A/N- Will everyone please read my new story, Race Against Time? It would be so nice of you! I hope ya'll liked last chapter, though I think I might've made it a bit too transparent. Oh well. You'll never know, and I'll never tell...(OK so that's a lie, you'll find out soon enough)!
~Recap
I changed into my night gown, and got under the covers. "God I hope this works," I mumbled tiredly, and closed my eyes.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Hermione, stop craning your neck like that. It'll stick!" Ron told me sternly.
"Sorry," I mumbled. I had been staring at Draco again, studying what he was doing. "Ginny, have you talked to Snape yet?" I asked her.
"I borrowed Pig and owled him, he should be getting my letter soon," she answered, looking skyward.
"Great. Ron, have you flirted with Pansy yet?" I asked him.
"No, I will later though," he said taking an enormous chunk of eggs, and shoving it in his mouth.
"Ron, don't let Pansy see you doing that," Harry said, and we nodded our heads, very disgusted.
"OK, I'll twy," he said, chewing the eggs with his mouth wide open.
"Ron!" Ginny hissed at her brother. "That's so disgusting. What does Padma see in you?"
"Good question," he said, smiling widely, half masticated eggs spewing out of his mouth.
"Speaking of Padma, have you talked to her about Pansy yet?" Harry asked.
Ron quickly became very interested in examining his pumpkin juice. "Do you think Snape would ever really sneak something in our drinks?"
"Ronald Weasley! Do you want her to see you hanging all over Pansy?" I said to him.
"No! I'll talk to her after breakfast, OK? Will that get you off my back?"
"Hey, it's not my problem if Padma hates you when she notices you having an some kind of abrupt affection for Pansy Parkinson," I told him.
Ron glared at me then took a big bite out of his toast, still glaring at me. I rolled my eyes and laughed at him I as so usually did. Though most of the time, Draco was sitting next to me, laughing also. It pained me to think of him though, because when I saw his face in my mind, I generally saw Pansy's face right beside his. I couldn't help but look over my shoulder at Draco, and what I saw made me want to puke. Draco had his arm around her, and was feeding her French toast.
"Look at them over there, all over each other like that. Not even considering the fact that we are revolted by it," I said, then covered my mouth. "Did I just say that out loud?" I mimicked.
"Yeah, and you make a good point. I can't believe Professor McGonagall isn't doing anything about that," Harry said.
"Two can play at that game," Ginny said, climbing on Harry's lap, and screeching loudly, so Pansy and Draco would look over.
"Ginny! Get off, that's so sick! My sister and best friend holding each other like that! Get off Gin, get off!" Ron said, and when Ginny showed no intentions of moving, Ron reached over and tried to pull her off.
"Ron! Geroff me! Geroff!" she shrieked while he kept pulling her. "Ron! We're just trying to show up Pansy and Draco!"
"Do you have to do it so physically?" he asked, still fuming even though Ginny was back in her own seat.
Hermione glanced over at the Head Table, and saw Dumbledore watching with amusement, a twinkle in his eye. "Cut it out you two!" Hermione said, and jerked her head towards the Head Table.
Ron saw Dumbledore looking at him, and dropped Ginny's sleeve. "God Ron, now you've stretched out my robes," she complained.
"Oops. Sorry," he said, not looking sorry at all. He actually looked proud for successfully dragging Ginny off Harry.
"You're not sorry," she sneered.
"I guess you're right. I'm not sorry because it sickens me beyond words to see you two showing physical attraction. It makes me sick, just like it makes Hermione sick to see Draco and Pansy together. You guys made a promise to me when you decided to become a couple, remember? You said you wouldn't really act like one in front of me, no kissing, or sitting on each other's laps. If you didn't do that, I'd lay off, but you haven't held up your end of the bargain. If I had a sickle for all the times you two have kissed in front of me, I'd be as rich as Malfoy!" he said, raising his voice every so slightly.
"Ron! I'm sorry I love Harry, but come on! Can't you just accept that?" Ginny yelled, and Harry stared at her.
"You, you love him?" Ron said in a small voice.
Ginny took a deep breath. "That's what I said."
"Really?" Harry asked, a smile dawning on his face.
She took a deep breath, then exhaled. "Of course," she said, looking down at her plate.
Harry threw his arms around her, embracing her in a tight hug. I snuck a glance at Ron and he was staring at the ceiling, attempting to not look at Ginny and Harry. It was hard though, this was a critical moment in their relationship and it was hard to keep your eyes off them. Seamus started clapping wildly, and some people joined in with him. People at the table shifted in their seats to get a good look, and started clapping too, even though they had no idea what was going on.
"Go Harry!" Seamus roared.
"Score one for Potter!"
Ginny was blushing the very color of her hair. She also looked a little distraught, though that could've just been me. "I didn't think we'd cause this much attention," she whispered to Harry.
"It's OK, I'm used to it," Harry replied with a grin.
Ginny heaved a sigh, then forced a pained smile. Ron was glaring at her with a look that said I-told-you-so.
"Shut up Ron!" Ginny snapped, then ran out of the Great Hall.
"What'd you say to her?" Harry asked angrily.
"I didn't say anything and for the record, neither did you!" Ron said, before storming out of the Great Hall after Ginny.
"What did I do? Or should I said, what didn't I do?" Harry wondered.
"Er...I think I may know what that was about," I said cautiously.
"What? Tell me Hermione," Harry pleaded.
"I don't know," I said slowly. "I think you should talk to Ginny," I told him.
"Is she mad at me?" Harry asked.
"Maybe, I think she's more shocked and hurt than mad," I told him.
"Is it Ron, or me?"
"Probably a combination of both," I said.
"Great, my girlfriend declares her love, then gets mad! Are all girls like that?" he asked.
"Well, I was. But that's a completely different story," I added due to the look on Harry's face.
"I know. I think I should talk to Ginny," he said getting up from his seat.
"We have class," I pointed out.
"I don't care. I've got to talk to her," he said and left.
I was alone, picking at my food, and I glanced over at Draco. He was still with Pansy, but he wasn't feeding her. This cheered me up a little so I smiled.
"Hermione, what just happened?" Seamus asked.
"I don't know," I lied. Truth was, Ginny was upset that Harry didn't tell her he loved her back. She was so sure he did, and him just hugging her probably came as a big blow. Although we both knew he loved her, and it didn't matter whether or not he said it, she was probably still upset that she proclaimed her love for the first time, and he kept quiet. I knew that was the reason after what Ron said. Ron left to tend to his younger sister, him being the protective, big brother. I doubted Ginny wanted Seamus knowing this though. "Sorry," I said shrugging.
"It's OK. I'm sure Lavender will find out somehow and tell me," he said snickering a little, and grabbing Lavender's hand.
"What's going on?" she said.
"You missed it, hun?" Seamus asked her.
"Missed what? I was well aware of you," she said to Seamus with a piercing stare, "clapping and cheering loudly when I was trying to talk with Parvati."
"Sorry," he said. "It was a big thing. Ginny telling Harry she loved him..." he said trailing off.
"Ginny did what?" Parvati squeaked.
"Why do think we were so happy?" Seamus said rolling his eyes.
"I didn't know that! We," Parvati said, signaling Lavender and herself, "were talking about what Dra--" she stopped, spotting me silently sitting there. She took a sharp breath and said, "sorry Hermione. I didn't realize you were there," she said looking small.
"It's all right. I don't mind," I said waving it off. Yet, deep down I felt rather upset. How dare they gossip about my problems? Why should they even care? Sure, Draco was handsome, but he also had a new girlfriend. Though, we hadn't officially broke up. I'd forgotten about that. Was he still my boyfriend, and was he cheating on me? Or should I just assume we broke up, and he's free game?
'You're crazy,' a voice in my head said. 'You've broken up, get over it.' I gulped sadly, and admitted it to myself. 'We're over, we're over, we're over,' I kept thinking in my head. Just the thought made me want to burst into tears. But I wouldn't do that. I'd shed enough tears for Draco, and right now he wasn't worth it. I would never let him see me cry again. 'Never,' I vowed.
