Time for a Change: So, It's True!

Time for a Change
Chapter Eight
By: Lori Finnegan
2006

 

Hermione put her books down on her desk and then went back to her door, slamming it shut and locking it securely. Tears streamed down her warm cheeks as she kicked the bottom of the door one more time.

 

Draco was without a doubt the most awful boy she had ever met. How is it that he was even mean to his own friends?

 

She wiped at her eyes and then turned around. And why was she even crying in the first place? As if she cared what Draco thought about her. And why would his comparison of her to herself upset her so much?

 

Perhaps she was close to being uncovered… and it scared her.

 

She was just about to attempt to go back to her homework when there was a knock on her door. She walked back to the door and glared at the wood.

 

“Go away, Draco,” she said, keeping her voice steady.

 

“C’mon, Pans,” she heard him say. “I didn’t mean those things I said… and if something’s bothering you, shouldn’t I be the first to know so that I can help you? You know that I’m the best when it comes to… well, everything.”

 

Hermione rolled her eyes. He couldn’t even apologize without complimenting himself. “Just go away,” she said again.

 

“Let me in, Pans,” he begged, and she put her forehead against the door.

 

What if she didn’t let him in? Would he consider that another reason why she was less like Pansy? And what if she did? Then would he keep saying that she wasn’t like Pansy anymore?

 

“Okay, fine,” she agreed, opening the door and stepping aside so he could enter. “This better be good.”

But he didn’t come in entirely. Instead, he grabbed her by the waist and gathered her up in his arms. Hermione almost gasped.

 

“You know it’s hard for me to say I’m sorry,” he mumbled into her hair. “So you can understand why I’m not saying it now.”

 

“Gee, that makes me feel loads better. Thanks, Draco.” But in all honesty, it did. And it didn’t hurt to feel him so close either. “You know just how to treat your friends.”

 

He pulled away and looked at her in shock. “I hope you’re not being sarcastic,” he said. “I treat my friends like royalty!”

 

Hermione tried not to laugh in his face. The correct statement would be that Draco expects his friends to treat him like royalty. But she couldn’t say that out loud. Then again, perhaps this was the sort of banter that he and Pansy usually carried on with. “Yeah,” she said. “Everything I say is completely honest.”

 

“Whoa,” he said as he let go of her waist. “Now that was sarcasm. There’s no way that you’re completely honest. You were sorted into Slytherin, after all.” He gave her a sly grin. “Now this is more like the Pansy I know…”

 

For a second there, she thought he was going to add, ‘and love,’ but instead, he kicked the door closed and walked swiftly across the room where he slammed all of her books shut and stuffed her papers into her desk drawer.

 

“There,” he said, pretending to wipe the dust from his palms. “Mission accomplished.”

 

“Excuse me?” she demanded. “Just what do you think you’re doing?”

 

“There will be no homework tonight,” he announced. “Because tonight is Draco and Pansy’s glorious night of fun. And homework is definitely not included in the fun category.”

 

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Our… glorious night of fun? Are you serious?”

 

___________________________________________________________________

 

Harry had made a stop at the Great Hall with several of the other Gryffindor players to grab a bite to eat after several hours of hard practice, and then they all headed back to the Gryffindor Common Room to wind down before settling down for the night.

 

Harry was tired, and said goodnight early, leaving the other players still laughing and carrying on by the fireplace. He stepped heavily up the stairs that led to the boys’ dormitories and then walked slowly down the hallway. He didn’t know where Ron was, but he was hoping that they could put everything behind them and get on with their lives.

 

He opened the door and entered, propping his Quidditch gear up against the wall by his bed. Ron was working on his homework on his bed, and he had looked up when Harry entered.

 

“Hello, Harry,” he said before looking back down at his books. “How was practice?”

 

“It was fine,” Harry replied. “I saw you standing on the ground for a bit of it. I hope it wasn’t too cold out there.”

 

“No, not bad at all,” Ron said. “I just needed to get caught up on homework is all. I’ve been a little preoccupied lately to focus on it.”

 

“Yeah,” Harry nodded. He couldn’t help but feel the same way about his own homework. “I should really work on mine tonight as well.”

 

It was quiet for a while as Harry put his things away and then took his books out of his backpack. He sat down at his desk and flipped open to the section of his Defense Against the Dark Arts text that was about zombies.

 

“Harry,” Ron said, interrupting their silence. “How are things with Hermione? Everything going to be okay?”

