I lied...This is the LONGEST chapter ever!
Chapter Nine
It was early in the morning, and Hermione laid in the comfort of her plush bed wide awake. She had been up for a couple of hours, but she didn't have the strength to wake up completely. She squinted her eyes and gasped as she was suddenly hit with bright sunlight in her dark room.
"Wake up."
Hermione slowly opened her eyes, trying to become accustomed to the shining sunbeams. She saw someone standing by her bed with their hands at their waist looking a tad impatient. It was Ginny. Oh.
Who was I expecting anyways?
"Good morning, Gin." Hermione said, slowly sitting up with all the strength she could muster. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to ensure that you keep healthy and vibrating at a high frequency." Ginny said briskly, but with concern at the same time.
"What?"
"I know about your "Malffairs". Harry told me."
"My what?"
"Malffairs." Ginny repeated, as if she was talking about the weather. "Malfoy affairs."
"Oh my Godiva, Ginny." Hermione whined, falling back into her pillows. "It's too early to talk about that.
"Well, then. We don't have to talk about him. Anyways, I'm trying to make you happier because it's obvious that you're completely lonely and miserable."
There's that Ginny bluntness.
"Thanks Gin. I feel much better now." Hermione said sarcastically as she got out of bed, steering clear of Ginny.
"Good. The happier you are, the higher chance of you attracting happy people instead of vulgar-Malfoy types." Ginny replied, oblivious to the sarcasm.
Hermione gave a single glance at Ginny's eager-to-help face, and immediately knew that she had to get rid of her. She couldn't handle Ginny at the moment. "Ginny," She said sweetly. "Why don't you go to the Great Hall, and I'll meet you there for breakfast. We can talk then."
"Sure. Of course." Ginny said as she started towards the exit. "But remember, 'Stay optimistic, and today will be the start of a process that will get you back onto the roadmap'."
And with that, Ginny left. Hermione sighed exhaustedly. Why is Ginny feeding her therapy crap!
Trying her best to ignore her weird wake-up call, Hermione got dressed and headed toward the common room. As she walked out her door, she bumped into Draco. Hermione sucked in a deep breath when she saw him. He had large, dark bags beneath his eyes, and his clothes were all ruffled. The two of them just stood there awkwardly, before Hermione quickly rushed past him, blushing, and mumbled a quick 'Mornin.'
Awkward Meeting #1.
Sighing, yet again, Hermione made her way to the Great Hall, not hungry at all. Ginny was no where to be seen. Whew. Hermione took her seat next to Ron, and then proceeded to give Harry a sharp kick on the leg under the table.
"OWW!" Harry yelled. "Why'd you do that!"
"Why'd you tell Ginny about…you know? She's driving me crazy."
"I didn't. Well, I did, but I thought she already knew."
Hermione just glared intensely at Harry before letting it go. She was far too distracted by a saturnine Draco walking into the Great Hall sluggishly. She quickly glanced away, as she noticed him turn her way. Without eating a drop of food, Hermione walked out of the Great Hall. She couldn't take the tension anymore. She felt like the knot at the end of her string that was keeping everything tied together perfectly was loose. Despite the closure, she still felt a brick inside weighing her down whenever Draco entered the same room as her.
With thoughts crowding through her head, Hermione ran to the one place she found peace.
The library.
She didn't have Transfiguration for another hour, so she slowly opened the library door, revealing towers of books. She took a deep whiff of the library scent, causing a huge grin to come across her face. It was like her drug. The cure for everything.
She hurriedly grabbed a nearby book, not even glancing at the title, plopped down on the cozy armchair, and began reading.
Almost and hour had passed, and Hermione closed her book, as continuous tears fell from her eyes. This story is just too sad. She was officially depressed.
"Are you alright?"
Hermione looked up, and her face hardened. It was Draco. How long had he been there? "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just…sad story, you know."
"Yeah." He replied quietly. He was watching her intently, and Hermione felt extremely self-conscious being eyed, while she was a big sobbing mess.
Awkward Meeting #2.
"Well, I gotta get to class. Erm…see you later." Hermione said, rushing off towards Transfiguration.