"We won't do it anymore though, OK?" Parvati said looking hopeful.
"Good," I said smiling some, and getting up to leave the table. "I'm going to find Ginny, see you guys later," I said waving to Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati.
I left the Great Hall, heading up the stairs towards the common room. "Miss Granger, do you know what is going on?" the Fat Lady asked. I jumped, startled at the voice. I hadn't paid attention to where my feet had carried me. I had, yet again, been lost in thoughts. "Excuse me Miss. Did you not hear me? I asked why the Miss Weasley ran in. She was very distraught, and then her older brother came in after her, then the Potter boy came. Did I miss something?" she asked looking flabbergasted.
"No, but I can't tell you. It's something that shouldn't get out. I'm sorry. Horrible Slytherin git," I said. 'Horrible Slytherin git' was the password; I had changed it the second I got back from the hospital wing.
"If you say so," the Fat Lady said and her frame swung open, revealing a melancholy sight. Ginny was sitting with her head in her hands and the remnants of tears shown on her hands. Ron had his arm around her, and Harry was sitting across from them. He kept making moves to get up, but then would decide against it.
"Ginny, can I talk to you?" I asked gently. A tear-streaked face looked up at me. I smiled reassuringly, and she nodded. I motioned for her to go to my room and she got up and left.
"I'll talk to her," I told the guys, and went to my room.
"Hi Hermione," Ginny said.
"Ginny, I know what's wrong. You're upset because Harry didn't tell you he loved you. Ginny!" I emphasized. "You don't need him to tell you, you already know it."
"I know, but I had just told him. Most people would've thought if you told someone you loved them for the first time, then they would say it back!" she wailed.
"Give me a break. Maybe he thought it wasn't the right time. There are a million different reasons that he could have for not saying anything. Perhaps he just got caught up in the moment. Whatever the reason, it's no secret that he loves you," I told her.
"Yeah. I think I should talk to him," she said getting up and walking towards the door.
"Good idea. I'll cover Ron too, make sure he doesn't eavesdrop," I said smiling.
"Yes! Please do," she said.
"It'll be a good time for him to talk to Padma. Does Ravenclaw have any classes today?" I asked her. Ginny had a good friend in Ravenclaw, so she would know.
"It's Saturday. No one has classes, remember?" Ginny said, rolling her eyes at my forgetfulness.
"I knew that," I said trying to hide a smile.
"God, I thought you were top witch in your year," she teased.
"Go talk to Harry!" I said and chased her out the door.
*Harry's POV* (While Ginny and Hermione are talking)
I watched Hermione's door, waiting for Ginny to come out. I didn't know what I had done. Or in Ron's words, what I hadn't done. 'Maybe I heard Ginny wrong,' I thought. Perhaps she hadn't really said she loved me. Maybe she was just saying that to get Ron riled up. Whatever was going on with her was beyond me.
"Ginny!" I heard Ron call out. I looked up, and Ginny was racing through the door, followed closely by Hermione. Ginny looked up at me and stopped dead in her tracks. We stared at each other, and then Hermione shoved Ginny in the ribs.
"Oomph," she grunted, and looked at Hermione sternly.
"Go," she hissed.
"I'm going, I'm going. Don't wet your knickers," she retorted and walked towards me.
"I think we need to talk," she said in a low voice.
"OK," I said in an unusually high voice. She lead me through the door into Hermione's room.
"Sit," she said and pointed at the bed. I gulped and sat down on the edge of the mattress.
"Look Ginny, I'm sorry. I don't know what I did, and I feel really bad anyway. Please tell me what I can do to make it up to you. I'll do anything, anything!" I blurted out. I couldn't help myself, and all sorts of apologies came spewing out of my mouth.
"Harry! Calm down. I realize that I was very wrong, and I overreacted. I owe you an apology," she said.
"About what though? What did I do to make you so upset? Ginny, you know I would never do anything to hurt you," I trailed off.
"I know. I was just upset because, well," she looked away.
"What? Please tell me, I need to know," I pleaded.
"I thought you didn't love me," she said quietly.
I looked into her full blue eyes, and they were filled with hurt. 'Didn't love her?' I thought. 'That is as far from the truth as possible.' "Are you feeling OK?" I asked.
"What?" she said with her jaw dropped.
"I said, are you OK? Because something must be intensely wrong with you if you ever thought I didn't love you," I said now standing up in front of her.
"I know that now," she whispered looking at the floor.
"You should always know that," I said, lifting her chin up with my hand and locking her eyes with mine.
"Yes," she answered, and closed her eyes, raising her lips to mine.
They connected, and a surge of passion and love exploded inside our mouths. I thought I could feel fireworks, it was so incredible. I'd never been kissed like that, or kissed someone with such love. I never wanted to break apart from Ginny. The kiss was different from the usual. It was hot, fiery and romantic all at the same time. 'Is it different because we both know we love each other? Or does it mean nothing?' I wondered.
She broke apart from me, gasping for oxygen. When she caught her breath, she smiled at me. "Wow," was all she could manage to say.
"I love you Ginny," I said, and wrapped my arms around her, burying my face in her hair. I inhaled her soft scent of strawberries and smiled to myself. She put her arms around my waist, and held them there. We stood like that, taking in each other's embrace, until someone walked in.
"Harry? Ginny?" Hermione asked softly. She obviously hoped she wasn't interrupting anything.
I sighed, then removed my arms from Ginny. "We're OK," she said.
"Yes, no problems here," I replied disappointingly.
"That's good. Ron and I were worried you'd killed each other. We didn't hear anything, so we were worried," Hermione said.
"Killed each other? Hermione, remember what we talked about before? About you being the cleverest and smartest witch in your year? A blind dragon could tell that as mad as we were at each other, we could never use an unforgivable curse on the other," Ginny said rolling her eyes.
"Give it a rest Gin. I was only joking," Hermione said matter-of-factly.
"Oh," she said defeated.
'She looks so extraordinarily cute like that,' I thought grinning to myself. "We're coming," I said and left to see Ron in a state of panic. He was pacing around and talking to himself.
"I hope they haven't killed each other. Or worse, they better not be having...no...they're only 16. Well, some 16 year olds are that young when they..." his eyes suddenly widened and his jaw dropped. "Don't worry Ginny, I'm coming!" he yelled, and tried jumping over the couch, but was unsuccessful. He fell over it, tumbling onto the ground.
"Bloody hell," he said, scrambling to get to his feet. "Thank God no one saw that."
"Think again, Superman," I said, stepping out from behind.
Ron jumped and looked over at me. "Potter, you're dead!" he yelled and pounced on me.
"Weasley!" I hollered, pushing him off my chest. "Get off, get off!" I said as he started playfully punching me.
"You asked for it Potter," he said, his eyes glittering with vengeance.
"I didn't do anything! I swear! Let me go," I shouted.
"What the...?" Hermione said, having just walked in.
"What's going on?" Ginny asked.
Ron and I quickly leaped up, and folder our arms across our chests, trying to act cool. "We were just...ah...er..." I said, looking at Ron for help.
"Preparing for a nice round of..." he said, shrugging at me.
"Chess. A nice round of chess. Right Ron?" I said, nodding at him.
"Exactly. Chess. Ready to play Harry?" he said, smiling wide at me.
"Let's go. You're going down Weasley," I said.
"Do I hear a bet?" Ron asked.
"No way," I replied. I'd only beat Ron once, and that was when he had the flu and couldn't concentrate.
"So you're saying that you know you can't beat me," he said, a smile dawning on his face.
"Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying," I said and Ron's face fell.
"Fine. If you're a chicken, then I see why you can't have a little bet going," he said, and hit the right nerve.
"I'm no chicken! 5 sickles Weasley, and no more," I said.
"Good enough for me. I'm going to need to go to Zonko's after this," he said, rubbing his hands together greedily.
"Let's just play," I said. I was going to be 5 sickles shorter after this game.
