CHAPTER EIGHT

"Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see. It's getting hard to be someone but it all works out- it doesn't matter much to me. Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields…."

"Strawberry Fields", THE BEATLES

"Thank god things are back to normal, eh?"

"Well, with those two- what's normal?"

"Oh don't be cynical, Dean…"

"I'm not being cynical," Thomas said defensively. Finnigan gave a snort, and went on to loudly express his opinion, which was something he did frequently, most of the time regardless of who he was around. "No, you are being cynical," he said obnoxiously, "because you- like a lot of people in this school- can't accept the fact that two people like Ron and Hermione, who admittedly fought a lot when they were just friends, can become more than friends, and maintain a harmonious relationship! You know why?"

"Why?' said Thomas, sounding amused. Draco was pretty amused himself. He was sure that if Thomas and Finnigan knew that he was on the other side of the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw that they had decided to sit by, they wouldn't have engaged in such a personal conversation. Draco had never eavesdropped on so much gossip in his life. He hated to say it, having never been an endorser of the Hogwarts rumour mill, but it had been a fascinating half an hour, listening to the gossip kings of Gryffindor tower. Especially when their conversation had turned to the relationship between Granger and Weasley.

"Because you're cynical, Dean Bean," Finnigan answered smugly. "And you don't believe that sometimes tumultuous arguing belies a deep and profound passion for the other person. Ron could very well be a hidden receptacle of fiery passion which can be transposed into romantic activities and into his love for Hermione, which-"

"I've heard enough, shut it, I've heard enough!" Thomas laughed. "That's possibly the biggest pile of crap I've heard spew forth from the reservoir of said crap you keep inside your brain."

"There's that cynicism again!"

"Oh come on, Seamus…" Thomas sighed. "In all seriousness, you must know you're wrong."

"Wrong? Me?"

"It's known to happen," Thomas answered with a groan. "I believe you when you say that anger is usually a sign of passion- you're right there; it is. And you only have to look at Ron and Hermione to see that they're crazy about each other. But at the same time…" Another sigh. "Another look shows that they're hardly meant to be in a relationship. At least, not at the moment."

"There's no time like the present!"

"Not for them, Seam…I'm not quite sure what it is, but neither of them are very happy. To tell you the truth, I think it won't be very long before they break up."

"No!" Finnigan was scandalised.

"It's all right, have a cry if you need to, you Nancy."

"Well, sorry if I'm a little bit concerned about the welfare of our Ron and Hermione," Finnigan said sarcastically. "Seriously though, what makes you say that?"

"Well, it's not exactly…I mean, it's not a balanced relationship, and they don't seem to be able to shake off their inhibitions. They act like they're just- friends who hold hands."

"Mmm. It is a bit unbalanced, now that I think of it," Finnigan admitted. "Do you ever get the feeling that Hermione…"

"What?"

"That maybe Hermione…Hermione's a bit more, um, into the whole relationship than Ron is?"

Draco's brow creased. Surely Finnigan meant the other way round? It wasn't possible that Weasley held the power in the relationship, was it?

"Mmm, are you sure?" Thomas said slowly, "Ron can be a pretty quiet kind of guy- I can't imagine him bursting into song about how much he loves Hermione. Maybe she's just a bit more expressive, that's all. I can tell just from looking at Ron that he's crazy in love. I just hope it's with her!"

"Well, they're never going to make it work that way!" said Finnigan indignantly, "I think we should do something, don't you? Like we should-"

"Leave them be?" suggested Thomas.

"But I don't want to…"

"I think we should, especially since they're coming this way."

Draco looked this way and that. Weasley and Granger were nowhere in sight, but evidently they had just come up from the direction of Hagrid's hut, because their voices now joined Finnigan's and Thomas's.

"Hi boys."

"Hey."

"Hi guys," said Thomas. "I assume you've just bee to see the elusive Hagrid?"

"Yeah. He wasn't there, as usual."

"What did you need him for? Is there some important You-Know-Who gossip you should be sharing with us?"

"Yeah. He's just had his nails done," said Weasley sarcastically. Thomas and Finnigan laughed. "There hasn't been any news lately, since you ask, even though we shouldn't be telling you anyway."

"If anyone asks, I'll lie. I'm not above it." Finnigan said gleefully.

"You're not above a lot of things, shorty." Weasley said. From the tone of his voice Draco could tell he was smirking, and with good reason. Finnigan's short stature was laughable compared to Weasley's, and Draco happened to know that Finnigan was quite sensitive about his height. There was the sound of someone leaping to their feet and then a thump. Weasley laughed. "Owwww!"

"Oh, nice hit Seamus. That blow to his upper-thigh must have really hurt him." Thomas sniggered derisively amid the laughter from the other side of Rowena Ravenclaw.

