Because of You
"Let the world forsake me
Let them do their worst, I will
Withstand it all
They will not break me"
- The Graveyard from Jane Eyre
Chapter One – Not-so-friendly Meetings
Hermione stepped into the Great Hall, Ron at her side, their hands intertwined. She looked eagerly towards the Gryffindor table and quickly caught sight of Harry and Ginny sitting on the far side. Ginny looked up and caught Hermione's eye. Looking over at Ron, her face lit up and she grinned. Hermione and Ron made their way over to the long table, saying hello to friends they had not seen for almost two months.
"I knew it!" Ginny exclaimed, "Why else would you spend the whole summer locked in your room sending owl after owl of post?" She laughed as Hermione blushed.
"Congrats mate." Said Harry as he patted Ron on the back.
"How's Seamus?" Hermione teased Ginny. Ginny laughed and started piling food on her plate.
Breaking the silence, Hermione looked over Harry. "I haven't seen you all summer!" She announced, pulling him into a hug. "What have you been up too?"
Harry shrugged his shoulders and frowned. Hermione knew all too well how his summer had probably been. Stuck at the Dursley's for two months, with Sirius' death hanging over him as well. She stood, staring at Harry, just realizing how much he had changed. His hair was still raven black, and still sticking out in every direction, but somehow looking better. Hermione was startled to see how much taller he was, probably about 4 inches taller than her. Wow, she thought, he looked gorgeous.
"Look at this, the Weasel has snagged himself a girlfriend." Drawled the too-familiar voice of Draco Malfoy. He strutted over to Ron and the girl, Pansy Parkinson, the Slytherin slut, clutching off his arm.
"Look at this," retorted Ginny, mouth twisted into a scowl, "Malfoy's got himself a whore."
Pansy glared at Ginny, while grasping Draco's arm more tightly.
"Just go away Malfoy." Shot Hermione...Hermione! Draco's mouth dropped as he realized the gorgeous brunette hanging off Ron was Hermione, the mudblood. He looked between them. When had Hermione...changed? She looked so different. Her shiny auburn hair was silky and straight and rested perfectly over her shoulders. The black robe she was wearing appeared too small for her and clung tightly to her body, giving Malfoy the ideal view. He suddenly realized that the Gryffindors were staring at him waiting for an answer
"Don't talk to me, you filthy little mudblood." He replied, as he pulled his arm around Pansy's waist and walked back to the Slytherin table.
Hermione's eyes narrowed, but she turned her thought back to Ron, who was now sitting down and piling food onto his plate. She threw her leg over the bench and placed herself between Ron and Harry.
"Don't even bother with Malfoy this year." Said Ron as he helped himself to a heap of potato.
"Yeah," replied Ginny, "He's just pissed off because Tonks got his father sent to Azkaban, you know he hates anyone associated with the Order."
Hermione looked over at Harry, who was unusually quiet that evening. He noticed her staring at him, and picked his head up, looking directly into Hermione's with his emerald green eyes. She blushed and looked down at her empty plate. Hermione started thinking, as Ginny and Ron continued into a conversation about Quidditch. Sure, she liked Ron, but deep down she wondered if she really did care about Harry more than friends should. As she sighed inwardly, Ginny turned to her.
"Hermione, what do you think?"
She jumped suddenly, "W-what?" She stuttered.
Ginny sighed and turned back to Ron, obviously annoyed that Hermione wasn't listening to her.
"I think I'm going to go up to the common room." Announced Harry as he started rising from his seat.
"Wait, I'll come with," Replied Hermione, "I'm getting quite tired." And with that she rose from her seat, planted a small kiss on Ron's cheek and told him she would see him later.
Hermione walked swiftly to catch up with Harry, who was already walking a very quick pace.
"What's up Harry? You seem...different." Hermione asked.
He dropped his head and slowed down. "I've just had a lot on my mind lately." He replied, still looking at the floor.
"Care to tell me about it?" Asked Hermione, as she walked next to him. He blushed and smiled a bit.
"Well, you see....t-there's this girl..." Harry stammered, "And I think I like her... but I d-don't know if she likes me."
