Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Some of the dialogue and all the characters used in this story belong to J.K. Rowling.

Aftermath

Chapter Three, Part I

The summer passed uneventfully until the Quidditch World Cup. Draco was excited and eager to see the match between Ireland and Bulgaria. His father had been invited by Cornelius Fudge, for Top Box seats no less, for his generous donation to St. Mungo's Hospital. Even without Fudge's invitation, the Quidditch World Cup simply could not be missed.

Draco and his family left the Manor early in the morning on the day of the Quidditch World Cup, taking one of the family carriages as he was too young to Apparate and a Malfoy would never stoop so low as to pick up a garbage portkey. The carriage was black and made of wrought iron; it was invisible to Muggles and was pulled by a pair of thestrals. The carriage itself was worth thousands of galleons but Abraxas Malfoy had spared no expense in his time. Draco recalled thinking the carriage odd as a child as he could not see the creatures that pulled it though both his mother and father were able to; later on, he learned exactly why he couldn't see the creatures. Draco waited patiently as his father helped his mother onto the carriage. After seating himself comfortably within, Draco watched in detached interest as his father muttered something to one of their doormen before briskly climbing into the carriage. The doormen bowed deeply before shutting the doors and stepping back and stated their destination out loud and then the carriage was off.

Draco felt his mind wander during the trip. They rode in silence with only a slight sniff from his mother. He knew for a fact that his parents were not overtly interested in the Quidditch match itself. Narcissa had never taken to Quidditch and had been most displeased when he'd made the school team as she considered it dangerous. Lucius, perhaps a little more interested in the game than his wife, mostly only took interest in Quidditch as it was an opportunity to make connections with foreign wizards. Draco had no doubt that his father was looking forward to the chance to meet other rich, pureblood families and to establish deals to further the Malfoy name.

His musings were cut short as the carriage landed smoothly on the grounds of a large field. As Draco climbed down from the steps of the carriage, he could make out many tents in the distance and beyond them, a large stadium that already seemed to be buzzing in excitement. His mother and father had no sooner opened the door when a portly man strode up to them in amazement, in the distance a small cottage could be seen with his family watching in interest.

"Strange! You are human, then?" asked the man in wonder. Draco was confused but saw a dawn of understanding in Lucius's expression as he regarded the little man, sneering. Narcissa simply looked away as though the man wasn't worth acknowledging and pretended she heard nothing.

"I could have sworn you all just appeared out of thin air..." said the man now hesitant, wary, as he studied the Malfoys' negative expressions, "I expect you have a reservation?"

"Ah, I take it you are the... manager?" said Lucius in a superior voice. Draco understood at once from his father's tone of voice and looked away like his mother. This man was a Muggle.

The man seemed to understand that he was being looked down at as he puffed up his chest. "Aye, I'm Mr. Roberts. Who are you, then?" He looked up at Lucius and sniffed as his eyes fell onto his cane which in reality concealed his wand.

Lucius was still smiling but Draco knew at once that his father was more annoyed than he let on. His mother, perhaps reaching the same conclusion, spoke.

"Lucius, Draco and I shall go on and assemble...the tent," said Narcissa coldly. At Lucius's curt nod, the both of them began to walk away as they heard Mr. Robert's protesting.

"Now just wait a moment! You must have a reservation and you must pay before I let you go!"

Draco caught one more glance of the little man who was being approached by his curious family and his father's sneering face before he turned around and followed behind his mother. Draco never liked encountering Muggles; it was bizarre since most of his life had been spent far away from their kind. He was also well aware with the aftermath of meeting Muggles; his father would be intolerable for some time and his mother would be irate.

Draco and his mother walked a ways passing many small tents before his mother stopped at a large clearing where six tents could easily have been fitted side by side. There was a hastily pegged sign labelled 'Malfoy' at the front. His mother pulled out from her little bag, a miniature tent palace complete with tiny white peacocks. Draco took the tiny model from his mother and strode over to the center of the campsite and placed the item on the grass before stepping back to his mother who had pulled out her wand.

"Engorgio," said Narcissa quietly as she waved her wand. The palace and its decorative animals were immediately restored to normal size, filling up the designated space perfectly. Draco watched in satisfaction as many witches and wizards stopped in their tracks to gape at the extravagant scene before them. He also noticed many Ministry officials seemed exasperated at the sight of the tent. Of course this was no ordinary Muggle tent and it was bound to raise some suspicion but Draco smirked; confident that his father's influence as a Malfoy would allow them to get away with practically anything.

Narcissa had already walked into the tent proudly and Draco followed eagerly. The inside was as splendid with its grand marble staircase and crystal chandelier. His mother had seated herself in the reception area which was already supplied with tea and fine china and waited in dignified silence as Draco made his way over to the white leather sofa. Draco sat down and after a few minutes of dreadfully boring silence, he turned to his mother.

"What's taking father so long?" he asked, impatiently. Narcissa's nostrils flared as she slowly lowered her tea cup onto the saucer before replying.

"I expect he's having difficulty dealing with those—Muggles." Draco understood by her tone that he was not to bring this subject again. At that moment, his father walked into the tent in agitation.

"Disgusting, useless, arrogant..." Lucius was white with rage. Apparently the Muggles had annoyed him further after they'd left. Draco was unsurprised as he'd gathered that Mr Roberts was a man with a lot of pride which certainly would not have boded well with his father.

Draco was certain this was not the end of it but he didn't dare prod his father with questions when he was already in a foul mood. Deciding it was best to leave his family alone for some time to cool off, Draco announced that he was off to find his friends and would be back within the hour. His mother nodded compliantly and father was too absorbed in his own thoughts to notice as Draco exited the palace-like tent.

