Chapter five – Going Home
"You just disappeared last night. What happened?" Harry asked at breakfast the following morning. They were leaving Hogwarts in just a few hours. Hermione was looking forward to seeing her parents once again. She had been missing them so terribly.
"I... just got so sick of Cormac. He was trying to drag me under the mistletoe the whole evening," Hermione replied, which wasn't entirely a lie. She had returned to the party after her talk with Draco, but Cormac had showed up just seconds later, which made her leave once more. She just couldn't deal with any more boy-trouble at the moment.
Hermione saw Ron react to the mention of Cormac even though he was lip locking with Lavender, not even touching the bacon.
"Luna and I was looking for you, but we thought you had just given in for Cormac," Harry chuckled. Hermione could not imagine Harry come to that conclusion. He knew she would not do something that stupid. Not even to piss of Ron. She threw her napkin at him for even considering it.
"Going anywhere for the holidays?" Ginny Weasly asked Hermione at Hogsmeade Station later that day. It had been snowing roughly all month, so the station was covered in beautiful white layers of what looked like a veil.
"No, not really. I love London at Christmas time. It is such a beautiful place with all the decorations and snow," Hermione answered. Even though she was wearing a big coat and scarf she was freezing her butt off. She wished the train would hurry up a bit and bring her back home. She needed a break from everyone; Harry, Ron… And a hot cup of chocolate from her favourite café in Kensington.
"I can imagine. Mum never lets us leave the house during Christmas. Something about the quality of family time. We do, if we are lucky, visit Diagon Alley for some shopping and a cup of cinnamon tea." Hermione could spot a tear in Ginny's beautiful eyes.
"Oh, I am sorry. I would like to bring you one day," she offered with a smile trying to cheer her up. She meant anyone whom had not seen London at Christmas had not lived.
The Hogwarts Express could be heard metres away. It all of a sudden hit Hermione that she did not have anyone to sit with. Harry was defiantly sitting with Ron, and Ginny would be cuddling all up with Dean. The prefect-compartment wasn't necessary during the trip back home.
Hermione boarded the train, deeply caught up in her own thoughts. She walked down the very crowded train full of chaos. She found an available spot halfway down the train. She did not look around to see who else were in the compartment; she just sat down by the window and closed her eyes. She was very exhausted from everything.
The Hogwarts Express left Hogsmeade Station shortly after. Hermione leaned her head against the window and tried to fall asleep. She wanted the train trip to be over as fast as possible, so that she could see her parents again.
"Following me around, are you, Granger?" Hermione sat up in shock.
"Draco... I had not seen you there," Hermione replied frankly, looking directly into Draco Malfoy's very light blue eyes. Draco was seated right across from Hermione.
"You got away in a hurry last night," said Draco. Hermione could not imagine that this was the same boy whom had done nothing but hate her for the past many years.
"Yes, I had a date, you see," Hermione explained.
"Of course you did. Did you enjoy his, er, company?" The question stunned Hermione – he had never shown an interest in her before.
"Honestly, no. Cormac was rather, er, uninteresting." Hermione could easily have had lied, but weirdly she did not feel the urge to.
"Cormac? Cormac McLaggen?"
"Yes, him. My first choice was not able to join me anyway." Hermione made sure she sounded a bit angry in hopes Ron would be standing behind her and hear it all. Oh, how it would piss him off to see her talking to Draco Malfoy.
"First choice?" Draco looked confused. His eyes were shining. "Oh, you mean that Weasly kid you enjoy so much." It was obvious that Draco did not think well of Ron.
"Enjoy is not really the accurate phrase," Hermione chuckled. "He is a real pain in the arse, actually. Too bad it took me this long to realise." Hermione felt tears pressing against her eyes, but she tried to hide it with a shy smile.
"The Weasly's are not completely sane. My father does not speak well of them."
It hurt Hermione a bit to hear someone talk like that about a family she actually cared about. She was, truth to be told, sad that she would not be spending any time of the holiday at The Burrow. She loved it there.
"Your father does not speak well of anyone," she said under her breath, but she had a feeling Draco heard her anyway.
"If you want to go back to sleep you can. You can lean on my shoulder if the window gets too uncomfortable," Draco suggested. Hermione looked at him in pure surprise. He was brushing off his shoulder like an invitation.
"Since you mention it, it actually is. How did you know?"
"Spent my first many years sleeping at the train ride. Not as comfortable as you think." They both chuckled in symphony. Draco tapped on his shoulder once more to let Hermione know that he meant what he said. She smiled, then rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes.
"Sorry, but can I have a word with Hermione? "Hermione looked up from Draco's shoulder and was surprised to see her old friend Ron Weasly standing in the doorway. He had that look in his eyes; that look Hermione fell for every time. That look she hated for loving.
