Disclaimer: I've tried blackmail, violence, and even chocolate cupcakes but sadly, these characters still do not belong to me.
A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, I love you! Here's the much awaited chapter!
Chapter Recap:
By now, Hermione was crying. "How could you let me have blamed Draco for everything when it was you all this time? How could you tell me you love me and then tell me about how you tried to seduce me and then blame it on your best friend! Why on Earth couldn't you have just told me you loved me," Hermione yelled. She got up immediately and ran for the door. Blaise called her back but she wasn't listening. In a matter of seconds, she was gone. "I told you it was a bad idea, mate," he said as he sat down next to Blaise. "For once Draco, I actually agree with you."
Chapter 4: A Santuary Invaded
Hermione forced herself not to cry as realization hit her. Blaise didn't love her, she now had no friends, and on top of it all Parvati was probably spreading rumors about her. She had no one she could call on, no one to save her from this undeniable pain in her heart. She couldn't talk to her parents about her love life because they had always told her that she couldn't date until she was out of college and had a good stable job. She had always agreed with that philosophy and was now wondering why she didn't stick with it when she needed it most. She also couldn't talk to Ginny, her best friend, about her situation, because Ginny was part of the whole thing. How was Hermione to explain to her that Blaise forced Draco to put an arousal spell on her and she was having sex with her Harry and Lavender because of it? It would hurt them so much. Hermione got sick when she even thought about it. She didn't like girls that way and Harry was her best friend. The only person she could think to tell was Ron but he wouldn't understand this. He couldn't understand his own emotions let alone a hormonal teenage girl who felt like her life had fallen apart in a matter of hours.
After practically jogging the halls, her eyes still filled with unresolved tears, Hermione found herself at the library. This place always seemed to calm her nerves. She took a seat near the back, a place usually reserved for snogging madly without attracting the attention of a teacher or any other voyeurs for that matter but Hermione felt the complete silence of the secluded area comforting especially after the drama of the past few days.
For a few very satisfying minutes of doing what she loved best -- studying -- Hermione actually felt like things were back to normal. Her main priority was the same as it had always been -- her beloved books. She smiled to herself while reading a very interesting passage about the effects that un-planted dander roots had on the brain. She contentedly wiped all the tears from her eyes and actually felt her body relax for the first time in days. Yes, Hermione was completely at peace until --
"Hermione," someone shouted from the far end of the library.
'Oh god,' Hermione thought to herself. 'What could possibly have happened now?'
After only a second or two of waiting, Hermione heard hurried footsteps heading nearer her.
'If that's Draco and Blaise, I swear, I'll --'
"Hermione," the voice said again as she was attacked in a huge embrace of red hair.
"Ron," Hermione said, so happy to see her friend again. Then, she saw, standing off to the side, hidden in shadow, was Harry.
Hermione's attention was suddenly throttled away from the emerald-eyed boy who looked about as somber as she felt and back to Ron as he practically yelled "Hermione, where have you been?" with a mixture of worry and jubilation on his freckly face.
Hermione felt like she hadn't seen her two best friends in ages even though it had only been two days. She realized with a small twinge of guilt that she missed them dearly. She vowed to herself to never abandon them again. 'Especially for something as trivial as two Slytherins,' she thought.
Putting all the thoughts and complications of late to the back of her mind, Hermione put on the best smile she could under the current circumstances and said "I'm so sorry, Ron. I know I haven't been around. Studying for these N.E.W.T.s has been all that's consuming me lately but I don't think it would hurt to take a little break." She looked into Ron's light blue eyes and found, to her relief, that he believed her.
"'Mione, you couldn't have just been studying," said Ron with a knowing look on his face and for one painstaking moment, Hermione thought that she had misread Ron's accepting expression and that Harry had told him all about what had happened.
"W--what do you mean," Hermione asked, a slight tremor to her voice.
"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about! You told off Parvati Patil in front of everyone," Ron said as though she was his first born child and had just made him the proudest father in the world by telling someone off.
"Oh," Hermione said, relief filling her as she ushered them back to come sit where she had just been trying to study a few minutes before. If she was going to tell them this story, she did not want Madam Pince, who thought very highly of her, or anyone else for that matter, to hear what they were talking about.
