The Brightest Black - A Dramione Fanfic

Paper Hats

"Harry James Potter, if you offer to go hex Malfoy one more time I will turn your Firebolt into a pile of kindling," she bit out through gritted teeth.

Honestly.

Her brother held his hands up in surrender as Ron and Neville snickered.

"Woah, 'Mione! I was just trying to help..."

She shot a glare at him and then quite pointedly focused on the text in front of her. They had free periods to study, not to gossip about Slytherin boys that were obviously up to something out of character.

They had been at school for over a month now and things were not going as Hermione had imagined they would. She'd been sure that Malfoy would go back on their oath, or at least threaten to. He'd tell the school about her scars, or he'd hold them over her head.

And, telling the world would, as surely as a curse, hurt her.

But he'd done nothing.

He'd done less than nothing. He was doing any and everything he could to ensure they never encountered each other. He'd even turned around and walked in the opposite direction so as to not cross paths with her.

It made her feel disgusting.

The fact that he couldn't even pretend to treat her like he used to...

It hurt, it really did.

And the worst part was that she couldn't even explain WHY it upset her so much.

She hadn't told anyone that Malfoy had seen her scars – not even Harry. All he knew was that she got terribly upset every time she saw Malfoy. To the point where she was beginning to struggle in Potions. Snape had even asked her after class the week before if everything was alright.

"Hey, 'Mione..."

She raised her head just enough to glare at her brother, "What?"

"If I can't hex Malfoy, could you at least tell me WHY I can't hex him?"

She pursed her lips, "No. Now, can we change the subject?"

She shifted in her seat and picked up her quill. If she didn't get this essay done and done well Snape might just write a letter home to Padfoot. She still couldn't wrap her mind around the fact he'd asked how she was.

"What about hexing Mclaggen?" Ron asked as she put quill to parchment.

She froze and glared up at her freckle-faced friend. Her hand turned white as she squeezed the poor, innocent quill.

"What," she bit out, "do you think?"

"I think you really don't care either way?" he said hopefully.

"Neville."

"Yes?" Her fellow prefect asked innocently.

"Can you please explain to these two knuckleheads just WHY we can't hex our fellow classmates?"

"Hermione, Mclaggen isn't a fellow classmate, he's an invader. I don't know why our parents approved him to return to Hogwarts," Harry protested.

She rolled her eyes, "Has he broken any school rules? Done anything illegal? Put any of us in danger?"

"Well..."

"I think..."

"No, he hasn't," Neville stated.

"But, Nev, what about-"

"Ron, that's over. Dean and Seamus let that situation escalate and all three of them have served their detentions. All he does now is send Harry and I dirty looks."