Disclaimer: I don't own anyone ore anything in this or any other chapter.
A/N: Read and Review people.
Hermione went out to the Quidditch Field to meet Draco. It was Tuesday and their first meeting. McGonnagall had given Draco their assignment so Hermione had no clue as to what they were doing. She found Draco leaning up against the wall across the field. At his feet lay a few books. Books Hermione had previously tried to check out, only to find that he had beaten her to them.
"Ok, what are we doing?" Hermione asked as she approached him.
"We're going to have to turn this cup into a large dog. I've been studying this, so I'll try first." He cleared his throat and waved his wand.
In a matter of seconds the cup had transformed into a dog. A Beagle to be exact. He wagged his tail and barked at Draco. Hermione sat down and he leapt into her lap. Draco bent down to pet it and it snarled at him.
"Stupid little mutt." Draco sneered.
"Stop it. You'll hurt his feelings." Hermione covered the dog's ears so he couldn't hear.
"It's a dog Granger. It doesn't have feelings. Anyway we did it, we're done, I'm leaving." He spun on his heal and started to walk away.
"Not so fast Malfoy. Weren't we supposed to turn him into a large dog? This is a beagle; I have dogs that take dumps bigger then this. Let me see the book. I'll do it." Hermione grabbed a book from him and waved her wand.
The tiny beagle turned into a Rottweiller. He was much larger then the beagle and much scarier. It terrified Draco, but Hermione merely shrugged. She had been raised with large dogs. A Rottweiller was the smallest dog she had ever owned. Hermione laughed as Draco backed up against to wall with fear.
"Change him back! Change him back!" He yelled.
"Apologize to him first." Hermione demanded.
"I'm sorry. Everything I said, I take it back. Call him off now! Call him off!" Draco panicked.
"Come. Sit." Hermione commanded the dog, and he obeyed.
Hermione pet the dog lovingly and smirked at Draco. He dusted off his robes had glared at her. She giggled at him and stuck out her tongue.
"That thing is huge!" Draco stared at the dog.
"This little guy? You wan to see a big dog; I'll show you one. Have you ever seen an English Mastiff?" Hermione pulled out her wand.
"No, it's not necessary. I'll take your word for it." Draco hastily replied.
"Ok then." She waved her wand and turned the dog back into a cup.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Hermione decided to swing by the Gryffindore common room to visit Harry and Ron. They were playing wizard chess again and discussing sports. They both looked up and smiled at her and pulled out a seat for her.
"So, how was your meeting with Malfoy?" Harry asked.
"It was actually fun. He turned the cup into this little tiny dog and insulted him too. I turned him into a much larger dog and it scared the hell out of him. It was quite funny. So Ron, how did your little meeting with Pansy go?" Hermione turned to Ron.
"Horribly. The broke the cup and we ended up with a bunch of little dogs instead of one big one. It was really quite pathetic. I tried to fix the cup, but she snatched it away from me and damaged it even more. I swear, the girl has absolutely no brain. How did she even get in here in the first place?" Ron smirked.
"I honestly don't know Ron. I'd love to stay and chat some more, but I really must be going. I have to write a paper. I'll see you guys later if I can." Hermione skipped out the door.
On her way to her room she heard Pansy and some of the other fifth year Slytherin girls talking around the corner and decided to listen in for a moment. At first all she heard were giggles, then it all became clearer.
"That girl has the worst hair I've ever seen. How can she look in the mirror every morning without screaming? She probably breaks the mirror when she looks into it too." Pansy laughed.
"I'm Hermione Granger, I'm the smartest girl in the world." Another girl giggled.
"She is so pathetic. I feel bad for her two little boyfriends. At least they are semi decent looking, but with her around they have no chance of ever getting a date." A third voice commented.
"You know who I feel the worst for? Drakey. He has to she a common room with her. He has to sit by her in potions. And in transfiguration he has to work with her for the next few weeks. Tell me that wouldn't suck?" Pansy sighed.
Just then Hermione felt a tear fall down her cheek. She had known that most people thought of her that way, but she never really heard them say it. They had all quieted down and you could hear footsteps coming down the hall.
"Get off me Pansy. I'm not in the mood for this today." Hermione could hear Draco growl at the little slut.
