A/N: Here's chappie one for y'all. Oh, and as you can see, I have chosen a title :) Let me know if there's anything that doesn't match up with the actual books, besides the whole 'Draco in Gryffindor and Harry in Slytherin' thing. Thank you all soooooo much for the reviews and support! I really appreciate it! Now, onward to the story!
I still don't own Harry Potter *sobs*
Changing the Ways
Chapter 1
The next morning, Draco walked down to the Great Hall with (very much to his surprise) Hermione Granger.
He found that she was actually nice…for a mudblood, that is. He still thought that her constant 'I know it all' chatter was annoying, but at least he had someone to talk to—or rather, listen to. He finally got fed up with her babble when they were walking down a staircase and she started spouting information about how they moved.
"Granger!" He interrupted her, "do you ever stop talking?!"
"Oh. Sorry," Hermione mumbled. "This is all just so fascinating! I understand how you can think it normal, having grown up with it and all. I'm a muggleborn, remember? This is still all new to me. I never knew any of this existed before I got my letter."
"How do you know all this? Like you said; you're a muggleborn. You shouldn't even know that the staircases are enchanted, much less what spells they are enchanted with!"
She paused for a minute, allowing them time to take their seats at the Gryffindor table, and pile their plates with food.
"I love to read," she said finally.
He burst out laughing, "You're embarrassed because you love to read? Granger, even I love to read"
"What? No!" She said quickly, "No, of course not. Reading is amazing. I'm just—I mean, I don't want you to think I'm a teacher's pet because I can answer every question they ask."
"I could answer every question they ask. Anyone who cares should be able to, Granger."
"Why do you call me that?" She asked suddenly, through a mouthful of egg.
"Don't talk with your mouth full," he replied.
"What, are you my mother now?" She asked, rolling her eyes, "Answer my question."
"What class do we have first, Granger?" He cursed himself silently for calling her that, wanting to avoid her question. He had no desire whatsoever to talk about his home life right now—or ever, for that matter.
"Stop avoiding my question, Draco," she said.
"Don't call me Draco," he said avoiding eye contact, and instead looking over at the Slytherin table where Potter was currently eating porridge, "I don't like it."
"I'll stop as soon as you tell me why, Draco," she said stubbornly.
"Why is this such a big deal to you, Granger?" He asked, snapping his attention back to her, and looking into her dark caramel eyes, "It's just a name. Get used to it, because I'll be calling you that for a while. I'll tell you in...fourth year!" He said hastily as she glared at him.
Hermione had just opened her mouth to say something else, when owls swooped down from every direction, dropping letters and packages into people's food.
Draco wanted to hide. This is the moment that he had been dreading. His parents would have known the moment that he had been put into Gryffindor, via a magical pen. It was enchanted to scream like a teapot and write the nature of the crime as soon as something untrue to the Malfoy line happened. Talk to a muggleborn, for example. Being put into Gryffindor is another excellent reason why it would start screaming.
"Wow. This is amazing." Hermione said in awe, pushing her bushy hair out of her face.
A tawny owl swooped down and dropped a pale green letter into Draco's watermelon.
He sighed in relief. At least it wasn't a Howler. He picked up the envelope slowly and turned it over, fingering the silver wax seal. His name was written very neatly in cursive on the front.
"Who is that from?" Hermione wondered aloud.
"It's none of your business," he replied coldly. She scowled and turned away.
Draco opened the envelope and took out the heavy parchment. It read:
Draco,
What. Have. You. Done?
It was bad enough that you were put into Gryffindor and not Slytherin, but then you go and associate yourself with a mudblood? You put that girl, Granger, under the impression that you two might become friends. This is completely unacceptable. If it were up to me, you would have been home the moment that the sorting hat declared you a Gryffindor, but your mother wouldn't allow it. Your education is much more important to her than what house you are in. You may stay under one condition: You are not to speak to the Granger girl again.
We have taken the enchantment off of the alert pen in order for me and your mother to get some sleep at night. We trust you to do the right thing. However; if I hear one word about your disobedience, you will be home before you can say 'mudblood'.
I will expect regular reports of your time in Hogwarts.
Sincerely,
Lucius Malfoy
Draco read and re-read the last part about the reports four times before groaning and putting his head into his hands.
Now, what was he going to do? He didn't want to befriend Hermione in the first place, it had just sort of happened. He was sure that she was going to be the only one to put up with him, and actually try to be friends with him, so he had been nice to her. She turned out to be completely the opposite of what he was expecting. She was nice and smart. Not at all like his parent had said muggleborns were. His parents. That reminded him; what was he going to do about them? He was too afraid to tell them the truth in his reports; that he thought Hermione was nice and was not going to stop speaking to her. He also couldn't refuse to write the reports, because then they would come to the school to find out why he hadn't been writing. That left one choice: He had to lie to them. Since the pen was currently out of commission, they wouldn't suspect a thing. As long as he was telling them what they wanted to hear, they would believe him.
"Draco? Draco, what's the matter?" Hermione interrupted his thoughts.
"Nothing," he said, taking his head out of his hands. "Nothing at all." Draco could tell that she didn't believe him, and was relieved when she let it go. "So," he said, forcing a smile, "What class do we have first?"
A/N: Yay! Chapter one is done! I'm horrible at coming up with names for chapters, so if you want the chapters to have names, you'll have to come up with them yourself. I might just use the ones that you come up with :) I'll try to update every day while it's still summer break, and then at least once a week when school starts. School starts on August 8th for me! I'm going into ninth grade, and I can't wait to see all my friends again! I might update again today, but I'm not making any promises. Thanks again, all! Please review!
