I present to you, readers... Chapter 13! I hope you like it as much as I do, and that's one of my favourite chapters by the way :D
Chapter 13
After dinner Hermione walked to the eighth-year Common room with Harry and Ron like she had done the past two weeks. Lately, she had been spending more time with them. Ever since the Hogsmeade weekend Pansy had always been busy and whenever Hermione saw one of the Slytherin boys they looked at her with strange sad smiles which made her even more curious as to what was going on.
As it was Saturday and there was going to be a Quidditch match tomorrow, Hermione decided to do her homework. She bid the boys goodnight and climbed upstairs to the dormitory. Inside, she found Susan and Hannah rummaging in their backpacks.
"Hey" she greeted.
"Oh, hey, Hermione" Hannah smiled up at her. "Bored of all the Quidditch talk downstairs?"
"Yeah, I decided not to participate" the brunette said.
"It's normal" Susan countered. "It's Gryffindor versus Slytherin tomorrow after all. Theo's been dropping hints he has to support his House all week."
"You'll probably be supporting Slytherin, too?" Hermione winked.
"Well, yes" Susan said. "How about you? No one can predict it, I think."
"Oh, it's Gryffindor for me. House pride."
"Well, we're going to the library to study since we won't be able to tomorrow" Susan said. "Want to come?"
"No, I'd rather stay here" Hermione said. "Thanks though."
"No problem."
"See you."
The girls left and Hermione sat on her bed, summoning her Arithmancy notes, beginning to read. She wasn't able to concentrate very good – her mind always strayed to different places: Hogsmeade, the Shrieking Shack, the library – everywhere she'd been with Pansy. She finally slammed her book shut and threw her notes down in frustration. Someone chose this moment to come in. Hermione looked up, slightly ashamed, but her jaw fell when she saw Pansy standing in the doorway.
"Wow, Granger, you should try out for Beater and channel your anger there" the Slytherin laughed and walked over to her bed, taking her schoolbag. The Gryffindor's expression hardened.
"Wow, Parkinson, you've finally matured enough to be able to be in a room with me for more than five minutes?" she snapped.
"What?" Pansy turned to look at her.
"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about!" Hermione continued. "You're finding excuses to walk out every time I walk into a room and you've barely been talking to me. What ignore me for?"
"Ignoring you?" Pansy laughed and this time Hermione felt chills crawl down her back. "I'm spending time with my friends. I don't know if you thought you were special or something but they're just as important to me. Even more. Stick to Potter and Weasley, Granger, you can't be friends with everyone."
"What-"
But Pansy had left before Hermione had even started. The Gryffindor didn't bother to change, she just waved her wand and the curtains around her bed closed, isolating her from the rest of the world. Inside her little space Hermione lay down and tried not to cry. What had she done to Pansy? How had she offended her? And why was Pansy being so hostile after two months of being nice? Hermione had actually thought she had changed but apparently she had been wrong about the raven-haired girl. Not that she was going to give up. She was going to find Pansy tomorrow and ask her what was all this about. She suddenly laughed mirthlessly. Why did this remind her of a situation from roughly two weeks ago? Because it's the same, that small voice in her head spoke up again. You'll go looking for her again after she treated you like that.
"Why though?" Hermione asked out loud. Why indeed, was the answer she got. It's up to you to figure it out, the voice said after a moment. She couldn't figure it out, though, but no matter how much she asked the voice didn't speak up again. She finally gave up and crawled under the covers. This time her attempts to stop her tears from pouring out were futile, and she simply lay there and let her eyes release the sadness and confusion she had been holding in, and let them stream down her face.
The next morning she woke up, feeling rested but still sad. Hoping that a good conversation with Harry and Ron would cheer her up, she got dressed and left the dormitory, noticing that Pansy's bed didn't seem to have been slept in tonight. She sighed and went down to the Common room. Surprisingly, no one was there but Draco.
"Good morning, Mia" he said carefully. "How are you?"
"Just perfect" Hermione gritted out. "Did I really wake up as late as you today?"
"Wow, thanks, I should say" the blonde mocked hurt. "It's Quidditch day today, I always wake up early before a match."
"You mean no one's up yet?" Hermione goggled. "But how early is it then?"
"About seven" Draco answered. "I've been here for nearly two hours."
"No way you woke up at five" Hermione cut him off. "Want to go to breakfast now, since you're up?"
"Yeah, it would be needed."
The two of them walked down to the Great Hall and Hermione pulled Draco towards the Slytherin table.
"Not the best time for you to sit at a different table, Mr Seeker."
"And what about you?" he asked her.
"I'm not playing today, silly" she said, pouring herself a cup of coffee.
"Well, who will you be supporting then?" Draco pressed on.
"Gryffindor" Hermione said rather apologetically. "House pride before everything. I'll have my fingers crossed that none of you falls off their broom though."
