The End of the Beginning
Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize, it belongs to the amzing J.K Rowling
Challenge: To create a story that keeps both Draco and Hermione totally in Charicter and could have really happened in the books.
Sunday
The dark corridors of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry were drafty as Hermione Granger made her way through them during her patrols; the dazzling full moon was shinning through the widows, causing strips of pearly light to fall across the stone floors and walls.
The six year prefects' standard black Mary Jane's were echoing as she walked faster down the deserted hallway. Ronald was slacking from his duties once again and was back in the Gryffindor common room trying to catch up on homework while snogging his girlfriend Lavender Brown.
Hermione's small hand clenched around her wand, her knuckles turning a disturbing shade of white, as she thought about ways to murder Lavender Brown and then maul Ronald Weasley.
She turned a corner finally coming to a brighter lit passage way, welcoming torches lined the wall casting a flickering golden glow throughout the hallway, shadowing her delicate features.
Her hand wrapped even tighter around her wand as she saw who was walking toward her, obviously also doing his nightly patrols.
Draco Malfoy, the perfect cherry for this already horrible night. His smirk became wider on his pointed face as he came closer and when he passed her she caught the sneer of his voice,
"Mudblood," tears pricked behind her eyes, but she refused to let him get to her, taking a deep breath and continuing to walk on. Although right before she turned around the next corner she turned to look at him before yelling loudly at the infuriating Slytherin,
"Ferret!" he turned his head, the smirk still planted on his face, the mysterious shadows casting a shade across his features, almost making him look..dare she say it..Handsome.
She turned the corner as she shook her head of those traitorous thoughts..Draco Malfoy could never be..attractive.
Monday
Hermione once again found herself pushing open the great wooden doors to enter the Hogwarts Library. The scent of ink and fresh paper filled her senses as she padded her way towards the back where she spotted an empty table.
The frazzled girl dropped her bag on the ground with a large 'thump' before seating her self much the same way. Laying her head upon the cool wood of the desk one half of her face facing upward, her hair fanning out across the small table, she closed her eyes.
The library had always been her sanctuary, the large rows of tombs, dust coating their leather backs, the quiet scratching of quill on parchment. It was a place for her to relax, to forget that Ronald Weasley was trying to eat his girlfriends face in the common room.
Hermione's eyes shot open, "I'm not supposed to be thinking of that," she reprimanded herself in a whisper, while reaching down to grab a roll of parchment, a quill, and some ink from her page style bag.
She posed the ink filled quill above the paper waiting for the words to flow from her hand onto the paper, as they usually did, but nothing came. Her Transfiguration essay due in a week, just wouldn't form in her brain, her mind was too jumbled with thoughts to form a decent paper.
A black drop like a tear fell from the tip of her quill, blotching her paper, now useless.
The overly stressed teenager threw her quill across the table and slid her paper off the desk in a fit of rage, before promptly letting her forehead fall to the desk. She lifted her head once more only to let in drop once more creating a continuous thumping along with her muttering of, "stupid, stupid, stupid."
"self harm, and talking to yourself..are you sure your safe to be in public Granger?" a voice sneered from her left.
Hermione looked to her left, staring at Malfoy who was leaning casually against the end of a bookshelf that smirk permanently planted on his lips, his arms crossed over his chest. The girl let her head fall once more in one final, 'thump' before raising it fully to look the boy in the eyes.
"Shut up Malfoy and mind your own business," she said harshly her dark eyes flashing dangerously.
"Oh so she's hostile, we really need to lock you up, as if your face wasn't enough you have mental issues also," he said coolly before setting himself across from her his long legs folding out from under him as he tipped back in his wooden chair, looking enviously casually elegant.
An evil glint came to Hermione's eyes as she leaned over the table slightly to whisper harshly in his face, "your daddy needs to go to a mental institute, his gone downright psycho, the filthy death eater," Hermione shook her head sadly with a small smile on her face as she watched the Slytherin's reaction.
Anger flashed through his grey eyes, while his face stayed void. He leaned in closer so their noses were almost touching, "Do not, talk about my family like you know them," he said a harsh whisper against her lips. They were leaned over the table their faces almost touching both looking into each other's harsh eyes.
