CONFLICT OF INTREST.
Deuce.
An hour later Hermione sat in a comfortable chair in front of the fire. She had unpacked all her belongings and set her books out in alphabetical order for her classes tomorrow morning. Hermione couldn't help stealing a glance at the boy sitting in the other chair.
"Like what you see?" Draco asked, not looking up from his book.
"Huh? Oh.. I was- uh.. I wa-" she stuttered, and Draco looked up and smirked.
"Save it Granger, we both know you think I'm hot" he drawled, a smirk in his tone.
Hermione snickered and looked away, she would have protested, but thought better of it. Let him have this one, She thought to herself.
Hermione climbed to her feet and headed to her room, although she had explored it thoroughly earlier, she was unaccustomed to such opulent surroundings and wanted to enjoy them.
She walked to the door that held the Gryffindor crest proudly upon it, and opened it. As it had the first time, the room took her breath away. There was a wrought Iron double bed in the middle of the room, the floors were polished mahogany, covered only in a thick rug, that felt like heaven as she walked over it bare foot.
There was a large desk in the corner, a trunk, wardrobe and chest of drawers. Hermione sat down on her bed and looked up at the canopy above her. It suddenly hit her that she wouldn't have Harry and Ron a couple of metres away in the boys dorm. What would she do without Harry and Ron around constantly to keep her grounded, to make sure that she left her room for meals and didn't stay inside reading all the time?
Hermione brushed the thoughts away and took off her robe, changing quickly into pink pajamas with cows on them. Her mother had fallen in love with them and bought them for her, apparently not realizing that she wasn't five years old still.
Hermione climbed under the covers, and held close thoughts of her parents at home, hoping they would be ok without her.
Hours later Hermione woke suddenly, needing to go to the bathroom. She climbed out of bed and pulled on her robe, she crept out of her room and towards the bathroom, just as she was at the door, she heard a noise, and span around, her instincts took over and she delivered the person a sharp punch to the nose before kneeing them in the groin.
"Ohhh.. Granger!.." the figured moaned from the floor and she gasped, quickly lighting up the room with her wand.
"Malfoy?" she squeaked,
"Yes Granger.. Who else did you think it was? Lord flipping Voldemort?" he snapped back, climbing slowly to his feet.
"Oh.. I'm sorry, My mother had me take these self defense classes last summer and I heard someone behind me.. I guess I just.. sorry" she tried to explain, But Malfoy merely glared at her.
Hermione reached out to help him, but he backed away.
"No way your coming anywhere near me crazy self defence lady! I'm going to my room!" he struggled back to his room, and Hermione had to shove a fist in her mouth to stop herself from laughing. She had a feeling that it was his pride, not his body that was injured.
********************
next morning at breakfast Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table and picked at her food absently. She still felt bad about what she had done to Malfoy, even if blond boy was a prick to her and made her life hell, he didn't deserve to be beat up.
"What's the matter 'Mione?" Harry probed gently, Ron on her otherside, was oblivious as he shoveled eggs into his mouth so quickly it took the appearance of one fluid motion. "Oh.. last night, Malfoy.. I-" she began to explain, but Harry's face had twisted into a mask of rage.
"What did he do?" he ground out, and Hermione shivered involuntarily, not liking the way he could sound so cold.
"It wasn't him.. It was me.. I needed to go to the bathroom, and I heard someone come up behind me, I wasn't thinking and I span and punched him in the nose and kneed him in the groin" Hermione explained and Harry shrugged.
"So? It's Malfoy.. He's done some pretty rotten things to you, and your all worked up about this?" Harry demanded.. Hermione looked away, she had known that they wouldn't understand, and was now wondering why she had even told them.
"That's great though.. you'll be hero of Gryffindor before the day's out" Harry promised, ruffling her hair affectionately.
Ron looked up suddenly and blinked.
"Who did Hermione knee in the groin?" he asked, giving her an odd look.
"Malfoy" Harry supplied with a smirk, and Ron laughed, spraying egg everywhere.
"Hey! Malfoy got beat up by a girl!" Ron announced to the table, causing a loud chorus of smirks, snickers and chuckles to run down it's length.
Hermione met Draco's eye for a second, and smiled sheepishly. He glared and looked away.
*************************
Draco stormed out of the Great Hall, It had been an ok morning, he had almost managed to forget about Granger assaulting him the night before, and apart from the nasty bruise on his face, he figured he looked pretty damned good. Then Weasel had announced it for the public what had happened. He could kill her, kill him.
Crabbe and Goyle stumbled along behind him and he stopped at the door to transfiguration, it wouldn't do for him to show up early, so he leant against the stone wall and kicked at the floor absently, he rolled his eyes as Crabbe and Goyle saw what he was doing and promptly copied.
Who did she think she was anyway? He rather valued his lower extremitites, not to mention his face, and Granger had single-handedly managed to damage both in the one go. This wouldn't do. Revenge, that was what he needed. The girl had wounded his pride, and made him a laughing stock, that couldn't go unpunished.
