The Wrong Person at the Right Time

Chapter Thirty Four A

It was the eve of the 1st of January. The group of close friends had spent their previous week learning to row, shopping, swimming, playing, dancing, talking, sleeping, relaxing and organizing a new years party which was going on right now, this very moment. They were all glad to be mingling with the 100 or so people they had invited to the house. It had taken a lot but they were happy to do it. None of the crowd were over 30 years of age and everyone seemed happy.

While they were all happy and on a natural high from the music and atmosphere of the party, they all knew that in 4 short days they would have to be driving to the airport in those glamorous limo's and boarding a plane which would be taking them back to school after their extended leave. They had ALL thought about this and none of them really wanted to have to go back and attend school after a holiday which was like none they had ever had before, and unlikely to have again. They had to leave behind everything they had bought and re furnished the house with, although they could take their iBook's of course, there was still an awful lot of stuff they had spent their money on..

Draco wanted to take the car that Sam had allowed them to use while they had been there when only a few of them needed to go somewhere. It was a nice car, but they wouldn't really need it and Hermione wasn't exactly thrilled at the idea of keeping it at school.

Hermione didn't want to take anything except for everything, She was feeling homesick for this place already and they were still days off leaving! She had a gazillion photo's and had bought heaps of new frames so they could put a lot of them in the common room, but the memory's were fresher in the place they had happened. Harry was happier here because he could escape the things haunting him back at the castle. Ron loved it here because he was staying still within close proximity to Harry and Hermione. They admitted they missed being together in the Gryffindor common room but assured Ron they would always manage to find a spare room. Draco loved it because these people (he regretted to admit that even all the Gryffindors) were now like his family and being with them, all happy felt amazing, and of course, he had the car he always wanted. He never let the keys go! Angelina and Oliver were sad to have to leave all of their friends, particularly because it would be harder for them to see them all between now and the wedding (which they had a question to ask Hermione about) since they didn't like to ask Dumbledore for anymore of the students time off. Hermione had told them about how much school she had missed in the first term and now with an extra couple of weeks, it was a little worrying with their NEWTS coming up.

But for tonight, they were all going to try and leave their thoughts behind and party their way into the new year. They were all assembled in the main ballroom on the first floor and everyone was eventually scattering around the house. It was about 10 minutes till 12am, the waiters were coming out to fill up champagne glasses and people were moving towards their loved ones for that first new year's kiss...

Except of course for Harry, Hermione and Draco. The three had been separated and Draco was left to go and stand with some of the others while he waited for them to find him.

Hermione

Someone barged through me, Harry and Draco and I dropped Draco's hand. I couldn't see his face anymore and then when the people had finally passed, he was gone,

"I can't find him Harry!" I said above the noise.

"Let's go up a level and see if we can spot him and Ginny then!" He shouted back. The radio in the background called out "7 minutes till countdown!"

Draco

My hand slipped out of Hermione's and then her face disappeared. It was useless trying to find her now so I turned around and walked back to Susan, Justin, Blaise and Pansy. When I finally got through to them the radio was calling out that there was 5 minutes to count down. I tried to look around the room again for them but still no sighting. I just figured that she would find me.

Hermione

Harry grabbed my hand and started ploughing his way through the hot, sticky, human bodies filling my house. We got to the stairs in the entrance hall and ran up, turned left and ran along the hallway to the balcony that provided a view over the ballroom. The radio chimed in 3 minutes to go.

Draco

Where the hell were they? I still couldn't believe that they had gone missing. I was starting to become panicked. All I had wanted tonight was to share the first kiss of the year with Hermione right on 12am. Fred and George were walking over to us.

"Have you seen Harry or Hermione?" I yelled to them.

They shared a glance and then looked back at me. "Depends!" They shouted back.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, we saw them upstairs but mate, we dunno if you should go!" They said back.

"What the hell are you on about?" I shouted back above the noise.

"Nothing, It's just they were standing holding hands by themselves!" They shouted back looking a bit pitying. This was just their idea of a joke... Hermione and Harry... It made me laugh.

"Seriously though!" I said.

"Look mate, for your own sake don't go up to the second level!" They called back and turned around to receive the drinks Alicia and Katie had brought over.

"I'm going to find Hermione and Harry!" I yelled to most of our friends now. There was only a minute left.

"30!" The crowd yelled. I pushed my way through out into the entrance hall and ran up the stairs panting slightly.

"10" I looked left.

"9" ran that way.

"8" And there was Hermione and Harry. I was about to call out to them but something stopped me...

"5"

"4" They smiled at each other warmly.

"3"

"2"

"1!" Harry leant in and kissed Hermione and she wrapped her arms around him. It was then that she saw me... And Fred and George's words came flooding back to me... and Michael and all the guy's knocks about me being careful or she would slip away without me...

Hermione

My eye's widened when I saw him. It wasn't that Harry and I were doing anything wrong, or maybe we were. In that second, I wasn't sure. Regardless, I could tell how it looked. I was about to break away from Harry when Draco ran off.

Harry heard him.

"DRACO!" Harry yelled and we ran after him. I stopped to pull off the heels.

He was running as fast as he could down the stairs. He sprinted out the door and I saw him open the car doors with the remote. He was too fast for us. He started the car just as we were about to reach him.

He drove off down the road at about 100kmh but the gates weren't open... Oh MY God, the gates!

I screamed at the security officer who seemed surprised and then yelled when he saw the car coming down the driveway. I tried to give chase after the car but I was stopped by Blaise and Michael.

He frantically pressed the button and ran out waving his arms for Draco to stop.

But he didn't.

The gates had barely opened.

Everyone who mattered was now running out of the house, Lavender, Pavrati and the rest of the girls peeling off their high heels.

The brakes screeched. And then it happened.

I broke out of Blaise and Michael's arms and fell to the ground. The salty tears fell down my face as the humid rain began to fall.