Chapter Two
Hermione attempted to smile at her reflection with confidence, but the smile quickly fell away as she groaned and reached for her toothbrush.
Today was the day that her bet with Draco Malfoy would come into action, and she was most definitely second guessing herself. What in her right mind made her think that she would gain anything from such a ridiculous wager? Malfoy was a two timing jerk and she should have never accepted his challenge. She had decided that morning when she awoke that she wasn't going to tell Harry or Ron about the bet. They would only get mad and treat her like an idiot.
Which she was! She was an idiot for getting herself into this…and with Malfoy of all people!
Hermione exited her bathroom and into her small courters. One good thing about being a seventh year at Hogwarts was that you received your own room instead of having to share with other students. The professors explained that this was so that they could concentrate, due to the high level of work needed to be done to pass their NEWT exams and graduate. Most of the hormonal students treated it as their own personal love shack, she thought bitterly of the many times she'd passed by rooms and heard female giggles and male moans from behind closed doors.
For Hermione, her room was an oasis. Littered over her walls were pictures of her friends and family, but mostly pictures of places that she had visited, or found comfort in. Over the summer she had taken on the hobby of photography. She had even turned her closet into a dark room so that she could develop her work in the privacy of her room. Hermione paused in front of a particular photo that she found strength in, a photo of a field where she had spent countless hours as a child, reading and exploring. It was in a time before she had known anything of magic or of Hogwarts…a time that seemed so simple and innocent to her now.
Hermione took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. If there was one thing that she was confident in, it was of her ability to take on any challenge and push to succeed in it. She simply had to look at this bet with Malfoy as another challenge and do her best.
…Even if it meant embarrassing herself immensely.
Hermione was making her way into Advanced Potions, when someone suddenly grabbed hold of her upper arm and pulled her into a darkened corridor. She was about to yelp, when a large hand softly covered her mouth and a deep male voice spoke in her ear.
"It's me, you idiot," said Draco. He slowly uncovered her mouth and Hermione narrowed her eyes angrily, though she knew that he probably couldn't see her in the darkness.
"What's this about?" she demanded, trying to take a step back from him, but finding herself unable to due to the cramped space.
"So what's your plan?"
"My plan?"
Draco grunted in annoyance. "Don't play daft, you know what I'm talking about. Your plan with McLaster… you've got the first move."
Hermione's heart began to beet nervously against her chest. "Well, I thought I'd begin with, you know…just talking to him! Make a bit of intellectual conversation...show him that I can be interesting and smart at the same time." She heard Draco snort and she scowled.
"The only thing you'll be showing him is that you prefer books over blokes and that most definitely is not a turn on."
"Maybe not for you," Hermione growled. "But I'm sure that Raidon will see it as an attribute to be admired."
"Admired, but not desired…which is the true test here after all."
Hermione rolled her eyes and pushed passed him to enter back into the lightened hallway. The students had began to file into the classroom and Hermione turned back to Malfoy who slid his way out of the darkness with his arms folded over his chest and a smirk on his face. Both Hermione and Draco's heads turned as Raidon appeared around the corner and walked toward them. He had his books clutched to his side and his eyes forward as he silently passed by and entered the classroom.
Draco nodded his chin in Raidon's direction. "Let the games begin."
Hermione breathed heavily through her nose and closed her eyes for a moment, attempting to give herself strength. She could feel Malfoy's eyes burning into the back of her head where he sat just behind Raidon a few desks down.
Class had gone by in a blur. She had barely taken any notes in the nervous haze she had been in since she had entered the room. Professor Snape had just told them to pair off so that they could attempt to brew the potion from the day's lesson.
This was her chance.
Hermione sprung from her chair and nearly shoved into another girl who had her sights set on the hunched form of Raidon, who sat quietly at his desk. Another girl on the opposite side of him had locked eyes with Hermione and both took the last few steps toward him with hurry.
