Hogwarts Gets Wild!
Machiavella of Kingsport
Chapter 9: Luscious Nectarine
It wasn't until later, back in her room, that Hermione realized she wasn't just Draco's girlfriend. There was Krum. 'Shit,' she thought, and ran a hand through her bushy brown hair. How could she have forgotten? Oh right, because she hadn't heard anything from Krum since mid-summer, when she went back to London from his home. And then she had an idea.
Well, if Krum couldn't be bothered to write her or answer her letters, he obviously didn't deserve to have her. So she would write him another letter breaking up with him, and if he didn't write back, he didn't care if she went out with Draco. Right? Wait. Draco? Hermione Granger, victim of so many jeers and taunts over the years from that stuck-up, rich britches Draco…was going out with him? Hermione grabbed her bedpost, feeling dizzy all of a sudden. All of this was so wrong…
Yet she recalled Snape and Trelawney…there was an odd couple. If they could do it, then why couldn't she and Draco be a couple, too? Her conscience restored, Hermione set about searching for parchment and a quill. She found them in her school sack and flopped down on her bed, wondering how to start. Would she try to sound friendly and easy-going, or would she try to be apologetic? Or maybe accusatory? It was a hard decision. Probably best not to sound angry, because Krum certainly could have a temper, and if she sounded too friendly, that could also be a problem. Apologetic was definitely the way to go. She started writing:
Dear Viktor,
I've begun to realize that we don't have much of a relationship anymore. It has been months since I've seen you, or heard from you, and I can't just throw away this part of my life attached to someone I never see…
No. All of that was just dancing around the point. Hermione had to tell him the truth. All of that was true, but with that kind of a beginning, she would never get around to telling him that she had found someone else. She tried again.
Dear Viktor,
I don't think our kind of relationship is going to work out. I don't feel the same way about you anymore, and I have found someone new. His name is Draco Malfoy. I felt you ought to know, even though you haven't written back to me at all, and we haven't seen each other since mid-summer.
So I am breaking up with you. I hope you aren't angry, because I want us to still be friends. I'm sorry I had to end it this way, but there was no other way to tell you. Please write back to me, I need to know that you have received the letter, and that you know what's happened.
Your Friend Always,
Hermione Granger
This version of the letter seemed to work. Hermione got up to get an envelope and sealing wax when, suddenly, tears began to well up in her eyes. 'I feel so horrible doing this to him!' she thought dejectedly. She felt like a traitor. 'I should have known it wouldn't be this easy…'
The door to the room opened and Hermione's head came up with a start. She sniffled, wiping the tears away from her red, puffy brown eyes. The girl entering the room was Lavender.
"Oh, Hermione! What's wrong?" she exclaimed. She ran to the sobbing wreck and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. Hermione was grateful for the warmth and concern. She needed to tell someone. The two girls sat on the rumpled sheets, the letter lying curled up on the end of the bed. The story came out in broken sobs punctuated by wails of sadness and Lavender's coos of pity, although the pity was more that Hermione was now going out with a disgusting snob like Draco rather than that Hermione had to make her first break-up.
"I'm so sorry," she said finally, because it was all she could think of to say without offending Hermione or making her feel worse.
* * *
Later that evening, near midnight, Ron burst into the Gryffindor common room, his face a nasty shade of purple. "WHERE IS THAT HERMIONE GRANGER?" he bellowed, his legs spread apart and his hands clenched in hard fists. The only witnesses to the scene were his older twin brothers, who acknowledged his presence with a mere nod of the head. Calmly they told him she had gone to her room, in all likelihood.
Ron stomped up the staircase, knowing he shouldn't be in the girls' dormitory but not really caring. "HERMIONE? WHERE ARE YOU, I NEED TO TALK TO YOU!" He kicked open the door to her room, robes flying and flaming hair askew. When he saw her tear streaked face, he fell silent and took a sheepish posture, a bit ashamed. But when she stood up angrily, leaving Lavender sitting on her bed, Ron puffed up again, ready to explode. He had no idea that there were viewers in the hallway, half-asleep and looking annoyed and rather mutinous.
"Can't you keep your voice down? It's the middle of the night!" Hermione whispered harshly. "Whatever this is, I'm sure it can wait until tomorrow!" The people standing behind Ron all had their arms crossed threateningly. Ron looked wildly about him.
"I don't care! We need to talk!" He insisted, his hands still balled up into fists.
"About what?" Hermione asked nonchalantly.
"About…about us…and, and Malfoy!" All at once his purple face changed to red. "I didn't mean for it too sound like that…" He turned to face the viewers he was now aware of, staring holes into his back. "It's NOT what it sounds like!"
