Chapter 12-
AN- hey all…sorry it had been a while…here is the next chapter.
Last time
Hermione read the letter over and over. 'Poor guy. He seems to be so in love with her and she doesn't even know it…Well, if it were me, I wouldn't pass up a chance with him. I would forgive him…' she thought as she put the letter up and prepared to go to bed.
'Tomorrow is going to be a long day…I am going to have to face him again.' she thought before drifting off to sleep.
Draco paced his room for several minutes thinking about what would happen when he saw Hermione and her "bodyguards." He knew that he wouldn't be able to handle it if he saw Hermione on one of those 'Wonder' boys arms. 'They don't deserve her!!' he thought angrily. 'What am I saying? I don't deserve her. I'm the one who said that she was filthy…I'm one who said that she wasn't good enough…I am such an arsehole!!!' With that, he crashed.
Hermione slept through breakfast and lunch. She didn't want another confrontation with the boys she came to know as Potter and Weasley. When she did get up, it was almost time to get ready for the other students to arrive. She showered and got ready in record time.
'Well, here goes nothing.' Hermione thought as she headed towards the Entrance Hall to greet her friends. She walked slowly and took deep, reassuring breaths the entire way. When she arrived, she saw a group of Gryffindor talking in a circle. She was about to go over when she heard her name mentioned. She paused and strained her ears.
"Yeah, heard that Hermione has betrayed us all. Ron owled me a few days ago telling me all about it." This from Lavender Brown, a sixth year Gryffindor.
"I heard that too. Read us the letter." This from Dean Thomas.
"Okay. Here it is.
Lavender,
How are you doing?? I am just owling you to let you know what has been going on here lately. Harry and I are doing fine, but Hermione has changed. She betrayed us…she has become a Slytherin whore! She has been lying to us for who knows how long……"
Hermione couldn't listen anymore. Instead, she turned around and headed straight back to her room. She threw herself onto her bad and buried her head underneath her pillows. As the tears streamed onto the bed, she could only think of one thing…Draco.
Draco woke early and got dressed. He was going to meet everyone when the Hogwarts express got to Hogsmeade, but for now he needed a drink. He headed straight for Hogs Head.
Draco drank all day long. Soon, he caught a glance at a clock and found that it was time to go. He growled as he got up and began waddling down the street. When he got to the station, he found that the train had not yet arrived so he laid down on a bench. Soon, he found himself in a numb, dreamless sleep.
Fifteen minutes later, Draco was forced out of his sleep by an annoying shaking feeling. He cracked open his eyes to see Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle standing over him. /
Due to his exploding headache and massive hangover, Draco sat up and growled at them. "Get you hands off of me, Parkinson!!"
Pansy automatically drew her hands away with tears in her eyes. "What's wrong, Drakie? Why weren't you on the train?" she asked from a safe distance.
"Shut up!" Draco yelled as he stood and walked away. Crabbe and Goyle immediately flanked him which annoyed Draco quickly. Soon, he stopped, spun round, and took a deep breath. "Don't you guys have anything better to do than follow me everywhere?" eh asked in a strained voice. The other two boys looked confused, so Draco said, "Get away from me! Go follow someone else for a change!!" as unintelligent Crabbe and Goyle were, they understood every word and quickly moved away from him. 'How irritating!' he thought before heading towards the carriages.
He boarded the first empty one he saw and waited. After a few minutes of silence, the door opened. He glanced to the door and saw someone that he had never seen before. She was a short, blond with frosty blue eyes and a great smile. "May I sit with you?" she asked in a soft, cheery voice. Draco nodded and she took the seat across from him. "Hi, I'm Megan Price. My friends call me Meg. What's your name?"
Draco cleared his throat and said in a low, masculine voice, "Draco Malfoy."
"It is nice to meet you Draco. May I call you Draco? I mean you can call me Meg, if you want." she said.
"Yes, please. Call me Draco." he said. "So, do you live in England or are you an exchange student?"
"Oh, I just moved here from America."
"Cool." Draco said as he processed this information. 'Hmm, so she's new and she doesn't know anything about me. Plus, she would be a good way to get over Hermione or at least to stop thinking about her.'
They talked the rest of the journey to Hogwarts. When they were almost there Draco said, "Meg, can I ask you something?"
Megan nodded and said, "Sure."
"Good, I was just wondering if you would like to go out with me sometime."
Megan smiled and nodded enthusiastically. Just then, the carriage stopped and they were to get out. Draco climbed out and offered her a hand. "May I escort you up to the castle, Milady?"
Megan giggled before taking his hand and climbing out of the carriage. Then, as they were walking up the stairs, Draco took her hand. This caused her to smile and blush.
When Draco and Megan entered the Entrance Hall, they saw several small groups of people gossiping. Draco stopped suddenly when he heard someone say 'Hermione.' He strained his ears to hear what they were saying, but Megan continued to pull him through the crowd and away from the gossiping people. "Oh, Draco. It is so beautiful!! I am in love with this castle already!!!" she said as the reached the Great Hall doors.
Draco opened the door for her and they walked in. Draco was about to head straight for the Slytherin table when he realized that he didn't know what house she was in. "Hey Meg, do you know which house you are in?" he asked.
"Not yet. Dumbledore told me that I was to be sorted before the feast." Megan replied.
"Okay. Well for now you can come sit with me at the Slytherin table." he said as he escorted her toward the aforementioned table.
"Sounds good." she said with a smile.
Hermione finally stopped crying long enough to glance at her bedside clock. She was shocked to find that the sorting started in less than five minutes. She got up, washed her face, and ran towards the great hall. She wouldn't have gone in she didn't have Prefect duties to attend to.
