Chapter 9

After that night, the one Hermione would like to forget, she and Draco had gotten a lot closer. If there was one good thing that came out of that night it was that fact that it brought them closer. They had spent a lot more time together and Draco even took Hermione out to dinner one night. Hermione asked Pansy to join them, but there was something about last minute wedding plans, so it just ended up being just Draco and herself.

Draco's feelings for Hermione had grown drastically. After he told her how he felt, although she didn't know it was about her, and she told him to just tell the girl, he felt a weight lifted from him, like it would be a lot easier for him. He planned to tell her soon, but he wanted to wait till the right moment and that just seemed to never come up. And he was a little concerned of how she would take it.

Hermione's feelings for Draco had also grown, but a little slower than his. After being heart broken by someone that she truly like, it was hard for her to trust another guy so quickly. But she felt as if she could really trust Draco and she knew that he was there for her if she needed him and she felt protected by him. She did feel really grateful to have him around especially since Harry and Ron were always away.

Hermione missed them so much and had so much to tell them. Don't get her wrong, Pansy had been a great friend to Hermione and she always found comfort in her new friend, but it was nothing like talking to her two best friends, even though sometimes they didn't necessarily agree with whatever she had to say. It's just that the three of them had been best friends for so many years. Hermione felt like she could trust them with her life if she had to. She was waiting for some news of their arrival back home for some time now and little did she know that on that day she would be getting a great surprise.

It was Friday morning. The book shop had just barley been open for the day. Hermione was in the back of shop dusting off the shelves while Pansy was in the storage room "organizing" all the boxes and packages that had been scattered all over the floor. Hermione always left that job to her and Pansy did not mind.

Suddenly there was a sound of shattering glass coming from the front of the shop. Hermione froze instantly. There hadn't been any costumers, to her knowledge, at that time and she didn't hear the shop bell ring so no one could've came in recently. Quickly, Hermione reached into her pocket and pulled out her wand. She began walking to the front when she heard a scream, instantly recognizing it was Pansy's. She picked up her speed and saw two hooded men holding on to Pansy, one with their hand covering her mouth.

"Let her go or I'll hex the two of you!" Hermione yelled. Her heart raced. She hadn't felt this fear and rush since Hogwarts. "I'm warning you!" She continued.

When the men didn't move Hermione took that as her cue to take action. She was just about to cast her hex at them when Pansy started giggling. Hermione looked wide-eyed at her friend. Why in the world would she be laughing at a time like this? Hermione became as confused as ever when the two men holding on to Pansy began to laugh along with her.

"What the hell is going on?!" Hermione yelled in frustration.

Right then, the two hooded men reach up and took off their hoods that was covering their face. Hermione gasped and took a step back. In front of her, still laughing their bums off, were her two best friends. Hermione was about to race up to them and give them both a hug, but then she remembered that they just played the worst trick on her ever.

"Gotcha there, Hermione!" Ron said between laughs.

"Did you see the look on her face?" Pansy managed to say, as she was leaning on the front desk from laughing so hard.

The two of them gave each other a high-five before turning to Harry, who seemed like the only one who realized how not funny this was to Hermione. Ron and Pansy stopped laughing and looked from Harry to Hermione. She had a look of fury on her face and Ron and Pansy found themselves suddenly really scared of her.

"Hermione, it was just a joke…" Harry began, afraid of his best friend's reaction. And, well he should be. All three of them were going to get the wrath of a lifetime.

"A joke?! You thought that it would be funny to give your best friend a heart attack? What is wrong with you? All three of you?!"

"Hermi-"

"Don't you start, Ronald Weasley!" Hermione yelled at him. Ron instantly closed his mouth, not daring to say another word. "I don't see you and Harry for weeks and when I finally do, you two pull something like this! Along with Pansy?!" Hermione shot her a look, but Pansy quickly looked away.

"Well, we wanted to surprise you and at the time we though this would be a fun way…" Harry explained.

"Fun?! I almost hexed you two! Oh, I'm so angry right now!" Hermione threw her hands up in the air and whipped around to walk towards the back of the shop.

"Hermione!" Pansy exclaimed.

"Don't!"

Silence fell upon the three as regret filled each of them. They all stared at the floor, not knowing what to do or say at the moment. A few minutes later, two to be exact, they heard a light sob coming from the back of the shop. Immediately, the three of them ran to the back and saw Hermione hunched over one of the desks with her shoulders shaking as if she was sobbing uncontrollably.

"Hermione?" Harry took a few hesitant steps towards her. "Are you alright?"

He lightly touched her back when she suddenly whipped back around to face them. Her face was red and there were, indeed, tears in her eyes, but they weren't the type of tears the others were expecting. No, instead of sorrow, there was a smile on her face. Hermione hadn't been crying. She was laughing so hard she started to get tears in her eyes. Confused was an understatement to what Harry, Ron, and Pansy were feeling at that moment.

