The plot thickens- the girls finally remember the bet and we get a bit of the fallout from it. You'll see a bit more action in the next chapter ;) Hermione will start to soften up soon, so stick with us!
With the first Hogsmeade weekend only a few weeks away, Ginny eagerly awaited to see if Draco Malfoy would ask her to go with him. He'd been hanging around her plenty but had not formally asked her out yet.
Ginny knew her sixth year would be the best one yet. She'd pleaded with her parents to allow her to date, but they'd remained firm on only allowing her to once she turned sixteen.
She spotted him at the Slytherin table eating dinner that evening and she felt her heart beat faster as their eyes met. When he waved her over, she didn't hesitate, ignoring the warning look her brother sent her.
"Hi," Ginny said, lowering her eyes demurely.
"Hiya, Red," Draco said grinning at her before nudging Crabbe. "Get out of here, mate."
"But--" Crabbe started to protest.
"I said, move." Draco glared at him. "Make room for my girl."
"Fine," Crabbe said glaring at them both before moving further down the table.
Ginny sat down beside him. "I'm your girl, am I?"
"Sure," Draco raised her hand to his lips.
Ginny practically swooned. "I like that."
"I like you, Red." Draco winked at her.
"I like you too," Ginny said happily. "Very, very much."
"Good to hear," Draco leaned in. "Say Red... you know about Hogsmeade in a few weeks..."
Ginny tried to be coy. "Yes?"
"I was thinking..." he leaned even closer. "It might be fun if we went together."
Ginny opened her mouth to say yes, but nothing came out.
"Red?"
Again, she opened her mouth but not a word came out. Ginny tried to nod, but her head remained still.
"You alright then?" Draco asked starting to get angry. "Look, if you don't want to go with me, just bloody say it, right? I can name three girls right now who'd say yes in a heartbeat if I asked them..."
"Don't... don't ask anyone else," Ginny managed to say. She desperately wanted to go with him and didn't know why she couldn't say yes. "Please..."
"Then bloody tell me yes," Draco snapped at her.
Ginny again tried to reply in the affirmative but couldn't.
Draco stood up. "You'd better make up your mind soon, Red."
"I will," Ginny said weakly. What on earth was wrong with her?
She stood up and slowly walked back over to the Gryffindor table.
"What did that wanker want?" Ron demanded.
"Don't call him that," Ginny said sinking down into her seat. "He---he asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him and I wanted to say yes..."
"Why didn't you?" her friend Sarah asked. "Merlin Ginny, this is Draco Malfoy we're talking about- only the most gorgeous guy in school!"
"I'm trying to eat," Ron said glaring at her.
"Then don't listen," Ginny glared at her brother.
Parvati Patil couldn't help overhearing. "Ron's right, Ginny. Draco's bad news...."
Ginny ignored the older girl. "I don't know what happened," she told Sarah. "I wanted to say yes. I tried to nod, but I just froze. It was like someone had a spell on me."
"Mum and Dad might have," Ron said before stuffing his mouth with a roll.
"Shut UP Ron," Ginny snapped. "No one's asking your opinion."
"Maybe you should talk to Dumbledore," Sarah suggested. "I mean, if someone's casting a spell on you, he would be able to figure out what it is, right?"
"That's a good idea," Ginny said glancing up at the faculty table where the headmaster currently sat with the professors.
She decided to approach him after dinner, feeling a bit nervous as she did so.
"Good evening, Miss Weasley," Dumbledore said politely. "Did you enjoy your dinner?"
"Yes Professor," Ginny twisted the edge of her robe. "May I speak to you in private?"
"Of course," he replied. "You can walk with me to my office, Miss Weasley."
"Thank you sir," Ginny said, leaving the Great Hall with him. "Um... would you be able to tell if someone cast a spell on me?"
"What would make you think that has happened, Miss Weasley?" Dumbledore asked looking at her with concern.
Ginny blushed so hard her face was nearly the same shade as her hair. "Well..."
Dumbledore stopped walking and looked down at her. "I can't help you if you don't tell me the whole story."
"Draco Malfoy asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him," Ginny said quietly. "And when I tried to say yes, I couldn't."
Dumbledore pondered this for a few moments. "Perhaps another girl who fancies Mr. Malfoy knew that he was going to ask you and did something..."
Ginny shrugged. "I don't know what happened, sir. And if someone cast a spell on me, I want to know who it is."
"I'll see what I can find out for you," he promised.
Ginny was relieved. If anyone could find out what was going on, it was the headmaster. "Thank you Professor," she said gratefully.
