Author's notes: Hello there, FanFiction community. If there are any of my old readers out there by chance let me first say, thank you for even giving this a glance. For new readers, please know this is something that is very different from the work I've done in the past (it's been years since I've posted a story). I would normally write about the Hermione/Ron connection and was completely appalled at the stories that involved Hermione and Malfoy previously. But after binge watching all the movies one afternoon and suffering from a serious drought of boredom, inspiration struck to write a new story with a twist. I'm sure there are few people that don't love a good Hermione/Ron story and of course we all know they end up together, yet what about the times at Hogwarts when Hermione and Ron had been too afraid to admit their true feelings? And what about Draco Malfoy; is he truly a bad person, or just misunderstood? Read on to find out.
*Year Four *
Hermione slumped to the cold stone floor of the grand staircase of Hogwarts as her friends, Harry and Ron scuttled up the stairs and out of sight. She felt the pang of disappointment in her gut and tears stinging her eyes. "I won't cry, not now and not over this." She told herself trying to hold back.
Tonight was the night of the highly anticipated Yule Ball and of course she would have loved to go with one Ron Weasley. When she first heard there was going to be a dance her heart leapt at the thought of Ron asking her to be his date and the possibility that he and Hermione would finally admit their feelings verbally instead of always pretending there was nothing there. She had hoped it would be the official start of a relationship together; instead it was nothing more than a complete let down. Hermione was as frustrated as she was hurt. She never really knew if Ron felt the way she did about him, but there were many occasions where it was difficult to ignore the way he acted towards her. She worried that he might not return her feelings and feared of ruining a lifelong friendship for nothing, but she hated the idea of waiting around for who only knows how long for Ron to come to his senses and make the first move.
It wasn't until after Hermione had already agreed to go with someone else that Ron even hinted at asking her. What was worse was that he didn't even try to act like he really cared about attending the dance, only about not being the only guy without a date.
Hermione huffed recalling the experience again, still resting on the steps trying not to burst into tears and ruin her perfectly applied makeup. Up until the last few minutes, she was actually enjoying herself, after all, she had the most sought-after boy at Hogwarts as her date.
Viktor Krum had taken a keen interest in Hermione around the second week of school. Maybe it was because she didn't feign over him like the other girls did, or maybe he really did like her. Whatever the reason, Hermione wasn't sure. All she knew was that after a few friendly conversations between classes and several study sessions in the library, Viktor had requested Hermione to be his date over all the other girls that he could have taken his pick with.
This time Hermione smiled slightly remembering how flattered she was to even be noticed by Viktor. It was at that exact moment that he returned from another round of socializing with some of his Durmstrang classmates and fought his way through the other girls to get back to his real date for the evening.
Viktor walked up the first few steps to meet Hermione, pausing at her feet to take her small hand and kiss it like an old fashioned gentleman.
Hermione blushed thinking how cute he was. "Are you ready for one more dance?" Viktor asked as he looked into Hermione's deep brown eyes.
"That sounds lovely." She replied, gathering her dress and getting to her feet. Once again she took Viktor's arm and they flooded the dancefloor. Hermione felt butterflies in her stomach as he took her waist again and coolly started waltzing to the music.
"Are you having a nice time?" He asked awkwardly trying to fill the long silence between them.
Hermione nodded, "Yes, yes I am. It really has been a beautiful evening, almost perfect even."
"Almost perfect" she repeated in her head again as she remembered how stupid Ron had acted. She had to admit that it did feel great to watch the wave of jealously wash over him as she walked into the room on Viktor's arm, but it killed her to think that he was too stubborn to do anything about it or so much as ask her for one dance.
"Good." Viktor said, seeming to bring the conversation to a close.
When the music stopped he and Hermione meandered out to the garden path beside the great hall. Hermione tried to engage him in conversation but it was next to impossible because Viktor would give the simplest answers and fall quiet again leaving Hermione to pick up the conversation once more.
She gazed out over the immaculate hedges and rows of perfectly groomed landscaping that surrounded her. The stars were shimmering brilliantly above their heads and the faintest bit of music from the hall was drifting out to them. Viktor kept his eyes focused on Hermione as he watched her take in the scenery.