Even the interrupted sleepers felt inclined to chuckle evilly at that one.
Ron turned back to Hermione embarrassedly. "Any case, Hermione, we NEED TO TALK!"
"Oh, sod off, if you're going to be this way, I won't talk to you at all. Go to sleep. You're pissing people off. I'm not going to get into whatever mess you've concocted."
"How can you talk to me that way? I thought we HAD something! And there you were, tonight, you—you WRONGED me! I can't believe you dumped me for that—that Malfoy scum!"
Hermione was confused. "Wait, dumped…you? What's going on here?"
Ron's face twisted and he began crying. "I THOUGHT WE HAD SOMETHING SPECIAL!" He screamed. Shouts of "Shut up!" floated up from around the dormitories, and he looked a bit cowed. "Any case," he said a bit quieter, "You shouldn't have just pushed me to the side like that! WE HELD HANDS! You can't deny that, we EVEN HELD HANDS! And now you think you can just go around kissing whomever you want, and you don't care one whit about me!"
A bit coldly, Hermione replied, "And where do YOU fit into all of this? It's none of YOUR business as to whom I'm kissing! And as for 'something special,' I DON'T know what you're talking about!"
Ron sniffled, wiping his nose with his hand. "You…you mean to say…that is…I mean, I…we weren't going out?"
There was silence. All quiet on the front until:
"WHAT?!!!!!!!!!!!"
Ron cringed.
"GOING OUT? I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU GET YOUR CRAZY IDEAS, RON, BUT THIS TIME, I'M NOT EXCUSING YOU! WE WERE NEVER GOING OUT!" Hermione's hair was flying and her face was twisted with rage. Her voice got very quiet and threatening. "You had better pray for your life that I don't find out you've been spreading lies about us or something nasty like that, or…or I will read EVERY curse book I lay my hands on until I find something torturous enough to make you WISH you were in Azkaban! I simply can't believe this…"
Ron was not the only one trying to shrink into being invisible; Lavender crouched on Hermione's bed still, covering her ears and squeezing her eyes shut. Ron whimpered. "But…but I loved you…"
For a long moment Hermione's face went slack and her jaw dropped. Ron shook and a single tear slid down his freckled cheek, pale as the moon. And then her face hardened again, and with her teeth gritted in a horribly angry grimace, she slammed the bedroom door in Ron's face. Lavender cringed as she stomped furiously over to her bed, threw herself on her pillow, and screamed. It was the worst possible ending to a sixteenth birthday.
* * *
The letter to Krum was sent the next morning by cold, hurried hands, and Hermione struggled to keep from thinking. She threw herself into her studies and even ignored Draco. She refused to speak to Ron, and she only regretted it a little when she coolly avoided Harry's questioning glances. The girls surrounded her, asking her what was the matter, putting soft, flitting arms around her shoulders, but Hermione threw them off and hurried to her classes. The people who had witnessed the row the night before avoided her like the plague. The day refused to end. But that was all Hermione wanted.
That evening, after her work was finished, she hurriedly changed into her nightgown and gathered her things, marching in a cloud of oblivion to the bathroom to brush her teeth, and she almost didn't notice when a hand placed itself on her elbow. Then she stopped.
"Who's there?" She turned around, expecting to find another girl offering condolences, but instead, there stood Draco. "H…hello." All of her composure slipped away.
"Regretting something?" Draco asked, unusually sympathetic for his kind of person.
"Oh, everything…" Hermione stared at the floor.
"Last night, by any chance?"
"Yes…" Hermione paused. "I mean…no, just…it wasn't you! It was…something else."
Draco still looked slightly dejected. "You're still probably going to tell me it isn't going to work out. I can tell by the way you avoided me today. That's fine, I completely understand"—His voice was muffled by the girl who wrapped him in a tight embrace. He slowly hugged her back, but his eyes were wide open, confused. She stepped back, forcing a smile.
"No, no, Draco, it's nothing like that. Just…stuff from my past, I guess."
He was taken aback. "Then you still…?"
"Yeah."
There was an awkward moment of silence between them, and then Draco spoke up, shyly and warily. "Is there something you want to talk to me about?" He certainly wasn't used to being this nice to people, especially people who weren't even fully wizard….but he couldn't help his feelings. It was something new, and something better than the life he'd been leading under the strict tutelage of his father. These feelings he had were going to make him change, and he was going to help them along as best he could.
Hermione loosened, and relaxed. "Yes, I would love to talk."
