The next morning, Hermione woke up, dressed in her school robes and left her trunk and cat in her dorm while quietly sneaking out so she didn't wake up the others who were still sound asleep.
She had something to eat in the almost empty great hall and went out into the entrance hall, waiting for Dumbledore. She was very early, but she didn't care. She sat with her back against the wall, not looking at anyone who walked past and into the great hall.
After about half an hour, Hermione spotted Draco who was walking into the hall, his hair untouched, so it was all over the place, making him look very relaxed. He didn't see Hermione, but when he came out after about ten minutes, he saw her and went to sit next to her.
At that moment, though, he saw Potter and Weasley come down the stairs so he headed for the other side of the entrance hall.
Harry and Ron didn't notice Hermione either, but someone did.
"You haven't been waiting too long Miss. Granger?" Dumbledore asked standing before her. "Well, let's go…"
Draco came over and followed them out the hall, down the steps to a carriage pulled by some invisible force.
They climbed in, Hermione sitting next to Dumbledore, opposite Draco who looked out the window.
Hermione watched the castle get smaller and smaller as they trotted off, towards Hogsemade.
When they reached the station, they got out.
"Bye." Malfoy said simply to Dumbledore and climbed on the train, ignoring Hermione as she stayed to talk to Dumbledore, the last thing to do with Hogwarts that she'll see for a while.
"Best of luck, Hermione. I am truly sorry. You're used to muggles, so I hope you'll keep master Draco out of trouble?"
"I'll try." Hermione smiled. "thankyou sir. Oh, what are you going to tell Ron and Harry?"
"I'll think of something." Dumbledore smiled and left, climbing back into the carriage and leaving Hermione.
"Come on Granger! The sooner we go, the sooner this will be over…or not" Draco yelled out a window.
Hermione got onto the train and went to find a compartment, alone. This was the first time Hermione had rode the Hogwarts express without a friend. True, in her second year, Harry and Ron had flow a car to school, but Hermione sat with Ginny and her friends, providing magical entertainment for them all. But now, there was no one to talk to.
It was defiantly going to be a lonely ride.
Draco sat in a compartment, looking out the window, watching everything zip by. Everything seamed so simple two days ago. He only had a few things to worry about and do- annoy Hermione, Harry and Ron, do the best he could in classes and pass his NEWTS.
Now most of that was gone…he could only annoy Hermione now and try to get along with her and the rest of the muggles.
He got up, thinking he could at least talk (aka, annoy) to Hermione. He started at the beginning of the train and worked his way down, looking in all of the compartments. He found her about half way down, looking out the window and setting small fire works off out of her wand for amusement.
"So Granger, are you as board as I am?" Malfoy asked sliding the door open and inviting himself in.
"Depends on how board you are." Hermione answered deliberately sending a firework at Malfoy who ducked and smirked.
"Nice welcoming." Malfoy said, pretending to sulk.
"I was never going to welcome you in the first place." Hermione said, ignoring the fact that he had also invited himself to sit down opposite her.
"I'm board Granger. Do something entertaining." Malfoy said resting his head on the seat behind his neck.
"I'm not entertaining Malfoy. Go and shoot sparks off at the end of the train." Hermione said not really paying attention to what she was saying.
"No, that's not fun. You do something."
"Such as?" Hermione rose an eye brow.
"Talk about something." Malfoy shrugged. "Talk about yourself."
"Why on earth would you care?" Hermione asked.
"Because I told you, im board."
"I hardly think that my life is entertaining Malfoy."
"Fine. Ill talk about all the girls I've seduced." Malfoy said winking at her.
"Oh Please, don't give me any details on Pansy." Hermione said sarcastically.
"She's not the only one." Malfoy said momentarily disgusted that Hermione had said that. "but if that's what you don't want, then that's what you'll get."
"If you're going to be in here Malfoy, and you're going to talk, could you please at least talk about something conservative?" Hermione rolled her eyes sighing.
"I'm open to any suggestions." Malfoy said stubbornly.
"How about muggles? Since I know that you absolutely love muggles, and muggle-borns, we can talk about them." The heat from the glare Hermione received then from Malfoy could have lit eight bon fires and kept them going for hours.
"No thankyou. It's bad enough that I'm going to live with some…I cannot believe I have to do this."
