A/N: Thank you all so so much for your favorites, follows and reviews! I seriously can't believe it! I will try to respond to chapter five reviews tonight - sorry I haven't gotten to it yet! This chapter is a little bit...well, more like a lot angsty. But I promise it will get better. Don't worry they are going to be reunited in year seven!
Please let me know what you thought of chapter six and be on the lookout for chapter seven soon!
Hermione spent the summer consuming every bit of news she could get on the rise of Voldemort. It was clear that things were changing, and the Death Eater attacks were becoming more and more blatant. She tried to read old articles on the Wizarding War, but it was difficult to get much information when she was stuck in the muggle world.
She'd charmed the front pages of the Daily Prophet so that her parents wouldn't worry. She couldn't imagine what she would do if they tried to prevent her from going back to the wizarding world. As much as she hated to think about it, she wasn't just a muggle. She could never live a normal life in the muggle world.
It did put her on edge that her parents were at risk, just from their association with her. She'd begun researching possible ways to hide them from Death Eaters. There was the Fidelius Charm, but she was able to admit that that was even too complex for her to attempt without proper guidance. Somehow, she didn't think that her parents would be considered a priority to her Professors at Hogwarts, no matter how much it sickened her to admit it.
Her parents did notice that she spent rather a lot of time reading the paper, which she tried to pass off as reading the Quidditch scores. It was true that she did keep up with the Quidditch scores, particularly the Falmouth Falcons.
Her father, damnably perseptive, pinpointed that at least part of her irritated mood had something to do with a boy, particularly her rather large and imposing friend. "Whatever happened to that big fellow who took you to the World Cup? Mark, was it?"
Hermione hadn't been able to hide her blush. "Marcus. He plays Quidditch professionally now, dad. He doesn't have time for school girls who can't even make the First squad of their house team." Hermione had never revealed to them that her lack of a spot on the squad had anything to do with her blood status.
"Hey now, pumpkin. He seemed to take a shine to you." Her dad said, a hand squeezing her shoulder. "I am sure if you just wrote him you'd see you are still friends, celebrity or not. You could invite him to our cricket match in August."
"I don't think that's a good idea." She said with a hint of finality that her father seemed to understand.
While she had been so mad at Marcus at the beginning of the summer, she quickly realized that she missed him. She'd tried to send him dozens of notes, but each and every one of them had ended up crumpled in the bin. She wanted him to apologize for keeping something so serious as Voldemort being back from her, not to mention the fact that his father was a Death Eater.
It unfortunately made her realize just how unlikely their friendship was. And it made her heart ache. Because she knew that there could be nothing more between them, no matter what kind of stirrings their kiss at New Years had caused.
He should have known that his father wouldn't leave him alone during the International break of Quidditch, a time when he was meant to be relaxing. Already, his father had been pestering him to give up the flat in Falmouth and move back home to the dark manor.
But, Marcus couldn't just ignore the summons that his father would send with a cowering little house elf. So, ever the dutiful son, he would shower and comb his hair neatly, shave the bit of scruff from his cheeks that he'd taken to keeping, and present himself for inspection at home.
Since he was a child, Marcus had realized that his father would likely never be happy with anything that he did. He was incapable of being proud of his only heir. Luckily, Marcus's mother had been quite generous with praise for her son, without spoiling him. But now she was dead and he had nothing to temper his father's disappointment.
"Marcus, how good of you to join me." He sneered, seated across the giant dining room table. The room was dark, the wax from the candles in the overhead chandelier dripping down onto the finely polished wood. Marcus wondered when his father had stopped caring to clean it away. Heavy draperies covered the huge windows, keeping any August light out of the room.
"You wanted to see me?" He asked, knowing that he sounded a bit petulant, trying to focus all of his energy on just eating his food.
His father cocked his head to the side observing his son. "It's time for you to take the mark." He said simply, and without pomp, as though he was telling his son to do his homework, rather than join the crusade of a homicidal dark lord.
Marcus shook his head vehemently. "Absolutely not. I am not getting involved with this...this...war! All I want to do is play Quidditch." Running his hand through his hair completely destroyed the neat style he'd given himself.
