Disclaimer: plot only
Chapter 4: Life with the Ogre
"Always take care honey." Mrs. Granger told her daughter. She hugged her tight.
"Yes mom, don't worry. I will. I'm not a little girl anymore." Hermione returned the hug.
"Remember, don't stress yourself too much. What's important is that you're happy." Her father told her.
She smiled. "Sure." But it was absolutely impossible to not be stressed. Holidays are over and it's back to school again. It's already halfway through her final year in Hogwarts and the dreaded NEWTs will take place in just a few months. Being the perfectionist she is she just has to ace those tests. Even if that would mean sleepless nights resulting to frequent mood swings.
"Goodbye mother! Goodbye father!"
She pushed her cart into the wall that would take her to platform 9 ¾. She was soon greeted by the hustle and bustle of Hogwarts students everywhere bidding goodbyes or making sure they have everything they needed.
"Watch out miss!"
Hermione faced left just when a hard bound book hit her in the head making her fall to the ground with a loud thud. The book seemed to be enchanted and a boy in his first year was chasing it. He stopped for a while to mumble a sincere sorry to Hermione but had to continue chasing the book because it had victimized other people as well.
"Oh for crying out loud." A familiar voice from a distance said. "Must you be so feeble?" Hermione raised her head. It was Draco and he was sneering at her. 'He's back to his normal self then. Not weird like last Christmas. It's a pity. I kind off liked him like that'
"Well I'm sorry for being feeble." She said with a sarcastic emphasis on the word feeble.
"The Head Girl caught off-guard by a flying book. How funny." He stared down at her. 'Why did I even think that he could have changed?' She thought.
Hermione stood up when a pang of pain throbbed in her head. It was caused by the book. This made her loose her balance. Draco caught her on her shoulders and helped her to stand up straight. Hermione was surprised with this action. Just then a voice shouted once again.
"Look out!!" The book seemed to be headed their way again and before it could hit Hermione in the face once again, Draco, with his swift hands caught the book and threw it on the floor. A few people had gathered to see what the commotion was all about. He stepped on the book so that it wouldn't fly away again.
"I am so sorry sir." Started the trembling boy. It was obvious that he feared Draco. He even called him sir.
"To which house do you belong to?" Draco asked.
"Hufflepuff sir."
Draco got the wriggling book from his feet and held it tight with one hand. "Do you know what this is?" he asked the boy while pointing at his Head Boy badge with his free hand.
"Yes sir. It's a Head boy badge."
"Perfect. That's 10 points from the Hufflepuff house. Now here's your book. Hold it tight to your chest. I don't care if you might fly with your book but I don't want it hitting other people once again. If it does, more points of the Hufflepuff again. Got that?"
"Ye-e-ess sir-r-r" he said trembling with fear. He held the book close to his chest and seemed to be concentrating hard. He didn't want to let go of the wriggling book in his hands. Draco left with his hands in his pockets and Hermione shook her head. 'He's definitely back' she thought sadly.
"Are you alright?" Hermione asked the boy as she walked towards him. The small crowd that had gathered went back to their own businesses. The boy suddenly shrieked when he saw the glittering Head Girl badge pinned on Hermione's chest.
"Good gracious! I hit a Head Girl too." the boy cried out almost losing his grip from the enchanted book.
"No, no, no. It's okay. My head just hurts a little. Here." She offered asking him to hand her the book. He did this with great difficulty but eventually managed to hand Hermione the book. Hermione was then taken by surprise since the book was quite heavy and it kept resisting to stay still. How could have Draco held this book firmly with just one hand? She couldn't help but question herself. She muttered a spell that brought back the book to its original state.
"Thank you so much. I'm so so sorry my book hit you real hard." He shouted after leaving.
Hermione smiled. She gathered up her belongings left on the floor and made her way through the crowd. She felt a light tap on her shoulder and she turned around and saw Harry standing there with a wide smile on his face.
"Hermione!" he shouted and threw his hands in the air to hug her. "Missed you so much." He said.
"Me too. Where's Ron and Ginny?" she asked after letting go of the quick hug.
"Right here." Ginny said. Ron stood beside her.
"Ginny! Ron!" Hermione gave Ginny a quick hug and turned to Ron to hug him. Harry nudged Ron's elbow and gave him a grin. This made Ron turn red again. Harry ended up chuckling really hard.
"What's wrong with you?" Hermione asked after she let go of Ron.
"Why don't you ask Ron." he replied while clutching his stomach.
"Oh do shut up will you!" Ron said irritated.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Boys will be boys. Come, I'll help you put your belongings in your Head Boy/Girl compartment."
"Sure." Hermione said. She was extremely happy to be in the presence of her closest friends again. "I'll stay in your compartment first since there's a blonde haired ogre in mine." She suggested with a wink. Ginny laughed since she knew that Hermione was talking about Draco.
The four friends stepped up the train actually happy to go back to school again.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Hermione slammed her book closed because of frustration. Harry and Ron had been gibbering about Quiditch for the past hour and the subject matter didn't really interest her that much. And she had grown tired of reading her school books, again. Ginny had gone off with her sixth year friends and going back to her compartment meant seeing Draco. She didn't really want to deal with him right now. She stood up and smoothed her robes.
"Where you going?" Harry asked.
"I just need some fresh air." She said and smiled at them. Instantly the boys fell back to their conversation about Quiditch. She sighed. She slid out of the compartment and started walking to the end of the train. But the door was locked magically.
"Aargh!" she said frustrated. She didn't feel like using a spell to break the lock off so she just stomped off to her compartment. She thought that maybe Draco was not there and instead, out with Crabbe and Goyle tormenting other students since he had the 'power'.
Her guess was right. Draco wasn't in their compartment. He was right there leaning on the door of the compartment, laughing sinisterly with Crabbe and Goyle. The two big oafs were pigging out with some chocolate. Hermione rolled her eyes with disgust. When her presence was felt by the bullies, they all fell silent and Hermione felt their eyes watching her. She reached the front of her compartment but Draco was leaning on the door making her unable to enter her compartment.
"Move.'" she said coldly.
"Why should I?" he sneered. He crossed his arms on his chest.
"I said move. You must be deaf if you didn't hear that."
"Nobody calls our boss deaf." Crabbe said from behind.
"Yeah." Goyle said nodding his head.
"If there's anyone who's dumb, it should be you."
"Yeah."
"Will you come up with your own thing to say?" Crabbe roared as he punched Goyle in the face. The big stupid oafs exchanged punches on one another.
"Stop it you mindless beings." Draco said. At once, they stopped. They had bloody noses and swollen faces all because of a stupid argument.
