Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.
Hermione's POV
I leave the charms classroom while chatting with Padma about our most recent project. I've been getting a lot closer with a lot of my classmates this year and it's kind of nice to be able to socialize outside of the Golden trio for once. Ron and Harry aren't here to dictate who I hang out with and I like the different dynamics I experience with the rest of my classmates, and the fact that I can talk with more of the girls in my year.
As we turn the corner in the hall, I can see someone following us out of the corner of my eye. Most of the time that's normal, we pretty much all take the same route down to Alchemy except for a handful of students. However the most noticeable thing is that I catch a flash of blonde hair, most likely Draco's. The flash I caught was also from someone who sped up quickly as if they didn't want to lose sight of me. Recently I've spotted Draco following me every now and then, though it's with growing frequency these days. I wish I had the Marauders map so I could confirm my theories because he's being a little creepy now.
I really want to confront him so I finish my conversation with Padma quickly, but politely, and then double back around a few students so that I'm behind him now. I tap his shoulder to get his attention.
"Hi Draco. What have you been up to?" I ask. He practically jumps when he hears me.
"Oh! Umm… not that much? You?" He replies while looking a little nervous and awkward. Strange, he's not usually like this. Unfortunately I've had the same reaction from him almost every time I've talked to him within the past two weeks.
I sigh internally before responding. "I haven't been doing much, well besides homework and reading."
"Okay. Reading is nice." We then fall into an uncomfortable silence, and soon enough we arrive at Alchemy.
I take a seat and see him sit down just a few desks away. Another weird thing he's been doing recently. He sits close, but not next to me. Usually 3-4 seats away. And then he stares at me sometimes. It's a little unsettling and I'm not sure what to do about any of this. It isn't like him at all so it makes it even more confusing. I also feel kind of lonely without him sitting next to me like usual, kind of like at the beginning of the year without Harry and Ron, which doesn't help.
Pushing away my thoughts about Draco, I pull out my notes and get ready for today's Alchemy lesson.
The common room is empty today since I know Draco and the rest of the gang are having lunch in the Great Hall. I wanted a bit of a quieter place to have my food, so I came back here. Although, while there aren't any people making noise, our ferrets are wrestling with each other near the window and causing a bit of a racket.
I put my food on the coffee table and pull out my phone and earbuds to listen to some music while I eat. I open up my music app and hit shuffle on one of my playlists. The song that comes on first is The Story of Us by Taylor Swift. I facepalm but keep the song on instead of changing it. Recently this song has been playing a lot and unfortunately I still like it as much as I used to.
I used to think one day we'd tell the story of us
How we met and the sparks flew instantly
People would say, "they're the lucky ones"
Funnily enough, not a lot of people have noticed that we drifted apart except for our close friends. I mean, most of them didn't even realize we were kind of together at all. I just assumed that everyone knew since we're both pretty famous and people like sticking their heads in our business, but I guess they actually didn't.
I used to know my place was a spot next to you
Now I'm searching the room for an empty seat
'Cause lately I don't even know what page you're on
I laugh quietly to myself since this verse reminds of the weird seating thing that I noticed in Alchemy today. It's kind of ridiculous how silly and petty these kind of things are, and how awkward things become when friendships or relationships end. I still can't change that though, so it'll probably keep going on like this for a while.
Oh, a simple complication
Miscommunications lead to fall out
So many things that I wish you knew
So many walls up I can't break through
This is so accurate. There were so many miscommunications in our relationship. Both Draco and I assumed too many things which led to a few too many disasters. I assumed way too much and I didn't always want to wait to hear the full answer or even the right ones.
Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room
And we're not speaking and I'm dying to know
Is it killing you like it's killing me yeah
I don't know what to say since the twist of fate
When it all broke down and the story of us
Looks a lot like a tragedy now
How'd we end up this way?
