Disclaimer: It's all Rowling's.
The-don't-hit-me Disclaimer: I love Harry Potter and everything about it. I also love Harry Potter fanfiction. *And* Dramione. I'm not criticising anything here, nor do I think I'm funny. I'm just doing this for my own amusement.
50 Reasons to Ship Draco/Hermione
Reason n°4: They're both intelligent and clever and Ron isn't. And neither is Astoria (who's that?)
Draco was not what you could call "hard-working," but he cared about his grades. Or rather, he cared that his father cared about his grades. Lucius Malfoy had been mortified to hear that his son was being beaten in every single subject - even History of Magic, for Merlin's sake! - by a Mudblood. It was disgraceful. What could a Mudblood know about magic, he had asked his son over the Christmas holidays, that the Malfoy heir didn't? Draco hadn't gone red, but a slight pink flush had spread across his cheeks at that. In fact, Granger knew a great deal about magic and it was humiliating. It was driving him crazy.
So Draco had taken to actually studying for tests, which he had never expected to have to do. On his first test in his first year at Hogwarts, he'd got an Exceeds Expectations, and since then, he had always been slightly above average, which was perfectly respectable, even for a Malfoy. He doubted his father had ever been top of his class. His family wouldn't have minded if Draco had been beaten by Theodore Nott (which he was, very frequently) or Pansy Parkinson (which he wasn't, thank Merlin), or even Crabbe or Goyle (though there was little chance of that ever happening). But the fact that the first student in their class was Hermione Granger did not rest well with Lucius Malfoy.
After his first semester at Hogwarts, Draco had started working harder. He now averaged only about zero-point-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-six points less than Hermione and was fighting her for the place of top student in their year. Surprisingly enough, he had realised he liked the challenge. No other girl kept him constantly on his toes like this... Draco had worked so hard, so diligently that he had been awarded the Head Boy position this year as well as the Quidditch Captain. He'd even denied the second badge because it would mean less time for studying. Quidditch was less important than who took over after Ulric the Evil - no, wait, wasn't it Ulric the Oddball?
How many fics have you read where Draco is very nearly as smart as Hermione? A lot, I'd guess. And apparently he actually admires Hermione for her smarts... And how about where he's Head Boy and she's Head Girl and they share a common room and she is oh-so-surprised that Malfoy made Head Boy? Even more. While I'm getting slightly sick of the second one, the first just makes me raise my eyebrows. Not that Draco isn't smart or anything, but we're talking book smarts here, and I don't think Draco happens to love Pride and Prejudice as much as Hermione, if only because it was written by a Muggle (I... think?). Certainly he's more clever than Crabbe and Goyle, but who isn't? I think he could be above average, grade-wise, easily above Ron and Harry who aren't all that good, but not zero-point-etc points behind Hermione.
I also think Draco could "admire" - begrudgingly - Hermione's intelligence and grades, but he would definitely never admit it, not even to himself. Which would totally make a good fic.
Now, in how many fics is Ron portrayed as a big blubbering idiot lacking even the emotional range of a teaspoon, making Hermione cry or making fun of her because she studies? Just as many. And, well, I can't help but agree. Hermione is the smartest witch of her age - and it's not all book smarts, either; she's shown, being Harry's friend, that she's very resourceful - and Ron just can't keep up. Whereas Draco could, if only because he can come up with sharp remarks that cut to the quick.
As for Astoria... Like I said, who the hell...?
Um, I just saw how many reviews this fic has and compared to how much writing was involved, it means a lot to me. Thank you. ^^ You're all so nice.
If you have some good Dramione fics (or even parodies) to recommend, don't hesitate! Or if you're writing one.