"Yeah, why don't you bite his ankles? That's his weak spot, you know." Granger giggled.

"Oh, ha ha. The peanut gallery's in fine form today."

"This is the part where I'm supposed to make a joke about Hermione's fine form, but I'll refrain, for the sake of Ron." Thomas said. It didn't come as a surprise to Draco that Weasley's laughter abruptly stopped. He was notoriously jealous of Granger's male companions- its was a mystery to Draco that Wealsey had even let her sustain such close ties with Potter.

"Speaking of Hermione's fine form," said Finnigan, after everyone had stopped laughing, "I expect our game of Qudditch will be devoid of your charming company once again, tonight?"

"Yes," said Granger ruefully, "I have to tutor again, so I can't. But maybe I'll be able to re-schedule it for next week…"

"How much tutoring does this person need?" Weasley sounded irritable, and Draco grinned involuntarily.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to ask! Who is your mystery tutee, Herm?"

Draco's grin faded abruptly. No doubt she would start the barrage of insults, now. Oh, it's that horrible Malfoy, of course… And then they'd all join in. It seemed like the entire school was joining in, lately.

But then she spoke, after a pause, and it wasn't what he was expecting. "Oh…no one. Just a random Slytherin. I don't think you'd know him."

"Him?!" Weasley sounded alarmed, this time. "You said it was a girl!"

"D-did I?"

"Yeah, when I asked you how it was, you said, she wasn't that bad."

"Oh…" Draco could picture her face, flushing with embarrassment, and he felt a sick sort of feeling in his stomach. "You must have misheard me, Ron," she said, after another pause, in a stronger voice as though she had regained her nerve. "Anyway, I'm not supposed to tell people who it is, so, you can all stop being so nosy."

"Awwww…" Finnigan sounded disappointed. "I was hoping we could play Twenty Questions."

"No, let's go up for dinner," said Granger, in a distinctly irritated voice. "I'm hungry."

Draco rolled into the rose bed immediately as the sound of boots clomping around the statue rustled through the air. He stayed motionless as they all passed him, feeling quite ridiculous, but still not moving until he was sure they had all turned their back on him and started walking up to the castle. Poking his head out of the bushes, he looked up just in time to see Granger throw her arm casually around Weasley's waist. He immediately wrapped both arms around her and dropped a kiss on top of her ridiculous hair. She grinned up at him, and even from the rose bushes Draco could tell that it was a grin of pure adoration.

Funny. They didn't look like a couple that was on the verge of breaking up.

But Draco was coming to understand something about Granger, and that was that she wasn't quite what he expected. He didn't like to use the old cliché still waters run deep but it was true. Most people picked her as an over achieving know-it-all whose claim to fame was getting top marks every year and being one of Harry Potter's close friends. Despite that she remained fairly well-respected around the school, not just for her renowned academic skills but for her celebrated support of the fight against the Dark Arts. Her status around the school had risen considerably since the end of their fourth year- not only was she a consort of the famous Viktor Krum, but she fought on the right side, and everyone was under the assumption that she had not one, not two, but three very eligible young men lusting after her- Harry Potter, Viktor Krum and Ron Weasley to be precise. The academic standard of Hogwarts had risen with Hermione's popularity, as people started following her example concentrated harder on their studies. This was highly encouraged by the Professors so most of the staff were secretly very grateful to her.

Weasley's status had risen as well. Arthur Weasley had been directed onto Dumbledore's payroll after he resigned from the Ministry, and after making a wise investment choice in Wealsey's Wizard Wheezes, the Weasley family had entered into a considerably more comfortable lifestyle. They refused to move out of their laughable "house" in Dovershire when Dumbledore offered to put them up in a nice town house in Fullham, the better to be near Fred and George, but the twins had very gladly taken Dumbledore up on his generous offer. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes did booming business and a small branch of the shop was being opened up in Hogsmeade, which had gotten a lot of the students very excited. Furthermore to that, Draco had heard a lot of girls remarking how Ronald Weasley seemed to have "grown into his looks", and his family's prominent alignment with Dumbledore and his ilk could hardly be missed. Weasley appeared to remain unaware of his ascent into the Hogwarts social set, but Draco hadn't missed the ever-increasing amount of girls who stopped to talk to him in the hallways, and the blush that would creep up Weasley's long neck when they made their intentions clear. It was a good thing he and Granger were widely known as the Golden Couple of Gryffindor or he would have been eaten alive by now.

But the point was that Granger was not all that the rest of the school had picked her to be. She was more than that.

