A/N: You will find that this does not always stick to the books or the movies. Any hate in the comments will be blocked.
Disclaimer: As much as I would love to, I do not own any of the characters or anything that comes from the story.
This is a possible Dramione Fanfiction.
During holiday periods I don't know if I will be posting that often but let me know what you would like to see in the story or what you would like me to change and I will do my best to follow your requests.
This story is rated M. You are welcome to leave feedback, review or request.
Enjoy!
CHAPTER 4. SETTLING IN AGAIN
Thursday, September 4th
Hermione walked into the great hall and sank onto the bench next to Ron.
"Morning," said Harry.
"Morning," Hermione replied, stifling a yawn. She poured herself a glass of orange juice and smiled at Harry, who was pouring milk into a bowl. "Slept well?" she asked.
"Not enough, I'm exhausted," replied Harry pouring the hot chocolate powder into his bowl of milk.
"Same," replied Hermione. Ron yawned.
"Pass me the milk, will you 'Mione," he asked. Hermione handed the milk over to him and he poured some into a bowl on top of his cereal. Hermione stretched and grabbed a plate.
"Thank god the week is nearly over," sighed Harry.
"We already have so much homework," whined Ron yawning.
"I know, I stayed up all night finishing the potions essay for tomorrow," replied Hermione. Harry groaned. Ron stared at Hermione.
"I haven't started that yet," added Harry. Ron looked from Harry to Hermione.
"What essay?" Ron asked in a quiet voice. Hermione winced.
"Snape set us an essay," explained Harry.
"We had to summarise the causes and effects of polyjuice potions," added Hermione with a shudder. Harry and Ron grinned at each other.
"You mean how you can grow ears and a tail?" asked Ron, grinning. Hermione shoved Ron gently.
"Shove off Ron!" exclaimed Hermione while grinning. The three of them laughed and continued eating their breakfast. Lavender bounced up to their table and Hermione moved over so that she could sit down.
"Hi guys!" she exclaimed and kissed Ron on the cheek.
"Hey," replied Harry and Hermione.
"Hi, Lav Lav," replied Ron, hugging her. Hermione looked at Harry and pulled a face, making Harry grin.
"What homework did we have for today?" Harry asked, pouring himself a glass of pumpkin juice.
"History of Magic and Ancient Runes," Hermione replied. Harry groaned. "Did you forget?"
"No no I just don't want two hours of History," replied Harry sighing. Hermione smiled at Harry. Harry smiled back and looked away. Pouring herself a glass of pumpkin juice Hermione studied Harry's saddened face.
"Things with Cho not going well?" Hermione asked tenderly. Harry shook his head and tried to smile, but Hermione could see that he was sad.
"It's pretty much over," he answered shrugging.
"Oh," replied Hermione quietly.
"It's fine," added Harry, smiling at her feebly. Hermione looked at her watch. 7:53 am.
"We should probably get to class," said Hermione, getting up and grabbing her bag. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Lavender made their way to charms class.
Harry Ron and Hermione entered the great hall for lunch when Ginny called them over. The three of them slumped down on the bench.
"Jesus you three look awful," noted Parvati.
"Especially Ron," giggled Ginny. "You look like Christmas has been cancelled." Ron stuck his tongue out at Ginny.
"I'm tired, ok," he replied drily.
"We all are," sighed Hermione. She spotted Fay and Lucie and waved them over.
"School is horrid," moaned Lucie, slumping down in front of Hermione. Ginny grinned.
"Come on Lucie, it can't be that bad," she said, nudging Lucie.
"You'll see next year," added Fay, sighing. Ginny stuck her tongue out at Fay.
"When do you finish?" Ginny asked Hermione.
"4:00, what about you?" Hermione replied.
"5:00" replied Ginny, sighing. They finished eating and the two girls headed out into the grounds. They sat down next to a big oak tree and looked around.
"I honestly missed it here," notes Hermione, leaning back against the oak.
