A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Now here's chapter 7.
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Emerald Fire
Chapter 7
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****Hermione's POV****
November passed rather quickly. I met Draco a lot in the Room of Requirement. He had been kicked off the Quidditch Team so he had more free time on his hands. I never asked him why he was kicked off the team. Actually, I -knew- why he had gotten kicked off the team, I just didn't want to bring the topic up. Harry continued to date Eliza and they walked around the lake every night (or so they said). Draco and I kept our friendship secret. I don't think the other houses were ready for a Slytherin and a Gryffindor friendship. I hadn't even told Harry. I didn't plan to either. Harry really was my best friend, but I don't think he could ever accept the fact that Draco and I really were friends. I don't think anyone could.
With the first days of December also came the first snow of the season. We had classes off on that day, so I went outside to enjoy it. Some first years were having a huge snowball fight in front of Hagrid's hut, so I decided -not- to go visit him. I wandered over to the frozen lake and caught sight of a red-headed girl sitting against a tree…
"Ginny!" I called, walking up her. Despite the fact that I had broken up with Ron, Ginny had remained my friend. She looked up at me and smiled.
"Hey," She said, "Haven't seen you in a while."
"Well I've had Head stuff to do," I replied, sitting down next to her, "So what've you been up to?"
"Fred 'n George 'n I have been coming up with ideas for a new product just in time for Christmas," She smiled. She had decided to join her brothers in the joke shop as well as becoming the Chaser for the Appleby Arrows.
"Can you give me a hint?" I asked hopefully. If they were going to release a new product I wanted a warning.
She smirked in a way that made her look nearly exactly like Fred and George.
"I'll tell you only one thing: a bunch of people will love it."
"In what way?" I raised an eyebrow. Last time she said that it meant everyone except the Slytherins would love it.
"Oh you'll find out," She cackled evilly. I edged away from her slightly.
"Well," She stood and wiped the snow off her robes, "I have to go, bye."
"Bye."
She walked off and I took her spot against the tree.
"Now what exactly d'you think she meant by that?" A voice from above me said. I snapped my head up and saw Draco hanging upside down from a branch eight feet above me.
"How are you doing that?" I asked him, looking at his feet. He was seriously defying the laws of gravity.
"Floating Charm," He said simply, smirking.
I looked over him to see how well he had done the spell. It really was amazing. He had even done a special spell to keep his robes in place. He looked incredibly like a vampire in the position he was in. Seriously, you nearly expected him to swoop down and bite you.
"Get down," I told him, "You're a Head, you shouldn't do things like that. What if the first years saw you and tried to do it as well?"
"Then the stupid buggers deserve to fall and break their necks," He said, but he still muttered the counter spell and slipped softly down. He landed in front of me without a sound, uncrossed his arms, and shoved his hands in his robe pockets.
"Did you even -want- to be a Head?" I asked him.
"Not really," He said, "But Lucius told me it would 'bring honor to the Malfoy name' so I had to."
He glared at the ground.
"Well you could always change," I said, "It's not to late. Dumbledore could find a replacement."
Draco shook his head.
"I'd rather stay exactly where I am," He said, looking up and smiling slightly.
I smiled back and we stood in silence for a while until we both started to shiver slightly.
"We should go back to the castle," I said, rubbing my arms. He nodded and we headed back to the castle together. Right when we were about to go into the door it burst open and who should come out but the Weasley twins.
"Hermione!" They both said in unison before they hugged me. They seemed to regard me as a sister now even through Ron and mine's relationship. They finally let go of me and then looked over to Draco and their expressions changed incredibly.
"Is he messing with you Hermione?" Fred asked, looking Draco over.
"Oh!" I glanced at Draco, "No, no, not at all! He's not messing with me at all!"
"Really?" George raised an eyebrow.
Draco sighed.
"I'm not going to fight either one of you," He said, holding up his hands and taking a step back.
The twins got identical puzzled looks on their faces.
"Why not?" They said in unison.
Draco shrugged and continued past them into the castle. They then looked at me.
"Why not?" They repeated.
"He's changed," I said, shrugging, "But why are you here?"
"Apparently we had a faulty product and one of our customers turned purple…" Fred shook his head.
"Can't you get in trouble?" I asked them, "Can't the person sue or something?"
"No, he can't," George smirked slightly, "It was his own fault."
