Chapter 21
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
For the second time in her entire life, Hermione Granger cried herself to sleep. The first time had been when she'd finally realized that her father was never coming back, and she was just as heartbroken then as she was now. She kept telling herself over and over again that Malfoy wasn't worth her tears and she should be thankful that she found out before she did something stupid like actually sleep with him, but it still didn't stop the tears from falling.
She'd finally managed to drift off some time around three in the morning, being able to keep her state from her roommates' notice with a simple silencing charm. The crying and discoveries of last night must have left her more drained than she'd originally thought because she slept right through her alarm and it wasn't until Ginny came over and shook her that she finally woke up.
"Hermione? Hermione!" she said, shaking even harder.
"Huh? What?" She asked, groggily opening one blood shot eye and looking at her friend. "What is it?"
"Are you planning on getting up?" Ginny asked. "Breakfast will be over in twenty minutes. Harry, Ron, and Lavender were going to walk down with us, but you were taking forever and you know how Ron gets when it comes to food" she said, trying for a little morning humor.
Hermione looked blankly at her, then rolled over. "You go on without me Gin, I don't feel like going down, I'm not that hungry." The redhead raised a skeptical eyebrow at her, and her words sounded even sketchier when her stomach let off a rather loud grumble. It wasn't that she wasn't hungry, it was the fact that she didn't feel up to facing the blonde devil who would no doubt be laughing and joking with his friends as though last night and this entire year had never happened.
Ginny immediately knew something was wrong. Hermione never overslept, and the dejected tone of her voice gave her away. "Hermione, what's wrong?" she asked in a gentle soothing voice.
Hermione released a sigh, not keen on telling Ginny what happened. She didn't want to go through the motions again, plus Ginny was still in a relationship with Blaise. If she told her, that might ruin it…but what if Blaise's relationship with Ginny was fake too? What if both boys were playing them all along?
"I really don't want to talk about it Gin" she said pulling the covers over her head.
Ginny tutted, and pulled the covers back. "Come on Hermione, you know you can tell me anything." Still, the brunette refused to say a word. "Does it have something to do with Draco?" she asked, trying to coax it out of her.
"Don't mention that name to me again!" Hermione said angrily, burying her face into the pillow.
'So that's it' Ginny thought to herself. 'The two must have had some major fight.' "Did he do or say something stupid?" Still, she wouldn't say a word. "Did you guys have a fight? I can't help you if you don't tell-"
"Ginny" Hermione sighed, cutting her off. "Listen, I really don't want to talk about it right now, okay? Maybe later, but for right now I just want to forget ever liking that pompous git!"
Ginny nodded understandingly, but stood up from the bed and pulled the covers off her friend. "Okay, if you're not ready to tell me what happened that's fine, but I'm not letting you skip breakfast. You'll need your strength for when we have this conversation later." Her tone was one that held no room for argument, much like that of her mother. With a sigh, Hermione grudgingly got up and quickly got dressed. Upon looking at herself in the mirror, she looked frumpy and miserable, but she just didn't care. She was only going down to appease Ginny, and then she'd come straight back up to her dorm.
The two girls walked out of Gryffindor Tower, and headed towards the Great Hall in silence. Ginny kept sneaking glances at Hermione, trying to figure out just what had happened between her and her boyfriend to make her this upset. Just twenty four hours ago, they were still sneaking around to snog as far as she knew. Hermione willed her eyes ahead, refusing to meet Ginny's glances and trying desperately to keep the memories of last night away.
As they neared the Great Hall, students that began passing them gave them strange looks. Hermione brushed off the first few who did, but when more people passed that looked at her in shock, confusion, or amusement, she knew something was up. Even Ginny was looking at them with a puzzled look on her own features. As they passed more people, the looks continued, but the whisperings started too.
"…can't believe she would do stuff like that…"
"…tension that had been building up for years, but still…"
"…said she was really into all that kinky stuff…"
"…sometimes with multiple partners…"
"Hermione" Ginny asked, puzzlement still on her features, "What's going on? Why is everyone acting so funny around you?"
"I have no idea Gin" she replied, her brows furrowed. Had the stress of NEWTs gotten to the whole castle?
They finally made their way into the Great Hall, and as soon as they did, all conversation stopped as nearly everyone turned to look at the girls, more specifically Hermione. The strange looks increased tenfold, and the whisperings started again, yet all eyes remained fixed on her. She couldn't understand what was going on, but she made her way over to the Gryffindor table where Harry, Ron, and Lavender were. As she sat down, she looked up to see the baffled expressions on Harry and Lavender's faces, and what could only be described as outrage on Ron's.
