Disclaimer: Harry Potter and everything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling, the plot however is all mine.
A/N: Thank you everyone for the support for the first chapter. I'm thrilled that everyone seems to have liked it so much, and I only hope that I can keep everyone as interested and positive in the future chapters. Thanks to everyone who reviewed!
Sunflower18, comedy-gal, draco2hot4me, midnightwanderer01, Ocean Tranquility, anIme-prYncess, totally-spaz, Miranda, dixie15, steelo, Buck-A-Beak – I'm happy to hear you liked the first chapter, and thanks for the reviews!
Clear Black Glass – thank you, I'm glad you liked it. I started writing it before HBP came out, but originally, Draco was not yet a DE, however since he is one in HBP, I went back and rewrote it, and added the initiation scene. I think it will turn out better with him being a DE anyway, so it's all good.
Londonmalfoy – really? I thought the most dangerous animal was a nundu or something like that. Anyway, I'm glad you like the stuff about the panther anyway :o) Thanks for the review!
Fallen Through – thank you very much! I'm so happy that you liked it, and I hope the wait wasn't too long. Also good job with your own fic, I'm looking forward to reading more!
sweetsummersun31 – yay, I'm glad I got everyone interested. And yeah, I'm trying to go for a different feel from my other fics, trying to keep things interesting, so we'll see how that works. Thanks for the review!
Elektra30 – lol yeah I guess it was a little childish, I kinda got stuck on that part to tell you the truth. I felt like whatever I wrote just didn't work, but the scenario I chose seemed to me to be the least awkward. There's not gonna be too many more moments like that between Ron and Hermione anyway, I just wanted to set up the relationship without wasting too much time with it. Oh well, I'm glad you like the writing style anyway, and I hope you like this chapter!
Sayaku-chan – I'm happy that you liked it! And I wanted to say thanks for pointing out the typos in my other fic, I'll try to read though more thoroughly before I post in the future, but thank you for letting me know.
Now for chapter 2!
Chapter 2: Back to Hogwarts
The next time Hermione saw Ron was on August 31st when she met him, Harry, and Ginny in Diagon Alley to purchase their school supplies. Ron met Hermione in the Leaky Cauldron; she smiled sheepishly when she saw him. He quickly stepped forward to greet her with a big hug and a quick kiss. "Hi," said Hermione, not knowing what else to say.
"Hey," answered Ron, "Ready to go?"
"Yeah," where are Harry and Ginny?"
"They're at Gringotts, Harry needed to withdraw some gold from his vault."
"Oh ok," Hermione paused, a sudden thought coming to her attention, "so, have you told Harry about us?"
"Err, no," Ron admitted awkwardly, "Ginny knows, but I didn't know how to tell Harry, I didn't want to make things weird between the three of us, you know?"
"Yeah," Hermione agreed with Ron about not wanting to make things weird, but she was not entirely sure that hiding their new relationship was the best way to go about it. Yet since she didn't have any better suggestions at the moment, she didn't argue.
Ron and Hermione held hands as they walked down the busy street, which was milling with Hogwarts students and their families, all getting last minute school supplies. Yet when they reached the steps to Gringotts they stopped abruptly, and with a tense look at each other, dropped each others hand. No sooner had they let go, than Harry and Ginny came racing down the steps to greet them. Hermione lit up again as soon as she saw her two other best friends. She raced forward to give them both hugs, although for the first time, she felt slightly awkward hugging Harry. She wasn't sure if she was allowed to hug other guys now that she was dating someone, even if they were friends. But Ron didn't seem to react, so she supposed it was alright, which she was thankful for because Harry was her friend too.
The four friends traveled around to all the different shops, buying everything they needed. Hermione and Ron both made a conscious effort not to get to close together, because both could feel the heat rise in the room if they got too close. Ginny kept throwing Hermione knowing looks, accompanied by a smile, and often followed by a silent fit of giggles. Every time this happened, Hermione felt herself blush, though the boys were so thankfully clueless that neither took any notice.
When they were done shopping, the group returned via the floo network to the Burrow. Mr. Weasley had volunteered to pick up Hermione's things from her parents (he literally jumped at the chance to visit a muggle flat that was friendlier than the Dursley's) so Hermione's trunk was already there, along with Crookshanks, by the time she arrived.
As had become tradition, Hermione enjoyed a huge dinner provided by Mrs. Weasley the night before the Hogwarts Express left. The tables were groaning under the weight of the food, and it was all delicious as usual. Everyone ate until they could not fit another morsel into their stomachs. And then, they were all so exhausted, that they nearly fell asleep at the table.