Hermione had had a relaxing summer with her parents but she was undeniably excited to be seeing Ron and Harry before school started. She had been most anxious when she'd gotten a letter from Harry asking for food and she was worried that he wasn't getting enough nutrition. Ron had sent her an overly excited little owl with the invitation to see the Quidditch World Cup and to stay with his family along with Harry for the remainder of the summer. Her parents were sad to see her go so soon but Hermione had managed to convince them that the Quidditch World Cup was a rare and educational opportunity she wouldn't have again so they agreed to let her go.

Hermione was unsurprised to see that Ron's home, The Burrow, was not in the greatest condition. She had suspected that his family was not particularly well off although this had never bothered her in the slightest. Her own family was only slightly above middle class and Hermione had never been one to care about luxury. Ron's older brothers, Bill and Charlie, were as friendly and kind-hearted as the other Weasleys, with the exception of Percy who was under a great deal of pressure to perform well at his new job at the Ministry of Magic. Hermione was only too understanding of Percy's situation; aiming high meant having to overcome a lot of distractions but Hermione liked to think that Harry and Ron had helped her relax her own ambitions and strict rule-adherence. Once upon a time, Percy might have been her role model but nowadays, Hermione realized that being too unyielding was not a healthy attitude to have growing up.

The day of the Quidditch World Cup came and Hermione found herself amazed by the large gathering of witches and wizards for the event. As she was sent off to collect water with Harry and Ron, she surveyed the various tents set up for the event. After getting into a minor spat with Ron regarding the grumpy-looking Viktor Krum, Hermione overheard a conversation between an oddly dressed old wizard and a Ministry official:

"Just put them on, Archie, there's a good chap. You can't walk around like that, the Muggle at the gate's already getting suspicious—"

"I bought this in a Muggle shop," said the old wizard stubbornly. "Muggles wear them."

"Muggle women wear them, Archie, not the men, they wear these,"" said the Ministry wizard, and he brandished the pinstriped trousers.

"I'm not putting them on," said old Archie in indignation. "I like a healthy breeze 'round my privates, thanks." At this, Hermione burst out into mad giggles that she simply could not control. Ron and Harry were both looking at her in concern and bewilderment but she waved off their concern and merely ducked out of the line for water to try and calm herself. The hilarity of the situation (which really wasn't that funny, goodness!) didn't wear off until Archie had left the vicinity.

It had been a surprise to run into the golden trio. Draco had not expected to see them until school started. What was even more surprising was seeing them in the Top Box. As father and Arthur Weasley exchanged barely veiled insults, Draco sent a customary sneer at Potter, Weasley, and Granger. Of course the three of them would be together for the holidays; he couldn't recall a time at ever seeing them apart from one another for very long.

Under his father's watchful gaze and in the presence of Fudge, Draco didn't dare say anything. He was put out to see that Weasley and Potter had both gotten taller; Weasley was a couple inches taller than he was and looked gangly and uncoordinated. Potter was still shorter than himself to Draco's delight. His eyes, without his permission, flickered over Granger for the first time since third year. She had also grown a little taller but was still shorter than Potter and himself. Surprisingly, she had filled out a little in the chest area and looked subtly curvier than he could recall. She, like Potter and Weasley, seemed awkward in her body and Draco was relieved that he himself was above the nonsense of adolescence and uncomfortable growth spurts. A Malfoy was always to carry himself with dignity and pride. He had always known since his strict upbringing as a child that he was different from other children around his age. For example, setting aside the fact that he'd never had much of childhood to begin with, Draco's stereotypic teenage years, so far, were nonexistent. Everything was completely under his control as it always had been.

Draco was interrupted from his musings as he noticed his father looking at Granger as well. Draco watched in perverse interest as Granger turned a delicate shade of pink under his father's critical scrutiny before he was turned away to sit in his seat, right behind Granger's bushy head.

Malfoy had changed somewhat over the summer. The boyishness of his face was disappearing (not unlike the way Harry's face had changed although Hermione suspected that Harry had simply lost weight due to the Dursleys' diet). Malfoy was also slightly taller than Hermione recalled although the change was not as dramatic as Ron's, who seemed to tower over her now.

Mrs. Malfoy was a beautiful lady but the distasteful expression on her face looked cruel and loveless. Hermione shuddered slightly, missing the warmth and love of her own parents. She wondered if the Malfoys were like this all the time? Surely they didn't act so cold and unfeeling towards Malfoy himself?

Much later after the game, his father, after having a few drinks, announced that he and some other Death Eaters were off to "teach those Muggles a lesson about true pride." Narcissa took this to mean, "go home and stay there" and was only too happy to oblige. Draco, however, was interested and did not want to miss the event. After much snipping with his mother, Draco was allowed to stay on the condition that he hid somewhere safe. It was then that Draco ran into the trio again. He watched them fumble in the dark and was about to speak until Granger's voice interrupted, loud and worried.

"What happened?" said Granger anxiously, stopping so abruptly Potter walked into her. "Ron, where are you? Oh, this is stupid—lumos!"

"Tripped over a tree root," said Weasley angrily, getting to his feet again.

"Well, with feet that size, hard not to," Draco replied, smirking right behind them. He was lounging against a tree watching the trio in interest. Granger wore a startled expression on her face and the light from her wand cast shadows on her face. Weasley took that moment to swear loudly.

"Language, Weasley," said Draco in amusement. A tiny flicker of unease moved through him as he heard cries and screams coming from beyond the trees. "Hadn't you better be hurrying along, now? You wouldn't like her spotted, would you?"

