Ab Initio: From the Beginning
Chapter 01
Hermione Granger was a great witch. She was smart, determined, and all of her professors would proudly admit that there was neither a charm she could not perform nor magical term that she could not define. And that was why the young girl had placed herself in the dead silent library of Hogwarts while her friends and fellow students were enjoying their evening meal. Why waste valuable time eating when one could get a head start on their 'Morality of Metamorphmagi' paper? Hermione found herself shaking her head at the laziness and irresponsibility of the others.
As her quill began to scratch notes on the history of famous form changers, a groan of wood made her glance away from her heavy books and stare down the long dark row of texts and scrolls. Like a cat, her ears picked up every sound while her eyes tried desperately to take in the little light there was. After a few moments of holding her breath and telling her hand to stop twitching towards her wand, the brunette turned back to her notes annoyed at herself for overreacting.
"Metamor-Argh!" Almost immediately the girl's novel spit at her face sending papers flying all over herself and the air around her in a whirl. She flew back and hit the shelf behind her, sending more books and parchments all over the place. As fast as it happened, all went quiet, and Hermione sat on the ground in shock as the final pieces gently landed on her head.
"My Merlin, Granger, you should really take better care of the school's property." Silver hair popped up from out of the aisle, the cocky laugh that followed was what made the girl glare up in irritation. It was Draco Malfoy, the best example of slime in a human form, and the ultimate pain-the-ass for her and her friends.
"You! You..." She began to peel off pieces of parchment from her hair and robes as the boy watched with a smirk. "I'll... I'll..."
"You'll have to clean all of that up, that's for sure. It'll probably take you all night as well. Too bad for doing your homework, huh." He sighed mournfully.
"Malfoy I swear, I'll-" A hand reached into a pocket and brought out a long wand, it was pointed directly at his pale nose.
"Woah now," He raised his hands in defense, a smile still sickly picking at his lips. "I am just an innocent bystander, witnessing the stressed Hermione Granger tear up valuable books that are worth more than her muggle parents could ever make in a lifetime, books that the famous and rich Lucius Malfoy-(who happens to be my father)" He whispered as if it were a secret. "-donated out of his own personal library for the sake of educating young witches and wizards."
"Of course." The brunette laughed out loud while picking herself up and placing her wand where it belongs. The sarcasm and malice received from Draco Malfoy was not new to her, and instead of letting his remarks get to her, she shrugged him off and started the cleanup. Collecting the mess was annoying, but doing it under the judgmental stare from the aisle made it unbearable. She turned to him with a bite. "Do you mind?"
"Not at all." He stated as he made himself comfortable on one of the chairs, kicking his feet up on top of the table, and on top of her notes. She scowled and reached to push his feet away, but with quick reflexes, Malfoy grabbed her wrist before she could even touch his boot.
"Perhaps you could help, Granger. I've been dying of boredom these days." Intense gray eyes made the girl's grow wide with shock, neither made any sort of movement until the slam of the library's doors made both flinch away.
"Hermione, you should really-" The infamous Harry Potter entered the scene followed by his red-headed Weasley friend, Ron. "... eat." Both boys stopped dead in their tracks, eyes immediately went straight to the silver head of their nemesis, then to their best friend, then back. Hermione was rubbing her wrist silently as Malfoy continued to look at her; he did not turn to greet his classmates. Ron was the first to step forward.
"What are you doing here."
"Obviously helping Granger study."
"She doesn't need your help."
"Funny, I thought your name was Weasley."
As fire was shot about the room, said girl collected her things and pushed through the crowd, leaving the room in a run. She was called after, noticeably by her friends, but under such pressure and usual abuse from Malfoy, she wanted nothing to do with anyone. And so she found herself tucked away in her bed with Crookshanks. Burying her face in fluffy orange fur, she let her mind wander.
Harry was always the object of attention, besides the usual side remarks of her being a mudblood, Hermione was never the one Malfoy and his friends used for amusement. Perhaps it was just as he said, he was getting bored. But if that meant she was the next supposed 'victim', what did she really have in store?
Nothing she couldn't handle, of course.
A/N: This is one of the many HG/DM oneshots/short stories I've written over time. It's a little bit darker than the others (as you will find out in the next and final part) and because of that, it appeals to me the most. I just think it's more realistic, if that's the right word. Hmm? Enjoy.