Chapter 5

DISCLAIMER: SERIOUSLY. I SHOULDN'T EVEN HAVE TO SAY IT BY NOW. I'M STILL BORROWING CHARACTERS FROM J.K. ROWLING

Hermione Granger loathed Valentine's Day. She hated the cliché decorations and the high pitched giggles that came from the girls in the tower. She hated the over exaggerations of love and the horrid amounts of pink and red. Really, it was all just bad.

Contrary to what everyone probably believed about her, Hermione did not hate Valentine's Day because she was single. She had no problems with that, in fact. She had known the male students that went to Hogwarts for seven years now and if they hadn't made an impression on her thus far, then she really couldn't bring herself to feel lonely just because they hadn't still. Plus, she would be leaving the country in some month's time, and would meet all new people.

No, she just hated that everyone thought there needed to be a special day to show their love. Call her old fashion, but Hermione believed you should love your significant other just as much the other three hundred sixty-four days a year as well. And it all seemed incredibly biased, really. Honestly, how many times do you see a man walking through a shop and say "Oh, honey, that giant pink stuffed animal would be the sweetest gift to get me for Valentine's Day!"

Exactly.

Luckily, ever since the Lockhart debacle, Dumbledore had not seen fit to create obnoxious amounts of Valentine's Day "joy" throughout the castle. True, some of the toast was heart shaped at breakfast, but nothing too extreme.

"Incoming!"

Hermione was roused from her musing when she heard Seamus call out. She looked up in time to see hundreds of owls streaming into the Great Hall carrying more than the normal amount of letters.

Harry wrinkled his nose as owl after owl dropped envelopes onto the table in front of him while Hermione rolled her eyes but looked amused and Ron tried to hide his envy.

"Seriously, mate, you never take advantage of your situation! Look at all those witches sending you valentines!" he said, as he reached for the three that a couple owls had dropped off to him. All three of them, Hermione noticed even from across the bench, were from Lavender.

"Not all witches mate," Seamus laughed as he picked up one of Harry's letters and showed the front to Ron. "This one is from a bloke named Ezra. And that one looks like it says John!"

Dean, Ron, and Seamus all roared with laughter as Harry's face turned red.

"That's right disgusting, that is," Ron laughed and threw the one labeled "John" back to Harry. He, in turn, had gone a little pale and started to make a pile out of the envelopes with somewhat shaky hands. Hermione started to help him, and lightly poked his side.

"Hey," she murmured, "are you okay?"

"What? Yeah, of course! It's just a lot of mail," Harry laughed, still trying to make a neat pile but failing. He finally gave up and started shoving them into his book bag. "I'm going to go get rid of these. I figure an incedio at the table would be frowned upon." He smiled slightly and jumped up, hurrying out of the Hall.

She turned to glare at Ron. "What was that all about?"

"What?" Ron asked, wide-eyed. "What did I do?"

"You upset him!"

"Me? No, he was probably upset about all the poofers that sent him mail!"

"You're so moronic sometimes, Ronald!" Hermione snapped as she stood up from the table. Gathering her bag, she left the Hall to go find her best friend.

She finally located him sitting in the empty quidditch stands after twenty minutes of searching the grounds.

"Hey," she said quietly as she sat next to him, clearing some snow off the bench.

He started slightly, having been too caught up in his thoughts to notice her. "Hey."

Hermione stared silently at the pile of ash on the bench in front of them as Harry lit another envelope on fire on top of it. For a few minutes there was only silence as she watched Harry do it to five more.

"I don't think he meant anything horrible by it," Hermione finally said, still staring at the ash. "Ron doesn't really think things through before they come out. I doubt he meant to hurt you."

"Why would I be hurt?" he asked defensively.

Hermione finally looked at her friend, but he stubbornly refused to lift his eyes to meet hers. She laid her hand on one of his.

"Harry," she said gently, and he finally looked up and then down just as fast. "I love you. I love you like you were my brother, and as far as I'm concerned, you are. And I know you, Harry. I know you like you're my brother. And as my brother, I want you to listen to me, Harry James Potter: I will always love you. And that means that I will continue to love you no matter whom you love."

Harry's eyes shot up to hers quickly and he pulled his hand away.

"What the hell are you on about, Hermione?" he asked angrily.

"Harry-," she began before he cut her off.

"You don't know what you're talking about! Whatever you're thinking, you're wrong!"

"Harry, calm down! It's okay!"

"Shut up, Hermione! Just shut up. You have no idea what the hell you're even saying!"

"I just wanted to tell you-," she started again.

"Yeah, I know. That you love me," he sneered, voice becoming louder as he stood up, towering over her. "That it's okay no matter who I love. Do you really think it's okay for the bloody Boy-Who-Lived to be gay?! No! So come down from that cloud that you're on where you think everyone is as accepting as you are and realize that this is real life!"

