Chapter 10
The rest of the term passed fairly tamely for Hermione, or as peaceable as it could be, with Harry growing increasingly agitated due to his nightmare fueled dreams, and all three of them constantly on edge due to Umbridge’s growing power and terrorising of the student body.
Dumbledore was nowhere to be seen, and the rest of the Professors were subdued. They sat, tight lipped and solemn during meals, barely conversing save for the occasional curt nods and one-word responses to Umbridge, as she prattled on from Dumbledore’s seat at the table about the Ministry and her new Inquisitorial initiatives.
Even her rounds with Malfoy were… undramatic. He hadn’t mentioned her run in with his sister, and instead they carried out their rounds in a tense silence, barely acknowledging each other, pacing the night-time corridors from a few feet apart.
The one positive development of the term had been Neville’s discovery of the Room of Requirement. She and the rest of the DA had the meetings to look forward to at the end of every grueling week and she had to admit, sneaking around the school, carrying out illicit activities right under Umbridge’s toadish snout there was an irreplicable sense of thrill that made her body buzz with nervous excitement.
Harry was flourishing as a teacher, growing more and more confident with each session. Ginny was a particularly quick learner, having already mastered the Bombarda Maxima before anyone else. To Hermione’s surprise, Luna Lovegood was another fast-improving member of the DA. Although her offensive spells weren’t as powerful as Ginny’s, when it came to casting defensive magic, the blonde witch was quite adept, her most recent Protego charm sending both Dean and Ron crashing into the opposite wall.
“Right, we should wrap up here guys.” Hermione glanced at the giant clock above the doorway to the Room of Requirement. It was nearly time for her last prefect patrol of the term, and she didn’t want to be late, lest Malfoy suspect something was up.
Her remarks were met with disappointed groans from around the room, Collin Creevy managing to get one last stunner in against Neville before Harry clapped his hands in agreement.
“Yeah, well done everyone. This is good, really good. When we get back after Christmas, we’ll get started on the Patronus charm.”
Their friends’ expressions brightened, an excited chatter rising as they filed out of the room, saying their goodbyes.
Hermione flashed Harry an approving grin as she walked towards him. “You’re a natural, Harry,” she said warmly, giving his shoulder a squeeze.
“Yeah, Harry mate, this is so awesome!” Ron added enthusiastically, nodding happily at a waving Luna.
Harry blushed, ruffling his already messy hair awkwardly. “It’s something isn’t it?” he chuckled, smiling at a chorus of “Bye Harry” coming from the exiting Ravenclaws.
Hermione sighed happily, looking around the slightly demolished room, rubble scattered around the floor from their most recent Bombarda attempts, when a lingering Ravenclaw caught her eye behind them. Cho Chang was standing awkwardly against a pillar, tapping her feet nervously as she stared at a shattered statue on the floor.
She turned to Harry and saw she wasn’t the only one that had noticed that the pretty Ravenclaw witch had stayed behind.
She smirked to herself. Clearly Harry wasn’t just impressing people as a teacher.
“Come on, Ron, let’s go. You’ve got homework to do, and I need to go find Malfoy to do my rounds.” She said, tugging at Ron’s arm.
“Urgh alright let’s go.” Groaned the wizard, beckoning Harry to follow.
“Harry will catch up with us, won’t he?” she said, shooting Harry a sly smile, which he returned with a grimace. “Come on, you’ve got so much reading to do, and I swear to Godric, I’m not writing your essay for you again!”
“But Hermione!” Ron whined, scurrying after her, having already forgotten about Harry. “You know I’ve got no chance of passing if you don’t help me!”
Hermione rolled her eyes, grabbing Ron by the robes as she pushed him out of the doorway. “I’ll read over your essay when I’m back from patrol, but only if you actually do the reading yourself,” she said scoldingly, sparing one last shameless glance behind her, and giggling to herself as the door swung shut, just as she saw her best friend walk over to Cho.
Ron, oblivious, swung Hermione into a half-headlock, half-embrace, leaving her gasping for breath as she swatted him off her.
“Ron, get off me!” she squealed, both of them laughing as he disentangled himself from her.
“You’re an angel, Hermione. You know I love you, right?” Ron laughed, ruffling her already wild bed of curls.
Hermione’s heart jumped, heat rising to her cheeks as she gave Ron a playful shove. “Get lost, Ron.” She managed to mutter, as she spun around quickly, not wanting him to notice her blush.
