Eleanor Branstone - Thank you very much, and I'm sure you could write a
poem if you really wanted to, I've been writing poetry for a while.
lily - Yes, Malfoy in a skirt came to me in a flash of brilliance I won't see for another thirty-two and a half years, =)
freakyfairy - Maybe, maybe not.. You'll have to see... I'm deciding as of now, that's why I didn't give you a definite answer.
starliz - I'm tryin', I'm REALLY tryin'!
blueamber - Thanks so much! I don't like aol, I had problems with it, so I can relate. Don't worry about leaving a longer review. . . just review more!!! =D
funkless - Thanx a million. I am writing as fast as I can and still trying to make sure that I am not making major typos. Bear with me. Malfoyetta shall not disappoint you. . . I hope.
Psyko Pyro - I like it too!!! I updated too!! I am trying to keep up with demand. I never imagined that I would be demanded to write!!!
willowfairy - Aww. . . thanks. You all make me feel so good.
Anyway, thanks for reviewing, and now I am answering reviews because I don't have anything uploaded ahead of time. Thanks for reading, and here's chapter 6.
~+~
Chapter 6
Things were becoming easier for Hermione to deal with. The spell Professor McGonagall had put on her and Malfoy seemed to be holding fast, but Hermione was becoming used to looking how she did, although it was always a shock whenever she looked down at her feet. She hadn't expected to see her feet as long as her arms ever in her lifetime.
The hardest part of adjusting to how she looked was learning how to walk without tripping over her own feet since they were so big, and there were either two ways she could walk; she could shuffle and not life her feet, or she would be forced to lift her feet more than two feet off the ground so that she wouldn't trip over them. Normally, she stuck with the shuffle.
It seemed to be harder for Malfoy to cope with the attention, because he went from respect through fear to class clown. Not class clown in a good way - class clown as in he WAS a clown. Hermione felt that he now fully deserved this humiliation, because of every time that he was horrible to her in the past four years of school. She felt that he was getting everything that he deserved for every nasty comment that was uttered from his lips.
Hermione should have known that Fred and George would want their revenge on her as well, but it was her unfortunate luck to look like a green haired duck when they decided to get their revenge.
"Hey, Hermione!" Fred said, and Hermione ignored them, trying to walk faster in an attempt to get into the Advanced Transfiguration dormitory before they caught up with her. She wanted to avoid any embarrassment that she could, but she knew that it was inevitable. How could she possible ignore them when nobody else would?
"Hermione, you are aware that a plant grew out of your head last night?" George asked, and Hermione rolled her eyes despite the fact that she was trying not to show them anything that would give them satisfaction.
"We've been over this," she muttered to herself. "Dozens of times." Then she turned toward the twins that were walking behind her, and she stopped so abruptly that they almost walked into her.
"ONCE AGAIN. I am FULLY aware that I have GREEN hair, Capeche?" Both of the twins sniggered as it was becoming increasingly obvious that they were making her mad, and that was obviously what they wanted.
"Then you're also aware that you left your flippers on after you went swimming in the lake?" Hermione took a deep breath and refrained from rolling her eyes this time. The twins smirked and together, with identical smirks plastered on their faces, they looked quite mischievous, but then again, they always do.
"And what is Perfect Prefect Hermione going to do to us now?" Fred asked while he made pouting gestures with his lips and George mocked Hermione.
"Now you two are in for it," he mocked in a high-pitched voice that sounded nothing like Hermione, but he didn't seem to care. "I am miss high and mighty and I think that I should take out my anger on YOU."
Both of them collapsed into a fit of laughter and Hermione took this to her advantage as she ran away from them. She couldn't take it anymore. She wanted to go back to being the know-it-all. She didn't want to be made fun of anymore. She didn't want anything. She wanted to be numb. Feelingless.
Smiling, Hermione slowly raised her wall around herself, blocking her thoughts and mind from anything. Pain, sadness, and emotion in general. She hadn't thought she would, but she slowly realized that she really missed hanging around with Harry and Ron. She missed how they used to sit around the fire in their armchairs and laugh over things that had happened, talked and solved mysteries. Most of all, she missed feeling safe when she was around them, because she had always felt like she was safe from harm when she was around them, but she felt even more vulnerable now that she had no friends whatsoever.
