Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters.
Note: So I'm thinking about having Ginny in the hospital wing for a while, so that she can't get a date to the formal (it's not THAT mean c'mon!) and have her go stag, where something happens with Blaise or something.. what do you think?
Well, hope you like this chapter, Please read and review. Enjoy.
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Don't Tell Me What I Am
RECAP: Shaking her head lightly to herself, Hermione wondered briefly why her mind brought up the memory at such a time, but couldn't help but see how her earlier thoughts tied in perfectly. Laughing to herself, she allowed sleep to consume her.
14. Coincidence or Just Irony
"Gay lovers Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley share burden of Weasley's sister's accident?!" Ron screeched as he read to the end turning red. "Bollocks! Who's the bloody idiot that wrote this?!"
Hermione laughed silently to herself as she watched Harry snatch the Hogwarts' equivalent of the Daily Prophet out of Ron's hands. He skimmed the lines and frowned, creasing his forehead. At this Hermione couldn't help herself and laughed aloud at both their faces.
"Y-you..k-know," she choked, trying to not laugh, "s-sitting so close to e-each other.. and t-taking the paper m-m-makes you two look like ... a-an old m-married c-couple."
Ron turned beet red and even Harry had a tinge of a flush on his ears. Harry made an obvious attempt to scoot further down the bench but found it fruitless as the table was filled with people.
The trio was currently at breakfast and though Hermione was still a bit tired from lack of sleep, she was enjoying the time she was currently spending with both Harry and Ron.
It felt a little strange not sitting next to Ginny and talking, but she was trying to stir her thoughts away from that area until the evening following this day, when the critical 48 hours will have passed and she would be relieved.
She was extremely worried and knew that the two guys sitting across from her were as well. However, their first morning class was starting soon, and she needed to proofread their essays first. (It was Snape... can't make it less than perfect, or he'd give them a D or T without hesitation!)
After making the necessary corrections, Hermione saw that people were starting to leave so she handed the essays back (not without noticing that they were discussing Quidditch--again!) and rushed them to class.
"Come on you two," she said, already off the bench with her book bag and waiting for them. When the two were finally ready, the trio headed down towards the dungeons, walking a bit briskly even though they had roughly ten minutes.
Reaching the potions classroom, they headed in and saw that only about half the class had taken their seats. The half that was filled with Gryffindors, the Slytherins, were as always lagging around, doing whatever they pleased, knowing they wouldn't get in trouble for it.
The three found empty seats near each other and set their stuff down. While Harry and Ron plopped onto the seats, Hermione was getting ready to sit when she heard the familiar bark of Snape.
"Who told you dunderheads to sit down? Get up!" No wonder none of the Slytherins had sat-- "Now listen carefully as I assign you your groups, I won't repeat it." His last words were obviously directed at the Gryffindors, although they should have been meant for their other classmates.
"Thomas, Brown, Parkinson!" "Weasley, Patil, Goyle!" "Potter, Longbottom, Bulstrode!" Hermione grimaced when she realized how he set up the groups and tuned him out until she heard her own name.
"..foy, Granger, Zabini!" "Finnigan, Crabbe, Greengrass!" When there was silence following this, he barked out once more, "What are you waiting for? Get to work!"
Hermione sighed to herself and shared a looked with Harry and Ron, before getting her stuff and grudgingly moving when the rest of her classmates had gotten up. At least it's not that cow Parkinson, she thought to herself as she sat herself in a seat near a cauldron where Zabini was already at.
Seeing Malfoy was there too, she twisted her head to briefly glance at the board and recognizing the ingredients, she saw that they were brewing the Wolfsbane potion. Turning back around in her seat, she saw that the ferret was tilting the chair back and leaning lazily with a smirk in place.
Well, on the bright side, she thought dryly, he can't mess anything up if his lazy arse doesn't do anything. She was reminded of her thoughts last night and now seeing the blonde albino in person, wondered how in Merlin's beard she was able to think such things. Must be wishful thinking, she concluded to herself.
Letting her gaze shift to Zabini, she nodded a neutral, impassive, but still friendly nod and said politely in acknowledgement, "Zabini."
He nodded in a civil manner in return and greeted her with the same acknowledgement, "Granger." Perhaps it was their conversation last night, or maybe it was the fact that she never had anything directly against him-- that was more Ginny.
Shaking her thoughts, Hermione realized that all the same, Zabini was someone she could easily befriend and get acquainted with. That was something she'd be sure to tell Ginny when she wakes u-- there you go again 'Mione, Hermione scolded herself.
Deciding to focus on the potion instead, she chose to ignore Malfoy's presence altogether and directed her attention to Zabin-- Blaise completely. She would try to get to know him, she decided, and it would first mean stop calling him Zabini and calling him Za-Blaise. At least in her head, it's a good start, she mused.
