Draco walked slowly towards Hogsmeade, watching with narrowed eyes the three people walking some distance ahead of him; Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and…her. Hermione Granger. His eyes lingered on her, her long shiny hair, her tiny waist and slender legs. She tensed suddenly, then turned back to look at him with an indiscernible expression. Her soft brown eyes met his cold grey ones for a moment then he looked away.
Leave her alone, Weasley!
he thought jealously, looking ahead once more to see Ron put his arm around Hermione and pull her close. She pushed him playfully away and her pretty laugh floated back on the breeze to Draco.What the hell? Why would I be jealous of that penniless red-headed freak! I don't want her. I don't like her! I hate…
"I hate her!" he forced himself to say.
Hermione looked back again and Draco could not look at her. Her didn't hate her. He didn't hate her at all. He couldn't.
But what would I want with a mudblood like her anyway? She's far too clever for her own good. She's not even pretty…
This, he knew immediately, was a lie. Hermione was gorgeous, she was beautiful. And Draco wanted her more than anyone or anything he'd ever wanted before. Never before, however, had there been anything, or anyone, that he couldn't have.
"Draacooo!" he heard suddenly from behind.
"Get lost Pansy," he muttered irritably. Pansy Parkinson annoyed the hell out of him.
"Draaco!" she whined again.
"I said get lost!"
"Oh, oh but…"
"GET LOST! Shove off!! Leave me alone!" Draco hollered, turning to fix her with the stare that he knew intimidated people if they let themselves be intimidated. He remembered staring at Hermione across the potions class after an argument, trying to daunt her. She was strong though, and would not look away. Draco had admired her for that.
"Go away! I don't want to talk to you!"
Pansy scowled back at him but, as anticipated, could not look him in the eye. She stood looking sulky. Draco ignored her and walked on, speeding up his pace. Soon he passed Hermione.
"Lover's tiff?" Harry called.
"Offending you fans?" Ron said, laughing. "Oh well, I'm sure they'll still adore you… Nothing else you ever do puts them off!"
"Dahh, get stuffed!" Draco called back, not stopping. He wasn't in the mood to argue with Harry and Ron, however much fun it always was.
*
Draco sat in the three broomsticks. He drank butterbeer as Crabbe and Goyle, dumb and dumber as he had heard Hermione refer to them, talked – well, attempted, for the most part in vain, to string more than two words together to form a sentence. Not that they knew what THAT was… Crabbe and Goyle really were the most insipidly tedious people Draco knew. How could anyone BE that stupid?
Not like Hermione
he found himself thinking. The occasions, rare as they unfortunately were, on which he had had what could pass as a civil conversation with her, he had enjoyed having intelligent discussion for once! He had been surprised by her wit. She took things very seriously, he knew, but her sincerity attracted him even more to her.Draco raged inwardly.
Stupid Hermione! What the hell have you done to me? This isn't me, I'm evil, I don't have feelings!
He was mad at himself. He could not get Hermione out of his thoughts. But that was not him. He cared about no-one, and no-one got to him. If he wanted to forget someone, he could – as long, it would seem, as it was not Hermione."Damn it!" he yelled suddenly. He smashed his butterbeer down on the table and the glass bottle shattered. Draco stood up and everyone in the small bar watched as he stormed out.
*
It was cold. Draco pulled his coat tighter around him as he walked alone back to the castle in the quickly fading daylight.
"Oh!" He heard a small cry from behind him. He turned to see Hermione.
Damn you! Damn you! Why are you everywhere I go…
All her shopping was scattered on the ground around her feet. Draco took a step towards her as she started to pick it all up. She looked up, then stood up quickly, taking a step backwards.
"What d'you want?" she said quietly, defensively.
Draco stared at her. He just could not think of anything to say, not like his usual self who always had a witty, usually derisive comment ready. Hermione bit her lip but stared right back at him.
Draco shook his head, turned and walked away, fighting, with some difficulty, the urge to look back.
"Here, let me help you with that," he muttered bitterly.
* * *
Hermione's Diary
-The dragon. So unpredictable, so dangerous – so beautiful.
It's not love. Love – love is, it's… You fall in love with a PERSON, not their looks, their eyes... You can't fall in love with someone mean and horrid and, and evil – someone who hates you. I couldn't love him because I hate him. I hate him and I'm obsessed with him. Infatuation. It's physical attraction, powerful attraction but no more than that. But I can't stop thinking about him. I stare at him without realising it. It's like, I don't know, when I'm around him, when he's near I'm not me, or, I am but I'm a clumsy shy and blushing me. I dropped all my stuff tonight just 'cause he walked by, and it's not like me. He turned around, and stared with his icy eyes, I was sure he was going to make some stupid comment about clumsy mudbloods but…
But he didn't. he just looked, and I thought, well, I tried to convince myself, that I saw something there, behind his cold, harsh exterior.
I have to get over this! I don't know him, I don't like him. I don't want him anyway! I just can't stop thinking of him, imagining him saying I love you…
* * *
A few days later, Draco sat in potions. Snape was out of the room on a search for some ingredient or other. Draco stared vacantly around and saw only Hermione.
Bloody hell Draco!
he said savagely to himself. What the hell's happened to you!?"Hey!" Crabbe said slowly, pointing to the front bench where Hermione was sitting with Harry and Ron. "Pansy's going to set fire to that Granger mudblood's hair!"
Pansy, indeed, was walking to the front bench holding her wand and smirking.
"What? Oh bloody hell!" Draco muttered. "Pansy!" he shouted. Pansy looked back and smiled at him, obviously thinking she was the most beautiful girl in the world.
"No, Pansy, don't!" Draco said desperately, not noticing the slow dumb and dumber, er, Crabbe and Goyle, staring at him. Even THEY had noticed that this wasn't Draco's normal behaviour!
"Pansy, you stupid bitch, oh, oh Hermione!"
Hermione looked up in surprise, just in time to see Pansy, just touch her wand to the end of her brown hair. Screaming, she pushed Pansy away as forcefully as she could. Draco got up and headed to the front of the classroom.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"No, Draco, she…"
"NOT you, stupid cow! Hermione, are you…"
Suddenly realising what he was doing, Draco stopped. He looked up at the other gawking students then back at Hermione, who was staring too, blushing slightly.
"No," he muttered, and hurried out of the dungeon.
*
Draco sat in the library, alone with his thoughts. This was the only place he knew nobody would be at this time of night. Except, he realised too late, Hermione.
"Draco!" she gasped and caught her book before it hit the floor. Draco said nothing.
"Draco, I've been looking for you today, I know you don't like me but listen," she started hurriedly. "I, er, I mean, earlier, in potions…"
"I know, I mean, um, sorry," he mumbled.
"No, why, that is, er, thanks? Thanks. Pansy would have set me on fire had you not…" She laughed nervously, then seemed to realise who she was talking to and stopped. "Anyway, er, yeah, I…" She turned awkwardly and went to sit at another table.
"S'ok," Draco said slowly, then stood up to head for the door.
"Draco, you're not evil. Why do you pretend? You're not that bad…you're OK really, aren't you…"
Hermione trailed off. Draco turned to look at her, not letting himself notice how his heart skipped when she said he was OK. From her, and to him, that was the equivalent of a huge compliment. He found himself speechless as he so often did near her. He turned around and left.
"Who are you, Draco Malfoy?" he heard Hermione mutter, and saw her shake her head as he closed the door behind him.
* * *
Please review! If you like this, I'm going to write more. I might anyway, but I'd love to know what you think. In my opinion, it's not my best but I'm planning on it getting better!