HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Author's Note: There's a bit of team bonding going on in this chapter! The relationships are reaching deeper levels! (And I'm not just talking Draco and Hermione!)
These are the excuses, in no particular order: school, work, getting over suspected H1N1, dealing with the whole being-sick part, slight writer's block, procrastination, finished up a desperately long one-shot, editing another desperately long unfinished oneshot and social life (yup, I've got one! I found it outside on the ground…=P) I know it isn't what you like to hear, but unfortunately the real world must take priority, in some cases…
This chapter is currently unbeta'd, unfortunately, as I sort of sprang this chapter on my beta without enough time for editing, but I really wanted to update before the end of the year.
Disclaimer: Don't own it. Also, near the end there is a part/idea that I credit to One Tree Hill. I can only wish I possess that sort of cleverness. Oh, and also the last line may remind those of you who have read the Princess Diaries books of that series, so just in case someone wants to sue me, I do not own it either.
Their afternoon at the beach became a lot more eventful than Hermione had anticipated. It began fine, with a lot of relaxation and sun and the purposeful avoidance of the lake, however when Blaise brought his two soccer playing friends over, sat them down and started talking it all went downhill.
It was about midway through their conversation when the more talkative of the pair – Jackson - pointed out someone who'd done a great volley while playing beach volleyball and had grabbed his friend's hand. What made that worth noticing was that he didn't let go and proceeded to start tracing shapes on Brody's wrist, even when the pair had turned back to face their small group.
"Are you…?" Blaise was staring at them, an amused expression on his face.
"Oh. Er, right. So much for subtlety…" Jackson pulled his hand away awkwardly. "Yeah. We're together."
"Don't act so ashamed!" Brody grinned, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him closer. It was about that action when Blaise's expression became noticeably unreadable and the casualness of his posture tensed. "They don't mind!"
"So you don't care, then?" Jackson looked at them and Hermione shook her head.
"Trust me, we've learned to deal with strange gay people." Theodore said sardonically, "You just accept their strange obsessions with tight pants and move on."
Blaise still hadn't spoken, despite Theodore's obvious jibe, and there was a strange silence. Draco looked between his friend and the other two and hurriedly chose a topic he thought might be of mutual interest. "How long have you been together?"
"Two years." Jackson answered, and the two shared a happy, intimate smile. Hermione wouldn't have noticed what followed had she not been glancing at Blaise to try and figure out why he wasn't talking. Upon the start of the couple's smile, an expression of pure pain flashed across his face, before it was replaced by a smile of easy companionship so relaxed that the difference was shocking.
While Hermione blinked in confusion at the change the conversation continued around her. How had Blaise gone from such complete hurt to so happy? Unless he had, by far, the best mask of happiness she'd ever seen in her life. There was no way it was because the person he'd been flirting with for an hour was in a relationship. He didn't form attachments that fast, she knew, or he wouldn't constantly pick up guys for a snog and then drop them like hot potatoes. No, there was something else.
Theodore, upon noticing his friend's expression, immediately said, "So, Blaise, Draco, shall we head into the water?"
Blaise consented to joining his two friends, who were watching him with something akin to confused worry, and they strolled down to the water. Almost instantly a large gaggle of girls crowded around them, giggling and trying to make Theodore take his shirt off, which he steadfastly refused, touch Draco's hair, which he dodged quite expertly and to coerce Blaise into coming into deeper water, which he simply ignored. She was left to make small conversation with the Jackson and Brody and, after they wandered away, she caught up on some reading and relaxed in the sun. Some part of her mind kept going back to that moment, and the expression of pain on her friend's face, but when the three returned an hour or so later he seemed perfectly normal.
It was only a little while later, however, that more discontent appeared in their outing. Hermione had been dozing peacefully, her book resting over her eyes to block out the sun, when Draco felt it necessary to point out the attention of a girl nearby.
"That girl is looking at you." Draco informed Theodore, who sat up with a frown. She followed their gazes and recognized one of the girls who'd tried to get his shirt off and was now stretching out luxuriously on a towel, her eyes clearly looking in their direction.
"No, she's not. She's looking at you." The dark haired Slytherin resumed his former position of nonchalance.
"Ask her out." Blaise sat up, an expression of amused interest on his handsome face. Something, Hermione found, made her want to look closer and find out if it was a real or fake expression, as if she might find a small place where the mask could peel away and reveal what was really underneath.
"No." Theodore sat up as well and was glaring pointedly at Blaise. "I don't want to."
"Why not?" Asked his friend, "Scared?"
"No." The annoyance on his face and in his way of talking was a lot more severe than the other signs of irritation she'd witnessed on him before. "I'm not scared. I just don't want to."
"She obviously likes you." Blaise was no longer giving him suggestive looks and now stared, fixated, at his friend with his eyebrows raised in aggressive challenge. "Right, Draco? She's been staring at him all this time."
Looking rather sorry to have mentioned it at all, Draco shot Hermione a look of exasperation. "Yeah, she has. But if he's not interested, just drop it."
"Why don't you just ask her?" The intense anger emanating from Blaise's tense voice and the glittering in his eyes gave Hermione the idea that his pointed pushiness was not focused completely on Theodore asking this girl out. Her thoughts immediately connected her suspicions to the incident earlier on, but she couldn't come to any sort of conclusion that made the two connect.
"Fuck off." Theodore snapped, his lips twisting. "I said no. Leave it."
"All she can do is reject you." The lilting snarl in his voice and the tense set of his shoulders seemed to be drawing some attention from the people around them.
"Guys," she tried to interject, but neither looked at her. "Calm down."
"Is that it? Are you afraid of rejection?" His voice was taunting and offensive, the spark in his eyes conveying his contempt.
"No." Theodore's jaw tensed and she saw a vein throb in his neck. His hands were clenched at his sides and he looked ready to spring and start beating Blaise to a pulp. He was trembling, she noted with unease. "Shut up."
"All she can do is reject you, and you're scared." His lip curled as he laughed, "Poor little Theodore, afraid of being rejected because no one likes him."
"Shut the fuck up." It was very clear to everyone who was listening – and that didn't just include their small group, by then – that he was about to say something terribly rude and hateful. "Just because you can't find someone who actually likes you for more than your body doesn't mean we've all got the same fucking problems."
Without realizing what she was doing Hermione leapt to her feet and moved in front of Blaise, who had, faster than she could imagine, jumped to his own and lurched towards his friend. She couldn't exactly describe what made her completely positive about the necessity of doing so but, later, she was sure it had to do with the expression that crossed Blaise's face. It was the same one he'd donned earlier. Draco, it seemed, had taken the same action as Hermione and they ended up being pressed back to back between their arguing teammates.