Hmm, thought Hermione, I wonder who she is. But then she began wondering...what if this girl was her? He had been very shy at dinner, and she had caught him looking in her direction a few times. She held her breath. Harry likes me.
"And who is this girl?" She asked, keeping it cool.
"Uh...I don't want anyone to know yet..." He replied softly.
The shy one, well, I'm just going to have to play the brave one, Hermione thought as she linked her arm around Harry's.
"Oh, do you know the new password?" She asked as they approached the portrait of the fat lady.
"Yeah, it's Bumblewood." He replied, as the portrait swung open and they stepped inside.
She's gorgeous, thought Draco Malfoy, as he watched Hermione and Harry step into the Gryffindor common room together. Why is she with a Weasley? You would at least think somebody with looks like that would go for someone within her range. Someone like me, a voice in the back of his head replied...No. It's Hermione Granger. She's in Gryffindor. She's a muggle for god's sake... yet a beautiful one at that. He turned to hear the voice of two people behind him.
"What are you doing hanging around here, Malfoy?" Shot Ron as he peered at Draco suspiciously.
"Dear lord, can't somebody walk around the castle without being harassed by two Weasels?" He smirked, and was about to turn and leave when an idea struck him. "Oh, where's your little Mudblood girlfriend gone, Weasley?"
Ron glared at him, his hand wrapped around his wand. "Don't you dare call her that, Malfoy."
"Oh, so you don't know?" He laughed. "Well for your information, I just saw her go through the portrait hole, arm in arm with Potter. Normally, I wouldn't even be repeating this, as to get the horrid image from my mind, but as you see, I've made the exception." He smirked and turned, his eyes gleaming maliciously.
Meanwhile inside the common room, Hermione and Harry walked over to the large couch in front of the warm fire.
"So, what are you going to do about the girl?" She casually asked, as she slid closer to Harry.
"Uh," He stuttered, "Well, I'm not quite sure, what do you think I should do Hermione?" Looking at her again with those gorgeous green eyes.
"Well," She responded, looking at him slyly, "If you really like her, you should ask her out, maybe to the next Hogsmeade visit."
Harry looked down, thinking very hard. He suddenly looked back up again.
"But what if she's already going out with somebody?" He asked nervously. Hermione's heart leapt, it was her. Harry liked her. She had to use all her strength to keep from leaping up.
"Something can be arranged..." Hermione whispered quietly as she scuttled closer to Harry and rested her head on his shoulder.
Just then Ron and Ginny came bursting through the portrait hole. Ron looked over at Hermione and Harry on the couch. "What are you doing?" He shouted at her, storming over to the couch and reaching over to grab Hermione's hand.
"Ron!" She replied, shocked, at his behavior. "Harry and me were just talking while I waited for you come back."
Ron looked at Hermione, and then Harry, open and closing his mouth like he was going to say something. He turned red and mumbled an inaudible "Sorry.".
"That's okay, Ron." She whispered, reaching up and kissing him on the lips.
"Not here!" Shrieked Ginny, as she scampered from the room to the girls' dormitories.
Hermione pulled away from Ron, out of breath, yet laughing at Ginny's reaction.
"Well, I think I'm going to bed now." Said Hermione, as she hugged Ron goodnight. As she walked from the room, she took one last look over her shoulder at Harry. She caught his eye and smiled at him just before climbing the stairs to the dormitories.
Hermione woke the next morning smiling. She closed her eyes and hid under the covers, shielding her eyes from the harsh sunlight pouring into the room. She hadn't wanted to leave that dream. She cursed herself for waking up. She just knew it now. It was for sure. She definitely liked Harry. She still liked Ron, just not as much. Maybe she should wait for Harry to ask her out, and then break up with Ron. It would break his heart, but if she didn't really like him, what was the point of going out with him.
She caught a flash of red as her blanket was thrown off her.
"Ginny!" She shrieked, before getting up and looking around wildly.
"You're so lazy Hermione!" Ginny laughed, "Breakfast already, classes start right after." Ginny frowned. But Hermione smiled. She had always liked school, but after coming to Hogwarts, she loved it.
