A/N: Hello once again! Thanks to all who reviewed, you are all the best! As a thank you, here's chapter Seven!!
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Chapter Seven
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I'm in love with him because…
She looked at Ron, her expression unreadable. After a series of hours thinking of why she loved him, Hermione finally gave up.
But then, she thought, she needed no reason to love him… to her he was special… in her eyes, he was unique from all the rest. Wasn't that reason enough?
Hermione jerked out of her reverie when Ron placed his hand on hers. "You okay?" he asked in a worried tone. "You look pale." His eyes were full of concern, and in an instant, Hermione was sucked into its pools of deep brown.
She smiled reassuringly and patted his hand with tender. "Yes," she replied faintly, "Just sleepy, that's all."
Ron smiled back and resumed his conversation with Harry. Hermione sighed silently and opened the book in front of her. Her lips formed a tiny smile as she turned the crisp white pages and thought, See, Malfoy, I don't need a reason to love Ron.
And once that thought sank in and consoled her, Hermione's doubts had already vanished.
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It was seven twenty in the evening. Draco and the rest of Hogwarts were in the Great Hall, eating dinner. He sat between Crabbe and Goyle, and in front of him was Pansy Parkinson, flirting endlessly with him. But he made no notice of her. He gazed past her, his attention falling on a Gryffindor seventh year… his Gryffindor.
Hermione, he called to her in a silent voice. She was yet again beside Ron, with Harry on her other side. Her curls cascaded gently on her shoulders, and her smile, though it was far away from Draco, melted his heart and made his knees weaken.
"It's not meant to be."
Draco sharply turned his head to Pansy. She wore a disgusted look, making her resemble a pug even more. Her light blue eyes flamed with anger and contempt. "You won't ever be able to attain her heart."
"Who's heart?" Draco lied.
Pansy glanced behind her shoulder and looked at the Gryffindor Table. "You know who I mean, Draco," she replied, shifting back her attention to him. Draco's heart skipped a beat.
"Shut your mouth, Parkinson." Draco stood up from the Slytherin table and exited the Great Hall immediately. Pansy, however, followed him outside.
"Leave me alone!" Draco's steps hastened as Pansy tagged along behind him.
"You can't love her! Why can't you love me?" she shrieked desperately, grabbing his arm and turning him around. She wrapped his arms tight around him. "Draco, I'm right here… right in front of you… I'm the one who loves you!"
Draco froze. Silence was all there was; all he could hear was the noise coming from the Great Hall. Pansy still held on to him, but he pushed her away. "Go away, Pansy," he whispered coldly. He looked down at her red face, her tears starting to stream down.
"What does she have that I don't have myself??" she cried out to him. Draco once again began walking.
Her whole self, he thought to himself. Her smile, her eyes… Her heart and soul.
Pansy ran after him. She tried catching up with him, but failed. He was too fast… and Draco didn't want to stop for her. As he was about to turn round the corner hall, she cried something out that made his steps falter.
"She doesn't love you!"
Oddly, her words echoed in the hallway. It seemed like time had stopped. The voices of students eating dinner seemed to vanish, and Draco felt numb. He looked at the figure in front of him.
"Face it, Draco," she said in a harsh whisper. Though her tears continuously ran down her face, and her appearance was in complete disarray, Pansy's voice was as sharp and confident as it always was when she told him, "Hermione Granger will never love you."
At that very moment, Draco felt like dying.
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A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! Review! Btw, please check out my forum site (it's not a website; thanks to that reviewer who kindly corrected me)! It's:
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