OMG! I am so sorry this took SO long! I couldn't get it right for ages
until I taped my friend doing it for me and wrote down what she said. So
if it's really weird...it's her fault. (Love ya haz.) I hope you guys like
it...like I said, sorry it took so long. Istalindar
*&*
So far Hermione had been back from Beauxbatons for two weeks and had, so far, managed to ignore Malfoy. He kept trying to get her attention, trying to catch her eye or pass her a note in class, but she looked away and didn't read the notes. She wasn't furious at him anymore, she just felt cold and empty. She couldn't believe how he could have done that to her, after all the time they had been together.
On the way out of Potions, Malfoy grabbed her arm, but she shook him off, looking as cold as possible. She hated this...this not-talking.
She was just on her way to Ancient Runes when someone grabbed her arm and yanked, hard. When she got her balance and looked around, she saw Malfoy leaning against the closed door of the empty classroom, arms folded.
"What the hell do you want?" she demanded.
"Why are you ignoring me?" he shot back.
"What do you mean, why am I ignoring you? Do I have to spell it out for you?"
"Yes, actually, you do." Malfoy said flatly.
"You cheated on me!" Hermione exclaimed.
"What? I didn't cheat on you, you cheated on me!" Malfoy took a step forward as Hermione stood, furiously glaring at him. He always knew how to wind her up. And now she was really pissed off at him.
"I didn't cheat on you! You cheated on me! Don't think she didn't tell me. Because she did."
"Oh really." Malfoy drawled, approaching Hermione. She took a step back. "And what, precisely, did she tell you?"
"She told me! Right? She told me!"
"What?"
"She told me!" Hermione exclaimed, trying to get across to Malfoy the unspeakables that she had been told. "Everything! And most of it was right." Most of it was, which was what hurt the most. That Julianna had been right.
"I do have a reputation, you know." Malfoy said, leaning against the teachers desk.
"Exactly! That's why I believe her!" Hermione exclaimed.
"What about you and that Cole guy?" Malfoy asked, completely changing the subject. "You know, gorgeous? Was he really worth losing me over?"
"What the hell are you talking about? I didn't touch him! We were just like best friends – he really looked after me!"
"Yeah, whatever." Hermione stared at him for a moment, suddenly very tired of the whole thing.
"You believe what you want to believe. Alright?" she then turned and unlocked the door and let herself, letting the door swing shut and click into place, leaving Malfoy alone in the room.
*&*
All around school, teachers were getting very annoyed. It seemed they couldn't go anywhere without seeing or hearing Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger shouting and / or hexing each other. No amount of deducted points could get them to stop, and it was most definitely worse than when they first came to Hogwarts, when their battles were fought more quietly, with whispers of 'mudblood' instead of shouting matches in the middle of the hall.
*&*
"They're at it again." Professor Sinistra sank into the armchair in the teacher's lounge. "And I haven't got the energy to stop them." McGonagall and Snape exchanged equally weary looks. The former pushed herself up from the chair with a sigh.
"I'll sort them up. This has to stop."
"I'll come with you. It's both our houses."
It wasn't hard for the pair to find the furious students. Their shouts echoed down the hall. McGonagall and Snape found them on the corridor by the Transfiguration Room.
"I can't believe you'd wear that!" That was Malfoy.
"You liked it before! Before her! Why, was she more conservative than me? Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realise you went for the conservative type. No, wait! She came from the school I went to; it's completely the other end of the spectrum! Is this not short enough for you? Huh?" Hermione yelled.
"Stop it immediately, both of you." McGonagall looked at them both disapprovingly, and they subsided into silence. "This is ridiculous, and cannot continue. Unless you can resolve your differences like normal human beings, the teaching staff will make you. This will not continue. Is that understood?" Hermione nodded, but Malfoy just stared stonily at Hermione. "Good. Go to your common rooms." The students went, Hermione going the roundabout way to avoid having to walk the same way as Malfoy.
"They're going to kill each other." Snape commented.
"Don't be ridiculous, Severus. Of course they wont."
"Hmm."
*&*
"This has got to stop!" McGonagall fumed. Hermione looked properly ashamed but Malfoy just stared into space. "I can't believe two seventh years could be so immature!" Hermione was aghast. She and Malfoy were both in the hospital bay, her for the jelly legs curse used by Malfoy, and him because when she put him in the full body bind and when he keeled over he banged his back on a corner and now had a big bruise and a graze across his lower back.
