"Calm down, Hermione," Ginny said, still hugging Hermione. She had stayed in that position for almost 15 minutes now, and her back was seriously aching. Hermione had been in the common room all morning that Sunday, crying and wailing for the past 3 hours. Everytime she was just about to stop, she'd remember something that was somehow related to Draco, and start all over again.
"I should have known! I really should have!" Hermione bawled. "Malfoy fooled me, he tricked me and played me! I feel so humiliated… I was probably acting all desperate and clingy.. I caused him so many problems too! His friends kicked him out of his club, and I ruined his match… probably that's why he decided to kiss Pansy… for revenge!"
Hermione finally pulled away from Ginny, and boy was Ginny glad. She smiled, trying to act interested, but it wasn't shocking or surprising to her. She had known since the start of their relationship that Malfoy would pull something like this and hurt Hermione.
"Don't worry, Mione. There are so many cute, single boys in this school who are dying to date you," Ginny assured her.
"I don't know…" Hermione said. "Maybe I should talk to boys other than Ron and Harry, get to know the others better… I guess I've been paying too much attention on studies and all that bull… It's time I started searching for love…"
"Yeah, I'll always support you. I think Seamus is pretty hot, by the way," Ginny added, winking.
Hermione finally laughed, after so many hours. "Shh, don't let Harry hear you," she said, grinning. She wiped her tears away and blew her nose, Ginny wincing. "Thanks, Ginny, you're the best. Malfoy is probably laughing his head off with Pansy now, but who cares? Cheating on me is his mistake." And with that, they left the common room, and headed out to the sun for some fun.
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Well, Hermione thought wrong. Pansy was probably laughing her head off, but not Draco. He, on the other hand, was just as miserable as Hermione was, feeling so guilty, he could just murder himself. Why had he been so stupid? Why didn't he act more mature about the whole thing?
He walked pass the lake, staring at the exact spot he and Hermione had spent their night at, underneath the tall tree, staring at the stars. He wished he could spend just one more night with her, lying there in total silence, feeling the heat of love in the air.
"What's up, Malfoy?" Zabini called out. Draco walked over to him and forced a smile.
"Nothing much. How 'bout you?"
"Good, good. Listen, Pansy told me about what you did. You tricked Hermione, didn't you? Just to play with her heart a little, then break it and smash it into bits. I know you, Malfoy, I know you're capable of that. Good job," Zabini congratulated. Malfoy shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets, staring at his shoes.
"Well, anyway," Zabini continued. "That little whore deserved it. She's always acting smart, trying to win the teacher's hearts. The pathetic girl needs to stop being so attention-seeking and uptight, and just let her hair loose. She's stupid anyway, definitely incapable of doing so."
Malfoy gritted his teeth, trying hard not to reach out and punch Zabini. "Whatever," he said quietly.
"Well, you're back in the club. That was cool, man, tearing her apart like that. I saw her a while ago, and she looked absolutely horrible. Not that she didn't look horrible before, with those freckles and little pimples she tries so hard to hide.. and that hair! God, Pansy looks like a goddess standing next to her… Anyway, now that you're in the SlyClub again, let's go find that little tramp and rape her or something," Zabini joked.
Malfoy looked at Zabini, not able to take any of it anymore. "If you say one more thing about Hermione, I swear I'll tear your eyes out and ruin your reputation. You'll never see the end of it, Zabini. I can do things to you. If you try to hurt her, I will ruin you. Got that?"
Zabini's shocked expression quickly turned into anger. "In that case, Malfoy, you're out of the club."
"As if I would go to such low standards," Draco hit back, turned around, and walked away. Away from his past, from whom he used to be. He was the new Draco, and Hermione would love him once again.
Days passed, and people were starting to wonder why Hermione and Draco weren't together like they used to be anymore.
Ron, Hermione and Harry were in the common room that night, lazing around and finishing up their homework before going off to bed. "We broke up," Hermione said simply, when Ron asked her why she and Draco weren't speaking to each other anymore. When Hermione bent down to pick up a quill she had dropped, he cheered and jumped around in his seat. Hermione was finally single again, and he finally had a chance with her.
"But, why?" Ron asked Hermione. "I bet Draco was being a jerk again, right?"
Hermione nodded solemnly. "What a waste of time."
"I can't believe he did that to you. If I see him, I'm going to show him whose boss, and let him know not to mess with you anymore. I'm gonna give him a hex so bad he'll have trouble finding his balls agai-.."
"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed. "Not this kind of language in front of the first years. Anyway, you don't have to do that, though I'd love for you too," she giggled.
