Hermione made it to Potions class that morning just a few seconds before the bell rang. She had to pass by Draco to get to her desk, but he was doing a wonderful job of making sure his eyes were not pointed in her direction. But she didn't shy away from glancing at him. He looked about as unhappy as she felt.
Quickly, she took a seat beside the Gryffindor girl whose name she still didn't know, and looked over to Harry and Ron, who were smiling and waving to her. She gave a small smile back and stared down at her desk. If she didn't think the day could possibly get any worse, she was about to find out that she was horribly mistaken.
Professor Snape entered the room briskly and walked straight to his desk. Without turning around to face the class he said, "Due to recent events, I thought that today we would discuss the pros and cons of love potions." As he said "love potions", he spun around and glared at Hermione, who was now blushing furiously. She didn't even have to turn around to look at Draco to figure he was probably fuming.
A few kids in the class snickered. Hermione just buried her face in her hands.
"Are you okay?" the girl beside her asked.
"No," Hermione grumbled in response. Something told her that the fact that Snape had taken a sudden interest in love potions was no coincidence. A quick glance over at a guilty-looking Harry and Ron confirmed that. Suddenly, realization hit her: yesterday...Snape asking to speak to Harry and Ron...their "detentions"...the anti-potion...Those little buggers! They got Snape involved in this!
As Snape began to talk about different types of love potions, Hermione got brave and turned around to look at Draco. To her surprise, he was staring back at her with a look of disgust. She was suddenly very glad that looks couldn't kill. Quickly, she turned back around in her chair and tried her very best to act normal.
Potions seemed to last longer than normal that day. Snape spent the entire time discussing the different types of love potions, what they do, what their ingredients are, and how no one should ever, ever, under ANY circumstances use one on another living human being. He then went on to list the consequences and repercussions of giving someone a love potion, and none of them were good.
When the bell finally rang, Hermione was quick to pack up her things and bolt for the door, completely ignoring Harry and Ron. She was furious and embarrassed and she suddenly found herself wishing a hole would open up in the floor beneath her and swallow her. But much to her chagrin, that did not happen. Instead, something slammed into her, sending her stumbling forward. Her books flew from her hands and fell to the floor with a THUD.
Oh how wonderful, she thought to herself dryly. When she bent down to pick up her books, a cold voice above her said, "Watch where you're going."
Malfoy. Hermione closed her eyes and silently counted to ten. If you ignore him, he will go away, she told herself.
She was so wrong. When she finally stood up, she found herself face-to-face with a very unhappy-looking Draco.
"Listen, Granger," he said, rather loudly. A few Slytherins nearby – including Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson, and Crabbe and Goyle – all looked over at them curiously. "I know you are having a hard time getting over me, but you are just going to have to get it through that thick skull of yours that it was all just a joke, okay?"
Hermione stared at him, dumbfounded. "A joke? Malfoy, what are you talking abou-"
Draco sneered at her. "Oh please, Granger – you didn't honestly believe that I liked you...did you?"
Hermione's jaw dropped. Suddenly she knew exactly what it was he was doing. He was protecting his precious reputation.
Before she had a chance to defend herself, he continued: "Oh Merlin, Granger," he said, trying hard not to laugh. "You really did believe it, didn't you? I have to say, I can see how you were fooled so easily. Even I was pleasantly surprised by my impeccable acting skills, which by the way, I wasn't even aware that I had. I mean, I got a silly little know-it-all mudblood to believe that someone like me would actually lower my standards and give filth like you the time of day. Now that's good acting."
A lump began to form at the back of Hermione's throat. At first, she thought it was the threat of tears, but quickly learned that it was actually the result of the fury that was quickly building up inside of her.
By this time, Harry and Ron had rushed to her side, ready to defend her. The Slytherins, meanwhile, had inched closer to hear better.
"That's right, mudblood. It was all a hoax. I would have thought that the fact that a guy was actually acting interested in you would have given the whole thing away. Not as smart as everyone thinks you are, huh Granger?" He snorted.
Hermione began silently counting again, only this time she was counting backward from ten.
"Well you're just going to have to get over me, because I do not, and will not ever like you, you disgusting, filthy mudbl-"
The silent countdown inside Hermione's head had hit one, and without even realizing what she was about to do, her fist connected with Draco's face with as much power as she could muster. Ignoring the intense pain the impact had caused her hand, she said coolly, "Okay. I'm over you now."
For a brief moment, everyone that was crowded around them in the hallway stood, staring at her in shock – including Draco, whose nose had started to bleed. She didn't have to see Harry and Ron to know that they were looking at her in complete awe.
Once it had begun to sink in to everyone what had just happened, a high-pitched squeal broke them out of their daze.
