Chapter 11: I Can't Get Her Out Of My Head …
The loud cheering of the crowd was giving Draco a headache. Though he usually welcomed the students' passion and love for the most popular wizardry sport in the world Quidditch, it was hard to enjoy watching it while he was a small human.
At least Granger has allowed me to watch it and not sit in her pocket, he thought bitterly. At the present moment, Draco was perched on Granger's shoulder, still as small as a mouse, but was allowed to watch the first Quidditch match of the season. He was surprised when Granger said she was letting him watch it live and had asked her why, but she pretended not to have heard him.
Hermione, meanwhile, had thought she was behaving more cruelly towards Malfoy lately than he had been to her. All the professors (even Snape) had believed that Malfoy was very sick and couldn't move from bed. Amazingly enough, none of the Professors had bothered to come to the Heads Common Room and check up on him. She had no idea why that was, but she assumed they believed her enough and didn't have to seen Malfoy actually being sick for themselves.
But still, she felt she was treating him a little unfairly. She had been kind enough to conjure up a small bed like the ones you would find in dolls' houses for him to sleep in and shrunk a pair of his pyjamas. Malfoy was always surprised at her actions and she would then think he would apologise.
But he wouldn't.
Instead, he complained about the fact he wasn't able to run his training sessions with the Slytherin Quidditch team as captain and that she probably wouldn't let him watch the upcoming Quidditch match. He seemed pretty annoyed and threatened to make her life even more hell if she didn't let him watch the weekend's match. As if life with you wasn't hell enough already, Hermione had thought to herself.
And that was why he was sitting on her shoulder. Of course, Hermione had to sit somewhere where nobody would see the miniature Malfoy sitting on her shoulder so she chose a sit up the back of the Gryffindor stands, right at the end of a row in the corner.
Draco shivered as the cold November wind blew against him and he tightened his robes around him. Granger was going to shrink his cloak for him, but he called her a Mudblood again, earning him a jab on his small body and ringing ears as she yelled insults at him. He watched as the two teams, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff flew into the air to begin the game. To him, they all resembled very large, coloured dragons as they flew around the pitch.
"Oi, Granger!" he yelled in her ear.
"What?" she snapped, annoyed he was taking her attention away from the game.
"Wanna a bet on how long it'll take Higgins to score for Hufflepuff?"
He saw her roll her huge brown eyes. "Is that all you think about? Betting and Quidditch?"
"Hey, that's got nothing to do with it. I just want to see how long it'll take Higgins to realise where the Hufflepuff keeper is guarding is where she shots for goal. I mean, she did give my team twenty points for us last year which I must say was very generous of her –"
"Oh shut up, Malfoy," Granger snapped, and she turned back to the game, her hair flicking across Draco.
"Oh touchy, Granger," Draco smirked. "Just wondering how Scarhead managed to let her back onto the team after that fiasco. She must have been pretty blind to not notice where the correct goalposts are."
"For your information, Malfoy, she got back in the team because she was more talented than the other people who tried out. She knows what her mistake was and she's learnt from that. Stop going on about it."
Draco grinned to himself seeing Granger's angry eyes as he turned to face her. He had to admit she looked rather cute when she was annoyed with him. The way her eyes light with such fire in them was amazing … wait, what the hell are you thinking?
He smacked himself in the head and leaned against her mass of bushy, curly hair. It was still green and was slowly getting lighter and slowly back to brown by the day. The brown wasn't noticeable yet though, green was still the dominate colour.
Not able to resit the temptation, he ran his fingers through it, losing them in the green hair. It felt surprisingly soft and glowed from the sunlight streaming onto it. Goosebumps travelled up his arm and spread through his body and he wondered if she could feel him running his fingers in her hair.
A loud roar interrupted his thoughts and brought him back to earth. Realising what he was doing, Draco withdrew his hand from Granger's hair and moved away from it as far as possible without falling off her shoulder.
"FELICITY HIGGINS SCORES! TEN – ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"
"Wanna reconsider that bet, Malfoy?" he heard Granger ask smugly in a sarcastic tone.
Draco merely grumbled to himself in reply. He didn't know what the hell he was doing before, but he didn't want to get to that thought again.
Felicity was on top of the world. She had scored the first goal of the match and to the right team. Now everyone was sure to forget what she did last year and admire her courage to get up and act like nothing happened. That was her new motto too, stand up, forget what happened and move on.
Felicity was amazed that Harry had even let her back on the team as Chaser instead of a Beater. She had hit the Bludger exceptionally well in the try-outs and always hitting the right target. Oh well, maybe if one of the Beaters got really sick, she would be able to fill in for them.
