This year I started absolutely normal, except one such an irritating thing – I was the headgirl in Gryffindor. Of course, other homes have their headboys and headgirls too. But that was beside the point. The point was that Draco Malfoy – my worst enemy - was on his best way to became the headboy of Slytherin, and that was something what I really couldn't cope with if he really would. I hated him as much as I could hate anybody. Such an irritating damn bastard. The worst Slytherin of all. I even couldn't look at him without disgust, I just couldn't understand how a man can be that evil. Some people (Parvati, my friend) said that he had to have some kind of a "heart" hidden deep in himself. Well, as far as I noticed it has to be hidden very, very, VERY deep, if he really have one. I've never heard from him any word said in a civil way. Everything he said to me was full of curses, and proofs that I'm such an useless and ugly mudblood. And I hated him for that too. I mean: it's not my fault, that actually I am a mudblod, right? So what was his problem? Couldn't he just not to talk to me, if he didn't want to? But no, he had to hurt my feelings every time he could. For him it was fun. For me it was just terrible. I don't mean that I was concerned about him, but anyway - it was still not-nice to listen, every time I met him, so bad words about me. And he always won. Maybe that's why I hate him too. Because, you know, sometimes it's nice to fight with somebody – just for fun - unless you have no chance to win in this fight. Well, I think that's all what bothered me about Draco Malfoy. But it's pretty much, isn't it?
In Monday I found out that Malfoy really become headboy. Such a nice news for first day of 6th year in school, isn't it? That meant that I would live next to him whole long ten months! Alright, it wasn't that bad, was it? Well, even if I knew that I would met him every morning going breakfast, and every evening going bed, that was that all. Nothing more. I decided to ignore his stupid fights and curses, and don't bother about it any more. Well it didn't look like easy to do, but I remained myself, that there's no reason to talk with him at all. He may thinks what he wants, I would not talk to him, even if somebody would offer me a million galleons for that! Well, maybe I would have that luck, and wouldn't met him every day, who knows…
Unfortunately, in Tuesday, she met him in the hall.
"Oh, here comes Ms. I-Know-It-All. What's been up, Granger? Have you read some new books or something? Or you spent all vacation with your sweet-and-lovely boyfrend, Potty?" He smirked.
She hated that smirk on his face.
"None of your business, Malfoy." She tried not to look at his face. "But if you want to know – I haven't read any books, and I haven't seen Harry since June" She whispered fast, remaining herself not to fight with him again.
"So he is your boyfriend, right?"
"God, no! What the hell are you talking about?"
"Well, you didn't deny it."
"Alright. I'm denying it now." She rolled her eyes "And shut up, Malfoy, because I can't stand your stupid comments any more"
"If you want to know, for me it's not such a pleasure, to talk to you either, mudblod." He said slowly, smirking. "So the one and only time I will do what you want me to do and in fact I'll shut up"
The rest of the way to their rooms they spent in quiet.
When Draco reached the peak of DAMN LONG stairs to his new room, he entered and laid at the sofa. Life seemed good. He was the headboy of Slytherin, somebody who he wanted to be since he was in Hogwart and he had his own big room just for him. The only reason why his mood was not good enough to dancing for joy was that he was due to live next to a mudblood for whole long year. 'But I assume I can survive it, if I will meet her just once or twice a day', he thought to himself hopefully.
On evening he met her going downstairs. He didn't feel like fighting her actually, but he just had to say something before she might think that he is still doing what she have told him to do yesterday or something. But this time she spoke first.
"Why I always meet you at the hall! Is it some kind of a punishment?" She said, more to herself, than to him, gazing up at ceiling.
"If it is, they are punishing me too!" 'Don't know, how much, you stupid mudblood' He answer, copying her voice, and resisting the temptation of saying the second sentence too.
"Oh, don't start again, Malfoy, I really don't feel like fighting today"
"I should remain you, that you started it first, Granger"
"You don't have to answer on every single word I say, do you?" She rolled her eyes.
For him she was the most-often-rolling-eyes person, he has ever met.
