Author's Note: I know this was originally a oneshot, but because of all the alerts I got for it, I'm adding another two chapters: this and one after it. I hope you like it. Tell me what you think.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, or avpm/s. Thought you should know.
Point One
Hermione sat quietly in the library before breakfast, so engrossed in her reading that the large group of angry girls stalking their way to her went unnoticed. They surrounded her usual table, trapping her, glaring daggers at the renowned Gryffindor Bookworm. Several minutes had passed before, finally, the bushy-haired girl looked up to see the mob that had gathered around her.
"May I help you?" she asked in her confusion.
"What did you do to Malfoy?" the leader, Lavender Brown, shrieked angrily.
"Malfoy?" Hermione asked, her eyebrows raising up at that. "Should I have done something? The only thing I can remember ever doing to him is the occasional nickname or two- and there was also that time I punched him in third year-"
"Not that!" Pansy Parkinson interrupted impatiantly. "Did you bribe him? Galleons? Quidditch tickets? Sex?"
"What?" she yelled incredulously. "I would never-"
"Maybe you made this yourself and just put his name on it!" accused Parvati Patil.
"His name on wha-"
"You've always just been a little attention seeking whore-"
"SHUT YOUR UNGODLY LOPSIDED MOUTHS AND QUIT INTERRUPTING ME! For Merlin's sake." Hermione panted, her cheeks flushed from her own anger. "Now, can someone please explain to me why I have a horde of girls ready to kill me in the library without hesitation or regret?"
Silently, a fifth year Ravenclaw girl whom Hermione had never met handed her folded sheet of parchment. With a raised eyebrow, the brunette unfolded it, only to pause at the title.
HOGWARTS' HOTTEST
by Draco Malfoy
"What the hell does this have to do with me?" Hermione questioned, bewildered.
"Just keep reading," stated a stiff Sally-Anne Perks. Hermione did as instructed. She noticed that it seemed to be a list of the hottest girls in school- in ascending order. She fought back a giggle seeing Lavender at the very top, before Pansy Parkinson and even Millicent Bulstrode. She was a bit curious as to why her name wasn't at the top, but figured Malfoy just didn't want to defile his work by having her name on it. So, it came as a surprise when she finally did reach her name.
...
Greengrass, Astoria: 8
Fawcett, Sara: 8.1
Vane, Romilda: 8.2
Bones, Susan: 8.3
Turpin, Lisa: 8.3
Lympsham, Scarlett: 8.4
Greengrass, Daphne: 8.5
Weasley, Ginny: 8.5
Lovegood, Luna: 8.7
Granger, Hermione: 9.8
Hermione was speechless. To say she was shocked would be like saying that Tom Riddle had slight anger management issues. Or that he was a bit off his rocker.
Malfoy thought she was hot? So much so that she was the hottest girl in school? Godric, she was the only girl who got a nine! Nevermind that it's only point two away from a perfect ten!
After her thoughts managed to calm down a bit, one thought became very clear to her.
Malfoy was up to something.
That little shit!
Draco was about ready to pull his hair out. All day he had been greeted with pissed off glares (more than the usual amount)- from both girls and some guys who were for some reason comforting their girlfriends, teary glances, and nods of approval. He ended up skipping all of the days classes.
It was after dinner and he finally decided to go somewhere away from all of the attention, somewhere no one would ever suspect he'd be.
The library.
Upon reaching it, he decided to go further in the back so that no one would find him- unless they were really desperate. He spotted Granger bent over a book, turning the pages harshly, her eyes narrowed. He cocked his head to the side- perhaps he wasn't the only one having a bad day. Well, it didn't matter, because his day was about to get better.
Picking on Granger always seemed to make him feel lighter inside.
"Geez, Granger, what the hell did this book ever do to you?" He plucked it out of her hands. "Holy Merlin! This book is ancient!"
"It's not that old," Granger defended weakly.
"Not that old? Granger, it still refers to dementors as ringwraiths." Draco deadpanned, scanning through a random page.
