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Time for a little drama, my friends

Chapter Twenty-four

Danger in the shadows

The sun was setting over the lake, leaving a trail of autumn colours in the sky. Hermione was with Draco on the roof of one of the castle towers, sitting on the edge with her legs dangling in mid air.

Since Christmas, he had the habit of taking her there twice a week on his broom, and they stayed for a while, chatting until the sun went down and it started to get too cold. Another proof that Draco felt something for her, or at least that was what Harry, Luna and Ginny thought about their little escapes to the tower.

Hermione wondered if he'd talk to any of his friends about her, though from the way Pansy looked at her Hermione suspected she knew everything. But something had changed, at first her glares and their encounters were hostile, but for a couple of months the Slytherin girl had been treating her in a cordial way, as if Hermione were just another student and Pansy didn't hate her.

She would love to be able to get into the twisted mind of the boy who was sitting next to her, to understand what was going through his head. But that was something Voldemort surely did to him using legitimacy, and Hermione wasn't going to do the same just to satisfy her curiosity. She would have to find out the answers in the traditional way.

"We have the best grades of the whole class in Arithmancy."

"It's what I expected, considering we're the ones who study the most in our year" Draco replied, snorting softly.

They both laughed, looking into each other's eyes. Hermione sighed.

"Draco... do you still think this is normal? I need to know."

"What do you mean?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I know that, when I had doubts months ago, you told me I was confused because I'd never had something like this with a boy... but I think that you're the one who is confused. It's the first time you have a real relationship and feel something for another person."

Draco's frown creased more and more with each word.

"I thought it was all crystal clear, Hermione. It's true that we've become good friends and I like spending time with you... but that doesn't mean I have feelings for you" he murmured, looking away.

She narrowed her eyes and snorted when Draco avoided looking back at her.

"Get me off of here" Hermione said, standing on the roof.

He said nothing and mimicked her, sitting on his broom.

She climbed up behind him, but this time she held onto the broomstick instead of wrapping her arms around his waist as they descended. Hermione had already reached her limit, she could no longer bear his coldness and that Draco couldn't assume his own feelings.

As soon as they landed in the ground, she got off and started walking towards the castle. Hermione heard the sound of the broom ripping through the air and, glaring at her right side, she saw that Draco was following her.

"Why are you so angry?" he asked with an innocent voice.

Hermione stopped, looking at him incredulously.

"Really? You don't know? You're so stupid" she snarled furiously.

She pushed him, catching him by surprise. Draco fell off the broom, hitting the grass, and looked up with a frown.

"What are you doing?" he asked, feeling pissed off.

"What am I doing? I'm sick of your nonsense, you are always denying that what's between us is a real relationship. If what we have is only physical, I'm tired. I don't want to continue with this" she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

He grunted, jumping to his feet and brushing off his robe.

"You didn't have to push me to tell me that" Draco muttered under his breath, gripping his broom with one hand.

She widened her eyes in surprise.

"Is that the only thing you have to say?"

"I already warned you that this would last until we both wanted to. I knew it would have an end, though it has lasted much longer than I expected. It's the first time I've been with the same girl for so long" he admitted quietly.

Hermione leaned closer and lifted her chin, staring at Draco with furious eyes.

"Did you spend the afternoons watching the sunset with your other 'friends', or hanging out with them to read under a tree?"

He narrowed his eyes, understanding where she wanted to go with those words.

"No."

"And did you give them Christmas presents?" Hermione asked again, pulling out the necklace she was wearing under her shirt.

"No."

"And why did you do all those things with me, Draco? How do you explain it?"

"You're different, that's why I like spending time with you besides having sex. But don't look for another meaning because there isn't."

"Does this gift mean anything to you?" Hermione said, her voice cracking with rage.

Draco pursed his lips.

"No."

She unbuckled the silver chain, tossing it at his feet.

"Then I don't want it. It's over, Draco. If you come near me trying to convince me to continue with this game, I swear I'll slap you" Hermione said in a hard voice, looking away and walking towards the castle door with great strides.

"You're right, it was just a game from the beginning."

Hermione stopped when she heard him. She retraced her steps and faced him, pure anger burning her veins.

"What did you just said?"

"Since you want to know so badly, the day we met on the train I felt something different when I looked at you. You caught my attention, and that didn't change as the days went by, so I decided that I wanted to take you to bed and that I wouldn't stop until I did it."

