Miles Away From Perfect

The entrance hall was dimly illuminated when Ginny entered at a quarter 'til midnight. The shadows flickered mischievously making Ginny a little uneasy. There were knots in her stomach from dread, and maybe from anticipation, but one thing was for sure, Ginny wanted to get this night over with.

She looked around the hall and found that Draco was nowhere in sight. It felt strange to be the entrance hall all alone when it was usually bustling with activity. Her loneliness reminded her of Sierra, who was far away at Beaux batons. Suddenly she was curious about how this year would have started if Sierra had still been at Hogwarts. Ginny would have been asleep right now or curled up by the fire with Harry, pretty much anything except for doing prefect duties with Draco Malfoy.

"You're lucky I even showed up with such short notice, Weasley."

Speak of the devil, and now her face was red with embarrassment having just jumped ten feet into the air.

"I'll be forever grateful, Malfoy," Ginny told him regaining her composure. "Anything else before we get started?"

Draco sniggered, but shook his head. He was wearing his long robes, which were more for outerwear, and Ginny couldn't help but think of how luxurious they looked. "Let's get on with it, shall we?"

As he walked to the doors he pulled his pointed hood up over his head so that all Ginny could see of his face were his silver eyes. Ginny couldn't help but laugh when he held the door open and motioned her through.

"Is that really necessary?"

"Of course not, but it seems natural under the circumstances, don't you think? Dark corridors? Past midnight?"

"Why not?" Ginny abruptly ended the conversation. She felt awkward being alone with him and talking in such low voices. She also felt annoyed because he still was wearing his hood. "So where to?"

"Are we afraid of big empty castles and things lurking in the dark?" Draco seemed to think her question was insignificant. He chose to climb the main marble stairs coming off the entrance hall and Ginny had no choice but to follow.

"No," Ginny said shortly. A painting of an elderly man with a tuft of white hair tied back with ribbon gave her a condescending look.

"Being afraid of the dark makes you a little under qualified for the job doesn't it?" Finally he pulled off his hood, but only to give her a smirk.

Ginny decided that his smirk wasn't friendly. "Well if you must know, it wasn't my job in the first place. I'm taking the place of Sierra Bayliss, she transferred to Beaux batons this year," Ginny explained.

"Never heard of her in my life," Draco scoffed.

"She was my best friend," Ginny said edgily.

The second floor corridor was empty so the pair made their way up to a higher level. Still on the third and fourth floors, there was not a sound to be heard. Ginny glanced over at Draco out of boredom as they continued down the desolate hall. In the dark she could make out his furrowed brow and somewhat pained expression, as he stared at the stone floor. He was concentrating, but Ginny was clueless as to what was on his mind. For a second, she almost believed that he had forgotten she was there even.

It tickled her to think that she was concerned with what Draco was thinking, or even curious for that matter. She concluded that their session together was going extremely well, thousands of times better than she could have even dreamed. That was the only interesting thing about her night, thus far.

"Merlin, this whole business is dull," Ginny whined. They had been walking for at least an hour by now and the silence was driving her mad.

"Let's go up to the Astronomy Tower," Draco suggested.

"What exactly are we going to do all the way up there?" Ginny asked sarcastically. She knew exactly the reputation of the highest tower in the castle.

"Oh, we'll find something to do," Draco sniggered, quickening his pace up the staircase and deliberately not answering her question.

As Ginny followed her partner, she realized how ignorant she had been, up to this point, about the details of her duties. She had been expecting quite a lot more action than what they had encountered thus far tonight. "Are we all such a bunch of goody-goodies that not a single person is out of bed late on a Friday night?"

* * *

Hermione closed her book and laid it gently on the floor next to her bed. She crossed the room to the mirror mounted on the wall and actually checked to see what she looked like. It wasn't like her to obsess over the physical, but what she was prepping herself to do wasn't like her either.

It was late, yet Hermione still had one last thing to do before she could call it a day. All of her roommates were sleeping, actually so was everyone, most likely. She grabbed her black school robes and headed toward the common room.

She made sure her steps were quiet as she rounded the corner and peeked into the room. As she had hoped, Harry sat alone with his legs hitched over the left side of a leather armchair. It was all she could do but tremble when she thought about what she would say.

She'd been trying to avoid Harry as much as possible since they had gotten back to school. However, she had been too obvious. Even Ron was noticing when she would turn him down, and he was being vocal about it too, which wasn't what she needed.

"Harry?"

He sat up quickly and removed his feet from the arm of the chair. The fire was very lively, flickering, and sparking at random moments. It made Harry's skin glow.

