Title: The Carriage Ride
(Author's Note: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I was pleasantly surprised with how many reviews I got!)
Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter or any other characters. Excited for the seventh book though.
Previously on Chapter 1-Raining Cats And Dogs
"Ron," said Hermione in a warning tone. Her tone reminded the two boys of Mrs. Weasley before she exploded. Ron muttered something under his breath, which only Harry caught, which he choked down with a laugh.
"And ignore him," advised Hermione sternly as Ron unwillingly opened the door.
"Oh look! It bet he's her ex-boyfriend. The way she's sticking up for him is so cute," gushed the Hufflepuff girl. Hermione threw an annoyed look at the petite blonde blue-eyed girl seating in front of her.
But very quickly her attention came back to the blonde teenage boy standing in the rain.
Chapter 2- A Series Of Crazy Events
"Oi, you ugly ferret, get you furry ass here now or we'll leave without you," yelled Ron, staring down at the scowling Draco. Without another word, Ron turned his back towards Draco.
"Ron!" exclaimed Hermione from inside the carriage.
"What? I'm being nice," countered Ron. He unwillingly made way for Draco to enter inside, bumping into Harry.
Draco took his sweet time getting up; making sure that everyone was once again wet from the freezing rain. He left the door opened, pointedly looking at Ron, an expression clearly saying, "Well, what are you waiting for?"
"How about you close the door, Malfoy," suggested Harry. Draco sneered at Harry before staring at the furious Ron.
"I'll give you a Galleon, Weasel," taunted Draco. Ron clenched his fists in anger.
"I don't want your dirty money, now shut the damn door," replied Ron viciously.
Hermione, tired of getting wet from the rain and sensing a fight coming, quickly and cleverly interrupted.
"Harry, could you please close the door?" she asked politely, giving him a pleading look. Harry nodded reluctantly and slammed the door shut. Ron gave Draco a venomous look. Draco smirked back.
"Guess you won't be getting that Galleon today. Too bad that your family will have to starve, I almost feel sorry for your parents," drawled Draco, edging Ron.
What else am I supposed to do? he thought.
He couldn't believe his luck. He was stuck with the three people he hated the most with a bunch of Hufflepuff students he never recalled seeing his entire life. So he might as well have fun while he was stuck here for the time being. And the only way he could have fun was to make fun of Ron, Harry and Hermione.
Especially her, he thought, narrowing his eyes at the wet Gryffindor girl who was petting her cat.
It was entirely her fault that he was not only drenched but covered in mud as well. His thoughts and ideas on how to ruin Hermione's year at Hogwarts were interrupted when he heard a Hufflepuff boy whisper something into his friend's ear.
"That guy is a jerk," whispered the Hufflepuff boy to his friend while his friend nodded.
"Would you look at this pitiful group of people?" said Draco still sneering, crossing his arms in front of him.
"I wouldn't be talking Malfoy, you're now part of the group," pointed out Hermione, looking right at him for the first time since he entered the carriage.
Draco merely glared back at her. Hermione responded with a raised eyebrow, silently challenging him to say something.
"Just sit down Malfoy or else," warned Harry, bringing out his wand. Draco snorted.
"No need to show everyone what a poor excuse of a wizard you are Potter. But if you really think about it, I guess that's reserved for Weasel," commented Draco lightly, tapping his chin thoughtfully.
"Malfoy, sit down," warned Ron this time, his ears turning red from the insult no doubt.
"I heard Potter once, I don't need his sidekick to repeat it," snapped Draco, scowling at Ron.
He then eyed the carriage for one specific reason. A spot to sit. It was only Ron and Draco who were left standing and Draco was not in the mood and never would be in the mood to show an act of kindness towards Ron. Unfortunately the only spot to sit (not including the ground) was right beside Hermione and her cat.
Oh great. This is going to turn out ugly, she thought as realization dawned on her. She saw the two boys eye the spot beside her. And then the two boys glared at each other.
And it did turn out ugly, just as Hermione predicted. Draco and Ron jumped for the spot where they were standing while Hermione covered her head with her arms while Crookshanks sat on Hermione's lap, hissing. Luck seemed to be on Draco's side as he miraculously landed beside Hermione. Ron, meanwhile, fell painfully on the ground, his head hitting the seat.
Draco was smirking triumphantly, pleased that he had a spot. Ron gave a cry of pain as he clutched his forehead while Harry asked if he was all right.
Maybe it was better for Malfoy to walk, thought Hermione, instantly regretting her choice of letting Draco inside.
"That is so sweet. Didn't you see how the two dived to sit beside her. They both like her so much," whispered the Hufflepuff girl. Hermione was seriously starting to get annoyed with this girl.
Just when she was about to ask Ron if she could help him (his forehead was swelling quite fast), her attention was quickly diverted. Hermione heard a low hiss between herself and Draco.
"What the hell is going on? Mudblood, is your thigh hissing at me?" asked Draco in confusion.
"No Malfoy, my thigh is not hissing at you," snapped Hermione, feeling herself blush.
"Then who's making that awful noise?" he snapped back. That's when it hit Hermione.
"Oh my gosh! You landed on Crookshanks' tail!" screeched Hermione, roughly pushing Draco aside.
The back of his head collided against the thick glass window and he started to swear violently. Hermione, meanwhile not noticing the swear words that were coming from Draco and Ron's mouth, cradled the cat into her arms as though it was her precious baby. The hissing quickly turned into a howl. Hermione started petting Crookshanks, trying to sooth her cat. She raised her voice to be heard over the howling.
"What the hell, Granger?" exclaimed Draco angrily, rubbing the back of his head. Hermione shot him a look that could kill.
"What do you expect? You sat on my cat, you poor excuse of a human!" snapped Hermione heatedly.
