When Enemies Interact

Chapter 11: Falling in Love and Divorce.

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Over the next week, Draco began to hate himself for having such an outburst, as it seemed to have made Hermione quite upset. He had his reasons for it, though.

He had been getting sick and tired of telling people more often than he should that he and Hermione were not a couple in any way and they were definitely not in love. This, of course, wasn't entirely true. Sure, they weren't a "couple" as such and they weren't in love, but they were definitely not enemies either and he was falling in love with her.

He was falling in love with her. The words swam around his head constantly and they wouldn't stop. Never before he had become Head Boy had he even thought it possible for him to even like Hermione Granger, let alone be falling in love with her. Yet, here he was, falling deeper and deeper in love with her with the very simple thought of her and he despised the fact.

It was quite ironic how that even with her avoiding him, as she had been since his outburst, their feelings for each other continued to grow stronger. Hermione acted differently around him as though they were back to hating each other, and yet they both knew that they were falling into the opposite. She seemed very sad and lonely at times, though Draco didn't know why. She spent most of her time locked in her room or wandering the castle and it's grounds when there was no classes she had to attend. She'd even taken to having extra long baths in what seemed to be an attempt to stay away from him. Draco also had noticed that she was sending a strangely large amount of letters.

They had both signed to stay at school for the Christmas holidays for reasons of their own. Draco didn't want to go home and face his father, while Hermione felt it wise to stay away from her parents fighting and arguing, but she didn't seem all that happy about Draco staying as well.

Draco felt oddly down about Hermione's attitude towards him and he wished he hadn't said anything along the lines in which he had to make her act this way. He wanted everything to go back the way it had been, but he also wanted to have her in his arms; he wanted to have his lips on hers again.

But, knowing her reaction, that would only cause more complications between them...

* - ~ * ~ - *

Draco headed through the front doors into the cavernous Entrance Hall, feeling utterly exhausted after a long, hard Quidditch practice. He headed up the marble staircase towards the common room.

He reached the floor the entrance portrait was on and was about to turn a corner, but stopped when he heard two familiar voices close by and listened carefully.

"... Ron, I'm being serious," Hermione's voice was saying. "He really isn't who you think he is. I've seen a totally different side of him lately. And no, we're not a couple and I don't love him, but I'm not saying that I don't like him. In fact, I admit that I have feelings for him, but I'm not one hundred percent sure of exactly how strong they are. He's been there for me when you and everyone else hasn't and that means a lot to me."

"Hermione, this is Malfoy, we're talking about here," came Ron's voice. "You know what his father's like and he'll probably turn out the same: an evil Death Eater who wishes Muggle-borns like you dead."

"Draco isn't like his father and he never will be, Ron," Hermione said indignantly. "I don't believe he'll become a Death Eater."

Draco raised an eyebrow, nodded to himself and continued to listen.

"I've gotten to know him better than you'll ever know him, Ron. If I forgive you, you have to leave him alone and respect the way I feel about him," Hermione continued. "I need someone to talk to at the moment, Ron and I just want to make you aware that that is really only the main reason why I am forgiving you. I want you to understand that I can't truly forgive you for hurting me like you did, but I'm giving you a chance. If you hurt me again like you did, though, I won't tolerate it."

It was a moment before one of them spoke again. "Alright," Ron said, "But I really am sorry for the way I've been acting."

"I don't care, Ron," Hermione said honestly. A rather eerie silence followed this sentence. Draco only just had time to duck into the shadows of a nearby alcove as Ron rounded the corner with a strange expression on his freckled face, and walked straight passed Draco without a single glance in his direction. Heading out of the alcove, Draco watched Ron's retreated back with narrowed eyes. There had been something oddly suspicious about Ron's expression.

*

Draco found it very hard to believe that Hermione had forgiven Ron ever-so-easily after the way he had treated her for the past couple or so months. Draco thought she was smarter than that, but obviously, he was wrong, unless she had suddenly become desperate for someone to talk to. Draco just didn't understand it and he wondered whether Hermione understood it herself.

She didn't, though and it was becoming clearer and clearer at every thought of it. She wasn't sure as to why she had gone and forgiven Ron as easily as she had, after he had been the bastard he had. Yet, she continued to walk around the castle with him, telling him everything from her feelings for Draco to the way people had treated her since her break up with Harry. She had told him almost everything, except for the kiss she had shared with Draco in the library, which she had thought wise to leave out.

At the moment, she was walking along the Charms corridor with him, talking casually, when the topic turned to Harry.

"Ginny dumped Harry," Ron said. "She seems to think he was selfish right from the beginning, after you broke up with him. All he really cared about then was the fact they didn't have to be secretive anymore. More recently, though, she started suspecting that he was jealous of Malfoy because of you."

"Well he can carry on being jealous, because I'm not going to forgive him anytime soon," Hermione said hotly.

"Even if he is jealous, I don't think he'd forgive you for your actions," Ron said.

"Actions?"

"Malfoy," Ron clarified.

"I don't know what sort of 'actions' he means," Hermione said, "but Draco and I have done nothing but hung around with each other and the whole us moving in to the same quarters was Dumbledore's idea."

"Well he, like a lot of the rest of the school, believes something more is going on between you two," Ron said. "And I don't blame them."

"Well that's wonderful, Ron," Hermione said, her tone mixed with sarcasm and slight pain. "I actually thought you'd be one to see through all that - that rubbish."

"Hermione, is there anything else going on between you two, other than these feelings you've told me about?" Ron asked.

"No," Hermione said irritably. "I've told you a hundred times and I thought you believed me."

