Resentment | Dramione

Chapter 41

After the brief encounter between Harper and Malfoy in Defence Against the Dark Arts class a couple of months ago, the conflict had spread like wildfire all throughout Hogwarts, earning Draco a mixture of different reactions. Some people were outraged at him for having said that, and others gave it a lighter approach and actually thought it was pretty sweet that he had the guts to say that.

Both reactions, however, were meaningless to Draco as he had spent the last two months ignoring the entire ordeal until it had completely died out. In fact, it wasn't until last week that the students' attention got completely distracted when the announcement of a graduation party was hung up on the noticeboard.

Talking about the graduation, which was already in two week's time if you had passed your exams that would be taken tomorrow, Hermione was currently hunched over multiple sprawled out textbooks that covered an entire library table, a quill between her teeth which she was lightly chewing on as she scrabbled away with another quill in her hand, dipping away furiously in the almost dry bottle of ink.

To say that she was stressed out would have been the understatement of her entire school career. If anything, she had spent every bit of free time in which she wasn't studying, talking to Draco about her fears of not passing her exams and completely throwing away seven years of education. Draco, however, who hadn't been entirely stress proof himself either, got rather annoyed by her constant worry talks and actually disconnected his mind from hers after a late night conversation when he had oh so gently scoffed: "Granger, you're the smartest bloody witch of any generation that has yet to come, and honestly, you out of all students attending Hogwarts will have a two hundred percent certainty that you will pass the exams with quite possibly an 'E' on all your taken subjects. So, quit the pity talk, get some sleep, and I'll speak with you after the exams are done. Until then, goodbye."

If anyone would have said that she had gotten speechless, then that would have been another major understatement. She had spent a good long while staring into the dark that night, feeling mildly offended, but also highly flattered by his words before sleep had finally taken over her.

Ginny, despite her own stress of the exams, had finally convinced Hermione a couple of days ago to join her for a trip to Hogsmeade, where they had gone looking for a dress for the graduation party after an awful lot of nagging on her part. In the end, Hermione had agreed to come with her. Partly because she couldn't deny that she indeed should get out of the books for longer than two minutes for a change, but mostly because if she did pass – and she was still convinced that it was a big if – then she wouldn't have a dress when the party would come if she wouldn't go shopping now.

Well, despite the fact that Hermione wasn't the best to shop with that day – not that any other day would have been much better – considering she was revising her studies aloud every shop she entered and every dress she fitted, driving Ginny completely insane, she was glad for the attempted distraction. After all, the fact that she had memorized everything word by word that she had been studying for months, gave her the must needed confidence boost for the following day.

Groaning, Hermione let her quill fall on the table when she had tried to dip it into the bottle of ink, only to discover there was absolutely no ink left. Actually, that was her last bottle of ink as well. That is, if you didn't count the five other bottle of inks she had saved specifically for the exams.

Giving her wrists and neck a good roll, she winced as she felt the tightness in them, and with a lazy glance to the clock that hung at the front wall of the library, she was beyond surprised to see that it was almost hitting curfew.

Cursing lightly under her breath, she packed her things and slung her bag over her shoulder, making no effort in properly raising her feet on the floor as she walked, but instead let them tiredly drag across the floor. "Good night," she said to Madam Pince, who only gave a huff of acknowledgment in return.