Hogwarts' Hero
Chapter 10
"What?!"
"You heard me," Hermione replied irritably. The one thing she didn't need was a self-obsessed Slytherin freaking out on her. Her day had been bad enough, and she still had two hours of trekking in the mud and pulling weeds to look forward to.
Hermione breathed deeply. She was not going to freak out in front of Malfoy again. She would use his cool indifference against him and beat him at his own game. That was the plan.
After six years, Hermione should have realized Gryffindors rarely act according to plan.
"What on earth possessed you to volunteer us together?" Malfoy demanded horrified. Not only did this interfere with his plans with that delectable little Ravenclaw, but it also meant more Granger-Malfoy bonding time, something he didn't want at all.
"And to pick Fluxweed!" he continued. "Do you have any idea how long we'll be out there? Where's that brain you've got that everyone's always talking about, because you never seem to use it, you daft little bint. I thought you hated me Granger, so why do you insist on spending so much time with me?"
Hermione's jaw dropped indignantly as looked at Malfoy. He did not just say that.
"What on earth makes you think I'd want to spend time with you Malfoy?" Hermione snapped. "You're a hypocritical, selfish, conceited git. You've done nothing but make my life a living hell since you've met me, and honestly? My life would be so much better if you weren't in it!"
Hermione glared at Malfoy and she was pretty sure her face was doing that red blotchy thing it did when she was angry. Of course, this didn't seem to scare Malfoy the way it did Harry and Ron. Instead, it achieved the opposite.
Draco looked at her, his eyes glinting like sharp knives. The kind you have to be really careful with unless you want to castrate yourself.
"If that's bloody well true," he began slowly, dangerously, as he leaned forward, "Why am I stuck doing silly little chores for Professor Sprout with a stupid mu―" he paused, "teacher's pet?"
Hermione blinked.
'Did he just―stop himself from―Wha?'
When Hermione didn't immediately respond to his remark, Malfoy leaned back in his chair and smirked.
"So, you admit it?" he asked smugly.
Hermione snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him curiously.
"What? No!" she protested.
Malfoy raised an eyebrow arrogantly and inquired, "What time does the torture begin?"
"Come on! It's not going to be that bad," Hermione exclaimed. "Professor Sprout wants us to be at greenhouse two after dinner. She said she'd help us for the first little bit, so it shouldn't take too long."
Malfoy looked at Hermione oddly and asked, "Have you ever collected fluxweed before, Granger?"
Hermione grabbed her bag and got up from her seat at the table as she answered, "Well, no. But it's only a plant and I've read about the process. It doesn't seem too difficult."
Malfoy chuckled and informed her ominously, "You're in for quite a surprise."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione questioned, crossing her arms over her chest expectantly.
Malfoy threw up his hands innocently, well, as innocently as a Malfoy could, and amended, "Nothing, just that you've obviously never had the misfortune of having to gather fluxweed."
"And you have? Draco-I'm-so-rich-my-house-elves-own-house-elves-Malfoy?" Hermione scoffed.
"I was four, and I hadn't developed a proper distaste for manual labour yet," he returned.
Hermione smiled. A small, almost undetectable smile, but a smile none the less. Hermione looked at Draco, and found him to be looking at her as well. Their eyes locked and Hermione realized rather abruptly that they were sharing a moment. The last thing Hermione wanted to share with Draco Malfoy was a moment.
Hermione broke the eye contact by looking down at the ground, hastily muttered, "I'll see you tonight," and quickly fled the library. Perhaps if she had stayed just a moment longer she would have realized Malfoy looked just as scared as she did.
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"Stupid Granger, stupid fluxweed," Malfoy muttered as he angrily yanked the plants from the muddy bog in the forbidden forest. He reached for the one closest to him. It didn't come free on the first try so he pulled again. And again and again and again . . .
The fluxweed came loose abruptly and sent Malfoy sailing into the mud. He cursed furiously and struggled to stand up. When he was successfully upright he learned that the mud had completely covered the back of his body.
"Stupid mud."
He winced as he felt a sharp sting coming from his hand. He looked down and realized the sharp edges of the fluxweed he was clutching had cut him.
"Stupid hand," he mumbled crossly and rather, well, insanely.
"It doesn't sound like you're getting much work done over there," Hermione called bossily from where she was working.
Malfoy turned towards Hermione, and saw her hunched over pulling weeds fairly efficiently. Her back was towards him, so she couldn't see the murderous look on Draco's face.
"Sod off, Granger," he growled, and turned back towards the fluxweed he'd been working on before his, erm, break. He huffed determinedly and stared it down. Malfoy's ego would not let him be defeated by a couple of plants. He grabbed the burlap sack that had been resting by his feet, and flung the piece of fluxweed inside.
He bent back down and reached for another plant. He grabbed at it and pulled. This one wasn't as cemented in the mud as the last, but the momentum from the plant breaking from the earth still sent Malfoy toppling over for a second time.
"You know, you wouldn't be having this much trouble if you were doing it right," Hermione noted from above him. Malfoy looked up and scowled.
"Why don't you mind your bloody business and do your work, Granger?"
