Cynthia's Author Note: This isn't really OOTP-compatible, because we started it before OOTP was released. We finished it after that, but by then we were already so far along that reworking it would've taken us about five or six years. So, there are things here that a lot of people might call out of character. If you can't see Draco or the Malfoys as even the slightest bit good and/or don't want to see the Trio fighting or disagreeing over things like that, this probably isn't the fic for you. I'm not quite as attached to this pairing as my co-author is, but I like challenges, and this was a good one for me.
by: Cynthia and Emerald J
A single star shone in the soft blue sky that arched over Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hermione hardly noticed it however, any more than she noticed the slightly annoying stick poking into the small of her back as she leaned against the broad-branched tree she was currently underneath. There were other things on her mind that felt a lot more important: such as the blazing row she'd had with her now former boyfriend Ron Weasley before Christmas break had started.
I can't believe he did something like that. The sting hadn't faded appreciably since the actual event, and she wasn't all that certain that it was going to any time soon. The bushy-haired seventh year sighed just a little bit. Gryffindor Tower had felt so empty and lonely since she was the only one of their House who had stayed over this year. It would have been nice to go home, and she'd really wanted to, but...well, there was no use in wasting time thinking about that. She couldn't do anything about it, and worrying over it didn't really change anything.
She was glad that Ron, Harry, and Ginny had went to the Burrow for the holidays, though. Things might be quiet, but it gave her a chance to think without everyone else around. I wonder where Crookshanks is. Probably off chasing mice somewhere. It might've been nice to have him to talk to. He might not be able to talk back, but her squashed-face cat always listened, even more so than the usual cat did.
The whoosh of a broomstick going by caught her attention, and she turned slightly to watch the flyer. She knew who it had to be; there was only one other person other than a few teachers here at the moment. It was the one, the only (and many people were grateful for that), Draco Malfoy.
He really flies well. Hermione cheered for Gryffindor no matter what in Quidditch, but she'd never really paid that much attention to how anyone flew outside of class or a game, and during games, her attention was always on her own House team, not what tricks the Slytherins were up to. But now that she had the time, it was impossible to deny that the slender frost-haired young man had a lot of talent.
"Enjoying the view, Mudblood?" Hermione jumped just a little at the sudden voice, and realized that he was hovering right in front of her, staring down with that ever-present Malfoy sneer.
Stuck up snob. One of her personal favorite memories was of almost slapping that smirk right off of his face when they were younger. If he kept taunting her, she was more than glad to give him a repeat performance, too. But she wasn't going to let him get to her if she could avoid it. That just makes him do it more. She kept her gaze on the glistening stars, more of which had emerged while she'd been distracted. "The stars are beautiful tonight." She flicked her eyes back at him calmly. "Why, did you think I was looking at you?"
He shrugged casually. "Why shouldn't you be?" The way he said it clearly spelled out that he expected people to be looking at him. She had to admit he was kind of striking, all pale and slender, like a birchwood tree or a ghost. Only alive.
"You've got a really good opinion of yourself, did anyone ever tell you that?" Hermione asked tartly. "If you were as big as your ego, you'd be ten times the size of Hogwarts!"
Malfoy's chuckle should be outlawed. That was how superior and smug it sounded every time he did it. "I deserve every inch of that ego, too. I am the best there is...at everything." He was never going to let anyone in Gryffindor live down the fact that Slytherin had won the Quidditch Cup in their sixth year due primarily to his own efforts in the last match against Gryffindor. He'd been strutting around Hogwarts ever since, even ignoring the fact that the House of the Lion had won the House Cup overall.
"Is there something you want?" Hermione was getting just a little bored with him and his attitude. There wasn't really enough space for all three of them right here anyway.