Hermione felt as if she had just lain down to bed when Mrs. Weasley entered Ginny's room and shook the two girls awake. "Come on, it's time to get up, we don't want to be late for the train."
Hermione stumbled to her trunk to find her clothes; her eyes were still half closed with sleep. She fumbled around as she dressed, slowly waking up as she did, so that by the time she had trampled down the stairs with her trunk, she was wide awake. The boys were already downstairs by the time she arrived, both wolfing down eggs, bacon and toast for breakfast. "Hey Humine" said Ron through a mouthful of eggs.
Hermione smiled at the pair of them as she scooped some eggs onto a plate herself.
"Where has Ginny got to?" asked Mrs. Weasley in a huff, "Ginny!" she called. "Hurry up or we'll be late!"
"Coming!" called Ginny from her room. A moment later they heard the banging of a heavy trunk on the stairs. Soon Ginny came panting into the kitchen, dragging her trunk behind her.
"Good, now hurry up and eat, then we can go," said Mrs. Weasley. "Arthur! Can you come get the girls' trunks?"
"Yes dear!" called Mr. Weasley as he came into the kitchen. He aimed his wand at the pair of trunks, and levitated them outside to the Ministry car which was waiting for them.
The journey to King's Cross was uneventful, and though it was unusual, they arrived with about 10 minutes to spare before the train left. They approached the entrance to platform 9 ¾ as inconspicuously as possible, Ginny and Hermione entered first, leaning casually against the barrier until the platform materialized before them.
Just about as soon as they arrived, some of Ginny's friends in her own year waved her over to them. Ginny bid goodbye to Hermione, and ran over to greet them. As Hermione was watching Ginny scamper off, Ron and Harry came up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley followed them and bid them each goodbye with big hugs. The three friends then set off in search of an empty compartment. Along the way they were greeted by several of their school friends, including most of their housemates in their year. Everyone was in a good mood, excited to be returning to another year at Hogwarts.
- - - - - - - - - -
The morning of September first, Draco awoke with a splitting headache and a bad mood. 'Good-bye summer freedom, hello schoolwork, rules, and annoying professors,' he thought miserably. Draco was not eager to return to school, yet nonetheless, he made sure his trunk was packed, and ready to go. Since neither of his parents were around, Draco had written to Professor Snape asking how he would get to platform 9 ¾ and Snape had arranged for him to arrive through the floo network. So, with ten minutes to go before the Hogwarts Express was to leave, Draco dragged his trunk, with an empty owl cage strapped to it, into the fireplace, (he had sent his eagle owl, Bohdan, ahead to Hogwarts because he didn't enjoy being pent up in his cage for long periods of time.)
Draco tightened his grip on his trunk with one hand, and in the other he held a pinch of floo powder. He threw it to the ground and yelled "platform 9 ¾!" Instantly he was hurtling in a spiral, his trunk banging along side. He landed in the fireplace with a thud, his trunk following him with a crash. He shook his head, double checked to assure that he was entirely soot free, and made a beeline for the train.
He loaded his trunk into an empty compartment at the front of the train, and then went off in search of Crabbe and Goyle. He found them standing stupidly on the edge of the platform next to their trunks. They looked lost, as if they hadn't already done this five years in a row. Yet, as stupid as they were, they were exactly the kind of friends Draco enjoyed having around. Only for the fact that they were too stupid to understand what he was saying, so he could dish out insults about everyone, including them, and all they would do would be to guffaw stupidly until he told them to shut up. Draco often thought that they shared half a brain, so they didn't even have one full brain between them, which didn't make them the best conversationalists, but they served their purposes nonetheless. He rolled his eyes as she charged over to them.
"Crabbe, Goyle! What do you two think you're doing! The train is what takes you to the school, not the platform! Grab your trunks and get on!"
Crabbe and Goyle both looked extremely relieved to see Draco. They quickly obeyed his orders (as they always did) and followed him onto the train and into his compartment. For a while Draco seriously considered just complaining about school, Potter, the professors, mudbloods, the students in other houses, Potter, the injustice of their fathers being imprisoned, mudbloods, and of course, Potter. But for some reason, complaining to two gorillas who were dumber than mud just wasn't appealing at the moment. So instead, he pulled out the book about panthers, which he had borrowed from the library at home; so far it was turning out to be a rather interesting read. He had never known how powerful panthers were, but he was definitely intrigued. He was looking forward to figuring out how his panther statue worked, and he was eager to absorb the powers it possessed. So Draco lounged across his side of the compartment while Crabbe and Goyle squashed together into the seats on the other side. They were both so big that is was difficult for them to fit, and even though Draco had plenty of room to spare for one of them, neither dared asking him to move over. They may be physically stronger, but Draco could easily blow them to smithereens with his wand if they gave him reason to, despite their devastatingly low intelligence, that was one concept they both managed to grasp with no trouble.
