WOW thanks so much for the story/author alerts/favourites and reviews! I think that's really awesome of you guys. Maybe I could get some more reviews from the kind readers who've listed me as an alert/favourite. Either way, you guys are simply awesome!
Took me so long to update because of the annual famjam end of summer vacation and pretty much dying because work has been unbelievably busy. 60+hours in 6 days. I move back in for university until the 11th of September so expect a lot from me until then!
On the first day of lessons, Hermione found herself barely able to sleep for more than an hour before waking and checking the time. She was anxious for her new courses to start; these were the years that counted the most. When it was finally an acceptable time for her to start getting dressed for breakfast in the Great Hall, Hermione eagerly kicked her legs out of the sheets and tossed the on uniform lying out ready for her. Hermione grabbed a book to flip through as she ate, and raced down to the common room and out the portrait hole.
With an extra bounce in her steps, Hermione happily made her way to breakfast and noticed she was one of the few up and ready for the first day. She took a seat at the Gryffindor table and cracked open her sixth year Defence Against the Dark Arts book and turned it to the third chapter to reread before classes started. Hermione was at peace with her book and mouth full of toast with jam.
There weren't many other people at breakfast yet; Hermione was one of maybe eight students munching quietly in the early hours of the morning. Hermione was approaching the chapter on non-verbal defensive spells when she heard footsteps approaching.
"Granger." Draco Malfoy's cold voice snapped. Hermione rolled her eyes before looking up at him. "McGonagall told me you have second hour spare today."
"And that information was relayed to you because?" Hermione gave him a look of confusion and annoyance before he spoke once more.
"Well if you had let me finished in the first place you would know, now wouldn't you?" Draco scoffed and continued. "I have the same free period and she told me that we have to do patrols of the corridors at that time."
"You can't be serious, why do I have to do rounds with you?" Hermione felt her mood drop; she had been planning on going to the library at that time to get ahead in her courses.
"Because you're little Weasel has Divination with Potty or something." He shot back aggressively, obviously very irritated with the situation. "Believe me, I'd rather be swimming with the Giant Squid then do rounds with filth like you."
"Shove off Malfoy." His insults no longer stirred the same reaction in her, she had been hearing them since they were twelve. But it was frustrating to hear his voice nonetheless. "Fine. Where should we meet? I have Potions first."
"I have Transfiguration, we'll meet in the Entrance Hall." He said as he began to turn on his heel to walk back to the Slytherin table.
Hermione watched as he swaggered off to eat breakfast before any of his friends came down to eat. She turned her attention back to the words from her textbook and found herself lost in her reading once more.
She was on the chapter conclusion when she noticed Ron and Harry sit down in front of her. "Morning Hermione." Ron said cheerfully. She returned the good morning welcome to him and took a sip of her tea.
"You're here awfully early." Harry noted, helping himself to a large portion of apple cinnamon oatmeal.
"Couldn't stay asleep for more than an hour last night, too anxious for the start of classes." She replied, busy finishing the last sentence of the chapter conclusion. She then took the cover of thee textbook and folded in closed before tucking it away in her jam-packed book bag.
"What a shocker that is." Ron laughed, nudging Harry in the process. Hermione playfully kicked him under the table and watched as Ron whined jokingly at the pain from his shin.
Draco sat at the Slytherin table and lazily gazed around the Great Hall. He watched Professor Sprout chat with Flitwick at the head table before his eyes fell upon the students at other tables struggling not to fall asleep with their heads in their food.
Draco stopped his mindless people watching when he found the trio he detested most, Potter, Granger and Weasley. He watched Hermione's playful exchange with Weasley across the table from her and Draco felt a sharp pain in his stomach. Confused, he rubbed the spot on his skin where he felt an invisible force pierce him, but nothing happened stopped the feeling deep in his gut.
Draco shook his head and looked up once more. He saw Hermione bite the inside of her cheek, a sweet smile on her lips. Without even looking at Weasley he knew what he was thinking, how did Hermione turn into something so pretty almost overnight? Draco felt another pang, this time due to jealousy of Ron.
Draco held his fork so tightly his knuckles turned white. Stop thinking like that, it's Granger. She's worthless to me. He reminded himself, taking a deep breath to regain composure. Determined not to look at her again during the meal, he kept his head hung low over his toast and finished quickly. Draco raced back to the dungeons for his book bag to head to Transfiguration early.
Once finished their meals, Harry Ron and Hermione started their trek down to the dungeons for Potions. Hermione walked with her best friends on either side of her and felt happy once more. She was back at Hogwarts with the people she loved dearly and it was a start of another school year together.
As they walked down the stairs towards Snape's Potions class, Malfoy was coming up the stairs from the Slytherin common room. He looked at the trio walking together, smiles etched on each of their faces. Draco noticed Ron gazing admiringly at Hermione. Malfoy walked a little quicker and as he passed on Ron's left, Draco smacked his left shoulder with Ron's.
"Watch it Weasel. You ought to make room for people who actually matter in this world." Draco spat as he shot a dirty look at the trio.
"Screw off!" Ron shouted back at him. Draco caught Hermione's angry glare and struggled to turn away before he did something he would instantly regret.
Hermione and the boys continued along without another interruption until the met the doors of the Potions room. Once inside, Snape began his usual boring lecture followed by constant hating on Harry and his friends. Hermione did her best to keep quiet and focus on the potion before her throughout the class. Ron kept peeking over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of what she was doing, in hope of figuring out where he had gone so terribly wrong in his potion.
At the end of the hour, Hermione filled her vile up and disposed of the excess potion in the proper waste bin. She collected her books and waved goodbye to Ron and Harry who were on their way to the Astronomy tower. Hermione walked quickly to drop her book bag off in her dormitory before making her way back down to the Entrance Hall.
