A/N - Hello! This is my first HP story, but I'm sure there will be more to come. The first few chapters of the fic are pretty dark and twisted, but there will be fluff, sweet moments and healthy friendships to come. Takes place during their sixth year at Hogwarts.
Disclaimer: All credit is owed to J.K. Rowling, I own nothing. Cover art is not mine, but I could not find its owner so if you can let me know, thank you!
Ch. 1 – What the hell is a Hufflepuff?
Ron and Lavender were snogging again! They did so often in front of poor Hermione it made her head spin. She closed the book she'd been trying to read in the library and stood up to put it back on the bookshelf. Bewildered by how many wizards abuse the library, Hermione strode over to the columns of bookshelves. She searched for the surname letter "L". She carried the book with on hand and the other was firmly grasping her wand that rested in her back pocket.
Sighing quite loudly, Hermione only found herself at "C" for the surname letter of the authors bookshelves. She had a long way to walk before putting her book back. She glanced quickly behind her, feeling someone's stare and hearing the soft sound of footsteps behind her. Seeing platinum blonde hair and a tall skinny, yet fit, figure walking directly behind Hermione, she knew the walk would last even longer.
Draco quickened his pace so to match Granger's. "So, Granger, did you finally find a book in here you haven't read three times yet?" The snicker of Draco's two followers gave him the satisfaction of the tease and Hermione's exasperated sigh and obvious ignorance gave Draco the green light to continue.
"You know it seems odd to see a little bookworm on her own, don't they travel in packs?" He half smiled, knowing hidden behind that look of disgust on the girls face was pain.
"Shut it, Malfoy," Was Hermione's snide remark. She kept glancing at the letters passing by her, praying "L" would be coming up soon.
"Oooh," Draco sarcastically pretended to be afraid. "Why should I? Does it bother you Granger?" Draco pressed, keeping up with her fast pace walking, in fact they were almost speed walking now. More giggles from the followers behind them.
Hermione shook her head, his childish remarks and games were to pathetic to deal with. She'd rather think about how much Lavender and Ron made her want to puke. The way she always held onto him and the way he looked like he really was into her. It made Hermione sick to her stomach.
Finally "L" was within sight, only a few more rows down and then she'd be able to dump the book and the blonde.
"Answer me," Draco protested. Hermione didn't even look his way, which caused him to push her up against the nearest wall. "Filthy mudblood," Draco wrinkled his nose and a complete utter look of disgust covered his face. "You need to learn to respect the higher class wizards in this world and I know just how to teach you,"
Malfoy had his finger tips on his wand and was about to hold it to her neck but that stupid Professor McGonagall was passing by. He dropped Hermione and walked slowly away until the teacher was out of sight. He turned back to Hermione who was picking up her book that dropped when Malfoy pushed her against the wall. "Next time you won't be so lucky, Granger." He called out, finishing his threat before ordering his two companions to head back to Slytherin common room.
Hermione gasped for some air and with shaking hands held the book to her chest before placing it neatly on the shelf. She leaned back against the books and sank down to the floor, trying to get a hold of herself. She sat there for a while, watching people pass by, she continued to stare blankly at the books across from her.
Was she only to be interrupted by a thud of something getting knocked down followed by a short round of girly giggles. It was Lavender, who was accompanied by Ron. He was smiling before he spotted Hermione sitting on the floor looking dazed and confused.
"Bloody hell, Hermione, are you alright?" He asked. Lavender was already starting to look irritated by Hermione's presence and attention from Ron. Her cheeks were gaining color fast, and it didn't look good on her at all.
"Um, yeah, yeah I'm fine, just..." She slowly stood up and woke up a little, Hermione just nodded and walked past the happy couple not wanting to see them nor hear them. Not even think about them, she looked for something to occupy her mind with.
Meanwhile, Draco was in the common room of Slytherin with Pansy and some of his other "friends" that seem to follow him everywhere. He tilted his head back on the couch that he sat on, his hands fiddling with his wand.
"Did you see that Weasley boy with Lavender Brown today?" Pansy asked Malfoy. He shut his eyes, trying to block out her voice, it sounded oddly similar to his Aunt Bellatrix's. He didn't exactly want to hear anything like her right now.
Realizing Malfoy's lack of interest, Pansy Parkinson turned to talk to another girl of Slytherin. "They were snogging in the library again, this time I saw Hermione Granger with them." Pansy continued.
