Romeo and Juliet: A Harry Potter Love Story Chapter V
"You what?" asked a wide-eyed Blaise Zabini to his best friend for the sixth time. Draco seethed. "YES, you heard correctly. YES, I HAVE fallen for the Mudblood, okay? Now will you please stop saying 'you what?'" "Oh God. Oh. My. God. Bloody hell, Draco, I thought all these years you were dead set against her… Now you'r telling me you've had feelings for her all along? Oh my God." Draco glared at his stunned friend. "Hey, it isn't exactly something I can control, is it?" Blaise took this into consideration. "Well… Do you know if she likes you back?" Draco snorted. "Get real, Blaise. This is Herm— Granger we're talking about here. She probably fancies someone else like Weasley or Scarhead." Blaise grinned craftily. "Well, there's only one way to find out…"
"My God, Blaise. I never thought I'd see the day you'd hatch a more diabolical scheme than me…" "Well, I never thought I'd see the day you'd fall for Granger. And this isn't a 'diabolical scheme', as you say it is. We're just finding out if Granger likes you or not." "Blaise. I'm telling you, she's gonna say no. And where did you find the time to brew this thing?" Blaise shrugged. "Always had a flask of it in my pocket. Just in case I needed it. Um… If you could stop glaring at me anytime soon, that would be great. Oh come on. If I didn't have this baby we'd never be able to find out if she fancies you back." Draco sighed in defeat. "Oh, alright. But not a word to anyone, you hear?" he hissed. "Yeah. Yeah. I got it, boss." The potion Blaise had was something similar to Veritaserum, only milder.
'Okay. So how exactly are we gonna get her to drink the potion without arousing any suspicion? We can't do it while she's at the Great Hall, people will hear. We've got to get her alone… And she hardly goes anywhere without that stupid Scarhead…" Blaise shrugged. "She always goes to the Library by herself, doesn't she?" Draco wanted to bash his head on the wall. "Yeah… But Madam Pince won't let us bring drinks into the Library. And Granger wouldn't touch anything we give her…" Blaise paced around the corridor. "Well, we could just knock her out, send her to Madam Pomfrey, wait for her to come around then give it to her." Draco stared amazed at Blaise. "Oh my God. That is pure genius, Blaise! I mean, who'd be suspicious of an innocent cup of water, right?"
WHAM.
Blaise sighed. "Sorry, Granger," he whispered in her ear. "But we've gotta know." Draco then carried her off to the hospital wing, accompanied by Blaise.
"Uh… Madam Pomfrey? We found Hermione in the corridor. We think she walked into a wall and got knocked out…" Madam Pomfrey stared at them curiously. "Is… something the matter, Madam Pomfrey?" asked Blaise. "Oh no, dear. I just never thought… you two would be the ones bringing her here, that's all." The pair shared triumphant looks. "Madam Pomfrey, is it alright if we stay with her until she comes around?" She stared at them some more. "Why… Yes…. Of course…" and she led the two to Hermione's bed.
They waited.
And waited some more.
Finally Draco said, "Blaise? How hard did you hit her?" His friend bristled. "Well, I had to do a proper job, didn't I?" "Fair enough."
And they waited a bit more. Then at last Hermione began to stir. "She's coming around, Blaise! Okay, let's put the potion in now before she sees us…"
"Urgh. Wha— Where am I? Why am I here?" Hermione mumbled groggily. She looked around and saw the two boys sitting by her bedside. "And… what are you two doing here?" she asked suspiciously as she edged ever so slightly away from them. Draco rolled his eyes. "If you must know, Granger, Blaise and I found you knocked out just outside the Library. So we brought you here and decided to stay with you 'till you came round. Here, have some water. It'll do you good," he said as he handed her the glass. She made a face. "Malfoy, I wouldn't drink anything you gave me. Now if you don't mind, I'll just get my own water…" "Don't be stupid, Her—Granger. Look, is it so wrong if we wanna be nice to you for once? And besides, it's not like we're going to poison you or anything…" said Draco trying to hide his annoyance as he forced it into her hand. Hermione decided to take the glass but glared at them suspiciously over the rim of the glass.
The boys exchanged looks. The potion should be kicking in now…
"Okay. Granger," Draco lowered his voice before continuing. "Do you like me?" Hermione stared open-mouthed at them, trying to resist the effects of the potion. "Alright! Yes, Draco, I do!" Hermione blurted out. She gasped and her hand flew to her mouth as Draco whooped softly and Blaise pumped his fist. "Wh—What did you put in my drink?" she cried, staring madly at her glass. Blaise shrugged. "A milder version of Veritaserum. It's not the real Veritaserum, dummy, I said a milder version of it, so it's legal," he said as a triumphant grin started to creep slowly onto Hermione's face, which faded instantly. "But… why? And when is it going to wear off?" "Five minutes," said Blaise as Draco sighed and said softly, "Don't you get it? I… like you, okay? And I just… wanted to know if …you liked me back so we… knockedyououtandsentyouhereandwaitedforyoutocomearoundandthenweputthepotioninyourwater, okay?" Hermione sat there stunned. Her mouthed opened and closed a few times but she remained speechless. Suddenly, she shot out of bed, grabbed her shoes and ran for it as she yelled out, "Thanks, Madam Pomfrey, I'm feeling much better now okay thanks BYE!" to the matron.
The boys stared after her. "Oh God. Oh God…" mumbled Draco. Blaise cupped his forehead in his hands as Madam Pomfrey came bustling in. "I don't know what you two did to that poor girl, but you've obviously upset her. Now, out, out!" as she shoved them out the hospital wing.