I'm going to try and update again tonight, so, stay tuned!
I did say that THE chapter was going to happen somewhere from Ch. 10 - Ch. 13, and this is Ch. 9 so... If you came to this chapter for threesomes, you're going to be disappointed. This is more of a filler chapter, the calm before the storm, so to speak.
In addition, I love all of the reviews, but if you're not a fan of Blaise or just menage a trois/threesome couples/stories in general, then this might not be the story for you. Dramionaise is going to be end game. I'm not trying to put anyone off of the story, but the warnings were there. I just don't want anyone getting their hopes up for something that isn't going to happen. I only have one OT3 guys, and this is it. This story is my OT3 baby.
Disclaimer: I Own Nothing
"…and where is Ron?"
Harry rolled his eyes, throwing his bag onto the table.
"He's caught up with Lavender, for the moment. Besides, it doesn't matter, anyway. I can always fill him in later," Harry answered.
Hermione sighed, reluctantly pulling out a chair and sitting down. Harry had said that it was important and she had believed him. However, she was starting to suspect as to what this meeting was about and if she was right, which she hoped to Merlin that she wasn't, she was going to be highly irritated.
Harry could easily guess as to what she was thinking, so he decided to just dive right into it…
"The necklace that Katie Bell had was meant for-."
"Oh, for Godric's sake, Harry!"
"Just hear me out," he snapped.
Hermione leaned back in her chair with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest, staring him down. She reluctantly decided to listen, his tone holding no room for argument at the moment. Harry was determined to make her see reason…
"Remember Borgin and Burkes?"
"Yes," Hermione answered with a sigh.
She remembered it all too well actually. It was the moment that Harry had been convinced that Malfoy was officially one of them now, a Death Eater, like his father.
"It was definitely an initiation of sorts, I'm certain of it now. Think about it, what's the biggest threat to Voldemort?"
"You," Hermione answered without hesitation.
"…and who else?"
"Dumbledore," Hermione answered.
"Exactly! The main thing standing in between Voldemort and total control of Hogwarts and the Ministry is Dumbledore. If he was taken care of, if Dumbledore was no longer a threat, one of Voldemort's biggest obstacles would be gone…"
Harry reached into his bag, pulling out a book and flipping it open. Hermione hesitantly took it from his outstretched hand.
"I knew that necklace looked familiar, Hermione. Four years ago, I mistakenly went to Borgin and Burkes instead of Diagon Alley. The label on it said that it was cursed and that it had claimed the lives of nineteen, nineteen Muggle owners. I talked to Katie…"
"Is she feeling better?"
"Much. She said that she didn't remember how she acquired the necklace, only that she needed to take it to Professor Dumbledore."
Hermione glanced up, an uneasy feeling settling in her stomach. She had heard that it was meant for Dumbledore, but the fact that Katie had clearly been Imperiused to deliver it to him specifically…
"It's not a coincidence, Hermione. It just can't be. What better way to infiltrate the school than to start turning students into Death Eaters? We both know that if we had to guess the first prospect…"
"…it would be Malfoy," Hermione quietly finished.
"Voldemort isn't going to just let Malfoy glide through the ranks, no matter what his last name is. Even more so now that his father was caught at the Department of Mysteries. He's going to test him somehow and I'm willing to bet that taking care of Dumbledore is it."
Once the incident with the necklace was factored in, it did make sense, and it wasn't even a stretch. Hermione sighed, putting the book down.
"So what do you plan to do? Surely, you aren't going to follow him forever…"
"What else can I do, Hermione? Besides, it won't be forever. It'll just be long enough to be proven right. I just need to get enough evidence, something, anything…"
Hermione heaved another sigh, a rather heavy one this time.
"Harry, I've said this before, and I'll say it again. This isn't safe. Especially now with the whole thing with the necklace. If what you're saying is true, then he's already made the first attempt on his life. How do you see that going over, you getting in the way?"
"I don't care, Hermione. I'm not just going to sit back and do nothing," Harry hissed, frustrated that she didn't appear to be fulling grasping what was at stake.
"Don't give me that look, Harry Potter. I'm just trying to find a way of doing this without you getting yourself killed," she replied.
Harry stood up, grabbing his belongings.
