It was a friged December night, one where you could see your breath in little puffs as you silently exhaled. The moon hung in the inky sky, a giant, silvery orb surrounded by a scattering of stars, glittering like diamonds.
A lone figure sat beside the frozen lake, wrapped tightly in her cloak and scarf, her long, curly hair flowing down her back like a waterfall. She stared out into the gloomy darkness of the Hogwarts grounds, numb and shivering but too lost in her thoughts to care anymore.
Suddenly, a noise sounded behind her, a soliatry twig snapping.
Jolted from her thoughts, the girl spun around, a startled gasp escaping from her cold, blue lips. Her honey eyes widened as Hermione Granger came face to face with the last person she would have ever expected
"Draco!" Hermione exclaimed, neglecting to hide her surprise. She quickly wiped away the tears trickling down upon her soft skin.
"He...Herm...Hermione? We're not supposed to be here at this time of night."
"Then what are you doing here?" she asked.
Draco shifted his weight on each foot uncomfortably. "I was just...just going for a walk."
"Oh?"
Draco sat down beside Hermione, and carefully placed his long, black cloak over top of her. "You know, a midnight stroll, to think about what happened during the day."
"Really...well, so was I," she paused, and looked over at Draco. It was dark, but there was still enough light to notice a hint of sadness and pain hidden behind his mysterious grey eyes.
"I come here sometimes when I'm upset, I look up at the stars and wish I could be one of them...away from everything, everyone..." he stopped suddenly, unsure of what to say next. Why was he telling her this? If Crabbe and Goyle were here they would be laughing their selves silly at the sight of Draco Malfoy acting all sensitive.
"I know how you feel, school is so overwhelming, and Ron is mad at me again..." Hermione's voice trailed off, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks...
"Don't cry you look so pretty when you smile."
Hermione looked up in astonishment. Had she heard him correctly? Was this the guy who she had been enemies with since her first year at Hogwarts? Hermione thought back to all the arguments she had had with Draco, how he had insulted her, Harry, and Ron, and the countless times he had called her "mudblood". This newfound kindness and sensitivity was definitely shocking.
"Oh, thank you..."
Draco's cheeks reddened; he hadn't meant to say that aloud, the words just came out. His face was glowing with embarrassment as him and Hermione sat there in silence.
The grass was coated in shimmering snow, and frozen dew drops from earlier that morning. The trees swayed, and the gentle winter breeze echoed softly through out. Yet another visitor soon interrupted the peaceful tranquility...
"...I know it was here somewhere...i must find it...the nightmares cannot be turned into reality..." Professor T. stops suddenly and stares at Hermione and Draco,"Oh, what are you two doing here?...I mean Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, shame on you both for being out so late. Back to your common rooms this instant! ...and detention everyday for a whole week cleaning my teacups, and crystal balls!"
The person walked right past Hermione and Draco muttering "I know it was here somewhere...I must find it! If I dont the nightmares could be turned into reality!"
"What is Professor Trelawney doing out here?" Hermione whispered aloud.
"What are you two doing out at this time of night? Get back to your common rooms this instant! Both of you have detention everyday this week cleaning my tea cups and crystal balls!" She exclaimed. "I have to do something, I expect you can get to your common rooms without being escourted." she said before storming off muttering again.
"What's got her in such an uptight mood" Draco asked Hermione.
"I'm not sure, she was looking for something and it seemed important. We should probably head back to the castle before she comes back." Hermione told Draco.
"Good idea, I don't have time for detention in the first place and if she catches us here she will probably double the time."raco said.
As they went to the castle Hermione looked up at the stars as Draco looked down at his feet.
"They are so beautiful." Hermione whispered. Draco looked up as well.
"Tonight would be a great night for star gazing, not a single cloud in the sky." He told her.
As they got to the door they stoped and took one last look at the stars before going inside.
"Well this is where we seperate, here is your cloak." She said while handing him his cloak.
"Thanks," he said, "See you tomorrow?"
"Yep, bye." she said.
...After all her classes, Hermione made her way to the Divination classroom for her detention. The seventh long staircase to the North Tower was quite a climb. Tired and exhausted, she reached the last step. A circular trap door opened, revealing a silvery ladder. She made her way up, and when she made it to the top of the ladder Hermione stepped into a strange-looking classroom. The room was comfortably warm, and a mysterious mist travelled throughout the classroom. There was a dim, crimson light from the many lamps, draped with dark red scraves. Her gaze turned to the countless silvery crystal balls and teacups...
"We have a lot of cleaning to do, don't we?"
