Disclaimer: No, I don't own it. But I'd like to own Draco Malfoy for about a week. Great work J. K. Rowling! This is one of my absolute favorite book series.
"Harry, bloke where've you been? We've been waiting. Where's Hermione? I'm Ron Weasley, by the way," Ron said as he held out a hand to Hermione.
Hermione giggled and accepted the handshake.
"Hello, Ron. My name is Hermione Granger. I think that we'll get along very well together. Harry's told me so much about you already," she laughed.
"H-Hermione?" he stuttered.
Harry couldn't blame Ron for not recognizing her. Hell, he hadn't even recognized her. She wasn't the same person she'd been just after school last year. Of course that didn't give Ron the cause to sit there like a fish out of water as she looked on in total amusement. But soon enough Ron was in the very same state that Harry had been in upon seeing Hermione a few minutes ago. He was also seeing Ron as Hermione was at the time. He was surprised that she wasn't rolling on the floor by now. He was only a few seconds away from that himself.
Ron stared at her for a long moment, trying to understand what was going on in front of him. This couldn't have been Hermione. Hermione was short, mousy, and cute in a very bookish kind of way. But this girl. This girl was beautiful. As beautiful as Anna. Anna was an American muggle-born witch. She was perfect. He met her at the beach while on an outing with Harry and his family. They'd been owling each other all summer. A lot like Percy and Penelope. Percy was still a prat, but Ron could forgive that little time period in their lives.
He was suddenly aware of Hermione waving her hand in front of her face.
"Tower to Ron, tower to Ron. Come in please!" she teased.
"Sorry. But, well- Bloody hell Hermione! You just show up out of the blue after barely a word all summer and you look like some sort of playboy bunny for Prince bloody Charles! What did you expect but a little shock?" he asked.
"Shock? You looked like you were in a coma! Where's Ginny? We've got a lot of catching up to do. And I can't wait to get back to school. New York's a blast, but I miss my wand and the freedom to use it."
"Your family doesn't know that you're a witch?" Harry asked.
"Well, yes. But it's still best not to draw attention to ourselves. Besides, I'm still an under-aged witch. The Ministry would have my head," she replied.
"Who'd be crazy enough to cross you?" Ron laughed.
"Not even a Ministry Enforcer could bring you to heel," Harry backed.
"You're too kind, boys. This should be a fun year, though. Umbridge is gone, Professor Dumbledore is back and I get my own room as a prefect. We all do in fact," Hermione said happily.
"Parvati and Lavender are really that bad?" Ron asked.
"They're worse. There are some nights when a girl just wants to sleep. But they gossip night and day! Plus I can get some real work done without keeping anyone awake myself. And best of all: this brings us one year closer to not having to deal with all of this house vs. house business. I for one will be glad to finally see the feuding end," Hermione declared.
"But that's the fun part of being in school. We get to prove that Griffindor is the best and that Slytherin is just a house full of sneaky little prats. The other houses are okay, but they pale in comparison to us," Ron explained.
"Actually, Ravenclaw as a whole have us beat in the intellectual department; you'll find no finer hearts than in Hufflepuff; and when it comes to subterfuge, none can top the Slytherins. Every house has it's own weakness and strength, Ron," Hermione continued.
"And it's obvious that he does no more to your house than shame it further than history does," a smooth voice drawled from behind them.
The three whirled to face none other than Draco Malfoy, the crowned prince of Slytherin house. His slate gray eyes swept coolly over the Weasel, skimmed past the 'Fool that lived' and settled onto Hermione. He nodded in approval. She was a hot number.
"I see we realized that we had breasts, eh Granger?" he asked.
"I always knew they were there. I just decided to share one of my best kept secrets. Don't worry Malfoy, I won't be sharing anymore," she replied coolly.
"Snape wants to talk to us. Ah, Granger and I that is," he said as the two boys began to move.
"What for?" Ron asked suspiciously.
"I wouldn't know. That's why he asked us to come, I imagine, to find out."
"Why you slimy little-"
"Ron, calm down. Its just Snape. Tell me what car we're in and I'll find you guys a little later, okay?" she asked, quickly heading off hurricane Weasley before it could cause some real damage.
