Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series, which belongs to J. K. Rowling. I don't own the song 'Why can't I?' either because it belongs to Liz Phair.

AN: To A-Lady, Creative Pixie, Lady Paine, and Lady Linaae-Spirit of the Pond, thanks a lot for reviewing chapter 6. And to all of you, I do hope that you'll enjoy reading this chapter as much as I did writing it. As you can see, the title is taken from the song 'Why can't I?' by Liz Phair. Part of its lyrics will appear, too.

Partners – Chapter 7 – Why Can't I

by Leopion

When Hermione arrived at the Three Broomsticks the next morning, the pub was packed with people; most of them were Hogwarts students, chattering animatedly to their friends. She paused at the doorway, savouring the warm and convivial atmosphere. Not until then had she realised how much she had missed it. A gentle smile spread over her face. This was it: no more terror; no more losses; they were at a new beginning.

'Hermione, over here!' called a familiar voice, snapping Hermione out of her contemplation. She looked around to find the source of the call. Her eyes finally rested on a small table near the fireplace where her three friends were sitting, Ginny waving at her. Hermione arduously made her way through the crowd, getting herself a tankard of butterbeer before heading towards her friends. She finally reached them and took the vacant seat between Ginny and Ron, who looked a little uncomfortable about this arrangement.

'So, how's it going? Are there many 'eighth' years coming back?' she asked, trying to sound casual.

'Yeah, there are a couple of them. Nearly all of the Gryffindors came back,' replied Harry. 'Only Lavender didn't. Her family's moved to America.'

Hermione seemed indifferent to this information and simply asked Harry about people returning from other houses. Ron still appeared to be more interested in the foam of his butterbeer than the conversation.

'Well, there are Hannah and Ernie from Hufflepuff, and Padma, Michael and Terry from Ravenclaw,' said Harry.

'So I take it that there's no one back from Slytherin?' asked Hermione, sipping at her butterbeer.

'In fact, there are,' said Ginny with unconcealed aversion. 'Parkinson and Zabini.'

'Well, at least we don't have to endure Malfoy,' commented Ron, speaking for the first time. He immediately earned a glare from Ginny and a nudge from Harry.

'Oh, yes, he is for me to endure,' was what Hermione intended to say as a sarcastic reply. But somehow her lips pressed together in a thin line, which kept her from saying anything and gave her the look of someone who was extremely angry.

'Oh, Hermione, don't listen to what he said,' exclaimed Ginny. 'We're all sorry that you have to live with that git.'

'Thanks, Ginny,' answered Hermione automatically, her lips miraculously unsealed. But there was no such thing as a miracle here; she had a theory. Keen on testing it as soon as possible, Hermione made a not-so-apt excuse that she needed to use the bathroom.

Once she stood in front of the mirror in the ladies' room of the Three Broomsticks, Hermione began saying a few chosen lines out loud. The first was, 'Draco Malfoy is a slimy git.' For the second time that day, Hermione felt as if her lips had been glued together. Though when she continued with the next line (There's only eight months left until the N.E.W.T.s.), it came out without any effort. After several other tries including saying the same sentence (I absolutely hate him) twice, once thinking of Malfoy and once thinking of McLaggen, Hermione had verified her theory: Malfoy had hit her with something similar to the Tongue-Tying Curse that Moody used on Snape last year. However, instead of binding her tongue, it sealed her lips so that she couldn't say anything Malfoy-related. Well, maybe he had succeeded in preventing her from reporting to the Ministry, but that didn't mean she couldn't give him payback.

'Ronald Weasley,' said Ginny, outraged. 'How many times do I have to tell you that this is an opportunity for you to try and make up with Hermione?'

'Ginny's right,' agreed Harry. 'And last night you admitted that you wanted to get back together with her.'

'Yeah, right. But why do I have to try?' opposed Ron angrily, attracting quite a few curious stares. He dropped his voice. 'She was the one who left me sitting there like a moron!'

'You were a moron, Ron, proposing to her as early as that,' snapped Ginny before giving Ron an extremely Mrs Weasley-ish glare. 'You'll either act more reasonably towards her and ask her out to that café, or you'll receive a Bat Bogey Hex. Are we clear?'

'Not if she doesn't try to make up with me, first,' mumbled Ron, though he really did not fancy being attacked by giant flying bogeys.

Hermione made up her mind to forget about Malfoy for the time being and enjoy her friends' company. She definitely wouldn't let him ruin it for her. When she came back to their table, Harry and Ginny appeared to be leaving.

'Gin and I, uhm, we have to go to, uhm, somewhere,' said Harry, giving Hermione an apologetic smile.

'It's no problem, really,' replied Hermione, not wanting to get in the way of her friends' date.

'We're sorry we can't stay with you longer,' said Ginny. 'Maybe some other time, then. Bye, Hermione!'

Harry left the pub with Ginny, sending Ron a quick wink as he went, which didn't escape Hermione's notice. After all, Harry and Ginny could see each other everyday; so apparently, they wanted to give Hermione and Ron some time alone using a date as cover.

'Well, there's only us left now,' said Hermione nervously. She waited for Ron to respond, hoping he would say that he regretted proposing to her too soon or something. However, Ron remained silent. Not wanting the silence to stretch on, she decided to start. She genuinely wanted to fix their relationship, and after all it was also her fault for not letting him down gently instead of walking out like that.