"You look stunning"
She blushed, "Thank you, you look very handsome as well."
Viktor smiled a bit and leaned in closer, seizing Hermione by the waist again. She felt her heart beat faster and her nervousness return as she starred up at him. Viktor then brought his hand up to Hermione's face and tipped her chin up to him before moving in to kiss her, very gently for only a moment.
He separated from her quickly to make sure he hadn't crossed any boundaries, he had a difficult time reading Hermione as she didn't seem to be like the other girls he had experience with. Hermione's face blushed again and she brought her arms up to latch around his broad neck, giving him the signal he had done nothing wrong.
After a long minute, they parted again, Hermione's heart beating even faster now. Viktor eyed the inside of the hall and watched the last few of his classmates disappear from the floor as the clock tower signaled it was now eleven o'clock at night.
"Well Hermione, thank you for being my date tonight, and for a wonderful evening."
"The pleasure was all mine." She said breathlessly.
"If it is alright with you, I told my friends I would meet up with them after the dance, so I should really be on my way." Viktor said as he bent into a deep bow and planted one last kiss on her left hand before excusing himself.
Hermione stood there for a moment taking everything in. "That's it? He just says goodnight and leaves without a second thought?" She thought to herself feeling both offended that he was so quick to leave and yet thankful he didn't pressure her into doing anything that made her uncomfortable. He had been kind enough throughout the evening and behaved like a gentleman ought to, but it still troubled her that he didn't seem to have much interest in anything other than having a date to the dance. She tried not to let it bother her or allow herself to get angry, yet it still tugged at her and made her feel slightly self-conscious.
After mulling things over for a bit Hermione wandered farther away from the Great Hall and deeper into the garden terrace where she eventually took a seat on a stone bench under a brilliant archway of flowers. She kicked off her high heels and coiled up on the seat, losing herself to her thoughts once more. She couldn't help but feel insulted by Ron's actions and offended by the way Viktor had ended the night. She had thought that for sure by asking her to be his date it might have meant he wanted to be something more with Hermione or at least that he had feelings for her but not only did it seem like he didn't want to pursue a relationship but seeing Viktor with her also didn't provoke Ron into taking action.
Hermione felt the tears building in her eyes again and finally allowed them to escape while she sobbed quietly on the bench. She felt as though she would never be good enough and none of the boys she was interested in would ever see her as anything more than a good friend or a study partner when they needed help with their homework.
"You alright there, Granger; looking for some company?" A sudden voice pierced the calm night.
Hermione hastened to try to hide the fact she had been crying as she wiped her eyes, "No, no, I'm fine-" her voice broke in mid-sentence, "and no I do not want any company thank you, not from you at least." Hermione scowled as she caught a glimpse of non-other than Draco Malfoy standing several feet from her.
Malfoy laughed a little, "Well you don't look fine, anyone with a brain could see that something is bothering you." He said walking a bit closer to her.
Hermione sniffed and tried to put on her best lecture-voice, "And I don't need any trouble from you so why don't you just go on your way and leave me be?"
Malfoy made eye contact as he watched her speak but stood planted in place. "All I know is if I had a date that looked half as nice as you do tonight, I wouldn't have left her alone crying to run off somewhere else." His voice was firm as he spoke. Hermione was taken aback by the words she just heard from him, she had never heard Malfoy say anything even remotely resembling a compliment and was sure he was playing at some sort of horrible game.
She cleared her throat, "Right…er…well, thank you but I don't want your company." She replied in an attempt to end the interaction before Malfoy had a chance to spoil the evening further.
Malfoy stuffed his hands in his pockets and smiled again, seemingly amused by her stubbornness. He walked over to Hermione's bench and planted himself beside her.
"Excuse you. You are being awfully rude. I don't know why you've come here to mock me Malfoy but….."
"Geeze, Granger, I'm not trying to be a git. Malfoy interrupted, "And for your information, I saw the look on your face tonight when Weasley blew you off, and how you tried to cover up how upset you were with him when Krum came back. You've really got to be some sort of idiot to walk away from a girl who goes through all of this to be a perfect date for an evening."