"Blaise, come on." She nudged his shoulder, which hardly reacted because of how tightly locked it was. "Let's go for a walk. Let it go." She could hear Draco saying something of the same sort and tried to implore with her eyes their need to get out of the situation. "People are staring. The lifeguard is coming over, let's go."
His eyes were ablaze with the kind of passion that she'd found in the clips of his eyes on the internet, but it was the intense sort of anger that made her wonder if he would push her away and go for Theodore again. His breathing was even and is hands weren't clenched in fists, but the tight stance of his body revealed more of his anger than anything else. She'd never seen him react so much to something.
Hermione tucked her arm into Blaise's and started walking towards a path she saw just behind the small building for washrooms. He had no choice but to follow her, unless he wanted to cause an even bigger scene. A quick glance back showed her that Theodore had his lips locked together and he wrenched his arm away from Draco, stalking in the opposite direction.
"Just breathe." She told him, not relinquishing her grip. He tugged on his arm but she steadfastly clamped it to her side and, with a sigh of frustration, he let her. "You can't let him get to you like that."
They reached the edge of the small assortment of trees and stepped onto the worn path and out of the intrigued eyes of those who'd seen their interaction. They walked a few moments in silence, and then she started speaking again. "I don't know how you two are friends, really, if this is how your conversations go."
"They're not." His voice was completely flat and, after looking quickly at him, she discovered the same, haughty mask he'd always had on at school currently residing on his features. The effect it had, after she'd seen the large variety of emotions he'd displayed, was jarring. "If we'd had that conversation a few months ago it would have gone a lot differently."
"Why does he always do that?" She asked, the sounds of laughter, shouting and splashing fading into the quiet silence of the trees surrounding them. She could hear cars driving by, so she knew they weren't very far from the opposite edge, and she stopped be a mossy rock and sat down, releasing her friend's arm. "He just criticizes and says blunt things that he knows will get a reaction."
"Theodore criticizes people," Blaise began quietly, "Because it's easier than trying and being rejected. He's less vulnerable and exposed."
She felt like he was going to continue on, however he didn't and she was left to contemplate his words. This insight sent shockwaves through her, but she realized almost immediately that it did seem to fit Theodore well. Or at least it fit parts of him well. "But what about when he's so happy? And he has made friends, so he hasn't succeeded totally at keeping people at an emotional distance."
Her companion shrugged, but didn't speak. What Blaise had said seemed to be completely true, but she knew there also had to be more to Theodore than just that. There had to be many reasons behind why he did acted like that, not to mention the polar opposite sides of his personality.
When she glanced up, she was surprised to see yet another unfamiliar expression on Blaise's face. He was biting his lip, hard, his brow was crumpled and he was staring fixedly at the ground. She followed his gaze and saw nothing, merely a pile of ants racing towards an ant hill. Her mouth opened to ask what was wrong, but then closed immediately after. She didn't know what to say.
"Hermione?" When he spoke, his voice was so soft she almost didn't hear it, especially due to the fact that a car had just passed by. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure." She watched him take a few steps to the right and then suddenly make a move to sit beside her. His hands smoothed over the moss a few times, but he didn't say anything. "What's wrong?"
"Would you date me?" His words tumbled and tripped over themselves in his haste to say them, hardly distinguishable. "If you were a guy. Or if I weren't gay."
"Would I date you…?" She trailed off, slightly confused by what he was asking. Or rather, not so much the question but merely the purpose of asking.
"Never mind." He looked flustered and shook his head, "I just mean…I just want to know. You know. If I'm likeable. Whether someone will ever want to date me. I just…I can't ask Draco or Theodore. For obvious reasons. I just wanted to know. Just forget about it. It's alright. It was a stupid question. Let's talk about something else. Oh, look, a dog!"
He was babbling almost incoherently and talking in choppy, difficult to follow sentences, but she understood enough of his chatter to get the gist of what he was saying. Ignoring his pointing hand, she looked sympathetically at him. "You will meet someone, Blaise. Maybe not now, but there is someone out there that you'll be happy with."
He awkwardly nodded, still staring at the dog, who'd just appeared and oddly enough stared back at them without moving. "I just – I get tired of waiting. For someone."
"You don't really give off the impression that you're looking." Hermione replied honestly, watching his struggle to compose himself
"It's hard." He murmured quietly, almost too softly to be heard. "To be this way."
She raised her hand to put it on his shoulder and then paused, not really sure how to go about comforting him. Then she reached out and rested it there anyway. He was tense under her touch but then slowly relaxed, and the two remained sitting in silence for another minute or so, before a group of people came tumbling through the forest looking for their dog.
After they'd cleared out and brought back a sense of realism to the situation she got off the rock and wiped the dirt off her legs. "We should head back. It looks like it might start raining."
The sky was turning a dark blue and the clouds were moving quickly across its large expanse. Blaise nodded and followed suit, hurrying to walk beside her over the small path. Watching him from the corner of his eye she saw him schooling his features until he looked perfectly calm, at ease, and expressionless. Just before stepping out of the small forest he reached out to stop her.
"What is it?" She turned back, concerned, and was pulled into a quick, tight hug. She could feel his heart beating for the smallest of moments – the embrace was almost too short to even be a hug – and then he pulled away, awkwardly looking over her shoulder.
When the pair stepped out of the trees, both had gained something unexpected. Blaise had found a trustworthy confidante, and Hermione had found, what she thought, was the real side of Blaise Zabini.
-
-
After they'd returned from dinner, an awkward and almost silent affair, Hermione decided to find Harry and Ron. She could use some of their simple friendship, without many of the complexities that surrounded Blaise, Theodore and Draco. She found Harry easily enough, as their house's layout was very similar to her own, sitting in the living room.
"How was the beach?" Harry asked as Hermione wearily dropped onto the couch beside him.
"Pretty bad." She admitted, shrugging. He seemed to have been writing a letter, however when he noticed her looking he hastily rolled it up, flushing. That in itself was a good enough explanation for who it was to. "Theodore and Blaise got in a terrible fight."
"About what?" He glanced at the door that led to the kitchen, slightly anxious, which was the first thing that alerted Hermione that something strange was going on.
"It started out simple." She said, shifting a bit on the couch. "This girl was staring at Theodore, so Blaise suggested he ask her out. Theodore refused, Blaise called him a coward and they almost beat each other up. So Malfoy and I had to take a side and try to calm them down, which hardly worked. We did a bit of shopping, but ended up dividing anyway, and I'm pretty sure Blaise bought some al-"
"Do you think she's back yet?" To Hermione's shock, Andrea's voice came floating out the kitchen's doorway, which swung open. Emerging from inside, her best muggle friend and one of her best magical friends came walking out.
"Andrea?" She asked, startled. Her eyes instantly took in the way her friend was leaning on Ron, whose arm was around her waist, and her mouth dropped open.
