Story: New Events

Author: LadyLissaLight

Summary: "The Tri-wizard Tournament is to be held again" - "I could get any girl." "Even Granger?" "Yep." "I dare you to seduce her." "Done." - "Hermione, who are you going to the ball with?" "... Draco Malfoy." "WHAT?" Please read!

"Hermione!" "HERMIONE! RON!" Hermione and Ron turned as they collected their bags, and spotted two people waving frantically at them, one sporting bright red hair, the other bespectacled.

Dropping her bags, Hermione rushed towards Harry and Ginny, and when she reached them, pulled them into a hug, feeling overjoyed by the sight of her friends.

"Oh Hermione, we missed you so much!" Ginny said, almost strangling her. Harry just squeezed her extra tightly, looking extremely happy, before yelling "RON!" as the other redhead joined the circle of hugging.

As she stepped away from her friends, Hermione felt an odd sense of sadness as she looked up at Hogwarts. She was home though, and that was all that mattered.

XXXXXX

Classes started straight away, and Hermione was extremely pleased to see that she had kept up with everything they'd been learning at Hogwarts, and was still ahead of her classmates. The NEWTS were in just over two weeks, and she planned to spend every second studying.

A week passed and the students drifted back into their normal routines, and friendship groups. Hermione missed sharing a common room with Anthony, as they hardly got to talk or see each other anymore. She had, though, astounded the other Gryffindor's with her new clothes, finding their shocked reactions amusing.

But as happy as she was to be home, she missed Draco more than anything. It hurt to see him in the library, studying, and to remember the times when they'd sat together. She hated seeing him in the hallways, with Blaise on one side and Pansy on the other. Pansy. That was something else that she hated about being back. The girl was drooling over Draco even more these days, and he seemed to make no move to push her away, merely seeming bored with her presence. At least, that's what Hermione thought.

XXXXXX

Draco stifled a sneer as Pansy clung to his arm on the way to potions. Honestly, the girl was completely stupid, as well as being a vapid bitch. Having not terrorised anyone in nearly 6 months, it felt odd to see her bullying the Hufflepuff's and bitching about the Ravenclaw's with Daphne Greengrass. Not to mention she'd seemed to have forgotten the words they'd had at the beginning of the year, as she was now acting as insufferable as before.

They'd just arrived outside the classroom to see Potter, Weasley, Dean Thomas, Lavender Brown, and Hermione standing there, chatting. He frowned at the sight of Hermione. Had she always looked so distant, troubled? He desperately hoped that what was bothering her was the same thing that was bothering him. Seeing her around with her two bodyguards and Weaslette, laughing and joking, killed him a little bit. He'd been right of course, she'd been welcomed back like the Gryffindor Princess she was, and he missed her so much.

"Look at Granger, she thinks that just because she's shortened her skirt that someone will actually like her," Pansy sneered, "Little bookworm trying to fit in. What a laugh."

Draco snapped. Turning on Pansy, he growled, "Pansy, we are done. We are not a couple, nor do I like you in any way. Stay away from me, I've had it with your immature gossiping Got it?" he snarled at her frightened face.

"But Drake!" she burst into tears. "I thought you didn't mean what you said at the start of the year!"

"I meant every word. You are not my girlfriend, ok?"

"Is there someone else?" Pansy sniffled.

"Actually, yes," he said coldly, before thinking shit, Hermione was probably watching that. "So piss off." He lapsed into silence, crossing his arms across his chest.

Thankfully, Slughorn entered the hallway from the other end and opened the door for the students to enter.

XXXXXX

"What was that about?" Harry muttered as they took their usual seats. "Malfoy, rejecting Pansy? Next thing Slughorn will be naming Ron best in the class." He whispered, joking.

Ron mock glared at him before grinning, but Hermione remained silent. Her heart was rejoicing at Draco's words, and though he hadn't looked at her once during his speech, she was certain it was her he had been speaking of. She glanced over at him, talking with Blaise, and couldn't repress a smile.

"Are you ok, Hermione?" Ron asked, frowning.

"Yes of course." She replied. "Ssh."

Slughorn began his lecture on a solidifying draught, and Hermione did her best to listen attentively. It was really very interesting, she thought, taking notes, but it was quite irritating having Harry and Ron whispering next to her about Draco.

When Slughorn concluded his lecture, he beamed at them all, saying, "Alright now, for this potion, I would like you to sit with someone from the opposite house! Now go!"

