Beneath the Mask

A Flat in Bath?

Or maybe they can defeat it together.

The time aches on until suddenly, it's Valentine's Day.

The London trip is all her friends can talk about. Harry's excited to show them all the city at night. Theo's excited he gets to dance and put his hands all over Harry. Pansy's looking forward to dancing, "like a complete slag," as she says word-for-word, and being completely off-limits to all the salivating men knowing she's taken by Ginny. Ginny's—believe it or not—excited about the same thing.

Unfortunately, Ron overhears and asks to join on the trip. Since everyone's trying to keep the peace, that means Romilda's joining, too.

To Hermione's surprise, Ron has never once spoken to her about what Malfoy said to Romilda. In fact, he hasn't spoken to her at all. For all intents and purposes, one would think they'd never been friends in the first place. It hurts, but not to the extent that she thinks it would have a few months ago. She hopes it's not because he's happy Malfoy hasn't been in class.

Of course, Seamus is beside Hermione, so he overhears and tells Dean, who tells some others, and before she knows it, it's practically an Eighth Year trip. Most of the students in their Eighth Year are coming. It's unthinkable.

Hermione is not excited at all.

Not only is this just too many people for her to even keep track of, but with Ron and Romilda tagging along, Hermione realizes she's going to be there without a partner. Not that she thought she'd dance with Malfoy, or anything, but she'd at least assumed they'd be at each other's sides at a table, or something. God, what's he going to think if he hears everyone who hates him went without him? It's awful, just awful.

Malfoy's been gone so long. So, so long. The bond is intact, so he's alive, but he's also not at the castle. She'd inquired with the Headmistress a week ago.

Apparently, Malfoy had been given permission to take a sabbatical and left the castle entirely! A sabbatical, during their N.E.W.T.s year. She couldn't believe it then and she still can't now. A sabbatical means he'd have to make the time up during the start of the next school year, and then wait months to finally take his N.E.W.T.s.

Unless he doesn't care about that.

Unless he doesn't see the need to care.

Is he actually unwell and in need of the sabbatical? Is he gone because he wants to hurt himself off-campus? Is he getting his affairs in order? That's why he's on a stupid bloody sabbatical, and she knows it.

Would he even bother to say good-bye?

As if she'd let him say good-bye. She'd chain herself to that man so fast, he'd have no choice but to stay. And she'd give him an earful every single day while she's at it.

But maybe that's exactly why he wouldn't say good-bye in the first place.

Seamus's voice promptly cuts in on her terrified reverie.

"Blimey!" he exclaims as he devours a sandwich that's got way too much mayonnaise, in Hermione's opinion. She hates mayonnaise. All mayonnaise is too much. "I'm starving. Professor Weasley kicked our arses in DADA today. Right, Hermione?"

"Oh!" Hermione's quick to fix her face into her mask and smiles. "Yes. It was a challenging day today."

Seamus grins before looking at everyone assembled. "What about you lot? All right, then? What are you blabbering about down there, Parkinson? Ginny?"

"Nothing," Ginny and Pansy say at the same exact time. This draws Hermione's curiosity. The two of them have been whispering conspiratorially for the past ten minutes.