Draco was pacing back and forth, clearly annoyed with her tardiness. "What took you so long?" He barked.
"Just dropping my books off Malfoy, don't get your knickers all in a twist." She huffed, walking past him to start their patrols. "Then again, a little extra time away from you didn't do me much harm."
Draco watched her walk in front of him gracefully. He scoffed and shook his head, falling into the same rhythm of her footsteps while maintaining a safe amount of distance behind her. They walked in silence around the first floor, nothing remotely interesting or worthy of their free period. Hermione approached the stairs to the second floor and looked over her shoulder to remind herself that it was Draco shuffling behind her.
"You keep looking one way and I'll look the other." He reminded her, pausing at the first step to make sure she turned back around.
"Will you ever get over yourself?" She said as she turned back around to climb the stairs. Draco couldn't stop himself from tilting his head and watching her hips sway as she took each step. Seriously, when did she all of a sudden grow into such a body? Draco forced his eyes shut and didn't open them again until they were pointed at the stairs below him.
They rounded the corner and continued on through the second floor quietly. The only sound emitting from Hermione's flats that made a soft click as she stepped. Her paces were short and quick, while Draco's were long and lazy.
The sounds of their footsteps were soon drowned out by a light giggle coming from a crook in the hall where benches laid for students to rest upon between classes. A fourth or fifth year couple sat together very closely, attached like glue at the lips. Neither Hermione nor Draco recognised the couple, but Hermione felt herself roll her eyes at the strangers and their rather revolting public display of affection.
Hermione opened her mouth to tell off the students but before she could she heard a murmur from behind her. She watched as the two broke apart quickly as their tongues rolled out of their mouths, ten times their normal length. "Malfoy!" Hermione shrieked, rounding on a breathless Draco who was hunched over as his laugh rang through the hall.
The couple looked at each other with wide eyes and turned to Hermione for help. She pointed her wand at the two and muttered shrinking charm, before hastily apologizing for Draco's insensitivity. She didn't even have to tell them to get back to class for as soon as their tongues were normal size they raced off down the hall back to their lessons.
"Malfoy! You cannot go around hexing people as punishment for skipping classes!" She said; her face flushed with anger. Draco continued to let out a few cries of laughter before wiping a bit of moisture from his eyes.
"Oh come on, that was hilarious!" He grinned.
"Not in the least! How would you feel if someone interrupted you and a girl by enlarging your tongue?" She spat with a finger pointing directly at his chest.
"Well no one would first have the guts to hex me, and secondly, they would simply be jealous." He shrugged, before starting to walk down the hall once more.
"You are so delusional, you know that right?" Hermione hurried after him. She was not done telling him off for abusing his prefect power. "Any girl that's ever been attracted must have serious brain damage or are under some powerful Imperius charm!"
"Ha!" Draco snorted. His hands shoved in his pockets as he continued to wander lazily down the hall. "You're mad Granger, any girl of worthy stature adore me. It's simply people like you who don't appreciate pureblood in all its glory."
"I'd rather be a crazy cat lady then marry a pureblood!" Hermione had to walk quickly to keep pace with Draco, her loud shoes echoing across the second floor. "Besides, my taste in men is just fine!"
Draco turned abruptly and stopped right in front of Hermione. She had to put on the brakes quickly to avoid ramming right into his chest. "Oh yeah? Weasel sure is a nice catch, eh? If you're into that whole poor, pathetic, wizard scum kind of family I suppose." He watched Hermione's eyebrows furrow together as a look of confusion spread across her face.
Shit, he was wrong. They didn't get together over the summer. And now Granger must know that he's been watching her the past two days.
"What are you talking about? Ron and I aren't together, like it'd be any of your business if we were." Hermione couldn't help but notice how close his pink lips were. They were a nice colour really, with a pretty contrast between his ivory skin and delicate pink lips.
Snap out of it! A voice inside her shrieked. Draco could not be seen as remotely attractive, he was a Malfoy for heaven's sake.
"Really? Well I thought filth was drawn to other filth. Hm." Draco shrugged as he turned back around. Hermione stomped her feet and hurried after him once more. Draco had his right arm extended, tracing his finger along the stone hall as he walked.
"Who do you think you are? Making fun of other people all day long. What gives you the right to speak to people like that?" She said, her voice shaking from frustration.
"Oh you know, just my family name." He said over his shoulder. "And my blood status compared to yours and Weasel's."
"I hate you Malfoy! I really do! How someone so arrogant and cruel could exist is simply astounding!" She shrieked, causing Draco to turn on his left heel and step even closer to her, at an angle that practically pushed her up against the wall.
"Oh, Granger. That really hurt me you know? How someone so mean could exist is just so terrible!" He said mockingly.
"Shove off Malfoy!" She said, trying to sidestep herself around him. As soon as she took a step to her left, Draco threw an arm up to block her in.
"Or what?" He said. Hermione looked from his clouded silver eyes to his arm at her left ear. "What could you possibly do, Granger?"
Hermione felt her cheeks grow hot as Malfoy stared down at her. Her mind hit a dead end for intelligent retorts and she felt her mouth loose all moisture. Draco grinned cheekily; he'd cornered her and couldn't help but enjoy himself as he watched Hermione at a loss for words.
Draco scoffed and dropped his arm. Hermione was about to shout something at Draco but the bell signalling the end of classes rang through the school and students flooded the hallways to commute to the next lesson. Hermione watched as Draco tilted his head over his shoulder, one hand in his pocket the other back to tracing the wall. He sent Hermione one final cold stare before disappearing into the throng of students, leaving Hermione's head swirling and cheeks flushed a deep shade of pink.
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