The Astronomy Tower < #wattys2016 >

A Very Long Day Indeed

Sunday- Monday , January 20th-21st , 1996

Hermione sat awake, in bed, a million thoughts running through her mind. Most, as much as she hated to admit it, concerned Draco. It had been two weeks since she'd heard from him or had ran into him up in the astronomy tower. She thought of the strange, new, almost friendship that was growing between them. Hermione wondered what Harry and Ron would think if they knew about their encounters up in the tower. She was starting to get anxious. Was Draco trying to make her look like a fool? Was she diving into this too quickly? Was she just being lead on, only for it to end in horrible humiliation? What was taking him so long so? Why wasn't he appearing up in the tower? Hermione remembered that the two of them had been coming up to the astronomy tower for years, and they had only ran into each other two months ago for the first time. Was she expected to make the next move? Did he still want to be her friend? Were they even friends?

One good thing that came from her thinking about him was that she hardly ever thought about Ron and Lavender anymore. Sure she still saw them snogging up a storm all around the school but it disgusted her more than bothered her now. She wondered how long their relationship would last. It was thriving on lust alone, and in Hermione's opinion, lust alone didn't get you very far. Thinking of Ron caused bursts of stabbing pain in her chest. She was so lonely. Harry barely talked to her anymore, and Ron, Ron never talked to her at all.

She remembered him, a couple of days before, imitating her in class just to make his air headed girlfriend laugh. Hermione didn't even know what she had done. Earlier on in the class, Ron had turned on of his eyebrows a spectacular colour, and Hermione had laughed along with the rest of the class. She guessed that Ronald must have taken it the wrong way to be so cruel to someone who he had once called one of his best friends.

Hermione remembered the way that Lavender had laughed. Her cruel, high pitched shriek rang through Hermione's ears. She and Lavender had never really gotten along, but she had never remembered Lavender to be so mean. At night when Hermione retired to bed for the night, she would find Lavender, and the other girls in a huddle, whispering ferociously, and when Hermione would come in, their whispers would stop immediately, and they as well, would go to bed. Hermione had never felt so lonely in all of her life.

Her ugly thoughts carried her to blissful sleep, then lured her into a nightmare.

Her and Draco sat up in the astronomy tower, watching the sun set. Brilliant streaks of oranges, reds, blues, pinks, and yellows stroked across the sky. Hermione thought that it looked so beautiful that it might falter if she reached out to try and touch. They were sitting on the ground, Draco was propped up on his elbows beside her, and she sat with her legs curled underneath her, hands in her lap.

He looked over at her, and smiled, a genuine smile, one that wasn't a smirk. She smiled back, but after a few moments it faltered.

"Draco?" She asked seriously, her face had taken on a stony expressions, and her eyes searched him deeply.

"Yes?" he replied, his face had taken on a serious set himself.

"Are we friends?" She asked, the look on her face was so innocent.

"I don't know" he responded, looking out at the sunset once again. "Can you live with yourself, knowing that you are friends with the death eater who killed Albus Dumblerdore?"

She awoke Monday morning with a start. Her bushy hair sticking to her face. Her night robes clung to her with sweat. She pushed her sweaty hair out of her face, and then looked over at the clock that hung on the wall. It was a little after six O'clock, and she still had another hour that she could have slept. Hermione flung herself back down onto her bed, and tried to fall back asleep, but ultimately failed.