Wewt wewt, chapter two! I'm excited! Are you guys? I'm actually pumped about how this story might evolve. Alright, I'll stop talking. Here's chapter two!
Human?, Chapter Two.
Previously,
"Do we have a meeting to go to?" She asked, making sure her voice didn't sound small. He shook his head.
"McGonagall has arranged their schedules and nonsense. She, and I quote, said we 'already have enough on our plates'. I'm guessing there's something happening that we won't like." He replied.
"Probably. I hope there's no idiotic House Unification class or activity. There's been enough at trying to do that." The witch said, with a roll of her eyes. The train stopped and she turned to the Slytherin next to her. "Ready?" Hermione asked with a giggle.
"Sure." Draco said, following the brunette off of the train.
"Merlin, why can't I have any peace?" Hermione groaned, seeing a fuming Ron and Ginny stomping towards her. Draco's throaty laugh floated from behind her as he climbed onto a nearby bench.
"Want to make a run for it?" He joked.
"I'd love to. But I'd rather let them yell at me here. Put of the Weasley wrath, and you're in for a life of hell." She giggled. The siblings grew angrier, because she was just talking to Draco.
"What the hell, 'Mione!? Didn't I tell you dont' mess with this ferret!?" Ron screamed.
"I'll do whatever I please, Ronald! And who are you, my father?" Hermione threw back.
"If he was here, you wouldn't be like this!" The boy replied.
"My father didn't give a damn about my wizarding life! He thought talking to you was corrupting my mind! So what, talking to Draco is insanity?" She screamed, clearly irritated.
"That'd be better than getting caught up with that damn Slytherin!" Ron said, crossing his arms.
"So, you're telling me, and correct me if I'm wrong, that going insane is better than being acquainted with a Malfoy? What about you Ronald? I know for a fact you had a huge crush on Andariel Malfoy!" Hermione said, a smirk spreading across her face. Draco laughed loudly at the look on Ron's face. It was a mixture of shock and horror.
"Shut up, Malfoy! At least I don't torment children to get a laugh!" Ginny called. That wiped the smile from Draco's face.
"I have never terrorized a child for laughs. Ever. I have two nieces and a nephew who I never want to come to this school because of the way the Malfoy name is perceived! And you're idiotic accusations are the reason behind that!" The boy screamed. His chest rose and fell quickly, and Hermione quickly turned him around and shuffled him into a carriage. With her foot on the step to climb in, she turned around to the lookalike siblings, the rest of their crew coming up behind them.
"I hope this is what you wanted."
She climbed into the carriage and slammed the door shut. A small smile appeared on her face as she heard Harry screaming at his best friend. The ride to the castle was silent. But it was so..loud. When the carriage stopped, and Draco moved to open it, but it opened from the outside first. Blaise raised a brow to find the witch and wizard in a carriage together, and one of them wasn't hexed. Hermione made her way out, and as she turned to leave, she caught the beginnings of a conversation about her.
"You got stuck in a carriage with that filthy mudblood? My poor little Dragon." Astoria Greengrass said. With a bitter laugh, Draco slapped her hand off of his chest.
"Only one person gets to call me that, and her initials are ATM." He said, which cause a bout of laughter to erupt from Hermione, who was a couple of yards away. Pansy immediately turned on the girl, who had a cute grin on her face.
"What's so funny, you toerag?" She sneered.
"It's just, in the muggle world-"
"Oh, shut up, you filthy piece of trash!" Astoria interrupted, with a roll of her eyes. Hermione, with set brown eyes, continued.
"In the muggle world, an ATM is something that is part of a bank. An ATM gives out money from the bank to people who have accounts. I just found it funny because the family is rich. But I'm finished now. Don't worry about the filthy mudblood getting in your way, anymore." Hermione finished, grinning at the shell-shocked group one last time before turning around and heading into the school.
Hermione was making her way to the new Heads' dormitory, thanks to the directions of the new headmistress. Mcgonagall added that the portrait in front of it was, "unstickable and unchangeable". The young witch wondered why she had to add that, and then she saw the portrait.
