Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, J.K. Rowling does. Based on the story Goong(Princess Hours) by Park So Hee.

AN: Hey, sorry for making you wait for the next chapter, I have been busy with tons of school work. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I want to thank everyone who added this to their story alert and to their favorite story. I dedicate this chapter to Lingo10 for reviewing my first chapter. Thanks guys.

Chapter 2

Engagements and Proposals

I woke up early and found out I slept in the common room and that my back was aching from the awkward position I slept in. The sun was only breaking through the horizon so I thought of going to my dorm to lie down for a while. As I lie on my bed, the events that transpired last night went swimming back in my mind. I know that I shouldn't be worried because in the first place I know that he has a girlfriend and even though he's a vile person, it never escaped my observation how he treats her girlfriend like a queen. I smiled with relief, he wouldn't want me as her bride if he could have her. Daphne Greengrass, the epitome of beauty. She was perfect in every way, the way she speaks with so much dignity and conviction, the way she walks as if she's dancing like a prima ballerina and she was brought up with proper etiquette. She would be the prefect crowned princess for Wiltshire. I don't even have the qualities of being royal, yeah I have the brains but that's not enough, I wasn't brought up the pureblood way.

I glanced at my alarm clock that suddenly went off. I groaned. I shut it off and stood up from my bed to get ready for breakfast. The other girls were still asleep and so I made my way to the bathroom to wash the sleep away from my body.

After getting ready, I went down to the common room to find Ginny waiting for me with anxious eyes. This can't be good.

"Hey Ginny." I greeted with a forced smile. She looked at me with a nervous expression but said nothing until I've reached the last step.

"Let's go to the Great Hall together." She said in a commanding voice. I resisted to roll my eyes and nodded.

"Shouldn't we wait for Harry and Ron?" I asked curious. She shook her head and went to open the portrait.

"They're still dreaming about broomsticks and chocolate frogs. We shouldn't disturb them." She said with an impish smile. I laughed.

"Right." I replied and followed her outside.

We walked to the direction of the Great Hall in silence. I can feel the electricity flowing around us and I can see in my peripheral vision that Ginny kept on stealing glances at me. I sighed and looked at her.

"Okay, what do you want Gin?" I asked. She turned her head in my direction so fast that I thought I heard a faint crack.

"Er, not here." She said and she quickly held my wrist and dragged me inside the Great Hall where we plopped on the first seat we found on the Gryffindor table. When we were sitting comfortably, I looked at her once again.

"So?" I asked coolly hiding the panic in my voice. What if she asks what happened last night?

"Well, when you left last night with your parents," Please let it be something else, I prayed silently. "Harry, er- he um, we," I looked at her with furrowed brows. What is she talking about? This can't be about me, right? She huffed and continued. "Harry gave me this." And she held out her left hand where I saw a silver ring with a diamond on her ring finger. An engagement ring.

"Is this what I'm thinking it is?" I asked with a smile slowly creeping on my lips. She giggled.

"Yes." she said in whisper way. I faked a gasp.

"Oh my gosh! Ginny congratulation I'm so happy for you." I said with a genuine grin on my face as I hugged her. Then something from the back of my mind came rushing back to me. A platinum ring.

I released Ginny from my tight embrace and fought the dread that crept into me. What if Daphne refuses Malfoy? No, stop it Hermione you're scaring yourself. I shook my head and looked back at Ginny to find her staring at her ring dreamily.

"Hello." A dreamy voice released Ginny from her momentary stupor. I looked at the source of the voice to find Luna staring at Ginny's ring. "I see Harry finally plucked up the courage to ask your hand." She told Ginny. Ginny nodded her head vigorously at her with a goofy grin plastered on her pretty face. I chuckled at Ginny's reaction. Luna sat on our opposite side and started piling her plate with pudding. "Why were your parents here last night if I may be bold to ask?" questioned Luna to me. I almost dropped my spoon but quickly got a grip on myself. Ginny looked at my direction with curious eyes erasing all the fervor that was present in her body.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask you that but my excitement got in the way." Ginny chimed in. I took a sip of my hot chocolate to delay my answer and to give myself a second to make up an alibi. I still haven't got a single clue what to tell them. I chose to say my lame excuse hoping to all the Gods that they buy it.

"My parents wanted to visit me cause they'll be away for a while and since they knew Andi, they asked her if she could make it possible for them to get inside the castle." I explained while crossing my fingers under the table. I pray to Merlin that they bite it. I hate lying to my friends. Why did I even gave Malfoy my word? Darn it.

"And why was Mrs. Malfoy with them? And why was she crying?" Ginny added. Luna just listened to our conversation even though she was the one that brought it up. I guess she was just merely curious and decided that Ginny do all the talking.

"I cannot answer that." I quoted what Mrs. Malfoy said last night. The matter of Mr. Malfoy's health is not my business.

"Oh." said Ginny with disappointment etched in her voice. I released the breath I've kept in my lungs in relief. I was glad that they bought my story and dropped it.

"Andi said that Teddy misses us." I said wanting to light up the mood.

"Really? I miss that little tyke." Harry said. We were startled to find them already seated next to us.

"When did you get here?" Ginny asked her boyfriend, I mean fiance, accusingly.

"Just now. So did you tell them?" he asked Ginny who nodded her head with a large grin. Harry put on a smug look on his face.

I looked at the engaged couple and can't help but smile. Even though I might end up getting tied with a guy I may never like, at least Harry and Ginny would end up happily with each other. I shook my head and looked at Ron stuffing his mouth with every food present in the table. On regular days, I would have smacked his head for eating like a pig but now, I found myself enjoying his barbaric behavior.

