The Reason I Became a Witch

Hermione looked up and spotted him from what felt like miles and miles away. She met his gaze and their eyes locked for a while. During that time, she took notice in those piercing blue eyes. The eyes that could kill, Hermione noted, but she also noticed that there was something different about them. They seemed colder and more detached from the world than they were before. She looked away. What the hell did she care for? Nothing. She might've cared at one point, but she had moved on. This is what she told herself. She wasn't a silly, frivolous sixth year anymore. That girl had died along with her heart a year ago.

"Well if it isn't Mudblood-Granger," sneered a voice Hermione knew all too well. "Did Weasley and Potter finally realize they didn't want someone with dirty blood hanging around in their shadows?"

Hermione opened her eyes and decided to give Malfoy something he didn't deserve; a simple glance. Taking a short break for herself, she had found herself a tree not too far away from the safety of the school, yet not too near the woods. It was perfect and secluded. It would've remained so if Malfoy hadn't come stumbling upon it and as much as she prayed to Merlin to send lightning and smite Malfoy to death, she knew it was near impossible, if not farfetched. "Pray tell why you've come to bother me, Malfoy. Shouldn't you be off, running along with your lackeys?"

Draco let out a sneered scoff. "I shouldn't have to answer anything for the likes of you, mudblood." He stepped forward and kicked a rock in her direction. It had fallen short and failed to smack her in the face, which he had hoped for.

"What a failure," Hermione uncaringly said out loud. "Your dear father would have had a massive heart attack if he had witness that." She glanced at the rock near her outstretched feet, then back to Malfoy. Her facial expression told him nothing, but her eyes did. They laughed at him.

Draco saw that glimmer in her eyes. Anger began to flow through him. Jokes and petty insults about him he could handle and shrug off, but mockery was another along with pity. He couldn't stand the two. And right now, he couldn't fucking stand being embarrassed, especially by the likes of her. The anger must've shown on his face because when he began to close the distance between them, with his fists visibly clenched, Hermione was already up, wand in hand.

"Using magic against other students outside of class is prohibited, mudblood," Draco said, giving her a smug-evil look. "Wouldn't want to get tangled with trouble, do you?"

"Humor me, Malfoy. They'd see this as my self-defense against a violent person with a pureblood mentality," Hermione retorted. Draco made no move. They heard a faint and distant sound. The clock struck indicating a new hour. "Well, I don't know what you plan on doing with your useless time, Malfoy, but I've got to go despite how wonderful this encounter of ours has been."

She stooped to retrieve a book on the ground and spared Malfoy a look before leaving. Malfoy followed her with his eyes until she was so far off, she was only a faint figure in the distance. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he stepped forward and reached out to the rock he had previously tried to use to his gain and put it in the safety of one of his pockets. The next time I throw this, Draco thought, it won't be such a failure.

Upon boarding the train, Hermione was pulled along by the force that usually compelled her to sitting with Harry and Ron. They sat in an enclosed cabin and not long after, they were joined by Ginny and Luna. They had the usual conversations, discussing what they had done during the summer. When the trolley came along, Ron and Harry helped themselves to chocolate frogs, exploding bon-bons, and jelly slugs while everyone else chocked on their own laughter and disgust. While eating the jelly slugs, Harry had dared Ron to eat one without chewing it first. Ron had done so and was initially successful until he felt it crawling its way back up his throat, so his victory was short lived. He gagged the slug back out only to have it land straight on Hermione's shirt. Ron was wiping the saliva off his face before looking up at Hermione. Ginny was shrieking, calling him a filthy swine, while Luna took the liberty of removing the slug off Hermione using her own fingers, which made Harry grimace. She carefully unlocked and opened the window and let out the slug, but judging by the consecutive screams further down the train, everyone pretty much guessed the slug found a new window to attach itself to.

Hermione excused herself to the loo, leaving Harry and Luna alone to witness the Weasley siblings fighting with each other. She walked to find the loo and started to think she had gone too far when she could see the door separating the Slytherins from amongst the rest. Lavender emerged from a room Hermione didn't recognize. Before letting Lavender slide by her in that wretchedly narrow hallway, Hermione grabbed her and asked if that was the bathroom. Lavender nodded and when Hermione told her that the bathroom hadn't been there previously, Lavender took the time to quickly inform Hermione of the few renovations done over the summer.

