(A/N: Read)
Draco woke up the next morning, well rested and ready to start the day, but not necessarily willing to. He quickly got dressed to find Hermione downstairs sitting in front of the fire and sipping coffee. Draco looked over to the kitchen in hopes to see a more.
"Is there any more coffee?" Draco asked somewhat civil.
Hermione looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. She casually got up and walked over to the kitchen grabbing the nearly full pot of coffee. Draco's lit up with relief seeing as he really needed a pick-me-up. Hermione smiled at Draco and he suddenly became nervous; he didn't know how to react to one of his arch enemies smiling at him like they were best friends. Seconds later, Hermione walked over to the sink and poured the coffee down the drain. Draco's eyes grew wide and his draw dropped as if she had just performed and Unforgivable in front of him.
Hermione then turned around, still smiling, and casually said "No" as she went back to the fire place and continued sipping her coffee and reading her book.
"Bloody psycho" Draco muttered under his breath and stormed out of the Head's common room swearing and slamming the door. The corner of Hermione's mouth curled up into a smirk.
Draco stomped his way to the Great Hall and sat next to Blaise. Draco was still swearing under his breath and ranting about "stupid mudbloods" and "bloody know-it-alls." Blaise just continued to look at him with a raised eyebrow, wondering what was wrong with his friend. Feeling someone's gaze upon him, Draco looked up at Blaise. There was a little moment of silence until Blaise spoke up.
"Want some coffee?" he said holding up a mug.
Draco's eyes flared with anger and his fists pounded the table as he let out a growl of frustration. The entire Great Hall looked over at him with curiosity and many girls had looks of sympathy for the Slytherin Prince as the guys smirked and snickered, Harry and Ron among them.
"All you had to say was no" said Blaise simply, not at all fazed by his fellow Slytherin's outburst. He began to lift the coffee mug up to his mouth when Draco snatched it from him hands.
"Give me that you git" Draco said.
Blaise smirked at him. Draco began sipping his coffee with annoyance. His first day as Head Boy had not gone as he had it expected.
"So, what has your knickers riding up your arse?" Blaise questioned.
Draco looked up from his coffee and his thoughts and spoke to Blaise. "A certain little mudblood who thinks she can just do whatever she wants. Does she realize who I am? She needs to give respect to which respect is due."
"Oh forgive me your grace" Blaise said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"I'm not bloody joking. I don't know how much I can take of Granger before I Avada her in her sleep" Draco said grumpily.
"I'm sure you would like to visit her in her sleep" Blaise said smirking.
Draco sat there and stared blankly at him. "When are you going to let that go?"
"When I get my 50 galleons"
Before Draco could retort, they both noticed a certain Gryffindor enter the Great Hall with an accomplished twinkle in her eyes.
"Good morning boys" Hermione said cheerfully.
Ron took a quick second away from his food and gave Hermione a kiss on the cheek. "G'morning 'Mione"
"Morning" Harry said after also giving her a kiss on the cheek.
Ginny gave a warm, welcoming smile to Hermione and continued to hold hands and talk with Harry.
Pushing back his plate, Ron looked at Hermione, noticing how happy she was. "Why are you so cheerful this morning?"
The question got the attention of Harry and he was instantly interested in his friend's good mood.
"I am proud to say that I have officially made the start of Malfoy's day a complete disaster" Hermione said with a feeling of accomplishment.
"That's our girl!" Ginny said from the other side of Harry.
"This is great," Ron said, "now you can make Malfoy miserable whenever we can't"
"She'll probably do as better a job than we would eh Ron?" Harry added comically.
The trio laughed and did not notice the glare hitting them from the other side of the room. Suddenly a loud tapping of glass was heard all throughout the Great Hall followed by McGonagall's voice.
"May I have your attention please?"
Just then, Dumbledore stood up with a warm smile. "Welcome students to your first day of term. I hope you all had good nights sleep, and a happy morning"
At that, Draco scoffed.
"Now with no more delay," Dumbledore swished his wand and schedules appeared in front of each student, "let your learning begin"
Hermione smiled in excitement as Harry and Ron both groaned in the thought of having to learn something so early in the morning. Hermione gave Ginny a hug goodbye and waved to her bodyguards as she practically skipped her way to her first class: Advanced Arithmancy, which was her favorite subject. Lost in her thoughts, Hermione made her way to her class room succeeding in bumping into someone in the process.
"Oh, terribly sorry, I-" Hermione began before she was cut off.
"Honestly mudblood, how many times are you going to run into me like this before I have to call the ministry and set a restraining order?" the Slytherin said.
Draco turned around rubbing his head and glaring at her.
"Malfoy!" Hermione said angrily, "what are you doing here!"