The other girl began to speak first. "Hi ther-"
"Can I be your partner?" Hermione blurted out suddenly, causing Raidon's eyes to rise to meet hers.
"Uh, sure. Please sit," he said, motioning to the empty seat beside him. Hermione could see the other girl sulk away angrily before smiling widely and slinking down on the chair beside him.
"Thanks!" she opened her book in front of her. "My name is Hermione."
"Raidon," he said, nodding in acknowledgment.
Hermione beamed. "I see that you've remembered your quill today!" she giggled nervously, pointing at the writing utensil in his hand. Raidon stared back at her with slight confusion. "Cause you know…yesterday…you had forgotten your quill…" Hermione's smile began to falter. Realization came over Raidon's face.
"Oh, Yes. I remembered today, thanks."
"Oh. Good. Cause I'd hate to make another mess and ruin another tie! Ha-ha…" Raidon smiled softly and nodded once before turning to open his book. Hermione bit her lip and turned away from him, her hair falling over her shoulder in an attempt to hide her horrified expression.
A few moments of silence passed before he spoke. "I'll go ahead and grab the ingredients if ya want to boil the cauldron," Raidon said suddenly, motioning to where the ingredient table sat at the front of the room.
Hermione nodded and smiled, "Sure! I think I can handle that!" Raidon nodded before pushing himself up and walking toward the line to retrieve their ingredients.
"Wow," came a voice from behind her.
"Shut up, Malfoy."
"If that was your attempt at an intellectual conversation, then I pity the poor sod." Hermione spun around in her chair to face him. He sat at the table behind her, his eager partner, a sixth year Slytherin girl, had joined the others to get ingredients.
"Mind your own business!"
Draco raised an eyebrow, "We made a bet, remember? This is my business."
"You don't need to watch our every moment!"
Draco frowned. "Of course I do. How do I know you won't cheat and slip him a love potion or something?" he asked, causing Hermione to scowl. "I need to make sure that you're holding up your end of the bet."
Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but snapped it shut as Raidon sat down once more beside her. Hermione spun back around in her chair and smiled at him.
Raidon eyed the unlit cauldron, "Could ye not light it?" he asked, causing Hermione's eyes to widen.
"Oh! I'm sorry! No, I can do it, I was just distracted for a moment," she said quickly, reaching for her wand to light the fire and boil the water. Raidon centered the tray of ingredients between them and carefully handed her a knife. He reached for the fluxweed, but paused before he cut into them.
"I canno' remember…are we supposed to cut the leaves horizontally of diagonally?" he asked. Hermione racked her mind, cursing herself for not paying better attention during class.
"Um…" think, think! "Diagonally! Definitely diagonally." Raidon smiled at her once more and Hermione decided that she could never tire of the sight of it. A small dimple would appear on each cheek and his eyes would squint slightly. Hermione could not help but smile back every time.
Hermione reached for the Gurdyroot and began to peel away its slimy covering. "So, how are you liking Hogwarts so far?" she asked, her first attempt at conversation.
Raidon shrugged, "'Bout the same as my old school, I suppose. Miss my mates a bit though." Now that Hermione thought about it, she rarely saw Raidon with anyone when he walked the halls or sat for meals…most of the time it was just the hovering females gawking from behind him. He was quiet and reserved so she supposed it possible for him to not know many people in the short month he'd been here.
"Yeah, it was definitely scary for me my first year," she said. "Though before Hogwarts, my only real friends had been my books." Hermione heard a pretentious snort from behind her, but ignored it.
"You like to read, do you?" Raidon asked.
Hermione turned to face him with excitement in her eyes. "Very much! My current favorites are Defensive Magical Theory and pretty much anything written by Gilderoy Lockhart," she added with a slight blush. She stared up at him, "Do you enjoy books as well?"
Raidon nodded slightly. "I do enjoy a good story some days," he grinned slightly at her, "Though I fear I dunna share yer vast enthusiasm for it." Hermione's blush deepened as he locked eyes with her for a moment.
