The Dragon and the Angel - [Draco/Hermione]

Chapter Two - Late Night Meetings

Chapter Two - Late Night Meetings

As everyone left the Great Hall that evening, after the feast, Draco Malfoy caught a glimpse of Hermione, Harry and Ron, laughing as they made their way to Gryffindor Tower. He bitterly envied them; they obviously didn't have anything on their minds.

What was spinning through Draco's head as he made his way down to the dungeons was what Professor McGonagall had said to him after he asked why he was made Head Boy.

"Professor Dumbledore's painting requested it, Mr. Malfoy; I don't know why, since..." she had trailed off, but Draco could finish the sentence himself: "Since you tried to kill him."

Draco arrived at the wall that hid the common room. Laughing as he remembered the same password from his second year, he said, "Pure-blood."

The wall rumbled and created a passage into the common room - a low-ceilinged , dungeon-like room with greenish lamps and chairs.

"Draco!" 

Blaise Zabini, one of his only true friends, was waving him over from the couch where he sat with Pansy and Goyle. As Draco made his way towards them, he chose to bluntly ignore the look of longing on Pansy's face and sit as far away from her as possible, next to Blaise. 

"What's going on?" he asked.

"We were wondering who made Head Girl, since we forgot to ask you on the way here." Goyle huffed. He had lost some weight after the battle, but he was still a little chubby.

"Oh," said Draco, grabbing the Daily Prophet on the table and started flipping through its pages, idly. "That Mudblood... What's her name again?" Draco didn't like calling anyone a Mudblood any more. He finally realized that blood status didn't matter. And as for Hermione's name, he knew it perfectly well, but he had a reputation to uphold.

"Granger?" Pansy squealed. "Hermione Granger?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's it..." Draco muttered, still pretending to read the newspaper. Over the edge of it though, he saw that he had fooled both Goyle and Pansy, but Blaise's eyes were boring into him and Draco knew at once he would have to talk to him later, since he had been kind enough not to burst out about it now.

"Ugh," Pansy was grumbling. "Of course she became Head Girl; she was that old bat McGonagall's favorite..."

Draco bit his lip to stop himself from telling her off. Blaise noticed, again.

"Draco, can I have a word with you over there." He said, standing up and walking over to the far corner of the common room, next to the entrance to the boys' dormitory.

Sighing, Draco followed him.

"What's up?" Blaise demanded.

"Nothing." Draco lied.

Blaise didn't buy it.

"Okay, okay," Draco sighed again. "I was just wondering if Hermi- Granger - was interested in being friends." he shrugged. "Because we'll both be Head Boy and Head Girl, we'll have to get along."

"Okay," Blaise smiled smugly. "By the way, she broke up with Weasley over the summer." He winked and left a bemused Draco standing in the corner of the Slytherin common room.

 *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hermione ducked a flying pillow that would have smacked her in the face. She warned the rebellious second year not to do that again and continued reading Hogwarts: A History. Ron looked over her shoulder.

"Of course you're reading that." he said, rolling his eyes. "I mean, you haven't read it in a full six months."

Hermione smacked him jokingly and continued reading, ignoring Harry who was badgering her about trying out for Quidditch this year.