A/N: Guys, I know I promised a sequel to A Maze in the Mist, and it will be out partially by this Christmas. I just don't have enough time right now to gather thoughts of any decency. Like any story, this starts out roughly, but I am proud of it. I am warning right now that it's going to have some themes that are not suitable for anyone who is... well... arrogant and naive, for lack of better words that can be found. So, here it is.
Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter indignatia, items or characters. I never will nor do own the characters. The publishing rights include but are not limited to: Joanne Katherine Rowling, Bloomsbury, AOL Time Warner, Warner Brothers. Please do not make me but a disclaimer on every chapter so in conclusion. I DO NOT OWN JACK SHIT MINUS THE PLOT!!!
Chapter 1: Can I?
"You're not scared, are you?"
She felt herself being slammed into the wall and almost whimpered before recognizing the voice. Six years of God damned torture and he never got tired of it. That was just fine because she wouldn't let him get the pleasure he wanted out of it.
"No." She replied calmly.
She could have made some witty comment to him about his tactic or his predictability, but he would just get off on knowing that he could have an effect on her. Malfoy was the kind of person who looked to start a battle just as an excuse to hate someone. He hated her before he knew her, meaning that he probably wanted to justify his hatred with rows and duels. Too bad. She wouldn't give in.
He forcefully held her against the wall, his hands building a barrier as to not let her out. Hermione kept her hands inside her robes and went through a layer of cloth before finding her wand and grasping it tightly. Malfoy seemed to realize what she was doing and took her wand hand, pulled it out of her robes, and pushed it over her head.
She kept calm and flicked her wrist as if to curse him. He pressed himself against her firmly and violently forced his lips against hers to keep her from cursing him. She was about to push him off, but he bit onto her lip again. She kept tears inside her eyes as she tasted her own blood. She had been assaulted and threatened by Malfoy, but never were any of these attempts sexual.
Her moment of light-headedness caused the distraction Malfoy needed to grasp her wand from her. His eyes cold, he took the corner of her robes and wiped the trail of her blood from his lips.
"Can't have dirty blood on me, can I? Are you scared now?" He asked her as he brought his hand up and rubbed her slowly swelling lip. She glared at him while trying to figure out how to get her wand back. It wouldn't be the most noble thing to do, nevertheless, it would work. She got closer to him and quickly connected her knee with his groin. He fell to the ground and dropped her wand.
"I'm scared I won't be able to stop myself from making that pain permanent." She said pointing her wand at where his hands were now positioned. She took the corner of his robes and wiped where he had touched her face, taking a leaf from his book, "Can't have Deatheater on me, can I?"
She gave him the exact same smirk he had given her before raising and lowering her left eyebrow quickly. She put her wand into her robe sleeve before walking down the third floor corridor on the right hand side. The portraits whispered and pointed at her, gossiping to the neighboring portraits while some of the older ones just gave Malfoy and herself dirty glances. All she knew was that she was relieved that Sir Cadogan was not there to reprimand her about how 'dishonoring' her previous actions were.
Hurrying along the corridor, Hermione passed the trophy room. Her book bag must have been weighing her down because usually she was in class by now, then again, she usually wasn't held up by Malfoy. She groaned at the thought of him and made her way further down the long corridor. Turning left, Hermione found herself in a narrow corridor being lit by torches. She raced down it fearing she would be late for class.
She saw a crowd of students gathered at the door of the Charms classroom and let out a sigh of relief. She couldn't remember the last time she was late for class. Wait, yes she could: April 14th to Transfiguration last year because Blaise Zabini had put a curse on Neville that he didn't know the counter for. She remembered the sight of Neville flipping in the air without being able to stop which was quite a spectacle since he was fairly chubby.
The room door was opened to show a tiny Flitwick holding the door open with magic so it wouldn't collapse on his small body. What was left of the seventh year students after the strenuous intake process filed in with a rustle of their robes and a swing of their book bags. Hermione, being the last to enter, was glad that there was a spot open in the front.
Because the occupants of the desks were now seated and ready to begin class, Flitwick closed the door. Hermione looked around to the back of the room to see Harry seated there with Ron and a spot that was probably meant for her. She ignored their curious glances and looked to the front of the room where Flitwick had begun to talk.
"Today," Professor Flitwick squeaked as he climbed onto a pile of books, "we will be learning how to charm Muggle objects to work in Magical places such as Hogwarts. Quills and parchment out please as I am hoping that there will be none such issues that the Slytherin/Ravenclaw class had." He looked around expectedly and saw no students raise their hands. Doing a familiar movement with his wand, notes appeared on the board.
