She quickly pocketed her key-card and went out. She was watching ‘A Walk To Remember’ and was dying to get back to her room to watch the rest of it; she had paused the movie on the most interesting part. She had immediately fallen in love with the main character, Landon Carter who was, in Hermione’s opinion, the perfect boyfriend. Why couldn’t all the boys in the world be like him?
Once she had found the room where the icemaker was, she quickly put in some coin, got the ice and dashed out; not wasting another minute to get back to her movie.
Hermione would never forget what she saw that night. No matter how much she tried to get rid of it from her head, it always came back as if the scene was just waiting to be played. She rubbed her eyes, not believing what she was seeing, but the sight in front of her didn’t disappear. Malfoy and Jessie were outside his room, snogging as if there was no tomorrow. Hermione couldn’t move; she stood rooted to her spot, staring.
Hands were roaming, their kisses were getting more desperate and all Hermione did was look at them with her mouth open in horror. She couldn’t explain how she felt at that moment. If Malfoy didn’t matter to her that much, then why did she feel her heart break into pieces? Why did her tears threaten to fall?
Draco and Jessie continued their snogging session, not even once looking up to glance at their intruder, who was furiously shaking off her tears and making her way towards them. Finally, however, they broke apart, feeling the presence of another person nearby. Jessie turned around and smiled to herself as she saw Hermione walking towards the both of them.
“Oh, Hermione…Oh,” she said, looking at her in mock surprise. She looked at Draco and then back at Hermione. “Oh, this must be such a shock for you! Me and Draco like this…” she said, pretending her best to look sorry and embarrassed. Draco, on the other hand, didn’t even look at Hermione; his whole attention was on Jessie. He kept whispering something in her ear, making her smirk.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Hermione replied blank-faced, “Draco and I aren’t together anymore.” Hermione tried her best not to look at Malfoy who had snuggled his head in Jessie’s neck. She had never in her life witnessed such a scene and had no idea how to react.
Jessie tried to hide her happiness but failed. “Oh, you have? Well then, this isn’t so discomforting after all!”
“No it isn’t,” Hermione said indifferently. She looked away and fixed her eyes on her door. Before she went into her room, she said, “But I suggest you stop pretending like who have no idea what’s going on. You’re absolutely terrible at it. And if you want to continue your session with Draco here, then I advise you to go into his room or something.” Hermione turned to glare at both of them and went inside her room, not wanting to listen to Jessie’s retort.
Draco and Jessie stood still for a second or two, Hermione’s words still ringing in their ears. But then slowly, Draco wrapped an arm around Jessie’s waist and pulled her closer. Jessie turned around and curled her arms around his neck.
“Let’s call it a night, Draco. We won’t be able to get up tomorrow,” she whispered. Draco leaned in and kissed her. “Alright then,” he whispered as he pulled away. She bit her lip, smiled coyly and walked away, leaving Draco dazed next to his door.
Once back in his room, he leaned against the door, his actions whirring through his head. He slid down to the floor, his hands clenching on to a fistful of his hair. What was wrong with him? His head pounded furiously as he tried to figure out what had made him act like that towards Jessie. When he was with her, he felt that he really did love her, but when she left… he didn’t understand why he had felt like that in the first place. He closed his eyes as he remembered Hermione’s face. So they were no longer pretending anymore, it was all over. He clenched his hands in his hair with more power, ignoring the pain. Was Hermione affected by what she had witnessed? Had he once again hurt her? He brought his knees towards his head. Maybe he really did love Jessie. Maybe that was why he had acted that way with her, his brain told him. But his heart was saying something else; he knew it was beating for another person. But the heart is a silly thing. Should he listen to what his head told him or his heart?
Hermione lay still on the hammock, looking up at the stars that covered the night sky. How was she feeling? Angry? Sad? Jealous? She couldn’t understand the state of her heart. What she had seen had definitely affected her, but why? She looked at Malfoy’s balcony. She couldn’t understand his sudden change in behaviour. Hadn’t he said that she was too much like Pansy? But why should that matter? He only goes for looks, she reminded herself. But Jessie wasn’t that pretty, was she? Hermione sighed and looked up back towards the sky. Could Jessie be in there right now? Hermione shuddered to think of what might be happening inside.
