"Mum, how do you know if you're doing something for yourself or someone else?" Hermione asked her mother. It was a month after the Halloween dance. The next morning, Blaise walked Hermione to breakfast. They sat together in all classes they had together and did not have assigned seats.
"Well, if you tell me who the someone is then I can tell you" Cassara said as she painted her toenail blue
"Well, you know that I'm dating Blaise, right?"
"Yes, I think so" she joked. "How's this color?"
"I love it. Well, I only agreed to go to the dance with Blaise in spite of Draco, but then he and I made up, but I still went with Blaise. Then Blaise and I were kissing and, well you know the story. What do you make of it?"
"Well, are you happy with Blaise?"
"Yes, it's just that every time I see Draco I get this weird feeling and I just kiss Blaise to make myself forget about him, Draco I mean. And then sometimes Blaise, promise me that you wont do anything drastic or jump or anything?"
"On Gaia's grave" Cassara said solemnly "And I think that you're more of a dark green nail polish person"
"Thanks, well Blaise sometimes tries to do more than I want-"
"WHAT!"
"Mother! Don't worry. I stopped him before anything happened. But I refuse to break up with him."
"Well, you do like him, you just said so. If you didn't like him then you wouldn't stay with him, unless you didn't like him in a boyfriend way. Right?"
"Well, yes. And I do like him. But why do I feel so, weird?"
"Well, there are two reasons. One is that you two aren't meant to be, and the other is that you're pregnant"
"Mother!"
"Just kidding. Hermione, I can't tell you what your heart does. This is all about what you think is right."
"Thanks mom."
Later that day
"Ah, my dear students. It has come to my attention that there are not enough social occasions for you to interact to promote inter-house relations." Professor Dumbledore said at the beginning of dinner. "After dinner, may the prefects and Heads please stay behind for a meeting. There is to be a girls' choice dance in one week. What this is is that the boys are not allowed to ask the girls to the dance. We shall be having a boys' choice later on in the year, but the date for that has not been assigned yet. Thank you"
"So who's asking who? Hermione, you're no duh going with Blaise, who are you-" Harry began
"Actually, I don't know who I want to go with" Hermione said in a small voice.
"What?" Ron, Harry, Ginny and everyone at the table within earshot asked.
"Well, we don't have to go to everything together. I mean, I haven't really been spending enough time with my friends lately" she slowly explained.
"Guess who" a voice said from behind her as someone's hands covered her eyes.
"Hi Blaise." Hermione said. Everyone watched with up most interest at what was happening
"So Hermione, what time would you like me to meet you for the dance?" he asked as he sat down and placed the petit girl on his lap.
"Oh, well we don't know when it starts, so how can I tell you?" Hermione said quickly
"Yes, yes, but we could meet a little early." He said, playing with a bit of her hair.
"Um, y'know what Blaise? I was wondering if maybe we could, oh dear? Is that the time? I have to go do something before the meeting." She pecked him on the lips and rushed out of the room.
All of the Gryffindors watched as she ran away from him and out of the hall. Whispers erupted along the table, but Blaise did not even listen. He just thought about the next night, their one month anniversary.
Blaise stood up and walked out of the hall.
"What do you recon she's going to do?" Ginny asked the two boys
"I don't know, but did you hear what the fucker suggested?" Ron said
"That damn bastard!" Harry pounded his fist on the table. "When you two are at the meeting, watch her like a hawk. She hasn't been the same since the dance. We have to protect her if he did anything."
The two redheads nodded and finished their meals in silence, except for Ron's disturbing eating.
"Now, tonight will just be deciding a basic guideline for the dance. What kind? Is there going to be a theme? If so, what is it going to be?" Jared began the meeting with.
Hermione raised her hand.
"Yes Granger?" Maria asked in a snobby tone
"Well, maybe we should have a retro theme?" she suggested.
"Great idea! All in favor, raise their hands" Jared said with a smile
Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Hannah, Colin, Ernie, Luna, Carrie (a Ravenclaw sixth year), the Ravenclaw and rest of the Hufflepuff prefects raised their hands and Jared raised their hands.
"Jared! We're not allowed to vote" Maria said in an annoyed voice.
"Well it still passes, so, just a vague retro, or a specific time period?" Jared said
"I say that it is just vague. Some people may like one time period more than others" Ginny piped
"Or, we can just have an early Hogwarts days theme." Draco droned
"All in favor of Malfoy's idea?"
