6.
HARRY POTTER
Hermione didn't meet Malfoy alone for weeks. The group's failed attempt at fixing the Room of Hidden Things had set her back to the beginning. She poured over her notes and books often, trying to learn all there was to know about Ashwinders, so much so that it felt like the hunt for Horcruxes all over again. She understood the theory, but in practice, their approach was flawed because there were so many dead ends. She thought if she could only enter the room and measure it or if she knew exactly how many eggs were laid, then she'd be able to determine the correct timing. There had to be something she was missing to fix the room and time was ticking.
As the days went on, Malfoy became progressively busy, especially with his Alchemy classes. Professor Gournie, Theo told Hermione one day in the library, had taken Malfoy under her wing after noticing his increasing interest in the subject, which explained why she was more demanding with him than the others. Theo also let Hermione know his friend's nightmares had seemed to subside and therefore he was able to concentrate more on studying instead of skulking around the Slytherin common room and dormitory.
Hermione couldn't admit how she'd seen it for herself on the Marauder's Map. She'd taken it out more than once during the weekends when she'd accompanied Ginny, Luna and Rolf to Hogsmeade. She suspected Malfoy and his friends hadn't been in town all year but hoped she'd catch a glimpse of him regardless. Ginny encouraged her to seek him out and ask him to join them, but Hermione brushed her off, refusing to acknowledge her crush again. During weekends, he'd taken to either holing himself up to study or spending countless hours in Professor Gournie's office doing experiments.
After dealing with Ron's obliviousness for years and neither one of them admitting to their feelings, she'd thought she'd made it pretty clear to Malfoy how she fancied him. At the time, he'd responded in kindness and it wasn't as though he was suddenly cold, but their separate paths had somehow put a distance between the two. Neither one of them had made any moves to rekindle their connection and it was beginning to wear on Hermione's confidence. It was difficult watching him being drawn in by Astoria Greengrass for help with one thing after another. Despite his assurance weeks before or perhaps because of it, she now had a prickling sensation on the back of her neck. She'd only experienced this when she saw Ron kiss Lavender publicly and enthusiastically. That ugly green envy made her feel even worse when she recognised Astoria was objectively a very sweet and intelligent girl, but on several different occasions Hermione noticed that she was dumbing herself down thinking that it would be a good way to get Malfoy's attention. Ultimately, the girl was accomplishing it rather effortlessly, and knowing that Malfoy was aware of it but still kept up with it irked Hermione a great deal.
The third week of December started with an invitation to Professor Slughorn's Slug Club Christmas Party. It would be held the following Saturday once classes had ended and the students were preparing to leave and spend the Christmas holidays at home.
"What was he thinking?" Ginny whined during breakfast. "It's such short notice!"
"We'll be here anyway," Hermione said shrugging. "You'll leave the next day, what's the difference?"
"Well," Ginny began, blushing slightly. "We're allowed to bring a partner, right? I was thinking of asking Harry to come with me."
Hermione raised her eyebrows. She hadn't thought about bringing anybody, especially after her previous experience going with the insufferable McLaggen to Slughorn's Christmas party just to spite Ron.
"I think that'd be lovely," Luna declared glancing at Rolf opposite her.
"Harry Potter?" he asked eagerly. "Heck yes!"
They all laughed at his delighted face, which turned red with their reaction. Hermione chanced a look at the Slytherin table where Malfoy and his friends must have received their invitations as well. Much to her chagrin, his back was to her and she could only discern Astoria's profile, smiling widely at him. Hermione saw him shrug and Astoria put an arm around his back, squeezing his upper arm and leaning her head on his shoulder.
Hermione inhaled deeply and stood up. Like a magnet, her eyes fell back on Malfoy and over a few seats to the left where Pansy Parkinson was smirking at her. Hermione blinked in irritation and announced she needed to visit the bathroom before class, so she'd see them at the greenhouses for Herbology.
