Chapter Five
"Rubbish!" cried Ron, looking over the schedule that McGonagall had just handed them. "We still have Potions with the Slytherins. Well, I suppose it being our last class of the day sort of compensates for that."
"Well, at least you have only one class with the Slytherins," moaned Hermione, also looking over her schedule. "I have Arithmancy with them as well. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant! The problem is there's only one Slytherin taking that class! Again, I ask, how much time do I have to spend with that bloody, ungrateful git? What did I do to deserve this?" Hermione pushed her plate of eggs aside and flopped her arms onto the table, looking completely put out.
Ron and Harry both gave her curious looks. "I've never seen you this upset about going to a class, Malfoy or not," said Ron, looking quizzical. "Did something happen between you and Malfoy again?"
"Doesn't something always?" grumbled Hermione, picking up her fork and stabbing it through a piece of scrambled egg on her neglected plate. "I'm exhausted right now so I would rather not talk about him. Class is about to start anyway. I've got Ancient Runes first and then Arithmancy. I'll see you in Transfiguration."
Hermione gathered her books and headed out the Great Hall. Just as she reached the Grand Staircase, she looked up and saw the one person she did not want to see standing at the top, chatting with none other than Desdemona Nightingale. Hermione sighed and put her hand on the rail opposite them. She began climbing the stairs. She had reached the top of the first set and was going to start on the second one when a drawling voice stopped her.
"Oi! Granger!" called Draco. Hermione clenched her hand into a fist around her bag's strap and turned to look at the blonde Slytherin who was scaling the stairs rather quickly.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" she snapped, tapping her foot on the stair she's been halted on.
"Taking after Weasel now, are you?" he smirked.
"Shut up and get to the point; I don't want to be late for Ancient Runes on the first day of classes," she replied, adjusting her weight from one foot to the other.
"It's about Arithmancy," he began, still smirking at her.
"Don't remind me of that class right now. I'm already dreading spending my favorite class with you glowering at my back," Hermione bemoaned.
"For me it is the contrary," he rasped. "I think I'll quite enjoy 'glowering' at your back, but that's not what I called your attention for. It seems, as professor Vector says, that you and I will be the only ones in his class. He's asked us to please meet him in his office during that class but not to get situated because we won't be there long."
"Well, thank you for informing of this dreadful news that I will now be alone with you in Arithmancy all year," Hermione barked, and turned to head up the stairs once more, "but I really have somewhere more…interesting to be."
Draco smirked and returned to the foot of the second staircase where Desdemona was waiting for him, a curious look on her face.
"Now, if you'll follow me, Mona, I would gladly show you to the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Right this way," Draco said and lead the way up the stairs.
Hermione reached the Ancient Runes classroom without incident. Several Hufflepuffs were already seated here and there, almost filling the class. Hermione was also the only Gryffindor in that class as well. She went up near the front and sat down by herself. She pulled out her book, several rolls of parchment, a quill and an inkbottle, preparing for class as she always did. When the teacher entered, Hermione forgot about Draco and buried herself in her notes.
The two of them met up once more in Professor Vector's class. Hermione sat down for a moment, but kept her book closed and herself ready to leave as soon as Professor Vector explained to them what they were to do.
"Well, you two are my finest students," he said. "Top marks on your O.W.L.S. and highest grades in my class. I feel there is nothing more I can teach you but there are some ways you can prepare for your N.E.W.T.S. Rather than throwing it on you right away, however, there are some things I'd like for you to do. With all of the jumble in the Education Networking Department at the Ministry, I've had more papers to grade then ever. I would appreciate it if you two would go to the library and grade them. I've already separated them into two piles and left them on a table in the Muggle Studies section." Draco wrinkled his nose. "Madam Pince will be watching you. I hope that isn't a problem."
Draco made a face that said 'It certainly is!' but Professor Vector paid no mind. "That would be delightful, professor," chimed in Hermione.
"Good, good," Vector laughed. "Well, off you go then."
Hermione skipped out of the room and Draco followed with much less bounce in his step. They entered the library and found there way to table in the Muggle Studies section, which had two stacks of papers sitting there. Hermione sat in front of one and Draco reluctantly took the seat beside her. The answer key was sitting alone between the two stacks.
"Daft professor," grumbled Draco. "Don't know what she just didn't use a Auto-Answering Charm. 'That would be delightful, professor.'" He glared at Hermione.
"It's not a problem to me," Hermione replied, catching up on his mocking tone of voice. "I used to do this for teachers all the time at my muggle elementary school."
"Well, if you haven't noticed, Granger,—"
"'—we aren't muggles'?" finished Hermione for him. "Yes, yes, but there's no helping it now, is there? So stop whining and start grading, will you?"
