.-.-Chapter 2-.-.
Draco stared up at the ceiling. He was awake unusually early for a Saturday morning. Sighing, he clambered up and out of bed. With one last glare towards a snoring Crabbe, he walked out of his dormitory and towards the Great Hall. As he walked down the empty hallway, he could hear his footsteps echoing. The silence seemed to have a calming effect on him. He liked it. He liked how he was sort of in his own world.
When Draco reached the Great Hall, he noticed that Hermione was sitting by herself at the Gryffindor table. Smirking to himself, he remembered how Hermione had needed some more practice on her lines. He started walked towards her but she had not noticed yet. When Draco tapped on her shoulder, she seemed to jump in surprise but when her brain registered who he was, her look of surprise was replaced with a look of disgust.
"What do you want?" questioned Hermione, half annoyed and half curious.
"Whoa, Granger. No need to bite my head off," sneered Draco. "I was just wondering if you wanted to practice the lines for the play later today."
"What?"
"You heard me. Instead of wasting my precious time during the rehearsal, we could practice so that I will have more time for myself."
"I don't believe it," said Hermione uncertainly. "Are you standing me up? Or are you just being mean and playing a prank on me?"
"Listen. Either you do or you don't. What is so hard to understand about that?" asked Draco with an unreadable expression on his face.
"Fine," agreed Hermione reluctantly. "When and where?"
"5:00 in the Room of Requirement."
"Okay."
And with that, Draco walked away. I can't believe I just did that, he thought, that was one of the lamest things I have ever done. Shaking his head, he continued walking away.
.-.-
In the Gryffindor common room, Harry and Ron were sitting on a couch discussing Quidditch when Hermione burst in looking slightly upset.
"What's wrong Hermione?" asked Harry, full of concern.
"I can't believe that I just did that!" wailed Hermione.
"Did what, may I ask?" asked Ron, looking slightly suspicious.
"I just promised Malfoy that I would rehearse my lines with him."
"You WHAT?" bellowed Ron.
"I didn't mean to!" sobbed Hermione, afraid at Ron's sudden outburst. "I-It was a spur of the m-moment thing. H-He had this logic and…and—"
"That doesn't mean that you agree to do things with him," said Harry, trying to keep his voice calm.
Hermione just continued to sob.
"Well, what are you going to do now?" asked Ron exasperated. "You can't seriously go meet somewhere with him and trust that he won't hex you when your back is turned."
"Well, what can I do?" glared Hermione. "A promise is a promise. Even if he is a Malfoy. I guess I will have to trust his word."
"You're going to WHAT?" yelled Ron.
"Please be quiet Ronald. You're going to wake everyone up" stated Hermione. "Besides, I'll make sure that I will have a couple of shield charms handy."
"Are you sure you're going to be okay alone with him, Hermione?" asked Harry quietly.
"Yes, Harry. I'm a big girl now. Maybe now is a time for change. Even if he is Malfoy, maybe he's growing up and forgetting the silly way that his father has taught him to classify people. Maybe he's slowly learning to—"
"He'll never change. This is MALFOY we're talking about," said Ron bitterly.
"Well, think what you want. You don't have any control over my actions so I'll do what I like." stated Hermione coolly as she stormed away to her room.
When Hermione left, Ron slumped in his seat and put his head delicately into his hands. Harry just looked wistfully out the window, contemplating what had just happened. Then, he turned to Ron and patted his back.
"It's alright, mate." Harry said comfortingly.
.-.-
Around late afternoon, Hermione packed up her things in the library and started making her way to the Room of Requirement. When she got to the part of the wall where the door was supposed to appear, she started imagining a slightly romantic room with dimmed lights, some candles, and the main colour being red since the play that she was going to be rehearsing was Romeo and Juliet. She thought that it would be kind of fun to rehearse in such an environment. She opened her eyes and the door materialized in front of her. When she entered the room, she was in utter disbelief. Oh my gosh, she thought, this room is plain amazing! The room was circular and the middle of the room was sunken lower than the outer parts of the room so that it formed a sort of stage. The carpet and curtains were a crimson colour while the couches and pillows were a blood red and had gold lining with gold tassels. The walls were a rich cream colour and scented candles the colour of silver were burning from various places throughout the room. Hermione took a deep breath and started settling herself on a couch to wait for Draco.
