I'M SORRY IF THIS IS KIND OF LONG, BUT PLEASE READ, THIS CHAPTER IS REALLY IMPORTANT! Hehe. Please leave reviews! Tell me what you think okay:)
I'm sorry it's kind of late, for some reason, fanfic didn't work yesterday:(
"So what do you think they're doing upstairs, huh?" Hermione asked conversationally. Ginny was humming, and they sat down at the kitchen table, iced tea in their hands.
"What? Oh, upstairs? I don't know." Ginny said airily.
"George said he wanted food…" Hermione started, looking at her suspiciously. "Why aren't they here yet?"
Ginny raised her eyebrows, then took a sip from her glass. "Probably played some more truth or dare, didn't want girls with them, who knows." Ginny shrugged.
She's good.
Hermione figured she wasn't going to get anything from her. So they just sat there in silence, sipping iced tea and basking in the unusual silence that came from the twins' room. It was never silent.
Minutes passed, Hermione thinking of the events during truth or dare… He liked someone… He liked someone in Hogwarts… She clenched and unclenched her fists.
Ginny was watching the girl in front of her, she seemed to be in deep thought. Better do it now while she's unaware.
"So." Ginny suddenly spoke. Hermione looked up, Ginny was looking at her with an amused expression.
Hermione smiled and said, "What? Do I have something on my face?"
Ginny shook her head while grinning broadly. "When are you gonna talk about Malfoy?"
"A what??" Draco asked, halfway through the room. He already closed the door and was standing, looking down at the twins, Harry and Ron who seemed to want something from him.
"Yeah." Fred said, patting the patch of wood beside him.
Draco eyed them suspiciously. What do they want? He hesitated for a moment, he really wanted to go to the room…
"Will this take long?" He asked uncertain. Fred and George grinned.
Draco was suddenly scared. It was not good when the twins smiled. Not good.
"Oh… who knows??" George said with a big grin.
"Let's get on with it Draco, then you can go to your room." Harry suddenly spoke. He was a bit more serious than Fred and George, and Ron simply looked awkward.
"Okay…" Draco trailed off, while sitting down slowly. All eyes were on him.
Suddenly Fred spoke, and put his arms around Draco's shoulders. "So mate, care to share?"
Draco was bewildered. "Uh… share what?" He looked at Ron, he still looked uneasy and awkward. Harry was simply silent. The twins simply looked insanely stupid.
"When are you gonna let us in on Hermione!" George suddenly piped in.
Draco suddenly froze with surprise. He was gazing in space.
"Hermione?"
"As in the son of Lucius Malfoy?" Hermione repeated for the third time.
Ginny nodded in exasperation. "Come on Hermione, it doesn't take a genius to know!"
Hermione laughed. Ginny always wanted to know everything. "So…" She started. Ginny was carefully listening, Hermione could feel her eagerness. "What do you know…?"
Ginny threw her arms in the air. "Must you make me suffer!!" Hermione smirked.
"Well." Ginny started. "Do you like him? Does he like you back? What's it all 'Mione???" Ginny asked in a rush.
Hermione shook her head, resisting her smile. "You tell me first."
Ginny huffed. "Alright." She said, taking a swing from her glass and looking dignified.
"In case you haven't noticed, when he woke up he said you have beautiful eyes. Oh, and he seems to trust you a lot already, and that's something if he's got his memory messed up. Who can build trust in less than 24 hours? Oh, and don't think I haven't noticed the Truth or Dare." Ginny finished, throwing a knowing look at Hermione.
Hermione gulped way too much iced tea, she could feel it rushing to her nose. Ginny chuckled. "Truth or Dare…?" Hermione croaked.
"Oh you know…" Ginny rolled her eyes. "Saying you think you like someone in Hogwarts… oh and when he'd have a say about Pansy or whatever girl he's supposedly been with, you go unnaturally silent and I know your face Hermione, when you're half-angry, restraining yourself, whatever." She winked in an attempt to piss Hermione off. "So…?"
Hermione took this in for a moment. She had a particularly hard time digesting this piece of information.
"Do you like him?" Ginny interrupted her thoughts.
Hermione looked up, silent for a while, looking, searching for the right words…
"Well…" She trailed off.
She started thinking of all the times she found herself admiring Draco subconsciously… even before the accident… the boil accident… the day out with 'Drake Mendez'… the time he'd stand up for her when Pansy was there… and she would never forget what he had said then… Yes, she's with me, she didn't use some love potion alright, I just simply like her! Why? Is something wrong with that? She's very pretty and alright you know!
It kept playing and playing in her head ever since it happened… and she could clearly remember his expression… he was angry… he was pissed with Pansy… She gave an unconscious smile.
And then that day at the mall… What was he feeling right before he fell? Why was he so pissed with Gerard? And she couldn't deny that she really was freaked out when he fell… She was undoubtedly worried…
And… Her smile grew even wider… He said she had beautiful eyes… He just woke up, and he was smiling, he was smiling at her… saying she had beautiful eyes…
And when they were washing the dishes… He actually smiled down at her when he realized she had gone closer….
Hermione didn't realize her smile was so big, it was ridiculous.
In front of her, Ginny was shaking her head while smiling, saying she knew all along under her breath…
Hermione looked up at her friend, a smile across her face.
"I do, don't I?"
"What about her?" Draco asked to no one in particular.
Fred shook his head. "Ah, you see Draco, do not mess with joke shop geniuses."
