NOTE: Yes, this is on a different login, but someone notified me to FF.net and got my story disabled or w/e.
Chapter 1- The Midnight Encounter
Hermione Granger hurried down the dark corridor, books filling her small arms, and her wand with a small light burning at the end of it. Numerous paintings and statues turned their faces away from the light, annoyed. It was around 12 o'clock, and past all the 5th year's curfews.
"I have to get back to the common room before somebody finds me…" Whispered Hermione to herself. Her now long brown hair fell over her shoulders, and her dress waved violently behind her as she half ran and half stumbled her way through the corridors. Footsteps. Hermione halted quickly and whispered "lumos" and the light on her wand went out softly. She peered around the corner to see who was coming her way. Getting caught out past curfew would get her in a lot of trouble, not to mention get points taken away from Gryffindor.
"Whose there?" She heard a sharp male voice call out. As the intruder walked closer to rounding the corner, Hermione was then able to see their face, and it was none other than Draco Malfoy.
"Damn!" Hermione said in an undertone only she could hear. She lowered herself to the floor and hoped that Draco would walk by and not notice her. She clutched her books tightly as Draco started to walk slowly past the corner and slowly closer to her. "I said whose there??" Draco repeated again, with his stone cold voice, and to Hermione, a bit of fear.
Why doesn't he just use his stupid wand and light his way, rather than stumbling in the dark like an idiot? Hermione chuckled to herself silently, enjoying the sight of Draco looking utterly nervous. She of coarse was able to see him because three years earlier she had taken a potion and accidentally turned into a cat, and along with forgetting to tell the nurse to put her teeth back to normal size, she also let slip the fact she could see in the dark as well as in the day.
Draco silently tip toed down the hallway, and as he was almost out of sight, Hermione, struggling to hold it back but failing, sneezed. Instantly Draco spun around with a determined yet terrified look on his face.
"I knew someone was there! Show yourself or I'll go to Professor Snape!" Draco yelled in a know it all sort of tone Hermione used often. Hermione felt herself another sneeze coming, and she held her breathe as tight as she could. It was no use, and this time, alone with a bursting sneeze, she also lost hold of her books as they went cascading across the floor. Her quill and inkbottle went rolling right to Draco's feet, and he peered into the darkness.
"Who…." Draco said as he walked closer and closer to where Hermione sat huddled against the wall. Finally, he pulled out his want, and then muttered angrily to himself.
"What is the spell again….lucos….lupus….lum…." He said to himself, having forgotten the incantation for light.
"Lumos" Hermione whispered quietly, she could not help that she knew the answer, and being her typical self, had to answer it at the worst of times.
"LUMOS!" Draco bellowed and his wand lit up the whole corridor. Hermione pulled her cloak over her head as Draco spotted her. He stomped over to her triumphantly, nelt down, grabbed the hood of her cloak and threw it up.
"Found yo-" Draco's words stopped instantly as Hermione looked up at him with her soft brown eyes filled with tears. Finding Hermione there was the last thing Draco expected. As they stared at each other, the look of triumph washed off his face and his emotions tore him inside. For a minute Hermione felt as if he showed sympathy towards her, and might have even helped her up, but as she was thinking this, Draco seemed to pull himself together and he stood up and poised.
"Granger…what are you doing out?" He said scolding with his arms crossed. "I uh…I…was…." Hermione stammered as she brought herself to her feet. Draco was considerably taller than her and over the past year he had grown from a scrawny pale boy to a very handsome lean teenager. Hermione stared at him, transfixed by his gray eyes, which felt piercing to her own.
"You were…?" Draco replied, annoyed with his eyebrow arched.
"I was….in the library…finishing…uhh…homework." Hermione knew quite well that she had infact been looking for a secret room in Hogwarts, which she had read about in the summer prior. But it was her secret and she would not tell him.
"Hermione you and I both know quite well that it's only the first week of school…and we don't have any homework." Draco said knowingly, with a sign of proudness. Leave it to Draco to know there is no homework, Hermione thought annoyed.
"Fine…I was…on a walk with Martin and got lost on the way back…" Hermione felt proud of herself, making a quite convincing story for herself. She smiled at Draco who was then transfixed on her.
"Martin…the Hufflepuff bloke who accidentally cast a farting spell on himself in the second year? You were on a walk with him?" Draco said mockingly.
"Yes…he is quite a handsome guy…" Hermione forced herself to pretend to look lovingly into the distance. And also made herself a mental note that next time she has to explain where she was in the middle of the night, to make up her walking with a cute guy.
