Author's Note: Please note that this story begins at the start of the school year after the downfall of Voldemort. Hermione and Co. are repeating their seventh year now the war is over. Dumbledore and Fred are still alive!
For anyone who might actually be reading this, I update regularly, providing you review to let me know you're reading :P
Disclaimer: If I was J. K. Rowling, I would not be sharing Draco with anyone ;)) All I own is the plot and a couple of characters here and there :D
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Prove It
"It's just a fact, Granger. Whether they care to admit it or not, every girl in this school wants me. Saying that, most have already had me. The unfortunate, remaining few can only dream."
Hermione Granger glared at the tall, smirking, blond-haired boy in front of her, who was leaning back in his seat, his arms folded lazily across his chest.
"Is that so?" She replied in a waspish voice, her eyes sharply boring in to his own. He stared back unflinchingly.
They were both currently locked in the Head-student compartment on the train back to Hogwarts for their seventh and final year. They had been instructed to 'settle their differences' on the way, in order to begin the year on a clean slate. Perhaps that was asking too much of them.
Hermione's breathing was shallow, her face burning and her knuckles white. She was gripping her wand so tightly her veins were almost visible under the thin, pale skin of her hands.
"Of course. But you already know that." Draco confirmed in a lazy voice, the smirk never once faltering under her glare.
"To know something, Malfoy, it has to have been proven." Hermione quipped, putting extra emphasis on the 'proven' part, with the tiniest hint of triumph seeping into her voice. Draco Malfoy raised a perfectly formed brow, his smirk widening.
"Are you challenging me, Granger?" He administered her a lethal grin. The one he used on 'every girl in the school'. It guaranteed his position as Hogwarts' most dangerous boy-toy.
"It's hardly a challenge if you know it's already true." Hermione bit back sharply, seemingly immune to such charms. "Besides. I know of at least one girl who wouldn't go near you with a ten foot broomstick." Draco's eyes flashed when she said this.
"That shouldn't be too difficult to overcome."
"Prove it." Hermioned retorted snipely. She was well aware that she had recklessly just challenged Malfoy into trying to seduce her. But she was also well aware of the fire coarsing through her veins at that very moment. There is no way Draco Malfoy would be able to counteract seven years of loathing. Her resistance merely fueled Draco's persistance however, because his eyes were burning with the anticipation of a challenge he is sure to complete.
"Believe me. I will."
...
It was the beginning of their seventh year at Hogwarts. Going back to school after the War was a means of not only finding closure, but also of starting afresh. Learning to put aside differences seemed easier in the outside world, now that there was seemingly no greater threat than one's ego. So surely, laying prejudices between school-peers aside should be a piece of cake?
"They are just Houses, Malfoy! And as Head Girl, I must insist that you look beyond your prejudices and work with me, not against me, or so help me, I will hex you to smithereens." Hermione warned with a seal of promise in her tone. They were stood alone, facing each other in Professor McGonagal's office, seething at the realisation that, as a means of improving relations within the student body, Houses were to be dismissed for the first time in Hogwarts' history.
"Whoever organised this ridiculous rule is fighting a losing battle!" Draco retorted. Hermione glowered at him furiously, but couldn't help silently agreeing. The fact of the matter was, there is no way the Slytherin's would co-operate.
"Rest assured, Malfoy that if you do not at least attempt to co-operate with me, I will ensure that you do so by force." Hermione threatened Draco impatiently. Why hadn't she kept her wand in her robes?
"Is that so?" The long, mocking drawl of the silver-eyed Slytherin replied tauntingly, fighting a smirk. He was finding their fiery debate amusing now, as he had done when Hermione initiated her challenge on the train. Who better to mess with, than Granger - that swotty know it all who'd dared to punch him in third year?
Draco was never content unless he was up to something that could possibly cause mayhem - girls usually the main cause. He liked to consider himself as a snake - girls as his prey; He never cared about them, but the capture was always fun. Most the girl's he'd gone after were easy though. If his history was anything to go by, those who put up the biggest fight at the start, were generally the ones who really fell the fastest. He should have kept a tally really, he thought idly. It gave him certain satisfaction that he could get any girl he wanted, half of whom he barely remembered the first name of.
"You don't want to test me Malfoy." Hermione warned coldly. He was simply begging for a dual, and she was more than willing to comply. Dumbledore should have seen this coming. There's no way a Gryffindor and a Slytherin could work together in harmony for a whole year.
"You know, most girls would be on their knees, worshipping my feet by now, if they knew they were to spend the year working soley with me." Draco fired back at her goadingly. The thrill he was beginning to feel at the prospect of bagging this particular girl, took him back to how his player-like games had made him feel when he first realised the power he held over the female population at Howarts. Powerful. It had never crossed his mind how many hearts he'd broken, only how many he'd stolen. He was practically a God to the Slytherin's.
