Chapter Twenty-Five: Unlikely Friends

Next morning at the breakfast table Harry met with Ron and Hermione. "Do you think I should of told them about what happened last night?" He asked them.

"No Harry, you hear a voice, a voice only you can hear then Mrs. Norris and CJ wind up petrified it's just really strange and besides that, even in the wizarding world hearing voices isn't a good sign." Hermione told him as Ron nodded silently in agreement. That's when suddenly Harry noticed that there was a really worried look on Ginny's face.

"You alright?" He questioned her out of concern.

"Y-Y-Yeah I'm fine. Just tired is all since I barely got any sleep last night." She told him before suddenly the bell rang and everybody except for Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to class.

"That was odd." Ron began. "I wonder if something happen to Cobalt as well." He finished but Hermione just shook her head at him.

"No he's fine. I just saw him this morning. Now come on let's go before Snape gives us detention." She said as all three of them stood up and as Hermione turned to leave, she bumped into Malfoy once again. "Why do you keep following me!?" She hollered at him as he suddenly grew a rather confused look on his face.

"I have the same class as you remember?" He questioned.

"Oh yeah, right." She began before narrowing her eyebrows and glaring at him. "So when are you going to fess up and come clean that you petrified those cats and wrote that threatening message on the wall?" She questioned him.

"What!?" He cried out in disbelief. "You think I did that!?"

"Don't you remember what you said to April?" She questioned still clearly annoyed.

"Hermione it wasn't me honest!" He exclaimed as Hermione suddenly let out a gasp.

"What did you just call me?" She asked him.

"Hermione. Isn't that your name?" He asked her back.

"Yes but I didn't even know that you knew it since you're always either calling me Granger or mudblood." She told him and suddenly a look of complete and utter remorse showed on his face.

"Oh yeah,.. about that,.. I'm sorry." He told her and as soon as he had apologized to her, her eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets.

"What?" She questioned him in a whisper and a gasp.

"I said I'm sorry for calling you a mudblood. It's just that my family has a history of hating mud err umm I mean muggleborns and the only reason I hate Snape and Weasley is because I'm sort of jealous of them." He explained and at this Hermione's jaw dropped wide open. "The truth is that I really like you Hermione and I was sort of wondering if we could start over and be friends?" He questioned as she simply just looked at him.

"What about Harry and Ron?" She wondered.

"I promise that I'll give them a chance too and besides, I always thought that Snape had a cool dog and I always sort of wanted a dog, but my parents wouldn't let me." He told her. "At least I have Rebel though. He's my owl." He told her. "So what do you say then? Friends?" He questioned as he grinned at her and then offered her his hand. Hermione took a deep breath and sighed before giving in and shaking it.

"Friends! Now let's go before Snape beats both of our butts!" She cried as Malfoy stifled a laugh and grinned before following her to class. "So if you didn't write that threatening message on the wall and petrify those cats then I wonder who did." She said but he simply just shrugged at her.

"I don't know as I don't know much about it. My father only told me that it's happened before and a mud_ err I mean a muggleborn girl died but I don't know how or why." He told her as they walked into the classroom together and many gasps broke throughout the classroom when they were spotted together and the most shocked were Harry, Ron, Crabbe, and Goyle.

"Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger, care to tell me why you both have decided to arrive fifteen minutes late to my class?" He inquired.

"Sorry Professor, we sort of lost track of the time. We were talking and_" Draco began.

"We promise it won't happen again." Hermione finished for him.

"Very well you will each lose fifteen points from your houses." Snape began. "Now go to your seats and take out your books and turn to page three hundred and sixteen. We are currently learning about the strengthening solution and whatever you don't finish will be assigned for homework." He explained.

"Yes sir." Hermione replied with a nod as she and Draco went to go to their desks.

After class was over Harry and Ron went to go greet Hermione. "Mind telling us what the bloody hell that was all about!?" Ron cried.

"Yeah, since when are you friends with Malfoy?" Harry wondered.

"Since he apologized to me, told me that he liked me, and promised to give you both a second chance." She replied.

"This is Malfoy that we're talking about right? The same guy who thinks that all muggles and muggleborns are scum?" Ron questioned her.

"Actually, he never really thought that in the first place, his family did." She told him.

"Well I still don't trust him and I bet anything that he's behind that prank that was pulled last night." Ron said.

"Actually, he said that he wasn't, and I genuinely believe him." Hermione told him. "First we have to find out more about The Chamber of Secrets before we can find out who's actually behind it." She said.

"Hermione come quick!" Draco cried as Hermione quickly turned around and hurried after him with Harry and Ron chasing after him.

"What is it?" She asked him.

"I don't know, but McGonagall just came by and told all of us to gather into the Great Hall. I think it's some sort of assembly." He told her while glancing at her over his shoulder while she exchanged looks of confusion with Harry and Ron.