A/N: Hey all, as I said in Hermione Lestrange, this is going to be my last update for a while. School is becoming extremely overwhelming and I really need to focus on that right now. Again thanks to all my readers and reviewers, especially Jessirose85, incase all ya'll forgot, this was all their idea! You are all amazing, please read and review! Love Puppyluv09
Chapter 14: A night in Slytherin
Hermione had returned to her rooms exhausted, however, she quickly flooed Minerva's office and brought back all of her things and quickly put everything away before the others arrived home from Hogsmeade, she thought she would sit in bed and read while she waited but instead she fell asleep. She awoke to frantic knocking.
"Hermione you have to get up!" came Ginny's voice from the other side of the door.
"No." She mumbled into her pillow.
"Hermione!"
"Fine." She rolled out of bed and opened her door.
"Hermione you are alright."
"Of course I am alright Ronald, I am exhausted."
"Snape where you out this much?"
"No I didn't sleep well last night is all."
"Liar."
"You don't have any proof."
Harry decided that it was smart to change the subject. "Are you hungry, its dinner time?"
"Starving actually." And the group headed to the great hall for the final meal of the day. Hermione intently listened to the chatter about what happened at Hogsmeade as they walked and she was genuinely interested but she was glad that she spent the day with her mother instead. They sat with their usual group, Neville and Seamus, and quickly filled their plates to eat. She smiled and laughed with her friends over their plates, their laughter was disturbed however when an owl swooped down and dropped a letter in front of Hermione. She grabbed it an instantly recognized the handwriting, Draco:
Hey you, meet me outside the common room tonight, I would like to hear about your day.
I'll be there at eight.
"Who is it from?" Ginny asked.
"Nobody."
"Oh my gosh!"
"What?" Ron asked.
"Hermione's got a boyfriend." Ron spit his mouthful of food and drink all over the girls and Harry.
"WHAT?"
"I don't have a boyfriend." Hermione said, stiffly whipping the food from her face and cloths
"That's not what Gin says."
"Ginny says a lot of things." She said glaring at her young friend.
"I do not."
"They why did you just shout that to the hall?"
"I didn't."
"Look around Gin and tell me that again." Ginny did and noticed a bunch of familiar faces looking at them and then turned back to her friend.
"Oh my gosh I did, I am so sorry." Turning really red
"It's ok, besides yes he is a boy but he is just a friend, nothing more," Hermione smiled and returned to her plate.
"Wow I feel like an ass." Ron said.
"You are an ass." Hermione said, the group laughed and finished their meal. They soon returned to the common room and sat down to read and play games together. Soon enough the clock chimed a quarter till eight and Hermione made her excuses and left the common room.
She met Draco outside the common room at exactly eight, he said the password and they entered the green and black common room, where they were greeted by quite a sight, Pansy, Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle were all sitting in the common room with smiles on their faces.
"Hi Hermione," Pansy greeted.
"Hello."
"How are you?"
"Good?"
"Please come sit Hermione, they don't bite." Draco said.
"Could have fooled me." Draco smirked; Hermione hesitated and joined her brother on the couch.
"So how was your day with your mother?" Blaise asked.
"Fun, Mother, Minerva and I shopped for a good five hours and I was exhausted."
"Professor McGonagall, a shopper?" Pansy asked.
"I know, who would have guessed," Hermione smiled at the Slytherin Girl.
The chuckles went on for a moment before they died, when it was silent Draco spoke, "Have you told them?"
"Who?"
"You know who."
"No I… Oh you mean…"
"Yes."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because," Hermione stated flatly.
"That's not the answer, why?"
"Beca…"
"Hermione!"
"Because I am not ready! There ya happy?" Hermione lost it; tears glistened in her eyes as she looked at her brother with hurt.
"What are you afraid of Hermione, aren't you a Gryffindor?"
"So what if I am I am scared and that is all there is to it!" She was now shouting at him.
"What is it that has you so scared, Voldemort?" Draco didn't even notice that he had said the Dark Lord's name out of anger. Hermione was silent and just stared at him, "Hermione tell me."
"I am afraid that they won't want me there anymore." It was almost inaudible.
"You are afraid of those two buffoons disowning you?"
"Yes, they accepted me without any questions since first year, and with His return, it is only getting worse."
"What's getting worse Hermione?" Pansy asked.
"The strain on our relationship, we need each other and this is going to burn that bridge." Hermione collapsed back into the couch and sobbed uncontrollably.
"Hermione, if they are truly your friends, it will be a shock but they will still love you," Blaise said.
"No they won't."
"Well if it makes you feel any better, we will always be here, no matter what."
"Why?"
"What?"
"Why would you all be here for me? You have all hated me for the past four years and my instant relations to Draco doesn't' change that."
"I know."
"Then why the sudden interest?"
"Because you are the only Gryffindor that has had enough guts to punch Draco that's why." The group laughed at the image and then it once again became silent.
"I'll tell them soon, I just need time to get all my questions answered first before I though myself to the wolves."
"Why would you throw yourself at a wolf?"
"Never mind it's a muggle expression.
"Oh." The group stayed up and talked a bit more about class and didn't even realize it was too late but Hermione and Pansy fell asleep on the couches, Pansy had attempted to lay on Draco but he sat next to Hermione and she fell asleep with her head on his shoulder leaving Pansy to lean on Blaise before she passed out, The boys however stayed up and talked.
"Do you think he will forgive your father Draco?"
"Doubtful, I don't even know if he is going to try."
"Why?"
"Because he is already marked as a dead man, I think they should move into the castle for protection but they have refused numerous times."
"That makes since, your family is very proud Draco, and accepting protection from Dumbledore will only be signing their death certificates. What about Hermione?"
"What about her?"
"Do you think He will come after her when he finds out?"
"No more then he will if she stays just Potter's friend."
"That's true."
"I worry about her."
"What do you worry about most?"
"I don't know, everything, after witnessing her little breakdown by my simple question makes me worry that her friends will disown her because she is my sister; I worry that she will have a breakdown simply by everything being thrust upon her this year with us, Him and school work, she might lose he mind. I even worry about them coming on to her."
"What do you mean by them?" Crabbe asked.
"Boys, we know where their minds are, she is smart and now is one of the biggest heiresses at the school, I know what boys will think about her, now she is smart and rich."
"She's kinda pretty too." Goyle stated.
"Goyle I have no problem kicking your ass if you even look at her in the wrong way." Draco held his friends stare for a long while before Blaise broke it with a smirk on his face.
"Amazing how easily the protection of a big brother consumes you isn't it?"
"What would you know?" Crabbe asked.
"Oh please, I maybe in Slytherin but I am observant, those Weasley boys don't want any boy around their sister, at least for a good fifty meter radius."
"Yeah I pain the day when Weaslette gets a boyfriend, I don't want to be in the same country as the Weasley home when that happens," Draco said, the boys laughed at the thought.
"So what do we do about them?" Goyle asked nodding to the two girls.
"Why don't we just sleep here, we will wake early enough for Hermione to get back without getting caught," Draco said, the others nodded before grabbing a few blankets and pillows for the group and they all fell asleep in the common room. Little did they know that they were being watched by a pair of black orbs, the figure sighed in content before leaving the room.