 

Harry, who had turned to look at him when he spoke, turned back around and looked down at his book instead. “Things are fine,” he said. “So, don’t worry about it anymore.”

 

He froze, waiting for Ron to say something.

 

“Okay,” Ron said after a pause. “Just let me know if I can do anything to help, okay?”

 

Harry nodded. “Yeah, sure. Thanks, Ron.”

 

____________________________________________________________________

 

“This is absolutely crazy, Draco,” Hermione said as the two of them ducked underneath some shrubs around the lake and emerged on the other side, facing the cold, dark lake. He had dragged her to her room, dove into his closet and tossed some black robes out at her, telling her to put them on. Five minutes later, they were warmly dressed and giggling as they exited the Slytherin Common Room and crept down the hallways towards the exit.

 

“You think this is crazy?” he said, flashing her a white smile. “Wait till you see what’s to come.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her along side the bushes.

 

Hermione followed him along the shrubs until they were on the exact opposite side of the lake. He pulled her up a small grassy hill and let go of her hand to reach for his wand.

 

“Watch this,” Draco said as he glanced at her and then pointed his wand into the air directly above the lake. “Puteulanus mico,” he said in a loud, booming voice. The second his voice began to echo over the water, a blue light burst from his wand and ascended over up and above the lake. It exploded into blue and white fireworks which reflected against the clear water, making it seem like the whole scene was lit in blue wonder.

 

Hermione stared, her mouth slightly open in amazement. She didn’t know where Draco had learned such a beautiful spell. “Wow,” she whispered, finding herself reaching for his hand once again. His warm fingers wrapped around hers, and the two of them stood there, looking up at the sky.

_______________________________________________________________________

 

Ginny Weasley sat alone in the library working on a last minute project that was due tomorrow morning. But she couldn’t concentrate. It had been bothering for several days that she couldn’t figure out what was going on with her brother and his friends. Not that it was really any of her business to begin with, but when Hermione had come to her about it, she felt a sort of responsibility to straighten things out. Besides, every time she looked at her brother, she felt a little sorry for him. Poor dolt, he took things so seriously.

 

She looked up from her books when someone plopped more books on the table in front of her. “Neville,” she said, when her brother’s friend sat down beside her.

 

“Hi, Ginny,” Neville said. “I saw you here a little bit ago, and didn’t want to disturb you… but I really wanted to ask you a question. I hope I’m not disturbing you too much.”

 

“Not at all,” Ginny told him. She closed her book and looked up at his face. “Is something the matter?”

 

Neville seemed a bit nervous. He folded his hands on his lap and looked down at them. “Something strange is going on…” he said quietly. “And I didn’t know who to turn to. Ron won’t listen to me, and Harry seems a little… preoccupied with something else.”

 

Ginny nodded. She had noticed the exact same things. “I don’t know what’s going on with the two of them,” she said when Neville looked up at her for a response. “But they sure are acting strange.”

 

Neville cleared his throat softly. “To be honest, Ginny, I’m not sure it’s Harry and Ron who are acting strange…”

 

Ginny’s eyes widened. “Then how are they acting?” she wanted to know.

 

“I don’t think they’re acting,” Neville told her. “I think they’re reacting. I think what’s got them seeming strange is Hermione.”

 

She blinked at him. “What? What’s wrong with Hermione? She seemed perfectly normal to me the last time I talked with her.”

 

“She’s just… changed, that’s all I can gather right now. Something’s different about her. She looks the same, and seems the same… but sometimes when she’s talking I get the feeling that… she’s not all there. Not how she used to be, anyway.”

 

Ginny frowned. She hadn’t really thought about it before, but now that Neville had brought it up, she could see what he meant. “I wonder what’s going on…” she mused. “Maybe I should have a talk with her… girl to girl.”

 

Neville nodded. “I think that’s a good idea,” he agreed. “She would listen to you and maybe even confide in you.”

 

Ginny gathered up her books and slipped them into her backpack. “I’m going to turn in,” she announced. “But I’ll ask her about it tomorrow, okay?”

 

Neville nodded at her again. “Okay,” he said. “Just try not to… you know, upset her.”

 

“I won’t,” Ginny promised as she gave him a wave and then walked away from the table. She was used to strange events occurring around Hogwarts… but she never would have imagined something could rattle one of their own.

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

Draco and Hermione were on their backs on top of the grassy hill staring up at a clear sky. They were laughing and talking about school, friends, and anything that entered their minds… until the topic of the Christmas Holiday came up, and Draco immediately turned somber.

