Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, any of its characters, or the wizarding world.
To My dear dear reviewers: *grabs and hugs till purple* I can't tell you how warm and fuzzy your reviews made me feel. I can't believe I got to thirty, THIRTY! Thank you all so much, it really means a lot to know I'm not wasting my time posting it on .
Happy writer = quicker updates
AN: Yes, yes, I know how Blaise and Pansy left it was a bit cliché but I have to have some romance in there. I mean come on, the first genre is Romance, you're gonna run into a few corny lines here and there. But anyway, this is it. The last Christmas chapter. So next chapter presents whole new problems and whole new emotions, (Don't get fretful, Draco's feelings for Hermione shall never change, unless, of course, he gets spiked with a bit of Amortentia. Hey, that's not a bad idea…) Anyway, I ramble too much. So without further to do I present the thirteenth chapter of my story.
Chapter Thirteen
Harry's POV
Harry was standing around the party listening to Luna's insane ideas about Nargels. She was staring off into space as if she wasn't really talking to anyone and that was just fine with Harry because he wasn't listening. He was too busy staring at Hermione and how beautiful she looked in her emerald green dress.
Emerald green? She probably wore it for Malfoy since he's a Slytherin. Harry thought bitterly but he was happy to see that Malfoy was nowhere to be found. Hermione was talking to Ron at the moment and knowing Ron, he would probably make an arse out of himself all on his own. But just to make sure, Harry got him worked up worked up beforehand.
Flashback
Harry had just arrived at the party when he saw Ron there with Ginny.
"What are you doing here, mate?" Harry asked as he walked over to Ron.
"I'm, well, I'm here to swallow my pride and apologize to Hermione. If I ever work up the nerve," Ron said scratching the back of his head. Harry's face paled. He couldn't let them make amends so quickly.
"Well, good luck, but I think it might just be a lost cause." Harry said, not sure where he was going with this.
"What do you mean?" Ron said with his usual confused face.
"Those Slytherins have brain-washed her." Harry said shaking his head.
"I don't think so, mate, Hermione's real smart." Ron said with a quirked eyebrow.
"Look at her over there being so friendly with Pansy Parkinson. Face it mate, the old Hermione, our best friend, is gone. She's one of them now." Harry said clasping Ron on the shoulder before walking away.
How could he be so gullible? He makes this so easy. Harry thought as he made his way back to his date, Luna.
End Flashback
So here he was watching his master plan unfold. He couldn't make Ron say stupid things but with a little encouragement and a slight push in the right direction, anything is possible. However, when it came to Hermione, Ron was his biggest competition. Or at least that's what Harry thought before he saw Draco Malfoy walk up and wrap his arms around Hermione. His Hermione. Harry was staring at them so hard he didn't even notice he was clenching his fist together.
"Harry, what's the matter?" Ginny said walking up to him, offering him a drink. Harry declined with a shake of his head.
"Nothing, how many of those have you? You do know that those where only supposed to be for the teachers," Harry said indicting the two glasses of Fire whiskey in Ginny's hands.
"They won't notice it's gone," Ginny said finishing off her glass and starting on the one she had offered Harry. Harry shook his head then returned his gaze to where Hermione and Malfoy were now dancing.
"Hey, isn't that… HERMIONE? And Malfoy?" Ginny gasped grabbing two more drinks from a silver tray held by a passing butler.
"Yep, she went with Malfoy," Harry sighed.
"And to think I traded dresses with her just so she could be his little Slytherin princess." Ginny said with her eyebrow drawn together.
"She didn't tell you?" Harry asked confused. Ron had said she had been flaunting it in Ginny's face as well.
"No, she just said that her date wasn't Ron and she needed to find a green dress." Ginny said looking hurt.
"That's peculiar that she wouldn't tell you," Harry said now with his eyebrows drawn together. Then he continued to watch Malfoy and Hermione dance in disgust while Ginny continued to drink nonstop beside him. Then he saw Hermione and Malfoy's waltz interrupted by Dean Thomas.
"I didn't know you could bring two guests Ginny," Harry asked.
"I didn't. Ron was my guest. Why do you think I have two guests?" Ginny asked confused.
"Well Dean Thomas is over there so I thought…" Harry trailed off pointing to where Dean Thomas was.
"H-he isn't supposed to be here," Ginny said with her eyes bugging out of here head.
"Well it looks like he might be heading over here." Harry said and Ginny immediately took off. Harry wasn't as lucky.
"Hey, Harry, have you seen Ginny around here?" Dean Thomas asked.
"Um, no, I uh, I haven't. How did you get in here?" Harry asked. He felt bad about lying but he wouldn't betray Ginny like that.
"Professor Slughorn was nice enough to let me in because I am Ginny's boyfriend." Dean Thomas said with a smile.
