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Format: Novella
Chapters: 11
Word Count: 16,912
Status: WIP
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Strong Language, Scenes of a Mild Sexual Nature, Contains Spoilers
Genres: Fluff, General, Romance
Characters: Hermione, Snape, Crabbe Jr., Goyle Jr., Neville, Luna, Draco, Pansy, Blaise (M), OtherCanon
Pairings: Draco/Pansy, Ron/Lavender, Draco/Hermione, Other Pairing
First Published: 11/21/2011
Last Chapter: 09/07/2012
Last Updated: 09/07/2012
Summary:
Breathtaking banner by Little Pebble @ TDA!!
What if Hermione Jean Granger left Hogwarts for a year to clear her mind by moving to France, attending Beauxbuttons Academy? What if she had to get sorted into a house again once she returned? What if she got into Slytherin?
*ignoring epilogue*
P.S. The basic idea was from Cecily von Ziegesar's novels "Gossip Girl" and the characters are from J.K. Rowling'
Hermione entered the Great Hall on September 1st along with other first years, who were waiting anxiously to know where they would be sitting for the rest of the year. But Hermione wasn't anxious, nor was she excited. She was nervous that she wouldn't get in to Gryffindor again; that Beauxbuttons had changed her. And indeed there were some noticeable changes, her clothes for example. Her wardrobe was fully renovated in order to fit in in a school full of girls so full of themselves that it was suffocating Hermione. But it was a change that had to be done in order to start over and not live one year in what anyone would call a living hell.
Her name was called after a short while of waiting and she went towards the hat with small, nervous steps. What she had done 7 years ago to help her relax wouldn't work, and she didn't know why. Nevertheless she sat on the small chair for the second and hopefully the last time in her life. The hat was placed gently by professor McGonagal on her smooth, brown curls and the hat started exploring her mind.
“Hm... bravery I see. But that's in the past my dear. Now you belong to SLYTHERIN!” said the hat and for the first time no one applauded. Dead silence now filled the room and shock was clear to everyone's face. Professor McGonagal took the hat off Hermione's head, but it protested.
“No!” it exclaimed. “I want to tell Ms. Granger something!”
“Very well. But please be short.” agreed the professor placing once again the hat on Hermione's head.
“Now, tell me child, why have you changed? You know who you were, and I can see that you struggled to remain the same, but you changed.” said the hat inside the girl's mind.
“I... I don't know. I guess that I had to change in order to fit in for once in my life. But please tell me something: why Slytherin? Why not Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff?” asked the girl the hat silently.
“Your cleverness and bravery are still there, in your heart. But more superficial matters that only match with Slytherin characteristics have taken over.” it simply replied, without hesitation.
“Very well. And I hope that you are mistaken.” thought Hermione and tried to take the hat off her head, but it had something more to say.
“I am never wrong Ms. Granger.”
“Well, as you know, there is a first time for everything.” was her simple response and then she handed the hat to the next boy.
From the very first moments on the Slytherin table Hermione was convinced that it would be a very long and lonely year. But then, she felt something, or rather someone siting right beside her. Surprised she turned her head to find out who the friendly stranger was, only to let out a disappointed sigh at the sight of Draco Malfoy himself.
“Well, well, Granger... Who would've thought?” he asked, with a familiar smirk on his face.
“Well, not me for one.” replied Hermione, playing with her pasta.
“And none of us!” said the boy pointing at the rest of the Slytherin house. “But since you're here, you must worth something. I mean, you ARE the first mud-... muggle-born to get into Slytherin.... even with a slight delay.” he added with something that was quite unfamiliar to Hermione's eyes: a smile, which was formed on Draco Malfoy's lips. “So, why don't you come and sit with us? It would be awkward and all, but we all agreed to give you a chance.”
“The real reason, Malfoy!” the girl demanded, holding back a smile.
“OK, we're just curious... But the offer is still on the table!” he smiled again, disarming Hermione.
“OK, I guess it wouldn't harm... after all you didn't call me mud-blood. That's a good start.” said Hermione, her heart filled with expectations of Slytherin actually being good, or at least not as bad as she thought.
“This is Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle, even though I'm quite sure you've already met them.” Draco started introducing Hermione to his clique.
“Yeah, hi!” she smiled awkwardly and just couldn't wait for the moment to be over.
“Hello Hermione. It's really nice to have you here with us!” said Pansy Parkinson extending her hand for a handshake and with a smile on her face that shocked Hermione, who didn't have the strength to hide her feelings, so apart from returning the handshake she stared wide-eyed at the girl who was so friendly at her all of a sudden.
“Thanks. I think that it's really nice to be here.” replied the ex-Gryffindor with a low voice after a while of regaining her strength.
“This is Blaise Zabini, I don't think that you guys have met.” Draco continued introducing Hermione.
“No, I don't think that we have, even though I think that I might have thrown a spell or two at you during the war.” joked the new girl.
“I think that you actually did... I have no idea what it was, but it hurt like hell. I could barely stand on my feet after that.”
“Oops! Sorry Blaise! I can call you Blaise, right?” she asked, unsure.
“Of course! You can call me whatever you want, babe!” flirted Blaise, winking at Hermione.
“Don't mind him, Hermione. He's just being his usual idiotic self.” Pansy comforted Hermione, who could do nothing but smile widely at this whole situation. It was better than she ever imagined. I guess that the war changed them, like all of us. But then, why would the sorting hat place me here? They don't seem that superficial anymore... wondered Hermione and continued listening to Draco telling her the names of each and everyone at the table, while she was having a blast. Everyone was so friendly, except for Daphne Greengrass who was under the wrong impression that Hermione wanted to steal Draco from her. But she wouldn't let someone like her ruin her night, let alone her last year at Hogwarts, so she just kept meeting people and having fun.
Eventually they both sat down, Draco next to Pansy and across from Crabbe and Goyle and Hermione next to Draco and Daphne and right across from Blaise. Hermione couldn't help but notice how elegant the table was, unlike the one of Gryffindor. Its line was as plane, but there were crests all over its sides, probably snakes. The green and black flag was hanging right above their heads, with silver strings holding it up. Not a little while later while they were all laughing at some lame joke Blaise had said, the Bloody Byron made his appearance, which scared the living hell out of everyone. When Hermione recovered from the shock she dared to look over at the Gryffindor table only to meet the angry glares of her apparently ex best friends. The only familiar and at the same time warm and forgiving look was Neville and Ginny's who were always more acceptive than the rest of them, thinking that the Slytherins couldn't be as bad as they presented themselves to be. And seeing Hermione smile encouraged their optimism even more.
Why couldn't Harry and Ron and the rest of the Gryffindors see that she hadn't changed at heart? That she was still the same Hermione she was before she left, before the war started, before anything had happened. The same bookworm that got straight O's and was upset when she got an E or an A. She was the same, but now she sat at a different table and her schedule was different as well. So what? Because she was in Slytherin it was forbidden to be friends with her any more? Soon, sorrow gave in to anger; anger to her 'friends' who were too shallow to want to know that she hadn't changed. And the sorting hat said it was her who became superficial. Oh, the irony!
Still knowing that she had the whole Gryffindor table's attention she laughed once more at Draco's comment to Ron and put her hand on his shoulder on purpose, laughing harder.
“Hey, Hermione, weren't you on their side?” asked Blaise.
“I was. Until they started giving me glares for being here, like I had changed and wasn't their best friend anymore. But, note this: don't you dare make fun of Neville, Ginny or Luna, or I swear, I' ll kill you regardless of whatever kind of sympathies I might have grown towards all of you as time passes by. They were always good to me, and they don't plan on changing that. I guess that now I at least know who are the ones that really are good friends.”
“OK, I swear that I'll never make fun of Neville, Luna or Ginny, under any circumstances.” said Draco and Blaise at once and the rest of the house repeated. All of them except for Daphne. But Hermione didn't care; she didn't even notice! She was so happy that she had new friends there already that she didn't give a damn what some stuck up bitch thought.
And so, the feast carried on, with lots of conversations -serious and not- and laughter. So much laughter that their stomachs and cheeks hurt when they finally went off to bed.
A/N: I know it's kind of short, but I promise I'll try my best to make the chapters longer! R&R!!! Love you guys!!
The feast was over and so was Hermione's friendship with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. But you know what they say: When a door closes a window opens. And that was what Hermione would do. When the door shut right on her face she would jump out of the window in the first opportunity, leaving everything that hurt her behind. Meaning, she would leave her friendship with Ron and Harry behind, no matter how hard it would be. She had to. They wouldn't accept her now, for who she was so she wouldn't waste her time wondering what was that kept her friends from an open mind, which she knew very well they had.
“Hey, Hermione, you coming?” she heard a distant voice from ahead of her. She would usually be irritated hearing Pansy Parkinson's voice, but now it was different. Her voice brought Hermione back to reality, alarming her that her party was leaving.
“Um, yeah, sure.” Hermione simply replied after shaking her head to empty it from thoughts she didn't want to have. The girl got up and hurried to catch up with her new friends.
---.---.---.---.---
After exactly 10 minutes Hermione was ready for bed. She had gotten to the dungeons with the help of her fellow Slytherins, she managed to memorize the password -lemon sorbet, something quite peaceful for a Slytherin password, but the girl decided to let it pass by-, she had unpacked with a flick of her wand, she had worn her nightgown which was embarrassingly short, but she was too tired to care and she had brushed her teeth. And just when she pulled the black and green covers of her bed to the side so she would tuck herself in and eventually fall asleep, Hermione heard Pansy's voice once again.
“So Hermione, is it as weird for you to be here, as it is to us having you here?” the raven-haired girl asked.
“Well, I guess so... But I’ll surely get used to it soon. After Beauxbuttons I believe that I can adapt pretty much everywhere. And since I see that you've all changed a lot after the war, it'll be way easier. I'm just not quite sure about how you guys will accept me. I mean, you've been really friendly and all, but I' m afraid that at some point you're going to realize that I' m still a mud-blood and you won't want me.” answered Hermione, holding back her tears but not controlling her voice, which broke at a point from fear that her last year in Hogwarts would be a living hell if she didn't fit in.
