Hey everyone!
I decided that it would be better if I just deleted the whole story and start from scratch. It's still the same basic story line, but I decided that Draco needed a much bigger part and all the characters needed a little more depth.
Also, at some point throughout the story, Hermione WILL be paired with all 3 Slytherins. How far the pairings will go, I don't know for sure. People have told me that they don't like this because it perceives Hermione as a "slut," but that's just how this story is, though I've tried really hard to make her as non-slut-like as possible. :)
I hope you guys like this version as much as the first one...
Well I'm not paralyzed, but I seem to be struck by you
I want to make you move because you're standing still
If your body matches what your eyes can do
You'll probably move right through me on my way to you
-Paralyzer, by Finger Eleven
Hermione Granger was sitting in the Great Hall at Hogwarts, surrounded by all her friends. This was the beginning of her last year and she could hardly contain her excitement. She would be taking her N.E.W.T.S this year, she would finally decide what she wanted to do for her career, and she had also been named Head Girl. Her friends had all been thrilled at her news, but they hadn't been the least bit surprised. Hermione had absolutely no idea who the Head Boy was; all she knew for sure was that it wasn't anyone from Gryffindor. She hated to say it, but she knew that it wouldn't be anyone in Hufflepuff either, so that left only two choices; Ravenclaw and Slytherin. She was hoping against hope that it would be someone like Terry Boot from Ravenclaw, but deep down, she had a pretty good idea who it was, and it wasn't a pleasant thought. She slowly scanned the Slytherin table and her eyes stopped when they landed on a shiny, silver badge that matched hers. She brought her eyes up to look at the face of the person wearing the badge and her heart plummeted; as she had suspected, Draco Malfoy was wearing the Head Boy badge. He was an extremely close second to Hermione in academics, he was the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team and he was Professor Snape's pride and Joy. It made perfect sense that Draco would be the Head Boy, but it still unnerved Hermione to no end. Despite being a role model student, Hermione also knew that Draco was a Death Eater in training. She had no proof of this, of course, but deep in her gut, she just knew that he was. Everyone in his family was a Death Eater, all of his friends' parents were Death Eaters, his own father was Voldemort's second in command, and his aunt was right up there with him. There was absolutely no way that Draco was not a Death Eater; at least, that's what Hermione fully believed.
As much as she wanted to deny it, Hermione had caught herself studying the Slytherin at times. She noted that he always walked with this air of importance and sheer arrogance, and he was never alone; he was always surrounded by hoards of girls vying for his attention, or he was being flanked by his two best friends, Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott. Draco had outgrown Crabbe and Goyle at the end of their third year, when it seemed that he had finally realized just how dimwitted they really were. They still hung out with him on occasion, but Draco mostly stuck with Blaise and Theo. Another constant in his life seemed to be Pansy Parkinson as she was currently hanging off him while he was trying to eat dinner. Thanks to the gossiping hoards, Hermione knew that Draco had been dating Pansy off and on since the end of fourth year when they had gone to the Yule Ball together. They had both dated other people, but they always seemed to go back to each other; it looked as though they were 'on' at the moment. Hermione was never able to understand what he was doing with Pansy in the first place; she had short black hair and a pug like face that was just completely unattractive, as far as Hermione was concerned. She suspected that Draco's relationship with Pansy had something to do with the fact that she came from a very wealthy pureblood family, just like he did. Purebloods like the Malfoys and Parkinsons were extremely prejudiced against half bloods, muggle-borns, and muggles. Hermione had had to constantly defend herself against Draco and his friends as they called her 'Mudblood' every chance they got. After the first few years, that word had lost it's meaning and it had stopped bothering Hermione. Despite what those snakes said to her she knew that she deserved to be there just as much as the pureblooded snobs, if not more. She had worked her ass off to get to where she was, and she refused to be ashamed of her 'dirty blood;' she was actually quite proud of it, considering that she was known as 'the brightest witch of her age.'
Witnessing the nauseating display of Pansy fawning over Draco, Hermione couldn't understand what he wanted with a girl like Pansy when he could literally have any girl that he wanted; he was every girl's wet dream. He had short platinum blond hair that fell naturally, as he had stopped using gel in his fifth year, piercing, pale blue, almost silver eyes, and a well defined body that he had gotten from all those years playing Quidditch. Draco was actually at the top of the list that the girls in Hogwarts had titled 'most shaggable boys.' The other boys on the list included Blaise Zabini with his dark, Italian features and hypnotic Indigo eyes, Theodore Nott with his shaggy brown hair and Hazel eyes that changed shades depending on his mood, Harry Potter because he was simply 'the boy who lived,' and Ron Weasley because he was sweet, goofy and completely adorable with his bright red hair. Hermione loved Harry and Ron like they were her brothers, so she had never seen them as 'shaggable.' She did however, see the appeal of the Slytherins; despite being Death Eater wannabes, they oozed sex appeal, and they bloody well knew it.
Hermione had always been relatively successful at avoiding Draco and his friends, but this year it was going to be damn near impossible. She would be sharing a common room with him, and would no doubt be sharing a few classes with him as well. Since neither one of them could stand the sight of the other, she hoped that they year would go bye relatively uneventful as far as Draco Malfoy was concerned.
As Hermione was lost in her thoughts, she hadn't realized that she was staring at the Slytherin table. As if he could sense that they were being watched, Blaise Zabini looked over and saw Hermione starring at them. He looked down and saw the Head Girl badge pinned to her robes and he smirked. He elbowed Draco in the ribs and nodded in Hermione's direction as he said something to him; Draco looked over and locked eyes with her. He stared at her intently, but his face was completely blank; not like the usual sneer or smirk he usually wore when he looked at her. He had a look in his eyes that she couldn't decipher, but she felt like she was the only other person in that room and she could feel the mercury in the room shoot up ten degrees. Never in the six years that she had known him had he ever looked at her the way he was at that moment; it felt almost intimate. She managed to tear herself away from his heated gaze, but she couldn't stop herself from looking back at him a few moments later. Draco had turned his attention back to Pansy as she was talking animatedly about something and Hermione noticed that he looked completely uninterested in what she was saying. Blaise, however, was still looking at her, and when she looked back at him, he winked at her. She blushed and quickly looked away and didn't dare to look their way again.
After everyone was settled and the first years had been sorted into their houses, Dumbledore made the usual announcements and introduced the new Head Boy and Girl. When Hermione's name was announced, the Great Hall erupted with applause and cheers from all the houses, except of course from Slytherin; they just sneered at Hermione. She couldn't stop herself from looking at Draco and his group and saw that they all looked rather pleased with this information; she didn't even want to think about why. When Dumbledore announced Draco's name, the Slytherins brought down the house with their cheers and all the other houses applauded politely, including most of the Gryffindors, sans Harry and Ron of course; they just glared at Draco. After Dumbledore announced the new heads, he announced the new DADA teacher and then finished his announcements and asked the new Heads to meet Professor McGonagall at the staff table promptly after dinner. Hermione spent most of dinner gossiping about the new teacher and listening to Harry and Ron go off about the Quidditch tryouts that were coming up in a couple weeks.
After dinner, Hermione told her friends that she would see them later and then she made her way to the staff table. She looked over and saw Draco loitering around with his friends for a few minutes before he finally decided to grace them with his presence; Professor McGonagall gave him a disapproving look and Hermione completely ignored him. McGonagall led them to their dormitory that was located right next to the entry to the dungeons, much to Hermione's dismay. They went inside and Hermione was very happy with her new surroundings; the common room was just a big bigger than the Gryffindor common room and decorated in warm, inviting earth tones with a large couch that was facing a fireplace, several overstuffed arm chairs, a large bookcase, and two desks. Draco's room was on the left, Hermione's was on the right, and the bathroom that they would have to share was located between the two. Before leaving them to their own devices, McGonagall explained a few more things to them. They were each allowed to give the password to their common room to three of their friends, but no one else. Being the Head students, their curfew was extended to one a.m., they had a free period during their first hour so that their patrolling schedule wouldn't take away from their sleeping, they got their very own house elf named Whimsy who would be available to them to bring them meals when their were too busy with their duties and studying to eat with everyone else, and they were allowed to go to Hogsmeade every weekend, if they wanted to. McGonagall wished them a good night and exited the room. Without giving Draco a chance to spout off some nasty comment about having to live with her for the next nine months, Hermione quickly went to her room.
