---
“Hermione, it’s not what you think, we—“ Harry began as he took a step forward toward his friend.
“Ginny cleared everything up for me. You two have nothing to do with any of this so please just leave.” Hermione said sternly as she stared at Harry and Ron with pleading eyes. “If you two get into this mess, everything will just get—“
“Well, we’re already in this mess anyways. We might as well end the whole confusion together.” Ron interjected as he looked at her. “We’re part of all of this, too, you know.”
“No, you two got sucked into all of this—there’s a distinct difference between being in it and being sucked into it. You two had no choice because you were both captured by Parkinson. Please, this is for Malfoy and I to discuss.” She said sharply, gazing over at Draco just as she addressed him by his last name.
Draco and Blaise looked over at the two guys and nodded, telling them to leave. Ron and Harry sighed simultaneously as they agreed. “Okay, we’ll leave, but Hermione, whatever Parkinson told you, it’s not true. She twisted everything and . . . just hear them out.” Harry asked Hermione as they silently left the room.
Hermione watched the portrait door close and sighed, looking over to the side. “For once, I don’t know what to say.” She glanced over at the fire and clenched her teeth together. “Zabini, could you leave us alone? Perhaps, you can go over to Ginny’s room and talk for a bit.” Her face hardened as she said her friend’s name and waited for him to leave until it was just the two of them. “Do you want to go first, or should I?”
“What are you talking about?” Draco asked quietly, looking over at her.
---
Pansy looked over at Lavender and grinned. “You left it there, right?” She asked, walking into her bedroom.
“Yes,”
“Okay, then let’s start listening.” She said as she walked over to her bed, pulling some sort of headphones out, receiving a weird look from Lavender. “You don’t actually think I came here unprepared? Muggles have quite interesting devices . . . one we’re going to use to eavesdrop of their conversation. A muggle’s device and a little bit a magic can do wonders.” Pansy explained with a smirk. “Just stay over there while I listen and make sure to be quiet so I can hear.” She put the earphones in her ear and started listening to their conversation.
---
“Just drop the act, we both know everything. There’s no point in trying to act innocent.” She told him as she finally looked at him. “I’ll be honest and I’m positive you already know this . . . I used you this winter break to get back at Ron for leaving me for Lavender. And I would feel bad right now, but you used me to make Parkinson jealous—or well, from Ginny, to get rid of her.” She told him and licked her dry lips. “So which one is it?”
“I only approached you because I wanted to get rid of Parkinson, and that’s the truth.”
“Okay, I’ll believe you but this is the last time. And this should probably be the last time you trust me, too. Everyone is coming back tomorrow night and honestly, I want to go back to normal. When all we exchanged were scowls with each other . . . that’s the normal I want.” She looked down at her wand in her hand. “Didn’t you say your favorite spell was obliviate?” She asked with wonder, looking up at him. “Just as I obliviated my parents and sent them off elsewhere . . . I want to obliviate myself from all of this. I want to forget the emotions, the words, the things we did together the past few weeks. But, a part of me still wants to remember the emotions, the words, and things we shared together.” Hermione told Draco and sighed. “I honestly don’t know what I’m goin—“
She suddenly got cut off when Draco flew over, pulling her into his warm embrace and holding her tightly, never wanting to let her go. “Whatever Pansy may have told you, it’s not true. I was trying to make you fall for me to get rid of her, but I ended up falling for you. And I’m positive the same happened to you, too. I forgot about the whole plan, I just enjoyed spending time with you.” He explained, continuing to hold onto her. “I love you, Hermione Granger, and I mean it.”
Hermione furrowed her eyebrows as she felt tears form in her eyes. “I love you, too . . . I love you, Draco Malfoy.” She told him as she hugged him back, closing her eyes and capturing the moment as a tear rolled down her face.
“Do you trust me?” Draco asked her softly.
“Yes,” She replied back just as gently without hesitating.
“Pansy won’t stop until she breaks us up, so whatever she might say to you, it isn’t true. I promise you that I will protect you from her. I’ll always be here for you, Hermione. And I’ll always love you,”
---
Blaise and Ginny had their ears stuck to the door, trying to listen. “Damn, I can’t hear anything!” Blaise whispered angrily as he walked back over to Ginny’s bed, falling down angrily on it.