Pansy got up from her bed and hugged the ex-Gryffindor.
“Oh, come on now, Hermione, you know- we know that it won't be like that. Like you said, we've all changed. But seeing the bad things we've done and how it affected people's lives we don't want to go back there. Not now that we're here and that we've come this far to being better. Hey, Daph, come over here!” the Slytherin nodded to Astoria Greengrass to get closer once she entered the room.
“What Pans?” said an obviously annoyed Daphne.
“Our newbie wants some comfort here!” replied Pansy, gesturing at Hermione who was sobbing by now.
“No, really, I'm fine, thank you. I just cracked I suppose.” Hermione said out of the blue, raising her head and wiping the tears from her face.
“Oh, well, if that was all, then please excuse me. I have other business to attend to.” Daphne left the room with a bitter comment.
“What's her deal?” Hermione asked smiling.
“She doesn't want her peace to be disturbed. And you, my dear friend, are being thought as a disturbance.”
“OK, that's a bit crazy, you have to admit!”
“Yeah, maybe...” and they both burst into laughter. “But, how come you ended up in Slytherin?” Pansy felt the need to ask.
“When I was at Beauxbuttons I had to fit in, or else my life there would be a living hell. And even though I hate to admit it, I came to ignore all the things in me that made me a Gryffindor, and although I' m still smart, being more aware of how people see me has affected my character so much that I had to be sorted into Slytherin, I guess. And coming to think about it, now that I know that you guys are, no offense, kind of more... um... normal it's going to be one hell of a year. You know I've always been dreaming of having this kind of year at school. Bloody Muggles!” and Hermione let a small laugh. “Oh, yes, I forgot.” she added, as a reply to her friend's quizzical look. “Muggles make movies about their final years at school that seem kind of ideal, you know with friends and love and stuff.”
“Thankfully I do know what a movie is. In fact I've seen a couple on my own this past year. They're genius... And I always thought that Muggles are stupid!” and they both laughed once again.
Then, all of a sudden, the door opened revealing Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini shirtless with tracksuits as bottoms. Hermione couldn't help but blush.
“What's with all the laughter?” asked Draco playfully.
“Why, don't you like the melodic sound of our laughter?” said Pansy with pure and fake arrogance in her voice.
“Sure we do!” replied Blaise as the boys sat next to the girls on Hermione's bed. “So, what's up newbie?” he asked referring to the newest member of their clique, Hermione.
“Nothing much. I was just telling Pansy that it could be the most awesome year ever!” she smiled.
“But, what about Potter, Weasley and the rest of your friends?” questioned Draco, surprisingly enough not in an ironic tone, like he was really concerned. Hermione had to shake her head in order to process what had just happened: Draco Malfoy didn't mock Harry or Ron? What's wrong with him? Oh, right! It's probably the war... it did change us all!
“Um.. Harry and Ron turned their back on me as soon as I didn't sit with them at the feast. But thankfully Ginny, Luna and Neville still support me. You know, it made me realize who is important enough to stay in my life and who's not.” Hermione simply replied with a hint of enthusiasm in her voice.
“I’m sorry… You know, people can be very superficial… I would know!” said Draco with a bitter voice.
“We all would…” added Blaise with an ironic and bitter smile.
“OK, stop! This has gone way too far from the point! Tonight’s a big night! It’s your bloody last first day here!” exploded Hermione, who wasn’t good with dealing with bad moods lately.
“So, what is the point of tonight?” asked Daphne who had joined the conversation, along with the rest of the Slytherins a few minutes ago.
“I’m so glad you just asked me that, Daphne.” responded Hermione quickly, vanishing the smile from Daphne’s face. “Tonight is all about going to Hogwarts. You have to realize that there will be no other day like today. Not about studying, or worrying about N.E.W.Ts … that much at least!” at that point she smiled, mostly at herself, for handling her whole life differently now, and seeing everything from a whole new prospective, a better one for that. “It’s all about making the most out of our last year, making the best memories that will last for a lifetime.” Hermione ended her speech smiling again, at the thought of the amazing year that was lying ahead.
“Mmm… touching Hermione! I’m proud of you!” said Blaise out of the blue.
“Proud of me?”
“Proud of her?” asked at once both Hermione and Daphne.
“Yeah… I mean, what she just said… was really inspired and inspiring at the same time. And unexpected. I mean, honestly guys, who would believe that these words came out of Hermione Granger’s mouth if you hadn’t just witnessed it with your own eyes.” a chorus of “yes” from all kind of voices followed Blaise’s words, making Hermione’s cheeks turn into a light scarlet color, and Astoria’s face green with jealousy.
“Um, don’t get me wrong here, but does Daphne like Blaise?” whispered Hermione to Pansy.
“No, not in a million years, but Blaise and Daphne’s parents decided that it would be best if their children got married in order to maintain their social status or something and the pure blood that has ran in their families for generations. But Blaise finds it silly; after all they’ve all been through to still have the same old beliefs about blood. But as you can see Daphne hasn’t been affected by the war, and still believes that she should marry Blaise.” Pansy replied, whispering as well.
“OK, that’s probably the most idiotic and shallow thing I’ve heard in my whole life!” exclaimed Hermione, forgetting to whisper, which lead to the whole room staring at her. “Oops?” she said, her face turning red, from embarrassment this time. “I guess that you can’t just let it pass by, right?”
“Of course we won’t! We’re Slytherins baby!” said a smaller kid, whose face Hermione didn’t even know.
“Ah…” the girl sighed as her mind was working in tremendous speed to find a good lie. “Well, before you all guys busted in our dorm, Pansy and I were talking about Muggle movies, and the particular we were talking about had a line which was both idiotic and shallow.” At that point, Hermione couldn’t help but feel worthy of an Oscar.
“Just because you’re new we’ll let this one slide.” came Draco's reply with a smile on his lips, leaving a frown of disappointment on Hermione's face Coming to think about it, it was purely the work of an amateur… She mentally yelled at herself and focused back on the conversation which was taking place in her room.
A/N: I'm sorry it's not longer. I actually started chapter 3 while still writing this one, so I was kind of distracted! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed!!!! R&R!!!
The sun rose and it hit Hermione’s face, sweetly waking her up. She opened her eyes, surprised that she would be woken up by the sun, since her dorm wasn’t in the tower anymore, but in the dungeons. Slowly, moving one body part at the time she got up smiling, welcoming the new day, September 2nd. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand. It read 7:05 AM.
Hermione opened the drawer that belonged to her, took out her towel, shampoo and bubble bath, her toothbrush, her toothpaste and her hairbrush and went towards the girls' bathroom. Just when the girl was entering the shower she heard Pansy’s alarm clock from the bed right next to hers. She was informed just the night before that Pansy was a heavy sleeper, unlike Hermione who was a morning person and a light sleeper. The bushy-haired girl smiled softly at the memory of the previous night.
“Hey, Hermione?” Draco had asked just before he left the girl’s dormitories, leaving Hermione alone, since the rest of their fellow Slytherins had already gone to bed, following Pansy and Blaise’s example.
“Yeah?” replied Hermione, turning her head to face the most handsome face she had ever seen.
“You look really cute in that shirt.” Commented Draco, looking at Hermione’s body, covered with only an over-sized T-shirt.
‘Then I guess I’m going to wear it more often!’ Hermione noted mentally while smiling sweetly as a ‘thank you’ response to Draco. This year, since she had actually finished with school, she would focus more on her social life. And in order to have a better social life she needed a boyfriend, and she had to look cute to get his attention, whoever that someone would be.
And with these thoughts Hermione lied on her bed, closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Apart from that ‘incident’, Hermione had another reason to smile. She had a chance to start over again with people she could finally feel safe and wanted with. Unlike Beauxbuttons, Slytherins were not snobby or even arrogant… At least most of them!
But then, while in the shower it hit her: her best friends, who had stood beside her through everything, had now turned their back on her. She couldn’t believe it; it was beyond the craziest imagination. How could they be so shallow? Hermione thought she knew them better than anyone. Well, apparently and sadly she was wrong. The only two people in the world that she trusted with her life now rejected her because of her one choice to be different for once in her life. And she broke down, crying all the tears she had been holding back for the past twelve hours.
---.---.---.---.---
“Hey, Hermione, what’s up?” asked a still tired Pansy who was waiting outside the bathroom. “Oh my Gosh, what happened?” she questioned looking at Hermione’s face that showed she had been crying.
“I… it’s nothing, really.” Replied Hermione in a shaky voice.
“No, it’s not nothing. Tell me who it is and I swear I’ll break his jaw!” said Pans angry and determined, embracing Hermione’s wet figure.
“It’s just Harry and Ron…” started the brown-haired girl.
“I knew it… those little-“
“Alright, stop!” exploded Hermione.
“OK, OK, sorry!” said Pansy clearly scared.
“It… It’s not your fault. I’m just so messed up these days that I don’t even know how to think anymore. Should I defend them, or just ignore them, just like they do to me? I really don’t know, and I’m really confused, and you’re getting bored by hearing me talk about the same things for as long as we’ve been friends. We are friends, right?” asked Hermione looking for reassurance, only to continue after a small nod of Pansy’s head and a friendly smile. “And I’m sorry! You really hadn’t had the chance to talk about yourself and if someone needs help here, it’s you! I mean, no offence, but six straight years a Slytherin?” she smiled.
“Ha-ha, yeah, I do have some stuff that I need to work out, but yours are way more important. I mean, your whole life is being played here, supposing your whole life is your friends of course.”
“Well… they kind of are… But I think that I do have time to sort things out properly. I’ll just quick fix it for now, and hear you, for a change!” stated Hermione, who was determined to ignore Harry and Ron until she had a clear mind.
“So… What do you want to know?” asked Pansy, leading Hermione back to the beds, sitting on hers.
