WOW thanks a lot to everyone who listed this story as an alert/favourite etc. Already? With just a prologue? Ok, well you guys are in for it. First chapter may start out a little slow after reading the prologue, but the content from the prologue will be back in probably the third or fourth chapter so just wait!
Wrote this chapter as quick as I could because the alerts/favourites made me so excited. Listened to Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs" album while doing so, and it's incredibly. Record of the year at the grammys, by a Canadian band. CANADA REPPIN. Ahahha im so lame.
"Ronald! We are going to be late for the prefect meeting if you don't stop shoving your face with chocolate frogs!" Hermione barked. She was standing in the doorway of their compartment on the Hogwarts Express, furious with Ron for his classic tardiness.
Harry grinned as he tossed a few flavoured beans into his mouth, amused with the friendly banter Hermione always provided. Ron was scrambled to find the frog that got loose when he opened his package. He reached for it as it was about to leap off the bench and out into the hallway, grabbing its back left leg and stuffing it into his pocket. "OK Hermione, I'll eat it on the way." Ron grabbed his wand to stuff in his pocket, before taking a step closer to the door.
"Are you forgetting something?" Hermione nagged once more. He gave her a puzzled look before shrugging his shoulders. "Your prefects badge! Good lord Ron, you would forget your own head if it were screwed on to your shoulders!"
Rob grinned, grabbing the badge and pinning it on quickly, preparing to exit the compartment once more before Hermione stopped him yet again. "Just let me do it." Snatching the lopsided badge off his robes, Hermione turned it upright and pinned it to his robes correctly. She patted his chest before turning and marching down the hallway. Ron blushed, and turned to give his best mate a hearty grin as Harry gave Ron a big thumbs up.
It was common knowledge that Ron had a thing for Hermione. Ever since she blossomed into a woman a few years back, Ron had been looking at her in a new light. Her hair had become tamer, her complexion became clearer and smooth. And the curves she grew into, well it drove Ron mental. She was still that clever bookworm he met when he was eleven, only older and more mature. Harry thought it was amusing; Hermione completely oblivious to Ron's adoration. Unfortunately, he knew this would be going on for long time, for Ron could never muster up enough courage to make the first move.
Meanwhile, Hermione marched quickly towards the prefects carriage. Ron kept up with ease as his strides were twice as long at Hermione's. She reached for the sliding door, but a longer arm grasped it before her fingers could close around the handle. "Thanks Ron." She said and she stepped through the door, Ron following close behind.
Inside, sat the prefects of the other houses. The Gryffindor prefects were obliviously last to arrive due to Ron's always hungry stomach. Hermione looked around at all the faces staring back at her. Professor McGonagall gave her a fierce look and telepathically told her to sit down. Hermione blushed and took a seat next to Ron and Padma Patil, a Ravenclaw prefect. She glanced around the few, recognizing a few faces from the hallways but not knowing their names. She had to do a double take when her eyes passed over untidy blonde hair. They let Draco Malfoy be a prefect again? Is Dumbledore completely mental?
Draco caught her gaze and shot her a disgusted look, as if he thought her dirty blood would rub off on him. Hermione scrunched her nose up and rolled her eyes at him, turning to listen to what McGonagall had to say. She was rambling on about maintaining inter-house peace, and respecting and abiding by the rules of the school, and so on and so forth. Hermione was only half listening. She couldn't help but staring every so often at Ron's hand, resting on his right knee. Ron's pinky and ring finger lazily resting against Hermione's leg. Hermione wanted to shake it off, but at the same time didn't want to draw attention to it. Perhaps it was an accident, maybe he didn't notice it was there. After all, he was staring lazily at the spot above McGonagall's head, trying to pass it off as if he were paying attention.
Draco was also only half-listening to the professor as she spoke, however staring out the window at the rain was far more interesting for him. Every so often he would let his eyes wander back into the carriage and glance around at his fellow prefects. He watched as Ernie MacMillan bit his nails incessantly beside one of the Patil twins, he couldn't care enough to try and decipher them apart. As his eyes wandered some more he noticed Ron Weasley lounging in his chair next to Hermione Granger. His hand, lazily grazing her leg while she stared down at it.
Draco couldn't make out what her face was saying, her mop of hair fell across her face, but he couldn't help but wonder if something had happened between the two of them over the summer. He knew that she and Potter often spent time at the Weasley shack during the holidays. Maybe that Weasel finally made a move, doubtful. He's still as dumb as a doorknob.
McGonagall stopped talking after thirty long minutes and allowed the prefects to begin their duties; corridor monitoring. Hermione and Ron were the first to leave the compartment, followed closely by their fellow prefects. "I didn't think she'd ever stop lecturing. I mean, classes haven't even started and we've already had our first lesson!" Ron whined as he followed the bushy hair down the corridor.
"You're overreacting Ron." She said as they got closer to the carriage Harry was still sitting in, along with Ginny, Neville and Luna. "I'll catch up with you later, I'm just going to go use the bathroom." Hermione continued down the corridor towards the women's washroom at the end of the hall.
"Can't believe they're still letting filth like you into Hogwarts." A sharp voice rang out through the corridor. Hermione turned to look at the owner of the voice and immediately regretted it. Draco Malfoy walked his way over to Hermione, his hand shoved into his uniform pockets.
"Grow up Malfoy, and stop regurgitating your father's opinions." Hermione called over her shoulder as she continued walking.