"Yeah," Fred laughed, "We printed it clearly on the package to not mix it with any type of potion but the stupid prat still decided to do it anyway…"
I shook my head.
"So how does Mrs. Weasley feel about having another one of her children in the Joke Shop business?" I asked.
"Well," Fred glanced at his brother, "She doesn't -technically- know…"
"So please don't tell her," George pleaded.
"Fine," I sighed, "But if I need something from you I'll use it as blackmail."
"Deal," We shook hands and I walked inside the castle while they headed out towards Hagrid's Hut. I went straight to the Room of Requirement. Draco was sure to be there. I was right. A roaring fire was casting a warm glow around the room and Draco was sitting in one of the plush red chairs in front of it. He glanced back at me while I pulled off my scarf and held up a butterbeer. I took it and collapsed in the chair next to him.
"That was really amazing," I said after a while, "What you did back there. Refusing to fight and all."
Draco shrugged.
"Well I already knew from fifth year that they could both kill me if they wanted to so I decided to spare myself the bruises," He said simply.
"Really," I raised an eyebrow, "And here I was thinking you were becoming a better person…"
He shrugged again.
"Whatever you like…" He smirked and looked sideways at me. I rolled my eyes at him.
"You know sometimes you really remind me of Ron."
He made a bad face.
"Y'know I think I'm going to change my whole personality again…"
"Again?"
"What, you haven't noticed?"
"Yeah, I did. I just didn't think you did."
"Hermione, your stupid is showing."
"Well that's clever of you."
He smiled.
"I know, isn't it?"
I laughed slightly. We sunk into silence yet again before a magnified voice echoed down the halls.
"Will all students go to their Common Rooms for a special announcement please!"
Draco and I stood and left the room and headed towards the Head Common Room. Professor Dumbledore stood waiting for us. He waited for us all to gather around and get quiet before he smiled and started to talk.
"Thank you for coming," He started, "Now, as I'm sure you all remember, in fourth year we held a Yule ball."
Most of us nodded.
"Well, we're having another one on Christmas Day at eight o' clock, only this one is open to all years."
A ring of squeals from the rest of the girls rang around the room while the boys just raised their eyebrows.
"There will be a trip to Hogsmede this weekend. You have to buy your dress robes or gowns then if you don't have any, since there won't be any Hogsmede weekends after this one. Now be sure to help the other students if they need help. Good day."
He left and as soon as he walked out the door everyone broke out in whispers. Draco rolled his eyes and walked to his room. I soon went into my room as well. I needed to figure out what to buy at Hogsmede….Hey, I -am- a girl.
****Draco's POV****
I closed the door behind me and crossed to my bed. I couldn't go. There was no one to go with. I wasn't going to go out with a Hufflepuff no matter what, the Ravenclaws stayed away from me now, and the Slytherins and Gryffindors practically hated me. Well, one Gryffindor didn't hate me, but I couldn't go with her. She would probably go with someone else in Gryffindor or someone in Ravenclaw. But I didn't know who she wanted to go with so I couldn't say.
I sprawled out on my bed and sighed. Before fifth year girls used to flock to me, but now they just looked at me with pity or disgust. It was starting to get annoying. But it didn't matter much to me anymore. If they didn't like me then they didn't like me. I would probably still go to the ball. I had grown up around social activities and had grown to like them.
There was a knock on my door and I lifted my head.
"What?" I yelled. Hermione came in and closed the door behind her.
"You'd think you'd learn to say 'hello' or something," She sighed, crossing over and sitting on the edge of my bed.
"Whatever you want," I said, rolling over onto my stomach and propping myself up on my elbows.
"So d'you know who you're going to go to the ball with?" She asked.
"I'm not going to go with anyone," I said, letting my elbows collapse and folding them under my chin.
"Why not?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Well all the girls in our year either hate or pity me."
"I don't hate or pity you."
"But you wouldn't go to a ball with me now would you?"
"Maybe," She smiled softly, "It depends on how you act."
"Really?" I smirked as well, "Then I better be on my best behavior."
"Maybe you should."
She rose and left, smirking over her shoulder at me. I stared at the door for a while before I picked up my wand and turned the lights out with a spell. I flipped backwards and pulled the blanket up to my chin before trying to get to sleep. We had classes again tomorrow.
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A/N: Okay, there's chapter 7. Hope you like it. If you do, press the button. Please? Seriously.