Hermione stopped in front of the portrait that guarded the opening to the Advanced Transfiguration room and muttered the password. The portrait, however, didn't want to open for her.
"Hello. Do you think that gorgeous read-head would date me?" the portrait asked in the extremely, high-pitched, singsong voice that seemed to always get on Hermione's nerves.
"There isn't a red head in -" Hermione stopped. She had just realized that the portrait was still gushing over Malfoy. No matter what he looked like, the portrait was bound to still like him.
"No." Hermione said flatly. The portrait pouted and stuck out her tongue. Then she pointed behind her, gesturing into the common room inside.
"Will you ask him for me?" the portrait asked, making its eyes big like doe eyes, and Hermione rolled her eyes. She was in no mood to be sucked into some "cutsie" scam by anyone, let alone a portrait.
"I'm not even INSIDE. And. . . No." the portrait pouted, if possible, more pronounced, and then swung open to let Hermione in. Hermione sulked into the room and collapsed on the couch.
As she lay on the couch, not moving, she stared at her feet and felt angry at her feet for no apparent reason.
How dare they be so big?
Hermione knew she was thinking irrationally, but she just wanted to vent her anger and it didn't matter how she did. If she didn't channel it onto something or someone soon she was bound to explode from the inside.
Hermione didn't want to talk to anyone about anything though. Nobody would understand. Nobody would be able to relate to not wanting to show emotion, weakness. Nobody could ever understand how she wanted to have the perfect family and the perfect life. Absolutely nobody would understand her and her thoughts and feelings.
Hermione took a deep breath and held it. She was going to do this every time she felt like she had to explode and it would make her feel calmer, and she was sure that she wouldn't explode. She had done this quite frequently, and she never thought of the possible side effects - what would happen when she could no longer hold everything inside?
Hermione couldn't get rid of her anger, so she ripped the pillow from its corner and chucked it across the room. To her great anger, she watched it zoom back to its position, as though it was just there to aggravate her. She scowled at it but didn't throw it again, which was a good thing because Professor McGonagall came walking into the room, carrying books and with more materials floating behind her. Hermione sighed. Today must be the first lesson in Advanced Transfiguration, how could she had forgotten?
"Everyone, please come here and collect your book, journal, and certification card." Hermione got up, grumbling, and grabbed the materials that she was instructed. As she sat down she saw a few more people ambling down the stairs, and she felt much better about herself because it was becoming evident that she wasn't the only one who had forgotten there was a Transfiguration lesson tonight.
"Now, I want you to fill out the certification card and hand it to me." Hermione glanced down at the card. It was a certification card for becoming an Animagus and all of her anger and frustration leaked out of her to allow her curiosity to course through her.
What would they have to do to be Animagus?
She glanced at the card and began to fill out the questions it asked. Some of them were the standard questions, and some made no sense at all, so she tried her best to fill them out.
Full Name: _______________
Age: ____
M / F
DOB: __/__/__
School/residence: ___________________________
Current Headmaster: Professor (Teacher/Mr. in non-standard schools) __________________________
Please make answers in standard essay form (min. 8 sentences)
1. Why are you taking part in Advanced Transfiguration (Metamorphosis in non-standard schools)
---------
2. Are you planning to continue with Advanced studies?
---------
3. Why you would use the ability to change forms to help the wizarding world.
State the following facts
Animal you wish to be able to change forms to:
Country of origin:
Species:
Signature: _________ ___________
---------------------------
Hermione stared at the parchment for a minute and then she began scribbling down the answers. Writing her name, DOB and other personal information, Hermione though of her answers to the other questions. Why was she taking part in Advanced Transfiguration? Should she say because the headmaster told her she should? Wouldn't that sound lame?
Sighing, she moved on to the second question. She would come back to the first one. Was she planning to continue with Advanced Studies? How should she know? She didn't even know if she liked what she was going to be doing today. Shrugging she began to write that she would continue. After all, she was planning to do great things after Hogwarts.
