Ch. 9

Hermione woke up the next morning, not remembering how she got into bed. She didn't remember much after getting into her dorm, but she figured if something bad had happened, she would know already.

Her head throbbed as she sat up and she couldn't hold back the groan. She was going to hex Ginny for letting her drink that much vodka. Never again. At least it was Saturday.

She perked up a bit when she remembered that it was Hogsmeade day, and that she would be seeing Harry and Ron again. Smiling to herself, she kicked her legs over the edge of the bed and went to take a shower.

She tried hard to ignore the headache, making a mental note to get a Pepper Up potion from Madam Pomfrey later as she wand-dried her hair into soft waves. She liked that it took less time than normal, frowning as she could hear her mother chastising her for using magic to complete a mundane task. Her parents were never fans of her using magic to fix things, but this was so much easier than a hairdryer.

Ignoring the sad feeling that thinking of her parents gave her, she left the bathroom and went to her wardrobe. She searched through her tops, deciding on a plain black three-quarter-sleeve shirt and a pair of black skinny jeans, completing the outfit with black boots that stopped right below her knees.

Happy with her outfit, she went back to the bathroom and dug through her small makeup bag, deciding on a simple look with only mascara and a soft pinkish-nude lipstick. After completing her makeup, she smiled and left the bathroom, grabbing her wand and sticking it into her right boot before leaving her room.

She groaned as the light hit her, shielding her eyes from the sunshine and slowly making her way down the steps. Going immediately to the kitchen for some coffee, she noticed a familiar bottle on the counter with a note under it.

Hermione smiled slightly at the note and then shook her head. She happily uncorked the bottle and drank the potion, feeling her headache go away almost immediately. Unfortunately though she felt the steam come out of her ears, and she grimaced. Even though Pepper Up was typically used to relieve colds, someone had discovered it also works surprisingly well for hangovers. The side effects were still the same, but fortunately for Hermione the effects only lasted a few minutes instead of the typical few hours.

She felt much better, and after the steam finished coming out of her ears, she left her dorm to go down to breakfast where Ginny was most likely already waiting for her.

Immediately spotting the red head, she made her way through the tables and sitting down opposite her friend. Ginny was practically bouncing around in her seat, grinning ear to ear.

"Hurry up and eat so we can go to Hogsmeade!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Hogsmeade isn't going anywhere," Hermione said, smiling. "And Harry and Ron aren't even getting there for another few hours."

"I know, but I had a couple of things I wanted to buy as well before we met up with them, and I know you're dying to go to the bookshop!" Ginny replied.

They both filled their plates as they discussed their plans before meeting with Harry and Ron. From the Slytherin table, Blaise and Draco were both listening intently, smiling quietly to each other. They both enjoyed hearing their mates, especially when they were happy hanging out with each other.

Draco was happy that Ginny had been mated with Blaise not just for Blaise's sake, but for Hermione's. He knew that he and Blaise would always be friends, and therefore their mates had to be friends. It just made it a little easier knowing the two girls already liked each other. His mate would be happy for the rest of her life, he would make sure of that. And if he and Blaise had to live next to each other for Hermione and Ginny to always be this happy, he would gladly do it.

"It sounds like they're going to be splitting up when they get there," Blaise started, bringing Draco out of his train of thought.

He tuned back in to the girls' conversation, but slightly too late. "Are they? I was thinking about something else. What is their plan?"

Blaise looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. "Hermione mentioned going to the bookshop while Ginny is going shopping. They planned to meet up at either, depending on who's finished first."

"They might be meeting at the bookshop then," Draco mused. "You know how she is with books."

"Yeah, but from the sounds of it, Ginny likes to shop just as much as Hermione likes to read," Blaise said. "It's funny how she grew up with all brothers and she is so much of a girl."

Draco laughed. "Way to put it bluntly, mate. Maybe that's why she's so into shopping; she never got a chance to really do it growing up. And she's not entirely girly; remember, she's a better Chaser than you."

Blaise glared at him before shoving his arm slightly. "She is not!"

Shaking his head, Draco left it alone, looking back at Hermione. He grabbed another couple slices of bacon before watching her contently.

He wondered if she remembered anything from the night before. She clearly found his note and took the potion. Hopefully that would help her start to forgive him.

"What are you so deep in thought about, mate?" Blaise said, nudging him.

Draco simply smiled at him, and shook his head. He noticed a sudden shift in Hermione's mood at looked up to see her staring at him with wide eyes. He froze as he locked eyes with her, gauging her emotions quickly. Shock and...embarrassment? He also felt a small hint of longing which was a complete but welcome surprise.

He grinned at her, and her cheeks flushed as she looked down quickly. Ginny leaned forward to say something to her, but Hermione only shook her head.

"What did you do?" Blaise asked suddenly. "Ginny just got really curious about something, and now she's worried."

"I think Hermione finally remembered last night," Draco said smugly. "Let's just say I made some progress with her."

They watched as the two girls got up and rushed out of the Great Hall. Blaise took another bite of his pancakes as his eyes followed the red head and said, "Tell me about it on the carriage ride to Hogsmeade."

The two Veelas arrived in Hogsmeade about an hour and a half later, giving themselves ample time so that the girls wouldn't notice them following. Draco was barely able to feel her, but he would catch whiffs of her scent now and then on the slight breeze that would pass over him. He fought against the sudden urge to run off and find her, knowing that he had to keep his distance today or risk the progress he had made up until that point. Especially if she was feeling embarrassed from the night before.

"Maybe we should just head to the Three Broomsticks," Blaise suggested from next to him. "I don't want to be accused of stalking them."

Draco thought about it. "Maybe in a bit. I need to get some new quills first."

Hermione looked over the bookshelf in front of her, groaning in frustration. She had already looked over it five times but wasn't paying attention to the books in front of her. Her mind kept wandering to the night before when she had practically made a fool of herself in front of him.

"Everything alright?" Ginny asked, peeking around the end of the shelf at her friend.

"No, not really." Hermione chewed on her lip. "I'm not sure if I'm ready to talk about it though."

Ginny leaned against the bookshelf and crossed her arms. "Is it about last night?"

"Related to it, yes," Hermione said.

After suddenly remembering everything at breakfast, she immediately whisked Ginny away to tell her the events of the night before. Ginny seemed rather interested in what had happened, and what might result from it.

"That's fine, we don't need to talk about it right now," Ginny shrugged. "Just don't overthink it, alright? I know you. Today's supposed to be a fun day, not a figure-things-out day."

Hermione sighed. "I'll try, Gin."

Ginny smiled at her friend. She had suspected something was going to happen between Hermione and Draco the moment it was announced that they were Head Boy and Girl. After all, spending that much time with someone would surely affect them, and she had suspected some feelings between the two already.

She watched as Hermione grabbed a third book from the shelf, looking at it and smiling. Then she turned to Ginny and said, "Alright, I know you're itching to go shop a little bit, and Harry and Ron said they would get there a little before noon, so that gives us about an hour and a half."

"Plenty of time!" Ginny said, grinning. "There's a dress at Gladrag's that I've had my eye on."