CHAPTER TWENTY

'But as you age, you lose other, even more important things, like friends- hopefully only bad friends, who maybe weren't as good for you as you once thought. With luck, you'll be able to hang on to your true friends, the ones who were always there for you... even when you thought they weren't. Because friends like that are more precious than all the tiaras in the world.'
~Meg Cabot, Forever Princess~

"What do you mean they broke up?" Wilson Betemit asked, staring at a shaking Marty.

"She said she loved him and he didn't say it back. They broke up," Marty said, with more confidence than he felt.

"WHAT ABOUT OUR LOVE TRIANGLE?" Wilson yelled, sounding more like a five year old throwing a tantrum than the Minister of Magic.

"Yes, about that," Jake- one of the editors on the show- piped up next to Marty, "George Weasley has proposed to his girlfriend."

Wilson looked like an angry lion.

"But!" Jake said, trying to salvage the conversation, "Draco Malfoy has just asked Hermione Granger to a weekend in Italy."

"With his parents, no doubt." Wilson growled, falling into his chair.

"No, no!" Marty jumped in, happy remembering the conversation he witnessed. "He told his parents not to arrive until the dinner. He planned this whole trip for them and told Hermione it was his mum's idea. She's no clue."

This seemed to pacify Wilson and he listened to what Jake and Marty had to say.

Ginny,

No time for pleasantries. Draco asked me to Italy. Okay, maybe I should backtrack. But I can't deal with all that now. DRACO ASKED ME TO ITALY FOR THE WEEKEND! Who does that? Anyway, he said there's some fancy pure-blood ball thing and his family decided to make a weekend trip out of it. And he's inviting me.

AND he wants to go camping with us. My parents and I haven't been camping in years because it went awful. And camping last year with Ron and Harry while running around hunting Horcruxes had not been enjoyable. I can't fathom going camping with Draco. This is a disaster.

Write me soon. I need you.

-'Mione

The response came a few hours later.

DRACO BLEEDING MALFOY ASKED YOU TO ITALY FOR A ROMANTIC GETAWAY? You're right, no time for pleasantries. I'm amazed you even managed 'Ginny.' Anyway, you said yes, right? Because if you said no I will find a way out of Hogwarts so I can come over and throttle you! Why must all the good stuff happen the summer I'm away?

'Mione, I might just hyperventilate. He's so hot. And I know he's probably more than that, but I don't know all those things you do. So I'm just going to be superficial here for a moment. TELL ME MORE! Not only is he a reformed bad boy, but he's- he's- I don't know. You fill in the blank. Funny? Smart? A great cook? Sexy? All of the above? Hermione Granger, you make my life interesting.

"My girlfriend has a debilitating crush on Draco Malfoy," Harry's familiar voice spoke from behind her. Hermione jumped, finding her best friend standing right behind her.

"What are you doing here?" She shrieked, slapping his arm. She clutched her heart, like that would help stop the frantic beating.

Harry smiled at her, "Sorry. Your mum let me in." he sat down on her bed, petting Crookshanks.

"Why are you here?" She asked, spinning around in her desk chair.

Harry's mouth dropped, "Do I need a reason to see my best friend? This hurts, 'Mione. Hurts."

She smiled, tossing a spare pen at him. He caught it easily and she huffed at his blatant athleticism. "Fine." Harry conceded, "Ron hasn't showered in days. So, Draco Malfoy wants to take you to Italy."

"It's rude to read stuff that's not addressed to you," Hermione said, hoping to avoid what he'd said. She spun around in the chair, looking up at the ceiling. Harry wasn't having any of that and he threw the pen back at her. It hit her in the stomach- although 'hit' was much too strong a word. She stopped spinning and said, "Has Ron really not showered?"

"Yes," Harry deadpanned. "He smells like a dead animal. And he keeps eating all my ice cream. It's annoying. Speaking of, do you have any ice cream?"

"Kitchen." She said, spinning back around. Harry jumped up, heading for the kitchen. She laughed, getting out a piece of parchment to compose a response to Ginny.

Harry was back in seconds, the ice cream pint already open with the spoon in his mouth. "Caramel heaven," He sighed, falling onto her bed.

Hermione laughed at him. "Are you having a food-gasm?"