Both sides of the room paused; horrified that Slughorn had asked them to sit with their worst enemies. Hermione, on the other hand, was beginning to get very nervous. Who was she going to sit with? She knew, immediately, who she wanted to sit with, but she doubted it would happen.

Cautiously the class stood up and the Gryffindors approached the Slytherins. She noticed Lavender making her way towards Draco and sighed internally, as she'd lost her chance.

Until… "No Brown, I'll not have my potion brought down by your underachieving," he drawled, and Lavender looked hurt, instead sitting down next to Pansy.

Draco looked up, his silvery eyes showing what his face did not, and met her gaze. It was their first eye contact since the return to Hogwarts, and it made her chest hurt.

Then, "Granger," a smirk slid across his handsome face. "Come here, you'll be my partner. Just try not to get any of that hair in the potion, hm?"

Ron, who was sitting with Blaise, glared at him, and Harry, with Tracey Davis, opened his mouth to say something, but Hermione got in first, replying, "Only if you promise not to drip any hair gel in" before crossing the room and sliding into the seat next to him.

Hermione opened her potions book, not looking at Draco, and then said, "I guess I'll go collect the ingredients then."

"I'll do it," he said. "You have fun memorising the potion." It was said in not quite a sneer, but it had once been a joke between them, that Hermione could memorise a potion or spell in under five minutes.

Unfortunately, Hermione was too busy staring at Draco's back as he walked towards the potions cupboard, and then thinking about him when he was inside it, to memorise anything.

When he came back, he muttered, "Look at me."

She did so, and her breath hitched. He was looking at her like he had after the first task, right before he kissed her. That wonderful look where his eyes showed all his emotion and he looked even more handsome than usual. "Yes?" she breathed.

"Nothing, I was just checking that you're still in love with me," he leant back, smirking.

Hermione felt herself go red and she didn't reply, instead choosing to cut up their flobberworms. He'd been making fun of her. She told herself this was how it was, he was Draco Malfoy and she couldn't expect him to be nice to her.

"Because I'm still very much in love with you," he continued in a low voice, all traces of smirk gone. She looked up so fast that her neck hurt. It was the second time he'd said that, and it filled her with absolute wonder and joy when he did.

She met his eyes and he smiled at her, a real smile, not a smirk, one that she hadn't seen on him since they'd gotten back to the castle.

"So… the someone else you told Pansy about…"

He sighed. "I did that before I realised what I was doing. I'm supposed to be keeping away from you. We shouldn't even be talking, it makes it harder."

"I'm glad we are," she murmured. "I… miss you."

He let out a breath, and his hand found hers under the table. "Me too."

Slughorn passed by their table and frowned. "Mr Malfoy, Miss Granger. Too busy arguing to do any work?"

"Something like that, Sir," Draco sneered, immediately back in the Slytherin role.

"Hmph, well I expect as the two best students, you'll be able to catch up!"

The rest of the lesson was spent in silence as they worked.

XXXXXX

"How was working with Malfoy?" Harry asked sympathetically.

"Fine," Hermione shrugged.

"Fine! We noticed him being horrible to you," Ron pushed in.

"He wasn't really," she said non-committedly.

"You aren't still friends with him, are you?" Ron asked suspiciously.

"What?" Harry sounded surprised.

"Oh yeah, Hermione and Malfoy and Zabini were like Fred and George and Lee," Ron nodded, "At Beauxbatons they were always together. Even went to the Yule Ball together."

"Ron, please shut up." Hermione hissed.

"Hermione, really? Why didn't you say anything?" Harry asked,

Hermione had no answer; she just turned around and walked away, wanting to find Ginny.

Ginny knew exactly what had happened, and how Hermione was feeling, since the latter had kept her updated by Owl post, and talking to her would make Hermione feel much better.

Hermione found her in the library, studying, which in itself was rather odd, as Ginny didn't really like studying.

"Gin?" she sat down opposite the girl, who went bright red.

"Er, yes, Hermione?" she asked, glancing back at the shelves.

"Is something wr-" Hermione started to ask, but broke off as someone appeared through the shelves.

"You could always use a love potion, I guess – oh! Hermione!"

"Blaise," she narrowed her eyes. "What are you two doing?"

"Nothing," Ginny said hurriedly.

"And I thought you hated Blaise now."

