February 14th, 1994 – Valentine's Day 3rd Year

It had been over two years of Hermione asking Draco to be her Valentine, and she was extremely hopeful that he'd finally accept. It had been devastating the first time the Malfoy heir had refused her, and heartbreaking the second time. Hermione had cried herself to sleep on both occasions, telling herself that he was just young and immature… one day he'd wake up.

This year had felt different because Draco himself was different. Less… boyish? Hermione felt hopeful that his recent change in appearance and demeanour was indicative of a change of heart as well. He'd been less rude to her, for one. He also hadn't called her a mud blood once this year, which was hopefully a sign that he'd never believed it in the first place…

In their first year, she'd left her proposal in front of the Slytherin common room and waited for him to fetch it. Draco had simply thrown her card and box of chocolates in the rubbish bin and hadn't acknowledged it. His indifference had been her first brush with heartbreak. And if that had been her first brush, then her second year Valentine proposal had been her first all-encompassing experience with it.

She'd sent him an owl at breakfast the second time, with hopes that a more 'public' display of her affection would be met with the inability to ignore her. It had been; however Hermione had not counted for his ability to publicly embarrass her. Draco had taken her note with the attached hand-made bracelet and passed them around to all his friends at their table in the Great Hall.

"Hey Granger!" Pansy Parkinson had mockingly shouted from across the Hall, which had caused Hermione to instantly redden, having seen the scene play out in front of her. She ignored the holler.

"I'll be your Valentine, if you promise to keep your filthy hands away from me!" the girl shouted again and was met with roars of laughter coming from the Slytherin table—Draco's included.

Hermione bursted into tears as she bolted out of the Great Hall then, followed by Harry and Ron who were shouting curses at Parkinson and the rest of the table for their mockery. It had been a bloody scene.

Things would be different this time around. She wouldn't leave things for him to find or send him an owl. Hermione would take the Gryffindor route and meet with him face-to-face. No hiding, no avoiding. Draco would deal with her and that was that.

She'd planned it all out. Hermione would wait for him outside the locker room where he'd be returning from Quidditch practice. She'd decided to still go with a card, but she wrote much less in it this time, a simple "Be my Valentine?" hopefully sufficing. The Gryffindor also decided to include a lucky charm (literally), as she'd charmed a horseshoe pin for him to wear during Quidditch or any examination, that wouldn't help him cheat in any way, but just afford him some luck if he was ever in a tricky situation. She'd gone to Flitwick with it and all, just to make sure it was OK.

As Hermione waited for him to exit the locker room, her nerves began to eat at her. She'd been planning this for some time, and while she wasn't totally hopeful, her optimism would always win out. Boys were supposed to be simple creatures…at the very least he should be flattered that she'd been so dedicated to winning him over or that she'd gotten him a gift. Everyone liked gifts. Right?

She'd been snapped out of her thoughts at the sounds of the boys beginning to emerge into the hallway. It was late and the area was barely lit. The smells of b.o. and cheap cologne were beginning to burn her nostrils, but Hermione was determined to wait it out if it meant speaking to Draco.

Finally spotting a head full of platinum coloured hair, Hermione's stomach fluttered. He seemed to be the last one out, and he was alone too, thank Merlin.

"Malfoy," she called, unable to contain her excitement.

He looked like he couldn't make out the person calling for him, but she quickly saw his expression change from confused to annoyed in a matter of seconds. She ignored it—telling herself that he would listen to what she had to say.

"What do you want Granger?" He spat.

Hermione tried to remain calm, but she was becoming increasingly nervous. She really did not want a repeat of last year.

She handed him the card, along with a small box (containing the charm). He hesitated, but slowly accepted both items.

"Happy Valentine's Day," she said breathily, "I know you may not want to be my Valentine, and that's alright," she said shyly, "but I'll keep asking in case you change your mind…"

He read through the card, and almost looked flattered but he quickly schooled his features.

"What's this?" Draco motioned his head to the small box.