Why was she being so stupid? Hermione thought while walking up the marble staircase to the girl's bathroom where she knew nobody would be. She opened the door to the gloomy, dull-lighted room with unnecessary force. She felt the irrational need to express her anger physically. Her eyes fixed upon one of the stall doors which was half falling off its hinges and wanted to rip it off. She went as far as taking out her wand, prepared to hit the already-chipped sinks and smash them to the floor. Her breath and heartbeat started to increase rhythm and she feared she might start losing control. Hermione closed her eyes recalling strong arms enveloping her, encouraging and comforting words whispered in her ear and, much to her relief, the panic subsided.
She hated herself for letting a boy get her riled up for maybe wanting something—or someone—different. Then she hated herself for letting that same boy be the one to calm down her anxiety at that moment. How ironic.
When she finally opened her eyes she was startled to find herself face to face with an old acquaintance. Moaning Myrtle—the ghost of a muggle-born girl who died at the hands of Salazar Slytherin's basilisk when Tom Riddle, Lord Voldemort himself, opened the Chamber of Secrets for the first time—was floating in mid-air in front of her. Myrtle was silently watching her through round spectacles with a hand under her chin and an air of suspicion.
"Hi, Myrtle," Hermione said grumpily after a few seconds. She remembered this particular ghost never liked her much and the feeling was mutual.
"I know you," Myrtle said in her characteristic annoying high-pitched voice with narrowed eyes. "Cat-faced girl."
"For someone who doesn't enjoy people calling her names—"
"Hermione Granger," Myrtle said in a mocking tone. "Come to open the Chamber yet again?"
The last time Hermione had found herself in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom for a much different purpose. She and Ron reopened the Chamber of Secrets to retrieve a basilisk tooth soaked in venom and destroy one of the Horcruxes.
"No," she responded curtly, not wanting to revisit the stressful memory.
"Where is your friend, Harry Potter?" Myrtle asked. A desperate flirt, the ghost had taken a liking to Harry and frequently insisted that he came to see her, which he never did.
"He's not in school anymore," Hermione said.
"Well, well, well," a voice sounded behind them. "Here's Granger, making more unlikely friends, is she?"
Hermione turned to face Pansy Parkinson. The Slytherin girl wore a smug expression, as though she'd caught Hermione doing something bad.
"What are you doing in my bathroom?" Myrtle asked angrily and shouted shrilly, "Get out! Both of you!"
"There's no need to yell, transparent scum," Parkinson said with venom in her voice before looking at Hermione. "You see how he already forgot about you. Whatever it was you did with him or to him, he's found someone else…pure-blooded."
Myrtle gasped offended at what Parkinson was implying. Blood supremacy was still a taboo subject. Even though the Dark Lord had been defeated, it didn't mean his beliefs had been eradicated.
Hermione didn't even bother pretending she didn't know whom Parkinson was referring to. She'd still been gripping her wand, so when she quickly moved towards the other girl and raised it to her neck, Parkinson didn't have time to react defensively.
"I'm sure you know what I'm capable of," Hermione threatened. "I've fought Death Eaters much more powerful than you, so whatever childish mind game you think you're playing at, it'll end right now. Or I can make you sorry you started it in the first place."
Parkinson looked frightened for a moment before her facial expression hardened. Hermione took a step back and withdrew her wand from Parkinson's neck, noticing how she'd left a mark. She waved her wand in a short and fast motion, making the other girl flinch. The door to the bathroom opened at once.
"Off you go," Hermione ordered motioning behind the girl with her head. Parkinson gave her a loathsome look and left, her step quickening the farther she got.
"What a mean girl," Myrtle whined before owning up to her nickname and moaning painfully, possibly remembering the days when she was bullied.
Hermione didn't need Pansy Parkinson to make her feel insecure, much less about her blood status. Feeling like she'd won a small battle, she sighed and left for Herbology class. Her week was off to a great start already.
