AU!

Written for Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

HOuse: Thunderbird

Class/Task Number: DADA. Duelling: fight

Bonus Prompts:

(spell) Expelliarmus

(colour) red

Word Count: 2664/4500

What Are Friends For?

Draco decides to finally teach Ron a lesson for all the times he's mocked and hurt Hermione.

1991

Hermione sniffled as she rushed into the girls' lavatory on the second floor, tears forming in her eyes. How could Ron Weasley talk about her like that? Did he think she was such a nuisance? Did the others think that too?

When she had arrived at Hogwarts, she had been so excited to finally meet other children who could do the same things she could. But her dreams had been crushed by Ron Weasley, and she felt heartbroken.

She yanked open the door of the first stall and hid inside, crying her little heart out. She thought of going to McGonagall and asking her to send her back home, not wanting to stay at Hogwarts for longer than necessary. She didn't feel like a Gryffindor at all, she had only wanted a friend but she was unsuccessful.

Draco Malfoy was walking past the toilet when he heard the sound of her soft sniffling, and he blushed as he snuck into the lavatory to look for her. He called out, "Uh, who's there?"

Hermione sobbed, "Leave me alone!" She buried her face in her hands and let the tears stream down her face.

Draco frowned and called out, "Granger? Is that you?" He knocked on her door and said, "What's wrong? Are you crying?"

"No, I'm having a party in here!" Hermione barked. "Leave me alone, Malfoy — this is the girls' toilet!"

"Don't be so sarcastic — tell me what happened."

"Why do you care? You hate me too!"

"I don't recall saying that, Granger. And I'm sort of bored, so you can share your pity story with me." Draco jumped onto the counter and waited for her to answer him. When she didn't reply, he sighed and said, "Come on out, Granger, I'm getting my clothes dirty here for you."

"I didn't tell you to stay here, so you can leave now. Thank you." Hermione scowled at the door, thinking of how annoying Draco was.

"I can't leave… My clothes are dirty, I'm in the girls' toilet, Merlin, do I need to go on? My reputation will be ruined. I won't be able to show my face in society ever again. Granger, come out and give me your robes."

"My robes? Are you crazy?" Hermione was so angry at Draco that she threw open the door and stormed out of her stall to confront Draco. "Listen to me, you prat, you —"

"Merlin, your eyes are so red! How long have you been crying? Merlin, at least you're not crying anymore. Now, sit here and tell me what's wrong with you," Draco said, patting the spot beside him on the counter.

Hermione stared at him with disbelief; he had annoyed her into agreeing to his demands. She scowled but had no choice but to sit beside him. She didn't want to go out and face Ron Weasley after his hurtful comments, but she knew Draco didn't care about her feelings either. He was simply bored.

She stared at Draco's feet as he swung his legs back and forth, silently wondering if she should tell him what had happened earlier. He nudged her with his elbow and said, "Well. Go on…"

Hermione sighed sadly and whispered, "You'll make fun of me too. I don't want to talk about it."

"You won't know if I'll make fun of you or not — not until you tell me what happened. If it's funny, I'll laugh. If it's not, I'll even help you, okay?"

"Why should I trust you? You're a Slytherin… You hate Muggle-borns."

"I'm not evil, Granger. I do have a heart — yes, I might annoy you all the time, but I'm just an innocent-looking kid." He batted his eyes at her, trying to look bashful.

Hermione couldn't help but snort at his antics. "You? Innocent? Puh-lease!"

"I am innocent, Granger. Now, enough about my innocence… Tell me, why were you crying? Shouldn't you be in class right now?"

"Shouldn't you be in class too?" Hermione retorted, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt.

"Don't change the topic. Tell me what happened — or do you want me to go tell everyone you're crying in here?"

"It's embarrassing, Malfoy… Please don't laugh at me," she whispered as she peeked at him shyly.

"Fine, I promise I won't laugh at you — now, tell me. Waiting for you to talk is so annoying!"

Hermione took a deep breath and said, "Ron was mocking me for getting the Levitation Charm right on the first try… He called me a… a nightmare… He said that's why I don't have any friends… I was just trying to help him!"

Draco stared at her for a few seconds and asked, "And? That's it? That's all you're crying for?"

"It hurt, Malfoy! I don't expect you to understand how I feel. You've got loads of friends! I only wanted one friend — is that too much to ask?" she cried, tears forming in her eyes again at Draco's callousness.

"Granger, yes, I hang out with them, but they're only with me because of my parents. Do you think I'd ever want to deliberately hang out with Crabbe or Goyle? Do I look like a moron?" He hesitantly patted her head like she would attack him any second.