He nodded at Granger, and at the same moment, a blast like a bomb sounded from the campsite, and a flash of green light momentarily lit the trees around them. His heartbeat quickened; surely his father wasn't outright killing the Muggles?

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Granger defiantly. Draco met her eyes for the first time. They were a light brown colour and nothing special but the intensity with which she stared at him caused his throat to go curiously dry.

"Granger, they're after Muggles," said Draco, a little breathlessly. "D'you want to be showing off your knickers in midair?" At this, he felt his pulse beat subtly faster. What was the matter with him? "Because if you do, hang around... they're moving this way, and it would give us all a laugh."

"Hermione's a witch," Potter snarled. Draco internally rolled his eyes. Only the likes of Potter would so easily lose control and pick a fight at the most inopportune moment.

"Have it your own way, Potter," said Draco. "If you think they can't spot a Mudblood, stay where you are."

"You watch your mouth!" shouted Weasley. Granger had not spoken since Draco had addressed her and was clearly thinking hard, concentrating on something; her brow was furrowed and she wasn't looking directly at him. Weasley's voice brought her out her reverie and she quickly shot a curious glance at Draco before turning to Weasley.

"Never mind, Ron," said Granger quickly, seizing said boy's arm to restrain him as he took a step toward Draco's spot by the trees. The explosions and screams continued and Draco lazily made small talk with Potter before Granger finally had the sense to intervene.

"Oh come on," said Granger, with a disgusted look at Draco as he leered at her, "let's go and find the others." Granger led both boys away by an arm and cast another, almost unwillingly curious, glance back at Draco; it was filled with unanswered questions. Draco met her eyes as she walked away then sneered when she whipped her head back to the front and away from him.

"Keep that big bushy head down, Granger."

Hermione pondered Malfoy's words and actions. He was being a prat as usual but if she didn't know better, she could swear he had given her a warning. It seemed quite unlike Malfoy to even concern himself with the wellbeing of anyone, let alone herself. He most likely meant nothing good by the warning. Hermione glanced around at Ron and Harry to ask them if they'd noticed anything strange about Malfoy's words and immediately stopped in her tracks.

"Ron, stop!"

"We have to hurry, Hermione!"

"No, we can't! Harry... Harry isn't with us! He's gone!"

Ron halted immediately and spun around in shock, "Harry? Gone? How could he... he was just here with us a moment ago!"

"Ron, we need to go back and find Harry! We can't leave him behind. If the Death Eaters find him-" said Hermione, agonized at the very thought…

Draco could hear Weasley boasting about having had seats in the Top Box in a nearby compartment on the Hogwarts Express. He guffawed as he motioned to Crabbe and Goyle to follow him towards the sound.

"For the first and last time in your life, Weasley," To his delight, Draco found the ugliest dress robes he'd ever seen in his life and proceeded to make Weasley miserable as he waited for the only girl in the compartment to speak up. Although his eyes sought her out, Draco refused to acknowledge the presence of Hermione Granger. It was high time she came to understand exactly who he was and exactly how much he hated her. She was a Mudblood; it didn't matter if she was intelligent or more competent at magic than he, a Pureblood, it didn't change anything if she was taller and curvier. He scowled, furious at his thoughts. She was a Mudblood; it was as simple as that. Draco vowed he would only look at her if she spoke first. Yes, there was simply no other reason to look at her. He returned to the subject at hand.

"Are you going to enter?" repeated Draco to the Weasley, trying to keep conversation going with these twats was much harder than it looked. Abandoning Weasley as a lost cause, Draco turned to Potter. "I suppose you will, Potter? You never miss a chance to show off, do you?"

"Either explain what you're on about or go away Malfoy," said Granger testily, over the top of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4.

An unchecked smile spread across Draco's face. He couldn't help it, they didn't know anything and Granger had spoken to him first. He quickly turned to Potter.

"Don't tell me you don't know?" he said delightedly as noticed Granger scowl from the corner of his eye. He promptly turned to Weasley. "You've got a father and brother at the Ministry and you don't even know? My God, my father told me about it ages ago...heard it from Cornelius Fudge himself. But then, Father's always associated with the top people at the Ministry...Maybe your father's too junior to know about it, Weasley...yes...they probably don't talk about important stuff in front of him..." Draco laughed as he, Crabbe, and Goyle left the room. He snuck a glance at Granger and saw that she looked furious at being deliberately snubbed; smirking, he walked away feeling accomplished.

Hermione had already been in a foul mood before they'd reached Hogwarts. Malfoy talking down to her, Harry, and Ron was annoying enough without having to deal with the fact that he knew things she didn't.

Of course, bad mood aside, nothing could have prepared Hermione for the horror she would learn that very evening during dinner.

Slave labour. That's what made this meal. After learning the horrid truth about the House elves, Hermione refused to eat a single bite. It was appalling, really; making magical creatures wait hand and foot on wizards. Privately, Hermione knew that this bothered her as much as it did because of her Muggleborn heritage. The injustice and unfairness towards House elves was not so different from the prejudice towards Muggleborns. Still, Hermione wanted to verify that House elves were indeed enslaved in Hogwarts before taking action. She decided to seek an additional opinion and that was when she noticed Professor McGonagall had returned to her seat beside the Headmaster.

It was during the middle of the welcome back feast that Hermione excused herself from the Gryffindor table. After assuring Ron and Harry that she was only going for a second and would return momentarily, Hermione manoeuvred her way to the staff table past the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables. She could see Professor McGonagall speaking with Professor Snape. Most unfortunately, just as she reached the Slytherin table, she came to an abrupt halt as Malfoy stood from his edge spot on the bench. He seemed to have been about to leave when he caught sight of her and sneered.