"That's ten points off the Slytherin house. No fighting allowed." Hermione said triumphantly. She was still after all, the Head Girl.
"God, both of you are dim-witted." Draco shouted. He wasn't leaning on the door anymore and seeing this Hermione quickly slid open the door and almost got in if Draco didn't stop her. He held her hand and she turned to give him a menacing glare.
"I'm not through with you yet." he said staring deep into her brown eyes now big and twinkling with anger. She stared back. She couldn't resist it. His eyes were the only thing that she didn't find repulsing. They seemed to change color from time to time. She remembered them as silver but they're a deep blue now. As blue as the skies could be.
"Let go of me." She commanded.
"Make me."
They continued glaring at each other. In fact the intensity that exuded from them made the two other boys, namely Crabbe and Goyle, speechless.
"Fine." She said breaking the silence. She kicked him in the crotch and that left Draco yelping in pain like a little boy. "And I didn't have to use a wand for that."
Crabbe and Goyle was just about to lunge at Hermione when Draco said under gritted teeth. "Don't. I'll take care of her."
"Sure, you will. I'm shivering." She said sarcastically. With that, she closed the door, locked it and sat down at her side of the compartment. She opened her bag so that she could reread her school books when she remembered that she left them in Harry and Ron's compartment.
She sighed. She rummaged her bag for anything that could save her for boredom and she stumbled upon a cloak: Draco's cloak. She took it out of the bag and stared at it. She shrugged and decided to take a nap.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"That little bitch. What do you want us to do boss?" Goyle asked. Crabbe offered to help Draco up but Draco pushed him away.
"I can manage." He said pertaining to Crabbe. "Didn't I tell you that I'll take care of her or were you just deaf as always?"
"Sorry boss. Didn't mean that."
"Go back to you're compartments and for God's sakes, fix your faces." He ordered. There faces were truly horrible. There were blood clots hanging from their noses and a bruises everywhere. But they followed what Draco had said. He turned his attention back to Hermione. He was filled with anger for her because of how he was humiliated. He opened the door and noticed that it was locked.
"Shit!" he said. He left his wand inside so he could not use magic to open the door. He feared no one and didn't think he'd need a wand having the power that a Head Boy has.
"Mudblood. Open this door now." he called out. No answer.
"Mudblood!" he screamed even louder. 'This is pointless.' He kicked at the door once and then again to force it open. It did open and fell on the floor. Hermione awoke with a jump.
"What did you do that for?" she asked as soon as she saw the door. Draco walked calmly to his bag and opened the side pocket. He took out his wand.
"This---" he said holding up his wand. "---is what a wand is for." He muttered a spell that fixed the door and made it good as new. Hermione cocked her eyebrow.
"Listen now Ferret Boy. I asked you why you did what you did not what a wand is for." She said. He only shrugged and slouched on his seat. Hermione was still staring at him with utter hate.
"Oh I see now." he said slyly. "You fancy me. That's why you can't keep your pretty little eyes off me."
"I do not!" Hermione shouted standing up.
"You don't have to be so defensive. That just makes my suspicions worse." Then he chuckled wickedly.
Hermione sat down and crossed her arms. She held the cloak and threw it Draco hoping that it would hit him smack on the face. But because of his toned muscles because of years of training for Quiditch, he caught it in the air.
"Thanks." She said tonelessly. She didn't know if Draco knew what she was thanking him for but she didn't care. At least now, that filthy cloak is back to its filthy owner.
Draco snorted and just like that. He forgot about his plot for revenge.
For now.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
They arrived at Hogwarts and Hermione reunites with Ron and Harry since she forgot her books in their compartment. But she had to leave again because she had to make sure that the younger students could get to their quarters.
After the students were settled, there was a feast later on so every student was supposed to head directly to the Great Hall. Being the Head Boy and Head Girl, Draco and Hermione got to their living quarters last because of their duties. Strangely, they didn't exchange insults or even a word to one another. They just unpacked their belongings.
Hermione was first to finish, she didn't know what her reasons were but she decided to wait for Draco. She sat down by the crackling fire and waited for him there. But after 10 minutes, she grew impatient.
"What's taking him so long? There's going to be no food left if he doesn't come out soon." She said angrily.
She walked to his bedroom door and knocked. "Malfoy?" There was no answer but she decided to walk in anyway since the door wasn't locked. The fireplace wasn't lighted and that made the room very cold. She lifted her wand to light the fireplace.
"What do you think you're doing mudblood?" Draco said coldly from behind. Hermione's wand fell to the carpeted floor because she was surprised.
She faced him and said "I was just ---"but she stopped because of the sight that was in front of her. Draco was dripping wet and he had just taken a bath. He was just wearing a towel wrapped around his torso making his chest bare. And Hermione could see the features that mold his body. There had been other scenes like this last year and she had always looked at him with repulsion for that. She should be used to him walking around half-naked but she didn't know why she was acting like this right now.
Draco tilted his head to the left and snickered. "Like what you see Granger?"
Hermione crossed her arms and finished her sentence. "I just thought that I should light the hearth since it's dead cold in here."
Draco snorted. "It's my room. Back off." He walked to his drawer and Hermione's eyes followed his every move. Just then he took his towel off and threw it to the couch.
"What the hell!" Hermione ejaculated as she covered her eyes.
Draco just laughed his head off. "Told you that it's my room. What's the matter Granger? Never seen a man's unclothed body before?" and he laughed even more.
"Shut up." Hermione scowled kneeling down to get her wand with one hand since the other hand was covering her eyes. Draco looked at Hermione on the floor and shook his head.
"I can't believe you could even manage to bathe when you knew very well that there's a feast downstairs and we're already late." She said angrily.
She still struggled to look for her wand. He put on some clothes and knelt down beside Hermione. He reached for her wand a few steps ahead Hermione and handed it to her. Hermione was again surprised by this act of 'kindness'. Then he stood up.
"Are you still in the nude?" Hermione asked still refusing to uncover her eyes. "I swear if you plan to do anything to me I'll slaughter you." She slowly stood up.
"Yeah sure, whatever you say Granger." He put on his robe and walked out the door.
"Malfoy?" she asked. She uncovered her eyes and Draco wasn't in the room anymore.
"That stupid git!" she screamed and stomped out of the room to follow Draco.
"Boo."
"Aaah!" Hermione shrieked. Draco had just been outside the door and he decided to play a trick on her. He sneered at her and started walking out of their quarters. Hermione frowned the whole time as she followed Draco down the stone steps and pass the empty corridors to the Great Hall.
