Draco
.
.
"Your plan didn't work, Nott." hissed Draco as he sat down at the Slytherin table.
Nott looked up at Potter and Weasley on the other side of the room, who had two stupid grins on their faces.
"I saw that. I was sure they'd get kicked out. Maybe Filch didn't find them, or maybe they got away with it again."
Draco was furious. Potter was still there, and the Gryffindors' hourglass was still so full of rubies.
"Stop thinking about it, Draco." Pansy said softly as she sat down next to him. "They're not worth it."
"I hate them."
"So do I. It's just not fair. But there's nothing we can do about it, let's just ignore them and get on with life. They're going to pay eventually anyway."
She finished her sentence by pouring honey on her toast, then began to chat with Blaise. But Draco's thoughts were still too focused on Potter and Weasley to care about anything else. Nott didn't seem concerned by Pansy's sentence either, as he looked intently at the Gryffindors' table.
"Potter got a package." he commented after a moment, as six owls dropped a long package on the table.
"One thing's for sure, it's not from his parents." Draco let out through his teeth.
Nott laughed and continued to eat his porridge. Draco did not eat anything. He got up and left the Great Hall without saying a word, despite Pansy's glare.
As he reached the stairs he felt a presence behind him. It was Crabbe and Goyle:
"Where are you going, Draco?"
" Why do you care?"
The two boys looked at each other stupidly. Just then Potter and Weasley came out of the Great Hall smiling. Draco hissed:
"Get them."
Crabbe and Goyle complied, much better at following an order than answering a question. Draco grabbed the Potter package and guessed at once what it was:
"Looks like a broom to me. This time you're screwed, Potter, first years aren't allowed to have brooms."
"This isn't just any broom," Weasley said with an air of importance. "It's a Nimbus 2000. What was the make of yours again? A Comet 260, isn't it? Comets are not bad if you don't look too closely. But obviously, Nimbus are a different class."
Malfoy felt a pang of jealousy as he heard the brand. How could Potter afford to buy this? Had someone given it to him? He remembered the moment he'd seen it in the shop window of the Diagon Alley shop. Now his Comet 260 seemed bland.
"What do you know, Weasley? You wouldn't even be able to afford half a handle. You and your brothers buy them twig by twig," Draco replied.
Weasley blushed to the roots of his hair, and they were interrupted by Professor Flitwick who was walking by.
"I hope you two aren't arguing?"
"Potter got sent a broom !" Draco replied.
"Yes, yes, of course! Professor McGonagall filled me in. What model is it?" asked Flitwick, suddenly interested.
"It's a Nimbus 2000. And it's thanks to Malfoy that I was able to get it !" replied Potter.
And they escaped with a chuckle. Draco felt the rage rise in him and destroy everything in his path: why was Potter allowed to have a broom and not him? He shoved Crabbe and Goyle violently to make his way out of the hall as quickly as possible.
This was so unfair! Why was Potter allowed to do whatever he wanted like this?
Just as Draco stepped out into the courtyard, he heard a high-pitched voice call out to him behind him:
"Malfoy, wait!"
Draco didn't turn around, but slowed down anyway so that Granger could join him. She arrived and walked up beside him:
"Malfoy? Do you want to explain to me what's going on?"
"Why is Potter allowed to have a broom, and I'm not?"
He knew he sounded like a child when he said that, but he didn't correct his tone. He was so pissed off that his vision was a little blurry around the edges, he just kept a steady focus with his eyes without looking at Granger.
"I don't know about that." she admitted. "I don't think it's fair either, especially after breaking the rules like that."
"Exactly!"
Draco stopped suddenly and finally looked at Granger: she was holding books in her arms and had her eyebrows furrowed.
"Wait, what?" asked Draco.
"You know, after walking the halls because of your stupid duel! Why did you do that?"
"How did you know I asked?"
"I heard you, at the Gryffindors' table yesterday. We almost got into big trouble because of you, Filch was there!"
"What do you mean 'we'?"
Granger's cheeks flushed slightly.
