Harry Potter and the Teenage Angst

Chapter 7

Hermione watched with wide eyes as the tentacle waved around, clutching Draco. It alternately plunged into the lake with the Slytherin yelling all the way, then back out.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH bubble bubble AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! Splash."

Hermione shook herself out of her reverie, and not being entirely sure what to do, screamed "Put him down at once, you hear?" in such a voice of authority that even the Great Squid who Doth Reside the in The Lake decided it was in his best interests to maybe put that boy down.

Almost reluctantly, a sodden Draco was deposited without ceremony on the bank. Hermione hurried over to him in the darkening twilight. "Are you alright?" she questioned curiously.

Draco swept some wet hair out of his eyes and spat out some pond weed. "Fine!" he said roughly "Never better!" He pushed himself up, waving away Hermione's help.

He stood facing her "Somehow, I don't think we're quite meant to be." He said, pouting. Hermione gasped dramatically "But Draco!"

"I'm sorry, I like you, but honestly, I'm beginning to fear for my life." He spat out. "Oh well, you're only a mudblood I suppose." He stormed off.

Hermione watched him go and sighed. "This is going to be difficult." A random tentacle in the lake waved lazily at her.

She made her way back to the common room and stood in front of the Fat Lady "Wugglemuffin." She said gloomily. After hearing no response she looked up at the painting, puzzled, only to see it was empty. She peered into it "Er, hello?"

The portrait swung open and Harry stood there, his arms folded. He smiled at her and beckoned her inside. The portrait swung shut behind her. "What's going on?" asked Hermione in confusion "Where's the Fat Lady?"

Harry sighed and led her into the common room. Ron sat by the fire, he looked up as they entered. "I see you're back." He said rather unnecessarily. "How'd it go?"

Hermione sat down and subconsciously smoothed down her skirt. "Where's the Fat Lady?"

Ron snorted "She's gone to a Weight Watchers meeting with the teachers. And now we refer to her as the 'Dimensionally Challenged Lady', she's trying to shed the whole fat look I suppose." He waved a hand and rested his head back on the couch.

"So how'd it go?"

Hermione shook her head "Not good."

Harry sat down too with an inquisitive expression.

She saw and twisted the hem of her skirt with an anxious hand "He got sick of all the near death experiences."

Ron raised his eyebrows "Experiences?"

Hermione looked up "You know, falling down a manhole, being attacked by Fred and George and being thrown around by the Giant Squid."

Ron winced "Don't forget the Womble experience."

"Heh." Hermione leant back. "Guys? What are we going to do? Continue? He seemed pretty mad."

Ron put his arms behind his head and rested back comfortably. "He'll be back." He said confidently.

Harry picked up 'A Brief History of the Universe' and began reading silently.

A few first years were playing a game of Wizards Chess, a small girl with pigtails cried when her pretty pony knight was brutally smashed by the rather smug looking enemy bishop. It then hopped across the board to flirt with the Queen.

Hermione watched and a slight smile crossed her face. Ginny suddenly swept down the stairs to the girl's dormitory and rushed over to Hermione. She reached and gasped "How….did….it….go?" she panted.

Hermione groaned "Fantastic, I'm going to marry him." She said flatly.

"Nonsense," said Ginny promptly "You're going to marry Ron."

Ron choked and Harry thumped him on the back, making the poor Weasley cough even more. Hermione flamed a bright red "Ginny!" she hissed venomously.

Ginny rolled her eyes and grabbed Hermione's arm "Come with me." She dragged the aforementioned girl over to the girl's dormitory stairs and they went up.

Harry and Ron watched them go. "Girls." Said Ron hoarsely "Never understand 'em." Harry nodded emphatically.

Parvati's black cat 'Blackie' mewed plaintively and wound itself around Hermione's legs. The ignominiously named 'Blackie' was accepted as the 'odd black cat that likes to eat peoples' socks'. Which, indeed, it was guilty of.

She scratched it behind its ears absently. It coughed up a bit of chewed sock at her feet and meowed proudly.

Crookshanks wandered over and hissed at Blackie, settling himself on Hermione's lap with a hint of possessiveness.

Blackie ran off.

Ginny paced around the dormitory. "We need to think of something! He needs to be taught a lesson!"

Hermione shook her head, feeling vaguely dizzy after watching Ginny. "I suppose the several near death experiences weren't enough then?"

Ginny sat down "Oh yeah…"

Meanwhile on the other side of the castle, a person coughed.

Hermione flopped back on her bed. "Its hopeless." She said despondently, "Besides, I feel cheap."

"Revenge doesn't make you cheap." Said Ginny brusquely, hanging up a shirt.

"Whatever." Sighed Hermione.

The next morning they woke up bright and early, then realised they had no socks, then chased Blackie the cat around Gryffindor tower, only get back chewed up bits of what once was their socks.

Ron and Harry looked up, surprised, when an exhausted Hermione and Ginny sat down opposite them. 'Blackie?' Harry's face seemed to question.

Hermione nodded glumly. Ginny nudged Hermione suddenly. "Ouch!" cried Hermione and glared at the redhead. "He's watching you." Whispered Ginny.

Hermione glanced up and saw Draco's head jerk away. "Hello." Said Ginny with a grin.

On the other table Draco sniffed and ate some bacon. His two friends, Crabbe and Goyle grunted and attacked their food. Draco watched with vague disgust, he never seemed to get used to it.

"Draco?" a smooth voice inquired.

The blonde boy looked up to see Blaise Zambini, the androgynous Slytherin, who no-one actually knew if what gender they were.

"Yes?" he replied.

Blaise sat down, nodding to Crabbe and Goyle.

"I have heard that you have been dating the Gryffindor mudblood. You know your father would not appreciate this."

"Just playing Blaise." Said Draco carefully.

Blaise chuckled evilly (actually a perquisite for being a Slytherin, the capability to chuckle evilly). "I'm sure you are."

After the pointless threatening was over, Blaise retreated off to read some more of "Unisex- we're all the same really", a radical new magazine dictating that the differences between men and women were too pronounced these days. However it was not a very popular publication, read only by Blaise and a hermit living in south Lichtenstein.

Draco blinked and ate some porridge, oblivious to the fact that he had been eating bacon and eggs a few minutes ago.

Some things in our world are meant to stay secret.

The first lesson was Arithmancy. However, no-one important took that lesson, just a few random weird people who chose to study maths when you could learn how to do magic stuff. Therefore they are not important.

So, for our important characters, the first lesson was charms.

Professor Flitwick clambered inelegantly onto the pile of books that would enable him to actually look at his class, and not just their shoes.

"Class!" he squeaked "Today we will learn a very important charm! It is …"

Flitwick's voice faded to a background murmur as Draco watched, bored out of his small vindictive mind.

It probably was an important charm, like one to clean a room or bake a cake. But Draco wasn't that interested in such things. Unwillingly his eyes were drawn to the brunette girl over the room. Her hair was being tossed around lightly by an unknown draught that only seemed to affect her, and a golden light shone on her from the window. From outside, the school choir started up.

Draco frowned and tried to think over the odd strain of 'I feel it in my fingers'. He had to admit, he still wanted to…have a deep and meaningful relationship with Hermione? Not really, he just wanted to 'feel it in my toes…'. He swore inwardly as the song interrupted his thoughts.

His head sank slowly onto the smooth wood of the desk. It was hard being a teenager with money, hormones and other stuff, he thought sadly.

Meanwhile Hermione had mastered the spell, learned its three lesser uses and found a vital clue in the Kennedy assassination as well as flicking her hair in a chic fashion in the time Draco had been wallowing like a piggy in self pity.

Her eyes flickered over to the blonde teen, he seemed to be poking an inkpot half heartedly with his wand while Crabbe and Goyle guffawed at a fly that had walked through some ink and was leaving fly footprints all over Crabbe's work.

Draco sniffed and pulled a piece of scrap parchment towards him, it was no use, he had to see her.

Hm, I appreciate that this isn't great, its been kind of written over a while. Ahem.