The next morning Draco arose an hour and a half before his first class. He grabbed his monogramed blue robe (blue was his favorite color contrary to popular belief) and headed for the bathroom that was adjoined to Hermione's room. He turned on the light and took a quick look around. The bathroom was decorated in both deep purple and dark blue. Obviously someone had snitched to the Headmaster that Draco had a fondness for blue. The purple must be for Hermione. There was after all a large purple towel on the heated towel rack with H.G. in white embroidery.
His own towel was hanging on the same rack, although it was light blue with D.M. stitched in darker blue. The people at Hogwarts really thought of everything. Draco quickly shucked his pajamas and jumped into a nice steamy shower. He used the shampoo that was provided (a nice blend of fresh and manly scent) and then after rinsing off the soap, jumped out and wrapped his robe around himself.
He quickly washed his face, brushed his hair and then his teeth, and left. He didn't feel like having Hermione destroy his good mood by whining about him being in the bathroom forever. He went into his room, got dressed, packed his books into his bag and went into the common room. To his suprise, Hermione was just adjusting the strap of her own book bag and she looked much better than she had the night before. She sparkled with cleanliness and her hair even seemed shinier.
"Good morning, Malfoy," she said with a business like tone. She seemed to be rather chipper this morning and Draco supposed it was because she would be excited for classes to start.
"Morning, Granger," Draco said not bringing up the fact that she must have gotten up at five in the morning to get ready before him.
"Did you get your schedule," Hermione asked and Draco blinked at her.
"Umm yeah," he muttered rummaging through his bag for it.
"Proffesor McGonagall said that you and I share our first class, which happens to be Tranfiguration and that she is going to partner us together, as an example for the rest of the class," Hermione said and Draco growled.
"Wonderful," he grumped and Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.
"So we will have to break our agreements, because our homework will be joined," Hermione said her bossiness showing through.
"Break our agreements? Wait, when'd you talk to McGonagall?" Draco said suspiciously.
"This morning, I went to her office to ask her a question and she informed me of her plans," Hermione said rather self-conciously.
"You brown-noser. Well I would like a word with her myself, and it's going to about what I think of her so called plan," Draco said arrogantly.
"Go right ahead. I'm sure detention would serve you well this early in the year. Besides you are supposed to be setting an example as Head Boy. Whining about class assignments isn't exactly doing your job. Think if all the kids took up your attitude. The school would have to be shut down, the teacher's couldn't handle that, I don't think anyone could," Hermione reprimanded.
"Stop with the lecture, Mudblood," Draco snapped, giving her a venemous look.
"And using that word is also inappropriate. I don't want to hear you say it ever again," Hermione said bravely and Draco laughed at her.
"Make me, Granger," He said huskily and she lifted her wand lazily in his direction.
"I wouldn't tempt me, Malfoy. I'm not the top of our class for nothing," she said steadily and Draco's jaw almost dropped.
"You'd be expelled," he pointed out, trying to keep the suprise from his voice.
"Perhaps. But perhaps not and besides you think I haven't learned almost all they have to teach me here?" Hermione asked and she moved her wand till it was pointed at Draco's right arm, which happened to be his wand arm.
"You plan on maiming me," Draco bit out harshly.
"I don't have to hurt you very much for it to have a lasting effect on your life. Then whenever you were feeling particularily malicious, a slight twinge from your useless arm and you'd remember Hermione Granger putting you in your place," Hermione said as though she quite enjoyed the place of power she was in at the moment.
Draco couldn't decide whether she was bluffing or if she was being entirely sincere. So he decided to play a bit of chicken with her. If she really planned to hurt him, she was going to do it either way. But if she didn't, she'd probably give ground and stop threatening him. He had realized that he really didn't like being on the other side of a wand.
Draco didn't say anything for a moment and then he took a step forward, Hermione just raised an eyebrow. Draco stopped where he was. She wasn't going to back down, not unless he said something to make her realize that she was being unreasonable. But she was very stubborn it was going to take an act of mercy for her to stop looking at him in that manic way.
"Hermione," Draco began, but it seemed he didn't have to continue because as soon as he said her name she looked him up and down, and put her wand away.
"You are sincerely not worth my time," Hermione said menacingly.
For some reason Draco felt as though she really had cursed him. He respected her, even though he didn't show it, and she didn't want to acknowledge his existance. It didn't make him feel very good.
