Chapter Ten: Christmas Blues—part two

Ginny Weasley knew he was hiding something from her, their relationship over the past two years has certainly taught her one thing about Harry, he couldn't keep secrets. Though she could just wait for him to spill it out, she couldn't help but be curious. She'd asked on countless occasions but he replied with an innocent "nothing," before quickly changing the subject. Whenever she visited him, Pansy was no where to be seen, maybe their truce didn't work out, but why would he hide that from her. She looked up at Harry who still had the same vacant expression, his eyes motionless and seemed to be lost in thought. The Christmas party was less than an hour away and Ginny knew she had to get ready. Five minutes, she thought lazily not wanting to leave the warmth of his body.

"Harry?" she asked tentatively.

"Yeah," he said half-heartedly, his voice just above a whisper.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Harry didn't panic; she'd asked him the same question at least twenty times and counting. The first time she'd asked caught him off guard but now he had his well rehearsed response.

"Nothing," he replied slowly getting up, his back towards her. They were in the Gryffindor common room and students slowly started crowding inside, getting ready for the party. He decided to go back to his room, take a nap and come back to "celebrate". Great, he thought sarcastically, just what he needed.

"Wait," she said annoyingly grabbing his arm. "Don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you, what's gotten into you," she added.

"Ginny, nothing's wrong with me, so can you please stop tormenting me every time we're together?" he snapped.

"Tormenting you? So, that's how you see it Harry, sorry I asked because I cared," she said raising her voice. They started to get suspicious stares from their house mates. Harry glanced over his shoulder, noticing her angry expression before leaving. Ginny stormed into her dorm, slamming the door behind her. Harry ran a hand through his hair with an exhausted sigh while he dejectedly walked through the empty hallway.

"Floo power," he muttered. He walked in to find Pansy sitting alone on the couch adjacent to the fireplace. The flame illuminated her most alluring feature, Harry never though a pair of eyes could have such an effect on him. He quietly tried to make his way to his room trying to avoid conversation.

"What now, Potter?" she said quietly. Harry stopped midway and turned around.

"Nothing," he said noticing his frequent use of the word, it was a useful trinket in avoiding any confrontation.

"Shut up," she said annoyed at his aloofness. "Stop trying to escape and face the situation,"

"What situation? It was a mistake and I'm not blaming anyone, let's not waste time talking about something that didn't mean anything,"

"Didn't mean anything?" she said angrily and got up to face him. "Didn't seem that way while it was happening,"

"People make mistakes Parkinson, get over it. I can't betray Ginny, you know that and even if I could, how could you ever imagine that it'd work. A Slytherin and a Gryffindor, not a chance."

"This isn't about Ginny, as much as I respect your relationship; this is about you and me. Stop holding yourself back Harry, sometimes a mistake is a realization. Think about it do you really love Ginny? If so, why did you do it?" she said, frustrated. "Besides, the house rivalry didn't seem to stop Granger."

"First of all, leave Hermione out of this, she probably has a logical explanation for her actions. Secondly, Are you that thick Parkinson?" he growled. "This is about Ginny, and how dare you question my love for her, you're just jealous no one ever took you seriously so that's why you're trying to create a thrift in order to satisfy your sadistic pleasure. How could I be so stupid? Once a Slytherin, always a Slytherin," Pansy's breath caught in her throat and her stomach tightened. She thought he was different, no, she hoped he'd be different. She thought he saw her for what she was but Potter was no exception. She walked up to him; tears streaming down her face and in one swift move slapped him across his cheek.

"I thought you were different Potter but no, you're just like everyone else and I hope you pay for what you did to Weasley." she commented and left. Harry didn't respond.

Think about it do you really love Ginny? If so, why did you do it? Her voice repeated in his head like a broken tape recorder, he ran his hands through his hair once again hoping to extinguish the accusation. He did love Ginny but why did he do it? He didn't have answer for that. He was embarrassed to admit the fact that he was attracted to Pansy. He quickly brushed the thought out of his mind, who wasn't attracted to Pansy? What happened yesterday was just an infatuation, it didn't mean anything.

It didn't mean anything he repeated, struggling to convince himself.

Hermione Granger took another swig of pumpkin juice, tasteless in her mouth while periodically checking her watch; she hated Malfoy for being so bloody ambiguous. She glanced in Harry's direction, his expression distant; she knew something was wrong. She quickly brushed it away; he does tend to get moody at times.