"Well, if you wanted to die, then go back to school or go back home. Honestly, no one would miss you." Hermione answered smiling at him innocently.
"You would miss me." Malfoy said winking again.
"Oh would i?" Hermione asked raising an eye brow. "And why, pray tell, would I actually miss you?"
"Because if I was gone, you'd miss taunting me and loving me so much your head would explode." He winked and smirked. "Besides," he added, "You'll have to stop thinking about me naked."
"Oh, am I that transparent? I want you, I need you, I love you oh baby oh baby." Hermione rolled her eyes, got up and walked out of the compartment and headed to the end of the train.
Malfoy smirked and followed her right into the other compartment.
"Oh my god, can't you find some other form of life to torture?" Hermione asked sighing and folding her arms.
"Oh I probably could, but no one could respond like you." Malfoy smirked again and sat next to her, almost laughing when she twitched and moved as close to the window as she could possibly be.
He edged closer and rested his head on her shoulder. "Come on Granger. Do something amusing."
"Nothing I know of would amuse you. Maybe in London you'll find some strippers who will gladly entertain you." Hermione shrugged his head off and moved onto the next seat.
"Don't be like that" Malfoy followed her. "We have to protect each other remember."
"Oh yes, I remember, and if it were up to me, I'd push you in front of a rampaging rhino."
"That wouldn't protect me."
"Actually it would because the bottom of a rhinos foot is the last place someone would think to look for you."
"Oh come now, that was uncalled for." Malfoy said pretending to pout.
"No more then you sitting so close to me. Bugger off!" Hermione said angrily. Hermione got up again and walked back to her other compartment with her things in it. She picked up a book and disappeared behind it, only to find, two minutes later, when she dropped the book, that Malfoy was again sitting opposite her, watching Hermione, looking dull and very board.
"For goodness sakes Malfoy! Please go somewhere else. Do something else."
"I'm not doing anything granger, that's the problem."
"Fine then, amuse yourself with this!" Hermione threw the book she had been reading at him and got up yet again. This time, however, she didn't leave the compartment but looked in her trunk for something to do.
The book hit Malfoy in the chest and when he picked it up off his lap, one hand holding his chest, he saw it was a very old volume from the school library. He smirked at the thought that Hermione wouldn't be able to hide behind one, but then, he guessed that this other school would have one too. Just not as interesting.
Hermione found a pack of cards in her trunk and just as she was about to put it back in, Malfoy caught sight of it and grinned evilly.
"You know granger, we could play strip poker." He suggested winking.
Hermione blushed and quickly put the cards away and buried them under a school skirt. "Not in a million life times Malfoy."
"Oh, that was the only thing I can think of…" Malfoy said standing up and stretching.
"Good for you." Hermione rolled her eyes and let Cruickshanks out of his basket. Her cat's face looked like someone had smashed it in with a fry pan, but the eyes were wide and they were staring at Draco.
Draco eyed the cat and tried not to laugh. "Granger, I know you fight with potter and Weasley, but you don't have to throw your cat into the wall to let out your steam."
Hermione's face glowed red and she turned around and slapped Malfoy for all she's worth.
"Go away." She said scooping her cat into her arms, sitting down and cuddling the only friend she had in that tiny compartment.
Malfoy's cheek was red and had Hermione's hand print on it, but he didn't move. "You should say sorry for damaging my face granger." He said softly.
"No, I should be sorry for getting on this train and then not cursing you into oblivion." Hermione said tears fogging her sight. But she will not let them fall, she will not let them fall.
"Oh come on granger, I was kidding." Malfoy said, and for the first time in his life, he saw how painful words could be. But, of course, he wasn't going to say that.
"Just please, go." Hermione's voice cracked, and if he didn't leave soon, she would start crying in front of him.
Malfoy sighed, crossed to the door, opened it, and walked down the corridor to the compartment where his things were kept.
Hermione didn't end up crying, but she was so close. The tears fogged her vision for another ten minutes before she wiped her eyes and looked out the window. The sky outside seamed to be mimicking her mood- gray and cloudily. In a few minutes time, there would be a huge thunder storm.
And there was.
The lightning streaked across the blackened sky, lighting it up for a few seconds. The thunder rolled and the rain fell heavily onto the moving train. The compartment lights came on and it was bathed in a dark but gloomy yellow.
