Dramione: An Impossible Fantasy [Being Edited]

Chapter 34: Confrontation

HERMIONE

"Shut up!" I scream. "Shut up!"

His face loses its composure as I shout, "I hate you! Leave me alone!"

His startled expression would have created a black hole in my heart once, but now I am iron, metal, diamond. I am fury and rage, I am terrible and uncontrollable.

"Hermione - "

"Go away!"

I shout out a frantic spell, and a shield expands between us. "Just leave!"

Harry, on the side, stares at both of us, silent. He says nothing, but his green eyes are narrowed. He's not breathing. The Boy-Who-Lived is waiting for me to act first. I look away from him and focus my gaze on the person on the other side of the shield. Anger tugs through me again, stronger and more violent than before.

He steps forward; I step back. He holds his hands out; I move mine back. He moves closer to the shield; I move away.

How long ago it seemed we were friends - oh, more than friends. How long ago it was.

"I never want to talk to you again," I snarl. "Stay away from me."

His eyes widen; his mouth opens. I hear Harry let out a small gasp of surprise, but I don't look at the Boy-Who-Lived. Instead, I stare harder at him across the shield. "I should never have believed your lies," I say.

I shake my head as he says my name. "Don't - even - try," I say through gritted teeth.

Harry decides to speak. "Hermione, think about what you're saying - " he says. I shake my head again, faster than before, telling him not to interfere. This is my anger and hurt alone - not for anyone else to bear.

With a last glare in his direction, I spin and rush down the corridor, leaving him behind me.

How could I ever have believed him?

Two hours earlier

Draco and I hesitate as we pause at the Great Hall. It's lunchtime, and everyone is milling around, talking to their own house-mates. We are the only two hovering together, unsure of what to do.

Draco decides to sit at the Slytherin table and so I move towards the Gryffindors. I slide into a seat next to Harry and Ron, offering Harry a smile and Ron a stiff nod.

Ron begins the moment I've reached for some food. "Hermione, I don't want to see you like this," he says earnestly.

I shoot him a stare that's completely unemotional, but underneath my blank face, there's a storm of emotions. I don't want to hate Ron, not after everything that's happened. I especially don't want us to completely forget the past seven years.

And so I wait for him to continue.

"I know I made some mistakes, I was an idiot," says Ron, his face earnest. "Please - can we stop ignoring each other?"

I choose my words carefully, unsure how to say what I need to. "Ron, of course," I reply. "But... I need you to know that I... I care for Draco." I ignore his clenching of his fists, his tightening of his jaw, and Harry's reaction, though milder. "Just... Just friends, okay?" I say. My tone is soft, unsure.