Disclaimer: All rights and characters belong to JK Rowling and Warner Bros™. Nothing is mine but the creativity and storyline.
Obliviate – The First Lesson
2
Unfortunately for Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger, they both had Potions class before the dreaded piano lessons were sure to begin. And asif spending first lesson together wasn't enough – oh, how it infuriated him when she flitted about Charms class like she owned the place. Much like he did at Potions, Hermione observed, which angered her just as much. However, they were both thankful that after Lunch there were no more lessons together, and they found that something to look forward to.
While in Potions, Professor Snape had split the classroom up into two segments to study the mental-altering potions they were going to brew today. Of course, the class was already accurately segregated from the students own seating arrangement – Gryffindors on one side and Slytherins on the other. Because of this, the two Houses had separate Potions to brew. The Slytherins were assigned with a complex Memory Potion, while Gryffindors were assigned with a Calming Draught. Hermione found this quite insulting. It was, indefinitely, the easier potion out of the two. It only irritated her further whenever she looked over the other side of the classroom to see Malfoy strutting around with confidence that his potion was of perfect condition. Hermione tutted. That was probably only because he refused to let Crabbe or Goyle help, although she didn't really blame him; she knew she wouldn't either.
At her table, Harry had just added three drops of Bulbadox juice to their cauldron, which then immediately turned the liquid inside to a light shade of beige. Harry's expression turned to one of concern. He looked directly at Hermione. "Was that right?" He asked, tentatively, his eyes large behind his glasses. Hermione smiled and nodded once. This outwardly made Harry calm, and he turned back to the instructions infront of him. Ron wasn't focussed on the potion, however – he was staring at Hermione, his brow furrowed inquisitively.
"Hermione?"
The girl in question tore her gaze from the Slytherin table across the room and diverted her eyes to the boy that had spoken. She smiled gently to show she was listening. Ron continued, his tone just as sceptical as his expression.
"Why do you keep staring at Malfoy?" At the mention of the latter's name, Harry, too, became interested in this conversation, and snapped his head up to switch his gaze between his two friends, clutching a large dandelion root in his hand anxiously.
Hermione's eyebrows came to match Ron's. "What? I'm not staring at him; I'm staring at their potion. Don't you find it offensive that they get the more complicated potion and we get something that shouldn't even be reserved for First Years?"
Harry become apprehensive. "Hey!" He said, "I'm having trouble over here." Ron nodded vigorously in agreement.
"Me too, mate," He said to Harry, and then turned to the brunette, "I'd much rather have the easier potion – if we can't even figure this out then there's no way we'd be able to do that bloody mulberry thing they're doing."
"Memory."
"What?"
"It's a memory potion." Hermione snapped. Ron fell silent, and Harry turned back to their potion. When he added the dandelion root, the potion evaporated considerably and only a few centimetres of now-clear liquid were left at the bottom. He didn't dare ask Hermione if this was correct, so he just kept his eyes on the instructions.
After a beat, Ron gained courage to speak again. "What's the matter Hermione? You've been blunt with us ever since last lesson. Are you finding out that Ancient Runes isn't all it's cracked up to be?"
Hermione sighed, "No. I'm sorry; it's just that Dumbledore is making me spend my free periods teaching Piano lessons." Her eyes immediately shifted to Ron. The sudden eye contact made him uneasy. She noticed his Adam's apple bob up and down in his throat. "Did someone tell him that I am good at Piano, Ronald?"
Ron's mouth fell open as if he was going to say something, but then it slammed back shut. After a moment, he looked straight at Harry, as if for assistance, but continued speaking anyway, "That was Harry."
Harry didn't look up from the cauldron, and said flatly, yet somewhat amused, "Don't try to lie to her, Ron, you should know by now that she knows everything."
Ron glared at his friend once, before looking back at the girl, "Well, okay, Dumbledore asked me so I told him. I didn't know he was going to make you give up your free period for it." Ron was taken aback slightly when Hermione just gave him a friendly smile – he'd expected her to be displeased with him for talking about her; he knew girls were strange creatures.
"That's alright, Ron," she said, "Because of the lessons I get extra studying privileges, even after hours." Ron sighed in relief and relaxed immensely.
"That's good," Harry spoke, suddenly looking at her and smiling. The potion seemed discarded by now. "Who will you be teaching?" His tone was curious.
Hermione's face turned sour and her tone darkened. "Malfoy." She said, exasperatedly.
"Malfoy?!" Ron bellowed without thinking, which landed him with stares from everyone in the classroom, a firm thump on the arm from Harry and an icy glare from Hermione. Ron's face immediately burnt up once he realised what he had done. He could feel Draco's eyes boaring into him.
"Back to work, Mr Weasley, or it will be 10 points from Gryffindor for disrupting the lesson," Snape said from the front of the classroom, his voice morose.