"YOU BITCH!" Pansy screamed at Hermione. She lunged forward and grabbed a handful of Hermione's busy hair and pulled.
Hermione's head snapped back and she herself let out a squeal. She reached blindly behind her head, trying to smack Pansy's hands away, but to no avail. Pansy was a very determined girl when she was angry. And apparently, she was very angry right now.
Harry jumped in and tried to remove Pansy, but she elbowed him out of the way, knocking the wind out of him. At the same time, everyone else, including Ron, began chanting, "Fight! Fight! Fight!"
Before she knew what was happening, Hermione found herself lying flat on her back on the floor, with Pansy straddling her. "You bitch!" Pansy screamed again, attempting to slap Hermione repeatedly, but Hermione kept blocking her.
"Get off me, you cow!" she yelled, trying to push Pansy away. However, she was heavier than Hermione had imagined, and she didn't budge.
Frustrated that her slapping technique had not worked, Pansy decided instead to go for Hermione's throat, enclosing her fingers around her neck tightly.
Hermione panicked. This fight had suddenly gone from moderately annoying to moderately dangerous. She clawed desperately at Pansy's hands, in hopes of removing them to get some air, but that only made Pansy tighten the grip.
"You stupid, foul mudblood! Nobody hurts Draco and gets away with it!"
The panic Hermione was feeling was beginning to subside as she felt herself slipping toward unconsciousness. She could hear Harry and Ron yelling frantically at Pansy, attempting to pull her off Hermione. But surprisingly, it was neither Harry nor Ron who finally managed to pry her off. It was Draco. "Pansy!" he barked, as he yanked her away.
The second Pansy's grip on her neck disappeared, Hermione gasped for air. Her lungs felt relieved, but her throat felt constricted and it burned with every intake of breath.
"She hurt you, Drakie!" Pansy whined. She tried to throw her arms around him, but he quickly pushed her away.
"What is going on out here?" Snape bellowed, stepping out of his classroom. He looked from a bleeding Draco, to Hermione who was still on the floor gasping for breath; Harry and Ron at her side, gently stroking her hair.
"Pansy tried to kill Hermione!" Harry replied.
"You two," he demanded, pointing at both Hermione and Draco. "In here. Now."
"But Professor!" Harry began to protest, but Hermione shook her head and silenced him.
Ron stood up and held out his hand. Hermione took hold of it and he helped pull her up from the floor. "Are you okay?" he asked, sounding about as concerned as he was capable of sounding.
"Yeah," Hermione whispered, before stepping away from them. She avoided Draco's gaze as she followed him into the classroom.
"Don't go anywhere, Miss Parkinson," Snape warned. "I want to speak with you next. The rest of you -" He looked at Harry and Ron as he said this – "leave."
Pansy pouted; the Slytherins looked disappointed; and Harry and Ron looked worried. But everyone reluctantly departed as they were told.
The door slammed behind Snape, making both Hermione and Draco jump. "Sit," he hissed.
They obeyed. Once they were both seated, Snape stood in front of them; arms folded across his chest and a look of contempt on his face. "Would either of you care to tell me what just happened out there?"
Neither Hermione nor Draco said a word. Hermione just stared at the desk in front of her, gingerly caressing the area of her neck where Pansy's hands had been and wincing. Draco glanced over at her and noticed this. He wondered briefly if she really was okay, but quickly decided he didn't care if she was or not.
When both of them refused to answer, Snape snarled, "Fine. Be that way. Thirty points from both houses, and detention tomorrow night for the both of you. Now get out of my sight."
Hermione blinked and nodded, never once glancing up at her teacher. The fact that Snape had just deducted points from his own house (something he rarely ever did) didn't faze either Hermione or Draco in the least, and neither of them even attempted to protest over their punishment. Instead, they just stood up, glared at each other, and headed for the door.
"I know what happened between you two," Snape called out before they could leave the room. They both froze at the door. "I'm glad to see that you're both back to your old selves. But you might want to refrain from physical violence in the future, or next time your punishments will be a lot worse."
"Yes Professor," they both mumbled before exiting the room.
Pansy was still standing outside the classroom, twirling her wand around in her fingers in boredom. Her face lit up when she saw Draco emerge. "Oh Drakie! Are you okay? You didn't get punished, did you? How's your nose? That dumb bitch didn't break it, did she?"
Draco ignored her, so Pansy turned her attention to Hermione.
"How's your neck, Granger?" she asked, her voice dripping with fake concern. "I hope I didn't hurt you too much." She gave her a smug grin.
Hermione gritted her teeth and counted only to five this time before saying calmly, "How's your ego, Parkinson? I mean...because hoax or not, your Drakie had no problem making out with me – a lowly mudblood. Yet, he seems to cringe every time you so much as lay a finger on him. I hope that doesn't hurt you too much."