She leaned forward on her broom and charged after one of the Hufflepuff Chasers, Hannah Abbott, who was holding the Quaffle. Her grip on the broom handle slipped, causing her broom to roll over and she dropped the Quaffle. Felicity dived down underneath her and caught the red ball, turning around and flying back towards the goalposts. She heard a whirring sound and she glanced over her shoulder to see a Bludger heading her way.
"Ginny!" she called frantically, looking round for her fellow Chaser. She couldn't see Ginny anywhere and the Bludger was coming closer to her at a very dangerous speed.
"Oi, Flick!" Dean Thomas zoomed out of nowhere a few metres in front of her. She threw the Quaffle to him and he caught it. He flew a little closer to the goalposts and dodged the Keeper to score.
As the Gryffindor stands celebrated another goal, Felicity flew a little higher and scanned the area for the missing Chaser. She found Ginny floating on her broom a few metres above her. She growled angrily to herself and zoomed up in the air towards her.
"Why weren't you there to catch the Quaffle if I threw it to you?" she asked angrily. Ginny didn't answer and instead was gazing downwards. Felicity followed her gaze and her eyes widened.
"You're watching Harry?" she asked in disbelief. "I thought you got over him …"
Again, Ginny didn't hear her. Felicity shook her head and clicked her fingers in front of Ginny's face.
"Come on, Ginny, did you forget where you were? We're in a Quidditch match against Hufflepuff and you are a Chaser for Gryffindor. Harry needs to search for the snitch and he doesn't need you staring at him while he concentrates!" Felicity growled angrily. "And I really shouldn't be telling you this in the middle of the game!" she added. "Wake up!" She clicked her fingers again.
Ginny blushed and blinked a few times at Felicity. She took off to fly a little ahead of Dean who was being chased by both Hufflepuff Beaters. Felicity shook her head again and flew back into the game.
Meanwhile, Ron circled the goalposts, watching out for the Quaffle being thrown towards him. Nobody had come to him within the past ten minutes though so he was just flying smoothly in the air. He was thankful that the Beaters for Gryffindor Andrew Kirk and Jack Sloper were hitting the Bludgers towards the Hufflepuff Chasers, making them drop the Quaffle and keeping them away from his goals.
As usual, he was extremely nervous, but he tried to keep his cool. As his team captain and best mate, Harry told him not to worry and do the same thing as he did two years ago at the Quidditch final. It was good he was able to remember that game well, as it had been his best performance yet. He didn't do too well last year, even though Gryffindor had won the Cup again.
He seemed to be doing well so far though, so Harry's advice was working.
But as he circled the goalposts there was one face that kept entering his mind: Annabel. He imagined she was there in the stands, watching him which gave him a slight bit of confidence. Though, it was distracting him from what was happening in the game as he remembered her sweet laugh … the laugh that seemed to light up his world.
"Oi, Ron! Wake up!"
Ron mentally shook himself just in time to see the Quaffle flying towards the left ring. He leaned over to the side and caught it, almost slipping off his broom in the process. As the Gryffindor supporters cheered at the save, he threw the Quaffle to Felicity who gave him a disapproving look before flying off. He frowned after her thoughtfully. What on earth is wrong with her?
A few feet above him, Harry was searching for the Golden Snitch, ready to chase it as soon as he spotted it. As he searched for the gold ball, he looked over at the stands to where Hermione was sitting. She wasn't watching him at the moment, but her eyes were instead on Dean who had the Quaffle.
He felt a cold wave of disappointment wash over him. Maybe she wasn't supposed to be the girl for him, only a friend. He shook his head and resumed his search, wondering where the snitch had gotten to.
A few minutes later, he felt someone else was staring at him. Was it Hermione? He glanced back at the stands where she was still staring at the Quaffle. No, it wasn't her. He looked around and suddenly met a pair of brown eyes, staring intensively at him. Ginny blushed and turn away from him, flying after Dean Thomas who had the Quaffle.
Harry stared thoughtfully after her, watching how she caught the Quaffle and threw it into the goalpost, scoring another goal for Gryffindor. Ginny then flew over to Felicity and high fived her, smiling happily at her achievement.
His heart leaped for some reason as he saw that gorgeous smile, the smile that seemed to make the sun shine brighter on her. He couldn't figure out why that was, but there was something about Ginny that just made him feel suddenly breathless. He found himself remembering the first day at breakfast when he gazed into her brown eyes … the eyes that sparkled like the night skies.
A female voice yelled out and interrupted his thoughts, both in a panicked and angry tone. "Oi, Harry! What are you doing? Zacharias Smith is after the snitch!"
