Chapter 21: A New Year
It was only a week before the holiday was over and all the students return to Hogwarts. Now that Ginny was gone Hermione hadn't much to do.
Today was Sunday and she decided to stay in the common room for the day. She spent the day reading and writing in front of the fire. She never told Draco about the gift Narcissa gave her. Why, she didn't know. One thing she did know for sure was that she was falling for Draco more everyday.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Draco decided to spend the day in the Slytherin common room hanging out with Blaise.
"I've never seen you this happy before," Draco said to Blaise.
"I've never been this happy before. Ginny brings out the best in me and I love her for that," Blaise replied with a big smile.
Draco sighed. "To bad there's no one that can do that for me." Blaise gaped at him.
"You're an idiot."
"What?"
"Hermione stupid!"
"I have no idea what your talking about."
"Your kidding me right? She likes you, you moron."
"I realize that okay. I would never like her anymore than a friend. To me she will always be Hermione Granger; bookworm, teachers pet, best friend of my worst enemy and the girl that I tortured for six years."
Blaise was shocked to say the least. "I cant believe what I'm hearing."
"I don't want to talk about this anymore."
The conversation ended.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hermione decided to write a letter to Narcissa. She got out some clean parchment, a quill and some ink and began the letter.
Dear Narcissa,
Thank you so much for the jewelry. I have never owned anything so beautiful before. I never knew how bad your and Draco's life's were and I'm grateful that in a way I was able to help you.
I hope that someday I will have the pleasure of meeting you. Please write back.
Sincerely,
Hermione Granger
The letter was short but it got the message across. Hermione sealed the letter ans called for her new owl, Samara. She tied the letter to the owls leg.
"Take this to Narcissa Black," Hermione told Samara. The owl hooted and flew into the sunset.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The rest of the week went by fairly fast. Draco and Hermione didn't say much to each other. They seemed to be at an understanding with one another. They weren't friends nor were they enemies. They were merely acquaintances.
Hermione walked down to the Hogsmeade train station to await the arrival of her friends. She sat down on one of the benches and got lost in her thoughts.
'What's wrong with me? I should be happy that Draco and I aren't enemies anymore, right?~Right~ Then how come I'm not?~Because you want to be more than just an acquaintance to him~ I know I do but it would never happen.~Why is that?~ Draco will never feel the same way about me.~You don't know that~ Believe me, I do.'
Hermione sighed. 'I probably shouldn't be having conversations with myself' ~Probably not~
Hermione was snapped out of her thoughts by someone's voice.
"Earth to Hermione," Blaise said while waving his hand in front of her face.
"Hey Blaise. How's it going?"
"Good. You?"
"Okay I guess," Hermione answered truthfully. She noticed Draco standing a few feet away. "Hey Draco," She said politely.
"Hey," Was his simple reply. Hermione sighed and Blaise rolled his eyes. Hermione slid over so Blaise could sit down next to her. Draco sat down next to Blaise.
Blaise and Hermione started talking about a variety of things while Draco sat in silence lost in his own thoughts.
'I hate this. Why wont I just talk to her?~Because your stupid~ Shut up! Just because Hermione and I aren't enemies anymore doesn't mean that we have to be friends, right? ~Wrong~ Shut up! Would she even want to be my friend?~Yes~ How do you know?~Because Blaise told you how she feels about you~ Oh yeah.~Stupid~ Shut up! ~Just be friends with her. There's no harm in doing that~ Your right. ~Of course I am. Her friendship will only bring you happiness~ I know. ~Of course you do~ That's it then.'
Draco stood up and walked over to Hermione.
"Hermione," He said not even caring that he interrupted Blaise who was in the middle of a speech about Quidditch.
"Yeah," Hermione said cautiously.
"Friends," He said offering his hand to her.
Hermione knew exactly what Draco meant. He didn't have to say another word.
"Friends,"She said shaking his hand.
The two smiled at each other.
"About time," Blaise piped in.
"Shut up," Draco and Hermione said in unison,
The three talked for about twenty minutes at which point the train arrived along with its students. The three stood up and looked around for their friends.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Quit mopping mate," Ron said to Harry as they began to exit the train.