Hermione raised her own burlap sack in response, and Draco noticed it was full.
"Well bloody fantastic for you, Granger," Malfoy responded bitterly and hoisted himself from the mud for a second time.
He could feel the mud caking over his shirt and sticking it to his back. He was so dirty. He could feel every drop of sludge on his body and he didn't like it.
"Were you even listening to what Professor Sprout was telling us, Malfoy?" Hermione persisted nauseatingly. "She said to grasp the plant just where the stem meets the ground. It breaks off a lot easier that way and―"
"Shut up!" Malfoy seethed turning on Hermione. "Do I look like I want your help, Granger? I told you to sod off. It doesn't matter if I do it the right way, as long l get it done! So why don't you go back up to the bloody castle and boss around some people who might actually appreciate the annoying orders of a dirty little Mudblood?!"
Malfoy was breathing erratically when he finished and was having a hard time quashing his need to smack Granger in the bloody head as hard as he could. He was near the breaking point, in fact, when he noticed Hermione's face crumple and got a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, like it was trying to eat itself. Malfoy knew instantly that it was guilt.
"Listen Granger, I'm―"
'What?' scoffed his inner voice. 'Sorry? You've called her that dozens of times. What's so different now? Why does it matter now?'
And Draco didn't know. He had no idea why he felt so bad for saying mean things to her, and even worse, he wasn't sure how he could bring himself to call her these things in the first place. It was almost like an out of body experience. It wasn't everyday the personification of everything it meant to be a Slytherin up and developed a conscience. Strange.
Not knowing what to say, Draco stood there with his head bowed. His only consolation was he must have looked like a royal arse, an art form he'd quite perfected.
Malfoy dared to look up at Hermione, and found her to be glaring at him, which was to be expected. She looked at him, hard. She scrutinized every bit of him. The confusion on his face, the slight slouch in his usually proud stature, that lookin his eye.
Malfoy noticed her sigh, and recognized it as a truce of sorts. It was full of questions and doubts and inconsistencies, but it was a start. To what exactly, Malfoy wasn't sure.
"If you ever call me that foul name again, I swear to god Malfoy, you'll never be able to have children," Hermione vowed, but it didn't hold the same menace her threats usually did, and the way she was looking at him (kindly) made Draco feel awfully uncomfortable.
"Whatever," he replied casually, adopting a nonchalance that didn't exactly coincide with his inner turmoil at the moment.
Hermione cleared her throat. "So, you should probably get back to work."
"Err, yeah," Draco agreed.
"You know, I could help you if you wanted," Hermione suggested cooperatively.
"Oh no, I'm perfectly fine," Draco replied a bit too quickly.
Hermione looked at him indignantly.
"Oh, so you think you can do it all on your own, do you? How could little Hermione help me at all, is that it? You don't think I'm capable, well guess what―"
"Dear Merlin, would you be quiet for just one second? I said I didn't want your help because I didn't think you actually enjoyed getting covered in mud and being attacked by bugs. And frankly? I find this whole not yelling at each other thing we've been doing, slightly unnerving!" Draco cried defensively.
"Well, so do I!" Hermione shouted back.
The irony of the situation was not lost on them.
"If you're so determined to help me, then by all means," Draco said as he gestured grandly at the area of fluxweed behind him still left to be collected.
Hermione grumbled good-naturedly and walked over to the patch of fluxweed. Draco watched her as she went. She wasn't as dirty as Malfoy was, but she'd still managed to get mud half way up her jeans.
Professor Sprout had sent them both back up to the castle to change when they'd showed up earlier that evening in their school uniforms. She'd explained to them that collecting the fluxweed would be messy business and not to wear any clothes they were terribly fond of. Draco had showed up in a pair of black slacks (his weekend pair) and a dark green jumper. It was the only jumper he owned, and Draco wouldn't miss it if it were ruined. Hermione had come back in something equally casual, a bulky purple sweater and a pair of jeans.
Malfoy couldn't help notice, however, how the jeans were a tighter fit than he'd ever seen Granger wear, and he certainly appreciated the view as she bent over and started collect the plants. But, you know, he wasn't checking her out or anything. He was a teenage boy and his behaviour was perfectly normal. Malfoy grinned mischievously.
He crouched back down and began pulling the fluxweed again. He took Granger's advice and placed his hand where the stem met the earth and pulled. The plant came loose with much less effort and Malfoy supposed reluctantly that perhaps Granger had been right.
Work progressed much more smoothly and Draco soon found his sack to be almost full. He was tempted to just say he was finished and be done with it, but Malfoy was sure Professor Snape would know if they were short by even the smallest amount. So, he grasped the last bit of fluxweed and attempted to pull it out. After several failed attempts, and several curses, all of which had made Hermione look at him weirdly from where she was standing off to the side of the marsh, he gave up.
"What's wrong?" she asked when she noticed Malfoy give up, and sit back, wiping his forehead with his arm.
"It's the last plant," he answered. "I can't seem to get it."
"Have you been dong it like I told you?" she called.
"Yes!" Malfoy yelled exasperatedly.
"Alright, fine. I'll help you."