"Hermione!" Andrea's eyes went very wide and she pulled herself away from the redhead, who stood stock still upon seeing her.
"You two…?" She looked between their awkward stances with interest. Her mind was reeling and she couldn't quite grasp the situation. It just wasn't logical. It reminded her of that time in grade two went Todd had tried to tell her two plus two was five and had ended in a screaming match, with Todd bursting into tears.
"Yeah. I wanted to talk to you about it, right now, actually, but…" Andrea was staring intently at Hermione's face, her own creased in worry. "I didn't think it would be fitting to say it over the phone or anything…"
Hermione was vaguely aware of Harry watching her fixedly and Ron, still unable to move, in the doorway. It was actually a bit comical to note that, while he was completely fine to move in a dangerous life-or-death situation the idea of a confrontation about his romantic life had him frozen. "So it's you he's been texting?"
"Yeah." Ron spoke, nodding, his face about the shade of a tomato.
"Oh." A smile broke out over her face, to the obvious relief of her companions. "Well, great!"
Clearly startled, her friends watched her, as though expecting her to abruptly announce that she'd been joking. "Did you think it would be a problem?" She asked, grinning. She was mentally drawing connections between Andrea and Ron that she hadn't even realized were there before.
"Er, yes." Ron said, taking a few steps closer to her. He was nearly knocked the side, however, when Andrea dashed over and threw her arms around her friend.
"Oh, I'm so glad." Andrea's hair was in her face and Hermione spluttered, spitting a few unwanted strands from her mouth. "I was a bit worried, you know, after the pact thing and everything." And then, much softer, "Why is your friend Harry writing with that feather?"
"You know! Boarding school kids," Hermione laughingly rolled her eyes, "Who knows what they do?"
Her friend frowned, "Do you write with a feather?"
"No." She said and quickly changed the subject, "So, do you want to do something right now? We could…"
The expression on Andrea's face made her trail off slowly. After hesitating for a minute, the strawberry blonde began to speak. "Ron and I were actually going to go outside for a bit…"
"That's fine," she waved off their concern with a shrug, still feeling a slight sting, though. "Go have fun."
"OK." Andrea looked uncertainly at her, and then Ron, desperate to leave such an awkward situation, took her hand and the pair left. Hermione returned to her seat on the couch. Harry started writing hastily on his parchment, angling it so she couldn't have read it even if she tried, but not in a way that said he suspected her of trying to.
"Harry," she began suddenly, "Did the doors to your room have your names on them?"
"Yeah." He replied, nodding, "In blue. Glowing. Except now they change colour."
"Hm." She nodded thoughtfully and he went back to writing his letter, giving her time to think. Harry didn't seem very interested in conversation, absorbed entirely in the letter he wrote, so she bade him a quick farewell with the decision of doing some reading and walked back to her side of their house.
It only took Hermione a few minutes to reach her bedroom, and by that time she'd narrowed down what book she wanted to read to Mansfield Park or Five Days in Paris. The relationship complexity in Mansfield Park, she decided, was exactly what she needed to detox her mind and give her a source of romantic entertainment for awhile. Unsurprisingly, she found, the writing on their doors had also changed colour, however they were all various shades of different colours, with the occasional streak of something else.
After changing into her pajamas, despite the early evening time, she pulled her smooth book off her shelf and crawled onto her bed, adjusting the blankets and pillows until she was comfortable. There was something so entrancing about Jane Austen's work. It took her a couple of minutes to really get into the stories, but after that there was almost nothing that could forcibly make her withdraw from whatever world she was currently residing in, be it Northanger Abby or Sense and Sensibility. She was always left wondering how a woman living in such a restricted period of time could have written so freely and known so well the ways of the human heart.
Maybe it's the wondering. Hermione stared absentmindedly out her window at the garden, where the dark clouds cast a shadow on the blooming flowers. Maybe it's being forced to think about everything, because so little was actually shown clearly enough to understand.
Turning her sights back on her book she opened it, hearing the familiar, crisp movement of the pages under her fingers. As the smooth, flowing words washed over her she steadily relaxed, until she wasn't even conscious of the book falling from her grip and her eyes closing.
-
-
A loud crash of thunder woke Hermione with a small snort. Blearily peering around she gathered that it was quite late or early morning, but since her alarm clock was flashing the power had apparently gone out and she didn't know the exact time. Outside her window was a sea of grey, water steadily slashing against the glass as it fell. Occasionally thunder and lightening punctuated the pounding sound of the rain beating down on the house. Rubbing her eyes and licking her lips she grimaced at the taste in her mouth.
Her feet touched the floor with a small thump and she stumbled slightly, before pulling on a sweater that was thrown over the end of her bed. After a moment's thought she snatched up her wand, before walking quietly down to the kitchen in search of some food to tide her over until the morning. She probably should have brushed her teeth, but figured it would be pointless to do that, eat, and then have to do it again.
The fact that the power could even go out was a mystery to her, as she'd always assumed, living in Hogwarts, that power just didn't go out in Wizarding homes. But then again, this house seemed to pretty much be a muggle place, except for the seven witches and wizards running around.
The light from the windows was enough to let her see, however the kitchen was more spacious than the hallway and quite dark on one side, so she muttered Lumos and lit up the room – including the looming figure in the corner.
"Expelli-" Before her heart gave even one shuddering beat and fear exploded through her she was mouthing a spell, only to be cut off by an irritated voice.
"Don't even dare, Granger." Draco's voice was as chilly as the temperature in the room, which was freakishly cold for the summer.
"Malfoy," Hermione pressed a hand over her heart, "You scared me!"
He was sitting on the floor by the refrigerator, easily within view as it was directly across from the door. Or at least, easily within view with proper lighting. She pointed her wand at him to get a better look and was given a loud curse in return. "Fuck, Granger, watch the light!"
"Sorry," she muttered, slowly making her way over to him. He was wearing plaid green and yellow pajama pants and a long sleeved matching shirt. "What are you doing up?"
"What are you doing?" He retaliated, looking imperiously up at her in a way that immediately told her he was not in a friendly mood.
"Getting something to eat." Hermione replied, opening the fridge slowly to avoid hitting him on the side. Merlin knew what he would do then. Her eyes traveled swiftly over its contents and she picked out a small container of hummus and some flatbread, eagerly opening the container as she slid down the fridge door to take a seat beside him.
"Are you eating straight from the jar?" Draco asked with distaste, looking down his nose at her food. She shrugged at him, making sure not to double dip as she scooped the delicious, garlicky paste from the plastic container onto the bread and popping it in her mouth. "That's sanitary."
"It's good." She said thickly, eyes watering from the large chunk of bread she'd just swallowed. "It's not like I'm mixing my saliva in it or anything. It's the same as using a bowl, except no dishes. Want to try some?"
