The next morning at breakfast, Hermione tried her best to walk straight past the mostly empty Slytherin table without looking over to where Malfoy was sitting. Her cheeks flamed as she thought of what he would say if he knew she had dreamed about him.
But she knew she would have to face up to him some time.
They had been set a Herbology assignment over the Christmas break, and Professor Grubbly-Plank had chosen who they would work with. Seeing as they were both staying at Hogwarts over the holidays and the teacher thought Hermione would be a good influence on him, she paired Hermione and Draco together.
Naturally, none of them were too thrilled with this decision. They were supposed to organise a time to meet up and work on it, but that didn't seem very likely to happen.
Suddenly Hermione felt a tap on her shoulder and heard a throat being cleared. She turned round and nearly choked on the piece of toast she had been chewing when she saw Malfoy standing above her with that same turned up nose he had whenever he was around her.
He saw the look of confusion and disgust that had registered on Hermione's face and found himself thinking back to the humiliating time he had let her filthy hands hit him across the face. He steeled himself, looked into her eyes and tried to sound as confident and condescending as he could while he said "I'm going up to the empty charms classroom on the fourth floor to start the Herbology project. Come on."
He didn't want to use the word "we". It sounded too friendly, and even if they did have to work on a project together that did not mean they had to enjoy a single second of it.
"Um..okay. Just let me get-" there was no point in finishing her sentence; he was already walking away.
When Hermione had gotten over the shock of Draco's relative politeness, she grabbed her bag, books, and the last piece of toast and rushed after him. She caught up to him just as he reached the staircase, and they began to walk up together. Draco walked as fast as possible in order to not have to stand next to her.
"Oh! Wait, I forgot my quill at the breakfast table. I'll be right back!" She began to hurry back down the stairs but he pulled on her arm and without a word or so much as a glance, took her Herbology notebook from her hands and carried on up the stairs.
She ran into the hall, picked up her quill from where it had fallen under the table, and huffed and puffed her way back up the staircase. Living in Hogwarts, no one could ever be completely unfit with the amount of stairs they had in that place.
When Hermione first opened the charm classroom door, she thought there was no one inside. But then she noticed Draco sitting on the top row next to the window. She walked over and saw that he was hunched over her notebook, squinting at her squashed up handwriting and trying to copy her notes into his own book.
Hermione grabbed her book out of his grasp and held it out of his reach. She wasn't afraid of him. She wouldn't be intimidated by him anymore.
"If Professor really is making us work together, then that is what we are going to do. We're going to work together. I won't let you just copy my answers." She said indignantly.
Malfoy glared up at her through the rays of sunshine gleaming through the glass window.
"Fine, Granger. Fine. Although i dont much see the point in your existence if it isnt to show off and prove to everyone else that youre the most intelligent witch of your age. Thats what theyre calling you, isnt it? Intelligent. I'd just call it sucking up personally."
His voice leered, and there was a certain sharpness to his words that made Hermione feel like they were meant to hurt her as much as possible.
She turned on her heel and began to walk back in the direction of the door. She didnt have to deal with Malfoy, and she most certainly didnt want to. She would just tell the teacher she wanted to work alone for this task.
Suddenly she felt a hand on her arm, holding her back. She knew it was him before she had fully turned around, but it still came as a shock to see him standing so close.
"Look, i dont want to work alone. Let's just do the stupid assignment and get it over with okay?"
She had never heard him speak like that before. Like a normal person, with actual feelings. For the first time, she could hear the different layers his voice and words held. doubt, frustration, loneliness.
Hermione had only ever heard him being rude and obnoxious, and yet somehow it did not surprise her that beneath all that hid this different Draco... It was as if she had always seen through him on some subconscious level, and now that side of him was showing,it still seemed to fit her faulty image of him.
And so that was how it went. They sat back down next to each other, letting the sunlight caress the top of their heads as they worked.
Hermione kept leaning over him to cross out a sentence or correct a misspelled word on his piece of parchment, and Draco kept thinking of snide comments to make about her work, but he kept them to himself.
Eventually the sun warmed them up so much that they got uncomfortable, and they took off their cloaks. Draco's white hair went well with his shirt and the silver in his tie, and so now he looked a little less like a vampire as he sat next to the bushy haired and warm eyed Hermione, who had rolled up her sleeves and loosened her bright and colourful tie and looked as much like a Gryffindor as Draco looked like a Slytherin.
She glanced over at him. She had seen a much milder version of Draco Malfoy in the last hour. He had muttered to himself as he wrote, and had let Hermione correct him, even though she was constantly preparing herself for a biting comment or retort from him. He was clever, and the answers came easily to him, but he got frustrated and gave up far too quickly.
He would slam down his pencil and run his fingers through his icy hair, curling his lip and looking like he had eaten a sour lemon. At first Hermione ignored him in fear that he would lash out at her, but when he had done this three times she looked over, read theough what he had written and rubbed out his mistake. She had then gone back to her notes without looking up at his face. A few seconds later she felt him move back to his paper and heard him pick up him pen and continue to write.
He never once said thank you.
Very soon the lesson was over, and Malfoy was collecting his things from the table.