Hermione pulled away quickly her face flushed with anger and embarrassment, she threw her stuff into her bag before hastily running out of the library, and leaving Draco collapsed in his chair with confusion.
Tuesday
Dinner at Hogwarts was always a magnificent affair, the four long tables filled to the brim with heavy dishes causing the tables to groan with strain.
Hermione Granger sat grinding her teeth periodically with each squeeze of her fist, she was sitting across from Harry Potter who had his head tucked so far towards his chin all that could be seen was his red forehead under his shock of ebony locks.
Hermione glanced across the table where Lavender was seated on Ron's lap, her back pressing against the edge of the table. Their bodies were pressed so close together you couldn't tell where one starts and the other one ends. They looked as if they were having a contest to see who could suck the other's face off faster.
The slightly grossed out girl stood up quickly, she muttered a hurried "good-bye" to Harry, whose head got redder in reply, while she flew out of the great hall.
She turned down a hallway as she began her trek around Hogwarts to calm herself down. Her mind wasn't forming coherent thoughts, as her shoes made angry rhythms upon the stone floor.
Suddenly she stopped and turned towards an innocent piece of armor. First she looked at her cloths, no different than every other girl's uniforms. Black Mary Jane's, one inch above the knee black Hogwarts pleated skirt, pin-straight white oxford shirt with a grey fitted sweater over it, the Gryffindor crest stamped upon the breast, along with the red and gold stripped tie knotted neatly at her neck.
Hermione then surveyed her body, running her hands along the curve of her waist to rest on the outward bow of her hips. She wasn't thin, lean, and tall like Lavender, she was short and visibly curvy but she wasn't overweight by any means.
She leaned in closer to look at her face, the wideness of her brown eyes, and curve of her nose, and the bow shape of her lips. She pulled back and gently fingered her hair a scowl appearing on her features. Her golden brown hair was ruined by the fact that her curls were frizzy and unmanageable.
"Merlin Granger, are you that conceited?"
The surprised girl jumped as she spun around to face a smirking Malfoy leaning casually against the wall behind her.
"no.. she said at a loss for words at the sudden appearance.
Malfoy propped himself up walking closer to her, his eyes twinkling with amusement.
"Weasley really should improve his snogging abilities, but I guess that's why he has Brown..right?" the pale boy said watching Hermione's face flood with anger.
"shut up!" she hissed at him, her eyes flashing with gold.
"Fine, I will appease the little Mudblood for today.. he said nonchalantly as he turned and began to make his way down the hall, as anger began to roll off of the Gryffindor girl in waves.
".but just for record, I think Weasley is a fool," and with those final words he disappeared around a corner.
Leaving Hermione both confused and angry, she let out a short scream before stomping down the opposite way towards the library.
Wednesday
The Hogwarts kitchens were always a magnificent sight, gleaming silver pots and pans, glittering white walls and four long wooden tables directly under the real ones in the great hall.
Hermione was usually strongly against going to the kitchens, for her S.P.E.W. values prohibited it. Yet she couldn't bear to sit through another dinner, where she had to be sick by the sucking noises coming from across the table.
So it is here, in the kitchens, that we find young Hermione eating her way through a gallon of chocolate ice-cream, while small house elf's scuttled around her. Her usually pristine uniform was wrinkled, her shirt tale was sticking out, and her tie hung loosely around her neck.
Her hair was down and frizzing like a halo around her head as she slowly dipped her spoon into the ice-cream before pulling it out, she brought the spoon to her face surveying the dripping dairy treat before sticking it in her mouth, the ice-cream had disappeared as she pulled it slowly back out of her mouth.
Suddenly a large blob of..something..landed on Hermione's cheek dripping grossly to land on the wooden table. The dazed girl looked down to see a small mound of rice pudding on the table. Looking up for the culprit she spotted Malfoy a large bowl of rice pudding in front of him at the Slytherin table, his spoon posed for battle.
A look of shock passed over Hermione's face as her brain processed the situation, as it always did, she hadn't even noticed him. Then she picked up her spoon and dipped in the cold ice-cream, and before Malfoy even had a chance to smirk she let it fly across the tables to land right on Draco Malfoy's forehead.
