Hermione woke up on Tuesday, and got dressed slowly. She rubbed her eyes; the dreams where she would wake up with an image of Draco’s eyes before her had started again.
She didn’t have to worry about going to Potions, but there was always the chance of running into Draco while going from class to class.
‘Ok,’ Hermione thought, sighing and looking into her mirror. ‘I can do this. I have to do this. I can’t let this distract me, I have to finish the Felix Felicis tomorrow, and I have to get ready for whatever may happen this weekend…I won’t let this affect me.’
Hermione nodded to herself in the mirror, turned and grabbed her scarf and bag off her bed, and left her room.
When she got to the bottom of the stairs, she noticed that neither Harry nor Ron were there waiting for her like they usually did. She frowned slightly, but decided to continue down to the Great Hall for some breakfast.
When she reached the Entrance Hall, she just started at the doorway leading into the Great Hall.
‘Just walk in, and sit at the Gryffindor table,’ she thought to herself.
She took a deep breath, and walked into the Great Hall. She saw Draco look up at her when she entered, but she determinedly focused on the Gryffindor table and sat down with her back to him.
‘OK,’ she thought, and let out the breath she was holding.
She looked up and down the Gryffindor table, but Harry and Ron weren’t there either. Now she was starting to worry.
‘Where on earth could those two be?’
“Hermione!”
Hermione turned to see Ginny running towards her.
“Ginny, hey, what’s up?”
“Well,” Ginny huffed, sitting down next to Hermione and loading her plate with eggs and toast. “My brother, and my boyfriend are missing this morning, and I wanted to know if you knew where they went.”
Hermione shook her head. “No, actually, I don’t. I was going to ask you if you knew where they were.”
Ginny looked nervous when she asked, “Do you think they are doing something for Dumbledore?”
Hermione grimaced.
“I dunno, maybe. But you would think they would have at least hinted that they weren’t going to be here this morning, so we wouldn’t worry.”
“Yeah,” Ginny sighed. “Well, the only thing to do then is to accept that they are fine and continue on with our day, I’m sure they’ll be here for class.”
Hermione nodded, and started to put some food onto her plate. She was putting jelly on her toast, when she glanced over at Ginny who was staring at her intently.
“Ginny,” Hermione said. “I can feel your eyes burning a hole through me, if you want to ask me something, ask.”
A mischievous smile broke out across Ginny’s face. “So, is it true? Did you really kiss Malfoy?”
Hermione sighed. She knew her best friend couldn’t resist this kind of gossip.
“Yes, it’s true.”
Ginny let out a giggle and grabbed Hermione’s arm.
“Sooo,” Ginny giggled.
“Sooo, what?”
“Ugh! Hermione, please, come on, we are gossiping! So, how was it? Did he kiss you back? Have you talked to him? Are you guys dating now?”
“Whoa, whoa, Ginny, oh my God, where did all that come from?”
“Hermione,” Ginny said, exasperated. “You kissed Malfoy! I knew you liked him, but you didn’t tell me you like him that much!”
Hermione blushed slightly and said, “Well, I just recently admitted it to myself.”
Ginny giggled excitedly again. “So, are you going to answer my questions or what?”
“Well, there’s nothing really to tell. I kissed him, and then he told me to leave, so-”
Ginny gasped, “He told you to leave?”
Hermione nodded.
“What is his problem,” Ginny said, turning to glare over at the Slytherin table.
“No, Ginny,” Hermione said, turning her back around. “Don’t look over there.”
“Oh,” Ginny laughed again. “Don’t want him to know we’re talking about him, I see.”
“Ginny, please, can we stop talking about this?”
Ginny just shot her a glare. “You know, Hermione, there’s a reason you kissed him. You should go talk to him.”
“And, what?” Hermione asked. “Yell at him for being stubborn, and tell him that no matter how many times he tells me to leave, I’m not going to?”
“Yes,” Ginny said simply, taking a bite out of her toast.
“Ugh,” Hermione said, putting her head on the table. “Ginny, it’s not that simple.”
“Yes, it is. You like him, he obviously likes you, and therefore, I don’t see the problem.”
Hermione just looked up and stared at her.
Ginny stared back.
Hermione sighed, “Yeah, ok, I know I can’t go forever without talking to him, I just can’t right now, alright?”
“Fine,” Ginny said. “But promise that you will, or else I will make you.”
