Time for a Change: It's Your Turn

Time for a Change
Chapter Nine
By: Lori Finnegan
2006

 

Hermione made her way to Transfiguration, and saw that Draco was already sitting in his seat. Pansy came in behind her and went to sit next to Harry, as had been the case for the last week.

 

When she sat next to Draco and looked over at him to say hello, she noticed the tired look on his face. “Draco,” she said, watching as he looked up at her. “Are you okay? You look… like you didn’t sleep a wink last night.”

 

“No, I’m fine, really,” he insisted, holding up his hand. “Malfoys just need more sleep than most people… and after we got back from our night of fun…” he winked at her, “I just didn’t have enough time to sleep. But don’t worry,” he added. “It was my decision to stay up late, and I’ll pay the consequences.”

 

“Okay,” she said as he turned back to his book. “Well, I’m sorry I kept you up, if it makes any differences.”

 

“No, don’t apologize,” Draco insisted. “It was my fault. And I’ll be fine.”

 

“Um… sure,” Hermione agreed as she took Pansy’s homework out of her bag and set it on the table. “Hey, did you get your homework done?”

 

“Yeah,” he said, turning to grin at her and pushing it over in front of her. “I did it last night.”

 

Hermione looked it over quickly. “Well, this is wrong,” she said, pointing to his answer for the sixth question. “You can’t use that spell to turn a rock into a loaf of bread. You’re completely ignoring the wheat property of the bread.”

 

“Ah…” Draco said, leaning over. “I see…”

 

“You just need to change the wording a little, see?” She took her pencil and erased several words, replacing them with others. “That way, your bread won’t taste like a rock.”

 

Draco seemed to be staring at the text, deep in thought. “Have you been… practicing at your handwriting?” he wanted to know. “Lately it seems to be much neater. That is… except for your homework.”

 

Pansy’s homework sat just above Draco’s, and it was covered in Pansy’s horrible scribbling handwriting. Hermione quickly put her book on top of it. “I guess I just got a little carried away with homework last night,” she said, laughing nervously. “And yes, I have been trying to write neater. I’m glad you noticed.”

 

Draco gave her a funny look. “Whatever,” he said, taking his homework back and looking over it again.

 

Hermione stared back down at her books with wide eyes. She was going to have a little talk with Pansy about some additional things later on.

_______________________________________________________________________

 

Ron had avoided Harry and “Hermione” all morning. He had even skipped Transfiguration. After he had overheard the conversation between Hermione and Pansy… or Pansy and Hermione, he didn’t really feel like talking to anyone. He felt a little cheated and very upset. He couldn’t believe that they had pulled the wool over his eyes for that long.

 

And though all of this made him mad, he was more confused than anything. He wasn’t sure if he should go running to Harry and gain some support, or if he should confront Hermione herself first.

 

Then again, he felt so used, and so manipulated that he wasn’t sure he wanted to tell a soul. He had grown close to Hermione throughout the last week over everything with Harry, and stupid secrets… and now that he knew that it was only someone pretending to be Hermione, he almost wanted to teach her a lesson.

 

It might be fun to mess with Pansy a little bit. I mean, they had the nerve to fool him and Harry along with everyone else, why couldn’t he have a little fun playing with them?

 

Though he couldn’t tell Harry about this. Being Harry, he would immediately insist that they right the situation. And that was no fun in Ron’s opinion.

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

Harry packed up his books after Transfiguration had ended and then turned to Hermione. “Did you see Ron this morning?” he asked. “I slept in and when I woke up he was already out of the room. I thought he would be in class, but…”

 

“I haven’t seen him,” Hermione answered. “I went to breakfast early and figured he’d be here with you when I got here.”

 

“I hope he’s okay,” Harry muttered as they stood up and walked towards the door. “You know,” he said, turning to Hermione once they were in the hallway. “It’s been really strange this past week. I get the feeling that something just isn’t right… and Ron has been acting so weird.”

 

“Yeah,” Hermione nodded slowly. She grabbed the sleeve of his shirt so that several first years, who were running down the hallway wouldn’t have a collision with him. “I wonder if something’s bothering him.”

 

Harry started to make his way towards their next class, Herbology. “You don’t think he’s been feeling left out, do you?”