· - ·
The rest of the week wasn't much better than Monday morning. Hermione struggled to get a grip on her emotions, feeling too sensitive at times, but then irrationally hurt and angry at others. After a couple days of avoiding people, she decided to feed off of Ginny and Luna's excitement for the upcoming party. Like last time, the buzz around the school was noticeable, and even though Harry wasn't up for grabs, the idea that he might be coming back to Hogwarts, even for a few hours, was enough to raise everybody's spirits…or most people's anyway.
By Friday, Ginny's nerves were getting to Hermione, who sat with her back to the Slytherin table. The redhead roughly shoved a magazine at her before leaving for Quidditch practise halfway through their lunch hour together.
"Choose one of these. I've highlighted some of the prettiest for you," she told Hermione. "I'll order them today before five o'clock so they can arrive on time tomorrow. Pick a size and we'll alter whatever's necessary to make them fit right."
Hermione looked down and noticed what she was holding wasn't a gossip magazine, but a catalogue for dresses.
"Choose wisely," the redhead said, patting her back before rushing out of the Great Hall.
Hermione was left dumbstruck. She'd grown accustomed to the idea in her head that she wouldn't be attending the party because she didn't have a partner to go with. Nobody had asked her to go and, even if they had, she would have turned them down. She was slightly disappointed Malfoy hadn't even tried to bring it up to her, but of course, that was only wishful thinking. She'd even briefly considered inviting Roman, but turning up to a formal Christmas party with an eleven-year-old was undoubtedly out of the question.
Ginny had even suggested that Ron would be available, but quickly dropped the idea when she saw Hermione's face. After Ginny had sent him a howler demanding an explanation for him skipping Auror training last month, he'd reported back thanking her and Hermione for kicking his sorry arse into gear, even though the latter had nothing to do with it. As far as they now knew, he was in the top three of his group, feeling confident that he'd be able to climb one position, with Harry being at number one. Hermione was happy for Ron, having endured his meltdowns before Quidditch games, but didn't feel like giving him false hope by inviting him to Slughorn's party.
In the end, going stag didn't seem like such a bad idea, considering her other options. And getting dressed-up and polished once in a while made her feel feminine. Looking at the many dresses displayed in front of her, Hermione was suddenly glad that Ginny was so pushy and, after all, she'd get to hang out with her best friends. She hadn't seen Harry in a few months and, along with her fellow Gryffindors, was looking forward to having him back.
"This one's beautiful," said a sweet voice behind her as a small slender hand pointed at one of the dresses on the page. It was a pink fluffy one that Hermione had also been eyeing. "The colour suits you."
Hermione looked back into Astoria Greengrass' light eyes, framed by long and dark eyelashes.
"I don't like that one," Hermione said defiantly.
"Oh," Astoria responded, slightly taken aback but adopting back a gentle tone right away. "Well, these other—"
She started pointing at the dresses Ginny had highlighted on the other page and Hermione closed the catalogue on her finger.
"I'd rather choose for myself, thank you," she said, looking down and trying to keep her voice from rising too much.
"Um, okay," Astoria said with a pleasant smile.
What is wrong with her? Hermione thought. Couldn't this girl see her attempt at conversation wasn't welcomed?
"So," Astoria began once more, whispering as she sat down at Ginny's now unoccupied seat to Hermione's right. "When's the next…you know, our group thing? Glacius?"
Hermione stared at her in surprise. "I don't know," she answered.
She was lying. She'd calculated they could do it on Saturday night, but seeing as how they were to attend the Christmas party and most of them would have to pack and leave the next day, she'd deemed it far-fetched that they'd be able to do it. Astoria's face fell at Hermione's news.
"Hiya, ladies!" Theo exclaimed approaching the girls and putting his arms around both their shoulders.
"Hey, Theo," Hermione greeted, immediately noticing how the few people left in the Great Hall were starting to pay attention to them.
"Theo, we're going home for Christmas without another adventure, can you believe it?" Astoria pouted.
"That's right," he said, letting go of them and straightening up with a frown. "Isn't it due around this time each month?"