* * *
A week later, all troubles had been forgotten and placed on a shelf in the back of Hermione's mind, except that Ron still wasn't talking to her, and Harry had been avoiding her. In fact, most of Gryffindor had, since the news about her and Draco had gotten around. But for a day, most of that was ignored as everyone got hyped up for the Slytherin versus Gryffindor quidditch match. It was of course the match of the year, always, since the two teams were the toughest in the school. Most of the Slytherins went around with their faces painted green with black all around their eyes like ghouls, and many of the Gryffindor boys carried around makeshift wooden shields with red lions painted on the front, except the latter were usually condoned inside classrooms by exasperated teachers who were hiding their own excitement for the match.
The classes were let out an hour early as Professor Dumbledore called everyone down to the fields. Much cheering and yelling ensued as students raced to fetch pompoms and streamers and banners. Only Hermione was unaffected by the excitement. Or rather, she was again tormented. She was dating a Slytherin, to whom she was much devoted, but she was in Gryffindor house…'Oh bloody hell,' she thought, suddenly not caring, and then tied her hair back into a bun, magicked it green, and changed her face a little so that she blended in wherever she went. She would be a Slytherin today.
She ran down to the field and took a place in the Slytherin stands unnoticed, just in time to see the teams march in. Outside it was a glorious fall day—warm, slightly breezy, and the mid-afternoon sun cast long shadows on the verdant green lawns. The lake was glassy and calm as the trees of the Forbidden Forest waved at the tops. Not even team rivalry would shake the cheer of Hermione Granger, Slytherin fifth year. With a blast of Madam Hooch's whistle, the teams faced off and rose into the air. Lola Fernandez took her place at the hoops, and Harry and Draco sneered a bit at each other, as usual, flitting about on their matching Firebolts.
The play began, and the quaffle was thrown about. The bludgers hurtled through the air, and the snitch was of course nowhere to be found…yet. The Slytherins scored the first ten points, and Hermione almost forgot to cheer until she remembered that she was a Slytherin that afternoon. She screamed heartily and grinned, clapping her hands. But when Gryffindor scored the next ten points, she refrained from booing with the rest of 'her' house—it was a bit too disloyal. The game wore on, and for every goal the Gryffindors got, try as their keeper did, she couldn't help every goal that the Slytherins matched. An hour and a half passed; the crowd wasn't cheering as heartily, and the players were beginning to look tired.
And then Hermione perked up. She was no quidditch player, and she certainly wasn't a seeker, but right in front of Lola was the snitch, flitting about tauntingly just a meter or two away. Hermione wondered if anyone else saw it, and then her questions were answered—Harry stopped in midair as he dodged a bludger, and then aimed his broomstick toward his team's keeper. Draco noticed, alarmed, and then chased after him. Hermione clenched her fists anxiously and raised a cheer throughout the Slytherins.
"Come on, Draco! Come on! You can do it!" she screamed. But suddenly her attention was turned by the laughing crowd to the Gryffindor seeker, Lola—shirtless! Harry, who had been ahead, fell off his broom with his mouth gaping open and hurtled toward the ground at an alarming speed. The rest of the Slytherins laughed and rolled in the aisles as Draco caught both the snitch and Harry's broomstick. Harry was luckily caught by Madam Hooch before he hit the ground, and Draco's victory went almost unnoticed as he circled to the field with his team. Even Draco was barely containing his laughter. Hermione burst into embarrassed giggles and covered her mouth shyly, until…
"LOLA FERNANDEZ, REPORT TO MY OFFICE IMMEDIATELY!" Professor McGonagall had taken over the loudspeaker, and Lee Jordan had been shoved out of his seat. As if the laughter throughout the stadium had been a soundtrack, it was quieted simultaneously, within the instant, although most of the students were still fighting to keep a straight face. Hermione certainly was…Lola was flat on the ground, shaking uncontrollably and cackling with glee, even though her team had just lost. McGonagall flew down the flights of stairs from the tower and stomped over to the prone figure and grabbed an arm, yanking up the mischievous keeper. The crowds and Hermione left for the dining hall, and the teams tried not to break into laughter again as they filed into the changing rooms.
* * *
Lola got detention, scheduled for the next week to do all of the laundry by hand with the house elves. But she didn't mind—she was famous. All of the boys wanted to know her, Lee Jordan had asked her out (only to be declined of course, because Lola only had Harry on her mind), and even George and Fred Weasley were impressed, which was amazing, considering they were the most professional pranksters in the school. The girls called her brave, the Gryffindors even called her heroic, because they knew her original intent was to have Draco fall off his broom rather than their own seeker. And some weird little fourth year named Collard or Craven or something like that had taken her picture and asked for her autograph.
She was set. She was on top of the world. But the night before detention she took a step off her high horse as she found Hermione in tears in the Gryffindor common room, a pile of letters scattered around her on the floor. "Hermione, what's wrong?"