Hermione quickly turned around to see Draco behind her. "Oh, I didn't see you when I came in!"
"Haha, that's OK, we'd better get started then eh?" Draco found a piece of clothe and began to polish one of the many tea cups...
Professor Trelawney came up to the ladder. "Okay good you are here on time and cleaning. That is what I expect out of two young people like yourselves!" She said to Hermione and Draco.
..."I want everything spotless, and as you know, no magic! Consider yourselves lucky that this is to be finished Friday and not today! I will be back in an hour to dismiss both of you, but only if you continue to do a good job."
At that, Professor Trelawney left the room.
Draco grinned, "Finally. I was beginning to think she'd rather stay here and scold us the whole time."
"Yeah. I bet she'd like to, but unfortunalty she has other matters to attend to," Hermione said sarcastically.
"She was mumbling something last night...something about dreams...she said she must not let the dreams become reality..."
"o you think she predicted something would happen? She needed to find something...something near the Forbidden Forest maybe?"
"Yeah, maybe," Draco replied, "Athough usually her predictions are a bunch of rubbish. She said I would brake my ankle a few weeks ago and that never happened, what a phony."
"Actually, she has already made two real predictions...this could be her third..."
All right then...so now they've begun to discuss Professor Trelawney's secret. I was thinking they could talk a bit longer, about other things too, and then they would be dismissed...Draco and Hermione could make their ways back to there common rooms...and suddenly they would bump into Crabbe and Goyle. Draco would go back to acting like his normal self and call Hermione a "mudblood" and all that...not sure yet on how Hermione would react to this...
Draco looked confused for a moment and then, "Oh, yeah, I remember what you are talking about!" he said quickly while grabbing another tea cup off the shelf to clean.
"Yes, those."Hermione said.
They heard a crash,the sound of glass breaking, loud and shrill.
"raco!"Hermione said louldy. "Repairo! You need to be careful, she probably didn't want any of the teacups to break, even if we can fix it."
"Sorry!"he said sarcastically."Wait, those? I only remember the one about the Prophecy. What was the other one?" He asked, again looking confused.
"The Dark Lord coming back one night and he did, no one believes us though!" She said aggervated. "Only Dumbledore does. What so you think this prediction of hers is about?"Hermione asked while grabbing another dusty cup off the shelf.
"I'm not sure and I don't think we should worry about that rubbish anyways." Draco said while putting down his cloth and sitting on one of the little pouf chairs.
Hermione went to Draco. "Get up, we have to clean!"
"I don't want to clean anymore!" He whined.
"Would you rather clean even more next week?" Hermione told him with a smile on her face.
"Fine, I'm up!" Draco said as he grabbed his cloth off the table. "How about I take the crystal balls and you take the teacups" Draco said hopefully.
"No, we will split the work, besides, the crystal balls are easier, there is not a handle you have to clean through and all you have to do with the crystal ball is wipe a cloth over it and you are done!"Hermione said.
"You weren't supposed to notice that! I forgot, you are smart." He told her.
"Oh, thats nice, and a first, you are being surprisingly nice today Draco." Hermione said as she ran her cloth over a crystal ball. "Why?"
He smiled." Would you rather me be mean, Granger?"he said while cleaning another dusty teacup.
"No, I like you this way, why aren't you like this in school?"She asked.
There was silence for a moment.
"I have a repuutation to cover, but as long as it is just you and I, I'll be nice. You are acting nice to me, I guess it's Potter and Weasly who make you evil. Why do you hang out with them?"
"Because they are my friends, some of the first people to accept me for a smart person. You were only rude, calling me 'mudblood' that really hurts people when you do that."
"Okay thats their problem-"he said before he was cut off.
"There you go again, try to act at least human in school, treat others how they want to be treated. I know this sounds like something a mother who say to their kid but try it, maybe people from other houses wont hate you." Hermione told him, looking him right in the eyes.
Usually his eyes didn't show any emotion but now, they look like they are actually processing things and like almost like he cares.
"We will see about that, wont we?"he said.
Just then they heard Professor Trelawney come up the ladder.
"You seem to have cleaned dilagently enough, you can leave 15 minutes early." She told the two students.
"Thanks" they mumbled together.
Hermione was first to step down the ladder, and Draco followed.
*********************************************
They didn't talk much about the prediction thingy and it didn't seem like all that took up 45 minutes but oh well!
As for the talk Hermione had with Draco about the be nice thing, I really think he need to hear that, he is really rude in the books!