"Uh, hey guys" she said awkwardly, not quite sure what to do in this bizarre situation.
Harry opened his mouth to say something, but before he could Ron cut in in a low voice. "Hey guys? Is that all you have to say to us?"
"What are you talking about? It's how I always greet you. Why are you acting so strange?"
Ron's left eye twitched, a sign that he was rapidly losing his temper. "We're acting strange? That's rich coming from you! I never expected something like this from you!"
"Ron, what are you talking about?" Ginny asked.
He kept his angry gaze firmly fixed on Hermione. "Nothing Gin, this is between me and Hermione. And the rest of the school it seems. Not only am I shocked that you would do that, but I have to hear it from everyone else at breakfast? What the hell is wrong with you?!"
She didn't know what his problem was, but she wasn't going to sit here and let him talk to her this way. "Nothing is wrong with me Ronald, but there must be something wrong with you if you think I'm just going to sit here and let you talk to me like that. I have no idea what you're talking about, so if you don't explain yourself right now, then I'll-"
"I'm talking about you and bloody Malfoy, that's what I'm talking about!" he spit venomously at her.
Her eyes widened and she gasped. They knew about her and Malfoy's secret relationship. And judging by the way that everyone in the Great Hall seemed straining to hear this conversation, she'd say the rest of the school did too. Oh, that evil snake! He was probably furious that she found out, so told the whole school they were together as some sort of revenge.
She let out a deep sigh. "Ron, listen to me. I know this is a shock for you-"
"So it's true?!" he interrupted, face turning more and more red to accompany the anger, "You admit it?"
"Well, I can't really hide it anymore, now can I? But Malfoy and I are over, so there's-"
"And what about you and Zabini, huh? Or you and Nott? Hell, for that matter, what about you and the entire Slytherin quidditch team? Is it over with all of them too?" Ron asked, voice rising.
Hermione's eyebrows rose almost into her hair. What in the world was he talking about? Even Ginny looked at him in shock. "Ron, I don't-"
"I can't believe you Hermione!" he said furiously, while Harry and Lavender continued looking at her in shock. "How could you do something so disgusting? You could hardly stand to hold my hand when we were together, yet you have no problem jumping into bed with that fucking ferret, or the rest of his slimy Slytherin mates? And on top of that, you let the whole school in on it without saying a word to your so called best friends? Where are your morales?! Have you no decency?"
That's what they all thought?! That she was in some group orgy with the male Slytherins?! Dear Godric, they actually believed that she was some type of slut! "You don't honestly believe that do you Ronald?" she asked in shock. "You really think I would do something like that? I thought you knew me!"
Harry visibly relaxed, glad to see that these were just rumors that they'd heard this morning, but Ron wasn't buying it just yet. "Yeah? Well I thought I did too, but obviously I don't! How can I not believe it? Everyone, and I mean everyone is saying that about you!"
"Well whose word are you going to take?" Hermione asked him in disbelief. "There's, or your best friends?"
"It's your word against hundreds! Who do you expect me to believe?" he yelled.
His words were like a sharp knife in her chest. Harry and Ginny gasped at him, and Ginny began to berate him, but she couldn't hear it over the ringing in her ears. Her two best friends, the ones whom she'd stuck by since first year and who were supposed to know her better than anyone, thought she was some kind of common whore. They wouldn't even let her explain her side of the story.
Was this Malfoy's doing? Had he spread these vicious rumors about her to make it seem like he'd not only won the bet, but ruin her reputation as well? How could she have been so blind? She thought he was different, but he was turning out to be so…evil.
She couldn't stand to be in here for another minute under their judgmental stares and whispers. Quickly she rose from her seat, running as fast as she could from the Great Hall, ignoring Harry's yells of "Hermione, wait!" She thought she'd cried all she could last night, but she was wrong as the tears swam back into her vision and ran down her cheeks.
"…can't believe your idiocy Ronald Weasley! How dare you sit there and accuse her of things like that when you know she'd never do it!" Ginny yelled.
"Well, how am I supposed to know that?" he asked angrily. "What am I supposed to think when I come down for breakfast and everyone is telling me all of these stories?"
"That they're just that! Stories!" she spat back. "You know how the rumor mill is around here! And how can you listen to them over her? She's your best friend! Plus she's the last person who would do anything like that! How could you be so stupid? And, I can tell you for a fact that she never did anything with Zabini, so if that's a rumor, then how could the other stories not be?"