His father was taken aback by the ferocity with which Marcus rebuked him. "Is this because of that mudblood girl?" He asked, finally.
"No." Marcus said, quietly. He'd completely ruined his friendship with Hermione all on his own, but that didn't mean he was ready to embrace pureblood ideals. "I don't care about the Dark Lord." He said, though he realized that was a lie. He did care about the Dark Lord...ever since he'd returned, it had made Marcus's life a living hell.
Annoyed with his progeny, Marcus's father returned his attention to his roast. "You have more of your mother in you than I'd realized. Weak. Taken to fancy. There will come a day, Marcus, when Quidditch isn't there for you anymore. And you will remember this day."
Never one to believe in prophecy, Marcus pushed his chair back from the table, eager to leave. He'd showed up like his father had asked, but that didn't mean he needed to spend any more time there than necessary.
Hermione had been cautiously optimistic about Quidditch tryouts when they finally rolled around. She'd heard from Terence that Adrian Pucey had made captain. While she was a bit nervous that Adrian might resent her - after all, previous captains were only too quick to point out that she was a better chaser than he was - she still hoped that he would recognize her hard work and determination after years of being on the bench beside him.
It would be nice not to have a ministry witch trying to make her life miserable as well.
Adrian, it seemed, was excessively fair, giving all twelve students who tried out for chaser a fair shake against the keepers. Hermione was excited to see that Millie was trying out to be keeper. It would be nice to have another girl on the squad. Miles Bletchley had finally graduated last year.
Narrowing down the chasers to just six - Hermione had made the cut - Adrian had them fly formations, this time with the beaters actively trying to stop them. Hermione was disappointed to learn that Crabbe and Goyle had made it their mission to knock her off her broom with a bludger, presumably because she was a mudblood. She worried that with all of her time spent focusing on dodging them, she wouldn't be able to show off her arm.
In the end, it didn't matter, as Hermione made the first squad, with Blaise Zabini as the third chaser. Hermione could barely contain her excitement, but managed to keep just a Slytherin smirk on her face instead of jumping up and down cheering. Crabbe and Goyle made beater and Millie got the spot as the starting keeper.
Even though they were dismissed, Hermione stuck around to watch the seeker tryouts. To her surprise, Malfoy wasn't even there to tryout, which she thought was unusual, and to be honest, a bit suspicious. Terence was flying beautifully, though, and even if he hadn't been a seventh year, he was certain to secure the starting job.
"Congratulations, Ter." She said with a smile after Adrian had given his friend the good news. "I knew you'd get the spot. You fly beautifully."
Terence blushed brightly, to Hermione's amusement, but confusion. "Well, I saw you watching, and I didn't want to mess up." He tried to run his fingers through his hair, but with his new, short hair cut, there were no blond locks to go through. "Though, I think if you asked everyone, they would say you are the more beautiful flyer." He grimaced at the clunky phrase that came out of his mouth.
Hermione, perhaps oblivious or willfully ignorant at his attempt at romance, just laughed. "If you say so." She bit her lower lip. "It will be nice to actually get a chance to play this time around. Prove that it's my talent that got me here and not...and not Marcus." She still rankled at the idea that she was trading sexual favors for her spot.
Terence shook his head. "No one thought that except for Graham. Hey, save me a seat at dinner? I am going to go shower." The blush that stained his cheeks still hadn't receded.
"Sure, see you in a bit." Hermione agreed cheerfully, before turning to return to the dorms so she could pick up some homework to take care of after dinner.
After months of not hearing from Marcus, Hermione was surprised to find an owl waiting for her when she arrived at breakfast, bearing a package with her name on it. Marcus was the only one who'd ever bothered to figure out when her birthday was, so she knew it must be from him.
She opened the note first.
Hermione,
I know things ended poorly between us the last time that we spoke, but I wanted you to know that I am still thinking of you, especially on your birthday. I hope you have a great day and I wish I could be there to celebrate it with you.
I heard from Ade that you made the first squad. Congratulations! I knew that you had it in you, even when you were just a little firstie. The other houses won't know what hit them after you are through with them. Hopefully I get a break in practice and I can come watch one of your games. If you'd want me to come that is.
