Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter Five

The Girls Bathroom

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was different. There was a strange feeling in the air, much like a funny smell that was difficult to place, that seemed to echo the apprehension of its students and professors inside that had not been there when she had left that June. Hermione felt it bombard her senses as she stepped through the huge doubled fronted oak doors. Everything seemed to be as it had always been; the grand marble staircase loomed impressively in the entrance hall and torches burned brightly on the walls, sending light flickering up towards the imposing high ceiling that could only just be seen, shadows dancing around them. The paved floor felt solid and sturdy beneath Hermione's feet, but she didn't feel steady or at all supported. Something was amiss, she thought as glanced around, yet she wasn't quite able to put her finger on what it was.

It had been, after all the hype, a rather uneventful feast. Ron seemingly devoured half of all the food on the table with such vigour one would have assumed he had not eaten in weeks, if not months, but everyone knew Molly fed him well. Harry kept shooting what he thought were discreet glances in Ginny's direction. She was sat further down the table, talking to some girls from the sixth year, whispering feverently. Hermione watched as she too, kept glancing up the table, but in that moment what ever was going on between those two was little concern to her. There were other more important things for her to worry about.

She wished she wouldn't do it, but Hermione was finding it increasingly difficult to stop looking up over at the Slytherin table. A half filled plate lay untouched in front of her, the smell of what was once thought of as delicious food assaulted her nostrils and made her want to gag and throw it away, but for appearances sake she resisted the urge. It was hard enough dealing with the fact that every time she even considered eating, as soon as she glanced down to pick up her fork her eyes would fall upon the very source of all her problems, gleaming there brightly as if innocent, and the fork would drop from her fingers and she would no longer be hungry.

He was eating of course. He'd been laughing too, the centre of attention of all his Slytherin cronies who were gathered around him like moths to a flame. Hermione sighed, resting her elbows on the table, propping her head up on a hand, still watching. Draco Malfoy was completely transfixing, she was loath to admit, as he spoke and moved; she could almost imagine the words he was saying, his hands graceful in the air as he made a joke. She had to tear her eyes away every time.

"You not hungry, Hermione?"

A fork tapped against her plate and she glanced up. "Hmm?" she asked, finding Harry watching her.

"Are you feeling okay?" Harry said, his brows furrowing. "You haven't touched your food at all!"

Hermione shook her head and tried to smile reassuringly at him. "I'm just not feeling very hungry," she said, pushing her plate away.

Ron stopped gnawing at his fourth chicken leg and swallowed, reaching for a glass of pumpkin juice. "Must be all that excitement, eh?" he joked as he took a swig. "All those advanced classes to attend and N.E.W.T.'s to revise for. I would bet my left leg that if you could you would go up to the staff table right now and beg Professor Vector for even more arithmacy homework to hand in!"

She laughed along with Harry, half-heartedly thinking that Ron had better get used to having one leg, because he couldn't have been further from the truth.

"Seriously," Harry whispered across the table once Ron had resumed eating and was engaged in a heated debate with Dean Thomas about quidditch vs. football, "is something bothering you?"

"No," she muttered, perhaps a bit too quickly. "I mean," she looked up briefly and the shining platinum hair caught her attention immediately. "It's Draco Malfoy."

Harry's eyes darkened as she said his name. Thankfully, everyone else in the hall was so immersed in their own discussions that no one paid any attention to the two of them. "What about him?" It was hard to miss the distaste in his voice. "Is it because he's Head Boy?"

"Yeah," she lied, wishing that that were all it was. "It's just, well – I don't think I'll-"

She was interrupted by Seamus Finnegan shouting up the table, "Oi! Harry, football or quidditch?" Ron draped his arm around Harry's shoulders and pulled him into their conversation. "Well of course he'll say quidditch, he's the bloody team captain you idiot!"

He smiled apologetically at her but she shook her head, glad of the distraction. It was better saying nothing at all to Harry rather than outright lying to him, or at least easier. Their voices washed over her and she leant back wearily in her chair listening to them arguing over which sport was better, hoping more than anything that the feast could go faster so that she may go to bed. Next to her, Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown were sat close together and giggling at something. Hermione noticed that they were staring quite obviously at a seventh year in Hufflepuff that she recognised from Muggle studies. He seemed to be enjoying the attention, and was smiling back at them evoking more giggles.