He laughed his cold laugh and it then faded away into small huffs. He seemed to be unhappy about something. He looked at Hermione and she met his eyes. Once again, there they stood in awkward silence. Draco felt uneasy, and unhappy knowing Granger had someone special in her life. Truthfully, Draco had no one, and deep down wished there was someone to love him. But this was his deepest desires in which even he wasen't sure he felt. What also made him even unhappier was the fact that he secretly admired Hermione, and even thought that she had turned quite pretty over the last summer…
"Ahem…" said a stern voice that neither of them had. They both looked at each other and turned in the direction of the voice. There standing in the corridor, in his pajamas and a nightcap was none other than a very angry looking Professor Snape. Hermione chuckled to herself silently but only for a second, because she knew quite well that her and Draco would both be severely punished for being out so late, and especially because was Professor Snape who found them.
"What the hell do you think you two are doing out so late, wandering the corridors?" Snape demanded, and slightly amused at the site in which he was witnessing. Two students in which he had thought to absolutely hate each other, within feet of each other,, bluntly staring into each others eyes with books and parchments scattered across the floor.
"She was out walking with Martin the Hufflepuff bloke! And I found her!" Draco rushed out, knowing that Snape favored him much more than Hermione.
"Well well well…looks like Hermione will be in a bit of trouble now wont she…" Snape said merrily with a sly and evil curl of his lips.
"Let's see…two weeks detention for Miss Granger…fifty points from Gryffindor…" Snape thought out loud with his wand twirling in the air.
"What?!" Hermione gasped, and instinctively started begging to Snape.
"Please! I didn't mean to cause any harm…fifty points…that's just…." Hermione started to tear up and Draco was heaving against the wall bracing himself in an uncontrollable laughter.
"What is going on here?" Another voice called out like a golden horn. All three of them knew exactly who this was. Albus Dumbledore, the Hogwarts headmaster also stood at the end of the hallway in his pajamas that were silky blue with yellow ducks all over them. He looked worried but smiled as he always did to Hermione and a little less friendly to Draco, and looked to Snape to explain what was going on.
"Draco here found Miss Granger running a muk in the corridors and informed me! This of coarse is a violation of school policy and deserves severe-" But Snape was cut off by Dumbledore's hand which was raised.
"I see that Miss Granger has broken the rules, and the proper punishment will remain." Said Dumbledore. Snape and Draco both looked like it was Christmas, and Hermione lowered her head and stared at the shiny castle floors.
"But…" Dumbledore added and all thee looked up at him. "Mr. Malfoy was also out past curfew and will get the same punishments as Miss Granger." Dumbledore said. Draco and Snape both opened their mouths as if to retaliate, but Dumbledore nodded to them, as if to hush them once more.
"I presume Professor Snape will lead you two back to your dormitories. As for a punishment, I want both of you at my room after your classes. I will have you both aid me in decorating my room." Dumbledore said smiling to himself. He loved decorating, and knew in the back of his aged mind that working together would bring Hermione and Draco closer.
Snape looked unhappy as he grabbed Hermione and Draco by the arms and started to lead them down the hall as Dumbledore strolled back to his room.
"Wait! I have to pick up my books!" Hermione squealed as they were about to turn the corner. She picked up her three books, two parchments, and her quill and inkbottle. Draco rolled his eyes but happened to notice the name on one of her books. It read "100 Ways To Improve The Teenage Witch". Draco felt amused as Hermione saw him noticing the books she was carrying. She blushed profusely and let Snape take her arm again as they walked down the halls. She was lucky that both Snape and Draco had not seen her two other books, and her parchment, which contained notes she had taken about various corridors, and the books on the dark arts. If she had been caught with them, even she didn't know what kind of trouble she would have been in.
They finally reached her dormitory as she whispered her password to the fat lady who waking up stumbled right out of the painting. Draco laughed to himself as the Fat Lady climbed to her feet, and slowly pulled the painting open, yawning.
"Bye…" Hermione said as she climbed into the entrance, and for a moment her and Draco's eyes met for the third time, yet this time, she wished that she did not have to leave his side. Pushing that thought out of her mind, she quickly looked to the floor and pulled the painting closed.
Snape looked at Draco curiously who had been staring at the painting still even though Hermione had already left.
"Boy…what's the matter with you?" Snape retorted, noticing a hint of a crush which he deeply showed a disagreement for.
"What? Nothing…You think…me…like her? A mudblood? Your insane…" Draco said blushing scarlet and he walked with his face away from Shape down the hall.
They had gone, but Hermione was not. She stood leaning against the backside of the painting, staring into the darkness of the Gryffindor common room. How could I have let myself stare at him? Hermione thought to herself. He's just…a stupid stupid slytherin. She kept repeating in her mind. Oh…but a very handsome slytherin…and those eyes… Her own thoughts trailed off as she moved her eyes to the chairs in the common room. There curled up in one of the larger violet chairs was a passed out Ron Weasly, with his red hair falling over his eyes, and arms tightly clutching a teddy bear. She sighed at the site of her friend and quickly tip toed up to her room.
Ok guys this is my first attempt at fan-fic. I know it's super long…but I couldn't really put it into to chapters. PLEASE PLEASE review! I want advice…lol.