Hi! so I haven't written a story in a million years, and I have always loved the movie Flipped. I was inspired to write this story after rewatching it recently so I hope you enjoy! I will try to update frequently, but I am in school so sometimes it can be hard. Please review! xx
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they are property of J.K Rowling! This is all creative fun.
Ever since Draco could remember, he hated her. Everything about her was vile to him—from her know-it-all attitude to her frizzy hair, bucked teeth, even her Hogwarts house and blood status repulsed him.
Above all, from the moment they had met she had been his living nightmare because she had made it public that she was madly in love with him. Draco couldn't catch a break from the age of 11 onwards. It was maddening, embarrassing, as well as disgusting, and he wanted nothing to do with the witch.
These thoughts plagued Draco's mind as he sat on the Hogwarts Express on his way to start another miserable year at the blasted institution. It would be his 6th year, and all he could think about was that he would only have to endure the girl's incessant attempts at garnering his affections for only a little while longer.
Last year, he had done everything in his power to make her hate him. Draco had joined the inquisitorial squad under Dolores Umbridge as their leader and had basically tried to get the entire golden trio expelled— obviously he'd failed. Draco had also upped his antics and teased her more frequently, more harshly and tried to make it clear when began to "date" Pansy Parkinson that he would never even look her way.
At the end of 5th year, she and her band of misfits had gone to the ministry and battled his father and aunt, which was the reason for his father's imprisonment in Azkaban. He hated them even more for it, if hating them more was even possible.
"We're almost there mates," said Blaise Zabini, snapping Draco out of his thoughts.
Draco looked around the train compartment he'd been sitting in and noticed fewer of his housemates had been seated with him than in previous years. Probably because his father was in Azkaban and had been associated to the Dark Lord. Not all Slytherin and pure-blooded families wanted that kind of affiliation, so it made sense that the sentiment extended to Hogwarts students. It still stung.
"Another year, another opportunity to win the quidditch championship," said Crabbe, while licking his fingertips that had been covered in the residue of chocolate frogs.
Draco grimaced. For someone who was a descendant of such a prestigious family, Vincent Crabbe truly knew how to look like such a commoner.
"With Potter and his firebolt, I don't know how feasible the cup is this year," Blaise replied.
"Surely with Pucey and Montague no longer being on the team you boys can find some adequate replacements," added Pansy, who had been surprisingly quiet until that point.
No one said anything to this, as the view of the landscape behind the compartment's window began to shift, and eventually fell upon the last place any of them wanted to be.
After receiving his prefect badge, Draco was decidedly having an overall decent first night back at Hogwarts. He had joined the feast with his fellow housemates, who had been nicer to him than expected and he had enjoyed reuniting with people his own age after a summer from hell.
He hadn't even seen her once. She has always been the first person to greet him, and he usually spends the welcome-back feast feeling her eyes burn his skin… this year, nothing. He thought it had been strange, but he pushed the thought out of his head—out of sight, out of mind.
Or so he thought.
As Draco left the prefect meeting, he heard a shrill voice walk into the room he had just left and over the sound of his heart beginning to race for fear of finally seeing her, the boy overheard an apology for being late, stating some personal emergency.
Of course, she was still a prefect, brightest witch of her age and all—as much as he would never actually admit it, she was at the top of every class, always above him. A model student… ugh.
Wanting to avoid her at all costs, Draco spun on his heel to make his way back to the dungeons completely forgetting his secret rendezvous with Pansy in the Astronomy tower. Unfortunately for Draco, it was at this exact moment that she was walking out of the prefects' meeting, while fastening her badge and not paying any attention to the blonde boy who accidentally just walked right into her.
The girl gasped as she was knocked over by Draco's tall and strong frame, and despite hating her, Draco instinctively offered his hand to help her up off the ground—he was a pure-blooded gentleman, after all.
As she looked up, she immediately withdrew her hand and remained silent in surprise. Draco had never willingly touched her, not even to bully her in some way. She nearly bolted from his sight, but something was holding her in place. Probably her old feelings mixed with the fact that she hadn't seen him since the end of last year. He looked different, better looking if that was possible, but also tired like he hadn't slept well in ages.
