AN: Answers to some questions: When Draco meant "I always have" it starts from when he lost his memory, 'always have' meaning after the incident, because that's all he can remember. If he were to remember before the incident, he didn't love Hermione then.
So is Jane actually Hermione? Hermione has no 'Jane' in her name. Her second name is 'Jean.'
Why can't Hermione read the notebook/Why did Draco hide it from her? Simply because Draco didn't want Hermione to see what was inside; there is a right time for everything.
Thanks for reading; I'm glad there are new readers! YAY! Hehe. THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!!! I'm sorry if I can't be consistent in updating, it's just hard to get some time.
I will be updating on Saturday. ;)
Enjoy!
"I always have." He said.
And Ginny froze with her hand on the door knob.
He was waiting for her to reply, because he wasn't sure if she believed him. He watched apprehensively, thinking whether he shouldn't have said that at first.
After five seconds that seemed much longer, Ginny turned around. She had an expressionless face; Draco couldn't tell what she was going to say.
He was about to say something, tell her not to tell Hermione, say he wasn't ready if Hermione knew too soon, and say that if she didn't believe him it was alright… he had a lot of things on his mind.
Say something… say something! Stall Draco, make her distracted!
As his thoughts raced, Ginny suddenly broke into a smile. "Good boy." She said, moving closer to pat Draco on the head.
Draco suddenly felt sheepish.
"Yeah…well… Hehe." He simply said, not really knowing what to say.
Ginny immediately returned to her normal state, happy and bouncy, always excited. "Yeah so now that we've got that cleared out… don't look at me like that Draco it's the truth! Anyway, we gotta move fast or else she'll feel so sad… poor girl... it's all your fault! Don't start with me, don't even roll that eyeball of yours, just listen!" She said impatiently.
Draco bit back his retort. He was inwardly glad that Hermione wasn't like this. He suddenly drifted off to wondering how Harry put up with someone like Ginny…
"…and the perfect place too! -Draco? Draco!? DRACO! Are you listening?! You have an unusually short span of attention, you better not do that to Hermy! Anyway, as I was saying… because some people here don't listen… things have to be done! Wait here, I'll call the twins and Harry and Ron… you sit down! You're not coming, who said you're coming?!"
Draco sat back down. He wanted to go with Ginny so he could at least steal a glance at Hermione, he had not seen her this morning.
"Alright, well, make it quick." He said grudgingly.
Ginny smirked (Draco saying it was his thing.) and left Draco in complete silence.
He was wondering what was going to happen… how he would possibly fix things up, when he heard footsteps and voices.
"He said what?!?!!?"
And suddenly Ron came hurtling in, spotted Malfoy, grabbed him and began strangling him.
"YOU!—AFTER---ALL---THAT---YOU---DID---YOU----SAY—YOU—BLOODY---LOVE—HER!?!? IMMA—KILL—YOU!! I'LL---SEND—YOU—BACK---TO—THE---HYENAS!!!" And Ron let go of Draco, pointing a shaky finger at him. Draco stared for a while, when, unaware, Ron grabbed for him again.
"—YOU—BETTER—HAVE—A---PLAN!!! YOU----GIT!!!—YOU—SON—OF—A----!"
"Ron!" Ginny squealed.
"—MALFOY!!" Ron finished. "What?!" He said looking at his sister. "I didn't say anything crude!!!" He added defensively.
"Let go of him you cannibal." Ginny said disgusted. Ron gave Draco a look then stomped off, Draco grasping for air.
Draco drew in quick breaths, massaging his neck. He finally looked up, and he saw Harry. He wore a cold expression, his green eyes blazing.
Then he walked towards Draco, and Draco felt that he was suddenly nervous….
"What you said should better be the truth." Harry simply said.
Draco breathed. Harry wasn't going to strangle him at all. He smiled and was about to say a 'thank you', when he suddenly received a huge blow on his stomach. He doubled over.
