Dramione - Fire and Ice

Chapter 3 (Hermione)

Hermione found herself immediately overwhelmed in her NEWTS classes and ever so busy with school work and Head Girl duties. Before anyone knew it, it was already the third week of school. 

She thought her time in the common room and patrols with Malfoy would be gruesome, but was pleasantly surprised to find themselves behaving cordially. They would make small talk during nightly patrols about their classes and soon realized Malfoy was more intelligent than she ever gave him credit for. 

When they both happened to find themselves in the common room, they worked diligently on their essays in comfortable silence. Malfoy would occasionally whine and throw a paper thestral at her head or make the occasional innuendo with his inflated ego, but she didn't mind his presence while they studied. 

Hermione would occasionally catch him and his friend Blaise Zabini staring, but otherwise her and Malfoy didn't speak to each other during classes. In fact, not many Slytherins talked to Malfoy anymore. However, to her amusement, Pansy Parkinson tried sitting on his lap the first day of Transfiguration and was unceremoniously pushed off to the floor. She had to hide her laughter behind a book. 

Weirdly enough, she heard girls gossiping from all the houses on how attractive he was and if they should ask him to the upcoming ball. Hermione found it all confusing, if not a bit annoying. She whined about it one day in the library to Ginny since girls were hiding and giggling behind the bookshelves to get a look at him. He was putting on quite the show taking his time contemplating what to pick and pretending they weren't there. To her surprise, Ginny admitted having a crush on him when they were younger. "It was fantasy, not reality, Hermione."

Hermione still didn't trust him - Ron and Harry agreed whole-heartedly to this - but she was starting to worry about his health. He often woke in the mornings with purple shadows under his eyes, indicating his unrest while he slept. But then again, so did she.

"We never see you anymore," whined Ron as she sat with him, Harry, and Ginny in the Gryffindor common room. 

"Not around to finish your homework is what you mean," she teased as she looked over his Defense Against the Dark Arts essay. 

"That too," he said brightly, causing her to shake her head as she crossed out a line on his parchment. 

"Malfoy giving you any trouble?" asked Harry quietly, looking concerned. 

"Not at all," said Hermione, looking puzzled. "The only time he even said the word 'mudblood' was on the train when he apologized."

"He apologized?" asked Ginny, her mouth agape. "Has he been confunded or given polyjuice?"

Hermione shrugged and looked back down at Ron's essay. 

"Are you becoming friends with the slippery Slytherin?" asked Ron darkly. "He's still the enemy, Hermione."

She frowned and put her quill aside. "The whole point of this year is for house unity. If he's going to act cordial, then I will do the same. Ask Ginny... he hasn't done anything suspicious during prefect meetings."

Everyone turned to Ginny who shrugged. "It's odd, but she's right. He helps lead the meetings just as much as Hermione. Hasn't said a single insult except for the occasional eye roll."

Hermione snorted at that. 

Ron looked perplexed between the two witches. "Don't either of you let your guard down. He was... is a follower of You-Know-Who. I don't want any of you lot getting hurt."

Hermione smiled warmly at her friend. "I appreciate the concern, Ron, but Ginny and I are more than capable of hexing him."

"I'm excited for the ball later this week," squealed Ginny, turning the attention away from Malfoy. "A masquerade... and the Weird Sisters are going to perform!"