"Stop being a jealous selfish cunt because I picked him over you!" The Common Room was lit with a flame from the current fight taking place between the know it all that traded sides to Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter's best friend. Everyone in there were trading whispers and watching the fight as Ron was a bright red around the ears and Hermione's face was just a bit darker from the anger that was building back up. "No! You chose Malfoy over us! You are sitting with his friends eating, or in classes with him! You chose him over your friends!" Hermione came up to where there were just inches between them. "I sit with them because they speak to me! You are too busy having this egotistical little flounce of yours that you will not even speak to me or look at me in a nice way. For fucksake Harry barely speaks to me because you are always around him and he wants to act like he's not taking sides!"
Harry's eyes got wide and he looked towards Ginny as if begging for help to calm her down and keep the fire from reaching him. Ron puffed his chest out some and waved his hands in anger. "What do you expect me to do? Get any more of Draco's cock?" Hermione turned a deeper shade of red and her wand was suddenly in her hand as she seemed ready to kill. "What would make you think to say something like that?" Her hand was shaking with fury and she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. "Ron!" She heard Ginny shout out suddenly in fury as everyone was whispering more. Ron seemed to have no cares. "Is that why you lost us so many points. Or why you ended up in detention for so long?"
Ginny stopped and looked over at Hermione. Everyone knew that Hermione was with Draco but no one had known that she had been caught with him. They had thought that the story was true in some way. That their built up aggression towards each other was something. Hermione bit her tongue roughly. "I told you what had happened. He was being a real prick and I went and jinxed him. Snape caught me doing so." Ron gave a sneer. "And he just so happened to lose fifty points from Snape as well?" Hermione was ready to send everything she had at him. "Ron." She heard Harry whisper, but Ron had thrown him a look and waved his arm towards her. "What? She keeps feeding these bullshit stories and here she is giving more out!"
Hermione found herself working her mind furiously. "If you don't believe it than fine." She said in a whisper. "I do not have to explain every detail." She turned her back on him and started for the door. "That's right go running off to him!" She heard Ron call out and it was enough to send her flying off the edge. She sent a pile of books towards him and didn't wait to see, but heard the thunks and his cries of surprise and pain. Hermione stormed through the door and went off down the corridor. She could feel the tears streaming down her face and wiped at them furiously. The talk would be spreading through the castle like a wild fire.
She looked around the corridor and found herself wiping at her face again. Where was she to go? She could go down towards the Slytherin dorms but she knew if she was caught that Snape would have her head and McGonagall would make sure she never saw the light of day again. Hermione started walking towards the library. She knew it was about to be closed but she had nowhere else to be at the moment and she didn't want to be questioned or hear the whispers that would go on around her. Her mind was not in the right place.
Hermione sat behind a suit of armor. She had her legs pressed to her chest and her arms lying on top of them and rested her head on her arms. She had been sitting there for several a couple hours. She just wanted to lie in bed and finish the day out. Her mind was going a thousand miles a minute and she could not bring herself to go back to the common room yet. She had thought of going to McGonagall but what was she to do? She felt lost.
She could hear a set of footsteps moving along the corridor slowly and carefully and she found herself pushing more into the shadows of the suit of armor. Her eyes scanned the corridor and saw a familiar face walking through, checking behind different suits of armor as if expecting to see her there. She popped her head out a little more and spoke quietly. "What are you doing?" She watched as Draco gave a jump and looked over towards her. "Looking for you." He answered her as he stepped behind the armor.
Hermione felt his arms wrap around her and she felt the tears start to flood in on her. Her arms wrapped around him tightly and she buried her head into his chest. She wanted to just break down in his arms but held off. Being out past curfew was not what she wanted to be caught for and especially holding on to Draco. "How did you know where I was?" Her voice came muffled through his robes. She felt his fingers run through her hair and she snuggled closer against him. "Potter told me." She looked up into his eyes with a look of confusion. "Potter hunted me down and told me you had been sitting here in this corridor for a while and then told me what had happened. He said you've been sitting here for about three hours."
Hermione grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him down into a kiss. She didn't want to think about it or hear it right now. He kissed her deeply and his arms wrapped tighter around her pulling her close against his body. She felt her fingers running into his hair and before she could get a good grip on it he was pulling away from the kiss. "We should get you back to your Common Room." He whispered to her. She tried pulling in a steady breath but found she couldn't get a good pull. She just wanted to stay with him. Even if it was in the corridor. "I can't go back to it yet. I can't deal with the whispers." Draco brushed his lips lightly over hers and ran his fingers slowly over her back. "You can deal with them. But you won't have to deal with Weasel anymore when I get through with him." Draco spoke but she could see his eyes hardening.
Hermione shook her head. "You'll end up having a load of detentions again." She whispered to him. "I can deal with him myself. McGonagall will just kill both of us by the time she gets there." Draco smirked a bit. "I can't have you dead now can I? I wouldn't know what to do with myself. Plus she'll kill us if we get caught out here." Hermione bit her lip slightly. "I guess you have a good point." She let him move his arms from around her and took his hand in hers as he pulled her from behind the suit of armor. He started to walk down the corridor and she felt his hand pull from his and she started to wrap his arm around her. Hermione put her arm around him and walked in step with him.