When they reached the Great Hall, they parted as if they didn't come down together and went straight to their house tables. Hermione was greeted with a warm welcome from her housemates. She looked at Draco and he was greeted by his housemates as well, especially by Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini.
"Sluts." She found herself saying. Draco saw this and he raised his eyebrows. He gave Pansy a passionate kiss and he seemed to do it to annoy Hermione.
When they finished, Draco looked at Hermione to see her reaction and she mouthed Fuck You to him very slowly. Draco frowned with this and he watched Hermione rejoin with Potthead and Weasel.
"Oh Draco, I knew you missed me." Pansy said her eyes still dazzling from the kiss Draco gave her. He looked at her with disgust and walked down to his seat Pansy clinging to him like some madwoman.
"What took you so long?" Harry asked. "Ron had already eaten everything in sight."
"I have not." Ron argued with two pieces of chicken legs in his hand and a plate filled with mashed potatoes and other sinful sidings.
"A blonde ogre wasted my time." Hermione replied.
With that, the three best friends laughed and Hermione started eating to her hearts content.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A sleeping Draco was suddenly awoken by a splash of ice cold water on his face.
"What the fuck?" he said abruptly sitting upright. He scanned his room and a figure was standing in front of him. He wiped the water of his face with his right arm.
"Double Potions Malfoy. Felt like doing you a favor. It's been over a week and you still forget about Double Potions first thing during Thursday mornings."
He knew who it was. "A very warm thank you then Granger." He replied mockingly. His vision became clearer and he saw Hermione standing before him.
Hermione left his room and rushed down the stone staircase to the dungeons. She opened the door and greeted the professor, Professor Snape, a pleasant good morning. She was about to sit down to her seat next to Parvati Patil.
"It's nice of you to decide to join us." he said darkly. His voice was truly terrible. It sounded like an ungreased machine that still insisted to work.
"But professor, according to my watch I am only a minute late." She argued.
"Exactly. The words came straight from your mouth. You're late, even if it's only for a minute. And to top it all you're the Head Girl. Don't you think you should be more responsible, eh?" he said.
"Professor Snape, must we continue to argue about a silly thing? I think we're wasting precious time." Harry said standing up.
"Yes Professor. I certainly agree." Ron said nodding his head. He stood up too.
"My, my. It's Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley to the rescue again." He said walking towards them. "Let me tell you one important thing and I want you to remember it. My class, Potter and Weasley. My class." He stared intently into Harry's green eyes and then to Ron's hazel ones.
"Mr. Potter's right though." Snape said facing his whole class. "We've wasted time and since he doesn't want to continue this, that's 20 points off Gryffindor. 5 for Ms. Granger being a single minute late, 5 for Mr. Potter who stuck his nose in a business that didn't concern him, another 5 for Mr. Weasley for arguing with me and the other 5 would be because of this migraine you three have given me so early in the morning."
Snape smiled evilly and Hermione looked back at Harry and Ron and mouthed a thank you and smiled sheepishly. The two boys smiled back and they all sat down. Harry whispered 'no problem'
Snape finally did begin his classes and as usual, Hermione seemed like his only student. All of them were still sleepy or maybe because they just didn't bother to study.
"Good Morning Professor." Draco greeted their professor when he came in the dungeons. He was twenty minutes late. It seemed like he even took his time to take a bath because his hair was still wet and clung to his head messily. He brushed most of them off his face. Girls squirmed with delight except for Hermione who felt like she needed to puke.
"Why are you late Mr. Malfoy? Are you aware that you're Head Boy and must serve as a good example for all of the students gathered here?" Snape asked.
"As you know professor, my room is quite far from all the classrooms so it took me sometime to get down here. To add to that, I have some cramps on my feet so that slowed me down even more. I wanted to go to Madame Pomfrey but I did not dare do so since Potions is my favorite subject and I'd miss it if I asked her to check on my foot."
"Sounds like a good fabricated excuse. I do like the part that Potions is your favorite subject. You may take your seat Malfoy." Snape said. "Now I will continue with explaining the Kleidemos potion to be passed today."
"I can't believe it! The git's over 15 minutes late and he doesn't get punished." Harry whispered under his breath to Ron.
"Yeah mate. He even said that he knew that Malfoy came up with a silly excuse but he still accepted it because Ferret boy said that he loved Potions." Ron hissed.
"It's totally unfair but we can't do anything bout it." Harry said. He sighed.
"The potion you are to make is called Kleidemos. Judging from the name, you could say that it originated in?" the professor continued.
Hermione's hand raised straight up in the air immediately. "Anyone here at all?" Snape asked ignoring Hermione's hand.
Draco stood up even if he wasn't called to answer. "It originated in Greece named after the great warrior Kleidemos, son of Aristarkhos, Klemenoid. He was called a wolf and because of that, the Kleidemos potion is said to be able to give any human being the agility of a wolf. That is if, he could take it. Some have become nuts after taking the potion and some have been said to have died right after taking the potion."
"Perfect. 10 points for Slytherin." Snape said. Hermione shot an evil glare to Professor Snape. 'I was first you moron.' She thought.
"Just like what Mr. Malfoy said, the potion is very dangerous and a lot of great warriors driven by their greed to be stronger had died because of this potion. Naturally, if I decide to make you create this potion, I believe that there wouldn't be a single soul brave enough to test each potion so I will only teach you how to make stage one of this potion. Stage one's results wouldn't be as effective as stage three's would be, but the result wouldn't be as fatal either."
"May we know why we need to make this potion?" Seamus Finnigan asked raising his hand up in the air.
"For muggles, the only effect this potion can give is the speed and agility of a wolf but for us wizards, we could be given the power to think like a wolf. Meaning, we would be swifter, brighter, more ingenious, and deadly. Performing spells and charms would be like a walk in the park."
"I've read that this potion is one practiced by the ones who have fallen into the Darkness. Why teach it to us?" questioned one of the Gryffindors.
"It is not I who asked to have this potion made by you. It was Professor Dumbledore himself who requested this."
"The old man must have gone nuts." Someone said from the Slytherins. A laugh erupted from them.
"It is you who have gone nuts." Snape said darkly to the young boy. He had now held high respect for Dumbledore ever since Harry's fifth year. He look fiercely at the boy.
"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore must have a good reason for this." Hermione said aloud. 'But tell me Professor Snape, I have read before that this potion has 4 stages. Why have you said that there are only 3 stages?" she asked. Snape's face became paler than it already was.
"You are dumb after all Granger." Draco said. This made Ron rise to his feet.
"She is not dumb! She's smarter than you." He shouted.
