Chapter 38

Ginny had been silent all through dinner, staring at her mashed potatoes with her brow furrowed in concentration. It was like she was trying to figure out a great puzzle, which was a very familiar sensation to Hermione.

She had questioned why the three of them had been so late, but they refused to tell her a thing. She felt her stomach clench as she thought it might have something to do with him.

The worst of it was that she was actually worried. Had they hurt him?

She shook her head to clear it. First off, her friends would never seriously hurt someone…right? Secondly, what kind of an idiot was she to still worry about his health?! She never had meant anything to him, so why should he still hold meaning for her…

Why?

"Hello? Hermione?" Harry said, tapping her gently on the shoulder. She jerked out of her thoughts. Harry must have been talking to her for a while; everyone was looking a bit worried.

Even Neville, sitting next to them, frowned Hermione's way. "Are you ok Hermione? You're looking like you might be sick…"

"No, I, uh…I'm fine…"

"Perhaps it's Aquavirus Maggots. Father thinks the minister may be putting them in our stew. That's why I never eat it, you know." Luna said in a calm tone, just taking her seat next to Neville.

Trying to point out that Luna was at the Gryffindor table always seemed like a silly idea to everyone. You just can't explain proper seating arrangements to a girl who wears vegetables on her ears.

Everyone did their best not to laugh, though of course no one believed her. None the less, Hermione thought she saw a worried look on Neville's face before he pushed his stew away.

She felt a surge of happiness at the normalcy of it all. She may have felt devastated, like her world was cracking in around her, yesterday, but today life goes on.

It would take a while, but eventually she would just think of this whole episode as nothing more than a bad dream. Her first time, twisted into something grotesque…her first real love, transforming into a monster…

Ok, maybe it would take more than just "a while."

But sitting there, surrounded by people who loved her, Hermione was pretty sure she would survive.

***

Draco Malfoy made his way to the front entrance of the school. It was near the Great Hall, of course, so he continued to look around nervously. He did not want to run into Hermi…Granger. He didn't want his crazy, my-only-son-is-dating-a-mudblood-so-it's-a-family-emergency mother running into her, either.

"Well, it's about time you arrived!" His mother said, her tone sharp. She was standing at the entryway with Professor Snape as company.

Professor Snape nodded at Draco. "I was instructed to see that you meet up with your mother, Mr. Malfoy. Obviously, my complicated task is finished." He turned to Narcissa, nodded, then abruptly left.

Draco sneered. Normally, he rather liked Professor Snape. He didn't waste time on needless niceties of conversation, and had always treated Draco good enough…but the way he treated Hermione…Granger, the way he treated Granger….

Dammit. Draco could not slip up and talk about her like they were close. Back to last names, right?

Anyways, Draco couldn't get past the fact that Snape had always treated Granger unfairly. Sure, it was hypocritical, since he had also treated her pretty bad in the past (and still did, as of yesterday), but he couldn't shake the anger he felt with Snape. Ever since that class when she had been punished for just being next to Draco when he hit Zabini. Damn, was that really only three days ago?

"Hello mother." He said, rather coldly.

Her face softened once Snape had left them alone, and ignoring his less-than-affectionate greeting she came up and hugged him. It was a brief hug, but it caught Draco off guard nonetheless.

"Draco, come." She took a shaky breath. Draco couldn't remember seeing his mother's careful composure crack on more than a couple occasions, so he knew something bad was coming. "We have much to discuss when we arrive home."

She started walking out the entrance and towards the school gates, and Draco dragged behind her reluctantly.

He didn't really want to leave. He didn't want to know what had caused his mother such stress. And more than anything, he didn't want to face the inevitability of his reunion with his father and the death eaters…

***

Ginny grabbed the cuff of Harry's shirt, pulling him to a stop behind their friends. Hermione and Ron shot a questioning look over their shoulders, and Ginny waved them ahead.

It was after dinner now, and Harry wasn't really looking forward to returning to the common room to do school work. Of course, this new turn of events did indeed sit well with him. Ginny obviously wanted to talk to him, alone. He tried hard not to get too excited; she had just broken up with Dean. This surely didn't have anything to do with his romantic intentions towards the redheaded beauty….right?

"Harry, why are you grinning like that?" She asked, frowning as she pulled him by his arm towards an empty hallway.

He blinked, coming back to himself. "Er, oh…no reason."

Ginny looked so serious…Harry was certain now that this wouldn't be the lighthearted conversation he so wanted to have with her. There was something going on, and so he fixed his own face into the most business-like format as possible.

"I couldn't talk to Hermione about this, because I wouldn't want to get her hopes up on this…not when she seems to finally be feeling a bit better…" She babbled.

"Ginny?" Harry questioned, not understanding where this was going.

"…and Ron, of course, would not be the person to talk to. For obvious reasons." She bit her thumbnail, and slowly started pacing unconsciously. "But I thought maybe you would have noticed something, yourself, Harry. You're so perceptive, normally…at least when it comes to important things…"

He just stared back at her as she stopped her pacing abruptly to face him.

"…or maybe not. You and Ron have that in common when it comes to picking up on subtle hints about emotional matters. Neither of you are that great at it."

Harry wanted to take offense at that, he really did. But he remembered trying to figure out what the hell Cho wanted from him last year, as she sat at their first date crying her eyes out. He had been completely flummoxed, while Hermione had seemed to understand the situation perfectly. Perhaps it was something his witch friends excelled at: understanding weird emotions.

Then there was Ginny…he couldn't tell how she was feeling at all, either! Did she want space after Dean? Did she want comfort? Did she like him? Did she like someone else? Harry had absolutely no idea.

So, in general, he had to agree with Ginny's prognosis. He nodded, a perplexed look on his face.

She sighed, resuming her pacing. "I don't know how to tell you this, Harry. I have a suspicion about something…about something being very, very wrong with this situation."

"This situation?" He asked weakly. Did she know how he felt abut her? Did it freak her out? His heart sank.

Not getting Hermione's hopes up, not telling Ron…she must be referring to how he felt about her. She was going to let him down gently, now, without anyone else having to know about this. It was kind of her, really.

But it still hurt.

"Harry!" Ginny said, looking at him with a wrinkle in her brow. "Are you ok?"

"Oh, er…yeah, considering the circumstances."

"Circumstances? Oh! So you noticed it too?"

Harry blinked. This was giving him a headache. "I think we may be having two different conversations…"

Ginny sighed, a hand to her head. "I'm talking about Draco Malfoy."

"Wh…what?"

"Draco! The way he was acting?"

"Like a few degree's crueler than his usual self?"

Ginny looked exasperated. "Ok, I should just go ahead and say it: Draco Malfoy is lying."