Halloween Mix-Up

Halloween Mix-Up

by: Tassana Burrfoot





Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Guy Next Door







Hermione stared down at Seamus, her eyes glazed with passion. He returned her gaze and reached up, catching her mouth with his before manuevering them both so he was on top.



Of course, Draco didn\'t know any of this was going on. He was standing outside her apartment, knocking on the door and recieving no answer.



"You would think that if you haven\'t talked to the portrait by now, she\'s not going to let you in," came a feminine voice from behind him.



Draco wheeled on his heel to glare at the girl. "What do you want Patil? And how would you know?" he demanded.



Parvarti shrugged and took a step closer, but not too close. "I\'ve watched Seamus do it a hundred times. He\'s in there with her right now, actually. That\'s probably why she\'s not answering."



Draco sighed and shook his head. He should have known that\'s what was going on. He had just gotten so used to being with Hermione he had forgotten about her other obligations.



"It\'s amazing, isn\'t it? Yesterday Padma got yelled at by Professor McGonagall for snogging in the hall. Yet, Miss Princess gets her own apartment where she can shag whomever she wants," Parvarti sneered.



The Slytherin rolled his eyes and turned away from her. "I don\'t have time to listen to your bitching and complaining, Patil," he told her.



He began walking away, but she grabbed his arm. "You\'re just going to let her get away with cheating on you?" she questioned, fixing him with an incredulous look.



He raised an eyebrow and stared down at her offending appendage as if it were a cockroach. "We aren\'t a couple," he answered, brushing her hand off of him. "She can be with whomever she wants."



It was her turn to raise an eyebrow. "Seriously? And here I thought that emerald was some sort of promise ring. Am I mistaken in that?"



His eyes widened. Others had noticed Hermione wearing his ring? And what was more, they believed the ring supported the rumour that he and Hermione were a couple. "It\'s just a ring," he replied. "It was a Christmas gift from me to her, nothing more, nothing less. I like that she wears it. Green looks good on her."



Parvarti rolled her eyes. "You like her, Malfoy," she pointed out.



"What of it?" he questioned.



She sighed, "You bought her a ring. She\'s wearing it. That means she belongs to you. So, you are a couple. But, she\'s currently shagging Seamus, so, she\'s cheating on you."



Draco then realized what the girl was trying to do. His eyes narrowed as he sneered at her. "Just because your relationship with your boyfriend is on a rocky road, doesn\'t give you permission to start prying into other people\'s lives. Hermione and I are close, yes. I gave her a ring for Christmas, which she likes to wear. But do not presume to know what is going on between us or between her or anyone else."



"So, you deny that she is shagging Seamus?" she asked.



He shook his head. "Oh, I can guarantee that she is shagging Finnigan. Probably having a grand time at it, too," he taunted. Then, his trademark smirk began to spread upon his face. "What bothers you more, Patil? That your boyfriend is shagging the bookworm or that he\'s enjoying her more than you? Must really bite to go from being Miss Popularity to the Girl Next Door."



She snorted, "She has nothing on me."



Draco couldn\'t really commit on that bit. He had never slept with Parvarti, so he really didn\'t know how she was in bed. However, "And yet, you are standing outside her door waiting for your boyfriend to stop shagging her."



"And you are waiting for the same thing," she retorted. "Tell me, Malfoy, how do you like being in my position? Being the \'Guy Next Door\'? Surely that must hurt your ego?"



He shrugged in indifference. "The difference between you and I, Patil, and the reason I am not the \'Guy Next Door\' is because, after they are finished, I will get to have my way with her and show her who is the better."



"And yet, you\'ll always know she slept with another man," she pointed out. "Maybe you and I should teach them both a lesson..."



He saw the suggestiveness in her eyes and wanted to laugh. So, he did. "Teach them both a lesson?" he snorted. "You want me to sleep with you to teach them a lesson?"



He laughed even harder. Wiping a tear from his eye, he shook his head. "Patil, you are the biggest slut I have ever met," he laughed. "And here I thought the Patils had some sort of class! Goes to show how much I know about old wizarding families."



"How dare you!" she hissed. "You have no right calling me a slut when your girlfriend is just beyond that bloody door shagging another guy!"



The laughter died in his throat to be replaced with a growl. "I told you, she is not my girlfriend."



"Stop lying to yourself, Malfoy!" she shouted. "She couldn\'t be more your girlfriend if you two walked down the halls announcing it to the whole of Hogwarts!"



"What\'s going on here?" interrupted a voice neither student wanted to hear.



They turned to see Professor Snape approaching them. By now, Parvarti had worked herself up to hysteria. "Professor, Hermione Granger has a boy in that room of hers," she ratted. "And they are in there shagging at this very moment."



"Ten points from Gryffindor for such crude and inappropriate language," the professor said calmly. He glanced at Draco.



Draco shrugged. "Finnigan is in there and Hermione refuses to answer the door," he said, breathing hard from the argument.



Snape nodded once before turning to Parvarti. "Miss Granger has been helping Mr. Finnigan with his assignments, Miss Patil. Another ten points from Gryffindor for jumping to conclusions. If you would like, I could make it another fifteen for your questioning of Professor Dumbledore\'s authority, since he was the one who said she could tutor Mr. Finnigan and another twenty for spreading rumours, which I know you have done. Is there anything else you would like to add?" he questioned, his face and body calm and indifferent.



Parvarti\'s eyes widened as she slowly shook her head.



