Clash
Introduction
Summary: DMHG. Dumbledore puts his foot down after Hermione and Draco argue too much and decides to force them into spending time with each other, not realizing how much of an influence Draco would be to Hermione or foreseeing Voldemort would take an interest in the two.
Story Start: 3rd Person:
"Do you two know why you're here?" Professor Dumbledore asked the two first years sitting across from him.
"Enlighten us, professor." Draco Malfoy drawls, and Hermione Granger glares at him.
"You shouldn't speak like that to a Professor. Show some respect!" She hissed.
"I show respect to those who earn it." Draco tells her, annoyed. "You're way too young to be a mother, so don't act like one… I doubt you've even hit puberty, or it has not been kind to you."
He smirks as Hermione turns red in outrage.
"Both of you, pay attention." Albus' voice turned stern and Draco looked bored while Hermione turned to Dumbledore, sat up straight, folded her hands in her lap, and paid complete attention. Draco rolled his eyes. "We're trying to implement inter-House unity, and you two are arguing so horribly that we decided you two will help us… you will be put as partners in every single class you take for your entire stay at Hogwarts, minus Potions and Defense, which Draco is at a fourth year level, Ancient Runes, and Arthimancy, which Draco is at a third year level. Because of that, you will spend the equivalent time you would spend in classes together, either getting to know each other, studying, doing homework, doing some type of bonding activity, or Draco can tutor Hermione. Although Draco is taking mostly first year classes, he has tested into third or fourth year, but chose not to overload his schedule. We completely changed the schedules for everyone so Gryffindors are always with Slytherins."
Both students looked horrified.
"But Headmaster, Malfoy argues with Harry and Ron more than me!" Hermione protests.
"Unfortunately, they don't care as much as you two about grades and this would just cause more arguing. Your grades are dependent on each other, so you will need to be civil and work together to get the scores you want, and you actually have the maturity to actually do this. Nothing you can say or do can get out of this. If I were you, I would attempt to be civil or this will be a horrible experience for both of you." Dumbledore warns.
"It will either way. I'm stuck with her." Draco mutters, and Hermione glares.
"Is that all, Professor?" Draco asks, masking his horror and turning his face into his usual haughty mask.
"You will start right now. Spend two hours getting to know each other. It's a warm day, so outside might be best." Dumbledore says.
Draco leaves then, Hermione following after dismissing herself, trying to calm herself down. He stops and turns around.
"I'd rather be in an empty classroom, at least until I can explain to my house what's going on. Last thing I need is to be called a blood traitor." Draco's voice is controlled, but Hermione can see the anger and annoyance in his eyes. He had cut his hair in the middle of the week, changing the style from slicked back to a shorter version with bangs, no gel at all. He made his way to the seventh floor and to a blank stretch of wall, then walked back and forth twice.
"What are you doing?" Hermione giggles, until when he passes it a third time and a door appears.
"Using the room of requirement. It's a Slytherin secret, which is why I won't tell you what I did to work it. You can pass back and forth here all you want, but until you figure out what I needed to do, you won't summon it." He replies, then walks in.
"It's actually nice." Hermione admits, having walked inside and looked around.
The room had three long white couches with silver and black pillows, a coffee table between them, heated black floors, a warm fireplace, was well lit with chandeliers, had plants, sculptures, and very expensive paintings lining the walls.
"It's modeled after a loft my friend in New York owns, but this is just the living room. I'd make a kitchen but as it can't summon food, it would be pointless. However- Dobby!" Draco calls and a house-elf appears with a crack.
Hermione shrieks and Draco laughs mockingly.
"What is that?!" She asked.
"It's a house-elf. They were cursed by real elves because their ancestors betrayed their kind, and if they don't serve a wizard, they die. They have no rights… they're slaves. Dobby, get us each two butterbeers and a variety of wizard candy that is meant for humans, good-tasting, not moldy or rotten, and also not bugs or have negative effects on us." Draco tells him, and Dobby pops away.
"That's horrible!" Hermione looked like she was pitying them, and Draco looked annoyed.
"Look at it this way: if we don't take advantage of this, there will be no house elves left. No ridiculous campaign can end the curse, so we might as well reap the benefits." Draco explains.
"They're slaves." Hermione is furious that Draco shows no sympathy.
"Hogwarts is run by house elves. Are you going to stop eating because they're trying to do what they need to do to live? Yes, it's cruel and horrible, but we can't change it." Malfoy tells her.
"You aren't even sympathetic to them." Hermione is still angry at Draco's lack of emotion.
"Because they're happy and don't know freedom, I don't feel the need to." Draco tells her.
Hermione decides to let the issue rest because of the annoyance on Draco's face.
"What should we talk about?" Hermione asks. "The Headmaster said we need to get to know each other."
"What was your first display of magic?" Draco asks.