“You wait Jessie,” she whispered. “You pretend that you have no idea what’s on do, do you? Well, we’ll see how you react when I start to have my little fun.”
Hermione met Violet early next morning in the breakfast lounge. There was still another half an hour before they reached the Singapore Port, so they decided to have a quick breakfast and then head towards the main deck. Much to Hermione’s resentment and Violet’s surprise, Draco and Jessie entered together arm in arm, Jesse looking absolutely delighted and Draco, to Hermione’s astonishment, looking very gloomy.
“Why are their arms entwined like that!” Violet yelped, looking at Hermione for an answer. Hermione looked away from them as they both took their seats, their table far away from theirs.
“Hermione!” Violet said urgently, “Why are they both sitting together!?”
“They’re going out now, that’s why,” Hermione replied silently, trying to avoid Violet’s gaze.
“W-what?” Violet sputtered. “Going out…? You can’t be serious!”
“Oh, I’m serious,” Hermione said. She looked at Violet who was looking absolutely stunned.
“But Draco would never do such a thing! I’m sure he likes you; I could see it in his eyes. You both are just meant to be together,” Violet said irritated.
“No we weren’t, Violet!” Hermione said, getting angry and upset. “We weren’t meant to be! If we were, he wouldn’t go all puppy-eyed around her, he wouldn’t want to be alone with her, and last of all, he wouldn’t want to kiss her!” Hermione tried not to choke while she said the last sentence. Violet leaned back on her chair, her hands flying to her mouth.
“They kissed? Hermione… what… it can’t be…”
“I was stunned too. They were kissing in front of his door, their hands everywhere. I’m sure she ended up in his room.” Hermione took a deep breath, looking up at the ceiling because fresh tears were forming. “I didn’t know what to do or say,” she choked.
Violet got up and kneeled in front of Hermione, taking her hands in hers. Her friend looked at her as if she didn’t know what to do with herself. “Hermione, it’s okay. It’s okay.” With that she flung her arms around Hermione and pulled her into a tight embrace. Hermione hugged her back, all her emotions let out on this gesture, and finally letting her tears stream down her face.
When Violet pulled away, she looked at Hermione with an expression of sympathy as she saw her feverishly wipe away her tears. Hermione laughed bitterly, choking at the same time. “I’m not crying because I see him with her or because I liked him,” Hermione said, giving up on wiping her tears. “Tears are falling because I’m just plain silly!” she said boldly, “And because I’m hurt,” she added with a stung tone, “Hurt because of the way he acted in front of me. He just shunned me away like I don’t exist. Like… like I’m dirt!” Tears continued to fall down her face but she didn’t do anything about it.
“But you aren’t dirt, Hermione. There has to be some kind of explanation to his behaviour,” Violet said sternly, “Tell me everything.”
So Hermione spent the next ten minutes telling Violet everything, what Draco and Jessie had said and what they both had done. “He can’t possibly be in love with her. It’s too sudden. Love can’t happen so quickly,” Violet said after she listened to Hermione.
“Then explain the kissing, Violet. I told you they were kissing as if it was illegal to stop!” Hermione glanced at Malfoy, who chose that moment to look at her too. She quickly looked away, cursing her stupid heart as it thudded against her chest.
“I wonder why he’s looking so gloomy. He looks like he doesn’t want to be with her,” whispered Violet as she curiously looked at both of them.
“It’s probably because he can’t kiss her senseless in front of everyone,” Hermione replied. She got up and said, “It’s time we get going. We’re probably seconds away from the port,”
Plenty of people gathered on the main deck as the ship docked. Hermione, Violet and the guys all stood together, looking out towards the land. Hermione’s eyes twinkled in delight as she saw the place. Finally she was in Singapore, a place she had never been and was eager to learn all about it. Together, they all made their way down the wooden planks until they were standing on firm ground. They all stood still for a moment, taking in the scenery and inhaling the fresh air that was Singapore.
