Okay, so I said I would update on Thursday, but I got bored of studying for Nationalism and figured I might as well be vaguely productive and write something. So, voila! A quickie update! Enjoy! Oh! A word of warning: this chapter contains more bad words than I would normally use, but they seemed in character and thus necessary for the story. Sorry about that.
Ten minutes into potions and she had received more than 20 small pieces of parchment from her two best friends. Harry tended to be rational and calm in his inquiries, simply wondering what had led up to Malfoy's change in behavior. Ron was downright indignant in his notes, unable to formulate more than single sentence statements, each with at least two to three uses of the 'F' word. Not that she wasn't prone to use the word in cases of anger or tension, but she tended to rely on more sophisticated words to express her emotions. Or at least, she liked to believe that she did. Regardless, she decided to ignore the many notes they send her way and address their concerns after class at which time she hoped to have come up with a suitable answer. Fact was, the truth seemed all too unbelievable.
However, despite her wishes to make time move slower and for once have a longer Potion's lecture than usual, class was dismissed all too soon leaving her with some very impatient friends.
"What did that fucking bastard do to you, Hermione?" snarled Ron, clenching his fists in rage. 'Typical brainless barbaric male defend-territory reaction' she gather, used to his outburst by now. A few years hanging around the red headed boy had made her an expert in understanding his moods. "Just tell me what he fucking did and I'll kill him", he continued, looking as if he was about to blow off in rage. She let out a long, deep sigh, preparing herself for the worst.
"He didn't do anything Ronald" she replied, using her motherly voice accompanied with his full name to add some sort of authority to her speech. She would need all her persuasive abilities in order to convince these two that everything was, indeed, alright. "We agreed to be civil to each other, nothing more. We're gonna be working together all year so it was the least we could do. Doesn't mean I dislike him any less than before, just that I am more willing to put my own feelings aside for the sake of my responsibilities. And for Merlin's sake Ron, please try to speak less vulgarly". He grunted in reply, his anger releasing, only to be picked up by Harry.
"You're gonna be friends with a death eater!" demanded the golden boy who was quickly losing all semblance of the composure he had maintained until now. "Dammit Hermione! You're smarter than that! The guy hates us. We hate him. That's the way it works. You want to hold up to your duty as head girl? I say you go to McGonnagal and accept that you two can't work together. She either splits the tasks evenly or picks someone else. Simple as that. There is no need for you to lower yourself to the level of that jackass for the sake of some stupid responsibility". "Is that would you'd have me do, Harry!" She snapped, her voice as cold as that of the blond boy in question. "Throw away years of work and studying to achieve this position just because my pride won't let me potentially patch things up with someone else? Let my own arrogance stand in the way of my better judgement? Because I'm not lowering myself to his level any more than he is sinking to mine. We are simply being civil. Polite. Not enemies. Might actually make my life this year easier, for that matter, not to have to tolerate Malfoy's bickering". Harry and Ron looked at the floor defeated, though both dreading what they knew was a plan doomed to fail. Holding on to his last argument, Harry added.
"He's still a death eater, Hermione" he said simply. "You're good intentions can't change that. He is and will always be the enemy, no matter how many times you choose to deny it and coat it in pink. Because in the end, when we have to fight Voldemort, there will be no place for civility when you're wands are pointed at each other. Think about that and tell me you're not lowering yourself." With that, he turned and left the room, Ron trailing afterwards. She let out a deep breath she didn't know she was holding, and let herself sink back onto her chair.
"He's not a death eater" she mumbled to herself. "He's not. He can't be. He isn't". She continued to repeat, as if the mantra would help her resolve. She truster her judgement, knew she had read the signs right and that Malfoy, terrible as he was, would never be a death eater. But what if she was wrong? Years of making the right decisions to be turned meaningless at one single grand misjudgement. 'I can't be wrong', she thought, more decisively, only to add out-loud, with conviction. "He is not and will never be a death eater". Picking up her books, she stood up, determined not to let this lessen her resolve to make this a successful year. 'Harry and Ron be damned', she thought. 'They'll get over it'. With that, she allowed herself the smallest of smiles and left towards her next class.
Author's Note: Firstly, thanks for all your reviews! I finally broke 50! Secondly, I wanted to see if people enjoyed last chapter's chronological overlap of witnessing the same events through Malfoy's eyes. Please add this into your reviews since I'm considering doing the same in this chapter (could he have overheard?). I sorta write as things pop into my head so anything and everything could happen so send in your suggestions and I'll hopefully update by Thursday or Friday!