Well, I hope you like your present and I hope that you have a great birthday.
Cheers,
Marcus
Hermione opened the package then, and a beautifully wrought hair clip came out of the packaging. It was decorated with blue forget-me-not flowers in clear, blue and green jewels. Hermione frowned. It couldn't possibly be made of real gems, couldn't it? Then again, Marcus never really had a good concept of how much things cost.
She felt tears gather in the corner of her eyes, and a knot formed in her throat. She missed Marcus so much and of course she wanted him to come watch her play a game. He was so thoughtful.
Again, she remembered the kiss that they'd shared the year before, the feel of his lips pressed against hers, and his hands in her hair. She didn't know what she wanted let alone how their relationship stood.
It was painful to think about.
Still, her mind already began to think about what she could get him for his birthday. If he wanted to try to keep being...friends, then, well, so would she. This was a good place to start, a way to ease back into the odd friendship they'd created.
After getting the hastily scrawled, but still heart felt, thank you note from Hermione after his present, Marcus had been frustrated. He'd agonized over what to get her, before he remembered a fancy hair clip that his mother had been fond of growing up. He knew it would look beautiful in her hair, and it hinted at…
...well, more. He wasn't sure what he wanted with her after their kiss. She had felt so lovely pressed against him, but she was only a schoolgirl and he was a man grown. He shouldn't have pressed himself on her like that. Even if she was...his, his father would never accept it and he might even get Hermione killed.
Still, he knew that he wanted her to be his friend. He wasn't ready to give that up. So he waited for her to reach out.
He wasn't expecting the package to be delivered on his birthday. He tore through the packaging eagerly, setting the note aside for later. Green fabric tumbled out of the brown wrapping, revealing an incredibly soft sweater. He pulled off his tshirt before pulling it over his head, smiling that it fit perfectly. He wondered how Hermione knew his measurements so well.
A hint of silver caught his eye, as well, and he was surprised to find nice cuff links hiding as well. They were not heirlooms - she was a muggle after all - but they were simple and clearly they had cost a lot. His heart skipped a beat when he thought about Hermione picking out such an intimate gift for him.
He grabbed the note and sat down on his couch to read it.
Marcus,
Happy birthday! I hope that you have an excellent day. Will your teammates do anything nice for you or will you have to practice as usual? I was thinking about preparing you a birthday cake, but I figured it wasn't wise to send via owl post, and I figured someone might have already made you one.
I was sorry to hear that you got hit by a bludger the other week. The Prophet said that your teeth were all smashed to bits! Was it really that bad? I know that they can be a bit over the top to sell more papers sometimes. They also said that you got them fixed. I am glad that they were able to repair any damage that might have happened.
I was so glad to make chaser, so thank you for the congratulations. I didn't realize you were close with Adrian. It would be lovely for you to come to one of our games. I am sure many of the others would be thrilled too.
Well, wish that I could celebrate with you, but I hope that my presents will do in my place. Let me know if you don't like either and I can owl you information to return them. It won't hurt my feelings.
Sincerely,
Hermione
He stared at the word sincerely. There were several drops of ink, as though she struggled to decide what word to write there. He found himself scowling at the "sincerely". It sounded a bit cold and formal, didn't it? And why would he want to return her presents? They were perfect.
Still, he didn't know what to do. He thought about writing her back, but he remembered her saying that she needed time and he didn't want to push her away. In the end, he decided not to, not wanting to get his hopes up that things were back to normal.
Hermione had been so focused on her studies that she was able to dismiss the fact that Marcus hadn't written her back about the presents she'd sent him for his birthday. Sure, she could have fretted endlessly over the fact that maybe the cufflinks were a little bit too personal, but she was so busy that she'd sort of pushed him, and their confusing friendship, from her mind.
That was of course, until she read the Daily Prophet one Thursday morning. She always made a big production of reading the front page before flipping to the sports section, but today a big picture below the fold caught her attention.
"Chasing Fairchild's Heart?" The silly title hung above a picture of Marcus Flint and society witch Gemma Fairchild out on a date. Marcus had his hand on her lower back and was laughing with his new perfect smile and the witch was dressed in a tight gold dress that showed off her endless legs. Hermione felt her heart drop seeing how gorgeous the witch looked.