Hermione examined the well arranged assortment of sweets; there was a huge cake in the middle which would be cut once the New Year rolled around.

They probably bought some of the food from the Great Hall, she thought as she swiftly checked her watch again debating on whether to open her presents, rarely ever opening them on the spot. As a child, she didn't want to get rid of the surprise and adrenaline rush of guessing what was inside the box so, she always took her time. She decided to open them tomorrow because she was too busy planning her conversation with Malfoy and stayed up last night re-rehearsing it in her head.

How pathetic.

"Waiting for someone?" Ron asked and took a seat beside her, Hermione shifted uncomfortably.

"Huh?" she asked, confused.

"You keep checking your watch," he pointed out.

"No, actually Ron I'll be right back I want to see what they've done to the Great Hall," she said nonchalantly, knowing exactly what the Hall looked like. Nevertheless, she hoped Ron believed her.

"Sure, I'll come with you," he suggested and her heart sank.

"No, Ron its ok, I'll be back and besides, I don't want to keep you from this," she said hurriedly and got up before he could rebuke.

She left the common room and turned left, the halls still bore the decorations, and she was alone. She climbed the staircase leading her to the third floor and walked towards the end of the empty hallway. She heard the torches crackle as she continued. Her heartbeat fastened as she stood in front of the Tower. With a deep sigh, she opened the door and walked in. The room was fairly dark and a huge glass covered the ceiling, looking up feeling as if she could touch the sky which was fairly clear. Another stairway, located in the corner of the room, led to a highest point on the tower. Many students used the room to finish their astronomy homework, and that was where she predicted Malfoy would be.

"You're late," she turned around to see Malfoy leaning against the fall, arms folded. His skin was illuminated by the moon light making his skin seem even paler.

"Yeah, well, night wasn't exactly specific," she quickly snapped. She cursed at herself for going off track.

Just say what you have to and leave she reminded herself.

"Definitely not now, that's for sure,"

"Why did you call me here?" she asked changing the topic hastily before she retorted to old habits.

"Good question," he asked acting as if he'd never thought of that himself which only made Hermione's blood boil.

"This isn't funny,"

"I'm not laughing Granger," he assured but she noticed his mouth tense as if suppressing a chuckle. "Maybe I wanted to see you," he added.

"Save the crap, Malfoy, please." Every word was drowning in sarcasm.

"Yeah, I knew you weren't that thick" he muttered.

"So, why?" she said impatiently.

"What do you say to Pothead and Weasel king, they must've been shadowing you?" he asked, yet again avoiding her question.

"Why do you care?" she scowled, folding her arms.

"You can't answer a question with a question Granger,"

"And you apparently can't answer a question at all," she pointed out. "Did you talk to Dumbledore?" she added unable to resist deterring away from her motive.

"No," he said seriously and shifted uncomfortably. She didn't press forward realizing it would be delusive. They didn't talk for a while and Hermione was disturbed by his gaze, she looked up to meet his cold gray eyes, examining her, sending shivers down her spine.

"Talked to Pansy?" she asked unable to bear the silence.

"No," he answered again.

"Ok, well Merry Christmas and a happy new year," she said hastily, turned around and started to leave.

"Wait, where are you going?" he asked, surprised by her sudden decision.

"Leaving," she answered.

"I can see that Granger, hold on." he said annoyingly. Hermione turned around.

"What?" she asked.

"Hermione, please" he mumbled shocked at himself. What? She thought to herself, just when she thought she was done. She slowly walked back from the door, pondering on whether what he said was true or just her mind playing tricks on her.

"I don't want to fight anymore," he said, his backed turned to her.

"Then, what do you want?" she asked, using one of the lines she'd rehearsed countless times yesterday.

"Nothing, but I don't want to fight anymore."

"Ok?" she said, confused. He turned around and extended his hand.

"Friends?"

"W-what?"

"C'mon Granger, you know you want to"

"This is going too fast,"

"No, you're just really slow, I understand." He sniggered and she was a taken back at his amusement, she'd never seen him like this. Was this the Malfoy who had tormented her for the past six years? She turned around, angry by his remark.