She in fact did see him later, for Transfiguration was with Slytherin that day.
-:-
As Hermione entered the empty Transfiguration classroom, she realized she was five minutes early to class. Professor McGonagall was sitting behind her desk grading some assignment, and didn't pay much attention to the Head Girl. Hermione took the opportunity to get a good seat for class. She loved sitting in the front of the classroom. It made it easier for her to take notes and listen to the lecture. She excitedly rushed to a seat in the front-center row of the class. The moment she took her seat, she turned to see Draco enter the class. Uh-Oh. He was walking alone, and looking at his feet, not strutting with his head held high with arrogance. This is different. Draco took a seat near Hermione in the second row. She tensed up, but as she heard the bell ring, and the mounds of students piling into the classroom, she exhaled a sigh of relief.
Harry and Ron took a seat on either side of her, making sure Draco saw the intense glare they both threw at him.
"Hermione, where were you after lunch? I didn--- why are your eyes all red and blotchy? Were you crying?" Ron asked with concern.
"Oh…it's nothing, really. It was this book I was reading. Such a tearjerker. So anyways…" Hermione said, quickly changing the subject. "I think we should hang out by the lake later."
"Yeah. Transfiguration is our only class today." Harry replied with a content smile on his face. "Plus, I want to spend as much time outside before it gets too cold to leave the castle."
Hermione and Ron happily agreed. Hermione needed as many activities possible to keep her mind off…you-know-who, and her daily life back to normal. She genuinely smiled at her friends, not even noticing the pissed-off Draco sitting behind her. Well, she noticed, but chose to ignore him.
"Good morning, class." McGonagall said loudly, catching every student's attention. "Today we will be attempting to change a frog into a picture frame. It shouldn't be a challenge to some of you." She said while looking at Hermione. "But most of you will have some trouble with making the picture frame proportional." She said while looking over at Crabbe and Goyle.
Dolts.
"So, does anyone here know the spell for this?" McGonagall inquired, looking eagerly throughout the classroom. Obviously, Hermione's hand shot up into the air before anyone could look it up. "Yes, Miss Granger."
"The spell used to change a frog into a pic—." Hermione was interrupted by a loud slam of the classroom window. Suddenly, a large owl carrying a letter flew through and headed directly towards Hermione. Following her instincts, she ducked just in time so that the owl just missed the top of her head. The entire class was lively with the large commotion, and began bickering loudly. Hermione slowly rose up from under her table, and picked up the letter left on her desk. It had the Ministry of Magic seal on it, except it wasn't addressed to her, but to… "Malfoy."
"What?" Draco replied, startled that Hermione just said his name.
"This letter's for you, not me." She replied, careful not to meet his eyes. She handed it to him, and pretended to return to writing her non-existent notes. She heard him rip open the letter urgently, and draw in breath. What did the damn letter say? Why's the Ministry contacting him? Why--?
Hermione's thoughts were interrupted by McGonagall's angry voice trying to make the owl return to the owlery, and quiet the class at the same time.
Hermione got up, and felt it as her duty as Head Girl to assist the teacher. She took the owl from McGonagall, and put it out the window, where it flew away peacefully. "Thank you, Miss Granger." She smile sincerely, then turned to the class and screamed. "SILENCE! What makes you think you can act like children just because an owl flew in here?"
McGonagall was interrupted in her angry rant by Draco, who abruptly stood up and walked towards her. Hermione couldn't read his expressionless face, but knew that something was definitely wrong. Draco whispered something into McGonagall's ear, and handed her the letter. After a deathly silence in the classroom, McGonagall led Draco out of the classroom. The moment the two of them had left the classroom, the entire class continued their conversations they had been interrupted from a second ago. Hermione would have scolded the class, if her mind wasn't so preoccupied with Mr. You-Know-Who. She hadn't even noticed the worried look Harry and Ron were giving her that became more and more concerned by the second.
-:-
The moment that class had ended, Hermione walked directly towards the library, forgetting all about her plans with Ron and Harry. She needed solitude. Fast. She quickly took her regular seat in the library and contemplated what the letter might have said. Why do I honestly even care what it says?
