Hermione
September 1996
Hogwarts
"Detention," Snape drawled from the back of the classroom, "Ms. Granger."
Hermione's hand clenched and unclenched by her side. Each knuckle of her right hand tingled. Not painfully, though to some it could be interpreted as pain. For Hermione, it felt like relief.
In front of her stood Gregory Goyle, his dopey face looking even more perplexed than usual because Hermione Granger, the Golden Girl, had just punched him in the face.
"Ms. Granger, can I ask why you felt it necessary to use physical force in my classroom?" Snape questioned sardonically, having moved from the doorway, now standing over her.
"Sir," Hermione began, her voice feeling as if it would betray her and her ever racing heart. "Goyle approached me aggressively. I did not have enough time to draw my wand for a nonviolent defense."
Goyle looked as if he was about to protest, his mouth, slightly reddened by the hit, opened and closed like a trout. Professor Snape raised a hand and silenced him before he could speak.
"I find it hard to believe that Gregory Goyle could have caught anyone unaware of an attack, " Snape quipped, causing Goyle's face to redden.
Snape wasn't wrong. Goyle was a dimwit. She shouldn't have let it get to the point of physical violence. Though, she couldn't convince herself that she did not feel vindicated in her actions against a painfully dumb, brainwashed, ignorant pureblood.
Just moments before being caught in the act, Hermione had entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom ahead of Ron and Harry. The two had hung back with Seamus to talk about the upcoming Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts which she was simply exhausted hearing about. It was the second week of sixth year classes which meant there was already an unspoken seating arrangement. So Hermione simply made her way to their table.
She had to pass the Slytherin table which was always at the back of every classroom. Hermione dreaded it. Each time she had to brace for what they may say to her. And as of late, she has departed from her typical stance of 'just ignore them,' to something more rooted in anger, and dare she say a bit of hate.
Their beliefs were pure lunacy, Hermione thought during flare ups of emotion when she would stew on the infuriating green and silver clad house. By and large, the Slytherin house was made up of smart individuals. How could they all fall in line with rhetoric that was so flimsy? They really believed that muggle borns stole magic from witches and wizards. As babies! It made no sense, yet they were fully on board with it and let it shape their entire lives with hate and fear.
She was more wary of Slytherins that year than any year prior. Now that Voldemort was back, it was unclear how they'd behave in mixed company. Or how some of them may retaliate seeing that their parents were caught in the ministry raid one year prior.
So she started watching them. At first, she took to observing their behaviors among one another, and then with purebloods from other houses, and then with those they deemed on the outside: blood traitors and muggle borns. Hermione stayed alert for anything that could seem relevant for the fight ahead.
In fact, the whole reason the altercation even happened was because Gregory Goyle of all people, happened to notice that she had been spying on them since the start of sixth year. Luckily for Hermione, Goyle failed to notice one specific change to her observation style. And that was, as for the past week, she really only focused on Malfoy.
After the first week back, and with a week under her belt of sneakily watching the Slytherins, she concluded that they all generally fell into two camps: Wait and see, or ready and willing.
The wait and see Slytherins were the majority. These students appeared more reserved than in previous years; they were almost reserved now. They watched their surroundings just as Hermione watched them. To Hermione, it felt like they were biding their time on making a decision as to what side they would join.
The ready and willing group unnerved her. They radiated pure excitement, like they knew a party was about to begin, and they couldn't contain themselves. She had come to find that they would give muggle borns this look. Like they were marking you as first to go when the war began.
And then there was Draco Malfoy.
At first glance, he was the same old slimy git that he had always been. But when she really paid attention to the blonde Slytherin, she found something was drastically different. Yes he had grown taller since the year prior, and his more boyish features had toned into something more angular and rigid. But that wasn't what Hermione had (specifically) noticed, though she did scold herself when she would linger too long on the way he had physically changed. No, something deeper had changed, almost to the level that Hermione felt concern for him.
Malfoy had disengaged from everything and everyone. He would put on a front, one that gave the impression he was engaging in conversation, or paying attention to something someone said. But there was nothing behind his eyes when he did it. And when he wasn't acting, his look was vacant; lost. Like he didn't care about anything.
On rare departures from his mask, he would lash out. The victims of his tirades would be random, and not even fellow Slytherins were spared from his wrath. In those moments, he was a pressure cooker once the valve had been released. When the pressure neutralized, he would go back to nothingness.
And despite Harry's insistence that Malfoy had become a Death Eater, Hermione couldn't buy it and did not think this was the reason for the change in Malfoy. If Malfoy were to have taken the mark while still in school, he would likely act with bravado; cockiness. But that wasn't what she saw.
Which all comes back to Gregory Goyle, the dumbest Slytherin that ever was, calling her out for it in front of the entire class for spying on Slytherins.
