Background:Hermione and Draco meet on their first day at Hogwarts and instantly become friends, but become disappointed when they are sorted into different houses. They are really good friends but in their third year, Draco starts feeling the pressures of being a Slytherin and calls her a 'mudblood'(because his friends are giving him a hard time about hanging around her all the time and stuff), and she punches him before running off. He finds her in the astronomy tower crying and reaches out to her, apologizing and hugging her. They both forgive each other and laugh about it. They remain friends but always end up arguing over the way he treats Ron and Harry and she tries to distance herself from him but she feels herself being pulled back to him everytime. And during their 5th year, he finally stops messing with Ron and Harry(realizing that Hermione is more important to him), but now they torture him, turning the tables with Hermione standing up for him. Starts in their sixth year.
italics are flashbacks.
Gravity"Draco Malfoy." He introduced himself with a smirk. The girl smiled brightly at him and took his hand.
"I'm Hermione Granger." She said brightly. Such a happy young witch. Draco smiled and they talked and talked until they were called into the Great Hall to be sorted. When her name was called, Draco leaned forward.
"Good luck Granger." He whispered sweetly to her. She smiled and bravely sat on the stool and was sorted into Gryffindor. Draco sighed a bit, he knew that Slytherin was the house he'd be placed in and as he stepped up to the stool, he watched Hermione's hopeful face and he closed his eyes, slightly hoping to be in her house, but before the hat even touched his head, it yelled out 'Slytherin' and he went to take his seat at a separate table.
He saw her resting her head on her hand, clearly disappointed but when he caught her eye, he mouthed, 'It's okay' and smiled brightly at her, earning him that genuine smile back. They had been friends ever since.
Draco Malfoy pulled on his clothes a bit as he got off the train at Hogwarts, his trunk in tow. He had yet to see Hermione, but he knew he would soon enough. He spied the clutter of students dropping off their trunks and checking in, awaiting the carriages to whisk them away to the castle for the feast. He ran a hand through his blonde hair, hoping he looked alright. He checked in and dropped off his luggage before he finally saw her, waiting for the carriage. He smiled brightly and briskly walked up behind her.
They had been exchanging letters all summer, full of hope and friendship. It was the only thing he looked forward to during the dark days as his father had been threatening him to join the Dark Lord as a death eater, something Draco had been desperately avoiding. He was glad to finally be back at Hogwarts. He stood behind her silently, noticing that Ron and Harry were thankfully nowhere to be found. He tapped her on the shoulder.
"Miss Granger? I think you forgot something." He said playfully. He loved surprising her, he was always greeted more pleasantly than with anyone else. He smiled brightly at her.
Hermione Granger was trying to avoid Harry and Ron, knowing how they would react if they found that she was continuing her friendship with Draco Malfoy. She sighed as she tugged on a lock of her curly brown hair. She could't spot Draco, although his platinum blonde hair was definitely a good beacon.
She had been made a prefect the previous year. Hermione was a bit disappointed when Ron was her partner instead of Harry, just because Harry was a bit more accepting. She sighed without realizing she was doing so. Ron was supposedly one of her best friends, yet she couldn't tell him all of the things she told Harry or Draco.
Speaking of Draco...Hermione felt herself smile as she thought of all the letters they had exchanged. The Slytherin was so misunderstood; underneath the defiant exterior, he was very sweet and charming. Hermione often thought that Draco should have been in Gryffindor, with her.
"Miss Granger? I think you forgot something."
Hermione whirled around at the sound of the voice and grinned. Abandoning her trunk, she flung her arms around Draco's neck, not caring who saw her.
Draco laughed, wrapping his arms around her waist and hugging her back. Most summers they had at least gotten to hang out some but not this one. With the business his family was involved in, it wasn't safe for her to be around him anywhere other than within the safe grounds of Hogwarts. She was all too understanding when he had explained it to her, but still, he had missed her during the long and difficult summer months. He pulled away, smiling brightly at her. He only ever smiled that way around her, his closest friend.
"How's my favorite Gryffindor?" He asked, charming as ever. He didn't add that she was the only Gryffindor he liked; she knew that already anyways. The thought sent him back to their third year when he had let house prejudices get between them. That was a terrible year, they seemed to constantly be arguing and disagreeing over everything. But now, he didn't care in the least. She was an exception to the rule and he'd fight to his death arguing that.
He picked up her trunk with a smirk and set it by the others to be towed up to their dorms while they ate dinner. he flagged down the carriage, opening the side door.
