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| Tinder Hearts, Paper Bodies |


CHAPTER 7

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For the thrill of your touch, I will shamefully lust,
As you tell me we're nothing but trouble.
Hearts on fire tonight, feel my bones ignite.

- A Love Like War

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"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Malfoy spat, as the audience began to clap, even though it was obvious Scorpius hadn't received a warm welcome.

There were no loud cheers or hollers, and the Gryffindor table was considerably more silent compared to the thunderous applause they'd given to the other first-years that had joined their house. Hermione was still in shock, even though she couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for Scorpius - despite the fact that it had been over a decade since the Battle of Hogwarts and Voldemort's death, there were still highly prevalent, conflicting sentiments that brewed within the four hearts of the school. The tensions between Gryffindor were still amicable at best - other than a rare bout of teamwork against the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs for a game of Quiddich, the Gryffindors still hailed Potter as Hogwarts pride, while the Slytherins were adamant that it was Severus Snape who truly saved Harry, and ultimately all of the Wizarding Community.

Likewise, the last name Malfoy was still synonymous with betrayal, cowardice, and evil - especially after the entire Malfoy family departed overseas in order to evade the Death Eaters rather than participate in the rebuilding of Hogwarts.

Although I know that first-hand, Hermione thought to herself, as she glanced at Draco from the corner of her eye.

"Look, Malfoy, I know you're not happy with the decision, but now that Scorpius has been sorted into Gryffindor, there's nothing you can do. He's still your son, and -" She tried to reason with him, but he glared at her and hissed,"No son of mine will ever be in Slytherin. Ever." Running his hands through his blond locks, he let out a low growl as the procession moved on to the next candidate, the lack of welcome for his son obviously striking vengeance in him. Hermione understood why Malfoy would feel angry, but she felt that there was also something between him and his son she couldn't touch on. It wasn't as if the Sorting Hat didn't take into account the desire of the student - hadn't Scorpius and Draco perhaps even talked about this before his entrance into Hogwarts?

"Look, Malfoy, perhaps Scorpius didn't want to be in the -"

"Shut up. Shut the fuck up, Hermione."

Draco turned around, fury settling across his face, his grey eyes alight with fire as if they were hot coals. His gaze burned into her before his lips stretched into a taut smirk, his eyes simmering as they stared at her. "Maybe you and your brood of Weasels are fine with settling amongst the rejects, but Slytherin only accepts purebloods. For someone like Scorpius to join Gryffindor would be a waste - not that you would understand, since all of your children are trash," He spat, his spiteful words reminding her of how she didn't have children. How she and Ron never started a family.

Glaring back at him, Hermione refused to be intimidated by Malfoy, reminding herself that they weren't high school students anymore - that she could very well bring out her claws if he asked for it. "You know what, Malfoy? I don't understand why you're acting like a real ass - you should be supporting your son for being accepted in Gryffindor. Not all of us can be pompous purebloods like you or your son, but the fact is that your son most likely chose to be in that house, and I don't know why you won't accept him for who he is and the decision that he made. Because let's be clear, Draco, you haven't made the greatest decisions and it's plenty obvious that the whole school remembers it - even though you were part of what you thought was the greatest house of all time."

"Scorpius is my son. You are not to be telling me what I can and what I can't do with him-"

"Malfoy, what is wrong with you? I'm telling you the truth. The reality. It's what you've been avoiding the whole time, Draco! Why is being in Gryffindor such a bad thing if that's what your son wants? Aren't you supposed to support him and encourage him? Do you dislike the fact that he has the brawns and the courage that so appeals to the students in Gryffindor? Or maybe because it's the house that Harry Potter was in, and you're still bitter about it because he did the thing that you couldn't? Because he brought down Voldemort while you were sitting there blindly supporting him? "

Hermione put a hand to her mouth as Draco turned silent, knowing that she had gone too far. "Look, Draco, I just meant-"

His smirk grew, but it was hard and cold - and suddenly Hermione wondered if this was the face that Scorpius had grown up with, had endured and struggled against when he was a younger child. "You know what? You're always using your intelligence, aren't you, Granger? Because you're right. Potter has always been the golden boy, the one that everyone revered. And that's the truth.

But do you want to know something else that's true?

You're just a fucking Mudblood, and you have no right to reason with purebloods like us," Draco said, calmly turning his back to her and walking away fro the hallway, leaving Hermione feeling incensed.

At least I used to be a Mudblood who could perform magic, she thought, as she glanced at his retreating figure.

But now I'm nothing.

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"Professor Amren! It's a pleasure to meet you - do you like the Butterbeer, sir? It's nearly the same color as your hair," a female student said, her eyes fluttering as she stepped in front of his table.

Kaius looked bemusedly at her, glancing at her as she casually flipped her brown hair back from behind her shoulder. "It's wonderful, Miss-?" He started, but the female merely flashed him a smile and turned her body to face him. "Laeke. Eleri Laeke," she said, moving closer so that both her arms were now on his chair. Although she tried to engage him in conversation, Kai's gaze couldn't help but look at the seat beside him, which was empty. He noticed that Professor Mcgonagall had been glancing at the empty spot periodically throughout the entire Sorting, and he'd been doing the same as well, his curiosity having been tickled by a certain curly-haired professor. From what he knew of Hermione Granger, she was immensely punctual - missing something as important as the first feast was utterly contradictory to her personality.

"So, what are some of your hobbies, Professor?" The perky teacher said, snapping him from his thoughts, as he gave her a small smile.

"I'm sorry, Miss Laeke, but I'm going to have to excuse myself. The loo, you understand?" He asked, winking at her as she blushed and nodded furiously. "Of course. Take your time...Professor," She said, her face still tinged with pink from the encounter. He flashed her another quick grin as he quietly stepped down from the head table, telling the guard that he needed to use the lavatories before striding to the main corridor. Glancing around the marble columns and sloped archways, he took an exit to the left before scanning his surroundings. "Professor Granger?" He called out, wondering if she'd just been late and was waiting outside of the Great Hall.

That was when he heard frustrated voices, and immediately turned at the corner so his back was to the wall but his vision wasn't obscured.

Hermione was standing there, her face reddened, as she faced a tall and lean male with white-blond hair. He was dressed in his robes, but Kaius could tell that he wasn't a professor from the school - the sides of his robes were gilded in an emerald green trimmed with silver, the back with a fancy crest that he couldn't make out. However, the colours screamed of a Slytherin graduate - although Hermione didn't seem intimidated by the figure at all, despite the obvious animosity between them. "You're just a fucking Mudblood, and you have no right to reason with purebloods like us," the man suddenly snapped, before he turned around - and sent an overpowering anger rippling through Kai.

"Draco Malfoy," Kaius hissed, as he could feel his claws desiring to come out, his body adamant on shifting right then and there and taking the wizard by his throat. He had finally found the one person that he had been looking for, but to see that he'd finished terrorizing Astoria and now was set on Hermione sent him into a nearly violent outrage.

"I am going to have my revenge, Draco Malfoy, and then, after that, I shall kill you," he thought, as he left the hall in fury.

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