Hermione ran as fast as she could towards the Great Hall. At first, she wasn't sure whether she should go to breakfast or not. She didn't want to see Malfoy, and she kind of wanted to be alone, where she could sort out her feelings in peace. Hermione didn't like the idea of going to breakfast with her face pink and her hair tangled from running. How would she explain herself to her friends? But finally she made up her mind. She would go to breakfast, because if she didn't then everyone would go looking for her, and then she would have much more to explain when they found her.
She arrived at the door and she fixed her hair and skirt as best she could, then she entered, bracing herself for questions. But as she sat down, she realized Harry and Ron were busy arguing, and they didn't notice that she walked in.
"Come on Harry, why can't you get me some muggle candy? That stuff is so good!" Ron pleaded, giving Harry his patented Puppy-Dog-Eyes.
"Ugh Ron, you know that your Puppy-Dog-Eyes doesn't work on guys!" said Harry giving him a disgusted look and chucked some fruit at him.
"Yeah, well I hoped it would..." Ron muttered, slumping in his seat.
"Hi Harry, Ron" said Hermione, giving them a slight smile.
"Hi Hermione!" they said. Ron didn't look up, he was busy picking strawberries off his robes.
"Harry won't give me any muggle candy," Ron whined. "Harry, why won't you give me muggle candy? I want some of that candy with the rainbows in it, those chocolate pieces thingys with the 'W''s on them, those soury worms, ooh and all those chocolate bars!" Ron said, drooling at the thought of all the candy. "I swear Hermione, I don't know how they got rainbows in the candy, but it's the best thing I've ever tasted. They've got red rainbows, green rainbows, and oooh my favorite the-"
Harry shoved a couple blueberry pancakes in his mouth with his fork . Ron gave him a dirty look, but quickly swallowed the pancakes and started to eat, forgetting about muggle candy and concentrating on his favorite activity-eating. Harry turned to Hermione.
"So Hermione, how was tutoring with Malfoy? Horrible? Disgusting? Sickening? Annoying?" Harry asked grinning at her.
"All of the above," said Hermione sighing as she pushed around the pancakes she had put on her plate. She glared at her plate as she thought of Malfoy. "He's worse than ever! I don't know how I'm going to get through all this. For the second smartest student in the school, he sure is stupid. I mean, he didn't even know the levitation spell! I hate him, I loathe him, I can't stand him, he makes me sick! With all his 'I'm a Pureblood so I'm better than you!'! And all his 'You're a mudblood'! And most of all his stupid, idiotic SMIRK! God, is that all he ever does? Smirk, smirk, smirk, he never smiles, all he does is smirk, and glare and give you his 'I'm high and mighty look'. And 'My hair is better looking than yours Granger-you should be ashamed of yourself'!" Hermione paused to catch her breath. She stared at her pancakes for awhile, and then started stabbing them with her fork, imagining that each was Malfoy's pale face. "Honestly, he is the most bastardly person that I have ever met-and that's not even a word! And I don't care because I hate him so much!" Hermione paused. Then she started stabbing her pancakes again, somehow more furious than before. "HIM AND HIS STUPID EYES, AND HANDS AND HAIR THAT'S ALL FULL OF GEL AND FALLING AND CATCHING AND TOO CLOSE AND AH!"" She breathed deeply, catching her breath. She smiled sweetly at Harry.
"Thanks Harry, I feel so much better now." She then turned back to her pancakes and started eating, not noticing that they were ripped into little pieces.
Harry, whose eyes were wide and his mouth was wide open in shock, only managed to squeak "Anytime."
At the Slytherin table, Malfoy was surrounded by girls, as usual. Pansy was practically sitting on Malfoy's lap, as usual. Malfoy was cool, calm, and collected, as usual. Nobody could've guessed that only 10 minutes ago, he had been as agitated as Hermione was now. But smashing Hermione's mirror had really made him feel better. He remembered that he was in charge, he was a Malfoy, and he had power over everyone. Including the mudblood Granger. And...a mirror. Malfoy realized that loving the feeling of power you could get from smashing a mirror was slightly crazy. 'Feeling powerful over a broken mirror-fourth sign of insanity' He was suddenly brought out of his thoughts by a loud squeal, which came from Pansy. As usual.
"Draco! Did you hear what that mudblood said just now?" She stared at him with angry eyes. Malfoy was taken aback. Pansy never looked at him like that. She always gave him looks of utter and complete adoration. He found it quite tiresome, if you want to know the truth. He wondered what she was mad at. 'Strange...'
"No Pansy, I don't make a habit of listening to the Gryffindors' pointless blather. I'm way above them, you see." Malfoy raised an eyebrow at her. He knew it would bother her. He loved to bother her.
"Well...neither do I-but you see- well...Of course-I'm a Slyther...and they're Gryffin- I'm above them..." Pansy stuttered. Malfoy gave her his almighty smirk that Hermione hated with a passion. He knew what he said would throw Pansy off.
"What's that Pansy? You actually pay attention to those losers? Wow, Pansy...I would think that someone like you wouldn't be interested in those Gryffindor idiots, you being a pureblood and all. I don't know Parkinson, I might just have to reconsider you hanging around with me..." He gave her a look of mock disappointment.
His words didn't really have the effect on her that he wanted. Her uncertain gaze turned angry.
"I knew it! I knew it all along!" Pansy yelled at him. "You ARE in love with the mudbloood! I can't believe you Draco! You caught her? She fell and you caught her? You should've let her fall! We're not Gryffindors, Draco! We're Slytherins! We aren't all righteous and stuff like those Gryffindorks! Draco, oh Draco, why? And you were close to her-you might've kissed her! Hands-what's that? Draco what's the matter with you? I thought you hated her! Draco-"
Malfoy had heard enough. He grabbed Pansy and spoke quietly to her.
