Hermione Granger did not believe in fate.
Believing in fate meant resigning yourself to the fact you weren't in the driver's seat, that every twist and turn had been mapped out before you'd even turned the key in the ignition. Believing in fate did not fit in with who she was.
The calm, rational, reasonable one. The one who always looked at things from a neutral point of view, even when it caused her friends to question her sanity.
Ron was the hothead, brawn before brains, wand before words, why try and talk through differences when you could hex someone? And Harry was, well, Harry for lack of a better word. Always dependable, especially in life or death situations. He had faced the darkest and most feared wizard of all time several times over and always kept his cool. But put him in a dungeon with Snape and the Slytherins and he didn't seem to have any self control.
And that was the one thing Hermione prided herself on.
Self Control.
Self control was her gift, what had helped her through some of the toughest moments in her life, physically and mentally. Growing up she had endured the usual childish insults
"Goofy, hey look at goofy!"
"Hey Hermione, did a bird build its nest on your head"
"Ugly bushy haired know-it-all"
But nothing had made her lose it. Know one can make you feel inferior without your consent she'd always mused to herself. That, and the usual sticks and stones…
But then she'd met him.
And boy did he test her self control.
"I'm curious Granger, if your parents got a divorce would they still be brother and sister?"
"Somewhere out there, a circus is missing its buck toothed bush monkey"
"Someday Granger, there going to name a disease after you"
"I'd curse you to look ugly, but by the looks of things I missed the rush"
It wasn't as if she didn't retaliate, but, truth be told, there wasn't a lot she could say to him. His hair wasn't out of control like hers; his teeth were normal sized and straight. He appeared to be, physically at least, the type of man that women were drawn to. Beautiful, dark and dangerous.
And God did she hate him.
She hated his stupid smirk, she hated the way his voice seemed to drawl, she hated the way he always tried to belittle her. Oh, the rational Hermione knew she should ignore him; the rational Hermione would walk away with her head held high and not stoop to his level.
Unfortunately, every time he was around the rational Hermione seemed to be more content letting the irrational Hermione do all of the talking
"Everyone has the right to be stupid Malfoy, but you really should stop abusing the privilege"
"Your village called, there missing an idiot"
"Wow, a thought crossed your mind? It must have been a long and lonely journey"
"Don't sleep on your side ferret or your pea brain might roll out"
Yes, it was a well known fact in Hogwarts, amongst both students and professors, that no two people despised each other more then Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger, both brilliant in their own ways, each one trying to out do the other in everything that they did, even in something as small and insignificant as an insult.
Which was precisely how they'd gotten themselves into this mess.
"Detention! For both of you! No Mr Malfoy I do not want to hear one word from you! What kind of example do you think you're setting to the younger pupils? 10 points from Slytherin and 10 from Gryffindor! I have never…"
"But professor, Malfoy said…"
"I do not want to hear it Miss Granger! There is no excuse for using that kind of language! I expect to see you both here tonight at 8pm sharp, do I make myself clear"
"This isn't fair!" her mind screamed "He calls me mudblood and I end up in detention?!"
But all that came out of Hermione's mouth was a meek "Yes professor McGonagall," as she watched her head of house stalk back into her classroom.
"Nice going mudblood, now I have to waste an evening with you. Do me a favour and find a bag big enough to fit your bushy head in, I'd rather not hurt my delicate eyes," Malfoy drawled.
"Oh believe me ferret, I can think of many things I'd rather be doing then spending any time with you, I'd rather trek through the forbidden forest naked and…"
"Now that's a scary thought," Malfoy interrupted "You with no clothes on. I think I'm going to be sick..."
"You're not the one who has to look at your greasy albino…"
"Right that's it!" the Transfiguration classroom door burst open and Professor McGonagall stormed out much to the amusement of the 1st years she was trying to teach.
"I have had it up to here with the pair of you!" she barked, her voice quivering with anger "20 points from your respective houses and detention with me for the rest of the week, and I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT MR MALFOY! I am trying to teach a class and all I can hear is your bickering! Go back to your common rooms until your next period starts," Draco Malfoy opened his mouth to speak "IF I SEE OR HEAR ANYTHING FROM EITHER ONE OF YOU IT WILL BE DETENTION FOR THE REST OF THE TERM!" She stalked back into her classroom and slammed the door behind her.
