Chapter One: Meeting
Draco Malfoy walked down the halls between the compartments of the Hogwarts Express looking for a seat or at least an empty compartment so he could get away from Pansy Parkinson. All the compartments were filled to the bursting point with students. He was about to turn around when he saw that there was one more compartment that he hadn't checked. Slowly he walked up to the door hoping that it was empty or that there was room for him. He opened the door and saw that, thank god, it was empty except for one girl that sat in the corner with her legs crossed up on the seat. She looked familiar but he just couldn't place who she was. Her hair was black, red, and blue, and put into a braid with some hair left hanging on either side of her face framing it perfectly. She had a lot of pricings that covered both ears and one eyebrow and her nose. She stared blackly out the window at the blackened sky as rain came down hard on the train.
"Do you mind if I join you?" Draco asked suddenly startling the girl so that she turned to face in with a look of surprise on her face. Draco recognized the girl at once when she looked at him. Those chocolate brown eyes gave her away right away.
"Hermione?" He asked stepping into the compartment but leaving the door open so if she wanted him to leave he would. The girl nodded and watched him with those wide staring eyes. Draco gave her a very small smile as she watched him.
"Yeah, you can join me here. It doesn't matter, just as long as you don't have anyone else coming." Hermione said her gaze burning into Draco's body. Draco nodded and shut the door walking over to the window seat across from her. He was about to sit down when a loud meow stopped him. He straightened and looked down to see a black and white cat lying curled up on the seat.
"Oh, sorry about her. You can sit there hold on." Hermione said in a dead voice that scared Draco a little. "Discord, come here sweetie." Hermione continued calling over the small cat and patting the seat next to her. The cat rose quickly and jumped off the seat and ran over to Hermione jumping into the seat next to her, curling up into a ball and soon falling asleep.
"Umm. what happened to your other cat...what was his name...Crookshanks was it?" Draco asked sitting down eyeing the small cat who now sat next to Hermione. Hermione looked at the ground and Draco gave a small sigh of relief that her piercing eyes weren't upon him anymore.
"He died two years ago over the summer. He got out and got hit by a car." Hermione said softly. "But, then I found Discord here at the same store in Diagon Ally where I got Crookshanks. As soon as I saw Discord I knew he was going to be a very special cat to me. He turned out to be my familiar." Hermione said looking back up at Draco but spoke in the same soft voice. Draco was a little scared at how Hermione was acting towards him. She seemed almost friendly like she hadn't seen another human being for ages. There was something about Hermione's eyes that memorized Draco. Her eyes held a coldness that was piercing; it made her seem like a female version of him if only she could get his attitude. Draco noticed that she was clad in all black; her light makeup was black. From head to toe was black even her nails were painted black. Draco also noticed that the boots that she was wearing, which were sitting on the floor, had a pentagram printed on top of where the toes would go. Hermione had her black socks rolled down so that they didn't cover her heal but just clung on to the middle of her foot. There was a tattoo on her ankle of a pentagram with the eight phases of the moon around it. 'Wonder what happened to make her change so drastically.' Draco thought looking her up and down before meeting her eyes again.
"What happened to me is none of your concern." Hermione said suddenly her eyes' star intensifying making Draco flinch slightly and shift uncomfortable under her gaze. Draco diverted his gaze to look out the window even though there was really nothing to look at. He felt her gaze look away from him and heard her get up. He looked over to see what she was doing and saw that she was retrieving a bag from above her and pulling out black leather notebook book an a black quill with a ink bottle with a reddish substance init.
"I'm sorry." Hermione said suddenly in her same dead voice as she turned around to sit again. "I'm sorry for of what has happened in the past. I never really hated you, you know. I just disliked you for all your comments about me being a mudblood." Hermione continued in the dead voice that scared Draco a little. Draco was taken aback by this statement and was left speechless. Hermione had just apologized to him for the past, he was the one who SHOULD be apologized not HER.
