Hermione
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Hermione woke up very early the next day, despite the fact that the room was still in darkness. Too eager to start the day, she decided she couldn't go back to sleep and opened the curtains of her bed. The girls who shared her dormitory were not yet awake, Hermione didn't even know their names yet. She took a shower, dressed warmly, took the books from her trunk without waking her roommates and quietly left.
Hermione visited the castle without any students around. She spent about thirty minutes just exploring what she saw, wanting to absorb as much knowledge as she could from seeing the castle in this way. When she got down to the first floor, she found the Library open despite the early hour, and entered the room.
Hermione had to stop in her tracks to enjoy the sight before her eyes. The Library was the most beautiful place she had seen since the day before, by far. Hundreds of thousands of shelves divided the space with books grazing the high ceiling, revealing covers of every colour. Study tables were scattered around the room, some for several people, others round, and even small desks for a single student.
Hermione was amazed, she wanted to discover each book in this room one by one and never leave it again. The librarian approached her:
"Yes?" she asked urgently.
"I... Your Library is absolutely beautiful," Hermione murmured, still mesmerized by the shelves before her.
Mrs. Pince's stern face relaxed at once and she too gazed at her Library:
"Isn't it? I'm particularly proud of its layout, if I may say so."
Hermione turned to her and composed herself:
"Excuse me, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Hermione Granger, I'm a first year in Gryffindor."
"Oh yes, Professor McGonagall told me about you," the librarian replied, turning to Hermione. "She even recommended me, she predicted you would come here on the first day. Do you like books?" she asked with a small smile.
"I love it. I could read every book in here."
"I've been working here for twenty years and I haven't even managed to count them all yet," said Mrs. Pince with a sigh. "Anyway, I see Minerva had sent you a nice stack. Are you coming to return them?"
"Yes." said Hermione as she placed the books in the designated spot on the counter.
The librarian moved back behind it and began to write the titles of the returned books in her register. Hermione noticed a large sign next to her desk that stated all the rules of the Library. She read everything quickly, focused and determined not to disturb the quiet of the room, in which she was presumably alone at the moment.
When she finished reading the rules, she caught Mrs. Pince's admiring look. She looked very happy that someone was as strict as she was about the Library rules.
Then Hermione went to browse the stacks. She wished she could have taken a picture to send to her mother, she would have loved this place. After many minutes of hesitating between several volumes, Hermione chose one entitled "Hogwarts Castle Secrets Revealed" and sat down at one of the round tables in a remote corner of the Library. A glance at the clock told her that she had almost two hours before breakfast, so Hermione quietly immersed herself in her reading.
Only the sound of Mrs. Pince's heels walking through the stacks echoed in the silence of the Library. Hermione read the lines of her book avidly, oblivious to the outside world.
"Hi."
She gasped as the nonchalant voice pulled her abruptly from her reading. The boy who had spoken was in front of her, and she hadn't heard him approach. It was Draco Malfoy, the boy who had annoyed Ron Weasley and Harry Potter on the Hogwarts Express. He had blond hair, almost white as it reflected the light under the Library's chandeliers, and veiled grey eyes.
"You scared me." she said.
"Ah. I didn't mean to. I saw you sitting there, and I saw that you were all alone, so..."
He didn't finish his sentence. Hermione saw that he was holding a quill and inkwell in his hand. He followed her gaze and seemed to remember why he was here:
"I came to get some parchment, but the librarian won't give me any. I was looking for some in the stacks when I saw you. Sorry, I'll go back to my dormitory."
The boy turned around but Hermione called out to him:
"I have some, if you want."
She bent down to open her school bag and pulled out a roll of parchment. The boy seemed surprised by the gesture but accepted.
"Er... thanks."
Hermione could tell that wasn't a word he said often.
"Are you coming to do your homework already?" she asked.
Hermione looked at the clock, as if to check that homework hadn't already fallen out of nowhere when it was barely seven.