"That was nice of him." Harry said with a force smile. He looked around for Hermione but she was nowhere to be found. He saw Malfoy talking to Parkinson and Greengrass but Hermione was nowhere to be found.
"I'm sorry Dean Thomas but I've to go," Harry said as he left to look for Hermione. He thought Ginny might know where she was so he went to the curtains where she hid in when he heard her and Hermione's conversation.
"Maybe you just need some space. Have you told him that?" Hermione said in a soft lovely voice.
"Don't you- Don't you dare! Don't you dare talk to me like that! As if you had all the answers! You pretend to be our friend but you're nothing but a traitor! Prancing around here with Slytherins on your arm like accessories! Well let me tell you something, you're nothing to him! No matter what he says or what you do you're nothing to him!" Ginny yelled then she took a breath before continuing. "And you're nothing to me. You walk around here with your books and your homework like everything's perfect in your world but it's not! Because no matter what you do you'll never be anything more than a dirty, filthy, disgusting little mud-
Harry couldn't let her continue saying this. She was bound to say a lot of things she didn't mean in her drunken state but if she continued this she was bound to lose Hermione as a friend permanently.
"GINNY!" Harry said walking in at just the right moment. Ginny immediately latched herself onto an uncomfortable Harry.
"Ginny, you're drunk. It seems someone has spiked your butterbeer. Please go to your corridor before you do something you'll really regret." Harry said trying to pry Ginny off him. He lied about her butterbeer being spiked because Ginny had already said so much to Hermione that maybe if she thought her drink had been spiked it might take some of the heat off.
"Will you join me?" grinned Ginny and Harry almost shuddered at the thought.
"Um, yeah, yeah, you just go to your corridor and I'll meet you there." Harry lied and Ginny wobbled off around the curtains. Harry looked at Hermione who looked like she was close to tears.
"She's so drunk; she'll be sleep before her head hits the pillow." Harry said trying to defuse the tension.
"How could she say that to me? Is that how she really feels?" Hermione said wiping her eyes.
"Come on Hermione, you know she doesn't feel like that," Harry said sitting down wrapping an arm Hermione.
"You do," Hermione said, refusing to look at him.
""No I don't, I was just mad and upset and I didn't take your feelings into account." Harry sighed, loving the comfortableness of their position. He could hold Hermione like this all night.
"Potter, if you don't mind, I'd like a word with my girlfriend," Malfoy said walking in on their moment.
"Girlfriend? Hermione, what's he going on abo-
"Harry, will you please just give us a moment," Hermione said, confirming Harry's fears. Harry got up and left glaring at Draco the whole time. He walked from the curtains right into Ron.
Ron's POV
"What's wrong mate?" Ron said when he saw Harry, whose face was contorted with hurt and anger.
"It's over Ron. Hermione is Malfoy's girlfriend." Harry said and walked off. Ron was in a sort of state of shock. He couldn't believe it.
How could she be with such scum? And after all the times he had called her a mudblood? Ron thought numbly. Then suddenly an idea came to mind. He knew what he had to do.
Daphne's POV
Daphne strutted all the way to the Slytherin common room. Then she walked up to the 6th year boy's dormitory, which luckily was empty, and laid down on Blaise's bed. She lay there for about twenty minutes when she heard someone enter the room.
"I knew you'd make the right decision, Bla-
"Cut the crap, whore" Pansy said walking into the room.
"What're you doing here?" Daphne scowled sitting up in Blaise's bed.
"Here to help clean up some of Blaise's unwanted garbage off his bed," Pansy said looking at Daphne with disgust.
"If Blaise doesn't want me then why did he ask me to the party?" Daphne said with a big fake smile.
"If Blaise wanted you then why did he shove his tongue down my throat?" Pansy said and that did it. Daphne lunged at her effectively knocking her down to the ground. She yanked at her hair in pure rage. However she was withering on the ground once Pansy punched her in the ribs. And that was how the fight went, Pansy punching and Daphne trying aimlessly to defend her when Millicent Bulstrode walked in and broke them apart.
"What's wrong with you two? Have you both lost your minds? Fight, and in the middle of the boy's dormitory no less," Millicent said in a thick German accent.
"Watch yourself, Greengrass," Pansy said as she stormed out of the room panting heavily. Daphne just stood there, letting the effect of getting her ass beat sink in. Millicent looked at her expectantly waiting for her to leave.
"After you," Millicent said and Daphne exited the room. She didn't know where she was going but she knew she sure as hell wasn't going back to her dormitory where Pansy was undoubtedly waiting for her.
AN: Beat down, Parkinson style! Daphne better keep her guard up… I apologize if Harry seems a bit cutthroat and cruel. I really do think he's a nice feller but he just hasn't found the right one yet. Anyway, pretty beautiful gorgeous please review!