Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in updating. I was doing so well there for a while, updating once a week. And then I slacked off big time. BUT this was mainly because I was having a hard time writing this chapter, so I started working on chapter 13 instead. In other words, since most of the next chapter is done, it won't be as long until I update next time. In other news, I have set a goal that I know I will not be able to reach, and that is to get this story done before the release of Half-Blood Prince. I might be able to do it…I don't think I have too much of this story left to write.
Thank you all once again for the reviews. I cannot believe this story has gotten over 200 reviews…that's about 190 more than I had expected. :D
Disclaimer: I still don't own anything except the plot. Well actually, this plot has been done so many times before by other people that I can't really say I own that either. Woe is me. :(
Hermione woke up Saturday morning with a redheaded girl sitting at the end of her bed.
Ginny was looking at her with concern in her eyes. At first, Hermione wondered why, and then she remembered: she had returned to the Gryffindor common room last night in tears, refusing to talk to anyone, and then she had proceeded to cry herself to sleep. Come to think of it, Hermione's eyes did feel pretty puffy this morning.
"Okay. What happened?" Ginny asked.
"Nothing," Hermione replied, hiding her face in her pillow.
"Don't give me that," Ginny said with some attitude. "You don't usually come storming into the common room bawling your eyes out for no reason."
"I don't want to talk about it," Hermione groaned.
"Do you honestly think I give a damn whether or not you want to talk about it? I'm one of your best friends, Hermione, and I know that you won't talk about it with Ron or Harry. You need to talk to someone about this. Someone who is neutral…like me."
"Neutral?" Hermione asked curiously. She sat up.
"Yeah. You know…someone who is not one hundred percent against you being in love with Draco Malfoy."
"Ginny Weasley!" Hermione gasped. "You can't just go throwing around accusations like that!"
"Oh," Ginny said, shaking her head, "that wasn't an accusation. I was stating a fact."
Hermione's jaw dropped. "Would you like me to kick you out of this room?"
"No, but -"
"Then take back what you said about me being in love with Draco Malfoy!"
"I can't, and I won't," Ginny said stubbornly.
Hermione glared at her friend. "Why are being so obnoxious? I am not in love with Draco Malfoy!"
"You are." Ginny paused only a second before continuing, giving Hermione no time to protest. "Look, I've been debating on whether or not I should tell you this. At first, I had decided not to. But then you came home last night and…you were so sad. Of course, I assumed it had something to do with Malfoy, and I'm pretty sure I'm right, aren't I?"
Hermione glanced down sheepishly at her hands and nodded. "What is it that you want to tell me?"
Ginny took a deep breath before proceeding to tell Hermione everything she learned from eavesdropping on Harry and Ron's conversation the previous night. When she was done, Hermione just sat there looking positively horrified.
"No," she said simply, shaking her head. "You obviously heard wrong. Or…or Harry and Ron misunderstood what that barmaid told them…or…"
"Hermione," Ginny said softly. "This makes perfect sense. Admit it. This would explain why, even though you've taken the anti-potion, you're still upset that you're not with him. It would explain why you're so unhappy."
"No," Hermione cried. "It can't be true. I just can't."
"Why not?"
"B-because," Hermione sobbed. "Because M-Malfoy h-hates me. He doesn't love me. He never will. He told me just that last night. So you see, that p-potion can't be accurate, b-because we don't love each other!"
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Dear Hermione. Haven't you ever heard of a thing called 'denial'? That's what Malfoy's feeling right now - not hate. And you're in denial too! You need to talk to him."
"No way!" Hermione exclaimed. She jumped out of bed and crossed the room. "I am never talking to that git ever again! I'm through with Draco Malfoy!"
Ginny walked over to Hermione and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hermione, please? Please, just listen to me on this. I honestly think you need to talk with Malfoy and straighten everything out. If he reacts badly, then you can swear off talking to him again. But at least take this one opportunity you have. You may just be surprised by the result."
Hermione hated to admit it, but Ginny was right. Perhaps she should just talk to Malfoy and see what happened. The worst that could happen would be that Malfoy would call her a filthy mudblood and tell her to die – and it's not like she'd never heard that from him before.
