Chapter 9
Breakfast the next morning was a quiet affair all around. At the Gryffindor table, Harry was refusing to look anyone in the eye. Hermione had a scowl on her face as she picked at the lone slice of toast on her plate. Ron was eating with gusto, as usual, but it took a lot to affect that.
At the opposite end of the hall, at the Slytherin table, everybody was just as mute. Blaise was the calmest, sitting comfortably with a large black coffee in front of him, smirking slightly at everyone's discomfort. Draco, unknowingly, was echoing Hermione's actions, scowling down at the untouched toast on his plate. Where Pansy and Daphne would normally have been gossiping, there was a slightly stony silence as Pansy shot daggers with every glance at Daphne and the blonde calmly ate a small bowl of porridge.
The atmosphere didn't improve as the day wore on. With half the school nursing a hangover of some description, it was a quiet day at Hogwarts. That didn't stop the rumour mill from churning as the gossip from the Halloween party was disseminated throughout the student body.
Hermione was sitting in Charms class when she overheard some gossip that finally made her pause and look up.
"But Lavender, I definitely saw him go off with Parkinson. Malfoy isn't subtle, I knew what they were doing."
"Honestly, Sally-Anne, that's just ridiculous. I should know, I spent half the evening with him."
"Yeah, half, Lav. I'm just saying, Malfoy isn't a saint."
"Malfoy?" Hermione interjected, a little loudly. Both girls whipped their heads around.
Lavender smiled unpleasantly. "Yes, Malfoy. He and I had a little rendezvous last night."
"You and a few others." Sally-Anne added with a giggle. Lavender scoffed slightly.
"Jealous, Hermione? We all know you've been pining after him since we got back to school. I guess you aren't to his taste anymore. He must have matured."
"Really, Lavender." Hermione rolled her eyes. "Slightly sickened would be a more accurate description of what I think about all that."
Hermione turned back to her work trying to keep her face neutral and unaffected as Lavender and Sally-Anne returned to hashing out the nights events.
Hermione tried to concentrate, but for the rest of the hour all she could think about was Draco slipping his arms around her at the party. With her new knowledge that he'd spent the night bed hopping with half the female population of Hogwarts, the thought that Draco had taken the time out between Lavender and Pansy to try it on with her made Hermione feel slightly ill.
When Charms was finished, Hermione picked up her bag and trudged up the library. She didn't think she'd be able to get started on her homework, but a quiet place to think was required.
Holed up in the deepest corner of the library, with a stack of books around her, Hermione put her hand on her arms, and with a big sigh let the tears roll down her cheeks, dampening her jumper.
How could Draco turn around so quickly? One day he's yelling at her that he loves her, and the next he's hooking up with every girl that's willing. Hermione sobbed silently. This hadn't been her plan. She had had every intention to come back to Hogwarts with the only focus being on her studies. Hermione knew that she probably knew magic that far surpassed the NEWT level, but she wanted to use her last year in the castle to get the best grades she could, make the most of the library while it was in close proximity and leave Hogwarts with some good memories.
Draco Malfoy had not factored into the plan. Not one bit.
…
Draco had had a very different sort of day. He'd etched a permanent scowl on his face so that conversations died down around him, and the gossip kept away from him.
"Your face will get stuck that way if you don't lighten up." Blaise commented as they ate dinner. Draco didn't deign to respond. "Mate, you brought this upon yourself."
"Shut up." Draco snapped. Blaise sniggered.
"Touchy, touchy."
"Piss off, Zabini."
"Christ, Draco, anyone would think you'd never fucked around before. Seriously, what's got you all messed up?"
"It's bloody Granger. Hermione."
"Oh, not this shit again."
"Fuck off if you don't want to hear it." Draco stabbed his dinner furiously.
"Only, what's she gone and done this time?"
"She won't bloody look at me."
"Oh, piss off." Blaise rolled his eyes. "Really? A girl won't look at you and you're losing your mind."
"I said, fuck off if you don't want to hear it."
"Christ, I though getting your leg over would cheer you up, not make you more miserable."
Draco slammed his fork down on the table, making a couple of Slytherin girls a bit further down the table jump and eye him suspiciously.
"Go jump off the Astronomy tower, do us all a favour, you twat." Dracon stood up and walked out of the Great Hall in a furious temper.
Daphne glanced up from where she was sat a few seats up the table from Blaise. She smiled. "He's in a bit of a mood." She nodded in the direction Draco had just stormed off in.
Blaise chuckled. "Tell me about it."
…
Harry sat across from Ron at the Gryffindor table in silence. They'd spent the whole day in silence so far. Ron coughed slightly, squirming in his seat.
"Why didn't you say anything mate?"
Harry looked up, slightly startled.
"Don't know mate." He muttered. He looked down as he continued. "I think I just wanted something that was mine. You know." Harry sighed. "To be normal. Do what normal eighteen-year old's do. Screw up occasionally."
Ron nodded, staring at his plate. "Yeah mate. Yeah, I get that." He looked up. "Still could've mentioned something. Watching you suck face with Zabini wasn't exactly how I wanted to find out."
Harry blushed, shoving his glasses back up his nose where they'd slipped down his face. "Sorry." He muttered, glancing at Ron, please to see that his friend wasn't angry.
"I mean, am I the only one that isn't taken with those bloody Slytherins? It's like a damned disease." Ron laughed, trying to lighten the mood.
Harry grinned. "Careful, it's catching. You'll be messing around with Parkinson before long."
"Yeah right, and my mum's a Death Eater." Ron snorted. "For real though mate, have you thought about Ginny."
"Am I supposed to tell her?" Harry paled slightly. "Because that's a conversation I'd rather not have."
"Nah, I think she knows. I think she's fucking with Zabini really, messing with his head."
"Really?" Harry shoved a mouthful of dinner in his mouth, feeling a lot hungrier now that the air had been cleared somewhat.
"Yeah, she's not stupid. I bet she's seeing how far she can push him before he admits it. Some sort of self-punishment for the git."
Harry snorted. "That sounds like Gin!"
They dropped into a comfortable silence as they ate dinner. Eventually Ron looked up and cleared his throat.
"Listen, mate." Ron shifted slightly, dropping his voice and glancing down the Gryffindor table. "I was thinking about asking Lavender to Hogsmeade. Reckon she'd say yes?"
"I think so, mate." Harry swallowed. "She loves a quidditch player, so you've got that going for you." Harry neglected to mention the gossip that Terry Boot had shared with him in the common room that morning. After all, Harry thought, there had been quite a bit of gossip about Lavender through the years, he didn't think there was much point mentioning her most recent escapades. It didn't seem worth discouraging Ron over something so trivial as gossip.
Ron nodded. "It's the last weekend of November, I think. You going to take anyone?"
"Unlikely." Harry scoffed a little. "It's slim pickings for me, mate."
Ron laughed. "Well I bet Hermione could do with some company, she's seemed pretty preoccupied lately. She could do with some distracting."
Harry smiled. "Yeah that would be nice. We could all have lunch."
"Sweet." Ron grinned. He looked down at his empty plate and sighed. "Reckon we should get started on that Potions homework?"
"Library." Harry nodded, grabbing his backpack.