"You're welcome," Professor Dumbledore said patting her on the shoulder before heading toward his office.
Ginny watched him go before turning and heading back towards the Great Hall.
She nearly collided with Neville when she walked back inside.
"Hi," Neville said shyly.
"Hi Neville," Ginny replied distractedly. "Sorry..."
Neville could tell she was upset. "Ginny---"
"I didn't mean to bump into you," Ginny apologised.
"It's okay," Neville said hastily. "Are you...are you okay?"
Ginny shook her head. "I don't know..."
"Anything I can do to help?" Neville asked.
Ginny smiled at him. "Dumbledore's looking into it for me, but thanks." she put a hand on his arm.
Neville blushed. "I noticed you didn't eat anything. I was wondering if you wanted to sneak back to the kitchens..."
Ginny shook her head. "I'm okay, but thanks."
Neville tried to hide his disappointment. He had no doubt that had he been Draco Malfoy and he'd asked her to go to the kitchens; she'd have gone without hesitation. "Oh…okay."
"Neville?" Ginny asked when he turned to walk away. "Could I ask you a huge favour?"
He turned around. "Yes, of course. W-what is it?"
"I know it's early on in the year..." Ginny began. "And I'll understand if you don't have the time- but do you think you could help me out in Herbology?"
A slow smile spread across his face. "I'd be happy to help you."
"Really?" Ginny asked. She gave him a quick hug. "Thank you so much. I nearly failed last year. I don't know why, but there's something about Herbology that I just don't quite get. And you're even better than Hermione Granger in that subject."
Neville couldn't believe she was actually hugging him. He patted her back trying hard not to do or say something stupid. "What days would be good for you?" he asked.
"I'll let you know after Quidditch tryouts," she said. "I'm hoping to get on the team this year again."
"I'm sure you will," Neville said. "You're amazing on a broom."
"Thanks," Ginny smiled at him.
"You look really um....really....really...." Neville stammered.
"What?" Ginny prompted.
"Uh..." Neville struggled for his words when Malfoy appeared behind Ginny.
"You made up your mind yet?" Draco asked ignoring Neville.
Ginny opened her mouth again to tell him yes, but the only thing she could manage was a squeak.
Draco glared at her. "I haven't got time for this. Longbottom can have you---"
"You... you shouldn't talk to her like that," Neville stood up a bit straighter.
"What did you say to me?" Malfoy asked stepping closer to Neville.
"I said..." Neville's knees were practically knocking together. "You should treat her with more respect."
"I'll treat her however I want, Longbottom," Malfoy said drawing back his fist.
"You hit him and we're going to have a problem," Harry said coming up behind them.
"Potter," Malfoy's lip curled up. "Figures you'd show up."
"Run along, Malfoy," Harry said glaring at him.
Draco glared back, but his eyes softened slightly when he looked at Ginny. "I'll talk to you soon, Red."
Ginny nodded sadly.
"Thanks, Harry," Neville said to his friend.
Harry nodded. "We should be getting back to the common room." he looked over at Ginny. "You all right?"
"Yes," Ginny replied. "Neville? Thanks for sticking up for me."
Neville's face turned red and he quickly nodded. He didn't trust his own voice.
Ginny pecked him on the cheek. "Thanks for everything. I'll see you later."
Neville touched his cheek where Ginny's lips had just been. "She just kissed me," he said in awe.
"I saw that," Harry said grinning at him. "You're on your way, Nev."
"She really likes Malfoy though," Neville said quietly, his elation gone as soon as it had come.
"Just goes to show that not everyone is perfect," Harry said dryly.
Neville hurried behind him as they headed for the common room. "She was really upset about something when I ran into her."
"Girls usually are upset about one thing or the other," Harry said.
"They're kind of confusing," Neville replied.
"Tell me about it," Harry said thinking of Hermione.
He followed Harry into the common room. "Did you get that new Herbology assignment done?"
Harry nodded. "Full marks this time."
"I can't believe you and Hermione got detention," Neville said.
"I usually get detention," Harry reminded him. "It's Granger who was the shocker. But then again, she didn't want to work with me..."
"I never had a problem working with her before," Neville put his bag down.
"So, I guess it's just me she doesn't like," Harry said with a shrug.
Neville looked over at him. "She doesn't seem to like a lot of people," he said carefully. "But she's always been nice to me."
Harry caught sight of the brunette in the corner of the room, furiously scribbling something down on a piece of parchment. "I wonder why that is..."
"She never told me," Neville shrugged. "And I don't ask."
