A/N: Thanks for the reviews. You are all completely and utterly awesome! Anyway now that the cookies have all been passed out, onto the chapter! Oh and I had to come onto the site to check oyt the reviews... they didn't get emailed to me!
DISCLAIMER: I own Sky LeCompt, Jennifer McGonagall, and the choc fudge cookies you all got! Oh and the plot. The rest isn't mine… how sad.
Chapter Ten: The Problem
Hermione stepped out onto the school grounds with Draco closely behind her. Some students glanced at the pair but didn't look surprised. It had become a natural thing to see the pair around each other these days. No one really commented on it but those who did were either ignored or told to catch up on the gossip.
"So, you don't mind me invading your private space?" asked Hermione as they neared the trees hiding the little getaway area.
"No. I mean you know about it, so you can use it as well," shrugged Draco.
"Running away to spend some time believing other new lies, Hermione?"
Hermione turned and saw Romilda Vane looking at her from her group of friends. Hermione glared at her and continued walking. She was not in the right state of mind to deal with someone like Romilda.
"What next? Is he going to say he loves you and you'll believe him?"
Hermione tensed up but kept walking knowing it wasn't worth anything to snap back at her. She was better then that as she kept telling her self silently.
"It's hard to believe you are the future Head Girl, Harry's bestfriend and the smartest witch here when you hang around the likes of him," continued Romilda.
"That's it," muttered Hermione dropping her bag and pulling her wand out.
She didn't point it at Romilda but walked towards her. The Gryffindor girl backed up with her friends running away leaving her standing alone with no support, not even from the onlookers. Draco ran after Hermione and held her back by one hand, glaring at Romilda.
"Do you have anything else to say?" snapped Hermione, "Have you finished feeding your ego today? I mean you can't get a boyfriend without using a love potion so obviously the only way to make your self feel good is by dragging down someone else, right?"
Romilda said nothing but glared at Hermione before running away to the castle. Hermione put her wand away signalling that Draco could let her go. She turned around and sighed shaking her head.
"Sorry about that," sighed Hermione picking up her bag, "I just can't stand that girl. I honestly believe she should have been put into another house."
"I would have done the same thing had it been me."
Hermione didn't reply and walked ahead of Draco before he managed to catch up. They passed the trees and walked across the rocky lake bank in silence. Hermione looked out at the lake trying to remember when she felt as calm and at peace as the lake did. She knew it had been a long time since she had felt that way and was desperately missing the feeling.
It seemed her life had just been thrown upside down over the past few weeks, actually a month to be exact. Dumbledore had died, she'd been put in charge of caring for Draco and found out he'd been black mailed. Now that she believed him and had told her friends, they had turned against her along with a majority of her housemates and people from other houses. Along with all that – her parents had split up. In a sense Hermione knew everything was making her emotionally stronger but did she have to feel shattered as that happened?
She climbed up to the top of the rocks and settled down a few centimetres from the edge with Draco sitting beside her.
"How did you find this place?" asked Hermione looking around at how secluded it was.
"I needed to escape away from people and the stress of school work so I went for a walk. I normally stopped at the first group of trees," explained Draco, "But this time I just kept on going. It's pretty good because you can see people but they can't see you because the trees hide everything."
Hermione nodded agreeing with him as she eyed off Ron and Ginny by the lakes edge with some other people from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.
"I just don't get it," sighed Hermione still looking at them, "They have just gone against me. I always thought nothing could do that completely… but look at them."
"It's my fault," said Draco, "If you hadn't been made to look after me none of this would have happened."
"You would have gone to Azkaban without anyone to defend you or help prove your innocence."
"So?"
Hermione looked at Draco shaking her head, "So it wouldn't have been right. They just need to get over the whole house division and help make the school stronger."
"Well, you can't just erase years of hate."
"But you can work past it and see a person for who they really are," said Hermione before gesturing between her and Draco, "We are proof of that aren't we? I mean we are friend's right?"
"I thought we were company."
Hermione sighed, "Well you said what we had is friendship."
"Yeah but I ignored you remember?"
"Do we have to fight about everything?"
"I'm not fighting with you."
"Well it sound's like it."
"This is pathetic," sighed Draco, "We are arguing about whether, or not we are fighting."
Hermione gave a sigh as well and ran a hand through her hair, "So are we friends?"
"I guess so."
"You guess so? How is 'I guess so' an answer?"
"Okay, fine, we are friend's."
"You don't have to make it sound like such a chore to be my friend. If you would rather not be friend's just say so."
Draco looked at Hermione in disbelief, "You can be really bossy at times, you know that?"
"Well sorry," snapped Hermione standing up, "I'll leave and take my bossiness with me if will make things easier for you!"