Shoving the paper away from her, she had to get out of the Great Hall before she started sobbing in front of everyone. Millie called after her confused, but Hermione ran from the room and back to her dorm in Slytherin, ignoring anyone who might try to stop her.
When she got back to the dorm, she started crying, great big tears, before she realized that the room was occupied. Daphne, with her perfectly straight blonde hair looked concerned. "Hermione? What's wrong?" She asked kindly.
Hermione felt so embarrassed that she was crying so hard. She shook her head and just walked over to her bed, trying to ignore the other girl in the room in the hopes that she would just go away. Daphne stepped from one foot to the other, obviously unsure of what she should do, until Millie came bursting the room, shoving the paper in Daphne's hand.
She hesitated for a moment, before seeing the tears on Hermione's face, and then squared her body, sitting down next to the curly haired witch on the bed. "My cousin is an ass." She said resolutely, tucking Hermione's hair behind her ears.
Hermione shook her head. "No, I am. I am the one who got too caught up in our...friendship." A knot formed in her throat and she fought to swallow it down. "Of course Marcus has never liked me that way. He's always just seen me as a little kid."
Daphne came and sat on the other side of Hermione. "How long has this been going on?" She asked, knowing what it was like to have a crush on someone who didn't reciprocate.
"Would you believe me if I said I didn't know...how much I liked Marcus until just this morning?" Hermione asked. It was true. She'd always just thought of him as a great friend, but she should have realized that with the mounting affection they shared with one another and then that kiss...more feelings would develop. And, well, she was upset. She'd always felt like the only girl in Marcus's life. He'd never had a girlfriend before.
"Don't you worry about him." Millie said. "You are a smart, pretty, athletic witch. You are a catch, Hermione, and some other wizard will realize it." She grabbed Hermione's hand. Although the three of them hadn't started out as friends, over six years of sharing a room meant that they'd grown closer. "And then, one day when Marcus realizes what a colossal mistake he's made...well, you can decide where you want the relationship to go."
"Thanks Millie." Hermione said shyly, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Do you think you could tell Professor Snape I'll be missing class today? Just tell him I'm sick."
Daphne smiled. "We'll tell him you're having woman's issues." She said with a laugh. "He won't even try to check on you."
Hermione had still been feeling quite down about what had happened with Marcus, but at the same time she felt ridiculous pining over someone who clearly didn't see her as anything more than a friend. And a shite friend at that! What kind of person didn't write a thank you note for a birthday gift? Not to mention that each of his letters was further and further apart. Really, it was a surprise that he ever wrote her anymore.
Really, seeing him wrapped up in Gemma Fairchild was just the last straw on a quickly shattering friendship. It was time for Hermione to move on. The only thing that held her and Marcus together was Quidditch and it's not like she was going to play professionally after school. No, it was better for her to focus on exams.
Terence had taken to studying with her practically every evening in the library. It was his NEWT year, after all, so she knew it was important that he focus. Though, he didn't focus nearly as much as he should. She often found him staring… well at her.
To be honest, it made her feel a bit nervous.
"Hey Hermione." Terence whispered to her one Friday night when they were studying. Hermione looked up, making a little noise of acknowledgement. He looked nervous, which she found odd. "Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow?" He said in a rush.
Hermione blinked once, surprised at having been asked. Really, she was confused. "As friends?" She asked cautiously. She had been at Hogwarts for six years and hadn't been asked to Hogsmeade once.
She watched as Terence's shoulders deflated a bit at her question. "Actually, I was hoping we could go...as a date?" He swallowed thickly. Hermione couldn't believe that Terence Higgs was actually asking her on a date. It was no secret that he was rather cute, with his blond hair and hazel colored eyes.
Hearing him call her name made her realize that she hadn't answered his question yet, and by now his face was bright red, perhaps with embarrassment that she was going to reject him. "I'd love to." She said quickly, with a shy smile on her lips.
Pleased, Terence shot her a bright grin, before packing up his books and wishing her goodnight, a promise to meet her in the Great Hall for breakfast the next day.