He stared at the bowl like it was Fluffy and raised an eyebrow, "And have garlic breath for the next century? No."
Hermione paused in her chewing, her mind running over the fact that her teeth weren't brushed and now she'd eaten hummus. Her breath was probably terrible. Oh, well. She thought, dipping in the rest of her flat bread. Its only Malfoy. Not someone important, or anything.
Slipping the lid back on the container she stood up again and put it back in the fridge, along with the remaining flatbread. Draco watched her – or so she thought, as her wand was pointed into the refrigerator and not focused on him, so the direction of his gaze could have been masked.
"Did you actually stop eating because I told you it was disgusting?" He asked with some kind of tinge to it that made her irritation snap to life.
"Yes, Malfoy. I care so much about what you say that I let it dictate my eating habits." Rolling her eyes she went around opening cupboards until she found a glass, which was surprisingly difficult because she kept forgetting where they were and there were so many different cupboards. Eventually she found what she was looking for and got her water, before returning to sit down. "I only wanted a little."
Outside lightening flashed and for a brief moment the kitchen lit up brightly and threw everything into a grayish light. Draco flinched visibly and they plunged back into darkness, with only a small beam of light emerging from the tip of her wand.
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, noticing the tense set of his shoulders and the way he pressed his lips together tightly. She might not have noticed if she hadn't squinted at him after he flinched.
"Nothing." He said shortly, small movement suggesting he was crossing his arms. A crash of thunder exploded outside and he started, elbows brushing her arms.
"Are you scared?" She asked, regretting it immediately when the tension in his voice heightened intensely.
"No, Granger, I'm not." He snapped, glaring in her direction.
She shrugged defensively, "I was only asking. Everyone is afraid of something. You shouldn't be worried or embarrassed about it."
Draco snorted. "Right. I'm not afraid of thunderstorms, OK? I don't like them, that's all."
"Fine," She snarled back, emotions rising angrily. "I was only asking."
"Well, don't." Was his annoyed reply, "Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't do the stupid heart-to-heart thing."
"That much is obvious, it requires an actual heart," Hermione rolled her eyes. They were both sitting straight, faces turned angrily to each other. "Why are you so defensive?"
"Why are you so nosey?" Draco retorted, "I fail to see how you can be mad at me because I don't want to have a stupid heartfelt conversation with you. It's not like you're my friend."
That stung.
Obviously she hadn't spent a lot of time thinking about their relationship, but she'd almost subconsciously acknowledged their growing friendliness and immediately translated that into a friendship. And yet here he was, verbally rejecting the thoughts and feelings she'd developed over the course of the summer. Mere weeks. Almost nothing, in the grand spectrum of her life.
"If we're not friends," she almost winced at the pained offensiveness in her voice, "then I don't even need to be sitting here, talking to you at all. People who hate each other don't do this, do they? So why should we?"
"Exactly," Draco said in an equally nasty tone, practically spitting. "We shouldn't. I don't want to spend any more time with you in this God forsaken house than I have to."
"The feeling is mutual." Clutching the handle of a nearby drawer Hermione stood up, her wand sending streaks of bright light around the room. To her frustration, her grip on the drawer handle, combined with the pressure of pulling on it ripped it right off, sending her tumbling into the oven door. The drawer opened with the sound of countless amounts of utensils crashing together and she stared at it, clutching the small wooden knob. That was the crappiest quality drawer I've ever seen.
And then Draco laughed. It was a small, quiet chuckle, really, but it prompted a fierce reaction within her, prompted by one thought. Friends don't hurt each other. Her eyes welled with tears that she couldn't explain, the silence following his small laugh broken by flashes of lightening and it's accompanying thunder. Once more Draco flinched from the sounds and she was overcome by a sudden deep resentment for him, all of him, taking over her control. She tossed the hand onto the counter, causing a loud, resounding bang.
The shocked expression on his face provided her with vindictive satisfaction. "Trust me, Malfoy, I wish I had never been on your team, and never had to suffer through being with you all the time and never had to deal with all your stupid mistakes and help you put your stupid mind back in order!" Her voice became higher over the course of her speech and by the end it was quite shrill.
"My stupid mistakes?" He mocked, getting to his feet. Of course he could never tolerate being below me. "What have you helped me with?"
"I don't know," She replied mockingly and spat her next words, "How about when you screwed around with Helga and thought she was pregnant? Does that count as a mistake?"
"Shut up, Granger." Draco snapped, reminding her vividly of Theodore as he yelled at Blaise on the beach. "Just fuck off. The biggest mistake I made this summer was getting to know you."
They stood, centimeters apart, and yet the distance felt much wider than it had before. She stared at him, breathing harshly as her vision became blurry. And then she turned, banging her hip painfully off the stove as she hurriedly left the room and flung her door open. Her eyes were stinging with tears that she convinced herself were from pain.
It always hurts more when they mean something to you.
-
-
Draco sat in complete darkness in the kitchen, staring at the empty doorframe Hermione had disappeared through. Outside rain continued to pour uninterrupted, mirroring the storm of emotions fighting inside him. A part of him desperately wanted to go after her an apologize, the irrational part, while another wanted to go hide forever and never come out whilst still another, which sounded suspiciously like Theodore, congratulated him on pushing away something he would eventually have been forced to give up.
The part that disturbed him the most, of everything, wasn't even his desire to go after her and express distastefully apologetic sentiments. No, it was the fact that logically, distancing her now would be easier than later, but he didn't care. He would rather make it doubly painful by the end of the summer, allowing the two of them to tactlessly weave around each other and become closer then to never get close to her in the first place.
That was not normal or healthy. Hermione Granger seemed to inspire the worst ideas and emotions within him, with her persistent emotions and cheerfulness and deep brown eyes that were too captivating to be perfectly normal. The worst part of all that, too, was that he couldn't help but like it.
"Fucking Granger." Draco mumbled, standing up slowly and moving silently across the kitchen floor. Everything was eerily quiet and sent goose bumps running over his arms. After stepping carefully through the doorway to the hall he turned and closed the door, its hinges moving silently until, with a soft click, it closed completely.
When he reached the door to his bedroom he saw with interest that the glowing names on each of their doors were different colours. Hermione's was a dark blue, almost black, with flickers of red rushing through it. Blaise's was a strange sort of purple, Theodore's was an interesting shade of orange and Draco's was predominantly the same colour blue as Hermione's. Looking closer, his fascination sparked from the extremely prominent glow in such lighting and he noticed that they were way too intricate to be mere lights. A fairly complicated bit of magic was clearly involved.
