Author's notes: OMG! I was hoping for maybe five or six reviews, but 28! You guys are the best, do you know that? Thanks so much to EVERYBODY!
I'd wanted to post this chapter a bit earlier, but I've been really, really busy, and I didn't now wether or not to actually continue the story or just leave it is a one-shot. I'm still not sure, so this chapter is sort of like an experiment lol And please be patient with me if it takes this long, or even longer for the next chapter to appear, for even though I have the whole story in my head, I'm not sure how to write it down, and I want it all to be perfect.
And now, over to the thank you:s:
Serlene: I didn't know you could make a plot work after just one chapter, so I take that as a compliment lol
Blue-EyedHope: Wow! That review really took my breath away lol I really don't know what to say except for thank you, thank you thank you! Soft and caressing, and a range of emotions, my, my lol But I think that tone is gone now. I ment to write that last chapter sort of like a dream, unreal, you know. And now it's back to reality again, do you know what I mean? Well, anyway, thanks so much for that review, I really appreciated it.
Panther Eyes: Did that really make you want to cry? I can't believe that! My writing, making someone want to cry! I thought it was only me who was that sentimental lol And it wasn't really the end...well, not yet anyway.
Kimi: Duct tape my hands to the keyboard? Well, I suppose I'll have to take that threat seriously and keep writing then lol Thanks so much for the review, one of the more original ones.
Maddy-Black: I really know what you mean. It kind of ruins the reading when it's badly written, even if the story is very good. I've read many fics like that, and I really hope I'm a better writer than many of those are. Thanks so much for the review.
Eruliss: Hello darling, are you back again? You know, I don't want you reading if you don't like it, but you know I always appreciate your opinions, honey lol Thanks anyway, even if it wasn't all cherry lol
And everybody else, who decided to write me a line, thanks so much, love you guys!
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Part I – Three weeks later
Hermione was sitting in Potions, trying very hard to concentrate on what Professor Snape was saying, but finding it almost impossible. Lately she'd found almost everything impossible, and what wasn't impossible was boring. She put her chin in her hands. Look interested, look interested, she thought to herself. And do NOT look to your right, one row back, blond hair, grey eyes. During the past three weeks, her eyes seemed to have disconnected themselfs from her brain, and every time she was in the same room as Draco, he was the only thing she saw.
She hadn't talked to him since that night, and she didn't know if that was good or bad. When she'd come down to breakfast that morning, he'd been sitting at the Slytherin table, talking lively to his friends, not even looking at her. At first she'd been hurt by his total lack of feeling, but then she'd realized it was probably for the best. If he'd looked heartbroken, she would probably have jumped off her seat and ran across the Hall and thrown herself into his arms.
The beel rang and pulled Hermione back to the dungeons.
"...and I want them on my desk in a month. I will tear those that are late or shorter than four feet, understood? Class dismissed."
The class began pouring into the corridor, and Hermione tried to find Harry and Ron in the crowd. She had a very strong feeling that she might have missed something very important that Snape had said.
She reached the Entrance Hall without having seen neither Harry nor Ron, and since it was dinnertime, she decided that she could just as well go into the Great Hall and eat and hope they were there.
When she reached the Gryffindor table, she found them both sitting there, and she took a seat across from them.
"Did I miss something in Potions?" she said without greeting them first.
Ron nodded, his mouth full of fried potatos. "He's having us do this huge essay in a month!" he answered after having swallowed the food. "Four feet long! How on Earth are we suppose to manage that?"
Hermione just shrugged her shoulders, poured some vegetables onto her plate and began pushing them around with her fork, her hand supporting her head.
"Hey, 'Mione, is there something wrong?" Harry sounded very concerned.
She shrugged her shoulders again. "No, why d'you ask?"
"Because you've been acting weird for the past month or so, not listening to the teachers, not doing your homework with the same enthusiasm as before. Not eating." Harry pointed at her plate.