"Ok but, Hermione I'm the one who should apologize not you. I'm the one who tormented you all these years." Draco said countering her staring at her in disbelief. A small trace of a smile crossed her lips.
"Yes, you are the one who should apologize but, Draco; there are things that you do not know that I have said that I am apologizing for." Hermione said a small trace of amusement was detected in her dead voice that made Draco smile slightly at her just like she did to him. Draco sat back in his seat and closed his eyes.
"I wouldn't close your eyes in my presence if I were you." Hermione told him opening her book to an empty page and dipping her quill into her ink pot and casting a small no dripping spell on her quill. She held it ready over the paper as she looked up at him to see his reaction. Draco opened his eyes confused and looked over at his companion.
"What do you mean?" He asked very, very confused at her statement.
"I mean that you should close your eyes in my presence. It won't be pleasant if you do. Last person who did woke screaming bloody murder and hasn't slept since. I've heard that she has been trying to commit suicide ever since I left." Hermione said amusement lingering in her voice as she remembered that day. Draco opened his eyes wide at her and stared at her for a while. Hermione seemed to not notice as she looked down and began to write in neat script with the black red ink. Hermione closed her eyes after a moment but continued to write in a straight line across the lines on the page. She then took in a deep breath and released it slowly. The lights began to flicker and went out for a few minutes before coming back on. Hermione was still writing but now her eyes were open and were covered over in a black fog, her lips were moving mouthing unheard words. Hermione closed her eyes for a second time and stopped mouthing out words. A second later she opened her eyes and they were back to normal. She then looked back down and read over what was written. She smiled a sad smile and wrote one last thing blew on the ink to dry and closed the book.
"What just happened?" Draco asked a little scared at what just happened. Draco Malfoy never scared easily but this really did scare him.
"Nothing of your concern Draco." She said softly and gently as if talking to someone dear to her. The deadness in her voice had died away and it was just a gentle soft soothing voice now. Hermione looked down not wanting to look into his eyes anymore and reached over and stroked the small cat that was lying next to her unnoticed. At that moment the door burst open and Harry and Ron came through. Hermione looked up at the sudden loud noise and let out a small sound of disgust that was unheard by Harry and Ron.
"There you are Hermione we were looking every where for you." Harry said stepping foreword as if he wanted to pull her close to him. Hermione stepped back and mumbled a 'don't touch me' before he could lay a hand on her. Harry noticed Draco sitting across from Hermione who was now standing.
"Was Malferret here bothering you 'Mione?" Harry asked glaring at Draco.
"No, he was being very kind to me, unlike some people I know." Hermione said stepping in front of Draco so that he was blocked from view.
"Kind? Malfoy? The ferret king? Kind to you? I doubt it, why would Malfoy here be kind to you." Ron asked stepping forward from behind Harry making himself known. Hermione rolled her eyes at him and looked over at Harry.
"So it took you almost an hour to realize I was gone. Then about another hour to come find me. I feel oh so loved right now." Hermione said sarcastically putting her hands on her hips. Harry didn't answer her but was eyeing the think sweat shirt that she was wearing.
"Aren't you hot with that on?" Harry asked unconsciously licking his lips. Hermione made another sound of disgust.
"You're sick you really are. And no I'm not hot I'm perfectly fine." Hermione said annoyed at Harry. Ron was now eyeing Hermione sweat shirt as well, a stupid smirk crossing his lips.
"But you look like you're hot." Ron persisted catching on to what Harry was trying to do. Draco who sat unnoticed stood now as Hermione glanced back at him for some help. Hermione sighed and coked a hip to one side. She then turned her head to one side and leaned back so that her body was resting against Draco's. A small smirk crossed her lips as her hands made there way around Draco's neck back words.
"Sorry boys, but sadly I'm taken." Hermione said Draco quickly caught on and wrapped his arms around her waist and rested the side of his head along the side of her head and gently placed a kiss on her exposed neck. Harry and Ron's mouths dropped to the floor when they saw this. It wasn't true that Hermione and Draco were together but then again Harry and Ron didn't know that.
