Disclaimer: I only own the plot; the rest is J.K.R.'s.

Cat-like Instincts

Chapter 4: Changes

Hermione sat straight up in bed. She had had the dream again. By now she should be used to them, but Hermione just could not understand what was going on. She had been having the same dream over and over again for the past month or longer.

Hermione lay back down in the soft sheets. She could not believe a month of school had already gone by and Halloween was fast approaching.

She smiled at the thought of the holiday. This year Dumbledore decided to make things interesting and decree that everyone must dress up for the All Hollow's Eve feast. They were to wear costumes like muggles do for Halloween. Of course, no one was allowed to dress up as a witch or wizard because that would be too easy. Plus, whoever had the best costume would win the grand prize: No homework for a week. That made many students excited about dressing up for the prize, especially the seventh years who were handed piles and piles of homework daily.

Hermione sighed. She had so much to worry about this year even with Voldemort gone. There were her strange dreams, Head duties, N.E.W.T.s, and Draco Malfoy.

Oddly enough, Malfoy had been almost pleasant throughout their time together. They still fought, but it was mostly in a teasing manner. Whenever Malfoy said something that Hermione would have considered cruel a year ago, it now did not have real meaning behind it and the majority of the time he was just joking around.

He seemed the same yet totally different at the same time. It unnerved Hermione to no end. She couldn't really see him as the spineless git anymore, but she couldn't see him as a friend either. Not just yet anyway.

Hermione was becoming more comfortable with Malfoy's presence and she found that he made their nightly patrols interesting with his observations, jokes, and odd stories.

In return, Hermione laughed at his comments and added stories of her own. Plus, she would always tease him back.

Hermione shook her head to clear her thoughts. She needed to get to bed. She already wasn't getting enough sleep as it is due to all the homework she had to complete.



The next morning Hermione was half asleep as she walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. She had ended up not getting enough sleep last night and was extremely tired. It was Friday, so she was glad that tomorrow she would get to sleep in.

Draco was sitting at the table eating cereal and reading something for one of his classes when Hermione walked into the kitchen. He looked up at her as she poured herself a big cup of coffee and grabbed a bagel. Hermione then slumped down in the chair across from him and stared out into space as she ate her breakfast.

Draco looked at her in amusement, "Not going to make it down to the Great Hall for breakfast are we?"

"Mmm," was all Hermione said, or didn't say, in reply.

Draco raised his eyebrows, "Guess someone didn't get enough sleep last night."

"No," Hermione snapped at him, "as a matter of fact I didn't and I would appreciate it if you wouldn't pester me when I am operating on only a few hours' sleep."

"Geez Granger, don't be so harsh. It's not my fault you're tired, or grumpy for that matter."

"Well you could help by not being so annoying!"

"Maybe it would help you if you dropped a couple classes. That way you'll get more sleep and not be so crabby!"

"Pssh, I've taken way more classes before and did just fine! It's not my classes, it's-" Hermione abruptly stopped, ending her shouting match with Draco.

"It's what, Granger?" Draco asked in a firm, but quieter voice.

Hermione looked away from him and mumbled, "It's nothing."

"It's not nothing if it's keeping you from sleeping," Draco replied.

"I-," Hermione began, then stopped and really looked at Draco. I mean really looked at him.

He wasn't cruel anymore, she didn't think her would make fun of her if she told him about the dreams. He might even be able to help figure out what was going on. But, he might also think she was a freak and suddenly what he thought of her mattered. She cared for his opinion and didn't want to break the shaky relationship they had begun to build. Plus, did she really want to burden him with her problems? He probably was stressed from all his classes and responsibilities like she was.

The dreams are probably not that important anyway Hermione thought I bet they will go away soon and I would have bothered Malfoy for nothing.

"Yes?" Draco prodded Hermione when she had been silent for awhile.

Hermione got up from the table and collected her book bag.

Not looking at him she said, "Really, Malfoy it's nothing. I have to go to class."

Hermione hurried out the door as Draco stared at her retreating back. He had been so close to getting Hermione to tell him what had been bothering her from the beginning of the year.

Ever since school started he and Hermione had been growing closer. Well, at least they didn't really pick on each other anymore. And Draco had begun to notice little oddities here and there: she was always tired due to lack of sleep, she had strange reactions to anything having to do with cats, and her own stupid cat wouldn't come anywhere near the Heads' Dormitory. All in all, Draco knew something was up with the Head Girl, but he couldn't fathom what.

Draco decided that he would catch up to Hermione and try to get her to talk to him about whatever was bothering her. He had almost done it, so maybe she just needed a little more encouragement.

Draco left the dormitory and ran into the corridor. He had almost caught up with Hermione when he saw the little Weasley, Ginny, up ahead. It looked like she was having trouble carrying all her books and they were about to fall out of her hands. Nobody else was around to help her and he and Hermione were still a little ways away.

