The Secret Hidden Inside
Chapter XIV
"Back To School"
…
Draco stepped out of the car, shutting the door behind him, and looked around the platform. He scanned the area for his friends, then he looked up at his mom and smiled. "Bye, mom," he said.
"Goodbye, sweetie," Narcissa replied happily, embracing her son. "Have a good time at school!"
He nodded slightly, then he started to walk away. However, before he did, he turned back to face his mother and said, "Tell dad I said bye." Narcissa nodded, then watched as he walked away.
Draco slowly walked up to the platform and, glancing over his shoulder, saw her. There she was, walking with her good-for-nothing friends. Her honey-brown eyes sparkled in the sunlight; he couldn't help but stare at her, longingly.
'How stupid I must look,' he thought, 'staring at a mudblood and all! I shouldn't be…I can't be…it'll bring shame to the family name…She would think I'm an idiot if she caught me staring at her!'
"Draco!" someone yelled, pulling him out of his daze.
"Wha-?" Draco asked, turning his gaze from Hermione to Millicent, who smiled broadly as she walked up to him.
"Hey!" she exclaimed. "How was your holiday?"
He smiled back at her and said, "Hey, milli! It was great! How about yours?"
She smiled broader and said, in a joking tone, "Oh, excellent!"
Hermione glanced around, when suddenly her eye caught something very abnormal: Draco Malfoy was staring at her!
'What the hell?' she thought.
"Hey, mione!" came Lavender's ditzy voice.
"Oh, hey, lav!" she replied with a smile. "I swear, I just saw the strangest thing!"
Draco boarded the train with Millicent, then they found the rest of their Slytherin friends in a compartment. As he slid the door open, Hermione walked by with Lavender. They glanced at him as they passed by, then they walked away. He hid his smile from his friends, as he slid the door shut. He then took a seat next to Millicent and looked across at Pansy, Crabbe, and Blaise.
"Hey," he said, allowing a smile to appear on his face.
"Hi, Malfoyed!" Crabbe and Blaise said jointly.
"Hey, Drakie!" Pansy said, giving him a broad smile.
"Hey, Panse!" he exclaimed, giving her a hug. She smiled broader as she embraced him tightly. "Pansy!" he yelled.
"Oh, sorry, Drakie," she said, as she lessened her grip on him. She then sat back down, as did he.
"It's alright, Pansy, don't worry," Draco said, smirking. "So…er…where's Goyle?"
"Haven't seen him," Crabbe and Blaise said, as Pansy shrugged.
Draco looked over at Millicent, but she said, "I haven't seen him either, sorry."
He nodded, as he looked out the window, wondering where his best friend was.
Hermione slid the compartment door shut, then she turned to face her friends with a smile. Harry beckoned her to sit beside him, so she did.
"Malfoy was staring at me on the platform," she said casually, getting her homework out to check for mistakes. "Well, at least, it looked that way, but I swear, it was the strangest thing!"
Ron shrugged his shoulders, not entirely interested, as he waited eagerly for the trolley to pass by. Harry, however, looked very intent. "Well, that is strange, isn't it? We should find out what he's up to! He's probably stalking you! We should investigate!"
Just as the train started to leave the station, the compartment door flew open and in came Goyle, completely flushed and out of breath. "Hey," he sighed heavily, sliding the compartment door shut.
"Hey, Goyle," Draco said, moving over so that Goyle could sit between him and Millicent. "What happened?"
"Well," Goyle said, sitting down, "the car supposedly wasn't working, and then my mom had a late start, so she told dad to take me. It erupted into another huge argument between my parents, then, at the last minute, mom finally got her lazy butt out of bed and drove me here. But, we had to stop for no apparent reason, and when we finally arrived, my mom spent so much time talking to Mrs. Malfoy, about nothing in particular, that I decided to just get on the train. However, my mom stopped me and made sure that I didn't get on until the last possible moment."
Draco shook his head in frustration. "That woman makes me mad as hell! What's she got against her own son anyway?!"
"Well," Goyle said, "she says…I'm rude…annoying…in the way…stupid…overweight and…undisciplined."
"What?!" Pansy and Millicent shrieked jointly.
"You're no where near annoying, Goyle!" Blaise said with a smile.
"And you're not nearly as stupid as I am!" Crabbe exclaimed, causing Pansy to giggle slightly.
"You're one of the politest people I've ever met!" Draco yelled. "You're severely disciplined! You're not that overweight anymore! And I'm certain you're not in the way!"
"I rarely ever see her," Goyle answered.
"I hate that woman!" Draco yelled, not realizing that a certain Gryffindor was passing by at that very moment.
Hermione gasped, as she held her hand over her mouth.
Draco spun around quickly and noticed that the compartment door was slightly ajar, and, sure enough, there she was. 'Don't make it too harsh now, Draco,' he thought to himself as he stood up. "What are you looking at, mudblood?!" he snapped, sliding the door open.
"Who do you hate?" Hermione asked, concern written on her face.
Draco rolled his eyes. "If it was any of your business, I'd tell you, but since it's not I don't think I'll be telling you! Why do you ask? Are you afraid the someone, other than your pot-head friend, bears my hatred towards them?!"
She glared at him angrily. "I was just concerned, that's all!"
"Well, thanks, but I don't need your concern!" he smirked.
"Who said I was concerned about you, Malfoy?" she said coolly. "Anyway, caught you staring at me on the platform and I was meaning to ask you about it!"
'Oh, hell no! She did not!' he thought, trying to blush so that he wouldn't. He felt his friends' gazing at him from behind. 'What now, Draco, you dumb ass?! How are you gonna get out of this one!' Draco kept his expression calm, hoping that his face wouldn't flush.