Hermione sighed. She had no idea what Ron would like to talk to her about, but she felt like she had no other choice.
"She won't talk to you, blood traitor!" Draco Malfoy said in an angry tone. He was sitting very close to Hermione, and had his arm tightly around her, as was he showing that he owned her.
"She can speak for herself, you know!" Ron was yelling. His face had turned red for being angry. With his ginger hair it looked like he was on fire.
"I am sure Hermione would be saying the exact words!"
"She would never call me a blood traitor! What are you even doing with her? She is Muggle born, you know?" Ron said. Hermione felt rage burn inside her – against both of them.
"That is absolutely none of your business, Weasly! Hermione wants nothing to do with such a useless, poor…-" Draco got cut off.
"Now, both of you just shut up!" Hermione said. She stood up with her hands pointing towards both Draco and Ron. "Such bad words you are using. You should be disgusted!"
Ron looked as if he had swallowed poison. He hated that Hermione made him feel guilty for talking trash to Draco Malfoy.
"Sorry, Hermione. I just did not like him calling you so," said Draco, got up and kissed Hermione on the forehead just beneath her hairline. Hermione took a step back in surprise. Since when had it been all right for Draco Malfoy to kiss her?
Ron looked just as surprised as Hermione - he had turned even redder in the face, if that was even possible.
"Oi, what are you doing?" he asked Draco.
"I am kissing my bloody girlfriend, you moron! What does it look like I am doing?"
Both Ron and Hermione jumped with Draco's use of the word 'girlfriend'. Firstly Hermione was confused, but then she all of a sudden felt completely all right with the thought of being someone's girlfriend – of being Draco's girlfriend.
"So that is who you are now, eh? Forgotten all about Harry and me have yeh? Great, that's just..." Ron turned around and was about to leave them behind. "… great."
"Ron, wait," whispered Hermione, but it was too late. Ron had already left the compartment and was out of sight. Hermione glared at the spot where he had just been, sort of hoping he would appear again.
"Thank goodness we got rid of him, right Hermione?" But Hermione had not heard Draco speak. All of her concentration was put on Ron; her mind, her eyes, her ears...
"Hermione?" Draco repeated, "Hermione?"
Hermione sat up in a rush. She had fallen asleep on Draco's shoulder. Judging by the busy students around her and the fading sun outside the window they would soon be arriving at King's Cross.
"Hermione?" Draco repeated. Hermione turned her head towards him.
"Hm?" Hermione felt a slightly feeling of awkwardness by looking at Draco. The dream she had just had had been so realistic. Her imagination had really gotten the best of her.
"We are at the station in a few minutes. I just wanted to wake you up. You're a heavy sleeper." Hermione chuckled. "So I've been told."
"Well, I will see you after Christmas then?" Hermione nodded.
"Yes, I suppose so. I don't know what should keep me from coming back." She actually could not think of a reason to return, but as the minutes the thought of seeing Draco again dragged her.
The Hogwarts Express stopped at Platform 9 ¾ only a few minutes later. Hermione followed Draco out of the train among hundreds of other students. It was chaos; owls were screaming from their cages - making their owners insane -, frogs jumping out of hands and pockets, Quidditch brooms hitting people in the head, parents yelling for their kids... True nightmare.
Hermione all of a sudden felt Draco's hand in hers. He was leading the way out, making sure she didn't get lost in the crowd. Hermione was too stressed out and exhausted to make up an opinion about Draco taking her hand. She just let him. It actually felt a bit nice. Only Viktor Krum had ever held her hand and he had left without ever returning. Hermione felt her heart drop a bit at the thought of her first ever love. She did not want to think much about him, and she had never mentioned him to anyone since his departure.
"Hermione!" voices were yelling as Hermione and Draco finally reached the platform ground. Hermione gazed around at the station, but she could not find the source of the voices. It was probably her parents. They would be easy to spot, though, since all wizards were wearing Muggle clothes, but just not from this century.
"Hermione!" the voiced sounded again.
"There," Draco whispered, and pointed at Hermione's parents whom were standing quite a few inches away from them. Hermione started walking hastily towards them, forgetting all about Draco being attached to her.
"Mum, dad!" she said with a happy tone and threw herself at their necks. She felt so pleased to finally be seeing them again. Hermione might be in her late teens but she would never stop loving her parents.
"And who is this young bloke, may I ask?" Hermione's mother said with a pleasant yet suspicious look at Draco. Hermione had never before mentioned him.
"Huh?" Hermione turned her face to see whom her mother was talking about. "Oh, this is Draco. He is a, er, schoolmate." Hermione knew her parents would both misunderstand this and her mother's smirking confirmed her inkling.