Hermione grabbed her bag and climbed down the rocks leaving a stunned Draco behind. He had no idea what just happened and that alone proved his theory that women can be plain crazy at times.
HD
Hermione walked out from the bushes and glanced over at Ron and Ginny along with the other Gryffindor's plus the few Ravenclaw's. She ignored them and walked over to a nearby bench. She sat down and pulled out a novel she was reading hoping it would sooth her emotions.
She had read three pages in complete silence when a snapping of a stick caught her attention. Looking up she saw Pansy and Millicent standing in front of her with Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle behind her. Hermione grabbed her bag and held her hand inside it around her wand.
"What do you want?" asked Hermione looking around at them each in turn.
"Perhaps you can tell us where Draco is," said Pansy with a smirk on her face, "After all you seem to love hanging off his arm these days."
"No, the person you see hanging off his arms is you. I can't tell you where he is because I don't know that myself."
"I'm pretty sure you are lying," sighed Blaise sitting down beside her, "People said they saw you walking out here with him and disappearing after scaring dear Romilda Vane."
"Then those people are lying. I don't know where he is."
"If you won't tell us freely then we will have to force the information from you," threatened Pansy as Millicent cracked her knuckles.
"Look, I don't know where you got the belief from but beating someone up doesn't make them tell you everything you want to know. I could say he is in the west tower and for all you know I could be lying still."
"We have this," said Blaise holding up a vial of Veritaserum.
"I can declare innocence or seal my throat," shrugged Hermione simply.
Pansy stepped forward and grabbed Hermione by the hair tilting her head back. Though Hermione was pained by the hold she merely looked at Pansy with narrowed eyes.
"Where is he you Mudblood?"
"Let her go!"
Pansy jumped back as Ron and Ginny came running over with the other Gryffindor's as the Ravenclaw looked on glaring at the Slytherin's.
"This ain't finished," snapped Pansy glaring at Hermione before stalking off with the other Slytherin's.
Hermione smoothed her hair and put her book in her bag. She stood up and walked away from Ron and Ginny, but the pair ran after her with Ron stopping her by gently grabbing her arm.
"What?" snapped Hermione glaring at the two, "You think scaring that lot away is going to change thing's? You still don't agree with what I believe, nor will you even consider it. You two have acted like complete jerks towards me! You have managed to turn everyone else against me including Harry and Victor! Tell me, when was the last time I did something like that to either of you? I might be having a memory problem."
Ron and Ginny didn't reply but certainly looked ashamed of them selves.
"That's what I thought," muttered Hermione turning to see Mrs Weasley looking at her with surprise, "Sorry Mrs Weasley. You shouldn't have heard that."
Hermione walked around Mrs Weasley and towards the castle. When would she be allowed to have one normal drama free day and the calmness she longed for?
HD
Two weeks passed thankfully uneventfully. Things between Hermione and Draco seemed normal to outsiders but they acted a little awkwardly around each other. Both had silently decided the other was a friend they could rely on but left the topic undiscussed.
As for Ron and Ginny neither had said a word to Hermione since her outburst towards them. Mrs Weasley still treated Hermione like a daughter and gave her a reassuring hug before leaving to return to the Burrow. As for Harry, Hermione hadn't heard a word from him and though it bothered her greatly to see Ron and Ginny receive letters from him on a nearly daily basis, Hermione never said anything nor would she write to him. He could make the first move in reconciling their friendship, not her. She hadn't done anything wrong.
With the Slytherin's who had taken a liking to tormenting Hermione, she ignored them and still wouldn't tell them where Draco got too when he needed to get away.
Whenever they went to get rough with her Hermione merely flashed her wand in warning or made a comment about it. Draco knew nothing of the issue as Hermione knew he had enough to deal with. The Order could only tell him his mother was still missing, nothing more.
It was a weekend, Saturday to be exact, and everyone in the castle woke with a buzz of excitement. The previous night McGonagall had hinted something would be happening as a reward to the students for doing so well in the training programs. No one knew what exactly and only knew it ranged from being a concert in the Great Hall and a free Quidditch Match between Ireland and Bulgaria, seeing as Krum was at Hogwarts.
Hermione dressed appropriately for whatever it could be in pale blue jeans and a pale yellow ¾ sleeve, snug fitting top. She slipped on white ballet slipper style shoes and fixed her hair into a ponytail making sure to remember her wand.
It was ten past eight by the time she made it to the Great Hall. She sat at the Gryffindor table alone as Draco was at the Slytherin one surrounded by her tormentors. She avoided looking at it at all costs by sitting with her back facing to him. Ron and Ginny glanced at her unsure whether they should attempt a conversation with her or not.
