DISCLAIMER: ***I own NOTHING! All characters, song lyrics, and everything else belong to their respective owners! I just made the storyline!***
CHAPTER ONE
Hermione shoved her trunk onto the storage shelf in the Head's compartment. It was her eighth year at Hogwarts (technically seventh, but Professor McGonagall said they would call it eighth for returning students), and she had been ecstatic to learn that she was chosen as Head Girl. She looked down at the badge pinned to her robes and smiled. She had just boarded the Hogwarts express and was pleased to learn that the heads had a compartment to themselves. Not that she didn't want to be around Harry and Ron: they were her best friends after all. But this year she decided that she wanted a little more time to herself, and being the Head girl gave her just that.
She settled down into her seat and pulled her feet up beside her. The Head Boy still hadn't shown up yet, and she couldn't deny that she was curious as to who had received the position. She glanced up above her to where her luggage was stowed. Actually, she was looking right on top of her luggage, where her guitar case rested.
Yes, Hermione Granger, mudblood extraordinaire, bookworm, and know-it-all owned a guitar. And she played it incredibly well, too. What nobody knew was that Hermione was actually half Hispanic. Her father was Puerto Rican, which was where she got her brown eyes and hair. Her mother was English, with soft blonde hair and hazel eyes. She made it a point not to tell anyone, as pretty much everyone else was full English or Scottish, or some other type of European, and she didn't feel like giving them another reason to taunt her for being different.
She sat silently for a few minutes, wondering when the head boy would show up. Just then the train began to move, and she figured that if he wasn't going to show up, she would enjoy the time with the compartment to herself.
Pulling down the guitar, she removed it from its case and sat on the floor with the guitar in her lap. Her arms and hands settled into the familiar position of playing, and, taking a deep breath, she began to strum as her soft voice floated through the air.
Amarte como te amo es complicado
Pensar como te pienso es un pecado
Mirar como te miro está prohibido
Tocarte como quiero es un delito
Ya no sé qué hacer
Para que estés bien
Si apagar el sol
para encender tu amanecer
Falar en portugués
Aprender hablar francés
O bajar a luna hasta tus pies
Yo solo quiero darte un beso
Y regalarte mis mañanas
Cantar para calmar tus miedos
Quiero que no te falte nada
Just then the compartment door slammed open, and, startled, Hermione looked up to see none other than Draco Malfoy… with a Head Boy badge pinned on his robe.
Draco was NOT in a good mood. He had received the position of Head Boy for his final year, which had initially made him proud, but the moment he'd set foot on the Hogwarts express he'd gotten glares and rumors had begun to spread that he'd taken it from Weaselbee or some other Gryffindor brat. With a scowl stuck on his face, he'd been walking up and down the corridor of the train, growling at students to get in their compartments and stay there.
As the train started to move he'd finally given up and returned to his compartment. Just before he reached it, however, he heard the most beautiful, delicate voice coming from inside, accompanied by a gentle harmony of guitar. He stopped dead a few from the door.
Who IS that? He wondered, leaning closer to hear but far back enough that he wouldn't be seen. Oh merlin, her voice… Wait, is that Spanish? The Head Girl speaks Spanish?
Confused but determined to find out who this girl was, he stepped forward and yanked the door open, letting it slam against the wall. The sight that greeted him, however, was the furthest thing from what he had expected.
"GRANGER?!" He huffed, glaring down at her and, more importantly, the Head Girl badge pinned to her robes. "You've GOT to be kidding me. Whoever decided on the Heads this year obviously did not take into account that I cannot be anywhere near a mudblood like you." He sneered down at her and leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
Hermione, on the other hand, looked more shocked than angry. The mudblood taunt had lost its effectiveness long ago, but the knowledge that she would have to share a compartment, and very soon a dorm with MALFOY made her eyes widen and her heart pound.
