Chapter 2 - Hermione Malfoy?
"Harry!"
Harry turned his head and found a familiar red-head walking towards him. Ronald Weasly had changed a lot over the summer. His hair was no longer red, but turned into a nice auburn color. He was the Gryffindor Keeper, so he grew into his lanky frame. He was wearing a black tee shirt that said two away from a three some, baggy blue jeans and some VANS.
"Ron!" Harry yelled.
Harry had changed too over the summer. His untidy black jet hair was now spiked up. Seven years of Quidditch had helped his firm and tone his muscles. He got rid of his round frames and wore contacts, which made his emerald eyes show more.
Harry had taking a liking to a Muggle extreme sport called skateboarding and now everything he owned was either baggy or "skateable", as Ron called it. Ron also took a fancy to it.
Ron ran up to him and gave him a friendly hug and they headed to the train. They gave their stuff the loading people and waited outside for some of their other friends.
"So Harry how was your summer with Sirius?" Ron asked. (Sirius' name was cleared last summer after the defeat of Voldemort.)
"It was great, we went on a cruise, so we got to see a lot of hot girls in their bikinis," He said while looking for some of his friends,
"How was yours?" Harry asked looking in Ron's direction again.
"It was okay. We went to Romania to go see Charlie. It was a lot of fun.
So how are things with you and Natalie?" Ron asked. Harry shrugged and look at the students as they entered the train.
"We broke up at the beginning of the summer," Harry said without a trace of sadness.
"Oh, I'm sorry mate. You don't seem too depressed though."
"Yeah, it was for the best. We just didn't have any chemistry," He said shrugging again.
"Chemistry? I saw some of the things you two did in the Common Room. And that was in public," Ron suggested as he nudged Harry.
"Let just forget about it alright. It's in the past. I just want to think about the present," He said with a smile
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Come on Hermione we're going to be late," Draco and Blaise said in unison.
"Hold on, I want to see if my make-up is alright," Hermione said while looking in her mirror.
"Make-up? You just have lip gloss, mascara and a little bit of blush," Draco exclaimed.
"Now Draco, your sister wants to looks her best for her crush," Mrs. Malfoy said with a stern look.
"Trust me Mum, Harry doesn't exactly have high standards. He is always going out with Mudbloods and really ugly girls. Hermione doesn't have much competition when it comes to him," Draco complimented. When Hermione told her mother that fancied Harry, she was surprised to hear that her mother approved.
"Draco shut the fuck up!" Hermione said while putting away her compact.
"You took the words out of my mouth," Mrs. Malfoy said.
"Bye Mum, thanks for all the tips. I'll owl you soon," Hermione said while giving her mother a hug.
"Don't worry Hermione, Harry will fall head over heels for you," Mrs. Malfoy said brushing her perfect wavy hair away from her forehead.
"Hermione, you are beautiful. After all, you're a Malfoy," Draco said while going to give his Mum a hug.
"Thanks Draco, you're not so bad you self," Hermione said with a smile.
"You don't have to tell me, I already know," Draco said with an adorable smile.
"You are such a prat," Hermione said giving her brother a playful swat.
"Alright kids you should get going. The train leaves in 15 minutes," Mrs. Malfoy said teary-eyed. She always got choked up when her children went to school.
"Bye, Mrs. Malfoy, Thank you for letting me stay with you over the summer," Blaise thanked her, giving her a hug as well.
"It was our pleasure; you are welcome to our house anytime," Mrs. Malfoy told her. She whispered in her ear as they pulled apart, "Give Draco time, He will come around." Blaise got big smile on her face turned towards Platform 9 3/4.
"Bye!" they all said as they waved.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"How about that one?" Ron asked while he and Harry looked at the girls who were passing by them.
"Um...too small. I would get a back ache from bending down to kiss her," Harry with a smile as the girl walked past him.
"How about that one?" Ron asked again.
"Um… Too tall," Harry said with a smile again as the tall girl met his eyes.
"Oh, look at Lavender Brown! She got hot over the summer!" Ron said.
"She's alright." Ron just looked at Harry, shocked, and continued to stare at Lavender.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Ladies first," Draco said while making a grand gesture. Hermione and Blaise giggled as they checked to see if any Muggle was around. They just leaned back and went through the barrier. They saw the Hogwarts Express and Hermione couldn't help the smile that was spreading over her face.
As they headed towards the loading station, Hermione spotted Harry Potter. As they neared, Hermione couldn't help the butterflies that were fluttering in her stomach.
Ok don't look directly at him, play it cool, Hermione thought as they got closer to the entrance. She stopped for a second, adjusting her outfit. She took a deep breath and stopped a couple of feet in front of them. She flipped her hair and gave Ron a disgusted look. She whispered something to Draco and Blaise, and they all started to laugh. Hermione swayed her hips and walked towards Ron. Harry heard Ron gulp, and turned towards Hermione who was right in front of them.
