Hermione took a deep breath as she stood in front of the familiar station. Her anxiety was up a bit about going back to school. She was fidgeting the whole trip here. She was worried about seeing her Gryffindor friends again. Harry, Ginny and Molly had sent her Christmas gifts. Ron hadn't sent her anything, nor thanked her for her lazy gift. It hurt her a little bit, but she found solace in the fact that Harry didn't seem to be mad at her anymore. Without the support of his best friend, Ron would soon forget about his anger. Though she doubted if she sat with her Slytherin friends it would help her case. Maybe she should just sit alone this time. She could catch up on some reading.
Hermione pulled out an orange bottle and poured out some pills on her hand. She counted them, she only had 15 pills left, but Tiana said she would send her more via post. She swallowed one and shoved the rest back into her pocket. Then she made her way to platform 9 ¾. It was still quite early so the platform was mostly empty.
Lost in her thoughts, time flew Hermione by. Before she knew it, the platform was filling up and getting quite crowded. She snapped out of her thoughts when she felt someone brush up against her arm. Her head cocked to the side: Harry. Hermione was wary of how she was supposed to be around him; it was still a bit awkward between the two. All her worries washed away though when Harry smiled at her. She smiled back.
"Hi, 'Mione."
"Hi, Harry. Have a happy Christmas?"
"Yes. It would've been better with you though. What about you?" Harry asked.
"It was," Hermione thought about telling him about how she actually spent her holidays, with Blaise and Theo, but decided to hold her tongue. Harry would probably be happy Hermione wasn't alone, but if it made its way to Ron, he'd probably be even angrier with Hermione. "Fine."
"That's great. Thank you for the glasses. I really needed new one's."
"Don't mention it." Hermione replied giving him a friendly nudge. "Thanks for the book. I really enjoyed it." Harry owled her a book about the creation of wizarding schools and wizarding subjects. Hermione read it in one go.
"I thought you would." Harry smiled and pulled her into a surprise hug. The tension was finally lessened. "I really miss you. I know it doesn't seem like it but Ron misses you too. He even got you a gift, but chickened out of sending it out."
"I miss you too," Hermione finally said and returned the hug. Her head was buried in his chest. The boy that she once teased for being so short, was now towering over Hermione. It made Hermione smile into his Weasley sweater before she let go. "I tried with Ron, but he doesn't want to hear anything that comes out of my mouth."
"He just needed a bit of time. Come sit with us. I promise he'll be civil." Before Hermione could accept his offer, she felt herself being lifted into a tight hug. She squealed out.
"Hey 'Mia!" Blaise exclaimed. When Hermione realized it was Blaise who hugged her, she hugged him right back tightly.
"Blaise! How were the rest of your holidays?" She asked.
"Great! You should've spent New Years with us too. It would've been so much more fun with you." He beamed, causing Hermione to blush a bit. Harry furrowed his brows at the pair. Had they spent time on the holidays together?
"Well, I'm glad you had fun. Where's Theo?" She inquired, noticing the absence of crass and sarcastic comments.
"The dumbass forgot one of his bags. Mom apparated home with him. They'll be back in a bit." Blaise rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Have you seen Draco anywhere?"
"No, I haven't. He's probably running late again."
"Typical. Well, let's get going then. We can get the best spots if we're first in the train." Blaise assumed she'd be sitting with them now too, not even noticing Harry's presence. Harry's face faltered a bit as he thought Hermione would opt to go with her newfound friend. He couldn't blame her. After all, he hadn't exactly been a great friend to her.
"Actually, Blaise, I was going to sit with Harry if that's alright." Hermione said in a soft tone. She suddenly felt horrible. What if Blaise was going to be hurt or angry now? What if he didn't want to be friends with her if she chose Harry over him? Hermione would feel terrible to lose him.
"Of course! I'm glad you made up." Blaise's facial expression washed away her worries. He was genuinely happy she had made up with her oldest friend. He felt terrible when he saw how guilty she felt about the whole situation. "I'll see you at school then." He gave her shoulder one last squeeze and nodded at Harry, who returned the gesture, before disappearing into the train.
"I guess we should go grab an empty cabin too." Hermione said. Harry agreed and they made their way inside. Both sat at opposing window seats.
"So, you spent Christmas with Blaise then?" Harry asked, interest peeking. Guilt flashed over Hermione's face. She didn't want Harry to think she was actually replacing him.
"Yes. It was a surprise. I was going to spend it alone, but then I woke up to Blaise and Theo banging on my front door with food and presents. I really wasn't expecting them. Or anyone." Hermione quickly explained with words dripping in worry. Harry obviously picked up on this.
"Hermione, you don't owe me an explanation. I think it's great you weren't alone for the holidays. Perhaps those Slytherins really aren't that bad."
