Part 4 - Sweet as Sugar
Whew. That went well. Relatively. Sort of . Okay , it went horribly. Look on the bright side , though. At least Snape didn't explode ; Draco thought he was going to. Who does she think she is ? Coming in here , and on the first day , creating such a ruckus ? Man , she was even worse than Draco remembered her. And all things considered , that was bad. With a capital B. Typical. This always has to happen to me. Always , Draco thought miserably.
"Hermione ?"
'Yeah ?"
"Are you alright ?"
"Yeah , Cecily. I'm fine. Why ?"
"Just wondering... You seem , how you say , preoccupied ?"
"Yeah. I've been a bit , well , off today."
"Quite understandable."
"Huh ?" Hermione was confused.
"Well , all in one day , you gained the affections of the mysterious and cold Mr. Malfoy , and you lost the friendship of the polite and kind , yet boring Mr. Potter."
"Harry ? BORING ? What are you smoking ? Harry may be a lot of things but boring he's -." And then Hermione remembered that she wasn't supposed to be defending Harry , and shut her mouth. "And what do you mean ? Gained the affections of Draco ? The only affection I have got from him is the cold shoulder."
Cecily grinned at her. A sly , cattish grin that took Hermione by surprise , for some reason. She looked so much like Sirius when she did that ...
"Because , dahling , I saw Mr. Draco looking at you today."
"Your point ?"
"It was not the look of someone devoured by hate. It was the look of someone in love !" She said dreamily , and Hermione was reminded , sickeningly , of Prof. Trelawny.
'Draco is NOT in love with me !" Hermione said , feeling herself redden.
"Sure , honey. Anyway , on the subject of Draco , I must warn you."
"About what ? His father ? I know about that already ."
"No. You must not let yourself fall in love with him. He is not the dashing , aloof person he seems to be. Do not let appearances deceive. He is not what he appears."
"And I should believe you ... why ?"
If Cecily was put out by this , she didn't show it.
"You need not trust me. You may not wish to. You may not wish to see what you do not want to . But ... someday , you may wish you had. Someday ... you may look back , and wish ... but things can never be put right ... unless you stop them now... unless..."
Hermione was getting scared. Cecily was spacing out right before her very eyes. But things can never be put right ... unless you stop them now ...
Ugh. She hated Divinators. But ... Cecily was just playing a trick , right ?
But when she looked at the girl , later on , she couldn't help but feel a strange sense of foreboding ... and a twinge in her stomach that she was pretty sure had nothing to do with nerves , or fear. Surely , of course , she couldn't be , falling in love ? Could she ?
"Harry ?"
"Ugh."
"Why do you hate Hermione ?"
"Ugh."
"That's not an answer."
"Ugh."
"Seriously. Why ? Normally , Mr. I- am - so - cool - I -have- no- emotions Potter wouldn't have blown up so badly at the fact she was hanging out with someone else."
"Ugh."
"Harry ! Answer me !"
"Fine. You know what ? I - I - ..." He didn't say anything.
"Harry ? Come on. You , you what ?"
"I - It's so hard because - I can't deal with this because ..."
"YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH HER !"
"No I'm not."
"Yes you are. Smooth Harry. Real smooth. Now you haven't got a chance in hell."
Harry groaned and buried his face in his pillow. True , he had been in love with Hermione , but now ... things were different. He was beginning to think he was falling , and falling hard , for Cecily.
The next day , in Potions , the class was noticeably subdued , waiting for Snape to arrive. He walked into class with an abnormally straight mouth
( It was usually sneering ) , and a tense air about him.
"Open your books." He said , almost croaking.
They all did , silently , waiting for something to happen.
"Today , we will be mixing ingredients for our Draught of the Living Dead.
We will be working in pairs , which I will assign. The pairs will be Crabbe and Goyle , Finnigan and Thomas , Potter and Cassiopeia , Weasley and Patil , Brown and Longbottom , Bulstrode and Xavier , Malfoy and Granger."
Hermione groaned. So typical. The day she worries she is falling in love with a guy she doesn't want to , she gets paired with him.
Draco had moved his cauldron over to where she was. She sat with her head down , skinning the shrivelfigs . Draco sat on the other side of her , preparing the water and dragon blood concoction. She stuck out her hand to drop the shrivelfigs in , one at a time , when Draco grabbed her hand.
"Don't."
"Why ?" She asked peevishly.
"Because you'll melt the cauldron , that's why !"
"Oh." Hermione looked at the instructions again. He had been right.
God what was happening to her ?
AN - I know this was sort of pointless , but ... what can ya do ?
