Hermione sat in the Head compartment of the Hogwarts Express; she'd just sent the prefects on their way after giving them full instructions. At first she'd been delighted to make Head Girl, until she found out who had made Head Boy. What on earth was McGonagall thinking, putting him in charge along side her. It was outrageous, he hadn't done anything to deserve it. Hard work wasn't in his vocabulary; she had worked for this much harder than him. Now she had to put up with him.
"Thanks for all the help you gave me back then." Hermione's tone dripped with sarcasm. During the whole meeting he hadn't said a word, instead nodding his head occasionally when necessary.
"You didn't need my help by the sound of things, Granger." Draco Malfoy sat opposite her, his arms resting lazily on the table between them. This was going to be a long year.
"You could have offered." The blonde boy scoffed at her words, glancing out the window. Mountains could be seen in the distance, clouds dwindling near their peaks.
"They were all getting along fine, pretending I wasn't here." It was true, his silence had meant their fellows students could listen with ease. Most of them found him intimidating to say the least.
"They're all scared of you, that's why." Hermione crossed her arms in frustration. People had been afraid of him for as long as she could remember and she would never understand why.
Draco turned slowly to look at her. "I am well aware of that, Granger." His eyes pierced hers, searching for something that would give her away. Hermione was far too good at keeping her cards close to her chest, so he found nothing.
"Well, I'm not scared of you." She held her chin up high with confidence, averting her eyes from his quickly. This was what he liked about the woman in front of him, her persistent need to be right and her courageous attitude. Nothing seemed to deter Hermione Granger, not even him.
"I didn't expect you to be." Draco gazed down at the ring on his finger, twirling it round his finger distractedly. "But the funny thing is, I'm scared of you." The words had barely formed in his mind before leaving his mouth, causing his eyes to widen. Shit. Draco ran a hand through his hair, the urge to take his words back beginning to settle. Even though his voice had been quiet she'd heard him clearly. Taking them back would be pointless.
Hermione furrowed her brow in confusion. "What?" The man's words began to sink in, but still made no sense. Why in the world was he scared of her? That was the last thing she'd expected him to say, if anything she'd expected him to accuse her of lying. "You're scared of me?" Saying the words out loud made them sound even more ridiculous.
Draco nodded his head slightly, barely allowing Hermione to see. "You are everything I'm not." The train roared loudly as it continued on its journey. The Head Boy could hardly believe he was saying any of this. Maybe he would be lucky and she wouldn't believe him.
Hermione's head was a tangled web of bewilderment. It was difficult to believe he was saying any of this. "Don't be daft." This was all she could think of to say. Until a wall of questions came crashing down on her. "What do you even mean by that? I'm everything you're not? What?" She tucked several strands of hair behind her ear, feeling more than flustered by it all.
"I just…" Words failed him for a second. Should he really go into this? Explaining his thoughts briefly might suffice for her. Going into detail wasn't a good idea. "You're a brave and intelligent witch, Granger. I am neither of those things." Draco found himself shrugging, staring out of the window again.
"I'm not that brave, but intelligent yes." A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Whenever something serious happened between Harry, Ron and herself, Ron would always try joking to diffuse the tension. Maybe that would work here too.
Sure enough, a smirk made its way onto Draco's face as he glanced towards her briefly. Humour was the last thing he'd expected from her. "Forget I said anything." He muttered, the smirk fading once more.
"No. You're just as smart as me, Malfoy. Probably braver too." Whether she believed her own words was questionable, but she'd thing about that later.
"Braver? I don't think so." The blonde shook his head. Bravery had never been on his list of strong points, the war had proved that. He did what needed to be done, and only did that for himself.
"You saw things that can't be forgotten easily. Your parents were in danger and you did everything in your power to keep them alive. In my book, that's bravery." Hermione leant forward in her seat slightly, if only to emphasise her point further.
Draco's hands began to flex on the table. "You were on the right side. Potter's side."
"That doesn't matter now. You did what was right in the end." The whole train gave a jolt as the brakes suddenly jerked into action.
"Hardly." The Slytherin shook his head, refusing to give the eye contact she was desperately seeking.
With a sigh Hermione looked down at her watch. "We better get going." She stood from her seat and made her way to the compartment door.
"Granger." Draco called after her, cursing himself inwardly. Could he never keep his mouth shut, for merlin's sake.
"Yes?" She turned to look at him and her eyes collided with his grey ones finally.
"Thanks." The word was barely audible, but she still smiled.
"No problem. See you after the feast." With that Hermione opened the compartment and was on her way. That had been the most bizarre interaction the two had shared during all seven years at Hogwarts.
all of these one-shots have been for competitions which is why they aren't that long. I try not to rush them but I also have a word limit. Hope you like them all. I also make graphics for them on tumblr, my tumblr; .com Thanks for reading reviews welcome 3