The Slytherins, Hannah, Ernie, Luna, Carrie, and Hermione (slowly) raised their hands.
"Passed! Early Hogwarts days." Maria declared
"Excuse me, but I think we should have pictures of outfits and people from the time period to help people decide on a costume. Also, we should have the same types of food, decorations and music that they had" Hermione added
"Good idea. Well, how about we ask for a Hogsmead trip on Thursday? The dance is to be on Saturday at eight. You are all expected to arrive here a half of an hour early, if we are to have the same preparations and customs had then. Be here on Friday after dinner to set up. If there is nothing else, then the meeting is adjourned." Jared said, ending the meeting.
"I'll meet you guys on the pitch in a few minutes. There's something I have to do first." Hermione said to her friends. They responded by nodding and slowly walking out of the room.
"Hermione!" Jared called to her. She walked over to him "I hear that you may not be going with Zabini. Good call I say. He is no good. I knew it from the first time I saw him. If you wanted to ask someone older, more mature, you can always ask me"
"Thank you Jared, but I already know who I want to go with." Hermione declined politely. She turned around to go to her mother.
"Oh Draco!" she heard a shriek. It was Pansy.
"What do you want Parkinson?" Draco asked. Hermione made it look as though she dropped something so she could hear what Pansy was going to ask him.
"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the dance with me" she batted her long, fake eyelashes.
Draco saw Hermione listening and was about to say yes when he saw the pained look on her face. She stood up abruptly and ran out of the room.
"I'll get back to you Parkinson" He ran out of the room after Hermione. "Hermione! HERMIONE!" he called after the running girl. He began to run after her.
'Why must you run after me?' Hermione thought to herself.
'Because! Now slow down so that I may talk to you!' Draco thought, hearing her thoughts. He knew she would hear that.
'NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!' She thought to him, not slowing down. She ran around the corner, out the doors to the quidditch pitch. "BLAISE!" she called at the flying figure. "BLAISE!" the flyer quickly came down and took the girl into his arms.
Draco slowed down and looked at the couple.
"Wha-" he was about to asked her what the matter was, but she swept him in a deep, passionate, arousing kiss. Hermione pulled him under the Gryffindor bleachers and began to unbutton his shirt. Blaise became excited. This was why he stayed with her for so long. He snaked his hand up to the front of her shirt and began to unbutton it.
He moved his hands from her open shirt to the hem of her skirt. He moved his hand upward until he reached her panties. He began to kiss her chest. She moved her hands to his pants. She unbuttoned/unzipped them and pushed them to the ground in all of her fury.
"HERMIONE!" they quickly separated.
"HERMIONE! WHERE ARE YOU?" that was Ron
"Where can she be Ron?" Harry asked.
"I don't know, she said that she would meet us out here in a few minutes. I even saw her running here."
"Shit!" Hermione whispered as she tried to remember the spell to fix her appearance since she couldn't use her wandless magic in front of Blaise. "Blaise, run, I'll tell them that I felt like a nap. Go!" she hissed. He quickly kissed her and ran out from under the bleachers. Hermione changed her outfit to a pair of torn jeans and a tight black tank top. Her hair was in a low messy bun.
"Hey guys!" she called to the two boys.
"Hermione! Where were you?" Ron asked
"I felt a bit uncomfortable so I decided to change my outfit." She lied. "So what's up?"
"Nothing much. Harry was telling me on our way that Ginny, Lavender, Parvati, Hannah and a bunch of other girls were asking him to the dance"
"Haha, I guess you should go places practically topless more often" Hermione laughed.
"Not funny, especially since he said yes to Ginny"
"You didn't!"
"I did. I mean, not to piss you off Ron, but we had fun at the Halloween dance. Besides, she's a friend, and maybe you two can go together and it can be the four of us." Harry said in his defense.
"Well, I actually don't think I want to go with anyone." Hermione said quietly. "Would you excuse me for a moment?" she quickly walked back to behind the bleachers and conjured a bottle of firewhiskey. She took a quick couple of sips and got rid of the bottle.
Lately, whenever she got upset or overwhelmed and Blaise wasn't around she would drink or cut herself.
"Back" she said with a smile on her face as she walked back to her friends. "Well, I think I should be going. Later" she walked back to the castle.
