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Chapter 12
N
Hermione
2nd of October 1998
Malfoy is slowly starting to occupy all of my thoughts.
Being around him feels dangerous and addicting.
The way he 'punished' and 'rewarded' me in the Restricted Section will forever be etched into my brain.
I've never had someone make me come with their fingers and then taste me off them.
That sight alone could undo me again.
But for how intense our sexual tension is, I feel as though he's also finding a way to my heart.
The way that he looked at me when he said he'd help me with the textbook was something of…
Devotion?
I don't know exactly what I'm feeling for Malfoy, but I do enjoy how he's making me feel.
I want to say that this euphoric high that he gives me might not be just that, it could be more.
The thought terrifies me and also….
Inspires me.
7th of October 1998
The next few days pass in delirious bliss. Both Draco and Hermione have used Mini Crookshanks to find each other in dark corners for small rendezvous. Chasing the high of almost getting caught with one another by other students. They still have yet to recreate the night of the dock.
"Who are you staring at?" Ginny asks Hermione.
Hermione realizes that she's sitting in the Great Hall, eating breakfast with Ginny. She's slightly embarrassed that she got caught for staring at Draco who's also staring at her. She looks at Ginny who's sitting across from her and glances again over at the Slytherin table, trying to focus on her meal.
Ginny turns her head to look over the Slytherin table then back to Hermione, her expression displaying playful confusion, "Are you looking at Pansy? Missing her lips?" Bouncing her eyebrows. "Or her tongue?" Her pitch rises at the last part.
Hermione rolls her eyes and shakes her head, "No. I'm not," as she takes a bite of her food.
"I did notice that you two have been getting closer. Maybe Quidditch is making her less of a twat," Ginny says, nodding in Pansy's direction. "I will say, that girl has more talent than all the players here combined." Ginny shakes her head in amazed disbelief.
Hermione raises her brows. "Are you in love?" She teases Ginny.
Ginny smirks. "If she is turning out to be less of a twat, then I might have to break it off with Harry."
Hermione laughs at the thought of Ginny and Pansy shacking up.
"We all know I'm only with him for his quidditch game. So, I guess it's fitting that I leave him the year he's not here and someone else displays better talent." She chuckles to herself.
Hermione laughs a little louder at this, trying not to choke on her food.
She swallows before speaking. "You know she's actually gotten in touch with the Harpies and is donating her time to them for her community service hours."
"I'm sorry. The Harpies?!" Ginny balks at her.
Hermione nods her head yes, taking another bite.
"I might just become friends just to get my foot in the door," Ginny chuckles.
Hermione gives her a disapproving look, "So use Pans for your own benefit?"
Ginny smirks, "For reconciliation efforts, of course," she winks at Hermione. "But mainly for quidditch."
Hermione rolls her eyes at her redheaded friend.
Ginny raises her glass to Hermione, "For quidditch."
Hermione shakes her head and raises her glass. "For Quidditch," and clinks Ginny's glass.
Hermione keeps her glass up, giving Ginny a pointed look, "But also for second chances."
Ginny gives her a scrunched playful smile. "To second chances," Ginny says, reluctantly nodding her head, clinking glasses again.
"But speaking of Harry, are you coming with me to the Three Broomsticks later?" she asks Ginny.
Harry sent her an owl asking her to meet at the Three Broomsticks, he wanted to catch up. She wished he would just come to hangout in the Gryffindor common room, but she knew he wouldn't. Hermione was excited to see Harry though, she missed him. Ginny nods as she's chewing, finishing the last of her breakfast.
"But speaking of second chances," Ginny says to Hermione, keeping eye contact with her as she turns her body, "Hey, Parkinson!"
Oh, God. What is she doing?
Pansy, who looks cozy next to Theo, stops talking to find who just yelled her name. She spots Ginny and narrows her eyes. Ginny makes eye contact with Pans and smirks, Pansy tries to hide her own smirk. Ginny gestures for her to come over with a single head nod, Pansy looks to Hermione for confirmation. Hermione smiles genuinely and hurries her with her hand. Pansy gives her short goodbyes to the boys. Hermione catches Malfoy's eyes as his friend makes her way over to the Gryffindor table. He tilts his head, his silver eyes locked on hers and gives her that irresistible smirk . . . Hermione inhales deeply and looks away, trying to kill the butterflies violently bouncing around in her stomach.
Pansy sits next to Hermione, bumping her shoulder once fully seated. "Heard you like to be called Weasletits," Pansy teases, jutting her chin at Ginny.
Hermione smacks the back of Pansy's head. She chuckles at her own joke, rubbing the back of her head.
"I can't say that the name isn't funny," Ginny says, then turns to glare at Malfoy who gives her a disgusted look. Ginny flips him off and he returns the same gesture, kissing his middle finger for good measure. She chuckles and turns back to the girls.
"I also wanted to extend a friendship of sorts. I'm a jealous girl," Ginny says to Pansy.
Pansy looks at Hermione confused and then back to Ginny.
"The Harpies. I heard your community service hours are spent with them."
