A/N: IM SORRY TO THOSE I FAILED TO ANSWER BACK FOR THEIR AWESOME REVIEWS! Forgive me! But my answer would always be this: KEEP REVIEWING AND I LOVE ALL YOUR REVIEWS! Mwah! And I was able to catch one review from TurquoiseHarmonicas and all I can say is THANK YOU FOR YOUR OH-SO-AWESOME REVIEW. I'll try to do what you suggested. Love you! I AM ALSO TERRIBLY SORRY FOR THIS SUPER LATE UPDATE! I MEAN, I KNOW YOU GUYS HATE ME NOW. There are a lot of exams I'm taking, and I hardly have time for this. But I'll do my best to keep updating! Hope you still like it...Anyways, continue readin'! :)

Can't Have Me – Chapter 8: Ginny

Draco's POV

I stuck to my deal with her. I gave back her wand after she did my dare.

Is there something wrong with that?

Okay, fine. It's out of my character to stick to my deals with people. I usually enjoy seeing them suffer with what they did, and loathe me. Well, except for the girls. They would never loathe me.

Except for Hermione Granger.

Going back to the point, there was nothing immoral to me with what I did. I am now a slightly – may I emphasize slightly – compassionate to my, er, "underlings".

You may think that I haven't changed one little bit, but believe me, I did. I fought by the side I knew was right – which is Potty's side, mind you. That takes a lot of effort. And I wasn't that...violent anymore to my fellow young wizards. It was I who wanted to continue my studies. I didn't take advice from anyone else. And lastly, I was able to fall in love with a Mudblood.

See? I've definitely changed.

I was in the Slytherin bedroom, thinking about how I was leaving after a month. Would I cry? Absolutely not! Would I miss anyone? Probably not. Also...

Would Granger miss me?

I sat up from my bed, with a disgusted look in my face. Why in the world did I think of that question? It was ridiculous! Granger would never miss me. She would actually be relieved she had one less enemy to deal with in her seventh year. So the answer was no.

I tried to go back to sleep, and was unsuccessful.

...

A whole week passed. Nothing really happened in those days. Granger kept ignoring me, and it was frustrating. But I always caught her staring, especially when we're eating at the Great Hall. I pretended to not notice.

But I was sick of her thinking that I don't exist. I needed to make a move on her.

During Transfiguration, McGonagall wasn't around. We had to do a long essay throughout the whole hour. I was lucky I was able to sit right beside Hermione. She let me, but of course, just because of being too polite. I was successful in finishing my essay after twenty minutes, but Hermione wasn't in luck. When I glanced at her paper, she was only able to write a single sentence.

"Lost your inspiration, Granger?" I teased playfully.

She almost jumped when I spoke, and I thought it was kind of cute. "No," she replied. She continued to write on her parchment.

I sighed. "When will you stop ignoring me?"

She looked at me from the corners of her eyes. "I'm not ignoring you."

"Yes, you are, for more than a week."

She was silent for a moment, pretending to focus on writing. "I'm sorry then."

Awkward silence.

"I'm sorry for that stupid dare," I finally said.

She stopped writing, dipping her quill to her bottle of ink. She didn't reply.

"Say something," I said exasperatedly.

"What in the world am I going to say to that?" she whispered back. "That I forgive you?"

"Maybe."

She sighed. "I forgave you ages ago."

I snorted quietly. "Yeah right. While you were pretending I'm not around anymore?"

"Want to know the truth?" she replied curtly.

I waited for her answer instead of replying.

She sighed, continuing to write. "It's stupid."

"Tell me."

She sighed once more. "I was...really trying to pretend you're not in Hogwarts anymore. I was wondering how it would feel like without you torturing me all the time," she explained without looking at me.

I was quiet for a second. "How did it feel like?"

Just when I asked that question, the bell rang, and everyone stood up, including Granger. She packed up quickly, and after a few seconds, I stood up too.

"You're not answering me," I reminded her.

Just when she was a foot away from the door, she sighed. "The truth is...It felt terrible."

Then she left.

...

After she said that, I just can't focus on anything else anymore. What Hermione just said...I can't get it out of my head. Throughout the whole freaking day, I could only focus on those three words.

It felt terrible.

Did it mean she'd miss me if I'd leave?

