~*The Passion of a Dragon*~

By: xKatx

Author's Notes: I've gotten SUCH a good response to this story! Do you really love it that much? *blushes* Awww, I feel so loved! Thanks for all of the support and I can't wait to see your response to this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own HP stuff—I'd be in the mountains right now if I did—I own everything you don't recognize.

Characters You Will Meet In This Chapter:

Pansy Parkinson, seventh year Slytherin who is in love with Draco

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(A/N: due to the mention of time and stuff, I want you all to be clear that it's the last week of September in this chapter!!)

Hermione awoke the next morning with a painful headache. Even in her uneasy sleep, her mind had been working to figure out just what that dream had meant. She realized it was six-thirty and it was Monday. Two things that only added to her grumpy mood. She crawled out of bed and grabbed her robe. Hopefully a hot shower would ease the throbbing in her head.

She was careful to make sure Malfoy wasn't out in the common room when she snuck into the bathroom. She only breathed again after she was in the bathroom and the door was locked. She then proceeded to shower, the vanilla shampoo, conditioner, and body wash she used helped to dull the pain of her headache, but it was still very much there. She tried not to think about the dream as she dried off and wrapped herself in a towel. She unlocked the door and listened for a moment. She didn't hear any movement outside the door, so she slipped from the bathroom into her room. And not a moment too soon, either; just as her door clicked shut, Malfoy's opened.

She let out a very long breath as she heard the water in the bathroom turn on.

        That was close! She thought to herself as she pulled on her clothes; buttoning her short crimson and gold plaid skirt, tucking in her white, long-sleeved blouse, pulling on her crimson and gold plaid tie, pulling up her knee-high black socks, and tying her black shoes. She glanced at the clock and realized she'd showered and dressed in less than ten minutes; quite a feat for her. She figured if she could get her hair and make-up done in ten minutes, she could get to the Great Hall and her friends before Malfoy even made it out of his room.

She silently thanked God she'd brushed her teeth before showering that morning; usually she brushed them after she got dressed. But now that the dream had had Malfoy in it…

        Stop thinking about that, she told herself as she applied smokey black eyeshadow and other eye makeup, you're going to make your headache come back.

But at that moment, as she took the towel off of her head and decided to let her hair to dry naturally and curly, she realized her headache was the last of her worries. She had to present the Ancient Runes project with Malfoy after breakfast.

        Calm down, Hermione. You have to present--he won't have time to mention the dream. Then you can just get to Herbology with Harry and Ron before he can pull you aside!

She logically calmed herself down as she clipped some of her hair back in a half-up half-down 'do, grabbed her black messanger bag and an extra quill, and slipped out of the common room. Malfoy, of course, oblivious to all of her thoughts.


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That morning there was a strange hush over the Great Hall. Even the teachers were talking in hushed tones; as if someone had died. Hermione felt strange walking into the Great Hall, but didn't interrupt the quiet. She sat inbetween Harry and Seamus.

        "Why is everyone so quiet?" She asked. Harry, Seamus, Ron, Lavender, Parvati, and Ginny all looked at her, before looking up.

Hermione, unaware that Malfoy had just asked the same question to his friends.

At the same time, both looked skyward and saw that the Enchanted Ceiling of the Great Hall no longer had just the sky on it. It had words, written in loopy cursive across the expanse of the ceiling.

~*The time has come;

They have been chosen,

And now fourteen weeks until the day;

When two become one*~

"Oh, shit," Hermione muttered under her breath. The dream! It had to be the dream! Taryn and Luke were the ones who had fulfilled the prophecy last time; who were the next ones?

        Oh no, she thought to herself. No, no… no there's no way. It can't be me and Malfoy. We were just there to… to see it… yeah, to see it and make sure the right people get it. It was Gryffindor and Slytherin last time-it can't be again.

She calmed down after thinking of that. The last fulfillment had been between a Slytherin and a Gryffindor; it was another house's turn. Maybe this time it would be a Slytherin and a Ravenclaw? Or a Slytherin and Hufflepuff? Or a Gryffindor and Ravenclaw? There were any number of matches that could be made. She let out a long breath-she didn't have to worry about it. Gryffindor and Slytherin had already fulfilled it.

        "So?" She said to her friends, "Why is everyone so quiet about that?"

