Disclaimer:
Mirror Mirror on the Wall,
No one owns Harry cept J.K. Rowl.
Chapter 4: I don't have a home
Hermione Granger was finally getting used to Draco. He had been with them since the beginning of the summer, and already September first was drawing near. It was funny to her the way that Draco complained about "muggly things" but always participated anyway. Hermione secretly knew he loved them, though she'd never let him know.
Throughout the summer they had managed to get along, if only for her parents sake, and Draco found out just how much he enjoyed the boardwalk carnival. Hermione had found an arcade and Draco was an excellent gamer (being that he'd had no previous experience,) though Hermione finally beat him at pong. Then he bought himself a hot cocoa and Hermione threatened to kiss him if he didn't give her some, a joke which Harry and Ron weren't thrilled about. But even they got used to him constantly IMing them for no good reason.
And as the summer passed into Autumn, Hermione's plan of getting him back seemed less important. He had been nice. And they had been friends.
-----
Hermione Granger ran outside to see what Draco was doing. Apparently he had caught wind of something known as a snow angel and couldn't wait for winter to try it out.
"Hey TicTak!" Hermione called. Draco turned around and stuck out his tongue at her. Hermione beamed back.
"Hermione, just because that TicTak commerical gave me nightmares, doesn't mean you get to tease me about it forever. You would have freaked out too if you'd seen it. They were all smiling and dancing. Do you know how wrong it was!" Draco shuddered at the thought.
"Oh, come on. It's such a suitable nickname." Hermione pleaded, to which Draco merely groaned. "Anyway, Mom said you wanted to make a snow angel."
"Yep." Draco picked up the rake he had dropped and began whacking the leaves off the trees. "But, there wasn't any snow. So I decided to improvise."
"I can see that." Hermione grinned at him.
"What's got you so happy? Did fire boy ask you out or something?" Hermione laughed.
"Not exactly. . ." she replied coyly.
"Mm Hm. Right. Gotcha." Draco continued spurting out random words absent mindedly as his pile of leaves grew steadily into a heap.
"Hey Draco?"
"What?" he asked looking over his shoulder at her.
"Mom's gonna kill you." Hermione warned. 'And so am I.'
"I know." Draco turned back around and began to rake again.
'Alright Draco, you asked for it. The moment you least expect it, I'm gonna christen this leaf pile with your corpse. One. . .two. . .three. . .' Hermione lunged at Draco's back and tackled him into the leaves. Draco turned over and looked at the girl who was now on his stomach.
"What was that for?" Draco snapped.
"Tradition," Hermione replied knowingly.
"Well how bout this for tradition?" Draco began to tickle Hermione's sides furiously. She squeaked and squirmed, to no avail, he'd successfully turned her attack against her. Hermione finally resorted to rolling off him, so that they were now side by side. Hermione gazed at him breathlessly, and he smirked back.
"You jerk."
"You sneaky little scank."
Hermione slapped him.
"Oww. . ."
They laid there for a long time in the leaves together, just trying to catch their breath.
"Hey, TicTak, when do you think the spell will wear off?" Hermione searched his eyes for the answer.
"I don't know," he admitted back. A twinge of guilt struck him. He'd never told her about the album. He was planning on packing it for Hogwarts, but her parents had been right to hide it, what was in the album, she should never have to see.
"Do you want it to?"
"I don't know. I think I like living here, but I don't know about being your brother. But then again, the spell might reverse itself. The summer might begin again. Until we know what it is, I'd say not." Hermione groaned.
"Gosh, you're being so logical. Sometimes you just have to go on instincts." Draco gave her a look of surprise.
"Since when did you decide that?" he questioned.
"Just now." Hermione sighed. "But you have to admit I'm right. You can't always go with your head."
Draco thought about it. He had always gone with his head. Even when his heart told him to help Hermione and the light side. But then he thought about the one time he followed his heart. 'It landed me here. That day I made a rash decision without thinking.' It seemed to him that every time his heart felt strongly about anything, it always lead to one place alone. 'Hermione Granger.' Draco jumped up from the leaves and quickly ran inside.
'What was that about?' Hermione pondered lightly. 'Was it something I said?'
-----
Hermione pondered lightly.BlackAdder: Hey gyz. ne1 on?
ScarFace: hey snake.
BlackAdder: Hi harry.
ScarFace: so, u gonna b a jerk at skewl?
BlackAdder: probly not. my old friendz wil b pissed.
ScarFace: i c. u gonna hang around w/ us?
BlackAdder: who else is there?
ScarFace: i git ur point. just its weird 2 think about.
BlackAdder: i no. i used 2 hate u gyz.
ScarFace: it wuz mutual.
BlackAdder: wheres ron?
MyHairzOnPhyre: rite her.
BlackAdder: hey ronsold.
MyHairzOnPhyre: wher that com from?
BlackAdder: no idea.
ScarFace: it wuz weird.
BlackAdder: never doin that again.
MyHairzOnPhyre: gd.
ScarFace: g2g. gd talkin 2 u Dc.
BlackAdder: dido.
MyHairzOnPhyre: g2g 2.
BlackAdder: u 2 suc!
Hermione opened the door to her room to see Draco on the computer.
"Don't tell me you ran off just to talk to Harry," Hermione muttered.
"And Ron."
"And Ron. . ." she muttered more.
"Yes I did," Draco lied effortlessly. "For once you were off, I had to take the golden opportunity."
"Right," Hermione stated in mock belief.
"Right, you got it," Draco mocked.
-----
One Week Later
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Mrs. Granger ran her two children up to the station, kissed them both on the cheek, and headed off.
Draco and Hermione stood in the middle of the crowded station, looking for any sign of Harry, Ron, or Ginny. Draco tapped Hermione on the shoulder ad pointed behind her. With speed she spun around to see both Harry and Ron running towards her.
"Yo!" Ron screamed, just before tackling her in a bear hug.
"Hi Ron," Hermione muttered under his clench. "You're choking me."
"Oops, sorry." Ron let go of her and greeted Draco.
"Hi Mione," said Harry, offering her a friendly hug.
"Hi," she said, taking him up on the offer. Draco just turned and laughed.
"You keep your meat hooks off my sister!" he yelled pointedly at Harry. Hermione just looked at him and smiled. 'What a smile.' Draco tried hard not to think.
"Come on, lets go." With that they all followed Hermione onto the train. While normally the train was completely packed, they all had made (under Hermione's strict orders) to arrive early, so finding a compartment went much smoother than in years past. Soon they were joined by Ginny and some Ravenclaw that no one recognized. Hermione shut the door and sat back down.
"So," Hermione began, "did anyone else notice that no one recognized Draco?"
Harry turned to her and thought. "Yeah, I think it was the clothes. If it weren't for you, and several updated pictures of you two on vacation, I wouldn't have recognized him either."
"Really?" asked Hermione, "but he's so hard to miss! It's like not recognizing a Weasley!"
"Not really," commented Ginny, "He's a totally different person, you can tell by the way he walks. I agree with Harry." The girl sitting beside Ginny just paled.
"Wait. I remember you now," she burst. "You're that kid who ran away."
"Keep it down will you," Draco hissed. "That news isn't supposed to be public. Besides, I really didn't have a choice."
"Really?" asked Ron.
"Yeah, my Dad was planning on turning me into a Deatheater over the summer."
"Woah, not cool," he gaped. Everyone else agreed.
-----
Later that day, Hermione stepped out of a familiar shop in Hogsmeade, a vile of potion in her hand. 'Draco, you're going to tell me the truth, once and for all.' Hermione glanced down at the potion. 'I hope a truth serum was worth missing dinner over.' Hermione walked up the stairs to the Gryffindor tower.
"Chrystal Lilies," someone said behind her. Hermione turned around, it was Draco.
"They gave you the password to our common room?"
"Yes, not like it matters. You're head girl, remember? You also missed your little chat with Dumbledor." Draco looked at her with annoyance.
"Sorry. Wait? Aren't you Head boy?" Draco smiled knowingly.
"Yes, but I had to claim my position from the runner up. Since I was missing." Hermione thought it made sense.
"Who was it?" Hermione probed.
"The only person Dumbledor could get on that short of notice, or trust. It was Harry." Hermione smirked. It would be Harry. "Anyway, Harry didn't really want to be Head boy, so he let me have it." Hermione completely understood. It made perfect sense. Harry one who liked to hoard responsibility, but if it was given to him, he was the first to rise to the occasion.
"Well, thank you for letting me in Draco, you gonna come?" Draco didn't say anything but when Hermione walked through the portrait hole, he followedclosely behind.
"Hey gang!" Hermione shouted at the room!Everyone's eyes turned to the Head boy and girl."I wonder if you spilled something on your shirt Draco," Hermione whispered. "They're allstaring at us."
"They're all staring at me. They've been doing that since the Slytherins blurted out who I was halfway through the banquet." Hermione nodded in understanding.
The two teens walked further into the room,everyone's eyes one them.
"What's the big deal!" Hermione finally shouted infrustration.
"You brought the king of the snakes to our common room," Lavender sneered. "How could you Hermione? Really, it's Malfoy."Everyone began to whisper amongst themselves. Draco could swear he had heard someone call Hermione a treacherous little whore. He could swear that they would pay.
Harry stepped out of the crowd. "Guys, SHUT UP!"Suddenly the mob fellsilent. "I invited him here.And before you starttalking again, I'd like to tell you why. Over the summer, Draco ran away fromhome. His father had planned to make him a Deatheater. He ran away to be on the light side. Hermione Ron and I have been keeping in touch with him ever since. Like it or not he's here to help. I swear." Harry fell into the silence that had so swiftly gripped the room.
"Once a snake, always a snake!" accused the original agent ofchaos.The room immediately broke out into uproar. People were comingat Dracoviciously, something had to be done. Hermione, Ron, and Harry began topull him up to the stairs, with Neville, Ginny,Dean, and Seamus, working as crowd control.Finally they made their way to the seventh year boys dorm, and locked the door behind them.
Draco fell onto one of the beds. "I don't think I have a home anywhere anymore," he sighed desperately. "Not even amongst the noble."
Ron smiled thoughtfully. "May thebad be good, and the good be nice." Draco laughed.
"Where on earth did you hear that?"
"Somemugglegirl said it. She was really young too."
"Wise beyond her years," Ginny remarked.
"Quite," replied Draco.