"Oh! Yeah! They're all bat shit crazy. I love it!" Pansy informs while laughing.
Pansy and Ginny get caught in a back-and-forth banter about players that they love. Pansy tells Ginny about their personality traits and funny things the girls on the team say. Then they talk more about Quidditch. Pansy and Ginny go on about strategies and their idiot boy teammates. Pansy winks at Hermione when she complains about a certain blonde Slytherin quidditch player. Seeing how she's not contributing to their conversation and wanting to kill those butterflies who seem to still be alive, she excuses herself from them. She heads to the library, but before she leaves the Great Hall, she remembers that Malfoy tagged her. Hermione pulls out her wand and casts the pinching jinx at Pansy.
As she exits, she hears Pansy shout in pain before she yells, "I will get you back, Granger!"
Game on.
Hermione hurries to the library, keeping a look out for Pansy. Since she used Malfoy to tag her, she's not sure who else could be the enemy. She scans books that could potentially have information about ancient elven life, trying to find her sources so she can change the text she came across the other day. She engorosses herself in this new project.
"Hey."
Hermione screams from shock. She was so focused on the book she didn't notice Malfoy standing in front of her.
I should pay more attention. Pansy could also sneak up on me.
She looks around for her black-haired friend.
Malfoy snickers. "She's not here. Weasletits and her are still in the Great Hall talking."
Hermoine gives him a pointed look while she exhales, trying to calm her heart rate.
"What are you doing?" He asks with his stupid flirtatious grin.
"Collecting my evidence," she responds.
He smirks at her and shakes his head. "It's a Sunday Granger, you should be having fun."
She takes the bait and gives him her full attention. She closes her book and looks up at him.
"And do you have something in mind?" she asks cautiously.
His eyes darken and places his hands flat on the table in front of her, displaying his forearms from his rolled-up sleeves; his Death Eater Mark poking out from his sleeve. Her heart rate elevates again along with the resurrection of those blasted butterflies from earlier.
"I can think of something," his voice is low, yet dripping with temptation.
She tries to come up with an excuse, "I don't see any dark corners for us to hide in."
He looks her up and down with that same dangerous temptation his voice held. "You inspire the right motivation, Granger. I can find it for us."
Before she can give into lustful thoughts of Malfoy, a sharp pinch hits her arm along the sound of the zip of it dying as it hits her.
"Ow!" She clutches her arm, frantically looking for Pansy.
Ginny stands at the far end of the table with her wand in her hand, smiling mischievously at Hermione.
"Oh, now you're playing?" Hermione scoffs.
Pansy reveals herself from behind Ginny wearing the matching smile to Ginny. "The more players the better," Pansy says, raising her brows.
Hermione stands to cast the jinx to Pansy again but stops and physically pinches Draco before she runs out of the library. The girls squeal their approval of another player as they all flee Malfoy's wrath.
"This game's not fair! I don't have my wand," he shouts out to them.
"Stop complaining, Ferret!" Ginny yells as she exits the library.
Draco chases the girls down the hall and into the open space of the Transfiguration Courtyard. They all shriek as he nears them before turning abruptly out of the way of his pinch. The girls remain close to one another on the far side of the courtyard, away from Malfoy. They each try to catch their breath, keeping their eye on their predator. He stops to glare at the girls then looks to his surroundings. Draco glances at the girls again to then disappear behind a stone wall.
"Ahh! Where'd he go?" Ginny squeals.
"He doesn't have his wand, we're fine," Pansy assures her.
Dean comes from the wall Draco just vanished behind and casts a Pinching Jinx in the direction of the girls. They all scream and run in opposite directions. Dean casts the spell again and it hits Ginny; she shrieks as it hits her. Ginny turns to find a victim of her own, eyeing Hermione. Hermione's eyes grow wide and flees to shield herself behind the stone wall Draco concealed himself with.
She spots Malfoy with his hands in his pockets, smirking at her. "The more players the better, right?"
Ginny reveals herself from the other side of the stone wall, behind Malfoy, where he's not facing her. Hermione and Ginny share cheeky grins before Ginny casts the Pinching Jinx at him. He arches his back and yelps as it stings him. The girls laugh maniacally and bolt to the inner part of the courtyard.
"Who are you going to pinch now, Malfoy?" Dean calls out to him, standing next to Pansy.
Malfoy stares daggers at Dean.
Hermione casts a patronus and sends it to Theo, telling him and Blaise to come to the Transfiguration Courtyard.
The more players the better.
They all take pity on Malfoy and inch closer to him, knowing that he doesn't have to wand and has to physically pinch people. To his dismay, they all tease him with their own cat and mouse game.
"I fucking hate this game," Malfoy says to himself but loud enough to echo through the hallway.
Theo's laugh is heard before he's seen from down the hall. Another villainous smile crosses Malfoy's lips before he darts to Theo. Again, Theo's heard yelling "Ow," before he's seen. But to everyone's surprise Theo brought several students with him. Blaise, Alaric, Padma, Luna, Seamus, and Zacharias.
Oh, God. This game just got a lot bigger.