A moment later, as Draco predicted, the books began to tumble out of Ginny's hands. He turned toward Hermione to see her reaction, but she wasn't there anymore. Draco looked around wildly. Where did she go?

He looked at Ginny again and stopped in his tracks. Hermione was up there and had caught the red-head's books before they fell. She was now laughing at how silly Ginny was for not having her book bag. Draco was dumbfounded.

There's no way. Draco thought She was just here a second ago. Even if she ran really fast to help her she wouldn't have gotten there that quickly and catch the books no less. I was almost at Hermione's side when Ginny dropped her books; we were still kind of far away. What Hermione just did is just not humanly possible!

Draco finally caught up to Hermione and Ginny as they turned to continue down the corridor with Ginny's books more secured in her arms.

"How did you do that?" Draco demanded of Hermione.

Hermione looked at him curiously, "Do what, Malfoy?"

"You know, run really fast."

Hermione looked at him even more oddly, "I put one leg in front of the other and pumped my arms?"

"Not regular running. Like, supersonic speed type thing," Draco said exasperatedly.

It was Hermione's turn to be exasperated, "A: I don't know what you're talking about. B: It's not possible for a human to go that fast. And C: I definitely can't go that fast."

"But," Draco insisted, "you can go that fast. I saw you."

Ginny looked very confused. "I'm going to go now so you two can finish up your conversation in private," she said as she turned and walked away quickly.

Hermione shifted her feet nervously, "Malfoy, I really don't know what you're talking about. Maybe you're sick. All I know is that what you claimed I did is not possible."

It is impossible for me to do that, right? Hermione thought to herself But, in the dream when I turned into that cat-demon I could move very quickly. Stop it, Hermione. It was just a dream, nothing more, nothing less.

"No," Dracosaid, "I'm not sick and I know what I saw. Something weird is going on with you. I've noticed it since school started."

"Malfoy, I don't have time to listen to your absurd statements. I'm leaving," Hermione stated and left Draco alone for the second time that morning.

However, as Hermione walked away from Draco she thought more about what he claimed to have seen. She wasn't so sure that she didn't run that fast; but, she didn't want to deal with that stressful thought and pushed it to the back of her mind for later. Much later. Maybe never.



A few weeks later, Draco and Hermione were doing their nightly Head patrols together as they walked in silence.

After the super-speed-running incident, Draco decided not to actually approach Hermione about it or whatever had been bothering her. It seemed like whatever it was really freaked her out. However, he was still insanely curious as to what was worrying her. He resisted the urge to search her bedroom a few times, but he didn't think it would be much longer until he cracked.

Draco had had one more clue following the supersonic running thing. About five days ago he had seen Hermione reading and walking down the hall at the same time. Then, right as she reached the stairs, a boy from her class, Seamus something or other, accidentally knocked into her. Hermione went flying head first down the stairs, but somehow managed to land at the bottom on her feet. She was totally unharmed and everyone around her was just relieved she was alright. That guy Seamus was shouting out apologies profusely, the clumsy git.

Well Draco mused I'm glad she was okay, but for someone to land on their feet after a head dive is extremely difficult and Hermione keeps insisting that she's not very athletic.

So far I have four major clues: Granger isn't getting enough sleep, she reacts weirdly to cat phrases and her cat is avoiding her, she can run at very high speeds, and she has great balance.

I wonder how good her stamina is. If it's as good as her running she and I could probably go at it all night-

"Malfoy," Hermione began interrupting Draco's not so innocent thoughts, "do you hear something?"

Hermione and Draco paused their walking for a moment. Draco stood still and listened intently.

"No, not really," Draco answered after a minute, "What did it sound like?"

Hermione concentrated on the sounds she was hearing, "It sounds like…there are some smacking and some sucking noises and…Oh! Whoever those students are they are in big trouble!"

"What is it?" Draco asked confused.

Hermione turned to him, "Just be quiet and follow me," she said as she moved quietly down the corridor and motioned with her figure to follow her.

Draco just shrugged and did as she said. When had Hermione Granger ever been wrong before?

They were both sneaking around in the dark without any light, but Hermione seemed to know where she was going, so Draco just trailed behind her and focused on not running into anything.

Suddenly, Hermione stopped right before a niche in the stone wall. She peeked around the corner at something, then straightened up, put on her 'no nonsense' face, and walked out to stand before the niche.

"You two stop that and come out here this instant," Hermione said in her most bossy and authoritative voice even though she was blushing fiercely and hoping the darkness hid her red face from Draco. She didn't want him to see that this sort of situation made her extremely uncomfortable while he probably wouldn't care less.

Draco heard some shuffling and a few swear words as two students came out from the darkened niche. The boy was holding his shirt in his hands and his belt was unbuckled. Meanwhile, the girl's skirt was pushed up high on her thighs and her shirt was rumpled and put on hastily.

Draco smirked. He could only imagine what those two were up to and although this was his area of expertise, he was going to let Hermione handle this one. He loved to see her flustered and he knew anything blatantly sexual made her uncomfortable.

