JUST TO LET YOU KNOW:
Anathema, in this story, is much like how it's explained in Scott Westerfield's Peeps. No, this is not a crossover, it's totally Harry Potter, just using his definition of the word.
It's basically a symptom where everything you love turns repulsive to you, as does everything familiar.
I may be stretching it a little bit, but I think it will make for a good fic.
a/n: Alrighty, well here we go. This chapter does move pretty fast and holds a lot of schtuff but it's how it has to be.
I reeeeally want to get into the meat of the story and this is how I intend to do it.
It's placed in their sixth year, and dates are inside.
The pairing will be odd, definitely not your normal Dr/Hr fic, but I still think you'll like it.
Permanent Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Hogwarts, or any other fictional beings or places J.K.Rowling has published. I own only the plot, everything else is credited to its original author.
"I HATE him!" Hermione Granger screamed as she slammed the door to the Gryffendor common room. "He is evil, and horrible, and I. Just. Hate him!!!"
She realized that nobody was actually listening to her, but went on anyways. "Draco Malfoy is the SCUM OF THE EARTH!"
Harry Potter looked up from his book semi-interestedly. "What did he do this time 'Mione?"
The two had done nothing but fight all year it seemed to Harry. They just couldn't seem to get along for anything. Every day Hermione would walk into the common room to rant and rave about how she hated Draco Malfoy and what offensive thing he had done that day.
Today it seemed she was even more upset than usual so Harry put down his book to listen. It had to be more interesting than Andemoris Clari's account of the events that led up to the borshkin war in 1895.
"I swear the boy was created to make me want to die. Today, in Advanced Potions we were all supposed to be testing our muscle potions and Draco, being the insufferable little kiss up he has always been to Snape, volunteered to randomly hand them out."
Harry muffled a grin at the way Hermione called Malfoy a kiss up but motioned her to keep on going.
"I 'randomly' got his, and when I drank it, it turned out to be a polyjuice potion to make me look like SNAPE! I not only got detention for a week for 'trouble making' but I had to skip Arithmacy because I looked like a professor!"
Harry tried not to smile. The two seemed to never let up. No doubt about it, by this time tomorrow Hermione will be sitting in one of these very chairs smirking about whatever hell she's caused Malfoy that day. It seemed inevitable.
"So how do you intend to get him back?" He asked, actually interested. Hermione had gotten pretty good at getting young Malfoy back lately.
"I'm not sure yet." Hermione said thoughtfully, "but it'll have to be good. Tomorrow is my last chance before winter break and there's no way I can make it forgettable."
Harry rolled his eyes. He had no doubt that it would be unforgettable. She would probably end up with detention for a week because of it, but it would be unforgettable.
Hermione was so different this year. She had started just as she had every other year, smart and prepared, but after the incessant horribleness from Malfoy this year, she had no choice but to fight back.
The two did nothing but fight anymore. At first, Harry had been slightly afraid that this was all some form of saying that Malfoy had a crush, but that was not viable.
The two just honestly hated each other, no way around it.
--
"I swear that girl makes it so easy." Draco Malfoy said with a smirk as he sat on the reclining chair in the center of the Slytherin common room.
Blaise Zabini laughed and nodded. "That was a good one." He admitted to his best friend, "one of your best this year. You, my boy, are very good at this."
Draco was pleased. "This is true. The only problem is that this only means that I'll have to be extra careful tomorrow. Chances are she'll come out ready for battle."
The constant back and forth between him and Hermione did nothing but amuse Draco.
"Don't worry," Blaise said with a smile, "I've got an idea as far as that goes."
Draco cocked his head questioningly.
Blaise held up a short gold chain. "Put this on." He told Draco.
Draco obliged and pursed his lips when nothing happened. "Very fashionable, of course, but is there a reason for this jewelry?"
Blaise smiled. "Watch and learn." He said confidently. "Oi! Crabbe! Get over here!"
Vincent ran over and was there within six seconds. "Send a jelly legs at Draco!"
Crabbe's eyes widened and he shook his head no. It was very seldom that he disobeyed a direct order from Blaise, but Draco was his main leader and he couldn't hurt him.
Draco smirked and nodded, "Go ahead." He said to Crabbe and gave Blaise a look that said 'this had better be good'
Crabbe said the incantation and a beam of light shot from his wand. Draco did nothing.
When the beam hit Draco square in the chest everyone in the common room stared at him wide eyed.
It took a moment for anyone to notice Vincent Crabbe laying on the floor with his legs bending in ways unnatural for any human.
Draco smiled. "Very nice," he told his friend. "I like. How much?"
Blaise winked, "No cost for you, mate. No cost at all."
Draco walked into his dorm toying with the bracelet on his wrist. "Oh Granger, what have you gotten yourself into?" He muttered to himself.
--
The next morning Hermione walked into the hall late completely satisfied with what she had planned for that dreadful Malfoy. This was going to be good.
She sat at her normal table hoping that nobody was later than she was today but figured it would serve them right if they were.
She flicked her wand over the doorway and smiled. The trap was set. She walked confidently over to the Slytherin table. Whispers followed her but she ignored them.
After walking down most of the table, she finally found the blonde she was looking for. "Malfoy, funny in potions yesterday, wasn't it?"
Draco smirked. "Really it was, wasn't it?" he said cockily.
She nodded. "I sure thought so. Muniffiando." She strongly said her new changed version of the spell Harry and Ron often used in classes.
Draco smiled when nothing happened to him and everything went quiet to Hermione. Her eyes widened. It was almost time for the count down! She needed to think quick.
She caste another spell and was forced to produce the counter curse as it hadn't worked on Draco but yet again effected her instead. She looked at her watch. She had only seconds left.
