A/n: You guys are amazing, truly. Thank you for your support so far.
Scars show us where we have been, they do not dictate where we are going.
Hermione Granger was very confused. Kissing someone who is supposed to be your enemy can do that to you. That night in the library, Hermione had absolutely no idea what was going on- what she was getting herself into. She still had no idea how it happened, one minute she was having a somewhat civil conversation with Malfoy, the next minute he was all over her and she was letting it happen.
Just the other day she had seen him naked, and she hadn't hated it. She pretended that it made her uncomfortable, when in actuality it really didn't. Not that she liked it, per se, but she just didn't see the big deal in the situation, especially because she knew that he was trying to get a rise out of her and she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.
She sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall drinking a mug of tea. It was early – she needed to get some work done before her classes started – and there were only a few people scattered throughout the hard wooden benches. Cool light leaked through the tall windows, the sky a striking shade of sharp grey.
Ginny trudged in looking exhausted.
"Late night last night?" Hermione asked as her friend plopped down across from her.
"We're starting tryouts, so Harry asked me to help him get everything ready. Took forever. You know how fucking dirty the broom closets and locker rooms are? Pitch was a mess, too. You'd think someone else would care about it but noooo it's somehow up to the Captain – bullshit if you ask me."
Hermione smiled. Ginny had grown into an incredible force of a woman over the years, one to be reckoned with. They both ate in silence for a while, Hermione focused on the textbook in front of her, when she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Someone was looking at her. Staring, actually, and when she looked up and met those cold grey eyes she slammed the book shut so hard that Ginny jumped.
"I have to talk to you about something."
"Hmm?" A little pumpkin juice dribbled down Ginny's chin.
"Draco Malfoy."
She frowned. "What about him?"
"He's been… weird this year."
"Since when have you been paying attention to the particular behavior of Draco Malfoy?"
"Since forever. It didn't become interesting or worth noting until he kissed me, though." She tried to make it sound offhand, but Ginny nearly choked on her juice.
Her face was almost purple from the coughing fit she was having when Harry and Ron sat down, both looking weary. Harry glanced at Ginny, concerned.
"Er.. you okay?"
Ginny was slowly turning back to her normal shade of white.
"Fine." She growled, glaring at Hermione. "Did I hear you correctly or did I do all of that choking for nothing?"
"No, you heard me."
"Outside. Now." Ginny motioned for Hermione to follo her out of the Great Hall. On the other side of the room, Draco followed them with his piercing eyes. The Weasley girl's fit hadn't gone unnoticed.
In the entrance hall Ginny dragged Hermione to one of the corners.
"Now," She said, "What the fuck are you talking about?"
Hermione relayed her story of what happened in the Library. She purposefully left out the finer details, to spare her from at least some embarrassment.
"What, and you just let him kiss you?"
"It was honestly like I had no choice. It was like a spell was on me, I don't know. He didn't cast anything, though, unless he cast it wordlessly, but we haven't learned that yet."
"Could his father or aunt have taught him?"
"Possibly. I mean it's certainly a thought. Harry is absolutely convinced he became a Death Eater over the summer. We saw him at Borgin and Burke's before school started. Talking about repairing something."
"I mean, Harry is probably right."
"I don't think so, though. He doesn't seem like he's become… worse. I mean, I feel like him kissing me proves it. Also, yesterday, when I saw him in the shower-"
"You saw him naked?!" Her jaw popped open.
"Oh, yeah. But he surprised me and then he accidentally shattered some glass so I helped him get fixed up. He was bleeding everywhere. He saw me naked, too. Well, the back of me."
"Hermione Granger, I cannot believe you."
"What? He was hurt; I couldn't just leave him there."
"Was it a matter of life or death?"
"No."
"Then you most certainly could have. Hell, even if it was death."
Hermione smacked Ginny on the arm.
She laughed. "I'm joking, chill."
Hermione smiled briefly. "Really, though, the thing I'm most confused about is why I let him kiss me. I mean, I did let him. I could have said no.. but I just didn't."
"I mean…" Ginny shifted. "Do you like Malfoy?"
"I don't hate him. I don't like him, either, and certainly not like that. He's attractive, I can't lie. But I don't harbor the same all out hatred for him that Ron and Harry do."
"He's evil. Look at his family.. Bellatrix killed Sirius, and all three of them share blood. He's horrible to you, too. Or, at least, he was. Why would he even touch you, anyways? No offence to you, of course, but you're muggleborn and that's, well, against literally everything he and his family stand for."
"See, that's just the thing, though. When he kissed me he was very… passionate. But the next day when He saw me and I told him what happened, he was revolted. I thought he was going to throw up right there. But, he was also drunk that night. I could taste the whiskey."
"Still, though. You don't generally do things while you're drunk that you don't want to do, unless someone is forcing you to. Alcohol impairs your judgment; it doesn't change your entire personality."
"I really don't know. Just don't tell Harry or Ron, really. They'd probably have a fit and disown me as a friend or something."
"I highly doubt that."
"Harry's all fired up about him this year, though. I mean Malfoy is literally all he talks about."
"Maybe Harry has a crush."
"Yeah, right."
The two girls laughed, walking back into the Great Hall. They sat down again, the boys next to them were deep into a discussion about Quidditch.
