne looked away from his angry glare.
"But… as much as I would love to reveal what a selfish slut you are for hurting him… I'm his friend. I don't want to see him broken. So I won't tell him-" Daphne looked at him with relief in her watery gaze "-as long as you swear that you'll end it with one of them before Christmas, or you tell him about it. If you don't, I will.
She stared at him as if unsure of what to do and then nodded.
"Thank you."
"I'm not doing this for you so don't bother thanking me."
He glared at her with thinly veiled revulsion and then without saying anything else she ran off. Draco stood alone in the almost darkness for a second. Why was there always something waiting around the corner to fuck his life up and stress him out more? He wished it wasn't this difficult. He knew he should tell Blaise the truth because in the long run, if he found out he'd just be hurt more, but Draco couldn't bear to be the messenger of such awful news and see Blaise as upset as he would be. In truth he was being a little selfish in this, just like Daphne was.
He decided that he'd had enough walking for one night and that he would return to his room and try to get an early night- if he could sleep at all. Turning around he ran his hand through his hair once more, when a figure stepped out of the pooling shadows to his left. He started and straining his eyes he was able to make out the face. It was Theo.
Instantly, Draco felt panicked. How long had Theo been hidden in the shadows and what had he heard? Did he know what he had just promised Daphne? His stomach dropped unpleasantly and his mouth went dry, but he tried to walk casually in Theo's direction as though nothing was wrong. With another horrific lurch in his abdomen he saw as he got closer to him that Theo was smirking at him. He was leaning casually on the wall.
Face blank, Draco swaggered level with him. Torches magically flared into life all of a sudden in the brackets on the walls, and Theo looked quite sinister in the flickering light.
"Having an evening stroll, are we?" he asked, sounding amused.
"Something like that," he replied nonchalantly as he walked past Theo, trying hard not to seem worried. He couldn't look at him. He felt sick.
"If you're looking for somewhere to go, you should head up to the Astronomy Tower."
Draco stopped in his tracks.
"From what I hear you can see some mind-blowing things at the top."
Resuming his steps, Draco felt his innards twist as though he'd been winded and he heard Theo chuckle. The smug bastard must have heard. He tried to convince himself that Theo had only mentioned the Tower out of coincidence and was purely referring to the views of the grounds over the parapets, but he knew in his heart that Theo had heard most, if not all, of his conversation with Daphne. And as they were still not on the best of terms there was every possibility that he might tell Blaise. Hopefully though, thought Draco, given that Theo tended to stay out of other's business, he might not. He was sure that tomorrow he would find out whether Theo had stayed silent one way or another.
Draco walked slowly through the school, still aiming roughly for his room but knowing it was pointless even returning. There was no way he'd be getting any sleep tonight.
Every time you review Draco gets sexier, I swear.
