A Real Smile
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, just the plot of this fanfic. I also don't own AVPM which I quoted.
AN: This is my first so don't expect it to be amazing, please R&R and no flames, although I'll appreciate constructive criticism. Thanks.
Chapter 1
Hermione left the ball in a rage, "Stupid ginger git" she muttered as she sat down in an alcove and her anger turned into quiet sobs as tears traced their way down her face. She felt so frustrated that she would cry over a stupid boy, when she was supposed to be brave and not cry over silly things like Lavender would.
Hermione looked up suddenly to see Draco Malfoy leaning against the wall. "Crying over the Weasel, Granger? I thought you were going to live happily ever after and have little ginger, bushy-haired, know-it-all, halfbloods. Did you cheat on him with Potty? Well, I was expecting him to cheat on you with Scar-head actually."
"Why don't you go back to your pug-faced girlfriend, ferret? Before I go and get Professor Moody." She said irritably
"She's not my girlfriend, she's an annoying whiny slut that I tolerate and had to take to the ball because of my parents, also I have to agree with you she is rather pug-faced" He said with a smirk.
"Wow Draco Malfoy just agreed with something I said. What next, Snape gets drunk and declares his love for Gryffindor? " She commented dryly.
"That's as likely as him washing his hair or smiling." He replied.
"Well I'm sure you could give him some tips on hair as you must spend 2 hours each morning putting copious amounts of gel in it, and I've never seen you smile either." She said
"My hair is perfect, there's nothing wrong with the amount of gel I use, and I do smile on occasion." He said defiantly
"Malfoy, the quantity you use would hold up the Hogwarts Bridge, and when have you smiled? She said tiredly
"My expensive gel is to be used for more worthy things, for one my gorgeous hair, and I have smiled! Sort of." said Draco
"No you don't; you'll smirk but never wear a real smile."
"Well show me a 'real smile' then."
"No."
"Why not?"
"I don't feel like smiling."
"Don't let Weasley ruin your night."
"Why not?"
"Because he's not worth it."
"Back to insulting my friends are you?"
"You call them friends? After how they treat you? Every day you help them with homework, every one of your escapades you're the brains, I know Potter didn't learn that summoning spell so quickly by himself."
"They're still good friends." She mumbled.
"I disagree."
"Good, because I don't care what you think."
"Although I agree with you on one thing..."
"What?"
"Weasley is a stupid ginger git."
"You don't have a reason to say that."
"Yes I do, instead of bottling up his jealousy, he had to ruin the one day you can be happy without worrying about school or your stupid friends. He couldn't let it go or at least have the decency to bother you later and let you enjoy yourself. Yet you still defend him?" he interrogated
"He's one of my best friends." She muttered.
"You're supposed to be the brightest witch of our age; I know you're the smartest student in Hogwarts but you can be so ignorant sometimes." He huffed
"Overlooking someone's flaws isn't being ignorant." She stated irritably
"No that's not what I meant; overlooking someone's flaws is an important trait that one needs to forgive people and it's one thing for you to overlook them, but it's another thing to forget that they're there. You can't pretend your friends are perfect like you, and they can't use you like that." He clarified
"You don't know them like I do, don't be so quick to judge." She barked, ignoring his comment about her, assuming it was meant to be an insult
"I never said that, I am making observations of what I do know about the famous Trio." He said
"Well you're wrong"
"We're going in circles with this, why won't you admit that you feel frustrated with your friends and how they treat you, especially the Weasel."
"Why are you still here Malfoy? Are you bored and find my problems entertaining?"
"Don't try to change the subject, just let your anger out for once."
"Fine! I'm angry with Ronald for only asking me out because he couldn't find anyone else, and when I have a date he got so jealous and acted like he hated Viktor –even though he's completely infatuated with him, and I'm angry with Harry always being in the middle. I know he just reconciled with Ron so he doesn't want to argue again, and he's friends with both of us so he doesn't want to side with either of us, but I'm sick of him being on the fence and I wish he would stick up for me more often." She stopped when she ran out of air.
"That felt good didn't it?" He inquired
She nodded.
"Weasley is probably just jealous that you stole his boyfriend" She chuckled at this and he continued "Like I said before he's an idiot and he doesn't deserve your tears, no one does…"
"What do you mean no one does?" She interrupted
"Never mind that, where was I? Oh yeah, Potty needs to man up and side with you for once. I remember what Dumbledore said in first year; he said it takes a great deal of courage to stand up to one's enemies but a great deal more to stand up to one's friends. I think he should take a page from Longbottom's book and stand up to Weasley and help you out." He announced.