"I really am starting to doubt your academic reputation Granger, I happen to go to school here and I am also Head Boy in case you have already forgotten" Draco replied smoothly.
Hermione's anger increased as she felt like whipping out her wand and reliving the ferret incident. "Very funny you git, why are you standing outside the Advanced Arithmancy classroom?"
Draco looked at her in disbelief. Surely, he thought, the Head Girl and the so called smartest witch of their age couldn't be that oblivious to the obvious.
"I'm Head Boy for a reason Granger, I didn't get the position by tap dancing in Dumbledore's office, this is my first class of the day" he said as he walked into the classroom, leaving Hermione there speechless and in fact, insulted.
She stormed into the classroom and took a seat on the opposite side of the room from Draco. They gave one last glare at each other before they gave their attention to the teacher up front.
"Good morning class" said Professor Vector.
"Good morning Professor Vector" replied the class as a union.
"Today we will dive right into the lesson, Arithmancy is not an easy subject, and Advanced Arithmancy at that" she said as she looked around the room impressed by the number of students interested in what she believed was a fascinating subject. "As you all know, Arithmancy is a branch of magic concerned with the magical properties of numbers. It is an ancient system of fortune telling based on names and numbers used for over 2000 years and can calculate anything from strengths, weaknesses, and even the future. Who can give me a standard name calculated in Arithmancy?" Professor Vector asked.
Both Hermione and Draco's hands shot up. The professor looked at the both of them with pride for she had had the two of them as students in the past, but never in the same classroom.
"Mr. Malfoy, please tell me the corresponding letters to the numerical value of 5?"
Draco looked over to his left and smirked at Hermione. He looked back at Professor Vector and calmly said "E, N, and W."
"Very good Mr. Malfoy, 5 points to Slytherin" Professor Vector said. She then turned to Hermione. "Ms. Granger, would you please tell me the corresponding letters to the numerical value of 8?"
This time, Hermione looked over to her right and smirked at Malfoy and he rolled his eyes, turning away from her.
"That would be H, Q, and Z professor" Hermione said politely.
"Excellent! 5 points to Gryffindor as well"
Throughout the rest of the class period, the battle continued between the Slytherin and the Gryffindor as the rest of the class, mainly Ravenclaws, watched in admiration of their Head Boy and Head Girl. Professor Vector herself had never witnessed such a display of knowledge in her classroom. Because it was only the first day of class, almost the entire period was spent on review questions which were only answered by either Hermione or Draco. As soon as it started, Arithmancy was over and it was time for their next class.
For the next three classes, the Head Boy and Head Girl found themselves in the same classroom yet again, wondering if their schedules were identical replicas of each other. From what they knew so far, the two shared Advanced Arithmancy, Advanced Transfiguration, Advanced Charms, and Advanced Ancient Ruins. It was not lunch time and Harry, Ron, and Ginny were sitting at their usual spot on the table, waiting for Hermione. The three were laughing and joking around when an angry Hermione slammed her books onto the table causing them to jump.
"He's driving me crazy!" she almost yelled.
The two red heads and the one jet black head looked at the frustrated brunette.
"Do we have to ask who?" Harry spoke.
"Malfoy! I've had class with him all day and it's been nothing but hell! He's been in all of my classes so far! ALL OF THEM! And he's made sure to make me miserable all along the way. I'd answer a question, then him, then me, then him! It's non stop! That little ferret boy is going to be the end of me" she finished and sat down across from the three.
"Merlin 'Mione, who knew someone could get you to go mad like that" Ron said
Hermione looked up at him and glared. Ron gulped and looked down at his food.
"You guys have no idea what I had to go through. You'll see soon enough though" she said.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked curiously.
"We have Advanced Potions next period" Hermione stated simply.
Harry and Ron both groaned and Ginny quietly giggled on the side. Ron even pushed his plate away due to the loss of apatite.
"'Mione, I don't know if I'm ever going to forgive you for forcing us to take that class" Ron moaned.
"Yeah, I didn't know we would even qualify for Advanced Potions" Harry agreed.
Hermione looked at her two best friends in astonishment. "Well MAYBE you two shouldn't have talked me in to writing your potions essays for the past six years!"
Harry and Ron looked at each other wide eyed knowing she was right. "I knew I should have just failed like that class like Seamus…" Ron said.
"Hey!" Seamus said just a few seats away from him
"Oops" Ron said.
They all laughed and Hermione had the first smile on her face since breakfast.
Meanwhile, a certain Slytherin walked into the Great Hall, and he was, for lack of a better word, pissed. He walked over to Blaise and slammed his books down on the table.
"She's driving me crazy!"
Blaise looked at his friend and raised his eyebrow. "Do I have to ask who?"