'Whatever happened, let's just forget it and start over, okay?'

'So we're cool?' asked Ron, seemingly pleased.

'Positively,' said Hermione. Ron hesitated for a moment then asked, 'Harry and Ginny have gone on a date. Do you think that we should, you know?'

'Go on our own date?' asked Hermione. Ron nodded, a tint of pink on his cheeks.

'Okay, then,' she replied with a smile. 'As long as you don't take me to Madam Puddifoot's.'

They finished their butterbeers before going to a newly-opened café, which—according to Ron—was owned by a Muggle-born and therefore had Muggle music playing instead of wizarding songs like 'A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love' by Celestina Warbeck.

'You don't like wizarding music much, do you?' he asked as they entered.

'No, I don't. It's very thoughtful of you, Ron,' said Hermione, though she silently wondered if this was the result of a thoughtful Ginny rather than a thoughtful Ron. She felt good, nonetheless because she had learned to accept Ron's tactlessness as a part of him in spite of the fact that sometimes it still annoyed her to no end.

They settled in a table near the window; Hermione ordered a strawberry flan and a cappuccino while Ron asked for waffles and black coffee. After a few minutes of talking about lame topics such as the weather, sensing that the tension between them had eased, Ron began, 'I haven't had a chance to ask. So how's your life at the slimy git's house?'

Hermione stopped eating her flan to reply, but a piece of the cake had somehow found its way to her mouth to make her choke instead of answering the question. It must have been the effect of Malfoy's curse.

'Are you okay?' asked Ron worriedly, patting her on the back.

'I'm alright,' she answered with some difficulty. Once Hermione had regained her composure, Ron repeated his previous query.

'Everything's fine,' she said to him, having remembered that she could not speak of Malfoy. Ron wasn't really satisfied with Hermione's vague answer, but she added, 'There's nothing significant to say, really. Why don't you tell me about Hogwarts? I really miss it.'

At this, Ron realised that it was better to let it go, so he started by telling her how all of the 'eighth' years were now living in the Room of Requirement since it was the only place that could provide them with enough space without altering the castle too much. Before long, they found themselves laughing together at the pranks caused by Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes' new products, both enjoying the fact they could talk normally again as well as being glad that George had eventually started recovering from the loss of his twin.

Hermione tuned out as Ron began ranting about how spectacularly the Chudley Cannons had won last weekend. The lyrics of the current song caught her attention: 'Why can't I speak whenever I talk about you?' This reminded her of Malfoy at once. How could the words in a song reflect their situation so well? Indeed, she could vividly see his detestable smirking face floating in her mind. Too busy fuming over Malfoy, she didn't realise that Ron had stopped talking.

'Hermione, are you listening?' he asked.

'Oh, yes. I just got a little sidetracked by the song.'

Ron didn't look so happy, but still managed a smile. 'A nice song, innit? Told you that they play really good Muggle songs here.' Hermione also returned a rather forced smile and told him to continue. Soon, she lost her concentration again when the singer repeated the chorus.

'Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you
Why can't I speak whenever I talk about you
It's inevitable, it's a fact that we're gonna get down to it'

'Of course, we'll get down to it, you bastard!' muttered Hermione under her breath but no sound came out.

'You're still not listening,' stated Ron, clearly annoyed. But then something dawned on him. 'You refused to talk about Malfoy when I asked. Does this have anything to do with him?'

'No, it's nothing,' she shook her head calmly, despite the urge to scream that in reality Malfoy was driving her nuts.

'There's definitely something bothering you. Tell me what's wrong,' he repeated, his deep blue eyes full of concern before darkening. 'If he did anything to you—'

'No, I just feel a little unwell, that's all,' she interrupted; Ron's caring manner had made her anger instantly disappear. She had always been secretly touched by Ron's burst of outrage whenever Malfoy insulted or did something to her, but she always needed to stop him from getting into trouble.

Now that she thought of it, she herself was acting rather repulsively around Malfoy lately, and she was letting it spoil her date with Ron. Perhaps the stress due to being unable to come back to Hogwarts and the temporary isolation from everyone else was worsening her mood, just like when she was plagued by too much schoolwork back in third year. If only she could try to stay more cool-headed… But apparently she couldn't as the chorus was repeated yet again. So Hermione found it best to go back and confront Malfoy now. She could make it up to Ron later.

'You're still not feeling well?' asked Ron one more time; Hermione still seemed unfocused.

'Uhm, Ron. I'm sorry but I think I need to go back and rest,' she said.

'You sure that Malfoy has nothing to do with this?'

'Yes, absolutely,' she lied. 'Goodbye, Ron. I'll see you next week, I promise.'

Still feeling guilty about leaving in the middle of their date, Hermione leaned across the table to give him a peck on the cheek before standing up and walking towards the door. The song was still playing loudly. The owner of the café seemed to enjoy it as much as to turn on the repeat mode, and now it had started all over again.

'Get a load of me, get a load of you
Walkin' down the street, and I hardly know you
It's just like we were meant to be'

'Enemies,' supplied Hermione silently as she stepped outside.

AN: Wow, lots of Ron/Hermione lately. But don't worry. This fic definitely is Dramione and I will get rid of Ron soon. Quidditch accident? Potion explosion? Or a burst stomach resulted from eating too much? Which one do you think is better? Just kidding. We'll say good bye to Ron and go back to our beloved Draco in the next chap, though.

See ya,

Leo