Shaking his head, Draco moved to his own room and opened the door, jumping when thunder and lightening shook the house. Bloody hell. He hated storms. Mostly the loud, house rocking, violent crashing that took place in the sky. He never failed to wake up and end up sitting, listening and wondering what would happen if a large variety of natural disasters destroyed his life, such as a tornado. There was something about storms that made a ball of unease expand in his stomach.
Kind of like Granger. He smirked a bit at that thought and sprawled out on his bed, staring at the ceiling. It was a strange sort of grey-ish blue from the limited light outside, the non-descript colour one might expect to find on a dreary building or a sidewalk.
Draco longed for some kind of imperfection to take notice of; a crack in the wall or ceiling to trace and take his mind off of the storm. But everything was new, and perfect, and the change from floor to wall to ceiling was faultless. Disappointed, he rolled on his side and stared across the empty room to the other side.
If it had just been Blaise, Theodore and himself on a t
eam he could have almost pretended that it was a normal summer day and they were over for the week or so. Hermione's presence acted as the one disrupting factor. It was like he was a forest and she was fire. Except, of course, that after the fire, the forest grows again and its actually sort of beneficial, he mused. He was terrible at comparisons. Especially those involving Hermione Granger.
The day slowly replayed through his mind, and it was just as he remembered Hermione cheering him on that he fell asleep, the storm outside forgotten.
-
-
The next morning Draco woke with a smile on his lips, however it was short lived when he noticed that it was still raining outside. And the power was still out. Grumbling he got out of bed and slipped into his slippers, scrunching his toes a few times in hopes of getting rid of the small chill that had just assaulted his feet. After finding that they didn't have running water he used magic to brush his teeth and washed his face – in the process he also succeeded in drenching himself. He combed his hair and walked down the hallway, taking brief note that the colours of the names on the doors had once again changed.
In the kitchen Theodore was sitting at the table, his head resting in his hands whilst Blaise sipped coffee and leaned against the counter. Surprisingly, neither was glaring hatefully at the other so he didn't comment, merely dropped into the chair across from Theodore. "What time is it?"
"10:30." Blaise said, running a hand through his dark hair. "I just talked to Sheila and James. They want us in the living room by 11."
"And you planned on waking me up when?" He asked irritably, wondering where Hermione was.
"After I finished my coffee." He replied with a grin, unbothered by his friend's annoyance. "You missed Hermione, by the way. Theo and I were just talking about her, actually."
"Were you." Draco rolled his eyes, "Back to 'Theo' are we?"
Theodore didn't even lift his head and merely said, sleepily, "Back to asshole, are we?"
Blaise laughed and set down his cup. "We don't have running water, so you can't shower."
"I noticed." He grimaced, "how did you make coffee?"
The dark skinned male pulled out his wand and twirled it around his fingers. "Its weird, I picked up this stick and sparks shot out. I think it might be magic…"
"Mhm." Draco stood up, "I'm going to get dressed. Is he actually awake?"
They both looked at Theodore and Blaise shrugged, "He just insulted you, so I'm guessing so. I'll get him up."
"It won't work. Sorry Blaise," Theodore raised his head and blinked, "I don't swing that way."
Draco snorted and left the room in case a fight broke out, though he had the feeling that Blaise was probably laughing. Getting dressed was a bit of a chore, since he didn't know what their challenge would be and had to consider all clothing options before choosing what he would wear. He didn't realize exactly how long he spent pondering it, though, until Hermione was banging on his door and urgently telling him to hurry up. She also felt the need to inform him that nothing he could do would make him less ugly, so he shouldn't try.
"That was hurtful." He said piteously.
"I'm sure you know a lot about being hurtful." She glanced back over her shoulder briefly and continued into the kitchen, where their other teammates were chatting. Theodore had the same wide-eyed look he'd had when he arrived at the house, which gave Draco a pretty good indication of his mood.
"To the living room." Theodore exclaimed cheerily, wringing his hands together. "I wonder what our challenge will be!?"
Blaise shrugged, "The last one was pretty physical, so I doubt they'd make us do anything like that again."
"I should hope not!" Theodore's loud exclamation made Hermione start a bit and Draco bit his lip to keep from laughing. No doubt she would take it offensively and start throwing things at him. "Do you realize how sore my muscles are?"
"Mine, too." Blaise rolled his shoulders to illustrate his point, adding a dramatic wince. "I spent, like, ten hours stretching this morning."
"I didn't." Draco smirked at them. "I just used my mother's cream and now I'm fine."
"Burn in hell." He got mutually hateful looks, though Theodore's had a bit of a delighted edge to it and lost its effect.
"Now, now, that wasn't very nice!" James was standing in their living room in the most ridiculously formal robes Draco had ever seen, complete with immense lace tufts and vibrant colour. He held large cards of what looked like Bristol board in his hands and 'The House of Hell' written on the back. Candles floated around the perimeter of the room, and two long tables were set up against the walls, three chairs at one and four at the other. There were purple dividers that divided the table up into segments, however Draco was pretty sure he could look over the top of them if he wanted to.
Something tells me this is a muggle game. Draco's thoughts mumbled in his mind, which he wisely didn't repeat aloud. Hermione obviously was not pleased with him, though he was pretty much over their conflict from the previous night. Theodore was shaking slightly from restrained energy and his arm brushed lightly back and forth across Draco's shoulder, irritating him so that he moved to the left and, incidentally, closer to Hermione.
She glanced at him, clearly surprised, and then turned quickly back to James, who'd begun speaking moments before. "-we'll ask you a question, and then you have to write down the answer you think is correct as it applies to them. For each person that gets the answer right you receive a point. There are no repercussions for wrong answer. Any questions?"
"Yeah, can you repeat all of that?" Theodore blinked rapidly a few times and shook his head. "That sort of flew over my head." He demonstrated by flailing out his right arm and in the process accidentally hit Blaise in the head.
"Ouch! You idiot!"
Draco turned to watch the two squabble, but found his attention drawn back to Hermione. "So this is basically a test to see how well we know each other?"
"Pretty much." James grinned, the bad lighting giving him a strangely creepy look. The random pools of lace that seemed to explode out of the seams all over him increased his appearance of insanity. "Now, the Pansy Pickers should be over here soon with Sheila…" He looked towards the door expectantly and stood there awkwardly, as though hopeful the other team would arrive that instant. "Well, in any case, I'll just sit down here. Now would be a good time to try and give each other as much information as possible or discuss strategy."
"Right." Blaise shook his head at Theodore, who'd been grinning manically at him and blabbering on about one thing or another. Draco sighed, closing his eyes briefly. Theodore in this mood wasn't dangerous, but he sure as hell could be annoying. "Come in closer. What are some random questions they might ask us?"
Hermione was close enough to Draco that her arm was touching his, the small air that slipped between them as she breathed a fission of warmth. For some odd reason he found that he didn't hold any of the desire to move away like he had with Theodore. That was strange.
