A/N- Thank you so much, y'all, your support astounds me. You have no idea how much your reviews, follows, and favorites keep me writing. If I could crank one out every day I would. However, my children like to eat and unfortunately, I'm not wealthy so I must go to work. Thank you, though, it means so much.
I want to say a few things here and only because I have so many people asking the same things. I try my best to answer everyone but sometimes ffn works against me, people review as guests, or it's in another language. I only speak English, guys, I wish I could understand and reply to your reviews but that isn't possible when they aren't in English.
First off, this is a Harmony story. I've had a few people ask if I would put Hermione with Draco, Neville or the twins. Dramione is my all-time fave but it won't be happening this time around. Not to mention, Hermione and Draco are first and second cousins in this story. Ewww. As for Sirius, I haven't decided what I'm going to do in regard to Remus. Originally, he wasn't even supposed to have had a past relationship with the man, I just threw that in there to cover my ass if I decided to make this story into a wolfstar down the road.
Secondly, I know that Sirius has his priorities skewed right now. He is thinking that Harry is going to be just like James and he can't wait to have him in his life. Not only is Hermione going to lose it on the pair of them, he's going to realize that Harry is very much his own person.
Third, I'm aware that Harry is a little prick right now. I know that he's being a follower. Think about it, Harry was a follower in canon. It was several years before he stepped back and started to think for himself. It's going to happen much quicker in my story, I think.
Fourth and lastly, I know that Sirius' words were sexist. Yeah, he wants Harry to play the field but he wants Hermione to remain a virgin. Well, actually, it was Narcissa that told her that women were expected to remain pure. However, I've made perfectly clear that my version of the wizarding world is BEHIND, like wayyy behind, the times. There is still sexism and all that going on there. Why would you not expect boys to be encouraged to mess around while girls weren't?
Now that I've made an enormous author's note, something I hate to do because it bloats my word count with shit that doesn't matter, I'm going to close and tell you all that I love hearing what you love about my story and I enjoy hearing what you don't to see if I could make it better in some way. For those that leave me constructive criticism, I appreciate it so much! I'm not trying to sound bitchy here but when you have fifty people messaging you the same thing, it's much easier to answer here
** Shout out to Mycrookshanks1222111 for being my 1800th reviewer! You're awesome! **
Disclaimer: Nothing in this story belongs to me. I've played with and tweaked the characters that belong to J.K.R. and used a story line that has been done before. Still a broke bitch so I haven't made any money off this story or any other. Maybe someday…
Chapter 53
January 15, 1994
Hermione pushed her eggs around her plate, waiting patiently for her cousin to finish his meal so they could make their way to Hogsmeade. They had been back in school for just over a week when the Headmaster decided to give them a surprise Hogsmeade visit. Hermione wasn't going to complain; it meant an impromptu visit to the bookstore where she would be allowed to purchase more books. While the library at school had just about every book she wanted to read, if she bought her own books, she could make notations on the pages much the same way that Uncle Sev did. She would never dream of vandalizing a library book so that left purchasing her own.
Her father made sure that she had a generous allowance even though he knew that she spent most of it on books. He had once told her that it could be worse; she could spend it all on clothing like most other witches her age. Hermione had laughed at him and reminded him that with Aunt Cissy shopping for her, she would never have to spend a knut of her allowance on clothing. Draco would go with her and he would whinge the entire time but he would secretly purchase several books of his own and slip them into his robes after shrinking them so she wouldn't notice. It was a game they had been playing for years.
Pansy and Daphne were making plans to visit the Hogsmeade branch of Twilfitt and Tattings. Pansy was loudly telling Daphne that she needed to get new lingerie because she had outgrown what she had bought at the beginning of the year. Hermione thought that it was a little trashy since she could have gone with her mother on holiday but it wasn't her business since she wasn't included in the conversation. Hermione knew that she was just looking for attention from the boys and much to her distaste, it seemed to be working. All the boys had their eyes glued to her breasts and she was reveling in it. Hermione dug a sharp elbow in her cousin's ribs and when he glared at her, she glared right back. He finally broke eye contact with her and focused on his meal again.