She looked at the third question. How could changing her form possible help the wizarding world? What if she was a beetle, she though as she remembered Rita Skeeter. What would that possibly do for the wizarding world?
A smile played across her lips as she thought about what she would have liked to use Rita Skeeter for as a help to the wizarding world. She shook herself from thoughts of hexing and cursing her and she returned to her certification paper. She scribbled a nonsense answer for the first question and looked at the facts that she had to state for the record.
What animal did she want to transform into?
She had never thought of this, and she was now unsure what she would choose. What if she chose wrong? What if she chose an animal that was completely wrong for her? What would she do? Would she be able to switch?
Luckily for her, Professor McGonagall interrupted her thoughts and answered her questions, much to her relief.
"Please don't fill out which animal you want to be. We'll be doing that shortly." Professor McGonagall said, and there was some scratching out of words on the lower portion of the page by most of the people that were there. Was she the only person that didn't know what she wanted to be?
Hermione went back to filling out the rest of the paper.
~+~
"Alright students," Professor McGonagall said and Hermione jumped. "I am going to show you how to choose what animal you will be." Hermione sat up straight and looked at Professor McGonagall. This was the part that she had been waiting for, but she thought that Professor McGonagall would have waited longer to show them this.
"We shall practice the wand movement first." Professor McGonagall said, and Hermione saw a few people sag in their chairs, Pansy Parkinson included.
"You will dip you wand, like so, and then prod the air with it, like this." Professor McGonagall showed them the movement, and a few people tried, without much luck, to copy the movement. After they were given a few moments to practice this Professor McGonagall continued.
"The incantation is 'Anamagaii conjunctus mancy'." Everyone stared at her, as though this were a spell to send him or her straight to the crazy house. Professor McGonagall stared back at them, as though asking them why they weren't using the incantation. Hermione was the first to recover.
"Anamagaii conjunctus mancy." She muttered and was quite disappointed when nothing happened. She tried again, and again, nothing worked. Slowly the rest of the people began trying to do the spell, and she looked around, greatly pleased that nobody else as getting the spell right either.
Hermione's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Professor McGonagall's voice praising a student for doing the spell right, and Hermione knew it wasn't her.
"Well done, Mr. Malfoy. Ten points to Slytherin." Professor McGonagall turned and went to assist the Hufflepuff that seemed to have lodged their wand up their nose.
Malfoy looked at Hermione and smirked and her, and then stuck his tongue out at her in quite a childish fashion. Hermione flushed at the thought of Malfoy doing the spell correctly before she had, and she worked with twice the vigor. She HAD to get it right this time.
"Anamagaii conjunctus mancy." She muttered, and still, nothing happened. Hermione growled in frustration. Professor McGonagall seemed to notice that nobody else was getting the spell right, and she seemed taken aback. The smartest kids in the school weren't doing this right.
"Mr. Malfoy, please go between the students and help them with the spell." Professor McGonagall said, and Malfoy's smirk widened. Pansy dragged him over to help her, and he scowled as he instructed her. She kept doing it wrong, and he gave up in frustration when she nearly poked his eye out.
Hermione was determined to make the spell work before he could come and smirk his face off while he insulted her. She NEEDED to make this spell work. She HAD to make this spell work. It was as though her life depended on it.
Grimacing in frustration, Hermione continued to prod the air in anger. She was so angry that she was sure she was hurting the air by hitting it so constantly. She was determined to make it work, but so far she had no luck.
Sighing, she threw her wand down on the floor and crossed her arms. She was frustrated and that was bound to make the spell go wrong and hurt someone in the process. She was about to reach for her wand when she realized that someone had already picked it up.
Malfoy handed Hermione her wand and she took it from him, determined not to look angry in the least. He stared expectantly at her and it took her a few seconds to realize that he was waiting for her to do the spell so that he could correct her. She scowled but obliged.
"Anamagaii conjunctus mancy." She muttered as she moved her wand, but it didn't work and Hermione couldn't help it, she pouted. Malfoy stared at her for a minute, then sat down beside her.