"Where were you born?" Hermione asked, her brown eyes alight with challenge and intrigue. Draco immediately felt interest spark within him and he tried to think up questions.
"St. Mungos." The males all answered immediately and she grinned with a small blush.
"Oh, of course. I was born in Oxbridge." As she thought she bit her lip slightly, the traces of her white teeth just barely visible. She seemed to sense him looking and glanced over at him, brow furrowing for a moment, before looking back at the other two members of their group. For some reason Draco felt his face flushing with embarrassment and he guiltily looked towards Theodore, feeling like he'd done something wrong.
"Right, er, favourite animal?"
"Cats." Hermione answered immediately, as though she had a particular animal in mind.
"Snifflegyhaps." Theodore said nonchalantly and Draco frowned, wondering if they were even real. "They're pink. And sneaky. I like that."
"Mhm." Blaise paused thoughtfully, "Eagles."
"I sort of like lions." Draco answered truthfully, frowning when Theodore snorted. "They're very cool animals! It's not my fault they're also affiliated with Gryffindor."
"Draco," Theodore pressed a hand on his shoulder and stared at him mock seriously. "You need to calm down. Breathe in," he took an exaggerated deep breath and then exhaled noisily, "breathe out."
Draco shook his hand off his arm and scowled defensively, "Fine. What about…pet name?"
"Crookshanks." Hermione smiled, her teeth almost glowing in their semi darkened room.
"Alright, it looks like the Pansy Pickers have arrived!" With renewed energy James bounded back to his former position, Sheila at his side. Harry, Ron and Pansy shuffled in, their eyes quickly seeking out the other team. Draco noticed Hermione smile at them and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Gryffindors. Always trying to reassure each other that they're liked.
"So, if we could have the Bloody Fuckers take this table and the Pansy Pickers on this one, that would be great." Sheila pointed out the teams' tables and they took seats. Draco noticed with interest that after they had sat down small rectangular white boards appeared in front of them with two markers and a small cloth.
A popping sort of noise permeated the air and then Theodore jauntily called out, "Haha, smell these markers! They make me feel wooooozy."
Hermione snorted from beside him and Draco lifted his head, tilting it slightly so he could glance over the divide between them. She was fingering the capped markers, looking thoughtful, and didn't seem to have noticed him. His eyes surveyed her face, before he realized James and Sheila were watching him pointedly with amused expressions and he hurriedly hunched down again, averting his eyes.
"Now, are both teams ready? You've got 30 seconds to answer each question." James surveyed them all, a grin forming on his face. "Everyone ready?"
Draco nodded, as it was apparent that they wouldn't begin until their hosts received confirmation of their preparedness. "First question is for the Bloody Fuckers. What is Hermione's favourite colour?"
Other than the curses he could hear from his left, the side Theodore was sitting at and probably still inhaling the markers, the only other thing he heard was the word green. Hermione hadn't actually said what her favourite colour was earlier, however he remembered the argument that had taken place at the beginning of the summer over the colour of all the stuff she'd received in her basket. He scribbled it down on the board and held it up. "That's time. Hold up your answers." James looked over their cards. "Point to Draco and Blaise. Next question: How long have Draco and Blaise known each other?"
Draco smirked and quickly wrote down the 10 years on his whiteboard, lazily holding it up in his right hand. "Alright…point to Hermione, point to Theodore."
Draco's eyebrows shot up. How did she know its been 10 years? Lucky guess? He looked over the divide again and watched as she wiped off the words with a pleased smile.
"Next question: What colour are Hermione's eyes?"
Draco rolled his eyes. If all the questions were like this they would definitely win. He wrote down the answer brown and held up his board. Sheila looked over them with a smile. "Point to Draco for the answer brown."
He frowned. How had Theodore and Blaise not noticed the warm chocolate colour of Hermione's eyes? Was it strange that he knew what colour they were?
James then proceeded to ask the Pansy Pickers a question and they got no points. Draco wondered how it was fair that they had three people who could potentially get points, however the Pansy Pickers only had two, as obviously the person who the question was about couldn't receive a point. His question was answered later when Harry was given two points for correctly guessing Ron's favourite colour. Rolling his eyes he briefly wondered why they would choose someone of such limited intelligence to be their only real hope at winning.
"What is Draco's natural hair colour?" Draco felt a moment's outrage at Sheila's question and the implication that his hair wasn't naturally blond, but he calmed himself by reminding himself that people didn't think perfection like his hair could ever actually be achieved. "And time's up!"
She read their answers, "Point to Hermione for blond, point to Blaise…er, Theodore, bald isn't a hair colour."
Draco glared at his white board and rolled his eyes. "Theodore, put the markers down and go try to grow some brain cells."
"Boys, be good now." James said in a sing song voice. "You may need to think hard for this one. Here it is," he paused dramatically for effect, "Who, on your team, is the most insecure?"
Draco paused, frowning slightly. There weren't supposed to be questions like this. They were supposed to be stupid questions about insignificant things like favourite colours and pets. He hesitated with the marker poised on the cleaned slate, thinking. Theodore had always been extremely insecure about relationships, but Blaise also had issues with himself. And Hermione, well, he suspected it was safe to rule her out. And also himself. He didn't have issues.
Theodore or Blaise. Blaise or Theodore. Can I put both? He bit his lip, thinking. "Time's up!" Hurriedly he scribbled down Theodore as, in his current mood, he doubted the other male would really care.
"So we have a Theodore from Hermione, Draco and Blaise…And a heart from Theodore." Sheila paused and gave him a wary once over.
"It's to represent the human heart." He said dramatically and a loud thump was heard, followed by a curse. Draco suspected he'd thrown his arm out and hit it on a divider. "The heart is the most insecure of all!"
"Thanks for that insight, Theodore." James said, stepping closer. "Er, next question for the Pansy Pickers…What is Pansy's biggest fear?"
Draco traced the faint marker he could still see on the whiteboard, even though he'd wiped it off, and wondered why they hadn't given points for the last question. "Time! So we have 'being alone' from Harry and 'heights' from Ron. Nice. Can you tell me Harry's biggest fear?"
Draco noticed Hermione tense, though he firmly told himself he hadn't been craning his neck to see her, and wondered what the problem was. Oh. Draco realized with a start, Potter's got a lot of enemies who could use this information.
"Time! So we have girls from Pansy," Sheila laughed, "And…heights from Ron. You do realize he plays Quidditch, right Ron?"
Hermione smiled and Draco found, with surprise, that Ron had very obviously just made himself look stupid to cover up his knowledge of Harry's fear. Well, I suppose he's loyal. He admitted grudgingly, rolling the black marker over on his table's surface.
