Chapter 11
"No, I'm not wearing anything from Madame Malkin's for the Graduation Ball, mother has hired a designer from Paris..."
Draco tuned the rest of Pansy Parkinson's words out, not even bothering to remind Pansy and the others who were so eagerly discussing their attire for the Graduation that the said event was not happening in another three months. He looked around the interior of Three Broomsticks, noticing that everyone seemed to be in pairs today. Most of the tables had couples occupying them while the rest had even-numbered boys and girls. Not surprising since the Hogsmeade weekend trip fell on Valentine's Day. Draco himself was in a similar table with Pansy, and three more couples: Blaise and Parvati, Lavender and Theodore Nott, Padma Patil and Ernie MacMillan.
Strange how inter-house divisions have been so easily dashed by teenage hormones, Draco thought, smirking inwardly. He would have never imagined in his first five years in Hogwarts that he would find himself sharing a table at the Three Broomsticks with two Gryffindors, a Hufflepuff and a Ravenclaw. But with the Blaise-Parvati relationship still growing strong, it was only natural that Parvati's bestfriend and twin would have more interaction with Blaise's Slytherin friends. When Draco and Pansy arrived at Three Broomsticks, Blaise and Parvati asked them to join their table. A few minutes after that, Lavender and Theodore joined them, followed by Padma and Ernie. Lavender seemed to have gotten over not getting a second date with Draco, and was happily enjoying Theodore's company.
Draco didn't really mind sharing a table with the others. While he had been dating Pansy on and off since their fourth year, Draco honestly found the overly-talkative, breathy-voiced, materialistic and spoiled Pansy quite boring. He had only asked her out this weekend because he knew everyone would be going in pairs and Draco Malfoy would be caught dead before being seen dateless on Valentine's Day. He was beginning to regret his decision since Pansy's conversational repertoire was limited to the latest fashion trends, the hottest dating spots, and gossip about their fellow students. He had hoped, when they joined Zabini and Parvati, that the other couple would help filter out Pansy's boring company, and they did, allowing Draco to sit and smile politely as he drank his butterbeer and let his mind wander.
The doors to the pub opened and Hermione strode in, wearing a black cloak opened over an olive green cashmere turtleneck sweater and denim trousers, and heading straight for the bar to talk to Madame Rosmerta. She was obviously dateless and not too concerned about it, judging by the way she didn't even look at the couples gathered in the bar. Draco watched her walk to a sectioned off corner, carrying a box that Madame Rosmerta had handed to her. She took out her wand, and with a few swishes and flicks, she had emptied the contents of the box to decorate the corner with banners and streamers. When that was done, she swished her wand one more time to conjure red and gold ribbons that hung over the table, spelling out the words "Happy Birthday, Hagrid!!!" She put her hands on her hips, surveying her work with a satisfied smile, and then headed for the bar to get herself a tankard of butterbeer.
"I need a refill," Draco said as he got up to go to the bar.
Hermione was sitting on one of the barstools, looking at her watch when Draco joined her. "It's the Big Oaf's birthday?"
She turned to look at him and smiled. "Not until Tuesday but we decided to throw a surprise party for him this weekend."
"So where's the rest of the party?" he asked.
"They'll be here soon. Harry's helping Hagrid out with a batch of Nifflers to distract him from the preparations. Ron's with Lisa Turpin. Ginny and Neville are buying presents for Hagrid. Luna's buying the cake. We've also invited George and Fred and the rest of the Gryffindors. They all said they'll be here. I imagine they're all with their dates and will be joining the party soon." she responded.
"And you, Hermione? No date for Valentine's Day?" he raised an eyebrow at her.
"Honestly? I kind of forgot what day it was today until I arrived in Hogsmeade and realised that everyone was in pairs," she chuckled.
"And you don't mind? It's social suicide to be dateless on Valentine's Day, you know," he smirked.
Hermione laughed at that. "Then I guess I'm dead."
Draco looked at her, shaking his head. Honestly, for a really smart girl, she could be so socially obtuse sometimes.