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Emerald Fire
Chapter 7
****
****Hermione's POV****
November passed rather quickly. I met Draco a lot in the Room of Requirement. He had been kicked off the Quidditch Team so he had more free time on his hands. I never asked him why he was kicked off the team. Actually, I -knew- why he had gotten kicked off the team, I just didn't want to bring the topic up. Harry continued to date Eliza and they walked around the lake every night (or so they said). Draco and I kept our friendship secret. I don't think the other houses were ready for a Slytherin and a Gryffindor friendship. I hadn't even told Harry. I didn't plan to either. Harry really was my best friend, but I don't think he could ever accept the fact that Draco and I really were friends. I don't think anyone could.
With the first days of December also came the first snow of the season. We had classes off on that day, so I went outside to enjoy it. Some first years were having a huge snowball fight in front of Hagrid's hut, so I decided -not- to go visit him. I wandered over to the frozen lake and caught sight of a red-headed girl sitting against a tree…
"Ginny!" I called, walking up her. Despite the fact that I had broken up with Ron, Ginny had remained my friend. She looked up at me and smiled.
"Hey," She said, "Haven't seen you in a while."
"Well I've had Head stuff to do," I replied, sitting down next to her, "So what've you been up to?"
"Fred 'n George 'n I have been coming up with ideas for a new product just in time for Christmas," She smiled. She had decided to join her brothers in the joke shop as well as becoming the Chaser for the Appleby Arrows.
"Can you give me a hint?" I asked hopefully. If they were going to release a new product I wanted a warning.
She smirked in a way that made her look nearly exactly like Fred and George.
"I'll tell you only one thing: a bunch of people will love it."
"In what way?" I raised an eyebrow. Last time she said that it meant everyone except the Slytherins would love it.
"Oh you'll find out," She cackled evilly. I edged away from her slightly.
"Well," She stood and wiped the snow off her robes, "I have to go, bye."
"Bye."
She walked off and I took her spot against the tree.
"Now what exactly d'you think she meant by that?" A voice from above me said. I snapped my head up and saw Draco hanging upside down from a branch eight feet above me.
"How are you doing that?" I asked him, looking at his feet. He was seriously defying the laws of gravity.
"Floating Charm," He said simply, smirking.
I looked over him to see how well he had done the spell. It really was amazing. He had even done a special spell to keep his robes in place. He looked incredibly like a vampire in the position he was in. Seriously, you nearly expected him to swoop down and bite you.
"Get down," I told him, "You're a Head, you shouldn't do things like that. What if the first years saw you and tried to do it as well?"
"Then the stupid buggers deserve to fall and break their necks," He said, but he still muttered the counter spell and slipped softly down. He landed in front of me without a sound, uncrossed his arms, and shoved his hands in his robe pockets.
"Did you even -want- to be a Head?" I asked him.
"Not really," He said, "But Lucius told me it would 'bring honor to the Malfoy name' so I had to."
He glared at the ground.
"Well you could always change," I said, "It's not to late. Dumbledore could find a replacement."
Draco shook his head.
"I'd rather stay exactly where I am," He said, looking up and smiling slightly.
I smiled back and we stood in silence for a while until we both started to shiver slightly.
"We should go back to the castle," I said, rubbing my arms. He nodded and we headed back to the castle together. Right when we were about to go into the door it burst open and who should come out but the Weasley twins.
"Hermione!" They both said in unison before they hugged me. They seemed to regard me as a sister now even through Ron and mine's relationship. They finally let go of me and then looked over to Draco and their expressions changed incredibly.
"Is he messing with you Hermione?" Fred asked, looking Draco over.
"Oh!" I glanced at Draco, "No, no, not at all! He's not messing with me at all!"
"Really?" George raised an eyebrow.
Draco sighed.
"I'm not going to fight either one of you," He said, holding up his hands and taking a step back.
The twins got identical puzzled looks on their faces.
"Why not?" They said in unison.
Draco shrugged and continued past them into the castle. They then looked at me.
"Why not?" They repeated.
"He's changed," I said, shrugging, "But why are you here?"
"Apparently we had a faulty product and one of our customers turned purple…" Fred shook his head.
"Can't you get in trouble?" I asked them, "Can't the person sue or something?"
"No, he can't," George smirked slightly, "It was his own fault."