 

“I don’t think so,” she replied. “Maybe he’s just a little overwhelmed with classes.”

 

“Yeah,” Harry replied mindlessly. “Maybe.”

 

_______________________________________________________________________

 

Pansy and Harry walked into Herbology and noticed that Ron was already sitting at their table. They sat down on either side of him.

 

“What gives, Ron?” Harry wanted to know. “Why weren’t you in Transfiguration?”

 

“Oh, sorry,” Ron said, not looking at either one of them. “Something I ate at breakfast must not have agreed with me, so I went back to bed for a little bit. I feel loads better now, though.”

 

“Oh,” Harry said, shrugging his shoulders slightly as he looked over Ron’s hunched shoulders at Pansy. “I glad you feel better.”

 

“Me too,” Pansy said, giving him a pat on the back. “It would be horrid to be sick over the weekend.”

 

“Yeah,” Ron said, turning his head to look at her and give her a small smile. “But since I’m feeling better, I can spend the weekend picking on you. And Harry, of course.”

 

Pansy smiled back at him awkwardly and gave a nervous chuckle. “It’s what you do best,” she said.

 

“You have no idea,” Ron grinned.

 

“Attention!” Professor Sprout said from the front of the greenhouse, interrupting their conversation. “Please, may I have your attention.”

 

Pasny stared at the plants in front of them, watching as the greens blended together into one big green blur. Yesterday, Ron had seemed completely normal… but today he was acting completely creepy.

 

Why was everything in Gryffindor so horribly complicated?

 

_______________________________________________________________________

 

Hermione walked into the Great Hall during lunch period, passing the Gryffindor table on her way down to the Slytherin one, and noticed that Ron was staring at her as she approached.

 

“What are you looking at,” she snapped at him, keeping up with her Pansy-like attitude.

 

He gave her a weird smile that she had seen on several occasions in the past. “Nothing,” he said.

 

Hermione frowned at him as she passed, and quickly walked over to the Slytherin table, sitting down between Draco and Blaise. Ron’s stare was very odd, very odd indeed, and she couldn’t help but wonder why he would be staring at Pansy in such a way.

 

“Something wrong?” Blaise asked, and Hermione realized that she was staring at her empty plate. “Aren’t you hungry?”

 

“Oh!” she said, reaching for a thick sandwich that sat on a large platter in front of them. “Yes, I was just thinking about something…”

 

“I see,” Draco said, taking a big bite of his own sandwich. He seemed to have his eyes on the Gryffindor table as well. “Something’s weird’s going on with Potter and gang,” he said after he had swallowed. “Don’t they seem a little frazzled to you?”

 

“No,” Hermione said quickly. “Aren’t they always acting weird?”

 

“True, true,” Draco agreed. “But they seem to be acting a big more dodgy than their usual reckless selves.”

 

“I haven’t noticed anything,” Hermione replied, trying not to stare at the back of Ron’s red head. “Then again, I don’t spend my time piecing together the lives of Gryffindors, mind you.”

 

“Nor do I,” Draco said.

 

“As if any of us would,” Blaise added in while Crabbe and Goyle nodded vigorously from across the table.

 

“However,” Draco went on as everyone watched him. “It’s hard not to notice such ghastly behavior when I see them in class every day.”

 

“I try to block it out,” Hermione muttered, wishing he’d get off of his high horse and change the topic. “And maybe you should, too, since after all, it’s really none of your business.”

 

“As a Malfoy,” Draco said. “I have the responsibility to make sure that the things going on his this school aren’t full of rubbish. Therefore, when this school’s students act so completely ridiculous that even students from other houses notice their behavior, I think I have the right to do something about it.”

 

“And just what exactly are you going to do, Draco?” Blaise asked.

 

“You don’t think I didn’t see that horrid look that Weasley was shooting at Pansy,” Draco said, turning to look at both Hermione and Blaise. “It was completely inappropriate, and if I have anything to do with it, he won’t even glance in her direction ever again.”

 

Hermione sighed, putting her hands over her face in agony. “Draco,” she muttered. “Why can’t you just let it go?”

 

“Because Gryffindors should know their place!” he proclaimed. “And Weasley should not be making inconsiderate faces at any Slytherin, much less you.”

