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Hermione walked down the long corridor towards the Great Hall. After the incident in the library, she had headed to her second class for that day. As she was walking to her Arithmancy class, she thought about Malfoy. She was used to him calling her a Mudblood. She had feigned indifference to the word, but oddly enough, it still hurt. What stuck in Hermione's mind though, was Malfoy's reaction to him calling her that. He looked horrified, as if he had betrayed someone. And the way he had said it, Hermione was certain he had not meant it. It was just old insults coming back to the surface. That did not in any way pardon him, no. After all, if Malfoy had not called her Mudblood so much in the past, he wouldn't have called her one out of habit. But that face...
She was so confused. Malfoy's behavior was so contradictory to his old self. She was surprised that he had seemed to get over his racist thoughts and opinions over the course of the summer.
Hermione was grateful that she was able to concentrate in her classes today. She didn't want to start off this already horrid year with bad marks. Everything she had learned in Sixth year was coming back to her. Even though she had not gone to school the year of the war, she kept plenty of books to keep her mind sharp. And when the war had ended, she had spent most of her time studying and going over material. Granted she did that mostly to keep the images and memories out of her head, she still studied. She didn't know that the students were going to be forced to repeat the previous year, but she had planned on coming back to Hogwarts to finish her education. It was very important to her, after all.
She had stayed behind in Ancient Runes to get tomorrows assignment. She wanted to get a head start on all of her work. After that, she had headed back to the Library to finish her research on the Rapid Revival Potion. She had started an interesting paragraph on its origins when she had to leave.
In her reading, she had also come across the ingredients. So far, she would need Asphodel, Eye of Newt, Fluxweed, Hellbore, and a few other things. She knew that Slughorn had all of those ingredients in his classroom. The only ingredient that they would need to ask for would be dragon blood. She was so engrossed in the potions book, that she had missed lunch. It was fascinating how the Revival potion worked. It was made for reviving people who had no pulse, sort of like the Muggle defibrillator.
She heard the bell for her next classes and quickly packed up her belongings. She was rushing out of the library when she collided with a body. She let out an undignified squeak and almost fell, but an arm circled around her waist in an iron grip. She stuttered out a thank you and looked up into the cold grey eyes of Draco Malfoy.
"Granger," he said.
Words did not come from Hermione, and Malfoy raised an eyebrow.
"Umm, Malfoy. Uhhh, thank you." Malfoy continued to look at her with his eyebrow raised.
Malfoy's arm was still around her and Hermione noticed. She could feel the heat from his arm. Malfoy seemed to notice that he was still holding her, and dropped his arm.
"Did you see Blaise in there?"
"Blaise?"
He rolled his eyes. "Zabini? Dark skin, annoying personality, partners with the female American in Potions?"
"Yes I know who he is. And no, I didn't see him in there." She glared at him.
"That's all I needed to know," he said, glaring right back.
"And besides, shouldn't you be getting to class?" She asked in a stern tone.
"Free hour."
"Oh."
Since there was nothing else, Hermione walked away. She didn't want this turning into another argument, another repeat of this morning. She had thought that him calling her Mudblood had not affected her as much as it did, but she was wrong.
"Wh- Granger," Malfoy called. She kept walking.
He lengthened his strides to catch up with her.
"Granger," he started.
She walked faster.
"Damnit, would you stop!"
Ignoring him still, she walked around the corner to the staircases. She had just started climbing the steps toward her next class when she felt a strong hand on her arm.
Malfoy whirled her around and shoved her against the railing.
"You're making apologizing damned difficult."
Hermione's eyes widened.
"Apologizing?"
"Yes, Granger, apologizing. Alright? I'm sorry."
Of course, Hermione could only stare at him. Malfoy had never apologized. For anything. At least that she knew of. Hell, the Prophet had even printed an article on Malfoy's lack of apology for the things he had done. This was the nicest thing Hermione had ever heard Malfoy say.
Indeed, if this was Malfoy being nice, Hermione wanted to milk it for what it was worth. She wanted to feel bad about her thinking that, but after today...
"Sorry for what?" She said with fake innocence.
Malfoy looked at her like she was an idiot. "You know what."
"No I'm afraid I don't."
Malfoy moved away from her and rubbed a hand across his mouth.
"I'm sorry about...earlier. In the library."
"What about earlier in the library? About stealing my book?" She kept that annoying sweet tone.
"No, not that. Well that too, I guess. But-"
"Tell me something Malfoy. Are you doing this out of the goodness of your heart, because I sincerely don't think you are, or are you doing this because someone told you to? Did McGonagall find out about earlier, and make you apologize?"
Anger slashed across his face.
"I'm trying to apologize, and you're not making this easy."
