Chapter Thirty-Two
Hermione glanced around the Great Hall, attempting to gather her thoughts.
After the unexpected display of emotion during Potions class with Draco, a quiet lunch was just what she needed.
Class had gone smoothly outside of Snape chiding Harry and Ron for setting some ingredients aflame.
Though that isn't exactly a rare occurrence, she thought to herself.
Her friend's conversation disrupted her thoughts. "I would be up for a quick practice match if you are, mate," Ron quipped.
Harry's demeanor brightened, and she wondered how long it had been since she'd seen him truly smile.
"Oh, don't you two forget that we have that meeting later tonight."
She emphasized the word meeting, noticing that Harry's smile dimmed. "Right, that. Of course."
With that, Ron and Harry were off. The rest of the Gryffindor students were scattered down the table.
She had wanted a quiet lunch, but this was a touch too quiet.
Unsure of what to do next, her train of thought was once again halted by a figure materializing next to her.
"Hermione," Cedric's voice was a pleasant surprise. "Did you happen to have a chat with Malfoy yet?"
She raised a brow—another surprise. "Oh, yes, but perhaps.."
She glanced over at the Slytherin table, as if the mere mention of his name would summon the wizard.
"We should talk about it somewhere else." With Cedric's nod, the two set off.
"...so, of course, it isn't impossible for me to still have questions." She finished with a sigh.
Though she was grateful that Draco had opened up, it just wasn't enough for her.
She yearned for more—however, of what, she wasn't sure. "So that's where I come in?" Cedric answered her with a roguish smile.
They'd stowed themselves away in a corner of the Gryffindor Tower library.
It was abandoned, as per usual—therefore it was the perfect place. She nodded, excited to hopefully get some answers.
Cedric steepled his fingers, his brow furrowed.
"What I know for certain is that after I saved Harry and Ron during the Second Task, I wanted to go back for you.
The moments ticked on, but you didn't resurface like you were supposed to.
Everyone started to get worried, they began to organize a team to go down and retrieve you."
The memory of being submerged in the cold lake water caused her to shudder.
It had taken her far too long to lose consciousness. "Before they had formed a plan, Draco was in the water."
"How could he possibly retrieve me when I was submerged so deeply? Didn't everyone else have to use different tools or spells to retrieve the others?"
Cedric shrugged, as though it were something he'd pondered too.
"All I remember is him dragging you out of the lake, frantically doing chest compressions and something Harry called 'CPR'."
She fought against the blush slowly coloring her cheeks.
"And then straight to the Hospital Wing?" Cedric nodded.
She paused, considering all that had happened in the past few months.
"Draco said that you two had met up throughout all of this..chaos. What was going on behind the scenes?" She eagerly awaited his response.
She was beginning to realize that putting their stories together was like a puzzle she desperately needed to solve.
For the first time since they'd started speaking, Cedric hesitated. His hesitation only fueled her curiosity more.
"I'm not entirely sure what I can tell you"—her shoulders sagged somewhat—"but we're still working on it, actually. Although he's not very happy that I'm involved."
That much was obvious, of course.
"We knew something was wrong once your stay in the hospital wing was extended. Did you experience anything during your coma?"
"Not really. Although, now that you mention it.."
She did remember feeling as if she were being watched. The closer she came to consciousness, the more prominent the feeling became.
"After you disappeared for a while, I did feel like I was being watched. That wasn't you?" Cedric looked taken aback.
"No, I was keeping my distance from you, of course. Draco's orders"—he wiggled his fingers in the shape of quotes—"but I didn't want to get you too involved either."
She supposed that made sense.
"What Draco and I have mainly been talking about is You-Know-Who."
At that, she nodded. They had spoken about him as well—the rumors of his resurgence had shaken them both.
"We've talked about that too. That's one of the reasons I wanted him to join DADA." Cedric's unexpected chuckle startled her.
"I can't wait to see that idea in action. You've always come up with brilliant ideas, Hermione."
"Oh ha ha," she chuckled in a way that was completely fake, but smiled regardless.
"Is there anything else?"
"Besides his insistence that I keep my distance, he was mainly focused on..well, keeping you safe. A strange way of showing it, but those were his words." Cedric shrugged.
"I wanted that too. I still want that." She smiled, but couldn't find anything prudent to say.
Nevertheless, the words turned over in her head. He was focused on keeping you safe.
"I suppose that's all there is to tell, for now. Don't you have a patrol tonight?"
She groaned, remembering that she did, in fact, have to patrol. With Draco.
"That's all the answer I need," Cedric dusted off his trousers as he rose from his seat.
"Be sure to let me know how it goes." He gave her shoulder a reassuring pat, however it did nothing to ease her mind.
"You'll be one of the first to know, Cedric."
Hermione resolutely planted her feet against the cobblestones of Gryffindor Tower. She refused to pace, lest her nerves get the best of her.
Waiting for Draco was agonizing, though not as agonizing as the conversation that was sure to ensue.
She almost jumped out of her skin as a voice drifted down the corridor towards her.
"Frazzled over something, Hermione?" At least she wasn't being relegated to Granger again.
"No, I'm fine."
They meandered down their usual route—broom closets and classrooms empty as expected.
The castle was quiet—absent were their mid-patrol chats about nothing in particular, the atmosphere between them didn't allow it.
