I hope that you all enjoy this chapter! (Very short AN.. I know)
George and Fred had opted to quickly return home before telling the Weasley clan of Ginny's and Hermione's love choices. Needless to say, Molly and Arthur had quickly Floo-ed to meet with Dumbledore to which they greatly protested the task that had been given to the girls. Ginny had argued that she was a mature girl and that it was worth cause. The Weasleys had left the castle in an accepting but frustrated manor.
Harry and Ronald were seated at the Gryffindor table awaiting the beginning of dinner, grumbling about the days events when Ginny and Hermione walked into the hall, hand-in-hand with their 'beaus'.
"Ron, I'm going to shoot someone if this doesn't end! I'm going insane!" Harry said, brushing his hair back. Ron merely nodded, his eyes on the girls as they seated themselves.
"You're telling me, Harry! Imagine your own sister being one of them! It's mentally scarring!" He muttered with disgust as the raven-haired boy nipped his sister playfully on the ear. Ginny giggled before whispering something in his ear that made him smirk with obvious pleasure. "I think I'm going to be sick."
Hermione couldn't help but smile as Blaise and Ginny became more and more open about their emotions for one another as the weeks passed. It was quite a beautiful thing to watch; her brother and closest friend in love but she felt as though it was time to change their approach. "Gin, as much as I love seeing you two together, we should spend time with the Gryffs. They'll be a bit suspicious, don't you reckon?"
With a deep sigh, Ginny pecked Blaise on the cheek before getting up and throwing her arm around Hermione. "I can't believe it. My life is so beautifully perfect." Shaking her head, Hermione smiled at her friend before they seated themselves across from Harry and Ronald.
The boys looked up before scowling. "Decided to grace us with your presence?" They asked, bitingly. Hermione cocked her head 'innocently' as Ginny nodded happily and 'obliviously'. Laughing softly, they quickly scooped food onto their plates and began devouring it. After all, flying was tiring. "What's gotten you two so hungry?" Ron asked, surprised at their unusual behaviour.
Ginny quickly finished her bite. "Oh. We've been flying and you know how much that takes out of a person. I swear, Hermione's become such a speed-demon on that broom. Pretty good broom, don't you reckon?" Hermione grunted in agreement, attempting to satisfy her hunger.
Harry couldn't help but spit out his food. "Woah! Hermione is flying! Bull! Since when!" Ron seemed to have overlooked that but at Harry's statement looked up in shock.
Hermione blushed. "Oh well, Draco made me go a few times. Apparently Lucius says that the best way to conquer fear is to face it. It's pretty logical, so I went. And it was amazing! I've been a few times by myself as well. You'll never guess but Draco bought me the new Ice-Storm; it hasn't even come out on the market!"
The boys' eyes darkened at the mention of the two Malfoys. Ginny grinned before piping up. "Mr. Malfoy must have some pretty damn good principles because that one really worked! Oh! Blaise got me an Ice-Storm as well! They're beautiful! They're a grey wood! Those boys." Ginny said, shaking her head. "Such power on those...ahem…brooms."
Ron turned a dark green shade as both Hermione and Ginny giggled, blushing furiously. Lavender, who was seated beside Ron, gaped before leaning close. "You've seen their…brooms!" She asked excitedly. Ginny and Hermione raised their eyebrows and nodded before stuffing their faces with food.
Lavender groaned at their avoidance of the subject, sitting back in her seat. "Mya, love, if you take so long we won't be able to continue the match! Come on!" Hermione looked behind her to see the two Slytherin boys. Lavender and Parvati giggled quietly at their appearance.
Draco's hair was messed up by the wind that they had been flying in. He was dressed merely in black slacks and a thin white shirt, the sleeves rolled up. Blaise was similarly dressed, his slacks a grey colour instead. Hermione and Ginny shrugged before slowing down their eating pace. Draco and Blaise both frowned at this before seating themselves behind the girls. "That's it."
They grabbed the cutlery off the girls before beginning to feed them. Lavender sighed before nudging Ron harshly. "Why don't you ever do something romantic like that, huh!" She asked before storming out of the hall with Parvati. Ron sighed.
"See you later." He muttered angrily before getting up and racing out of the hall. Draco and Blaise shrugged before continuing to feed the girls slowly. Harry grumbled with ire, making sure to stare directly at his plate and not anywhere else.
