She woke up with a headache from her crying and puffy eyes. She could still feel the sorrow pounding in her head and her blood. Harry and Ron needed to know about this- now.
Hermione sprang out of bed, changed as quickly as possible and raced to the boys' dorms, knocking on their door. "Harry! Ron!" She called. There were sounds of shuffling and curses before the door opened to reveal Harry with his messy hair and crooked glasses.
"What's going on, 'Mione?" He groaned, rubbing his eyes. "It's so early in the morning."
"I have something very important to tell you and Ron so you better be ready in two minutes and down in the commons." She said, turning away and hurrying down the stairs back to the commons. She heard the door shut and Harry talking to Ron. Since it was cold in the room, she started the fire.
Just as she settled down on a chair, Ron and Harry stumbled down the steps, their hair rugged and clothes rumpled. "What is it 'Mione?" Ron asked.
She hesitated, looking into the flames. "I…" She began, "I talked to Malfoy yesterday."
Harry sat beside her and Ron on the other side. "And?" They asked.
"I looked at his arm, Harry." She looked into his eyes. "He's one of them."
There was a pause before they both started talking. "I told you! I've known all along that prick was hiding something!" Ron said.
"What did he say? Did he hurt you? Does he know you know?" Harry asked with concern.
"He knows. I…" She trailed off, her gaze lost in the dancing fire again. "I yelled at him. Told him I would tell you guys. Told him how stupid he was and how angry and disappointed I am."
"Did he hurt you?" Harry repeated.
She shook her head. "He…He must have wanted to, and he broke my heart. I trusted him. I'm making so many irrational choices lately." She gave a wry smile.
"I'm so sorry," Harry said softly, putting his arm around her and giving her a hug. She leaned into his chest. It felt good to just curl up in a hug from her best friend.
"Harry, Ron, be careful. He said he would hurt my friends and family if I told anyone." She whispered. She looked at her friends, her eyes pleading. "Don't confront him alone. We'll tell Dumbledore, and Professor McGonagall and they will deal with him. Understand? I'm not letting you two or anyone else get hurt because of this."
"But, 'Mione, he's a Death Eater, we need to act now! What if he's telling all the school's secrets to the others on his side?" Ron protested, leaning forward.
"I think Hermione's right. We shouldn't handle this by ourselves. We'll need Dumbledore's help." Harry said, pulling away from the hug to give Ron a glance. "I don't want anyone to get hurt either."
Ron looked like he wanted to argue, but he kept his mouth shut. After all, he still knew that none of them would be able to top Malfoy in a fight. That prat was a smart one, and he knew how to use spells. "Alright. We tell Dumbledore. But we tell him today."
Hermione nodded. "That was what I was thinking too. We'll go to him right after breakfast and tell him about Malfoy. But we have to do it when he isn't looking. If he knows I told you, he'll do something terrible. I know that now." She said the last part with an apologetic look at them both. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you two before, when you both thought he was one of them. I was mistaken."
"Don't be sorry." Ron said. "Malfoy was your friend before, and you didn't want to believe it. We know that if we had been suspected of something like that, you would stand up for us too. It's not a bad thing that you stood up for him. Your only mistake was not seeing the signs." She couldn't believe Ron was the one saying this. She hadn't expected him to have thought it through so much and hadn't expected him to be the one to be so compassionate.
"Thank you," She whispered. Her eyes welled up with tears, but she didn't let them fall. She had had enough with crying. "Thank you," She lunged forward to hug Ron and wrapped her arms tight around him, repeating the words over and over. She felt Harry join the hug and smiled; happy they could all be together right then.
When they finally let go was when the first few people started trickling down the stairs to go to breakfast. Ginny was one of them and when she saw them all up, she laughed.
"What occasion brings you two up so early?" She asked. "I'd think you would be snoring like pigs still."
"I woke them up," Hermione said. "They sleep too much, and getting too much sleep is not the healthiest choice for your body."
Ginny grinned. "Hear that boys? You've got to get up earlier to keep your health up." Harry and Ron gave a theatrical groan to go along with Hermione's cover-up.
"I think this one morning's enough, don't you think, Ron?" Harry said.
"Yes, well, let's hope that once we convince Hermione we are perfectly healthy, there will be no more reason to get up so early." Ron was staring meaningfully at Hermione. She understood that he meant that there would no longer be a Malfoy to worry about.
She hated having to lie to Ginny about this, but the less she knew, the safer she was. "Let's go down to breakfast," She suggested, ushering Ginny out the door. "Leave the boys to get straightened out." She swung her head over at the boys. "You two look hideous. Go get dressed properly."
Then the portrait closed and the two girls walked down to the Great Hall, talking about classes and the ball. Hermione was glad to hear Ginny had had a very exciting night. She couldn't very well tell her about dancing with Malfoy or seeing him in the Astronomy Tower, but she did let her know she had danced a lot.
"You must have had one big hangover this morning, Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed. "Why do you seem fine?"
"Some minor spells healed it." Hermione smiled. "Read about them for a class last year, and I remembered them."
"You have such a good memory, 'Mione." Ginny smiled.
