Hey guys!! Told you I'd update! First of all, I know that Year 7 takes place in the late 90s, but please just go with me on the songs. I was like, 5 when this year was going on, forgive me if I don't remember every upbeat song! =D. Well, I hope you like it! Please review! [Please no flames]
~*~Best Friends- Chapter 2: I've Got a Friend In You~*~
I sighed as I looked in the floor-length mirror before me. I was dressed in a pair of low rise blue jeans and an emerald green shirt with a pink jacket over it. My hair was straightened, as it always was nowadays, and the only jewelry I was wearing was a pair of small silver hoop earrings. I couldn't wait to go to Hogsmeade. They had opened a new club up during the summer, The Dragon Lounge, and I hadn't been there yet. Lavender, Parvati, and Padma had assured me that going to a club would take my mind off of whatever had been troubling me lately.
The piece of magic the owners of The Dragon Lounge used was amazing. They had made it to where the charms on electronically operated objects didn't apply, so they could use Muggle technology to play music the teen students of Hogwarts would apprieciate. They played Muggle music, seeing as how the owners were Muggleborn and preferred their music.
Parvati and Lavender had matured so much since last year. They were not as boy-crazy as they had been, flinging themselves at any and every available guy. No, now they were looking for a serious relationship, one that would last a while.
"Hey Hermione, you ready?" Lavender called from the stairs leading to the Common Room. The three of us were due to meet Parvati's Ravenclaw twin in the entrance hall in five minutes. I shook my head, making my hair a bit wild.
"Yeah!" I called, swiping a coat of clear lip gloss over my pink lips. I was so happy today. I had been moping around for a week, not eating much, not talking, and not leaving the dormitory. This was going to do me good to get out of the castle. I was going to dance away my Harry problems and be happy about it. I rushed down the stairs, almost colliding into the two girls. "Sorry," I muttered.
"It's fine, now c'mon!" Lavender said to me, grabbing my wrist and practically dragging me across of the Common Room. There was a line at the portrait hole, causing us to slow down a bit. "You sure this club won't be packed? I mean, look at all the people going to Hogsmeade," Lavender whispered to Parvati.
Parvati shook her head. "I'm positive, I've got connections," she reassured the girl. She stood on her toes, trying to see all who were ahead of us. "We have about nine people ahead of us, but some people are fighting over who gets to go through the portrait hole first," she sighed. "How childish."
I nodded in agreement, my eyes searching the crowded mass of Gryffindors sitting in the Common Room. Realizing who I was looking for, I turned my attention to the front of the line, which was now moving along. This is a Harry-free day, I thought to myself, moving forward in the line. You can push him totally out of you're head. He's not going to Hogsmeade today, he's practicing flying. I had heard Romilda Vane complaining about this about two days ago. As I reached the portrait hole, I turned around for some reason, my hazel eyes sweeping over the faces again, but lingering on the one I was both pleased and horrified to see. Harry.
He looked as if he had spotted me a while back. He was looking at me, more like, admiring me. I felt my cheeks go red as I realized this. I quickly reminded myself that I didn't like Harry. I couldn't. He was my best friend. Well, now it's just friend, I corrected myself sadly. I hadn't talked to him since that day at the lake. I looked at him. He was wearing some of those baggy jeans that Muggle boys often wore, along with a black T-shirt and trainers. I felt my heart slowly melting as I looked at him for those few seconds. Our eyes locked for a second before I turned away and went through the portrait hole, my heart beating wildly in my chest.
"You alright Hermione?" Parvati asked, seeing the shocked look on my face. Her head was tilted slightly to the side as she looked at me.
I nodded. "Yeah, now let's go meet up with Padma, we're running a bit late," I pointed out, rushing ahead of the two other girls. I turned a corner and leaned against the cold stone wall. I was fighting to keep my heart rate down as I remembered looking in Harry's eyes. The thought sent a chill down my spine. I quickly pushed myself off the wall as Parvati and Lavender came walking around the corner.
"Hermione! Parvati! Lavender!" I heard. We all turned our heads towards the Entrance Hall to see Parvati's double coming towards us, wearing the same outfit of jeans, a shirt, and a jacket as Parvati, only the colour of the jacket differing. "You ready to leave?" she asked us curiously.
We nodded as we headed for the great double doors. We seemed to be ahead of the crowd, because there were only a few sixth years ahead of us in line to be poked with Filch's secrecy sensor. Lavender and Parvati were nearly squealing with excitement as we began heading for Hogsmeade, the light fall breeze making us zip up our jackets a bit.