When she arrived at the doors, everybody, except the first years, was already inside. She took a deep breath and walked in. As the doors opened she heard the sound of chattering and laughing. Once again, her eyes filled with tears, but she fought them and walked to the end of the Gryffindor table. Since everyone was glaring at her, she took a seat alone at the end of the table.
After what seemed like years, Dumbledore stood up and tapped on his glass with his fork. The Hall went silent and he began talking. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!! It is so nice to see so many new and old faces!! Now, let the sorting begin!!"
The first years were all sorted in to their respectable houses: 5 in Gryffindor, 7 in Hufflepuff, 6 in Ravenclaw, and 5 in Slytherin. When the sorting was finished, everyone waited for Dumbledore to stand again, but instead McGonagall called out another name.
"Price, Megan!!"
Everyone's eyes darted around the room until they saw a girl stand from the Slytherin table. She was a petite girl with long, curly blond hair and frosty blue eyes. She walked to the front with a small smile on her face and her hair flowing gracefully behind her.
'I wonder who she is…She must be new here. Oh, I hope she gets sorted in Gryffindor! She looks nice and I could use a friend about now.' Hermione thought as she watched her walk to the front and sit on the stool. After a few minutes of waiting, Hermione was gravely disappointed. "Slytherin!!"
'What?? She looks so nice!' Hermione thought as she saw the girl grin, get up, and head towards the Slytherin table. She then took a seat next to none other than Draco Malfoy. He smiled at her as she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.
A surge of jealousy flooded Hermione's system. 'How dare she!! She touched my--' Hermione cut herself off by mentally slapping herself. 'He is not 'my' anything!! I HATE him!!' even as she thought it, she knew it wasn't true. She loved him, but she wouldn't admit it now. Not now that he so obviously moved on. Tears threaten to fall from her eyes, so she laid her head in her arms and cried silently.
'Alright she's in Slytherin!' Draco thought as he watched her be sorted. 'Maybe she will be able to distract me from Hermione after all.' At that thought, he turned to scan the Gryffindor table. His eyes immediately focused on the middle on the table where he suspected her to be. 'Potty and Weasel are there--always the center of attention--but where is Her-Granger?' His eyes continued to search the table until he came to the end. He almost missed her, sitting at the end of the table, all be herself. She was watching Megan, with a sad, disappointed expression on her face.
Just then, Megan reached him. She sat down next to him, leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. He smiled at her before turning his attention back to the front of the room. Dumbledore started his normal, somewhat redundant, speech and Draco's eyes began to drift back to where Hermione was sitting. When he saw her, he found that her head was down and her body was shaking slightly. 'Why isn't she with Potter and Weasley? Didn't they forgive her? Even if they didn't, what about all her other Gryffindor friends?' Draco's thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he heard his name. He looked up and realized that Dumbledore was naming off the Prefects and Heads.
"..Now, I would like all of the Prefects to come up here for a quick meeting after the feast. Now, tuck in!!" He waved his hands and food appeared on the table. Draco dug in immediately. He hadn't had a good meal like this in a long time.
When the food appeared on the table, Hermione lifted her head. Now that everybody was eating, she would not be noticed. She put a small portion on her plate, but really didn't feel 'in the mood' to eat it. Instead, she moved it around on her plate until all the food disappeared. She then stood and headed to Head table.
McGonagall gave her another motherly smile before the other Prefects approached the table. "Go ahead into the door down there," McGonagall pointed to the door Harry had gone in fourth year for the Triwizard tournament. She nodded and went through the door, followed by the others--including Draco Malfoy and Ronald Weasley.
After a few minutes of uncomfortable and cruel glaring, Dumbledore came through the door. "Is everyone here?" he asked, though he already knew the answer. "Good. How about we have a seat." he said as he waved his hand. A long conference table appeared in the middle of the room and everyone took a seat. "Now, I only have a few things to tell you. First, I am glad that all of you are here, and I trust you all had good vacations." they all nodded with the exception of Hermione. "Second, I wouls like to tell you that we are doing something a little different this year. The living arrangement will be slightly different than usual that is. I will out all of the boys names in a hat and the girls will draw from it to see who their roommate will be." he said with a smile. He then magiced a hat out of nowhere. "Now, who would like to go first?…"
And that's how it happened….
Padma Patil-Ravenclaw and Ronald Weasley-Gryffindor
Justin Finch-Fletchy-Hufflepuff and Pansy Parkinson-Slytherin
Hanna Abbot-Hufflepuff and Gary Michaels-Ravenclaw
Draco Malfoy-Slytherin and Hermione Granger-Gryffindor
'NO!!! I can't live with him!!' Hermione thought when she drew Draco's name.
"Well, now that that is over, I will show you all to your rooms. Miss. Granger, since you already know where your room is, would you please be kind enough to show Mr. Malfoy?" Dumbledore said.
Hermione nodded, still dumbstruck by the news. She walked silently from the room with a stricken Draco close behind her. 'Oh no, this can only turn out badly.'
'How am I supposed to forget about her now?!!!?' Draco screamed to himself as he followed her silently. 'This can only turn out badly.'
When Hermione finally stopped, he almost ran into her. He looked up and saw that they were standing in front of a portrait of a boy and a girl. They were in old clothing and the boy had his arms around the girl.
"Good Evening, Miss. Ganger. Is that the Prefect that is staying here with you?" the woman in the portrait asked.
Hermione nodded before saying, "Happy Heads" and walking in.
'Happy Heads?? We aren't Heads, we're just Prefects.' he thought as he followed her into the room.
Hermione didn't say a word to him. She immediately disappeared into her room. He looked around for long enough to see that the bathroom was between the two room before he went to his room.