Chapter Five
Hermione woke the next morning, feeling refreshed. The rest of detention the night before had finished smoothly. Maybe this agreement (or almost agreement) would make things better. Hermione hated fighting. Just acting civil would be fine with her.
She got dressed in her school robes, ready to face the day. It suddenly did not seem so bad. "Don't get your hopes up, Hermione!" She scolded herself. "He might not agree."
Oh, who was she kidding…her hopes were sky high!
She met Ginny and walked with her down to breakfast. She could not control her glance over to the Slytherin table, but Draco looked as if nothing had been said last night. He did not even look up as they walked past.
Hermione frowned, and sat down next to Ginny and across from Harry and Ron. The boys were already loading their plates while simultaneously stuffing their faces. She made herself look away, and grabbed a muffin.
Just then, a brown owl landed on the table and held out its left leg to Hermione, who untied it.
"Thanks, little guy," Hermione cooed at the owl. She fed it a piece of toast, and it flew away.
Wiping her hands on her napkin, she unfolded the note and read it.
Fine.
With one condition.
No need to ask where this note came from. For the life of her, Hermione could not figure out what kind of condition he could possibly want.
Ginny motioned to the note. "Who's that from?" She asked.
Hermione blushed, shoving the note deep into her book bag. "Um, nobody."
Ginny frowned at this.
"What I mean is it's just from a teacher who wanted to see me. So, uh, I should probably go." She stood up, gathering her things.
She walked away quickly, feeling ridiculous. What a nutter kind of answer! She glanced over, and saw Draco watching her leave. As she passed by, he got up and followed her out.
Hermione kept walking until they were well out of sight of everyone. She stepped into an alcove and waited for Draco to follow.
He came in a second later. He whispered a charm to keep others from hearing or finding them. "My condition is as follows: I choose what spells we learn."
Hermione's eyes widened in disbelief. "What? No way, you'll make me do the worst and most crude spells!"
Draco shrugged. "Okay, fine with me." He started to walk away.
Hermione grabbed his arm. "Wait, wait. I will do it. However, this had better be kept a secret between the two of us. I mean it, nobody else finds out!"
Draco looked back at her. "Fine, that's easy enough. We start tonight." With that, he pulled free from where she was still holding him, and walked off.
Hermione watched him walk away. Tonight? For some reason it seemed so soon. She stepped out of the alcove and went to her first class, Advanced Defense against the Dark Arts.
Classes were easy enough for Hermione today. She was ahead on her reading, and had practiced all of the spells that were in those chapters.
Being an easy day, it seemed to fly by. That might also have something to do with the fact that her "lessons" would start tonight. She felt a thrill in her stomach every time she thought about it, but also a butterfly of nerves.
At dinnertime, Hermione sat down with her friends. She fiddled with her food, barely taking bites.
"Are you okay, Hermione?" Ron asked. "You're hardly eating your food."
Hermione looked up at him guiltily. "Oh, I'm fine Ron. I'm just, uh, not feeling well is all."
Ron put his arm around her, drawing her in closely. "Ah, I'm sure it'll pass, you're probably just upset about detention."
Hermione shot a look at him. "What? Why would you say that? I'm not upset, why should I be?" She started babbling.
Harry shot her a weird look. "Because it's another night of Malfoy."
Hermione let out a breath. "Oh. Um, yeah. I guess. I just wish they were over."
Ron nodded and patted her on the back before removing his arm from her. "So do I. All of your spare time is being spent with Malfoy. Bleh. I don't know how you haven't cursed him into oblivion yet."
Hermione shrugged. "We pretty much ignore each other. I do my work; he does his. It's not so bad when it's like that."
Ron inhaled and started to choke, coughing. Taking a drink of water, he turned to her. "Are you crazy Hermione? This is ferret-face Malfoy we are talking about here! You know, the one whose job it is to torture us? What's wrong with you?"
Hermione bristled at that last comment, and even Harry buried himself in his food to stay out of it. "Excuse me? You think there's something wrong me?" Ron started to shake his head, realizing his mistake.
"Well if you must know, Ronald, nothing is wrong with me! You're the one who's always acting like an immature, insensitive prat!" Picking up her book bag, she walked off, going up to the common room.
She started pacing in front of the fireplace, fuming. "Why did I even like him in the first place?" She thought. "We're always fighting." Oh, but Merlin help her, he still gave her butterflies when he smiled at her. He may be a prat, but he was her prat, and she was not ready to give up on him yet.
The door to the common room opened up just then, showing Ron's face peeking through it. When he saw her, his cheeks turned bright red and he shuffled over to her.
Taking one of her hands, he looked down at the floor and mumbled something that sounded like "I'm sorry."
Hermione felt her anger melt away. She could not stay mad at him. She tugged him closer and said, "You're forgiven." She pecked him on the lips. "Next time, just keep your mouth shut, okay?"
He nodded. "Yeah, okay." He looked at the clock on the mantel. "Can I still walk you to detention?"
"I'd like that." Hermione said, smiling up at him.
He grinned, looking relieved. "You ready then?"