So it began, rice pudding and chocolate ice-cream began to soar through the air covering the spotless kitchen with chocolate and white blobs. The small house elves were scuttling all over the place trying to clean while dodging flying desserts. As suddenly as it started it stopped, both participants breathing heavily their hair matted with sticky food.
"Cheers," and with that Malfoy sauntered out of the kitchens still managing to look suave with chocolate in his hair and running down his clothes.
Hermione huffed angrily and stomped out of the kitchens, muttering a short,
"sorry," to the nearest house elf who fainted in response.
Thursday
The grounds of Hogwarts were beautiful to say the least, rolling hills of green grass, mountains in the distance, the towering trees of the forbidden forest, the black depths of the great lake, and Hagrid's quaint cottage curling smoke upward to complete the picture perfect image.
Hermione was spending her free Thursday afternoon to take a walk around the grounds, already having done her homework for the next two weeks. The day was bright and sunny, the sky was a perfect blue, the grass was a lovely green.
And Hermione hated it, it was all to cliché, to happy, too…perfect. Hermione was a perfectionist, yes, but she didn't like things to be perfect. She liked to be organized and prepared, but sunny happy days made her suspicious…they were too perfect to be real.
As she made her way toward the lake, Hermione looked towards the pitch, where she could see a red-headed figure guarding the three loops, and a dark haired body circling the playing field. Gryffindor was practicing again, and Hermione was left by herself while her best friends risked their lives by riding around on un-stable broom-sticks.
The bored girl wrinkled her nose in disgust; she wasn't a big fan of flying…or heights in general. Finally she came to a large rock jutting out from the ground facing the lake, she crawled upon it, and pulling her jean clad knees to her chest she picked at the toe of her trainers and pulled at the hem of her maroon sweater before staring out into the inky depths of the lake; her soft curls flying around her head.
Her mind began to wander, and she began to stress…the up and coming war, Ron and Lavender, exams…it was all pilling up and Hermione was worried.
"Granger," it was a statement, one that startled the girl out of her thoughts causing her to jump and fall off of her rock.
She looked up into the slightly startled and smirking face of Draco Malfoy, whose face was glowing eerily as his head was blocking the sunlight.
"All right there, Granger?" he asked with a cruel smirk and a sarcastic undertone.
"I'm Fine…Malfoy," she spat standing up to face him, looking up as he towered over
"good Granger, I wouldn't want to get blamed if you got hurt," he said looking down at her his sneer fully visible for her to scowl at.
Suddenly Hermione just…snapped, all of her previous thoughts came rushing back to her and her anger and confusion towards Malfoy it all bundled together in a tight ball in the pit of her stomach and it had just exploded.
"Malfoy, you are an egotistical prat! Nothing I do can help with anything, I hate your ferret face…I can't be perfect all the time! Your stupid smug smirk is infuriating, I want to save everyone but I just can't!" her face was red with anger and streaked with tears.
Malfoy reached out and gripped her upper arms, his lean fingers grabbing the flesh of her arms, surely to leave a hand shaped bruise.
"Granger…your not supposed..to…to…do This! You're supposed to be perfect and in control and…and…good…a good person! So…just…get it together!" he yelled his face confused and slightly red from embarrassment, as he let her go and turned to walk away, only looking back once.
The stressed out girl fell to the ground when he let go of her, as if he was the only thing holding her up. She pulled her knees to her chest as a comfort and began to cry into them, letting out all of her emotions, confusion, anger, and helplessness.
Finally as the sun began dip down under the mountains she got up and made her way back to the castle, walking blankly, it had been a strange afternoon.
Friday
The empty charms class room was dark, only lit by the waning moon filtering in through the windows. Hermione was lying across one of the two person desks staring up at the stone ceiling, as the quiet classroom penetrated her blank thoughts.
Her skirt was hiked up around her thighs as her legs dangled off the side of the table; her stuffy sweater had been discarded and was now being used as a pillow, her tie was loosened and hanging around her neck as the first three buttons of her oxford had been unbuttoned, her arms were behind her head exposing an inch of the smooth skin of her stomach.
Her encounter with Malfoy the day previously had gotten her thinking, and back in control, her day was normal, organized, and structured, nothing out of the ordinary, except Ronald acting especially surly at her brisk and unruffled attitude.
