Title: Break My Heart Not My Face
Author: Leopard Print and Diamonds
Notes: Ipods and Laptops and hardrock, oh my! Special thanks go to Kia Weip and Ciao Roma for being awesome. You are appreciated.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter stuff belongs to JRK. I just wrote this story.
Chapter Two: Crookshanks for the Win
Hermione pressed her back into the plush velvet cushion of the bench seat. The Heads of House compartment on the Hogwarts' Express was definitely more deluxe than the regular student compartments. Even the curtains appeared to cost a fortune, she mused. Ah well. She'd only stay long enough to meet the Head Boy. Then, she'd meet up with her friends for the rest of the train ride to school.
Beside her, Crookshanks purred in contentment. He flicked his bristle brush of a tail against the soft travel blanket he was currently nesting in. Hermione patted his head and gave her own contented sigh. She took her pink Ipod from her large satchel purse and popped the pink earbuds into her ears. It took only a few seconds for her to find the album she wanted to listen to: Guns n Roses Greatest Hits. Most people thought that because Hermione was a genius, she only wanted to listen to music with harpsichords and string quartets. She had gone through a classical music phase her first year at Hogwarts. Back then, she'd been too insecure to listen to any 'non-intellectual' music. But that was then. Now, she was purely a punk and hardrock kind of girl.
Hermione closed her eyes and tapped her foot as the strong thrums of bass and guitar filled her ears. Apparently, every student at Hogwarts was given an Ipod and a laptop computer for the upcoming school year. She already had both, so it was a pleasant surprise to learn she could bring both with her. In his letters to the students, Dumbledore had explained the importance of all students learning to use these two essential Muggle technologies. He'd even assigned an email address for each student.
Hermione could only imagine how much trouble students were going to have with figuring out how to get their Ipods and laptops to work. The Slytherins especially... She smirked, imagining how a little mp3 player would unleash a plague of frustration and foul language for the snobbish pure-bloods. It would serve them right for being so hateful and prejudice about Muggles.
The compartment door slid open with a graceless bang. The noise made Hermione jump in surprise. One of her earbuds fell from her ear. She stroked a hand through her long wavy hair to find it. Distracted, she didn't bother to glance up to see who the Head Boy was. By her calculations, she deduced that it was either Oldridge Pierce from Ravenclaw or Teddy Reynolds from Hufflepuff. Both had extremely high test scores and were star Quidditch players. Teddy's extracurricular activities were a bit shoddy, though, compared to Oldridge's ...
"What? No "hello" or "why the hell are YOU here?" for me, Granger? You might be the top at charms and hexes, but your manners are bottom-of-the-barrel." Draco Malfoy, poised and watching from the doorway, shook his platinum head in faint derision. Or was he flicking his hair prettily from his eyes? Hermione couldn't tell. She tried to keep her jaw from hitting the plush carpeting.
"Why are you here? Teddy and Oldridge are outstanding students.. and ... and ... they're both star Quidditch players..." Hermione's brow wrinkled as she triple-checked the criteria in her head, searching for the mistake she made in tallying them up.
"They are star players, but not the star. I'm the only team captain of the bunch. So game over. I win--and I didn't have to maim or murder anyone to do it." He smiled smugly and eased from his languid lean against the door frame. He stretched his tall body across the bench seat as if he were the Prince of Hogwarts. It all seemed to be a mocking show for Hermione's annoyed entertainment.
Hermione simply quirked an unbelieving eyebrow in response. She appeared to be calm and collected, but she felt like fainting from the shock. Of all people to be stuck with for a year ... she had Draco Malfoy. A rabid Hippogriff would make a better roommate! She'd have to curse-proof everything she owned so he couldn't get the chance to randomly make trouble. UGH.
"Whatever. I don't have a say in the matter." She shrugged and plucked her lost earbud from her shoulder. Malfoy's calculating gray eyes studied her as she put it back in her ear. She took an advanced hex grimoire from her satchel and thumbed to a bookmarked page. Crookshanks purred and batted a lazy paw at the silver heart tag dangling from her Tiffany's toggle bracelet. She smiled.