Harry snapped out of it to see Felicity glaring at him. She pointed downwards repeatedly. He followed her finger to see a yellow speck racing after a small golden ball. He looked at her in confusion. He suddenly couldn't remember what to do.
"WELL DON'T JUST FLOAT THERE AND STARE AT ME LIKE AN IDIOT!" Felicity bellowed in reply. "GET GOING, DAMN IT! YOU CHASE AFTER IT!"
Now he remembered what he was supposed to be doing. He panicked and immediately dived down towards where Zacharias was. The crowd cheered loudly, all up on their feet as they watched the Seekers chase the snitch. Zacharias seemed to be getting close to the snitch while Harry was miles behind. The Gryffindor supporters started to panic.
"Come on, Harry! You can do it!" Hermione called.
"Give it up, Granger, he ain't going to make it," Malfoy replied smugly. "He's too far behind. Looks like Gryffindor is not going off to a great start."
"Oh shut up, Malfoy, it's not over yet," Hermione snapped. "Harry's come out from behind numerous times and won. He'll get it, just you wait."
"Come on," Harry murmured. "Faster." He leaned forward on his broom to speed up, the wind blowing against him. Zacharias seemed to have slowed down, probably thinking he had the game in the bag now. Harry noticed the Seeker was riding a Nimbus Two Thousand, a rather outdated broom these days. He couldn't help, but smirk as he caught up to the Hufflepuff on his Fireblot, easily overtaking him.
Now he was in front, Harry could see the snitch within arms reach. He leaned forward even more and reached his arm out to get the snitch. Within seconds, he had caught the tiny ball, feeling it flutter in his grip. The Gryffindor crowd went wild as he caught it, celebrating their win.
"HARRY POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE GOLDEN SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY TO TWENTY!"
"Now, wasn't that worth watching, Malfoy?" Granger asked over the loud cheering of the Gryffindor crowd. She was smiling happily and clapped enthusiastically as the Gryffindor team flew around the pitch.
"Not really," Draco replied, folding his arms. He really had expected Higgins to score in the wrong goalpost today. Lucky he didn't place an actual bet on it. "That was such a lucky grab though," he continued sarcastically. "I mean, only half the team was paying attention. For instance, Weaselhead looked very distracted, having to lean to catch the Quaffle. What was he thinking about, being a Keeper in the World Cup?"
He snorted in amusement. As if Weasley would ever get into the World Cup level. Granger didn't find that funny though, as expected.
"Oh shut up, Malfoy," she sneered, picking him up by his robes. "That's enough for today, back in my pocket." She dropped him into her skirt pocket and zipped it up three quarters of the way.
Draco growled and folded his arms moodily. He wondered how long his freedom of sun and clean air would last.
Meanwhile, the Gryffindor team dismounted after a victory lap and went into the change rooms to get changed. Harry was in high spirits, happy that Gryffindor were top of the competition already.
"Good match everyone," he said, as everyone removed their red robes. "A little more hard work and we'll beat Slytherin in the new year."
The team mates cheered in agreement, congratulating each other. Only one player didn't join in and instead glared at a few selected players as they changed.
"Yeah, but we would have lost if I didn't tell you Zacharias had seen the snitch," Felicity snapped, frowning at Harry. "And you would have let a few goals in if I didn't warn you," she pointed at Ron. "And you –" she had turned to Ginny, "stop going to dreamland and keep an eye out for the Quaffle!"
She approached Harry and jabbed a finger in his chest. "Honestly, why did it have to be me to motivate the team today, hmm? That's your job, Captain! You don't seem to be setting us a good example so you might as well make me Captain or wake up to yourself!" She past him and headed out the door, flinging her small sports bag over her shoulder while carrying her broom in the other hand.
"What on earth is wrong with that girl?" Ron asked, staring after her.
Harry shook his head. "I don't know, but she did remember which end to score today, that's for sure."
Felicity walked back up to the castle, her feet stomping on the grass as she went. Why was it her that had to get the team moving and make sure they were doing their jobs? She didn't need that kind of pressure on her!
She wondered what had gotten into Harry, Ron and Ginny today. They certainly didn't have much focus during the match, which was odd, even for Ron. They had all seemed to be in their own worlds … dreamland, she mused. What a silly place to be while playing Quidditch.
"Lumos," he murmured in the darkness of the tunnel.
