Winter Wonderland.
Chapter Two: Swallow your pride
Disclaimer. Of course I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, ideas, made up words or worlds. This story is set in the children's sixth year.
Tom Granger (as I have decided to call him) is a play on my friends every enthusiastic father. He cracks me up sometimes. The sad thing is he's a very oblivious man but we love him anyways.
Thank you to all that reviewed:
SilverDragon: Interesting is a good category to put this in, LOL (maybe even crazy) I hope you keep reading. Thank you for your review.
DiOsA4u: Your lifeline? LOL I guess I have to keep writing this then, don't I? Thank you for you enthusiastic review, I am mailing you now.
Lil-spitfire: You know, I'm not even sure what's going to happen yet. I have lots of ideas but I'm not sure which ones I'm going to keep or throw out yet. LOL Draco better shape up though, huh? Thank you for your review.
Kai Shikaido: I'm glad you like it. I'm trying to keep it exciting. Thank you so much for reviewing, it really means a lot.
Rebecca: I'm excited about it too! LOL I hope it keeps up to your standards. (Harry and Ron are quite hard to write for.) Thank you for your review and please keep reviewing!
Silver Moon Wand: Thank you. I've been reading a lot of Draco/Herm fictions lately and some of them are all the same (good but a little redundant) I tried my hardest to come up with something a little different. As for Draco, he seems a little flippity right now. (I think he's bi-polar J/K!)
Sila-Chan: Yes, and thank you I've tried a little harder on my sentences this time around; it's been forever since I wrote out a full story but excuses, excuses. I went back and re-read and I understand what you're talking about. I'll re-word them when I get a chance. Thank you for your review!
(Should I put this at the bottom next time?)
Chapter Two: Swallow your pride
"Right you are. Tom Granger. Hum, well fallow me then." Mr. Granger pulled along what appeared to be Hermione's trunk. Draco stood and watched him as he walked away.
"You know Draco," Mr. Granger paused and looked back at him. "Well, come on boy, off to the car with you." Draco stared hard at him; Mr. Granger appeared to be oblivious to Draco's menacing glare. "You aren't afraid are you?" Mr. Granger grinned at him.
"What do you mean afraid? Malfoys are not afraid of anything, especially mere muggles." Draco started off in the direction Mr. Granger had been going.
"Here, I'll just show you to the car then." Mr. Granger caught up to him with a confused look on his face. Draco didn't say anything back.
"So, have you ever lived in a, oh what is it you people call it?" Mr. Granger trailed off trying to remember the word for it. "Oh yes. Muggle, have you ever lived in a muggle world?" He was still making an attempt for friendly conversation.
'You people?' Draco thought with disgust. 'Does he know who I am? I am a Malfoy, not just some person.'
"Draco?" Mr. Granger snapped him out of his family pride. "I asked you a question." Mr. Granger struggled to open the door and manage the trolley at the same time Draco went out through another door and propped the one Mr. Granger was working to free himself from and held it open. "No Sir, I can't say that I have."
'Sir?! This is a muggle you're talking to Draco! What are you doing?!' He quickly let go of the door he had been propping open for Mr. Granger as if it had some sort of disease.
"Thank you," He continued pushing the trolley. "You haven't ever in you life?" Mr. Granger's questions were beginning to wear on Draco's mind.
"No, why would I?" Draco retorted, what was so hard to understand about that, he thought to himself.
"Right, well, here is the car." Draco looked wide-eyed at it. The only car he had seen was the one that Potter and Weasley had taken and smashed into the schools whomping willow back in their second year.
"Well get in then in the back with Hermione, dear." A new voice commanded, it had to be Mrs. Granger; Draco could see where Hermione had inherited her wild hair.
"In there?" Draco pointed a finger. "With Gr-your daughter?" He was feeling a little apprehensive he was surrounded by muggles but his voice still remained steady and confident.
"Well unless you're planning on walking home, which I wouldn't recommend seeing as the weather has turned a bit nasty within the past few hours and it is quite far." Mrs. Granger chimed and smiled warmly at him. Draco couldn't help but feel that walking and even in the snow would be better that a car ride with not one granger but all three. Perhaps he could conjure up a charm to bring his broomstick to him and fly to his own home.