Hermione walked over and knelt down beside him. She grasped the plant and indicated for him to do the same. Draco took hold of the plant as well, and couldn't help realize that their hands were touching. A quick glance at Hermione's face revealed that she hadn't noticed, or that she had and didn't think it was that big of a deal.
Malfoy refocused on the plant and said, "Ok, on the count of three. One, two, three―"
They both pulled as hard as they could, but the plant didn't budge.
When they finally gave up, they were both breathing hard.
"I suppose we'll just have to leave it here," Hermione stated finally.
Malfoy turned towards her and noticed abruptly how close they were. He could feel her breath fanning his face and noticed that she'd managed to get a streak of mud on her forehead. Her hair was matted down with sweat, and Draco couldn't help but observe that, without a mound of bushy hair to distract him, her features were actually quite pretty.
And as Hermione's face got closer and closer, and their eyes fluttered shut, Malfoy thought this felt, well, nice.
"'ermione?" a voice called.
Hermione turned her head towards the sound and Malfoy got a mouthful of cheek.
"'ermione, I've been lookin' for yeh," Hagrid announced as he emerged from the trees. He looked on at the scene before him and added as an after thought, "Yeh too, Malfoy."
Malfoy and Hermione quickly sprung apart.
"Poppy sent me to fetch yeh, said she worked yeh har' enough, an' yeh were teh come along," he explained, ignoring the awkwardness of the situation.
'Stupid oaf!' Malfoy cursed inwardly. 'I forget myself for one second and now he's sure to tell Potty and Weasel. Just bloody perfect.'
Hermione got up and Malfoy grabbed his bag of fluxweed and scrambled up behind her. Hagrid helped Hermione out of the marsh, but made no move to do the same for Malfoy. Malfoy hoisted himself onto the bank and made to follow Hermione along the path, but Hagrid stopped him.
Hagrid watched Hermione continue down the path and called out to her, "Keep goin' 'ermione, we'll be with yeh in a minute."
Hagrid turned on Malfoy, and looked him up and down. Draco met his gaze stubbornly.
"If I fin' that yeh been doin' things with 'ermione tha' yeh shouldn't be, I'll be comin' up with some interestin' projets fer yeh in class, understand?"
Hagrid leaned his bushy face in close to Malfoy, and used his height to intimidate him. Of course, Draco would never let him know it was working.
The half-giant gave him a final threatening look, and then started walking down the path after Hermione. Malfoy was having a hard time keeping up with Hagrid's large strides, so eventually he gave up and started walking at his own pace.
The walk up to the castle was horrible. He was alone with the one person he couldn't deal with right now. Himself. What had he been thinking earlier? He could not be attracted to Hermione Granger of all people. He wasn't attracted to her. Honestly, he wasn't, he'd even told her that earlier today. So then why did he want to kiss her?
The castle was warm and glowing when he entered, and it certainly didn't reflect his mood. Students littered the hallway, cutting it awfully close to curfew. In the dungeons, couples were snogging in dark corners, and as Malfoy walked by, he was disgusted that he'd wanted to do that with Granger. What had he been thinking? He was a boy, that's what it was. It was completely his hormones' fault. Yeah, his hormones' fault. After all, he had been looking forward to seeing his Ravenclaw tonight.
Malfoy smiled as he entered the common room and went up to his dorm. He supposedly had a girlfriend and he was still getting some action. Sometimes, it was great being a Malfoy. Of course, Draco realized as he noticed the presence of his father's owl standing on the window sill, now wasn't one of them.
"Great, now what?" Draco grumbled as he walked over to the menacing looking bird. It clutched a howler in its talons that was labeled 'Draco' in clear bold letters.
'It probably has something to do with the incident.'
Deciding that there was no way in hell he could deal with this now; Malfoy took the letter and stuffed it in his pocket. The owl, however, did not seem satisfied with this, and so remained standing in the window.
"Shoo, Demetrius! Go away!" Malfoy ordered.
The eagle owl looked at him indignantly and flew off. When Draco was satisfied that he'd gone, he slammed the window shut with a loud bang.
Then, deciding that pajama's were overrated, Malfoy climbed into bed. His last conscious thought was, 'Homework be damned!'
This, however, was followed closely by unconscious thoughts of sweet features and a mud-streaked forehead . . .
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"Well, yeh were righ'," Hagrid conceded. "'ermione says it was nothin', bu' I know wha' I saw. Actually, she seemed kind 'o scared."
"Well, that's to be expected," Dumbledore sighed with a twinkle in his eye.
"I jus' don' understan' why yer gettin' involved. Why 're you so interested?"
"Just a hobby of mine," Dumbledore explained ominously. "Honestly, I don't know how these students would get on without me. Mind you, it's not all easy like this one. Luna and Ron was a little challenging."
"Tha' was you?!"
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A/N: So, did you like it? I know it's on the shorter side, but this one was SO HARD to write. I swear every paragraph took at least 2 hours. It's a labour of love, though. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. This one is TOTALLY dedicated to you guys. I'd leave you comments, but I'm dead tired right now and I have to start working on a paper for school.
REVIEW!!!!!!!!
