DRAMIONE FANFICTION
HERMIONE POV
CHAPTER 1
I got onto Platform 9 ¾ and immediately boarded the Hogwarts Express. I went to go find Harry and the others to say hello before I had to go sit in the Heads compartment. I haven't seen them all summer because of my job as an intern at Teen Vogue, a muggle magazine. It was 7th year, and I have definitely grown up. My hair, while still bushy, wasn't as obnoxious as it once was, and with the help of a muggle hair straightener, it fell in waves down my back. Ever since Madam Pomfrey had unknowingly fixed my teeth, I've been much more confident in myself. Never again would I be called "buck-toothed". My internship at Teen Vogue also caused a bit of a wardrobe change. They wasn't as revealing as Lavender's, but they had gotten more stylish, including skinny jeans, combat boots, Marvel and Disney themed shirts, and so on. Today I am wearing skinny jeans and an oversized sweater that said Star Laboratories on it, with navy converse. I walked down the corridor and looked in the first compartment I saw. Blaise Zabini, tall and olive skinned with green eyes, was standing in the middle of the spacious area, talking dramatically with his arms spread out. As I leaned farther into the room, I could see that Zabini was talking to Theodore Nott, Pansy Parkinson, and Draco Malfoy, the ferret himself. I could see Pansy trying to get Malfoy's attention, and Malfoy repeatedly ignoring her. I tried to leave the doorway as inconspicuously as possible.
"Hey Granger!" Damn. I turned back to see Malfoy giving her his trademark smirk. I just raised a painfully plucked eyebrow.
"Yes ferret?" I could see Zabini grin and give her a thumbs up from the corner of my eye. I smiled slightly in his direction. Zabini was always the nicest Slytherin.
His grin was a bit like the Cheshire Cat's as he said, "Someone needs to take him off his high horse. He should've known you'd be the one to do it." Malfoy's face was a replica of pure bewilderment, but I had a feeling that this was what they were talking about before they had called her in. Then suddenly Zabini started laughing. Hard. As he was rolling around on the floor with everyone staring at him, I looked up at Malfoy and saw him look up at me at the same time. Before he could do anything, I smirked at him and left. Well that was…interesting. As I continued walking down the corridor, I got the courage to peek into a compartment. Harry, Ron, Ginny and a new girl were sitting and chatting animatedly. Ginny saw her in the doorway first. "Hermione!" she shrieked. "You're here! Meet Aria! She went to Durmstrang the past years, so she still needs to get sorted. She's an obvious Gryff though." The new girl looked up at me and smiled nervously. I smiled back.
"Nice to meet you," I said kindly. Aria was an attractive girl. She had dark brown hair and a tanned complexion with startlingly green eyes. Eyes just like…
"Hermione, Aria is my cousin," said Harry.
CHAPTER 2
"W-w-what?" I stuttered.
"Yeah" Harry grinned and pulled in Aria for a tight hug. "She's a 7th year too! Her parents were killed by Voldemort last year, so she's been staying with her only living relatives- the Dursleys."
"That's wonderful Harry! I'm so happy for both of you to have family again, and I'm so sorry you had to endure those awful muggles." The last part was said to Aria. Aria smiled. "She really was very pretty" I thought. Suddenly the door burst open, and the platinum blond ferret made his grand entrance. Alone. He looked a bit exposed now that he didn't have his cronies surrounding him.
"I heard that Potter had some new family show up." He looked around and spotted Aria sitting next to Harry. "Oh and it must be you. I'm Draco Malfoy. I expect you're a mudblood too then?" Aria's eyes flashed threateningly, but her face showed no emotion.
"I expect you're a death eater too then?" Malfoy's face contorted and he stepped closer to Aria. She, to her credit, did not move back an inch.
"I am not a death eater, nor will I ever be" he said venomously. He stalked out angrily. The silence in the compartment was tangible. Finally, I broke it.
"I should probably go to the Heads compartment now," I said awkwardly. Harry was the first to respond.
"Oh right 'Mione! You're a Head this year! Who do you think the other Head will be?"
"Probably Malfoy. Dumbledore is doing the inter-house unity thing this year remember?" And so he was. Despite the fact that most of the death eaters in Voldemort's inner circle were in Azkaban (including Lucius Malfoy, the Zabinis, and the Parkinsons), the war with Voldemort was still looming closer. In the letter sent to the students with the information about the upcoming school year, Dumbledore had also included a section about the new attempts toward inter-house unity. Everyone knew most of the animosity was between Slytherin and Gryffindor, so Dumbledore had made them have most classes together. It made sense that there was one Head from each of the houses.
Harry grimaced. "That's true. Well, good luck I suppose. If he does anything..."
"We'll kill him for you!" said Ron enthusiastically. I laughed and waved goodbye to them from the doorway. As she made her way down the corridor toward the front of the train, she thought she spotted 2 identical heads of hair much like Ron's. "I thought Ron was the only male Weasley still at Hogwarts." I decided I had been imagining things and kept walking. When I got to the Heads compartment, I faced the door and took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing" I walked in and immediately saw Malfoy lounging on one of the sofas. "This compartment is huge!" There were 2 couches- a green one and a red one. The room was split in half. One side was maroon and gold, with the Gryffindor lion hanging on the wall. The other side was green and silver, and the Slytherin serpent was on the wall. It was a bit predictable. Then suddenly I gasped.
"Oh please do shut your mouth." I looked at the blonde Slytherin.
"I will do what I want to," I huffed. My eyes went back to the object that had caused me to gasp. Draco followed my eyes to a thin black box.
"Oh that. I have no idea what that is."
