AN: Here's the next chappy! Thanks to all who reviewed!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter!
Chapter 8: Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
Hermione Granger decided it was time to confront her best friend. Something strange was going on – had been going on for over a week – and she was going to get to the bottom of it. Harry was a very bad liar and she had noticed his sudden disappearances over the last few days. He actually expected her to believe that he would go to the library by himself? That might work on Ron, but not her.
She walked purposefully across the Gryffindor common room and sat on the couch next to Harry. Ron had already gone up to bed and the common room was mainly deserted except for a few third years who were huddled up in the corner working on an assignment.
"Hey," Hermione said softly, feeling as if she would disturb his peace if she talked in her usual loud manner. "How are you?"
"Fine," Harry muttered as he always did when asked that question.
But Harry Potter was hardly ever fine. And Hermione knew that. She knew he was constantly dealing with the threat of Voldemort, not to mention that prophecy he had told them about at the beginning of the school year…and now it seemed there was yet another burden on his shoulders. But what was it?
"You're not your self, Harry. What's the matter?" Hermione prodded.
"Nothing," Harry said. "I'm just a bit tired."
Hermione sighed. "I know there's something going on. You keep telling Ron and me that you are going off to the library or going off to think. I don't think you're telling the truth Harry. What have you been up to?"
Judging by the rose tinge that was coloring Harry's cheeks, Hermione guessed she was right. He was hiding something. "Harry it's me. You can tell me, whatever it is."
"Not this," Harry mumbled.
"Is it your scar? Did it hurt you again? Are you avoiding telling everyone to keep them out of danger?" Hermione said in a rush.
Harry laughed sardonically. "I wish it was my scar."
Hermione frowned. What could possibly be worse than seeing one of Voldemort's terrible deeds? Hermione tried to think of her worst secret. What would she be ashamed or scared to tell her best friends? She thought back to when she first started noticing her feelings for Ron. Those had been rather embarrassing feelings. She cast a sideways look at Harry.
"Is it a girl?" She said quietly.
Harry coughed rather violently. "Not exactly."
Sensing he was close to divulging the truth, Hermione pressed on. "Come on Harry…I swear I won't tell anyone…not even Ron if you don't want me too." It pained her to keep a secret from Ron, but Harry was her best friend too and if he was too embarrassed to reveal whatever it was to Ron for whatever reason then she would be there for him.
"Hermione…what if you liked someone, but…but this person was wrong…" Harry trailed off.
Hermione was puzzled. "What are you talking about?"
"Never mind. This is stupid," Harry said savagely and got up to leave.
Hermione grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down next to her. "Harry just tell me!" She said loudly beginning to get impatient.
"It's just…what if Ron was…what if the person you liked wasn't for the same things you were…what if this person was against you?" He asked.
"What do you mean 'against you'?" Hermione questioned him. "Against you in what way?"
Harry paused and looked down at his hands. "Against you…in the war."
"Oh, Harry," Hermione whispered sympathetically. "I don't know what to tell you. Is this a crush or what?"
Harry continued to not look her in the eye. "For the last week, I've been kind of…meeting someone. We've been…er…seeing each other, but this person isn't on our side, Hermione. So I broke it off. But I think…I think sometime in this last week I started to really like this person and now…now I don't know what to do."
Hermione was amazed that Harry was actually opening up to her, but then it wasn't like he could go to Ron with this sort of problem. Hermione amused herself for a moment imagining Ron, the boy who had taken two years to notice her feelings, trying to give Harry love advice and then turned back to the problem at hand.
"I'm not sure what to tell you, Harry. You're going to have to ask this girl where she stands and…if she's against us then I'm not sure you can be involved," Hermione said.
Harry turned crimson. "Er…itisn'tagirl."
"What?"
Harry cleared his throat. "I said, it isn't a girl."
Hermione took a moment to digest this information. If she was completely honest with herself, it wasn't a huge revelation. After all, Harry hadn't really been involved with many girls. Cho was the only one and even then he had not seemed enthused about their relationship. But still, it was something of a shock to hear him name it…and he was involved with another Hogwarts male.