"Do it again," he said, and Hermione was surprised at how he said it. He wasn't sneering or being rude, he was just waiting for her to try again. She did.
"Anamagaii conjunctus mancy." She said again and nothing happened. She looked at Malfoy, waiting for him to make fun of her and tell her that she was obviously too stupid to be doing this charm, but that's not what he did.
Instead of what she expected, Malfoy put his arm around hers and moved her wrist in a motion that was different than what she had been doing.
"You have to dip your wand and prod in the center, not flick." He said, and Hermione was shocked, but hid it. Why wasn't he making fun of her? Why hadn't he called her a Mudblood yet? And why did she like the fact that he was touching her? Shouldn't she be angry?
Hermione could feel a blush creeping up her cheeks. How could he do it when she couldn't? Did this mean that she was losing her marbles? Or just her dignity? She shook her head and tried the spell again.
"Anamagaii conjunctus mancy." She said, and it was obvious, by the edge in her voice, that she was getting frustrated with the spell. Suddenly, and she hadn't been expecting it, sparks showered out of her wand and formed shapes in front of her. She smiled brightly.
Then she turned to face the boy that was next to her.
"Um, thanks Malfoy." She said, and was shocked to see that his sneer had returned to his face. It wasn't as scary now, as his pink eyes distracted her, but she hadn't expected him to be sneering at her.
Something about him looked different though. She thought for a moment, not quite figuring what was different, and then she realized that his hair was no longer curly. It was hanging down in his face, still red as ever, but the curl was gone.
"Don't ever touch me again, Mudblood." He said, and Hermione's smile disappeared as instantly as it had come. She watched him walk away to go 'help' someone else that wasn't doing so well while she sat, watching him.
Why had his hair changed? Why wasn't it curly anymore? She grabbed a chunk of her own hair and looked at it, but there was no change in it or her feet. Why had the spell released its hold on some of the curses on him, but none of the ones on her?
And then the realization hit Hermione.
They had to tolerate each other, and be nice. He had been genuinely nice to her - that was the only way to explain why his hair had started going back to its original state. Hermione sighed.
Why had he been nice to her?
lily - Yes, Malfoy in a skirt came to me in a flash of brilliance I won't see for another thirty-two and a half years, =)
freakyfairy - Maybe, maybe not.. You'll have to see... I'm deciding as of now, that's why I didn't give you a definite answer.
starliz - I'm tryin', I'm REALLY tryin'!
blueamber - Thanks so much! I don't like aol, I had problems with it, so I can relate. Don't worry about leaving a longer review. . . just review more!!! =D
funkless - Thanx a million. I am writing as fast as I can and still trying to make sure that I am not making major typos. Bear with me. Malfoyetta shall not disappoint you. . . I hope.
Psyko Pyro - I like it too!!! I updated too!! I am trying to keep up with demand. I never imagined that I would be demanded to write!!!
willowfairy - Aww. . . thanks. You all make me feel so good.
Anyway, thanks for reviewing, and now I am answering reviews because I don't have anything uploaded ahead of time. Thanks for reading, and here's chapter 6.
~+~
Chapter 6
Things were becoming easier for Hermione to deal with. The spell Professor McGonagall had put on her and Malfoy seemed to be holding fast, but Hermione was becoming used to looking how she did, although it was always a shock whenever she looked down at her feet. She hadn't expected to see her feet as long as her arms ever in her lifetime.
The hardest part of adjusting to how she looked was learning how to walk without tripping over her own feet since they were so big, and there were either two ways she could walk; she could shuffle and not life her feet, or she would be forced to lift her feet more than two feet off the ground so that she wouldn't trip over them. Normally, she stuck with the shuffle.
It seemed to be harder for Malfoy to cope with the attention, because he went from respect through fear to class clown. Not class clown in a good way - class clown as in he WAS a clown. Hermione felt that he now fully deserved this humiliation, because of every time that he was horrible to her in the past four years of school. She felt that he was getting everything that he deserved for every nasty comment that was uttered from his lips.
Hermione should have known that Fred and George would want their revenge on her as well, but it was her unfortunate luck to look like a green haired duck when they decided to get their revenge.
