Gryphon's Wings and Crocodile Tears

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters or places they belong to the wonderful J. K. Rowling: It is her world I just play in it.


Chapter 11- Two Mysteries Sloved


Draco found that he was approaching the end of his rope where Mandy was concerned. How was it possible that she, this meek petite wallflower, was somehow impervious to his charms? It positively boggled the mind of the striking young wizard to be so frequently and blatantly rebuffed by such a girl. He had to be the only guy who’d ever even called her by name and she did not even bat an eyelash at him.


This was not the way of the world, he was to do the vexing, not be vexed by some aloof strumpet. Perhaps it was at this very moment when his quest to have Mandy became an obsession. After all to Draco’s mind there was no way that Hermione would be half as difficult to ensnare as Miss Brockelhurst, it would not be a physical possibility.


This half-crazed crusade had begun to take its toll on the remainder of his normally full social calendar. The worst consequence of this was that the rest of the students were beginning to talk about Draco’s sudden manic interest in a nobody. Word of this would certainly get back to his father, who would not be pleased that Draco had put his own pleasure above causing chaos and discord among the girls of Hogwarts. He was not allowed to become attached to those “objects”, as Lucius referred to them.


He was absentmindedly wandering the corridors of the castle trying in desperation to find out why this demirep was causing him so much trouble. His thoughts were then interrupted by a pair of voices that Draco could not quite place.


“I guess that even young Master Malfoy is prone to the pitfalls of being male.” The sarcastic tone of the word Master bit deeply at Draco’s pride as he lay in wait, skulking in the shadows. He fought the urge to leap out and accost the girls for having the nerve to speak of him in so negative a connotation. It was a good thing that he resisted this impulse, for the answer to his quandary about Mandy came tumbling out the mouth of the second girl with a chuckle.


“He’s totally oblivious to the fact that she doesn’t like guys. But he does seem the type to try and convert a lesbian, arrogant prig that he is.” That voice was familiar, and as the pair of girls turned the corner he knew why. It was Hermione. How dare that disgusting mudblood speak of him in that way; he’d show her soon enough. Still he did not move, there might still be more to this than he’d heard as yet.


“I don’t know Hermione, if I turned gay I’d like him to be the one to try and fix me.” Draco’s face flushed in the shadows; maybe he’d go for her after Hermione. Now all he needed was her name…


“Ashley! Bite your tongue. I wouldn’t wish that beast on my worst enemy.”


“Come on Hermione. I have seen the way you look at him when he isn’t looking at you. You so have a thing for him.”


“All right, I will admit that the wrapping is very nice, but that doesn’t compensate for what is on the inside. The most beautifully wrapped package of slime still contains slime.”


“He can’t be all that bad. At least he’s smart; I know that you like that about him. He’s the only guy in the school that can come close to matching you in that respect. That’s two important things that are in short supply in the male population at this school, especially when the two are traits are combined. What more are you looking for?”


“Humm, let’s see…a heart maybe. Someone who is willing to treat me as an equal, not a piece of refuse. Someone who doesn’t have to know my bloodline for the past thirty generations to consider me a human. A guy who thinks that my thoughts and opinions are actually worth something.”


“Calm down. You do know that it was a rhetorical question don’t you? Besides I need you to be in a good state of mind to hear what I have to say.”


“I’m calm. It’s just sad that there are no good men left on the face of the planet is all.”


The girls slipped past Draco and out the doors to the grounds of the castle, neither had any clue that the object of their discussion had heard almost the entire conversation. It was better for Draco that the two of them didn’t know, as it would make his seduction of Miss Granger that much easier. His feet carried him, with all the haste they were capable of, back to the Slytherin Common room so that he could begin his plotting.


Meanwhile the girls made their way down the sweeping grounds next to the lake. It was unseasonably warm today, so much so that neither was uncomfortable under her cloak. Ashley produced a meager lunch for the two of them from under her cloak. She handed Hermione a roast beef sandwich and a small bag of crisps. She insisted that before the two of them had this discussion, it was best for Hermione to eat. Ash knew that Hermione had a wicked tendency not to eat when she was upset.


When they’d finished and the wrappers had been disposed of Hermione’s pleasant smile disappeared as she turned to face Ashley. “I’m glad that someone finally decided to tell me what in the name of Merlin everyone has been acting so bloody strangely about.”


“It’s Harry, he wants to break it off with you.”


Hermione’s face split into a huge smile of relief, and she actually laughed. “That’s it? Why would that be so difficult for him to say himself?”


“That isn’t all there is to it. He’s pretty much decided on his next girlfriend.”


“So, more power to him. There are a lot of girls who’d like to date him I’m sure. I thought for sure that he’d gone and done something really horrible like drown a bag of kittens or something. I don’t want to be with someone who doesn’t want to be with me.”


“I hope that you still feel the same way when you know who else he’s seeing behind your back.”


“It can’t be that bad. It’s not like he’s with Ginny or something…” The second that this phrase left her lips she knew that it was the only explanation for the way others had been acting.


Ashley could not make eye contact with her. “I’ve been telling both of them that they should tell you for weeks, but they wouldn’t listen. I decided that someone had to, so I did.”


“Hermione’s shoulders were shaking with silent sobs; she was not the type to cry in front of others, so she did her best to hide her face from Ashley. After a surprisingly short amount of time she looked up at Ashley with clear eyes and spoke in a voice that did not shake, in spite of the fact that the rest of her body was.


“Did they think that I’d hurt them or something? They should know that I’d have gotten over it if they’d bothered to tell me, but now…now there is no way that I can ever trust either of them again. I’m so angry, my best friends didn’t even trust me enough to tell me the truth.” Hermione’s head was spinning, there was no one left. They’d sent a stranger to tell her when things became unpleasant. Her illusions melted away leaving her quite alone to face the stark reality of her situation, she had no friends. Her eyes filled once more with tears that she was determined not to shed.


“Actually, Ginny is afraid of you. You are a very powerful witch and she knows that if it came down to a duel that there is no way that she could win. As for Harry, he didn’t tell you because he didn’t think that he was doing anything wrong, seeing as how you two were never officially going out. He didn’t want to hear that he could be wrong, you know how he gets when he sets his mind to something.”


Hermione nodded her head; that seemed to be all that she could do. “I think I need to go now. I have to try and put all this behind me. It’s not every day that you learn that your closest friends are rats.”


Ashley watched as Hermione walked up to the castle alone. ‘Why do people feel the need to walk all over her? No one deserves to be treated like that.’ She felt tears of sympathy starting to run down her cheeks. If Ginny would do this to Hermione then it was only a matter of time before she did it again to someone else. Ashley hoped that it wouldn’t be her.