Draco continued reading until the lunch trolley came rattling by. Crabbe and Goyle looked as if Christmas had come early at the sight of food. They each bought as much food as they could carry (which was a very considerable amount). They then sat stuffing their faces like pigs, making Draco absolutely revolted. As a result, Draco ate his lunch more properly than usual, as if he were afraid Crabbe and Goyle's disgusting habits would wear off on him if he wasn't careful.
Once Crabbe and Goyle had filled their massive stomachs with junk food, Draco beckoned to them to get up. He was bored, and decided the perfect way to occupy his time and cure his bad mood would be to go spread misery amongst the other students on the train. With the thought of causing trouble to cheer him up, Draco put on his famous smirk and led the way through the corridor searching for some targets to torment.
He passed the nearby compartments with barely a glance; they were mostly filled with other Slytherins, and a few Ravenclaws. When he passed the compartment containing Pansy and her gang of Slytherin girls, he heard several of them call "Hey Draco!" flirtatiously at him as he passed. He acknowledged them with a short smug glance and a nod, and then continued on his way, smirking at the giggles he heard once the girls were out of sight. Crabbe and Goyle were still following close behind, although they were completely ignored by the girls. He passed some compartments containing groups of first years, and he amused himself by shouting angrily at them, scaring them with lies about what the sorting ceremony was like, and other such nonsense just to see the fear in their eyes. But spreading fear amongst the first years was not enough to cure his bad mood, they were too easy. He needed more of a challenge. Much to his pleasure, that challenge came in the form of Potter, Granger, and Weasley sitting alone together in a compartment near the end of the train.
He slid the door open, smirking at the three of them. They all glared back at him with looks of hatred which were reserved for him and Snape. Yet something about the scene struck Draco's keen eyes as odd. He had definitely seen Granger and Weasley together in Diagon Alley, much to his displeasure he had yet to be able to free himself of the revolting image of Weasley kissing Granger. Yet now, Granger was sitting by herself, and Potter and Weasel were sitting together.
"Now this is interesting, why is Granger sitting all alone while Weasel is over here next to Potter?" Draco eyed Hermione and Ron skeptically, while all three Gryffindors continued to glare back at him.
"What the hell are you going on about Malfoy?" spat Ron.
Draco smirked at him, "Aww Weasel, has your little mudblood girlfriend already developed enough sense underneath that bush she calls hair to break up with you? Or maybe you figured out that you prefer dating Potter to a mudblood?" taunted Draco, putting on thoughtful façade.
Hermione's glare turned to shock. 'No,' she thought to herself 'he can't possibly know about us, Harry doesn't even know. It's just a coincidence.' Hermione tried to convince herself that what Malfoy said meant nothing, but behind her defiant glare, an odd stirring in the pit of her stomach told her that he knew, somehow he knew.
"Shut it Malfoy," interrupted Harry as he jumped up preparing for a fight. "Unlike you, Ron and I don't date ever girl we come in contact with," spat Harry, thinking he was coming to the rescue of his friends.
Crabbe and Goyle flexed their muscles menacingly as Harry approached, daring him to attempt something. Meanwhile, Ron's entire face went as red as a tomato, and Hermione's cheeks were bright pink, she refused to look anyone in the eye. After a moment, Harry noticed the lack of a comeback from either one of his normally very vocal friends. He turned and saw them both blushing profusely which caused him to be very confused.
It took Draco a mere two seconds to assess the scene and figure out what was wrong. His maliciously excited eyes rounded on Harry; this was more fun than he could have hoped for. "You mean to tell me that your two best friends have been shacking up together and you don't even know about it!" he cried gleefully.
"Shut your mouth Malfoy." Hermione finally yelled, jumping up next to Harry and glaring furiously at Malfoy. Her cheeks were redder than ever with both embarrassment and anger, and she was mortified with herself for allowing Malfoy of all people to see how much his taunts were affecting her.
Draco stared directly back at her, there was a devious smile crossing his face and a devilish glint in his eye. He returned his attention to Harry, "But I thought best friends were supposed to tell each other everything," he said with mock innocence. His expression then turned to a sneer, "So much for best friends," he spat, gesturing to Ron and Hermione. Crabbe and Goyle sniggered thuggishly behind him.
