Forget Me Not (Draco/Hermione)

Chapter Five- Never Be Good Enough

Hermione had been born for this role, she soon realised. Prowling through the corridors of Hogwarts, she found the sudden rush of power and authority rather intoxicating. Not that she was into that kind of thing, she wanted to reassure herself, it just felt good to make sure that rules were followed. To the letter. With a flick of her wand, a pupil's uniform would be straightened, a facial piercing would vanish and a layer of cosmetics would be wiped mysteriously clean. Her job was difficult with poor hours and bad reception but it had to be done. Perhaps she would one day have a trophy or a portrait honouring her service to the good reputation of the school. That's if she survived that long.

"Donovan!" she glared, disarming the surly Slytherin third-year with barely a flick of her wand. "One more curse from you and you'll have McGonagall to answer to."

Perhaps the job in hand would have been simpler if her fellow Head Boy bothered to correspond with her more often. Draco Malfoy. Not only did he have the nerve to return but he had the treasured role. Him?! A former Death Eater?!?! It was marvellous the parents didn't complain!

Hermione hated to look down on others but this was an exception. It wasn't about the Death Eater business. Draco had pretended not to recognise Harry after all. Plus his mother had lied to the Dark Lord, saving Harry's life albeit for her own son's sake. But his lazy attitude and nasty demeanour, so obviously displayed in his terrible year as prefect, made him a poor candidate for the role. Case closed.

Sometimes she did see him, every now and again. A brief blond head in the sea of pupils. Silently working in the corner of the class she would be in. Eating his meals quickly and departing hastily from the Great Hall. He had always been an infuriating little ferret but at least, in the past, he wasn't so difficult to find. 

Writing of her predicament to Harry, she was more than a little pleased when his new owl, Freya, returned with a blank parchment and a small note describing Draco in terms that grew fouler as she scanned down the page. The blank parchment was of course Harry's treasured Marauder's Map and after dinner that night, she returned to her dormitory where she used it to locate her own treasure. A small dot was currently pacing the library and it was no surprise to her, who it would be.

He was the only one there apart from the librarian who gave Hermione a brief and rare smile as she entered. Malfoy himself was hidden from the main view but for a person who knew this library inside out, he was easy pickings.

"Malfoy, we need to talk."

"Damn you, Granger, I knew I should have hid somewhere else." He began to pull at his books, cramming them into his bag. 

"I've done you the favour of writing out the prefect rota for the term. I've colour categorised it and- hey! Where do you think you're going?" As he tried to slip past her, she grabbed his left arm. Screaming in pain, he turned on her, his eyes burning bright. 

"Get off me, Mud- Granger," he spat before turning away and marching out of the library. 

Shaken, Hermione slid into his recently vacant seat, still warm from his body. 

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"Leave that arse alone, Hermione. He's just trouble," Ginny growled, brandishing her mascara wand violently. 

"I know. I know," Hermione sighed, draped over her four poster bed as she watched her friend beautify herself. "I just... I have a responsibility, you know! To make sure he does his job right."

"McGonagall's no fool. He's got the job for a reason. Whatever that reason is, it's there and it's not yours to worry about. Now get that dress on and come with me."