"Really? Because you, me and Ron usually spend the holidays together. I would understand if you were angry with me for-" Hermione started but was interrupted by Harry putting his hand on her knee.
"'Mione that's absurd. Neither I nor Ron have the right to be angry with you for spending your holidays with Blaise and Theo. You should be able to choose who you spend your time with, without Ron or me nagging at you about it. They're your friends too, and I get that. Ron gets it too, but he's just having a bit more trouble showing it." Harry told her, calming her nerves a bit. He was being sincere. Harry had privately already explained to Ron that it wasn't right for him to exclude Hermione from the holidays, nor scold her for her friend choice. In truth, Ron was just worried about Hermione. He didn't trust Slytherins and thought they had some ulterior motive for hanging out with her. He was being protective and didn't know how to show Hermione that he cared for her. Harry told Ron to trust Hermione's judgment; after all, she wasn't known as the brightest witch of her age for nothing.
"Thanks, Harry. That means a lot to me." Hermione replied with a smile. She put her hand on his and squeezed it. As if right on que, Ron and Ginny came inside. Harry pulled away from Hermione, and she prepared herself for the scream fest she expected from Ron.
To her surprise, Ron hadn't uttered a negative word, instead greeting her like nothing was wrong. "Hullo, Hermione."
"H- hi, Ronald." Hermione said with a baffled look on her face. She decided to follow suit and act like nothing was the matter.
"Hey Hermione! God I've missed you!" Ginny said, pulling Hermione into a tight hug as she sat down next to her. "Merlin, you're just skin and bones now." She noted Hermione's even smaller frame. Hermione shifted awkwardly out of Ginny's grip and laughed it off.
"Hi, Gin." Hermione said in a small voice, wanting nothing more than to drown into the background. She felt as if everyone was staring at her and desperately needed the subject to change, though this moment would be on her mind, repeating itself over and over again the whole day. "Does your sweater fit okay? I could always send it back to my mom and she can exchange it for a different size." And just like that the prior topic was forgotten by all but Hermione.
"Oh my god, Hermione! It was perfect. I can't believe you got me a Vera Wang sweater! I love it so much. I might even love it more than I love Ron!" Ginny exclaimed, earning laughs from Hermione and Harry, while a scowl from Ron.
"Unbelievable! I do so much for you and you don't even appreciate it!" Ron huffed as he crossed his arms.
"Yeah, like what?" Ginny scoffed.
"Like befriending your crush!" Ron screamed out. He didn't even notice himself saying it until he saw Ginny's eyes widen and Harry suddenly finding his fingers unbelievably interesting.
"Jokes on you. I'm dating Michael now!" Ginny revealed. Obviously she didn't think it through, as she slapped her hands on her mouth. You could practically see smoke coming out of Ron's ears and Harry looked at her with his mouth hanging open.
"You're what?! Over my dead body! I forbid you to date anyone!" Ron screamed, his protective, brotherly side coming out.
"Well, last time I checked I didn't ask for your permission." Ginny sassily screamed right back.
"Ginny! I can't believe you didn't tell me the moment you got together!" Hermione exclaimed, interrupting Ron's next words. Ginny had been Hermione's best girl friend. When it came to boys they told each other everything. Hermione rushed to Ginny the first time she and Viktor snogged and they spent nights talking about Ginny's crush on Harry. Hermione felt hurt Ginny didn't share it the moment they were official.
"I'm so sorry, 'Mione, but we were going to keep it a secret. I wanted to tell you, but…" Ginny felt really guilty, but didn't know how to handle the situation so instead an idea popped into her head: she was going to deflect all the attention and anger onto Ron. "I'm not the Weasley you should be mad at! Ron was the reason you spent your holidays alone and he's been a horrible friend to you!" She said as she sent a smirk in her brother's direction.
"Well, I've been meaning to talk to you about that, 'Mione. I shouldn't have said all those things about, you know, fraternizing with the enemy." Ron said awkwardly, while he scratched the back of his neck.
"It's fine, Ron. Can we just put this all behind us? I hate fighting with you and I miss you so much."
"I hate it too! I don't even remember why we're fighting in the first place." Ron exclaimed to Hermione's delight.
"Okay, so it's settled then. We're good."
"We're good," Ron said with a smile. "But I do feel I'm obligated to say as your friend, I trust those Slytherins about as far as I can throw them and you really shouldn't trust them either."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Your concerns have been duly noted."
