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Second Chances	By : ShigeSato Category: Harry Potter Crossovers > Het - Male/Female Views: 2964 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, settings or named spells/objects in the Harry Potter franchise. They are the intellectual property of JK Rowling and Warner Bros. I make no profit from this story.

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
- 5
As October wore on, Hermione saw little of her friends. The weather was getting to be punishing now, freezing winds and constant rain pounding against the walls of the drafty castle. Ginny was noticeably absent from the common room almost all the time, having struck up a torrid – well, Hermione wouldn't call it a relationship, exactly, but something of the kind – with Blaise, and between that and Quidditch practice, she only saw the other girl at meals and bedtime.
She'd taken to sitting with Neville, Seamus, Dean and Parvati in the evenings. Dean and Parvati were now 'seeing each other', albeit it seemed more like the kind of awkward relationship she'd had with Ron than anything resembling what Ginny had with Blaise. It seemed the two of them had to have some drinks inside them to be able to actually express anything to each other. Hermione didn't make it her business, though, and simply enjoyed spending more time with people other than Harry and Ron.
Malfoy hadn't approached her again after the night of the party, and she was honestly glad of it. It had been the hottest kiss of her life, that was a fact, but he was Malfoy and that was also a fact. She hoped he would continue to ignore her as he'd been doing before. She was getting a bit closer with the other Slytherins, though, sharing a table with Blaise often now in Potions, catching lunch with Millie on occasion and stopping for the occasional conversation with Theo in the halls. They hadn't had another opportunity to hang out all as a group, and Goyle and Pansy remained firmly out of her comfort zone, but she was glad to have made great inroads with the other three, all of whom she would now consider her friends.
"Hello?" a voice pulled her out of her musings. She looked around, startled, and saw a laughing Seamus and Neville with an eyebrow raised. "Did you even hear me, Hermione?"
"No, sorry," she replied meekly. "I was somewhere else."
"Halloween. What's the plan?" Neville repeated. "I thought we were all going together, but now with Ginny and Blaise and Dean and Parvati who both want to go in couples, it'll just be the three of us. Are you alright with that?"
"Of course," Hermione said, then remembered what Parvati had told her the other day about Neville and Seamus. Maybe she was the third wheel here. "Unless you don't want to?"
"No, we do," Neville said earnestly, "there's so much pressure on these things otherwise. It's much more fun to just go as a group and see what happens when you get there." Behind him, Seamus nodded in agreement.
Hermione nodded, remembering the uncomfortable onus that she had felt back in fourth year's Yule Ball. Of course, this party was nothing close to as fancy, but Headmistress McGonagall had made a big effort to try and put on something fun for the whole school. Then, obviously, they had planned the after-party in the Room of Requirement for eighth-years and guests only, with real drinks, and Hermione suspected it wouldn't be any tamer than the last.
The next day, she was walking along the corridor towards her Arithmancy class when she felt as if someone was watching her. She hurried her steps along, old instincts from the war kicking in and her hand finding her wand. She knew that whoever it was, whatever it was, it was probably harmless, and she was safe in the castle, but that didn't stop the hairs raising on the back of her neck or the churning nervousness in her gut that came from memories of Snatchers past.
Just as she was about to reach the door of her classroom, the subject of her apprehension suddenly appeared before her. "Granger."
She let out a breath. "Malfoy, for Merlin's sake," she admonished, "you made me jump."
The blonde Slytherin was leaning against a column to her left, looking as casual and breezy as he always did, hair slicked back and perfect, smirk spread across his face. "Are you going to the Halloween party?"
"Yes, just like everyone else," she replied, then added with a derisive look, "Why, are you asking me to be your date?"
"As if I'd be seen with your beaver teeth," Malfoy replied. "I meant the real party, the after-party, not whatever fruit-punch teen-rated bash McGonagall's putting on."
"Answer's still the same," Hermione snapped, wanting to be free of this conversation and irritated at him for his lack of respect for one of the teachers she was most fond of. "I don't know why you think you're invited, though, Malfoy. Or why you'd even care to go, you've made your disdain for the rest of us perfectly clear. Can I go to my class now?"
"Disdain?" Malfoy ignored everything else she said, and pushed off the column, walking over to her. "Granger, you haven't got a clue. I don't even care enough to have any disdain for them."
"So why are you coming to our party?" she challenged defiantly.
"Because I can't get you out of my fucking head," he replied, eyes narrowing, and she realised how close he'd come. She could see right into his stormy grey eyes, count every eyelash. She swallowed.
