Wow, I expect 8 or 9 reviews, but that was way more… I can't thank you all enough! To xXxSunnyxXxWriterxXx, thanks again a gazillion times for adding me to your favorite story and author list thingy!
"Dracoooo," Pansy purred. She ruffled his hair and rubbed his arm slowly and seducingly. "It's getting late… I'm tired of studying."
"Just a while more, Pansy, I promise," Draco said. Pansy gave him a weird look, but just shrugged and went back to checking her nails. Draco knew she found him acting pretty unusual, as the library was his least favorite place. But yet there they were, doing their homework behind tall, dusty bookshelves. The only reason Draco bothered being there was because the library reminded him so much of Hermione… he had to avoid her now, for her own safety, but that didn't mean he couldn't be near things related to her.
"The library's rather scary at this time of the night," Pansy commented, looking around. "Let's go… please?"
Draco sighed and packed his stuff. "Sure, Pansy."
She let out a squeal and hugged him as if he had just proposed to her, and ran out of the library desperately. "Finally. The atmosphere in there was making me look ugly. I'm so much more beautiful out here in the light," she said, fluffing her hair. Draco forced himself not to roll his eyes and headed of the to Slytherin common room.
"What happened to that Granger girl, anyway? History?" Pansy asked. When Draco didn't reply, she continued on.
"She has ugly hair. I would never walk out in public and let people see me with that bushy mess. And that nose! Oh, how… how…. Ugh!"
Draco controlled his temper and quickened his pace, hurrying to get to bed.
"Now I know why you dated her.. just to break her heart, eh? You did a great job.. she's a total wreck. Saw her in the halls the other day weeping… I wonder if all mudbloods are so desperate…"
"Pansy, just shut up and walk, all right?" Draco ordered angrily. Pansy fell silent and looked at the ground as she walked to the common room. Even if Draco had hurt her feelings, he didn't care. All he could think about was Hermione. He ate Hermione, slept Hermione, breathed Hermione… she had become his life.
Whoever said love is beautiful must've been out of his or her mind, Draco thought. 'Cause right now, I'm feeling absolutely miserable.
"Aaaahhhhhhhh!"
Hermione looked up and saw Ginny storming her way into the Gryffindor common room. She had been sitting by the fireplace, dozing off and thinking about Draco before Ginny had barged in.
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, concered.
"That stupid Harry Potter!" Ginny muttered, sitting on the chair beside Hermione. "Why do I even bother with him? He's horrible! Wanna know what he did?"
"Yes, please," Hermione said interestedly. She couldn't imagine Harry doing something so bad to upset Ginny like this.
"Well, you know that Valentine's Day is coming soon, right?" Ginny started. Hermione nodded for her to continue. "Well.. I was talking to Harry just now… and I brought up the subject... so I asked him what he was getting me, and he looked away and didn't answer.. so I said, 'well, answer me, Harry!' and he just kept quiet. He's showing me a sign that he forgot about Valentine's Day. Or maybe he doesn't care about me enough to give me a present!"
Hermione stared at Ginny blankly. She was having problems with Draco because he was now an official death eater, and when he came all the way from his home just to see her, she was busy kissing Ron. But here Ginny was, getting upset that Harry wasn't going to buy her a Valentine's gift. Hermione would have given anything to be able to get angry at Draco for such a small thing… but no, God wanted her to go through life the hard way.
"Well?" Ginny said when Hermione didn't reply.
"Um… wow. I'm at a lost for words," Hermione finally said.
"I know! It's so horrible, isn't it?" Ginny sighed and looked into the blazing fire. "I'm not overreacting, am I?" she asked Hermione.
Definitely, Hermione thought. "Of course not, silly. This is a very big deal. Harry should've known better," she lied.
Ginny huffed. "Absolutely! I'm never going to speak to him again."
Hermione closed her eyes as Ginny started babbling again about how angry she was at Harry.
"- and he kissed me goodnight on my cheek. He's showing me bad signs! Oh, I give up. I'm going to bed."
Hermione said goodnight to Ginny and went back to dozing off by the fireplace. Valentine's Day, she thought. What an awful day for people like me.
She sighed. Whoever said love is beautiful must have been out of his or her mind.
Because right now, I feel everything but beautiful.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So, obviously you're going with Ginny…" Ron started. They were having breakfast in the great hall. Both Ginny and Hermione hadn't come down yet… but hey, they're girls, aren't they?
"Um," Harry interrupted. "Not exactly…"
"What!" Ron exclaimed, shocked. "Oh no… did you guys fight about whose candy is whose again? I told you not to be such a glut and eat her share."