"Well, you're free now, so good for you," Ron said. Good for me too, he thought happily.
"So, eye-ing anyone now?" he continued.
"Not really. I'm thinking of keeping myself open for a while," Hermione replied.
Ron let out a woot in his mind and decided it was time for him to take his next shot.
"Erm.. well… Valentine's Day is coming up in a few weeks.. I'm probably asking this a little too early, but, would you like to go out with me then?" Ron asked, holding in his breath.
Hermione hesitated, and then grinned widely. "I'd love to, Ron. Now if you would excuse me, I think I'll go to bed now."
"Sure, sure, anything for you, my lady," Ron joked, grinning toothily. When Hermione had gone off to her dorm, Ron caught Harry's eye and grinned.
"Don't start chuckling again, Harry," Ron warned.
Harry chuckled, and looked at Ron. "So, all excited eh?"
"Yeah! She's the best, Harry. I think its fate. We're just meant to be together," Ron said. "And I told you to stop chuckling," he added.
Harry yawned and put his parchment away. "Good luck with hitting on her," he said, and walked off to the dorm.
"I don't need good luck," Ron called out, smiling so much it was hurting his face. "I've already got it."
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Draco hurried pass the hallways, searching for Hermione, with a practiced apology. Finally, he spotted her alone, reading a book while walking, probably on her way to class. He called out her name, but she didn't look up to see who it was. She just kept on walking, so he ran up to her and stopped her in her tracks, panting.
"Hermione… I… want… to…. tell you… that I'm…. sorry……" Draco panted.
Hermione let out a cold laugh. "So now what, I'm supposed to forgive you?"
"If you must know, I left the SlyClub, eventhough Zabini let me in again. He was saying horrible things about you, so I told him I couldn't tolerate a friend like him anymore," Draco said.
Hermione laughed again, saying nothing, and continued to walk, reading her book.
"Hermione, c'mon. I really didn't mean to kiss Pansy. I was just so upset; I wasn't thinking, I-.." Draco tried to explain.
"What makes you think all of this will make me forgive you, Malfoy? The whole thing was a mistake. We rushed into things, we fell in love too fast. I made a mistake, Malfoy, and you did too. The only way to correct it is to undo it, and I've undone it," Hermione said.
"Hermione.. you don't understand. It wasn't a mistake! I love you, Hermione, and I always will. Kissing Pansy meant nothing to me. I felt nothing for her, and I never will. Well, not anymore. We didn't rush into anything, Mione! Please baby, I need you in my life…"
"Well, I don't need you," Hermione spat, feeling guilty as she noticed Draco's eyes fill with so much hurt.
"So that's it then?" Draco said, trying not to let his tears fall. He couldn't let anyone see him cry, not after all his macho-man talk.
"Yeah, that's it. Goodbye, Draco," Hermione said, and walked off, leaving Draco devastated.
I can't believe it, Draco thought. She's really… gone.
"YOU!" Ron yelled from across the room. Draco let out a huge sigh and hung his head.
"Not now, Weasley," Draco muttered.
"How dare you hurt Hermione! Of all people to trick and to hurt, it had to be the sweetest, kindest, most beautiful girl in the whole school," Ron yelled at him. "Can't you see how great she is? How could you try to ruin someone so perfect?"
"Yes, I can see how great she is. That's why I fell in love with her, you idiot. I'm not in the mood now Weasley, so get out of my sight," Draco snapped.
"No! I won't! Fight me, Malfoy, show me what you've got," Ron challenged, pulling out his wand. Draco was tempted to take his wand out and just hex the stupid boy, but he wasn't in the mood for hexing people. In fact, he wasn't in the mood for anything except commiting suicide.
"Fight me!" Ron yelled again.
"Ron… stop it," Malfoy said slowly.
Wow, if he used my first name, then he must be serious, Ron thought, and decided to let him go.
"We'll meet again, Malfoy. You're lucky I let you go! Walk away now yea, walk away!" Ron called after Draco as he dragged himself towards the Astronomy Tower.
"What an idiot," Draco said under his breath. Nobody could say it better.
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Valentine's Day came, and Ron spent an hour dressing and tidying himself up for his big date. He walked out to the Entrance Hall and waited for Hermione. Moments later she came out looking like she always does. It probably took her 10 minutes to get ready, yet she still looked better than Ron. She made a bee line for Ron, and when she spotted him, she waved and walked over to him.
"Hey, Ron. Ready to go?" she said, smiling.
"Definitely," Ron grinned back.
When they arrived in Hogsmeade, Ron and Hermione followed Harry and Ginny to a different restaurant, called the Love Shack. When they arrived, they sat at a four-seated table and ordered their food.