They reached the Gryffindor table and sat together, helping themselves to the breakfast that had appeared before them. There was no evidence left of the Yule Ball and everything was the same.
As she ate, she felt eyes on her and she almost turned, but realized the only one who would be looking at her would be Malfoy, and she would not be able to stand his eye contact. She wouldn't let her guard down around him anymore, and his eyes always made that happen. Not anymore, She told herself. Now you can stand up to him and treat him like the bloody bastard he is.
Harry and Ron joined them not a moment later, and the four of them continued their talk of the ball and the wonderful decorations. Hermione would sometimes stop listening and just feel the burning gaze on her back, but she always shook it off and joined the conversation again. Why wasn't he looking away? He was making her extremely uncomfortable, and if he kept this up, she would break the promise she had Ron and Harry make. She would go over and hex his eyes out before even thinking about what Dumbledore needs to know.
Finally, they drifted away from her and she could let out the breath she had been holding. Now she could relax and actually enjoy the presence of her best friends. Ron made a joke and she laughed. Now, she could laugh with her friends. Now, she could do things freely, without worrying about what each group of friends would think. Now, she only had to care about what Harry and Ron and Ginny and her righteous friends thought. Now, she didn't have to lie to her real friends and go behind their backs to meet with that wretched Malfoy.
Breakfast was done and they walked to Potions. It was the only class with Slytherins today, so once it was over, Hermione wouldn't have to worry about Malfoy seeing right through her. She did her best to pay attention in class and raise her hand for every question, but it was hard to ignore the heated stare directed at her back. What did he even want? He had made his point very clear last night.
She knew it was a bad idea, but she turned around anyway and met his gaze with her own fierce one. He raised an eyebrow. This was a terrible idea, she thought, now he's bringing back our facial language from when we were seven! He was asking her a question. She just narrowed her eyes at him.
"Miss Granger!"
She spun around in her seat and snapped to attention. "Yes, Professor?"
"Stay facing forward in your seat, please, or I will have to take house points away." Snape's eyebrows raised in a perfect replica of Malfoy's. "Understood?"
"Understood, Professor." Hermione nodded. She could feel the muffled laughter from the Slytherin side of the room.
"Good. Moving on, who can tell me the name of this potion?"
The rest of class continued in the same manner, and Hermione nearly sprinted out of her seat when class was over.
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"We should have a secret language." Draco whispered. "Something no one but us will understand but also simple, so it's hard to forget."
"You mean, like maybe face twitching?" Hermione asked.
Draco wrinkled his nose. "Face twitching? What kind of name is that?"
"Like, we use our faces to communicate. It will be easy to remember since they are just exaggerated everyday facial expressions." Hermione folded her arms. "If you don't want to call it face twitching, we could always come up with something new."
"That's brilliant, 'Mione!" Draco exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "How about…. Facial communication?"
"Oh, alright." Hermione said. "I'll let you name this one. Next time is my turn."
"Fine, 'Mione," Draco said, smiling. "Now we can communicate even with our parents watching."
"Now we can do lots of things!" Hermione said.
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They told Dumbledore. It was rather disappointing. He had only told them that the school professors would look into it and not to worry. Of course they would worry. Ron and Harry warned Hermione every day to keep her guard up and make sure Malfoy didn't do anything.
Hermione was frustrated. Draco clearly had had the Mark, and Dumbledore had insisted that he be proven guilty instead of her accusations. Did he not trust her? But then again, if she was anyone else, she wouldn't trust herself either. Hanging around with Malfoy secretly was a horrible and nonsensical idea, and yet she had done it. She should have learned a long time ago that secret friendships did no good.
Days went by without any information from Dumbledore, and Hermione was getting restless. She couldn't sit still through dinner, so excused herself early and wandered the halls. She watched as the staircases shifted before selecting a path to the dormitories. She heard a scuffle and turned to see Dra- Malfoy a few meters behind her. Once a habit, always a habit. She really needed to change his name in her head.
"Hello, Malfoy," She said curtly, spinning back around and hurrying up the steps. She didn't want to be anywhere near that boy right now.
"'Mione-"
"Don't call me that!" She spat, casting him a harsh glance. "You don't deserve to say it."
He took a visibly deep breath. "Fair enough." He followed her up the steps. "Granger, about last night." He paused, like he was expecting her to say something.
"What about it?" She said, gesturing for him to hurry up. "I know you might think everyone has time for you, but I don't. So hurry along."
"I wanted to say." He sighed and raked a hand through his hair. Whatever he had to say, it was taking too long, and every second wasted in his presence was making her uneasy.
"I have things to do." She said, and spun around, flying up the steps.
She heard him following her. "Wait! Granger, wait!"
"What is it?" She asked, continuing along the corridor at a brisk pace. He caught up and walked beside her, only inches slower, as if he was letting her have the privilege of not looking at him.
"I-" He groaned. "Why is this so bloody difficult? I'msorryalright?"
She paused, and he was so surprised he had to walk a few steps back to be level with her again. "Pardon?"
"I'm sorry." He mumbled. "Don't make me say it again, please."
