Chapter 9

What Luck

Hermione could not believe Harry. "You just put something in that drink!" she hissed.

"Excuse me?" Harry acted as if he had absolutely no idea what she was going on about.

"You heard me. I saw you. You just tipped something into Ron's drink. You've got the bottle in your hand right now!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry said as he shoved something into his pocket.

Hermione could not believe her friend was cheating! Harry was using the Felix Felicis on Ron. Sure, maybe she had helped them with their homework, but today's Quidditch game was a competition. They would be stealing away a victory from someone else. At least when she helped them, it was still at a level that was close to what they could do without her.

"Ron, I warn you, don't drink it!"

But he did. Hermione scolded Harry, telling him he should be expelled for that. Harry shot back that she was the one who Confunded Cormac McLaggen. His retort caused her to storm away.

And, by the way, that had been completely different. Firstly, there was no way to be sure Ron would block every goal. Using the potion, however, guaranteed success. Secondly, McLaggen was a prat who badmouthed Harry, Ginny, and Ron.

She decided just to head over to the pitch. She thought about not watching the blasted game, but she knew that wasn't an option. Right or wrong, she had to support her friends. So she took the seat beside Neville and cheered with just a bit less enthusiasm than she typically would. Gryffindor won, unsurprisingly. Hermione decided that she needed to have a word with her beloved friends.

She made her way to the changing room. "I want a word with you, Harry. You shouldn't have done it. You heard Slughorn, it's illegal."

"What are you going to do, turn us in?" Ron challenged, knowing full well she wouldn't.

Harry feigned innocence. "What are you two talking about?"

"You know perfectly well what we're talking about! You spiked Ron's juice with lucky potion at breakfast!" Did he think she was daft?

"No, I didn't," Harry denied with a smile on his face. He then explained that he didn't actually pour anything into Ron's drink, but hoped Ron would believe it.

Ron was overjoyed at hearing the news. "See! I can save goals without help, Hermione!"

"I never said you couldn't — Ron you thought you'd been given it too!"

Ron simply walked away. She couldn't believe him! She'd never implied that he couldn't do it himself. She knew very well that he was a good Quidditch player. Hermione couldn't believe that after all this time he doubted the faith she had in him.

Fighting back tears, she excused herself from Harry's presence. She needed a moment to herself before heading back to the common room.

She ran.

It was bad enough that when she finally managed to pull herself together and head to the party in the Gryffindor common room, she found Ron and Lavender Brown trying to eat each other's faces. Then the stupid git had to enter the classroom she was using as a refuge. After turning her magical birds on Ron, she ran past him. She didn't want to see Ron. She didn't want to hear Harry's consoling words. She just wanted to get away.

Once she was sure neither boy was following her, she slowed to a trot then began to walk.

With everything she had been focusing on previously, Hermione's feelings for Ron had been put on the backburner, but this little incident had brought them back to the forefront of her mind. These feelings had been developing since their first year. There was just something about him. At first, she was completely put-off by him, but after spending time with him, she realized Ron had a certain charm about him. She had been fairly certain Ron had feelings for her as well. Whether or not he admitted it, Ron had been jealous of her brief relationship with Viktor Krum. Which, by the way, he handled with complete grace and maturity. He completely spoilt the Yule Ball for her. And he seemed rather flustered when she said she had been planning to invite him to Slughorn's Christmas party. Of course, he had been acting like a prat so she hadn't actually invited him.

Now he didn't need her invitation. He found someone else with whom he could spend his time while she, Ginny, and Harry were at Slughorn's party.

A sob caught in her throat and it was only then that she realized she had been crying. She wondered when that happened.

She stopped walking and took a moment to collect herself.

She needed to get away.

After a moment of deliberation, she decided that she wouldn't decide where to go. She would let the destination come to her. With that in mind, she made her way to the hallway where she knew the Room of Requirement was located.

Pacing thrice, the door finally appeared to her. She took a deep breath, ready to discover the sanctuary the Room of Requirement would provide for her.

Stepping in, Hermione found a very messy room. She snickered. She felt like a wreck, so the disorganized room seemed befitting. She took another step forward, looking around in wonder. There were just so many things. She made a mental note to come back and explore. For now, all she wanted to do was find a place where she could rest and collect herself.

She followed the path of objects leading her into the room. When the trail ended, she gazed around trying to decide where to go. Out of the corner of her eye she saw an old abandoned chair and decided it would suffice for now.

Hermione was surprised to find it was actually very comfortable despite the slightly frayed fabric. She silently thanked the Room of Requirement for providing her with it, then thanked her eyes for spotting it. It had been lucky she hadn't overlooked it.

She curled up into a ball and laid her head back against the plush back. Staring up at the high ceiling, she felt the tears start to prick at the back of her eyes again.

She spent years loving Ron. Yes, she loved him. She loved his simple nature. She loved his sense of humor. She loved it when he would ask for her help on his assignments. She loved how his face would light up when he accomplished something. She loved how loyal he was to Harry. She loved the effect he had on her.