"Oh bloody hell..." The portrait's characters were herself and Draco. The brunette and brown-eyed witch was in a thin, green, gossamer dress that stopped at her knees. She was draped on a tree branch, and was handing a plump red apple to a tall and fit blond wizard with grey eyes. They both had lazy smiles on their faces as the wizard reached up and held the apple with the witch. The wizard's name was-get this-Drake. The witch's name was Harmonia. With a shake of her head, Hermione scratched the apple and the portrait swung open. The common room was circular, with a long silver couch with a golden coffee table in front of it. On each side of the couch was a big fluffy chair the same colour as Gryffindor's gold. The four rooms ran along one wall, and on the other, was a small kitchenette. There was a fridge, a small fridge, and a microwave. Muggle technology? Hermione thought with a laugh. She then checked the rooms. It was her room, then Draco's, then the bathroom, then a door that was a portal to Hogsmeade. Mcgonagall said it was her treat, but it was obviously there for one reason.
Hermione headed to the bathroom to take a shower. The Entrance Feast usually lasted all night, so she had time. She stepped out a while later, with her hair up in a messy bun and a towel wrapped around herself. As she closed the bathroom door, she turned around to see Draco and a few other boys step inside. Was that..no. Cormac. Just as she made a move to enter her room, said boy was already halfway across the room. So, the opened the first door she was near, and that just had to be Draco's room. As she opened it and ran into it, her towel was ripped off. She shut and locked the door and sat down, her bare bottom hitting the soft green carpet. There was some bashing and beating on the door, along with the yelling, and then there was a soft knock.
"Granger?" That was Draco's voice. Hermione unlocked it slowly and poked only her head out. A small grin graced his face. "There you are. Sorry about that, Cormac wouldn't stop hassling me. I was hoping you'd be asleep so I could tell him you weren't here." He said.
"Can you do me a favour? Because I'm sitting here naked, and I'm about to go lie down in your bed." Hermione said, getting to the point. "Can you get my clothes from my trunk? Something I can sleep in?" She asked. With a nod, he disappeared for a couple of minutes, then came back with some clothes. She grabbed them with a quick thanks and put them on. When she did, she laughed out loud. He had grabbed a black sports bra and a pair of black spandex shorts that dancers wore. Which, she remembered, was a hobby she had picked up. She quickly put them on and left the room.
"Um, Granger, you forgot to put your pants on." Draco said, and again, she laughed.
"No, Malfoy, I didn't. These are dancer's shorts." Hermione replied, sitting on the couch and curling her feet under her. Draco sat a little a ways from her. "Did I miss any important announcements?"
"Not much, just that we have a bloody House Unification class and they've shoved all the Eighth years into one table." Draco replied sarcastically. Hermione grinned sheepishly.
"I feel like that's my fault." She said, laughing. Draco shook his head and stood, heading to the bathroom to shower. Hermione stood up and walked into her room, grabbing a book from a bookshelf that was set up. she went back to sit on the couch and read.
By the time Draco stepped out of the shower, Hermione was fast asleep, with the book on her lap. The wizard got dressed and then made her more comfortable and found a blanket to lay over her. She mumbled something with Arion's name in it as he shut the door to his bedroom.
Hermione woke up to her robes being thrown in her face. She sat up quickly, and fell off of the couch in surprise. She looked up at Malfoy's lazy grin and sucked her teeth.
"Let's go, Head Girl, we've got a school to run." Draco said. Hermione rushed into the bathroom and changed, then grabbed her satchel and headed out to breakfast. With another suck of her teeth, she walked over to the long wooden table with all house colours on it and sat down with a huff. A familiar laugh floated across the room and as soon as it happened, it stopped. Hermione turned her head and saw it was Ginny, who was accompanied by her husband and brother, along with Luna Lovegood.
"'Mione!" Luna squealed with a giggle. With a smile, the brunette hugged the wispy little girl with a laugh.
