Chapter 3: Hermione's Point of view
Hermione expects to feel cold, but she doesn't .
She props herself onto her elbows to find herself coated in green robes.
Slytherin robes. She remembers coming in to the Room of Requirement, to sneak in to read some of the extremely dangerous books. She had heard someone there, and then she had fallen unconscious.
Her wand is laid neatly by her side,and the robes around her definitely aren't hers.
She has a horrible suspicion to who it belongs to.
Malfoy.
She looks at the green robes. He stunned me. And then brought me to the couch. He helped me.
Why would Hermione Granger, brave Gryffindor princess, ever need help from a Slytherin? She snorts in disgust. Finally feels some pity, now, does he?
She pulls herself up, a throbbing pain in her left shoulder where the spell had hit her. She gets up on her feet, and folds the robes neatly and grabs her wand.
She looks at the watch. It's past midnight. What would Draco have been doing this late in the Room of Requirement?
She lights her wand up to guide her back to the Gryffindor Common Room. She stuffs the robes into her bag and makes a mental note to return it to its owner. She steps into the room.
Ginny is sitting by the fire, and instantly shoots up on her feet at the sight of Hermione.
"Where the hell have you been?" She asks incredulously. "I was getting nervous!"
"I'm so sorry, I kind of fell asleep while reading books in the library, and just woke up."
She feels guilty lying to her best friend, but who knows what she would do when she finds out that Malfoy stunned her?
Ginny relaxes a bit. "Okay, I thought something happened to you."
Hermione manages a smile. "Thanks, Gin. Where's Harry and Ron, anyway?"
Ginny's expression darkens. "They went to sleep after giving up on waiting for you to show up. I asked them to wait, but they insisted you were going to be fine. So I stayed."
Hermione sighs. "It's really okay, Ginny. You can go to sleep, now. it was really nice of you to stay," though she feels disappointed Ron and Harry had left.
Ginny shakes her head. "I need to tell you something, first."
She beckons her to sit beside her, and Hermione sits down, looking at her. "What is it?"
"Listen, Hermione. Ron is up to something."
She gives Ginny a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"
"He's doing something, and he is nervous that you or Harry will find out. I just know it."
"How do you know?"
Ginny sighs irritably. "He's my brother, for Merlin's sake. I know him the best."
Hermione straightens. "I'll find out, soon enough."
"Herms, the only problem is, you probably won't find out. He's really good at keeping secrets, mind you."
"Don't worry, Ginny. It's probably nothing that bad."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Uh, sure?" Hermione replies.
"Are you and Ron really 'together'?"
Hermione looks shocked. "Well, yeah. You could say that. Why?"
She shakes her head. "Nothing," she averts her eyes.
"Tell me, Ginny."
She yawns, "You know, I am pretty tired. I'm going to go the bed." She gets up from her spot, and goes up to the girls dormitory, leaving Hermione rather puzzled.
The next morning, Hermione wakes up late. She yawns and pushes her hair from her face. She gets up and hurries downstairs, with her bag. Ron and Harry are standing at the doorway, clearly waiting for Hermione.
"Finally. We're starving," Ron groans, pushing the portrait door open. "Let's head on to the Great Hall."
Harry jumps out after Ron, closely followed by Hermione. She remembers she has to return Malfoy's robes back to him, so she tries to think of an excuse to let her get to the Slytherin Common Room.
"Listen, guys, I have to get to the library to return some of my books. They're way past overdue. I'll meet you at the Hall in about fifteen minutes," she says.
Harry sighs. "Okay, I guess. We'll see there."
Ron takes Harry by the shoulder and they both leave. Hermione turns and finds her way towards Slytherin Common Room. She hasn't got a clue about how to get in, so she decides she'll just leave the robes in front of their portrait door.
She reaches the entrance and a giant seventh-year blocks her way.
"What are you doing here, Mudblood?" The boy growls.
"I-I was just-"
The Slytherin shoves her away. "Go away, Mudblood, unless you want to be beaten up."
Hermione glares at him defiantly. "No."
He narrow his eyes and wrenches her left shoulder roughly. "What did you just say?"
"I said, no."
She forces herself to stop the tears forming on the rim of her eyes. Her shoulder hurt even more. "I'm not leaving until I finish my job here."
The boy snorts. "You have no job here."
He raises a hand to slap her, but is interrupted by a cold, drawling voice.
"Let go of her, Grant."
The boy looks up, and Hermione tilts her head to see Malfoy standing only a foot away from them.
Grant lets go of her shoulder and lowers his hand. "She's trespassing, Draco."
Malfoy shrugs. "Doesn't mean you can hit a girl, does it? Even if she deserves it?"
He glares at her one last time and leaves.
Hermione wipes the unnecessary tears from her eyes. "Er, thanks."
Malfoy doesn't look at her. "What are you doing here, Granger?"
Hermione almost forgot why she is here. "I wanted to give this back to you. I guessed it was yours," she pulls the green robes from her bag and hands it to him.
He smirks and takes it from her, and for a brief moment, their hands brush past each other.
"I, er, am sorry for stunning you back at the Room of Requirement," he drawls.
She shrugs. "It's okay, I guess. Thanks for giving me your robe. I appreciate it."
"You'd better get back to your friends, or they'll start fussing over you," he says, looking at his nails.
"Oh, right," Hermione pulls her bag behind her shoulder and turns to leave.
"And I'd do something about that shoulder, if I were you," the drawling voice calls from behind her as she leaves.