Draco completely ignored him. "The Kleidemos potion has been banned for years but since the Dark Lord has risen once again and stronger than ever, it had to be put back to use so that wizards can protect themselves. But the completion of the Potion, that includes the fourth stage, is still banned and will be forever banned. That is for the reason that the critical ingredient is a ---"
"That is enough!" Snape bellowed. "I will only teach you until stage three and I do not care if you're not satisfied by that. Do not try to look for this potion in the Library because as one of you have said before, it is considered as Dark Magic before but only put to use a little over a year ago by the Ministry of Magic. The book containing the procedure of the Kleidemos potion would be in the restricted section."
With the tone that Snape used, it was clear to everyone that the discussion of the final stage of the Kleidemos potion is over. He spent the rest of the first half of the period to explain everything clearly and the remaining time was used for making the potion. They were paired with the way that they were seated so Hermione was paired with Parvati and Harry with Ron. Everyone pitied Seamus for he was partnered with Neville.
"Now listen, a portion of the potion would be placed in a flask and submitted to me by 9 pm sharp this evening. That is because you have to let the potion sit for 2 hours without touching it before the sun sets. After that, stir it to the right 5 times then immediately seal it. No testing shall be done by you. It will be done by me. No late potions are accepted." Snape finished and he gathered his belongings and left the dungeons.
"Goodbye and thank you Professor Snape." the class said in chorus.
Snape rushed to Dumbledore's office without looking at any of the students he passed by. He looked deeply troubled because of his paler skin and the sweat dripping from his forehead. He muttered the password, goat gummy bears, and entered the office.
"Professor, I'm not sure if I should continue teaching them the potion. It is deadly." Snape said as soon as he had entered the office.
"You haven't even greeted the headmaster yet." a painting that had the face of one of Hogwarts' past headmasters told Snape.
"My apologies. Good morning sir." Snape said bowing his head a little bit to show respect.
"Why do you say so?" Dumbledore said. He was still wearing what seemed to be his nightgown and a wizard's hat with a huge crescent decorating it. He entwined his fingers and rested his chin on them.
"Because it is dangerous. Filled with malevolence. Evil." He replied.
"I have told you to read about Kleidemos' life. Correct me if I am wrong." The headmaster said with his eyes twinkling.
"Yes you have."
"Tell me what have you learned?"
"Well Kleidemos was called the wolf by the Helots, slaves of the Spartans. He had two names, the other would be Talos given to him by a man who he called grandfather who was actually the one who saved him when he was only an infant. He was lame in one leg but because of Kritolaos, his grandfather, he was turned into a great warrior."
"You said that he is great and because of that, the potion named after a great man could never be cursed."
"But sir the critical ingredient makes it cursed. That's why it was banned in the first place."
"Do you know that it is Antinea, his wife, who made this potion? She intended to make it for her son who had a high fever and no chance of surviving. She made it out of love and she even sacrificed a part of herself for him."
"You mean -"
"I mean what I mean professor Snape. The Kleidemos potion would serve as a great weapon of justice even if its effects aren't permanent. This potion, even if it uses a banned ingredient will only work if done out of love. Without love, it would fail." He paused. "Is there anything else you need to know?"
"But then that would mean that the critical ingredient would be love. And what use would teaching this potion to our students be if death is a part of it?" Snape asked
"I'll leave that for you to understand." Dumbledore said with his eyes twinkling.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"I hate you. I hate you. I hate you." Hermione kept on repeating and repeating to herself. She was talking about Parvati Patil since the girl ran off with one of her boys again. That meant that Hermione would have to do the potion all by herself but Parvati would be receiving the same grade as she did. Parvati just told her that she'd surely return the favor someday with a wink.
"It is so unfair!" she said holding the small cauldron she had carried up to her quarters.
"Boo."
"Aaah!" Hermione screamed out of surprise. This time she screamed louder and longer. A hand cupped her mouth and someone whispered to her ear. "God you're dumb." The hot breath tickled her ear and she struggled to set herself free. By doing that she spilled some of the cauldron's contents on her robes. She turned around and saw Draco standing their and grinning at her.
"How dare you scare me again!" she shouted still carrying the cauldron in her hands.
"It's your fault for not being alert. And for being so deep in thought about me again. Go fantasize about someone else Granger."
"I believe you think too highly of yourself. And now you say it's my fault that most of my potion spilled on-" she stopped. She felt a painful sting in her stomach and chest.
"Shit!" she exclaimed her eyes widening. She dropped her cauldron to the floor spilling the remaining contents of it. She quickly removed her robe and threw it on the floor. She was wearing a t-shirt that already had a huge hole forming on it.
"Turn around." She ordered Draco. He didn't move. He just stared at Hermione.
"I said turn around." She repeated. He did and as soon as he turned around, Hermione removed her shirt as well. She had a few red burns on her stomach. "Ouch." She whispered.
"What happened?" Draco asked.
"The potion isn't done yet and because of that, it could burn anything. Weren't you listening in class?"
"No. Don't care." he answered.
"So what do you suppose we should do now?" Hermione said. She was facing his back.
"What do you mean by that?"
"You just spilled my potion and even some of it on me." She said angrily.
"I'll give you mine." He said and he faced her.
"Merlin's beard! You disgusting pervert turn around!" Hermione screamed as she covered her upper body with her hands.
Draco did not turn around. He walked towards her without saying a word. "What the hell are you planning to do?" she screamed at him. Draco rolled his eyes and removed his robe. He handed it to Hermione. She reluctantly looked at it but she did take it and wore it. Draco was still watching her. Then he started walking towards their quarters.
"What's the deal Malfoy?" she bursted out. "Why are you being so nice to me?"
Malfoy stopped walking and turned around. "What do you want me to say?"
"I want you to answer my question. Why? Why were you so nice to me during the Holidays? Today? And those other days? And then sometimes you act like you don't care I exist. Like that day when you were with Pansy. I can't read you." She shouted.
"I don't get it Draco. I don't."
"Too bad." he said coldly. Then he walked again, said their password, and walked in their quarters.
Hermione, for some reason, teared a little. But she quickly wiped them away and she was angry with her actions. She used her wand to fix the broken cauldron and made all her other damaged belongings burn right there in the corridor. Mrs. Norris came running to the hall with the smell of fire. Hermione ignored the roaring cat. She put off the fire and with her wand. She made it look like there wasn't any sign of fire at all.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
In his bedroom, Draco lied down on the floor. He ruffled his hair angrily.
"Too bad." he said again.
"Because I don't either."
A/N: I haven't updated for so long. o.O Anyway, thanks for everyone who reviewed and I appreciate ALL of them. The name Kleidemos and everything about him came from a book entitled 'Spartan'.