"I haven't checked, but you'll all be gone, probably," Hermione said, trying to sound convincing.
While facing Astoria, Hermione was vaguely aware of somebody sitting on the bench behind her while another tall figure appeared in her peripheral vision. It was Blaise Zabini, who moved behind Theo to enter the conversation. She was then suddenly aware that she had her back to Malfoy in the Gryffindor table and was casually chatting with a group of Slytherins.
"It's a pity, then," Astoria said. "It would be perfect timing because most students are leaving for the holidays. We'd have the floor to ourselves and spare hours to prepare, but I won't be staying, so…"
"Are you leaving for Christmas, Hermione?" Theo asked.
"Um, no," she responded, feeling their eyes on her. "I don't really have…No."
"I'm staying, too," Theo grinned at her. "And my boy Draco, as well."
Hermione's stomach turned. She remembered the time most students had left school except for her, Harry, Ron and a couple of others. As Astoria said, they'd have the place for themselves and a lot of free time. And this girl in front of her, the beauty who was trying to seduce Malfoy, wasn't going to be here. She couldn't help the immense relief and excitement that washed over her at this wonderful news.
She moved around on the bench to her left and found Malfoy with his head supported by his hand and his elbow on the table. He smirked at her and she couldn't stop staring at his stupidly, pale, beautiful face. After a demanding Charms class and before lunch, it looked like he'd found the time to take a shower and his blond hair was still damp. She felt her cheeks getting pink when she fantasised about running her hand through it.
Hermione wanted to ask how come he was staying at Hogwarts, when he could have some days out of here with his mother, but then realised he probably was to go to the Manor when he wasn't at school.
"Is everything okay here?" interrupted Justin Flint-Fletchley, the Head Boy from Hufflepuff. "Hermione?"
She looked up at him expecting to see him glaring at the Slytherins, but his expression showed he seemed worried about her. She felt mildly offended that the seemingly distended conversation didn't sit well with Justin and he felt the need to intervene as though she wouldn't be able to shake a bunch of bullies. The people around her weren't bullies anymore and at least a couple of them she considered friends. The rest of the school didn't know that, though.
"It's fine, Justin," Hermione said. Justin straightened his posture and fixed his eyes upon each of them, before finally landing on Malfoy for a few seconds longer.
"We're just talking," Astoria said with a small smile.
Justin's ears turned pink. "All right," he said and walked away.
"Wanker," Malfoy murmured in a low voice so that only Hermione could hear.
"So, Miss Granger," Theo called for her attention as he glanced at the catalogue on the table. "Excited for the party? I see you're still looking for garments. Who's the lucky plus one?"
"Myself," she answered, shrugging. "We're going as a group, Luna, Rolf, Harry, Ginny and me."
"Sounds more like you're fifth-wheeling," Theo said with mirth and Blaise snorted.
"Sounds more like you're going to get a curse up your arse if you're not careful," Malfoy said gruffly behind her. Hermione noticed Astoria's eyebrows rose at his comment.
Just then Hermione's answer to Theo's cheeky teasing was cut off by the bell ringing, so she stood up to gather her things. When she went to reach for her bag, she saw Malfoy had grabbed it from the floor and was holding it for her.
"Thanks," Hermione muttered and took it from him, resting it on her shoulder, and he simply nodded.
She picked up the catalogue and started walking out after Theo and Blaise. Astoria waited for them to pass so as to step beside Malfoy, but he sped up once they'd crossed the big door to catch up with Hermione. She registered Daphne Greengrass walking up to her sister behind them, and before they all moved to the door towards the dungeons for Potions class, Malfoy pulled Hermione aside while Astoria's eyes followed them as she crossed through the threshold.
He waited a few moments until the Entrance Hall was mostly deserted and leaned down a bit to look at her at eye level.
"Are we okay?" he asked without preamble in a low voice.
"I think so," she responded frowning and he nodded.
