Anyone But Me

Chapter Twenty-Nine

She let out the trapped breath she had been holding since leaving Draco. Harry, Ginny, Ron and Dean were all huddled around a charmed piece of parchment, where different Quidditch scrimmages played out. Occasionally Harry would move one of the Xs or Os on the paper and it would all start again. Thank the Gods! He had found something better to do with his time than stalk his childhood nemesis...

Hermione gave the small group a wave before she walked as calmly as she could to the stairs that led up to the Girl's Dormitories. Once she was sure she was out of their lines of sight she rushed up the steps and into the shared room she had occupied for the last six years.

Parvati was relaxed back against her headboard reading "Witch Weekly" and looked up at her hasty entrance. She quickly brought down her speed before offering the girl a half smile. Trying not to look suspicious she went over to her trunk and started to gather a pair of pajamas and her shower basics. She figured that was as good of an excuse as any to be running off so late. After a long day it wasn't uncommon for her to use the Prefect's Bathroom for a little R & R.

She felt Patil's stare on the back of her head so it wasn't a surprise when she piped up. "You look keyed up tonight Hermione."

"Oh do I? It has been a long week." She stated as off-handly as she could while she grabbed the top book from the stack of muggle literature she had neatly organized in rows along the back of her trunk.

"Not going to sneak away with Cormac then?" The girl questioned, always the one for gossip.

"Uhhh... No... We decided on the night of the party to just be friends. No real connection there for either of us, unfortunately." She explained as vaguely as she could without digging herself into an even deeper hole when it came to that particular lie.

The dark eyed beauty sighed behind her and she couldn't stop herself from looking over her shoulder to gauge the mock investment in Hermione's life. Parvati continued. "That's a shame."

"I suppose..." She hedged. Unsure of where she was trying to go with the conversation.

"Where are you going then?" She asked out-right.

"To take a bath..."

"Oh right... Duh."

"Was there something more direct that you wanted to say Parvati?" Hermione asked, done playing games with the girl. If she wanted fodder for gossip with Lavender this was a waste of valuable time! She had told Draco she would be there twenty minutes.

"Actually... I have been thinking for a while about how you have such rotten luck when it comes to boys..." The girl shifted on the bed as if uncomfortable with Hermione's unrelenting stare. "And well... You know that people wouldn't judge you if... If you liked girls, right?"

She was shocked into stillness at where the witch's mind had gone. She should have seen it coming considering how old she was and her romantic history, which was admittedly practically none... But she had never given any kind of notions to the contrary of being heterosexual. If anything she would have assumed people thought she just didn't see anyone in a romantic or sexual light.

"Uh... Right. And... I mean, thank you for the... the acceptance, but I don't. Like girls, that is." She told her awkwardly as she turned back and put everything she needed in the bag she normally used to transport her bathroom supplies.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. I just wanted you to know... That if you did. It wouldn't be as big of a deal as it is in the Muggle World." Parvati rushed out, her cheeks flaming with embarrassment at the social blunder.