Ludus: Love focused on fun, and sometimes also on conquest, with no strings attached.
Chapter 2: The lies we tell others.
Friendship with someone that didn't worship you was difficult for Draco, Hermione always wanted to be listened to, even the times when she had nothing interesting to say. But at least she was a better conversationalist than Crabbe or Goyle.
One morning he noticed that his roommates were acting strange, Davies and Greengras saw him and started to whisper in each other's ear. And Zabini ignored him when Draco saluted him. Only Crabbe and Goyle weren't acting strange.
'D'you know what is happening' he asked, they shook their heads.
When they were going to the Great Hall to have his breakfast, Pansy approached him 'Draco, is it true?' she asked, like it meant something. She looked very upset.
'I'm not sure.' he responded 'What are you talking about?' he asked.
'You know….' she looked around to be sure nobody was hearing her 'that you are a friend of a mudblood'
'That?' he laughed 'that is completely wrong'
'Technically he is a mudblood's friend' said a soft voice.
Crabbe's voice.
'You are not helping, Crabbe,' responded Malfoy, annoyed 'Pansy, you know me, you really think I would be a mudblood's friend?'
Pansy shook her head 'No, I guess'
'I'm only using her to make her do my homework' he explained 'I would never be his friend.'
'Merlin, I was worried, I thought you lost your head' Pansy smiled "Will you make her do my homework too?" she asked .
"Is my house elf, get your own,'' responded Malfoy.
Hermione was nervous.
She only had to ask if he wanted to celebrate her birthday with her, easy… but she never did this before, maybe because she never had friends before.
Her parents always told her 'Be yourself and the friends will come sooner or later' after all this year finally that happened, but now her lack of experience was being an obstacle, what did she have to do? What are the social rules she needed to follow?
She expected after classes to ask him. Took a long breath and started.
'Draco' she started 'You know? I was thinking of asking you something this morning…
'I see' he said 'What?'
'If you don't have anything to do tomorrow after class…' Hermione continued, Draco raised an eyebrow 'Tomorrow is my birthday I want invite you to it"
'Sure,' he responded calmly, 'What will we do?'
'I was thinking about buying a cake and eating it after class in the schoolyard,' she responded.
'It sounds good,' he said.
The next day they were sitting on a rock eating the cake Hermione bought to one of his Gryffindor housemates. Draco gave her a golden necklace, he had told his mother that it was a friend's birthday and he needed a gift that a girl would like and she decided that. She didn't need to know his "friend" was a muggleborn, it's better if she didn't know his "friend" was a muggleborn, his mother is a Black, after all.
After that he went to the common room, the other Slytherins were acting normal again.
'Pansy explained everything to them,' explained Goyle.
'Boss, you don't think this can be a problem in the future?' asked Crabbe 'If the Granger girl finds about what you said, she wouldn't want be your friend again'
'And how is that a problem?' asked Draco, as crazy as it sounds Crabbe looked him like if he was and idiot 'What I told Pansy was the true I don't care about her if she didn't want be my friend I only failed in a plan that I did only because I was bored, so stop look like that.'
'You have cream in your face' Crabbe said calmly, Draco cleaned his face.
Draco stopped making fun of Longbottom since Hermione made him see 'make fun and mess with a boy that can't defend himself is pathetic'. Fortunately, they had two enemies that Hermione didn't care if Draco messed with them or not, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Hermione looked like she hated the two since the night Draco challenged Potter to a duel in the midnight and made a tramp to them that didn't work, and Draco hated they as soon the year began, so the day after her birthday, they talked about how much they hate Harry Potter and his new broom.
'They broke the rules and Potter had a new broom, what is the sense of this!' cried Hermione.
'Yeah, I was expecting them to be expelled, but nothing happened! Potter is obviously McGonagall's favorite,' Draco complained.
'Professor McGonagall,' corrected Hermione. 'And if I recall correctly you would be expelled too in the flying class if Madam Hooch would keep her promise.'
Malfoy shrugged, he was not bothered enough for be a hypocrite like to do something about it.
'And why do they buy a broom of the latest brand to a guy that can pay for it, but don't do something like resolve the problem with the obviously defectuos brooms?' asked Hermione.
'They earn a lot of money selling tickets to quidditch games, they can spend more money in that: Better brooms is equal to better games, better games is equal to more money, more money is equal to better brooms.' Draco explained. At least that was what his father told him
'And nobody bothers that?' she asked 'they could use only a piece of money of one of his game to buy news entraining brooms, but they don't care'
And Draco had another idea.
He insisted to his dad. He thought Draco was right, Hogwarts needed new practicing brooms and buying those would improve their public image.
Also when he was talking with Hermione he said casually in front of some Hufflepuffs that his father wouldn't need to donate those brooms if McGonagall and Dumbledore would use the money for that instead of to make a gift to Harry Potter. The glares that Potter received were hilarious.
That almost made Draco forget that Potter was in the quidditch team and he… almost.
Everything thanks to Hermione…
Eventually Draco's plan worked, Granger was helping with his work, he only had to tell her if she could revise his work and she would complete the work for him, also them seated together in potion and charms class, because he told her he 'works better with her'. These days Draco had to do less effort to simulate he was interested in what Hermione had to tell, he thought she became more interesting because she spent so much time with him.
That he was starting to like being with her never crossed his mind.
Author note: I hope you liked this chapter, I'm sorry it is a bit short, I promise the next chapters will be longer.
Let me know what you think in the reviews.
Did you know nothing happened between the 20th of september to the 31st of October?