A Fantastic Debut
Chapter Two: Wonderful Surprises
Hermione purposefully hid herself from her friends and everyone else she knew as she boarded the Hogwarts Express—she didn't want everyone to make a fuss over her appearance this early in the school year. The brunette mentally apologized to her friends as she quickly walked towards the last compartment of the train. She pressed her ear against the door to make sure no one was inside before she hastily opened the door, threw her luggage (and Crookshanks) inside before getting in herself.
Hermione was already dressed in her school robes and bundled up to conceal the bottom half of her face. Before she got on the train, she received looks of suspiciousness from wizard parents and students. So, she sat alone in her compartment and quite satisfied, until she heard footsteps nearing her. She stared dead-on at the door, hoping it wasn't someone she knew. The knob of the door turned and gave off an eerie sound that begged you to run or slick the knob with some oil.
At this sound Hermione closed her eyes and quickly turned her head to stare out the window. She heard a sigh, the creaking of the door being closed and then the sound of a sofa being distressed by a person's weight. Above the brunette, Crookshanks hissed his displeasure at the sight of another person in the compartment.
"Would you please shut your bloody cat up?" Malfoy asked her.
Hermione noted that he asked her in the nicest way a Malfoy can, however, she didn't do anything about Crookshanks. She continued to stare out the window, acting as if she didn't hear his request at all. Crookshanks continued to hiss at the Slytherin and Draco was about to get up and hex the cat when the compartment door opened once more.
"Draco! I've been looking all over for you!"
Hermione winced as she heard Pansy's sickening "lovey dovey" tone.
"What do you want?" Draco asked the Slytherin girl as he adjusted his position so Pansy wouldn't be able to sit down.
"I just wanted to be alone with you," Pansy said as she sidled towards Draco's side.
"Well, obviously, I'm keeping..." he gestured towards Hermione, "This person company, so could you just leave?" Draco asked. He was annoyed of her constantly clinging on to him like he was the very air she needed to survive. Draco watched as Pansy gave an offending glance at Hermione—who was still staring at the window oblivious to their gestures and facial expressions—and stomped out of the compartment, slamming the door behind her.
Now that Pansy had left, Draco's eyes fell prey to the girl... boy(?) sitting across from him and he wondered who it was. He observed the person and finally concluded that their legs were too thin for a boy, their hands were too small and dainty for a boy, and if he could only get a look at their face then he'd have the satisfaction in knowing that the person across from him is indeed female.
"So who are you, anyway?" Draco asked, hoping that the answer would come in the form of a high pitched female voice.
"Er... No one?" Hermione offered in an accidental strange voice, almost as if she had a sore throat. Accidental because she didn't exactly expect Draco to talk to her, let alone ask her something!
"As if that could fool me," Draco muttered as he moved towards the girl. "You could at least take your hood off; it's bloody hot in here," he mentioned as he was now sitting straight across from her.
Hermione barely shook her head 'no' when the hood of her robes was pulled off. At this moment Draco caught a look at the side of her face and was stunned by who it was, but couldn't exactly believe it. Realizing this, Hermione turned her whole upper body around so that she was facing the back of her seat. Crookshanks meowed as he jumped from the ledge where they could keep small luggage and landed next to Hermione's feet. He rubbed his long body against her calf, and Draco watched as she shivered against the contact.
"What did you say your name was?" Draco asked, his voice barely a whisper. Hermione didn't respond to him at all, she was too busy chewing her lower lip, which gave the Slytherin boy more time to observe her.
The boy stared at her brown hair as the girl quivered with panic. He noted that her usual bushy tresses straightened themselves out and were three inches below her shoulder line... and that it looked good. Draco shook his head as if to get rid of his recent thoughts. He glanced at her back once more and couldn't believe that he was sharing a compartment with a mud blood; the very dirty trash that was as much his enemy as Harry or Ron; and yet somehow... being alone in this tiny space at peace, for once, he felt that he didn't hate her as much.
"I might as well face you," Hermione said as she turned around and sat properly.
Draco snapped out of his contemplative stupor and looked at her with interest.
"Well, well, well," Draco started. "You look nice," and for a second the ends of Hermione's lips pulled upwards a centimeter, "...for a mud blood."
Hermione scowled and mocked his sneer as she turned her head to stare out of the window. Finally, she spoke,
"Since we're sharing this compartment--"
Draco interfered, "I'm not sharing, I'm merely gracing you with my presence."
Hermione rolled her eyes and continued with what she was saying,
"Anyway, I suggest there be some rules laid down," and Hermione took out her wand, she said a simple spell and her wand tip sparked red. Draco watched as the girl drew a line on the floor, halving the compartment in two.
"Alright, you stay on that side while I stay on my side," Hermione said as she finished. She put her wand away and continued to stare out the window, hoping that time would be on her side and let their trip pass swiftly.
However, Draco had other plans, he continued to stare at Hermione as if she were a Veela and he was enchanted. It wasn't even stealth staring, it was more blatant, more in your face, and he hoped Hermione had noticed because he was growing bored since he had nothing better to do. At last, his efforts got to her as she snapped,
"Look, I'm not going to ask you why you're alone and you've probably guessed why I'm without Harry and Ron so could you please just stop staring at me like I'm a freak because you've made that as obvious as possible."
Draco snorted and got up from his seat. The platinum haired boy looked at Hermione one last time, before he left the compartment. Hermione watched as the last bits of Draco Malfoy exited before she let out a relieved sigh of breath. Crookshanks leapt onto her lap and wrapped himself into a ball.
"Why was he alone, anyway?" Hermione muttered. Crookshanks mewed his response before he dozed off to sleep.
