Author's Note:
Just so everyone knows, the "What would the world be like, without..." is from the movie Hook, I didn't make it up, and it ends "without Captain Hook." Maybe it's even from Peter Pan, too, don't know, I haven't read or seen the movie in a while... just putting this up so I don't get in trouble... ;)
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Chapter Three – What Would the World Be Like, Without... Draco Malfoy
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Draco yawned and stretched, and got up to follow Granger. He closed the door behind him and walked lazily behind the Head Girl. She walked and looked through the carriage door windows to see that everyone was behaving. Once or twice she stopped and reprimanded students in the compartment.
Draco didn't really mind following Granger, she did have a nice –
"MALFOY!" The girl, or maybe woman now, stopped and turned around to face Draco.
"What?" Draco said, looking her in the eye. When Draco did, Granger looked away at some point behind Draco.
"You aren't helping me!" She said, glancing at Draco every couple of seconds. Apparently she couldn't speak to someone without looking them in the eye.
"Yeah, I am. And even if I'm not, you're doing a fine job yourself." Draco said, folding his arms and leaning against the window.
"Well, I can't exactly do this," She pointed into a compartment, "On my own!"
Draco craned his neck and looked inside and laughed. Inside was a short first year who was trying to get his trunk on the rack but couldn't because it was too heavy and he was too short. The first years friends tried helping, but, they were all too little. Draco walked into the compartment and told the first year he'd put it up, and while heaving the trunk he said, "What too fucking heavy for you, Granger?"
Granger gasped, and the first years all giggled.
"I'm sorry for cursing, but sometimes I can't help it, not that you'd understand that crap, you're perfect in every way." Draco said, shrugging.
"Malfoy! Please do not use those words in front of them, I could just put you in detention right now!" Granger said angrily.
"What words? I thought I only used one." Draco said, grinning. He was going to get Granger to repeat his curses even if it took up all his energy.
"One in your first statement, and one in your second." She replied smartly.
Draco said his next sentence to himself, but loudly enough so that everyone could hear, "Let's see, I said 'fucking' in the first sentence and in the second... Hmmm... 'I'm sorry for cursing, but sometimes I can't help it, not that you'd understand that crap, you're perfect in every way.'" Draco started talking normally again, "I can't get the second sentence, though I figured that the first was fucking."
"Please stop cursing." Granger said, as she pulled Draco from the carraige and slid the door closed.
"I'm just asking!" Draco said, casually, as he slid the compartment door open again, "And now, I shall apologize," He turned to the first years, "I'm sorry for cursing, even though I only cursed once." He slowly turned his head to look at Granger.
"No you did not! You said 'fucking', and then you said 'crap'." Granger grabbed her mouth and her eyes popped wide open.
"Thank you..." Draco said slowly, grinning wider than ever and closing the compartment door.
"You! I -! Never! How -!"
"Could I?" Draco finished for her, "Easy. I cursed and I couldn't remember what I said, so you reminded me."
Granger slapped Draco on the arm so hard that he knew he would have a bruise there, He rolled up his sleeve and looked at where she hit him, "Oh, how dare you." Draco said simply, and strutted back to the Head Boy and Girl's compartment.
He threw himself onto his seat and grabbed Hogwarts, a History. He opened it up and started reading it while rubbing his arm. It stung, he didn't expect Granger to hit that hard. Well, he didn't expect a lot from Granger in the first place. Well, he hoped he didn't expect much because she was a muggle-born, but because she was a girl. He didn't want the mentality of his father. But not expecting much from her because she was a girl was still being prejudiced in a way... He shrugged his thoughts off and focused on what he was reading.
Several minutes later, Granger walked in, and sat down, without saying anything. Draco glanced at his watch and got up. He was about to leave the compartment when he heard a voice behind him.
"Where are you going?" Granger asked.
"To ask the conductor a question." Draco said, and slid the door closed quickly to avoid more questions.
Still rubbing his arm, he knocked on the driver's compartment door and the conductor's assistant opened it.
"Sorry, I was wondering when we were going to arrive..." Draco asked, and stopped rubbing his arm.
The assistant looked at his watch, "In maybe four hours, you don't need to get changed yet, we'll announce when you should. Don't worry, you'll have enough time." He told Draco, thinking Draco was asking because he was worried whether he was going to change in time.
Draco nodded, "Thanks." And turned around to go back to his compartment.
"So what did you ask?" Granger asked, once he was inside.
Draco restrained from rolling his eyes at her curiosity but remember he was going to be nicer. He also remembered that he was going to be nice only if she didn't meddle in his business. And this was definitly his business. Sort of.
"Nothing." He said, sitting, then bringing his legs up, too, and laying down on the seat.
"Then why did you go?" Granger asked.
"Because."