This," I said with a flourish of her hands, "is a television." As I got busy with trying to find a good movie to watch from the large selection that appeared in the wall, Draco once again fell silent. Once I had picked a movie that she liked, I turned back to Draco. He was still lying in the same position he was before, looking up at the ceiling. I knew he was thinking about what had happened in the other compartment. "Ferret," she called. He ignored her. She kept talking. "Do you want to watch a movie with me?" I asked. I only did it because I was raised to be nice to everyone, unlike a certain blondie in the room. He ignored me. His face showed no emotion, but I could tell he was still angry about being called a death eater.
I thought I should probably try to apologize, but I couldn't bring herself to do it. He didn't look up. I used this moment to really study Draco Malfoy. He didn't slick back his hair anymore, and he grew it a bit longer so that it fell in feathery strands in his downcast eyes. His eyes, once dark grey, were now a silvery color- almost blue. His face was angular, and he had very high cheekbones. I had to admit, he had gotten a bit more attractive. Then his head moved up to look her in the eyes. He smirked.
"I know you find me extremely attractive, I mean who wouldn't? I just thought I should warn you right now that I will never ever think of you in the same way. Mudblood isn't my type."
I scowled at him and decided to just start her movie. The blond boy didn't say another word.
CHAPTER 3
The train was about an hour away from Hogwarts, and I was near the end of the movie. My third movie. I had decided to watch The Lion King first, and had annoyed Malfoy to no end by loudly singing Hakuna Matata. Next I had gotten on Malfoy's nerves by laughing hysterically at Pitch Perfect 2. Then I pushed Malfoy's buttons by crying and sniffling during The Fault in our Stars. Just as that movie ended, Professor McGonagall strode into the Heads compartment.
"Alright so this year your duties as Heads include patrols and taking points from misbehaving students like when you were prefects. Just be warned that Professor Dumbledore has put in extensive measures to be sure that you do not abuse these rights. In addition to these jobs, you will also be planning this year's annual Yule Ball and Hogsmeade visits. Good luck and good day to you both." A second later she came back. "I also suggest you both change into your robes now as we are almost at Hogwarts." With that Professor McGonagall swept out of the room.
Once Draco and I were both done changing, the train had gotten to Hogwarts. The Heads were allowed to leave the train first, so Draco strutted out of the compartment while I trailed behind, coming up with ideas for how to kill him without getting caught. Once we got to the Heads dorm and said the password (cinnamon) they walked into the dormitory together. I was in shock. It was huge! We stood in a large common room that had black walls, blue couches, and gold pillows. Somehow the roaring fire on the other side of the common room made it look warm and cozy. On either side of the fire there was a staircase. One was a deep maroon, and the other a forest green. I went up the red staircase while Draco went up the green one. I stepped into my room. It was gorgeous! It was large and airy, but cozy at the same time. Her bed was against the wall right under a large window. It was a pure white bed with a bedspread that had designs in gold and red on it. I saw something on the wall and moved closer to take a closer look at it. I laughed. Dumbledore had provided me with an outlet for charging my phone, and had written a password for it to have Wi-Fi and be able to work within Hogwarts. Across from the window was a large chestnut colored dresser with a humongous matching mirror above it. The dresser already had all of my clothes neatly folded and stacked in it. In between the bed and the dresser, there was a plush rug. In the corner there was a comfortable looking chair and nightstand. As I looked around, I noticed a door on the side of my room. I opened it. It was a marvelous bathroom with everything done in white and gold. There was another large mirror, and below it were 2 white sinks. Wait two…?
"I see you've found your way to the bathroom we will be sharing," drawled a familiar voice behind me. I turned around. Somehow Draco had gotten in without me noticing. I nodded and sarcastically said, "I'm sure it will be a great pleasure." Then I turned around and left.
"I'm going out don't touch my stuff!" Malfoy yelled from his room. I didn't bother to reply.
DRACO POV
When I came back to the Heads dorm he could hear something coming from Hermione's room. Was it music? I walked up to the door of her room and listened intently.
I don't mind spending every day
Out on your corner in the pouring rain
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay a while
And she wiiiiillllll be loved
And she wiiiiiiillll be loved
I then realized that Hermione was singing along. I decided to interrupt her little talent show.
HERMIONE POV
"GRANGER DINNER IS OVER!"
"WHAT?!."
I ran out of my room, right into a smirking Draco Malfoy. His smirk quickly turned into a look of alarm as both of us tumbled down the stairs. I landed on top of Draco, and I started hitting him on his chest.
"You. Are. A. Complete. PRAT!" I yelled while hitting him.
"Ow. Gerrofme! Hermione- CALM DOWN!"
I did not calm down. If anything, this comment infuriated me even more. I continued hitting every part of Draco I could. Draco finally decided that I was mad and decided to do something. He rolled so he was on top of me. Apparently I didn't notice because I didn't stop slapping him. He caught my hands in midair and very venomously said, "I swear if you ever touch me again, I will not hesitate to kill you." With that he got up and walked to his room. As I was getting up, he turned to her and said, "By the way, that didn't hurt." Then he was gone.
I scowled and yelled, "Bastard!" at Draco's room. I know it was immature. Whatever. All I got in return was a condescending laugh. I huffed and went to her room. I realized I was only wearing a white tank top and grey capris. I decided to change into something else. Dumbledore had said that students no longer have to wear robes at all times. There was going to be a lot more muggle clothing this year. I yawned and changed into a light blue form-fitting t-shirt and black sweatpants from my old muggle school. Then I flopped onto her bed and stared up at the ceiling until it was time to go. I bumped into Malfoy on the way down, but he pointedly ignored me and we silently went to our respective tables and sat down. I was immediately bombarded with questions from Harry and Ron the second I sat down.
"Who's the Head Boy?"
"Is it Malfoy?"
"If it is we can kill him for you if you like."
"Oh yes it would not be a problem."
"Have you gotten your schedule yet?"
"We have potions with the Slytherins first thing."
'Classes start in 2 days yet though. Maybe they'll all die."
"Ugh."