        "Well isn't it obvious? By Christmas the prophecy will be fulfilled!" Ginny squealed, getting glares from people at other tables.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Who cares? You and Harry are together; you guys aren't the prophecy."

        "We know that," Harry pointed out, "But I-"

Harry was about to finish when Dumbledore stood up.

        "I believe all the students are here now," he said, "So I shall make the announcement. Yes, the prophecy is beginning to take place. The two meant to fulfill the prophecy have been chosen."

Whispers began filtering through the hall, and Dumbledore held up his hand for silence.

        "I know all of you are curious as to which house the two are from. However, as with tradition, we will only find out twelve hours after the message appeared. If I recall correctly, the message appeared at…?"

He looked at Professor McGonagall, who replied, "Five this morning."

        "Ah," he said nodded with a grin, "Five this morning. Well, that means at five this afternoon, we shall find out which house the two are from. We will not be told the names, but their houses will be revealed. Anyone whose curiosity is piqued enough, feel free to come to dinner early to witness the reveal."

Dumbledore sat back down, and the Hall exploded with whispers and excited talking.

        "Seamus," Ron said, getting the shorter man's attention, "Want to make a bet?"

Seamus grinned as he finished his Yorkshire pudding, "You know what I like, Weasley!"

        "Twenty Galleons says it's Gryffindor and Slytherin," Ron said, handing the gold to Seamus, who nodded, "I say it's not," Seamus replied.

        "We'll see," Ron smiled. Seamus nodded, and put a charm on the pouch in which he'd placed his twenty Galleons and Ron's, so that no one could steal any of it.

        "You guys are pathetic," Ginny said, but her attitude was given away when she grinned at them.

        "I'll be right back," Harry said, getting up and heading toward the Slytherin table.

        "What the bloody hell is he doing?" Ron questioned as Harry walked up to Blaise Zabini.

        "Signing his death warrant?" Seamus guessed, and Hermione watched carefully at Malfoy's and Blaise's expressions. She saw Blaise nod and shake hands with Harry.

        "Care to explain?" Lavender asked as Harry arrived back at the table.

        "Made a little bet with Zabini," Harry replied.

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "And since when have you and Zabini been on speaking terms?"

        "Since the Quidditch World Cup. Not half bad-the better half of Malfoy, really," Harry informed them.

        "Well, what kind of bet did you make?" Hermione questioned, looking at him.

He smiled, "One hundred Galleons says the Gryffindor lion shows up first."

        "But there's no guarantee that Gryffindor is one of the houses!" Ginny exclaimed.

He winked at them, "That's what makes it such a risky bet."

Hermione shook her head; these guys weren't taking this as seriously as she was. Then again, they hadn't had the dream that she'd had. And even if they had, they probably wouldn't have seen Malfoy.

Or would they have?

        "You okay, Hermione? You look kind of pale," Parvati said.

Hermione shook away those thoughts, and focused on her friends.

        "Yeah, yeah I'm fine," she replied, pushing her toast away, "Listen, I'm going to head to Ancient Runes… I'll see you guys Herbology."

She got up, shouldered her bag, and left the Great Hall, never once looking back at the ceiling.

        "She's always been a bad liar," Harry commented as they watched her leave.

Ron nodded, "She's probably just a little spooked from the whole prophecy thing. You know she hates premonitions and stuff."

Seamus grinned, "Yeah, remember how she walked out on Divination?"

        "How could we forget?" Harry said, "One of her finer moments, that's for sure."

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Hermione arrived in Ancient Runes before most of the students had. There were a few Gryffindors, but not many. She sat in the back, in the last seat closest to the wall. She didn't want Malfoy to see her the second he walked in the door.

Maya, however, did.

        "Hey!" She greeted her friend.

Hermione nodded, but didn't return the smile Maya had given her.

        "You okay?" Maya asked, as she sat in front of Hermione and turned around to talk with her.

Hermione nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine, just a little tired."

        "Oh, I know what you mean," Maya agreed as more students came into the room, including her partner, Ricky Meckels, and none other than Malfoy.

        "Quiet down, class, quiet down!" The professor said as everyone got into their seats, "Today is presentation day! Who would like to go first?"

