Romeo and Juliet
"Okay, the key to getting Potter to trust us is by first winning his friends over. Which means someone's going to have to apologize," three pairs of eyes looked to Draco who sighed.
"Come on, we all know the real reason you hate Granger is because she out scores you in half our classes," Gail snickered.
"I get it okay! I'll apologize to Granger," Draco grumbled.
"Preferably tomorrow," Leo added.
"Okay! I'll talk to her before arithmancy," Draco ground out.
"No pressure but this whole plan relies on this apology," Leo smiled
"I hate you," Draco glared at Leo.
"I think you'll do wonderfully," Luna spoke softly, smiling up at Draco from her spot on the floor.
"Thanks Luna. At least one of my friends believes in me,"
"We believe in you" Gail gave a thumbs up.
"Yeah, break a leg!" Leo grinned.
Gail and Draco looked confused. "Why would you-"
"It's a muggle expression. Means good luck,"
"Muggles are weird,"
"I know right,"
"I can do this. I can do this. I can do this," Draco entered the classroom to see Granger in her usual spot, first one as usual. He stepped back out of the classroom. "I can't do this. Ah, fuck it," Draco walked into the classroom and up to Granger.
She looked up as his shadow fell onto her. "Malfoy,"
Draco tensed up. "Granger. I- look, recently I've been doing some thinking," Draco made a sound between a sigh and a groan. "I'm sorry for calling you that. It was wrong and not true. In fact, I'm sorry for everything over the years,"
The silence that appeared after Draco's apology was suffocating. It was as if a large stone was placed on Draco's chest that grew heavier the longer the silence went on.
"I could really use a study partner, this section has been giving me some trouble," Granger turned her attention back to her notes.
Draco startled slightly at the abrupt subject change, he opened his mouth to voice his confusion before quickly closing it. This was an olive branch wasn't it? "It's actually rather simple if you think about it," Draco lightly snarked, moving to sit next to Granger.
Granger shot a glare at Draco that lost all heat once she saw the small, hesitant smile on his face. This was strange, but she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. At least not yet.
Hermione Granger, smartest witch of her age, was stumped. Draco Malfoy, smartest wizard of his age and pureblood elitist, had not only helped her throughout class but had also agreed to be her study partner for said class. Everything she knows about Malfoy from being bullied by him for the last three years was torn apart in one class period. He was so different from normal, he still had that edge to him but now whenever he made a biting comment it was accompanied by a soft, awkward smile.
She thought of telling the boys about this new development, but things have been tense between them recently, and she knew they wouldn't believe her. Perhaps she would gain some clarity tonight, her and Draco had agreed to meet up in the library after dinner.
Leo Andrews laid on his bed, limbs spread, and regretting his life decisions. He rolled his head to the side. Gail White was sprawled on his desk chair Her head was propped in a hand, her lips were pursed and eyes settled into a glare. Luna Lovegood was perched on the trunk at the end of his bed, her wispy smile had settled into a small frown. All three of them had been watching Draco pace the length of the room for the past half hour.
Gail switched hands she was leaning on to speak to Leo. "Maybe if we tell Granger how pathetic he's being maybe she'll befriend him out of pity," Leo snorted.
"I heard that," Draco snapped, still pacing.
"Good," Gail deadpanned.
Leo sighed. "Draco stop. It's going to be fine. You already apologized, and she was the one to suggest the study date,"
Draco stopped and turned fearful eyes to Leo. "It's a date!?"
"No!"
It's always the library. Well it's not like there's anywhere else to hang out at Hogwarts. Draco Malfoy stood at the entrance of the library, the spine of his book cracking wit eh force of his grip. He bounced on his toes slightly as he slowly gained the courage to walk inside. He turned around to see his three friends peaking around the corner. Once spotted, Luna smiled, and Leo and Gail both gave him double thumbs ups. Draco smiled shakily, turned back towards the library, took a deep breath, and quickly walked inside and up to the table Granger was sat at.
"Granger," he awkwardly greeted, sitting in the chair across from her.
"Malfoy," Granger greeted back, turning her attention back to her work.
The two sat in silence for a while, only speaking to explain a part of a problem before Draco broke the small routine. "So how are you doing with Potter being in the tournament?"
Granger slammed her hands down onto the table, causing Draco to flinch. "It's awful. Harry doesn't suspect any kind of foul play m his name being entered, and Ron seems to think that Harry put his own name into the Goblet. As if! I love him, I really do, but Harry isn't smart enough to get past the age line!" she breathed harshly after her little rant.
Draco chuckled. "I have a friend who said the same thing,"
Granger smiled before continuing her rant. "And on top of that, Rita Skeeters trying to make me out as Harry's girlfriend!"
Draco grimaced. "You two always reminded me of siblings,"
"Because we practically are! I can't even look at him with her around or she'll write an article about us being the new Romeo and Juliet," she scoffed.
"Who?"
Granger waved him off. "Muggle play,"
The two talked for hours, barely any work getting done, and by the end of the night, Malfoy had become Draco, and Granger had become Hermione. They stayed for so long that they got kicked lest they miss curfew. Draco walked back to his dorm with a copy of 'Romeo and Juliet' in hand, he proceeded to flop onto his bead and open the book.
"They fucking die?!"