Disclaimer: You've heard it all before. I don't own Harry Potter.
A/N: And sorry for any mistakes …
Double potions. The seventh-year Slytherins were walking briskly down to the dungeons after their last class, and Draco pulled Blaise aside in the crowd.
"Have you seen Her- I mean Granger anywhere?" He hissed in his friend's ear.
"No." Blaise regarded Draco carefully. "Did you lose her?"
"You idiot, she hasn't been in the Great Hall for meals and I didn't see her with the Gryffindors when we passed them earlier,"
Blaise sighed. "You know the password."
-
Draco didn't get halfway to the Head dorms before he ran into Hermione dashing through the hallway, book bag slung over her shoulder. She ducked when he held out his hand to prevent her from passing him, and continued down the hallway, mumbling something about having no time for this and she was late for class. A few hours late, Draco though to himself. Still, he found himself running after her.
They entered the potions classroom sweaty and out of breath. Who knew it was such a distance? Draco was sure they had played a game of tag on the way here – Draco being 'It' the whole time. Damn, she was fast.
"Track team … at muggle school," She muttered when he walked past the table she had placed her books at.
"Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Granger, we are at last blessed with your presence," Snape said, sounding bored. "Ten points from Gryffindor."
Hermione didn't even bother protesting. They had been playing tag. Juvenile, she knew, but it took her mind off what day it was. Draco was at the opposite side of the classroom, but he craned his neck around to see her. She blushed and looked away. Draco grinned. She does like me, he congratulated himself. But where was she all this time? It wasn't like Hermione to miss class for no reason. If she was feeling sick, she could always go to Pomfrey. He frowned. Something had to be up.
-
To say that death is a hard thing to face would be a sorry understatement. People worry about what happens after they die; they worry about having their souls saved. In the muggle world, they worry about dangers in the home and gun violence. They carefully read the warnings on children's medicine. In the wizarding world, they fear Voldemort, werewolves, trolls and other unpleasant creatures. Hermione had seen death in its worst form: when it struck someone she loved.
Jay and Hayley were buried on the opposite sides of London, England, though they had died in the same car crash. Hermione thought it was the kind of death that killed the characters of a soap opera. Sure, there were public service announcements on the television all the time about drunk driving, but it wasn't as if she would ever have to worry about the subject, right?
She hated the news coverage on the accident. The man who had been arrested was a minor – around 17, she heard. His name, initially, wasn't released. Hermione was grateful for the tabloid reporters who gave an identity to the man who killed her best friends. She had searched relentlessly, and had gotten what she'd asked for. She could see his face clearly in her head: short, dark hair, almost black, and dark blue eyes. He looked like any normal teenager she'd see exiting the high school building her friends went to. Jared and Hayley had been 14 when they were killed. They had only just started at their school.
December first. Today would be the third anniversary of their deaths. It was three years ago tomorrow that she received the letter and told what happened.
Of course Hermione couldn't go to classes that day. She never did, and all her teachers, even Snape, strangely enough, understood. Harry and Ron knew only the most basic information – that a friend had died. It wasn't that she was hiding it from them, but she didn't want to burden them with her sorrow. And Ron, though he knew what a car was, would probably require a few hours of explaining the mechanics of a drivable vehicle.
So Hermione spent her morning in bed, until it was finally time, she decided, to get up. She didn't even get to her bathroom before falling down on the floor and letting about a piteous whimper. Staring at the carpet, she wondered why Harry didn't stay in his bed moping every time the thirty-first of October rolled around. Harry, she reasoned, had always been a fighter. After all, he had faced Voldemort and won on a number of occasions.
But Hermione couldn't convince herself to stay in the room. It was starting to suffocate her. Plus, she was still distressed over missing class. She decided that if she showered quickly she could make it to the Great Hall for lunch.
-
After class, Hermione made a beeline for the door. She had avoided questioning earlier, but if Draco had come looking for her; he probably knew something was up. However, Draco had the same idea. She had just gotten out the door when he caught her by the wrist.
"Come on, let's go," He said, tugging her away from the crowd.
"Um, Malfoy, I have to drop my books off," She said, trying to avoid the subject of her whereabouts, and also suddenly very annoyed with his behavior.
"Tell me where you were first," He said. It was a command. She could merely tell him she was in her room and end the conversation.
"No."
"Excuse me?" He asked, eyebrows raised.
"It's none of your business." She replied sharply.
"It is my business! You don't miss classes just because! How was I supposed to know where you were? I was concerned!"
"Malfoy! For Christ's sake, I'm not a little girl. You don't need to be concerned about me!" Hermione gasped, realizing she was probably red faced once again.
