All Is Fair
"In love and War"
All characters belong to J.K. Rowling, I did not own those characters or the original story/plot.
Two days. Draco laid on his bed and reminded himself that there were two more days until Hogwarts would be in full swing again. Two days to set his head straight before walking into classroom full of judgement. He smirked as one of the Slytherin students, Bridgette, kissed his neck, slowly making her way down his body. She had dark brown hair that naturally formed ringlets. Her skin had a deep tan which contrasted heavily with Draco's pale body. Draco sighed as his thoughts were somewhere else. Bridgette looked at him. He looked back, one eyebrow raised.
"What, does this not feel good, Draco?" she asked annoyed.
He rolled his eyes.
"Screw you," she huffed.
"Thought that that's what you were supposed to be doing?"
"You just keep getting moodier and moodier it's ridiculous."
"Really?"
"Ugh!" she got off of him and grabbed her clothes that were on the floor, "do you remember how people would whisper down the Slytherin corridors of how the 'great snake'? That there was a certain blonde who knew how to give us the time of our lives, if we were good enough? Do you not miss the truth to those whispers? You're getting careless, and even though we all pretended to not know that you'd screwed every single one of us because we all wanted a piece of you, this just isn't worth it."
"Whatever," Draco groaned.
"Soon, the only person that's going to go near your annoying persona is Pansy, but even she has her limits."
Bridgette stormed out of the room. Draco sighed as he sat up. He didn't know what was wrong with him recently. He and Pansy sure had some fun yesterday, but that was nothing. He realised that he hadn't actually had a good screw in a long time. He knew the thoughts were crewed but at this point it didn't really matter to him. So him and Pansy could have some fun, sure, but it was no longer 'fun' for Draco. In fact he could barely make it fun for Pansy. He was stuck in this strange bubble of thoughts and words instead of being present in his reality. It was stupid. He felt stupid. He didn't like feeling stupid. And it didn't help that every single one of these girls were still petty and dull. He assumed there would be a change, but it was almost as though he was the only person in these halls that had changed. Maybe that was because of his direct relation with Voldemort himself. The war had done strange things.
Draco walked around the dorm room for a moment. He wondered about his family. He didn't want to be apart of their bubble, he couldn't be apart of it, not yet. He didn't know what to do with the whole situation. It was like his family had been frozen. It was a strange thought, and along with it came a strange feeling. He ran his hands through his hair. He'd completely forgotten that Bridget was just in the room a moment ago. How fleeting and unimportant those moments were. Perhaps what Draco really wanted was in fact, to fill his life up with moments that were important, moments you wanted to freeze. Not moments that were already frozen and unavoidable. But he wasn't thinking about that. Not yet. He had yet to realise that that was part of what he wanted. Draco thought it would be best to write to his mother, to check in on things. He wondered when the effects of the war would disappear, if they would ever disappear.
Hermione was sitting in the office that once belonged to Dumbledore. But instead of the wise fantastical wizard walking around the room, the incredible and fierce McGonagall took his place. Hermione breathed in deeply.
"As you know, it is time to appoint a new Head Boy and Head Girl," Minerva McGonagall started, "I know we had two appointed students at the beginning of the year, but after these circumstances, neither student will be returning to Hogwarts."
Hermione sat there, not saying a word.
"I know that the last time these roles were given out, you were not selected as Severus was placed as Headmaster. He could not give away his apparent cover during the time, so other students were appointed head boy and head girl. However, neither of these students will be returning to Hogwarts, but all of this you already know."
Hermione nodded.
"Miss Granger, I would like to appoint you head girl. It makes sense right now. I know you know what is best for your classmates and the school, so I will give you time to think it over," she smiled, "Miss Granger, I know the war has been tough, but you have withstood it all, you have kindness in your heart, you care about others before yourself, and you are the brightest witch of your age. You know the role is best suited to you, so I hope that you will accept it."
"Headmistress," Hermione looked up at McGonagall's eyes, "may I ask who it is that you'll be putting forth as head boy?"
"There have been a fair few candidates. It has been most difficult to try and narrow this down. I selected various people from other houses apart from your own, but I feel that perhaps appointing a Slytherin, although political, might be best."
Hermione smiled softly.
"Though Draco Malfoy is at the top of my list of candidates, there is another Ravenclaw student that is in that category. I know Mr Malfoy has academic achievements similar to yours, and I do know that Mr Malfoy is a good and hard working student, even if that'll only become clear as your last months at Hogwarts continues, I do understand that his reputation is withered, which may be useful to us, but it may also backfire."
"I'll take the role into consideration, Headmistress."
"Good," she looked around the room for a moment, "it still feels strange, doesn't it?"
"Indeed it does," Hermione noted as they smiled sadly, thinking of Dumbledore's great presence which had been felt around the school for so long.
Hermione exited McGonagall's office, making here way down the stairs. She shook her head when she saw Draco Malfoy leaning against a wall next to the stairs. She laughed inwardly as she did in fact see him everywhere, maybe even places she didn't exactly want to see him, like yesterday, however she knew exactly why he was here.
"Granger?" he looked up.
"I suppose the Headmistress would like to see you now..?"
"Do you know what this is about?"
"She's appointing the head boy and head girl."
He smiled, "congratulations."
"No need for congratulations yet. Though perhaps I'll be congratulating you soon?"
He frowned for a moment.
She turned to leave before she heard him call.
"Wait here."
She turned around and saw Draco walking up the stairs that she had just exited from.