 

She put her hands down so that she could look at him. “Can’t you just drop it? What if I promise that I’ll let you know if it happens again… and if it does, then you can do something about it. But seriously, Draco, one wrong look isn’t enough to beat someone up over.”

 

“Beat up?” Draco said, as though the words were foreign. “Malfoys do not resort to such Muggle practices. And I’m ashamed that you would even think such a thing!”

 

“Ugh,” Hermione groaned, her shoulders slumping. “How do I ever deal with you?!”

 

Blaise gave her a sympathetic chuckle, and Draco smiled a crooked smile that couldn’t have belonged to anyone else in a million years.

 

“No, Pansy dear,” he said, putting his arm around her shoulders and squeezing her tight. “The correct question would be… why don’t you put up with me more often?”

 

Hermione stared across the table at Crabbe and Goyle who were looking at them with interested eyes as they stuffed their mouths with potatoes. She lifted Draco’s hand and dropped it away from her shoulder. “I swear, Draco,” she said. “If you do anything stupid, I’m going to be really angry with you.”

 

“Oooo,” Blaise said, leaning back so that he wouldn’t get caught up in some sort of fight.

 

“Aw, c’mon, Pans,” Draco said, grabbing her once again. “Since when do you stick up for Gryffindors? It’s not like I would hurt them or anything… I’ll just be giving them a piece of my mind… while making it clear to them that if they want to ogle after someone, they better make it someone else’s girl.”

 

Hermione groaned. It was no use. Once Draco had made up his mind, it was obvious that there was no point in trying to change it.

 

_______________________________________________________________________

 

Before dinner that night, Pansy found refuge in the Gryffindor Common Room and was trying to work on her Transfiguration homework. Once again, Lavender and Parvati were occupying her room and going on and on about how Lavender suspected Dean Thomas of having a huge crush on her. Pansy had quickly excused herself, and then took a seat alone in the corner of the Common Room, her homework on her lap.

 

She hadn’t been sitting there for long, when the sound of someone flopping down on the couch opposite from her made her look up from her homework.

 

It was Ron, and he had that weird smile on his face once again. “Hey, Hermione,” he said. “What’s going on?”

 

“Not much,” Pansy replied. “I’m just studying Transfiguration is all. What are you up to?”

 

“Oh, just wanting to catch up with my dear old friend,” he said.

 

Pansy stared at him for a moment. “And who is that?”

 

“Why, you, of course,” Ron grinned.

 

Pansy slowly looked around the room, hoping there would be someone there to interrupt the conversation. Unfortunately, they were the only two currently there. “Okay…” she said slowly. “Anything I can help you with?”

 

“I was just thinking about our previous years here at Hogwarts. We’re writing papers on it in Divination,” he said, a thoughtful look overcoming his face as he looked off to the side. “And I had a little trouble recalling some things. I thought maybe you could help me.”

 

Pansy gulped. “Um, sure,” she said. “But can we wait until I’m done with my Transfiguration homework? I’m kind of in the middle of things right now…”

 

“Can we do it now, if it’s okay?” Ron wondered. “We’re meeting for a special midnight class tonight, and I haven’t even started.”

 

“Oh,” she said, dreading the outcome of the upcoming conversation. “Well, I guess I could help. What’s the question?”

 

Ron sat up and leaned forward. “Well, Remember that one time we were in Hagrid’s hut back during first year, and he had an egg that was ready to hatch? I tried so hard to remember what kind of creature that was, but for some reason, it’s just not coming to me. Do you remember what it was?”

 

“Um…” Pansy thought hard. Given all of the weird creatures that Hagrid harbored, who knew what it could be? It could have been anything! And that’s when it hit her. She had remembered that Draco had come back to the Common Room at some point in their first year talking about how Hagrid had hatched a dragon and Harry Potter and his friends had all been present… after hours. All four of them had to do detention in the Forbidden Forest. “Wasn’t it a dragon? Geez, Ron, that was so long ago. I’m surprised I even remembered.”

 

Ron stared at her for a moment, and then smiled. “Oh, yeah,” he said. “That’s right… a dragon. Well, thanks, Hermione.”

 

Before she could tell him he was welcome, he was up from the couch and climbing the stairs to the boys’ dormitories.

