Innocent

c h a p t e r t w e n t y t w o

SHE MUST HAVE GOTTEN DRACO'S ATTENTION from her flying fanatics because he followed her Monday morning. She had seen him in her peripheral, and eventually, he caught up to her stride at an empty stairway. 

"I-I..." He murmured, "Hermione, I am sorry." Something in his tone told her that this was not a common act. He looked afraid and regretful. 

"You have done nothing wrong? What's with your..." her voice faded off as she noticed the small stream of first years galloping down a parallel stairway. 

"Follow me," she murmured. 

Once they were alone, she scanned his face again hoping to find a smirk to prove this was a joke. He eyed her lips. 

"I- it was my fault. I was just caught up in things. I didn't ask. I-I" he angrily brushed a hand through his hair. "Gosh, I'm a blithering idiot. You should have just hexed me to death right there Gra-. "

"Oh, you're talking about the kiss," the word kiss was so soft even she couldn't hear it. She picked at her fingernails. "I- um, don't apologize."

His eyebrows skyrocketed his forehead. 

"Wait... Interested are we? Hermione." 

His assumption was only clarified when she didn't shoot back a witty retort. 

"Malfoy," she said leaning against the wall. "You were the one who initiated it." 

"Hey, are... you saying you are okay with it?"

He shifted his weight uneasily waiting for her answer, and she was so embarrassed she couldn't meet his gaze. 

After scanning her face with no response, he seemed to piece together a Malfoy-like-answer. She didn't want to be kissed. So, he nodded and walked away.

"Malfoy!"

He disappeared around the corner. 

"Gosh dang it Malfoy! Of course, I like being with you. Of course, I don't mind. You are... quite..."

"Exquisite!" He finished popping his head out around the corner. She tossed her bag at his face. "I was not done yet Draco!"

"You are different."

"And you," he said with a soft smile, "Are terrifying."

"Excuse me?"

That is when he exploded like a can of beans. 

"I don't know what stunt that was Hermione! But are you trying to KILL yourself? Flying on that piece of junk? If Weasel hadn't been there to cradle you, I would be leading your funeral today!"

"Sorry, I was practicing."

"If you want to learn, meet me tonight. Not on that... thing."

He looked so bent out of shape over her state, that she couldn't stop laughing. Her voice echoed through the halls. He smirked at her glee before gazing back into her satin eyes. 

*******************

The toilet bowl was cold on her face. The smell of blood barely phased her. She had gotten the transformation that night, and luckily she had the large flask of Wolfsbane on her. She grinned hazily at the window after-effects from drinking too much of the potion. Flecks of light danced in her mind, and she laughed at them. This was all so crazy. 

She wondered what Draco would think if he saw her like this. He would probably sit next to her and ask her if she was okay, or try to crack a joke and end up making her vomit more. Ron was ever so insistent and forceful with his words. 

Hermione flushed the bowl and stood up. She scowled thinking about a certain redhead. His cheeky grin and exaggerated expressions only deepened the worry in her stomach. She didn't like him at all, romantically. Sure he was her best friend, but the hours of pondering had left her to the same blank conclusion. He was her friend; through all the trials they'd pushed through. Nothing could change that. 

It was futile to hold the truth off any longer.

She pulled a stiff coat over her shoulders and crept out of the bathroom quietly. 

It was still warm, but the uncomfortable heat of the wool felt like an embrace, and she excepted it gratefully. Shadows pulsed and quivered in the backdrop of her mind.

By the time she'd found Ron, he was stuffed away in a chess match. No opponent stood beside him, but he moved the pieces as if battling another player. 

Planning, she supposed. To her, the board was nothing but black and white tiles and marble pieces, but to him, it was a large battlefield of strategy. 

She didn't see war as a game. 

"Hermione!" Ron said with a smile. "Play me."

"Ron, I- I really don't..."

"Come on, Harry isn't around anymore. Please, one game?"

A simple match wouldn't be that hard. It hadn't been how she pictured telling him in her mind, but she could let him kill of her pieces and then spill out the apology. It would soften him up before the killing blow. 

"Fine."

"White first," Ron said pointing at her side. She hesitated before sliding a pawn forth. It glided along with the marble finish, and the animated character marched on. 

"Ron, I've got something to tell you after this."

"Just spill it already."

He pushed forward another pawn, out of her reach from attack, but somehow intimidating at the same time. 

He noticed her long look and must have realized it was about yesterday.

"Or, take your time. It's fine."

She pushed another pawn forward, two spaces. 

"Well..." She murmured. 

The game continued ominously. Halfway in, Ron had already claimed most of her pawns, and a rack of other good pieces- although she wasn't sure of their worth. 

"You can tell me now if you want."

"Ron, I'm not so sure-" he claimed her rook- "If this would work out between us."

"Well, I like you... presumably you like me. What's not to work?"

The battle had paused for a brief second before the king commanded another volley of pawns her way. They swarmed over her side like mice. She grimaced at the already losing army. Ron looked impatient from the silence. 

"I'm not so sure. I don't fully like you. I've moved on from that."

Her king flew through the air. She braced for the board to follow. It never did. Ron had picked up the pieces into a tight handful and clutched the board in the other. A pawn slid out of his grip, and it clattered on the floor. He didn't even flinch. 

"I like someone else."

"Okay. It's enough then."

She could feel the bitter edge of an argument about to unfurl but charged in anyways. She enjoyed playing with fire 

"Wait, Ron!"

"It's fine. I'm over it."

He walked off, leaving the lonely white pawn behind. 

John 15:18 - "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first."