"Poor Drakey. We all feel sorry that you have to work with that little mudblood all the time. What do you think Drakey?" Pansy asked.
"I think that it is none of your business. Now would you get off my arm? You're cutting off my circulation." He snapped and continued to walk through.
Hermione really didn't want Draco to see her like that. So she ran down the halls to get away. Unfortunately, that was the way Draco was headed for and Hermione had no place to hide. She tried her best to dry her tears and act like it had never happened, but it was too late. He saw her and was approaching her.
"Granger? Are you crying? You are aren't you?" Draco asked, but not in his usual tone.
"Yes. Please don't say anything to anyone." Hermione pleaded.
"Sure, but why were you crying?" Draco questioned.
"I was on my way back to my room when I heard Pansy and her little friends laughing, and I heard them mention me, so I stopped for a second to hear what they had to say and I heard the whole thing." A few more tears slid down her face.
"Look, I know we're not friends. We're no where near friends, but I'm going to give you some advice. Don't listen to her. Pansy is an idiot. She doesn't know what the hell she's talking about. Don't let her see you like this either. It will only make things worse for you." Draco advised.
"But the things they said. It is true. I am an ugly little brat. I act like I know everything, but I don't." Hermione whispered.
"Hermione, do you hear what you are saying? This isn't you. Now come on. Dry your eyes." Draco wiped a few fingers gently across her face to wipe away her tears.
At that moment Hermione saw a different side to Draco. He did know human emotion and he was capable of showing it. She also noticed how warm his hand was on her face and she almost leaned in to his touch.
"Thanks. That was very sweet of you." Hermione smiled softly.
"I know. Just don't tell anyone else about it. No one else knows I'm capable of being nice and I'd like to keep it that way Granger." Draco smirked arrogantly.
"Call me Hermione from now on. Since we have to see each other for the rest of the year, why not make it a little easier on ourselves." Hermione suggested.
"I guess you can call me by my first name if you want to." Draco shrugged, then continued down the hall leaving a shocked Hermione all by herself.
A/N: Little by little I'm going to try to make him soften up. I hope you like this so far. Review please.
A/N: Read and Review people.
Hermione went out to the Quidditch Field to meet Draco. It was Tuesday and their first meeting. McGonnagall had given Draco their assignment so Hermione had no clue as to what they were doing. She found Draco leaning up against the wall across the field. At his feet lay a few books. Books Hermione had previously tried to check out, only to find that he had beaten her to them.
"Ok, what are we doing?" Hermione asked as she approached him.
"We're going to have to turn this cup into a large dog. I've been studying this, so I'll try first." He cleared his throat and waved his wand.
In a matter of seconds the cup had transformed into a dog. A Beagle to be exact. He wagged his tail and barked at Draco. Hermione sat down and he leapt into her lap. Draco bent down to pet it and it snarled at him.
"Stupid little mutt." Draco sneered.
"Stop it. You'll hurt his feelings." Hermione covered the dog's ears so he couldn't hear.
"It's a dog Granger. It doesn't have feelings. Anyway we did it, we're done, I'm leaving." He spun on his heal and started to walk away.
"Not so fast Malfoy. Weren't we supposed to turn him into a large dog? This is a beagle; I have dogs that take dumps bigger then this. Let me see the book. I'll do it." Hermione grabbed a book from him and waved her wand.
The tiny beagle turned into a Rottweiller. He was much larger then the beagle and much scarier. It terrified Draco, but Hermione merely shrugged. She had been raised with large dogs. A Rottweiller was the smallest dog she had ever owned. Hermione laughed as Draco backed up against to wall with fear.
"Change him back! Change him back!" He yelled.
"Apologize to him first." Hermione demanded.
"I'm sorry. Everything I said, I take it back. Call him off now! Call him off!" Draco panicked.
"Come. Sit." Hermione commanded the dog, and he obeyed.
Hermione pet the dog lovingly and smirked at Draco. He dusted off his robes had glared at her. She giggled at him and stuck out her tongue.
"That thing is huge!" Draco stared at the dog.
"This little guy? You wan to see a big dog; I'll show you one. Have you ever seen an English Mastiff?" Hermione pulled out her wand.
