Chapter Thirteen: The simple life of a mudblood

That night after Dumbledore had left Hermione, she had tried sleeping. But she was restless. She couldn't sleep. She just laid there in her bed moonlight streaming in from the large windows, shining on her as she thought about the previous visitor. He's still my enemy. Hermione had been telling her self that ever since Dumbledore left her to her thoughts. Why did it have to be him? Why did he have to save me? But the better question is why does a loathed enemy have to have such beautiful mysterious eyes? Eyes I want to stare into, but I know I can't. I shouldn't even want to!

She kept squeezing her eyes shut trying to sleep and forget Malfoy had ever caught her, but it wasn't easy. It seemed it was her whole life at the moment, she couldn't even be happy about Rome now. I can't stay in here, not in the Hospital Wing. I'm better. I'm fine. I need to be back in school. Completing my Potions project, that I incidentally have to do with Malfoy. She sat up in bed and took the covers off, in a way her body was still aching, but she knew her body was just getting over tired because she had not moved it in so long. She stepped her feet onto the cool marble floor and slipped on her shoes with a yawn she picked up her bag and went to Madam Pomfrey's office.

"Madam Pomfrey?" She asked weakly knocking on the door.

"Yes Miss Granger, is every thing okay?" Madam Pomfrey said immediately opening the door.

"I want to go back to my dorms, I feel well now and I wish to return back to my classes before they end for the summer,"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm fine,"

"Well then," Madam Pomfrey said, "all of the Professors will be aware tomorrow that if you look drowsy to send you right back here. If you feel any pain at all just tell them and head straight back here immediately, you suffered a near death experience,"

Oh don't remind me…"Alright," Hermione said, "Good night,"

"Good night dear, do you need some body to take you back to the Gryffindor Tower?"

"I'm fine," Hermione said and left. She felt her self get unbelievably tired on the way back though. She had to find the proper stair cases to get up to her room, and carry all of her books. When the Port Whole door opened she dropped her bag in and looked into the common room.

Three familiar heads raised and her best friends raced towards her, "what are you doing back so soon?" Ginny asked getting her bag.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Harry asked worried.

"Missed us that much didn't you?" Ron asked smiling.

She smiled and nodded as they guided her over to the comfy crimson couch in the middle of the Common Room. She sank into it and looked at her friends, "It's good to be home. I couldn't stand that hospital wing for another minute,"

"We knew they couldn't keep you in too long," Harry smiled.

"Yea, we knew you couldn't keep out of class for more then," Ron looked at his watch, "about three days,"

"Even if I was dying of a incurable disease they couldn't," Hermione stated proudly, "I'm glad I had the work Malfoy brought for me to keep my sanity for that long,"

"Has he come back?" Ginny asked, "Malfoy,"

"Yea," Hermione said, "he did tonight,"

"What happened?" Ron asked, thinking it highly irregular for Malfoy to just randomly visit. He knew her friends would take back any thing she needed even if he was appointed to the duty.

"I thanked him, and apologized," Hermione said staring at the fire in the fire place, "He told me I made the trip to Rome this summer, we had a small and civil conversation. But I think it got too civil for his comfort so he left. He saved my life, but I think it's wise for all of us to say, it doesn't change a lot. I mean we will possibly not be at each others throats constantly any more. None of us meant for this to happen, it just did, he's still Malfoy, right?"

"Right," said both Harry and Ron.

"Yes," Ginny said, "but you must admit. It will change some things,"

"Like what?" Ron said, "We'll still be low life Gryffindors to him, Hermione will still be muggle born to him. He just saved her life and every body knows it. It's not as if he's superman. He was just there. His father follows Voldemort!"

"Oh Ron," Ginny sighed, "you know you shouldn't-,"

Ron ignored and interrupted her, "we all know his father broke out of Azkaban, all of the still-alive Death Eaters did, Malfoy is going to get the dark mark soon enough. We can't just begin to trust him and be nice to him because he saved Hermione; he is still the old Malfoy!"

Harry looked at Hermione, who seemed to be taking in every thing Ron said with deep consideration, "He's right you know," Harry said.

"For once," Ginny said quietly, Ron glared at her.