"Ladies first." He said, holding out his hand to help her up into the carriage and following close behind her. Most of the other students had already gotten up to the castle so they had the carriage to themselves, thankfully.
Giggling when Draco hugged her back, Hermione pulled away as well, her eyes bright. She had missed her friend terribly over the summer, since she couldn't see him the way she saw Harry and Ron. While they were staying at the Burrow, Hermione had often wished that Draco was there with her instead of Ron, although she knew it was an illogical thought.
"She's good," Hermione replied, grinning. "How's my favorite Slytherin?" She didn't comment on the fact that she was the only Gryffindor Draco didn't dislike; they had agreed, long ago, not to let houses get in the way of their friendship.
Hermione was about to protest when Draco picked up her trunk, then closed her mouth. She knew how stubborn he could be.
She laughed and took his hand, climbing into the carriage. Hermione spotted Ron and Harry approaching and did her best to wipe any emotion off of her face.
"Oh you know, I'm alive, so better than most, right?" He replied, laughing a bit.
Draco noticed Hermione's facial expression change as he was climbing into the carriage and turned to see what could possibly wipe that smile from her face. Harry and Ron. He groaned, his smile fading as well. He felt the anger bubbling inside him, the one he always tried to hide from Hermione, but they both knew it was there. He tried to just ignore them. He got in and sat by Hermione when Ron must have spotted them.
"Oy! What the bloody hell is this?" Ron yelled, chucking his trunk with the rest. He was short tempered to say the least. Draco rubbed the back of his neck, tensing up from it all.
"You know we're friends Weaselbee so just shove it." Draco replied coolly, as calmly as he could. He wished Ron would just go away, that maybe Harry would knock some sense into him as well, but then again, Harry thought that he was a Death Eater by now, so he wasn't all that positive of his support on this one.
"You aren't anybody's friend Malfoy, you're just the enemy." This time, it was Harry who spoke. Draco sighed and took Hermione's hand in his own, squeezing it gently. It was something he did to let her know he was about to lose it with them.
Hermione was about to reply to what Draco said when Ron and Harry interrupted their happy reunion. She bit the inside of her cheek the way she always did when she was nervous and turned to see the emotions flitting across Draco's face. She sighed. Her best friends were going to get into a fight before they even got to Hogwarts. Wonderful.
"Ronald, calm down," Hermione said, her tone exasperated and not the least bit shocked. "I thought we'd gotten past this last year!"
Hermione felt herself tense up when Draco squeezed her hand and returned the slight pressure. She couldn't believe that Harry was overreacting, just like Ron. She had honestly thought that they had worked everything out in their fourth year, when Ron and Harry had been fighting.
Although she was getting annoyed at Ron and Harry as well, she didn't want anyone to get hurt. Hermione spotted a familiar figure walking towards them.
"Luna! Hi! How was your summer?" she asked, rather loudly, as the younger girl turned to join the Gryffindors and Slytherin in their carriage.
"It was great, thanks," Luna replied, her voice dreamy and her eyes distant, like always. Everyone lapsed into an awkward silence, and Hermione fidgeted uncomfortably.
Draco stayed silent through the carriage ride up to the castle, trying to simply not exist. He really wished they had taken another cart. The last place he wanted to be was here. He figured that if he was quiet enough and didn't look at any of them, they wouldn't point anymore comments in his direction. This was wishful thinking as Ron was staring daggers at him the entire time. Luckily, Luna chattered on about God knows what, keeping the attention on her instead of him.
Finally, they reached the castle and Draco jumped out of the carriage first, followed by Hermione, who he held his hand out to help her down, and then Luna, who he also helped, seeing as her chatter had kept Ron from full on tackling him. He stood there awkwardly for a bit, wondering if Hermione was going to come with him or stay with them.
A tradition of theirs was to pop into the Great Hall for the sorting and announcements and then grabbing some food and heading up to the Astronomy Tower to hang out one on one for a bit. It was something they always did and he was especially looking forward to it this time because he felt like he hadn't seen her in forever. Plus, he got the feeling that they needed to talk...She had hinted at something in her last letter, something that almost made him think she had feelings for him. He wanted to know for sure though.
His gray eyes met her chocolate ones and he half smiled at her, seeing that she was uncomfortable.
Hermione fidgeted with her robes during the entire ride. Normally she was very excited about going to Hogwarts, especially since she could see Draco there, but having Ron and Harry in the carriage with them...it was much too awkward for her liking.