Hermione gulped, "it's a lucky charm, I wanted you to have one in case you ever needed an extra bit of luck on your side. Professor Flitwick helped me with it, so he approved you wearing it even during examinations."

"Really?" he said excitedly, almost forgetting himself but then adding, "So Flitwick knows you fancy me?"

"Uhm, yes," she replied in a confused tone, "I sort of spend a lot of time with him outside class for extra credit and during his office hours to ask questions—he's almost like a good friend."

"So, a professor knows you fancy me? As in, me?" he said again, this time in a much angrier tone.

"Yes, Malfoy I—" she began, but was quickly cut off.

"That is unacceptable," Draco spat, "everyone in our year already knows, and now a professor does too. You really can't be bothered to spare me from any more embarrassment, can you?"

"I'm sorry but—"

"Just leave me alone Granger, please, I'll stop calling you names, and I'll tell my friends to stop too, just please… stop," he pleaded.

Hermione was dumbfounded. Usually, he would just give her verbal lashings and his friends would join in and she'd be humiliated. This was different. They were alone, he wasn't being particularly cruel to her—he just wanted her to leave him alone. Draco wanted nothing to do with her, how could she deny him of that? She didn't want to be some type of stalker or lovesick fool anymore. She'd given him her heart, and he was trying to give it back. He didn't want it.

Embarrassed by her apparent lack of social cues when it came to him, she simply said, "of course, I'm sorry for not having understood you sooner …"

"I don't know how much clearer I could have been," Draco countered, "but I appreciate you respecting my wishes, I'll keep my end of the bargain."

He didn't end up keeping his end of the bargain. His friends still continued to taunt and tease her for years. Draco himself had relaxed with it, but he knew Hermione still cared for him, so he didn't really try to enforce any kind of restrictions onto his fellow Slytherins.

Hermione had stopped openly pursuing the boy after their encounter, but her torch always burned for him. Always.


Present Day

Over a week had passed since the bathroom fiasco. Hermione was pleased with her willpower, but disappointed in his. She thought if she could leverage her body, maybe then he'd finally pay her some proper attention—but she'd misunderstood him yet again. Or Ginny had just been the worst friend in the world. Either way, she was back to square -8 and was doing the complete opposite of what she'd had planned for herself this year. To boot, Hermione's non-existent ego was in flames at the bottom of a rubbish bin in a landfill of biohazardous waste. What else was new?

At least the leaves outside were starting to change colours, and autumn was just around the corner. She could smell it—that damp leaf smell. It was unmistakable. No matter how shite life was in general, Hermione could count on her favourite season to raise her spirits.

It was Monday morning, and recently she'd been taking her breakfasts in the courtyard, so she was sat there alone. It was much quieter, and the sound of birds in the morning did something to her that she couldn't quite describe. It was the most peaceful she'd felt since the start of term—until Pansy Parkinson had come to disturb her.

"Granger," she'd called, "may I sit with you for a moment?"

Confused, and mostly curious, Hermione simply nodded. She didn't quite know what to say yet and she wanted to gauge Pansy's vibe before deciding how she would approach the situation.

"I wanted to apologize to you," Pansy said, actually sounding genuine.

"You what?" was all Hermione could reply. She was shocked. Pansy was like Draco with apologies—cheap.

"Please, just let me get this out," she half-pleaded, "it's hard enough as it is."

Hermione hid a smirk, but simply nodded. This would be good.

"I apologize for the way I spoke to you at the Three Broomsticks, and for the awful words I used against you, " she sighed, "I was so out of line and honestly unfair to you and Blaise."

"It's not an excuse, but I was trying to have Draco's back because I thought he fancied you," she continued, and the Gryffindor deflated at the 'thought he fancied you' part.

"I understand now that it was not my place, and I don't want there to be any hard feelings between us," Pansy concluded.

Hermione felt bad, but all she wanted to do was laugh. Not at Pansy, because in truth, she actually appreciated the apology as it seemed genuine enough. What was funny to her was just how crazy her life had become in such a short amount of time. Never in a million years could she have predicted Pansy Parkinson apologizing to her. No one ever had before.