The food suddenly vanished from the tables once everyone (including Ron) had finished, and was replaced by tiers of fairy cakes, steaming apple pies and treacle tarts, gooey chocolate cakes. They all looked so good, and Hermione felt her hand tempted by one of the iced cakes. She reached out to take one, about to say something to Ron who had heaped five different desserts onto his plate, when she felt like she was being watched. Her hand stopped in mid air and her head snapped up. Hermione found herself staring into those same grey eyes she'd been staring at all evening, only this time they were looking right back at her.

She shivered, sinking deeper into her chair in an attempt to hide. Why was Draco Malfoy suddenly all she could think about? How come he was able to effect her in such away?

As soon as stomachs were full and desserts eaten, Dumbledore stood up and raised his hands. Like a wave crashing down the noise died in the hall and all eyes were on the headmaster. But Hermione found that she had no inclination to listen to what he had to say and blocked out his speech, only picking up that he was once again asking the four houses to unite against the growing evil. Every member of Slytherin glared. Then Hermione had to endure the school song, and owing to some curious looks from those sat around her for her lack of singing, she reluctantly joined in.

The bewitched sky above them was clear now, all trace of rain cloud had vanished leaving the twinkling of many stars against the night sky. There was a loud rush as students made their way up from their tables out of the hall. Yawning, Hermione noticed that Dumbledore was looking in her direction, and that Malfoy was already striding up to the teachers table. She jumped up from her seat.

"Hey, Hermione, are you coming up to the common room?" Ron asked as he and Harry followed Seamus and Dean towards the crowd forming at the doors to the entrance hall.

"Ron's just bet Dean all of his Chudley Cannon posters that he can beat him in a game of chess!" Harry called back, smiling just like any other normal seventeen schoolboy messing around with his friends. That was more than enough to make Hermione happy.

"She'll be up in a bit."

Hermione turned to see Ginny standing beside her. "I will?" she inquired somewhat confused.

"Yes, you will," Ginny replied firmly, grabbing her arm and pulling her ahead of the boys. "See you later, guys."

Allowing the redhead to drag her through the throng of noisy students shunting their way through the doors, her feet tripping over numerous pairs of shining school shoes, Hermione satisfied her growing curiosity and turned her head around back up the great hall. She was momentarily startled to find Dumbledore and McGonagall stood atop the three steps to the staff table, with Draco Malfoy standing in front of them. All three were looking at her.

She swallowed, feeling a hatred in her stomach so strong that she was shocked she was the one feeling it. I've done nothing wrong, she reminded herself. It's not as if I'm going to blab. Resisting the urge to glance down at her hand, Hermione mentally slapped herself and disappeared into the crowd after Ginny, all the time feeling their eyes boring into her back.

It was common knowledge at Hogwarts that the girls bathroom in the west wing on the third floor was, as the saying went, "the place to be". It was usually swarming with girls, some crowded around mirrors applying make up, others leant against stalls relaying the latest gossip, a few huddled on one of the window ledges overlooking the grounds far below. Always speading rumours, always telling lies. Hermione tried to avoid the bathroom at all costs. She always felt uncomfortable amongst the giggling and the bitching and the heavy scent of Madam Fluffy's latest perfume. Even though Hogwarts was a school of magic, it was still a school, witches were still girls.

"Hey, look!" Ginny said excitedly, pushing Hermione through the door and past the stalls towards a window, "There's Parvati and Lavender." She pointed towards the two girls who were perched on the cold grey stone ledge, loudly recounting tales of their summer holidays to a group of eager looking fifth years.

Hermione wanted to turn around and question why on earth Ginny had brought her here but she held her tongue and tried to fix a smile on her face. She passed Hannah Abbott touching up her make up in a mirror and muttered hello to the prefect. The room was packed to the brim, it seemed as if every popular girl in the school had headed here to catch up on all the gossip before the morning, and no one seemed to be in any hurry. "What are we doing here?" Hermione asked Ginny over her shoulder, stumbling on her cloak.