She jumped out of the carriage after Draco, smiling weakly at him as she took his hand. Hermione squeezed it before letting go and waited by him.
She hoped that he wanted to carry on their tradition of having their own little dinner together. They couldn't catch up if she was sitting at the Gryffindor table and he at the Slytherin one. Hermione wasn't sure what Draco wanted to do, so she looked up and met his eyes.
Hermione tilted her head towards the castle, silently asking Draco if he wanted to go up there with her. She could feel Ron staring at her, and she did her best to ignore him. Instead she smiled back at Draco, not ready to let Weasley spoil their time together.
Draco smiled weakly at her, not being able to shake Weasley's glare. He nodded slightly at her. Of course he'd want to head on up to the tower with her. He couldn't wait to shake the intrusive Gryffindors, but like always, they had to split first before they could head up to the tower, so Draco made his move.
"Well, I guess I better get going-"
"Yeah, good idea." Ron growled, interrupting him. Draco shot a mischievous smirk at him before turning towards Hermione and smiling sweetly.
"See you around Granger." He said with a wink before walking off towards the Great Hall. That oughta get to him He though with a smile. He really hated Ron's guts. The ginger was always following Hermione around, clearly in love with her, but acting like a five-year old with a crush, being a prick instead of nice to get her attention. He scoffed as he entered the Great Hall. He sat at the Slytherin table, away from his friends.
He rested his head on his hand, bored. He smiled though, remembering his first day seeing Hermione do the same thing when she saw he was in Slytherin and not with her. He sighed contently and tapped his finger against the table impatiently, waiting for the feast to begin so he could sneak off.
Hermione nodded and felt a small but genuine smile tug at the corners of her mouth. At least their time at the tower would be spent alone together, without the strange looks of other students bothering either of them.
She smacked Ron's arm. Who was he, deciding who she couldn't or could hang out with? It wasn't like he was her father or anything.
"Bye Draco," Hermione said, grinning when he winked. She knew what he was doing, trying to annoy Ron to maximum capacity. While she normally did not approve of the little game, she found in quite funny when she was mad at Ron as well.
Hermione sat down at the Gryffindor table so she could see Draco. She smiled when she saw what he was doing. It was cute, how he remembered. She couldn't wait until the Sorting ended and the feast began so that she could spend some more time with one of the few people who actually understood her.
When the sorting finally ended and the food appeared on the table, Draco grabbed an apple and the smallest turkey leg he could find, which wasn't very small. He shoved the apple in his pocket and promptly got up to leave the Great Hall, everyone was too busy eating and socializing to notice him but he caught Hermione's eye and nodded upwards before slipping out the side door.
He took a bite of his turkey as he stood outside the door waiting for her. He knew that she was going to laugh at him for taking the turkey leg. It seemed like a good idea at the time, seeing as he was pretty hungry, but he knew it was silly nonetheless. When the door finally opened revealing the Gryffindor, Draco smiled at her.
"Hello there. Ready to head up?" He asked brightly. He could be in the worst mood ever but whenever she was around, he couldn't think of anything else. She seemed to brighten up his world unlike any other. It was pretty amazing to be honest, better than any magic he had learned here for sure.
Hermione was quite relieved when she could finally slip away. She had pocketed some fruit and tried to escape unnoticed. Ron was too busy cramming food into his mouth anyway, and Harry had accepted the fact that Hermione and Draco were friends, although he wasn't alright with it.
She stepped out of the Great Hall and grinned at Draco. Hermione felt her stomach do a small back flip as she took a good look at him. Her reaction made her a bit uncomfortable. He was her friend, and just her friend...right? She didn't know. For 'the brightest witch of her age', Hermione was awfully unsure about many things.
"Yeah, let's go," she said quietly. Hermione had told Draco that she needed to talk to him about something in one of her letters, but now that they were face to face, she felt her Gryffindor courage melt away.
Could she really handle telling him the truth?
Draco smiled and led her up the winding staircase to the Astronomy Tower. It was always completely abandoned unless there was a class in session, which didn't seem to be very often. Seeing as Astronomy was a muggle-based class, many students didn't take the class at all unless it was necessary for their major.
When they reached the top, the circular room seemed to open up to them. The sun was just setting over the lake and the view was perfect from the tower. While every student was shoveling food into their mouths, they had the view to themselves. Just one of the many perks to this sneaking around business. He stood by the ledge, leaning against it and looking out at the horizon with a thoughtful look on his face.