That wiped Pansy's smug expression off her face almost immediately. Now it was Hermione's turn to look smug.
"Shut it, Granger," Draco warned. He did this for two different reasons: one being that he couldn't stand to be reminded of the fact that he had made out with her; the other reason being that if provoked, Pansy would kill her this time around. And Draco was not so sure he would stop her.
Pansy was looking a bit like a rabid dog, ready to pounce on its next victim. Luckily, Snape stuck his head out the door. "Parkinson! Get in here!" he ordered.
The sudden sound of his voice made her jump and she let out a squeak. When she regained her composure, she glared at Hermione. "You might want to sleep with one eye open from now on, mudblood."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Please stop frightening me Pansy," she said in a monotone voice. "That's so mean of you."
Pansy stomped off in a huff, leaving Draco and Hermione alone in an awkward silence.
"Never underestimate the power of Pansy Parkinson, Granger," Draco said finally. "She probably would have killed you had I not stepped in."
Hermione glared at him. "Oh, and I'll bet you expect me to thank you for that!" she exclaimed. "Why didn't you just let her kill me, huh? Oh, I know – because I'm no good to you if I'm dead. You couldn't humiliate me then. Well...you could, but you wouldn't get the satisfaction of seeing my face when you did it. AGH! You make me sick, Draco Malfoy!"
"Well you don't exactly give me warm and fuzzy feelings either, Granger," he snapped. "Look, I did what I had to do, all right? If you can't accept that, it's your problem, not mine."
"What you had to do?" Hermione scoffed. She opened her mouth to argue, but decided against it. She stood still for a few moments before saying, "You know what? Forget it. I've had enough of you for one day." And with that, she quickly brushed past him.
"What – you're not going to apologize for slugging me?" he called after her. "It figures. Mudbloods aren't exactly known for their good manners, are they?"
"Fuck you, Malfoy," Hermione called back to him in a singsong voice. She did not glance back. She just continued all the way down the hall and turned the corner...where Harry and Ron were waiting for her.
"Hermione!" Harry cried. He pulled her into a big hug. "Are you okay? If you want us to, we will hex Parkinson for you. Fred and George have been working on some great new projects -"
"No, no," Hermione replied. "I'm fine. No need to fight fire with fire, right? I'm sure she will forget about this whole thing in no time. This is Pansy Parkinson we are talking about, after all. She has an attention span of a flea...especially if Malfoy's nearby to flex his muscles for her."
Harry grinned, then glanced sheepishly down at the ground. "Look, Mione...we're sorry about getting Snape involved. But he sensed something was going on...and...well, we figured he could help us. And he did! He is the one who helped us find an anti-potion!"
"Don't worry about it," Hermione said with a smile that was not one hundred percent sincere. "I know that you two were just trying to help me. I know you were concerned about me, and that's sweet. You guys are the best friends a girl could have." She opened up her arms wide to welcome them both into a group hug.
"Now," she said as they all broke apart, "We'd better get going before we're late for our classes. I'll talk to you both later."
She did not wait for them to respond. Instead, she quickly left them behind and headed for the girl's lavatory. She hoped no one would be in there, and she got her wish. The only person in there, as a matter of fact, was Moaning Myrtle, whom she didn't mind so much. And Myrtle seemed thrilled to see her.
"Ohhh! You look positively dreadful," she whined as she floated down next to Hermione.
"I feel positively dreadful," Hermione said, leaning her back up against the wall and sliding down until she was seated on the floor. Before she could stop herself, she let out a sob.
"I know what it's like to feel dreadful," Myrtle said. "After all, I haunt a toilet."
Without meaning to, Hermione burst out laughing. Myrtle frowned. "Are you making fun of me?"
"No!" Hermione assured her. "I just...I need to laugh, okay? It's the only thing stopping me from crying right now."
"Oh, don't let me stop you!" Myrtle started humming and floated back over to the stalls. She seemed to soon forget that Hermione was even there.
Hermione sighed and glanced down at her hand – the one she had used to punch Malfoy with – and smiled. It had felt so good to hit him; about a hundred times better than the time she hit him in third year. And he deserved it about a hundred times more this time. She shook her head. At this time yesterday, she was practically planning on marrying the git. Today, she was practically planning on throttling him. What a difference a day makes.
Deciding she would rather die than sit there and mope over Draco Malfoy, Hermione stood up and brushed off her robes. She was going to get through the rest of the day pretending like she didn't have a care in the world. If she encountered Draco, she would ignore him. If she encountered Pansy, she would walk the other way.
She was not about to let one little mishap with a love potion ruin her life.