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As the clock struck 6:50, Hermione grabbed her robe and slid out of the Gryffindor common room, oblivious to the presence of one of her best friends. She glided silently through the hallways and down the stairs until she reached the dungeons where the Slytherin common room was situated.
And standing for a while before the wall where there was a hidden door, Hermione took a deep breath she raised her hand to knock on the wall.
"Who is it?" A voice that was unmistakably Draco Malfoy's rang through the wall.
"It-it's me, Hermione." Hermione said softly, watchingas the door slid open.
"Ah, the mudblood - come in. We've been waiting for you." His eyes glinting with malice, Draco Malfoy led Hermione into the common room, firmly shutting the door behind him. "Look who's here." He drawled at his housemates, pushing Hermione into the middle of the circle of Slytherins that was forming around him.
"Hi." Hermione greeted cautiously, glancing around at the eclectic looking group of slytherins.
"Well what are we gonna do with her, boss?" Crabbe grunted, eyeing Hermione.
The rest of the Slytherins looked like they were deep in thought, trying to figure out what to do with the helpless victim they now had in their hands.
"Why don't we like play seven minutes in heaven?" A black haired Slytherin fourth year said, snapping her gum loudly, narrowing her eyes at Hermione. Hermione recognized her as Carla Chang, Cho Chang's older sister, and smiled weakly.
"Yea, why don't we." Pansy Parkinson sneered. "Granger, you're first."
"Um…okay." Hermione said softly, wringing her hands as she stood in the middle of the Slytherins. "What do I do?"
"Well, basically, someone has to make out with you for seven minutes. He has to kiss you, caress you, pleaasssuure you aall niiight looong." She paused. "Well, not really, only for seven minutes." Pansy snorted, and pulling out a green handkerchief from her robe pocket, she tied it tightly around Hermione's eyes, then she turned to the rest of the group. "Okay guys, who's going to spend seven minutes in heaven with the mudblood?"
At first, everyone was silent, but Goyle soon broke it. "What about Draco?"
Everyone looked around, incredulous at first. Was the son of Lucius Malfoy really going to dirty himself with the mudblood?
Draco, was stunned, but soonregained his stony facade. "Why the hell not?" He smirked, causing the room to burst out in snickers and laughter.
"DRACO! DRACO! DRACO!" The Slytherins cheered.
"Alright! Alright!" The common room suddenly quieted down as Draco spoke again.
"DRACO!" The common room roared with laughter.
Hermione, meanwhile,with her eyes covered with the handkerchief, couldn't see anything, but she could hear the commotion around her, and she felt her stomach twist in anticipation. She was finally going to kiss Draco Malfoy, even if it was forced, she was still going to kiss him! Suddenly she felt someone tap her on her shoulders.
"Chill mudblood." Pansy drawled, feeling Hermione tense up at her touch. She grabbed Hermione by the wrist and dragged her further from the group and into a corner of the common room. "Draco will come in a minute. Make yourself comfortable, mudblood."
Hermione nodded tentatively, her cheeks red with the thought of Pansy calling her mudblood repeatedly, and sat down on the cold dungeon floor, waiting...
Harry hid outside the Slytherin common room, having pulled off his invisibility cloak and wishing he had a pair of Fred and George's extendable ears, when suddenly the hidden door slid open, revealing a group of Slytherin's led by Pansy Parkinson and Draco Malfoy.
Harry quickly straightened up as if he had not been eavesdropping, leaning himself against the cold stone wall and glaring at the passing Slytherins.
Draco sneered and with a slight jerk of his head said. "She's waiting for you, Scarface." And with a wink from Pansy, the group of Slytherin's left Harry dazed and wondering what they had done to Hermione.
Without thinking, Harry grabbed his invisibility cloakand looked into the room through the open door. Cautiously, he entered the enemies' common room to find it completely abandoned except for Hermione sitting in a corner with a green handkerchief tied around her eyes.
Harry saw Hermione's lips curl into a smile as she heard the common room door shut. "Hermione?" Harry called out, completely and utterly confused.
"You came." Hermione whispered.