Hermione placed some yoghurt in her bowl and added chopped strawberries, cherries, blue berries and raspberries to the mix. She ate silently sipping her juice and reading the Daily Prophet in silence. For once she felt calm and at peace with herself and it felt wonderful.
"Good morning everyone," said McGonagall standing up and smiling at the school students, "Today is going to be a simple day of fun for all of you. For the past three weeks myself and other Professor's here have been organizing a special day for you all. Let me begin with the first years through to second year. You all will be watching an entertaining quidditch match between Bulgaria and England featuring past student Oliver Wood."
The school erupted into a wave of chatter with Ron saying loudly why weren't they allowed to watch it. McGonagall raised her hands signalling silence.
"Now third years and forth years will stay here at the Great Hall for a free live performance by the Weird Sister's," McGonagall paused as more chatter filled the air before she called for silence, "Now the remaining years will be leaving the castle for the day. As soon as I finished fifth, sixth and seventh years will head to the carriages waiting outside. They will take you to the train station and the train will take you to London. At London you will all catch the Knight Bus to Diagon Alley."
Hermione grinned. A day away from Hogwarts. She grinned excitedly and saw students pulling wands out to summon their money. She did the same and within seconds her pouch full of coins was in her hands. Soon after she stood and headed out to the carriages waiting. Filch marked off names eyeing them all in his normal way with Mrs Norris watching them as closely.
Hermione sat in a carriage alone and looked out at the students milling outside. She spotted Draco and saw him weaving frantically through students before looking up and seeing Hermione. Hermione gave him an amused look as he climbed into the carriage and sat away from the window.
"Escaping someone?" asked Hermione in amusement, "Maybe the bad nut?"
"And her possie," whispered Draco keeping an eye out for them, "They won't leave me alone. I'm lucky to go to the toilet on my own. And then they spend their time bad mouthing people-"
"You mean me," interrupted Hermione, "Because I won't tell them your hide away."
"Do they give you a hard time?" asked Draco actually looking concerned.
Hermione shrugged, "Backing into corners, hair pulling, threats – oh I love those moments!"
"That bad? Why haven't you told me?"
"You have enough to worry about as it is. I can handle them Draco. Besides, once the battle starts they will be begging me for mercy."
"They are on our side."
"Our side?" frowned Hermione.
"Don't tell me you have been wondering where my loyalties lie?"
"I've just never considered it."
"Look, I may hate Potter and those Weasel things, but I don't want to see bloody He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named win," said Draco firmly, "So they are on our side."
"Well they certainly don't act it," muttered Hermione crossing her arms and going silent as four other students jumped in from Hufflepuff.
Soon the carriage was rolling down the path and out of the school gates. Hermione knew that protection would be at its peak with students leaving Hogwarts, especially ones being taught how to fight against the Death Eaters. At the station Hermione went straight to the train and found a compartment. She walked in and sat down. She found an old Witch Weekly and picked it up wondering the timetable and why they couldn't of simply caught the Knight Bus from Hogwarts.
People glanced in but when they saw it was the 'betrayer' Hermione, they would go find another compartment to invade.
"This seat taken, my lady?"
Hermione looked up in alarm at the deep voice and saw Draco smirking at her surprise, "I thought you were some other guy."
"Thought I'd surprise you," he shrugged, "Beside's you can't go a whole five hours alone."
"Five hours?"
"The trip is being sped up a bit so we have a decent length of time at Diagon Alley. I overheard some Professor's discussing it. We arrive at one and the Knight Bus will pick us up from the station and take us to Diagon Alley. We will have from one thirty till eight pm. Then we get back to the train station and leave from there at nine and get back here at two am."
"A long day," commented Hermione as the dreaded possie walked in.
"Hey Draco," greeted Pansy with a sickening smile, "Come sit with us. You know, in an uncontaminated compartment."
"Actually, I'm sitting with Hermione," replied Draco coolly, "So go annoy someone else for the day."
"Draco, you can go with them. You don't have to stay here," said Hermione truthfully although she did want his company for the day.
"No, I am staying," answered Draco before looking at the group standing in the doorway, "I don't have to spend every waking hour around you lot. So just leave me alone for the day."
"Fine," snarled Pansy turning her glare on at Hermione, "Spend the day with the mudblood. You'll come running to us to escape her before this trip is over."
Pansy turned and left and the other's followed giving Hermione dirty looks on the way out. Hermione sighed once they were gone and stood to shut the door. She had almost closed it when Ron and Ginny came into view. Hermione looked at them for a few moments debating on whether she should hear them out or not.
"We just wanted to tell you that Harry is going to be at Diagon Alley today for two hours," said Ginny, "He wants to see you as well. He'll be at the Leaky Cauldron at 3pm."
Hermione just nodded and shut the door turning back around. Draco gave her a one raised eyebrow look as she sat down.
