Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter in any way, except for a calendar.
Author's note: I know, I know. Hermione/Draco romance. Not meant to be. But one can dream, yes? Anyways, this is sort of an edited version thing, so please forgive me if you already read some of it, but something seems out of place in the next chapter. Re-read it, in case I changed something. You never can tell with me;)
Hermione stood on Platform 9 and 3/4 , looking for some sign of Harry of the Weasley's. She found none. She decided to get on the train, before it got too crowded, So she boarded the prefects coach. She looked around for an extra seat. The only one left was next to Draco Malfoy.
"Er.mind if I sit here?" Hermione asked timidly.
Malfoy's eyes widened as he looked at her, but they quickly returned to their natural state. "Oh, it's Granger. Isn't there another seat?"
Hermione shook her head.
"Oh. All right. Sit down, then," he said, patting the seat next to him with his hand.
Hermione sat down, and took out her "Hogwarts: A History" from her bag.
"There's something different about you, Granger," said Malfoy, taking a finger and putting it under Hermione's chin, and looking her in the face. He turned her head from side to side. "Can't put my finger on it though."
"Get your hands off me," said Hermione, pushing Malfoy's hand away. But Malfoy was right, Hermione had changed. She had grown taller over the summer. Even though her hair was still very bushy, it was more manageable. She kept her hair back in a pony tail now, so you could see more of her face. She was no longer a little girl, she had grown up quite a bit. "Thought you would know better than to touch a filthy Mudblood like me!" Hermione said sternly, getting back to reading.
"Oh," said Malfoy, looking a little put down. "Well, to tell you the truth Granger, I've been thinking. I think we should forget our differences. Give each other a chance."
Hermione looked at Malfoy in shock. Draco Malfoy wanted to be friends with her? The girl he always called a filthy Mudblood? Something seemed out of place in Malfoy. And it wasn't just his asking to be Hermione's friend, it was something else, too. "Do you really mean it?" she asked.
"Do I look like I don't mean it?" Malfoy asked with a serious expression on his face.
"Well, no," replied a dumbstruck Hermione.
"Friends it is, then!" said Malfoy cheerily, "So, Granger-Hermione, isn't it?"
Hermione nodded.
"Well, Hermione, how was your summer holiday?" Malfoy asked, actually intent upon hearing the answer.
"Well, Malfoy-," said Hermione, going back to reading.
"Draco, call me Draco," interrupted Malfoy, smiling. Hermione looked up at him in surprise.
"Fine. Draco, my summer was fairly dull and boring."
"What, you don't have a hot Muggle boyfriend?" he asked jokingly.
Hermione raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"Oh, I guess that's a no!" laughed Draco.
"How was your holiday, Draco?" asked Hermione, ignoring the laughter, going back to reading again.
"Ah, well, I went on a bit of a holiday with my-" Draco paused to think, "I think my mother's third cousin's son, who's a few years older than I am. We went to America for two weeks in July," explained Draco.
"Sounds like fun," said Hermione, almost ignoring what he was saying.
"Yeah, we went to New York City and Boston and- Why do you read so much?" Draco asked exasperatedly.
"I like to read," Hermione replied simply, "I thought you knew that already."
"Well, I did know that-I mean, I do know that-but why do you like to read?" Draco asked Hermione.
"I don't know. It might just be an escape for me. To get out of the real world," said Hermione, still reading.
"What's wrong with the real world, though?" asked Draco.
"It doesn't seem to like me very much, that's all," replied Hermione.
"Oh, I'm sure the world likes you all right," said Draco.
Hermione stayed silent and read. Draco sat there and looked out the window.
Out of the blue, Hermione asked, "Draco, why are you being nice to me all of a sudden? Why do you want to be my friend?"
"I-I don't know," replied Draco awkwardly and nervously, "S-so, y-you're a prefect?" he said, quickly changing the subject.
"Yes, I have been for a year now," said Hermione, eyeing him suspiciously.
"Me too," said Draco, back to his usual cool.
"Erm, yes," said Hermione quietly, and she went on reading.
Fifteen minutes passed, and neither Hermione nor Draco spoke. Hermione read, and Draco sat with his arms crossed, looking out the window. Then someone ran into the prefect's coach, disturbing the silence. This someone was Ron Weasley.
"Sorry I'm late," said an out-of-breath Ron, "I forgot I had to come here first."
"Hello, Ron," said Hermione, not even looking up from "Hogwarts: A History."