"Er, right. Forgot." Ron muttered and cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Now, this question is for all of you!" Sheila's smile seemed permanently fixed on her face. It never faltered, which was a bit weird. "Describe each of your teammates using only one word!"
Draco frowned. These questions were not what he anticipated. How did one even get points for them? It didn't make sense. He frowned at his white board and wrote each of teammates' names and a dash, thinking. He didn't want to use the words that he knew described his friends, because it would reveal more about them than he knew they wanted revealed. Instead he considered what people already knew. Theodore's most obvious feature was clearly his sarcastic edge and sporadic mood swings, so he picked the obvious of the two and wrote sarcastic. For Blaise he decided on musical and then hesitated, struggling to come up with something to describe Hermione with. He had a sudden recollection of her annoyance with him at the moment, due to the previous night, and so he realized she would probably write something scathing about him.
Ignorant. He finally wrote, wondering how insulting her own words about him would be. They would probably be something stupid, like cold or arrogant. Words that he was sure she'd identified him with in their First Year and never bothered trying to change.
"That's time! Blaise, can you give us your answers?"
There was a short silence, and then Blaise spoke. "I've got proud for Draco, hyper for Theo and intelligent for Hermione."
Draco couldn't refrain from grinning. Proud was most certainly one of the nicer ways of describing him. Blaise seemed to have taken the same route as Draco and chosen obvious words that the people watching the show could deduce on their own. "Great. And Theodore?" Sheila's voice interrupted his musings and dragged him back to the present. "Shall we hear your word choices?"
"Sure," Theodore said, pronouncing it more as 'shoe-aaaaah' than any real word. "For Draco I put sad, for Blaise I put hurt and for Granger I put afraid."
"I see. And these are just general statements?" James asked, a slight crease forming in his brow. "Or are they in regards to something in particular?"
"Love." Theodore said sagely, "Love. Always in regards to love."
"Ah," Sheila looked at her husband with a smile, "Right. Draco, can you share your answers?"
"Yeah. Theodore is sarcastic, Blaise is musical and Hermione is ignorant." A small silence followed his statement in which he saw their host and hostess glance quickly at each other, before back at him. Draco also thought he heard a sharp intake of breath from the right, which he promptly denied and pretended he hadn't heard.
"Well, that was pretty clear." James said cheerfully, no doubt pleased that something the slightest bit dramatic had taken place. "Hermione, your responses?"
"For Theodore I wrote hiding, for Blaise I wrote talented and for Malfoy," she paused briefly, her voice shaking slightly with what Draco was quite sure was anger, "I wrote misjudged."
Oh fuck. He looked morosely at the ceiling, wishing he could hit his head off the table. Well, that was pretty much the worst idea I've ever had.
"Mhm, so what do we have for a score right now?" James turned pointedly to Sheila, who smiled indulgently at him.
"Well, we've got 26 for the Pansy Pickers and…oh my," she looked dramatically around at them, disappointed by their clear lack of enthusiasm. "It seems we have a tie! The Bloody Fuckers have the same score!"
"Tie breaking question, then!" James beamed happily, consulting the large squares he held in his hands. "Mhhmmm, Sheila, would you care to help me find the tie breaking question?"
"Sure, James." The two huddled together and whispered, sorting through the cards and casting the teams before them gleeful looks. "Aha, at last!" She cleared her throat and straightened up, pausing, "What is the favourite food of all members in your group?"
Draco paused. He knew for a fact that Theodore loved chocolate truffles and Blaise adored pasta with spicy red sauces, but he wasn't quite sure about Hermione. Think…What have I seen her eating? His mind presented flashes of her eating popcorn, apples, bananas, strawberries, mangos – A lot of fruit, in other words. He could also vaguely recall her commenting on her love for salmon and cookies, and also… Damn it. I don't know.
"That's time!" Sheila called out, at the same instant Draco remembered Hermione claiming that "garlic was simply amazing" and he scribbled down "anything with garlic in it."
"Alright…wow, three points to Draco, two to Theodore, two to Hermione and one to Blaise." Really? He was shocked and happy at the same time. "So that's nine points to the Bloody Fuckers…point to Ron, two points to Harry, doubled is four and one point to Pansy. Seven points to the Pansy Pickers. So, with scores of 35 to 33 the Bloody Fuckers win the How-Well-Do-You-Know-Your-Team challenge!"
"Luckily," James continued effortlessly, "This is a good challenge to lose! Your team clearly needs some work on its bonds, so we're sending you on a three day trip to a top secret location!"
"What?" Draco heard Ron's voice ring through the room and rolled his eyes in annoyance at the unfairness of their situation.
"We're sending you to a special team bonding activity! So pack your bags with enough clothes to last you two nights. You've got…" Sheila looked seriously her watch and Draco was forced to wonder shortly if she knew how to tell the time. "You've got fifteen minutes! Go!"
The other team scrambled through the door, Ron with a last sheepish smile at Hermione as he waved. Draco felt prickles of irritation tingle through him and he glared at the retreating backs of the Pansy Pickers. He didn't understand why she put up with him at all.
"Now," James began after the door had closed, the contemplative expression on his face even more comical because of the ruffled robes he wore, "We're giving you a special prize! The four of you are being treated to a private dinner…that will not be supervised by cameras. Two hours of non publicized chatter!"
Draco noticed Hermione start to beam, which was strange because he hadn't even been looking at her on purpose, and he felt himself begin to smile as well. Not having to constantly worry that one change of expression – one bat of an eye, really – would reveal more about him than he wanted revealed. It would be heavenly.
"Sweet." Theodore said, holding onto his marker with a pleased smile. "So can we go?"
"Yep." James grinned at them and winked at Draco, who didn't know how to respond and merely looked away. "You've two hours to get yourselves together. Use your time wisely! Oh, and guys, dress classy. And muggle."
Their team stood up at the same time, which provided Draco with an excellent opportunity to not look at Hermione. Unfortunately, it seemed she was intent on seeking him out and giving him a very intense stare that, while it was cold, was most certainly very Gryffindor-ish and he would have rolled his eyes, had they not been locked with her own.
"Lonely." She finally said, the tone of voice telling him she was trying to sound distant and icy, but really he could still hear undertones of the warmth that was always in her voice, no matter who she spoke to. "That's the word I would use to describe you."
Normally, when Hermione said something insulting or teasing and overall just witty he had a comeback within seconds that would sting her back, but at the moment he was at a complete loss for words and just opened his mouth slightly, expecting a retort to form and then feeling shocked when it didn't. "I-" He floundered for a moment and she turned away, shaking her head, and walked through the doorway.
Theodore was snickering beside him and he gave Draco a lopsided, amused smile. "She's the only person I've ever met who can shut you up like that and then leave, profound echoes of her words floating around in the room!"