The rest of the train ride went fairly normal for the Gryffindors, but it was a whole different story for the Slytherins. Theo and Blaise were sitting in their go-to cabin, waiting for Draco to show up. Fortunately, Pansy didn't even try to sit with them this time. The boys were in the middle of a friendly fight about Theo's clumsiness, when Draco walked in, right before the train started. Theo and Blaise both shut up the moment they saw the sight that was their friend: Draco had a black eye and split lip. The boy sat down next to Theo in silence, not even greeting his two friends. When it became clear he wasn't going to say anything about the state he was in, Blaise spoke up.
"Draco, I-"
"Blaise, can we not talk about it? For fucks sake." Draco interrupted with annoyance. Blaise pursed his lips. He knew not to pry about Draco's personal life. The boy usually kept to himself, but when he really needed to get something off his chest, he came to his friends himself. Still, it had been a while since Draco showed up to school bruised. Blaise had assumed Lucius considered Draco too old to beat.
"At least let me fix it. My mom has tutored me in healing magic." Blaise offered.
"Are you forgetting we're not allowed to use magic outside of school?" Draco snapped back.
"The train is school property so it's an exception."
"Well get on with it, then." Draco said impatiently. Blaise softly grabbed his friend by the chin and started muttering healing spells. Concern and empathy was written all over Blaise's face, which only seemed to annoy Draco further. He didn't need anyone's pity.
When Blaise was done another awkward silence settled in, before Draco's curiosity got the better of him "Where's Granger?"
"She's with Potter and the Gryffindors." Blaise answered.
"So they made up then?" Draco scoffed, slightly angry. He didn't know why it angered him so much that Hermione was back with her old friends. He figured it would happen eventually so he wasn't surprised, but it still didn't sit well with him.
"Impossible! They were still fighting during Christmas and she spent the rest of the holidays alone. They wouldn't have had time to make up." Theo exclaimed.
"What do you mean 'during Christmas'?" Draco inquired.
"Well we came by her house at Christmas. Didn't want her to spend it alone." Blaise explained.
"We sure brought enough food to keep her company through the rest of the holidays." Theo joked.
"She ate the food?" Draco asked. Blaise thought the question was formulated weirdly, but he hadn't noticed the ulterior meaning behind it. It seemed that Draco was the only one who was truly on his way to cracking the code. Draco had a lot of time to think during the holidays, as he mostly kept to himself in his room. Hermione's eating habits came into question one night. She always ate when it was offered to her, it was a facade of normalcy. But Draco knew there was something off. Her cheeks and eyes looked almost hollowed out, and her lips were much paler than usual. Her bushy head of hair was less of a nest this year, but was still frizzy; no way Sleakeazy was used in it. It seemed as if the girl almost had… less hair. He couldn't quite pinpoint what it was about her this year. He brushed off the idea of an eating disorder. He knew of some girls from his house that had to leave school for a while for disordered eating, but he couldn't picture Hermione obsessing over looks and her body. After all, she was one of the prettiest girls in Hogwarts and he was sure everyone knew it. Most guys were just too intimidated to ask her out.
"Of course she ate the food! Nobody can resist my mom's apple pie! You should've come stayed with us."
"Yeah, maybe I should've." Draco muttered lowly.
"I bet she had more fun with us than she ever had with the Weasley's. They don't even treat her as a human being, but as a walking encyclopedia!" Theo exclaimed. He had developed an aversion that went deeper than just a house rivalry for Ron and Harry. Though, it may not look like it at first glance, Theo was very caring and protective over all his friends. It helped that Hermione seemed to charm everyone she came in contact with. He was convinced it would be impossible to dislike her after spending enough time with her. He didn't care for the way her Gryffindor friends discarded her. "Why she would ever give them the time of day again, will eternally confuse me."
"I'm glad they made up. I mean, come on. Haven't you noticed the way she'd been acting lately?" Blaise said. Draco perked up, turning all his attention to Blaise. "She's been sadder and laughing less and less. Obviously, it's because she was fighting with Ron. After all, he is her oldest friend." Blaise's explanation for Hermione's odd behaviour seemed logical to Draco. He convinced himself that that was probably it, but a part of him knew there was something more to the story.
"I guess you're right." Theo agreed. Draco just grunted. The conversation fell a bit flat, and was filled up with just a bit of small talk here and there for the rest of the ride. When the train finally stopped, the boys grabbed their bags and made their ways outside. There, Draco spotted Hermione and her dimwitted friends. He rolled his eyes that nobody was helping her with her bag, which she was obviously struggling with (more so than anyone else would). Draco trolled slightly behind the group, keeping an eye on his Gryffindor friend. He noticed how she was slightly shifting out of the conversation the group was participating in. Within a little while, she had fallen behind and was walking alone, still barely lugging her suitcase forward. It was a poor sight to see.
Draco swooped in and took her bag, to which she looked up in surprise. "Here, let me." Instead of protesting his chivalry like she would usually do, stating she wasn't a damsel in distress, she let him.