"Apologizing isn't supposed to be easy, Malfoy. If it was, everyone would do it, no problem. It's supposed to be hard."
"I didn't even mean it, Granger. It was an accident. Can't you just move on?"
"And that makes it right? For once you didn't mean to call me Mudblood, hurray for you. But what about all those other times? You may not have meant to call me Mudblood this time, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt. Being reminded that I'm a stranger here, that if not for some genetic fluke I wouldn't be at Hogwarts? Not to mention I have to work twice as hard to know everything wizard, because I've only known about it for half of my life. You wouldn't understand that though, because you're Draco Malfoy. You've known you were a wizard since you could understand the words. You aren't looked down upon by racist Purebloods and told that you don't deserve to live. So no, Malfoy, I can't move on from it. I'm a Muggle-born, a Mudblood, and I'm proud of what I am."
With that, Hermione turned around and dashed up the stairs, leaving Malfoy with a thunderstruck expression.
Draco had thought about what he was going to say when he apologized because he did want to apologize, but that all went to hell when she started playing oblivious. After the incident at lunch, Draco had eaten his soup and brooded about what happened in the library. Blaise had told him that he needed to say he was sorry to both Valerie and Granger, but Draco had never really apologized before. What did he have to apologize for in the past? Before Sixth year, Draco had not needed to. He was a cocky teenager who was convinced everything that he did and thought was right and justified. Not anymore.
And Draco had no idea that's what Granger thought every time he had called her Mudblood. But this whole thing had brought something else forward. Draco had many things he needed to apologize for, but had not. Submitting to that fact, he went in search of Blaise.
Unbeknownst to both Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger, there were two people on a staircase above them, watching the entire thing. The girl smiled. "Well, that was unexpected. Tell me you felt that." She turned her gaze to the boy next to her. Both students were leaning on the staircase railing with their forearms.
The boy flashed a toothy grin. "I don't know what I felt." The girl stood up and gave the boy and narrowed her eyes with amusement.
"You can't be that oblivious."
The boy laughed. "No, I'm not. Yes I felt it. I haven't felt that amount of tension in years. No wonder they're constantly fighting."
They both stood silent, contemplating. The girl spoke up. "Suppose...suppose we help with that."
"What do you want us to do, slip them a lust potion?" The boy said with annoyance.
"No, there's plenty of that there already. They're just too stubborn to admit it."
"So...what then."
"I say we give them a little nudge. Not manipulating their feelings, they have enough sexual tension as it is, but I'm just saying...get them to admit to that tension."
The boy rolled his eyes. "I don't think either of them will ever admit it."
"Don't think you can do it?"
The boy stood up to his full height now, and crossed his arms. "Shall we bet on it?"
The girl snorted. "Like you'd win."
The boy grinned. "It's a bet then. First person to get them to admit that there is something there, wins. What's the prize?"
"Bragging rights."
They shook on it and went their separate ways.
Hermione was late for dinner, for the hallways were empty. Since she skipped lunch that day, she wanted to leave early from her last class, but she had stayed behind to get the next day's assignment from that class as well. There was no one else walking down the long halls, giving Hermione a moment of peace. There had not been enough silence so far. Everything was loud and exciting, and it was giving her a headache. She cherished the quiet. Too many loud noises reminded her of the war. She looked around the old, or new rather, stone halls. She had always admired the carving and the work the builders had put into this place. The builders weren't the only ones that had done some work. People had wanted Hogwarts to be like it was, before. So there were the familiar marks and blemishes the castle had accumulated over the centuries. A student's carved name there, a chip here, and as she was rounding the hall toward the stairs that lead to the Great Hall, she even saw the little patch of grass that Professor Flitwick had left in memory of Fred and George's grand exit.
She had visited their joke shop over the summer. Their business had never been better. Hermione knew that if their shops had not existed, the wizards in Britain would have been worse. Fred and George just provided a brighter look on life.
The entire moment with Malfoy had put her stress level over the edge. She was getting tired of the endless cycle between her and Malfoy. She wanted it to end, but it didn't seem like that was going to happen. Every time they had tried, it ended up backfiring. She just wanted to go to dinner, get her homework done, and go to sleep. She wanted peace and quiet.
Hermione heard voices ahead. There went my peaceful moment. She stopped before she turned the corner to the stairs. She would have pressed on, but she recognized the voices.
"-well aware of that Felix!" It was Valerie.
"Then why did you do it?" Felix asked.
"Oh, don't give me the 'holier than thou' attitude. I remember a time that you did much worse than I, when a younger student was making fun of your Veela heritage. So don't sit there and lecture me about control. I was very aware of what I was doing!"
"Are you sure it wasn't-"
"Yes," Valerie hissed.
"If it's happening again..."
"Then I would tell you."