"Yeah, we know it when we see it." George piped in, smiling wickedly.
Draco stared at them. Why were they asking about Hermione? What was up?
He looked at Harry, who was simply looking back at him, a stony expression etched across his features. Draco tore away from his gaze and looked at Ron, who was staring at the wooden floor.
"I don't understand…" Draco trailed. What was there to talk about? She's a friend, isn't she?
"Must you be so thick!!!" Fred and George exclaimed, slapping the floor.
"We shall enumerate for you!" Fred said frustrated.
"One. What the heck was up with you're coming back to consciousness and saying she's got beautiful eyes?!" Fred said like a little girl.
"Yeah and then Fred told me you guys were super close while washing the dishes, ifyouknowwhatImean." George said in a rush, throwing in a free wink.
Draco stayed silent. Was it really important…?
"Yeah and then while playing Truth or Dare, you said you do like someone… and don't think we haven't noticed you'd turn real silent when Hermione spoke about Cedric and the person she likes in Hogwarts! Ha!" Fred exclaimed childishly.
They were all looking at him expectantly.
He started thinking of the times they spent together… but it was all in plain friendship… Why were they thinking all these?
"So, do you or do you not like Hermione?" Harry suddenly spoke, expressionless.
Draco looked up, his gray eyes unsure of what to say. Here were her two best friends, and the twins who were like brothers to her… would he honestly want to tell them the truth?
Draco was silent for a long time, gazing into space, as if he was in that same trance he had lapsed into recently.
"Well…?" They asked him.
"What if he doesn't like me back?" Hermione was asking Ginny as they made their way upstairs.
"Pssshh." Ginny waved her hand lazily, as if to say what she was saying was irrelevant. "Of course he does."
Hermione was silent. "No think about it Gin," she said as they were getting near the landing. "He's lost his memory, which means he's not the way he was before… what if he's just really friendly, we just never knew? Right? There's a possibility… we never really knew him, did we?"
Ginny rolled her eyes, they were finally at the landing, they were right in front of the twins' room.
"Do you honestly think that?" Ginny asked her impatiently.
"Well-" Hermione turned red. "Yeah I do!" She turned even redder. "I mean, it's hard to just read his actions if he's a whole new person now, isn't it? How sure can we be?!" She said stubbornly.
"I'm telling you Hermione! You can ask him if you want! He absolutely, no doubt, 100 perce----!"
Ginny was cut off as the door swung open, and there, in the doorway, was Draco Malfoy.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know you guys were there…" He said quietly, not looking at Hermione.
Ginny simply nodded, and Draco made his way to his room, still not looking at Hermione. She couldn't read his expression, his face was expressionless.
How come?
Ginny and Hermione walked into the room, and Hermione was surprised to see the twins unusually quiet. Harry and Ron had blank faces like Malfoy.
Hermione sat down uncertainly and softened just a little bit when Harry and Ron nodded slightly to acknowledge them. The twins were still unusually quiet.
Hermione looked out the window; she didn't want to participate in the awkward silence. It was only then that she realized how dark it suddenly was. It was getting late.
"So, what did you guys talk about?" She asked them as she tore her gaze from the night sky and looked at them each.
There was an alarming lack of response. Ron just grunted, Harry shrugged, while Fred and George exchanged looks.
"What?" Hermione asked suddenly. She was really uncomfortable now.
"Nothing. It's late. Let's go to sleep." Fred said slowly. Harry and Ron immediately stood up and left the room, so did Ginny. Hermione was confused and stood up slowly, regretting having to go back to the room with Draco.
She opened the door slowly and found the blond haired boy sitting on the bed, quill at hand and notebook on the lap. He was scribbling.
Hermione couldn't help but smile, he looked admirable sitting there and looking harmless. She cursed his new ways under her breath; this culture shock was causing more admiration than planned.
Why couldn't he just be arrogant and unbearable again!?
"Hello." She said uncertainly. Draco didn't look up but simply nodded.
Why wasn't he looking at her?
She closed the door behind her and stood there, just looking at the guy sitting on the bed, the lack of enthusiasm killing her with curiosity.
"So, what happened a while ago?" She asked in an attempt to sound casual, but she sounded downright curious. She mentally slapped herself for being too obvious.
Draco's quill stopped scratching. He looked up at her.
Hermione's stomach churned. It was the first time after Truth or Dare that Draco actually looked at her. She was suddenly uneasy under his piercing gaze.
"You tell me first." He said quietly.
Hermione went still. Did he…? Should I…? Hermione decided she should just tell the truth, besides, he'd forget everything in the end anyway. She thought it would be safe to tell him, and still, she wanted to know what he felt too.
"Ginny asked me if I like you." She said softly.
She could see him stiffen a bit, but he said casually, "What did you say?" And he continued to look at her, expressionless. Hermione wished he could make things a lot easier by looking away, she was getting butterflies. -And his unusual coldness was making her uneasy, he wasn't like this usually...
"I said I do." She croaked.
He didn't say anything. Hermione was prepared to tear away from the room, anything but rooted on the spot, with Draco looking intently at her, and she being immobile, even after admitting she liked him.
She shouldn't have said. He didn't respond.
Then Draco's gaze slowly softened, and Hermione could see his eyes twinkle.
Slowly, a smile played across his lips.
And for the first time, Hermione could breathe normally again as the handsome boy in front of her said,
"Good, I said I like you too."