"BOYS! SHUT UP FOR A SECOND!" I yelled. She took a deep breath. "Yes the Head Boy is the ferretface (groans from the all the 7th year boys on the Gryffindor table), no you may not kill him (louder groans), yes I have gotten my schedule and I know we have potions with the Slytherins first."
Harry and Ron looked a bit crestfallen. Then as Ron looked down, he realized both Harry and I were dressed in muggle clothing. Harry and I had unknowingly worn something similar. He was also in black sweatpants, but his shirt was as green as his eyes, and it showed off his muscular arms and chest from Quidditch without being too clingy. Ron was wearing simple black robes. His eyes widened as he realized that the only other person in the Great Hall that was wearing robes was Professor McGonagall.
"I've gotta change," he muttered, and bolted from the table. Harry and I shared a look and started laughing. Then I looked up at the staff table again.
"Hey Harry where's Snape?"
Harry looked up at the table too. "Huh. I haven't a clue. Maybe he died."
We laughed again.
"So Hermione how was your break?" asked Harry after they had both gotten their breath back.
"Pretty good, I took a trip to the US for 2 weeks. I went to their country capital and visited the Library of Congress. It's the biggest library I've ever seen!" I said breathlessly, eyes shining.
"The mudblood went to a library? How exciting!" said a sarcastic voice from behind me. I turned. Malfoy stood there with his 2 idiot friends and his not-so-secret admirer, Pansy Parkinson. She was an extremely annoying girl with strawberry blonde hair and a permanently turned up nose. Her eyes were brown and rimmed red, probably a result of recent crying. That wasn't a surprise. That girl was a waterworks disaster. From the way her eyes drifted longingly toward Malfoy and then filled with tears again, Hermione could guess that he had tried to dump her again. He dumps her about twice a day, but somehow she was too dense to know that meant that he didn't like her. Apparently he had finally gotten the point across.
"Oh sod off ferret," I said, dismissing him immediately. I turned around, so my back was to him.
"Oh no I don't think I will. Please, tell me more about your amazing library visit?" he asked. His signature smirk was back.
"Hey Malfoy do you remember 3rd year?" asked Harry innocently.
"I can't say I do," he replied silkily.
"Well I'm sure Hermione would be happy to help you remember, wouldn't you Hermione?"
"Oh it would be a pleasure," came my reply.
Malfoy curled his lip at both of us, and strutted off. Harry and I laughed. Suddenly Harry's expression turned serious.
"If he does bother you at all, you know you're always welcome in the Gryffindor dorms right? Ron and I can kill him if that works better too."
I laughed. "Of course. I'll be coming to the Gryff dorms all the time anyway, that's where all my friends are."
Harry hugged me as Ron came back down. He was wearing jeans and a red shirt.
"Are you two ready to go?" he asked.
"Yeah let's go," I said, standing up. "Let's go to the Gryffindor dorms. I have an hour before I have to patrol with Malfoy."
As the trio walked along the corridor, I remembered something.
CHAPTER 4
"Hey Harry what house did Aria get sorted into?"
"Oh Gryffindor obviously. No one with Potter blood could go in any other house," said Harry proudly.
"Oh good!" I exclaimed. "I didn't really get a chance to talk to her on the train." We talked about our summers all the way to the Fat Lady. Harry and Ron said the password (amicitia), and we walked into the common room.
As I walked in, all the Gryffindors started clapping.
"Why are you all clapping?" she asked.
"We are clapping for you for being able to last this long without killing Malfoy!" said a 3rd year enthusiastically.
Hermione laughed, and went to mingle with the rest of the Gryffindors. I stayed until it was time for my patrol. As I left, I said that I would try to come every evening. All the Gryffindors cheered. When I got to the Heads dorm, Malfoy was waiting for me on the couch that he had apparently claimed as his.
"You're late," he said without looking up.
"Let's just go Malfoy," I said tiredly. I was sick of him already.
As we walked in an awkward silence through the length of every corridor, I saw something in the shadows.
"Hey Malfoy there's something over there," I said cautiously.
"Too scared to see what it is yourself Mudblood?" he taunted.
I sighed and went to see who was there. I saw 2 Ravenclaws looking like deer in headlights.
"40 points from Ravenclaw," I said apologetically. I made sure they went back to their common room, and then went back to Malfoy. We continued walking in silence.
"Why did you switch sides?" I blurted. Malfoy had been being threatened by his ass of a father, Lucius Malfoy. He did not want to kill anyone just because of their blood, and didn't agree with Voldemort's ideas, so he asked Dumbledore to keep him safe. The Death Eaters all thought he was dead by the hand of Albus Dumbledore himself.
Malfoy looked at me coldly. "I'm not obligated to answer the questions of a silly mudblood," he said sharply. He walked ahead of me with long strides, not looking back.
I sighed. Switching sides hadn't made him any less of a prat. We finished the rest of the rounds in silence, and by the time I got back to the painting of the Hogwarts logo that guarded our common room, he was gone. "Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus" Never tickle a sleeping dragon. Too late.
The next morning, I woke up before Malfoy, so I decided to use the time I had and wash my hair. I wrapped myself in a fluffy maroon towel and walked to my room. I heard Malfoy open his door to the bathroom almost as soon as I walked out. I put on my fluffy white robe and stood in front of my closet deciding what to wear. Suddenly I heard a voice behind me.
"Nothing in that closet will make you look good," said the ferret, peeking out of the bathroom.
"Oh shut up and go away ferret," I said exasperatedly.