The tip of his wand lit and Draco stood up, careful not to bump his head on the low ceiling of the tunnel. He walked quickly through the tunnel, focusing his mind on what he had to do. His one and only love was in danger and it was all because of him. He had to get her out of this mess, to somewhere where she would be safe and in the meantime, he would take care of his father …
The tunnel began to slope upwards and now Draco could see a room that was dimly lit ahead of him. He quickened his pace and entered the room. It was empty. A bloodcurdling scream echoed above him. Frightened, he called her name and sprinted up the old creaking staircase. There was only one closed door on the landing. Draco approached it cautiously and pushed it open. He gasped at the sight.
"Hermione!"
"Draco," she breathed out. "It's a trap. He's here!"
"Don't worry, Hermione, I'm here." He went to free her, but was kicked to the ground.
"Crucio!"
Draco woke with a start, panting heavily and his heart racing. He lifted a hand to his forehead and felt that it was covered in sweat.
He felt as if he could feel the pain of the Cruciatus Cursespreading through his body and torturing his mind, begging for it to end. This wasn't the first time he had experienced it, he knew how it felt to have the curse upon him. Lucius had used it on him when he misbehaved many times when he was a little boy and quite frankly, he didn't want the curse on him ever again.
Once the pain went away, Draco started to wonder what the dream had meant. He had had the same dream since the first night back at Hogwarts, but this one was different. To him, the dreams had started to become like pieces of a puzzle. A puzzle that was eventually meant to be solved, but he was getting random pieces of it and he was supposed to make sense of the pieces to solve the puzzle.
He knew one part of it, the voice that yelled, "Crucio" was Lucius. The man he was after, the one who killed Narcissa. Draco's mother, who was the only one who would ever love him. Why Lucius wanted to torture Draco was beyond him but maybe Lucius wanted to kill Draco. Perhaps he had never felt any affection towards his son and wished that he didn't even have one.
Draco didn't have a clue.
Pushing the thoughts of Lucius and his mother aside, Draco wondered why Granger was in the dreams and why he seemed to be very - no wait, extremely -worried about her. It was like he was afraid that she was going to die and he was going to lose her. It seemed like he was in love with her or something …
Draco shook his head frantically and lay back down. No, that can't be true! It was just a dream, just a horrible nightmare. Just like the other nightmares I've been having since the beginning of term. I could never fall in love with a Mudblood like her.
What is the point of calling her a Mudblood? Honestly.
Draco rubbed his eyes thinking he was still very drowsy. Why else would he have just thought there wasn't a point in calling her a Mudblood? He'd called her that for five years. It would be like him asking her what was the point of calling him a "selfish, arrogant, self-centred bastard".
Well, because you have been a selfish, arrogant, self-centred bastard towards her. Not just the last six years, but more so this year because you're both heads. You're always thinking of yourself and making yourself the boss of everything. Whenever she suggests something that sounds sensible, you insult her and push her away. You refuse to contribute to the Prefect Meetings and won't walk with her during patrols.
But above all, you refuse to change the way you are.
Draco blinked and slowly sat up, now coming to the realisation that Granger wanted him to get which would eventually come to two small words. The two words that were never usually in the same sentence when it came to Draco Malfoy and two words that going to be hard to admit out loud:
I'm sorry. I'm actually sorry for the way I've been acting towards her this year. I refuse to co-operate with her and to listen to her advice on things.
I'm sorry.
He glanced over at the clock beside Granger's bed. It read five-forty five am. Well, she usually gets up in fifteen minutes. A little wake up call won't hurt her and besides, she'll probably thank him for it. Especially since he had now come to his senses and wanted to apologise.
Draco swung his legs out of the bed and onto her bedside table, jumping down onto her soft mattress. It was a good thing Granger had made him sleep in her room even if it was for her to keep an eye on him and making sure he didn't escape. It saved him the trouble of walking a long way from his room to her room. He really couldn't have been bothered to walk the distance if they weren't in the same room.
He crept up next to her huge sleeping figure and leaned near her ear.
"Gran-ger," he drawled, brushing some of her green hair aside so he could speak clearly into her ear. She didn't seem to have heard him as she continued to sleep. He rolled his eyes and tried again, this time a little louder.
"Granger!"
Still no answer.
Draco groaned in frustration as he remembered his voice only came as a tiny squeak unless he shouted very loud. "GRANGER!" he bellowed in her ear. She murmured a little, but didn't move a muscle.
Draco rolled his eyes once again and lied down on the soft mattress. She really was a heavy sleeper no matter how much she would try and deny it once he said so. He would have to wait until she woke up herself to apologise.
Suddenly, a large shadow fell over Draco and he was pressed very hard against the mattress, darkness surrounding him and choking his lungs. He wiggled and squirmed frantically, trying to get the 'big giant' off him.