"Oww!—ohohoooo!!---ok-kay… I deserved that.." Draco said as he clutched his stomach.
Harry stalked off, smirking at Malfoy. Draco rubbed his stomach then stood up straight, wincing slightly, then, preparing for the worst, looked straight at the twins.
Suprisingly, the twins were wearing identical smiles. Draco didn't let his guard off, he didn't want to be caught unaware again. Then the twins approached Draco, and hugged him.
They hugged him, Fred saying "I'm so glad you're back mate, it took some time!" and George was exclaiming, "You sure are slow!"
Draco smiled, he was relieved. "Thanks guys, I know that I--- OOWWWWWW!!! MERLIN'S BEARD HELP meeeeeeeeeeheeheeeee!!!" Draco said in a seemingly small and high voice, he was clutching what seemed to be his private possession.
"HA! That's what you get, you fruitcake!" Fred and George exclaimed, clapping hands.
They had kicked Draco's padlocked area real hard, and Draco took some time before he could recover.
"Okay." Draco said after minutes of pain. "Yeah, I know I'm a real arse---"
"We second the motion." Fred and George said.
"—Yeah, well, thanks for the support." Draco said bitterly. "Anyway, I'm sorry, uhm, and I uh—I want to fix things, wanna make it up for Hermione.." He said.
He stared at them one by one, praying that at least someone would agree with him.
After some time, Fred and George stepped forward, saying, "We'll help you mate, we know you suck in swooning a girl."
Draco grinned. "Coming from the twins who still live with their mother."
"Hey, don't y---!"
"—I believe you Malfoy." Harry suddenly said. He stepped forward, and grinned at Draco as Draco grinned back.
Everyone now looked at Ron. He gave a sigh. "Alright, just as long as it better be good." He said grumpily as he stepped forward too.
"Right." Ginny said. "Well, let's get to work!"
"AHA!!! AHAHAHAHA!! HAHA!!!!! THAT'S SO GOOD!!!" Fred was saying through fits of laughter, as everyone around him started howling.
They were all looking at a piece of paper in the middle of the circle they now made, Draco violently shaking his head. "No, it won't do! Too…. Uhm…"
"What?! It's perfect!" Fred said as he stared down at what he wrote.
Deer Err My Knee,
Yo wassap gurl. I've had this sent by owl, it's really hard to get in touch wit u, knowatimsayin'? Ha ha. Anyhoo. Wisha could make it tonight, Imma meet u there, yah? Aryt. Deyyyuuum wanna see u soon! Im yer secret admiRAWR by the way!
Lotsa Luuuurve,
MasterDawg
"Master---ha---Dawg!?" Draco asked incredulously. "No way, not her type!"
"How do you know what her type is?" Fred raised his eyebrows.
Draco blushed.
"I want to try!" George said, and he grabbed the paper that Fred now clutched, George flicked his wand and the writing changed as he wrote in the air.
Hulo Hermiwon,
I'm you're secret admirer! BuT i can't tell u who I am. You know, it's a secret! HAHAHA! Get it?! I rily like u. And your so beutiful. I can't helped looking at u on school, u'r my idle! You inspiring me! I can't help but to say I'm rily excite about later tonight! This evening, it will be 100 percent! Wel, if u go that is, hehe! I want 2 see u alredy!
Lots of Hart,
My names secret.
"Ha!!! HA!!! NO WAY BRO!!! SHE'S TOO SMART FOR THAT!!!" Fred said howling.
Draco nodded his approval, howling along with everyone else. "All the wrong grammar and the mixed 'you're' and 'your' isn't gonna work!" Draco said.
"Come on! We have to make it appealing, something actually decent!" Ginny snapped at her brothers.
"Alright, alright! We just wanted to have some fun!" Fred and George said together.
They flicked their wands one more time, and the writing vanished and changed again.