Hermione nodded, grabbing her wand out of her book bag and taking Ron's outstretched hand. They walked down to the Dungeons.
Hermione was starting to get a little nervous, thinking about how this detention was going to be different from the others.
They reached their destination, and seeing that Draco was not there yet, she reached up to hug Ron goodbye. He hugged her back and kissed her on the cheek. After wishing her luck, he walked off, back to the common room.
Hermione walked into the room, looking around. They had gotten a lot done, considering all the dueling and fighting. It was all starting to come together.
Draco walked in and noticed Hermione with her back to the door. She was certainly a fine looking girl, having somewhat grown out of her awkward pre-adolescent stage. Yet her annoying know-it-all persona overrode all of that.
Deciding on his own little payback, he walked up behind her, and shouted, "Boo!"
Hermione shrieked, jumping and turning around. When she saw it was Draco, she smacked him on the arm. "Don't do that! You nearly scared me to death!"
Draco snickered. "It was well worth it. Now, are you ready for your first lesson?"
All of Hermione's nerves came flooding back, replacing the momentary anger. "Yeah, sure," she said.
"First, we'll need to clear a space in the middle of the floor to practice in." Draco instructed.
After creating a big enough area, they stood facing each other.
"Now," Draco started, "this first spell is called Calloselasma. It turns an object into a group of snakes."
He stopped talking as he saw Hermione's face go chalk white. "What?" He asked.
"Snakes?" Hermione whispered. "Can't it be something else? Butterflies perhaps?"
Draco smirked. "Sorry Granger. I am a Slytherin, I am doing the teaching, and I am choosing the spells. Snakes it is."
He grabbed the nearest chair and set it about ten feet from where Hermione stood.
"Now, watch how I use my wand and try to copy me exactly."
They spent the next few minutes practicing wand movement.
"Now, say the spell combined with the movements and aim it at the chair." Draco said, stepping aside.
Hermione nodded, licking her lip in nervousness, and raised her wand. "Calloselasma!" She shouted.
The chair immediately broke down and changed into a slithering mass of brown snakes, all hissing at one another.
Immediately, Hermione screamed and jumped behind Draco, making him shield her from them. She clung onto his arms to keep him in front of her.
Draco pointed his wand at the snakes and said "Evanesco", making them disappear. He turned his head to her, smirking. "Gee, Granger, one would think you're afraid of snakes the way you're grabbing on to me."
Hermione realized she was still gripping his arms, and immediately let go. "Uh, sorry. Snakes aren't my thing, really."
"I can tell." He replied.
She blushed. "Well, how did I do? With the spell, I mean."
Draco looked at her, considering. "Not shabby for your first try. You managed to actually produce a good amount of snakes."
Hermione grinned, pleased at having accomplished something. "It did feel rather good to cast that spell."
Draco got a knowing look in his eyes. "I told you."
Hermione had to resist the urge to stick her tongue at him.
Later that night, Hermione was walking back up to her room. She and Draco had continued practicing until she had gotten the spell perfect (and had stopped screaming every time).
She was feeling good about herself. Not only had she learned something new, she had nearly perfected it in one night. Oh, what a feeling! Hermione could not stop grinning from ear to ear.
She reached the common room and went inside. Noticing Ron on the couch, she went over to him. She leaned over the back of the couch, watching him sleep.
She sure was fond of him, she had waited forever for the moment he would stop being a blockhead, and realize she was there.
She pulled a blanket over him, and headed upstairs to her bed, suddenly exhausted. The moment her head hit the pillow she was out.
The next night in detention started the same. Hermione was not so nervous this time, actually, she was quite excited. She just hoped Malfoy would give her another good spell to learn. As much as the power of the darker ones appealed to her, she didn't think she could do it.
Draco showed up a few minutes later. He removed his school robes and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. "I have a rather good hex to teach you. But I'm going to use it on you first, so you know what it does." He moved to stand in front of her.
Hermione froze in place. Was she hearing things correctly? He wanted to hex her? Why, that sneaky bastard! No wonder he agreed to do this.
She shook her head. "Nice try, Malfoy, but there's no way you're going to hex me."
Draco just stood there, not moving. "Granger, how else are you going to learn how to cast a spell correctly if you don't experience the results? Every good dueler knows this. It allows you to get a feel for how much power to put behind it when you use it on someone. I had to learn these spells the same way."
Hermione looked at him warily. What he said made sense. She remembered Harry telling her he couldn't perform the Cruciatus curse on Bellatrix because he did not have enough power behind it. Still…did she really want Malfoy hexing her?
As if he could read her thoughts, Draco smirked at her. "Trust me, Hermione," he said, almost sarcastically. "It will only be for a few seconds."
Hermione was wide-eyed at the use of her first name, but quickly recovered. She did not want him to think she couldn't handle it.
"Bring it on, Draco," she replied to him. She had to stop herself physically from getting out her wand in defense. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, bracing herself.
She was concentrating so hard on that, she didn't even hear Draco say the spell.