"You remember that?" She asked, surprised.
"I have a good memory, and I thought what he said was very insightful." He shrugged.
"I thought all Slytherins think that courage is futile." She mused
"Not all Slytherins; I for one think courage is admirable, but not in Gryffindor doses." He informed.
"What do you mean, 'Gryffindor doses'?" She glared.
"I mean the whole running off, risking your life to save the day thing. Slytherins are too selfish to be the hero." He replied
"So you choose to stand and watch while someone else solves the problem?"
"No, I mean we do help each other, but we aren't suicidal and we do it discreetly, we don't do it for the attention."
"We don't do to get attention, and we are not suicidal!"
"I know you don't like all the praise, but what about Scar-head and his boyfriend?"
"Harry hates being famous for this, he just wants a normal life where there isn't an evil wizard plaguing his dreams and threatening to kill him when he returns."
"Do you think he's really coming back?"
Hermione looked at Draco and she could see that he was worried; she was shocked that he wasn't overjoyed by the prospect of Voldemort's return.
"Wouldn't you like that?" She asked, a little too scornful than intended.
"I know I make it seem like I want him to, that I'll follow my father's footsteps and become a Death Eater but that's just an act, I might have to join them but I don't want to."
"So your father really is a Death Eater."It was more of a statement than a question."But you don't want to be one?"
"Why would I want that?"
"Well I…"
"I might act like an evil little prick but that's not the life I want."
"I'm sorry for assuming…"
"Don't be, we all have our prejudices. I was raised to believe that muggles are inferior and muggleborns are filthy and not fit to be in our world. You changed that; I couldn't bring myself to believe that muggleborns are second-rate when the smartest student in Hogwarts is one. I never actually hated you. I'm sorry for bullying you, I know it's a stupid excuse but I was taught to think that, I'm so sorry for calling you names and for how I treated you."
"Malfoy, you don't need to apologise, it's not your fault."
"But do you forgive me?" He asked
"Of course, you made me feel a lot better by saying that." She smiled
"Well I'm glad to have helped."
They both wandered into the courtyard, Hermione sat down on one of the benches and Draco joined her, but didn't sit too close so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable. She shivered, Draco draped his cloak around her shoulders as she smiled gratefully.
"So, are you still upset about Weasley?" He inquired.
"A little, but I realised he has to grow up, I told him next time there's a ball to ask me out, and not as a last resort." Draco looked slightly despondent at this but she didn't notice and carried on. "I mean if he likes me then he should just say it and not be such a wuss, he can't pretend like he doesn't care and then get jealous when I have a date, I'm not going to wait forever for him."
"Well they say never tell a girl you like her, it makes you look like an idiot."
"Well whoever said that is the real idiot."
"That's true, but sometimes it's better if she doesn't know."
"What do you mean?"
"Sometimes a guy might like a girl for years but never say anything because he doesn't want her to get hurt."
"Well I think Ron hurt me more by not telling me."
"I agree he should've asked you out and been honest with you, but in some cases it's better for a guy to admire her from a distance, than to tell her how he feels."
"If a guy liked me then I would want to know, especially if I liked him."
"That may be true for you but not for all girls, a guy might like a girl who would never like him back. But anyway, what you were saying about the Weasel?"
"He needs to man up and not be afraid of what I'll think; sometimes you need to dive in headfirst."
"In all fairness, you can be a bit scary. I still remember third year."
"Oh right, sorry about that."
"Don't be, I was a prick. I still am."
"You're not being a prick now."
"Tomorrow you'll go back to hating me, and I'll go back to bullying you."
"I never hated you."
"Really?"
"I disliked you, but I didn't hate you."
"I never hated you either"
"You mentioned that already."
"Oh, well being around Pansy for long periods of time will do horrific things to one's intelligence, which explains why I'm repeating myself." She smiled at this "See, I've made you smile 3 times already."
"You counted how many times I've smiled?"
"Well it is a very nice smile, if you don't mind me saying." He smirked.
"Thank you, and thank you for making me smile." She blushed.
"Are they 'real smiles'? Having never fabricated one myself –according to a reliable source, I wouldn't know." He smirked
"Yes they're 'real smiles' and the 'reliable source' has only seen you in school so they wouldn't know if you have smiled properly.
"Trust me; I don't smile at all whether I'm at home or at Hogwarts."
"You made me smile when I didn't feel like it, so I will return the favour."
"Thanks Granger."
They heard the clock strike midnight Draco looked up. "Wow, didn't realise we were out here for so long."
"Time flies when you're hanging out with your supposed enemy."