"Same," added Ginny leaning back as well. Looking around Hermione spotted Michael Corner, along with a couple of other Ravenclaw students, looking their way.
"Michael is looking this way," she muttered to Ginny who rolled her eyes and put her head in her hands.
"Luna says he wants to ask me out again," Ginny hissed back, pulling a face. Hermione smiled at her friend reassuringly. She looked over at Michael again. He got up and started heading across the grounds towards them.
"Gin, he's heading this way," warned Hermione. An alarmed look crossed Ginny's face as she stood up abruptly.
"Hermione move!" she hissed, grabbing her bag and pulling at her friend's arm. Hermione scrambled up and the two girls hurried inside. Ginny sighed and lent against the wall. "I know I shouldn't avoid him like this but I don't want to have to deal with this the first week back," groaned Ginny. Hermione smiled at her friend.
"You don't want him trailing after you either," added Hermione.
"I kno-"
"Ginny!" called Michael. The girls shared a look and both took off running. They ran up the stairs and all the way to the Gryffindor common room.
"Mandrake mandragora," gasped Ginny and the portrait swung open. The two girls clambered through the hole and Ginny pulled the portrait shut with a snap. They let out a breath of relief and made their way to the sofa. Ginny practically fell onto the sofa and Hermione sat down next to her. The girls looked at each other and burst out laughing.
"Wow, Ginny, you're really good at talking to boys," teased Hermione, grinning.
"I know, I know, I just didn't know what to say ok," groaned Ginny. "I mean how would the conversation have gone?" giggling "He would have said something like 'Hi Ginny, I know I moved on to Cho really fast but now that she's turned me down for Harry again I'm back!'" Ginny said, sighing. She slumped back looking upset.
"Not the best conservation," whispered Hermione. She smiled at Ginny who tried to smile back.
"It's not fair," replied Ginny, sighing.
"I know," replied Hermione quietly. The two girls were silent for a while.
"What am I doing wrong, Hermione?" Ginny asked quietly.
"Nothing Gin ok," replied Hermione. She looked over at her best friend and sighed. She felt bad seeing her friend like this and not being able to do anything. Ginny turned to look at Hermione.
"I just, I don't understand," she said with tears in her eyes. "What does she have that's better than me?" Hermione sighed and Ginny slumped back. She grabbed her friend's hand and looked into her eyes.
"She is not better than you, ok Gin? You are so pretty, so smart, so much better than her, ok?" Hermione explained. Ginny looked at her tearing up again.
"You're just saying that to make me feel good about myself," said Ginny sniffing.
"No I'm not Gin," replied Hermione. Ginny sighed so Hermione kept talking. "Besides I spoke to Harry this morning and things aren't going well with Cho."
"Really?" Ginny asked. Hermione nodded.
"And honestly I don't think Harry wants to continue anything with her at this point," added Hermione. Ginny smiled and wiped her eyes.
"Are you sure?" Ginny asked in a small voice.
"Pretty sure," replied Hermione, smiling. Ginny smiled back and wiped her tears away.
"I guess we'll see how things go," she replied. The two girls smiled at each other. "And I'll talk to Michael next time I see him," she said, pulling a face. Hermione grinned at her. She checked her watch.
"We need to go, it's nearly 1:00 pm," said Hermione. The two girls got up and headed out of the common room. The girls hugged and Hermione hurried to History of Magic.
"There you are," said Ron when Hermione sat next to him.
"Where were you?" asked Harry leaning backwards on his chair.
"Common room with Ginny," replied Hermione, smiling.
"What were you doing there?" smirked Ron.
"Hiding from Michael Corner," replied Hermione shrugging. Ron scowled.
"What did he want?" he grumbled, sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms.
"He was trying to ask Ginny out again," muttered Hermione, looking at Harry's face. She saw his smile slip and his eyes sadden.
"Oh," he said quietly.
