“The Marauders Map!” Ron cried happily. “Of course! How did I forget?”
“I’m not sure,” Harry said as he walked into their dormitory to where it was hidden. “But it will tell us where Hermione is, that’s for sure.”
Hermione looked up at the sun, and, seeing that it was well past noon, turned to Draco with worry. “We’d better head back,” she said. “Harry and Ron will be looking for me.”
Draco sighed. “I must admit I’d rather return to those two than Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle. Though Potter and Weasel don’t win by much…”
Hermione was internally irritated. Draco thought that a couple of kisses made him eligible to insult her best friends? Sadly, even after all their discussions, she still did not know him as well as she’d like to. Outwardly, she simply rolled her eyes at him. Some things, she figured, she was going to have to get used to.
The two walked, still chattering, towards the school. The only problem was, going back they’d have to pass Gryffindor tower...
Harry eagerly unfolded the parchment and yanked out his wand. "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good!"
The parchment instantly turned into its true form of a map, with tiny labeled dots moving all over it.
Harry searched the castle. "Hermione Granger...Hermione Granger..." he muttered under his breath.
"Is she there, Harry? Where is she?" Ron asked eagerly.
Harry, not finding her in the castle, scanned the grounds. There weren't many people outside, even on such a beautiful day. Seeing her name, Harry sighed and began to move his arms to show Ron the map. Hermione was just taking a walk! And Ron had been so worried...
Then he noticed the dot beside Hermione's, the one that was quite clearly labeled Draco Malfoy.
Ron was getting impatient. Harry had so obviously discovered where Hermione was, about ten seconds before, so why was he torturing Ron by not letting him see the map?
Ron reached out to grab it, but Harry instantly yanked the map back.
"Harry! Stop it! Where is she?" Ron cried in frustration.
"She's just out taking a walk on the grounds, Ron..." Harry said slowly. "But...well, I'm not sure how to break this to you, mate..." Harry said, shoving the map in Ron's face.
Ron eagerly unfolded the parchment and scanned the grounds. There! Hermione Granger!
Then he, too, saw the dot beside it.
His eyes opened wide and his entire body just froze solid.
"Ron? Ron?" Harry called, grabbing his arm and shaking it.
Ron sat down quickly on the bed, still staring at the parchment.
“The map’s broken, Harry,” he said when he was finally able to speak.
“Maybe,” Harry said doubtfully. “They should be in our view outside the window…”
Both boys immediately ran to the dormitory window, and, sure enough, there was Hermione with Malfoy beside her. They actually appeared…happy. Harry was totally bewildered, but Ron was quick to jump to conclusions as he looked up with a wild look in his eye. "Harry, Malfoy's got her under a curse! Maybe he's blackmailing her!"
Harry opened his mouth to say that Ron was jumping to conclusions again when he suddenly realized how true his conclusion sounded. Why else would Hermione and Malfoy be walking together on a Saturday afternoon?
"Ron, I have to say I can't think of a better explanation," Harry said.
"Of course you can't!" Ron snapped, standing up and grabbing his wand. "So I say we go teach that ferret a lesson he'll never forget!"
Draco and Hermione were still rather obliviously walking along, laughing.
“Though I must say Ireland is by far the best,” Draco finished. “Considering that England couldn’t make it to the World Cup if the championship was handed to them on a silver platter.”
“But you underestimate Bulgaria!” Hermione commented. “Viktor is probably one of the best players in the world.”
“Viktor?” Draco asked, raising his eyebrow.
“Don’t you start, too,” Hermione warned jokingly.
“Too? Who is my counterpart in worrying that you call world-renowned Quidditch players by their first names, may I ask?” he inquired.
“Ron,” Hermione said with a sigh. “He can’t seem to understand that males and females can just be friends.”
“A rather scary concept, don’t you think?” Draco asked seriously. “What does he think he is, anyway?”
“You don’t mean that you think Ron has a crush on me?” Hermione asked doubtfully.
“I’m just saying that maybe there’s a little more to Weasley’s overprotection than meets the eye,” Draco said as if he knew about that sort of thing.
“Well, I doubt it,” Hermione said. “But thanks for caring.”
“That’s the boyfriend’s job, isn’t it?” Draco asked, smirk crossing his face once more.
“So you’re claiming the boyfriend position even though we’ve only had one date? That’s quite an assumption, don’t you think?” Hermione asked playfully.