Chapter 4: Life with the Ogre
"Always take care honey." Mrs. Granger told her daughter. She hugged her tight.
"Yes mom, don't worry. I will. I'm not a little girl anymore." Hermione returned the hug.
"Remember, don't stress yourself too much. What's important is that you're happy." Her father told her.
She smiled. "Sure." But it was absolutely impossible to not be stressed. Holidays are over and it's back to school again. It's already halfway through her final year in Hogwarts and the dreaded NEWTs will take place in just a few months. Being the perfectionist she is she just has to ace those tests. Even if that would mean sleepless nights resulting to frequent mood swings.
"Goodbye mother! Goodbye father!"
She pushed her cart into the wall that would take her to platform 9 ¾. She was soon greeted by the hustle and bustle of Hogwarts students everywhere bidding goodbyes or making sure they have everything they needed.
"Watch out miss!"
Hermione faced left just when a hard bound book hit her in the head making her fall to the ground with a loud thud. The book seemed to be enchanted and a boy in his first year was chasing it. He stopped for a while to mumble a sincere sorry to Hermione but had to continue chasing the book because it had victimized other people as well.
"Oh for crying out loud." A familiar voice from a distance said. "Must you be so feeble?" Hermione raised her head. It was Draco and he was sneering at her. 'He's back to his normal self then. Not weird like last Christmas. It's a pity. I kind off liked him like that'
"Well I'm sorry for being feeble." She said with a sarcastic emphasis on the word feeble.
"The Head Girl caught off-guard by a flying book. How funny." He stared down at her. 'Why did I even think that he could have changed?' She thought.
Hermione stood up when a pang of pain throbbed in her head. It was caused by the book. This made her loose her balance. Draco caught her on her shoulders and helped her to stand up straight. Hermione was surprised with this action. Just then a voice shouted once again.
"Look out!!" The book seemed to be headed their way again and before it could hit Hermione in the face once again, Draco, with his swift hands caught the book and threw it on the floor. A few people had gathered to see what the commotion was all about. He stepped on the book so that it wouldn't fly away again.
"I am so sorry sir." Started the trembling boy. It was obvious that he feared Draco. He even called him sir.
"To which house do you belong to?" Draco asked.
"Hufflepuff sir."
Draco got the wriggling book from his feet and held it tight with one hand. "Do you know what this is?" he asked the boy while pointing at his Head Boy badge with his free hand.
"Yes sir. It's a Head boy badge."
"Perfect. That's 10 points from the Hufflepuff house. Now here's your book. Hold it tight to your chest. I don't care if you might fly with your book but I don't want it hitting other people once again. If it does, more points of the Hufflepuff again. Got that?"
"Ye-e-ess sir-r-r" he said trembling with fear. He held the book close to his chest and seemed to be concentrating hard. He didn't want to let go of the wriggling book in his hands. Draco left with his hands in his pockets and Hermione shook her head. 'He's definitely back' she thought sadly.
"Are you alright?" Hermione asked the boy as she walked towards him. The small crowd that had gathered went back to their own businesses. The boy suddenly shrieked when he saw the glittering Head Girl badge pinned on Hermione's chest.
"Good gracious! I hit a Head Girl too." the boy cried out almost losing his grip from the enchanted book.
"No, no, no. It's okay. My head just hurts a little. Here." She offered asking him to hand her the book. He did this with great difficulty but eventually managed to hand Hermione the book. Hermione was then taken by surprise since the book was quite heavy and it kept resisting to stay still. How could have Draco held this book firmly with just one hand? She couldn't help but question herself. She muttered a spell that brought back the book to its original state.
"Thank you so much. I'm so so sorry my book hit you real hard." He shouted after leaving.
Hermione smiled. She gathered up her belongings left on the floor and made her way through the crowd. She felt a light tap on her shoulder and she turned around and saw Harry standing there with a wide smile on his face.
"Hermione!" he shouted and threw his hands in the air to hug her. "Missed you so much." He said.
"Me too. Where's Ron and Ginny?" she asked after letting go of the quick hug.
"Right here." Ginny said. Ron stood beside her.
"Ginny! Ron!" Hermione gave Ginny a quick hug and turned to Ron to hug him. Harry nudged Ron's elbow and gave him a grin. This made Ron turn red again. Harry ended up chuckling really hard.
"What's wrong with you?" Hermione asked after she let go of Ron.
"Why don't you ask Ron." he replied while clutching his stomach.
"Oh do shut up will you!" Ron said irritated.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Boys will be boys. Come, I'll help you put your belongings in your Head Boy/Girl compartment."
"Sure." Hermione said. She was extremely happy to be in the presence of her closest friends again. "I'll stay in your compartment first since there's a blonde haired ogre in mine." She suggested with a wink. Ginny laughed since she knew that Hermione was talking about Draco.
The four friends stepped up the train actually happy to go back to school again.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Hermione slammed her book closed because of frustration. Harry and Ron had been gibbering about Quiditch for the past hour and the subject matter didn't really interest her that much. And she had grown tired of reading her school books, again. Ginny had gone off with her sixth year friends and going back to her compartment meant seeing Draco. She didn't really want to deal with him right now. She stood up and smoothed her robes.
"Where you going?" Harry asked.
"I just need some fresh air." She said and smiled at them. Instantly the boys fell back to their conversation about Quiditch. She sighed. She slid out of the compartment and started walking to the end of the train. But the door was locked magically.
"Aargh!" she said frustrated. She didn't feel like using a spell to break the lock off so she just stomped off to her compartment. She thought that maybe Draco was not there and instead, out with Crabbe and Goyle tormenting other students since he had the 'power'.
Her guess was right. Draco wasn't in their compartment. He was right there leaning on the door of the compartment, laughing sinisterly with Crabbe and Goyle. The two big oafs were pigging out with some chocolate. Hermione rolled her eyes with disgust. When her presence was felt by the bullies, they all fell silent and Hermione felt their eyes watching her. She reached the front of her compartment but Draco was leaning on the door making her unable to enter her compartment.
"Move.'" she said coldly.
"Why should I?" he sneered. He crossed his arms on his chest.
"I said move. You must be deaf if you didn't hear that."
"Nobody calls our boss deaf." Crabbe said from behind.
"Yeah." Goyle said nodding his head.
"If there's anyone who's dumb, it should be you."
"Yeah."
"Will you come up with your own thing to say?" Crabbe roared as he punched Goyle in the face. The big stupid oafs exchanged punches on one another.
"Stop it you mindless beings." Draco said. At once, they stopped. They had bloody noses and swollen faces all because of a stupid argument.