Hermione couldn't speak, her mind was racing to evaluate whether or not Malfoy was being genuine. He sounded sincere, but years of terrible behavior and rude comments told her he was no good. "Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden? You've never paid any attention to me before and you've said the more horrible things to me and my friends." She sneered defensively.
He chuckled again, "Well Granger for being as smart as you are, you don't notice everything." Hermione had a confused look painted across her face and when she said nothing, Malfoy continued on, "Just because I don't particularly care for the blokes you hang around with and call friends doesn't mean I haven't noticed you before. "he concluded turning to meet Hermione's gaze.
Hermione burned with rage and annoyance at his words and the fact that he was still sitting next to her, "That's rich, Malfoy, you've said plenty of horrendous things to me before! You called me a Mudblood and think you are so much better than me and everyone else!"
Malfoy looked defeated as he heard her reprimand him. He leaned over and studied his shoes intently for a moment before speaking again, "Let's just say that ever since you punched me in the nose last year, I took it as a long-overdue wake-up-call. I've been a lot more perceptive of things ever since." He said quietly, still focused heavily on his shoes.
Hermione scoffed, feeling pleased as she remembered her hard punch to Malfoy's face last spring. "I don't know what game you are playing at tonight but I don't find it very amusing. You can just crawl back to whatever hole it is you slithered out of and leave me alone!"
Malfoy slowly got to his feet and starred down at Hermione, "Did you ever stop to think that maybe I'm not really such a bad guy and that I might actually be trying to do the right thing - for a change?" He paused to study her reaction, "Besides, I don't see any of your wonderful friends here to help you when you need it, seems to me your friendship is only convenient when they need something. But that's just how the outsider looking in sees it so if what you want is to be left alone, then I'll go."
With that he turned and began walking back towards the castle. Hermione watched after him letting his words sink in a bit more. She noted for the first time his blonde hair styled perfectly and the clean-cut suit that looked incredibly sharp on his tall, shapely figure.
It really was something Hermione had never witnessed from Malfoy before, what's more was that there was no posse of Slytherins trailing behind him. He was all alone for a change, looking rather dashing in his formal attire. Hermione couldn't recall seeing him with date, but then again she never paid much attention to Malfoy unless Harry was filling her in on his latest schemes and slanders. Something inside her stirred curiously as she watched him walk away. Suddenly he wasn't the same rude and boisterous school-mate Hermione had known for the last four years, he was someone who looked as though they were feeling as lost and alone as she was.
"Malfoy….?" Hermione called after him, her tone softer now and less threatening.
Malfoy turned to glance back at her over his shoulder.
"Would you like to sit with me… for a little while?" Hermione asked skeptically.
Malfoy said nothing in response but obliged her request and turned back to her, taking his seat beside her once more.
After a long stretch of very uncomfortable silence, Malfoy spoke in an attempt to lay everything on the table and make their interaction less awkward "I know this is…unusual of me…but you have to know, Granger, I notice a lot more than you think. I notice the way you stare after Weasley, Merlin only knows why or what you see in him…. I notice the look on your face every time he says something stupid….which is most of the time…." He paused to analyze any potential response form Hermione before turning to look forward again, "and I notice how gorgeous you looked tonight for two men that don't deserve it and don't notice."
Hermione felt her face get hot with nervousness and tears escaped the corner of her eyes as she listened to what Draco was confessing to her, all her emotions rushing to the surface once more. She thought about the events of the last few hours, the roller coaster of emotions she had been on the last several weeks as she waited anxiously for Ron to ask her, jumped at the chance to attend the Ball with Krum to make him jealous only to get overlooked and tossed aside by each of them earlier that night.
Malfoy waited silently for her to say something but spied the tears leaking from her brown eyes. He slowly lifted his arm around her shoulders and cautiously rested it there to comfort her. Hermione broke down suddenly and buried her face it his chest, finally allowing the tears to come and letting go of her disappointment with Ron and Viktor's behavior.
A few minutes later Hermione managed to regain her composure and she began wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry," she sniffed, "It's all so stupid really, this isn't like me at all."