Harry moaned, "Oh, yes. Oh, yessssss."

"Merlin," She grinned, laughing at him. It was nice and easy hanging out with Harry. She should have never doubted they'd not be friends after what happened with Ron. Speaking of Ron- she couldn't help feeling a little chuffed from Ron's misery. Was it wrong she wasn't lying in bed, eating ice cream, and not showering? How come she was a functioning human being, planning a trip to Italy with another man?

She'd supposedly loved him. So why wasn't she a crying mess? Was she missing some sort of emotion?

Harry looked at her. He sighed, "What's wrong? Why are you ruining the afterglow?"

"I'm sorry." She said, looking at his spoonful of ice cream. "I didn't mean to."

"Come on, 'Mione." Harry said, shovelling more ice cream into his deprived being. "What's eating you?" He held up the ice cream pint and grinned brightly.

"Were you trying to make an ice cream pun?" She questioned, holding in a laugh.

"Yeah, it didn't really work." He grinned.

"Nothing. I was just wondering why I'm not more gutted about the break-up. You said Ron's not showering and he wasn't even in love with me. So why am I like this?"

"Like what?" Harry looked at her like she was speaking a different language.

She sighed, "Like this. I'm sitting here laughing and planning a trip to Italy with Draco! Isn't this wrong?"

"No." said Harry, his attention deeply focused on the ice cream he was attempting to get out of the pint. "Everyone mourns relationships differently. And maybe you didn't really love Ron in the romantic sense, or whatever." He looked up, having successfully gotten another spoonful out. "Ron is just being himself. He usually doesn't shower anyway, so it's actually not that big a deal. And don't feel bad 'bout Malfoy. Ron will be going out with Jenna in no time."

She thought about what he said. Everyone mourns differently. She remembered reading 'everyone loves differently' in a book, but she didn't know which one. But then she realised the last thing he said. Her head snapped towards Harry who was still immersed in the ice cream.

"Ron will be WHAT?"

Harry looked up at her, his face going pale. He tried to laugh it off, but Hermione felt herself beginning to get hysterical. "Harry, speak."

He shook his head, a garble of sounds coming out that Hermione couldn't make heads or tails of. She glared at him, knowing her silence would be enough to coax it out of him. But before he could feel guilty enough, something clicked in her head. "You and Ginny kept telling me to dump Ron..." She trailed off, her mind putting the pieces together.

Ron will be going out with Jenna in no time. Harry and Ginny's newfound love and appreciation for Draco. The puzzle was starting to make a bit more sense. "He never cheated on you!" Harry said quickly, "But he... I mean, he... he kinda liked her a bit more than he should have."

"No..." Hermione whispered. Ron? Emotionally unfaithful? But he... no...

"I'm sorry, 'Mione. I wanted to tell you. But Ginny said if you knew, then you'd dump Ron and be miserable. She said you needed to realise for yourself that you and Ron weren't right for each other." Harry was babbling, slipping over words in his haste to get them out.

She wanted to be angry, but she couldn't gather up the strength to yell. An overwhelming burst of sadness washed over her. George and everyone had accused her of getting too close with Draco, meanwhile no one was feuding with Ron over Jenna. And Ron was the one they should have been watching over. She kept replaying the one time she'd seen them together-minus the day they met at the meeting. Ron had completely forgotten she was there.

Honey badger.

Harry wordlessly handed her the pint and spoon. She took it, letting the coldness wash over her. The ice cream didn't help and she found herself saying, "Can you put 'Beauty and the Beast' on?"

Harry did so in silence, and moments later she found herself wrapped in his arms as the movie played. She spooned ice cream into her mouth and pressed her face deeper into Harry's chest. He was warm and smelled like soap. Tears streaked down her face, but she didn't sob. She felt numb from the disbelief, the shock, the betrayal.

Why did she waste her first 'I love you' on him? How could her mind have played that trick on her?

She sniffled and then there was a tissue in front of her face. She took Harry's peace offering and blew. It made her feel a bit better, but her body was shaking. Harry held her tighter and he didn't even protest when she finally fell asleep.