"How do you know for sure about Zabini?" he asked her, getting angry all over again.
"Because I'm dating Blaise!" she yelled back at him.
Harry gave her a surprised look, the rest of the hall let out collective gasps and murmurs, but Ron spluttered, his face now a vivid shade of purple. "YOU WHAT?!"
"You heard me!" she shouted. "I'm dating Blaise, and have been since the beginning of the year! We spend nearly all our free time together, so there's no way he could have been with Hermione!"
"Y-y-you" Ron stuttered, still in a state of shock. "You, what? NO! I refuse to let you date that snake!"
"You have no say in who I can or can't date! I will continue to see him, and for your information dear brother, he asked me to move in with him after graduation, and I accepted!" Blaise, who was sitting at the Slytherin table with Daphne and Theo, looked at her stunned. He'd only asked last night, and she'd said she needed to think about it, but apparently she made her choice.
Ginny shot one last angry glare at him, before getting up and storming out of the hall after her friend. Ron sat with an indignant look on his face for a few seconds before yelling back at her, "No, you can't! He's a Slytherin! They're all evil, manipulative, and deceitful liars that are only interested-"
"DAMNIT RON, THAT'S ENOUGH!"
Everyone (except for Blaise who had gotten up to go after Ginny) turned shocked eyes from the brother and sister to the Boy-Who-Lived, who had slammed his hand down so hard on the table that a few pitchers of pumpkin juice spilled. "Do you hear yourself?" he hissed, lowering his tone so that only those around him could hear. "You're just as bad as they were before the war! You can't get over your prejudices and group them all into the same category as most of their parents. Did you not learn anything from last year? Do you want to go through that again!?"
Ron was too stunned to reply, as he listened to the reprieve he should have received long before now. Harry was probably the only one he listened to, and he only wished he'd set his ill tempered friend straight long before now.
"Yes, some of them may have made mistakes before hand, but only an idiot couldn't see that they've changed! Your line of thinking should have been different when they came to the order and helped fight for the light last year, but Hermione was right! You let your hate for them cloud all common sense." Harry fought to rein his temper back in, but he was so angry with Ron for saying those things to Hermione, and even angrier at himself for just sitting there and not saying anything! He'd been in shock when he heard what had been going around about his female friend, and honestly just didn't know how to respond, but he saw how not responding was just as dumb.
"I don't know how these rumors got out, but I'm not stupid enough to believe that shit about her, or even the Slytherins for that matter." he said shaking his head at the ridiculousness of it all. "Oh, and by the way. I'm dating a Slytherin too." Ron's eyebrows rose so high on his face, they actually did disappear in his hair. "Daphne. She wanted to come out, but I held back because I wasn't sure how you and everyone else would take it. Now I couldn't care less. So if you want to continue being friends with us, I suggest you not only get over your hatred, but make it up to Mione as well."
XOXOXOXOXO
Draco made his way down the corridor towards the Great Hall. He hadn't gotten a wink of sleep last night as he replayed the confrontation between himself and Hermione over and over again. How had she possibly found out about the bet?
Once he'd gotten back to the common room, he angrily approached his friends and demanded to know if they'd told her. Shocked, they'd adamantly told him no and that they had no idea how she could have found out either. He believed them once he calmed down, but he still felt absolutely awful about how hurt Granger had been. He'd avoided going to breakfast because he didn't know what to do, but once he thought about it, he decided he needed to try and talk to her and explain his side of the story. Even if it didn't change anything, he had to at least let her know that it wasn't all fake and that he really did fall for her.
As he was approaching the Great Hall, intent on catching her when she came out, he heard a loud sob and looked up to see the very object of his thoughts running towards him with her head bent and tears streaming down her face. Oh no, there were the tears again! He couldn't explain how broken up it made him feel when he saw her crying, but all he wanted was to fix everything and make it better.
Since she wasn't paying attention, she ran straight into him and looked up as he tried to put his arms around her. "Hermione" he whispered, looking down at her in concern.
She pushed him off her and took a step back. "How could you? How could you spread those horrible rumors about me around? Was it not enough that you broke my heart? Did you think it would be even funnier to have the whole school think of me as some skank, and turn my friends against me? Well congratulations, you got your wish!"