Ron, just noticing Hermione, looked her way. "Hermione! Harry and I were looking all over for you, in all the coaches. But then I thought: 'Wait a minute, Hermione's a prefect! She'll be in the prefects' coach!' And then I thought, 'Wait a minute again! I'm a prefect! I should be in the prefects' coach, too!' And then-why is he sitting next to you?" asked Ron, crossing his arms, and nodding towards Draco.
"I'm allowed to, aren't I?" answered Draco. He was the old Draco Malfoy again: a sneer on his face, and a drawl in his voice. "Or is Granger here property of Ron Weasley?"
Ron's face turned pink. "Sh-she's not-," began Ron.
"Not what?" sneered Malfoy, "Not yours? That means she's free to do what she wants."
"Draco, I-," said Hermione.
"Since when do you call him Draco?!?" cried Ron, his face now turning red.
"He asked me to," replied Hermione quietly.
"That's right, Weasley. I asked her to. I'm also allowed to be on cordial terms with a lady," said Malfoy.
"What happened to her being a 'filthy Mudblood'?" asked Ron through clenched teeth.
"I changed my mind, Weasley," Malfoy replied, "I can also change my mind."
"Hermione, let's go. I don't want to waste my time on him," said Ron coldly. He walked to the door to the next coach. "You coming or not, Hermione?"
"I'll be there in a minute, Ron," Hermione said weakly.
"Fine," said Ron, closing the door behind him.
"Why did you do that?" Hermione asked Draco.
"Do what?" asked Draco, standing up.
"I thought you said you wanted to be friends with me!" cried an almost hysteric Hermione.
"I said I wanted to be friends with you. I said nothing about him," replied Draco.
"Well, if you're going to be friends with me, you're going to have to be friends with Ron!" Hermione cried, walking away.
"Wait! Hermione!" Draco cried, grabbing her by the arm and spinning her back around, "I-I'm sorry!" then quieting his voice he added, "I'm sorry, Hermione." Then he leaned forward, and kissed Hermione on the cheek.
Hermione's hand flew up to the cheek he kissed. A look of shock was on her face as she stared at Draco. "Draco, I-," she began.
"You can go now," interrupted Draco, "Weasley's waiting for you."
And as Draco made to go sit down again, Hermione backed up into the door, mouth open, her hand still on the cheek Draco Malfoy kissed.
Author's note: I know, I know. Hermione/Draco romance. Not meant to be. But one can dream, yes? Anyways, this is sort of an edited version thing, so please forgive me if you already read some of it, but something seems out of place in the next chapter. Re-read it, in case I changed something. You never can tell with me;)
Hermione stood on Platform 9 and 3/4 , looking for some sign of Harry of the Weasley's. She found none. She decided to get on the train, before it got too crowded, So she boarded the prefects coach. She looked around for an extra seat. The only one left was next to Draco Malfoy.
"Er.mind if I sit here?" Hermione asked timidly.
Malfoy's eyes widened as he looked at her, but they quickly returned to their natural state. "Oh, it's Granger. Isn't there another seat?"
Hermione shook her head.
"Oh. All right. Sit down, then," he said, patting the seat next to him with his hand.
Hermione sat down, and took out her "Hogwarts: A History" from her bag.
"There's something different about you, Granger," said Malfoy, taking a finger and putting it under Hermione's chin, and looking her in the face. He turned her head from side to side. "Can't put my finger on it though."
"Get your hands off me," said Hermione, pushing Malfoy's hand away. But Malfoy was right, Hermione had changed. She had grown taller over the summer. Even though her hair was still very bushy, it was more manageable. She kept her hair back in a pony tail now, so you could see more of her face. She was no longer a little girl, she had grown up quite a bit. "Thought you would know better than to touch a filthy Mudblood like me!" Hermione said sternly, getting back to reading.
"Oh," said Malfoy, looking a little put down. "Well, to tell you the truth Granger, I've been thinking. I think we should forget our differences. Give each other a chance."
Hermione looked at Malfoy in shock. Draco Malfoy wanted to be friends with her? The girl he always called a filthy Mudblood? Something seemed out of place in Malfoy. And it wasn't just his asking to be Hermione's friend, it was something else, too. "Do you really mean it?" she asked.
"Do I look like I don't mean it?" Malfoy asked with a serious expression on his face.
"Well, no," replied a dumbstruck Hermione.
"Friends it is, then!" said Malfoy cheerily, "So, Granger-Hermione, isn't it?"
Hermione nodded.
"Well, Hermione, how was your summer holiday?" Malfoy asked, actually intent upon hearing the answer.