...after decending the long staircase Hermione and Draco headed off to their common rooms. They were both very relieved to have finished their first day of torture in the divination room. Now just six more days and all the work would be done.
"You won't tell anyone I was nice to you will you Hermione?"
"No, don't worry, your secrets safe with me," Hermione said smiling. At that, she gave him a wink and then turned the oppisite direction to the gryffindor common room. As soon as she turned the corner she heard the voices of Crabbe and Goyle..."id we just see you with that filthy mudblood?"..."Yeah, you were walking with her, what's with that?"...
"Oh...umm...
yeah, well I have detention with her and she demanded that I escort her back to her common room afterwards, pretty stupid eh? Man, was she getting annoying or what, I don't think I'll be able to stand the next six days of detention with her."
Crabbe and Goyle laughed and added, "You should of left her to find her way by herself. If she's so smart why doesn't she get there on her own?"
Hermione heard the door to the slytherin common room open as Draco, Crabbe and Goyle stepped in. The door then closed rather quickly and the hallway was once again completely silent.
She should have expected something like that to happen. Draco would never be able to admit to his friends that he had actually been nice for once and that he was capable of doing so. Yet, even so, his comments still hurt, and Hermione wished he wouldn't say such things. Maybe, just maybe someday he would unveil his dark side to show what's really beneath it.
Hermione walked to the Fat Lady and whispered the password. When she came in she saw Ron and Harry sitting at the fire, their normal talking spot. Hermione pulled another chair up to the table and sat in the seat. Ron and Harry stopped talking very suddenly. they were probably talking about me Hermione thought in her head. See the thing about Hermione was that she didn't have much self-confidence.
She smiled, "What have you two been up to?" she asked sweetly.
They looked at each other nervously, "Nothing" they stammered as they looked from Hermione to each other.
"Okay, well I want to get to bed, I have a test in Arithmacey tomorrow and I want to get a good night's sleep." Hermione said, adding a yawn. She walked up he staircase on the right side, opened the door and slid right through it.
The next day during detention Hermione was quite reserved. She wasn't saying as much as usual and neither was Draco, so the hours they spent cleaning crystal balls and tea cups seemed to be going by very slowly.
After an hour and fourty-five minutes Draco was the first to say something, "Are you all right? I feel like I'm boring you to death."
"No, I'm fine." Hermione decided it was best not to bring up the conversation he had had with Crabbe and Goyle the other day.
Draco eyed Hermione curiously, "You know, I wish I knew what you were thinking right now. You have the same expression from the two nights ago. That night when I saw you sitting there outside by the Forbidden Forest."
"No really, I'm fine."
"Sure, sure. Somethings definitly bothering you though, but if you don't want to talk about it that's all right. Anyways, it's time to go, we've been here for 2 hours."
Draco then left the room, leaving Hermione all alone. She decided to stay a bit longer and clean the crystal balls, seens how they were easier to clean, and if she got more work done today it meant less work for tomorrow. Carefully Hermione reached for another crystal ball from the shelf and began to clean. However as she was cleaning it, it began to glow. First it turned a brilliant yellow, then an envious green, then a distant blue... Surprised Hermione put the crystal ball down and backed away from it. She watched as the colours switched from one to another, until a troubled Professor Trelawny stumbled into the room. "Good gracous! What is going on?" Professor Trelawny quickly snatched the crystal ball off the ground. "I'm sure you've done a good enough job for today child, you are dismissed." After glancing curiously at the scene once more, Hermione left the room...
********************************************
Harry and Ron were sitting down by the fire place chatting, just like the other day.
"Hey Hermione," Harry shouted from across the room, "Come join us."
Hermione walked over and sat down beside them. She was still quite confused about the situation, and was debating whether or not to tell Harry and Ron about what happened...
Hermione walked across the room towards Harry and Ron. They seemed perfectly normal now, not like yesterday.
"Hey Hermione, how was your detention with Malfoy?" Harry asked her.
"Yeah, does he make you do all the cleaning?" Ron added.
She sat down by the warm fire. "It wasn't horrible, it was longer than before and it was really quiet. Of course Draco helped clean! He knows he would have gotten in more trouble if he didn't."
"Like he cares if he gets in more trouble! What did you say?" Ron said with a curious look on his face.
"What are you talking about?" She asked. She knew what he was talking about ut she didn't want them to know that she called him by his name. She didn't want them to know that Draco was being nice to her and she didn't want them to know her darkest deepest secret...
"When you said...nevermind, I was probably hearing things." Ron said.
