[Final Distance]
© Sila-chan
---------------------------------------------
CHAPTER 3: Ill-fated
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________________________________
"That bastard." It was around noon when Hermione made her way down to brunch, looking worse for the wear. The Great Hall looked much the same as ever, as magic retained the glossy varnish on the wood, the shine on the candlebras (is that how you spell it?) and the cushions on the chairs clean and comfortable. She scowled at the ancient structure before moving to sitting down, knowing that it was House-elves that maintained it's appearance 90% of the time.
"Hermione!" Ron ran to greet her. He hugged her tightly, then held her at arms length. He hadn't seen her since the holidays... Malfoy was immediately pushed to the back of her mind. She pulled him back into a hug.
"You look tired...are you okay?" Tears stung at her eyes as she gazed at him.
"I'm fine Ron...thank you..."
"Are you sure?" She shook her head, not trusting herself to open her mouth and hugged him tightly instead.
"Ssssh...it'll be alright. It's okay...Look, Harry's coming..." Hermione looked up tearfully from Ron's shoulder. Harry looked startled and almost tripped over a fifth year in his rush to get over.
"Hermione? What's wrong? Why haven't you been to say hello?" Hermione let go of Ron to latch onto Harry.
"Oh Harry..." He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a lazy, aristocratic drawl.
"Well well, how sweet. If you've quite finished your little theatrics here Granger, you're wanted for a Prefect meeting. Courtesy of Dumbledore, of course." He glared at her.
"Sod off, Malfoy. Can't you see she's hurt here?" Ron must have forgotten who he was talking to.
"Aw, is poor Granger hurt? And I honestly care. Have a nice shower this morning, Granger?" With that taunt he left.
For a renowned magic school, Hogwarts had something to learn about unlimited water supplies. The shower had been freezing by the time Hermione got in. Bloody Malfoy.
"What was all that about?" Harry looked at Hermione, one eyebrow raised.
"Nothing." She stepped away from Harry, avoiding his eyes. As her hair slipped to cover her face, Ron noticed something.
"Who's the hickey from, 'Mione?" He asked.
"Nobody! And it's none of your business!" She snapped and walked off after Draco.
The boys looked at each other and shrugged.
"Women." Ron stated. Harry agreed. They began making their way to the prefect's meeting room.
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It was a nice room. A simple room, but with enough furnishings to make it seem comfortable. A long mahogany table, like a stretched version of the dining table in the Head's Common room ran directly in the centre of the room. Draco Malfoy sat at the head of the table, imposing and evil-looking. On the opposite end sat Hermione Granger...who looked like hell. As the prefects filed in, they tended to stick to each faction, Slytherin to the immediate sides of Draco, next to them, Ravenclaw, which they had a grudging respect for, then Hufflepuff and Gryffindor flanked Hermione at the other end of the table, nearest the door.
"This is Draco Malfoy, official Head Boy of Hogwarts calling the first meeting of the year. Everbody present. Three of each faction, as is appointed. Any issues?" Draco lounged lazily in his chair. It was amazing the way he seemed to make anything he was in contact with seem so carelessly elegant. His hair was still mussed, but he was otherwise flawless. He was a born monarch. Not that he would have expected any less, of course. A Quikquill danced, plume waving merrily in the air as it scribed the conference happenings in script.
"As the leading examples in this school, we must co-operate, yes?" A Ravenclaw asked. Very blunt and straight to the point. The question everybody needed the answer to.
"Yes." Hermione immediately spoke up.
"To a point." Draco said at the same time. They looked at each other and glared.
"Define point for us." Blaise spoke, in a feminine mirror of Draco's drawl. Draco shrugged.
"In front of teachers is enough I think."
"Well I disagree. I think we should get along as well as possible, it is our last year after all!" Hermione stated, arousing murmurs of agreement around her.
Draco gritted his teeth. She was not going to make him lose his facade in front of these people. But the look she was shooting him defied him to forget the truce they had made last night. Or what happened after it.
"Fine. Point taken. All factions must be civil to each other." He was pleased to see the other two-thirds of the Dream Time were as disgusted by the concept as he was.
"Inter-house Rivalry's. What's to stop prefects deducting points for little or no reason because of a personal feud?" Surprisingly, it was a Hufflepuff who spoke up. She blushed.
"What? Just because it takes me a while in class doesn't mean I don't listen."
"No, no, it's a good question Katelyn. Erm...why don't you take this one, Malfoy?"