"Hermione, why are you laughing? Y...you were angry a few minutes ago." Ron asked, still a little afraid to speak.

"Oh..*laugh*..Ron..*laugh*" Hermione managed to say while she continued to laugh. She took big sigh before composing herself enough to say a full sentence without laughing. "I was just faking it."

"Faking it?" Pansy said, clearly getting angry. "What do you mean you were faking it?"

"Well, I had to get some fun out of this. What? You think you three could just do this to me without having it thrown back at you. You all just got what you deserved."

"So…you're not mad?" Harry asked.

"Well, I was at first, of course. I mean, I nearly died of a heart attack, but after I realized that it was just my two stupid best friends trying to get something out of me, I decided to get back at you lot. And Merlin, was that worth it! The look on your faces!"

At that, Hermione began to laugh again. Harry and Ron, too, began to laugh hesitantly along, but not as much as Hermione. Pansy, however, huffed and turned away, walking back to the storage room.

"Oh, she'll get over it." Hermione said. "She's just upset that she didn't know she was being tricked."

"We're just glad you're not mad at us, Hermione." Harry said.

"Definitely." Ron agreed, nodding his head.

"I actually thought it was a pretty good joke…" Hermione began. Harry and Ron's faces began to brighten at the acknowledgement. "But don't you dare do that to me again or you won't hear the end of it and it won't be a joke the next time. I will hex the two of you, best friends or not."

"We promise to never to that again. We learned our lesson, right Ron?" Harry said, as the three of them walked back to the front of the shop.

"Yes, we did. Never again, Hermione." Ron confirmed.

"Good." Hermione smiled and took a seat behind the front desk. "So when did you two get back? How long are you staying this time?"

"We actually came home last week. We didn't want to tell you because we wanted to surprise you and came up with this brilliant…I mean, very dumb plan…" Ron began, but changed his sentence when he saw a stern look from Hermione. She rolled her eyes at him.

"We have a month off. Something both of us is very thankful for." Harry said.

"A month? That's wonderful! We have so much catching up to do." Hermione said in happiness.

"Yes, yes. We're just happy to finally be home." Harry said.

"So, Hermione, how have you been? Anyone you've taken a fancy to lately?" Ron asked, slyly.

"What did Ginny tell you?" Hermione sighed.

"What? She didn't tell me anything…" Ron said. Hermione raised her eyes at him and he gave in. "Okay, maybe she did slightly say something about you and a certain someone, who's name starts with a C and last name stars with an M."

"It's okay to said his name, Ron. Cormac. Yes I did sort of date him…for a while, but then I found out he wasn't only into me…if you know what I mean."

"What?! He was seeing someone else while he was with you?" Ron exclaimed, looking as if he was ready to attack.

"That little…and to think we became friends with him! We should've known he was trouble. Do you want us to beat him up for you, Hermione? Cause we'll go do that right now."

"No, no, no. No violence what so ever. I'm over it. I don't want to talk about him anymore."

"Yeah, let's not waste our breath on that filthy little bast-"

"Watch your language, Ronald." Hermione said to him.

"Are you sure you're okay, Hermione? From what I've heard, you were pretty bummed out." Harry asked.

"I'm fine, Harry. And you can tell Ginny that too."

"Actually, it was Pansy who told us."

"Oh, that little blabbermouth. Look, I'm fine, really." Hermione said. Harry and Ron still looked a little unconvinced. "Honestly! I've actually started to feel something for someone else…"

"Really? Who is it?" Harry asked, suddenly very interested.

Hermione mentally slapped herself. How could she even have said that? Now Ron and Harry won't stop asking her questions about this certain someone. And besides, her and Draco are nothing, but friends. Sure they've been out together a couple of times, but that's what friends do. And, yes, maybe she feels a little attraction towards him, but that's just because he's so charming and so…so…

"Hermione? Hey! Are you okay?" Ron said, snapping his fingers in front of her face. Hermione blinked several times before snapping back into reality.

"Wha…what?" She managed to say.

"Harry asked you who he is and I'm wondering that myself."

"Oh well, I'm not going to say."

"What? Why not?"

"Look, we're not even really dating right now. It's complicated." Hermione sighed. "I don't even know if there's anything between us besides being friends."

"Well, there's definitely something there if you've been daydreaming about him."

"I was not daydreaming about him!"

"Sure…"

"I was not!" Hermione exclaimed to them, but mainly she was trying to convince herself that had not just been daydreaming about Draco Malfoy.

"I don't want to talk about it." Hermione said.

"Well, why not? Come on, I know there's something going on between the two of you. I heard you talking about him to Harry and Ron this afternoon." Pansy said as she threw more stuff into a large box.

Hermione was helping Pansy pack, or throw out, all of her stuff into boxes. Pansy would be moving out the day after her wedding. Hermione couldn't decide whether to be surprised that Pansy had so much stuff or surprised that such a small room could fit it all.