"We're going to go talk to Snape and see if he'll let Malfoy tutor Ginny. We'll be back later," Hermione said, and Ron and I grunted a 'bye.'
"They're oblivious to everything when they play chess," Ginny said, stating the obvious.
"I know!" Hermione said, laughing. "We could tell them how much we love to make fun of them, that they look like prats when they do their Divination homework, or that Padma has a 7th year boyfriend in Hufflepuff."
"What?" Ron snapped his head up. "She has a boyfriend?" he asked incredulously.
"You didn't know? Yeah, after you ran out of the Great Hall with me at the dance, she hooked up with some Hufflepuff. The whole school is talking about it," Ginny added, getting what Hermione was playing at.
"She what?" he asked, staring intently at Hermione.
"You must be deaf or something, I can't believe you didn't hear about it," Hermione said. "We really should get going. Bye Ron!" she said happily, and walked out the door, Ginny trailing behind her.
"I don't believe this! She has a boyfriend? What about me? I thought we, didn't we?" he said, speechless.
"You're a stupid git," I told him.
"What?" he asked stupidly.
"They were joking. They were just playing with your mind you prat," I said, and shook my head as if it was the most obvious thing. Which, per sey, it was.
"Really?" he asked.
I heaved a loud sigh. "Yes, really. Now can we get on with the game? I want to lose and get it over with."
"OK," he said, and made his move.
*Hermione's POV*
"He bought it! He actually bought it!" I howled, tears streaming down my face from laughing.
"He's so daft!" Ginny cried.
We were walking down the corridor, trying to hold ourselves up. Tears were streaming down our faces, and it was the first time since the incident I actually felt good.
When we got to the Potions dungeons, we composed ourselves. I prayed my eyes weren't puffy from the tears, and walked in. Snape was at his desk, correcting papers.
"Professor?" Ginny asked.
"Yes Miss Weasley?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the paper.
"Did you get my owl?" she asked.
"I did," he said.
"And?" she said.
"I accepted your proposal for Mr. Malfoy tutoring you, but Mr. Malfoy seems to have denied it," he said, still grading the paper.
"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.
"Look at it yourself," he said, and began rummaging through papers on his desk. When he found the envelope, he gave it to Ginny.
'Professor Snape,
I have thought about your request, but I must turn it down. I have far too much work to do, and I can not waste my time tutoring a 5th year. My apologies to Miss Weasley, and I hope she can find a new tutor.
Best regards,
Draco L. Malfoy
PS- Why don't you ask Hermione Granger? She gets good marks in Potions.'
"What?" Ginny said. "Can't you make him tutor me?"
"I could do no such thing unless I have a good reason," he answered.
"Please? Hermione's already tried helping, but it still doesn't help. I need serious help," she begged.
Snape sighed, then moved the parchment aside. "Miss Weasley, you do understand that should I force Mr. Malfoy to tutor you, you will gave to agree to his schedule?"
"Yes, as long as it doesn't get in the way of my other classes," she said, trying to hide the smile that was tugging at the corner of her lips.
"Then permission is granted. I shall talk to Mr. Malfoy and tell him he has to tutor you. I will talk to you next class about scheduling," he said.
"Thank you very much sir," Ginny said, and flashed a smile at him.
"Now leave, I have need to get stuff done here. Go, go!" he hissed, ushering us out the door.
When we were at a safe distance, we started jabbering. "That was too easy," I whispered.
"I know. It was sort-of weird though. I mean, why'd he agree? I thought he hated all of us," Ginny pondered.
"Ginny, we already went over this. Malfoy's his favorite student, right?" I said.
"Right," she said slowly.
"He thinks I'm going out with Malfoy," I said, nodding my head as if saying, 'Get it?'
"Oh, right. I knew that," she said giggling.
I smirked at her, but then heard a noise. "Do you hear that?" I said.
"What?"
"Shh...I think I hear something. It's coming from over there," I said and pointed at a wall.
"That's a wall. There's nothing there," Ginny said.
"No, I hear something. Come with me," I said and walked towards the wall. I pressed my ear up against it, and listened closely. I heard mumbled voices, and they were talking quietly. "There's definitely someone in there. Now, how to get in," I wondered and began tapping the wall with my wand.
"Hermione..." Ginny said looking around wildly. "I don't whoever's in there want to be found," she said tensely.
"Someone's in there who shouldn't be, and I want to know who it is!" I said, pounding the wall with my fists.
"Well, we don't know how to get in there, so let's just leave it be," Ginny said, taking steps backwards.
"I'm going to find out," I said stubbornly.
"Not right now you're not," she said, grabbing the back off my robes.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" I shrieked.
"Look who's coming!" she seethed, and pulled me into an empty closet.
I opened the door to take a peek, and breathed a sigh of relief. Malfoy and Snape were walking down the corridor, talking in low voices. "Thank God they didn't see us!" I said when they had passed.
"You should be thanking me for getting you out of there. Imagine what Snape would've said if he caught us in the Slytherin halls, pounding on walls and trying to open them," she said and involuntarily shuddered.
"Yeah, I owe you one," I said to her, and opened the door again. "The coast is clear, let's go," I said, and quietly walked out.
Ginny and I ran down the corridor, praying we wouldn't run into anyone or anything. Ginny then stopped and I heard a soft 'meow.'
"Mrs. Norris," I groaned. "Hurry!"
We bolted out and ran like wild women. "To the common room!" I said.
"To the common room!" she repeated.
"Hor-Horrible Slytherin git," I panted. The Fat Lady held out her arm, and the frame opened.
"Woah, what happened to you guys?" Harry asked. Hair was sticking to our faces, and beads of sweat were rolling down our cheeks.
"Nothing," we answered casually.
"You look like you've been doing something you shouldn't have been doing," Ron said suspiciously.
"No, we just went to see Snape like we said. Right Ginny?" I said.
"Most definitely," she agreed.
"I don't want to know. So what did Snape say?" Harry asked.
"Malfoy said no," I said irritably.
"So he's not going to tutor you?" Ron asked. "After all that, it's going to the dogs?"
"You didn't let us finish! As Hermione was saying before she was so rudely interrupted," Ginny said, shooting Ron a dirty look, "we changed Snape's mind."
"How'd you manage that?" Ron asked.
I glanced at Ginny and giggled. I threw my chest out, and pouted my lips. "We did what we had to do," I said seductively.
"You didn't!" Harry said doubtfully.
"Sure we did," Ginny insisted. "And he thinks I have a damn fine body," she added.
Harry's jaw dropped, as did Ron's. If Ron couldn't stand the thought of his best friend with his younger sister, how could he stand someone he hated? Ginny and I were shaking with silent laughter.
"Me too," I said proudly, and turned around to unfasten the clasp of my cloak. "Attrezzatura Rivelante*," I whispered.
"Oops shoot, this clasp just won't fasten. I should be mad at Snape for unhooking it, I guess he just got a bit too carried away," I lied, pretending the clasp wouldn't fasten.
"Why don't you try using both of your hands?" Ron said sarcastically.
"You see, I would, but I don't want to--oh, oops," I said smiling brightly as leather undergarments came tumbling out of my hand. "I knew I should've let Snape keep them in his office," I muttered, picking up the knickers.
"You-what? Snape-office-keep?" Harry asked, speechless. He was looking from Ginny to me, his mouth a wide O.
"Ginny, where's yours?" I asked, edging her on.
"Oh, I took up Snape's offer. They're in his office," she said, and smiled at Harry. "You might like them, they're blue, like my eyes."
Harry was clutching his heart like he was going to have a heart attack, and Ron was standing still, as if frozen. "I think I need to sit down," he said, heading towards the couch and holding a hand up to his face.
"Hermione, let's go change into something more comfortable. That leather is really discomforting," Ginny said, a smile never leaving her face.
"OK, see you guys at dinner!" I said joyfully, and skipped up the steps. I waved at the one final time before scattering into Ginny's dorm.
We were overcome with fits of giggles. "I can't believe they bought that!" she shrieked.
