Chapter Five: Hogsmeade Suprises
"Whose there?" Hermione asked the figure standing behind her door.
She didn't hear an answer but immediately recognized him as he opened the door slowly, peering in with his blonde hair falling loosely around his face.
"What do you want?"
"Can I have my cloak back?" Draco asked.
"Oh…right."
She got up from her bed and walked over to the dresser, which the cloak was placed upon.
She tossed it over to him and he began to exit the room before she spoke again.
"…Why didn't you use your wand?"
He stopped, shifting his head slightly.
"I don't know what you mean…"
"You looked hurt… like you-"
"I don't want to talk about it,"
"Well I do. Why won't you tell me?"
"Why do you even care?"
He turned around and stared at her.
"W-well I don't… but… I… its… there's something you're not telling me. Please, Draco?"
She reached out and grabbed his forearm gently.
"What did you just call me?"
"Oh… er… I didn't… I mean-"
He held a hand up, signaling for her to cease her stuttering and decided that he had no choice but to tell her a well kept secret of his childhood.
"It started when I was nine years old. My dad came home one night… he got mad at mother and threatened her. She stood up to him but then he burned her with a spell… he made me sit in front of the fire and watch him burn her… it was horrible."
Hermione was horrified. She knew Malfoy's dad was cold hearted but he had hurt his wife for goodness sake.
"He always abused my mom…"
"I'm so sorry," she whispered.
Draco stiffened and tore is arm from her grasp.
"You shouldn't be. Being a Malfoy means you get respect no matter what the cost,"
"That's just stupid!"
"It's only stupid to you because you're a mudblood. You're muggle born and no one has any respect for your kind."
He glared down at her and walked out of her room, making sure to slam the door on his way out.
Hermione stood there, left alone in the room.
She tried to keep her thoughts away from the hurtful things Malfoy had just said.
"Try to look on the bright side,""What's that exactly? Because I'm not really feeling a bright side right now,"
"Well at least you know why he's kind of messed up,"
"Who wouldn't be?"
"Are you sticking up for him?"
"No… I'm just saying that I would be too if I had seen dad beat mom,"
"Whatever…"
"Why do I have to have you as my 'voice inside my head'?"
"That's just the way it works, dear,"
"So what was that bright side again?"
"That you have one less 'why' to worry about,"
"Oh… thanks,"
"I'm always here for you!"
"Shut up,"
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Hermione groaned loudly as she woke up from her long nights sleep.
Turning over, she looked at her clock.
9:14
Thank goodness it's a Saturday…
There's something I'm supposed to be doing at 10:00 though…
OH, I ALMOST FORGOT! HOGSMEADE!
She jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom, bursting through the door.
Hermione began to brush her teeth frantically and then take on the task of combing her hair.
Yes, her hair might not be straight and beautiful but instead of the frizzy afro she once had, it was now separated into light curls that hung loosely around her shoulders.
It's a good thing Malfoy's not hogging the bathroom this morning… he takes forever to comb his hair.
"Hermione!"
Hermione exited the bathroom and opened her bedroom door to find Ginny Weasley standing there, a box full of clothes in her arms.
"Ginny? Wha-"
"Hermione, did you just wake up?"
"Yeah, I-"
"We're going to be late if we don't hurry so I brought over some clothes for you!"
"But Ginny I was just going to wear jeans and a jacket,"
"Oh, come now Hermione. That's what you always wear,"
"What's wrong with what I wear?"
"Nothing, nothing. I'm just going to make a few changes,"
"This can't be good…"
Ginny emptied the contents of the box onto her bed and the two got to work on finding something for Hermione to wear.
"Okay, so you choose an outfit you want to wear and I'll choose one that I want you to wear. Then we'll decide," said Ginny as she began searching through the tangle of clothes.
Not a long time after Ginny had made her appearance, they found themselves looking at two different options.
Hermione's first choice, chosen by Ginny, was a denim skirt and a white three-quarter sleeves top with a low neckline.
Her second choice, which she had chosen of course, was a pair of faded jeans and a black shirt with white words across the front.
"We're going with mine," said Ginny quickly.
"What? But I like mine!"
"I've already explained to you that it's what you always wear, Hermione!"
"Fine! But next time I get to choose!"
"If you had worn the outfit you wanted to then you won't get a next time," muttered Ginny.
"What was that?"
"Oh nothing…"
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"Ginny, I AM NOT WEARING THIS!" shouted Hermione as she stood in the bathroom, looking at her reflection in the mirror.
Her skirt only covered a little bit over half of her thighs, which was much too short in her opinion.
The white top was tight fitting, but at least the neckline didn't sink too low.