Whew. That went well. Relatively. Sort of . Okay , it went horribly. Look on the bright side , though. At least Snape didn't explode ; Draco thought he was going to. Who does she think she is ? Coming in here , and on the first day , creating such a ruckus ? Man , she was even worse than Draco remembered her. And all things considered , that was bad. With a capital B. Typical. This always has to happen to me. Always , Draco thought miserably.
"Hermione ?"
'Yeah ?"
"Are you alright ?"
"Yeah , Cecily. I'm fine. Why ?"
"Just wondering... You seem , how you say , preoccupied ?"
"Yeah. I've been a bit , well , off today."
"Quite understandable."
"Huh ?" Hermione was confused.
"Well , all in one day , you gained the affections of the mysterious and cold Mr. Malfoy , and you lost the friendship of the polite and kind , yet boring Mr. Potter."
"Harry ? BORING ? What are you smoking ? Harry may be a lot of things but boring he's -." And then Hermione remembered that she wasn't supposed to be defending Harry , and shut her mouth. "And what do you mean ? Gained the affections of Draco ? The only affection I have got from him is the cold shoulder."
Cecily grinned at her. A sly , cattish grin that took Hermione by surprise , for some reason. She looked so much like Sirius when she did that ...
"Because , dahling , I saw Mr. Draco looking at you today."
"Your point ?"
"It was not the look of someone devoured by hate. It was the look of someone in love !" She said dreamily , and Hermione was reminded , sickeningly , of Prof. Trelawny.
'Draco is NOT in love with me !" Hermione said , feeling herself redden.
"Sure , honey. Anyway , on the subject of Draco , I must warn you."
"About what ? His father ? I know about that already ."
"No. You must not let yourself fall in love with him. He is not the dashing , aloof person he seems to be. Do not let appearances deceive. He is not what he appears."
"And I should believe you ... why ?"
If Cecily was put out by this , she didn't show it.
"You need not trust me. You may not wish to. You may not wish to see what you do not want to . But ... someday , you may wish you had. Someday ... you may look back , and wish ... but things can never be put right ... unless you stop them now... unless..."
Hermione was getting scared. Cecily was spacing out right before her very eyes. But things can never be put right ... unless you stop them now ...
Ugh. She hated Divinators. But ... Cecily was just playing a trick , right ?
But when she looked at the girl , later on , she couldn't help but feel a strange sense of foreboding ... and a twinge in her stomach that she was pretty sure had nothing to do with nerves , or fear. Surely , of course , she couldn't be , falling in love ? Could she ?
"Harry ?"
"Ugh."
"Why do you hate Hermione ?"
"Ugh."
"That's not an answer."
"Ugh."
"Seriously. Why ? Normally , Mr. I- am - so - cool - I -have- no- emotions Potter wouldn't have blown up so badly at the fact she was hanging out with someone else."
"Ugh."
"Harry ! Answer me !"
"Fine. You know what ? I - I - ..." He didn't say anything.
"Harry ? Come on. You , you what ?"
"I - It's so hard because - I can't deal with this because ..."
"YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH HER !"
"No I'm not."
"Yes you are. Smooth Harry. Real smooth. Now you haven't got a chance in hell."
Harry groaned and buried his face in his pillow. True , he had been in love with Hermione , but now ... things were different. He was beginning to think he was falling , and falling hard , for Cecily.
The next day , in Potions , the class was noticeably subdued , waiting for Snape to arrive. He walked into class with an abnormally straight mouth
( It was usually sneering ) , and a tense air about him.
"Open your books." He said , almost croaking.
They all did , silently , waiting for something to happen.
"Today , we will be mixing ingredients for our Draught of the Living Dead.
We will be working in pairs , which I will assign. The pairs will be Crabbe and Goyle , Finnigan and Thomas , Potter and Cassiopeia , Weasley and Patil , Brown and Longbottom , Bulstrode and Xavier , Malfoy and Granger."
Hermione groaned. So typical. The day she worries she is falling in love with a guy she doesn't want to , she gets paired with him.
Draco had moved his cauldron over to where she was. She sat with her head down , skinning the shrivelfigs . Draco sat on the other side of her , preparing the water and dragon blood concoction. She stuck out her hand to drop the shrivelfigs in , one at a time , when Draco grabbed her hand.
"Don't."
"Why ?" She asked peevishly.
"Because you'll melt the cauldron , that's why !"
"Oh." Hermione looked at the instructions again. He had been right.
God what was happening to her ?
AN - I know this was sort of pointless , but ... what can ya do ?