"Listen Parkinson. I don't want to hear anything more about Mudblood Granger," Malfoy muttered in her ear. "I've had enough of her last night. I spent the whole evening with Granger, working on Charms with her. And all that about liking her-loving her even? Pansy, you are more of a fool than I thought. We hate eachother! She hates me, I hate her. I hate her as much as she hates me. And that's never going to change, you hear me Pansy? Never! And all that about falling and catching? I may be a Slytherin, Pansy-and I'm the best Slytherin here-but I know enough to know that Weasel Boy is bigger than me, and yes I admit it-he is stronger than me. I don't want my face to be mangled.
And when she fell, I caught her. And yes, I was close to her. And yes, our hands did touch. But I hate everything about her. Everything about her! But you didn't see the way she looked at me. I made the Gryffindor Princess, the smartest of the Golden Trio, the witch of extreme perfection," Malfoy spat out the word bitterly, "flustered and confused. Do you know how it feels to make her flustered? To make her look at me that way that she did? To make her finally shut that big mouth of hers? And to finally give her something that she doesn't know the answer to-me? To see her eyes wide and a bit frightened?" Malfoy sighed, so low that Pansy wouldn't be able to hear.
"Draco-" Pansy began in that whining voice of hers. It sounded to Draco like nails on a chalkboard, and his temper flared. He put both his hands on Pansy's shoulders, gripping her tightly.
"Pansy," he hissed, looking her in the eye. "Have you heard nothing I have told you? Do not interrupt me again!" Pansy nodded quickly. He released her.
"I'll tell you how it feels. It's exhilarating. It's pure freedom-it's pure power! I like the way it makes me feel, but with her, with Hermione Granger, I feel free. And yet still powerful. And it's a good feeling, Pansy."
"Draco-" Pansy said quietly, but Malfoy ignored her. Once he got started like this, there was no stopping him.
"I suppose," he said, in his own world now,"That my hatred for her, and her mutual hatred, fuels this feeling I have. It creates such a feeling that when we are together, we just explode." He turned to Pansy. Pansy was nodding slowly. He glared at her. Pansy cringed under his gaze.
"Do not think that it is love I feel for her! It's far from it. I'll never love her or even slightly like her, she's nothing to me, I hate her! And she hates me. But I-" Malfoy faltered. He wasn't sure how to say it.
"What?" Pansy asked, staring at him.
"She, I, um-" He didn't know what to say.
"What?" Asked Pansy again.
"She makes me feel..."
"What!" said Pansy impatiently.
"She makes me feel...strange" mumbled Malfoy, not looking at her. He ran a hand through his hair. That was quickly becoming a nervous habit.
"Strange? Strange? Strange?" Pansy shouted, turning a shade of red that wasn't exactly very becoming on her. Not much was very becoming on her.
"DAMN IT PANSY, STOP SHOUTING! YES, STRANGE! WHAT ARE YOU, SOME NEW BREED OF AN UGLY PARROT? GEEZ!" Malfoy shouted, almost standing up in his chair.
"WELL DRACO, YOU DON'T HAVE TO SHOUT!" shouted Pansy. Malfoy gave her his Patented Death Glare. Pansy instantly became timid, and started to eat again, looking away from him. After awhile she gathered up enough courage to speak to him again.
"Draco if you know she hates you, why did you say she was so attracted to you?" Pansy asked.
"Pansy, you are such an idiot. Of course she doesn't like me-she hates me! Not to say that all of what I said wasn't true. I think deep down, she has some sort of hidden affection for me. I can read the signs, because I'm not an idiot and gullible like you are."
"But she hates you! And you hate her! The feeling is mutual-you said so yourself!"
"Of course. But you should know Pansy... there's a fine line between love and hate."
"What? What'ja say Draco?" said Pansy rather stupidly.
"Nothing Pansy. You are so stupid sometimes! Most of the time. All of the time." He smirked. Pansy glared at him. He instantly became very serious and grabbed her arm tightly.
"Parkinson."
Pansy looked up, and a bit of fear could be seen in her eyes. Malfoy thought it was a pleasant change from her Patented "Draco-you-are-the-absolute-hottest-boy-in-the-whole-school-I-want-to-marry-you-and-then-have-lots-of-beautiful-pureblood-babies-that-have-your-hair" look. Her Patented look raised his ego, which was great. But what Malfoy liked more was the feeling he got when he looked at Pansy's scared eyes. The feeling of power and superiority, which was what he craved.
"Tell anyone anything you've heard, and I'll kill you."
Pansy didn't doubt he would. He was a Malfoy, and Malfoys always go through on their threats.
Little did Malfoy know that it wasn't Pansy who would tell everyone all that she heard, but someone else.
A/N: Hey I actually updated! Because I actually got some reviews! And a lot of hits! You know I like reading stories better than writing them, but hey, I kind of like this story, I have no idea what to do with my christmas story. Thank you to all who reviewed I love you guys! When people review then I update because I like to know that someone is reading. And yes, all of my chapters are sort of long. Because I don't know how to do short chapters. If someone could tell me how to do line breaks, I'd be grateful. Okay, this story will get better, it'll have a lot more plot and stuff, not all fluffy stuff. And the next chapter will be better than this one!
Review, it makes me happy and makes me feel like continuing!
-Slim Shady, AKA Cassandra Rose.