Or less, Draco amended, getting to his knees. "Ow!" A thorn dragged its way across his cheek as he rose to his feet, and he awkwardly dragged his way out of the bed of flowers, as thorns clung to his coat and the sleeves of his school shirt. The cut on his face drew blood, but not enough to make him run for help. (It had been a long time since Draco realised the only person who was going to feel sorry for you was yourself. In any case, he didn't want anyone else's pity.)

As he wiped his face with his sleeve, his mind conjured up a picture of Granger in the throes of anger (or passion, as Finnigan would obviously interpret it) with her face red and sweaty, her teeth bared, her voice ringing out insults in a way you would never expect from someone who could smile in such a friendly way.

He grinned, suddenly (involuntarily) as he remembered the sudden change her smile had undertaken during her fifth year. One day her teeth had been crooked and ugly, and the next day- straight and clean as if she had never needed that ridiculous metal contraption strapped across them in the first place. He knew how the transformation had taken place, of course- and it had been through a spell that he himself had thrown. In a skirmish in the hallway, he and Potter had thrown curses at each other…unfortunately Granger had gotten in the way. Or fortunately, as it turned out. He wondered if Granger realised she owed him. If he had never thrown the (something) curse at her, she never would have been able to get her teeth shrunk down in the first place. (He also wondered if she knew he knew, because the first time he had seen her with her new teeth she had directly shot a rather…um, what was the word….saucy smile at him.)

That was one thing he wouldn't have expected Granger to do- using magic to change ones appearance was strongly frowned on by the school, and it was usually only the more daring students who dyed their eyes and coloured their hair with magic, such were the dangers.

But she was a daring girl- that he would admit. Only a really daring girl would leap forward and strike him across the face like she had done to him in third year. (He liked to think so, anyway.) She was certainly powerful with her right strike, in any case. Yet another thing most people wouldn't have expected Hermione Granger to do- go around slapping people. He had never been more surprised, in the few seconds after he had struck him, when the pain was setting in…and the first thing he had thought had been I can't believe that Granger just slapped me. He had truly never thought she could be so…explosive.

Her crusade against house elves hadn't been especially surprising- leave it to Granger to fight for the weaklings that didn't need fighting for- nor had her outspoken loyalty to Remus Lupin, after it was revealed to all that he was a werewolf. She always aligned herself with the minority- she actually did fight the good fight, and she fought it well, though Draco couldn't always call that a virtue. (Especially since he had picked the losing side….) She was stubborn and bossy and opinionated- although her admirers could just as easily translate that into determined, assertive and confident. And she did have admirers. Especially since the Yule Ball…

Oh God, the Ball. One thing Draco would never- could never- admit to was how at the Ball her beauty hadn't completely taken him by surprise. Though her butterfly-like transformation had taken him by the shoulders and given him a hard shake, he couldn't say that he was totally shocked. As much as he despised the girl, he could admit when someone was attractive. And while he had never looked at her and considered her face anything but plain, she had a fine form (as Thomas might call it) and- since that skirmish in front of Potions class- a nice smile. At the ball she had looked stunning. And stunning was the word. Most people had looked at her with unflattering disbelief- quite a few hadn't recognised her. They hadn't even thought that the beautiful girl in periwinkle blue on the arm of a famous Quidditch star was Hermione Granger, the bookish fourth year Gryffindor who knew more than most seventh years. No, her beauty hadn't surprised him, but her attitude about it had. Wouldn't the class boff usually revel in the attention that her, until now, hidden beauty would bring? No, not at all. She seemed to behave as though nothing was out of the ordinary- in fact, she and Weasley had even had one of their quintessential tiffs. As though it weren't out of the ordinary for her to have the eye of every boy in the school, or to be consorting with famous Quidditch stars- or to have Draco Malfoy, who had always hated her, looking at her and thinking, "Why, how beautiful." Because that had indeed be what he had thought. She had even had the ignobility to wink at him during the Champions dance- as Viktor had revolved her past the Slytherin table she had looked past his shoulder, noticed him staring, and shot him a wink. It was almost flirty of her, really.

And now she had lied. Not just to her friends, but to her boyfriend. The pious, ethical, fight-the-good-fight Miss Hermione Granger had told a lie to her boyfriend. Apparently she didn't want Weasley to know that the Slytherin she tutored on Friday nights was he- Draco Malfoy. And Draco couldn't blame her, knowing as he did that Weasley was an extremely jealous kind of person and would object highly to his girlfriend hanging around in the library for hours at a time with the person he had hated most since starting at Hogwarts. Draco had no doubt that if- or when- Weasley found out he would be furious. So furious, in fact, he would probably break up with her. Surely Granger would know that? And if she was so very into the relationship as Finnigan and Thomas claimed, why would she risk it in such a way?

Why was she risking it just for his sake?