"I got roped in with them!" she squeaked.
"What? But why?"
"A long story." she said, waving her hand to cut off his explanation. "Anyway, I almost got caught too. Why did you set a trap for them, like that? You knew they were going to get in trouble!"
"Because that was the point! I wanted them to pay, that's all. Did you notice how they all got what they wanted? Potter is seen flying when it's forbidden, and the next day he has a broom, just like that? With no points lost, no detention?"
"He was flying because you threatened him."
Draco rolled his eyes:
"See! Even you defend them!"
"I'm not defending anyone!" snapped Granger. "I'm just saying there are wrongs on both sides, don't pretend you're not involved in this!"
"And you, why are you involved, Granger? Didn't you have anything else to do but follow them in the middle of the night?"
"So I wouldn't lose any points for Gryffindor!" she replied in a voice higher than ever. "You three are really stupid!"
And she walked away abruptly, leaving Draco all alone in his anger.
Hermione
.
.
After the traumatic episode of the three-headed dog, Hermione made a resolution to herself: no more talking to boys. Between Ron being mean to her, Harry ignoring her warnings and Malfoy being stubborn, she decided it wasn't worth it. Hermione preferred to read in the Library, the place in the castle where she felt most comfortable.
She tried to be friends with her housemates, but to no avail. Lavender and Parvati didn't read and were only interested in Hogwarts gossip, or the embellishment spells she tried every night. They were very nice to Hermione, but nothing more.
Hermione felt as if her fears were coming true: she had no friends. She had always found it easier to make boy friends than girl friends, but she wasn't sure why. Maybe she was boring and only talked about books. She had Mary, of course, but this was different, probably because they had known each other since childhood and had grown accustomed to each other over the years.
After a week of studying every day in the Library and spending her evenings reading in the Common Room or in bed, Hermione had to admit that she felt a little lonely. She wrote letters to her parents almost every day, and sometimes accompanied them with letters to Danny or Mary asking her parents to pass them on.
But it wasn't the same. She watched Ron and Harry talking together, laughing, sharing meals, half-listening to Lavender and Parvati's conversations, and she envied them. She wanted someone to talk to.
She attended classes as usual, and these were the only social interactions of her days. The rest of the time she was alone, sitting on a bench in the courtyard, or at the dinner table, with a book to entertain herself.
During a breakfast, she was surprised to see two owls land in front of her with a large parcel. A few Gryffindors turned to her as she untied the letter from her paw and opened it.
When she recognized her mother's handwriting, her stomach contracted painfully:
"Happy Birthday Mimi, we love you dearly and think of you every day."
Hermione read the paper several times before she felt her eyes sting. She stood up quickly and left the Great Hall, ignoring the intrigued looks towards her. Holding the packet and her book firmly in her other hand, she walked up the stairs letting the tears roll down her cheeks. She said the password with a choked sob and entered the Common Room, which was, thankfully, empty. Everyone was in the Great Hall.
She sat down in one of the armchairs by the fireplace and pulled her knees up under her chin to let her tears flow. The loneliness and the fact that she missed her family so much added to the pain of being alone on her birthday for the first time in her life. There would be no birthday cake, no presents, no party with her parents.
She cried for a long time, until the first students coming back to get their books entered the Common Room. She wiped away her tears and opened her book to clear her head, but the words danced before her eyes.
Hermione was about to go out again to go to class early when she felt a presence next to her. It was Neville. His cheeks were flushed and he avoided her gaze:
"Hey, Hermione."
"Hi Neville."
"I wanted to wish you a happy birthday."
Hermione looked at him, widening her eyes:
"How do you know it's my birthday?"
"You told me after the first day of school that it was the 19th of September and I wrote it down in my calendar by my bed."
Hermione felt her eyes sting again and put her book back on the table in front of her to avoid looking at Neville.
"Oh, thank you, that means a lot to me Neville..."
He gave her a small smile and headed towards the dormitory stairs. Harry and Ron were there too, they walked through the Common Room laughing until Harry met Hermione's eyes. Her eyes must have still been red and swollen because he frowned a little when he saw her.