All of a sudden, her tongue started to itch. It was just a mild irritation, but within a couple of seconds it had grown into a full on burn inside of her mouth.
Hermione's eyes flew open, and she started gasping. Fanning her mouth, she conjured a glass of water, but that only made the burning grow hotter.
Eyes watering helplessly, she turned to Malfoy beseechingly. He flicked his wand at her, and the burning immediately stopped.
Gasping for breath, Hermione was unable to speak. After a few minutes, she asked, "What was that?"
Draco pulled a chair up and sat down in it. "It's called Piphalus or the Pepper-Breath Hex. It's a lovely one, eh?" He said jokingly.
Hermione sat down as well. "You have a weird definition of lovely then Malfoy. That was horrid!" She ran her tongue along her teeth, but all traces of the hex were gone; there was no burning sensation left.
"It seemed like the water made it worse?" Hermione said thoughtfully, going into her learning mode.
"Yes, it's a side effect to prevent the victim from stopping the hex on their own." Draco replied. "Only the person who cast it can stop it. It's not lethal, as it is only a burning sensation, and not an actual burning of your mouth. Although, I did hear of one guy whose head caught fire, because the spell caster put too much enthusiasm behind it; and the sensation became literal." Draco chuckled.
Hermione watched him as he talked. He seemed more human to her right now than in the six and a half years she had known him. They were actually sitting together having a conversation. She was enjoying it, too! Merlin, what was wrong with her, she was enjoying a conversation with Malfoy.
She firmly told herself to forget that, and just have fun. Truth be told, she was as sick of fighting as he had admitted he was. It really was pointless, and got them nowhere. Maybe once their detentions were over, their truce could continue.
Hermione looked over to where Draco sat. "Okay, my turn now." She gave him her best evil grin. "Teach me, Oh Wise One."
Draco got a dubious look on his face, as if he had just realized he would be on the receiving end of her hex.
"Fine," he said, standing up. "But first, you've got to learn it."
Hermione walked over to join him, and together, worked on the spell. When she felt she finally had it down, she walked about ten feet away from him and turned around to face him.
"Now, remember, you have to flourish that last arm movement. Otherwise it won't work as well." Draco instructed to her, as she prepared herself.
Hermione pointed her wand at him, and said, "Piphalus."
Draco got an irritated look on his face, and shook his head for her to stop.
She let up on the spell. "What did I do wrong?"
"It wasn't strong enough," he explained. "All I felt was a tingling burn on my tongue. Felt odd. That's why I made you stop."
Hermione frowned. "Do I need to put more feeling and power into it then?"
"That would be ideal," Draco nodded. "Just not so much that my head bursts into flames," he added, half-joking.
Hermione snorted. She could not believe she was really sitting here with Malfoy, her enemy of almost seven years, and having a decent conversation. When she really thought about it, the events of the past few days were a bit bizarre. She never would have thought she would be here.
However, just as he requested, they were only friendly during detention. Outside, in the halls of Hogwarts, he was just as cruel as always; bumping into her, and calling her Mudblood. It was all right, though, because she was starting to see the man behind the rough exterior. It was easy to look past the insults.
She sighed and stood up. "I've got to keep practicing."
Draco stood up as well. "Yes, let's get this over with," he groaned. He moved to stand in front of her.
Hermione looked at him, concentrating hard. She held her wand up and yelled "Piphalus!" putting all of her power behind the spell.
This time, Draco took a step back as the spell hit him, and he started breathing heavily, eyes tearing up. Apparently, it had worked this time.
Hermione grinned, loving the feeling of getting the spell right. His every reaction was intoxicating, knowing that she was the one who had caused this.
Draco waved his hand at her to stop the spell, but Hermione was so absorbed in watching him she did not notice.
He fell down to the floor, coughing and choking. "Interesting," Hermione said aloud.
Draco made one feebler wave at her, and this time she saw, and snapped out of her trance.
"Oh Merlin, Malfoy!" She cried, immediately breaking the spell. She ran over to him and knelt down, rolling him over. "Are you all right? Oh, I'm so sorry!"
Draco just lay on the floor, gasping for breath. "Gods, Granger. That spell's not lethal, but I think you're meaning to turn it into one!"
Hermione apologized again. "I was just so caught up in it; I just forgot what was happening."
Draco pulled himself up to a sitting position. "It pulls you in. These spells do. They bring out the dark in people."
Hermione scrunched her brow, considering this. "It makes sense, I suppose. There's darkness in everyone, and I can see how these spells would draw it out."
Draco smirked. "Who would've thought Goody-Goody Granger had a dark side?"
Hermione's cheeks turned red. "Yes, well, just don't go around telling everyone. You'll ruin my image," she said, joining in on the joking.
After that, they spent the rest of detention cleaning up some of the classroom.
On her way to bed that night, Hermione considered what Draco had said. Was there really something bad in her, waiting to come out?
She shook her head. Even if there was, she was strong enough to overcome it. At least, she was sure she was.
A/N: The spells in this chapter and future chapters can be found in the The Complete Encyclopedia of Wizarding Charms, Hexes, Jinxes, and Spells.
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