This is the first of my favorite chapters, because things get fun and they start fighting with their brains.
At least Malfoy does.
Anyways, its a good read, I hope someone comments, even if its just to say they didn't like it.
Oh boy, yippee.
Just what everybody wants, to be laying on the Mudblood's floor and unable to run away in disgust.
He had to say one thing, he was just as confused as her on why the fuck they seemed to create the same library.
So as he was finally able to carry himself to her door that would lead him back through his library, he glanced back at her as she spoke to him in a distracted manner.
But as he was distracted himself, he had no choice but to reply.
No way Muddy gets the last word.
"What did you say?"
She looked almost surprised that he'd spoken and, after hearing what he'd said, even more surprised that she'd spoken.
"I… said that out loud?"
"No shit Mudblood, I'm not going to bother reading your mind."
She turned a slight pink but answered his question nonetheless. "I'm trying to figure out how we somehow created the same room."
Draco shrugged. "So you believe me then?" He sneered.
"I have plenty of reasons not to…"
His sneer intensified as he took note of this. "I bet you're just dying for a reason to go to the library and find a book on blind enemies creating a room full of books. 'Oooh Madam Pince Madam Pince, I need all the books on you have on why wands don't work for stupid little Mudbloods!'" Draco smirked at his mock and looked triumphant.
Hermione stared at him blankly. She walked towards him
Slightly surprised, Draco expected a hard slap, but she walked past him into the door he was headed into a minute earlier.
Standing on the top step, she was approached by Draco.
"Well gee Malfoy, does it really look like I need a reason to go to the school library?"
Hermione started down the stairs and Malfoy followed, feeling slightly foolish for having his insult pointless, replying with sarcastic disdain. "Are you insulting your sanctuary of six years? Madam Pince will be appalled."
Hermione scoffed slightly to herself. "That woman won't miss a thing. She didn't like me there because she was uncomfortable writing her smut while there was a student nearby."
Draco stopped short. "That's incredibly disturbing."
Continuing his previous pace down the stairs, Draco reached the bottom and found Hermione walking slowly towards the other side of the library, where Draco knew his room lay.
Hermione seemed to look upon the books fondly.
She muttered to herself.
"Muddy, if you're going to say something stupid say it loud so I can make fun of you."
Hermione laughed. "I was just wondering, Malfoy, how it's possible for you to have made this library with everything set up the same exact way as mine." She picked up a book from where it lay, on top of a bookshelf, it had stood alone.
"This is my favorite book."
Malfoy stepped towards her, into the light so as to see the title of the book.
"As it is mine, Mudblood. That being said, it should not be a surprise to you that it was on display like that."
Hermione laughed shortly and softly. "It didn't surprise me at all, some part of me probably wanted it here too…."
Placing The Count Of Monte Christo back whereupon it lay, Hermione looked around the room fondly.
Draco sneered. "Get used to it Mudblood, somehow we both had the same idea."
He started to walk slowly towards his room and Hermione followed, falling into step beside him.
"The same idea? Well then you know why it's hard for me to believe that we could have anything in common."
A silence followed as they headed towards Malfoy's room.
Upon reaching the door, Hermione felt odd for having walked him there, it would surely look that way when she left, making it appear that walking Malfoy to his room had indeed been her task.
She was about to comment crudely on some menial thing, so as the ruin their amicable comfort, but to ease her discomfort, when Draco turned to her.
He must have thought she would continue upon her previous sentiments because he held up a hand and spoke quickly, annoyed.
"Like I said, get used to it. We may be alike, but we have nothing in common."
Hermione frowned at him. "We couldn't be very alike, Malfoy. You're a pure-blooded prick and I'm…"
Draco raised a leering eyebrow at her. "A know-it-all Mudblood? Listen to yourself, Granger. You're assimilating the prejudices you stand against. Our prejudices don't have to do with what we are. My fellow Slytherins and I share that prejudice. It's something we have in common. But there's nothing alike about us."
Hermione frowned. "Enlighten me, Malfoy. What makes you you, then? Your character? How you act?"
Draco shook his head. "As a fellow intellectual of whom I consider myself to be at least one of comprehending what I'm saying, I must say I'm disappointed you haven't figured this out. Who you are isn't about how you act, or what you say, or what you stand for. Those things can be faked easily. What matters in the long run is what's in here." Malfoy tapped his head. "What you believe in, your morals. Opinions."
Hermione frowned. "Can't you have that in common with someone?"
"No two people can have the same thoughts. They might, however, compliment each other."
Hermione scowled.
Draco smirked. "You still don't get it, do you? All I'm saying is that the differences between me and you are these- everything going on around us."
Hermione stared at him.
Draco scoffed. "Granger, can you honestly believe that if I had grown up a Mudblood I would have still grown up a Muggle-hater?"