"I don't like that guy," grumbled Ron. Hermione shrugged.
"Who does?" she answered. Harry bent his head trying to hide the fact that he was upset.
"What did she say?" Ron asked.
"Nothing," Hermione replied simply. Harry and Ron looked at her with puzzled looks.
"She can't say nothing" enquired Ron.
"Well, he didn't actually ask her," replied Hermione.
"What do you mean?'' asked Harry, leaning back on his chair again.
"He didn't get the chance to ask her," answered Hermione. The two boys still looked confused. "Luna told Ginny she heard he wants to ask her out so she's avoiding him," continued Hermione. Ron smirked.
"Bet he didn't get the hint," he said, chuckling. Hermione grinned.
"Ginny's going to tell him it's not going to happen," added Hermione looking over at Harry. Harry raised his eyebrows.
"So she doesn't want to be with him?" Harry asked.
"Nope," replied Hermione, smiling. Ron snickered.
"Who would?" Ron muttered. Harry and Hermione grinned. Mr Binns glided into the class and Harry sat back.
"Good afternoon class," droaned Mr Binns as he floated to the board. Hermione heard Harry groan and Ron banged his head lightly on the desk next to her.
"This is going to be a long two hours," Ron muttered. Hermione rolled her eyes and took out her book. Mr Binns was droaning on about this year's program and Hermione let out a sigh.
"He told us about the program yesterday," she whispered to Ron who was playing with his quill.
"Who cares, it's boring," he muttered. Harry chuckled in front of them and Hermione smiled. She started flicking through her book in an absent-minded manner, her mind drifting away from what Mr Binns was explaining.
Hermione looked at her watch and sighed. 2:30 pm. Half an hour to go before the end of class. She looked around the room. The afternoon sun was streaming through the big window, brightening the room. Lavender was at the front braiding Parvati's hair, and Dean and Seamus were playing a card game. She chuckled when she saw Lucie fast asleep next to Fay. Hermione and Fay caught each other's gaze and Fay rolled her eyes at Lucie making Hermione grin. Harry was playing with his quill while Neville was drawing plants. Hermione looked at Ron, who was fast asleep next to her. She rolled her eyes and took out her Ancient Runes book. She opened it up to the page that they had to translate for next week and started trying to decrypt it. She had already started decoding the text in class on Tuesday, but apart from figuring out the theme of the text, which was disappearing magic, she hadn't been able to decrypt much else. After translating a couple of sentences Hermione stopped and put the book away. She looked at her watch. Five more minutes. She sighed and looked out the window, losing herself in the afternoon scenery of the grounds.
4:00 pm. Harry, Ron, and Hermione set off to the Gryffindor common room to drop off some of their books. They then set off to the grounds to get some fresh air. They sat down near an oak tree and started on their homework. Ron and Harry took out their potions books and Hermione took out her Ancient Runes book and continued decrypting the text. The three of them worked for an hour and were then joined by Ginny. Ginny slumped down next to Ron and groaned.
"Snape was in such an awful mood," Ginny moaned, taking her bag off.
"What happened?" asked Ron, pushing his potions book aside.
"He set us a huge essay," explained Ginny, taking her potions book out. "On the power of love potions," she added. Ron snickered.
"That can't be that bad, can it, Gin?" asked Harry, grinning. Hermione smiled too. Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Try writing 3000 words about love potions," added Ginny, pulling a face at Harry.
"3000 words?" asked Hermione, shocked.
"Yep," replied Ginny, pulling a face.
"Wow," said Ron, sitting back against the tree.
"When is it for?" Harry asked, resting his chin on his hands.
"Monday," Ginny replied, shutting her eyes. Harry, Ron, and Hermione groaned in unison.
"Good luck," Hermione said, smiling encouragingly.
"Yeah, you're gonna need it," added Ron, pulling a face.
"If there's anyth-" started Harry.
"Ginny, can I talk to you," interrupted Michael Corner, walking up to the four of them.
