Chapter Twenty-Eight: A Few Wild Theories
After trying, and failing, to reach Draco for hours that night, Hermione finally gave up. Harry, Ron, and Ginny all picked up on her sour mood the next day, but thankfully she was able to pass it off as homework-related stress. She had missed an entire day of classes, so they seemed to believe her.
She told herself why he wasn't talking to her. She told herself over and over that when Crabbe and Goyle had attacked her that evening, Draco's fears - and hers as well - had been confirmed. Fraternizing with one another made them targets. Hermione could handle it, having been Harry Potter's best friend for nearly six years now, but for Draco it was different.
It still hurt.
He no longer made eye contact in class or in the corridor, and this time around, Hermione didn't try to change it. For all intents and purposes she stopped looking at Draco, too… As long as anyone else paid attention, anyway. Sometimes she snuck a glance his way during Potions, but even that became risky; these days, it seemed that Blaise always had an eye on Hermione.
One afternoon, about a week after she left the hospital wing, Hermione headed for the library. She had a free period after Ancient Runes and wanted to get a head-start on an essay for Professor McGonagall.
Staring down at her books, which she juggled rather precariously, Hermione didn't see the tall figure just outside the library doors.
"Mph!" she gasped, having walked directly into someone. A pair of strong hands steadied her, and for a brief, euphoric moment, Hermione thought it might be - but no, it wasn't Draco. Hermione looked up into the exceedingly handsome face of Blaise Zabini.
"I'm sorry," she said, bending down to gather her books. To her surprise, he did the same.
"Don't worry about it," he replied. His voice was low and smooth, exactly what you'd expect from such an attractive person. No wonder girls couldn't stop talking about him. "Actually, I've been hoping to run into you. Er, figuratively speaking."
They stood, exchanging a few papers and textbooks, before Blaise ventured to continue. "I still feel bad, about… You know."
"I told you, it wasn't your fault," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "Honestly, I don't know why you'd think it was."
"It's not like I knew what they were up to… I just can't help but thinking, if I'd been a better friend to Draco these last few weeks, we would've realized something." Blaise stared at the floor. He dropped his voice to just above a whisper. "He really cares about you, you know."
Hermione felt her heart flutter, but she tried to ignore it. "He's had me wondering about that… It's hard to tell, with him." She chewed on her lip, not sure what to say now. It felt strange to speak so comfortably with Blaise, considering they'd never really interacted before. "I don't suppose it matters, though, it's not like it changes anything."
"Yes it does," Blaise said. "The closer he gets to you, the further away he gets from - from his father, and from -"
"From Voldemort," Hermione finished. She watched Blaise's eyes flash with shock, but he blinked it away immediately.
"Yeah. From him."
"Do you really mean that?" Hermione asked quietly. "You think it's a good thing for us to be together?"
Blaise sighed. "I don't know. I know he gets better when he's with you, but after last week… I don't know what to think. Maybe 'safe' and 'good' aren't the same thing right now."
They fell into silence again, and Hermione chewed over the poignancy of Blaise's words. Maybe these days their choices weren't right versus wrong, they were right versus safe. She still knew exactly what to choose.
"Oy!"
The pair looked up, only to spot a very suspicious-looking Ron Weasley headed up the corridor. He had his eyes narrowed, glancing between Hermione and Blaise quickly.
"Can we help you?" he spat, standing beside Hermione. She rolled her eyes, then gave Blaise an apologetic look.
"I doubt it, Weasley," Blaise replied smoothly. "Granger and I were just comparing notes for Sinistra's end-of-year exam. Care to have a look?"
Ron clenched his jaw, clearly conflicted. On the one hand, he'd love to tell Zabini off. On the other, he'd love to forget that end-of-year exams existed entirely.
"I'll be on my way then," Blaise said. He gave a short nod to Hermione as he walked past.
"Bye, Blaise," Hermione said. She didn't see the look of utter incredulity on Ron's face, but maybe that was for the better.
…
"You've been avoiding me."
Pansy hopped onto the leather sofa beside Draco, pushing his books aside and tucking her legs underneath her. She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. "And don't pretend I'm interrupting something, we both know you're not really reading that book."
Draco, despite knowing she was right - he'd been holding up a book on dragons for the last hour, though he'd barely turned a page - huffed in agitation. He tossed the book aside, scowling.
"Maybe I was enjoying some alone time," he said, though he couldn't make the words sound harsh.
