A whole lot of Confusion
Draco ran down to the Slytherin dungeons, aware of tears starting to form in his eyes. What the hell? Draco Malfoy did not cry. Malfoy's did not cry, did not feel, did not love. He was void of all emotion.
Whatever. He'd tried telling himself all this before. Before he'd confronted her, before she'd rejected him, before she'd wanted Neville more. He still couldn't believe it. He loved Hermione, why couldn't she see it? He knew she loved him too. This whole Neville thing was just a ploy. Wasn't it?
Maybe it wasn't. What if she really did like Neville? Neville Longbottom. He could just see them 10 years on – the Longbottoms. Hermione Longbottom. Draco flinched. The name definitely didn't suit her. How could she like someone like him? Snivelling and childish Neville. Maybe when she looked at her options, Draco or Neville, Neville looked like the best candidate.
Draco stopped at the door to his dorm. He walked in and looked in the small rusty mirror. Was he really that repulsive that Hermione preferred a squib like Neville?
Was there any point in even trying with her anymore? If he loved her, he would just let her be happy, right? And if happy was with Neville, so be it. He'd sit on the sidelines and wait, in case she ever decided he wasn't that bad after all. Or else he could get over her. Draco shook his head. The latter didn't seem that likely.
Draco flopped down on his bed and covered his face in his arms, shutting out the little light that filtered into the dungeon in an attempt to cure his throbbing headache. Since when had his life got so cheesy?
*~*~*~*~*
Hermione was, quite frankly, bored now. The crowd she and Neville had attracted had slowly filtered away, the last few spectators leaving about 3 minutes ago. Yet still he clung to her like some kind of ape. What had she gotten herself in to? Had she actually said yes to Neville?
"Um, Neville?" she asked tentatively.
"Yeah?" he asked, still grinning, his cheekbones now grinding into her shoulder.
"You reckon you could let go now?" she asked slowly.
"Ok. Whatever you want Hermy." He smiled as he dropped his arms obediently.
Hermione glared at him.
"No Hermy." She ordered. He nodded, still grinning. If she was going to pull this off, she would need to act a little more enthusiastic. She looked at his pathetic face. This was going to be hard.
*~*~*~*~*
Harry and Ron waited anxiously in the common room. Ginny had just informed most of the common room of her match-making job. Fred and George had gleefully jumped up to owl Percy, who had always had a 'bit of a thing' for her. They, however, had been shocked at first. Neither of them had expected their best friend to ever consider Neville Longbottom - they were complete opposites. But they were happy that she had finally found someone, after they had convinced her that Viktor Krum was a male gigolo in his home town. "It's for her own good." Ron had said at the time. Neither of them ever had liked that guy after all, and they had felt considerably guilty after that. So in a way, Neville dating her kind of gave them relief. But of all people, she had to choose Neville?
At that very moment, the happy couple walked through the portrait door. Well, Neville was happy, evident from his abnormally large grin. Hermione, on the other hand, was just managing an attempt at a feeble smile.
Ron and Harry leapt out of their seats.
"So, it's true then?" Ron asked, fidgeting with the side of his robe.
Hermione attempted a smile, but it came out as a grimace.
"Yeah." She said. She doesn't look that happy, thought Ron. Perhaps it was just shock or something.
"Neville though?" Harry broke the silence with his incredulously tuned question.
"Uh huh." Hermione nodded. The boys looked at each other.
"Well, I suppose you could have done worse…" Harry stated quietly, careful not to look at Hermione.
"Could I?" she asked, even quieter than Harry. "What does that mean?" He wondered.
"Yeah, could she?" Ron asked, making no effort to mask the confused tone in his voice. Or the volume.
Harry glared at him reproachfully. Hermione just looked impassive. Her eyes widened considerably when she caught sight of Ginny at the other end of the room.
"Excuse me, gentlemen." She muttered. They didn't seem to notice the terminology, and she left the two seventeen year olds bickering like boys twelve years their junior.
"Hey!" Ginny squealed excitedly as Hermione approached her.
Hermione smiled stiffly, showing Ginny she was not happy at all.
"Hey. We need to talk." She said. Ginny's face fell as Hermione grabbed her arm and pulled her upstairs to her dormitory, closing the door behind her.
"Hermione, wha-" Ginny started, obviously confused.
"Why is Neville suddenly so besotted with me?" she interrupted, whispering harshly.
Ginny looked confused. "Because he asked you out, and you said yes. Remember? My God Hermione, are you feeling ok?" Ginny put her hand to Hermione's forehead though it was quickly swiped away.