"She didn't respond to my letter which obviously means that she hates me," Harry stated.
"She doesn't hate you Harry. I promise," Ginny reassured him.
The three spotted Hermione, Draco and Blaise as they stepped off the train.
"Now remember what I said. Be NICE to Blaise and Draco. Especially Blaise," Ginny reminded the boys sternly.
"There they are," Hermione said.
Blaise ran up to Ginny and swooped her up into a big hug. Once they were done hugging they began to kiss. You could see the absolute horror on Ron's face. Hermione smiled at this. She then spotted Harry looking at the ground and smiled even more.
"HARRY!!!!" She screamed. Everybody around jumped. A few first years looked like they were about to pee their pants and Ginny and Blaise broke apart immediately, much to Ron's delight. Harry's head shot up and he smiled as he saw Hermione running full speed at him with a huge smile on her face.
Harry held Hermione by the waist and swung her around. The two parted and Hermione kissed Harry on the cheek.
"Of course I forgive you."
~Lucky jerk~ The voice in Draco's head said. 'Shut up!' Draco snapped back.
Draco walked up to the group of friends feeling a little out of place. Which is a very rare feeling for him. Everybody was quite for a moment until Harry spoke up.
"Look Malfoy and Zabinbi, I'm sorry for what I said that night," He said seriously and truthfully.
"Yeah, me too," Ron said.
"Thanks for saving Hermione," Harry said.
"We don't know what we would do without her," Ron added. Ron and Harry held out their hands. Draco and Blaise looked at each other.
Draco considered what he was about to do. He really didn't want to be friends with Potter and Weasely. On the other hand it would make Hermione happy.
Draco nodded at Blaise.
"No problem," The two said in unison. The four boys shook hands.
Hermione was extatic. Her two best friends who she loved were actually being civil with their two former enemies.
'Nothing could ruin this day' She thought to herself.
"Oh Drakie!" A female screeched behind Harry, Ron and Ginny.
'Scratch that' Hermione thought while rolling her eyes. She looked over Ron's shoulder and saw Pansy running (more like hurtling) towards them.
"Bloody hell," Draco said in a frustrated voice.
Hermione looked at Draco. You could see the disgust in his eyes.
Pansy shoved Harry and Ron aside and lunged at Draco while knocking Hermione to the ground.
Draco pushed Pansy off of him and helped Hermione up.
"Go away Pansy," Blaise snapped.
"No," She snapped back.
"Yes," Draco said sternly.
"But Drakie," Pansy whined.
"Go!" He yelled.
Pansy stiffened and glared at Hermione and Draco, who were standing together rather close.
"So, you would rather be with a mudblood then me," Pansy stated harshly.
"That's right Pansy. I would rather be with Hermione then with you," Draco stated rather coldly. Pansy snorted.
"Just remember that she's a filthy mudblood and always will be." With that said Pansy stormed off.
"Ha. Its gonna be a swift kick in the arse when she finds out that you're a pureblood 'Mione," Ginny said.
"Speaking of which. When do you plan on letting everybody else know about that?" Harry asked.
"When I feel that everybody else is worthy enough to know," Hermione answered non-chalantly.
"Well, we are all very honored that you feel we are worthy enough to know your secret your hiness," Blaise said bowing to Hermione.
"You should be," Hermione replied with a smile. Everyone started to laugh.
"Come on, lets go. I'm freezing," Hermione said.
"We better do as she says otherwise she'll have us beheaded," Ron stated. Everyone laughed again.
Hermione gave them all a sour look and began to walk away.
"Come on Hermione," Draco said while putting his arm around her shoulders. She got the chills once again. "You know we were just kidding," He finished.
Hermione looked up at him and couldn't help but smile. She rolled her eyes.
"I know. But I'm really cold so can we please just go," She pleaded.
"Yeah you guys. I'm cold too," Ginny said coming to her friends aid.
"All right. Lets go," Blaise said. He wrapped his arm around Ginny's waist while Draco kept his around Hermione's shoulders.
The group headed back to Hogwarts. None of them knew that the coming months would bring pain and sorrow. Heartache and heartbreak. Friendship, love and romance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: I will do my best to get up more chapters this week. Review please.
