Chapter Two
Hermione woke late and, glancing at her watch, discovered that she'd missed breakfast. She scrambled into her robes from the previous day and grabbed her rucksack, snatching textbooks from her desk. Hermione raced through the halls, making it to Transfiguration just in time. Per usual she performed brilliantly in class, but Professor McGonagall called Hermione to her desk as the other students filed from the room.
"Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall said seriously.
"Yes, Professor?" Hermione asked apprehensively. To her immense surprise, Professor McGonagall smiled.
"Miss Granger, I can't tell you how pleased I am that you've done so well in my class. In fact, I believe that you could take your N. E. W. T. s this instant and pass with flying colours, but that, of course, is strictly off the record."
Hermione beamed. "Thank you, Professor."
"I would also like you to know that if you have any problems with another student here at Hogwarts, you may inform me and you will receive help immediately." She looked Hermione straight in the eye, expression serious. "I trust that you understand me."
"Yes, Professor. Thank you," Hermione answered, just as seriously.
"That is all. You may go, Miss Granger." With a polite goodbye, Hermione left the classroom and legged it through the castle towards her rooms. To avoid excess glances and whispering, she chose a rather deserted corridor and slowed to catch her breath.
She didn't notice Malfoy until he was pushing her into the wall, his face moving closer to hers. Hermione's mind raced. She was trapped! She struggled, trying to push him away, but he outmatched her, pressing her hard against the stone. She couldn't have reached her wand anyway, but it didn't help that Malfoy held her wand hand either. She felt a sudden weight in her pocket. Wrenching a hand away from Malfoy's grip she reached into her pocket and produced her ink bottle from the day before. Malfoy's lips parted, mere inches from her own. Hermione gripped the bottle tightly and brought it down on Malfoy's head, shattering it. He leapt backwards.
"Damn it, Granger!" he cried. Blood trickled from a cut beneath his hair.
"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing, Malfoy?" Hermione demanded angrily. She snatched out her wand and pointed it at him. "Get away from me!"
Malfoy backed away, eyeing the tip of her wand. "Point that thing somewhere else!" he snapped.
"Not until you tell me what you're playing at," Hermione said firmly, her angry eyes locked with his sneering ones.
"Do you really want to know?" Malfoy asked tauntingly.
"Yes," Hermione answered, unwavering.
"I have a little bet going," Malfoy sneered. He felt a tiny twinge of regret as he saw a touch of pain come into her eyes. When she spoke again, her voice shook.
"Get out of my sight. Don't ever touch me again."
"Like I'd want to," Malfoy sniffed. A lie.
"And Malfoy," Hermione spat as he walked away, "Fifty points from Slytherin for humiliation and sexual harassment of another Hogwarts student." She waited until he'd rounded a corner before she leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. Her break was nearly over and she still needed her Herbology equipment.
Hermione stormed into her room and changed into clean robes. She snatched up her gloves and hurried out to the greenhouses, meeting Harry and Ron on the way there.
"He tried it again," Hermione informed her friends in an undertone. Ron yelped. "Shh! I beat him off with an ink bottle. He'll have a little scar, I think, to commemorate the occasion." Harry grinned. Ron still looked furious. Harry's smile faded as she continued. "He says he's doing it for a bet," Hermione told them.
"Oh, Hermione, that's awful!" Harry exclaimed.
"Despicable," agreed Ron. "Let me at him, Hermione."
"No," Hermione insisted. "I'll deal with it myself."
By this time, they'd joined the others in front of the greenhouses. Once everyone had assembled, Professor Sprout announced that they'd be working in the second greenhouse. Tables of domestic-looking snapdragons had been set up inside. Ernie Macmillan put his hand out to touch one.
"My mum has these in the garden," he said.
"Don't!" cried Neville, knocking his hand away. A spurt of flame shot through the air where Ernie's fingers had been a moment before. Ernie looked shocked. "They're poisonous too. And they bite," Neville warned. There was a sudden bustle as everyone hurried to slip on their gloves.
"Very good, Mr. Longbottom!" Professor Sprout cried cheerfully. "Ten points to Gryffindor!" Neville blushed. "Now you'll be re-potting these by colour today, chaps. It's almost like herds. You'll want to put on your gloves today, too, as I see most of you have. I did wonder if anyone would be bitten today. Pots are on your right, soil to the left. Have at it!"
Class passed uneventfully. Every snapdragon had been potted and all equipment put away by the time class was dismissed. Neville spent his last few moments of class stroking a particularly friendly blossom of the pink variety.