"No, I... I've come to write a letter for my parents."
He turned slightly pink as he said this, his very pale skin quickly turning colour. Hermione tried to reassure him:
"Oh yes, I did that yesterday too. I was going to go to the Owlery before breakfast, do you want to come with me?"
She wasn't sure why she'd offered, but this boy was one of the only friendly people she'd met since the night before who didn't talk back to her by snubbing her. Draco had no expression on his face and merely shrugged vaguely:
"Yeah, okay."
He sat down next to Hermione and dipped his quill into his inkwell. Hermione returned to her reading, but she kept glancing at the boy next to her. His letter was quite short, much shorter than Hermione's, he just scribbled a few sentences that Hermione couldn't read from where she was sitting.
"There. Are you coming?" he said after a moment.
Hermione nodded and took the volume with her to borrow it. Mrs. Pince gave her a friendly smile and wrote her name on the register. Hermione thought to herself that this was not going to be the last time she would write 'Granger' in her huge book. Hermione put the book away in her bag and walked beside Draco to the Owlery.
"I saw you hanging out with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley," Draco said without hiding his contempt. "How well do you know them?"
"Hm, no, not really, only by sight. I don't think I like them too much, especially Ron Weasley, he's a bit mean."
Draco seemed satisfied with this answer:
"I agree. Not mean, but mostly dumb as a post. My father told me his family was poor, and when I saw the state of his wizard's robes, I quickly realized he was right."
He was smirking, which Hermione didn't like very much. She felt compelled to remind him:
"It was you, who came on the train to bother them? With the other two boys? You nearly got into a fight."
"It was nothing like that, they just needed to be put in their places."
Hermione wasn't sure she shared that view, but she didn't reply. They walked to the east tower of the castle where the Owlery was located and climbed the steps with difficulty.
"What about you, have you made any friends?" she asked to change the subject.
"My friends from before Hogwarts are all in my House."
"And you haven't met anyone new since the Sorting?"
Malfoy thought about the question for a few seconds before answering in his drawl:
"Crabbe, and Goyle. And Nott too. But I don't like him much."
"Do you know yet which classes will be split between the Gryffindors and Slytherins?" asked Hermione.
"No, but I suppose we'll see it on our schedules later. I hope it's Potions, or Flying."
"Oh no, I don't want to be in that class at all." Hermione yelped.
Draco whirled around on the stairs and Hermione nearly collided with him head on.
"Really? Why?"
"I'm afraid of heights."
"Don't you play Quidditch? Don't you have a broom at home?"
Hermione winced. She had the feeling that Malfoy was prejudiced against people like her, people with Muggle parents. She had read in one of the books she had bought from Flourish and Blotts that some families believed in 'pure blood', and that many of them were in Slytherin. Hermione had the impression that Draco shared these ideologies, so she felt obliged to hide from him the fact that she had only known about the existence of magical broomsticks for a month.
"No, I'm not that interested in Quidditch."
"You prefer books?" asked Draco, amused.
"Yes, very much so. Do many girls play Quidditch?"
Draco shrugged:
"My best friend Pansy does from time to time, but she's not as big a fan as me. I asked my parents to sneak my broom in my letter, I hope they do. I'd be much stronger in Flight class with my own broom."
Hermione arched her eyebrows but did not reply. Draco seemed to love racing brooms, and Hermione wasn't sure what to say about it. They arrived in the round room of the Owlery, where hundreds of owls were flying in and out of the glassless windows. Hermione tried to find an owl that could pass for a pigeon so as not to shock the neighbours, and found a small brown owl.
"You don't have an owl?" the Slytherin questioned.
"No, maybe next year, I don't know yet. What about you?"
Just as she asked, a huge black owl landed on Draco's arm.
"Yes, this is Ebony, I got him for my birthday."
Draco's owl clutched his letter with his paw and flew out the window. He watched it fly away for a few moments before turning around. The boy waved at Hermione as he walked down the stairs again:
"See you later, Granger."