"Well, Malfoy-," said Hermione, going back to reading.
"Draco, call me Draco," interrupted Malfoy, smiling. Hermione looked up at him in surprise.
"Fine. Draco, my summer was fairly dull and boring."
"What, you don't have a hot Muggle boyfriend?" he asked jokingly.
Hermione raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"Oh, I guess that's a no!" laughed Draco.
"How was your holiday, Draco?" asked Hermione, ignoring the laughter, going back to reading again.
"Ah, well, I went on a bit of a holiday with my-" Draco paused to think, "I think my mother's third cousin's son, who's a few years older than I am. We went to America for two weeks in July," explained Draco.
"Sounds like fun," said Hermione, almost ignoring what he was saying.
"Yeah, we went to New York City and Boston and- Why do you read so much?" Draco asked exasperatedly.
"I like to read," Hermione replied simply, "I thought you knew that already."
"Well, I did know that-I mean, I do know that-but why do you like to read?" Draco asked Hermione.
"I don't know. It might just be an escape for me. To get out of the real world," said Hermione, still reading.
"What's wrong with the real world, though?" asked Draco.
"It doesn't seem to like me very much, that's all," replied Hermione.
"Oh, I'm sure the world likes you all right," said Draco.
Hermione stayed silent and read. Draco sat there and looked out the window.
Out of the blue, Hermione asked, "Draco, why are you being nice to me all of a sudden? Why do you want to be my friend?"
"I-I don't know," replied Draco awkwardly and nervously, "S-so, y-you're a prefect?" he said, quickly changing the subject.
"Yes, I have been for a year now," said Hermione, eyeing him suspiciously.
"Me too," said Draco, back to his usual cool.
"Erm, yes," said Hermione quietly, and she went on reading.
Fifteen minutes passed, and neither Hermione nor Draco spoke. Hermione read, and Draco sat with his arms crossed, looking out the window. Then someone ran into the prefect's coach, disturbing the silence. This someone was Ron Weasley.
"Sorry I'm late," said an out-of-breath Ron, "I forgot I had to come here first."
"Hello, Ron," said Hermione, not even looking up from "Hogwarts: A History."
Ron, just noticing Hermione, looked her way. "Hermione! Harry and I were looking all over for you, in all the coaches. But then I thought: 'Wait a minute, Hermione's a prefect! She'll be in the prefects' coach!' And then I thought, 'Wait a minute again! I'm a prefect! I should be in the prefects' coach, too!' And then-why is he sitting next to you?" asked Ron, crossing his arms, and nodding towards Draco.
"I'm allowed to, aren't I?" answered Draco. He was the old Draco Malfoy again: a sneer on his face, and a drawl in his voice. "Or is Granger here property of Ron Weasley?"
Ron's face turned pink. "Sh-she's not-," began Ron.
"Not what?" sneered Malfoy, "Not yours? That means she's free to do what she wants."
"Draco, I-," said Hermione.
"Since when do you call him Draco?!?" cried Ron, his face now turning red.
"He asked me to," replied Hermione quietly.
"That's right, Weasley. I asked her to. I'm also allowed to be on cordial terms with a lady," said Malfoy.
"What happened to her being a 'filthy Mudblood'?" asked Ron through clenched teeth.
"I changed my mind, Weasley," Malfoy replied, "I can also change my mind."
"Hermione, let's go. I don't want to waste my time on him," said Ron coldly. He walked to the door to the next coach. "You coming or not, Hermione?"
"I'll be there in a minute, Ron," Hermione said weakly.
"Fine," said Ron, closing the door behind him.
"Why did you do that?" Hermione asked Draco.
"Do what?" asked Draco, standing up.
"I thought you said you wanted to be friends with me!" cried an almost hysteric Hermione.
"I said I wanted to be friends with you. I said nothing about him," replied Draco.
"Well, if you're going to be friends with me, you're going to have to be friends with Ron!" Hermione cried, walking away.
"Wait! Hermione!" Draco cried, grabbing her by the arm and spinning her back around, "I-I'm sorry!" then quieting his voice he added, "I'm sorry, Hermione." Then he leaned forward, and kissed Hermione on the cheek.
Hermione's hand flew up to the cheek he kissed. A look of shock was on her face as she stared at Draco. "Draco, I-," she began.
"You can go now," interrupted Draco, "Weasley's waiting for you."
And as Draco made to go sit down again, Hermione backed up into the door, mouth open, her hand still on the cheek Draco Malfoy kissed.