Alone with her thoughts, Hermione was full of conflicting emotions. She was excited to go to Hogsmeade with Terence. After all, they'd been friends for years now and as she'd thought before he was rather good looking. Plus it would be nice to be taken on a date for once.
Still, she felt a bit badly that she was going with someone other than Marcus. Shaking her head clear of such ridiculous thoughts, Hermione told herself that Marcus wouldn't care if she went on a date with anyone. He didn't care about Krum after all. And it wasn't as if the pair of them were dating or anything more than friends...maybe even less than friends the way things stood.
Deciding to have an early night, Hermione also packed up her books to return to the dorm. She was determined to have a great day in Hogsmeade with Terence.
The Falcons were in Scotland for a game against Montrose, and having a bit of free time before the game on Sunday and knowing that it was a Hogsmeade weekend, Marcus decided to go surprise Hermione in the little village. Sure, things were still a bit tense between them, but surely she'd be excited to see him again, wouldn't she?
He hated to admit it, even in the privacy of his own thoughts, but he missed the way she would wrap her arms around his middle and wrap him in a tight hug. Hermione was the only person who would deign to hold him that way, but it just made her more special than him.
Pulling the green sweater that she'd given him over his bulky form, he tried not to primp in front of the mirror too long. It was Hermione after all. She wouldn't care if his hair was perfectly coiffed or that he wore the right color shoes. Not like Gemma.
He ran a hand over his face at that. He never should have let Basil convince him to set him up on a blind date. He'd had nothing in common with the vapid girl who'd gone to Beauxbatons. He wasn't exactly the smartest guy, either, but really, there was more to talk about than just gossip.
Apparating into the village, he already saw loads of Hogwarts students, so he tried to find Hermione, but so far, he hadn't caught one glimpse of her bushy hair. But, he did see his cousin, Millie, so he walked over to see if she knew where Hermione was.
Millie was quite tall herself, but still not tall enough to look down at him, but he got the impression that she would if she could. She folded her arms across her chest. "Hermione? She's at the Hog's Head." Millie said with a smirk. "But don't ruin her weekend!" She shouted after him as he turned down the alley to the dingy little pub.
He should have known something was up with the way that Millie had been acting, but he wasn't prepared to see his Hermione cuddled up on one side of a booth with Terence Higgs. He hair was straight and pinned back with the gift he'd sent her. They were sitting so close to one another he thought they might be glued to one another.
Marcus felt as though his heart was being squeezed in a vise, but he didn't know why, only that he wanted to smash Higgs' teeth in. Stomping over to the table, he didn't stop to say hello. "Pipsqueak. Can I talk to you alone for a minute?" He said through gritted teeth.
Hermione looked annoyed, but shrugged her shoulders. "I'll just be a minute Ter." She said sweetly, before kissing him on the cheek. She accompanied Marcus outside, before turning to glare at him. "What are you doing here?" She hissed.
"I wanted to surprise you. We play in Montrose tomorrow." Marcus said with a blush, unsure of why he was there, other than that he wanted to see Hermione.
She sneered. "I thought you'd decided you were too good for me now that you got your teeth fixed." She watched as his lips formed a thin line, perhaps trying to hide those perfect new teeth. "You can't just show up here after weeks of ignoring my owls." She crossed her arms beneath her breasts, and Marcus's eyes were drawn to the hint of cleavage visible from her soft looking grey v-neck sweater.
And then, he was angry! Angry that she was here on a date with Terence Higgs, a spoilt little pureblood who would never see her as more than a piece of ass. "Well, I thought you'd be smarter than to date Higgs." He said viciously, wanting to tear down her happiness.
"Hm, at least Terence is more than a society witch that will spread her legs for anyone, like Fairchild." She countered.
Marcus flushed. Of course Hermione would have seen the picture. He felt ashamed. "Higgs is never going to see you as more than a dirty little muggleborn secret. So don't come crying to me when he tosses you aside after he fucks you." He detested the idea of anyone having sex with Hermione, and really it was the only time he'd acknowledged out loud that she was a sexual creature.
