Ello my unresponsive poppets!
I'm loving the 690 hits on this story, and two reviews-one of which, might I add, was from myself, how ludicrously pathetic.
I've just reread my story, I like where things go after all this. This chapter's okay, I love what will soon become chapters seventeen and thirteen.
Enjoy!
Closing the door steadily behind him, Draco entered the room confidently and started to unbutton his short collar when-
What the hell?
…
She's here…
Abandoning his task, Malfoy sneered and addressed the girl sitting on his bed.
"What the hell do you think you're doing on my bed, Muddy?"
Granger seemed unfazed, but stood nonetheless. She motioned to the door.
"I heard… everything, I guess."
"How could you be sure you heard everything?" Hermione was silent and Draco illuminated his room.
Granger raised a hand to her face to block out the light, and Draco took a step towards her direction.
Granger stiffened, and her hand remained blocking her face.
Draco sneered at her defense.
"Get out, bitch."
Hermione lowered her arm and glared at him, and he knew it wasn't for the bright light.
Draco sighed, exasperated. "As Head Boy I'm telling my fellow peer that she has no business in-"
"And as your fellow peer I'm telling you that when tears and threats occur in my own common room-"
"Your common room, is it? I have rights to my own business and even if I didn't I wouldn't appreciated a snot like you snooping-"
Hermione was taken aback, and in a horrified voice she screeched at him, "I hardly consider it snooping when-"
"Get over it!" Hermione stopped and stared at Draco for a moment before the fact that she stopped talking made itself apparent in his mind.
Draco leaned his face against a wall and put his hand to his temple.
"Just… stay out of it, Granger. It doesn't concern you, nor will it ever." Draco sounded tired, exhausted that the night was not over yet.
Despite his change of tone, Hermione's nose shot into the air.
"I think you are mistaken."
He glared silently at her, causing her reproachful look to dim.
"Well I don't want you in it, so keep to yourself."
Draco stood up and moved towards his bed, already dismissing her.
Granger stiffened as he passed her but did not turn to him.
"If you don't talk to me about it then I will be forced to inform Dumbledore-"
Draco snorted. "Dumbledore- every Mudblood's wet-dream." Draco turned to her, although she did not face him.
"I don't believe you, anyways. You'd run off and go tell Dumbass and Loose-ass about my love life." Draco smirked at his crude joke. "10 Galleons if you know who's who."
Hermione finally turned to him. "Stop ignoring me, I'm serious. If you tell me what on Earth just happened with Pansy and Zeus then I swear I won't tell a soul."
Draco sneered at her request. "I'm supposed to take your word on this?"
"There's nothing else I could offer."
Draco flopped back onto his mattress and Hermione found herself growing uncomfortable.
"Why do you care so much?"
Hermione stuck her nose indignantly in the air. "I have my reasons."
Draco sat up. "I don't think so. You tell me now."
Hermione didn't answer him.
"Figures. I bet a brainiac like you would find a loophole and go running to pothead so you could have a good laugh, yeah?"
Hermione was about to open her mouth but he silenced her with his own words.
"Doesn't matter anyways, this is probably your way of creating a truce after our little disagreement last week, and no way in hell is that going to happen."
Draco stood up and headed to his library door, while Hermione was left to respond to him.
"And why not?"
Draco opened the door and held his arm into the direction of her room.
"Because whatever stupid little pact you came up with, I can't, don't, won't trust you."
Hermione was not looking into the doorway; she was looking at the floor at her feet.
"What about an Unbreakable Vow?"
Draco froze and turned to her as her eyes slowly reached his.
"What?" He spoke softly, incredulously.
Hermione licked her lips nervously. "I can keep a secret. I won't ever mention a word about you to anyone, ever, not even to call you a smelly ferret, and you…"
Draco hung onto her every word.
"You have to tell me what's going on in your life."
Draco's interest disappeared, and his features turned to disgust. "What the hell are you on, Muddy? Why would you want to know and why would I tell you? Is this some kind of pity-project, some kind of Gryffindor act of unity? Some kind of stupid joke? It's not funny. Well guess what, I don't need you, nor do I need you blabbing about-"
Hermione, indignant, reacted with confusion and disgust. "What's your problem, Malfoy? All I am doing is offering you a promise that you can talk to me-"
"I don't want to! I don't think that could be anymore obvious!"
"But I wouldn't even tell anyone!"
"For Christ's sake, Granger, I don't want you to know either, you're just as bad as having Weasel and Potter on my back!"
Granger narrowed her eyes at him and scrunched up her mouth. "What have you got to hide?"
"Evidently a lot if you're going to keep badgering me about it! I don't need a best friend, Granger; I don't need someone to talk to about my poor, pathetic, teenage problems!"
Having reached a moment of silent glaring, Hermione made her way to the door.
"So Draco, what do you have to have to be friends with someone? Do you have to have something in common or be alike?"
Draco stiffened and swung his twitching glare to her. "Get out."
Hermione raised her nose in the air again, hmphed to his general direction, but walked out.
Shutting the door behind her and rubbing his temples, Draco walked to the bed.
Groping underneath, he pulled out his new broom.
Walking over to a large, glass paned window, he swung it open and looked up at the miserable moon.
Not risking a look back, he kicked off into the bitter coldness, from which he would not leave until the threat of dawn breached him.
-
Hermione woke early the next morning to the bittersweet swooning of the birds outside her window, proclaiming that love was in the air, like an all too optimistic horoscope, that only made oneself disappointed at the end of the day, with love lost.
Frowning to herself, Hermione ignored this natural pessimistic approach to her day, there was no reason to assume that today would be a total failure.
Throwing on a smile, she knew that thinking she was happy would work. Thinking that nothing was wrong would help her breeze past her 'friends.' And, thinking of Malfoy, her 'enemies' too.
This newfound confidence allowed her to wear her new brown t-shirt, previously deemed too tight by her own modest standards.
Slipping her feet into authentic tanker boots and her favorite jeans, she was ready to face her day.
The fake smile was not strong enough to hold onto her surprise when she saw what was in front of her door- previously unnoticed.
Bending down to retrieve the unexpected decoration, Hermione glanced around her room in paranoia- windows latched, doors locked, and seemingly no mischievous characters hiding under her carpet- before placing the rose in a vase and reading the note over and over again before arriving at lunch.
I can only apologize for yesterday. Do not forget the true qualities that create the spirit behind someone's cold eyes. If you understand the true meaning of another, then you will not find it impossible to speak to me tonight in the common room.
In her confusion, Hermione forgot to fake a smile as she walked briskly through the hallways to breakfast, where surely the author awaited her arrival.
She wasn't even aware that there was a goofy smile on her face at all.
-
The author, awaiting her arrival, was not surprised to see that the letter had worked. With the possibility of anyone being the writer, she has forgotten all animosities. Meaning that she was easier to manipulate than she had thought.
Ginny grinned and waited for things to work out.