~Perfect Harmony~

Disclaimer: Me no own Harry Potter.

Author's Note: I know I'm skipping a lot of the major scenes, but you all know what happens. This story is to show the behind the scenes development of Hermione and Draco. Sorry. Go read the book if you want to read these scenes. Draco acts like a git. Hermione acts very strict. Blah.

~Happy Halloween~

Much had happened since the Remembrall incident. Malfoy had gotten nastier, setting up a midnight duel with Harry and Ron that he fully intended to ditch. When Hermione had tried to stop them, she ended up getting locked out of the common room and therefore had to follow them, stumbling upon a poor Neville who'd been sleeping out in the hall because he'd forgotten the password once again [perhaps that was what his Remembrall had been trying to remind him of] and nearly getting caught by filch who had obviously known they would be there. No doubt Malfoy had tipped them off about their appearance. They ended up running and hiding unknowingly in the very corridor Professor Dumbledore had forbidden them to run into, and for very good reason. There was a huge, black, three-headed mongrel standing upon a small trap door. It had definitely been guarding something that Hermione wasn't in the least bit curious about...well, to be truthful, she was extremely about it, but she wasn't going to let them know that. The next day, she vowed never to speak to them again. She was through with their antics. She would much rather spend her time with those who were friendly towards her rather than those who didn't even want her company and nearly got her killed. Unfortunately, there weren't many who wanted her, either.

To top it all off, Harry had secretly been made Seeker on Gryffindor's Quidditch team for showing he had skill when capturing the Remembrall Malfoy had thrown. It infuriated her that he was being rewarded for breaking the rules. True, she didn't want him to be expelled. She may not be very fond of him at the moment, but he was a very talented wizard and he didn't deserve to be punished for doing something for someone else. At the same time, he didn't deserve to be rewarded for going against what Madam Hooch had told them to do. And she'd told them so, completely forgetting her vow not to speak to them until Ron rudely reminded her.

Lately, Hermione had needed some place to go to be alone. She needed privacy away from peering eyes, or she was going to break. Some days, she was so close to tears, and she hated crying. She hated other people seeing that she was close to crying, and needed some place to wind down and collect herself. A bathroom was pathetic and stupid. And she was anything but. She'd found a nice little alcove near the lake that no one seemed to know about, so she escaped there during her free periods rather than the library. She'd stop by the library, of course, to grab some books for light reading before heading down to the lake and staying there until it was time for either her next class or for dinner. Sometimes, though, she wouldn't even feel like reading. So she would sit there staring at her reflection in the water, wondering what it was that made people hate her so much. Harry and Ron didn't seem to like her company. Neville could be a bit of a bother, and he was usually busy getting himself caught within yet another predicament. Percy the Prefect was busy with his own responsibilities, and he wasn't much company in the first place. Sometimes she'd catch the twins and they would have a bit of fun together. She loved that they didn't care what anyone else thought. She'd once caught them scolding Ron for trying to tell them not to hang out with her. But they were in a different year with a different schedule, so she wasn't able to see them much. Even troublemakers had something to do. So there she would sit, all by herself. When had she become so...alone?

Draco Malfoy was beside himself; every attempt he'd made to get rid of the famous Harry Potter had failed miserably and then been thrown right back in his face. He'd even given Potter privileges. Seeker? A first year? And on top of that, he got his very own Nimbus Two-Thousand?! This place that he had at first been so excited about was really starting to spiral downward. He was being outwitted by a mudblood. He was losing popularity to that scarhead. Even that Weasley seemed to be having more fun than he was. Where had he gone so wrong?

He was happy to say that just about every Slytherin had befriended him. Well, he wasn't sure 'befriend' was an accurate term for it. They knew he was a Malfoy and that's what got him attention. He loved being at the top of his year. Many of the girls, especially that Parkinson, were very fond of him; he'd even heard a rumor that they had started a fan club for him. It felt empowering. He wasn't used to this much attention due to his father always being cold and busy. His mother was the only real attention he'd received whilst at home.

