Chapter 5

Some days later Draco overheard her in potions, asking if Harry and Ron wanted to come and visit Hagrid with her.

"I can't, I'm meeting Lavender. We're gonna hang out, if you know what I mean..." Ron, smiled proudly.

"Yes I know what you mean, Ron. " Hermione said experatedly.

"How about you Harry?" "Quidditch practise, sorry Mione."

"Alright, fine. Have it your way."

"Hey, you know we would if we could." Harry said.

"Yes I know, it's just been so long since we were there all three of us, and he's been asking about you. "

"Next time, I promise." said Harry reassuringly, Ron nodded

"Yeah, next time, honest." "Ok, good, good. I believe you guys." Hermione smiled.

Oh how he wished he could sit there casually talking to her like that. Have her look like that at him, the way she looked at Potter or Weasel. With trust, warmth, concern. He now had a perfect time for their next game round anyways. He threw a curled up parchment with the plans to Blaise,when Snape was looking in another direction, who upon reading it nodded with a discreet smile.

As much as he looked forward towards seeing her on her own and being able to be close to her without her giving him the glowering look of contempt she always seemed to save just for him, he also felt a growing sensation of pain and remorse about the upcoming taunt. She was getting more and more distraught. She was too sweet for this. She didn't deserve this. But how could he pull out now. Blaise was enjoying himself now. Blaise had no clue about his feelings and he intended it to stay that way. He had to suck it up.

Later in the evening they stood huddled near the great oak doors, invisible from sight, waiting for her to come down the stairs. "Where is she?" Blaise whispered in his ear.

"Hey that tickles!"

"Sorry."

"It's allright. She should be here any minuit now. She's rarely late and she wouldn't miss an oportunity to see Hagrid. Not as it's been recently."

"You seam to know a lot about this." Blaise raised his eyebrows.

"Well you know, I have to. With the game and all…" He trailed off.

"Right. Sure." Draco sensed a tone of disbelief in his voice.

"There she comes. Quickly now,we better move quickly if were gonna fit through the door with her."

She looked a little sad and worried. As she stepped past them a wind of her sweet fragrance hit him in the face. He lost his train of thought for a while.

"Move, Draco. Move!" Blaise hissed through his teeth ans he shoved Draco infront of him through the doors just in time before they shut.

"Whats wrong with you?"

"Sorry..I..I…"

"You froze, yeah I realized." Blaise murmured sourly.

They followed her with some distance. Whatching her stride along quite briskly in the wet grass, shooting glanses left and right as if she felt something out there.

"Im wearing the wrong shoes for this" Blaise complained.

"So are we all, I think. Totally drenched here."

"Mhm. So, we better hurry. Shes gonna step into that hut soon. Let's run. " whispered Blaise urgently.

They ran up close to her, only half a meter between them now.

Hermione stopped and looked straight at them, unseeingly. Draco held his breath and hold out his arm to halter Blaise. Blaise reached out with his hand to touch her face, but Draco slapped it away. Blaise looked at him incrediously as Hermione turned and kept on walking. Blaise looked at him and mouthed

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"Not like that!" Draco mouthed back. They kept on walking.
Her bushy hair bobbed infront of them. Her soft cloud of brown curls. He would like to bury his face in it. He reached out and touched it gently. Blaise pulled his arm, pulling the hair with it. She turned around, with anger and fear in her eyes. And started whipping her wand around her in swooshing movements. Draco looked at Blaise with an expression of

"What the hell, man?!" Blaise shrugged and started laughing at the whole scene.

"Who is there? Show yourself! I can defend myself! Show yourself, you coward!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, her voice breaking in the end.

She looked so tired and stressed out. Drained. Draco was overwhelmed with sadness. Over the fact that he couldn't do anything to help her and sadness that he himself caused it. She didn't deserve this. Big tears started to roll down her cheeks and she wiped them away angrily and he felt disgusted with himself. Blaise looked from Draco to Hermione and back. This just wasn't right. But if Draco didn't own up to it, he wouldn't stop it either. Should teach him a lesson, Blaise thought as they walked back in silence.

"What the hell just happened back there?!" Draco yelled.

"I could ask you the same! Slapping my hand away? Did you call dibs or something? I thought it was my turn?"

"We never really discussed who's turn it was. "

"You did last, it was my turn. I thought that was established. I was going to touch her face, that's four points right there."

"You were going to hurt her! Wich you did, proving my point. You made me pull her hair! What was that all about?"

"Grow up. You were stroking her, like youre stroking a pet or something. Or do you want to comb her hair, is that it? You were chickening out. And btw, you can touch the head and not me? What kind of justice is that? Cheating I say!"

"I…at least I didn't hurt her! And I thought it was my turn!"

"Why do you care so much about hurting her anyway? What do we care about a Gryffindor? You want to quit, is that it? Having second thoughts? Suddenly growing a conscious?"

"No, I don't! I don't want to quit."

"Sure? You were acting really strangely tonight. If I didn't know better, I'd say you like her or something. "

"Hey, watch it! Me? A mudblood? You got to be kidding! I just felt sorry for her. She seems to be taking this worse than I thought. "

"Who cares? I don't! Shes a Gryffindor! If she saw you bleeding on the ground, she'd step right over you without a second thought. You know where her loyalties lie." Somehow Draco didn't quite believe that she could be so heartless.

"Yes. Yes I know. I guess I let her get to me. It won't happen again."

"Good. Let's sleep. Im exhausted. "

"Yeah. Good night."

"Good night."

"Fuck. What the hell am I doing?" Draco thought. He longed after seeing her again. But he must think of somehting. A plan to get out of this quickly and with a good enough reason that wont raise suspicions.