It was only a week before the holiday was over and all the students return to Hogwarts. Now that Ginny was gone Hermione hadn't much to do.
Today was Sunday and she decided to stay in the common room for the day. She spent the day reading and writing in front of the fire. She never told Draco about the gift Narcissa gave her. Why, she didn't know. One thing she did know for sure was that she was falling for Draco more everyday.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Draco decided to spend the day in the Slytherin common room hanging out with Blaise.
"I've never seen you this happy before," Draco said to Blaise.
"I've never been this happy before. Ginny brings out the best in me and I love her for that," Blaise replied with a big smile.
Draco sighed. "To bad there's no one that can do that for me." Blaise gaped at him.
"You're an idiot."
"What?"
"Hermione stupid!"
"I have no idea what your talking about."
"Your kidding me right? She likes you, you moron."
"I realize that okay. I would never like her anymore than a friend. To me she will always be Hermione Granger; bookworm, teachers pet, best friend of my worst enemy and the girl that I tortured for six years."
Blaise was shocked to say the least. "I cant believe what I'm hearing."
"I don't want to talk about this anymore."
The conversation ended.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hermione decided to write a letter to Narcissa. She got out some clean parchment, a quill and some ink and began the letter.
Dear Narcissa,
Thank you so much for the jewelry. I have never owned anything so beautiful before. I never knew how bad your and Draco's life's were and I'm grateful that in a way I was able to help you.
I hope that someday I will have the pleasure of meeting you. Please write back.
Sincerely,
Hermione Granger
The letter was short but it got the message across. Hermione sealed the letter ans called for her new owl, Samara. She tied the letter to the owls leg.
"Take this to Narcissa Black," Hermione told Samara. The owl hooted and flew into the sunset.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The rest of the week went by fairly fast. Draco and Hermione didn't say much to each other. They seemed to be at an understanding with one another. They weren't friends nor were they enemies. They were merely acquaintances.
Hermione walked down to the Hogsmeade train station to await the arrival of her friends. She sat down on one of the benches and got lost in her thoughts.
'What's wrong with me? I should be happy that Draco and I aren't enemies anymore, right?~Right~ Then how come I'm not?~Because you want to be more than just an acquaintance to him~ I know I do but it would never happen.~Why is that?~ Draco will never feel the same way about me.~You don't know that~ Believe me, I do.'
Hermione sighed. 'I probably shouldn't be having conversations with myself' ~Probably not~
Hermione was snapped out of her thoughts by someone's voice.
"Earth to Hermione," Blaise said while waving his hand in front of her face.
"Hey Blaise. How's it going?"
"Good. You?"
"Okay I guess," Hermione answered truthfully. She noticed Draco standing a few feet away. "Hey Draco," She said politely.
"Hey," Was his simple reply. Hermione sighed and Blaise rolled his eyes. Hermione slid over so Blaise could sit down next to her. Draco sat down next to Blaise.
Blaise and Hermione started talking about a variety of things while Draco sat in silence lost in his own thoughts.
'I hate this. Why wont I just talk to her?~Because your stupid~ Shut up! Just because Hermione and I aren't enemies anymore doesn't mean that we have to be friends, right? ~Wrong~ Shut up! Would she even want to be my friend?~Yes~ How do you know?~Because Blaise told you how she feels about you~ Oh yeah.~Stupid~ Shut up! ~Just be friends with her. There's no harm in doing that~ Your right. ~Of course I am. Her friendship will only bring you happiness~ I know. ~Of course you do~ That's it then.'
Draco stood up and walked over to Hermione.
"Hermione," He said not even caring that he interrupted Blaise who was in the middle of a speech about Quidditch.
"Yeah," Hermione said cautiously.
"Friends," He said offering his hand to her.
Hermione knew exactly what Draco meant. He didn't have to say another word.
"Friends,"She said shaking his hand.
The two smiled at each other.
"About time," Blaise piped in.
"Shut up," Draco and Hermione said in unison,
The three talked for about twenty minutes at which point the train arrived along with its students. The three stood up and looked around for their friends.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Quit mopping mate," Ron said to Harry as they began to exit the train.