But now she hated how she was feeling. It wasn't just rejection. It was betrayal. There had been moments where he clearly indicated that he felt the same as she. Instead of acting upon those feelings, he went and snogged some girl whom he had never even paid attention to before this year.

Why?

Because Lavender was there? Because Lavender had been willing? Because neither Hermione nor he had been willing to make a real move?

That thought drove her mad. Did she miss out on him because she had been preoccupied with her sense of impending doom?

But she had mentioned her plans to invite him to Slughorn's Christmas party. Though it hadn't been a formal invitation, it clearly indicated that her feelings for him still existed.

The only answer was that he no longer cared.

Maybe she had always been an option to him because she had always been there. She thought back to their fourth year and when he asked her to go to the Yule Ball. Maybe she had always just been a backup plan for him.

That broke her heart.

A strangled sob escaped and she struggled to catch her breath again.

She loved someone who loved the idea of her as a possibility. She was never his first choice.

Hearing footsteps from somewhere else in the room, the despairing witch quickly quieted her sobs and wiped the tears from her eyes. The footsteps were approaching her now. She debated whether to get up and confront whoever was in there with her or to let the individual find her. After a moment's deliberation, Hermione decided she didn't care enough to go looking.

The person finally came into view and Hermione groaned upon seeing the platinum blonde standing not ten meters from her.

"Perfect, this is exactly what I needed," she grumbled to herself, throwing her head back.

She wasn't in the mood to spar with Malfoy. She also wasn't in the mood for a staring contest. Instead, she just decided to keep her stare turned up to the ceiling and she would just wait for him to leave.

Apparently realizing that she wasn't going to initiate the conversation, the Slytherin decided to ask her a question. "What're you doing here, Granger?"

She let out a hollow laugh. It was just her luck that Draco Malfoy would find her in such a vulnerable state.

"Crying." No point in lying. She was sure she looked a mess by now anyway.

"Why?"

Why? What did it matter to him? He should be jumping for joy. "Because I've just realized how daft I am."

She heard him move closer to her. She considered looking up to give him a dark look but she couldn't bring herself to do so. He hadn't done anything to deserve that.

"And what exactly brought about this great epiphany?"

He couldn't be serious. Why was he still talking to her? Why hadn't he just ended the conversation with a "Took you this long to realize that? You really are a daft Mudblood."

"I just realized that the boy I have spent years pining after sees me as nothing more than a last resort." There wasn't any point in trying to hide it. She was sure all of Gryffindor would be talking about what had transpired at the moment. It was only a matter of time before the news spread to the rest of the school. She grimaced just thinking about all the pitying looks she would be receiving.

"I've told you already, Granger, Weasley's a git." It was then that she noticed his tone had been calm while he was questioning her. Now it was harsh.

Looking up she shot him a wary look. Of course even Malfoy knew she was in love with Ron. "Yes, I know. Ron's a git, Harry's a prat, and I'm a Mudblood. Thank you for reminding me of your opinion of us, Malfoy. I'll be sure to remember that for the rest of my life."

"That's not what I meant, Granger. Fourth year I told you specifically that Weasley was a git and that he always would be."

Now she remembered that moment. It was at the end of the ball. She had just ordered Harry and Ron to get to bed and then promptly dissolved into a sobbing mess on the staircase. She had tried to forget about that since she had never really made sense of why he said that. Or why he complimented her. Well, as close to a compliment as Draco Malfoy would ever give her.

"So you did." She decided not to bring up the fact that he had paid her a compliment. "So Malfoy, what are you doing here? Come to wallow as well?"

The boy waited a moment before answering, "I just needed to get away."

Another question came to mind. "Why weren't you at the match today? You obviously aren't sick."

"That's really none of your concern, Granger," he said sharply.

"Fine," she snapped back. It wasn't like she cared about the stupid game anyway.

"Like I said, I just wanted to get away," he added calmly.

She nodded. "Well I suppose you were here before I was. You were coming from the opposite direction of the entrance. I'll let you be."

His voice stopped her before she could move off of her chair. "You stay. I've been in here all day."

"Really Malfoy, I don't mind."

"Really Granger, I was just about to leave."

The Gryffindor nodded. "Goodbye, Malfoy."

She watched him walk away and sunk back into her chair once she was sure he left the room.

She wasn't quite sure what had just happened. Once again, there were no insults. None directed toward her at least. There wasn't even much hostility.

What luck it was that she would find a sanctuary that was hosting someone who had despised her since they met.

What luck it was that he decided not to be a total prick to her in her vulnerable state.

Still, it was strange. This was the third conversation she had with Draco Malfoy (if you could call the previous two "conversations") and he hadn't made a single jab at her.

She had anticipated that this year would bring about great changes. Was her relationship with Malfoy one of those?

There already seemed to be a shift in their dynamic. Maybe with some luck it would stay like this and she could cross him off of her list of concerns.

A/N: Sorry guys, I had a really busy day so I didn't get to work on this as early as I had anticipated. But here it is! The first time he's said more than five words to her this year! And he will continue to be more chatty from now on!

Now I am extremely tired and I have work tomorrow. Goodnight, all! I love you dearly!