"That's a comforting thought" Draco said. "Don't worry about supporting Gryffindor though, I spoke with Potter. We'll celebrate together, whoever wins."
"Wow. That's really mature, I'm happy that most of you are being grown up enough." Hermione tried to say it with as little venom as possible, but knew she had failed when Draco looked up at her.
"What do you mean, most of us?"
"Um, sorry, I saw Ginny come in, I've got to go see how she's feeling."
Hermione dashed to the Gryffindor table where she sat down opposite Ginny who raised her eyebrows at her.
"Hi Ginny" Hermione said, quickly pouring herself another cup of coffee.
"Good morning to you too" the redhead said. "Why did you just run through the Hall?"
"I wanted to see you."
"Hey Hermione."
"Why do you look like Fluffy chased you around the Hall?"
Hermione looked up to see Harry and Ron looking down at her.
"I don't."
"Yes, you do" Ron sat down next to her. "Listen, we need to talk."
"What about?" Hermione asked confused, glancing towards Harry and Ginny. Both shook their heads.
"I know I promised you to be more mature but," Ron sighed, "if you support Slytherin today, I'm going to sulk for a week."
Harry laughed and Ginny smiled slightly.
"Idiots" Hermione huffed and went back to her breakfast.
After breakfast she left with Seamus who wouldn't stop talking about the pros and cons of both teams(Slytherin seemed to mostly have cons). The team had left earlier to change and Seamus had come to her, asking whether she wanted to watch with him. She was starting to regret her decision as he started talking about various tactics the two teams could use but then it came to her mind that if he didn't stop talking she wouldn't have to speak so she walked and sat with him in the stands.
"I wonder who'll be commentating" Seamus said, looking thoughtful. Hermione racked her brain to find a suitable name but Seamus started counting possible names and she leaned back in her seat, looking around the stands. Without noticing, they had sat close to the Slytherin end. She looked at the mass of green and silver, finding Hannah Abbott's plaits easily. Next to her she saw Susan and Theo, sitting next to each other. Susan was speaking to Hannah, however, and Theo was just leaning to whisper something to Blaise. She saw the two of them looking around, then shrugging and turning to watch the game which was just starting.
"And the teams are out of the changing rooms, the game will begin soon" came a voice from the commentator's podium. Hermione turned to look and saw Vinns, the boy that had teased Harry and Ron before Gryffindor's match with Ravenclaw. She suddenly heard a sharp whistling.
"The whistle has been blown and the teams are off" Vinns announced. "This will definitely be an interesting game to watch – not only are two rival Houses playing against each other, but Captains Malfoy and Potter have a history of their own and it's not pretty... however they try to cover it these days. Anyways the Quaffle is in possession of Slytherin, of course, and Bradley is heading towards goal-his path is clear after an excellent Bludger by Cowell which makes Gryffindor Chaser Weasley steer off course-Bradley is one-on-one with the Keeper-will Weasley save it-HE... does" Vinns finished dissapointedly after Ron almost missed the Quaffle but managed to kick it away.
Hermione clapped along with the Gryffindor supporters, then scanned the field for Harry and Draco. They were both circling the pitch high above the others, passing each other in mid-air. Sometimes it looked as if they were talking but after a few circles Hermione got dizzy and looked down at the other players. She was just in time to see Ginny heading towards the Slytherin goal.
"And Weasley's heading towards goal. Will she beat the Keeper-come on, Larc, she can't beat you-Gryffindor Chaser Weasley shoots and-she scored. Ten-nil for Gryffindor."
The Gryffindor end of the stands filled the stadium with ecstatic yells. Hermione joined in the clapping, happy that Ginny had managed to prove the awful boy wrong. She then went back to listening to Seamus as he was now explaining how Slytherin had no chance since the Gryffindor Chasers were a superb trio. As the game went on, Hermione got more and more bored. She eventually got hungry too, and remembered her Potions homework that she still had to finish. This made her lose interest in the game even though Gryffindor was playing really good and the result was ninety-twenty in their favour. She went back to looking around the Slytherin supporters. Her eyes moved from one person to another, not stopping, almost as if they were looking for something Hermione wasn't quite aware of. Her brown eyes finally focused on two girls, sitting close together and cheering loudly. Pansy had drawn her hair into a small bun and René had braided hers into two beautiful braids. As Hermione watched them jumping up to encourage Slytherin, René caught Pansy's hand and they punched the air together. The Gryffindor felt the same thing she had felt, seeing the two of them laugh in the dungeon corridor, yet again she couldn't name it.
Suddenly, the whole crowd gasped and Hermione immediately looked at the players. Most of them seemed to be frozen in mid-air. Only two figures, one red and one green, were streaking towards the ground at a high speed.
"Both of the Seekers seem to have noticed the Snitch now-Potter's caught up to Malfoy-can Malfoy show him that even a Firebolt needs some talent to achieve good results-THE SNITCH IS INCHES AWAY-AAAND-"
As Draco's fingers closed around the small ball, the Slytherins cheered and clapped, thanking their Captain for saving them from an almost surely lost game.