"Probably best that way," Harry said sitting down on the sofa.
Hermione finished with her potions essay and placed it in her book. "One essay down, one to go." she said, reaching for her Ancient Runes text.
"Hiya, Hermione," Neville called out to her.
Hermione looked up and sent him a brief smile. "Hi Neville."
"Granger," Harry said nodding at her.
Hermione's eyes cooled. "Potter," she responded turning back to her work.
Ginny had just entered the common room and made a beeline for the Head Girl. "Hermione, can I ask you something?"
"I'm a little busy, Ginny," Hermione replied not looking up from her textbook.
"Please, Hermione?" Ginny sat down across from her. "I just need to ask you a question."
Hermione sighed. "Fine...you have five minutes."
"I just want to know how you'd discover if someone had a spell on you?" Ginny asked. "I wouldn't bother you about this Hermione, but you're the smartest person I know next to Dumbledore."
Hermione smiled. "Well, you should look at your past behaviour and see if you can remember doing something out of character or potentially embarrassing....or if there's some time that you can't account for..."
Ginny told the older girl about what had happened at and after dinner. "It's like I want to say yes, but I physically can't. And I know Dumbledore's looking into it, but I just don't want to wait."
"Stay away from Draco Malfoy, Ginny," Hermione said to her. "Far away and you'll be much happier for it."
Ginny stared at her in dismay. "Look, can we just keep our opinions out of this?" she asked. "It's no secret you two don't like each other, but I find him fascinating. And I want to go to Hogsmeade with him, and I don't know why I can't tell him yes!"
Hermione rolled her eyes. If Ginny knew what Draco Malfoy was really like, she wouldn't be in such a hurry to go out with him. "I just think that you can do better than him, Ginny."
"I'll be the judge of that," Ginny told her. "Just... do you have any idea what could be causing this?"
"Probably some girl who fancies him trying to get you out of the picture," Hermione replied. When Ginny raised an eyebrow at her, Hermione shook her head. "It's not me. I didn't even know you fancied him, Ginny. Besides, I have other things to occupy my time than worrying about who is dating who..."
"I just hoped you might have an idea about what sort of spell that would do this," Ginny said softly. "But it's okay."
"Dumbledore will help you," Hermione reassured her.
"I hope so," Ginny sighed. "Thanks anyway, Hermione. I'm sorry for bugging you."
"It's okay," Hermione said offering her a slight smile. "Just...just be careful around Malfoy, okay?"
"I'll be fine," Ginny stood up.
"Ginny?" Hermione called after her. "If you need to talk...I--I'd be happy to listen. I know we haven't been close since that pact we made when we were---"
"Pact?" Ginny asked standing still. It all came flooding back to her. But that was just a childhood promise. It wasn't really a pact and it certainly couldn't be what was causing her problem. Could it?
"Yeah," Hermione nodded. "That time when we were really young..."
"Refresh my memory," Ginny said trying to stay calm. "What was it that we said?"
Hermione bit her lower lip. "I don't remember exactly- something about not liking boys...?"
Ginny grabbed Hermione by the arm. "We have to go see Dumbledore right now----"
"Ginny, I can't just leave my----" Hermione protested, trying to break free of her grip.
"No, we have to go see him RIGHT NOW," Ginny insisted, her grip tight.
"Ginny!" Hermione protested as Ginny practically drug her out of the common room to the amusement of their fellow Gryffindors.
"There's something you don't see every day," Parvati muttered to Lavender, who nodded.
"What if that pact was something serious?" Ginny asked her as she practically dragged Hermione towards Dumbledore's office. "What if it turned out to be something real?"
"What are you on about?" Hermione asked. "And can you please let me go? You're hurting my arm!"
"Will you just listen to me?" Ginny asked. "That pact! I remember it now! We vowed to never date! And it was something magical!"
"I doubt that," Hermione said shaking her head. "We were children."
Ginny just shook her head and continued to pull Hermione towards the headmaster's office. "Let's go find out for sure then."
Hermione sighed. She had better things to do than have to go to the headmaster over something trivial. When they reached Dumbledore's office, she reluctantly muttered the headmaster's password.
Ginny charged ahead of her, bursting in without even knocking.
The professor was sitting at his desk and he looked up in surprise at the two girls. "Miss Weasley, Miss Granger..."
"I'm so sorry Professor," Hermione apologised. "But Ginny here seems to think--"
"What can you tell us about magical pacts?" Ginny interjected.
"I beg your pardon?" Dumbledore peered over his glasses. "Magical pacts? They're unbreakable, unless both sides of the bargain are fulfilled."
