Chapter 2
It was Saturday afternoon and Draco Malfoy was locked in his dormitory. The day after his odd encounter with Hermione he found out that Weasley and her had broken up. Since then she always looked quite sad. He felt awful, and he hated Weasley even more than before. How could he hurt her? Didn't he realise what he had going with her was absolutely amazing, that he would never meet a girl nearly as good as her? Apparently he broke up with her because school was nearly over and they needed to start letting go of the life they were used to.
Every time he walked past Hermione in the hall he gave her an encouraging smile, and she almost always smiled back. He had accidentally let one insult slip out of his mouth, but he quickly apologized, and all though she looked taken aback at first, she quickly accepted his apology. They had talked a few times out of class, but what was happening in class was amazing. Whenever they needed partners in Potions she would ask him to be her partner, and soon it was understood that they would always just work together. He was thankful that she had realised that his friendliness towards her was not a scam after all.
Potter and Weasley had given him some very nasty looks since he had Hermione had started developing a friendship. Potter and Weasley knew things would be different, but it was obvious that they had not seen something this extreme coming along. Hermione had always seemed to hate Malfoy with a passion, and of course when they saw her talking to him without having to, they were a bit surprised. Malfoy just smiled triumphantly in their direction every time Hermione turned around and asked him if he'd like to work with her.
He had to meet her at 6 p.m. in the head-boy and girl's common room. She had suggested this, and she assured him that Ron would know about it ahead of time and that he would be alright with it. She said that the library was much too noisy and that she wanted to help him as much as possible. Draco couldn't believe that he would be alone with Hermione in less that two hours. He had to get ready! He wanted to look his best after all…
**********************************In the Head-Girl's Dormitory****************************
Hermione sat on her bed trying to figure out what had made her do it. She had asked Draco Malfoy to her and Ron's common room instead of the library. She said it was because of the peace and quiet, but she knew that wasn't true.
Since her and Ron had broken up, she had started talking to Draco much more. He was, surprisingly, a very nice person after all. He had always been so horrible to her, but now it almost seemed as that wasn't him talking at all. She wanted desperately to find out more about him, to find out why he seemed so rotten on the exterior. She knew Ron and Harry were furious with her. Everyone knew that it would change after she and Ron broke up, but they didn't think she would start fratenising with the enemy.
Even she didn't see this coming really. Draco had talked to her in the hall way that one night, and he had made her feel so much better. She thought for sure it was some kind of prank he was trying to pull, but after a week of him being very pleasant she finally realised that it was no prank. He really liked being around her. They had worked together in class a few times, and he joked around and seemed to normal. If she hadn't known him before, he would seem like such a wonderful person.
He called her a mud-blood once, during Potions. It just came out of him, as if it was imprinted in his mind. As soon as he let it come out of his mouth he looked miserable. She forgave him, but then realised that there was something horribly wrong with Malfoy, but it wasn't that he was a bad person. It was just that he was taught something early on and he was having trouble changing. She could tell that he really wanted to be friends with her, and she in return wanted to be closer to him.
The first time he had laughed at one of her jokes, she had seen a completely different person. His smile was genuine and it looked so different from the usual, cruel smile she was so used to seeing plastered onto his face. He looked so handsome when he smiled at her now. She had never really looked at him before, but now that she was starting to see how wonderful he was on the inside, his outside was looking better and better. She saw that he was not the ugly, mean-spirited person she had always considered him to be.
Hermione looked at her watch and saw that it was 5:30, she only had 30 minutes before Malfoy would be there. She got up, looked in the mirror and walked slowly down the winding stairs and into the common room. Ron was there, putting on his coat.
"Malfoy will be here soon?" he asked darkly. She could tell that he was very upset that Malfoy was coming to our common room. They had decided early on that they could invite friends into the common room as long as they didn't tell anyone the password (except for Harry).
"Yes… pretty soon. Are you leaving?" she asked, trying to sound casual, but she could feel her eyes watering. Ron always had this effect on her, even though they had broken up she still had feelings for him. She didn't want to cry in front of him, so she fought strongly against the tears.
"Yes I am. When will he be gone? I don't really want to talk to him…" he said, letting his words drift off near the end of the sentence.
"Err.. Probably around 10 o'clock, I can't see it running any later…" she told Ron. He turned to leave and was half out the portrait when he turned back and looked at her.
"Hermione, what are you doing?" he asked suddenly, "I know we broke up, but I still care about you as a friend. Are you just talking to Malfoy to get back at me? To make me jealous? To hurt me? Because if you are that's cruel. Not only to me but to Malfoy as well."
