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Hermione sat up and opened the curtains that surrounded her bed. By the way the sun shone through narrow slits in the window she could tell it was dusk.
Ugh, why couldn't it be Sunday already?
Swinging her feet off the bed and onto the stone floor, Hermione sat up and replayed the days events over again in her head.
Yep, I still want him dead. Well, maybe not dead, but seriously injured. She smirked as she thought of how many curses she could hit him with before he became unrecognizable. Stopping when she got to one in which the victim no longer has a neck, her stomach growled. She stood up and slipped her shoes on completely satisfied with her ability to calm herself and descended the stairs to her common room and walked out to the hallway.
I don't need Malfoy or revenge, I can do just fine on my own. It's not as if Ron and I were dating any ways. Like I had told Ginny, why should I care who my friends snog?
Because he was supposed to be snogging you.
No, No, NO! Thinking like that is not going to help me get anywhere!
Yes it will, It will help you get revenge.
"I need to stop arguing with myself" Hermione whispered.
She pushed open the doors to the Great Hall and walked to the Gryffindor table. Finding her normal spot at the massive table Hermione gingerly sat and immediately began filling her plate. After putting on a helping of mashed potatoes she realized that the table was eerily quiet and next that several pairs of eyes were boring into her skull. As she looked up most of those eyes had shifted uncomfortably back to their plates. Hermione glanced at Harry who was still staring at her apprehensively. Tilting her head as if to question him Hermione slowly switched her gaze to her other best friend. Well, make that best friend and permanent arm attachment, which was now cooing to him and feeding him like a baby.
"Oh Ronnie, how I just love the way you use your mouth!" squealed a very misplaced Pansy.
"What in the Hell is she doing here?" asked Hermione coldly.
"Shove off Granger, I can eat wherever I want, especially with my new boyfriend, so mind your own business!"
"Pansy, go crawl back down whatever rotting hole you came out of!" spat Hermione.
"Geez, listen Hermione, I know it's a little different with her here, but we can all learn to accept it right?" Ron tried to mediate between the two but only succeeded in pissing of Hermione even more.
"Ron, she is in Slytherin! She should eat with her own House!"
"Aren't you always the one who is pushing House unity?" questioned Ron.
"Yeah, Granger learn to accept it." Pansy held herself haughtily as if she had now become a Gryffindor Princess.
"Come on Honey, you can call her Hermione now." The smile left Pansy's face as Ron mentioned this but instantly was replaced by and over-done smile.
"Oh, of course Ronnie!" Pansy turned to Hermione, "Hermione, be a dear and pass me the salt."
It took all of Hermione might not to over turn the entire table on this stupid slut in front of everyone. Clenching her fists Hermione snatched the salt shaker off the table and shoved it into Pansy's outstretched hand.
"Ouch! Was it really necessary to be that rough? Honestly Hermione, I'm not an ogre like you"
Ron stifled a laugh and Harry drew his wand. It could have been and attempt to curse Pansy into oblivion like Hermione felt like doing, or to keep Hermione from using an Unforgivable.
That's it! I have had enough of this!
"I'm actually not that hungry anymore, I think I'll go to the library." Hermione pushed her plate away and stood from the table while giving Harry a look that said "Don't even bother"
Walking out of the hall Hermione silently fumed until she reached the middle of the Slytherin table. Locking eyes with Malfoy Hermione suddenly had a new spring to her step. Pansy and Ron won't even know what hit them. Who would have thought, me teaming up with scum like Malfoy, albeit brilliantly cunning Slytherin scum. Atleast he will know the dirtiest tricks and have an upper hand when it comes to Pansy.
Hermione waited only ten seconds at the staircase when Malfoy exited the Great Hall.
"Alright Malfoy, I'm in," started Hermione. Malfoy cocked an eyebrow upwards at this.
"Well Granger, first I need you to promise something,"
"Okay, What's that?"
"No matter how far we get into this, not matter how awful and deceitful our actions become, you cannot back out," said Malfoy coolly.
Hermione pondered this for a second; it was all becoming too real at the moment.
It's not as if we'll be setting fire to anything and it will all be in the name of 'salvaging' my dignity.
"Deal," she stated simply.
Malfoy smirked, "Good. Follow me."
"What? Where?" questioned Hermione.
"Don't ask just follow."
They walked for nearly ten minutes, deep down into the dungeons, past Snape's Potions room and the Slytherin Common room.
So this must be where his Head Boy rooms are… makes sense considering her needs to be near the Slytherin commons…
After passing countless doors and taking two right turns Malfoy stopped in front of a painting of two massive stallions with piercing red eyes. They both snorted and pawed the ground untilhe spoke.
"Zu"
Hermione leaned closer waiting for the rest of the password to come, but the stallions stamped their feet in unison and the painting swung open.
Walking in Hermione was confused as ever.
Zu? ZU! Why don't I know what this means? It has to be some secret Slytherin term. Oh…Wow.
They had just stepped into Malfoy's common room which was set up almost exactly as Hermione but with drastic decorative differences. The walls and floors seemed to be heavy black glinting marble. The upholstery on the furniture was in deep greens and accents of sliver. The Slytherin influence was felt throughout the entire space as all paintings were of serpents or of Salazar Slytherin himself.
"Wait, if everything in here is a tribute to all things Slytherin, why isn't the painting at your entrance a snake?" asked Hermione.
"Well it would be little too easy to find if some one were looking for my rooms," snorted Malfoy.
