In the Library
Hermione felt as though everyone was watching her, although as she continued to glance over her shoulder and check she confirmed that no one was. She was breaking a rule again today and she couldn't even begin to imagine what Professor McGonogall would say if she ever found out.
To use her time turner for anything other than getting to all her different classes was something she had been specifically told not to do and if anyone ever found out she would be in a lot of trouble. Managing to convince her Ancient Runes Professor that she had gotten the time on her time turner wrong had ended up being a difficult task as her Professor pointed out that she had already been using it for five years previous.
Glancing over her shoulder again, Hermione pushed the doors to the Hospital Wing open and walked in.
She was met with a gut-wrenching sight and had to do her best not to hurl immediately. She felt unwanted tears spring to her eyes and all the air rushed out of her lungs. Draco was lying on his hospital bed kissing Pansy Parkinson.
Parkinson slowly raised her head, smiling down at Draco. Then she looked up, noticing Hermione, and raised an eyebrow.
"Want something?" she asked obnoxiously.
It was then that Draco too noticed her presence in the room, his eyes widening as he pushed himself into a sitting position quickly.
"I... someone told me Ron had been sent here... that's all." Hermione mumbled, glancing at Draco one more time before turning and walking from the room.
Surely there was a perfectly good reason for it. Perhaps Parkinson had kissed him without his consent. Maybe he had been forced to do it. What if Parkinson had used Imperius!?
Hermione took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm herself down and also make the wetness in her eyes go away. The next time she saw him he would explain everything and there would be nothing to worry about any more.
Oh for goodness sake, he was a Slytherin! Who was she kidding?
Running her hands through her hair in distress, Hermione paced. She didn't know what to do about the situation she was in. She couldn't even talk to anyone about it because no one knew! So what could she possibly do?
I need to keep a level head. We aren't even dating! So technically he wasn't cheating on me. Yes, that's it.
Unfortunately, Hermione was terrible at convincing herself to believe something which she didn't know for certain.
So – upset and hurt – Hermione made her slow way to the Gryffindor common room. She would use the remainder of the hour that she had gained by going back in time to get some rest and hopefully put all these horrible thoughts from her mind.
*
~Earlier~
Pansy walked into the hospital wing with a bounce in her step, smiling at Draco as she approached him. Both of his eyebrows were raised in curiosity and he propped himself up on his elbows slightly as she slid into a chair beside his bed.
"Hey, Drakie!" she greeted him, reaching out a hand to take his. She sighed dreamily as she stared into his eyes.
"What brings you here, Pansy?" he asked awkwardly.
"I had to see whether you were okay or not!" she exclaimed, acting hurt that he had to ask. "I care about you so much."
"Clearly. So what do you want?" Draco asked, wanting to cut straight down to business and find out why she really was there. Pansy pouted slightly and leant towards him.
"You're always so short with me nowadays! What happened to our relationship?" she asked quietly.
"Pansy, we've never been an item if that's what you're suggesting." Draco sighed, staring at a fixed mark across the other side of the room. Pansy gasped loudly and leant back again, a look of horror plain on her face.
"Don't say such a thing! I know you don't mean it. Come on, Drakie, you don't have to hide your feelings for me!" she gushed out, now stroking the side of his face as well. "I'm perfect for you and you know it. Your parents approve of me, too!"
"I'm not in the mood to date anyone, Pansy." Draco sighed.
Pansy stopped stroking his face and narrowed her eyes, tilting her head slightly. She was silent for quite a while and Draco began to wonder just what was going on in her head. He had never wondered such a thing before but in that moment he was utterly intrigued.
"Why are you lying to me?" she asked in a low, threatening voice.
"What do you mean?" Draco asked with a frown.
Pansy abruptly stood up, anger on her face as she glared down at him. "I know you're seeing someone! Alright? You can't hide it! Why can't you just tell me you're already in a relationship rather than tell me you don't want to date anyone? You're a lying idiot and I hate you!"
Draco was stunned into silence for a few seconds as he took in what she had said, and yet the only thought that entered his mind then was – how many others have noticed?
"Pansy, what are you talking about?" he asked slowly. "I'm not seeing anyone else. I promise."
"You... promise?" Pansy asked, taking a deep breath and fighting back tears.
"Absolutely." he nodded. "I don't know what gave you such an idea."
Pansy bit her lip and sat back down, staring at her hands as she thought. "I'm in love with you, Draco. Not because my parents want me to marry you but because I want to!"
"Pansy, you can't know that! How do you know what real love is?" Draco retorted. He felt exhausted – he seemed to be talking about love with girls a lot lately.
"If you're not going out with anyone..." Pansy paused and then smirked slightly. "Then it should be fine if I do this."
Before Draco had a chance to react or even think of what she could have been referring to, she had leant towards him and pressed a kiss to his lips, putting a hand on the side of his face. Draco felt his eyes flicker shut and he kissed her back gently, thinking that perhaps she'd leave him alone after this. Surely all she'd wanted in the first place was to kiss him?
When Pansy pulled away slowly, he kept his eyes closed for a few more moments.
"Want something?" Pansy asked, in a tone of voice that was suddenly so different it made Draco's eyes snap open instantly. Noticing that Pansy wasn't looking at him, he glanced over to see Hermione standing in the doorway, eyes wide as she stared at the both of them.
He hurriedly pushed himself into a sitting position, feeling an immense sick feeling building up in his chest.
"I... someone told me Ron had been sent here... that's all." Hermione mumbled, glancing at Draco quickly before spinning around and disappearing from the room again.
You totally just blew it, Draco thought to himself.
"Funny, she looked like she was about to cry..." Pansy said thoughtfully, trailing off. Draco tried to swallow calmly, feeling his body begin to tremble.
"She must've... thought the Weasel was badly hurt or something." Draco said, thinking that that would have been something he would say in a normal situation.
"Yeah, or..." Pansy frowned in thought and then looked back down at him for a moment before her eyes widened in shock and she stood up quickly. "You lying-!" She didn't get all the words out before she choked on a sob and tears came pouring from her eyes.
"Pansy – Pansy stop crying!" Draco said desperately, reaching over to her. She jerked away from him and he was forced to sit there watching her shake and sob.
"You – you'd rather her than me!?" Pansy gasped out.
Draco felt as if the worst possible scenario he could think of had just unfolded before his eyes. He could not think of anything else which could make him feel worse than he felt right now.
"Pansy, please listen to me! You're assuming!" he said pathetically, his voice sounding small and insignificant even to his own ears.
"What do you see in her?" Pansy screamed at him, causing him to flinch backwards. "And don't you know you'll be disowned if it gets out? You have to dump her! Oh my gosh, this hurts so much!"
Draco couldn't think of a single thing to say to her. She was right. He would be disowned and then where would that get him? Nowhere. Because Hermione would rather dump him than hurt her friends. He was sure of it.
But they hadn't even been dating had they? It had never been spoken aloud, so perhaps he could defend himself with that? And why was he even thinking about giving everything up for her?
"Pansy, please just-"
"I hate you!" Pansy screamed, running to the door and slipping out. Draco heard her sobs fade into the distance and hoped desperately that she wasn't going to tell anyone and would only cry about it for a while.
Sighing, he lay back down and suddenly realised he was incredibly exhausted again. Madam Pomfrey had warned him that too much excitement could be a setback and it looked like that had just happened. He was amazed Madam Pomfrey hadn't come running from her office to find out what was going on.
Closing his eyes to try and get some rest, Draco wondered whether he would ever make it out of this mess.