Unity

Gossip circulated through the school for the next week. No one could figure out who had messed with the Slytherins, and the few who new kept their mouths shut, the only noise on their front the sound of galleons being passed into a pair of waiting hands from a very pale one.

Hermione soon realized that although she had gotten revenge on the Slytherins, they didn’t know that it was their own housemate who had tricked them. The hexes and practical jokes played on her continued in leaps and bounds. One day she missed Potions class. Professor Snape looked around the room for her familiar bushy hair, and felt something sink in his throat when he didn’t spot her.

“Mr. Malfoy, would you please come here?” he called to Draco who was stirring his latest concoction in the cauldron.

“What is it Professor?”

“Did you see Miss Granger this morning Draco?”

“Yeah, she left for class at the normal time. I don’t know why she isn’t here. Do you want me to go check our rooms and see if she is there?”

“Would you mind? I have a sinking feeling about this whole bloody situation.”

“No problem. I’ll be back.” And with that the blonde left the classroom and headed to the head’s shared quarters. When he climbed through the portrait, he immediately knew something was wrong.

“Hermione! Are you here?” he called as he walked up the stairs. His ears were quickly met with sobs as he headed towards her room. He knocked on the door and pushed it open to be met with one of the most shocking and beautiful sights he had ever seen. Hermione Granger stood in front of her mirror in only her underwear, a bra and knickers in deep blue lace that left nothing to the imagination. She had her wand in her hand and was removing one by one writing on her skin that said a number of different phrases, among them, loser, geek, screw you, and go back to your loser friends. This was too much for Draco to see. His housemates had gone too far. And through the sobs and tears, he saw a stubborn glint in her beautiful chestnut eyes. His housemates had no idea what they had done.

“Hermione,” he called quietly so as not to frighten her, “let me help you. I know how to get rid of all of them in one go.”

“Okay.” She sniffled.

He waved his wand and the markings disappeared. She turned around and looked at him for the first time since he walked into the room and smiled. “Thank you Draco.”

She walked over to her clothes piled on the bed and began to get dressed.

“Snape sent me to find you and make sure you were okay. He was worried about you. How did this happen?”

“They ambushed me on my way to Potions class. I didn’t know what they had done until I bent down to tie my shoe and saw the writing on my legs. I immediately ran back here to get rid of it.” Her tears had stopped and a hard resolve had covered her face. “I hope they know this means war. Wow that sounds really cheesy. But it’s true. They have no idea who they are messing with. They seem to forget that I was switched from Gryffindor to Slytherin for a reason. They have no idea what I have done and what I am capable of.”

“Oh don’t I know it. I can see it in your eyes. There’s a determination and passion for the fight. I pity any Slytherin who gets in your way.” He smiled at her as she bent down to tie her shoes.

As she stood up, she gave him a quizzical look. Picking up her school bag and walking towards him, she cupped his face and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you Draco, for everything.” With that she left the room and a stunned Draco behind as she headed off to attend the end of her class.

Later that night found Hermione sitting in her room mapping out all of her ideas. The weekend was coming up and it was a Hogsmeade weekend, so most students would be gone from the castle. She could stay behind and wreak havoc on the Slytherin rooms.

The week could not pass fast enough, and by the time that Saturday arrived Hermione was completely ready, with a whole list of tricks to play on the unsuspecting Slytherins. A knock at her door surprised her, and Draco’s blonde head stuck around it to check to make sure she was inside. He walked in and sat on the corner of her bed and looked at her earnestly.

“Do you want help today, or would you rather I go to Hogsmeade?”

“How did you know?” She stammered.

“I would do the same thing. Attack when they aren’t there. They come back from a day out on a total fun and sugar induced high and will be completely unsuspecting of anything. It’s the perfect time to get them.” He smirked as the smile on her face spread, encompassing her entire face and almost blinding him with her subtle beauty and passion.

“I could use your help, if you’re offering it.”

“I am at your service milady.” He said as he bowed at the waist, making Hermione laugh at his ridiculous antics.

“Okay, meet me in an hour in our common room, and we’ll go from there.”

An hour later found the two heads entering the Slytherin common room, which was thankfully empty, not a sound could be heard save their breathing and the soft bustle of their footsteps on the lush green carpet.

“What’s first?” Draco asked curiously as he stopped and turned to look at the mastermind.