"Come out and show me, Hermione!"
She couldn't help but blush as she opened the bathroom door to see Ginny's smiling face. She had never worn something so 'revealing' before and it was awkward.
"Oh, you look beautiful Hermione!" squealed Ginny, clapping her hands together.
"I feel so… so… skimpy,"
"Well I think you should wear it,"
And with that, Ginny grabbed Hermione's wrist and pulled her out of her room, towards the Great Hall where they would be meeting Harry and Ron for their trip to Hogsmeade.
"Ginny, slow down its only 9:55,"
"It never hurts to be early!"
Finally, they reached the Great Hall, the two panting slightly but thankful that they had not been sweating.
"Ginny, Hermione!" called Harry who was standing with Ron a few yards away from them.
"Hullo Ginny, Hermi-" Ron's mouth was slightly agape as he stared blankly at Hermione.
"Yes, Ron?"
"Er… you look… you look wonderful, Hermione!"
"Thanks," she said, blushing a little.
"Will you two please hurry up?" Harry said, a little annoyed.
Ron held out his arm to Hermione with a wide grin. She slipped her arm around his and returned his smile happily as they strolled out of the castle with Harry and Ginny talking together closely behind them.
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Not too far away was our favorite Slytherin, Draco Malfoy.
He too was surprised at Hermione's choice of clothing… but had no problem with it at all.
"Stupid Weasley… What a bloody idiot,""Are you jealous?"
"No… I just think Weasley is stupid,"
"Sure… don't we all…"
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"So ladies, where do you want to go?" asked Harry as they entered Hogsmeade, the long stretch of shops before them.
"How about that one?" Ginny said, pointing towards a small café a few shops down.
"For some butterbeer I suppose?"
"Hermione, why would we be drinking that kiddy stuff when we could be drinking Firewhisky!"
"You've never even had Firewhisky before, Ron," Harry quirked an eyebrow up.
"Well… well neither have you!"
"Let's just go inside before we freeze!"
The four of them followed Ginny into the café closely, shutting the door tight to escape from the cold.
The café was small, a bar towards the left and several tables scattered around the middle of the room. The right of the room had about four booths, which were lined up against the wall.
They had chosen the booth in the back of the room where it was positioned in front of a large window.
"So is it Firewhisky or not?" Ron asked from sitting beside Harry.
"Just get us butterbeer please, Ron." Hermione was becoming quite irritated with Ron's growing want for Firewhisky. After all, she was sure that if Mrs. Weasley had found out they had drunken any, she'd blow a hole in the roof.
He scurried off towards the bar, to order four butterbeers, leaving Hermione, Ginny, and Harry to talk for a bit.
Once Ginny saw Ron's back turned, she jumped out of her seat next to Hermione and scooted in next to Harry (quite closely I might add…), who smiled at her affectionately.
"I knew it!" whispered Hermione excitedly as she watched the two.
"What are you talking about Hermione?" asked Ginny, glancing in Ron's direction.
"You've fancied him forever Ginny! So he finally asked you?"
"Of course not Hermione. We're just friends," Ginny said.
"We are? Oh…" Harry looked down at his hands with a defeated look on his face.
"No, Harry. I didn't mean it like I don't like you or anything it's just that-"
"It's okay, Ginny. No hurt feelings."
He tried giving her a grin but only succeeded half way. Obviously Harry had thought there was something more between them. Not that there wasn't, but Ginny had her share of flirtacious moments with him.
"Ginny? Why'd you take my seat?"
They turned their heads to see Ron walking over to them, his hands full with four butterbeers, which were beginning to fizz at the top and overflow.
"Ron, maybe you should go and sit next to Hermione," Harry said, ignoring Ron's question.
He grunted and placed two butterbeers in front of Harry and Ginny. Then he scooted in next to Hermione and gave her a butterbeer too, still holding his with two hands on top of the table.
An awkward silence washed over the group of four as they sipped their butterbeer.
Harry seemed a little upset after his short conversation with Ginny, and Ron was busy fiddling with his clothes again once he had downed all of his butterbeer nervously. Hermione was busy staring out the window opposite her, from what she could see, there was a small courtyard outside. In the middle was a fountain, the water frozen with icicles dripping off the sides.
Finally, Hermione broke the silence as she saw two unlikely people walking in the courtyard.
"Is that…?"
"Malfoy and Zabini," Ron spoke up as he had also noticed them outside the window.
"Wonder what they're doing here,"
"I say Ron, it's been a long time since we've had a little fun with some Slytherins," grinned Harry.
"Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley!"
But Harry and Ron had already gotten up from the table and began to open the back door, which led to the courtyard.