That was always the trigger for ruining his mood. His mother was the only one who actually cared about who he was. These Slytherins merely wanted to be associated with the Malfoy name. And the rest of the school despised him, knowing his pull in the Slytherin corner. He'd successfully created a reputation of being high and mighty, and knew he'd have to keep up this facade or else relinquish power. His father would have his head if that were to happen.

He remembered that Granger again and what she'd said...he'd end up worse than his father...He shook the thought away. Just because he wasn't as pathetic and soft as the lot of them were didn't make him a worse figure than his father.

It was Halloween and they were sitting in Professor Flitwick's Charms lecture, going over the simple levitation charm. It was relatively easy, but he was bored so his attempts at making the feather before him and Zabini was very half-hearted. After a few attempts, he just let Zabini give it a try. Without his permission, his thoughts once again returned to the mudblood and he leaned his cheek on his palm so that it tilted just right. Now he could watch as she struggled in teaching the Weaselbee how to properly levitate the stupid thing. He wasn't surprised to watch everyone else's eyes turn to watch the little know-it-all as the redhead suggested she give it a go.

Hermione was suddenly very aware of everyone's eyes upon her and Ron, including Malfoy. Well, if they were going to watch, she was more than willing to demonstrate how it ought to be done. Rolling up her sleeves, she cleared her throat and raised her wand. With a swish and flick that made Professor Flitwick tear up, she chanted the words, "Wingardium Leviosa!" Instantly, her feather floated gracefully into the air, and she barely contained her triumphant smile.

Professor Flitwick praised her but he was the only one, a fact that did not go past Hermione. Everyone was silent. No one cheered. She could only focus long enough to set the feather back down in its place before going very, very still. Everyone went back to practicing as though nothing had happened. Not even one small, "Good job." She felt more alone than ever before.

Draco hated her. He really did. She thought she was so bloody brilliant just because she could make a feather float in the air. Angrily, he snapped, "Let me have a go." Zabini scooted back, allowing him room. Effortlessly, he mimicked the correct wrist movement and chanted the words. His feather shot into the air just as flawlessly as the mudbloods had, and he received a rather enthusiastic cheer from his fellow Slytherins. With a smug look, he set it back down and shot a look at the bushy haired girl who'd become the bane of his existence. But what he saw was definitely unexpected, to say the least. He'd expected a glare, a challenge; anything but what he saw: a defeated, sad girl who couldn't even bottle up the courage to look at him. Her head hung low, shielding her face rather successfully and her shoulders slumped. What was that all about?

Hermione was close to breaking and she knew it. No one liked her. They liked Malfoy more than her, and she hadn't done anything but read her books and answer questions in class. She was trying hard to keep her head held high, but as she neared Ron and Harry to tell Ron he had done a good job in class to be nice, she overheard him speaking to Harry about her. "It's no wonder no one can stand her. She's a nightmare, honestly."

That was all it took. She could feel the tears threatening to burst from her eyes, and she couldn't let anyone see her like this. So she rushed past them to the closest bathroom there was, knocking into Harry as she did so but rushing past anyway. She couldn't look back, or he might see her face and she just couldn't handle that right now. Already people were asking questions. She thought she might have heard one of the twins close by, but she pressed on until she'd reached the girl's bathroom and pushed the door fiercely. One look around showed that no one was there, and so she fell to her knees and finally, finally she let the tears fall.

So it was true. People truly couldn't stand her, could they? She should have expected as much. To think things would be different here than they were at her other schools...It didn't matter whether you were a muggle or a witch or a ghost, people were all the same: bullies. Just because someone tried harder than you, they get labeled as bossy or geeky or conceited. Bossy, she may be, but she truly just wanted to help. She never meant to be bossy; that's just how she came across, and she couldn't help that. And when she's excited, she likes to talk about whatever topic spiked her interest and tell everyone everything she'd learned about said topic. Was it so wrong to want knowledge rather than being stuck in the dark? She was tired of keeping up appearances. She was tired of being picked on for being smart. She was tired of being humiliated for practicing so she didn't make a fool of herself in class. She was so, so tired...

