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Disclaimer: I own nothing, nothing I tell you! All the characters, places etc. belong to JKR.
*** SO WHAT NOW?
*** After the Prefect's meeting, Hermione fled to her dormitory, ignoring everyone she passed on the way, including a distraught looking Ginny Weasley and an angry Seamus Finnigan. She collapsed face-down onto her bed, letting her tears flow freely. 'I called him Potter!' she thought miserably. 'How could I do that?! He must hate me!' She eventually cried herself to sleep, and became lost in a world of dreams and fantasies. When she awoke in the morning, the bright morning sun streaming onto her face, she couldn't think for the life of her why she was still dressed in her day clothes. Then it all came back to her, and then she shook her head, as if trying to clear the cobwebs which clouded her memory. Her Head Girl badge dug uncomfortably into her chest and she carefully undid it, setting it onto her bedside table. She dressed quickly and went into the bathroom that led off of the dormitories to splash some cold water on her face and clean her teeth. When she looked in the mirror, her eyes were puffy and had red circles around them. Tears stained her face. 'I'm so pathetic,' she thought bitterly as she squeezed the mint toothpaste onto her toothbrush. After getting cleaned up, Hermione went back into the dormitory. Her new pet owl was perched on the end of her bed. "Hello, Aphrodite," said Hermione softly, settling herself on the end of the bed. She stroked the tawny owl's back and smiled slightly. She had always wanted an owl, especially since her cat, Crookshanks, had died. "How are you today?" The owl hooted happily in response. "Well at least one of us is in a good mood," commented Hermione. Aphrodite hooted again and Hermione smiled broadly. "You'd better go to the Owlery," Hermione told Aphrodite, and the owl obeyed, flying out of the window in a fluid motion. Looking at the stray feather that had fallen from her new owl, Hermione sighed then wearily made her way down to get some breakfast in the Great Hall, sincerely hoping there wouldn't be any more surprises from Harry and that he had finally run out of ideas Although she loved getting these gifts, Hermione still wished that Harry would just apologise in person. Plus, it was more than slightly embarrassing. On Friday morning Seamus awoke with a pain in his neck. He stretched and yawned. He stopped mid-yawn when he realised there was someone leaning on him. He squinted through the relative darkness. The first thing he realised was that he was not in his own bed - he was in the Gryffindor Common Room. the second thing he realised was that the person was Ginny Weasley. She stirred and moved her head slightly. Her eyes snapped open and she twisted round, looking up at Seamus in shock. "What's going on?" she demanded. "Don't you remember, Little Red?" asked Seamus. "After that night of..." Ginny glared at him. "Fighting like cat and dog," he finished. "Let's get two things straight, Finnigan. One, I don't like you, not even one little bit. Two, the moment this spell is broken then I am never getting this close to you again." "That's fine by me, Little Red," said Seamus, stretching his legs out. "Oh, and one more thing, Mr 'Kiss Me - I'm Irish', never call me 'Little Red' unless you want to be singing soprano," threatened Ginny. Seamus gulped and nodded, moving his hands into a protective position. Ginny grinned wickedly. She leaned forwards, looking deep into his eyes. "Are you scared of lil' old me?" she asked seductively. "Would you offended if I said 'yes'?" asked Seamus. Ginny's grin widened. "Come on them, Finnigan - I'm hungry: let's go get some breakfast!" Grabbing his hand Ginny pulled him down to the Great Hall. 'Who would have ever thought she could be so assertive?' thought Seamus as he was pulled along by the feisty redhead at an incredible speed. 'What the heck am I doing?' Ginny asked herself. 'What's got into me? I never normally act like this!' She cringed. 'This is all his fault! He's doing this to me.' They were the first Gryffindors to arrive down for breakfast. As Ginny buttered a piece of toast and spread it liberally with strawberry jam, Seamus could help but ask her; "Does Mathilda ever talk about me?" He was, of course, referring to his ex-girlfriend. She was a Gryffindor sixth year, and a friend of Ginny's. Ginny took a bite of her toast and munched it thoughtfully. She swallowed and said; "Only when she's considering what to do with her Voodoo doll of you." "She has a Voodoo doll of me?" Seamus asked. Ginny nodded. "Yup. It even looks like you! It's got the same blue eyes and sixties haircut." Seamus scowled at this comment from Ginny who giggled. "Cheer up, Irish, we only have to put up with each other until tomorrow night." Seamus scowled again, making Ginny laugh harder. She pinched his cheek and said; "Aww, you're so cute when you're annoyed." "You sound like Lavender," said Seamus, blushing. he could be sure if Ginny was teasing him or actually complimenting him. Ginny frowned. "Ouch. You're certainly quick with the insults this morning!" "Well I'm learning from the best," said Seamus, not looking at Ginny. Ginny smiled and messed up his hair. "Hey, with me around maybe you'll learn something other than insults - how to use a hairbrush!" "Watch where you're going!" Harry said angrily to the person he had just walked into. He was on his way down to the Quidditch Pitch. He felt that doing a few circuits of the pitch would make him feel better. His trusty Firebolt Infinity was clutched tightly in his left hand and his pads in his right. The broom had been specially made for him and given to him a couple of months before. He rarely used it though, preferring to use his Firebolt. The Firebolt was still one of the