"I was joking, now come on get in the car." Draco felt a pair of strong hands push him into the car and shut the door behind him.
"Scared of a common muggle machine Malfoy?" Draco turned to meet eyes with Hermione. "No, I'm not, I just don't see why you people waist your time on these things when appearation or floo power are so much more convenient, your ways are ridiculous." He spat. "For them it is the only way, you know that." Hermione glared back defending her parents.
"All right, all ready to go?" Mr. And Mrs. Grangers slipped into the car. Mr. Granger looked back at them in the rearview mirror; he was a little upset to see both of them throwing hateful glances at one another. "Everything all right back there?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Oh yes daddy, just a little game we play." Hermione snapped out of her glance and looked at her father. Mr. Granger shook his head and began to drive.
"Malfoy?" Draco sat up startled thirty minutes into the drive home.
"What is it Gran-" He looked over at her, she was scribbling on a paper. "Did you call me?" He raised an eyebrow.
She held up a paper. 'Malfoy?' was writing across the top in neat handwriting. "This paper lets me talk to you with out my parents heading, only you can hear what I write." Draco remembered something about this in charms. He frowned realizing that if he replied to her, her parents would think he was a bit on the mad side, not that he cared what they though about him.
"Give me a sheet will you?" Draco grabbed one much to Hermione's protest and quickly pulled out a quill of his own from his daypack.
"You actually want to talk to me, Malfoy? I didn't know I was worthy." Hermione communicated thought the magical paper.
"No, I just want you ringing in my ear about whatever you please without me being able to defend myself." He scribbled back.
"Oh, is that all?" He heard her voice echo in his ears.
"Where did you get this stuff?"
"Professor Flitwick of course."
"I should have guessed. Although I would have thought you would get your friends, Potty and Weasel to snatch it up for you."
"Layoff Malfoy." Her voice rang in his ears; she must have been pressing quite hard for the voice to yell at him at such a high level.
"Is that all you have to say? If only daddy knew the things his darling daughter did at school. Sneaking off with her two boyfriends causing trouble and sticking their noses in where they don't belong. You three are very good at that you know. You disgust me mudblood. I don't know what's worst you or you pathetic muggle parents." Draco was looking for a fight and looked over at her expecting to get a full blast back from her or at least a chilling glare. He was surprised to see her drop her quill and look down without another word. Was she crying?
Normally Draco would have rubbed in the back that he had beat her and her crying would have been icing on the cake but this time he felt something in the pit of his stomach that wanted to make him sick for hurting her. His eyes softened a little when he saw a tear drop onto the magical paper. He head a soft sniffle and wasn't sure if it was really her or the papers reaction to the tear. Why had she taken it? It wasn't like her to let him mercilessly bully her around like other students would. Draco shook his head quickly. 'What am I thinking?!' He looked back over at her with a look of hate; he was surprised to meet her eyes.
"I." He began but was soon interrupted.
"Well, we're here common Draco help us unpack." The door was opened; he turned back to Hermione only to see her climbing out of the car.
"Pretty, isn't she?" Mr. Granger beamed in at him.
"What?!" Draco wrinkled up his nose.
"Hermione, I saw you looking at her." Mr. Granger smiled knowingly.
"I was not!" Draco retorted disgustedly, imagine him ogling after an awful mudblood who had caused him trouble, along with her friends, from the day they climbed the Hogwarts stair casing to be sorted into their houses.
"Don't worry about it." He handed Draco his owl's cage. "I wont tell her."
Draco had a half puzzled, half angry look plastered on his handsome face. He had to bite his tongue to keep from yelling what he really though about Hermione Granger and her muggle family.
Mr. Granger had begun to lug Hermione's things up into the house. Draco stood and looked up at the house. It was nothing like the Malfoy manner. It was considerably smaller, a Christmas tree shown brightly in the front window Draco sighed and fallowed Mr. Grangers foot prints in the snowy driveway to the front porch.
"Come on in Draco before you catch your death out there." Mrs. Granger took his Eagle Owl from his grasp.
"Hermione will show you your room and the whole house. Just feel free to anything at all." She gave him a warm motherly smile.
"Ready dear?" Mr. Granger came into the room holding his wives coat.
