Author's Note: Well, friends, I am a little (just a little) melancholy today. has rejected "If You Can" for the second time.
Oh well, thems the breaks.
I would like to take this opportunity, therefore, to thank each and every one of you for sticking with this story and for the complimentary reviews. You make it worth writing! And blessing on this site for freedom in fanfiction!
I'll feature Draco theme in this chapter. Fallen by Franz Ferdinand was played far too few times on the radio.
The Golden Trio hadn't seen much of each other during the beginning of the school year. At least, one member of the trio hadn't. Ron still had his hands full keeping an eye on Harry. He never really appreciated all the frustrated stares and reprimands that the adults had always been giving the three of them. Now that he had to personally rein Harry in, he finally understood why McGonagall was always pursing her lips at them.
But Hermione was no where to be found. The boys had been spending nearly every second of every day together, since they lived together, had all the same classes, ate together, and were on the same Quidditch team. The only time they saw their best friend was during the few classes that they shared. Hermione, of course, was taking the most difficult and (Ron thought, anyway) boring classes at the highest levels. They barely ever saw her eat, and had been up to her room only once. That little interlude had gotten sour real fast. Harry and Ron had just started to get the hang of Gran Turismo when Draco walked in and things got extremely uncomfortable for everyone.
They had finally tracked her down one Saturday afternoon, looking suspiciously exhausted, in the library.
"There you are," said Ron as they approached what most of the Hogwarts students had deemed "Hermione's table."
"Here I am," she replied, not looking up from her text book. NEWTS were only 9 months away, after all.
"We were thinking of going down to visit Hagrid and were wondering if you were interested in coming along," said Harry, with as big a smile as he could manage plastered on his face.
The visit to Hagrid was a peace offering, one that Ron and Harry figured Hermione couldn't refuse. They had never spoken of what happened at the train station; Hermione because she was still too hurt and the boys because they just hoped it would run its course and be forgotten. Apparently, as they had grown in size and age, their respective tempers had swelled proportionately. Three powder kegs are NOT fun.
Hermione stared at each of them shrewdly in turn.
"You're going down to Hagrid's?" she asked.
"Yeah," Harry replied.
"And you thought I might want to go with you?"
"Yeah," continued Ron, starting to suspect that this wasn't going to be as easy as he first thought.
"So I'm just supposed to forget how horrible you, BOTH of you were to me at the train station and pretend it never happened?"
Damn. Harry and Ron looked at each other uneasily. Ron was used to being in trouble with Hermione. He figured that he spent approximately 50 of the time on her bad side. But this situation was different. Normally, he just waited until some catastrophe befell them and then Hermione would forgive him. Thus far, they had been surprisingly and relatively worry-free. Also, he had never been in the doghouse with someone, least likely of all would be the Chosen One himself, who Hermione coddled, in his opinion. This was indeed a difficult situation.
"Alright, I'm sorry. I was very upset and I yelled at you for something that wasn't your fault," Harry finally responded. Hermione smiled at him indulgently and then turned a haughty face to Ron.
What, he was supposed to apologize now? What the hell was this? He looked at Harry, who was staring him down. Oh, God, he was!
"I'm sorry too."
"What are you sorry for, Ronald?" Oh, come on now! She didn't cross examine Harry. This wasn't fair.
"I'm sorry that it sounded as though I was disappointed in you and that I didn't like you anymore. I was also upset and taking it out on you." That was a bitter pill to swallow. And where was his indulgent smile?
"I'm sorry that I kept things from you. I should have trusted you, BOTH of you, to be mature enough to handle the truth." Once again Ron felt as though he had wandered into another dimension. Now they were all apologizing for everything? What were they, adults?
"So, we're off then?" asked Harry, eager for things to return to some semblance of normalcy.
"Sure," she smiled at him again and grabbed her bag. "Are you feeling all right, Ron? You're making a strange face." She asked, placing her hand on his arm as she walked around the table. Ron smiled smugly to himself. He knew exactly how to play the pitiful patient card, and she fell for it every time.