"You sick ass hole. How dare you take Hermione away from us?" Ron cried lunging forward pulling Hermione away from Draco with such force that she stumbled forward into Harry's arms. Harry held her close to him and attempted to kiss her when she kneed him in the groin.
"Don't you dare touch me! I have a life and a boy friend so just sod off why don't you!" Hermione yelled backing away as soon as he let go of her. Ron rushed forward to help Harry, but not before punching Draco in the nose. Hermione stumbled back into her pretend boyfriends arms as anger towards Harry and Ron came to its bursting point.
"You two ever touch me again and I will cut off your shaft and make you eat it!" Hermione growled at them angrily. Ron seemed scared and started to back away towards the door. Harry on the other hand seemed unphazed by her statement, shrugged and exited the compartment. Hermione's shoulders dropped and she lost the anger in her eyes once the two had left. She turned around to look at Draco when she realized how close they were standing.
"You're bleeding." Hermione stated noting the blood trickling down from his nose. Draco shrugged and Hermione stepped back and fetched her black hankie from her bag. When she turned around Draco was sitting in his seat tenderly touching his nose trying to see what damage had been done. Hermione kneeled in front of him and expertly started to dab away the blood and tried getting it to stop bleeding with out inflicting anymore pain upon his nose. She then retrieved her wand and started to perform some medi-witch spells to fix his nose. When Hermione had wiped away the last of the blood she noticed how and where she was kneeling. She was in-between Draco's legs with a hand on his knee dabbing away blood from his nose. If anyone where to walk in on that moment they would most likely get the wrong idea.
"Thanks. How did you know those healing spells?" Draco asked when Hermione had finished, gotten up, and cleaned her hankie.
"I know things. Unlike some people I study way too much." Hermione replied all anger at this point had drained from her voice and the deadness had come back. Draco laughed at her statement and Hermione stuck her tong out at him childishly revealing a surgical steal barbell going through her tong. Draco raised an eyebrow when he saw that.
"Didn't that hurt?" He asked when Hermione sat down.
"Only for a second but then it feels sort of like when you bite down on your tong hard." Hermione answered tapping her tong piercing against her teeth.
"Don't you just love the rain?" Hermione asked suddenly after the silence that had closed around them for a while. Draco looked up from the book he was reading and stared at her a moment before answering.
"I never really thought about the rain. But, when I was little, before I started Hogwarts, I used to run out side and play in the rain for hours on end. Father always got mad at me because I always ruined my cloths with the mud." Draco said smiling slightly at the memory. Hermione gave him an empty smile in return her eyes slightly misted over with grey smoke. She stared at him for a few minutes with unblinking eyes before she looked down sadly with a small frown on her face.
"I'm sorry about your mother. I came see how much you must have loved her. It's hard loosing someone you love; I know what it's like." Hermione said quietly reaching over and scratching the small cat still slept next to her. She fingered the black leather collar before looking up again. Draco was looking at her strangely his breath coming heavily. How could Hermione have known about his mother? His mother's death wasn't in the Daily Profit or anything like that.
"How did you know about my mother's death?" Draco asked his voice shaky remembering the note he found on his desk from his mother saying goodbye the day her body was found.
"I know it's hard for you. and. I know you're not going to believe me when I tell you how I know. But you must believe that she would have never have left you with out a reason." Hermione said softly a small amount of sorrow was found in her dead voice. "I'm different from most witches and wizards. I'm not a seer so I don't make predictions like they do. Yet, I know things before they happen. I know things that happen to others when they open their mind to open thought. Let's just say I'm very different from the Hermione Granger you used to know." Hermione explained turning to look out the window. Hermione let out a sigh as her watch started to beep. She then stood and walked towards the door.
"Time for the prefect meeting. C'mon or we'll be late and Harry will probably send out a search party for me." Hermione said sarcastically waiting by the door for Draco to join her. Draco stood and walked over to her smirking at her sarcasm. Hermione smirked as well and took his hand, for effect at what happened when Harry and Ron were there, and they both exited the compartment.