"Look, Malfoy, I don't –" she began, but before she could finished he'd kissed her. And once again, despite everything, his lips felt amazing, his body was warm and she could forget, forget it was Malfoy and sink into the feeling. Despite everything, they had the most incredible chemistry that left her wanting more. She had thought it was just the amount of alcohol they'd had the other night, but she felt it now, too, all the way to the tips of her toes. Why did it have to be Malfoy that made her feel this way? Why couldn't she and Ron have had this thrilling, intense passion? She pulled away and stared at him.
"Say what you like," he whispered with a triumphant smirk, "but you kissed me back. You want me."
"Fat chance," Hermione said uncomfortably, stepping away from him, knowing it was true. "I was drunk, and I thought you were as well. This should never have happened, it's insanity."
"I'm not drunk now, and I'm willing to bet you're not either, Granger," he said, and she forced herself to look back at him, into the depths of those grey eyes. This was probably the longest actual conversation she'd ever had with him. "You're right. It's insanity," he went on, "but I fucking want more."
"More of what? This?" Hermione said exasperatedly, gesturing between them. "Hatred, evasiveness, arguments and then – what? The odd clandestine snog in the hallways when you're not being a dick to everyone you meet? No, Malfoy, no 'more of this'."
"Your body wants it," Malfoy correctly pointed out. "Why don't you let it decide for once and put away that unattractive know-it-all brain of yours?"
"I'm no slave to my baser urges, unlike you," Hermione spat back at him, wishing she could make herself believe it, "and I have no intention of touching you ever again."
"Maybe you don't," he said, not sounding sorry about it at all, "but you will touch me again, and I'll leave you begging for more." He grinned like a wolf. "See you at Halloween, Granger. Wear something sexy, won't you?"
"I will, but it won't be for you," she retorted, refusing to let him win, amazed at her presence of mind to come up with something so smooth.
He whirled, real fury in his gaze, and stared at her. "Then for whom? Snivelly Longbottom? The loud, irritating Irish twat? None of those idiots you hang out with can hold a candle to me and you know it."
"Any of my friends," Hermione said, shaking with anger, "are worth ten of you, Malfoy. So get your head out of your ass and leave me alone."
"Who is it?" Malfoy asked. "I won't ask again, Granger. Tell me his name."
"Get out of my face," she replied, and before he could say anything, ran into her classroom. She leaned back against the door, taking deep breaths. Surely he would get the picture and leave her alone? Maybe she should make it look like she was with someone on Halloween, so he wouldn't approach her? Then again, it was Malfoy; instead of being deterred, he'd probably just take it upon himself to kidnap her in the corridor again and give her a hard time for bringing someone else. And even though she hated him, even though she thought he was a vile and unpleasant human being with virtually no redeeming qualities, the chemistry between them was undeniable and a little voice in the back of her head desperately wanted to run right back out and continue where they'd left off.
How had she managed to get herself into this mess?
A week later, she and Ginny were getting ready together. Though the official theme of McGonagall's party was a masquerade, most of the eighth years weren't taking it very seriously. They all knew each other well enough, and were quite a tight-knit group anyway, so the 'mysteriousness' of it wouldn't really fly with them; and besides, they wanted to make sure they were wearing something comfortable enough for the after-party. Both girls had opted for simple, sleek dresses, Hermione's gold and Ginny's bright red.
"Blaise says he has something important to say tonight," Ginny was telling Hermione as she zipped herself up. "I wonder what it is."
"I've no idea," Hermione responded, shrugging. "What do you guys normally talk about? Has he mentioned anything you could draw clues from?"
Ginny giggled. "We don't really talk much, if you know what I mean."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "You're impossible," she laughed. "Do you even know anything about him?"
"Yeah," Ginny said defensively, "he's Italian, his mother's been widowed seven times, he's a Pureblood, he's about 6'2" and he has a slight curve to his-"
"STOP," Hermione interjected, closing her eyes and pinching her nose. "Do you know anything about him that you can't find out from the papers or from…groping?"
Ginny considered it. "Not really. It's not like he's my boyfriend or anything, though, we're just having fun. So I don't really need to know that much about him."
Hermione shook her head. "You're in a different world from me, Gin."
The ginger girl laughed. "I'm just a little more easy-going, that's all. The kind of relationship I have with Blaise wouldn't suit you, anyway. You've always been more of a serious kind of person than me. You like full-on commitment and feelings, which is awesome in its way, but less of what I need, especially right now. For you, though, it's perfect."