"I'm sorry, I've been so busy with revisions and tests," he explained resolutely. "And I can't really talk to you unless I get you alone."
"I know," she assured him as much as she did herself. "I've been busy too."
"Okay," he said and brushed her arm so quickly she barely felt it.
He started to walk back towards the door when he abruptly stopped, causing her to startle and nearly bump her front to his back. He turned around, she took a step back and he took a small one forward. They were entirely too close to each other, but she found she didn't mind.
"I'm going to the party with Astoria tomorrow," he said in a rushed tone. "Theo asked Daphne out and her condition for going with him was that I go with her sister. I know she's into me, but I'm letting you know I'm not interested in her."
"Oh," Hermione said cleverly.
"We talked about this before and you probably think I took it as a joke," he continued. "And I'm an idiot for being glad that you're not taking anyone and I'd like to see you all dolled-up again. I wasn't going to go anyway, but she's a good friend—"
"Malfoy, it's okay," she interrupted his rambling. She'd never seen him look so unsure before, so frazzled. "It's just a party, we should enjoy ourselves."
"Yeah," he said in an exhale. "You're right."
"And maybe," she said conspiratorially. "If everybody else drinks enough, we can even dance together."
They chuckled because it seemed so absurd when she said it out loud, but Hermione thought it was fun to entertain the idea.
· - ·
The morning before Slughorn's Christmas party, they woke up to fresh white snow that had fallen overnight and it was contrasting with the blue and sunny skies, although the temperature outside felt the coldest ever.
Ginny and Hermione met Luna and Rolf for breakfast, where they received their new ordered dresses from handsome, twin-looking owls. Hermione had decided on a bold, golden-coloured sleeveless dress, with a sparkly bodice and satin, long, flowy skirt, with a bit of a cape from the back of the neck and a low-cut front. If she was doing this, she'd go all out.
The two Gryffindors went down to visit Hagrid and await Harry's arrival, the three of them feeling excited with anticipation. They were almost done with their tea when Ginny suddenly got up from her seat next to the window and jumped to open the door.
There he was, the famous Harry Potter walking down the path from the castle entrance to Hagrid's hut accompanied by the Headmistress. Ginny assaulted him with kisses while the other three exchanged amused looks. When he was finally free, Hermione and Hagrid took turns to hug him tightly. Hermione's eyes filled with tears as she realised how much she'd missed him.
Professor McGonagall didn't stay long but made Harry promise he'd go up to her office for a chat. She'd permitted him to stay overnight and leave the next day with Ginny. She even offered them use of the flu network from the castle, but they'd refused in favour of the train to have a few hours by themselves before they arrived at the hustle and bustle of the Burrow.
"How's Auror trainin', Harry?" Hagrid asked once they'd settled around the table with fresh cups of tea.
"It's great, yeah," Harry answered. "I love it."
"An' how's Ron? How come he didn't come with yeh?"
"Well," Harry began glancing at Hermione. "His training has improved since the beginning for sure, but he's decided to stay at home with his family and rest. He was never into parties anyway."
"Oh?" Hagrid said. "He doesn't want to see…us? I mean, I thought you and he—"
He pointed at Hermione looking confused. She simply shook her head noncommittally. An air of awkwardness invaded the cabin and they all took a few sips from their teacups.
"Hagrid, how's everything with you?" Harry asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
Their visit was cut short some time after Hagrid started rambling about his classes and the creatures he was taking care of. The three friends, burrowed under their hats and scarves, walked along the edge of the lake for a while, reminiscing about old, happy and funny stories Ginny kept bringing up.
Sometime later, they arrived at a corner of the lake where the air seemed to stand still and the silence was only disturbed by a couple of chirping birds in the far distance. The tree line of the Forbidden Forest was thicker here, making it very dark right from its start, and the water lapping lazily at the lake's shore seemed to move slower.
Right there, with Hogwarts castle as majestic and impressive-looking as it had ever been erected in the background, lay a big pearly white rectangular piece of marble. Dumbledore's white tomb.