He stared at her in confusion. "Rumors? What are you talking about? Hermione, I haven't said anything about you, I swear! I was just coming to find you so I could-"
"Stop lying to me!" she yelled placing her hands over her ears. She couldn't listen to another word from his deceitful mouth. "Just stop, okay? Don't speak to me, don't look at me, hell don't even think about me! Just stay away from me!"
"Hermione!" a voice called from behind her, and he looked up to see the Weaslette approaching with Blaise behind her. Hermione stepped around him and hurried off down the corridor, with Ginny going after her and shooting an angry look in his direction. He began to turn to go after her again, but Blaise yelled out his name and reached him before he got too far.
"Draco mate, hang on" he said placing a hand on his shoulder. "You need to hear what's been going around."
He furrowed his brow. Why was he acting weird, and why did Hermione keep accusing him of spreading something about her around? "What's going on?" he asked, anger evident in his tone.
"Someone's been spreading some pretty nasty stories" he told him. "They've been saying that you and Granger have been screwing around the school, and that she's been having orgies with us and the quidditch team."
Draco stared at him horrified. What? Someone actually said that shit about Granger? And what's worse, people believed it? "These idiots actually think she'd do something like that?"
Blaise nodded. "Well, not the Slytherins obviously, and a bunch of the Ravenclaws don't, but you know how Hufflepuffs are. You could tell them the sky was red and they'd jump all over that. And apparently, it got back to her friends and Gingie was stupid enough to believe it. They just got into some huge fight and Ginny had to put him in his place."
Draco shook his head. If last night wasn't bad enough, this was even worse. Her heart had been broken, reputation slandered, friends turned against her, and she thought he'd done it to spite her. Someone had to of done this to hurt her, but who? It had to have been the same person that told her about the bet, and he was going to find them and make them very sorry.
People began to leave the hall and were coming straight towards them. As soon as they caught sight of them, they began whispering to themselves and Draco felt his blood boil. A group of three sixth year Hufflepuff girls passed by him and he caught a snippet of their conversation.
"…said that he made her that way. I'd never expect anything like that from someone like Granger, but then again I guess even she was just like all those other girls that he-"
"You!" he said loudly, pointing at the girl and effectively cutting off the rest of her sentence. She gave him a startled look as he came up to her with a sneer on his face, bent to her level, and glared down at her. "Tell me where you heard that ridiculous lie! Now!"
She quivered a little, but spoke. "I-it's what everyone's been saying. I-I heard it from J-Justin Finch Fletchley-y."
He straightened back up, though he kept his intimidating glare and sneer on his features. "If I catch you spreading rumors like that around again, I'll hex you so bad your great grandchildren will feel it, got it?" The girl quickly nodded, too terrified to speak. "Good, now go tell all your friends that none of what's going around is true."
As she scampered off to do his bidding, he looked around for Finch-Fletchley. He was going to find out how this mess got started and by whom, then proceed to ruin them for thinking they could mess with a Malfoy or those they cared about.
XOXOXOXOXO
Hermione hadn't moved from her spot in hours. The debacle this morning had sent her into another fit of hysterics, and seeing Malfoy afterwards had just been too much. Funny, she thought that he would have rubbed it in her face, or at least sneered at her like he always used to, but instead he was still trying to put on an innocent façade. Why? What else was there to possibly gain now that he'd ruined her?
When she'd made it back to her dorm, Ginny had followed her and demanded to know what had happened. She didn't know how, but through the sobs she was able to tell her all about the bet he'd made with his friends and how everything between them had been nothing more than a lie. Ginny was shocked and asked how she'd found out, to which she told her about Pansy. At first she'd been a little skeptical and asked if she was sure Pansy had been telling the truth, but she told her about the fight she and Malfoy'd had last night, confirming the facts. Ginny had held her while she cried, rubbing her back and whispering about how sorry she was to have pushed her into a relationship with him. She then realized that Blaise had a role in this whole dirty business and went to confront him. When she came back an hour later, her eyes were red rimmed too and Hermione blamed herself for causing this rift between them because she knew how much Ginny loved Blaise. It seemed this whole year was nothing but one huge disappointment.
Ginny couldn't sit cooped up in the dorm forever and eventually decided to go for a walk. She'd asked Hermione to come with her, but she couldn't go out there and face all those people who thought she was a whore. She refused and pulled the curtains over her bed to shut herself off as much as she could from the rest of the world. Never in her life had she thrown herself such a pity party, but she couldn't seem to pull herself out of this funk.