After their conversation when Hermione admitted her Pet Project plans and announced that she was not going through with it, Draco had spent the first few hours after her exit in stunned disbelief. He was awed by the cruelty of her plan, by the methodical way she had made him want her, by her sheer audacity to try to pull off something like that. When that wore off, he realised that she meant it when she said that the plan had been aborted and that, as far as she was concerned, she was better off not going through with it. Draco's Slytherin mind scoffed at that for a bit until he accepted that while she would have made a wonderful Slytherin for her cunning mind, at heart, Hermione Granger was a Gryffindor and things like honour and honesty and being good were important to her. He respected that. He respected that she knew herself enough to know what she was and was not capable of, and that she was self-aware enough to put a stop to something that would have ruined the things about herself that she valued.
So he backed off from her, and turned his attention back to the other girls in Hogwarts. Their positions, however, did not allow him to back off completely. They still had to work together and to do their duties well. Truth be told, however, Draco welcomed the opportunity to spend time with Hermione. The fascination about her that had begun when she was laying the groundwork for her Pet Project had not abated. If anything, what she revealed to him during that conversation about herself and how her mind worked, made her more fascinating to him. He wanted to figure out the puzzle of a girl who possessed the means and the skill to decimate her school nemesis and yet chose to refrain from it. He had never met anyone like that in his life, surrounded since his childhood by powerful wizards and witches who never failed to maximise opportunities to show just how powerful they were -- and to make life hell for everyone who was not as powerful. He accepted that Hermione was a powerful witch, he had known that since their first year in Hogwarts. He had no doubt in his mind that Hermione, had she chosen to go through with her plan, would have had him on his knees, begging her to take him. When she ran from the library that day, he had been on the brink of doing just that. She had perfectly executed the steps to her plan that would have eventually succeeded, and she knew that. And yet, she chose to put a stop to it instead. That's what fascinated him -- the restraint she had exhibited in proving her power.
There was power in that restraint, Draco realised. A kind of power that was unshakeable and a strength that was impenetrable. And it made him want to know more about the girl who wielded that kind of power and strength so well. So he resolved to put a halt to their antagonistic interaction so he could study her better. He knew that Hermione was the kind of person who valued fairness, and that if he treated her with friendly professionalism, she would return it. In the past few weeks, they had fulfilled their duties well together, and exhibited a detached friendliness towards each other that had eventually made the Prefects' Meetings boring for the prefects who had looked forward to the tension and verbal lashings between the Head Boy and Girl. But not for the two of them. They enjoyed working together harmoniously, to the point that they could now hold decent conversations with each other outside of their duties and tasks.
"So who's the lucky girl today, Draco?" Hermione asked, smiling.
"Pansy," he replied.
She smirked at him. "Well that's a pretty safe choice. Really, that girl should learn to not allow you to ask her out every time you're too lazy to think about who to ask to the next Hogsmeade weekend."
Yeah, well, the girl I wanted to spend time with asked me to stay away from her, Draco almost blurted out. He replied with the question instead, "And you, Hermione? Hogwarts boys still not measuring up to Krum?"
She laughed and shook her head. She was glad that she and Draco had been able to laugh off some parts of the Pet Project. Though we've successfully dodged alluding to those moments in the Common Room couch and the library. That thought sobered her up. "You know I didn't mean that, Draco. And to answer your question, no. I think the real issue is that no one has asked me out," she shrugged.
"Does that bother you?" he asked seriously.
She thought about the question for a few seconds. "Honestly? No, not really. I mean, on an intellectual level, it kind bothers me in the sense that I suspect one of the reasons why boys in Hogwarts have never asked me out is because I'm Head Girl, you know? And prior to that, I was The Bossy Know-It-All with Top Grades. That's got to be intimidating for the guys, not mention that that's laden with sexism and stereotyping against girls with brains. But then again, maybe that's just bollocks and the real reason why no one has asked me out is because I'm not attractive enough."
"I assure you, Hermione, that's not the reason," he said without thinking, then covered up his surprise at his words with a smirk. "It could have something to do with the fact that you constantly surround yourself with two prats as bodyguards."
Hermione smiled. "Well, whatever the reason is, I'm not all that bothered that no one has asked me out. Dating is so much work!"
"Work?" he asked, chuckling. "It's supposed to be fun! What did Krum do when you dated anyway? Made you do his homework?"
She rolled her eyes at him, chuckling. "No, of course not. What I meant was that there's so much effort and bruhaha that goes with dating. I mean, I had fun during the few times I went out with Viktor, but prior to those dates, I worried about my hair, what to wear, what to talk about, what to do, where to go. I'd rather occupy my time thinking about other things."
"You're such a nerd, Hermione," he smiled at her.
"And proud of it," she replied.