Shortly after Granger had locked herself in her room, Draco lit a fire in their massive fire place and was staring at the glowing embers when the door to his common room swing open and his two best friends came sauntering in. They ooh'd and aww'd over his impressive new digs and then joined him in front of the fire place.
"It seems that being an insufferable know-it-all all these years has paid off." Theo remarked in reference to Draco being the Head Boy.
Draco elbowed Theo in the ribs, "I'll assume that that was a crack at Granger's expense, wanker."
Theo grinned, "Ah, yes; where is the Head girl this evening?"
Draco nodded towards her door, "Holed up in her room; probably wanted to get an early start on her studies."
Blaise smirked, "I wouldn't mind studying her."
Theo groaned, "Oh, sign me up! For the first time in my life, I'm actually jealous of you, Drake."
Draco scoffed, "Yes, I am so lucky to be sharing my living space with that little swot for the next year."
Blaise smiled, "I'd gladly trade you places, mate. You know you have the same disgusting fantasies of the Head Girl running through your brain, so don't try and deny it."
Draco held up his hands in surrender, "I'm not denying anything. If I were any other guy in this school, I would have pounded her into the mattress several times over by now."
Draco looked back at the fireplace and got lost in his thoughts. When he looked down at his left forearm, Blaise and Theo knew what he was thinking.
"It's too late to change your mind, mate." Theo said.
Draco looked up and scowled, "What are you talking about?"
Blaise snickered, "We know you better than you think, Draco. You've spent a great deal of time looking at your arm since that day; no going back now."
"I have no intention of 'going back,' Blaise."
"Do you regret it?"
"Do you?"
"You know why I chose to get marked, so you had better not regret it."
"I don't regret anything, Blaise. I did it for my family."
"Right; and we did it for you. Now that my parents are dead, you are the closest thing to family that I have."
"My father is under the delusion that I did it for him and the Nott name. The bloody fool has no idea that I can't stand him. Of course, he also has no idea that I know that he is responsible for my mother's death just so he could be in the Dark Lord's good graces." Theo said bitterly.
We are in this together, and it's only just beginning."
Draco looked down at his hands, "Do you ever wish you were someone else?"
Blaise scoffed, "And give up my amazing Italian heritage and good looks?"
Draco glared at him, "I'm serious."
"Well, don't be. You made your choice and now you have to live with it."
Draco rolled his eyes, "Will you shut up? I don't regret anything."
Their conversation came to and abrupt end when they heard the door to Granger's room open.
Hermione magically unpacked her trunk, let Crookshanks out of his cage, and then changed out of her uniform into a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt so she could go hang out with her friends for a little while. She opened her door and was met with the sight of Draco, Blaise and Theo standing next to the fireplace. She knew that there was no way she would get out without being noticed, so she braced herself for the inevitable. She shut the door to her room and all three boys turned their attention towards her.
She eyed them warily, "I hope you aren't going to turn our common room into the newest Slytherin hangout, Malfoy."
Draco looked at her, but didn't say anything, so Blaise spoke up, "Don't pretend that you aren't thrilled at the thought of being around us all year, Granger; most girls would kill for the chance."
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Well, I'm not like most girls."
Theo unabashedly scanned over her figure, "Isn't that the truth."
As far as Hermione was concerned, she wasn't a knockout, but she wasn't completely unattractive either. Her hair had lost its frizziness over the years and now it hung in waves down to her shoulder blades. She wasn't overly curvaceous, but she had pretty decent feminine curves, and while she didn't blow all her money on makeup like Lavender Brown and Pansy Parkinson, she wore eyeliner because she thought it made her normal brown eyes stand out a bit, and a dark pink shade of lipstick that went perfect with her fair complexion.