How long she'd been laying there on her bed, she didn't know, but she did finally stop crying after a couple hours. She dozed off once or twice, but each time she woke up, thoughts of the last twenty four hours would flash brightly in her mind and cause her to fall deeper into her despair.
She sat contemplating how she was going to avoid everyone when she got on the train tomorrow, when suddenly her curtain was pulled back and the bright light of the dormitory shone brightly in her face, making her squeeze her eyes shut.
"Ginny, I really don't want to be bother-"
"I'm not Ginny, and you need to quit hiding from everyone."
Her eyes opened in surprise as she sat up in bed and looked up to see none other than Lavender looking down at her with an unreadable expression on her face. Oh great was she coming to gloat about how she'd now lost Ron twice, as a boyfriend and a friend? Or maybe just to throw digs at her about being a slut now.
She let out a deep sigh. "If you've come to make fun of me, I'm not in the mood."
"I'm not here to make fun of you" she admitted, looking her in the eye. "Why would I? Those rumors were awful and nobody deserves to have their reputation slandered like that."
This caused Hermione to raise an eyebrow at her. "Rumors? You mean you don't think I did all those things?"
"Of course not" Lavender replied, taking a seat beside her on the bed. "I may not be as smart as you, but I'm not completely daft. I've been your roommate for eight years now, and I notice how when Parvati and I talk about sex you still blush. Not as much as you did when we were younger, but it's still there. If just talking about it makes you like that, then there's no way you've actually been intimate with anyone, let alone with multiple people."
Well, once again Hermione had been wrong. Lavender was most definitely not an airhead. Funny how she knew all this about her, but her own friends didn't.
"Well thanks for believing me I guess. You and Ginny seem to be the only ones" she said miserably.
"Not really" Lavender said, shaking her head. "Most people know it's not true, they just wanted to get all over those stories because they were so crazy. Already it's been going around that there's no way that stuff actually happened. And Ron and Harry believe you too" she added, casting a sideways glance at Hermione. "They were just shocked this morning is all, and you know how Ron can get. Sometimes he puts his foot in his mouth without thinking. Not one of his better qualities" she said with a chuckle.
Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing. How ironic was it that the person trying to comfort and reassure her was someone whom she'd always found annoying and didn't quite get along with. "Why are you being so nice to me?" Hermione couldn't help but ask. "You've never liked me, and since sixth year you've pretty much hated me. What's so different now?"
Lavender let out a dry laugh and turned to fully face her. "You really couldn't see it?"
"See what?"
She just shook her head. "For the brightest witch of her age, you sure are clueless when it comes to matters of the heart. I've been jealous of you all this time."
Well this was certainly news to her. "You've been jealous? Of me? Why?"
"Why not?" she countered. "You're the oh so perfect Hermione Granger! You've got it all; looks, personality, brains, hell you were even able to get the attention of the only boy I've ever loved. How could I not be jealous?" A pained look came across Lavender's face and Hermione wondered just how she'd been so blind.
"You'd been friends since first year with Ron, but you guys never made a move with each other" she said. "I'd had a crush on him since fourth year, but I never did anything because I was so sure he was going to ask you out eventually. I kept waiting, but he never did. So finally I took my chance in sixth year and was elated when he returned my feelings. I thought things were going great between us, but it caused a fight between the two of you and he was always in a mood about it. Then when he called it off, I was heartbroken. I thought maybe he just needed some space, but then he started dating you. Do you know how much it hurt watching seeing you two in the papers and being called 'the golden couple?"
Hermione was speechless. She'd never looked at things from Lavender's point of view, nor did she think about how the breakup had an effect on her. Now, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
"I'm not going to lie, I was incredibly happy when you two broke up. I never stopped loving him. I set out to win him back this year, and it felt so good spending time with him again, but you were always around. I was so scared that you were going to steal him away again that I started doing everything I could to not only keep him but try and drive you away as well. I know it was childish, but I didn't think I could go through that again" tears had formed in her eyes as she looked down. "Even though we're together now, I feel like it's still not enough. For Merlin's sake, his mother still wants the two of you to get back together. Did you know the whole time over Christmas break, she barely said two words to me, and the whole time kept bringing the conversation back to you and when you guys dated? How am I supposed to compete with that? I'm only second best to him, but despite that I can't let him go because I love him!" By now the tears were spilling down Lavender's face, causing Hermione to take pity on the girl.