"Yea that's probably it. Well I'm tired after all that cleaning, I want to get to bed, okay." Hermione said before getting up and going up the girls stairs. She was the only person in her dormintory Good, I won't have to deal with Lavender and Parvarti laughing and telling the gossip they found out about today. She changed into her pajamas and closed the curtains on her four-poster before she drifted off to sleep.
Hermione woke up with a jump start, Parvarti screamed. Then she heard Lavender try to hush her.
"I'm up, I'm up!" she mumbled through the mess of her hair that was strewn all across her face.
"Good, we didn't want to wake you but breakfast ends in less than a half hour." Parvarti said through a red and giggly face.
"WHAT!" Hermione screamed, "why didnt you wake me? I need to get to Care for magical creatures a little early to talk to Hagrid."
SHe jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom with her toothbrush and an extra pair of clothes in hand, mumbling with every step she took. SHe brushed her teeth and jumped in the shower. She took the fastest shower she could, got dressed and ran back to her room. She ran a brush through her hair and got her hair in a messy ponytail, she could fix it once she got to Hagrid's. She ran down to the Great Hall and ate a piece of toast before Harry or Ron could talk to her and slow her down. As she was passing the lake, she saw Draco sitting there, at the stop they met that night. She could tell he needed someone to talk to, even if he didn't want anyone to see them getting along in public.
"She walked over to him, "Hey, are you ok, you look sorta out of it here."
"What? Oh yeah, I'm fine." He told her.
"Are you sure? You don't need to talk about anything? I can listen." SHe reassured him.
"Well, no, i don't want to talk to you about it, maybe later."
"Okay, I'm just looking out for you."
Crabbe and Goyle started to walk over to where they were. "Leave me alone you stupid mudblood, why are you bothering me?" Draco said suddenly, "Lets go." he added to the other two.
Hermione just rolled her eyes,How dumb,he changes from out of the world to i hate the world in two seconds! He is worse than a girl! She walked down to Hagrids hut.
*Knock knock knock*
The door opened, "Ay Hermione, you are here early." Hagrid greeted her inside.
"Yea, I wanted to talk to you about something, but I forgot what it was, I have already had a long morning." Hermione said with a sigh. "Can I just stay here until class starts? By the time I get to the castle, I willl have to turn around to come back."
"Of course, would you like a rock cake?" He asked while going towards his oven.
"No thats okay, I have to redo my hair, I was in a rush to get here this morning." Hermione said as she pulled a foldable brush out of her robes. She yanked the hairtie out of her hair and onto the table. After a minute of careful brushing, her hair was in her usual perfect ponytail. She pulled the hair out of the brush to throw away. "Aww, it is a piece of Rebacca's hair! I miss her soo much!"Hermione whined.
"Who is Rebecca?" Hagrid asked curiously.
"Oh, that is my sister, she is 4 years old right now, she likes to play dress up with my brush and clothes and things like that, they are usually my things she steals."
"Oh, do you think she will be here in a couple years?" Hagrid asked her.
"Yes, I don't know if I showed off as much magic as her when I was her age, but she can open my locked door and all these other freaky things." Hermione said with a look of almost jealousy.
"We should probably get outside, people should start arriving soon." Hagrid said as he looked at his clock on the wall.
"Yea, lets go." Hermione said as she headed towards the door.
*after all the classes*
Hermione headed towards the Divination room for the third time this week. She heard footsteps behind her but she didn't want him to think that she need to know what was bugging him. She climbed up the ladder and into the room. She looked towards the pantries of teacups they had to clean. They finished the first two already and they had 2 more to do. PLus one more cabnient of crystal balls, but they were easy to clean, they probably only needed one day to finish. SHe grabbed her cloth from out of the second pantry of teacups and opened the third. Draco walked quietly into the room, he still seemed away from it all, just like earlier.
"Are you going to tell me what's wrong or do I have to beg, I'm just trying to help you!" Hermione said.
"It sounds so stupid, even in my head, I really don't know why it is bugging me so much." He said with a depressed look on his face/
"What is it, maybe I can help?" SHe asked again, greatful that he told her that much.
"Pansy and I have been going out for almost a year now and I really liked her,she was nice, pretty and always brought a smile to my face, we broke up last night." He said looking at the ground, "See, I told you it was dumb."
"It isn't dumb that you are depressed over looking someone you really liked, why did you break up?" Hermione asked, hoping that why would help her make him better.
"I'm not sure, she broke up with me, she seemed angry at me for some reason." He said.