"Hey, Hermione!" Fred said, and Hermione ignored them, trying to walk faster in an attempt to get into the Advanced Transfiguration dormitory before they caught up with her. She wanted to avoid any embarrassment that she could, but she knew that it was inevitable. How could she possible ignore them when nobody else would?
"Hermione, you are aware that a plant grew out of your head last night?" George asked, and Hermione rolled her eyes despite the fact that she was trying not to show them anything that would give them satisfaction.
"We've been over this," she muttered to herself. "Dozens of times." Then she turned toward the twins that were walking behind her, and she stopped so abruptly that they almost walked into her.
"ONCE AGAIN. I am FULLY aware that I have GREEN hair, Capeche?" Both of the twins sniggered as it was becoming increasingly obvious that they were making her mad, and that was obviously what they wanted.
"Then you're also aware that you left your flippers on after you went swimming in the lake?" Hermione took a deep breath and refrained from rolling her eyes this time. The twins smirked and together, with identical smirks plastered on their faces, they looked quite mischievous, but then again, they always do.
"And what is Perfect Prefect Hermione going to do to us now?" Fred asked while he made pouting gestures with his lips and George mocked Hermione.
"Now you two are in for it," he mocked in a high-pitched voice that sounded nothing like Hermione, but he didn't seem to care. "I am miss high and mighty and I think that I should take out my anger on YOU."
Both of them collapsed into a fit of laughter and Hermione took this to her advantage as she ran away from them. She couldn't take it anymore. She wanted to go back to being the know-it-all. She didn't want to be made fun of anymore. She didn't want anything. She wanted to be numb. Feelingless.
Smiling, Hermione slowly raised her wall around herself, blocking her thoughts and mind from anything. Pain, sadness, and emotion in general. She hadn't thought she would, but she slowly realized that she really missed hanging around with Harry and Ron. She missed how they used to sit around the fire in their armchairs and laugh over things that had happened, talked and solved mysteries. Most of all, she missed feeling safe when she was around them, because she had always felt like she was safe from harm when she was around them, but she felt even more vulnerable now that she had no friends whatsoever.
Hermione stopped in front of the portrait that guarded the opening to the Advanced Transfiguration room and muttered the password. The portrait, however, didn't want to open for her.
"Hello. Do you think that gorgeous read-head would date me?" the portrait asked in the extremely, high-pitched, singsong voice that seemed to always get on Hermione's nerves.
"There isn't a red head in -" Hermione stopped. She had just realized that the portrait was still gushing over Malfoy. No matter what he looked like, the portrait was bound to still like him.
"No." Hermione said flatly. The portrait pouted and stuck out her tongue. Then she pointed behind her, gesturing into the common room inside.
"Will you ask him for me?" the portrait asked, making its eyes big like doe eyes, and Hermione rolled her eyes. She was in no mood to be sucked into some "cutsie" scam by anyone, let alone a portrait.
"I'm not even INSIDE. And. . . No." the portrait pouted, if possible, more pronounced, and then swung open to let Hermione in. Hermione sulked into the room and collapsed on the couch.
As she lay on the couch, not moving, she stared at her feet and felt angry at her feet for no apparent reason.
How dare they be so big?
Hermione knew she was thinking irrationally, but she just wanted to vent her anger and it didn't matter how she did. If she didn't channel it onto something or someone soon she was bound to explode from the inside.
Hermione didn't want to talk to anyone about anything though. Nobody would understand. Nobody would be able to relate to not wanting to show emotion, weakness. Nobody could ever understand how she wanted to have the perfect family and the perfect life. Absolutely nobody would understand her and her thoughts and feelings.
Hermione took a deep breath and held it. She was going to do this every time she felt like she had to explode and it would make her feel calmer, and she was sure that she wouldn't explode. She had done this quite frequently, and she never thought of the possible side effects - what would happen when she could no longer hold everything inside?