"Goodbye," he said cheekily and disappeared. I pointed my wand at the door to lock it just in case, and perused my wardrobe for something to wear. I decided on olive green skinny jeans and a cream sweater with brown boots. I walked out of my room at the same time as the idiot Slytherin. I guess I took a longer time deciding what to wear than I thought. The ferret was wearing jeans and an olive green shirt. The same green as my pants. Ugh. Well, I planned this outfit for a while, he has to go change. I walked down the stairs and out the door. I was already well into my breakfast by the time Malfoy came down. His shirt, I saw with satisfaction, was different. It was now pale blue. Suddenly the Great Hall went silent. I looked toward the door. It was glowing red and colorful fireworks were sparking from it. Then it burst open and in walked…
CHAPTER 5
Fred and George Weasley. They waved to Ron, Harry, Ginny, and I. We cheered and got up to run to them. With us around them, Fred and George tapped their wands to their necks.
"Hello students of Hogwarts," they boomed, their voices echoing around the hall.
"I'm Fred Weasley," said Fred.
"I'm George Weasley," said George.
"We graduated last year, but we decided to come back," announced Fred.
"We are here to take notes on customer wants and needs for our shop,"
"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes!"
"So," said George. "We'll be here all year-"
"Interviewing and taking notes about what our products should include," finished Fred.
"These energetic entrance poppers are only the beginning of what we plan to do," said George impressively.
"But if you liked them, only 4 galleons for a packet that will give you 2 grand entrances," said Fred.
"Thank you!" they both shouted. There was a loud bang and a puff of smoke. Once the smoke disappeared, the Weasley twins were gone. All that was left was a large floating sign that read, "DISTINGUISHED DISAPPEARANCES-ONLY 3 GALLEONS." Harry, Ron, Ginny, and I laughed and returned to our table. For the rest of breakfast, all I could hear people talking about were the Weasley twins. Suddenly the room quieted and I looked up at the teachers' table. Professor Dumbledore was standing and waiting for us to quiet ourselves. Once the room was silent, he began.
"Dear students and professors. As it is the last breakfast before the term begins, I would like to set some ground rules now. First, the Forbidden Forest is banned to all students, as it always has been. Second, the war with Lord Voldemort is inevitable. Every student would do well to remember this and to always be safe. We don't know when someone could decide to attack, and it is best to always be prepared. Third, your schedules will be handed out tomorrow at breakfast. I wish you all a safe school year." With that, Dumbledore walked away from the table and into a door that I guessed led to his office. The mood for the rest of the meal was much more subdued, and it wasn't long before everyone started drifting off in small groups. Soon, the only people left were Ron, Harry, and I, and Malfoy, Crabbe, Pansy, and Goyle. They sauntered over and stood in front of Harry.
"So Potter, ready for the Dark Lord to kill you?" jeered Pansy. I saw that Draco wasn't the leader this time. Pansy was. I guessed his friends didn't know about his side change. Dumbledore had said that he intercepted Pansy's sympathy letters over the ferret's death and had modified her memory whenever she went home so she thought he was dead too.
Harry stood up. "So Pansy, ready to rot in Azkaban with your parents and the rest of your Death Eater friends?"
Pansy huffed and walked away, the other trailing behind her. Harry and Ron's expressions of confusion mirrored mine. Usually our arguments were longer than that.
"No wonder Malfoy's the brains of the operation," I whispered. Harry and Ron snickered, and we all walked out of the hall. Instead of going to the Gryffindor common room, I decided to show Ron and Harry my common room. Apparently Malfoy had the same idea. When we walked in, Malfoy, Zabini, and Theodore Nott were talking and lounging on the couches on the Slytherin side of the room by the fire. Theodore Nott was the third in the "Silver Trio". I supposed it made sense. We were the "Golden Trio", they were silver. Nott was good looking as well. He didn't have the aristocratic handsomeness as Malfoy and Zabini. He had more rugged good looks. He had shaggy brown hair and, to everyone's surprise and girls' excitement, violet eyes. He was tall and lean, not scrawny or too muscled. As we walked in, their heads all turned toward us at once.
"Hey Hermione," said Blaise, smiling. Nott nodded at me. I didn't know him as well, so I nodded back. Malfoy, however, curled his lip and turned away from me. Harry, Ron, and I sat on the couches on the other side of the room, straight across from the Slytherins. I cast the Muffliato spell in between us, so they couldn't hear what we were saying.
"Are you sure you'll be ok here Hermione?" asked Harry doubtfully, glancing at Malfoy.
"I'll be fine," I said. "I'm more than a match for him."
Ron laughed. "That's true for sure! Remember 3rd year?"
We all laughed. We talked about anything and everything, and laughed even more until dinner. I hadn't even noticed that we missed lunch and dinner. The 3 boys across from us haven't gotten up yet either. I realized I was hungry, and the other 2 did too, so I took off the muffliato spell and told Blaise we were going to the kitchens to get some food.
"Can you get me a sandwich?" he called after us.
"Sure!" I called back.
When we got to the kitchens, we talked to Dobby for a while, then went back to the common room, our arms laden with food. When we got back I entered the common room first. And stopped dead. Malfoy was crying. The great unruffled Malfoy was crying.
"My mother was the only one who ever cared about me," he said so quietly I almost missed it. "And now she's dead. Because of me." I backed out of the room quickly and told Ron and Harry what I had seen. We decided to go back to the portrait hole and start talking loudly so that the boys knew we were coming back. When we got back, Malfoy's face was back to its usual mask, as traces of what had just happened were gone. I tossed a sandwich to Blaise, and walked up to Malfoy.
"We've got to do our patrols now Malfoy," I said.
"Yeah alright," he muttered.
"No mate I'll do it," Blaise cut in. "I haven't talked to Hermione in forever."
"Thanks mate," Malfoy said gratefully. I hugged Ron and Harry goodbye, told them not to start any fights, and Blaise and I went out the door.
"So Blaise," I said nervously. "What was that about?"
He sighed. "You saw that then? Good of you not to mention it."
I stayed silent, waiting for him to continue.