At that moment, Harry and Ron rounded the corner. Hermione groaned at the looks on their faces. Their eyes moved from her to Malfoy and back again, before they both went off, simultaneously.
"MALFOY, WHAT'D YOU- "
"HERMIONE, YOU SHOULD- "
"FERRET, IF YOU HAVE- "
"THIS SCUM! WE- "
"HARRY! RON!" Hermione shrieked. They didn't stop, but she tried yelling over them. "Don't cause a scene! Not here! Draco wasn't – I was just – ALRIGHT, ENOUGH!" she yelled, a scream worthy of Molly Weasley. "Harry. Ron. Let's just go back to the common room. We can talk there."
-
She knew she couldn't hide out in Gryffindor forever, but she was buying time. Ron was still cooling down, even though Hermione had told him time and time again, he had blown the whole event out of proportion.
"Bloody Slytherins …" He was muttering.
"They aren't all that bad," Harry mumbled under his breath, but Hermione heard.
"Whaaat?" She questioned. "Harry, did you just say that?" She noticed the faint blush creeping up his cheeks. "What have you done with Harry?" She cried, grinning.
"Well, I mean …" He said. "A few of them are … in our Defense 'gainst Dark Arts class …" He mumbled. "I mean, we have to be in pairs sometimes, you know that, but … some a them aren't trying to kill me … y'know?" Harry asked hopefully. She certainly did not know. Hermione made a mental note to pay more attention in DADA next time!
"Harry … I've been in here a while listening to this …" She began, nodding at Ron, who was string into space as he continued on incoherently.
"Alright, alright, Mione, I get it," He said, grinning. They stepped over pillows and to the portrait hole.
"Bye, Ron!" Hermione called.
"Huh, what?" Ron was startled out of his daydream. "Oh, you're leaving? Already? You just got here!"
"Hardly," Harry muttered. Hermione just grinned.
-
In the Head's common room, Blaise was waiting for her. She was surprised when she didn't see Draco.
"You got Dray really worked up," He stated, sounding annoyed with her.
"Huh." She responded. "Well, he had no right to order me around like a dog,"
"I'm not talking about after class." He rolled his eyes. "I meant this morning. He was searching for you at breakfast, lunch, in the halls …"
"Well, I don't know why," She said, dismissing him and heading toward the spiral staircase.
Blaise just stared at her. They heard a ripping noise.
"Blaise, has Granger come back yet - oh." Draco was standing behind her, Hermione knew, but she didn't turn. Instead, she rushed up the staircase at twice the speed she usually did, making herself particularly dizzy. Draco followed her up.
"So what, you were here the whole time?" He asked. She knew he was referring to the morning.
"Yes." She responded dully.
"Why?" He asked. "Like I said – you don't just miss class without a reason."
"Why do you assume you know everything about me?" She cried. Hermione knew she was being rather moody today, but she had a reason!
"I – well, it's not like you'll tell me anything, so what choice do I have?" He yelled back.
"Fine, I'll tell you! For starters, two of my best friends are six foot under. Died today." She stated, on the verge of tears. "That enough information for you?"
Draco stared, stunned. "Wait … what?" He asked.
"Car accident. Three years ago. Died almost instantly, blah, blah, blah." She snapped viciously.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Draco asked. Hermione thought he sounded almost … caring.
"Because you wouldn't give a shit! You don't!"
"Of course I do!" Draco said quietly. "I'm not completely heartless …"
Hermione hiccupped, then rolled her eyes. "And Harry said not all Slytherins were bad!"
This caught Draco off guard. "Potter said that?" He asked.
"Yeah. He mentioned Defense Against the Dark Arts, too, I think." Hermione said, forgetting about the argument they were currently having.
"Last class, Potter was paired up with Blaise. I know, because I had to work with Finnigan," Draco said, scowling.
Hermione was always thinking. It didn't take her very long to look up at Draco, wide eyed. "Wait a minute. Blaise tells Pansy he has … a crush on Harry around the same time Harry decides not all Slytherin are scum?"
Draco stared back at her. "Wait. One Defense class … on partnership … you don't think?"
Hermione smirked. "Oh, yes. Blaise's feelings aren't one-sided."
Draco decided to worry about his best friend and his enemy later. Or, at least, in a few moments. "Are my feeling one-sided?" he asked.
"Huh?" Hermione was pulled from her thoughts. "What do you mean?" She asked, though she had a feeling she already knew.
"Well, I mean, I don't know you, but …" He began.
"Get to know me." She said. To Draco, it sounded more like a command. He raised one eyebrow.
"Okay, then …"
A/N: Those who guessed, I'm gonna state the obvious: Blaise is gay. Though the secret referred to in the last couple chapters was more along the lines of, 'Blaise has a crush on Harry'. Review!