With the disturbance down in Hogsmeade, the students were stuck in the Great Hall for several hours. The longer they were stuck, the more rumours began to swirl, and after an hour or so a lot of dark looks were being shot in Hermione's direction. For a while Hermione ignored the looks, but eventually it became too much and she snapped when she found Harry, Ron and Ginny staring at her yet again.
"Do you have something to say?" she asked loudly, causing almost everyone to stop and turn to watch what was happening.
"Yeah, we have something to say," Harry said, getting to his feet. "We say you're the cause of all this fuss, you and your father. We all know what's going on in Hogsmeade."
"We all suspect what's going on," Hermione corrected. "Let's be honest, stuck in here we have no proof of what's happening down in the village."
"Your father and his bloody Death Eaters are ransacking the place, that's what's going on," Ron snarled.
"Most likely," Hermione agreed, causing several people to gasp at her honest admission. "But why do you think that is, Weasley? Has it escaped people's notice that my father hasn't done anything since his return? And now when something happens, it follows an attack on me. Maybe whoever poisoned me should have thought through the consequences of their actions."
"Don't you dare accuse us of anything," Ron snapped. "We're not the evils ones here."
"No-one was accusing you," Hermione replied with a chuckle. "I have no idea what happened, but with that quick reaction maybe you're harbouring a guilty conscience."
"As if," Ron snorted. "We've done nothing, and even if we had, we wouldn't be feeling guilty. You got what you deserve, it's just a shame you survived."
"Is that any way to speak to your old friend?" Hermione pouted.
"You're not our friend, you never were," Harry spat. "You're nothing but a lying witch, and we're glad to be rid of you."
"But you're not though, are you?" Hermione chuckled. "I'm not going anywhere, Potter."
"We'll see," Harry replied with a shrug. "Sooner or later you're going to slip up and show your true colours. Your good girl act doesn't fool us. You're just as rotten as your father, and one day everyone will see that."
Hermione just laughed as she turned away and settled back down with her friends. However, she was very aware that Harry was speaking the truth and one day she wouldn't have as much support as she did right now. So far people had been willing to believe she wasn't evil, but would that change now her father was back to his old ways? Would she still get the benefit of the doubt after her father had attacked Hogsmeade?
Hermione got her answer over the next few days as events at Hogsmeade sunk in for the students of Hogwarts. Of course, it had been a Death Eater attack, with the Dark Mark appearing in the sky over Hogsmeade and hanging around for nearly a week before it faded away. However, it hadn't been a fatal attack. No-one was killed, but several people were injured, and there was a great deal of damage to the village itself.
In the week following the attack, Hermione found herself receiving more hateful stares than ever before. She was used to receiving the looks from the Gryffindors, especially those closest to Harry and Ron, but it was rare to receive them from other students. However, the attack had clearly reminded people just how dangerous her father was, and as a result people were more cautious towards her. Even the staff who'd remained neutral were a bit more standoffish with her, but none of them openly discriminated against her like Kingsley Shackelbolt did.
Surprisingly, Hermione did still have pockets of support and a few people went out of their way to speak to her and tell her they were pleased she survived her attack. A few people even confided that they understood why Voldemort had retaliated the way he had. Some people could see he was only reacting to his only daughter being hurt, and they took note of the fact that no-one was killed. He very easily could have slaughtered the entire village, but instead he'd just sent a warning.
The papers took much the same view as the students of Hogwarts. Half of the press took their direction from Dumbledore and were warning people that the wizarding world wasn't safe and that Voldemort was a serious threat. Meanwhile the other half were taking a different approach and they were pointing out that the attack was retaliation for what had happened to Hermione. One article even suggested that if people left Hermione alone, The Dark Lord might not even be a problem at all. They even went as far as to suggest that the love of his daughter could be the redemption he needed. Of course, Hermione knew they were just being optimistic and when the time was right, she would join her father in gaining control of the wizarding world. One day she would prove Harry right, she would show everyone that she was every bit as dangerous as her father.
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Exiting the bathroom she shared with the other girls, Hermione entered the dorm room wrapped in a large green bath towel. Sitting down on her bed, she pulled out her brush and began to brush her wet hair. Just as she finished brushing her hair and pulled out her wand to dry it, there was a knock at the door.
"Who is it?" she called, not just wanting to let anyone into the room considering she was just wearing a towel.
"It's just me," came the familiar voice of her boyfriend.
"Who's just me?" Hermione called back teasingly.
"You know fine well who it is," Draco shot back. "Can I come in, or not?"
"Sure," Hermione replied, checking her towel wasn't revealing too much.
Even without the towel revealing anything more than her legs and her bare shoulders, it was still enough to have Draco's grey eyes roving over her body as he entered the room and shut the door behind him. Staring at his girlfriend clad in just her towel, Draco momentarily lost his focus and he just stood gazing at the brunette witch.
"Draco." Hermione snapped her fingers to gain her boyfriend's attention as he continued to stare at her.
"Sorry." Draco shook his head, and focused his attention on Hermione's amused face. "I was distracted."
"So I saw," She chuckled. "So is there a reason you're disturbing me while I'm trying to get dressed?"
"I wanted to ask you out on a date," Draco replied with a grin. "I thought we could celebrate Valentine's Day."
"Valentine's day was last month," Hermione pointed out. They actually hadn't done anything as the day had fallen just a few days after the attack on Hogsmeade and things around the castle had still been a bit strained.
"I know, it's a belated celebration," Draco replied, nonplussed about the fact they'd missed the actual date.
"That sounds nice, but where would we go?" Hermione asked. "Hogsmeade trips are cancelled for the foreseeable future, plus it's already Saturday afternoon."
