No One Noticed

By Mireekian

Saturday, Twelve Noon

"Hey 'Mione! Where have you been?"

Upon hearing her name, Hermione wrenched her heavy head off the table in the Great Hall and grinned. "Ginny!" she squealed, leaping up to envelope her friend in a hug. "I've just been…" Suddenly she hesitated.

Ginny would tell Harry who was her boyfriend who would tell Ron who would go ballistic and charge into the Head's dorm which he knew the password then find Malfoy who would be lying on the couch and Ron would yell and Harry would back him up and Malfoy would insult back and…

Inwardly Hermione gasped for breath.

Luckily, Ginny was almost as oblivious as her brother. Or Malfoy's lying ways had started rubbing off on her. Both possibilities scared her.

"If you've been working in the Hospital Wing this long, I swear I'll complain to Dumbledore. You're going to catch it, 'Mione! Then how can you help them?"

Hermione winced but hoped Ginny didn't notice. "Don't worry, Gin… my… patients aren't… contagious at this stage." Hopefully…

Looking at her weirdly, Ginny commented offhandedly as they sat down, "You sure? You're stuttering. You must be catching something."

Well, at least stuttering proved Hermione wasn't completely apt in lying. The thought didn't relieve her as much as she hoped. "Nah, I'm just tired." At least that was the truth. "Been up all night researching symptoms."

"Which is why I didn't catch you at breakfast, then."

"Yup."

The statement satisfied Ginny, and Hermione hid a sigh behind her pumpkin juice. The truth was, Malfoy insulted her again. That time, his nose bled. And it wasn't just because she hit him, either. Insulting her hair, teeth, and lineage, fine. But her cat? Not so fine.

And he hadn't even meant it as an insult, either. He just said Crookshanks was sadistic and that he must have had rabies, in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. So she smacked him, regardless of the fact it had been the first time he'd been able to sit up since the night before (after he'd grudgingly eaten her chicken soup, which she had to warm up).

After no sleep and the potion beginning to wear off, she'd been grumpy, okay?!

She didn't even hit him that hard, but he stared at her for so long, trying to bite back an insult she could practically see on the tip of his tongue, his face began to turn red.

Still smarting from the insult to her cat, Hermione snapped, "A Malfoy – blushing? This can't be! What would father think if he found out his precious son fancied a Mudblood?!"

She was ashamed of herself when she saw confusion and – pain? – flare up in his eyes before he spat, "A Malfoy would never fancy filth!"

And that was when the seizure hit.

He went down like a sack of potatoes off a Ferris wheel. Even smacked his head off the tile in front of the fireplace!

She nearly bit her nails off trying to wake him up, then realized she was a witch and enervated him. Except when he was completely blank when his eyes opened, Hermione panicked more.

His fever spiked even higher and spread, despite her desperate attempts to cool him off.

She even resorted to calling him Draco.

Dumbledore visited not long after that, but luckily she was able to clean him up and levitate him onto the sofa once more.

He took one look at the situation, kneeled next to Malfoy and told her to go freshen up. After she'd dunked her head in cold water a few times (tried to drown herself, more like), she come out and, lo and behold, Malfoy was conscious again.

But he was in pain. A lot of pain. His head was pounding and every fibre of his being was feeling like it was being ripped apart, and had he ever experienced the cruciatus he would have compared it to that.

Of course, Malfoy didn't say it in as many words, but Hermione could tell from his raspy voice and hazy grey eyes when he looked at her and whispered hoarsely, "Get out. Just… get out."

Her heart howled with grief as the words settled in, and despite her bravest attempts to feel pleasure in the antagonist of her life's misery, she couldn't find it in herself to feel anything other than pity and sympathy.

Dumbledore gently took her aside, told her in kind words not to tell anyone of Malfoy's condition, go have some lunch, and then come back to the dorm no later than one o'clock to take over after he had to leave, giving them both some time to cool off.

Feeling like crap, Hermione had made her way down to the Great Hall, and was instantly cheered up when Ginny arrived to take her mind of it.

But alas, she mourned silently, her hour's peace was almost at its end, and she still hadn't been able to shake the thoughts of guilt. No doubt Malfoy was, at that very moment, telling Dumbledore how horrible she'd been to him.

"So, anyways, Hermione, after Harry and Ron get out of the Hospital Wing, you think we could go on a double date to Hogsmeade? You are the Head Girl, after all, so you should be able to bring just the four of us down without any complaints from the teachers."

"Ginny!" Hermione spluttered, a fine shade of red overcoming her features. She hated it when she blushed. "Ron and I aren't dating!"

Staring blandly, Ginny deadpanned, "Really. Isn't that interesting." Suddenly her eyes widened. "Hermione, is that rumour that Pansy chic has been spreading true? You and Malfoy?! Are you kidding me?!"

Aghast, Hermione shouted. "No! Never! That's just – that's just gross."

Luckily mostly everyone was down with the flu, because if the hall had been full, Hermione may have fainted from embarrassment.

A horrifying grin began to twitch at her best friend's lips. "So what you're saying is that you wouldn't mind if Malfoy just suddenly… disappeared? Or perhaps caught that flu and was the only permanent victim of it? What would you say if Malfoy died suddenly, Hermione? Well?"

Hermione went still as her heart stopped beating. To bide her time, she said, "Why do you ask, Ginny?" Unfortunately her voice was nearly as silky as Snape's, which made Ginny recoil slightly.

But the damage was done. It had been Ginny? Hermione's best friend had assaulted someone with a hex, with means to kill him? No, she couldn't immediately assume that. She needed proof, she needed evidence, she needed…

'Malfoy'… 'suddenly'… 'permanent'… 'victim'… 'died.' DIED!

…She needed to get back to the Heads dorm as fast as she could.

Hermione ignored the way Ginny frantically called after her with confusion laced in her words.

How could she have not noticed her best friend was plotting murder? Why did nobody notice?!

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A/N:

Gasp! And the plot thickens… I was stuck on this one for the longest while, though I don't know for the life of me why. I have no excuse, however. Feel free to flame.

Is everything as it seems? We'll see…