A/N~ When I do ---this thing--- it means that those are the character's mind. Their thoughts, if you will.
Ch. 2- Late Nights in the Prefects' Office
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"Okay, so I'm comfortable. Keep going," Ginny anticipated.
Hermione could see that Ginny truly wanted to hear the whole story, and she couldn't blame her. Hermione had put angst, jealousy, lust and pure happiness into the past two years and had made her life into a soap opera. So, sympathizing with the curiosity in Ginny that she herself held, and knowing the awful feeling one gets when something is held back from them, Hermione continued her story.
^^^^^^^FLASHBACK^^^^^^^
Hermione was starving. She headed towards supper at six, and immediately indulged herself with steak and kidney pie, steamed leeks, and bread pudding. In fact, she ate so quickly that she was full within ten minutes. Figuring it was anticipation and first-day back nerves, she told Harry and Ron she was going to get her Prefect schedules, and that she'd get Ron's and Ginny's schedules for them too.
She raced up to the Prefect Office, of course she knew where it was, and swung open the door (well, it was more like pulled really hard... those doors are really heavy!)
The Prefect office was rather oddly furnished. Hermione guessed that the house elves just took the slightly damaged furniture from around the school to make it look like they bought furniture for the room. Around the huge fireplace was a big red couch, that you could find a replica of in the Gryffindor Common Room; a couple high-backed, leather green chairs with mysterious, brown stains on them; you could find a blue window seat near the only window, and the chair at the long, yet battered, desk had yellow cushioning. Everything else was the obvious browns and blacks, besides the fire.
Hermione ran to that raggedy old desk, where a messy stack of papers sat waiting for her to tear through and look at her own. When she did find her's (of course it was at the bottom), she quickly looked at the times and dates and immediately found out when her next meeting was.
"Friday at 9. Friday at 9," she repeated to herself.
Just as she was going to turn to leave, she remembered to get Ron's and Ginny's. She looked through the pile, twice, but couldn't find it. Confused, she figured Ginny got Ron's and herself's. Hermione turned to leave, but was caught with an unpleasant sight. Sitting in one of the high-backed green chairs (the one where the brown stain isn't on the seat) was none other than Draco Malfoy.
"Fancy meeting you here, Granger," he said, in his lazy drawl.
"Charmed, I'm sure." She tried to leave, but a blond-haired, rat-faced sixth year Slytherin stepped in her way. "Let me leave!"
---Goodness, he'll never leave me alone! He's so obnoxious... bastardly... attractive.... Attractive?! Why did you say that?! Oh Merlin, Granger! Hermione! Hermione, damn it! What's gotten into you, mind?!---
"Now, wait just a minute. I believe you're looking for something."
"I can't think of anything. Let me go!"
"Nothing?" He held up her two friends' schedules.
"Hey! Those are mine!"
"No they're not."
"They belong to my friends."
"So they're not yours," he replied slyly.
"Shut up and give them to me. You've had your fun." Hermione was getting mad.
"Yeah... I don't think I'm going to. You're not being polite." Hermione made a snatch for them. "Eh, eh, eh... that doesn't look polite to me!"
"Please give me my friends' papers, dimfuck."
"Alright, if you're going to be that way, then fine. I'll just sit here on top of them. I'm not going to move."
---Alright, so he wants to play that game, does he?--- Hermione quickly took out her wand and muttered, "Wingardium Leviosa."
Draco was lifted out of his seat to across the room, leaving Hermione to pick up the papers and leave before Draco could make it across the room to stop her.
She grabbed them and reached for the door handle, stopped, and turned around.
"Come on, you didn't expect me to reach for them did you, when I could just as easily use FIRST-YEAR magic?"
"Aromohola!" Draco called.
---Damn it.---
"I believe that's a seventh year locking charm." He smirked, and said another spell: "Expelliarmus. Expelliarmus." Both Hermione's wand and the papers flew out of her hands into Draco's. "That we learned in our second year, don't you remember? Seems that Know-It-All Granger isn't half as clever as we thought she was."