 

“This is your first Christmas away from home,” Hermione said quietly, looking up at the black sky.

 

Draco didn’t say anything at first, and it was quiet for a moment as they both listened to the sound of the wind blowing through the trees. “It’ll be weird,” he admitted, finally. “I’ve never spent Christmas at the castle. I’m afraid it’s going to be… really quiet and…” he trailed off.

 

“It really isn’t so bad as long as you have some friends with you,” Hermione said, trying to cheer him up. She thought of the year that she had stayed along with Harry and Ron. Then again, if they hadn’t been there, it would have been very lonely.

 

Draco turned to look at her. “You’ve never stayed here over Christmas,” he said. “How would you know what it’s like?”

 

“Um…” she muttered as she tried to think of some sort of excuse quickly. “It’s just what I heard,” she settled on. “There are always some kids who have to stay.”

 

“Oh,” he said, looking back up at the sky, seemingly satisfied. “I just wish I wasn’t one of them.”

 

“I wish I could stay with you…” Hermione mumbled. “But as far as I know, my parents want me home this year.”

 

Draco looked at her again. “Parents… I thought you said you only had a mom.”

 

“Er…” Hermione stammered. Why hadn’t Pansy told her these things? They should have gone over their backgrounds in a little more detail just for these sorts of situations. “I’m sorry, I meant just my mom. I guess I was… thinking about your parents, and I just said the word.”

 

This time, Draco didn’t say anything. He just continued to stare at her. “You seem a little of out of it,” he said after a moment of staring at her face in silence.

 

At first, Hermione didn’t know what to say. She looked up at the sky, eyes wide open. “I guess I’m a little tired,” she said. “I’ve been doing too much homework, maybe.”

 

She could see Draco nod at her out of the corner of her eye. “Honestly, you’ve been overdoing it lately. You’ve been doing double the homework you usually do… and your Transfiguration grade… didn’t really reflect it.”

 

“A lot has been going on lately,” she tried to explain, which was the truth, after all. Becoming a whole new person was just about enough to distract anyone. “I’m not really on the top of my game.”

 

“It’s okay,” he said, squeezing her hand. “It happens to the best of us. Even me, though it’s extremely rare. It’s only happened once so far, if I recall correctly.”

 

She reached over and punched him in the arm. “Yeah, just once, I’m sure,” she giggled.

 

“I swear,” he said with a straight face.

 

Hermione let her laugh fade out and went back to staring up at the sparkling stars. She was going to have to be more careful when she talked to Draco in the future. He definitely had a feeling that something was going on, but she didn’t think he was even close to the truth. Because if he were close, he certainly wouldn’t be holding her hand and smiling up at the stars.

 

_____________________________________________________________________

 

Draco lay in his bed late that night. He and Pansy had come in just after one o’clock, and in five hours, he had to be up if he wanted breakfast that morning. Draco rolled over and pulled his blankets up to his chin.

 

He couldn’t sleep. At this rate, he would be laying there for another hour before he could fall asleep, and then he’d never be able to drag himself up by six o’clock in time for breakfast.

 

He flopped over again. Screw breakfast. His brain was focused on Pansy. Something about her had definitely changed. She was warmer than before, and for some reason, he felt extremely attracted to her. Laying besides her on the grass, holding her hand within his own… he had wanted to take her in his arms and press his lips to hers…

 

But he didn’t. He couldn’t bring himself to make a move. She had been one of his best friends from before they had even attended Hogwarts, and he wasn’t about to lose her over one simple… or rather complicated feeling.

 

He just couldn’t stop thinking about her, and it was driving him absolutely insane. He wished he could just cast his stupid feelings aside and go on with life, but he just couldn’t shake the fact that he wanted her.

 

Draco closed his eyes and tried to rid his mind of all thoughts. If he was going to function in a reasonable manner tomorrow, he was going to need to get at least a little sleep.

 

________________________________________________________________________

 

Ginny woke up early that morning and quickly dressed for the day. Her first class of the day was Care of Magical Creatures, so she grabbed her warmest robes and was careful not to wake her sleeping roommates as she headed out the door and on her way to breakfast.

 

She knew that Hermione had a habit of arriving to breakfast early, before Harry and Ron had a chance to get down there, and then met up with them towards the end of the breakfast period, so Ginny had hoped to catch her before the boys were there to get in her way.

