He had gotten taller over the summer, Hermione thought, watching the only
white-blond head in the crowd in front of her. Draco Malfoy was still as
thin as ever, though, and his skin didn't look as if it had seen a day of
summer sun. Hermione lost sight of him as he wheeled his trunk onto the
Hogwarts Express, until she fought her way through the throng and boarded
as well.
She saw Harry disappear into one of the prefect's compartments and watched Ron trail after Lavender Brown. Draco kept walking until the last open compartment and disappeared inside. Hermione looked around, saw the corridor nearly empty, and ducked into the same compartment.
Draco looked up as she dropped into the seat opposite him, a smile gracing his normally sneering features. "Hermione. Hello."
"Hallo, Draco," she replied.
Once the initial greetings had been exchanged, neither of them could think of anything to say. "How did your summer go?" Hermione began.
"Very well, actually. Father was away on . . . business most of the time. Mother and I went to Paris. You?"
"Paris! Nothing that exciting. Did a bit of reading," which meant all of their new textbooks and some extracurricular material, "wandered around Diagon Alley," when she ran out of books, to get new ones.
Awkward silence, and then Draco said, very low, "I missed you."
"I missed you, too." Hermione moved to sit beside him. "I would have written, but I thought your dad. . . ."
"You were right."
"What 'are' we going to do this year?"
"I've been thinking about it, and I had it all worked out, until this came." He pulled a parchment from his pocket and passed it to Hermione. "Now I'm going to have to spend all year working with some Ravenclaw who memorizes textbooks." He scowled.
It was a letter which began: 'Dear Mr. Malfoy, we are pleased to inform you that you have been selected as Hogwarts' Head Boy for the coming school year. . . .' Hermione laid the parchment down and said shakily, "What about a Gryffindor who memorizes textbooks?"
She pulled a parchment from her own pocket and gave it to him. He scanned it quickly. And then again, in disbelief. "Head Girl. You got Head Girl."
Hermione began to laugh like she hadn't in months. She threw her arms around Draco's neck. "We can do it," she whispered. "It's Hogwarts tradition: the Head Boy and Girl have to be a couple."
"Not this time. My father's on the board of governors; he got reinstated, remember? I don't know how he let this happen." But he hugged her back.
"Oh, we can at least be civil to each other. I couldn't stand another year of pretending to hate you."
Draco captured her mouth with his, muttering, "I think we can be more than civil."
She saw Harry disappear into one of the prefect's compartments and watched Ron trail after Lavender Brown. Draco kept walking until the last open compartment and disappeared inside. Hermione looked around, saw the corridor nearly empty, and ducked into the same compartment.
Draco looked up as she dropped into the seat opposite him, a smile gracing his normally sneering features. "Hermione. Hello."
"Hallo, Draco," she replied.
Once the initial greetings had been exchanged, neither of them could think of anything to say. "How did your summer go?" Hermione began.
"Very well, actually. Father was away on . . . business most of the time. Mother and I went to Paris. You?"
"Paris! Nothing that exciting. Did a bit of reading," which meant all of their new textbooks and some extracurricular material, "wandered around Diagon Alley," when she ran out of books, to get new ones.
Awkward silence, and then Draco said, very low, "I missed you."
"I missed you, too." Hermione moved to sit beside him. "I would have written, but I thought your dad. . . ."
"You were right."
"What 'are' we going to do this year?"
"I've been thinking about it, and I had it all worked out, until this came." He pulled a parchment from his pocket and passed it to Hermione. "Now I'm going to have to spend all year working with some Ravenclaw who memorizes textbooks." He scowled.
It was a letter which began: 'Dear Mr. Malfoy, we are pleased to inform you that you have been selected as Hogwarts' Head Boy for the coming school year. . . .' Hermione laid the parchment down and said shakily, "What about a Gryffindor who memorizes textbooks?"
She pulled a parchment from her own pocket and gave it to him. He scanned it quickly. And then again, in disbelief. "Head Girl. You got Head Girl."
Hermione began to laugh like she hadn't in months. She threw her arms around Draco's neck. "We can do it," she whispered. "It's Hogwarts tradition: the Head Boy and Girl have to be a couple."
"Not this time. My father's on the board of governors; he got reinstated, remember? I don't know how he let this happen." But he hugged her back.
"Oh, we can at least be civil to each other. I couldn't stand another year of pretending to hate you."
Draco captured her mouth with his, muttering, "I think we can be more than civil."