"I didn't know he was going to make it so hard…" Hermione sniffled, sobbing uncontrollably. She wiped her eye sloppily with the palm of her hand and hit the arm of her chair with a weak fist.
"Who?" Lola was confused. "Is this a love issue?"
Hermione nodded miserably.
"It's not Draco…is it? Or Ron?"
"…no."
"Then who?"
For a while Hermione didn't answer, just took in a few sharp, staggered breaths as the tears continued to pour down her face. Lola pulled up a chair in front of her and waited.
"I don't want to talk about it here…" Hermione said finally.
Lola thought quickly, and then remembered where Hermione's favorite place was. It was late, it was bound to be empty. "Do you want to go to the library?"
"Yeah," Hermione said in a tiny, vulnerable voice. She stood up and scooped the letters into her arms, walking towards the common room door. Lola slowly followed. They walked in silence through the hallways, and the only sounds to be heard were Hermione's occasional sniffles.
The library was indeed devoid of people when the two girls arrived, and Madam Pince was on a last five-minute break before closing. They sat in a far corner near the Restricted Area.
"So what happened? Tell me from the beginning."
"Well, I was going out with this foreign guy, right…and then the whole truth-or-dare thing with Draco…and so I broke up with him. But he wants me back. Look." Hermione took a tissue out of her pocket and wiped her nose, and then handed the pile of letters to Lola. "He sent these all today. You're going to have to excuse his spelling…he can't write English very well."
Lola took a look at the first one, and almost laughed aloud—
My Most Darlink Hermoninny,
You cannd jast leave me lak these! I lov you and onlee you, I ahm dezparat fore you too lov agen me! These Draco Malfoy iz not being fore you! I cannd stahnd the thot of withowt you! Pleze say you wil being mine gurlfrind agen! Rite bak too me.
I lov you,
Viktor Krum
She felt so mean for nearly laughing at the letter, and she decided it would be best for her not to read the rest if she wanted to be tactful with Hermione.
"Oh, Hermione, I'm so sorry. What are you going to do? Do you still love him?" Lola put a comforting arm around the girl's shoulders. Hermione had stopped crying, but her eyes were still red and puffy. Her breathing was staggered.
"Well, kind of, but I love Draco more. I just feel…so heartless doing this to poor Viktor. He really did love me. He once said I was the first girl he'd ever felt this way about before. He even had me stay at his house for a month, south of Russia. I really loved him then…but I haven't seen him since. Draco's just…taken his place…and I feel so horrible knowing he can't stand that."
"So you're not going to go back to Viktor, are you?" Lola asked.
"Well, no, but it's just so hard to tell him that after all of this…" Hermione waved a tired hand at the pile of letters. "He made such an effort to tell me how much he still loved me…and I thought he didn't even care when I broke up with him, because he never wrote me. Turns out, he never wrote me, because he was ashamed that he couldn't spell English well. But when he realized that his not writing me was making distance between us, he threw himself on the line, humiliation and all…just for me…" Hermione broke into tears again. "He really did care! Oh god, I feel like such a horrible person…"
Lola had no idea what to say to that, but Hermione filled in the silences.
"He even had pet names for me! I was his little 'luscious nectarine.' His 'sunshine.' Now I'm just his ex!" Hermione bawled into Lola's shoulder and Lola patted her head sympathetically, trying not to crack up. So they sat there, Hermione sobbing, and finally, a while later, Hermione's tears subsided. Lola felt bad almost laughing at the letters, but she tried not show anything concerning them. Hermione abruptly stood up, wiping her eyes and nose. "I think I ought to go finish my work. I'm sorry to have been such a burden on you, Lola, but you were so nice, really. Thank you." She hugged her, and then scooped up her letters and left the library, her head ducked a little embarrassedly.
Lola yawned, and then a minute after Hermione left, she ambled toward the door. By the casing, she noticed a small piece of folded parchment. 'Someone must have dropped this,' she thought, and opened it to see whose it was. The writing looked familiarly sloppy. She read the last line:
"CAHM BAK TOO ME, MAH LUSHUS NECTAHREEN!!!!!!!!!!"
* * *
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry, for any of you readers who have been waiting…I know it's been a long time! I've been incredibly busy, like you wouldn't believe, even though for the past two weeks I've been on school vacation. Anyway, how was this chapter? I hope it wasn't too serious or anything. Please let me know, I love to get reviews! Well, hopefully the next installment will come…sooner than this one did, let's just say. I get out of school in two months, so that might be around when I start having time again, even though I might have a job. Anyway, keep it cool, dudes, keep faith in me, for those of you who did, I am going to finish this story! (Twenty more chapters to go, or so)—Nicoli D.