He continued to dig the knife into Hermione's ego just a tiny bit deeper, by adding, "And here you are, of all people, shooting insults at me, even going so far as to threaten me!"
Hermione's face flooded with colour as she analysed what he'd said with disgust. "Well, if there's one thing you will learn this year, it's that I am not like 'most other girls'-" She paused, glaring at him pointedly. "I am your equal and you will treat me as such or I will demand that Professor Dumbledore give your role to a more deserving candidate."
"As amusing as it would be to watch a mudblood such as yourself try to single-handedly change school policy, I really do have more important things to be doing. If you'd excuse me." He half-bowed, sneering at her with his lips curled upwards to show his sharp, white teeth in what could only have been the infamous Malfoy smirk, before gliding straight passed her and exiting the office, making a beeline for the Great Hall to begin their last ever Welcome Feast.
...
"Unbelievable!"
"How could Dumbledore do that?"
"Malfoys mummy probably pleaded to Dumbledore, there's no other explanation!"
"What about Harry?"
Hermione nodded as her friends all fired shocked questions at her, having just been informed of their new Head Boy. In the past, she'd had barely anything to do with Malfoy, and when she had unwittingly stumbled across him, it had always been with Harry and Ron. Knowing she'd be spending so much of the year working individually with him made her stomach clench in an uncomfortable way. He wasn't a nice person.
"Ron, I doubt very much that Mrs Malfoy had to beg Dumbledore to give Malfoy the role, and Neville, Dumbledore clearly had his reasons. He's trying to enhance inter-House relations this year." Hermione explained. The whole hall was buzzing with the kind of excitement that hadn't been heard in at least two years. Some Hufflepuff's had joined the Gryffindor table, the Ravenclaw's seemingly unbothered by joining either Gryffindor or Slytherin. Most Slytherin's remained in their usual places, looking as glum and scornful as ever. The first years had 'Sorted' themselves, having chosen to sit with the table that looked most appealing to them. They were each wearing standard black robes, no ties this year.
"I still say Harry should of been made Head Boy. He's practically royalty in the magical world - by having two of the 'Golden Trio'-" Ginny made little finger gestures, "As Head students, what more inspiration for House-unity do we need? You guys are practically worshipped!" Ginny stated, earning a grin and half shrug from Harry.
"We are not practically worshipped, Ginny." Hermione protested, shaking her head at Harry's lack of modesty when it comes to anything deemed a compliment from Ginny.
Hermione spotted Draco himself sat between a tall, haughty looking boy she remembered as Blaise Zabini, and of course, pug-faced Pansy Parkinson. He was nodding at something Zabini was saying and it looked as though Pansy was trying to catch his attention by nudging his arm every so often. Malfoy seemed to be deliberately ignoring her, Hermione thought. Possible sensing someone watching him, Draco lifted his head, his eyes catching Hermione's for the briefest of seconds before she turned her attention wholey back to Ginny, only the faintest of blushes touching her cheeks.
"Well, good luck trying to whip Malfoy into submission." Ginny snorted, taking a large gulp of pumpkin juice, grinning.
"Oh please. If I can deal with Ron on an empty stomach, I am more than capable of dealing with Malfoy." Hermione retorted, starting to feel the first slight twinges of shame and embarrassment at how their previous two conversations had gone down.
"Yeah, yeah, Hermione." Ginny rolled her eyes and turned her attention onto Harry, as none other than Luna Lovegood drifted across and somehow appeared right between Hermione and Neville.
"Evening. Did everyone have a good summer?" She asked in her high, dreamy voice.
"Very good, thank you. And you?" Hermione replied somewhat formally. She had spent the summer at the Weasley's, having had no idea where to begin in finding her parents again after the War. Harry had joined them halfway through the summer too, having spent the first few weeks at Godric's Hollow alone to allow him time to come to terms with everything that had happened that year. Seeing Luna and even Neville again made Hermione feel awkward and slightly tense. They had been through a lot together and it was strange knowing that all they had to do now, was be normal. Did any of them really know what 'normal' is?
"It was eventful. My father found a rather rare nest of cotton shingle eggs. Apparently if you swallow one if gives you the most peculiar sensation of your insides being wrapped in cotton wool. Of course, one of the side effects is presumed to be growing a cotton beard so I didn't try one. Although, I'm not sure anyone actually has tried one before, so we can't be sure there are any side effects at all."
They each sat there in silence a moment, trying to make sense of whatever it was Luna had just said, when a throat cleared. Professor Dumbledore had stood, and was smiling at them all, his half moon spectacles perching on the tip of his nose.
"To our new students, welcome! To the rest of you, including those repeating seventh year, welcome back!" Everyone grinned, full with the excessive but delicious food from the feast as Dumbledore began his speech with the usual.
"Some things never change, eh?" Ron muttered quietly, causing Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna to grin in appreciation. Normality is what they had been hoping for.