"Granger? I have to talk to you." Said a deep voice behind Hermione.
Hermione was startled by the sudden intrusion into her thoughts, and turned to see none other than Blaise Zabini. Ugh. Her thoughts immediately flashed to the bet. "What do you want?"
"I need your help." He said with a sincere tone, but as sincere as it could be for a Slytherin.
"Why would I want to help you?" Hermione glared at him icily.
"Well, it's not me you'd help, it's Draco."
Hermione stiffened at the sound of his name aloud. "I'd rather have a mermaid screech into my ear then help that intolerable, ignorant, arrogant, ferret-like dolt."
"I know you don't like him right now because of the—you know—but I know my friend, he honestly didn't mean a single word he said. Like you said, he is an intolerable, ignorant, arrogant, ferret-like dolt, but he's also got a great heart and you know it. So don't blame him for his behavior, blame me, and get over it. Holding grudges will always leave you feeling resentful towards everything. Just let it go, and give Draco another chance."
Hermione was unsure of how to respond, so she remained silent.
"Okay… well, back to the main subject. Something has happened to Draco. Something's…wrong. He's pissed drunk in your common room ranting about some letter. He won't talk to me and it's really quite scary to see him so out of character. I don't know what to do…"
Hermione let the worried expression wash over her face, not bothering to mask her emotions. "I'll go check on him." She said as she got up from her seat and began to leave the library.
"Oh, and…Gra—Hermione," Blaise called, looking sheepish, as Hermione turned to look at him a bit confused. "Thanks."
"Uh-huh."
Hermione's mind was too lost in thought to freak out over the fact that she just had an almost civilized with Blaise. Almost. She rushed to the Head's common room, and when she reached it, she was unsure of her next action. She slowly opened the portrait entrance and noticed Draco lying on the rug with fire whiskey in his left hand, and the same envelope from the owl in his right hand. He was slurring on and on about something incomprehensible. Hermione slowly approached him, a bit nervous about her actions.
"Er…Malfoy?"
"ogastupdlttridotme" he replied, before downing more fire whiskey.
Hermione sighed loudly, and walked to his side, looking down at him. "Draco." She whispered exasperatedly.
"ermeeonee"
"Yes, it's Hermione."
He immediately sat up, and leaned against the coffee table. "Ermyonee. Aymsawry."
"What's the matter?" Hermione said softly, as she slowly grabbed the bottle of whiskey from him before he could chug anymore. "Why are you so upset?"
"Idunwannatok…abowt…it." He slurred once again, causing Hermione to strain her ears to understand him.
"Why don't you want to talk about it? Please tell me. I want to help you." She said even quieter than before. She wasn't even sure if Draco had even heard her, she was speaking more to herself. Draco just handed the letter to her and took another swig from his bottle of whiskey.
Hermione took the letter from him and drew in breath as she held the letter in her hand. She took a heavy swig of whiskey herself, before opening the letter. She felt the alcohol slowly begin to burn as it traveled down her throat, and felt warmth throughout her body.
Nothing like a nice buzz to prepare you for the unexpected.
She removed the letter from its Ministry stamped envelope and unfolded the heavy parchment. The words were handwritten beautifully in cursive, and before Hermione began to read the beautiful calligraphy before her, she took another drink, and then returned to the letter.
Here goes.
-:-
Hmm… I don't really like this chapter. It's choppy, isn't it? I don't know. I'm not sure about this. The story's kind of…bleh…now. I know I haven't updated in a really long time. Sorry. I have some issues to deal with, and with school, my time is limited. Again, sorry.
Anyways, I'd like to thank the following for reviewing: UBERxCOOL, cookiemonsterks, sweetlyevil, felicitousmomento, Dark x Sorrow, LunaCatt, Hanna-Banana, KayeRyoko, Phantom of a Rose, angelrider93, Corporal Scarlett, bethygirl94, and Queen of Serpents.
I really enjoy your reviews, and I hope they keep coming.
Questions to ponder…
What does the letter say?
Why is Draco so depressed by it?
Why is the Ministry contacting Draco?
Is Hermione going to forgive Draco?
How will the letter affect the story?
When will I update next?
Will you REVIEW?