A good 15 minutes later, Draco stumbled into the room.
"Whoa, Granger. What did you do now?" sneered Draco, but obviously trying to cover up the fact that he was in awe.
"Nothing. I thought that we could use a theme or something to help with the mood," replied Hermione simply.
"We didn't need a mood to begin with. Now, are we going to start practicing or not? You know I don't want to be here," drawled Draco impatiently. "I don't know what possessed me to actually spend time with such filth, but so be it."
Hermione shot Draco the dirtiest look she could muster, but she obediently positioned herself on the makeshift stage. Draco pulled a face at her but also positioned himself.
"Well, where do you want to start?" asked Hermione timidly.
"Where ever you want."
"How about Act…III, Scene V? It's one of my favourites."
"Whatever."
"Well, here goes…Wilt thou be gone? it is not yet near day/It was the nightingale, and not the lark/That pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear; /Nightly she sings on yon pomegranate-tree/Believe me, love, it was the nightingale."
"It was the lark, the herald of the morn/No nightingale: look, love, what envious streaks /Do lace the severing clouds in yonder east/Night's candles are burnt out, and jocund day /Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops. /I must be gone and live, or stay and die." said Draco softly as he gazed into Hermione's eyes.
"What? Oh…uh…" spluttered Hermione as she was already lost in her own thoughts. She blushed. "I'm sorry. I can't seem to concentrate."
"Of course," smirked Draco. "With my godly presence in the room, who would be able to? Oh. And you next line is: Yon light is not day-light, I know it, I:/ It is some meteor that the sun exhales,/ To be to thee this night a torch-bearer…"
"Um t-thanks," said Hermione. "How did you know my lines though? That's kinda weird."
"It's easier for me to memorize them that way," said Draco, once again smirking. "Tsktsk. Miss Know-it-all doesn't know it all for once. I'm surprised at you."
After a moment of consideration, Hermione spoke. "This may come as a weird question, but are you really human?"
"Why do you ask?"
"It's because I'm wondering whether you feel emotions or not. Everybody perceives you to be that cold guy with no heart. I want to know if that is the real you."
"Well, this was the way I was brought up. My father always taught me to care for myself. I always had to obey him. In exchange, I was severely unhappy. Gradually, I learned how to contain my emotions and place them in the back of my heart."
"But why would you have to do such a thing? Does that mean that Crabbe and Goyle are not really your friends?"
"They are fools. But this is what my life is meant for. I was meant to serve and obey my father, forcing me to exclude myself from the outside world. This is the price that I have had to pay," said Draco bitterly.
"The price for what though?"
"I have been asking myself that question more and more recently. I really don't know. Sometimes, I find myself wondering what would happen if I somehow broke out of my father's grasp. Everyday, I wish for such a thing to happen. Yet if it ever does, I would have to restart my life. Re-create my reputation. I don't know what I want anymore," finished Draco amazed at the fact that he had just poured out his fears and life story to Hermione. When the realization settled into both of them, they both turned back to their normal selves.
"I can't believe that I'm wasting more time with you," whined Draco.
"Well I can't believe that I sat through listening to your whole pathetic life story!" responded Hermione.
"Fine. This practice is over," spat out Draco as he stormed out of the room, leaving Hermione sadly sitting on the stage.
Hurriedly, she stuffed her books into her bag to go find Harry. As she ran down the halls, she could not help but feel empty from what Draco had just told her…
.-.-
Ron sat on a couch in the Gryffindor common room, staring at the crackling flames. He impatiently tapped his fingers on a table in front of him earning some glares from some forth years in the corner. The flames seemed to dance majestically and captivated, he could not pry his eyes from the fireplace. He thought about how Hermione was so similar to the flames. She was fiery but very entrancing. She was beautiful only if the world watched her dance. Ron took a deep breath. Tomorrow will be my day to finally get what I want, he thought fiercely, and I'll make sure of it.