"But I will not curse you. I would have, mind you, if you had come any closer. But I reserve judgement on whether or not I will in the future. From now on, Malfoy, I don't want you to call me Mudblood. I think that with us living together we can be civil, if just barely so. No more insults. We aren't children anymore and I'm tired of you making me act like I am just to match you. You can call me by my first name from now on, and I shall do the same to you. After all I am getting sick of calling you Malfoy, it's just strange to me. Now we better go, we have five minutes to get to class," Hermione said quickly, now realizing they might be late for Transfiguration if they didn't hurry.
Draco didn't say anything, but followed her grudgingly out the portrait entrance and down to Proffesor McGonagall's classroom.
"Do think you can manage that," Hermione asked just before she opened the door.
"What," Draco asked confused.
"All the stuff I said before about being mature from now on, do you think you can do it?" Hermione explained.
"Oh, yeah I guess," Draco said and Hermione threw open the door and walked primly to a seat next to Potter.
Draco slunk into a seat in the back beside a girl he didn't know. She glared at him and moved her books closer to herself. He could only guess why she didn't like him. Proffesor McGonagall appeared then, her mouth a permanant grim line in a sea of wrinkles.
"Today we shall be transfiguring each other into animals. Now animal transformations are very difficult so I want you to pay close attention to the instructions I give you," Proffesor McGonagall said loudly.
Draco groaned inwardly, nothing was more diffuclt than Transfiguration. He wished then that he could have dropped it, but his mother had insisted he take it. Something about being able to get a job with the Ministry. It was only his intense love for his mother that had made him listen.
"First you will have partners for the rest of the term. I have assigned you myself." Proffesor McGonagall said sounding a bit like sinsister Proffesor Snape.
Draco knew it was coming, but nothing could dull the pain of when Proffesor McGonagall called his name along with Hermione's. He wouldn't get up from his chair, so Hermione had to gather her things and move to the back of the classroom. She sat down heavily and set her N.E.W.T. Transfiguration book infront of herself. Hermione actually smiled at him, he glared at her until he noticed that all of the class was looking at them. Including Proffesor McGonagall, who was looking rather grimly at him.
He ignored her, Hermione hadn't smiled at him for any other reason other than she was trying to win brownie points with McGonagall. It made him madder than it should have, but he felt like he was being made out to be the bad guy. For the rest of the class period he sat hunched in his chair with a sour look on his face. After Proffesor McGonagall had dismissed the class and handed out homework, she summoned Draco to her.
"Mr. Malfoy, I would hope that being as you are Head Boy you could show that you can cooperate with Mrs. Granger. You, after all, are a mature adult," Proffesor McGonagall said sternly.
"I will try Proffesor," Draco said through gritted teeth.
There was nothing worse than a lecture, they were always stupid and filled with things you already knew. Not to mention they were always used to point out your flaws.
"You are dismissed," Proffesor McGonagall said tartly and Draco left quickly.
He went quickly to his next class which thankfully did not include the Head Girl in it.
It was later that night and Draco was doing his homework at his writing table. Hermione had her own work spread across the carpet. They hadn't gotten around to working on their Transfiguration work, neither wanted to, so they just prolonged the agony. Hermione's brow was scrunched up in deep concentration when Draco finally approached her.
"What," she snapped when she saw him.
"I thought we could work on our Tranfiguration homework now," Draco said steadily not putting anything in his tone to make her mad.
"Bang it here," Hermione said pointing at the couple of inches of carpet that didn't already had a mirade of papers stacked there.
Draco set his stuff where she indicated and then sat heavily as far away from her as he could get while still being able to hear what she said and see what she pointed at. Hermioine ignored this and began rapidly taking notes and filling her parchment with elegant scroll. Draco tried hard to make it not obvious that he was a bit lost on what they were supposed to be doing. Instead he craned his neck and tried to read her papers upside down.
Hermione noticed after the third time that Draco wasn't doing his own work, but rather looking over her's.
"I'm not going to do all the work by myself. Get hopping," she said indignantly.
"I am working," Draco answered back, matching her tone.
"By copying my work. Draco, by Merlin, how did you become Head Boy if this is how you do your work," Hermione ranted her cheeks coloring with anger.
"If you're suggesting that I got good grades from cheating; you're wrong," Draco snapped putting his arms across his chest and scowling darkly at her.
"I highly doubt that, if you hadn't you would be able to breeze through the Transfiguration work Proffesor McGonagall set for us. What's the matter, Malfoy, don't you understand it," Hermione said snottily and Draco's cheeks tinged pink.