"Well it's hard for him, for people who loved him to die because of him. His mom was the only real parent figure he had, and she was killed by Lucius for being too kind to others. He knows he's causing the people he loved a lot of pain, and he can't deal with it, so he puts on a mask. Sometimes the mask he puts on has to come off. He's been under a lot of stress from Professor Snape too. Snape keeps owling him and telling him to go back to-"
"Wait," I interrupted. "Snape is one of our spies."
"No he's not. He's double crossing Dumbledore," said Blaise.
"That bastard. That slimy, greasy haired little-."
"Draco is also under a lot of unhappiness because his maniac of a father swore revenge on Dumbledore since he believes Dumbledore killed you. Draco always said he thought Dumbledore was an idiot, but he doesn't want anyone else dying on his behalf."
"What do you mean someone else? Who else died?" asked Hermione.
"Don't tell him I told you, but he used to have a younger sister. Her name was Fortis, or brave in Latin. She was a really sweet girl. Not the type you'd think would be part of a death eater family. Lucius and Draco were arguing, and Lucius shot a curse at Draco, but he ducked. Fortis was right behind him, and she got hit by the curse. She died. Draco still blames himself."
"That's horrible!" I gasped. "How long ago was this? And why didn't we hear about it? Their family is famous. A death in the family would've made the news."
"Fortis was hidden. I was the only one who knew she existed. She was too nice for Lucius, so he pretended she wasn't his child."
I couldn't imagine what that would've been like. Am I feeling empathy for Malfoy? I am…
CHAPTER 6
We did the rest of the rounds in silence. When we got back to the Hogwarts crest painting, Blaise said goodnight and went back to the Slytherin dorms. I walked in. Malfoy was still sitting in the same position on the couch.
"Blaise told you didn't he?" He didn't look up.
"Yeah. How did you know?"
"I can see it in your eyes," he answered. His eyes raised to meet mine.
"I'm so very sorry Malfoy. I can't believe I'm saying this but I am."
"Why?" he asked. "You should be happy. The guy whom you hate and who made fun of you all the time is in pain right in front of you. This should be the best moment of your life."
"Malfoy I never hated you. You were a git and a prat sometimes, but I never wished this upon you. No one deserves to go through this kind of pain."
"Have you gone through it?" he questioned.
I sighed. "My parents were killed. I was too late to save them."
"I'm sorry," he said.
We sat in comfortable silence for a little while longer. Finally, I stood up.
"We should go to bed. We have classes tomorrow."
"I'll go up in a bit."
I could see he was still in pain. He wasn't going to go up at all. I sighed and walked over to him.
"You aren't going to sleep tonight are you?" I asked.
He slowly shook his head.
"Do you want me to stay with you?"
Malfoy couldn't even speak. All of a sudden the tears started flowing silently from his eyes and he put his head in his hands. I sat down next to him on the couch, and hugged him until he fell asleep.
In the morning, I woke up first. I was wrapped in strong arms, and I couldn't figure out who was holding me until I remembered yesterday. My arms were around his waist and his arm was hugging me to his chest. Awkward. I looked up at him to make sure he wasn't awake, and slowly tried to get out of his arms without waking him up. His arms wrapped tighter around me, and I was on the verge of panic. I didn't know how he would be if he woke up like this. I didn't want to ruin the tentative friendship we had. I tried to leave again, and this time he let me. I quietly walked up the stairs and went to choose what to wear for the first day of classes. It was 6:45, and breakfast didn't start until 8. I decided to take a long shower. Once I was done showering and brushing my teeth, I went back to my room to decide what to wear. I picked a maroon sweater, jeans, and maroon Converse high tops. When I walked out of the room, Malfoy was still on the couch, but now he was awake.
"Hey Granger?"
"Yeah?"
"Er, thanks. I needed someone to comfort me last night. I'm glad you were there, even if you are a complete know-it-all." He grinned to let me know he was joking.
I smiled back. "Draco Malfoy, did you just make a joke?"
"Oh shut up," he grumbled, and threw a pillow at me. It hit me in the face.
"Oh that was a big mistake," I warned. I grabbed the pillow he had thrown at me and jumped on him. I whacked him in the face, and thus began a large and alarmingly fierce pillow fight. Soon both of them were draped across their respective couches, chests heaving.
"Go shower you stink," I teased.
"You might want to shower again, it didn't help your stink," he returned. But he did go shower, and I went down to the Great Hall to eat breakfast and get my schedule. I met up with Harry and Ron there, and as they talked about Harry being the Quidditch team captain for Gryffindor, I thought about what had happened in the Heads dorm. I guess we're friends now.
As Ron had said earlier, the first class was double potions with the Slytherins. All the way to the classroom, Harry and Ron were betting how many points Snape would take off them and for what, and then laughing hysterically.
"Hey Ron how about this one? He takes 15 points off Gryffindor for looking like the bottom of an unwashed cauldron."
Ron was gasping for breath. "Or how about he takes points off us for standing up?"
I sighed. I didn't see what the boys were finding so funny. But when we got to the classroom, but of them abruptly stopped laughing while I was putting my bag down on a desk. I looked up to see what had surprised them so much. The teacher in front of us was most definitely not Professor Snape. The lady standing in the front of the room was short, fat, and blonde, with crooked teeth and dull blue eyes.
"Alright class settle down," she croaked in a nasally voice.
Slowly every head turned to her.
"Alright hello class my name is Ms. Hackbart.
"Bless you," called someone from the back. The class erupted into giggle.
"Settle down, settle down," she rasped. Ron stuffed his fist into his mouth to prevent himself from sniggering too loud. At that moment, Malfoy and his gang strode in. And stopped dead.
"Wh-Who are you?" Malfoy stuttered.
"Ms. Hackbart," said Ms. Hackbart.
"Where's Professor Snape?" he asked angrily.