Their letters over the summer had been very deep and personal for the most part. They had shared nearly everything with each other, apart from Hermione's involvement in the Order, which Draco never asked about, and his own involvement with his family's dark biddings. It was probably an issue that needed to be discussed eventually, but Draco couldn't imagine wasting one of their fleeting moments to talk about something depressing like that. It was seemingly like Romeo and Juliet, both on different sides, but standing together.
He glanced over at her, the fleeting sunlight shining beautifully on her. He realized in the past year that he thought of her more...romantically than he had in the past. Sure, they had always been a tad bit closer than friends, but it was never anything more than that. Because it was forbidden, because it just couldn't be...could it? Draco found himself doubting his own thoughts...
"So, uh, where were we?" He asked cheerfully, realizing he had been silent, lost in thought for a while.
Hermione felt herself smile despite the doubt inside her head. She followed Draco up to the Astronomy Tower and sat down when they reached the top, content to be in Draco's presence and simply look up at the stars.
She wondered how Draco had really felt when he read some of her more...personal, letters. She hoped that he didn't think her a fool for hinting at some of her true feelings, because she wasn't bold enough to actually state how much she liked Draco. She was afraid of being turned down, yes, but she was scared of ruining their easy friendship even more.
Hermione lay down on her back, amazed at how comfortable she was with silence when it came to Draco, however much she liked talking to him. Sometimes the breaks in conversations with Ron were a bit awkward, so it was refreshing to spend time with someone who understood her without needing to communicate.
"I think our conversation ended with you saying 'See you around Granger'," Hermione told him, smiling playfully.
He turned around to see her laying on the ground and laughed a bit, laying beside her. "I meant before Weaselbee and Mr. chosen one butted in" He joked with a smirk. He pretended to think for a moment. "Oh yes, we were saying how we were." He chuckled a bit and folded his hands behind his head as he laid beside her, content.
"Summer was crap without you by the way. Father was more whiny and annoying than ever and Mum was not so subtly on his side while acting like she had my best interest at heart. Being home is not fun at all." He turned onto his side to look at her. "Was your summer enjoyable at least? I mean, besides missing me like crazy of course." He joked with a chuckle, although, he hoped it wasn't too far off from truth.
"It was alright," Hermione said slowly. She didn't dare mention the fact that she had been at Ron's house for most of the summer. "I missed you terribly, just so you know. And I'm sorry you had such a terrible time at home," she added, her voice soft.
She knew Draco liked to joke and mess around to lighten the mood, but she could also tell when he was telling the truth. Hermione reached over and squeezed his hand, silently letting Draco know that he could always count on her, and that he could tell her absolutely anything.
Hermione quickly decided to change the subject. "I used to play this game with some of my friends when I was a little girl. You ask a question and I have to answer it, under certain conditions, of course," she told him.
Draco Malfoy could never turn down a challenge and she knew that better than anyone. He laughed, smirking a bit "I see what you're doing Granger." He shook his head in mock disappointment. "Fire away, ask your questions." He knew that technically she had said he would ask the questions but he wanted to see what kind of questions she was going to ask first. This muggle game was never played when he was growing up so he refused to make a fool out of himself.
He leaned in close to her, his face just inches from hers. "Show me how to play." He whispered smugly. He loved to mess with people, but she was a whole other story. He could not keep from playing around with her and making her blush maybe even intimating her a bit. They had been friends for years and he thought she'd be used to it by now, but to his amusement, she never seemed to.
Hermione opened her mouth to ask the first question as Draco leaned towards her. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks as she met his eyes and quickly looked down. She cleared her throat, knowing what he was doing and wanting to be mad at him for it. Sadly, she could never stay mad at Draco for very long, and he knew that.
"Um..." Hermione had completely forgotten her original question. She decided to do a little digging, instead. "How come you like to make me blush so much? It's not exactly fair, Draco." She bit her lip, wondering if he would take it the wrong way.
She wished he would move away, but at the same time, she didn't. Hermione didn't like the uncertainty. She preferred to know what was going on, especially when it came to her emotions.
Draco shrugged, not moving an inch. "I dunno...it's fun. I like knowing I affect you." He said simply, telling the truth. "Was that your question? I suppose it's my turn." He smirked, catching her eye. Leave it to Draco Malfoy to use this opportunity to find out anything he wanted to about her in a smooth way.
