Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, though I wish I did.
Author's Note: This story will be coming to a close soon. Just thought I should prepare everyone.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Hermione stayed in her room the rest of the day. Draco brought food in from the kitchen and put it in front of her door, knocking on it to let her know it was out there. She didn't come out of her room and Draco left for dinner sighing. However, when he returned, he noted that the tray was now empty with a note on the plate. It said only one word, "Thanks," but it was enough for him.
Hermione woke up the next morning cranky. She wasn't in the mood to deal with Draco and Harry and Ginny and Blaise. She considered staying in bed, but knew that it wasn't a good idea. Sighing, she threw the covers off her body and padded into the bathroom.
Draco woke to the sound of the bath running. He sighed and ran his hands through his hair, making it even messier. He didn't think Hermione was going to talk to him today, but he really needed to, at least to make sure she was okay. He felt really bad about Blaise, and tried to make that the main feeling of the day, as opposed to excitement about the fact that she was now available.
Hermione left the bathroom a few minutes later, and Draco hurried in to take a quick shower. He wanted to catch her before she left for the Great Hall. He was surprised to see her sitting on one of the couches in the common room after he finished in the bathroom. She looked up at him and smiled, noting his mussed hair, undone tie, and shirt which was half tucked in.
She stood and walked over to him. "Are you trying to see who can take the shortest time in the bathroom?" she said, tying his tie for him. "If so, I definitely think you have me beat."
Hermione hadn't meant for doing his tie to be anything but friendly, but she realized that, based on how close they were to each other, he could easily kiss her. She kept her head down, her fingers flying, trying to steady her breathing. She stepped back and smiled again. "There, all done," she said, patting his tie. He grabbed her hand and brought it up to his mouth. He kissed her fingertips, staring into her eyes the entire time. Hermione yanked her arm back and turned around. "We can't," she said, hurrying to the door. "It's too soon."
Draco looked pained. He thought she would like the kiss, because of how close she had been. He thought she had been coming onto him. "Wait," he said, making her stop. He grabbed his bag and walked over to her. "Let's go together." He held the door open for her and they walked down the hall in silence.
They entered the Great Hall and went their separate ways. Hermione looked over at the Gryffindor table. Harry and Ron were both eating, but Ginny was nowhere to be seen. She took a deep breath and walked over.
"Hi guys," she said smiling. She sat across from them and began putting food on her plate. Harry and Ron exchanged glances.
"Um, Hermione," Ron said. She looked up. "Are you...okay?"
She looked at him, confused for a second, then said, "Oh. You heard." They nodded.
"Ginny told us, this morning," Harry said.
"Where is she, anyway?" Hermione asked.
"For some reason, she didn't want to come down with us," Ron said, shrugging. Hermione realized that Ginny hadn't told Ron and Harry that she had kissed Blaise, just that Blaise and Hermione had broken up. And for that, she was grateful. It would be rather uncomfortable. She was sure people knew they had broken up, but she didn't know if anyone else knew about the kiss.
Ginny must have stayed back because she thinks I'm mad at her, Hermione thought. She decided, if Ginny wasn't at lunch, she would go see her.
"Did you guys like the dance?" Hermione asked, changing the subject.
"Yeah," Harry said. "It was a lot of fun. You and Malfoy need to plan all the dances from now on."
Hermione smiled. "Thanks. And I'll keep that in mind."
Hermione and Blaise had four classes together, two before lunch and two after. They avoided each other's gaze, which made Hermione a little sad. She still wanted to be friends with him. However, she was more worried about Ginny.
She went into the Great Hall and waited for about five minutes, before noting that it seemed like Ginny wasn't going to show up. Promising to meet Harry and Ron in their next class, she headed to the Gryffindor Tower.
She had been told the password to Gryffindor so she entered the common room without trouble. Ginny was seated in an armchair, reading a book. She didn't look up.
Hermione smiled. "Gin, what are you doing in here?" She looked up in surprise and shut her book, keeping her head down.
"I didn't think you'd appreciate seeing me today. After the kiss and all."
Hermione rolled her eyes playfully. "I am so over that. I was hoping I'd have my best friend there so I could get through all the crazy of today."
Ginny smiled bashfully. "So you're not pissed at me?"
"Of course not! You'd have to do something really bad to make me that mad."
"Good," Ginny said, standing up. " 'Cause I'm starved!" They walked back to the Great Hall, arms linked.
The next few weeks flew by quickly. Hermione kept up with her studies and attempted to keep her relationship with Draco platonic. There were the occasional awkward moments, where Hermione felt so attracted to Draco she was afraid she would jump on him and ravish him, no matter where they were.