"Ah, mudblood, you wish!" he said arrogantly. "Why would I waste these pretty eyes on your ugly face? You're undeserving of my stare!"
"Whatever, Malfoy," Hermione said, then she walked off. Draco held back his sigh of relief, as he closed the compartment door.
"Filthy mudblood!" he said, sitting back down. "Now she makes me mad as hell!" Millicent and Pansy nodded in agreement, as did Blaise.
"But, Malfoyed, she's pretty," Crabbe said smiling.
"Perhaps…but looks aren't everything, Crabbe," Draco said, almost in a sigh. Crabbe nodded in reply.
"Yeah, but, Draco, you just told her she was ugly," Pansy said.
Draco turned to look at her. "I said anything to get her out of my sight!" he exclaimed, causing Millicent and Pansy to giggle and Crabbe and Blaise to laugh stupidly.
Goyle looked up at Draco, slightly raising an eyebrow. "So…you weren't staring at Hermione?"
All the Slytherins in the compartment turned to face Goyle and shouted jointly, "No!"
Goyle shrugged, catching Draco's eye, then, smirking, turned away.
Hermione took her seat next to Harry and said, "Well, he claims he wasn't staring at me. What do you say to that?"
"Who cares?" Ron asked.
"That makes him a stalker and a liar!" Harry exclaimed.
Ron rolled his eyes and shoved another Chocolate Frog in his mouth. "'Awy, why a-ou fink-n tha? Ou a' ma-in no 'en'. I' ju' moy-dro'i'!"
Hermione gave him a disgusted look. "Wait until you swallow, Ronald. No one wants to see your food mixed with saliva inside your mouth. It's not at all to my liking! And besides…we can't understand a word you're saying."
Ron blushed, as he swallowed his food. "I said, 'Harry, why are you thinking that? You're making a big deal about nothing. It's just Malfoy. Just drop it!' So, drop it!"
Harry huffed, then turned to look outside the window. He was temporarily distracted by a flock of birds, thinking how free they were, and wishing he could be as free as them.
Finally, the train stopped at Hogwarts Station. Everyone piled out of the Express Train, and Harry and Ron ran ahead, leaving Hermione alone with her luggage.
"Great friends you've got there mudblood!" she heard a familiar voice call from behind her. She turned around to see Draco Malfoy leaning against a pole with his bag hanging loosely on his shoulder, a smirk on his face, and, surprisingly, alone.
"Where are your friends, Malfoy?" she asked, looking around. She looked behind him, but found nothing.
"You won't find them there, you silly girl," he said, still smirking.
"Well, where are they?" she asked, coming back in front of him.
"I think I told them to go along without me, after they offered to help me with my bags," he said coolly.
"Some friend you are!" she said, picking up her bag and starting to walk away. Draco quickly hurried after her.
"So, Granger, was your winter holiday completely awful?! Did you cook off your hair in an oven accidentally because you're so stupid? I mean, it looks ten times thinner that usual! And did a blizzard hit your house? It would be hilarious to see you trapped inside that small house of yours!"
This was Draco's strange way of asking her how her Christmas was.
Hermione smiled. "As a matter of fact, I had an excellent holiday! I visited the Weasleys with Harry and we spent the night there! Then I got a new haircut—I think it's too short, though! I went to the mall, we went Christmas Caroling, and—it was just lots of fun!"
Suddenly, it dawned on Draco: Hermione was wearing the outfit that Harry had picked out for her during Christmas-break. The black pants fell over her heels slightly and the red shirt went beautifully with the black jacket she wore over it. She was wearing black, open-toed high-heels. But what made him smile slightly was the fact that her hair was pulled up messily, yet beautifully, into an elegant, red hair-ribbon…but not just any ribbon…Draco recognized it as the ribbon he had sent her for Christmas. He turned his gaze to the ground, his smile widening slightly.
Thoughts raced through the young Malfoy's head. He wanted to hold her hand, and ask her out, and kiss her lips-WHAT?! He was smacked out of his daze when Hermione asked, "Are you alright, Malfoy?"
"Wha-? I'm fine, Herm-us," he staggered.
"What?" she asked.
"Herms! Herms is your new nickname! Cool, huh?" He smiled at his own brilliance.
"If you say so," she said sarcastically.
"What's the matter? You don't like it?" he asked, smirking.
Hermione didn't know what to say to this dim-witted hottie…at least, she thought he was dim-witted. Instead, she changed the entire subject. "I've been meaning to ask you something."
"Well, what is it?" Draco asked, digging through his school-bag for nothing in particular.
"Why did you suddenly appear in the doorway that night we found Snape's memories? And why did you follow us into the Pensieve?"
Draco quickly stopped what he was doing and looked back at Hermione. "Well…er…I heard you outside the Slytherin common room, and I followed you to see what you were up to. When you went into the Pensieve, my curiosity got the better of me…and I'm really glad it did! You know what they say: curiosity thrilled the cat!"
"Curiosity killed the cat too, you know, and someday curiosity will be the death of you!" she said, opening the large oak doors leading into Hogwarts.
"Whoa! We're here already?!" Draco exclaimed.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Bye, Malfoy!" she said, starting to walk away.
"See you later, herms!" he yelled loudly, skipping away playfully. Hermione couldn't hold the laugh inside any longer. Draco heard this and smiled broadly.
After a few moments, he met up with Millicent. "Hey, milli," he said, rather optimistic.
"Hey, Drake!" she said, embracing him friendly. "Where've you been?"
Draco smirked. "Oh…nowhere of consequence!" he exclaimed, still smirking.