Chapter 7
After Malfoy left the bathroom, Hermione just on the floor thinking. He had held her. He had comforted her. The teary eyed girl was in shock. Her and her friend’s greatest enemy since day one just held her after she had screamed at him. How freaking weird! Malfoy can show compassion! It’s so twilight zone! Wait ‘til I tell Harry and Ron. They won’t believe it! Well, if they even hear me talk. Hermione stood shakily up. She was still disoriented after crying so much. And falling to the floor didn’t help either. Hermione walked determinedly to her room and slowly changed into her school uniform. After pulling on her robes she walked down the stairs with a brisk pace, determined to not see Malfoy this morning so she wouldn’t have to talk to him about what just happened.
When Hermione had finally reached the Gryffindor table panting, she had to walk down five floors from the other side of the school, she sat down wearily next to Ron. “Hey!” she said to Harry and Ginny who were sitting across from her, giggling and whispering.
“Hello Hermione! How was your morning?” Ginny asked Hermione while trying to stop herself from laughing.
“Ah, fine. Well, okay. I mean, I had a total breakdown after Malfoy walked in on me in the bathroom, and then I started to cry and” Hermione said while looking confusedly at the pair of laughing Gryffindors across the table from her.
“WHAT!” Ron screamed. Hermione looked at him with wide eyes. Well, everyone in the hall looked at him. “MALFOY WALKED IN ON YOU IN THE BATHROOM!?!?!? WHERE’S THAT TWITCHY LITTLE FERET, HERMIONE?”
Ron started to violently whip his head from side to side, looking for Malfoy. Once he caught sight of the blonde Slytherin, he leapt from his seat screaming “I’M GOING TO GET YOU, YOU EVIL FERRET!”
Hermione was watching, along with the rest of the Great Hall, in amazement. As Ron started to run forward towards the Slytherin table, Seamus (yelling “GET HIM!”), Dean, Neville, and Harry (who leapt over the table), jumped on Ron as he started. When Ron stopped twitching it was evident that he had given up under the weight of his mates. Hermione put her head on the table and covered her face with her elegant brown hair, knowing her cranial region was as red as a cherry. One by one the boys slowly got off Ron, afraid he would start running towards the Slytherin table again.
Ron finally was able to stand up and he brushed himself off along with the others, (it took Harry a little longer because he had eggs, syrup, and pancakes down his front.), then sat down. Asking calmly, “So Hermione, as I was saying, Malfoy walked in on you in the bathroom?”
Malfoy’s mouth was still hanging open when Ron had sat down. Hermione had told them. Well, tried to. Weasel had freaked and would have tried to kill him. Granger had been so embarrassed, it was kinda cute. He thought observantly to himself. Oh Merlin! Here I go again with “cute”! Groaning he closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.
“Something wrong, mate?” Blaise asked from across the table.
“Nothing’s wrong. Weasel was going to make a feeble attempt at trying to kill me and I was trying not to laugh.” Malfoy snapped at his “best” mate. If you could say he had a mate.
“Yes it was rather hilarious. But he said something about you walking in on the mudblood earlier? What was it like? She definitely has a lot more to give than she did last year. Did you her ass in that skirt? Nice, for a mudblood.” Blaise said to Malfoy while leaning in so as not to be over heard. “She would be great for a quick shag in the hall. But she’s never shagged anyone before, so she wouldn’t be good at it. Shame.” Ending his sentence in a whisper.
Malfoy jumped out of his seat. “Yeah, it would be great. Come on, let’s go tell her.” He demanded as he walked over to the Gryffindor table.
With Blaise following along behind him with Crab and Goyle, they reached the Gryffindor table. “Hello blood-traitor and company. We just came to tell you a little interesting fact we have decided is all to true to be ignored. Didn’t we Blaise?”
“Yes that is the reason Malfoy. It’s a very interesting fact. Should I tell them Malfoy?” He asked Malfoy with a hint of sarcasm as Hermione turned a bright, bright red, afraid she knew what that “fact” was. Draco nodded towards Blaise in an elegant manner.
“Well, Mr. Malfoy and I have decided that Miss. Granger would be an excellent choice to shag. If only she had experience.” Blaise stated nonchalantly and walked away, Malfoy walking next to him and his cronies, Crab and Goyle, walking behind them.
“What the hell was that about?” Ginny asked no one in particular. The trio just shrugged and gathered up their stuff to leave.
The four friends split up, Harry and Ron walking to the Divination tower, Ginny and Hermione walking towards the Muggle Studies and Arithmancy classrooms. “So Ginny, what was with you and Harry this morning?” Hermione asked her blushing friend.
“Oh, nothing. He just asked me out earlier this morning.” She said in a would be ‘I-don’t-care-voice’ but the fact that her face was the same bright red as her hair gave her away.
“How great Ginny! I know you’ve liked him for so long! I told you he liked you! Oh my Merlin! This is great! You two make the cutest couple! Oh! If you guys get married then Harry and Ron will be brothers-in-law! Oh, they would love that! EEEE! This is SO cool!” She rambled excitedly to her only female companion.
“Thanks Hermione, but I got to go now! Talk to you later, okay?” She asked her brunette friend while walking off along the right fork in a hallway towards her Muggle Studies classroom while Hermione walked towards the left to her Arithmancy class.
Hermione sighed. It was so lonely walking towards the Arithmancy classroom. Since it was the only classroom in that direction the few people that walked the hallway were the students, and there weren’t many students. She heard footsteps behind falling rapidly behind her. Looking up she saw the last person she wanted to be alone with in a hallway. Malfoy.
Oh yah! I get to be with a guy who has no belief in my privacy and thinks I’d be great at shagging if I did it a few times. Yah! This will be fun. She thought to herself sarcastically and bitterly.
“Morning Malfoy. That was a very interesting fact earlier. Glad to know you’re discussing me.” She said with such a high amount of fake joy in her voice that Malfoy stopped walking.
“Yes, well. After what happened this morning, I figured” Malfoy started to say before he was ‘rudely interrupted.’
“I don’t want to talk about what happened this morning Malfoy.” Hermione said then, giving Malfoy the cold shoulder, she walked down the hall so fast Malfoy had to jog to keep up with her.
“Hermione, I was just going to say after what happened this morning I just thought that I could talk to you somewhat civilly. Especially since we’re both Heads, weather we like it or not. And besides, Blaise was the one who made that cunning observation, not me.” He told Hermione while they walked, or jogged, together to the Arithmancy classroom.
When they stopped outside the door, Hermione said “Well, I suppose you’re right. Draco.”
To her obvious and immediate surprise, Malfoy opened the door for her. “Thank you, Draco. That’s very nice of you. I didn’t really think you could be this nice. At least not in public.” She said politely.
“You learn something new everyday. And not just from the teachers.” He smiled and continually held the door out for her, this time gesturing with his free hand towards the classroom.
Hermione nodded towards him and thought, Wow! Wait until I tell Ginny. Draco Malfoy held the door open for me! And smiled! I didn’t know he could smile! as she walked through the door with Draco and a tingling sensation in her stomach.