"Well, Harry….then you're going to have to ask him where he stands."
"I did," Harry muttered. "He said he doesn't have a side. I just don't know if I can trust him."
"Who is it?" Hermione asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"I don't want to tell you," Harry said, staring at his knees.
She grinned. "Come on, Harry. How bad can it be?"
He gave her a look that suggested it could be very bad, very very bad, but she pressed on. "I won't judge."
He looked up at the ceiling as if to ask whatever deity was up there why he was going to do what it was he was about to do. "Malfoy."
"WHAT?" Hermione yelled, rising to her feet for no reason.
"Would you shut up?" Harry said, not too quietly himself. This time it was Harry who had to pull her back to a sitting position.
Hermione was…shocked wasn't a strong enough word…she was stunned…she was dazed. Draco Malfoy? Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter? She wanted to laugh at the sheer absurdity of it. Or cry. She wasn't sure which.
"It's a trap," she told him. "It has to be."
Harry shook his head. "I thought it might be too…at first, but then…I don't know. It's not like he asked me for information or hurt me in any way. We don't really even talk. We just –" Harry stopped talking abruptly and a telltale blush rose in his cheeks once again.
Trying to free her mind of those mental images, Hermione searched for something supportive to say, but it was difficult. After all, her best friend was falling for a Death Eater's son.
"You can't trust Draco Malfoy," she said finally. That hadn't been very supportive at all.
"I know that," Harry muttered and he looked as if he'd been through these things in his head a hundred times. "But he's risked just as much as I have. He told me that he doesn't have a side, that he doesn't want to be on our side, but he isn't too crazy about Voldemort's side either. I keep looking for a trap somewhere, but if it's a trap then wouldn't he try to join our side?"
Hermione said nothing. True, it didn't make much sense, but then the thought of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy snogging didn't make much sense either.
"I told him that I couldn't do it anymore, that I couldn't lie to my friends and keep meeting someone who believed in everything that I stand against. But…I mean…I think I like him more than I realized," Harry continued.
Hermione tried to think of something to say to this extraordinary pronouncement but could come up with nothing.
"Now would be the part where you give me some sort of problem-solving proverb," Harry mumbled.
"How did this happen?" Hermione blurted out before she could stop herself.
Harry's face turned red for what Hermione thought must have been the tenth time that night. "Remember when I went to talk to Snape about The Order about a week ago?"
Hermione nodded.
"Well I was walking back to Gryffindor and Draco saw me and started insulting me. Then we saw Mrs. Norris and I thought Filch might catch me and I knew Snape wouldn't get me out of trouble so I followed Draco. I thought he would know somewhere to hide. I was right. He went into a little secret compartment and I followed him. Then…I don't know…we weren't insulting each other and the next thing I knew…we...we were kissing."
"Well that's not something you hear everyday," Hermione joked weakly.
"And the thing is…I thought…I thought I was just in it for that…you know…the kissing…but after I broke it off…well…I kind of…I kind of miss him," Harry finished.
"So let me get this straight," Hermione began, "first, you two meet up randomly in the hall and before you know it, you're kissing your archenemy…and then you start a secret relationship with the aforementioned archenemy…and then you start to get all conflicted about who's on whose side…and then during one of your clandestine rendezvous, you decided to break it off because you're from different backgrounds and believe in different things?"
Harry grinned. "Well yeah…all except for the archenemy thing. Isn't Voldemort my archenemy?"
Hermione ignored him. "Here's what I'm going to tell you Harry. You know you can't trust Draco Malfoy, but he doesn't seem to be setting you up at all. He needs to know how seriously you feel about this…how much you are against Voldemort. Give him an ultimatum: either he gives up being Voldemort's minion or he can say goodbye to you. If he likes you as much as you seem to like him…then you should be set. But if he can't make the sacrifice, then I don't think it's possible for you to keep seeing him."
Harry nodded, looking serious once more.
"I'm going to bed," Hermione told him. "Think about what I said."
"Okay," Harry said.
Hermione turned and started climbing the girls' staircase.
"Oh…and Hermione?" Harry called after her. Hermione turned around to face him once more.
"Thanks."