"Actually," she replied shrilly, "Draco is turning out to be an okay person. I think his dad has just brainwashed him, and he doesn't really believe most of what he says. I actually like him, and so far he's been a pretty good friend to me…"
"Well fine," Ron said doubtfully, "if he hurts you… tell me. I swear, I'll make him regret it." It sounded like something Ron would of said before they had stopped dating. It was too much for Hermione. The tears started leaking out, but fortunately Ron was already heading out the portrait and he didn't see her cry.
****************************************6 o'clock**************************************
"Hermione?" Draco called through the short hallway into the common room. He walked into the room and saw Hermione on one of the couches with her Transfiguration books laid out on a table in front of her.
"Hey Draco," she said smiling at him. Her eyes were red, she had been crying. "You ready for some hard-core studying? Where do you want to start?"
"Best to start at the beginning, we can just skip through whatever I understand." he said smiling at her. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but he felt like it would be a bad way to start off the evening.
After an hour of studying Transfiguration, Hermione announced it was time for a break. Draco couldn't believe what an incredible teacher Hermione was. He really hadn't understood most of Transfiguration before today, but now it was finally all coming together for him. Hermione got up and poured them both a cup of tea and brought it back to the table.
"So, Draco… What do you want to do after you finish at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Err… My father wants me to work at the Ministry… but honestly? I'd like to talk to Dumbledore about starting an Art program here at Hogwarts." he said. She was the first person he'd ever expressed, even indirectly, his love for art. She looked at him oddly.
"I didn't know you liked art!" She said sounding surprised, "That's incredible. Do you draw?"
"Sometimes… I like to do portraits of other students… or of the school, or teachers. I'll draw anything really." he admitted.
"Can I see one of your drawings? Do you have any of me?" she asked, she sounded extremely interested.
"Sure, I have a couple of you. I'll show you my favourite." he told her, reaching into his bag and pulling out a notebook. Hermione looked at the drawing that Draco had handed her. It was incredible. It looked just like her, every curve and line in her face was there. She was looking at her desk, and she was obviously zoned-out. It was odd… his drawing didn't just show what was on the outside of her, but she could honestly see what she was thinking in the drawing. The drawing had captured her emotions perfectly, and at the time, she had been thinking of her growing fondness for Draco Malfoy.
"So… do you like it?" Draco asked expectantly after a few minutes of Hermione staring at the sketch as if in a trance.
"I love it… It's absolutely magnificent." she replied sincerely, "It captures me perfectly, I can almost see what's going on in my mind." Draco looked pleased, and he and Hermione continued to go through his drawings.
It was Saturday afternoon and Draco Malfoy was locked in his dormitory. The day after his odd encounter with Hermione he found out that Weasley and her had broken up. Since then she always looked quite sad. He felt awful, and he hated Weasley even more than before. How could he hurt her? Didn't he realise what he had going with her was absolutely amazing, that he would never meet a girl nearly as good as her? Apparently he broke up with her because school was nearly over and they needed to start letting go of the life they were used to.
Every time he walked past Hermione in the hall he gave her an encouraging smile, and she almost always smiled back. He had accidentally let one insult slip out of his mouth, but he quickly apologized, and all though she looked taken aback at first, she quickly accepted his apology. They had talked a few times out of class, but what was happening in class was amazing. Whenever they needed partners in Potions she would ask him to be her partner, and soon it was understood that they would always just work together. He was thankful that she had realised that his friendliness towards her was not a scam after all.
Potter and Weasley had given him some very nasty looks since he had Hermione had started developing a friendship. Potter and Weasley knew things would be different, but it was obvious that they had not seen something this extreme coming along. Hermione had always seemed to hate Malfoy with a passion, and of course when they saw her talking to him without having to, they were a bit surprised. Malfoy just smiled triumphantly in their direction every time Hermione turned around and asked him if he'd like to work with her.
He had to meet her at 6 p.m. in the head-boy and girl's common room. She had suggested this, and she assured him that Ron would know about it ahead of time and that he would be alright with it. She said that the library was much too noisy and that she wanted to help him as much as possible. Draco couldn't believe that he would be alone with Hermione in less that two hours. He had to get ready! He wanted to look his best after all…
**********************************In the Head-Girl's Dormitory****************************
Hermione sat on her bed trying to figure out what had made her do it. She had asked Draco Malfoy to her and Ron's common room instead of the library. She said it was because of the peace and quiet, but she knew that wasn't true.
Since her and Ron had broken up, she had started talking to Draco much more. He was, surprisingly, a very nice person after all. He had always been so horrible to her, but now it almost seemed as that wasn't him talking at all. She wanted desperately to find out more about him, to find out why he seemed so rotten on the exterior. She knew Ron and Harry were furious with her. Everyone knew that it would change after she and Ron broke up, but they didn't think she would start fratenising with the enemy.