"Me either! I had a feeling Ron would, but Harry? Harry isn't supposed to be that gullible!" I said.
"Maybe he thought I was still mad at him or something! I don't know what possessed him to think I would do anything with Snape! I wouldn't even dance with him, let alone kiss him or anything like that!" she said.
"I wonder what they're doing now..." I said, and we looked at each other.
"Time to go into sly, foxy spy mode!" we said in unison.
"Oh yeah, they better watch out, because they're being watched by us!" I said, acting like a drunk.
"Let's spy!" Ginny said, and put her hands into a gun position, and held them to her chest.
"I'm right behind you!" I said in hushed voice.
We snuck out onto the landing, and knelt down. Harry and Ron were sitting on the couch, staring at the wall in front of them.
"How could they?" Harry said turning to Ron who was still staring blankly at the wall. "Ron?" no answer. "Weasley?" no answer. "Time to resort to desperate measures," he mumbled. "Here goes nothing. Ginny's snogging Snape over by the fire!"
"What? Where?" Ron answered, suddenly alert.
"That worked," Harry said.
"Don't joke about that Harry! I'm trying to get the image of Snape and my sister snogging out of my head already! Don't make it any worse than it already is," Ron said.
"You're telling me. She's my girlfriend!"
"She's my sister!" Ron retorted.
"Well, we both love her in different ways. Now what are we going to do about Snape? Can you believe those two? What Hermione does for Malfoy," Harry said, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Yeah! Yeah," Ron said, looking as if something had just dawned on him. "Yeah, we're doing all this for Malfoy. Malfoy," he said, as though speaking to a kindergartner.
"I know it's partly for Malfoy. It's also for Hermione though. If she wants to go play with Snape for Malfoy, that's her problem. Let her," Harry said.
"I don't care about her with Snape! It's Ginny I'm worried about," Ron responded.
"Humph!" I growled. How dare he not care about me fooling around with Snape? Aren't I their best friend?
"Shh," Ginny said. "Listen."
"I care about Hermione and Ginny," Harry said. "Hermione's our best friend. How would you like it if she was sneaking off in the middle of the night to meet Snape instead of Malfoy? Think about it."
"Ugh, I don't want to think about it. I do see where you're coming from though. It's disgusting. I still can not get over the outfits they wore with Snape!" he answered, screwing up his face to rid himself of the memory.
"Me either. It doesn't seem possible though. I mean, they both hate Snape, don't they?"
"Yes, but desperate times call for desperate measures," Ron answered dejectedly.
"Gross. I don't think I'll ever look at them the same. Snape either," Harry said.
Ron just shook his head. "Nasty,' he said in a deadened tone.
Ginny and I looked at each other and bursted out laughing. Ron and Harry whipped their heads around to see us rolling the ground, yet again, with tears in out eyes.
"You two are so stupid!" Ginny screeched, pounding the floor with her fists.
"I've never met anyone as daft as the pair of you," I cried.
Harry and stood there, shifting their feet back and forth. "So you mean, you never-nothing ever-?" Ron started but couldn't finish his sentence.
"No, we just asked Snape to force Malfoy to tutor Ginny," I said.
"We don't know how Snape plans on doing that though," Ginny said with a sly smile on her face.
"Ginny don't!" Ron wailed. "I've already had enough dirty images of Snape in my mind!"
"I love seeing you in agony, dear old brother," she said patting him on the back.
"Shut up, Miss Powerpuff Girl," Ron said, and Ginny went rather red.
"Powerpuff girls? Isn't that a muggle TV show?" Harry asked.
"Yes, and Ginny's rather fond of them," Ron said, smiling sickly at his sister. "She has pajamas with the Powerpuff Girls on them."
Ginny's face was beat red now. "They're comfortable!" she protested.
"How'd you even come by them?" Harry asked.
"She stayed at my house this summer, remember?" I told him. It was true; Ginny had come to my house over the summer for a little girls' time. We weren't really good friends, but our parents thought it would be a good idea. We both wished we were back at the Burrow though.
"Oh yeah, now I remember. Tell me Ginny, who's your favorite?" Harry asked.
"Buttercup," she murmured.
"Mine too!" Harry replied. Ginny sighed and looked down at the floor. "I'm only joking Ginny. You know I wouldn't care if you wore Barney to bed."
"I guess. Even though I have no idea as to what he looks like," she answered.
"You don't want to know," I told her giggling.
"Probably not. Let's go get dinner, shall we?" Ginny said, trying to change the subject.
"Changing the subject are we?" Ron teased.
"I wouldn't try that Mr. Martin Miggs," Ginny said.
"I'm out of here!" Ron shouted and raced out the door to dinner.
"This has been a good day," I told Ginny as we were walking to the Great Hall.
"Yes it has," she answered.
"Don't forget, we have to talk to Ron about Pansy again," I said. "He seems to have forgotten."
"I won't forget, don't worry about that," she said, rubbing her hands together. "I'm going to have a lot of fun with him tonight."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Revealing Outfit (Italian)
A/N- OK, pretty long chapter, eh? I think so. Sorry about the 2-3 week wait. It took awhile to write this. I also have the greatest idea for a new story, and I've been working a lot on that. I know you'll love it! Please don't forget to review my other story!
Muchas gracias...
Shattered Angel- Thank you! You don't find out what's wrong with Draco yet, but it will happen soon enough!
Gooey Gooey Coca Beans- I love your pen name! Just thought you should know that. I have a shield of er...fortune cookies! You better keep your chopsticks of death tucked away cause my fortune cookies are unbreakable! But wait, I won't need my shield because your only going after me if Draco and Hermione don't end up together...*hints*
Star Moon- Thank you! I hope you review because I updated!
Sushie-chan- I doubt anyone likes Pansy Parkinson, so I don't know who would be offended! You'll just have to find out about Draco's problem. Maybe he's just being an ass. Who knows? I do...hehe read and find out!
JoeBob1379- I hope this post was soon enough for you! I tried hard to get it up soon, I really did! Characters are usually stupid in their own ways, so that's why they can't figure out the dream. Plus- I think you have more clues than they do! Draco may have changed his mind about loving Hermione. He could've been putting on a show. You'll just have to read and find out what happens.
Cyropi- Wow! What a long review! I'll write a long one like that for you too when you get your story up! Which will be soon, I hope. Good job at finding ways to stop my line of ferocious creatures from attacking you. I still have some in stash though...muwahaha!
Draco is an evil git! At least he is right now. He'll be back to *normal* sometime. I don't know when though...I shall get you into here somewhere...hmm...*thinks of where to put you* You can be the one who...I'm not going to tell you! Muwahaha I'm evil again! Maybe it'll have something to do with Pansy. *evil grin* How was the wedding? Bridesmaid, am I right? I need you to update snapesummer! It's really good and I want more! More, more, more! I'm a bossy person aren't I? Maybe it's just when it has to do with fics I'm dying to read more of! Or just read *coughyourD/Hrstorycough* Did I say that?
I would love to be in your fic! I will be dancing at the post-fight party! ( I wouldn't mind fighting and dancing though!) I'd like to dance with Draco! Er...he's Hermione's...never mind. I'll take a cute boy though! That'll work. I'll be called the-most-best-looking-think-on-earth-and-Draco-falls-in-love-at-first-sight-with-me! Or Lauren will work too. Wow, this is the longest thank you I've ever written. (It goes both ways!) I have a Hungarian Horntail outside my bedroom window, and she's *hungry* better watch out...
YSM (or should I say monkey?)- I hate cliffhangers too, but I leave 'em! Oh I'm a hypocrite. Silly me. I hope it was a good enough cliffie to keep you reading!
Emma- Thank so much! I love it when I get compliments, they mean so much to me! You make me feel all happy inside!
Beau Coeur- Dear old cousin. I clicked 'upload document' now are you happy? I'm a funny girl, aren't I? Especially when I'm funny through Ron Weasley. Thanks for the compliments, and I'm glad you like your present that I picked out. Go Tom Felton!!!
