Disclaimer: I own nothing. All props to JK Rowling.
One afternoon, during what was likely to be the last warm weekend of the season, Hermione and Ron were outside relaxing and waiting for Harry to get done with his quidditch practice.
"So, explain to me again why you're not at quidditch practice?" Hermione asked. Ron sighed. He had already explained it to her twice.
"Hermione, it's really not that complicated. It's not a real quidditch practice. Harry's just training up the new seeker. Some second year named Henry Gatoum. Anyway, Harry reckons that he's spent enough time and effort building the house team up that he's not about to let it go to waste... so he's working that poor boy to death. Understand now?" Ron asked. Hermione simply just stuck her tongue out at him.
School had been going fairly well. Malfoy hadn't made any more attempts to 'pay them back' since the incident in potions the first day of classes. Ginny continued to tease Hermione about liking Ron. This slightly bothered Hermione because she didn't think she was being obvious. In truth, there was nothing to be obvious about. She never said to anyone that she fancied Ron. They were just becoming better friends. At least, that's what Hermione kept telling herself.
"Where are you going?" Ron asked when Hermione stood up.
"I'm just standing up. My leg's falling asleep. I need to stretch." She stretched her arms above her head, exposing her midriff. Ron didn't miss this. He found himself thinking thoughts that he had never thought before, especially about Hermione. He had never noticed how toned her body was. All Ron could think about was wrapping his arms around that stomach and kissing the beautiful witch standing in front of him.
Hermione looked down at Ron. He was in a trance, thinking about God knows what. She lifted her foot, intending to playfully kick him. But her foot was hooked in the strap of Ron's bag. In her most graceful performance ever, she lost her balance, sending her down right on top of Ron. Poor Ron was unprepared and fell under her weight. Ron and Hermione burst out laughing. Ron sat up, supporting Hermione in his arms so she wouldn't fall on the ground.
When they stopped laughing, she found herself sitting in Ron's lap with his arms wrapped around her waist. She looked up at Ron. He was smiling at her. The gods had delivered her into his lap, and he wasn't about to lose this chance. Ron reached up and tucked stray hair behind her ear. Hermione's cheeks glowed pink. She wasn't sure exactly what was going on. But she liked it. Ron leaned in. Hermione licked her lips, hoping that he would kiss her. Ron turned his head so he would be able to deliver his kiss. And he would have, except that Harry came trotting up right at that moment.
"Hey guys. Sorry that took-" He stopped mid-sentence. He stared at his two friends. Hermione was sitting in Ron's lap. His arms were wrapped around her. He was leaning down with a look in his eyes that made it clear that Harry had interrupted something. "-so long," Harry finished his sentence, just staring at them. Hearing Harry's voice shocked Hermione back into reality and realizing how it must look she leapt to her feet. She grabbed her books and rushed towards the front door, muttering something about needing to talk to Professor McGonagall about their assignment. Harry watched his flushed friend enter the building and thought her excuse was odd, since McGonagall hadn't assigned them anything for this week.
"I didn't think we had an assignment?" Harry asked.
"We didn't," Ron said.
* * *
Hermione walked inside the castle. She had never been so embarrassed. She could only imagine what Harry was thinking, seeing his two best friends in a position like that. She shook her head.
"Relax, Hermione," she said out loud. She heard a snicker from behind her. She whirled around to see Malfoy standing there.
"Potter catch you and the Weasel in an interesting position?" he asked. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.
"You're sick, Malfoy. It's sad that you have nothing better to do with your time than sit and watch other people have fun. I bet you're jealous, aren't you? You wish you had friends that could actually hold a conversation. I'm sure if you ask your Death Eater father, he'll buy you some new friends," Hermione said. She never broke eye contact. Her eyes were boring into his. She had never felt this brave in all her life. Draco just stared back. She had obviously hit a nerve, and she was glad. A slight smile appeared on her lips.
Draco stared back and clenched his jaw. What she said had hit him hard. Without thinking, he grabbed her wrist and stared pulling her towards his Head Boy room. Hermione fought him. She struggled to get out of his grip, but he held on tight. She couldn't reach her wand, or else she would have hexed the hell out of him. They came to a door.