Before he could reply, the doors to the pub opened and Ron, Lisa, Neville, Luna, George and Fred walked in. At the same time, Pansy had reached the bar to retrieve her date. Draco and Hermione smiled and nodded at each other one more time before turning their attention to their friends.
Hermione smiled as she scanned the party from her perch atop a barstool. It was a success from the looks of it. Hagrid had been genuinely surprised and ecstatic when he and Harry entered the Three Broomsticks to greetings of "Surprise!" and "Happy Birthday!". Fred and George distributed party favours -- bags of assorted Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products -- to everyone in the pub. Then Harry announced that the next round of drinks for everyone was on him, effectively including the students who were not seated at their table in the celebration. Luna had arrived with a huge cake for the party, and the final slice of the cake had been served and consumed. Hagrid had convinced Madame Rosmerta to play some dance music, and then proceeded to take Ginny for a twirl -- not the easiest thing to accomplish given Hagrid's and the Three Broomstick's sizes. Then everyone figured that if Hagrid could manage to dance in the pub, then they could, too. So one by one, the students who had taken over the Three Broomsticks had grabbed their partners and their respective spaces in between the tables to dance.
"Not dancing, Hermione?" Ginny asked as she approached the smiling Hermione. Ginny had left Hagrid dancing with Madame Rosmerta.
"Nah, I don't think there's enough space for another dancer," Hermione responded.
"Or maybe it's because the boy you want to dance with is currently occupied," Ginny said teasingly, turning her head towards Pansy who was trying to coax Draco to dance with her.
Hermione frowned slightly at her friend and shook her head. It had been months since Ginny had said anything to her about Draco, and Hermione had been convinced that the younger girl had quit all speculations about that matter. Hermione had kept what happened between her and Draco from her friends, convinced that telling them would serve no other purpose than to upset them. She knew such things would never happen between her and Draco again, after all, the blond boy had gotten back into the dating game soon after her confession about the Pet Project. She was genuinely glad about that, she told herself. She had been afraid that Draco would continue to pursue her after that conversation, and was greatly relieved that he had taken her words seriously and had gone back to pursuing every other pretty girl in the 5th, 6th and 7th years. Though, to be honest, the typical teenage girl inside of Hermione was piqued that she was not pretty enough for Draco's attention. But Hermione quelled that small part of her, and focused on being glad that she and Draco were comfortable with each other at last.
Draco had been casually friendly with her, keeping most of their conversations and interactions in the context of their positions in school. He had continued to tease her about certain aspects of her personality, not the least of which her intelligence, but the malice and cruelty had been absent from his jibes. It was not at all difficult for Hermione to reciprocate his changed behaviour towards her since it was the kind of working relationship that she had hoped for when she found out who the Head Boy was. Besides, if she were truly honest with herself, she had to admit that she genuinely enjoyed Draco's company. The ease with which she and Draco had been working together for the past few weeks, and the genuine respect she sensed from him, served to convince Hermione that aborting her Pet Project was the right thing to do.
"No response, Hermione? Not even going to deny it?" Ginny continued, looking at Hermione closely.
"I won't bother to deny it because you and I both know that you're delusional," Hermione answered back, smirking at Ginny.
"Am I?"
"You are. Stop imagining things, Ginny."
"Then how come I've seen his eyes wander over to you more times than I can count this afternoon?" Ginny smirked back.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Look, Ginny, you're viewing the world with romantic eyes."
"That still doesn't explain why he keeps looking at you, Hermione," Ginny said.
"Assuming, of course, that he has been looking at me," Hermione replied cheekily.
"Oh he has been, Hermione. Even Luna noticed," Ginny grinned.
Hermione laughed. "Right. Luna also thinks that somewhere in Britain, big-boned, hairy men called Derthals have constructed saddles to ride Norwegian Ridgebacks. I could disprove that just as easily as I can disprove what you're saying about Draco and me."
"Ah, so it is Draco now, is it," Ginny nodded, smirking.
"It is his name, Ginny," Hermione responded.
"You never bothered calling him that before," Ginny countered.
"We were never Head Boy and Head Girl before," Hermione said.
"C'mon, Hermione, even the Prefects are talking about how you and Malfoy have been so friendly and nice to each other these past few weeks," Ginny said. "So what really gives?"
