A/N: I've decided that I am going to stick with an updating system, so now I will be updating every Monday. Enjoy the chapter!
What A Lovely Way To Burn – Chapter 2
Hermione looked up from her large crimson four-poster bed at the door. From it, an aggravated knock filled her roomy bedroom. She dropped her head back into her soft pillow and prayed that the thumping was a figment of her dreams. "Granger!" A rushed voice yelled from the other side of the door, "Wake up!" Hermione only ignored Draco's call and sunk deeper into her mattress, covering her head with her warm comforter.
"YOU'RE LATE!" Draco's voice called from the hallway, and with that, he left the heads' quarters. 'She can rot, for all I care,' He thought to himself, only then to tell himself that he was lying. It suddenly occurred to him that he was being civil to Hermione. Almost… nice, even. He dismissed this thought from his mind and stopped at a mirror in the hall, replacing his expression with his famous smirk, then continued to the Great Hall.
Hermione sat up in exhaustion and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She immediately got dressed and hurried down to the Great Hall to join her friends for breakfast. "Where were you, 'Mione?" Ron inquired, biting into a piece of buttered toast. "We thought you were going to miss breakfast. He handed her a full plate of food and smiled, drilling her gorgeous image into his memory.
"Thanks Ron." Hermione said and smiled. She looked around at her fellow Gryffindors and thought to herself, 'What did I do to deserve such wonderful friends?' She pretended to listen intently on the conversation between Harry and Ron. Of course, it was about Quidditch.
"Can you believe that we were assigned double potions for the first day of school? How cliché is that?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione, only to be responded by a laugh. Harry was glad to be back at school with his two best friends. He couldn't complain about his summer, though, for he spent most of it with the Order.
Over at the Slytherin table, Draco was consumed in thought. 'It must be a phase,' He decided. 'I guess Granger isn't all that bad.' He then felt two arms wrap around his waist. An overpowering smell, you could almost say odor, enveloped his nostrils. "Pansy." He said without expression, "Get your filthy hands off of me and I just might buy you some decent perfume."
"Moody, aren't we, Drakie?" Pansy persisted. Draco did not respond to her unorthodox question, only stiffen his body. She mumbled resentment and retreated to find Blaise Zambini for a bit of fun. 'Draco will warm up to me,' She thought to herself, still not aware of Draco's resentment to her.
Hermione rushed down the corridor to Potions with Draco trailing not far behind. Scheduling the Prefect's meeting proved to be harder than Hermione thought. All of the houses' Quidditch captains seemed to have decided to begin practicing early this year.
A moment later, the blond and brunette burst, red-faced, into the classroom where they were greeted by an angry Snape. "Mr. Malfy, Miss Granger." He said slowly with a sneer, "Leave it to the Heads to be late. Ten points from Gryfindor." Hermione stalked to the left of the classroom where Ron and Harry had saved her seats. Draco made his way to the back of the class as Professor Snape began writing down ingredients on the board.
Twenty minutes into the class, as loud BANG! erupted from the center of the classroom. All Slytherins laughed at the sight of Neville Longbottom covered in a pale orange slime. As Neville began sneezing uncontrollably, all of the Gryffindors shook their heads. Draco Malfoy then said, "Such a lousy excuse for a wizard," just loud enough for Harry, Ron, and Hermione to hear. Within a second, both Harry and Ron were on top of Draco with Hermione trying her very best to hold them back.
Before Harry could get a good punch in, Professor Snape had bound the four of them with a flick of his wand. "Class dismissed," Snape said, his eyes on Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, kindly tell me why the two of you were hopelessly trying to smash Mr. Malfoy's head into a pulp."
"Mal-" Harry began.
"I don't care." Professor Snape said, cutting him off. "You, Mr. Weasley, and Mr. Malfoy will report here for detention tomorrow night at 7:00."
"But Professor Snape!" Hermione objected, "It wasn't their fault!" Snape turned to her pleading face and smiled.
"Then you can join them too." He replied.
"Hey 'Mione, what are you doing on Saturday?" Harry asked before biting into a large red apple. Ron was complaining to Dean about detention and telling the story of how he had to clean bedpans without magic.
Hermione was concentrating on the large potions book in front of her. She had been ignoring her lunch plate and reviewing professor Snape's lesson. "What was that, Harry?" she asked without looking up from the book.
Harry laughed a bit to himself and reached across the wooden table and grabbed her book. "Why are you still studying? You're making us all look bad." He joked.
Hermione gave him a 'watch-it' look and said in a matter-of-factly tone, "I need to review the lesson! I don't want to get behind." She stood to grab her book, but Harry held it firmly, constantly smiling.
Hermione gave up and sat back down. Harry spoke to her again, but she didn't hear him. Her eyes were already captured by the captivating gray ones across the room. They looked as if he were trying to tell her something… but she could not tell. Harry's voice then brought her back to reality.
"'Mione? Yoo-Hoo… Earth to Hermione. Hermione, do you read?" Harry had received the attention of many other Gryffindors, some of which were giggling at her.
"What? Oh. Sorry, Harry… what were you saying?" Hermione asked, returning to reality. She looked up from Draco's gaze and a cold wave shot down her spine.
Harry looked at her, worried. "Are you feeling alright Hermione?" Harry paused to see her nod, then smiled. "I was asking if you would like to come to the Quidditch tryouts. It should be fun." Harry smiled, pleading.
"Of course I'll go Harry!" Hermione said before smiling fakely. When she was sure Harry was pleased, she turned her attention back to the Slytherin table, but he was gone.
'Why?' He asked himself as he looked longingly at her. 'Why was she looking at him? At Malfoy.' He took a bite of his apple and sighed. He still loved her. He knew it, but tried not to admit it. 'It would ruin our friendship.' He thought. Harry was right- he can't deny his feelings. "But why does it have to be Hermione? Why not some other girl? Hermione is too beautiful… too smart… too…' He watched as Hermione turned her attention from Malfoy's empty chair to himself. 'If Malfoy does anything to her…' he thought.
"Are you alright Ron?" Hermione asked with a caring smile. How he loved that smile.
"Yeah, alright there mate?" Harry asked also.
Ron said, without removing his eyes from hers, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking."
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Don't worry, I'll have some very big things happening soon, I just need to develop the plot some more. Don't forget to review!