 

That was a close one.

____________________________________________________________________

 

Ron went into his empty dormitory and ran his fingers through his red hair. It would only figure that she’d have some sort of lucky guess. Slytherins got by on luck, after all. It was a well known fact.

 

He threw his backpack down beside his bed and watched as the books spilled out onto the floor. That’s when he wondered what he would say and do if he actually caught her. Did he have the guts to call her out on it? After all, she did currently have the face of his best friend, Hermione. It would be a tad bit difficult to treat her like a Slytherin when she looked just like a Gryffindor.

 

He sighed, throwing himself down on his bed and reaching over to pull his curtains closed. It was going to be one hell of a long weekend.

_______________________________________________________________________

 

Hermione followed Draco down the dungeon halls. Two minutes ago, he had announced that he was in the pursuit of Weasley and stormed out of the Slytherin Common Room. Hermione had grabbed his sleeve and tried to stop him, but he pulled away and continued on his way down the hallway.

 

“Draco,” she called as she caught up to him at the stairs. “This is really dumb, you know. What are you going to say to him, anyway?”

 

“You’ll see,” Draco muttered as he dashed up the stairs. “I just have to find him first.”

 

“You do realize,” Hermione said, trying her best to keep up with his long legs. “That he’s probably tucked away in the Gryffindor Common Room and won’t come out till morning. What good is you storming all around the castle looking for him going to do when you can’t get to him anyway?”

 

Draco stopped in his tracks, and Hermione crashed into his back. “You’re right,” he said as Hermione regained her balance. “This is such a waste of my energy. What would I do without you, Pans?”

 

“Run around like a chicken with its head cut off?” she suggested, only to receive a nasty look from him.

 

“Malfoys do not run around like chickens, Pansy. Get it straight.”

 

“Yes, your highness,” Hermione said, giving him a mock bow. “I’ll think before I speak next time, your highness.”

 

Draco laughed at her as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back towards the dungeons. “I seriously don’t know what I’d do without you,” he said as they went back down the stairs. When they reached the bottom, he let go of her wrist and put his arm around her waist. “And that’s exactly why I want Weasley to know that you’re completely off limits to him. No one messes with my favorite girl.”

 

Hermione rolled his eyes. So yeah, he was a bit overwhelming at first… but there was one positive thing about Draco; he was loyal to his friends, and he truly cared for Pansy. He was actually making her feel special.

 

“Just do me a favor,” she said as they approached the door to the Slytherin Common Room.

 

“What’s that?” he asked.

 

“When you confront Ron… you have to promise me that you won’t make such a big scene over it. The whole school does not need to know about this.”

 

“What’s the fun of that?” Draco pouted.

 

Hermione elbowed him in the ribs and broke away from his hold. “Boys,” she muttered, pushing her way through the entrance.

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

It took Pansy fifteen extra minutes to dodge Gryffindors before she could get out of the Common Room. Ginny had tried to engage her in another horrid conversation that resembled the one from breakfast, and Harry had attempted to engage her in a game of cards. She had avoided them all and once she was out in the hall, she was finally alone… though she was a little late to meet Hermione.

 

“Hey,” she said, closing the door to the secret room behind herself and leaning back against it. “Sorry, I’m late. It was really hard to get away on a Friday night, believe it or not.”

 

“I believe it,” Hermione said. She was at the small table, leaning over the potion. While it had been a shade of purple earlier that week, it was now almost black. “And look. The potion seems to be right on track.” She flipped open her book, and pointed at a diagram while Pansy walked over to look at it. “See, it’s turning darker each day, just as the text says it will.”

 

“Did you do any research about speeding the brewing process up?” Pansy inquired as she stared down into the dark purple slop along with Hermione. “I’m dying to get back in my own body!”

 

“I know,” Hermione said. “And so am I, but I only found one article in an obscure text that even mentioned anything about this potion besides the original book that I found it

in. It says here,” she said, pulling the copy of the article out from behind the text book, “that it’s possible to speed up the potion up to five days by heating it slowly, at forty degrees Celsius for exactly two hours at any point during the brewing process.”

 

“So that means,” Pansy interpreted, “that all we have to do is create a spell to keep the potion at forty degrees for two hours. Do you know of any such spell?”