Hermione grimaced, remembering Malfoy's kiss. "Actually, there's something I haven't told you," she said. She hadn't got a chance to update Ginny on what had been going on yet, and she could really use the advice. "Malfoy cornered me again the other day and we ended up kissing. Or, I should say, he kissed me and I didn't stop him."
Ginny turned to her, open-mouthed. "And you waited this long to tell me? I thought that whole thing was just because you were drunk!"
She shook her head helplessly. "I don't know. I thought so too, but then – even though he's hateful and vile and awful in every conceivable aspect – something just feels right about it. He feels it too, and it's really odd. It's what I wish I could have felt with Ron."
Ginny considered this. "So, you enjoy his company? You like hanging around him?"
"Not at all," Hermione protested. "He's a stuck-up pig."
"Then it sounds like you just have some built-up sexual tension," the Weasley girl advised her. "I guess because you've got so much history with Malfoy, and such strong feelings towards him – even if they're negative feelings," she clarified at Hermione's stuttered interjection, "they're still very strong. So something in your body recognizes that and I guess you express it sexually."
Hermione groaned. "How do I stop doing that?"
Ginny grinned. "Shag him. Then it might go away."
"Eurgh!" Hermione shot up and walked across the room. "With Malfoy? No way! The next time I have sex I want it to be with someone I care about."
Her friend shrugged. "So keep on building up the tension for a while until you can't stand it anymore, and then shag him. It'll happen eventually."
"You seem to be awfully calm about this," Hermione noted, eyeing her.
Ginny shrugged again. "I'm snogging a Slytherin, aren't I? I mean, I know, Malfoy is so much worse, and I'd be concerned if you actually liked him, but since it's just a sexual tension thing, I get it. Besides, didn't you tell me you liked Theo?"
"How can I, though?" Hermione asked helplessly. "I thought I did like Theo – I do – maybe – I mean, he's so kind and quietly handsome and we get along so well – but if I really do have a crush on him, how is it that at the same time can't forget the feeling of Malfoy's tongue in my mouth?"
"Things will work themselves out," Ginny said gently, aware her friend was genuinely upset. "Look, you've not had much experience with either love or sex yet, and you're still working out what you want. That's okay. Let things happen how they happen. I won't judge you, you know that. Just – make sure nobody gets hurt, okay? I know it may seem like Malfoy doesn't have any feelings, but he's human too, and if you guys get too involved…well, let's say I can see him falling in love with you," she remarked. "If you don't want that, keep him at arm's length. Make sure he knows the boundaries."
"Why can't it all just be easy?" Hermione groaned. "Why could stupid Malfoy not have just left me alone? Why can't I stop myself wanting to do it again?"
"Life's never easy," Ginny said, returning to her make-up, "but I promise, in the end the choice will seem like it was never even a choice at all."
As they descended the staircase into the common room, Hermione's thoughts were unnervingly jumbled, and by habit she was busy trying to compartmentalize them all, when Ginny's surprised shriek ripped her out of her daze and into reality. She focused and saw Ginny's red hair flying past her as she ran into the common room and threw herself on a grinning Ron.
"Hi," came a voice behind her, and she turned, beaming, to see a familiar head of messy black hair. She threw her arms around Harry with a squeal. "We got the night off to come and surprise you – McGonagall invited us."
"Oh, it's so good to see you both," Hermione said, and hugged Ron, who held her tightly. "How have you been? How's the Auror program?"
"It's amazing," Ron said, and launched into an explanation of their latest raid on an abandoned Death Eater hideout. Harry joined in enthusiastically, and the conversation took them all the way down the stairs and into the entrance hall, where they met Neville and Seamus, who both cheered and slapped Harry and Ron on the back. Hermione sighed in happiness. This, here, felt like Hogwarts. All of them together again, chatting and laughing while ghosts flew over their heads and the sound of music floated out of the Great Hall.
The illusion was abruptly shattered at the sound of another voice. "Hey, Hermione!"
She turned and smiled at Theo, who approached from behind her, flanked by Blaise and Malfoy, all wearing different shades of dark, silken dress robes. "You look lovely," he said with a smile, and her heart fluttered slightly at the compliment.
"You too," she replied appreciatively, then turned to her companions, intending to introduce them properly. She winced, though, at the look on everyone's faces; Harry flabbergasted, Ron downright furious mixed with hurt, Neville awkward and Seamus bracing as if a bomb was about to hit them all. Ginny was her saving grace, stepping over to Blaise and greeting him, albeit far more demurely than they usually would. Blaise seemed to take the hint and kept his hands off her, though Hermione was sure that wouldn't last long.