“It’s a beautiful day,” Roger said, looking up at the clear sky. “Well come on then! We have to find an empty tour bus since we’re all going together.”
They all looked for an empty tour bus but failed at finding one. ‘There has to be one,” Hermione said, “It’s pretty disorganised if you ask me.”
But before anyone could say anything, a man walked up to them and said, “I take you!” He pointed to himself and said, “I take you on tour! Come, come, follow!” The man desperately made gestures to follow him and kept saying, “Come, come. I take you on the best tour!” They all looked at each other, smiled and followed him silently.
“I do like his accent,” Violet giggled, “I think I’m going to like this tour.” They finally reached the mini-bus and they all went inside, everyone taking their own seat next to the window.
“Wait here. Five more people can fit,” said the man and with that, he hurried away, looking for people who needed a ride.
“You know, I feel a little weird. I keep on having the sensation that I’m going up and down on the waves,” Hermione said, closing her eyes and massaging her head, feeling a bit nauseated.
“Oh it happens when you’re on a boat for too long,” Alex laughed, “It’ll wear off, don’t worry. I bet everyone’s feeling the same way.”
Hermione nodded and looked out the window. It was a little weird to be in a whole different place with a completely different set of friends. She had always been with Harry and Ron, the three of them always exploring new places. How she wished that they were both with her now! But if they had come along with her, would Violet and her be friends? She was shaken out of her thoughts as the man climbed back into the bus saying, “Two more people came. We can leave now.”
Hermione groaned to herself as she saw her two most hated people climb in. Why was she always stuck with one of them? They both stood together and looked around.
“How wonderful! We get to go on tour with all our friends!” exclaimed Jessie happily. “But,” she said, her face darkening, “There aren’t any two-seaters available. Draco and I want to sit together. You all can’t have two seats to yourselves!”
“So just sit next to one of us, Jessie. Everyone wanted to sit next to the window,” Violet said. She grabbed Jessie’s arm and pulled her down next to her. “There you go! You’ve found a seat. Draco, why don’t you go sit next to someone else?” Violet glared at him and then looked at Hermione, who was looking outside as if she had spotted something very interesting. Draco got the hint and sat himself next to Hermione. He wanted to talk to her anyway, so this would be a good time to do it.
“Hello, everybody!” said the man. He was sitting on the driver’s seat and speaking through a mike. “My name is Puvan and I am going to be your tour guide for today. Our first stop is Jurong BirdPark, which is a one and a half hours from here.”
The bus took off and everybody gazed out the window, looking at the people passing by and the sights. After a while however, a talk broke out and everyone was either playing a game or talking and laughing. Hermione was the only one who didn’t participate. She was so uncomfortable with Malfoy sitting nearby that all she did was stare out the window, hoping desperately that he wouldn’t talk to her.
Draco didn’t know what to say to her. She had edged away from him as much as possible and was only staring outside. “Granger…” Draco whispered, nudging her gently. She didn’t look at him. All she did was shrug his hand off. “Granger…we need to talk,” he said once again.
She furiously turned around and spat, “There’s nothing to talk about! I don’t want to hear you! I don’t want to see your face ever again, so just please go away!” She had said it so that no one could hear her except Malfoy, hoping she had sounded as vehement as possible.
Draco didn’t know how he felt when she had said the last sentence. But he didn’t move. He wanted to let her know what was going through his head. He needed to know how she felt.
“I’m not going anywhere until we’ve talked. Granger - ”
“It’s Hermione!” she said shrilly, “It’s Hermione, not Granger!” She sighed deeply and calmed herself. When she had regained her composure, she said, “I don’t want to talk to you. There’s nothing to talk about. Just please go away!” She looked away, but not before looking at Malfoy whose expression was that of hurt and sadness. But why? Why does he look sorry?
