"Hermione, are you going out with Malfoy?" Harry asked me discreetly at lunch.
I laughed. " What are you? No!"
"Then why were you with him last night and this morning?" Ginny interjected.
"Keep out of this, Ginny." Ron said warningly. She rolled her eyes and withdrew from the conversation that was making me blush.
"Well, does he still have your diary?" Harry asked, frowning.
"Er. . . sort of." I answered. When Ron scowled, I took it all back. "Yes, it's with him, but the reason . . . why . . .I'm with him lately is . . . because I'm doing some things for him. And then he's giving it back to me."
They seemed to buy it. Ron started fighting with Ginny after that and Harry just munched thoughtfully on his steak.
Draco caught my eye as I stood up. I walked over to his table, ignoring the whoops from the Slytherins. He turned around and gave them a warning look. Gosh. I never knew he had that much power before.
"What were they talking about?" He asked me as we walked away. "Your friends."
"They asked me if you gave my diary back and why I'm hanging with you lately. I told them I had to, to get it back. You haven't seen the last page, have you?" I asked anxiously. If he found out, I was dead.
"No." he said, looking thoughtful. "You don't have to, you know."
"What?"
"I can give your diary back now, if you want. In addition, you don't have to be stuck with me all weekend, learning how to be cool. I'm wasting your time."
Okay. What had this impostor done with the spiteful Draco Malfoy? I swallowed.
"No, it's okay. Besides," I kidded him "My reputation is at stake."
He smiled. And for the first time, I realized it wasn't a smirk, or a sneer, it was a smile. The kind when someone's just said something nice to you, or vice versa.
"Do you really think I'm not cool enough?" I asked him. "Seriously."
He looked a little sheepish. "It's not that, I just wanted a companion. Besides, I like watching you blow up."
I rolled my eyes. "You've got Crabbe and Goyle. And me blowing up? Is that good or bad?"
"Good. You're cute when you do that. Like when I was little, I kept having these tantrums all over the place. Moreover, Crabbe and Goyle don't have brains, you said so yourself. I've been stuck with them ever since I was born."
I closed my eyes, trying to imagine a toddler Draco. It was hard.
"My hair was never slicked back when I was little. And I had little freckles on my nose." He added, as if he'd read my mind.
"No more coolness lessons?" I asked him, giggling.
"No more." He agreed.
"You know what's a bummer?" I asked him. "I studied very hard for that Potions test. It hurts to know that after all my hard work, I get a deduction."
He nodded quietly. "Snape's a git. I only please him for my father's sake. Can't you sneak into his office while he's out or something? You could probably add some points. You'll figure it out."
"I can't." I said. "He adds up the points of his classes right after checking and checks them again before he presents the grades to Dumbledore."
Draco blinked. "How'd you know that?"
"I overheard Snape talking with Mc Gonagall yesterday, when I was sorting out
the bottles. You weren't there yet."
"Oh." Draco yawned. "Granger, I'm a bit tired. Mind if I go to the Slytherin dungeons for a while?"
I waved a hand. "Not at all. Bye, teacher." I added while he walked away.
"I hate Snape, I hate Snape, and I hate Snape." I muttered to myself. Draco looked up from his book.
"Granger, shut up. Those words won't make your test okay. Snape sucks, and you can't change that."
I quieted down. Draco was reading our Potions book, which I'd read a month ago. I could hear him talking to himself.
"Ivy juice is essential to invisibility. . . Ivy juice . . .ivy . . .ivy . . ." he murmured. I kicked the loose dirt by the edge of the Lake.
"Sorry, Draco, that's nettle juice." I said irritably. "Ivy juice is good for only Levitation Potions."
Draco looked hurt. "Sorry."
"I hate Snape! I studied that a month ago and all my hard work ends up at the bottom of the Lake." I said in apology as I kicked more dirt into the murky water.
"He hates Mudbloods." Draco said absentmindedly, scanning the page.
Before he could compute what he'd just said, I grabbed his book and stomped on it.
"Shut up about my blood already!" I roared. "I'm a witch! I thought you were okay, but you-"
Draco tantalizingly knelt at my feet. "I'm sorry, G- Hermione! I didn't mean it- I really didn't, now give me back the bloody book-"
As if the book were alive, it slid out from under my feet and fell with a plop into the lake. I fell on my bottom, half embarrassed and half amazed that I had just made Draco Malfoy kneel at my feet and implore.
Draco helped me up, groaning. "My book . . . I am done for. Sorry, Hermione." Ha added as an afterthought.
I watched as a tentacle grabbed the book and pulled it into the water with a horrible sucking sound. Draco was too busy apologizing to me and lamenting about his book.
"Draco, it's okay." I said, feeling a little guilty. "You can borrow mine if you want."
He broke into a smile. "Thanks! Let's get away from here before any of us fall into the Lake ourselves."
We walked back to the Castle.
"Thanks for the book." Draco mouthed to me, grinning. I grinned back as I shoved a piece of egg into my mouth. It was Monday morning and Potions first thing.
Okay, Herm, I told myself, get this over with. You can't do anything about failing the exam.
Draco, Harry, Ron and I walked to the dungeons together. I was surprised at the way they'd warmed up to each other.
I sat down at my desk while Snape handed me the paper with a sneer. I sighed and started writing.
When I finished, I scanned my paper to see if there was a bonus I could add, so that Snape's deduction wouldn't do so much harm. I couldn't find any.
Draco gave me a thumbs up. I'd helped him the day before.
It was taking forever to get out. If only I hadn't been so stupid about those bottles.
Draco's head was on his arms I think he was napping. I wished he were awake. Last Friday, when we'd fought, seemed so long ago.
"You passed the test." Draco told me after dinner. We were sitting by the lake, with no schoolbooks to distract us.
Oh. My. Gosh. "I passed I passed I passed! I can't believe it!" I squealed. I was so happy, I hugged Draco. He grew stiff, and then we laughed at each other when I let go.
"I can't believe I passed." I babbled. "How did you know? Didn't Snape deduct points? There was no way I could've passed."
"Easy." Draco said softly. "He did. I went in the classroom before dinner."
"SO?" I pressed. "There was still no way I could pass the stupid test."
He turned away. "I added the points again. I changed it. I followed his writing."
I was torn. "You scuz! He'll think I did that! He adds the points remember? I could hear him adding them when we left the classroom."
"I deducted those points from my score instead." He whispered. "Are you mad?"
Total silence. Then I asked, "What did you do? You did that for me?"
"Yeah. I failed by twenty points." He said. His face was bright red.
"Thanks, Draco." I said unbelievingly. "I owe you a lot."
He shrugged unsmilingly, but I could tell he was happy. "Hey, your diary." He got it out from his pocket and handed it to me.
I flipped to the last page. My heart jumped when I saw the name I had written. "You can read the last page now." I said.
He knit his brows. "You won't get mad?"
I snorted. "Why would I? I'm letting you read it."
He read it swiftly, his gray eyes darting left and right. He smiled, his eyes growing wide in mild shock and surprise, looking over the diary and at me. For a moment I thought he'd laugh, rant, rave, or jump into the Lake, whichever came first. Then he edged closer me. I leaned closer still.
He slipped an arm around me and I leaned against him. "Jerk." I whispered teasingly. My diary lay open behind us, the last page exposed to all mankind.
It read Draco Malfoy.
"Hey G- Hermione." He spoke softly. "Can Crabbe and Goyle get brains now?"
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