Hermione liked the way he pronounced her name, he rolled the 'r' on the end with his drawl. She said goodbye and took the three letters out of her pocket and wrapped them around the owl's leg. Then she repeated her address several times, hoping it would understand, and the owl flew away into the grey sky.
Hermione wasn't sure if she liked this Draco Malfoy or not. He seemed to be a bit arrogant, and very prejudiced, but at the same time, she found him quite endearing, somehow.
The rest of Hermione's classes went, to her delight, very well. Her favourite class was Transfiguration, not only because it was the subject she was most passionate about, but also because it was the subject she was best at. She managed to turn her match into a needle on the first try, and received compliments from McGonagall who awarded ten points for Gryffindor.
Hermione's week went smoothly, she was surprised to find that she understood all the lessons and was one of the best in the class. In the evenings she read in the Common Room, and spent all her free time in the Library. She already had five books on the register before the weekend.
On Friday, the joy she felt came to an abrupt end when she entered Potions class, shared with the Slytherins. The atmosphere was much colder than in the rest of the castle, and Professor Snape had a closed face and looked very stern.
Hermione raised her hand several times during the class, but Snape refused to involve her. He even unfairly took points away from Harry Potter and was clearly favouring the Slytherins. Draco and a dark-haired girl kept sniggering whenever Snape made fun of Neville or Harry, which Hermione couldn't stand. As the days passed, she liked Draco Malfoy less and less.
She spent the rest of Friday afternoon and the weekend exploring the books in the Library and learning her lessons for the week. She ate breakfast with Neville, read books in the huge Library, and received regular mail from her parents. Right now, Hogwarts looked like something out of her wildest dreams, and she didn't want to wake up.
Draco
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Dear Draco,
Your father and I are very sorry, but the staff at Hogwarts have refused to send the broom you asked for. I know how much you want it, but unfortunately it is not our fault and there is nothing I can do to accommodate your request. You'll have to wait until the Christmas holidays to get your Comet back.
Your father is very busy with the Ministry's business and so I spend a lot of time at the Manor, where your absence is felt.
To apologise for not being able to send you your broom, I'm sending you some sweets I bought on Diagon Alley instead, in the hope that they will make you happy.
See you soon,
Signed: Narcissa.
Draco grumbled as he set the letter down hard on the breakfast table. He gulped down his pumpkin juice in one gulp as Pansy and Blaise looked on in puzzlement.
"What's going on?" asked Blaise.
"My mum couldn't send me my Comet 260 because of those stupid Hogwarts teachers. I'm sure it's that idiot Filch, or that idiot Hagrid."
"Too bad. I would have liked to have my broom here, too." said Blaise.
"Are you going to eat those sweets?" asked Crabbe, looking longingly at the box. Draco handed it to him absently.
"If it's any consolation, today's Flight class," said Pansy, looking at the schedule sheet.
"How does that console me? I just told you I don't have my broom." lamented Draco.
Pansy rolled her eyes:
"The Flying class is in common with the Gryffindors! You can take it out on Potter, or worse, Longbottom."
Draco chuckled. He had forgotten that the Flying class was shared. The prospect of seeing Longbottom kick the crap out of himself did indeed cheer him up.
"We're all going to enjoy the show," Nott interjected, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "I can't wait to see Potter make a fool of himself on his broom."
"Why? Does he suck?" asked Pansy.
"No, even worse. He has no idea what it is."
They all looked at Nott with faces of incomprehension, and he put a wicked smile on his face:
"You didn't know that? Potter grew up with his Muggle family. He had never heard of Hogwarts before this summer, and he has no idea what Quidditch is."
"What?" exclaimed the group of Slytherins.
Nott nodded vigorously. Even Blaise was shocked, and it was rare for him to display an expression on his face.
"What do you mean?"