"You just leave that to me," he said, leaving Hermione behind with a bundle of nerves to deal with.
Hermione walked out of class, eyebrows furrowed in confusion as Malfoy walked ahead of her, disappearing into the crowd. Ron and Harry were a ways behind her, locked in conversation. She slowed her pace as Ginny pushed herself away from the wall, falling into step beside Hermione with a grin.
She noticed the forlorn look on the other witch's face.
"Why the long face?"
Hermione lightly shook her head, fingers curling around the strap of her bag.
"Class was…odd today," was Hermione's reply.
Ginny chuckled.
"How so?"
Hermione stopped with a slight scoff, disbelief lacing the action. She shook her head again, curls flying around her face.
"Malfoy didn't say one word to me throughout the entire class," Hermione wondered.
Ginny wasn't following.
"That's…bad?"
"Ginny, it was more than that. He didn't even acknowledge my existence, it's like I wasn't even there."
"Hermione…that's a good thing," Ginny said with a chuckle as if she were talking to a child.
"If you had told me that at the beginning of the year, I would have wholeheartedly agreed. Not so much now…"
"Care to explain?"
"Ginny, he's been a complete tosser since school began…"
Hermione definitely wasn't going to go into detail as to why. As far as her friends knew, he was just being his normal awful self, per usual.
"…now, all of a sudden, I'm not even here? It's like he did a complete one-eighty overnight. That definitely warrants some concern, wouldn't you agree?"
Ginny did reluctantly have to agree with Hermione. It was very uncharacteristic of him…
"There's this old saying, Hermione. It goes along the lines of; don't look a gift horse in the mouth. If Malfoy is giving you some reprieve, snatch it up. Be grateful that the git has something else on his mind for once," Ginny replied.
Hermione exhaled, finding logic in Ginny's advice. Was she actually complaining that Malfoy wasn't verbally torturing her? Still, it wasn't like him, but then again, maybe Ginny was right.
If what Harry said was true, then Malfoy would have a lot on his mind for the moment. His first attempt on Dumbledore's life was a failure and Hermione imagined that Malfoy had some sort of time limit.
Hermione threw her hands up, conceding.
"You're right. I should take advantage of this breather that I've been unexpectedly given," Hermione said.
"Exactly! Go make out with your…" Ginny leaned in, whispering "…secret lover."
Hermione chuckled, and Ginny looked around, satisfied the corridor had thinned out some, meaning that no one was within listening range.
"So…how are things with him?"
Hermione sighed, clutching her bag even tighter. Ginny was able to read the older girl like an open book.
"I take it that there's a long story behind that look," Ginny guessed.
Hermione nodded before suddenly glancing around and grabbing Ginny's arm.
"Let's go to the lake…"
Ginny scoffed in a mixture of disgust and disbelief.
"I can't believe he said that to you. I can't believe that he said any of that to you. What I find even more disbelieving is that you're actually encouraging your boy toy to reconcile with this jerk!"
Hermione sighed, leaning against the tree. She had told Ginny everything, minus the 'who' part of course, as well as certain details that would make the 'who' quite obvious. Ginny was currently pacing, hair flying behind her like a flame, matching her anger.
"I already told you…"
"Yes, I know!"
Ginny shook her head at Hermione in disbelief.
"I get it, the whole friendship thing, believe me. I understand that they've been friends for a really long time, and I get that you're new to the equation, but Hermione… At what point do you draw the line? At what point has the line been crossed?"
Ginny faced Hermione now, hands on her hips as she gazed at her friend.
Hermione briefly closed her eyes.
"I already told you…it's so complicated… He and I…it isn't going to last. You were right… He's a Slytherin and right now, that actually equates to possible danger. I just don't agree with throwing away a friendship for something that isn't permanent, anyway. Both he and I know that we have an expiration date," Hermione explained.
Ginny sighed, shoulders slumping.
"This is so tragic. Never mind the fact that you won't tell me who it is, it's just sad. To make matters worse, his friend-," Ginny suddenly cut herself off.
Ginny's eyes widened as everything Hermione told her began to replay in her head.
Hermione frowned in confusion, staring at Ginny as the younger witch paused.
"What?"
"Dear Godric, how did I miss this? How did you miss this?"