"Well, since you asked, I haven't really been sleeping too well lately…"
They walked from the library through the corridors of the ancient school toward the back doors. In one of the long halls, they heard a familiar voice approaching. Without thinking, Harry grabbed Hermione and pulled her into a wardrobe after pushing Ron in first. Unfortunately, Hermione had stumbled a bit from being shoved and Ron had to reach out for her to make sure she didn't damage herself.
"And what exactly are we doing in here?" Hermione asked sarcastically after Harry yanked the doors closed, "looking for a new route to Narnia?"
"Shh!" Harry replied.
"What's Narnia?" asked Ron.
"It's from some Muggle books, Ron. It's actually quite fascinating…"
"SHH!!!"
…
"Ron, why are your arms around my waist?"
"Oh! Sorry." Ron was thankful for the darkness in the wardrobe so that she wouldn't see him blushing.
Oh for God's sake! Harry prayed they would shut up as he pressed his ear against a crack in the door. Yup, that was Malfoy, alright. His stupid poof voice got louder as he approached their hiding place.
"Well, The Dark Lord is terrifying, of course. But I realized, eventually, that what the Deatheaters were doing was truly evil. I've seen the error of my ways, and now I am trying to repent," the smarmy bastard was saying; to whom, Harry couldn't guess.
"Wow, you are so brave to escape like that…" came the vapid reply of some (probably) sixth year girl.
"Yes, I am in constant danger now, though."
"How terrible for you…" was she actually buying this?
After they had walked a sufficient way down the hall, Harry allowed his captives to get out of the wardrobe. They were able to make out Draco and some Ravenclaw girl just before they turned the corner.
"And here I thought Ravenclaws were supposed to be smart," laughed Ron.
"He was laying it on a little thick," agreed Hermione.
"We should follow him," replied Harry, "there's no telling what he's up to."
"Oh, for the love of Pete, Harry," Hermione sighed, "it's completely obvious what he's up to. Pity for me, I'll have to hear all about it when he gets back to the dorm tonight."
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Ron.
"Just what it says. The poor boy is desperate for friends. I have to hear all about his amorous exploits. It's really disgusting."
"Well, you two certainly sound chummy," Harry bit out.
"He's not the only one who's desperate for friends," Hermione replied softly. Ron just stared at her after she said that. Then she seemed to snap out of it. "Well, we'll never get to Hagrid's standing around here all day." She turned on her heel and walked off, leaving the boys no choice but to follow her.
As with each new school year, the first thing that happens in September is that everyone catches up on the gossip of what had happened over the summer. Usually each house came up even, but this year was the exception. It seemed as though Gryffindor had far and away out-done all the other houses, even considering the Felon, also known as Draco Malfoy, had come back to school.
First there was the story that not only did the famous Harry Potter break up with Ginny Weasley, but they were forced to cohabitate all summer long since Harry and Ron had been placed under house arrest at the Burrow.
Then there was the story that Dean Thomas and Lavender Brown had hooked up. They were jokingly referring to themselves as the "Weasely Withdrawal Club." The good news was that they had apparently been able to find senses of humor together and could now exist in the same rooms as said Weaselys.
Thirdly, there was the overall change in Neville Longbottom. Lovely Neville had finally grown into himself, it seemed. Not only had he filled out a great deal over the summer, but he had stopped stuttering and gotten some self-confidence. He had also started seeing a 6th year Hufflepuff, despite the fact that most people thought that he and Luna Lovegood would have eventually become an item. He and Sally, the Hufflepuff, were very cute together. She fawned all over him, which seemed to be exactly what he needed.
But the most shocking news to hit the Gryffindor Tower was the change that had come over Hermione Granger, perfect prefect and all-around smartypants. She had finally done something with her hair and was looking quite pretty. She also seemed to have relaxed quite a bit, although that was not something to mention when she was giving you what-for for being out after curfew. All of these things could have been taken in stride if it weren't for her new roommate.
When the other Gryffindors heard who the Head Boy was, they were, as a group, nearly as incensed as Harry had been. Oddly enough, or perhaps not, given the strained relationship he now had with one of his best friends, it was Harry who repeated Ginny's summation that who was better to keep an eye on Malfoy than Hermione? The other Gryffindors seemed to accept this, but still kept a wary eye in his direction, especially since he seemed to spend quite a bit of time following Hermione around like her long, lost shadow.