Hermione couldn't get rid of her anger, so she ripped the pillow from its corner and chucked it across the room. To her great anger, she watched it zoom back to its position, as though it was just there to aggravate her. She scowled at it but didn't throw it again, which was a good thing because Professor McGonagall came walking into the room, carrying books and with more materials floating behind her. Hermione sighed. Today must be the first lesson in Advanced Transfiguration, how could she had forgotten?
"Everyone, please come here and collect your book, journal, and certification card." Hermione got up, grumbling, and grabbed the materials that she was instructed. As she sat down she saw a few more people ambling down the stairs, and she felt much better about herself because it was becoming evident that she wasn't the only one who had forgotten there was a Transfiguration lesson tonight.
"Now, I want you to fill out the certification card and hand it to me." Hermione glanced down at the card. It was a certification card for becoming an Animagus and all of her anger and frustration leaked out of her to allow her curiosity to course through her.
What would they have to do to be Animagus?
She glanced at the card and began to fill out the questions it asked. Some of them were the standard questions, and some made no sense at all, so she tried her best to fill them out.
Full Name: _______________
Age: ____
M / F
DOB: __/__/__
School/residence: ___________________________
Current Headmaster: Professor (Teacher/Mr. in non-standard schools) __________________________
Please make answers in standard essay form (min. 8 sentences)
1. Why are you taking part in Advanced Transfiguration (Metamorphosis in non-standard schools)
---------
2. Are you planning to continue with Advanced studies?
---------
3. Why you would use the ability to change forms to help the wizarding world.
State the following facts
Animal you wish to be able to change forms to:
Country of origin:
Species:
Signature: _________ ___________
---------------------------
Hermione stared at the parchment for a minute and then she began scribbling down the answers. Writing her name, DOB and other personal information, Hermione though of her answers to the other questions. Why was she taking part in Advanced Transfiguration? Should she say because the headmaster told her she should? Wouldn't that sound lame?
Sighing, she moved on to the second question. She would come back to the first one. Was she planning to continue with Advanced Studies? How should she know? She didn't even know if she liked what she was going to be doing today. Shrugging she began to write that she would continue. After all, she was planning to do great things after Hogwarts.
She looked at the third question. How could changing her form possible help the wizarding world? What if she was a beetle, she though as she remembered Rita Skeeter. What would that possibly do for the wizarding world?
A smile played across her lips as she thought about what she would have liked to use Rita Skeeter for as a help to the wizarding world. She shook herself from thoughts of hexing and cursing her and she returned to her certification paper. She scribbled a nonsense answer for the first question and looked at the facts that she had to state for the record.
What animal did she want to transform into?
She had never thought of this, and she was now unsure what she would choose. What if she chose wrong? What if she chose an animal that was completely wrong for her? What would she do? Would she be able to switch?
Luckily for her, Professor McGonagall interrupted her thoughts and answered her questions, much to her relief.
"Please don't fill out which animal you want to be. We'll be doing that shortly." Professor McGonagall said, and there was some scratching out of words on the lower portion of the page by most of the people that were there. Was she the only person that didn't know what she wanted to be?
Hermione went back to filling out the rest of the paper.
~+~
"Alright students," Professor McGonagall said and Hermione jumped. "I am going to show you how to choose what animal you will be." Hermione sat up straight and looked at Professor McGonagall. This was the part that she had been waiting for, but she thought that Professor McGonagall would have waited longer to show them this.
"We shall practice the wand movement first." Professor McGonagall said, and Hermione saw a few people sag in their chairs, Pansy Parkinson included.
"You will dip you wand, like so, and then prod the air with it, like this." Professor McGonagall showed them the movement, and a few people tried, without much luck, to copy the movement. After they were given a few moments to practice this Professor McGonagall continued.
"The incantation is 'Anamagaii conjunctus mancy'." Everyone stared at her, as though this were a spell to send him or her straight to the crazy house. Professor McGonagall stared back at them, as though asking them why they weren't using the incantation. Hermione was the first to recover.
"Anamagaii conjunctus mancy." She muttered and was quite disappointed when nothing happened. She tried again, and again, nothing worked. Slowly the rest of the people began trying to do the spell, and she looked around, greatly pleased that nobody else as getting the spell right either.