Hermione flushes and Draco gets interested. "I made a girl's arm break. She bullied me and I wanted her in pain."
"Do you feel bad about it?" Draco asks, wondering if she had any hint of darkness.
"Of course!" Hermione says, and Draco knows she's lying.
"What did she do?" Draco asks, for once not judging her and seeming interested.
"She made fun of me because I have Asperger's Syndrome." Hermione admits.
"Which is?" Draco asks.
"An autistic disorder most notable for the often great discrepancy between the intellectual and social abilities of those who have it. Asperger syndrome is a pervasive developmental disorder that is characterized by an inability to understand how to interact socially. Typical features of the syndrome also may include clumsy and uncoordinated motor movements, social impairment with extreme egocentricity, limited interests and unusual preoccupations, repetitive routines or rituals, speech and language peculiarities, and non-verbal communication problems." Hermione quotes an internet article, flushing a bit.
"I won't tell anyone." Draco tells her, and she looks shocked. "A. Because it'll be obvious I said it and I don't really feel like being in detention and B. because only I can harass you."
"And why are you possessive over me?" Hermione smirks at him.
"I'm spending too much time with you and I don't want to hear you whine and cry continuously. I like making you upset and won't try to change that because I know that we won't ever get along." Draco tells her and Hermione is disappointed despite herself at the answer. She wanted a friend and, to her, even Malfoy would be better than no friend at all. She was tired of being alone and hoped that he'd eventually at least get along with her, maybe becoming a friend sometime much later, or Hogwarts really would be hell. It already was, and Hermione wiped her eyes.
"What now?" Draco asks, wondering what in the world she was crying about now, and slightly panicked because he knew he couldn't get her to stop. He hadn't been that mean to her… he was normally worse and she didn't cry then.
"Nothing." Hermione says, but she begins crying.
"Does talking help?" Draco asks, hoping it would because he wouldn't hug her to comfort her, and tears made him feel a bit guilty.
"I-I thought Hogwarts would be different from primary school because I'd be around people like me, but I'm still bullied and I never belong and no one's nice to me and I don't have any friends, and I'm always alone…" She's hyperventilating now, and Draco's guilt eats at him.
"What does your family do to calm you down?" Draco asks, voice gentle, hoping she'd stop soon.
"They tell me a story." Hermione tells him.
Draco bites his lip but gets out one of his sketchbooks, going through pictures to use as a reminder for stories. Hermione is highly impressed by the details, realistic landscapes and people, and how skilled he was already, and she can control herself slightly more than before, breathing evening out. Draco had drawn a homeless teenage girl, clearly freezing in London because she remembered some of the building, because she had barely enough clothes to protect her for fall, let alone the harsh English winter. Next to her in the snow was a needle… Hermione realized she was an addict.
"I met Melissa when she was high and freezing in the streets. She had been abused badly, sexually and physically, which led to drinking problems, getting her in trouble with the Magical Law Enforcement, and after her father was charged with abuse and rape, she was forced to live with her mother who never wanted her. She ran and got in with a bad crowd. She was about to commit suicide after one last rush. I called out for help because I couldn't carry her and someone finally came running. The man helped me take her to a hospital, where she recovered from hypothermia and then spent six months in recovery for alcohol and drug use. I kept in touch. She's twenty-three, an Oxford college graduate and a social worker, been sober and clean since I last saw her, and has a fiancé who I met, who is loving and sweet. They are a bit young, so they're waiting until she finishes college in another two years. I'll be best man and called uncle by their children." Draco tells her, and Hermione is surprised, knowing he's honest, but never picturing him caring for anyone.
"Is she a Muggle?" Hermione asks, tears slowing for the most part.
"Muggleborn. It's why she was abused. They thought she was a freak." Draco tells her.
"My parents are amazing about magic and Asperger's. They support me and love me." Hermione tells him.
"Some of them are." Draco admits.
"Thank you." Hermione tells him when she can finally calm down.
Draco nods, feeling a bit uncomfortable because he still considered her lesser but had a heart-to-heart with her and genuinely wanted her to feel better. He normally wanted her in tears but something about how upset she was got to him. He knew it was because the no-friends thing hit close to home. He only had three best friends here, several people who barely counted because he had moved to England only a year ago. He used to live in France and had tons of friends who he missed like crazy. He didn't feel like he belonged at Hogwarts because of how strange people acted, how cold purebloods were here normally, the new norms and what was accepted, what was legal and wasn't, and how he knew no one. He was fluent in English but not used to speaking in it or hearing it all the time. He had befriended Blaise who felt the same because he lived in Italy until Hogwarts, Theodore because of how kind he was and how he attempted to learn about his culture, and Daphne because he enjoyed her wit and she reminded him of Fleur Delacour, one of his best friends.
"You'll make friends, Granger. I did." He tells her, and goes through exactly what he just thought.