"It's not about the candy! And I didn't eat ALL of her share. Just… a little. Anyway, that happened months ago, can you please not bring it up?" Harry said sternly. Ron snickered. "Then why aren't you going to Hogsmeade with Ginny this Saturday?"
"Well, she got angry at me because I didn't get her a present," Harry said.
"Why didn't you?" Ron said.
"Hey, side me, I'm your best friend!"
"Ginny's my sister! And she's right. You should've gotten her a present," Ron said.
"I did! I mean, I'm going to. I already have it all planned. I just haven't bought it yet," Harry explained.
"Oh… why didn't you just tell Ginny that?" Ron asked.
"I don't know! I was keeping quiet, trying to hide it from her, and she mistook it and jumped to conclusions. Then she stormed off before I could say anything," Harry said.
"What a pity," Ron shook his head.
Hermione and Ginny stepped in the great hall, whispering away. When Ginny spotted Harry, she looked at Hermione intently and avoided eye contact with him till she reached her seat.
"Ginny," Harry said.
"What?"
"Don't get angry at me… I got you something, all right?" Harry said.
"Well, it's about time!" Ginny muttered.
"So will you forgive me now, baby?"
"No," Ginny said. "Maybe tomorrow."
Ron rolled his eyes and Harry sighed. Hermione was lost in her own thoughts though, staring into space. Ron shook her and frowned. "What's wrong, dear?"
"Uh… nothing, Ron. Just a little sleepy, really," Hermione said, faking a yawn. Ron looked unsure, but decided to let her be.
"I can't wait for Valentine's Day. You're so beautiful," he complimented.
Hermione blushed. "Thanks, Ron. You're sweet."
Ron continued eating, and when he turned to look at Hermione, she was staring off into space again. He began to worry. "Hermione, seriously. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Hermione snapped. Ron stared at her, hurt in his eyes. Hermione touched his cheek softly and apologized. "I'm sorry darling. Let's just eat."
And they kept a constant silence the rest of the morning.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Valentine's Day came, and everyone in Hogwarts was feeling excited. Couples were kissing each other in the halls, many were holding hands, and most were whispering sweet nothings to each other. Love was replacing oxygen, and everyone was feeling absolutely amazing. Everyone except for three people – Draco, Hermione, and of course, Ginny.
Everyone made their way to Hogsmeade in either groups or twosomes. Hermione and Ron held hands the whole way, making her palm disgustingly sweaty as Ron didn't allow her to let go. Harry was, as usual, surrounded by hopeful girls who thought they had a chance with him, as they didn't see Ginny anywhere near him.
"I love you," Ron said, kissing Hermione's forehead as they reached Hogsmeade. "And Happy Valentine's Day."
Hermione smiled at him. "Happy Valentine's Day, Ron. I love you too."
Suddenly Ron let go of her hand and crouched down, his face tightening. He let out a soft yelp of pain.
"You okay, Ron?"
"Yeah, great," Ron assured her, getting up. "Must've been something I ate." They continued walking for a few minutes, until Ron bent down again and pressed his stomach hard.
"Ron, are you sure you're alright?" Hermione asked again, getting worried.
"Yes, perfect!" Ron struggled to say. Just as he said that, he vomited out his breakfast all over the ground. Some people turned to stare, and some walked a far distance from the two of them.
"Oh my god," Hermione panicked. "We've got to get you back."
"No," he pleaded. "Please stay. I don't want to ruin your day."
"But, Ron! You have to go back… you're not feeling well!" Hermione said, pulling him up.
"No no, I'll go myself. You go ahead, okay? Have fun, Hermione," Ron said, and turned around, leaving her in the crowd, standing next to a puddle of stinky vomit. She sighed and decided to make most of her day. She couldn't find anyone she knew anywhere, so she decided to just take a stroll.
As she was walking, she heard someone call out a very familiar name.
"Malfoy! In here!"
She followed the sound of the voice and spotted a blonde headed boy walking into a bar with some of his friends. She waited till they went in and walked up to the bar quickly. It looked like a new place, clean and simple, yet dark and dangerous. She wondered what Draco would be doing in a place like this. She wondered if the death eaters meet here every week or something. She counted to five and walked in, running quickly in a corner to hide in the shadows.
She made a bee line for Draco, and saw him sitting on a stool at the counter with Crabbe, Goyle and someone she didn't know. They were all showing off their left arms to each other, which Hermione thought was pretty weird for a second, until she realized that they were checking out each other's dark mark.
"Mine is slightly above yours," she heard Crabbe say.