“I’m sure they made up, I made sure everything was clear between them.” Ginny explained as she walked over to Blaise, sitting down next to him.
“Why was she crying?” Blaise asked awkwardly, looking up at the ceiling.
“It wasn’t because of what Malfoy did or Parkinson’s doings . . . it was because of me. I couldn’t tell her, she heard all of it from Parkinson. More than feeling betrayal from Malfoy, she felt it from me. She couldn’t believe how I kept such a huge secret from her and how I still continued to help her. I understand where she’s coming from, we already talked about this before. I just . . . didn’t realize it would hurt this much, for both her and me.” Ginny said softly, holding back her tears. “She probably hates me right now.” She said, lifting up her head and looking at Blaise with big wet eyes. “She probably hates me more than she hated Ron . . . and that’s a lot.”
Blaise instantly sat up, completely alarmed by her tears. “Ginny, you don’t have to cry. Don’t you see Granger and Weasley? They seemed to be okay with each other again. You’re her best friend, aren’t you?” He asked in a hurry, trying to comfort her.
“Was,” Ginny corrected him, sniffling as she wiped away her tears with her hands.
“If you were just a friend, it would be okay since there isn’t a big attachment to the person. Since you are her best friend, the betrayal is huge on Granger.”
“AREN’T YOU SUPPOSED TO MAKE ME FEEL BETTER?” She yelled at him angrily, pushing him to the side, knitting her eyebrows together.
“What I’m trying to say is . . . since you’re her best friend; she’ll forgive you easily because she needs you when she’s in trouble and she’ll miss you terribly rather than a friend who betrayed her. A best friend is more important, more impacting in a person’s life. You’re a very important person in Granger’s life, she will sometimes really hate you, but in the end, she’ll always love you, cherish you, need you, and want you by her side through everything. Forgiving each other is just part of the best friend rule book.” He explained as he awkwardly patted her back.
“Get your hand off me, I’m feeling angry now because of you.” She snapped at him and looked at him. “Thank you, Zabini. Your words surprisingly helped me feel better . . . you idiot.” She mumbled as she lightly bumped shoulders with him as a small grin crawled onto her face.
Blaise grinned and bumped right back. “You’re the bigger idiot . . .”
“Prick . . .”
---
Hermione grinned over at Draco as she looked down at the intertwined hands. “We still have a lot of presents to unwrap . . . Christmas isn’t over yet.”
“You’re right, it isn’t. Why don’t we call the others back over here and wrap it up.” Draco suggested with a wink as he kissed her cheek quickly.
“I think that’s an excellent plan.” She said with a chuckle as she got up, running over to the door, knocking consecutively. “Let’s open our presents now!” She yelled happily as she laughed when the door immediately opened.
Zabini walked out first and smiled at Granger before running over to his friend, making a bit of a commotion. Hermione and Ginny exchanged glances with each other and everything became tense between the two. Hermione finally cracked the slightest grin accompanied by the old spark in her eyes. “I’ll be extra forgiving tonight since it is Christmas, consider yourself lucky. You’re not fully forgiven, so be careful.” She told her friend with a wink as they walked over to the boys, ready to end their Christmas with presents and laughs.
---
Pansy heard the laughs and screams coming from the other end and clenched her jaw. She threw the earphones out of her ear furiously, throwing the whole device on the floor, making it crash and get completely destroyed. She immediately got up and looked over at Lavender with a glare. “Get out,” She ordered and heard the door close quickly. Anger boiled inside her body as she replayed all the sounds she heard from the other end. Why were they happy? Didn’t she destroy them enough to break them apart? “No . . . it isn’t over yet.” She suddenly said, a light bulb going off inside her head. “I’ll be lenient since it’s Christmas . . . after tonight, everything’s going to crumble.” She whispered to herself as a smug smirk stitched itself onto her face. “It’s even better this way . . . I can have Draco and destroy that ungrateful little mudblood at once.”
