So I saw a manip on Tumblr by ProtegoTardis and it was just the perfect Dramione to write. So here is the small one-shot to go with it. The link is on my profile.
Thanks to Nicia for editing this while my love, Sue is busy with her exams.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of its characters.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Draco didn't actually hate Mudbloods. He just didn't know much about them. He had read some books which Dobby had procured for him when he was eight years old. They spoke about how they liked to burn witches in their own cauldrons and make them eat yucky stuff. He didn't want to talk to people if that's what they would do when they found out that he was a wizard. The students who were Mudbloods were obviously witches and wizards, though. He could see them perform magic, especially Granger, who always outwitted him in everything from studying to insults.
It really hurt him when she spoke about Gryffindors getting on the team out of talent, rather than the size of their parents vaults. He had tried out for the team officially and had won the broom race fair and square. He had caught the snitch four out of five times, which made the other contender drop out. The brooms were something that his father had bought the team because Pucey kept complaining about how Gryffindors won because Hooch was a friend of McGonagall's/McGonagall's friend and gave all the nice and working brooms to the Gryffindors.
He still didn't understand why Granger felt so insulted by him calling her a Mudblood. Maybe it wasn't that common in houses other than Slytherin? Maybe Mud was an extreme term, but she didn't have a pure line like the Purebloods did. When she brought him down by insulting his talent, he had to save his honour, especially in front of the whole Slytherin team. The only thing left to insult was her lineage because she was somewhat pretty, and so intelligent.
Draco immediately shushed the part of his brain which had thought her pretty. Mum had ironed it into his head that their family had an upstanding arrangement with the Greengrass family, and he shouldn't sully the Malfoy name by going out with all the girls in his year. Draco had nodded back then, but then again, he was only human. Hermione's slightly large front teeth actually looked cute on her. The fact that Hermione was the last person who'd been petrified was causing him discomfort.
Draco remembered Christmas vacation, when he told Crabbe and Goyle, that he hoped Hermione would be the first to die. Since then, his thoughts had somewhat changed. She had started talking back to him, whenever he taunted her, and he actually tried to rile her up even more so they could banter. Once, she had mentioned something called a photographic memory. He had looked up to see that she could perfectly recall anything she had seen before. That certainly explained why she spoke as if she had swallowed the book and was regurgitating it as opposed to using her own words to describe the technicalities when called upon.
He knew that if they ever became friends, he could give her some advice. His grandmother had the same type of memory and he had gotten her journals after she had passed away. However, Granger clearly bought into the whole Slytherin-hate hype as she looked at him with condescension every time they met. He wished that she would realize that not all Slytherins were stereotypically bad, but at the same time, he followed the same stereotypes while interacting with students of the other houses.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
He had wanted to go and visit Hermione from the first day she'd been petrified, but his and the Gryffindors' classes got over at the same time and rumour had it that both the boys ran to the Hospital Wing every chance they could, only leaving for bedtime. They even had their dinner next to their petrified best friend. Draco could only wonder if any of his friends would have done that for him or kept their distance, not wanting to be attacked themselves. He shook his head, thinking, The Monster is going for all the students without Pure blood. Why am I even worrying about this? Maybe Crabbe and Goyle would have sat next to me, but only because their fathers ordered them to be with me at all times. Maybe Daphne?
However, that lunchtime, he had heard Potter tell the giggly girls from their year that they could go see Hermione since the boys wouldn't be able to make it there that evening. Draco decided to seize the chance and go for it. He had dinner quickly and made up some excuse regarding talking to McGonagall. Seeing how he had been inattentive in class that morning and she had called him up to stay behind, his acquaintances did not ask anything beyond his statement. He walked up to the Hospital Wing, ready with a fake cough, just in case someone happened to be there with her. He entered and found no one there but Hermione, her right hand stuck out in a frozen manner.
He sat right next to her bed as he ran a finger along her fist. It seemed frozen, like the turkey he had encountered when he walked into the kitchens because he was hungry. He tried to get the comparison of Hermione and turkey out of his head as he brought his hand back to his lap, where he folded them, thinking of what to say. He wasn't sure how being petrified affected the person, as all he knew were the killings from the Legends that his Dad had explained to him. He didn't know if she could hear everyone around her, but was frozen herself; or if her mind and body were frozen. He decided to take a chance, seeing how he could pooh-pooh it away if she did remember.
He spoke, "I'm sorry, Granger. I mean, Hermione. Okay, this is hard. I know we've never had any kind words with each other. Rather, I am the one who instigates all our fights while all you do is tell answers and get marks and hang out with Potter and Weasley. If you woke up, I'm sure the whole castle would cheer and Dumbledore would give you a thousand points for making everyone smile or something." He tried to think of more to say, but quietly slinked away, when he realized he didn't want to say anything too emotional. He was a boy after all, and a Malfoy. They didn't reveal their feelings but kept them close to themselves.
