Re-uploaded: Sorry, the website likes to play games when I try to upload things and I always forget the rules. Shout out to the reviewers who let me know my format was off, you guys are golden 3
A/N: Oh jeez, I hadn't even realized that it had been so long until this morning. I have just been really busy with doctors' appointments and trying to get ready to go back to school. I'm not sure how frequent updates are going to be but I promise that I will try to update as often as I can so that I can do this little story the justice it deserves. As always, I love hearing what you guys think of the story and I am always open to your ideas.
So just to iron everything out because I majorly wrecked my timeline when I started this story and then decided to expand it: Harry and Ron never got in the fight because Ron was already mad at Hermione. I also haven't mentioned much about Harry involving the Triwizard Tournament, but I feel like it's justified because they always skip over Hermione's birthday like it doesn't matter. I am going to honestly be keeping the Triwizard tournament as a background to the plotline instead of letting it take over the story since I really want to focus on Draco and Hermione's relationship and how that are developing. If there is any confusion on events or what I am changing in the story please do not hesitate to ask so that I can clarify! I make the mistake of filling in things in my head but not clarifying them when I actually write my ideas, so sometimes it can get lost in translation.
Draco watched with interest as Hermione pulled her jeans up over her thighs and adjusted her jumper. He had a crooked smile plastered across his mouth and Hermione found it rather endearing. It still surprised her that he was such a different person than the one he portrayed his first few years at Hogwarts, but not everything is as it seems, and that was something that Hermione knew fairly well.
"It is almost dinner time, don't you think we should go?" she asked, picking up his tie and holding it out to him. He took it from her and grudgingly tied it snuggly around his neck. As he tied his shoes he tried to think of something that would distract the witch from going to dinner, but sighed to himself knowing that she was far too logical to let herself get distracted from something that she wanted.
"Sounds like a rubbish plan to me if I've ever heard any, but if you really want to then I suppose we ought to go, hadn't we?" his voice was sour and he stuck his tongue out in disgust. Sitting at the Gryffindor table with Hermione and her friends had turned out to be a rather pleasant experience and he felt guilty that he was about to subject her to people he knew would treat her with unkindness and disrespect. As her boyfriend wasn't it his job to protect her from the kind of rubbish his so called friends would no doubt throw her way.
"Honestly Draco, it cannot possibly be as bad as you think it is. I'll have you know that I am perfectly capable of holding my own, even against the nastiest of the Slytherin's" she said pointedly and began to pull her hair up into a bun. Draco turned pink and turned away from her, of course he knew that she was fully capable… but he still wanted to protect her.
"I know that you can, I would just rather not put you into a position where you have too. I spent rather enough time treating you like dirt, don't you think?" he explained, standing up and taking her hand in his.
"Well, you aren't putting me in any position" she smiled and stood up on her tippy toes so that she could kiss him, "I'm choosing to do this because I think it is the best way to handle this situation." Draco kissed her back and ran his finger over her cheek.
"As long as you know that we are both going to be bloody miserable the entire time" he commented and picked her books up off the floor, "but if you insist then we ought to get going." Hermione smirked and followed him out of the classroom. She grabbed his hand firmly and slung her bag over her shoulder. When they entered the great hall Harry and Hermione made eye contact and he gave her a small nod of encouragement, she smiled at him and pulled a very reluctant Draco toward the Slytherin table. Draco could feel his stomach knotting up uncomfortably, never in a million years would he have thought he would prefer the Gryffindor table over his own. Yet here he was fantasizing over having an invigorating conversation about Quidditch with Harry Freaking Potter.
"Will you wipe that sour look off your face, it isn't going to be that bad" Hermione complained as she absentmindedly adjusted her robes. She wasn't afraid of Slytherin's, but she also knew it was best to make sure that you didn't give them any reason to attack you because they were ruthless.
"Granger, you are about to step into a different world and I need you to proceed with caution" Draco warned with a cool edge in his voice. Hermione felt an unpleasant shiver go down her spine and bit the inside of her lip to keep herself from making a face. Did he really just call her Granger after everything that had just happened this afternoon? "I'm sure you think it is stupid, but the best way to approach this social group is with cold indifference, so you might want to wipe that scared look off your face. Gryffindor's are the sort that welcome a happy smile, a Slytherin will take that as a weakness in nearly every circumstance." Draco explained keeping his voice low and running his thumb over the back of her hand gently. Hermione took a deep breath and stood up a little straighter, Draco hadn't wanted her to sit with them because he didn't want her to see the mask he wore for them. She almost wished she had allowed him to steer her toward the Gryffindor table, this air he put on reminded her so much of the days he would ruthlessly tease her for no reason.