Draco looked her over with such distaste, she thought she might just crawl back down to the ground and hide somewhere. But she was a Gryffindor damn it! She would not be intimidated by her childhood crush. The feelings she once had were no longer there, her longing and obsessive tendencies had vanished, and she now saw him for what he was—a selfish, prejudiced, spoiled and cruel boy.
"Granger," Draco spat, "I thought I could have one night of peace before the stalking and repulsive lusting began but it appears you just can't stay away for even 3 hours."
A lump in her throat had formed, but she remained composed. She could not have him condescending to her and acting like she was a bloody disease—enough was enough.
"Malfoy," Hermione breathed, "clearly, that was an accident however I just thought you should know that after what you did last year—"
The boy started laughing, "Please don't tell me you expect some sort of apology."
She continued, "Your actions disgusted me beyond what I ever thought was possible from you—and that's saying a lot. I've lost any warm or positive feelings that I have ever held towards you, and I wish to never speak to you again unless absolutely necessary."
Before Draco could say anything at all, and before Hermione lost the last bit of nerve she had left, she spun and made a beeline towards Gryffindor Tower.
Stunned, the boy simply watched her go and finally felt the weight of the past 5 years leave him.
Draco Malfoy was a free man. Free of that blasted mud blood Hermione Granger.
As he made his way back to the dungeons with a slight skip in his step, at the back of his mind he felt ashamed of something, but he didn't know what exactly—and he didn't really care, as tonight was a night for celebration.
The following week had been a blur, adjusting to being back in school had been slightly more difficult this year but Draco supposed it had been due to his unfortunate personal life. His father's misgivings had affected him and his mother immensely, and it had been hard for Draco to fully immerse himself back into his studies. He was having a particularly difficult time trying to write his first assignment for Ancient Runes.
Today was Friday, and at least he had a Slytherin house mixer to attend later in the evening, once his prefect rounds were over. Draco had finished all his classes for the day and had an independent study period in the afternoon, so he'd decided to visit the library to work on his Runes essay.
On his way there, Draco had run into Theodore Nott. His housemate had asked to tag along, as he too needed to work on some of his assignments. Draco didn't mind, as long as he was serious about getting work done. After all, their fathers were pretty close associates and Theo had never shown any animosity or disrespect to him.
Upon arriving at the library, the two boys spotted an empty table in an isolated corner and bolted to reserve their spots—students would be filling in soon and all the good seats would be taken. It was a survival of the fittest.
After an hour of intense work and studying, Draco decided to give his mind a ten-minute break. He peered around and noticed many female Ravenclaws had taken up the surrounding tables. Relieved about not seeing anyone of importance, he turned to Theo.
"Psttt," he whispered, attempting to gain Theo's attention.
"Yes?" Theo whispered back, looking grateful that Draco was taking his attention away from his studies.
"Did you hear about the auction?" Draco asked, as he looked around the room full of Ravenclaw girls.
"The auction? No, I—" Theo began, but was quickly interrupted.
"You'll hear about it tonight, start looking around and taking notes," Draco looked around the room once more, this time raising his eyebrows suggestively.
Of course, Draco had known that Theo couldn't possibly know about the auction. Only the prefects and heads of the school knew about it. It had been the idea of Percy Weasley a couple of years back, to promote interhouse unity or some rubbish like that. The auction was originally a fundraiser meant to aid and raise awareness on the mistreatment of Dragons, wherein by male bachelors were supposed to be auctioned off to the highest female bidder, from a different house. The proceeds would go to the fundraiser and the witches would take the wizards out to Hogsmeade on a date.
Draco thought the poor Weasley bloke saw this as the only way he could get a date or an afternoon away from his equally dull girlfriend—he mentally mocked the boring Weasel.