"I've learned that Potter has never set foot in the wizarding world again since his parents died in 1981." said Nott. "He spent his entire childhood in a Muggle house, and they never told him he was a wizard. It was Hagrid who told him the news this summer."
"But that's impossible..." said Draco, trying to remember his meeting with Harry Potter.
Now that he said it, Potter had looked completely lost when Draco had told him about the Nimbus 2000 and the Hogwarts Houses. Was that really it? Did he have no idea? Was that why he was with Hagrid, had he only just discovered that he was a wizard?
"And yet it's the truth. So today is the first time Potter will hold a broomstick in his life. It might be fun." Nott said.
Draco chuckled with the others and looked across the room at the Gryffindors table. Potter did indeed look a little pale, but that was nothing compared to Longbottom who looked simply terrified. He listened intently to Granger speak, she sounded like she was reading a book to him.
Draco arched an eyebrow: Granger was friends with Longbottom? Why was she spending time with those idiots? From what little he knew about her, he was sure she should have ended up in Ravenclaw, she seemed intelligent and far too studious to be around idiots like Longbottom or Weasley.
Granger was interrupted in her reading to Longbottom by hundreds of owls flying into the Great Hall, one of which stopped over that fat, silly Longbottom, who nearly took his parcel on the head. He opened it, and Draco recognised in the distance what it was.
"Crabbe, Goyle, come with me." Draco ordered, gloating.
The two boys stood up hurriedly and followed him to the Gryffindors' table. Draco had just enough time to hear Longbottom explain the workings of a Remembrall - probably to Potter, who probably didn't know them. He grabbed the red ball and held it up with a smile, ready to deliver a scathing retort, when McGonagall came up behind him:
"What's going on?"
"It was Malfoy who took my Remembrall." Longbottom squeaked.
Draco grinned, threw the ball and walked away. He would have his revenge during the Flight class.
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At three o'clock, after Charms, the Slytherins finally made their way to Broomstick Flying. When they arrived, they saw about twenty used brooms lined up in the grass.
"Did you see that? I've never seen such rotten brooms in my life." Draco commented to Blaise, who nodded with a sigh.
The Gryffindors arrived and the two classes stood in opposite rows. Draco saw Potter looking at the brooms as if they were going to eat him and he remembered what Nott had told him at breakfast.
"So, what are you waiting for? Get in front of a broom each. Come on, hurry up!" ordered the teacher who had just arrived.
Draco pushed Crabbe and Goyle to stand in front of the broom that looked the least worn of the three in front of him. It was still damaged, he didn't even know what brand it was. Draco thought of his Comet 260 in perfect condition in the shed at home.
"Hold out your right hand over the broom and say "Stand up!"
Draco complied, and no sooner had he finished saying the word than his broom flew to his hand. He looked around and noticed that hardly any of the students had made it on the first try, except Potter, much to his surprise. Longbottom's broom hadn't moved an inch, and Granger's had only spun around despite his high-pitched voice ordering the broom to rise.
Madam Hooch then demonstrated how to hold her broom, and Blaise and Draco could hardly contain their laughter as she explained. Everyone knows how to hold a broom, right? Draco couldn't even remember the first time he'd ridden one, probably at the same time he'd learned to walk.
Madam Hooch passed through the ranks and exclaimed:
"Malfoy, you are holding your broom very badly!"
She took his hands and pulled them higher up the handle. Draco arched an eyebrow but waited until she moved away to put his hands back in the right place, and whispered to Pansy:
"It's because of those shitty broomsticks at school..."
"Yeah, of course, Draco." she said, containing a smile.
Madam Hooch raised the whistle to her mouth to start the race. Draco stiffened, waiting for the signal to propel himself into the air. It had been a long time since he'd felt that exquisite sensation of flying.
"Three, two..."
Draco suddenly heard a thud and looked up. Longbottom was already in the air, holding his broom as if it were a huge black spider he wanted to chase with his hands. It rose far too high, slipped down the handle and clattered to the ground. Draco suppressed a laugh, turned to Pansy who was about to explode as well and had to hold back with all his might not to burst out laughing in the middle of the class.
