disclaimer: Nope, I don't own HP.
A/N: Sorry for the extremely long wait for this chapter!!
Chapter Four"Y-Your dating my younger sister and you never told me?!" a beyond shocked Ron gasped, taking in the scene in front of him, disbelievingly.
Ginny had herself latched onto Harry tightly, grinning like it was the end of the world and blushing furiously as she told her brother and Hermione that she and Harry were a couple. Harry stood by her side, his arm around her waist, and smiling shyly, although if you looked closely, you would notice that the smile never reached his eyes. Hermione just stood next to Ron, a frown across her face, as she gazed unseeing, obviously deep in thought.
"Er, yeah mate. Sorry to keep you in the dark, but Gin and I were scared of your reaction, so…" Harry trailed off, brushing his hair out of his eyes.
Ron stared, eyes wide, at the "couple" some more before he broke out into a large smile. "This is bloody perfect! You two are absolutely made for each other. Blimey, mum will be ecstatic – she always said what a sweet, young boy you are Harry."
Ginny squealed, and looked up at Harry, secretly sending him a wink. Harry smiled at her, but it faded when he glanced at the unusually silent Hermione.
"Herms? …Is something the matter?" he queried, worriedly. Hermione's eyes snapped their attention to Harry, and they widened as she shook her head furiously.
"No! Oh, I'm so sorry…I didn't mean to space out right then! Honestly, I'm happy for you Harry…and Ginny," she said quickly, tugging on the end of her hair. Ron beamed at the bushy haired girl.
"Of course you're happy! Who wouldn't be?" the red headed boy boasted, still grinning. Hermione smiled a weak smile.
"Well, if you guys will excuse me, I…I need to get to the library," she before leaving the Gryffindor Common Room.
"What's up with her?" Ginny voiced the question that had been going through all of their minds. Ron, Harry, and Ginny glanced at each other before shrugging.
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Hermione sat in one of the library's vacant chairs, and stared at the wall, eyes unfocused yet again.
This doesn't make any sense, she thought, Harry has been…down…all week. If he and Ginny truly were a happy couple, why would he seem so depressed?
The young witch furrowed her brows, as she remembered yesterday at dinner. What does Malfoy have to do with all of this? she wondered, a frown making it's way to her lips.
Sighing, Hermione slumped down in the chair and rested her head in her hands, elbows on the library table.
I will find out what really is going on, no matter what.
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"Well, I for one think that went extremely well," Ginny said as she and Harry made their way back from the kitchens, eating the cream puffs the house elves had forced into their hands during their visit to Dobby. Ginny glanced at Harry, a small smile playing on her lips. At least the boy didn't look as upset as he did. The emerald eyed boy shrugged, chewing softly before speaking.
"I guess so, although, 'Mione was acting extremely odd," he admitted, taking another bite out of the baked good. Ginny just rolled her eyes, and punched her companion lightly on the arm.
"Harry, darling, she's probably just jealous that a handsome bloke such as yourself is taken," she said jokingly, eyes lit with amusement as a pink tinge crossed Harry's face.
"Ginny," the boy whined, glaring when the younger girl began to laugh. However, he couldn't stay angry for long, and pretty soon Harry found himself chuckling.
The duo continued walking until they reached the Fat Lady, giggles escaping their lips every now and then.
"Sage of Sleep," Ginny said to the portrait, watching as the doorway to the Gryffindor Tower was slowly revealed.
"Wait," Harry said, grabbing Ginny's arm before she stepped into the portrait. Ginny cast a questioning look at her "Boyfriend", and waited for him to continue.
"Do you…Do you really think this will work, Gin? Will pretending to be a couple really make Draco jealous enough to-"
Ginny placed a silencing finger on the boy's lips, ignoring his widening eyes. "Harry, this is the fifth time you've asked me this today. Of course it will work. Draco will realize how much he misses you, and before you know it, you and that good for nothing ferret will be together again," she said reassuringly. Tugging on Harry's arms, she continued, "Now come on. If we stay out any longer, Ron might get the wrong idea." Harry looked at her for a moment, and then truly smiled, following her inside.
Once the portrait closed behind the two, an extremely happy looking Blaise Zabini stepped out from the shadows.
So…Potter and the Weasel aren't actually going out, and Potter wants to be back with Drake…So technically, Harry is single, he thought smugly.
I should tell Draco, he thought, sighing. But then, his Slytherin side took over, changing his mind.
Draco's already had his chance with Golden Boy…Now, it's my turn.
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That night passed uneventful, and on Monday morning, Harry arrived to breakfast in the Great Hall in higher spirits than he had ever been in for a while.
"Mornin' Ron, 'Mione!"
The red-headed boy and brown-haired girl looked up from their breakfast to greet their best friend.
"Hullo, mate! Bet you're ready for that Potions test, eh?"
Harry quickly choked on the buttered toast he had been chewing, and blindly grabbed for his goblet of pumpkin juice, quickly taking a sip when he found it.
"W-What?"
Ron, who had been suppressing a grin, burst out into uncontrollable laughter, while Hermione glared at the red-head, a frown gracing her features.
"Ronald, that was really immature-"
"Oy, mate! I was just kiddin'! Merlin, you shoulda seen the look on your face!" cried Weasley between bouts of laughter, wiping a tear from his eye. However, Ron slowly stopped laughing when he saw the murderous glare he was now receiving from the Boy-Who-Lived.
"Weasley, I would start running if I were you," the green-eyed boy ground out through gritted teeth. Ron just stared, wide-eyed for a while, before grinning once again like a madman.
