Slow Grenade

Chapter Twelve - Year Two

Second Year

Hermione sat at the long Gryffindor table glancing anxiously around the room. Her mind was racing so quickly that she had missed the entirety of the sorting, as well as Dumbledore's speech. Now that the magnificent start of term feast was laid out before her, she found that her stomach was churning too much to eat anything.

It had felt like an incredibly long summer and, by August, Hermione was counting down the days before she arrived back at Hogwarts. The weeks had dragged, leaving her feeling particularly lonely. Draco had asked Hermione not to write during the holidays because of his parents and whilst Harry and Ron tried, they were never very forthcoming in their letters.

So, when she had searched the Hogwarts Express for her two fellow Gryffindors and not found them anywhere, her excitement turned swiftly to panic. And now, for them to not even be in the Great Hall, Hermione didn't know what to think. She glanced towards Draco who was already watching her.

Motioning with his eyes, he looked from Hermione to the doors and back again questioningly. She nodded, packed up her satchel, and left the Hall. Moments later, Draco joined her in a nearby alcove.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Draco had never seen Hermione look so preoccupied. She had been sat upright and stiff at the table, eyes darting around the room as though she expected to be attacked at any moment. He was concerned something awful must have happened to her on the train and couldn't resist calling her out to see him. He'd think of an excuse for his housemates later.

"Hermione?"

"Oh, sorry Draco," she said absently. "I've just been wondering where Harry and Ron are."

His jaw clenched and a flare of jealously burned through him. Biting the inside of his check he replied, "You've not heard the rumours?"

She looked sharply towards him. "What rumours?"

"That Dumb and Dumber flew a car here, crashed it, and have now been expelled."

Choosing not to query his Muggle reference, Hermione snorted. "Don't be ridiculous, they wouldn't do that."

Draco wished it were true but he just shrugged. "I'm sure they're fine, Granger."

Noting the use of her surname, Hermione attempted to turn the conversation in a different direction, but they were both too caught up in their own thoughts for it to be entirely comfortable. Eventually, they agreed to meet in the library as soon as possible.

The feast had long ended, and Hermione traipsed up the staircases by herself. As she rounded the corner, a splash of red caught her attention and she dashed towards it. Ron and Harry stood in front of the Fat Lady.

"There you are! Where have you been? The most ridiculous rumours – someone said you'd been expelled for crashing a flying car."

"Well, we haven't been expelled," Harry assured her.

"You're not telling me you did fly here?" said Hermione, sounding almost as severe as Professor McGonagall.

"Skip the lecture," said Ron impatiently, "and tell us the new password."

"It's 'wattlebird'," she huffed, "but that's not the point – "

Her words were cut short, however, as the portrait swung open and there was a sudden storm of clapping. It looked as though the whole of Gryffindor house was still awake, packed into the circular common room, standing on the lop-sided tables and squashy armchairs, waiting for them to arrive. Hermione rolled her eyes as the boys were pulled through and she was left to scramble in after them.

It was incredibly frustrating to witness the hero treatment Harry and Ron received after she had spent so many hours deeply anxious and worried for their safety. Deciding she would rather be alone in her dormitory, Hermione slunk to the wall and made her way upstairs.

The next day didn't start particularly well for Harry and Ron so Hermione decided to forgive them more readily than she would have usually. It wasn't even eight in the morning when Ron received an awful Howler from his mother. She supposed they had been punished enough. As it happened, Hermione turned out to be incorrect: apparently the day was in a merciless mood.

Sitting outside during their lunch break, Hermione was lost in her book ('Voyages with Vampires') when she noticed a sweet looking first year shuffle over to them.

"All right, Harry? I'm – I'm Colin Creevey," he said breathlessly, taking a tentative step forward. "I'm in Gryffindor, too. D'you think, I mean, would it be alright if – can I have a picture?" he said, raising his camera hopefully.

"A picture?" Harry repeated blankly.

Hermione chuckled quietly to herself, her messy haired friend had never liked to be the centre of attention. She wondered how he was going to deal with this situation and whether she could stir the pot by kindly suggesting Colin attend Harry's weekly fan club meeting.

There was no time to do anything however because when Hermione looked up again, there was Draco, eyes twinkling with mischief, standing behind Colin. "Signed photos? You're giving out signed photos, Potter?"

Loud and scathing, Draco's voice echoed around the courtyard. Initially he had hoped to simply garner Hermione's attention, but now he was rather enjoying himself. "Everyone queue up!" he shouted out to the crowd. "Harry Potter's giving out signed photos!"

"No, I'm not," said Harry angrily, his fists clenching. "Shut up, Malfoy."

Hermione cringed inwardly when Colin attempted to stand up for Harry by saying, "You're just jealous."

Draco caught Hermione's eye a number of times whilst he continued verbally sparring with Harry, joined by Ron, and she couldn't help but suppress a few smiles. She would have a word with him about his tendency to become a bit too personal at times but at least he was more imaginative than Ron ("eat slugs, Malfoy", really?).

When Gilderoy Lockhart strolled over to the group, Hermione's heart leapt and she could no longer concentrate on the exchange. She quickly pushed heart doodled notes into her bag as Draco caught sight of them, raising his eyebrows. Hermione blushed and fled to the classroom in which she would face the Professor again.