"I'm eating," Hermione said and took a mouthfull of peas. "I'm jus' no' 'ungry 'oday." She swallowed. "Really, Harry, there's nothing at all wrong with me."
Harry still looked doubtful, but he kept quiet and returned to his dinner. At the same time Ginny showed up.
"Hi everyone," she said. "Can I sit here?" She pointed at the seat where Hermione had thrown her bag.
"Sure." Hermione took her bag. "Listen, guys, I need to start working at this essay right away, but I'll be in the library if you need me, ok?" She left the table without waiting for a response.
"She was in a hurry," Ginny said, filling her plate with food. "Lots of homework?"
"Yeah, Snape gave us this four feet essay on an ingredients of our choice to be done in a month," Ron said, his attention more focused on his food than on his sister. "Guess Hermione want it done as soon as possible, you know how she is."
Ginny nodded, and then realized that Harry wasn't saying anything.
"What's up with you, Harry? You look like you're having your head in the clouds."
Harry shook his head. "I was just thinking about Hermione. Something's wrong with her, she's not the same as before."
Ginny put her fork down. "What d'you mean? She seems allright to me."
Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe I'm imagining, but one thing I know for sure. She was not off to do that essay." Both Ron and Ginny raised their eyebrows. "She doesn't know what it's about."
Hermione put the book down, at last giving up trying to read. She looked around her, finding the library alomst empty. She had gone there like she'd said to the others at dinner, but not to do her homework. She hadn't listened at all in classes lately, so she hardly had any idea what she was suppose to do. She hadn't thought anyone had noticed her absentmindedness, but apparently, Harry had. She'd fled the dinner table to avoid his questions, she knew she wouldn't be able to lie for much longer. Well, tecnically, it wasn't lying, she just avoided telling them the truth. But to her, it was just as bad.
But just tell them about Draco and take the consequences, her conscious tried to tell her.
And have them hate me for the rest of my life, no thank you!
She folded her arms on the table and put her head on top. Why couldn't life just be simple?
Ginny found Hermione in that position an hour later. During dinner she'd thought about what Harry'd said, and she'd realized that he might be right. Hermione wasn't quite as...she'd been before. Of course it was hard to tell, since Hermione spent almost all her time in the Head's dormitory, but Ginny knew her friend, she knew something was wrong, and she was determined to find out what.
She gently shoke Hermione's shoulder, and her head flew up.
"What's wrong, what did I miss?"
Ginny smiled and sat down on the chair beside her. "Nothing's wrong, you just fell asleep." She looked at the book Hermione had used as a pillow. "That's not homework, is it?"
Hermione also looked down at the book. Jane Eyre. She blushed. "No, and it's not magic either."
Ginny's face wore the same conserned expression Harry's had barely hours before. "Hermione, are you really feeling allright?"
Hermione looked innocent. "Yes, of course, why wouldn't I?"
"It's just...well...you're not the same as before. Harry said you barely eat anything, and that you don't pay attention in classes, and come to think about it, I agree with him. You don't seem happy, 'Mione!"
Hermione's eyes narrowed. "Are you guys in this together or something?"
Ginny looked confused. "In what?"
"Every time I see you, one or all of you are asking what's wrong with me. There's nothing wrong with me, won't you all just leave me alone!" she shouted, earning a very stern looking from Madam Pince, even though the library was almost empty. Hermione grabbed her bag and book from the table and stood up, but immediately lent against the table. Ginny looked at her face and saw that she'd gone white as a sheet.
"'Mione, what's wrong?" Ginny asked, rising from her seat.
"I'm...not feeling very well, I think I might faint," Hermione whispered, the words barely audible.
Ginny put an arm around her waist. "Madam Pince," she said, turning to the librarian. "Could you please fetch Madam Pomfrey for me? I think Hermione's ill."
The librarian hurried over to them from her desk, and reached them just as Hermione passed out.
Author's notes: Ok, so cliffhangers aren't really my thing, but I tried it once again lol
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