"Wait, where are you going? You're not just leaving us here alone are you?" Draco dropped his trunk to the floor.
"Relax, we'll only be gone for dinner. You two be good." Mr. Granger winked at Draco who grimaced in reaction. They bundled up tight and shut the door heavily.
"Well, lets get this over with." Hermione sighed
"Get what over with?" Draco looked at her funnily.
"This house tour, unless you just want to spend the rest of your stay down here in our foyer, not that I would mind." She started up the staircase. Seeing that he had no other choice but to fallow he quickly picked up his trunk and dragged it behind him up the stairs.
"Here is your room." She said coldly.
"Where's yours?" He asked while eyeing her.
"My room is none of your concern." She bit her bottom lip and bravely asked a question that had been bugging her since they stepped off the train. "What's wrong with you?" She started.
"Wrong with me?! There is nothing wrong with me. In case you have forgotten I am the pure-blood here." Draco stood tall. "See that's just what I meant. One minute you'll be acting semi-decent towards me and even my family and the next your calling me a.a, well I don't need to say it." Hermione could feel the tears burning in her eyes. "You're a horrible person Draco Malfoy, and I wish I didn't have to say that. Dumbledore told me that there were good sides in everyone, even you, but I don't think it's there." She blinked; her eyes were glossed over with salty tears.
Draco wasn't sure what to say, he knew what he wanted to say, which was 'I'm sorry' but he couldn't drag it out of himself.
"Now you have nothing to say? Why am I not surprised? Swallow you pride why don't you?" She felt like she was screaming at him. The tears began spilling from her eyes, the ones she had so desperately tried to hold back.
"Don't cry, stop crying." Draco grabbed her shoulders and shook her gently.
"Why?" She looked up at him suddenly.
"Because." The words caught in his throat. Swallowing your pride seemed more like spitting out words he wouldn't dare utter before. Words he wasn't used to saying. "Because when you do that, when you cry like that I feel guilty." Hermione's head snapped up and she looked at him through watery eyes.
"Guilty?" she started to question him when she felt herself brought into a strong hug.
Please read and review. I hope you enjoyed it!! -Takanori Takaenna@msn.com
Disclaimer. Of course I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, ideas, made up words or worlds. This story is set in the children's sixth year.
Tom Granger (as I have decided to call him) is a play on my friends every enthusiastic father. He cracks me up sometimes. The sad thing is he's a very oblivious man but we love him anyways.
Thank you to all that reviewed:
SilverDragon: Interesting is a good category to put this in, LOL (maybe even crazy) I hope you keep reading. Thank you for your review.
DiOsA4u: Your lifeline? LOL I guess I have to keep writing this then, don't I? Thank you for you enthusiastic review, I am mailing you now.
Lil-spitfire: You know, I'm not even sure what's going to happen yet. I have lots of ideas but I'm not sure which ones I'm going to keep or throw out yet. LOL Draco better shape up though, huh? Thank you for your review.
Kai Shikaido: I'm glad you like it. I'm trying to keep it exciting. Thank you so much for reviewing, it really means a lot.
Rebecca: I'm excited about it too! LOL I hope it keeps up to your standards. (Harry and Ron are quite hard to write for.) Thank you for your review and please keep reviewing!
Silver Moon Wand: Thank you. I've been reading a lot of Draco/Herm fictions lately and some of them are all the same (good but a little redundant) I tried my hardest to come up with something a little different. As for Draco, he seems a little flippity right now. (I think he's bi-polar J/K!)
Sila-Chan: Yes, and thank you I've tried a little harder on my sentences this time around; it's been forever since I wrote out a full story but excuses, excuses. I went back and re-read and I understand what you're talking about. I'll re-word them when I get a chance. Thank you for your review!
(Should I put this at the bottom next time?)
Chapter Two: Swallow your pride
"Right you are. Tom Granger. Hum, well fallow me then." Mr. Granger pulled along what appeared to be Hermione's trunk. Draco stood and watched him as he walked away.
"You know Draco," Mr. Granger paused and looked back at him. "Well, come on boy, off to the car with you." Draco stared hard at him; Mr. Granger appeared to be oblivious to Draco's menacing glare. "You aren't afraid are you?" Mr. Granger grinned at him.