Harry looked half ready to pounce on Malfoy, but the other half of him was dying to hear the truth. Neither of them had denied what Malfoy had said, and that seriously disturbed Harry. Malfoy was right, 'as best friends weren't they supposed to tell each other everything? How could they have thought that they would be able to keep their relationship a secret from him? Why would they want to?'
Draco's lazy drawl interrupted Harry's thoughts, and with a stubborn expression he listened. "You can't honestly tell me that you're surprised about this Potter. Even if they didn't tell you, it's been obvious that they've been mooning over each other since fourth year!"
Hermione let out a small gasp and Ron looked horrified. Malfoy looked even more gleeful at their reactions, but Harry on the other hand was crushed, "Is that true?" he demanded.
But neither Ron nor Hermione seemed to have the guts to answer him, or even look him in the eye. But, in Harry's opinion, their silence was answer enough.
"You mean you didn't even know they fancied each other?" continued Draco sounding absolutely thrilled at Harry's lack of observational skills, "My God Potter how completely oblivious can you be?" Crabbe and Goyle chortled behind Draco.
"Shut up Malfoy!" yelled Hermione. Her fists were balled, and she looked ready to repeat her actions of third year when she had slapped Malfoy for his taunts.
Draco chuckled and smirked, then leaned in towards Hermione. Harry and Ron both made moves toward Malfoy, but Crabbe and Goyle prevented them from getting anywhere near him. Hermione tensed as he neared, but she refused to back away. She wore a defiant expression, her lips pursed tight in a slight frown, her eyes locked with his. When Draco spoke, it was in a whisper that only she could hear. "Tell me Granger, did you grant Weasley a little snogging session after that disgusting display in the Leaky Cauldron, or did you puke in his face out of revulsion from just that one atrocity that was supposed to be a kiss?" Draco reveled in the look of absolute horror Hermione was giving him, this was even better than he hoped for.
"You . . .no . . . you didn't," she stuttered, unable to form the sentence that was going through her mind. Ron was looking at Hermione over Crabbe's shoulder with concern, and both he and Harry were a bit worried when they heard her stutter and saw the look on her face.
Hermione was staring directly into Draco's dark gray eyes, eyes that were as dark and cold as steel. She seemed to have forgotten that there was anyone else in the room besides them. Of all the people to see her and Ron, it had to have been Draco Malfoy, the last person on Earth who she would want witnessing her private life. She was especially mortified that even from across the room he seemed to have read her reaction to what had happened a thousand times better than Ron had been able to. She was breathing heavy, and gazing with horror into his malicious eyes. Yet she knew he wasn't bluffing, she had felt like they were being watched that day, she remembered the feeling, but Ron had told her she was just nervous, and she had accepted that explanation. But, as was usual, Ron had been wrong and she had been right.
Finally Draco slowly backed away a smug look plastered on his pointed face, his eyes still locked with Hermione's. Judging by the fact that all three Gryffindors was still unable to speak and were staring at him furiously, he decided that he had caused enough damage for the time being, so he beckoned to Crabbe and Goyle, and then swept away through the corridor to his own compartment in a much better mood than he had been in all day.
After Malfoy had left, Hermione finally managed to recover from her horrified embarrassment. She glanced around the compartment, when her eyes landed on Harry, she gulped completely unsure of what he was thinking. "Harry?" she ventured in a voice barely above a whisper.
Harry was staring at the spot where Malfoy had been standing, a fixed unreadable expression on his face. "Why didn't either of you tell me?"
"I don't know," whispered Hermione, "we didn't know what to say I guess."
"Yeah, and we didn't want things to be weird between the three of us," said Ron. It was the first time he had spoken since Malfoy arrived.
Harry whipped around to face him with an accusing glare, "Oh, and things aren't weird now! I just found out from Draco bloody Malfoy the student I hate most in the entire school that my two best friends, are dating each other behind my back. How the fuck do you think that makes me feel!"
Hermione flinched at Harry's tone and his words. "Harry we're really sorry," she said immediately, clearly pleading for his forgiveness.
"Why didn't you tell me?" the anger in Harry's voice had turned to disappointment. He was looking at Ron to answer, since for some reason it bothered him more that Ron hadn't said anything than it did that Hermione didn't. But Ron didn't reply, he was looking between Harry and the floor, his ears red with embarrassment, and a guilty look on his face.
"It's just that, after last year, you've had so much more to deal with that we didn't want our friendship to change," said Hermione soothingly.
"But it has, you can't deny that, things are gonna be different if you two are a couple, but that doesn't mean we can't still be best friends." Harry paused, he really did not want to start this year off with a negative attitude, it was hard enough dealing with Sirius' death; he needed to have Ron and Hermione with him. "Look, I just want you guys to be honest with me alright?"
