A/N: Thanks for all the follows and faves fam!
Hermione woke up for the first day of classes bright and early. Everyone else was still asleep so she got ready then headed down to the Great Hall hoping to run into Draco. She saw a few first years in the corridors and showed them the way as any good Prefect would. Luckily she didn't accept the Head Girl position. She couldn't handle the extra responsibility, not after last year and studying for NEWTS. No, that honour went to Parvati Patel.
Parvati woke in her private room in the Heads dormitory. She couldn't believe she had actually gotten the position. She was sure that Hermione Granger would have accepted it. Then she found out that Ernie McMillan was Head Boy and cursed her luck. He was so annoying and already thought he was Merlin reincarnated. She dressed quickly then charmed her makeup to perfection and braided her hair back. Ernie had just left so at least she was spared his obnoxiousness.
She had just come around the corner when she crashed into a wall of muscle named Blaise Zabini. "Careful gorgeous. You could have damaged the merchandise." He said with a sly smile. Parvati blushed and apologised for her clumsiness.
"Sorry about that Zabini. I was rushing and not looking where I was going." He smiled at her and took her hand, kissing her knuckles.
"No apologies necessary, Miss Patel. I shouldn't have stopped so abruptly. It's just, I caught this divine scent of jasmine and," he stopped to smell the air, "well, I do believe that it is you that I smelled. What is that perfume?"
"Oh, it was a gift two years ago from my best friend. I only use it once in a while now though since she passed away during the battle." Her voice trailed off as she thought of Lavender. Blaise didn't know what to say, so he put his arms out. Parvati looked at him like he'd grown a second head. "What are you doing?"
Blaise scoffed, "It's called offering comfort. You Gryffindorks don't know of the concept?" He said with just a touch of snark.
"Erm, I'm good. Thanks." She continued her walk to the Great Hall and the Slytherin walked next to her. "Oh, um, you don't have to accompany me, Zabini." She wondered what his deal was. He was being awfully nice and it really threw her.
"Nonsense, it would be my honour to walk with such a beautiful witch." The smile he gave her had her blushing, luckily the tan colouring of her skin hid it well.
They parted ways at the entrance and as she sat down, Hermione greeted her. "Good morning, Parvati! Hope you slept well. Are you excited for your first class?" She giggled at Hermione's excitement over school starting. She wanted to tell the muggleborn that she was talking to the wrong twin if she wanted an excited response, but just smiled and nodded at her before starting to put some eggs and hash on her plate.
Parvati felt like someone was watching her, so she looked up from her breakfast and wasn't surprised to see a certain handsome snake smiling over at her. She always had a bit of a crush on Blaise Zabini. Lavender and her would talk of what he might be like in bed on numerous occasions, but she'd never think he would be interested in her. She decided to take a chance. After classes were over for the day, she'd approach him. Well, that is, if he didn't get to her first.
Theo spent the last twenty minutes trying to convince Draco to get breakfast with him in the Great Hall. "No! Damn it! It's bad enough I probably have most of my classes with her! I don't want to see her laughing at me again." Theo sighed in exasperation.
"Fine, but don't complain to me when you're starving in Arithmancy!" He stalked out of their dorm and into the Common Room. Pansy was sitting on the couch with Longbottom waiting for Theo. "Hold on, Pans. Winky!" A house elf appeared with a pop.
"Young Mr. Nott calls Winky?" The shy elf asked as she looked up at him with bulging eyes.
"Yes, Winky. Can you please bring up a full plate for my prat of a roommate? Thank you, sweetie." Winky smiled ear to ear at the term of endearment and popped away. Back within seconds, she handed the plate to Theo. "That is all, Winky, thanks again." The elf bowed then popped back out. "He's not coming to breakfast because he might see," Theo looked at Neville then back to Pansy, "Well, you know who." Theo walked back into the dorm room and placed the plate on Draco's desk. "Eat!"
Draco looked at his friend with wide eyes then thanked him before Theo left again. "Okay, let's go. Morning, Longbottom." Neville said the same back to Theo and they headed up the stairs.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you, babe. Gran says the invitations were ordered and Mr. Wallace sent an Owl about the house we looked at last week. It's ours if we want it, but I told her to hold off because we still had that one cottage in Alnwick." Theo had never heard the Gryffindor talk so much. Pansy looked at him as if he were the sun which made Theo happy. She deserved happiness.
"Yes, the cottage in Alnwick sounds lovely. And it's not too far from Hogwarts. I know the Head Mistress said we could have access to an open floo connection, but I still don't like the thought of being too far from you when you take up Professor Sprout's position next year." Theo's ear perked up at that.