"HELP!" he screamed. "GET OFF ME!"
"What the –" he heard a murmur and the blackness vanished as the 'giant' rolled off of him and stared at him sleepily. "Malfoy, what the hell are you doing in my bed?" she asked suspiciously, picking him up by the collar of his pyjamas as he panted heavily.
"You nearly killed me, Granger!" Draco shouted at her, panting heavily. "I only came up here to give you the realisation you have been waiting for a couple of days and this is all –"
"Wait, am I dreaming?" Granger asked, rubbing her eyes with her free hand. "Malfoy, the miniature human, has finally come to apologise for being such a –"
"Yeah, yeah, save me from the all the insults you're going to throw at me otherwise I won't say what I have to say," Draco sneered, folding his arms. "It's hard enough for me to actually think it, let alone say, it you know."
"Right. I'm listening now," Granger said, looking wide awake now.
Draco took a deep breath before speaking. "I have come to the realisation that I am being a selfish, arrogant, self-centred bastard. I'm selfish in the way I take this job and making it so that I am the boss of everything and that I don't need you to follow everything that I say.
"I have realised that for us to at least somehow act civil we have to work together which also means patrolling together. Same thing with being self-centred and as for being arrogant, I shouldn't be insulting you every single minute of the day."
He took another deep breath. "So, in short –" he paused, almost choking on the words he was about to say, "I'm sorry."
Granger looked at him as if she was trying to figure out whether he really meant it or not. Then she smiled smugly. "I knew you would figure it eventually. When you're small and have nothing to do, you look at the bigger picture. That's why I did this to you."
"Well, are you going to change me back?" Draco snapped, looking forward to being normal again.
"Are you ever patient? Just give me a second to find my wand."
"One," Draco muttered to himself as she got her wand from her bedside table. She then placed him on the ground and pointed her wand at him.
"Enlargio," she murmured. A yellow spark blasted from the wand and hit Draco on the chest, like someone had punched him rather hard.
He felt as if he was being stretched out and the ground was getting smaller as he grew larger. Suddenly it stopped and he fell on top of Granger, worn out and dizzy from the sudden growth in height. Granger yelled in shock and tried to push him off her, but he was too heavy for her.
"Malfoy, get off me this instant!"
"Hold on a minute," Draco murmured, trying to stop his head from spinning. He raised his head from her shoulder slowly and turned to look at her.
His eyes widened as he studied her face. He had never been this close to her, even when he was small. He leaned in a bit, wanting to see more as he got closer to her face. He was intrigued by what he saw in front of him … and he had no idea why. Her features looked so … angelic. He had to see more, but he didn't get to. Instead, he felt a stinging sensation on his cheek and Granger used all of her strength to push him off her.
Draco immediately sat up and rubbed his cheek where she had slapped him. "Merlin Granger! You are being the impatient one at the moment."
"I'm not being impatient. I just want you out of my room so I can get back to sleep and so you can –" she held her nose and waved her hand, "- have a shower. You really stink."
Draco frowned and sniffed under his armpit. He nearly fainted, he did smell bad. "Fine," he snapped, getting up to stalk out of the room. He didn't fancy being in her presence any longer anyway … especially after what he just thought! He then stopped in his tracks as he thought of something. "Hang on, why are you going back to sleep? You usually wake up at this time!"
Granger stared at him as if he was stupid. "Ur duh, it's a Sunday!" she mocked, rolling her eyes. "I never get up until eight o'clock. Breakfast starts at eight-thirty on Sundays in case you have forgotten."
"Whatever you say ..." Draco drawled as he left the room. "Mudblood," he added under his breath as he heard her soft breathing, knowing that she had gone back to sleep.
"My poor, Drakie!" Pansy cooed, as Draco finished recounting his past two 'sick days in bed'. "I had no idea that a piece of burnt toast that was cursed could have affected you so much!"
"Yeah, well I can hardly get out of bed so I had to throw up in a bucket like I was some useless Muggle," Draco drawled, pointedly ignoring Pansy's hand that was threatening to rub his thigh. "Granger only came in to bring me leftovers from dinner which wasn't great because Weaselbee would have half of it. Stupid Granger."
Draco reached for more porridge and poured it all into his bowl. He was so hungry after two days of only having a bread roll for most meals and had looked forward to stuffing his stomach with food as soon as he was back to normal. He looked over at the Gryffindor, wondering if Hermione was watching him enjoy being back to normal.
Since when are you calling Granger by her first name? He frowned at this thought and shrugged to himself. Well, it's just in my head, it's not like I'm saying it out loud.