 

Hermione bent over and pulled out another book from her bag. She placed it on top of the article and flipped it open to the first page. “It’s lesson one in seventh year Potions,” she explained. “It’s really lucky that I bought my copy in advance.”

 

Pansy rolled her eyes. “Yeah,” she mumbled, “Lucky. Anyway, let’s do this tonight. There are eight days left for the potion to brew. So, if we heat it up tonight, then it’ll only be three more days until we can switch back for good.”

 

“Right,” Hermione agreed. “Let me just look this over a bit, and then we can start with the spell.”

 

Pansy nodded and then backed up to the sofa. She plopped down on it and crossed one leg over the other. “I’ll just wait here,” she smiled.

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

Ron woke up the next morning to a pillow over his face. He gasped and clawed at it until he was sitting up and breathing heavily. Harry was standing next to his bed laughing.

 

“Are you trying to suffocate me or something?” Ron yelled once he had caught his breath.

 

“Oh, please, Ron,” Harry said, still laughing. “All I did was hit you in the face with a pillow. It was you who imagined being suffocated. It was quite funny, actually.”

 

Ron threw the pillow back at Harry and watched as Harry batted it away. It landed on the floor, the sunlight that shone through the windows capturing the little particles of dust that rose up from the floor. “You are a complete moron, Harry. You know that, right?”

 

“Whatever,” Harry chuckled. He walked away and took his pajama shirt off, only to replace it with a warm red sweater. “Hey,” said, turning around to look at Ron. “If you wanna catch breakfast, it ends in thirty minutes. We better get going.”

 

“Okay,” Ron said, throwing the blankets away from his legs. “I’m actually starving.”

 

“Actually starving?” Harry echoed. “Ron… aren’t you always starving?”

 

Ron patted his chest and grinned. “I am a growing man, after all,” he explained.

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

Hermione, Draco and Blaise had just left the Great Hall and had plans to go for a walk around the lake. Of course Crabbe and Goyle had stayed behind for breakfast seconds. Hermione didn’t really mind. She was sick of feeling like she was being followed all the time anyway.

 

“You know what?” Draco said as the walked down the main hallway. “Before we go out, I would just like to get my hands on that Weasley. It was bothering me all night the he was in his bed, probably dreaming of you, when I could have already put a curse on him.”

 

“Draco,” Hermione groaned. “Would you just get over it? Plotting harm to other people does not create a very happy existence. Not even for you.”

 

“Says who?” Draco demanded. “People who do wrong things deserve to be punished.”

 

His last comment had made Hermione go from annoyed to angry. Since when did Draco Malfoy have the power to judge people? If she remembered correctly, he wasn’t always in the right himself.

 

“You’re a jerk, you know that?” she said, stopping in the hallway and letting Blaise sidestep around her to avoid a collision. “I put up with you, Draco, because I know that you can be a really nice person. But then there are times when I just want to sew your mouth shut! It’s just amazing how much better you think you are than everyone else.” She took a few deep breaths as he gawked at her in shock. “Well, I’m sorry to be the first one to tell you this, but you’re not as great as you think you are!”

 

At the moment, Harry and Ron were walking towards them. They slowed down when they noticed that this wasn’t the typical Slytherin gathering.

 

Hermione thought Draco would leap at the chance to point his wand at Ron and give him the worst curse he could recall from his Defense against the Dark Arts book, but Draco was still staring at her, his mouth open slightly. She didn’t think he had blinked since she had finished her speech.

 

But now that Harry and Ron were standing several feet away from them, she couldn’t get up the nerve to say another word.

 

Blaise grabbed her arm and pulled her to the other side of the hallway so that Harry and Ron could pass by. “Pansy,” he said into her ear. “You should apologize to Draco.”

 

Hermione yanked away from Blaise so hard, that she almost tripped over his foot and fell flat on her nose. Luckily, she had used the wall for leverage and remained upright.

 

“What’s going on here?” Ron said, finally breaking the silence.

 

Hermione looked over at Draco, who was still staring at her as if she had ripped his vocal cords out of his throat. “Um… um…” she stammered, trying to think about what to do next. She knew she had to either get Harry and Ron to leave, or make herself, Draco and Blaise disappear.

