Hi everyone, as you may know from some of my other stories I've been very poorly but I'm in remission now and have really LOVED writing this story so hope you like it. Please R&R your encouragement really does help! Thank you! xx
Hermione flipped the pages in her book as she scanned the words for some kind of help for the impossible essay she was writing. Angrily she slammed the large cover shut and coughed waving a hand in front of her face as the dust rose into the air. She heaved the book back up onto the shelf it came from and skimmed her fingers across the spines of others as she looked for a different book.
"You seem stressed Granger" The voice of Draco Malfoy filled the silent air and Hermione didn't even bother to turn around to acknowledge his presence.
"What do you want Malfoy? I'm busy" She snapped heaving yet another impossibly heavy book of the selves.
"Can't a fellow Head of school great another Head of school without a reason?" He asked innocently as she dropped back into her seat at the desk.
"In our case absolutely not" She replied without looking up and opening the cover of her book. Draco chuckled and placed both his palms flat on the table leaning over so he was right in her face. Hermione recoiled and was forced to look up at him.
"The Hufflepuff's are causing trouble" He informed her and she ran a hand through her hair.
"Can't you handle the Hufflepuff's on your own? Get the Hufflepuff prefects to help you." She snapped irritated he'd sort her out in the library and disturbed her studies for such a mundane task.
"It's the Hufflepuff prefects who are the ones causing the trouble" He smirked and her eyes winded. Prefects? Merlin's beard.
"I'm going to kill each and everyone of them" She ground out slamming her books shut and getting to her feet. Draco smirked and led the way out the library towards the Hufflepuff common room, he muttered the password and they ducked into the yellow and black room.
In front of them were the Hufflepuff prefects, very very drunk sprawled out all over the room. Hermione growled under her breath and slammed her foot against the floor drawing their attention.
"Zaharias Smith! Hannah Abbott! Justin Finch-Fletchly! Susan Bones!" She shouted each louder and louder "What do you think you're doing?" she snapped as Draco lounged against the wall next to her with a raised eyebrow.
"D-drinking" Hannah hiccupped waving a bottle of fire whiskey in the air with a ridiculous goofy smile. Hermione's eyes hardened and she glared at the four drunk prefects.
"How dare you shurk your responsibilities like this! What are you thinking?" She nodded her head at Draco who pushed off from the wall and started to take the bottles of drink from each prefect. He had a particular struggle trying to get the bottle out of Susan's hands, but with a hard tug it slipped from her grasp and he carried the four almost empty bottles to the other side of the room.
"The world sucks" Zach piped up and Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Why?" She asked indulging them for a moment.
"Zach started pelting on about how Cho doesn't like him and - hic - it made us all start thinking about our own - hic - depressing love lives" Justin piped up his voice slurred. Hermione let out a long sigh her own mind wondering to her non-existent love life and she groaned.
"All four of you are doing double the amount of duties and I'm taking 20 points from each of you, now get to bed NOW" She snapped and the four slunk off towards their respective dorms.
"Bit easy on them weren't you Granger?" Draco asked as the bottles clinked against each other in his hands. He'd seen her punishments before and this was nothing especially for the severity of the crime. She just shrugged and pushed past him on her way out of the common room and back to her own.
"Jesus Granger you are one miserable witch" He announced as he followed her out, she whirled on her heel and glared at him.
"Just because you're Head boy does not make me hate you any less" She ground out and Draco growled about to snap out a retort but she had already marched off down the corridor.
Hermione trudged back into the Gryffindor common room at 11 pm absolutely exhausted. As soon as she stepped through the portrait she was attacked by a red haired screaming girl.
"GINNY!" She screamed ducking out the way so the younger girl almost smacked straight into the wall behind her.
"I neeeeeeeeed to talk to you Mione" she hurried the words running together slightly as she said them so quickly. The brunette sighed resigning herself to a very late night tonight.
"What's up Gin?" She asked as she flopped down on the empty sofa, the whole common room was dead everyone having gone to bed long ago. Ginny nervously ran a hand through her hair, perching on the end of the sofa.
"I need your help" She sighed and Hermione arched an eyebrow, Ginny looked really nervous. "I have this crush." She admitted and Hermione frowned why was Ginny so worked up about a crush?
"Right?" She prompted and the red head blushed furiously and bit down on her bottom lip. Hermione restrained herself from slapping the girl "Ginny I've had a really long day can you just get right down to the nitty gritty and tell me what exactly is going on?" She sighed and Ginny let out a squeal making Hermione wince.
"I fancy Malfoy" Ginny half whispered half shouted, Hermione didn't even realise this was possible. She squinted and stared at the red head for a very long moment.
"Why?"
"Because he's dreamy" Ginny sighed and Hermione shook her head in utter disbelief.
"Ginny, this so called 'dreamy' boy has spent the past 6 years, 5 for you, of our school lives torturing us in every way possible. He used to call me a mudblood and you a blood traitor he says you're a peasant and practically spits at Harry and Ron, why on earth do you like HIM?" Hermione questioned her brain in overdrive.