"He couldn't be here today, but he left me a note on how the class should be run. He said, and I quote, "These children are dunderheads, with the exception of Mr. Draco Malfoy and Ms. Hermione Granger." He also said that Mr. Malfoy is to always be excused if he comes late. You are Mr. Malfoy I presume?"
Malfoy nodded.
"Good. Now if Ms. Granger could identify herself?"
I stood up.
"Ah yes thank you. Well as Mr. Snape said you two are not dunderheads, you will be working together on a more advanced potion."
Malfoy and I looked at each other and shrugged. We weren't exactly enemies anymore.
For the rest of class, we sat there while Ms. Hackbart droned on and on about who knows what. Malfoy didn't make fun of Harry or Ron even once. They noticed this as well, but they attributed this to his shock that Snape was gone. I obviously knew better. He was trying to hand me an olive branch, which I would gladly accept. The rest of the day went by rather fast. As did the next few days. Malfoy and I had to brew the Amortentia Potion. It was progressing quickly, and would be ready by the day Christmas break started. The other classes flew by. I knew Malfoy had to stay here during break since everyone else thinks he's dead. Harry was staying, as was I. Ron had to go back to the Burrow because Bill and Charlie were both coming home. So it was going to be Harry, Malfoy, and I, along with a few people from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. This was going to be an interesting holiday.
CHAPTER 7
All too soon, our potion was ready and it was time to test it. Ron had already left, and Harry was laying in his bed in the boys dorms because he was too lazy to get up. Malfoy and I took the potion to the Room of Requirement so we could test it. We carefully took the lid off the cauldron and let our favorite smells overwhelm us. Mine was my vanilla perfume, the smell of Argon Oil, the smell of Bath and Body Works, and the smell of new books all rolled into one. There was a hint of something else, but I just couldn't place it. It smelled almost like cologne but I wasn't sure.
"Hey Malfoy, what do you smell?" I asked.
He hesitated. "I can smell rain, the forest in the fall, cinnamon, and," he scrunched up his nose. "Something sweet. Vanilla?"
My eyes widened. Then the smell I couldn't place clicked. It was his cologne. I opened my mouth to say something, but suddenly a voice boomed out of the walls.
"People of Hogwarts. It is I, Lord Voldemort. Give me Harry Potter in an hour, or die at the hands of my Death Eaters." Then it was gone.
Malfoy and I shared a look, and bolted for the door at the same time. Malfoy followed me all the way to the Gryffindor dorms. Harry was already waiting outside. He looked at Malfoy, tried to smile in a friendly manner, and hugged me.
"There's only about 20 people here besides the teachers. There aren't nearly enough people to hold off a hundredth of Voldemort's army. What will we do?" Harry was panicked.
"It's ok harry," I said soothingly. "We'll send a patronus to everyone and tell them to come back."
Harry nodded. He and I called back Neville, Seamus, Dean, and the Weasleys while Malfoy called back some of the Slytherins who had also switched over to our side. Slowly but surely, people started apparating back to us. I supposed the defenses that kept people from doing that had been turned off. First to arrive were the whole Weasley family, then Neville, then Seamus and Dean. Then, to everyone's surprise, Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott appeared beside Malfoy and slapped him on the back.
"This still isn't enough people!" Harry was frantic again. "There's no one else we can call."
Suddenly a thought struck me. "There's someone we can call," I said thoughtfully. "His name is Percy Jackson."
To everyone's surprise, I took out a gold coin from my pocket and made a fountain of water come out of my wand. I threw in the coin and whispered a few words before saying loudly and clearly, "Percy Jackson, Camp Half Blood." The coin shimmered and disappeared, and the fountain of water became a screen the size of a flat screen TV. Then a teenage guy's face appeared on it. He was a really good looking guy, I had to admit. He had shaggy dark brown hair that fell into his sea green eyes. I could tell that he was tall and lean.
"Hey H," he said with an American accent. "What's going on?"
"We're having a bit of a problem here." I then proceeded to explain our situation.
He nodded. "Yeah that sounds like a problem. But how will I get there?" he asked.
"Ask Sadie to open up a portal for a little bit." I suggested.
"Oh good idea. I'll be right there."
Sure enough, a giant hole in time and space appeared before them in about 5 minutes. Percy stumbled out in bronze armor while clutching his bronze sword. Behind him, there were more than 100 people dressed similarly to Percy. We could see strawberry fields and an archery range behind them. There was also a rock climbing wall, which for some reason had molten lava pouring down it. Standing on either side of Percy were my other friends, Carter and Sadie Kane. They were dressed in loose cotton clothes, and Sadie was wearing combat boots.
Percy looked around at everyone already here. "Hey, he greeted casually.
The Weasleys were the first to recover from their surprise. Mrs. Weasley stepped forward and hugged Percy while thanking him for coming. Mr. Weasley shook his hand and stepped back. The twins had large grins on their faces and offered Percy a mint. Despite the silent warning he got, he look it. And turned into a pelican. He chased the twins around the room, but at my glare he meekly went back into his corner and waited to become human again. Once the twins changed him back, he grinned and slapped them on the back.
"That. Was. AWESOME!" he crowed.
The twins grinned. "It is rather brilliant," admitted Fred.
As the gingers and Percy talked and laughed, the rest of the campers at Camp Half-Blood had made their way through the portal. I raised my wand to my throat, mumbled a few words, and cleared my throat.
"Thanks for coming to help us campers." My voice boomed across the room, causing everyone to stop talking and look at me. "And the Kanes of course," I said, winking at Carter and Sadie. "We have a bit of a problem, and we were hoping you guys could help."
Then a bulky, brown-haired girl spoke up from a scary looking group in the back.
"Why should we help you?" she asked in a hostile manner.