"Dear Merlin, that cat is hideous." Malfoy sniped. Hermione pretended not to hear him, deliberately turning up the volume on her Ipod to block him out. Technically, she had to stay in the Heads' compartment for another 30 minutes before she could rejoin her friends. Checking her watch, Hermione noted the time and inwardly groaned. She could survive Malfoy's company for a half hour ... but for a school year? She'd probably need enough cheering charms to permanently damage her brain. Ah, mind-numbing bliss...
Thunder crackled over the lash of bass and guitars blaring in her ears. She glanced up at the window in time to see a bright bolt of lighting streak across graying, cloud-heavy horizon. Violent rain pelted the window with enough force to sound like someone was throwing marbles against the glass. Hermione frowned as Draco stood and drew the curtains together. A single sliver of dim light sliced through the middle of the cabin, marking the floor like a dividing line. Everything else fell into darkness.
"Do you mind? I'm trying to read." She said in her most cool, detached voice.
"Yeah, well, I'm trying to take a nap. We're stuck together for the whole trip and I prefer to sleep through it. Probably like you when Weasley's trying to have a heavy snog."
"Wait, what?" She paused her music as Malfoy disappeared into the shadows of his side of the compartment. "I thought we could just sit here for a bit, then leave?"
"Not used to being wrong, Miss Know-it-All? Hmm. You would think that... probably because I was supposed to show you this letter Dumbledore left for us at the station. You seemed too busy reading your book to care about a little letter. I didn't want to ... disturb you." He spoke with a mannered voice that dripped with sweetly poisoned sarcasm. He offered the letter and she snatched it from him.
"Lumos!" Using her wand as a light, Hermione scanned the document. She and Draco were officially instructed to complete the train ride together and then share a special table at the welcoming feast. It was a new Head of House rule created especially for their sake. Hermione wondered just what else Dumbledore planned on surprising them with. "Honestly! This is the most ridiculous thing."
"Yeah. I'd rather be with my own kind... and you'd rather be with emo Potter and your clumsy-ass, embarrassing boyfriend." He hissed in a way only a true Slytherin could.
"I'm not embarrassed by him." Hermione replied instantly, pleased that someone thought she and Ron were an item. She didn't bother correcting him. "Stop talking about him. He's not here to defend himself."
"Defend himself? Don't you mean he's not here to hurl an insult and then run away like a coward?" The words were soft and mocking. Hermione couldn't see Malfoy's face, but she had the feeling his eyes were burning through the distance across the compartment.
Remembering the night at the dance club, Hermione laughed quietly. It was the first time Ron had been smart and had walked away from a potential fight. Ron was ten times a man for refusing to get caught up in a brawl. She respected him for that.
"Whatever." She sighed, thinking the word would probably be her default response for the next year. She mumbled an incantation and tapped her book with her wand. The letters on the pages glowed with a faint but readable purple light. "Nox!" Her wand blinked to darkness. She was glad Malfoy pulled the curtains together. It meant she didn't have to look at his smug, smirking face.
A while later, a knock sounded from the door.
"Snack trolley, dears!" The snack lady sang happily.
"Enter." Malfoy's reply was no-nonsense. He didn't bother opening the curtains.
"Oh, dears, it's ... cozy in here." the lady chuckled, though a slight motherly undertone of worry touched her voice. "I'm not much for thunderstorms, either. Can I get you anything, dears? Everything's complimentary, of course. Miss Granger, I've brought you an iced organic green tea latte with vanilla soymilk. And Mr Malfoy, you have a stein of butterbeer." The snack lady set the drinks on two enchanted coasters that floated conveniently in the air. Hermione thanked her and asked for three chocolate frogs. Draco asked for the same.
When the snack lady left, Hermione sipped her latte and nibbled a chocolate frog. She would give Ron the collectible wizard card at dinner... which was still a long way off. Hermione made a quiet, strangled sound in the back of her throat. The train ride would take at least another four Malfoy-filled hours. She thumbed through her Ipod's artist menu and picked Lady Sovereign. The energetic, in-your-face feel of the album fit Hermione's mood. The last thing she wanted to do was fall asleep.