"Shall we get started then, Zabi--Blaise?" She asked him, watching as his eyebrows rose at her initiative action and gave an amused half hearted smirk. Once again, he gave her a brief nod, however, this time it was barely visible and it was more in a way that told her.. he accepts her truce-- or whatever it was at the moment.
Clearing his expression, Za-Blaise said in a cool voice, "Alright, Hermione, I'll go get the ingredients and you'll get the cauldron ready?" He raised an eyebrow to see if the arrangement was alright with her. Nodding, Hermione couldn't help but shake her head, as she took out her wand, at his childish antics.
Was there really a need to stress her name? Lowering her head a bit to get a better aim, she murmured a soft incendio, and while sitting up again, she noticed a weird, contemplating and slightly glaring look on Malfoy's face. She would've shaken it off as part of him being a prat in general, but the look was directed towards.. her?
Not that she should have been surprised if it had, but having been used to either silence or some civility.. all out dislike or disdain towards her, this mixture was new to her and it gave her a funny feeling. She was curious as to what he could be thinking, but at the same time, she was concerned about herself for wanting to know.
It wasn't obvious, but she noticed that he looked as if in deep thought, or as deep in thought as he could be with that puny brain of his, and was only briefly looking at her through the corner of his eye. This didn't help the mass of thoughts in her own mind, but what could she do?
Watching his face return to its normal impassive expression, she brushed it off and was almost relieved when Z-Blaise came back with the ingredients. Her own thoughts disturbed her and she was remind yet again of her...conclusions the night before.
When he 'accidentally' knocked her potions book over and smirked at her, Hermione didn't know the reason for the strange sense of gratitude. She was glad for a reason to think that she was temporary insane and that he was still the same git.. but maybe mostly grateful that she had a reason to contradict her thoughts with.
Leaving her thoughts alone, she saw that ..Blaise was giving her a calculating look. Sending him a questioning glance, he shook his head slightly and gestured for them to start the potion. Of course, Malfoy sat back and did nothing besides randomly hexing Gryffindors.
Not sure why she was paying attention, or why she wasn't getting angry that her peers were being hexed, she squeezed her eyes shut for a second and blamed it on the lack of sleep she had.
After morning classes had ended, Hermione grabbed a quick lunch before separating from Ron and Harry. The two had History of Magic before a scheduled Quidditch practice, and Hermione, wanting time to do the newly assigned potions homework, decided to head to the library.
Of course, the two guys had rolled their eyes when she told them--she pretended not to notice, but was aware of it all the same-- and she had to allow herself a moment to bask in the happy, content atmosphere they created.
Now stepping through the doors of the library, she paused for a moment to let the smell of parchment and books fill her nose. She knew it was rather bookish of her, but she couldn't help the fact that she enjoyed the scent of the library.
Heading towards a table located near the center of all the stacks of books and shelves, Hermione gently put her things down and sat in a chair. Pulling out a bottle of ink, two quills (one being a spare), and fresh sheets of parchment, she busied herself by writing up an outline.
Having finished her outline, she let her hand rest for a moment from writing when she reread the things she wrote, to herself. Lifting the sheet of parchment, she frowned when she saw the bad flow from section one to section two.
Hermione was about to pick up her quill and fix it when someone tapped her on the shoulder. Turning around in her seat, she looked up to see.. Cormac McLaggen? It took a bit of inner strength and willpower to prevent herself from frowning.
As much as she wanted, she instead forced a tight smile and said as politely as she could, "Can I help you?"
"Yes," he answered, quite haughtily might she add before flushing a bit, "As you know.. the Autumn Formal is coming up.."
She blanched a bit and couldn't help the frown that slipped when she saw where this was going. He had trailed off, so she took this chance to recover and quickly reply before he could say anything.
"Yes, I'm well aware of that fact seeing as I'm one of the prefects who planned it," she replied snootily just to grate his nerves, then rushed out, "But I'm only going to go for the welcoming as formals are not my thing so I will be leavi--"
"About that, I was just wondering, since you're going and all, if you would like to accompany me to it?" he cut in 'smoothly,' not aware of the atrocious manners he was showing. Having no intention of spending more than a few minutes in his presence, she thought of the best way to decline, before deciding to just be blunt.
She thought before saying, "Actually," here she paused, hesitating a bit, before going on, "I don't think that's such a good idea. If I am to stay, I would go on my own and spend time with friends, but seeing as I won't be there for more than an hour, there's no need for me to accompany anyone. Thank you for the offer though, I'm sure it was very generous."
"Now, if you might excuse me, I have quite a bit of homework today. Have a good day, will you..Cormac," inwardly, Hermione was cheering, but she kept a blank expression on until he was out of her sight when she broke into a small grin.
Returning her attention to her outline, she had picked up her quill when a person suddenly sat themselves opposite of her. Glancing up curiously, she was surprised and taken aback when she looked up to a half grinning, half smirking.. Blaise Zabini.