"I don't, but it gives me some kind of a pleasure. You know, to piss you off." He said smirking.
"I won't give you that pleasure again, Malfoy. As you can see, I'm calm"
"Well, even if you look calm in outside, I can always imagine, what is happening inside you now, if you know, what I mean, Granger" he says, imagining how badly pissed off she was at the moment.
"Think whatever you want, Malfoy. I'm as calm in inside as I am in outside"
"Yeah, right" He rolled his eyes the same way she does it.
"Alright Malfoy, I'll tell you something. You piss me off like nobody can do. But there's nothing to be 'proud' of it, believe me. Do you feel this 'pleasure' now?"
"Yes, it feels very good to know, that one of the mudbloods hates me, especially if this mudblood is you, Granger"
And then she said something what he didn't expected her to say.
"I didn't say that I hate you."
"What do you mean? O, c'mon I won't believe that you like me!" he cried with surprise
"I don't like you either, of course. But for me you're just like a big, old, broken down kid."
That was too much. He felt shivers running down his body.
"Or maybe you don't know me that much to say who I am?" He said, trying to look calm.
"And how well do you know ME, Malfoy, to saying it all the time?" She asked, before she entered to the Great Hall and sat with the Gryffindors.
When she sat near to Harry and Ron she was furious. 'I have to do something with it, or I'll go insane, before Christams will come' she thought, remaining how badly has Malfoy pissed her off.
"Hello Er-My-Knee" Said Ron eating his supper, wit mouth full of meal.
"Why are you in such a bad mood, Hermione?" Asked Harry, while he noticed how irritated she was.
"Nothing. It's just Malfoy. But I'll survive"
"Oh, c'mon, don't bother about him. He will never change"
"I know. That's exactly what bothers me"
"Just try to ignore him." Said Ron still looking only at his plate.
"It's not so easy, Ron. I mean I live next to him and we meet all the time!"
"I suppose it must be horrible"
"Believe me, it is"
When she at last started to eat her meal she tried to forget about Malfoy. Just like Hagrid says: "It's not very healthy to think about something hideous, when you are eating". She smiles. Yeah, those words ideally matched the situation. She raised her head up, still with smile on her face. And then she noticed that Malfoy was looking at her. The smile disappeared from her face immediately. But Malfoy wasn't looking like he in confusion because of the fact that she noticed that he's staring at her. Even more! He had good fun! Hermione was wondering how long he was looking at her. She didn't like if anybody was staring at her, especially Slytherins, and even more especially Malfoy.
She stood up and left before finishing eating supper. She couldn't stand it any more. When she was going to the door she noticed that he still was looking at her. With this awful smirk on his face. She almost understand what he meant when he said that pissing her off gives him pleasure. This was one of this moments, when he certainly was pleasured.
In the hall she met professor McGonnagall.
"Good morning, professor"
"Oh, Hermione, it's good to see you. Professor Dumbledore asked me to tell you and Mr. Malfoy that he is waiting for you in his cabinet."
"But professor… we didn't do anything…"
"Oh, don't worry! He doesn't want to punish you or something! Now go and take Mr. Malfoy with you. "
Hermione had to go to the Dumbledore's cabinet with Malfoy AT THE MOMENT. That meant that she had to go to the Slytherin's table first and tell Malfoy about it. And there was nothing in entire world she doesn't want to do as much as she doesn't want to go there, but she just had to.
When she was walking along the table every face in Great Hall was staring at her awfully. Even Gryffindors. Even Harry and Ron. And most horrible – Malfoy's best friends. At their faces appeared this awful smirks since they noticed, that she is going to talk to Draco.
"I met professor McGonnagall in the hall and she said, that professor Dumbledore is waiting for us in his cabinet now." She said trying to ignore Slytherins giggles.
Malfoy didn't answered. She could see that he was going to irritate her a bit with all Slytherins looking at them. He was sitting calmly and relaxed in front of her with that cold look in his eyes and smirk at his face.
"So?" he asked coldly.
"So he is waiting there NOW" she says as calmly as she could.