He eyed her for a moment, quite obviously checking her out, and she felt a faint shiver going down her spine at the cool regard in those pale gray eyes. Ron had never looked at her like that, nor had anyone else. I wonder what he's thinking about...and why he's doing that. She refused to let the nervousness show, however. It was like facing up to a hippogriff. If you showed your fear, it would savage you horribly. "Enjoying the view?" She drawled out in an almost perfect imitation of his own question. She wondered briefly if her decision to wear the jeans and sweater her cousin had sent her had been a wise one. It was warmer than normal for the time of year, and with hardly anyone else being around, it had seemed like a good idea. But now with Draco Malfoy very obviously appreciating the view given by the tight clothes, she wondered if she'd made the right choice.
"I've seen better," he finally replied. "But you have been trying to clean yourself up some."
She leaned back a little, wriggling her shoulders until she found a comfortable spot against the tree. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"And if I didn't mean it that way?" He responded quickly and easily, a challenge floating in those gray eyes, one that she couldn't quite read.
"Then I'd be insulted."
He rolled his eyes a little. "Always one or the other with you, isn't it?" The way his comments ran, that was almost polite. It also got her a little wary. Whenever he seemed to be acting nice, there was an ulterior motive, and usually one that would get anyone wearing red and gold in trouble. He watched her for a moment, then continued. "I heard that you and the Weasel broke up. Of course, I think all of Hogwarts and half of Hogsmeade heard it. You two were rather noisy."
This wasn't the way she wanted the conversation to go. Actually, I don't want it to go at all. Why am I even talking to him? The answer was pretty simple really, even if she refused to let her mind actively think it. She wanted to talk to someone, and no one else was there. "He's an idiot."
"I could've told you that." Malfoy snorted quite inelegantly. "And I think I have, frequently."
She stared briefly down at the ground, the memory of that fight replaying in her mind incessantly. "I wish I'd listened." Oh, she had not just said that. She had not just said that she wished she'd listened to Draco Malfoy!
"That's the kind of mistake you make when you're...you." Malfoy's voice acquired a kind of purring tone to it, slightly more amusing than his usual drawl. Some tiny part of her whispered that it was fairly nice to listen to, and he did seem to be insulting her less. Of course he could just be saving them up for something special.
"Anyone could make that mistake!" She flared briefly at him, and he just grinned smugly, his snow-white teeth flashing in the almost gone sunlight.
"I didn't." He eyed her again, something obviously going through his mind. She wished for a moment it were legal to use mind-reading spells on fellow students. Whatever he was thinking about, it couldn't be good for her. "Hm...no, you wouldn't be interested. You're too much of a 'good girl'." The way he said the last two words held all the contempt and mockery he'd always used for 'Mudblood'.
Hermione narrowed her eyes slightly. "What are you talking about?"
"I don't think you really want to know." He drawled casually. She knew he was just toying with her, wanting to make her ask more, maybe even beg to know, that would be like him. "It's really far too hard for someone like you, all honor and honesty and such. Besides...I don't think you really want to get back at him."
Everything around her seemed to freeze suddenly. She cast a quick look around just to make certain the world hadn't stopped moving somehow, then looked back at him. "You've piqued my curiosity." That was as close to begging as she'd ever come with him. "So just what are you talking about? Getting back at who?"
Malfoy sniffed almost politely. "And you're the smartest witch in our year? What were we just talking about, Granger? I think it was pretty obvious." He dismounted his broomstick and strolled a little closer to her, his pale eyes never leaving her. She sat where she was, not entirely certain of what was going on, but of all the myriad of thoughts that wandered about in her brain, she had never thought of what actually happened.
Draco Malfoy kissed her.
For a single heartbeat she simply sat there in shock, then started to return it, her instincts overriding her common sense. He's...gentle...not like Ron...sloppy kisser...
As they pulled apart, he looked calmly at her, as if he did this sort of thing every day. She was almost certain she'd moaned somewhere in there, but if she had, he wasn't going to comment on it. "Well?" His tone was still calm and unruffled. This must be why people call him the Prince of Ice. She couldn't remember ever really seeing him loose his cool. Be upset, yes, but he was always calmly upset, never wildly angry or anything like that, and that had only become more frequent as they'd gotten older. "I can't think of any better way to get revenge than to be my girlfriend."