Both Americans didn't speak for a moment. Hermione heard Felix sigh.
"So Malfoy really called you Mudblood?"
"No, he called Hermione Granger Mudblood." Valerie had a defeated tone.
Felix chuckled without humor. "And you're still talking to him? He's not a good person Val."
"Oh, don't tell me you believe all that shit that the Gazette printed. You know everything they said was exaggerated."
"What they wrote may have been, but I've seen his arm. Tattoos don't lie. I'm telling you Valerie, you shouldn't hang around him."
"Because we all know what a perfect judge of character you are, Felix. For your information he was apologizing for saying that word."
"I didn't see Hermione in there."
"He was apologizing to me because he knew it offended me, Felix. Blaise told me he apologized to Hermione later. Does that sound like a bad person?"
"One good act does not make up for a lifetime of bad behavior."
Valerie breathed angrily. "Look who's talking."
"That was different. And I said I was sorry!" Felix gushed out.
"You know Felix, you can be such a hypocrite."
Felix groaned. "You know that's not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?"
Felix didn't answer.
"That's what I thought. You don't know him, so don't be quick to judge."
"And you know him? After three days?"
When Valerie didn't say anything this time, Hermione heard him inhale sharply.
"You said you'd tell me if it happened."
"It only happened once. You can't tell me it doesn't happen to you on occasion."
"Yes, well he is not as-"
"Sh."
"What's-"
"Sh!"
Hermione had tried to look around the corner of the hallway, and had drug her foot into position. Valerie must have heard it. Hermione cast a Silencing charm on her feet, and hid behind the corner again. Why didn't I do that in the first place?
"We'll talk later," Valerie said, and the two parted ways. Hermione let out a silent breath, until she heard steps coming her way. Hermione waved her wand in one smooth motion, casting a Disillusionment charm around her. Seconds later, Valerie rounded the corner and walked down the way Hermione had come from. Valerie had just passed Hermione when she stopped. Valerie cocked her head to the side in Hermione's direction, but shook her head and continued walking.
Hermione got rid of the Disillusionment charm along with the Silencing Charm and continued making her way to the Great Hall. Felix wasn't at the entrance that she could see, so she went inside. She made her way over to Harry, Ron, and Ginny and sat next to Ron. Felix was sitting next to Ron on the other side, while Harry and Ginny were across from them. Minus Felix, they were talking in exited tones about something. In fact, the whole Great Hall was buzzing.
"What's going on?"
Ron looked over at Hermione with a wide smile. "'Mione you missed it! Oh, it was one of the most amazing things I'd ever seen. Valerie showed that Slytherin what for!"
Hermione's thoughts went to Malfoy. She looked over at the Slytherin table, but he was just sitting with Blaise Zabini and Parkinson. He seemed fine. His back was turned to her, so she couldn't be sure, though.
"What happened?" Hermione asked Ginny. Ron had a tendency to mix up his words, which made his explanations confusing. Ginny explained everything that had happened during lunch that day. Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing. Hermione was disappointed that she had missed something like that. "Valerie's a Muggle-born?"
"It would seem so. But Hermione, she used wandless magic!" Ron exclaimed. Hermione remembered the boy that attacked her. She had heard one of the girls calling him Harper. Even with the war and everything that was lost, some people still held onto their prejudices. It also appeared that Valerie had more skill with wandless magic than Hermione had thought.
"I knew that."
Everybody stopped eating their macaroni and cheese.
"You knew that? How?" Felix asked.
Hermione didn't want to tell them. She knew that if she did, they'd start playing the overprotective brothers, and Hermione hated when they did that. But Harry and Ron were looking at her, expecting an answer, and she hated lying to them more than anything.
"Um, well, yesterday before potions, some Slytherins may have...attacked me?" She didn't mean for the last part to sound like a question.
As expected, Harry and Ron blew up their chests in anger and started vowing vengeance. Ginny rolled her eyes at the boys, but looked at Hermione with worry.
"What happened? Are you ok?"
"Well, I was heading to Potions when I got knocked down. They took my wand and started hexing me with a few jinxes. Then Malfoy-"
"Malfoy?" Ron and Harry exclaimed. "Malfoy did this to you?"
Both Harry and Ron started getting up and Hermione had to pull them down, which was difficult since Harry was across the table from her.
"If you two would let me finish, I was going to tell you that Malfoy helped me!"
The entire group was silent. "Malfoy, as in Draco Malfoy?" Ron asked.
Hermione huffed in irritation. "Do you know another Malfoy?"
"Well..." Ron started.
"Ronald!"
"Okay, sorry."
"It's just...Malfoy helped you?"
"Yes Harry. He and Valerie helped. If it weren't for those two, Harper would have cast the Cruciatus on me."
