Summary: Cormac needed a girl who was different, interesting. She was perfect. A different take on Cormac McLaggen. AU set during HBP. Cormac/Hermione
The inspiration: I feel this story needs a little explanation. It's not my norm, at least I don't think it is, but I need to write it down, especially with the release of the Half Blood Prince Movie looming…if I don't start it now, I never will.
Half Blood Prince wasn't my favourite book. I enjoyed it nonetheless. My best friend agreed, but one obsession with the book she didn't understand: Cormac McLaggen.
Cormac, to me, was great. His attitude, his characterisation his…everything, suddenly came to life for me. I'm not sure why, but the character just jumped out at me. He barely appeared, and disappeared very quickly, and that struck me. I seemed to be the only person who noticed him with more than passing acknowledgement.
I began to search the internet for mentions of him. He came up a couple of times in passing. Several threads paired him off with Lavender Brown, a ship that seemed reasonable, when examined, but which I detested immediately…I didn't like Lavender.
I searched fanfiction websites for mentions of his name. He appeared a couple of times in one role: he was the villain in several Ron/Hermione fanfics.
I became aware very quickly that I was very much alone in my belief that Cormac was not bad. Not good, necessarily, but not bad either. I reread HBP and noticed how he was portrayed as the bad guy, especially for kissing, or attempting to kiss, Hermione. This wasn't right. Surely it was Hermione who had used him, not the other way around.
This is my take on Cormac McLaggen: I want to make more of him, to make others notice him, to love him as much as I did…to see him as more than a base villain. This is Cormac as I see him.
I want to release this before the HBP movie for one specific reason: I've seen a photo of the guy who's playing Cormac, and I want to show I love him before the fangirls get there.
Disclaimer: Do I look like I own Harry Potter?
Someone Different
by Hannah-Errie
Prologue
Cormac McLaggen was bored. Really bored. It was too late to go to bed…or too early to go to bed, depending on which way you looked at it. He'd been doing some late night Quidditch practice. He figured he needed to practice, what with him working for a place on the Gryffindor team. He'd then been on a spontaneous midnight stroll round the castle. By the time he had returned to Gryffindor tower and completed his homework, the prospect of getting any sleep had been slim, so he'd decided to stay in the common room. He had briefly considered going to find Marianne; his girlfriend, to see what she could do to entertain him, but had given up even before setting out. He was bored of her too.
He got bored of all his girlfriends eventually.
They just weren't…interesting enough, that was the word. They were all the same. All simpering and clingy and full of admiration. Not that he minded. He liked the admiration and the praise. He didn't mind the clinging all that much either. No, they were just missing something.
What Cormac wanted was a girl who, well, wowed him. He'd thought at first that getting a prettier girlfriend would do the trick, but Marianne was defiantly one of the most attractive girls he'd ever dated, and he'd gotten sick of her quicker than he ever had before.
"Is it too much to ask", Cormac considered bitterly, "for a girl I can appreciate, rather than the other way around?"
No, what Cormac needed wasn't a pretty girl, it was a different girl. Maybe a girl who was interested in Quidditch? Now a Quidditch player would make an interesting girlfriend. To share an interest with a girl would be a welcome revelation. She'd probably not complain when he went to practice too, like Marianne did…constantly.
"Or", he pondered, "I could try to win a really intelligent girl. I bet a girl like that would be able to make me laugh. She might even appreciate me for more than my looks and skills as a Keeper. I need a girl like…a girl like…"
"McLaggen," a harsh voice rang out, cutting through his train of thoughts. "Is my book bag under that chair, I seem to remember leaving it there earlier?"
Hermione Granger stood over him. She was dressed immaculately, her uniform perfect to every regulation. Her bushy hair bounced against her shoulders if she moved her head. Her polished prefect badge shone radiantly on her chest.
And to complete the picture, she was scowling with her hands on her hips. She was clearly not in a good mood.
