Disclaimer: I don't own HP.
Locket Full of Feelings.
"You are such a toad!"
Malfoy looked into the watery eyes of his victim and smirked. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Hermione glared. "Yes, you do. Now tell me where it is."
"Granger, why would I know, or care, where your stupid locket is?"
"Who else would be loathsome enough to take it?" She asked, well aware of the other students around her.
Malfoy looked around the busy corridor. "I can think of a few people...care to make a list of them?"
"I'm not joking around, Malfoy," she said, with that spiteful attitude, Malfoy so loved to force out of her.
"Nether am I, Granger. Besides, why are you so angry about something so small? Could it be, there's something inside that locket you don't want anyone to see?"
Hermione kept her composer, but her eyes flashed dangerously. She was stuck, she knew she was. If Malfoy had the locket, and looked inside, she would never live it down. He would torment her worse than ever before.
Before either one could make a move they were interrupted by Harry and Ron.
"Hey, Hermione, want to go get--" Harry broke off upon seeing the sneering Slytherin.
"What are you doing here?" Ron asked.
"It's my school too, Weasley, I'm aloud to walk to dinner." Malfoy turned on his heel and started towards the great hall. He looked back at Hermione and smirked again. "See you later, Granger."
Harry waited until Malfoy was gone before turning to Hermione. "Whatwas that all about?"
"Oh, he was just being his usual foul self. You two off to dinner, I suppose?"
"Yeah, come on," Ron said.
Hermione had the feeling Harry noticed the quick change of subject, but he never pursued it, and for that, she was thankful.
Dinner, thankfully, was a always noisy affair. Harry and Ron were preoccupied by talks of Quiddich, so they didn't notice the quiet state of their bushy-haired friend.
Hermione was prodding her chocolate pudding with a spoon, all the while lost in thought. She just couldn't understand why Malfoy was being even more horrible to her than usual. In the past, he wouldn't talk to her if he could help it, unless his Slytherin buddies were around and he wanted to show off. But now, he was always in her face about something. He called her a show off, made fun of her in numerous ways, and resorted to the lamest forms of teasing and name-calling.
And the locket...she felt slightly nauseous just thinking about him seeing the inside. She had done so well, for a few years now, and it would all collapse on her shoulders. Once he finds out, there's no way it would stay a secret. After all, the likeliness that Malfoy might be gracious about it, was about as likely as Professor Snape professing his undying love to Harry.
And yet, there had to be something she could do...maybe if she promised something in return for keeping it a secret? Great idea, Hermione, She thought.Demean yourself further, why don't you?
"Miss Granger?"
Hermione nearly jumped in surprise at the little voice behind her. She turned to find a little first year Hufflepuff girl.
"Yes?" Hermione replied.
"This is for you," The little girl said, handing Hermione a scroll of parchment.
"Thank you," Hermione said, and with that, the little girl skipped off.
Hermione shifted her glance left and right, making sure that no prying eyes were cast over her. Once she felt sure she was safe, she unrolled the parchment. As her eyes scanned the paper, she stopped breathing.
If you want your precious locket back, meet me in the secretcorridor behind the red and green tapestry, corridor on the third floor at midnight. Come alone.
--Draco Malfoy
Hermione turned around to look at the Slytherin table. Malfoy was eating by himself. That's odd, she thought. Why isn't he trying to hold court like he usually does, with Crabbe an Goyle at his side?
As if he sensed eyes on him, Malfoy looked up from his plate. He stared straight ahead an found Hermione's gaze. One corner of his mouth curled upwards into a half grin, but his expression was unreadable. He stared at Hermione so intensely, so steadily. She felt like someone who was hiding underneath an invisibility cloak that was suddenly ripped away, revealing everything about her.
She blushed bright red and quickly turned away.
This is Malfoy. Draco Malfoy, the pure-blood-proud Slytherin. The one who detests all muggle-borns...She slapped her forehead. How the heck did I end up in this situation?
"Hey, Hermione?"
She blinked a few times and found Ginny staring at her from across the table.
"Yes?"
"Are you alright?"
"Uh...yeah, why?"
"Because you're all red, and you just hit yourself," Ginny said. "One doesn't normally do such things unless something is wrong."
Hermione forced a smile. "I'm fine, Ginny, really. I'm jut a bit...tired I suppose."
"Well, alright..." Ginny surveyed her for a moment, then sighed slightly. "Just let me know if you need help, okay?"
"Thanks," She replied with a real smile, despite the churning of her stomach.