"No, it's not necessary. I'll take your word for it." Draco hastily replied.
"Ok then." She waved her wand and turned the dog back into a cup.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Hermione decided to swing by the Gryffindore common room to visit Harry and Ron. They were playing wizard chess again and discussing sports. They both looked up and smiled at her and pulled out a seat for her.
"So, how was your meeting with Malfoy?" Harry asked.
"It was actually fun. He turned the cup into this little tiny dog and insulted him too. I turned him into a much larger dog and it scared the hell out of him. It was quite funny. So Ron, how did your little meeting with Pansy go?" Hermione turned to Ron.
"Horribly. The broke the cup and we ended up with a bunch of little dogs instead of one big one. It was really quite pathetic. I tried to fix the cup, but she snatched it away from me and damaged it even more. I swear, the girl has absolutely no brain. How did she even get in here in the first place?" Ron smirked.
"I honestly don't know Ron. I'd love to stay and chat some more, but I really must be going. I have to write a paper. I'll see you guys later if I can." Hermione skipped out the door.
On her way to her room she heard Pansy and some of the other fifth year Slytherin girls talking around the corner and decided to listen in for a moment. At first all she heard were giggles, then it all became clearer.
"That girl has the worst hair I've ever seen. How can she look in the mirror every morning without screaming? She probably breaks the mirror when she looks into it too." Pansy laughed.
"I'm Hermione Granger, I'm the smartest girl in the world." Another girl giggled.
"She is so pathetic. I feel bad for her two little boyfriends. At least they are semi decent looking, but with her around they have no chance of ever getting a date." A third voice commented.
"You know who I feel the worst for? Drakey. He has to she a common room with her. He has to sit by her in potions. And in transfiguration he has to work with her for the next few weeks. Tell me that wouldn't suck?" Pansy sighed.
Just then Hermione felt a tear fall down her cheek. She had known that most people thought of her that way, but she never really heard them say it. They had all quieted down and you could hear footsteps coming down the hall.
"Get off me Pansy. I'm not in the mood for this today." Hermione could hear Draco growl at the little slut.
"Poor Drakey. We all feel sorry that you have to work with that little mudblood all the time. What do you think Drakey?" Pansy asked.
"I think that it is none of your business. Now would you get off my arm? You're cutting off my circulation." He snapped and continued to walk through.
Hermione really didn't want Draco to see her like that. So she ran down the halls to get away. Unfortunately, that was the way Draco was headed for and Hermione had no place to hide. She tried her best to dry her tears and act like it had never happened, but it was too late. He saw her and was approaching her.
"Granger? Are you crying? You are aren't you?" Draco asked, but not in his usual tone.
"Yes. Please don't say anything to anyone." Hermione pleaded.
"Sure, but why were you crying?" Draco questioned.
"I was on my way back to my room when I heard Pansy and her little friends laughing, and I heard them mention me, so I stopped for a second to hear what they had to say and I heard the whole thing." A few more tears slid down her face.
"Look, I know we're not friends. We're no where near friends, but I'm going to give you some advice. Don't listen to her. Pansy is an idiot. She doesn't know what the hell she's talking about. Don't let her see you like this either. It will only make things worse for you." Draco advised.
"But the things they said. It is true. I am an ugly little brat. I act like I know everything, but I don't." Hermione whispered.
"Hermione, do you hear what you are saying? This isn't you. Now come on. Dry your eyes." Draco wiped a few fingers gently across her face to wipe away her tears.
At that moment Hermione saw a different side to Draco. He did know human emotion and he was capable of showing it. She also noticed how warm his hand was on her face and she almost leaned in to his touch.
"Thanks. That was very sweet of you." Hermione smiled softly.
"I know. Just don't tell anyone else about it. No one else knows I'm capable of being nice and I'd like to keep it that way Granger." Draco smirked arrogantly.
"Call me Hermione from now on. Since we have to see each other for the rest of the year, why not make it a little easier on ourselves." Hermione suggested.
"I guess you can call me by my first name if you want to." Draco shrugged, then continued down the hall leaving a shocked Hermione all by herself.
A/N: Little by little I'm going to try to make him soften up. I hope you like this so far. Review please.