Disclaimer: I own none of the characters. Wish I did though…buttload of money.
Love on the Rocks
Chapter Two: Good Night
"Stupid ferret. I don't know why Dumbledore keeps the little rat around let alone made him the bloody Head Boy. If he does anything, and I mean anything, to upset you I'll…I'll make sure he wishes he was dead."
Hermione rolled her eyes at the red-faced red-head fuming beside her and looked up into her best friend Harry's startlingly green eyes. "Seriously 'Mione. If he tries anything you had better tell Ron or me. He has no business bothering you after what he's done."
Her brow wrinkling in anger, Hermione slammed her open palm down onto the solid wood table and clenched her teeth to keep from screaming. "Harry! I would expect this from Ron but from you! I can take care of myself! Malfoy changed sides before the end of the war. If Dumbledore can accept it than I think the three of us ought to do the same. Besides, it doesn't mean we have to be friends with him!"
Harry seemed mollified at her reaction but Ron grumbled something about "bloody…ferrets…I'll show him…"
"That's enough Ronald Weasley. No more cursing! Don't make me send your mother an owl!" At that Ron's mouth flapped open into a wide gape and he begged, "No! No, 'Mione…I'll stop…just don't tell Mum." With that he turned to face Seamus Finnigan on his other side and was lost to a boring conversation on the intricacies of Quidditch.
Hermione, feeling someone staring holes through her back, turned around to find Draco gazing at her from across the Great Hall. Their gazes locked for a few moments but Draco broke eye contact when Pansy Parkinson grabbed a hold of his arm. Hermione glared as the pug faced Slytherin threw herself all over the Heady Boy but turned around when Draco's silver eyes flicked again in her direction. Puzzled at her strange reaction to the blond boy, Hermione looked over at Harry who was giving her a strange look. "Hermione, are you okay?"
Before Hermione could reply, silence filled the room as Dumbledore, swathed in robes of ruby red, stood up from his position at the head table and cleared his throat.
"Good Evening! Welcome back! This promises to be a new and exciting year! As always no one is allowed to venture into the Forbidden Forest and Mr. Filch would also like to point out that his list of banned items is posted in the Entrance Hall. As most of you know, Lord Voldemort was killed this past summer when he tried to attack Hogsmeade. I expect his passing should make this year a little less eventful then the past ones," at this he shot a look at the Gryffindor table, "but nevertheless I'm sure most of you will find something to…occupy yourselves with. Let us feast!"
Steaming food appeared out of thin air and the newly sorted first years gasped with pleasure. Hermione filled her plate with all her favorites and sat back to quietly observe everyone as she ate. Harry was busy teasing his girlfriend Ginny Weasley and Ron was flirting with a very flustered Lavender Brown.
Hermione smiled at the two couples but couldn't help but feel a pang of remorse. She didn't like Harry or Ron that way but it was hard knowing that she was the only girl in seventh year to have never had a boyfriend. Of course her studies were very important to her but Hermione couldn't help wishing that she hadn't totally blockaded herself away from the opposite sex. Every single boy , excluding the new first years, viewed her as a walking Encyclopedia and she suspected some didn't even realize she was female.
Even Millicent Bulstrode had a boyfriend. It was rumored that she and Goyle had been caught in a compromising position last year when Professor Snape had stumbled upon them during one of his night patrols. Hermione could remember Ron's exact words when he had heard of the Slytherin tryst. "Bloody hell! The image of those two shagging is enough to make a werewolf fall dead in his tracks." Hermione smiled remembering the disgusted look on his face. All of a sudden Hermione was snapped out of her reminiscing when Ron nudged her with his elbow and gestured toward the Headmaster.
"I believe everyone's full to their eyes so now would be a good time to go up to bed. If prefects would lead their first years to their respective dormitories, I would like a word with Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy before they leave. Pleasant dreams!"
"Did you want us to wait for you 'Mione?"
"No…you two go on. I'll see you in the morning!" With a parting wave, Hermione inched her way through the throngs of exhausted students and made her way up to where Dumbledore was standing at the head table. As she came to a stop in front of the smiling wizard, Hermione felt Draco slip up quietly beside her. Not daring to look over at the tall figure, Hermione focused her attention on the Headmaster and waited for what he had to tell them.
"Congratulations! Both of you have worked very hard in your past years at Hogwarts and I am proud to call you Head Boy and Girl. As I'm sure both of you know by now, you will be sharing a common room that is separate from your fellow students. As far as everyday duties, I'm sure Professor McGonogall will want to talk with you about that in the morning but I wanted to talk with you both privately before the hustle and bustle of school weighs you down. I need the two of you to plan a Yule Ball this year to promote friendliness amongst the houses."
Hermione's shoulders fell at the mention of a dance and she felt a sense of dread come over her. Besides the fact that she would never find a date to go with, planning a ball meant that she would be spending way too much time with Malfoy. He might be acting less Malfoyish to her lately but spending time with him could only lead to more problems.
"Some students still harbor ill feelings over the Voldemort issue but I think it's best if we all try to lay those things aside. He is dead and there's no sense in him bothering us from the grave. Now if the two of you will follow me, I will show you to your new chambers."
Dumbledore made his way past the two quiet students and Hermione went to follow him. Draco went to turn at the exact same second and the two of them bumped together innocently enough. Hermione felt a hot wave of awareness rush through her body and her cheeks flushed as she looked down at where her shoes were peeking out from underneath her robes.
"Sorry about that Granger." After a moment she felt a finger under her chin and raised her eyes to meet the silver orbs staring at her imploringly. "I said I was sorry Granger. Are you alright?" Hermione gaped up into his face as she came to the realization that Malfoy was apologizing to her. To her! He never apologized. Never!
"Mr. Malfoy. Miss Granger. Are you coming or am I going to have to stand here all night?" Hermione blushed even deeper and glanced quickly to the doorway where the Headmaster was waiting. Draco went to move past her and Hermione followed in his wake.
As the silent trio moved down the hallways and up numerous staircases, Hermione couldn't help but smile slightly at her reaction to Draco. He was…more handsome then she remembered and there was no use denying that she found him attractive. Still…he was a Malfoy and Hermione couldn't forgive those years of pain so easily. She would be civil with the new version of Draco Malfoy but by no means was she going to cozy up to him. It took time to gain her trust back.
The group stopped in front of a portrait Hermione had never seen before and Dumbledore tapped the frame to wake the snoozing occupants of the painting.
A portly man with a thick mustache jerked at the sudden noise and fell out of stuffed armchair he had been sleeping in. "Bloody Hell!. Oh…it's you Headmaster. Terribly sorry 'bout that sir. Pardon me but I was taking a bit of a rest. What can I do for you this evening?"
Eyes twinkling from behind his spectacles, Headmaster Dumbledore smiled at the confused portrait and said, "Quite alright, Jarvis. I have the new Head Boy and Girl here and I believe they are ready to see their new rooms."
Blushing at his forgetfulness, the image of Jarvis Jackal quickly said, "Yes, of course. Sorry Headmaster. What is the password going to be this year?"
"I think I'll leave that up to these two to decide. Set something you'll both find easy to remember of course. I'm getting quite drowsy myself so I believe I'll head off to bed. You're bedrooms are connected to the common room so you'll have no trouble finding them. Good evening!"
Hermione glanced over at Draco to see how he was taking this turn of events only to find him gazing right back at her. "Err…well Granger what password do you want? None of your Gryffindor mushy gushy stuff if you please." Ignoring the stab at Gryffindor's image, Hermione bit her lip and tried to think of something suitable. Finally thinking of one, Hermione looked up into Draco's face and was disconcerted to find him staring at her mouth. Unconsciously she licked her suddenly dry lips and she thought his breathing seemed a little heavy. His eyes flew to hers and Hermione wrote it off as her over active imagination. "How about 'Slytherin sucks'?" At Malfoy's scowl Hermione giggled lightly and said, "Kidding…joking. How about 'Cooperation'?"
Draco rolled his eyes and sighed, "Fine Granger. Boring but whatever. That'll be the password…what's your name?…oh yeah…Jarvis…our password is 'cooperation'. Can we please go to bed now?"
As Hermione crawled through the portrait hole, she heard Jarvis say under his breath, "Cooperation my ass."
Hermione climbed out of the entryway and stepped down onto plush beige carpet. She was accustomed to a blatantly Gryffindor motif so the subtle interior of her new common room was a nice change. Two plump green sofas faced each other across a small coffee table and two cozy looking armchairs were placed near a roaring fire place. It wasn't as large as the Gryffindor common room but Hermione thought it was just right.
She noticed that there were two doors on either side of the fireplace and Hermione assumed they must lead to bedrooms. Walking closer she noticed that the door to the right had an inlay of glittering rubies in the shape of a lion and that the left door was marked with emeralds in the image of a snake preparing to strike. Turning to say good night to Malfoy, Hermione was startled to find him a mere foot from where she was standing. "Well…goodnight…Draco. Sweet Dreams." Hermione mentally grimaced at her lame farewell and quickly went to turn the door knob.
From behind her she heard, "Good night, Hermione."
Once she was locked safely into her bedroom, Hermione leaned back against the solid oak door and released a huge sigh. He had used her first name…and it had sounded good coming from his lips. Her stomach gave an odd lurch at that but, moving to change into her pajamas, Hermione wrote it off to eating too much at dinner.
As she pulled the heavy scarlet comforter up around her neck, Hermione couldn't help but feel wary about her new feelings toward Malfoy. He seemed so different but could she really allow herself to open up to him. Besides who said he even cared for her at all. He probably still thought of her as the stupid Mudblood. Tears came to her eyes as Hermione remembered all the horrible things Malfoy had said to her in the past and she slipped into a restless slumber.
Author's Note: Hope you like it so far. Thanks to Anais and dmhg for the first two reviews on this story. Please keep on reviewing. I love hearing from you.
Lots of Love - Miss Dissendium