I only have one shout out to make this time because it is something I want to say to the person :)
thescottishcat: I have been thinking of adding some Harry Jessica, but wasn't sure if people would like it. I will defiantly think more seriously about it though! Thanks for the suggestion!
Chapter 31 – Pink Flowered Boxers
Hermione grabbed a bagel, gnawing at it plain and staring down at one of her text books. In all the recent happenings, she had been neglecting her work, and now found her self swarmed by a huge amount that was due the following day.
"Why so into the work, Mione?" Harry asked, looking at her intently. "I mean…more than usual."
"I just have a lot, is all," she said, not really bothering to look back at him.
"Yoohoo! Hermione!" she heard Parvati yell in a sing song voice, and whipped around to see her trotting over. She dropped her several bags onto the floor and squeezed in between Hermione and a rather annoyed and confused Neville. Harry looked quizzically at Hermione, and she mouthed to him 'I'll tell you later.' He gave a curt nod.
"Ahhh…isn't it a beautiful day?" Parvati asked, smiling. "What do you want to do?"
"Well…" Hermione began. "I was thinking I would go to all my classes, then I would finish off my homework, then after that I would cozy up in my bed and read a nice book." She sighed, seemingly happy with her day plan.
"No, no, no!" Parvati said, waving a hand in the air as if brushing away Hermione's past plans. "That sounds SO boring! I don't want to do that! I want to do something fun!"
"Well, you can…that's only MY plans. You can do whatever you want."
Parvati ignored her. "Okay, let me think. How about we skive off classes for the day and go shopping down at Hogsmeade? They aren't that important anyway…"
"No!" Hermione said, looking stunned and horrified. "I have to go to my classes…case closed!"
"Hmph." Parvati said with a pout. "You're no fun… Lavender would have gone with me."
Hermione resisted the urge to remind her that she wasn't Lavender. "Sorry…but I'd much rather do something after classes. Anything you had in mind?"
"Ooh!" Parvati squealed. "Sleepover!"
"But it's a school night…"
"Come onnnn… Please?"
Hermione was strongly reminded of the girl she used to baby sat when she would beg to stay up past her bedtime. She sighed. "Oh, all right. I haven't had a sleepover in a long time anyway."
"Fantastic!" Parvati said, hopping up. "Well, gotta run. I for one am not going to waste my day with classes." And with that she ran off.
"Hermione…what the hell is going on?" asked Harry with a confused smile.
"Please…don't ask."
"I just did."
She took a deep breath. "The short of it is that Parvati and Lavender are NOT friends anymore, and I am now Parvati's new best friend. Fun, right?"
"Loads," he said, deciding not to push the matter.
Just then the bell sounded shrilly, and the students rose from the tables, scurrying off to their various classes.
Ron had been quiet all of breakfast, something which rarely happened ever, and as he rose Hermione stopped him. "Ron," she said. "Can we talk later?"
He hesitated, looking around, then nodded. "Yeah, okay."
"Great…meet me at my dorm after classes at 6:00, okay?"
He nodded again, and they parted.
XXX
Hermione drummed her fingers on her knee and glanced up at the clock. 6:09. She always hated it when people were late, and grew quite anxious waiting for them, and this, which would likely end up in a rather awkward explanation, was not something she was looking forward to. She wanted it over with, and they could have been 9 minutes through if Ron had just showed up on time.
Several minutes later she jumped at hearing a knock at the door, her elbow sliding off her knee, and hopped up quickly to let Ron inside. He had his hands shoved inside his pockets and was clearly dreading the conversation just as much as she was.
"Want to sit down?" she asked, walking over to the couch and pausing.
"Yeah, alright," he said, taking a seat across from her. He had never been this quiet. "Listen, Mione…what was that about at the dance?" he asked, finally breaking the silence and trying his best to act normal.
She let out a sigh, glad that she did not need to be the first to talk. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that…I was just…caught up in dancing and wasn't thinking. Really… I'm sorry…" she repeated again, she looked down but felt him still staring at her.
"Do you…" he paused uncertainly. "Have feelings for me or something?"
"No, of course not Ron…you're my best friend!"
"Good. Okay…let's just forget about it, then," he said, smiling.
"That sounds like a good idea," she smiled also.
"So do you want to hang out for a bit?"
"Sorry, I can't… I have this whole sleepover thing planned with Parvati. But I can assure you, I would much rather hang out with you."
"It's okay. Let's do it some other time then. We haven't been talking as much this year."
"Sounds like a deal," she said, rising and giving him a friendly hug. "I'm glad we could sort this all out."
"Me too," he agreed. "Have a good night." He turned, giving one last wave, and walked out of the room.
Seconds later, another knock sounded at the door, and Hermione opened it, surprised to see Parvati so early.
"Hello!" She said, beaming and toting with her several huge bags. "I brought EVERYTHING we need for a good sleepover! Makeup, nail polish, pillow, sleeping bag, snacks, and best of all…fire whiskey!"
"Sounds good," Hermione said, helping her carry the bags to Hermione's room. "But I think I'll pass on the fire whiskey."
"You say that now, but in an hour or so you won't be able to get enough!" she giggled.
"Heh… yeeeah," Hermione said, pretending to agree. She had only drank twice in her life: once when she had drunken a sip of her father's wine on New Year's Eve, and the second time at the end-of-the-year ball at Merlin's. She preferred not to think of the second time, and didn't want to repeat it.
Parvati was already setting up her sleeping bag, and Hermione joined her on the floor. She had decided earlier that if she was going to have to have a sleepover with Parvati she would at least make the best of it. After all, Parvati could be fun every once in a while.