Next came double Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins. Hermione squared her shoulders and straightened, ready to face them. With Harry and Ron beside her, she crossed the grounds to Hagrid's hut. Hagrid eyed her seriously when she arrived.
"D'you wan' me ter set the Erumpent on 'im?" he asked, only half joking. Hermione shook her head and smiled reassuringly at her friend.
"No thanks, Hagrid. I can handle it."
Hagrid laughed. "I know that look."
Gradually, the other students trickled in, collecting by Hagrid's garden.
"Right you lot. We're visitin' the Erumpent this mornin'. Jus' follow the path here an' we'll be there in no time." He gestured to a stone-lined path leading into the forest. "Follow me." Hagrid was quickly out of sight. The students followed apprehensively, Hermione noting with satisfaction the highly uncomfortable look on Malfoy's face. Feeling her eyes on him, Malfoy caught her eye and sneered. He'd obviously been to the Hospital Wing as there was no blood left anywhere on him and he showed no sign of pain. In fact, he looked just as immaculate as ever. Hermione met his gaze calmly, challenging him to try anything. Malfoy looked away first. Hermione sniffed and stepped onto the shaded path, following Lavender and Parvati to the Erumpent's enclosure.
"Right," Hagrid began. "The Erumpent here seems to be havin' a good mornin'. Yeh can all see his tail swishin'." The Erumpent snorted, causing several people to jump. Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy hung back, fondling a couple of fist-sized rocks. Hagrid must have noticed because his next words were a warning against startling the immense animal.
"S' what yeh migh' call detrimental to yer 'ealth," he explained.
"Ooh, four syllables," Malfoy snickered in an undertone. Hermione clenched her fist. Harry nudged her.
"Relax," he whispered. "Just ignore him."
"The Hogwarts Head Boy shouldn't act like that," Hermione whispered back.
"He's a Malfoy," Harry reminded her.
"But he's a terrible role model and he doesn't deserve the privilege."
"He's really smart, Hermione, second only to you. I hate to admit it, but he's really worked hard."
Hermione looked thoughtfully at Harry. "You know," she said, "You've really grown up." Harry grinned at her.
By this time, Hagrid was rambling on about how one could identify a pregnant Erumpent.
"You can see the whites of their eyes turn a bit pink…"
…………
Malfoy rolled his eyes and looked away from the Erumpent pen. He'd had enough. If he really wanted to know about pregnant Erumpents, he could read his textbook for the seventy-third time. He stared around at the immense trees, sunlight filtering through their leaves. Soon, the leaves would colour and fall, leaving only skeletons behind.
Crabbe and Goyle grunted to one another, bringing Malfoy back to class as it ended. Hagrid led them all back to his shabby-looking hut. As everyone began moving up to the castle, Malfoy watched as Hermione hung back, speaking to Hagrid.
"Are you sure that that fence is sturdy enough?" she asked. "If the Erumpent charged at someone, it would be only too easy to knock over. A pile of sticks won't be any good!"
"Erumpents don' like fences," Hagrid explained. "They'll stay away.
"They?" Malfoy heard Hermione ask.
"I got another one fer a short time. Thought yeh might get ter see some babies."
"But breeding Erumpents is really dangerous!" Hermione gasped. Malfoy couldn't help but privately agree.
"I can 'andle 'em," Hagrid assured her with a wink. Hermione looked worried but smiled just the same.
"I better go," she said apologetically. "I have lots of work to do." As she turned away from Hagrid, she caught sight a Malfoy and eyed him coldly before beginning her walk across the grounds. Malfoy stayed behind, watching her graceful movement.
Hermione's hair hung down her back in waves, gleaming auburn in the sunlight. Her robes suited her, Malfoy decided. They clung to all the right places without being tight or revealing and the black set off her ivory skin. On his left, Hagrid cleared his throat forcefully. Malfoy looked up.
"Keep yer eyes t' yerself," Hagrid growled. "Or yeh migh' find that fences won't hold Erumpents in so well."
"Is that a threat?" sneered Malfoy. Hagrid's eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms.
"An' what'll yeh do if it is? Call yer dad?"
Malfoy didn't have an answer. Instead, he spun round and stalked away across the grounds, choosing a path that took him far from Hermione Granger. A mossy spot of ground beneath a gnarled silver oak provided him a temporary sanctuary. He sat in a fluid, cat-like motion, leaning comfortably against the tree. Life's little pleasures.