... which is exactly what happened.
Hermione woke with her Ipod in her hand and a blissfuly warm Crookshanks curled up in her lap. A chill had crept into the now pitch-black compartment, thanks to the cold rain and the onset of nighttime. She pulled the earbuds from her ears, since turning the player off would make the screen light turn on. Hermione didn't want Malfoy to know she was awake. Being stuck so close to him in the the dark intensified her survival senses. Her ears strained to catch a rustle of clothing or the slow rhythm of his breath. For all she knew, he was asleep.
"Pretending to sleep, Granger? I thought that was a game for children?" Malfoy's voice cut across the cold distance.
"Hmm?" Still groggy and a bit disoriented, Hermione couldn't form an entire sentence.
"Merlin, you snore like a howling mandrake root." He hissed.
"I do not!" She shot back. "And why are you so fascinated with how I sleep? How long have you been spying on me?"
"I don't have to spy when I'm sitting five feet away!" He grumbled. Hermione fumed. She did NOT snore, so there was no reason for Malfoy to be in such a huff.
"Don't remind me! This is the last time I'll ever be this close to you! And that's a promise." Hermione felt kind of silly for arguing with someone she couldn't see. It gave her a boost of courage.
"Really? How can you promise that? In case it slipped your frizzled mind, we're going to be sharing a dorm for the next ... oh, entire school year." He bit out the words with deliberate venom.
"I have my room; you have yours. You stay out of my way and I'll steer clear of you. I'm not asking for a truce or anything because I don't trust you. I'm just hoping you're smart enough to know I'll return anything you do to me ten times over. It's not a threat. It's the reality of things."
"Don't you dare threaten me!"
She felt him move, by instinct, before she heard it. Two hands pushed her shoulders hard against the back of the seat cushion. Warm breath that smelled sweet with chocolate and butterbeer touched her side-swept bangs and brushed her forehead. Hermione gasped and felt her heart wrench from the sudden shock. The muscles tightened as painfully as if her heart were literally breaking in half. She'd been having secret problems ever since Antonin Dolohov's curse had struck her in the chest during the battle in the Department of Mysteries. The curse had royally effed up her insides, with her heart taking the most damage. Only her parents, Professor Mcgonagall, and Dumbledore knew of her condition. There really wasn't a magical cure for things. Time and relaxing bubble baths were the only remedies to help mend her broken heart.
This time, however, she needed to reach one of the small potion vials she always carried in her purse.
"Malfoy...stop! Stop! Can't... ..." She tried to twist from his grasp, and ended up choking from lack of breath. Crookshanks yowled like a miniature lion. He hissed and raged in defense of his mistress. Hermione's elbows came up and she finally managed to push Draco back, hiccuping and gasping like a drowning person. He used magic to instantly light the compartment candles.
"Merlin, Granger! I'm not trying to rape you!" He hissed as she reached for what he thought was her wand. She ignored him and dumped the contents of her purse across the seat. Her small hands sorted through the various items until she found one of the special vials. She twisted off the cork and downed the sweet gold-and-red speckled liquid. The Heartstrings potion worked instantly. The muscles of her chest contracted and relaxed in a wave as if someone were strumming the strings of a harp. She coughed a relieved breath.
"Sorry. I have ... asthma." Hermione lied. She couldn't hide her embarrassment. She bent her head so her hair hid her face. Draco Malfoy stood silently over Hermione as she placed everything back into her satchel. Crookshanks sat beside her, a warning yowl grumbling in his throat. His yellow eyes were fixed murderously on Malfoy.
"If this is how you react when a bloke touches your shoulder, I bet kissing Weasley is a real freak show." Malfoy muttered caustically. Crookshanks hissed.
"Ignore him, baby." Hermione whispered and scooped up her fuzzy little protector. She rested her chin lightly on top of his head. He purred as she scratched behind his stubby ears. He deserved to eat Salmon and cream for a week: Especially when a few hours later, Crookshanks wove through Draco's ankles and made sure the young Slytherin tripped down the short stairs between the train and the Hogwarts station platform.