"Yes, I've understood you! But I guess you are not that stupid and don't think that I'm going to go there with you, are you?"
Some Slytherins, including Blaise Zabini – Malfoy's bast friend, laughed.
And that was too much for her.
"LISTEN YOU MORON COULDN'T YOU JUST GET YOUR DUMB ASS OFF THIS CHAIR AND ONCE IN YOUR LIFE DO SOMETHING WITHOUT YELLING!"
It was perfectly quiet after she said that. No one even dared to move.
Malfoy knew that he will have to go to Dumbledore's cabinet anyway. He only wanted to piss her off again. But after hearing what she just said to him he couldn't give up. She called him a 'moron'. If he did what she was wanting him to do, it will be the end of his good reputation. He had to thinking fast.
"I'll do it, if you'll say 'please' first" He said and the smirk appeared on his face again.
Well, maybe it was a good idea unless it turned out that she wasn't going to ask him in that way. She was just remaining silent, and staring at his eyes with a furious look.
"So you're not going with me, are you?" She ask him after a few minutes.
"And you're not going to ask me in a civil way, are you?"
"Alright. If you don't want to go you can stay here, but your father is waiting for you too." She said with sweet voice. Of course there was a little lie at the end, but it was worth seeing Malfoy's face after he heard that.
"What are you talking about, he is here?"
Hermione didn't answer. But that changed situation. Malfoy stood up and followed her to the door.
After leaving Great Hall she noticed, that he was looking very nervous. So even Malfoy can sometimes not to look calm? It was strange.
"I was just kidding about your father" She said, not looking in his eyes, when they were going to the cabinet
"You WHAT?"
"I had to say something what could make you go with me."
Malfoy stopped. How dared she lie to him like that? 'Gryffindor lies? Oh, c'mon it must be some kind of a joke' he thought.
"That kind of lying, with looking at eyes and being calm makes you sound like a Slytherin, Granger" he said slowly. And he really was thinking like that.
"You see, we, Gryffindors aren't stupid, we're just trying to be good. But if we have to, we can lie as well as every Slyherin can." she said, but know it wasn't exactly true.
"You didn't have to lie. You could just say 'please'!" He said smirking.
"Oh, c'mon, Malfoy, I'm not a Hufflepuff to be afraid of YOU!"
"But you made one mistake, my dearest mudblood." He said after a while.
"Yeah? I wonder what kind of mistake it is?"
"You TOLD me that it was only a lie. And now I'm not going with you"
"Of course you're going, Malfoy. Dumbledore is waiting for us!" she panicked, when realized her mistake.
"Okay. I will, but first you have to ask me using 'please'" He said after a while, smirking.
'Men. Are they never making concessions!' Hermione thought to herself.
"Alright, alright. Would you like to come with me to the Dumbledore's cabinet, Malfoy, PLEEEEAAASE?" She said, extremely furious.
"Draco." He corrected her, smirking.
"Draco." She repeated rolling her eyes.
Chapter two: The watch
Hermione was coming to Dumbledore's cabinet with Malfoy, wondering what he was going to tell them. Of course she knew that it wasn't something bad, but anyway; it always feels scary, when you're invited to your principal's cabinet, doesn't it?
They were going keeping silent since they last talk, when Malfoy agreed to go with her. 'Even better' she thought looking at Malfoy's face. How he can be so afraid of his father? She remembered how he was looking, when she lied to him about it. What he may thought his father would want from him? She stopped thinking about it, when she realized suddenly, that she was actually staring at him, and he noticed it.
"What you are looking at, Granger?"
"Nothing. Just wondering why you're so afraid of your father…" She decided to be sincere.
"Firstly: It's not your business, stupid mudblood. Secondly: I'm not afraid of him" He said with narrow eyes.
"Oh c'mon, I've seen your face!"
"It wasn't fear on it, it was just astonishment. Anyway; is it bothering you that much, Granger?"
"I just told you what I was thinking about"
"Then shut up finally, you damn bith!"
She didn't answer. What she supposed to tell him? Yep, again she lost the battle.