"Give it back, Malfoy." She sighed tiredly. "I'm just having a really bad day, and-" she cut herself off, realization lighting her eyes. "You!"
"Me!" Draco yelled, mocking her.
"You..."
"Very articulate, Granger," he drawled sarcastically.
"It's your fault I've been chased around by angry girls all day, calling me a cheat, a liar, and-and," Hermione was practically flailing as she continued. "And a whole lot of rather inappropriate names that I'd much rather avoid repeating."
"So it's my fault you're getting bullied by someone other than me?" Draco asked. "And just how does that work?" She handed him the same parchment she was given wordlessly.
"Zabini, you idiot..." he glanced up at the mad brunette with her hands on her hips. "It was a joke!"
"Well, your joke has gotten me name-calling, egg in my hair, missing textbooks, and hot pink poka-dotted socks!"
"It wasn't even my list, it's-"
"Ha! So you and Malfoy have been secretly seeing each other this whole time!" The voice of Padma Patil interrupted Draco's confession.
"This is just a complete misunder-"
"Absolutely nothing is going-"
"First you steal Ron from me and now you're taking Malfoy? You really are a slag," Lavender sneered.
"Now just wait a sec-"
"You're not even that pretty," Millicent complained. Like she's one to talk!
"As fun as this is, I think I'll be going now," Draco said, attempting to sneak off before he lost a limb.
"Not before you fix your stupid list and put your girlfriend were she belongs- the bottom."
"Technically, I was on the bottom-" Hermione corrected, but was soon interrupted. Again. One more time and she's going to snap at these morons. You'd think they would've learned from the last time.
"Oh my God, Hermione, shut up!"
"I'm just trying to calm the situation down before-"
"Before what?" a random Gryffindor snapped.
She's had enough!
Before anyone could even process it, Hermione's wand was out, pointed directly at Lavender. Hermione exhaled from her nose, trying to calm herself, but knowing it wouldn't help. Her frustration had been building up all day, and it was time to vent.
"Now," she breathed. "I think it's time we quit bickering and talk through this like adults. First, I'd like an apology for all the crap you've been pulling on me today, and I want you to take back all of those immature names you've been calling me- behind my back and to my face, " she said this all in a frighteningly calm voice.
"Yeah, and all that stuff about Granger being my girlfriend, it's not even a little bit true," Draco piped in from behind her. So what if he was hiding behind a girl? He's still a Slytherin, after all. Self-preservation first.
Hermione noticed that Draco's little input snapped the girls out of their fear-filled gaze. After all, brightest-witch-of-her-year Hermione Granger couldn't take on twenty-plus girls at one time. No matter how talented she was. She cursed, grabbed Malfoy's wrist and ran away, hoping they'd be too shocked by her retreat to move immediately, giving them a headstart.
Hermione pulled Malfoy to one of the secret passageways that she frequented- it was the closest one to the Gryffindor Common Room that led to the library- and shoved him in. Once she was sure they were safely hidden, she leaned against the wall to calm her breath.
"That... sucked... royal hippogriff..." Draco let out between pants.
"If you... hadn't... named... me the... hottest girl in... school," she coughed loudly, "this wouldn't have... happened."
"It was a joke!" Draco protested, his breath finally caught.
"Really?" she asked, obviously not believing his excuse. "If it was, it wasn't a very funny one."
"Of course it was a joke! I'd rather be a Herbology Professor than go out with you." Draco could have sworn she looked a bit disappointed at that, but it was gone just as soon as it appeared. Suddenly, an eyebrow was quirked and a smirk was on her face as she looked at him knowingly.
"Too bad you were joking, Professor," she mocked. "Because I could've been your greatest adventure."
As Hermione turned to walk down the passageway, opposite where they had entered, Draco couldn't halp but watch her with one thought in mind:
Definitely a nine point nine.
AN: Okay, yeah, definitely OOC for Hermione to say over half the things she did, but I couldn't figure out a way to incorporate the quotes elsewhere. R&R