"Harper? The same one who called Valerie a Mudblood?"
"It would seem so."
"Shouldn't you have reported him to McGonagall?"
Hermione sighed in defeat. "What good would that do? Even if I told McGonagall, and Harper was guilty, it's not like anything would happen. He would probably be suspended from Hogwarts, but there are other schools he could go to, ones that wouldn't care about his transgressions. Not to mention that Valerie handled the situation."
"What did Valerie do?" This question was from Felix.
"She threatened him and stole his wand." Hermione knew that Valerie didn't have it anymore. Valerie had told her that morning in the library before the Malfoy thing.
Felix wasn't surprised at all. "That sounds like Valerie."
The group was silent as they thought over what Hermione had said. She was about to shovel a mouthful of macaroni when Felix spoke up again.
"So did Malfoy apologize?" Hermione didn't like him asking the question so open like that. She knew by the look on his face that he was starting trouble. She looked at him, and noticed a slight blue tint marred his otherwise green eyes. That was odd, though, because from what Hermione could tell, Felix wasn't like that. Hermione remembered what had happened in the hallway between Felix and Valerie. She did know that Malfoy had changed, and he wasn't all that bad, so she agreed with Valerie on that point. However, she was also on Felix side. Malfoy was not someone smart to hang out with. He attracted trouble. His past was also problematic. Hermione also remembered that she wasn't supposed to know that Felix knew.
"Apologize for what?"
"For calling you a Mudblood."
The table held its breath again.
"Malfoy called you Mudblood?" Ron demanded.
"And then he apologized?" Ginny asked, intrigued.
"Yes and yes. We were fighting in the library today-"
"No surprise." Ron muttered. Hermione smacked him.
"Anyway, so we were fighting, and he said it. He apologized later." Hermione left out the part where she had not accepted said apology. She was starting to wonder if she had been to rash. After all, it wasn't every day that Draco Malfoy apologized, and it must have been a blow to his pride. She shoved those thoughts to the side.
Ron dropped his head into the palm of his hand and said, "This year is getting to bloody weird."
Hermione couldn't help but agree.
XXXXX
Draco was doing his homework in his spot when Pansy came and plopped next to him. Great, another interruption during homework. He sighed and looked up at Pansy to see her staring at the fireplace with a dumbfounded expression. Her arms hung limply at her sides.
"Pansy?" He asked in a concerned voice.
"I just saw the strangest thing." Her voice was detached, and wispy, almost dreamlike.
"What?" Draco asked.
"I was going into the girl's lavatories, when I saw Valerie."
"So?"
"She was talking to the mirror. At her reflection. And she was very angry. But when she noticed me standing there, she waved her wand and the mirror shimmered."
Draco gave her a strange look. "Pansy, are you drunk again?"
She whirled her head around to face him with the Pansy glare. "No, I'm not drunk you imbecile."
"Ok then. So she was talking to her reflection. I've seen you do that on multiple occasions."
She gave him a narrowed eye glare this time. "Yes, well, at least my reflection mimics what I do."
Draco still wasn't convinced. "And hers didn't?"
"I could have sworn, before she cast whatever spells with her wand, her reflection smirked at me. Valerie, the person Valerie, wasn't."
She sat there expecting Draco to do something, but all he did was stare at her as if she had gone crazy. He reached his hand up to feel her forehead.
"You're not sick or anything?"
She snatched his hand from her head. "No, I'm not sick."
"Sure you're not drunk?" He felt her forehead again.
With an angered huff, Pansy got up and stormed off up to the girls dormitories.
Draco chuckled.
A moment later, he heard the door to the Slytherin common room open, and he saw Valerie walk over to him. She was holding a piece of parchment between her middle and pointer finger. She flipped it up and passed it to him.
"I was walking in the hallways, on my way to Slytherin common room, when a large eagle-owl ran into me. And I mean he literally ran into me. Or flew, as it were."
Draco dropped his head into his hands. "Bloody bird."
Last year, his old eagle owl had died. He didn't look that much into it, as he figured he wasn't going back to school, but that was before McGonagall came. When he and Mother had gone shopping for supplies for this year, Draco had pointed out that he needed a new bird. Eagle owls had always been such regal creatures, which was the reason the Malfoys had owned one. Sebastian, his new Eagle owl, was the exception. Draco didn't know if he'd ever met a more accident-prone bird. It was always running into things and people. It couldn't land worth a damn. Despite all that though, Draco couldn't get rid of Sebastian.
"Well, your owl had this." Valerie said.
"How'd you know it was my owl?"
"An eagle owl? I only know one person pompous enough for to own a bird like that."
"Really?" Was he really that pompous?
"That and the note said Malfoy." With that, Valerie walked over to the girl's dormitories entrance and climbed the stairs.