"Oh, But what's with the password? I have never heard of 'Zu'."
Malfoy smirked, "Well of course you haven't. Oh but that's right, you think you know everything about anything."
"I do not, and if you brought me here just to insult me Malfoy let me know now so I can leave, but first tell me what the hell 'Zu' means!" she exclaimed.
"First off mudblood, do not get angry at me or I will lose my patience and you will be forced to eat at the Hufflepuff table to save yourself from watching Pansy and the Weasel suck face every meal. Second, if you can't handle what I say to you after all of these years you wouldn't have any pride to retain with revenge anyways, and Third," Malfoy took a breath, " Zu was considered the arch-serpent by the Sumerians. Happy?"
Hermione let the words play over in her head.
Okay, don't want to sit at Hufflepuff, check, can take anything he throws at me by now, check, Malfoy knows history outside of Professor Binn's class? Oh well, accepting two out of three isn't too terrible.
"I'm waiting for an answer Granger," said Malfoy moodily.
"Yes, fine. So getting down to business, what did you have in mind? Spreading nasty rumors, getting stuff from Weasley Wizarding Wheezes, which by the way would be ten times as brilliant since they are Ron's brothers. Or a more secretive approach, like messing with Pansy's grades? It's not like Ron's are worth messing with anyway…" Hermione sat herself down on one of Malfoy's plush armchairs. Malfoy had a thoroughly confused look on his face. His forehead scrunched in concentration as he figured out just what she was getting at.
"What? No Granger, you are completely missing the point here. Honestly, you are supposed to be the brightest witch here? No, we do not attack them directly or indirectly for that matter."
"Then what kind of revenge is this? How are we supposed to get back at them? Some sly cunning you have!" Hermione stood up, fully prepared to walk out. Malfoy stepped in her path and glared furiously at her.
"Never insult me Granger, you could try to walk out of here right now and be lost in the dungeons forever or you could pull your head out of your arse and listen to my logic."
Hermione huffed, realizing that she did not want to be wandering the undergrounds of Hogwarts for weeks on end.
"Fine Malfoy, tell me about your incredible plan" she finally obliged.
"Well, it's not exactly a plan yet, but it's a theory." Malfoy shot Hermione a murderous look when she snorted at the 'not exactly a plan' part.
"Anyways, Weasel is with Pansy, obviously, but he seems to think that you are always going to be there for him to fall back on-"
"Does not! I am not always there for him to fall back on!"
"Do not interrupt me Granger, and you are always there. When he needs homework, when he screws off with Potty, you are always there, and even if you aren't he will make you feel incredibly guilty for it. Fourth year after the Yule Ball, you had fun and he ruined it, didn't he?" Hermione awkwardly played with the hem of her shirt.
He was right, I was always there, and when I'm not, he makes me feel like shit.
"Whatever Malfoy, How would you even know about what happened at the Yule Ball?"
"Aside from the amusing little shouting match that ensued by the stairs, I make it my business to know everything Granger, even if it has to do with an insignificant muggle-born. So now, Weazey expects you to always be there, what if one day you're not, well not there for him anyways," explained Malfoy.
"What are you getting at? I should just pack my stuff and leave Hogwarts for a while. Really Malfoy, if you think you are going to get rid of me that easily then you are quite mistaken."
"No idiot, you should find someone else, someone that he would never expect especially someone he doesn't like."
Hermione let the words sink in.
"If you think for one minute Draco Malfoy that you are just going to shag me for the hell of it and pass it off as me getting revenge you are clearly mistaken! What do you take me for a complete dunderhead?" shrieked Hermione.
"Do you really want me to answer that? No Granger, I could have any female walking these hallways that I want, including McGonagall, so why would I waste my precious energy, let alone charm on you? And when did I ever mention the word 'shag'? Wishful thinking yet again Granger?" Malfoy smirked at the last part.
"Fine, you conceited prick, if this is supposed to work, what do we have to do?"
"Start with, we need to at least be a little more civil to each other, "started Malfoy.
"Hmph, fat chance of that happening…"
"Well what do you propose, because you aren't exactly throwing out ideas here!" Malfoy shouted and his last words reverberated off the stone walls.
"I assumed since I was working with the quote- 'Slytherin Prince' then you would be the one to plot!" Both were now toe to toe breathing heavily from the shouting match.
"Besides no one will believe that we both woke up one day and decided to be nice to our mortal enemies, it's not going to work!" Hermione took a deep breath and sat back down.
What was I thinking by even coming here? How could I even expect Draco Malfoy to help me?
Malfoy leaned on the mantle, "You're right Granger," he finally said.
"I'm- what?"
"You're absolutely right; no one will believe that we are suddenly civil to each other, and the fact that I should be the one to plot this damn thing. Maybe it was too much to ask you to help out…"
Did he just say that I'm right? Of course, in true Malfoy spirit he followed it up with a put-down but he had said out loud that I was right! He was so serious about it too. Could Malfoy be a decent person to some degree?
"Alright Malfoy, I'm all ears," she finally got out.
Malfoy's face broke into a malicious grin. "So glad you can see it my way,"
He was bluffing, that manipulating little twit! He knew exactly what to say to get me to agree! Damn him!
"So Granger, to bypass the awkwardness of us trying to be civil to each other, we should just do something monumental, something that no one would question us being together afterwards."
"And that would be what?" she asked suspiciously.
Malfoy turned to her with a knowing smile, "Well Granger, just leave that up to me."