"Can you at least say something?" Pansy breathed nervously, eyes darting around the courtyard, "Just please don't throw your pumpkin juice at me…"

Hermione couldn't help the giggle that escaped her this time. Pansy glared in response.

"Sorry, I'm not laughing at you—it's just the irony of it all. You guys spent years teasing and bullying me, and never apologized but you are now for something I nearly forgot about," Hermione said, adding, "I appreciate it nonetheless and I'm sorry for throwing my drink at you…"

Pansy's eyes went wide, clearly not expecting all of that. She looked… remorseful.

"I am sorry for that too," she offered, "I was young and stupid. You didn't deserve that."

Hermione was overcome with a wave of emotions then. It surprised her, how much she still cared about all of it deep down. It felt good to hear it finally being acknowledged.

"Thank you for saying that Pansy," Hermione smiled, "it means a lot to hear it."

Pansy looked uncomfortable then… like she'd been expecting some kind of retaliation or rudeness from Hermione. She must have dealt with a lot of shite from the Slytherin lads as well.

Hermione extended her hand out to Pansy, in an attempt to fully start over with the girl. She didn't want to hold on to the past, they were old enough to be civil with each other, at the very least.

"Clean slate?" Hermione asked, with a voice higher than she'd intended.

Pansy shook her hand without any hesitation and gave her a small smile before agreeing.

The two girls parted ways after this, both joining their respective first period classes. Hermione felt lighter for some reason as she began her lesson in Arithmancy, and as she sat through the lecture, she couldn't help but think that maybe things truly would be different this year.

If Pansy Parkinson could change…


Things needed to be settled, Pansy thought as she woke up for the 9th straight day without speaking to the blonde prat.

Ever since he'd interrupted her late-night chat with Theo and Blaise, Pansy and Draco had both been avoiding each other. People were already starting to talk about their "break-up", which was inconsequential to her, however it did mean that it was apparent to outsiders that they had not spoken in a while. The idea of other people talking about them bugged her. In the past, she liked the attention, as it distracted people from looking at her too closely and discovering things she'd rather stay hidden. Now, it was only making their spat feel even more serious.

As much as she tried to remain poised and unbothered, Pansy couldn't go another day without at least trying to squash their beef. She decided they'd speak that very morning, before going down to breakfast. Enough was enough.

After a quick shower and even quicker makeup application, she'd gotten dressed and made her way to the entrance of the boys' dormitories. He typically took longer in the morning fixing his hair, and today was no different. Pansy watched as Theo, Blaise, Greg, Vince, and several other boys in her year made their way down, without Draco. When she was sure most of the other Slytherin boys had gone down, she made her way up to the dorm he shared with Blaise and Theo.

With a knock to signify there was someone at the door, she barged right in without any care for what he could be doing.

Draco had been naked, of course.

Fresh out of the shower, with nothing but a mere towel wrapped around him, sat Draco atop his recently made bed. He always made his bed as soon as he woke up, it had been something that always impressed Pansy—even after they'd gotten up to naughty things in it, he always made the bed afterwards.

After a few seconds of her standing in the doorway, she walked in and closed the door behind her with a bit of strength. The abrupt noise made Draco look up at her with an annoyed expression then, as if he hadn't noticed her sooner. Prick.

"Draco," she let out a shaky breath, "this whole ignoring each other thing… it's getting old now."

He cocked his head but kept his expression blank. He was putting in more effort than usual to be unreadable—his knew his audience.

"How so? I'm doing just fine," Draco said nonchalantly.

"Oh, come off it, I've seen you by yourself all week—"

"You know what's getting old?" he interjected, "you sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong," he finished, with a passive aggressive tone.

"I had good intentions…" Pansy started, but was quickly silenced by her blonde counterpart once more.

"I don't think Blaise or Granger would agree," he stood then, and unabashedly began to change into his uniform. Pansy looked away, despite having seen it all before.

"I don't care what Blaise and Granger think, I did it for you," she snapped, "we both know Zabini never stood a chance with you in the mix."