"Most don't," Hermione shook her head slightly. "I'm afraid that it has made me a bit of an outcast in fact." Hermione froze her work momentarily.
Why did I have to tell him that!
Raidon shook his head as he dropped the cut leaves into the boiling cauldron and grabbed hold of the vile of ghoulish colored liquid from the tray. "Ye should'na be ashamed of it," he said, dripping several drops into the pot. "It's rare to find such passion."
Hermione hid her face behind her hair once more, this time to hind her face-splitting grin. She slowly turned her head to smirk triumphantly back at Malfoy, who she could see was still listening to their conversation. He raised an eyebrow as if to say "so what" which caused Hermione to roll her eyes and turn back to her partner.
"So what's your favorite class so far?" she asked, squeezing the juice from the Gurdyroot into their cauldron.
"I'd have to say it is Magical History, though it is a bit difficult for me. Yer history is 'na the same as what I have studied in the past."
"I should guess not!" Hermione giggled, stirring their steaming potion. "I'm sure that your past professor's interpretation of the Dark Rebellion War is told somewhat differently what with England and Scotland being rivals and all. Not to mention Scotland's stance on the Muggle Magical Sanctity law and the wizarding community's involvement with the disciplinary action regarding the case file of Trumbleman and Gallsberry. England's ministry voted against it you know…" Hermione turned to face Raidon, who was watching her with a curious expression on his chiseled features. "Ha…um, sorry. I tend to ramble on like that sometimes..."
Raidon smiled as he dipped the last of the Bicorn into the pot to complete their potion. "I see that you are quite familiar with the subject. Perhaps ye can help me with a few assignments sometime."
Hermione couldn't help but nod vigorously at his offer, smiling widely. "Of course! It would be my pleasure!"
"Time is up," came the dark voice of Professor Snape, as he glided into the room like a black mist. "If you have not completed your attempt at the potion then I daresay you should be second guessing your involvement in this class."
Snape slowly circled the room, testing each pair's potion with a drop of solution that if done right, would turn the liquid a deep ocean blue. Not one in the room had successfully brewed the potion, not even Malfoy and his sulking partner, whom was clearly angry at being ignored the entire class as Malfoy spied on them.
Snape came to a stop at their desk and tilted the glass vile in his bony hand so that a single drop fell out and into the bubbling liquid below. Instantly their potion swirled into the desired color, signaling that they had successfully completed the assignment.
"Well done," Snape said in a bored tone, "though I expected nothing less of you, Granger."He turned swiftly and after assigning them their homework, dismissed the class.
Hermione began shoving her books into her bag as Raidon stood to leave. "We make a pretty good team, huh?" Hermione asked brightly, causing Raidon to smile.
"I dare say we do," he replied. He turned to leave, "Until next time, Hermione."
Hermione watched him exit the room with a dumb smile on her face. Oh to hear him speak her name! The way that it curled over his tongue in his Scottish burr made it sound exotic and devilish. It caused her insides to drop and her toes to curl.
"He's gone, you can stop the goo-goo eyes."
"Say whatever you want to say, Malfoy," Hermione said dreamily. "Nothing can ruin this blissful moment, not even your dark presence." Hermione all but floated out of the room, Malfoy following beside her.
"You honestly think that went well?"
Hermione stopped and turned to face him, apprehension on her face. "What are you talking about? You heard it, it was perfect! I think he might really like me-"
Draco laughed, causing Hermione's eyes to narrow. "What about that do you think went well?"
"He said he wanted to study with me sometime…that has to say something!"
"Yeah, it says that he thinks you're a brainiac and that he may be able to bump a grade if he can study off of you."
Hermione shook her head. "You're daft, Malfoy. I can tell that it was more than that."
Draco shook his head, "I say that it's not. And you've got until Halloween to make me think otherwise." He smiled devilishly….
"…Then it's my turn."