Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Harry Potter & everything to do with it belongs purely to J K Rowling.

And a shout-out to kriitikko for being my first review!

I haven't talked to her since we had that argument. Around three days. I'm starting to think I never will again. Everything becomes meaningless. Why should I eat? Why smile, laugh, or do anything actually worthwhile? 'Cause in the end, it really isn't.

I thought it would be OK in the end. I thought it would all work out. You know, after Voldermort was gone, I really thought it would all work out. I dunno why I thought that. Just my stupid brain kicking in. Again.

Though I'm not as bad as I used to be, mind you. I'm a changed man. Whether for better or worse, I dunno. I 'spose I'm more... cynical, and I've definitely grown up. Funny what fighting almost to the death can do to you. And love. God, I hate love.

My stomach grumbled for the twentieth time in the past three days. I just haven't been able to drag myself out of my dorm to go to the Great Hall. But I know that they're serving pizza today.

So I dragged myself out of bed, got a shower, and found some clean clothes.

I strolled down to the Great Hall as slowly as I could; energy was not one thing I had plenty of right now. I turned the corner and nearly bumped strait into Hermione. She walked strait past me, and my knees just gave way when she had turned the corner.

Just think of pizza, I told myself. But I couldn't. All I could think about was Hermione. How her hair bounces when she walks, how her eyes are the deepest chocolate colour. My stomach rumbled again. Typical. Just as I was thinking about, well... Hermione again, I heard her name come from an empty classroom.

"Hermione and Draco sitting in a tree!"

Who the hell was that?

"Shut up, Goyle," someone said. It was clearly Malfoy. I leant against the classroom door, even though I knew this could do me no good. I was past caring.

"Well," Malfoy said, and he sounded pretty hacked off, "we ain't sitting in no tree, and we certainty ain't doing something beginning with," I heard him throw something across the room, "s, and ending in," Smash. Another item bites the dust. "x."

"Oh my God, it must be –"

"For Slytherin's sake, Crabbe, what's your problem? Are you trying to tip me off of the edge? I'm already not getting any from her, so can I not have these immature jokes, OK?"

"But that's why you're doing it, right?" Goyle asked, and I was frozen. Surely he couldn't mean...

"Course I am! Why else would I go out with a mudblood? To get a little bit of..."

I was angry, as Malfoy suggestively mimed something. I was sick with disgust, and it hit me like a huge whack on the head. He was using her. He didn't love her. He wasn't kind; he wasn't generous, and definitely not loyal.

But she thought he was.

I braced myself. I needed to tell Hermione. How the hell am I supposed to do that?

I ran past the great hall. Pizza could wait. I had to stop for a rest near the Hufflepuff Dorms (man, I need to start training again). Then I ran all the way up to the Gryffindor Common Room, and I yelled:

"MIONE!" I paused for breath. I breathed in again. "MIONE! COME OUT OF YOUR ROOM!"

OK, so that wasn't the best way to get her out. I clambered up the banisters to the girls' dorm, being careful not to touch the actual staircase, 'cause it would turn into a slide. When at the top, I rapped on the door smartly.

"Mione," I said into the door softly. "It's me... I need to talk to –"

The door opened so quickly that I nearly fell back.

"Listen –" I started to say, but Mione interrupted me.

"No, you listen to me. I don't care what you want, but I don't want to help you with it! If you haven't gathered, I'm fine, and I don't need you for anything, OK? Now excuse me, I need to go see Harry..." I wouldn't move. "Let me go!" She ordered. Damn, she was cute when she was angry. She grabbed my arms and tried to move me, but I didn't let her go. I grabbed onto her. Being this close to her made me go a bit dizzy.

"What do you want?" she hissed, and I looked strait into her eyes for the first time in days. And all I saw was hatred. For me.

And, I'll tell you now, I really wanted to just tell her I loved her, and to get it over with. But I didn't.

"Mione," I began, but she cut me off.

"Don't call me that!" she snapped, and I could feel by broken heart being torn even more.

"Her-mione," I corrected myself. "The thing is that..."

Ooh, cliffy. Well, review, as always! Do you think it's going anywhere? More love, more drama, more depressing stuff? Too OOC? I need feedback!

aunumnlover