Disclaimer: Although I would love to have all of her money, I am not J.K. Rowling, nor do I own anything of hers. So yeah, I do not own Harry Potter etc, etc, etc...
Rated R: This story is rated R for language, insinuations, and sexual situations that will occur throughout the story. I'm sorry to say this to some of you, but this is not a written porno. I will have an actual plot. If you're just in it for the sex, move on and please don't read this fanfic and waste my time with some silly review, telling me that I don't have enough sex incorporated into the story. Thank you.
Author's Note: This is a romantic comedy. There will be laughter. There will be sex. There will be awkward moments. However, I'm keeping the sappiness to a complete minimum. If you've seen The Notebook, you'll know why.
And now, I proudly present the first chapter of Bookworm and the Beast... Lol. The title gets me every time...
Chapter One: Letters and Silver BadgesA triumphant shriek rent the air, rattling the windows and startling the three people who were lounging in the den of the Burrow. Ginny Weasley looked up from her copy of Which Broomstick?, her brows furrowed in bewilderment.
"What in bloody hell was that?" she asked.
Ronald Weasley simply shrugged and replied, "Sounded like a screaming banshee," before moving his queen. He grinned at his friend Harry Potter who was sitting across the chessboard.
"Checkmate! Lost again, Harry!" Ron cried.
Ron didn't have much time to gloat, however, for at that moment the screaming banshee came running into the room. It was Hermione Granger.
"You won't believe what just came for me in the mail!" she exclaimed, beaming at the three of them.
"A revised version of Hogwarts, A History that includes house elves?" Ron suggested sarcastically.
Hermione gave an exasperated sigh.
"No! I got that ages ago... Oh fine, I'll just tell you." Her eyes lit up once again. "I just received my Head Girl badge!" she cried, holding up the silver badge for them to see.
"Congratulations, Hermione!" Harry said.
"Oh! Here, Harry," she said excitedly, handing him an envelope with the Hogwarts crest on it.
Harry just stared at it.
"Well! Open it! It's got to be you!" Hermione cried fervently.
She watched with bated breath as he tore open the envelope. There was no badge.
"Sorry, Hermione," he said as he read his usual school letter and looked over his supply list for his final year at Hogwarts.
Hermione looked a bit crestfallen but then turned to Ron.
"Here, Ron. You must have gotten it then," she said, although sounding skeptical.
Ron casually opened his envelope and pulled out the letter inside. His eyes suddenly widened.
"Bloody hell! I don't believe it!" he exclaimed.
"What! You got it!" Hermione shrieked.
Ron grinned, reading the letter.
"Not Head Boy! McGonagall made me Quidditch Captain, Harry!"
Harry grinned back at him.
"Way to go, mate," he said, clapping him on the back.
"McGonagall wants us to start coming up with plays and stuff now so that practices can start as soon as we get back-"
"Excuse me!" Hermione bellowed.
Three pairs of eyes fell upon her. She took a deep, steadying breath.
"If you didn't get it, Harry... and Ron, you didn't get it... then who's Head Boy!"
"Master Malfoy, sir. Master Malfoy's school mail has just arrived, sir," squeaked Belcher, the house elf, who bowed low to the ground and held out a silver tray with a letter placed neatly on top.
"Thanks, Belch," said Draco Malfoy, retrieving the letter and watching the house elf scamper off.
"What is it, Drakey?" Pansy Parkinson called from the massive four-poster bed. Malfoy shrugged, tore open the envelope, and read the letter inside. He then pulled something small and silver out of the torn wreckage and stared at it.
"Oh, fuck," he muttered.
"I really think it's Ernie Macmillan. I mean, it must be him-"
"Give it up, Hermione!" Ron snapped impatiently as the four of them boarded the Hogwarts Express. Hermione had been asking them nonstop if they thought that Ernie Macmillan was indeed Head Boy. At first, Ron, Harry, and Ginny had teased her by suggesting that it was Neville Longbottom. But after a week of nagging, the three just wanted her to shut the fuck up.
They finally found an empty compartment, settled in, and waited for the train to depart. A couple of tense minutes filled with Hermione incessantly tapping her foot passed. At long last, the whistle blew and the Hogwarts Express pulled away from the station. To the relief of everyone, Hermione jumped up and left the compartment, leaving the three other occupants in peace.