“What’s up between you and Draco?” Hermione had already put her underwear on and was brushing her hair.
“Oh, that’s a big story!”
“Don’t worry! We’ve got time!” smiled the brown-haired girl as she glanced at the clock. “It’s only 7:30!”
“OK, so I’d better hurry! I’ll brush my teeth after I get dressed.” The raven-haired girl noted to herself and continued with the start of her story. “Draco and I used to like each other from day one until the Yule Ball. Then he just wasn’t that much into me anymore. But we had to pretend to be dating for our families, who wanted their children to be so madly in love, they would eventually get married. We still are great friends though… I mean, there are some things that you can’t change even after the end of a relationship, and one of them is telling each other everything. The other is finding each other hot… in our case at least!” Pansy winked at Hermione.
“Kind of gross, but please continue!”
“We got the chance to tell our families that we were no longer together only a little bit before 6th grade, when Voldemort assigned Draco his mission. We said that the pressure was already too much on him, and I didn’t do anything to help. On the contrary, I was the bad guy there, who wouldn’t understand the importance of his mission and just kept bugging him. But then, as soon as the war ended, my name came clear and we explained what had actually happened. But he still won’t tell me who he saw and ‘dumped’ me. I mean, who could be more beautiful or interesting than me?” completed Pansy while putting her cloak with the Slytherin emblem on.
“I most certainly have no idea my friend!” laughed Hermione. “Now let’s go brush our teeth.” And she grabbed Pansy by the hand.
“And what’s up with Daphne?” Hermione poked Pansy, ready to learn all the gossip in the Slytherin House after brushing their teeth of course.
“She’s all over Draco and Blaise at the same time!” Pansy stated the obvious. “If even one of them was actually interested seeing she was hitting on his best friend at the same time he would’ve gotten over it in no time! Anyway, she was the second choice of the Malfoy family and the first of the Zabini’s. But Draco had me, and Blaise can’t stand her, and his parents being either more open-mined or positive that he would find another pure-blood to continue the tradition let it pass by, ignoring Daphne.”
“Oh, so that’s why she’s always so snobby. She wants to believe she’s actually a first choice! Oh Merlin!” commented Hermione and let out a small laugh.
“Yeah, I think that that sounds more like her!” Pansy smiled.
“Oh, look at the time! We should really get going if we want to eat something before class!”
“Off we go!” laughed once again Pansy and running off the dungeons, towards the Great Hall, dragging Hermione with her.
---.---.---.---.---
Breakfast was a total disaster. There was food flying over the tables from time to time, owls confusing the mail and last, but not least, students fighting. Everywhere!
“Okay, what in the name of Merlin is going on here?” asked Pansy clutching tightly to Hermione’s sleeve.
“I have no freaking idea. But this has to stop.” She said, closing her slightly opened mouth. “Alright, STOP!” shouted the girl and the room went silent. “What is going on here? What is this all about?” she added in a lower voice, but loud enough to be heard I the whole Hall.
No one replied, but then, after a few seconds that seemed like ages to everyone a third year raised its hand to speak.
“I… I think that it’s because it’s the first day of school and…”
“And you think that it gives you the excuse to make such a big deal out of it? I mean, I’ve had 7 first days of school so far, and none of them were accompanied with such… noise!”
“Well, you know what they say: there’s a first time for everything!” said a brave Hufflepuff, making Hermione think that the sorting hat could actually make mistakes.
“Generations change, Granger.” Hermione heard a familiar voice behind her.
“What do you want Weasley? And if you think that you can do my job better than me, then be my guest. But if you actually could, then you’d be wearing the badge, not me don’t you think?” replied the prefect, anger slowly making its presence noticeable in her voice.
“What I want is not to do your job. God knows why anyone would want to be a prefect! But what I want to do is make you understand that generations change.”
“You dare to say that someone doesn’t understand the changes in people? You, of all Hogwarts dare to say that I do not understand that people, let alone whole generations change? That’s plain hypocrisy Weasley!” Hermione spat the words.
“Maybe it is. I won’t deny it. But that’s what you see, because I know I’m not a hypocrite, and neither is Harry. What we did and the way we acted was because we both know that you didn’t change for any other reason than to prove something. You’re not the Hermione we all knew because you have something to prove.” He finally let it all out.
But now was Hermione’s turn to return fire.
“Maybe I do! Maybe I need to prove more to myself than anyone that I’m not the same girl anymore. That I’m not the idiot who laughed at all your jokes and followed you round like a groupie, only to return and see that YOU have turned your back on me, and you can’t give a chance to prove that I haven't changed. But you couldn’t, could you? What happened to your open mind, Ronald, huh? Did it fly out of the window? Or did it fell when you won your last quiddich game?”
“Maybe I liked this girl... you were innocent, sweet back then...” Ron lowered his voice.
“I was a FOOL for believing in you and me together. That’s what I was. And you were so full of yourself that you couldn’t see what you were doing to me. You were DESTROYING me Ron.... that's what you did....”and she started walking towards the exit, not wanting to eat anymore. But she stopped mid-way only to say a few more words to the one that had hurt her the most.
“You know, everybody in this whole school would give an arm to be with me. Not as a girlfriend, as a friend. Because I know that you'll never find someone like me. It may sound narcistic now, but some day you'll realize you made the biggest mistake of your life by letting me go.”
“I will never miss you Hermione. Not if you're like this.” Came Ron’s fast reply.
“I'm starting to doubt that my change was MY fault you know.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“That your behavior was a main factor to my change. If you hadn't been such a bastard all these years to me, I wouldn’t have left, thus I wouldn't have changed. But thank you Ron, you made me understand that you are a simple nothing, and now I know who the people that really matter in my life are.”
“So, Malfoy is more important than the years we spent together?”
“Yeah, since you threw them all away last night” and with slow and calm steps Hermione walked out of the room, her head high but with tears running down her face, but no sobs escaping her throat.
A/N: Thank you all guys for waiting, reading, reviewing and making my story one of your favorites! Hope you like chapter 3!!
P.S. I’m not so good with titles, please don’t judge harshly!
Hermione was in no state of thinking, let alone talking, thus she chose to ignore the steps she heard coming from behind her. It was probably someone to see how she is and probably make her feel better, but the girl didn't want to feel better. She wanted to go back there, punch Ron and then curse him to oblivion; then maybe, just maybe he would feel as devastated as Hermione did at the moment. She entered the Potions classroom quickly, shuting the door angrily behind her, locking it with a spell hard to undo from the outside.
"What's the problem Granger? Got an E?" she heard a deep voice mocking her, making her cry even harder.
"No, classes haven't started yet. And say just one more word, and I'll kill you. I don't care that you're already dead." replied the angry girl, grinting her teeth.
"Watch your mouth Granger!" said Professor Severus Snape with a harsh tone. Well, ex Professor actually.
"Why? What will you do? Take points off Gry- Slytherin? You can't. And even if you could, you'd never take points from your house!" said Hermione bitterly.
"Oh, right! You're a Slytherin now Ms. Granger! I would say congratulations, but I have a feeling that it won't make things better." Snape's voice was now... calm and happier than Hermione was used to.
"How did you get to 'friendly' mode so easily?"
"I was never not. But I was having fun mocking you though!" smiled Snape, leaving his former student in awe for a few seconds.
"Yeah, thanks! That really did help!"
"Don't you mock me, Granger."
"Oh Merlin, not again!" exclaimed the girl and the portrait went silent.
Just a few seconds later the door opened, and Blaise Zabini came in. He spotted Hermione immediately and ran towards her, hugging her pettite figure and calming her down.
"Shh... it's all alright. It's all gonna be OK." he whispered softly to her ear as he rocked her back and forth, like she was a baby.
"Thank you Blaise." Hermione whispered back, greatful for his presence. It was a lot to swallow and the boy's embrace made her relax and clear her mind.
The two Slytherins spent the rest of their time before the class started in silence, with Blaise holding Hermione in a comforting way, rocking her slowly, calming her down.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Meanwhile, Ron Weasley was furious, as were most of the people in the Great Hall, but not all for the same reason. He was angry because he couldn't believe what he just heard, such words coming out of his best friend's mouth. But then, after that feeling and his ego subsided he was mad at himself for saying such harsh things to Hermione and as she put it 'throwing their friendship out of the window', something he had been doing since the night before.
The rest of the student body and some teachers who still had a keen intrest of what you could call gossip among the Houses were mad at Ron for being such a 'selfish bastard' as they put it nicely. Way to nicely apparently, since there were some people who judged him harder, using words that hurt him more.
Suddenly Ron felt that the tension in the room was too much for him to handle, so he got up without even bothering to find some kind of an excuse to why he was leaving and heade straight towards the Gryffindor Tower, where he found his Potions' books waiting for him exactly where he'd left them: on the table in the common room, facing the fire which was gently licking the walls of the fireplace. He took them along with the pice of parchment that was lying next to them and the quill on the parchment and rushed out of the common room to the Dungeons where the Potions class was held.
He opened the door quickly, expecting to find no one. He was surprised though when he came across a couple as it seemed, hugging in the middle of the room. Looking closely he could recognize Blaise Zabini and another quite familiar figure in his arms. Blimey! He thought. I... it's Hermione! But... with him? He commented silently as he calmly took his chair, placing it a little behind so that he could easily sit and relax until the class started. He made sure though that that simple move he made made enough sound to alarm the 'couple' of his presence.
Once Hermione saw him she got away from Blaise, even though she was still sitting right next to him. She didn't know why... she thought that it was just to avoid Ron jumping to conclusions, like always. But on the other hand, she was a tad late for that. Hermione didn't go back to Blaise's embrace though; as if there was some kind of power that held her back once Ron was around. She didn't know what it was and it scared her, but she focused on things that seemed more important at the moment, for example going ot her seat before anybody else shared the same conclusions with Ron, and she would be in trouble. Social trouble at least. And then again was her worry of who their potions proffesor would be, since Severus Snape was dead, with his portrait hanging on the Potions' classroom, the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and the Headmaster's office. Hedmistress' in this occasion.