Hermione's confusion grew and she pushed away from the tree, walking over to her.
"Ginny…what are you on about?"
Ginny slowly looked up at Hermione with a small, disbelieving smile.
"He's jealous…"
"Well, I already told you that I figured as much," Hermione replied.
"No, not of you. He's jealous of your lover," Ginny slowly explained, as if speaking to a child.
"…what?"
"He likes you."
"Who?"
"The friend."
"The friend?"
Malfoy? In what world would that ever be possible? Hermione held her hands out, laughing humorlessly in disbelief.
"Gin…I think you're…way, way off the mark here…"
Ginny spread her arms out.
"Hermione…everything you just told me makes so much sense now. It's one of two things. He's either been harboring some secret crush on you all these years or…"
Hermione was very interested to hear the 'or' because she found that first option incredibly hard to believe.
"…walking in on the two of you made him see you in an entirely new light. Like you said, he's never really been fond of you. I'm willing to bet that he's never even thought of you as…a female. Someone of the opposite sex who has needs and desires, just like him…"
Hermione crossed her arms over her chest, listening in interest despite how laughable it was, considering who they were talking about here. Ginny seemed to be on a roll…
Ginny began to pace.
"…if anything, all this time he's seen you as an asexual being. Maybe because it never crossed his mind? Or maybe because he would have rather not thought of you that way because of his distaste of you? Who knows…? Either way, him finding you in such a compromising position -and with his best friend, no less! - has forced him to consider things he's never thought about…"
"…not only are you now a sexual being in his mind, but a sexual being who's been shagging his best friend. That forces him to consider a number of things. One, either his best friend has awful taste or you're a really good bed fellow. He's clearly going to throw the first option out because it's his best friend! Therefore, he has to conclude that you know what you're doing in the bedroom…
"…not only that, but his best friend clearly finds you desirable. This, now, forces him to take a second look, a really good look at you, and he sees what his best friend sees. This makes him angry. Why does this make him angry? He's angry for a number of reasons…
Ginny continued.
"He's angry because despite how much he may dislike you, he now finds himself attracted to you and must admit to it. Secondly, he's angry because he knows that just because you dislike someone, doesn't mean you can't still hook up with them. You don't have to like someone in order to shag them… He's realizing his missed opportunity here. Even worse, this…," Ginny gestured to Hermione "…gem was right in front of him all along, and he didn't realize it. Now, why is this worse? I'll tell you…"
"This is the icing on the cake because his best friend noticed before he did. His best friend realized what was in front of them this entire time before he did. His best friend got to you first and he's incredibly bitter about it," Ginny finished with a proud smirk.
Hermione stared at Ginny in complete shock, mouth parted as she processed all of this. It made…sense. Oddly enough, it actually made sense, and a lot of it. However, there was one problem with this whole theory… It was Malfoy! If Ginny knew who they were talking about here, she was sure that the girl would be laughing at her theory.
Malfoy hated Hermione with a passion, and the feeling was more than mutual. He'd been so despicable towards Hermione as of late, that she could honestly say she hated him. Everything he had done and said to her had been nothing but vile and cruel, one reason standing out above the rest.
Hermione's cheeks began to grow warmer as she recalled the incident in Blaise's bedroom. To think, the lengths he had gone to that day just to prove a point, and prove a point he did. She had naively thought that if you disliked someone, it just wasn't possible to be attracted to them. It had made sense in her mind.
However, as Ginny had pointed out today, you didn't need to like someone in order to shag them. Or in Hermione's case, to be attracted to them. She hated Malfoy because he did indeed prove his point that she wasn't any better than the rest. She had been able to say that she was probably the only girl in school who didn't find him attractive, but now, that was no longer true.
Malfoy was a very good looking young man, she was loathed to admit. However, that didn't make him any less despicable. She hated him, and he hated her. There was nothing more to it…
"I appreciate your…detective work, Gin, but I'm going to have to disagree. It's just not possible," Hermione said with a shrug.
Ginny's smirk grew as she slowly walked towards Hermione.
"You watch and see, Ms. Granger. Within a month's time, those two are going to be fighting over you…"
She walked past Hermione, pausing to look over her shoulder, chuckling.
"…or conspiring to share you."
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