"Oh, well maybe if you talk to her, you can find out what is wrong and try to make it better." Hermione said wishing that her advice would help, she hated to see him soo down, even if they weren't supposed to get along in public.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A lone figure sat beside the frozen lake, wrapped tightly in her cloak and scarf, her long, curly hair flowing down her back like a waterfall. She stared out into the gloomy darkness of the Hogwarts grounds, numb and shivering but too lost in her thoughts to care anymore.
Suddenly, a noise sounded behind her, a soliatry twig snapping.
Jolted from her thoughts, the girl spun around, a startled gasp escaping from her cold, blue lips. Her honey eyes widened as Hermione Granger came face to face with the last person she would have ever expected
"Draco!" Hermione exclaimed, neglecting to hide her surprise. She quickly wiped away the tears trickling down upon her soft skin.
"He...Herm...Hermione? We're not supposed to be here at this time of night."
"Then what are you doing here?" she asked.
Draco shifted his weight on each foot uncomfortably. "I was just...just going for a walk."
"Oh?"
Draco sat down beside Hermione, and carefully placed his long, black cloak over top of her. "You know, a midnight stroll, to think about what happened during the day."
"Really...well, so was I," she paused, and looked over at Draco. It was dark, but there was still enough light to notice a hint of sadness and pain hidden behind his mysterious grey eyes.
"I come here sometimes when I'm upset, I look up at the stars and wish I could be one of them...away from everything, everyone..." he stopped suddenly, unsure of what to say next. Why was he telling her this? If Crabbe and Goyle were here they would be laughing their selves silly at the sight of Draco Malfoy acting all sensitive.
"I know how you feel, school is so overwhelming, and Ron is mad at me again..." Hermione's voice trailed off, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks...
"Don't cry you look so pretty when you smile."
Hermione looked up in astonishment. Had she heard him correctly? Was this the guy who she had been enemies with since her first year at Hogwarts? Hermione thought back to all the arguments she had had with Draco, how he had insulted her, Harry, and Ron, and the countless times he had called her "mudblood". This newfound kindness and sensitivity was definitely shocking.
"Oh, thank you..."
Draco's cheeks reddened; he hadn't meant to say that aloud, the words just came out. His face was glowing with embarrassment as him and Hermione sat there in silence.
The grass was coated in shimmering snow, and frozen dew drops from earlier that morning. The trees swayed, and the gentle winter breeze echoed softly through out. Yet another visitor soon interrupted the peaceful tranquility...
"...I know it was here somewhere...i must find it...the nightmares cannot be turned into reality..." Professor T. stops suddenly and stares at Hermione and Draco,"Oh, what are you two doing here?...I mean Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, shame on you both for being out so late. Back to your common rooms this instant! ...and detention everyday for a whole week cleaning my teacups, and crystal balls!"
The person walked right past Hermione and Draco muttering "I know it was here somewhere...I must find it! If I dont the nightmares could be turned into reality!"
"What is Professor Trelawney doing out here?" Hermione whispered aloud.
"What are you two doing out at this time of night? Get back to your common rooms this instant! Both of you have detention everyday this week cleaning my tea cups and crystal balls!" She exclaimed. "I have to do something, I expect you can get to your common rooms without being escourted." she said before storming off muttering again.
"What's got her in such an uptight mood" Draco asked Hermione.
"I'm not sure, she was looking for something and it seemed important. We should probably head back to the castle before she comes back." Hermione told Draco.
"Good idea, I don't have time for detention in the first place and if she catches us here she will probably double the time."raco said.
As they went to the castle Hermione looked up at the stars as Draco looked down at his feet.
"They are so beautiful." Hermione whispered. Draco looked up as well.
"Tonight would be a great night for star gazing, not a single cloud in the sky." He told her.
As they got to the door they stoped and took one last look at the stars before going inside.
"Well this is where we seperate, here is your cloak." She said while handing him his cloak.
"Thanks," he said, "See you tomorrow?"
"Yep, bye." she said.
...After all her classes, Hermione made her way to the Divination classroom for her detention. The seventh long staircase to the North Tower was quite a climb. Tired and exhausted, she reached the last step. A circular trap door opened, revealing a silvery ladder. She made her way up, and when she made it to the top of the ladder Hermione stepped into a strange-looking classroom. The room was comfortably warm, and a mysterious mist travelled throughout the classroom. There was a dim, crimson light from the many lamps, draped with dark red scraves. Her gaze turned to the countless silvery crystal balls and teacups...
"We have a lot of cleaning to do, don't we?"
Hermione quickly turned around to see Draco behind her. "Oh, I didn't see you when I came in!"