"Bloody hell, you're finally back to yourself, mate," he said, giving Harry a pat on the back, who turned his confused eyes towards Hermione, searching for an explanation. The witch just nodded, and a hint of a smile was on her lips.
Great Merlin, had I really been acting that different lately? Harry idly wondered.
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"Just look at them," snarled an unhappy blonde, "thinking that they are allowed to associate their filthy selves with my Harry."
Blaise rolled his eyes, a small smirk playing on his lips. Ah, if only Draco knew what I knew, he thought contently, ignoring the blonde Slytherin as he complained about "his Harry" talking to the Weasel and Mudblood.
"-I swear, that bitch of a mudblood is sitting too close to him! Their shoulders are barely four inches apart! And the Weasel! He's grinning at my Harry! How dare-"
Unable to take it anymore, Blaise rolled his eyes. "Draco, shut up. You're really getting on my nerves."
Draco slitted his stormy silver eyes into the trademarked Malfoy glare at his best friend. "Go fuck a gnome."
"Oooooh, clever comeback from the bitchy blonde," Blaise retorted sarcastically. Before Malfoy could reply – or murder his friend – Blaise continued, "Now come on. We'll be late for Potions if we just sit here."
Draco opened his mouth, about to protest, but quickly shut it when he realized that his friend was indeed correct; most of the Great Hall was empty. Grumbling, he stood up and followed his friend, heading down to the dungeons, his mind occupied with the thoughts of a certain Gryffindor.
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Harry sat next to Hermione during Potions, trying to avoid a certain blonde Slytherin at all costs. However, if he had been watching, he would have noticed that Malfoy was trying to capture the black-haired boy's attention.
Potions passed semi-quickly, with the usual routine – Snape yells at Gryffindors, said students complain, Snape punishes Gryffindors, Slytherins laugh.
Finally, class was dismissed, and Harry was about to bolt out the door when Snape's sneering voice halted the boy.
"Mr. Potter, come here for a moment. I need to talk to you."
Harry gulped. "Go on, guys," he said to Ron and Hermione, motioning for them to leave, "I'll catch up with you later."
His best friends cast worried looks at each other, but nevertheless, they left. Harry put down his bag on the nearest desk, and walked towards Snape.
"Yes, sir?"
But the Professor ignored the student in front of him for a moment, and instead looked at something behind Harry. "Mr. Malfoy, may I ask why you are still here?" Snape asked, rather coldly to his favorite pupil.
Harry's eyes widened, and he quickly turned around, surprised to see a rather embarrassed and annoyed Draco, who had been deliberately taking a long time to pack up. Obviously annoyed at being caught by the instructor, the blonde hurried up his pace, and stalked out of the room without looking back.
Harry just stared. Had he been…waiting for me? he wondered, before chastising himself for getting his hopes up. Turning back to face the Professor, he was surprised to see a look of concern on Snape's face as the Professor watched Malfoy leave.
"Um, sir? You wished to see me?"
Immediately, all traces of emotions were erased from Snape's face as he focused back on the boy in front of him. "Ah, yes, Mr. Potter. I came to inform you that the Headmaster is forcing me to begin teaching you Occlumency again."
Harry growled lowly at this, glaring at Snape who all to gladly returned it.
"What, you think I wish to teach a numskull like you, Potter?" he sneered, "You will meet in my private office at 8pm this Thursday, understand?"
Harry reluctantly nodded, and bitterly walked back to his desk, grabbing his bag and not caring whether or not Snape was done speaking to him, he hurriedly left the room. Outside the classroom, Hary was glaring at the ground as he walked, when suddenly the next thing he knew was that he was lying on the ground, and Peeves suddenly appeared in front of him, laughing like a maniac.
"Ha ha, wittle Scar head can't walk two feet without falling down!" the Polterguist cried, laughing hysterically, even though he had been the one who had tripped Harry. Harry sat up, and glared at the ghost, muttering curses under his breath as Peeves sped away, still cackling.
"Damn you, Peeves!" he yelled as the ghost left. Kneeling, he began to gather up his spilled books. About to pick up the last one, he was surprised to see someone holding it out for him.
"Here."
Harry blinked, but took the book, and glanced to see who had been kind enough to help him. Expecting to see a fellow Gryffindor or a Hufflepuff, Harry was quite surprised when he saw Blaise Zabini instead.
Gathering his voice, he mumbled a thanks, looking back down as he shoved the last book into his bag. The emerald eyed boy was even more surprised, however, when he looked back up, and the Slytherin was now standing, and offering a hand to him. Cautiously, Harry grabbed it, and Blaise helped the small boy to his feet.
"Er, thanks," Harry mumbled, feeling his face burn by the seconds. Blaise just smirked, still holding onto Harry's hand, enjoying the sexy pink tinge that was slowly covering the Gryffindor's face.
"You know, Potter, us Slytherins are having a party this Friday night," he said, his voice low and flirtatious.
Harry couldn't believe this was happening. Mumbling, he replied, "Oh…er, really?"
If possible, Blaise's smirk grew. "Yes, and I would love it if you would come for me," he answered, eyes never leaving Harry's face.
Green-eyes stared at Blaise disbelievingly. "Oh, well…I dunno…"
Slowly, Blaise brought the Gryffindor's hand up to his lips and kissed it slightly, ignoring the other boy's choking noise of disbelief. "Just think it over Potter."
And with that, the Slytherin flashed Harry a smile and released the boy's hand, and walked away. Harry just stood there, shaking his head.
That was…odd.
TBCa/n: well, that chapter certainly was short…sorry!
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