"Yeah," Fred laughed, "We printed it clearly on the package to not mix it with any type of potion but the stupid prat still decided to do it anyway…"
I shook my head.
"So how does Mrs. Weasley feel about having another one of her children in the Joke Shop business?" I asked.
"Well," Fred glanced at his brother, "She doesn't -technically- know…"
"So please don't tell her," George pleaded.
"Fine," I sighed, "But if I need something from you I'll use it as blackmail."
"Deal," We shook hands and I walked inside the castle while they headed out towards Hagrid's Hut. I went straight to the Room of Requirement. Draco was sure to be there. I was right. A roaring fire was casting a warm glow around the room and Draco was sitting in one of the plush red chairs in front of it. He glanced back at me while I pulled off my scarf and held up a butterbeer. I took it and collapsed in the chair next to him.
"That was really amazing," I said after a while, "What you did back there. Refusing to fight and all."
Draco shrugged.
"Well I already knew from fifth year that they could both kill me if they wanted to so I decided to spare myself the bruises," He said simply.
"Really," I raised an eyebrow, "And here I was thinking you were becoming a better person…"
He shrugged again.
"Whatever you like…" He smirked and looked sideways at me. I rolled my eyes at him.
"You know sometimes you really remind me of Ron."
He made a bad face.
"Y'know I think I'm going to change my whole personality again…"
"Again?"
"What, you haven't noticed?"
"Yeah, I did. I just didn't think you did."
"Hermione, your stupid is showing."
"Well that's clever of you."
He smiled.
"I know, isn't it?"
I laughed slightly. We sunk into silence yet again before a magnified voice echoed down the halls.
"Will all students go to their Common Rooms for a special announcement please!"
Draco and I stood and left the room and headed towards the Head Common Room. Professor Dumbledore stood waiting for us. He waited for us all to gather around and get quiet before he smiled and started to talk.
"Thank you for coming," He started, "Now, as I'm sure you all remember, in fourth year we held a Yule ball."
Most of us nodded.
"Well, we're having another one on Christmas Day at eight o' clock, only this one is open to all years."
A ring of squeals from the rest of the girls rang around the room while the boys just raised their eyebrows.
"There will be a trip to Hogsmede this weekend. You have to buy your dress robes or gowns then if you don't have any, since there won't be any Hogsmede weekends after this one. Now be sure to help the other students if they need help. Good day."
He left and as soon as he walked out the door everyone broke out in whispers. Draco rolled his eyes and walked to his room. I soon went into my room as well. I needed to figure out what to buy at Hogsmede….Hey, I -am- a girl.
****Draco's POV****
I closed the door behind me and crossed to my bed. I couldn't go. There was no one to go with. I wasn't going to go out with a Hufflepuff no matter what, the Ravenclaws stayed away from me now, and the Slytherins and Gryffindors practically hated me. Well, one Gryffindor didn't hate me, but I couldn't go with her. She would probably go with someone else in Gryffindor or someone in Ravenclaw. But I didn't know who she wanted to go with so I couldn't say.
I sprawled out on my bed and sighed. Before fifth year girls used to flock to me, but now they just looked at me with pity or disgust. It was starting to get annoying. But it didn't matter much to me anymore. If they didn't like me then they didn't like me. I would probably still go to the ball. I had grown up around social activities and had grown to like them.
There was a knock on my door and I lifted my head.
"What?" I yelled. Hermione came in and closed the door behind her.
"You'd think you'd learn to say 'hello' or something," She sighed, crossing over and sitting on the edge of my bed.
"Whatever you want," I said, rolling over onto my stomach and propping myself up on my elbows.
"So d'you know who you're going to go to the ball with?" She asked.
"I'm not going to go with anyone," I said, letting my elbows collapse and folding them under my chin.
"Why not?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Well all the girls in our year either hate or pity me."
"I don't hate or pity you."
"But you wouldn't go to a ball with me now would you?"
"Maybe," She smiled softly, "It depends on how you act."
"Really?" I smirked as well, "Then I better be on my best behavior."
"Maybe you should."
She rose and left, smirking over her shoulder at me. I stared at the door for a while before I picked up my wand and turned the lights out with a spell. I flipped backwards and pulled the blanket up to my chin before trying to get to sleep. We had classes again tomorrow.
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A/N: Okay, there's chapter 7. Hope you like it. If you do, press the button. Please? Seriously.