"At least my father is renown in the Wizarding world." Malfoy spat back at her, still following her. "Take that back actually, at least my father is a wizard."
"Well it's good to know you're proud of your father being renown in the Wizarding world," Hermione turned to watch Draco's reaction as she finished her sentence. "Good to know your proud of your spineless, pathetic Death Eater father, Malfoy."
Malfoy's hand whipped into the pocket of his robes, pulling out his wand quickly. "Take that back." He growled.
Hermione was just as quick, her wand already pointing at Malfoy, her eyes glaring deeply into his. "Or what? You'll hex me on the train for all the Professors to see? Daddy wouldn't be very happy if his worthless son were in trouble so soon, now would he?"
"You bitch, don't you ever talk about my father like that again!" Malfoy barked loudly before turning into the carriage on his left, slamming the door shut loudly after stepping inside.
"Can't make any promises." Hermione said loud enough for him to hear, before turning on her heel and continuing on to the lavatory.
Barely two hours into their journey on the Hogwarts Express and Draco Malfoy had already taunted his favourite victim – other than Potter of course. He flopped down on the chair in his carriage, sitting alongside his friends Goyle, Crabbe, Pansy and Blaise.
He was furious, that filthy Mudblood had the audacity to insult his family like that? Her Muggle scum dared to speak of the pure-blood Malfoys with such distaste? She would have to be put in her place, Draco thought. That is, until he remembered how fiery she got as she faught back. It was rather, for lack of a better word, sexy listening to her sharp jabs.
No no, Draco thought. That can't be right. She was a nasty little bookworm, completely revolting. He tried to push her out of his thought when a voice shook him back to reality. "What's got your knickers in a twist, Draco?" Blaise asked, noticing his blank stare out the window.
"Nothing," He replied quickly. "McGonagall's just playing favourite within prefects again."
"What a bitch." Pansy snarled, leaning her torso into Malfoy's right arm. He looked down at it, deeply unimpressed by her pathetic attempts at flirting. Draco was never romantically, or lustfully, interested in Pansy. All she was really good for was her audience skills; he could always count on her to laugh at his insults to his peers.
Draco shrugged her arm off him and continued his stare out the window. Unaware of the fact that Hermione stared out at the same view as he in her carriage. She had returned from the bathroom to find Ron and Harry deeply immersed in a conversation regarding the Hollyhead Harpies and their most recent win in Quidditch. She had no interest of discussing sports, so she lazily gazed out the window at the storm thrashing outside. The raindrops were falling hard and full from the dark clouds overhead. Low rumbles of thunder could be heard over the sounds of the Hogwarts Express and shouting of the students; excited for a new year ahead.
A couple hours later, the train stopped and students scrambled to get all of their possessions off the train as soon as they could. "Slow down! Stop running in the corridors!" Hermione bellowed at a couple eager second years as they ran with their owls stowed away in cages, hooting loudly.
Hermione had something to say at most, if not every, student on their way to disembark. Whether it be 'stop running' or 'follow the other first years to Hagrid', her voice could always be heard over everyone else's. "Hermione, you've got to stop nagging the other students. Let them make their own mistakes, for goodness sake." Ron said as Hermione stopped a first year to fix his uniform tie.
"Yeah, I mean. We've made a few mistakes in our years haven't we?" Harry added, a goofy grin on his lips. "Like that time we accidentally ran into the third floor room with Fluffy, or drove a flying car to school, among many other things."
Hermione laughed as she remembered the adventures she and her two best friends had embarked upon. Most people couldn't say they've done nearly as much as they already have. "OK, let's go then."
The three of them hurried to catch one of the few carriages left with Seamus and Dean. The invisible thestrals pulled them up the winding paths to the enchanting castle they call a second home. Hermione's stomach flip-flopped with excitement as a new year approached with every lurch of the carriage.
They wandered into the Great Hall to take their seats at the Gryffindor table. It seemed as though nothing had changed, the same starry sky above, while the teachers chatted happily at the head table, and students making plenty of noise in the hustle of getting seats.
"I'm starved, can't they get this sorting started already?" Ron whined at Hermione's right.
"Are you actually a bottomless pit, Ron? Do you ever stop eating?" Hermione chuckled, giving her ginger friend a look of mock confusion.
Ron grinned, and rather than replying verbally he shook his head and gave Hermione a friendly nudge on the shoulder with his elbow. Hermione scoffed with fake anger and lightly slapped his shoulder, laughing whole heartedly afterwards.
She could however, feel a pair of eyes on her from somewhere in the Great Hall. Well, two if you counted the corner-of-his-eyes gaze Ron was sending her way. Hermione searched the room for the mystery person looking at her. Everyone at Ravenclaw seemed to be chatting away happily, Hufflepuff doing the same on their end of the Hall.
Hermione's eyes were drifting across the Slytherin table when she found the silver eyes looking her way. Hermione furrowed her eyebrows together, wondering why Malfoy was staring so intently in her direction. His eyes flicked to the boy on her right, a look of disgust in his eyes as he returned his gaze to her.
Hermione's cheeks flushed, frustrated with the way Malfoy thought he was free to judge anyone he pleased. He was shaking his head at her, as if he was saying that they belonged together as they were both of low class. Hermione sent a fiery glare back in his direction, and whispered "prick" under her breath before quickly snapping her head around to the doors where Professor McGonagall was ushering in the first years for sorting.