He watched as Hermione laughed at something what Potter said and tucked her curly hair behind her ear. Draco smiled to himself, suddenly wishing he was doing that for her, tucking her hair away from her face so he could lean in and –
"Draco, are you alright?"
"Huh?" Draco jerked out of his daze and noticed Blaise and Pansy looking at him with confused looks on their faces. "Oh I'm fine. Just still a little hazy."
He screwed his eyes shut, not believing he just thought of touching Hermione's hair. Well he had done that already, yesterday at the Quidditch match in fact! He really must be going insane.
He shook his head. "So, how was the Quidditch match yesterday? Did Higgins score for Hufflepuff?"
Hermione laughed just as Harry finished telling her about Felicity being more alert than he was yesterday in the Quidditch match and being some kind of 'mentor'.
"Trust Flick to get everyone moving," she grinned, cutting her bacon. "I'm really happy that she scored two goals yesterday and that she was able to forget what happened last year."
"I'm glad too," said Harry, leaning back in his chair. "I was really worried about her being nervous, but she was really confident. I just wish Ron would take a leaf out of her book –"
"But he perked up during the match didn't he?" Hermione asked, remembering Ron saving a couple of goals after accidentally letting two in.
"Yeah, he did," Harry murmured thoughtfully. "I wonder why …" Annabel, he thought to himself with a sly smile. Ron was probably writing to her now, hopefully not mentioning Quidditch.
A barn owl arrived suddenly and landed in front of Hermione, holding out its leg. Harry raised his eyebrows. "I thought the mail doesn't come on Sundays."
"It's a school owl and an official one at that so it's got to be from Dumbledore," said Hermione in a matter-of-factly way as she unrolled the letter and read it:
Dear Miss Granger,
I have a brilliant idea that I would like to share with you and Mr Malfoy immediately. Please come see me at my office. The password is "Unity".
Professor Dumbledore.
"I have to go and see Dumbledore now," she answered Harry's unasked question, tucking the letter away in her jeans. Harry nodded silently in reply as he returned to his breakfast.
She glanced over to the Slytherin table and noticed Malfoy looking down at the parchment in his hands. He looked up and nodded at her, once his silver eyes met her honey brown ones. He then got up from his seat, heading out of the hall.
"See you later," Hermione mumbled, getting up to follow Malfoy out into the Entrance Hall.
She spotted him already waiting for her for her next to the stairs with no expression on his face. As usual, she thought. "So I guess you got the message too?" she asked as she walked past him to go up the stairs.
"Obviously," he snorted, trying not to look at her and instead stared at the ground.
Hermione frowned at him, but didn't ask what was wrong with him. There clearly was something wrong with him, but she knew he wouldn't tell her anyway. She was a Mudblood to him, after all. Not good friends.
Draco, meanwhile, was trying not to look at her in case the thoughts he had of her came back. He was scared of what this made him feel every time he thought of her being a beautiful girl that excited every nerve in his body. He didn't even know what to call the feeling, but it certainly was not hate …
You have got to stop thinking about her in that way. Just because you had to say sorry so she would return you to you're normal size doesn't mean you have to fall head over heels for her. She is a worthless Mudblood. It is a disgrace to what you have been taught, your beliefs, to think of a person of her blood in that way.
So?
So, you have a reputation to consider! What will happen if someone finds out about what you're thinking?
Right, I see your point. I promise myself I will not to touch or think of her in that way ever again.
Hermione's sweet soft voice interrupted his thoughts and he felt a warm shiver go down his back as he heard it. It was the most beautiful he had ever heard. The voice of an angel.
"Unity."
"So what is this brilliant idea of yours, Professor Dumbledore?" Hermione asked, once she and Draco had sat down in front of the Headmaster in his office.
Dumbledore smiled mysteriously. "Well, this wasn't exactly an original idea, but adapted from another one. But my idea is for a different occasion, although it will take place around the same time as the same event. The aim of it is to raise house unity."
Draco frowned trying to work out what Dumbledore had meant. He hated it when the Headmaster talked that way, making them think of what it was. He didn't like to think too much, it hurt his brain a lot in his opinion. Hermione seemed to have gotten what the Professor had meant. Probably because that big brain of hers never stops thinking, he mused, screwing his face up in disgust.
"Oh, are you talking about –"
"Yes, indeed I am, but lets see if Mr Malfoy can work out what I mean," said Dumbledore, winking at Draco.
Draco blinked, still frowning. Why couldn't he have just said what it was when Hermione asked in the first place? I hate guessing games. "I'm sorry, but I don't know what you mean," he replied curtly. "Can you just say what it is?"