She put her arms around her and let her cry for a little bit, much like Ginny had done with her. Once she had calmed down, Hermione spoke. "Lavender, I'm sorry that our actions hurt you. That honestly wasn't my intent. But how could you ever think you're only Ron's second choice?" Lavender looked at her in shock, opening her mouth to argue, but Hermione shook her head.
"No, I'm serious. You were never his second choice, you were always his first. The entire time we were together, he was always talking about you and comparing the two of us. I made him feel intimidated and always got so frustrated with him, but you made him feel like he really mattered. He does, but he's someone who needs to constantly hear it. The only reason we got together in the first place is because it's what everyone expected of us. Friends, families, the wizarding world, everyone! If Molly hadn't of pushed him so much, I don't think we ever would have gone out in the first place. By the way, if it makes you feel any better, you must have really shown her how much you care about her son because I haven't gotten a letter from her since Christmas."
Lavender seemed surprised by that, and by what Hermione had said in general. "He really used to talk about me?"
"Yes!" she said with a faint smile. "It's half of the reason we fought so much. He was nowhere near over you, and he resented me for him letting you go. He's still crazy about you, just ask Ginny and Harry. When you two aren't together, you're all he talks about. When you're around, he's brighter and happier and anyone can see how much he loves you too."
Her words seemed to bring Lavender's usual over the top cheerfulness back as the girls separated. "By the way, I'm sorry for being such a bitch to you all these years" she said quietly.
Hermione waved it off. "I'm sorry I got in the way the first time. And thank you for tonight."
Lavender nodded. "So…you and Malfoy?"
Hermione shook her head. "I really don't want to talk about it." Thoughts of the blonde brought her misery back.
Lavender gave an understanding nod. "Okay. But you can't hide from them forever."
She knew that, but she still didn't really feel like going down to dinner and facing everyone tonight. When she came back after the Easter break on Monday, maybe she'd be ready then, but for now couldn't even think of him without tearing up.
XOXOXOXOXO
Draco stormed down the corridor and into the Great Hall. One look at the blonde had everyone scrambling to get out of his way, his anger and rage evident on his face and in his walk. Not even his fan club was dumb enough to try and approach him.
It had taken him nearly all day to finally track the source of the rumor down. He'd had to ask people one at a time, while threatening them not to spread anymore of the filthy slander around, and he found that most of the people he asked were Hufflepuffs. He'd realized that it had been started at the party they hosted last night, but the only problem was people had been drinking and couldn't necessarily pin point exactly who had done it.
He'd been frustrated, but refused to give up. Finally, he had been able to find one Hufflepuff who hadn't been sloshed out of their mind, Hannah Abbot. She hadn't been spreading the rumors, but she'd overheard Draco interrogating a fifth year who looked like they were seconds from pissing themselves, and calmly stepped in.
She told Draco that while she didn't have proof, she did notice that the rumors first started flying around when one person in particular showed up to the party. Having sat close to the portrait hole to listen for teachers, she'd had to stay sober and had a very good memory too, and when she told him who it was, he could have kicked himself for not realizing it sooner.
Pansy.
No sooner had the words fallen from Hannah's mouth than he took off to confront the bitch, and his timing couldn't have been more perfect. Dinner had begun ten minutes ago, and everyone would be there to see this.
He stood in the doorway, looking over at the Slytherin table until he spotted his target. She was sitting on the end, playing footsy it looked like with some prepubescent fourth year. Eyes never leaving his target, he briskily walked right up behind her, while Blaise, Daphne, Theo, and a few other Slytherins watched him curiously.
"Parkinson" he spat at her.
She stopped what she was doing and froze for a couple of seconds, before turning around to face him. "Drakie" she said sarcastically. "I would say this is a pleasant surprise, but I don't care much to be in the presence of blood traitors."
"And I don't care much for being in the presence of jealous skanks, but since you can't seem to keep yourself from spreading lies, I figured I needed to set you straight."
His words were loud enough to attract the attention of a few more people, who started elbowing their friends and pointing to the scene that was about to take place. Pansy didn't seem to notice as she only smirked at him.
"Well Draco, looks like you caught me."
"So it was you who started those filthy rumors. Why'd you do it? I know you hate me, but why not just spread shit about me? why drag her into this?" he asked through clenched teeth.
She fixed him with a glare. "Because Draco, I had to hit you where it hurt. I couldn't really say much about you, seeing as that wouldn't really matter much to everyone, but the girl you've fallen in love with? Now that is something I could work with." She pretended to examine her cuticles, as though this conversation bored her to no end."You know, the next time you call off a bet, you probably shouldn't do it in open territory, where anyone can hear you. Say like, the common room?"