"No it is not," Goyle fought back. Draco rolled his eyes and hit them both on the head. "Who cares? As long as it looks cool."
Hermione wondered if Draco really meant it.
"How come yours is still bleeding, Malfoy?" the boy Hermione didn't recognize asked.
"I don't know, really," Draco answered.
"Anyway," Goyle said. "This place here has some beer here. Some stuff called Tiger or Heinekens, I think. Zabini said it makes you feel darn good."
"But he also said the later effects can be pretty nasty," Crabbe warned.
"Don't be such a party pooper," the other boy said. He made a hand gesture to get the bartender to come over, and ordered four beers.
"Uh, no, I don't want one, Zack," Draco protested, waving his hand at the boy. "Not feeling too good today."
Zack shrugged and they continued to talk. Hermione watched the four of them laugh and chat for a long time, and soon the boys except for Draco started waving their hands left and right and making rude gestures to passers-by. They laughed louder than normal, and started knocking glasses and beer bottles over, making a huge mess. The bartended didn't seem surprised; he looked as if this sort of thing happens to his customers all the time.
"So, planning to kill anyone?" Goyle asked.
"Yeah, probably," Draco joked.
"OooOoOooOooo… who?" Zack asked, his eyes crossed.
"Some girl named Hermione Granger," Draco answered. Hermione gasped at this.
"Dude! You mean that girl you were dating earlier? Yea, kill her," Goyle supported.
Draco grinned, but didn't say anything after that. Hermione felt hurt at this, and forced herself not to cry.
Draco excused himself and began to make his way to the bathroom. And that's when Hermione realized that he was coming her way.
Oh god, oh god, Hermione panicked. What do I do now?
She decided to run out as fast as she could, so fast that Draco couldn't see her. She got up and prepared to run, her eyes on the main door. She shot across Draco and pushed herself out the door before he saw anything. She continued to run just in case he went outside to look, and ran and ran till she found herself in a dark alleyway.
Many disgusting looking men were there, playing with the garbage. She decided it wasn't safe to be there and started to walk out of the alley.
"Hey there, little missy," one of the dirty men in the alleyway called out. Hermione didn't stop, and continued walking forward as if she had not heard him.
"I said hey there, little missy," the man said again, slightly louder this time. Hermione quickened her pace.
"Don't you ignore me!" he yelled at her. She began to run, but he was much faster than her and caught up to her. She screamed as he grabbed her and brought her to the back of the alley. She tried to fight but it was no use; he was way too strong. He found a dirty hanky and tied it around her mouth. Then he laid her on the floor and got his friends to pin her down. Hermione tried to move, but they were using so much strength to keep her from moving, as if they really needed to do what they were about to do.
No, she thought, tears pouring out of her eyes. This can't be happening to me.
The man tore her robes open and unzipped her sweater. He took of everything she had been wearing until she was lying there, bare naked.
"And now, the fun begins," the man said, laughing.
Hermione lay there helplessly, hot tears pouring out, wishing someone could appear there and save her from what was about to happen.
But no one came.
"-and he actually thought he could win!" Zack laughed. "Woooooooooooooow!"
Crabbe had already passed out on the table, and Goyle was peeing in his pants. Draco sighed, feeling bored as ever.
"C'mon, you guys. Let's go. It's getting dark," he said, looking at the sky outside. Zack nodded lazily and slapped Crabbe. "Get the hell up. We're going back."
They walked out of the bar and headed back to Hogwarts. They walked for a moment, till Crabbe told them to stop.
"You guys," he said sleepily. "Check it out. There's someone there."
Draco looked in the dirty alley and saw a body lying on the wet, muddy ground.
"Leave it be, must be some drunk kid who passed out," Zack said. But Draco couldn't move. He sensed that something was very wrong, and it had to do with that body lying there.
"C'mon Draaaaaaaaaaco," Goyle hit his back.
"You guys go ahead," Draco said. They nodded and continued walking, going in every direction and hitting walls.
Draco walked up to the body slowly, dread rising in him. He stopped and picked up a torn sweater soaked in mud, which looked just like the one Hermione had. He held his breath as he walked towards the body. He spotted her jeans lying somewhere near her, torn and tattered as well. He finally reached her and took a closer look. She was covered by her robes, which Draco recognized as Hogwart's robes. He bent down slowly and tugged the robe, revealing the girl's face and bare body, covered in dirt and blood. And it wasn't just any girl.
"Oh my god."
Sorry this was rushed as well, got an exam coming up. Won't be updating much, sorry yeah… review again please! Thanks ya'll! Love ya,
Chelsea Felton.