Pansy ignored him, though, and hugged his arm. It was something that always aggravated Draco to no end, that she had no limits to the affection she'd bestow on her friends. Right now, though, he needed it. She held his elbow tightly, like she was determined to make him happy via osmosis alone.
"I miss you, Draco," Pansy told him, surprisingly sincere.
He didn't reply.
He'd missed Pansy terribly over the last few weeks, her and Blaise both, but couldn't bring himself to talk to them. Any time he considered it, he remembered Hermione's attack, and that was enough to push them away. He couldn't risk getting any more of his friends hurt.
"We've been talking about you, you know," Pansy said, unruffled by Draco's silence. "Blaise and I. Theo sometimes, too, but he doesn't understand like we do. We all know what you're trying to do, and we've decided not to let you do it."
"Do what?" Draco asked.
"Keep us away," she answered. "I know you're afraid, but we all are. And it won't be your fault if something bad happens, so stop being such a bloody martyr and let us in. Besides, you need to take me shopping again, Theo is shite with that stuff."
Draco had to smile. It was a perfectly Pansy way of ending that train of thought.
"We're not going to give up on you," Pansy continued. "Never. Even if we don't know what's going on with you, even if we haven't talked in months, we'll be here for you."
Without realizing it, Draco's eyes had begun to water. He blinked rapidly, trying to will away the tears - Merlin, he'd been crying too much lately - and he steeled himself against the onslaught of relief and hope he felt. This was all well and good, but it didn't change the facts. It didn't change that the people he loved most would end up in danger if he did something wrong. One fuck-up could put Pansy or Blaise in the crosshairs.
"Talk to me," Pansy urged.
Draco took a deep breath. It would be nice to have his friends back, even just for the moment.
"I've been a right git, haven't I?" he asked.
"Naturally," Pansy said, perking up. "But what's new?"
Smirking, Draco thought back on all the things he'd missed out on recently. They had a lot to catch up on.
"How are things with him, anyway?" he asked. "Theo, I mean. You sound happy."
"Oh, they're great," Pansy said, blushing deeply. "I really like him, Draco. I really, really like him."
"I can tell," Draco said. "You barely leave his side. And yes, I've been paying enough attention to notice that." He readjusted on the couch, resting his cheek on the top of Pansy's head. What he'd give for it to be Hermione curled up against him… But thinking about her wouldn't do him any good. It hurt.
"You should show me your patronus sometime," Draco said suddenly. "I can't believe you can conjure one - most students graduate Hogwarts and still can't do it."
Pansy brightened at that, perfectly happy to give Draco a demonstration. Their conversation devolved into chatting about classes, exams, and quidditch, and by that time Theo had joined in. The burly Slytherin settled onto the far side of the couch, totally unperturbed at seeing his girlfriend cuddled up with someone else. Draco had prepared to apologize profusely, but Pansy merely kissed Theo on the cheek, moved to lean against him instead, and the conversation resumed without a hitch. Apparently Theo knew his girlfriend had two "brothers" in their year, and he granted them plenty of leeway without question.
At some point, Theo mentioned Crabbe and Goyle, who no one saw after classes anymore. He marveled at their detention schedule.
"I mean, I knew Snape was strict," Theo said, not noticing how very still Draco had gone. "I just didn't think a professor could give you that much detention. It's been all day every day for the last week, and only letting them off for classes." Theo chuckled. "You should've seen him. Snape was livid."
"I don't even know what they did," Pansy said.
"Well they broke into his storeroom, of course." A new voice spoke this time, and Pansy craned her neck to see. She smiled excitedly.
Blaise had just entered the common room, and he already held the rapt attention of the other three. Draco, for his part, held his breath. He knew the truth couldn't possibly be out there, so it would be interesting to see how believable the made-up version was.
Without missing a beat, Blaise sat on the floor in front of the couch. He pulled a bag of sweets from his pocket and tossed it to Pansy, who clapped happily and shared with Theo and Draco.
"Apparently, they had it in their heads to brew some potion - don't look at me, I have no idea what or why," Blaise said, holding up his hands briefly. "Maybe Vince could pull off a decent potion, but we all know Greg would muck it up for the both of them. Anyway, they broke in, and started taking everything they could see. Didn't think to bring a list, or so I hear.
"That's where they hit a snag. Snape's got all his rooms warded, so he knew something was up. So there they are, Greg trying to lift Vince up to the top shelf - once again, not their brightest idea, considering Vince probably weighs a good hundred kilos - and here comes Snape, descending upon his unsuspecting prey -" At this, Blaise pulled his cloak up over his head and threw out his arms in an uncanny impression of a bat. Even Draco had to laugh.