 

She was lucky. Her suspicions had been right. Hermione sat alone at the end of the Gryffindor table, quietly eating some breakfast while staring into a book… only her eyes didn’t seem to be reading the text.

 

“Something wrong, Hermione?” Ginny asked as she came up behind her.

 

Hermione jumped at the sound of her voice. “Oh, Ginny,” she said, as if she were expecting it to be someone else. “What are you doing up so early?”

 

Ginny looked at her for a moment and sat down beside her. “Hermione, I’m usually up early with you,” she said as she reached for a muffin. “Did you forget or something?”

 

“Oh,” Hermione said again. “I’m just a little out of it today, don’t mind me. I guess I’m just used to the guys wandering in about fifteen minutes before class starts and then shoving food into their faces so they won’t be late.” She gave a small laugh and then stuck her fork into a pile of scrambled eggs.

 

Ginny laughed a little for her benefit and then put some scrambled eggs on her own plate. “It’s okay. I guess it’s easy to overlook me sometimes. You know, with the bright red hair and all…” She looked towards Hermione for a reaction.

 

“I’m sorry, Ginny,” Hermione said, turning to her with a sincere look on her face. “I didn’t mean that I didn’t notice you… it’s just that… well, like I said, I’m a bit out of it today.”

 

“You’ve seemed a little out of it for a while…” Ginny mumbled as she placed a bite of scrambled eggs into her mouth. “But it’s okay,” she added after she had swallowed. After all, she didn’t want Hermione to think that she was being attacked. “Everyone has their days.”

 

Hermione seemed to be staring at her. Ginny could only imagine what was going through her mind. “Yeah,” Hermione finally agreed to her sentiment.

 

Ginny put down her fork. “You know, Hermione, if something is bothering you… you can always come and talk to me about it, okay? I know that Ron and Harry aren’t always the best people to talk to when it comes to girl type things. And those ditzy roommates of yours probably don’t help out that much either. Am I right?”

 

“Well, um…” Hermione stammered as she looked back down at her plate. “Thanks, Ginny… and you’re right… Parvati and Lavender really aren’t the best of listeners… that is, unless you’re talking about boys.”

 

Ginny looked over at her. “Is this about a boy, Hermione?”

 

“What’s about a boy?” Hermione echoed. “I didn’t say that something was bothering me. I said I was a little out of it today.”

 

“But usually when people are out of it, it’s for a reason… you know? I mean, something must be on your mind to make you feel that way.”

 

Hermione was beginning to look a little annoyed. “Did you ever think that maybe I didn’t get enough sleep last night? Or maybe I’m not feeling well?”

 

Ginny gave a small sigh. “But it’s neither of those things. Right, Hermione?”

 

“What is this?” Hermione demanded. “Some sort of interrogation? Did I do anything to upset you, Ginny?”

 

“No,” Ginny told her. “You haven’t done anything to upset me… it’s just that I’ve heard from several different people that you… well, that you haven’t been acting like yourself lately, and to put it plainly, I was concerned. I didn’t want to say it flat out because I didn’t want you to think that I was purposely talking behind your back, but if something is wrong, I want to help you, Hermione. Is that so wrong?”

 

Hermione seemed to deflate in the seconds following Ginny’s little confession. “No, it’s not wrong,” she said. “And it’s true, I haven’t really been myself. And I’m sorry if I caused any problems between anyone… but it’s just not anything I can help.”

 

Ginny put a hand on her friend’s shoulder in comfort. “It’s okay, Hermione,” she said in a quiet tone. “I know you can’t help your feelings. But I can’t help mine either.” She took her hand away from Hermione’s shoulder. “The truth is… Neville came to me a little upset about everything. He says that he thinks the reason Harry and Ron are acting so strange is because something is off about you. And as much of a pain my brother is, I don’t like to see him upset about stuff. You can understand that, can’t you?”

 

Hermione nodded. “I wish I could tell you, Ginny… I know that’s what you’re trying to do here, but I just can’t. This isn’t something I can tell anyone. And no matter how many times you try and make me feel guilty over it, it doesn’t change the fact that I just can’t say it.”

 

Ginny leaned back a little ways from Hermione and thought for a moment. What was it that Hermione just couldn’t tell her? Or anyone, for that matter? She didn’t have a clue what this huge secret could be. But she was dying to find out, that was for sure.

 

“I’m sorry that you feel you have to keep such a secret,” she said, still working on the guilt trip. “I can’t imagine any secret that you couldn’t tell your best friends. But if you ever change your mind,” she looked away from Hermione and down at her plate of food. “Then I want you to know that you can always talk to me.”