"Oh I know," Hermione said, "and I really agree...but it's difficult to completely believe that Malfoy is my only reason for living right now. I've accepted it and all...but it's just difficult to believe after such an experience even if we all know it's true, he's probably just going to go back to being the same terrible Malfoy," Hermione sighed and chuckled, "but what would we do with our lives without our common nemesis?"

"Get through the day happy?" Harry said.

"Breathe easier?" Ron said.

"Then the only problem with school would be learning," Ginny laughed.

"Exactly," Hermione said, "We couldn't have had as much in all of our Hogwarts adventures and near death experiences if it wasn't for Malfoy giving us away and making them more difficult would we?"

"Suppose not," Ron said, "but we could have gotten in trouble other ways! We aren't that intelligent you know Mione…,"

Eventually they had changed the subject of Malfoy. No one really felt there was much more to say except Hermione. But she didn't know what she wanted to say about it so was content with the change of subject. Ron and Harry talked about Quidditch and Ginny talked to Hermione about what she has missed in the basic Hogwarts Gossip. She was confident that senseless, air-headed rumors may put her mind at ease or at least off Malfoy. Although she never did judge from gossip as any one could tell from her negative opinion on it but Hermione knew if she ever needed information, Ginny was a reliable resource. That is when it came to the social life of the school.

The "new stuff" with Hogwarts was: Hannah Abbott is planning to ask Ron out. Pansy Parkinson has been declared the sleaziest witch in Hogwarts by the girls of Ravenclaw house. Draco Malfoy is the new school hero and idol. Hermione has become the luckiest damsel in distress since Rapunzel. Neville Longbottom has gotten his first girlfriend, Luna Lovegood has gotten her first boyfriend (the school is happy for the new couple, except for Slytherins who still laugh at the two of them but claim to have more to laugh at). Luna Lovegood now sits at the Gryffindor table with boyfriend Neville Longbottom, there was a fire in the Herbology class held in the green house caused by Sandy Finnigan (Luna calmed Neville down before he got to Sandy, considering Herbology was one of the only things Neville was good at) and votes and opinions for the Head boy and girl next year would be held next week.

I thought the Professors chose the most competent. Hermione thought later that night back in her own bed. Padma and Hannah are much prettier and popular then me, I hope they don't damage my chances. Pansy wasn't much of a worry and she was the only other female prefect. But unfortunately the gossip wasn't the only thing on Hermione's mind. The other thing on her mind was how she was going to stop this whole Malfoy ordeal. The gossip had not been ridiculous enough to get her mind off Malfoy. He was still an enemy, he just happened to be there with his beautiful eyes when she was falling. She wouldn't let this get complicated. Her life would stay simple as it always had been. This couldn't change any thing; it's not that big of a deal.

Her life was about facts, truth, and knowledge. She had always been taught: all work and no play may make Hermione a dull girl but all play and no work makes Hermione a dumb girl. It was some thing her parents said when she received her Hogwarts letter. Other then that they informed her that the academic life is complicated enough and she need not worry about boys or a family until after her education. That's why the long-distance relationship with Viktor ended and the almost relationship with Harry last Christmas never began. Just being friends with Harry and Ron had already broken half of those rules, but Hermione's parents still supported her friendship with the boys. They said Harry and Ron needed a good influence like her as long as they don't make a bad one on her first. Which unbeknown to her parents was a times a close call.

Letting this whole Malfoy thing get to me farther then it has to would be stupid. I know he isn't good. I'm thankful towards him and if he's in a life/death situation I'll help him out, but I can't let myself think stupid things like being friends with him. I can't let this one moment in time cloud my vision of who Malfoy is. And with all of these thoughts gathering up in my mind of possibilities, knowing it and just letting it go isn't easy. How can he be so bad? When I looked into his eyes I saw some thing there that wasn't there before...NO, nothing was there. Nothing at all; there was nothing! But what if it was some thing? No, it was nothing...nothing at all...The more Hermione told her self it was nothing, the more she believed there was some thing there that wasn't there before. As she fell asleep she wondered to herself, why do I feel like this event might change every single thing or nothing at all?