A/N: Thanks to all my readers for reading, and to those who reviewed for doing both.
Thanks to my friend Leah222 to beta-read this chapter. (The Force with you still is!)
ooOoo
6. To Hogsmeade we proceed
The upcoming Hogsmeade weekend left me in a state of continuous bumping against Malfoy's toned chest, or treading on his feet, for he never left my side. He made very sure nobody could ask me out, for 'somebody' must have slipped the password to Gryffindor tower to him, and he actually moved in with the other 7th years. 'Somebody' paid dearly for it; on the bright side now I know at least that I cannot even trust a soon-to-become Weasley.
Of course Tail kept his nightly position as watchdog, only now I could walk over him when descending the stair from the girl's dorm. I did escape him once, for one glorious whole day (he had an accident in Potions, a very nasty person must have mixed explosives into his grinded dragon's teeth), but not one single male in this entire blasted castle asked me to go out with them! Even when I was wearing my best second-hand robe, sending encouraging smiles. Am I that ugly?
ooOoo
Saturday began with a very bright, blazing blue sky. The sun was shining as if it wanted to show winter it was still stronger than the cold; I had breakfast very early and left Hogwarts for the village right after. Malfoy, of course, was with me. He kept fussing about my thin cloak, insisting that I should wear his (the one he'd borrowed me once already) lest I wanted to fall ill, which I flatly refused. His coat smells very much like him, and I can't stand it. It makes me feel dizzy as if I am about to lift off the ground. So he put an arm around me, and I let him, for it was a bit chilly. This is how we wandered down to the village. We went to Honeydukes (where we met Ron and Hermione, who's hiding her hairlessness-due-to-friends-betrayal with a hat), Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes (my brothers have bought Zonko's), the bookstore and Madam Rosmerta's, where he treated me with lunch. Madam Rosmerta still doesn't trust him; he had put her under the Imperius curse for almost a year, after all; so we didn't stay long and went to the Shrieking Shack. He leaned against the fence and watched me intently while I stared towards the house without really seeing it.
So this was my life. I was stuck with him, no other man would look at me twice, and it took a love sick, brainless twit to see anything in me. I used to be quite popular; boys would want to go out with me… now it was all different. Was it just Malfoy tailing me that made them all turn away from me? I don't believe so. Maybe I have changed too much, maybe I'm too sarcastic. People liked me for my funniness, for my wit and spirit. Perhaps I'm too cold, to ironic, too dark and serious. But how can I not be? The one person I ever really loved has taken a path I cannot follow, and he's far out of reach by now. Harry was meeting Fred in Hogsmeade in that blasted lover's café while I was brooding over my misshapen life, trying to hold back tears. Then rain started falling.
We wandered back to the castle in the rainstorm. Malfoy tried to give me his cloak again. I yelled at him and ran away.
Now I'm sick, but I won't go to the hospital wing, it's just a tiny cold and it'll go away by itself.
ooOoo
Where am I now? In the infirmary, of course; I started coughing madly a day after I first fell ill, and I couldn't attend classes on Monday. My 'protector' turned bananas and attempted several times to storm up the staircase to the girl's dormitories, always in vain. He insisted on my being brought down by Hermione so he could take me to Madam Pomfrey. The nurse tut-tut-ed me for not seeing her earlier, forced tons of disgusting potions on me and made me stay until further notice. Malfoy, to whom I owe my current status of imprisonment, visits me every spare second of his life (and believe me, he's got lots of spare time) reading books to me, bringing me homework assignments, helping me do schoolwork, telling me what's going on in the castle.
Most interestingly all my friends come quite often, too. I got hundreds of flowers by 'secret admirers' as they call themselves, hoping that I will split up with Malfoy so they can ask me out. Isn't that wonderful? So it is his fault only, I should have known. Who can resist me?
If it wasn't for me feeling so lousy I would be jumping up and down excitedly. Malfoy wants to feed me soup, he's so annoying! Always concerned about my health… Madam Pomfrey took my wand because I've tried to hex her several times, but I swear he'll get some serious case of skin condition once I lay my hands on it!
ooOoo
I've done it! I found a way to get rid of him. Last time Tail wanted to prop me up in the hospital bed so we could 'talk' I asked him whether he loved me. He stopped in the middle of action, with one arm around my body to help me sit up, his face just inches away from mine. Breathlessly he said, 'You know very well I do.' So I told him if he really loved me that much, he would respect my feelings and that I needed space, and that I didn't want him around me, never wanted it and never will, and that he should leave me alone. His arm slipped away from my body, crestfallen and apparently in shock he gazed at my face, slowly moving away backwards, and then turned around to leave.
Ever since, it's been pure bliss! Nobody sits at my bed all the time to fuss over me whenever I stir, nobody hand feeds me or makes me talk all the time, or forces me to listen to boring novels. I can do my homework in peace, I can pick my nose whenever I feel like it, because now I'm left by myself quite a lot, the sun is shining, birds are singing… purely wonderful!
ooOoo
I will be leaving the infirmary soon. Madam Pomfrey just told me I'm well enough to go back to Gryffindor tower, so I'm packing my stuff right now. Partly my rapid recovery was due to my boredom in the hospital wing. After two days with hardly any of my friends coming over to visit, but tons of boys storming in declaring their secret passion for me now that Malfoy had publicly disclaimed any attachment between us, I felt exhausted and willing to bad-bogey any more persons bringing in red roses. Madam Pomfrey even gave me back my wand, seeing that I needed it to fend off my admirers. She also scolded me for driving Tail away, asserting that he is a good man and better than any of the others.
I told you, the whole Wizarding World is on his side.