Now THAT was an insult. "For your information, Malfoy, I knew the countercharm in first year."
"Sure you did. But you don't have your wand, do you?"
---Shiiiit.---
"Damn it, Malfoy. What do you want?"
He lifted his eyebrows. "Don't ask things you don't want the answer to."
Hermione was disgusted. DISGUSTED. "Malfoy! That's despicable! We're 16! I have a boyfriend! And you know, there's that whole little detail that is ME HATING YOUR SLIMY RAT-FACED SELF!"
"Hey, hey, hey. Calm down there, Mudblood. I don't want to have sex with you. Although, you would be decent for a bit, having pureblood in you. Bet the Weasel would appreciate it, really." Hermione wanted to slap him so hard that not only would the coolness be gone from his voice, but he would never have the motor skills to talk again! "I just want a little kiss."
"You're monstrous."
"Hey, don't compliment me yet. You have yet to see it."
"Oh, shut up and give me my fucking wand."
"Just one kiss."
"No!" Hermione made her way towards the 6 foot-something boy and reached upwards for her wand and the papers. His mouth caught hers somewhere along the way, and forced a hurtful kiss upon her lips. Hermione was shocked. Her eyes open, she stared a hole through the boy whose lips forced hers so much pain. But there was something about his kiss that put her at home. She couldn't quite grasp it, so she shut her eyes. Several long seconds later, she realized what she was doing and pushed him away. He put on his smug smirk.
"Look at you. You look so smug, so proud of yourself. You think you're funny, do you?" She grabbed her wand back, along with the papers. "You have nothing to be proud about!" In barely more than a whisper, she muttered, "I hate you. Your lips are poison."
"It seemed to me that you enjoyed the kiss."
"Don't talk to me about enjoyment, you... you evil ferret!"
"Is that the best you can do? Evil ferret? Well, I hate you as well, Mudblood."
"Hairboy."
"Schoolgirl."
"Sex addict."
"Hey! That's a disease, virgin."
"I'd rather be a virgin than have sex with you, rich kid."
"That hurt. You want me."
"I want you? You're the one who's popping out of his pants."
"So?"
"So? Are you as turned on as I am?" Hermione had to admit, he was pretty attractive.
"More."
They stepped closer to each other than either, before tonight, would've wished. They once more kissed in a beyond passionate embrace, then quickly broke apart.
"This is bad," said Hermione.
"I know." For the first time in his life, he finally agreed with her on something.
"Really bad."
"More than bad."
"Oh Merlin, why does it feel so good then?" She gathered her things. "I have to go."
They stepped apart, then, as if they couldn't bear being apart for more than two seconds, clung back together again. Their lips met, and for the first time, Hermione didn't sense any menacing or force in his kiss. And as if they moved with one brain, Hermione and Draco broke apart again, at the same time.
"We shouldn't," Hermione pointed out.
"We REALLY shouldn't," said Draco, accordingly.
"I really have to go," Hermione said. "Ron will be up here soon. Looking for me. See you... in Potions tomorrow."
"See you."
They left, one after the other. One to the cold, dark dungeons. One to the warm, cozy tower. Both lost in thought and confusion.
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The next day was more awkward than either of them would ever had imagined.
The first class of both of their days was Potions.
Potions, led by empty and angry Professor Snape, was held in the slimiest and largest dungeon in the castle. All around the dungeon was supply racks, where Snape kept his jars of pickled various animal parts, his sliced insects, and his containers after containers of magical herbs and flowers. The whole room, from the desks, to the walls, to the ceiling and floor, was gray and there were no windows, so it was dimly lit by cauldron fires, wall torches, and candles on each students' and Snape's desk.
The sixth year Gryffindors and Slytherins had Double Potions together on Thursdays, so that left two hours of the same 20ish people in the class.
When Hermione arrived to the dungeons, hand in hand with Ron, and next to Harry, she had no idea what she was in for.
