Poster Child of Deprivation

Hermione Granger

I was lying in bed, wondering what I'd eventually do with my life. I mean really—being a nanny for Malfoy's kids wasn't exactly a steady job. They'd grow up eventually. Assuming of course, Stella didn't manage to get me fired before then.

Sipping my drink, I thought about what Malfoy said. Jealous of me? Why on earth was he jealous of me? The irony, though, is that Ihad beenjealous of him. He was rich—and I came from a lower middle-class family. He was popular—I was a book nerd suck-up. He was spontaneous—the most fun I had was reading a new book. He was bad—I was so far from a rebel, but I yearned for a night on the town with no rules and illegal substances.

But enough about that. It doesn't matter. I never liked Malfoy for a person. I still don't. I tend to hold grudges—you wronged me once, so what's stopping you from doing it again?

Suddenly, while I was lost in my thoughts, I heard a commotion from out in the hall.

"I told you I wanted to see her!" A voice demanded angrily.

"And I told you," Malfoy's voice replied, "that she was sleeping." Who was the "she," I wondered. Was it Stella, Luna, or Elizabeth?

"Look, Malfoy, I need to talk to her!" The voice stressed.

"Just get lost, okay?" Malfoy snarled. "She's made it extremely clear that she wants nothing to do with you."

"Oh, please." The voice huffed. "Like you even pay attention to her! You never talk to her—except when it's to bark orders." Maybe the "she" was a maid or something. I didn't care. I liked mysteries… and soap operas; by the looks of it, this was a little of both.

"I do to pay attention to her!" Malfoy whined. I still wanted to know who he was talking to. It was a muffled voice, and it was defiantly male. He seemed to be very worked up, so his voice was louder and higher than Malfoy's.

"You don't give a crap about her! I'm the only one that does! She needs to know that! She needs to hear that I'm sorry and that I love her!"

It was Ron.

"Weasley!" Malfoy exploded. My thoughts were confirmed. I was the mysterious "she." "You don't care about her at all! If you did, you wouldn't have cheated on her and baited her to come and see you! Why did you tell her where you were staying? It's obvious that she'd think it was odd and come find you. You wanted her to catch you in the act… it was the easiest way to break it off with her."

"No." Ron said, a horrified tone in his voice. "That's not true. But I need to talk to her!"

"Hermione's—"

"What did you call her?" Ron asked angrily.

"Hermione." Malfoy said coolly.

"How dare you call her that!" Ron screamed in rage. I was debating whether or not to get up and face them. I decided that they thought I couldn't hear them… and I was interested to hear what they had to say behind my back.

"It's her goddamn name, Weasley!" Malfoy yelled back.

"I don't care—you have no right to call her by her name when you treat her terribly!"

"How would you know how I treat her?" Malfoy asked. "For all you know, we could've been having an affair behind your back!"

I couldn't see Ron's face, but I'm sure he looked pretty damn mad. I heard him mutter a spell, and I heard Malfoy mutter a block.

Then the door swung open and I was face-to-face with both of them.

"Hermione!" Ron came over to my bed and threw his arms around me.

"Get off me, Ron." I mumbled weakly. "I told you I didn't want to see you again, and you didn't listen to me."

"Hermione, I'm so sorry!" He said, regret in his eyes. "I rethought my entire life and realized that I made a huge mistake. I need you, Hermione."

"Once a womanizer, always a womanizer." I said casually.

Malfoy smirked from the back of the room. He approved of my defiance, and I'll admit that his approval meant something to me.

"Look, Hermione, I know I've always been a little bit… um, loose, but I promise I'll change." He pleaded.

"You promised me a lot of things, Ron!" I said, sitting up in bed. "You promised me a happy life, a great family, a romantic wedding, a honeymoon in Hawaii! Don't you get it? You always promise things you can't afford!"

"Is that what this is about?" He asked, hurt. "Money? Does the fact that Malfoy is totally loaded mean more to you than what I have to offer?"

"I didn't mean 'afford' as in 'be able to pay for', Ron. I meant it as an empty promise. You told me you'd do a lot of things for me… and they all were meaningless. It's like a crooked politician who promises a lot of things he can't really do." I explained slowly.

"So now I'm a crooked politician?" Ron asked, baffled.

"No!" I let a frustrated groan escape my body. "I was using a simile!"

"A what?" Ron asked, confused.

"Look, just forget it." I sighed. "We're too different to be together."

"But 'Moine," he reached a hand towards my face. I swatted it away. "Opposites attract."

"Only in magnets, Ron." I said dully.

He finally understood one of my intelligent references.

He stood up from his kneeling position and started for the door. "You're making the biggest mistake of your life, Hermione. You'll never find anyone like me ever again." He said softly.

"You're right," I said sadly. "I'll find someone better."

Ron cast me a final glance before turning and walking out the door.

"Ouch." Malfoy winced, referring to my speech.

"Yeah, well, he deserved it." I muttered.

"That he did." Malfoy agreed. "Bloody moron came to the door and Elizabeth let him in! She though it was 'sweet' that our nanny had a fiancé. I guess I better set the record straight. What the hell is she doing answering the door, anyway?" He asked, mostly to himself. "We have servants for that!"

I laughed. "And you also have a nanny. Who will be returning to work tomorrow."

"Ah, I was wondering when that position would be refilled." He smiled. "The girls missed you."

"Then I'll have to take them somewhere special!" I pondered. "What about the beach?"

"They've never been to the beach." He admitted.

"WHAT?" I asked, my eyes wide with shock. "What child doesn't have fond memories of running half naked along the shore line and eating ice cream?"

Malfoy blinked. "Well I certainly don't."

"You've never been to the beach, either? You're the poster child of deprivation!" I exclaimed.

He shrugged. "I don't see the big deal."

"It's a HUGE deal!" I said, almost standing up. "The beach is a beautiful place! The water is cool and salty, and the breeze is so refreshing!" I sighed, staring off into space and thinking of the beach.

"You sound like a poet or something." Malfoy rolled his eyes.

"You know what you need?" I said, a wide smile appearing on my face.

"I don't like that face you're making, Granger." He said, narrowing his eyes.

"You need to come to the beach with the girls and me!" I said happily.

"No." He announced firmly.

"Oh, come on, Malfoy!" I said. "I can't believe you never gone before! It'll be fun, I promise!"

"Fine, I'll go." He mumbled under his breath.

I smiled. "We'll get some boardwalk food, and we'll play some games, and we'll sit under a huge umbrella, and we'll collect seashells, and—"

"I get the point." He interrupted.

"Well, see you tomorrow." I said as he walked out.

"Yeah, good night."

I sat in my bed and played with my unruly curls. I couldn't believe Malfoy had never been to the beach! I guess that money sometimes can't buy even the simplest of things.

Author's Note: Here's that three-pager I promised! Thanks for all the reviews... and I wanted to let you know that the next chapter outdoes this one! It's basically a very fluffy one about the beach trip. It's FOUR WHOLE pages!Then the one after that is in Stella's point of view... and it's an interesting insight to her behavior. Well, enough blabbing. I'll be posting one tomorrow night, for sure! Thanks again!