He clenched his fists at his sides. "You heard all of that, so you knew how I felt about her, but you didn't tell her that part when you revealed the bet last night."
"Must have slipped my mind" she said casually, then stood up. "Well, as delightful as this was, I can't stand to be in your presence any longer. I really must be on my way." She went to take a step, but he stopped her.
"You think I'm letting you just get away with this?" he hissed at her, trying very hard not to punch her ugly pug face in.
"I already have" she told him haughtily. "Even if the rumors get retracted, you still lost her. She won't speak to you ever again, and she'll never know how much you love her." She folded her arms and smiled at him. "I told you I'd make you regret this Draco. You should have listened to me then."
"And I told you not to cross me" he reminded her, his own devious smirk forming on his face. This caused her look to falter, knowing that expression on his face all too well. Something was about to happen, and she had to get out of here before it did.
"Like I said, I have to get going-"
"Oh, but Pansy, what's the rush" he asked loudly, causing every eye in the Great Hall to be fixated on them. "What's possibly so important that you have to leave right at this minute?"
Her face turned red from the embarrassment of all eyes on them, and she began to squirm. Perfect. He had her right where he wanted her.
"Could it be perhaps that you're headed to the Hospital Wing?" he said, voice only rising. Her eyes widened. No! She'd been drunk when she accidentally let that slip, but he'd never told anyone. He wouldn't possibly say anything about that now…would he?
"You have to take your potion don't you. You know for your condition." Low murmurs started as people began to speculate, and she realized much too late that she should have never said anything to the mudblood in the first place. "Draco, listen to me-" she tried pleading.
His smirk grew wider. "Funny thing about your condition Pans, did you know there's no way to cure it? The only thing the potion does is keep you from spreading it, as long as you take it at the right time. But then, you haven't been taking it consistently now have you?"
She knew then exactly what he was going to do, but she tried one last vain attempt to convince him not to. "Draco, please don't-"
"Must be so hard living with Syphilis, isn't it?"
Gasps echoed all around the hall, even from the head table where the professors were trying to hear what was going on. At Draco's announcement, color started to drain from the faces of a few males from all four houses whom had been with Pansy this year, and the boy who she'd been playing footsy with earlier let out a disgusted cry and moved down the table as far away from her as he could get.
Pansy's face was so red, Draco actually thought he could feel the heat coming off of it, but he wasn't done yet. "Such a shame Pansy, that you've contracted such a horrible disease at such a young age, but it's not your fault is it? Being a whore runs in your family, right? Like mother, like daughter."
Okay, now she knew for a fact that she'd never let this slip to him, even when she was drunk. She'd never told anybody, so it was impossible for him to know, right? RIGHT?!
"It's actually kinda funny if you think about it" he said, drawing out the suspense and making everyone sit on the edge of their seats in anticipation to see what else he was going to reveal about her. "You, who didn't fight in the war or see the things we all had to, continue to spit out your idiotic ideals on blood supremacy when the chances of you being-"
"Draco, stop please" she begged.
"..a pureblood are…"
"Draco no-"
"…almost nonexistent? Because isn't it true that your mother had an affair with a muggle from Ireland when your father was doing business there, right around the time you were conceived? He nearly left her when he found out, but she swore up and down that the baby was his. Quite hard to believe when years later she let it slip to Daphne's mom, who then let it slip to mine, that you actually favor the other man more. That makes you a half-blood Pans. So by your own standards, you have no right to be in this school."
A pin drop could have been heard in the room it was so quiet. No one had been expecting that. Pansy, ice queen and most prejudiced student in school, was not a pureblood. Not only that, but she had an incurable STD, and had more than likely spread it with her inconsistency to take the potion.
A squeaking sound came from her, and she tried to dart around Draco to exit the hall, but he grabbed her arm tightly before she made it another step.
"Listen close you ignorant bloody trollop" he said through clenched teeth, though everyone could still hear him. "If you ever utter one derogatory syllable about Hermione ever again, I will personally see to it that your whole family is forever shamed not only in Britain, but the whole globe as well. With the influence we still hold in the pureblood circle, you know I could do it, so don't bloody test me. Hermione is a hundred times the witch you'll ever be, muggleborn or not, and has more magical talent in her fucking pinky then you have in your entire Syphilis infested body. In fact, if I were you, I'd see about trying to make amends with her, because she just might be the one to find the cure for your inferior condition." With that, he shoved her away, gave a sneer to the rest of the school who was still watching him, and stormed out of the Great Hall.