She was following him when he stopped so suddenly that she hit his back.
"Fuck, Granger, what do you think it can be?" he asked moving aside.
It was a watch. But Hermione was certain that she has never seen that kind of watch before. And it was levitating right in front of Malfoy's face. She looked at it more precisely, and she noticed that hands was running so fast, that she hardly could see it. And even in wizard's world it was weird that in a middle of hallway a strange-looking watch was levitating in the air.
She raised her hand and picked it.
"Look, there's some inscription on it." She said looking at the watch.
"Let me see it." Said Malfoy trying to take the watch out from her hand.
"Hey, wait a minute!" She said holding it strongly.
They were fighting for awhile, when suddenly by an accident Hermione pushed the button in top of the watch. Hands of the watch stopped.
Suddenly she felt weirdly.
"What's going on, Granger!" - were the last words she heard.
The next thing she noticed was that she was lying on the floor, with an awful headache. And a few feet away Malfoy was standing up from the floor. And what was the most strange: the watch was gone.
"What had just happened?" She asked Malfoy in confusion.
"You tell me!" He said looking around.
Hermione looked at the window and noticed that it was already night.
"What's the time?" she asked, before realizing who she was talking to.
"Geez, I don't know, mudblood" He pushed up the sleeve of his robe and looked at his watch "Oh God…"
"What!"
"I don't know how long we were lying here, but it couldn't be that long. It's already midnight!"
Next morning she woke up feeling much better. She hadn't got that horrible headache anymore. She was thinking about what happened last night. Of course they didn't come to Dumbledore's cabinet after that accident. Well, anyway, they had to go there right after breakfast.
"HERMIONE WAKE UP YOU GONNA BE LATE TO THE BREAKFAST!" she heard Ron's voice from behind the door.
"You can come in, Ron, I'm woken up!"
"Hello Hermy" He said smiling standing in the door.
"Oh God!" She rolled her eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you that I hate when you're calling me 'Hermy'?"
"I promise I won't do it again"
"Alright, alright. Let's go and eat 'the most important meal of the day', shall we?"
"Of course, let's go"
They spent most of the time of their breakfast talking about Quiddith match which Harry and Ron was going to see tomorrow. Hermione didn't like Quiddith actually.
"I still can't understand how can you stay in the castle when everybody will be enjoying the match!" said Harry looking at her pretending to be amaze.
"Oh don't start again! I told you: I hate Quiddith! It's boring, boring, boring…" she rolled her eyes "Of course I'm always happy when Gryffindor wins, and I realized that from your point of view it might seem like an exciting game and you're certainly not bored, but understand: I AM!" she added when saw angry on Harry's face.
"OK, whatever, Hermione." He said looking at his plate.
"Hey, let's talk about something else." Said Ron quickly. "Something we all like."
"For example?" Asked Hermione sarcastically.
"Uhm…" Said Ron in confusion when he realized, that actually there wasn't anything like that.
"So Hermione, maybe you'll tell us about your living-next-door-to-Malfoy?" Asked Harry.
"Pretty good. I don't see him every morning and evening, if that's what you're asking."
"I'm asking because you still haven't told us why the hell you went to Slytherin table, talk with him for a while and took him out of the Great Hall yesterday!"
"Oh, so that's why you're so sulky!" She said with relief. "I almost forgot about it"
"How luck that you didn't!" Said Ron sarcastically.
"Alright, alright. I just met professor McGonnagal when I was on my way to my room, and she said that professor Dumbledore is waiting for us in his cabinet at the moment."
"And what he wanted from you?"
"Malfoy didn't want anything from me. I just took him with me."
"I'm talking about Dumbledore!" Ron rolled his eyes.
"Oh yes, Dumbledore?" Hermione said in confusion. 'To tell them abut the watch, or not to tell them – that's the question' she thought. "We didn't go there actually." She whispered quickly.
"Why!"
"Because… uhm… because… Malfoy said that he won't go with me."
"Then why didn't you go there alone?"