Hermione could feel her face burning as she saw him glancing at her in the corner of her eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, maybe thank her or say goodbye, but before she could lift her eyes to his face he had turned and strode out of the room, his black cloak hanging from his arm.
But she knew she would have to face up to him some time.
They had been set a Herbology assignment over the Christmas break, and Professor Grubbly-Plank had chosen who they would work with. Seeing as they were both staying at Hogwarts over the holidays and the teacher thought Hermione would be a good influence on him, she paired Hermione and Draco together.
Naturally, none of them were too thrilled with this decision. They were supposed to organise a time to meet up and work on it, but that didn't seem very likely to happen.
Suddenly Hermione felt a tap on her shoulder and heard a throat being cleared. She turned round and nearly choked on the piece of toast she had been chewing when she saw Malfoy standing above her with that same turned up nose he had whenever he was around her.
He saw the look of confusion and disgust that had registered on Hermione's face and found himself thinking back to the humiliating time he had let her filthy hands hit him across the face. He steeled himself, looked into her eyes and tried to sound as confident and condescending as he could while he said "I'm going up to the empty charms classroom on the fourth floor to start the Herbology project. Come on."
He didn't want to use the word "we". It sounded too friendly, and even if they did have to work on a project together that did not mean they had to enjoy a single second of it.
"Um..okay. Just let me get-" there was no point in finishing her sentence; he was already walking away.
When Hermione had gotten over the shock of Draco's relative politeness, she grabbed her bag, books, and the last piece of toast and rushed after him. She caught up to him just as he reached the staircase, and they began to walk up together. Draco walked as fast as possible in order to not have to stand next to her.
"Oh! Wait, I forgot my quill at the breakfast table. I'll be right back!" She began to hurry back down the stairs but he pulled on her arm and without a word or so much as a glance, took her Herbology notebook from her hands and carried on up the stairs.
She ran into the hall, picked up her quill from where it had fallen under the table, and huffed and puffed her way back up the staircase. Living in Hogwarts, no one could ever be completely unfit with the amount of stairs they had in that place.
When Hermione first opened the charm classroom door, she thought there was no one inside. But then she noticed Draco sitting on the top row next to the window. She walked over and saw that he was hunched over her notebook, squinting at her squashed up handwriting and trying to copy her notes into his own book.
Hermione grabbed her book out of his grasp and held it out of his reach. She wasn't afraid of him. She wouldn't be intimidated by him anymore.
"If Professor really is making us work together, then that is what we are going to do. We're going to work together. I won't let you just copy my answers." She said indignantly.
Malfoy glared up at her through the rays of sunshine gleaming through the glass window.
"Fine, Granger. Fine. Although i dont much see the point in your existence if it isnt to show off and prove to everyone else that youre the most intelligent witch of your age. Thats what theyre calling you, isnt it? Intelligent. I'd just call it sucking up personally."
His voice leered, and there was a certain sharpness to his words that made Hermione feel like they were meant to hurt her as much as possible.
She turned on her heel and began to walk back in the direction of the door. She didnt have to deal with Malfoy, and she most certainly didnt want to. She would just tell the teacher she wanted to work alone for this task.
Suddenly she felt a hand on her arm, holding her back. She knew it was him before she had fully turned around, but it still came as a shock to see him standing so close.
"Look, i dont want to work alone. Let's just do the stupid assignment and get it over with okay?"
She had never heard him speak like that before. Like a normal person, with actual feelings. For the first time, she could hear the different layers his voice and words held. doubt, frustration, loneliness.
Hermione had only ever heard him being rude and obnoxious, and yet somehow it did not surprise her that beneath all that hid this different Draco... It was as if she had always seen through him on some subconscious level, and now that side of him was showing,it still seemed to fit her faulty image of him.
And so that was how it went. They sat back down next to each other, letting the sunlight caress the top of their heads as they worked.
Hermione kept leaning over him to cross out a sentence or correct a misspelled word on his piece of parchment, and Draco kept thinking of snide comments to make about her work, but he kept them to himself.
Eventually the sun warmed them up so much that they got uncomfortable, and they took off their cloaks. Draco's white hair went well with his shirt and the silver in his tie, and so now he looked a little less like a vampire as he sat next to the bushy haired and warm eyed Hermione, who had rolled up her sleeves and loosened her bright and colourful tie and looked as much like a Gryffindor as Draco looked like a Slytherin.
She glanced over at him. She had seen a much milder version of Draco Malfoy in the last hour. He had muttered to himself as he wrote, and had let Hermione correct him, even though she was constantly preparing herself for a biting comment or retort from him. He was clever, and the answers came easily to him, but he got frustrated and gave up far too quickly.
He would slam down his pencil and run his fingers through his icy hair, curling his lip and looking like he had eaten a sour lemon. At first Hermione ignored him in fear that he would lash out at her, but when he had done this three times she looked over, read theough what he had written and rubbed out his mistake. She had then gone back to her notes without looking up at his face. A few seconds later she felt him move back to his paper and heard him pick up him pen and continue to write.
He never once said thank you.
Very soon the lesson was over, and Malfoy was collecting his things from the table.
Hermione could feel her face burning as she saw him glancing at her in the corner of her eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, maybe thank her or say goodbye, but before she could lift her eyes to his face he had turned and strode out of the room, his black cloak hanging from his arm.