AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you to all those who've reviewed. All your comments were fully appreciated! I wasn't expecting 70 reviews for three chapters… Thank you for that too! As a token of my gratitude, here is the next chapter which is much longer than the previous one!
Hope you enjoy.
OF PICTURES AND MOMENTS
Chapter Four
By Erythros
Hermione couldn't believe that she actually said yes. Benjamin had come up to her two days after meeting her at the library, and straightforwardly asked her on a date. All she did during that short while was stare at him, transfixed with an awestruck gaze, admiring the loveliness of his eyes' blue and the charm in his smile. And then she agreed right away, not thinking twice of what she had just done.
And soon enough, everyone she knew found out as usual.
Harry and Ron congratulated her on finding a new romance, but swore that if they found that Benjamin was abusing her in any sort of way, they'd surely march up to him and kill him off with a curse. Lavender and Parvati squealed in excitement and offered to give her a complete makeover just to look dazzling on her first date with him. Ginny smiled triumphantly and patted her on the back, telling her how proud she was. Stella suddenly suggested that they have a double date in one of Hogsmeade's cafes the next time they were allowed to visit the wizarding village.
Draco, however, had the queerest of reactions.
Hermione had decided to tell him during one of their sessions, and when he had heard the words, date with Benjamin, he stopped writing and paused to look up at her, his eyes glinting with curiosity. "A date?" he repeated, looking blankly at her. "With—with that Hufflepuff you bumped into?"
She nodded and flipped through her Hogwarts: A History book. With the way Draco had said it, she was positive that he was perplexed and fuming. But when she looked up once again, her hopes sank: Draco had already resumed on his work, scanning through his large Arithmancy reference and copying notes from it. His face was expressionless, his eyes unreadable.
She was right after all. She did just imagine all that jealousy in his eyes two nights before. And here I was being a fool, she thought heavily, thinking that he'd actually be jealous.
Seconds later, as Hermione flipped through the book for the nth time, Draco spoke up, breaking the silence. And she was thoroughly surprised at what he said.
"Be careful," he had whispered. He hadn't looked up from his work, and yet Hermione was certain that he uttered those two words clearly.
And she was flattered. She felt her blood rising in her cheeks as she replied back, "I will."
Draco officially confirmed that there was seriously something wrong with him. What had made him tell Hermione to be careful? He was almost convinced that someone else had taken possession of him and his own free will… Then again, he might have just been acting like a friend who was deeply concerned…
He ran his hand through his hair and took a glance at the work he had accomplished that night. Paragraphs and paragraphs of everything about Arithmancy was all he could see, and he had no reason not to be proud of himself. However, as he sat alone in the Slytherin Common Room in front of the fire, scanning through it, he noticed something queer about his handwriting.
It was neat and legible at the beginning, but towards the sixth paragraph, it seemed sharp and clumsy. His letters were the complete opposite of fineness. He wondered why it was so, and then he remembered.
Ah, yes, Draco mused rather bitterly, When I heard about that Hufflepuff.
He sank into the couch and placed his hands over his eyes. "What has gotten over me?"
Hermione sighed heavily as she gazed at her reflection in the mirror. Today was her date with Benjamin, and though she properly prepared for it, she couldn't exactly say and admit that she was excited. After all, no matter how charming and handsome he may look, Benjamin was still no Draco Malfoy; and she couldn't bring herself to love someone else more than her beloved Slytherin, even if, at the present, there was clearly no hope of him ever loving her back.
She sighed yet again. I can't cancel it now, she thought, brushing her hair for the last time. She stepped back from the mirror and took her scarf from her trunk before leaving the Gryffindor Tower. Benjamin was already probably downstairs by the Entrance Hall, waiting for her to arrive.
Once descending down the stairs, she wondered how Draco was faring at the precise moment. She'd bet her wand that he was going to Hogsmeade as well, and was taking Stella with him. And as usual, that thought didn't please Hermione at all. She could feel her moods sinking lower by the second, and by the time she had reached the Entrance Hall, she wore a discontented scowl on her face.
Benjamin was indeed waiting for her by the entrance already, looking dashing and elegant, with the way the wind was blowing through his hair dramatically and the way he stood so finely as he anticipated her arrival. Hermione was in awe; she wondered how breathtaking he could look every time she set her eyes on him.
She walked towards him rather shakily and gave him a small smile. Benjamin waved cheerily and grinned back at her, tossing his dark hair in a manner that could have made all girls swoon. Hermione blushed slightly as she greeted him. "Sorry I'm late."
He shrugged and smiled. "Ready to go?" He offered his hand to her.
Hermione stared at it. She looked up at his blue eyes, and saw his sincerity… and oddly, she was almost lost in them. She shook her head, getting out of her reverie, and took it. Benjamin grasped it tightly and Hermione immediately knew that it hadn't felt right.
Nevertheless, she smiled meekly up at him and they went on their way to Hogsmeade.
They saw each other in the same café.
Draco and Stella came in holding hands, only to see Hermione and Benjamin sitting in a small round table, having a light conversation. Hermione looked up and Draco stared at her, quite surprised to see her there. He glanced at the boy sitting across her and gave him a hard look.
The feelings of spite came rushing in once again, and he chose to look away anywhere and everywhere but at their table. But before he could, Stella pulled him by the arm and dragged him to them.
Sitting herself down beside Hermione, Stella wore her gleeful expression like she always did and broke the slight tension that had been building up in the air. "Glad to see you two here! You wouldn't mind if we sat in the same table, do you?"
Benjamin shrugged rather rudely, and it was apparent that he did mind. Hermione, on the other hand, smiled back and shook her head. "Not at all."
Draco sat beside his girlfriend, crossed his arms and stole a glance of the Gryffindor. How he wondered why she said yes to this… this pretty boy Hufflepuff! Certainly she deserved someone better!
Someone better? A small voice asked in the dark corners of his mind. Someone, per se, like…you?
Draco almost fell out of his chair. He ran a fidgeting hand through his hair and answered the voice a firm no. He glanced back at Hermione and found her looking back at him. And as they gazed at each for the longest two seconds in his whole life, he definitely knew she deserved better.
Peculiarly though, he doubted his first answer…
And wondered if it should be someone like him.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Done. –wipes a sweat bead— Hope you liked this chapter! It's definitely longer than the previous chapter… School's about to start in approximately three weeks, so I'll probably have the next chapter out before it officially begins…
I do hope you review! Thank you!