"Well, well, if it isn't the Mudblood. Why are you by yourself, Granger? Finally realized Potter and Weasley only keep you around to do their homework, have you?" Hermione sniffed reproachfully.

"Apparently I'm not the only one by myself, Malfoy," Hermione snapped, upset because he'd called her a Mudblood, "finally realized Crabbe and Goyle only follow you around because your father is a big shot?"

Malfoy coloured ever so slightly and Hermione knew she'd hit home. He recovered quickly however and his eyes narrowed until they were silver slits.

"How does it feel, Granger? Knowing nobody wants to be with you because you're hideous? All they want is your oversized cranium; never your company," said Malfoy through gritted teeth. Hermione felt herself flush and opened her mouth to retort but at that exact moment, Crabbe and Goyle appeared on either side of Malfoy who was smirking broadly in victory. Feeling it best to pick her battles, Hermione shot a final look of disgust at the blonde Slytherin.

"Grow up, Malfoy!" she hissed, before walking around him and his cronies. As she was walking away, for the first time, Hermione realized that she'd had to look up at him now and she was somewhat unsettled by that fact. It was silly, of course. Malfoy had simply grown taller than her; it was very common for boys to be taller than girls. And certainly Malfoy, like Harry and Ron was a growing boy. Hermione glanced over at the Gryffindor table and was relieved to see Harry and Ron had not noticed her altercation with Malfoy. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she made her way to Professor McGonagall.

Classes had begun and already Care of Magical Creatures was turning out to be a lot more trouble than necessary—as usual. Draco wondered if it would be worth his while to drop the class while he still had the chance. He glanced to his left and saw Granger standing with Potty and the Weasel; she had a look of apprehension on her face and seemed to be backing up very slowly behind Weasley as Hagrid brought out large crates. Draco felt a curious flicker of annoyance course though him as he watched Granger cower behind Weasley; on second thought, it might be better to stay to witness the trio acting foolish.

Suddenly distracted by the thud of the crate, Draco turned his attention back to the oaf and watched in horror as their newest magical creatures, the Blast-Ended Skrewts, were introduced. As Hagrid went on to talk about the Skrewts in a loving and caring voice, Weasley leaned over to whisper something into Granger's ear and Potter leaned closer to hear. Snarling and also feeling slightly revolted by the comments Hagrid was making in response to other student's concerns, Draco felt this was too much.

"Well, I can certainly see why we're trying to keep them alive," he said sarcastically, hoping Granger would hear him. As to why he would care, he had no idea. "Who wouldn't want pets that can burn, sting, and bite all at once?"

As he had hoped, Granger immediately took offence on behalf of Hagrid and retaliated, stepping forward from behind Weasley and looking in his direction. He quickly glanced over but she wouldn't meet his eyes. Her scathing reply was clearly meant for him however.

"Just because they're not very pretty, it doesn't mean they're not useful," Granger snapped, and only Draco knew that she wasn't just talking about the Skrewts, he smirked recalling their previous conversation. "Dragon blood's amazingly magical, but you wouldn't want a dragon for a pet, would you?" Draco felt some strange feeling shoot through him as he stared unblinkingly at Granger's face. He clenched his jaw and was unable to withdraw his gaze from her. Belatedly, he wondered why Granger's anger seemed so interesting and whether or not it was normal to enjoy seeing her riled up.

Draco wasn't certain what was happening at this exact moment. It was as though a new perception had awakened within him regarding Granger. No, that wasn't right. It had always been there but for whatever reason, perhaps age, it had never come forward until now.

Meanwhile, Potter and Weasley had not noticed Granger's preoccupation or the fact that Draco was unable to look away from her, as both boys had turned to grin at Hagrid at the mention of keeping a dragon for a pet. The lesson droned on and for once, Draco did not find himself bored although he desperately wished it to be so; anything was better than the state he was currently in. He shouldn't feel this curious about anything concerning Granger. It was sick; some twisted part of him liked seeing the Mudblood, of all people, get angry.

As the lesson ended, Draco rushed madly to get back to the castle and away from Granger. He pushed past many students leaving Crabbe and Goyle to force their way through the students he'd shoved around haphazardly. Something in him was breaking free from his control and that was simply unacceptable. He had to get out of the heat; it was giving him crazy ideas like grabbing Granger and shagging her brains out against a tree in the Forbidden Forest with the Skrewts watching. He slowed his pace once he realized Granger, Weasley, and Potter were just ahead and seemed to be discussing the Skrewts. He heard Granger's exasperated voice first.

"—but once Hagrid's found out what they eat, I expect they'll be six feet long."

"Well, that won't matter if they turn out to cure sea sickness or something, will it?" said Weasley as he grinned slyly at her. Draco rolled his eyes; Weasley thought he was so clever.

"You know perfectly well I only said that to shut Malfoy up," said Granger sharply. "As a matter of fact I think he's right. The best thing to do would be to stamp on the lot of them before they start attacking us all."

Despite his discomfort mere moments ago, Draco felt a self-assured smirk work its way onto his mouth. Well, well, Granger agreed with him did she? He opened his mouth to say something—something suggestive even—when Weasley, who was standing in the middle of the trio, looped an arm around Potter's shoulder and with his other arm, pulled Granger closer to himself. Granger let out some feeble half-hearted protests but laughed all the same. The three of them merrily trooped up to the castle joined and walking weirdly as though tied together by their legs.

Suddenly the strange feeling that had threatened to overthrow his control was gone; moments ago he'd been struggling to suppress it but now it was nowhere to be found. Instead, Draco felt a strange bitterness and anger as watched the golden trio walk up to the castle, touching each other as if it were nothing. His mind flared in annoyance as he watched Weasley pull Granger closer. Clenching his fist, Draco watched raptly. He was beyond irritated and the heat was not helping matters; it was Weasley whom he found himself most annoyed with and Draco decided quickly that he wasn't about to let Weasley off that easily...