"Helen of Troy," Malfoy muttered. He dragged her through the doorway and released her. She shut the door and turned to face her. Hermione was nearly in shock. First she was almost kissing Ron on the school grounds, then she was confronting Malfoy, then he was forcefully dragging her away, and then (Hermione still wasn't sure about this part; she was sure she was dreaming now), he had said 'Helen of Troy' just before they entered the most gorgeous room she had ever seen.
"What?" She shook her head, realized that wasn't a very specific question. "What," she continued, "was the password you said?" She bit her lip. Surely Malfoy wasn't the Prince.
"The password?" Malfoy said, looking confused. "What are you on about, Granger?"
"The password!! What was your password?" she said frantically, nearly yelling.
"Bloody hell, calm down. Helen of Troy. That's the password." Hermione looked like she was about to cry. Draco had no idea what he had done. True, dragging her away may have scared her a little, but she was released now. She could even use her wand against him. He thought it was fairly obvious that he wasn't planning to attack her.
"You're kidding, right? How did you come up with that password?" She searched his face to see if he was lying.
"I don't know. Dumbledore made it up. Are you ok? Look, sit down. I'm going to get you something to drink." Malfoy stared at her. He was actually worried. She had freaked out about his password. That was very unlike the Granger he thought he knew. He realized that he didn't know her that well, but he had been watching her and her friends for over 6 years now. He was pretty sure he had a good idea about her. He walked into his kitchen area and poured her a glass of pumpkin juice. He turned around to head back, only to bump into Hermione. The pumpkin juice spilled down her front.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry! Here..." he said, taking a towel and trying to clean up the pumpkin juice. Hermione grabbed Malfoy's wrists. She took the towel out of his hands and put it on the counter.
"It's fine," she said. "Why did you bring me in here?" Draco just stared at her. Now she was acting normal, and he was being the blubbering idiot. He could still feel where she had just touched him.
"I.. well, I just wanted to talk to you," he said. He turned back around and went to rinse out the empty glass. He took a second to clear his head. "Let's go sit," he said, walking back to the couch. He sat down and watched her. She moved so gracefully.
"Well?" she asked once she had neatly sat down next to Malfoy on the couch. She heard him take in a deep breath.
"I'm not a Death Eater," he said. "I mean, I'm not like my father. Nor do I ever want to be. I know you don't believe me, but it's true. A couple years ago, though, I did want to be my father. I wanted to be exactly like him. But after 5th year, I changed my mind. I saw what was happening, I saw the war brewing. And I knew that my father was on the wrong side. I came to Dumbledore for help. He made me head boy so I would have a good excuse of why I can't go home. As sad as this sounds, I want my father to go to Azkaban. He deserves to be locked away forever." He stopped talking and looked at her. He was sure that she would be confused, but she was looking at him like he had just said the most normal thing ever. "You believe me, right?" Malfoy asked.
"Of course I believe you," she said. "I can see it in your eyes." Malfoy was very confused about the way she was acting.
"I don't understand you, Hermione. You freak out about my password, but when I tell you that I've changed sides and that I want to put my father in prison for life, I get nothing. Are you sure you're ok? Have you taken up a new hobby, say... drinking?" Hermione laughed. It was the most beautiful sound Malfoy had ever heard.
"I'm sorry about freaking out about the password thing. I'm-" she paused to think about what she was going to say. She knew she couldn't tell Malfoy the truth. But she had to come up with something. "It's just that I love Greek Mythology. I even named my owl Helen," she said. She hoped he bought it.
"Ok. Listen, Granger. I would appreciate it if you didn't go gallivanting to the whole school that I've gone soft. Especially Potter and Weasley. If they knew I brought you into my room, I'd be hexed enough to land my ass in the hospital for a month," Malfoy said. Hermione nodded.
"I understand," she said. "Ron would definitely have your head."
"Thanks," Malfoy said. He got up and walked her to the door. "Listen, Granger, if you ever need to talk... about anything, you can come to me. My door's always open. And if it's not, you know the password." He smiled at her. She smiled back and stepped outside. She walked quickly towards the Gryffindor common room. As she thought about her conversation with Malfoy, she decided that was definitely the strangest moment of her life.
A/N: I don't know when I'll be able to post next. Spring Break is the upcoming week. I may get another chapter out before then, or I may not. I'll make a deal with everyone... if I get some reviews, then I'll make sure to post another chapter before I leave Friday. If I don't post Friday, then the next post will be after the 22nd.