"Oh, how fun it is to double date!" Ginny commented.
Harry grinned at Ginny, and they leaned over and started kissing each other all over. Things started to get heated up and they added hands to their kissing, Ron and Hermione watching with their jaws hanging open.
"Boy, it's getting hot in here," Ron commented, feeling uneasy. He considered leaning over and kissing Hermione too, but decided not to, since he had tried to hold her hand the last time and she already got touchy about that.
"So, um… How are you? Never really got a chance to talk to you for quite some time," Ron said, trying to start small chat. The truth was, Hermione had been hiding out in the Gryffindor common room the past few days, afraid to bump into Draco. The last time they spoke to each other, she had taken it quite well, hitting back and hurting Draco as much as possible, although she felt guilty about it afterwards. She still refused to go downstairs and eat no matter how many times Ginny persuaded her, so for the past few days, Ginny had to bring up leftovers to the common room for Hermione after every meal.
"Uh.. I've been busy… what with the trial exam coming in early April," Hermione replied.
"Oh, don't be so uptight about the exams. NEWTS will be a piece of cake," Ron said simply.
"Do you even know what NEWTS stands for? Gosh, you must be joking, Ron!" Hermione exclaimed. They were interrupted by the sound of smacking lips. They turned to look at Harry and Ginny, who were still making out.
"Would you two cut it out!" Ron snapped. Harry and Ginny pulled away, blushing, the food arriving just in time. They ate in silence, until Ron finally spoke up.
"Well, the food is good here," he said lamely. He turned to look at Hermione and grinned at her, showing his teeth. Hermione started to giggle when she saw spaghetti sauce and bits of tomatoes stuck in his teeth. There was also a smudge of sauce on his cheek, so she reached over to wipe it off.
"Oh c'mon, why didn't you just lick it off?" Harry teased. The group made grossed sounds and got back to their food, the tight air loosening. They finished up their food and left the Love Shack. Unfortunately, the rain began to pour heavily, and they had nowhere to go.
"Let's run in the rain!" Ginny yelled, pulling Harry along with her. They skipped around, tasting the rain water and laughing. It's so amazing to be with friends, Hermione thought, looking at Ron. Just… friends.
"You're beautiful," Ron said, looking at Hermione. She stared at him, not knowing what to reply. Ron laughed, thinking it was because she was shy, and said, "Just say thank you."
Hermione smiled and said thanks, and they continued to play around, but her mind kept going back to the night Draco told her she was beautiful. When Ron said it, it meant nothing to her, but when Draco had said it, it meant the world… like no one else could have been more beautiful than she was.
"What's the matter?" Ginny asked, looking concerned.
"Nothing... I was just thinking about how great it is to be with you guys.. and how lucky I am," Hermione said, forcing a smile.
Yeah, how lucky.
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That night in the common room, Hermione was talking to some first years. She noticed Seamus and Dean sitting at a corner, talking. Dean got up and headed for the loo, leaving Seamus sitting alone. Hermione decided that it was time she got herself more known among the boys, so she walked up to him.
"Hey, Seamus," Hermione said, smiling. He looked up, surprised that she was talking to him, and smiled back. "How are you, Hermione?"
She giggled and began to chat happily with him. It seemed to be pretty easy so far. Why did she have to worry? She was already winning points with Seamus, and soon, after getting to know all the boys well, she could find someone worth her time… and that didn't include Draco Malfoy.
"What an amazing day!" Ron said happily. "I feel so… in love."
He was sitting by the fireplace with Harry, resting after that tiring but fun day.
"Yeah.. she looked like she was having a great time with you, Ron," Harry chimed in. "She's probably considering you."
"You think so?" Ron blushed. "Well, I hope."
"Yeah, go for it. I totally support you. But think about it… Hermione has been your best girl friend for what, 7 years? What if things don't go out well and you guys are just meant to be friends?" Harry said.
"No, we're definitely not meant to be friends," Ron said confidently. "Definitely."
"Okay, then. Well, I think she's quite interested in you, Ron. She seemed that way… Maybe you have a chance," Harry said.
Just as Harry said that, Ron heard someone laughing loudly… A familiar laugh. He turned to see who it was, and to his surprise, he saw Hermione sitting beside Seamus, laughing, and touching each other like they were close friends or maybe even more.
"Or maybe not."
Hey readers! Hey, I was thinking, should I make my chapters longer? Because maybe it sounds like I'm rushing coz my chapters are all so short and stuff.. Ya think I should lengthen it or what? Review me! )