"Haha, that's OK, we'd better get started then eh?" Draco found a piece of clothe and began to polish one of the many tea cups...
Professor Trelawney came up to the ladder. "Okay good you are here on time and cleaning. That is what I expect out of two young people like yourselves!" She said to Hermione and Draco.
..."I want everything spotless, and as you know, no magic! Consider yourselves lucky that this is to be finished Friday and not today! I will be back in an hour to dismiss both of you, but only if you continue to do a good job."
At that, Professor Trelawney left the room.
Draco grinned, "Finally. I was beginning to think she'd rather stay here and scold us the whole time."
"Yeah. I bet she'd like to, but unfortunalty she has other matters to attend to," Hermione said sarcastically.
"She was mumbling something last night...something about dreams...she said she must not let the dreams become reality..."
"o you think she predicted something would happen? She needed to find something...something near the Forbidden Forest maybe?"
"Yeah, maybe," Draco replied, "Athough usually her predictions are a bunch of rubbish. She said I would brake my ankle a few weeks ago and that never happened, what a phony."
"Actually, she has already made two real predictions...this could be her third..."
All right then...so now they've begun to discuss Professor Trelawney's secret. I was thinking they could talk a bit longer, about other things too, and then they would be dismissed...Draco and Hermione could make their ways back to there common rooms...and suddenly they would bump into Crabbe and Goyle. Draco would go back to acting like his normal self and call Hermione a "mudblood" and all that...not sure yet on how Hermione would react to this...
Draco looked confused for a moment and then, "Oh, yeah, I remember what you are talking about!" he said quickly while grabbing another tea cup off the shelf to clean.
"Yes, those."Hermione said.
They heard a crash,the sound of glass breaking, loud and shrill.
"raco!"Hermione said louldy. "Repairo! You need to be careful, she probably didn't want any of the teacups to break, even if we can fix it."
"Sorry!"he said sarcastically."Wait, those? I only remember the one about the Prophecy. What was the other one?" He asked, again looking confused.
"The Dark Lord coming back one night and he did, no one believes us though!" She said aggervated. "Only Dumbledore does. What so you think this prediction of hers is about?"Hermione asked while grabbing another dusty cup off the shelf.
"I'm not sure and I don't think we should worry about that rubbish anyways." Draco said while putting down his cloth and sitting on one of the little pouf chairs.
Hermione went to Draco. "Get up, we have to clean!"
"I don't want to clean anymore!" He whined.
"Would you rather clean even more next week?" Hermione told him with a smile on her face.
"Fine, I'm up!" Draco said as he grabbed his cloth off the table. "How about I take the crystal balls and you take the teacups" Draco said hopefully.
"No, we will split the work, besides, the crystal balls are easier, there is not a handle you have to clean through and all you have to do with the crystal ball is wipe a cloth over it and you are done!"Hermione said.
"You weren't supposed to notice that! I forgot, you are smart." He told her.
"Oh, thats nice, and a first, you are being surprisingly nice today Draco." Hermione said as she ran her cloth over a crystal ball. "Why?"
He smiled." Would you rather me be mean, Granger?"he said while cleaning another dusty teacup.
"No, I like you this way, why aren't you like this in school?"She asked.
There was silence for a moment.
"I have a repuutation to cover, but as long as it is just you and I, I'll be nice. You are acting nice to me, I guess it's Potter and Weasly who make you evil. Why do you hang out with them?"
"Because they are my friends, some of the first people to accept me for a smart person. You were only rude, calling me 'mudblood' that really hurts people when you do that."
"Okay thats their problem-"he said before he was cut off.
"There you go again, try to act at least human in school, treat others how they want to be treated. I know this sounds like something a mother who say to their kid but try it, maybe people from other houses wont hate you." Hermione told him, looking him right in the eyes.
Usually his eyes didn't show any emotion but now, they look like they are actually processing things and like almost like he cares.
"We will see about that, wont we?"he said.
Just then they heard Professor Trelawney come up the ladder.
"You seem to have cleaned dilagently enough, you can leave 15 minutes early." She told the two students.
"Thanks" they mumbled together.
Hermione was first to step down the ladder, and Draco followed.
*********************************************
They didn't talk much about the prediction thingy and it didn't seem like all that took up 45 minutes but oh well!
As for the talk Hermione had with Draco about the be nice thing, I really think he need to hear that, he is really rude in the books!
...after decending the long staircase Hermione and Draco headed off to their common rooms. They were both very relieved to have finished their first day of torture in the divination room. Now just six more days and all the work would be done.