"What," Ron demanded, "are they doing here?"
"Well, Weasel," came a snarky voice from behind Theo, "we go to school here. I think the better question is why two accomplished Aurors such as yourselves are hanging around at Hogwarts."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Malfoy. They're here to visit us."
"Glad to see some things haven't changed," Harry said faintly. "Mind explaining why we're chummy with the Slytherins now?"
"Because they're people too, Harry," Hermione told him firmly, her gaze sweeping over to Ron who looked about ready to kill someone. "Blaise and Theo have become good friends of ours this year, and Millie hangs out with us too sometimes."
"Millie?" Harry asked, nonplussed.
"Bulstrode," Hermione clarified, and Harry blinked.
"Look, Potter," Blaise said, stepping between them. "We haven't had the best past, it's true. Hermione believes, though, that we shouldn't let the past come between us, and I happen to agree." He held out a hand for Harry to shake. "You lost people you cared about for the sake of that sick bastard's crusade, and we did too. Most of us don't have parents anymore. I speak for all of us when I say we want to put it firmly behind us and move ahead with our lives. Do you?"
Harry regarded him for a moment, then sighed and took his hand. "You're right, Zabini. There's no sense in clinging to old prejudice and bad blood. Clean slate."
"It's Blaise," the Slytherin corrected him, grinning.
"Then it's Harry," the black-haired boy replied, and for a moment, Hermione found herself hoping it would all be okay.
As Harry turned to shake Theo's hand, though, Ron burst. "Have you all gone mad? They're Death Eaters! Death Eaters! They're the people we hunt down and incarcerate on a daily basis!"
Blaise firmly rolled up his left sleeve and thrust his arm under Ron's nose. "You see a Dark Mark there? I'm no more a Death Eater than you are."
"Well, we all know at least one of you is," Ron said pointedly, eyes glaring hatefully at Malfoy, who for once was not being his snide and unbearable self, instead shifting uncomfortably and rubbing his forearm through his robes.
"Oh for goodness' sake, Ron," Hermione snapped, "you think he was willing? You think any of them went through what they did because they wanted to? I'm sure you would have become a Death Eater too if they threatened your mother's life. Let it go. Please," she added, "for everyone's sake." She cringed inwardly at the thought of what would happen when he found out that Ginny was hooking up with Blaise, or that she'd kissed Malfoy.
Ron looked troubled, and set his jaw. "It's going to take some getting used to," he finally said, but held out his hand to Theo. Hermione felt a wave of relief wash over her. Small victories. Theo firmly shook Ron's hand, then Harry's, introducing himself with his twinkling smile that she found so alluring.
"Shall we go in, then?" Neville asked tentatively.
"Sure," Hermione replied, taking Harry's arm. "Where are the girls and Goyle, by the way?" she asked over her shoulder.
Blaise chuckled. "Pansy started her fourth layer of make-up just as we left, so she won't be close to ready for about another hour, and Millie and Greg are behind on their homework so they wanted to get it finished together. They'll be along later."
"Millie and Greg," Harry repeated in a low voice, and Hermione giggled. "How long has this been a thing?" he asked her, and she shrugged. "About a month. I thought it was time. You don't see how they're treated here, Harry, it's worse than you were when people thought you were lying about Dumbledore. I had to do something."
Harry broke into a fatherly smile. "That's you, Hermione. Always wanting to help people. Even some who don't want to be helped," he added, with a glance at Malfoy who was glowering at the back of their group, and she laughed. "Yes, we haven't made much progress there yet. Give it time."
"I'd be just fine if it never happened," Harry replied, just as they entered the Great Hall and Hermione stopped to drink in her surroundings. Growing up as a Muggle-born, she would still never take for granted how beautiful and incredible magic could be. Floating pumpkins lined the Hall, the candles above them an identical copy of the night sky, enchanted skeletons playing soft music from the stage by the teachers' table.
Before long, all animosity was forgotten as they dutifully drank some punch, danced and mixed under the watchful eyes of the teachers, setting the perfect example for the younger children as they knew they were supposed to. Harry was constantly bombarded with attention as expected, both welcome and unwelcome, but he managed it all much better than he had done in the past, smiling and chatting with each individual. Hermione danced with Ron, Pansy showed up looking very glamorous and pulled Malfoy onto the floor and out of his sulk, and all in all everyone had an excellent evening.