"He's changed Hermione, the war changed us all" She whined
"He's changed has he? and how do you know this? You spend absolutely no time with the boy" As soon as she uttered those words Ginny's face beamed and Hermione realised where she fit into this plan. "But I do" She sighed and Ginny once again squealed.
"Exactly and you get to see him and talk to him and everything you can help me" She practically begged. Hermione glanced at the clock and let out a slow breath.
"Fine Ginny I'll help you"
"AHHHHHH thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" The red head screamed in delight and jumped on Hermione.
"As long as I can go to bed right now" Hermione added and GInny jumped off her friend, nodding and dashing up the stairs to her own room.
"Merlins beard what have I gotten myself into now" The brunette whispered to herself before finally making it to her dorm.
Hermione's peaceful morning lasted all of 30 minutes as Ginny caught up to her on the way into the Great Hall.
"So?" The red head beamed and Hermione arched a brow glancing at the girl.
"So?" She repeated and Ginny sighed exasperated
"How's it going have you mentioned me yet? Do you think he likes me? Has he changed really? What do you think?" She gushed and Hermione held up both hands to silence the girl.
"Now, realistically Ginny do you think I have spoken to Malfoy from the time you left me at midnight last night to right now when I am leaving the Gryffindor common room at 8 in the morning?" She questioned and Ginny shook her head opening her mouth about to reply but Hermione cut her off "I will only do this Gin if you do not pester me every five seconds about it, I will come to you, you will not come to me are we clear?"
"Yes, sorry" The other girl muttered and they pushed through the doors to the Great Hall only to run into none other than the subject of conversation himself.
Hermione smacked into his chest and recoiled hard, this had happened many a time before and the brunette had now learnt that his chest was very hard indeed and her small frame smacking into it made absolutely no impact on him at all however it always left her with quite a sore head.
"Granger!" Malfoy announced not even glancing at the blushing red head that stood next to her "time to go" Hermione's eyes snapped up to his
"But I haven't even had breakfast yet" She protested her bottom lip sticking out, Malfoy just rolled his eyes.
"Dumbledore want's to see us and then we have to go and see the Hufflepuff prefects" He arched a meaningful brow and she let out a long sigh understanding his meaning.
"Fine, fine let me just grab a muffin" She pleaded and he nodded crossing his arms in wait. Hermione hurried to the Gryffindor table, which meant Ginny, had now been left alone with Malfoy; he glanced down at her as if noticing her for the first time. She grinned and he snorted turning away from her and watching Granger as she arrived back at his side.
"Ready?" He asked as she took a bite out of her muffin making a sound far too pleasurable to be linked to a simple blueberry muffin. She gave him the thumbs up and the blond simply shook his head before leading the way out through the Great Hall doors. Hermione was about to follow after him when Ginny grabbed her elbow and pulled her to a stop.
The brunette flung around so suddenly she almost lost her balance.
"Jesus Ginny, careful! I nearly lost my muffin!" Hermione announced but the red head wasn't listening.
"Talk to him for me" She begged and Hermione rolled her eyes taking another bite of her muffin.
"I was planning on talking to him," She mumbled around her mouth full of food.
"About me!" Ginny whined and Hermione managed to shake herself out of her friends grasp.
"Yes Ginny now chill out remember what we agreed" The brunette instructed and made to walk out the doors when they were flung open and Draco Malfoy reappeared.
"I thought you were coming," He prompted and Hermione nodded shoving past Ginny and following her fellow head of school.
"You seem to be in a cheery mood this morning" She quipped sarcastically as she savored her muffin. Draco arched an eyebrow and looked down at her as she fell into step beside him. It was something that he had never imagined would happen but he almost felt comfortable around her now. They had walked side by side so many times now that the frosty chill that once separated them had thawed slightly and they now seemed able to actually be civil, but she certainly wasn't going to get away with that comment unscathed.
"And you seem to be enjoying your breakfast a little to much" He smirked as she once again let out a delightful moan. The noise instantly stopped and she flushed a little before stuffing the rest into her mouth and dusting her hands on her robe.
"So Dumbledore huh?" Hermione announced changing the subject. Draco just hummed in response and kept up his quick stride. At first Hermione had scolded him for walking so quickly but now she rather enjoyed it, they were always early no matter where they went and she found it quite refreshing in the morning, she even thought she'd lost a few pounds. "Does he know about last night?" She asked and he sighed.
"I have no idea, we're buggered if he does" He replied and Hermione nodded silently.
"I should have been harder on them"
"And why weren't you? No offence Granger but your punishments are normally fantastically cruel and last night just seemed to be… tame" He asked glancing down at the top of her head. She chewed on her lip for a moment before shrugging.
"I don't know to be honest I guess I just thought that well…. everyone gets down don't they?" She replied. There was no way that she was telling him that when love lives were mentioned she couldn't help but feel sorry for them and even want to join in on the drinking, there was no way he was going to know that she was lonely.
"Sherbet Lemons" Draco announced and the gargoyle to Dumbledore's office leapt out the way allowing the two to ascend the stairs.
Hope you liked it! Please R&R and let me know what you think! Love VaM xx