Hellooooo! Bet you thought I'd fallen off the face of the earth (I wouldn't blame you). To those of you who stuck around – hello again, and my sincerest apologies. On the bright side, I'm that much older and hopefully, that much of a better writer? :D To those of you who are new, welcome! I won't draw this out, so suffice it to say that life got busy but I am back and full of ideas for this multi-chap and looking forward to seeing them through! The next chapter is already in progress :) Hope you enjoy this one! As always, please let me know your thoughts – review/follow/fav!
"Now that we're alone, are you going to tell me what's going on?" Ginny asked Hermione as the two made their way to Hogsmeade the next afternoon.
"With what?" Hermione laughed, though she tensed inside, anticipating what her friend was going to say. Seconds later, her suspicions were confirmed.
"With you and Malfoy, of course!" Ginny said almost giddily.
Hermione paused for a moment, weighing her options. While she was normally a very guarded person, she did trust Ginny implicitly. Besides, it would be nice not to carry all the complicated feelings she was experiencing alone.
"The truth is, Gin, I'm not really sure."
"So there is something!" The redhead cried excitedly.
"I don't know! I just know that he's been behaving so differently this year. But then again, haven't we all?"
"Not that differently, Mione," Ginny responded gently.
"What do you mean by that?" Hermione asked.
Ginny seemed to consider her words carefully. "Look, I don't want to get you worried, or your hopes up, or raise your expectations in any way. I just know that I've caught Malfoy watching you several times in class when you're not looking and there's something…gentle about his gaze."
Hermione felt herself blushing as she replied, "The truth is…he has actually been—dare I say it—flirtatious once or twice."
"Yes! I've seen it myself!" Ginny exclaimed, making Hermione recall the strange encounter less than a week ago on their way back from Hogsmeade.
"I hope he doesn't mean anything by it," Hermione whispered.
"That doesn't sound like you, Mione" Ginny chided gently, a frown on her usually cheerful face.
"Can you blame me?" Hermione retorted. "That would just be setting both of us up for an awkward conversation, since I certainly won't be dating him!"
"That's what I mean," Ginny replied. "You're usually a forgiving person who sees the best in people."
"Most people didn't do their best to make my life miserable for six years, hate people like me, and have family who tortured and tried to murder me" Hermione snapped.
"I don't mean in any way to minimize your past or his," Ginny replied quietly. "I just mean that the Malfoy of then and the Malfoy of now seem like entirely different people. And you have been one of the leading advocates of rehabilitation and reconciliation. All I'm trying to say is that I wonder how much of this reaction is driven by the reasons you just listed, and how much of it is driven by fear of your feelings."
Hermione had no response, and the rest of their walk to Hogsmeade was a very quiet one.
XXXXX
After Ginny let Hermione drag her to no fewer than three bookshops, the two witches made their way to a local art shop, which Parvati had told them had some masks for sale. Her tip paid off; they were greeted by the sight of at least a dozen beautiful masks when they walked in. Unfortunately, there were no ice-blue masks for Ginny, but she had decided that she would be accessorizing with gold, and happily purchased a pure gold coloured mask that she found. Hermione was quite drawn to a purple mask with gold trim, until her eyes landed on a green mask that was an almost perfect match to her dress. Moreover, intricate silver shapes laced its surface. It was absolutely –
"Beautiful," Ginny breathed as she too looked at it, having followed Hermione's gaze. "And decidedly Slytherin" she added with a good-natured wink. Hermione smiled in return, with both women knowing that any tension from their heated conversation earlier had dissipated.
Hermione returned her gaze to the green mask. It truly was Slytherin-like in design and Hermione could not help thinking that Draco would probably love it. Suddenly, a scene flashed across her mind's eye: her, entering the Great Hall in her beautiful green dress and mask. Draco, wondering who this vision in green was, walking over and asking her to dance. With this mask and dress, she was sure to catch his eye and then she might have the chance to see what it felt like to feel his flirtatious gaze and talk with him without the pressure and baggage of their history weighing like a dark cloud over them.
"I'll take it," she said to the shopkeeper.
XXXXX
Tired from their shopping, the two witches headed to the Three Broomsticks for some butterbeer. Ginny nudged Hermione as they entered the pub, drawing her attention to the group of Slytherin students crowded around a table in the back corner. With many Hogwarts students in Hogsmeade shopping for the upcoming ball like Hermione and Ginny were, the pub was quite crowded and the two had no choice but to follow Madame Rosmerta to the small table next to the Slytherins'.
"Well well well, look who it is," Pansy crooned as they sat down. "Two of our great Gryffindor war heroes."
To Hermione's surprise, Draco rolled his eyes at his housemate's remark. To her even greater surprise, her stomach fluttered when he did.
"Hello Pansy," Ginny said evenly, before turning squarely back to Hermione, clearly dismissing the Slytherin witch.
The next while passed uneventfully, until Ginny excused herself to go to the washroom. At Ginny's departure, Pansy turned back to Hermione with a wicked grin on her face. "So, Hermione, I hear that you and Weaselbee are a couple no more."
Hermione raised her chin and returned Pansy's gaze, noticing in her peripheral vision that Draco was watching the exchange closely, his brow puckered. "You heard correctly, Pansy," Hermione responded calmly.
"What, you got bored after the 7-year chase ended, or did he finally realize that you're an insufferable know-it-all?" Pansy snapped back, grinning wickedly.
Before Hermione had a chance to respond, Draco had jumped to her defense, "Pansy! Aren't you bored of this grade school bickering after 7 years, or are you an insufferable schoolyard bully still?"
Pansy's jaw dropped in response. To Hermione's surprise, several of the other Slytherins seemed to be avoiding Pansy's gaze. "Wow Draco, I didn't know you were hoping to take Weaselbee's place" the Slytherin witch hissed in return.
Hermione's stomach tightened as she waited for his response. Suddenly, he seemed to be looking everywhere but at her. There was a moment of silence before, looking at Pansy, he snapped back: "Just because I want to put this bloody war behind us doesn't mean I want to date her. I have no interest in doing that. Things don't change that quickly. I would like us all to move on from our grade school selves though, is that too much to ask?"
Before she could hear Pansy's response, Hermione saw Ginny returning from the bathroom and quickly got up from her seat to meet her at the door, welcoming the excuse to exit the scene in a semi-dignified manner. Once they had paid and made their way outside, Hermione let out a huge breath she didn't realize she had been holding.
"Malfoy not joining in Pansy's mockery, that's huge!" Ginny said as they began their trek back to Hogwarts. She was clearly unaware of what had transpired while she was in the bathroom. "I'm telling you, I really think he likes you!"
"Things don't change that quickly," Hermione replied sullenly.