"You won't tell anyone I was nice to you will you Hermione?"
"No, don't worry, your secrets safe with me," Hermione said smiling. At that, she gave him a wink and then turned the oppisite direction to the gryffindor common room. As soon as she turned the corner she heard the voices of Crabbe and Goyle..."id we just see you with that filthy mudblood?"..."Yeah, you were walking with her, what's with that?"...
"Oh...umm...
yeah, well I have detention with her and she demanded that I escort her back to her common room afterwards, pretty stupid eh? Man, was she getting annoying or what, I don't think I'll be able to stand the next six days of detention with her."
Crabbe and Goyle laughed and added, "You should of left her to find her way by herself. If she's so smart why doesn't she get there on her own?"
Hermione heard the door to the slytherin common room open as Draco, Crabbe and Goyle stepped in. The door then closed rather quickly and the hallway was once again completely silent.
She should have expected something like that to happen. Draco would never be able to admit to his friends that he had actually been nice for once and that he was capable of doing so. Yet, even so, his comments still hurt, and Hermione wished he wouldn't say such things. Maybe, just maybe someday he would unveil his dark side to show what's really beneath it.
Hermione walked to the Fat Lady and whispered the password. When she came in she saw Ron and Harry sitting at the fire, their normal talking spot. Hermione pulled another chair up to the table and sat in the seat. Ron and Harry stopped talking very suddenly. they were probably talking about me Hermione thought in her head. See the thing about Hermione was that she didn't have much self-confidence.
She smiled, "What have you two been up to?" she asked sweetly.
They looked at each other nervously, "Nothing" they stammered as they looked from Hermione to each other.
"Okay, well I want to get to bed, I have a test in Arithmacey tomorrow and I want to get a good night's sleep." Hermione said, adding a yawn. She walked up he staircase on the right side, opened the door and slid right through it.
The next day during detention Hermione was quite reserved. She wasn't saying as much as usual and neither was Draco, so the hours they spent cleaning crystal balls and tea cups seemed to be going by very slowly.
After an hour and fourty-five minutes Draco was the first to say something, "Are you all right? I feel like I'm boring you to death."
"No, I'm fine." Hermione decided it was best not to bring up the conversation he had had with Crabbe and Goyle the other day.
Draco eyed Hermione curiously, "You know, I wish I knew what you were thinking right now. You have the same expression from the two nights ago. That night when I saw you sitting there outside by the Forbidden Forest."
"No really, I'm fine."
"Sure, sure. Somethings definitly bothering you though, but if you don't want to talk about it that's all right. Anyways, it's time to go, we've been here for 2 hours."
Draco then left the room, leaving Hermione all alone. She decided to stay a bit longer and clean the crystal balls, seens how they were easier to clean, and if she got more work done today it meant less work for tomorrow. Carefully Hermione reached for another crystal ball from the shelf and began to clean. However as she was cleaning it, it began to glow. First it turned a brilliant yellow, then an envious green, then a distant blue... Surprised Hermione put the crystal ball down and backed away from it. She watched as the colours switched from one to another, until a troubled Professor Trelawny stumbled into the room. "Good gracous! What is going on?" Professor Trelawny quickly snatched the crystal ball off the ground. "I'm sure you've done a good enough job for today child, you are dismissed." After glancing curiously at the scene once more, Hermione left the room...
********************************************
Harry and Ron were sitting down by the fire place chatting, just like the other day.
"Hey Hermione," Harry shouted from across the room, "Come join us."
Hermione walked over and sat down beside them. She was still quite confused about the situation, and was debating whether or not to tell Harry and Ron about what happened...
Hermione walked across the room towards Harry and Ron. They seemed perfectly normal now, not like yesterday.
"Hey Hermione, how was your detention with Malfoy?" Harry asked her.
"Yeah, does he make you do all the cleaning?" Ron added.
She sat down by the warm fire. "It wasn't horrible, it was longer than before and it was really quiet. Of course Draco helped clean! He knows he would have gotten in more trouble if he didn't."
"Like he cares if he gets in more trouble! What did you say?" Ron said with a curious look on his face.
"What are you talking about?" She asked. She knew what he was talking about ut she didn't want them to know that she called him by his name. She didn't want them to know that Draco was being nice to her and she didn't want them to know her darkest deepest secret...
"When you said...nevermind, I was probably hearing things." Ron said.
