Waiting

She didn’t know what to do with herself now that she had left the library. She wanted to curl up into a ball and cry because of one stupid boy. But that would require walking back to Gryffindor Tower and facing either Harry and Ginny or Ron and Lavender. Whichever pair it was, they would be snogging, which would make her feel even more awful about herself.

It wasn’t her fault that both Harry and Ron were both finally with girls who made them happy. Just like it wasn’t their fault that she was jealous of that happiness.

So she couldn’t go back to the Tower, and she couldn’t go any place where she might accidentally run into him before she was ready. Where could she go? There was only one place: the Prefect’s bathroom on the third floor.

* * *

Being a smart – no, brilliant – young man, Draco had followed her. When she broke into a run, he did as well, intrigued as to what she was doing. It was only when she went into the girl’s bathroom that he stopped following her.

What did he do now? Did he wait outside and wait for her to come out? Or did he send her an owl apologizing for his actions? It was a tough decision.

Luckily, it was one that was made for him. Just as he was contemplating what to do, his very good friend, and ex-crush, Pansy Parkinson came out of the bathroom. “Why, hello, Drakey,” she cooed her pet name for him in the manner that he hated, which was, of course, why she did it. It wasn’t bad enough that she still called him by his childhood nickname, oh no, she had to coo at him like their mothers used to.

“Let me see.” She began pacing around him in a circle. “Miss Hermione Granger just marched into the bathroom, tears began falling down her face, she threw me out, and I find you standing here awkwardly. Drakey, what did you do?” she asked exasperatedly, and he was again reminded of their mothers.

He told her the short version, ending with, “Can you help?” A very pleased smile graced her lips, and she giggled joyfully.

“Drakey,” she began, but stopped short at the look on his face. “Fine, Draco, sorry.” He grinned triumphantly before realizing why he was asking her help in the first place. In her ever-infuriating way, Pansy rolled her eyes at him before continuing. “Draco, meddling in people’s love lives is my specialty. I’ll fix everything, don’t you worry.”

Of course, that only made him worry more. But she didn’t need to know that, especially since she was going to help him. So he watched both hopefully and nervously as Pansy spun around and turned to go into the bathroom, schooling her features first.

* * *

Hermione wiped her eyes and splashed some water on her face to bring down the swelling of her eyes. Even though she knew of a simple spell that would do the trick, the Muggle way worked better, at least in her opinion. It gave her something to do with her shaking hands, at least.

The door opened, and she spun around to see who had dared to enter her solitude. “Parkinson, I thought I told you to get out of here.” Her voice sounded tired and worn, not authoritative like she had hoped, even to her ears.

Pansy leaned against the wall behind the sink Hermione was standing at, and looked her up and down, a little pout on her face as she commented, “Last time I checked, Granger, I was a Prefect, too, and you can’t kick me out.” To her own annoyance, Hermione hadn’t considered that. Her mouth had opened to reply when the other girl started talking again, although on a completely different track.

“I suppose I can see what he sees in you. Although, personally, I had never thought you would be one to cower in the bathroom crying over a bloke.”

To her complete happiness, Pansy noted that Hermione was speechless and staring at her, mouth open. After a quiet moment, during which Pansy gave herself a mental pat on the back, Hermione shook her head, clearing it of the jumble of thoughts that had just lodged themselves in it. “I’m sorry, what?” she asked finally.

Pansy smirked gleefully. “Draco. I assume that there’s some sort of secret romance going on, considering you came in here crying, threw me out, and there he was,” she summed up, leaving out the part where Draco had asked for her help in the matter.

To Pansy’s delight, Hermione blushed. “No secret romance, sorry,” she mumbled, feeling the tears well up anew. They didn’t escape Pansy’s notice, though, and she felt compassion bubble up in her chest for the other girl.

She sighed and watched a few steps closer, crossing her arms. In a softer tone, she said, “Listen, Granger, I can tell that Draco really likes you, and to be completely honest, he’s not used to that. He’s not used to liking someone instead of lusting after them, and that scares him. Personally, I’m happy for him, and I want him to be able to be with that person. Right now, that person is you, so here I am, trying to make his apologies.”

Fresh tears welled up in Hermione’s eyes, and suddenly, in an inexplicable moment, they went from two enemies to two teenage girls standing in a school bathroom, one comforting the other over a boy. Pansy pulled Hermione to her and held her as Hermione cried, “I just really like him, and I thought we had something, and then he just didn’t show up!”

Stepping back from Pansy, she grabbed some tissues and blew her nose. “And it wasn’t even a date! I got stood up for a school project!” she cried exasperatedly.

Pansy chuckled a little bit, thinking at how fitting it was for Hermione Granger, and Hermione smiled slightly. “So you’ll got out and talk to him?” Pansy asked.

Hermione nodded. “Yeah, I will.”

* * *

Draco had almost given up hope on Pansy’s skills at romantic meddling – almost, though, because this was Pansy – when Hermione came out. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, her hair frizzier and puffier than normal, and, to be completely honest, she looked like shit.

“Hi,” he said awkwardly, just looking at her. Was he the cause of this? (Well, duh, answered the voice in his head.)

She swallowed visibly. “Hi,” she whispered.

“So, I’ll just get right to it,” he said a little too briskly, as she recoiled slightly at his tone. Still awkwardly, but much nicer, he said, “I really like you, Hermione, and working with you on this project has really been amazing. I can’t apologize enough for my actions today, but you should know that I was at the library before you were, and just watched you for ages, and felt like such a piece of crap when you left the way you did. So I followed you here, and I wasn’t sure what I was planning to do, but it certainly wasn’t this,” he finished, watching her expression the whole time.

The ghost of a smile seemed to appear on her face, but he couldn’t be sure. “Are you unhappy that it was this?” she asked quietly, and he answered after just a moment’s hesitation.

“Just that I made you cry. Otherwise, not at all.”

And then, before he even knew what was happening, she kissed him.

FIN