"Bugger!" Ginny exclaimed sinking down into one of the chairs. "Bugger! Bugger! Bugger!"
"Ginny," Hermione rolled her eyes. "Will you relax? We were just little kids- I'm sure it was nothing."
"Would either of you care to explain this to me?" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.
Ginny sighed and then related the story to the headmaster. "The boys in the park were being incredibly rude and obnoxious. As a laugh, we said that we would never ever date a boy. We weren't serious though..."
"Yes we were," Hermione chimed in folding her arms. "I don't see what the big deal is, Ginny..."
"We made a magical pact, Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed. "Bloody hell! There's no way of getting out of those!" she turned to the headmaster. "Is there?"
"What were the exact terms of the pact?" Dumbledore asked, levelling his gaze at Hermione.
Hermione thought for a moment. "I think it was something like... we agreed to never like boys because they were..." she blushed. "Mean?"
Dumbledore chuckled. "Most young ones are..."
"Sir, please," Ginny pleased. "You're the most powerful wizard in the world. Can't you get us out of this? Please?"
"I'm not sure if there's anything I can do, Miss Weasley." Dumbledore replied. "But this would explain your inability to agree to Mr. Malfoy's request earlier this evening."
"This is just great," Ginny said glumly. "Bloody brilliant!"
"I don't know what to tell you, Ginny," Hermione said.
There were a lot of things Ginny loved about being magical, but this was not one of them. A childhood pact was a binding?
"There has to be a way out of this," Ginny said quietly. "There has to be..."
"I'll look into this," Dumbledore replied. "I will see if there's a way around it. But my suggestion is that you two talk and come to your own conclusion."
Ginny nodded and got to her feet. She followed Hermione down the spiral staircase. "I've come to the conclusion that my life is over."
"Don't be so overdramatic," Hermione replied. "Your life is not over."
"Yes it is," Ginny said. "Hermione...this means that I'll never fall in love… I'll never get married...I'll never have children. I'll grow up to be a spinster!"
Hermione rolled her eyes again. "We'll figure something out, Ginny. You won't be a spinster."
"Why aren't you upset?" Ginny asked her. "Hermione---you're never going to date, either!"
"It's not exactly on my list of priorities," Hermione replied dryly.
"It's on the top of mine," Ginny said as they slowly made their way back to the common room. "There has to be a way out of this."
"There's more to life than dating," Hermione pointed out.
"Of course you'd say that," Ginny said without thinking. "It's not as if you've got anyone---"
Hermione glared at her. "I told you, it's not a priority."
"I'm sorry," Ginny apologised. "I didn't mean anything."
Hermione relaxed. "Look," she said. "I'll do some research of my own and see if there's a way to break this thing."
"Thanks," Ginny said softly. "You know, I truly believe there is someone out there for everyone, Hermione. Don't you want to fall in love?"
Hermione shrugged. "It's not that important to me."
They arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Butterscotch," Ginny said giving her the password.
"Nice to see you're in a better mood than when you ran out of here," the Fat Lady commented in a crisp tone.
Hermione ignored the portrait as she went inside.
The common room had emptied out quite a bit save for Harry and Neville and a few second year boys who were busy playing Wizard's Chess and Exploding Snap.
"We'll talk more tomorrow," Hermione told Ginny. "Figure something out."
Ginny didn't say anything as she headed for the stairs.
Hermione sat back down at her table, wanting to at least start her Ancient Runes assignment before going to bed.
"Is everything okay with Ginny?" Neville approached her.
"Fine," Hermione lied. "We just had to talk to Dumbledore about something. Nothing to worry about, Nev."
"Ginny still looked pretty upset," Neville replied.
"She's fine," Hermione assured him. "Really, Nev."
"And how are you?" Harry asked walking over to join them. "She dragged you out of here..."
"Fine," Hermione said tightly. "I can handle myself."
"I'm going to bed," Harry said wondering why he even tried to be nice to her.
Neville looked at Hermione once they were alone. "You could be nice to him, Hermione. He's not so bad. He's actually a good friend."
Hermione shook her head. "I don't have time for all that nonsense."
"Couldn't hurt to have another friend," Neville said. "I'll see you tomorrow, Hermione. Good night."
"Night," Hermione returned to her essay.
She tried to concentrate on her essay, but for some reason she kept thinking of that detention she'd served with Harry.
"Get him out of your head," Hermione told herself.
She didn't have the time or the need for a boyfriend. Ginny might think this was the end of the world, but Hermione didn't see what the big deal was.