Author Note : Sadly, everyone, here comes the part that, personality, I hate in a fanfic, building up everything D: . I'm thinking that after this chapter, everything will be more interesting. (: . hopefully i will get chapter 3 up in 2-3 days ! I'm trying to make that the uploading habit. Sorry this chapter is a little rushed. Hurricane Irene was in my town this weekend and there was no power. I Tried my best to type everything out on my cellphone, but there is only so many times you can read something until it looks exactly the same as the previous revision.
Disclaimer : I Do not own Harry Potter sadly because I'm too much of a dork to think of something so amazing. Plus, Dramione would also be real in the novel if i had wrote it (: .
Chapter 2 - learning to deal
"What the hell was that?" Draco thought as he pulled his hand away. Did he just apologize to Hermione – bookworm- Granger while touching her arm willingly? Something must have been in the air.
"Well..." he started as he turned his back to her, "My mother always told me that it'd be a shame to have a lady's skin damaged or blemished. It makes marriage far more difficult to secure when you're... imperfect."
Draco took his seat again as his eyes dashed back to the scenery. He was just looking for something to distract himself from the moment. An awkward silence crept its way into the compartment as both teens had no idea what to say to one another. It wasn't as though this was the first time they were in a room together. It was, however, the first time they were together as allies. Both of them were just use to the constant bickering that went on between one another. Draco had to admit, though, that he did sounded harsh a moment ago. He wasn't trying to say she was "damaged goods," he just didn't want her to think that he was actually being nice to her.
From the looks of it she didn't care. Her nose was back in her book and her eyes seemed as though they were in a different world. That's how she always was while reading, he noted. Whenever he saw her in the library there would be mountains of open books surrounding her while she awed over the smallest line. It was always the smallest things that he'd notice about her. It wasn't as though they were important; it was just something he caught when he saw her.
"At least if I'm imperfect I became that way through courage," she finally said as she turned the page, "tell me Malfoy, what's your excuse?"
She knew she was treading on very thin ice. No one was around and certainly no one would suspect the head boy had hex the head girl. However, it wasn't something she would just let go. She was Hermione Granger after all and no one was going to outwit her at something she knew was false.
"What are you talking about Granger; I'm better than most people on this train. It's in my blood," he commented.
The Gryffindor princess wrinkled her brows as though she was trying to say 'are you kidding me?' Draco Malfoy cannot honestly believe that he is better than all the courageous and spirited people on this moving train, can he? If he did, he was obviously delusional and Azkaban inmates had nothing on him.
"All those scars and bruises… exactly what story are you going to tell? 'I got this when trying to destroy the greater good...?' what a nice story for your children."
"Look Granger, you know nothing about me so I would think twice before even saying anything like that to me," he growled as though he was back to his old Slytherin self. It was bugging him, her tone. It was as though she was trying to imply that she was better than him in every single way. He paid for his mistakes. He did his time and no one seems to even look past his old self.
"You know what I learned Draco?" she inquired, her eyes never leaving the brown novel in her hand.
"That you have a big head..." he mumbled.
"Bloody Hell Malfoy my head isn't THAT big, it's just my hair!" She huffed as she rubbed her right temple, "I learned that there's no taking back the past. I also learned that magic…? Will not solve everything, but it does start and destroy precious things."
"Good for you Granger'" Draco said as his head rested in the palm of his hand, "Did you learn that on your fruity adventures with Pot Head and Weaslebee?"
A smirk was beginning to creep up on his face. He had always wondered how it felt like to be the Golden Trio. They were the light of Hogwarts and even though they broke rules, they came out as the heroes in the end. It'd be no surprise learning some fruity lesson with all the things they faced. It disgusted him, their friendship, their need to be there for one another and yet, he was still envious of that fact. Sure he had Crabb and Goyle, but they were just people money and status brought him. He could feel his fist tighten as his nails dug into his skin. Who needed friendship anyways?
Suddenly, he saw the girl beside him had frozen. The novel was closed and her legs were making their way off the chair and onto the floor. She looked troubled, her face scrunched up as though she was trying to glue together something to say. She only looked that way in Potion class when Snape tried to battle her intelligence; needless to say he always lost.