Malfoy remained silent but reached into his jacket pocket to pass her a silk handkerchief emblazoned with the letter 'M' on it that he offered to her to dry her eyes.
"Thank you." Hermione breathed as she dabbed the cloth against her wet skin. "Why are you out here anyway?" Hermione didn't know if she wanted to hear the answer to this question, or even if he would tell her the truth but it was the first thing she could think of to try to change the subject.
"Just needed to get away from everything for a few minutes, like you I'm assuming." He answered very calmly and quietly. Malfoy appeared to be deep in thoughts of his own but was coming across as concerned for her.
Hermione was still questioning his unusual behavior to herself, "I don't know why you aren't more like this all the time, you'd probably be much more well- liked."
A smile spread across his thin lips once more, "Are you going to tell me what exactly happened tonight?"
"That depends…."
"On?" He questioned.
"Why you are suddenly so interested and if you are just going to use it against me later."
The smile vanished and Malfoy turned away from her. Hermione watched him keenly wanting to know what he was thinking desperately.
"If I swear not to use it against you later will you tell me?"
Hermione hesitated before answering, "Then yes, so long as everything stays between you and me, I won't tell anyone you were a nice guy." This time she smiled as she spoke but noticed that Malfoy didn't mirror it back to her, maybe he really did feel bad and was trying to do the right thing for a change.
"Alright, then tell me Granger, what's got your wand in a knot?" He replied.
"Like I said…stupid really. I was having such a lovely time tonight with my date but he ended the evening so abruptly and he isn't much of a conversationalist. Heck, I've probably had more conversation with you tonight that I did with him."
"Mhm. And the fact that Weasley didn't steal you away from your date has nothing to do with those tears I'm sure." Malfoy countered.
Hermione felt herself blush slightly but denied the alleged attraction to Ron categorically. "Ron has nothing to do with this. He had his own date."
"And he couldn't keep his eyes off you could he?" He waited for Hermione to say some other rebuttal but when she did not he went on, "And don't try to tell me you weren't watching him either and that you aren't bothered by what he does. You've been lusting after him for some time now, I see it every time you two are together."
"You do, do you?!" Hermione hissed in defense, "Sorry but I don't think you know what you're talking about Malfoy, you hardly know anything about either of us."
"I never claimed to know everything; I'm just claiming to be more observant than Weasley is all."
Another silence fell between them before Hermione's eyes filled with tears once more, "He's just so blind!" Again, Malfoy did not respond and waited for her to go on. "I mean honestly, how can he be so stupid?! Not only does he not notice anything, but the thought to ask me to the dance never even crossed his mind until he started worrying about being the only person without a date! And to be so rude to Viktor of all people when he completely worships the man, I just don't understand what his problem is!" The words poured from Hermione's mouth so quickly, she didn't have much time to think about choosing them carefully. She wondered if she was saying too much but was grateful that she was finally able to say what she had been thinking all night.
"Wow, I'm starting to feel even more amused about that time Weasley's wand backfired in second year and he vomited slugs all day." Malfoy joked.
Hermione laughed this time, remembering how obscene Ron looked and how angry Harry was at Malfoy that day.
"Do you want me to leave?" He questioned suddenly.
"No, you don't have to go. Just change the subject—please!"
"What do you want to talk about?"
"Anything." Hermione replied, "Anything except those two. Just distract me somehow."
Malfoy searched his brain to try to come up with something for them to talk about. "Do you hate me as much as Potter does?" His voice was all seriousness now and he studied Hermione intently, looking rather nervous as he waited for her to speak.
Hermione was taken aback by his blatancy and was unsure what reaction he was hoping to hear. "No," She breathed, "no I don't hate you. I don't even know you—well nothing really other than what Harry has gossiped to me."
He looked relieved and nodded along as if to say, "Yeah I'm sure Potter runs his mouth about a lot of things he knows nothing about."
Malfoy spoke out loud, "Well what do you want to know?"
"Erm…." She stammered, not sure what to ask, "what is your favorite class?"
"History." Malfoy replied coolly.
Hermione's mouth fell open, "Really? I never would have pegged you for a history buff."
"I think there is a lot we can learn from the past, and that it can teach us a lot about the future." He said casually, "What's your favorite?"