Natalie Garner- Thank you! It's too bad you don't have all night...I love compliments! They keep me going! I'm going to read your story as soon as I get a chance, which should be soon!
~Recap
I changed into my night gown, and got under the covers. "God I hope this works," I mumbled tiredly, and closed my eyes.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Hermione, stop craning your neck like that. It'll stick!" Ron told me sternly.
"Sorry," I mumbled. I had been staring at Draco again, studying what he was doing. "Ginny, have you talked to Snape yet?" I asked her.
"I borrowed Pig and owled him, he should be getting my letter soon," she answered, looking skyward.
"Great. Ron, have you flirted with Pansy yet?" I asked him.
"No, I will later though," he said taking an enormous chunk of eggs, and shoving it in his mouth.
"Ron, don't let Pansy see you doing that," Harry said, and we nodded our heads, very disgusted.
"OK, I'll twy," he said, chewing the eggs with his mouth wide open.
"Ron!" Ginny hissed at her brother. "That's so disgusting. What does Padma see in you?"
"Good question," he said, smiling widely, half masticated eggs spewing out of his mouth.
"Speaking of Padma, have you talked to her about Pansy yet?" Harry asked.
Ron quickly became very interested in examining his pumpkin juice. "Do you think Snape would ever really sneak something in our drinks?"
"Ronald Weasley! Do you want her to see you hanging all over Pansy?" I said to him.
"No! I'll talk to her after breakfast, OK? Will that get you off my back?"
"Hey, it's not my problem if Padma hates you when she notices you having an some kind of abrupt affection for Pansy Parkinson," I told him.
Ron glared at me then took a big bite out of his toast, still glaring at me. I rolled my eyes and laughed at him I as so usually did. Though most of the time, Draco was sitting next to me, laughing also. It pained me to think of him though, because when I saw his face in my mind, I generally saw Pansy's face right beside his. I couldn't help but look over my shoulder at Draco, and what I saw made me want to puke. Draco had his arm around her, and was feeding her French toast.
"Look at them over there, all over each other like that. Not even considering the fact that we are revolted by it," I said, then covered my mouth. "Did I just say that out loud?" I mimicked.
"Yeah, and you make a good point. I can't believe Professor McGonagall isn't doing anything about that," Harry said.
"Two can play at that game," Ginny said, climbing on Harry's lap, and screeching loudly, so Pansy and Draco would look over.
"Ginny! Get off, that's so sick! My sister and best friend holding each other like that! Get off Gin, get off!" Ron said, and when Ginny showed no intentions of moving, Ron reached over and tried to pull her off.
"Ron! Geroff me! Geroff!" she shrieked while he kept pulling her. "Ron! We're just trying to show up Pansy and Draco!"
"Do you have to do it so physically?" he asked, still fuming even though Ginny was back in her own seat.
Hermione glanced over at the Head Table, and saw Dumbledore watching with amusement, a twinkle in his eye. "Cut it out you two!" Hermione said, and jerked her head towards the Head Table.
Ron saw Dumbledore looking at him, and dropped Ginny's sleeve. "God Ron, now you've stretched out my robes," she complained.
"Oops. Sorry," he said, not looking sorry at all. He actually looked proud for successfully dragging Ginny off Harry.
"You're not sorry," she sneered.
"I guess you're right. I'm not sorry because it sickens me beyond words to see you two showing physical attraction. It makes me sick, just like it makes Hermione sick to see Draco and Pansy together. You guys made a promise to me when you decided to become a couple, remember? You said you wouldn't really act like one in front of me, no kissing, or sitting on each other's laps. If you didn't do that, I'd lay off, but you haven't held up your end of the bargain. If I had a sickle for all the times you two have kissed in front of me, I'd be as rich as Malfoy!" he said, raising his voice every so slightly.
"Ron! I'm sorry I love Harry, but come on! Can't you just accept that?" Ginny yelled, and Harry stared at her.
"You, you love him?" Ron said in a small voice.
Ginny took a deep breath. "That's what I said."
"Really?" Harry asked, a smile dawning on his face.
She took a deep breath, then exhaled. "Of course," she said, looking down at her plate.
Harry threw his arms around her, embracing her in a tight hug. I snuck a glance at Ron and he was staring at the ceiling, attempting to not look at Ginny and Harry. It was hard though, this was a critical moment in their relationship and it was hard to keep your eyes off them. Seamus started clapping wildly, and some people joined in with him. People at the table shifted in their seats to get a good look, and started clapping too, even though they had no idea what was going on.
"Go Harry!" Seamus roared.
"Score one for Potter!"
Ginny was blushing the very color of her hair. She also looked a little distraught, though that could've just been me. "I didn't think we'd cause this much attention," she whispered to Harry.
"It's OK, I'm used to it," Harry replied with a grin.
Ginny heaved a sigh, then forced a pained smile. Ron was glaring at her with a look that said I-told-you-so.
"Shut up Ron!" Ginny snapped, then ran out of the Great Hall.
"What'd you say to her?" Harry asked angrily.
"I didn't say anything and for the record, neither did you!" Ron said, before storming out of the Great Hall after Ginny.
"What did I do? Or should I said, what didn't I do?" Harry wondered.
"Er...I think I may know what that was about," I said cautiously.
"What? Tell me Hermione," Harry pleaded.
"I don't know," I said slowly. "I think you should talk to Ginny," I told him.
"Is she mad at me?" Harry asked.
"Maybe, I think she's more shocked and hurt than mad," I told him.
"Is it Ron, or me?"
"Probably a combination of both," I said.
"Great, my girlfriend declares her love, then gets mad! Are all girls like that?" he asked.
"Well, I was. But that's a completely different story," I added due to the look on Harry's face.
"I know. I think I should talk to Ginny," he said getting up from his seat.
"We have class," I pointed out.
"I don't care. I've got to talk to her," he said and left.
I was alone, picking at my food, and I glanced over at Draco. He was still with Pansy, but he wasn't feeding her. This cheered me up a little so I smiled.
"Hermione, what just happened?" Seamus asked.
"I don't know," I lied. Truth was, Ginny was upset that Harry didn't tell her he loved her back. She was so sure he did, and him just hugging her probably came as a big blow. Although we both knew he loved her, and it didn't matter whether or not he said it, she was probably still upset that she proclaimed her love for the first time, and he kept quiet. I knew that was the reason after what Ron said. Ron left to tend to his younger sister, him being the protective, big brother. I doubted Ginny wanted Seamus knowing this though. "Sorry," I said shrugging.
"It's OK. I'm sure Lavender will find out somehow and tell me," he said snickering a little, and grabbing Lavender's hand.
"What's going on?" she said.
"You missed it, hun?" Seamus asked her.
"Missed what? I was well aware of you," she said to Seamus with a piercing stare, "clapping and cheering loudly when I was trying to talk with Parvati."
"Sorry," he said. "It was a big thing. Ginny telling Harry she loved him..." he said trailing off.
"Ginny did what?" Parvati squeaked.
"Why do think we were so happy?" Seamus said rolling his eyes.
"I didn't know that! We," Parvati said, signaling Lavender and herself, "were talking about what Dra--" she stopped, spotting me silently sitting there. She took a sharp breath and said, "sorry Hermione. I didn't realize you were there," she said looking small.
"It's all right. I don't mind," I said waving it off. Yet, deep down I felt rather upset. How dare they gossip about my problems? Why should they even care? Sure, Draco was handsome, but he also had a new girlfriend. Though, we hadn't officially broke up. I'd forgotten about that. Was he still my boyfriend, and was he cheating on me? Or should I just assume we broke up, and he's free game?
'You're crazy,' a voice in my head said. 'You've broken up, get over it.' I gulped sadly, and admitted it to myself. 'We're over, we're over, we're over,' I kept thinking in my head. Just the thought made me want to burst into tears. But I wouldn't do that. I'd shed enough tears for Draco, and right now he wasn't worth it. I would never let him see me cry again. 'Never,' I vowed.
"We won't do it anymore though, OK?" Parvati said looking hopeful.