"Broken wrist." the teacher said as she leaned over to Longbottom who was whimpering.
Draco couldn't have wished for anything better. He could have paid good money to see that fall again. Pansy was still laughing her head off, even holding her ribs. Draco avoided looking at her so as not to laugh with her. Neville finally walked away with Madam Hooch and they finally let the laughter get the better of them.
"Did you see the look on that slacker's face?" exclaimed Draco to Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle. They joined him in remembering Longbottom's face as the ground receded.
"Shut up, Malfoy." said a girl he didn't know.
Pansy intervened with a laugh:
"Are you taking Longbottom' side, Parvati? I didn't know you liked fat crybabies."
Draco laughed harder, and noticed Longbottom's Remembrall in the grass where it had fallen.
"It's that silly thing his grandmother sent him," Draco said.
"Give me that, Malfoy," Potter threw out in a tone he meant to be threatening.
"I'll leave it somewhere for poor Longbottom to find. On top of a tree, for instance."
"Give it here!"
Draco straddled his broom and kicked the ground with his foot to take off. He steadied himself and went flying around the nearest tree, encouraged by the exclamations of the Slytherins. Pansy looked at him in the distance, shaking her head disapprovingly, but with a big smile on her face. He could fly, even on the school's shit brooms.
He circled the tree again and searched the crowd for Granger's face, not sure why. He found her, but she wasn't smiling at all. She didn't seem impressed by his flight. He was a little disappointed by this reaction. She approached Potter and shouted something, but he did not hear because of the wind in his ears.
Potter suddenly came into his field of vision and Draco's smile vanished: he could fly! Had Nott lied about Potter's Muggle childhood?
"Give me that, or I'll knock you off your broom!" shouted Potter.
"Really?" asked Draco, disturbed by Potter's ease.
"Well, Malfoy! Crabbe and Goyle aren't here to save your neck anymore?"
In the distance, Draco saw the silhouette of Professor McGonagall chatting with Flitwick, just outside the castle gates. He then had an idea.
"Catch, if you can!"
And Draco threw the ball with all his might before swooping down to the ground. He landed and dropped his broom to the ground as McGonagall ran to Potter, who hadn't even seen it. As he landed in turn, the teacher shouted:
"HARRY POTTER!"
Crabbe and Goyle laughed contemptuously. Draco was satisfied, he had got everything he wanted: a shameful fall from Longbottom and the dismissal of Harry Potter, whom he hated. He took one last look at Granger, and saw that her face was darkened and that she was ignoring him.
Maybe not everything he wanted, then.
Draco
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"Well done, Draco! I hope Potter gets kicked out." said Pansy as she walked towards the Slytherin Common Room.
"Me too, and if Longbottom could officially go home, that would be even better." replied Draco cheerfully.
They entered the Common Room and Pansy threw herself into one of the vacant sofas in front of the fireplace. Draco sat down in turn, as did Nott and Blaise.
"Hey, Nott." called out Draco. "You were wrong about Potter, he can fly."
"I wasn't wrong." he defended himself. "I don't know how he learned to fly, but I'm pretty sure he comes from a muggle family. I have reliable sources."
Draco frowned. How could Potter be so good on a broom if he had never ridden one before? Broomsticks were supposed to be his thing. He'd trained all his life to perfect his skills, spent hours and hours with Blaise playing Quidditch in the hope of making a team one day.
He thought about this on the way to the Great Hall for dinner, and he was so lost in thought that he barely heard Pansy whistle:
"What's he still doing here?"
Draco followed her gaze and saw Potter, sitting at the Gryffindors' table. He had a big smile on his face.
"How did he get away with it?" asked Draco as he sat down at the Slytherin table, his good mood gone.