"The teaching staff have come to a decision. In all your classes, because I know you have all the same classes, you will be paired up. All the partner work you have, and I assure you, it'll be quite a bit, will be done together. You will be civil, if you can't be friends!" Professor McGonagall turned and swept from the room.
"That was clever." Malfoy said.
"Don't start." Hermione said, turning onto her side, her back to Malfoy.
*&*
Hermione reached around Malfoy to grab the chopped spiders legs. She carefully put an ounce into the cauldron, and bumped his arm when she withdrew. He jabbed her back and her wrist banged against the hot cauldron. She drew back with a hiss, clutching her burnt wrist to her chest.
"Miss Granger! What's going on?"
"I burnt my wrist, sir." Snape took hold of her reddened wrist and narrowed his eyes at it. It was red and swollen, the skin peeling.
"And got dragon blood on it, it would appear. Malfoy, take her to the hospital wing." Malfoy rolled his eyes but nodded. Snape magically emptied their cauldron, and sent them on their way.
The pair walked swiftly through the hallways, Hermione biting her lip to stop crying out as her wrist stung badly.
"I'm sorry." Hermione nearly fell over from shock. Malfoy glanced at her, and noticed her pained expression. "Here, let me have a look." He took her wrist and looked at it. Then he pulled out his wand and Hermione jerked her hand back.
"We're nearly here now." She turned onto the hospital bay corridor, and disappeared into the vaulted room. Malfoy followed with a sigh, pocketing his wand.
"What happened?" Pomfrey asked. "He didn't hex you again?"
"No, I burnt my wrist. Snape sent him to look after me in case I forgot which way was left." Hermione said snidely.
"Don't be snippy with me, young lady. I've seen enough of you in the last month to be well and truly sick of the sight of both of you! I'm swift losing patience with the pair of you." Malfoy and Hermione exchanged shocked glances at sympathetic Madame Pomfrey's harsh attitude.
An hour later, Hermione walked out of the infirmary, her wrist heavily swathed in bandages.
"I swear he never said anything about Dragon's blood making your skin peel off if you got it on burnt skin." Hermione commented.
"There you are!" McGonagall appeared before them. "Oh no, you haven't..." she started reproving them.
"I burnt my wrist." Hermione said hastily. "It wasn't his fault." She lied.
"You mean you're finally being civil, after three weeks of partner work? Thank Merlin. That'll make what you're about to do a lot easier."
"What do you mean?" Malfoy asked.
"Dumbledore and I have something we want you to do..."
*&*
So far Hermione had been back from Beauxbatons for two weeks and had, so far, managed to ignore Malfoy. He kept trying to get her attention, trying to catch her eye or pass her a note in class, but she looked away and didn't read the notes. She wasn't furious at him anymore, she just felt cold and empty. She couldn't believe how he could have done that to her, after all the time they had been together.
On the way out of Potions, Malfoy grabbed her arm, but she shook him off, looking as cold as possible. She hated this...this not-talking.
She was just on her way to Ancient Runes when someone grabbed her arm and yanked, hard. When she got her balance and looked around, she saw Malfoy leaning against the closed door of the empty classroom, arms folded.
"What the hell do you want?" she demanded.
"Why are you ignoring me?" he shot back.
"What do you mean, why am I ignoring you? Do I have to spell it out for you?"
"Yes, actually, you do." Malfoy said flatly.
"You cheated on me!" Hermione exclaimed.
"What? I didn't cheat on you, you cheated on me!" Malfoy took a step forward as Hermione stood, furiously glaring at him. He always knew how to wind her up. And now she was really pissed off at him.
"I didn't cheat on you! You cheated on me! Don't think she didn't tell me. Because she did."
"Oh really." Malfoy drawled, approaching Hermione. She took a step back. "And what, precisely, did she tell you?"
"She told me! Right? She told me!"
"What?"
"She told me!" Hermione exclaimed, trying to get across to Malfoy the unspeakables that she had been told. "Everything! And most of it was right." Most of it was, which was what hurt the most. That Julianna had been right.
"I do have a reputation, you know." Malfoy said, leaning against the teachers desk.
"Exactly! That's why I believe her!" Hermione exclaimed.
"What about you and that Cole guy?" Malfoy asked, completely changing the subject. "You know, gorgeous? Was he really worth losing me over?"
"What the hell are you talking about? I didn't touch him! We were just like best friends – he really looked after me!"
"Yeah, whatever." Hermione stared at him for a moment, suddenly very tired of the whole thing.
"You believe what you want to believe. Alright?" she then turned and unlocked the door and let herself, letting the door swing shut and click into place, leaving Malfoy alone in the room.