Draco shook his head and opened the parchment. From the handwriting, Draco did not recognize who it was from. He didn't need to recognize the handwriting though.
Apology accepted.
XXXXX
Hermione didn't know why she did it. She thought maybe she had made a mistake with it, but it was too late now. She was in her dorm, pacing back and forth while chewing on her fingernails.
After she had eaten, she had thought about Malfoy's apology. He had tried that was the main thing, but Hermione was still adamant about not accepting it.
She finally just gave up her jumbled thinking and went to the library. The library always calmed her nerves.
It was quite when she got to the library, and that's just the way she liked it. She made her way back along the rows and tables, looking for her spot. She found it moments later, with Felix sitting there. She sat down next to him.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey."
Hermione got out her books and started doing her homework.
"So what brings you to the library?" Hermione asked.
"Studying on that potion from Potions class."
Hermione furrowed her eyebrow. "Now?"
Felix sighed. "Yeah. Harry may have been the wizarding world's savior, but he can't study or focus on schoolwork for his life."
Hermione laughed. "I know what you mean."
"So why are you here?"
"Can't I just come to the library?"
Felix shrugged his shoulders. "Sure. But I can tell something's troubling you."
Hermione looked up in surprise. "You can?"
Felix smiled. "Veela senses. People who are irritated or frazzled tend to smell like laundry detergent. Don't ask me why. I have yet to figure out why people smell the way they do when they're emotional."
Hermione smiled. "Wow. That's really interesting how you can do that."
"You didn't know that? Hermione Granger doesn't know something, how extraordinary!"
Hermione gave him a small smile. "The school doesn't have much on Veelas, surprisingly. I've looked, but the information is limited."
"Ah. So do you want to tell me why you smell like laundry detergent?"
Hermione sighed. She didn't want to tell people all of her problems. People had their own problems that they had to deal with and Hermione never wanted to add to that. There was also the fact that she had only known Felix for a few days. She wasn't sure how Felix would take the information or if she could trust him.
Although the situation with Malfoy wasn't at all secret, everyone knew that they didn't like each other, but Hermione didn't want to spill her secrets and feelings with a complete stranger.
Felix seemed to know what she was thinking. "You don't have to tell me everything, you know. I'm just here if you need to talk."
Hermione breathed in deeply for a moment before she exhaled in a gust. "Well today in the library-"
"Ahhhh," Felix started, "it's about Malfoy."
"Sort of."
"So he apologized, right?"
Hermione was once again drawn to the moment in the hallway where she was eavesdropping on Valerie and Felix, and how she wasn't supposed to know.
"How do you know?" She asked with innocence.
"Valerie told me, Blaise told her, and Malfoy told him."
"Oh. Well, yes he apologized...and I didn't accept it."
Felix raised an eyebrow. "You didn't? Is there a particular reason why?"
Hermione chewed on her bottom lip. She thought about not telling him for the reasons she thought of earlier. But it seemed that Felix knew enough already, and Hermione wanted this whole Malfoy thing off her chest. So she told Felix what had transpired between her and Malfoy.
Felix sat back and listened to everything Hermione said. He didn't say anything throughout the retelling, but nodded his head a few times.
Afterward, Felix looked at Hermione and gave her a sad little smile. "You know Hermione; the thing I've noticed about this place is that most people keep to the past. It's like, you guys are afraid to move on, to notice that war happened."
Hermione gave Felix a strange look. "No one talks about the war Felix. Are you sure you're right about that?"
"But that's the thing Hermione, nobody talks about it. It would be different if they did, but they don't. I have not heard one mention of the war since I've been here. And that's the problem. If you're too afraid to talk about it, how can you expect to move on?"
"I think people have moved on just fine."
Felix laughed without humor. "No, they haven't. Especially you. You don't think I haven't noticed how you have your head stuck in a book all the time? Or how, you always cover up that scar on your arm? Face it Hermione, no one has moved on. I mean, I get being afraid to move forward and admit that there's a problem; that people are dead and that horrible things have happened, but...It's like this: you can't expect to be ok, to have things go back to normal, if you never admit that things were wrong in the first place. There's not a refresh button you can just hit and hope that all your problems go away, and you can start over."
Hermione thought replayed Felix's words in her head. She was afraid to move on. She didn't want to admit it. She wanted to deny it because her whole life had been consumed with Voldemort and Harry and the war, and she was afraid that if she moved past that, past something so significant, that she would become insignificant. Hermione was always there to help Harry, to keep him alive. She had stuck around with him through thick and thin, even when Ron had left. She had been raised on this pedestal and this certain point of higher standing that it bothered her. She was bothered when people were surprised that she didn't know something, like Felix on Veelas.