One afternoon, during what was likely to be the last warm weekend of the season, Hermione and Ron were outside relaxing and waiting for Harry to get done with his quidditch practice.
"So, explain to me again why you're not at quidditch practice?" Hermione asked. Ron sighed. He had already explained it to her twice.
"Hermione, it's really not that complicated. It's not a real quidditch practice. Harry's just training up the new seeker. Some second year named Henry Gatoum. Anyway, Harry reckons that he's spent enough time and effort building the house team up that he's not about to let it go to waste... so he's working that poor boy to death. Understand now?" Ron asked. Hermione simply just stuck her tongue out at him.
School had been going fairly well. Malfoy hadn't made any more attempts to 'pay them back' since the incident in potions the first day of classes. Ginny continued to tease Hermione about liking Ron. This slightly bothered Hermione because she didn't think she was being obvious. In truth, there was nothing to be obvious about. She never said to anyone that she fancied Ron. They were just becoming better friends. At least, that's what Hermione kept telling herself.
"Where are you going?" Ron asked when Hermione stood up.
"I'm just standing up. My leg's falling asleep. I need to stretch." She stretched her arms above her head, exposing her midriff. Ron didn't miss this. He found himself thinking thoughts that he had never thought before, especially about Hermione. He had never noticed how toned her body was. All Ron could think about was wrapping his arms around that stomach and kissing the beautiful witch standing in front of him.
Hermione looked down at Ron. He was in a trance, thinking about God knows what. She lifted her foot, intending to playfully kick him. But her foot was hooked in the strap of Ron's bag. In her most graceful performance ever, she lost her balance, sending her down right on top of Ron. Poor Ron was unprepared and fell under her weight. Ron and Hermione burst out laughing. Ron sat up, supporting Hermione in his arms so she wouldn't fall on the ground.
When they stopped laughing, she found herself sitting in Ron's lap with his arms wrapped around her waist. She looked up at Ron. He was smiling at her. The gods had delivered her into his lap, and he wasn't about to lose this chance. Ron reached up and tucked stray hair behind her ear. Hermione's cheeks glowed pink. She wasn't sure exactly what was going on. But she liked it. Ron leaned in. Hermione licked her lips, hoping that he would kiss her. Ron turned his head so he would be able to deliver his kiss. And he would have, except that Harry came trotting up right at that moment.
"Hey guys. Sorry that took-" He stopped mid-sentence. He stared at his two friends. Hermione was sitting in Ron's lap. His arms were wrapped around her. He was leaning down with a look in his eyes that made it clear that Harry had interrupted something. "-so long," Harry finished his sentence, just staring at them. Hearing Harry's voice shocked Hermione back into reality and realizing how it must look she leapt to her feet. She grabbed her books and rushed towards the front door, muttering something about needing to talk to Professor McGonagall about their assignment. Harry watched his flushed friend enter the building and thought her excuse was odd, since McGonagall hadn't assigned them anything for this week.
"I didn't think we had an assignment?" Harry asked.
"We didn't," Ron said.
* * *
Hermione walked inside the castle. She had never been so embarrassed. She could only imagine what Harry was thinking, seeing his two best friends in a position like that. She shook her head.
"Relax, Hermione," she said out loud. She heard a snicker from behind her. She whirled around to see Malfoy standing there.
"Potter catch you and the Weasel in an interesting position?" he asked. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.
"You're sick, Malfoy. It's sad that you have nothing better to do with your time than sit and watch other people have fun. I bet you're jealous, aren't you? You wish you had friends that could actually hold a conversation. I'm sure if you ask your Death Eater father, he'll buy you some new friends," Hermione said. She never broke eye contact. Her eyes were boring into his. She had never felt this brave in all her life. Draco just stared back. She had obviously hit a nerve, and she was glad. A slight smile appeared on her lips.
Draco stared back and clenched his jaw. What she said had hit him hard. Without thinking, he grabbed her wrist and stared pulling her towards his Head Boy room. Hermione fought him. She struggled to get out of his grip, but he held on tight. She couldn't reach her wand, or else she would have hexed the hell out of him. They came to a door.