*&*
All around school, teachers were getting very annoyed. It seemed they couldn't go anywhere without seeing or hearing Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger shouting and / or hexing each other. No amount of deducted points could get them to stop, and it was most definitely worse than when they first came to Hogwarts, when their battles were fought more quietly, with whispers of 'mudblood' instead of shouting matches in the middle of the hall.
*&*
"They're at it again." Professor Sinistra sank into the armchair in the teacher's lounge. "And I haven't got the energy to stop them." McGonagall and Snape exchanged equally weary looks. The former pushed herself up from the chair with a sigh.
"I'll sort them up. This has to stop."
"I'll come with you. It's both our houses."
It wasn't hard for the pair to find the furious students. Their shouts echoed down the hall. McGonagall and Snape found them on the corridor by the Transfiguration Room.
"I can't believe you'd wear that!" That was Malfoy.
"You liked it before! Before her! Why, was she more conservative than me? Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realise you went for the conservative type. No, wait! She came from the school I went to; it's completely the other end of the spectrum! Is this not short enough for you? Huh?" Hermione yelled.
"Stop it immediately, both of you." McGonagall looked at them both disapprovingly, and they subsided into silence. "This is ridiculous, and cannot continue. Unless you can resolve your differences like normal human beings, the teaching staff will make you. This will not continue. Is that understood?" Hermione nodded, but Malfoy just stared stonily at Hermione. "Good. Go to your common rooms." The students went, Hermione going the roundabout way to avoid having to walk the same way as Malfoy.
"They're going to kill each other." Snape commented.
"Don't be ridiculous, Severus. Of course they wont."
"Hmm."
*&*
"This has got to stop!" McGonagall fumed. Hermione looked properly ashamed but Malfoy just stared into space. "I can't believe two seventh years could be so immature!" Hermione was aghast. She and Malfoy were both in the hospital bay, her for the jelly legs curse used by Malfoy, and him because when she put him in the full body bind and when he keeled over he banged his back on a corner and now had a big bruise and a graze across his lower back.
"The teaching staff have come to a decision. In all your classes, because I know you have all the same classes, you will be paired up. All the partner work you have, and I assure you, it'll be quite a bit, will be done together. You will be civil, if you can't be friends!" Professor McGonagall turned and swept from the room.
"That was clever." Malfoy said.
"Don't start." Hermione said, turning onto her side, her back to Malfoy.
*&*
Hermione reached around Malfoy to grab the chopped spiders legs. She carefully put an ounce into the cauldron, and bumped his arm when she withdrew. He jabbed her back and her wrist banged against the hot cauldron. She drew back with a hiss, clutching her burnt wrist to her chest.
"Miss Granger! What's going on?"
"I burnt my wrist, sir." Snape took hold of her reddened wrist and narrowed his eyes at it. It was red and swollen, the skin peeling.
"And got dragon blood on it, it would appear. Malfoy, take her to the hospital wing." Malfoy rolled his eyes but nodded. Snape magically emptied their cauldron, and sent them on their way.
The pair walked swiftly through the hallways, Hermione biting her lip to stop crying out as her wrist stung badly.
"I'm sorry." Hermione nearly fell over from shock. Malfoy glanced at her, and noticed her pained expression. "Here, let me have a look." He took her wrist and looked at it. Then he pulled out his wand and Hermione jerked her hand back.
"We're nearly here now." She turned onto the hospital bay corridor, and disappeared into the vaulted room. Malfoy followed with a sigh, pocketing his wand.
"What happened?" Pomfrey asked. "He didn't hex you again?"
"No, I burnt my wrist. Snape sent him to look after me in case I forgot which way was left." Hermione said snidely.
"Don't be snippy with me, young lady. I've seen enough of you in the last month to be well and truly sick of the sight of both of you! I'm swift losing patience with the pair of you." Malfoy and Hermione exchanged shocked glances at sympathetic Madame Pomfrey's harsh attitude.
An hour later, Hermione walked out of the infirmary, her wrist heavily swathed in bandages.
"I swear he never said anything about Dragon's blood making your skin peel off if you got it on burnt skin." Hermione commented.
"There you are!" McGonagall appeared before them. "Oh no, you haven't..." she started reproving them.
"I burnt my wrist." Hermione said hastily. "It wasn't his fault." She lied.
"You mean you're finally being civil, after three weeks of partner work? Thank Merlin. That'll make what you're about to do a lot easier."
"What do you mean?" Malfoy asked.
"Dumbledore and I have something we want you to do..."