"Hermione, what are you still doing up?"

"I could ask you the same question," she told him matter of factly. She walked behind his chair and sat down jerkily onto the adjacent one.

"I was just sitting with Ginny, but she's out doing prefect duties now," he said. She wished he hadn't. It wasn't really necessary, as she had already found out that little piece of knowledge.

"Harry, we need to talk. I've been acting strangely and-"

"Isn't that the truth, Hermione," Harry sighed. He paused for a moment, and Hermione sat in shock. "Why can't we go back to how it was before?"

"You and I both know it will never be just how it used to. After what we did, and then, after this past summer, it is impossible to go back. Don't you get it?" Hermione was almost off of her seat now. She yearned to reach out and grab his hand.

"I understand that and I have accepted it. You're the one who hasn't moved on," Harry accused her. He looked over at the entranceway to the dormitories.

"Keep your voice down! You'll wake up the entire dormitory!" Hermione threatened.

"You need to understand that I'm with Ginny, and that you and I are in the past. I have moved on." The finality in Harry's voice made Hermione shiver. He stood and looked harshly down on her.

"I don't believe you," Hermione muttered, fighting against tears. She felt disgustingly pathetic.

"What did you say?"

"I said that I don't believe that you have moved on, Harry and I won't except that we are over." Hermione was strong once again and had regained her composure.

"Why do you have to make everything so difficult for me?" He sat once again, and the movement showed his exhaustion.

"Difficult for you? How about me? I come back from vacation in Ireland to see that you've completely forgotten about me and that you're smitten with some other girl." Hermione was surprised with her own resolve, but she was not going to back down.

"It's Ginny, not just some other girl, Hermione. I thought you wanted me to be happy?"

Harry might as well have slapped her right across the cheek. His emerald eyes looked blankly into hers, reminding her of olden times when she could read every emotion Harry felt just with once glance into his eyes. Now she only saw desperation in his pleading eyes. Hermione swallowed the frog in her throat before she spoke. "Didn't I make you happy?"

Harry sighed and dropped his head, letting it hang. Hermione felt tears in her eyes and had to stare into the fire to keep them from rolling down her cheeks. It was then that she realized that the fire was dwindling, and the room was much darker than when she'd first paraded down the steps.

"That isn't how I meant it," Harry finally said. "I guess I don't make it hard for you to misunderstand me, do I?"

Hermione laughed bitterly, but couldn't find her voice to speak.

"Hermione, this whole situation is a mess. It's my fault for the way things have turned out. Trust me, I never wanted things to be this way between you and I. You know what you mean to me." Harry paused to grab her hand. "This isn't right. Nothing has ended up the way I wanted it to since this year started. Hell, I don't even know what I want anymore."

Hermione's throat went dry and something lifted in her chest. She studied Harry's profile as he looked into the fire. Strong and sturdy, his facial structure was firm. She watched him run his hand through his messy hair and then their eyes connected.

Her motive was assured and without doubt, Hermione leaned in and closed off the space between she and Harry. She squeezed her eyes shut just as their lips touched. His were warm, and she knew why, but it was going to take a minute for her own to warm up.

* * *

That was when Ginny heard the sound of laughter, and a murmur, and then more laughter. She gave Draco a reproachful look, but he flashed her a grin and brought his finger to his lips to warn her to keep quiet.

Once they reached the door, Ginny had decided that this wasn't such a good idea anymore. She shook her head at Draco when he braced the door, but that didn't faze him at all. He grabbed her upper arm and gently pulled her towards him, leaving her no choice.

With remarkable silence, Draco easily swung the door open and ushered the two of them within the tower. They entered completely unnoticed, but after that, they both stood just inside the door like dummies. Ginny sensed Draco's hesitation, but she decided against calling him out about it.

"We aren't going to catch these people, are we?" Ginny asked. She was nervous and she wasn't about to walk in on anything she didn't want to see.

"That's too much trouble. I just want to see who is gettin' it on. Don't you want to spread new gossip around that we haven't already heard?"

The Astronomy Tower was the best place for couples because of its secrecy, which isn't a reference to its reputation, because it's notorious for its easy escape from Hogwarts rules, but more for its layout. The Astronomy Tower had multiple levels. The entrance level, currently habituating Ginny and Draco was a place of storage, where boxed were piled up the walls, and the second floor was just the same. However, the loft was home to a cozy little maroon couch with many random cushions scattered about it and all over the floor. It was clear that the Astronomy Tower was the dumping ground for any extra cushions, etc found anywhere else in the castle.