"Congratulations, Longbottom! I had no clue that Professor Sprout was retiring after this year. Good on you, man!" He clapped Neville on his back earning a smile and his thanks. They came to the entrance of the Great Hall and he stopped in his tracks when he saw Luna.
Pansy squeezed Neville's arm getting his attention. She motioned over to Theo then nodded her head in Luna's direction. "Lovegood!" She yelled and the willowy blonde looked up from the book in her hands. Theo followed behind his friend and her fiancé as they walked towards the Ravenclaw beauty.
Luna smiled over at the couple walking towards her, then she noticed the third person behind them and felt her heart speed up. She hadn't been this close to Theodore Nott since the end of the Battle of Hogwarts. He seemed taller and even more handsome than her dreams allowed her to remember. He peaked around Neville and smirked at the way Luna began to blush at the sight of him. "Theo." She breathed out his name.
Pansy and Neville sniggered then left the two alone as they went to get breakfast. Theo spoke first, "So...how are you, Luna? It's, um, it's been a while." Luna smiled shyly at him. "Can we talk privately?" She nodded and took his hand tentatively and walked down to an alcove close by, casting a Muffliato and Illusiont.
"I know what you are going to ask, and I don't have a reason other than I needed time alone to heal. As soon as me and Neville broke things off, I could have Owl'd you, but I didn't know if you would still want to see me." Theo sighed then pulled her into his embrace.
"Witch, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since the battle, even after your rejection. I can't explain it. I feel this pull towards you. Luna, I think you're my soulmate." She smiled and tucked her head into him some more. "You feel it too, don't you?" He felt her nod and kissed the top of her head.
"The dreams began that night, the night I saved you. It made for an awkward relationship with Neville, that's why I broke things off. I'll always love him, he's my best friend really, but it's nothing like what I feel for you." She tilted her head up to look up at him, "Theo, I am scared. I've never had these feelings for anyone before, but it's like I'm..." Theo looked at her and finished her sentence.
"You're home." Her eyes were shining with unshed tears.
"Yes. Exactly. With you, I'm home." Theo caressed her cheek before leaning in to capture her lips. It was as if their entire body was electrified. "Oh, Theo, never let me go."
"Never, my angel, I am yours and you are mine. I'm never letting anyone come between us again."
Hermione kept her eyes on the Slytherin table. Breakfast was almost finished and there was no sign of Malfoy. Ginny laughed at her worried expression. "Shut up, it's not funny. Where the hell is he? Go ask your new friend, Goyle." Ginny frowned at her.
"It's Greg, and I would if you asked nicer you bint." Hermione giggled at that.
"Did you just call me a bint?" They both broke into a fit of laughter then Ginny got up from the table telling Hermione she'd check.
Gregory Goyle was just finishing up a glass of pumpkin juice when he felt a small hand tap his shoulder. Turning around he saw the object of his desires smiling down at him. "Morning, Greg! Mind if I sit?" Ginny said cheerfully.
"Good morning, Ginny. By all means." He went to slide over but a second year was close by. "Scooch over you." The boys eyes went wide and he slid over. Ginny giggled and sat next to Greg. He felt her leg against his and his face heated up.
"Where's Malfoy this morning?" Her interest in Draco's whereabouts made his heart sink for a brief moment before she spoke again, "Hermione is worried that he is starving himself to death." Her sweet laugh rang through his ears and he turned to face her; his smile caused Ginny's stomach to flutter. "You have a nice smile, Greg."
She internally smack herself in the head. 'Real smooth Ginevra!' She scolded herself. "Um, thanks, I guess." Greg chuckled and let her know about Draco's skipping the hall, "But tell Granger to have no fear. His school mummy, Theo, would never let him starve. I'm sure he had the school elves bring him something." Ginny laughed at his teasing of his fellow Slytherins.
Greg couldn't help but laugh too. He could feel everyone's eyes on them, but didn't care. He really liked the ginger Gryffindor and wanted to spend as much time as possible with her. "Okay, well, I should get back to her. I can feel her staring. I'll see you around then? Maybe we could hang out after classes let out later?" She said hopefully.
If Gregory Goyle knew better, he would have known that Ginny was developing feelings for him, but he was so self-conscious that he had no clue. "Yeah, sure. Maybe we could go fly around the pitch. Discuss this coming Quidditch season and how we're gonna win the Cup this year, yeah?" He teased and Ginny narrowed her eyes at him.