"No Draco. I learned that lesson when I oblivated my parents memories of ever having a daughter."
There it was again, the awkward silence that always seemed to make its way into the day. He didn't know that she had done that to save her parents and he certainly didn't know what to say. Should he compliment her in being powerful enough to control such a spell? Or apologize for being so inconsiderate?
"You joke about the clothes people wear and the status of their blood, but there are more important things than Quidditch and money."
Hermione looked right at the blonde hair boy in front of her. The core of her dismay the entire time she was at Hogwarts was caused by this one being and the funniest thing? She had it so much better than him… no matter what he said to put her down.
"What are you doing Hermione…" She thought, "you're sounding like an old hag whose not really 18 years old."
"And your parents?" he asked while trying to sound as disinterested as possible.
"Even Professor Snape couldn't make a potion strong enough for them to remember me in their lives. I guess that's my fault for thinking I could just undo what I did after everything was done…"
The rest of the ride was pretty much quiet after that. It was almost as though both of them were confined in their own separate bubble. The same thing pretty much crossed both of the Head's mind, "so much for a nice start." Yet, silence was broken when the horn rung it's familiar tune and the train came to a stop. Hogwarts had appeared among the mist of clouds and the students were able to depart. Even after everything that had happened, the school was still standing proudly. Not one scratch was even apparent on the old stone walls as the empty platform filled with chatter and nerves.
As much as Hermione wanted to meet with Harry and Ron, she found herself suddenly swept into head duties as she tried to organize the confused crowd of first years into the building. Draco, on the other hand, had to deal with another problem that was harder to get rid of than a howler. Pansy. The girl never got the hint. He rejected her invitations during the summer, ignored her owls mails, and even asked to be tortured than respond to her visits at the prison.
"Pansy I swear to Merlin, get off of me"
"But DrakeyPoo it's been so long since I've been able to hold you! Haven't you missed my touch? It must have been awful being locked up for so long."
"I didn't miss you and if it meant getting away from you, I would go back to Azkaban!" Draco screamed as he tried to free his arm of Pansy's death grip.
Hermione was looking at the two of them with an amuse look on her face. She could tell Draco did not love the way that Pansy had her questionable breast smothered against his elbow. She figured that she owed Draco to save him given that she basically bruised his ego in the train. Picking up her feet, she made her way down the platform until she was next to the two bickering slytherin.
"What do you want... Granger?" pansy snarled as she looked at the head girl
"Draco has to go and do head business now." Hermione responded as though was dealing with a 4 year old asking for a piece of candy.
"Since when were you allowed to call him Draco?" She snarled as she let go of the Slytherin Prince's arm. "The war may be over, but you are not on friendly terms with him."
"Who I am or am not on friendly terms with is none of your business, pansy, and unless you want Slytherin to already be in the negative for house points, you will let me and Malfoy handle our business,"
"I can give you some head business dracooo…" She purred as she turned around, completely ignoring the Gryffindor In front of her. She was about to snake her arms around Draco neck when he completely saw red.
Draco Malfoy had had enough. It was against his morals to physically hurt a girl, but he didn't hesitate to push Pansy on the floor. "I said not to touch me Pansy. Do your best to learn your place. My family reputation may be horrid in this world, but we still hold more power than yours."
Hermione could see the mixture of fear and anger that ran through Pansy's mind as she stood back up and stomped away from the pair. The ferret, on the other hand, was beaming proudly about how he could still make people tremble in fear at his feet.
"Oh brother," Hermione groaned as she turned to walk away. She didn't wait to be followed, but instead heard the steady footsteps of her partner behind her. The crowd of student wasn't as big as the other years, but they suppose it was only a matter of time until Hogwarts became a safe and trusted place for everyone again. All the painting was brought back and all the ghosts still roamed among the living in the castle. Hermione was trying desperately to remember the way to the head dorms and she figured that Draco wouldn't help her if she had ask him to lead the way.
"When did the headmaster want to meet us again?" Draco asked as he was trying to create some sort of conversation.