Hermione was startled at how nice he was being and that he was sharing so much with her. Maybe making friends with Draco wasn't as hopeless as she thought.
"Who would you recommend?" Hermione asks.
"Ravenclaws would be a good place to start. Just go to the same table at the library and try to figure out what they're interested in, and if you know a lot about it, speak, but if you don't, stick to asking questions. If they look irritated, wait until they finish. Luna Lovegood is a friend of mine. Hufflepuffs are sweet and loyal for the most part, so I'd go to them. They would accept you easily. The only Slytherin I could think of would be Theo… I have no idea how he got into Slytherin. I don't know any Gryffindors." Draco advises.
Hermione couldn't believe she hadn't thought about that.
"Can you go with me for the Ravenclaws? You don't have to talk… it's just something so I don't get extremely nervous. You can pick out a book or do whatever… please." Hermione pleads, and Draco sighs, but after noticing they had an hour to kill and realizing that this would help him so she didn't spend any extra time with him, nods and they walk silently to the library together. The closer Hermione gets to the library, the more nervous and out-of-place she looks.
"Relax, Granger. They probably share similar interests and would make great friends. Don't you want someone intelligent to talk to?" Draco reassures and Hermione nods, still nervous but a bit more confident.
When they get to the library door, Hermione stops and needs to take a deep breath. When she looks calmer, Draco walks in and looks for the Ravenclaws. He saw the table with Padme Patil and decided to guide Granger to the second and third year Ravenclaws who sat together.
Draco decides to introduce her when he sees Cho, who he had met at a ball and decided was friendly and smart.
"Cho, can you please introduce your friends?" Draco asks and she smiles.
"This is Jade Winters, the Potions and Herbology expert, Kai Alexander, the fighter of the group, Skylar Paige, who loves classics and literature as well as History, Ancient Runes, and Arthimancy. They're the third years. I'm a second year and I enjoy charms. I also am a Seeker for the Quidditch team." Cho smiles at Hermione after noticing her nerves. "Luna Lovegood is the Divination and Care of Magical Creatures prodigy."
"I'm Hermione Granger." She introduces.
"The smartest witch of the first years? Susan Bones was speaking highly of you. She's an honorary Ravenclaw. She's shy so she didn't speak to you, but she wanted us to help introduce you. My mum works with her aunt." Skylar looks up at the name. She has wavy black hair and silver eyes. She turns to Draco. "You're top though. Every Ravenclaw is quite impressed with you. You're showing us up."
Draco smiles. "That's a high compliment, especially coming from the most intelligent house."
"It's true." Skylar smiles. She looks at Hermione. "Were you named after Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, or after the Greek messenger God?"
Hermione brightens.
"The first. My brother is named Lysander after a Midsummer Night's dream, and he married a girl named Ariel, after a controlled spirit in the Tempest that eventually gets freed, and has a daughter named Bianca, after Katherine's younger sister in The Taming of the Shrew. I have two sisters, twins, Rosaline after Romeo's first love, and Juliet. They're seventeen. My middle name is Adriana, who appears in The Comedy of Errors." Hermione tells her, and Skylar has her sit down and they begin talking about The Taming of the Shrew.
"I'm hoping you can befriend her. She's very lonely." Draco admits to Cho in French, which she studied along with English, not wanting Hermione to understand him.
"Looks like you do have a heart." Cho tells him, effortlessly switching languages to French so Draco didn't hex her. She smiles. "I love that. A new side to you."
"Not new, but buried." Draco admitted. "I just understand all too well how she feels. I lived it."
"You're beginning to care about her." Cho knows it.
"Never." Draco tells her firmly.
…
A/N:
Most chapters will be much longer and also be in first person alternating, but I wanted to get everyone's thoughts right away. This just seems like a good stopping place.
I plan on much more arguing (don't worry, they won't be friends right away and it will not be smooth sailing the entire time at all) but I want to show Draco as having a heart instead of just being a jerk. There has to be some reason Hermione starts falling for him, and she'd never fall for the book version or a complete asshole. I wanted to introduce Fleur right away because she will have a part, and make Draco actually have a valid reason why he'd comfort Hermione, which is why I changed Draco so he lived in France and he moved, so he knew how lonely she was and could emphasize. I tried that he hated tears but knew he liked making her cry, so that obviously didn't work, and I'm not redoing this chapter for the eighth time (not exaggerating).
Hermione has Asperger's because I, being an Aspie myself, know that and can develop her character easier than someone who looked it up. Besides that, in this fiction, she has a hard time in social situations, has very strong interests that she focuses on and shuts out other things, she's extremely high-functioning and intelligent (many people with Asperger's are)… I just view my version of her as that. I know what I'm doing with her character.
Please review if you like it or have suggestions/any feedback that isn't a flame (A flame is just criticism or hate not meant to help the author, just meant to tear them down. Constructive criticism is meant to help a writer out, and I take that and improve the story).