Chapter 1
Friction and such.
"Hermione Granger of Gryfindor, the new Head-Girl of Hogwarts! "
That incredible proclamation resounded within Hermione's ears and made her spin in joy. She clasped her hands in jubilation as her friends filed around her to dish out their felicitations.
" And our new Head-Boy is Draco Malfoy of Slytherin!"
At once wolf cries and shouts resounded from the Slytherin table. Draco sneered while his entourage thumped him on his back, congratulating him. " Ohhh… I'm so happy for you Draccie!" Pansy Parkinson squeaked.
Draco winced inwardly at her mouse-ish voice. He carried on glaring at Hermione, knowing full well that she could feel his gaze on her back. He was determined to be a stumbling block for her, not only that but to cause her problems while she was serving her post with him. If she was going to be his partner in being Head-Boy, he was going to make her suffer.
Hermione tried painfully to avoid Draco Malfoy's glaring, smoky eyes. She really did not want to be Head Girl with THAT particular Head Boy, but she was not going to let this amazing opportunity pass her by. Harry and Ron both gave her huge hugs to let her know how happy they were for her. "Always know you could do it Herms!" Ron commented.
"Hermione! Head Girl! No surprise there!" Ginny Weasley said with wide brimmed smiles.
Hermione could say nothing else (which is rare for her) but smile and laugh happily as the celebrations continued. The floating candles which lit the Great Hall were sparkling especially brightly that night. She looked up towards the ceiling and up into the purplish-blue skies. Her eyes were shining brightly, just like the stars which illuminated into her heart.
As the festivities drew to a close, the school headed for their respective dorms. Lingering behind was Hermione, Harry, Ron and Ginny. Ginny was clutching onto Hermione's cold hands. "I don't know how I'll bear it without you to gossip at night!"
"You'll be fine Ginny, there's always Lavender and Luna." Hermione tried to comfort her. Truth was that while she was excited from her fingers to her tippy toes, she couldn't help the trepidation which crept to her thoughts when she dwelled on the fact that she would be sharing dorms with Draco Malfoy, in close proximity despite having separate rooms.
Ginny squeezed her hands once more and told her to "go get 'em!" and to "do her darnest best!" Harry and Ron made arrangements to meet for breakfast. They smiled at her warmly and entered the Gryfindor dorm.
There she was, alone now. Head Girl. How she had anticipated the day when she would receive the honor. She hugged her arms to her bosom and smiled herself silly. Breaking out of her trance, she skipped to the Head Girl and Boy dorm. Giving her password, she entered the room.
"ARGH!!"
Hermione fell face first into a painful pile of crocodile-skin suitcases and trunks. "Ow… What in Merlin's name…"
"Granger! Get your filthy mudblood hands off my property!"
There could only be 2 people in the world to speak to her like that. First, was her cousin Dandy Granger, her 3 year old cousin with an attitude. A horrible attitude at that. Of course instead of calling her a mudblood, he usually called her Pig. "Pig, pig pig!" She shook herself to shake off the memory. The second person was of course, Draco Molfoy. She sighed inwardly and averted her eyes sideways. Pursing her lips, she lifted herself up and dusted her skirt. She screwed her face into an expression which displayed disgust, as if she just fell into a Pigpen. She turned her palms slowly to face her, slowly, following which, her face changed with every second from a look of disgust to horror.
" Malfoy Dirt!!" she squealed, "I'm done for! Done for!!" With that, she ran into her room screaming in mock horror, her ultimate insult to date for Malfoy.
Draco stood there with his eyes bugged out. For once in his life, he could not think of a single comeback. With a snap of his fingers, his trunks and cases floated obediently into his room. As he turned to retire for the night, he spotted a smaller case which had split open. One of its gold hinges twisted as if it were smashed. The case had contained a few insignificant articles of clothing. Feeling suddenly both generous and vengeful, he took the case and rapped on Hermione's door loudly till she opened.
"What is it Malfoy?!"
"I don't want what your filthy mudblood hands have touched." He said with spite. He tossed her the small case and stormed off full speed into his own sanctuary.
Hermione took the case into her room. It was exceptionally beautiful. It was crafted with genuine crocodile skin and edged with 24-carot gold hinges (one of which she had un-hinged) and monogrammed with squiggles and flourishes and, of course, Draco's initials, D.M. It was wonderful workmanship. The stitches were barely showing. She opened the case and sniffed it. It even smelled expensive! The fine leather work cushioned and protected the contents. It smelled of rich leather and strong yet subtle cologne. Much like sweet poisonous flowers, yet with a manly musky hint. Reminding herself that this was probably Malfoy's personal scent, no wait, smell, she shut the case with its contents and slipped it on her desk, making it her goal to fix the hinge and return it to its original owner.
It had been a long day. Slipping off her Hogwarts attire, she slipped into her old, ragged towel robe and headed for the bath. Just as she was about to enter, she spotted a new black silk robe dangling from a package. It was a gift from her mother before she left for the new school year. Well, as this was a special occasion, to heck with being modest! She flung off her tired towel robe and slipped the silk on. It covered her like a dream. It glided gently down her skin, just like a second skin. Luxurious is what it was! Hermione had been planning to save it for a special day (her birthday), but today! Today was as special as her birthday, taking an additional fluffy pink towel with sweet flowers, she entered the bath. The accommodations were breathtaking. Sparkly clean with marble and statues, a full running round shaped bath was awaiting her.
Hermione twisted her large hair into a high bun, allowing some curls to trickle near her face. She looked pretty like that, sensual even, especially with the new silk robe. However she rarely wore her hair like that, she did not want the attention.
After she was done with her bath, she wiped the water off and slipped back into her new silk. Tossing her towel onto the rack, she grabbed her new Potions book and settled into a cushy sofa in the common room.
3 hours passed before she looked up to find Draco Malfoy staring at her.
"ARGH!" came the second exclamation of the day.
"Are you trying to scare the living daylights out of me Malfoy?!"
"God Granger, what the hell are you still reading at 2 a.m. in the morning?!" he sneaked a peak at her book, "Potions Advanced?! Granger, we haven't even got one lesson in yet."
"It's always good to be prepared and one step ahead!" Hermione rebutted.
"Right, trying to steamroll me out of the honor roll are we?" Draco sneered.
Hermione rolled her eyes. She got up and placed her book on the low table nearby. "Well, I'm off to sleep. G'night Ferret."
Just as Draco was about to give a smarmy remark, he noticed the black silk Miss Bookworm had donned. His right eyebrow cocked up. The light from the common room lamp illuminated the light curves of her waist and hips. As her silhouette disappeared into the room, Draco found himself staring.
"A mudblood will always be a mudblood." He reminded himself and set himself to retire to his room.