Hermione's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Professor McGonagall's voice praising a student for doing the spell right, and Hermione knew it wasn't her.
"Well done, Mr. Malfoy. Ten points to Slytherin." Professor McGonagall turned and went to assist the Hufflepuff that seemed to have lodged their wand up their nose.
Malfoy looked at Hermione and smirked and her, and then stuck his tongue out at her in quite a childish fashion. Hermione flushed at the thought of Malfoy doing the spell correctly before she had, and she worked with twice the vigor. She HAD to get it right this time.
"Anamagaii conjunctus mancy." She muttered, and still, nothing happened. Hermione growled in frustration. Professor McGonagall seemed to notice that nobody else was getting the spell right, and she seemed taken aback. The smartest kids in the school weren't doing this right.
"Mr. Malfoy, please go between the students and help them with the spell." Professor McGonagall said, and Malfoy's smirk widened. Pansy dragged him over to help her, and he scowled as he instructed her. She kept doing it wrong, and he gave up in frustration when she nearly poked his eye out.
Hermione was determined to make the spell work before he could come and smirk his face off while he insulted her. She NEEDED to make this spell work. She HAD to make this spell work. It was as though her life depended on it.
Grimacing in frustration, Hermione continued to prod the air in anger. She was so angry that she was sure she was hurting the air by hitting it so constantly. She was determined to make it work, but so far she had no luck.
Sighing, she threw her wand down on the floor and crossed her arms. She was frustrated and that was bound to make the spell go wrong and hurt someone in the process. She was about to reach for her wand when she realized that someone had already picked it up.
Malfoy handed Hermione her wand and she took it from him, determined not to look angry in the least. He stared expectantly at her and it took her a few seconds to realize that he was waiting for her to do the spell so that he could correct her. She scowled but obliged.
"Anamagaii conjunctus mancy." She muttered as she moved her wand, but it didn't work and Hermione couldn't help it, she pouted. Malfoy stared at her for a minute, then sat down beside her.
"Do it again," he said, and Hermione was surprised at how he said it. He wasn't sneering or being rude, he was just waiting for her to try again. She did.
"Anamagaii conjunctus mancy." She said again and nothing happened. She looked at Malfoy, waiting for him to make fun of her and tell her that she was obviously too stupid to be doing this charm, but that's not what he did.
Instead of what she expected, Malfoy put his arm around hers and moved her wrist in a motion that was different than what she had been doing.
"You have to dip your wand and prod in the center, not flick." He said, and Hermione was shocked, but hid it. Why wasn't he making fun of her? Why hadn't he called her a Mudblood yet? And why did she like the fact that he was touching her? Shouldn't she be angry?
Hermione could feel a blush creeping up her cheeks. How could he do it when she couldn't? Did this mean that she was losing her marbles? Or just her dignity? She shook her head and tried the spell again.
"Anamagaii conjunctus mancy." She said, and it was obvious, by the edge in her voice, that she was getting frustrated with the spell. Suddenly, and she hadn't been expecting it, sparks showered out of her wand and formed shapes in front of her. She smiled brightly.
Then she turned to face the boy that was next to her.
"Um, thanks Malfoy." She said, and was shocked to see that his sneer had returned to his face. It wasn't as scary now, as his pink eyes distracted her, but she hadn't expected him to be sneering at her.
Something about him looked different though. She thought for a moment, not quite figuring what was different, and then she realized that his hair was no longer curly. It was hanging down in his face, still red as ever, but the curl was gone.
"Don't ever touch me again, Mudblood." He said, and Hermione's smile disappeared as instantly as it had come. She watched him walk away to go 'help' someone else that wasn't doing so well while she sat, watching him.
Why had his hair changed? Why wasn't it curly anymore? She grabbed a chunk of her own hair and looked at it, but there was no change in it or her feet. Why had the spell released its hold on some of the curses on him, but none of the ones on her?
And then the realization hit Hermione.
They had to tolerate each other, and be nice. He had been genuinely nice to her - that was the only way to explain why his hair had started going back to its original state. Hermione sighed.
Why had he been nice to her?