See me nervously pulling at my clothes
And trying to look busy
And you're doing your best to avoid me
I feel like this verse is almost entirely Draco, but maybe I'm wrong. Most of the time I look busy but I'm just reading because I like to, but perhaps I've been reading more than usual now. Draco on the other hand, definitely either avoids me or kind of follows me in a not-very-discreet way.
I'm starting to think one day I'll tell the story of us
How I was losing my mind when I saw you here
But you held your pride like you should have held me
Pride was probably more of my fault. I could be quite stubborn and intolerant of certain things he did while he adapted to me and was very accommodating. Now that the dust has settled I know that most of this was my fault but I guess I still have too much pride to actually apologize to him properly.
Oh, I'm scared to see the ending
Why are we pretending this is nothing?
I'd tell you I miss you but I don't know how
I've never heard silence quite this loud
Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room
And we're not speaking and I'm dying to know
Is it killing you like it's killing me yeah
I don't know what to say since the twist of fate
When it all broke down and the story of us
Looks a lot like a tragedy now
This is looking like a contest
Of who can act like they care less
But I liked it better when you were on my side
The battle's in your hands now
But I would lay my armor down
If you'd say you'd rather love than fight
So many things that you wish I knew
But the story of us might be ending soon
Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room
And we're not speaking and I'm dying to know
Is it killing you like it's killing me yeah
I don't know what to say since the twist of fate
When it all broke down and the story of us
Looks a lot like a tragedy now, the end
The song ends and another starts but since lunch will be over soon I focus more on eating my food than listening to the music, letting the notes and lyrics fade to the back of my mind.
I quickly rummage around in my suitcase looking for the packs of candy and snacks I got from Honeydukes recently. If I don't leave soon I'm going to be late. I pull out some chocolate bars, some toffees, and some butter tarts before placing them into my purse. I close my trunk and then leave to go to the Astronomy Towers.
When I get up there I see Ginny, Luna, and Pansy up there already.
"Hermione, what is up with you being late to all of our little 'girl meet ups' and breaks? I swear if this was school related you'd be here a good hour early." Says Ginny with an upset and slightly angry expression, similar to Mrs. Weasley.
"Sorry guys. I couldn't find the snacks for a while. Also, I'm only 3 minutes late! How early were the rest of you?" I reply.
"We were all exactly on time." Answers Luna.
"Of course. Just my luck." I grumble to myself.
I sit down with them in a circle near one of the walls in the tower. I pull out the snacks for them and we all start munching on them.
"Hey Hermione, these are all really good. I'm glad you brought them for us." Comments Pansy. I smile pointedly at Ginny who just rolls her eyes in response.
"You're welcome. So what are we going to do tonight besides sit here and eat?" I ask.
As I ask my question known we hear shouts of laughter and whooping coming from the Quidditch pitch. The sun hasn't quite set yet so we can see three shapes on brooms laughing at another wobbling a little closer to the ground. That must be Ron, Blaise, Draco, and Neville. I heard them mentioning something about it earlier at dinner.
"Guys, can you see what they're doing?" Asks Ginny.
"They appear to be flying and laughing at Neville for not being as… adept on a broom than them. I think it's kind of cute." Replies Luna with a very pleasant smile on her face.
We all burst out laughing. Neville hasn't gone near a broom since first year to my knowledge, so for him to be on a broom is a miracle.
"So girls, what are we going to do tonight? As fun as it is watching the guys goof off over there, we came here to have some time to be girls without them all here." Says Ginny taking charge of our group like usual.
"Pansy do you have any suggestions?" I ask.
"Um… well a couple of me and the other girls in Slytherins used to play this game called Paranoia. It's pretty fun and but it can be a little stressful. I personally find it better to play in a group of the same gender." She says after thinking for a moment or two.
"How does it work?" I must say that her lack of a proper explanation is making me quite curious. Usually when Ginny, Luna, and I meet up we just play a game of cards or talk. This game sounds a bit like truth or dare which is cool but makes me a bit wary at the same time.
