Chapter 5.
Hermione walked into the classroom, smiled at Professor Lupin, and walked over to the empty seat he motioned her towards. Quickly she got out a scroll of parchment and the quill that Ginny had gotten her for her birthday the year before which never ran out of ink and started to take notes on the lecture that Lupin had begun. She glanced up at him with surprise on her face, after a few lines of notes, when she realized what he was talking about. Dementors.
Well, she thought, Ron and Harry will be happy. They won't really need to crash study for once. They actually already know it. She glanced across the aisle to her two friends who were deeply engrossed in something on their parchment. Hermione narrowed her eyes when she figured out what it was. They could at least attempt to pay attention. Learning about dementors abilities and why they are the way they are will be needed more in the coming years than coming up with new quidditch plays. She thought angrily to herself. They want to work on quidditch. Fine. But this year my notes are my notes and my work is my work and I am not sharing. They are going to have to learn how to do it on their own. Hermione smiled. It'll be a hard lesson for them to learn. But it has to be done. Quickly she underlined the last sentence Lupin had said. It regarded how the dementors would chose one person out of a crowd of people and would feed on that one but no others based on what it needed at the time.
Inwardly Draco rejoiced for joy. His plan had worked. He figured that the dark haired girl would be in the advanced version of DADA so he had made sure that he sat at the only table with an empty seat. He was confused on one thing though. Granger hadn't been in class when it started and when his mystery girl came and sat down next to him the Professor nodded to her as if he knew her from before.
Duh, he said to himself, he told her to get on the train remember. Right before he woke you up to get on the train. He watched out of the corner of his eye as the girl pulled out quill and parchment and began to notes. He smiled when she jerked her head up as she realized what they were studying and watched in annoyance as she glanced over at Potter and Weasley and then continued to stare at them. Oh Merlin, not another Potty fan.
He glanced at her parchment as he moved his attention back to his own notes and then stopped suddenly as something he had noticed before began to dawn on him. Granger isn't in class. She wasn't late. She isn't even here. He glanced quickly all around the room. Granger is definitely not in class. Why the hell not, he thought as he became quite irritated. She is supposed to be here. I'm supposed to beat her in grades this year dammit. It doesn't count if I get the highest grades if she isn't here for me to beat.
Slowly almost as if in a daze he moved his gaze back to the notes of the girl beside him. Her handwriting, it was familiar. Bloody hell, he thought as he lifted his gaze from her parchment to the girl who was now gathering up her things as the lecture part of class was over. She's Granger. What the bloody hell. Quickly he grabbed his book and parchment and threw it into his bag as Professor Lupin led the class out of the room and towards wherever the practical part of the class was going to take place.
Hermione glanced to her left out of curiosity to see who she had been sitting next to all class, as she gathered up her books to follow Professor Lupin outside, and was shocked to see Draco Malfoy throwing his stuff into his bag and then striding out the door. He didn't mock me. He didn't call me mudblood. That whole time he just sat there saying nothing. Hermione stood in shock. Maybe he's changed.
Okay let's not get ahead of ourselves, she thought as she followed him out the door with Ron and Harry tagging along behind her. Then as the strap of her bag slid across her arm and reminded her of herself another thought entered her mind. Maybe he hides his real self behind a mask too. Shaking her head slightly as they came to a stop near the edge of the Forbidden Forest Hermione tried to pay attention to what Lupin was saying.
"So here we have an obstacle course of everything you have learned about since coming to Hogwarts. Your grade will be based on how well you get past the obstacles and on your time. There are four paths so four people can enter at once. When one comes out the exit another enters. Got it? When you exit class is over for you and you may leave once you eat a piece of chocolate."
Lupin stopped talking and motioned with his wand towards the four openings in the forest. Each suddenly became outlined with a different color.
"So we know which path is empty when you enter your hair will become the color of the entrance you used. It will return to normal exactly five minutes after you exit." he added as they stepped towards the entrances. Several girls became slightly nervous and drifted backwards so that more boys were towards the front.
"Oh, come on," Professor Lupin said slightly exasperated. "It's just your hair and it's only five minutes. No one is going to care."
Annoyed Hermione rolled her eyes and watched as the other girls fingered their locks like they were going to lose their best friend. A few seconds later she held back a laugh as Ron and Harry swaggered over to the gaps in the forest. She barely got a glimpse of Harry's hair going shock red and Ron's turning green before they disappeared into the forest. Neither color was complimentary to either boy's looks.
Noticing no one else was moving forward she dropped her bag to the ground with a thud and disappeared through the purple entrance. As she moved forward her last glance backward showed Malfoy entering the forest through the blue gap.
Draco stepped through the gap in the foliage and started down the path. Okay, let's think this over, his mind said. The girl you found at the train station was Granger. That girl you found beautiful. That makes Granger beautiful to you. That means you like a mudblood.
Instantly his mind rebelled against his thoughts but not in the way he expected it to. You shouldn't call her that. It's rude and degrading. But that is what your father said she is and that is what you believed she was up until a few minutes ago, his mind reminded him ironically enough. And your father has never been wrong about anything before has he?
Yes he has, Draco thought remembering the pumpkin pie. Maybe I should try something new. I'll try talking to her. That's it, I'll talk to her. He shook his head as something stepped in front of him on the path and demanded his full attention.
Hermione glanced down mildly entertained at her now purple hair and smiled. Purple was her favorite color after all, especially this shade. Deep royal purple. Practically black. Hermione shook her head. Back to business, she thought as she started on down the twisting path.
None of the obstacles seemed overly hard to her and she started to run down the path as she saw the end in sight when suddenly a dark shadow enveloped the forest around her and suddenly her entire body went cold. Blindly she stumbled forward as the feeling of coldness grew until she felt completely numb and slid to the ground. Suddenly with a jerk she realized what was happening and pushed herself off the ground. Raising her wand she spoke with every ounce of magic inside her "Expecto Patronum." She didn't have to shout the incantation like Harry and so many others did, she barely whispered it and yet the effect was stronger than if they had screamed it. The darkness fell in upon itself and suddenly the forest was visible and so was the exit which had seemed so far away a few minutes before and yet now was only a few feet in front of her.
Calmly she exited and glanced over at Professor Lupin just as Draco exited from right beside her with midnight blue hair.
"Ten minutes each, Excellent work both of you. One hundred percent on your marks." Lupin called out from across the clearing. "All right the rest of you, the bar has been set. Get a move on, there's two paths open."
Smiling she walked across the field and took a piece of chocolate from the basket that Professor Lupin motioned at and was about to pop it in her mouth when a voice behind her startled her.
"So what was your favorite part, Granger? Personally I liked the bit with Devil's Snare. A violent plant, even when it's a seedling."
Hermione turned around and stared at the blue haired Malfoy. Honestly the color looked good on him.
"Honestly I liked the logic riddle with the centaurs. I can't believe he got them to agree to help. They were very angry with us humans at the end of last year. Especially me," she added in a soft voice.
"Aww, come on Granger. No one could ever get mad at you. Not even me. The only way you could have made me mad last year was if you had abandoned me with that Umbr..." Draco's voice trailed off at the guilty look on the girl's face. "No you didn't...tell me you didn't." He laughed.
Hermione bit her lip. "I didn't know that it was going to be that bad..." she trailed off.
Draco smiled, "No wonder she was afraid of the sound of hooves when she came back."
Hermione laughed and started to eat her chocolate while they discussed the course and how they had gotten past certain obstacles. She was laughing at Malfoy's impression of a boggart impersonating his father as he told him he was very disappointed in him as he danced around as if in a mock ballet when she was interrupted by Ron and Harry coming out of the forest at a dead run.
It seemed Harry had finished but then Ron had come out being chased by one of Hagrid's blast-ended-skwerts and now it wanted a piece of both Harry and Ron. Once Professor Lupin had put the creature back with a simple spell the two boys started coming over and Hermione noticed the looks of astonishment on their faces and the smile fell from her face as she realized what they were upset about. She had completely forgotten that she was talking with Malfoy. Whom they hated with a passion. Turning towards him she excused herself, picked up her books and practically ran back to the school like a dementor was on her tail.
Continued in Chapter 6...