"Okay! You know what, Ginny? You are absolutely right! I mean, what do I have to lose? Besides my dignity, of course?"
Ginny smiled. "That's the spirit! So get yourself dressed, and head on down to the dungeons. Try and catch him before breakfast."
"What – right now!" Hermione said nervously.
"Yes, right now! There is no time like the present!"
"But -"
"No buts!" Ginny interjected. She made her way across the room. "I'll leave now so you can get dressed and ready. Good luck, Hermione." She turned to leave, but decided to add quickly, "Don't you dare chicken out, or you'll regret it!"
Chickening out sounded like a wonderful idea to Hermione. But sadly, Ginny was right. It was now or never. With a sigh, she began to get ready for her meeting with humiliation.
Draco woke up the next morning with a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. He, of course, had no idea what this feeling was or what it meant. All he knew was that he had started feeling it soon after Granger fled the classroom last night in tears.
It was Saturday, so there was no rush for everyone to get up to head to classes. However, Draco still got up at the time he normally did, largely due to the fact that he was having a hard time sleeping. Unfortunately for him, Pansy was up early too, and she was the first thing to greet him as he entered the common room.
"Drakie!" she squealed, throwing herself at him. Really, she was too much for Draco to handle first thing in the morning.
"Morning, Pansy," he muttered, prying her off. He flung his robes over the side of the couch and sat down, burying his face in his hands.
"What's wrong?" Pansy asked, sitting down beside him. "Does it have anything to do with detention last night? It was absolutely horrid, wasn't it? I can't believe that witch made us set up for a party – one that we're not even attending! The nerve."
Draco felt a shooting pain go through his head, and he really wished Pansy would stop talking. Luckily, Blaise chose this moment to make an appearance in the common room. Although Draco was not thrilled to see him, he was an improvement over Pansy.
"Pansy dearest," Blaise said smoothly. "May I please speak with Draco here for a minute?"
Pansy shrugged. "Sure." She proceeded to study her nails.
"I meant may I speak with him alone?"
Pansy rolled her eyes and looked annoyed. "Fine. Whatever," she mumbled. She got up and wandered off.
When she was out of earshot, Blaise said, "Oh man, you're not looking very well today. What's wrong?"
Draco considered ignoring him, but decided against it. He actually wanted someone to talk to. "I think I'm dying," he replied, looking up at Blaise. "I've had this horrible feeling in my stomach since last night."
Blaise nodded. "It was probably the pumpkin pasties. They tasted a little funny…"
"No," Draco said, shaking his head. "I don't feel sick, I feel…well, I don't know what I feel. It's a hard feeling to explain. I've never experienced it before."
Blaise studied his friend's face for a moment before realization dawned on him. "Oh wait – does this have anything to do with Granger?"
"No!" Draco said defensively. "Why in the bloody hell would it have to do with her?"
"Well, let's see. You've had a horrible feeling in your stomach ever since last night. We had detention last night. And I saw you go back into that classroom after we left." He sighed. "Okay, Draco, what did you say to her?"
"Nothing!" Draco yelled. "Absolutely nothing! This has nothing to do with Granger!"
Blaise narrowed his eyes at him.
Draco sighed in defeat. "Okay. So it does have to do with Granger. I guess last night I was kind of…I don't know…mean to her."
"And when have you not been mean to her?" Blaise asked.
"Good point. But this time was different. She was upset and I think I really hurt her feelings."
"And this makes you feel bad?"
"No!" Draco exclaimed. "Well, I guess maybe a little."
Blaise smiled. "Wow. Draco, mate – you are human after all. That horrible feeling in your stomach is guilt. You feel guilty about hurting Granger's feelings. And you should. You know, she's actually a very nice girl once you get to know her. I don't see why you hate her so much."
Draco groaned and got up from the couch. "I hate her because she is a filthy mudblood and -"
"Ugh. The 'filthy mudblood' insult again. You know, Draco, if you don't start coming up with a new reason to hate Granger, I'm going to start to think maybe you don't hate her at all." Blaise stood up. "I'm hungry. Let's go to breakfast."
Reluctantly, Draco followed his friend out of the common room, leaving Pansy behind.