"That's ten points off the Slytherin house. No fighting allowed." Hermione said triumphantly. She was still after all, the Head Girl.
"God, both of you are dim-witted." Draco shouted. He wasn't leaning on the door anymore and seeing this Hermione quickly slid open the door and almost got in if Draco didn't stop her. He held her hand and she turned to give him a menacing glare.
"I'm not through with you yet." he said staring deep into her brown eyes now big and twinkling with anger. She stared back. She couldn't resist it. His eyes were the only thing that she didn't find repulsing. They seemed to change color from time to time. She remembered them as silver but they're a deep blue now. As blue as the skies could be.
"Let go of me." She commanded.
"Make me."
They continued glaring at each other. In fact the intensity that exuded from them made the two other boys, namely Crabbe and Goyle, speechless.
"Fine." She said breaking the silence. She kicked him in the crotch and that left Draco yelping in pain like a little boy. "And I didn't have to use a wand for that."
Crabbe and Goyle was just about to lunge at Hermione when Draco said under gritted teeth. "Don't. I'll take care of her."
"Sure, you will. I'm shivering." She said sarcastically. With that, she closed the door, locked it and sat down at her side of the compartment. She opened her bag so that she could reread her school books when she remembered that she left them in Harry and Ron's compartment.
She sighed. She rummaged her bag for anything that could save her for boredom and she stumbled upon a cloak: Draco's cloak. She took it out of the bag and stared at it. She shrugged and decided to take a nap.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"That little bitch. What do you want us to do boss?" Goyle asked. Crabbe offered to help Draco up but Draco pushed him away.
"I can manage." He said pertaining to Crabbe. "Didn't I tell you that I'll take care of her or were you just deaf as always?"
"Sorry boss. Didn't mean that."
"Go back to you're compartments and for God's sakes, fix your faces." He ordered. There faces were truly horrible. There were blood clots hanging from their noses and a bruises everywhere. But they followed what Draco had said. He turned his attention back to Hermione. He was filled with anger for her because of how he was humiliated. He opened the door and noticed that it was locked.
"Shit!" he said. He left his wand inside so he could not use magic to open the door. He feared no one and didn't think he'd need a wand having the power that a Head Boy has.
"Mudblood. Open this door now." he called out. No answer.
"Mudblood!" he screamed even louder. 'This is pointless.' He kicked at the door once and then again to force it open. It did open and fell on the floor. Hermione awoke with a jump.
"What did you do that for?" she asked as soon as she saw the door. Draco walked calmly to his bag and opened the side pocket. He took out his wand.
"This---" he said holding up his wand. "---is what a wand is for." He muttered a spell that fixed the door and made it good as new. Hermione cocked her eyebrow.
"Listen now Ferret Boy. I asked you why you did what you did not what a wand is for." She said. He only shrugged and slouched on his seat. Hermione was still staring at him with utter hate.
"Oh I see now." he said slyly. "You fancy me. That's why you can't keep your pretty little eyes off me."
"I do not!" Hermione shouted standing up.
"You don't have to be so defensive. That just makes my suspicions worse." Then he chuckled wickedly.
Hermione sat down and crossed her arms. She held the cloak and threw it Draco hoping that it would hit him smack on the face. But because of his toned muscles because of years of training for Quiditch, he caught it in the air.
"Thanks." She said tonelessly. She didn't know if Draco knew what she was thanking him for but she didn't care. At least now, that filthy cloak is back to its filthy owner.
Draco snorted and just like that. He forgot about his plot for revenge.
For now.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
They arrived at Hogwarts and Hermione reunites with Ron and Harry since she forgot her books in their compartment. But she had to leave again because she had to make sure that the younger students could get to their quarters.
After the students were settled, there was a feast later on so every student was supposed to head directly to the Great Hall. Being the Head Boy and Head Girl, Draco and Hermione got to their living quarters last because of their duties. Strangely, they didn't exchange insults or even a word to one another. They just unpacked their belongings.
Hermione was first to finish, she didn't know what her reasons were but she decided to wait for Draco. She sat down by the crackling fire and waited for him there. But after 10 minutes, she grew impatient.
"What's taking him so long? There's going to be no food left if he doesn't come out soon." She said angrily.
She walked to his bedroom door and knocked. "Malfoy?" There was no answer but she decided to walk in anyway since the door wasn't locked. The fireplace wasn't lighted and that made the room very cold. She lifted her wand to light the fireplace.
"What do you think you're doing mudblood?" Draco said coldly from behind. Hermione's wand fell to the carpeted floor because she was surprised.
She faced him and said "I was just ---"but she stopped because of the sight that was in front of her. Draco was dripping wet and he had just taken a bath. He was just wearing a towel wrapped around his torso making his chest bare. And Hermione could see the features that mold his body. There had been other scenes like this last year and she had always looked at him with repulsion for that. She should be used to him walking around half-naked but she didn't know why she was acting like this right now.
Draco tilted his head to the left and snickered. "Like what you see Granger?"
Hermione crossed her arms and finished her sentence. "I just thought that I should light the hearth since it's dead cold in here."
Draco snorted. "It's my room. Back off." He walked to his drawer and Hermione's eyes followed his every move. Just then he took his towel off and threw it to the couch.
"What the hell!" Hermione ejaculated as she covered her eyes.
Draco just laughed his head off. "Told you that it's my room. What's the matter Granger? Never seen a man's unclothed body before?" and he laughed even more.
"Shut up." Hermione scowled kneeling down to get her wand with one hand since the other hand was covering her eyes. Draco looked at Hermione on the floor and shook his head.
"I can't believe you could even manage to bathe when you knew very well that there's a feast downstairs and we're already late." She said angrily.
She still struggled to look for her wand. He put on some clothes and knelt down beside Hermione. He reached for her wand a few steps ahead Hermione and handed it to her. Hermione was again surprised by this act of 'kindness'. Then he stood up.
"Are you still in the nude?" Hermione asked still refusing to uncover her eyes. "I swear if you plan to do anything to me I'll slaughter you." She slowly stood up.
"Yeah sure, whatever you say Granger." He put on his robe and walked out the door.
"Malfoy?" she asked. She uncovered her eyes and Draco wasn't in the room anymore.
"That stupid git!" she screamed and stomped out of the room to follow Draco.
"Boo."
"Aaah!" Hermione shrieked. Draco had just been outside the door and he decided to play a trick on her. He sneered at her and started walking out of their quarters. Hermione frowned the whole time as she followed Draco down the stone steps and pass the empty corridors to the Great Hall.