"Well we usually sit in a circle, which I guess we're already in. The first person to start turns to someone next to them and whispers them a question. The answer to the question has to be a name. So an example would be if I asked Hermione who her favourite teacher is. She'd then say the persons name out loud but no one would know the question. The catch is that it has to be someone in the circle. Since it's just the four of us I think it would be best if we included the four guys as options to answer."
It sounds really cool but I can see how it could get very stressful. I think the game is very aptly named. We all quickly agree to play and Pansy starts with asking me a question.
[P-H, If you had to choose someone to become blind or deaf, who would it be?] I glare at Pansy when she asks me this and she just shrugs in response. I hate having this question; she's making me choose to hurt one of my friends. This is the kind of thing that would make me feel guilty even though it doesn't have an impact on the person I choose. I sigh and then say the name. [Draco] She raises an eyebrow at me and I just put on my best poker face in return.
[H-L, If you ended up in St. Mungo's, who would you choose to be your emergency contact? Neville]
Since we're all limited to the people in our gang of Hogwarts friends, I'm not very surprised by her answer.
[L-G, Who would you choose to be the best man/maid of honour at your wedding? Hermione]
[G-P, Who would you choose to be the Godparent of your first-born child? Blaise]
[P-H, If you had a heart attack and died, who would you prefer to find your body?] Wow, I'm surprised by the bluntness of Pansy's questions. There is a certain morbid tone to her questions so far. [Luna] My choice is Luna because I trust her to be able to break the news to my friends gently and in the right way. She's just great at dealing with delicate matters and has the emotional smarts to properly deal with the situation and gauge each person.
[H-L, Assuming gender isn't an issue, who would be an ideal roommate? Neville]
[L-G, Who do you think is the most likely to become famous? Hermione]
[G-P, If you had to name one of your future kids after someone here, who would it be? Draco]
[P-H, Who makes you feel the most comfortable?] I smile and know instantly who I would choose. She seems to be adamant to make a point with all of her questions. [Draco] I feel like Pansy is enjoying this way too much and her innocent smile just proves this.
I have thought however that perhaps it might be nice to switch who we ask questions to.
"Before I ask my question of Luna, would it be possible to switch up the order and direction every now and then so that there's more variation and you can ask more than one person questions?" I ask.
"Sure if you guys want to." Replies Pansy with a smirk. I just roll my eyes at her.
"I'll ask Luna my question and then we can switch so Luna asks me and then keep going in that direction."
"Okay, sounds cool. Let's just hurry up and get on with it." Says Ginny impatiently.
Ignoring Ginny, I turn to Luna to whisper my question to her.
[H-L, Whose death would you be most saddened by? Ginny]
[L-H, Who would you like to sing a duet with at this moment?] I love the somewhat randomness about Luna's question and how simple it is. I'm not entirely sure. I'd love to sing one with Draco but I feel like singing one with one of the girls could be more fun. [Pansy]
[H-P, Who do you think is the most likely person to give up a big opportunity? Draco] Her response is said quite seriously and with complete certainty. I guess she has known him pretty well for about 8 years now. But I do wonder if this has happened before and what it was about. Her certainty indicates that she's basing her answer off of experience.
[P-G, You have to kill someone's parents, whose? Blaise]
[G-L, Who do you think is the worst at keeping secrets? Ron]
[L-H, Who do you think is the weirdest person? Neville]
[H-P, Who do you think is most likely to understand or have understood your biggest struggle?] She looks pensive for a moment then asks me a question.
"Can I answer with two people?"
"Sure I guess, the context is okay." I reply after a moment of thought.
[Draco or Blaise] I nod.