"What just happened Harry? I feel like we don't know her anymore." Ron said as soon as she was out of earshot.
"I don't know mate, I don't know. Wait a minute!" Harry rushed to the bleachers and went under them. "AH HA! Her book bag. It should be in here"
"What are you looking for?" Ron asked as Harry looked through the bag.
"This" Harry pulled out a small green book.
"Is that what I think it is?" Ron asked in awe
"Yep, her journal. Now let me turn to yesterday. Here it is: Today was just as crappy as the rest of the others. I saw Draco during lunch when Blaise and I were together. I don't know what came over me, but like all other times, I just kissed Blaise. It takes the feeling away to know that I have him. Do you think that I'm using him against Draco? These past few weeks have been SHIT without him. I miss him so much. As our kiss deepened, he tried to go to second with me. I slowly pushed him away, but he just tried to urge me to do it. I took him into the forbidden forest after that. I saw Draco near there reading a book. I let him touch my breasts, but when he tried to do more, I quickly pushed him away. I heard a book slam shut and saw Draco. He was staring at me. I knew what he was thinking without reading his mind. I have to go to meet my mother now. I'll continue my update on today's events as soon as I get back.' Wow, did she tell you any of this Ron?"
"No. Continue"
"'I'm back. My mother wasn't in her room. I forgot that she had a meeting with Dumbledore. Well, where was I? Oh yes. Later today, I saw Draco speaking with Pansy. She was trying to flirt with him, as usual. He looked at me with a look that cannot be explained, but I'll try. It looked like he was pained, but tried to hide it with pride. He tried to think to me, I felt it, but I refused to listen. I couldn't take it. Blaise was nowhere to be found so I rushed to my room. I DID IT AGAIN! Why must I do it? I promised Draco that I would never do it again. At least I resisted my constant urge for a cigarette. Lately I've been craving one for some reason. I had a dream and in it I smoked a little and since then I've wanted one. Harry and Ron don't know anything about this shit. I just can't tell them. Imagine if they knew I cut myself, conjured up firewhiskeys by the bottle, and give myself to Blaise, and the pain comes from Draco. Mum said that I like him, but that cant be it. But then why haven't I told anyone we were best friends and have been for the past two months, well, from September through October. I can't think about this shit now. I have to rest. My head is KILLING me.' Ron, are you okay?"
"H-harry, our Hermione, NO! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT!" he stomped his foot on the ground.
"Harry! Ron! Is my bag there?" Hermoine yelled from a few yards away.
Harry shoved her journal in his bag as Ron called back "Yeah! You left it beside the bleachers!" He ran up to her and handed her her bag.
She turned around and quickly ran to back inside. Ron turned back to Harry who was incessantly reading the little green book.
"Ron, did you know that she and Malfoy were childhood friends. I was right; it was him at her house that night. And apparently there's something here about a prophecy having to do with her and three other people, but that's all that's written. Wow, and get this, her tattoo, wasn't fake." Harry said
"Harry!" Ron grabbed the book from Harry. "You didn't put it back in her bag?"
"Well get this Ron, she actually wanted to go to the Halloween dance with Malfoy, but they got into a fight because so many guys were asking her and he got jealous. She only agreed to go with Blaise in spite of him"
"Give me that!" Ron grabbed the book and began to read a passage from the third year. "Woah, Harry, she's been cutting since third year! No wonder she didn't want to go to the nurse that night, so she wouldn't see the cuts. So that's why she has those cuts. She told me that they were from the first year from the keys."
"But why wouldn't she want them to be healed?" Harry asked.
"Because she wants to remember what she went through, to remind her of how strong she really is"
"How did you know that?"
"'Cause it says here 'I refuse to heal my scars, so that I can remember what I went through and remind myself how strong I am'. See? Right here." Ron said pointing to the passage.
"Do you think Malfoy knows any of this?" Harry said out of nowhere
"Well, I don't know. But if he didn't know and he found out he would probably tell the entire school" Ron said
"Yes, you're right. We shouldn't have even read this. What do we do though? We shouldn't know this. I mean, do we tell a teacher? Because she can deny the whole thing and they would believe it like we did. But if we don't tell anyone then she might do it more. I don't want to lose her friendship, but even more I don't want to lose her."
"What are you two talking about?" A voice came from behind them.
They turned around and jumped.