"Weasley! Hey, Weasley!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned from their position in line for dinner at the Great Hall. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were standing there looking pleased about something. Hermione could see a vindictive look in Malfoy's eyes as he looked at Weasley, smiling darkly.

"What?" said Ron shortly.

"Your dad's in the paper, Weasley!" said Malfoy, brandishing a copy of the Daily Prophet and speaking very loudly, so that everyone packed in the entrance hall could hear. "Listen to this!"

Malfoy read though the article as loudly as he could and glanced up maliciously to comment every once in awhile. His eyes did not meet Hermione's but she hoped he could feel her anger on behalf of Ron.

"Imagine them not even getting his name right, Weasley. It's almost as though you're a complete nonentity, isn't it?" he crowed. Hermione could feel herself turning red in the face and as Malfoy's gaze met hers she looked away in anger. Still smirking, Malfoy read on until the end of the article. Ron was shaking with fury.

Malfoy outright laughed as Harry and Hermione restrained Ron. The smile was wiped from his face immediately after Harry insulted his mother. Malfoy growled and prepared to hit him with a spell from behind but then—

"OH NO YOU DON'T, LADDIE!"

Needless to say, it had been the most hilarious moment Hermione could recall in a long time. As soon as Malfoy was returned to normal he felt his face darken as he caught Granger's eye. She raised her eyebrows at him and smirked. Hoping her message was conveyed; you deserved it, Malfoy. He got to his feet, wincing and did not look at Hermione again. Malfoy left the scene being led away by Professor Moody and Hermione saw him wince and limp awkwardly due to pain. Feeling a little guilty and remorseful, she hoped that he was alright.

Draco decided that Granger seemed to have developed some eating disorder from what he could gather. There was the one time where she simply did not eat the food in front of her but this time was outnumbered by the instances where Granger seemed to harbour a desire to eat like a madwoman. Manners like Weasley, she bolted down her food then left the Great Hall as quickly as possible. Potter and Weasley seemed just as bewildered as he felt at first but they seemed to grow to accept this outlandish behaviour.

One morning, as soon as Granger rose from the table, having inhaled her food, Draco decided he wanted to know more about what was wrong with her and quickly excused himself from his table and hurried after her retreating form. Crabbe and Goyle remained, still eating whatever was in sight.

Panting slightly at the pace he'd had to adapt in order to keep up with her, he immediately noticed what they both were approaching; the bloody library. Feeling he'd overestimated the importance of what Granger was doing, he gingerly walked into the library a safe, undetectable distance from her and continued to observe her.

Only moments after having sat down, Granger leapt up from her chair and immediately went to search for books looking down at a piece of parchment that probably had book titles or various authors written down. Clearly she'd been coming here and researching something for some time now. As Granger paused at a shelf and carried away a tottering pile of no less than six books back to her table, Draco darted forward to the shelf she had emptied. He quickly picked books off the shelf: The History and Knowledge of Magical Brethren, Trials and Tribulations of the House-elf, Ultimate Service, and The Law and Order of Elves.

Draco frowned as he replaced all of the books on the shelf. So Granger wanted to know more about House-elves, did she? As he tried to understand, he recalled that during the Quidditch World Cup, Granger had been seated along with him in the Top Box and that there had been an Elf covering her eyes right behind the Golden trio. He wasn't sure who the Elf was or who her family had been as she had sat alone save for the empty seat beside her. Why else would Granger want to know more about House-elves?

He inched his way closer to Granger's table and wondered briefly whether he should grab a book at random and pretend to read it so that he could get closer to her. Feeling as though this way as good an idea as any, he grabbed a book as he walked quietly past a shelf and opened it at random while peering over the top of the book to look at the parchment Granger had written on.

Stop the Outrageous Abuse of Our Fellow Magical Creatures and Campaign for a Change in Their Legal Status

Draco felt his eyebrows reach his hairline as he read the crossed out words written in Granger's neat and precise handwriting. Below the crossed out title read:

Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare (S.P.E.W.)

Unable to help himself, he let out a disbelieving laugh which he quickly turned into a hacking cough. Unfortunately, Granger had heard him and turned around swiftly in her chair, shocked that someone was behind her. Draco held his book open in front of his face and pretended to have been walking along behind her as he read. Only after he'd passed did he hear Granger let out a faint giggle before returning to her books and parchment, smiling. Stunned that Granger would giggle and smile upon seeing him, he re-hid himself behind a shelf and continued watching her in fascination. So she wanted to help the Elves. Well, it was hardly a surprise; in fact, from Draco's perspective it seemed to make a whole lot of sense. While Potter and Dumbledore were champions of Muggles and Mudbloods, the Mudblood was a champion of those below her; house-elves. He smirked; Weasley and Longbottom of course could not champion anything as they themselves deserved to be pitied.

Draco watched Granger for some time more but she seemed to have thought he'd left and was focusing entirely on writing down facts and dates from the textbooks. After a moment or two, he decided his absence would certainly be noticed by his housemates if he continued to stay any longer. As he lifted his book to add to the shelf at random he caught a glance at the title:

Magical Ferrets and How to Recognize Them

He snarled, feeling his cheeks grow warm, and shoved the book roughly into place while snatching his bag and exiting the library as fast as he could.

