Clean

The Room

Chapter 24: The Room

"Why are we always in the library?" Harry asked, groaning as he launched his bespectacled forehead straight onto a pile of books.

"School," Hermione said curtly, leaning over to pat his head.

"But I'm the Chosen One," he whined, his voice muffled.

Hermione's gentle pat turned abruptly into a swift backhanded swat. "Stop it," she said, her eyes never leaving the page.

Harry propped his chin up, eyeing her. "Should we talk about Ron?"

"Why on earth would we do that?" she asked, rolling her eyes. "Unless you're now one of my gal pals – "

She stopped, fighting a smile. Gal pals, she thought. Oh, Malfoy.

Hermione loved that she could always spot Malfoy's silvery pale hair, even from a distance, even in a crowd – even in the dark, she thought fancifully. Even now she knew he was across the room and it gave her a strange sense of calm, knowing he was somewhere in her universe, orbiting around her.

"I'm your best gal pal, Hermione," Harry said smoothly. "You know that."

At this, she allowed herself to smile widely. "So true."

"So." He'd sat up, stretching his arms toward the ceiling and placing his hands casually behind his head. "What happened with Ron?"

"Oh Harry, surely you don't want me to go into detail – "

"No, definitely no detail," he said hurriedly. "But I think he's putting on a big show for me – pretending his feelings aren't hurt and all that – "

"We just – weren't quite on the same page, is all," she said with a shrug, running the edge of her quill's feathers back and forth across her mouth absentmindedly.

"Hm," he said vaguely, still eyeing her closely. "It's strange, because I could have sworn things were progressing with the two of you – and then, you know, the Lavender thing came out of nowhere – I suppose I just have a feeling there's a piece on your end that's missing – "

"You are the Chosen One, are you not?" she snorted indignantly. "Surely there's something more worthwhile to occupy your mind?"

"I'm only asking – "

"Have you told Ron about Ginny, yet? Or better yet – have you told Ginny about Ginny?" she asked coolly, flipping the pages of her book. She'd of course stopped reading several minutes ago, but wasn't about to abandon pretense while she was trying to make a point.

"That's different," he said quickly. "I mean – there are actual problems there, I can't just – "

"What, you're that afraid of Ron's disapproval?" she asked mockingly. "If I worried that much about Ron's opinions, I'd never get anything done – "

"It's different, Hermione, it just is," he said, exhaling loudly as he brought his arms down. "You wouldn't understand."

She glanced up quickly, eyeing the back of Malfoy's head and trying not to picture it between her thighs.

"True," she said simply, inclining her head in concession.

Harry was rifling through his things. "You know," he commented offhandedly, "now that Malfoy's up and about again, I suppose I should go back to keeping an eye on him."

Hermione looked up, startled. "What?"

"The map," he said, gesturing to the folded up Marauder's Map that was sticking out of his bag. "I stopped tracking him for a bit – partially out of guilt if I'm being honest – but if there's something in the castle – "