Theo pinches Blaise for him to then pinch Alaric who then pinches Seamus for him to pinch Luna who then pinches Padma. This cycle continues for another round, their movements becoming a blur.
"HEY!" Pansy yells at the pinching bunch, "Use your Merlin-forsaken wands!"
Malfoy scowls at Pansy for her suggestion.
Within the mess of their own pinching game, it's hard to tell who's It. A Pinching Jinx is cast from someone in the group and gets Pansy on the leg.
Dean runs as far away from Pansy as he can, while Pansy looks for another victim. With there being more bodies added, it moves the game along faster. Pinching Jinxes flying around the courtyard and the hallways, several other students have decided to watch them play. Shrieks, screams and squeals are all echoed off the stones of the castle, the sound of fun bouncing around. Alaric and Padma chose to go wandless along with Malfoy. Hermione's heart swells knowing that other students are willing to join in the fun with the Slytherin gang.
But the game shifts when Alaric pinches Pansy, hard. He darts towards the Central Hall fleeing from Pansy's wrath. She chases after him, leaving the rest of the players behind. Everyone looks at one another and then follows after the pair. They make their way through the halls watching Pansy cast her jinxes at Alaric for them to hit walls and barely miss him, he baits her with each missed spell. Hermione knows that this is only going to fuel Pansy's anger. She hears the rest of the Slytherin gang laugh as they're all watching Pansy seeking revenge from the American's act of war. They get to the Viaduct Entrance where it's more spacious than the hallways, but still constricted by the walls of the castle. Everyone intensely observes Pansy and Alaric dance around each other; circling her prey. However, Pansy does something unexpected and casts a jinx directly at Dean's face. All the boys laugh while the girls shriek and flee their previous observation posts.
"Pansy, I'm going to murder you," he threatens in a playful angry voice.
She squeals and darts towards the Viaduct Bridge. Hermione and Ginny follow after her, in hopes to protect Pansy. The girls scream and shriek as the jinxes hit the walls of the bridge around them, scarcely evading the sting of the spell. Right when they're about to enter the Viaduct Courtyard, Dean's jinx strikes Hermione in the back of the head. She yelps and she rubs to alleviate the sting of the jinx. Ginny and Pansy screech as they clutch on to one another sprinting from Hermione. She takes in the smiling faces of all the bodies that pour into the courtyard.
So many people to choose from.
She narrows her eyes at her victim and casts her Pinching Jinx, hitting Draco in the shoulder.
He hollers with laughter and rushes towards her, "I'm going to get you back, Granger!"
They play their cat and mouse game. Squeals and shrieks are echoing around the courtyard. Malfoy decides to pinch an unsuspecting first year, teaching them the spell and letting them practice the jinx on him twice.
That's adorable.
Then he points to Hermione.
Her eyes go wide as she dodges the spell at the last second and falls to the ground.
Nevermind!
Pansy and Ginny run to her aide, pulling her up to escape the first year. The bell from the Bell Towers is heard from the other side of the castle, indicating it's 10 o'clock and she's to meet Harry in an hour. Malfoy gestured for the small group of first years that the other came from to join. Ginny and Hermione give each other empathic smiles while Pansy just smirks and shakes her head at Malfoy.
This game is going to get out of control.
The fun continues, shrieks, laughs, howls, screams all throughout the castle. With the amount of people who've joined and the fact that the game has now added an element of hide and seek, it's become nearly impossible to keep track of who is It. Blaise found Mini Crookshanks to use as a warning bell before the jinx is cast your way. No rules have been established on boundaries, but an impression of good faith is had, hoping no one will hide in common rooms where others can't enter. Pansy and Ginny have formed an egregious alliance, enacting their revenge on anyone who goes after them. Alaric catches Hermione's attention as she lurks behind a wall. She tries to remain out of sight while she watches him cast the jinx without his wand and tracks Blaise's precise movements.
He can do wandless magic? The fact that Alaric could have the jinx track him so precisely is beyond impressive.
Blaise groans as he's struck by the jinx, he searchers around to see if anyone else saw what just happened. Blaise's eyes lock on Hermione's, she nods in acknowledgment of Alaric's wandless magic. Her attention is then sucked into the presence of someone behind her, she doesn't need to look to see who it is. She knows it's Draco. Blaise casts the Pinching Jinx at her, but Draco pulls her out of the way.
She feels his hot breath and his body press against her back. "Want to form an alliance, Granger?"
The seduction in his voice has her wanting to do something else entirely. She doesn't give into her dirty thoughts but does want to lean into the temptation of dancing along the line. She scouts the area so there are no witnesses, pressing further into him.
"Only if you use my first name," she teases standing on her toes, grazing her face gently against his.
The outline of his growing erection is felt, and she revels in the thought of his reaction to her. She flees from his touch, facing him making sure she's out of his reach. They stare at one another with slow deep breaths, the sensation of galaxies forming occurs. She could stay in this moment forever.
He narrows his eyes giving her his signature sinister smile, "Will you join the dark side, Hermione?"