"Alright," said both Ron and Hermione.
"I just have one more question, how long has it been?" asked Harry, half fearing the answer, but needing to know all the same.
"Just a week," said Ron, "we met up at Diagon Alley a few days before you came to the Burrow. How the hell Malfoy knew is beyond me." Ron added with a shrug.
"He saw us in the Leaky Cauldron," said Hermione, she was no longer looking at either Harry or Ron. She was staring fixedly at the floor, her cheeks glowing pink from embarrassment.
"WHAT!" shouted Ron.
Hermione shifted her eyes up to Ron, but she didn't respond, she would much rather drop the subject.
"So it was just a coincidence that he knew then?" confirmed Harry.
"Yeah," mumbled Hermione.
Harry let out a deep breath, "well that makes me feel better; from the way he was talking I thought that you've been together since last year!"
Ron laughed a little too emphatically, but Hermione didn't join in. 'Oh great,' she thought, 'well at least he feels better.'
Throughout the rest of the train ride, they boys managed to relax, but Hermione found it difficult to loosen up, there was something about what Malfoy had said that bothered her. Maybe it was just how accurately he had perceived the incident in the Leaky Cauldron. Or maybe it was just the fact that she knew this was not the last she would be hearing from Malfoy on the subject this year. She had a feeling he was going to taunt, tease, and torture her as much as possible every chance he got.
- - - - - - - - - -
Hermione only managed to put Malfoy and the train ride to the back of her mind after the sorting ceremony was finished and the opening feast was underway. Being the responsible prefect that she was, she introduced herself to all the new Gryffindors and encouraged them to come to her for help or advice should they need anything. She tried to convince Ron to do the same; however there was no talking to him when there was food in front of him, so she spoke to them alone.
The first years seemed shocked to be addressed by a sixth year, but they all seemed relieved to know who they could go to if they had any questions or problems. Almost immediately Hermione was bombarded with questions about everything from classes, to the other houses, to professors etc. Hermione was thrilled to see such interest amongst the new students. One of the first year boys asked, "so what's the difference between the houses anyway?"
"Well," answered Hermione, addressing both him and all the other attentive first years. "Like the sorting hat said, Gryffindor is the house of bravery, Ravenclaw is the house of intelligence, Hufflepuff is the house of loyalty and hard-workers, and Slytherin is the house of cunning and ambition. They are basically defined by your most prevalent qualities. So just because you're only in one house does not mean that you do not have qualities that would fit in the other houses, it just means that they're not as strong.
"Oh," said the boy nodding, but still looking a bit confused.
"But," said Hermione speaking as if she were telling a secret, "just between us, Gryffindor is definitely the best house."
The first years laughed and nodded in agreement. One of the girls piped up with another question, "So does that mean that we can't have friends in the other houses?"
"Oh no of course not, it's great to have friends in the other houses, for the most part everyone gets along together just fine no matter what house they're in." answered Hermione.
"Yeah, except the Slytherins, steer clear of them," warned Ron, finally pausing his dinner to join in the conversation.
The first years all looked at him with wide-eyed worry; Hermione on the other hand gave him a reprimanding look, "Ron! That's not helping to promote inter-house cooperation and unity!"
"Come on Hermione, the Slytherins don't try to get along with us, why should we try to get along with them?" argued Ron. The first years were watching the little dispute with rapt attention.
"We should try because we are above such nonsense! You never know, if the first years start getting along, then perhaps in the future all the houses will get along and not just three of them."
"Fat chance!" countered Ron.
Hermione grit her teeth and looked like she was desperately trying to restrain herself from snapping at Ron. In the end she managed to bite back her words and instead she turned to the first years, "just ignore him and don't discriminate against the other students no matter what house they're in." The first years nodded, however Hermione had a sneaking suspicion that they were probably going to listen to Ron rather than her. 'Whatever' she thought as she finished her meal in silence.
When the feast was finally over Dumbledore stood up, and the entire Great Hall went silent. "Greetings! Greetings to all both old and new. I am sure you are all looking forward to the upcoming year, however first I must make a few start of term notices. First, the list of forbidden objects is posted outside Mr. Filch's office; all would do well to review the list. Secondly, the forest is out of bounds to all students," Professor Dumbledore's eyes roamed over the entire student body and briefly rested on the Harry and Ron who grinned at each other, somehow they always found themselves entering the forest at some point each year. "Finally, all students are reminded not to go wandering the corridors at night. Prefects, please direct the first year students to the dormitories, good night." Dumbledore smiled at the room, as the students all got up to leave.