This year's auction had been modified from the original plan. Instead of the proceeds going to Dragon care, they would be going to freed house elves that needed to jumpstart their new lives. Hermione Granger and her attachment to S.P.E.W could be thanked for that one—Draco had rolled his eyes when she'd suggested the idea at the prefect meeting. Some other female prefects had suggested that the female students be the auctioned, instead of the males. This had been quite popular amongst the other witches and ended up being the premise of what was to come.
Hermione had been in a good place ever since she confronted her old crush and banished the idea of ever wanting him out of her head. She had felt like a new woman and had taken the mantle of her life back into her own hands. It had been ages since she had felt so reassured about herself, her worth and her safety—despite the Dark Lord being undetectable and possibly anywhere.
She was ahead in all her classes and her friends were all doing better—even Harry, who had been a right mess after Sirius dying, seemed to be doing okay. Ron had started to act much nicer towards her and it was giving her hope that maybe she could be with someone that wasn't a six-foot tall, blonde, grey-eyed Slytherin.
Overall, life was good.
So, when Dumbledore had given the announcement about the upcoming auction during their feast in the Great Hall, Hermione was quite unsure why her heart had started racing and her palms had started to sweat. She'd blamed it on the possibility of no one bidding for her—but it was preposterous, she wasn't that bad.
In fact, she had grown several inches since last year, her boobs had finally grown in, and her hips had filled out as well. She was still tanned from the summer and sleekeazy's had done wonders for her hair. Ginny had even taught her how to do make up and take care of her skin.
Hermione had felt more confident about her looks this year than she ever had in her entire life, not that it was of such great importance, but it did feel nice to look nice. Evidently, looking nice would be the number one selling point of the auction, and Hermione would make sure to look her best on that day, despite the sexist connotations. She wanted to raise as much money as possible for the freed former house elves—it was a very dear cause to her heart.
The auction would take place in one week, giving ample time for bidders to examine their options and garner enough galleons to adequately donate to the cause, and potentially outbid one another. It was going to be very interesting, and as much as Hermione was nervous, she had been a lot more excited. If Percy Weasley ever had a good and fun idea, this was it.
Dumbledore had announced who the female candidates would be from each house, selecting only sixth- and seventh-year girls. From Gryffindor, Hermione had obviously been selected, as well as Lavender, Parvati and Katie Bell to name a few. From Slytherin, Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass, Millicent Bulstrode and a couple of other girls as well. In Ravenclaw, Cho Chang, Padma and mainly seventh year girls had been chosen. Finally, from Hufflepuff, Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones had been selected among other housemates.
What Hermione found most interesting was that a male student had to bid on a female from another house, which meant she and her fellow candidates would likely be going on dates with wizards they barely knew. It was all very refreshing, and exciting.
After the announcement, chatter amongst the tables filled the entire hall, and it was near-impossible to hear what anyone was saying.
"I wager you'll be bidding for Cho," Ron said to Harry, grinning at his friend from ear to ear.
Harry looked pensive for a short moment, before replying, "No need to wager, this is the opportunity I've been waiting for."
Ginny looked utterly heartbroken at this, and Hermione's heart went out to the girl. If only her short-sighted best friend could open his eyes to the girl literally sitting right in front of him. They would truly be a match made in heaven.
The younger girl swiftly rose from the table and made her exit, unnoticed. Hermione decided to follow her out, if only to make sure that she was okay. To anyone who wasn't as daft as her two best friends, Ginny was obviously quite hurt at Harry's words. The two had grown quite close over the summer, and Hermione knew Ginny had finally started to believe that she had a chance with Harry.
Once in the hallway, Hermione called out to Ginny in an attempt to catch her attention but to no avail. The red-headed girl had already begun making her way back to Gryffindor tower and was already much further ahead than Hermione. The older girl sighed, not wanting to go back to their dormitories just yet but feeling like it was the right thing to do.
As she made her way to the tower, the stairs began to shift and brought her to the fifth floor. Hermione recognized the prefect's bathroom nearby and decided she could use the loo. The room itself had been much different to their other bathrooms, and she felt that it was quite deserved.
As she made her way into a stall and began her business, Hermione heard the main door open and two pairs of feet step inside.