"Hermione Granger... Oh, that know-it-all from Gryffindor." The other girl added, pushing for Pansy to continue. Which she did gladly, exclaiming how Granger had seemed angry and a bit jealous. The girls laughed, Draco had been eavesdropping on the conversation.
What was there for Granger to be jealous of? Draco wondered. He thought about it for a moment then came to two conclusions that seemed to fit the situation. Either Hermione was jealous that Ron wasn't spending time with her and Potter anymore because of Lavender Brown or that she was angry and jealous because she fancied Ron.
This puzzled Malfoy, after all, Ron was just a red-headed Weasley with hand me down's and no family power. Draco on the other hand was a pureblood to be proud of, with much family power and everything he owned was both expensive brands and new. So why did Granger seem more interested in Weasley than Malfoy?
That bothered Malfoy to no end, he knew deep, very deep down, he had some sort of attraction towards this mudblood which is why he tormented her and kept on her all the time, to mask his confused feelings of interest. Draco knew he fancied Granger but didn't know why, so he intended to hide his feelings or destroy them. Whichever worked out best.
"She has horrid looking hair! I mean, has she ever heard of conditioner or maybe frizz control?" Pansy and her new friend mocked on about Granger. Malfoy couldn't stand to eavesdrop anymore mostly because of how annoying they sounded. Once he opened his eyes and stood up Draco knew Pansy was aware and watching him from the corner of her eye.
It was obvious to him that she'd always liked him, now there's a girl with taste, but he never could return the favor. So he usually played dumb, unless he wanted to use her and hook up for a night or so every now and then. Plus, it kept her on his side. Draco strode over to the stairs and marched up them to the boys' dorms. It was mostly empty except for some dorks in the corner playing Wizards Chess. Malfoy simply ignored their presence and sat on the edge of his bed so that he could gaze out of the window over to the Quidditch field in the distance.
He was still the Slytherin House Seeker, as was Potter for Gryffindor. The Weasley's were on the team too, and if it wasn't for Potter's dumb luck, Slytherin would be champion every year instead of tying or placing second. Malfoy kicked at a piece of rubble on the floor.
In the Gryffindor common room, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil were giggling on one couch, probably about what had happened in today's gossip or about Ron's butt. While Ron and Seamus were playing Wizards Chess, they were most likely trying to listen in on Lavender and Parvati's conversation. Harry was sitting on a chair trying to focus on reading a book, however every few minutes he'd glance up to look at Ginny Weasley to see what she was doing. Ginny was doing the same, and as for Hermione she was watching everyone's movements while sitting by the fire with an exam paper she was studying for.
Finding it hard to focus, and not yet curfew, Hermione stood up to go for a stroll around the castle. The lights were still on so Lumos wasn't necessary. She walked around, winding up and down various hallways. Yet again, a vacant sound was heard not far from where Hermione stood, more giggling. Her first reaction was to turn away but this wasn't Lavender and her groupies, so Hermione merely shook it off and continued to walk on down the empty hall.
"Look who it is Hannah," Susan Bones pointed out to her friend, Hannah Abbott, who snickered. Both girls were from Hufflepuff and had teased and bullied Hermione before. Hermione put her hand in her back pocket, holding onto her wand, ready to defend herself if necessary.
"Wandering the halls is never a smart thing, Granger." Hannah warned sarcastically.
"Then again, the Granger isn't a very smart creature." Remarked Susan, both girls broke out in laughs, continuing on with the joke.
"Look at her, what an ugly Granger. They are a rare, mudblooded species who travel alone because none of the other animals will go near her." Hannah added on, she was getting closer to Hermione who hadn't moved at all.
Susan chuckled and added, "Including her own kind," They both erupted into hysterics now, encircling Hermione with their wands out. "Say, Hannah, do you have any frizz control gel on you?" She asked.
Hannah shook her head, "No, and what a shame too, this poor Granger could use some to tame her rather ferocious hair." Both girls giggled some more. All Hermione could do was feel helpless and dumb while the girls mocked her. She turned in circles trying to keep up with the Hannah and Susan who were still encircling her, tightly now.
"If not gel, than water should work, right?" Susan pressed.
"Certainly not! Water would never satisfy that beasts needs," Hannah exclaimed being fully sarcastic about Hermione's hair. "But my Aunt used to tell me that egg yolks worked for her."
"Really?" Susan asked, shocked a bit by the strangeness of the material.