She walked over to the large walk-in closet that her and the other 6th years shared and pulled out a pair of low rise jeans and a pink halter top. She had to look good, even if she did have to throw her black Hogwarts robes over herself.
She walked to the bathroom, trying to pull on her jeans as she stepped. She quickly got ready; brushed her teeth, pulled a comb through her hair and stepped back, looking at herself in the mirror. Nah, she needed to impress Harry, she needed to look special. She pulled out her wand and said a short charm she had learned over the summer. She looked back in the mirror and smiled. Her hair had gone completely straight and flat, resting softly on her shoulders. She applied some make-up quickly, took another look at herself, and left the dormitories.
Ginny was waiting for her, Seamus standing impatiently beside her. Hermione grinned and walked over to them.
"Hey Hermione, you look awesome." Said Ginny as she looked over her quickly.
"Thanks." Replied Hermione, "Let's go, I'm starving."
They left the Gryffindor common room and walked down the corridors towards the great hall. Seamus and Ginny looked quite comfortable by themselves, so Hermione sped up a bit, eager to reach the tables, where Harry would be.
She reached the great hall quite a while before Ginny and Seamus. She looked impatiently through the crowd of people in the hall, looking for the familiar jet-black hair. Her view was suddenly blocked by somebody in front of her.
"Looking for somebody, Mudblood?" Drawled the cold voice of Draco Malfoy. He stood directly in front of Hermione. He stood a few inches taller than her, his white-blonde hair slicked back, his steel-grey eyes sparkling.
"Move, Malfoy." She hissed. She made to go around him but was startled when he reached out and grabbed her arm. He smirked and looked down at her. Wow, she really was that gorgeous, maybe even better looking up close.
"Aren't you afraid of touching a Mudblood?" She growled at him, but she noticed him smiling at her and her eyes narrowed. "What are you doing, Malfoy?"
"Oh nothing," He replied, looking amused, "Just talking to my favorite person." He added sarcastically.
"Hermione?" Came the inquisitive voice of Ginny Weasley, "Malfoy?"
Malfoy quickly released Hermione from his grasp and looked over at Ginny and Seamus, hand-in-hand. He narrowed his eyes and swaggered back towards the Slytherin table.
What was that all about? Hermione thought, as she walked with Ginny and Seamus towards the Gryffindor table. She quickly scanned the long table, looking for the pair of familiar green eyes.
Ron noticed her looking and stood up beside her. "I'm right here, silly." He said before giving Hermione a soft kiss on her lips. Hermione giggled and sat down beside Ron, still watching for Harry.
"Ugh, we have the worst schedule." Ron exclaimed as he pulled out his timetable from his bag. He looked over at Hermione, obviously waiting for some sort of reaction.
"What?" Hermione asked, as she hadn't heard him.
"I just said we have the worst schedule ever, look," he said, as he slid the timetable in front of Hermione, "Double Potions, History of Magic and Charms."
"I thought you liked Charms." Stated Ginny, as she realized what they were talking about.
"Are you kidding?" Blurted Ron, as he shoved the timetable back into his bag and stuffed a piece of toast in his mouth.
"Oh." Mumbled Hermione, as she started repacking the books in her bag. "Where's Harry this morning?" She asked casually.
"I think he said he was going to the library. I dunno why, classes don't start till this afternoon and already he's worried about homework." Said Seamus.
That's odd, Hermione thought, Harry avoids the library at all costs. I wonder what he's up too.
"I'm going to run to the library really quick...book I want to check out." Hermione said and she grabbed her bag and took off for the library.
She arrived there within a few minutes and quickly caught sight of Harry, leaning over a small green-cover book.
"What are you looking at, Harry?" Hermione whispered as she leaned over his shoulder, catching the soft scent of his cologne.
He fumbled for his bag and threw the book into it, snapping it shut. "H-hermione?" He stuttered.
"That's me." She replied, as she ran her hand through his hair. She had to play the bold one, she reminded herself. "Classes start pretty soon. Want to walk with me to Potions?" She asked, reaching for his hands.
"Uh, okay." He replied, picking up his bag and trailing behind her as they left the silence of the library.
"So, what was that book?" She asked again, trying to pry an answer out of Harry.