"Yes, sir." Ron said in a small voice, his head now bowed and his ears a ghastly shade of red. Slowly and surely, the low rumble of students talking began filling the classroom again as they began to return to their potions.
"Thanks for that, Ronald," Hermione said, sarcastically.
"Sorry," Ron said quietly, "But why do you have to teach Malfoy?" His face was quickly returning to its normal colour now, once his mind was off his little outburst. Hermione shrugged.
"Dumbledore didn't say."
"And you didn't ask?"
"Well, Dumbledore must have a reason," Harry spoke up, looking quite neutral. "I doubt Dumbledore would make you do this unless there was a purpose to it."
Hermione just shrugged again. She was deciding that maybe it wasn't a good idea to tell Harry and Ron about this afterall.
Just at that moment, Snape's voice bellowed across the room, "Alright class that will do. Get out of my class," and with that, everyone did.
Hermione and Draco somewhat sluggishly so, draping behind the others until they were both alone in the hallway, Draco a few metres behind Hermione, his narrowed eyes on the back of her head as she stared at her feet. They were both dreading this – even the atmosphere in the corridor was unbearable and they weren't even in the classroom yet. This would be a huge mistake on Dumbledore's part; he was the one to blame if either of them ended up hexed tonight.
When they reached the unused Astronomy classroom the silence had become deafening. Hermione entered first, disappearing into the dark doorframe and Draco stopped outside the door hesitantly. Inside, he heard her murmur a small 'lumos' and a gentle light filled the room. He stepped in, and looked around with a face of disgust.
The room was bare and dirty – the walls had large stone tablets crumbling freely at the edges sticking out this way and that, the floorboards creaked unpleasantly and the curtains were growing mould around the dirtied windows. There was nothing in the classroom except a large black piano, a small stool to accompany it and a rickety chair in the corner that was gathering dust.
Neither said a word.
Hermione set her wand on top of the piano, sat on the stool and shuffled over to the edge until she stilled anxiously. Draco just stood in the doorway, observing her. She cleared her throat.
"Um... Well, Malfoy, I suppose you better come and sit down so we can get star–,"
Malfoy laughed manically. Hermione turned her head to look at him, her brows furrowed.
Once he had simmered, he looked her square in the face, "Sit down? Are you stupid?" Hermione's brows furrowed further in confusion, "I'm not learning this damn thing."
"But," she spoke unsurely, "I thought Professor Dumbledore said you would lose your Quidditch privileges?"
Draco laughed again, but it was more of a low chortle this time – it was full of mockery, "Do you expect me to listen to that old bat? He's useless and past his time; there's no way he–,"
"Don't say another word against Dumbledore or you might just leave this room without your lips." Hermione snapped, her whole body twisted on the stool so she was facing him, her expression dark and her eyes the main source of the daggers she was throwing at him.
Draco wasn't fazed. He just chuckled again, exasperatedly, "Did you honestly think I wanted to take lessons from an arrogant Mudblood?"
Hermione shot up from her stool, her small fists balled at her sides and her face turning red with rage, "If you want to talk about arrogance, Malfoy, perhaps you should find a mirror to talk to! And if you didn't want to take these lessons so badly why did you act like you wanted to when Dumbledore asked–,"
"I only did it to get out of Muggle Studies!" He yelled back, a sneer on his pale face, "You know, so I didn't have to learn about pathetic filthy Muggles like you."
Hermione's jaw ground together and the sound infuriated Draco further – yet it was enough to make him laugh. Her blood boiled with anger, "If you think that I'm pathetic, you must be plain pitiful."
Draco exhaled sharply and spoke through gritted teeth, "How dare you?!"
Silence fell upon them once more. The brunette just glared at the blonde, her anger fizzling into something more amusing – he wasn't worth this. She turned again on the stool until she was facing away from him, and once he was out of her frame of sight she calmed quickly. Taking her fingers up to the piano, she grazed the keys softly. And then – she played.
As soon as her fingers began gently tapping the keys, one after the other, like a smooth wave of symphonic harmonies filling the room and making their way into his ears to caress his brain softly. Any anger that Draco had previously felt had been melted away with each note that Hermione effortlessly played. The music made his chest soar and swell with contentment – he could have just closed his eyes and listened to her play forever.
Was he impressed? He was ashamed to admit he was.
He could have left; she wasn't stopping him. But something inside him didn't want to – couldn't, even. So for once, Draco Malfoy let his guard down, pulled over the rickety chair, and listened to her play.
A/N: I am sooooo sorry this took so long for me to update, guys! But school has been hectic and I have been working on some of my own original material in the hope to become a real writer some day and have people write fanfiction about my work :D doubtful but, hey!
I hope some people are still reading this, a previous review and a comment I had on the YouTube video motivated me to make this, so I hope you enjoy this instalment even though it is quite a let-down.
Much love
Kelly xxx