She continued to stare up at him as he started to pace back and forth in the stands.

"People don't want to put their faith in some gay teenager to save them from Voldemort, Hermione! My life is already bullocks, what with a megalomaniac on my arse constantly!" Harry whipped back around to stare at her, looking a bit maddening as he grasped his hair with both hands, eyes wild. "And Ron! You really think he would be so forgiving if he knew? Or the Weasley's? They're basically the only family I have left, aside from Remus! So don't give me that shit about how I can love whomever I choose BECAUSE I KNOW THAT I CAN'T!"

Silence stretched between them again as she stared up at Harry while he continued to breathe heavily. Soon, however, the fire seemed to leave his eyes and the startling green orbs glassed over with unshed tears. He sat down heavily on the bench and pushed his glasses up as he rubbed his eyes tiredly with his palms.

Hermione scooted over and put her arm around him and laid her head on his shoulder.

They sat that way together, both silently crying, and watched the snow fall for awhile.

XXXXX

"Miss Granger, your project is complete. May I ask why you feel the need to continue forcing your company on me?" Snape asked as he stepped back from the door to allow her to enter the potions lab.

"Hey Draco," she called, waving to the blonde that was standing over a cauldron, as she put her bag down at the table she now deemed hers. "I was wondering if I could utilize your lab, professor, and start making more of my floo powder. Since I have these mini floos, I might as well use them when I'm at Salem. But I'll need a lot more powder if I do that, and I may not have the resources there to make it. And definitely not as nice as your lab," she added overly sweet, smiling wider as she heard Draco snort.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Miss Granger," Snape drawled, smirking nonetheless. "And I'm astonished that you would use me in such a way. I'm wounded. I really am."

He put a hand to his chest, raising an eyebrow dryly at her as he walked back towards the door that led to his classroom. "I fear you may be hanging around myself and Draco too much, Miss Granger. You're developing some almost Slytherin-like tendencies. By all means, feel free to pillage my supplies and wares." He turned with a flourish to go back to his rooms to grade.

A few minutes of silence went by while Hermione set up her supplies and Draco continued his potion. Eventually Hermione broke it.

"Have you heard from your father lately?"

He hesitated a moment before answering. "No. His position is precarious at the moment so he only sends word when he absolutely has to. But Professor Snape has assured me that he's alive and as well as can be expected."

Another silence stretched for a minute or two. "I'm sorry, Draco," she said quietly. She saw him nod out of the corner of her eye.

"Yeah, me too."

Clearing her throat, she said, "I was wondering if maybe you would want my other mini floo that I made."

"What?" She looked up to see him staring at her in surprise.

"I'm serious. I have two, and I don't need the other. Harry will be living at his house he inherited with Ron, so they will have fireplaces galore. But you and I won't have that luxury in our dorm rooms. So if you want the other one, it's yours. Besides, it might make you look better on your end of the spectrum with, well, him."

Draco thought it over before nodding. "Thank you, Hermione. I'd love it. And I think you're right about that as well."

"You're welcome," she replied, smiling.

After a few seconds Draco cleared his throat lightly. "So," he said, nonchalantly, "I hear Potter flies for the other team."

Hermione gasped and dropped her ladle onto the table with a clatter. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't worry, Hermione. I'm not running around and telling everyone. I heard it from you two, actually," he said. She looked at him curiously and he elaborated. "Sometimes, more-so this year, I find that I have to be alone for a bit. One of my favorite haunts is the quidditch pitch when it's empty."

Hermione groaned and dropped her head into her hands.

Draco winced slightly in sympathy. "I'm sorry. But really, how have you not learned to put up charms by now?"

"I didn't even think of it," she groaned again, head still in her hands.

Draco snorted. "Obviously. But like I said, I haven't gone spreading it around. One, my future depends on him beating the Dark Lord as well, now, so I'm not about to maliciously make his life harder. Starting this year, of course," he added, smirking at her when he saw a smile around her hands.

"Plus," he hesitated and Hermione looked up at him. He sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose and mumbled, "Plus, I know what it's like to have people you know or love turn on you when they find out your…preference in partners."

Hermione's eyes went wide as galleons as Draco purposely ignored her and went on about his potion as if nothing had happened. As if he hadn't just stepped out of the proverbial closet to her.

"I'm sorry, Draco," she finally said. He nodded and continued chopping. "Who turned on you? Your father?"

Draco's hands paused, and then continued the chopping. "No. I never told him, although I believe he suspects. He wouldn't care as long as I'm discreet and I still produced and heir. The Malfoy name must live on, right?" His face twisted in a sneer, before his features softened slightly. "My mother knew, though. We were having tea one day last summer, just her and I, and out of nowhere she just asked me, nonchalantly as you please. I told her the truth, as I always have, and she just nodded and went back to her tea. She was fine with it. No, it was Pansy who wasn't. She was my best friend throughout school, and on summer break, so I felt I could confide in her. I was wrong. She completely went mad."

