Woo! i'm back! I'm sorry for the minor delay. My keyboard was hating me.


Chapter 11: The Boomerang Effect


I wanted you bad,
I'm so through with it,
'Cause honestly you turned out to be the best thing I never had,
You turned out to be the best thing I never had,
And I'm gon' always be the best thing you never had,
Oh yeah, I bet it sucks to be you right now!


"Can I open my eyes now?" Hermione pleaded. Her heart was about to explode from the suspense. Draco's soft hands were covering her eyes and it felt great.

"We're almost there, love, be patient," his voice crooned. Then he let out a light chuckle at the end. His heart was also about to explode. He'd been preparing for this night for so long.

It had been quite a handful of months since the shocking news of their relationship exploded out into the public. Harry of course, knew this had been coming since that day they walked into his Quidditch tent before the match, but he had a word with Draco and made sure that he knew how far into oblivion he would be hexed if he broke her heart. Ginny flooed into Hermione's apartment that day with a bottle of Firewhisky. Luckily, Draco came in before anyone could get drunk. Blaise danced with triumph into Draco's office the following morning, chanting "I told you so" over and over again. Ron, however, didn't say a thing, which was just fine with everyone.

They'd been in Venice for a week now, on another one of Hermione's business trips. He had one arm around her shoulders to keep her balance and the other grasping hers for reassurance. He whispered instructions in her ear and told her to stop at the top stair.

"Can I take it off now—?" Her question died in her throat as she felt his lips moving gently against hers. She put her arms around his neck instinctively and she could feel him undoing his blindfold. She opened her eyes when they parted for air, and she took in another gasp at the sight.

"Happy anniversary, love," he whispered in her ear. Tears welled up in Hermione's eyes. He truly was unpredictable.

They were at the rooftop of their current inn. There was a blanket spread on one area covered in rose petals and surrounded by tea candles. She guessed that the food probably wasn't in the picnic basket, and that it had only been added for effect. He took her hand and led her to the blanket and took out some wine and glasses from the picnic basket. With a flick of his wand, he levitated the plate of food towards them. They started to eat under the pale glow of the moonlight and the dim light provided by the candles.

After serving dessert, they cuddled together for a while, just talking.

"Look over there," he told her, pointing to a blank patch of sky. He had both arms around her waist, and she held him in place by holding his hands. A park shot in the sky and exploded. More sparks followed along with more explosions. It lit up the dull evening sky.

"That's how I felt the first time I kissed you," he whispered in her ear, then kissed her on the lips again.

"You really set the bar high for next year, Malfoy," Hermione said when they parted.

"Wait until next year," he reassured, leaning in for another kiss.


"These came in for you today, Miss Granger," Agatha said, referring to a medium-sized bouquet of flowers. She and Draco had just flown in from Italy, but she had to come to check on her section.

"Thanks Agatha," she replied, taking the bouquet. Hermione walked in her office and read the card.

It's been so long. Can we meet today?

She smiled to herself, thinking that it was Draco being his usual romantic self; instead she flipped the card and found Ron's name on it. She grabbed her wand and thought of a happy memory. The first that came up was of course, Venice.


Draco had just grabbed himself a new cup of coffee when he saw her Patronus strolling around in the Atrium. He smirked to himself and approached it.

"Looking for me?" he asked the silver otter. It stared at him blankly for a minute before gliding away. What the hell? He followed the Patronus discreetly.

It took him to several floors and corridors, finally ending up at the Auror office. Draco didn't go in, but he stayed closed enough to hear its message.

"Sure, Ron. I'll see you at the Leaky Cauldron," it said, and then it disappeared into thin air.

Draco thought about what he had just seen when he was back in his own office.

Is Hermione cheating on me? Draco chucked the thought off someplace and slapped himself mentally for ever coming up with such a thing. Hermione wasn't like that. She was trustworthy. And loyal. And understanding. And beautiful . . . and smart . . . and sexy . . .

Or maybe that was just him being biased. It took him about five minutes of internal battling before Blaise walked in.

"Good, you're here," Draco gasped. "Quick, help me decide what to do. I saw Mione's Patronus here and I thought it was coming to me but it went to Weasel's office and it told him she'd meet him at the Leaky but they haven't talked in ages and it's just impossible and I don't know what to do!" He said all of this in one breath.