"I have had to deal with that know-it-all mudblood all day and I assure you it isn't good for my health!" Draco said as Blaise responded with mere laughter. "I'm being serious you tosh pot"
"Alls I know is, it's your problem. I am not involved what so ever" Blaise said as he picked up his fork and continued eating his lunch.
"Bull shit you're not involved! You're next class is with me" Draco said evilly.
"And why is that important?"
Draco rolled his eyes. "Because it's Advanced Potions and naturally Granger is bound to be there"
Blaise looked at Draco up and down, and unknowingly at the same time, Harry and Ron were giving Hermione the same look as the three boys said to their best friend "Honestly, it can't be that bad"
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"Woah…" said Harry, Blaise, and Ron in a union as they watched Draco and Hermione in action. Only this time, the war of which was going on since the start of the morning had reached it's climax, and now the Head Boy and Girl were standing up near their potions station aiming their wands at each other.
"You bloody git! I'm gonna turn you back into a ferret like back when times were simpler!"
"Ms. Granger put away your wand!" Snape said trying to demand order.
"Shut up you dirty blooded simpleton! I'll make you wish you stayed at your little muggle school where you belong!"
"Mr. Malfoy! Sit down!" tried Snape again.
Draco and Hermione continued to yell obscenities to each other as the rest of the class was either talking to their neighbor about the situation in order or even placing bets on who would win in a duel.
Blaise, who was working in the table next to Harry and Ron leaned over and said "Aren't you going to step in?"
Harry and Ron looked over at the Slytherin with eyebrows raised.
"Uh, naturally we would, but we know 'Mione is more than capable of blowing Malfoy's arse off" Harry said.
"Not to mention this is the best Potions class I've ever had" Ron added as he was eating snacks he snuck into the room and watching the argument.
"Ooo, Pass some here!" Blaise said hopefully and Ron tossed him over a chocolate frog.
After more yelling and threats, Professor McGonagall finally came into the dungeons and saw the horror of the two Heads getting ready to kill each other. With a flick of her wand, both Draco and Hermione flew on opposite sides of the room into a chair. On instinct, they tried to get up but found that they could not move nor talk. The rest of the students moaned and groaned that the fight was over as Draco sat there with his arms folded and glared at the wall to his right to avoid eye contact with anyone. Hermione on the other hand bowed her head in shame for acting like such a fool in front of her head of house.
"Now both of you will follow me to my office…NOW!" McGonagall said forcefully
The two students got up, still unable to talk, and followed the professor in silence. Once in her office, McGonagall flicked her wand again and stared at the two people who are suppose to be the role models for the rest of the student body.
"I am very ashamed of you both. It is only the first day of term and yet you have managed to do everything except get along. You are Head Boy and Head Girl! It is your duty to set an example for the younger years! I knew that something like this would happen, and yet Professor Dumbledore still wanted to put a pair as such together. I did not want to say this, but if you two can't get along, then we are just going to have to find ourselves a new Head Boy and Girl."
At this Hermione's head shot up and Draco looked like he had just been given the ultimate insult.
"Professor no! Please, give us another chance, I promise we can make this work" Hermione pleaded.
McGonagall looked over at Draco who just nodded his head vigorously. After a few moments of silence, McGonagall spoke again in warning.
"I am counting on the both of you. One more screw up, and you will be replaced. I'll have you know that there are runner ups before you who can do this just as good if not better. Is that understood?"
"Yes Professor" the students said as a union.
With that, they were excused and Professor McGonagall fell back onto her armchair with a headache. The truth was, there was no runner up. Draco and Hermione had the best academic records Hogwarts had ever seen. Denying them the role as head students would be like denying owls the right to fly, some things were just meant to be as nature intended.
Draco and Hermione went the rest of their classes without speaking to each other, and to know surprise, yes, their schedules were identical replicas. This meant that the two would be seeing each other the majority of the year. They would have to go to class together and even live together and still be expected to "get along."
Now it was dinner time and Hermione met up with her friends.
"How are you feeling?" Ginny said sympathetically.
Hermione sad down beside her and put her head down on the table.
"That bad huh?" Ginny said rubbing her back.
"If Malfoy and I don't get along, we'll be discharged from our Head duties and we'll be replaced"
Ginny gasped. "That's horrible!"
"I know…"
Harry and Ron who were busy stuffing their face at the time tried to make her feel better.
"You know Hermione, I'm sure if McGonagall hadn't stepped in, you would have sent Malfoy home crying into his mummy's arms." Harry said cheerfully.
"Yeah, and all of Gryffindor House would have thrown a party in your honor" Ron added.
The Gryffindors spent the rest of their dinner talking about anything other than Draco Malfoy. On the other side of the Great Hall however, Draco was feeling the same Hermione was, not knowing which was worth more: Being Head Boy or his pride.