"Leave everything to me," Draco said with a confident smile. "If you'll agree, we can have a nice romantic evening tonight. We can skip dinner and have the evening to ourselves."
"Sounds intriguing," Hermione said. "Do I get to know more?"
"No, the rest is a surprise," Draco grinned. "Just be ready for six."
Hermione glanced over at the clock and her eyes winded as she saw the time. "Six? That's barely an hour and a half away."
"It's ample time for you to get ready," Draco argued. "Although, if you are pushed for time, you can just come as you are."
Hermione rolled her eyes as Draco gave her a very deliberate once over. Getting to her feet, she slowly walked over to Draco, stopping when she was directly in front of him.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" she teased, toying with the piece of towel that was tied together at the top of her right breast.
Draco gulped, his eyes watching Hermione's fingers. "I would," he admitted in a hoarse voice.
"Not going to happen," Hermione laughed, dropping her hand and stepping backwards. "I'm not going out with you wearing just a towel."
"Tease," Draco snarled playfully. "And are you seriously wearing just a towel?" he added, his mind working overtime as he pictured what lay beneath the towel.
"Of course, I've just gotten out of the shower, and I don't know about you, but I don't wear clothes in the shower." Hermione chuckled as Draco's eyes widened comically, his mind clearly torturing him with images of her in the shower. "Now if you want this date, go away so I can get dressed."
"Don't mind me," Draco replied, finding his voice and unable to resist teasing Hermione. "I can wait."
"Go, or there's no date," Hermione responded with a laugh.
"Spoilsport," Draco pouted, although he did head towards the door.
"One day Draco, one day," she promised, blowing a kiss to her boyfriend before he exited the dorm room with a wide smile splitting his face.
With a smile on her own face, Hermione settled back down on the bed and taking extra care, she dried her hair and teased it into the soft curls she favoured these days. She then slathered her body in luxurious mango and papaya body lotion and slipped into a slinky black and green lingerie set. She wasn't planning on letting Draco see her underwear just yet, but it was still good to feel sexy. Finding a silky emerald green top, Hermione teamed it with a pair of skin-tight black trousers and a pair of black boots. She then added silver hoop earrings and a Silver Star necklace. Applying a slight touch of make-up she spritzed on some of her favourite perfume and she was ready to go with more than ten minutes to spare.
When Hermione went down to the common room, she found everyone, apart from Draco, sitting by the fire. When she walked in, the boys mouths all dropped open as they stared appreciatively at her.
"Whoa," Theo muttered. "You look great."
"Amazing," Greg added.
"Beautiful," Vince said with an appreciative nod.
"Damn Draco getting to you first," Blaise grumbled. "You're stunning."
"Thanks boys," Hermione replied with a slight laugh. "Do I look okay, Daph?" she checked, turning to her best female friend.
"You look gorgeous," Daphne confirmed. "Draco won't be able to keep his eyes off you."
"Or his hands," Blaise added cheekily. "You're smoking hot, Hermione."
"Yes, you are," a voice called from behind Hermione.
Hermione turned round to find Draco standing behind her, his eyes lapping up the view appreciatively. He was dressed all in black in shirt and trousers, and Hermione thought he looked particularly good. Draco always looked good, but she especially liked him all in black.
"You look amazing Hermione," Draco said with a smile. "Shall we go?"
"Where are we going?" Hermione asked.
"You'll see," Draco replied mysteriously as he took hold of her hand and led her towards the common room door.
"Have fun," Daphne called as the couple exited the common room.
Hermione let Draco lead her through the dungeons, and she didn't repeat her question of where they were going even when he started to lead her up the main staircase. The higher up the school they went, the more curious Hermione got. She only got her answer as to where they were going when Draco pulled open the door that led to the Astronomy Tower.
Following Draco up the small winding staircase, Hermione was left speechless by what she found at the top. Spread out on the floor of the tower was a picnic blanket, covered with all her favourite foods. Another blanket was spread out beside the one filled with food, and it also held several cushions to lean against.
"Wow, this is amazing," Hermione declared as Draco led her over to the blanket and they sat down.
"You deserve a treat after the few weeks you've just had," Draco replied.
Even though Hermione had recovered from her poisoning ordeal, he'd still noticed how much it had taken out of her. Even now, she often needed more rest than normal and she was still using the potion Severus had given her to check her food was safe to eat. Luckily, he'd remembered to ask Severus for a bottle of the potion, and there was one sitting beside Hermione's goblet.
"Thank you," Hermione said with a smile when she spotted the small vial of potion.
"I got an elf I trusted to help me with the food, but you can never be too careful," Draco answered.
"I intend to be very careful from now on," Hermione replied as she checked her drink and some of the food for poison. Of course it was fine, but it paid to be cautious.
For the next hour the pair devoured the picnic while making small talk. There was no more mention of her recent poisoning, nor was there any mention of her father and what his next move would be. After the attack on Hogsmeade he'd gone quiet, but Hermione had always known he would. The attack was a message, and now it was delivered, there was no reason to cause more trouble just yet.
When the picnic was finished, Draco flicked his wand and packed all the empty plates into a nearby box that was sitting empty. He explained to Hermione that the elf that had helped him with the picnic would come and retrieve the box after they'd left. But for now, it was just them and the stars. Rearranging the cushions over the two blankets, Draco settled himself down on his back, pulled Hermione down beside him, and flicked the switch that opened the roof. Instantly the early evening sky was on display.
"I can't see too many stars yet," Hermione said, snuggling into Draco's side.
"That's the idea," Draco replied with a small smile. "We lie here and watch them come out."
Lapsing into contended silence, that's exactly what the couple did. They lay watching as the sky darkened and the stars became visible to them. Of course they also shared a few heated kisses, but mainly they lay in each other's arms, content to spend some quiet time alone together.