best brooms in the world. "Maybe you should watch where you're going," suggested Draco Malfoy, straightening his robes and making sure that his hair was still in place. He tilted his head and looked at Harry. "Cheer up, mate. It can't be that bad." "Trust me, Draco - it is. Hermione hasn't spoken to me for a week except to tell me I was almost late for the Prefects meeting," Harry said sullenly, looking at Draco. Draco noticed that Harry's normally bright eyes were dull and his hair was even more of a mess than normal. He looked like he hadn't slept for several days. He probably hadn't. "Have you tried apologising?" Draco suggested. Harry gave him a strange look and it was almost like he was trying not to laugh. "Apologise? What do you think I've been trying to do?!" He ran a hand through his unruly hair looking worried. "I've sent her countless gifts and notes! I've done everything I can think of to say sorry!" Draco gave him a small, pitying smile. "You really don't get it, do you?" "What are you on about?" asked Harry, annoyed. He began to tap his broomstick on the ground impatiently. Draco sighed. "What I mean is that all she wants you to do is say sorry! In person! That's it. She just wants to hear you say that you're sorry, not some letter that sings love songs until you burn it because it gets so bloody annoying! Or a florist shop of flowers that explode over you when you're eating your breakfast!" Harry almost dropped his broom. "You mean it?" he asked. Draco nodded. "Every word. Trust me, if I hear 'The Eternal Love Song' by the Weird Sisters one more time I am going to scream." Harry grinned. "It was a bit much, wasn't it?" Draco nodded eagerly. "Thank you," he said gratefully. "I mean it." Harry raced off down the corridor in the opposite direction, determined to find Hermione and sort this mess out once and for all. "Harry!" Draco called. Harry turned back to face Draco. "You're lucky. Hermione is one in a million. There are people who'd do anything to have someone like her." Harry smiled and gave him a thumbs-up, then continued to sprint down the corridor. "Including me," Draco muttered under his breath. He sighed and continued in the direction he had been walking. 'Maybe I should go and find Padma,' he thought sadly. 'I wonder if she wants a game of Quidditch.' "Are you sure this was such a great idea?" Lavender asked Ron. "Ginny and Seamus aren't exactly happy with the arrangement. And there's no way that we can reverse the spell! What if one of the Professors find out? Snape would probably kill us and McGonagall wouldn't be much better. She might be fairer than that evil git but her punishments are seriously brutal." Ron nodded. "Of course I'm sure this was a good idea, Lavender," he said. "Anyway, none of the professors will find out. Ginny and Seamus wouldn't dob us in." He rolled his eyes. "Trust me - Ginny will used this as blackmail material for years to come." He tapped his fingers impatiently on the arm of his plush chair in the corner of the Gryffindor Common Room. "So," he asked anxiously, looking at Lavender. "What do the cards say?" Lavender finished tying her hair in a high ponytail and placed a wooden box in front of her. As she opened the lid of the box it creaked horribly, making Ron wince. She removed something that was wrapped in an old piece of black silk. She carefully folded back the frayed silk to reveal a pack of tarot cards. She took out the cards and began to shuffle them. The cards were at least three hundred years old, according to Lavender, and had been passed down in her mothers family from generation to generation. She had inherited them when she was fifteen. The cards were covered in intricate patterns and exquisite illustrations. The major arcana had been enchanted so that the illustrations moved like Wizarding photos or portraits. Ron watched carefully as Lavender laid down the cards and studied them carefully, trying to decipher their meaning. Lavender looked up from the cards, smiling. "It looks good," she said, pointing out several cards. Ron recognised them from Divination lessons. Lavender collected up the cards and began to shuffle them carefully and slowly as she explained their meaning to Ron. "Can you do a reading for Harry and Hermione?" asked Ron excitedly, leaning forwards so he could see the cards more clearly. Lavender nodded. "Of course," she replied, and began to set the cards out again to do another reading while Ron looked on, both of them hoping for the best. Harry raced through the corridors of Hogwarts, the NeoMarauders Map clutched tightly in his hand. He had raced to his dormitory and dumped his Quidditch gear, at the same time picking up the precious map which was leading him to Hermione. The original Marauders Map had been created by Harry's father, James Potter and his school friends; Sirius Black, whom Harry now resided with, Remus Lupin and the traitor, Peter Pettigrew who had been killed in the final battle against Lord Voldemort. Ironically, he had been defending Harry, to whom he owed his life. After the destruction of the original map during Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts, Hermione had presented Harry with this new improved version. Hermione had worked tirelessly on it and given it to Harry less than a week after the old one had been destroyed. It did everything that the original did and more. Harry knew the password to any room in the school at a glance. The location of the Ravenclaw Common Room was still a mystery to him (they had found the Hufflepuff Common Room during their sixth year and Hermione had amended the map), but he knew it's password. Not the most helpful thing, but still - it was nice to know. He was amused to see that the current password to Professor Snape's private quarters was 'purple pixie'. Harry, Ron and Hermione were represented