"First of all, chill," Blaise advised. Draco let out several deep breaths. "Have you tried calling her?"

"I was going to . . . but what if she becomes all defensive and shit?" he groaned.

"Well, do you think she's that kind of girl? The one who'll get up on you because you ask her if she may or may not be cheating on you?"

"I am not asking her that," Draco said.

"Don't you think it's pretty close?" Blaise countered with a raised eyebrow. Draco was silent for a few moments. "I'll leave it up to you to decide." And we thought he walked out, his shoes clacking loudly against the marble.

Draco raked his hands through his hair irritably. Then he bumped his forehead on the table several times before letting out another loud groan.


Okay, okay, you can do this. Hermione gave herself a pep talk and took several deep breaths before entering the Leaky Cauldron. She looked around for a minute and found Ron situated at a booth on the right-hand side of the bar. She took another deep breath and approached him.

"Hello," she said timidly in a voice an octave higher than what she'd intended.

A huge grin broke out on Ron's face. "Hermione," he said blissfully, standing up and giving her a long embrace.

This is new, she said to herself. Last time they met, he wanted him out of his life. Hermione sort of knew where their meeting was heading to—the inevitable. She rolled her eyes and let go of him.

"It's been a long time since we last saw each other—"

"I know how you like being blunt, so please go straight to the point."

Ron was taken aback. "Well, it's been almost ages and the last time I saw you—"

"If I remember correctly, you wanted me out of your life because I was boring. Now, Ronald, please tell me what you're really going to tell because you're becoming the boring one. Besides, I have a pretty good idea what it is."

Ron gulped as he found himself dumbfounded yet again. "Well, Pansy and I broke up—" Hermione raised a brow "—and I was wondering . . . if maybe . . . we could try again."

Hermione scoffed, "You think it'll be that easy?" Hermione said. "Were you thinking that you could not talk to me after breaking up and come back anytime you please? What, were you expecting me to jump up and hug you and say yes? Really, Ron, that fact that you even tried makes you a complete and utter idiot."

"Hermione—"

"Okay, I'm going to make you understand. Let's say you caught a fish and then you let it slip. Do you think it'll let it catch you again?"

"This is different—"

"No it's not," Hermione scoffed. "Ron, I loved you. I didn't get jealous when you were with other girls. I didn't mind that you forgot our anniversary twice. I didn't care that you broke up with me because you thought I was boring. I cried over you, Ron. I was so blind. I didn't even know how lucky I was that you showed me how much of an arse you really were. And now, you come running back to me because your fucking whore of an ex- girlfriend finally stopped playing games. Well guess what, Ron, the joke's on you."

"Who are you and what have you done to Hermione?" he asked disapprovingly.

"I changed. I became a better person," she replied. "I finally started loving myself. I finally stopped giving a rat's arse to anyone who doesn't appreciate me. I finally found someone who actually gives a shit about me."

"Hermione, what are you doing?" Ron pleaded.

"I'm telling you that I don't need you," Hermione replied simply. "You know what, Ron, you turned out to be the best thing I never actually had. Turns out, I will also be the best thing you never had."

And we that she stood up and stormed away.

As soon as she was out of the building, she wiped the tears away angrily. The nerve! To think that he was supposed to be her best friend!

"It's because of that ferret," Ron suddenly snarled behind her, grabbing her arm fiercely. Hermione winced as his nails dug into her skin.

"Ron, let me go," she said through gritted teeth.

"Answer me," he growled. "Are you in love with the ferret?" With one quick movement, she shook off his grip and faced him with a taunting smile.

"Yes, Ron," she replied. "In case it hasn't get to you yet, the ferret and I are very much happy together, otherwise we won't be snogging in front of the media. And it's all thanks to you! Thank you for showing your true colors and leading me down the right path."

He stared at her angrily and then to Hermione's surprise, he crashed his lips on hers. He kissed her angrily and forcefully. He grabbed her shoulders in a death grip, forcing her to move closer to him. It took Hermione five minutes to pull him off. When she finally did, she slapped him with a loud smack.

"How—dare—you," she told him angrily. Ron was in no mood to answer. He grabbed her arm and swung on the spot, Disapparating them both.

She could have sworn she saw a flash of silver before she got sucked in a tube and reappeared into an unfamiliar place.