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All of us stepped into Malfoy's very spacious office. I sat in one of the chairs, while Malfoy and Harry stood there looking nervous. Why did they look nervous? The whole image of Harry and Malfoy being in the same room without having a go at each other was just incredibly…how to put it…ridiculous?!?! As I looked from face to face, I realized that they were about to confess something. Jolly yay!!!
"H...Hermione?"
Harry said that in such a wavery voice but he looked like a cute little…let me not repeat that thought…But yeah, Harry continued:
"Have you had any er…strange…feelings towards Draco lately? Anything odd…like a balloon is blowing in your stomach every time you see him?"
Ahh Harry, the good one. Such a genius with words and phrases. What a lovely metaphor he was using! I answered him in a very Umbridge way-a dangerously low yet 'sweet' voice.
"Why do you ask? How is that of your concern?"
You should've seen the cross between a smirk and terror on Malfoy's face. Hold on, when I looked at him, I usually did feel that odd balloon like growth in my belly. Where was it now? It was more like a popping of a balloon now.
"Hermione, don't get angry with us, ok? Just answer my question. Do you feel that?"
"Come to think of it, I did. But now I don't. Now would you care to-?"
Ugh. Harry just started talking to Malfoy in a very hushed whisper. What the hell were they talking about? My temper was rising. Harry and Malfoy. Malfoy and Harry. Talking. It was beginning to sink in.
"Hermione?"
I used my sweet Umbridge voice:
"Yes Harry?"
"You see, you might have been under the premonition that you actually had a crush on Malfoy. I think it's beginning to wear away."
Whoa. Was he using occlumency on me?
"Er…how did you find out that…I have a crush on Malfoy?"
"Had, Hermione had. According to Fred and George, it should be wearing away by now. I think we should explain."
Fred and George in the same sentence referring to me? Something was amiss.
"Yes, I think you should."
That was my 'calm' voice. I was desperately trying to figure things out. Fancy that, it wasn't working.
"Promise me one thing."
"What?"
"Do not be mad at us. Please."
What could Harry and Malfoy possibly have done to make Harry make me promise such a thing?
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I was fuming. I had stormed out of Malfoy's office without saying a word to either Harry or Malfoy. I was afraid that if I did, it would sound like this:
"%@#& you! @*&% you $%*^#@~$*$%!"
They tampered with my life! How could I possibly not want to kill them at this moment? You want me to explain. I will. And don't laugh because it's not funny.
Turns out that I didn't really like Malfoy. Bugger. I was living a lie. Stupid Fred and George. You see they created a 'Love Potion' that would instantly make the person who drank it fall in love with the person they saw next. They, of course, needed someone to experiment on. So why not poor, innocent Hermione? Actually, it wasn't really their fault. It was more like Harry and Malfoy. Those insufferable males are the financers of Fred and George's Joke shop. So naturally, when Fred couldn't find someone to experiment on (victim to me), he gave the job over to Harry and Malfoy. Malfoy suggested me, Harry agreed (he thought it would be safe, yeah right) and Malfoy slipped the potion into my coffee. Did he not know that I would be suspicious with my beloved coffee for life? Nooo.
And the worse part is, they think that it was ok to experiment on me. After all, "No one really got hurt and it's not you like him anymore, so where's the harm?" Harry said that obviously. Malfoy didn't even look at me throughout the whole thing. Good for him. He better be ashamed.
And how were Harry and Malfoy good mates? Simple. They were secretly training for the Order throughout half of our seventh year in Hogwarts. They were just bound to be friends, right? Of course, I always had a tad bit of a feeling in my heart that Harry might be gay and it was not surprising when he once said to me that Malfoy was "Not a bad bloke. Not a bad one at all." Malfoy was attractive so maybe Harry was attracted to him? But my worst fear proved to be false because I *accidentally* walked in on Ginny and Harry snogging. It was not a pretty sight, but hey, they are married now.
Back to the present, where I am currently hitting my head against a greasy table in Hog's Head. I apparated here, without thinking. And there they are, Harry and Malfoy coming towards me. Not coming, running.
"Granger, where the hell did you go?!?"
If he thought I was going to talk to him, he was oh so wrong. So I just glared at him, not trusting to act otherwise. Although, I should've kicked him in a place that would hurt. A lot.
"It's not Granger-it's Hermione. Listen, we're terribly sorry that we…"
A whole explanation and a handful of apologies were being tossed around in Harry's words. Malfoy nodded a couple of times after Harry said something. I was just zoning out-it all sounded like a bunch of blah blahs to me. And I couldn't stay mad at Harry forever. And it wasn't like anything bad came from this situation. But I wasn't going to forgive him and Malfoy so soon…
"It's ok Harry, I forgive you and him. It's not like anything bad came out from it, right? And tell Fred and George that their love potion works really good, but it doesn't last that long."
He gave me a hug. I was misunderstanding something. How the hell did those words pop out of my mouth? I had just thought about not forgiving them and I blurted out that it's ok? What the hell was happening? I looked to see if Malfoy had modified my memory or something. Drats. He didn't even have his wand. That means it was my own fault.
So the rest of the day went as a blur. Harry had to go back to Romania-he just took a day off for this visit-so I bade him goodbye with a hug and a kiss. Malfoy treated me to dinner-yes time passed that quickly. I ate a lot more than I would expect, after all, I was still wondering if Malfoy was going to put that Love potion back into my food sometime. Note to self: Never accept food items from Malfoy.
We didn't talk much and an uncomfortable silence filled the air. I caught him staring at me, and I stared back at him. We had a staring contest, but my eyes started to water after a while and I had to blink. Yes, I did loathe Malfoy-sorry-Draco (Harry's making me say that). But it didn't mean that I was still confused about my feelings towards him. I mean, I didn't completely think that all of those feelings about him came from that potion. Maybe there was something between us? But I didn't dare to think like that-every time I did, I imagined Malf-Draco and I getting married. That's not a pretty sight.
We ate; we left, and arrived at Malfoy Manor. We didn't say a word towards one another. But Draco-being the gentleman- took my coat of for me, and I was surprised. Then, just as I was about to go to my room, Draco placed to hands on my shoulders and stopped me. I looked at him for some sort of an explanation, but his eyes said something to me- "I'm sorry"
He had a pleading expression on his face and he looked genuine. I said to him that I forgive him (I'm not going to go into the details) but he then took me by surprise-and kissed me on my hand.
I wasn't angry at him after that. I questioned to myself. Where things going to improve between us?
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*Sigh*
I didn't think I was going to fit all of that into this chapter-but I had to. Tell me if you're confused about that love potion thingie or not. I don't know if I explained it properly or not.
R&R