Hermione had only been there once during the late Headmaster's funeral, and she closed her eyes recalling the soothing lament of the phoenix's song as tears ran down her cheeks. She'd stopped walking beside Ginny a few feet away, but Harry continued until he was next to it. Hermione felt Ginny's hand in hers and she squeezed it once before she registered the redhead moving forward to her boyfriend.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Harry touching the marble surface and Ginny with her arm around his waist and her head on his shoulder. Hermione had been in that position before while visiting Harry's parents' graves in Godric's Hollow. She wondered how different it would feel to her if she had a place like this to say goodbye to her own, but alas she'd probably never have that kind of closure.
Hermione walked up to Harry, kissed his wet cheek and continued the path up to the castle, leaving the couple alone with their own grief.
"Hermione," a sweet voice called when she arrived at the Entrance Hall, bringing her back from her reverie. It was Luna, who was leaving the Great Hall with Rolf and Roman in tow.
"Hey," she said to them.
"You've been crying," Luna observed.
"Everything okay?" Rolf asked worriedly.
"Yes," Hermione answered simply and forced a grateful smile.
"Is Harry Potter here yet?" Roman asked her eagerly. "We've heard he arrived."
"He's walking with Ginny," Hermione responded. "They won't be long, I imagine."
"I can't wait," Roman said fiercely. "My brother told me he became a seeker his first year! I want to play Quidditch like my brother and I'm going to be a seeker like him, Draco and Harry Potter!"
The excitement in Roman's expression increased tenfold when his eyes were drawn to the door which had opened to reveal the boy who defeated Lord Voldemort. Harry entered the hall looking around, surely impressed to see it standing again. Ginny clutched his hand as girly giggles and excited chatter started sounding about. When his eyes fell on the group next to Hermione, he smiled widely.
"Luna," he called, pulling her into a brief embrace. "How are you?"
"I'm better than ever, Harry," she said and ran a finger down his cheek. "You've also been crying."
"Uh, yeah," he stuttered. "I was down at the—"
"Harry Potter," a small reverent voice said in a way very reminiscent of Dobby, the elf.
Harry's eyes widened comically when they fell upon a small boy in Slytherin uniform. Hermione smiled and squeezed the boy's shoulder, pushing him a step forward.
"Harry, this is Roman," she introduced. "Terence Higgs' little brother."
"Hello, Roman," Harry said with a small smile when the boy shook his offered hand, then looked up thinking. "Higgs…Oh, yeah! Seeker in my first year. He might have been the only one I met in Slytherin's Quidditch team who played by the rules."
"I'm going to be a seeker like him, Draco and you!" Roman recited enthusiastically again.
"All right," Harry said with a chuckle. "Don't play like Malfoy, though, he was dirty and still lost most of the time."
"Well, that's not a very nice thing to say to an impressionable kid, is it?" the voice of Draco Malfoy drawled from behind them. He'd just come out of the door leading to his common room with Blaise.
"I'm not a kid," Roman protested meekly.
Hermione saw Harry turn to Malfoy with contempt. This was about to be her least favourite part of Harry's comeback.
"I only told him the truth, didn't I?" Harry asked Malfoy defiantly. Ginny grabbed his arm to pull him back but he resisted her. "I'm not the one notorious for lying."
"Mine and my family's lies have saved your life before, Potter," Malfoy declared pointedly.
"And I've already returned the favour," Harry argued. "I don't see you or your mother locked up in Azkaban, do I?"
"You have no idea—" Malfoy began in between gritted teeth and punctuating every word.
"That's enough," Hermione intervened, putting herself in between the two and extending a placating hand towards Malfoy, nearly touching his chest.
The fury in Malfoy's eyes seemed to melt slightly when they landed on her, but his hands stood clenched in fists. Blaise stepped up beside Malfoy, both towering over Hermione, but she didn't feel threatened. Harry, however, interpreted the move as such, grabbing Hermione's arm and pulling her back towards him, away from the Slytherins, and probably more roughly than he intended.