When she woke up, it was still dark, but with a hint of the rising sun. Hermione sighed- seeing this was the second time she'd been up this early in a week. She untangled herself from Harry's protective hold and smiled at him as he rolled over in her bed. He was a good friend. She sat at her desk and waved her blinds open with her wand, so that the tiny bit of light there was streamed in.

She wrote to Ginny.

Harry told me what you two were keeping from me. I want to be mad, but I'm not. I understand what you guys were trying to do. You were right. I needed to see for myself the relationship was over and that it was because of who are and not because of Ron's feelings for Jenna or whatever this heart pounding thing is with Draco. It still hurts, not having him around. But I guess it would hurt more if we had broken up because Ron had feelings for someone else. Instead we broke up because we just weren't compatible and it's good I know that.

Harry stayed over last night. I'm sure the Ministry is going to turn it into something it isn't. But it was really nothing. I sorta bawled like a baby after he let it slip. He just held me and then I fell asleep. We all know I'm hopelessly and irrecoverably in love with Draco Malfoy. I'm just kidding. Seriously, I am. Don't take this as some sort of messed up confession. Because it isn't.

"In love with, Malfoy, eh?"

Hermione shrieked, turning to find Harry behind her. "Stop doing that!" She panted, squeezing her chest. "What is wrong with you?"

He shrugged, hopping up on her windowsill. "Malfoy, eh? Lucky guy. Hope he knows it."

"Merlin, you're just like Ginny." She moaned, "I'm not in love with Malfoy." Harry smiled, like he knew a secret that she didn't. She rolled her eyes, laughing, "Go back to bed, you dolt."

At a more decent hour, the pair of them rolled out of bed and trekked down to the kitchen. Her mum was there, making an omelette, water on the stove already boiling for tea. Harry's eyes sparkled with delight when he saw it and he grabbed a mug from the cabinet to proportion out the amount of sugar and milk he wanted. "Morning, Mum," Hermione smiled, handing Harry the milk carton from the fridge.

"Morning, love. Ah, Harry- I didn't know you stayed over." There was nothing accusatory or chastising in her tone, but Harry blushed nonetheless.

Hermione rolled her eyes at his shyness and turned to her mum, saying, "I kinda fell asleep on him."

Mrs. Granger set the steaming omelette on a plate and handed it to Harry. "In that case," She said with a smile, "thank you for being my daughter's bed for the night. I know how much she kicks in her sleep-"

"Mum!"

"So you deserve the first omelette," She finished, giving a laughing Harry the steaming plate.

"She really does kick," He smiled, "I think I have a bruise."

Hermione glared at the beaten egg she was pouring into the pan and muttered, "I'll give you another one if you don't-"

"Tsk tsk," Harry joked, smiling at her through a mouthful of egg.

"Ew," She shrieked, looking away. "Chew and swallow, Harry. That's gross."

"I was gonna say 'that's what she said,' but that doesn't really apply here." Harry laughed.

Hermione grinned. Her mum came over and took the pan she was using to cook the egg in and put it on her own plate. "That is my cue to leave- you kids have fun." She smiled, walking out of the kitchen with her breakfast and a steaming mug of tea.

"She stole my egg." Hermione laughed, cracking another egg to attempt making breakfast again.

"Think of it this way, you made your mum breakfast." Harry said, almost done with his own omelette.

It was such a mundane morning, so simple and so normal. But it felt good to just relax and spend some time with the people you love. She added ham to the cooking egg and couldn't help herself from thinking about how Draco was spending his morning. Was he sitting down to breakfast with the people that mattered most? Did he even really have people that mattered? Besides his mum, anyway. It was pretty obvious how the pair of them felt. "You have that look on your face." Harry's voice broke through her haze.

"What look?"

"The one you get when you're thinking very hard about someone."

"I don't have a look." She said, feeling a strong surge of heat starting to creep up her neck.

"Yes, you do." Harry said, his face very serious. "Like this," He scrunched up his face into some sort of pained animal expression.

Hermione couldn't contain her laughter and she finally got out, horrified, "Oh my gosh, tell me I don't make that face!"

Harry nodded, his face solemn once again. "You do."

"No!"

"Yup."

She groaned, "Merlin, this is awful."

"So what were you thinking about?" Harry prodded, unaffected by her grief.