Of course, Hermione thought, Slytherins would have issues with learning about Muggles when they didn't take Muggle studies for a reason. They were so naïve, and because Voldemort was like that also, his downfall would be quite a bit easier. Muggle contraptions such as guns could be charmed to make the bullets permanent causing an effect similar to the Killing Curse. Of course, they wouldn't be learning of this at school. They were very likely to spend the class with walkmans and CD players trying to get them to work. She wouldn't mind owling her Mum to send her player and favorite CDs if they actually worked. Why she hadn't researched this prior to this class she didn't know. She was probably just concerned with other things.
She took out her Hippogriff quill she had gotten for her birthday, a bottle of black ink, and a scroll of parchment. Unscrewing the bottle absentmindedly, Hermione began to memorize the first part of the notes. She dipped her quill in her ink and began to copy the notes neatly. She looked up to memorize the second part when she had written down the first. Memorization became easier as the years went. If only Harry and Ron had known that, they would have had such an easier time in N.E.W.T classes. They probably wouldn't have worked any harder even if she had told them that.
Dipping her quill into the bottle again, Hermione's thoughts began to wonder. How Harry had changed since Sirius's death. He's never been the same since, Hermione thought. Shrouding himself in his homework the second he had been picked up to go to the Order Headquarters. She didn't blame him being more than just a little upset! What were they thinking bringing him back to the home of his recently deceased Godfather? It was his home ,technically, as it had said in Sirius's will.
On any circumstances, Hermione would have loved to see Harry so immersed in informative texts and his studies, but it was a cover-up. He threw himself into his schoolwork headfirst. Hermione and Ron had each tried talking to him that summer, but as expected, it didn't work. It had taken them months before they got him to talk to them. He had become distant.
In sixth year they got him to open up. It was a start. The famous Golden Trio became closer than ever. It was a good thing too after the reporters owled them daily for 'special reports' and 'exclusive' interviews. It got to the point where they had Dumbledore screen all their mail before receiving it.
Dumbledore had become weary and constantly looked his age as opposed to the energetic person she had known him to be. Who could blame him, though? He had to deal with utmost pressure at all times with the Order, Voldemort, the Ministry, and still having responsibility of being Headmaster of Hogwarts. Of course, there was also Wizengamot and many other things, but those were the least of his worries. That was saying something. She didn't know how he had dealt with it all before, but now she was waiting for him to burst.
She snapped out of her thoughts when she felt a tapping at her back. She turned around to see Ernie Macmillan with his left hand stretched out with a note inside it while his other was scribbling furiously to write down what was on the board. She took the note from his hand and quickly thanked him. She looked up to see the Professor turning back around from the board. Hermione sighed a relief that she had not been caught receiving the piece of parchment.
She opened it up and recognized Ron's distinctive calligraphy. She managed to sneak a glance at him before Flitwick started walking between the aisles to make sure they were all copying down what they were supposed to and make sure it was in the correct format. Hermione quickly read the note before pushing it in the back of her Charms book. She should have guessed Ron and Harry would try and find out what had happened to her lip as it was swollen. She cursed herself for not having time to heal it before rushing into class.
She was just about to try and mouth to him that she would tell him later when Professor Flitwick came back around to the front of the classroom and stood on a stepping stool he had conjured next to the board. He stood up straight and looked to see if all the students were finished. With the last bunch of slow writers finished, Flitwick took his wand and pointed to the board.
"The process is fairly simple as you surely have noticed in the notes when you were copying them down. Most of the earlier class got it by the end of class, though, some did have issues with the concept of understanding the inside works of the objects we are working with. For those of you who are Muggleborn or have taken Muggle studies should, by now, be familiar with the workings of a disc player. If you are not, partner up with someone who is. To make this charm work, you simply need to take the inside of the contraption, the batteries," Hermione watched with an amused expression as many Purebloods in the class looked utterly lost, " and the inputs and outputs and charm them there with the proper incantation. You take the route of the Latin word of what you are charming and then what you are trying to do. For those of you who are not familiar with Latin, there is a list of simplistic things in the back of your book. The incantation for this is Hecatean Canticum."
Hermione repeated along with everyone else. Flitwick smiled brightly at them and waved his hand signally for them to partner up. Hermione looked around expectedly to Harry and Ron. She saw Harry trying to explain to Ron what a battery was. She heard Ron say something very inappropriate and pursed her lips.