They sat in stagnant silence, their quills scratching as they marked answers wrong on pieces of parchment. After Draco had finished grading, he stretched languidly and looked at Hermione, whose eyes were glazed over and distant. She was on her last paper but she simply wasn't paying any attention. She was brushing the feather tip of her quill over the bridge of her nose as she thought.
"For Merlin's sake!" cried Draco, snatching the piece of parchment from in front of Hermione and finish grading it. "If we ever have to do this again and you take that long, we'll be in here for all eternity!"
Hermione shook herself from her reverie and gave Draco a meaningful look of warning. She stuck the stopper back in her bottle of red ink and set it back in her bag with her quill. She straightened up the paper, glancing at a few of the ones Draco had been grading to see if he'd been doing it right. After finding no errors, she set the papers back down and stood up, stretching her body and heading for a nearby bookshelf.
"Can't you ever go a day without reading?" asked Draco, reclining in his chair and watching the library doors for some sign of Professor Vector.
"I could, but I prefer not to," Hermione replied, striding down a few more aisles and looking at a few more books. "Toadstool Tales? Weren't those books recalled and banned by the Ministry?"
"Ah, Toadstool Tales," reminisced Draco, "I remember thee fondly. Yeah, they were banned but that doesn't mean some people still don't own any."
"You've read them?" Hermione asked, flipping through the pages.
"I found them an interesting read," he replied, smirking. "They aren't for the—how do you say—the faint of heart. Don't you remember why they were banned or did you stop reading up on them when you got that far?"
"Mm, I can't remember," she murmured absentmindedly, reading a few lines after her interest got the better of her. She was down to the bottom of the page when she snapped the book shut and covered her mouth. "I think I'm going to be sick."
"The reason they were banned, Granger," Draco said, his smirk still intact, "is that they cause nausea and vomiting."
He grabbed a nearby wastebasket and strode over to Hermione, holding it under her head. She snatched it from him, dropped the book, and began retching into it loudly. After a few moments of loud vomiting, Madam Pince strode over, looking irritated, but stopped when she saw Hermione with her face buried in a wastebasket. When she made it over to them, she started rubbing Hermione's back, staring suspiciously at Draco.
"What happened?" she hissed. Draco bent down, picked up the book from the floor, and showed it to the librarian.
"This happened," he snorted.
"Ah, there it is! Our rogue volume of Toadstool Tales that Peeves ran off with," exclaimed Madam Pince. "Odd how he would put it in the Muggle Studies section. I'll be taking that. And would you be so kind as to take Miss Granger to the Infirmary? Thank you, Mr. Malfoy."
Draco led Hermione out of the library, constantly checking to see if she had a firm hold on the wastebasket and warning her of several horrible things he would do to her if she let go and vomited on him. After they'd gone up a few flights of stairs and reached the Infirmary, Draco opened the door for her and let her in just as two people were coming out of their classes behind him.
"What are you doing, Malfoy?" snapped Harry, making Draco stop and look back. The dark-haired boy, accompanied by Ron, looked past Draco and saw Hermione retching into a trash basket. "Hermione! What happened? What did you do to her, Malfoy?"
"I've done nothing, Potter," snapped Draco, crossing his arms over his chest. "I was merely escorting Granger here to the Infirmary as I was instructed to by Madam Pince."
"Did you hex her?" Ron demanded, stomping his foot. "Why is she vomiting?"
"Oh yeah, Weasley," roared Draco, "I hexed her! That's exactly why Madam Pince is allowing me to escort her! You daft ass!"
Ron's ears turned bright red and he opened his mouth to say something but stopped when Hermione made a slightly squelching sound as she tried to speak. She only managed to vomit louder into the basket. Draco grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the Infirmary. Ron and Harry looked mutinous but knew it was only for the best. Madam Pomfrey, who had been tending to a student, a student of which was suffering from not being able to get the white end of a Nosebleed Nougat into his mouth, looked up. She shoved the rest of the candy rather forcefully into the boy's mouth and demanded he chew it, which he did, before rushing over to Hermione.
"What's happened?" she asked, looking pointedly suspicious at Draco, who rolled his eyes.
'Of course, blame me.' "She found the Toadstool Tales that Peeves stole and her curiosity got the better of her," he explained and Madam Pomfrey relaxed.
"Well, that's easily remedied," she said, making Hermione sit down on the bed.
"Then I can go?" Draco asked, looking bored as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Yes, yes," she said. "You all may go to your next class."
Draco passed by Harry and Ron and smirked. "Sorry you couldn't pin this one on me. Better luck next time," he drawled and strode down the stairs toward the Charms class.
Hermione spent most of the day resting in the Infirmary and gaining back the weight she'd lost from vomiting by eating, which she did not find pleasant in the least since even after she was full, Madam Pomfrey pushed her to eat more. After she had eaten her last sandwich, she held up her hands.
"If I eat anymore, I'll surely begin to vomit again," she groaned, flopping down on the Infirmary bed again, completely worn out.