"Why are you even asking me this anyway?" Hermione grabbed for the first question that passed her mind that made sense. She couldn't believe how much she'd enjoyed that kiss. It wasn't blazing fiery passion or sloppy first times or anything like that...it just...was. And something in that simplicity made her want more of it. "You hate Mudbloods, you hate me!"
He shrugged casually. "I need someone to get my parents off my back, and there's no one around here who has the necessary IQ points and blood, so I have to go with what I do have."
"And you don't want to be in a real relationship, do you?" She challenged. She knew he'd dated Pansy Parkinson a couple of times in the last few years, but as far as she knew, it had never been anything more than convenience. Not that she listened to Parvati and Lavender gossiping after lights out or anything.
He raised one elegantly carved ice-white eyebrow. "A 'real' relationship?" She couldn't remember if she'd ever seen a look on his face that was so purely condescending. You'd think I'd asked him to serve me a hamburger or something like that, something so beneath his Grand Pureblood Dignity.
"I meant that you didn't want to look for a real girlfriend instead of a 'revenge' relationship." Hermione clarified. This wasn't exactly what she'd been looking for in her next situation, but it wasn't as if he were offering her true love and a happily ever after. He'd probably laugh in her face if she even mentioned it.
"Does it matter?" The casual nature of the question said quite plainly that he didn't think it did.
Well, that was perfectly fine with her. "Not really. So how long should this last? Until spring break?" At the very least it would give her something to keep her mind off her mother's problems.
"Long enough to keep my parents off my back until I find someone who is suitable." Malfoy told her. "This isn't going to be permanent, Granger. This is just...convenience for us both. Got it?"
She'd never expected anything else from him. If she were to be fully honest, she hadn't even expected this from him. "Do you think everyone is going to believe it, though?"
"Exactly how much does someone else's opinion matter?" Malfoy wondered. She wondered just how he was able to keep any friends with that attitude. Then again, maybe he didn't. He'd never seemed to have anyone around regularly except Crabbe and Goyle, and they'd never struck her as all that bright anyway.
"Well, it wouldn't be revenge if Ron and Harry don't believe that this is a real relationship." Hermione reminded him. "I want Ron to suffer most of all for what he did." For one moment she still seemed to be standing there, seeing Ron and seeing her, clinched together, all over again. It wasn't really getting any better no matter how many times she remembered it.
"Then we'll make them believe it." Draco's confident grin was every bit as scary as his usual smirks. He sat down beside her, not ever taking his eyes away from her face. She couldn't really be certain which made her more nervous, the fact he was sitting beside her or the fact he just never stopped looking at her.
"I've never done this sort of thing before," she admitted. He chuckled softly.
"It's not hard."
The next words were even more hard to get out than the acceptance of the deal. "If I make any mistakes...tell me?" The thought of having to wait for him to tell her she'd screwed up on anything was absolutely abhorrent. She made a note to research just what went into sham relationships and how to pull them off successfully. "We have the rest of the week before anyone comes back to talk about this, and tomorrow I'm going into Hogsmeade with Professor McGonnagal so I'd better head to bed. See you around."
Hermione got up, then glanced back as her hand was caught by his. He pulled her down a little and kissed her once more, his tongue prodding lightly at her lips. She returned the kiss with a touch more enthusiasm this time, knowing what he wanted. They'd have to do this a lot in public for everyone to believe it, so the best thing to do was to get in a lot of practice. She deepened it just a little, and was surprised to notice that this close, she could actually see a little emotion in his eyes. I think he's getting a little weak in the knees. She mentally grinned, then pulled away. "Good night."
She headed back inside the castle, aware that he was still standing there, and smiled to herself. Maybe this sham relationship wasn't such a bad idea after all. I really do need to get some rest tonight. Tomorrow's going to be a busy day. She almost didn't notice Professor McGonnagal coming down the hall towards her until the last second. "Hello, Professor!" Something occured to her and McGonnagal was the only person she could ask about it.