That's when I noticed that everyone was in a group. There was Percy, standing alone. On one side of him there was a blonde guy with ruggedly handsome features and lightning flickering around him. The son of Zeus. On the other side of him was a blonde girl who was pretty but looked like she could hold her own in a fight. Surrounding her were a bunch of girls and guys who looked smart. Like Athena smart. Then there was a group of mostly girls and some guys next to them. I noticed that all of them were really hot, and I could smell the perfume from here. The children of Aphrodite. One of them, however, was holding a dagger and looked like she could fight. When I looked closer at her dagger, I almost gasped. I've read about that dagger! It was called Katoptris and it belonged to the legendary Helen of Troy! Then there was a group of tough-looking people who were blacksmiths from the look of the tool belts at their waists. The children of Hephaestus. They were led by a boy and a girl. The girl had almond eyes and her face held a timeless beauty. The boy had unruly hair and a crooked grin, and to my surprise, flames flickering across his palms. Then there was a group of people with shifty grins and watchful eyes. The sons of Hermes. The leader of them had long blonde hair and was wearing a jersey with Solace written on the back. He had on flying shoes. Next to him was a shaggy haired, olive skinned boy who radiated darkness but had a spark of humor in his eyes and a smile on his face. He was holding a deadly looking black blade loosely in his hand. He looked like a son of Hades. Next to them was the group of intimidating people. They had an assortment of weapons, and looked like they knew how to use them. The children of Ares. They were led by a girl and boy. The boy was Chinese and tall, with a centurion badge pinned to his shirt. Beside him was a caramel skinned girl whose figure was surrounded by a flickering purple glow. She also seemed like a child of Hades. That's when I remembered the other girl's question.
"Sorry," I said sheepishly. "There are a lot more of you than when I last saw you."
The girl sneered. "Scared of us, are you?"
I didn't like this girl. Apparently neither did most of the other campers. They were shifting uncomfortably and whispering. Either this girl didn't notice or didn't care. The Chinese boy was whispering to her urgently. She ignored him.
"I can see why," she continued. "Seeing as we were blessed by gods, and all you guys have are magic sticks."
"Clarisse," intervened Percy. He could see I was getting mad. "That's enough."
She ignored him. "It's really no wonder you need our help." This Clarisse girl sighed in a mock sympathetic way. Then I had had enough.
"Petrificus Totalus," I said calmly while pointing my "magic stick" at her. She immediately froze and toppled over. No one made any move to catch her. Percy, Ron, and the twins grinned at me and Harry flashed me a thumbs up. Even Malfoy snickered. Most of the campers were smiling as well. The curly haired boy from the Hephaestus cabin grinned at me and said, "Damn Clarisse. It's just a magic stick." The other campers laughed.
Then I decided she had endured enough embarrassment for one day, and lifted the curse off her. I ignored her as she got up, and continued addressing everyone else.
"Harry has places for all of you to defend. Thank you and good luck."
Harry stepped forward, greeted everyone, and started assigning people to different entrances. He made sure that at each entrance there was a mix from each of the cabins. The boy who had taunted Clarisse, Leo or something, had taken a lot of tools out of his tool belt. It had to be magical like my bag to fit all of those in there. His cabin was working on building little bombs on wheels that they could control and blow up when they got to the death eaters. Once all the campers had a job, Harry started dividing up the Hogwarts students. While he did that, I went to talk to Carter and Sadie.
"Hey guys! So while everyone else is getting assigned places and jobs, I want you two to see where the most help is needed and go there."
Carter nodded. "Do you want us to summon some of the people from the Brooklyn house?"
"That would be great," I said gratefully. "Thanks."
Carter nodded, and he and Sadie ran off to call their friends. I tuned back in to what Harry was saying.
"We need someone to cover all the secret entrances to the school," he called out.
"That sounds like a job for us," said George.
Harry grinned at them. "Alright, take some students with you, and take a group of the campers. Station people at every entrance."
Fred nodded and he and George chose some people and jogged out from the room while whooping and slapping their new comrades on their backs.
At that moment the magicians from the Brooklyn house ran out of the portal with Sadie at their lead. Carter took up the back of the large group. There was a teenage guy who seemed to be Sadie's boyfriend. He was holding one of the many amulets around his neck. And for some reason there was a boy with a bunch of penguins by his side.
Harry assigned them all places, until the only people left were Harry, Ron, Percy, the blonde girl next to him, whom he introduced as his girlfriend Annabeth, Leo the fireboy, the big Chinese guy, who introduced himself as Frank, the girl next to him, who said her name was Hazel, the son of Zeus, whose name was Jason, and his girlfriend Piper. And me of course. I thought we had a pretty large group of people and was about to say we had enough, but then the guy who radiated darkness ran into the room with the guy with the Solace jersey. All the demigods greeted them. They said their names were Nico and Will or something. Then four male adults came rushing into the door. One of them was wearing high heeled boots for some reason. They looked really familiar, but I couldn't figure out why. The high heels guy had long curly hair and his arm was around a short guy with fluffy hair. The other two were standing protectively by their sides. Behind them, an extremely attractive, Indian-looking guy rushed in.
The curly guy whispered, "Zayn?" That's when it clicked. This was One Direction, the muggle band whom I loved until I couldn't keep up with all their drama and still not get killed by Voldemort! I did a double take at the boots guy and the small guy.
"Larry is real," I whispered.
They all looked at me like I was insane.
"Yeah. They've been openly gay for about 3 years now," said Niall.
"Who called you guys anyway?" asked Harry (Potter).
"I did," said Ron. "I'm friends with them in the muggle world. I changed my name though so no one knew who I was."
"What did you change it to?" I asked. "Crumplehorned Snorcack?"
Ron snorted. "No actually. I changed it to Ed Sheeran and accidentally became a famous muggle singer."
The room was silent.
"Ed you're a bloody wizard!" exclaimed Liam.
"And you lied about your own fooking name," muttered Louis.