Draco got up silently and went and sat next to Tom. His heart pounded against his chest as her words rang in his head. I don’t want to see your face ever again, so just please go away! He closed his eyes and opened them slowly. He spared a glance at Jessie, who had been looking at him the whole time. When she saw him look her way, she winked and smiled lovingly. He smiled back at her weakly and looked away. Hermione’s angry face was vivid in his mind; she had given him that look many times when they were in school…He looked at the back of her head and thought, I have to talk to her. She has to know I didn’t mean to hurt her.
“We have reached Jurong BirdPark,” said the man, pulling the bus to a stop.
“Puvan, are there many different kinds of birds in the park? Is it the biggest bird park?” Hermione asked excitedly as she slung her bag around her shoulder. Draco rolled his eyes but smiled at her curiosity at the same time. She still wanted to learn, to know everything. She hadn’t changed at all unlike him.
“Jurong BirdPark is home to 8,000 birds from more than six hundred species. It is the largest bird park in the Asia Pacific.”
“Did you hear that, Violet!?” Hermione said, absolutely delighted.
“Yes, yes. I heard,” Violet replied laughing at her friend’s happiness.
“I give you three hours. I will wait here. You come back here, okay?” Puvan said, giving them a thumbs up.
“Okay!” they said together, and got off the bus. Draco however, held Violet back by holding onto her arm. She looked at him curiously. “Violet, I need to talk to Hermione. Will you take the others ahead?”
“Finally you’re on first name basis with her! What exactly do you want to tell - ”
“Nothing. I just want to - ”
“Alright, alright,” Violet said, putting her hands up in surrender, “I won’t ask. I’ll take the others ahead.” She ran forward to catch up with the rest. She urged them to go on, telling them that three hours would go by quickly if they didn’t get a move on. Hermione happily followed when a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She slowly turned around to see Draco, looking at her intently.
“Hermione, I need to talk to you,” he said, looking sincerely at her.
She took his hand off and said, “I don’t want to listen to what you’ve got to say.” She looked at her friends who were already far off. She was just about to run to them when Draco took her wrist and turned her around.
“Just hear me out! Stop being so stubborn,” he said, still holding onto her wrist. Hermione looked over her shoulder and saw that her friends were out of sight. She sighed and looked back at him. “What, Draco? What do you want to talk about?!” she yelled.
“About my behaviour! About what I did!” Draco yelled back, “I don’t know why I did it. I didn’t mean to hurt you!”
“I don’t care. I don’t care what you do or say to me. You’ll never change!” Hermione angrily snapped, “Are you trying to convince me that you have no idea why you did all that in front of me?!”
“Yes! I don’t know why! You’ve got to believe me,” Draco said, his hand leaving her wrist and instead fisting it in his hair in frustration. He was so confused and angry with himself that he didn’t know how to explain his actions to her.
“Sorry Draco, but you haven’t given me a proper reason to believe you,” she said flatly. He closed his eyes and turned his back on her. Why should she believe him if he, himself, didn’t believe his true reason for his actions. All he knew was that he didn’t intend on it happening. He felt a small hand on his shoulder, bringing him back to his surroundings.
“Look Draco, forget it. You can do what you want. After all our relationship was all a pretence. You can kiss her as much as you want, I don’t mind. I’m just hurt by the way you acted with her in front of me; like I don’t exist.”
“But that’s just it! I didn’t mean to,” Draco said enraged.
“Whatever your reason, I don’t want to hear it,” she said sternly. “There’s no use in arguing about this right now. I came here to enjoy myself and I’m not going to let this ruin today.” She took his hand in hers and pulled him behind her. “Since the others have gone ahead, you and I just have to go around together because it’s stupid to go our separate ways,” she said defiantly, “We’re going to have a good time and forget this argument.”
Draco looked at her hand which was holding onto his in surprise. A feeling of extreme happiness and relief was bursting through his chest. Was it because they had finally ended their argument, or because she was holding his hand? He shrugged and smiled, tightening his grip on her hand, not knowing that he had caused her cheeks to flush and her heart to beat faster.