Feel
By: Lady DeathAngel
Disclaimer: not mine, not profiting, 'nuff said.
Warnings: none
A/N: wow, these chapters just flowed out. And in celebration of my 50th review I've given you two to indulge in! Hope you like. As always please read, enjoy and review (and thanks soooo much for the feedback so far. I love you all to pieces for it!)
Hermione really wasn't sure she'd ever imagined a scenario that involved living under the same roof for any amount of time with Draco Malfoy. Sure they sort of lived together at Hogwarts, but that didn't count. There were plenty of hours at school that didn't involve bumping into Malfoy or sitting next to him at dinner or catching him wandering around the hallways in the morning practically naked because Ginny and Ron had stolen his clothes.
Not only was it nigh on impossible to not see the little ferret but she was damned sure that any scenario she may have imagined involving living under the same roof for any amount of time with Draco Malfoy did not involve him being so . . . well, nice was too loose a word for it but tolerable at least.
He helped Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen when she asked, he helped close the curtains over the portrait of Sirius' mother when Tonks knocked something over, he was polite at dinner and he hadn't called her 'Mudblood' more than once in the past three days. Even then it'd been a slip and Ron had hexed him and he'd come back after having Lupin take care of it with a sort of apology and a promise to refer to her sort of nicely until the school term started.
All in all, she was extremely creeped out. Like when they were all in Ron's room and Malfoy sauntered in with Nyx in his arms purring so loudly they all looked up with raised eyebrows.
"Are you aware," he asked Harry. "That Lady Scarhead likes to eat socks?"
Harry nodded and then frowned.
"Lady Scarhead?"
"Well, she does look like you doesn't she, Scarhead?"
"Sod off, Ferret," Harry shot back but it was said lightly and left Hermione frowning severely while Ron just shook his head and muttered about temporary insanity and how if he just closed his eyes it would all go away.
"Sorry," Malfoy said pleasantly. "But I sincerely doubt that."
There was a moment of slightly awkward silence before Malfoy sighed and looked at Harry.
"Snape's off gallavanting for a good cause, apparently, and I'm afraid if I'm alone too long your sister and that Tonks woman will make good on their threat to charm my hair pink."
Harry smirked.
"Why Malfoy, are you asking if you can hang out with us?"
The blonde looked affronted.
"Of course not! I'm asking if I can hide out in here." He batted his eyelashes. "I promise I'll be good. I won't even hex your cat for reducing my favorite pair of socks to a pile of threads."
They ended up spending a shockingly pleasant afternoon together. There was plenty for the boys to talk about what with them being the Quidditch fans they were and she was able to settle back with a book and listen as Ron and Malfoy argued over which Chaser strategy was most effective. She did put it down in interest when Ron asked Harry what his opinion was and he admitted to not knowing the difference. Malfoy looked at him like he'd sprouted an extra head identical to Snape's but Ron just sighed and explained that Harry didn't get to see or even hear about matches this time of year because of his aunt and uncle.
Which, of course, sent Malfoy into a dissertation of the horrors of Muggle living. He talked like a pro and even Ron was looking impressed. Hermione and Harry, however, collapsed against each other laughing when he messed up the names of every appliance he brought up, much like Ron and Mr. Weasley tended to do.
After a few minutes in which Malfoy and Ron asked just how Hermione and Harry managed, the boys went back to talking Quidditch and explained the strategies to Harry and then had a debate about what worked best. When they got tired of just talking, Ron took out his chess set. Malfoy, to give him credit, only said one bad thing about its condition.
"Hey!" Ron protested when he commented on how old it was. "It's a good chess set."
The pieces squawked their agreement.
"I'm not saying it isn't," Malfoy retorted. "I used to have a chess set like this but my dad thought I'd like a new one better and decided to surprise me by throwing it out and taking me shopping." He glowered. "I still hate that set. The pieces are so temperamental."
The game commenced without further incident. The boys started talking about the House teams as Ron and Malfoy played and wondered who'd be captains now that most of them had graduated.
"I bet they make you a captain, Potter," Malfoy said, studying the chessboard.
Harry shook his head.
"I hope not. I think I've got enough to deal with already. Besides, I haven't exactly set a good example."
"But McGonnagal likes you," Ron pointed out.
"What about Slytherin?" Harry asked, changing the subject.
Malfoy shrugged.
"I'm not one for good strategy, coming up with it anyway. But Snape reckons I'm the most Quidditch savvy on the team and since my grades have been all right and I stayed out of trouble last year, for the most part, I may be captain."
They left that subject and after a while there was no talking at all. When Hermione looked up to make sure they were all still breathing she saw they were all staring at the board intently.
"What's going on?" she whispered to Harry.
"They're really good, that's what's going on," he answered.
She watched for a few minutes and realized they were, indeed, locked in a battle that she and Harry could never hope to put up. They were all so involved with the game that when Fred and George appeared in the room with a loud pop all four of them jumped and at least two of them cursed loudly.
"Dammit!" Ron cried. "Do you always have to do that?"
"What?" Fred said with a raised eyebrow. "Are we interrupting something?"
"Having a little party?" George asked.
"And we weren't invited? Shame."
Ron rolled his eyes.
"What do you want?"
"Letter came for you," George said, turning to Hermione.
"From that Skeeter woman," Fred added.
"Thought you ought to know," they said in unison before popping back out of the room.
They all stared at the spot the twins had been standing in for a moment before Malfoy spoke.
"Bloody hell, they nearly gave me a heart attack."
The other three nodded in agreement and then Hermione stood.
"Well? Shall we see what she has to say?"
"Yeah," Malfoy said, standing.
Ron and Harry followed them up and out of the room. Halfway down the stairs Hermione heard Ron talking to Malfoy and smiled to herself.
"I want a rematch," he was saying. "You're the first good opponent I've had in ages."
"Yes well, they can be hard to find."
Hermione, who was getting rather good at interpreting stubborn boy-speak, translated that as meaning, 'You're on.'