"Call me Granger again and I will hex you" she threatened darkly, squeezing his hand a little tighter. He smirked slightly and let out a small laugh which made Hermione feel a little bit better. As they approached the table Pansy looked like she was about to vomit and leaned over to her neighbor to whisper something that was no doubt nasty. The only one who looked vaguely welcoming was Blaise Zabini who Hermione had worked with on several occasions, and she was glad to see that he wasn't going to pretend that they weren't friends.
"Granger, Malfoy" Blaise greeted warmly, scooting over on the bench to make room for the couple next to him. Hermione sat in the middle and relaxed a little bit at the thought of having a friendly face on either side of her.
"Hello Blaise, how is your project coming along?" Hermione asked him politely, she wanted to grin at him as she had when they had been working together but held it back and smiled only slightly. Unfortunately, she figured it would be best for her to take Draco's advice.
"It is going pretty well since you helped me with that little snag I ran into" Blaise replied, "If you want I wouldn't mind you reading it before I turn it in." It sounded innocent, but Hermione knew this was Blaise's way of announcing to the group that he was on Hermione's side and she was very appreciative of it.
"I would enjoy that, actually" she had always liked Blaise, but this just proved that she was right about him. Draco seemed a little less tense and began to eat his food. The conversation flowed cautiously but it was easy enough for Hermione to keep up since she was one of the top students at Hogwarts and had studied things that some of the other students could never even dream of. It was going great as far as Draco was concerned- at least until Pansy decided to open her mouth.
"So, Hermione, your hair looks more tousled than usual, could it be that our precious princess is up to a little more than studying these days?" Pansy said cuttingly and focusing on Hermione with a steely glare. Hermione bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from charging of on the pug faced girl.
"Spend a lot of time wondering what I get up to?" Hermione asked, lacing an edge of superiority into her voice and she stared directly at Pansy, "I would have thought you had something better to do than worry about my love life." The other Slytherin's let out small snickers at the expense of their friend and Hermione felt a small surge of guilt. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to live in a world where there was no loyalty. If someone had made a comment about her like that she had no doubt in her mind that even if the boys laughed, both Ron and Harry would come to her defense immediately- at least Harry would that is.
"I wouldn't waste my time" Pansy spat and stood up from the table quickly, knocking over a goblet of pumpkin juice onto her shirt. The girl let out a roar before storming out of the hall, banging the large doors behind her as she went. Hermione kept her mouth shut tight as the rest of the group stared at her wide eyes. Hermione fought the urge to roll her eyes and was annoyed by the fact that she had set out to make friends, yet she was already blowing it.
"You're doing just fine" Draco said under his breath as he placed his hand on her thigh under the table.
"I told you that I would be okay" Hermione replied, annoyed at the whole situation but trying not to show it. When dinner finally ended she had to fight the urge to run from the great hall and up to her dormitory. The whole process of sitting with Draco had been exhausting. You had to calculate every move and you couldn't express yourself honestly. Everything had to be held back and thought out, it was no surprise to her that Draco seemed so miserable all the time. The boy could hardly breath without being judged for it. Draco stood and held his hand out to her and they walked out of the hall together. As they were leaving Ron's hand brushed up against the back of hers and he turned to look at her.
"It was funny what happened with Pansy, good one" he mumbled and nodded politely at Draco before turning away and hurrying back to the dorms. Hermione felt her face break out into a wide grin, even if they weren't best friends again right away, he was at least speaking to her which was a step in the right direction.
"Seems like things are looking up for you, now aren't they?" Draco smiled down at her and ran his hand in small circles over her back. Hermione leaned into his touch and smiled back at him.
"It seems that they are" she let out a giggle and brushed a piece of hair out of her eyes, "unfortunately, now I have to go and work on some homework that is due, but I will see you tomorrow, okay?" she leaned up to kiss him and ran her fingers through his hair. Draco pulled her close and squeezed her tight before pulling away and going back to his dormitory.