Draco noticed this and quickly placed his lips on his wife's ear, nibbling gently at it. She giggled but Harry didn't stop staring at his plate. He did everything he could think of but Harry's resolve seemed to be stronger than he expected. He placed his hand on Hermione's thigh and nudged her from behind slightly. She grinned softly at him. "Draco!" She whispered quite loudly. "Move your hand! We're in the Great Hall, not the Heads' Quarters!"
At this, Harry's head whipped up, as did his hand which was clutching to his wand. "Get your hands off her, Malfoy." He whispered darkly, his voice dangerously low. Draco sneered at him before latching his lips onto his wife's. Harry growled angrily as they pulled away from each other. "You know what, Hermione, Ginny? I'm not going to tolerate this. It's either us, Ron and I, or it's them, Zambini and Malfoy."
Hermione huffed in false annoyance. "What is wrong with you, Harry!" She shouted, standing up angrily. "How could you make me choose between brothers and the person I love! If you can't support us, then I can't be friends with you!" She said before rushing from the hall.
Ginny glared heavily, 'tears' springing to her eyes, at Harry before jumping up and following Hermione. Draco and Blaise sneered at the two boys. "Looks like you just lost, Potter." They spat at him before sauntering out of the hall after their girlfriends.
Ron was confused. No; not just confused. He was very confused. He had given up on finding Lavender and decided to get back to his lunch. That is until he saw Hermione rush out in tears, seeming to be sobbing heavily. Ginny had raced out after her and seemed to be comforting her. That is, until Malfoy and Zambini walked out of the hall. The girls spun around and had grinned at them.
"He's not coming." Zambini had said and then the girls had laughed alongside the two boys before they walked off towards the Heads' Quarters. They had been talking about contacting someone or rather and telling them something.
Yes. It was easy to say that Ronald Weasley was confused.
Draco threw a handful of powder into the grate, watching as the fire burst in a green explosion. Tom Riddle's face popped through the fire and looked on eagerly at the children. "Yes?" He asked simply.
Hermione smiled softly. "Tom, Potter decided that we had to choose between the boys or him. We put on quite a show. He'll come running back in no time, don't you worry." Tom grinned at his followers before bidding them good luck and goodbye. Hermione turned to her friends. "So, how about we go down to Hogsmeade?" Ginny squealed excitedly, grabbing Hermione's hand and rushing out of the dorms.
Draco and Blaise chuckled as the girls were speeding out of sight. "We'll catch up with you in Gladrags!" They called, rolling their eyes as the girls ignored them and kept on running.
Blaise was chatting happily about his progressing relationship with Ginny by the time they had entered the Wizarding area and as they made their way to the store, he continued. Draco sighed, his mind drifting off to his own love life, with Hermione. He found her strange compared to the other girls he knew. She didn't care about his money or good looks. Quite frankly, she only cared about was how he treated her and how he felt about her.
Draco continued down the street in a daze and turned to enter the shop with a large sign outside it reading, Gladrags. But in his state of deep though, Draco didn't walk into the shop but rather, into the door. He was brought back into consciousness as his head collided with a hard surface. Draco cursed as his legs failed him and he fell to the ground. Draco looked up to see a glass door in his way. He picked himself up, a small blush arising to his cheeks, as he determinedly ignored the people watching curiously. He was, however, unable to ignore Blaise who was leaning against the wall, laughing endlessly and hitting his fist against the wall. "Y-you hi-hit th-the d-door!" Blaise cried in between guffaws. "Damned bloody door" He mumbled as he pushed the door open. Draco and Blaise, who was still laughing, moved to the back of the shop where racks of elegant work robes.
As he searched through the racks, he brushed his hair away from his face, only to wince as his fingers brushed against a visible bruise sending a shot of pain through his forehead. Blaise watched him amused, mirth lighting up his eyes. Mumbling incoherently, Draco picked up three robes at random and went to try them on to escape Blaise's mocking. Surprisingly, all three fit him perfectly and he quite liked the design. Just two more robes and one for mother and I can get out of here. Though Draco did have an excellent fashion sense, he didn't like shopping and preferred flying with Blaise much more. As Draco left the fitting rooms a little bell rang, signalling the entrance of somebody into the shop.
As usual, Draco turned to see the customer. His eyes softened as the girl of his thoughts walked in, a mug of Butterbeer in her hand and he walked straight into a clothes rack. Hermione spun around to look at him and her eyes lit up with amusement. Inattentively, Draco smiled back at her. Hermione sauntered over to Draco and held out a hand to help him out of the mess of robes. Gratefully he took it and righted himself. "Thanks beautiful." Draco looked over his shoulder to see Blaise kneeling on the floor clutching his stomach, hitting his fist on the floor, cackling with laughter. He scowled and looked back at Hermione.