Hermione went pale with his words. Draco took a couple of steps, until he was just inches away from her face.

"It happened, and I liked it so much that I wanted to repeat it many times... and the same thing happened to you, but you don't want to accept it so you use your feelings as an excuse because you can't admit what really happens."

"And what's really going on, according to you?" she asked quietly.

"That you get horny just looking at me."

Hermione slapped him across the face, but Draco barely moved.

"You should admit it. Besides, after so many years of mutual hatred... Did you really think that I could fall in love with you? Or you with me? That's ridiculous" Draco questioned with an icy look.

"Don't ever talk to me like that again. And just so you know, it's possible to have a relationship with feelings where there's also a lot of attraction and chemistry. I know because it has happened to me with you, but the elephants will be able to fly before you realise it."

Without another word, she entered the castle in a very bad mood. Draco stared at the doors she had gone through as he touched his cheek.

"You're wrong, Granger" he murmured, hopping on his broom and getting lost in the clouds.

"What a total arsehole" Ginny muttered through her teeth.

She and Luna were with Hermione on one of the balconies in the Ravenclaw common room. They went there after dinner and Hermione had just told them everything that had happened with Draco that day.

"My plan was to wait until next week to talk about all this with him, but I couldn't help myself" Hermione replied, shrugging.

"My worst fear came true, you fell in love and he hurt you" Luna said, snorting.

"He's in love too, but he doesn¡t know it. Anyway, I don't care. I won't wait until he admits his feelings. Good luck finding a new 'girlfriend' to have meaningless sex with" Hermione growled angrily.

"He's a git, everything he has done for you means much more than anything he say to deny it. He's been in love for a long time" Ginny replied, sighing.

"That's not my problem anymore, he knows what he's doing. But if he dares to try having sex with me again, he will deal with a lot more than the slap I gave him this afternoon."

The three girls laughed and hugged each other.

"Are you okay?" Luna asked, looking her friend in the eye.

"I will be. I knew this could happen, I didn't have high hopes for stupid Malfoy."

"Is he Malfoy again now?" Ginny asked, lifting a brow.

"Of course, I'm not going to say his name again and I hope he doesn't dare to say mine" Hermione grumbled in a deep voice.

They hugged again and the two Gryffindor girls said goodbye to Luna. Curfew was approaching and the best thing for them was to go back to their common room and rest.

That night, Ginny got into bed with Hermione to keep her company, and she thanked her with a big smile. She was able to sleep peacefully with her friend so close to her.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, the thing with her is over."

Pansy regarded her friend with curious eyes. The two of them were sitting on one of the sofas in the Slytherin common room. It was midnight and they were practically alone.

"What are you going to do now?" she asked.

"What you told me so many times... start looking for the next one" Draco replied, raising both eyebrows and smirking at her.

Pansy shook her head, sighing.

"I used to say that when I had no idea what was happening between you and Granger... but now, what I want to tell you is that, even if you are one of the smartest people I know, when it comes to love, you are such a fool. You'll regret this very soon... and I won't like the person you'll become when that happens."

Draco rolled his eyes, snorting contemptuously.

"I'm not going to regret anything. Well, maybe I regret giving her this. Everything started to get screwed up thanks to it" he answered, taking a silver chain out of his pocket.

He reached back and tossed it toward the burning fireplace, but Pansy caught it in midair.

"Don't destroy it, you idiot! If you don't want it, I'll keep it myself" she said, looking at the small rune-shaped necklace.

"Very well. Keep it or throw it to the bottom of the lake, I don't care" Draco muttered, shrugging.

Pansy rolled her eyes and stood up, walking towards the stairs that led to the girls' bedrooms.

"You really love her, Draco... but you're too stubborn to realise it" she added, climbing the stone steps.

Draco frowned, clenching his jaw.

"That's not true, and I'm going to prove it to you" he murmured, staring at the dark green ceiling.

Something unpleasant was churning his stomach, but he ignored it and continued lost in thought until he fell asleep on the sofa.

A violet-eyed mermaid was watching him from one of the windows overlooking the lake, smiling wickedly as her face showed her true form.

It was only a matter of time before that human was vulnerable again... and from what she had heard of the conversation between the two humans, she knew that he would soon remove that stupid amulet protecting his mind and he wouldn't escape again. She would catch him and devour his heart full of suffering.

The mermaid could sense that he didn't have the same level of pain as before, but that heart would still give her the throne of the lake she had longed for centuries.