Long chapter here…Kinda weird, I have just this second decided that Seamus and Hermione made a really cute couple just now, and that Hermione is a total bitch. Enjoy.
Chapter Twelve – JealousyThe next morning, Hermione woke early and left the common room after a quick wash and change, wanting to stay as far away from Draco as possible. She had no real direction, breakfast wasn't for an hour at least. Almost on automatic pilot, she found herself outside the Gryffindor Common room.
Sighing, she entered, to find it surprisingly busy. Ron and Harry were all over their girls, and Ginny was sitting by the fire, stroking Crookshanks. Dean and Seamus were sitting in the other corner, playing chess. When Seamus saw her, he gave her a lop sided grin and beckoned to her. She pulled up a chair to their table.
"Alright, Hermione?" Dean smiled at her, but frowned as Seamus' bishop destroyed his knight.
"What are you all doing up so early? I was expecting the common room to be empty." She looked around at the assembled crowd.
"Just got back from a Quidditch practice, seemed no point in going back to bed. Since Harry became the captain we've all been doing early morning practices." He scowled at his friend as his Queen was taken. "Says it'll quicken our reflexes if we practice half asleep."
"Of course…" Hermione looked around the room. Lavender, Parvati and Ginny were the Gryffindor chasers, Ron's goalkeeping skills had improved greatly, Harry was seeker and Seamus and Dean had taken up the places of beaters last year. She watched the game in silence.
"Checkmate." Dean grinned at his beaten friend and Seamus shook his head.
"It's way too early to play this game." He pushed his chair back and grinned at Hermione. "So what brings you to the wonders of the common room?" Hermione shrugged.
"Draco wasn't awake, and anyway, I wanted to talk to some Gryffindors for a change." She shook her head. "You just can't get the conversations with a Slytherin." Seamus looked at her seriously.
"Is he still giving you a hard time? Because me and Dean would be only too happy to sort him out for you." Dean cracked his knuckles in agreement. Hermione laughed.
"No, no, I don't think he deserves that treatment just yet." Seamus gave her another gorgeous lop sided grin.
"Well, compromise, come to breakfast with us." He stood and helped her to her feet, taking her arm, Dean promptly took the other.
"You're on." Hermione nodded, and the three left for the great hall. Throughout the meal, Hermione was laughing uncontrollably. It seemed that Seamus and Dean had become quite the double act in her absence. She wondered why she never noticed them before. Not once through History of Magic, did Hermione think about Draco, or Ron and Harry. At lunch, Dean took his leave of them.
"Where's he going?" Hermione asked, slightly disappointed. Seamus shrugged.
"He's dating Hannah Abbott in Hufflepuff." Hermione nodded, a little disheartened, another person with a love life. "Why the long face? Am I not good enough for you?" Seamus faked a sad face and Hermione hit him.
"Of course you are." Placing her hand on his chest, flirting jokingly, she looked down the corridor, and saw Draco coming out of Arithmancy. He looked her way, saw Seamus and looked ahead immediately, wearing a strange expression. Hermione watched him round the corner, then she turned back to Seamus.
****
All the way through Arithmancy, Hermione doodled on her notepad, thinking about the look that Draco had given her in the corridor. What was it, a hint of jealousy? Just because she with another boy? Had she found the way in to him? She could use the green eyed monster to her advantage. Train it and use it for her bidding. Ignoring Professor Vector entirely, a whole new plan formed into her head.
****
Seamus was waiting for her outside her classroom when the class was let out. She smiled at him, and he grinned back. As they walked around the corner, Hermione was sure she saw Draco out of the corner of her eye. Well, let him follow her, it is his own fault.
She spent the whole of the lunch hour with Seamus, and they walked together to the dungeons for potions. When they got there, Seamus was talking animatedly about the up coming Quidditch World Cup, and how Ireland was sure to win, hands down. Hermione wasn't exactly interested in the topic, but at least he wasn't ignoring her, so she listened attentively and laughed at the jokes. When they got to the classroom, she found Draco was there already and she leant against the wall a little way away from him, still in deep conversation. Now they were discussing their project on Pixies that had been set. She rested her hand on his arm and smiled at him, trying not to look at Draco.
When Snape let the class in, Hermione took her leave of Seamus and went to sit with Draco, who was doing his best to look casual.
"I see you and Finnigan are getting on well." He said uninterestedly, unpacking his things, a hot feeling in his stomach forcing him to talk to her.
