Our Constellation--Dramione

Chapter Two

Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me, plotlines, characters, places, events (etc.) all belong to J.K. Rowling, she is the rightful owner. When a character is created by me, you'll know right away ;)

A/N: Heads up, this is a bit of a longer chapter!

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16-17 December 1997

Hermione groaned and held her breath as a way of choking the wails threatening to erupt from her vocal cords. She had climbed up onto the bed, no longer afraid to stain the sheets with her blood. She was sick and tired of being clean, and right now, she just wanted her baby to come out safely.

The light of the buttery-yellow moon shone through the window and caught her eye. She could just barely make out the shapes of the constellations present in tonight's sky. She thought of the archer. It was their constellation and she missed those nights where she could sit beside him. She would never tell him that his presence was her main source of warmth and comfort.

Hermione snorted and laughed maniacally at her misfortune.

--

She sat outside in the bitter cold. She'd always been the brightest student, so it came as no surprise that she was willing to do anything to improve her already-flawless marks. Even if that meant partnering with the enemy and being his astronomy partner for the remainder of the term.

Of course, Harry and Ron had called her crazy. Professor Sinistra called her determined and wise, and both were true.

But it didn't make pairing up with Malfoy for the project any easier.

The project? Each couple was assigned a constellation that they would study until the end of the year. Constellations would be charted out, a map needed to be drawn, and the myths behind each cluster were to be presented and memorize as if it were their favourite story in the world.

Hermione might have been inspired if she hadn't been paired with the carbon copy of the devil himself.

Nonetheless, she sauntered up beside him and waited patiently for their assigned constellation. Sinistra handed them their materials and wrote out SAGITTARIUS on their collective parchment.

--

A shot of pain fired through her petite body.

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"Have you tried asking Professor Sinistra if she would recommend any books to you from the library as part of the research? That would be a marvelous place to start," Hermione snapped dryly, evidently annoyed with her counterpart for the project.

"Seldom do I ask for the opinions of another person. I'm mostly concerned about me, myself, and I, thank you very much."

"Yes, terribly concerned for yourself, you're willing to risk your grade and mine because you're so pig-headed as to not ask for help once in a while," she said, dropping down the stone steps toward the hill looking out on Hagrid's Hut.

"Anything to ruffle your feathers, Granger."

Although it was nighttime, there was enough candlelight illuminating the grounds for them to navigate through. It was very cold outside and the two partners huffed large airs of fluffy mist.

"Sagittarius should be... there." Hermione pointed up into the sky, just above the silhouette of the Forbidden Forest.

"Sagittarius is a dull name."

"Hey, I didn't name it, so don't pester me about your disliking for it."

"I know that, Granger! Merlin," he groaned, "must you treat me like those blithering idiots whom you call your friends?"