Hello Hermione,
How are you? I haven't seen you lately; it's hard to reach you in school. I've always admired you; you are so intelligent and cunning! Not every girl is like that. I wish to spend some time with you, tonight, if you are available. I asked Ginny to give this to you, I gave it to her on the Hogwarts Express going home. I've planned this night ever since. I hope you will go, I worked so hard for this. It's going to be perfect. And yeah, there's a rumor going on that a Slytherin's at the Burrow? Yeah well, punch him or her for me, especially if it's that prat Malfoy.
See you soon!
Y.G.A.
"Ouch, that hurt." Draco grunted.
"How touching." George muttered.
"That's absolutely better!" Ginny squealed. "What do you think Harry?" She asked Harry, who was sitting beside her and attempting to snake his hand towards her.
"Wha-what?!" Harry said blushing. "Oh, oh yeah, better." He said sheepishly.
"Who's Y.G.A. anyway?" Ron asked.
"Your Gryffindor Admirer." Fred said proudly.
"That's good enough, when I give it to her, it has to be believable you know… She shouldn't expect that it's from Draco, so that she'll be surprised. And 'Gryffindor' and 'prat Malfoy' make it perfect. She won't have a clue it's all a fake." Ginny said wickedly.
"Spoken like a true Weasley!" Fred said proudly. "Well…. Except for some people…"
"Yeah well, we better keep going then!" Ron muttered suddenly.
"Yeah, Draco, you know what to do! Oh, and don't forget to act as if you still have got this tension mension thing with her, and don't react when you find out she's gotten a letter from a secret admirer." Ginny added.
"And don't give anything away Ron." Harry added darkly.
"I won't!" Ron said burning scarlet.
"So I'll give it to her, and I'll make sure she'll accept it." Ginny said.
"And we wait Draco." Fred said.
"While she's dressing up and getting ready, or if she's done dressing, whichever, you apparate with the twins to the designated place." Ginny told Draco.
"And we'll go with Ginny and Hermione after." Ron and Harry piped.
"After that… everything will be perfect." Ginny said in finality.
Draco nodded. "I hope it's going to work." He croaked. He was really nervous, super nervous, nervous than he'd ever been in his life.
"Don't worry! You'll be fine." Fred said and waved him off lazily.
Draco gulped. "What if she still hates me even after what we'll be doing…?" He asked in a small voice.
Ginny smiled. "Draco, what matters is you tried." She said reassuringly.
He just nodded nonchalantly.
"Well, let the plan begin!" Ginny and Fred exclaimed at the same time.
"Ginny, there you are!" Hermione exclaimed. "I've been looking for you all morning! Where've you been?!" She asked suspiciously as the door of Draco's room closed behind Ginny.
"Oh, nothing. Just wanted to see if the notebook was still there, you know, take a look for myself." Ginny said calmly.
Hermione's eyes widened. "Ginny! I told you! You said you wouldn't! Did he see you!?" She asked eagerly.
Ginny raised her eyebrows. "No. But he's still asleep, Fred and George are inside too, I reckon they're planning to plant some dungbombs or something like that."
Hermione looked thunderstruck. "Gin! They mustn't! Oh…! This was what worried me!" And she started for Draco's door, Ginny didn't think she'd decide to burst inside while Draco was still 'sleeping.'
"Uh—UHM!" Ginny said hastily as she blocked the door. "Uh, hehe. Don't go in there, it's not a pretty sight. But don't worry, Ron and Harry are there making sure they don't do anything…drastic." She finished off, panting.
Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Uhuh… well, I hope Ron doesn't do anything stupid." She said distractedly. "What's that in your hand, Gin?" Hermione asked Ginny.
"Wha—oh!" Ginny said as her eyes widened. She put it inside her pocket and said, "It's nothing, just a tally of the strikes the twins have done inside the room." She smiled hastily.
Hermione laughed. "Really? Boy, I wouldn't like to see that!" Hermione said airily as she started to go down stairs.
"Yeah well, for now." Ginny muttered under her breath.
Lunch was over, and the girls were inside their room.
"Did you see Gin, did you see?!" Hermine said in paranoia. "He didn't mind me, again!" She said exasperated.
