Troll Hunter

It was the first of November. Hermione wondered if Draco would seek her out in the library. She'd been waiting in their nook for an hour. It seemed like everyone else at Hogwarts had sought her out today. Some during class, some in the hallways, and some during meals. Many had told her how brave she was to go troll-hunting all by herself last night. Others had told her how stupid she was. Some had expressed both opinions at once. Even the Slytherins had more kind words than harsh ones.

But Draco hadn't come anywhere near her.

Her biggest surprise was when Parvati Patil apologized for forgetting that she was in the bathroom when the alarm was raised. Hermione was touched, especially because she was pretty sure she'd never said a kind word to Parvati. A few critical ones, certainly. Well-intended? She hoped so. But not kind. And Parvati didn't challenge her story. She must know what a lie it was!

And then there were Ron and Harry. Hermione wasn't sure, but she had a feeling that they'd be best friends from now on.

Draco despised Ron and Harry and heaped them with abuse at every opportunity. What if he did this during their private meetings? Draco could reduce her to tears with a word. Did he even know this? He frightened her with his streak of cruelty and his prejudices. He held in contempt everything that was most dear to her. It was so hopeless! Why did she even try to be his friend? Because she loved him, of course. But other than that it was just stupid!

And here he was, even more agitated than usual. He was naturally high-strung, wasn't he? He was good at maintaining his mask of nonchalance, but it was an act.

"No book today, Granger?"

She blushed. She was so distracted today that she hadn't even picked a book at random to explain her presence. She'd spent the whole time staring out the window.

"Malfoy."

"I would have gone with you, you know. You didn't have sneak off without me."

"It wasn't like that."

"Rescued by Potter and Weasley," he muttered. "My god."

"They did very well."

"It should have been me, Granger. It should have been us. Together."

"You'd rescue me?" she asked, entranced by the notion.

"Of course not! Don't be an idiot, Granger. Together, we'd have made short work of that troll. Rescue wouldn't come into it."

She shook her head. She knew with sick certainty that she'd start crying in a moment. "I panicked, Malfoy. My mind went blank. I couldn't move. The troll came closer and closer. All I could do was stare at it! I wasn't any use at all!" She began to weep.

Draco stared at her, aghast. After a moment he whispered, as if to an off-stage prompter, "What do I do?"

"Give me your handkerchief," said Hermione between sobs. "Thank you. Now put your arms around me."

He took her into his arms slowly, gently, as if she were fragile and precious. To her dismay, her sobs became louder.

She stammered, "Please … please tell me everything will be all right."

Haltingly, he said, "It's … It's going to be all right, Hermione." He lowered his voice to a soothing murmur as he pulled her in closer. "Everything's going to be fine. Of course it is. Shh, now. There's nothing to worry about."

"I'm so stupid!"

"It's all right, Hermione. And you can't be that stupid. You're in my arms, aren't you?"

She smiled through her tears, "That's true."

"Everything's going to be fine. And you can read a book on how to be smart, and then you'll be perfect."

"Did you call me by my first name?"

"Shh. You must have misheard me. I don't even know your first name. It's all right now. It's something horrifying like Anxiety or Hermaphrodite, isn't it?"

She snuggled closer. "You're an awful person, Malfoy."

"Everything's just fine. See? I knew you were smart."

"I wasn't hunting the troll. I was crying in the bathroom and it blundered on in."

He stroked her hair and murmured, "I don't believe a word of it. You never cry. Not you."

"Malfoy?"

"Hmm?"

"I want us to be friends forever. I don't want this to ever wear off."

"It's going to be hard, Granger," he said, still in that soft, soothing voice, still stroking her hair. "Life isn't all cuddles with your best enemy and trolls bashing your brains out."

"I know."

"Me, too, then."

She stirred in his arms but he wouldn't let her go. She said, "I want to say it, Malfoy."

"Don't."

"I really do."

"Don't! I'm serious. It draws the attention of fate. People attach spells to it. Don't ever say it."

"I need to."

"Code phrase," he said hurriedly. "We need a code phrase."

"I hate that."

"That's good. We can use that. I'll start. I hate you, Granger. I didn't want to, but I do. I hate you a little more each day. I ask myself, 'Why do I hate her? It doesn't make any sense.' And then I think of all the things I hate about you."

She pulled back so she could look into his face, and also wipe away her tears and blow her nose. "What do you hate about me, Malfoy?"

"I hate the way you don't know that you're brave. I hate how smart you are. I especially hate the way you look at me and the way you feel in my arms. Those are the worst. Yuck!"

"I hate you too, Malfoy. Passionately."

"That's the spirit."

"That only applies to us, right? I don't want to say I hate my parents."

"I love my parents, Granger."

"Oh. Okay. What about things about you that I actually like or dislike?"

"God knows. One of the many things I won't do for a creature like you, Granger, is memorize a lot of codes. We only need a few. Maybe just one."

She snuggled against him again. "Is there any hope for us?"

"Do you know what happens in the last act of Romeo and Juliet?"

"They die."

"They die. They're very young and they both die. Their families come to an end with their generation. No more Capulets. No more Montagues. I'm an only child. So are you. That fate is out there. It's lying in wait for us. I can hear it calling to me."

She shivered. "What can we do?"

"We reject the call. It shouldn't be too hard. We're just kids, after all."

"We'll be grown up some day."

"If we're lucky. And when we're grown, I'll hate you more than ever."

"I'll hate you, too. Maybe you'll even like my friends by then."

Draco made a face. "I'll leave that to my older, wiser self, poor devil. For now, don't bet on it."

"Malfoy?"

"Granger?"

"I like hating you."

"Don't go all soft-headed on me, Granger. And give me back my handkerchief."

She blushed. She'd hoped he'd forgotten about it. She had nothing of his. She handed it over reluctantly.

"I'll give you a token of my loathing soon. Something that isn't monogrammed. I wouldn't want your little friends mocking you."

"That's your job."

"Precisely."


[Next: Quidditch]

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