"Draco," She muttered, fully aware he would never let her forget this moment. The seriousness on her best friend's face disappeared and he looked startlingly pleased with himself. "No!" She said, "Don't! I'm not daydreaming about his stormy eyes or whatever you want to say."

"I didn't say anything about his," Harry cleared his throat and his voice came out high pitched as he grinned brightly, "stormy eyes," And for added affect he batted his eyelashes.

Hermione rolled her eyes and stuffed a piece of her omelette into her mouth.

Seeing as her parents were muggle, they didn't understand what an insult the word 'mudblood' was. They were more than happy to have the Malfoys over for the evening again. The Olympics were finally beginning and given how much the event had boggled Draco's mind, it was no surprise they ended up watching the Opening Ceremony together. The Malfoys were also distinctly missing a television.

Harry was spending the evening with the Weasleys- and Jenna, apparently. Hermione's mum was much more relaxed this time, probably because she had gotten on so well with Narcissa. Either way, they had plenty of snacks displayed on the table and a glorious high definition with surround sound tv to watch the spectacle.

Draco wore his usual black ensemble, which was to be expected. Obviously. She had hoped he would dress up, like she had in an obnoxious, flashy Great Britain flag shirt and colourful jean shorts. She even smeared some face paint in blue and red streaks on her cheeks. She was rewarded with a smile, though, once he saw her hilarious get up. Somehow, that was even better than seeing him in colour.

She texted the picture she'd taken of herself to Harry, who sent her his own ridiculous picture. Draco leaned over her shoulder and laughed at the sight of Harry's chest painted with their flag. "Don't you feel left out," She teased.

Draco cleared his throat and said for the second time, "Wizard." He pulled out his wand and pointed it at his cheek. A tiny flag appeared there and Hermione smiled. It was a start. It might have been the closest she'd ever see him in something other than black. They took a picture, foreheads touching and she blushed as they pulled away.

Crookshanks hopped on the couch and squeezed himself in between them. Draco scooted over to make room and then rubbed underneath her cat's mouth. Crookshanks purred loudly and smacked her side with his tail. It was like he was telling her to leave them alone. Great, she thought, my cat is in love with Draco Malfoy.

Draco smiled at her like he knew how she was feeling. Or maybe there was a storm cloud over her head giving away her thoughts. She hastily looked away and focused on the reporters getting ready to begin the festivities.

Narcissa and her mum were talking, surrounded by picture albums. Narcissa was still in awe of the unmoving photos. Lucius was on Draco's other side, having a very stiff conversation with her dad. Crookshanks, meanwhile, continued to purr and slap her with his tail. I'm not moving, she wanted to tell him.

Draco's hand grazed her thigh, making her finally look at him. It was more of a reflex than her actually deciding to look at him, but her eyes found his eyes staring at her. She thought he would apologise, but he didn't. She realised he did it on purpose since she'd been staring at the telly all this time. His eyes were so grey and so bright that she could have gazed into them all day.

He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Narcissa squeezed into the spot next to Lucius. The four of them- five if you counted Crookshanks- were squished together and Draco's shoulder was touching hers. Crookshanks meowed before jumping away, annoyed at having been squished and then Draco slammed into her side. She groaned, but found herself laughing seconds later and Draco's warmth enveloping her. The sides of their bodies were connected and as the Opening Ceremony finally began, she felt the familiar happiness she had with Harry earlier that day.

A/N Hello people! How goes life? Hope all is well and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know I made Hermione and Harry a little crazy excited over the Olympics. I don't know anyone that paints their face and dresses up, but we can all pretend, right? :D I thought it was cute, considering how much Hermione hyped up the Olympics to Draco. Also, I'm just sitting here waiting for college (hopefully) acceptance letters! I haven't gotten any yet- I also haven't gotten any rejections, so I guess it's a good thing. I wish they would HURRY UP.

I need to thank my amazing reviewers! I seriously check my email like 100 times a day. I get really happy when I see one :D Potterheads, Honoria Granger, ILoveSiriusBlack4, LoonyLoonyLuna, Guest, briallyson94, CheshireCat23, edwardsoneandonlylove, fischelsp, shatorupa . ghosh, Loveable Leo, Jazu-chan13, Taylor F, and lovemaya2000.