Hermione now felt bad about the way she had treated Malfoy. After all, they had to be in this together in order to get out. So, deciding in two short minutes, Hermione got up, put Crookshanks, who was sleeping, on the chair and went to find Malfoy.
He was near the front of the train and he seamed to be looking through his trunk, throwing things about and looking frustrated. Hermione paused for a second, not sure whether or not she wanted to be near him when he was in a towering rage, but before she could gather her courage, Malfoy burst through the compartment door and knocked into her, sending both of them tumbling to the train floor.
Hermione's head hit the carriage floor and she was knocked out. Malfoy was lucky and landed on top of her. He was dazed for a minute, but soon came to his senses, saw Hermione on the ground and leaped to his feet.
Oh, brilliant, Malfoy thought looking at her, now what am I supposed to do?
For a minute, he considered leaving her there, but then he thought he'd probably trip over her again, and she'd be a murderous raving lunatic when she woke up, so he pulled out his wand from his jeans pocket and pointed it at her.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Draco muttered and waved his wand at Hermione, who immediately levitated into the air. Malfoy moved her down the corridor and into her compartment where he dropped her onto the seat, closed the door and let her be.
The reason Malfoy had left his compartment in the first place was to go to the toilet. So quickly, he dashed into the bathroom, washed his hands then came out again, checked on Hermione- still out, and went to his compartment.
Hermione didn't come around for about two hours. She sat up, but regretted it as a thudding pain came to her head. Her hands flew to her head and clutched it while her face screwed up in pain.
She tried to think of why she was now lying in her compartment, her cat watching her, when she distinctly remembered leaving it to go and talk to Malfoy. Then she remembered seeing Malfoy in his compartment throwing things…then she was knocked to the ground and her mind went blank.
"Damn Malfoy." She muttered, her hands still clutching her head as she got up and proceeded carefully to his compartment. This time, he wasn't in a towering rage, but was sitting down, his wand pointed and a little green thing flying around his head.
Just as Hermione opened the door, the little green thing disappeared and long, slithering black snake shot from Malfoy's want onto the floor.
Hermione screamed.
Both Malfoy and the snake jumped. Quickly, Malfoy pointed his wand at the snake and said "Finite Incantatem"and the snake was gone.
"what on Merlin's god given earth are you doing woman?" Malfoy asked stowing his wand away and staring at Hermione with cold eyes. "don't you know that that snake could have killed you?"
"Yes I do, and you shouldn't of had it in the first place!" Hermione accused.
"hmmm," Malfoy pretended to think. "I seam to remember me saying I was board I wanted to be entertained."
"And I seam to remember telling you to shoot sparks off the end of the train!" Hermione retorted. "You shouldn't have done that. It scared me!"
"Scared you? What about me?" Malfoy said starting to shout and waving his arm for emphasis. "You came in here, quiet unvisited, I might add, after spying on me, knocking yourself out, having a snap at me, then scare me, and now you are lecturing me!"
"You weren't invited to my compartment." Hermione retorted, keeping her voice level but no one could mistake the anger in it. "I was only 'spying' on you because I wanted to say sorry for having 'a snap at you' and you knocked me out. That was clearly out of my control."
"I'm sorry," Malfoy said, ignoring what she had said expect for that part were she said she was coming to say sorry. "You were going to say sorry to me?"
"Yes I was." Hermione said taken aback that he decided to respond to that bit of her speech, correcting his.
"Well say it and go."
"Fine. I'm sorry Malfoy." Then she turned on her heals and left, retreating to her compartment were she read her book, pushing any thought of Malfoy from her mind.
Okay, that's the second chap. i know it was just on the train, but I thought there was some amusing parts in it.
The next chap will be probably settling into their new families, and maybe a little bit on the school, but like I said, I don't live in London, I live in Australia, so I'm sure the school days are quiet different. I'm going to write it as though they're at one of my schools. Sorry for that again, but if someone wants, they can review, if you live in London, and tell me a little bit about your high schools. I would really apriciate it.
Thanks for saying my stories rock catrina. You rock for reviewing lol. And so does everyone else who reviewed, thank you!
Alright- i know i have other stories to update but...aww...my normal computer isnt connected to the internet at the moment...technacal difficaulties, but im on a laptop. i will try to transfer the files of Divination and snake goes for a lion soon. sorry again...aww, i feel bad...
Aj