That blasted Mudblood had made him at a loss for words. He just stared wide mouthed at her. But it seemed she wasn't really that malicious. Her eyes softened and her mouth formed a perfect O.
"You have problems with Tranfiguration, don't you," Hermione asked softly and Draco narrowed his eyes at her, but kept silent.
"If you'd have just said so I would have helped. Sometimes we must swallow our pride," Hermione said wisely and Draco felt like smacking her.
"Well is that the problem?"
Hermione stared at him with huge brown eyes and he crumbled for the first time in his life.
"I guess," Draco said angrily and Hermione couldn't help but smile.
"Well it's easy to solve. This spell is complex, but pretty simple to master. How about this; I will do the essay portion and you will learn how to work the spell. I can already do it, so I can give you pointers," Hermione said very business-like now that she understood what was wrong.
"Okay," Draco said sulkily.
"Alright just read over this little write-up I did. It should help, if you still don't get it I can demonstrate it for you," Hermione said kindly.
"I hate you, Granger," Draco said venomously as she handed him some of her notes.
"I wouldn't dream of anything else, Malfoy," Hermione said sweetly.
It was the beginnning of something that Draco wouldn't understand until years later. Hermione Granger wasn't who he thought she was, it was a fact he was about to find out.
"So you really don't like Quidditch," Draco asked suspiciously late one afternoon while Hermione and he were working on homework, suprisingly together.
"No, I like watching it, but I hate flying on a broomstick," Hermione explained not looking at Draco as she wrote down potion ingredients.
"Flying is the best thing in the world, how could you hate it?" Draco said said increndiously.
"I just don't like it alright," Hermione said abruptly and Draco stared at her as if she'd grown another head.
"It scares you, doesn't it, Hermione," Draco said soothingly knowing she'd get huffy if he just slapped that fact in her face.
"Your point is? I can be afraid of whatever I like," Hermione said shortly and Draco dropped his eyes to the floor.
"I bet you'd like it if you practiced a bit, it's funner when you know how to do it," Draco offered and Hermione finally raised her eyes from her paper to glare at him.
"No, thank you. I quite like my feet on the ground," Hermione said closedly and Draco knew that subject was off-limits now. If he wanted to row with Hermione he would have pushed more, but he didn't feel like another huge arguement.
"Did you find that quill you were looking for," Hermione asked him after he had been silent for a long time.
"Oh yeah, it was under a ton of stuff on my desk," Draco said sheepishly.
"You really should organize your stuff. I myself have all my papers alphabetized and color coded," Hermione said pompously and Draco laughed.
"Yes, but you are a special breed of person. No one else is as organized as you are, Hermione. They would go insane," Draco said complimenting and insulting at the same time.
"That may be true," Hermione admitted scrawling something onto another peice of parchment.
"What's this," Draco asked as she shoved it into his hand.
"You need to go to the library and find that book. Then look in the index for side effects for a body switching potion," Hermione said quickly.
"But isn't the library more your thing," Draco argued and Hermione laughed.
"Don't tell me you can't read either. Just go get it," Hermione ordered.
"Sure you don't have this in your trunk," Draco asked teasingly and Hermione pointedly ignored him.
"Fine, fine, I'll go get it," Draco said and he stumbled on weary legs to the portrait hole. He turned around ready to say something witty to Hermione, but what he saw made him stop. Hermione was bent over her work, that wasn't suprising, but there was something about her. Draco was trying to pin point it, when she rustled a paper next to her foot and he shook himself, he turned and walked out of the portrait, a confused frown on his face.
"Where are the others," Draco asked and Godric laughed heartily.
"Can't excpect us to sit with each other all the time, can you?"
"Guess not. Unity," Draco said and the portrait swung forward.
Hermione was sitting exactly as she had been when he left, although she had completely shoved away her work and was just sitting in the middle of the floor, her eyes closed. Draco was suprised that she wasn't doing her work, but instead looked to be meditating. Draco placed the book infront of her and went into his room.
As he lay in bed that night, his thoughts were blank of anything relevant. Instead he was thinking about after school, and what he hoped for. In his minds eye he could see some beautiful woman on his arm, but he just couldn't get her face to come into focus. He ignored this and thought instead of the proud gleam in his father's eye when Draco was elected Minister of Magic. Now that was something worth looking forward to.