a/n Thank you to my reviewers We Are the Walrus, Hollywood, Sugar'N'SpiceRin, Songstress-nemesis and stunt101. I write because you review.
I dreaded the coming Saturday. A feeling erupted in the pit of my stomach as each minute ticked by and every hour seemed fly away. God Saturday was too soon. Maybe I could cancel? Scared of a little Slytherin, a traitorous little voice whispered in the back of my head. It was Friday…
"No," I retorted out loud causing Harry and Ron to look at me in surprise.
"No what?" Harry asked a worried look on his face. I chose not to answer. "Listen Hermione, you haven't been acting like yourself lately. Is everything alright? Is there something that you're not telling us?"
"N-No," I said unconvincingly.
"'Mione," Ron said and I glared at him.
"I told you Ron, I don't like that name," I scowled. There was a reason why I didn't like that name. It sounded too close to Mine; I didn't like people to think of me as theirs.
"Hermione, stop being difficult and just tell us what is wrong," Harry said. I lied. Hey don't look at me that way! I can too lie; I just don't lie a lot because I find it wrong. I panicked what did you expect? What if Malfoy heard that I told them? Hell he'd probably guess I told them the minute they beat him up. So I lied.
"I'm just worried about the potion that Snape is having me and Malfoy do. It has only been done correctly once and that was by the creator of the potion." Ok, I can't lie very well, so I incorporated part of the truth into it. Just a tiny bit though…
"Sound difficult," Ron said turning back to his homework. Not that he was doing, instead it had little doodles all over the paper. Boys!
"I'm sure you can do it," Harry said and I smiled.
The rest of the day seemed to fly by and soon I was staring at Ron eating his diner. Why did he eat that way? It was so… grotesque. So I was off to the library today.
"Why does she always go to the library?" Ron wondered in a low whisper that I heard as I was leaving. I smirked, if only he knew…
I should have learned that I should not go to the library. You'd think that I learned better after all those run-ins that I had with Malfoy. It hadn't sunk in yet that Malfoy went to the library during meal times. So I went to the library and who did I meet? Yep you guessed it, Malfoy.
"Granger," Malfoy drawled stepping out from the shadows.
"Malfoy!" I squeaked jumping almost five feet in the air. Ok, so it wasn't five feet, but it felt pretty high.
He chuckled and sat down on the seat opposite of mine. I glared at him.
"What?" He asked smirking at me.
"Is there a reason why you're here?" I asked angrily. Why couldn't he just leave me alone?
"None in particular," he grabbed a book off the table and browsed through it. "I just like to annoy you," he smirked. I felt like hitting him over the head with the rather large Hogwarts A History in my hand.
"Well you succeeded, now can you leave?" I asked grabbing the book out of his hand.
"No," he said simply leaning back in the chair to watch me. I may have been afraid of Malfoy a while ago, but it had dissipated now that he was here in front of me and acting like his normal ferrety self. "I have better things to do then bother a Mudblood on a Friday night," he snarled suddenly and got up and left.
I grabbed up my books shoved them into my bag and left. It was that simple, I had left on my own terms, but for some reason I still felt like he won. I did get something out of it though, I was no longer afraid of him.
"Granger," looking up I saw Blaise Zabini come out of the shadows.
"Um, hello," I said. I usually didn't talk to Blaise or fight with him like I did Malfoy. He was Malfoy's best friend though, I knew that much.
"Do you know where Malfoy is?" He asked and I scowled at him.
"What makes you think I know where he is?" I asked and he lifted an eye brow at me.
"He said that he was working on your potion with you," he said.
"Well he was in the library, but it wasn't to help me," I snorted. "He said he had better things to do on a Friday."
"Hmmm," Blaise said before suddenly sliding back into the shadows and disappearing. Slytherins give me the creeps.
"Hermione," Ron said coming out from the shadows after I had walked a few feet. I squeaked and jumped high. Ok, what was it with people and coming out of the shadows today.
"Yes Ron?" I sighed thinking about all the things I could be doing at that moment. Yes I had some homework due next month that I have yet to do.
"Do you know where Harry is?" Ron asked and I scowled. I do not know why everyone expects me to know where all these people are! I'm not a bloody psychic!
"No, why would I?" I scowled.
"Because he said he was going to the library…" Ron began, but we heard Harry's voice floating from an empty class room.
"Did you lock the door?" Harry's voice said and a girl giggled.
"Harry?" Ron called. Honestly sometimes Ron can be so thick! Obviously Harry didn't want to be disturbed. Ron went into the class room and I heard him yelling.
"Ron calm down," the girl said and I identified the voice as Ginny's. Uh oh. Harry and Ginny had been going out in private since the summer, but Ron had yet to find out about it.
"She is my bloody sister!" Ron shouted. I don't know why I did it; it is the bloody stupid Gryffindor in me I suppose. Yet I had to do something, so I ran into the room.
"Ron calm down," I said grabbing onto his waving arm.
"Calm down? CLAM DOWN? HE IS WITH MY BLOODY SISTER! Did you know about this?" Ron shouted at me.
"Yes, but…" He didn't give me a chance to speak.
"Bloody hell," he yelled.
Obviously his shouting would draw people, but I wished the person who showed up hadn't. Malfoy came, the bloody prat, can't he mind his own business.
"How long?" He yelled at Harry.
"Since the summer," Harry said honestly.
"SINCE THE SUMMER! DID NO ONE THINK TO TELL ME?" He was shouting again.
"Ron," I said.
"KEEP OUT OF IT!" He shouted at me flailing his arms about. Then one of his flailing arms hit me in the face. That is when I first noticed Malfoy in the door. I fell to the ground blood spilling out of my nose.
"Fifty points from Gryffindor Weasley, for attacking the Head Girl," Malfoy said coolly.