Truthfully, it was a plight that Hermione sympathized with. Her use of the time turner meant that she was reliving numerous hours a day over again. Then she had to turn her time back after classes were over so she could get all her homework done along with the assignments that she had gotten from Madam Cambridge. While she admitted that Madam Cambridge's assignments were more important, she also wanted to keep her perfect score in school. It was a trivial thing that was fed completely by her pride but since it was herself that she was tiring out every day of the week, she didn't feel that anyone could complain about it. Well, except maybe her Uncle Sev, but she hadn't told him about her extra usage. If he asked, she wouldn't lie but there was no way that she would volunteer information like that.
Due to reliving several hours over a day, she had aged more than her schoolmates. Not much, that much was true, but enough for Hermione to notice that she was developing faster than her aunt had warned her about. In fact, there had been a shopping trip over the Christmas holidays since her aunt had told her that receiving lingerie as a Christmas gift in front of men wasn't appropriate in the least. Her attention was pulled from pushing her eggs around by Theo, remarking low, but not low enough.
"Pansy doesn't have shite compared to Hermione. That girl has grown overnight." She felt her cheeks flush and turned her gaze back to her plate. Pansy was glaring, she was sure, but she felt better when she caught sight of Draco punching their friend pretty hard in the shoulder out of the corner of her eye. His voice was low and menacing when he spoke.
"Don't ever let me hear that shite come out of your mouth again, Nott. Hermione is my cousin, my sister, and you won't stare at her like a piece of meat. She isn't Pansy." Pansy screeched in anger, threw down her fork, huffed as she went to her feet and stormed off. Daphne was trying her hardest not to burst out laughing and Hermione had to admit that she was in the same boat. She knew that it made her a terrible person but Pansy really brought some of it on herself. As young women, they were brought up to be proper and Pansy was far from proper in almost every way. The worst part was that her parents seemed to encourage her outrageous behavior. Theo dropped his eyes after he winced.
"Sorry, mate. It won't happen again." Draco still glared at him.
"Apologize to Hermione. She's the one that's embarrassed." Hermione reached out and pinched her cousin's arm. Did he think that this made her less embarrassed? He hissed a little in pain but showed nothing. Theo nodded and met Hermione's gaze.
"I'm sorry, Hermione, forgive me for objectifying and embarrassing you." She gave him a small smile and nodded.
"Forgiven. Please tell me that everyone is ready to go to Hogsmeade. I want to make sure I have plenty of time in the bookstore." Daphne snorted at her, a very unladylike sound that made Hermione want to laugh.
"Trust me, there will be plenty of time at the bookstore. For me, there has to be a stop at Honeydukes." Everyone else was nodding and started enumerating the places they wanted to be sure and visit.
Pansy eventually returned and after making sure that everyone was finished, they started for the doors of the Entrance Hall. Hermione saw Ginny and her friends watching jealously as others piled into the carriages. Hermione frowned when she saw her. Only a couple days after returning to school, Hermione had heard Ginny bragging to her friends that she had shared a New Year's kiss with Harry and that it had been amazing. She was biding her time, waiting for him to ask to court her. Hermione had snorted when she heard that since Harry had no idea what courting even was.
However amused as she was at Ginny's hopes of courting, it had been a dagger to her heart. No matter how much Harry hated her, Hermione still liked him, she still wanted to get to know him better and had hoped for more. After he had told her what he really thought of her, she did her best to avoid thinking of him because it was too painful. Now that she knew he had kissed Ginny, it was like pouring acid on her already broken heart.
Draco had listened to her that very same night, held her close while she had been upset but refused to cry. He told her over and over how Hermione deserved much better than Harry, that she would someday meet the perfect man and he would be her perfect match. Since she didn't believe in the concept of perfect, she had taken his words with a grain of salt but the fact that he was trying to make her feel better lifted her spirits in the end.
Ronald was in the carriage ahead of them, packed in tight with all the other Gryffindor boys and both the girls. Harry wasn't included in their group and Hermione assumed that it was because he didn't have a signed permission slip. If his muggle relatives were as terrible as she suspected, there was no way that they would do anything that would make his life better.
Even though it was an extremely tight fit, all the third year Slytherins squeezed into one carriage. Pansy somehow finagled herself into Draco's lap and her cousin looked pained as Pansy ground into him. Knowing that she was purposely trying to excite her cousin, Hermione reached out and pinched the back of her arm as hard as she could. Pansy squealed in pain and turned a glare to Hermione.