Draco Malfoy walked down the halls between the compartments of the Hogwarts Express looking for a seat or at least an empty compartment so he could get away from Pansy Parkinson. All the compartments were filled to the bursting point with students. He was about to turn around when he saw that there was one more compartment that he hadn't checked. Slowly he walked up to the door hoping that it was empty or that there was room for him. He opened the door and saw that, thank god, it was empty except for one girl that sat in the corner with her legs crossed up on the seat. She looked familiar but he just couldn't place who she was. Her hair was black, red, and blue, and put into a braid with some hair left hanging on either side of her face framing it perfectly. She had a lot of pricings that covered both ears and one eyebrow and her nose. She stared blackly out the window at the blackened sky as rain came down hard on the train.
"Do you mind if I join you?" Draco asked suddenly startling the girl so that she turned to face in with a look of surprise on her face. Draco recognized the girl at once when she looked at him. Those chocolate brown eyes gave her away right away.
"Hermione?" He asked stepping into the compartment but leaving the door open so if she wanted him to leave he would. The girl nodded and watched him with those wide staring eyes. Draco gave her a very small smile as she watched him.
"Yeah, you can join me here. It doesn't matter, just as long as you don't have anyone else coming." Hermione said her gaze burning into Draco's body. Draco nodded and shut the door walking over to the window seat across from her. He was about to sit down when a loud meow stopped him. He straightened and looked down to see a black and white cat lying curled up on the seat.
"Oh, sorry about her. You can sit there hold on." Hermione said in a dead voice that scared Draco a little. "Discord, come here sweetie." Hermione continued calling over the small cat and patting the seat next to her. The cat rose quickly and jumped off the seat and ran over to Hermione jumping into the seat next to her, curling up into a ball and soon falling asleep.
"Umm. what happened to your other cat...what was his name...Crookshanks was it?" Draco asked sitting down eyeing the small cat who now sat next to Hermione. Hermione looked at the ground and Draco gave a small sigh of relief that her piercing eyes weren't upon him anymore.
"He died two years ago over the summer. He got out and got hit by a car." Hermione said softly. "But, then I found Discord here at the same store in Diagon Ally where I got Crookshanks. As soon as I saw Discord I knew he was going to be a very special cat to me. He turned out to be my familiar." Hermione said looking back up at Draco but spoke in the same soft voice. Draco was a little scared at how Hermione was acting towards him. She seemed almost friendly like she hadn't seen another human being for ages. There was something about Hermione's eyes that memorized Draco. Her eyes held a coldness that was piercing; it made her seem like a female version of him if only she could get his attitude. Draco noticed that she was clad in all black; her light makeup was black. From head to toe was black even her nails were painted black. Draco also noticed that the boots that she was wearing, which were sitting on the floor, had a pentagram printed on top of where the toes would go. Hermione had her black socks rolled down so that they didn't cover her heal but just clung on to the middle of her foot. There was a tattoo on her ankle of a pentagram with the eight phases of the moon around it. 'Wonder what happened to make her change so drastically.' Draco thought looking her up and down before meeting her eyes again.
"What happened to me is none of your concern." Hermione said suddenly her eyes' star intensifying making Draco flinch slightly and shift uncomfortable under her gaze. Draco diverted his gaze to look out the window even though there was really nothing to look at. He felt her gaze look away from him and heard her get up. He looked over to see what she was doing and saw that she was retrieving a bag from above her and pulling out black leather notebook book an a black quill with a ink bottle with a reddish substance init.
"I'm sorry." Hermione said suddenly in her same dead voice as she turned around to sit again. "I'm sorry for of what has happened in the past. I never really hated you, you know. I just disliked you for all your comments about me being a mudblood." Hermione continued in the dead voice that scared Draco a little. Draco was taken aback by this statement and was left speechless. Hermione had just apologized to him for the past, he was the one who SHOULD be apologized not HER.
"Ok but, Hermione I'm the one who should apologize not you. I'm the one who tormented you all these years." Draco said countering her staring at her in disbelief. A small trace of a smile crossed her lips.