As she sat down, Hermione looked up at both of them. She still wasn't sure how Harry felt about talking to her after what had happened. He wasn't smiling up at her like Ron was but he wasn't looking as though he was upset with her either.
"So, what happened," asked Ron, grinning manically.
Hermione then realized with a jolt that in order to tell them the story, she would have to go into what had happened with Harry, Ginny, and Lavender and then she would have to explain why she left which brought the whole story of Malfoy and Blaise into the mix. Her want to be truthful to her friends was battling fiercely with her need to forget everything that had happened.
Hermione then looked up into Harry's eyes. He looked a bit depressed, yet he seemed to always be looking that way these days. He was still on his hunt for the Horcruxes and still managing to keep up with his schoolwork. Hermione knew that he was constantly battling with the fact that everyone in the wizarding world was in danger and that it was up to him to save them all. She knew that it was an enormous burden to carry and she couldn't help feel that she had somehow made it worse by hurting Harry's feelings on top of it all.
He then looked up at her too. He bottle-green eyes shone in the darkness that was the back of the library. He looked resolute as though whatever she had to tell him, he was ready for it. It was that, more than anything, that compelled her to tell them everything. They deserved at least that.
Hermione sighed. "Well, these past few months after coming back to school, I've been feeling a bit...well, sexually frustrated..." She looked up at them and saw that Harry was scowling and Ron was looking completely flabbergasted. She continued on with her story before she lost her nerve.
"I've been having feelings for this boy," she stated and immediately regretted it when Harry looked up at her as though he saw her in a whole new light. She internally slapped herself when she had the guts to say "who's in Slytherin." At this both boys looked at her as if she had just told them she had decided to have a threesome with Dobby and the Giant Squid.
Ron's mouth opened in protest but she continued talking before he got a chance to say anything. "I thought that he was really nice and I thought that maybe I could make something of it. As you guys know, I've never had a boyfriend before and --"
"Wait, what about Victor Krum," Ron asked.
"Him and I never dated," said Hermione, sounding shocked that her best friends didn't know that her and Victor's relationship was completely platonic. "As if an International Quidditch player could ever want anything to do with me," Hermione snorted.
"He liked you, Hermione," Harry said. It was the first time he had spoken to her since they had sat down. "You have such low self-esteem! I don't understand it! Practically every guy in this school wants you, can't you see that," he said.
Hermione was stunned. For one, Harry was actually talking to her as though he didn't hate her and second, he had said every guy in the school wanted her.
After digesting that a little bit, Hermione began to laugh. She was laughing so hard that her face turned a the color of Ron's hair and she was clutching her side in pure mirth.
"Every guy in the school, Harry," she said once she had calmed down a little bit. "You're kidding, right? More like every guy in this school thinks I'm too much of a know-it-all, goody-two-shoes that they've come to believe I'm asexual," she said.
Harry looked at her, a bit shocked. "Hermione, it's true. Ever since you came back from sixth year, maybe even before that. I've talked to Seamus, Dean, Neville, they all think that your beautiful. I think that the only reason you've never been with anyone is because you're intimidating. I think guys try to pick a girl that's less intelligent than them so that they don't feel dominated. You're intelligent and beautiful, don't ever doubt that about yourself," he said, calming down a bit and looking slightly embarrassed.
"Thanks, Harry," she said, not meeting his eyes. "That was very nice of you."
'That was very nice of you,' the little voice in her head whispered. 'Hermione, why are you suddenly so nervous around your best friend?'
She blushed slightly and then gained back her composure. She looked up and saw that Harry was blushing almost as furiously as she and that Ron was looking between them as though they were mad.
"So anyway," she said, breaking the akward silence. "I started to like this boy and--". Hermione's speech was cut off once again.
"Who was it," asked Ron. "Do Harry and I know him?"
"Erm...," Hermione stammered. "I don't think so. His name is Blaise. Blaise Zabini," she said.
"Wait," said Ron. "Isn't that that bloke who's friends with Malfoy?" He sounded shocked and disgusted.
Hermione was about to say that he was not as bad as Malfoy but she stopped herself. Had she already forgotten what he had done to her?
"Yes, he's friends with Draco," Hermione said.
"Since when do you refer to him as Draco," Harry asked through gritted teeth.
"Look, will you two just stop interrupting me! It's hard enough as it is to tell you everything without you buggering me about every detail of it," she half shouted.