Draco reached the stepladder first, the only way to reach either of the extra floors, and Ginny followed close behind. They climbed up past the second floor easily, but the stairs became frail under her feet as she ascended higher. This just added to her fears.

All the while, Ginny could not place the voice she heard. It was high pitched, and for it's male partner, she had no clue whom he was. Then the couple got quieter, and Ginny was glad that the darkness hid her blush.

Draco stopped so abruptly that Ginny almost knocked into his feet. He shifted dangerously to one side and motioned Ginny to climb up next to him, which she hesitantly obliged.

"What in hell are we doing?" Ginny whispered under her breath, glaring at Draco all the while.

"Just doing a little sneaking around, relax!" Draco's words did not help her in the slightest, however she was glad when he reached his arm around her to secure her into place.

"I really don't think this is right, on any level," Ginny protested once again.

"Ssh," Draco hissed. Then both Draco and Ginny looked over at the scene simultaneously. The loft was surprisingly lit up by the stars that shown through the skylights above. The scene seemed like a stage production, just not any kind that Ginny really wanted to see.

The couple was easy to locate, however they weren't on the couch. Instead, they were tangled up on the floor amidst the millions of cushions. Lucky for Ginny, the two teenagers were still fully and clothed and the cushions hid any kind of action from sight. Suddenly Ginny felt sick to her stomach, but just as she ducked down to shield her eyes from the horrific sight, she recognized Pansy Parkinson leading the performance.

Ginny looked to Draco curiously, but with the looked on his face she wasn't able to detect any kind of emotion.

"Well this definitely isn't a new sight to see, or a very enjoyable one either," Draco murmured in her ear. He didn't seem jealous or angry or even put off by a little.

"Agreed," Ginny huffed.

"Meet Jerry Ferguson, Pansy's prefect partner from Ravenclaw."

"I knew it," Ginny laughed. "Seventh year?"

Draco nodded and suddenly Ginny noticed that his grip around her tightened and suddenly she felt compelled to say something. "I'm sorry."

Their eyes met briefly, but Draco broke contact almost instantly. "Why?" He sounded absolutely appalled by her concern.

"Never mind then," Ginny said, with just as much bite in her voice as Draco.

"I got rid of this wench more than a year ago," Draco told her.

"That's more than I needed to know," Ginny told him icily. If he was going to act like a prick to her, he better expect to receive the same attention from her.

The sudden silence between them, allowed them to return to the entertainment of the evening. At this point, Pansy was shirtless, and Ginny wanted no more to do with the event.

"She's disgusting," Ginny declared. She climbed down a step or two just before things got really messy on the couch. That was just not something she needed to witness.

Draco followed her downward and for a moment, there seemed to be an understanding between the two of them, perhaps even a bond to make up for the previous moment when they had been in battle. Then Pansy made a loud noise and the moment was gone.

Draco followed Ginny down the ladder and they hastily made an exit. Once out in the hall, Ginny couldn't help but laugh. She would never be able to tell anyone how her first night as a prefect turned out. No one would even believe her!

"That is the last time I allow you to provide our entertainment on a night like this," she teased, but he knew that she was completely serious.

* * *

For a moment, Hermione was convinced that Harry had lost all passion for her. His lips were like dead fish, except for the warmth Ginny left behind. Then his tongue was parting her lips and in her mouth. She pressed close to him as their kiss grew and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Don't ever tell me again that you and I were a misunderstanding, Harry," Hermione said throatily. She had been seconds away from unleashing all of her built up passion when he finally broke off the kiss.

"Hermione, this can't-" He pulled her arms off of him gently and laid them in her lap. Before he pulled away, she grabbed his hands.

"Yes it can. Don't suppress it. It isn't that difficult if you know what you want. You need to decide," Hermione dictated.

"What?"

"Choose. I need you to make a decision. It isn't fair for you to have both of us. Let one of us go, you can't have both," she repeated.

"This is insane Hermione," Harry looked like a lost little puppy.

Hermione silenced him by bringing her finger to his lips. In that instant, Hermione realized that he would never come to a decision on his own. Harry Potter needed guidance and Hermione would just have to give it to him.

"Choose me, Harry. I can make you happy. I did it before, and I never stopped," Hermione was on an emotional high.

She wrapped her arms around him once again and kissed him romantically. This time, she was such a wreck that she didn't realize that he wasn't kissing her back. She ran up to her dormitories out of breath, yet too excited to even contemplate sleep. All she had to look forward to was Harry's decision.