"An hour before the opening ceremony, didn't you read the owl notice?"
"I don't memorize things like some sort of nerd, Granger," he answered as he stepped in front of her, "you took a wrong turn."
"you couldn't have told me earlier, Malfoy?" She whined as she mentally kicked herself for looking stupid.
"I assumed that the "brightest witch of the age" would have no problem walking to her room,"
"Do you even remember the password to the common room, or are you incapable of holding such information in your little head Malfoy?"
Draco was the first one to stop in front of a painting of two couples drinking tea. Vaguely, you would have noticed that one of them was dressed in gold and red while the other wore green and silver. However, since you were two bickering teens, they never crossed your mind.
"Fidelius," Draco said as he smirked at the girl beside him, "anything else you want to test while we're at it?"
"Yeah, your IQ, but that would waste a second of my life seeing as how stupid you are," She responded as she walked through the door. She could hear the cussing from behind her that stopped when they finally saw what the head dormitories looked like. It looked more like a house than a dorm, but seeing as only two people were staying in there, Dumbledore must have wanted it to be comfy.
"Well at least the bloody thing isn't decorated in Red and Gold…" Draco noted as he looked around. It was a nice balance of both house colors, and knowing the school, their rooms would represent their housing the best anyways.
"The common room is so big," Hermione awed as she walked into the small kitchen that connected to it. Of course, it was magically stocked and the small hallways lead to the staircase that was soon discovered to lead to their bedrooms. Draco's door was on the right while Hermione's was on the left. He was the first one to walk into his own room and was please to see that it had its own king size bed with silk green covers on it. Next to the window was a desk and a bookcase so that the students be reminded that they are also there for an room had a small night stand, dark green wallpaper as well as a walk in closet and another mysterious door. Hermione's room was generally the same thing except her décor was a nice red and gold scheme. Both teens opened the door that was place in their room and found out that it lead to a joint bathroom. Needless to say, it was a neutral color, white, and had a build in shower next to the enormous bathtub. It took a while to click in Hermione's mind, but the possibly of Draco walking in on her was much more greater now.
"For god sake, Granger, I'm not going to come in when you're showering so you can wipe that nervous look off your face." He stated as he walked out of the room.
"I wasn't thinking about that!" Hermione blurted out as she grabbed her cloak, "Hurry up we have to go to the headmaster office before we're late."
She was the first one out the door, but Draco was soon behind her. He had to admit, with the way things were it was going to be an interesting year. It wasn't like Hermione was hideous, she was pushing sexy at the very least. He smirked., not noticing that the painting behind them had exchanged a smile and a cup of tea.
They had arrive at the statue a little earlier than expected and Hermione was still trying to tie her tie correctly. Draco on the other hand was just leaning against the wall like he own the place. There was basically nothing to do, but look at the students walking by or look at Hermione fiddle with the buttons on her shirt or the strings on her cloak. It was as though this was the first time she was meeting Dumbledore or something, but he had to admit, he was nervous himself. It was the first time seeing the old man in pleasant conditions since their battles and he,of all people, was worried about what he thought about him.
"Malfoy if we're going to meet Dumbledore, can you at least be presentable?"
"I am presentable, I always am." He replied
"Oh yes… cause I obviously forgot that you're a god."She remarked
"Don't forget it either."
"For god sake Malfoy," She said as she began to fix his tie and collar, "you're not a little kid, man up,"
Draco hated whenever someone fixed his clothing. It reminded him of his younger days when his mother would dress him up in outfits just because she truly believed he looked cute in them. Eventually even his relatives got into it. One day he was a prince, the next day he was a pumpkin. It was humiliating at the very least and she always brought him out in them.
"Granger, stop it," he said trying to keep his cool
"I'm just trying to fix your messed up triangle Malfoy, have you ever properly tie a tie before?" She was starting to undo the whole thing when she suddenly felt a hand creating distance between the two of them.
"Granger, I swear to God if you touch me one more time I Will hex you so bad that you-"
"THAT I'LL WHAT? Lay on the floor motionless? Cry and beg to be spare? For your information Draco, I've been there already! You're threats mean NOTHING to me,"
"Look Granger, you're the ones taking it to extremes. Did i tell you I was going to torture you senseless? Why can't you just trust me?"