"Alright everyone, please follow me, and I will lead you to the Gryffindor common room. Please pay attention so you know how to get there." Hermione, Ron, and Harry were leading the first years out of the Great Hall, but when they reached the door, they were forced to stop because another group of students arrived at the same time. Of course, those students were none other than the Slytherin first years led by Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson.
"Do you mind, we were walking here first," spat Draco with a sneer, behind him the Slytherin first years were whispering and chuckling, and a few were already sending dirty looks over to the Gryffindors. Draco turned and loudly addressed them, "You'll have to get used to this pathetic incompetence from the rest of the school, particularly from the Gryffindors," Draco gestured to Hermione and the others. The first year Gryffindors look scandalized while the first year Slytherins looked smug. Draco then pushed past Hermione with his famous smirk, a look that the new Slytherins were already attempting to mimic.
Hermione grit her teeth and glared at the backs of the Slytherins, who were now heading down to the dungeons. "Remember all that stuff I said about inter-house unity?" The first years nodded at her, "well when it comes to Slytherins, forget it!" Harry and Ron both laughed, and Ron took Hermione's hand in his and gave it a comforting squeeze. She smiled at him, and together they led the way up to the Gryffindor common room.
- - - - - - - - - -
Once he led them down to the dungeons, Draco said the password to the Slytherin common room very clearly to make sure that everyone heard it, "Now, I expect all of you to remember it, and not to give the password to anyone who is not in Slytherin house." The gang of Slytherins tromped inside, and Draco turned towards them. "The boys' dormitory is down the stairs on the left, and the girls are on the right. If you have any questions, I advise you to think twice before asking me. Got it!"
The first years all gazed at him with wide-eyed awe, a few gulped, all nodded. Many of the girls already seemed to getting all dreamy eyed from looking at him, while the boys already seemed to be emulating him.
Draco looked at them appraisingly, apparently deemed himself satisfied, nodded curtly, "having said that, if you ever find that the students from another house are giving you trouble, let me know immediately and I will make sure they are punished." Draco paused, his cold steel eyes scanning the new batch of Slytherins one last time, "you're dismissed."
The first years scattered as quickly as possible. Draco had obviously succeeded in making the dominating impression he had been going for. Not that he had to try hard; it came naturally to a Malfoy.
Draco then sauntered over to the couch by the fire. The pair of third years who had been on the verge of sitting down, quickly decided against the idea and backed away when they saw Draco approaching. All heads, even those of the seventh years, seemed to turn and follow him wherever he went. Draco of course thrived on the attention, and he never grew tired of having people fawn all over him, as his housemates often did. He lounged himself in the black leather couch wearing a smug expression, and turned his attention to the crackling flames of the fire.
Though he did not look around, he was acutely aware of the actions going on around him. Apparently a gang of fourth year girls had already gotten together to goggle and stare at him when they thought he wouldn't notice. They were whispering to each other behind their hands and throwing him frequent glances. Draco decided to have a bit of fun with them. He put on a flirtatious smirk, and in one swift motion, directed his piercing eyes towards them. Instantly they all blushed and tried to find anything else to look at. Draco chuckled to himself as he turned his attention back to the fire.
Draco wasn't the only one who noticed the attention he got from the girls in the house. Pansy had also noted how the small group of fourth years had been giggling and gossiping about him. But unlike Draco, Pansy was not the least bit amused. She glared at them all before sauntering over to the couch and sitting beside him. Draco shifted to rest his arm around her shoulders, allowing her to lean up against him. Pansy turned to throw a haughty glance at the fourth year girls, all of whom were looking exceedingly jealous. She then turned her attention to Draco. "So what do you think of the new group of Slytherins?"
Draco shrugged, "nothing special, we'll see how they turn out as the year goes on."
"I didn't see much of you much over the summer, what were you doing?" said Pansy in what she hoped was an off-hand way. She knew that she and Draco were not dating, but it was no secret to him or anyone else that she fancied him. And the thought of him being with other girls did send waves of jealousy through her. She knew that Slytherins should never feel jealous, but she couldn't help it. She wanted Draco, and she wanted him bad. Draco did humor her occasionally when he was in the mood, but never as often as she would like.
Draco smirked, Pansy may try to be nonchalant but he knew that she probably had visions of him going out with all sorts of girls over the summer. He reveled with the knowledge that she, like so many of the girls in Hogwarts wanted him so badly. Sure, Pansy was good for an occasional light snogging session, a little kissing when he was bored, but never anything more serious than that. "I told you," he drawled lazily, "I had family business to deal with."