Ginny just smiled serenely. "No reason."

Parvati stopped talking and swept her long dark hair over a shoulder. "There you are!" she squealed once she saw them approach. "We've been waiting ages for you!"

Doubting that that could not possibly be true, seeing as they had left the feast only moments before, Hermione just continued to smile. Ginny went and sat in between them, leaving her to stand before them like a guilty criminal to a jury.

"Sorry, got caught up on the stairs," Ginny said, wiggling to get comfy. "Honestly, half of these girls shouldn't even be in here." The three of them glared over at some second years who were huddled together in a corner.

Lavender stretched. "They won't be tomorrow," she projected loudly, and by the looks of their squirming, they wouldn't be.

"Don't be so rude!" Hermione hissed.

"Oh, please Hermione, don't be so righteous all the time! You may be Head Girl out there but in here it's different."

"How so? It's just a girls bathroom."

Lavender and Parvati shared a look as if she were acting idiotically. "It's not just 'a' girls bathroom silly, it's 'the' girls bathroom. There's a difference."

Hermione opened her mouth to retort but Ginny held up a hand silencing her. "For merlin's sake can we just drop it please, we don't have all night."

"You're right," Hermione said with a sigh of relief. "I've got, some, um, head duties to attend to."

Parvati rolled her eyes and grabbed Hermione's arm. "Not so fast Miss Perfect, we haven't even asked you anything yet!"

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Asked me what?" She turned to Ginny. "Why am I here again?"

"Because," the red head began, "we want to know about Draco Malfoy."

Her large brown eyes widened in shock at the mention of his name. A pin could have dropped and everyone in the bathroom would have heard over the silence that descended, all the giggling and constant chatter had vanished. All eyes were turned towards her, waiting for her to speak. Hermione felt dizzy at the thought.

It was a while before she was able to compose herself enough to speak. "I don't know what you're on about." Don't panic. There's no way any one could know. Even so, Hermione instinctively pulled her cloak down over her hands.

The three Gryffindor's were watching her intently. "Oh come now, of course you do. He's Head Boy, you're Head Girl..."

"So?"

"So?" Lavender repeated, "Blimey, do I have to spell it out for you?"

Hermione just stood motionless, completely unaware of what they were on about. Parvati scoffed and started playing with her nails. No one else in the bathroom had made any attempt to hide the fact that they were eavesdropping.

"I guess you do, Lav," the dark haired girl said eventually to her blonde haired friend.

Lavender beamed, a look of adoration on her face as her eyes glazed over. "He's only the most gorgeous, good looking guy at Hogwarts – honestly Hermione, surely you knew that! And you get to spend the whole year with him. Imagine," she said dreamily.

That very notion filled her with nothing but sickness. Not used to being treated like an idiot, Hermione had to compose herself before she thought about what to say. She hadn't quite expected this. "Have you not forgotten," she managed to blurt out eventually, "that Malfoy is nothing more than a retched, foul, cold wizard who in more likely than not involved in dark magic – his father is a death eater! And you're telling me he's good-looking as if nothing else matters?"

"Hermione!" Ginny squealed as several girls standing around them hissed at the mention of dark magic.

"Oh come on, don't be so ridiculous. You know I'm telling the truth."

"That's not the point," Parvati responded with a smile. "Who cares about all that, he is still absolutely gorgeous."

"Who cares?" Hermione felt her temperature rising rapidly. "I care! I cannot believe what I'm hearing." She glared at Ginny who was still sat serenely as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. "In case you had not noticed, Ginny, Malfoy is Harry's worst enemy at this school, not to mention mine."

Patting her arm reassuringly, Ginny shook her head and sighed wistfully. "Heavens Hermione don't take everything so seriously, it's only a bit of fun. Lighten up will you."

"And anyway," Parvati said as she took out a stick of lip gloss from her cloak and applied it to her lips, "you're forgetting one important thing."

"And that is?"

"That Dumbledore would never have chosen Draco Malfoy to be Head Boy if he didn't have absolute trust in him. I think that says a lot, don't you?"