Not five minutes later -of course spended with complete silence by all three present at the classroom- the other students started coming in packs, gossiping and spreading new rumors about the new proffesor, who was -accidently of course- not at the Sorting ceremony the night before.
"So, Parvati, haven't you heard?" asked Lavender Brown her best friend. Or the closest she could ever get to one.
"Heard what, dear?" was Parvati's answer.
"I just heard that the new proffesor was hitting it off with Granger over the summer and he was too embarassed to face her last night. But now he has no choice! And he's Head of her House anyway." whispered Lavender, but loudly enough for Hermione to hear, incedently or not.
"Okay, that just crosses every line! I have never in my life been involved with a proffesor, nor will I ever be! And plus, I can't recall a moment when I gave you the right to speak of me that way. I fought for you at the war, and that's the thank you I get? I've been gone for a year and I've apparently changed, but that doesn't undo what I have fought for, what I belive in and what I will always fight for and what I will always believe in. And I have never given you the right to say anything about me, nor will I ever. Simple as that. So, assuming that I've made myself clear, and that you understood at least some of the things I said, I would request that I'll never again be part of any rumor spread in this school." Hermione's voice was at the beggining loud,but then slowly regaining her strength she managed to lower down her tone, and be civil at those girls.
"And have I ever given you the right to insult my intelligence, Granger?"asked Lavender, wanting for her own, unknown and mysterious reasons to continue the fight between her, and the Slytherin.
"Oh, you have! And in fact, you still do. You don't really have to do anything; breathing is enough to convince me that your intelligence, or however ou want to call it, is lower than a chestnut's!" said Hermione mockingly, sitting downand crossing her arms across her chest, knowing that whatever the other girl said, she could prove her wrong in a matter of seconds.
"I want valid arguments Granger." Lavender's voice was now shaking from anger and dead serious.
"The first one that comes to my mind is that you're currently having a fight with me, and that alone shows that you're over-estimating yourself, therefore you're dumb. And my arrogance may be annoying, but I won't let you step on me again. I am the brightest witch of our age, after all!" a round of applause from almost all the students was heard once Hermione finished her sentence.
"I do believe Granger, that arrognace had blinded you. No wonder why the Hat had second thoughts about you! You cannot ignore arrogance, and believe me it's even more annoying than stupidity." answered after a few seconds of thinking Lavender, making her inconvinience clear to everybody, who had formed a circle around the two girls.
"I am arrogant only because you let me be. See, that's where we started: giving the right to someone talk or act a certain away towards you or others. You let me be arrogant, so I am... I mean, you all have had at least one moment when you were so full of yourself it felt good? That's how I'm feeling right now, because our beloved, Lavender Brown has given me the right to, by clearifying that I'm better than her." replied Hermione at once, confusing some of the students, herself included, but believing she had made her point so she didn't let her insecurity about the form of the argument win her over.
Suddenly, clapping was heard from the back of the room. "Very impressing Ms. Granger, even though I would suggest that you keep a low profile from now own. I understand your position, and you have set some pretty convincing arguments to prove you're right, but I would like my students to get along and if that's not possible, then I'm afraid that you'll have to move your fights or whatever for the end of class. Now, Ms. Brown I expect the same from you too. Of course you didn't know and I'm pretty sure you weren't even aware of my pressence, and that's why I'll let it slip this once. But I don't want similar 'events' taking place in my class, especially from my very own students. Now, please take your seats everybody." said a tall man, around 25 to 30, with dark hair and bright, sparkling green eyes.
"Well, hello class! My name is Damian Murphy, and I'll be teaching you Potions for the rest of the year. Unless of course someone fails, meaning that you're gonna have to bear with me for another year." said the new proffesor awkwardly. "So... shall we begin? I thought it would be a good idea to start with a revision of your sixth year and then move forward to this year's material. So, um... I have prepered a potion that I invented myself and I would like one of you to tell me what it's made of and the effects as well as side effects if there are. Yes Miss... Granger, if I'm not mistaken." he gave the word to Hermione who had raised her hand.
"But, sir, this potion isn't original. Based on the color and the smell one can easily tell that it's Burning Bitteroot Balm, main ingredients are 4 bitteroots, 3 frog eyes, 1/2 cup of a bat's blood and of course, blueberries to make the taste more bearable and give a more joyful color to the potion."
"Verry well Miss Granger, 15 points to Slytherin. And another 5 if you could tell me the rest."
"But of course! The Burning Bitterot Balm is not a common potion, because it is actually not used for many purposes, since there are other potions that can do the same thing but with less effort and pain. What it does is simple: it is a balm, able to cure burns, but like I said there are other potions that come in more handy in such occasions."
Great! No wonder why you're the smartest witch of your age!" commented the new professor, making Hermione blush slightly.
Suddenly, the bells from the Clock Tower rung, dismissing the class. "Well, guys, for tomorrow I want you to have revisited your last year's potions and at least remember the basics! Have a nice day!" said professor Murphy, picking up his books.
"Oh my God, did you see the way he looked at you?" said Pansy once she and Hermione were at a safe distance from anyone who could hear.
"Don't be silly Pansy!"
"Don't want to belive me, be my guest. But I'm telling you, no one gives 20 freaking points for just one correct answer!"
"He's new, he doesn't know how things work." Hermione made a paper-thin excuse for the new professor.
"He went to school here, didn't he?" pointed out the raven haired girl, who started to irritate Hermione.
"So what?" replied Hermione angrily. "He's too young to say he just got out of here, so he must've had some experience, he's been out of the business long enough to forget."
"Yeah, you deffinetely got the experience part right!" said Pansy playfully pushing Hermione's buttons harder, as they went off for their next class.
A/N: Sorry for making you guys wait! I was just busy with school and I had so many great ideas I wanted to put to my story... so I just went with that.. for now ;) Hope it was worth your time and that you enjoyed it!!!
Transfiguration had always been an easy subject for Hermione, but she always thought that that happened because of her being a Gryffindor and McGonagall Head of the House. The girl had no idea what it would be like now that she was a Slytherin, what the professor would treat her like and most of all, how that would affect her grades.
Hermione checked her programme nervously while walking next to Pansy towards their next class. It was a double with Ravenclaws. At least Luna would be there; she could never forget the friendly, reassuring but always dreamy look the blonde had given her just the night before. It made her feel good about herself and who she was for one time since she had sat at the Slytherin table.
"Good morning class" said the aged voice of Minerva McGonagall. "Open you books on page 29 and have your wands at the ready." and everybody did as they were told, surprised by the stictness of the new Headmistress and the absence of warmth she always had around her gracing her students with it, but being distant as well.
The kids couldn't help but wonder and start commenting on their teacher's unusual behaviour, so soon whispers filled the room.
"Silence!" Professor McGonagall raised her voice and the whole room fell silent. "Now, kids we will start the term with a revision to your prior years as far as my subject is concerned. But!" at that both Houses jumped with surprise. "You will do so without speaking, not to each other but not to cast your spells as well." she completed her sentence.
The majority of the student body froze at their seats, paniced, terror clear on their facees, with only two exceptions: Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood who shared a knowing and kind of mischivious look since they were both former members of Dumbledor's Army, so they had enough practice on non-verbal spells; at least enough to make them sound normal and not something that they have never heard before or even tried.
At the end of the day though, Hermione found out that her grades had actuallly nothing to do with her House or the Head of her House. It was purely her own accomplishments and she deserved every single O.
"See Mione? It was nothing, like I told you!" said Pansy as they all went from their last class to their dormitory.
"What was nothing Granger?" asked Draco playfully, winking at her, making her cheeks turn into a deep scarlet color.
"Nothing is nothing... I mean, I was worried about my grades. Stupid stuff..." Hermione replied awkwardly, still not used to the guys hitting on her in friendly terms of course. But, that was the way Slytherin was and she'd better get used to it soon.
"Merlin, I'm so glad today's over!" Blaise changed quickly the subject to something more neutral and convinient for Hermione.
"You tell me! It was really hard... Especially Apparition..." commented Vincent Crabbe.
"Draco, hold yourself...You promised to yourself, no mean things this year... Maybe an exception- no!" Draco mumbled under his breath to himself, smiling as he did in order not to burst into laughter, causing anyone in hearing distance to let a chuckle escape their throats.
After that, the students continued walking casually towards the dungeons, talking about their day, the new professors and the subject and of course, gossip! What had happened over the summer and the whole past year among the other students, generally catching up on everything and everyone they had left behind the night before and during launch, and belive me, it was a lot!
"But they're not even looking at each other, I'm telling you, they were not together, ever! And I, as the expert in such matters always have the most valid arguments!" said Pansy out of the blue when they were all studying for the next day.
"Yeah... and the best sense of humor!" said Blaise, half joking, half serious.
"Hey, guys knock it off! We're trying to study here!" said Goyle with his deep and clumsy voice, representing the other members of their group.
"Get a hold of yourself Draco... Don't let it outsmart you!" mumbled Draco once more under his breath.
"Okay, you've been doing this all day long. What's up with you and mumbling?"
"I... I just promised to myself at the beggining of the year not to make fun of anyone and not to say something bad about anyone, and I'm just trying to keep my promise." he said shyly.
"Oh my God, that's so cute!" exclaimed Hermione in a high-pitched voice. "Okay, turning back to normal mode, whatever that is!" rushed to add the girl since she saw the questioning stares of her friends and feeling a blush creeping up her cheeks. Soon, laughter filled the room.
"Can we please, pretty pretty please with a cherrie on top, forget it 'cause I really need to study? Especially Divinition."
"Oh, come on! You take Divinition as a serious subject?" said the whole gang at once.
"Oh, shut up, I just need the grade!" explained Pansy and they all fell again into their books.
"I wish Snape was alive." sounded Daphne's voice after a while, making it obvious that they weren't going to study any more that night.