"Hiya, Luna. How have you been?" She asked, to which Luna responded by gushing on and on about Nargles and Thestrals. The girl sat down next to her, and was secretly relieved that Draco was on her other side. The new trio dispersed as Ginny went to sit at the Gryffindor table and the two boys sat next to Luna. Schedules were handed out, and unsurprisingly, the entire Eighth year class had classes together. Laughing to herself, she looked over Luna's schedule as well and saw there was a House Unification class.
"I feel bad now." Hermione said aloud, earning a bark of a laugh from Draco.
"What the bloody hell is so funny?" Ron yelled angrily, earning a head shake from Harry and a small laugh from Luna.
"What's so funny, Ronald, is that you have the audacity to talk to me after you bloody embarrassed me in front of everyone who was watching last night, you thick tosser." The witch replied snarkily, which confused Ron even more. He'd never head 'his 'Mione' talk like that before. Before he could get a word out, the owls flew in. Hermione stood up to leave, assuming she wouldn't receive an owl. But what she saw made her even angrier.
A bat had just flown in.
Everyone was whispering about it, which just made the man turned bat even happier. He glided over to Hermione and you could just see the smirk on his face. With a roll of her eyes, a puff of black smoke appeared and Arion stood there, this time in an emerald-green muscle shirt and some dark jeans.
"Why, sister dear, you don't look happy to see me!" The boy cawed.
"That's because you disappeared for six months and I thought you were dead, brother dear." Hermione deadpanned. With a laugh, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and steered her over to Headmistress McGonagall.
"Ah, Mr. Grant, I see you've found your sister. Hermione, dear, you wouldn't mind introducing him to the rest of the Slytherins and eighth years, would you? Also, he needs some robes." The headmistress said.
"I suppose I could. But you have to give me your Hogsmeade candy, Arys." Hermione replied lightly, grabbing her brother's wrist then immediately stopping. She'd realised that Arys had shapeshifted from a bat into a human. In front of everyone. She was surprised no one screamed. She dragged him over to the eighth year table, and pulled him next to her form.
"Oi! You guys, shut up!" Hermione yelled, to which they did not open.
"Listen, you bunch of twits!" Arion screamed, which shut everyone up in the entire hall. With a grin and closed eyes, he turned his head to Hermione. Who then punched him in the chest.
"You guys, this is my brother Arion Grant. He transferred to Hogwarts this year and blah blah. He's a Slytherin." She said loudly. Arion waved with a smile and almost half of the Slytherin girls were on him.
"So, Ari, where'd you go to school before this?" Pansy asked.
"Rion, do you have a girlfriend?" Astoria questioned.
"Blimey, these nicknames are horrible! 'Mione, I like the one you gave me better." Was all Arion said, shrugging the girls off and turning to his sister.
"Why thank you, Arys. Have you gotten your schedule yet?" She said, to which he nodded. "Good, you also need a set of robes." Hermione said, and Arys grabbed her hand and ran towards the door. Hermione Accio'd her satchel, which took Ron's two pieces of toast as it ran up to meet her. She grabbed them with a giggle and handed them to her brother.
"Breakfast, Ari?" She said, mimicking Pansy. He shuddered but took the toast. They headed to the front gates, to they could apparate to Diagon Alley. They apparated quickly, and walked into Madam Malkin's.
"Hullo, Madam! Can I have a Boys' Slytherin uniform and cloak pack? And if so, can they be self repairing?" Hermione asked. Arys stood on the podium and let Madam Malkin figure out his robe size, then handed the cloaks and uniforms to him.
"That'll be 10 Galleons, dearie." Madam Malkin said. Hermione hurriedly gave them to the old woman and they left to head back to the school. Once they were there, Arys changed into his robes and they headed to class.
"The first class on here is this dreaded House Unification class, so let's go. It's in the old Defense Against the Dark Arts room." Hermione said, heading to the class. They walked in and all heads turned towards them.
"And just where have you two been!?" The redheaded teacher with the angry face screamed. Hermione's hand flew to her hip and she cocked her body sideways.
"Diagon Alley. Well, Madam Malkin's." She said simply, like it was no big deal.
