Ch. 12

By the time they had gotten to the castle, the four of them had missed lunch. Hermione though was able to get four plates of food from the kitchens, and they were soon all eating happily in the Head Dorm. Hermione and Ginny sat together on one couch while the boys sat across from them in the opposite couch. Ginny had also already fixed her makeup and the bottle of vodka was sitting unopened on the table next to her as she waited to finish eating before starting to drink.

So far everyone had been happily chatting with each other. Ginny was surprised to find that Blaise and Draco were both extremely nice as Hermione had said. They had barely talked since their potions class together, but she was growing to like him the more she talked to him.

"So Ginny, are you going to be playing Quidditch this year?" Blaise asked, between bites.

Ginny nodded, caught off guard by the use of her name instead of his newfound nickname for her, but she was excited nonetheless. "Of course! I'm hoping to get Captain this year. Tryouts are supposed to be held soon, I'm going to talk to McGonagall later about it."

Then a look of horror crossed her face and she immediately looked to Hermione, groaning. "I forgot to get a broom!"

"What happened to your old one?" Hermione asked, knowing that getting a broom would be the next mission for her friend the following weekend, if not the next day.

Ginny looked down. "It was destroyed during the battle. I had it in the locker room with the other brooms so I wouldn't have to lug it around everywhere."

Blaise immediately shot a look to Draco before looking back at Ginny and asking, "I'm guessing you're going to Spintwitches in Hogsmeade?"

Ginny nodded and he smiled slightly as he said, "Well if you'd like, I can go with you. I need to pick up some things myself."

She looked at him for a few moments before shrugging. "Sure, you can come along. Just don't think you're getting any information out of me about the Gryffindor team!"

Blaise laughed and shook his head. "I would never do such a thing, Red."

"Well you are a Slytherin; I wouldn't put it past you to try and get my secrets, Squeakers."

Draco burst out laughing while Blaise scowled, a grin twitching its way onto his face while Ginny leaned back into the couch triumphantly. Hermione just shook her head at them and finished her plate, looking at Draco. "Are you going to be Slytherin's seeker again?"

Draco shrugged. "I'll try out, but I'm not going to get my hopes up."

Before she could respond, he stood up and grabbed both his plate and hers, taking them to the kitchen. She scowled at him when he came back and said, "I could have gotten mine."

He shrugged again and smiled. "I thought I'd save you the trip."

She smiled back and Ginny nudged her. "Can we go to your room really quick? I want to change into something comfier."

Hermione nodded and they both stood up, heading up the stairs to Hermione's room. As soon as the door shut Ginny rounded on her friend. "Okay, what is going on between you and him?"

Shushing Ginny and looking back towards the door, Hermione cast a quick silencing charm on it and asked, "What are you talking about?"

Ginny raised an eyebrow at her and crossed her arms. "Well first off, whatever the hell that was in Hogsmeade with his hand. And then you two just randomly smiling at each other."

Hermione didn't say anything. She didn't realize she had been smiling so much at him. "I don't know what to tell you, Gin. I guess I'm starting to like being around him."

"Sounds more like you're starting to just like him."

Hermione stared at her friend with wide eyes, stuttering, "No, there's no way I like him!"

"Well he clearly likes you," Ginny teased. "You defended him to Ron and Harry at the Three Broomsticks, and don't think I didn't catch him winking at you and you blushing! Not to mention you seemed pretty chummy when you fixed his hand and then it."

"I did hold his hand!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Okay, okay!" Ginny simply grinned and shook her head. "You know, after spending some time with him, I can say he's definitely changed. I wouldn't mind you liking him if that's what you're worried about."

Hermione opened her mouth but couldn't think of anything to say. She had to admit, she was starting to enjoy hanging around him more than she thought she would. And she always felt so calm and happy when he was next to her. The realization hit her like a brick.

She was starting to like Draco Malfoy.

Ginny knew when Hermione realized it, her grin widening. "Now that that's settled, come on; let's change into sweats and go back out there. I don't know about you, but I'm not leaving this dorm for the rest of the weekend and I would like to start drinking!"

As Hermione went off to her wardrobe, she gave Ginny a look. "Do you really want to start drinking this early? It's barely the afternoon!"

She heard Ginny sigh and say, "I know, I know; I'll be good and space out my drinks."

Hermione rolled her eyes and changed into a grey oversized jumper and another pair of black leggings. She had come to enjoy the comfortable clothing over the summer, especially since she had picked up yoga while in Australia to help take her mind off things.