"Harry, let me go," she said, disentangling herself and turning to him. "You didn't come here to fight, okay? Please, don't."
"No, look at that, Mister Auror came to manhandle his friends," Malfoy said behind her and she rounded on him, now frustrated.
"Stop it," she demanded over Ginny's words defending Harry.
"I happen to love my friends, but what do you care?" Harry said. "You only love yourself."
There was a small tussle as Blaise managed to restrain Malfoy, who was about to draw his wand, and pulled him back as Hermione stepped towards them. Malfoy opened his mouth, but she was quick to point her wand at him and cast a silent Langlock jinx, sticking his tongue to the roof of his mouth, before he could speak. His eyes widened at her and his brows furrowed with a mixture of anger and confusion.
"You can't afford to get in trouble, Malfoy," she told him in a low voice. "So just leave now and calm yourself down."
Blaise dragged his friend towards the dungeons as Professor Slughorn appeared down the marble staircase followed by Filch.
"What's the matter here?" Slughorn asked in an authoritarian tone.
Luckily, the fight had already been diffused and nobody would get in trouble. Hermione sighed with relief.
"Harry!" Slughorn called happily. "My dear boy, it's so good to see you."
He stepped down to embrace Harry, who was still reeling from the confrontation and looked at Hermione with a slight squint in his beautiful green eyes. She glanced down at her shoes, now realising it was her who might have gotten herself into trouble.
· - ·
Hermione avoided Harry the rest of the day, which proved surprisingly easy when he was being constantly accosted by students and teachers alike. Soon, he left for McGonagall's office for refuge and parted with Ginny and Hermione. In turn, they left to grab some lunch and brought it back to Gryffindor Tower to relax there before they had to get ready for the party.
"You're going to have to tell him, you know?" Ginny said to Hermione.
"Tell who what?" Hermione asked.
"Tell Harry about you and Malfoy," Ginny whispered.
"No way!" Hermione exclaimed. Luckily, they were alone sitting in armchairs in the common room while munching on their food.
"What do you mean, no way?" Ginny demanded. "It's going to come out eventually and you want him to find out from you first."
"Who is he going to find out from? You?" Hermione asked flippantly. "Besides, there's really nothing to tell."
"There's nothing to tell?!" Ginny asked in an almost offended tone and abandoning her plate. "You're both so obvious. Merlin, when Malfoy sees you at the party, he'll cream his pants."
"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed, her face flushing at Ginny's brash words.
"I'm being serious, this boy is carrying a massive torch for you, if you know what I mean," Ginny insisted rudely, making Hermione grimace and her stomach lurch. "You're both dancing around each other and it's even more annoying than you and Ron, because at least then you could be friends in public."
"Well, it's different this time, Ginny," Hermione argued pushing her plate away. "It's not Ron now, is it? This is Malfoy we're talking about. Besides, he's going to the dance with Astoria. He won't be paying attention to me when he has a blonde angel dangling from his arm."
Ginny sighed dejectedly.
"How am I supposed to tell Harry any of this if I don't even know where I stand with Malfoy?" Hermione said whispering the last few words.
"Well then, find out," Ginny suggested.
"Sounds simple enough," Hermione muttered sarcastically.
"And Harry hates him now just on principle," Ginny said, ignoring her. "I could help with that, make him see reason."
"Thank you, Ginny, but you know how stubborn he is," Hermione said, taking her friend's hand in hers. "You shouldn't risk him getting angry at you for me or Malfoy."
Ginny sighed again. "Just think about it, yeah?"
Hermione nodded to appease her but remained unconvinced.
The other girls in their dorm assisted Ginny and Hermione with modifying their dresses before helping with their hair and make-up. As the girls complimented them saying how stunning they looked, Hermione couldn't stop thinking about their conversation.