"Yeah, I wish I was too Ms. Greengrass." the former professor said and everybody turned around to look at the portrait, the existance of which they were ignoring until that time. Some of the students were trying to catch their breath and recover from the shock, while others were giggling and others were blinking, not quite believing what had just happened. "What are you all staring at? Never seen a talking portrait before?" said Snape jokingly but the whole room continued staring at him in awe.
"Um... we're sorry Professor. We just aren't used to your portait in our common room yet." said a 4th year who happened to be among the students who were blinking.
"You're forgiven... for this one time!" the words came strict out of the former professor's mouth, who burst into laughter after seeing the faces of the whole Slytherin house, terror clearly written on them. "Oh, come on you people!" begged Snape like a little child, but the only reaction he got was an empty common room and a couple of groans from the students.
"Can you believe him?" said Draco in a voice full with disbelief.
"There's nothing wrong with him! He just feels free now that he's well... dead, and he wants to make up for all the lost years! It's perfectly logical!" Hermione defended the professor and Pansy agreed with her with a nod of her head.
All of the students had gone to their beds, in hopes that they could study there, but with no luck since no one really wanted to. Soon, Blaise came in to join his friends, sitting on Hermione's bed, right next to the girl. The two friends had gotten closer the past few hours since the boy had held Hermione and gave her comfort a few hours ago. So, then, Blaise did something quite brave for a Slytherin: he put his arms around the girl's waist, holding his breath until he saw her reaction. And the odds that day seemed to be everything but against him once he felt Hermione slowly leaning towards him, puting her head on his mascular chest. Then, the boy let out a small sigh of relief and with a smile from ear to ear he asked what he had missed.
"Oh, nothing much... Just Draco whining...." replied Daphne coldly as she saw the scene between Blaise and the new Slytherin.
"Again? Seriously? Aren't you tired of whining all the time?" exclaimed the boy with the chocolate colored skin looking at his best friend. "What was it about this time?" he finally asked.
"His idol, Snape, behavig like a child!" laughed Pansy.
"Oh, for Merlin's underpants, Draco!"
"Blaise, language!" said Daphne with a smile, trying to seem pleasent and get Blaise to notice her, but failing miserably at both.
"You guys stop! You remind me of my parents and quite frankly you're freaking me out!" said Draco, practically shouting.
"Oh, I'm sorry Draco dear, I didn't realize..." said Daphne simulating perfectly Narcissa Malfoy's tone, causing Draco to turn an even darker shade of scarlet in both anger and emabrassemnt and everyone to burst into uncontrollable laughter. Guess she had achieved even partially her goal of becoming more pleasent.
"Oh, just knock it off!" the boy with the platinum blonde hair said.
"Okay, okay... sorry... Drakie-poo!" laughed Blaise and the whole room followed his example.
"Oh, Merlin this is gonna be stuck forever!" Hermione said in unision with Draco among bursts of laughter, making both students' skin color change to a bright pink and everyone's laughter stop.
"Awkward moment, moving on! Nothing to see here!" Pansy got Draco and Hermione out of the most difficult part which was the comments and the stares and all the whispers.. for now at least. But the two teenagers were left staring blankly each other, that sade of pink still coloring their cheeks.
It was said in Hogwarts that whoever said the exact same sentence at the exact same moment was deffinetly, 100% dating the other one. It wasn't a secret that Hermione and Draco were now getting along, but they most certainly weren't dating. Yet...
A/N: sorry for the delay and the shortness of the chapter guys, but I really needed some time to figure out how it was going to roll out... it turned out that it came as I wrote it,so it was easier at the end. I wanted to continue writing, but it would be a good idea to let you guys with a slit cliff-hanger! See y' all soon! Please, leave a review!!!
Days quickly passed with no trouble... in fact they were full of laughter and just a tad of drama, enough to keep things interesting, but nothing really worth mentioning. But a part of Hermione would always miss the rush and the fast rhythm of her heart beating when she would be looking for something or doing something she wasn't supposed to with Harry and Ron. She couldn't say she was unhappy though; she would be ungrateful if she did so. She had made wonderful friends in Slytherin and they were kind and nice enough to let her in and grant her the best last year ever!
So, Halloween came and everybody was wondering what would the school prepare that year, and since it was always something quite extraordinary, everyone's expectations were higher than ever, and it was up to Head Boy and Head Girl to not let anyone down. That year it was Hermione's task to pull off the most anticipated dance of the Hogwarts' history so far.
Everybody entered the Great Hall with a smile craved on their faces, waiting for the announcement the Headmistress would make.
“Hm-hm.” she started by clearing her throat. “As you all know, Halloween is near and our school is proud to announce that a dance will be held on October 31st right here, at the Great Hall. But, this years' dance will be organized by students, by the Prefects to be exact. So, it is up to Hermione Granger and Cormac McLaggen to make it happen.” at that part, Minerva McGonagal made a pause, leaving the students whispering to their friends, commenting on the strange change and the two Prefects to swallow it.
“Oh. My. God.” was all Hermione could say as her cheeks turned to a deep scarlet in both anger and embarrassment. Anger, because McGonagal had laid such a great responsibility to lay on her shoulders for the Halloween dance was no small thing nor was it something easy to plan. Embarrassment because of her history with Cormac and the thought of her being in the same room with him again, having to co-operate in order to create the biggest event of the year. She glanced at the Gryffindor table trying to spot Cormac and 'fish' for reactions, but the only thing she could see was the surprised glares of all the students, pointed directly at her. Then she felt a soft hand embracing tenderly her own. Hermione immediately turned around to face Blaise, who was smiling softly at her.
“It can't be that tough!” he said reassuringly.
“With Cormac it's not tough... It's torture!” replied the girl laughing softly at the memory of her encounters with Cormac 3 years ago.
“Oh, just go! McGonagal's been trying to get your attention for like centuries!” Pansy said as she pushed Hermione off the bench.
“Great. Just great!” muttered the prefect as she went towards the Headmistress and Cormac.
“Now, please go back to your dormitories, the Prefects will stay here to discuss any details. Off you go!” said McGonagal and within a few seconds the Great Hall was empty. “So... Any questions?”
“Um... yes actually.”
“Please, go on McLaggen.”
“Will we be able to use class hours in order to organize the dance?” said the boy, quite nervous, scratching the back of his head.
“Of course not! You have enough time in the afternoon to both study and take care of your task. Anything else? No? Good.” said the older woman as she saw that there were no other questions. “Now, you have time until dinner and I suppose that you are done with your homework, so it's a good opportunity to get started. Off you go!” and both students walked awkwardly towards the exit together.
“I'm not really done with my homework and it's quite a lot, so maybe I'll send you an owl when I'm ready to begin?” Cormac said in a low voice, something quite unfamiliar and strange to be coming from him.
“I... I can help you if you'd like.” offered Hermione with a small smile on her lips.
“Really?! I mean, that would be great, thank you!” said the dirty-blonde and they both laughed and made a small talk which showed that they both wanted bygones to be bygones as they walked towards the Gryffindor Tower.
Once they were there, Hermione stood a few steps behind, enough to not hear the password.
“Oh, I forgot, you're not a Gryffindor anymore... Could you wait here while I get my books? We can go to the library afterwords.”
“Um, sure! I'll be right here!”said the girl with a fake cheerful tone. She wanted to seem happy, but she just couldn't. It was really hard for her to not to be part of the whole Gryffindor thing. She was happy were she was, but was it really necessary for her to go to Slytherin? She missed all the red-golden furniture, the familiar laughs that followed ever single corner of the Tower, she missed those warm and kind faces that would say 'hello' and 'how are you today?' with every opportunity. It's not like she couldn't have most of them at Slytherin, it's just that she missed nothing more that what she had and it hurt her knowing that she could never have it back. She wanted to graduate as someone brave and smart, not cunning and ambitious. Her thoughts, though, were interrupted quickly by the arrival of Cormac and his books.
“Hey, what's wrong?” he asked kindly when he saw a sad frown on Hermione's face and tears threatening to escape her honey-brown eyes.
“Nothing... It's nothing.” said the girl standing straight, taking one step back, away from the boy showing that she was in no need of comfort.
“But-”
“I said I'm fine.”
“OK... but just so you know, I'm here for you. Things were awkward between us and I was kind of arrogant back then, but during and after the war, there is no room for such behaviors... And in everyone's heart you'll always be a Gryffindor.”
“How did you-?”
“I'm a Gryffindor, just like you. You of all people should know that we pick up on these things!”
A/N: FYI, Cormac failed his NEWTs and the next year he didn't go to Hogwarts for personal reasons and he came back to finish school. (this is not written or reported anywhere, I just needed him for the story and sice he was a year older it makes more sense this way!)
“So, shall we?” said Hermione, offering her hand to a smirking Cormac.
“Oh, but of course my beautiful lady!” he said, taking her hand, intertwining their fingers making the girl smile widely while their hands were stretched in front of them.
“Well, this could work out!” mumbled the girl under her breath.
“What was that?”
“Oh nothing... just... never mind!” Hermione said, still holding tightly to Cormac's hand.
They entered the library, hands still intertwined, they saluted Mrs. Irma, who greeted them with a warm and friendly smile accompanied by a wink, so small it was nearly invisible. The pair found an empty table which seemed older and rustier than the others, and pulling back their chairs in order to sit, they frowned with every little squeak coming from the friction of the floor and the chair. Cormac and Hermione glanced over at the librarian, giving her a small smile once again, sat down and got straight to work.
“So... you got anything?” asked Cormac, obviously having no ideas at all on the topic.
“I have something, but it's... mad!”
“That's what we want, don't forget that!” that was all the encouragement Hermione needed.
“I was thinking of pumpkins. Carved pumpkins with various faces and styles all over the castle voted by the students, I'll get to that later. Each pumpkin will have a little note inside it and that note will be part of a riddle that has to be solved in order to reveal a really spooky surprise which will be inside the castle, but not only spooky, but scary too.”
“What about first and second years? Aren't they a little too young to be dealing with that kind of stuff. And there will be surprises... I'm sure many will faint for various reasons, most of them leaving their traces back to the war.”