Snape then turned to Draco. "I will give Slytherin 10 points, Mr. Malfoy, for I\'m sure you were standing here defending Miss Granger\'s virtue?"



Draco gave his trademark smirk and nodded. "Of course, Professor. I cannot tolerate anyone spreading such nasty rumours, especially about people I have come to endear as friends," he added, throwing Parvarti a sneer for dramatic effect.



Without hesitation, Parvarti excused herself and departed from the two Slytherins. Draco wiped off his smirk once she was out of ear and eye shot. "I really hate that slag," he commented as he glanced down the hall where Parvarti took flight.



Snape nodded once. "Shall we go to my office since Miss Granger is currently... occupied?"



Draco nodded and followed the professor towards the dungeons. "I had hoped I\'d be able to go to bed," he said honestly. "I didn\'t think she would be with anyone at this hour."



"You still have your bed in Slytherin," Snape pointed out. "You could always sleep there."



The younger man shrugged. "I suppose, but... well, it\'s not the same," he complained. "I\'ve never liked sleeping alone. Besides, I\'ve grown rather... attached to sleeping with her."



"You realize that once Valentine\'s Day comes, you may very well find yourself sleeping alone again?" the older man said, keeping his voice down to avoid anyone overhearing.



"That\'s if I\'m not her true love," Draco pointed out.



"You believe you are?"



"Don\'t you believe you are, Professor?"



Snape pinched his lips together. "I will not lie, the idea does interest me a great deal," he said after a moment\'s silence. "But, I am no fool. While I could easily see myself living out the rest of my days with her, I could never give her what she wants. I fear she would be... unhappy with me. Even though you could consider yourself the \'Guy Next Door\' at this moment because Finnigan is with her and not you, I have always been the \'Guy Next Door.\'"



Draco tilted his head to the side. "You heard that much, huh?"



Snape gave a small grimace. "I am not one to speak ill of my students... much, but I believe I can agree with your assessment of Miss Patil. You do realize that most of what she said was a means to taunt you in hopes she could bed you?"



The boy nodded. "I wasn\'t put into Slytherin for lack of brains. I knew what she was after. I also know enough not to let what she said get to me," he added.



They were silent as they entered the office. Snape fixed himself a glass of firewhiskey and handed Draco a butterbeer. They sat in front of the fireplace as they both lost themselves in their own thoughts.



Finally, after some time, Snape spoke up, "I would have loved nothing more than to have been her true love. From the moment I saw her, I had been in love with her. It wasn\'t just her looks, either. It was her nature. Her kindness. She had this ability to see the good in people that others could not. She was a champion for the weak and the lonely. She was smart, funny, and talented. To this day, I believe she should have been in Slytherin, regardless of her blood heritage. She would have fit right in...



"No. I\'m wrong. Slytherin wouldn\'t have suited her. She was too kind, too innocent. Slytherin would have taken that out of her. I am not so arrogant to not notice the flaws of my House. We pride ourselves on our impure ways. She would\'ve been an outcast amongst us. Or, we would\'ve tainted her.



"But, it\'s difficult to watch the woman you love walk away with someone else. To know that she could have been yours, if only you had taken the chance."



Draco knew Snape wasn\'t talking about Hermione, but, "They\'re a lot alike, aren\'t they?"



Snape nodded. "A lot alike. Which is what I think attracts me to this younger girl. She reminds me so much of what I could have had, I almost feel as if I could still have it. A part of me hopes that I will be found to be her true love. Simply so that I could finally be with the woman of my dreams. But, I lost my chance. I was a fool and I walked away."



"Why are you telling me all of this?" the blonde-haired boy asked.



"So you don\'t make the same mistakes I made," the professor answered. "Don\'t get your hopes up too high, Draco. You can wish and you can pray, but be careful. The gods love irony. They love to muck things up. Proof of that lies in this very spell. The entire thing is mucked up. A girl can only have one true love. Yet, there are twelve men who believe they are him."



Draco shook his head. "My father doesn\'t. And neither does Potter," he pointed out.



"And wouldn\'t it be ironic if it was found that one of them were indeed her true love?" Snape asked.



The boy denied it. He couldn\'t think that. His father was in love with his mother. Lucius and Narcissa were a match made in the heavens. They were the epitome of true love.



As for Potter? Hermione had said he was like a brother to her. There was no way that would ever change between them. It would just be... wrong.



"It\'s not them," Draco argued, standing up.



Snape did not look at him. "For our sakes, I hope you are right. I suppose we shall find out soon enough."



Draco nodded. He drained his butterbeer and placed the empty bottle in the waste basket. "In one month we shall learn. I cannot wait."

---

Author\'s Note: I know, I know. I promised a steamy chapter and I am SO sorry. I just started writing this and could not stop. Took a completely different direction from how I wanted it to go. Ah well. I promise, promise I will write one last steamy chapter before the end.



To nonentity: Yeah, for the longest time, I thought I was the only person who worshipped the gods. But, I know I\'m wrong. However, I haven\'t been able to find anyone around here who does. Kinda sucks. I would love to form like a little group or something where we could go and talk about the gods and such. Our own little private "church" or something. Not really to worship or pray, but just to talk. I don\'t even know of any groups online, though I\'m pretty sure there are some somewhere. Did she have a patron god or goddess? I know I do, and, no, it\'s not Aphrodite or Eros, though I love writing stories involving those two.