 

“Look,” she said, finally, turning to Harry and Ron. “This is sort of a personal conversation, so would you mind leaving us alone?”

 

Ron scoffed at her and then glanced at Harry. “It would take a Slytherin to assume that the hallway is their personal meeting grounds. Heaven forbid someone from another house comes along, since they own the hallways.”

 

This was getting bad, Hermione decided. So instead of arguing more with Ron, she marched over to Draco and grabbed his stiff arm, trying her best to pull his stunned body away from the scene. “Let’s go, Draco,” she said, trying to ease him along. “Blaise, would you get over here and help me!?” she hissed when she realized she didn’t have enough strength to pull him.

 

Blaise leapt into action and took Draco’s other arm. Together, they pulled him away from Harry and Ron, whose eyes followed them until they had turned the corner.

 

“What the hell was that?” Blaise demanded once the Gryffindors were out of earshot. “What did Draco do to make you so angry at him?”

 

“It’s not what he did,” Hermione said back to him. “It’s how he treats other people. I’ve had just about enough of his mightier than thou attitude, and if he doesn’t tone it down, then I’m really going to show him a piece of my mind.”

 

Blaise looked at her with wide eyes. “Okay…” he said slowly, and then turned to concentrate on his steps. “I’m just glad I’m not Draco right now.”

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

Ron stared after Hermione as she lugged Draco away. He had heard the tail end of her little rant to Draco, and quite frankly, he was rather impressed. She was still in there somewhere, he was sure of it. Now if only they could get her back for good.

 

Harry was still staring at where they had disappeared at the end of the hallway. “Something seems a little off with the Slytherins,” he said, finally turning around and catching up with Ron, who had already begun making his way towards the Great Hall.

 

“No kidding,” Ron agreed. “Everything is a little off lately, if you ask me.”

 

Harry nodded, and they entered the main doors and went to sit at their end of the table, where Pansy was already seated, poking her food with a fork.

 

“Hey, Hermione,” Harry said as he and Ron sat down on either side of her. “How was your night?”

 

She turned to smile at Harry. “It went well. How about for you two?”

 

“Long and horrid,” Ron said before Harry had a chance to reply. “And I woke up to a pillow in my face delivered by my dear friend, Harry.”

 

Pansy looked between them and then back down in her plate before scooping up a pile of hash browns on her fork. “You two should really be nicer to each other,” she said. “If you did, then you wouldn’t fight so much.”

 

“Who said we were fighting?” Ron wanted to know. “Can’t I complain in good humor every once in a while?”

 

Pansy shrugged. “I guess,” she muttered as she lifted the fork to her mouth.

 

Ron purposely bumped her elbow just as she was about to take a bite, and watched as hash browns and ketchup landed all over her khaki pants.

 

“Ron! You idiot!” Pansy exclaimed, standing up and holding out her arms in shock. “Look at my pants! It looks like...”

 

Harry quickly jumped up and held his white napkin out in front of her. “It’s not so bad,” he assured her. “But you should probably change and wash that out.”

 

Pansy snatched the napkin from him and then glared at Ron. “I think you purposely bumped my elbow,” she accused. “And don’t lie to me, Ron!”

 

Ron put on his best innocent look and offered her his own white napkin. “I’m sorry, Hermione,” he said. “I honestly didn’t mean to make you spill your food.”

 

Harry had apparently seen the red rising in Pansy’s cheeks, because he stood between them and glared at Ron as well. “Just shut up, Ron,” he said. “You’re making things worse.”

 

“I’m going to go change,” Pansy announced, and walked away from the table, still holding Harry’s napkin over her lap.

 

Both Ron and Harry were left to stare after her, just as they had stared after the Slytherins. Once she was gone, Harry turned to Ron with narrowed eyes. “Do you have a chip on your shoulder?” he demanded. “The way you apologized to Hermione seemed a little… forgive me for saying… fake.”

 

Ron sighed. “Don’t you know me, Harry,” he said, sitting back down at the table and loading his fork with a big chunk of a blueberry pancakes. “Why would I purposely bump Hermione when she had her fork by her mouth?”

 

For awhile, Harry didn’t say anything, but after a few moments, Ron saw him sit down again and slowly start picking at his food. “No,” he mumbled through a mouthful of scrambled eggs. “I know you wouldn’t do something like that.”