"AND AFTER THE GREAT PERFORMANCE OF THE SLYTHERIN CAPTAIN SLYTHERIN WIN BY ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-ONE HUNDRED AND TEN!" Vinns yelled and went to join his House in celebrating. Hermione didn't really mind who won but pretended to be grumpy too when Seamus told her he was going to the Common room. She didn't really have to pretend, she still remembered what she had seen right before the match ended and still did not like it.
She entered the Great Hall and spotted the Gryffindor team almost immediately. They had changed but their expressions were similar to Hermione's – disappointed and sad; only Harry was eating with a smile on his face and seemed to be talking to the others. Hermione walked up to them, sitting down next to Demelza Robins.
"... And there's someone who'll tell you the same as me" Harry said to the team, smiling at Hermione. "I've just been telling them winning isn't everything, that's what the aftermath of the war taught me, at least."
Hermione smiled sadly and nodded.
"Harry's right. Victory isn't everything."
"Judging by your face, you're not very convinced in what you're saying" Peakes said skeptically. Most of the others nodded, but Harry and Ginny stayed silent and watched her closely. What surprised Hermione was that Ron seemed to understand, too. He was not very tactical, however, and hurried to comment.
"Hermione, down because of Quidditch? That's-" he seemed to change his mind mid-sentence "-really sympathetic of you" the redhead finished.
"Yes, Mione, thanks for that" Ginny said. Hermione understood what had happened and ate her food with a small smile on her face.
After lunch Draco caught up with their group in a corridor and stopped them.
"Hey, just wanted to say good game," the boy began, "and also – up to a celebration in the Room of Requirement in an hour? I'll get the team and my friends. You decide whether or not to come, Captain."
Harry grinned.
"We might just be there." Draco nodded and walked away, muttering about finding Vinns. Harry turned to his team. "So who's coming?"
"I say we do it" Peakes said.
"Well, the Slytherins did come to celebrate our last win" Coote added.
"Ron?" Ginny asked her brother. He didn't look happy about it.
"I guess a party won't be that bad" he sighed.
"Great" Harry thumped him on the back. "You coming, Mione?"
"Yes, I-"
She stopped when she saw a feminine outline pass through the corridor next corridor. She seemed to have a small bun on her head.
"-I'd love to" Hermione finished quickly. "Just excuse me for a moment, I'll see you there."
Pushing not so nicely past the two Beaters, she ran to where she had seen the girl, and looked to the left. She was just rounding the corner.
"Wait!" she called. "Wait!"
Pansy stopped and turned around.
"Oh, hi there, Granger" she smiled. "Come to say congratulations?"
"I guess that's in order, too," Hermione said, "but no. I was actually wondering where are you going."
Pansy raised an eyebrow.
"Did I miss the part where you turned out to be my mother, Granger?" she snapped. "Not that I owe you an explanation, but I'm going to celebrate."
"Yeah, right, okay-I just thought-Draco said the party was going to be in an hour" Hermione spluttered, slightly ashamed of how her question had sounded.
"I'm not celebrating with the team" Pansy said.
"Oh... You're not?"
"That's right, Granger, she isn't" came a voice from behind the Gryffindor. René walked past her and stood next to Pansy, draping an arm over her shoulders. "She's celebrating with her girlfriend."
Perhaps if Hermione had looked at Pansy, she would have seen the same shock she was experiencing now reflected in the Slytherin's eyes. She didn't see it, however, as she could only stare at René in shock, her mind working over what she had just heard.
"You two-you two are going out?" she finally managed to say.
"Yep. Now if you'll excuse us." René took Pansy's hand and the two of them turned and walked away, leaving Hermione alone and speechless.
Pansy, however, had quite a lot to say and the moment they rounded the corner she freed her hand from René's grip and looked her in the eyes.
"What in the name of Merlin did you just do?" she hissed angrily.
"Saved you" René shrugged.
"Saved me?!" Pansy hissed. "What made you think I needed saving?"
"You looked quite uncomfortable in her presence. If I'm wrong we'll go back and I will dramatically break up with you in front of her."
Pansy folded her arms in front of her chest. She had seen Hermione's face – this had truly hurt her... Then again, hadn't Pansy herself been hurt by the Gryffindor so many times?
"Okay, listen, if you think it's such a bad idea we can cut it off-tell her it was a dare or something-" René began.
"No" Pansy interrupted her. "I'm fine with pretending, but it'll have to be in front of the whole school."
"Deal. I've been thinking of coming out anyway, so."
Pansy nodded absently, wondering whether she was making the right choice. She had promised Hermione to be better, after all...
Shaking her head, she took René's hand and began walking towards the dungeons.
"Well, we have a few things to celebrate now, girlfriend."