"Wait up, you guys!" she squealed, but the boys ignored her. She pouted and stomped her foot. "Men." She started to follow them out, but noticed that Draco had left his robes behind on the couch. Deciding it would be nice of her to bring them to him, she picked them up from the couch. The minute she did, something fell out onto the floor – a little box.
"Hmm, what's this?" Pansy pondered aloud. She bent down and picked the box up from the floor. Examining it, she came to the conclusion it was a jewelry box. This realization hit her hard and she squealed. Draco must have bought her a piece of jewelry! Quickly, she opened the box and gasped at what was inside - a white gold ring with a pear-shaped sapphire gem. Her jaw dropped.
"Oh Merlin, oh Merlin, oh Merlin! Drakie bought me a ring!" she screeched. She wasted no time taking it out of the ring box and placing it on her finger. It was the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. And it was hers! She was so excited. She tossed his robes back on the couch and hurried out of the common room. She couldn't wait to go thank her Drakiekins.
Hermione stood in front of the Slytherin common room and took a deep breath. She was receiving odd looks from the portrait that guarded the door, but she ignored it. She wanted so much to turn and run the other way. In fact, she had started to when the common room door flew open.
"Mudblood?" came a voice that vaguely sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Parkinson.
Hermione spun around. "Pansy. So nice to see you," she said, not sounding sincere in the least. "Is Draco around?"
Pansy glared at her. "Why do you want to know?"
"Because I want to talk to him."
"Well he doesn't want to talk to you," Pansy said snottily.
Hermione gritted her teeth. "Can you at least go ask him if he wants to talk with me or not?"
"No," Pansy replied.
"Bitch," Hermione muttered under her breath.
"What did you just say?"
"I said 'thanks anyway'."
"You're welcome," Pansy said. She proceeded to twirl a strand of hair around her finger. "Is there anything else I can do for you? Or are you done polluting these halls with your mudblood filth? I have places to be."
Hermione was about to retort when her eyes landed on the hand Pansy was using to twirl her hair. Something about her hand looked familiar - very familiar.
She stopped breathing for a second. She squinted her eyes to see it clearer…not that she needed any more confirmation. She could recognize that ring from a mile away. When she finally regained her composure, she said slowly, "That's a nice ring you've got there, Pansy."
Pansy grinned. "I know. Isn't it the most beautiful ring you've ever seen? Drakie gave it to me!" She shoved her hand in front of Hermione's face to give her a better look. But Hermione closed her eyes.
"How lovely," she said flatly. She turned on her heel and walked away from Pansy as quickly as possible.
That sonofabitch! She thought to herself angrily as she stormed through the hallways. It's not as if she had expected him to keep the ring himself, or even try to give it back to her. But to give it to Pansy Parkinson? That was just low! It was low and rude and tactless and…low. UGGGHHH! she screamed really loudly in her head.
She made her way blindly through the hallways and eventually found herself outside of the Great Hall. She stormed past Harry and Ron, who called out to her as she passed by, and headed straight for the small group of Slytherins huddled over near the corner of the hallway.
Blaise saw her approaching and put on his most charming smile. "Well hello there, Granger. What brings you by?"
Hermione ignored him and stopped right in front of Draco, who was looking at her curiously. She only hesitated a brief moment before slapping him across the face, as hard as she could.
"OW!" he bellowed, touching his hand to the spot where hers had just made contact. "DAMMIT! Granger, what the fuck was that for?"
"Do I even need to have a reason?" she asked coolly. "I just felt like doing it, you stupid, arrogant prat!" She was being childish and she knew it. But she didn't care. She glanced over at an amused Blaise. Quickly, she turned around and left to go search for Harry and Ron.
This was the second time this week she had hit Draco Malfoy, but for some reason, it was less enjoyable than the last time. He deserved it, she assured herself. She couldn't get the vision out of her head of Pansy wearing her ring.
Ginny, who had witnessed the whole thing, ran over to her. "Hermione!" she said, frowning.
"Our talk didn't go so well," Hermione said with a chuckle that soon turned into a sob.
Ginny gave her a sympathetic smile and a pat on the back. "I think maybe it's time for you to get over Draco Malfoy."