on the map as stars. Hermione's star was currently situated under a tree beside the Hogwarts lake. Within minutes Harry had reached the lake and was searching for Hermione. She was sat, leaning against an ancient oak tree, throwing small pebbles into the lake and watching at the ripples spread across its calm surface. It was said that the tree had been planted by the four founders of Hogwarts; Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Salazar Slytherin and Rowena Ravenclaw. What looked like careless graffiti had been carved into it's gnarled trunk, but if you looked closely you could see that the carvings had been created carefully using magic. It was said that if true love was ever found at Hogwarts, the initials of the pair would appear on the tree. Harry had seen his parents initials engraved on the tree: JP + LE. "Hermione!" he called. She looked up and when she spotted him she bit her bottom lip and wiped away a tear that had been running down her cheek. "What do you want?" she asked bitterly. Harry seated himself next to her. She avoided looking at him, instead staring straight out to the lake where the giant squid was splashing about in the centre of it, its long tentacles thrashing the water about. The waves that it created lapped gently against the shore of the lake. "We need to talk," said Harry soberly, and Hermione shrugged. "I've been thinking." "Did it hurt?" "Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. Anyway, it wasn't a mistake." "What wasn't?" "What I said. About needing a break. I meant it." Hermione looked at him, a look of utter shock on her face. Harry continued; "I would say it was a Freudian Slip, but I'm not entirely sure what that is. Okay, um, I did mean it, though I've only just realised why I meant it." "Enlighten me, Harry. Why?" "Because this last week away from you has made me realise just how much you mean to me. Just how much I love you. To think - it took a conversation with Draco Malfoy to make me realise this, someone who until eighteen months ago was my sworn enemy." He tilted his head to one side. "One of them, anyway." He looked into her deep brown eyes which were slowly filling with tears. "I am sorry. Truly sorry. Sorry from the bottom of..." But Harry's apology was cut off by Hermione leaning forward and kissing him passionately. "Hey, Malfoy! You looked like death warmed up," said Padma Patil brightly, sitting down next to Draco who was sat at the top of the Quidditch stands. He was looking down at the lake through a pair of Omnioculars. She looked at him through her sunglasses. He gave a small smile. "I'll take that as a compliment." Padma shrugged as she removed the sunglasses. Her highly polished broom had been set down next to her, it's oaken handle reflecting the sunlight. "So what's eating you?" Draco said nothing. Instead, he handed her the Omnioculars and pointed down at the lake. Padma raised them to her eyes and focused them on the place where he was pointing. Through the highly focused lenses, Padma could clearly see Harry and Hermione in a passionate embrace. "They've been like that for the last fifteen minutes," said Draco, but Padma didn't lower the Omnioculars. She was fiddling with a couple of the controls, intensifying the image. She eventually lowered them, a small smile playing on her lips. "They say," she said slowly, "that if true love is ever found at Hogwarts, the initials of the pair appear on that tree." She handed him the Omnioculars and, feeling slightly confused, Draco raised them to his eyes. On the weathered trunk of the tree in gold letters were the initials HP + HG. The gold slowly faded away, leaving the inscription in the tree for all time. "I'm happy for them," he said. "They belong together," said Padma. "There's nothing you can do about it." She chewed on her lip for a second before asking; "How did you fall for her? Why did you fall for her?" Draco considered the question for a second. "I don't know. Maybe it was because she was one of the only girls who'd ever been my friend." "How long has it been now?" Padma asked quietly. "Two years next month," said Draco, his face creasing into a frown. "Pansy will have been dead for two years next month." He looked at the floor, not wishing to meet Padma's gaze. "I'm sure she's happy, wherever she is," said Padma. Draco nodded. "I'm sure she is, too." He smiled slightly. "Many people find it hard to believe that she was actually my friend. She liked me because of who I was, not my status or my money. She had an amazing sense of humour. She, uh, she wasn't how people pictured her." Padma listened to him carefully. She laid her hand upon his and he looked up at her, their eyes meeting. She smiled and said; "I'll be your friend." Draco smiled back, a true smile gracing his features. His steely grey eyes looked deeply into her dark brown. Unbeknownst to the two in the stands, another set of initials appeared upon the bark of the ancient oak tree: DM + PP. A/N: I really hope you liked that chapter. It was kind of fun writing that last bit with Draco and Padma. Harry's little speech to Hermione came to me late at night. I really hate it when ideas do that - they stop me from sleeping! Argh!
Here's a thanks section for Chapter Five:
Review, Flame, Whatever. silverphoenix |
So What Now?
By: silvernatasha
***COMPLETED!!!*** So What Now? The sequel to 'The Matchmakers'. What's been going on since Harry and Hermione were set up by their scheming friends? And what happens now?
Rated: Fiction K+ - English - Romance/Humor - Harry P., Hermione G. - Chapters: 11 - Words: 24,462 - Reviews: 181 - Favs: 70 - Follows: 11 - Updated: Mar 10, 2002 - Published: Feb 8, 2002 - Status: Complete - id: 593190
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Full 3/4 1/2 Expand Tighten
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