Merlin, I'll be dead by dinner… She thought as she took in his flippant arrogance and disdain for her. Sighing, she stood up and began to pack her guitar away, deciding that she would not give him the pleasure of a response. She slipped it back into the overhead storage and turned away from him, settling into a seat in the far corner by the window. Making up her mind to ignore him, she pulled a book out of her bag and began to calmly read.
Draco, on the other hand, was practically livid. How DARE she ignore me?! The filthy little mudblood has no respect for her superiors, just because her side won. I'd teach her a lesson here and now if I knew I wouldn't be caught… He angrily stomped up to her and ripped the book from her hands, throwing it to the floor behind him.
"What gives you the right to ignore me, mudblood? Think you're better than me?" He leaned down until his breath billowed into her face, his eyes narrowed.
Hermione rolled her eyes and shrugged. "It doesn't take much to be better than you. Last I checked, you were still second in our class to—who was it?—oh that's right, me." She smirked up at him as his feature distorted with fury. He quickly stepped back and sat across from her, his expression souring into a pout.
"Bet the only reason is that you bribed the teachers…" He muttered, looking away.
She simply ignored his comment and retrieved her book, settling back into her seat and shifting so that she was sitting with her legs stretched out on the bench. It was going to be a long year.
Halfway through the trip the candy trolley began its rounds, stopping by their compartment first.
"Anything from the trolley, dears?" The trolley witch asked, peeking her head around the edge of the door.
Hermione stood and handed the woman a galleon. "Two chocolate frogs and a box of Bertie Bott's." Returning to her seat, she opened up the Bertie Bott's and began to silently munch as she read. After a moment she glanced up at Malfoy to see that he had dozed off. She took the opportunity to silently study him. He'd begun to gain back some of the muscle that he'd lost during the war, but his face was still slightly gaunt and his eyes were rimmed with dark circles. He looked like he hadn't slept in days.
She frowned. I thought everyone would start to get better, now that the war is over… What's going on with Malfoy? Confused, she let her mind fall silent as she took in his appearance again. She didn't like just how unsettled and tired he looked. He may be Malfoy, but he's still a person. He's just a kid, like the rest of us.
Making up her mind to be more kind to him, she turned back to her sweets. She picked up one of the chocolate frogs and reached across the compartment to set it beside him. She brushed his leg on accident as she started to pull her hand back, and in a flash of movement Draco's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, squeezing so tightly it hurt. His eyes burst open wide, turning to glare at her as he bared his teeth.
"Don't EVER touch me, mudblood." He whispered, glaring at her shocked face. He abruptly shoved her hand away. "Why are you even this close to me? Not getting enough action from Weaselbee and Scarhead?" He smirked and leaned back, putting his hands behind his head.
She grimaced in pain as his hand released her, quickly pulling her arm back and rubbing her wrist where it had turned red from his grip. She glared back at him.
"First of all, Harry and Ron are my friends, NOTHING MORE. And secondly, I would never touch you for all the money in the world. You're too repulsive to even think of. I can't believe I even tried to be nice to you." She huffed and turned away, sitting sideways in her seat so she wouldn't have to look at him.
Draco frowned. "You, nice to me? When have you or your little band of Gryffindorks EVER been nice to someone outside your little clique? You're all a bunch of hypocrites, preaching love and acceptance when all you ever do is hate people who don't agree with you." He spat the words at her with such vehemence that she was taken aback for a moment. But her shocked quickly turned to anger at his insinuation.
She pointed beside him to where the chocolate frog she'd given him lay. "Maybe you should take a minute to look around and see the whole situation before you make stupid assumptions again." Turning back to her book, she cast a muffliato on her bench so she wouldn't have to listen to his tirades anymore.
Draco glared at her before turning to look at where she'd pointed, and then froze. She'd given him one of the chocolate frogs. He looked back at her just as she muttered a muffliato, blocking him out. Confusion bubbled up within him. Why is Granger actually being nice? I hate her, and here she is giving me sweets… Shaking his head, he turned sideways as well so he wouldn't have to look at her again.