---
Harry and Ron both looked at each other and sighed. “We’ve been so busy we didn’t even decorate the place . . . some Christmas, huh?” Ron asked as they stared at the dull common room, the fire slowly dying in the fireplace.
“Do you suppose Hermione and Malfoy made up?” Harry asked as they sat down on the couch.
“I have a feeling they did,” Ron answered with a small grin on his face. “This is Hermione we’re talking about, a person like Parkinson can’t break her this easily. The war was massive but she held her head and stayed strong through all of it. A problem with a crazy ex-girlfriend won’t break her.” He reassured his friend as they smiled at each other.
“You’re right, Hermione made it through the war, she can make it through this. I don’t know why I was having such a bad feeling about it. She can hold herself up with ease.”
“That’s our Hermione Granger,” Ron claimed with a grin and just then, the portrait door swung open. He and Harry immediately got up, reaching for their wands.
“Lower the wands, it’s just us,” A chuckle followed the statement and in walked Hermione Granger. She walked over to the boys with Draco following closely behind her. “We’re unwrapping gifts right now, so you two should come along.” She said with a grin.
Draco looked around the dull, cold place and then at the boys. “You two seem to be cozy here,”
“We’d love to come over,” Harry replied with a grin as he eagerly put his wand away.
Hermione laughed and attacked her two best friends with a big hug. “I’ve missed you two . . .” She whispered as they shared a small group hug.
Draco awkwardly stood over to the side, clearing his throat. “Are we done now?” He asked them and got kicked by Hermione, making him shut up. “A simple ‘no’ would’ve been great,” He complained, rubbing his shin with a scowl. He slowly stood up again and looked over at the group of friends back together again. He felt a stir in his heart and couldn’t help but feel warm from the group. A minuscule grin slid onto his face for a brief second.
---
Blaise glanced over at Ginny as they all ate breakfast together. “Everyone’s coming back tonight, right?” He asked as he bit into his bagel.
“Yes, for the millionth time, Zabini. You’ve asked that question multiple times already.” Ginny snapped at him impatiently.
“I just . . . want to make sure.” He defended himself poorly as he sighed, shaking his head.
Hermione lightly grinned as she and Draco ate in silence. She looked straight at Ginny and Zabini. “Is she still looking?” She asked in a whisper, barely moving her mouth.
Ginny quickly looked behind the couple’s shoulder and saw the fierce eyes that were boring into their shoulders. “Oh yeah . . .” She replied as she looked back down at her food. “Tell me again why we’re hiding from her?”
“We’re not hiding—“
“But we’re somewhat afraid of her since we’re not talking to each other comfortably.” Ginny stated as she dropped her fork, folding her arms across her chest. “I thought everything was cleared up.”
“It is, but Parkinson might have a thing or two up her sleeve. We need to be careful—“
Ginny refrained from yelling at Parkinson, stuffing her mouth to help her with that. She looked over at the couple and then over at Parkinson who finally stopped staring. She nudged Blaise and kicked Draco’s foot from under the table. “She stopped,” She hissed at them with urgency.
Hermione heard the two boys groan at Ginny’s sudden attacks and stifled a laugh as she looked over at Draco through the corner of her eyes. She reached over and purposely brushed her hand against his for a brief second, allowing her skin to linger on there for a few more seconds before she grabbed a random strawberry off the plate. She glanced over at Draco with a wide grin, raising her eyebrows.
Draco stared over at her discreetly and a small grin formed on his face. “I . . . I believe I’m done eating.” He said as he placed his fork on his plate. He saw a napkin next to Hermione and reached for it, brushing his hand against hers and quickly grabbing the napkin and putting it towards his face. He glanced over at her with a grin, raising an eyebrow.
Blaise stared at them in disgust and frowned deeply. “I think I may have just lost my appetite.” He scowled, pushing his plate away as he saw the couple looking at each other with love and tender. “I want that . . .”
“What?” Ginny asked, looking at him. “What do you want?”
“Just eat,” Blaise crinkled his nose with frustration, stuffing an apple in her mouth. “Are you two done?” He asked the two people in front of him.
Draco immediately spun his head around, staring at Blaise. “What? Yes, I’m done. Let’s uh . . . why don’t we go to the tower?” He asked as he stared at Hermione.