Hermione sat at a bench that was in the corridor outside of the entrance to the Headmistress' office. She picked at a loose thread on her skirt. She had no idea why she was waiting for Draco. She had no idea why she just did what he said. This ridiculousness that Draco had triggered wasn't really something she wanted to be apart of right now. Feelings were not something that she could easily study in books. Not that she necessarily had feelings for the blonde haired boy but she knew that this friendship of theirs stirred something odd inside of her, which was definitely some kind of feeling. There were only two days to go until school resumed and it was something that Hermione kept thinking about. In two days Ron would have to come back to school, just like his younger sister did. In two days she'll have her strategy perfected in order to confront their situation. In two days she probably wouldn't be hanging around Draco so much, and she wouldn't be waiting around for him, or having 'chats' in the three broomsticks. In two days seeing Pansy Parkinson being clingy would go back to being a normal site that didn't make Hermione apprehensive what so ever. In two days, she'll be on the way to the end of her Hogwarts journey. In two days everything would go back to normal. In two days the war would feel more distant.
"You know I've been standing here for about five minutes now. Can't believe you didn't notice, Granger."
"Malfoy," she blinked, "I- your meeting is done?"
He smirked, "where was your head just now?"
"I- I'm not entirely sure," she was hoping that her ideas about everything going back to normal would actually happen, though she wasn't entirely certain it would.
"I guess I'm not the only that's been stuck in a bubble," he muttered.
Hermione stayed seated. She didn't seem to be able to move, and her surroundings were becoming less prominent to her. It wasn't that she couldn't move, but perhaps her mind was so heavy that she didn't want to bother with moving. Draco sat on the bench next to her. He gazed at her for a moment. She looked so soft. Her hair was unruly, and not in the way Draco's hair was unruly at times. Draco's hair always appeared neat, and it was easy to do so, but Hermione's hair was wild, almost like a brown fire. He noticed her hands playing with the loose thread on her skirt. Her eyes seem to be looking at nothing at all. He smiled to himself. He knew that this was what a person who actually put thought into things looked like. Hermione appeared to have snapped out of her trance for a second and looked back at Draco. She frowned. He raised an eyebrow.
"You're staring at me," she stated.
Hermione had never seen Draco blush before.
"So," he spat.
"The head boy position; what did McGonagall say?"
Draco stood up. He started to walk away.
"Draco!" she yelped and stood up herself, "you told me to wait here for you."
"Right…" he seemed like he was more lost than she was in this moment.
"Oh forget it then," Hermione groaned as she aimed to walk passed him. She had sat there because he told her too, and she even questioned why she obeyed this command. It did however gave her a few moments to think which she appreciated but she felt silly and wanted that over with.
Draco grabbed her hand as she brushed passed him, causing her to stop. She turned to face him. Her hand was so soft. She just felt different from everyone else.
"Hermione," his eyes appeared distant as he looked at hers, "thing have truly changed, haven't they? Yet, not everyone has changed with it."
Hermione let him hold her hand.
"I feel…I don't…" he frowned desperately, avoiding Hermione's gaze.
"Draco?" she was confused at his actions. She'd seen Draco act in various unusual manners before but right now was something she had yet to see. Was it hopelessness? Despair? Fear? No. She couldn't quite figure out what he was feeling.
"What's wrong with me?" he didn't look at her.
She didn't know what to do, what to say. She tried to find something to make the whole situation less, depressing. She didn't know how the tables had turned so quickly, or why Draco Malfoy seemed to have fallen. It was so out of the blue. It was so strange for Hermione to see. She knew everything had changed, she knew that things would never be the same. As much as she wanted things to go back to normal, that would never happen. When a war occurs, nothing could ever possibly be the same again. And this confirmed everything for her. It took her a while but suddenly everything seemed to fall into a place, like a strange puzzle she only just solved, but the picture wasn't the same as the box. She felt a strange strength.
Draco felt warmth surround him. He was confused as to what it was, or what was happening. Hermione Granger, brightest witch of her age, brave Gryffindor student and muggle born wizard, had wrapped her arms around the sly Slytherin that felt that he was a coward, a moody child, a ferret, and nothing more than a failure to everything his family once held dear. He's been so consumed in his self-depreciating thoughts that he didn't even notice her walking towards him, and he didn't notice when she decided to embrace him in a hug. Her wild hair just brushed his cheek a little. Her arms around his torso. Her face buried into him. He didn't even know if this was something that Hermione usually did.
Draco's hands moved to Hermione's shoulders. He lightly made some distance between them. Her hands lightly placed against his torso, and his hands were still on her shoulders. She looked up at him. There was a different looking in her eyes now. She seemed to have that gleam that she used to always have. That gleam that showed that she was bright, and that she knew something. Draco knew that his own eyes looked lost and completely different than they used to, the arrogance that once resided in his eyes no longer existed. He moved his hand to lightly caress her cheek. She didn't move. She stood her ground. Hermione Granger wasn't afraid. She was no longer thinking about the unknown because she felt there wasn't anything unknown in this situation. It wasn't like he hadn't touched her face like that before. But what came next, wasn't entirely something that she was expecting.
Hermione hadn't read the situation. She just did what she thought was right, which gave her a distinct bravery. But because she didn't completely analyse what was going on, and because she didn't feel it necessary to push into Draco's feelings, more questions reached the surface. He had pulled her closer to him. He was soft to the touch, in a way Hermione didn't even think of before. She had thought about how lonely she had felt, how alone she had always felt, and how she had longed for some kind of warmth to fill her after the battles she had been through. She had gasped slightly as this was the last thing that she had expected, which made things all too easy for her Slytherin friend. His lips reached hers, and she didn't do a damn thing to stop it.