Dumbledore smiled once again. "Thought you might not get what I was on about. My idea comes from the original idea of having a Yule Ball during the Triwizard Tournament except mine is a Winter Ball at Christmas time. Of course, just like the champions opened the ball and were the first to dance, you two -"
"- open the ball and be the first on the dance floor," finished Hermione, who had obviously remembered the Yule Ball three years ago. As if anyone wouldn't forget it. Draco certainly didn't as he had to put up with Pansy the whole night. Making her his 'date' for the night had certainly been a bad idea and he vowed never to do it again.
"Precisely," Dumbledore said.
Right, so it is like the Yule Ball. Set at Christmas, wear dress robes, open the dance with the Head Girl, eat fo – wait, hang on a second! DANCING WITH GRANGER?
Draco cleared his throat. "Excuse me, when you say 'the first on the dance floor', do you mean that we have to dance together?" he asked, indicating himself and Hermione. He really hoped the Headmaster was joking, thought it was hard to tell if he was or wasn't. Either way, Draco wasn't in the mood for jokes.
"Well, seeing as though you are Head Boy and Girl representing the rest of the school, I don't see why not. It is tradition after all. It's only a four minute dance and by the end most of the school would have joined in so you won't be the only ones on the dance floor."
Draco frowned as Dumbledore this and looked at Hermione in disgust. He spotted the same look on her face so obviously she wasn't happy about this arrangement either. No surprises there.
A four minute dance with the Mudblood in front of the whole school? You've got to be joking!
That will definitely ruin his reputation. Not to mention his promise that he had just made to himself that he would not touch her or think of her as a beautiful, luscious, jaw-dropping –
He slapped his head in anger. You're doing it now! Stop it! If you can't control your feelings for her now, how will you control yourself and not to do anything stupid on the dance floor in front of the whole school?
He groaned and threw back his head. Could his life get any worse right now? First he had been turned into the size of a mouse, then he had to apologise to Hermione to be grown back, then he had been told he had to dance with her at this ball and now he was still having luscious thoughts about the girl sitting next to him! What's next, learning that he wasn't a Pureblood at all? He almost laughed at the thought. That would never happen for sure.
"Are you alright, Mr Malfoy?"
Dumbledore was eyeing him with great curiosity, as if he knew exactly what he had been thinking. Hermione had a puzzled look on her face, but also still wore the same disgusted look. Draco blinked, aware that his checks had gone slightly red in embarrassment and hid his face in his hands promptly.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he mumbled, avoiding Hermione's gaze.
"Good. Then I'm sure that you and Miss Granger have no objections in dancing together for the first dance and maybe the last dance if possible. Of course you don't have to dance together the whole night, you may dance with other partners if you wish."
"You mean we can take someone else and dance with them after the first one?" asked Hermione, with a note of hope in her voice.
"Yes, you may, unless you two don't mind –"
"No, no, once will be fine," Hermione quickly replied. Draco nodded in agreement, still not looking at her. it was better that way. besides, who would look twice at her? Him, apparently. He was slightly disgusted at the thought … but another part of him disagreed with that.
"Well that settles that then," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "The rest of the staff and I shall start organising it. It will be on Christmas Eve so that at eleven when the ball will end, we will have a fireworks display and sing carols until midnight. How does that sound?"
"That's sounds great!" Hermione exclaimed, clapping her hands together. Draco couldn't think of anything to add. It seemed to have been sorted out already. Not that he would have any ideas anyway.
"I must ask you not to tell anyone about this. It will be announced sometime in the next week or so before the lists of those who are going home for Christmas comes around. Of course I think that no one will be thinking of doing that, Hogwarts hasn't had a dance like this since the Yule Ball and I think everyone will want to stay and enjoy it."
Both Heads nodded and got up to leave. As she neared to the door, Hermione turned back to the Headmaster.
"Sir, just one more question," she said.
"Yes?"
"Will my hair be back to normal by then?" she asked, holding up a lock between her fingers. Dumbledore chuckled.
"I'm sure it will be, Miss Granger, back to your natural colour which I must say suits you better. I would advise you not to dye your hair for a while after the brown returns. You wouldn't want hair bugs breaking your hair apart."
"Don't worry, sir, I don't plan to," she said, glaring at Draco with such hatred in her eyes.
Draco felt her glare and still he didn't dare glace at her, afraid that the thoughts would return and haunt him once more. He didn't need reminding that he had given her hell for dying her hair green.
If I didn't pour that dye in her shampoo I wouldn't be thinking about how gorgeous she was … I wished I had left her hair the way it was, though … she is one hot brunette.