The both had the decency to look a bit guilty as she continued.
"Anyway," Hermione said, feeling aggravated "I thought I liked Blaise and I knew that he could never like me so I decided to go see Ginny. This was partially because of Parvati who had just shouted to half the Great Hall that she had sex with Blaise and I got a bit jealous but mostly because I had waited so long to do something about it. I knew that Ginny could help me out since she's had a lot of boyfriends in the past." Ron scowled at this. "I went to the Head Common Room to prepare where I ran into Malfoy. He insulted me as usual and then left. When I was done preparing, I went to the Gryffindor common room and--". Hermione suddenly stopped. She didn't know if Harry had told Ron what had happened yet. Harry seemed to know why she stopped speaking because he nodded as though to give her the signal that it was okay to tell what had happened. She looked at Ron resolutely. She had been hoping that Harry had already told Ron of the situation so that she would not have to relive all of it, but apparently he hadn't.
"I then went up to the dormitories to see Ginny and I...I saw Harry and Ginny there and well, they seemed like they were busy so I...uh...thought I should leave but...erm...Harry said I could stay...and I kind of gave him the wrong idea, I suppose and...well, then I came to my senses and thought that I should leave and then--"
"Wait, WHAT," Ron shouted.
"Quiet in the library," they heard Madam Pince shout from the other end of the hall.
"What," Ron said in the same scandalized tone yet in a whisper.
"Ron, listen," Harry said. "You know that Ginny and I are dating, right?"
"Well, yeah," said Ron.
"Well, when Hermione came up, Ginny and I were in bed together and I asked Hermione to join us," Harry said, putting emphasis on the word 'I' and giving Hermione a meaningful look from above Ron's shoulder. Hermione felt extremely guilty. Harry was taking the blame for everything when all of this was her fault. She was glad that he didn't mention Lavender being a part of it. She had been Ron's girlfriend and she didn't think he would take to well to the fact that she had dumped him for random shags.
"You asked her to join you," he said in a forced calm tone.
"Yes. Hermione wasn't sure but I convinced her and her, Ginny, and I kissed for a while until Hermione decided that that's not what she wanted and she left," he stated clearly to Ron who's mouth was agape with shock.
Before Ron had the chance to intervene, Hermione decided that she had better fill them in on the rest of the story.
"So, I decided to go back to the Head Common Room. When I came down, that's when I ran into Parvati. She was acting all superior and I just flew off the handle. I guess it was another effect of whatever was happening to me. That was the first sign I had that something was really wrong. The other thing was that I was feeling particularly...erm... aroused...and I never usually feel that way so I suspected that Malfoy had done something to me."
"I'll kill him," said Harry at once. He got up from the table and began to storm off when Hermione caught up with him and grabbed his arm to stop him from killing someone.
"Harry," she said soothingly, as he reluctantly followed her back to the table where Ron still sat, looking even more shocked than before at Harry's overprotective behavior. "just let me finish the story, okay."
As she let Harry fume for a second, she looked at Ron who seemed unable to comprehend anything more at the moment.
When Harry's breathing started to sound more normal, Hermione said "So I went back to the Head Dorms and I saw -- well, it's not really important," she said. She didn't think it was really relevant to what she was trying to get out to explain to Harry and Ron that when she walked into Draco's dorm, he had been getting a blow job from a very sweaty Italian boy. Hermione flushed at the very thought.
"What did you see, Hermione," Harry asked, sounding resighnd to the fact that whatever it was would not be any good news.
"Um, well, when I walked into Draco's room...let's just say that the time when I walked in on you and Ginny wasn't the only time I caught two people in a compromising position that day," she said, not wanting to give to much about Draco's sexuality away in case she was wrong. After all, Blaise had told her that he had needed to pay Draco to get him in bed.
"Oh," said Harry in understanding. "Yeah, Ron and I really don't want to hear about that," said Harry, his disgust evident.
Hermione sighed with relief. "Well, after that, it gets pretty complicated," she said.
"Hermione, please tell me that when you jumped in bed with me and Ginny was the only time you joined in on the action," Harry pleaded, looking terrified that she might tell him otherwise.