"But somehow, they got away!" Blaise said, and a hush fell over the group of friends. At some point this had stopped being the story of how Vince and Greg got stuck in detention, and became the epic retelling of two thieves and their near-escape. Pansy leaned forward, fully engrossed, popping jelly beans into her mouth.
"According to the legends, Snape would have had them if it weren't for a moment of fleeting genius on Greg's part. He let go of Vince, who, holding onto the highest shelf with all his might, brought down the entire storeroom. The cabinets came crashing down, and Snape had no choice but to watch in total awe as his precious ingredients perished in a cloud of dust."
Blaise gave the best bow he could, considering that he still sat on the floor, while Pansy and Theo gave a round of applause. Draco clapped slowly, catching Blaise's eye - it didn't matter anymore if the story was believable, at least not to the others. As with most things, it seemed that laughter had solved their problem.
...
Harry and Ron sat in front of the fireplace, hurriedly scribbling at essays (where were due the next morning and probably should've been finished ages ago) while the rest of their classmates gradually shuffled upstairs to get some sleep. Even Hermione had gone to bed already, but Ron was glad for that. Ever since that afternoon, he'd had something on his mind, and he just couldn't concentrate with her right there.
"Done," Harry said, dropping his quill. "I'm never going to procrastinate again. Why do we keep doing this to ourselves?"
"Oh, you know, not many near-death experiences lately." Ron shrugged. "Guess we need something to keep things exciting."
Harry laughed, gathering up his parchment and putting it in his bookbag. He reclined on the couch, letting himself get lost in thought.
"Hey Ron?" he asked.
"Yeah?"
"Have you noticed anything? About Hermione?" Harry glanced at his friend, who looked as exhausted as he felt. "I just feel like something's up with her. Something's off."
"Yeah," Ron said. "I've noticed." He scrunched his face up, thinking about how to voice his theory without sounding completely crazy. "I - er - I think I know what's going on, but it sounds batshit."
"Go on," Harry said cautiously.
Ron cleared his throat. "Well… Okay, to be totally honest, I think she's seeing someone, and she's not telling us because she knows we won't like it. Someone, like…"
"Like?"
"Er… Someone like Blaise Zabini."
The look of concern on Harry's face made Ron want to backpedal, not knowing if Harry was concerned for Ron's sanity or Hermione's. Ron guessed the former.
"Look, just think about it," Ron said quickly. "Any time you talk about Malfoy - Zabini's best mate - she jumps in to defend him. You even told me that she blew your cover at the apparition lessons, right? Like she didn't want you to hear what Malfoy was talking about? Well, what makes you think they aren't both in on it together?" Ron swallowed, gaining traction in his argument. "I mean, we saw Zabini at The Three Broomsticks the day Katie got cursed. We know it was probably Malfoy, but then where was he? Maybe Malfoy's been teaming up with his good pal Zabini to get his secret projects done."
Harry stared back in silence.
"Oh, right," Ron added, "And I saw them talking earlier. They were acting a bit - er - familiar."
Once Ron had finished, Harry found himself speechless. He wanted to argue, but found that nothing in particular came to mind as evidence against Ron's claim. Hermione had been distant, and Harry caught her staring off in Zabini's direction every once in a while during class.
"But - why?" Harry said, blinking. "I mean, I know he's smart - but why would Hermione fancy him of all people? He's a Slytherin."
Ron shrugged. "Girls. They make no sense."
"Yeah," Harry said, leaning back into the sofa. "I guess they really don't."
Author's Note: Hey guys. I'm sorry this one is a bit shorter, but I think the next chapter is going to be kind of big and I wasn't sure there will be a good stopping point for it. That's right, we're talking "Chapter Twenty-Nine: Sectumsempra."
I hope you like the little developments here, and mostly just a chapter to include some more Pansy/Draco friendship and a bit of Ron and Harry. A few of the past reviews I've received mentioned that they liked the Pansy/Draco/Blaise friendship, so I thought it was time to pull that back in.
Thank you to those of you who have reviewed since the hiatus. You're really wonderful, and I love getting feedback. I invite you to be open with your criticism as well, since I'm writing fanfiction mostly to hone my writing skills. Let me know what you think about this one, if you get a chance.
Love you all,
Penny