No one raised their hands, but instead looked around at everyone else. The only ones not looked around were Hermione and Malfoy.

        "Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy, why don't you do the honors?"

        Shit, Hermione thought as she reluctantly got up and handed the box to Malfoy, figures, we would go first.

When she handed it to him, she felt his fingers brush over hers, and it felt like she'd just stuck a key in a light-socket. Electric currents seem to run through them, but neither of them showed any notice. His fingers were cool, and surprisingly smooth and gentle, but she didn't show any reaction. She moved to the side of the room while he touched the box with his wand.

        "Sista Aparenamis!" He said, before stepping back next to where Hermione leaned against the wall.

There were gasps as the classroom transformed into Stonehenge, and the loud, deep voice of the narrator began.

        "So," Malfoy said, as they watched the students getting up and touching the stones.

        "So," she replied, mentally cursing their professor for pairing them together.

        "Did you see the sign on the ceiling?" Malfoy questioned.

        "Yes," she replied, wondering if she kept replying like this, would he get annoyed?

        "You're the brain," he said, "Which houses do you think it will be?"

        "Dunno," she replied, proud of her aversion tactics.
        "I'm trying to have a somewhat civil conversation here, Mudblood," he said in a low whisper.

        "Okay," she said, looking at him. He was standing facing her, and she was leaning against the wall, her arms folded across her chest. She had to admit, he looked handsome as usual; the sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up to the elbows, displaying his sinewy forearms, his blond hair was slicked back and his gray eyes searching her amber ones, trying to find answers to questions he hadn't asked.

        "I can't very well accomplish that if you don't stop using monosyllabic replies," he informed her.

        "What do you want, Malfoy?" She asked, exasperatedly, "I hope you're happy with that answer; because that one was exactly six syllables."

He smirked at her smart remarks, "Very good, Granger. At least we know you haven't lost your skill in English."

        "Listen, Malfoy, unless you have something important or useful to say, I'd rather pay attention to our presentation."

He raised an eyebrow, "Are you imposing that at times I have unimportant, trivial things to say?"

        "That's exactly what I was suggesting," Hermione said, turning to face him, "At least you haven't lost your skill in reading between the lines, Malfoy."

He smirked, "I don't think I ever will. You keep me in practice, Granger."

        "What is with constantly using my last name? We're partners in projects, plus we're Head Boy and Girl--can't we just use first names?"

        "You want me to call you by your first name?"

        "It would be a nice change from constantly being reminded of my last," she replied, "What? Can't manage Hermione? I know it's four syllables, but honestly, I thought you could handle that!"

Draco narrowed his eyes with a smirk, "Well, Hermione, it doesn't look like you can even handle Draco--which is surprising, considering that is only two syllables!"

She rolled her eyes, "I'll agree to use your first name, if you agree to use mine."

        "I never make deals with Mudbloods," he told her.

She narrowed her eyes, "I'm sick of that too--you call Pansy by her first name."

        "She's a pureblood," he replied simply.

        "Albeit, not a very pure one," Hermione replied, "You can call that wench by her first name, but can't handle mine? I thought Malfoys could handle anything."

Their presentation was coming to a close, so Malfoy quickly had to decide whether to leave their argument hanging, or to finish it. He, having remembered the dream and wanting her to be on good terms with him later (since he wanted some answers from her), decided to finish the argument there.

        "Malfoys can handle anything, Hermione," he told her.

She was shocked, and raised her eyebrows to show him she was. He'd said her first name. He made it sound graceful and beautiful; it also sounded natural on his lips. She smirked at him.

        "See? You didn't burst into flames," she said as the presentation came to an end, "I think you'll survive using my first name, Draco."

She sat down at her desk again, and the class clapped as Draco too resumed his seat.

        "Very well done! Extremely detailed and well-thought out!" The professor praised them, gaining a smile from Hermione and a nod from Draco.

The rest of the class dragged on as the partners presented their projects. However, Hermione and Draco's minds weren't focused on anything having to do with Ancient Runes.

        Why did I press so hard to have him say my first name? Hermione asked herself, annoyed at her actions.

        Why did I dignify her insult by using her name? Malfoy questioned, Because I wanted to?

No answers came to either of them as the bell rang and they parted, Hermione headed to Herbology, Malfoy headed to History of Magic.