"Hello, Miss Granger." The Transfiguration teacher glanced at her with a polite, firm smile. Hermione had learned over the years that the tall, thin witch had a truly soft heart, and she had an idea that she would be just as upset with Ron as she herself was if all the facts were told. "Is there something you needed?"
"I was wondering, while we're in Hogsmeade tomorrow, is there any place that I could get my hair cut at." She touched the bushy pile on top of her head in slight irritation. She'd been itching to get it taken care of for months now, but Ron had always said he'd liked it just the way it was, the way it had been when they'd first met each other. Just maybe it was a time for a change for that too.
McGonnagal nodded brusquely. "There are some wizarding salons that could do it, if you have the gold." She had been quite firm that though she was providing transportation and an adult presence, anything that Hermione wanted she was going to have to get for herself.
"I do." Hermione saved every scrap of wizard gold she could get her hands on, and exchanged a lot of her birthday and Christmas money that her Muggle relatives sent for Galleons. It made life in her chosen world so much easier. "Thanks. Good night, professor."
"Good night, Miss Granger. I'll see you in the morning." The professor headed on her way, and Hermione headed for the Fat Lady's portrait. Though it was dark outside, for some reason things felt just a little lighter in her heart.
Getting one's hair done at a wizarding salon wasn't quite like getting it done anywhere else. Hermione simply told the hairdresser what she wanted it to look like, and with a little wave of a wand, a little potion application, and some enchanted scissors, her hair was no longer bushy, but straight and reached just past her shoulders.
"Very nice." Professor McGonnagal approved as she came out of the building. Hermione had always imagined that the Deputy Headmistress would have better things to do with her time than escort a seventh year around Hogsmeade, but she wasn't going to argue. Tensions had been easing slowly ever since Harry's defeat of Voldemort the previous Halloween, in eerie counterpoint to the death of his own parents so long ago, but the occasional surviving Death Eater still made attempts on lives, just to remind everyone that it hadn't been a clean sweep. Hermione had little desire to become one of their victims.
"Thanks. I hope he likes it."
McGonnagal raised one eyebrow lightly at the comment as Hermione went to do a little window shopping. "Who?" She waited until the younger witch had looked back at her. "You said you hoped he liked it. Who?" She didn't often involve herself in the love lives of her students, but it was Christmas. A little letting down of the hair was permissible.
"I didn't mean to say it out loud," Hermione blushed slightly and looked away. "But Draco...I mean, Malfoy."
McGonnagal blinked slightly in surprise. "I see. I wasn't aware that you two knew each other that well." This was definitely not what she'd been expecting when the two of them had been made Head Boy and Head Girl.
"Not really," Hermione stared back into the window of the shop intently. "But things happen, I guess." I don't think she'd like it that much if I told her the truth. Besides, it really won't work if anyone does know the truth.
The teacher nodded for a moment, then headed into the herb shop that had been the main purpose for her trip there in the first place. Hermione looked around in it for a few moments, then spied something across the street. Perfect. Just perfect.
"Is there anywhere else you'd like to go before we return to school?" McGonnagal asked, tucking her purchases away in a bag that looked too small to actually hold them. Hermione nodded quickly.
"Just one more stop and I'm ready." She hurried over there, dodging various other shoppers, and stepped into Gladrags Wizarding Wear. She came out a few moments later with a beautiful dress robe wrapped up under one arm, carefully packaged so no one could see just what it looked like. "All right, I'm ready."
McGonnagal glanced at the store she'd left, but made no comments as they headed back to the castle. Hermione was glad her Head of House kept quiet; she didn't think she felt like explaining it anyway...even if she were certain of how.
The first, and just about only, person that Hermione saw in the Great Hall was Draco, seated at one of the smaller tables that had replaced the House ones because of the reduced student population. She headed over there, a faint shiver going through her at the thought of him seeing her in her slightly altered condition. I shouldn't worry about this. It's not that important. None of that changed the nervousness fluttering around in her guts, however.