"Thank you, Granger. Trial. Each Friday we shall have an hour session. Then all examples of point deduction can be evaluated with relevance to reason before a jury. Then we can keep a record, and nobody can argue it isn't fair." Ron, Harry and the rest of the Hufflepuffs looked confused. Blaise was filing her nails. Medelin, the other Slytherin prefect was nodding in agreement, along with the Ravenclaw prefects.
"Is that it? No more questions?" Hermione asked.
"Meeting closed."
__________________________________________________________________________
"Professor, I sincerely cannot live with Mr Malfoy." She'd had spare time after the meeting, so instead of going into the Gryffindor common room with Ron and Harry, she'd decided to attempt to coax Professor McGonagall into moving her.
Mistake.
"I'm sorry Miss Granger, but as I've explained to you in the past five minutes, it's a no can do. The living arrangement has been a proud tradition in past Hogwarts years. Whatever issues you and Mr Malfoy have will just have to be sorted out." she began sorting parchments on her desk, signalling the audience was over. Hermione gritted her teeth. Issues? It was a little more complex than that. More like, a sincere fear of being killed one night while she slept!
"Sorry to have taken from your precious time, Professor." She rose from her chair with a forced smile and swept from the room angrily, robes billowing behind her.
__________________________________________________________________________
"That cheap bastard. Find number 20 and tell him to take care of Snook. Leave no ends untied. Tell him to be careful." She entered the common room to see Malfoy talking on his mobile once again. Now she was curious. She had to know.
"Malfoy, how exactly does your phone work here? There's no transmitting signals or anything!"
"For me to know and you to find out." He replied absently as he scribbled something in a ledger book.
"Please?"
"Nope." He closed the book abruptly and stood, walking to his room. She followed, hovering outside his door.
"Why so curious, mudblood?" He looked at her confusedly as he sat on the bed, taking off his oxfords. She shrugged. He glanced at her suspiciously as he pulled his shirt off.
(A/N: *lala land*)
"Well Granger? Could you shut the door or do you want to come in?" He began to unbuckle his belt. For some reason, he seemed to be in a reasonably tolerable mood. And for some reason, she came in and shut the door behind her. She looked around his room as she heard an unzipping noise and a rustle as the soft material puddled on the floor.
"McGonagall is such a bitch." Draco raised his eyebrows as he pulled on a pair of baggy pants.
"That's something I never thought I'd hear." She shrugged.
"I'm allowed my opinion. You dressed yet?"
"I'm comfortable, yes." She turned as she felt a weight land on the bed, the mattress sinking slowly. He was wearing a button-up shirt, but it was unfastened, exposing his stomach to the cold air.
"You do know you are rather good-looking, don't you?"
"Of course."
"So why be such an asshole? You could get so many more girls if you weren't."
"I could ask the same of you. Why be such an insufferable know it all?" He stretched, reaching his arms up and clasping his hands behind his head. Hermione flopped onto his bed next to him.
"I can't help being smarter than you. It's not too hard." He glared at her, shock present on his face.
"Bitch. That was low." She smelt nice. To his surprise she smiled smugly and poked her tongue out at him.
"The truth hurts, doesn't it Malfoy?" there was a pause as he pondered this concept.
"Yes, I guess it does, but then it must suck knowing that you're a mudblood." he gasped and bounced up abruptly as her fist connected with his stomach.
"What was that for?" She had a strange look on her face, like she was trying not to cry, but like she had no tears left to cry.
"How do you know I'm a muggle-born?" He rolled his eyes.
"*Der* Granger, how stupid do you think I am? You have two muggle parents..." He sighed exasperatedly. She rolled off the bed, landing neatly on her feat. Stepping over the piles of clothing on the floor, she turned and paused in the open doorway. Her expression was unreadable, devoid of emotion.
"For your information Malfoy, those aren't my real parents. I'm adopted." His door slammed shut.
"Well. THAT was something new."
__________________________________________________________________________
Hermione sat in the Gryffindor common room, reading her timetable. It was strange how all her anger had just dissapated as soon as she stepped into her room with it's comforting Gryffindor colours.
"Ugh. Divinations. I can't believe this stupid school..." She stood up and walked off absently. Ron and Harry looked at each other worriedly. Hermione never called the school, or anything remotely educational stupid...it just wasn't...Hermione-like...In the end Ron shrugged, and said he had to get something from the dorm before class. Harry nodded, and left for Divinations.