Five seconds of absolute silence passed before conversation exploded throughout the Great Hall about what had just happened. The rumors from this morning had completely dissipated, and the drama that had just unfolded was everyone's current topic. A few of the boys whom had been shocked when they heard about Pansy's condition, inconspicuously started to leave, no doubt going down to get themselves checked.
Harry, Ron, and Ginny sat in complete silence, thinking over Malfoy's words. He'd stood up for and defended Hermione's honor. Not only that, but the pureblooded prince had praised a muggleborn's talent, not caring of his reputation or pride. The Malfoy they'd known in years prior would have chopped his own nose off before he did something like that, but obviously he had changed. Even Ron, who'd been thinking over things since Harry's harsh words this morning, couldn't accuse his arch nemesis of any type of ulterior motive.
Making a quick decision, Harry got up and jogged out of the Great Hall. He looked around, and only by pure chance caught sight of the black billowing robes of Malfoy heading out the front doors and across the lawn.
Draco walked into the warm night air towards the black lake. Once he got there, he stared out across it deep in thought. He'd exacted his revenge on Pansy, but it didn't feel as good as it should've. Even though he'd put her in her place, it didn't change anything. Hermione still hated him and would probably never speak to him again.
"Malfoy!"
He let out a frustrated sigh, and turned around to face the second most annoying Gryffindor, right after Weasley. "What do you want Potter?" he asked angrily.
"I want to know what the bloody hell that was all about" Harry responded angrily.
He sent a glare the chosen one's way. "What did it look like Scarhead? The bitch tried to pull one over on me, and I got her back. Has Weasel's stupidity rubbed off on you, or do you need new glasses?"
Harry gave him his own glare. "I meant the bit about Hermione. Ginny told me all about the bet you've had going on. I figured you were the one to have spread all that mess about her."
"Well obviously you thought wrong. Wouldn't be the first time now would it?"
Quick as a flash, Harry whipped his wand out and pointed it straight at Draco. "Do you know how bad you hurt her ferret? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't hex your sorry arse from here to France."
Any other time, Draco would have pulled his wand right back out on Harry and commence with a duel. But reminding him of just what he'd done to Hermione made his feelings of guilt come back, and he turned back to face the lake. "I have no reason Potter. So go ahead, hex me. I'd probably do the same thing in your situation."
Those most definitely were not the words Harry had expected to hear. Slowly, he lowered his wand as he watched his former enemy plop himself down on the bank by the lake. He looked…broken. He'd never seen Malfoy not carry himself tall with all that arrogance and pride. It was then that he finally saw it.
"You…you really care about Hermione, don't you?" he asked.
Draco let out a dry laugh. "I more than bloody care about her, though it doesn't matter now."
Even though he wouldn't say it, Harry knew exactly what he meant. He loved her. He didn't think someone like Malfoy was capable of love, and never expected him to have it for a muggle born like Hermione, but here it was right before his very eyes. Perhaps the war did have more of an effect on him than he let on.
He tried to think of something to say, as the atmosphere was getting awkward quickly. "Oh. Well… it looks like you and I both are on her bad side at the moment… she wouldn't talk to me earlier either."
Draco scoffed. "Yeah, but she's been mad at you before and you've made up. She'll never forgive me for this."
Harry didn't know what more he could say, not exactly wanting to comfort him, but not exactly hating him anymore. He stood there for a couple of seconds, then began walking away.
"Potter" Draco called, keeping his gaze on the lake. He listened to the footsteps stop, knowing he had his attention. "Daphne wasn't in on the bet. She told us it was cruel and to stop. Don't be mad or take anything out on her, because for some strange reason, she actually likes you a lot."
Only parts of that were true, but unlike him, Daphne had honestly had good intentions. She'd never been okay with the bet, but tried to use it in a positive way to get him to fall for Hermione. It had worked, and it was only his stupidity and pride that got him in the mess he was in now. Just because he'd screwed everything up with Granger, didn't mean he was going to ruin Daphne's happiness as well.
AN: Trust me, I hated all the sad parts in this chapter just as much as you did. I do have to ask though, did anyone see that coming with Pansy? I was worried I'd made it too obvious with how many times I had her in or coming out of the Hospital Wing, but no one ever commented, and I'm just curious. Bet you're all just glad she got owned : ) Please review!