"You were eavesdropping?!"

"No…Okay, maybe a little bit, but that's besides the point."

"Why are you so interested?"

"Because as your best friend I should know about this things."

"Well, I guess I just have to dub you not best friend, now."

"Hermione!"

"Oh, all right," Hermione sighed, "Maybe I have been starting to develop something towards Draco, but it's ridiculous. I shouldn't be. He has feelings for someone else, remember."

"You'll never know how he's feeling until you ask him."

"Oh, I know that he'll never feel that way for me. But let's not talk about this anymore. I've already said more than I wanted to." Hermione said. Pansy just shook her head. "So, how are you feeling? You're wedding is in one week!" Hermione said happily.

"I'm so not ready." Pansy groaned.

"Of course you are!"

"Then why am I so nervous?" Pansy flopped down on her bed. Hermione smiled and sat down next to her lying form.

"How many times do I have to tell you this? It's normal for someone to be nervous about their wedding day."

"I know, I know."

"Besides, I bet it's a good nervous, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose it is." Pansy smiled slightly. "I just want to get it over with already."

"Just one more week, darling. One more week." Hermione said and gave her a light pat on the head before getting up and finishing up her section of the room.

It was silent for a moment. Only the sound of Hermione putting things into a box could be heard in the small room. Pansy was still laying on her bed with her head hanging upside down on the edge of her bed.

"Hermione?" Pansy suddenly spoke.

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

Hermione stopped packing and turned over to look at her friend.

"For what?" She asked.

"For being such a great friend. You trusted me from the beginning even though we had bad past. You're always there to comfort me when I have my…moments and you always know the right thing to say to make me feel better. I'm going to miss being roommates with you."

"Oh, Pans," Hermione hugged her friend tight. "If anything, I should be the one thanking you! You picked me up when I was down. I owe you so much for this, giving me a job, a place to live, and for being one of my best friends. And if you ever need a place to stay, not that I'm saying you and Blaise will fight all the time, but if you ever need to, I'll be happy to have you stay here."

"Hermione, you're the greatest." Pansy laughed. "I'm so sorry for leaving you. You'll be so lonely."

"Don't be silly! It's not like I stay at home all the time anyways. I'll be fine. Don't you worry about me, you hear?" Hermione said to her. Pansy gave a short nod. "Now, let's get back to packing. I don't know about you, but I want to finish as soon as possible."

Pansy nodded as Hermione began to pack again.

"Hey Hermione?" Pansy started as she got up from her bed. "There's just one more thing…"

"What is it?" Hermione asked, slightly confused.

"Will you be my maid of honor?"

Hermione smiled brightly.

"Of course."

(Meanwhile…)

"So, in about a week you won't be living here alone anymore. Shame…" Draco said to Blaise, as he sat across from him in the nicely decorated living room.

"Hey, at least I'll have someone to spend my time with unlike someone I know…"

"What are you getting at?"

"Let me just cut to the chase, when are you and Hermione going to get together?"

Draco nearly chocked on his wine.

"What?! Where on earth did you get that preposterous idea?"

"Do you think I'm an idiot? Clearly you have taken a fancy to Hermione. Actually, you've never stopped liking her since sixth year." Blaise stated. Draco was about to comment when Blaise cut him off. "And don't try to deny it. I've know you for years and I can read you like a book, Malfoy."

"For your information, I had stopped thinking about her until Pansy had the genius idea of taking her in." Draco defended.

"Whatever you say." Blaise snorted.

"Okay, maybe I still feel something for her, but she probably still hates me!"

"She doesn't and you know that. Why would she agree to go with you on your little 'dates' if she still hated you."

Draco shrugged like a stubborn child.

"Let me give you some advice, mate. You shouldn't keep your feelings bottled up inside you and I'll tell you why." Blaise started. He set his glass down on the coffee table and sat up close. "I've felt the way you're feeling right now before, with Pansy. I've had feelings for her since…I don't even remember when. When she left, after the war, I was devastated. There was no sign of her. No one knew where she had gone. I felt an emptiness in my heart.

"I was so lucky when I saw her in Romania. And I knew right when I saw her that I had to tell her how I felt and that I would be with her no matter what. Now, look at us. We're getting married in a week! Married! And you know what? I couldn't be happier.

"So what I'm trying to tell you is to go after what you want and let her know how you feel because you never know what will happen. Just suck it up and do it." Blaise finished. He stood up and walked over to the liquor cabinet to pour himself some more wine.

Draco thought over Blaise's story in his head like a broken record. Blaise was right. If he didn't do it now, he'll never tell her.

A/N: Sorry there wasn't any Hermione and Draco interaction in this chapter, but I promise that the next chapter is going to be filled with Dramioneness!

Please, please review! I would like to see at least 15 before I post the next chapter.
You guys are so awesome, I know you can do it!

-CHIBZ