“Okay, first we turn all the bedding and anything else that has house colors on it, to red and gold. I figure they need some hint that this is not some overall attack, but a personal revenge. No Gryffindors can get into the Slytherin dorm so hopefully they are logical enough to figure out that it’s me. But if they don’t, oh well.” She laughed at his shocked expression. “Then I thought a few disillusion spells would come in handy. You know, make a table or couch disappear so people bump into it. That’s it for this time. Although if they don’t stop they will regret it, because my next prank is down right mean, and I really don’t want to have to use it if I don’t have to. Okay, so are you good? You take the boys rooms and I’ll take the girls.”

They separated and went to work. Hermione walked into the first room and simply turned the bedspreads red and the carpet gold. But as she continued on, each room got more and more Gryffindor. The final room, she went into the closets and turned all their green and silver clothes red and gold, including their underwear. She came out of the room and shut the door laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Draco asked her as she came out into the common room.

“Just picturing their faces when they come back in here and find all this. How much furniture should we disillusion? Half? A quarter? What do you think?”

“Maybe a third. Half would be too noticeable, and with a quarter you run the risk of them not noticing.” They worked on the furniture and then left the dorm, laughing on the way.

“I think you are definitely a Slytherin. No Gryffindor would have done that. They would have just attacked them at one point.”

“Insulting Gryffindor house, how original.” She laughed.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” he said as he pulled out a piece of parchment from his robe pocket. “I found this in the seventh year dorm room. It appears to be a list of all the tricks they have planned for you. I made a copy, figured this could be helpful. You would know what they are going to do before they do it. ‘Now is the winter of our discontent.’” He said to the painting at the entrance to their rooms. It opened and they walked in and breathed a breath they had both been holding, praying that they wouldn’t get caught. They sat down on the couch and she turned to him and asked him why, and he said nothing just kept staring at the fire as it crackled in the fireplace.

“Why Draco?” She asked again as she grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her.

“Why what?”

“Why are you being nice to me? You used to hate me; you were so cruel to me. What happened? What changed?” She pleaded with him, hoping that for once she would get answers that she had longed for since that sorting ceremony two months ago.

“You want the truth? I never hated you. Not once. I liked you; you stood up for what you believed in. You didn’t take shit from anyone, especially me. You were smart, smarter than me, and I envied that. I was a prat to you because I had to be, gotta keep up appearances. I’m sorry for all that I did to you. I apologize profusely. Nothing happened, nothing changed; I’ve always been like this. I just wasn’t able to show it. I know that sounds stupid, I should be able to be whomever I want, but I couldn’t. My father was in deep with Voldemort, one little slip up on my part and he would die. That’s part of the reason why I was shocked that the hat put me back in Slytherin. I am brave, I am loyal, I am smart, and I am cunning. I could be in any of the houses. But I guess I’m in Slytherin because I spent all my time thwarting any attempts by the Slytherins to bring people to the death eater’s side. I risked my life every time I did it, but I couldn’t live with myself knowing that I let those kids down and allowed them to be sucked into that danger.” He looked at her and she had tears glistening in her beautiful brown eyes. He brushed a lock of hair from her face and placed it behind her ear as he scooted closer to her on the couch. “Don’t paint me as a martyr or some big hero because I’m not. I did what I did not for the greater good, but to protect my family, they are what matters most to me. I would do anything for them, and I just about have. I’m not proud of what I have done, but it’s in the past and so should be forgotten.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” She was cut off as he took her face in his hands. The heat from them shocked her. He rubbed his thumbs across her cheeks wiping away her tears. She looked at him with questions in her eyes. He closed his eyes and pictured her face, and then leaned in and kissed her, gently and softly, so gently that she barely felt it. But she felt it all right, felt it all the way down to her toes. He pulled away after a few seconds and smiled, a slow relaxed smile. One that showed the real Draco, the one that no one at school had seen.

“What was that for?” She whispered as he continued brushing his thumbs across her cheeks.

“I’ve wanted to do that for a long time, and I finally found the courage. Oh god, I’m turning into a Gryffindor.” He moaned as she laughed.


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Author's Note: Sorry this update took so long. I had finals and then moving out of my dorm and going back home and then on top of that my computer decided to go psycho so i had to take it to get fixed, and it was gone for a week. So hope you like it and it was worth the wait. As always please read and review. I love reviews. They are air for my writerly soul (new word yay! lol)