"Lock the door and run the bath," said a squeaky, female voice.
Hermione remained silent, not knowing what to do. She felt so awkward having to flush the toilet and reveal herself to her fellow prefects who were about to take a joint bath…
"Only if you promise to give me a massage," replied a familiar, and more masculine voice.
"I'll give you a massage," said the girl, whose voice was also beginning to ring a bell, "if you promise to buy me at the auction."
"Pans," said the male voice, and Hermione internally groaned at the fact that Pansy Parkinson was the bimbo about to use the prefect's bath right after dinner. The girl could at least wait until later in the night, no one would even bat an eye at her being out late, she was a prefect after all.
"You know I can't bid on you," the male voice continued, and Hermione began to feel nauseous at the growing familiarity of his voice.
"We're bloody prefects for crying out loud!" she protested, "I don't want you to go on a date with another witch, you're mine."
"Ok, one, I belong to no one love," the male voice snapped, "two, I literally cannot bid on you because we are from the same house and three, it is a Hogsmeade date, not a dick appointment so relax."
Hermione almost erupted with laughter, but she covered her mouth because she knew it would only get her in trouble.
"Draco," Pansy pleaded, and confirmed what Hermione had already suspected, "who are you going to bid on then?"
Hermione couldn't tear her concentration away from this even if she wanted to, for some reason she really wanted to know too. She didn't think he would even bid on anyone; Merlin knows he certainly didn't have to. If there's anything that is certain in life its death, taxes and girls fawning over Draco Malfoy—and she would know.
"I don't know. I hadn't really thought about it until now, but maybe a Ravenclaw? Cho Chang is quite fit, maybe—" he began, but Pansy interjected.
"Cho Chang? Are you joking? You could do much better Draco."
Hermione was beyond confused now, not knowing whether to laugh or cry at what Draco had just said. Pansy was even more confusing, one minute proclaiming to own the boy and the next minute practically telling him he should go on a date with the prettiest girl in school. Their dynamic was weird.
"Who do you propose I bid on? Lavender Brown for crying out loud?" Draco quipped, sounding extremely annoyed at the girl. Hermione couldn't blame him; it was all very strange and awkward. She needed to think of an exit strategy—and quick. Ginny was in need…
"Who said anything about Lavender Brown?" Pansy scoffed, "as if she's the Gryffindor who would stand a chance!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Draco said defensively, and Hermione started to become nauseous again.
"You wouldn't bid on the girl who's fancied you all your life? As much as I hate to say it, she's been looking rather fit these days," Pansy argued.
What. The. Fuck. Hermione's head was about to explode. Pansy had just complimented her. And suggested Draco bid on her? Something was going on. Maybe her time turner had sent her to an alternate dimension. Maybe it was opposite day. Hermione didn't know if she should flush now and make a run for it or listen to the next words.
She chose the latter.
Draco burst into laughter and Hermione felt like she was having a stroke.
Between laughs Draco wheezed, "Pansy what," he breathed, "the bloody hell are you playing at?"
"Nothing," she replied sternly, "I am being very serious. I may not like the mud blood, but I won't deny her appeal."
"Her appeal? I can't bloody stand her, never mind spend money to sit down for an afternoon and share a meal with her. She has tormented me for years, being all madly in love with me for no bloody reason!" he exclaimed.
"So, you don't think she's fit?" was all Pansy replied.
"I barely even look at her, I try to avoid the psychopath at all costs! Besides, when school started, she told me I disgusted her and she basically hates me know," Draco said.
Hermione was really starting to feel bile rise in her throat. She needed to leave, now.
With no other option, Hermione flushed the toilet, quickly opened the stall door and made a run for the door, but not before seeing the panicked and shocked looks on both of their faces. Without a word, she exited the bathroom and ran for Gryffindor tower. It seemed she would need Ginny as much as Ginny needed her.
Progress, shrogress. Hermione had not felt this low in a very long time, and despite all her newfound happiness, she felt that it was appropriate for her to cry, so she had spent the rest of her night doing so.
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