"As you are all aware, this year there is no Sorting." A few of the students began murmuring at this, but Dumbledore continued, smiling, with his eyes twinkling. "Whilst we can not change the past, we do not have to make it our future."
"Come again?" Ron hissed to nobody in particular.
"We will not be considering you as Houses this year. You may keep your House dorms, but who ventures into them during the day is completely up to you."
"No way will we be letting a Slytherin into our common room!" Someone else sounded a few places away from Neville.
"Along with that, it will be compulsory that each and every one of you participate in Muggle Studies." At this, there was a minor uproar from the Slytherin area. Dumbledore appeared oblivious to them and concluded with, "We hope to improve the feeling of unity in the student body. And one last thing-" He cleared his throat humourously. "Romance is of course, a beautiful thing. However, do ensure that any secret rendezvous remains, of course, secret when lessons are taking place."
At this, he bowed his head, smiling, to a ripple of embarrassed or merely inspired chuckling across the students. "May our Head Girl and Boy please meet with Professor McGonagal at the end of the feast."
As he sat down, everyone began to resume their previous conversations.
"I wonder what McGonagal wants with you." Harry muttered to Hermione.
"I have no idea. It's exciting though, isn't it? I can't wait to get started this year! Think of all the organising we'll be responsible for!" Hermione replied, feeling giddy at the thought of new tasks to be getting on with. Harry rolled his eyes.
"Only you would think more work is a God-send." He chuckled fondly at his best friend as Ron grumbled about having eaten too much.
"Well, wish me luck." Hermione sang as the hall began to desert. When she reached McGonagal's office, Draco still hadn't arrived. Typical Malfoy, Hermione thought waspishly. If this was how he was planning to begin his new role, she may as well do the job herself.
"As much as I'm sure you'd love to go ahead as the sole Head student, I am here. Had a little trouble walking off a headache before I got here, but I wouldn't leave you to face Cat Lady alone."
"That 'Cat Lady' is known by Professor McGonagal to students, Mr Malfoy."
Hermione shot around, her eyes sending daggers at the smarmy-faced Slytherin now beside her. He didn't look put out by being overheard by their Professor, who had just as silently entered the office as he had. In fact, he smirked at his own cheek.
"I'd say I'm just an accomplished Occlumens, but seriously, it doesn't take a mind-reader to know you'd rather be here alone." Draco hissed into Hermione's ear, making her wonder whether he really had read her thoughts.
"Now, I'm sure you're both wondering why you are here, again." McGonagal began as both Hermione and Draco nodded. "Well, as Head students, it is general school policy that you share a dorm-"
"What? No way!"
"Not on Merlin's abnormally large beard!" They both protested immediately, looking horrified at the thought.
McGonagal just smiled grimly as if she didn't agree with what she was about to say next.
"Yes, both Professor Snape and I had discussed the matter with Professor Dumblefore before-" At the mention of 'Snape', a tiny trace of sourness could be detected before she continued. "And it was decided that due to the current circumstances between you both, it might be asking too much to expect you to immediately put aside your differences and live in such close proximity to each other." Both Hermione and Draco let out a relieved sigh, neither wanting to even contemplate the horror of sharing a dorm!
"We have decided that, at least for the first half of the year, you will be given your own private, individual dorms that you and only you are to know the password to. Is that ok?" They both nodded in agreement, secretly overjoyed at their luck. "You may still spend time in your old House common rooms of course." McGonagal finished with an easier smile now.
Once they were dismissed, Hermione shot down the corridor as fast as she possibly could without resorting to running. Anything to get away from Malfoy and his stiflingly huge ego.
"Oi, Granger!" He called back. She subconsciously slowed, but not enough that she would allow him to catch up. She was merely intrigued by what he had to say. She almost lost her balance when she felt him tred on the back of her shoe and turned around to adminish her sudden flare up of irritation on him in full force.
"What, Malfoy?" She half-yelled back, her brows contorted in frustration. He stared back, with glazed, idle eyes.
"Just wanted to let you know I like to lay in for as long as possible in the mornings, so you'll have to assign yourself to morning patrol of the Hall."
Hermione's jaw clenched. "Malfoy. If you can't be bothered to get your lazy arse out of bed to co-operate with me in a role that is supposed to be a privilege, then-"
"So it's settled then?" He interrupted her, agonisingly calmly. She merely closed her eyes in unwilling consent to prevent further conflict. Merlin knows they've had enough for one day. Who knows what he'll provoke her into doing next.
"Goodnight, Malfoy." She replied, her voice strained with the pent-up irritance she was forcing herself to control. As she got to the bottom of the staircase, she heard Malfoy reply,
"I always did like playing catch."
Wait. He wasn't serious about their little discussion earlier... Was he?
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So... For a taster, what do you think?
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