He'd tried without success to fulfil the requirements of the second bet. All he had to show for his trouble was a tiny, raised scar above his hairline. Mudblood Granger, always overreacting…it was just a kiss! Other girls fell all over themselves to impress him, but not Granger. That unnerved him. Malfoy had never had to work for a girl's affection before. Not that it was Hermione's affection he wanted.
Perhaps, he thought, the best course of action would be to take none at all. The answer might fall into his lap, as unlikely as it seemed, and save him the trouble of finding it alone. Why do anything for himself that the universe would do for him? With that, Draco Malfoy settled back to enjoy his afternoon.
…………
Hermione sat in front of a blank piece of parchment, trying to begin another essay for History of Magic class. Instead of collecting her thoughts about the Ministry of Magic, she was thinking about Draco Malfoy and how he'd sneered at her. I have a little bet going, he'd said. It made her furious to think of it, the Slytherins all having a good laugh about Mudblood Granger. That's all she was to them, she thought miserably: Mudblood know-it-all Granger.
Stop it, commanded part of her mind. You're feeling sorry for yourself. You have your friends.
Yes, replied another part, but you saw how willing they were to believe that you threw yourself at him…
Stop it! cried her mind again. It was the idea of a Gryffindor and a Slytherin kissing that shocked them-
Of course it was, smirked the other half indulgently. Hermione sighed. She was getting nowhere. She wondered why it hurt so much to be used as the butt of a bet by Malfoy and his Slytherin cronies. It wasn't as if she were unfamiliar with his nastiness. After all, six years of it ought to have toughened her a bit. All the same, she felt a pang in the pit of her stomach as she recalled in perfect detail the disdainful tone in which Malfoy spoke to her and the sneer that crossed his face every time he looked her way.
Hermione shoved the parchment away. The paper wasn't due for days. What need had she to write it now? She scratched Crookshanks behind the ears and left her rooms, headed for the ground floor. She walked purposefully out of the castle and out onto the lawns, lit now by a slowly sinking sun. Hermione wandered across the grass, taking no particular direction. She moved around a corner of the castle, under an archway, and past an ivy-covered wall to stand upon a small hill.
The sun gleamed a brilliant orange, tinting the mountain-like clouds with pink and red. She watched as it moved steadily towards the horizon, disappearing over the tops of the trees. Behind her, stars began to emerge in the sky, accompanied by a half-moon. Taking a deep breath, she faced the castle once more. The towering stone walls gleamed in the fading light. It was time for her to head back. As she reached the stone steps leading to the castle doors, she heard footsteps behind her. Hermione turned to find Draco Malfoy walking a few feet behind her.
"Granger," he said curtly. She could smell his cologne from where she stood. Hermione turned away quickly, not wanting to meet his eyes.
"Leave me alone, Malfoy," she said, and walked away.
…………
That's what he got for trying to start a conversation, Malfoy thought, staring after Hermione. He oughtn't to blame her, he supposed. He would probably do the same thing, were he in her position. It wasn't quite fair, he thought with a twinge, to be using her in such a way. She was Muggle-born, but there were other ways of getting what he wanted. Malfoy shook himself. His time alone beneath the oak must have done something to his head. Determined to think no more of it, he headed into the castle and down into the dungeons.
On his way to the Slytherin Common Room, Malfoy passed Professor Severus Snape. As they passed, Professor Snape paused, then turned.
"Malfoy." Malfoy stopped and spun round on his heel, standing tall.
"Professor Snape," he greeted the older man.
"Malfoy, I'm not entirely sure your actions of late have been exactly appropriate. You may wish to…restrain yourself in future. I hear from Madam Pomfrey that you visited her today for a glass wound?"
"Yes, Sir," Malfoy answered.
"Nothing serious, I trust?"
"No, Sir."
Professor Snape studied his student calculatingly. From the colour tinting Draco Malfoy's cheeks, he supposed it had something to do with the Granger girl. He chose not to probe further.
"I will see you in class tomorrow, then. Good evening, Mr. Malfoy."
"Good evening," Malfoy answered. He was sure that Snape suspected something, but was reluctant to divulge any details. He knew his father would be asking questions soon, and Snape was bound to answer in truth. He found the Slytherin Commons entrance and spoke the password quietly. The wall slid back to reveal a dank room tinted green by the smouldering remains of a fire on the hearth. Venomous looking students in small groups talked amongst themselves, looking Malfoy up and down as he entered the room. He knew what they were discussing. Malfoy decided to let them talk. They'd know the truth soon enough. Walking through the room, he found Crabbe and Goyle without trouble. They were drunk, as usual.