"He said that he knew I liked him because Ginny told him." She put on a higher voice and cocked her head to one side for the last three words. Ginny smiled sheepishly.
"Yeah I'm really sorry about that. But I saw him this morning and he was so upset because he thought you didn't like him and I just had to put him out of his misery, so I couldn't not tell!" she paused for air. "Can you forgive me?"
Hermione was really confused now. "Tell? Ginny, you're not making any sense. What was there to tell?"
Ginny sighed. "What you told me yesterday, you know, about feelings for people and all that stuff." Ginny shook her head as she laughed, or rather chuckled, inwardly. "I know you said it was made up, but nothing much gets past me! When Neville started talking to me, it clicked!"
"What clicked?" Hermione asked, wondering if sometime between yesterday and this present moment she'd had a blackout.
"You know! The guy you were talking about, the one who had feelings for you and you thought you had feelings for too, was Neville."
"Neville?" she asked.
Ginny laughed. "Yes, Neville! Albeit, I was shocked at first, but if he's the one you like, I still stick by what I said yesterday – go for it!"
At that point, Hermione noticed they had company in the room. She looked round to see Harry and Ron standing in the doorway.
"Hey." Harry said awkwardly, embarrassed at being caught eavesdropping. He looked around the girls' bedroom curiously from where he stood, having never been in it before. He blushed for some reason only Harry will ever know.
Ron stepped forward and put an arm round Hermione. "We're happy for you Hermione, even if it is Neville. And I don't know what you were on about to Ginny yesterday – we've got nothing against Neville, he can just be annoying sometimes, but it's not as if we 'really hate him' as you put it."
Hermione looked up from the floorboard she had been staring at in concentration. The penny had finally dropped, as her mother would say. When she had been talking to Ginny about Draco, Ginny had thought she meant Neville. Oh God.
She walked backwards slowly shaking her head and sat down on her bed, all the while muttering "No no, oh no, no, no, no!"
"Do you think she's ok? I mean, mentally?" Ginny whispered to her brother. Ron just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head simultaneously in response.
"Ginny how could you be so stupid?" she whispered to her friend. Ginny looked at her oddly.
"Wha-what do you mean? I thought you'd be happy." Ginny actually looked hurt. The boys just looked confused. There was a hell of a lot of that going around today.
"Happy? Happy?" Hermione laughed. "Why would I be happy? It's Neville for crying out loud!"
"I'm not sure I'm following you." Ron said slowly, looking her in the eyes.
"Neville wasn't who I was talking about yesterday Ginny!" she said, her head turning to face the girl. Ginny looked baffled.
"Then," Harry sat down on the bed beside his best friend. "Who were you talking about?"
Hermione suddenly realised how stupid she was being. She couldn't tell them about Draco. Not that there was anything to tell. Not that she actually knew herself. God, maybe she was going mad.
"No one." She said quickly.
"Well, it must have been someone." Ron pointed out, sitting on the other side of her and holding her hand. Hermione wracked her brain for a plausible excuse.
"Oh I see what's going on here!" Harry said, his eyes twinkling.
"You do?" she asked hopefully, although afraid he might have thought of Draco…not that there was any her and Draco.
"You're embarrassed because you weren't planning on telling Neville!" he finished. Hermione's face lit up.
"Yeah, that's good! I mean, right!"
There came a loud "Ooh!" from her friends and they laughed. Hermione smiled feebly, nodding to a "Gotcha!" from Ginny.
"Well, we'll leave you to come to terms. I suppose Neville is still downstairs ranting about his wonderful girlfriend anyway!"
The trio left the room and headed downstairs, leaving Hermione in the room in isolation. She put her head in her hands. It was bad enough before, but now she had gotten other people involved – Ron, Ginny, Harry and Neville. It wasn't as if she loved Draco, so why was everything so messed up?
A little note from me: ok I guess nothing really happened in this chapter…ah well, it's a little fill in I guess! Another one. And if I'm not mistaken, chapters 4 – 8 are all happening in the space of 24 hours. Hmm, strange. Or maybe not. Who knows? Ok, I don't know how long this is going to be and I've no idea how it will end so please feel free to give me any ideas, although I can't promise I'll use them all! Louise – do you think I should work Sparky the Goldfish in somehow?! That little guy/girl (it's undecided) rocks!! Yeah ok… By the way, I own nothing, which you probably figured out already because you're all such a smart wee bunch!! Thanks to both my reviewers *gives stern look to everyone who didn't review*. This chapter was already written though so you're questions and recommendations will be mentioned in chapter 9 – sorry!
Please r/r!
mystical xx