"Morning," he said; suddenly he was much more awake than he would normally be. He wasn't normally awake at six in the morning, unless there was Quidditch involved. Hermione, however seemed unaware of just how early she was up. She looked as fresh as a daisy. A very impatient daisy.
"Book bag?" Cormac questioned, bending down to run his hands under the chair. He felt the bag in question, but pushed it further under the armchair, well out of sight. He needed time to arrange his jumbled thoughts. "No there's no book bag here. Are you sure you left it in the common room?"
The scowl on her face grew more prominent. Cormac's stomach was doing flip-flops. When had Hermione Granger become so perfect? Oh, what an amazing coincidence that she of all people had interrupted his musings.
Cormac needed someone different, someone not normal, and Hermione fit that bill. In a room full of girls she stuck out like a soar thumb. She wasn't into makeup or clothes, and didn't squeal at the mention of boys or celebrities. Cormac needed someone interesting, and how much more interesting did they become? Her life in the wizarding world had been fraught with danger and adventure, and Cormac was under no illusion that if he were by her side, his would be too. As for intelligent, you couldn't find someone more so than Hermione.
The little voice at the back of his head piped in then, adding it's own reasoning to Cormac's already confused ramblings. "She's pretty too," crooned the voice. "It wouldn't hurt your chances of getting on the Quidditch team if you get on the good side of Potter's best friend, either." He knew he listened to that voice far more often than he should, but the voice was right. Hermione was pretty in a very discrete way, although he hadn't really noticed up until now. He'd be careful not to mention the Quidditch thing to her, though.
"Of course I'm sure," she insisted, irritated. "I distinctly remember leaving it under that chair. Are you sure it isn't there?"
"One hundred percent positive," he replied, straightening up, before getting to his feet. He towered over her. "Would you like me to help you look for it?" he asked politely.
"No thank you," she replied haughtily. She stalked angrily to the portrait hole. Cormac decided not to stop her: everyone knew not to get in Hermione's way when she was in a bad mood.
Despite her well known temper, Cormac was sure he'd found her; the perfect girl, the perfect challenge. Hermione would be a challenge to concur, a challenge to please, but a welcome challenge. More than welcome. Cormac McLaggen made up his mind in the common room, there and then, that Hermione Granger was the girl he'd been searching for.
But he would let her cool off before he put his master plan into action.
He should probably come up with said master plan first too.
Hermione Granger was mad. Really mad. She'd gone to bed angry, and woken up worse. The current situation wasn't helping her temper at all, either. She'd lost her book bag. She was trying to rummage through her trunk in mass panic quietly so as not to wake up dear Lavender. Oh, now she was really mad; her subconscious was being sarcastic.
"Stop, Hermione," she muttered to herself. "Think. You stormed out of the common room last night when Ron and Lavender started…no, don't think about that! You stormed out of the common room, and left your bag under your chair. So just go down and get it. Simple."
She took a few deep, calming breaths and headed for the stairs.
She hadn't expected anyone to be in the common room this early, and if she had found someone she would have put money on the fact that they would be sleeping, having fallen asleep last night whilst doing homework.
Cormac McLaggen, however, was in the common room and was wide awake, although he didn't seem to notice her come in. She wouldn't have minded, only she was convinced he was sitting in the chair she'd left her bag under. Dealing with an arrogant fool first thing in the morning was just what she needed.
Fortune was looking down on her and laughing.
She made her presence known, and in no uncertain terms made it clear to him why she was there. He must have been half asleep, she observed, because he offered to help her look for her bag. She declined, and decided to head for breakfast. She could easily eat and be out of the dinning hall by the time Ron arrived. Not that she was avoiding him...and even if she was, it had nothing to do with Lavender. Nothing at all.
Authors Notes: I'd really appreciate knowing what you think of this! I'd love to continue it, but to justify the effort I think I need readers…regardless, I've got the first 5 chapters typed up already, so I need some reviews to motivate me to get them up here!
Review!