"Do you want me to move away from you?" He asked softly, looking downward, averting his eyes. He wasn't sure he wanted her to see the concern or sincerity in his eyes. It'd be better if she just thought this whole thing was his elaborate way of messing with her, getting under her skin.
"Tease," Hermione muttered, so quietly Draco couldn't possibly hear her. Then she blushed even more. She hadn't meant to say it out loud at all. She hoped Draco wouldn't notice, but knowing him, he would.
She didn't know what he expected her to say. Hermione was well aware of how fast her heart was beating, but Draco didn't need to be as well. She knew the answer as no...the real question was, would he expect her answer?
"No," Hermione said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. She looked away as well, wondering if Draco would notice the way her voice quivered so.
Draco raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Good..." He breathed. They had been flirting and playing around like this for quite a while but neither of them had ever made any sort of move and Draco found himself lacking confidence in himself. People didn't like him. Hermione was the only one who even put up with him at all, and even their blowouts had been pretty major. He thought back to the first one.
A young Draco stood slouched against his broomstick a bit as he walked, listening to Hermione but not really hearing what she was saying, something about class he guessed. He was off to Quidditch tryouts and he was nervous. He sorta nodded at whatever she was talking about which must have given him away because the young Gryffindor turned and stood in his path.
"Don't be nervous Draco. I'll be your good luck charm." She exclaimed, making him laugh a bit. He leaned in to hug her and was about to reply when the older Slytherins that were trying out came up behind him, snickering and taunting.
"What is this? A Slytherin and a Gryffindor? Oh please. You'll never make the team if the captain sees this. Our houses are sworn enemies." A tall boy exclaimed, laughing. Draco balled up his fist but relaxed instantly when Hermione grabbed his hand, giving it a small squeeze. The Slytherins whooped and howled, their laughter and taunting continuing, causing Draco to snatch his hand away from hers.
"Stop it..." Draco growled at Hermione, shocking her and causing her to take a step towards him sympathetically.
"Draco...don't listen to these-" She started, but Draco cut her off.
"I said stop it!" He yelled. "You filthy little mudblood." He sneered, earning praise from the Slytherins. Hermione stared at him, wide eyed, full of tears before pushing past him and running off. Draco groaned inwardly. He was such an idiot...
That day was a terrible one to say the least. When he had found her with Ron and Harry, she punched him just about as hard as she could, knocking him to the ground before running off again. He eventually found her up in the astronomy tower crying. He felt so terrible and begged for her to forgive him, hugging her tightly. That was their first fight and Draco blamed it entirely on his stupidity.
They had literally been through everything together...He shook his head of the thoughts and smiled again. He knew what he wanted. "Do...Do you want me to kiss you?" He asked softly, almost inaudibly, leaning forward very slightly.
Hermione's chocolate brown eyes almost popped out of her head, and she struggled to calm herself. She looked down and nodded, ever so slightly.
Draco didn't even wait to see if that was a real nod or an uncontrolled twitch before his lips captured hers in deep kiss. He closed his eyes, suddenly feeling at peace as he kissed her. When he felt her kiss him back, he smiled into the kiss, wondering if this was real or just some figment of his imagination. He wanted this moment to push on forever but the sound of the bells chiming from the clock tower made him pull away with a disappointed groan.
"I'm muggle born." Hermione whispered finally. Only eleven years old at the time, she finally told Draco her big secret, the one she'd been hiding from him, afraid of judgement. Draco chuckled.
"Is that all?" He blurted out, as if it was a joke. When she said it could jeopardize their friendship, he was thinking it was something a lot bigger than a difference in blood status.
"Well, you're a pureblood and I'm...not. Everyone knows that pureblood Slytherins wouldn't dare be friends with a muggle-born Gryffindor. Its preposterous." She argued logically. Draco shrugged.
"I won't tell if you won't." He said softly with a smirk, earning him a hug.
He rested his forehead on hers and smirked. "I won't tell if you won't." He said quietly, repeating the words of his younger self, in a whole different state of mind than Hermione had ever seen him.
She smiled at his words. "I won't," Hermione whispered, kissing Draco again very quickly.
She made him forget all his troubles. He felt as if he could fly without a broom or with any magic at all. It was incredible how she affected him so. And after that night, he swore he'd always do right when it came to Hermione Granger.
A lion and a snake. Who knew the gravity between them could be so strong?