Out of Hand by relativelypositive
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and I make no money from the use of J.K. Rowling's characters.
Chapter 8: Everyone Makes Mistakes
Draco,
Your mother received a very sternly worded letter this morning.
Did you really ask if there was a third Greengrass sister? Genius. A brilliant modification of number fifteen. Might I suggest following up with number five if the opportunity presents itself? It is a classic for a reason. You may soon be rid of the Greengrass sisters for good.
I'm very proud,
Your Father
Draco wondered how much longer his father would be proud of him.
Along with the owl from his father, Draco had received the Daily Prophet. He was scared to look inside, but knew he needed to know what it said so he could defend himself.
He saw other students leisurely leafing through their own copies, and hoped they would all miss whatever Granger had written.
He'd spent two hours last night working his way up to the higher echelons of the Daily Prophet hierarchy, and after all that effort he was denied!
If only Granger had come with him. She could have stopped it. As the person that paid for the ad, she could have pulled it. But no. He'd screwed up any chance he had of getting her help.
After the second stirring of his magic in just a few hours, Draco had run from the train compartment in confusion and fear.
He knew he had to get to London, but hadn't needed to take the train, and he hadn't needed to find Granger and sit with her. He told himself he just didn't want to sit alone, but in hindsight Draco wondered if maybe he liked the thrill of being so close to the edge.
Just being in the same space with her was dangerous, and he knew it. That's why he wouldn't talk to her. He'd sorely wanted to reply to many of her statements, but couldn't take the chance that further conversation would solidify their engagement.
When they arrived in London he stepped back into the compartment for his broom and bag. Granger had waited for him and looked at him with worry. He had expected her be mad, or to start asking questions.
She was now silent, too. Draco didn't know if that was good or bad.
As they got off the train Draco saw her parents waiting for her, and knew he needed to escape before Granger's manners kicked in and she tried to introduce them.
He knew what happened next was going to come back to bite him in the ass, but he'd gone over the incident hundreds of times in his head, and he couldn't find an alternative.
He wasn't trying to be rough when he brushed past Granger…he was trying to make a clean getaway. Instead, his broom somehow got entangled in her legs, and she fell toward him.
Normal people, people not in danger of becoming irrevocably bound to each other, would have easily avoided what happened next.
Granger pitched toward him, her arms stretching out to break her fall…
And Draco shifted back so she couldn't touch him.
A shriek of surprise and fear escaped her lips as she realized what he had done.
He heard a bone snap as she hit the pavement, and Draco felt a little throb in his arm.
Fuck.
He'd screwed up. He knew it. He was horrified with himself. Granger was stunned. She had turned and given him a look of bewilderment, pain, and hatred.
He ran away.
What else was he supposed to do? Wait for her parents to reach them and grill him about his actions? For her father to punch him? He knew it was obvious that he had moved to avoid touching her. It was a telling movement.
He brought his mind back around to the subject at hand. He braced himself and looked at the first page of the Daily Prophet.
Nargles found in Wales! Formerly-Imaginary Creature Discovered!
Draco looked toward the Ravenclaw table to see if that Looney girl had read that. She was nowhere to be seen.
Were the Ravenclaws looking at him? He scanned their table again. It must have been his imagination.
Draco flipped to the next page. Halfway down was a relatively large ad with a border of green vines. It was eye-catching. Damn it.
To whom it may concern:
It has come to my attention that my education is lacking. I have never before had reason to believe that Hogwarts is biased, but after the last few days I know it to be true. Coming from the Muggle world, I had no idea about the social customs of the Wizarding world, and no one has ever seen fit to rectify this shortcoming. Now I am battling back the fear that I may have done something irreversible.
I said something in jest that started an avalanche of ill will toward me, and I want to apologize. My intention was never to force Draco Malfoy to marry me. We have never been alone in a room together, let alone had any physical contact. What I said has hurt him, and I'd like to avoid any further issues. I do not want to marry Draco Malfoy.
Hogwarts does not offer a Pureblood Studies course. However, it does offer a Muggle Studies course, illustrating that a more complete education has been provided for Pureblood and Half-Blood witches and wizards.
No student is getting a complete education at Hogwarts. There are currently no Health and Physical Education, or Human Sexuality courses available.
I have seen evidence of paranoia and fear when anything regarding sexuality is mentioned. I have been told that it is because of courtship rituals, but there has to be a way to preserve tradition, yet not live in ignorance and fear.
I hope the Governors of Hogwarts will consider this problem, and solve it.
Sincerely,
Hermione Granger, a Proudly Muggleborn Witch
This is not what Draco had expected. Maybe he should have. He knew he was going to be mentioned by name. That was why he had fought so vehemently with the editors of the Daily Prophet to pull the ad.
But to tell everyone that Hogwarts needed to change, or that Pureblood families were not educating their children about sex? That was going too far. And wasn't completely accurate. Draco certainly knew about sex. In fact, had been taught at a quite early age.
Of course, he'd never done it.
But that was because it was a courtship ritual that happened after engagement…or was the catalyst to force an engagement. It wasn't because he didn't know what it was or didn't want to do it.
Boy, did he ever want to do it.
He thought about it all the time.
Draco's thoughts were interrupted by a large group of students gathering in front of the professors' table.
"Professor Dumbledore?" One girl bravely addressed the Headmaster. Draco stood up to see that it was Mandy Brocklehurst.
She was in Hufflepuff, right? Another Mudblood causing trouble.
"Professor Dumbledore, have you read the Daily Prophet today?"
"No, I have not. Is there something you'd like to draw my attention to, Miss Brocklehurst?"
"Yes. My fellow Muggleborns and I would like to point out Hermione Granger's article on page two. We think you should read it."
"I shall. Thank you for the recommendation." Dumbledore had started to lift his own copy when the girl spoke again.
"Professor, we've all been afraid of saying anything, so please consider Hermione as a spokesperson for us, the Muggleborns of Hogwarts."
Draco couldn't believe it. Was Granger starting a revolution? She wasn't even in the castle!
Blaise pulled Draco back down. "Sit down! People are staring."
Draco surreptitiously looked around. Blaise was right. He had wanted a few minutes to talk to Blaise in private, but now it looked like it would have to wait.
Blaise had no compunctions about talking in public about private matters.
"You must be terrified!"
"I don't think that's the right word."
"The right word wouldn't be thrilled, would it?"
"No."
"Come on. I hate to admit it, but Pansy was right. You do have to choose a witch eventually. And the fact that you and Granger disappeared at the same time yesterday has not escaped notice."
Draco groaned. At least the letter he received from his father this morning indicated that he was still in the dark. Until he read Granger's ad.
Draco had a scary thought:
The school governors set the curriculum. His father is a school governor! Even if he missed the original ad, someone was sure to bring it to his attention.
It was now unavoidable.
His father was going to find out.
Shit was about to get real.
A/N:
Thank you for the reviews, i hate umbrellas, dracosgirl007, jdbmcmahan2000, Lynn, 1231amiko, Chester99, KodeV, werevampluvr, Dianafefel, and ASJS.
The next chapter will include the lesson, and the return to more humor. I have been keeping you purposefully in the dark. Everyone reading this story should be just as bewildered as Hermione about everyone's attitude and actions.