"Hermione? Do you mind helping me?" She twisted slightly to see a very confused Lavender Brown.
"Not at all." Hermione reassured with a very warm smile on her face. The girl standing in front of her let out a breath of relief as she plopped down in the chair next to her.
Hermione took out her wand and summoned two disc players. She opened it up to see a disk inside and headphones attached. She put on the power and listened to it. A sharp sound was made from the disk and Hermione quickly turned it off and took out the batteries from the back.
"First off, do you know what batteries are?" Hermione asked. Lavender shook her head furiously as Hermione handed her two double A batteries that had come out of the CD player.
She began her explanation with many interruptions from the girl beside her. She was glad she was so patient because otherwise she would have snapped at the girl or even cursed her mouth shut. She wouldn't have minded as much if all the girl's questions and comments were about the actual class rather than the gossip she provided with even the slightest provocation.
By the end of class, Hermione, Harry, and Hannah Abbott were the only ones who had managed to get the CD player to work completely and totally charmed, playing an old CD of the Backstreet Boys. Flitwick awarded Gryffindor 30 house points while giving Hannah 15 for Hufflepuff. Hermione was cheerful when Flitwick announced the end of class. She packed up not even glancing at Lavender.
"You know, Hermione, I could give you a make over for helping me." She announced.
Hermione snorted as she rolled her eyes. How many times had the plastic girls of Gryffindor seventh year now offered her to tame her hair, apply her make up, buy her clothes, she couldn't count. "I'll keep that in mind." Hermione said curtly while throwing her book bag over her shoulder and walking to the back of the room where Harry and Ron were waiting for her.
"What happened to your lip? It's swollen." Harry assessed. He took her face gently in his arms and tilted her head upward, running over her lip with his thumb. He frowned and looked to Flitwick, "Come on." He pulled them outside the classroom.
"If someone did this to you, I'll kill them." Ron swore under his breath while looking to her face with a mixture of worrying and anger in his eyes
"It's fine, Ron. I can handle myself." Hermione said with a sure air around her. She took out her wand and quickly healed her lip. Take care of herself, she did. The look of distortion on Malfoy's face after she impaired him in the place that hurt most was priceless.
"Who did it?" Ron repeated angrily.
She knew he was stubborn and protective as can be. Even if she couldn't have handled herself, she would have gone to Harry instead of Ron because Ron was sure to do something to the person that would get him either expelled or sent to Azkaban. It was all a hundred times worse because of the fact that it was Malfoy. Their history only included rows and duels.
"Leave it." Harry insisted as he looked to Hermione one last time to check for any other signs of injury or pain. When he saw none, he cut Ron off and lead them the quickest way to the staircase.
They walked up the staircase in a rare silence. Once at the seventh floor without the stairs moving, they scuttled along the corridor to the Gryffindor Common Room. Hermione said the password, and the Fat Lady gladly let the three enter. Once there they deposited their bags on a desk in a corner.
"Weekend! No more classes for two and a half days!" Ron exclaimed as he let himself drop heavily into an open chair that two first years got out of to let him sit in.
"We have homework that I think we should get done." Hermione stated as she looked sternly to them, "You two have to practice practical Transfiguration, a Potions essay, Defense Against the Dark Arts practice, and you have to practice the charm Ron!"
"I've done my homework." Harry said emotionlessly. She sighed looking to Ron. She was still getting used to Harry being responsible and doing his homework at the earliest date. He was throwing himself into his homework, and that was not a good sign. Once again, he had fought his pain with blocking it out.
"Let's go to our Common Room." Hermione referred to the Head Boy and Head Girl dormitory that Harry and Hermione had to share. She wasn't surprised when Harry got the badge. What did surprise her, sadly, was that he got it for his merits in his studies instead of just what he had done.
"That sounds like a good idea." Ron agreed. He shot Hermione a look that said all it needed to. They were going to try and talk Harry out of brooding. Hermione knew they couldn't do it in here, but they could in the privacy of their dormitory. She didn't know if other Heads had gotten their own dormitories. She supposed Dumbledore wanted to have a place where the three could talk privately as too many people now knew of the Room of Requirement.
Dragging Harry along, they took their book bags and exited the Gryffindor Common Room.
A/N: It gets wayyyy better!!!! The 'ships will play around every now and then, but I do have such a strong confidence in the relationship of Hermione and Draco that they will have a weird sort of friendship or more... Depending ont he amount of reviews I get left!!! Already have 6 chapters written out so dooooo rrrrrrreeeeeeeeviiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeewwwwww!!!! The button is right down there!!!
Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter indignatia, items or characters. I never will nor do own the characters. The publishing rights include but are not limited to: Joanne Katherine Rowling, Bloomsbury, AOL Time Warner, Warner Brothers. Please do not make me but a disclaimer on every chapter so in conclusion. I DO NOT OWN JACK SHIT MINUS THE PLOT!!!
Chapter 1: Can I?
"You're not scared, are you?"
She felt herself being slammed into the wall and almost whimpered before recognizing the voice. Six years of God damned torture and he never got tired of it. That was just fine because she wouldn't let him get the pleasure he wanted out of it.
"No." She replied calmly.
She could have made some witty comment to him about his tactic or his predictability, but he would just get off on knowing that he could have an effect on her. Malfoy was the kind of person who looked to start a battle just as an excuse to hate someone. He hated her before he knew her, meaning that he probably wanted to justify his hatred with rows and duels. Too bad. She wouldn't give in.
He forcefully held her against the wall, his hands building a barrier as to not let her out. Hermione kept her hands inside her robes and went through a layer of cloth before finding her wand and grasping it tightly. Malfoy seemed to realize what she was doing and took her wand hand, pulled it out of her robes, and pushed it over her head.
She kept calm and flicked her wrist as if to curse him. He pressed himself against her firmly and violently forced his lips against hers to keep her from cursing him. She was about to push him off, but he bit onto her lip again. She kept tears inside her eyes as she tasted her own blood. She had been assaulted and threatened by Malfoy, but never were any of these attempts sexual.
Her moment of light-headedness caused the distraction Malfoy needed to grasp her wand from her. His eyes cold, he took the corner of her robes and wiped the trail of her blood from his lips.
"Can't have dirty blood on me, can I? Are you scared now?" He asked her as he brought his hand up and rubbed her slowly swelling lip. She glared at him while trying to figure out how to get her wand back. It wouldn't be the most noble thing to do, nevertheless, it would work. She got closer to him and quickly connected her knee with his groin. He fell to the ground and dropped her wand.
"I'm scared I won't be able to stop myself from making that pain permanent." She said pointing her wand at where his hands were now positioned. She took the corner of his robes and wiped where he had touched her face, taking a leaf from his book, "Can't have Deatheater on me, can I?"
She gave him the exact same smirk he had given her before raising and lowering her left eyebrow quickly. She put her wand into her robe sleeve before walking down the third floor corridor on the right hand side. The portraits whispered and pointed at her, gossiping to the neighboring portraits while some of the older ones just gave Malfoy and herself dirty glances. All she knew was that she was relieved that Sir Cadogan was not there to reprimand her about how 'dishonoring' her previous actions were.
Hurrying along the corridor, Hermione passed the trophy room. Her book bag must have been weighing her down because usually she was in class by now, then again, she usually wasn't held up by Malfoy. She groaned at the thought of him and made her way further down the long corridor. Turning left, Hermione found herself in a narrow corridor being lit by torches. She raced down it fearing she would be late for class.
She saw a crowd of students gathered at the door of the Charms classroom and let out a sigh of relief. She couldn't remember the last time she was late for class. Wait, yes she could: April 14th to Transfiguration last year because Blaise Zabini had put a curse on Neville that he didn't know the counter for. She remembered the sight of Neville flipping in the air without being able to stop which was quite a spectacle since he was fairly chubby.
The room door was opened to show a tiny Flitwick holding the door open with magic so it wouldn't collapse on his small body. What was left of the seventh year students after the strenuous intake process filed in with a rustle of their robes and a swing of their book bags. Hermione, being the last to enter, was glad that there was a spot open in the front.
Because the occupants of the desks were now seated and ready to begin class, Flitwick closed the door. Hermione looked around to the back of the room to see Harry seated there with Ron and a spot that was probably meant for her. She ignored their curious glances and looked to the front of the room where Flitwick had begun to talk.
"Today," Professor Flitwick squeaked as he climbed onto a pile of books, "we will be learning how to charm Muggle objects to work in Magical places such as Hogwarts. Quills and parchment out please as I am hoping that there will be none such issues that the Slytherin/Ravenclaw class had." He looked around expectedly and saw no students raise their hands. Doing a familiar movement with his wand, notes appeared on the board.
Of course, Hermione thought, Slytherins would have issues with learning about Muggles when they didn't take Muggle studies for a reason. They were so naïve, and because Voldemort was like that also, his downfall would be quite a bit easier. Muggle contraptions such as guns could be charmed to make the bullets permanent causing an effect similar to the Killing Curse. Of course, they wouldn't be learning of this at school. They were very likely to spend the class with walkmans and CD players trying to get them to work. She wouldn't mind owling her Mum to send her player and favorite CDs if they actually worked. Why she hadn't researched this prior to this class she didn't know. She was probably just concerned with other things.
She took out her Hippogriff quill she had gotten for her birthday, a bottle of black ink, and a scroll of parchment. Unscrewing the bottle absentmindedly, Hermione began to memorize the first part of the notes. She dipped her quill in her ink and began to copy the notes neatly. She looked up to memorize the second part when she had written down the first. Memorization became easier as the years went. If only Harry and Ron had known that, they would have had such an easier time in N.E.W.T classes. They probably wouldn't have worked any harder even if she had told them that.
Dipping her quill into the bottle again, Hermione's thoughts began to wonder. How Harry had changed since Sirius's death. He's never been the same since, Hermione thought. Shrouding himself in his homework the second he had been picked up to go to the Order Headquarters. She didn't blame him being more than just a little upset! What were they thinking bringing him back to the home of his recently deceased Godfather? It was his home ,technically, as it had said in Sirius's will.
On any circumstances, Hermione would have loved to see Harry so immersed in informative texts and his studies, but it was a cover-up. He threw himself into his schoolwork headfirst. Hermione and Ron had each tried talking to him that summer, but as expected, it didn't work. It had taken them months before they got him to talk to them. He had become distant.
In sixth year they got him to open up. It was a start. The famous Golden Trio became closer than ever. It was a good thing too after the reporters owled them daily for 'special reports' and 'exclusive' interviews. It got to the point where they had Dumbledore screen all their mail before receiving it.
Dumbledore had become weary and constantly looked his age as opposed to the energetic person she had known him to be. Who could blame him, though? He had to deal with utmost pressure at all times with the Order, Voldemort, the Ministry, and still having responsibility of being Headmaster of Hogwarts. Of course, there was also Wizengamot and many other things, but those were the least of his worries. That was saying something. She didn't know how he had dealt with it all before, but now she was waiting for him to burst.
She snapped out of her thoughts when she felt a tapping at her back. She turned around to see Ernie Macmillan with his left hand stretched out with a note inside it while his other was scribbling furiously to write down what was on the board. She took the note from his hand and quickly thanked him. She looked up to see the Professor turning back around from the board. Hermione sighed a relief that she had not been caught receiving the piece of parchment.
She opened it up and recognized Ron's distinctive calligraphy. She managed to sneak a glance at him before Flitwick started walking between the aisles to make sure they were all copying down what they were supposed to and make sure it was in the correct format. Hermione quickly read the note before pushing it in the back of her Charms book. She should have guessed Ron and Harry would try and find out what had happened to her lip as it was swollen. She cursed herself for not having time to heal it before rushing into class.
She was just about to try and mouth to him that she would tell him later when Professor Flitwick came back around to the front of the classroom and stood on a stepping stool he had conjured next to the board. He stood up straight and looked to see if all the students were finished. With the last bunch of slow writers finished, Flitwick took his wand and pointed to the board.
"The process is fairly simple as you surely have noticed in the notes when you were copying them down. Most of the earlier class got it by the end of class, though, some did have issues with the concept of understanding the inside works of the objects we are working with. For those of you who are Muggleborn or have taken Muggle studies should, by now, be familiar with the workings of a disc player. If you are not, partner up with someone who is. To make this charm work, you simply need to take the inside of the contraption, the batteries," Hermione watched with an amused expression as many Purebloods in the class looked utterly lost, " and the inputs and outputs and charm them there with the proper incantation. You take the route of the Latin word of what you are charming and then what you are trying to do. For those of you who are not familiar with Latin, there is a list of simplistic things in the back of your book. The incantation for this is Hecatean Canticum."
Hermione repeated along with everyone else. Flitwick smiled brightly at them and waved his hand signally for them to partner up. Hermione looked around expectedly to Harry and Ron. She saw Harry trying to explain to Ron what a battery was. She heard Ron say something very inappropriate and pursed her lips.
"Hermione? Do you mind helping me?" She twisted slightly to see a very confused Lavender Brown.