"What reason have you given me to trust you Draco! You even said you'd hex me 20 seconds ago!"
"Stupid Book worm."
"Ugly Ferret."
"Don't call me a Ferret, you filthy Mudblood!"
He stopped. He couldn't believe what just came out of his mouth and according to the look in her eyes, she couldn't believe it either. They stood there, as the other students walked by not knowing what had happened until one of them spoke.
"I know you didn't mean that," Hermione said, "but one of these days the person you say that too will not be as strong as me and it will hurt them."
Hermione straightened out her cloak and then turned to stand on the other side of the wall. Draco stood there, trying to fix his tie again. He didn't mean to say Mudblood. He didn't even want to sound mean, he just couldn't stand when someone was touching him and changing things the way they wanted it to be, on him. He was going to apologize, in his mind his feet was already in front of her, but in the corner of his eyes he saw the hurt look on her face and couldn't do it. The two of them just watched the passing students walk by.
They didn't understand how it always ended up like this. They were pleasant one moment and then vicious the next. It was a bipolar episode really. She had to admit that she took it a bit too far. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Draco did nothing to betray her trust so far... and she went as far as to say he was going to torture her like his awful aunt. However, she couldn't believe that word was still in his vocabulary and even though it had been banned by the councils, she suppose it takes a while for old habits to die. She literally sighed.
"I Guess I'll just have to learn how to deal with Malfoy's personality... if this arrange is going to work," She thought
"Ah, Welcome back to Hogwarts you two," Dumbledore said as the staircase to his office appeared. He was still standing as proud as he did the first day they came to Hogwarts as first years. His bread had grown a little longer and his face has aged a little older, but he was still the Dumbledore they felt safe around "Would you guys care for a lemon drop?"
"No thank you sir, we just really want to know what we must do in order to keep the school safe," Hermione said as she smiled sweetly to the old wizard.
The two of them walked up the spiral staircase as Draco watched her and knew it was fake. He was a pro at spotting these things cause he had to pretend most of his life. It was his first time in the headmaster office and he was amazed by all the cluster and junk that laid around the room. Hermione on the other hand just took a seat in front of his desk and waited like a goody two shoe for directions. It must have been apparent that he was staring at her because the sparkle in Dumbledore's eyes grew bigger.
"There was actually something that I needed you two to do as Head Boy and Girl. You see, as tradition you two are to be the prime example of how students are suppose to behave at Hogwarts, but because this is the first year back after the war… I must ask for another request."
"and what might that be?" Draco asked as he took a seat next to the Gryffindor.
"In all my years of wizardry I have never been more certain about something as I am today. Did you two know that Magic, although complex and different… can be so belittled by the simplest thing?"
"What do you mean sir?" Hermione asked as her attention was suddenly grabbed by the short burst of wisdom given to her.
"I mean, it's time for a new age and experiment, and it starts with our own head boy and girl."
Author Note : Chapter two is done and the launch of chapter three will begin(:
thanks for reading up until now and special thanks to the people who actually reviewed it. The first few chapters of a fanfic is always so boring to me… but hopefully these next few chapters will be either funny or interesting. I always thought of Dumbledore as the prime person to start the wonderful, mischievous idea of "Dramione," and so… he has a lot in store for the couple.
Chapter 3 preview
"As head Girl, I highly disapprove of this," Hermione protested as she climbed onto the railing of the tower.
"Granger, if you spend your whole life disapproving, you're going to grow old and alone"
"Malfoy, if you spend your whole life being the bad boy, you're going to grow up in jail."
"But isn't this a way to go?" he said as he pointed outward.
Hermione didn't realize it before. Hogwarts was always so bright and students were never allowed out at night. She looked out toward the sky and saw the vast array of stars that filled the air. Her eyes fell on Draco. For once in his life he actually looked peaceful looking at the stars. It was as though he wasn't evil or rude at all and in the light of the moon he was almost angelic.
"Granger, do you think... - "