Chapter Twenty-Six:
(A/N. Yeah! I'm so happy! I can't believe everyone is liking my story. Don't worry we still have a lot of chapters to go until the end! I promise! Unless some big evil Death Eater comes and eats me (hahaha) I'll keep writing. Or if everyone stops reviewing! *Large gasp* I sure hope that doesn't happen. Okay, enjoy this LONG chapter!)
Draco awoke early the next morning and found that it had dawned cloudy, wet, and grey. He smiled grimly; the weather matched his sour mood. Not for the last time, he cursed fate, which had put Hermione and himself in such awful positions. They could never declare their relationship in the open. Lucius would kill him if he knew and Hermione's friends would all abandon her, calling her a traitor. They would have no reason not to believe she wasn't a traitor. That she hadn't sold herself out to the dark side. For only she knew that Draco wasn't like his Death Eater father. He sighed and dressed quickly. He checked that he had all his things than carefully pushed his trunk to the top of the stairs. He carefully picked it up and lugged it down the stairs. Soon Hermione came down carrying her trunk with the help of her father. They loaded their things into the car and sat down for a quick breakfast. Mrs. Granger had prepared delicious Belgian waffles with wipe cream and strawberries. As soon as they finished all four of them got in the car and started the ride to King's Cross Station. Thirty minutes later Mrs. Granger, Draco and Hermione got out of the car while Mr. Granger went to find parking. They put their trunks in separate trolleys and pushed them over to the magical barrier. Hermione's parents hugged their child and Draco felt a pang of jealousy. He hated himself for it. He was surprised when Mrs. Granger gave him a small hug and Mr. Granger shook his hand. He forgot jealousy as he realized that these two muggles had learned to accept him. He smiled and crossed the barrier, Hermione right behind him. Draco immediately spotted Crabbe and Goyle standing near the train waiting for him. He nodded his head at Hermione.
"See ya, Granger." He said. She shot him a condescending look and shrugged a shoulder carelessly.
"You still here, Malfoy?" She snapped. He grinned inwardly; she was a damn good actress. He turned and pushed his trolley over to his friends. He felt a form slam into him and realized it was Pansy coming to say hello. He growled and pulled her off him. She was ranting about her wonderful vacation.
"Shove it, Pansy." He growled. Her eyes went wide and her lip trembled then her face broke out into a pitying look.
"Oh, Drakey! I'm so sorry! It was so rude of me to be talking about my fun vacation when you were stuck with that icky wench." She said. He sighed and pushed past her ordering his cronies to stow his luggage as he went to find an empty compartment.
Hermione watched as Draco was attacked by the pug-faced Slytherin who seemed so fixated on winning Draco's heart.
"Or Draco's wedding ring." She muttered to herself. She knew Pansy was really only after Draco because of the prestige of marrying a Malfoy and the huge inheritance. She sighed and couldn't help but think that while Pansy could drool over Draco all she wanted, Hermione couldn't even give him an appraising look without getting angry remarks from her friends. She loaded her things in the luggage car and went to find Harry and Ron. She found them in their usual compartment playing a game of chess. Ron smiled at her lovingly and Hermione noticed Harry was sporting a bandage on his nose.
"What happened?" She cried. He winced and glanced over at Ron who shot his friend an apologizing look.
"I tried to hit Draco, he ducked, and I hit Harry instead. I broke his nose." Ron explained. She felt anger surge inside her and she wanted slap Ron for trying to hit Draco.
"What did he do this time?" She asked, quelling her anger and sitting beside Harry on the train's push seats.
"Nothing. He was just Draco Malfoy." Ron said saying the name sneeringly. So, Ron had been picking a fight. And yet, Draco was always pinned as the bad guy and Draco as the evil nemesis. She sighed.
"Wow. Can you believe we're in our seventh year?" Harry said staring out of the window. An idea struck Hermione.
"About that, try not to do anything this year. I was made Head Girl and I can't afford to loose that position." She said showing them her small pin.
"Whose Head Boy?" Harry asked, his voice sounding thick and nasal. Hermione forced her face into an appropriate grimace.