She sniffled and looked up at him with confusion. "So they're not your real friends?"

"No, they're not. I've never had any real friends either. All of them, they only want to make my parents happy — that's all."

Hermione suddenly threw her arms around his waist and buried her face in his shoulder. "I feel sorry for you, Malfoy. At least I don't have any fake friends…"

Draco scowled at her and grumbled, "I was trying to make you feel better, but you're —"

"Will you be my friend, Malfoy? I don't want to be your friend because of your parents. I just want to have a friend," Hermione whispered, looking up at him with teary eyes. Draco felt his heart race in his chest at her words.

"You… want to be my friend? This is weird. You're a Gryffindor, I'm a Slytherin. Worse, you're a Muggle-born — my parents will kill me!"

Hermione's shoulders drooped at his argument and she said, "I understand… It's okay." She jumped off the counter and started to walk towards the door. Draco cried out as he jumped off and rushed towards her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Wait, Granger. I didn't say I wouldn't be friends with you. I was just listing down the reasons our friendship might be doomed… I'll be your friend."

"You will? Aww, thank you, Malfoy! No matter what people say, you're a big softie, aren't you?" Hermione giggled as she hugged Draco again. Draco groaned and placed his hands on her shoulders awkwardly.

"Don't you dare tell anyone. I'll kill you," he muttered under his breath, making Hermione shake her head and laugh at him.

"I won't. I'll be the best friend ever, you'll see!" Hermione swore, gazing up at him with happiness. Draco didn't know how happy he had made her with his agreeing to be her friend, but she promised herself she would always be there for him.

1992

"Granger, do we need to go to this Duelling Club? It's going to be so boring!" Draco whined as he slumped forward in his chair.

They were in the library looking for Duelling spells, and Draco was getting bored. He was one of the best students in their year, but Hermione was always determined to learn more about magic. He did admire that about her, but she could be so adamant about things that it would get on his nerves too.

"Malfoy, this is important to me. If you don't want to come along, that's fine. I'll go anyway," Hermione muttered, flicking through her book and reading about the Disarming Spell.

Draco scowled at her but she didn't notice as she was too busy reading. She had learned how to manipulate him without even lifting her pinkie, and he was annoyed with himself for teaching her his tricks.

"Fine, we'll go, but if it's boring, we'll sneak out of there. Deal?"

"Deal." Draco didn't notice Hermione's little smirk. Once again, she had successfully manoeuvred the situation to her advantage.

Later that evening, the two of them went to the Great Hall and found it bedecked in dark drapes. In the centre of the hall was a golden stage upon which Gilderoy Lockhart climbed.

He beamed down at the students and called out, "Gather round, gather round! Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent. In light of the dark events of recent weeks, Professor Dumbledore has permitted me to start this little Dueling Club, to train you all up in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I have done on countless occasions — for full details, see my published works."

"Professor Lockhart is awfully brave, isn't he?" Hermione sighed longingly as she gazed up at the man on the stage.

"Awful, yes. Brave, I'm not sure about that," Draco said, rolling his eyes. He didn't like the Defence Professor or the way Hermione seemed to swoon over him.

"He's done so much for the Wizarding World, Malfoy," Hermione squealed, staring at Lockhart as he introduced the students to his assistant, Professor Snape.

"He could do something even better — disappear in the blink of an eye and never return," Draco muttered, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Don't be rude."

"Listen to your girlfriend, Malfoy," Ron taunted from where he stood nearby. "Even she prefers Lockhart over you."

"Sod off, Weasel," Draco barked at him, his hand inching towards his pocket, but Hermione's hand on his wrist stopped him.

"Leave us alone, Ronald," Hermione said darkly, turning to face the stage again.

Ron sneered and said, "I'm not talking to you. Do you realize people just tolerate you?"

Hermione looked taken aback at his rudeness and she lowered her eyes to the ground. Draco saw the shimmer of tears in her eyes and he bristled with barely-suppressed fury. "Weasley, I envy people who haven't met you."

Ron sneered at him and snarled, "No one cares what you think, Malfoy. You've got —"

"Weasley, pay attention! Five points from Gryffindor," Snape barked at him to Draco's relief. Ron grimaced and stepped away from them.

"He's not the dumbest person alive, but he better hope that the person doesn't die," Draco said in a low tone, trying to cheer Hermione up.

Hermione sniffled but gave him a weak smile. Draco leaned forward and said, "His arse must be so jealous of all the shite that comes out of his mouth, right?"