"So, what are you going to do about him?"
"I'm not sure. See, the weird thing is, even though he's still a jerk, he isn't the same jerk he's always been. I mean, I feel like a lot of his comments have been more teasing than malicious. He let me help him when he was hurt – not that he really had a choice, but still. His words don't have as much venom."
She looked up, then. He was drinking from a goblet and listening to something that Blaise Zabini was saying.
"Just be careful, okay? I mean, if he tries to hurt you or anything, you're more than capable of defending yourself. If he's trying to charm you it's probably something bad. If you ever need help, I'm here, okay?"
"Thanks, Gin." Hermione smiled at her friend, placing her hand over Ginny's and squeezing it.
Finally Ron broke away from his discussion. "Where'd you two go?"
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Bathroom, why do you care?"
"Touchy, touchy." He replied, shoving a piece of bacon into his mouth.
It was Friday, so Hermione had double potions first, then DADA, then lunch, followed by Herbology and Arithmancy. After breakfast she walked down to the dungeons with Harry and Ron. They filed into the potions classroom where Professor Slughorn was waiting.
"Good morning!" He said, cheerily. "Today we will be brewing a very special potion… which you can find on page 76 of your text books. Instructions are on the board-" He waved his wand and the instructions did indeed appear on the black board at the front of the room. "- You may begin! Of course all of your necessary ingredients are in the store cupboard."
Hermione flipped to the page in her text book. It seemed easy enough, it was only a beautification potion. She stood up and walked over to the cupboard to gather her ingredients. While doing so, Malfoy came up behind her and began gathering his.
"So, Granger. You going to let Potter outshine you, again?" He murmured just so she could hear.
"It was a fluke, Malfoy."
"Oooh, should I tell him that you don't believe in his abilities?"
The glare she gave him shot daggers. "What do you want?"
He smirked. "Want? Nothing, I'm just following instructions."
"Well, how about you do that silently?" She turned to walk back over to her table, but not before she saw Malfoy slip a small box containing Wolfsbane into his cauldron before carrying the whole thing over to his table he shared with Pansy. He then stealthily took the box out and dropped it into his school bag.
Curious, she thought, because Wolfsbane was not a part of the potion they were brewing, and it was a very dangerous substance if not used correctly. Could he be trying to poison someone? She wouldn't put it past him.
She began to work on her potion, falling into an easy rhythm. First she ground the wings of three fairies, stirring slowly. After a minute she added the morning dew. She heated it, stirring vigorously. Next to her, Harry was giving his potion a few lazy stirs. He hadn't heated his, but he added six rose petals instead of seven. She frowned.
"What are you doing?" She asked, her tone a little sharper than she meant.
"Brewing a potion."
"Yes, thank you. But why aren't you following the recipe?"
"This way is better."
"What, are you a potions master now?"
He laughed. "Don't be silly. I'm just trying something out."
"If that explodes, I'm not responsible."
He grinned. "It won't."
Much to her chagrin it did not explode. In fact, it was a brighter than hers when it was finished. Slughorn came around at the ned of class to check their progress, and, again, Harry had the best one. Hermione was frustrated, her frizzy hair crackled with annoyance.
"Bravo, Mr. Potter! Let's test it, shall we? Any volunteers?"
Nobody raised their hand.
"Very well." Slughorn said. "I guess I'll just have to test it myself." He scooped some into a cup and drank it.
"Pleasant flavor." He commented, and before their eyes his wrinkles began to disappear. His hair grew longer and less grey, his eyes a deeper shade of blue, his skin more tan. He conjured a mirror and took a look.
"Truly amazing, indeed! Excellent work, full marks!" Slughorn clapped Harry on the shoulder. Harry blushed furiously.
For someone who was so famous he sure didn't like the attention to be focused on him. On the other side of the room, Malfoy was giving him a look that could kill. His potion, finished and probably just as good, went unnoticed by Slughorn.
The bell rang for the end of class, and Slughorn waved his wand to clear their work.
"Don't forget your essays due next Wednesday! Have a wonderful weekend, everybody!"
The day passed slowly for Hermione, but she didn't mind. Her classes were interesting, as always. She left dinner early to pick up a few books she needed from her room before heading to the library to begin her potions essay. As she was coming out of the portrait hole, though, she saw the tail end of Draco Malfoy disappear around the corner at the other end of the corridor, which was strange, because he had absolutely no business being on the seventh floor.
She abandoned her sanity in favor of curiosity and followed him. She rushed a little to keep up, but stayed close enough behind that he wouldn't see or hear her. He stopped, she saw him pace in front of a stretch of wall that she knew to be the entrance to the room of requirement, and then he entered the room through the ornate wooden doors before they disappeared.
What could Draco Malfoy be doing in the room of requirement? Hermione mulled over these thoughts as she walked back down to the library. She happened to glance out the window as she sat down to pull out her books. There was a full moon rising.
A/n: I'm not super satisfied with this chapter… but you guys will tell me what you think, right? Please Favorite, Follow, and Review! It would make me very happy. Not that I want to force you to review… but the more that I get, the more inclined I am to post a new chapter! Don't forget that you can follow me on my tumblr: slytherinsnitches.