"She didn't respond to my letter which obviously means that she hates me," Harry stated.
"She doesn't hate you Harry. I promise," Ginny reassured him.
The three spotted Hermione, Draco and Blaise as they stepped off the train.
"Now remember what I said. Be NICE to Blaise and Draco. Especially Blaise," Ginny reminded the boys sternly.
"There they are," Hermione said.
Blaise ran up to Ginny and swooped her up into a big hug. Once they were done hugging they began to kiss. You could see the absolute horror on Ron's face. Hermione smiled at this. She then spotted Harry looking at the ground and smiled even more.
"HARRY!!!!" She screamed. Everybody around jumped. A few first years looked like they were about to pee their pants and Ginny and Blaise broke apart immediately, much to Ron's delight. Harry's head shot up and he smiled as he saw Hermione running full speed at him with a huge smile on her face.
Harry held Hermione by the waist and swung her around. The two parted and Hermione kissed Harry on the cheek.
"Of course I forgive you."
~Lucky jerk~ The voice in Draco's head said. 'Shut up!' Draco snapped back.
Draco walked up to the group of friends feeling a little out of place. Which is a very rare feeling for him. Everybody was quite for a moment until Harry spoke up.
"Look Malfoy and Zabinbi, I'm sorry for what I said that night," He said seriously and truthfully.
"Yeah, me too," Ron said.
"Thanks for saving Hermione," Harry said.
"We don't know what we would do without her," Ron added. Ron and Harry held out their hands. Draco and Blaise looked at each other.
Draco considered what he was about to do. He really didn't want to be friends with Potter and Weasely. On the other hand it would make Hermione happy.
Draco nodded at Blaise.
"No problem," The two said in unison. The four boys shook hands.
Hermione was extatic. Her two best friends who she loved were actually being civil with their two former enemies.
'Nothing could ruin this day' She thought to herself.
"Oh Drakie!" A female screeched behind Harry, Ron and Ginny.
'Scratch that' Hermione thought while rolling her eyes. She looked over Ron's shoulder and saw Pansy running (more like hurtling) towards them.
"Bloody hell," Draco said in a frustrated voice.
Hermione looked at Draco. You could see the disgust in his eyes.
Pansy shoved Harry and Ron aside and lunged at Draco while knocking Hermione to the ground.
Draco pushed Pansy off of him and helped Hermione up.
"Go away Pansy," Blaise snapped.
"No," She snapped back.
"Yes," Draco said sternly.
"But Drakie," Pansy whined.
"Go!" He yelled.
Pansy stiffened and glared at Hermione and Draco, who were standing together rather close.
"So, you would rather be with a mudblood then me," Pansy stated harshly.
"That's right Pansy. I would rather be with Hermione then with you," Draco stated rather coldly. Pansy snorted.
"Just remember that she's a filthy mudblood and always will be." With that said Pansy stormed off.
"Ha. Its gonna be a swift kick in the arse when she finds out that you're a pureblood 'Mione," Ginny said.
"Speaking of which. When do you plan on letting everybody else know about that?" Harry asked.
"When I feel that everybody else is worthy enough to know," Hermione answered non-chalantly.
"Well, we are all very honored that you feel we are worthy enough to know your secret your hiness," Blaise said bowing to Hermione.
"You should be," Hermione replied with a smile. Everyone started to laugh.
"Come on, lets go. I'm freezing," Hermione said.
"We better do as she says otherwise she'll have us beheaded," Ron stated. Everyone laughed again.
Hermione gave them all a sour look and began to walk away.
"Come on Hermione," Draco said while putting his arm around her shoulders. She got the chills once again. "You know we were just kidding," He finished.
Hermione looked up at him and couldn't help but smile. She rolled her eyes.
"I know. But I'm really cold so can we please just go," She pleaded.
"Yeah you guys. I'm cold too," Ginny said coming to her friends aid.
"All right. Lets go," Blaise said. He wrapped his arm around Ginny's waist while Draco kept his around Hermione's shoulders.
The group headed back to Hogwarts. None of them knew that the coming months would bring pain and sorrow. Heartache and heartbreak. Friendship, love and romance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: I will do my best to get up more chapters this week. Review please.