Even she didn't see this coming really. Draco had talked to her in the hall way that one night, and he had made her feel so much better. She thought for sure it was some kind of prank he was trying to pull, but after a week of him being very pleasant she finally realised that it was no prank. He really liked being around her. They had worked together in class a few times, and he joked around and seemed to normal. If she hadn't known him before, he would seem like such a wonderful person.
He called her a mud-blood once, during Potions. It just came out of him, as if it was imprinted in his mind. As soon as he let it come out of his mouth he looked miserable. She forgave him, but then realised that there was something horribly wrong with Malfoy, but it wasn't that he was a bad person. It was just that he was taught something early on and he was having trouble changing. She could tell that he really wanted to be friends with her, and she in return wanted to be closer to him.
The first time he had laughed at one of her jokes, she had seen a completely different person. His smile was genuine and it looked so different from the usual, cruel smile she was so used to seeing plastered onto his face. He looked so handsome when he smiled at her now. She had never really looked at him before, but now that she was starting to see how wonderful he was on the inside, his outside was looking better and better. She saw that he was not the ugly, mean-spirited person she had always considered him to be.
Hermione looked at her watch and saw that it was 5:30, she only had 30 minutes before Malfoy would be there. She got up, looked in the mirror and walked slowly down the winding stairs and into the common room. Ron was there, putting on his coat.
"Malfoy will be here soon?" he asked darkly. She could tell that he was very upset that Malfoy was coming to our common room. They had decided early on that they could invite friends into the common room as long as they didn't tell anyone the password (except for Harry).
"Yes… pretty soon. Are you leaving?" she asked, trying to sound casual, but she could feel her eyes watering. Ron always had this effect on her, even though they had broken up she still had feelings for him. She didn't want to cry in front of him, so she fought strongly against the tears.
"Yes I am. When will he be gone? I don't really want to talk to him…" he said, letting his words drift off near the end of the sentence.
"Err.. Probably around 10 o'clock, I can't see it running any later…" she told Ron. He turned to leave and was half out the portrait when he turned back and looked at her.
"Hermione, what are you doing?" he asked suddenly, "I know we broke up, but I still care about you as a friend. Are you just talking to Malfoy to get back at me? To make me jealous? To hurt me? Because if you are that's cruel. Not only to me but to Malfoy as well."
"Actually," she replied shrilly, "Draco is turning out to be an okay person. I think his dad has just brainwashed him, and he doesn't really believe most of what he says. I actually like him, and so far he's been a pretty good friend to me…"
"Well fine," Ron said doubtfully, "if he hurts you… tell me. I swear, I'll make him regret it." It sounded like something Ron would of said before they had stopped dating. It was too much for Hermione. The tears started leaking out, but fortunately Ron was already heading out the portrait and he didn't see her cry.
****************************************6 o'clock**************************************
"Hermione?" Draco called through the short hallway into the common room. He walked into the room and saw Hermione on one of the couches with her Transfiguration books laid out on a table in front of her.
"Hey Draco," she said smiling at him. Her eyes were red, she had been crying. "You ready for some hard-core studying? Where do you want to start?"
"Best to start at the beginning, we can just skip through whatever I understand." he said smiling at her. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but he felt like it would be a bad way to start off the evening.
After an hour of studying Transfiguration, Hermione announced it was time for a break. Draco couldn't believe what an incredible teacher Hermione was. He really hadn't understood most of Transfiguration before today, but now it was finally all coming together for him. Hermione got up and poured them both a cup of tea and brought it back to the table.
"So, Draco… What do you want to do after you finish at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Err… My father wants me to work at the Ministry… but honestly? I'd like to talk to Dumbledore about starting an Art program here at Hogwarts." he said. She was the first person he'd ever expressed, even indirectly, his love for art. She looked at him oddly.
"I didn't know you liked art!" She said sounding surprised, "That's incredible. Do you draw?"
"Sometimes… I like to do portraits of other students… or of the school, or teachers. I'll draw anything really." he admitted.
"Can I see one of your drawings? Do you have any of me?" she asked, she sounded extremely interested.
"Sure, I have a couple of you. I'll show you my favourite." he told her, reaching into his bag and pulling out a notebook. Hermione looked at the drawing that Draco had handed her. It was incredible. It looked just like her, every curve and line in her face was there. She was looking at her desk, and she was obviously zoned-out. It was odd… his drawing didn't just show what was on the outside of her, but she could honestly see what she was thinking in the drawing. The drawing had captured her emotions perfectly, and at the time, she had been thinking of her growing fondness for Draco Malfoy.
"So… do you like it?" Draco asked expectantly after a few minutes of Hermione staring at the sketch as if in a trance.
"I love it… It's absolutely magnificent." she replied sincerely, "It captures me perfectly, I can almost see what's going on in my mind." Draco looked pleased, and he and Hermione continued to go through his drawings.