She yawned, and stretched her arms over her head, reveling her belly button before sitting up and swinging her legs to the ground, her body following elegantly and fluidly after.
She left the Charms classroom, for the warmness and comfort of the Gryffindor common room, her silent refuge not sufficing for the relief of a warm fire and a good book.
She didn't notice the silent figure slip out of the classroom shortly after her, although going the opposite way, a flash of platinum blonde and the figure had stlealthily disappeared into the shadows.
Saturday
The astronomy tower was always a good place to be alone, no one ever wanted to make the trek up, yet it was worth it for the view. It was almost as if the stars would come down to meet you, if only you would take the effort to walk up to the astronomy tower stairs.
Hermione was lying in the middle of it, a blanket beneath her as she stared up at the winking lights in the black sky. Her red and gold plaid flannel pajama pants, clashing with an orange "Chudley Cannons" T-shirt she had stolen from Ron, last time she visited at the burrow.
The night was cool and quiet, and the relaxed girl had emptied her mind from everything but the twinkling of the stars.
"Cheers," the familiar sneer didn't affect her this time; she merely nodded her head in the direction of Malfoy whom was leaning coolly against the side of the tower.
"You climb all this way to…look at the stars?" he asked incredulously and a little maliciously
"Yes," she replied shortly, refusing to let herself be affected by his pompous demeanor.
"Is it a…Muggle custom," he spat trying to get her riled up.
"No, many people star gaze, wizards and muggles alike," she said an amused grin pulling at her lips, nothing could ruffle her when she was in such a serene place, not even Malfoy.
"You're not normal Granger, are all Mudbloods like this?" he asked pulling out his final tactic.
"I don't know," she said a hint of annoyance laced in her answer yet still the coolness of indifference.
The frustrated boy let out a low growl before taking a step forward and settling himself on the ground beside her, folding his arms behind his head. They laid like that for hours their elbows touching just staring at the stars, an understood silence around them, as if they were the only people on earth.
"You're…good, Granger," his voice was soft and it surprised Hermione as she took a glance at him, he was still staring upward.
"What do you mean?" she asked slowly
"I've done so much, I'm doing so much, that's not good…and you just are, you represent everything I'm not," he said in a whisper as if he was afraid that someone would hear his confession.
"You don't have to be that way," she said to the sky
"Yes I do," was his short reply and they lapsed back into silence.
Another hour passed in the silence, yet now it was thoughtful instead of blank.
It was nearing three in the morning when Hermione stood up suddenly.
"Where are you going," Draco said also standing quickly, his voice was uncharacteristically worried.
"To bed," she replied bending to pick up her blanket.
"You're good Granger," he stated once more his usually haughty tone coming back.
"So I've been told," she said with a roll of her brown eyes, the statement was beginning to annoy her. As she turned back to him to say good-bye he pulled her to him by the shoulders, tilting his head before pressing his lips to hers.
The kiss was hard and brutal as it was quick; her body shook with rage as well as the unexplainable thrill of danger.
Her cheeks flushed red with anger and her dark brown eyes flashed with gold, as she hid her shaking hands by crossing her arms across her chest.
"What was that for?" she asked harshly as she watched the characteristic smirk boom across his face.
"I wanted to have the feeling of goodness, I thought maybe if I kissed you I could taste it," his answer was sincere yet he still managed to make it sound arrogant.
Her anger began to fade and she said nothing as she took her blanket and disappeared down the tower steps. Draco lay back down on the ground his silver eyes shining in the star light, as his lips pulled up into a rarely seen grin.
Sunday
'Patrols once more,' Hermione thought to herself as she made her way down the same brightly lit passage way as the week before, and once again she saw the familiar swagger of Malfoy come around the corner.
The neared each other in silence only when they were passing each other did Draco speak,
"Hermione," he said his voice almost…pleasant, yet his sneer still laced underneath.
"Draco," she managed to say before they both disappeared around their respective corners on their separate ways.
&&&&&&&&&
That's how it ended; he went on his way, around his corner of darkness and evil, while she went around hers of light and victory. That was all that was said, it was all that needed to be said.
It was the end of a beginning.
A/N: Reviews would be loved, and I will be sure to replie if I can. Hope you enjoyed it.