"What?" Ron asked then looked around and saw me. Pain was surging through my face and I knew I looked a mess. "Hermione! Sorry, I didn't mean to…" I didn't get to hear the rest of it though.
"Shut up Weasley, she doesn't need to hear your apologies; she needs to go to the Hospital Wing." Malfoy sneered.
Then he pulled me upright. I swayed slightly and I grabbed the closest thing… Malfoy. As soon as I realized what I did I released his shoulder, but the room began to spin again. He then grabbed my shoulders, steadied me and then led me out of the room towards the Hospital Wing. How un-Malfoyish.
"Gods Granger," he sighed as he pushed me through the door. "Can't you stay out of trouble?" How strange coming from him, he usually is the one causing me trouble. "Dumbledore sent me to get you; he has something to tell both of us."
Oh my god! I panicked. Dumbledore was going to take away my Head Girl badge, I knew it. I racked my mind searching for something that I had done wrong. Maybe I had taken too many points one time, or gave out too many detentions. Well it was obvious why he was taking away Malfoy's badge, he did nothing.
"Oh God," I muttered over and over again as Malfoy sat me on a bed. "Oh God, I'm going to get my badge taken away."
"I think not Granger," he snorted.
"What happened?" Madame Pomphrey shrieked when she saw my face.
"Is it that bad?" I asked Malfoy, but he just smirked.
"Leave," she said to Malfoy pointing to the door.
"Dumbledore told me to get her, I have to stay with her until we get to his office," Malfoy said. Ah, so that is why he stayed with me… God for a second there I almost thought Malfoy had a heart! What a strange idea!
"Fine, fine," she muttered as she fixed up my face and wiped away the blood.
I ignored the pain until it went away, leaving a dull throb in my nose. Malfoy was by the exit, slouched in his chair a scowl on his face. It was obvious that he didn't want to be there. I felt like telling him to just leave, but it hurt too much at the moment.
"Come on Granger," Malfoy said once Madame Pomphrey deemed me ready to leave.
We walked the hall in silence, side by side. I was thinking about how just this morning I was afraid of him, but now I wasn't. How quickly that had changed… Strange.
"Don't think I haven't forgotten about getting you back Granger," Malfoy said smirking. "I decided though that I should warn you, pay back is tomorrow. Bright and early," then he gave the password to the gargoyle and walked onto the spiral stairs.
I shivered; ok maybe I was still a little afraid of him. No, not him. Let me correct myself, I'm afraid of what he will do.
"Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy. It has been decided that to show unity, the Head Boy and Girl will be sharing a dormitory," Dumbledore said pleasantly. I looked at him open mouthed. How he could damn my life to hell and still have that annoying smile on his face was lost on me.
"Alright Head Master," Malfoy said and then left the room I followed him at a run.
"Alright? Alright? Malfoy this is terrible!" I said running to keep up with him.
"It helps with my plan," he smirked. "Anyway Snape already told me, I know the password and the location. Follow me Granger, your trunk is already there," with that he swiftly walked away. The billowing of his cloak gave me the feeling that he spent a little too much time around out bat like Potions Professor. Great I get to live with minny Snape.
We walked through dust ridden corridors. Each portrait was snoring lightly and I just realized how late it really was. Strange that Malfoy said he had better things to do on a Friday night then spend it with me, but here he was doing exactly that. The lights flickered lazily casting our shadows against the walls in their eerie light. Wind bellowed outside and the window pane at the end of the corridor rattled. In other words this passage way creeped me out.
Malfoy stopped and I ran into him and fell down. He looked down at me with a raised eyebrow then turned to the portrait in front of him. I scrambled up and looked at the portrait. It was of a sleeping boy and girl sitting by the base of a tree. Their lights snores could be heard even though I saw them both open their eye lids a bit to peek at us. They weren't really sleeping at all.
"Unity," Malfoy grimaced and the boy and girl yawned and stretched, all fake mind you.
"Hello, I'm Lea and this is Kyle," Lea said smiling at us.
"Hello, I'm Hermione Granger and this is Draco Malfoy," I said smiling at her before scowling at Malfoy for his rudeness.
"Right, unity," he said and Lea scowled at him.
"Is he always like this?" She asked me.
"No, actually this is his nice side," I said and she grimaced.
"I guess they don't choose Head Boys like they used to," she shrugged before opening up for us.
Wow, that was all I could think as I stepped through the portrait hole. Wow. It was big, no humungous, no; there was no word for how gigantic it was. It was just wow. Gold and silver lined the walls, twisting and diving here and there. The carpet was a soft mix of red and green. A large staircase was at the center leading to the bathroom and Malfoy and my rooms. It was wow. There was a warm crackling fire with a couch in front of it. Desks stood in the corner and bookcases ran along one wall. Wow.
Malfoy looked around a scowl on his face. None of this seemed to faze him, but then he was filthy rich so he had probably seen better then this. He presence couldn't even damper my happy mood though. I mean if I have to be damned to hell with Malfoy, at least it is a comfortable hell.
"Night Mudblood bet you can't wait until tomorrow. I know I can't," he smirked at me and went upstairs to his room. I just watched him go wearily. Suddenly I realized that I was tired. I trudged up the stairs and went into my room.
Double wow… There was a huge bed tucked into the corner with a red comforter and gold hangings. The carpet was a rich red and a small desk sat against the wall. The walls themselves were covered with the posters I had hung in my last dorm and I smiled at them. I guess I could get used to this, but not Malfoy. I could never get used to Malfoy. Crookshanks meowed and jumped onto the bed. I pet him before changing into my clothes and getting into bed. Harry, Ron, Ginny, Malfoy and his payback all fled from my mind as I melted in between the covers.
a/n Tell me what you thought about it!