Hermione laughed softly and squeezed his hand to thank him silently. He was her best friend and he always made her smile with his witty and sarcastic insults. Draco looked relieved that she felt better, but he knew this wouldn't last for long. He needed to do something about Ron Weasley.

The two friends watched the two professors demonstrate the Disarming Spell. He had already learned it — Hermione had forced him to learn the spell with her. They had practised the spell in an empty classroom again and again until they had mastered it.

"Perhaps it would be prudent to first teach the students to block unfriendly spells, Professor." Snape's voice was saccharine-sweet as he stared at Lockhart.

"An excellent suggestion. Let's have a volunteer pair. Potter, Weasley, how about you?" Lockhart motioned for them to come up to the stage.

"Weasley's wand causes devastation with the simplest spells. We'll be sending Potter to the hospital wing in a matchbox. Might I suggest someone from my own house? Malfoy, perhaps," Snape said calmly as he motioned for Draco to get onto the stage.

Draco turned his head and looked at Hermione, he knew she would start panicking about his safety. He lowered his voice and said, "I'm going to avenge you, Granger. Legally."

Hermione's eyes widened when she heard him. "No, don't try —"

"Oh, Snape's giving me an opportunity — I'm not wasting it," he said with a smirk as he climbed onto the stage. Hermione groaned and covered her face with her hands.

"Professor, might I duel Weasley instead? I'd rather duel him with his broken wand," Draco said to Snape calmly.

He looked down at Draco with barely-disguised horror. "You want to duel Weasley? Mr Malfoy, do you know what the consequences might be?"

"I'll be fine, Professor. I want to duel him."

"Very well," Snape said, turning to look at Ron. "Mr Weasley, you're going to duel Mr Malfoy."

Ron stiffened and looked at Draco maliciously. They stood opposite each other and waited for the duel to start. When Lockhart reached the count of two, Draco thought, 'This is for all the times you made fun of Granger, you arse!'

"Tarantallegra!" Draco's spell hit Ron's feet and Ron's legs started flailing around uncontrollably. Ron fell to the ground as he tried to stop his feet from dancing.

Draco clenched his fists as he thought of the last time he had seen Ron mocking Hermione for her buck-teeth. He remembered the way Hermione's cheeks had turned beet-red with embarrassment, and Draco had a feeling his blood was just as red at the moment.

"Flipendo!" Draco snapped as he cast the second jinx on Ron. He thought of how Hermione had cried herself to sleep, her eyes red with tears, after Ron had told her to use a glue stick instead of chapstick.

Ron cried out with shock as his feet slipped out from under him and he fell backwards, his wand still clutched in his hand. When he managed to stand up, he waved his wand at Draco and a burst of blue light flew from his wand. Draco ducked and rolled onto the ground before the light could hit him, standing up immediately.

Ron looked annoyed as he tried to wave his wand at Draco again, but Draco yelled, "Engorgio!" An icy blue light hit Ron's nose and it immediately started to swell profusely. Just like when Ron had cursed Hermione's teeth to protrude way past her lower lip, and Hermione had burst into tears at the spot.

"Mr Malfoy, I said disarm only," Lockhart called out, but Draco ignored him. He intended to humiliate Ron as much as he could; he would avenge Hermione for all the times Ron had taunted her over the year. He had promised her he would look out for her, and he would do just that.

"Rictusempra!" Ron cried, but Draco quickly fell onto his front to protect himself from the miscalculated spell.

He sneered at Ron and thought, 'I'll get you, you weasel…' He shot to his feet and barked, "Mimblewimble!" Ron was hit with the blue light that erupted from Draco's wand and he felt his tongue tie itself in knots. Maybe now that his tongue was tied, Ron would know what Hermione felt like when Ron humiliated her in front of their peers.

Before he could do anything, Draco cast a Trip Jinx at him and he face-planted onto the stage. Ron felt blood spurt out of his Engorgioed nose and whimpered in pain. He tried to get up but was stopped by Draco's wand pointed straight at his face.

"Expelliarmus!" Draco hissed. The students all watched Ron's wand fly out of his hand and clatter to the floor of the Great Hall. There was absolute silence in the hall as they waited with bated breaths.

Draco leaned down to whisper to Ron, "Mock Granger for anything she does again, Weasley. I dare you. I'll make this all look like child's play."

Ron stared up at Draco with horror and shook his head fervently. "I-I'll a-apologize to her, I s-swear!" he choked out in fear.

As Draco jumped off the stage and sauntered over to Hermione's side, Ron thought, 'Looks like we were wrong about Malfoy. Maybe he can care about someone else.'

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