Love Changes (Dramione)

[sixty two]

It was a cloudy Friday afternoon when Anthony Goldstein paid Hermione a visit in the Library with Neville Longbottom.

"Hermione?" Neville greeted hesitantly.

"Hi, Nev." Hermione replied, a little out of it. She'd been at the library researching on counter curses all week. She sat on the same desk as the one where her less than pleasant encounter with Draco happened last Monday.

She hasn't seen him since.

If her hunch was right, they'd both been doing their best avoiding each other. She was avoiding him because she didn't want whatever decent memory she had of him to be tainted with whatever his defective version did, and he was avoiding her because... Well, she just assumed it was because of her blood.

"There's a Slytherin party down in the dungeons that we've been trying to break for an hour." Anthony said "We need your help."

Hermione looked up at them with a frown "It's the middle of the day."

"That didn't stop Malfoy from blasting music." Anthony responded with a frown of his own

"We have classes."

"They don't care." Neville shook his head "McGonagall has a class with the second-years at the moment, so I think it's best we handle this before... Well."

Hermione sighed, she was after all the Head Girl. This was her job. The headmistress shouldn't be bothered with menial issues such as this. "I'll go and check it out."

"Brilliant." Anthony said, with so much relief "Sorry, I'm in professor Slughorn's potions class and we can't deal with the vibrations that god-awful music is giving our cauldrons. If it weren't for his fear of that bloody Death Eater mark on Malfoy, he'd have shut the party down himself."

"Everybody in the castle is talking about it." Neville agreed "Apparently Malfoy has everything to do with it. Quite the gossip when the Head Boy himself starts the issue."

Hermione cursed. Was this part of whatever darkness Draco had in him too? Irresponsibility? She clenched her fists "I'll fix it. Thank you, both of you, for letting me know."

"Of course." Anthony gave her a smile before walking away, leaving her with Neville.

"I don't know when you plan on telling us what's actually going on with Malfoy, but..." Neville glanced at the books on Hermione's table "You know I'm just here, right, Hermione?"

Hermione squeezed his hand gratefully "I know, Neville. We'll talk about it soon." She said, because there's a battle we all have to prepare for, Hermione thought silently. "I should go check that party out."

Neville gave her a kind smile before he let her walk away towards the direction of the dungeons. He wasn't kidding about the extent of the noise. Hermione could hear the music from the stairs leading down to the Slytherin common room, even passing quite a few drunken sixth years. "What the hell?" She whispered, walking down.

Outside the Slytherin common room stood Blaise and Pansy, seemingly in a heated argument. "What the fuck is Theo on?" Blaise hissed to her "Couldn't he stop him from—" his eyes widened upon seeing Hermione "Fuck, Pans."

"Wha— oh fuck, Blaise." Pansy whispered in panic

"What are you two doing out here?" Hermione practically had to yell

"We were to break this thing ourselves so you wouldn't have to come down and see... him" Blaise plastered a nervous grin on his face.

"You can leave this up to us, Hermy!" Pansy nodded, fake enthusiasm lacing her voice "We've got this!"