"Oh goody," said the monotonous voice of Professor Snape. "Granger and Weasley are an item now. Guess I'll just have to further your seats from each other. Potter, you go and sit back there, next to Bulstrode. I know you two get along so well," he said sarcastically. "Weasley, why don't you go sit... next to Miss Parkinson in the corner there, and Granger. Go sit next to Mr. Malfoy. I'm sure you'll work well together."
Hermione looked to Draco, who smirked back. She, Ron and Harry had been split up to three separate corners of the room, while Malfoy and his two Chub Buds sat almost on top of each other, with Hermione in the middle.
"Oi, Granger. Fancy meeting you here." Draco chuckled to himself for making that brilliant connection to the night before.
"Oh, shut it, Hairboy."
"Attention, class. It's the start of another year and no rules have changed, so let's just get on and start. Oh yes, look to the person sharing your table." Hermione looked to Draco, and Draco to Hermione. "This will be your new lab partner, so get used to it." Snape smirked down at Hermione. "This should be fun."
Hermione looked back at Harry, who had a nervous smile on his face and was looking at Millicent Bulstrode with subtle terror. Then, she looked to Ron, who was looking back at her with a sympathetic look on his face. She did nothing but return the look. Ron was paired up with Draco's ex-girlfriend.
When Hermione turned around, she saw a small piece of paper on her table. She opened it up while Snape was passing out an announcement, and read:
"Looks like our exes are paired up. And look at us. Together again. We're going to have to put on a show to pull off this whole 'I hate you' thing. Write back."
Oh boy. Draco seemed to have the impression that Hermione had broken up with Ron for him. For HIM. ---Please,--- Hermione thought. She showed no mercy for his feelings in her reply.
"Our exes? I have no ex but this exclamation mark! And just because we kissed doesn't mean I don't hate you. Those were moments of madness. Shear madness."
There. That seemed perky, cruel, and smooth. Draco picked it up, read it, and while Hermione was listening to Snape's explanation of the announcement, wrote back.
"You mean you're still with the douche bag? Don't worry, I hate you too. I just... didn't expect this."
Oh no! She broke his heart! She felt horrible. She wrote back yet again:
"Oh, I'm sorry. Please let me explain. Meet me in the library study room 16 at 9.oo tonight."
His eyes lit up. He quickly wrote back.
"Alright. See you then, Mudblood."
One more response then she was good to go.
"Still hate you. Just feel bad for you."
That was good. She survived the rest of the period and even pretended to be arguing with him once or twice. Well, not pretended so much as made a scene out of it.
When Potions ended, Hermione reunited with Harry and Ron, and they quickly complained about their lab partners.
"Millicent has hated me since second year! Remember when she tried to choke you, Hermione?"
"Yes, I can recall."
"Pansy Parkinson is such an annoying little pratty slut," Ron said, grabbing Hermione hand and holding it in his.
"Yeah, she'd shag anyone. She DID date Malfoy last year, though, so I'm not surprised."
"Yeah," Ron continued. "So how do you like your new lab partner?" Ron asked, knowingly.
"Oh, he's gorgeous. I'm thinking of leaving my old boyfriend for him tomorrow night."
They all shared a laugh, while Hermione wished it partly wasn't true.
^^^^^^END FLASHBACK^^^^^^
"Wow. So karma caught up with you, did it? Forced to sit with Malfoy every day," Ginny said, incredulously.
"Oh, well. It wasn't all that bad. Not bad at all, really."
"So I have one quick question: Who kisses better, my brother or Malfoy?"
"Do I have to answer that?"
"No," said Ginny. She didn't really expect an answer anyway.
They sat there for a moment, in an awkward sort of silence, before Hermione spoke up. "Draco. Definitely Draco."
Ginny giggled, and Hermione readjusted her seat on the bed so she was lying down. Soon, Ginny lay down next to her, so their heads were next to one another, but Ginny was facing down and Hermione was facing up.
"So keep going, what happened next?"
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A/N- Wow, I love the changes I've made to this story. I've definitely grown as a writer since, and a lot more creative with the plot turns. And I personally love Ginny being there, inside of Hermione just remembering this by herself. What do you think? Review!
Disclaimer- I own naught but the plot.
-Sully or Atty or Whatever.