Hermione and Ginny shared a look.
"Uh sure Michael," replied Ginny gingerly getting up. She gave Hermione a panicked look but she nodded at her. Harry, Ron, and Hermione watched Ginny walk away.
"At least she's getting it over with," said Hermione, picking up her book again. She looked over at the two boys; Harry looked worried and Ron looked angry. "Ron it's ok no need to get this angry."
"I don't like him," muttered Ron. Hermione sighed.
"Ron she can take care of herself, don't worry about her," added Hermione.
"Besides she's not getting back together with him," added Harry. "Right?" He added looking at Hermione. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"She doesn't want to be with him," she answered, picking up her quill. "You two should work on that potions essay," she added without looking up. Ron sighed and picked up her quill. Hermione looked at Harry through her lashes and saw he was looking worriedly towards Ginny. She smiled to herself a little. "Harry there's no need to worry, ok, she knows what she's doing," Harry looked at Hermione, with a small smile. She smiled back at him and he sighed picking up his quill. A few minutes later Ginny came bouncing back.
"All done!" she exclaimed, sitting down happily. The trio looked up from their work. Harry and Ron looked relieved and Hermione grinned at Ginny.
"How did it go?" she asked. Ginny pulled a face.
"Not too good but at least it's over with," she started. "I mean he's a bit upset but he got the message," she explained. Hermione smiled encouragingly.
"So you don't want to be with him?" Harry asked. Ginny rolled her eyes and Hermione grinned.
"Of course not!" Ginny replied giggling.
"Why would she?" Ron added snickering. Harry, Hermione, and Ginny grinned. The four of them picked up their books and quills and got back to their homework.
Hermione sighed. She shut her Ancient Runes book, put her quill down and stretched.
"What time is it?" asked Ginny, putting down her essay. Hermione looked at her watch.
"6:57 pm," she replied. Harry and Ron shut their Ancient Runes books.
"We should go to dinner," suggested Ron. Hermione and Ginny grinned.
"I'm starving," exclaimed Ginny. Hermione giggled. The four of them ran up to the Gryffindor common room and put down their bags. They then headed down to the great hall.
"Ron over here!" called Lavender as the four of them walked into the great hall. Ron hugged Lavender and they all sat down. "Where have you been?" She asked, pouting. "I've hardly seen you today."
"We were doing homework outside," Ron explained.
"Oh great!" exclaimed Lavender. "Have you finished the transfiguration homework?" Ron pulled a face.
"No. I finished Snape's essay for tomorrow and I started decrypting the Ancient Runes text," he explained.
"What about the rest of you?" Lavender asked, smiling.
"I did the same as Ron," explained Harry.
"I finished the Ancient Runes text," added Hermione.
"And I started the lovely essay Snape set us about love potions," added Ginny with a grimace.
"Ouch," noted Lavender.
"3000 words" added Ginny.
"Good luck Ginny," said Lucie smiling. Ginny grinned.
"It's ok, I only need 400 more words," she explained. They finished eating and headed up to Gryffindor tower. Hermione gathered her books and went to the Head Boy and Girl common room. She opened the balcony door and sat at her desk. The soft breeze billowing into the room. She tidied her desk and put her books on the shelf.
"Long time no see," Draco Malfoy's cool voice smirked. Hermione turned around to see Draco leaning against the door smirking at her.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" she replied dryly. Draco chuckled.
"Nothing Granger," he smirked. Hermione sighed and opened her charms book. She just had a few more spells to study and then all her homework for the week would be finished. She heard Draco walk past her and felt her body tense up. She turned her head slightly to look at him. He was on the balcony with his back turned to her. She couldn't see his face but she noticed something was bothering him. Hermione frowned a little and shut her book. She looked at Draco one more time.
'I wonder what he's thinking,' Hermione thought to herself. She picked up her bag and headed to the Gryffindor common room.