"Is there something on my face?" came Ron's voice. I shook my head out from reverie. I smiled at him meaningfully and shook my head no as a response. He looked at me oddly as if I'm from another planet but shrugged his head and continued eating.

"So Hermione, why were your parents here last night?" Harry asked boldly. I was confident enough to answer.

"They wanted to see me before they leave for Australia for some dental convention and medical mission. They'll be staying there for the remainder of the year." I answered congratulating myself for exaggerating my first alibi. "And I don't know why Mrs. Malfoy was with them except that she found out that Andi was taking my parents here and decided to join them to see her son." I added when I saw Harry was going to add that. I silently cheered for myself for weaving a believable lie extemporaneously. We were all finishing up our breakfast when Neville stood up from his place and asked for everyone's attention.

"Can I ask everyone to quite down." he said in a loud but quivering voice. We all looked at him who was walking in our direction with trembling lips and sweating forehead. When he got to Luna's place, he went down on one knee and we all gasped. Luna looked at Neville with a small smile and encourage him to go on. "Um. Luna I know we've only been together for seven months and I wish you could forgive me for being fast. I want to spend the rest of my life with so, can I ask you to be my wife?" He asked pulling a small velvet box from his pocket and opening it to reveal a silver ring with a sapphire stone all the while never taking his gaze off Luna's pretty face. Luna's expression was unreadable and in any minute, Neville might pass out but what we heard made Neville to breathe normally.

"Yes." came Luna's sweet voice. "Yes, yes, yes!" squealed Luna whilst jumping from her seat and hugging Neville fiercely. I clapped and everyone else followed. On the staff table, all the teachers were clapping and smiling except for Snape who was glaring at the two students who were making a scene in the Great Hall. Hagrid was whistling and cheering for the new engaged couple. I smiled and observed everyone when my eyes caught a glaring pair of grey eyes. I looked away immediately and stood up from my seat to go out. With all the ruckus inside the Great Hall, nobody would notice my disappearance which I was grateful of.

Once I was outside, I stopped my brisk walking and leaned back on the stonewall. I breathed in and out and after my breathing was even, I let out a crazy laugh that would send Bellatrix's own cackle to cower in shame. How ironic, I found out last night that I was engaged since the day I was born and suddenly, everyone's engaged or being proposed to. Is this life's way of mocking me, sure I'm happy for my friends but does it have to be this day, why can't it be some other day?

"Eff this, dammit argh." I continued swearing words that none of the people I know would know I'm capable of using.

"Geez Granger I didn't know you have such a colorful vocabulary." came a sneering voice I know very well. I jerked my head at his direction and glared daggers at him which he scoffed away.

"What do you want?" I asked coldly still glaring at him. He laughed mirthlessly and strode towards me with his evil smirk.

"Nothing. I must say though, that was one of a hell courage Longbottom showed inside." he said tauntingly.

"He's a Gryffindor for some reason Malfoy, give him some credits, now bug off and allow me to wallow in self-pity." I barked which he just brushed off. "Why don't you run along and propose to your girlfriend so I can stop this pathetic behavior I'm executing in front of you." I added. It was his turn to glare at me.

"I wouldn't do it you know." He remarked making my head snap to his direction.

"What?" I asked incredulously. "And why the hell not?" I had to ask. He can't be serious.

"I don't want her to be thrown into the monarchy where she would only suffer. No, I wouldn't let her suffer." He stated with his cold gaze staring straight at me.

"And you want me to suffer. You are so selfish." I screamed at his face. "You want me to go through this whole ordeal so you wont be the only one enduring all this shits. Malfoy I have a life, I've already made plans that are yet to be accomplished but then what, your mom came and poof, everything I have planned was flushed away. Yes, I was grasping on the fact that there is a way out, I was hoping you would be gentlemen enough to find someone else that you could live with but no, you have to drag me in this hell hole." I finished my rant with a large intake of air. He just smirked at me. I would give everything just to erase that annoying smirk from his face.

"Don't flatter yourself Granger, I didn't say that I was going to marry you, did I?" I looked at him disbelievingly.

"But you implied it." I reasoned. He shook his head.

"I didn't, you just assumed it." He said and left me with my jaws hanging open. Is he for real? I was fuming while watching him walk away. I was still seething when I stalked my way towards my first class. Well, at least he's decent enough not to think of me as his option bride-to-be. As I got to Professor Binns room, I went in and sat on the first row which was no surprise for the first few students who were there early and waited for Harry and Ron to join me. I took out a book from my bag, The Perks of Being A Wallflower, that my parents sent me days ago and started reading from the page that I stopped the other day.

"Hermione." called Harry who was sitting next to me. I looked at him while I closed my book but leaving a dog ear on the page I stopped so I wouldn't get lost when I continue to read it tonight. He took something from his bag and gave me an envelope. "It came this morning but you were already gone from the Great Hall so I figured that I would just give it to you here." He explained.

"Thanks Harry." I replied gratefully whilst placing the letter inside my book bag.

As if on cue, Professor Binns floated inside his classroom and started discussing about the Elder Race, the disappearance of Danu Talis or Atlantis and the Dark Elders. How Dr. John Dee became immortal and why was he after Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel. (In reference to the novel 'The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel')

After consuming a lot of information on Flamel's immortal life and Abraham the Mage's codex, we were sent to our next class which was Double Potions with the Slytherins, great, just bloody brilliant.

-End of Chapter 2-

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel belongs to Michael Scott and The Perks of Being a Wallflower belongs to Stephen Chbosky. I just wanted to include two of my favorite books in this story hehe. Please review. Thanks.

AN2: I know Draco really did ended up with Astoria and I planned to use her as Draco's gf here but I thought that she was too young. :)