 

“…Thanks, Ginny,” Hermione said slowly.

 

The two of them sat there for a few moments longer while Ginny picked at her food and Hermione continued to stare out across the Great Hall. It wasn’t long before she stood up and put her stuff into her backpack. “I’ve got a little more studying to do,” she told Ginny. “I’ll see you later on, okay?”

 

“Yeah,” Ginny replied, catching her eyes once more. “See you later.”

 

_______________________________________________________________________

 

Once Pansy was outside of the Great Hall, she leaned against the stone hallway and tried to stop herself from hyperventilating. Ginny had sounded really suspicious, and she felt as though the act would be up if she made anymore false moves. Gryffindors turned out to be a lot smarter than she had previously given them credit for.

 

She was just about to continue on her way to the library to wait for Hermione, but to her surprise, Hermione had just walked around the corner, and the two girls locked eyes.

 

Hermione stopped in front of Pansy and pretended to be looking through the things in her backpack. “Are you okay?” she said softly. “You look a little rattled.”

 

“I should be rattled,” Pansy hissed back. “Your friends are completely relentless. They won’t leave me alone for a second, and now I think they’re starting to get suspicious about me!”

 

Hermione looked at her. “Suspicious? You don’t mean that they’ve figured you out…?”

 

“No,” Pansy replied. “They haven’t figured it out yet… they just know that something is off. And I don’t think it’ll be long before they start demanding answers.”

 

“I’m going to grab something to eat, and I’ll meet you in the library in ten minutes so we can talk about this some more.”

 

Before Pansy could reply, Hermione had continued on down the hallway and disappeared through the large doors that led to the Great Hall. She took several deep breaths, attempting to calm herself down, and then made her way to the library.

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

Exactly ten minutes later, Hermione had entered the library and was quickly making her way towards the table that she and Pansy usually occupied each morning for the past week. Pansy was sitting in the seat by the window, waiting for her.

 

“Hey,” Hermione said as she sat down. “One more week, and this’ll all be over. Keep thinking about that.”

 

“I know,” Pansy agreed. “But do you have any idea how long this last week has felt to me?”

 

“About as long as it’s felt for me?” Hermione offered. “Slytherins aren’t exactly the easiest people to get along with.”

 

Pansy folded her arms over her chest. “I’m not going to argue about who’s had a rougher time this past week… but seriously, I’m about to snap. I don’t know how I’m going to make it another week.”

 

“They can’t be that bad,” Hermione said. “I know my friends have really good hearts… even if they don’t always show them.”

 

“It’s not that,” Pansy shook her head. “They all care a lot about you, that’s obvious. It’s just that I think they might care a little too much. They’re always in my business. If I sniff, everyone has to ask me if I’m sick, or if I trip, they’re all surrounding me, asking me if I’m okay, or if they can hold my books for me. It’s ridiculous!”

 

Hermione stared at her with wide eyes. “I’m sorry if my friends are too nice for you…” she said, trying to be a little sarcastic. “But I can honestly see how this is a problem for this situation.”

 

“Yeah,” Pansy agreed. “It’s a bit of a problem.”

 

“Here’s what we’ll do,” Hermione said, leaning over the table and closer to Pansy. “I’ll look up some more information on our potion and see if there’s any way we can possibly speed up the process. I know that in some potions, they brew faster in warmer environments. I hope this particular potion has that sort of quality.”

 

“And now you’re telling me this?” Pansy exclaimed. “We should have thought of this days ago!”

 

“I’m sorry,” Hermione said, leaning back into her chair. “But I honestly just thought about it now. They don’t tell you about it until you’re in seventh year Potions, but I read ahead. It wasn’t at the front of my mind last week.”

 

“Okay, whatever. Let’s just figure this out. If there’s any possibility this could speed up the potion, then I’ll raise hell to get it done.”

 

“Great,” Hermione said. “I’ll research it, and we’ll meet in the secret room tonight at nine o’clock.”

 

“Deal,” Pansy agreed. She pushed her homework across the table, and Hermione took out hers as well. “I’ll see you in class.”

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

Ron leaned against the wooden shelf. He took one deep breath before he realized that he had been holding it an undetermined amount of time. Once he had regained his composure, he stepped out from behind the bookshelf and looked at the empty table.

 

No wonder Hermione had seemed so strange this past week. As it turned out, she wasn’t Hermione at all.