"Go on Ron, I'll catch up with you." he said to the redhead.
Ron walked up the stairs with Neville and Harry approached Hermione:
"Is everything alright?"
"Yes, why?"
"The letter you got earlier, was it bad news?" he asked in a whisper so as not to be heard.
It was the first time Harry had spoken to her without Ron beside him, and she suddenly found him very sweet. She absently rubbed her eye as she replied:
"Er, no, on the contrary. It was my parents, they were wishing me a happy birthday."
"Oh. I see. Happy birthday, Hermione."
"Thank you."
He swayed for a few seconds, embarrassed. His hair was even messier than when she had first met him on the train, and he had big green eyes.
"See you later."
And he went to join Ron, presumably to get his textbooks from the dormitory. Hermione went upstairs in turn and sat in her bed, closing the curtains around it so as not to be disturbed in case Lavender and Parvati came up in the meantime, then opened the parcel. Inside were two more letters and some wrapped presents. She opened the first letter:
Happy birthday Hermione!
I hope you like your school and that you've managed to fit in. We can't wait to see you at Christmas! In the meantime I'm sending you a present (the one with the yellow paper), which I made myself, I hope you like it.
We think about you all the time, classes are less fun without you. I can't wait to receive your next letter so that you can tell me all about what's going on in your boarding school, have you met anyone yet?
Have a great birthday!
Mary."
Hermione took the small yellow present and opened it. Inside was a purple knitted hat and two pairs of white gloves. She smiled when she saw them, there was one glove bigger than the other, which made them even more perfect. Then she picked up the second letter:
Hey Hermione!
Happy birthday to you! I feel like you've been gone for six months already, life is so sad without you in London. The first day of school went well, but the teachers have already given us a lot of homework and I don't have a Miss Perfect to help me with my maths.
All kidding aside, Mary and I really miss you. I read all your letters, your school sounds really great! I hope you like France and are learning the language well. Maybe by Christmas you will be bilingual?
You haven't talked much about your classes, how are they going? Do you still spend your days in the school library?
I'm looking forward to hearing from you, your parents are the go-betweens because apparently only they can send letters to your boarding school. I gave them this one, I hope it arrives on the 19th of September.
Enjoy my present, I hope it brings you some London where you are.
Happy birthday Hermione, come back soon.
Danny.
Hermione opened the second present with Danny's name on it and tore open the wrapping. There were two packages of Cadbury chocolate fingers, Danny's favourite cake. She bit into one and smiled, the taste bringing back sweet memories of the park with him.
She looked at the clock and saw that Transfiguration class was about to start, so she put her presents back on her bed with the two letters and walked out of her dormitory with a slightly lighter heart than when she had entered.
Hermione
.
.
Living at Hogwarts was both amazing and terribly difficult. Hermione loved walking around the castle, learning her lessons, reading, eating delicious meals. She loved watching the ghosts pass in the corridors, listening to the conversations in the portraits, and chatting with the teachers. The one thing she sorely missed was friends.
Apart from Percy, the Weasley twins and Neville, Hermione hardly spoke to anyone. Draco spent his time with his Slytherin group, Harry and Ron were together all the time, and Hermione was a bit too lonely.
The only person she really talked to was Neville, she helped him with his homework during the evenings, but she couldn't help wanting to be friends with other people, like Harry and Ron. They were already inseparable, and Hermione was a little jealous of the bond they had formed from day one. She wished she had someone to spend time with like that.
Fortunately, her parents wrote to her very regularly, and receiving news from the outside world made her feel much better.
On Halloween, Hermione's joy at the smell of pumpkin in the corridors was dissipated when she had to pair up with Ron Weasley in Charms. He'd never stopped being mean to her, and would blow her off whenever she said anything. She ignored him throughout Flitwick's explanation of levitation and let him do the exercise first.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" he cried, waving his wand in the air.
"You're not pronouncing it right. You have to say 'Win-gar-dium Leviosa', with the 'gar' emphasized." she told him.