"He's got a pass on detentions and expulsions because of his fame." Pansy scoffed. "If you'd been caught by McGonagall, you wouldn't be eating with us. It's not fair."
"I have an idea." announced Nott suddenly, who had sat down next to Blaise.
"What?"
"You just have to offer him a wizard's duel."
"A duel?" asked Draco.
"That's too dangerous." cut in Pansy.
"No, listen to me." insisted Nott, his eyes shining. "You offer him a duel, and Potter will probably chicken out, he probably doesn't even know how to use his wand. And if he accepts, you turn him in to Filch and he'll be set up! If a student wanders the corridors at night, it's compulsory detention, maybe even expulsion. It's in the school rules, I've read it."
"Brilliant!" said Draco, impressed with Nott's plan.
He turned to Pansy, who seemed to be mulling over the idea, then she shrugged:
"Go ahead, anyway, you're safe."
Draco stood up, and Crabbe and Goyle did the same. They walked over to the Gryffindors' table:
"So, is this your last meal, Potter? When are you going back to the Muggles?"
"You were less proud when you didn't have your little friends with you." Potter replied coldly.
Draco noticed that Potter hadn't denied the Muggle part, so Nott must have been right.
"I'll take you any time you like. Tonight, if it suits you. Wizards' duel. Magic wands only, no physical contact. What's the matter? You don't know what a wizard's duel is?"
He noticed that Granger was quietly listening in on the conversation.
"Of course he does." replied Weasley, who had already turned three shades of red on his cheeks. "And I'm willing to be his second. And who are you taking?"
Draco turned to them and took the stronger one:
"Crabbe. At midnight, okay? We'll meet in the Trophy Room, it's never closed."
He left and chuckled on the way back to the table.
"So?" inquired Nott.
"Like clockwork. Stupid Gryffindors. Weasley even agreed to be his second in command."
The Slytherins laughed.
"It was a sure thing," Blaise interjected. "They want to look so brave that they're willing to fall into the lion's den. I'd give anything to see their faces when they come face to face with Filch tonight."
Draco looked over at the Gryffindors' table and saw that Granger had approached Potter and Weasley and even from here he could almost hear her high-pitched voice. He hoped she was asking them not to do it to protect him, not them.
"Anyone have any parchment?" asked Draco.
Nott pulled out a torn piece and Draco pulled his quill from his pocket and scribbled on it:
Students out of bed, tonight at midnight by the Trophy Room.
He showed the piece of paper to the others, who grinned evilly, except for Goyle who commented:
"You forgot to sign."
"You're as stupid as Longbottom." said Pansy with a sigh.
Hermione
.
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Hermione was so scared of what was going to happen tonight that she couldn't sleep. She understood why Draco hated Ron and Harry, and vice versa, but she didn't understand how anyone could defy rules so much without thinking of others. It was selfish. She spent all her time studying and being exemplary to get points, and the next morning she was sure to find the Gryffindors' hourglass empty because of these dunces.
She opened the curtains of her four-poster bed and checked that the girls in her dormitory were sleeping. On the evening of the second day, they had turned up: Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. They hadn't spoken much to Hermione, but then again she had spent so much time in the Library that they probably hadn't spent more than five minutes together in the same room.
Determined to check that they were not going to do anything stupid, Hermione got out of bed at 11.15pm, put on high socks and took the small lantern from her bedside table. She went downstairs and sat on the steps of the girls' dormitory. She waited patiently with a yawn. Just to make sure they didn't run to Malfoy in the middle of the night.
Suddenly, she heard muffled footsteps and recognized Ron Weasley's red hair.
"I can't believe you would do something like that, Harry," she said in a deep, sleepy voice.
"Go back to bed, you." exclaimed Ron, red with anger.
Hermione thought Draco was being mean to them, but not so mean as to fight with him, let alone risk detention because of it. She was determined to stop them. She tried to dissuade them from leaving by following them to the corridor.
But if she had known how bad the evening was going to get, she would never have gotten out of bed.