Heartchains

Chapter 8 (I counted this time)

*** HA! I'm actually getting rather good at this updating thing. Three days (ish) in a row. WOO!!! Guess who had THREE TESTS TODAY!!! (me) Algebra 2, AICE GP and World History. (Give me good wishes in the comments I LOVE YOU!!!!***

"Granger," Pansy said, coughing slightly. "Can you, uh, let go now?"

"Oh? Oh, yeah." Hermione released her, not moving from her spot on the bed, though. Hermione looked at Pansy, who was wiping tears from her red face. Goodness, she was so beautiful. Hermione couldn't avoid it; it was a fact and Hemione loved facts. That's why she thought about it so often, she had rationalized. It wasn't like she was falling for her; no; never; that's ridiculous. This is why she was so entranced by the curve of Pansy's cupid's bow that she didn't notice Pansy looking at her.

"Don't be a stranger, Granger," Pansy said, biting her lip. God dammit, Hermione wanted to kiss her. Woah! Where did that come from? That is not part of the facts. Hermione dealt with facts; Pansy was pretty: fact. Hermione wanting to kiss her? Well, that must be an effect of Pansy's prettiness. That's it! It's completely normal.

"Completely normal", she reassured herself aloud.

"What?" Pansy asked.

"Nothing," Hermione answered, maybe a little too fast but that's beside the point.

Pansy looked away, "I've aways wanted to say that."

"What?"

"Oh, it's an inside joke with my friends and I. We found it hilarious how your last name rhymed with words."

"Really?" Hermione asked, surprised that Slytherins would find such low-brow humor entertaining.

"Yeah," Pansy said, laughing slightly. "For instance, in Third year, when you hit Draco, we went around saying 'Granger Danger' for weeks. Draco would turn bright red every time but that just made it better." Pansy started laughing and pretty soon, Hermione joined her. If you had asked 6th year Hermione if she thought that she'd be laughing with Pansy Parkinson just two years later, she'd had sent you to the hospital wing.

Hermione watched her laugh, her lips curling into a smile that Hermione never thought she'd see. Maybe there was a chance for them to be friends. Well, Hermione hoped so, they would be spending a year together.

"So," Pansy said. She got up off the bed. "If I got dressed and we headed right now, how many people do you think would be in the Great Hall?"

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Why did Pansy think this was a good idea? Everyone was looking at her; they all hated her; they wanted her to die. Especially that Weasley clan -which is more of a duo now since most of them had graduated. Both of them were staring at her, giving her the evil eye, blaming her for the fact that Hermione wanted to hang out with her rather than them.

"Pansy." Granger said, waving her hand in front of Pansy's face. Apparently, she had been trying to get her attention.

"Yes?" Pansy asked, pretending that she didn't feel guilty for every second that Granger spent with her rather than her own friends.

"Don't give them any attention," Granger said, resting her hand over Pansy's hand which had apparently started shaking, spilling the spoonful of cereal over the table. "They're just jealous."

"They have a right to be." Pansy countered. "They're your friends, Granger. You should be over there with them instead of over here with a misfit."

"First of all, you are not a misfit. Misunderstood, yes; misfit, no. Secondly, I can choose whoever I want to sit next to. Just like I can choose my roommate so if you think I'm doing this out of pity you are sorely mistaken. I want to sit with you." She squeezed her hand. "And lastly, please Pansy, call me Hermione. I'm quite finished with this formality dribble."

Pansy was slightly shocked but she enjoyed hearing this compliment.

"And, between you and me," Hermione added in a mock-whisper. "I'm kind-of avoiding Ron."

"Wait, so who have you been sitting with?"

"Usually Harry. He doesn't hate me." She said with a chuckle. "And actually, he's coming here now." She waved off to the doorway, momentarily occupied and Pansy didn't waste a second, automatically shifting her eyes to Gran- Hermione's gentle features. She reveled in the rich, almost flawless brown of Hermione's skin. She traced the curls that framed Hermione's face with her eyes, wishing she could trail her fingers through it, wondering what it would feel like, smell like, taste like. Woah, no need to go there. Pansy pushed away the thoughts. Anyway, she mustn't waste a second of reveling Hermione's features. Even her name was beautiful. Hermione. It just flowed, as if it were a river instead of a jumble of letters. She was jutted out of her thoughts by the feeling of a chair moving near her and she realized that she and Hermione were no longer alone. Well, alone as they could be in the crowded Great Hall.

"Good morning Harry, Draco," Hermione said.

"Mornin' 'Mione." Harry said, already stuffing his face full of toast.

"Good morning." Draco said, nodding a little too formally. Pansy knew why. He needed Hermione to like him if he ever planned to court Potter, which seeing at how their legs were almost intertwined, was obviously going rather well. Perhaps they could accompany Hermione and her on a date in Hogsmeade one day. And that's enough of those thoughts for one day, Pansy thought, for Potter was talking animatedly and Draco was too obviously pining, and, being the fantastic, wonderful, stupendous friend that she was, she had to remind him to be less obvious. So she did what all good friends do when their friend is being embarassingly obvious in front of a crush, and that is to kick them (lightly of course) on the leg.

"Oi! What was that for?" Draco asked.

"Sweetheart, you were far too entranced in Potter's conversation. I felt that you needed to be reminded that real world does indeed exsist." Pansy said this, hoping that one of the two oblivious boys would catch her drift. Draco did and so he retatliated as so:

"Well, Hermione, how are you doing on your S.P.E.W. efforts?"

That bastard was all Pansy could think as Hermione started to work herself into a vivacious attack on Pureblooded abusers. Or that was all Pansy heard before she was entranced by the alluring witch before her.

***Omg, when I was writing this, my mom came into my room to give me meds and asked what I was doing and I said writing! because I actually am writing another book on the side of this (like, an original story) so she said "oh, can I read some?" and I kinda just said "NO! It's a- It's a secret." And she took that as an answer. THANK THUNDER AND LIGHTNING. This is not how I plan to come out lol***