It was silly, her reacting like this, like a naïve little schoolgirl with her first crush. He definitely didn’t love her in that way. Hell, she wasn’t even sure if she loved him in… that way… But the thought of Ron telling another girl that he loved her made Hermione’s stomach do funny things, like watching someone buy up rare books that she herself couldn’t afford. She might not enjoy the books if she was given the chance to read them… but she at least wanted to be offered the chance to read it first, before someone else swept them up, leaving her only with regret and heavy ‘what ifs’ lingering in her mind.
Hermione frowned to herself, as she watched Ron’s disappearing form run off down the hallway. It felt wrong to think of Ron in this way… like an object she was toying with, contemplating whether to purchase it for herself or not. He was her friend, her best friend. But their friendship had never been as easy as it was with Harry. For the most part, Ron was fiercely loyal, caring, a protective friend and a funny, genuine person. But they bickered about everything, and he could be a completely insensitive oaf, completely blind to Hermione’s feelings whilst lashing out indiscriminately when his own pride was hurt. She hadn’t forgotten how Ron had ruined the Yule Ball for her just a year ago, treating her like she was less than desirable, a pitiable second choice who guys might only go for to get to him or Harry. In that moment, she had wondered whether Ron saw her as a person in her own right, or whether she was still the pathetic first year in his eyes, who no longer cried in the toilet by herself only because he and Harry had deigned to take her under their wing.
She sighed as she hurried down the stairway to the dungeons. What was for sure was that her feelings for Ron were complicated, unresolved…
“You’re late.” A sharp voice interrupting her pondering as she turned the corner of the basement floor.
“Sorry, was speaking to Ron –“ she muttered tiredly.
Malfoy stood at the end of the corridor, his arms crossed, and his expression annoyed as his pale grey eyes glared piercingly at her.
“I don’t appreciate being kept waiting while you frolic around the castle with your boyfriend, Granger.” Malfoy cut in, sneering.
“He’s not my boyfriend!” Hermione retorted hotly, her tone coming across a bit more defensive than she intended.
“Just a crush then? Have some pride, Granger.” Malfoy snarked back with a disparaging laugh, “The only thing I can imagine more humiliating than being the Weasel’s girlfriend, is being rejected by him.”
“Ron is twice the man that you’ll ever be,” Hermione snarled, fuming.
“If you mean twice the idiot, the buffoon, the ugly or the poor, to list but a few, I’m afraid your calculations are a little off, Granger. I’d put the number closer to a hundred times, or perhaps a million galleons worth… Does your Weasel even know what a galleon is? Do you think he’s seen one before?” Malfoy’s low voice was softly taunting, almost growling as it echoed around the dungeon halls. His lips curled up into a condescending smile, his eyes dancing with amusement as he looked down at her.
“You know, Malfoy, you always seem to bring up your father’s wealth to prove your own worth. It makes me wonder what else you’re trying to compensate for with your little trust fund.” Hermione sneered back at Malfoy, crossing her own arms as she jutted her chin up in challenge.
Malfoy responded with a cold laugh, a delighted amusement breaking across his face that softened his angular features, causing small creases around his eyes. “If you wanted a peak, all you had to do was ask, Granger. You’d rest assured, there’s nothing little about me or my trust fund.”
Hermione audibly growled, her frustration getting the better of her, as she felt the heat rising to her cheeks. “Trust me, Malfoy, the last thing I want to see is any more of you than I am forcibly required to. Now if you’re quite done goading me about my private life, shall we?” She snarled out the last words, turning sharply on her heels.
Malfoy’s sniggering followed her as she stomped down corridor after corridor, his bemusement growing audibly louder when they came across a fourth year Slytherin couple snogging under a tapestry.
“FIFTY POINTS FROM SLYTHERIN! HAVE SOME DECORUM BY GODRIC!” Hermione barked, flicking her wand viciously to separate the startled couple.
The boy yelped, quickly trying to cover up the bulge in his pants whilst the girl hurriedly straightened her clothes, shooting Malfoy an embarrassed wince.
“These are your students, Malfoy!” Hermione rounded on her still sniggering patrol partner, glowering at him. “Are you not going to say anything?”
Malfoy shot her an insincere smile, covering up his laughter with a few half-hearted coughs, before turning to the two blushing Slytherins and glaring at them in mock disapproval.
