(A/N: I'm done with writing disclaimers. Everyone should know by now that I do not own any of these wonderful characters.
Anyway, for people who had read Ch. 5 before it was edited: IT HAS BEEN EDITED! So, the story is a little bit different from how it MIGHT have been had I NOT edited it. So—enjoy re-reading most of the chapter, then reading some new stuff!
Here is Chapter 6, closely following Chapter 5 v.2.0, and Chapter 7 should be coming shortly, IF I get some good reviews! So—if you want more, you gotta tell me what you like and what you want!)
Chapter 6 Truce"Sorry? Sorry for WHAT?" Hermione asked Harry as Ginny stared at the two.
"Hermione… I guess… I'm somewhat responsible for what happened."
Hermione was at a loss. Harry… responsible for her rape? She slumped in her chair. "What…?" she asked in a tiny voice, dwarfed by her fears.
"Hermione—let me explain. Please." Hermione nodded slowly and waited for his explanation while Ginny silently fumed and glared at the raven-haired boy sitting next to her.
Harry took a deep breath and began.
…………………
"Harry, my boy, she is one fine young lady."
Harry looked at Ron and smiled a little. "Who are you talking about?" he asked, eyeing Lavender Brown as she was boarding the train to Hogwarts.
"No, no, no, Harry. You're looking at appetizers. I'm looking at the main course," he said, pointing at a girl in the distance.
Harry squinted, then identified her. "Hermione! Ron, are you on something? Hermione's our best friend. You're like a brother to her, not a lover!"
Ron sighed. "Yeah, but I wish it was more, mate." She likes me, I know it. She'd been stealing looks at me at the Burrow all summer. I've seen it. She fancies me.
Harry laughed. "Maybe you should stick to appetizers, Ron. Hermione may be a main dish, but I don't think you're ready."
"Oh, I am, mate. I'm ready. And when I get the chance—and I'm telling you, I WILL get the chance—she'll be ready too."
"Sure, Ron. I'm sure she wants you so badly."
Ron's eyes widened. "You've seen it too? I told you, mate, she fancies me!"
"Wha—no, Ron, I didn't mean—"
Ron pushed Harry onto the train, whose whistle had just gone off. "Hurry up, mate. Maybe if we hurry, we can get a compartment right next to the Heads."
Once on the train, the two found an empty compartment just two away from the Heads'. Ron continued telling Harry about his suspicions and plans, but Harry wasn't listening.
"Man, I'm gonna find her in a mood one day. One of those moods where she just wants to kiss the first person she sees—that's when I'll make my move."
"Uh-huh…"
"Yeah, mate, she'll be begging for it. …No… I should just tell her. I'll tell her I love her, then she'll have no choice but to give in to me. Hey, Harry, you think I should do that?"
"Yeah… yeah, Ron… …yeah." Harry continued spacing out, looking at some unseen distraction outside the train.
………………
Harry finished his story looking depressed and downtrodden. Hermione smiled a little, and Ginny looked ready to burst out laughing.
Hermione wrapped Harry up in a huge hug. "Harry, it wasn't your fault. Ron's just mad. He's an insane little git. You said it yourself—you were spacing out while he was making his plans. His words weren't even registering in your head at the time. You aren't at fault, Harry."
Harry looked relieved, then frowned. "I feel so stupid. I feel like I could've stopped him. You know? Maybe if I was listening to him on the train, I would've been able to talk some sense into him, you know?"
Ginny laughed a little and hugged Harry as well. "No, you couldn't. My brother is a stubborn little git. No matter what you had said, he would have done it anyway."
"Thank you for telling me this, Harry, but I really should be going. I've got a meeting with Malfoy and McGonagall at noon," Hermione said, frowning slightly, but feeling very, very relieved.
My secret is off my chest, my friends understand, and they aren't responsible for his actions…
She walked back to her room with a small bounce in her step, gleeful and uplifted. Her mood darkened when she brightly entered the Heads' commons to find Draco and Blaize on the couch, talking amongst themselves. She had caught just a snippet of their conversation and was immediately distraught.
"…of course I want to bone her… just need the chance… be waltzing into my arms any minute…"
She angrily slammed her books on the table and stomped up to her room. She listened expectantly at the door for Blaize to leave, and when she heard the portrait slam, she rushed back out of her room to have an angry word with her 'roommate'.
Draco looked very sullen and grave as he sat with his head in his hands. He rose at the sound of Hermione coming out of her room, expecting the worst of the female beast striding toward him.
"So, Draco… do you see me only as an object? Hm? Possibly as, say, your personal fuck-toy? I'm sure you'd love to think that I'd waltz right into your lap, inhibitions completely thrown out the window, ready and raring to go… but, frankly, I am NOT that kind of girl. I don't know what kind of hussies you're used to dealing with, but let me tell you—"
Hermione was interrupted by an embracing Draco. He tenderly wrapped his arms around her and tried to calm her down, or shut her up at the very least. "Hermione… let me explain. Please, just hear me out."
Hermione nodded slowly and sat on the couch, still taken aback at his reaction to her lecturing. She quickly regained composure and folded her hands neatly in her lap, waiting for answers.
"Hermione… I know that my reputation isn't one of the best in Hogwarts…" Hermione snorted, then bade Draco continue. "Anyway, I really have changed. I haven't been with a single girl this year… I'm waiting for the right one this time…"
Hermione had nearly heard enough. "That's all very nice and good, but what does this have to do with what you just said to Blaize?"
Draco sighed. "Hermione, I have to keep up appearances. To all them," he waved his hand in a vague direction. "I am still Draco Malfoy, man-whore extraordinaire. I have to keep them at bay with that guise so that I can go about my business without them on my back."
It was Hermione's turn to sigh. She honestly didn't expect so calm and reasonable an explanation from Draco, but it was a nice change. "Draco Malfoy, you best not be playing around with me. From now on, I want nothing from you but respect. I think that if we are to survive this term, we at least need to act civilly towards eachother, and I don't think we can manage that without calling a truce."
Draco nodded and extended his hand, and Hermione did the same. "Truce," they said in agreement, nodding their heads as smiles slowly crept across their faces.