Draco screamed, hit himself on the head and ran out of the Headmaster's office before anyone could say anything. He didn't stop until he head reached the portrait of him and Hermione, the entrance to the Heads Common Room. He didn't dare look at Hermione's side. He had already seen enough of her today.
"Carpe diem," he panted, clutching his chest.
The portrait opened and he rushed inside, ran into his room and slammed the door. Locking it with the wave of his wand, he collapsed on the bed, panting in agony from all the running and the thoughts that were going through his head.
It was official. He couldn't look at her without checking her out or even think about how pretty she was even when he wasn't looking at her. Even now as Draco lay on his bed, he couldn't get her out of his head.
What was wrong with him? He could usually control his emotions, like Lucius had always taught him to. But yet he had never really thought about a girl in a sort of loving way. No girl had ever affected him like this in his entire life.
Not even Pansy had made him feel like this even though he danced with her at the Yule Ball. Well he only got her because there were actually no decent looking girls in Slytherin and he wouldn't be caught dead with a girl from another house. Yet, Pansy still wasn't that decent looking either; she was always ugly in his opinion. Not to mention extremely irritating. Hence why he wasn't planning on ever taking her anywhere as his date ever again.
A knock suddenly interrupted his thoughts and Hermione's voice floated through the door.
"Malfoy? Are you alright?"
Draco didn't answer, but instead stared at the doorway in shock. Why would Hermione suddenly care about him? But the thought quickly vanished as he listened to what she had to say next.
"I know you're in there and don't go thinking I suddenly care about you, Dumbledore told me to check up on you. Look I know you don't want to dance with me at the Winter Ball and believe me, I don't want to dance with you either. I don't like this arrangement any more than you do."
He could imagine her rolling her eyes and sighing in frustration. "But do you want to be known as a coward? Because if you do, all anyone is going to think is that maybe you can't dance and that's why you're not on the dance floor. The only thing you're going to do is hold my hand or my fingertips, whatever you like for four minutes and then it will be over, you won't have to dance with me again. Think about it."
She walked away from the doorway and he heard a distant slam of a door as she went into her room.
Draco lay there for a while considering what Hermione had said. He knew one thing for sure; he didn't want to be known as a coward. He could dance. He was a great dancer, if not the best. He was a Malfoy after all, they always had balls and functions where dancing took place. All Malfoys could dance.
It was the fact that he was going to dance with Hermione who he seemed to be thinking about a lot more often than he usually would lately. He was afraid that if he danced with her, he might do something that would not only embarrass him and Hermione, but that he would come to regret it. She would probably hate him even more and he didn't want that.
He was also worried that the whole school would see and rumours would start flying around and end up going back to his father. He wouldn't be very pleased if he heard that his son was going to dance with a Mudblood and that he liked her.
Why do I even call her that? Draco thought as a pang of guilt hit his stomach. I mean, it's not as if she's an animal or anything. I don't even believe in what Father taught me. I don't want to be like him, he forced me to believe Mud- muggle-borns are worth nothing.
They're just like us, they can do magic can't they? And Hermione…she's smarter than most, if not all, of the purebloods. Heck, she's smarter than me. She beats me by at least ten percent in most exams if not more.
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, deep in thought.
Is it really so bad that I have a crush on her? Well the bad points of this are that one I'm a Slytherin, she's a Gryffindor. Those two houses never mix. Never have and never will … well, it's never been done, but I don't know how it would work.
Two, I'm a Pureblood while she is a Muggle-born, not that I find anything wrong with that anymore, but people in Slytherin will. That's for sure.
Three, I'm her worst enemy. She would never in a million years like me, the son of an infamous Death Eater who is supposed to follow in his footsteps. And besides, her friends wouldn't like it at all. They would probably kill me if I dared to touch her, like even hold her hand.
The good points … well she is fellow Head, which makes it slightly easier. If we ever got together, we could just hang out here in the common room and no one would ever have to know. They don't know the password so they won't know what's going on at all, as long as we would pretend we hate each other while we're outside the portrait.
Two, she is very smart. I can easily have a meaningful and intellectual conversation with her. unlike the conversations with Pansy who just talks about gossip. At least Hermione's not like that at all.
And three … she is very beautiful … that kinda freaks me out a bit … well, not anymore. She really does look like an angel. My angel, I'll make her my beautiful angel.
He smiled to himself, a real smile for the first time in his life as a warm, fuzzy feeling engulfed every part of him. Oh yes, it was for certain now. From that moment on, Draco Malfoy knew he had a crush on the one and only, Hermione Granger.
And he wasn't ashamed of it at all.