"I'm sorry, I didn't exactly hear you correctly, let me just lean this ear in a little more." Her tone was still angry, now with a harsh humor in it. "Again?"
"I'm. Sorry." He said. He slumped, his shoulders rolling down and his head hanging to the side. "I'm really, really sorry about what I said yesterday. It was totally wrong, and I don't think about you like that. You deserve so much more respect than I gave you. I'm sorry. And that threat? That wasn't for real, I swear, I would never hurt you like that."
She squeezed her eyes shut and leaned against the wall. So he was sorry? She thought about what happened last night. Her eyes flew open. She peered at his face, something she hadn't been looking at before, and noticed the bruises marring the smooth skin.
She gasped and resisted the urge to touch them. "Oh my gods." She murmured. "Is that from me? I'm so sorry,"
His eyes widened and he touched his face. "Did the charm wear off?" He pulled his wand out and muttered a few words and the yellowing bruises faded. "It's not that big of a deal. I can just hide them until they disappear."
She felt terrible. How could she let herself hit anyone like that, no matter how idiotic they were acting or no matter how infuriating they were? What would her parents think, to know that their daughter had willingly beaten a fellow classmate? "I feel terribly sorry." She said. "Let me heal them at least?" She was always healing his wounds before.
She pulled her wand out and erased the charms, to fully see the damage. She wrinkled her nose in concentration and gestured her wand, sealing the cut and returning the bruises to the pale color of his skin. "There." She looked down the hall when she heard voices. "I have to go. Good bye," She stuffed her wand back in her robes and took off, heading into the dorms and reading on her bed until bedtime.
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"Hermione!"
The girl huffed and cast a glance over her shoulder. "What is it this time, Draco?"
"I was playing Quidditch- like normal you know- and the snitch – you know that one Father bought me last year, with the green markings? That one—it cut my cheek and I can't get it to stop bleeding and you're the first person I thought of that's good at healing charms – funny, that, why didn't I go see Mother first? – anyway, please?" He sat heavily on the bed beside her.
She sighed and grabbed her wand from her bedside table before sitting up. Muttering a few words, she tapped his cheek gently before the cut sealed up. She cast a quick cleaning charm to wipe the blood away. Hermione smiled at her handiwork and ruffled his hair. "All better now." She said. "This is why I tell you not to get too fierce while playing! Whatever would you do if your face was scarred permanently?" She paused and grinned slyly at him. "What girl would date you?"
He smirked. "I am under the assumption that females find scars quite attractive, actually."
Hermione scoffed and returned to the open book on her pillow. "Whatever. Go back to your game; I want to finish my novel before tonight."
He didn't leave; instead, he leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on her hairline. "Thanks, 'Mione." And then he left with a swish of his robes.
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"'Mione?" Ron asked.
Hermione hummed in response, twirling her scrambled eggs around on her plate. Hermione Granger was never one to play with her food- she was raised better than that- but this morning she was distracted by the dream she had had the previous night. She had always been the one to heal Draco when he got cuts and bruises, but he had never thanked her before- until the last time she did it.
She thought of the injuries Draco- No, Malfoy- had sustained from her and she winced. She needed to control her temper if she was going to go off the line like that and hurt someone.
"Hermione," Ron said forcefully. "I asked you a question."
She looked up at her best friend and offered an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Ron, what was it?"
The redhead tilted his head to the Slytherin table. "Why does Malfoy keep glancing at you? You don't think he's planning something do you?"
Hermione turned to look at the blonde. His grey eyes bore into hers. His eyebrow rose. Meet me? She puckered her lips into a frown. Can't. She communicated quickly, her features scrolling through several motions. Don't talk to me.
Why not? Draco asked. I didn't really finish my apology.
Because, Hermione said, it's better for everyone.
Astronomy Tower, tonight.
Hermione shook her head and turned away. "I don't know, Ron, but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Come on, finish your breakfast and we'll leave for class." She spooned a mouthful of scrambled eggs into her mouth, all the while feeling Malfoy's gaze on her back.
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It was during Potions when a note fluttered onto her desk in the form of a little bird. As soon as it's wing tip touched the solid material, it collapsed into itself into a folded note. She eyed the professor, who was safely turned away before opening it cautiously, her wand out to deflect any jinxes.
She recognized the curvy font and cast a glance at the owner, who was watching her from behind. Hermione quickly turned back to the note.
Astronomy Tower, 10:00pm.
She almost crumpled it up, but stopped when she noticed more words. She rubbed her eyes. Did he-?
Please come.
She sighed. Could she really deny him? What if he really was going to just apologize? She could even find out why he had the Mark. If he had wanted the Mark…. It was dangerous. But….
She looked back over her shoulder. He'd said "please." Should she? Would she tell Ron and Harry? No, even if she decided to go, she couldn't possibly tell them. They would worry.
And for good reason. She chastised herself. Malfoy was a Death Eater now, and he isn't to be trusted unless he has proven himself.
But wouldn't that be easier to tell by meeting him?
Draco would never hurt her- not really- would he?
She stared down at her notes and picked her quill up. Almost imperceptibly, she nodded.