“Turpin, McNair… I’m very disappointed in you, bringing shame on the Slytherin name.” Malfoy tutted condescendingly, shaking his head in bemusement. “Haven’t we taught you better?”
The two blushing culprits looked up at Malfoy with questioning eyes, their mouths slightly agape. “What is it that we always say? If you’re going to break the rules…”
Malfoy cocked a fair brow, looking at the two Slytherins in expectation.
“Be smart enough to ne…never get caught,” the girl stammered out, shooting Malfoy a rueful grin.
“MALFOY ARE YOU SERIO-“
“Five more points from Slytherin… each, for failing to live up to the Slytherin standard.” Malfoy interrupted smoothly, ignoring Hermione’s outraged glare. “Now, run back to the common room, both of you, before Miss Granger here spontaneously combusts.”
The blushing students nodded at Malfoy before scurrying off, giggling loudly as they ran.
“MALFOY!” Hermione screeched, glowering at the blonde wizard.
Malfoy groaned mockingly, placing his hands delicately over his ears. “Granger, please, have mercy. My ears can only take so much of your shrieking.”
Hermione scowled, taking a deep breath to calm herself down, her mood having taken a rather drastic turn since she had parted ways with Ron.
“You are a prefect. You cannot go around encouraging students to break the rules.” She hissed; her voice lowered but with equal venom.
Malfoy smirked, stepping a little too close to Hermione for her comfort. “That’s a little hypocritical, coming from you, no, Granger?” His taunting eyes met hers, glinting playfully.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she retorted defensively, refusing to look away.
“Oh, you know, Granger, just that for how much of a swot you like to pretend you are, you always seem to find yourself in the middle of every illicit activity that goes on in this school.” Malfoy’s smile was cold, his teeth flashing between his lips. “And you get away with it too… although that’s probably more due to Dumbledore’s unabashed favouritism of Potter than a testament to your tactfulness.”
“Been watching me, Malfoy?” Hermione sneered.
“You’re hard to miss.” Malfoy responded with a snort, flicking some of her curls back behind her shoulders.
Hermione started, taking a step back as she swatted his fingers away in annoyance. “Urgh, just mind your own business, Malfoy.”
Malfoy’s face sobered, the playful arrogance dissipating from his eyes. “That’s a difficult ask, Granger.” He whispered lowly, “When you’re making your business my business.”
“What are you talking about?” Hermione retorted, annoyed and curious in equal measure.
“Did you not hear? Umbridge appointed me the head of her Inquisitorial Squad a few weeks ago.” His nose crinkled in distaste as he said Umbridge’s name. “She knows Potter’s up to something, and she has it on good information that if Potter’s up to something, it’s Hermione Granger who’s thinking it up.”
Hermione swallowed, trying not to let her nervousness show. “And I suppose it’s you that offered her up this ‘good information’?” she snapped in an accusatory tone.
Malfoy let out a bark of laughter, his cold breath hitting Hermione’s cheek. “Believe it or not, Granger, I have better things to do than run around reporting to Umbridge like her personal lap dog.”
Hermione scowled, grinding her teeth in anger. “That’s rich coming from her spy squad leader.”
Malfoy rolled his shoulders back arrogantly, the snide smirk still lingering on his lips. “I’m a Slytherin, Granger. I know better than to pass up an opportunity to better position myself when I see it.”
Hermione narrowed her eyes, studying him carefully. Him and Nott were cut from the same cloth; sly, cunning and manipulative, waiting in the shadows, always ready to pounce… Slytherins down to the bone.
“So what, I’m supposed to believe that you’re just giving me a friendly heads up?” Hermione squared her own shoulders, eyeing him cautiously.
Malfoy snorted, staring down at her derisively, “We’re not friends, Granger.” He spat, as if he could not imagine anything worse. “Like I said, I have better things to do than run around doing Umbridge’s bidding. Save us both the trouble and take my advice. If you’re going to do break the rules, at least be smart enough not to get caught.”
With one final sneer, he brushed back his robe in an unsettlingly Snape-like manner. “Let’s go, Granger. Five more floors to patrol.”
Hermione stared in disbelief as Malfoy’s tall form stalked ahead of her, signaling with his hands for her to follow.
What was Malfoy playing at?
Finally, gathering herself, she hastily marched after him, her mind buzzing with questions.