They were silent after that, as Hermione calmed down a bit while Ron felt it best not to press the subject any more. Finally Hermione spoke again.

"I don't want to just to talk about Draco, Ron," Hermione said, her voice suddenly slightly shaky. "I also want to talk about the problems going on between my - my parents.

"You see, ever since I got my letter from Hogwarts, when I was ten, my mum and dad's relationship hasn't been all that close," Hermione said. "My dad didn't like the idea of me being a witch and coming here. In fact he despised it. My mum persuaded him into allowing it, but they've been fighting ever since and now it's getting worse.

"I've been writing to mum for the past week or so and she's been writing back," Hermione continued. "Several of the letters I've received have been covered in tear marks and in the last one, she told me - she told me that dad had been talking about divorce. I'm scared, Ron, I don't know what I would do if they got a divorce. Dad would never want to see me, and mum ... well, she wouldn't be easy to cheer up. I'm just scared, terrified even." Hermione took a deep breath and wiped away the tears that had formed in her eyes. "I don't know what to do."

They were silent for several minutes, while Ron thought about what to say and gathered his thoughts.

"I guess you'll just have to take it as it comes, Hermione," he said finally. "I wouldn't get involved if I were you, as you may make it worse. Let them be the ones to sort it out."

Hermione wiped away more tears and gave Ron a very weak smile. "Thank you for listening, Ron," she said. Ron gave her a lop-sided smile as his ears went slightly pink.

"I try," he mumbled.

*

Hermione entered the common room with tears running down her cheeks. When she had left Ron to come here, she couldn't help but finally let the tears out.

Draco was sitting on the couch when she entered and turned to look her. He didn't notice that she was crying.

"Is this your cat?" he asked, indicating a ball of fluffy, ginger fur curled up in his lap.

"Yes," Hermione said, through the tears as she crossed the room to the door of her bedroom. "That's Crookshanks."

"Crookshanks?" Draco repeated with a small frown. Hermione nodded. "That's a strange name."

"It's not really," Hermione said, entering the room and closing the door behind her.

"If you say so," Draco muttered as he patted the purring Crookshanks.

Hermione leaned against the door, tears still spilling from her eyes. She wanted more then anything at that moment to just curl up, go to sleep and leave her worrying and emotions until the morning. It would be hard to clear her head and do that, though.

There was a knock on the door and Hermione realised she had been crying quite loudly.

"Hermione?" Draco's voice called. "Hermione, are you alright?"

"Just go away!" Hermione called back, wiping her eyes. She walked over to her bed and threw herself onto it, sobbing hopelessly into her pillow. She heard the creak of the door opening and inwardly moaned.

"Hermione, what's the matter?" Draco voice asked again.

"Go away, Draco," Hermione said, the words only just distinguishable. "You don't care about me, so don't act as though you do." She knew these words were not truthful, but she didn't want him to be seeing her like this.

"Don't care about you?" Draco repeated. "I haven't said anything to you for you to get that idea, have I?"

"No," Hermione said. "Just go - go away."

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong," Draco said stubbornly.

"I just - I don't want to talk about it," Hermione said, turning over to reveal her swollen eyes and blotchy, wet cheeks. "Please, just - just go away."

Draco sighed. "Fine." With that, he left, closing the door behind him.

Hermione forced herself to calm down soon after that and was finally able to get to sleep tear-free. Little did she know she would be woken in a few hours time by some unwelcome news that would cause even more tears...

*

Draco woke up out of a deep sleep at about one o'clock in the morning to the sound of loud, uncontrollable sobs coming from Hermione's room. It caused him to wonder what had caused her to wake and start crying again. He knew she had calmed down and gotten to sleep, as he had, out of curiosity, checked on her before going to bed himself.

Slowly, he got out of bed with a big yawn and wandered out of his room and over to Hermione's closed door. He knocked upon it, only to receive no reply. Letting out an agitated sort of sigh, he opened the door to see Hermione, crying into her pillow once more, a letter held loose in her hand.

"Hermione?" he said, approaching her. "Hermione, tell me what's wrong."

He reached her bed and sat down on the edge, next to her. She let out a sob and turned over, her face wet and blotchy as it had been before.

"My - my -" She let out a sob and more tears leaked out of her swollen, red eyes. She took a deep, ragged breath in an attempt to calm herself. "My mum an-and dad are - they're getting a divorce!" She thrust the letter into Draco's hand and he read it.

Dear Hermione,

I hope you don't get too upset by this news, but your father and I have agreed to file for divorce, as it would be for the best. Your father has already packed his bags and has left, while I am staying at your grandmother's for the holidays.

I know you may be thinking this was your entire fault, but it isn't Hermione dear, it's your fathers. He's the one that caused the problems in this family right from the beginning and I don't what you thinking anything but that.

Have a good Christmas and I love you.

Love,

~Mum.

Hermione let out a horrific sob as he finished reading and, without warning, she threw her arms around his neck and began to sob into his shoulder. Draco, feeling rather awkward, as he wasn't someone who usually comforted people, wrapped his arms around her. "It's ok, Hermione. Everything will be alright."

"She - she was only t-trying to make me f-feel better," Hermione sobbed. "It really is all my fault!"

"Hermione, don't say that," Draco said. "Nothing was all your fault." His words didn't do much, as Hermione just continued to sob helplessly into his shoulder.

Draco didn't know how long he sat there, with her in his arms, but it was a while before she finally calmed down and fell back to sleep, still in his arms.

Slowly, he lay her back down on the bed and put a blanket over her. He watched her for a moment, before placing the letter on her bedside table, and left the room to head back to bed himself, hoping Hermione would be emotionally better in the morning.