"Yeah sorry mates, I can't exactly go prancing around and screaming I'm a wizard though, can I?" said Ron.
Harry (Potter) and I looked at each other. Apparently everyone had missed the weirdest part of what Ron had said.
"How the hell," I started.
"Do you accidentally become a muggle pop star?" finished Harry (Potter).
Draco snorted next to me. I forgot he was there again.
"So what exactly are you planning one doing here?" asked Draco. "You can't exactly fight."
"We were planning on causing a distraction by doing a concert in the Great Hall!" exclaimed Harry (Styles) excitedly.
"And now that Zayn's here he can do his high note in You and I!" said Niall.
Zayn smiled at them, but then his eyes locked on Liam. Simultaneously they walked forward and tightly hugged each other. While they talked quietly to each other in a corner, the rest of us split off into small groups. Harry (Potter), Ron, Draco, and I went one way with the now-complete One Direction. Percy, Annabeth, Jason, and Piper went the opposite way, and Leo, Hazel, Frank, Will, and Nico went the third way. Our jobs were to patrol the inside of the school and cut off anyone who had managed to breach the defenses. The boy band was supposed to stay with us and not go out of our sight until we thought we needed a distraction, but Louis, being the idiot he is, apparently saw something interesting and walked straight toward it, away from us. Of course, we all saw him, and followed him when we realized he wouldn't turn around. Once we had caught up to him, we saw that we was staring at the secret entrance to the kitchen, which was wide open.
"What the fook happened here?" asked Louis.
Draco and I exchanged a glance and nodded at each other. We took our wands out and entered the tunnel, Draco ahead of me. I heard Harry (Potter) whisper to the group of boys to go after me as Harry and Ron go last. I hear the soft click of Harry (Styles)'s boots on the damp ground. As the light at the end got closer, Draco slowed down. I didn't notice until I smacked right into his well-muscled back. He signaled for me to be quiet, and I passed the message down the line. Draco slowly entered the destroyed kitchen and we were all right behind him. Suddenly, he stopped dead.
"Don't. Move." he muttered out of the corner of his mouth. I peeked over his shoulder on tiptoe and stared. In the middle of what used to be the kitchen, was a giant, bronze, two headed dragon. Ron sneezed, and the silence shattered like a glass mirror. The dragon's heads swiveled to look at us, and it blew fire at us, setting the tunnel we were in on fire. I told the boy band to hide in a metal closet in the corner while we took care of the situation. Then Harry, Ron, Draco, and I grouped together in another corner. The dragon blew fire at us again, and Draco and I were forced to split up. Ron ran around alternatingly yelling random spells and "FUCK" or "BLOODY HELL!" Draco and I ran into a metal cupboard on the floor and closed the lid just before a jet of fire singed the top. The cupboard was a lot smaller than we thought it would be, and of course I'm claustrophobic, so I was internally freaking out, while on the outside I kept my face natural.
"Why do you look so scared?" asked Draco. "We're safe."
I guess my face wasn't that natural.
"I'm a teensy little bit claustrophobic," I whispered back.
A look of understanding lit up Draco's face in the dim light. I looked down at my feet. Actually, they might be Draco's. I can't tell, we're pressed up too close against each other. I feel his arm snake around me and pull me to his chest, like the night in the dorms. His thumb brushes up and down my shoulder, and I get comfort from his touch. Suddenly, we hear rumbling from outside the cupboard and our little haven gets blasted apart. Draco and I are thrown out of the box, and Draco wraps his arms around me and pulls me onto his chest as he lands on his back, 50 feet away from the ruined cabinet. He's knocked out from the impact, and as I look around the room, Harry (Potter) and Ron's limp bodies are lying strewn around the room as well. My heart jumps into my throat, and a ball of anger fills me. I send a flurry of spells at the beast, and right when it opens its mouth to burn me to ashes, one of my spells hits it in the mouth. The dragon rears up on its hind legs and bursts into flames, just like a phoenix. But unlike a phoenix, it doesn't come back. Exhaustion overtakes me, and I collapse.
When I open my eyes, I'm in the infirmary. Draco is in the bed next to me but his eyes are still closed. Harry and Ron are nowhere to be seen. Madame Pomfrey sees me awake and bustles over. While she takes my temperature and feeds me soup, I ask her who brought me here.
"Oh that wonderful group of boys, such sweet people," she said fondly.
"Do you know where they are?" I asked.
"Oh yes dear, they're setting up for their celebration concert."
"Celebration?" I asked confusedly.
"Well obviously. We won the war! Neville decapitated the poor snake, and Luna and Ginny beat He Who Mu- Voldemort!"
I jumped out of bed. "Sorry I've got to go!" I ran out of the infirmary before the poor nurse could even say a word.
I ran down to the Great Hall, and there was a huge crowd in front of a temporary stage. Then a guitar starts playing and Niall walks out amidst deafening cheers. He starts playing Midnight Memories and the rest of the boys come out. They play their way through all of the Take me Home and Midnight Memory albums, and start on the Four album. They start with No Control, and finally, You and I is on. As Zayn's high note comes closer, there's a hush among the crowd. This is the first time in four years that he will sing this note on stage. As he hits the note, I get goosebumps and tears come into my eyes. Someone puts their arm around me. It's Draco. He has a cast on his arm, but he's unhurt. I lean into him and listen to the rest of the legendary song. Up next is the last song. Fireproof. As Liam stand on stage and dedicates the song to all the fallen warriors, I look up at Draco. The band sings the first few words, and his blue eyes meet mine. His face comes closer, and I stand on my toes. Our lips meet and I must say, it's the best moment of my life, with my favorite band in the background, I drink in this moment. He pull back and smile at each other. Both Harrys smile at me, and Ron looks scandalized. I grin at him, and listen to the music. "It's been so long, it's been so long, baby we're fireproof. Nobody loves you baby, the way I do."