She read all the time and she knew much more than the average person, sure, but she was still human. There were still some things that she didn't know, or that she was in the dark about. She was tired about having to live up to that higher standard, but she couldn't fall behind it either. She was Hermione Granger, smartest witch of her age. She had let that title define her, and she was afraid to lose it. After all this time, it felt like it was part of her.
"What do you suggest then?" She asked.
"Baby steps," he said simply.
Hermione didn't know what to say to that. Felix was right unfortunately. Nobody was talking about the war, or acknowledging it. Hermione had given herself a pep talk about how this was going to be a brand new year, a perfect year, but she realized now that that couldn't happen. The war had happened, and you can't be the same after something like that.
Malfoy was proof of that. Never had Hermione ever thought that Draco Malfoy would apologize, yet here she was.
Felix and Hermione fell into silence and worked until Madame Pince came over and told them that the library was closing. Both students packed their things up and made their way back to their dorms. Felix had said goodnight to Hermione and went up to bed. Hermione, however, sat on the couch in front of the fireplace and thought. There, she had made her decision and grabbed some parchment from her bag, wrote out the note, and made her way to the owlry. She found Malfoy's owl and left and went to bed.
In the morning however, she started doubting her actions.
What's done is done though.
Sighing in defeat, she grabbed her bag and went down to breakfast. As she neared the entrance she ran into Malfoy, albeit not like the night before. They both stood there in silence before Malfoy nodded to her and made his way into the Great Hall.
Hermione still stood there moments later, with an almost smile on her face.
Baby steps.
XXXXX
Three weeks had gone by since Draco had received Granger's note. The day after he had gotten it, when they were in the library again, neither had said anything. They had spent the entire hour in silence. Blaise and Valerie were so worried; they had kept glancing over at the two the entire time. The time after that had been better. That's not to say that they hadn't fought at all, but it was much better.
They weren't civil on any terms, though. It was more like they were ignoring each other.
Blaise had voiced his thoughts on the matter. According to the Italian wizard, Draco and Granger was a ticking time bomb. For the current time everything seems fine, but eventually they were going to explode. To quote Blaise, it would be "The argument of the millennium", and Blaise didn't want to miss it.
Draco had also found that Valerie was a fun person to hang out with. It had been slow going after the big library scene, but after some time, Draco found that she fit right in with Blaise and Pansy.
The revelation about her being a Muggle-born, while surprising, didn't go as bad as Draco, Blaise, and Pansy had thought. That night that everyone found out, and Valerie had walked into the Common Room, everyone had quieted down. There were some that glared, more than Draco thought was good, but a few had just been silent.
Valerie rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Anybody else gonna try to hex me? I'd rather just get it done and over with. I have homework."
One of the girls that had been with the Harper kid when he attacked Granger stepped forward, wand drawn. Astoria Greengrass stepped forward and pushed the girl behind her with a raised hand.
"There's no reason to fight with her. She knows she couldn't beat one of us in a fair fight," Astoria sneered.
Valerie looked at her fingernails. "Is your friend still silent then?"
Astoria smirked. "Your little silencing spell wore off. He can talk now."
Valerie laughed. "It wasn't a silencing spell that I cast."
Several people raised their eyebrows in question.
"Like I had said, if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say it. The spell I cast prevents him from saying mean or derogatory things. He can only say nice or neutral things. And it won't wear off..."
Valerie started walking by the bristling pureblood to go to the girl's dorms, but stopped and got in the girl's face.
"I have to take it off."
Astoria called out to the girl as she climbed the stairs. "At least we have pureblood! You're nothing but a dirty, filthy creature!"
"Says the one who's a product of inbreeding." The tunnel with the stairs echoed out Valerie's words as she didn't even bother looking back.
That comment was rather insulting to the purebloods of Slytherin house, but it got the effect that Valerie was going for. The house laughed at Astoria, and blushing, the brown haired girl sat back down in her spot.
At the current moment, Blaise, Draco, Valerie, and Hermione were walking down the hall. Blaise and Draco were talking about their separate potions, while Valerie and Hermione were laughing about Ron's mishap with a moving book stack.
"Serves him right. He hasn't stopped ogling Parkinson since Felix ousted her little secret." Valerie said.
"Maybe Ron likes Pansy back." Hermione offered.
Blaise and Malfoy had gone silent at the two girls' conversation.
"What?" Valerie asked.
"Did you say Pansy like Weasley?" asked Blaise.
"Yes." Valerie said slowly.
Blaise and Malfoy shared a look before they burst out laughing.
"There is no fucking way that Pansy likes the Weasle King," said Malfoy.
Valerie and Hermione shared a knowing smile.
"Whatever you say Malfoy." Valerie said.