After walking for about fifteen minutes and chattering excessively about the up-coming Christmas holidays, we entered the village of Hogsmeade. I looked to Parvati and Padma knowing they knew the way to The Dragon Lounge. Lavender and I followed as they turned left, next to Zonko's Joke Shop. As we turned the corner, I saw a long line of six and seventh years, no doubt wanting to get into the club. I looked towards Parvati, wondering what her connections were. Just then, all of our heads turned to the left.
"Hey Parvati," a familiar voice called to the twin. Out of the gigantic crowd of people came the recognizable form of Seamus Finnigan. His hands were shoved in the pockets of his blue jeans.
"Hey!" Parvati squealed, running up to the boy and hugging him, planting a light kiss on his lips. "So are we in?" she asked, looking at him, his arm around her waist. "Please tell us we're in."
Seamus nodded. "Yeah, you guys are in. My brother was able to pull some strings and get V.I.P. passes," he said, obviously pleased with his connections. "We're all set. Follow me," he said, pushing his way past the crowd.
"You're brother?" I asked curiously. I didn't know Seamus had a brother. Then again, I didn't really know a lot about anyone that I wasn't close to. Padma explained to me that Bradley, Seamus' brother, was a DJ here at The Dragon Lounge. "Oh," I said as we entered through the doors, the angry line of people screaming at us, wondering why we got to get in front of them. We ignored them as we entered the room.
The main light was off, and the room was illuminated only by some strobe lights here or there, and some rotating multi-colour lights. I looked around. "Whoa!" I shouted to my fellow Gryffindors. "This is awesome!" The others nodded.
"Have fun!" Seamus said, kissing Parvati. She said something to him that I couldn't understand. "I'm meeting some of the guys here, I have to meet them outside," I heard him shout to her. "I'll see you later!" he finished, kissing her again as he ran off.
The four of us began migrating to the dance floor, the loud music blaring out of the speakers. "Sit tight I'm gonna need you to keep time. Come on, just snap, snap, snap your fingers for me..." I joined the tight circle of my friends and classmates and began nodding my head to the music, as everyone else was. I looked around the room, seeing if there was anyone else I knew there. I didn't see any familiar faces, so turned my attention to my friends, with whom I started dancing with as the chorus started. "Swear to shake it up, if you swear to listen! Oh, we're still so young, so desperate for attention! I aim to be your eyes, trophy boys and trophy wives!"
If a person were to walk in who had known me in first through sixth year, and had not seen or talked to me since then, they would have been shocked. The reason for this being, well, s my old self would have never danced how I was now. All thoughts were washed from my mind as I danced my troubles away, smiling and laughing with my friends. I checked the door every so often, only seeing some Hogwarts boys that I had seen around walk in.
After a couple of songs, the girls and I walked off the dance floor and over to the "bar". It was a non-alcoholic bar that served Butterbeer, sodas, pumpkin juice, and all that good stuff. We all ordered a small Butterbeer, drinking in giant gulps when it arrived. Once finished, we headed out to the floor again, just as a fast number had reached the chorus. "Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling. And every time we kiss I swear I could fly. Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last. Need you by my side..." I danced freely, desperately trying to push the thought of Harry from my mind as I listened to the lyrics. The others threw me strange and concerned glances as the song continued. I was grateful two minutes later when it ended and we left the floor as they announced a couple's dance was approaching.
"Hermione, you alright?" Lavender asked me as we headed over to the 'bar'. I nodded in response. "Are you sure? Do you want to leave? What was troubling you?" I was bombarded with questions as I ordered another Butterbeer. After taking a few sips, I looked at them.
"In order; Yes. No. And nothing," I answered simply drinking my drink after speaking. "I think someone's calling you Parvati," I pointed out, nodding to Seamus, who was running across the dance floor with Dean and a Ravenclaw boy whom I did not know.
"Hey Lavender," Dean said, walking up to our group. He took her hand and pulled her towards him, planting a kiss on her glossed lips. "Care to dance?" he asked her, motioning to the crowded dance area. She nodded and followed him onto the dance floor. Seamus and the Ravenclaw did the same to Parvati and Padma, both who gave hesitant glances at me, as if making sure it was alright. I nodded, and Padma went off. Parvati whispered something to Seamus before walking over to me.
"Why don't you ask someone to dance?" she asked. "Like Cormac. You went out with him, didn't you?" I nodded, not mentioning it was to make Harry jealous, even if I told him it was to make Ron jealous. "You know, I hear he still likes you," she whispered to me. I shook my head.
"I think I'm just going to sit for now, I don't feel like dancing," I told her, sitting down at the mimic-bar. I picked up my drink and took a sip as she looked around.