"You were off school grounds!? Just wait until the Heads and the Headmistress hears about this! Where is that irresponsible Head Girl anyway? If she's Head Girl, she should have been here with Mr. Malfoy! Ugh! She better not be a bad student!" This woman hissed.
"Actually, Professor Stefani, that is the Head Girl. And she got special permission from the Headmistress herself to buy the new transfer student some robes." Draco said, leaning back in his chair. His grin mirrored the same one on Hermione's face.
"Like that's believable! Who do you think you are, young miss, Hermione Granger!? Like you could measure up to that war hero!" Stefani said.
"Well, Professor Ste-fah-nee," Hermione sneered. "I am Hermione Granger. And thanks for calling me a war hero. Now, can we get on this class, which should be renamed 'Teacher and Student Unification', since you just sat here and insulted me." She finished, striding in and taking her seat, which actually had her name on it, next to Draco. Most of the students were nodding in agreement, and the professor sort of smiled.
"You all just completed the first test of this class." She said lightly. She undid the bun she had in her hair and it flowed all the way down her back. The glasses she had on had now disappeared, showing her light green eyes. "Now, let me reintroduce myself. I am professor Stefani Forbes. I will be helping the Houses unify in many ways. And this test was to see if two different houses would coöperate. Ten points awarded to Slytherin and Gryffindor." She said, a grin on her face now. Hermione looked around and saw she wasn't the only confused one.
"Now, students, this class is all about teamwork. So, you'll have a partner. The person sitting next to you will fill in this opening. Notice they are of opposite gender and of another house." Stefani said. A happy clap came from the back of the class.
"I got your brother, 'Mione! Don't worry, I won't let the Nargles get him." Luna said seriously, as Arion grinned down at her.
"There won't be much mistletoe around, Lovegood, so I doubt she's worried." Draco said, kicking his feet up and propping them on the desk. Now Arion was confused, with cause Hermione to chuckle.
"Back to the topic at hand, you all have to choose trust exercises to do. Here is a sheet, and you and your partner will each pick two out of the ten options." The professor said, using her wand to send sheets of parchments to the students. One floated to Hermione and she pushed Draco's feet off of the desk so she could lean down and look at the parchment without getting kicked in the face.
"We should choose the Willow in the Wind." Draco said, checking off the box next to the exercise.
"And I think we should choose Eye Contact." Hermione replied, checking off that box. She handed the sheet back to Stefani, and leaned back in her seat. They waited until everyone had handed their sheets back.
"Well, it seems that almost everyone chose the same exercises. Willow in the Wind and Eye Contact it is." Stefani said, putting the sheets down and clearing her throat. "Now, each of you turn to your partners. You must stare into their eyes for precisely two minutes whilst finding things you have in common. Go!"
Hermione and Draco's faces were only five inches apart from each other's. With a grin, Draco started.
"We both like books." He said.
"We both hate a certain person now." Hermione shot right back.
"Both of us don't want to be here." Draco replied with a laugh.
"We both have a vast vocabulary of insults." Hermione giggled out.
"We have the same common room." Draco.
"We have the same table in the Hall." Hermione.
"We're both badass potioneers." Draco.
By the time the minute was up, Hermione was in a fit of giggles, and Draco was looking at her like she had a parrot on her head. Every time she looked back up at him, she laughed even harder. One she calmed down, and Ron stopped his angry whining, they got to the next exercise. Everyone gathered in a circle and one person stood in the middle of them all. Then, the person in the center leaned one way, and the person nearest them used their arms to push them to the other side of the circle. Hermione's turn came after Draco's and she stood in the center uneasily. Half of these people hated her with a passion. She closed her eyes, clamped her hands to her sides, and leaned back. Someone pushed her to the front, and then she was pushed to the side.
Hm. This isn't so bad. Hermione thought. Stefani asked for a pause, since Luna was asking a 'vital' question, so she opened her eyes, only to find Ron had pushed her a little too hard towards Luna, who wasn't paying attention. With a scream, she tried to catch herself but couldn't, resulting in her bashing her forehead on the stone floor. She was immediately knocked unconscious.
"Weasel, you idiotic twit!" Draco yelled. What part of a pause did that redhead not understand?