When they reached the Great Hall, they parted as if they didn't come down together and went straight to their house tables. Hermione was greeted with a warm welcome from her housemates. She looked at Draco and he was greeted by his housemates as well, especially by Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini.
"Sluts." She found herself saying. Draco saw this and he raised his eyebrows. He gave Pansy a passionate kiss and he seemed to do it to annoy Hermione.
When they finished, Draco looked at Hermione to see her reaction and she mouthed Fuck You to him very slowly. Draco frowned with this and he watched Hermione rejoin with Potthead and Weasel.
"Oh Draco, I knew you missed me." Pansy said her eyes still dazzling from the kiss Draco gave her. He looked at her with disgust and walked down to his seat Pansy clinging to him like some madwoman.
"What took you so long?" Harry asked. "Ron had already eaten everything in sight."
"I have not." Ron argued with two pieces of chicken legs in his hand and a plate filled with mashed potatoes and other sinful sidings.
"A blonde ogre wasted my time." Hermione replied.
With that, the three best friends laughed and Hermione started eating to her hearts content.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A sleeping Draco was suddenly awoken by a splash of ice cold water on his face.
"What the fuck?" he said abruptly sitting upright. He scanned his room and a figure was standing in front of him. He wiped the water of his face with his right arm.
"Double Potions Malfoy. Felt like doing you a favor. It's been over a week and you still forget about Double Potions first thing during Thursday mornings."
He knew who it was. "A very warm thank you then Granger." He replied mockingly. His vision became clearer and he saw Hermione standing before him.
Hermione left his room and rushed down the stone staircase to the dungeons. She opened the door and greeted the professor, Professor Snape, a pleasant good morning. She was about to sit down to her seat next to Parvati Patil.
"It's nice of you to decide to join us." he said darkly. His voice was truly terrible. It sounded like an ungreased machine that still insisted to work.
"But professor, according to my watch I am only a minute late." She argued.
"Exactly. The words came straight from your mouth. You're late, even if it's only for a minute. And to top it all you're the Head Girl. Don't you think you should be more responsible, eh?" he said.
"Professor Snape, must we continue to argue about a silly thing? I think we're wasting precious time." Harry said standing up.
"Yes Professor. I certainly agree." Ron said nodding his head. He stood up too.
"My, my. It's Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley to the rescue again." He said walking towards them. "Let me tell you one important thing and I want you to remember it. My class, Potter and Weasley. My class." He stared intently into Harry's green eyes and then to Ron's hazel ones.
"Mr. Potter's right though." Snape said facing his whole class. "We've wasted time and since he doesn't want to continue this, that's 20 points off Gryffindor. 5 for Ms. Granger being a single minute late, 5 for Mr. Potter who stuck his nose in a business that didn't concern him, another 5 for Mr. Weasley for arguing with me and the other 5 would be because of this migraine you three have given me so early in the morning."
Snape smiled evilly and Hermione looked back at Harry and Ron and mouthed a thank you and smiled sheepishly. The two boys smiled back and they all sat down. Harry whispered 'no problem'
Snape finally did begin his classes and as usual, Hermione seemed like his only student. All of them were still sleepy or maybe because they just didn't bother to study.
"Good Morning Professor." Draco greeted their professor when he came in the dungeons. He was twenty minutes late. It seemed like he even took his time to take a bath because his hair was still wet and clung to his head messily. He brushed most of them off his face. Girls squirmed with delight except for Hermione who felt like she needed to puke.
"Why are you late Mr. Malfoy? Are you aware that you're Head Boy and must serve as a good example for all of the students gathered here?" Snape asked.
"As you know professor, my room is quite far from all the classrooms so it took me sometime to get down here. To add to that, I have some cramps on my feet so that slowed me down even more. I wanted to go to Madame Pomfrey but I did not dare do so since Potions is my favorite subject and I'd miss it if I asked her to check on my foot."
"Sounds like a good fabricated excuse. I do like the part that Potions is your favorite subject. You may take your seat Malfoy." Snape said. "Now I will continue with explaining the Kleidemos potion to be passed today."
"I can't believe it! The git's over 15 minutes late and he doesn't get punished." Harry whispered under his breath to Ron.
"Yeah mate. He even said that he knew that Malfoy came up with a silly excuse but he still accepted it because Ferret boy said that he loved Potions." Ron hissed.
"It's totally unfair but we can't do anything bout it." Harry said. He sighed.
"The potion you are to make is called Kleidemos. Judging from the name, you could say that it originated in?" the professor continued.
Hermione's hand raised straight up in the air immediately. "Anyone here at all?" Snape asked ignoring Hermione's hand.
Draco stood up even if he wasn't called to answer. "It originated in Greece named after the great warrior Kleidemos, son of Aristarkhos, Klemenoid. He was called a wolf and because of that, the Kleidemos potion is said to be able to give any human being the agility of a wolf. That is if, he could take it. Some have become nuts after taking the potion and some have been said to have died right after taking the potion."
"Perfect. 10 points for Slytherin." Snape said. Hermione shot an evil glare to Professor Snape. 'I was first you moron.' She thought.
"Just like what Mr. Malfoy said, the potion is very dangerous and a lot of great warriors driven by their greed to be stronger had died because of this potion. Naturally, if I decide to make you create this potion, I believe that there wouldn't be a single soul brave enough to test each potion so I will only teach you how to make stage one of this potion. Stage one's results wouldn't be as effective as stage three's would be, but the result wouldn't be as fatal either."
"May we know why we need to make this potion?" Seamus Finnigan asked raising his hand up in the air.
"For muggles, the only effect this potion can give is the speed and agility of a wolf but for us wizards, we could be given the power to think like a wolf. Meaning, we would be swifter, brighter, more ingenious, and deadly. Performing spells and charms would be like a walk in the park."
"I've read that this potion is one practiced by the ones who have fallen into the Darkness. Why teach it to us?" questioned one of the Gryffindors.
"It is not I who asked to have this potion made by you. It was Professor Dumbledore himself who requested this."
"The old man must have gone nuts." Someone said from the Slytherins. A laugh erupted from them.
"It is you who have gone nuts." Snape said darkly to the young boy. He had now held high respect for Dumbledore ever since Harry's fifth year. He look fiercely at the boy.
"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore must have a good reason for this." Hermione said aloud. 'But tell me Professor Snape, I have read before that this potion has 4 stages. Why have you said that there are only 3 stages?" she asked. Snape's face became paler than it already was.
"You are dumb after all Granger." Draco said. This made Ron rise to his feet.
"She is not dumb! She's smarter than you." He shouted.
