Romeo && Juliet: A Harry Potter Love Story: Chapter III
Hermione was almost nervous to face Draco. "Great. I gotta pair up with the Mudblood," she heard him mutter under his breath, emphasizing the last word. Hermione's eyes contracted into slits. "Wow, I wonder what I did to get paired up with such a slimy git," she whispered just loud enough for him to hear. Malfoy looked at Hermione. He raised his eyebrow with an amused smile. "Ooh, sharp, Granger. We could keep going on and on at this but right now, I'd like to try and memorize my lines. Which you seem to have." Hermione glared at her boots as she handed his script over. Draco snatched his script and muttered a reluctant " 'nks."
The pair studied their lines for about fifteen minutes before successfully memorizing them. Hermione glanced at Draco's lithe form, toned in all the right places thanks to years of Quidditch practice. 'Wha— HERMIONE JANE GRANGER! Why the HELL are you thinking about Draco Malfoy in that way? He's your arch-nemesis for God's sake!' "Well Malfoy, are you ready or not?" "Ready as I'll ever be." Hermione then put her hand up as instructed. Draco noticed that they were going to be the first to audition. He wasn't quite sure if this was a good thing or not. Draco followed Hermione up to the stage as she beckoned to him. He sneaked a peek at Hermione. She certainly was a good-looking girl, no doubt about that. 'God, why did the Mudblood have to be so pretty?' he wondered. Sure, he had tried to make her life miserable for the past six years, but he had always felt that there was something about her. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, just that he was, in a way, attracted to her. 'GOD DAMNIT, MALFOY! WHAT THE HELL? NO, YOU ARE NOT ATTRACTED TO GRANGER! SHE IS A LOWLIFE MUDBLOOD WHO DOESN'T DESERVE YOU!' screamed the side of him that was still prejudiced and proud.
Soon it was time to audition. They managed their lines well, except when Granger stuttered a little at the beginning. And Draco was putting all those Drama classes he used to attend when he was younger to use. Though he hated to say it, Granger seemed like a pretty good actress as well. Who knew she had such talent? 'AARGH, THERE YOU GO AGAIN! SHE JUST GOT LUCKY, THAT'S ALL! SHE IS NOT A GOOD ACTRESS!' 'Well, I think we have a good chance of getting the lead roles.' said the part of him that was ever so slightly attracted to her. Which brought Draco back to the fact that if they did get lead roles they would have to kiss. Or at least come into very close contact. 'I don't mind,' thought Draco. ARGH! He was doing it again. God. Why couldn't he forget about that stupid Mudblood? He shook his head.
Hermione and Draco were then called over by McGonagall, who had the faintest hint of a smile on her face. "Well done, Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy. In fact, although it's still much too early to tell, I dare say that the two of you have a very high chance of scoring the roles of Romeo and Juliet. But we'll soon see…" Hermione shot a horrified glance at Draco, while Draco just stared at McGonagall, dumbfounded. "Well, the two of you may leave now. Go run along…" The two shook their heads, glared at each other again and left after thanking Professor McGonagall.
"Well, Granger, I certainly hope you're happy." said Draco, stepping in front of her as she walked through the corridors. Hermione looked at him confusedly. "Thanks to your brilliant acting, we may have to pretend to be madly in love with each other during rehearsals, and the play." Hermione stared at him with an open mouth. "Wha—Excuse me? It's not my fault I acted okay. And anyway, it's not like I would've made a fool of myself on purpose in front of everyone watching. And why are you putting all the blame on me? I was watching you just now. It seems like you've taken some drama classes. Not that you need it, 'cause you're a natural drama queen. Besides, didn't you hear what McGonagall said? She said though we have a very high chance of getting the lead roles, they haven't decided yet. "
Draco glared at her, unable to find a witty comeback that was usually at the tip of his tongue, ready to be fired at someone. "Well… Just hope to God that we don't get chosen to play Romeo and Juliet. I don't think I could stand a minute having to pretend to be in love with you. "My feelings precisely, Malfoy. Anyway, if you don't mind, I'd like to get into my house." Draco looked at her questioningly. Hermione raised your eyebrow. "You're blocking the portrait." Draco turned, and found himself in front of a very annoyed-looking Fat Lady. Grimacing, he stepped to the side to let Hermione get to the portrait. She turned and looked at him meaningfully. "Now what?" he asked crossly. Hermione glared. "I've got to speak the password, don't I?" Draco cringed in embarrassment. Out of comebacks, he stomped back to his own house, but ended up tripping on his robes, and he fell flat on his face. Hermione could barely control herself; even the Fat Lady was laughing at him. This was brilliant. Two big screw-ups in one day, in front of Granger. The Malfoys never 'screwed up'. He shook his head. Falling for Hermione Granger was obviously very bad for his internal system.