"What the bloody hell was that for?" Hermione frowned at her language. Her language wasn't always perfect but she didn't curse near as much as Pansy did. She wondered if the girl thought it made her sound appealing. Hermione glared at her as she explained.
"I know exactly what you're doing on my cousin's lap and I made myself quite clear what I thought of you doing things like that. If he wants to carry on with you in private, that's your business. In public, you will conduct yourself as a proper young woman should. It's my cousin and my family name that will have shame brought upon it if the pair of you were to be caught." Pansy's face flushed and while Hermione felt a little like a bitch, she wasn't going to apologize. In no way was she telling Pansy not to do what she wanted with her cousin but it had better be in private. They had been raised from birth that the family name was everything. Draco shot her a thankful look and shoved on Pansy. She moved instantly and scooted over to Theo's lap, though Hermione noticed that she kept her wiggling to a minimum.
The trip to Hogsmeade wasn't a long one. Hermione watched the scenery through the window of the carriage. Once they reached the drop off point, the ten of them left the warmth of the carriage to brave the blustery wind and flurries. They were all arguing over where to go first since nobody could agree. Draco and the boys wanted to go to Zonkos for more jokes and pranks, Pansy and Daphne wanted to go shopping at Twilfitt and Tattings, Millie and Tracey wanted to go to Honeydukes, and Hermione was going to Flourish and Blotts. Since she had no plans to go anywhere else, she grinned at the rest of them.
"Well, I don't need to stop anywhere else so I'll just go to the bookstore. You guys can go wherever you need to and if I leave in time, I'll meet you for a butterbeer." She really wasn't too excited about going to the Three Broomsticks after her last visit but she supposed that she wouldn't be able to avoid it forever. She would put on her pureblood façade and let it do its work. Most people couldn't last out against her Uncle Luci's imperious glare and she had learned from the best. Draco narrowed his eyes at her.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Mia. I mean, what if -." Hermione cut him off before he could say anything about Rookwood or anything else he always worried about.
"I will be fine, Drake, I promise. What kind of trouble can I get into at Flourish and Blotts?" He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her. It was clear he wasn't happy about her going on her own but really, there was nothing he could do about it if he wanted to go to his stops as well. He finally sighed and nodded his head.
"Fine, Mia, you go to the book store and we'll go to Zonkos. The girls can go where they want and we'll all meet at Three Broomsticks in four hours." Hermione smiled at him and leaned over to kiss his cheek.
"Bye, Drake, have fun." He chuckled at her and tugged a curl before releasing her to find the bookstore. As she walked away, she heard Pansy mutter to someone that she was boring and would never get a boyfriend. She sighed since she knew that it was likely the truth. She understood she was pretty, she had been told that for as long as she could remember. However, Hermione was more than aware that none of the boys her age would ever like her because they wanted girls that were more interested in fashion and being a proper wife while she wanted to learn all she could. As much as she understood it, it also hurt.
Hermione heard a sharp retort from her cousin and what sounded like a yelp but she didn't turn around and let everyone know that she had heard. Pansy was angry that she had embarrassed her on the carriage ride so she supposed that she could let her have the one comment. It wasn't in her nature but since Draco had done something about it, she didn't think that she needed to handle it also.
It didn't take her long to find Flourish and Blotts; she had been there numerous times through the years. While Gerald Flourish ran the shop in Diagon Alley, Barney Blott ran the shop in Hogsmeade. Hermione tended to favor the one in Diagon Alley since it was bigger and had more of a selection but she still found interesting books in Hogsmeade. After travelling the three streets over to where Flourish and Blotts was, she went inside to get out of the cold. Even though her cloak had a warming charm cast on it, it still wore off after so long and it made for a miserably cold walk. Mr. Blott smiled at her as he wiped off the counter.
"Morning, Miss Black. Are you staying warm out there?" She gave the older gentleman a soft smile as she swept her cloak from around her shoulders.
"Warming charms can only do so much. It's reminding me that it's Scotland out there today. How's business been?" The older man laughed softly and came around the counter to lay his arm around her shoulder.
"Business is good, but never as good as when you're here. I do believe you are my single best customer." Hermione felt her cheeks stain so she cast her gaze to her feet. He chuckled at her obvious embarrassment.
"Do you want to see my new releases?" Hermione, forgetting her earlier embarrassment, looked up and nodded eagerly. Mr. Blott guided her to the shelf closest to the desk.
"Here's all the newest releases. There may be a couple you don't have already." She grinned at him happily and started thumbing through the first book she picked up. It happened to be on dragons found in Wales.
"Thank you, Mr. Blott. I appreciate it." The old man chuckled and went back behind his counter to work on whatever he was doing when she came in.
Hermione wasn't sure how long she browsed through the shop. After she picked out the new releases that she wanted, she went from subject to subject, choosing books that she wanted. Since she was studying a fair number of subjects at Hogwarts and even more through Madam Cambridge, it was a rare occasion when she left a book store with less than six or seven books. Her father usually shook his head and laughed at her, telling her that she was just making sure their library stayed up to date. She would usually scowl at him and he would tug one of her errant curls and they would both laugh.
It was much later that she realized that she was late in meeting Draco at the Three Broomsticks. Only by fifteen minutes or so but it was enough that he would worry and she would never hear the end of it. She purchased the ten books she had picked out, put her cloak back on after slipping her purchases into the inner pocket after shrinking them, bid Mr. Blott goodbye and struck back out into the cold.
Hermione cursed inwardly as she slid her wand out of her holster and into her hand so she could cast another warming charm on herself. The cold air was silent and the fog that her breath was creating was stark in the picturesque landscape of the tiny village. After the warming charm had been cast, Hermione frowned. She was still ice cold and it seemed to have no effect on her. Her eyebrows drew inward as she contemplated the problem and what she could do about it.
Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione caught sight of a black cloak. It was so quick that it reminded her of her Uncle Luci's Death Eater robes. When she and Draco had been eight years old, they had been snooping in her aunt and uncle's closet looking for Christmas presents. Rather than gifts, they had found her uncle's Death Eater robes. It was that night that her uncle had told her cousin the harsh truth about being a follower of the Dark Lord. Of course, he had told Hermione and even though she had cried at the thought of her uncle doing those horrid things, she was proud that he had left it all behind. There were times that she was sure he had to know that she knew of his past deeds but they had never discussed it and likely never would. She loved her uncle for the man he was, not the man he had been.
Hermione turned her attention to the cloak she had seen. It was no longer in sight but she could see students just down the street dropping to their knees. She cocked her head to the side and tried to see what they were doing. The same black cloak came into sight again and she knew instantly. It all made sense, the black cloaks, the freezing cold, the failed warming charm.
Dementors.
Hermione took off running as fast as she could. The dementors were getting closer to the students, close enough that they were feeling the effects of the proximity. She could feel the overwhelming sense of despair wash over her as she passed the kneeling students. As she passed the corner of the stationary shop, she caught sight of a bedraggled man in the thinnest of robes. It was clear by the number on the front of his robes that it was Rookwood. Knowing that she couldn't acknowledge him in any way without putting her loved ones in danger, she kept her eyes forward. He too had fallen to his knees. It sickened her that her casting her patronus to save the students was going to save him as well, especially since he was after Harry. She took a strong stance in front of the students and slid her wand into her hand. After a wave, she yelled as loud as she could, knowing it would give power to her spell.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
She didn't have Draco casting with her this time and it was clear that there was nobody out there that was going to help her save the students. The streets were empty aside from the half dozen students and the dozens of dementors chasing after Rookwood. She couldn't even really get mad this time since the dementors were clearly after their target, not the students. Not that it mattered since their presence affected everyone in the area.
Another group of students rounded the corner of a shop and Hermione could hear them laughing about something as her fox burst from her wand. Rather than sniff the ground delicately like it usually did, it ran after the dementors and attacked. The dementors, enraged that they were being driven from their target, fell back. Only a little, however, just enough for more to somehow show up. She wondered to herself if they had ways to summon each other or if it was just luck, the draw of their target.