"I like charms, and transfiguration of course. They keep you on your toes and there is so much to learn that I feel like I'll never know it all no matter how hard I practice." Hermione rambled on about the classes she liked and disliked, Malfoy listening intently to her every word. "Do you like being in the Slytherin house?" She questioned him once she had concluded.
Malfoy wrinkled his nose, "I don't hate it, I just hate how what everyone thinks of Slytherin and that everyone is automatically a dark wizard."
"I bet it gets lonely, doesn't it?" She asked.
He nodded in agreement, "Yeah, we mostly have to keep to ourselves because none of the other houses will give us a chance; which I can understand to an extent. But you know what the worst part of all of it is don't you?"
"What's that?"
"The dungeons." Malfoy chuckled. "They are just terrible. Wet, cold, drafty, smelly all the time. Most days I'm lucky to see the outside through a window much less get to spend time outdoors at all."
Hermione laughed a little, she had often imagined the dark, musty dungeon to be rather unpleasant. "It does sound dreadful."
The pair continued talking back and forth, exchanging thoughts about school and what they liked and disliked for some time. Hermione was beginning to forget that she was talking to the greatly disliked, Draco Malfoy as he didn't appear to be the same person as he usually was. It was a curious interaction indeed, and one that Hermione never expected to experience yet she was grateful for the company and that Malfoy had opened up to her and shown his human side.
Suddenly, the clock tower began to chime high in the sky. "Blimey!" Hermione cried, "It's midnight!"
Malfoy glanced up at the tower, "So it is."
"Imagine how much trouble we'll be in if we are found out of bed after hours." She panicked, "We could get expelled!"
This seemed to amuse Malfoy, "Rubbish," he said, "have to do far worse than that to get kicked out." He got to his feet and held out his hand to Hermione, helping her off the stone bench. Hermione gathered her gorgeous strappy sling backs and took Malfoy's arm. Once they reached the inside of the castle, they found it was rather deserted and that the other students had scuttled off to their common rooms already.
Hermione gave a nervous look around, fearful of being caught by a member of the Hogwarts staff. She then bent down to put on her heels before setting off on the many flights up to the Gryffindor common room.
When she rose to her full height she noted that the lanky Malfoy was still towering over her, even with her four inch heels attached to her feet. She looked up at him, unsure of what to say. "Thank you Malfoy."
"For what?"
"For the distraction. And for the conversation."
He smiled a clever sideways smile at her, "Anytime, Granger." He replied simply before heading off in the direction of the dungeon. Before he vanished through the door he cast one more look in Hermione's direction as she stood poised on the great staircase in her breathtaking dress for the ball. Hermione looked back, fighting off a smile before waving at him and beginning up the stairs.
Minutes later, when she reached the common room, her spirits felt lifted once more. She tip-toped through the fat lady as quietly as she could manage and saw the brilliant fireplace still glowing near the squashy armchairs. Her eyes fell on a mane of red hair hanging over the side of a couch and immediately recognized it as Ron's.
Hermione stepped over to him to see that he was fast asleep, his moth-eaten dress robes discarded on the arm of a nearby chair. She sat down on the seat next to him, being careful not to wake him even though she knew Ron was one of the heaviest sleepers that had ever lived.
She loved the way he looked when he slept, so peaceful and still. One of her favorite things was to listen for when he would occasionally talk in his sleep. He often dreamed of spiders and pop quizzes during potions class, but every once and awhile, Hermione thought she could make out her name is his hazy speech and she wondered what he was dreaming about.
"Accio blanket." Hermione whispered and a plush, grey colored throw zoomed into view. She tossed it over Ron's sleeping body and reached down to gently stroke a lock of his feathery hair.
Ron stirred at her touch and Hermione watched as a smile spread across his face before he quickly fell deeper into sleep. She couldn't help but wonder if he had tried wait up for her so that when she came back he could apologize for his behavior and tell Hermione that he really would have liked to take her to the ball. This thought pleased her, and even though he had said nothing, Hermione felt her frustration with Ron vanish like it always tended to do somehow and she danced up the stairs to the girls dormitory.