"You just have to do it, if you're so clever." he said coldly.
Hermione rolled her eyes. He was so annoying, not taking any criticism! She was only trying to help him. She rolled up the sleeves of her dress and articulated:
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
She twirled her wand and the feather flew out as she raised it. She had practiced the week before and had managed to make objects fly around her several times, but seeing her feather rise still gave her a sense of pride.
"Well done, very good!" cried Professor Flitwick. "Look everyone, Miss Granger has done it!"
Hermione felt her cheeks flush a little and lowered the quill again, avoiding looking at Ron.
"Very well, all those who did not manage to get their items to fly during this class will have to practice during the week to get better results next week." Professor Flitwick said at the end of the class as the students packed up their things.
All the benches creaked as the students prepared to leave the classroom. A hubbub filled the small classroom.
Hermione closed her bag and walked out into the corridor. Ron and Harry were walking ahead of her and she heard Ron lament:
"No wonder no one can stand her. She's a nightmare, that girl!"
Hermione froze as she heard this and realised he was talking about her. She felt that familiar knot in her stomach twist and tears instantly flooded her face. She quickened her pace and jostled the two boys as she passed.
"I think she heard you." Harry said in a small voice.
"So what? She must have realised she had no friends." continued Ron.
Hermione's tears redoubled. She had never cried as much as she had since she was at Hogwarts, although she didn't usually cry.
She walked out into the grounds of the castle and along a small winding path in the courtyard until she found a bench and sat down on it, taking her face in her hands.
"Granger?"
Draco
.
.
Draco followed Pansy, Blaise, Nott, Crabbe, Goyle and Daphne on the way to Herbology class without taking part in the conversation. The small group of Slytherins were making their way through the Hogwarts courtyard while Draco trailed behind, stepping on the brown leaves that crunched under his feet.
Then he heard a strange sound, like a sob, and when he looked up he saw Granger sitting on a bench. Without really knowing why, he walked over to her, leaving the group of Slytherins to continue without him.
"Granger?"
The concerned girl briskly lifted her head from her hands and Draco saw that she was crying. He froze.
Her face was soaked with tears and her eyes were bright red. She wiped her nose with the sleeve of her dress and whispered:
"What, Malfoy?"
Granger was so different from Pansy. With Pansy, you had to dig to guess her emotions behind the porcelain mask that was her impenetrable face. Even after years of being around her every day, Draco still had trouble understanding what she was feeling. She was cold, inexpressive, almost gloomy.
Granger was the opposite: Draco could tell what she was feeling just by looking into her eyes. Her face was like a screen of her thoughts, which flickered so often it was hard to follow.
"Are you crying?" he asked unnecessarily.
She rolled her eyes exaggeratedly:
"Can't you tell? What are you doing here?"
"I don't really know, I heard you and thought that..."
"That what?" cut in Granger aggressively. "That you were going to come and make fun of Granger, the Miss Perfect who does nothing but cry?"
Draco stepped back as if to shield himself from her words:
"Hey calm down, I didn't say anything to you! What's wrong with you today?"
"Nothing. I've heard some nasty things. About me."
"What did you hear?" he asked.
Granger wiped away the tears that continued to roll down his crimson cheeks in vain.
"That I had no friends because no one could stand me."
"Who said that?"
"Ron Weasley."
Draco rolled his eyes:
"Weasley? Since when do you listen to that idiot?"
Granger glared at him:
"Since he insulted me right in front of me. It doesn't matter who it is, it still hurts."
"But who cares what Weasley thinks!"
"Yet he's right, I have no friends, because I'm unbearable, 'a nightmare'!" she said, sobbing.
"Don't get yourself in such a state over Weasley. You're so sensitive! If you listen to everything people say about you, you'll never finish crying."
Without really knowing why, Granger looked even more annoyed:
"Really? Because everyone says so? Like your Slytherin mates, they're all laughing at me behind my back, right?"
She gestured towards the group of Slytherins who had reached the Herbology greenhouses now. Draco took a few steps back.