"Oh, of course," Hermione said, sounding a bit scandalized. "I would never do that. See, that's what I'm getting to. I didn't get in bed with you and Ginny of my own accord, someone helped it along. You see, I thought that Draco had put some sort of spell on me" Harry twitched "and I went to confront him about it. He admitted that he did but that's not all he admitted."
Now the both of them looked interested.
"Draco told me that Blaise loved me," Hermione said, cringing at the memory. "I was really confused so I snuck out and went to bed. When I woke up, Blaise told me everything."
"Blaise," said Ron. "How did you talk to him? I thought that you were in the Head Common Room and you said you came straight down here to the library. Was he in the common room too," he asked, bewildered.
Hermione had hoped that neither of them would notice Blaise' sudden appearance in the common room. She figured that they would be to focused on what he said to wonder about how he had gotten there but she supposed that she had underestimated their intelligence.
"Well, erm, I'm guessing Draco told Blaise about his confession to me and he came by. They are friends after all," she said akwardly.
"Hermione, we've been your friends for six years now, don't you think we know when you're lying," Harry asked incredulously. Hermione sighed. She knew that she would have to get it all out in the end.
"Your right, Harry. The reason Blaise was in the common room was because he was the one that I caught Draco with the night before," she said, not daring to look up to see their reactions. Of course, she didn't do anything to cause the situation and she didn't even know why she was lying about it, she just supposed that things were complicated enough already without Harry and Ron spreading rumors about Blaise and Draco.
After a few moments of silence, Ron said "Malfoy's gay!"
Then they all heard harsh footsteps banging their way towards them from across the marble floor of the library. "I said to be quiet in the library," said the vulture-like form of the strict librarian "and I meant it! If I hear a yelling coming from this direction again, all of you will be out of here! You would be out already had it not been that I know Ms. Granger to never disobey school rules. I'm disappointed in you, Hermione," Madam Pince said as she walked the long distance back to her desk.
"Ron, you really do need to learn to control yourself," Hermione said irritably. Ron blushed.
"Hermione, if Blaise was with Malfoy, how do you figure that he loves you," Harry asked, seeming completely unperturbed by the sudden disruption.
"I'm getting to that, Harry," Hermione said with yet another sigh. "As I was saying, Blaise explained everything to me."
She told them the story about how Blaise had asked Draco to help him get her alone and how the plan backfired and how Blaise had used his and Draco's situation to seduce Hermione. She left out the part about Draco's childhood and how Blaise and Draco had become friends. It did not seem relevant and she also found that a part of her wanted to keep that information a secret, a sort of comfort for when she was feeling sad. She didn't know how it could possibly make her feel any better, knowing how the two boys had come to be, but it did.
When Hermione had finished, both boys looked upset. She knew she had made a huge mistake to ever trust the two Slytherins but she didn't need them telling her so. She had already learned from it. It was not like she was unintelligent.
"'Mione, I'm sorry for what happened to you," said Ron. "Malfoy is such a git," Ron said, trying to smile at her and scowl at the thought of Malfoy at the same time which resulted in a kind of loopy grin that made Hermione smile.
"Hermione," Harry said in a light tone that Hermione was completely unprepared for. "I'm sorry that I was angry at you for leaving. I had no idea," he said as he leaned over to rap her in his arms. Hermione felt complete and utter relief for the first time in what felt like forever. She had gotten all of her worries off her shoulders for a while and her friends didn't hate her. She thought that maybe everything could go back to normal until --
"Hermione," someone shouted from outside of the bookshelf covering their table. Hermione immediately knew who it was. "What do you want, Draco," Hermione asked, sounding utterly exasperated. For the second time that day she felt that the little bubble of relief that had surged through her a second ago had just popped.
Draco's POV
"I should go talk to her," said Blaise standing up from the step that he had currently been resting on. "I didn't want it to happen like this!"
Draco looked up at him. He felt bad for his friend. Blaise had just lost the girl that he loved because he let his emotions take hold of him. Draco never let his emotions get to him. He had learned to hide everything he felt from his father. 'A lot of good that did,' Draco thought to himself. 'Now the git's locked in Azkaban'.
Of course Draco could not feel too sorry for the brunette boy. After all, Draco had loved Hermione first. Blaise had had no right whatsoever to take her even if it looked as though he was finished. He admitted that he still wanted Hermione and Blaise or no Blaise, he would get her.