"You know, it doesn't necessarily have to be a boyfriend, or someone you're attracted to," she said, turning her attention back to me. "Like a friend, as a matter of fact, Harry just walked in two seconds ago," she said, nodding her head towards the door, where, to my dismay, I saw a messy-haired teen looking around the room, his hands in his pockets.
I felt my heart rate quicken and my breath get caught in my throat. No. Not here. Not now. Harry was supposed to be at Hogwarts, away from me and out of my memory all day. Or at least for a few hours. I shook my head at Parvati. "Nah, I don't feel like dancing, go on, I think the couple dance is about to start," I told her, trying to conceal my panic. She gave me a strange and reluctant look before walking to meet up with Seamus.
I continued to sit in my chair, leaning against the edge of the 'bar', looking out at the groups of couples that had begun to sway to the music. "You make me feel, out of my element, like I'm walking on broken glass..." I looked away from the dance floor, feeling that each couple of happy teens were mocking me. I sighed, not realizing that I was looking to see if Harry was talking to anyone. What I saw made my heart beat faster than it had been. I saw him staring at me...admiringly.
As the chorus started, the teens broke apart and began dancing across from one another. "Were you right? Was I wrong? Were you weak was I strong? Yeah, both of us broken, caught in a moment." I found myself staring into his eyes for the first part of the chorus, I quickly looked away, realizing that my cheeks were reddening. I lifted my gaze, looking to the left of me to see Cormac McLaggen walking towards me. I groaned, no one hearing me over the music. I looked around, hoping to think of a way to get away from him-and Harry, who was approaching me from the right side.
I stood up, finishing my drink, and slid into the crowd of dancing couples. I was able to make it to the other side of the room without being followed by McLaggen. Harry, however, had followed me and was approaching. I stood up and headed for the back door, knowing I'd be able to get back in with the V.I.P. pass that Seamus had given us girls.
The cool breeze felt nice in contrast to the over-heated club. I took a deep breath, walking at a fast pace to get away from The Dragon Lounge, and Harry. As I rounded the corner, my stomach lurched. There, walking in my direction, no doubt trying to get into The Dragon Lounge, was Malfoy. I began to walk past him, hoping he'd be having an off day and let me go. How stupid am I?
"And just where do you think you're going, Granger?" Draco Malfoy sneered, putting a hand out to push me back. "And why are you walking the streets of Hogsmeade without your little boy-toys?"
I glared at him in return. "I was about to ask you the same question. And where I'm going is none of your business, Malfoy," I spat, rolling my eyes. I pushed his hand away, trying to get passed him.
"That's no way to speak to your superior, Mudblood," Malfoy spoke with anger. "Watch your tongue. And your back. Times are changing, it's not safe for your kind to be roaming around alone," he told me threateningly, reaching for his wand.
I froze for a second in terror before reaching for my own wand. But by the time I had pulled it out and had it pointing at him, I was a few seconds to late.
"CRUCIO!" he yelled, his wand aiming in my direction, his wand emitting a red jet of light. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the impact of the Unforgivable Curse. But something happened. I wasn't withering on the ground in pain, screaming Bloody Murder... someone else was.
I opened my eyes and looked around. First, I looked to Malfoy, whose face was twisted in an odd sense of amusement and disappointment. The disappointment no doubt being from the fact that he didn't Crucio me. I shook my head in disgust at Draco. I then turned my attention towards the withering body on the ground in front of my feet.
Glasses. Black untidy hair. Greens eyes hidden behind the closed lids. The scar. Harry was screaming on the ground, withering in pain. He had been hit with the Cruciatus curse, not me. But Malfoy didn't have that bad of an aim, did he? No. The realization of it all hit me suddenly. Harry had followed me out of the club and had been tracking me through the few streets I had wondered. He had jumped in front of me when Malfoy fired off the curse. "Harry!" I screamed, my wand falling out of my hand as I dropped to my knees, looking at him with a panicked expression, not knowing what to do.
I ran my fingers through my hair, a nervous habit I developed since I began taming it. What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? This is entirely my fault! He was hit by it because he was protecting me. I shook my head, not knowing what to do. I opened my mouth to say something, anything, to ease the pain for Harry, even if he was screaming too much to hear me. But I couldn't. I found I couldn't open my mouth without wanting to cry with every word I spoke.
I raised my gaze to Malfoy, my eyes narrowed to a glare. "You bastard," I whispered, hate and loathing standing out in my voice. I found I could say something to him without crying, boy could I. "Why would you do something like this? Perform an Unforgivable Curse on a school trip. And aim it at a woman. Didn't your parents ever teach you any manners? Or were they too busy getting drunk and being thrown in Azkaban for services to Voldemort?" I knew I wasn't exactly helping with his temper, but I was furious, I didn't really care at the moment.