“This would happen either way, and Hogwarts is expecting an ass-kicking dance, not some kind of fancy little ball where we could all practice our waltz skills! And those kids have survived through a war, they have seen the worst things a child could see, if not even more, and their childhoods have officially been ruined. Why not get back at what they used to have, before Voldemort took it all away?” said Hermione, and even though she was whispering one could hear her heartbeat and the passion over-flowing her mouth.
“Wow, chill! I just said-”
“I know what you said Cormac, and I respect it, but don't I have a point?”
“Seems like you did change after all... Unless I wasn't aware if your talent in persuasion.”
“There was a debate club at France.” the girl replied simply, regaining her composure.
“Um... so, I'll think and see what of what you proposed can actually happen and I'll get back to you, OK?”
“Are you implying that my thoughts are not realistic?” said Hermione with a small, almost invisible smirk on her face.
“Oh no, I didn't mean to-”
“Come on Cormac, I'm kidding. Just talk with McGonagal -she's Head of your house after all- and send me an owl or something to schedule our next meeting.”
“Sounds cool. I'll do.” and with those simple words they headed towards the Slytherin Common room, and then Cormac would head to his own Dorm.
“Oh, and Hermione?”
“Yeah?”
“You'll always be a Gryffindor deep inside and to all of us. There's no reason to feel like you just don't belong anymore, just because you sleep somewhere else and you have different classes doesn't really mean anything...” said the boy looking over his shoulder while the girl had been looking at him the whole time. His voice was warm, soft and reassuring, just like Hermione remembered Gryffindor.
“But Harry and Ron-”
“They're just missing you too much, there's nothing personal. I've talked to both of them, and they said pretty much the same things. How they miss you and how they wish you hadn't gone to Slytherin and how they can't sleep at night knowing that you're not there and that they've been so horrible to you. Okay, maybe I haven't talked to them, they were talking to Ginny about it in the Common Room, but I was right next to them. And you've heard nothing of this from me!”
“Of course I haven't! I don't even what you're talking about.” replied Hermione with a wide smile formed on her lips.
“Good. See you! Sweet dreams!” said Cormac with a warm, crooked smile and a wink as he left.
“You too!” and then Hermione said the password and as she closed the door behind her, she laid her body on it and smiled kind of mischievously, while biting her lower lip.
“Did you two hooked up or something, 'cause it definitely looks like you my friend just got some... OW! Woman! Kissing, I meant kissing!” said Draco as he saw his friend's face and as he got punched in the rib-case by Pansy who was anxious to know what happened but didn't show it to Hermione in action. The only thing that gave her away were her eyes, burning with a desire to know.
“Yeah, right, kissing!” snored Blaise.
“You guys! Come on! Come here darling and tell us all about it. We're no strangers and it was your first time.” Daphne's voice was heard.
“I didn't have sex!” exclaimed Hermione but she still couldn't get rid of that stupid grin of her face.
“Yeah, right, and I'm the bloody Queen!”
“Oh, Blaise not you too!” said Pansy in clear dismay.
“It's nothing like that... It's just that I just found out that no one hates me. I'm talking about Harry and Ron.” she added once she saw the questioning looks on her friends' faces.
“I told you no one could hate you!” Pansy was apparently the only one who was happy about what she had just heard, since everyone else was wining in disappointment. Obviously, the only thing her fellow Slytherins had in their minds was sex. What could she say though? There's nothing you can do to fight hormone-crazy teenagers, is there?
A/N: I'm terribly sorry for the length of this chapter, but I decided to go at it that way. Short and quickly up-dated. Thank you all guys for your support and please, continue reading, and reviewing; I don't care whether it'a bad comment or not; they both help me become a better writer! xoxo
The next morning came quite quickly and when alarm clocks started ringing around 6:30 A.M nobody got up or was even in the mood to get out of their warm and comfortable beds. Well, nobody except for Hermione Granger who was rather jumpy that day. She claimed she didn't know what had gotten into her, but deep inside she was sure that it was because she now knew that Ron and Harry were never really against or mad at her, and that made her happy.
“Geez Granger, close the curtains, for Merlin's sake!” moaned Draco raising his hand to close the curtain his fellow Slytherin had just opened, but failing to do so.
“Oh, come on Draco! It's a beautiful day outside, look!” Hermione said making Draco sit on his bed and look out of the window -he now cursed- was in front of his bed.
“It's on the verge of raining. Please Hermione... it's an awful day and no one is up yet. Do whatever you want, but please, I'm begging you, let us sleep!” the boy now sounded pretty sad and pathetic, so Hermione with a frown and a few mumbled words closed the curtain and went back to the girls' dorms.
“Good morning sunshines!” she beamed, her mood at its fullest once again.
“Mione, please go back to bed!” a voice was heard, probably from Pansy, but it was controversial.
“You guys are boring...” said Hermione and she left to get dressed and continue with her morning routine.
“Giving you a hard time, love?” a soft, male voice whispered behind her making Hermione jump slightly and clutch her fists until she realized it was only Blaise.
“Hey, you're up!”
“Shut up! We're trying to sleep here!” said a random girl from the sixth year section of the dorm.
“Sorry!” whispered Hermione. “Hey, you're up!” she whispered once again turning to Blaise.
“Yeah... I can't really sleep when I've been awaken before.”
“Whoops! Sorry!” and the girl started taking her shirt off, leaving her standing in front of Blaise with only a pair of almost invisible shorts and her bra.
“Wha... What are you doing?” said the boy after recovering from the shock and covering his eyes with his hands.
“Oh, so it's fair for you to go around with only your boxers when it's forbidden if a girl does it? Plus, I would be doing it anyway, you just happened to be here when you're not really supposed to, so it's not really my fault. And don't say that you've never seen anything like that before!” winked the girl and proceeded to put on a pink tank top to cover it with a black, thin, long sleeved, V-neck T-shirt. Then, she took off her shorts and out on a pair of jeans and let out a small laugh as she glanced at Blaise to see what he was doing, how he was reacting to such a bold move. “You can look now!” she informed him as she was buttoning up her jeans.
“What the feathers did you just do?”
“Fishing for reactions!”
“Great way to do so. I mean it!” chuckled Blaise, looking down and scratching awkwardly the back of his head.
“So, what did I miss?” Draco said as he came into the scene.
“Something really weird... And I still don't know if it's good weird, or bad weird!”
“Like?” the blonde raised an eyebrow.
“Like me putting on my clothes in front of Blaise...” explained Hermione.
“Because?”
“Because that's what I'd be doing either way, whether he was here or not, and I am not willing to let anything hold me back today both emotionally and literally. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm hungry.”
“Hold on, I'm coming with you!” said Blaise, going after the girl like a puppy.
“What's wrong with him?” Hermione asked Draco, whose only response was a shrug. “And, I don't want to disappoint you sweetheart, but you can't really go upstairs with only your sweatpants on...”
“Oh, right....” Blaise shook his head, as if that would help him concentrate. “You go, I'll be there in five.”
“Gotcha!” said the girl and left in the blink of an eye.
“Is she nuts?” Blaise asked his friend.
“Probably yes, but it's best to act normal. How was she?”
“Dude, you're sick! But, seriously, she was wasting herself hiding underneath those robes.”
“Are we perverts?”
“Most likely, yes!” said Pansy who was wide awaken by the whole scene.
“Oh...” was the only response she got.
“I still can't believe Hermione did something like that, though... It's just so not like her!”
“Maybe it's the news she heard last night that gave her the extra boost she needed to become more than she is even if that's for a few hours.”
“Still, it doesn't explain a lot. Maybe... maybe she actually likes Blaise and she was teasing!” said Draco and his two friends turned around to face him and stare at him like he was an alien. “Or not?” he tried to save it, but it was in vane.
“Or she's just horny!” Daphne entered the conversation.
“How do you know what's going on?” Draco asked, kind of stunned.
“My bed's right there you know...” she said calmly, removing everyone's thoughts of someone else knowing which would most likely lead to the whole school being aware of Hermione Granger's quite inappropriate behavior that morning.
“Anyway, I'm starving can we please go for breakfast before we die?” said Pansy grabbing her stomach which growled loudly in hunger.
“Okay. Just give us a second to get ready.” and the boys left the girls' dorm to get dressed.
“What the actual fuck was going on in your mind today?” demanded Pansy as she sat beside Hermione at the Slytherin table. Her friend though seemed to be lost, staring at the Gryffindor table with a silly smile on her face. “Hermione!” the raven haired girl had to snap her fingers in front of Hermione's face to make her wake up from wherever her mind was wandering.
“What? Oh!” she said and she looked down once she realized what Pansy was referring to. “It just... happened. I was so full with energy and happiness that it seemed harmless. It's gotten pretty bad, hasn't it?” the girl was now worried.
“I don't think that anybody really knows what happened except for you, Blaise, Draco, me and Daphne. So, hypothetically speaking, you're not that screwed. But each one of us has a different explanation to your behavior. Daphne blamed it on hormones. To be exact, she said 'Or she's just horny!'. I guessed it right, kind of at least and Draco says that you like Blaise. Blaise on the other hand hasn't uttered a word. It's scaring me, really! Hold on, you don't like Blaise, do you? 'Cause if you do I totally get it, but-”
“I don't like Blaise. It just seemed normal at the time. That's all. I think that I've gone mad. Really. I mean, seriously? Me? Doing almost a striptease in front of someone who isn't even my boyfriend? Honestly, it kind of freaked me out too.” Hermione cut Pansy off.
“Oh. Okay... but better tell them... They're coming!”
“Shoot! Hide me!”
“You have to be kidding me! You won a freaking war, and you're afraid of... Blaise?”
“Technically, I'm not afraid; just embarrassed out of my mind! Now do something!”
“Like what? Vanish you?” said Pansy annoyed.
“It wouldn't be such a bad idea!” replied Hermione who was now trying to fit herself below the Slytherin table before Blaise or Draco saw her. But then, she saw someone staring at her with a puzzled look on his face. It was Cormac. He waved at her and she found this as an excuse to quickly get out of the table and away from her friends.