"Yes, you are the one who should apologize but, Draco; there are things that you do not know that I have said that I am apologizing for." Hermione said a small trace of amusement was detected in her dead voice that made Draco smile slightly at her just like she did to him. Draco sat back in his seat and closed his eyes.
"I wouldn't close your eyes in my presence if I were you." Hermione told him opening her book to an empty page and dipping her quill into her ink pot and casting a small no dripping spell on her quill. She held it ready over the paper as she looked up at him to see his reaction. Draco opened his eyes confused and looked over at his companion.
"What do you mean?" He asked very, very confused at her statement.
"I mean that you should close your eyes in my presence. It won't be pleasant if you do. Last person who did woke screaming bloody murder and hasn't slept since. I've heard that she has been trying to commit suicide ever since I left." Hermione said amusement lingering in her voice as she remembered that day. Draco opened his eyes wide at her and stared at her for a while. Hermione seemed to not notice as she looked down and began to write in neat script with the black red ink. Hermione closed her eyes after a moment but continued to write in a straight line across the lines on the page. She then took in a deep breath and released it slowly. The lights began to flicker and went out for a few minutes before coming back on. Hermione was still writing but now her eyes were open and were covered over in a black fog, her lips were moving mouthing unheard words. Hermione closed her eyes for a second time and stopped mouthing out words. A second later she opened her eyes and they were back to normal. She then looked back down and read over what was written. She smiled a sad smile and wrote one last thing blew on the ink to dry and closed the book.
"What just happened?" Draco asked a little scared at what just happened. Draco Malfoy never scared easily but this really did scare him.
"Nothing of your concern Draco." She said softly and gently as if talking to someone dear to her. The deadness in her voice had died away and it was just a gentle soft soothing voice now. Hermione looked down not wanting to look into his eyes anymore and reached over and stroked the small cat that was lying next to her unnoticed. At that moment the door burst open and Harry and Ron came through. Hermione looked up at the sudden loud noise and let out a small sound of disgust that was unheard by Harry and Ron.
"There you are Hermione we were looking every where for you." Harry said stepping foreword as if he wanted to pull her close to him. Hermione stepped back and mumbled a 'don't touch me' before he could lay a hand on her. Harry noticed Draco sitting across from Hermione who was now standing.
"Was Malferret here bothering you 'Mione?" Harry asked glaring at Draco.
"No, he was being very kind to me, unlike some people I know." Hermione said stepping in front of Draco so that he was blocked from view.
"Kind? Malfoy? The ferret king? Kind to you? I doubt it, why would Malfoy here be kind to you." Ron asked stepping forward from behind Harry making himself known. Hermione rolled her eyes at him and looked over at Harry.
"So it took you almost an hour to realize I was gone. Then about another hour to come find me. I feel oh so loved right now." Hermione said sarcastically putting her hands on her hips. Harry didn't answer her but was eyeing the think sweat shirt that she was wearing.
"Aren't you hot with that on?" Harry asked unconsciously licking his lips. Hermione made another sound of disgust.
"You're sick you really are. And no I'm not hot I'm perfectly fine." Hermione said annoyed at Harry. Ron was now eyeing Hermione sweat shirt as well, a stupid smirk crossing his lips.
"But you look like you're hot." Ron persisted catching on to what Harry was trying to do. Draco who sat unnoticed stood now as Hermione glanced back at him for some help. Hermione sighed and coked a hip to one side. She then turned her head to one side and leaned back so that her body was resting against Draco's. A small smirk crossed her lips as her hands made there way around Draco's neck back words.
"Sorry boys, but sadly I'm taken." Hermione said Draco quickly caught on and wrapped his arms around her waist and rested the side of his head along the side of her head and gently placed a kiss on her exposed neck. Harry and Ron's mouths dropped to the floor when they saw this. It wasn't true that Hermione and Draco were together but then again Harry and Ron didn't know that.