"Yeah, Seamus is really funny and enjoys spending time with me." Hermione answered with a hint of spite, watching Draco's reaction carefully. She glanced at Seamus, who looked up at her and gave her another of his lop sided grins. Hermione smiled back. Draco slammed his book on the table, causing Hermione's ink pot to tremble. "Watch it." She reached put to steady the offending item.
"Let's just get on with the lesson, shall we?" They spent the next ten minutes in silence. Seamus passed their table, on his way to the store cupboard. As he passed, he slipped a note into Hermione's hand. Hermione opened it and giggled, on his return journey, Seamus winked at her.
For the next few minutes they got on in silence.
"So, what did the note say?" Draco kept his voice in monotone.
"Nothing," Hermione answered.
"You found it pretty funny just now." He returned.
"It's an inside joke." Hermione replied, quickly scribbling a note and passing it to Dean, who had passed their table. Dean handed it to Seamus when he sat down. Seamus chuckled and gave Hermione thumbs up.
"Fine, have your funny, funny inside joke." Draco sighed, and filled a beaker with their potion, taking it up to the desk to be marked.
"What's up now?" Ron whispered to Harry. "Is Hermione going out with Seamus or Malfoy?" Harry narrowed his eyes at the brunette, giggling softly as she packed up her desk.
"I don't know, it's not like her."
As Draco returned to his desk, he asked calmly, "Are you headed back to the common room?"
"Yep, are you?" Dumbly, Draco nodded, knowing this wasn't fitting in with his plan. A wave of malicious delight hit Hermione as Draco glanced at the dishy Irishman, so the boy was possessive, eh? Well, she wasn't finished yet.
As they passed Seamus' table, Hermione linked arms with the boy, who only too happily joined them. Draco looked at Seamus and Hermione cocked her head to one side.
"Didn't I tell you? Seamus and I are care of magical creatures partners, we have a big assignment to do." She looked up at Seamus, who sighed, then chuckled when he caught her eye.
Draco didn't know what to do, so he pretended it didn't affect him, and just nodded. Hermione was somewhat put off by this, but pretended she didn't care. When they reached the common room, Draco decided the best thing to do would be to settle into a chair and immerse himself in a book, which he did, to an extent. To all outside observers, Draco was merely reading a book, but he was really listening to every word that was said. When he couldn't take any more giggling, or catching them touching out the corner of his eye, he casually stood up, snapped his book shut and meandered into his bedroom, closing the door with a soft click.
Hermione watched him go out of the corner of her eye and raised her tone adequately.
Draco lay on his bed, and listened to the laughter and conversation happening in the common room, feeling utterly depressed. Things couldn't have turned out better, but he was still completely gutted. He shook his head and sighed, it was his own fault Hermione was after Finnigan. He should have taken his chances and asked her out, but he didn't. As he stood, he heard Finnigan saying goodbye, and decided to venture out into the common room to talk to Hermione.
"Bye 'Mione." Seamus said, and Hermione smiled at him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Draco's door open, Draco wandered out looking completely unconcerned, but was that the flicker of a glance she saw? "Hermione?" Seamus smiled at her as she stood in a daze, and Hermione blinked and shook her head, smiling up at him. 'I'll give you something to glance at,' she thought.
She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Seamus' neck pulling him into a deep kiss. He responded eagerly and wrapped his arms around her waist. When they broke apart, she said "Bye Seamus," and a rather dazed but happy Irishman took his leave of them.
Acting casual, Hermione pulled her shirt down where it had ridden up slightly and turned to Draco, who had abandoned all pretence of not caring and was staring open mouthed at her. "Yes?" She asked, cocking her head to one side and raising her eyebrows, feeling very much like Bridget Jones in that movie. She strode past him into the other side of the room and gathered her stuff up in a pile.
"What's going on with you and Finnigan?" He asked, his voice failing to sound casual. "Do you like him?"
"Well, you know he likes me and I like him, so I thought I'd go for it." Draco crossed his arms and smiled knowingly at his friend.
"You sure you're not just trying to compete with Harry and Ron? You could do so much better then Seamus Finnigan."
"Who else would want me? I'm just a bookworm Gryffindor, all I was was Harry and Ron's friend. Now I'm nothing." She crossed her arms and looked to the ground, her plan worked and Draco placed his hands on her shoulders and said softly "You're not nothing."
Hermione's smile was hidden by her hair, he was hooked, all she had to do was reel him in.