They were on their way to the Great Hall for lunch, when they heard a noise behind one of the drapes.
"What was that?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know." Valerie had her head cocked to the side, listening.
There was another noise, and this time they recognized it as a groan. A male groan to be exact.
"I think someone's hurt!" Hermione said.
Malfoy and Blaise were trying not to laugh, while Valerie put her head in her hand.
"Um, Granger..." Malfoy couldn't finish the sentence, because he was trying not to laugh too hard.
"Well, we have to help." Hermione moved forward to pull the drapes back.
"Hermione I don't think..." Valerie started.
But it was too late. Hermione had pulled the drapes back.
"Are you al- OH MY GOSH!"
In the little alcove behind the drapes, was Felix and some girl, doing...Hermione didn't want to think about it.
The pair sprung away from each other. The girl started righting her clothes. Felix, on the other hand, stood back and smirked. The girl finally got her clothes fixed and ran off.
"Really?" Valerie said, glaring at Felix.
"What can I say, the ladies love me." Felix flashed Hermione a cocky grin. His eyes had gone from a subtle green to an absolute electric blue.
Hermione crinkled her eyebrows in confusion. Felix's entire personality was different.
"And don't look at me like that Valerie. That's the first girl I've been with." Felix gave Hermione another cocky grin.
"I'm surprised you lasted this long," Valerie said dryly.
"Well, let's just say I'm patient and not quick on the trigger."
Malfoy made a gagging noise.
"You've only been here three weeks and you got a girl?" Blaise asked in amazement.
"Yeah." Felix started circling Hermione. "I must say I was holding out on another girl though."
Blaise just shook his head at the boy. He noticed Granger was furiously blushing and Draco was glaring at Felix.
Valerie walked over and shoved Felix. "We've discussed this before, lover boy. No friends, and-."
"Yes, yes. No friends and no virgins." Felix gave Hermione a pointed look.
"Felix!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Oh, don't be embarrassed, Granger. It's not like it's a secret." Malfoy said. Hermione glared at him.
Valerie ignored both Draco and Hermione and stuck her hand out when Felix started to walk close to Hermione again.
"Awwww, you take all the fun away, V." Felix gave Valerie a mock frown.
Valerie narrowed her eyes at Felix. "I told you, don't call me V."
"Sorry." Felix whispered with fake sincerity.
Felix darted around Valerie and smacked Hermione on the butt.
Hermione gasped in outrage, while Felix shrugged his shoulders. Malfoy was strangely quiet and Blaise looked on with amusement.
"Felix, what the hell?" Hermione demanded.
"I don't think I've ever heard you cuss before Granger. It's kind of hot." Hermione shot Blaise a glare.
"That's not Felix." Valerie was looking at Felix with an irritated look.
"Uh, Valerie, maybe you need to get your eyesight checked." Blaise said.
Valerie turned around and gave all three of them a look. "Don't you guys know anything about Veelas?"
They gave her a blank stare. "Not even you Hermione?"
Hermione looked at Valerie and shrugged. "Hogwarts doesn't have that much on Veelas actually. I've looked but the longest article was a paragraph long."
Valerie sighed and Felix put his arm on her shoulder. She shrugged it off.
"Go ahead and explain for me, will you." Felix told Valerie.
Valerie glared at Felix. "Lady and gentlemen, I give you the unfortunate presence of Veela. Felix's 'alter-ego'."
Silence.
"Alter-ego?" Hermione, Blaise, and Draco said at the same time.
Valerie sighed in annoyance. "With Veelas, there's sort of a...duel personality. There's Felix, who you guys have met. And then there's this asshole."
"Oh, you wound me." Felix grasped his chest.
"Wait, what?" asked Blaise.
Valerie sighed again. "Think of it like this. There are two consciousnesses: Felix and Veela. Those two consciousnesses share one body. When Veela needs to 'charge' or Felix loses his control of his emotions or just loses control in general, Veela comes out."
The three students looked at each other, still confused.
"What do you mean 'charge'?" asked Hermione.
"I need sex to live, Granger." Felix said with that bloody cocky smirk.
Valerie smacked Felix - or Veela, as it were - upside the head.
"Think of Veelas like cousins to Vampires." Valerie said. "Where Vampires need blood to survive, Veelas need-"
"Sex." Felix finished.
"I was going to say that Veelas need intimate contact." Valerie said. "Even holding hands can help. But the more intimate the act or contact, the longer Veela can go without being charged again."
"Not that I stay away from the female populace until I need another charge." Veela said.
Blaise shook his head. "I'm still confused."
"Have you ever heard of the Muggle mental condition: multiple personality disorder?"
"Yeah."
"And do you know what it means?"
"Yeah, sure."