"Not at all." Hermione reassured with a very warm smile on her face. The girl standing in front of her let out a breath of relief as she plopped down in the chair next to her.
Hermione took out her wand and summoned two disc players. She opened it up to see a disk inside and headphones attached. She put on the power and listened to it. A sharp sound was made from the disk and Hermione quickly turned it off and took out the batteries from the back.
"First off, do you know what batteries are?" Hermione asked. Lavender shook her head furiously as Hermione handed her two double A batteries that had come out of the CD player.
She began her explanation with many interruptions from the girl beside her. She was glad she was so patient because otherwise she would have snapped at the girl or even cursed her mouth shut. She wouldn't have minded as much if all the girl's questions and comments were about the actual class rather than the gossip she provided with even the slightest provocation.
By the end of class, Hermione, Harry, and Hannah Abbott were the only ones who had managed to get the CD player to work completely and totally charmed, playing an old CD of the Backstreet Boys. Flitwick awarded Gryffindor 30 house points while giving Hannah 15 for Hufflepuff. Hermione was cheerful when Flitwick announced the end of class. She packed up not even glancing at Lavender.
"You know, Hermione, I could give you a make over for helping me." She announced.
Hermione snorted as she rolled her eyes. How many times had the plastic girls of Gryffindor seventh year now offered her to tame her hair, apply her make up, buy her clothes, she couldn't count. "I'll keep that in mind." Hermione said curtly while throwing her book bag over her shoulder and walking to the back of the room where Harry and Ron were waiting for her.
"What happened to your lip? It's swollen." Harry assessed. He took her face gently in his arms and tilted her head upward, running over her lip with his thumb. He frowned and looked to Flitwick, "Come on." He pulled them outside the classroom.
"If someone did this to you, I'll kill them." Ron swore under his breath while looking to her face with a mixture of worrying and anger in his eyes
"It's fine, Ron. I can handle myself." Hermione said with a sure air around her. She took out her wand and quickly healed her lip. Take care of herself, she did. The look of distortion on Malfoy's face after she impaired him in the place that hurt most was priceless.
"Who did it?" Ron repeated angrily.
She knew he was stubborn and protective as can be. Even if she couldn't have handled herself, she would have gone to Harry instead of Ron because Ron was sure to do something to the person that would get him either expelled or sent to Azkaban. It was all a hundred times worse because of the fact that it was Malfoy. Their history only included rows and duels.
"Leave it." Harry insisted as he looked to Hermione one last time to check for any other signs of injury or pain. When he saw none, he cut Ron off and lead them the quickest way to the staircase.
They walked up the staircase in a rare silence. Once at the seventh floor without the stairs moving, they scuttled along the corridor to the Gryffindor Common Room. Hermione said the password, and the Fat Lady gladly let the three enter. Once there they deposited their bags on a desk in a corner.
"Weekend! No more classes for two and a half days!" Ron exclaimed as he let himself drop heavily into an open chair that two first years got out of to let him sit in.
"We have homework that I think we should get done." Hermione stated as she looked sternly to them, "You two have to practice practical Transfiguration, a Potions essay, Defense Against the Dark Arts practice, and you have to practice the charm Ron!"
"I've done my homework." Harry said emotionlessly. She sighed looking to Ron. She was still getting used to Harry being responsible and doing his homework at the earliest date. He was throwing himself into his homework, and that was not a good sign. Once again, he had fought his pain with blocking it out.
"Let's go to our Common Room." Hermione referred to the Head Boy and Head Girl dormitory that Harry and Hermione had to share. She wasn't surprised when Harry got the badge. What did surprise her, sadly, was that he got it for his merits in his studies instead of just what he had done.
"That sounds like a good idea." Ron agreed. He shot Hermione a look that said all it needed to. They were going to try and talk Harry out of brooding. Hermione knew they couldn't do it in here, but they could in the privacy of their dormitory. She didn't know if other Heads had gotten their own dormitories. She supposed Dumbledore wanted to have a place where the three could talk privately as too many people now knew of the Room of Requirement.
Dragging Harry along, they took their book bags and exited the Gryffindor Common Room.
A/N: It gets wayyyy better!!!! The 'ships will play around every now and then, but I do have such a strong confidence in the relationship of Hermione and Draco that they will have a weird sort of friendship or more... Depending ont he amount of reviews I get left!!! Already have 6 chapters written out so dooooo rrrrrrreeeeeeeeviiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeewwwwww!!!! The button is right down there!!!