"You sick ass hole. How dare you take Hermione away from us?" Ron cried lunging forward pulling Hermione away from Draco with such force that she stumbled forward into Harry's arms. Harry held her close to him and attempted to kiss her when she kneed him in the groin.
"Don't you dare touch me! I have a life and a boy friend so just sod off why don't you!" Hermione yelled backing away as soon as he let go of her. Ron rushed forward to help Harry, but not before punching Draco in the nose. Hermione stumbled back into her pretend boyfriends arms as anger towards Harry and Ron came to its bursting point.
"You two ever touch me again and I will cut off your shaft and make you eat it!" Hermione growled at them angrily. Ron seemed scared and started to back away towards the door. Harry on the other hand seemed unphazed by her statement, shrugged and exited the compartment. Hermione's shoulders dropped and she lost the anger in her eyes once the two had left. She turned around to look at Draco when she realized how close they were standing.
"You're bleeding." Hermione stated noting the blood trickling down from his nose. Draco shrugged and Hermione stepped back and fetched her black hankie from her bag. When she turned around Draco was sitting in his seat tenderly touching his nose trying to see what damage had been done. Hermione kneeled in front of him and expertly started to dab away the blood and tried getting it to stop bleeding with out inflicting anymore pain upon his nose. She then retrieved her wand and started to perform some medi-witch spells to fix his nose. When Hermione had wiped away the last of the blood she noticed how and where she was kneeling. She was in-between Draco's legs with a hand on his knee dabbing away blood from his nose. If anyone where to walk in on that moment they would most likely get the wrong idea.
"Thanks. How did you know those healing spells?" Draco asked when Hermione had finished, gotten up, and cleaned her hankie.
"I know things. Unlike some people I study way too much." Hermione replied all anger at this point had drained from her voice and the deadness had come back. Draco laughed at her statement and Hermione stuck her tong out at him childishly revealing a surgical steal barbell going through her tong. Draco raised an eyebrow when he saw that.
"Didn't that hurt?" He asked when Hermione sat down.
"Only for a second but then it feels sort of like when you bite down on your tong hard." Hermione answered tapping her tong piercing against her teeth.
"Don't you just love the rain?" Hermione asked suddenly after the silence that had closed around them for a while. Draco looked up from the book he was reading and stared at her a moment before answering.
"I never really thought about the rain. But, when I was little, before I started Hogwarts, I used to run out side and play in the rain for hours on end. Father always got mad at me because I always ruined my cloths with the mud." Draco said smiling slightly at the memory. Hermione gave him an empty smile in return her eyes slightly misted over with grey smoke. She stared at him for a few minutes with unblinking eyes before she looked down sadly with a small frown on her face.
"I'm sorry about your mother. I came see how much you must have loved her. It's hard loosing someone you love; I know what it's like." Hermione said quietly reaching over and scratching the small cat still slept next to her. She fingered the black leather collar before looking up again. Draco was looking at her strangely his breath coming heavily. How could Hermione have known about his mother? His mother's death wasn't in the Daily Profit or anything like that.
"How did you know about my mother's death?" Draco asked his voice shaky remembering the note he found on his desk from his mother saying goodbye the day her body was found.
"I know it's hard for you. and. I know you're not going to believe me when I tell you how I know. But you must believe that she would have never have left you with out a reason." Hermione said softly a small amount of sorrow was found in her dead voice. "I'm different from most witches and wizards. I'm not a seer so I don't make predictions like they do. Yet, I know things before they happen. I know things that happen to others when they open their mind to open thought. Let's just say I'm very different from the Hermione Granger you used to know." Hermione explained turning to look out the window. Hermione let out a sigh as her watch started to beep. She then stood and walked towards the door.
"Time for the prefect meeting. C'mon or we'll be late and Harry will probably send out a search party for me." Hermione said sarcastically waiting by the door for Draco to join her. Draco stood and walked over to her smirking at her sarcasm. Hermione smirked as well and took his hand, for effect at what happened when Harry and Ron were there, and they both exited the compartment.