"I don't know, she's in a mental hospital now, never got the chance to try I guess," Hannah shrugged, laughing it off with Susan. Hermione was starting to get a really bad feeling about the situation she's stuck in, and her stomach wasn't holding up so well right now either.
"Why don't we try!" Suggested Susan happily, Hannah nodded and agreed. Waving their wands, a dozen eggs appeared above Hermione. She was stunned and caught off guard, thinking of no spell to defend herself.
The sound of eggs cracking alerted Hermione to at least put her hands above her head, but it was too late. A gooey substance trailed down her face, hair, neck and shoulders all over her. Hermione's lips and chin trembled, trying not to cause a tear to form in front of them. If it did the mocking would never end. Hermione managed to push it back in time for the girls to run away giggling and laughing.
Only now did spells for the perfect defense come flooding to her mind, just like every other time Hermione was picked on. Every single time. Hermione didn't bother to wash away the eggs just yet, as soon as the sounds of the girls was gone she collapsed onto the floor and let her walls down. Tears rushed down her cheeks and quiet sobs interrupted her hiccups every other minute. This was one of her ugliest states, but it didn't matter, those girls were right, Hermione Granger was an ugly creature.
About two hours later Hermione had managed to wipe away her tears and all the evidence of anything occurring here tonight. She placed her wand back in her robes pocket and slumped back home to the Gryffindor girls' dorms were and flopped onto her bed, stripping and tucking herself into bed before letting one more tear fall. She hastily wiped it away and closed her eyes and went to sleep.
At breakfast Ginny, Ron and Harry were deep into a Quidditch conversation with Fred and George while Lavender and Parvati were gossiping some more. They probably already heard about what those Hufflepuff girls did to Hermione last night, girls spread things like that fast but it never gets told to the wrong people.
Thinking about it now, Hermione glance at Ron and Harry. She sighed and picked around at some toast and bacon, trying hard not to look at the hard boiled eggs in front of her, mocking her. It was sick the way these girls in her year made her feel.
Draco was watching Crabb and Goyle stuff their faces with Sunday breakfast, it was actually rather disgusting to see two big boys fit a whole pancake in their mouth. He sighed in disappointment and glanced around the mess hall, over at the Gryffindor table everything seemed to be lively, except Hermione who wasn't talking to anyone. Huh...
"Did you hear the latest H.G.P.?" Asked Pansy, who seemed to know all the schools business in less than a minute after something happened.
"No, was it good?" An interested Slytherin girl sitting across from Draco and Pansy inquired.
"Yes, it was bloody brilliant." She nodded toward the Hufflepuff table, "Two girls, who I'll reveal later," Pansy gestured to the busy hall and Draco pretended to eat his own breakfast instead of eavesdropping. "from Hufflepuff got her good last night, wish I could've seen it." Parkinson looked honestly miserable in a way.
They changed the topic and Draco couldn't help but wonder who her was and what H.G.P. meant. Maybe after snogging with Pansy tonight he could get it out of her.
While walking around outside by himself Draco came upon a girl sitting at the bottom of a tree with her head buried in a book. It was obviously Hermione Granger. He quietly made his way over to her then jumped out and yelled, "Boo!" It actually made her jump and scream, and again Granger dropped the book. "Such a klutz, Granger." Draco sneered. He leaned his shoulder against the tree, she glared at him.
"You're such a-" Hermione started.
"Watch it," Draco warned her. She shut her mouth and faced away from him. "Where's your little friends, mudblood?" Draco asked, curious to know if she had any outside of Potter and Weasley.
The only response he got was a glare and her standing up to walk away. Except Draco was in between Hermione and her way out. He caught her arm, "Why are you in such a rush?" He pushed her up against the tree and held his wand out at her, but Hermione already was armed with her wand at Malfoy's stomach.
She tilted it up, murmured, "Expelliarmus." and dodged Malfoy's grip and avoided his wand flying out of his hand. Hermione walked faster and farther until there were groups and crowds hiding her. Much to her surprise she found Ron and Harry sitting alone on a bench, Hermione joined them and asked kindly if they were studying for their exams.
Ron shook his head said a very rudely, "No, mother." and stormed off to put an arm around Lavender's shoulders.
"Did I say something wrong?" Hermione asked Harry. He only shrugged.
"It is Ron," He replied, then getting up and walking away to talk to someone else as well. Hermione felt alone. She, in fact, felt so alone she misses Malfoy's torments and teases because he actually talked to her and provided enough attention.