They continued to walk through the corridors up sets of stairs towards the Gryffindor Common Room. "So you really think people will still be awake to whisper about you?" He asked as they walked towards the portrait. Hermione gave a small nod. "He's got everyone thinking we lost the points because we were caught having sex." Draco gave a laugh. "But we did." He said in a whisper. Hermione frowned at him. "The point is no one thought of it." She said pulling her arm from him and taking the lead to the portrait. She heard Draco sigh and felt his hand catch hers. She turned to face him and he brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it softly. "I know Hermione. It's alright though. Who cares what they think?" Hermione made a face. "I just don't want them to think things like that of me." Draco smirked and pulled her close to him.
"Really now?!" Both jumped and looked towards the end of the corridor. Hermione felt the color drain from her face as she saw McGonagall walking towards them. She felt the breath catch in her throat and she suddenly was running through every situation in her head. "I thought Professor Snape and I made this very clear." She started as she came to a halt glaring down at the two of them. "Professor it's not what it would seem like." Hermione began but she was cut off as McGonagall raised a hand to silence her. "Follow me." She turned on her heel and walked down the corridor. Hermione quickly fell into step behind her. Draco finally started after them.
They took a short time getting to McGonagall's office where Hermione watched her throw the floo powder at the flames and speak with a shake to her voice. "Severus I need to see you, now, please." Hermione was running her hands over her skirt trying to calm herself as best she could. Would they believe them? The flames turned a bright green once more and she watched as Snape came from the flames and stood looking between the three people in the room. She couldn't read the look on his face. "And what are they in here for?" Snape asked suddenly, his eyes staying on Draco.
"I caught them outside the Gryffindor Common Room entrance." McGonagall started. Quickly Hermione started up. "Professor, please. It isn't what it seems!" She said close to the tears pouring. "But nothing happened. I was upset and Draco was talking me down and taking me back to the common room." McGonagall watched Hermione and she spoke, her lips thinned and her hawk like glare coming down on the two of them. "And why would you be out past hours? And where does that give Mr. Malfoy a reason to be out and so far from his own common room?" Hermione froze as she tried to get her head to word the process. She didn't want to sound like a simple child not wanting to be teased. But Draco stepped in. "As Potter came to tell me just a bit ago, there was a huge fight that happened in the common room between her and Weasley. He is still upset with her and decided to tell anyone in the common room that she was a whore. And that was the real reason to why we lost all those points for our houses."
Hermione felt herself blushing. She could feel the heat in her cheeks and wanted to hide her face. "It supposedly happened hours earlier and Potter decided someone should look for her. So he came to me and let me know what happened." Snape cut across. "Speaking the truth shouldn't have you out past hours. And searching for a girl who is embarrassed for acting the way she did doesn't give you the right to go after her." Hermione felt a hatred boiling and she fought the tears that brimmed her eyes. "I was trying to give everyone a chance to say what they needed before I came back. That way when it all starts in the morning I could have a clear head and not blow up tomorrow and have to be sitting in an office having so many points knocked off for taking off the heads of those that kept saying things."
Snape raised his brows at her retort and then looked to McGonagall. "I believe another twenty will do it right here. They were given their warnings and granted they were not in the same position as last time I suggest three nights of detention." Snape looked over towards the two students before giving a nod. "It would seem too lenient to give three days but I'll agree to it." Hermione looked up at the ceiling as Snape took Draco from the office. She listened to McGonagall take a seat and then spoke to her. "Sit." Hermione took a seat with a mere glance at the chair before she kept looking towards the stone. She was afraid if she looked anywhere else the tears would fall. "I honestly do not know what has gotten into you lately. I would have thought getting yourself in such a situation last time you'd have finished it and moved on." Hermione swallowed hard. She was trying to clear the lump in her throat.
"Professor I did not mean to get Draco into trouble. I knew I was going to be in trouble for being out past curfew." She heard her voice give a squeak. "Like I said I didn't want to have to face them until tomorrow." She felt one of the hot tears run down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away. "I had already slipped and attacked Ron and I just didn't want to keep going."
"You could have come to me and we could have ended it there." McGonagall started. "And you can only see why we are hesitant to believe either of you on what took place when you left the common room." Hermione gave the smallest nod and bit her tongue slightly. "I didn't think to come to you about it, I-" She cut herself off and McGonagall finished for her. "Thought I would have left you to them?" Hermione wiped her cheeks quickly as the tears pushed through and gave a nod. "Look at me." She heard McGonagall say. "You chose unwisely to leave the common room and then get caught with Mr. Malfoy. But I do not want you to think that you would not be able to come to me for any reason. We'll stick to the punishments that were given. You may return to your dormitory and remember to come to me tomorrow. I will speak to Mr. Weasley in the morning."
Hermione pulled herself up from the chair and walked out of the office with a faint night before leaving the office and heading as slowly as she could push it to get back to the common room. She couldn't believe it. Twenty points taken because Ron had to be a prick. Hermione wiped furiously at her eyes. Great everyone would think her and Malfoy got caught doing it again! She was ready to hit something. She needed a good long break. She wiped her cheeks as she spoke the password and stepped up through. She looked around the common room and saw no one. Thank lord. She walked into her dorm and noticed all were asleep. She'd be able to get some sleep before hell started. She changed quickly and got into bed laying her head on the pillow and finding herself dreading the morning.