__________________________________________________________________________
The class hadn't changed in three years. The old bat, Trelawney looked a bit more normal...but then again maybe it was Harry's hormones. The trapdoor swung upward, and Hermione and Ron slowly appeared. Ron grinned at Harry, pleased with himself for something, and Harry soon realised that she had climbed up the stepladder first, causing Ron to be unable to look anywhere but up her skirt for the short climb into the Divinations class. Harry shook his head and grinned ruefully at Ron as he and Hermione came to sit next to Harry.
As soon as Hermione took her seat, however, Professor Trelawney gasped, and began to sway. Ron rolled his slightly bloodshot eyes at Harry, before sniggering. Harry pretended to moan, calling softly
"Harry Potter will die three horrible and gruesome deaths before the day is over..." Those near them, including Seamus and Dean snickered as Pavarti and Lavender glared at them all. Suddenly, the teacher spoke, in a low husky voice none of the class recognised...and it wasn't put on.
"You Girl...you must not go home this weekend...the birthday celebrations can wait. A great evil waits to tempt you when you return...an enemy shall be considered your greatest ally in the dark days to come." Trelawney looked straight at Hermione, who scowled at her. Trelawney had her finger pointing, hand shaking for dramatic effect, while Parvarti and Lavender gasped and began to fuss over Hermione.
"Watch for the Dragon." And Trelawney returned to the normal, ditzy stick-insect she normally was.
"Sorry class, I seem to have dozed off...well, moving onto today's lesson..." Nothing was brought up for the rest of the class, although Professor Trelawney didn't seem aware of some of the odd looks she received.
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"Hermione, don't believe her..." Harry looked at Hermione.
"She talks about a crock of bullshit!" Hermione stumbled, then scowled and stopped in the hallway, pulling her heels off as she continued to pad the rest of the way down the corridor in her stockings.
"Yes? What are you looking at? Five points from Slytherin!" She was in a foul mood today. The first-years hurriedly moved out of the way lest she deduct any more points.
"Harry?" Ron and Harry had stopped a while back, and were just watching Hermione's retreating back enter the Gryffindor dormitory before dinner.
"Hmmm?"
"Did Trelawney say it was Hermione's birthday this weekend?" Harry looked at his other best friend in horror.
"Oh shit!!!" They made a dash for the dorm, grabbing the Invisibility Cloak and Marauder's Map...and quickly making their way to the secret passage for Hogsmeade.
© Sila-chan
---------------------------------------------
CHAPTER 3: Ill-fated
________________________________
________________________________
"That bastard." It was around noon when Hermione made her way down to brunch, looking worse for the wear. The Great Hall looked much the same as ever, as magic retained the glossy varnish on the wood, the shine on the candlebras (is that how you spell it?) and the cushions on the chairs clean and comfortable. She scowled at the ancient structure before moving to sitting down, knowing that it was House-elves that maintained it's appearance 90% of the time.
"Hermione!" Ron ran to greet her. He hugged her tightly, then held her at arms length. He hadn't seen her since the holidays... Malfoy was immediately pushed to the back of her mind. She pulled him back into a hug.
"You look tired...are you okay?" Tears stung at her eyes as she gazed at him.
"I'm fine Ron...thank you..."
"Are you sure?" She shook her head, not trusting herself to open her mouth and hugged him tightly instead.
"Ssssh...it'll be alright. It's okay...Look, Harry's coming..." Hermione looked up tearfully from Ron's shoulder. Harry looked startled and almost tripped over a fifth year in his rush to get over.
"Hermione? What's wrong? Why haven't you been to say hello?" Hermione let go of Ron to latch onto Harry.
"Oh Harry..." He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a lazy, aristocratic drawl.
"Well well, how sweet. If you've quite finished your little theatrics here Granger, you're wanted for a Prefect meeting. Courtesy of Dumbledore, of course." He glared at her.
"Sod off, Malfoy. Can't you see she's hurt here?" Ron must have forgotten who he was talking to.
"Aw, is poor Granger hurt? And I honestly care. Have a nice shower this morning, Granger?" With that taunt he left.
For a renowned magic school, Hogwarts had something to learn about unlimited water supplies. The shower had been freezing by the time Hermione got in. Bloody Malfoy.
"What was all that about?" Harry looked at Hermione, one eyebrow raised.
"Nothing." She stepped away from Harry, avoiding his eyes. As her hair slipped to cover her face, Ron noticed something.
"Who's the hickey from, 'Mione?" He asked.
"Nobody! And it's none of your business!" She snapped and walked off after Draco.
The boys looked at each other and shrugged.
"Women." Ron stated. Harry agreed. They began making their way to the prefect's meeting room.