As Malfoy opened his mouth to speak, a weak voice spoke instead. Surprisingly, I had not noticed that the screams coming from the figure on the ground had stopped. "Hermione...don't provoke him," Harry warned me. He had propped himself up, looking a little drained of energy. But who could blame him?
"Harry!" I breathed. Letting out a sigh of relief, I realized that I was trembling. "What the Hell do you think you were doing?" I asked him, my eyes wide. "Why'd you do that? He could've been firing off the killing curse!!"
Harry's mouth was set into a grim line as he nodded. "Exactly," he said to me. I felt my stomach give a lurch. He was willing to throw himself in front of the killing curse for me.
"Oh, stop this now! This is disgusting! Potter and the Mudblood?" Malfoy said, his face puckering in distaste. He shrugged, smirking now, "Well, I can't say I couldn't see this coming. I mean, Potter's so desperate he'll take anything with breasts!"
"Shut up," I spat at the blonde. My eyes went back to narrow slits. "And get the Hell away from me now," I said to him, not really wanting him to hear whatever Harry might say to me.
He rolled his eyes. "Oh, I'm so scared. The Mudblood's threatening me. What ever will I do?" He began to walk past us, in the direction of the club. He stopped and turned around, looking at me. "You were lucky this time, Granger. Just be thankful your boy-toy came to the rescue, because chances are, you won't be so fortunate next time."
I watched him walk away, loathing him more than ever. I knew he walked away in fear of being caught by a teacher, for I had heard a voice, however faint it was, before Harry had taken the curse for me. I heard a grunt from next to me and remembered Harry was there. "Oh," I said quickly. I helped him stand up, seeing as he looked strong enough to walk with just a little support. "You alright?" I asked, trying not to sound flustered. I avoided looking at him, and focused at a stone on the ground instead.
"Yeah," he told me, his voice a little bit stronger than it had been earlier. "But I don't want you going back there," he said, seeing me looking at The Dragon Lounge.
"What?" I asked, a little offended. "You don't own me, Harry. You have no right in telling me what I can and can't do. I'll go back if I want to go back. I don't have to obey you."
"Hermione, I'd never act like I own you, and that's not the reason I'm telling you not to go back in there. It's because I care about you," he said, taking my hands in his, rubbing the backs gently with his thumbs. It seemed to relax me a bit.
I shook my head, pulling my hands away and hugging my arms. "Harry, don't do this. Not here. Not now. Not again," I groaned, turning my back towards him. I closed my eyes, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to escape. The torment of loving your best friend is just too much for a girl to take.
"Then when Hermione? When we're both married to the wrong people? When we're old and gray? Tell me, I'd like to know," he told me, his voice now strong, confident, and angry. I shook my head.
"Never, Harry. You're my best friend. How do we know this isn't just some silly teenage attraction? Something like this could ruin our friendship. Just look at you and Ginny. You were so sure about her, and now where did you two end up? I'll tell you. Both chasing other people, barely speaking to each other," I told him, two tears escaping from under my eyelids and rolling down my cheeks. "I don't want that to happen to us. It won't happen to us. I'll never accept any relationship other than being your friend."
I heard him give a frustrated sigh. "God, Hermione! Why do you have to be so difficult? Stop denying the truth!" he said, raising his voice a little, making it rebound off of the brick walls of the deserted ally we were in.
I turned around sharply, my eyes open and my hair whipping me in the face. "I'm being difficult? I'm not the one being difficult, Harry! You're the one who won't let go of some silly little attraction towards your best friend!" I had given up on holding back my tears, they were now streaming down my face. My voice was raised and angry. "Forget about me! Go chase some other girl! Be a friend to me, and only a friend! Why won't you just do that for me?" I asked, abandoning not looking at him. I stared him right in the eyes. I shook my head. "Why can't you do that, Harry?" I asked, my voice softer now. Without waiting for an answer, I walked past him. I was going to head back to Hogwarts.
Not daring to look behind me, I turned a corner. It was another deserted ally. I didn't want to return to the castle just yet, so instead I pushed my back up against the wall and slid down. I crossed my arms on my knees, throwing my head down. I sat there, silently crying, for who knows how long. I couldn't believe what I had just done. I had told the only boy I had ever loved to give up on me and go after someone else. I was supposed to be happy, right? Wrong. I knew Harry, and I knew that if he put his mind to something he wouldn't give up. I had a feeling this was one of those things. After a while, I stood up, brushing off my pants as I began walking towards the castle, most of my tears gone now.
As I hit the main street of Hogsmeade, I couldn't stop thinking: What if Harry did take my advice? Would I be happy or sad? Pleased or angry? Or the big question: Would I be able to forgive myself?
-->