"I see you've finally gotten decent clothes, Weasley." Harry could feel the rage coming off of Ron.
Draco yelled out, "If you call that decent." They all started laughing sinisterly.
"And you Potter..." Draco started before Hermione gave him a glare, some sort of signal.
"Good to see you well," Draco said to Harry sarcastically. Harry was confused. Why didn't Draco make fun of him? He didn't have time to think as he put a hand on Ron's shoulder for him to calm down. Hermione turned towards Harry and gave him a half smile.
"Hey Harry," she said a shyly. She flipped her hair in Ron's face, but he could make out the scent. It smelled like vanilla. She leaned into Ron's ear and Harry couldn't help the twang of jealously coursed through him.
"By the way, your fly's open." She started to laugh as Ron hurriedly reached to find his zipper, and to his dismay, he found that his zipper was still intact. She laughed maliciously and headed towards Draco and Blaise.
Draco put a protective arm around Hermione and turned back towards Ron and Harry.
"Sis, I think you'd better wash your hair again. It's touched Weasel's face, and you don't know where its been." Hermione lifted an eyebrow and gave Ron another look over. She gave a disgusted snort and headed towards the train. Before she went in, she gave one last half-smile to Harry.
Harry said nothing as he watched her go on the train. He could practically feel the rage in Ron. He was mad himself. Who were they to make fun of Ron? But why wasn't she mean to him, he thought. She even stopped Draco. He tried to search his mind as to when Hermione was mean to him. She was never mean to him! His heart leapt. Could this mean she liked him? But why? The Malfoys hated Harry, everyone knew that.
"I hate them Malfoys. Especially Hermione. Who are they to..." But Harry wasn't listening to Ron as he ranted and raved about how horrible the Malfoys were. He was focusing on how Hermione looked. Her long, tanned sexy legs, and flat muscular stomach. It almost hurt to think about it. Ron must have seen the pained look on Harry's face because he immediately stopped.
"Harry, are you alright?" Ron asked with a worried _expression.
"Yeah, Yeah I'm fine. It's just that...wow Hermione is really hot." Ron gave him a 'what-are-you-talking-about' look and shrugged.
"Yeah she is, but too bad she is a Malfoy," Ron said without disappointment. There's no point in denying it, Ron thought. Hermione Malfoy is probably the most attractive girl at Hogwarts. He started to turn towards the entrance before Harry grabbed his shoulder.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Harry said in a confused voice
"Oh come on mate, she's Draco twin sister and she's just as bad as he is. She is a spoiled brat, she is." Ron said
"Don't say that!" Harry strongly
"Calm down mate, I'm just saying the truth." Ron
"You're wrong Ron. How could you say that? You don't even know her. Besides, she is one of the most popular girls in our class. Plus, she is the smartest witch in our class," Harry said with determination.
"Were you not here when they came over? You should be pissed at them, not your best mate. Hermione is just as bad as her brother. Probably worse," Ron said as he started muttering obscenities about the Malfoy twins.
Harry hoped it wasn't true. Maybe Hermione was different. Harry looked at his watch and decided to board the train. They found an empty compartment near the back and started to talk about Quidditch.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Blaise did you see how Harry looked at me!" Hermione squealed.
"Yeah I saw the drool, but I also saw the other boys who were checking you out when you passed by them," Blaise said with a pride. Hermione was her best friend after all.
"Really I didn't notice. Do you think this it is too revealing? The skirt is a really short, even for me," Hermione asked while looking at Draco, who was shooting daggers at everyone - make that every male - that passed by Hermione and looked at her.
Hermione just rolled her eyes.
"No you look fine. I really like the outfit your mum bought me," Blaise said distractedly as she looked for a compartment.
"Don't mention it. You know she thinks of you as a daughter. Besides, she loves to go shopping," Hermione said as she looked at Draco for confirmation. He nodded.
They tried to find their other best friends but couldn't find them. They found an empty compartment at the end of the train as well. What Hermione didn't realize was that it was right next to Harry's and Ron's.
"So, who wants something to drink?" Draco said while getting up and dusting off his designer clothes.
"I think I'll have an ice tea with a slice of lemon. Make sure the slice is at the left and not right and a straw too, and make sure the straw bends at the top. Oh and don't forget to add 2 cubes of ice," Hermione said while looking at her perfect manicured nails.
"I'll have a strawberry fizz and make sure it's not too fizzy," Blaise told him as she flipped through the newest edition of Witch Weekly.
"Alright I think I got it. I'll be right back," Draco said. He got up and went to look for the sweets lady. She normally came by later but they wanted it now and they always got what they wanted.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"So Ron do you want anything to drink?" Harry asked
"Um sure, I guess I'll get a strawberry fizz.