Hermione merely giggled. "Come on, klutz, you've got to help me get some nice school robes and a dress robe. I've been meaning to come down for Mother's Christmas celebration. Draco nodded as they moved past Blaise, 'accidentally' kicking him as they passed. Blaise, not happy with being made a fool of, stuck his leg out and watched gleefully as Draco yelped and fell to the ground, bringing down yet another rack of clothes. Hermione sighed as Ginny giggled quietly. "Let's forget that and get out of here before the assistant comes!" They raced out, Draco turning to punch Blaise in the arm once they were safely away from the infuriated shop-assistant.
Blaise just smirked and shrugged. "I guess we'll be going to Madame Malkin's then." He announced happily before walking off, leaving Draco and the girls behind.
It was almost dinner time when the four arrived back at Hogwarts and thankfully for them, most of the school was inside. Draco grinned as Hermione tangled their fingers together. "Remember, you need to seem really upset about the argument before." Hermione nodded, rolling her eyes gently. They had already heard this many times. "We'll pretend that we're trying to get you guys to the Slytherin table but seem really off put and go sit at the end of the table, okay?" Ginny groaned, this must've been the sixth time he had told them this in the past five minutes. Draco opened his mouth to make sure they knew the plan but a sharp glare from both of them cut him off. "Right, well…that's all…"
Harry was staring eagerly at the door by the time the four walked in. At the sight of the two girls, he looked ready to jump up and run over to them but the moment he saw Draco and Blaise behind them, he seemed to rethink his actions with a scowl. "Baby, come to the Slytherin Table with us." Draco said, loud enough for the boy to hear. Hermione shook her head softly, her eyes downcast. Ginny sniffled and wiped a 'tear' from her cheek as Blaise rubbed her back softly.
"Come on, you two. Sitting with them is only going to make things worse. Sit with us tonight, at least the Slytherins don't treat you like dirt." Blaise finished off, glaring angrily at Harry and Ron who were both flushed a deep red at the statement.
Hermione drew in a few withering breaths. "N-no, we just want to be alone now…" She said, sadly before walking dejectedly to the Gryffindor table, Ginny following close behind. Draco and Blaise looked worriedly on after them and as they seated themselves, the two boys sighed and moved to the Slytherins. Quietly, the two girls buttered their bread and pulled a bowl of soup closer to them. Hermione glanced to her side.
Harry and Ron were looking awfully guilty, fidgeting with their things. Lavender and Veronica were fawning over the two, trying to lighten their spirits. Hermione and Ginny shot a triumphant glance at each other and nodded. Throwing their bread down, they jumped from their seats and rushed out of the hall. Draco and Blaise had barely finished serving themselves when they saw the girls rush out. Groaning, they too exited the hall in the wake of their girlfriends.
Dean was confused. He was confused…very confused. He had been practising for the Quidditch tryouts when he noted four people walking towards the castle. Taking a closer look, he realised that it was the two Gryffindor girls and their Slytherin partners. He has just finished his 'training' and was on his way to dinner when he heard someone talking nearby. "Oh jeez, you could've waited a bit longer. I'm starving!" He heard a boy's voice complain. Peeking around the corner he had seen the four people that he had whilst flying.
"Oh shut up Draco, be happy that we've done what we were told." Hermione scolded. "If you're that hungry, we can get something to eat from the kitchens." She grinned at the boys' confusion alongside Ginny before they turned and enthusiastically walked down the hallway.
Hermione sighed happily from her position on the balcony of the Astronomy Tower. She almost smiled when she heard footsteps coming up the staircase. She was expecting Draco but those footsteps were far too noisy and clumsy to be his. Frowning, she recognised them. Potter.
"M-Mione?" She growled angrily at the name that he had given her. "I mean, Hermione!" He corrected himself quickly. Hermione smiled. He was running back as she had expected. Pasting a sorrowful expression on her face, she turned to face him. He seemed to wince at the expression of pain that she held.
"What do you want, Harry?" He reached out to touch her face but a cold hand clamped on his.
"Don't touch her, Potter. You've done enough damage." Hermione rushed into Draco's arms as he picked her and quickly but quietly took her back to their common room.
I'll try to reply to people's reviews next chapter, which I have already started. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. PLEASE REVIEW FOR THIS ONE : ) I love the feedback. If you have any ways you'd like this story to go, just tell me.