She mirrors his smile and extends her hand out for him to take. His smile grows as he takes her hand, running away from Blaise or whoever else could be waging war against them. Fingers interlocked, they dash to the library to hide, they spot Luna, Dean and a few third years who Hermione doesn't know, are also taking refuge behind bookshelves. The whizzing of the Pinching Jinx and squeals outside the library giving the refugees a chance to either escape or remain at their post. Everyone stays motionless, listening for any indication of the jinx heading their way.
Nothing.
The silence filling the air is almost comforting.
Until the clacking sound of small porcelain paws strutting into the library has everyone on edge. Wide eyed stares are shared from Dean and the third years, Luna however, is unbelievably calm.
Of course she's calm!
Hermione squeezes Malfoy's hand to minimize her nerves. She looks to him as he squeezes her hand back to comfort her.
"Gotcha!" Pansy's voice is loud out of Mini Crookshanks now directly in front of Hermione.
Hermione squeals and Malfoy flees with her in hand, out of their hiding spot. However, Hermione runs into the brick wall that is Malfoy's body.
"Draco Lucius Malfoy, hand Hermione over," Pansy says in a shrill evil voice.
The remaining refugees take this as their opportunity to scurry out of the library.
"No, I will not, Pansy Persephone Parkinson." Draco says, narrowing his eyes at Pansy
Her middle name in Persephone? I kind of like that.
"Then you too shall feel the pain of the Pinching Jinx!" She yells at him.
Ginny comes out from behind Pansy and they both cast a jinx at them. Draco and Hermione dive behind the center table to dodge the jinx. The sight of Ginny reminds Hermione of where she's supposed to be at 11.
Oh no! Harry!
"What time is it?" she asks Draco.
He pulls his brows together in confusion.
She asks again, more rushed for him to answer, "10:42," after finding his pocket watch quickly.
Hermione shoots up on her feet. "Truce!" she yells quickly, holding her hands up. "Gin, you said you were going to go with me to see Harry!"
Pansy was about to cast another jinx, but Ginny stopped her. "Truce, Pans."
Pansy gives Ginny an annoyed look before crossing her arms, "I still plan on playing. Actually, I'll go with you guys!"
Ginny and Pans link arms, then turn to exit. Hermione goes to follow them, but Draco grabs her wrist. She turns to look at him.
"You're going to be with Potter, but I want you thinking of me," he says, pulling her close with one hand and cupping her face with the other.
He gives her a long, tender, lingering kiss she's sure she'll be reliving for the rest of her life. He slowly pulls them apart and swats her on the butt to send Hermione on her way. She giggles while lightly touching her lips, holding on to the tingle of hope that was gifted to her. The hope of betterment; better days to come, better friendships to be had, better love to be shared . . .
* . * . *
Hermione deflects the pinching jinx Ginny sent her way.
"Hey! I'm going in to see your boyfriend! How about you lay off and come in with me, yeah?" She yells, laughing at Pansy and Ginny linking arms.
How on Earth did this friendship blossom so fast?
She thinks back to her birthday night in the Slytherin common room when Theo said, "This is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship." And she believes it. This is a start to a beautiful friendship, but not just with herself and the Slytherin gang. Everyone. They are all slowly forming the bonds of friendship. One Pinching Jinx at a time.
Pansy and Ginny look at one another and share an evil smile.
Oh, God, I've got to get out of here.
Hermione screams as she goes to take refuge behind the door of The Three Broomsticks, holding the door as a shield. When she doesn't hear the giggles from sadistic girls or the zip of the jinx hitting an object, she checks the leery silence. She spots the pair hiding across the street, targeting an unsuspecting Neville, who's walking straight to them.
Poor Neville.
Without Mini Crookshanks to properly warn him, they pop up and Ginny casts the Pinching Jinx at him, hitting him on the chest. Neville yelps and the girls laugh maniacally at the reaction they've caused. Hermione shakes her head and turns to close the door behind her as she fully enters The Three Broomsticks. Smiling as she notices Harry, hurrying over to greet him. She slams into Harry as he gets up from his chair to hug her, almost knocking him out of breath.
"Geez, Hermione, it's only been a month."
She pulls back and smacks at him playfully. He scrunches his face teasingly and rubs his unhurt arm. They both sit down and a woman hands Hermione a butterbeer.
"I ordered you one before you hid behind the door," he looks at her questionably.
She laughs at the irony of playing a game with Pansy, Ginny now forming a ghastly alliance with her, the game from earlier all over Hogwarts. Hermione holds her stomach; her muscles are hurting from all the laughter from today.
"You seem to be in a good mood," Harry chuckles over her laughter.
She nods her head, trying to level her laughter. "I am. Today's been a fun day."
"It's only 11?" Harry questions her.
"Sorry, good morning," she corrects, smiling while rolling her eyes.
She takes a drink of the butterbeer Harry purchased for her. He gestures for her to wipe her foam mustache, but she shakes her head, "I'll keep it."
Harry chuckles at her, "I wanted to talk to you about the Malfoy thing."
Hermione's heart rate skyrockets while her stomach plummets.
Oh, God. Does he know?
She plays it cool and keeps her facial features smiling as before.