Harry's breath caught in his throat. He'd never thought he'd have a chance like this with Hermione, and now, she was right in front of him. She reached out her hands to touch him, and he laced his fingers through hers. For moments, they sat there with their fingers entwined until Hermione broke the silence.
"Draco?" She whispered. Harry was taken aback. Draco? What the hell did they do to her?
"Hermione-it's me, Harry…" Harry said softly.
Hearing his voice, Hermione pulled back her fingers as if Harry's hands were disgusting to her touch. She froze and then grabbed the handkerchief and pulled it off her face. "Where is everybody?" Hermione's voice quivered as she surveyed the empty common room with her huge brown eyes.
"They left you…" Harry started.
"Where's Draco!"
Harry gaped. "He-he left with Pansy and the rest of them."
Hermione's eyes welled up with tears. "You're lying! Where are they?"
"They left - " Harry murmured.
"You chased him away. You chased them away!" She beat him with her balled up fists. "Why can't you just let me be happy?"
"Hermione- I…I" But before he could get anything else out, she had run out of the Slytherin common room, her hands covering her tearstained face. She ran fast, covering as much distance as her broken heart would carry her. She ran so hard that she barely registered the group of Slytherins who had situated themselves on the stairs near the Gryffindor common room.
"3-2-1" Draco counted under his breath as she ran by.
"HERMIONE!" Harry yelled at his friend as he too ran past the group of Slytherins.
"Bingo." Draco sneered. "That lovesick puppy." The rest of his gang all burst out laughing, which attracted Hermione's attention as she turned a corner and neared the Gryffindor common room.
Hermione was horror stricken to see her crush sitting with the rest of the Slytherin gang laughing and pointing at her, and turning on her heels, she continued to run the rest of the way to the Gryffindor common room, trying unsuccessfully to suppress the new flood of tears. She muttered the password to the Fat Lady, and straggling into the common room, she sunk in one of the plush sofas, crying her eyes out, and thankful that most of the Gryffindors had already gone to bed.
"Hermione-" Hermione looked up to see Harry's worried green eyes, and wondered how he had entered without her noticing. "I'm sorry. I-I"
"Don't talk to me." Hermione said, her voice quivering. "Go away."
"At least tell me what I did wrong…"
"What you did wrong? I told you to leave me alone, Harry. I was fine until you came along and ruined everything."
"Hermione…if I wasn't there, you would have been left in the Slytherin common room for- God knows how long! They left you Hermione, they meant to leave you there. To humiliate you." Harry blurted in one breath.
"No!" Hermione screamed. "Draco would never do that."
Harry sighed. "So says the girl who gave Malfoy's jaw a nice socking." He muttered under his breath. "Herm-"
"I HATE YOU HARRY POTTER. JUST LEAVE. I DONT WANT TO TALK TO YOU ANYMORE. GO." Hermione screamed, standing up, and on the verge of a new set of tears. "YOU RUINED MY LIFE."
Harry stood blubbering, but no words would come out. "Wha-buh-but-buh...?"
Hermione brought her hand up as if she wanted to slap him, and seeing her hand rise, Harry subconsciously winced. However, Hermione could not bring herself to hurting her best friend, and turning on her heels, she fled up to her dorm room, leaving Harry gaping after her, wondering what he had done wrong.
Returning to her room, Hermione grabbed Harry's present to her and chucked it at the mirror which hung above her desk. With a sharp "ping" the glass shattered, and the magic powder which Harry had sprinkled over the model now floated like snowflakes around the room.
Gasping for air and struggling to control the hiccups that she had developed, Hermione hugged herself in a tight ball, rocking herself back and forth and wondering how such a wonderful day could have ended to badly. Recovering momentarily from her crying fit, her eyes shifted up to the wall where hung a page of a magazine that she had ripped out. "Thirty, Flirty, and Thriving." It said in big letters. That's exactly what she wanted to be. Exactly. Exactly.
"I just want to be 30. Thirty. Flirty. And thriving. I want to be thirty, flirty, and thriving" Hermione muttered to herself as she cried and rocked herself to sleep.