"Good," I said smiling some, and getting up to leave the table. "I'm going to find Ginny, see you guys later," I said waving to Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati.
I left the Great Hall, heading up the stairs towards the common room. "Miss Granger, do you know what is going on?" the Fat Lady asked. I jumped, startled at the voice. I hadn't paid attention to where my feet had carried me. I had, yet again, been lost in thoughts. "Excuse me Miss. Did you not hear me? I asked why the Miss Weasley ran in. She was very distraught, and then her older brother came in after her, then the Potter boy came. Did I miss something?" she asked looking flabbergasted.
"No, but I can't tell you. It's something that shouldn't get out. I'm sorry. Horrible Slytherin git," I said. 'Horrible Slytherin git' was the password; I had changed it the second I got back from the hospital wing.
"If you say so," the Fat Lady said and her frame swung open, revealing a melancholy sight. Ginny was sitting with her head in her hands and the remnants of tears shown on her hands. Ron had his arm around her, and Harry was sitting across from them. He kept making moves to get up, but then would decide against it.
"Ginny, can I talk to you?" I asked gently. A tear-streaked face looked up at me. I smiled reassuringly, and she nodded. I motioned for her to go to my room and she got up and left.
"I'll talk to her," I told the guys, and went to my room.
"Hi Hermione," Ginny said.
"Ginny, I know what's wrong. You're upset because Harry didn't tell you he loved you. Ginny!" I emphasized. "You don't need him to tell you, you already know it."
"I know, but I had just told him. Most people would've thought if you told someone you loved them for the first time, then they would say it back!" she wailed.
"Give me a break. Maybe he thought it wasn't the right time. There are a million different reasons that he could have for not saying anything. Perhaps he just got caught up in the moment. Whatever the reason, it's no secret that he loves you," I told her.
"Yeah. I think I should talk to him," she said getting up and walking towards the door.
"Good idea. I'll cover Ron too, make sure he doesn't eavesdrop," I said smiling.
"Yes! Please do," she said.
"It'll be a good time for him to talk to Padma. Does Ravenclaw have any classes today?" I asked her. Ginny had a good friend in Ravenclaw, so she would know.
"It's Saturday. No one has classes, remember?" Ginny said, rolling her eyes at my forgetfulness.
"I knew that," I said trying to hide a smile.
"God, I thought you were top witch in your year," she teased.
"Go talk to Harry!" I said and chased her out the door.
*Harry's POV* (While Ginny and Hermione are talking)
I watched Hermione's door, waiting for Ginny to come out. I didn't know what I had done. Or in Ron's words, what I hadn't done. 'Maybe I heard Ginny wrong,' I thought. Perhaps she hadn't really said she loved me. Maybe she was just saying that to get Ron riled up. Whatever was going on with her was beyond me.
"Ginny!" I heard Ron call out. I looked up, and Ginny was racing through the door, followed closely by Hermione. Ginny looked up at me and stopped dead in her tracks. We stared at each other, and then Hermione shoved Ginny in the ribs.
"Oomph," she grunted, and looked at Hermione sternly.
"Go," she hissed.
"I'm going, I'm going. Don't wet your knickers," she retorted and walked towards me.
"I think we need to talk," she said in a low voice.
"OK," I said in an unusually high voice. She lead me through the door into Hermione's room.
"Sit," she said and pointed at the bed. I gulped and sat down on the edge of the mattress.
"Look Ginny, I'm sorry. I don't know what I did, and I feel really bad anyway. Please tell me what I can do to make it up to you. I'll do anything, anything!" I blurted out. I couldn't help myself, and all sorts of apologies came spewing out of my mouth.
"Harry! Calm down. I realize that I was very wrong, and I overreacted. I owe you an apology," she said.
"About what though? What did I do to make you so upset? Ginny, you know I would never do anything to hurt you," I trailed off.
"I know. I was just upset because, well," she looked away.
"What? Please tell me, I need to know," I pleaded.
"I thought you didn't love me," she said quietly.
I looked into her full blue eyes, and they were filled with hurt. 'Didn't love her?' I thought. 'That is as far from the truth as possible.' "Are you feeling OK?" I asked.
"What?" she said with her jaw dropped.
"I said, are you OK? Because something must be intensely wrong with you if you ever thought I didn't love you," I said now standing up in front of her.
"I know that now," she whispered looking at the floor.
"You should always know that," I said, lifting her chin up with my hand and locking her eyes with mine.
"Yes," she answered, and closed her eyes, raising her lips to mine.
They connected, and a surge of passion and love exploded inside our mouths. I thought I could feel fireworks, it was so incredible. I'd never been kissed like that, or kissed someone with such love. I never wanted to break apart from Ginny. The kiss was different from the usual. It was hot, fiery and romantic all at the same time. 'Is it different because we both know we love each other? Or does it mean nothing?' I wondered.
She broke apart from me, gasping for oxygen. When she caught her breath, she smiled at me. "Wow," was all she could manage to say.
"I love you Ginny," I said, and wrapped my arms around her, burying my face in her hair. I inhaled her soft scent of strawberries and smiled to myself. She put her arms around my waist, and held them there. We stood like that, taking in each other's embrace, until someone walked in.
"Harry? Ginny?" Hermione asked softly. She obviously hoped she wasn't interrupting anything.
I sighed, then removed my arms from Ginny. "We're OK," she said.
"Yes, no problems here," I replied disappointingly.
"That's good. Ron and I were worried you'd killed each other. We didn't hear anything, so we were worried," Hermione said.
"Killed each other? Hermione, remember what we talked about before? About you being the cleverest and smartest witch in your year? A blind dragon could tell that as mad as we were at each other, we could never use an unforgivable curse on the other," Ginny said rolling her eyes.
"Give it a rest Gin. I was only joking," Hermione said matter-of-factly.
"Oh," she said defeated.
'She looks so extraordinarily cute like that,' I thought grinning to myself. "We're coming," I said and left to see Ron in a state of panic. He was pacing around and talking to himself.
"I hope they haven't killed each other. Or worse, they better not be having...no...they're only 16. Well, some 16 year olds are that young when they..." his eyes suddenly widened and his jaw dropped. "Don't worry Ginny, I'm coming!" he yelled, and tried jumping over the couch, but was unsuccessful. He fell over it, tumbling onto the ground.
"Bloody hell," he said, scrambling to get to his feet. "Thank God no one saw that."
"Think again, Superman," I said, stepping out from behind.
Ron jumped and looked over at me. "Potter, you're dead!" he yelled and pounced on me.
"Weasley!" I hollered, pushing him off my chest. "Get off, get off!" I said as he started playfully punching me.
"You asked for it Potter," he said, his eyes glittering with vengeance.
"I didn't do anything! I swear! Let me go," I shouted.
"What the...?" Hermione said, having just walked in.
"What's going on?" Ginny asked.
Ron and I quickly leaped up, and folder our arms across our chests, trying to act cool. "We were just...ah...er..." I said, looking at Ron for help.
"Preparing for a nice round of..." he said, shrugging at me.
"Chess. A nice round of chess. Right Ron?" I said, nodding at him.
"Exactly. Chess. Ready to play Harry?" he said, smiling wide at me.
"Let's go. You're going down Weasley," I said.
"Do I hear a bet?" Ron asked.
"No way," I replied. I'd only beat Ron once, and that was when he had the flu and couldn't concentrate.
"So you're saying that you know you can't beat me," he said, a smile dawning on his face.
"Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying," I said and Ron's face fell.
"Fine. If you're a chicken, then I see why you can't have a little bet going," he said, and hit the right nerve.
"I'm no chicken! 5 sickles Weasley, and no more," I said.
"Good enough for me. I'm going to need to go to Zonko's after this," he said, rubbing his hands together greedily.
"Let's just play," I said. I was going to be 5 sickles shorter after this game.
"We're going to go talk to Snape and see if he'll let Malfoy tutor Ginny. We'll be back later," Hermione said, and Ron and I grunted a 'bye.'