"Fine. The last one on this car. We'll see you," he said as Harry led him off.
"Stupid git," Malfoy muttered.
"He's not. But he is the git that was just about to pound you into the ground. You constantly tease him. Aren't you worried what'll happen one day when Crabbe and Goyle aren't there to protect you and you provoke him? Without Harry and I, he's not likely to turn the other cheek. Why are you prowling around out here alone anyway?" she asked as she walked to the teacher's usual compartment.
"To check out Potter's new piece of ass. Didn't know it was you, though. I would've kept my eyes to myself. My comments too," he added softly.
She stopped walking and turned to face him.
"Oh really? Which comments?" she asked interestedly.
"About Potter and Weasley."
"So you do think I'm hot?" she teased lightly.
"I've got eyes in my head, Hermione, and they work just fine. I'm also a red-blooded man, how could I not find you 'hot' as you put it?" he snapped.
"Hermione, is it? Since when have we been on a first name basis? Last time I checked, you were still Malfoy, the king of Slytherin jerks."
"Weren't you just saying that you were ready for the feuding to end?" he charged.
She smiled.
"Haven't you always been a great supporter of discord and mayhem?" she asked.
"Just call me out as the devil, why don't you?" he muttered.
"I thought that was a proven fact. Snape isn't even on this train, is he?"
"Why would you say that?"
"You didn't even try to get Harry and Ron to stay so that you could bait them and turn Snape on them. You may have been making steps in the right direction since Voldemort is back, but I doubt that you could resist anything so natural to you. You'd renounce your inheritance first. So why did you come out here, really?" she pressed.
"You want the truth?"
"Yes."
"Well, I was looking for you. I was looking for some decent conversation and you're pretty darn good at that. When you're not bossing everyone around, that is."
"I only boss around the people that I care about."
"And I only order about people that I consider beneath me."
"So?"
"So, I'm asking and not ordering you to come to Halloween Ball with me."
Hermione almost lost her composure. That was slick. And so fast she was nearly reeling with the force of the blow.
"Working a little early, aren't you?"
"Fourth year was the time to make my presence known. The Yule Ball. I had on the most expensive robes, I had the most influence- next to Potter, and on my arm was who I thought was the most beautiful girl. At least I thought that until I saw you on that Bulgarian's arm. Utterly stunning. There was a true woman in you all that time. You let her out for a brief moment and then buried her beneath the robes and uniforms and books. It was a travesty of nature. And over the years, I've treated you as the son of Lucius Malfoy was expected to treat you, but I was only a boy at the time. As a man I am more than offering an apologize for all that I've done in the past, I'm offering a union the likes of which this school has never seen or even thought of before."
Hermione was hard pressed not to laugh. After all, how would he take that? That had to be one of the most heartfelt, honest and flattering words that she'd ever heard. Too bad she already knew that tactic. He apparently did have some respect to use such good material as a testing ground. He knew she was intelligent. The whole school knew that she was. She walked over to him as he leaned against the wall, casually awaiting her answer.
"It's not that I'm bitter, but It'll take a lot more than that to sway me Draco Malfoy."
With that she spun on her heel and began to walk off. Before she walked through the median to the next car, she turned back and blew him a kiss.
"On the bright side, I'm still interested. You'd better act fast, though. I won't be for long," she called.
"Don't worry, Granger. This hunt is only beginning. By the end, I'll have you as the only trophy I need."
With a determined smirk he made his way back to his own compartment. No need to tell the others about his little discovery. He wanted to be the only one playing with her. Blaise could have Pansy, it was time for Draco to move on to better.
Well, there it is. Chapter three. It really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Just let the words flow and eventually you will be alright. Thanks to all of my reviewers, your feedback makes be buckle down and actually do my job. As for my other fics I think the one for Dragonball Z may take a while to move again, I sort of lost my inspiration on that but I will keep trying. And for the Yu-Gi-Oh fic I started that during a very small break from school and am going to definitely do more on it as soon as more time is available. Hope you're all enjoying the story so far. Thanks for reading!