"Don't blame me, blame Luna!" Ron yelled back defensively.
"Mr. Weasley, you heard me say stop. I even stated Ms. Lovegood was going to ask me a question, so you decide you'll push the student into her? Fifty points docked from Gryffindor. Mr. Malfoy, can you..I would say escort, but that's not the case here. Quickly wake her up, and then carry her to Madame Pomfrey. Here's a pass." Stefani said, handing Draco a piece of paper with spidery handwriting on it. He stuffed it in his cloak pocket and shook Hermione awake.
"Put that damn spoon down, Ronald!" Hermione yelled sleepily, her face a mixture of pain and annoyance. A snicker ran throughout the class as Draco tried to wake her up again. Which didn't work. So he did the only thing he thought that would wake any girl up.
"Draco says he's going to kiss you, 'Mione." He whispered. He guessed some part of her subconscious was awake, because she shot up and bashed him in the head with a nearby inkwell. He hissed in pain before picking the young woman up.
"Put..put me down, Malfoy." She mumbled, her head leaning on his shoulder. He used someone's red scarf to put on her head, as her head had started bleeding. He strode down the hallway when she tugged urgently on his robes.
"What is it, Granger?" He asked softly.
"Run. I'm going to throw up, and I'd rather not do it on you." She said. And he did what he was told. As soon as they made it there, he conjured a bucket for her and she fell out of his arms, onto a bed, and threw up into the bucket. She did this many times before curling up into the fetal position and staying like that. Madame Pomfrey came rushing out with confusion. It took Draco a while to explain the situation to her. The matron walked up to Hermione and lightly touched the tip of her wand to the wound.
"Tergeo." She whispered, and the dried blood disappeared. She then walked over to her vast cabinet, and found a Calming Draught, as the young witch was now shivering. "Hermione, dear, you'll have to sit up and take this." The woman said, with no response from Hermione.
"Draco, I need you to tilt her head, so the potion actually goes down her throat." Madame Pomfrey said. Draco walked over to Hermione and slid his hand under her cool cheek, and tilted it sideways, then used his other hand to support her head and neck. The nurse spooned it into her mouth as Hermione smiled lazily and her head tilted to the side.
"You're bleeding, Malfoy." Hermione said, sitting up slowly and turning him around, revealing a gash at the nape of his neck. She sat him down next to her as she pulled out tiny pieces of glass and vanished away all the blood. "Episkey." She said, glad she could use wandless magic. The cut sealed itself up and Hermione patted it lightly. "There, no more boo-boos." Hermione finished, yawning about twice. Draco turned to Madam Pomfrey with a chuckle.
"Did you sneak a bit of a Sleeping potion into the spoon?" He asked, and the matron tried to put a look of innocence on her face. She gave him permission to stay with her the rest of the day, since he felt he was partly responsible.
x0x{But I'm only human.}x0x
Draco had left the Hospital Wing for a few minutes, to stop by the kitchens and pick up some snacks. When he returned, basically every eighth year who wasn't a Slytherin (besides Arion) was crowding around Hermione's bed. With an irritated sigh, he shoved past them and sat in the chair next to the bed. Harry spotted him and arched a brow.
"Has she done anything else, Malfoy?" He asked.
"Not really. Madam Pomfrey gave her a calming potion along with a sleeping potion, so she should wake up late tonight, maybe even tomorrow morning." Draco replied, taking a bite out of his apple. "That is, if your friends shut up and let the damn witch sleep."
"I'll talk if I want to talk, Malfoy!" Ron yelled, causing Hermione to stir.
"Would you just shut up!?" Draco hissed. "She needs to sleep it off. It's your fault, anyways."
"IT IS NOT!" Ron roared, which made Hermione shoot up and let out a squeal of terror. She glared at Ron before turning to Harry with a smile.
"Glad to see you're awake." Harry said, lightly patting Hermione's head. Ginny soon rushed in, threatening to curse people if they didn't move. She came up to the foot of Hermione's bed and caught her breath.