She could imagine Harry's face if she told him she was attracted to Malfoy and the shame trickled from the top of her head down to her toes as she considered the fact that she was embarrassed about what he'd think of her. She wasn't ashamed of Malfoy. In fact, she was proud of him, but she didn't know how to make other people see how he'd changed. Harry and Malfoy's animosity towards each other surely hadn't changed, and it didn't look like it would when all they did was sneer at one another.
Later that night, they slowly walked down the steps, across the common room and through the portrait hole to meet Harry. He looked as handsome as ever in a velvet navy blue suit, a slightly different shade as Ginny's dress. Hermione's nerves turned to dread when he looked at her with a guarded expression. She knew he'd want a word with her at some point, but he offered his arm regardless of what he was feeling and told both women they looked beautiful.
Harry was about to lead them to the stairs when Ginny pulled him along the corridor and all the way to the staircase down to Slughorn's office. As they descended the first steps Harry asked how they'd known about this alternate route and Hermione glanced back at the spot where she and Malfoy had spent countless hours sharing personal stories, conversing about books and kissing desperately. Ginny abruptly stopped before they got to the first landing and looked back at Hermione.
"Do you want to tell him?" Ginny asked her.
"Tell me what?" Harry asked with trepidation. Hermione looked at Ginny as though she was mad. Was she trying to corner her?
"About the room, I mean?" Ginny rushed to say when she noticed the panic in Hermione's face.
Hermione let out a long exhale and told Harry a brief summary of what had happened to the Room of Hidden Things and how they and the rest of Slug Club members were trying to fix it.
"We could try tonight, have a few more people?" Ginny suggested.
"Wait a minute," Harry said suspiciously. "You're helping Malfoy now?"
Hermione swallowed heavily. "We're fixing the room so everybody can use it," she said.
"Is this why you both seemed so complicit earlier?" he demanded loudly.
"Harry, come on," Ginny said clutching his arm in hers. "Malfoy thought he could do it by himself, but he can't. We're not only helping him; we're doing it for the school."
Hermione was glad that Ginny was there with her as an ally, otherwise, she might have already broken down. She looked at her pretty dress and uncomfortable high-heeled shoes wishing she could skip the whole night.
"Inter-house unity, Harry," Ginny said firmly and Hermione's head snapped up at her.
"You sound like McGonagall now," he said, almost whining.
"Good," she responded. "It's for the best, but if you don't want to do it, you don't have to."
"Well, great," he scoffed. "Because I don't. You're risking your lives with a bunch of Slytherins led by Malfoy, no less, just to what…clean up a room? And one that got messed up because of him and his friends in the first place?"
"How many times have you done that, Harry?" Hermione asked angrily, turning the blame on her friend. "How many times have you risked your life unnecessarily, huh? How many times did I have to warn you not to do something stupid just because your heart told you to? And how many of those times did I stand by you and go along with your crazy ideas even when I considered them to be the worst you'd ever had, and you never listened?"
The silence after she stopped speaking was deafening. You could have heard a pin drop and yet, Hermione's heart was the loudest sound in her ears. Harry looked into her glassy eyes with a confused expression. She thought he might have been wondering where all that passion had come from. He moved up a few steps towards her but he didn't have a chance to answer because the door on the landing below opened widely.
"Ah, I thought I heard voices," Professor Slughorn said into the staircase. "Come down everyone, the party's just started."
He ushered Ginny across the threshold. There was a small anteroom with another door through which loud music could be heard. Slughorn opened his office door and the music and other voices spilt out onto the staircase. Harry and Hermione stood rooted to the steps watching each other.
"Miss Granger," Slughorn called over the noise. "Is everything all right?"
Hermione glanced at him, then back at Harry as she said, "I'm not sure," and deliberately walked down and through both doors towards the party leaving Harry, Professor Slughorn and Ginny, who stood waiting just inside the room, behind.
· - ·
A/N. Um...so yeah...
Ready to party next week?
Props to AurorEowyn and Girl of Chaos, as always :3