"McGonagall told me about you and Malfoy going to a hospital for community service."
Hermione internally sighs in relief, taking another sip of her drink to calm her nerves.
"Yeah, it was unexpected of him to ask me, but it was a really kind gesture," she nods her head at Harry.
He narrows his eyes and chews on his lip, giving her an unsure expression. She tilts her head, searching his face.
"Theodore tags along too," Hermione adds.
"Nott?" Harry asks.
She nods her head smiling at the thought of her theatrical friend.
"I don't think I need to be the one to tell you to be careful, right?" Giving Hermione a pointed look.
"You're not wrong for thinking that, but you don't know what I know, Harry."
He nods his head looking at her thoughtfully, "The grieving groups?"
Hermione answers his question with a simple head nod.
"I didn't think they would be so popular when I mentioned the ide-"
"That was you?!" Hermione interrupts him.
Harry nods his head yes.
"But you're not even here to do the thing you suggested," she looks at Harry, pulling her brows together.
"No, I thought it would be a good idea for others to have some type of safe space to unpack the war," he exhales.
She nods her head thoughtfully at his explanation, thinking back to the session where all of them shared the bitter things they've been holding on to due to the horrors of the war. Then remembers a certain redhead who won't be sharing his burdens.
"Ron refuses to go, apparently," Hermoine says, slightly shaking her head in disapproval.
"No, his idea of coping is popping back to the Burrow on weekends and getting pissed with me. The first two weekends were fun, now it's just getting sad." Harry states.
Hermione shrugs her shoulders while exhaling, unsure of a way to help her friend.
"But I guess he's also still grieving," Harry says, gesturing to Hermione.
"Grieving? He's dating Parvati?" She scrunches her face in both disgust and confusion.
Harry gives her another pointed look.
Hermione rolls her eyes and exhales her annoyance, "Just try to convince him to go. They could really help him. They've helped us a lot."
"And by 'us' do you mean, you and Gin, or you and that Slytherin gang?" he asks knowingly.
"It's helped Gin I'm sure, but I don't know how to explain it. We've..." she searches for the right words. "We've bonded through sharing all our trauma. I've found an unlikely friendship with our literal school bullies. This war has changed them, changed all of us, really. We're not the same people we were," she says to Harry, hoping he'll understand.
"Do you trust them?" he asks genuinely.
Her expression softens, a bright smile on her lips as she takes a deep breath. "I truly think they're well on their way to earning some form of redemption."
*Bang*
The door slams open, a giddy yet frantic Pansy searches the place to run over to Hermione.
Pansy grabbing her arm. "Come on Granger, we HAVE to leave!" she says in squealed excitement.
Harry and Hermione share a quick confused glance.
Pansy quickly waves at Harry. "Hi Potter, your girlfriend's trying to murder me, and I need to get this one to save me," she says frantically giggling, pulling Hermione out of the chair.
"But I thought you two teamed up?" Hermione asks cautiously.
*BANG*
The door slams open louder, and everyone in the Three Broomsticks look over to find Ginny standing in the doorway scouring the room to then death glare at Pansy.
Pansy squeals again, hiding behind Hermione, "I betrayed her. Now she's after me! She's mean when she's mad!"
"Oh yeah, by the look of her face, she's pissed." Harry chuckles at the sight before him.
"What kind of flowers would you like at your funeral? Probably won't get them, but nice to know," he baits.
Pansy offers a lazy glare at Harry from behind Hermione, "Calla Lilies, Potter."
"Hey Gin, I'm gonna pop over to the flower shop to get you some Calla Lilies," he shouts over to her.
"I'm going to come back as a ghost just to haunt you!" Pansy playfully yells at him.
* . * . * . . . * . * . *
7th of October 1998
I love spending time with Olivia, Warren, Emerson and Onyx. I know I barely know them, but they truly do feel like a family to me. They're so kind and wholesome. The boys are rambunctious and mischievous. Warren and Olivia are in for it when the boys become teenagers. I can guarantee they're going to get into a lot of trouble.
I asked Draco if we could remain with them for the entirety of our community service and he agreed. I do feel guilty for not trying to spend time with others in the wing, but I can't part with them just yet.
I knew it was a matter of time before one of our friends caught Draco and I, but I'm not sure Theo would have been the ideal one to catch us. We shouldn't have snuck off at the hospital anyways. I just hope Theo won't say anything to anyone else. We need to do better at hiding. I would say this would be a good place to stop what we're doing, but I'm not ready to give him up either.
He's changing. They're all changing. Not everyone sees it yet, but I do.
I'm liking the man Draco's turning into.
18th October 1998
Mini Crookshanks finds its way into Hermione and Ginny's room. Hermione looks over at Ginny who's sleeping soundly.
"Granger, meet us at the dock!" Draco's voice is a shouted whisper.
The dock? Is he wanting to- Wait he said 'US.'
She looks over at her clock on their bookshelf, 11:52.
The midnight swimming theme continues.
* . * . *
She finds all of them sitting on the edge of the dock, all facing away from her.
She points her wand to her feet, "Silencio."