"Now," Hermione started as she glared at the two students, "You will both tell me what Houses you're in."

The boy muttered Ravenclaw while the girl stated that she was in Hufflepuff.

Hermione pondered something for a moment then said, "I am totally appalled by such offensive behavior you displayed in public. Even in private, one should think twice before engaging in s-sexual intercourse or anything else that goes with it. 60 points will be docked from both of your Houses."

The girl looked shocked, "But-but we didn't do anything wrong. Making out and having sex with someone isn't a crime!"

"No," Hermione stated coldly, "it isn't. But, being out past curfew and showing such public displays of affection are against the rules. Just be glad I am not going to inform any faculty about this incident."

That silenced the girl, but the boy chose that moment to speak up.

"You're probably just jealous that no guy wants you so much he'll take you anywhere, even in a hallway," the boy accused pointing his finger at her.

Hermione looked shocked and insulted at the very idea of that ever happening and whispered in an astonished voice, "Why would I ever actually want that to happen? What if somebody caught us like we did you? It would be way too embarrassing."

Draco rolled his eyes. Of course it was just like the Gryffindor to think of her goody-two shoes reputation over anything sexual. It would be the exact opposite for Draco.

Hearing enough of the pointless conversation that had nothing to do with him, Draco interrupted and said, "Stop. This is stupid. You two, no more making out in the hallways, or at least try not to get caught. Now go, before I decide to take more points from your Houses for wasting my time."

The couple immediately left leaving Draco and Hermione alone once again in the dimly lit hallways. Hermione was ready to keep on patrolling, but Draco stopped her.

"So Granger, are you really afraid a little PDA will ruin your reputation?" Draco asked.

"Where are you going with this?" Hermione asked suspiciously. She didn't want to talk about her love life with the sex god of Slytherin.

"Well," Draco said slyly, "I think that kid was right. You have never been with somebody who wants you so much he'll take you in the hallway."

"Oh, really," Hermione answered, not quite sure how to respond to that sort of statement.

Draco smirked, "Really, but I believe that is only half the problem. The other half is that you've never been with an excellent kisser. Somebody who makes you forget everything, including where you are."

"I see."

Draco walked closer to Hermione until they were almost touching. Hermione held her breath unsure of what to do or what she wanted Draco to do.

"And I happen to be an excellent kisser at your service," Draco whispered into Hermione's ear.

Hermione sucked in a sharp breath of air at his words as he played with some loose strands of her hair. She began to breathe faster as he traced her ear, then her neck with his fingertips. Every place he touched burned as he started nerve-endings to life that she didn't know were sleeping until that moment.

Draco wrapped his arms around Hermione and pulled her to him so her body was flush against his. He didn't know what was making him do this, but he did know that Hermione intrigued him and her body against his just felt so right.

As Draco bent his head down to capture Hermione's tender lips, somebody shouted. Hermione snapped out of the trance Draco put her in with the realization that she almost let Draco Malfoy kiss her. And the only regret she felt was that they had been interrupted.

Hermione looked around to see who shouted and was surprised to see her two friends standing there staring at her as if she had grown a second head.

"Harry? Ron? What are you guys doing here? Don't you know it's past curfew?" She asked them as she took a step toward them and away from Draco.

"Curfew?" Ron sputtered, "You were about to snog our worst enemy and all you can think about are the damn rules!?"

Hermione was at a loss for a moment, "Well...I…well, why were you spying on me anyway? I can take care of myself, you know!"

"We know you can," Harry said quietly, "but we've been worried about you. You've become so distant lately and we wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Yeah, and we find out you're more than okay. In fact, you're so okay that you're kissing Draco Malfoy!" Ron yelled still upset.

It was Hermione's turn to yell, "It's none of your business who I decide to kiss, Ronald! And that goes for you too, Harry. Voldemort's gone! We don't have to think of Draco as the enemy anymore. You know, he's actually quite fun to hang out with at times!"

Everybody was shell-shocked for a minute. Draco spoke first.

"Did you just call me Draco?" He asked with a smirk.

"So what if I did? It's not the end of the world! We do work together, so might as well be on a first name basis."

"That's all right with me…Hermione."

"Oh, enough," Ron snapped interrupting.

"Hermione," Harry said, "I think it's best if we leave for now. We need to talk when everybody's a bit calmer. Especially Ron."

"Yes," Hermione agreed a bit tired from all that went on that night.

After Harry and Ron were gone, Draco and Hermione began to make their way to their dorm. They walked in complete silence all the way up to their common room.

"Good night, Hermione," Draco said before he went into his room.

Hermione smiled slightly and answered, "Good night, Draco," as she went into hers.



Draco frowned up at the ceiling as he lay in his bed. He had two more things to add to the list of oddities surrounding Hermione Granger. She had better than normal hearing and really good eye-sight in the dark.