A/n: the fury of watching the PoA reviews brought me to writing this chapter. How DARE they spoil my favourite HP book by tarnishing it with such LEWD R/H-ness! (though, if you like that type of thing, then I am happy for you) PURISTS UNITE!!! (and, yes, I still call myself a purist, even though I am a D/H shipper)

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Chapter 4: Shameless movie plug

Hermione stared at the ceiling. In all her history of witchcraft, she had never seen such a huge complex squeezed into such a small space. The roughly 20 sq. foot section of land situated under the fire hydrant had bee transformed into a gigantic storage facility, complete with kitchens and bedrooms. They even had game rooms, equipped with everything needed to combat cabin fever, card tables, football tables, and even ornately carved wizard chess sets.

And speaking of chess……..

Hermione heard her door open a crack. She whirled around, only to see a blue eye, and a shock of red hair peeking through,

"'ermione, its me, Ron," he said. "May I come in?"

She nodded, smiling. He grinned, and ran in, and they embraced like the old friends they were. Stepping back, Hermione studied his face.

"You look…….different……" was all she could come up with, but indeed he did look different. There was something to him that she just couldn't put her finger on. Something…..unsettling.

"You must be joking!" he laughed. "You're the only one who's changed! Your hair is so dark, and your skin is so pale!"

"I haven't been in the sun much lately," she murmured, stroking her cheek with the back of her hand. He made a move to come closer, but she flinched. Something about his touch that used to be comforting, was now repulsing her. She turned to look at him.

"There's a lot you don't know about me. A lot that hasen't been said."

He smiled gently, but to Hermione, it looked almost mocking.

"I understand. There's a movie playing in the games room now. I was wondering if you'd like to join me?" he asked.

"I would love to," she lied, "but Fiona has to get to bed."

"Minerva has offered to watch her, " Ron replied, oblivious to Hermione's agitation.

"Oh."

He offered his arm to her, and she gingerly took it, painfully aware that she had just struck this pose with her husband, moments before his…….

She squeezed her eyes shut.

"The movie is supposed to be really good," Ron said, attempting to make small talk.

"Oh, what is it?" she inquired.

"Some muggle film that took a lot of money to make, with super heroes and evil men, and the lot. It's supposed to have been a big summer's hit."

She cracked a smile, albeit a sad one. "You mean X2?" Ron nodded in agreement. "Yes," she sighed, "that was one of Draco's favourites."

Ron flinched, just as he had used to do when the name "Voldemort" was said. "I didn't know Draco had anything to do with Muggle culture." He said bitterly, through clenched teeth.

"You would be surprised," she said, as they walked into the games room.

Hermione had to admit, the movie was enjoyable even without her husband by her side. She got a good laugh when Ron jumped as Wolverine unsheathed his claws, and couldn't help but notice that he was drooling at the scantily-clad Mystique.

"Girls flirt with the bad guy, Logan, but they never bring him home." the mutant doctor Jean Grey said, dismissing the obviously aroused Wolverine They marry the good guy

Ron poked her in the side. "Is that really how it is?"

She just smiled. "Boy," she thought, "I really messed that part up…….."

Ronald Weasley was an "if only" guy. Everyone knows the type. Girls always pass boys in hallways, or on street corners, and say, "he would be so hot, if only he cut his hair", or "He would be perfect for me, if only he were taller."

For Hermione Granger, Ron was an ideal prospect, "If only he were better looking, and a little less stupid." Her first impression of him was that he was one of those poor, dirty, smelly kids, that happened to be nice to you if you talked to them. She had always tried to bond a bit more with Harry, and ignore the poor animal.

And then hormones kicked in.

Her friend, the dashing Harry Potter, was enamoured at the time with Cho Chang, the bitchy, (and now dead) seeker from Ravenclaw, and had no time for her, dowdy Hermione Granger. Ron, on the other hand, was so caring and helpful, if not as handsome and exciting. The two were soon "an item" around Hogwarts, holding hands and such. A scared little girl with an excited little boy, actually. Ron loved the attention, both from Hermione, and from the students. Herm just loved having someone to talk to, though not too bright.

Around their graduation time, she was starting to have doubts. Her and Ron were starting to act more like old friends then boyfriend and girlfriend, and she had not always been…..faithful to him.

Then there was the exploitation. The ruckus over Harry's battle with Voldemort led to a gigantic coming out party for wizard-kind that even the Ministry couldn't cover up. Then Hermione knew the reason why they had been in secret for so long. These muggles, her kind, were horrible to them.

Draco Malfoy was everything Ron wasn't. Sarcastic, intelligent, and breathtakingly handsome. He charmed her instantly, after getting past the fact that he was MALFOY! (eeeew) She had seen him a few days after Hogwarts was out shopping in Edinburgh in a posh suit shop, and had approached him. He seemed intrigued by her discomfort of the new wizarding "openness", and had asked her out for coffee.

And the rest was history.

Ron walked her back to her room after the movie. She gave him a small good-night hug, and shut the door. What was it about him that made her feel uncomfortable? Even after they broke up, she still hung around him like a good friend, and now should be no different. He seemed more, threatening, or something.

Hermione fell on to her bed. Minerva had said she would care for Fiona the entire night, so that her mummy could get a good night's sleep. She was eternally grateful for that, even though she didn't feel like sleeping. Her mind was too awake for rest.

She opened her bedside drawer, and pulled out a thin leatherbound book that was stamped with a Hogwarts crest. It was a yearbook from 1997, her graduating year. Intrigued, she leafed through the pages. By that time in her life she was starting to get over Ron, she could tell from the pictures. In many of the pictures they were together, though she usually wasn't smiling, and was struggling to push out of the frame. However, one picture stuck out for her. It was a picture of the Head Boy, and Head Girl, surrounded by the prefects out on the Quidditch pitch. Hermione, the beaming Head Girl, next to Draco, the smug Head Boy, and Ron, along with his colleagues, looking happy. She had always wondered how a brat like Draco had managed to snag the highest honour of Hogwarts, because at that time she didn't know much about his amazing intelligence. But even thought she still "loathed" him, the elder Hermione noticed that her photographic counterpart was gravitating slowly towards the handsome blonde.

She slammed the book shut, tears stinging in her eyes. He could be dead now. He was probably dead now. A salty drop fell, and splashed onto the leather surface of the book. Draco was gone. And looking through this book made her feel stupid for wasting 7 years of her life without him.