Soon enough the clock chimed midnight and bedtime was announced. They clapped the band and thanked the teachers, then departed in small groups, eighth-years of all Houses glancing at each other in a secret communication of a much more age-appropriate party to come. Laughing, Hermione dragged Harry and Ron up the stairs by their hands. They hadn't been to one of the Room of Requirement parties yet, and she was excited to show them how much fun they were.
That was when everything started to go wrong.
"Oh, just a mo," Ron said, stopping on the stairs, "I'd better go and get Gin, she'll want to join us. I think I saw her with one of the snakes about half an hour ago."
"Oh, Ron, I wouldn't," Hermione said, "she'll meet us there." She had seen Ginny leaving the Hall earlier on hand in hand with Blaise, and she was pretty sure that the youngest Weasley would definitely not want to be disturbed by her brother right now.
"What's the problem, Hermione?" asked Harry inquisitively. "Surely she'd want us to wait for her."
Unwilling to reveal Ginny's pseudo-relationship for her, Hermione was forced to lie. "I think she already went ahead, I saw her going up the stairs with some people earlier."
"No, she was definitely in the entrance hall," Ron replied, now at the bottom of the stairs. "It's okay, it won't take a moment."
Hermione closed her eyes momentarily, trying to think of a way out of this, but she was too late.
"Hey, Ginny, we're – WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY SISTER?!"
The sheer volume of Ron's voice assured Hermione that her worst fears were confirmed, and exchanging a glance with Harry, she ran down the stairs two at a time, holding her dress so she didn't trip. Luckily, most of the younger students had already gone to bed with teachers supervising, so there were only a few stragglers around, most of whom hurried away from the scene. Ron was standing, ears red as a tomato, breathing heavily and pointing a shaking hand at Blaise, who was back against the wall with his hands up. Ginny stood to the side, looking dumbfounded and thoroughly mussed.
"Look, calm down," Blaise said, and Ron roared and drew back an arm to punch him.
"Petrificus Totalus!" shrieked Hermione, pointing her wand just in time, and Ron fell to the floor with a thump. Blaise, who had braced for the punch, cracked open one eye and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank Merlin you're quick with a wand, Hermione. That would have hurt."
Ron's eyes were bulging, betrayal, anger and confusion swirling in equal measure. "I'm going to let you go, Ron, but you have to be calm," Hermione said in the same kind of voice Madam Pomfrey used when convincing people to take disgusting medicines. "You're not going to want to hear this, but I won't hesitate to hex you again if you try to punch anyone."
She released the charm and Ron scrambled up. "Where do you get off hexing me like that, 'Mione? He was attacking Ginny!"
"You idiot, he wasn't attacking me," Ginny spoke up for the first time, her usual confidence shaken by the situation. She looked at Harry with eyes full of apology that he'd had to find out this way. "We were snogging."
Harry's face didn't change, but Hermione noticed the twitch in his jaw that said she'd need to talk to him about this later. Ron was slowly turning even redder. "Snogging?! A Slytherin? Have you no shame?"
"Lay off her," Blaise said angrily, stepping forward. "I think you should respect your sister enough to know she can make her own choices."
"And I think you should respect her enough to leave her the hell alone," Ron growled, turning on the Italian. "Just go back to your pretty Slytherin girls and stop playing around with Ginny."
"What makes you think I'm just playing around with her?" Blaise raised his voice for the first time in Hermione's memory, and she saw some of the fiery Italian passion in his flushed face and sharp eyes. "Ginny and I care about each other."
"Oh yeah? That why you're feeling each other up in a dark corridor instead of out in the open? You're ashamed of her, admit it," Ron spat.
"We didn't do anything out in the open because we knew you would react like this!" Ginny yelled. "How do you think it would have gone if you'd been shouting at us in front of the whole Great Hall with the teachers watching?! The fact is, you're just going to have to deal with this because we-" she indicated between herself and Blaise "are not stopping anytime soon."
"Harry, what do you have to say about this?" Ron demanded insensitively, his anger still refusing to dissipate.
Harry sighed and looked long and hard at Ginny. "Is this why all this inter-House hanging out started happening? Because you two fancied each other?"
"No," Ginny replied truthfully. "I met Blaise at the first party the Slytherins came to and we've been…sort of together ever since."
"Sort of together?" Blaise raised an eyebrow. "Say it properly, Gin. You're my girlfriend."