"Nice hair." He eyed her for a moment before returning his attention to the food. She murmured thanks back as she started on her own lunch. Things were quiet for some minutes, then Draco pushed his plate back and fixed her with one of those cool gray looks. "Would you like to go flying?"
She smiled just a little. That had to be one of the most courteous questions he'd ever had come out of his mouth. "I'd love to."
It was one of those glistening winter mornings; an ice-blue sky arched overhead, and a light, chilly wind tugged at their hair and clothes. Hermione ran a hand down her broom and shivered just a little. I wonder why he asked me. Just keeping up appearances in front of the teachers, I guess. That still did nothing to keep her from being nervous, however. She was still flying with one of the best Seekers that Hogwarts had seen in years.
"Let's go!" With a graceful push Malfoy launched himself into the air, and Hermione followed him. The wind wrapped around them both, but as they rose higher, neither of them really seemed to care that much.
She would have been hard put to really describe anything that actually happened as they flew. The touch of the winter sun on her back, the feel of the broomstick in her hands, the sheer nervousness slowly fading away to the enthrallment of being in the air...all of them wiped away any memory of anything else.
I wonder how many people know how much I like to fly? She had never really let on, to be honest. After all, with Harry as the star Seeker and Ron as the Keeper on the Gryffindor team, no one really seemed to expect her to be anything but their cheerleader. She certainly wasn't expected to pick up a broom and go flying herself.
She did a merry loop just for the sheer joy of it, then noticed that Malfoy was watching her out of the corner of one eye. I wonder what's on his mi...what's that? She caught a glimpse of something glittering beside the Gryffindor stands and darted down towards it. A moment later she had it in her hand, a confidant grin on her face.
"What's that?" Malfoy pulled to a stop a little bit away from her and looked at the item in her hand.
"My bracelet. I lost it at the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw game three weeks ago." Hermione grinned as she put it back on firmly. She'd been looking everywhere for that thing.
Malfoy tilted his head slightly. "You should've been a Seeker." There was a vague sort of grudging respect in his tone, as if he didn't really want to say the words. That wouldn't have surprised her. If he ever gave her an outright compliment, she'd be certain he was sick or under Imperius.
"I don't think so." Hermione shook her head. "That's Harry's department, not mine. It's not that important, after all."
His eyes glinted lightly at her in amusement. "True. After all, you couldn't beat me either."
"Let's finish our ride," Hermione didn't see any real reason to keep stroking his ego. She pulled her broom up and headed up farther, enjoying the feel of the wind in her hair. I'm going to have to spend some extra time brushing it. I think I'll reorganize my schedule a little so I can do that and get in that extra essay for History of Magic while I'm at it.
She turned her broom back towards the castle, then paused for a heartbeat. Was that...yeah, it's him. There was absolutely no mistaking that hair for anything else. She glanced over at Malfoy for a moment. "Let's do some flying over the Forbidden Forest." I know he's going to see us. There's no way he couldn't. He knows we're the only ones who'd even be here right now. If they were going to pull off a convincing fake, it was best not to miss a single trick.
As the two of them flew that way, she was almost certain that Ron was glaring at them. She did a half loop, flying upside down for a few moments before correcting herself, then headed in for a landing, a wide grin spreading across her face as she did so. I can't believe how much fun this has been! Words simply didn't seem adequate for once.
Her eyes flicked briefly around, then a certain imp of mischief nibbled at her, and she leaned forward to lay her lips gently across his. She knew that Ron was clearly able to see what was going on, and she kept on kissing, making certain he saw she was the one who had started it. I wouldn't have done this three years ago...but three years ago, Ron didn't do what he did.
"You're a wonderful kisser," she murmured softly as they pulled apart. Draco looked ever so slightly impressed, or so she told herself anyway.
"Are you certain you haven't dated anyone except for the Weasel?" Draco looked slightly impressed, but it faded quickly, leaving that usual sardonic grin of his. "You certainly kiss better than I'd expect for that."