With that, she stretched her legs out and jumped off the ledge, closely followed by Lavender at her heels. "Night night," they called over their shoulders as they left the bathroom, a crowd of gaggling girls swept up behind them. Hermione found herself alone with Ginny.

"Sorry about that," the younger girl said as the smile fell from her face, replaced with the same look Hermione had seen on the train. "I just wanted you to loosen up a bit. You looked so miserable at dinner."

She let out a long breath, her shoulders sagging with weariness. Hermione moved to sit against the window next to her friend, the cold glass refreshing against her back. She closed her eyes.

"Did something happen?" Ginny pried after a moment, linking her arm through Hermione's. "I mean, you looked so different after you came out of that meeting, did Malfoy do anything?"

"No."

Ginny clamped her mouth shut, but didn't apologise for asking.

They sat silent for a while. "What about you?" Hermione said eventually, twisting her head to look Ginny in the eye. When she looked back confused, she continued, "on the train, you looked like you were upset. Is it something to do with Harry?" The younger girl nodded her head soundlessly. "Care to talk about it?"

"It's just so unfair. I've tried to tell him, told him time and time again that I want us to be together, regardless of the risk. I mean, for all we know," she took a shaky sigh, her silence saying what she could not, "why not make the most of the time we do have, than play this silly game where both of us get hurt."

"And I suppose Harry said no."

Ginny nodded. "He said he cared about me too much. He said it's better this way. Better how?" she added in a whisper, chewing furiously on a fingernail. "It's not as if I'm not in any danger now, is it? We all are, it doesn't take a genius."

"I know Gin."

"I think I love him, Hermione. In fact," a sob choked her throat, "I know I do."

Not knowing how to comfort her, Hermione squeezed Ginny's hand hoping it would be enough. Sleep was tugging at her brain and she had to force her eyes to stay open, even the chill of the stone bathroom was not enough to keep her alert any more.

"Have you told him?"

"On the train. I was trying to make him see how much he meant to me, but it turned into this huge argument and he kept going on and on about how he was only trying to protect me. Then Ron came in and everything got worse."

"Oh."

"I just can't get him to change his mind. I hate this sodding war." She sank against the wall in defeat, and nothing Hermione could say or do could even begin to cheer her up. Instead she just sat next to her, hoping it would provide at least some small comfort.

"Merlin's beard, Hermione, look at the time!" Ginny cried as she checked her watch. She jumped off the ledge and ran to the sink, her hair flying out behind her, and washed her face hastily with cold water. As she was checking her reflection, Hermione slid of the ledge and rubbed her tired eyes, feeling the ring against her cheek.

"I think Professor Dumbledore wanted to speak to me," she said casually as she followed Ginny out of the bathroom.

They stepped out into the torch-lit hall, and Ginny let out a small gasp. She whirled on the spot to face Hermione. "I think you're right," she said.

Hermione glanced nervously over Ginny's shoulder. Dumbledore was stood at the end of the corridor, appearing to be admiring a portrait, his hands clasped behind his back.

"You'll be okay?"

Knowing it should have been her asking the question, Hermione just nodded in response. Ginny bade her goodnight, a smile plastered across her face completely hiding the fact that she had been upset moments earlier, and Hermione watched enviously as she disappeared along the corridor towards the Gryffindor common room.

She took a deep breath, then slowly walked towards the headmaster, her footsteps echoing noisily on the walls. Her mind felt hazy and clouded, and she hoped whatever he wanted to speak to her about would be brief.

"Ah," Dumbledore said looking up, "There you are, Hermione." His words were softly spoken, his gentle smile crinkling at the corners. Suddenly she felt appalled at how she had acted on the train. He was still her superior, and her conversation with Ginny about Harry had put things in perspective. Maybe Dumbledore was doing for her what Harry was doing for Ginny, protecting her. But she was too tired to consider what from.

She glanced up at the portrait, but she couldn't see anything. It was just a blank canvas. "If you look close enough," she heard him say next to her, "then you will see it."