"Just a journal." He mumbled, as they turned down a long, empty corridor. A journal...thought Hermione; I wonder what he writes in there. Maybe it says whether he really likes me, or maybe he writes about when he's going to asked me out. She smiled at that idea.
They came to the large classroom in the dungeon. Luckily, Snape was not there yet, so Hermione and Harry walked down the narrow aisle to a bench just in front of the one already occupied by Ron and Neville.
"Hey guys." Smiled Hermione, as she sat down on the black wooden bench.
"What are you so happy about?" Ron grumbled, "In case you didn't notice, we have potions with the Slytherins yet again."
Hermione surveyed the classroom, locking eyes with Malfoy for a moment. She shook her head and turned back to Ron, Harry and Neville, who were already deeply involved in another Quidditch conversation.
Draco Malfoy noticed Hermione staring at him for those few seconds. What did that Mudblood think she was looking at.? He smiled, well; he was very good looking, he thought, smiling even more smugly.
Suddenly Snape walked into the classroom, black robes swirling behind him as he stepped. He looked just how Hermione at ever seem him. The same pale skin, same black hair, and same disgusting frown.
"Potter, sit up straight. Malfoy, wipe that grin off your face before I curse it to stay that way." Snape growled at the class from the front of the room.
Boy, was he in a bad mood today, Hermione thought as she sunk lower in her chair and tried to pay attention.
"Today we will be starting Truth Serums. These potions will force the person to tell the truth. The potions we will be making will be very weak, nothing in comparison to Veritaserum, the strongest truth serum available. The potions made today in class will be tested on your lab partner next class; of course, some of you may be able to lie, as these potions are not that strong." Snape drawled on.
He pointed his wand at the blackboard and lines of ingredients and instructions appeared. Snape eyes twinkled evilly as he starred at the students in the class.
"This class is also much more advanced and serious compared to other years, so I will be picking your lab partners, who I will also add, will stay your partner for the rest of the year." He conjured up a ratty clipboard and flipped through some pages.
"Pavarti and Finnigan. Bulstrode and Crabbe. Longbottom and Davis. Goyle and Nott. Potter and Lavender. Thomas and Weasley. And finally," He added, with a gleam in his eye, "Granger and Malfoy."
Hermione stood wither her mouth open. Not Malfoy, anybody but Malfoy. She looked over at Harry, who was already chatting enthusiastically with Lavender Brown. I hate her, she thought angrily.
"Hey, Granger, get over here!" Shouted the cold voice of Draco as he called at her through the crowd of people. Hermione made her way over to Malfoy, accidentally elbowing Seamus as she passed.
"Okay, so, why don't you get started?" Malfoy said, as he leaned back on the chair and put.
"Malfoy, we're stuck as partners for the rest of the year; you might as well try to help me." She hissed at him before walking across the room and grabbing the ingredients from the supply cupboard and marching back to the table. Malfoy was watching her, she was cute when she was angry, he thought, laughing quietly. She filled the caldron with boiling water and slowly started adding the jobberknoll feathers. She began stirring the contents with her wand; a few minutes later the potion turned light orange. Snape walked over to their potion and looked inside carefully. Finding nothing he could criticize, he scowled and walked over to Neville, who was obviously having trouble with his potion, which had now turned bright blue and was emitting small puffs of steam.
"You're pretty good at this." Malfoy observed.
Hermione looked over at him, but didn't say anything.
"I was talking to you, Granger." He smirked.
"I know." She growled, before turning back to the potion and stirring vigorously. She dipped a ladle into the potion and poured a small amount into the labeled vial. Snape came over and emptied their caldron, telling Hermione to put the vial on his desk.
The bell rang five minutes later. Hermione stormed out of the classroom and headed towards the common room. Harry caught up to her quickly.
"What's up Hermione?" He asked, as hint of concern in his voice.
"Oh, nothing, unless you count Malfoy being a total jerk." She scowled, heaving her heavy book bag onto her shoulder.
"He's always been a jerk, Hermione." He replied before heading off to their History of Magic Class.
A/N: Okay, first chapter. Sorry for spelling or grammar. Please read and review to see the next chapter. Trust, it gets better soon.