"Do I sense reconciliation in the air?" asked Draco as Hermione settled onto her seat with one leg tucked underneath her and the other hanging over the seat.
"I don't know," sighed Hermione leaning her head against the window as the trained rolled out of the station with the blowing of the whistle, "Should I let it happen?"
"I can't tell you what to do."
"But you reconciled with your friends," said Hermione looking at him, "Or are you just putting up with them for the heck of it?"
"What do you think?"
"The latter?" asked Hermione with a frustrated look on her face.
Draco nodded, "Look. I'm not the best person to ask for advice when it comes to friends. I mean I only have you in that area," Hermione beamed that he classed her as a friend. Draco gave her a smile before continuing, "But I have to say you, Potter and the Weasels have been to hell and back with your friendship. Every friendship, I think, hits a few bumps in the road along the way."
"Then this must be one huge bump," sighed Hermione.
"Yeah. The bump is called Draco Malfoy."
"You aren't the problem," admitted Hermione truthfully, "You just helped bring it up."
"What is the problem then?"
Hermione let out a deep breath, "We basically used to follow Harry's lead with everything. You know, he was our guide pretty much. Yes we pitched in ideas and what not, but we always believed Harry in the end. It was like, everything Harry said and did was right. Now that he isn't here it is like we have finally seen our own views and are saying wow that's not how I viewed that before. Or that person is different to what I thought they were like. Change is something people are scared of I think. We are all to scared to admit that we are changing… possibly growing apart."
"You lot won't grow apart. You have a war to get through – together."
"But that is just it!" cried Hermione in frustration, "What if it is just the whole Voldemort thing keeping us together as friends? Every single year that I have come to Hogwarts has always been about stopping Voldemort and managing to get through school. There has never been anything else but that in my life since coming to Hogwarts."
Draco looked at Hermione surprised. He never knew that before and it was quiet surprising. Hermione looked out the window as though she was searching for an answer when Draco said something that made her think.
"Maybe this is just your friendship's growing. Change causes people to grow within themselves and with their friendships."
"Maybe," sighed Hermione before smiling a little, "Sorry for dumping this all on you. It isn't fair on you."
"Hey," said Draco leaning forward and resting a hand on her arm, "We are friend's and this is what friend's are for. See these shoulders? They are for you to cry on when you need too."
"My mother said that to me once," said Hermione, "You know a muggle saying. Very good."
"Oh thankyou!" said Draco in a mock posh tone causing Hermione to laugh. Draco grinned at her and leant back in his seat.
"So what is the deal with you and the bad nut?" asked Hermione curiously, "Obviously something happened there."
"We used to date. My whole life I was told I would meet a pureblood and she would be my future wife," sighed Draco, "Some weird pureblood custom that you meet your wife at school. Anyway we were friends and I thought something was there at the end of fifth year. So over the summer holidays I took her on a date and yeah. But I broke up with her half way through the year. I was, you know, busy and she was driving me insane."
"And she hasn't got the hint?"
"This is Pansy we are talking about. She gets nothing other then what she sees is the truth."
Hermione gave an agreeing shrug.
"And you and the Weasel?" asked Draco turning the question onto Hermione.
Hermione looked at him with surprise, "Ron and I? Oh that was a weird stage. I never liked him. He was dating Lavender and Ginny was dating Harry, so I felt alone. But you have a crush on my cousin don't you?"
"No," said Draco without hesitation, "She's good looking. Most of the guys think that."
"I know. You all drool over her," said Hermione rolling her eyes, "It's amusing yet pathetic at the same time."
"Jealous it's not you?"
"In all honesty no I'm not. I'd rather be liked for my personality. Not my looks. They are just on the outside."
"Likewise."
"Really?" asked Hermione surprised.
"Look's degrade with age," shrugged Draco, "Personality lasts a life time."
"I agree," smiled Hermione, "I never thought you would think that way."
"Well we seem to be learning new things about each other."
"That we do."
A/N: So they are learning new things! How does that seem to you all? I am taking things slowly between them to make it realistic as possible. Anyway please review and I'll update. Oh and I have a new story up. It is called Run To You, only it is rated M. It is a Dramione story as well and as always a sneak preview of the next chapter: Chapter Eleven: Destruction:
"Well Romilda Vane saw you and him heading past those first lot of trees that time you went off at us."
"Oh, we were going for a walk. I needed to clear my head and I also needed some company and Draco was the only one talking to me."
and
"You sounded like you needed space," replied Hermione walking over to the potion's store with him following, "You literally bit my head off."
"I just don't like talking about it."
"Then how am I meant to know what is going on?" asked Hermione finding ingredients she needed.
"Why do you need to know?"
Until next time…
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