"What do you mean afraid? Malfoys are not afraid of anything, especially mere muggles." Draco started off in the direction Mr. Granger had been going.
"Here, I'll just show you to the car then." Mr. Granger caught up to him with a confused look on his face. Draco didn't say anything back.
"So, have you ever lived in a, oh what is it you people call it?" Mr. Granger trailed off trying to remember the word for it. "Oh yes. Muggle, have you ever lived in a muggle world?" He was still making an attempt for friendly conversation.
'You people?' Draco thought with disgust. 'Does he know who I am? I am a Malfoy, not just some person.'
"Draco?" Mr. Granger snapped him out of his family pride. "I asked you a question." Mr. Granger struggled to open the door and manage the trolley at the same time Draco went out through another door and propped the one Mr. Granger was working to free himself from and held it open. "No Sir, I can't say that I have."
'Sir?! This is a muggle you're talking to Draco! What are you doing?!' He quickly let go of the door he had been propping open for Mr. Granger as if it had some sort of disease.
"Thank you," He continued pushing the trolley. "You haven't ever in you life?" Mr. Granger's questions were beginning to wear on Draco's mind.
"No, why would I?" Draco retorted, what was so hard to understand about that, he thought to himself.
"Right, well, here is the car." Draco looked wide-eyed at it. The only car he had seen was the one that Potter and Weasley had taken and smashed into the schools whomping willow back in their second year.
"Well get in then in the back with Hermione, dear." A new voice commanded, it had to be Mrs. Granger; Draco could see where Hermione had inherited her wild hair.
"In there?" Draco pointed a finger. "With Gr-your daughter?" He was feeling a little apprehensive he was surrounded by muggles but his voice still remained steady and confident.
"Well unless you're planning on walking home, which I wouldn't recommend seeing as the weather has turned a bit nasty within the past few hours and it is quite far." Mrs. Granger chimed and smiled warmly at him. Draco couldn't help but feel that walking and even in the snow would be better that a car ride with not one granger but all three. Perhaps he could conjure up a charm to bring his broomstick to him and fly to his own home.
"I was joking, now come on get in the car." Draco felt a pair of strong hands push him into the car and shut the door behind him.
"Scared of a common muggle machine Malfoy?" Draco turned to meet eyes with Hermione. "No, I'm not, I just don't see why you people waist your time on these things when appearation or floo power are so much more convenient, your ways are ridiculous." He spat. "For them it is the only way, you know that." Hermione glared back defending her parents.
"All right, all ready to go?" Mr. And Mrs. Grangers slipped into the car. Mr. Granger looked back at them in the rearview mirror; he was a little upset to see both of them throwing hateful glances at one another. "Everything all right back there?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Oh yes daddy, just a little game we play." Hermione snapped out of her glance and looked at her father. Mr. Granger shook his head and began to drive.
"Malfoy?" Draco sat up startled thirty minutes into the drive home.
"What is it Gran-" He looked over at her, she was scribbling on a paper. "Did you call me?" He raised an eyebrow.
She held up a paper. 'Malfoy?' was writing across the top in neat handwriting. "This paper lets me talk to you with out my parents heading, only you can hear what I write." Draco remembered something about this in charms. He frowned realizing that if he replied to her, her parents would think he was a bit on the mad side, not that he cared what they though about him.
"Give me a sheet will you?" Draco grabbed one much to Hermione's protest and quickly pulled out a quill of his own from his daypack.
"You actually want to talk to me, Malfoy? I didn't know I was worthy." Hermione communicated thought the magical paper.
"No, I just want you ringing in my ear about whatever you please without me being able to defend myself." He scribbled back.
"Oh, is that all?" He heard her voice echo in his ears.
"Where did you get this stuff?"
"Professor Flitwick of course."
"I should have guessed. Although I would have thought you would get your friends, Potty and Weasel to snatch it up for you."
"Layoff Malfoy." Her voice rang in his ears; she must have been pressing quite hard for the voice to yell at him at such a high level.
"Is that all you have to say? If only daddy knew the things his darling daughter did at school. Sneaking off with her two boyfriends causing trouble and sticking their noses in where they don't belong. You three are very good at that you know. You disgust me mudblood. I don't know what's worst you or you pathetic muggle parents." Draco was looking for a fight and looked over at her expecting to get a full blast back from her or at least a chilling glare. He was surprised to see her drop her quill and look down without another word. Was she crying?