"Draco Malfoy." She said. Ron cursed and Harry sighed loudly. She knew he was just as tired as she of Ron's childish behavior. The train started off and the ride was pretty boring. Hermione fell asleep when Ron and Harry started to talk about Quidditch and woke fifteen minutes before their arrival to change into her Hogwarts robes. They got into their horseless carriages and arrived at the Hogwarts castle for their last year. Hermione wondered about what would happen to them in the end. They walked in though the large doors and turned right into the great hall. The Great Hall was decorated wonderfully but Hermione couldn't enjoy it. She kept sneaking glances at Draco who seemed just as troubled as she. Could their relationship survive the segregation their houses had? She sighed as Dumbledore rose to give his welcome speech.
"Welcome all to a new year at Hogwarts. I would like to congratulate Miss Hermione Granger at her appointment of the coveted position of Head Girl." There was a roar of applause from all the tables except the Slytherin's. "And Mister Draco Malfoy as Head Boy." He said. The applause was scattered in the Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor tables although the Slytherins over compensated. He went on to make a few more announcements but Hermione stopped listening. She stared down at her golden plate and Draco's face stared back at her. She didn't know how she was going to survive this year, she could barely contain her longing for him and she had only been apart from his more a few hours. What would days or weeks do to her?
"Hm?" She asked. Harry had asked her something but she had been lost in thought. He frowned at her.
"I said, what kind of dance are you planning this year?" He said. She frowned, every since the wonderful success at the Yule ball the Head Girl and Boy of the year would organize a dance. There had been a karaoke one, a muggle dance, and a Latin American dance. She shrugged.
"I donno. I guess I have to talk with Draco and the prefects." She said. Harry shot her a questioning look.
"Draco?"
"They made us use first name bases at the camp." She bluffed without a moment of hesitation. Harry bought it. Whatever Hermione learned, she did well. So, Hermione had learned to lie well. The feast ended and they all went back to their dorms. As Head Girl, Hermione was assigned a large room away from the other Gryffindors. It's door was adjacent to the Gryffindor common room. Each house common room was equipped with one such room so that if there was a Head Girl or Boy they could use it. They Head Girl and Boy were normally from different houses so there was only one large room. They all had a door inside that would lead to the Heads Common Room. The only doors were located in the Heads' bedrooms. She walked up to the portrait of a small girl dressed in a pink dress.
"You may choose your password now." The girl said sweetly. Hermione smiled mischievously.
"Draconis." She said. The girl smiled shyly, gave a small curtsy, before swinging forward. Hermione walked in and gawked at the beautiful room. The king sized bed had shimmering gold curtains and red silk sheets. The walls were gold with shining red roses on them. A warm red carpet covered the floor. The furniture was all made out of warm mahogany. It was perfect. She changed into her pajamas and fell into bed, a pleased smile on her soft lips.
Draco finally was able to pull himself away from Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle and went up to a large statue at the corner of the Slytherin common room. It was the bust of a lady with snakes as hair. He recognized her immediately, he had finally read the book on Greek Legends Hermione owned.
"Medusa." He stated calmly. The lady glared through stony eyes and the snakes seemed to spit venomously.
"Choose your password." A eerie sibilant voice said. Draco frowned thoughtfully and idea made his face light up.
"Perseus." He sneered. No Slytherin would expect that. None knew the myth of Medusa and her slayer Perseus. Medusa leered at him and the wall behind her pulled apart exposing a large bedroom. The walls were silver with green roses. Dark forest green carpeting covered the floor. Dark wood furniture and a large, comfortable bed completed the picture. Draco stepped inside and the wall closed behind him. He pulled of his clothes and climbed in-between the grey silk sheets. He missed Hermione so much it was almost like an actual pain. He got up again and grabbed a piece of parchment and a silver quill. He stared at the blank sheet and no ideas came to him. He simply couldn't put his thoughts into words because he didn't even know his thoughts. He cursed and threw down the quill. He climbed back into bed.
"Nox." He muttered and the lights in his room went out. He sighed into the darkness, would he survive this year?