"They're oblivious to everything when they play chess," Ginny said, stating the obvious.
"I know!" Hermione said, laughing. "We could tell them how much we love to make fun of them, that they look like prats when they do their Divination homework, or that Padma has a 7th year boyfriend in Hufflepuff."
"What?" Ron snapped his head up. "She has a boyfriend?" he asked incredulously.
"You didn't know? Yeah, after you ran out of the Great Hall with me at the dance, she hooked up with some Hufflepuff. The whole school is talking about it," Ginny added, getting what Hermione was playing at.
"She what?" he asked, staring intently at Hermione.
"You must be deaf or something, I can't believe you didn't hear about it," Hermione said. "We really should get going. Bye Ron!" she said happily, and walked out the door, Ginny trailing behind her.
"I don't believe this! She has a boyfriend? What about me? I thought we, didn't we?" he said, speechless.
"You're a stupid git," I told him.
"What?" he asked stupidly.
"They were joking. They were just playing with your mind you prat," I said, and shook my head as if it was the most obvious thing. Which, per sey, it was.
"Really?" he asked.
I heaved a loud sigh. "Yes, really. Now can we get on with the game? I want to lose and get it over with."
"OK," he said, and made his move.
*Hermione's POV*
"He bought it! He actually bought it!" I howled, tears streaming down my face from laughing.
"He's so daft!" Ginny cried.
We were walking down the corridor, trying to hold ourselves up. Tears were streaming down our faces, and it was the first time since the incident I actually felt good.
When we got to the Potions dungeons, we composed ourselves. I prayed my eyes weren't puffy from the tears, and walked in. Snape was at his desk, correcting papers.
"Professor?" Ginny asked.
"Yes Miss Weasley?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the paper.
"Did you get my owl?" she asked.
"I did," he said.
"And?" she said.
"I accepted your proposal for Mr. Malfoy tutoring you, but Mr. Malfoy seems to have denied it," he said, still grading the paper.
"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.
"Look at it yourself," he said, and began rummaging through papers on his desk. When he found the envelope, he gave it to Ginny.
'Professor Snape,
I have thought about your request, but I must turn it down. I have far too much work to do, and I can not waste my time tutoring a 5th year. My apologies to Miss Weasley, and I hope she can find a new tutor.
Best regards,
Draco L. Malfoy
PS- Why don't you ask Hermione Granger? She gets good marks in Potions.'
"What?" Ginny said. "Can't you make him tutor me?"
"I could do no such thing unless I have a good reason," he answered.
"Please? Hermione's already tried helping, but it still doesn't help. I need serious help," she begged.
Snape sighed, then moved the parchment aside. "Miss Weasley, you do understand that should I force Mr. Malfoy to tutor you, you will gave to agree to his schedule?"
"Yes, as long as it doesn't get in the way of my other classes," she said, trying to hide the smile that was tugging at the corner of her lips.
"Then permission is granted. I shall talk to Mr. Malfoy and tell him he has to tutor you. I will talk to you next class about scheduling," he said.
"Thank you very much sir," Ginny said, and flashed a smile at him.
"Now leave, I have need to get stuff done here. Go, go!" he hissed, ushering us out the door.
When we were at a safe distance, we started jabbering. "That was too easy," I whispered.
"I know. It was sort-of weird though. I mean, why'd he agree? I thought he hated all of us," Ginny pondered.
"Ginny, we already went over this. Malfoy's his favorite student, right?" I said.
"Right," she said slowly.
"He thinks I'm going out with Malfoy," I said, nodding my head as if saying, 'Get it?'
"Oh, right. I knew that," she said giggling.
I smirked at her, but then heard a noise. "Do you hear that?" I said.
"What?"
"Shh...I think I hear something. It's coming from over there," I said and pointed at a wall.
"That's a wall. There's nothing there," Ginny said.
"No, I hear something. Come with me," I said and walked towards the wall. I pressed my ear up against it, and listened closely. I heard mumbled voices, and they were talking quietly. "There's definitely someone in there. Now, how to get in," I wondered and began tapping the wall with my wand.
"Hermione..." Ginny said looking around wildly. "I don't whoever's in there want to be found," she said tensely.
"Someone's in there who shouldn't be, and I want to know who it is!" I said, pounding the wall with my fists.
"Well, we don't know how to get in there, so let's just leave it be," Ginny said, taking steps backwards.
"I'm going to find out," I said stubbornly.
"Not right now you're not," she said, grabbing the back off my robes.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" I shrieked.
"Look who's coming!" she seethed, and pulled me into an empty closet.
I opened the door to take a peek, and breathed a sigh of relief. Malfoy and Snape were walking down the corridor, talking in low voices. "Thank God they didn't see us!" I said when they had passed.
"You should be thanking me for getting you out of there. Imagine what Snape would've said if he caught us in the Slytherin halls, pounding on walls and trying to open them," she said and involuntarily shuddered.
"Yeah, I owe you one," I said to her, and opened the door again. "The coast is clear, let's go," I said, and quietly walked out.
Ginny and I ran down the corridor, praying we wouldn't run into anyone or anything. Ginny then stopped and I heard a soft 'meow.'
"Mrs. Norris," I groaned. "Hurry!"
We bolted out and ran like wild women. "To the common room!" I said.
"To the common room!" she repeated.
"Hor-Horrible Slytherin git," I panted. The Fat Lady held out her arm, and the frame opened.
"Woah, what happened to you guys?" Harry asked. Hair was sticking to our faces, and beads of sweat were rolling down our cheeks.
"Nothing," we answered casually.
"You look like you've been doing something you shouldn't have been doing," Ron said suspiciously.
"No, we just went to see Snape like we said. Right Ginny?" I said.
"Most definitely," she agreed.
"I don't want to know. So what did Snape say?" Harry asked.
"Malfoy said no," I said irritably.
"So he's not going to tutor you?" Ron asked. "After all that, it's going to the dogs?"
"You didn't let us finish! As Hermione was saying before she was so rudely interrupted," Ginny said, shooting Ron a dirty look, "we changed Snape's mind."
"How'd you manage that?" Ron asked.
I glanced at Ginny and giggled. I threw my chest out, and pouted my lips. "We did what we had to do," I said seductively.
"You didn't!" Harry said doubtfully.
"Sure we did," Ginny insisted. "And he thinks I have a damn fine body," she added.
Harry's jaw dropped, as did Ron's. If Ron couldn't stand the thought of his best friend with his younger sister, how could he stand someone he hated? Ginny and I were shaking with silent laughter.
"Me too," I said proudly, and turned around to unfasten the clasp of my cloak. "Attrezzatura Rivelante*," I whispered.
"Oops shoot, this clasp just won't fasten. I should be mad at Snape for unhooking it, I guess he just got a bit too carried away," I lied, pretending the clasp wouldn't fasten.
"Why don't you try using both of your hands?" Ron said sarcastically.
"You see, I would, but I don't want to--oh, oops," I said smiling brightly as leather undergarments came tumbling out of my hand. "I knew I should've let Snape keep them in his office," I muttered, picking up the knickers.
"You-what? Snape-office-keep?" Harry asked, speechless. He was looking from Ginny to me, his mouth a wide O.
"Ginny, where's yours?" I asked, edging her on.
"Oh, I took up Snape's offer. They're in his office," she said, and smiled at Harry. "You might like them, they're blue, like my eyes."
Harry was clutching his heart like he was going to have a heart attack, and Ron was standing still, as if frozen. "I think I need to sit down," he said, heading towards the couch and holding a hand up to his face.
"Hermione, let's go change into something more comfortable. That leather is really discomforting," Ginny said, a smile never leaving her face.
"OK, see you guys at dinner!" I said joyfully, and skipped up the steps. I waved at the one final time before scattering into Ginny's dorm.
We were overcome with fits of giggles. "I can't believe they bought that!" she shrieked.
"Me either! I had a feeling Ron would, but Harry? Harry isn't supposed to be that gullible!" I said.