“I’d love to, really, now let’s go.” Blaise said with a sigh, getting up and walking off with Draco slowly walking behind him.
Hermione finally looked away from Draco and let out a content sigh, pushing her plate away. She looked up and awkwardly locked eyes with Ginny. She slightly cleared her throat and sighed as she gently allowed her tongue to graze the top of her teeth. “Ginny . . .”
“No, you don’t have to say anything about forgiving me or anything.” Ginny said hurriedly, looking down at her plate.
“I, I wasn’t. Ginny, yesterday night . . . Christmas was unbelievable. I didn’t realize that things would get out of hand because of Parkinson and I didn’t realize you would be the one to-to hurt me. But, I don’t hate you, I could never do that. I was thinking about it a lot last night and I now know that you kept such a big secret because of me. I was the one who made up the whole plan and suck you into it without letting you even have the chance to walk away. On top of that, I asked you to get closer to Zabini in order for me to get to know Malfoy well enough to execute my ridiculous, absurd plan. You did everything for me and though you may have kept a big secret from me . . . I’m the one that’s at fault, here.” Hermione spoke to Ginny in a soft voice. “Yes, I felt very betrayed that I had to hear everything from Parkinson. But, I was being selfish and only caring about myself that time. I didn’t take the chance to see where you were coming from and what you must’ve gone through to keep me safe and . . . trying to tell me sooner. I think the person who really needs to be forgiven is me, not you. I dragged you into all of this and in the end; I blamed you for the outcome when it was my fault to begin with.” Hermione gnawed at her bottom lip as she looked down at her fingers. “I forgive you, Ginny, I really do. I just wanted to say that I’m so sorry, Ginny Weasley. I’ve been so selfish the past few days since I was so caught up with Malfoy and—“
“Hermione, stop talking!” Ginny exclaimed as she stared at her friend helplessly. Hermione shut her mouth immediately as she looked up at her friend. “I forgive you, Hermione. Of course, I do.”
Hermione lightly grinned as she stared at her friend. “Really?”
“Look, I think we’re both at fault for everything. I should’ve told you sooner and yes, maybe you shouldn’t have dragged me down so quickly with you on the plan—“ She said as she and Hermione gently laughed together. “—but, I would’ve helped you either way, whether or not you dragged me into or kept me out of it. We made mistakes, but everything’s okay, now . . . right?”
“Definitely,” Hermione said as she got up, walking over to her friend and hugging her tightly. “I love you, Ginny!”
Ginny laughed, getting up and hugging her back. “I love you, too, Hermione. Now, why don’t you go to the tower before Malfoy starts worrying where you are.” She said with a laugh, pulling away from the hug. “Besides, I think Zabini might be in the library and I might as well keep him company there. I actually grew to love the library after spending my whole time there during break.” She said and watched as Hermione quickly left the Great Hall to her boyfriend. She grinned and nodded her head with relief. She could finally breathe again. She turned her head towards Parkinson when she saw no one. The redhead furrowed her eyebrows as she looked around the place, wondering where the girl was. “When did she leave?” She asked herself in a low whisper. “Where could she have gone? Zabini, I need him.” She quickly ran out of the Great Hall, running towards the library.
---
Hermione walked up the stairs and hit the top of the tower. She grinned to herself as she walked over to the window to see that it was empty. “Draco?” She called out with a perplexed expression masking her face. “Draco? Are you here?” She asked again and only silence answered her. “Where did he go?” She mumbled to herself as she sighed, sitting down on the window sill, looking out the window. She suddenly heard footsteps and snapped her neck towards the sound to see Draco. She cracked a huge grin and jumped off the window sill, walking over to him. “Hey, where were you? You left earlier than me.”
“I, I know, sorry. I was talking to Zabini for a bit, he was complaining to me about us and how he felt lonely.” Draco scoffed and brushed it off, walking towards her and wrapping an arm around her waist. “I missed you,” He whispered to her with a grin.
She let out a girlish laugh as she shook her head lightly. “You saw me a few minutes ago.”