"Herimione?" She whipped her head around to see Parvati Patil from her own house.

She panicked. Someone had seen her. Now it would be all over school that Hermione Granger, the bookworm know-it-all who thought she was better than everyone else, had been crying shamelessly in the girl's bathroom. "Get out! Just leave me alone for once, why don't you?!"

Parvati ran out, fearing for her life. She probably assumed Hermione would hex her if she hadn't done so. Great. Now she wasn't just a bossy, conceited know-it-all. She was a bossy, conceited know-it-all with anger issues. What more could go wrong?

Harry Potter was growing weary. Hermione hadn't shown up for classes all afternoon, and that just wasn't like her. He'd seen her crying when she'd bumped into him. That wasn't like her, either. Something told him that she had been having a harder time than they all cared to notice. Guilt was slowly eating at him, and he didn't like it one bit. He realized he had been treating her the same way the Dursley's had treated him: like a nuisance they couldn't get rid of. Though Ron was the one directly putting her down every chance he got, it was Harry's own fault for not stepping in and saying something. If anyone could get his best friend to shut up it was him, and yet he let it all happen and sometimes even added his own comment in. He never meant to hurt the poor girl. He just hoped she would be alright. He'd overheard Parvati telling someone how Hermione had been crying in the bathroom and had yelled at her to get out. Ron seemed to have heard it, too, because he was silent for the rest of the day as well. Apparently, it was Ron's first time making someone this upset, too.

Draco was annoyed. Confused. Frustrated. Where was that bloody mudblood? She wasn't in any of her classes, and he had been pretty sure he'd seen her crying in the halls on her way from Charms. No doubt it had something to do with the response she'd received earlier. He faintly remembered hearing the Weasley call her a nightmare. Perhaps that's what triggered it.

He was passing the Weasley twins and that Lavendar Brown girl on his way to the lake when he overheard mention of her name. So he quickly hid behind the wall to eavesdrop. He was curious, that's it. He wasn't at all worried.

"We saw Hermione crying in the halls earlier, but when we called after her she just ignored us," said one twin.

The other chimed in, "Yeah, and we're pretty loud so it's not as though she didn't hear us."

In perfect sync, they asked, "So, do you know anything about our darling Gryffindor princess?"

It was a bit peculiar that they referred to her in that way, but his thoughts were put on hold as the Brown girl began to speak. "Parvati said she's bee crying in the girl's lavatory. When Parvati went in, Hermione screamed at her to get out and that she wanted to be left alone. She's extremely upset."

So he hadn't been hallucinating. He'd actually seen Granger crying. Was she really this stupid, crying just because people didn't like you? Perhaps that wand of hers had become defected over the years and that's how it chose her. Or it was just a bad judge of character. After all, Ollivander had said the owner had to have a brilliant mind and a pure heart. A brilliant mind and a pure heart wouldn't get so upset over something as trivial as people not liking them. Not that he would know anything about that. He had his entire house behind him. He'd never been bullied, save for his father, and he had no intention of letting anyone bully him. He couldn't imagine what it was like for her. He vaguely wondered if she'd been bullied at any of her other schools. As he made his way down for the Halloween feast, his thoughts were on her.

Maybe he was a wee bit worried.

Live bats decorated the ceiling and walls, fluttering down every now and then. Carved pumpkins held small lit candles and were scattered down every table neatly. When nearly everyone was gathered, the food appeared on golden platters jut as they had on the first night. Draco's mind was instantly wiped of any awkward feelings he'd been having towards his thoughts and began to dig in.

Just as he was about to take a sip of his pumpkin juice, however, the nutty Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor ran in, stumbling his way up to the High Table. "Troll in the dungeons! Just thought you...ought to...know." Then he feinted.