She stayed friends with Blaise and was glad for that support system. Because neither of them had feelings for the other, they were able to talk about almost anything. She noticed, at times, that he seemed interested in what Ginny was doing, and, whenever they were in the room together, they seemed to have great chemistry. Hermione didn't think anything of it, though.
Spring bloomed early and Hermione welcomed the warm weather. She was tired of wearing thick sweaters and socks, and wanted to spend afternoons outside without having to run back in to the school because of cold gusts of wind. It seemed the entire school was happy about the change in weather. Everyone was nicer to each other, and there was even some inter-house mingling.
One afternoon, Hermione was outside, sitting at the base of a tree, her schoolwork spread out before her. She was working on a Potions essay. She had began in the library, but, because of the large windows that were opened to let in the cool air (and the voices of various students enjoying themselves) she had found the outdoors too irresistible. She had gathered her belongings and, after walking around for about ten minutes, found the perfect tree to study at. It was far enough away from the lake, where most of the students were, to not be too noisy, but not far enough away from the school to be totally isolated.
A shadow fell over her work and she looked up. Blaise was standing in front of her, fidgeting a bit. Hermione smiled. "Hey, Blaise, what's up?"
"Um, can I sit next to you?" he said. "I, ah, need to talk to you, about something."
"Sure," Hermione said, pushing some papers to the side to make room. He sat down, and stared at his feet. "Is, um, everything okay?" she asked.
Blaise looked up. "Ginny's not, um, dating anyone, right?"
Hermione shook her head slowly. Where was he going with this?
"Has she ever talked...about me?"
Hermione squinted her eyes. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, do you two ever talk about me? In any way."
Hermione thought for a moment. "Sometimes, yes, I guess. But I don't see--"
"How do you talk about me?"
"What do you mean, how do we talk about you?"
Blaise groaned, then said in one breath, "I like Ginny and I want to know if she returns the feelings."
Hermione's eyes widened as what he said hit her, then she smirked. "Ah, so that kiss did mean something."
"Hermione, I'm serious! I've usually always been able to tell how a girl feels about me, but it's different with Ginny. I mean, I watch her with me, and I think she might like me, but then I see her act the same with, like, her brother, and I get worried. I don't like being unsure."
She smiled. "I don't know if Ginny likes you. We don't really talk about you like that. I think she's still uncomfortable about the kiss, and what it did to me. She probably thinks I'll feel bad if she talks about you, or says that she likes you."
"Um, could you maybe talk to her? For me?"
She nodded. "Sure. I think maybe if I start the conversation, then she'll be more comfortable talking about it."
Blaise smiled. "Thanks, so much. I really appreciate it." They chatted for a few more minutes, then Blaise excused himself. He remembered suddenly that he also had a Potions essay to finish.
Hermione finished up her work about half an hour later and headed back to the school. She walked down the empty hallway alone and noticed how intimidating the corridors of Hogwarts were, even during springtime, when light would filter in through the windows.
She made it to the Head's common room a few minutes later and stored her schoolwork in her room. Draco wasn't in his room, or the common room, so she just assumed he was out somewhere. Checking her watch, she noted that dinner was to start in forty-five minutes. She planned to talk to Ginny about Blaise then.
She decided to change out of her uniform into something more comfortable. The students were only obligated to wear their robes to dinner, for which Hermione was grateful. Her uniform had gotten rather tight, and itchy. She knew she could just get a new one, but thought it was stupid to waste money on something so trivial. Most of the male students at Hogwarts were pleased that Hermione kept her old uniform, because it hugged her curves suggestively. Occasionally, she would undo one or two buttons on her shirt and give the men at Hogwarts a nice view of her cleavage. For some reason, no one had said anything.
Hermione changed into a denim skirt that hit five inches above her knee, a green knit t-shirt with a scoop neck, and white flip flops. She brushed her long hair out and let it fall over her shoulders. She brought a book with her into the common room and lounged on the couch, reading.
Draco entered the common room about fifteen minutes later. He had been playing Quidditch with a couple other guys, and his hair was still wet from his shower. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up, revealing strong forearms. He smiled when he saw Hermione. He had been thinking about her for most of the day. He had been doing that a lot lately.
"Hey, Hermione," he said, sitting across from her. Hermione looked up and her breath caught in her throat. She had never seen him look more attractive than he did now. He was ruggedly handsome and she realized how he filled a room with his presence. The room always felt better whenever he was in it.
Draco noted how Hermione looked at him and smirked to himself. He'd been given that look many times but never as strongly as she was now. This gave him some hope.