She wasn't entirely sure how to describe it. She knew she felt nervous, apprehensive.
However, Draco was as stoic as ever. Or so it seemed to her.
As they searched through yet another empty classroom, she decided to break the silence.
"I spoke with Cedric today," She dusted off a nearby desk, waiting for a reply.
When none came, she said, more quietly, "I spoke to Cedric and..I thought about you."
The sound of a sudden thud somewhere in the room caused her to jump.
She glanced over in the direction of the sound. Draco, who she had presumed to be on the other side of the room, was nowhere to be seen.
When she looked more closely, it appeared that a desk had been knocked into a nearby set of chairs.
She found Draco standing against the doorway of the classroom, facing away from her.
Since she hadn't been thoroughly scorned (or cursed out, for that matter) she dared to continue.
"I wanted you to know that despite all this craziness I do intend to be your friend—whether you like it or not. Earlier was..weird"—she could practically feel the tension radiating from where Draco was standing—"but I want to keep trying for that with you."
The words felt foreign and uncomfortable in her mouth but she knew they represented how she really felt.
"You're always tense and stoic and all that but you don't have to" — before she could finish her sentence, Draco was suddenly in front of her.
His hands encircled her arms, firm, but not painful. — "be that way around me," she finished quietly.
"Do you mean that?" His sudden change in demeanor made her think twice about continuing.
His voice, normally monotone and smooth, was now rough and husky with emotion.
That tone was usually an indicator of a fight just waiting to happen, of piercing words that are yet to come.
Slowly and with much trepidation, she placed her hands onto his upper arms.
"I do."
Ever curious, she tilted her head up to analyze his expression.
His face was scrunched with some emotion she couldn't decipher.
She thought it looked rather painful. "Then you should know exactly why I can't do that."
"Honestly, I don't know why," she felt her temper begin to flare up, and tried desperately to stomp it out.
"Don't you want a friend? Someone to rely on, to help you when"— she winced as the pressure on her arms increased.
"Someone to help you when you're in trouble, to talk to when you've had a bad day, or"—the sound of his exhalation stopped her monologue.
"No. Not with you." The words, spoken strongly, contrasted with his tone.
As if it was a battle he was already losing with himself.
Exasperated, she gave his upper arms a squeeze, defying her own boundaries.
"But why? What's so wrong about a friendship between us?"
She continued to search his face, noting that his once volatile expression was being stifled behind his familiar mask.
The silence that followed caused her skin to crawl.
She considered forgetting the whole thing, releasing him from her grasp and just continuing the patrol as if nothing had happened.
That would be the easiest path to take, of course.
But her tenacity wouldn't let her.
Through the fog of her inner thoughts and questions, she felt his hands move up to her shoulders. The touch was so light she almost thought she was imagining it.
"It's too easy. It's so tempting to think that I could, but you could just as easily turn your back on me and hate me again.
Not to mention that I don't exactly like you to begin with."
She knew that was a lie, a fabrication to get her to put some distance between them. Or so she hoped.
She'd noticed him do or say things like that to rile her up or offend her a few times but she wasn't backing down now.
"What's the harm in trying? We've already been doing this weird semi-friendship thing already."
The weight of his hands on her shoulders increased. "And look where that's gotten us. There's been so much harm already, and it won't stop now."
She reluctantly admitted that he had a point.
"If it's something I'm doing for your sake then I don't mind, particularly," She smiled and it was all she could do to keep herself steady.
She'd spent all this time with him, researching, planning, snarking, and she couldn't just throw that away at the mildest inconvenience.
She knew they weren't supposed to like each other, let alone tolerate one another, but something about him kept calling to her.
Maybe it was his selflessness when saving her during the Second Task, or him somehow being willing to cooperate with her friends (even hypothetically), or the fact that since their weird partnership had started, he'd treated her differently than he ever had before. Even if it was minutely.
Whatever it was, she wanted to give him a chance.
He glared at her, releasing a sigh. He sounded as tired as ever, but she felt some of the tension in his arms release.
"Fine, Hermione. You'll have your way, as usual. I'll heed your silly little friendship idea, much to my dismay. I'll continue to tolerate your presence and snark"—she thought she heard his voice soften a little—"and perhaps one day I'll be able to prove you wrong. But for now, I will yield."
His signature eye roll eased her nerves, and she found herself chuckling. "Finally!"
"But don't you dare get the wrong idea." With a squeeze of her shoulders, he released her and stepped back.
The cool air between them almost made her follow his path, but she let go of his arms all the same.
"Now, what is all this about you and Diggory?"
Author's Note
Another chapter done! This one was fun. However, there are some things I want to address.
**the reviews I'm talking about have been deleted/aren't public but I still saw them
I've mentioned it before but I'll say it again: I write as a hobby. There are bound to be mistakes and inconsistencies. This story isn't perfect and neither am I. However, leaving rude reviews and comments about the story or about my writing is just really hurtful. I'm mostly writing this story because I want to for myself, publishing it was really just an idea I had for fun because I enjoy reading other people's stories. Please keep all of this in mind when leaving a review that does not contain any constructive criticism. If you're going to review with a critical eye (as you should!) Please keep it civil and constructive. I write this pairing because I enjoy their dynamic as fictional characters and nothing more.
With that out of the way, thanks for reading! Updates will keep coming. I'm about to start my first full time job soon but I'll make sure to keep writing.