Draco never got the chance to respond as a single word rang through the silence.
“Expelliarmus!”
Ron cried out the spell with such force that it shocked even himself.
Malfoy, surprisingly, was not the first one to act.
“Impedimenta!” called out Hermione, pointing her wand directly at Ron.
While Ron was still unable to move and Malfoy was scrambling for his wand, Hermione did something that shocked both of her friends.
She ran, quickly but almost calmly, as if even in this situation she couldn't lost her patented Hermione cool, towards Ron until she was only about a foot away from him. Then she pointed her wand directly at his neck and glared at Harry. "If either of you tries any funny business, Ron gets it," Hermione said, but it didn't come out as coldly as any of them expected it to. It was if she was more desperate than angry.
"Let me explain," Hermione said, tears in her eyes. "Please."
"We don't have much of a choice, do we?" Harry said.
Hermione ignored the question. "Draco and I met at the ball," she began.
"Draco?" Ron croaked out. "You're on a first name basis with the albino ferret?"
"Ron, you're on thin ice, don't push it," Hermione warned.
"What do you mean, met?" Harry pressed on. "You've known him for six years, Hermione!"
"Not like I know him now!" Hermione protested.
"Hermione, he's obviously got you under some sort of spell," Harry insisted. "Impedimenta or something. Maybe one we haven't learned about. But you've got to think sensibly, Hermione!"
"I'm the only one that's thinking sensibly right now!" Hermione cried.
"Hermione, he's probably a Death Eater! And you're being friendly with him?" Harry demanded.
"Oh, I'm much more than friendly," Hermione said, now determined to prove Harry wrong. Totally forgetting about Ron, she marched over to Draco and kissed him passionately on the lips.
The kiss shocked Draco. Hermione had never kissed him with such force before, and it was quite obvious that this kiss was for show.
Well, Draco thought, if she wants to make a spectacle in front of her best friends, I can at least enjoy it.
They deepened their kiss as Harry and Ron stared, unable to move, even though the Impedimenta curse was wearing off Ron.
Once the two broke apart, Ron and Harry continued to gape, Hermione looked triumphant and Draco could not suppress his smirk.
It was Ron that shattered the silence. “Well, it’s bloody obvious you’re under a curse,” Ron said as if it was a plain fact. “The Hermione Granger I know would never sink so low as to snog the ferret. Let’s go, ‘Mione.”
“Ron, what are you saying?” Hermione said, shocked. “Can’t you see I love him?”
This revelation took Draco aback. Sure, they really liked each other…maybe they did love each other, but wasn’t it a bit early to be declaring that?
Apparently hearing these words out of Hermione’s mouth jolted something in Ron, too, as the wind suddenly seemed to go out of him.
For an instant, and only an instant, all three people standing by Ron were certain he was going to cry.
But this vanished as quickly as it had come.
“Well, Harry, I think we need to go to Dumbledore about this,” Ron said haughtily.
“It’s against school rules for a Gryffindor to date a Slytherin?” Draco snapped at Ron. “Though if it’s a rule, I’m quite sure you’ve broken it by now, haven’t you?”
Hermione silenced them both with a sharp glance. “Harry,” she pleaded. She saw that Ron would never listen to her. “Please! Give me a little time to say goodbye to Draco. I’ll be up in the common room soon, and then we can talk. Please, don’t go to anyone about this. Not until I can explain!”
Harry glanced at Ron. “Couldn’t wait to hurt until the morning, mate. I don’t think he’ll hurt her now, we’d know who did it and turn him in.”
“I didn’t plan to hurt her in the first place!” Draco snapped. “So keep your bloody nose out of my business!”
Hermione sighed. “Could you two just go?” she asked wearily.
Ron looked as if he’d rather stay, but Harry pulled him along.
As soon as the two were out of earshot, Draco spoke up before Hermione had a chance to say anything.
“Hermione, I just want you to know that you weren’t entirely truthful when you defended me in front of your friends. I am guilty of what they accuse me of.”
A/N: I just wanted to let you know that I’ll be on an out of the country vacation from March second to the thirteenth. There won’t be any chance to update in that time period. As soon as I return, the normal update schedule will resume. I’ll try to get at least another chapter in before then so you’re not left hanging there for two weeks!
Anyway, please review, as always.