"Who asked though? Seriously, I didn't need you to try and play matchmaker while they went on an innocent lunch date," he countered, as he buttoned his pants.

"Innocent my arse! You didn't see him looking at her!"

"I don't care how he looked at her Pans, it's for her to decide what she wants, not for you or me to decide for her," Draco said as he finished dressing.

He had a point, she supposed. It was one thing for Pansy to pull Hermione for a private chat and simply give her advice. It was another for her to publicly embarrass Hermione in front of Blaise and Potter. It had been cruel, and cruelty was something she struggled with as it had been her defense mechanism for a long time. But Granger had never done anything to really deserve her cruelty… so maybe it was time for her to grow up and take accountability. At least, be a somewhat better person to people who deserved it.

Maybe Ginny would think of her as a better person too.

Pansy sighed, "you're right Draco. I'm sorry."

For the first time in a long time, he looked surprised. 'Gotcha!' she thought to herself.

"I beg your pardon?" he said, genuinely confused. Pansy stifled a laugh… was it that surprising that she was apologizing? Meh, probably.

"I said," she repeated, "I'm sorry."

"What for?" he raised a brow.

So, he was going to milk this, great.

"For how I treated Granger and Blaise, for involving myself in things when I shouldn't and for taking so long to realize," she listed, "oh, and for ignoring you all week."

He smirked at this, and she almost threw something at him. Arrogant prat.

"I ignored you too," Draco offered, "so I am sorry as well… and apology accepted."

Pansy finally smiled, "likewise."

He approached her then and pulled her in for a hug.

"You kind of deserved me ignoring you though," he said into her hair.

She pulled back and lightly slapped his chest, "git!"

Draco chuckled and suddenly life felt normal to Pansy again. Somewhat.

She still had one more thing she wanted to do.

"Draco," she said in a more serious tone, "I want to speak to Granger as well and apologize."

He looked taken aback once again, and this time offered her a small smile.

"That's nice of you Pans," the blonde said as he picked up his book bag and began walking towards the door.

"Yeah," she looked down, "has she said anything to you about me?"

"Uhm, not since that day," it was his turn to look down, "we haven't really spoken this past week…"

"WHAT?" she nearly shouted, and joined him on his way down, "what do you mean?"

"Well, it's a long story… but long story short, I walked in on her naked while she was using the prefects' bathroom and she basically gave me a preview—her words—of what was to come?" he took a deep breath, "I don't know what she meant by it, but then she kissed my jaw and left me standing there like the absolute wanker that I am."

"Okay and then? Did you chase her? Did you send her an owl or shag her into her mattress—or yours?" Pansy asked excitedly.

"Uhm, not exactly," Draco answered in an uncharacteristically nervous tone, "I sort of haven't done or said anything to her since."

"Oh," was all she could say.

"I just didn't know where to go from there," he said, "I've never felt this way before, and I don't know what to do or how to approach her."

"You're an idiot," Pansy shook her head, "she has fancied you from the moment she laid her eyes on you."

"So?"

"Sooooo," she continued, "you need to go find your bollocks, which you probably left in the prefects' bathroom and make a bloody effort!"

He frowned.

"Don't look at me like that," she clicked her tongue, "the poor girl has been chasing you for years, it's your turn to put in the work Draco.

"Okay help me come up with ideas on how to woo her, or just even talk to me," he pleaded as they arrived at the entrance of the Great Hall.

"Maybe start with an owl? At least acknowledge that you remember she exists, the poor girl gave you a naked preview and you haven't spoken to her since. She probably feels rejected by you, again," Pansy argued.

"I hate it when you're right," he scoffed.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Aren't you coming inside?" he asked, noticing how she had begun walking towards the courtyard.

"I have an apology to give, and Ms. Granger has been taking her breakfasts in the courtyard these days, oblivious man," Pansy smirked.

"Oh, come off it, you only noticed because the she-weasel has been joining her too," he scoffed again.

This time she flipped him the bird and disregarded his last comment… even if it was true.


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