"Yea that's probably it. Well I'm tired after all that cleaning, I want to get to bed, okay." Hermione said before getting up and going up the girls stairs. She was the only person in her dormintory Good, I won't have to deal with Lavender and Parvarti laughing and telling the gossip they found out about today. She changed into her pajamas and closed the curtains on her four-poster before she drifted off to sleep.
Hermione woke up with a jump start, Parvarti screamed. Then she heard Lavender try to hush her.
"I'm up, I'm up!" she mumbled through the mess of her hair that was strewn all across her face.
"Good, we didn't want to wake you but breakfast ends in less than a half hour." Parvarti said through a red and giggly face.
"WHAT!" Hermione screamed, "why didnt you wake me? I need to get to Care for magical creatures a little early to talk to Hagrid."
SHe jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom with her toothbrush and an extra pair of clothes in hand, mumbling with every step she took. SHe brushed her teeth and jumped in the shower. She took the fastest shower she could, got dressed and ran back to her room. She ran a brush through her hair and got her hair in a messy ponytail, she could fix it once she got to Hagrid's. She ran down to the Great Hall and ate a piece of toast before Harry or Ron could talk to her and slow her down. As she was passing the lake, she saw Draco sitting there, at the stop they met that night. She could tell he needed someone to talk to, even if he didn't want anyone to see them getting along in public.
"She walked over to him, "Hey, are you ok, you look sorta out of it here."
"What? Oh yeah, I'm fine." He told her.
"Are you sure? You don't need to talk about anything? I can listen." SHe reassured him.
"Well, no, i don't want to talk to you about it, maybe later."
"Okay, I'm just looking out for you."
Crabbe and Goyle started to walk over to where they were. "Leave me alone you stupid mudblood, why are you bothering me?" Draco said suddenly, "Lets go." he added to the other two.
Hermione just rolled her eyes,How dumb,he changes from out of the world to i hate the world in two seconds! He is worse than a girl! She walked down to Hagrids hut.
*Knock knock knock*
The door opened, "Ay Hermione, you are here early." Hagrid greeted her inside.
"Yea, I wanted to talk to you about something, but I forgot what it was, I have already had a long morning." Hermione said with a sigh. "Can I just stay here until class starts? By the time I get to the castle, I willl have to turn around to come back."
"Of course, would you like a rock cake?" He asked while going towards his oven.
"No thats okay, I have to redo my hair, I was in a rush to get here this morning." Hermione said as she pulled a foldable brush out of her robes. She yanked the hairtie out of her hair and onto the table. After a minute of careful brushing, her hair was in her usual perfect ponytail. She pulled the hair out of the brush to throw away. "Aww, it is a piece of Rebacca's hair! I miss her soo much!"Hermione whined.
"Who is Rebecca?" Hagrid asked curiously.
"Oh, that is my sister, she is 4 years old right now, she likes to play dress up with my brush and clothes and things like that, they are usually my things she steals."
"Oh, do you think she will be here in a couple years?" Hagrid asked her.
"Yes, I don't know if I showed off as much magic as her when I was her age, but she can open my locked door and all these other freaky things." Hermione said with a look of almost jealousy.
"We should probably get outside, people should start arriving soon." Hagrid said as he looked at his clock on the wall.
"Yea, lets go." Hermione said as she headed towards the door.
*after all the classes*
Hermione headed towards the Divination room for the third time this week. She heard footsteps behind her but she didn't want him to think that she need to know what was bugging him. She climbed up the ladder and into the room. She looked towards the pantries of teacups they had to clean. They finished the first two already and they had 2 more to do. PLus one more cabnient of crystal balls, but they were easy to clean, they probably only needed one day to finish. SHe grabbed her cloth from out of the second pantry of teacups and opened the third. Draco walked quietly into the room, he still seemed away from it all, just like earlier.
"Are you going to tell me what's wrong or do I have to beg, I'm just trying to help you!" Hermione said.
"It sounds so stupid, even in my head, I really don't know why it is bugging me so much." He said with a depressed look on his face/
"What is it, maybe I can help?" SHe asked again, greatful that he told her that much.
"Pansy and I have been going out for almost a year now and I really liked her,she was nice, pretty and always brought a smile to my face, we broke up last night." He said looking at the ground, "See, I told you it was dumb."
"It isn't dumb that you are depressed over looking someone you really liked, why did you break up?" Hermione asked, hoping that why would help her make him better.
"I'm not sure, she broke up with me, she seemed angry at me for some reason." He said.
"Oh, well maybe if you talk to her, you can find out what is wrong and try to make it better." Hermione said wishing that her advice would help, she hated to see him soo down, even if they weren't supposed to get along in public.
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