If you want, I'll go and get it," Ron said. Harry gave the money to Ron and asked to bring him a soda. Ron left without closing the door. As Harry sat watching the scenery roll by, he couldn't help but think of Hermione. Harry always thought she was pretty but never really thought much of it. He overheard a familiar girl's voice and couldn't help but overhear.
"Do you think that Harry will ask me out this year?" Hermione asked hopefully.
"I think so, because Natalie..." she gave a Hermione a look and they both put on disgusted face, "...says that they broke up at the beginning of the summer. So you have a big chance."
"I don't know what he saw in her. She was Muggle-born wasn't she?" Blaise nodded.
"Well I wonder who our new DADA professor is going to be this year?" Hermione asked. She really didn't want to think about that Natalie girl at all.
"I really hope it's a really cute teacher, like Lockhart," Blaise said as Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Oh shit I forgot to tell Draco that I wanted sugar in my tea."
Harry realized whose voice that belonged to. Hermione. He froze for a moment.
"Hermione has a crush on me," Harry said out loud.
"Should I go and talk to her right now?" Harry said to himself. He got enough courage and was about to talk to her when Ron came into the compartment. His face was really red.
"Ron what happen? Why are you so red?" Harry asked. Ron gave him his drink and sat down.
"I just ran into Draco at the sweet trolley. I bumped into him and I spilled the drinks he was carrying. I was about to apologize when he told me…"
Flashback to incident at trolley
"Look what you did Weasel."
"Sorry Draco, the train started moving and I guess I lost my balance," Ron said without remorse. Draco raised an eyebrow and smirked.
"So Weasel, I see that you are still going to the second hand section. Why doesn't your dad just get a real job and stop associating with Muggles." Draco said with a sneer.
"Shut the fuck up Malfoy," Ron said.
"What are you going to do?" Draco threatened.
Ron got out his wand and was about to say something when Draco said,
"I really don't want to deal with this shit. I don't want to waste my time with you." He paid for his drinks and went to his compartment.
Back to Present
"I told you the Malfoy family is scum," Ron said while take sip of his drink.
"Not all of them are bad!" Harry shouted loudly, so loud that Hermione heard what was going on in the next compartment.
"Why are defending them? Do you have a crush on Hermione or something?" Ron looked like he was about to be sick.
"Maybe I do. I don't want to hear you insulting her like that!" Harry shouted.
Hermione's Compartment
Hermione, Blaise, and Draco heard what was going on and they all look at each other in astonishment.
"Why is Harry defending us?" Draco asked, shock evident in his voice.
"Did you hear what Harry said?" Hermione said in full excitement.
"Yeah, that he didn't want Weasley to insult our family name," Draco said, still in shock.
"No not that. Did you hear what he said before? He has a crush on me!" Hermione squealed. A huge smile came on her face and couldn't help but blush.
"Who gives a shit about that! I just want to kick the crap out of that son-of-a-bitch," Draco said fiercely.
Back in Harry's Compartment
When they finished yelling, Harry realized that Hermione probably heard every word of their shouting match. He got up to go to Hermione's compartment and apologize.
"Where the hell are you going?" Ron said bewildered.
"Hermione is in the next compartment. They probably heard every word," Harry said.
"You're actually going to go apologize to Malfoys?" Ron asked, as if that were the most absurd thing he had ever heard.
"Do you even remember what their father was?" Ron asked in an angry whisper. Of course - everyone knew what their father and some of their friends' parents were. It was no secret. Some of the students were even part of them. Harry ran over and shut the door.
"They were Death Eater children," Ron said as if Harry didn't know. Harry knew.
"It's not their fault their dad was a Death Eater and got thrown in Azkaban. Their dad was a Death Eater, not them," Harry said with an uneasy tone. At least he hoped they weren't.
Harry left and went to the next compartment. He took a deep breath and walked in. He couldn't read their faces, but he thought he saw shock and a little bit of gratefulness.
"Can I come in?" Harry asked politely.
"Um... Sure, " Draco said, still confused. Why did Potter defend us?
"I want to apologize for Ron. He shouldn't have said something like that."
"That's okay Harry. Draco and I are used to people seeing us through...him." Harry thought he saw Hermione shiver. He was surprised when he saw Draco put a comforting arm around Hermione and whispered something in her ear. She gave Draco a loving smile and turned back to Harry. She was clearly not embarrassed at having Harry witness a private moment. Apparently neither was Draco, because he returned Hermione's smiled and turned back to Harry.
"Well I better go back. I guess I'll see you later?" She nodded and gave Harry a smile. He returned the smile and gave Draco a nod. When Draco nodded back, he gave Blaise a smile and left.
"Well that was very odd indeed," Draco said going back to a book.
The rest of the trip was like the usual. Hermione read her new books and couldn't really concentrate. 'Does he really like me?' she thought.