[P-G, If you were stuck in a remote or inaccessible location with 1 person for a year, who would it be? Hermione]
[G-L, Who do you think would make the best Minister of Magic? Hermione]
[L-H, If you travelled back in time to when Grindelwald was alive and you could have a travelling partner, who would you take with you?] I know that Newt Scamander was alive at that point in time and I think that Luna would love to go back then and meet him. [Luna]
[H-P, Who is the most likely to stay single? Blaise]
[P-G, Who have you had the weirdest dreams about? Ron]
[G-L, Who would you trust the least to cook you a meal from scratch? Neville]
[L-H, Who do you think is the best at hiding their thoughts and feelings?] I know the answer to this question instantly. [Draco] From what we've shared with each other I know that he's had to hide much more stuff than most people, and for longer than most people as well.
[H-P, Who have you had the most embarrassing experiences with? Draco] Now I'm curious to know what happened between them. Is it something that would be funny or something that could make me jealous?
[P-G, Who do you think is the most likely to become a strict parent? Hermione]
"We're switching directions again. I have an idea for a good question for Pansy." Says Ginny.
Everyone else nods to accept the decision since we know that we probably won't be able to argue with her. The last time we tried to change her mind about something that she sounded so sure about, it ended with both Neville and Blaise hanging by their toes from the top of the chandelier, me being chased and then attacked by her engorgioed Pygmy Puff under them, Luna and Draco watching amusedly from the side, and half of the school watching before Professor McGonagall came down to stop her.
[G-P, Who cheers you up the most? Ron]
[P-H, If you had to be tortured in front of someone, who would it be?] Pansy's question catches me off guard just like most of her other ones. I don't know how she comes up with them. I mean I have been tortured in front of one of the people involved with this game before. I've been tortured while 3 of these people have been in the same house. I'm not entirely sure about my answer but I give it anyway. [Luna]
I don't think that Ron and Draco would be able to stand experiencing something similar again. I also don't want anyone who wasn't involved the first time to have to experience it. Luna would probably be able to handle it. I think. She shouldn't be able, but I'm pretty sure she could.
[H-L, Who do you think has the most secrets? Neville] I'm surprised by her answer but I'm sure she knows much more about him than the rest of us do
[L-G, Who would you save if you could only save one person from a burning building? Ron]
[G-P, Who would you choose to spend the last 5 minutes of your life with? Ron]
[P-H, If you left all of your possessions and assets to one person in your will, who would it be? Ginny]
[H-L, Who is the most likely to become the cool aunt or uncle? Ron]
[L-G, Who do you think will be the last person to get married? Hermione]
[G-P, Who do you think is the most likely to win in a duel? Draco]
[P-H, If you had to stop talking to one person for the rest of your life, who would it be?] This is a difficult one. I have to think for a while. I wouldn't want to cut all communications with any of my friends ever, not even Pansy. But I have to choose someone. After a bit of debating, I decide to choose someone who would understand and know that I wouldn't do it for no reason. [Luna]
"Guys, it's getting a bit late, how about we stop the game and-" I'm cut off from saying this as we all hear a loud yell from where the guys were earlier.
We all whip our heads to look over and see Ron flying frantically from a stray bludger. It's chasing him all around the pitch while the rest of them try and cast spells on it to stop it. Neville is closer to the ground than the rest of them and it looks like he's trying to get the case for all of the Quidditch balls, presumably to capture the bludger.
He seems to have gotten the case and now Draco and Blaise have somehow gotten beaters bats and are trying to hit it into the case. Ron is still flying around erratically and we're all stifling giggles. After a few tense minutes of struggling from all four of them, they get the bludger under control. Though it shouldn't surprise me, Neville was able to get the ball under control and get it in the case once Blaise and Draco were able to sort of corral it near him.
Eventually we all stop looking and turn to each other instead with smiles still on our faces.
"Well that was eventful." Comments Pansy with a grin.
It's so weird having the four of us here and getting along like old friends. I would never have predicted that something like this could ever happen. We have two Gryffindors, one Ravenclaw, and one Slytherin all having fun and not attacking each other or fighting a war.