Walking freely without sound down the dock, she slowly strips herself bare. The chill of the night nipping at her skin. Placing her clothes to the side, she ends the silencio spell, and runs full speed to jump over their heads into the lake. She tucks in her body and holds her breath, letting her weight pull her deeper into the cold frigid waters. She swims to the surface to inhale much needed oxygen. Through the cascading lake water, she sees all of them laughing and shaking their heads at her. Except Draco. His gray eyes have a familiar glimmer and his smile contains a level of mischief she's dying to unveil. Her eyes are locked on Malfoy's, begging him to enter, bare just as she is. His sinister smile telling her that he's giving in to her soundless plea. He stands and strips to dive into the water. She feels Draco glide his hands up her body before he breaches the surface. They share a knowing look before turning to the others.
"Are you going to join us or just keep staring?" Draco baits them looking back at Hermione.
"Is it cold?" Theo's voice is heard.
"You'll get used to it," Hermione answers him, her eyes never leaving Draco's.
The repeating phrases of the night of their most intimate rendezvous is a high of its own. Speaking publicly of their shared attraction for only them to understand the meaning of their words.
One by one the other three strip to their birthday suit and dive into the water.
Pansy's head is the last to breach the surface, immediately bitching about the cold.
"Granger! It's. Fucking. Freezing," she says in between chatter teeth. "I'm about to drag you out of this lake and beat you like I should have!"
A splashing fight breaks out and there are no alliances for this short game. They swim around for a few minutes before Hermione heads back towards the dock. She doesn't leave the water though, she just clutches onto the wooden dock, enjoying the waving water and twinkling night sky above. The others slowly join her.
"Why were you in a foul mood that day anyway?" Hermione asks Pansy when she finally joins the rest of them.
Pansy scoffs and rolls her eyes. "Alaric wanted to be in a formal and public relationship," Pans says in disgust, swimming away as if to get away from the conversation.
"You're mad that Alaric wanted to be with you?" Hermione asks with surprise, turning to give her a questionable look.
"No." Pansy says dully, swimming back over, hanging onto the dock. "I was irritated because he didn't want to continue having sex unless we were. Best sex I've ever had." Then she quickly and dismissively adds, "Sorry, Draco."
Draco winces in playful disgust and quickly glances at Hermione. "No. No, stop." Laughing and shaking his head.
Hermione also winces, picturing the two of them being intimate puts a bitter taste in her mouth. She does, however, want to talk freely amongst her friends, so she leans into the mentioning of past partners.
"I'm not sure if you guys knew, probably didn't," she says, bobbing along with the small waves of the water, "but Ron and I, we kind of had a back-and-forth situation for a little while during school. We didn't start dating until I guess the day of the battle."
She glances at Draco to then look down at the reflecting night sky in the water.
"If I'm honest, I wish we would have never dated. I love Ron, but not in the end-all-be-all type of love that I thought I was feeling. I feel like we were in a high stakes situation and clung onto one another because the tension built up and we were comfortable with each other. Then the aftermath of everything between us felt . . . tainted. Everything was always about him, nothing could ever be about me, because for most of our friendship everything was about me. How I was a better witch, the more practical one. How I was always the one to clean up messes and figure things out. And I felt like I was expected to do this without complaint. But when we were dating, our friendship seemed to fade. It felt more of a sexual situation than an actual relationship."
"Oh, so what you're looking for is a deep, meaningful, healthy relationship," Pansy emphasizes the healthy part, her head turning to Draco.
He looks at Pansy to then roll his eyes and swim backwards, as if to get away from the conversation. No one pays mind to the brief interaction, but Hermione catches it.
Does she know? The way she looked at Draco, does she know something I don't?
"How pathetic!" she adds teasingly. The boys snicker at her comment, Hermione smirks, but doesn't laugh.
"I just wish I could get back or at least feel somewhat normal again. I do want my friendship back with Harry and Ron, but on new terms. Like I said, growing up here, I was the one to do everything. Being from a non-magical background and throwing myself into all of this, I felt like I had to perform. I had to know everything. Had to continuously prove myself. Had to always look out for them."
The gang looks at her thoughtfully as she pours her heart out to them.
"When Ron left during our Horcrux hunt, I was beside myself. I didn't even talk to Harry for weeks and we were never apart. Looking back on it though, if I were the one to have left the hunt? Unfathomable. To leave? Abandon them like that? No doubt I'd be labeled as some selfish coldhearted witch. How dare I even remotely look out for myself."
Pansy swims closer to Hermione to rest her head on Hermione's shoulder. Hermione rests her head on Pansy's head, appreciating the small comfort she's gifted her.
"I felt like I always had to clean up after them and do it without complaint. I mean I obliviated my fucking parents for the sake of The Order. So, yeah, let's just skim over the fact that I no longer have my parents nor have a home to go back to. Who cares about me, right?" Hermione shakes her head in disbelief. "I'm just a part of the very group that Voldemort wanted."
"Don't forget, running around with literally the most wanted person in the Wizarding World." Blaise chimes in, sympathy within his eyes.