"No, that's not what I said."
"Then don't say anything, and get out."
She looked away and continued to cry on the bench. Draco restrained himself from rolling his eyes again:
"All right, fine. You can just keep moping, if you think that's the answer."
And he left to join his friends, because he didn't know what else to say. Why was this girl so complicated? Why could he understand her so easily, and at the same time find her so unpredictable?
"Where have you been?" asked Pansy when he snuck between her and Nott in the greenhouse.
"Nowhere." he replied curtly, his thoughts still directed at Granger sitting on her bench.
Hermione
.
.
Hermione was inconsolable. She couldn't calm the sadness that had come over her since she heard Ron say that horrible sentence, which echoed in her head louder and louder. "It doesn't surprise me that no one can stand her..." What hurt the most was that he was right. He had managed to pinpoint all her fears and expose them, it was as if he had stabbed her heart in just the right place to make it hurt the most.
She thought of Danny and Mary who were probably having a great time at their Muggle school. Was Hogwarts worth it if it was going to hurt like this?
Annoyed at the sight of people walking past her, Hermione ducked into the girls' bathroom on the first floor and locked herself in one of the cubicles to sit down. She had been crying for many minutes when the door opened and Lavender's familiar voice echoed in the toilet:
"- so I gave her the address, she said she'd order by owl and she'd probably receive them in a week or two, hopefully..."
She stopped talking suddenly and asked:
"Who's there?"
Hermione, who had failed to hide her sobs with a quiet cough, timidly opened the door:
"It's me."
Lavender and Parvati rushed to her:
"Hermione! Are you alright? We were worried about you when we saw you weren't in History of Magic class!"
"Did Professor Binns say anything?" asked Hermione.
"No, you know he doesn't know any students' names," Parvati reassured her. "I think if there was no one in the class, he wouldn't even notice. Is everything okay?"
"Not really... Could you tell Madam Hooch that I'm not feeling well, and that I'm resting in the dormitory, please?" asked Hermione in a small voice.
The two girls exchanged a surprised look, probably because they hadn't expected Hermione Granger to skip a class, but they nodded anyway:
"Sure. Do you want us to go get someone?"
"No, that's nice..."
"Alright... call us if you need to !" Lavender recommended.
"Sometimes the best thing to do is to cry until you feel better. See you at dinner tonight?" asked Parvati.
"Yes, yes... Thanks girls..."
They walked away from the bathroom to leave Hermione alone again. She wasn't crying now, but she didn't want to leave. She never wanted to see Ron Weasley's face again, never hear his voice, never see anyone again. Hermione sat down on the floor in the small bathroom stall and put her head against the wall to clear her thoughts.
She didn't know how long she had been there, doing nothing but sniffing, when she heard a splashing sound of water. When she turned her head, she was startled to see a ghost's head looking at her strangely from the toilet bowl.
"This is usually my place." she said in a shrill voice.
The ghost was a girl, but her face was hidden by a long black streak that crossed her thick glasses. She looked like a teenager.
"Ah, sorry..."
"Are you crying? I often cry too."
The ghost-girl's body rose from the toilet to rest on the bowl, lying on her stomach. She looked at Hermione with the eye that was unobstructed by her black hair with a look of both sympathy and annoyance.
"Are you crying over a boy?" the ghost asked.
Hermione nodded without speaking. She sighed:
"They make me cry too. And sometimes they just piss me off, so I lock myself in the bathroom. That's how I died."
"Oh, I see..." said Hermione, not sure what else to say. It was very strange to talk about a girl's death in such a banal way.
"Yes..." she replied with a long sigh.
"Er... Do you live here?"
"Since I died, yes, I've been living in the girls' toilets."
Hermione didn't say anything, she was a little embarrassed to be with this very strange spectre. There was a long silence, Hermione was staring at the wall of the toilet cubicle opposite and the ghost was still lying there, in the moonlight, sighing every now and then. Then, all of a sudden, she exclaimed:
"My name is Myrtle Warren. What's your name?"
