Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. They all belong to J.K. Rowling! Only a select few characters I have made up, but none of them are major characters in this story.
A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers, much love to you all! Please read and REVIEW, it would make me very happy!
Chapter 3: Hermione the Ho
The compartment door burst open as two boys stormed inside. Draco quickly loosened his grip from Hermione and pushed her away.
"MALFOY WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" a red-haired and rather tall boy bellowed. He grabbed the collar of the Head Boy roughly and bashed him against the wall with such force that Hermione and Harry winced at the sight.
However, the slick, blond-haired boy didn't budge. The corner of his mouth slowly and slightly curved upwards as his face began to show signs of the smug, conceited expression everyone in the room was so used to seeing.
"Just having a little fun, Weasel," he said with no hint of fear or guilt in his voice. "Do you have a problem with it?"
"Yeah, I bloody do have a problem with it, you bloody git," Ron growled through gritted teeth, thrusting him against the wall once more, tightening his grip. Harry tried in vain to stop Ron from going any further. Hermione just stood in the corner, horrified to see her boyfriend so angry. "That's my girlfriend you had your lips all over!"
"Oh, is that so?" Draco said, his expression broadening into a smirk. He kept his eyes on Ron as he spoke. "Well in that case, she seemed to enjoy it quite a bit."
"WHY YOU BLOODY LIAR!" Hermione yelled at him as she advanced in towards him. Harry had to forcefully hold her back. Her face was hot and turned a briliant shade of crimson as her anger errupted.
There was a loud rumble as the entire compartment seemed to shake and then there was a long, sighing creak coming from outside; then the train stopped completely. They had arrived at Hogwarts.
Ron, Harry, and Hermione all looked at each other, not knowing what to do.
"So sorry to leave you like this, but as Head Boy I must leave you to fulfill some of my very important duties," Draco said, shoving Ron away from him violently. "I will see you at the feast, perhaps?" He turned towards Hermione and gave a sickening wink, to which Hermione rolled her eyes in disgust. He straightened out his clothes and left the compartment, his robes billowing after him and he was gone in a flash.
Hermione couldn't believe how incredibly horrible Draco had grown over the summer vacation. She already knew he was horrible, of course, but to the extent of snogging her? No, this was a new sort of horrible. She had a slight nauseating sensation in her stomach.
She clung to Ron for some comfort, and surprisingly, he was silent, only stroking her hair and mumbling a few curses under his breath. He was furious. How could that git Malfoy even touch his Hermione like that? He said she had enjoyed it...No, it was all a lie. Hermione would never play him like that. She loved him and he loved her back and that was that. Malfoy was just being the bloody prat that he always was. He just hoped nothing like that ever happened again, or else surely he would end up in Azkaban for going on a ferret-hunting spree.
"Er," Harry said awkwardly. He didn't look at the caressing couple but instead took an interest in his sneakers. "I better go, Ginny's probably wondering where we are. I'll see you two in the Great Hall." He hastily opened the compartment door just as Hermione stopped him.
"No, go back to the compartment with Ron, I've got to go and meet with the new prefects. I'll see you guys later," she said, tucking a stray strand of curly hair behind her ear. She knew this was an awkward situation for all of them to be in. She was only glad that she had her two best friends to count on no matter where she was. She smiled warmly at them, "And don't worry, I'll be fine."
Harry smiled back as Ron gave her a quick hug and the two headed out of the compartment back to where Ginny was.
Ginny was already getting all her things together to get off the train, and was just putting on her robe. She sighed as they came in. "Ugh, finally! Where were you guys? I almost got worried," she said as she put the suitcase she had in her hand down on the floor. "Where's Hermione?"
"Hermione's tending to some Head Girl duties, Gin," Ron said, patting her back and bending down to pick up his belongings. He didn't really want to tell her what had happened. In fact, he didn't want anybody else to know besides him and Harry. "Got everything, Harry?"
"Yeah, er, just a moment--OW!--Hedwig, stop that!" Harry said, struggling with his snowy white owl who was hopping around on Harry's head and pecking him playfully on the ears. He finally got her in her cage and shut it, checked his robes to make sure his wand was still there.
Ginny laughed as she saw Harry struggling with his owl. His hair was messy and unkempt, a messy ruffle of ebony around his fine facial features. He was incredibly dorky, she had to admit, but at the same time so...sexy. She mentally slapped herself. Since when have I gotten so giggly and silly? But then again, that incident back in the compartment was playing over and over again in her mind. She shook her head to erase the thought and picked up her suitcase again as the three of them headed off the train along with everyone else.
--
The Great Hall was bustling with hundreds of students, chatting excitedly about their summer vacation and embracing the friends they had missed so much over the summer. Harry and Ron went to sit by Neville and Seamus, and they soon started discussing some rather boring details about the latest Quidditch games.
Ginny lost interest rather quickly and decided to move to sit in front of Lavender and Parvati, but they didn't seem to notice her. Instead, they were whispering something to each other and seemed to be looking around for someone, giggling every now and then.
Ginny decided to get their attention as she folded her hands on top of the table. "Ahem," she said clearing her throat. The two girls finally stopped whispering and looked up.
"Ahhhhhh!" Lavender squealed, leaning across the table to give Ginny a tight, squeezing hug. "Ginny, it's so nice to see you!"
Parvati smiled at Ginny and gave her a hug also. She whispered into her ear as they embraced, "So I've heard you and Harry got some....alone time on the way here, eh?" She winked at Ginny as she sat back down.
Ginny's face turned an extraordinary shade of scarlet. Dammit, they're not going to leave me alone about this for the rest of my life. She put on a sheepish grin as she said, "Well, you could say that...Is that what you two were whispering about?"