Seeing tears in her eyes, Marcus knew he'd gone too far. "Dirty mudblood secret." She laughed bitterly. "Seems like that's all I was to you."
Before he could try to take it back, apologize or calm her down, she was stomping away, back into the Hog's Head - and into Higgs' arms - leaving Marcus standing alone in the cold.
Trying to channel all her lingering anger and hurt from the horrible things that Marcus had said to her, Hermione spent her Quidditch practices going faster, harder and longer than she ever had. She was determined to make quite an impression on the school in her Quidditch debut against Gryffindor.
Especially because she knew that Weasley had made keeper. There was a bit of poetic justice, she decided, in going against him. He'd treated her so poorly the year before, too blinded by his own prejudice of her house to realize that she was an asset to their cause. It would be easy to leave Potter and Weasley on their own, if defeating You-Know-Who wasn't imperative to her life as a muggleborn witch.
Hearing the crowd chanting, Hermione strode out onto the pitch feeling confident, especially with Ade and Blaise by her side. It would be nice to have Crabbe and Goyle working to protect her from bludgers for a change, as well, as she knew they were almost hyper-competitive when it came to Quidditch.
Wishing Terence good luck, Hermione mounted her broom and she was off with the whistle, grabbing the quaffle almost immediately. She knew that she should pass the ball, but it was important to her that she draw first blood on Weasley first.
Dodging a bevy of bludgers from the lions, weaving through their chasers, lead by a fierce Ginny Weasley, before she rounded towards the rings, throwing a perfectly aimed ball to the left ring. Weasley tried, but in the end, the ding of ten new Slytherin points rang out and Hermione knew she was victorious. Smirking at the stunned red head, she flew away, hoping the catch the ball again.
The Slytherin section all joined into the mean song that Malfoy had written, teasing Weasley, to Hermione's amusement. Sure, Malfoy was a bully, but she could admit that it was clever enough. If only she could sing along.
In the end, Weasley was a better keeper than she'd given him credit for - rather thinking that he'd only gotten the spot because he was Potter's best friend. Their points scored couldn't outweigh the points Potter got for getting the snitch, but Hermione was still proud to know that she'd made eighty percent of the points off Weasley.
She rather thought that he would think twice about being so rude to her, after the absolute thrashing that she'd given him. It was hard to be faced with a Slytherin loss, especially when the rest of the school seemed so happy to just cheer against them, but Hermione tried to shake the bitter taste of defeat.
She was surprised to be stopped by Malfoy on her way to the locker rooms. He looked at her, his grey eyes ringed by dark circles from lack of sleep, before offering her congratulations. "You did good Granger. I guess maybe Flint was right about you after all."
Both of them stood there, uncomfortably, unwilling to speak, until Hermione ground out a small thanks. Neither one of them were comfortable with the civil air of their conversation and they separated, eager to get back to their own lives.
Spending time with Terence was nice, Hermione decided. Just nice.
He was more than willing to spend time with her in the library, knowing that he had his own NEWTs study to do. He was even a gentleman who would walk her back to the common room when it was curfew, though it sometimes detoured to an empty broom cupboard.
Things had progressed a bit further than just a few kisses, Hermione thought with a grin on her face. Terence was a good kisser, but it just wasn't...well, he was never quite...aggressive enough. She never felt so swept up in his kiss that she could forget what was going on around her.
Though, he was always a bit insistent when it came to his prick, pressing her hand to wrap around it, but never taking the time to see what was under her skirt. She supposed it was nice that he wasn't pressuring her to have sex, but really, she wanted a little something too.
As the school year was winding down, though, she thought about what was going to happen with their relationship. Terence would be graduating and then getting a job and Hermione would still be there for a whole year. Biting her lip, she looked over her books at the blond boy.
"Ter, do you think you'd like to meet my parents this summer?" She asked, thinking it would be good for him to meet them.
He stilled, before raising his eyes to look at hers. "Why would I do that?" He asked, seeming very perplexed.
"Well, because you're my boyfriend." Hermione said with a laugh. Was it not typical to meet parents in pureblood relationships.
Terence sighed, closing his book. "Hermione, you know we're not...in a real relationship, right?" He asked, concern clear on his face. "I mean, it's just a bit of fun. You're a...muggleborn. My parents would never accept it."