Hermione shrugged a bit. "I know I haven't dated anyone else. But kissing him was like kissing a fish." She hated to say it, but it was true. Ron had a lot of skills, but kissing wasn't really one of them. "Would you like to fly again tomorrow?"
"I believe I just might." Malfoy replied. "Unless something better comes up."
The two of them headed inside, separating to go to their respective common rooms, and Hermione wasn't surprised to find herself walking almost right into Ron as he stared at her on one of the stairways.
"Why, hello, Ronald." She looked at him calmly. "What brings you back so soon?"
He glared at her, his face almost as pale as his hair was red, fury written all over him. "What were you doing??" From the tone of his voice, she would have expected to be cavorting with the reborn spirit of Voldemort, not just flying around.
"Going to the common room." She retorted lightly, enjoying the look on his face.
"No, I meant out there!"
She shrugged. "Flying with Malfoy. He asked me to, after all." She touched her lips with a smile, remembering the feel of his on hers. That had been so...sweet.
Ron shifted almost at once from red to nauseous green. "Hermione, that's Malfoy!"
"No...that's Draco." Hermione smiled just a little. Yes. Draco. Even if it were just a sham, that didn't matter. He was Draco. Her smile widened briefly. "And a wonderful kisser."
Her friend looked as if he just might possibly throw up. "You kissed him??"
"Several times." Hermione walked around him and headed towards the common room, giving the password casually as she did so. "So what brought you back so early?"
"Ginny got sick and mom didn't want to risk us catching it," Ron told her. Hermione frowned a little. She didn't mind the redhead being here, but Harry and Draco had been rivals from the start, and if they both started to yell at her...
"Harry's here too?" She got a confirming nod. "Well, I hope you two have a good time together, because I'm probably going to be spending most of it with Draco."
Ron shuddered just at the mention of the name. "Why?" It seemed as if he couldn't even comprehend the thought of someone liking the pale rich boy.
"Maybe I'm starting to like him!" Hermione almost enjoyed the look of revulsion that caused. It also kind of annoyed her. "What's the matter, Ron? I start to like someone other than you and you act as if I'm sick."
He shook his head quickly. "No, you start to like Malfoy and you're sick!"
Hermione shot an angry look at him. "At least kissing him isn't like kissing a fish!" She shook her head a little, noticing the slight shock in Ron's eyes as he finally noticed that she wasn't quite the way he'd left her, and enjoying it to the hilt. "Well, we're going flying again tomorrow, so if you will excuse me." She headed to the private room that being Head Girl got her, and shut the door firmly behind her.
Ron stared after her for a moment, then flopped next to Harry on the couch. "I can't believe this." This had to be some kind of spell or hex or nightmare or something like that.
"She...kissed Malfoy?" Harry looked about like Ron felt at that thought. "You don't think she's doing this just to get back at you for the breakup, do you?"
The fiery redhead snorted in indignation. "If she is, then she can just keep him! I'm not kissing someone who kissed Malfoy!!"
Harry eyed his friend for a moment. "She dumped you, didn't she? Karen?" He had never quite trusted the Ravenclaw who had wormed her way into Ron's emotions a few weeks earlier. The youngest male Weasley could be quite flighty sometimes even now, easily led somewhere by a pretty face, and Karen Ackerly was one of the most beautiful girls in Hogwarts. Ron muttered something under his breath, and Harry leaned a bit closer. "What was that?"
"Yeah." The response was muttered and sullen, but he could hear it this time. Harry shrugged some, wishing there was something more he could say or so.
"Well, you shouldn't have dumped Hermione." Harry had never really thought that much about Hermione in a romantic sense, but he did have to admit that she and Ron were a lot like flint and steel. "Well, let's head to bed. This is probably a bad dream."
Ron sighed darkly. "I didn't think they came this bad."
"They come worse." Harry reminded him, thinking of a few nightmares he'd had over the last few years. "They can come a lot worse."