Hermione ignored Theo's comment and she looked at Draco. He hadn't said a word yet, but he was looking at her with that same heated gaze as before, and it was really starting to unnerve her. She put her hands on her hips and glared at him, "Did you lose your tongue over the summer holidays, Malfoy?"
His expression didn't change, but he finally spoke to her, "I assure you Granger, my tongue works just fine."
The innuendo wasn't lost on her and she blushed.
Blaise smirked, "Sembra dannatamente bene quest'anno," he said to his friends in Italian. (She looks damn good this year.)
"Lei fa certamente." Theo responded. (She certainly does.)
Hermione had always been incredibly turned on by guys who spoke foreign languages and this was no exception. Although, the fact that they didn't want her to know what they were saying made her a little uncomfortable.
"Quest'anno potrebbe non essere così male dopotutto." Draco said, never taking his eyes off her. (This year might not be so bad after all.)
Hermione glared at the trio, "I've got better things to do than listen to the three of you speak in tongues all night."
"You seem awfully interested in our tongues, Granger. Perhaps I can show you some of what mine can do." Blaise smiled.
Oh lordy, it was definitely time to leave. Hermione made a disgusted sound and turned to leave when she heard the door to the common room. Four heads looked at the door as Pansy Parkinson walked in.
Hermione's eyes narrowed to slits at the intrusion and she turned back to Draco, "Just how many of your slimy friends have the password to my common room, Malfoy?"
Being the kind of person that she was, Pansy took it upon herself to answer for Draco, "This is just as much Draco's common room as it is yours, Mudblood."
"I can speak for myself, Pansy!" Draco barked.
Pansy shrank back a bit, but continued to glare at Hermione.
Draco turned back to Hermione, "These are my friends, Granger; they have every right to be here."
Hermione smirked. "Just remember that next time I have my friends here."
Pansy scoffed, "You have to have friends before they can hang out with you, Granger."
As pretty as Pansy was, she wasn't all that smart.
"Do you ever actually think before you speak, or is your whole head filled with rubbish?"
The boys snickered, but said nothing.
Pansy's face turned red and she headed straight for Hermione.
Hermione held her hand up, "Stop right there Parkinson. If you lay a finger on me, I'll give you so much detention, your social life will become nonexistent."
Pansy stopped, but continued to sneer at Hermione, "Is that was this is about? Are you jealous because I actually have a life?"
Hermione snorted, "You call this a life?" She flung her hand towards the Slytherins.
Pansy smiled, "It's a life you could only ever dream of, Granger. Does it bother you that boys like Theo, Draco and Blaise wouldn't look twice at a filthy Mudblood like you? It's not even so much your blood status. You are just so..." She paused to give Hermione a once over, "...plain. Just completely and utterly forgettable."
Hermione thought about what Pansy had said and the conversation she had had with the male Slytherins moments before. She glanced at Blaise, and as if sensing what she was thinking about, he winked at her. She smirked and turned her attention back to Pansy, "Keep telling yourself that, Parkinson. Just remember though, I would rather be an utterly forgettable person, than a vapid, insipid little twat like you. Now, get out of my common room."
Pansy looked to the boys for help, but they all just looked at her. She was their friend, but they were all getting tired of the constant drama. She glared at every last one of them before she stormed out of the common room.
Hermione glared at Draco, "That, right there is why I don't want everyone and their bloody mum having the password to our common room. I at least had the common courtesy to keep it from my friends, so the least you could do it-"
"Alright!" Draco barked, "I get the point, Granger!"
Hermione rolled her eyes, "You Slytherins are bloody hopeless!"
The boys watched the way her hips swayed as she walked away and Theo let out a low whistle when the door shut behind her, "She's a hot little firecracker."
Draco scoffed, "The key word here is fire; you play with her and you're gonna get burned."
Blaise smirked, "I am definitely alright with that."
There ya have it...hope it didn't disappoint.
:)