"In all honesty mate, you need to let go of the whole mudblood thing." Blaise slipped in.
Draco looked at his friend. "Even if I did let go of the 'mudblood thing,' it doesn't change the fact that Granger will always be Granger, whether I kill her or not."
"Hmm, she does seem like the type who would come back to haunt you. Maybe it's a sign, you two will be together even after death" Blaise said comically.
"I am NOT getting together with Granger!"
"Sure you're not"
And with that, the rest of dinner went on with no more conversation concerning the Golden Trio member. Draco and Blaise walked out of the Great Hall together, talking about Quidditch. Just then Draco was pounded in the shoulder hard by someone. Draco was almost certain that it would be Hermione again, but when he turned around, he saw something quite unexpected.
"Watch where you're going dirt" said Elias Navarro with a look of disgust in his face.
The students who saw the incident gasped loudly. No one would ever dare call Draco Malfoy dirt, his blood was far from it, and so was his looks and reputation. Even those who hated Draco with all of their being couldn't believe the words that had just left the foreigner's mouth.
Draco's eyes narrowed and pierced into Elias with a passion of hate. He stepped closer to the boy and found himself to be just a few inches taller than the Spanish wizard.
"Considering the fact that you're new here, perhaps you should be informed. I am Draco Malfoy, descendant of one of the oldest wizarding families of time with more galleons to fill your pathetic country from border to border. I don't care what Royal Family you're from princess, you're on my turf now, and you will do best to give respect to which respect is due"
Elias glared back at Draco matching his hate inch for inch. "You will de best to bow down to me and fetch me a glass of water like the servant you are"
With that, Draco made his way to launch himself onto the pain from Spain, but was held back by Blaise.
"How dare you! No one, NO ONE, calls me a servant. You don't know who you're dealing with Navarro. You'll regret you ever stepped foot into my world."
Just then the Trio walked in on the scene. Hermione, being Head Girl, took it upon herself to see what the problem was.
"What's going on here!" Hermione yelled
"This doesn't concern you Granger" Draco said to her.
"The hell it doesn't! I am Head Girl and I have a duty to-"
"Oh, so you're Hermione Granger" Elias said, turning away from Draco and looking at Hermione up and down.
Hermione blushed slightly at his eyes. "Y-yes"
Elias's eyes quickly turned into cold plates of steel. "I find it pathetic and disgusting for a school to choose such mudblood filth as its representative"
Hermione's eyes lit with fire, but before she could whip out her wand, Draco broke free of Blaise's grasp and punched Elias straight in the jaw. He fell to the ground and Draco put his foot in the middle of his neck to hold him down as he whipped out his wand.
"Don't you ever, EVER, call her a mudblood again. Do you understand me?" Draco growled, unsure of why he was so furious. Elias could not say nor do nothing. As a matter of fact, Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Blaise too had no words for what had just happened. Draco gave one last push on Elias's neck and walked away from the scene.
The trio and Blaise looked back and forth to each other and asking questions with their eyes while shrugging. Hermione did not know whether she should be angry for Draco being a hypocrite, grateful that he stood up for her, or sympathetic for what might come of his actions. She followed him back to the Head's tower and tried to look for him. She needed explanations. When she finally found him, he was sitting on the sofa watching the fire.
"Malfoy!" Hermione said relieved
Draco lifted up his head, and as soon as he saw her face, he got up and started to make his way to his room.
"Malfoy stop! Why did you do it? Aren't you worried that a teacher might find out what you did to Elias? Malfoy! Draco!"
Draco stopped at the sound of his name. He turned around and looked at her with stern eyes. "Only I can call you mudblood" he said, and he swiftly turned around and slammed his door.
Hermione still stood there in the common room, not sure if she should feel angry or flattered. Frustrated, Hermione made her way up to her bedroom and got ready for bed. She had enough fighting with Draco that day to last her at least a week. After she took a shower, an idea hit her and she fumbled around in her trunk looking for a post it note. She scribbled a short message and left it on the mirror. With that, she slipped into her pajamas and fell right to sleep, trying to figure out the mystery behind Draco's words.
Hours later, Draco woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. He flipped on the bathroom switched and rubbed his eyes on the way to the toilet. When his business was finished, he looked up while he was washing his hands to find a square piece of pink paper attached to the mirror. Draco had to rub his eyes a couple more times to make sure what he was seeing was real. He took the note off the mirror to take a better look of it. His insides warmed and he suddenly didn't feel as hateful as he did just a few hours ago. His faced softened, and he made his way back to his luxurious four poster bed as he lay down and put the note beside him. Draco closed his eyes, and dreamt about the words found on the little piece of paper.
Draco,
Thank you.
-Hermione
(A/N: and Review!)