 

____________________________________________________________________

 

Hermione and Blaise put Draco down on one of the huge black leather couches in the Slytherin Common Room and sat down across from him, watching to see if he’d move.

 

“One way to get him,” Blaise said, still staring across at a very stunned Draco, “is to insult his ego. Way to go, Pansy.”

 

“I didn’t realize he was so… sensitive,” Hermione muttered. She stood up and sat down besides him. “Come on, Draco,” she said, nudging him in the shoulder. “So yeah, maybe you don’t have the right to judge people as much as you do, but that doesn’t mean you’re all bad.” She paused to look at his pale face. He seemed so sad. “I mean, you’re nice to me, aren’t you? And you’re pretty decent to Blaise and several other people…”

 

Draco suddenly slumped against her, his blonde hair tickling her neck, and she put her arms around him, holding him close to her chest. When she realized that he wasn’t about to sit up straight, she motioned to Blaise that he should leave the room.

 

“I’m sorry if anything that I said upset you,” she told him when she felt his arms tighten around her waist. “But you need to realize that the things you say can hurt other people.”

 

“I’m not stupid,” he muttered against her collarbone.

 

“I realize that,” she acknowledged. “But next time you say something, just keep in mind that you’re not the only person who has feelings.”

 

He suddenly pulled away from her and sat up straight, and she was surprised to see that his eyes were dry. “Something’s changed about you,” he said, his voice steady. “You’re not like you used to be.”

 

Hermione blinked at him. “Maybe I’ve grown…” she suggested. “People change, you know.”

 

“I know,” he replied. “Just not that quickly. Something’s up.”

 

“Like what?” she asked, almost afraid to hear his answer.

 

He reached over and grabbed her face, his fingers on one cheek and his thumb on the other, and he leaned close to look right into her eyes. “I’m looking at the same brown eyes that I’ve looked at for years,” he said while she tried not to tremble under his gaze. “But something’s not right. There’s something different somewhere inside of you.”

 

Scared, she pushed his hands away and looked away from his eyes. “Don’t be silly, Draco,” she said. “I’m still Pansy Parkinson. Why does anything else matter?”

 

“Because,” he said, simply, taking her chin back in his hands and forcing her to look back at him. “Because I never felt this way for you before,” and he leaned towards her so slowly, that she thought if he didn’t put his arms around her at that second, she’d fall over.

 

And his kiss was warm and soft; nothing like Hermione had ever felt before. The next second later, or so it seemed, he had pulled away from her, leaving her almost completely breathless in the kiss’ wake. “Draco…” she whispered, when she realized he wasn’t backing away from her.

 

“There’s something about you,” he said, his breath on her face. “That I didn’t see before. And I’m sorry when I say stupid things. I didn’t realize that a lot of the things I say upset you. So, I’m sorry. I’ll stop saying such stupid things, I promise.”

 

Hermione stared at his eyes. “It’s not that you upset me,” she told him, her breath suddenly jumping back into her lungs. “It’s that you don’t realize the hurt you cause to the people you say these things about. Maybe if you pretended to someone else once in a while, you’d realize that life isn’t always a bed of roses for them.”

 

He leaned back from her, the calm expression on his face flickering away. “And you think my life is so simple?” he accused.

 

Hermione leaned back in her seat and covered her eyes with her hands in frustration. “I never said that,” she groaned and then lowered her hands. “Everyone has hurdles in their lives, Draco. You have yours, I have mine, and all of the strangers that you’ve never met before have theirs. That’s all I meant by that.”

 

He folded his arms over his chest and looked over at her suspiciously. “Because I have some pretty big problems in my life,” he assured her. “Even if you don’t know what they are, trust me, they exist.”

 

She sighed slightly. “I’m sorry,” she said, waiting for him to elaborate, but he just stared at her. “I really am sorry,” she said when he said nothing.

 

He looked away. “Yeah.”

 

She reached out for his hand, but he stood up before she could touch him. “I’m going to go on a walk,” he said, as if he had just decided it at that moment. “We can talk more later.”

 

“Okay…” Hermione said, watching as he walked through the Slytherin Common Room doors with no winter robes.