"Yes, thank you!" Gesturing to Blaise. "It wasn't fair, but I did it anyway. I did it for everyone else because doing something for myself has never been in my first nature."
Hermione exhales looking at her friends. They're all gazing at her with sympathetic looks.
"And I'm terrified for when school ends. I know I should be thinking about my future, but it's hard when you realize you don't have a home to go and start your future. I'm looking down this long road ahead of me, but I don't even know which step to take first. This is probably the first time in my life where I don't know what to do." She says looking back down at the lake, the rippling waves mirroring the twinkling stars of the night.
The group doesn't say a word, but the sound of waves from the water fills the silence.
"You can stay with me, Hermione," Pansy offers softly.
Everyone turns to look at Pansy who's staring at Hermione thoughtfully.
"All his debts are paid off and my father left everything in my name. I didn't realize that until after I killed him."
Everyone's eyes widen.
Pansy releases a long-pained sigh. "We got into a nasty fight. I told him I was done, and his solution was to have me practically recruiting other girls for him. I would have rather continued than have other girls have to endure all that. But when he started choking me, I didn't really have a lot of options. It's frightening to think about fighting for something as basic as breathing. So, I scratched and clawed at him. Nothing. And then I frantically grabbed my wand and shoved it all the way through his eye socket. Couldn't really cast a spell when I couldn't speak."
Pansy inhales to exhale loudly.
"I don't know how to feel about the whole thing. He made me sleep with all those men," she winces, forcing her eyes shut to banish the memories.
"But he left everything to me. He created a vault in my name and put the remaining galleons I made him in there. I have more money than I know what to do with. I guess in his fucked-up guilt-ridden way he looked after me, because if I don't want to work for the rest of my life I don't have to. I'm set up in a way that I never could have imagined. Mum was furious when she found out that everything was left to me and not her. She has yet to respond to any of my owls." Pansy forces her eyes shut one last time to force the emotional pain out.
She exhales one last time before speaking again. "Now to get off my soap box, I'm sleeping with Gin," she says, smirking at Hermione.
WHAT?
Everyone slightly shakes their heads from the whiplash of emotions they're experiencing.
"And Harry," Pansy adds.
"What?!" The boys yell in sync.
"That's why you dropped me?" Theo asks, splashing her, "Well I guess a party of three is far better than just me."
They give him a playful, questionable look.
"Nah fuck that. I hope Potter's dick is shit," Theo says playfully angrily to Pansy, splashing her again.
"It isn't," she says, bobbing her head back and forth, giving Theo an arrogant smile.
"Ew," Blaise, Hermione and Draco say in unison.
"Well if we're on the topic of unlikely pairs, I think it's right to bring this one up. Our beloved Hermione and Draco are having a go at it," Theo informs, mimicking Pansy's head bobbing.
Draco and Hermione head shoot to look at one another with wide eyes. "Theo!" Both of them yell and splash Theo.
Pans and Blaise share knowing looks while chuckling. "We know. Theo can't keep a secret to save his life."
Another moment of silence being filled by the audible movement of the water.
Theo's the one to break the silence. "For so long I've felt so useless, like I'm wasted flesh. Mostly thanks to father dearest. May I hope he rots in his grave." Theo yells out into the night sky. "I also don't really know where to go after we finish Hogwarts." Theo says, looking at Hermione. "But being at the hospital is giving me a sense of hope, I guess. It's made me grateful for the life I was about to cut short. I always thought that my dad was going to be the one to end it. And that's the main reason why I wanted to, because I was choosing to die on my own terms." He looks around at his friends, scrunching his face "But then I would have missed this sappy bit and that would have sucked."
The group lightly chuckles at Theo's joke. A small breath of silence.
Pansy pulls her brows together, thinking to herself.
"Theo, if you would have ended your life, none of us would be here right now. You're the one that sought out Hermione. You're the one that extended our friendship..." Pansy looks around to everyone, "I can guarantee you I would not have done that. I agreed to it because of you."
Everyone looks at Theo, appreciating their unlikely friendship.
Theo then smirks, "Well I'm glad to know I'm the reason for this beautiful friendship."
"I lied to all of you."
Everyone turns to Blaise.
"I did actually kill that guy who tortured my mum," he says, looking everyone in the eye.
"Blaise," Pansy says softly with sympathy in her eyes.
Hermione looks at both Pansy and Blaise. Thinking about the fact they both now share the burden of what it means to take a life.
There's another short solemn silence.
Draco pulls himself on to the dock. He puts on his boxers and sits down, feet dangling off the dock. They all look at one another again before individually climbing the dock to do the same. Hermione casts a quick drying charm on him before she does herself and sits next to him. Draco gives her a nod in thanks and sits with his hands on either side of him, holding on to the dock, peering down at the water. Then he turns to Hermione and looks into her eyes giving her a small genuine smile.
"Well, since the cat is out of the bag," Draco says, glancing over at Theo, nodding his head in Theo's direction. "I guess I've also lied to all of you."
Everyone looks at Draco while he turns back to look at Hermione.