“It felt more like five hours since I’ve last seen you,”
“Oh, I didn’t know Malfoy had such a romantic side of his like this. I’m shocked!” She exclaimed with a smile as she kissed his cheek. “What do you reckon we do today? It’s our last night until they all come back.”
“Let’s make the most of it, then.” Draco replied, pulling her into a kiss.
---
Ginny rushed into the library and spotted him sitting at their old spot. “ZAB-ini!” She caught herself yelling and quickly whispered loudly, still earning a glare from Madam Pince. She ignored the hard glare and ran over to Blaise, sitting down across from him. “Is Draco up in the tower?”
“I believe so; he kindly dropped me off and went on with his way.” Blaise answered as he folded his fingers together and placed them on the table, slightly leaning in. “Why do you ask?”
“You two didn’t talk or anything? He went straight to the tower, right?” Ginny asked as she stared at him.
“Well, I called him a prick for being a bastard and then he pushed me into the library. I didn’t do anything after that, I assumed he went on. I’m sure he did, weren’t you suffocating back there in the Great Hall due to their intense sexual tension? I thought I was dying back there.”
“You’re right . . . he probably just went on over to the tower without talking to anyone or anyone like that.”
“Why are you asking that? And why are you so frantic about it?”
“After you two left, Hermione and I talked for a while and made up. Hermione left and I looked over to where Parkinson was sitting and she wasn’t there. I thought she followed you two and . . . I thought she might’ve gotten to Draco.” She stated and leaned back in her chair with a relieved sigh. “But, if you say that he just went on with his way, then I’m okay.”
Blaise’s eyes widened a bit as he leaned back in his chair, raising his hands and placing his palms on his interlaced hands on the top of his head. “Damn . . . I knew I felt something off when we were walking . . .”
“What are you talking about?” Ginny asked, sitting up in her seat.
“I don’t know if Draco heard or not, I doubt it, but when we were walking together . . . there was another pair of legs walking behind us. I mean that I heard more than just our footsteps. Whenever I glanced back, no one was there. I just assumed that I was being a bit paranoid. I didn’t see anyone after Draco pushed me in here, I just walked back over here and saw no one pass through the hallway.” He said and sighed again. “Unless, the person following us was small and petite, and fast on her feet.”
“You’re saying there a ninety-nine percent chance that Parkinson was following behind you two? Perhaps, followed Draco and did something.”
“Precisely,”
“M, maybe we’re just paranoid after everything. Parkinson is done, right? She’s done with everything?”
“I don’t think so, Parkinson gets what she wants. I don’t know how she does it, but she gets it in the end.” He said and got up slowly as he looked outside the window. “I don’t think she’s quite done with them . . . not yet, at least . . . not until she has Draco for herself.”
“Someone needs to throw her into Azkaban. She’s completely mental!” Ginny threw her hands up in the air followed by a frustrated groan. “That’s it, we’re going to the tower. I just need to check up on them, let’s go.” She got up abruptly and grabbed Zabini, dragging him with her.
---
Hermione looked over at Draco, knitting her eyebrows together. “What’s wrong? You’ve been acting sort of strangely. Did something happen to you on the way over here or something? Did you see Parkinson?” She asked with a small scoff. “You look confounded.”
“Nothing’s wrong, Hermione. I’m just trying to figure everything out since after yesterday’s event. I’m just sorting a few things out and I’m just tired, that’s all.” A lie breezed out of his lips easily and so fluidly.
“I guess I was just a little worried you met with Parkinson. Yesterday’s event was crazy and completely chaotic. I understand that you’re a bit confused.” She said quietly as she nodded her head. “Do you think Parkinson is done with everything? She’s not going to bother us anymore?”
Draco looked over at Hermione, not knowing what to say. He nodded and let out a deep sigh, putting an arm around her shoulders, pulling Hermione into a hug. “Of course she is. She’s finished; she knows she can’t hurt us.” He told her reassuringly, gently caressing her hair with his hand, kissing the crown of her head. “She won’t hurt us anymore . . . she’s done.” He whispered softly with a grim frown stitched on his face. “She’s . . .” He stopped and clenched his jaw tightly. ‘not done. Pansy Parkinson is still not done.’
---