"Are you feeling better now?"
"Yeah I am, listen I'm sorry if I ruined your night with my problems."
"I was bored anyway and I enjoyed it. You're a lovely person to be around without your stupid friends. Although I think you're lovely even with your friends, which is quite a feat."
"Thank you, I think you're a lovely person too, and I'm glad to have seen that you're not an arrogant git all the time."
"Thank you, for understanding."
"You deserve to have someone to listen, and if you ever need me, I'll be there if I could get away from my prejudiced friends."
"The same goes for you. Where's Krum by the way?"
"He left a while ago, before I had a spat with Ronald."
"You know you only call him Ronald when you're mad at him."
"I'm always mad at him. Wait, how do you know that?"
"I've seen you arguing all the time and you are a fascinating person to study. The Granger: a rare species, her natural habitat is the library, and is often found partaking in a vicious mating ritual with the uninteresting species: the Weasel."
"It's not a mating ritual, it's more me shouting at him for doing stupid things like pretending he doesn't fancy me or leaving his homework to the last minute, while he stands there mumbling in a cowardly fashion."
"Well some married couples have been like that for years, my parents are like that."
"Your poor mother."
"No she's the one doing the shouting, while my father does the cowardly mumbling."
"I've met your father and he's terrifying, if your mother has that effect on him, then I really don't want to meet her." She laughed.
"She's a wonderful person actually; I think you'd like her." He said with a cheerful look on his face and a slight upturning of his lips.
"Not so sure if she'll feel the same. Hey, you almost smiled! Well it's a start, I'll have to get you to improve."
"Be my guest, and my mother doesn't share my father's ideologies and is actually fascinated with muggles."
"Really?"
"Yeah and it kind of rubbed off onto me, I wanted to choose muggle studies last year, but I also didn't want my head on a platter."
"We should discuss muggle lifestyles sometime."
"It'd be nice to talk to someone intelligent."
"Same here."
"Is that an insult of your friends I hear?"
"It's just that they always talk about things like Quidditch and never anything interesting. Although I'm sure you love Quidditch too; I know you're intelligent enough to enjoy interesting conversations."
"How do you know I'm intelligent?"
"You get top marks all the time."
"Yeah, but don't tell anyone I actually study for tests."
"You study for tests?" She said with a mock look of surprise "I'm such an idiot, I've been eating my textbooks for years."
"Well everyone thinks I'm just naturally clever, which I am, but that doesn't get you good grades alone."
"This is what I've been telling those two dolts for so long!" She exclaimed before stifling a yawn.
"Are you tired, Granger?" He said, looking concerned.
"Yeah I guess in between the dancing, the shouting, and the crying, I got kind of worn out."
"Since Krum is gone would you like me to walk you to your common room?"
"That's very nice of you, but I think people might find it weird to see us walking together."
"Oh ok." He said, looking disappointed.
"But you could ...I doubt anyone will see us and I enjoy your company."
"I enjoy your company too. Shall we?" He offered the crook of his elbow and she gratefully took it.
They walked side by side in silence to the tower, Draco fell behind as they passed the Great Hall and Hermione looked around, worried when she didn't see him but he reappeared a few seconds later. When they reached it they stood face to face waiting for the other to speak first.
"Thank you for that Malfoy, you made me feel so much better, and if you ever need me then I mean it, I'm here for you."
"At least I could help, and if you ever need me, I'll be here for you too."
" I should probably go now…" She started.
"Wait" He pulled out a red rose from his pocket. "I quickly summoned it from the girl selling them, I didn't steal it, I threw a galleon at her, and I just thought it would cheer you up."
"A galleon was too much; they were only a sickle each."
"Money's not really a big deal for me." He said as handed it to her.
"Thank you." She said as she took it. "This is going to sound silly, but nobody's given me flowers before…other than family."
"People should give you flowers more often."
"I don't mind, I…" she stuttered, feeling embarrassed.
"You should go to sleep, you're tripping on your words." He smirked
"Whatever, Malfoy" She turned to go so he wouldn't she her blushing but he spoke.
"One more thing Granger," she turned around to face him "you looked absolutely beautiful tonight, even when you were crying." He immediately turned on his heel and strolled off. He left her standing there, shocked and redder than the rose she was holding. As he walked away from the flustered girl who seemed to have forgotten she still had his cloak, he felt light-hearted and he sensed something, invisible to the naked eye. He felt a microscopic twitch in his face, so small he could barely feel it, yet it was there, turning his lips upwards by a millimetre.
To be continued...
AN: Hope you liked it. Please review :)