An idea occurred to him, and he grinned. It was perfect, just perfect. It would break her heart. Draco couldn't help it, he grinned. Perfect.
***********************
Hermione sat at her desk that night battling with her charms essay, when an owl swooped through her window and perched on the window ledge.
"Hi there" she greeted it, scratching it affectionately before untying the letter on it's foot.
Hermione gave it a treat and it hooted once, and took off. She wondered who the owl was from, she didn't recognize it as anyone's she knew.
Hermione unraveled the parchment and read in silence.
Dear Hermione,
Great news! I'm transferring to Hogwarts! Wanted to owl you before I got there, I'll be arriving tomorrow.
Joey.
Hermione read over the note once more unable to believe it. Joseph had been her penpal for just over two years now, Although he was American, he had been attending Beauxbatons since his first year, and she felt as though she had known him forever. Unable to contain her excitement, Hermione pulled a jumper over her pajama pants, and ran out of her room and into her and Draco's common room.
****************************
Draco watched, pleased as she ran past him and into the hall, presumably on the way to the Gryffindor tower.
He smirked, and settled back in his chair.
"Looks like she got the owl" he muttered, a smile of self satisfaction settling on his mouth.
**************************
Hermione reached Ginny's dorm in world record time and flopped down on her bed, trying to get her breath back so that she could tell her the news.
"What? What is it? Should I go get Ron?" Ginny demanded, verging on hysterical at seeing her friend come flying through the door and onto her bed as though a loose hippogriff were chasing her.
"Guess what?" Hermione began and Ginny rolled her eyes.
"I have no idea" she deadpanned, and Hermione grinned.
"Joey's coming to Hogwarts!" she exclaimed and Ginny squealed.
"Sexy Joey? Your penpal from Beauxbatons?" she demanded, and Hermione nodded ecstatically. "That's so great! You two would be perfect.. well when I put your two pictures together you looked good! And that's gotta be a good sign!" Ginny enthused and Hermione just grinned.
She couldn't help remembering her hopes that her lovelife would improve, and here it seemed that it was going to.
"Oh Ginny! I'm so nervous! What if he doesn't like me.." Hermione broke off, not wanting to finish the sentence.
"Hermione, how long have you two been writing to each other?" Ginny queried.
"Two years" Hermione supplied,
"Don't you think he would have stopped writing to you if he didn't like you?" she asked, voice of reason.
"Your right.. Thanks Ginny" Hermione gave her a quick hug, and Ginny smiled.
"Hey, that's what friends are for" she told her, smiling as she watched Hermione's retreating back.
Deuce.
An hour later Hermione sat in a comfortable chair in front of the fire. She had unpacked all her belongings and set her books out in alphabetical order for her classes tomorrow morning. Hermione couldn't help stealing a glance at the boy sitting in the other chair.
"Like what you see?" Draco asked, not looking up from his book.
"Huh? Oh.. I was- uh.. I wa-" she stuttered, and Draco looked up and smirked.
"Save it Granger, we both know you think I'm hot" he drawled, a smirk in his tone.
Hermione snickered and looked away, she would have protested, but thought better of it. Let him have this one, She thought to herself.
Hermione climbed to her feet and headed to her room, although she had explored it thoroughly earlier, she was unaccustomed to such opulent surroundings and wanted to enjoy them.
She walked to the door that held the Gryffindor crest proudly upon it, and opened it. As it had the first time, the room took her breath away. There was a wrought Iron double bed in the middle of the room, the floors were polished mahogany, covered only in a thick rug, that felt like heaven as she walked over it bare foot.
There was a large desk in the corner, a trunk, wardrobe and chest of drawers. Hermione sat down on her bed and looked up at the canopy above her. It suddenly hit her that she wouldn't have Harry and Ron a couple of metres away in the boys dorm. What would she do without Harry and Ron around constantly to keep her grounded, to make sure that she left her room for meals and didn't stay inside reading all the time?
Hermione brushed the thoughts away and took off her robe, changing quickly into pink pajamas with cows on them. Her mother had fallen in love with them and bought them for her, apparently not realizing that she wasn't five years old still.
Hermione climbed under the covers, and held close thoughts of her parents at home, hoping they would be ok without her.
Hours later Hermione woke suddenly, needing to go to the bathroom. She climbed out of bed and pulled on her robe, she crept out of her room and towards the bathroom, just as she was at the door, she heard a noise, and span around, her instincts took over and she delivered the person a sharp punch to the nose before kneeing them in the groin.
"Ohhh.. Granger!.." the figured moaned from the floor and she gasped, quickly lighting up the room with her wand.
"Malfoy?" she squeaked,
"Yes Granger.. Who else did you think it was? Lord flipping Voldemort?" he snapped back, climbing slowly to his feet.
"Oh.. I'm sorry, My mother had me take these self defense classes last summer and I heard someone behind me.. I guess I just.. sorry" she tried to explain, But Malfoy merely glared at her.
Hermione reached out to help him, but he backed away.