Lavender and Parvati exchanged looks. "Er, no," Lavender replied. "We were talking about how Herm--," she was cut off as a tremendous uproar of laughter arose from their left.
It was the Slytherin table.
Almost everyone at their table seemed to be clutching their stomachs from laughing so hard. Heads all around the Great Hall turned to see what all the commotion was about. Ginny could barely make out a blonde-headed, pointy nosed face in the center of all the noise. Draco Bloody-ferret Malfoy, she thought, disgusted.
He was speaking with a very loud voice for everyone to hear. "So then, Granger comes into my compartment to congratulate me or some rubbish like that, and without warning, pulls me into a most passionate snog!" Another wave of laughter came from the many Slytherins listening. All the students in the Great Hall looked at each other in disbelief and started to whisper excitedly to each other.
Ginny's eyes grew wide from shock. She couldn't believe what she was hearing! Hermione kissing Malfoy?! She looked over at Harry and Ron to see their expressions, but they seemed more angry than shocked and did not look in her direction. Did they already know about this? Why the bloody hell didn't they tell me?! She was up half-way from her seat when the entire Great Hall hushed down to almost a silence.
There was a loud thud as someone closed the entrance to the Hall. Ginny turned to see Hermione walk in with some fifth-year prefects trailing after her. She could see Hermione's face look confused as every single body in the Great Hall watched her come in. She scanned the crowd for her friends at the Gryffindor table. She muttered something to the prefects and they nodded, each going to sit with their according house.
Hermione's face turned slightly red as she came and sat down beside Ginny. Everyone else seemed to start up their conversations again, only this time with more whispering and pointing at Hermione. Some Slytherins were chuckling and smirking, led on by the one and only Draco Malfoy. He really seemed to enjoy what was happening.
"What the bloody hell is going on? Why is everyone looking at me? Why are they whispering?!" Hermione looked to Ginny for an explanation.
"I...don't really know," Ginny started to say when Harry and Ron sat down next to them, Ron putting his arm around Hermione.
"Ron? Harry?" Hermione looked at both her friends. "Will someone please tell me what's going on?"
"Hermione...is it true that you...kissed Malfoy?" Ginny said hesitantly.
"WHAT?!?!?" Hermione fumed. "I didn't kiss him, he kissed me! Didn't Harry or Ron tell you about it?"
Now the two girls looked at the two boys, who looked rather shaken by the whole incident.
"Well, er, you see...," Harry began.
"What Harry's trying to say is that we thought it would be best to not let Ginny know," Ron said. "We thought nobody else should know."
If there was any food Ginny could throw at him, she would have, but unfortunately, the Feast had not begun yet. "But I'm Hermione's friend! I have the right to know!"
"So Ginny, you thought that I was the one who kissed Malfoy?" Hermioned questioned, more confused by the minute.
"That's what he said," she muttered, jerking her head towards the Slytherin table.
Hermione turned around and to her disgust, found Draco Malfoy winking at her and puckering his lips, making nauseating kissing noises.
"Oh that filthy, foul little ferret!" Hermione said, balling up her fists. "If I wasn't the Head Girl, I would put quite a few hexes on that slimy git!"
"So, Hermione, been practicing some of your new ho-techniques over the summer I suppose?" came a voice from behind her. She turned around and to her dismay, saw Pansy standing there in all her cow-like glory, arms crossed with Blaise and Millicent by her side. "Everyone is talking about you and how much of a dirty Mudblood slut you are."
Ginny scoffed, "Well you should know a thing or two about that business."
"Stay out of this, Weasel Junior," Pansy snapped. "I just want Miss Hermione the Ho here that if she lays one finger on my Draco, she'll have hell to pay." With that she flicked her hair back, with her noise pointed upwards in the arrogant Slytherin custom and returned to her table, leaving Hermione both angry and amused at the same time.
Ron put his arm around Hermione, stroking her arm gently. "Don't worry, things will die down in a few days."
"Fat chance," Hermione said, looking dismayed. Everyone seemed to be talking about "Granger and Malfoy's lovefest back in the train". She rolled her eyes and put her head in her hands and sighed. Lavender and Parvati's giggling didn't seem to help at all.
"Look on the bright side, Hermione," Parvati said, looking up from her mirror she was using to apply some lip gloss with. "You're now the supposed-girlfriend of the Sex God of the Universe and beyond."
"Shove it, Parvati, this isn't the right time," Ginny said giving her a fierce look and patting Hermione sympathetically on the back.
"I wonder where the first-years are," Harry said. "I really want them to get on with the Sorting so we can have our food!"
As he said this, they all looked towards the table on the platform where the teachers normally sat. They were all there in their usual spots... Harry counted all the teachers' names off in his mind. Sinistra, Flitwick, Binns, Sprout, Trelawney, Snape, McGonagall... The only ones who were not there were Hagrid, who was obviously with the first-years--wherever they were--and Dumbledore. Where was Dumbledore? He was usually there scanning the hall and observing all the students. The other professors also seemed to notice he was not there, and were discussing it among each other quietly, leaning heads together whispering looking up every now and then.
Just then the door to the Great Hall burst opened as a girl screamed at the top of her lungs, running inside.
A/N: Ack, another cliffy, I know! But that's what makes you want more, right? wink And I've got lots more where that came from.
Thank-yous:
PinkKangaroo (glad to know you liked the cliffhanger), the counter (um...wtf? that's all I gotta say! I think my fic is very much worth reading, just stick around and you'll see!), Carrie (hopefully you liked this chapter too)