5… she searched the room as though looking for an answer.
4… she winced realizing that this would all be without purpose.
3… The owls fled into the great hall.
2… She realized what she had to do as a red envelope landed in front of Albus Dumbledore.
1… She punched Draco in the face as hard as he could and watched in slow motion as he fell to the ground.
She muttered the counter curse to the muffiato spell and smiled at all of the Slytherins flooding around Draco, and watched in delight as all of them froze at the screaming sound of the howler.
"TO THE STUDENTS OF HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY!" the howler echoed across the hall, "THE GREAT HALL IS PLACED IN LONDON, ENGLAND, INSIDE OF HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY ON THE MAIN FLOOR IN THE CENTER OF THE BUILDING. THANK YOU, GOODBYE!"
The whole room froze. Someone had sent Dumbledore a howler. Someone had sent Dumbledore a howler. Nobody could process this.
Hermione watched as Parkinson doused Draco with cold water and he came to. Everything was going directly according to plan.
Moments later the bell rang and the silence was left behind. Everyone filtered out toward their respective classes all talking about what had just happened, but froze when Dumbledore's pleasant voice rang out throughout the hall.
"If you please, will Hermione Granger please meet me in my office at her soonest convenience?"
Hermione wasn't very surprised. She figured that Dumbledore would most likely realize who had done this sooner or later, but also that it would be worth whatever happened.
She made her way toward his office and waited at the door.
Professor McGonagall happened by and gave Hermione a whithering look. "The password is Tootsie Roll, Ms. Granger, not that you didn't already know that." She said with a sniff and walked past.
Hermione smiled to herself. She could have guessed the password, but it had been changed the day before and she hadn't felt like straining herself.
"Tootsie Roll." She said assertively to the door. The stone gargoyle jumped aside and she entered, waiting in the large room in front of Dumbledore's office.
"Here again, are we?" Hermione's silence was broken by the sorting hat.
"We are." Hermione said cordially. She and the sorting hat had somehow gotten on speaking terms this year as she always seemed to be up in this office because of Draco.
"Who offended today? You or Mr. Malfoy?" The sorting hat asked. He always seemed interested in Hermione and Draco's affairs.
Hermione smiled smugly. "That would be me." She said, unafraid of the sorting hat's judgments.
"And what, pray tell, did you do today?"
"Fidelius charm on the great hall." Hermione said, proud of her idea. This one had been in the works for months and it felt great to finally get the credit she deserved.\
"Every day you seem to prove to me over and over that you are one of the most intelligent beings I have ever met." The sorting hat said thoughtfully.
Hermione blushed. Normally the hat simply congratulated her on her well formed ideas, never had he complimented her like this.
"You've surely met more intelligent." Hermione said humbly.
"Not quite like yours. Would you mind…" The sorting hat paused as though formatting his question in his head, "putting me on? Allowing me in once again?"
Hermione smiled, "Of course!" She grabbed the hat and put it on and silently awaited comment.
"Very interesting…" The sorting hat told her, "Just as intelligent as I knew you would, you have a fountain of knowledge and experience, but surprising as well."
"What's surprising?" Hermione asked.
The sorting hat paused once again. "You harbor so much love. Love for your friends, family, and even complete strangers. Loss as well. I can see that the loss of your elder brother is still affecting you. I'm very sorry. I wonder, however, where did all of this hate for Draco come from? I've never seen anything like it."
Hermione hardened. He mentioned Eddie. How could he mention Eddie?
Her brother was killed only weeks before school began. Voldemort, in an attempt to make her join him and rise against Harry had used him as leverage. When she refused, he killed him.
"Can't you just look? You have the power, I know you do." She told the hat, not wanting to answer.
"I would never look without asking. It was only by accident that I came across the knowledge of what happened to your brother. With your permission I will view the reasons for this hate that built so deep in you."
"You may." Hermione said in a monotone voice, trying to keep back the emotions that she had within her.
The sorting hat was silent and she assumed he was searching for the memories. After a long minute, he spoke. "He held him."
The hat was of course referring to the fact that Draco had been the one to guard Ed. If he had used a single ounce of compassion, he could have let her dear brother go.
"And he told you."
The sorting hat was yet again stating the obvious. Hermione whipped it off of her head and set it back on the shelf she took it from.
"That's right. He told me. The bastard pretty much killed my brother himself, and he bragged about it. This little prank war we're in, it's nothing. The second I'm seventeen and able to fully access my powers, I will kill him."
The sorting hat bent over as though he was looking at the ground. "I almost wouldn't blame you, but know, young Granger, that hate is never the best way to go. You will be able to, you have hatred in you for him that runs deep enough to allow you to kill him, more than I've seen in any student before, including Tom Riddle himself."
This surprised Hermione. She hated Draco more than Tom Riddle hated anyone? She hadn't thought it possible, but in reality, it made since. Tom Riddle was left by his parents. He never met them, that was nothing, nothing in comparison to what happened with her and Draco.
She probably should have been scared at hearing that, but instead was just strengthened. "Nothing you say can stop me. He will regret it until the day he dies."
With that, she stepped from Dumbledore's office, not willing to see him with all of this fresh in her mind, and went off to bed.
Soooo…
There's no secret crushes.
That's a lot of what I was trying to make clear.
Their hatred is pure.
I may be off canon with Eddie, but oh well, that's what fanfic is for.
This is just as canon as the ones that put them as heads that magically fall in love.
(even though yes, I love those stories)
Not all of the chapters will move this quickly, but this had to be done.
Note: This is most DEFINITELY not a Draco bashing fic.
I love him always, he just did a bad thing D