"Hermione Granger."
"Nice to meet you." the ghost said without making the slightest movement. "I'll go now, give you room to cry. I'm going to go to the bathroom on the second floor."
And she plunged back into the toilet with a bang. Hermione heard the sound of the pipes, then silence again.
She sat there for a long time, letting her thoughts drift. Sometimes the tears came and she did nothing to stop them. After a while -hours? - she heard the footsteps of Hogwarts students walking through the corridors, probably on their way to dinner. Hermione did not get up, and no one went into the toilets.
She heard the muffled sounds of conversations in the Great Hall. She wondered what the Halloween decorations looked like and if the buffet was as good as it had been on the first day when she heard the door open. Footsteps sounded. Then nothing. Hermione hesitated to poke her head out of the cabinet to observe the newcomer, when suddenly a thud exploded over her head. Reflexively, she lowered her neck to protect herself from the impact of the wall as it flew apart.
She rushed out of her now completely destroyed cabinet and saw the most terrifying thing she had ever seen in her life.
It was a troll. It must have been over twelve feet tall, and it was looking at Hermione with a silly look on its face, but threatening because of the club it was holding at arm's length and waving over its head, ready to strike at her.
Hermione screamed at the top of her voice and then slammed her back against the wall behind her, staring at the huge creature in front of her as it approached at a slow pace. As it passed, it amused itself by tearing all the sinks from the wall, producing a monstrous noise.
"Confuse it!" shouted a voice that Hermione couldn't identify, from behind the troll.
Something bounced against the monster's bald head and it stopped in its tracks, trying to find the source of whatever had hit it. Hermione saw out of the corner of her eye Harry Potter and Ron Weasley on the other side trying to lure the troll out of its path towards her.
The troll turned to Ron and Harry took the opportunity to rush at Hermione:
"Come on! Run! Run!" he said, grabbing her arm.
But Hermione was frozen in place, unable to move or look away from the monster. She had never been so scared in her life. Harry pulled away and grabbed the back of the troll's neck and stuck his wand in its nose, causing it to let out a howl of pain that made Hermione's blood run cold.
Without Hermione realising it, she found herself on the floor, her heart about to explode in her chest. Her hands were shaking, perhaps she had been hit on the head without realising it?
She looked idly at Ron and Harry who miraculously managed to knock the troll off. As he fell, the ground shook, causing the thin layer of dust on the floor to peel away. He was sprawled out, eyes glazed over and slightly ajar, with his club at arm's length rolling across the floor, inches away from Hermione's lifeless body.
"Is it.. is it dead?" she asked in a voice so faint that she wondered if they would hear it.
"I don't think so." said Harry. "He must be just knocked out."
The sound of the twelve feet tall troll crashing pitifully to the floor must have reverberated off the castle walls as much as it did in Hermione's head, because McGonagall came into the room in a panic, followed by Snape and Professor Quirrell. McGonagall looked at the monster, furious:
"What has gone through your mind?" she asked Harry and Ron.
Hermione realised that she probably couldn't see her in the debris of the sinks. She summoned her Gryffindor courage and stood up, ignoring her spinning head and her heart that still hadn't calmed down after seeing the troll walking towards her:
"Professor McGonagall, please don't be too harsh. They had come for me."
McGonagall turned to her. She was nothing like the enigmatic, smiling professor who had come to explain Hogwarts to her in London. Her face was livid, and her lips were tight and white from the anger that seemed to emanate from her.
"Miss Granger!"
"I went looking for the troll because I... I thought I could handle it myself. I've read a lot about trolls..." she invented. "If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead by now. Harry stuck his wand up his nose and Ron managed to knock him out with his own club. They didn't have time to go and find someone else. The troll was about to kill me when they arrived."
There was a long silence, where the Professor's eyes flicked from Ron, to Harry, to Hermione, and to the troll who was still on the floor passed out.
"In that case..." sighed McGonagall after a moment, her face as tight as ever, "But let me tell you, Miss Granger, you're a fool for thinking you could defeat a mountain troll all by yourself."