Hermione stirred a little, then opened her eyes. It's Christmas morning. She could feel a pile of gifts at the foot of her bed and smiled a little. She was pretty certain she knew what they all were, but that didn't diminish any of her joy in getting them in the first place.
She sat up carefully and looked at the pile there. A lot of it was just what she'd expected, but one of them was strange. Who sent this? She checked the tag on it, and stared. Draco???
The silver and green wrapping paper that was wrapped around the gift quickly was torn off, and she stared down at the soft green velvet cloak, trimmed in pure silvery fur. "I don't believe this..." Hermione ran a hand across it gently, hardly able to believe she was actually seeing it, much less feeling it. I'm glad I sent him that sweater. This keeping up appearances isn't too hard.
She went through the rest of her gifts, leaving only the ones that had been marked as being from Ron and Harry. Once she was done, she grabbed hold of one of her favorite books and headed to the common room. She knew the others were going to be down there soon enough, and imagining how they'd react to her new cloak was rather enjoyable.
The reality was even more amusing when Harry and Ron entered the common room just a few minutes after she'd settled in. "Who gave you that?" Ron blurted out, staring at the emerald beauty wrapped around her.
"Draco." She patted the ruff a little. "Isn't it lovely?"
Ron snorted angrily. "I've seen better."
"Where?" Hermione wasn't going to take that so tamely. She'd tried never to insult Ron's financial status, but he was just starting to get on her nerves some. "The store window?"
Her housemate stared at her as if she'd just said Percy was a Death Eater. "You're already acting like him, Hermione! Nice to see where your real loyalties are."
"You lost my loyalties when you dumped me and Harry took sides," Hermione snapped harshly. "Draco likes me and I like him!"
"Yeah, sure. You like someone who has spent seven years insulting you. What did he do, suck all your brains out? Going to start trailing after him and cooing about how cute he is?"
Hermione sighed a little. This was getting to be harder than she'd thought it would be. "No, Ron. People change. I at least thought you'd be happy that I'm happy. After all, you're the one who broke my heart." She stared into the fire, remembering once more the touch of Draco's lips on her own.
"You don't know if you're happy." Ron snapped, ignoring her murmured assertion that she did. "You barely know him!!"
She shook her head a little. "I am happy with him." She stood up quickly, her heart shuddering in pain at being so close to Ron when he was being this much of a pain. "I have to go meet Draco."
"Going to eat at the Slytherin table too?" Ron snapped at her. She shook her head as she wrapped the cloak more tightly around her and started back up to her room. He's such a jerk sometimes...but... She sighed a bit. As much as he could annoy her, she couldn't really shake the fact that Ron and Harry were her friends, and had been for years.
It was almost impossible for her to remember any time when they hadn't had some kind of adventure together during the course of the year. Even when she hadn't liked them, she'd gotten caught up with them anyway. Guess I can't get away from them...and I don't think I really want to.
Once she was cleaned up and ready for the day, she headed back to the common room, just in time to see Ron looking at the gift she'd sent him: the latest version of Flying With The Cannons. "I'm sorry," she got his attention right away with that one, even though he still kept staring at the book. "I had no right to say that, and I didn't mean it. I'm still mad at you for what you did to me, and I snapped."
He glanced up, and she was glad to see he was smiling. "It's okay. I mean, I don't really like the fact it's Malfoy, but you're my friend, and if that's what you really want..."
"It is." She was certain of it. Of course Draco still believed this was a sham, and it would probably fall apart...but she couldn't really care right now. It just felt too real for her to care. "And Ron, you have to admit, that the only place any of us have seen a cloak like this was in a store window."
He looked a bit reluctant, but she was right, and they both knew it. "Yeah...he's not trying to buy you or something, is he??"
"He got me with his kiss," Hermione told him, flushing just slightly. "No offence. But I've got to go."
Ron nodded a little, then smiled some at her. "Happy Christmas."
"You too." She headed out as swiftly as she could, looking forward to seeing Draco Malfoy for the first time in seven years.