The students that had been kneeling behind her went to their feet but they looked traumatized, their eyes empty. She knew they hadn't been kissed but it was clear that they had been affected. What she needed was chocolate, not only for them but for herself as well. The dementors, after receiving reinforcements, started to move forward again. She wished more than anything that she could move back behind where Rookwood was hiding but with the students not moving, there was no way that she could do that and keep them from getting kissed. She braced herself by moving a foot slightly behind the other and waved her wand again. Hermione knew that this spell was going to have to take all her strength to fight off as many dementors as there were all by herself.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
The amount of power she put into the spell left her feeling empty and she knew that her magical reserves were draining quickly. Never had she put this much power into a spell before. Hermione knew that she was an extremely powerful witch, there hadn't been an equal to her in decades, but she was only fourteen, nowhere near her magical maturity or having her full power available to her. After several minutes of watching her fox chase the dementors and attack them ruthlessly, Hermione dropped to her knees. Watching the dementors flee was the most welcome sight of her life since she couldn't hold the spell any longer. Her fox disappeared along with the dementors and Hermione was fighting to stay conscious.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Rookwood staring at her, a contemplative look on his face. This frightened her more than facing the dementors; Rookwood had worked for the Department of Mysteries before Igor Karkaroff had snitched on him. He was extremely smart, even her Uncle Luci had been unable to deny that. Her eyes focused on him and he seemed to realize that she was watching him. He turned around and disappeared behind a building, clearly escaping however he had entered the town.
Hermione was still on her knees when she heard someone yelling in the distance. The students behind her were starting to move again, probably because the dementors had vanished, their effects with them. Somebody dropped to their knees next to her, throwing another cloak around her. It was Mr. Blott and he was casting his own warming spells on her. Without the effects of the dementors, they were working and warmth slowly started to return to her numb limbs. His hands came up and cupped her cheeks, searching her gaze.
"Sweet girl, you drove those dementors off by yourself. Merlin, you saved a dozen students." Hermione couldn't help the tear that squeezed out of one of her eyes and as much as she wanted to speak, she literally didn't have the energy. Mr. Blott produced his wand and gave it a wave, his own patronus appearing. It was a parakeet of some sort and she could hear him speaking to it but for the life of her, she couldn't focus on what he was saying. Just as he stopped speaking, Hermione watched as Draco turned the corner with their friends in tow. Pansy was hanging off his arm again and even though she felt a flare of annoyance, she let it go. Eventually, he would date her or get rid of her for good. All of them were laughing, Draco reaching out to poke Daphne in the ribs. She blushed and pulled away from him, clearly unsure what to do with his flirting.
Draco turned from teasing Daphne to look forward and saw Hermione kneeling in the snow with Mr. Blott hovering over her protectively. She watched him shove Pansy off him and he started running, clearly not caring about his image and what others were going to think. He skidded to a halt in front of her and dropped to his knees in front of her to cup her face in his hands in much the same way Mr. Blott had. He sounded frantic when he spoke.
"What the fuck is wrong with her?" Mr. Blott laid a hand on her cousin's shoulder to try to calm him down.
"Calm down, son, she's exhausted but fine. Dementors attacked, dozens of them. She drove them all off on her own. Saved more than a dozen students." Draco flashed him a grateful look and handed his cloak back the shop owner. He took his own cloak off and wrapped it around her tightly. Mr. Blott put his cloak back on as he spoke.
"Keep her warm, son, the dementors will pull the warmth right out of you, especially as close as she was to them." Draco nodded again and stood before bending over to sweep her into his arms. She snuggled close to his chest and he was whispering softly in her ear about holding on, that he would get her to the castle quickly. Mr. Blott was quick to offer up that he had sent a patronus.
"I sent a patronus to the Headmaster and the Ministry as well. They should be here soon." Hermione groaned inwardly. The last thing she wanted to do was deal with the Headmaster and his shite. There was a soft popping noise next to them and Draco turned to see who had arrived. Much to her dismay, it was Professor Lupin. Draco sneered in his direction.
"Don't worry, the Ministry has been alerted. We'll wait here until they get here." They didn't have to wait long since there were popping noises all along the street. Hermione could see what appeared to be aurors approaching when she heard a familiar and welcome voice.
"Hermione! Sweet Merlin, baby, what's wrong?" Her father was bounding to her side and taking her from Draco. He gave her over quickly but didn't stray far. After several seconds, Uncle Luci came into view as well. Hermione decided to try to get this show taken somewhere warm since she was freezing. The warming charms weren't working as well as they had been.
"So cold." Her father brushed her curls back from her face and kissed her forehead.
"We're going to get you to the castle, sweetness. Hang on." She closed her eyes since it was clear that he was going to apparate. Not closing her eyes would have guaranteed that she puked up her breakfast on his fine black Wizengamot robes. With a squeezing feeling, they disappeared and then reappeared at the castle gates.