“What's she doing here?” sneered Ron as soon as Hermione sat next to Cormac, meaning two seats away from him.
“Come on Ronald!” smiled the Slytherin and turned to Cormac. “Good morning! Have to talked to McGonagal yet?”
“I have actually. She approved of your ideas, but said it wasn't enough.”
“Boy, someone's high maintenance! Can I sit with you for a while?”
“Why? Did Ferret Boy and Pug Face bail on you?” asked Ron sarcastically while he received a nudge by Harry. A hard one, since he moaned in pain.
“Even though it's none of your business, my relationships with my friends are perfectly fine.”
“Come on now Hermione, remember what I told you last night.” whispered Cormac.
“I can't really help it.” was the only reply the blonde Gryffindor got.
“So, Mione, I didn't really get a chance to talk to you since we arrived. How are you doing?” asked Ginny politely but with a smirk on her face.
“As a matter of fact, everything's great. Everyone's been treating me like an equal. Strange I know, but none of them really were with Voldemort's side during the War; they were just forced to play-pretend.” replied Hermione, getting the hint. Ginny wanted to make either Harry or Ron -even though Harry was more of a realistic option- to talk to Hermione without starting a fight.
“Sounds great!” Harry's voice was heard and Ginny was smiling mischievously as she did a little dance. “Really.” the boy added, but his voice broke a little at the end. No one seemed to notice but Hermione who gave him a supporting look. She just wanted to get up and hug him, like she did every time she saw that he was upset, but she couldn't. Damn you Ron and your acting!
“Hermione, come on! We're going to be late!” the girl heard a voice from behind her, from where her fellow Slytherins should be. She turned around to face Blaise waving at her like a mad man to get her attention.
“I gotta go. But, I'll see ya around, right?” said Hermione as she got up.
“Sure.”
“Yeah... Why not?” that last one came from Ron.
“Wait, what did you say?” Hermione was stunned.
“I said-” started Ron, but another man's voice covered his.
“Hermione. NOW!” Draco was yelling from the other side of the room.
“Gotta go.” and with those words the former Gryffindor left.
“What's wrong with you people?” said Blaise.
“People who?” asked Hermione raising an eyebrow at her friend while they were all walking towards their first class for the day: DADA.
“Gryffindors! You're so... weird!” he finally admitted.
“It's not all of us love. Just me!”
“Oh, that explains a lot!” said Draco, irony filling his voice.
“Oh, shut up! What's done is done. Can we please move on? I'm tired of this!” Pansy exclaimed and collapsed on her chair.
“We're Slytherins, we don't let go of anything... And newbie had her chance a couple of nights ago. Now we're sticking to it!”
“To get where? What does this” at that point she made a circling gesture with both her hands. “help you gain? What's the point?”
“There's no point, really. It's just... tradition if you may!” added Blaise.
“Traditions are just old habits guys. We should be getting over them as time goes by and we realize that they are useless.” said Hermione, who was standing in a corner this whole time watching and kind of enjoying herself.
“Burn!” commented Pansy.
“Darn it... Think Draco, think!” said the boy with the blonde hair to himself.
“There's no point dude. It was a clear burn-”
“Yes, but traditions makes us who we are now.”
“OK, it was not a burn...” said Blaise with a chuckle.
“It's who you were, Draco. You yourself said that you've all changed, and I can assure you that you were right.” replied Hermione with a smirk.
“Hey, that's my smirk!And... OK, yeah... maybe...” said Draco defeated.
“It's not yours! You can't own a smirk, let alone forbid me from using it!” Hermione tried to defend herself.
“Goodness Granger, not everything's a bloody debate! I was kidding!”
“Oh...” said a blushing bushy-haired girl and just then a door shutting was heard.
“Good morning class! Hope you had a delightful evening.” the Potions professor said as he walked, or more likely floated around the desks to get to the board.
A few “Sure”, “Depends” and “Oh well”s were heard and with a smile that showed his perfect teeth he continued. “OK now kids, it's time that we faced the truth. I've been preparing this speech for quite a while, but I hadn't mustered the courage to even rehearse it in front of the mirror -so it might sound a little but weird at some parts- but, I think it's time you heard it and not from someone who is just trying to be sympathetic. Now.. the two past years must have been the hardest of your life. It's really an honor to have you all standing in front of me, war heroes each and every one of you-”
“But sir,” he was cut off by a student seating at the back of the classroom. “most of our families were Deatheaters.”
“And that's why, my dear friend, it's such an honor to be facing you. I see how much you are not who everybody else thinks you are; I can see it in your eyes, that you're not, not even one of you, something to be frightened or scared about, that you're not able to cause any harm now. You have become everything you were not and everything against what you were raised with. And that's what makes you even stronger now that you have nothing to fear. But, not all of you have suck a 'black' history. Miss Granger for example, who is new to our House; she fought for what we have now, she fought bravely alongside Harry Potter and Ron Weasley for a very long time, much more than anyone normally would have, because she was strong. Do you know why you were re-sorted to Slytherin, Miss Granger?”
“Um... No, not really, sir.” whispered Hermione looking down.
“You are here not because you have changed, but because they have changed.” at that point the professor made a gesture to show the rest of the class. “You were re-sorted because you were the only one who could provide house unity without the 'plan' being reviled. And I hear that you have succeeded quite well with your co-operation with Mr. McLaggen. Anyways, to my point. I just wanted you to know how proud I am of you and that you are much stronger, wiser and brave than anyone else just because you are who you are now. So, with that said, I would like to add that you don't really need any preparation from your teachers' part for your life after Hogwarts. All you need is to know which road you will choose and study hard to get where you want. My subject is pretty useless to anyone who doesn't want to associate with the Dark Arts or even work at St. Mango’s, so you are free to leave if you want to. Those who are interested can stay. Phew... that was it.” he ended his speech with a wipe of his forehead. But to his surprise no one left the room. Everybody had stayed, pinned to their places like they were statues and they were all staring at him, waiting for poor professor Murphy to begin. His green eyes glowing with happiness. “So... no one's leaving?” he felt the need to ask is class, just to be sure.
“Nope.” answered the whole class as if they were one.
“Boy, I must be good!” Damian said to himself and he turned at the students. “So... what do you want to do?”
A chorus of different potions was heard, but one clearly stood out; Amorentia. Hermione could only snort at the immaturity of her fellow Slytherins, but she couldn't help but feel kind of exited at the idea.
“Amorentia it is class. But, just to make this interesting, you'll be working in pairs. Boy-girl. And... I'll tell you your partner. Yeah, it's mean, but you have no idea how fun it will be!”
“For you maybe!” said Draco under his breath.
“Why? Are you hiding something?” asked Pansy, leaning her arm on his shoulder.
“No, but just imagine what would happen if I was paired with Daphne!”
“He's got a point there, you gotta give it to him!” said Blaise, realizing the horror to be paired with Daphne.
“Greengrass with Goyle.” announced the professor.
“Yeah, he was right, this is going to be fun!” mumbled Hermione as she waited anxiously for her name to be called...
After a few names, a few of which Hermione recognized, she heard her professor say “Parkinson with Malfoy.”
“Is there some kind of plan for this?” said Draco, chuckling lightly, the wrinkles of nervousness disappearing from his face.
“Ha ha, I don't think so mate! Consider yourself lucky for being paired with someone as fun as Pansy. I mean, imagine Hermione being your partner!” Blaise said, leaving Hermione open-mouthed in both surprise at his words and a face of both surprise at his words and fake astonishment.
“The horror!” exclaimed the pale boy, putting his hands on either side of his face.
“Oh, come on Draco!” Pansy pushed her friend and -apparently- potions partner to an empty counter.
A few names later Hermione's attention was driven back to the professor. “Granger with Crabbe. Or, actually.... Granger with Malfoy and Parkinson with Crabbe.” said the teacher and smiled to himself thinking 'This is going to be epic!'
A/N: A great big special thank you with a cherry on top to Random!! Thank your for your reviews!!
Oh, and to everyone who read it before it was fixed, I'm sorry! But it's good now.... I suppose!
Hermione was staring the professor in total shock. “No. No, no, no, no, no, NO! How the hell am I going to be able to make a potion with him?”
“What? Don't you trust me Granger?” said Draco with a familiar arrogance and a hint of sarcasm.
“With a potion? No! You're gonna blow this whole thing up!”
“Wasn't that Finnegan's job?”
“Well, yes, but I still don't trust you. Professor, is there any way-” she added raising her voice so she would be heard.
“No, I'm afraid not Ms. Granger. I took advice from Professor Snape as to how to pair you and I promised him to do as he says. My hands are tied.” replied the professor kindly with a sort of mischievous smile.
“Bummer.” mumbled Hermione and moved to Draco's desk leaving her books right next to his quite loudly.
“Now, now Granger!” said Draco with a smirk the girl hadn't seen in some time, and frankly, hadn't missed at all. It always meant trouble or discomfort for her. “Chop chop! We have work to do! Or don't we? I've never even smelled Amorentia before, how am I supposed to know how it's brewed?”
“That's why textbooks are for, Draco!” sighed Hermione in a 'duh' tone.
“Oh, right!” 'Now he seems more like it' thought the bushy-haired girl and smiled to herself. “So, what do we do?”
“Well, you do what the textbook says and-”
“And you supervise?” Draco cut her off.
“Yes. I mean, I am the only one capable of brewing this potion without screwing up entirely.”
“Is that so? Prove it then!” said the blond-haired boy with a mischievous smirk on his face and a childish look in his eyes.
“Oh, I'm not falling for that Draco Malfoy! You do, I correct.”
“No, you do, I learn!”
“Is there a problem back there Mr. Malfoy?” asked professor Murphy.
“No sir. I'm sorry sir.” Draco said while trying to cover up his laughter.
“I'm just hoping you can finish this potion in time.” sad the professor with a strange voice.