"Helen of Troy," Malfoy muttered. He dragged her through the doorway and released her. She shut the door and turned to face her. Hermione was nearly in shock. First she was almost kissing Ron on the school grounds, then she was confronting Malfoy, then he was forcefully dragging her away, and then (Hermione still wasn't sure about this part; she was sure she was dreaming now), he had said 'Helen of Troy' just before they entered the most gorgeous room she had ever seen.
"What?" She shook her head, realized that wasn't a very specific question. "What," she continued, "was the password you said?" She bit her lip. Surely Malfoy wasn't the Prince.
"The password?" Malfoy said, looking confused. "What are you on about, Granger?"
"The password!! What was your password?" she said frantically, nearly yelling.
"Bloody hell, calm down. Helen of Troy. That's the password." Hermione looked like she was about to cry. Draco had no idea what he had done. True, dragging her away may have scared her a little, but she was released now. She could even use her wand against him. He thought it was fairly obvious that he wasn't planning to attack her.
"You're kidding, right? How did you come up with that password?" She searched his face to see if he was lying.
"I don't know. Dumbledore made it up. Are you ok? Look, sit down. I'm going to get you something to drink." Malfoy stared at her. He was actually worried. She had freaked out about his password. That was very unlike the Granger he thought he knew. He realized that he didn't know her that well, but he had been watching her and her friends for over 6 years now. He was pretty sure he had a good idea about her. He walked into his kitchen area and poured her a glass of pumpkin juice. He turned around to head back, only to bump into Hermione. The pumpkin juice spilled down her front.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry! Here..." he said, taking a towel and trying to clean up the pumpkin juice. Hermione grabbed Malfoy's wrists. She took the towel out of his hands and put it on the counter.
"It's fine," she said. "Why did you bring me in here?" Draco just stared at her. Now she was acting normal, and he was being the blubbering idiot. He could still feel where she had just touched him.
"I.. well, I just wanted to talk to you," he said. He turned back around and went to rinse out the empty glass. He took a second to clear his head. "Let's go sit," he said, walking back to the couch. He sat down and watched her. She moved so gracefully.
"Well?" she asked once she had neatly sat down next to Malfoy on the couch. She heard him take in a deep breath.
"I'm not a Death Eater," he said. "I mean, I'm not like my father. Nor do I ever want to be. I know you don't believe me, but it's true. A couple years ago, though, I did want to be my father. I wanted to be exactly like him. But after 5th year, I changed my mind. I saw what was happening, I saw the war brewing. And I knew that my father was on the wrong side. I came to Dumbledore for help. He made me head boy so I would have a good excuse of why I can't go home. As sad as this sounds, I want my father to go to Azkaban. He deserves to be locked away forever." He stopped talking and looked at her. He was sure that she would be confused, but she was looking at him like he had just said the most normal thing ever. "You believe me, right?" Malfoy asked.
"Of course I believe you," she said. "I can see it in your eyes." Malfoy was very confused about the way she was acting.
"I don't understand you, Hermione. You freak out about my password, but when I tell you that I've changed sides and that I want to put my father in prison for life, I get nothing. Are you sure you're ok? Have you taken up a new hobby, say... drinking?" Hermione laughed. It was the most beautiful sound Malfoy had ever heard.
"I'm sorry about freaking out about the password thing. I'm-" she paused to think about what she was going to say. She knew she couldn't tell Malfoy the truth. But she had to come up with something. "It's just that I love Greek Mythology. I even named my owl Helen," she said. She hoped he bought it.
"Ok. Listen, Granger. I would appreciate it if you didn't go gallivanting to the whole school that I've gone soft. Especially Potter and Weasley. If they knew I brought you into my room, I'd be hexed enough to land my ass in the hospital for a month," Malfoy said. Hermione nodded.
"I understand," she said. "Ron would definitely have your head."
"Thanks," Malfoy said. He got up and walked her to the door. "Listen, Granger, if you ever need to talk... about anything, you can come to me. My door's always open. And if it's not, you know the password." He smiled at her. She smiled back and stepped outside. She walked quickly towards the Gryffindor common room. As she thought about her conversation with Malfoy, she decided that was definitely the strangest moment of her life.
A/N: I don't know when I'll be able to post next. Spring Break is the upcoming week. I may get another chapter out before then, or I may not. I'll make a deal with everyone... if I get some reviews, then I'll make sure to post another chapter before I leave Friday. If I don't post Friday, then the next post will be after the 22nd.