Hermione sighed, getting tired of Ginny's badgering. "Nothing, Ginny. And for the last time, stop making something big out of nothing. Please. You're beginning to sound like Lavender and Parvati, and being the topic of gossip is really getting a tad tedious."
Ginny looked chastised at Hermione's words, and the older girl felt bad for it. "Ginny, I'm sorry, but please get off my case. If there's something going on, you'll be the first person I'll tell. I promise."
Much to Hermione's relief, the rest of the conversation was interrupted when Fred and George came over to them to pull Ginny into another dance.
Maybe it's time I made my exit and headed back to school. I've done my part and everyone's having fun with their dates. I'm sure no one will notice me leave, Hermione thought. She got off the barstool and retrieved her cloak from the table. She maneuvered her way through the dancing, mingling and butterbeer-drinking crowd towards Harry to let him know that she was heading back to the castle. He askes her if she wanted him to walk with her back to school but she declined, and she made her way to the door.
"Sneaking off, Hermione?"
Hermione turned to face Draco, "Hardly. I told Harry that I'm leaving."
"Where are you off to?" he asked.
"Back to Hogwarts. I want to spend some time finishing my Advanced Arithmancy homework."
"Brilliant idea. I'm joining you. I need help with my charts," he said, opening the door for her.
"What about Pansy?" she asked.
"Oh, right. Can you wait a minute while I make my excuses?" he replied.
"Sure, I'll wait for you outside," she said before opening the door and stepping out.
Draco strode over to where Pansy was dancing with Michael Corner. "Pansy, I'd like to go back to school and work on my Advanced Arithmancy charts."
"But, Draco, this party is so much fun!" Pansy pouted.
"Yes, it is, and I don't wish to take you away from it. Why don't you stay while I head back to Hogwarts?" Draco suggested.
Pansy looked at him unsurely and then darted her eyes to Michael who was watching their conversation eagerly. "Well, if you insist, Draco. Thank you for today. I had fun." She reached up to kiss his cheek lightly before turning her attention back to Michael.
Draco shook his head, smiling at himself. Three months ago, I would have hexed her for dismissing me so casually. Would have hexed Corner too for being the reason for my dismissal. But then again, three months ago, I would not have been this excited to do my Arithmancy charts. On a Hogsmeade weekend. With Hermione Granger.
"No, I'm not wearing anything from Madame Malkin's for the Graduation Ball, mother has hired a designer from Paris..."
Draco tuned the rest of Pansy Parkinson's words out, not even bothering to remind Pansy and the others who were so eagerly discussing their attire for the Graduation that the said event was not happening in another three months. He looked around the interior of Three Broomsticks, noticing that everyone seemed to be in pairs today. Most of the tables had couples occupying them while the rest had even-numbered boys and girls. Not surprising since the Hogsmeade weekend trip fell on Valentine's Day. Draco himself was in a similar table with Pansy, and three more couples: Blaise and Parvati, Lavender and Theodore Nott, Padma Patil and Ernie MacMillan.
Strange how inter-house divisions have been so easily dashed by teenage hormones, Draco thought, smirking inwardly. He would have never imagined in his first five years in Hogwarts that he would find himself sharing a table at the Three Broomsticks with two Gryffindors, a Hufflepuff and a Ravenclaw. But with the Blaise-Parvati relationship still growing strong, it was only natural that Parvati's bestfriend and twin would have more interaction with Blaise's Slytherin friends. When Draco and Pansy arrived at Three Broomsticks, Blaise and Parvati asked them to join their table. A few minutes after that, Lavender and Theodore joined them, followed by Padma and Ernie. Lavender seemed to have gotten over not getting a second date with Draco, and was happily enjoying Theodore's company.
Draco didn't really mind sharing a table with the others. While he had been dating Pansy on and off since their fourth year, Draco honestly found the overly-talkative, breathy-voiced, materialistic and spoiled Pansy quite boring. He had only asked her out this weekend because he knew everyone would be going in pairs and Draco Malfoy would be caught dead before being seen dateless on Valentine's Day. He was beginning to regret his decision since Pansy's conversational repertoire was limited to the latest fashion trends, the hottest dating spots, and gossip about their fellow students. He had hoped, when they joined Zabini and Parvati, that the other couple would help filter out Pansy's boring company, and they did, allowing Draco to sit and smile politely as he drank his butterbeer and let his mind wander.
The doors to the pub opened and Hermione strode in, wearing a black cloak opened over an olive green cashmere turtleneck sweater and denim trousers, and heading straight for the bar to talk to Madame Rosmerta. She was obviously dateless and not too concerned about it, judging by the way she didn't even look at the couples gathered in the bar. Draco watched her walk to a sectioned off corner, carrying a box that Madame Rosmerta had handed to her. She took out her wand, and with a few swishes and flicks, she had emptied the contents of the box to decorate the corner with banners and streamers. When that was done, she swished her wand one more time to conjure red and gold ribbons that hung over the table, spelling out the words "Happy Birthday, Hagrid!!!" She put her hands on her hips, surveying her work with a satisfied smile, and then headed for the bar to get herself a tankard of butterbeer.
"I need a refill," Draco said as he got up to go to the bar.
Hermione was sitting on one of the barstools, looking at her watch when Draco joined her. "It's the Big Oaf's birthday?"
She turned to look at him and smiled. "Not until Tuesday but we decided to throw a surprise party for him this weekend."
"So where's the rest of the party?" he asked.
"They'll be here soon. Harry's helping Hagrid out with a batch of Nifflers to distract him from the preparations. Ron's with Lisa Turpin. Ginny and Neville are buying presents for Hagrid. Luna's buying the cake. We've also invited George and Fred and the rest of the Gryffindors. They all said they'll be here. I imagine they're all with their dates and will be joining the party soon." she responded.
"And you, Hermione? No date for Valentine's Day?" he raised an eyebrow at her.
"Honestly? I kind of forgot what day it was today until I arrived in Hogsmeade and realised that everyone was in pairs," she chuckled.
"And you don't mind? It's social suicide to be dateless on Valentine's Day, you know," he smirked.
Hermione laughed at that. "Then I guess I'm dead."
Draco looked at her, shaking his head. Honestly, for a really smart girl, she could be so socially obtuse sometimes.
After their conversation when Hermione admitted her Pet Project plans and announced that she was not going through with it, Draco had spent the first few hours after her exit in stunned disbelief. He was awed by the cruelty of her plan, by the methodical way she had made him want her, by her sheer audacity to try to pull off something like that. When that wore off, he realised that she meant it when she said that the plan had been aborted and that, as far as she was concerned, she was better off not going through with it. Draco's Slytherin mind scoffed at that for a bit until he accepted that while she would have made a wonderful Slytherin for her cunning mind, at heart, Hermione Granger was a Gryffindor and things like honour and honesty and being good were important to her. He respected that. He respected that she knew herself enough to know what she was and was not capable of, and that she was self-aware enough to put a stop to something that would have ruined the things about herself that she valued.
So he backed off from her, and turned his attention back to the other girls in Hogwarts. Their positions, however, did not allow him to back off completely. They still had to work together and to do their duties well. Truth be told, however, Draco welcomed the opportunity to spend time with Hermione. The fascination about her that had begun when she was laying the groundwork for her Pet Project had not abated. If anything, what she revealed to him during that conversation about herself and how her mind worked, made her more fascinating to him. He wanted to figure out the puzzle of a girl who possessed the means and the skill to decimate her school nemesis and yet chose to refrain from it. He had never met anyone like that in his life, surrounded since his childhood by powerful wizards and witches who never failed to maximise opportunities to show just how powerful they were -- and to make life hell for everyone who was not as powerful. He accepted that Hermione was a powerful witch, he had known that since their first year in Hogwarts. He had no doubt in his mind that Hermione, had she chosen to go through with her plan, would have had him on his knees, begging her to take him. When she ran from the library that day, he had been on the brink of doing just that. She had perfectly executed the steps to her plan that would have eventually succeeded, and she knew that. And yet, she chose to put a stop to it instead. That's what fascinated him -- the restraint she had exhibited in proving her power.
There was power in that restraint, Draco realised. A kind of power that was unshakeable and a strength that was impenetrable. And it made him want to know more about the girl who wielded that kind of power and strength so well. So he resolved to put a halt to their antagonistic interaction so he could study her better. He knew that Hermione was the kind of person who valued fairness, and that if he treated her with friendly professionalism, she would return it. In the past few weeks, they had fulfilled their duties well together, and exhibited a detached friendliness towards each other that had eventually made the Prefects' Meetings boring for the prefects who had looked forward to the tension and verbal lashings between the Head Boy and Girl. But not for the two of them. They enjoyed working together harmoniously, to the point that they could now hold decent conversations with each other outside of their duties and tasks.
"So who's the lucky girl today, Draco?" Hermione asked, smiling.
"Pansy," he replied.
She smirked at him. "Well that's a pretty safe choice. Really, that girl should learn to not allow you to ask her out every time you're too lazy to think about who to ask to the next Hogsmeade weekend."
Yeah, well, the girl I wanted to spend time with asked me to stay away from her, Draco almost blurted out. He replied with the question instead, "And you, Hermione? Hogwarts boys still not measuring up to Krum?"
She laughed and shook her head. She was glad that she and Draco had been able to laugh off some parts of the Pet Project. Though we've successfully dodged alluding to those moments in the Common Room couch and the library. That thought sobered her up. "You know I didn't mean that, Draco. And to answer your question, no. I think the real issue is that no one has asked me out," she shrugged.
"Does that bother you?" he asked seriously.
She thought about the question for a few seconds. "Honestly? No, not really. I mean, on an intellectual level, it kind bothers me in the sense that I suspect one of the reasons why boys in Hogwarts have never asked me out is because I'm Head Girl, you know? And prior to that, I was The Bossy Know-It-All with Top Grades. That's got to be intimidating for the guys, not mention that that's laden with sexism and stereotyping against girls with brains. But then again, maybe that's just bollocks and the real reason why no one has asked me out is because I'm not attractive enough."
"I assure you, Hermione, that's not the reason," he said without thinking, then covered up his surprise at his words with a smirk. "It could have something to do with the fact that you constantly surround yourself with two prats as bodyguards."
Hermione smiled. "Well, whatever the reason is, I'm not all that bothered that no one has asked me out. Dating is so much work!"
"Work?" he asked, chuckling. "It's supposed to be fun! What did Krum do when you dated anyway? Made you do his homework?"
She rolled her eyes at him, chuckling. "No, of course not. What I meant was that there's so much effort and bruhaha that goes with dating. I mean, I had fun during the few times I went out with Viktor, but prior to those dates, I worried about my hair, what to wear, what to talk about, what to do, where to go. I'd rather occupy my time thinking about other things."
"You're such a nerd, Hermione," he smiled at her.
"And proud of it," she replied.
Before he could reply, the doors to the pub opened and Ron, Lisa, Neville, Luna, George and Fred walked in. At the same time, Pansy had reached the bar to retrieve her date. Draco and Hermione smiled and nodded at each other one more time before turning their attention to their friends.
Hermione smiled as she scanned the party from her perch atop a barstool. It was a success from the looks of it. Hagrid had been genuinely surprised and ecstatic when he and Harry entered the Three Broomsticks to greetings of "Surprise!" and "Happy Birthday!". Fred and George distributed party favours -- bags of assorted Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products -- to everyone in the pub. Then Harry announced that the next round of drinks for everyone was on him, effectively including the students who were not seated at their table in the celebration. Luna had arrived with a huge cake for the party, and the final slice of the cake had been served and consumed. Hagrid had convinced Madame Rosmerta to play some dance music, and then proceeded to take Ginny for a twirl -- not the easiest thing to accomplish given Hagrid's and the Three Broomstick's sizes. Then everyone figured that if Hagrid could manage to dance in the pub, then they could, too. So one by one, the students who had taken over the Three Broomsticks had grabbed their partners and their respective spaces in between the tables to dance.
"Not dancing, Hermione?" Ginny asked as she approached the smiling Hermione. Ginny had left Hagrid dancing with Madame Rosmerta.
"Nah, I don't think there's enough space for another dancer," Hermione responded.
"Or maybe it's because the boy you want to dance with is currently occupied," Ginny said teasingly, turning her head towards Pansy who was trying to coax Draco to dance with her.
Hermione frowned slightly at her friend and shook her head. It had been months since Ginny had said anything to her about Draco, and Hermione had been convinced that the younger girl had quit all speculations about that matter. Hermione had kept what happened between her and Draco from her friends, convinced that telling them would serve no other purpose than to upset them. She knew such things would never happen between her and Draco again, after all, the blond boy had gotten back into the dating game soon after her confession about the Pet Project. She was genuinely glad about that, she told herself. She had been afraid that Draco would continue to pursue her after that conversation, and was greatly relieved that he had taken her words seriously and had gone back to pursuing every other pretty girl in the 5th, 6th and 7th years. Though, to be honest, the typical teenage girl inside of Hermione was piqued that she was not pretty enough for Draco's attention. But Hermione quelled that small part of her, and focused on being glad that she and Draco were comfortable with each other at last.
