Friday morning dawned earlier than Hermione had wanted it to. This morning, it seemed, there was no strange, unknowing moment of bliss. The day came, harsh and cold, with no disguises of happiness. Even the weather was unseasonably cold and gray in the midst of the beautiful spring days they had been having.
With a sigh, she yanked her feet out from the warmth of her covers and onto the cold floor. Once again, she knew it was going to be a long day.
Draco Malfoy had always been an early riser.
It was not that he enjoyed watching the sunrise, like some people did; not that he could see it from the Slytherin dungeons anyway. He had no strange fascination with watching the sky turn colors in the morning. No, Draco liked awakening early because he felt like he had a head-start on everyone else, like he could take an hour to get dressed if he needed it, while the late risers were stuck with five minutes.
On top of that, it always seemed as if there was something on his mind, and thinking about it first thing in the morning, before he had to face anything, seemed to help. This morning, of course, there was the inevitable detention with Hermione to be faced.
It seemed, however, that no matter how long he thought about it, he always ended up going in circles with his thoughts, never getting any farther.
McGonagall was unfair, that was for certain. House unity? Please. She expected that by forcing them to cooperate she would turn them into friends, then suddenly he would decide that Potter and Weasley weren't really so bad?
In her dreams.
Not to mention that she didn't know their situation. Was it really fair to force two people to be in the same room that had broken up in such bitter circumstances? So much for that Gryffindor fairness and justice that they were always going on about. Wasn't fairness more of a Hufflepuff trait, anyway?
Well, whether McGonagall had been right in making them serve detention together or not, he still had to do it. What was he going to do when he got there?
The clearest, easiest option seemed to be to just not talk to her, do whatever they were supposed to do, and move on. But what if the punishment somehow involved talking? He wouldn't put it past McGonagall.
The idea of letting her talk to him crossed his mind, but he was unsure of that. It seemed that she had wanted to tell him more the day he had discovered that she was with Weasley. But what more was there to tell? He was a murderer, or at least, he would be one when he took his vows that summer. He knew that taking your vows and getting the Mark was not all you did. It involved some sort of initiation. That probably meant killing.
In any case, she hated him now. Well...didn't she?
Draco decided that the entire matter was too confusing and had too many variables to be worried about. As much as he disliked it, he'd have to cross those bridges as they confronted him.
Hermione came down to the Great Hall for breakfast, wishing she were still in bed. Harry and Ron were already present, having a conversation of their own.
"You have to do it, Ron, we agreed," Hermione heard Harry say as she slid into the seat next to Ron.
"Tell who what?" Hermione asked.
"Ron has something to talk to you about, Hermione," Harry urged Ron.
"Well...yeah I do...but now's not the time, OK?" Ron said awkwardly.
Hermione nodded, looking at her food.
"Are you all right, 'Mione?" Ron asked worriedly.
"Just a bit tired," Hermione said dismissively.
The three friends ate in silence for a while.
"You still have to keep your end, Harry," Ron said suddenly.
"What?" Hermione asked in bewilderment.
"Ron and I have a bit of a bargain," Harry explained.
"Do I want to know?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, you'll find out soon enough," said Harry, glancing warily at Ginny.
"Anyway, Harry, you have to do it, too," Ron urged.
"If you're keeping your end in your own time, I'll keep mine in my own time," Harry said coolly.
"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Hermione asked in irritation.
"Ron has something he needs to tell you, and I have something I need to tell Ginny," Harry explained. "Why don't you talk about a time and place with her, and I'll talk to your sister, Ron, all right?"
"Fine, fine, don't get so grouchy," Ron gave in.
As Harry towards the other end of the table, Ron sighed. "Sorry about that, 'Mione."
"It's fine, Ron. What do you need to tell me?" Hermione asked.
"Now's not the time. Tonight?" he asked.
"I've got detention, remember?" Hermione reminded him.
"Oh yeah, with Ferret," Ron said with a nod, not noticing Hermione's wince.
"Yes. Well, how about tomorrow evening, after dinner. Room of Requirement?" Hermione proposed.
"All right, then," Ron said.
"What's going on with Harry and Ginny, anyway?" Hermione asked.
"Let's just say that she'll be very happy she broke up with Dean last month," Ron said, his eyes sparkling.
"Playing the matchmaker, Ron? I didn't know you had it in you," Hermione teased.
Their conversation stopped abruptly as Harry slid back in to his seat, looking extremely embarrassed.
"How'd it go?" Hermione asked, suppressing her laughter.
"Do you know how hard it is to tell a girl you need to talk to her when every girl listening is giggling?" Harry asked, looking flustered.
"When are you...er, talking to her?" Ron asked.
"Tonight. Room of Requirement," Harry explained.
"Look on the bright side, Harry. She probably just thinks it's another meeting," Hermione said.
"Meeting?" Ron asked. "But we have those Galleons for D.A. meetings!"
Hermione innerly kicked herself for mentioning the R.R. "Well, I don't know, she could think it stopped working."
Ron looked suspicious, but he merely shrugged. "I guess."
The three friends finished their breakfast in silence, each worrying about a different appointment.
Ron walked away from breakfast still feeling confused.
Weren't girls supposed to be worried when you said you needed to talk to them? Worried that you'd be breaking up with them? Why wasn’t Hermione upset? Was she acting like…a friend?
No. That wasn’t possible. She broke up with Malfoy for him! Well, that wasn’t the best example. She hated Malfoy anyway.
Did she really? She kissed him much more passionately than she had Ron. That image was practically haunting him. Then that moment when she had so boldly declared that she loved him.
What if she did love him?
No, Ron dismissed the thought firmly. She likes me. She broke up with him for me. Hermione would not lie like that.
Would she?
If she thought it would help me see the light, she would. No…she wouldn’t…
Ron ran his fingers through his hair absently as he walked into his first class. It seemed that every time he tried to think, he only ended up more confused.
Draco sat in his Potions class, last thing that Friday, paying no attention to what Snape said.
He doubted that it was something he needed to know, anyway. He always got good marks in Potions. No need to worry about that when so much else could be worried about.
Not that he was getting anywhere worrying about a certain Miss Granger.
Yes, he kept thinking about her. He couldn’t help it. Every time he stopped listening to a teacher, he started noticing her on the other side of the classroom, scribbling madly, her hair falling in her face...
He thanked Merlin for those classes he had with Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.
He had to keep thinking about something. When class became boring, his alternatives were to worry about the detention or let himself continue to fantasize.
Draco decided very quickly that he really didn't have much of a choice, even if thinking about the detention led him nowhere quickly.
It was frustrating not knowing what the detention would entail. It was bad enough knowing that he had to try to get along with Hermione for however long their detention took, but it was worse not knowing specifics.
He realized with a groan that once he showed up at the detention, he would not have anything to think about except her.
Sorry if it's rather cliffish...please review!