"What do you want to do first?" Parvati asked.
"Umm…I dunno…a game?"
"Ooh! Good idea!" Parvati squealed, turning to face her.
"Okay, great. I've got chess, cards, Monopoly…you name it!"
"Not THAT kind of game… I got over those by second year. Let's play Truth or Dare!"
Truth or Dare. Not a favorite of Hermione's by any means. The particular game brought her back to another not-so-fond memory back at Merlin's. It involved campfire night, outhouses, underwear, Draco Malfoy and herself, and one disgruntled Head Mistress. "Uhh…" Hermione stalled. "Are you sure you don't just want to play Monopoly?"
"I don't even know what Monopoly is…must be some kind of Muggle stuff. But yeah, I'm sure! I want to play Truth or Dare. Come on! It will be fun, I promise! I'll even go easy on you…"
"Fine," Hermione said, giving in.
"Truth or Dare?"
"Truth."
"No, pick dare!" Parvati said quickly.
"It's my choice! And I pick truth."
Parvati sighed. "Fine. Party pooper. When did you get your first kiss and who was it from? See, I told you I would go easy."
"Fourth year, from Viktor Krum."
"Fourth year? Really, that late? Wow."
"No judging!" Hermione said, smiling despite herself. "Truth or Dare?"
"Truth."
"If you choose truth then why did you tell me not to?" Hermione asked.
"Because I like seeing other people do dares…but I don't really like doing them."
"Okay, whatever," Hermione said, beginning to enjoy herself. "Are you a virgin?"
"Hell no!" Parvati said very quickly, giggling. "And on that note, I think its time for the entrance of a good friend of mine." She reached over to her bag, rummaging through it, and pulled out a clear bottle that read -
'Bill's Best Fire Whisky. Brewed to perfection, it must be Bill's!'
She popped the top and took a small swig, shuddering. "Really hits the spot!" she said with a smile. "Sure you don't want some?"
"Positive," Hermione replied. "How did you get it, anyway?"
"It's really quite easy, you just go to the bartender - preferably at the Hogshead because he's clearly hornier - and then you flirt with him."
"What a pig!" Hermione said in a repulsed tone. "Giving drinks to minors just because they flirted with him!"
"It may not be nice, but it works!" Parvati said, giving her a wink and taking another sip. "Come on, just try one sip."
"No." Hermione shook her head.
"Please?"
"No."
"Come on, you know you want to…"
Hermione eyed the bottle…she did kind of want to, despite her best interest. "No…" she said a bit more weakly. Parvati shoved the bottle into her hands and Hermione looked down at it. "Okay, maybe just one sip. It's a special occasion, right? I don't really have sleepovers often."
"That's my girl!" Parvati squealed; she was more open without Lavender as her overbearing friend.
Several sips later the girls sat giggling.
"You did? Really? With him?" Hermione asked, laughing loudly.
"Mhmm! And the worst part of it is… I did it twice!" A new fit of giggles emerged. "Okay, truth or dare, Hermione?"
"Ummm…" Hermione thought for a bit, but feeling wild, decided to take a chance. "Dare." She said, her eyes narrowing and a smile visible on her lips. The fire whiskey had effected her, and although she was nowhere near being drunk, she did feel a bit carefree and wild.
"Finally, a dare! Okay… Ooh! I have a good one!" Parvati said, her face lighting up. "I dare you…to steal a pair of Draco Malfoy's boxer shorts!"
"What?" Hermione shrieked in awe. "But… He's right in there! He could see me!"
"He wont…he's fast asleep. I can hear him snoring."
"But…"
"You have to! I dared you!"
"Fine," Hermione sighed, giving in once again to Parvati's incessant nagging. "But does it have to be now? Couldn't I do it tomorrow when he's in class or something?"
Parvati shook her head. "Tonight."
Hermione reluctantly stood, and Parvati collapsed to her pillow laughing. "You are so going to pay for this!" Hermione threatened jokingly, and dashed off. She flicked off the hall lights so as not to wake him, and pushed open the door, freezing at hearing it squeak, then relaxing once again at realizing he was still asleep. She tiptoed in, locating the large dresser. She stood before it, trying to decide which drawer held his boxers, and decided on the second to the top, pulling it open with care. Her heart sank. Shirts. She closed it quietly. This time she tried the middle drawer, pulling it open and…bingo! At seeing a dash of color amidst the sea of black, she grabbed it, stuffing it in her shirt and tiptoeing back out of the room, then dashing back into the safety of her own.
"Did you do it?" asked Parvati, grinning widely.
She smiled, reaching into her shirt and pulling out…
"What…the…hell?" Hermione asked as she finally saw the pair of boxers she had grabbed.
Parvati burst into yet another fit of giggles. "Draco Malfoy wears pink flowered boxers?" she asked, then realizing how silly it sounded, repeated it. "DRACO MALFOY WEARS PINK FLOWERED BOXERS!" She was laughing so hard that tears leaked out of the sides of her eyes.
Hermione looked down at the boxers…pink, with many white daisies covering them, and couldn't help but giggle also.
"Wait until I tell everyone!" she howeled.
"No!" Hermione shouted, suddenly becoming very serious, and flinging the boxers safely onto her bed. "You can't tell people about this… Dra- I mean Malfoy cant find out about this… EVER! Okay? Promise me you won't tell anyone!"
"But…"
"Parvati, promise!"
Parvati looked reluctant, but finally agreed. "Okay… I promise."
"Thanks." Hermione smiled.
Parvati really wasn't half-bad.
A/N: Hahaha… Pink flowered boxers! Cant you just imagine Draco wearing them? 7 reviews before an update!