"Oh, right, sorry I forgot. So how is your mother doing?"
"Same as usual, she never lets on to what she's up to." Answered Draco shortly, this was not a topic of conversation he was keen on pursuing.
"Did you get to see your father at all?" asked Pansy with a concerned glance.
"Ha! Yeah that's how I want to spend my summer, visiting an overbearing father in a ghastly prison just so I can listen to him rant about whatever shit he wants to rant about, and so I can listen to him tell me that I'm an insult to the Malfoy name. All of this from a man who allowed pathetic Potter to land himself in prison like an idiot." Draco ended his mini-rant with a sneer. He hadn't meant to go off like that, and now that he had, he was stone cold and silent.
Pansy had gone rather rigid; she didn't like to make Draco angry. As powerful of a witch as she was, she had no match for Draco when he was angry. She hadn't been thinking when she had asked the question, and now that she had, she regretted it. She risked a cautious glance at Draco, and found him scowling into the fire. She used her quick thinking skills, before making her next move. She smiled mischievously at him and cuddled closer, "so" she whispered, "how are we going to make Potter pay for the crimes he's committed against your family?"
This seemed to draw Draco's thoughts back into reality, "I've got a plan. And when I'm through he and all the other pathetic muggle-lovers will regret the day they crossed the Malfoy family."
"Which is exactly what they deserve!" cried Pansy with indignation. "You know that if you need any help plotting, or with anything, you can always rely on me. I'd love nothing more than to help you get Potter back!"
Draco huffed knowingly; he could think of several things that Pansy would rather do involving him than to plot Potter's demise. All of them involved something more than kissing, but he didn't mention those things. He didn't want to give her the false impression that he was interested in them as well. Instead, he just sat, watching the fire dance atop the logs in the fireplace, he allowed Pansy to cuddle up close to him. She had her arms wrapped tightly around him, but other than the fact that he had his arm draped across her shoulders, he took no notice of her. Nor did he give any attention to the other Slytherins milling about the common room, many catching up with their friends, some playing games, and a few turning in early so that they were prepared for their first day of classes.
Draco's mind reeled over many thoughts as he sat there staring into the fire. Most of them focused around Lucius, and the task he was to complete, but he also thought a lot about the panther statue. The more he read, the more intrigued he was by the creature's power, he thought about taking it out to examine it again, but he did not want Pansy to see it. There were some things which Draco enjoyed keeping secret for only himself, and though he couldn't explain why, the panther was one of them. It seemed like it was somehow important, like it held a deeper meaning to him, as if it was connected to him somehow. Draco thought about how the eyes had seemed to glow when he bought it, 'maybe it is connected to me' he thought silently with a slight, barely noticeable, smile.
Draco remained motionlessly lounging on the couch long after even Pansy went to bed. She had tried several times to occupy his attention, but clearly his mind was elsewhere. Not that she could blame him, he certainly had a lot to think about. She had left without a word, which was how Draco liked it. Once the room was empty, and his only company was the crackling flames in the fireplace, he pulled the panther from his pocket and placed it carefully on the table in front of him. The statue stretched and yawned. It paced across the table, examining its new surroundings. Draco watched with amusement as the silver feline critiqued its new surroundings with an arrogant gaze from its jeweled eyes. Once it had briefly toured the entire common room, it returned to Draco, and in one leap, jumped smoothly from the ground to his knee. It looked up at him expectantly, Draco took this as an indication that the statue was ready to go, and since he did need to get some sleep before his first day of classes, he certainly didn't object to heading up to the dormitory. He returned the panther to his pocket and swept down the spiraled stone staircase to the sixth year boys' dormitory.
- - - - - - - - - -
Hermione, Ron and Harry led the Gryffindor first years to the portrait of the Fat Lady. Hermione was furious with Malfoy for being such a git in front of the new students. She truly had wanted to promote inter-house unity, even with the Slytherins. But Malfoy made it so difficult that it was hardly worth the effort. 'Bloody Malfoy,' she thought angrily. She rolled her eyes once the portrait door came into view, determined not to let Malfoy ruin the first day back at Hogwarts for her, or for the new group of Gryffindors.
Once Ron had given the Fat Lady the password and everyone was inside, Hermione turned to address the new students. She smiled at the looks of awe on their young faces, 'is that how I looked when I first walked in here?' she wondered to herself. The first years looked up to her expectantly, waiting for her to say something. She cleared her throat and spoke loud enough for them all to hear her, "this is the Gryffindor Common Room. This is where you will spend most of your time while you are not in classes, your dormitories are up those two sets of stairs, boys are on the left, and girls are on the right. Remember if you have any questions; feel free to ask me, or anyone else in Gryffindor, we're all family here. I think that's everything, so for now just enjoy the rest of the night getting to know your new housemates."
