So Long Sweet Summer

Chapter 9

Shocking Realizations

Draco stared in shock at the spot where Hermione had just disappeared. He wasn't sure what exactly to make of this new revelation. He couldn't quite believe what she had told him - that this whole summer worth of events had been one big ploy to spy on him. He was suddenly filled with rage at the thought of how Hermione had deceived him, how she thought he could be seduced to reveal secrets, and most of all, how it had actually been working.

He wasn't sure who he was more aggravated at, himself or Hermione. However hard it was to admit it; she had been occupying his thoughts quite often over the past few weeks. In his rage, Draco drew his wand and shot a spell at a bee flying by. Seeing the small creature expand until it exploded did little to lighten his mood. 'How DARE that Mudblood do this to me,' Draco thought in contempt. 'Proud of her dirty blood, she says. No better than a common whore.'

Enraged, Draco grabbed his things and jumped on his horse's back. Giving Charlie a swift kick in anger, the horse sprung into a fast paced canter, leaving the picnic spot behind. The pounding of the hooves on the dirt path spurred on Draco's anger. He kept replaying Hermione's confession over and over in his head. If there was one thing that Draco could not stand, it was being made a fool; and that was just what Hermione Granger had done to him. Mudblood Granger, always the perfect little Gryffindor, her sense of right and wrong forcing her to bow out before she got in over her head.

'I just can't do it,' Draco mocked in his head. 'Even to someone I use-'. Pulling suddenly on the reins, Draco brought the horse back to a walk. Hermione has said that she use to hate him. Had she meant that? Or had it just been a slip of the tongue? Draco wasn't quite sure what Hermione might have been hinting at, but he knew one thing - he needed to find her.

Draco got back to the stables in record time. It seemed, however, that Hermione had beaten him; Casper had been left tethered to a fence post. He made quick work of untacking the pair of horses and returned them to the pasture.

By the time Draco was finished, he was cover in a layer of sweat and dust from the dry, hot, summer's day. Deciding that he was in no condition to head into town, Draco retreated up to the Manor for a shower and a change of clothes.

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As Draco stood outside her cottage, poised to enter, he realised that he had no idea what exactly he was going to say to Hermione when he saw her. Should he yell at her in anger over her deceit or be calm and cool about the whole ordeal? Draco decided the latter was probably the better way to go about it.

Standing out back by the kitchen door, Draco could hear voice filter out through the window from the front room of the cottage. This caused him to hesitate for a second, but Draco decided it was probably just some of Hermione's music playing like usual. Pushing open the kitchen door, Draco wandered into the cottage and made his way towards the front room.

He froze in the doorway to the room. Hermione stood bewildered in the middle of the room as the fire in the grate of the fireplace erupted in green flames. Clambering out of the fire was Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.

"Well, well," said Draco, finding his voice. "If it isn't Potty and the Weasel."

They started when hearing his voice; all three members of the Golden Trio turning around when he spoke.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy," Harry spat, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"What do you want?" Hermione asked, stepping in front of her two friends.

Draco realised that with the arrival of the two boys that he had no hope in having any sort of conversation with Hermione. Deciding to abandon his original plan, Draco leaned back against the doorframe and sneered at the three of them. "To win the Quidditch World Cup. World domination," Draco replied. "A nice piece of steak would be amicable as well," he added.

"Typical Slytherin," Ron growled at him, drawing his wand out of his trouser pocket.

Sensing the redhead's volatile temper was in danger of being unleashed (and knowing that it quite often went awry), Draco pulled his wand out as well.

Turning to his two friends, Ron said, "What about you two? There are three of us, we can take him!"

Hermione shook her head at him. "Still underage, Ronald," she reminded him in a patronizing voice.

"Harry?" Ron said desperately.

"Not till tomorrow, mate."

Draco almost had to laugh at the Weasley's expression by then. He seemed almost as aggravated at his two friends as at Draco.

"Fine," Ron announced. "I can take him myself."

Draco was amused at his stubbornness. He fondly remembered the incident in second year when Weasley had tried to hex him and had ended up throwing up his own slugs all day instead.

"Expelliarmus!" cried Ron.

Draco scoffed at him, easily deflecting the spell. "Tarantallegra!" he shot back, laughing as the other boy's legs began to move out of his control.

"Honestly, Ron," Hermione scolded after he had performed the counter-curse. "Stop trying to provoke him."

"Always the voice of reason, aren't you, Mudblood?" Draco said in contempt, well aware that this was the first time in a long while that he had called her that.

Apparently the significance wasn't lost on Hermione either. "GET OUT!" she screamed, drawing her own wand. "Get out before I hex you myself!"

"You wouldn't do that, though, would you, Granger?" Draco retorted, as he walked over to her. "You're too much of a goody Gryffindor to ignore the law," he said, looking down at her.

"Just get out," she said again, looking up at him defiantly. "I thought I made it quite clear to you earlier just how exactly I felt about you."

"Ah, yes," Draco said with a smirk. "You did let me know exactly how you feel," he remarked cryptically.

Hermione looked up at him confused, but Draco refused to expand on what he had said. Maybe she didn't recall having admitted that she only use to hate him, but quite obviously that meant she didn't anymore.

Sneering at Harry and Ron, both of which were looking particularly perplexed by the exchange that had just happened, Draco exited the Granger's cottage and made his way back to the Manor.