Draco could not help but be excited as Viktor Krum sat beside him at the Slytherin table. He immediately leaned forward to engage Krum in conversation. He momentarily stilled as he felt pairs of eyes on him from the Gryffindor side of the room. Sneering, he caught the retreating gaze of an obviously jealous Weasley and an uncaring look from Granger. It was Granger who Draco continued to watch, forgetting the presence of the international Quidditch player beside him. With a jolt, Draco noticed that Krum had followed his gaze and was also watching Granger intently.

"Don't bother. She's a Mudblood," he said scathingly as they both watched Granger snort loudly at something Weasley said. But Krum merely raised his eyebrows.

"Vot is her name?" he asked as he continued to watch her with great interest. Draco sneered and turned his back to Granger trying to indicate without words that Krum should follow his example.

"I'm not really sure. See, I've always called her Mudbloodand she seems to like it well enough,"said Draco sarcastically. It was clear Krum was not deterred in the least, however he turned away from her and did not press the issue.

Soon afterwards the feast began and Krum's bizarre interest in Granger was pushed from Draco's mind. She was sitting on the far side of the room and seemed riveted on each and every one of Dumbledore's words. Draco snorted. Granger would always be a know-it-all. There was nothing new there.

He returned his attention to his table and talked with some others students from Durmstrang. Father had always wanted him to go to Durmstrang which he said was far better a place than Hogwarts. Mother, however, had not wanted him to be so far from home. From the sound of it, and judging based on their impressed expressions, Draco gathered that his father wasn't being completely honest when he said Durmstrang was superior to Hogwarts in all ways. In fact, Draco privately was grateful he did not have to endure the cold temperature. Although he was certain you wouldn't find basket cases like Hagrid teaching classes at Durmstrang in the very least.

The feast ended and the Durmstrang students began to leave following Karkaroff and Krum. Draco stood to leave with Crabbe and Goyle but before they left, he noticed Granger, Potter, and Weasley had run into the Durmstrang group. Potter halted but Karkaroff froze as he looked at Potter's scar. Typical really, The Boy Who Lived could never leave quietly; he had to go out with a bang, thought Draco scathingly.

Hermione was not impressed with the Triwizard tournament. It seemed dangerous, and rather than build ties between the different magical schools, Hermione couldn't help but think the tournament simply promoted competition and rivalry.

Aside from the tournament itself, Hermione was equally unimpressed with the silly students from Beauxbatons who seemed to think Hogwarts was unworthy of being graced by their very French presence. At the very least, the Durmstrang students seemed to be happy to be at Hogwarts. Hermione shook her head as she followed Harry and Ron back to their common room.

Days later, it was time for the champion selection. Draco, being under-aged and unable to compete, had not found the whole affair as thrilling as he might have if say himself or others in his year were to compete. Sure enough, the champion selection was hardly a surprise and Draco was only shocked when Potter's name wasn't called. Clearly every champion had some entitlement to fame and he would've thought The Boy Who Lived would most certainly be a champion; age line or no. But instead, Cedric Diggory was called up. Diggory was known as a good enough bloke even by Slytherin standards. This sentiment of course did nothing to stop the jeering and hissing from the Slytherin table as Diggory walked up to the front to join Krum and the Delacour girl. Montague had been the preferred choice for the Slytherins.

Just when it seemed as though the excitement—the use of sarcasm was lost even before he had time to say it verbally—had climaxed, Potter's name came out of the Goblet of Fire. Low and behold. Draco could not believe people were still acting shocked and surprised; how many years would it take for these people to understand? Potter was a show-off and could never miss such an important opportunity! And obviously Dumbledore had decided to bend the rules for The Boy Who Lived so that he could compete. It's not like this was a new concept to Dumbledore either.

Utterly bored of the proceedings going on before him, Draco found his gaze magnetically drawn to Granger who was looking shocked and concerned as she watch Potter disappear into a side room at the front where the other champions had gone. He felt a flicker of annoyance. Honestly, if he didn't know any better he'd bet his broomstick that Granger was involved with both Potter and Weasel. He frowned then shook his head slowly as though to dispel the images in his mind. No, it was too ghastly to even consider.

Harry had been entered into the Triwizard tournament. He now had no choice but to participate in the dangerous, life-threatening event. Despite Ron's beliefs, Hermione knew Harry would not and could not have entered the tournament on his own. After all these years, Hermione liked to believe she had a firm grasp on her friends' personalities, and Harry was very rarely the type of person who would seek out dangerous situations. Not only that, but it made no sense that the age line had stopped other students, yet allowed Harry to enter. No, someone older must have entered Harry's name. Hermione sighed in annoyance; she would have liked to discuss this idea with Ron but he couldn't get past his jealously.

Draco, for the first time in living memory, was looking forward to Care of Magical Creature with the Gryffindors. It would be the first time he'd see Potter up close and personal since he became a champion and Draco was positively gleeful at the thought tormenting him with the latest bit of news.

In eagerness that may also have had to do with Granger being there, Draco, Crabbe and Goyle arrived early at Hagrid's cabin. He sneered as he caught sight of the Golden trio making their way over to him.

"Ah, look, boys, it's the champion," he said to Crabbe and Goyle the moment he got within earshot of Harry. "Got your autograph books? Better get a signature now, because I doubt he's going to be around much longer...Half the Triwizard champions have died...how long d'you reckon you're going to last, Potter? Ten minutes into the first task's my bet." Crabbe and Goyle laughed mulishly and Draco wondered nastily whether or not they were clever enough to have actually followed the conversation. His fun was brought to a halt as the oaf came forward to explain they were going to be walking the Skrewts and needed to attach a leash. Draco cringed as he pulled on his dragon-hide gloves and reached inside to tie a length of rope around the beast. This was the most stupid thing he'd ever had to do; immediately Draco resolved to write to his father and to tell him of the crazy classes and animals he had to care for.