Hermione bowed her head. McGonagall continued:
"Miss Granger, your conduct will cost you five points in Gryffindor. I am very disappointed in you. If you are not injured, you had better return to your tower. The students are finishing the Halloween meal in their respective houses."
Hermione immediately stepped over the rest of the sinks and toilet seats to exit the room. She tried to ignore the painful sting that McGonagall's "I'm very disappointed in you" had caused her, as well as her stomach still contracting with fear, which only diminished once she was safely in the Common Room.
"Hermione, are you all right?" one of the Weasley twins asked as she came in.
"Yes, I'm fine." she lied. "I'm just waiting for Ron and Harry, they should be here any minute."
The twin nodded and went to sit down to eat. Hermione waited next to the portrait, and when Harry and Ron poked their heads through the hole, she whispered a hopefully sincere "Thank you." They said the same, and the three of them threw themselves into their meals.
They spent the rest of the Halloween evening recounting the event that had just happened over and over again, and by the end of the evening, Hermione's fear and sadness had miraculously vanished.
Draco
.
.
Ever since Draco had caught Granger crying on the bench outside, he hadn't seen her without her being with Weasley and Potter. They spent all their time together, for a whole week. They ate together, walked together, studied together, and sat next to each other in class all the time.
The only good thing about this new trio was that Granger looked a lot more smiley, but that didn't stop Draco from being very annoyed. After telling him several times that she didn't like Weasley and Potter very much, Granger had finally taken a liking to them. He wasn't sure what that meant to him, except that a strange friendship had just ended abruptly.
By the end of the week, Draco categorized Granger as a "person to avoid", because as far as he was concerned, she had joined their side. He couldn't keep talking to such a confusing girl, who in addition to being in Gryffindor, the rival house, was now hanging out with Weasley, Potter, and Longbottom. He had a reputation to uphold, and that was something to be written off.
On Sunday evening, Draco found Granger in the Library. It was the first time she'd been alone since the beginning of the week, and she had her nose buried in a book.
Driven by anger, he approached her.
"Granger?"
She lifted her head and almost grinned when she saw him:
"Hi Malfoy."
He kept a straight face. Could she not see that he was angry?
"I see you're definitely friends with Weasley and Potter now." he spat. "What about the 'I don't like them too much' thing you told me as recently as a month ago?"
Granger gave him a funny look.
"Um... I don't know, I guess we ended up becoming friends."
"Don't you remember what Weasley said to you last week?"
"I do, but after he saved my life, I decided to forgive him. And what do you care? Do I make remarks to you about who you hang out with?"
"I don't hang out with people like them."
"Them?"
"A traitor of his blood, poor guy who follows Potter around in the hope that he'll give him the fame he doesn't deserve, because he didn't do anything, he grew up in a Muggle house!"
Hermione opened her eyes wide and abruptly put her book back on the table:
"You really are impossible! Do you realise what you're saying?"
"I thought you agreed with me, until now." he replied dryly.
"I certainly didn't. I didn't like them much, but I never insulted them. What did they do to you that you could say things like that without regret?"
"I hate them, Granger. I thought that was clear."
"I see. Then I guess you'll have to hate me too, in that case."
"So, have you chosen your side?"
"If you feel there are many sides, yes. I think you'll soon understand why I can't be your friend, Malfoy."
"You seem to have thought this through. Yet, only a week ago you were crying on a bench because that shitty Weasley insulted you."
"And I'm sorry if you took my rejection the wrong way."
"What? I didn't take it wrong... Do you really think I care enough about you to give a damn?"
Granger shrugged.
"I don't know, you seem pretty frustrated."
"Frustrated?!"
Draco felt anger rising, so he preferred to cut the conversation short:
"If you want to hang out with Weasley and Potter, just do that. You're not going to come crying to me when one of them dumps you in three weeks time because your sobbing Miss-Know-It-All nature will resurface."
And he turned and walked out of the Library before Granger could reply.
That was it, it was decided. Hermione Granger had become his enemy.