Hermione walked briskly to the back of the train where she had been told to meet the Head Boy and commence the meeting with the Prefects. Coming to the last compartment, she peered through the glass and saw none other than Draco Malfoy.
What is he doing here? she thought, annoyed by the mere sight of him. She slid open the door and marched inside.
"What are you doing here?" she asked coolly.
Malfoy smirked back at her.
"I'm Head Boy, Granger. Didn't you know?"
Hermione snorted.
"Very funny, Malfoy. Now leave," she ordered.
Malfoy stood up and slowly swaggered towards her.
"I don't think you understand," he drawled icily, coming closer as she backed away.
She felt a bit panicky when her back met the sliding door and Malfoy's face came ever closer. Suddenly, he brought an object so close to her face that she couldn't quite tell what it was. Shoving his hand away, she felt the bottom of her stomach drop out when she saw the silver Head Boy badge in his hand.
"That's right, Granger. I'm Head Boy," he said, sneering at Hermione's horrified expression.
"No... no, no, no! This is all wrong! It was supposed to be Harry! Or Ron! Or Ernie Macmillan! Even Neville would have been a good candidate! But not you!"
Malfoy backed away, his jaws clamped shut in anger.
"For once, Granger, I actually agree with you. I'm not exactly thrilled to be in this position. But this is only temporary, so you can wipe that melodramatic look of horror off your filthy mudblood face," he snarled.
For the briefest second, Hermione only glared at Malfoy. Then, quite unexpectedly, her fist came slamming into his nose. Through his tear-clouded vision, Malfoy saw her storm out of the compartment, the sliding glass door slamming behind her.
He sat back down and wiped the small trickle of blood that had begun to drip from his nose. Running his fingers over the assaulted organ, he was relieved to discover that it wasn't broken... but there would definitely be a bruise. A rusty chuckle escaped his lips as he leaned his head back against the seat and closed his already purpling eyes, the sight of a brown-eyed witch greeting him as he did so.
"Oh, fuck," Malfoy muttered for the second time in over a week.
Just moments after storming away from Malfoy, Hermione stormed back into the compartment where Harry, Ginny, and Ron were playing Exploding Snaps and collapsed with a huff onto the seat next to Ron. She didn't speak immediately. Instead, she glared out the window and took deep, calming breaths that only seemed to fuel the rage within. Noticing that the other three occupants had stopped in the middle of their game to stare at her, Hermione finally spoke.
"Malfoy," she hissed, "is Head Boy."
Three jaws dropped simultaneously.
"My feelings exactly," Hermione replied, exhaling a shaky breath.
Harry was the first to awaken from a state of shock.
"Dumbledore chose Malfoy be to be Head Boy instead of me?" he cried angrily.
"I thought you didn't care about being Head Boy," Ginny commented, a sly grin on her face.
"That was before I knew Malfoy had gotten the position," he gritted out.
Harry's scowl quickly turned into a grin as Ginny moved closer and whispered something in his ear, nipping his earlobe as she moved away.
"At least wait until your own brother isn't any where near. Bloody hell. No common decency," Ron muttered irritably, staring at the couple sitting across from him with utter disgust. He turned his head and refocused his attention on Hermione. She was now reading her revised copy of Hogwarts, A History. It took a moment for Ron to realize that her knuckles were bleeding.
"Hermione, your hand's bleeding," he said, a bit alarmed. Hermione looked up.
"What?"
"Your hand is bleeding," he repeated, grabbing his wand and conjuring bandages.
He asked her what had happened as he dressed the wound.
"Oh... I- I accidentally shut the door on my hand when I left the meeting."
Two rather disturbing realizations hit Hermione at that moment. One, she had lied to Ron. Two, being so upset over Malfoy, she had completely forgotten about meeting with the Prefects. Another disturbing thought rose up: What had happened at the meeting if Malfoy had been the only one there? Hermione cringed inwardly just thinking of the possibilities.
"All done," Ron said, already finished but still holding her hand in his.
"Thank you," she replied, smiling for the first time that day before returning to her book. His ears now a definite shade of red, Ron turned and found Harry and Ginny grinning at him.
"Oh, sod off," he grumbled, glowering back at them.
End of Chapter Note: For those who are a little iffed because this chapter wasn't bursting with romance between Hermione and Draco: (As J.K. Rowling has so cruelly posted on her website) Patience is the key.