"Thank you." Hermione said as she shot him a smile. She scolded herself for letting him take her bags, but was too tired to protest. If he hadn't swooped in when he did, she probably wouldn't have made it to Hogwarts. "How were your holidays?"
"As good as can get in the Malfoy household." Malfoy replied. Hermione knew from past experience it was better not to pry for details surrounding his family. "Heard you had fun with Blaise and Theo." He immediately noticed how her face perked up at the memory of Christmas.
"Yes, it was really quite great." She beamed "Merlin, you should've been there. It was so fun introducing Theo and Blaise to all these muggle things. It was hilarious. Especially Theo. I swear to god, that boy is a three year old stuck in a 16 year olds body." This earned a hefty laugh from Draco.
"Yes, well I can confirm that Theo hasn't changed at all from when he was three." Draco admitted. Their long standing friendship was quite dear to him, and made it very easy to pick on Theo for the littlest of things. "Believe me, I would've much rather been there with you all than at the Malfoy manor."
Hermione's face sombered and brows furrowed with sympathy. "That bad, huh?" She said, but Draco didn't reply. His features hardened and that was enough of an answer for Hermione. "Draco, I know we haven't always been the best of friends, but if you ever need to, you can talk to me. I won't judge or pity you; I know how much you hate pity. And my lips are sealed, Harry and Ron won't hear a word about it. I've kept enough secrets from them, what's another going to do."
Draco knew Hermione's words were sincere, and in the moment, he wanted nothing more than to confide in her. There was something about the girl that made it so easy to talk to, it was almost harder not to tell her all his deep dark secrets. However, Draco reluctantly held his tongue about the familial events that had taken place just a few days earlier. No matter how much he wanted to tell her everything, it was all still too fresh in his head. He didn't want to think about it right now. "You? Keeping secrets from Potty and Weasel? Impossible." He said sarcastically, trying to lighten the mood. Fortunately for him it worked. Hermione let out a small chuckle.
"While they might be my best friends, they don't need to know everything that goes on in my life. I'd go absolutely barmy if they did."
"And why's that?" Draco cocked an eyebrow, suddenly intrigued.
"Ron can be judgemental and a real dick. Especially when he's jealous. Harry's okay, but he hates keeping shit from Ron, so if I tell one, I have to tell the other."
"What does Ron have to be jealous about?" Draco was confused. What did this conversation have to do with the bloke being jealous?
"Viktor Krum." Hermione said in a small voice as she embarrassedly put her hair behind her ear. Draco was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected Hermione to be so blunt about it. Everybody at Hogwarts knew Ron had a thing for Hermione, it was quite obvious, but they had all suspected Hermione was too much of a bookworm to see it. He was also surprised to hear there was something to be jealous about. She told him she and Viktor were just friends. "I'm not blind, I know Ron liked me. But he always treated me like trash and as if I wasn't even a girl. I've got too much self respect to settle for someone who treats me like that, so I moved on. I think Ron got over it too; I'm pretty sure he has a thing for Lavender now, but for some reason he still gets tense about Viktor. I guess old habits die hard." Hermione wasn't sure why she was telling all this to Draco. It was as if all her frustrations were just flying out of her mouth. Draco hated the way Hermione described how Ron treats her. He knew very well Hermione deserved the best.
"I thought you and Viktor were just friends." Draco commented, trying to play it cool. He hoped Hermione thought he looked unbothered, but if she could hear his heartbeat she'd see right through his 'cool' exterior.
"We are now, but we dated for a while. I broke it off in the summer. Long distance just isn't for me, I guess. Keeping it hidden from both my best friends was a struggle too. It seems a bit harsh to put it this way, but sometimes I feel like it was more trouble than it was worth." Hermione admitted. She felt a little guilty about making her relationship with Viktor out to be as some hard struggle. He meant a lot to her, after all he was her first. She wouldn't quite call her feelings for him love, Hermione believed it was impossible to know what love is at such a young age, but she did and still does, care for him deeply.
Draco didn't like that they had dated, it stirred something he couldn't quite pinpoint up in him, but found slight solace in the fact that Hermione was the one to break it off. She deserves someone who could be there for her in real life anyways, not someone who's stuck in Bulgaria.
Their conversation had ended shortly after, as they had finally arrived at Hogwarts. Hermione went up to the Gryffindor common room with Ron and Harry, the latter finally picking up she was struggling to carry her bags, and taking the load off her.
After she got settled back in her room, Ginny left to go hang out with some of her friends out of her own year, but promised to tell Hermione all about Michael when she got back. This gave Hermione a chance to get a head start on her coursework for this semester. She took one more pill, even though the label warned not to take two pills in such a close time proximity, and cracked open her books.