Over the next few days, Draco continued to stalk Granger when she was at the library. Of course skilled as he was, Granger did not notice his presence like the first time and continued working on Spew, as he liked to call it. After some deliberation, he decided he hated how Granger defended the weak and poor and thought her a common Muggle for trying to upset the perfect balance of nature in the Wizarding world. Having owned a House-elf himself for some time—and really, his previous Elf would traitorously join Potter—Draco understood that Elves, the sole exception being his own, wanted to serve Wizards.

There were moments, which surprised Draco, when all he felt like doing was storming over to Granger and yelling at her that Spew was the most ludicrous thing he'd ever heard off; come to think of it, he wondered if Hagrid wasn't in on this absurd idea as he generally seemed full of them.

Granger had now taken to making little badges that read S.P.E.W. and it seemed to Draco as though she was actually going to try and rally support for her idea. He snorted as he tried to picture how many people would support the idea if it required them having to wear a badge that said Spew.

Tired of standing and watching the foolish eccentricities of Granger, he wandered to an isolated table and sat down. He couldn't see Granger from where he sat and briefly considered relocating to a table with her in sight when he got angry with himself; he had better things to do than to watch the little Mudblood at work! For one thing, he still hadn't gotten back at Potter for the ferret business. He flushed recalling the painful and humiliating incident. Meanwhile, Potter was probably having the time of his life as the Hogwart's champion, enjoying the fame, the Boy Who Got Past an Age Line. Draco sneered. With any luck Potter would be killed off in the tournament.

Suddenly an idea came unbidden to Draco's mind; a new way to torture the famous, Harry Potter. As quickly as he could, Draco recalled exactly how Granger had done it and began to create his own set of badges.

Draco stood waiting with the Slytherins in front of the dungeons for Double Potions after lunch. He felt ridiculously pleased with himself as he waited for Potter to show himself. He spotted him arriving with Granger and felt a flash of irritation at the sight of the two of them walking together. Where was Weasley? Why wasn't he there to enforce the platonic relation the three of them maintained? Draco realized with surprise that Weasley was already here standing with Thomas and Finnigan. He briefly wondered whether he and Potter were fighting as Potter did not go to meet with him. All the better really; Draco smirked then turned back in time to see Potter reading the red-lettered badges that each and every Slytherin was wearing, courtesy of himself:

Support CEDRIC DIGGORY—the REAL Hogwarts Champion!

"Like them, Potter?" said Draco loudly, savouring the look of stun on Potter's face. "And this isn't all they do—look!" This was too good; Draco pressed his badge on his chest and watched in satisfaction as Potter read the new message that had appeared, glowing green.

POTTER STINKS

His housemates roared with laughter and each of them pressed their buttons like he had done. Draco smirked as Potter turned dull red. Granger, who had been watching the Weasel with a serious look on her face, turned away in disappointment and turned to address the Slytherin girls who were hee-hawing with laughter louder than anyone else.

"Oh, very funny," she said sarcastically, "really witty." Draco decided it was time he made his presence known.

"Want one, Granger?" he asked, holding out a badge to her. He did have to give her credit; after all he'd gotten the idea for them from her. "I've got loads. But don't touch my hand, now. I've just washed it, you see, don't want Mudblood sliming it up." Sneering at the look on her face, he turned to see Potter expectedly reaching for his wand. Perfect. Granger shouted caution to Potter and Draco decided to goad him a little further.

"Go on, then, Potter," he said quietly, as he drew out his own wand. It was time for payback. "Moody's not here to look after you now—do it, if you've got the guts—"

"Furnunculus" yelled Potter.

"Densaugeo!" screamed Draco.

The spells hit each other in midair then were redirected; Potter's hit Goyle and his own hit Granger of all people. Goyle's face erupted with boils and Granger's front teeth began growing at an alarming rate. At times like these, the arrival of Severus Snape was to be expected and indeed no sooner had Draco wished it than did he arrive.

"And what is all this noise about?" he asked silkily. Draco hastened to blame Potter, who retaliated angrily, and Draco quickly explained about Goyle. The Weasel had finally come forward and attempted to get help for Granger who looked like a highly realistic beaver by this point. Draco smirked as Snape terrorized the girl, denying seeing any change in her appearance, and watched gleefully as she left in tears. He felt a twinge of something as she ran past him with her watery eyes but whatever the emotion was, it was quickly replaced with feelings of mirth as he watched Gryffindor lose 50 points and Potter and Weasley each get a detention for shouting. Once they entered the classroom, Draco held up his badge to Potter once more and smirked as Potter seethed, unable to do anything. Revenge was sweet.

Severus Snape was by no means a kind man.

Hermione knew this well. But his treatment hadn't really been called for. Hermione understood that Professor Snape's actions towards her were simply an extension of his feelings towards Harry. She knew that. Nothing justified his actions to her, Ron, or Harry. It wasn't fair, but she usually understood that it was just the way things were. Sometimes though, it was just a little too unbearable.

As the time for the first task approached, Draco was more agitated than he cared to admit. For one thing, Granger had recovered from her beaver teeth and what was worse was that her teeth were normal—as in, better than before when they were slightly over large. He noticed immediately when she'd smiled during breakfast in the Great Hall the day after she'd been hit by the spell and was stunned and frankly alarmed to see that Granger's smile was nice-looking. He'd turned away from the sight and was abruptly furious with himself for having ever cast that particular spell in the first place.