Ginny sighed. "You know Herms, he shouldn't be the only one making a move. It's you who's all upset and stuff. You have a choice not to be anyway." She said as she lay down on her bed.
Hermione bit her lip. "Urrrgh. I hope you're right. And yeah, I guess I should relax a bit, right?" She asked her friend who was staring at the ceiling.
Ginny suddenly gasped.
"Oh, Hermy! I know just the thing!" She exclaimed.
Hermione was surprised to see her friend suddenly excited. "What, what is it?!?!" She demanded.
Ginny drew out a piece of paper from her pocket. "Isn't that the tally….?" Hermione started, but Ginny shook her head.
"No, I forgot to give you this letter! It's supposed to be tonight!" She exclaimed as she thrust the paper in Hermione's hands.
"What's this?!" Hermione asked, as she looked at the letter that was far from the handwriting she wanted to see…
"Hello Hermione…" Hermione started reading out loud, occasionally stopping to ask whether this was a joke, Ginny making a point to give a convincing head shake.
"...See you soon, Y.G.A." Hermione finished. She gasped. "Who's Y.G.A.?!" She exclaimed.
Ginny grinned. "That's my secret, but you're going to meet him tonight!" She said encouragingly.
"Yeah… but… Draco…" Hermione trailed off.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Forget him, he's a prat, he doesn't know what he's losing. And he'll feel sorry once he finds out you've got a secret admirer taking you out while he's moping his butt out!" She said convincingly.
"And besides, it's time to have some fun Hermy." Ginny said assuring her friend. She watched as Hermione bit her lip and hesitate for a moment, when finally, she said,
"Okay, I'll do it."
"Hermione, don't worry! You look perfect!!" Ginny said as the first stars of the night began to appear, she was inside her room, fixing an anxious Hermione.
"But what IF I look funny, and-and stupid?! Who is he anyway!? I don't know what his type is!" She said biting her lip.
"Hermione, if you bite your lip again I swear you won't need lip stick anymore." Ginny said as she fixed Hermione's hair.
"EEEEEEW!!!" Hermione exclaimed. "No lipstick, PLEASE!" She pleaded.
Ginny grinned. "Yeah… okay, well... he won't mind anyway." She said, teasing her friend.
Hermione moaned… "If you'd just tell me….!"
"Keep still!" She said, as she tugged on Hermione's hair. Hermione grunted.
"Okay, you're all set!" Ginny exclaimed.
"Dude, where are they?!" Draco asked the twins. "They're taking so long!" He exclaimed.
They were deliberately stationed in the hallway, so the moment Hermione leaves the room she'll have to see Draco, and he'll make his grand exit to isolation in his room.
"Wait young one, just wait." Fred said in a cool voice.
Suddenly they heard the voices inside the room become louder, the girls were about to come out soon.
"Quick, throw in the emo look!" Fred said.
Immediately Draco looked sulky, as if his beloved broomstick was taken away from him. Fred moved a bit farther from Draco, putting up a look ready to kill, and George was exactly the same.
"---and you won't even tell m---!" Hermione exclaimed but stopped abruptly as she went out of the room.
"Tell what Hermy?" Ginny called after as she finally closed the door behind her.
Silence. The hallway was suddenly dark.
This was not in the plan…. Draco thought desperately.
Then he heard Hermione. "Fred, George, whoever! Why'd you take out the lights?!"
And then Draco heard her move.
She was trying to make her way towards Fred or George. Draco gulped. She wouldn't be able to tell who was who. She might bump into him accidentally…
This is not good….
He could feel her get closer to him. "Fred? George? You prat! Put back the lights!" She breathed.
He could feel her.
"Okay." Someone suddenly said, and out of the tip of Fred's wand came light again.
Draco immediately gasped. Then a foot landed on his left shoe.
"OW!--erm—choked on candy." Draco muttered as he made a fake cough.
Inches away from him was Hermione, looking as beautiful as ever.