When she had finished wiping the gunk off herself inflicted on her by either Ron or the slug, she pushed the door open without cautiously thinking of students passing by. Hermione heard a male voice swear seconds after the impact of the door. She stepped out to apologize, but stopped short when she saw that it was just Blaise Zabini.

"Mind apologizing, you stupid woman!" He sounded irritated, but he didn't look all that irritated when he saw that it was only Hermione. "Oh, it's Granger," he initially said. Then he added, "You look awfully lovely this year, love."

Hermione wasn't taken by surprised with that comment. Blaise was a Slytherin, yes, but he wasn't a raging bastard every minute of the day like the others. He had his moments, but Hermione knew he was still dangerous all the same. She was careful around him.

"Thank you, Blaise," she replied in a curt tone. She even added on a little nod.

"I see you finally started to take care of that beautiful hair of yours." He snickered before maneuvering around her to return to his seat, which commonly would be near Draco, leaving Hermione glowering at the back of his head.

Before reaching the comfort of his seat, Blaise was greeted by Theodore Nott's loud voice. "What the hell took you so damn long!" he asked. "Was it because you're walking like a fucking ninny?"

Blaise reached into his pocket and threw the packets of food and candy at Theodore's face; the ones he had been asked to get as a favor. "A ninny? You're lucky I consider you a friend to some degree, Nott."

Theodore let out a roar of laughter. "Hell, why the fuck not?" he shrugged. "You have proven yourself useful to me at times. Especially since the trolley stopped coming around to this part of the damn train."

"And whose fault was that?" Pansy mockingly asked. She sat next to Draco, nearest to the window. She was reading a book and paid little to no attention to the two. Draco was watching god knows what on the table, not paying mind to those around him. It didn't bother many people. Some just thought he was out of it.

"I wouldn't have had to curse the old hag if she wasn't being such an annoying bitch," Theodore stated, trying to justify his actions last year. "Anyways what took you so—what's with that bruise on your head?" The question was slightly intriguing enough to cause Draco and Pansy to finally pay some attention to the two standing in the isle making a ruckus.

"Bruise?" Blaise touched his forehead and noticed it did hurt to some degree. "Oh, well I got physically hit, but I didn't think it'd cause a bruise at this rate."

"What? Who the hell dare hit you?" Theordore asked.

"It…Well, it was a door," Blaise said, nonchalantly. "But it wasn't Granger's fault. She didn't seem to know I was standing right behind it."

But, like normal, the filters of his friends' ears had drained everything, but the word Granger. Theodore was the first to respond. "Granger? The mudblood? Please tell us that you did something."

Draco watched Blaise with a careful eye. "I did. I told her how lovely she looked." Draco's eyebrows slightly arched; amused…surprised…or whatever it was. "I also complimented her hair, but that was about as far as our conversation went."

Theodore smacked himself in the face and dragged his hand across it. "Oh fucking god, Blaise. Tell you what I would've done," he said, pressing a finger to Blaise's chest. "I would've told that bitch to get on her pretty little knees and apologize. Right, Draco?"

Then the process began. Draco flashed that perfect, infamous smirk, quirked his eyes brows and let out a chuckle. "Absolutely. Mudbloods haven't got the right to anything. Besides, she caused that bruise on your head, Blaise. Least you could've done was shove her around for the hell of it."

"Aw, now where was that lovely prince charming Granger came to know last year?" Blaise said, sporting a large smile with a glimmer in his eyes.

Theodore burst out laughing once again. "Don't be a fool and bring that up again, Blaise. Everyone already knows."

"Right," Pansy said, jumping it with her own smug smirk. "Only a blind and witless idiot would believe that Prince Charming Draco actually existed."

Draco leaned back in his seat and said his final words before falling into a short nap. "And that idiot was Mudblood-Granger."

A/N: Welcome to my new story domain as The Bet comes to an end. Originally I had planned The Bet to be a rated M, but middle-schooler me wouldn't agree. So here I am with a shot. I have yet to figure out what kind of character Blaise will be. I'll come around it. As for Theodore...you get the hint. Anyways, enjoy!

Comment, review, favorite, follow. You know the drill. Depending on the feedback I'll continue the story.