"No way your coming anywhere near me crazy self defence lady! I'm going to my room!" he struggled back to his room, and Hermione had to shove a fist in her mouth to stop herself from laughing. She had a feeling that it was his pride, not his body that was injured.
********************
next morning at breakfast Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table and picked at her food absently. She still felt bad about what she had done to Malfoy, even if blond boy was a prick to her and made her life hell, he didn't deserve to be beat up.
"What's the matter 'Mione?" Harry probed gently, Ron on her otherside, was oblivious as he shoveled eggs into his mouth so quickly it took the appearance of one fluid motion. "Oh.. last night, Malfoy.. I-" she began to explain, but Harry's face had twisted into a mask of rage.
"What did he do?" he ground out, and Hermione shivered involuntarily, not liking the way he could sound so cold.
"It wasn't him.. It was me.. I needed to go to the bathroom, and I heard someone come up behind me, I wasn't thinking and I span and punched him in the nose and kneed him in the groin" Hermione explained and Harry shrugged.
"So? It's Malfoy.. He's done some pretty rotten things to you, and your all worked up about this?" Harry demanded.. Hermione looked away, she had known that they wouldn't understand, and was now wondering why she had even told them.
"That's great though.. you'll be hero of Gryffindor before the day's out" Harry promised, ruffling her hair affectionately.
Ron looked up suddenly and blinked.
"Who did Hermione knee in the groin?" he asked, giving her an odd look.
"Malfoy" Harry supplied with a smirk, and Ron laughed, spraying egg everywhere.
"Hey! Malfoy got beat up by a girl!" Ron announced to the table, causing a loud chorus of smirks, snickers and chuckles to run down it's length.
Hermione met Draco's eye for a second, and smiled sheepishly. He glared and looked away.
*************************
Draco stormed out of the Great Hall, It had been an ok morning, he had almost managed to forget about Granger assaulting him the night before, and apart from the nasty bruise on his face, he figured he looked pretty damned good. Then Weasel had announced it for the public what had happened. He could kill her, kill him.
Crabbe and Goyle stumbled along behind him and he stopped at the door to transfiguration, it wouldn't do for him to show up early, so he leant against the stone wall and kicked at the floor absently, he rolled his eyes as Crabbe and Goyle saw what he was doing and promptly copied.
Who did she think she was anyway? He rather valued his lower extremitites, not to mention his face, and Granger had single-handedly managed to damage both in the one go. This wouldn't do. Revenge, that was what he needed. The girl had wounded his pride, and made him a laughing stock, that couldn't go unpunished.
An idea occurred to him, and he grinned. It was perfect, just perfect. It would break her heart. Draco couldn't help it, he grinned. Perfect.
***********************
Hermione sat at her desk that night battling with her charms essay, when an owl swooped through her window and perched on the window ledge.
"Hi there" she greeted it, scratching it affectionately before untying the letter on it's foot.
Hermione gave it a treat and it hooted once, and took off. She wondered who the owl was from, she didn't recognize it as anyone's she knew.
Hermione unraveled the parchment and read in silence.
Dear Hermione,
Great news! I'm transferring to Hogwarts! Wanted to owl you before I got there, I'll be arriving tomorrow.
Joey.
Hermione read over the note once more unable to believe it. Joseph had been her penpal for just over two years now, Although he was American, he had been attending Beauxbatons since his first year, and she felt as though she had known him forever. Unable to contain her excitement, Hermione pulled a jumper over her pajama pants, and ran out of her room and into her and Draco's common room.
****************************
Draco watched, pleased as she ran past him and into the hall, presumably on the way to the Gryffindor tower.
He smirked, and settled back in his chair.
"Looks like she got the owl" he muttered, a smile of self satisfaction settling on his mouth.
**************************
Hermione reached Ginny's dorm in world record time and flopped down on her bed, trying to get her breath back so that she could tell her the news.
"What? What is it? Should I go get Ron?" Ginny demanded, verging on hysterical at seeing her friend come flying through the door and onto her bed as though a loose hippogriff were chasing her.
"Guess what?" Hermione began and Ginny rolled her eyes.
"I have no idea" she deadpanned, and Hermione grinned.
"Joey's coming to Hogwarts!" she exclaimed and Ginny squealed.
"Sexy Joey? Your penpal from Beauxbatons?" she demanded, and Hermione nodded ecstatically. "That's so great! You two would be perfect.. well when I put your two pictures together you looked good! And that's gotta be a good sign!" Ginny enthused and Hermione just grinned.
She couldn't help remembering her hopes that her lovelife would improve, and here it seemed that it was going to.
"Oh Ginny! I'm so nervous! What if he doesn't like me.." Hermione broke off, not wanting to finish the sentence.
"Hermione, how long have you two been writing to each other?" Ginny queried.
"Two years" Hermione supplied,
"Don't you think he would have stopped writing to you if he didn't like you?" she asked, voice of reason.
"Your right.. Thanks Ginny" Hermione gave her a quick hug, and Ginny smiled.
"Hey, that's what friends are for" she told her, smiling as she watched Hermione's retreating back.