"It sure was. I wish I had a pensieve to show the rest of my family, they'd have loved to see Ron being attacked by a bludger like that." Adds Ginny.
"I didn't think that Neville would be able to catch the bluder and get it back into the case though." I say.
"Neville can be full of surprises sometimes." Says Luna with her characteristically dreamy smile.
"Yes he can." I comment with a wry smile. I'm reminded of all of the times that he's exceeded our expectations of him throughout our earlier school years and the Battle of Hogwarts. "Yes he can." The last time I say it, it's much quieter and I don't think they hear me. I wish that my thoughts didn't have to betray me and make me think of the more depressing and upsetting parts of my past.
"Hermione, you still with us here?" Asks Ginny. I shake my head to clear my thoughts and I realize that I've drifted off into space and that I missed what they were all just talking about.
"Sorry, I just got lost in thought."
"Oh it's fine. We were just talking about wrapping up soon. It's almost 9 and we want to get up early tomorrow so that we can hang out tomorrow morning before breakfast and then study later since we all know that you'll want us to work more as we get closer to final NEWTS. Even if we all know that they're still about 2 months away." Says Ginny with an expression that tells me they all think I'm crazy.
"Well, it's never too early to study. And I know that you guys won't have the attention span to study later on when it's closer to exam time and this way you won't be entirely unprepared." I add.
"Fine Granger, but I think that purebloods like myself should not have to work for what we want. We're just too amazing for that. I'll know everything for the exams." Says Pansy in a very fake pompous voice that makes us all explode in laughter. Pansy grins and flicks her hair dramatically to make it even more dramatic.
We all finally calm down soon enough to breathe properly, well at least so that most of us can; Ginny is still rolling around on the floor clutching her stomach in mirth.
"We should get going though, I know you guys won't sleep for the next two hours anyway." I say and they all groan.
"Okay, since Hermione is kicking us all out." Says Ginny with a pouty expression.
"Let's go guys." I glare at them in mock anger and they eventually get up with a few grumbles.
We chat some more as well walk down to the main staircases and split up to head to our respective common rooms. As we reach the stairs, we meet the guys who are all just coming up from the Quidditch pitch.
"Hey guys, you provided our group with lots of laughs earlier, just so you know." Says Ginny with a wink when they finally reach us.
They all pout and we just laugh at them.
"At least we weren't all gossiping at the top of a tower." Shoots back Ron.
"Yeah, real mature brother dearest." Counters Ginny. Ron just simmers in silence while his face turns red. This time the whole group of us laugh at him and the portraits start to glare at us disapprovingly.
"Well we better head." I say and we say goodbye to each other.
Draco and I walk up to our common room in silence but I'm too tired at this point to care, even if it's only about 9:30 right now. I'll wake up earlier tomorrow I guess.
As soon as we reach the portrait to our room I say the password and I go straight to my room without saying goodnight to him. Without getting changed, I just roll onto my bed and close my eyes.
Author's Note: So, I'm finally back again! Sorry about that wait. I had time to review and edit everything and I could plan some more chapters instead of coming up with new content each week last minute. Going on hiatus helped me get back some of my creativity without pressure. I also know that this is a Hermione chapter so we have two of them back to back, but when I was writing the original chapter 51, the direction that my writing took me meant that this one had to come first. When I post the next one you'll see what I mean. I hope you guys have had a good summer. I've written a couple chapters ahead so updates should be a little smoother than before. I've caught up with my editing so if you guys want to reread a couple chapters to refresh yourselves, you may notice a few small changes. Update schedule will be posted on my profile and updated every now and then.
For the game of Paranoia Hermione would not have known all of the questions which is why they're all in square brackets as well as who is speaking to whom. I hope that makes sense. If any of you guys want to know why I chose the answers I did for each person feel free to PM me.
Timeline wise, this chapter takes place about a week after chapter 50.
Thank you for sticking with me, I love you guys. Please send feedback, negative is fine as well. Have a great week all of you, till next time!