Draco completely ignored him. "The Kleidemos potion has been banned for years but since the Dark Lord has risen once again and stronger than ever, it had to be put back to use so that wizards can protect themselves. But the completion of the Potion, that includes the fourth stage, is still banned and will be forever banned. That is for the reason that the critical ingredient is a ---"
"That is enough!" Snape bellowed. "I will only teach you until stage three and I do not care if you're not satisfied by that. Do not try to look for this potion in the Library because as one of you have said before, it is considered as Dark Magic before but only put to use a little over a year ago by the Ministry of Magic. The book containing the procedure of the Kleidemos potion would be in the restricted section."
With the tone that Snape used, it was clear to everyone that the discussion of the final stage of the Kleidemos potion is over. He spent the rest of the first half of the period to explain everything clearly and the remaining time was used for making the potion. They were paired with the way that they were seated so Hermione was paired with Parvati and Harry with Ron. Everyone pitied Seamus for he was partnered with Neville.
"Now listen, a portion of the potion would be placed in a flask and submitted to me by 9 pm sharp this evening. That is because you have to let the potion sit for 2 hours without touching it before the sun sets. After that, stir it to the right 5 times then immediately seal it. No testing shall be done by you. It will be done by me. No late potions are accepted." Snape finished and he gathered his belongings and left the dungeons.
"Goodbye and thank you Professor Snape." the class said in chorus.
Snape rushed to Dumbledore's office without looking at any of the students he passed by. He looked deeply troubled because of his paler skin and the sweat dripping from his forehead. He muttered the password, goat gummy bears, and entered the office.
"Professor, I'm not sure if I should continue teaching them the potion. It is deadly." Snape said as soon as he had entered the office.
"You haven't even greeted the headmaster yet." a painting that had the face of one of Hogwarts' past headmasters told Snape.
"My apologies. Good morning sir." Snape said bowing his head a little bit to show respect.
"Why do you say so?" Dumbledore said. He was still wearing what seemed to be his nightgown and a wizard's hat with a huge crescent decorating it. He entwined his fingers and rested his chin on them.
"Because it is dangerous. Filled with malevolence. Evil." He replied.
"I have told you to read about Kleidemos' life. Correct me if I am wrong." The headmaster said with his eyes twinkling.
"Yes you have."
"Tell me what have you learned?"
"Well Kleidemos was called the wolf by the Helots, slaves of the Spartans. He had two names, the other would be Talos given to him by a man who he called grandfather who was actually the one who saved him when he was only an infant. He was lame in one leg but because of Kritolaos, his grandfather, he was turned into a great warrior."
"You said that he is great and because of that, the potion named after a great man could never be cursed."
"But sir the critical ingredient makes it cursed. That's why it was banned in the first place."
"Do you know that it is Antinea, his wife, who made this potion? She intended to make it for her son who had a high fever and no chance of surviving. She made it out of love and she even sacrificed a part of herself for him."
"You mean -"
"I mean what I mean professor Snape. The Kleidemos potion would serve as a great weapon of justice even if its effects aren't permanent. This potion, even if it uses a banned ingredient will only work if done out of love. Without love, it would fail." He paused. "Is there anything else you need to know?"
"But then that would mean that the critical ingredient would be love. And what use would teaching this potion to our students be if death is a part of it?" Snape asked
"I'll leave that for you to understand." Dumbledore said with his eyes twinkling.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"I hate you. I hate you. I hate you." Hermione kept on repeating and repeating to herself. She was talking about Parvati Patil since the girl ran off with one of her boys again. That meant that Hermione would have to do the potion all by herself but Parvati would be receiving the same grade as she did. Parvati just told her that she'd surely return the favor someday with a wink.
"It is so unfair!" she said holding the small cauldron she had carried up to her quarters.
"Boo."
"Aaah!" Hermione screamed out of surprise. This time she screamed louder and longer. A hand cupped her mouth and someone whispered to her ear. "God you're dumb." The hot breath tickled her ear and she struggled to set herself free. By doing that she spilled some of the cauldron's contents on her robes. She turned around and saw Draco standing their and grinning at her.
"How dare you scare me again!" she shouted still carrying the cauldron in her hands.
"It's your fault for not being alert. And for being so deep in thought about me again. Go fantasize about someone else Granger."
"I believe you think too highly of yourself. And now you say it's my fault that most of my potion spilled on-" she stopped. She felt a painful sting in her stomach and chest.
"Shit!" she exclaimed her eyes widening. She dropped her cauldron to the floor spilling the remaining contents of it. She quickly removed her robe and threw it on the floor. She was wearing a t-shirt that already had a huge hole forming on it.
"Turn around." She ordered Draco. He didn't move. He just stared at Hermione.
"I said turn around." She repeated. He did and as soon as he turned around, Hermione removed her shirt as well. She had a few red burns on her stomach. "Ouch." She whispered.
"What happened?" Draco asked.
"The potion isn't done yet and because of that, it could burn anything. Weren't you listening in class?"
"No. Don't care." he answered.
"So what do you suppose we should do now?" Hermione said. She was facing his back.
"What do you mean by that?"
"You just spilled my potion and even some of it on me." She said angrily.
"I'll give you mine." He said and he faced her.
"Merlin's beard! You disgusting pervert turn around!" Hermione screamed as she covered her upper body with her hands.
Draco did not turn around. He walked towards her without saying a word. "What the hell are you planning to do?" she screamed at him. Draco rolled his eyes and removed his robe. He handed it to Hermione. She reluctantly looked at it but she did take it and wore it. Draco was still watching her. Then he started walking towards their quarters.
"What's the deal Malfoy?" she bursted out. "Why are you being so nice to me?"
Malfoy stopped walking and turned around. "What do you want me to say?"
"I want you to answer my question. Why? Why were you so nice to me during the Holidays? Today? And those other days? And then sometimes you act like you don't care I exist. Like that day when you were with Pansy. I can't read you." She shouted.
"I don't get it Draco. I don't."
"Too bad." he said coldly. Then he walked again, said their password, and walked in their quarters.
Hermione, for some reason, teared a little. But she quickly wiped them away and she was angry with her actions. She used her wand to fix the broken cauldron and made all her other damaged belongings burn right there in the corridor. Mrs. Norris came running to the hall with the smell of fire. Hermione ignored the roaring cat. She put off the fire and with her wand. She made it look like there wasn't any sign of fire at all.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
In his bedroom, Draco lied down on the floor. He ruffled his hair angrily.
"Too bad." he said again.
"Because I don't either."
A/N: I haven't updated for so long. o.O Anyway, thanks for everyone who reviewed and I appreciate ALL of them. The name Kleidemos and everything about him came from a book entitled 'Spartan'.