He had sat himself in the chair in the way that she had seen a lot of guys do-- with the back of the chair facing the table, arms folded over it, and straddling it backward. It was a small thing she took note of as she was more interested in why he was there in the first place.
"Mother of Salazar, absolutely bollocks, that was! I never thought the Gryffindor Princess could be so full bollocks!" It took her a moment to realize what he was talking about, but when she did, her cheeks became tinged with pink sheepishly and she gave a guilty, yet self satisfied smile.
If she was surprised at his friendliness towards her, she was even more shocked when he chuckled aloud, as if he was completely comfortable around her like they had been friends for the longest time.
She had never seen this side of him before, and had to wonder what had put him in such a good mood. She never thought a Slytherin of all people, would be here sitting across from her, openly showing his emotions and.. being nice. She didn't even know it was in their vocabulary!
Still laughing to himself, Hermione smiled as she watched, listening as he spoke to her once more--with a smirk, "Merlin Hermione, I almost feel bad for the guy.. actually no, he is a prick."
Hermione had to laugh aloud as well, he was nice, up until his last comment. But it was without malice, and Hermione shook her head to herself, rolling her eyes at the way he was acting. He was being so out of character, and she wondered what he was even doing in the library.
Voicing her thoughts, she listened to his response, "Oh, Draco was here--speaking of which, I better go find him. Later Granger," he ended with a smirk towards her. She raised her eyebrows and watched the effect get ruined when he winked mischievously.
After he left, Hermione read over the outline for a third time before getting out of her seat to find a book to give her details about the properties of moonstone. Stretching as she got out of her seat, she headed over to the section of the libary with research books.
When she had gotten a third volume and was heading back towards her seat, she was interrupted by a call of, "Hermione!" Turning, she saw Justin jogging up to her. Her face morphed into an inquisite expression and she greeted him, waiting for the prefect to speak.
"I've been looking for you, I saw your stuff on one of the tables and since you weren't there, I figured I'd find you in this section," he explained, and Hermione smiled to herself at her predictable personality.
Laughing a bit, she nicely replied, "You figured correctly then..What were you looking for me for?" He laughed with her for a bit, before clearing his throat.
"O-oh," he stumbled, probably still containing his laughter, Hermione thought, and watched as he took a deep breath. "I was actually going to talk to you about Autumn Formal."
At this statement, Hermione's mind went into panic mode... this can't possibly be good, she thought, and could almost see Ginny giving her a knowing look and Malfoy smirking at her.
However, she breathed in relief with a slight sigh, calming down when she heard his next words, "I-I thought t-that since we were b-both prefects o-of the same group, perhaps we c-could m-meet up earlier to welcome t-the students..t-t-together?"
Laughing slightly at her paranoid thoughts, Hermione smiled at him and saw him look a bit..relieved for whatever reason. Of course, Justin was always looking out for the students, he wanted to greet the students together! Maybe he didn't want to stay for it either.
"Oh Thank Merlin!" She gave a small chuckle here and said, "For a moment, I thought you were going to ask me to the formal or something absurd like that!"
Hermione was about to tell him that she would like the company while welcoming people when she saw his face... flushed deep red, looking sheepish, and avoiding her eyes.. it confused her and for a moment she wondered if he was feeling well.
Then, a thought occurred to her, and she laughed nervously, slowly asking, "You weren't just asking me to the formal...w-were you?" The fact that he was acting like Ron whenever he was guilty.. and turning redder.. answered her question and she gasped slightly.. mentally slapping herself.
She felt awkward and unsure what to do, and opted to try to fix it, "I'm sorry Justin! I h-had no idea you meant it l-like that! N-not that I w-wouldn't go, b-but see, w-well, there's nothing wrong with y-you and I'm sure plenty of girls would just l-love to go with you, I happen to be a very b-bad person to ask and it's your bad l-luck that I..w-well--"
"Hermione.. it's o-okay!" He stumbled out, still a bit red, and it was time for Hermione to flush when she realized just how long she had been babbling. So much for 'fixing' it. Oh..how Ginny would laugh at her if she could see her at his moment.
Feeling guilty, regretful, and shameful, Hermione did not know how to act or what to do as she watched Justin shuffle around, looking as if he'd rather be anywhere than here. Clearing her throat, she decided to try to end the uncomfortable silence for both of them, "Er.. I'll see you at the prefects' meeting!"
She watched as he walked briskly away, and sighed in relief, but then she heard a snicker. Rolling her eyes, thinking it was probably just Blaise, she turned around and didn't expect to see Malfoy there... smirking at her, and his eyes telling her that he was gloating in her face.
A/N: So what do you think? Was Blaise too out of character? I was trying to make him become friends with Hermione.. but maybe I'll just have it be revealed later that he was just superficially happy or something. But anyways, please review XD all feedback is welcome.. so yeah ^_^