"Oh, 'Mione, don't hate me. You know what happens when one Weasley starts fighting, everyone else joins in!" Ginny said, clasping her hands together. With a smile, Hermione nodded lightly.
"But I'm not the one you need to apologize to, Gin." She said. Ginny turned to Draco and crossed her arms.
"I'm sorry for saying you terrorize children for fun." The redhead said. Draco nodded and turned to Hermione.
"Madame Pomfrey said you had to stay until classes ended tomorrow." He told her.
"Why!?" She asked, her eyes frantic. "I can't miss my second day of classes!" She squealed.
"Granger, people die from not treating concussions right, one of which you have." He said, taking a mirror off of the table beside the bed and showing her the kumquat sized bump on her forehead. She winced at the sight and he nodded. "Lovegood said that she would handle getting your work for you, since the person whose fault it was isn't responsible enough to do it." Draco finished with a sneer.
"Don't you dare call me irresponsible!" Ron yelled once more.
"Oh, but Ron, you're very irresponsible!" Luna said airily. "I remember you managed to actually lose a cauldron that had a potion in it. Turns out the House Elves like the taste of Manegro Potion, because they had hair for days." She said with a light giggle. Ron stormed out, followed by a reluctant Harry and a laughing Ginny, who then were followed by the rest of the class. Hermione eyed one of the apples Draco had and snatched it up, against his protests.
"It's not like I could make a request, Malfoy. Just let me eat it." Hermione said, taking a bite out of the crisp apple, a smile on her face.
"Apples are beginning to become a recurring theme in this relationship." McGonagall said, striding in with a chuckle. "How are you, Hermione?" She asked, sitting at the foot of the bed.
"I'm fine, Profess- I mean, Headmistress." Hermione said, ducking her head down in embarrassment. Minerva chuckled before patting Hermione's leg.
"It's okay, it was an honest mistake. To err is...human. Anyways, how is your brother liking Hogwarts?" She asked with a raised brow.
"I can tell he's excited. He's like a five-year-old, occasionally. It was written all over his face in class earlier." Hermione replied with a grin. "Did I miss lunch?" She asked, turning to Draco.
"It's actually starting now. You can try heading there." He replied, throwing his finished apple core in the wastebasket. She nodded lightly as Minerva stood and left, saying she had to look over some of Arys's paperwork. Hermione slid out of the bed, and took the dreaded cloak off. It was suffocating her. She also took off the sweater she had on. With an annoyed sigh, she headed out of the hospital wing, followed by Draco. She headed to the dorms and quickly changed into a red tank-top, a black sweatshirt and a pair of cloth-like jeans. As she was pulling on her Vans, a popular type of muggle shoe, Draco gave her a funny look.
"If I'm going to spend more than eight hours in that bed, Malfoy, I'm going to be comfortable." Was all she said before heading to the Great Hall. As soon as the oak doors were open, all heads turned to her. That was the second time that had happened today. With a roll of her eyes, she went and sat next to Arys, who was poking Luna and begging her for her plate of roast beef. Hermione took only some baby carrots and chewed on them. When dessert came, she grabbed a handful of strawberries and stood up.
"Where you goin', sis?" Arys asked.
"I have to go back to the Hospital Wing." She said with a small smile.
"You barely ate anything, 'Mione. Here." Harry said, handing her a small plate with a piece of warm apple pie on it. The smell wafting off of it was making her stomach lurch.
"Yeah, he's right. Here, take this too." Ron said, shoving a plate of what looked like five different types of dessert smashed into one. Dropping whatever she had, her hands flew up to cover her mouth as bile rushed up her throat. Arys was by her side instantly, with Draco following behind shortly. On the way to the Hospital Wing, he conjured a bucket for if she threw up. Just as they had settled her down into her bed, she tore the bucket away from Draco's hands and threw up in it. She sat it down next to the bed and snuggled up under the blankets, her brother and roommate watching over her.
Poor Hurt!Hermione. Not fun. And you won't believe the number of times I searched 'symptoms of concussions' on Google. My mom was like, "Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?" And I'm just like.. "I am the god of cake." (Yes, I do say weird things, but hey, I'm me.) See you next time!