"So there was no reason..."
"Maybe."
"Will you just answer me?"
"No."
Granger shook her head, "Will you reply with a straight answer? Why are you doing this?"
"It's my business. If you want to get along with me, just stay out of it." Draco replied simply, and he closed his eyes, and started to fall asleep.
As he was drifting off, he felt a pair of eyes watching him. He opened his own eyes and found himself looking right into Granger's.
"What are you looking at?" Draco said, shaking his head.
"Nothing." Granger said, and looked out the window.
Draco was satisfied and closed his eyes again. Again, he felt eyes fall upon him. He would have told Granger to find someone else to stare at, but he was too tired...
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"Malfoy..." Draco heard a voice saying his last name softly. Without opening his eyes, he stretched his arms out and sat up and rubbed his face with one hand. He opened his eyes to find Granger about 3 inches away from his face.
"Ah!" Draco cried, and jumped in his seat, "Get away."
Granger obeyed.
"What do you want..." Draco said in a muffled voice, still half asleep, and ruffling his hair. For a second, Granger seemed to change the way she looked at Draco, but once Draco put his hand down from his hair, she stopped.
"We have to change, we're half an hour away." She said, and waved her robes in front of him.
Draco glanced at his watch. It was five thirty. He cracked his neck, and Granger cringed.
"What?" Draco said, getting up and reaching for his trunk.
"Nothing." Granger said, "Now will you be a gentleman and get out so that I can change?"
Draco didn't say anything until he had his robes in hand and turned to face Granger, "No."
Anger flickered in Granger's eyes.
Draco smirked to himself, And I highly doubt she's going to leave either so, I might as well... He thought to himself, and smirked.
"What?" Granger asked, rather nastily, Draco thought.
Draco turned around so his back was facing Granger and started taking off his t-shirt over his head.
"Malfoy!" He heard Granger say.
He ripped off his shirt, threw it onto the seat and said, "No, I'm not turning around for you, sorry." He smirked behind her back.
"What -? How dare you?" Granger said.
"How dare I not turn around? Easy, I don't know you, and I don't mind not knowing you either," He paused, and shook his head, he shouldn't of said that, his comment wasn't helping the fact that he had to live with Granger for ten months in peace, "And I don't really feel ready to show you what I look like not wearing any clothes. Well, almost not any clothes." He paused to smirk to himself, "So now, you are gaurenteed a few minutes of me not turning around, so if you would like you can change now, or of course, you can leave. Either way, I am not turning around." Draco leaned down and unfolded his robes, sorting out all the clothing. He felt Granger's uneasy eyes on his back, though he didn't know whether she was staring at his naked back in admiration, or because she didn't trust him.
"I swear I won't turn around." Draco said, unbuckling his black belt and pulling it out from his pant loops. He heard a gasp from behind him, which Granger had turned into a cough.
"Granger, please, I'm not going to leave when you're changing so you might as well use the time you have now. And, by the way, you have fifteen minutes." Draco added, checking his watch. Granger gasped again and he heard ruffling of clothing behind him, but no sliding of doors. Draco smiled to himself. People like this were very easy to manipulate. Even though he didn't want to manipulate people anymore, it made him feel too much like his father, but, of course, sometimes he just couldn't resist.
Draco slipped out of his pants and stood in nothing but his boxers, smirking to himself. He heard no more gasps, so he assumed that she, too, had turned around to change, just in case.
He slipped on his black pants that matched his robes, and then his shirt, tie and, finally his black robes, which had green and silver and an embroidered snake on the chest.
"You finished yet, Granger?" Draco asked, lazily.
"No, just a minute, you started first." Granger said, anger in her voice.
"Right, then tell me when you are, because I don't really fancy standing and staring at the wall for another ten minutes." Draco said, and starting folding the clothes that he had just gotten out of.
A couple minutes later, he heard Granger said, "Done."
"Finally." Draco turned around, while thinking to himself that he should have replied more nicely again. But then remembered what he used to say to himself several years ago, What would the world be like without Draco Malfoy? Perfect bliss... and he smiled to himself.
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Author's Note:
I don't know if you read my profile, so here it is:
"Oh, and just so you all know... I posted When Stars Collide story on It's further along on than here, so if you're really anxious, you can switch over to that site. I don't know whether I'll keep posting here, because I'm always on but maybe if I get enough reviewers I'll stay. I won't stop the story, but if the reviews are slow, I'll just tell everyone to read my story on hpff, it's alot easier for me, or if most people wouldn't mind reading there, I'll get rid of it here, but it'll always be on hpff. Please leave your comments in a review... um, I feel like I have something else to say, but I don't know what... Yeah, it's just a hassle posting there, and then having to go back a few chapters to post here. Of course, on hpff, you don't need an account to review!"