"I never admitted it, but I've always had a thing for you," he says in a raspy low voice.
What…
She looks at Draco searching for the truth in his eyes. And finds it.
"I never told anyone. But you have always fascinated me from the start. Your beauty, your talent, your knowledge. However, liking you felt as though I was betraying everything I knew growing up. Like I was betraying my mother and father. I guess, in my own way I was planting the seeds of resentment. As if I acted the way I did to you would solidify this idea that I was better than you and you didn't have the hold on me that you did. It's not an excuse for all the harassment I've done over the years, but I wanted you to know why."
"You felt like you were betraying your parents. . ." Hermione repeats.
"I know looking at my life through your lens it's difficult to categorize my parents as good, but that's all they've ever been for me. They have always looked out for me. I know that I'm beyond privileged to not have had to face a nasty childhood like some kids." His eyes land on Theo, giving him an empathetic glance. "But my parents love me unconditionally. And I love them. And that is also hard. Now that the dust has settled from this war, I don't have the luxury of maintaining my viewpoint. You're forcing me to unpack years of bias that they've taught me and it's hard, but it's absolutely necessary. I don't think anyone else could have pushed me to this point." He says looking back at Hermione.
Draco and Hermione just stare at one another. Nightlife from around them fills the silence. Draco's gaze then shifts to her scar and reaches out to hold her arm. He lightly traces her scar with his thumb, his eyes are drenched in a sadness she's never seen on him. The sight is slowly breaking her heart.
"I wanted to apparate us away that day. Take you far away, take us far away from the horrors of what the war was doing to us," he says to Hermione, his eyes not leaving her scar as he lightly traces it. "I was a coward," he says to himself.
Draco lifts Hermione's arm gently kisses her scar to then look up at her. His face expresses all the apologies he's never said aloud with his gray watery eyes. Hermione pulls him closer, giving him a long gentle kiss, accepting his unspoken regrets.
"So, are you guys like dating now?" Theo asks, ruining the moment.
Draco and Hermione chuckle, Draco wipes the tear that's slowly falling down her face. They both scrunch their faces and shake their heads.
Still looking at one another. "We're not dating. Just..." Hermione tries to find the right words.
"Enjoying each other's company." Draco finishes, softly smiling at her.
"More like each other's genitals," Pansy snickers.
They turn to deadpan Pansy, who's wearing a pompous smile.
"I still can't get over Blaise. He's going to Azkaban for sure," Theo says.
"Theo!" Pansy and Hermione yell at him.
Blaise rubs his face, exhaling, "Unfortunately, I think he's right."
The girls share a worried look before glancing at Blaise.
He chuckles to himself, "I guess I should make the most out of my freedom."
Theo slaps Blaise on his back, "Yes! What would you like to do before you're sent off to wither away?"
Blaise arches his back from the sting of Theo's slap and shakes his head at him, "I'm not sure."
Theo, Draco and Pansy come up with ideas, each crazier than the last. Then they make obscene suggestions for him to do and thankfully Blaise rejects them all. After a few minutes of bouncing ideas around Blaise finally says, "A carnival."
"A carnival!" Hermione repeats with reminiscent nostalgia. "I haven't been to one in ages! Oh! A Halloween carnival would be so fun! Oh! If the twins would be willing to do trinkets and prizes for it! That would be so fun! I would absolutely love to have some cotton candy!"
"Cotton candy?" Theo asks, confused about what it is.
"It's like a muggle version of Candyfloss," she explains.
Blaise's face brightens at Hermione's excitement. "That would be an amazing idea. That way the whole school could enjoy it," he says thoughtfully.
She turns to Draco, still smiling wholeheartedly at her idea of a Halloween Carnival.
In the distance a blue glow is visible, it moves towards them, they all look at one another. As the glow gets closer, the shape of a cat is identified.
Shit it's a tabby.
"McGonagall," they all say in unison.
"Into my office immediately," McGonagall's voice booms from her patronus, echoing off the surface of the Black Lake.
* . * . *
It's 1:35 am and the five of them stand in their Headmistress' office awaiting their punishment. McGonagall stands there, staring at them, not saying a word. Theo goes to speak, but McGonagall raises her hand for him to stop.
She continues staring at them, not saying anything.
They all share wary glances, wondering how severe their punishment will be for breaking curfew. And for their public indecency.
"If I'm honest, I'm more disappointed for being awake at this hour. I know I told you to make the most of your last year here at Hogwarts, but I never thought skinny dipping past curfew would make the list." McGonagall exhales, thinking out loud, "I guess, considering the events all of you have endured, engaging in stereotypical teenage behavior is in order."
They all slowly look at one another, trying to gauge what is happening.
"This entire year is circulated around cohesiveness. Seeing how there seems to be a keen sense of friendship amongst you all, I have no desire to punish you for your behavior tonight."
All their heads pop up to look at their Headmaster in surprise.
"However, the following instance will be met with consequences. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Headmistress," is said in unison.
"Mr. Zabini, please stay behind while your classmates find their way back to their beds."
They give Blaise a mixture of sympathetic worry before leaving to find their beds.