The first years all looked around at each other, eventually breaking off into small groups. Hermione meanwhile joined Ron, Harry, and Ginny in their favorite seats by the common room fire. "It feels good to be back doesn't it?" she asked them all.
Ron and Ginny nodded but Harry just looked away with a haunted pained look in his eyes. Hermione bit her lip; clearly being back at school didn't bring the same joy to him that it brought to the rest of them. Hermione knew that he was still beating himself up over Sirius' death, but she could think of nothing that would make him feel better. There were really no words, she could not understand how he felt because she had never experienced it, but still she did her best. She Ron and Ginny exchanged worried glances, and then attempted to comfort their friend.
Harry really was appreciative of their concern and of how they wanted to help him, but unless they could bring Sirius back, nothing they could do would ever erase the guilt he felt, or the sadness which consumed him. The summer had helped him to get passed the worst of his feelings, though now that he was back at school and could not escape the wizarding world and its problems even if he tried, it was harder to ignore the feelings. He had been truly hurt on the train when he found out from Malfoy that Hermione and Ron were dating. While he could understand why they had tried to keep it a secret, he didn't like the fact that they had. He needed them, he needed them both now more than ever, and he couldn't take the idea that they would keep secrets from him. He hoped that their new relationship would not make things weird between the three of them; because that was one problem he simply did not have the time or the energy to deal with. He sighed, the orange flames reflecting in his glasses, he didn't want to think about all the things that could possibly happen in the upcoming year, all he wanted right now was to go to sleep. "Guys, I'm gonna go up to bed, I'll see you all in the morning."
"Alright mate," said Ron.
"Harry are you sure you're alright?" asked Hermione concernedly.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks," assured Harry, hoping he sounded more convincing than he felt. "G'night."
"Good night," Hermione, Ron and Ginny called together.
Hermione watched the spot where Harry had gone a while after he left. She didn't notice that behind her Ron was sending Ginny looks that clearly said 'get lost'. Ginny pretended not to understand what he wanted at first, but by the time Hermione turned back around, she had left with a smile making her way over to the other fifth years who were playing a game of exploding snap. The deck had started to smoke slightly and was about ready to explode any minute.
Hermione turned around to find Ron gazing at her. The rapt attention made her the butterflies in her stomach go haywire; she smiled shyly and giggled a little when he put his arm around her shoulder. Hermione looked at him, then at the fire, then back at him, suddenly realized that she had no idea what to do. Why were things so different now? This was Ron; she had no reason to be any different around him now than she was before. Yeah, she could still be the same Hermione she always had been, the only difference was now Ron was her boyfriend instead of just one of her best friends. Thinking about things that way definitely helped her to relax. As long as she didn't focus on the relationship part, she felt just the same as she always had.
"I can't wait for classes to start again tomorrow can you?" she asked with excitement.
Ron chuckled, "you're the only person I know who gets excited about classes," Hermione blushed and turned her head away, "but that's one of the many things I like about you."
Hermione turned to him, "Oh, so that's why you've been calling me a know-it-all all these years, and here I thought that annoyed you!"
Ron laughed, "Aww come on Hermione I love everything about you!"
Hermione laughed and pushed him away lightly, "right, you just like the fact that I help you with your homework."
"No really," insisted Ron. "Just cause I don't like classes doesn't mean that I can't like you for liking them."
"I guess that makes sense," agreed Hermione, "In some strange red headed universe." She shifted closer to Ron on the couch, causing him to smile that adorable smile that she loved to see. He held her tighter and they stayed together on the couch for quite a while. This time, the kisses didn't seem nearly as awkward; rather Hermione found she enjoyed it very much. Ron clearly would have liked to stay down in the common room with her all night, however after a while he conceded to Hermione's demands that she get a proper night's sleep, and they both went to their respective dormitories.
As she curled up in her warm soft crimson sheets, nothing but happy thoughts filled her head. She was at Hogwarts, her second home, she had an adorable boyfriend; yup life was going to be good this year. It seemed to Hermione that nothing could get in the way of her happiness this year, nothing.
I hope you all liked this chapter, I'm going on vacation tomorrow, but I wanted to make sure you all had something to read while I was away. And for those of you who are reading the 3rd Serpent Fang fic, the second chapter will hopefully be up in like a week. Anyway, please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter!