Don't Call Me That.
The normally lively Great Hall was tainted with a moody presence among the less-than-thrilled student body. The first day of classes was upon them again but one Head Girl was not in the mood for the start of her seventh year. Already she had faced an argument with the Head Boy, the misplacement of her favorite jeans, an apologetic but no less heart-breaking letter from her parents, and little sleep from the night before.
"'Mione, what has gotten into you? You're absolutely brooding in your eggs." Ron Weasley asked his best friend.
"Do not call me that Ronald. My name is Hermione. Her-mi-o-ne. You know I hate that atrocious nickname that you all insist on branding me with."
Ron looked at her with sad eyes that did not make up for his next statement, "But 'Hermione' is just too hard to say! It's so long!"
The brunette's eyes flashed in the most dangerous way. "Well, Ron, if my name is just too cumbersome for you, I suggest you spend the day not talking to me at all!
With that, Hermione grabbed her books and angrily stomped out of the Great Hall on her way to the Library. Harry simply shrugged and told Ron to let it go. Hermione would forgive him eventually. He just hopped it was before they got assigned any homework they needed help on…
Neither of the boys noticed when a certain blond Slytherin exited the Great Hall in pursuit of the Head Girl. He had noticed the Weasel and Brainy having some sort of row and watched as the haughty Gryffindor left the room. Immediately making his way to the Library, Draco smirked to himself. He knew that Hermione would be less than thrilled to see him following her after their own row last night in the Head's Dorm.
Draco stumbled into the common room with his eyes half shut ready to collapse on the couch for the rest of the night. He found that it was already occupied however by a female form. Hermione had her arms crossed and an accusatory glare in her eyes. Not wanting to face her lectures, Draco quickly changed tactics and headed for his room.
"Draco Malfoy! You come back here! You missed the prefects meeting tonight AND did not show up to help me with planning the rounds for next week. I got them all done, mind you, but you skipped out to what seems like plaster yourself!"
The Head Boy closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The plan was to appear as sober as possible as to not give the girl in front of him any reason to prove her theory correct. He slowly turned around and stood up as straight as he could in which he was then towering over the 5' 6 girl.
"What I do in my free time is none of your business Gra-"
"But that's just it!" Hermione said quickly cutting him off. "It wasn't your free time! You had things planned and responsibilities to attend to! I had to tell McGonagall that you were sick in order for you to keep your position…!"
"Y-you covered for me? You didn't rat me out?" Draco asked incredulously. He didn't much care if the Headmistress knew he was skipping duties but it was the fact that Granger knew perfectly well he wasn't sick but told the woman that he was anyway.
"Well…yes, I did." She stated rather defensively. "But it wasn't for you. If you lost your job, who knows who the professors would give it to next. I would have to spend more time getting to know them and acting all friendly. At least with you, I can be openly hostile.
With that, Hermione climbed the stairs to her room and slammed the door shut for good measure. After a second thought, she opened the door again to state matter-of-factly, "If you ever come late or skip a meeting again, I will not hesitate to throw you under the bus. Goodnight Malfoy."
Her fiery attitude and easily riled nature amused Draco to no end. He could imagine the stupidity coming from the Weasel's mouth that made her run away like that.
Upon the entrance to the Library, Draco peered in carefully to see if he could find the girl he was looking for. His eyes found a brunette speaking animatedly with a third year. Draco plastered his infamous smirk on his lips and sauntered straight over to the two girls. As he got close, the blond caught his eye and widened her own. She immediately looked to Hermione who was still talking about what Draco could now make out as her Transfiguration knowledge.
"-so with that being said, I would love to help you, Candice, if you have any trouble in McGonagall's class. She is a hard grader but I believe she's fair and-"
"Uhh…Hermione..." Candice interrupted. Hermione finally looked up, irritated she had been cut off, only to find herself staring into the grey eyes of Malfoy. Immediately the Head girl's defenses kicked in.
"What do you want Malfoy?"
Draco smiled mockingly down at the obviously irritated Head. "Why, Granger, I simply wanted to make it up to you for not being able to attend our meeting yesterday." Turning his attention to Candice, Draco bent down so he was invading her personal space, "Now, if you could please excuse us. Important Head business, you know." He added a wink at the end for good measure. Candice blushed a deep crimson and nodded vigorously. She then turned on her heel and shuffled out of the Library.
Hermione rolled her eyes and turned an exasperated expression to Malfoy. "Must you treat every girl like that just to get what you want? She's a very nice little third year who doesn't need to become tainted by your charms."
"You think I have charms Granger? Do you find yourself succumbing to them?" Draco moved his face closer to hers so she could feel his breath skim lightly across her cheek.
"In your dreams, Malfoy." Hermione responded confidently. "Besides, you're not at all my type."
"I am the pure essence of perfection. I am everyone's type."
"There are plenty of things wrong with you, you prat. You're just too full of yourself to notice them." With that Hermione picked up her book and moved past Malfoy in order to get to class on time. She could not pass his unmoving form however without brushing lightly against him. Shuddering off her disgust, she quickly moved off to Charms before he could say anything else.
Despite not caring what Granger thought of him, Draco could not help but wonder if there was any truth to her words. "There is nothing wrong with me…and even if there is...which there is not…I'll get Granger to tell me exactly what she thinks and then prove her wrong."