"Of course not."
"And you, in my position, probably would be pressured to join the ranks of the Death Eaters."
Hermione frowned. "This is nature vs. nurture, Malfoy."
"In a way."
Hermione frowned. "I still don't understand something, Malfoy. Are you trying to say that people think differently than they act?"
He shrugged. "Deception isn't that hard to master, it is all around us."
"Of course you would believe that!"
Draco raised one eyebrow, coldly interested. "What makes me so special?"
When Hermione avoided his eyes he kept talking.
"Oh, don't you start thinking anything. That's it, Mudblood; I'm done talking for tonight. You have completely disappointed me with your lack of intellect."
Hermione snarled. "I wasn't aware I had respect to lose."
Draco shook his head pityingly. "It's not respect, fool. Start looking at the differences around you, Muddy. You'd be surprised to see the contrasting elements deceived behind the most similar things."
Draco moved to shut the door behind him in his passion.
Hermione put her foot in the door.
"Malfoy let me ask you a question this time."
Draco raised his eyebrow.
"How can you say we're alike if I could be deceiving you like everyone else?"
Draco broke out into a smile.
Its ferocity scared Hermione for a moment.
"Good job, Hermione. You finally found the flaw."
Hermione scoffed. "There were plenty. I just didn't want any notions that we are alike."
"Well, I don't know, Hermione." Draco replied honestly.
"We are nothing alike!"
Draco shook his head. "I'm disappointed with you then, again. We just went over the fact that deception is not hard to master."
Hermione put her foot in the door again.
About to open her mouth again, Draco interrupted her fury, starting to get annoyed that their conversation still carried on. "Granger, you really want to know how I can tell you're not deceiving me? Because you are so proud of your opinions. You wear them on your sleeve. You've never had to hide them. You've only been praised for your intellect. Your biased intellect. Your knowledge of right from wrong, principles they're called. You've never had to hide them. We're growing up in the same world. We can both see the flaws, Muddy. You've always had the same ideas as myself, I've been able to see. Everyone can see your opinions. In our years I've taken special note of the spirited passions of opinion you've grown for this world and compared them to my own. We can both have our opinions, Hermione, they can be as similar as they like. But you've never been able to see past my deception. And you've never been in my deception. You've never had to hide your opinions from your father, friends, and…. You've never had to hide them from your enemies."
The door slammed shut.
After a moment of blindly standing there, Hermione contemplated a response.
Hermione spoke into the door, not even knowing if he could hear her, not even sure if it would matter if he heard her, if it would matter that she came up with a response.
If anything she did from that point on would ever make a difference.
"Our taste in books, would that fall under what we have in common or how we are alike?"
What about our hatred for each other?
-
Hermione and Draco ignored each other for three days.
Well.
More like they avoided each other.
Somehow they knew when the other was about to enter the room.
Neither of them really knew whether the other one was really avoiding them.
For all they knew the other wanted to talk to them.
Neither wanted that.
Seventh year classes were challenging but ultimately routine, the only aberration being that they were now shared with their rivaling Houses. Hermione spent each class with her friends of years but did not speak of what Malfoy had said to her, of what she had said to him. They had yet to have been introduced to her rooms, her roommates. Instead she pursued her friendships with them during class, making sure to never ever look in the direction of the male that was surely finding anything to gaze at that wasn't her. He didn't even sneer at her, or her male counterparts. The boys hardly noticed. During these classes, neither could acknowledge the other, and it seemed that only Zeus noticed this.
And as Hermione entered the room Friday night to find it empty, she knew that he was hiding in his room.
She proceeded to do the same.
-
Draco sighed.
They hadn't spoken since Tuesday.
Suspiciously enough, Zeus had not spoken to them about it.
He had barely spoken to them- rarely making appearances.
He was hardly in his room, Draco noticed.
He was never quite able to find out where the odd boy went.
Surely he couldn't already be spending all his time with another group of friends?
Draco still didn't understand why Zeus was in that position with them at all.
Why couldn't he just get fucking sorted?
…
Draco wasn't deceiving himself into thinking about other things.
He thought about what he'd said that night all week.
He hadn't forgotten one word.
He hadn't even forgotten those tiny, whispered words she had spoken into the door, the same door he had leaned against directly after he let his words loose.
He didn't regret them, per se.
He didn't feel that they had made that much of a difference.
Well.
That's a lie for sure.
But… it wasn't that big of a deal.
If she wanted to go all out and avoid him she could.
Sure as hell wasn't Draco's problem.
Right?
Right.
Opening the door to the common room, he heard rushed footsteps upon the stairs.
Yes. She was definitely avoiding him.
He wasn't avoiding her.
No, he wasn't doesn't anything wrong.
If she confronted him, he wouldn't back off.
Right?
Right.