Apparently, Dumbledore had learned his lesson last year about keeping her father out of the castle. The gates swung open and allowed him entrance. She heard another pop behind them and she could just barely see two blond heads behind her father. It was a ten-minute walk on foot across the grounds but she swore that her father made it in five. By the time they reached the castle, Hermione could no longer feel her feet or hands and her father was huffing loudly. She felt terrible for making him haul her weight around but there was no way that she could have walked. She couldn't even stand while they were in Hogsmeade.
Professor McGonagall and Uncle Sev were waiting at the front door of the castle, holding it open so they could usher them in faster. Both looked confused so Hermione was happy to hear her Uncle Luci explaining it. There was a sharp intake of breath from the Deputy Headmistress and she could feel the fury emanating from her godfather. Her father wasted no time in getting her to the Hospital Wing and calling out for Madam Pomfrey as they breezed through the door. Her father set her down on the nearest bed and instantly started casting warming charms on her. However, her clothing was soaked from being in the snow and the charms were having little effect. Madam Pomfrey bustled out and saw who was in her wing and hurried her way.
"What happened?" Her father answered her.
"She won't hardly talk. A message was sent to the Ministry stating that there was a dementor attack in Hogsmeade. I have no idea other than that." Draco stepped forward and sat on the bed next to her.
"Mr. Blott told me that she held off dozens of dementors, driving them away. She saved over a dozen students from being kissed." Madam Pomfrey gasped and hurried off, only to return a minute later. A huge bar of chocolate was clenched tightly in her hand.
"We need to get this down her but first, I need you all to let me put curtains up. She has to be changed out of these wet clothes. She's freezing from the cold and the dementors and the warming charms aren't going to work as long as she's wet."
Hermione watched as everyone in the room turned their back and allowed Madam Pomfrey to conjure a curtain around them. Once they were out of sight, she waved her wand and her robes vanished. In their place were warm flannel pants and a long-sleeved shirt, woolen socks covering her feet. She was still shaking but she already felt warmer. She waved the curtains away and gestured for Draco to come forward. She handed him the whole bar of chocolate and smiled kindly at him.
"Feed her this whole bar. It may take a bit at first because she's physically and magically exhausted, but she'll get better the more she has." Draco nodded at her and started to break the chocolate into pieces.
Hermione let him feed her while the adults were off to the side, discussing something quietly. Draco was quiet and she could see that he was blaming himself for her predicament. She had eaten half the chocolate bar and had regained some of her strength. She reached out and grasped his hand tightly. He met her gaze so she gave him a stern look.
"Stop it. I see what you're doing and it's shite. Stop it now." Draco didn't even deny it, he knew exactly what she was talking about. He lowered his eyes and started to rub his thumb over her knuckles.
"I shouldn't have left you, I should have -." Hermione cut him off before he could get any further.
"You shouldn't have done anything. You were having fun in Hogsmeade. You did exactly as I asked you to do. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. So, stop it. I don't blame you and I'll have words with anyone who does." She could see that he was truly upset so she squeezed his hands.
"Please." He met her eyes again and he finally nodded. She gave him a small smile and nodded towards the chocolate.
"There's no way I can eat anymore without throwing up." He laughed softly and called out to the adults.
"She won't eat anymore, said she's going to throw up." Madam Pomfrey buried her face in her hands and started muttering about the only child who didn't eat loads of chocolate. Hermione turned back to Draco and whispered.
"I saw Rookwood, the dementors were after him. I couldn't let them get him without letting them get the other students too." He curled up into her side to help keep her warm.
"You did the right thing. We'll tell them after everyone leaves. Not sure if they want you putting yourself out there like that." Hermione nodded and just waited. Before anything else could be said, the doors banged open and the Headmaster and Professor Lupin came through. Hermione flicked her eyes to her father and wasn't surprised when she saw the old flare-up of pain at the sight of his old friend. Dumbledore didn't bother going to the adults, he came straight to Hermione.
"Two of the students reported seeing Rookwood in the same area that you fought off the dementors. Did you see him?" Hermione caught sight of her godfather and Uncle barely shaking their heads from side to side. She tried to sit up a little more before she answered.
"No, I saw nothing. I didn't even realize that there were dementors until I was almost on the students kneeling in the snow. I was focused elsewhere." The Headmaster gave her one of those smiles that are supposed to make you feel better but just made her skin crawl.