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(A/N: The bold is Draco's thoughts and the italic is Hermione's thoughts.)
So there stood six Hogwarts seventh years.
Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley standing just outside of the backdoor to the café, Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley glaring over at the two Slytherins, Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini.
"Well, well, well, nice to see you Potthead, Weasel," came Draco's drawling voice.
"Shut your mouth," Ron snarled.
"So what brings low life creatures such as yourselves here?"
"You're the low life you Slytherins. Especially your father, Malfoy."
Oh no, Ron.
"What did you say?"
"You heard me."
Bloody fucking Weasel. What I'd give to punch him right now… but I guess magic'll do.Draco whipped out his wand immediately and pointed it at Ron, who also had his wand out.
"Go on, Weasley, say one more word and I'll curse you,"
"Expelliarmus!"
Draco's wand flew out of his hand.
"Ron, stop," interrupted Harry, "We could get detention and we can't miss Quidditch practices,"
"It's not like that would make your worthless team any better,"
"When was the last time you've won the Quidditch cup, Malfoy?"
Here we go again with Quidditch…"That does it!"
Draco lunged forward and punched Ron squarely in the face. He staggered back a little and held his nose, which was bleeding.
Then Harry lost it too. He ran for Draco, punching him fiercely.
"Harry! Stop!" Hermione scrambled forward and tried her best to keep them from punching each other.
Ron shouted a curse, his wand pointed straight at Draco, not realizing Hermione and Harry could get hit with the curse too.
Hermione pushed both Draco and Harry to the side as she herself dropped down to the ground, Ron's spell zooming over her head. It hit a tree, which Blaise had been standing next to and caused it to grow larger and become droopy.
Ginny swiftly pulled Ron's wand from out of his grasp and ran over to Harry who had been lying in the snow.
"Harry, are you alright?"
She reached out and looked over Harry's wounds. One eye looked rather swollen and he had a big bruise on the right side of his forehead.
"I'm fine," he said rather roughly, pulling away from her touch.
"Ron!" Hermione hissed at him.
"Wha-"
"YOU ROTTEN CHILDREN! GET OUT OF HERE NOW!"
The six of them all looked up to find a tall, thin woman glaring down at them. Her black hair had been tied up into a messy bun and her clothes looked dusty and dirty.
"I SAID GET OUT!"
Ron and Blaise were the first to rush out of the courtyard through an alley, Harry not far behind. Ginny helped Hermione off of the ground then ran into the alley to catch up with Harry. That left Hermione and Draco…
He got up slowly, muttering something along the lines of 'bloody hell' as he rubbed the back of his head, wincing slightly.
He noticed her gaze and looked up at her, still a flicker of anger in his eyes.
"You alright?" she asked, trying to be nice.
"Fine," he mumbled.
I don't need anyone looking out for me, especially someone like Granger… even if she does look so cute when she's concerned. WAIT! I didn't say that! Get that thought out of your head Draco!
"Well it doesn't look like fine,"
But why should you care anyways Hermione?"Listen Granger. Just cause I told you something last night that nobody else knows, and the fact that you saved me from Weasley's curse doesn't mean you're considered as a friend,"
Stupid Malfoy! I hate him, I hate him, I hate him! I tried to be nice but noooooo he had to go all 'I'm so much better than you' on me!
"Whatever, Malfoy. Maybe next time I'll let that curse hit you."
She stalked off out of the alley and followed Ron, Harry, and Ginny back up to the castle.
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After breakfast the next day, the great hall's tables had been cleared away to the sides, leaving a very large space in the middle of the room.
Professor Hillside had just arrived and was busy trying to keep the chatter of the seventh years down so that he could be heard.
"Settle down class, settle down. Now, as you all know, the Christmas Ball is coming up."-He ignored the high-pitched squeals and giggles from Parvati and Lavender-"And we have decided to open the ball with our seventh year graduates. So you are all here to learn-or prefect ballroom dancing. I will assign you each a partner, whom you are to dance with every class. But that doesn't mean he or she will have to be your date to the dance now,"
Hermione was ready to punch Parvati and Lavender since their giggles and squeals of joy could not cease.
"Neville Longbottom and Hannah Abbot… Harry Potter and Pansy Parkinson… Ronald Weasley and Parvati Patil… Dean Thomas and Millicent Bulstrode…"
Hermione's thoughts wandered off for a moment…
Hah. Harry and Parkinson? That's quite interesting… and Ron and Parvati! I wonder if Neville's improved on his dancing… hopefully Hannah won't be returning to her common room with swollen toes…
She was pulled from her thoughts as she heard her name being called.
"Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy."