-o-o-o-o-o-o-
CHAPTER FOUR
THE TRUCE
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Hermione stretched her legs and took off her shoes. She had been studying since the breakfast and now it was almost evening. Harry and Ron had tried to drag her away ("Oh, come on, Hermione! It is the weekend!"), but she felt no inclination to leave her studies. It was her NEWT year and she was determined to get the highest score in Hogwarts' history.
"Granger."
She looked up, rubbing her slightly red eyes.
"Ancient Runes. Research. Rings a bell?"
"Oh Merlin! What time is it?"
"I have more things to do than come reminding you of what you ought to be doing…"
"Sorry, okay," she said shortly, reluctantly putting on her shoes again. "I thought you two could manage without me," she couldn't help saying acidly.
Theodore shrugged. "Have you seen the pile we have to make legible before we actually do some research? It's huge…"
"Nott."
"We have no time for tête-à-tête, Granger. You are…"
"I can't go on like yesterday."
The Slytherin stopped and turned his thoughtful eyes towards her. "Finally, some sense sinks into your bushy head."
She decided to ignore him. "It is impossible to work in that manner. I am nearly always angry when I am near Malfoy."
"Do something about it."
"Help me," she said, meeting his eyes. "Malfoy won't talk to me without yelling or insulting."
Theodore held her gaze for a long moment.
"Why do I feel like a babysitter?"
Hermione rolled her eyes and they continued their way towards their work-room, the tense atmosphere around them eased out more than Hermione could have imagined.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Malfoy did not look up as Hermione and Theodore entered. Hermione sensed that he might be following the age-old 'ignore' technique.
"Draco."
"Start working already."
"Granger and you need to talk about something."
Draco looked at the girl contemptuously.
"And you can do that talking while I… I go find… something I have to."
Hermione frowned. "Nott…"
"I don't meddle in business which is not mine," he said impersonally and went out before she could say another word.
Hermione let out a frustrated sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"It's just chance that you are working with me, Granger. Nothing changes between us. You're still a dirty little Mudblood who has no business in the wizarding world."
"Oh, grow up, Malfoy!" she snapped at him. Her head was aching and she couldn't tolerate pain very well. Malfoy and insult were the last things she was going to put up with. "If you can't act sensible and mature, then we'd just bloody well murder each other and damn the project to hell."
"So goody-two-shoes Granger can…"
Hermione hit the table hard with her fists. "I am not goody-two-shoes. DON'T CALL ME THAT!"
She was glaring at him in a very dangerous manner. Draco was forbiddingly reminded of the stinging slap she had planted on his cheek in their third year.
"AND I AM PRETTY SICK OF LIVING ON EDGE ALL THE TIME – WAITING FOR YOUR INSULT AND THROWING BACK THE SAME. I WANT TO LIVE, DAMN IT! JUST LET ME BE! DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?"
Draco grew furious, too. No Mudblood could talk to him like that!
"Don't you dare use that tone with me, you slutty Mudblood!"
"Or what?" she said frostily, pulling out her wand. "You will hex me? Kill me?"
Draco's grey eyes narrowed as he warily regarded her wand. "There are worse things than that," he said, his voice hardly above a whisper, "what do you know?"
As she looked at his undecipherable eyes, Hermione felt a sudden shiver of fear… was he referring to what she thought he was referring to…?
She swallowed and gripped her wand tighter. "You won't dare… not in Hogwarts."
His thin pale lips curled into a nasty sneer. "By Salazar, Mudblood, you are more naïve than I thought."
Hermione truly didn't know what to say to that. She was spared the need to reply as the door opened.
"By the quiet," said Nott, as Draco and Hermione sat down, determinedly avoiding looking at each other, "I surmise you reached a truce?"
His query was directed towards Hermione, but Draco spoke. "What truce?"
Nott was slightly taken aback. He looked at Hermione who was meticulously doing her work – with a faked over-concentration.
"Granger."
"Your brush is just there."
"You know what I am asking."
Clearing the liquid, Hermione looked up – first at Nott, then at Malfoy.
"I do not enter into truce with Death-Eaters."
Stupid, stupid, stupid! You know that was the most idiotic thing to say, you daft Gryffindor?
An eerie silence fell over them. Hermione continued her work although she was not oblivious to the effect of her comment. Nott looked from one to the other and eventually began working again. Only Draco sat, stunned and staring hard at Granger – hoping to kill her with his death-glare.
"Take that back."
Hermione paid him no mind.
"Granger," she could hear the scraping of the chair as he stood up. "Take back what you said."
"I am not in the habit of refusing truth."
As she did not look up, she felt Nott lightly clasp her wrist. "Granger…"
She jerked away her hand and stood up. "What? He's a Death-Eater – it is written all over his slimy face. And maybe you a bloody one, too – considering how you are always engaged in making my life hell at every point."
It happened so fast that she didn't have time to even register that he had moved, much less to defend herself.
Draco came around to her side of the table and clasped her neck in a killing grip. "Take that back, you whorish bitch," he hissed, his grip tightening.
Hermione tried to scream but couldn't. She clutched Draco's wrists, trying to pull him off her. Death had not seemed closer before.
"Let go of her go, Draco," said Theodore, trying to pull him away by the shoulder. "You are going to kill her, damn it! DRACO!"
"You filthy Mudblood! How dare you talk to me like that! How dare you call me that!"
"LEAVE HER!"
Hermione's grip on Malfoy's wrists loosened as she felt herself grow faint.
"YOU'LL KILL HER! You've… killed her…"
Theodore froze as he saw Hermione's eyes close and her form grow limp.
As if suddenly realizing what he had done, Draco let her go. Hermione fell to the ground, her head hitting hard against the stone floor.
Draco backed into the chair and fell down on it as it hit the back of his knees. "Granger…"
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Theodore knelt down next to the girl. His forehead was covered with sheen of sweat. He extended a shaky hand to her neck.
He winced as he saw the bruising on her neck.
"Hurry," he heard his fellow Slytherin's strangled whisper.
Pressing his cold, trembling fingers to feel her pulse, he let out the breath he hadn't known that he was holding.
"She's alive…"
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Hermione winced as she entered back into conscious state. Her head was paining awfully and her eyes seemed too heavy to open.
Slowly, the events which had taken place immediately before she had fainted came back to her.
Trying to ignore the drowsiness which threatened to put her back to unconsciousness, she opened her eyes, groaning as the light from the chandelier just above her head hurt them.
"She's come around."
There was a rustle of fabric and she felt a warm hand settle behind her head.
"Drink this, Granger."
"Are you sure she is alive?"
"Oh, shut up, Draco! Granger…"
She allowed herself to be put in a sitting position, but did not open her mouth to drink the foul-smelling potion which was held up to her lips.
"What is it?" she said, her voice slightly shaky.
"Just a Pain-Reliever… can't you smell and see it?"
She fully opened her eyes and checked the potion. It seemed all right…
"If we wanted you dead, we won't have charmed you into consciousness," snapped Nott as she delayed drinking.
Wanting to relieve the pain in her head more than anything else, she swallowed the thick white liquid.
It worked instantly. At least she no longer felt as if her head would burst into pieces.
"Here's the deal," said Nott, as he saw that she had regained her senses, "we saved you. You will not speak about this to anyone."
"You won't have to save me if you didn't try to kill me," she said angrily, scowling at the blonde seated not far away.
Malfoy didn't say anything, but left the room.
"He's dead scared of death – it is almost a point of mad phobia for him. But he also loses control of his senses when he is angry. He is more than half crazy. It is no great secret in the Slytherin House."
Hermione said nothing as she contemplated the new information about Draco Malfoy.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"To keep you from spreading the fact that you were almost killed – murdered by Draco Malfoy."
Hermione gave a laugh of derision. "Like anyone is going to believe that – they will just ask me why he didn't let me die. After all, that is what he has wanted for all these years."
Nott got up and cleared up their working space.
"You do know how much trouble we would get into if Professor Esther in the next room came to know that we had almost killed you. I had the presence of mind to cast a Silencing Charm around the room when I left you two alone, so your fight must have escaped her. But after killing you, it would have been a hard job to remove all the evidences."
Hermione rolled her eyes as she got up.
"Plus," said Nott, not looking at her and his hand on the doorknob, "Slytherin does not translate into murderer in any tongue – least of all English."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Hermione was still somewhat shocked at so narrowly escaping death when she bid her professor a good night and headed towards the Gryffindor Tower.
She decided to forgo dinner. She would not be able to stomach it.
It was a good decision, she felt, as she changed into her nightclothes in her empty, silent dorm and snuggled into the bed. It would be a pretty hard job to explain to other girls why she seemed so… strangely nervous.
The morning dawned pretty clear for a November morning. Parvati and Lavender were surprised when Hermione didn't wake up although it was way past the afternoon. Ginny decided to let her sleep – she was over-working herself.
It was almost three o'clock on the Sunday afternoon when Hermione woke up, feeling extremely groggy and irate because her back was aching – from oversleep, as she soon found out.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" she yelled frantically as she realized the time. "Oh God! I have missed a whole day of studies! Oh God! Oh God! Oh God!"
Lavender shook her head. "Hermione, you need to remember that you are a human-being."
"Yes, why don't you go down to Hogsmeade? Ginny said you could whenever you wanted to!" said Parvati.
"I am going to the library," she said shortly as she hastily grabbed her book-bag and dashed towards the said place.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
On Sunday evening, Hermione didn't forget that she had to go down for the extra research. However, after the events of last night, she didn't have the heart to go there.
You are a Gryffindor, girl! You are a Gryffindor for a reason! You cannot let that stupid Malfoy scare you!
She could have died…
Closing her book, she rested her head on it. Merlin! She could still feel Draco's fingers choking her.
Shaking her head, she looked up. It won't do to dwell on such morbid thoughts… Nott had said that he really was half-mad… he was angry – the anger he hadn't been able to control… he didn't mean to kill her…
But he could have killed her all the same…
You cannot sit here wasting time. You are already running late. You've go to forget it and go there. Don't talk to him. Don't anger him. Then there is no reason why he should try that again…
"I need to clear my head," she muttered to herself and packing her bag, left the library.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
She stood in an almost vacant corridor, looking out at the Quidditch pitch through the window. The Slytherin Team was practising tonight. She was certain that Harry was there somewhere under his Invisibility Cloak, observing their moves. It was an unfair practice, but she was done telling them that. They weren't going to listen to her and she didn't want to complain to Professor McGonagall. It wasn't as if someone's life was at risk, anyway, she had told herself.
It was a full moon night. Although the wind was bitingly cold, there were no dark clouds to hide the beautiful full moon. Even though she felt sorry for Lupin, who must be curled up as a wolf somewhere, she couldn't imagine a universe with no moon to look at. She was quite well aware of the fact that no Palace of her Dreams existed there, but it was sweet to remember it all the same – remember the times when she was a child. It was her favourite form of relaxation – recollecting her past.
Almost subconsciously, her eyes were following the only blonde on the team. The Slytherin Seeker darting about, searching for the Snitch. Maybe he felt her observing him, or maybe it was just by chance, but he looked up and their eyes met.
He stopped short in mid-air, unaware of Blaise Zabini shouting something at him.
Hermione felt a strange mixture of fear and curiosity surge through her. She quickly looked away and headed towards the Runes work-room.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
AUTHOR'S NOTE: If you are reading this story, please review! Pretty please?
-o-o-o-o-o-o-