"Hey, Granger," Harry said very softly. He had found Hermione in a quiet classroom, a halo of little birds fluttering above her head.
"Oh, hello Harry, I was just practicing."
It had been a day of big highs and harsh lows, Gryffindor had won another Quiddich game, Ron had been the hero of the day- and had found himself reaping the benefits of being centre of attention, with one girl in particular. Harry came to stand by her, not sure what to say, he'd never had to comfort a girl when she was upset before, and it was especially awkward to be stuck between his two best friends.
"Ron seems to be enjoying the celebrations," Hermione found herself saying aloud. She was struggling to control the tremor in her voice, and it was a thorn in her pride that she couldn't stay composed. She didn't want to feel this way; hurt and jealous and confused.
"Er…" Harry sounded like he wished the floor would open up and swallow him whole, "does he?"
"Don't pretend you didn't see him," she said quietly, still focussing on the circlet of birds.
At that horrible moment the door was flung open and to their mutual horror Ron and Lavender appeared, giggling madly. Hermione felt the last shred of her composure snap, it wasn't entirely Ron's fault, she hadn't told him or Harry the details of the stress she was under, the letters she'd had from home, but she was still angry he was being so insensitive and blind all the same; hadn't she asked him to Slughorn's party? Didn't he care about her at all, not even as a friend? She stood up off the teacher's desk and walked towards the door, but as she prepared to pull it open and face a very smug Lavender, she made a snap decision and threw out her wand in Ron's direction and shouted, "Oppugno!"
The little birds she'd created swarmed into a frenzied attack and she left the room to the sound of Ron's yells, managing to hold her head high as she stalked past Lavender in the direction of the library.
When she arrived she was thankful to find it completely empty, most people had been at the Quiddich match and were now celebrating in their houses. She didn't have any work with her, and she would be damned before returning to the dormitory, so instead she headed for the section on Magical Legends and Mythology and pulled down a book equivalent of fairytales. Feeling almost instantly calmer surrounded by the smell of books and silence, she settled into one of the only armchairs in the library, and pulled her knees up to her chest as she curled up like a cat and began to read.
A half hour later the sound of a door opening caught her attention and she glanced up, from her position in the chair she could see the entrance to the library and she knew who it was even from this distance; Draco's hair caught in the light from the lanterns but he didn't look up or wave, in fact he apparently hadn't even noticed she was there.
He looked ill, she thought, his face looked gaunt with large dark circles under his eyes, and his jumper sleeves were handing off his wrists. He headed straight into the stacks and she could hear him moving the heavy ladders used to reach the higher shelves. She was curious, but the stress and drama of the day meant she didn't want to follow him and find out what he was doing here so late, she didn't want to risk feeling more conflicted than she already was.
Instead she resettled herself, stretching her legs over the arm of the chair in a far more casual way than she normally perched when she was studying and opened the next chapter.
In the background she could still hear him moving around, until eventually the room went quiet again. Hermione risked a glance up and her heart faltered when she found him watching her, he looked surprised, and more than a little weary. She didn't make any kind of greeting, if he didn't want to speak to her he didn't have to, so she dropped her eyes to her book once again.
A moment later she heard the library doors close and the room echoed in silence, he had left without a word, finally the emotions of the day piled up and spilled over and Hermione began to cry softly. Still, she consoled herself, it was better to be where she belonged, with the company of books over that of her classmates.
I'm sorry there's been a longer gap between chapters this time- I'm currently in the process of organising a move between Scotland and New Zealand where I'll be working for a year, so things have been a bit hectic. But I have written the next two chapters, so fear not I'm not giving up! Shorter and not as cute a chapter this time- but I promise things get more interesting in the next few ;)
-H