It had somehow become a habit of Draco's to visit Hermione twice a week. He always went there in the time the Gryffindor idiots took travelling up the staircases to their dorm on the seventh floor. It took them time to reach there, but he could see Hermione, run to the dorms and still not break curfew because of the proximity to the dungeons. Once he adjusted his tie as he spoke, "Maybe you could think that I want to hang out with you. And I'm sorry I called you Mudblood so many times this year. I know it's a slur against your family, and I do hope you'll forgive me when you wake up. Even though we're twelve, I've been thinking a lot about the future. The Malfoys are very infamous right now, and maybe I could turn it around. Start a charity to helppeople bitten by wolves, or I could become a Healer myself. No one would want to get cured by the son of a maybe Death-eater though."
A voice came from the shadows, "Not if I have anything to say about it." Draco immediately sprang up, his hand reaching for his wand. He always was alone when he met Hermione, and he wanted to beat himself up for thinking it was perfectly normal for no one to be there whenever he came up to the room. Madam Pomfrey walked out of the shadows and proclaimed, "I don't know and I don't care about what rivalries you have outside this Wing. However, I do know that you like spending time with this girl, and I shooed Harry and Ron away earlier tonight so you can also spend some time with her."
Draco was shocked. Except for Severus, no one had ever helped him. Even Severus had an obligation, seeing how he was Draco's Godfather. She then walked towards Hermione, wordlessly muttering a spell as she continued, "And if you are serious about becoming a Healer, you can always talk to Penelope once the Mandrakes finish hatching, and choose my lectures as one of your extra subjects next year. Think over it and let me know. Now, go say goodbye to your lady friend, because you have exactly five minutes left before Professor Snape takes the head count. Draco gave her a thankful look as she turned away, and he kissed Hermione's hand softly as he said, "You'll get better," and ran to the dorms.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
When McGonagall's voice could be heard, rounding all the students like sheep into their dormitories, Draco rushed to Severus, muttering about a nausea sensation and immediately was rushed into the hands of Madam Pomfrey. She looked at him speculatively and muttered, "You don't seem sick, kiddo…" but his pleading look made her soften and she escorted him to the Hospital Wing. She commanded, "If some other teacher comes in here, you told me that you felt somewhat better but laid down on a bed, just in case." Draco nodded vigorously. He knew that he had to be close to Hermione. The notice obviously meant that something much more sinister had happened. He sat next to her, for about thirty minutes, talking about whatever entered his head when Madam Pomfrey walked back in; a large-sized container floating in front of her.
She told him, "The Mandrake Draughts are finally ready, so help me administer them to everyone. It'll take them about five minutes to recover." Draco started with the extreme right bed. It maintained an order for following, and the advantage was that Hermione was lying on that bed. He fed her the potion and then the boy who roamed around with that Muggle contraption, and the Ravenclaw Prefect. He turned around to take more of the potion, when he heard Hermione stirring a bit.
He immediately rushed to her side. He knew that he wouldn't even have been the hundredth person on her list to see when waking up from a petrification, but he didn't want her to wake up alone. Her hand fell down, and she groaned as she tried to lift her hand, but it pained too much to do so. She looked up at the person clouding the light and gasped, "Malfoy!" He tried to come up with words, but just looked at her eyes, finally expressing something after all those weeks, even if it was rage at the moment.
Madam Pomfrey's voice came from behind him, "I wouldn't shout at him if I were you. He's been coming by and keeping you company, talking to you all the time since you were Petrified." Hermione turned to Draco with a shocked look. He just tried to slide his hand through his hair, forgetting the amount of pomade he had slicked it with, leaving his hands all sticky. Hermione started giggling, as he gave her an affronted look, only to start laughing himself with the absurdity of it all.
She said, "I forgive you." He looked stunned, to which she said, "It took me about two minutes to regain my lost memories. Slower than usual." He laughed, but then heard the familiar sounds of his DADA teacher boasting, and the louder sounds of a Weasley shouting. He knew if someone caught him talking in a familiar way to Hermione, not only would he be beaten up, but she would come under a lot of negative scrutiny.
He walked slowly to the wall against the entrance, waiting for Weasley to come running in, so he could get out at the same time. He looked back at the bedside he had been occupying for the past two months to see Hermione move her fingers back and forth to signify a bye. He waved back, and walked away, whistling and not caring who saw him.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Hope you liked it! Please leave me a review if you can, or I'll catch you guys later!