"That was awfully poetic for someone high on markers." Blaise remarked, shrugging at Draco as if to say "what can you do?" "When is our power going to come back?" He asked, addressing Sheila and James.
"Mmm, yes. We're not sure, we've had a few technical difficulties. With power." Sheila said, attempting nonchalance and only succeeding at annoyed. "It should be fixed within the end of the day."
"I like it," announced Theodore, "It's all dark and creepy, like Hogwarts!"
Draco wasn't paying enough attention to catch what Blaise said in response, as he'd been struggling to find any word that described Hermione and was shocked when the only thing he could think of was amazing.
That was sort of a problem.
-
-
The lights flickered on just ask Draco's team stepped outside. Their familiar black car was waiting for them, however when they got inside it seemed that the back seat and been stretched around the perimeter of the back area, which had expanded, and the front part was blocked off. It provided him a more detailed look at what his companions were wearing.
They had all dressed very nicely, which of course was no surprise. Theodore and Blaise were both in muggle suits, as was Draco, however he had opted for one in grey, while they both wore black. Blaise's tie was light pink, Theodore's was white and Draco's was blue. Hermione was, quite honestly, stunning. She'd forgone a dress in favour of a modest black skirt that Draco couldn't decide was either swishy or form fitting, and a purple shirt that had a very loose and wide neckline, exposing her collarbone and resting perfectly on her outer shoulders. It also had some kind of detailing near the top, but he couldn't quite see what it was. Her shoes were ballet flats, which she seemed thrilled with and her hair was pulled up into a bun with a sparkly silver clip. He found his eyes straying to her neck more than once, which was slightly weird. He wondered if it was normal to have vampire-like traits. Maybe it was stress.
"Looks like we've got a driver." Theodore said cheerfully, hopping in. "Here Blaise, I saved you a seat." He spoke with an extremely high voice, patting the seat beside him and fluttering his eyelashes.
"Thank you," Blaise lowered his voice comically and sat down with a wink. Familiar with this sort of behavior Draco merely smiled and awkwardly shifted over when Hermione sat down next to him.
"You know…" She looked at him when he spoke, tilting her head a bit to the side. The two opposite them were chattering away, but Draco still felt like they were listening.
"I don't…think you're ignorant. I only said that because I thought you were going to say something nasty about me." He said it all very fast and stared at the floor, since it was easier than looking directly at her.
"Just because I'm annoyed with you doesn't mean you change as a person," she said quietly, "It just means I'm angry with you."
"Right…About that…" He started lamely, unsure if he could handle another apologetic statement. "I was…tired. I didn't mean to, you know, offend you."
"I understand." Hermione replied and he saw, from the corner of his eye, her fingers tracing lines over the seat. "I didn't-"
"Blaise is announcing!" Theodore suddenly called out, cutting Hermione off. Draco looked over to where the two sat with slight irritation. "He's being all secretive about something, so let's force it out of him!"
"I was going to wait until dinner, actually." Blaise rolled his eyes, "But I suppose now will do. I…I've got a recording contract."
"A what?"
"A recording contract. With the same people who do The Weird Sisters!" He was beaming at their shocked faces, "They came to that night when we were singing for the audience because they were in the area and they talked to me after and said I had great stage presence, and they wondered if I did my own stuff, which I said I did and then when we got back they contacted me and asked me to come and play for them and they said they liked it and wanted to sign me!"
"That was a run-on sentence." Theodore said with a nod, and then it seemed to hit him what his friend was talking about and a thrilled expression lit his face. "You're going to become a singer!?"
"I prefer musical artist, actually, but yeah. Basically!" Thinking back, Draco couldn't recall a time he'd seen Blaise look happier. Ever. "I've already got ideas for the first album, and I've got loads of songs and bits of songs and lyrics that I'm going to piece together, and it's going to be brilliant. It's kind of surreal, you know? I mean people wait for this kind of chance for years, and I didn't even think it was a possibility in my life, and now…it happened!"
"Wow. I didn't know you write music." Hermione sounded impressed.
"Yeah…I haven't been able to work much out lately, but I've been writing in that book you gave me like crazy." He said with a grin, "I don't really spread it around that much."
"Won't the public have access to your music, though?" She asked worriedly, "If it's on the show?"
"We've already worked out a deal with the producers." Blaise shook his head, "They get to have a small hand in promoting it and get a few clips or whatnot of the album's development, and then we get privacy from the show. As soon as I step into the studio it's just me."
"Wow, that's amazing." Hermione smiled at him and Draco nodded enthusiastically.
"And to think," Theodore began dramatically, wiping away a fake tear. "All those times I yelled at you for fooling around with your guitar, telling you just because you can't get any action doesn't mean you should turn to fondling musical instruments, and that one time I smashed it really you were going to become this!"
"You smashed my guitar?" Blaise looked a bit murderous. "You told me it was that stupid third year."
Draco remembered that, when they'd returned to their dormitory and Blaise's guitar seemed to have been jumped on a few times. Their friend had accused everyone in the general vicinity of doing it, at which point Theodore said he'd seen a third year Terry Prachett walking up these stairs. The poor boy was covered with boils for a week before they could get the charm that constantly replaced them off.
"I feel like by placing pressure on you, it helped develop your musical style," Theodore continued unhindered. "In fact, one could say I really created you."
"I can't believe that was you." Blaise shook his head, but his happy expression had returned and, overall, he didn't seem too bothered. Draco was sure that, had he even touched Blaise's guitar he would have been cursed, at least. But Theodore was an exception.
As their car pulled into a parking lot and they all climbed out, Draco experienced the strangest sensation of a new beginning. His eyes traveled over Theodore, who threw his arms around their shoulders and no doubt wrinkled all their clothes, to Hermione, who smiled uncertainly at their closeness, to Blaise, who was grinning and was no doubt thinking about what he'd just announced.
How profound. He couldn't help but smile at his inner sarcasm and was surprised when Hermione caught his eye. She looked thoughtful for a brief moment before she spoke in a measured voice, as if expecting his instant rejection. "So…friends, then?"
"Yeah," he said with a smile. "We're friends."
She smiled back, her face lighting up with happiness, and he felt a strange stirring within the confines of his stomach.
It actually was sort of profound.
Author's Note: I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, or whatever holiday or not-holiday has happened wherever you are! In regards to the lateness I truly am sorry. I got a head start on this one and started replying to reviews saying it shouldn't be too long, since I'd started it already, and then…well, I refused to end the chapter without finishing the day in the story, since if every chapter isn't even a full day than this will be a monster of a fic, and then it turned into a monster of a chapter (23 pages). The ending isn't quite what I'd like, but it will do!
Hopefully you enjoyed! Happy New Year!
Review review review!