Hearing this, Draco's anger only mounted.
"Pardon me? "Poor excuse of a human"? Mudblood, I think you're talking about yourself," spat Draco.
Harry was immediately standing up, his wand pointed out.
"Malfoy, I dare you to say that again," said Harry, gripping his wand tightly. Ron was on the ground, rubbing his forehead, forgotten at the moment.
"Well see I could, since you're not pointing the damn wand at me, oh Boy-Who-Unfortuantely-Lived-And-Is-Blind," replied Draco.
"Um…Harry, he's right. You're pointing it a Hufflepuff kid," said Ron speaking up, still clutching his forehead with both of his hands.
Harry blinked and squinted very hard at the terrified boy sitting in front of him. He leaned closer, still trying to see if Draco was lying or not. He was barely more than inches away, their noses almost touching.
"Are you sure, Ron? He does have blonde hair," added Harry.
"Now Potter, I know you want to kiss the boy, but please don't do it in front of me. And don't pretend it's me either," said Draco sarcastically.
Why is it that I'm stuck with a bunch of animals? thought Draco, rolling his eyes.
Harry immediately straightened and whipped around, blushing in embarrassment.
"Shut up Malfoy," he snarled angrily, pointing his wand at a different person.
"Harry, you're pointing it at me!" yelled Ron, backing away.
"Oh sorry mate. My glasses broke and I forgot the spell to fix them," explained Harry.
Hermione was ignoring everyone, her attention solely on Crookshanks. She tried in vain to quiet her cat. But the howling continued.
"Please, Crookshanks! Don't worry, he won't touch you anymore," said Hermione, clearly talking about Draco. She kissed the top of Crookshanks' head.
"Don't make me barf," muttered Draco under his breath.
In Draco's opinion, that cat was the ugliest animal he ever saw. He would have loved to say that right in front of Hermione's face but reading the expression on her face, he was certain that she wouldn't hesitate to hex him. If it was Harry or Ron, that would be a different matter entirely. Hermione knew so many spells and hexes that people two, three years older were just learning or practicing. So Draco fought the urge to comment on Hermione's ugly cat, not wanting his face or any part of his body disfigured or transformed.
I'd look better than Weasley here, but still, thought Draco.
"Harry, could you please hold him for a minute, he absolutely hates Malfoy," begged Hermione.
"Sure, no problem," muttered Harry unenthusiastically. Hermione grinned and got up and gave him her cat. The moment Crookshanks was in Harry's arm, he was silent. Hermione stared at her pet in amazement.
"He likes you," she concluded happily but by judging the look on Harry's face, Draco could rightly say that he wasn't pleased with the news.
Who would be? The thing looks like a beast, observed Draco.
Hermione sat back down beside Draco barely showing any signs that she knew he existed. He glared at her, not liking the feeling of being completely ignored.
"Having a nice hair day, Mudblood?" he sneered at her, waiting for her response.
But she focused her attention on Ron, still not giving Draco the time of day.
"Ron, are you all right?" she asked, leaning forward to touch Ron's forehead. As simple as the movement was, a blush crept into Ron's cheeks.
"Actually it really, really hurts," said Ron, closing his eyes, a small frown appearing on Ron's forehead. A snort of disbelief was heard from Hermione's right.
Hermione grabbed her wand from her robes and muttered a spell under her breath. A flash of blue light burst from her wand and a small block of ice appeared mid-air. She grabbed it before it fell and gently moved Ron's big fingers away from his forehead. By doing that, a large purplish bump was revealed. Hermione light put the ice on the bump, circling it in slow motions. Ron was red as his hair as he stared at Hermione.
"It should stop the swelling," she said.
Just when Hermione was going to tell Ron to go see Madame Pomfrey later on, a voice interrupted her.
"My, my, aren't we having a romantic moment. Don't start crying now Weasley!" said Draco in a mocking tone, his voice high pitched. He pretended as if he was going to cry. Hermione turned to face him.
He couldn't help it. The way Hermione touched Ron's forehead made Draco feel angry for some reason. He couldn't really explain what he was feeling. He didn't want her to care for Ron like that.
"That's not funny, Malfoy," said Hermione coolly.
Don't let him get the best of you, she thought, ordering herself to stay calm.
Draco suddenly leaned forward, leaving only a few inches of space between the two. Hermione could feel his breath on her face and she forced her eyes open, not daring them to close. He had a mad gleam in his eyes that fascinated and scared Hermione at the same time. She hardly felt the ice slip from her fingers as she stared back
"Actually, I find it quite hilarious how you forgot to tend to your boyfriend all of a sudden," he whispered and winked that send shivers down Hermione's back.
She quickly turned away to see that he was right. The ice that was supposed to be melting on Ron's forehead was now sitting on Ron's lap. It took Hermione a while to realize that Ron had been saying very rude threats to Draco if he didn't move away from Hermione that instant (Harry was still holding Crookshanks).
Slightly turning her head, Hermione blinked in surprise as she saw Draco staring at her again. Then he shocked her out of her mind when he silently blew her a kiss. Hermione immediately turned around, her back facing him. Her eyes were as round as Galleons, her heart beating at an unnaturally fast pace.
What the hell was that? she thought as she panicked. Did he just blow me a kiss?
She didn't imagine it as Ron saw it too, his face turning red like his hair.
End of chapter 2.
(Author's Note: Wow, I don't know why but it took me forever to edit this. This chapter is really long (in my opinion of course). Most of the times, I usually write a thousand something words for each chapter, but for this one I kept going on and on! As a quick remainder, there's probably going to be one or two more chapters left for this story. I know it's kinda short, but at the beginning I wasn't even planning on making this a short story. I started off as a one-shot but then it got too long so I changed it. See you guys soon! Looking forward to read your reviews!
blue sapphire lady)