For a moment, everyone sat in silence. Then, in a split second, everyone was screaming and scrambling to escape. Dozens of purple firecrackers shot into the air, followed by the bellowing voice of Albus Dumbledore. "Prefects, lead your houses back to their dormitories immediately."

Everyone filed out fearfully, trying to calm down. Draco Malfoy was about ready to pee his pants, but as his house was passing by the Gryffindors, two annoyingly familiar voices said a name that had his blood running cold-why, he had no idea. As they rushed off towards the girl's bathroom, Draco chided himself for being this way before following stealthily behind them.

Remember how she had thought: what more could go wrong?

Apparently...a lot could go wrong. A lot.

As she huddled under the broken sinks trying to escape the ugly monster that had somehow been locked in here along with her, she prayed for a miracle. She had gone so far into shock that she had become dead weight as Harry tugged on her arm, telling her to run. When Harry ran and jumped on his back, though, she came back to reality and screamed again. Why was he always doing things like this, risking his life for other people? As the troll tried to thrash him off, she realized he'd accidentally shoved his wand far up it's nostril. That was...utterly disgusting. And then she heard the words "Wingardium Leviosa" before the troll was knocked out with its own club. She turned to see Ron's pale face; he seemed to be just as scared as she was, but he'd executed the charm successfully for the first time just to save her. Maybe they cared just a bit more than she thought.

She was the first to say anything. "Is it...dead?" She definitely owed these two her life.

Before either of them had a chance to recuperate, in came running Professors McGonagall, Snape and Quirrell. Quirrell immediately sat on one of the busted toilet seats before passing out at the sight of the troll once more, Snape stared daggers at Harry and Ron, and McGonagall was more furious than any of them had ever thought she could get. Hermione instantly knew how to pay the two of them back, but first she had to find her feet.

As McGonagall finally got over the shock of seeing her two students and began to give them the scolding of a lifetime, Hermione was slowly getting feeling back in her legs. As she slowly stood, she realized Ron still had his wand up. Really, Ron?

Clearing her throat, she walked towards them, crying out, "Please, Professor McGonagall! They were looking for me!" McGonagall turned to her, once again taken aback by yet another student-herself, at that. "I went looking for the troll because I...I thought I could deal with it on my own. You know, because I've known all about them." She realized she probably could have told the truth and they all would have gotten out of this situation with little punishment, but if she could make these two out to be heroes and have them gain points for Gryffindor then maybe they would like her just a little bit more. It was difficult, lying to a teacher, but when Ron dropped his was wand in shock, she decided it was well worth it. She replayed everything that the two had done to save her, listened to McGonagall's rant, ending in her taking 5 points from Gryffindor before dismissing her. She nodded towards the two boys before walking out with her head down in "shame"...truthfully hiding a small smile as the boys eyes showed acceptance of her.

Halfway to the dormitory, someone grabbed her arm and yanked her into an abandoned hallway. She was about to struggle before seeing that it was Malfoy...a very livid Malfoy. Gone was his cool, calm and collected facade. "Are you mad?!" he hissed. "Because you were being a big baby, you almost got killed! Don't you care at all about your well-being? Does it really matter what others think of you that you stop thinking about everything you've worked so hard to achieve? Are you really so weak that you are ready to just give up? It's hardly been a month since school started and already you're losing your touch, mudblood. You need to be more careful, you idiot! I swear, you are the stupidest person on this planet! Do you know that?!"

Hermione's eyes widened, and then she gave him this awe-inspiring look that he wouldn't be able to erase from his mind for years to come. "You called me an idiot...you called me stupid...thank you."

Then she walked off, leaving him to stare at the spot on the wall where she had been moments before. What just happened?

Well, that's the end of that! Hope you all are enjoying this! Review and favorite and do whatever else you readers want to do! Just please be respectful! Thank you!