"Malfoy, I just can't be your friend," she started. Because you're a selfish bastard, she answered silently. So, why was she here? He hasn't done anything to throw her off the edge…yet.

"Why not?" It was his turn to play the question game. She suppressed a comeback by biting her tongue awed by his mood swings and stupidity of the question. This was a side of Malfoy she's come to know for the past few weeks, the unpredictable side. Maybe that's why she was here, intrigued by his behavior and she couldn't resist a mystery. Her curiosity always controlled her responses and actions. She was torn between the willingness to leave him and the urge to know more about him.

"Because I don't trust you," she spilled, a result of her inability to sort out the conflicting thoughts floating around in her head.

"Fair enough," he nodded, one hand rested on his chin, agreeing with her accusation. "So, how can I make you trust me?"

"What is this? The Inquisition?" she answered, frustrated.

"In a way," he added innocently with the same look of amusement.

"I can't just forget how you ridiculed me and my friends for the last six years," she snapped.

"And I can't change what I did. I'm not talking about Potter or Weasley, they deserved it,"

"I can't be your friend if you can't accept them. Besides, it'll take time to forget all you did, after all six years is a long time." She said silently yet firmly, eyes drifting around the room to avoid his gaze.

"Yeah, it'll take time. Time we don't have," he urged ignoring the part about Potter and Weasley. "Would you stop thinking about your friends for a second and take a chance. What's the worse thing that can happen?"

"Let's see, my best friends hating my guts and potentially ruining my last year at Hogwarts."

"Yeah but if you don't then you'll regret this for the rest of your boring life. Once your out of school, the 'what if' will always linger and you'll never be happy." He explained. Hermione couldn't help smiling at him while he was informing her consequences of denying his request. "…besides, being my friend comes with many advantages," he added with a wink and she felt blood rushing to her cheeks.

"Thanks for reminding me, no more of that Malfoy," she said seriously.

"Of what?" he asked with forced innocence taking a step forward. Hermione panicked suddenly acknowledging the fact that she was alone with him again.

"T-that," she stammered taking two steps back until she felt the cool stone surface on her back.

"What?" he repeated taking another step which placed him a step away from her. She started feeling lightheaded.

"You know—unwanted favors," she managed to croak out.

"I don't mind," he said crossing his arms again. At least he didn't take another step, she thought.

"Well, I do, so you can find someone else who doesn't." she answered firmly, proud of her bravery.

"Ok, fine," he held up his hands in defeat. "No more of that. You surprise me everyday Granger, most girls wouldn't pass that up,"

"Yeah, well, I'm not most girls. And that explains a lot about the girls you hang out with. Bulstrode, Parkinson—"

"You don't know Parkinson, so shut up." He snapped looking up to see her glaring at him. She puts up a good fight every time but, he sensed a tinge of fear in her expression as well. "And Millicent? Honestly Granger, I don't stoop down that low."

"I don't need to know Parkinson to know what kind of a girl she is," she mumbled. Draco suddenly placed two hands on the wall behind her, his face inches away from hers. His eyes filled with rage.

"Just because I'm being nice to you doesn't mean you can say whatever you want," he growled.

"Nice?" she snorted. He turned around, running a hand through his hair, trying to ease his temper. He heard the door close behind him. She left. He sighed, she was annoying, argumentative and certainly not worth his time. He looked up at the night sky lit with countless stars.

Why was he doing this? If he could answer that, he wouldn't be here. For some reason, though they argued ninety-nine percent of the time, he wanted to talk to her again. There was something about her that left him feeling different. He'd received around ten more howlers from his father talking about his failure to own up to the family honor, his betrayal, etc. After hearing it so many times, it didn't seem that important. But even so, he was willing to listen to a hundred more howlers if he could talk to Granger again. He sighed again, this was going to be a problem.

Finally, right? I got back today! Don't worry, I wrote a LOT but its all on paper so I'm going to be spending today typing it all up!! Thanks for waiting you guys!!

Read and Review please.

And I hope the Astronomy Tower rendezvous was well worth the wait. I hope. gulp

Coming up: Another rendezvous(hehe), class begin, Voldemort.

I put Voldemort because I think I'm going to start the chapter explaining his side; in other words, the actual plot about the muggles.

How's the last book you guys? I havent started it myself so don't tell me any spoilers!! But I heard it's amazing!!

Bye, until next time!