At eleven-thirty, Hermione tip-towed from the girl's dormitories, and slinked out of the common room. She made her way down the dark hallways of the school, listening for sounds of teachers or Filch's cat, Ms. Norris.
Her stomach was queasy, her heart was pounding, and she kept cursing at herself for letting things get so out of hand. When did I get to be such an idiot? Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Hermione turned down a corridor on the third floor and raised her wand, scanning the wall for the tapestry. The dim light of her wand found a small sparkle of gold, then sliver, than a tapestry, of mostly red and green colors. She was about to continue along when something else caught her eye. She turned towards the tapestry and raised her wand to get a better look.
The tapestry was a carefully emblazoned portrait of sorts. A large gold lion stood in the center, it's chest puffed out, looking as proud as ever. But encircling the lion was a length of silver. A length of silver with a head, eyes, a tong...the Slytherin snake.
The snake was wound around the lion, but not in a threatening way. It looked more like two friends, both proud, both with their differences, but somehow working together. The snake's proud face pointed in the opposite direction of the lion, making the entire picture symmetrical...equal.
Hermione's eyes widened. She'd never seen this tapestry, nor heard of it. It must've been someone eccentric who made this, Hermione thought. With so much rivalry, an idea such as this...Gryffindor and Slytherin working together? It's definitely an odd thought.
Deciding that now wasn't a good time to analyze this new discovery, Hermione poked her way around the tapestry until she found her way behind it. She felt along the stone until her hand, expecting to find a solid surface, slipped and she fell straight through the fake part of the wall.
She stayed in a sitting position and pouted to herself for a moment, before looking around. She was in a normal enough corridor. It was dimly lit with two torches, and it was a bit dusty, probably from the lack of use.
Hermione stood up and brushed herself off. She slowly walked down the corridor, looking for comfortable place to wait when--
"Hello, Granger."
--the warm breath of a voice washed over her ear, causing her to jump.
She turned on her heel and found herself facing the taller blonde boy. He was looking at her with the same odd expression he had at dinner.
"Malfoy," she said, standing tall despite being towered over by him. "Where is my locket?"
His lips curled into a grin, as he pulled out the small necklace out of his pocket. "You mean this?"
He let the silver locket swing back and forth in front of her face. She tried to grab it but he held it higher than she could reach.
"Not yet, Granger. Before you get this back, you're going to tell me what's inside."
Hermione turned a light shade of pink. "I'm sure you already know what's inside."
"I'd rather hear you say it."
She silently cursed her circumstances, but didn't say anything.
"Don't you want it back, Granger?"
She glared at him for a moment and then looked away to speak. "I-It has...a picture of you..."
"And, why is that?"
Hermione turned a deep shade of red now and spoke so quietly, Malfoy had to lean a bit closer in order to hear her.
"...Because...I like you..."
His smirk grew wide. "So...little miss muggle-born likes me. That's quite interesting."
Hermione stood firmly, but inside she wanted to cry. She'd never been so embarrassed in her life. She could hardly see from the tears welled up in her eyes. So she didn't know why the blond-haired boy suddenly seemed so close.
She felt a finger tilt her head up and, before she knew it, two lips were covering her own. Her eyes widened and the tears spilled out, rolling down her cheeks. Her mind went blank and she hardly knew what was happening.
Malfoy broke away from her and looked down, still grinning.
"The oddest thing is I seem to like you as well."
She stood speech-less for a moment, her mouth hanging open in shock. I am talking to Malfoy, aren't I? Draco Malfoy...likes me?
"B-B-But how?" She asked. "How can...I mean...I'm a muggle-born!"
"As you know, I'm well aware of that," Malfoy said. "But I just don't care about that sort of thing as much as I used to. It was mostly due to my father that I had those feelings anyway. Even though, I still don't hold most muggles in very high regard, you are smart and strong-willed, and different."
"What are you trying to say?" Hermione asked slowly.
"I want to be with you, Granger."
Hermione shook her head. "Even if you feel the same, we can't. We live in different houses with different friends."
Malfoy looked at her. "Didn't you notice the tapestry?"
She nodded. "Yes, I did."
"If someone in our world had the idea that Gryffindor and Slytherin could work together, why don't we give it a try?"
"I don't know..."
"C'mon, Hermione."
He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a kiss. She relaxed and closed her eyes.
When they broke apart again, she looked at him and smiled a bit.
"Alright...let's give it a try."
Well, hope you enjoyed the story! It's a bit different from the kinds of things I normally do, so please review and tell me how I did!