The Dragon and the Angel - [Draco/Hermione]

Chapter Eight - Prefect Meeting

Chapter Eight - Prefect Meeting

Hermione and Draco sat next to each other in front of a room full of prefects. Hermione was doing all the talking while some prefects were nodding and others were clearly not paying any attention. Draco was half-listening, counting the floor tiles.

"Right, Draco?" Hermione was saying.

Draco's head snapped up. "Yes, dear."

All the prefects started giggling as Draco winked at her. Hermione rolled her eyes and laughed along with everyone else.

"So, as I was saying..."

Draco zoned out again, continuing to count the floor tiles. But this time around, he was also thinking about his relationship with Hermione. With her being so comfortable when he had made the joke, did that mean they were friends?

The Dark Mark on his left arm seared so painfully and suddenly that Draco toppled off his chair in shock and pain. Hermione immidiately stood up and crouched next to him.

"Draco?" she asked, urgently. "Is it your Mark?"

Draco squeezed his eyes shut, trying to master his pain. He nodded. The prefects had rushed over, forming a circle around Draco so they could all see.

"Give me space!" Hermione barked. The fifth years quickly took two steps backwards and her tone quickly softened. "Draco, can I touch you?"

Again, Draco nodded as a strangled sound of pain slipped out through his lips. Hermione pushed Draco's sleeve back and gasped. The Dark Mark was now dark black again. A short prefect a few feet away shrieked, "He was a Death Eater! He worked for You-Know-Who!"

"Shut up!" Hermione raged. She was about to tell Draco that his Mark was black again when it slowly faded again, back to the color it had been when Draco showed her it in detention. "Merlin's beard..."

Draco slowly sat up, breathing heavily.

"I'm okay." he muttered, then looked at the small girl who had revealed his dark past to the rest of the prefects. "Yes, I was a Death Eater, but I changed sides before Lord Voldemort's downfall."

"Aw, and I thought you were cute." one of the girls in the back said.

Hermione smiled, putting her hand to her mouth to stop herself from laughing, but Draco was very open about it, chuckling. I guess Hermione was right, he thought, I am popular with girls.

"If I used to be a Death Eater, I can't be cute anymore?" he asked her, jokingly.

She blushed deep red.

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Ignore him." Hermione told her. "He gets a little full of himself sometimes."

She spoke about Draco as if she really knew him. It brought a smile to Draco's face.

"So are we really friends now?" he whispered as a few boys helped him up. "Thanks. Five points to Hufflepuff."

"I'd like to think so." Hermione told him in an undertone. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hermione smiled at Draco as they both sat down. She was happy that they were officially friends now. He had been extremely sweet to her in the last three or four days. She chanced a sideways glance at him as she spoke, and realized for the first time that that prefect had been right. Draco Malfoy was cute.

She shook herself mentally. They were barely friends. She did not like Draco Malfoy. She did not like Draco Malfoy. She did not like Draco Malfoy.

Draco kicked her chair.

"Oh, what, sorry?" she asked, jumping.

"You kind of trailed off mid-sentance." one of the prefects piped up.

"Oh." Hermione repeated. "Well, I, uh, guess that's all then. You may all return to your common rooms." she glanced at her watch. "And hurry; curfew's in ten minutes."

The prefects all scattered as Hermione and Draco tried cleaning up the room a little. They were pushing chairs in and straightening out the rows of desks. They left the classroom and walked down the hall together in silence.

"You sure you okay?" Hermione asked, peering up at Draco, who was two or three inches taller then her.

They were coming up to Gryffindor tower. Draco opened his mouth to reply when he tripped. He twisted at the last minute, landing on his side instead of his face. Hermione quickly asked if he was okay, Draco muttering a, "Uh huh..." before glaring at the wall in front of them.

"Ron! Harry!" she exclaimed angrily.

Harry pulled the Invisibilty Cloak off of him and Ron. They were both laughing.

"He made me!" Harry said, wiping a tear of laughter from his eye and pointing at Ron.

"It was just too priceless!" Ron added.

Before Hermione could stop him, Draco had his wand out and pointed at both of them.

"Draco!" Hermione rounded on him. He shushed her.

"I could do it you know... The Cruciatus curse, I mean." Draco smiled evily and Hermione couldn't believe her ears. "I've done it before... Avery didn't enjoy it very much though."

Hermione, on the verge of tears shrieked loudly, "Stop! You three are unbelievable! I'm making an effort to stay friends with all of you but you don't care! All of you have changed so much in the last week, but the thing that was most important to change hasn't changed at all! You don't even give each other a chance..."

A tear trickled down her cheek as she ran up to the Fat Lady, whispered the password and crawled inside without a backwards glance.