Head over heels

Thank you for the encouraging reviews! Here is the second chapter, I hope you will enjoy it.



*****



Halfway through the ceremony Nott sunk down in the chair next to Blaise. He was panting heavily and glared at the people in front of them, seemingly for no reason at all. His shaggy brown hair was disheveled and a layer of sweat formed on his forehead.



“Where did you come from?” Blaise whispered.



“Practice,” Theo panted, as he stroked his hair, “I couldn’t get the bloody day off, because Weasley already had to. Wood was merciless, the bitch. Madhouse there I tell you, couldn’t talk about anything but the bloody wedding!”



Nott played for the Chudley Cannons, just as Weasel did. That moron threw three years of auror training away to become a keeper.



“Holy hell, Potter looks like he’s about to faint,” Theo snickered.



A hush from the row in front of them shut the three Slytherins up.



The ceremony dragged on and on, about how those two hero’s saved the Wizarding World, et cetera, et cetera.



“It wasn’t even she-Weasley who helped Potter out that much, it was bloody Granger,” Nott whispered. Sometimes he just didn’t know when to shut his mouth.



There they were again; Potter and Granger in the same sentence. Draco clenched his teeth as he watched Granger, now seated next to, who he presumed were, her parents.



She sniffled slightly with a big smile on her face as the wedding vows were exchanged. Then the happy couple kissed. Potter was so relieved it was over he pressed his face against the she-Weasley, who had a few tears running down her cheek. Granger was the first one to launch herself out of her chair and started cheering. The entire crowd joined in.



Draco sighed. Granger would look beautiful as a bride.



Especially his.



*****



The benches made way for dinner tables and chairs. The seating arrangement was hell. He was seated at one large, round table with Blaise and Theo (thank Merlin for small favors), the Weasel and Lovegood (who stared into space) and three other old classmates, Pansy, Brown and Patil. Why Potter had thought this was a good idea was beyond him.



Quietly, he sipped his firewhiskey. Least thing he could do was getting pleasantly drunk, maybe that would lift his mood.



The girls were chatting away happily, probably very delighted that the occasion arrived for them to dress up. He took another sip of firewhiskey.



“Honestly Lavender, that boy is using you. Get a grip and dump him!” Pansy said while twirling the wine around in her glass.



“I can’t help it. I think I’m in love with him,” Lavender said, “oh well, at least he’s a good shag!” The three girls laughed.



Draco caught Blaise’s look and smirked. Girls will always be girls. Except for Granger of course.



“So Draco, any progress with Granger?” Theo asked.



Draco flinched. Whoever said that all Slytherins were masters of subtlety clearly never met Theo Nott.



“Honestly Nott, not here,” he hissed, as he glanced at the women at the table. When they heard Granger’s name, they looked up.



“Granger? What’s with Granger?” Brown asked sharply.



“I heard she fell into bed with that Quidditch coach last week!” Patil whispered. Pansy just sat there, looking straight at Draco. He felt the urge to flinch under her scrutinizing gaze. Brown nodded.



“Yes! I heard the same rumor at work!”



Draco didn’t fight the urge to roll his eyes.



“Of course you hear rumors at work Brown, you work for Witch Weekly.”



Brown gave him a death glare.



“Why is it that all men always stand up for her? No matter how much bad publicity she gets, men always seem to believe she’s the innocent party here!” Brown was getting worked up, her eyes narrowing. “How is that Malfoy? Did she shag the entire male Wizarding population or is she really that innocent? I don’t presume the latter of course. Or did you fall under her spell as well?”



Draco had the decency to blush. Damn it, that was the second time today. Before he could embarrass himself any further, Blaise stepped in.



“I’m not sure what it is about her, but she sure has great tits,” he said smirking. Brown and Patil huffed. Draco let out a relieved sigh, close call. The Wizarding World didn’t need to know of his infatuation with Granger. Talking with a reporter from Witch Weekly, a hairdresser and …Pansy (what did she do for a living anyway?) wasn’t a smart move. Damn Potter and the she-Weasel. Talking about Weasley, why didn’t he interfere?



When Draco looked in Weasley’s way, he saw why. Weasley was busy with his girlfriend, who was telling him a story that he didn’t find nearly as interesting as he wanted her to believe. He leaned his head on his arms as she happily chatted on about Nargles.



What in the world were Nargles? Draco decided it was better not to ask.



The girls, because that’s what they really were, girls, started to chat away again on Madam’s Malkin’s latest fashion. Very interesting of course, but Draco decided to look for Granger. His gaze darted around the room.



Ah, there she was. Standing next to the buffet, talking to Krum. Draco glared at the man. Obviously Granger had a good time, because she was smiling and laughing.



“Oi, you’re going to burn a hole in her dress if you keep that up,” Theo said. Draco wanted to turn around to get angry at him for bringing the subject up again, when he noticed all the girls were gone. Including Lovegood.



“Really Theo, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said drily. Weasley narrowed his eyes.



“Who are you looking at then?” he asked. Could Weasley really be so dense? Maybe that’s why Granger didn’t want to put up with him anymore. Stupidity was a sin.



“No one,” Draco muttered as he sunk in his chair, “Where did the birds fly off to?”