Normally Draco would have rubbed in the back that he had beat her and her crying would have been icing on the cake but this time he felt something in the pit of his stomach that wanted to make him sick for hurting her. His eyes softened a little when he saw a tear drop onto the magical paper. He head a soft sniffle and wasn't sure if it was really her or the papers reaction to the tear. Why had she taken it? It wasn't like her to let him mercilessly bully her around like other students would. Draco shook his head quickly. 'What am I thinking?!' He looked back over at her with a look of hate; he was surprised to meet her eyes.
"I." He began but was soon interrupted.
"Well, we're here common Draco help us unpack." The door was opened; he turned back to Hermione only to see her climbing out of the car.
"Pretty, isn't she?" Mr. Granger beamed in at him.
"What?!" Draco wrinkled up his nose.
"Hermione, I saw you looking at her." Mr. Granger smiled knowingly.
"I was not!" Draco retorted disgustedly, imagine him ogling after an awful mudblood who had caused him trouble, along with her friends, from the day they climbed the Hogwarts stair casing to be sorted into their houses.
"Don't worry about it." He handed Draco his owl's cage. "I wont tell her."
Draco had a half puzzled, half angry look plastered on his handsome face. He had to bite his tongue to keep from yelling what he really though about Hermione Granger and her muggle family.
Mr. Granger had begun to lug Hermione's things up into the house. Draco stood and looked up at the house. It was nothing like the Malfoy manner. It was considerably smaller, a Christmas tree shown brightly in the front window Draco sighed and fallowed Mr. Grangers foot prints in the snowy driveway to the front porch.
"Come on in Draco before you catch your death out there." Mrs. Granger took his Eagle Owl from his grasp.
"Hermione will show you your room and the whole house. Just feel free to anything at all." She gave him a warm motherly smile.
"Ready dear?" Mr. Granger came into the room holding his wives coat.
"Wait, where are you going? You're not just leaving us here alone are you?" Draco dropped his trunk to the floor.
"Relax, we'll only be gone for dinner. You two be good." Mr. Granger winked at Draco who grimaced in reaction. They bundled up tight and shut the door heavily.
"Well, lets get this over with." Hermione sighed
"Get what over with?" Draco looked at her funnily.
"This house tour, unless you just want to spend the rest of your stay down here in our foyer, not that I would mind." She started up the staircase. Seeing that he had no other choice but to fallow he quickly picked up his trunk and dragged it behind him up the stairs.
"Here is your room." She said coldly.
"Where's yours?" He asked while eyeing her.
"My room is none of your concern." She bit her bottom lip and bravely asked a question that had been bugging her since they stepped off the train. "What's wrong with you?" She started.
"Wrong with me?! There is nothing wrong with me. In case you have forgotten I am the pure-blood here." Draco stood tall. "See that's just what I meant. One minute you'll be acting semi-decent towards me and even my family and the next your calling me a.a, well I don't need to say it." Hermione could feel the tears burning in her eyes. "You're a horrible person Draco Malfoy, and I wish I didn't have to say that. Dumbledore told me that there were good sides in everyone, even you, but I don't think it's there." She blinked; her eyes were glossed over with salty tears.
Draco wasn't sure what to say, he knew what he wanted to say, which was 'I'm sorry' but he couldn't drag it out of himself.
"Now you have nothing to say? Why am I not surprised? Swallow you pride why don't you?" She felt like she was screaming at him. The tears began spilling from her eyes, the ones she had so desperately tried to hold back.
"Don't cry, stop crying." Draco grabbed her shoulders and shook her gently.
"Why?" She looked up at him suddenly.
"Because." The words caught in his throat. Swallowing your pride seemed more like spitting out words he wouldn't dare utter before. Words he wasn't used to saying. "Because when you do that, when you cry like that I feel guilty." Hermione's head snapped up and she looked at him through watery eyes.
"Guilty?" she started to question him when she felt herself brought into a strong hug.
Please read and review. I hope you enjoyed it!! -Takanori Takaenna@msn.com