"At least she's kept your secret."

Draco barked out a humorless laugh. "Are you daft? Of course I wasn't going to let her leave with that information. I obliviated her. Just the one memory, don't worry. She has no idea now why I'm so distant. She thinks it's because of the Dark Lord and feels as if it's my ego. I'm prepared to let her believe that until her dying breath."

"Well, you won't have to worry about that with me."

Draco was silent for a few seconds. "I know."

XXX

Harry never showed up for dinner that night. In fact, he didn't show up for the majority of meals for the next week.

Hermione sat at dinner, eating as slow as she could, waiting for her best friend to arrive but to no avail. She worried about him, but also knew that he had his own ways of dealing with his issues.

"Stop worrying, Hermione," Ron said around a mouth full of treacle tart. She grimaced in disgust. "He's fine. You know how he's been this year, all edgy and what-not." He went back to a quidditch tactics conversation Neville and Seamus were having.

Hermione just rolled her eyes and continued eating her pudding, letting her mind wander. She couldn't wrap her mind around what she and Draco had discussed last week. There was no way she could believe that Draco Malfoy was gay.

It almost seemed unfair. Draco had been through so much and then having to deal with questioning a huge thing such as your sexuality on top of it, with no one to talk to, must be horrible. Harry was probably feeling the same, if not worse. She wished she could help them.

Glancing over to the Slytherin table, her eyes failed to seek out the blonde. Brows furrowed, she tried to think if she had seen him at all over the course of the day. It was a weekend, after all, so he could be anywhere.

Shrugging mentally, Hermione noticed Professor Snape getting up to leave through the teacher's exit and quickly packed up her bag to do the same. Hurrying out of the Hall, Hermione caught sight of a corner of black robe as it whipped around a corner.

"Professor Snape!" Hermione called, running around the corner to catch up and promptly running into the body of her Potions professor who had apparently stopped when he heard her call.

Steadying her with one hand, Snape arched an eyebrow down at her. "Yes, Miss Granger?"

"Sir, I was wondering if you would be able to sign off on witnessing my project. I almost have everything I need to send off to Salem, except for my recommendation letters and my project information. I have the Headmaster's signature as well as Professor Flitwick's, but I wanted to have all three of the qualified witnesses sign off."

Snape gave a heavy sigh. "Very well, Miss Granger. Follow me."

He led her to the dungeons, past his classroom and lab, to his private office. Taking a seat behind his desk, he indicated that she should sit as well, and then stretched out his hand.

Sitting, Hermione grabbed the large manila envelope that held her research, and quickly deactivated the wards on it while Snape looked on in amusement, before handing it over.

Snape sat back, thumbing through the documents leisurely, accounting for the smallest detail before finally setting it aside and pulling out a thick, blank sheet of professional looking parchment. He scribbled on it for a few moments, signed it, stamped it with a personal wax seal, and then touched his wand to it.

"Thank you so much, Professor Snape," Hermione said earnestly. She waited for him to put all the documents back into the envelope but he seemed to be pensively thinking while he stared intently at her. He apparently came to a decision, finally, when he tapped the top middle drawer of his desk with his wand. Reaching in, he pulled out another crisp sheet of parchment and slowly handed it over to Hermione.

"I believe this should be included as well," he said slowly.

Hermione looked down at the paper and her breath caught in her throat as her eyes welled up reading the heading of the parchment:

Letter of Recommendation

From the desk of Potions Master Severus Snape:

Let it be known that I give, of my own free will, recommendation to Miss Hermione Granger, of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizadry, to continue on at Salem University.

Miss Granger's achievements while at Hogwarts were not limited to those heard-of escapades with Harry Potter. Miss Granger applied herself fully into each class she took. Her seventh year project was inspiring, innovative, and showed remarkable growth for someone of her age.

I believe that, with training, Miss Granger will become an asset in the field of Charms, and indeed, an asset to the Wizarding World.

Severus Snape,

Potions Master

Hermione finally looked up as she finished reading to find Snape still staring at her.

"Thank you," she said in a half whisper, eyes glassy with tears. "Thank you so much, Professor."

He stood up and she followed suit, placing her belongings back in her bag. He surprised her by extending his hand across the desk.

Taking it in hers, she shook his hand, smiling broadly.

"You're welcome, Hermione."

Author's note: In my last fic, Ron was dead but nice so I thought…what the hell…let's make him a complete ass this time around. Plus, I want to showcase a different side to Harry being gay than in my last one. My last story, everyone was pretty cool with it. But this time I wanted to inject some reality into the situation, and show a different side than I did previously. And really, I just love a gay Draco. It makes me feel better about writing him sassy.

As always, thank you for reading and reviewing.