“Buffet,” Weasley said.



“Weasley, is it true what they were saying?” Blaise asked.



“What part of what they were saying? I have to admit, their gossip doesn’t appeal to me at all,” he said drily.



“The part where they said that Granger slept with Wood,” Theo said.



Weasley’s ears turned a fine shade of red. Draco wanted to leave the table, right now. But that would look suspicious, so he remained seated. He did not want to know, he did not want to know, he did not…. Oh bugger, now he really wanted to know.



“How the hell am I supposed to know that? I don’t meddle in her bloody affairs,” he said, “and she keeps out of mine. That was the deal.”



“What deal?” Draco asked, disappointed at the answer. How much of what everyone was saying about Granger was true? Did she really sleep around that much? Was he really just a notch on her bedpost?



“When we broke up. I wouldn’t question her affairs and she won’t question mine.”



“Well, she does seem to have a lot of affairs, so it must be difficult keeping track,” Theo smirked. Weasley glared at him, but shook his head.



“I wouldn’t know, I don’t believe half of what I read in Witch Weekly, dragon dung if you ask me. But I do know that Hermione is very…open minded.”



Theo and Weasley got along just fine ever since they started playing Quidditch together for the Cannons. They had a fist fight when they first met again after the war, when all the feelings of loss came up. They knocked each other into St. Mungo’s. Not to mention their coach was furious, they were mostly furious with themselves. When they left the hospital six days afterwards, they chatted like they had been friends all along. Those six days stuck in one room worked out for them.



“Why are you guys so interested anyway?” Weasley asked.



“Well you see, there’s this guy we know-,” Theo started.



“- Who got wrapped around her little finger a long time ago.” Blaise finished.



“We are just checking her availability,” Theo smirked.



Draco wanted to disappear. Honestly, he felt like smashing his head against the table. They glanced at each other, then directed their glances towards Draco.



Weasley seemed to get the hint and gasped.



“Malfoy…,” he said, wide-eyed, “No really?”



Draco muttered a string of curses under his breath, before he brought the entire glass of firewhiskey to his lips and drank it all. Wiping his mouth with his hand, he glared at Theo and Blaise.



“Thank you very much gentlemen. That was just what I needed to make this day even more awful.”



“Aw come one Draco, maybe Weasley can help us,” Theo said.



“You mean me, maybe he can help me,” Draco said. Blaise just snickered.



Weasley suddenly burst out laughing.



“Oh Merlin…,” he gasped as tears nearly rolled down his cheeks from laughter, “You are a sucker Malfoy really…”



“Having fun Ron?”



Draco turned around. There she was, standing there with a glass of champagne in her hand. Draco nearly forgot to breathe. A light blush stained her cheeks.



Weasley said nothing, he just continued laughing, holding his stomach. Granger frowned.



“Idiot,” she mumbled, “Hey Theo, Blaise, Malfoy.”



Then she walked away. Malfoy let out a relieved breath. This was why he avoided her; every time he saw her he forgot his bodily functions and made a fool out of himself.



“Malfoy you cocksucker. So Hermione ay,” Weasley sat, smirking, “I’m thinking of all the ways I could blackmail you right now. Oh, your boss would just love to hear this.” And he burst into laughter all over again.



Draco ordered another firewhiskey, determined to not let Weasley mess with him. He looked around and saw Granger talking with… Pansy? Did his eyes deceive him? Blaise saw him looking and looked the same way.



“Oh oh, Pansy and Granger, not a good combination,” he commented.



“What about your parents Ferret, do they know?” Weasley asked. Draco ignored him.



“I wonder what she has to say to Granger,” Theo piped in. They all saw how Pansy gestured wildly at Granger, who watched with one raised eyebrow. Another person who he should sue for stealing HIS eyebrow-raising-trick.



They talked for a few more minutes, then Granger was whisked away by a very handsome man.



“Who’s he?” Draco snarled. Weasley looked at him in disbelief.



“Because you have the hots for her doesn’t mean she can’t talk to other men, you know,” he said. Obviously Weasley took a great deal of pleasure to torment him once again.

“Does she even know you’re smitten with her? I guess not.”



“And how do you purpose he does that? Walk up to her and declare his undying love for her? Somehow I don’t think that would work,” Blaise said.



“Well, he should hurry because Hermione isn’t exactly celibate,” Weasley said.



“You just told us you don’t meddle in her affairs,” Draco said. He craved for Weasley to tell him all she had been up to the last year. He needed to know.



“I don’t, but I can’t help to overhear certain things at home,” Weasley explained, “You know my mother right? She has been going on and on about Hermione, about how irresponsible she was behaving and how she should settle down. I believe that’s the reason why Hermione tends to skip the Sunday brunch three times a month.”



“But, Weasley, seriously, does she sleep around that much?” Draco asked and waited, his hands clenched around the tablecloth.



“Who sleeps around that much?” Granger asked before she slumped down in the chair next to Draco with a full glass of champagne in her hand.



Oh shit.



*****



That\'s it for today folks! I’m not a very fast writer, that son-of-a-bitch-called-Real-Life gets in the way a lot. I promise to update regularly! R&R!