“We'll see about that!” commented Hermione poking Draco with her finger.
“Are you trying to say something, my dear Hermione?”
“Oh, no, nothing, my dearest Draco. NOW GET ON WITH THE POTION!!” the girl practically screamed, receiving different kinds of looks from the majority of her classmates.
“Jeez! Fine! Um... the moonstone goes first... and then after 30 seconds we add the juice of rose pedals... we stir 10 times clock-wise and then the light of a firefly, stir 12 times counter clock-wise and-”
“I know the potion Draco! Just get it done!” chuckled Hermione while laying her back on the counter behind her.
“Ugh! You-” but before her partner could finish his sentence, a loud boom followed by a scream was heard.
Draco turned his head towards the source of the noise only to find Hermione Jean Granger with her hair as if she had just plugged her fingers in, making it bushier and darker than it ever was and probably ever will be, her mouth wide open forming an O, and her arms stuck to her sides, her right one tightly clutching her wand. Seamus Finnegan on the other hand, was right behind her, his partner and his counter the only thing between them, and apologizing repeatedly trying not to touch her to trigger an outburst from the girl's side, while Dean Thomas, his partner was trying to control his laughter. Draco was having the same problem as the professor approached to see what happened.
“Miss Granger are you alright?” he asked very kindly, touching gently the girls left arm. Hermione closed her mouth, relaxed and she seemed to forget the accident for a few moments as her cheeks instantly blushed.
“Um... ye- yes professor, I... I'm fine, I think.” she stuttered and stumbled on her words.
“If you feel the need to, you can go to the Hospital Wing.” Professor Murphy said calmly, smiling at his student.
“Th- thank you, sir.” she smiled weakly back. “I think that I can continue.”
“Anyhow, it is an option.” he gave her a genuine smile and he turned around to supervise the rest of the class. To get them back to work actually. And after less than five minutes, everyone was struggling over their potions and had forgotten all about Hermione Granger and the explosion. Except for herself, Seamus -who hadn't stopped apologizing and was getting on her nerves- and Draco Malfoy who was still trying to suppress the urge to laugh his heart out.
“Hermione I'm so so so so so so sorry! I didn't mean for it to happen!” said Seamus for what seemed like the 1000th time in the last five minutes.
“It's OK Seamus. It really is. You can stop apologizing now. Seriously. Stop!” said the girl and elbowed hard Draco in an attempt to stop him from laughing, but she only made things worse. “Would. You. Stop. Laughing?” she added, referring to the blond-haired next to her, each word accompanied with a hit by her potions book.
“I can't help it!” he said and finally burst out laughing, with tears streaming down his eyes, while Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and waited with both anger and patience for Draco to get over his laughing fit, which by the way, didn't seem to happen very soon.
“Fine! I'll do it myself!” Hermione said and got back to work, from where Draco had left.
They spent several minutes in silence after Draco had stopped laughing, because Hermione was clearly very mad at him and he didn't want to set off any more reactions that would cause his friend to be even madder at him.
“Could you please stir this for me? My arm's getting tired.” said the girl out of the blue and the boy gladly took the cauldron away from her and started stirring according to the book as he did so in order to not have similar results to Finnegan.
“I'm sorry Draco.” she added after a while.
“Oh, it's no big deal. Really!” he turned to smile at her.
“It is to me. I guess it was pretty funny. It's just that... after the war I haven't been handling explosions or similar sounds that well.” Hermione's eyes were tearing up now.
“Hey! Don't cry! I get it! No, seriously, it's going to take time but it's all gonna be OK. I've had trouble sleeping and the slightest noise made me jump 10 feet high. But it's all gone now, and yours will soon be too.” Draco said gently with a soothing voice while he tuck an untamed lock of Hermione's hair behind her ear and wiped the tears off her cheeks with his thumbs.
“Thank you!” she mouthed and smiled through her tears.
"It's OK. Now, how are we going to get back to Finnegan?"
"We're not?"
"How can we not? He blew up your hair! Now it's worse than ever before!" joked Draco.
"Hm.... Let me get back at you for that... I have to send an owl first."
"But... you hate owls!"
"It's a special occasion!" said Hermione furstrated.
"Merlin! Fine, whatever!" Draco replied, but Hermione was no longer paying attention. She had a dreamy look in her eyes and her smile was half mischevious and half happy, something she hadn't clearly felt in a while. George. George Weasley. He would know what to do.
Dear George,
I know that this is unexpected and you're now wondering why I'm sending you this letter. Well, I have three reasons: one, I wanted to know how you're holding up and to let you know that if you want to talk to someone I'm here for you. And in a way, I can feel your pain, I can feel the emptiness when I think of the Weasleys or the Burrow. And he's there even if you can't see him. I never told you before, because I hadn't tried it myself but, it helps if you talk to him before you go to sleep. Pretend like he's still there, at the bed right next to yours with that mischievous smile he always wore when you told him something. It's soothing, it takes part of the nightmares away. I hope that it helped.
The second reason is that I myself need someone to talk to. This year at Hogwarts isn't like any other. It's darker, and your absence is more obvious than ever. As you may already know, the year Hogwarts was being reconstructed I went to Beauxbuttons to complete my education, but this year I got back. And I had to get re-sorted. And I got into Slytherin. It's great here. Really! Everyone's so friendly. No one treats me badly. Well, no one in Slytherin anyways. Ron and Harry turned their backs on me along with the most of the rest Gryffindor. Ginny still likes me I guess, and so does Neville and Luna, but I really don't dare to get close to them with Harry and Ron around. Cormac McLaggen is here too this year. He's Head Boy with me, he's really kind. He also told me that Harry and Ron aren't really mad at me. I just don't know how to approach them...
And now, my third reason -which I think that you are going to like the most- is something I need your help about. Today at potions Seamus Finnegan blew up my hair. Hilarious, right? I want to get back at him and you're the first person to come to my mind. I mean, come on, let's face it! You're the king of pranks and I'm in desperate need of one right now. Please, pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty please with a cherry on top? I'll give you cookie!
Looking forward to your letter,
With all my love,
Hermione. .
And with those last words, Hermione Jean Granger opened up her heart George Weasley, someone she had always admired, but never thought as a friend. But, everything had changed, her world had been re-created from scratch, and so had her relationships with everyone she knew, why not with George? She put the tear-stained piece of parchment into an envelope, wrote the address on the lower right and headed towards the owlery to find Draco's owl, Slam (named after her tendency to slam herself into widows). He had been generous enough to let her borrow his owl for this one time. Or, on second thought, he might have been just way too eager to see what Hermione would do to get back at Seamus... either way, the girl had a plan and an owl! And even though she had stained with tears her letter to George at the parts where she mentioned Fred, she felt like she hadn't felt in a long time: hopeful.
She left the library with butterflies in her stomach, something she hadn't felt since the Yule Ball. Merlin was she both excited and nervous that day. She may not have shown it, but Victor Krum was a big deal to her as well. They may not have clicked, but even the memory of him asking her gave Hermione that same old feeling.
*Flashback*
Arithmacy had always been a subject of interest to Hermione, but it seemed that what Professor Vector was teaching just wasn't enough. That led the knowledge-thirsty Gryffindor to the library once again, to dig a little deeper to that facinating world of numbers and letters. After running her fingers on several books, browsing for the one she could use to help her, she felt someone's gaze on her. Hermione quickly snapped out of it, thinking that no one in their right minds would be looking at her so intensly she could feel it; no one was that interested in her. So, with these thoughts she continued, until she found the book she was looking for: Advanced Arithmacy. It sounds silly, looking for a book that could be easily found at Flourish & Blots, but Hogwarts Library was no ordinary place, so there was no room for ordinary books, like the one the curious girl was looking for. She was very much aware of the fact that the book she had just taken out of the shelf was going to be needed only two years after, in her 6th year as a student at Hogwarts, but she needed something about Arithmacy now. Actually, it wasn't about Arithmacy at all. It was because she couldn't stand the tension between her two best friends. She couldn't stand Ron, and she couldn't go to hang out with Harry because he was busy with his tasks and it would make Ron even more furius at her, who was supposed to be neutral about it. She picked a chair and sat quietly, reading the preface of the book that was supposed to take her mind away from things.
"Um, excuse me..." she heard a deep voice with a strong accent. Hermione turned around to see who was talking to her. "I hope that I'm not bovering you, I vas looking at you from over there-" Victor Krum added, pointing at almost the other end of the room. "and I couldn't help but notice how beautiful you are." he ended with a kind smile. Or at least that's what Hermione thought he said. She returned the kind smile, unable to look away or do anything else. For a second she had even forgotten how to breathe. "I vas vondering, do you vant to go to the Ball vith me?"
Butterflies were dancing in the girls stomach, while she started to process what had just happened. Victor Krum had asked her to the Yule Ball. Her, of all the beautiful girls at Hogwarts. She still wished it was Ron in his place right now. But, he was apparently busy with the Beaubuttons girls to even notice her. That made Hermione mad, so with the smile still on her lips she nodded to Victor.
*End Of Flashback*
“Now Slam, please give that to George Weasley. Thank you!" and with those words, Hermione tied her letter to George to the bird's foot, and let it free. Merlin how she wished she was the one flying away at that moment. She wanted to see George herself and not just send him a letter; she wanted to be there for him because what she did when Fred died for George never seemed quite enough. A tear ran down her left cheek. She smiled bitterly as she remembered that she was once heard that if the first tear falls from your left eye, it's from sadness, and if it falls from the right one it's from joy. She still hadn't cried from joy to see if that fact was actually accurate. And as she thought that, Hermione felt her smile fade away and heard footsteps behind her.
“Mione? You OK?” Hermione turned around to face the one and only Ron Weasley.
A/N: Cliffy huh? Haha! Anyway, sorry it's been so long you guys, there's just a lot going on right now. Plus, I was on vacation so it's kinda hard to find an internet connection.... But, the good news is that I'm back and with my laptop -which had crashed- and new chapters will be coming to you more often!
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