"That's basically what being a Veela means. Having the original personality, Felix, and then the added manifestation, Veela.
"Oh." The three said at the same time again.
"Is there any way to get Felix back?" Hermione asked. She started to edge away from Veela as he walked toward her in a predatory manner.
Valerie stuck her bottom lip out in thought. "Actually yes."
Then she punched Veela in the jaw.
Felix fell to the floor, while Valerie smiled. "Ow." said Felix, rubbing his jaw. He looked up at the four students standing around him.
He looked at Valerie. "Veela being an ass again?"
"Being an ass would be an understatement, as always."
Felix stood back up. He looked at Valerie. "He didn't try to grope you again, did he?" He asked, fearing the answer. Blaise and Draco raised an eyebrow.
"No, but he did smack Hermione on the ass."
Blaise and Malfoy chuckled.
Felix looked horrified. "Hermione, I'm so sorry!"
Hermione blushed and looked at the ground. "Um, it's okay. Just, please don't let it happen again."
Malfoy and Blaise full out laughed. Valerie smacked both of them upside the head.
"So now that everyone knows everyone, can we go eat?"
The four students continued their walk, and Felix joined them.
"So you have another person in there?" Blaise asked as the group made their way to the Great Hall.
"Yeah, you could say that. Being a Veela is not all it's cracked up to be. I have to watch myself or he'll pop out." Felix answered, rubbing the back of his neck.
"That's fascinating!" Hermione exclaimed. She started asking Felix several questions on his species when Draco snorted.
"What?" Hermione asked, slightly irritated.
"Oh, nothing Granger. It's just typical that you'd get a hard-on for things like that."
Hermione gasped in outrage. "Well excuse me for wanting to know more about a subject."
Malfoy rolled his eyes.
"You know what Malfoy..."
"What?" He asked innocently.
Hermione didn't even bother finishing her sentence. She stormed off, leaving the others behind.
Felix stuck his head in his hands, and drug his hands down his face.
Valerie wheeled toward Malfoy and punched his shoulder.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"Next time show a little decorum. You may think it's funny and laugh at her for being interested in things, but that's Hermione. At least she makes an effort, unlike you. Now you two have been skating on thin ice for the last few weeks, but being an ass and saying shit like that could break it."
Draco snorted. "What do I care?"
Valerie looked at Draco, open and closed her mouth, before turning to Felix. She started speaking fast in some language Draco had never heard before. She sounded pissed.
Felix rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly before answering in the same foreign language.
"Thank you." Valerie turned back around and punched Draco square in the jaw.
"What the fuck?" He had fallen back and sprawled across the floor. Valerie bent down and spoke to him.
"You're being pathetic, and it's getting annoying." Valerie stood back up and sped off in the direction
"What was that?" Blaise asked.
"Nothin'," Felix answered with a sigh. "Well, actually no. It's just...Valerie's convinced that Malfoy has a crush on Granger, and she's pissed that he's doing that 'be a total ass to get the girl's attention'. She thinks it's offensive, and as she said, pathetic."
"For the last time, I don't have a crush on Granger! I hate her, for Merlin's sake." Draco shouted.
Felix laughed. "Yeah right. There's a fine line between love and hate Malfoy."
"Not when it comes to my feelings for Granger."
"Sure. Whatever you say," Felix said in a condescending tone.
"Besides, it doesn't matter what my feelings for Granger are. Valerie doesn't have to be such a bitch."
Draco heard a growl beside him and looked over to see that Felix was glaring at him with unmasked anger. That strange electric blue from earlier was back in his eye. He had just enough time to duck when Felix swung his fist at him.
"I don't take kindly to my friends being insulted, so you'd better take it back."
Blaise had pulled Draco back a few steps, out of Felix's reach. Draco realized that he wasn't dealing with Felix anymore, and that it was in fact Veela who stood before him. There may have not been much information on the species, but Draco did know that a Veela was dangerous when provoked. And he was tired of being hit.
"Alright I'm sorry," he said.
Veela backed down and smiled. "That's better."
Draco and Blaise didn't know what to do now. They certainly didn't want to hit Veela in the hopes of getting Felix back like Valerie had done.
Veela crinkled his nose. He chuckled. "I've always found it weird that fear smells like dirty laundry."
Veela walked forward as if nothing had happened. Draco and Blaise had still not moved when Veela turned around and smiled at Draco.
"And Felix and Valerie are both right. About your little crush. You may say you hate her, but your hate smells an awful lot like lilacs. And I've noticed that love, or at least attraction always smells like lilacs. Food for thought!" And then he turned back around and strode away.
There was silence in that hall before Blaise spoke up.
"I don't know who the bigger arse is; Veela, or you, Draco."
Draco just glared at his best friend and brooded.