Laura I hope you like it and as for cool kid I haven't had time to review you but your story is great. It s great to find yet another Draco fan yay!! Anyway as you know by now the characters are JK Rowlings and not mine but it is my rather over active imagination that has put them in the position that their in. By the way I know this paragraph is a little cheesy but hay this is a romance what do you expect.



Chapter 5

Hermione was shaken awake by Ginny who was crying loudly muttering something about Lisa Turpin and Mudbloods. Ginny dragged Hermione out of bed and to the Gryffindor common room where a crowd had gathered at the centre of which was Lisa Turpin who was frozen stiff although she looked like she had been set on fire and she had the number one burnt on to her head. Hermione looked around the room as the girls sat crying comforting each other and the boys stood shocked. Harry and Ron pushed their way towards her and they looked in to her eyes to check if she was okay but they said nothing.

Suddenly a dishevelled Professor McGonagall pushed through the crowds leading Dumbledore to Lisa Turpin. "Percy I think you should take everyone from Gryffindor to the Main Hall where you should all find beds so you can gets some more sleep." At that Percy gathered everyone together and started to lead them through the portrait. But Hermione couldn't move, she just stared at Lisa asking her self what could have happened and who could have done this? Suddenly the common room began to fill up with pupils again and a confused Percy entered calling the teachers to the far end of the common room. Hermione pushed through the crowd in time to see on a chair in the corner the common room glistened the words "Mudbloods get out of Hogwarts or be prepared for the consequences." Professor McGonagall turned to Percy "Take everyone to the Main Hall, Percy." Ron and Harry looked at her defiantly. She saw their looks and said "I will address you about the incident in the morning. Talking about it now will only delay us in helping Lisa." They then left the common room with Ron and Harry complaining loudly. No one spoke until the morning when Professor McGonagall informed of them they could return to their rooms. At breakfast Dumbledore told the rest of the school what had happened leaving almost everyone unable to eat the huge breakfast that had been laid out for them. Most of the Slytherins however joked and ate they breakfasts merrily leaving everyone angry and bitter by the time breakfast finished.

They had Dark arts class next with Slytherin and Ron was gearing up for yet another argument with Draco about how everyone acted at breakfast. As they entered the classroom Draco pounced on Ron releasing an enveloping vine on to him causing Ron to fall on to the floor wriggling wildly escape the fast spreading vines. "Hold still Ron I can't wither it if you don't stop moving" as the vines spread to his head she pointed her wand and destroyed the vines. Ron broke through the vines and went for Draco who was laughing loudly but was stopped by the sudden arrival of the man who they had met on the corridor on their first night accompanied by Dumbledore. "Sit down children now this is you new Defence against the dark arts teacher Professor Mercuious. Now he is an old friend of mind so I want you to treat him like you would treat me Okay?" The class nodded and Dumbledore left the classroom shutting the door leaving Hermione feeling as if she was trapped. Professor Mercuious wondered round the Class looking everyone in the eye "You can tell a lot from a person by the way he handles someone looking at them" he said when he had finished walking round "I've got a list of all the things you've done and by the looks of things you are all ready to move on to the really exciting stuff" The class laughed and they instantly took to him, that is except for Hermione who was still feeling uneasy about him. Once he had outlined the things they would be dealing with this year he let them go early from lessons, "And boys lets have no more fighting and Miss Granger five points to Gryffindor for your quick thinking." He said with a knowing smile.