__________________________________________________________________________
It was a nice room. A simple room, but with enough furnishings to make it seem comfortable. A long mahogany table, like a stretched version of the dining table in the Head's Common room ran directly in the centre of the room. Draco Malfoy sat at the head of the table, imposing and evil-looking. On the opposite end sat Hermione Granger...who looked like hell. As the prefects filed in, they tended to stick to each faction, Slytherin to the immediate sides of Draco, next to them, Ravenclaw, which they had a grudging respect for, then Hufflepuff and Gryffindor flanked Hermione at the other end of the table, nearest the door.
"This is Draco Malfoy, official Head Boy of Hogwarts calling the first meeting of the year. Everbody present. Three of each faction, as is appointed. Any issues?" Draco lounged lazily in his chair. It was amazing the way he seemed to make anything he was in contact with seem so carelessly elegant. His hair was still mussed, but he was otherwise flawless. He was a born monarch. Not that he would have expected any less, of course. A Quikquill danced, plume waving merrily in the air as it scribed the conference happenings in script.
"As the leading examples in this school, we must co-operate, yes?" A Ravenclaw asked. Very blunt and straight to the point. The question everybody needed the answer to.
"Yes." Hermione immediately spoke up.
"To a point." Draco said at the same time. They looked at each other and glared.
"Define point for us." Blaise spoke, in a feminine mirror of Draco's drawl. Draco shrugged.
"In front of teachers is enough I think."
"Well I disagree. I think we should get along as well as possible, it is our last year after all!" Hermione stated, arousing murmurs of agreement around her.
Draco gritted his teeth. She was not going to make him lose his facade in front of these people. But the look she was shooting him defied him to forget the truce they had made last night. Or what happened after it.
"Fine. Point taken. All factions must be civil to each other." He was pleased to see the other two-thirds of the Dream Time were as disgusted by the concept as he was.
"Inter-house Rivalry's. What's to stop prefects deducting points for little or no reason because of a personal feud?" Surprisingly, it was a Hufflepuff who spoke up. She blushed.
"What? Just because it takes me a while in class doesn't mean I don't listen."
"No, no, it's a good question Katelyn. Erm...why don't you take this one, Malfoy?"
"Thank you, Granger. Trial. Each Friday we shall have an hour session. Then all examples of point deduction can be evaluated with relevance to reason before a jury. Then we can keep a record, and nobody can argue it isn't fair." Ron, Harry and the rest of the Hufflepuffs looked confused. Blaise was filing her nails. Medelin, the other Slytherin prefect was nodding in agreement, along with the Ravenclaw prefects.
"Is that it? No more questions?" Hermione asked.
"Meeting closed."
__________________________________________________________________________
"Professor, I sincerely cannot live with Mr Malfoy." She'd had spare time after the meeting, so instead of going into the Gryffindor common room with Ron and Harry, she'd decided to attempt to coax Professor McGonagall into moving her.
Mistake.
"I'm sorry Miss Granger, but as I've explained to you in the past five minutes, it's a no can do. The living arrangement has been a proud tradition in past Hogwarts years. Whatever issues you and Mr Malfoy have will just have to be sorted out." she began sorting parchments on her desk, signalling the audience was over. Hermione gritted her teeth. Issues? It was a little more complex than that. More like, a sincere fear of being killed one night while she slept!
"Sorry to have taken from your precious time, Professor." She rose from her chair with a forced smile and swept from the room angrily, robes billowing behind her.
__________________________________________________________________________
"That cheap bastard. Find number 20 and tell him to take care of Snook. Leave no ends untied. Tell him to be careful." She entered the common room to see Malfoy talking on his mobile once again. Now she was curious. She had to know.
"Malfoy, how exactly does your phone work here? There's no transmitting signals or anything!"
"For me to know and you to find out." He replied absently as he scribbled something in a ledger book.
"Please?"
"Nope." He closed the book abruptly and stood, walking to his room. She followed, hovering outside his door.
"Why so curious, mudblood?" He looked at her confusedly as he sat on the bed, taking off his oxfords. She shrugged. He glanced at her suspiciously as he pulled his shirt off.
(A/N: *lala land*)
"Well Granger? Could you shut the door or do you want to come in?" He began to unbuckle his belt. For some reason, he seemed to be in a reasonably tolerable mood. And for some reason, she came in and shut the door behind her. She looked around his room as she heard an unzipping noise and a rustle as the soft material puddled on the floor.
"McGonagall is such a bitch." Draco raised his eyebrows as he pulled on a pair of baggy pants.