"I do," she said hastily. "But… He's helping me with something."

"Correction: Weasley is helping me with something."

"The only thing you two have in common is Draco and I," Hermione said pointedly, and Ginny sighed.

"Why did you have to be born the smartest person on the planet," she complained. Blaise just grinned.

"We've meddled before, and we'll meddle again, Hermy."

"We were trying to figure out a way for you and Draco to get back together."

"We weren't even together," Hermione said.

Blaise and Ginny rolled their eyes in sync. "Oh please. You kissed, more than once, and Drake was going to ask you to be his girlfriend on your little village date."

"He was?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah." Blaise folded his arms. "And you both have feelings for each other; you just won't do anything about it."

"I…" Hermione searched for something to say. "I've forgiven him, you know."

Blaise raised an eyebrow, but Ginny nodded. "Already knew that."

"And today in potions," she sighed, putting her face in her hands. "What am I going to do?"

"What happened in potions?" Asked Ginny and Blaise told her. "Oh. Well, you love him, he loves you back. Be together."

"It isn't that simple!" she groaned. "I have expectations to follow! And your stupid brother, Ginny, just told Harry about how close Draco and I were at Beauxbatons! Now I'll be in for it!"

"You're ashamed," Blaise stated bluntly.

"What?

"You're ashamed to be with Draco, because all your friends will think its weird, and will possibly disown you, and he's a Slytherin, the enemy, and even though you love him, you're too ashamed to be with him, because you're the Gryffindor Princess." Blaise shot her a disgusted look.

"I am not," Hermione replied weakly. Was it true? Was she ashamed?

Just then there were calls of "Hermione!" and the three of them looked around to see Harry and Ron coming towards them.

"Zabini, what are you doing here?" Harry asked.

Blaise gave Hermione that plainly said 'prove you aren't ashamed of having a Slytherin friend' and she glared at him.

"Actually, Blaise and Ginny and I were just talking," she said coolly, reminding herself of the beginning of the year when she'd been talking to Blaise and Draco and Harry and Ron had been angry. That conversation was what had started everything.

"Blaise?" Ron asked dumbly.

"Yes, dumbat," Ginny snapped. "Blaise," she jerked her thumb at the older boy. "The one standing right there."

"Hermione, we need to talk," said Harry.

"Well, right now I'm sitting with Blaise and Gin. We can talk later," she said.

"You're choosing a Slytherin over us?" Harry said blankly. "Right."

"We'll see you around, Hermione."

They left, muttering to each other.

"See," Hermione said miserably. "And that's just from being friends with you. And they don't hate you nearly as much as they do Draco."

Blaise shrugged. "Sort out your priorities," he said. "Let's talk about something else, shall we? Like how Potter was clearly eyeing up Weasley."

"He wasn't!" Ginny blushed. "And even if he was. I don't feel that way for him anymore." She stared down at her interlocking fingers, lips pursed.

Hermione glanced sideways at Blaise, who was staring at Ginny with a look of frustration mingled with want on his face. Clearly she and Draco weren't the only ones having trouble with their relationship.

She cleared her throat. "As lovely as this has been… and it really has, just like old times," she smiled at Blaise, who smiled back, "Ginny and I need to have a talk with Harry and Ron about this." Blaise nodded.

"We'll see you around," Ginny added, and Blaise shot her a smirk.

Hermione and Ginny left the library, and Blaise with it, and Hermione rounded on Ginny. "You are a hypocrite," she said.

"What?" Ginny reddened.

"You know exactly what I mean. You and Blaise have exactly the same problem as Draco and I!"

"No we don't…" Ginny protested feebly. "Ours is different… he probably doesn't even like me anymore. After I wrote to him and told him I never wanted to speak to him again and he had no chance with me… He asked me for help and I thought, since you're clearly over it, it would be OK for me to be over it too…" she shot Hermione an anxious look, "But I don't have a chance with Blaise anymore."

"Ginny, you didn't see how he was looking at you!" Hermione exclaimed. "I did, and he really likes you!"

Ginny shook her head stubbornly. Hermione glared at her, "Look, I think I know Blaise pretty well, having spent most of my time with him for about 6 months."

Ginny changed the subject, much to Hermione's irritation, saying, "Well, we need to sort out Harry and Ron, yeah?"

Hermione nodded resignedly. "Let's go."

A/N Cliffy! Pretty please review!

Lissa