"You did the right thing, dear. You were superb out there, Mr. Blott has already told the aurors how you drove them all away by yourself. He got there too late to help but was duly impressed with your actions." Hermione gave him a thin smile.
"Thank you, Headmaster." Professor Lupin stayed surprisingly silent. The two of them joined the other adults and it appeared to be getting quite heated but Hermione could barely keep her eyes open. Draco snuggled down under the blankets with her and she was grateful that he was willing to share his body heart. He kissed the side of her head as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close.
"I'll keep you warm, Miney. Go to sleep, you need rest." She nodded sleepily and took his advice, sleep pulling her under almost instantly.
-O-
Harry had waited all evening for the adults to leave the Hospital Wing. He had been having patronus lessons with Professor Lupin when the silvery phoenix had appeared before his teacher and told him that he was needed immediately in Hogsmeade because there had been a dementor attack. Harry had walked around on pins and needles the rest of the day, hoping for students to return and tell him what had happened.
It was at dinner that a fourth year Gryffindor had told him the story. Fred, George and Neville looked like they wanted to vomit at what they heard. Hermione Black had drove off dozens of dementors who had almost kissed students. It was reported that Rookwood had been spotted in the area but it hadn't been confirmed. Regardless, it still made him feel sick inside knowing that Hermione was now in the Hospital Wing for magical exhaustion because of the situation.
Harry's patronus lessons were coming along nicely. While he still hadn't produced an animal, he could get a fair amount of silver mist. Lupin told him all the time that he was doing great since they didn't practice every day, that most adult wizards couldn't cast the spell. He knew that he was doing the best he could and while he was proud of himself for what he had accomplished so far, it felt like too little too late when he heard about things like what had happened in Hogsmeade today.
Now, against his better judgement, he was going to sneak into the Hospital Wing to make sure that Hermione was alright. Ron thought that he was in the library and he had even stopped by there to get a book to make his visit look legit. He had watched his godfather and Malfoy's father leave the hour before. He couldn't confirm it but he had heard that little Malfoy had returned to his common room when they left.
Harry was under his father's cloak, using the invisibility to help him get in without alerting anyone to his presence. It wasn't curfew yet but it was getting close and he didn't want to get another detention. Lately, Professor Snape's detentions had been horrid and he had no wish to repeat them if he didn't have to. He wished that he could recommend that the man get laid but knew that would just lose Gryffindor every single point they had and land him in detention for the rest of the year. However, if Harry was truthful, he thought it might be because how much he had hurt Hermione after that quidditch match that day.
Harry wasn't going to try to talk to Hermione, he had promised the twins that he would leave her alone. However, he couldn't forget how jealous he had been when he had returned to school only to see an issue of the Daily Prophet floating around the tables featuring Hermione and Malfoy on the front page, for their first debut in wizarding society. Harry wasn't quite sure what that meant but he knew that he thought she was beautiful and had wanted to be in Malfoy's spot dancing with her.
This problem was only made worse by the fact that Ginny was telling everyone that he had kissed her, not the other way around. Pav had already asked him about it and confirmed that Ginny was spreading rumors. He understood that she wanted to be in the spot light but he wasn't alright with her using him to do it. He had taken her aside and told her that he didn't appreciate her lies about who had kissed who. Harry knew that he hadn't even kissed her back, he had been far too shocked, but the whole school believed the opposite was true.
While Harry would be the first to admit that he had enjoyed the kiss, he had no urge to repeat it again. He had other things to focus on, more magic to learn, and he wasn't about to get caught up in a drama-filled romance with a girl that was twelve years old when he was only thirteen. It screamed of madness and he wanted no part in the scenario or the fact that Ginny was likely to start stalking him if her actions so far indicated anything.
Ron had pulled her aside and chewed her out, threatened to tell their parents if she didn't stop following Harry and telling everyone they had kissed. Once again, Harry was reminded why Ron really was a good mate. After that initial reaction, he had believed that Harry hadn't kissed Ginny and didn't plan to kiss her back any time soon.
