Our Second Chance (Dramione)

Chapter 30 New World, New Ways

  "Will you stop with all the rubbish? You're family has been poor for quite some time now, Granger girl has never liked you or anyone for that matter, and right now I don't know if you're speaking English because not a single word that comes out of your mouth makes any sense!", Blaise paced back and fourth in the dormitory as he spoke. He had walked in with an unconscious Draco on the floor. The only way to wake him up was to dangle a galleon over his nose. Then Blaise had to listen to his story once again. "Sometimes I think you're absolutely crazy."

  "..but I'm not. If only I had a way to prove it." He glanced back at the Daily Prophet and noticed the date. 'May 2, 1994'. Blaise was correct, he had been poor for quite a few years now. He looked at a article under the main one, and saw something very interesting that caught his attention. 'Hogwarts Under New Management'. There was a picture of someone he hated more than Voldemort, Dolores Umbridge. 'This could not get any worse', he thought to himself, and boy was he wrong.

   For the next few weeks, Draco felt like he was being watched with every move he made. Maybe it was the fact that paintings of Dolores Umbridge were covering half of the school walls. The other half was the Slytherin crest. Hermione walked through the corridors without a care in the world. Someone could attempt to hit her with the killing curse but she would still manage to block it even with her wand in her robe and books up to her neck.

  If he didn't have a class to get to then he was usually in his dormitory. The place where no one could get in his business other than Blaise and Theo. "Are you packed?", Blaise asked as he lifted his own trunk up by the handle and started to drag it on its wheels.

  Draco pulled down the new book he was reading down so he could see Blaise's face. "Packed? Packed for what?" He was very confused on what he was talking about at the moment. Was he so annoyed that he was kicking him out of the dormitory?

  "For winter break, obviously." He raised an eyebrow at his best friend. "Seriously, I think you need to be sent to St. Mungo's. I'm about to classify you as: whatever comes after plain mad."

                                    ***

  He tried to get through the crowd of people on the train to get to his usual seat. As he was about to sit down on the booth's leather seat he saw Hermione heading past them to the very back of the train. "Granger, where are you going?" She usually sat with Weasel and Potter in their own compartment near the front of the train. So why was she going to the very back? He watched as Hermione searched to see where the voice came from, and noticed a slight frown on her face when their eyes met.

  "Malfoy, please don't start this..", she said as she looked out the door window that connected the train carts together. She had a worried look on her face that made Draco uneasy.

  "Start what?"

  "You already know what my kind is. I'm barely allowed to have a conversation with you on this train. Just drop it." She noticed Justin making his way to the back so she scooted up so he could get by.

  "Muggleborns aren't allowed up here?", he asked in shock. She widened her eyes the second he said 'muggleborns', and quickly covered his mouth with her palm.

  "Will you be quiet?", she whispered. "Are you trying to get me into trou..". Before she could finish her sentence, she was cut off.

  "Miss Granger, will you come with me?" Hermione looked over to see Albert Runcorn and he didn't look happy. Hermione made sure to keep her eyes glued to the floor as she followed him to a familiar part of the train.

Draco sat across from Blaise and Pansy as he looked back at the space Granger had just filled in confusion. "What was that about?"

"You're not allowed to use the term..", Pansy looked around to see that the coast was clear. "Muggleborn", she whispered just barely enough so Draco could hear. "Bad things happen if you use the name, especially if you are one. If I were you.. I wouldn't stare at her when she returns.", Pansy said as she pulled out a board of wizard chess, and started to set it up on the table, but she seemed to notice Draco daydreaming. "Draco....", she said trying to get his attention.