Hermione felt Marcus's words, his warning that Terence would toss her aside rushing back into her ears. And she was mad, angry at Terence for using her that way. He'd always seemed so nice to her.
The worst part was that she wasn't even that mad at Terence, more just mad at herself for being so naive. Was it more upsetting that Marcus was right about him or that she hadn't listened to him?
Gathering her books, she left Terence in the library, calling after her, while Madame Pince shushed him. She really couldn't have the conversation of how she was just a friend with benefits to him, when she'd been thinking he was her boyfriend for weeks.
Hermione was annoyed to find that the Astronomy Tower wasn't empty. Luna Lovegood, with her dreamy gazes and wild hair always made Hermione feel a bit off kilter. She was a little bit pissed at Luna, knowing that she was the one who asked her to join Dumbledore's Army, so the fallout was almost her fault.
Add to the fact that Luna was wickedly perceptive, pushing you to talk about exactly what you didn't want to talk about, was a talent that Hermione didn't want to go against. "Oh, sorry, I will just go." Hermione said, wanting to be alone for a change.
Luna smiled. "No, please stay, I would like the company." Hermione hesitated at the door, but finally came inside. Turning to look at her, Luna could tell right away that Hermione was feeling down. "What's the matter Hermione Granger?"
Hermione rubbed her hand over her face, really not wanting to talk about it, but knowing that it would likely help. "Just realizing that I misjudged so many things. I thought I knew who my friends were, but, now...I don't think I have any." She slumped to the floor, her back pressed against the cool stone.
Luna came and sat down next to her. "I am your friend, Hermione." It was a nice thought, Hermione knew, but she didn't think that Luna was qualified to make that assessment. It was the first time they'd talked in almost a whole year. "And I wouldn't give up yet on Marcus."
"Marcus?" Hermione asked. She was thinking more about Terence at the time.
"Yes, he's much better suited to you than Higgs." Luna said resolutely. "And you really must forgive him for being rude. He didn't mean to, and he was just worried about you."
Hermione rounded to look at the girl. "Are you and Marcus close?"
Luna shook her head, blonde curls around her face. "No, but I can just tell by the way that he looks at you." Leaning in and whispering to the Slytherin girl, she gave a bit more insight. "In fact, I think he might just have been a little bit jealous."
Hermione shook her head, not wanting to argue with Luna. What could Marcus possibly have to be jealous about when he dated gorgeous witches liked Gemma Fairchild? And as much as she hated to admit it, if she even had a hint that Marcus liked her more than as just a friend, she never would have gone on a date with Terence.
Still, she took Luna's words to heart. Maybe she wasn't as alone as she thought.
While his Quidditch season was winding down - Falmouth unfortunately out of the running for the league title - he lamented the way that his year had changed. He missed his pipsqueak and her bright letters and notes.
He thought about writing her an apology note more times that he could count. He wanted to apologize for what he'd said in Hogsmeade, but he didn't know how. Couldn't she see that he just wanted her to date someone nice...someone better for her than Higgs?
Still, her words had stung too, and he knew that there was a little truth to them nonetheless. If only he hadn't listened to his father, he wouldn't have been worried about continuing his friendship with Hermione. He would have returned each and every letter she wrote, invited him to more games, visits over the summer.
Now, the wizarding world was in turmoil. Professor Snape of all people had reportedly killed Headmaster Dumbledore, something so unbelievably but apparently true. The Dark Lord was growing stronger every day and he wasn't sure how much longer it would even be safe for Hermione to stay in the wizarding world.
He wished he could bundle her up and take her away from England, keep her safe, like he'd promised several years ago. They could spend their days flying together and their evenings making dinner or reading with one another. Sure, Marcus didn't like reading as much, but he was sure he'd like to sit cozied up on the couch with Hermione.
It hurt to realize just how deep his feelings for Hermione actually ran. He could admit now that what he felt was more than just a friend. But such day dreams of domesticity was a futile exercise.
He was sure that he'd ruined his friendship with her and there would be no repairing it, especially when he couldn't even put pen to paper to apologize.