“Ok, I promise.”
“Good,” Ginny said, getting up. “I have to go, gunna be late for Transfiguration. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Ok, see you.”
Hermione sighed, and looked down at her half eaten breakfast. She needed to go too, or she was going to be late for Ancient Runes.
*~*~*~*~
He had caught the murderous glare Ginny had sent his way, and he saw Hermione turn her back around towards the Gryffindor table.
‘I bet I know what that was for,’ he thought.
He stared at the back of Hermione’s head the whole time he was eating his breakfast; barely concentrating on the food he was consuming.
After a while he saw Ginny get up, leaving Hermione alone at the Gryffindor table. A few minutes later he saw Hermione get up and head for the Entrance Hall. He quickly took another swig of pumpkin juice, and followed her.
“Hermione,” he called, as she was beginning to climb the stairs.
She turned to face him, and he could see her tense up. He walked over to the bottom of the stair case; she was two steps above him.
They stared at each other for a few minutes; he saw her fidget with a loose string on her scarf.
“Did you want to tell me something?” she asked, and he could hear the nervousness in her voice.
Draco blinked. “Uh, sorry, yeah, um, I won’t be able to patrol with you tonight. I have to go make up for lost time on my potion for Slughorn’s class.”
“Oh,” Hermione said. Draco thought he saw her frown slightly.
“So…”
“Yeah, I’ll ask Ron if he’ll patrol with me instead.”
Draco nodded and looked down at the floor.
“Look, I just want to say-”
“I’m gunna be late to Ancient Runes.”
They both spoke at the same time.
“Oh, sorry,” Draco said, his face flushing slightly. “You should get to class.”
“Well, what were you going to say?”
Draco shook his head. “It wasn’t important. Don’t worry about it.”
They both stood there looking at each other for a few more minutes. Draco swallowed uncomfortably.
“Didn’t you say you had to get to class?”
“Right,” Hermione said, blinking again. “I…well, bye then.”
He watched her go up the stairs before heading back to the Slytherin common room.
*~*~*~*~
Hermione walked into the Gryffindor common room after her Ancient Runes class, and saw Harry and Ron sitting by the fire.
“Hey!” she exclaimed. “Where have you guys been? I was starting to get worried. And so was your girlfriend.”
“Yeah, I already saw her,” Harry answered. “She yelled at me for not telling her I wasn’t going to be around this morning.”
“Well,” she said, looking from Harry to Ron. “Where were you guys?”
“How’s the Felix Felicis coming?” Ron asked.
“It’ll be done tomorrow, but stop distracting me. Where were you guys?”
Harry looked around the common room to make sure that the few people who were in there weren’t listening in.
He leaned close to Hermione, and whispered, “We were at Grimmauld Place.”
Hermione’s eyes widened slightly. “Why were you guys there?”
“Dumbledore needed us to go inform some of the Order members that they were needed here Friday night,” Ron said.
Hermione frowned. “Why couldn’t Dumbledore tell them that himself?”
“Because he had to go do something, he wouldn’t tell us what, but I think it has to do with the Horcrux we are going to be going after on Friday. Anyway, he didn’t want to risk sending an owl, so he sent us,” Harry answered.
Hermione sat back in the arm chair and looked into the fire.
‘The more we talk about Friday, the more I feel like something really bad is going to happen,’ Hermione thought to herself. ‘That, and those dreams don’t make me feel better.’
Her dreams were always associated with an intense feeling of sorrow. Divination wasn’t really her best friend, but she had the bad feeling that all these things were not just coincidences.
“Alright, so, about Friday, what do I need to know?” she asked.
“We’ll tell you tomorrow,” Harry said. “After you finish the potion, because we don’t want to take the chance that what we tell you will distract you.”
Hermione sighed, and then she remembered something.
“Ron,” she said.
“Yeah?”
“Draco can’t patrol with me tonight, will you come with me?”
Ron nodded. “Sure, no problem.”
*~*~*~*~
“No!”
Draco had nodded off for a moment while lying in his bed. He couldn’t even nap; the nightmare of Hermione being murdered in front of him came to him every time he fell asleep. Draco breathed deeply, trying to calm his racing heart.
Suddenly, it came to him.
‘It’s the only way.’
He jumped out of bed, and ran out of the common room, and headed towards Dumbledore’s office.