"I was… I was afraid that Dumbledore may want to punish us or something."
That was a lie. Professor McGonnagall denied it yesterday.
"Were you?" Said Ron with narrow eyes.
"He would punish Malfoy anyway." Added Harry. "And did you do something for what he could blame you?"
"No, of course not! I was just afraid! But maybe you're right I'll go there today. See you later." She said and stood up.
"Bye" Said both Harry and Ron at the same time.
Bloody hell, they were right! She had to go to Dumbledore, or she could get herself in trouble. She decided to do it after Potions lesson.
Potions started at eight o'clock.
"The friendship potion" Snape, as he always does, wrote ingredients at the table and sat waiting for the end of lesson.
Hermione was finishing her potion, when she heard Goyle's voice.
"So Granger maybe you'll have few friends at last, if you drink this potion!" He said dumbly laughing.
"Stop fighting Goyle, I'm here in business." Said Draco to his friend. "Granger, have you been in Dumbledore's cabinet yet?"
"No" She said, hoping he won't say anything about the watch, because Harry and Ron was listening.
"So what you're waiting for, mudblood?"
"You're going with me, Malfoy" She said, copying his usual smirk.
"I'm certainly not going to talk to this crazy old fool." He said calmly. "The reason why I'm talking to you is that I want to be sure, that you won't tell him anything not-nice about me."
"Since when do you care?"
"None of your business, Granger" He smirked and turned around to walk away.
"Wait a minute Malfoy!"
"Yes, mudblood?"
"You are going with me! Yesterday you agreed to that!"
Whoops! She forgot that she told Harry and Ron that Malfoy didn't agree. Now her friends were looking at her suspiciously.
"Yesterday I was in a better mood." Answered Malfoy coldly.
"Oh c'mon! And I even said 'please'!" She said rolling her eyes.
Malfoy was remaining silent for awhile, and then he said smirking:
"Yeah, you're right. That was funny. But that doesn't mean that I'm going with you now, does it?"
"Actually, yes, it does. And I don't care if you want or don't want to go. JUST COME ON!" She said and aimed with wand at him.
"So I assume I have no choice." Said Malfoy pretending to be worried "Are you threading me, mudblood?"
"Maybe I am"
"Maybe you shouldn't."
"Maybe I don't care."
"Maybe you're not that brave to try to hurt me?" He said smirking.
"Do you want to find out?" She said moving closer to his face with wand in her hand.
Even if he wasn't looking like he was, he was really scared. Hermione Granger actually was a powerful with, even if she was a mudblood. And she was Gryffindor, so she certainly had enough courage to hurt him. Well, not to kill, but hurt for sure!
"Alright." He said slowly, trying to move aside, but she was still aiming at him. "Let's say I actually can't go with you right now, but I'll do it about four o'clock, okay?"
He wasn't lying. He had to talk to his father and actually he was five minutes late already.
"But don't even try to be late, Malfoy." She said and put her wand into her pocket.
"I'll think about it." He said and went away to his table.
"Wow, Hermione, you're really lucky, that Snape haven't noticed that you're threading Malfoy." Whispered Ron into her ear. "You could get yourself in some troubles if he would."
"You're right. I shouldn't do it."
"No, actually it was worth seeing his face when you were aiming at him." Said Harry laughing.
"Oh yeah, he was really scared." Added Ron giggling.
It was five past four already. Hermione was waiting for Malfoy by the door of Dumbledore's cabinet. He was late.
Another five minutes passed.
'Couldn't he just one time in his entire life do something in the right way!' thought Hermione, but then she saw Malfoy's silhouette walking up the stairs.
"You are late, Malfoy!" She shouted to him.
"I know I am. I just couldn't be here earlier." Said Malfoy not even trying to fight with Hermione. He had just finished long and unpleasant conversation with his father about Draco's joining to the Death Eaters next month, and his mood wasn't good enough to enjoy irritating Granger.
"Whatever." Said Hermione rolling her eyes. "So can we go now?" She asked and entered into Dumbelore's cabinet without waiting for Malfoy's answer.