Drawn ( A Dramione Story)

The Allure of a Gryffindor

"You're officially inviteddddddd." A parchment sang. The squeaky scratchy tone of Pansy Parkinson floated in through the eighth-year common room. "The ultimate summer holiday arranged by the most accommodating, generous hostess. Me! Pansy Parkinson! Come as my personal guest on the best magical tour of a lifetime."

Hermione Granger sat crossed legged in front of a roaring fire. Ginny, Luna and Hannah Abbott were strewn about the rest of the furniture. Luna's legs dangled off the arms of the overstuffed recliner. Her toes danced happily as she hummed a soft tune to herself. Only one of her tiny toenails were painted.

Ginny and Hannah huddled beneath a quilt. It was made for Ginny as a birthday gift. It was woven with a dark evergreen and golden embellishments. The colors of her favorite Quidditch team, the Holyhead Harpies.

The girls had spent all morning fiercely focused on their studies. It'd consisted of them traversing the entire castle to practices their skills in the greenhouses, and potions dungeons, and in a charm's classroom.

Hermione stared down at the open invitation with a wish for more enthusiasm. She allowed the cheerful, billowing voice to sing to its content before it was safely tucked away into her knapsack for later when she felt the mood to giggle about it. If that feeling ever came...

"A trip with a Pansy," Ginny groaned. "I can't believe you agreed to that. Never on my worst day would I agree to something so, so, so mental. You do know she'll talk the entire time, right?"

She shrugged. The fire cackled in laughter, the only one to be amused by Ginny's teasing.

"Her voice is too high-pitched for my liking," Luna piped in. Another verse of her hum song started a moment later.

"She's not that bad." Hannah stretched her legs from the couch.

It'd been easy to add the Hufflepuff into the group. Neville and Hannah were going steady. Steadier than most. They'd agreed to be promised to one another, as in pre-engagement commitment. There was a flower shaped ring on her finger. It bloomed in the midday sun. Beautiful and dainty.

Neville and Hannah were a good fit together. Hermione was happy for them. After everything they'd suffered through during the war, they deserved whatever happiness came. She wished it for them. So much.

Hermione forced a soft smile. "She really isn't."

"You're a saint, Mione."

"Just because I'll elect to be within her presence?"

Ginny snorted. "No. Although I do have my concerns about your sanity...no. I mean, you do remember what she was like before the war."

A cold sweat dripped down her spine. She made a point to avoid uncomfortable topics like this, ones that even she didn't understand.

Draco changed everything. But, he didn't change the past.

Their past. So touchy.

She picked at the frayed hem of her jeans. "We were all someone different before the war."

"She was awful to you," Ginny said. "Horrid, actually. You were devastated when she started bullying you."

Hannah nodded. "You can't just forget what she did to you."

"I'm not!" Hermione exclaimed suddenly.

All eyes, blown wide, turned to her. Her mouth was more shocked by the volume than her friends were.

A blush immediately consumed her face. She turned away.

"I'm not forgetting," she repeated, softer now. "I'm forgiving. It's much harder than it seems, but I am."