I shook my head. I was in the crowded library, doing my Muggle Studies research. It was frustrating work. I mean, what in the world was a Polaroid? And I still had to research for other...things, like post-it notes, electric guitars, and calculators. I mean...how was I supposed to know what those are?

"Need some help?"

I looked up and saw Ginny. What was she doing here? For all I know, she spends her free periods in her common room, doing some schoolwork.

"No," I answered flatly, turning away.

She sighed and sat beside me. "'Mione told me, if you're wondering."

My heart dropped, but I tried to hide it. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on," she replied. "You could lie better than that."

I didn't answer.

"She fancies you," she continued. "I don't know why she would fall for someone who treated her like trash for years, but she did."

I didn't dare move. Hermione...liked me? That was...strange. And by strange, I mean that it made my heart jump for joy. But of course, I shouldn't show that.

"But she thinks you don't like her back," she continued again. "She thinks you never will." She paused. "Though...I know she's quite wrong about that."

I sighed. Yes, she's very wrong about that, I thought in my head. So we both fancied each other. My heart jumped for joy again.

"Well?" Ginny asked. "Am I right?"

I didn't answer still.

"Yup, I'm right," she said. "Why don't you just...tell her you like her? It's not that hard. And I don't want to be an owl here."

"It is hard...for me." I finally said.

She tilted her head. "I forgot. You care so much about your reputation that you wouldn't even dare to do something others would gossip about."

I was hurt. I mean, I realized that she was right. I realized that I had cared more about how I looked like to other people.

But I thought it was time to change that.

"I know it's wrong...But I just can't. It just not..." I tried to explain unsuccessfully.

Ginny drummed her fingers on the table. "You have to make a move. If you don't...You'll never get the chance again."

"Like how you and Blaise got your chance?" I asked quietly.

She tried to hide the way her face turned red. "Yes...and no. Yes, you have to take that chance, but I don't want you to mess it up the way he did."

I opened my mouth to tell her about what Blaise had said to me, but she kept talking. "Come on. She won't be there forever, I promise you."

I sighed. She was right. I'm actually taking Hermione for granted unconsciously. But what else could I do? Ask her out? She'd freak out, still. Why did everything have to be so hard to get her? "I know she won't be there forever," I said slowly. "But...I don't know anymore."

Ginny looked behind me, and her eyes widened a little. "Your friends are here. I should...leave you alone to think about it." And then she left.

I turned around, and sure enough, Goyle and Pansy were walking towards me with a confused look on their faces. Pansy looked more pug-like this way.

"What the...Why are you talking to the Weaselette?" Pansy exclaimed. But when Madam Pince looked at her piercingly, she hushed her voice to a whisper. "What's the matter with you? What were you talking about anyway?"

"Stop the questions," I said coolly. "I can't answer all of them at once, you idiot."

"Hanging out with the Weaselette?" Goyle asked.

I made a surprised face. "Of course not! She asked for some...advice."

Pansy snorted. "Why would she ask for some advice from you? I mean, she loathes you. And not in a bad way, mind you." She crossed her arms. Goyle did the same.

"Look," I explained. "She saw the results of the exams we had in our sixth year. I, of course, was one of the top students, and she couldn't understand the procedure of a potion, and she asked advice from me. Easy."

Goyle still didn't look pleased. "Right. Why didn't she just ask from that Mudblood nerd, Granger? Not that she's smarter than you, Draco."

I tensed when I heard her name, even just her last name. "She's not...in a good mood right now."

Surprisingly, Pansy nodded to my lie. "You got that right. Can you imagine she never answered a single professor today? I mean, she didn't raise her hand at all. Ever. And when Flitwick asked her a question once this morning, she actually asked him to repeat the question five times. And she kept pouting in class. I wonder why. I don't actually care, but it's very peculiar, the way she's acting today."

I just listened quietly to Pansy's long statement, and I bit my lip when I realized that I may be the one upsetting her.

"She's not in a good mood either when she was with me during Muggle Studies either," Goyle said. "I was right beside her, unfortunately, at the very back of the class. And guess what? While we were watching this stupid romance movie, I heard her sobbing when the guy and the girl kissed. I mean, it was the first time I saw her act so...whatever."

I looked down at the mahogany table. "Do I look like I care?" I said in a whisper.

When in fact...I do.

A/N: Yes! I'm finished! Keep reviewing, guys! And when you're getting really frustrated when I don't update fast, maybe if you email me () I'll go faster. :) Love you! Mwah.