Gregory Goyle had grunted something in her general direction as she had walked by their table before class started. But for the life of her she could not imagine a scenario in which Gregory Goyle would need to speak to her, so she didn't even cast him a glance back.
"Granger, I'm talking to you," Gregory Goyle grumbled, taking a step out from behind the Slytherin table.
Hermione was caught off guard with his direct address to her. She turned slowly to take him in, and the first thought that crossed her mind was, 'how could he have even been admitted into this class?' followed by, 'I thought Snape had standards'.
"What could you have to discuss with me, Goyle?" Hermione responded, sounding exasperated as she placed her book bag down on the corner of the Gryffindor table. She noticed that her lack of tolerance for Slytherins was creeping into her speech.
"Why are you watching us?" Goyle continued, taking a step or two closer to Hermione as he said it.
Hermione feigned ignorance, deciding to play dumb. "I beg your pardon?"
The Slytherin table was now watching their interaction.
"I've seen you," Goyle said in a menacing voice. "Watching us."
Hermione rolled her eyes for effect and sighed. "And why would I do that?"
Goyle grunted in frustration. "That's what I'm asking you!"
Others in the room began to watch, and Hermione noticed a flush creeping up into Goyle's neck, and then to his cheeks. Goyle looked to be embarrassed that a muggle born was making him look foolish.
And that is why Hermione had detention: because she embarrassed a pure blood wizard. And in his anger and embarrassment, he decided to take deliberate and aggressive steps towards Hermione. She should have had her hand on her wand the moment Goyle started talking at her, but she had been distracted, and then he approached her quickly. So she punched him. Hard.
"Sir, I could not get to my wand and Goyle approached me quickly after a verbal altercation." Hermione said through a strained voice, replying to Professor Snape after a pause.
"Goyle was going to attack her!" Ron shouted from the back of the classroom. Ron and Harry must have entered right before Professor Snape did to have seen what had happened.
A sinister smirk materialized on Professor Snape's face. "Two detentions. Ms. Granger."
Hermione had been expecting repercussions when she was caught punching a fellow student, but she did not expect to be punished by proxy for Snape's disdain for all things Harry Potter and his friends.
"That is unfair!" Harry shouted, standing side by side with Ron. Hermione whipped her head around to her two friends, shaking it frantically side to side, desperate to stop them from going any further.
"Three detentions," Snape decided, salivating on the word three. "Ms. Granger."
Hermione mouthed the word 'no" at her friends who looked as if they could mutiny out of their skin. Reluctantly they kept their mouths shut.
Professor Snape gave it a moment or two, hoping to tag on more detentions if he could. To Hermione's relief, Harry and Ron remained quiet.
"Alright then…" Professor Snape finally said, slowly turning to walk to the front of the room to start class.
Ron and Harry carefully made their way to the potions table they shared with Hermione while Snape had his back to them. But as they passed the Slytherin table, Malfoy could not help himself but to comment. Apparently needing to blow off newly formed pressure.
"Too bad," Malfoy drawled, louder than a person who feared repercussions for their actions would. "Looks like you couldn't save your precious little mudblood this time Potter."
Hermione's glare settled on Malfoy's smirking face, and after a moment, his eyes connected with hers. She felt a bubbling rage build low in her stomach as she looked at him, and the feeling was reciprocated in how he stared at her.
"Detention Malfoy," Snape called out abruptly, in a clipped, almost unhinged way.
Malfoy looked like Goyle did after being punched by Hermione.
Professor Snape resumed his walk to the front of the room, never having turned around to even issue the detention. Malfoy pushed out his stool behind him, thrashing the metallic feet of the seat against the stone floor. "What? For saying Mudblood?" he raged.
This time Snape stopped, and turned to face Malfoy. "Three detentions," he said, now giving Malfoy a steady stare. "Mr. Malfoy."
"WHAT!?" Draco Malfoy erupted, spewing pure, unadulterated fury.
"With Ms. Granger," Snape concluded, turning back and continuing his walk to the front of the room.
Hermione whipped her head first to Professor Snape, then to Malfoy, who was already looking at her. Hermione felt something pang in her stomach. Any feelings of possible concern for this vile wizard that she looked at had evaporated. All she felt towards him was hatred.
She forced herself to break away from looking at her future detention partner to locate Harry and Ron, who both had their mouths open, ready for a retort.
"No," she whispered desperately.
Harry and Ron each worked their lips, as if they were fighting back the urge to speak out, but slowly dipped their heads, confirming that they would say nothing more.
She wouldn't dare look at Malfoy again. She couldn't trust what she may say or do if she did. The raw feelings she got while looking at him were already making her feel unhinged with anger.
How in Merlin's name was she going to be able to survive three detentions alone with him?
A throat cleared at the front of the room, derailing Hermione's impending doom.
"Today, we'll cover protection spells," Snape declared, with a ghost of a smile on his lips.