"No Blaise. If you talk to her right after she's just stormed out, it will upset her more than she already is. You have to give it some time," he said.
Draco had a lot of experience with women. Once, his now ex-girlfriend, Pansy had caught him with Daphne Greengrass from Ravenclaw. She had left his room crying and pouting and screaming at the top of her lungs. Draco had had to throw Daphne out and wait for about a half an hour. Then he would go talk to Pansy by which time she would have calmed down and Draco could convince her that he did not love the other girl but her alone, even if it wasn't true and then everything would go back to normal. Of course, Draco also knew that Hermione was no ordinary girl and that these same tactics would most likely not work on her strong defenses but he didn't tell Blaise so. He was too worried about what Hermione thought of him at the moment to really pay attention to Blaise' ramblings.
Blaise growled in frustration. "I can't wait to talk to her," he said through gritted teeth. "I need to talk to her now!"
"You know, if your so worried about her being comforted right away, why don't I go talk to her," Draco offered. He could use as much time as possible with the witch if he wanted to win her heart.
"I don't know, Draco, what if you suddenly get that little thing called 'jealousy' again and bad mouth me behind my back while you use the time with her to your own advantage," said Blaise, smirking. Draco wasn't surprised. The two knew each other so well by now that they could almost always predict what the other was thinking and now was no exception.
Draco laughed as he said "I promise Blaise, I will not bad mouth you but I do not promise to not use the time to my advantage. This is a game after all and you blew your chance. I think it's my turn. Besides, Malfoys don't get jealous," he said with an equally smug smirk planted on his face. Blaise looked resigned.
"Okay, Drake," Blaise said with a sigh "as long as you promise to put in a good word." Blaise winked and went back up to Draco's room where Draco was sure he would throw some of his prize possessions around a bit to let off her tension.
"Thanks, Blaise," he said quietly to himself when he was already out in the corridor leading to the library, where he knew she would be. "You pretty much just forfeited any chance you ever had with her."
Hermione's POV
"Hermione," the voice shouted again, a little louder this time.
Hermione would have known that drawl of a voice anywhere. It had been the one tormenting her for the past six years, after all.
As Draco drew out of the shadows, looking at Harry and Ron as though they were some sort of scum he found at the bottom of his bath tub, Hermione heard more footsteps drawing near.
"I told you to be quiet! This is a library, not a chatter convention! Now, OUT, all of you," Madam Pince said, glaring at Draco.
Draco looked startled for a moment before Hermione grabbed his arm and drug him out of the library folowed by a very disgruntled looking Harry and Ron.
When they reached the corridor outside, Hermione said "Draco, anything that has happened in the past couple day is over with. I'm going to forget about you -- about Blaise -- and I'm going to go back to living a normal life! Okay?"
Draco glared at Harry and Ron who were listening in before replying. "Nothing is that easy, Granger. Besides, I just came here to apologize. I just wanted to say that I was sorry for agreeing to Blaise' plan and putting that hex on you. I know I shouldn't have done it but Blaise is my friend and I just wanted to help him," he said, pouting.
Hermione was taken aback. First of all, she had not expected either of them to come and follow her. Sure, she expected them to remark about it when they next met which would probably be in the halls or in class, but never did she expect either of them to actually approach her. Second of all, if they did talk about this whole thing, she would never have expected more than snide remarks about how she fell for everything from the two Slytherins. Especially the particularly evil one standing right in front of her. Him actually apologizing made forgetting everything so much more complicated.
"Don't even try to apologize to her, you git," said Ron unexpectedly.
Draco glared daggers at Ron. "I'll do what I like, Weasley," he snarled.
Hermione sensing a fight and not wanting to get in any more trouble than she already was, decided to suggest they move their fight somewhere more private. They all agreed. All the way up to the Head Common doom, Draco and Ron bickered and Hermione had a feeling that she was in for another catastrophic day.
A/N: Ooh, what's gonna happen in the common room? There are sooo many possibilties. Stick around to find out! I know that I promised sex in this chap but we still have to get some stuff straight between the three before they can jump in the sack and I didn't realize how long it would take for Hermione to explain everything to Harry and Ron. They really are dunderheads, aren't they? I promise that the next chapter will be chalk full of smut, so don't fear! Please review and tell me what you thought!