Hermione could tell this was news to Ginny, but to give the girl her credit, she took it in her stride. "Yeah. We've been going out. I really like him, Harry, and I hope you can be happy for me."
Harry swallowed. "If you like him, you like him. Nothing to do with me, is it? For what it's worth, it doesn't bother me that he's a Slytherin. In fact, he's a nicer bloke than a lot of other people you could have ended up with. Take care of her, Blaise," he added to the Italian.
"I intend to," he replied seriously, and everyone looked at Ron, who was still taking heaving breaths.
"I'll find out what you're up to," he said defiantly. "I don't trust this. All of a sudden wanting to be your friends? Getting in good with my sister?" He turned to Hermione. "Tell me this is just her. Tell me you haven't been with any of the Slytherins."
Hermione blushed, and opened her mouth, but couldn't make the lie come out. "Not…really," she said lamely.
"NOT REALLY?! What's that supposed to mean?" Ron shouted, his temper flaring up again.
"I…look, can we have this discussion later?" Hermione said. At least his anger was off Ginny, she supposed, though she wished it wasn't on her.
"Where's that fucking Nott, I'm going to tear out his throat," Ron said, and started up the stairs.
"Wait, Theo? What?" Hermione followed him quickly, the others bringing up the rear, Blaise and Ginny holding hands. "What does Theo have to do with this?"
"She's with Zabini," Ron said, not slowing down, "and Goyle looks like a tree slug. So the only one of these damn snakes you could have been messing about with is Nott, and I'm going to kill him."
Hermione didn't know whether to reply or not, but luckily she was saved the decision.
"Oh, Hermione, you haven't," Harry said in horror, correctly reading her silence and stopping in the middle of the stairs. "Please, tell me you haven't."
"Haven't what?" Ron said, turning, then slowly it clicked, and his entire face contorted. "Malfoy?" he asked, almost in a whisper. "Malfoy?"
Hermione felt like someone had punched her in the gut, with the way both of her best friends were looking at her. She bit her lip. "Um…look, please, let's discuss this in private. It's not anything, I swear, but you have to just listen to me."
Harry shook his head. "I'm done listening to you. Blaise, Theo, Bulstrode, Goyle – fine. Weird, but fine. Pansy? Questionable. Malfoy? Fucking Malfoy? Downright wrong. I'm not prepared to deal with this and I'm not speaking to you until I am. Sorry, Hermione. I'll owl you, okay?"
"We're not dating or anything," Hermione pleaded, "please, Harry, you have to understand. It's just…" she couldn't explain it. "It's nothing," she said, her hands dropping to her sides.
"Well, I hope 'nothing' was worth this," Harry said, gesturing around them. "I should have left him in the Room of Requirement that day. I should have left him behind."
"Harry," Hermione felt tears come to her eyes. "You didn't mean that. Tell me you didn't mean it."
Harry sighed. "No, I didn't. I'm sorry. But I need time to process this. Come on, Ron. I think it's time we went home."
Ron nodded, his eyes never leaving Hermione, and followed Harry down the stairs. Hermione felt tears fall from her eyes as Ginny and Blaise stood either side of her, offering her comfort, as she watched her two best friends walk out of the doors of the castle. She had never wanted to upset them, never wanted it to be like this. Malfoy and whatever weird chemistry she had with him had never been worth it.
"Malfoy?" Blaise asked her, and she realized with a jolt he didn't know.
"I'll tell you later," Ginny said to him. "By the way, are we officially going out? Was that a real thing?"
"I should hope so," Blaise replied with a wink, "given I've met your family now."
Ginny smiled. "One down, eight to go."
Blaise mock sighed, and then turned his attention back to Hermione. "You alright?"
"Er…not really," she said honestly, staring straight ahead and feeling numb. "I want to write to Harry and apologise, and tell him it means nothing. I want this whole episode to never have happened. What I want most of all is to go and get so drunk I can't remember it. Does that sound okay to you?"
"Fine by me," Blaise said, and Ginny nodded. "We'll look after you, alright?"
The rest of the party passed in a blur for Hermione. Firewhiskey shots, loud music, the faces of Neville, Seamus and Theo swimming in and out of focus – Theo looking so, so good in his dress robes – Luna's startling costume making her jump more than once, and finally, and most clearly, the warm, intoxicating, poisonous touch of Draco Malfoy, sequestered in a dark corner of the Room, exploring her with his hands and his mouth while she sighed and moaned and gave in to chaos.
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Second Chances