Straining her eyes, she looked harder, becoming more and more frustrated when she could see nothing. "Sir," she began, ringing her hands nervously as she faced him, "Sir, I want to apologise for earlier, for the way I acted on the train."

"I can imagine for someone with a mind as questioning as your own that it must be rather terrifying to not be given any answers to your questions." There was a hint of mirth in his voice and she couldn't help but smile at his assessment of her. "There is no need to apologise, my dear."

"Still."

He motioned with long thin fingers for her to follow him as they set off down the hall. "I dare say it is I who owe an apology to you."

The urge to demand answers from him, to scream and shout that she had a right to know why she had to be married to Malfoy was so great she thought she would burst, but somehow she managed to hold her tongue. She had been in danger earlier of being more than just rude, and didn't fancy testing her luck again on the same day.

"Where are we going, sir?" she asked after they had been walking for a while. They had been heading in the opposite direction to the Gryffindor common room. Of what she knew from studying the Marauders Map, Hermione guessed they had headed to a section of the castle where the teachers resided.

"As you may have been aware," he turned left down a corridor, "one of the benefits of being Head Girl is that you have the privilege of having your own room."

At the end of the corridor, there was a small, unmarked oak door, with no lock or handle. "Here we are," he said, stopping front of the door. He pulled a large golden key from up his sleeve. "This is yours."

Hermione took it from him carefully, expecting it to be much heavier than it was. It was simple in design, with her name engraved along one side. A small loophole was located at the top of the handle. Dumbledore must have seen her examining it, for he clapped his hands together with a laugh. "I'd almost forgotten," he said jovially, pulling a long gold chain from up his other sleeve.

If he expected her to get excited about it, he was wrong. Hermione had so many confusing thoughts running through her mind that she was finding it difficult to focus. "You need to say the password for the lock to appear on the door, I took the liberty of choosing one for you both for the time being until you desire to pick your own."

Her heart raced. "Both? Sir, you cannot possibly mean-"

"Custard Creams," he said, cutting her off abruptly.

It took mere seconds for a lock to appear on the right side of the door, but Hermione paid it no attention. Dumbledore waited patiently for her to move, took the key from her outstretched palm, threading it on to the chain with expert fingers, before putting it in the lock. It clicked twice as he turned it anti-clockwise three times, and he pushed it open, removing the key and handing it back to her.

"I will now bid you goodnight, Miss Granger." There was a formality to his tone that Hermione would not dare arguing with. She sighed in defeat.

"Goodnight," she called after his retreating figure, shaking her head in mystery. Her two encounters with the headmaster that day had been the strangest encounters she'd ever had with him, and it did little to ease her concerns. If possible, she felt even more anxious than ever.

She considered closing the door and heading back to the Gryffindor common room, sleeping on the couch if she had no bed in the girls dormitory, but curiosity got the better of her and she couldn't resist at least having a look inside.

The room was quite big, with one wall dwarfed with large floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the lake. The walls were bare stone bricks, covered in numerous tapestries, each one representing a school house. A marble fireplace burned on the other wall, the smell of ash and smoke reminding Hermione of a skiing holiday taken with her parents when she was ten. There were three more doors situated around the room, one off of a small balcony that overlooked the rest of the room, one below that, and another down a flight of steps on the opposite wall.

The door under the balcony opened and Hermione jumped in surprise, her breath catching in her throat as Malfoy stalked across the room in front of her, his face impassive. Before she'd even blinked he disappeared down the stairs, slamming the door behind him.

Hermione immediately hated the room, but she could not persuade herself to leave at such a late hour. Stifling a yawn, she climbed the stairs up to the balcony and carefully opened the door. She had been right to assume that this was her room, in the darkness she could make out that the bedspread on the bed was red and gold, and a portrait of a lion hung over a desk.

Without even opening her trunk to retrieve her pyjamas, she fell wearily onto the bed, pleased it was as soft and comfortable as it looked. She felt drunk with nauseating thoughts, spinning so fast in her head she didn't think they'd ever stop, yet alone let her sleep.

Her head fell with a heavy thud against the pillow, and before she knew it she was out like a light.

~o~