Once the Hospital Wing door closed behind him, Harry crept forward, pulling his father's cloak off of him. If he was going to get caught, he wanted to make sure he didn't get his cloak confiscated. He peeked around the curtain to see Hermione resting quietly against her pillows and her cousin sitting next to her, reading a book and softly stroking her hair. She appeared to be sleeping but Malfoy's eyes snapped to his and blazed in fury. He bent and kissed her forehead and eased out of the bed, Hermione seeming undisturbed. Harry knew that he was about to get chewed out so he braced himself. Once they were away from the bed, Malfoy hissed at him angrily.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Harry raked a hand through his hair and sighed.
"I just wanted to make sure that she was alright. I wasn't going to talk to her, I swear." Malfoy reached out and pushed him back several inches. Harry couldn't help but get angry but after the blond spoke, his anger deflated quickly.
"You broke her fucking heart. She cried for days over the shite you told her. Don't worry, she might believe everything you said but I'm not stupid. I'm far enough away from the situation to know that Lupin is feeding you bullshite and you're buying it. You don't believe those things you said about her but you said them to make sure that she wouldn't come back around you. You wanted to make sure that you wouldn't be the weak one by actually taking a chance and trusting her. I'm going to tell you now, Potter, you lost the best thing in my life. She could have been the best thing in yours too." Harry couldn't believe that the Slytherin had seen through him so completely. He started to flounder, hoping to find words that would deny the truth. Malfoy just sneered at him.
"Don't try denying it, I'm not stupid like your best pal Weasel." Harry started to get angry at him for insulting Ron. Malfoy cut him off though.
"It's really simple. You wanted her to stay away from you. You got what you wanted. She believed you when you said all those terrible things to her. She'll probably always believe them. Why don't you do the both of you a favor and leave her the fuck alone. Haven't you done enough to her? I know you don't care but that girl is my whole world. I love her more than my parents and I want her to be happy. Watching you pull her in and get her to trust you only for you to slap her down over and over isn't making her happy, she's miserable. So, do the best thing for both of you and get the fuck out of here. Your conscience can be clear, she's not dying, in fact, once her magical stores are built up again, she'll be back to kicking your arse in class. You know how she is now so bugger off."
Harry knew that he was right, he had no right to be there worrying for the girl that he had so thoroughly hurt. It made him feel like Dudley, but worse. Dudley usually just hit you and hurt you. Harry knew better than anyone that words usually hurt far longer than injuries. He nodded at the Slytherin and started to back away. He threw the cloak back over himself and watched as Malfoy went back to the bed and crawled in next to her. It was only after several whispered words later that he realized that Hermione was awake and had heard everything. She was crying softly and Harry could just barely make out his words.
"I don't know why he hates me, I've only just been nice to him. I don't understand, Drake. Why am I not good enough?" He could hear the utter heartbreak in her voice and he left before he could hear her cousin's response.
Malfoy was right, he didn't deserve to know that she was well. He deserved to suffer for what he had done to her. Even if her father was a traitor and had been responsible for what happened to his family, she wasn't. She had only been two at the time. Still, as much as he hated what he had done, he couldn't fix it. He had given his word to the twins that he would leave her alone and stop hurting her. Harry vowed in that moment to do just that.
He was going to do his best to forget about Hermione Black, he was going to do whatever he could to get her out of his head. He really wasn't sure what he could do to do that, he thought about her all the time now and he studied as hard as he could. It was going to take something else to get his mind off how he had hurt her and keep it from entering his mind again.
Suddenly, his mind flitted to Lavender and how she had openly flirted with him since everyone had heard that he had kissed Ginny. Harry had just blown it off but now it had merit. Ginny had definitely made him forget about Hermione if only for a few minutes. He figured that it was better than nothing.
With a plan in mind, he set off to find Lavender. It was time that he learned to snog and he was sure that Lavender would be just the girl to learn from. Seamus already boasted about snogging her. He hated his decision, he really just wanted to fix things with Hermione, but he wouldn't. It wouldn't be fair to her and she deserved better than him fucking with her head. Harry heaved a sigh and entered his common room, his eyes open for a blond who had eyes only for him.
A/N- Omg, guys, don't kill me. I warned you that our pair aren't going to get together until their sixth year. Harry is going to do everything he can to forget about Hermione, then later, to forget that he likes/is in love with her. You guys know I dig some angst. Just keep telling yourself that all will end with the two of them together. Anyways, leave me your thoughts after the beep, they make me smile.
Next chapter, a certain bad boy gets into the castle.
Love,
Alicia