Another reason why Draco was bothered was the article by Rita Skeeter; the attention Potter sought was unsurprising in itself however the article named Granger as Potter's "love at Hogwart's." It was revolting and made Draco wonder if he hadn't been wrong when he considered Granger was taking up with both Weasley and Potter secretly. A perfectly good opportunity was wasted as normally, Draco would have laughed whole-heartedly at Potter and made fun of him for crying about his parents at night, he just couldn't bring himself to bring it up as frequently as he would have liked to. Parkinson seemed to take over the job in his absence and he hoped no one had realized he was refraining, just a little.

Weasley seemed to have truly stopped hankering around after Potter and while this should have delighted Draco, it only made him more irritated since the two could very well be feuding over Granger, who seemed to spend periods of time with each of them alone. Perhaps the article was right and Weasley didn't like Granger and Potter together. Granger also seemed frustrated with both of them for the time being and Draco was glad that this led to many more solo library trips on her part.

On one such occasion, Draco followed her yet again to the library; purely for the fun of it. She seemed to be taking a break from Spew and was instead completing a History of Magic essay Draco was certain he hadn't started. Just as he decided he might as well find a nearby table and start on his essay, Draco noticed that Viktor Krum had walked into the library. Taken aback at seeing Krum in a library, he watched suspiciously as Krum walked closer to Granger and sat mulishly nearby. Granger, being the stupid bint that she was, did not notice the attention Krum was paying her as he watched her in interest and instead continued to work on her blasted essay.

Feeling inexplicably furious, Draco considered walking over to Krum, but was not sure how to get rid of him. Conveniently, a gaggle of giggling girls poured into the library and tittered seeing Krum sitting in there. Granger looked up at the noise and noticed the now disgruntled Krum sitting nearby and rolled her eyes before beginning to pack her bag quickly. Draco grinned as Granger made her way out of the library; well, he'd rather Krum have left but he wasn't complaining. With nothing to stay for, Draco left the library shortly after Granger and headed down to the common room to get a start on his essay.

Hermione was aggravated with Ron and Harry. Both of them refused to speak to each other and while she stayed impartial, Hermione privately blamed Ron for his inability to look past his jealously. But her mother had once said, "boys will be boys. Leave them be to solve their problems." So instead of choosing sides, Hermione appealed to both of them to talk to each other and otherwise decided to let them work things out in their own time. She hoped they would make up sooner rather than later.

The first task came and went and unfortunately, not only did Potter manage to survive, but he also got to show off on a broomstick at the same time. It looked as though the Weasley had finally made up with him so now the golden trio were once again platonic and golden.

December rolled around, and the chill was beginning to sweep through the grounds. Care of Magical Creatures seemed to be getting progressively more disastrous with each passing lesson. Today, the oaf had tried to shut up the surviving killer Skrewts in crates lined with pillows and blankets to see if they hibernated. The Skrewts, now approaching six feet in length, did not hibernate and had violently broken free and were now attacking the students.

Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, and all other sane students immediately vacated the premises and ran into Hagrid's cabin for shelter and watched to see when the coast was clear. Draco watched with interest as Potter and Weasley tried to take on one of the male Skrewts.

Elsewhere, Granger seemed to have fallen down fighting off a female Skrewt (he could tell as it had a revolting sucker instead of a stinger) and Draco froze, wondering if anyone but him had noticed that Granger was in actual danger, thankfully Hagrid had taken advantage of the Skrewt's attention to Granger and looped a leash around the beast. Draco shook his head at the stupidity of his classmates; only bloody Gryffindors would remain trying to round up those horrors. Thank Merlin he was a Slytherin!

Hermione was sitting in the library, completely absorbed in a Potions book, when she was startled by someone dropping into the seat across from her. Astonished, she looked up to see Viktor Krum sitting across from her, smiling at her.

"Um—," started Hermione, bewildered that the Quidditch player seemed to want to speak her, "can I help you?"

"You are beautiful. Vould you consider coming with me to the Yule ball?" Krum asked politely. Hermione felt herself grow warm in the face. Feeling as though this was a joke, she looked into his dark eyes and was stunned to see blatant appreciation glittering back at her. He truly thought she was beautiful.

Hesitating only briefly, Hermione answered.

The Yule Ball was the part of the Triwizard tournament which Draco looked forward to the most. He had already agreed to accompany Pansy Parkinson, an obvious choice, and could not wait to see whether or not Potter and Weasley would manage to find dates. Even if they should miraculously procure dates, he couldn't wait to see how ugly they would be. Indeed, if Weasley's dress robes had been anything to go by, he'd be shocked if a troll said 'yes' to him. He was 100% certain one of them would end up going with Granger and was also privately wondering who she would choose to go with should the both of them ask her. If she went with Potter, at the very least he'd be dressed decently and as a champion she'd get some additional attention. However, Granger seemed to shy away from the spotlight so perhaps Weasley was a more prudent choice. A part of him, which he refused to acknowledge henceforth, wondered that if he were one of her candidates, what pros she would list with his name. The cons, from her perspective, he was already quite clear on. Some mad part of him wondered what it would be like to be the bloke going with Granger to the Yule Ball and the more sane part would answer that it would probably be the vilest experience possible.

Draco's mood was greatly cheered as he had noticed Potter and Weasley seemed to be more and more panicked about the approaching ball. Obviously neither of them had managed to get dates yet; Weasley aside, Potter had a few requests and Draco wondered if he wasn't hoping for someone in particular—someone like Granger. Strangely enough, Granger did not seem anxious at the lack of invite from Potter or Weasley; where they were acting like headless chickens in panic, she was acting calm and cool. Was it actually possible someone else had asked the Mudblood first?

Author's Note: I've been sitting on this chapter for a long time and decided I'd avoiding updating this story for long enough. Please review!