Ginny had dressed in something similar, but her outfit of choice instead was a large pair of black sweatpants that swallowed her legs and a simple grey t-shirt. While Hermione walked out of her wardrobe, Ginny pulled another bottle of orange juice out of her bag.

"Come on, I found this mixes better with vodka than pumpkin juice," Ginny stated.

They left Hermione's room, pausing at the bottom of the stairs when they laid eyes on the table. Ginny's bottle of vodka had disappeared, and instead was replaced with two glasses of wine, one white and one red.

"What in Merlin's name...?" Ginny asked, looking at Hermione.

The brunette shrugged and slowly made her way out into the common room, looking around. Draco and Blaise were nowhere to be found, but Hermione could hear some noises coming from the stairs that led to Draco's dorm.

She let out the breath that she didn't realize she was holding and turned back to her friend, who was eyeing the glass of white wine suspiciously. Ginny glanced up to Hermione before asking, "Do you think they're safe?"

Hermione laughed slightly. "I'm fairly certain they are; you can wait for Blaise to come back and have him test yours if you want?"

Ginny turned red slightly. "What makes you think he would?"

Shrugging, Hermione said, "Well when I hesitated to taste mine the last time Draco gave me wine, he just took a drink without me asking."

Ginny shook her head. "I think my brother is just getting to me. I'm sure it's fine."

"Well, only one way to find out," Hermione said, walking over to the table and grabbing the glass of white wine. Taking a small drink, she waited a few moments before holding it out to Ginny. "I don't feel any different; I'm sure its fine."

"I can't believe you did that without thinking," Ginny said in a slightly astonished tone as she took the glass. "You must really trust him."

"Trust who?"

The two girls jumped as they heard Draco come up behind them, grinning at them. He obviously heard what the girls had said, and judging on the sudden shade of red that Hermione had turned, Ginny's statement was true.

Ginny looked around after finding Draco had come down by himself and asked, "Where's Blaise?"

"Oh he went to grab some things," Draco said, shrugging. "He decided to spend the night as well."

Ginny didn't answer, only taking a small drink of her wine and staring at the glass with wide eyes before taking another one. "This is the best wine I've had!"

Draco smiled at her and then at Hermione, nodding towards her glass of red. "I figured you might want to finish the wine you had the other night. There's only one glass left in that bottle, but I have another one."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. "Just how much alcohol is in this dorm right now?"

He simply grinned and patted her shoulder as he walked by her to get to the kitchen. "Probably best if you don't know, honey."

She crinkled her nose at that pet name. "Nope, not liking that one either!"

Soon enough Blaise had returned and the four of them were sitting on the couches together, laughing as they reminisced on previous years.

Ginny was wiping away tears while Hermione took deep breaths, trying to calm down her laughter. After she had composed herself, she leaned forward and looked at Draco as she asked, "So what was it like, being a ferret?"

Draco laughed and took a drink of his firewhiskey as he shook his head. "It was honestly the weirdest thing I think I will ever go through. I don't know how Animagi can do it!"

"Well they're also more used to the change," Ginny said with a shrug. "They can change back and forth at will."

She sighed then and looked up at the ceiling, leaning back into the couch. "I think it would be fun to be an Animagus. I wonder what animal I would be."

"You don't get to choose?" Blaise asked, confused. Draco seemed to have the same expression on his face as he looked over at Hermione.

Hermione shook her head. "Your Animagus form is determined by your inner traits and personality. Many people find that the animal they transform in to is the same as their Patronus, since the Patronus is determined by similar virtues."

Ginny looked at her in surprise, and then joy as she laughed. "Oh I'd love to be a horse!"

"Just don't stomp on me accidentally when I become an otter!" Hermione laughed.

The two giggled to each other while Draco and Blaise watched in amusement. Hermione then turned to Draco and asked, "What is your Patronus of?"

Draco's smile fell of his face and he looked away. "I don't know; I've never tried to cast the charm."

Hermione's good mood fell slightly, and Draco, sensing this, immediately turned back and said, "I've been wanting to try though. Maybe later this year."

"We can always ask McGonagall to go over it again," Ginny suggested. "She touched on it slightly in previous classes. We learned from Harry though in the DA."

As soon as she said his name, she scrunched her face up and finished her glass of wine. Blaise immediately got up and fetched the bottle for her, pouring her another glass before she could say anything.

"Oh," She blushed. "Thank you, Zabini."

He grinned slightly. "Not what I want you to call me but I'll take it. It's an upgrade from Squeakers."