"Pfft, you wish! I'm Captain this year. We're gonna wipe the pitch with you lot!" She giggled then waved as she went back to her table where Hermione anxiously awaited her arrival. "Your snake is fine. Just didn't want to come down for some reason, but Greg insists that Malfoy would never starve. Breakfast was more than likely brought to him. He said Theo mothers him." She laughed then turned around to see Greg walking out of the Great Hall.
"Look at you smiling, Gin! You really like him, don't you?" Ginny put her hands over her face and nodded.
"Yes! Gods! I don't know what to do. Do you think he would be interested? I like talking to him and he has a fantastic smile. Mi, his voice is so deep and gravely and it makes me ache in places Harry's never did before."
Hermione chuckled, "Too much information there, Ginny! Oh my god! This is just crazy. Are you going to tell him?" Ginny thought about it. Should she tell him or wait for him to make a move? "We're supposed to hang later, maybe go flying over the Quidditch pitch? I don't know. I don't want to rush into anything. If he's interested in more than friendship, I'll wait for him to make a move." She contemplated a few more minutes, "Then again, if he is too shy, I'll have to take matters into my own hands."
Draco got to his final class of the day, Potions, and sat down at his preferred table. He noticed that Greg was sitting with the girl Weasley and smiled. 'What is going on there, I wonder.' He thought to himself. He hoped Theo got here soon and sat with him. He needed to talk to him. Draco had Arithmancy first period, and Hermione kept trying to get him to look her way. He stayed strong though and basically ran out of the door to Ancient Runes before she had the chance to talk to him. Was she trying to apologise? Or was she attempting to taunt him for deigning to ask her on a date?
Theo sat down looking oddly at his friend. "What the fuck are you doing, you Prat? Hermione said you are ignoring her. She's upset, you know?" Theo elbowed his friend in his side.
"Oi! What the Hell, Theo!" Theo chuckled and smiled at him. "Look, she rejected me first so I'm just doing a bit of self-preservation here. I'm protecting my heart."
"You're going to push her so far away that she ends up giving up on you? Look, she wants to talk to you. She has rounds until 10pm, but says for you to meet her in the Clocktower Courtyard at 10:30. She wants to explain why she reacted like she did in the library last night. Don't fuck this up!" Draco sighed then nodded his head. He'd meet her. He would tell her how he feels, but only after she admits her own feelings!
Hermione got back from dinner and started to change for rounds. It was then that she noticed and owl outside her window. Upon opening the window, the barn owl flew in and dropped a letter on her desk. She fed it a cracker then watched as it flew back out the window. She saw the penmanship and her stomach twisted. Ronald.
She specifically told him not to contact her. Breathing in deeply, she released a shaky breath and open the missive.
Mione,
I never meant to hurt you, but what else would you have me do? I couldn't look at you and see the hurt in your eyes.
You were my best friend then these feelings developed and I needed you in a different way. I wanted you ina different way.
Since fourth year, I started seeing you in a different way. No longer were you this bookish annoying girl, but a beautiful, smart, and determined woman. Then the whole thing with Lavenderbegan in sixth year and you stopped talking to me, and I realised toolate that you had the same feelings for me as I did for you.
Then we were on the run and I left you then came back and everything was crazy! When you kissed me that night of the battle, I was the happiest I'd ever felt in my entire life. It was finally going to happen for us! Then after the funeral, we continued to get closer but nothing more intimate happened, not that sex was all I was looking for, but it seemed as if we were just still friends but with some handholding and kissing in between.
Then, I was at the ministry the week before you left for school and ran into someone. Hermione, I don't know how to explain it but the moment our eyes met, there was this pull towards her. I knew that she was meant to be mine. I'd heard of true love matches before, soulmates, but never believed until the moment I touched hands with Astoria Greengrass. She is Harry's girlfriend, Daphne's, younger sister.
I am so sorry that this happened like this, but I could never apologise for falling in love. I hope this man that asked you out is a good bloke. You deserve happiness and true love. I'll always love you, Mione, but it just wasn't meant to be.
Your friend (even if you never want to speak to me ever again),
Ron Weasley
Hermione felt the tears on her face. So he fell in love at first sight. That's why he broke things off with her. She folded the letter back up deciding not to respond for now. She grabbed her cloak then headed down to do rounds. She put on some lip gloss and checked her reflection. Tonight she would hopefully see Draco. She hoped Theo told him where to find her.
A/N: Another chapterup, kids! I'm going to try updating weekly, but going through some stuff at the moment. This is all just for fun and a creative outlet! Enjoy and review! Xoxo- Swizzle