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By next period everyone seemed to know what had transpired outside the transfiguration classroom, Hermione groaned inwardly
"Did you really say that to him" Ron had questioned her as they waited in the corridor outside the Potions Dungeon
"I said a lot of things Ronald; you'll have to be more precise"
"Did you tell him he was possessed by a retarded ghost?" Ron asked watching Hermione blush
"I, um, well…" Hermione stuttered watching Ron roar with laughter
"That's priceless," he said wiping his eyes, "I wish I could have seen the look on his face"
"What's so funny?" Harry asked joining them near the front of the line
"Yes do tell Weasel," a voice drawled. Hermione turned to face the direction from which it was coming.
Here we go again, she mused to herself.
"Sod off Malfoy," Ron retorted, "no one was talking to you"
"Is that the best you can do Weasel? Even the bush baby here can do better then that," he nodded towards Hermione as he stepped out of the shadows and walked towards them. Everyone stopped talking and turned to face the scene ahead of them, knowing what was coming next.
"5 sickles on Granger" Dean Thomas whispered to Parvati Patel
"I don't know, Malfoy looks pretty pissed" she replied
"Wise girl Parvati" Pansy Parkinson giggled "not to bet against Draco"
"Mind your own business pug face" Seamus Finnegan hissed at her, "Hermione will put him in his place like she always does"
Hermione and Malfoy faced each other, both oblivious to the whispers that were going on around them, both waiting for the other to make the first move. Finally, Hermione sighed
"Haven't you had enough of this for one day Malfoy? We already have to spend 7 evenings together, isn't that enough?"
"Hmm, is it enough" he mused, stroking his chin in mock though, "No Granger, I don't think it is. It's never enough when it comes to you. You're like my favourite toy," he walked towards her and smirked as she backed off. He was closing in on her she realised taking another step back; he was way too close for comfort. Her eyes darted around for someone, anyone to save her from him. But it looked as though the rest of Slytherin and Gryffindor were engaged in their own battle. She watched Harry holding Ron back from Blaise Zabini, and Pansy and Parvati having to be separated by Theodore Nott and Neville Longbottom.
Hermione took another step back and felt the wall behind her.
"Fu…" she started
"Language Granger" he said in a mock-shocked voice, "I know you're a filthy mudblood, but there's no reason for the filthy language" He leaned in and stopped inches from her ear, "Your like my favourite toy" he repeated watching her with those cold, empty eyes.
"Keep talking" she said, her voice barely audible above the racket that was going on around them, "and one day you might just say something intelligent." He laughed
"Tell me Mudblood?" he whispered in her ear, "If I told you I have a piece of dirt in my eye," he moved away from her ear, closer to her face, his cold gray eyes boring into hers "Would you move?"
Hermione growled and pushed him away from her, and reached for her wand, not noticing everyone around them had gone quiet.
"I've had it with you, you foul, evil, son of a bi…"
"If you finish that sentence Miss Granger you'll lose more house points then Gryffindor are likely to get this year, and it would be such a shame for them to finish in minus figures," came a quiet voice from behind her.
"Oh shit," she felt her stomach drop as she turned to face her potions professor, "there's no point in arguing with him"
"I think that'll be 20 points from Gryffindor, for causing such commotion outside my classroom" Professor Snape said silkily, his dark eyes boring into hers, almost daring her to challenge him
"And what's the point," she thought to herself, "if I do I'll lose more points and end up in detention with Snape, scrubbing bedpans without magic or whatever vile thing his twisted mind can come up with" So instead she lowered her head and replied
"Yes Professor Snape".
"Good. Now, in", he turned his back on the class and marched into his dungeon, the students following silently behind him.
"Until next time Mudblood" Malfoy drawled sauntering into the dungeon leaving Hermione alone in the corridor
"Until next time ferret" she muttered under her breath.