Canon Secrets (A Dramione Story)

Half-Blood Prince Pt. 4: Reminder

Hermione Pov

Hermione was happy for the team, she really was. It was just a little hard to concentrate with the thought of happier times pressing into the back of her mind. She was standing in the crowd celebrating the win, still dwelling on how Harry had snuck the Liquid Luck into Ron's drink trying to distract herself from other topics. Deciding to take action, she turned toward Harry. "You shouldn't have done it."

"I know. I suppose I could've just used a Confundus charm." Harry was smirking and Hermione immediately knew what he was referring to.

"That was different. That was trials; this was an actual game." Harry reached into his pocket and Hermione realized he was holding the vial of Liquid Luck in front of her. She squinted against the darkness of the corner and realized it was still all the way full. "You didn't put it in," she said with surprise. "He only thought you did." Harry grinned, obviously proud of his expertise in the art of fooling Ron.

Speaking of the devil, Ron, who was in the middle of the crowd of Gryffindors cheering him on, got pulled down by Lavender who hastily wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Hermione took a shuddering breath as memories she had been trying to block out all night came rushing back. Memories of stolen kisses in closets, dates by the Black Lake, and train rides where two teens dreaded the end because it meant another summer would pass without seeing each other. As the cheering got louder, Hermione's thoughts became less coherent and she knew she needed to leave.

Making a beeline towards the door, she just hoped that Harry wouldn't follow. Running down a hallway, she headed towards the room where she had been taking refuge in-between classes to limit the time where she might accidentally see Draco. The room was small, with two entrances, but no one ever went in, nor knew the original use. Sitting on the steps, the memories overwhelmed her and she started crying quietly. Trying to distract herself, she tried out the new spell she had learned in Charms and created birds. Their chirping filled the room; effectively blocking out most of her unwanted thoughts.

Hearing footsteps on the stairs behind her, she knew that Harry had indeed followed her. As he came to a stop beside her, she wiped her tears away as best she could. "Charms spell. I'm just practicing," she said, explaining the birds so she didn't have to address the other looming matter.

She knew what it must look like with her walking out right as Ron and Lavender kissed but she didn't care if Harry thought she was jealous of Lavender. She knew the real reason and that's all that mattered.

"Well, they're really good," Harry said awkwardly. Hermione smiled weakly in thanks as Harry sat down next to her. Not wanting to talk about her own romantic misfortunes, she turned to Harry's bad luck.

"How does it feel, Harry," Hermione sniffled, "when you see Dean with Ginny? I know; I see the way you look at her. You're my best friend." Hermione did see the way Harry was always looking at Ginny with such a sad look on his face; how surprised he had been when he heard she was with Dean. She hoped that her own facial expressions were harder to read because Draco and she would've been found out a long time ago. Not that it mattered anymore who knew and who didn't know.

Sounds of giggling came down the hall and Ron showed up with Lavender on his arm. "Oops! I guess this room's taken." Lavender ran off, obviously hoping Ron would follow, but no such luck.

"What's with the birds?" he asked. Hermione couldn't help but hate, absolutely hate, Ron at that moment. Why should he get to be with whomever he likes when she had to date a Slytherin in secret for fear of her friends' disgust? If Ron suddenly revealed he had been dating Millicent Bulstrode for the past four years, she wouldn't judge. Standing up, Hermione muttered the spell to get the birds to attack and they did.

The look of terror on Ron's face was worth destroying her birds but the feeling quickly wore off again as he ran off, and she started crying again because hurting her friend wouldn't help her feel any better. She lowered herself back onto the bottom step and Harry shifted closer. She laid her head on his shoulder, and he held her hand loosely.

"It feels like this," Harry replied. It took her a moment to figure out what he was talking about but realized he was responding to her earlier question about Ginny. She cringed on the inside at the thought of him comparing the Ginny/Dean/Harry situation to the Ron/Lavender/Hermione situation. There was no Ron/Lavender/Hermione situation; only a Hermione/Draco situation.

What she didn't know was that somewhere in the castle, Ron and Lavender were climbing the steps to the Astronomy Tower only to be stopped by the sight of a boy already occupying the balcony. He turned around and the sight of Draco Malfoy with tear marks staining his face was enough to sober both of them up out of their horny haze. He advanced toward the pair, his face hardening, while Lavender squeezed Ron's hand in fear. And it was true that Draco looked very frightening with his black suit and pale skin. But anyone who knew him just had to look a little closer to see that he was very distressed. His hair was out of place and there wasn't a strand with gel on it. He had bruised circles under his eyes from lack of sleep and his eyes were red from crying about lost love, not weed like Ron thought. Instead of confronting the very bastard, who he wanted to blame for everything, Draco just brushed past them and walked down the stairs.

Whew! I wanted to get this chapter out today because I wanted to let you guys know that I'll be out of service for about four days, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. My family is going camping for spring break so I wanted to update you so you didn't have to wait any longer! Hopefully, you liked this chapter and you're prepared for more angst because the next chapter is finally from Draco's view and we can see what he's been thinking. Please comment and vote!

-Ms. Scarlet