"That's something I never thought I'd hear." She shrugged.
"I'm allowed my opinion. You dressed yet?"
"I'm comfortable, yes." She turned as she felt a weight land on the bed, the mattress sinking slowly. He was wearing a button-up shirt, but it was unfastened, exposing his stomach to the cold air.
"You do know you are rather good-looking, don't you?"
"Of course."
"So why be such an asshole? You could get so many more girls if you weren't."
"I could ask the same of you. Why be such an insufferable know it all?" He stretched, reaching his arms up and clasping his hands behind his head. Hermione flopped onto his bed next to him.
"I can't help being smarter than you. It's not too hard." He glared at her, shock present on his face.
"Bitch. That was low." She smelt nice. To his surprise she smiled smugly and poked her tongue out at him.
"The truth hurts, doesn't it Malfoy?" there was a pause as he pondered this concept.
"Yes, I guess it does, but then it must suck knowing that you're a mudblood." he gasped and bounced up abruptly as her fist connected with his stomach.
"What was that for?" She had a strange look on her face, like she was trying not to cry, but like she had no tears left to cry.
"How do you know I'm a muggle-born?" He rolled his eyes.
"*Der* Granger, how stupid do you think I am? You have two muggle parents..." He sighed exasperatedly. She rolled off the bed, landing neatly on her feat. Stepping over the piles of clothing on the floor, she turned and paused in the open doorway. Her expression was unreadable, devoid of emotion.
"For your information Malfoy, those aren't my real parents. I'm adopted." His door slammed shut.
"Well. THAT was something new."
__________________________________________________________________________
Hermione sat in the Gryffindor common room, reading her timetable. It was strange how all her anger had just dissapated as soon as she stepped into her room with it's comforting Gryffindor colours.
"Ugh. Divinations. I can't believe this stupid school..." She stood up and walked off absently. Ron and Harry looked at each other worriedly. Hermione never called the school, or anything remotely educational stupid...it just wasn't...Hermione-like...In the end Ron shrugged, and said he had to get something from the dorm before class. Harry nodded, and left for Divinations.
__________________________________________________________________________
The class hadn't changed in three years. The old bat, Trelawney looked a bit more normal...but then again maybe it was Harry's hormones. The trapdoor swung upward, and Hermione and Ron slowly appeared. Ron grinned at Harry, pleased with himself for something, and Harry soon realised that she had climbed up the stepladder first, causing Ron to be unable to look anywhere but up her skirt for the short climb into the Divinations class. Harry shook his head and grinned ruefully at Ron as he and Hermione came to sit next to Harry.
As soon as Hermione took her seat, however, Professor Trelawney gasped, and began to sway. Ron rolled his slightly bloodshot eyes at Harry, before sniggering. Harry pretended to moan, calling softly
"Harry Potter will die three horrible and gruesome deaths before the day is over..." Those near them, including Seamus and Dean snickered as Pavarti and Lavender glared at them all. Suddenly, the teacher spoke, in a low husky voice none of the class recognised...and it wasn't put on.
"You Girl...you must not go home this weekend...the birthday celebrations can wait. A great evil waits to tempt you when you return...an enemy shall be considered your greatest ally in the dark days to come." Trelawney looked straight at Hermione, who scowled at her. Trelawney had her finger pointing, hand shaking for dramatic effect, while Parvarti and Lavender gasped and began to fuss over Hermione.
"Watch for the Dragon." And Trelawney returned to the normal, ditzy stick-insect she normally was.
"Sorry class, I seem to have dozed off...well, moving onto today's lesson..." Nothing was brought up for the rest of the class, although Professor Trelawney didn't seem aware of some of the odd looks she received.
__________________________________________________________________________
"Hermione, don't believe her..." Harry looked at Hermione.
"She talks about a crock of bullshit!" Hermione stumbled, then scowled and stopped in the hallway, pulling her heels off as she continued to pad the rest of the way down the corridor in her stockings.
"Yes? What are you looking at? Five points from Slytherin!" She was in a foul mood today. The first-years hurriedly moved out of the way lest she deduct any more points.
"Harry?" Ron and Harry had stopped a while back, and were just watching Hermione's retreating back enter the Gryffindor dormitory before dinner.
"Hmmm?"
"Did Trelawney say it was Hermione's birthday this weekend?" Harry looked at his other best friend in horror.
"Oh shit!!!" They made a dash for the dorm, grabbing the Invisibility Cloak and Marauder's Map...and quickly making their way to the secret passage for Hogsmeade.