"Maybe he thought I was still mad at him or something! I don't know what possessed him to think I would do anything with Snape! I wouldn't even dance with him, let alone kiss him or anything like that!" she said.
"I wonder what they're doing now..." I said, and we looked at each other.
"Time to go into sly, foxy spy mode!" we said in unison.
"Oh yeah, they better watch out, because they're being watched by us!" I said, acting like a drunk.
"Let's spy!" Ginny said, and put her hands into a gun position, and held them to her chest.
"I'm right behind you!" I said in hushed voice.
We snuck out onto the landing, and knelt down. Harry and Ron were sitting on the couch, staring at the wall in front of them.
"How could they?" Harry said turning to Ron who was still staring blankly at the wall. "Ron?" no answer. "Weasley?" no answer. "Time to resort to desperate measures," he mumbled. "Here goes nothing. Ginny's snogging Snape over by the fire!"
"What? Where?" Ron answered, suddenly alert.
"That worked," Harry said.
"Don't joke about that Harry! I'm trying to get the image of Snape and my sister snogging out of my head already! Don't make it any worse than it already is," Ron said.
"You're telling me. She's my girlfriend!"
"She's my sister!" Ron retorted.
"Well, we both love her in different ways. Now what are we going to do about Snape? Can you believe those two? What Hermione does for Malfoy," Harry said, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Yeah! Yeah," Ron said, looking as if something had just dawned on him. "Yeah, we're doing all this for Malfoy. Malfoy," he said, as though speaking to a kindergartner.
"I know it's partly for Malfoy. It's also for Hermione though. If she wants to go play with Snape for Malfoy, that's her problem. Let her," Harry said.
"I don't care about her with Snape! It's Ginny I'm worried about," Ron responded.
"Humph!" I growled. How dare he not care about me fooling around with Snape? Aren't I their best friend?
"Shh," Ginny said. "Listen."
"I care about Hermione and Ginny," Harry said. "Hermione's our best friend. How would you like it if she was sneaking off in the middle of the night to meet Snape instead of Malfoy? Think about it."
"Ugh, I don't want to think about it. I do see where you're coming from though. It's disgusting. I still can not get over the outfits they wore with Snape!" he answered, screwing up his face to rid himself of the memory.
"Me either. It doesn't seem possible though. I mean, they both hate Snape, don't they?"
"Yes, but desperate times call for desperate measures," Ron answered dejectedly.
"Gross. I don't think I'll ever look at them the same. Snape either," Harry said.
Ron just shook his head. "Nasty,' he said in a deadened tone.
Ginny and I looked at each other and bursted out laughing. Ron and Harry whipped their heads around to see us rolling the ground, yet again, with tears in out eyes.
"You two are so stupid!" Ginny screeched, pounding the floor with her fists.
"I've never met anyone as daft as the pair of you," I cried.
Harry and stood there, shifting their feet back and forth. "So you mean, you never-nothing ever-?" Ron started but couldn't finish his sentence.
"No, we just asked Snape to force Malfoy to tutor Ginny," I said.
"We don't know how Snape plans on doing that though," Ginny said with a sly smile on her face.
"Ginny don't!" Ron wailed. "I've already had enough dirty images of Snape in my mind!"
"I love seeing you in agony, dear old brother," she said patting him on the back.
"Shut up, Miss Powerpuff Girl," Ron said, and Ginny went rather red.
"Powerpuff girls? Isn't that a muggle TV show?" Harry asked.
"Yes, and Ginny's rather fond of them," Ron said, smiling sickly at his sister. "She has pajamas with the Powerpuff Girls on them."
Ginny's face was beat red now. "They're comfortable!" she protested.
"How'd you even come by them?" Harry asked.
"She stayed at my house this summer, remember?" I told him. It was true; Ginny had come to my house over the summer for a little girls' time. We weren't really good friends, but our parents thought it would be a good idea. We both wished we were back at the Burrow though.
"Oh yeah, now I remember. Tell me Ginny, who's your favorite?" Harry asked.
"Buttercup," she murmured.
"Mine too!" Harry replied. Ginny sighed and looked down at the floor. "I'm only joking Ginny. You know I wouldn't care if you wore Barney to bed."
"I guess. Even though I have no idea as to what he looks like," she answered.
"You don't want to know," I told her giggling.
"Probably not. Let's go get dinner, shall we?" Ginny said, trying to change the subject.
"Changing the subject are we?" Ron teased.
"I wouldn't try that Mr. Martin Miggs," Ginny said.
"I'm out of here!" Ron shouted and raced out the door to dinner.
"This has been a good day," I told Ginny as we were walking to the Great Hall.
"Yes it has," she answered.
"Don't forget, we have to talk to Ron about Pansy again," I said. "He seems to have forgotten."
"I won't forget, don't worry about that," she said, rubbing her hands together. "I'm going to have a lot of fun with him tonight."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Revealing Outfit (Italian)
A/N- OK, pretty long chapter, eh? I think so. Sorry about the 2-3 week wait. It took awhile to write this. I also have the greatest idea for a new story, and I've been working a lot on that. I know you'll love it! Please don't forget to review my other story!
Muchas gracias...
Shattered Angel- Thank you! You don't find out what's wrong with Draco yet, but it will happen soon enough!
Gooey Gooey Coca Beans- I love your pen name! Just thought you should know that. I have a shield of er...fortune cookies! You better keep your chopsticks of death tucked away cause my fortune cookies are unbreakable! But wait, I won't need my shield because your only going after me if Draco and Hermione don't end up together...*hints*
Star Moon- Thank you! I hope you review because I updated!
Sushie-chan- I doubt anyone likes Pansy Parkinson, so I don't know who would be offended! You'll just have to find out about Draco's problem. Maybe he's just being an ass. Who knows? I do...hehe read and find out!
JoeBob1379- I hope this post was soon enough for you! I tried hard to get it up soon, I really did! Characters are usually stupid in their own ways, so that's why they can't figure out the dream. Plus- I think you have more clues than they do! Draco may have changed his mind about loving Hermione. He could've been putting on a show. You'll just have to read and find out what happens.
Cyropi- Wow! What a long review! I'll write a long one like that for you too when you get your story up! Which will be soon, I hope. Good job at finding ways to stop my line of ferocious creatures from attacking you. I still have some in stash though...muwahaha!
Draco is an evil git! At least he is right now. He'll be back to *normal* sometime. I don't know when though...I shall get you into here somewhere...hmm...*thinks of where to put you* You can be the one who...I'm not going to tell you! Muwahaha I'm evil again! Maybe it'll have something to do with Pansy. *evil grin* How was the wedding? Bridesmaid, am I right? I need you to update snapesummer! It's really good and I want more! More, more, more! I'm a bossy person aren't I? Maybe it's just when it has to do with fics I'm dying to read more of! Or just read *coughyourD/Hrstorycough* Did I say that?
I would love to be in your fic! I will be dancing at the post-fight party! ( I wouldn't mind fighting and dancing though!) I'd like to dance with Draco! Er...he's Hermione's...never mind. I'll take a cute boy though! That'll work. I'll be called the-most-best-looking-think-on-earth-and-Draco-falls-in-love-at-first-sight-with-me! Or Lauren will work too. Wow, this is the longest thank you I've ever written. (It goes both ways!) I have a Hungarian Horntail outside my bedroom window, and she's *hungry* better watch out...
YSM (or should I say monkey?)- I hate cliffhangers too, but I leave 'em! Oh I'm a hypocrite. Silly me. I hope it was a good enough cliffie to keep you reading!
Emma- Thank so much! I love it when I get compliments, they mean so much to me! You make me feel all happy inside!
Beau Coeur- Dear old cousin. I clicked 'upload document' now are you happy? I'm a funny girl, aren't I? Especially when I'm funny through Ron Weasley. Thanks for the compliments, and I'm glad you like your present that I picked out. Go Tom Felton!!!
Natalie Garner- Thank you! It's too bad you don't have all night...I love compliments! They keep me going! I'm going to read your story as soon as I get a chance, which should be soon!