Draco had been casually friendly with her, keeping most of their conversations and interactions in the context of their positions in school. He had continued to tease her about certain aspects of her personality, not the least of which her intelligence, but the malice and cruelty had been absent from his jibes. It was not at all difficult for Hermione to reciprocate his changed behaviour towards her since it was the kind of working relationship that she had hoped for when she found out who the Head Boy was. Besides, if she were truly honest with herself, she had to admit that she genuinely enjoyed Draco's company. The ease with which she and Draco had been working together for the past few weeks, and the genuine respect she sensed from him, served to convince Hermione that aborting her Pet Project was the right thing to do.
"No response, Hermione? Not even going to deny it?" Ginny continued, looking at Hermione closely.
"I won't bother to deny it because you and I both know that you're delusional," Hermione answered back, smirking at Ginny.
"Am I?"
"You are. Stop imagining things, Ginny."
"Then how come I've seen his eyes wander over to you more times than I can count this afternoon?" Ginny smirked back.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Look, Ginny, you're viewing the world with romantic eyes."
"That still doesn't explain why he keeps looking at you, Hermione," Ginny said.
"Assuming, of course, that he has been looking at me," Hermione replied cheekily.
"Oh he has been, Hermione. Even Luna noticed," Ginny grinned.
Hermione laughed. "Right. Luna also thinks that somewhere in Britain, big-boned, hairy men called Derthals have constructed saddles to ride Norwegian Ridgebacks. I could disprove that just as easily as I can disprove what you're saying about Draco and me."
"Ah, so it is Draco now, is it," Ginny nodded, smirking.
"It is his name, Ginny," Hermione responded.
"You never bothered calling him that before," Ginny countered.
"We were never Head Boy and Head Girl before," Hermione said.
"C'mon, Hermione, even the Prefects are talking about how you and Malfoy have been so friendly and nice to each other these past few weeks," Ginny said. "So what really gives?"
Hermione sighed, getting tired of Ginny's badgering. "Nothing, Ginny. And for the last time, stop making something big out of nothing. Please. You're beginning to sound like Lavender and Parvati, and being the topic of gossip is really getting a tad tedious."
Ginny looked chastised at Hermione's words, and the older girl felt bad for it. "Ginny, I'm sorry, but please get off my case. If there's something going on, you'll be the first person I'll tell. I promise."
Much to Hermione's relief, the rest of the conversation was interrupted when Fred and George came over to them to pull Ginny into another dance.
Maybe it's time I made my exit and headed back to school. I've done my part and everyone's having fun with their dates. I'm sure no one will notice me leave, Hermione thought. She got off the barstool and retrieved her cloak from the table. She maneuvered her way through the dancing, mingling and butterbeer-drinking crowd towards Harry to let him know that she was heading back to the castle. He askes her if she wanted him to walk with her back to school but she declined, and she made her way to the door.
"Sneaking off, Hermione?"
Hermione turned to face Draco, "Hardly. I told Harry that I'm leaving."
"Where are you off to?" he asked.
"Back to Hogwarts. I want to spend some time finishing my Advanced Arithmancy homework."
"Brilliant idea. I'm joining you. I need help with my charts," he said, opening the door for her.
"What about Pansy?" she asked.
"Oh, right. Can you wait a minute while I make my excuses?" he replied.
"Sure, I'll wait for you outside," she said before opening the door and stepping out.
Draco strode over to where Pansy was dancing with Michael Corner. "Pansy, I'd like to go back to school and work on my Advanced Arithmancy charts."
"But, Draco, this party is so much fun!" Pansy pouted.
"Yes, it is, and I don't wish to take you away from it. Why don't you stay while I head back to Hogwarts?" Draco suggested.
Pansy looked at him unsurely and then darted her eyes to Michael who was watching their conversation eagerly. "Well, if you insist, Draco. Thank you for today. I had fun." She reached up to kiss his cheek lightly before turning her attention back to Michael.
Draco shook his head, smiling at himself. Three months ago, I would have hexed her for dismissing me so casually. Would have hexed Corner too for being the reason for my dismissal. But then again, three months ago, I would not have been this excited to do my Arithmancy charts. On a Hogsmeade weekend. With Hermione Granger.