"Malfoy," grunted Goyle, looking at him without focus. "Where've you been?"
"Out," Malfoy answered shortly. "Did you find what I requested?"
"No," answered Goyle, rocking backwards in his chair with an intoxicated smirk. "I was busy."
"Yep," agreed Crabbe. "Busy."
"Did you get her yet?" inquired Blaise Zabini, coming up beside Malfoy. He grinned unpleasantly.
"No," Malfoy answered. "Not that it's your business."
"Of course it's my business," replied Blaise, spreading his arms apart. "It's my bet!" he laughed nastily. Malfoy turned and stalked away, abandoning the damp Common Room for the draughty dungeon corridors beyond. He walked quickly away from the dungeons and up the Marble Staircase, headed for the Head Boy's quarters. Pansy Parkinson accosted him on the third floor.
"Draco! What a pleasant surprise." Her smile looked more like a grimace.
"Parkinson," Malfoy answered, feeling repulsed. Pansy tugged the front of her robes, attempting to entice his eyes downward. Malfoy kept his eyes focused on a point above her head.
"What are you doing after dinner?" she wanted to know, moving closer. She smelled of mildew, Malfoy noted with distaste. He wrinkled his nose.
"Working," he answered. "Alone."
"What then?" Pansy persisted.
"Sleeping," Malfoy answered stubbornly. "Alone." He emphasised the word. Pansy seemed to get the point and excused herself, looking miffed. Malfoy breathed an inward sigh of relief. That had been easy. He continued to his rooms, and pressing his wand against the centre of his door, thought hard about his eagle owl, Archimedes. The door sprang open and Malfoy stepped inside, leaning back against the door as he closed it. Now this he enjoyed.
His rooms were coloured all in green, silver, and black. The high windows were draped in emerald velvet. The fading sunlight fell over his mahogany furnishings, making them gleam. He snapped his fingers, lighting lamps along the wall. A fire sprang up on the hearth, casting a warm glow over everything. Malfoy entered his bedroom and slipped off his shoes. He lay back on his bed and relaxed for a moment before sitting up again. It was nearly dinner time. He stood and brushed his robes carefully, smoothing a crease from the front of them. Malfoy moved back into the outer room and sat before the fire, watching it burn before venturing into the corridor.
Ahead of him, he saw Hermione disappear around a corner. He slipped down the hall and peered after her, taking care to move silently. She had no idea she was being observed. She looked to either side, then behind her. Malfoy ducked out of sight behind a statue. When he looked again, she was skipping a little, swinging her arms, obviously pleased about something. Malfoy smile to himself. It was something he would never do, skipping. It wasn't proper behaviour for a Malfoy, and having never partaken of the activity, Malfoy didn't miss it. Once Malfoy had followed Hermione to the fourth floor, he chose a different direction and took an alternate route to dinner. It wouldn't do to be caught trailing after her, and somebody was bound to notice.
…………
Hermione lay in bed, thinking. Her eyes were closed but she was still far from anything related to REM. The day before had been admittedly disturbing…. scribbling on her notes? Dropping books? And, she thought uncomfortably, being kissed by Malfoy? And today, even, she thought. Maybe Mercury is in retrograde. She was sure that Professor Trelawney could come up with something to explain her weird behaviour. She rolled over. Malfoy was only in the next room. Hermione was grateful that she hadn't run into him after dinner. That would have been great. "Gee Malfoy, how's your head?" or "Hello, Malfoy. I know a great glass-removing charm you should learn." That'd work.
We'll have to work something out before the end of the week, though, she continued, else midnight rounds will be very uncomfortable. It was part of the duties of the Head Boy and Girl to help the teachers with their rounds. Hermione remembered more than one occasion on which she had dodged a teacher in the middle of the night. She hoped that her rounds with Malfoy would stay uneventful. Hermione tossed and turned for another hour before finally drifting into slumber. She woke up on time the next morning, and began her day hoping that things might have returned to normal.
............
A/N: I'm glad you like this one! Were you surprised by Hermione's reaction? Don't worry... she'll come round. :0) If you notice typos, it would help me out if you'd mention them in your review. I think I uploaded the wrong version of a chapter in one of my stories, the un-edited instead of the properly beta-d. Oops.
Heh heh heh... Syanna, what do you think is wrong with Hermione? Besides the fact that she hit Draco over the head with a bottle instead of going "Yes please more" like any sane person would do. :-) That's another thing...I get to start calling him Draco soon, and we know what that means...
Have an quintuple fab day!