As Dumbledore had decided to go ahead with the Quidditch match Ron and Hermione accompanied Harry down to the pitch for practice, as the match was to be the next day, before they went to lessons. "Mercuious is just great I really like him Fred and George told me he was trying to break the curse on Lisa with the help of Snape" Hermione however was still feeling uneasy but she said nothing. Suddenly she her someone calling her name at the top of the hill Draco stood waving at her she looked at Harry and then started up the hill. "You'd think they'd be big enough by now to stop letting you fight their battles" he said watching as she stared wide eyed at him angrily "I didn't fight their battles I just help friends in trouble!" He laughed "I didn't think I could wind you up so easily after the train, Granger but little did I know." She looked at him and shook her head "Draco!…. so why did you want me?" "No particular reason just I was wondering whether you'd help me with my star charts and I can't understand them could you help me tonight?" he whispered. "Yeah I'll help you meet me up in the observing tower and I'll run you through them." She said smiling; his other Slytherin teammates were now calling him. He looked around and smiled saying "Look I've got to go but you promise you'll meet me later? At eight okay?" She nodded as he walked backwards smiling at her waiting for her answer. When he caught up with his teammates Flint put his arm round him "What's with you and Granger you're getting a bit too cosy for everyone's liking okay?" Flint said subtlety. "What are you trying to say?" said Draco shaking out of flints grip. "I just don't want you to get into trouble because you of all people should know that we don't mix with Gryffindor, Okay? So just remember that… and don't get too close to her alright?" Flint said pointedly. The other Slytherins were harsher on Draco than they would be normally and by the time the game was finished he had bruises all over his body and a black eye. "Hermione's just going to love that black eye Draco it very you mind you she'll probably have on to match or worse when Casey's is through with her," yelled Crabbe and Goyle as the flew over head on their broomsticks paid for by Draco's father.

Hermione had an equally bad afternoon with Casey and the other Slytherin girls casting spell to make her get things wrong in lessons and to make her become deformed in some way. However the spells she could stop but they stuck out their legs to make her trip and they bashed into her in the corridor. Luckily Ron, Diyan and Sharlene rallied round not saying anything about Draco like Harry did. She knew Diyan had spoke to Ron about her and Draco making sure he didn't say anything to her to upset her and Ron being smitten as he was didn't but instead bashed people back and warned her when a leg was stuck out in front of her. So by the time Hermione heard Draco running up the stairs not knowing what had happened to him, she was ready to scream at him. But as a muddy and beaten Draco struggled to run up the last few steps her heart melted. "Jesus! What the hell has happened to you did you fall of you broom?" Draco face was turning a fierce red and he turned to her and yelled, "I didn't fall of my bloody broom you stupid Mudblood. Everyone was beating me with the bludgers because of you!" Hermione looked at him angrily but she then dashed out of the room and down the stairs as her eyes welled up. "Hermione, I'm sorry I'm sorry I didn't mean it!" Draco tried to yell after her but it was too late. She ran down the stairs trying to ignore Draco calling after her and as she reached the bottom she tripped over something, which burnt her legs. Her head hit the corner of the last step and she fell to the ground. As the blood streamed down her face Hermione sat up and turned around to look at what she had fell over.

Draco who was already in a lot of pain kicked the wall in anger thinking about what an idiot he had been. Suddenly he heard someone screaming at the bottom of the stairs and knowing that it was Hermione he started down the stairs jumping down three steps at a time. So when he saw Jason Turley from Hufflepuff was frozen stiff with a look of fear on his face. Hermione sat shaking against the wall looking at him. Draco jumped over Jason's body and went over to Hermione who just pushed him away. "She's in shock Mr Malfoy. I suggest you go and get Madam Pomfey for her." Draco looked up to see Mercuious was standing in the corner looking at them all in the stair well. "You must have been close by Sir to hear her scream sir?" Mercuious paused looking at him and nodded but before he could say anything the rest of the teacher came and madam Pomfey picked Hermione up and guided her along the corridor towards the infirmary. Draco tried to help her up but she pushed him away again and she looked at him and whispered "Its people like you who has done this!" Draco started to follow her but Dumbledore put his hand on his shoulder and said "I think she's a little shocked by what's happened Draco I think she just needs a bit of time. But what I want to know is what were you do up in the tower?" But Draco didn't answer and he just watched Hermione walk down the corridor.