DISCLAIMER: I am not the literary master mind known as J.K. Rowling and therefore do not own any of these characters.
*~*~*~*~
“Just talk to him Hermione,” Harry said as they sat in the common room Wednesday night working on their homework.
Ron was off somewhere with Lavender.
“But if I were you I would wait until no one is around, maybe find him when it’s his turn to be patrolling and ask to join him.”
It had been four days since she had run into him outside the great hall, and she intended to keep her distance for as long as she could. She really didn’t want to take Harry’s advice, she was too nervous. She knew that she would have to see Draco eventually because they were both prefects, but she still wasn’t looking forward to it.
“I dunno Harry. He might just decide to treat me like he always does anyway.” She couldn’t help but look sorrowful.
“Oh come on, where’s your Gryffindor courage? Listen, when is it his night to patrol again?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Right, then tomorrow I will make sure no one is in the common room to see you leave and you can have a go at making conversation with him.” Harry said this in a tone that meant she wasn’t going to get out of it. “And if he starts acting like a prat, slap him and come back here.”
At this Hermione laughed and turned to see Ron and Lavender enter through the portrait hole.
It was decided then. Tomorrow night she would take her first stab at talking to Draco.
*~*~*~*~
She was avoiding him on purpose, he could feel it, he was after all a Slytherin. The question he kept asking himself was why. Why was she avoiding him all of a sudden? It was extremely odd given the fact that she normally stood her ground quite well when faced with him. Most Gryffindor’s were like that.
“What’s wrong Draco? You look like you haven’t been sleeping.”
It was Pansy. He hadn’t been giving her the attention he used to so naturally she was getting worried.
‘Man I need to get rid of her.’
“Nothing,” he lied.
He was not about to let it slip that he was falling for a Gryffindor, let alone a mudblood. To his surprise however Pansy became angry.
“Yeah, go ahead and lie to me! That’s all you’ve been doing lately. I’ve seen the look on your face recently when you look at me! Who the bloody hell is she Draco!” Pansy’s face had turned slightly pink from the shouting she was doing.
‘Thank god we are in the Slytherin common room and not out in the corridors.’
“Could you tell me what you’re on about so I can contribute to this argument?”
He figured since she suspected him already why not make her mad enough to break up with him? It would surely save him from having to do it himself.
“Oh please, don’t even play that angle. I know you’ve been looking past me at someone else for a while now. I want to know who the hell she is!” Pansy’s anger was steadily increasing.
“Well I’m not going to tell you now am I?” Draco hoped that this would do it and he was right.
“I KNEW IT! You bastard!” Pansy shouted.
Out of no where came her hand and she slapped Draco hard across the face before turning and heading to her dormitory.
‘Well I suppose that was as painless as I could get it.’ Draco thought as he rubbed his now pink cheek.
With Pansy now out of the way, he could concentrate. How was he going to be able to start a conversation with Hermione without the whole school noticing?
*~*~*~*~
The whole of Thursday morning and afternoon Hermione was barely able to concentrate on her lessons. All she could think about was what she was about to do this evening.
“Harry I can’t do it.” She told him as they were on their way to Gryffindor tower before the last lesson of the day.
“And why can’t you?” He asked. Harry knew this was difficult for her, but he also knew that she really did want to talk to Draco, so he had to make sure she wouldn’t chicken out.
“I just know it won’t make a difference! All he will see is an ugly mudblood getting in his way.”
“If he thinks that you are ugly, then I will have to knock some sense into him.”
Hermione was taken aback. She had never thought that she was pretty, but to hear her best friend say it out loud made her blush.
“Ok. I will try.” She said looking down at the floor.
“You better, considering that I’m making sure there will be no witnesses to see you leave.”
Harry had a suspicion that this evening would not go well. So he planned on being there to help. Not that he was going to let Hermione know about this part of the plan.
Evening came around far to fast for Hermione’s liking. Before she knew it she was in the great hall having dinner. And next thing she knew she was sitting with Harry in the common room at quarter till nine, waiting for it to empty. Ron was either somewhere with Lavender or had gone to bed without them noticing.
Slowly the common room began to empty and luckily by nine was completely deserted except for Harry and Hermione.
“You better go,” Harry said. “Draco should be starting his patrolling, I think it’s a safe guess that he starts in the dungeons.”
Hermione’s face was set and determined. “Ok,” she said. “I’ll see you in a bit.” And with that she marched through the portrait hole and out of sight.
Waiting a few seconds to make sure she wasn’t going to walk back in, Harry stood up, threw on his invisibility cloak, and followed Hermione out of the common room.