Total Eclipse

Before I get started, I have to warn you that this is an incredibly short chapter. Originally this was going to be the chapter in which a lot of questions regarding Harry, the War and Draco's injury would come to light. But after careful consideration, I've decided that I need just a bit more of a segue way to that information. So here's the first half of Chapter 5, just for that purpose. ^__^


Standard 'I don't own anything, it doesn't belong to me' disclaimer stuff goes here.



"I didn't know anything about this, you know."


Hermione looked up from where she was trying to pull a particularly heavy trunk across the threshold of her new living quarters. Blowing a wayward caramel colored curl from her eyes, she arched an eyebrow at Draco's proclamation. Straightening, she put her hands on her hips and studied the man in front of her. He was sprawled out on one of their shared commons room's three couches, a Quidditch stradegy book in hand. Cocking her head to the side in a gesture that Draco remembered from school when she was faced with a puzzle, she looked at the man she would be 'living with' for the next year a minute more before giving one brisk nod of her head. Turning, she went back to pulling and tugging her trunk across the threshold.

Draco smirked to himself as he rose, casually walking over to lean on the doorway. "You never cease to amaze me, Granger."

Too busy to look up, she answered as she struggled with the bit of her luggage. "How's --grunt--that--grunt--Malfoy?" With a quick flick of his hand, Hermione's burden vanished. Unfortunately she had been in the middle of a particularly forceful pull when Draco cast his spell and at the sudden weight being gone, Hermione flew backwards, landing with a resounding and quite painful sounding thud.


"Ow! Damnit, Malfoy!" She struggled with the robes that had flown over her head with her backwards momentum. Finally wrenching herself free, she stared balefully at his trademark 'Malfoy' smirk. "You could have at least warned me, you know!"

Walking the few feet that Granger had managed to fly, Draco reached down, offering her his hand. Reluctantly she took it, quickly letting go as soon as she was on both feet once again. Dusting off her robes, Hermione gave Draco a glare. "Thanks," she grumbled, somewhat reluctantly. Softening his smirk to a wry grin, he waved away her apology dismissively.

"No problem, Granger." He strolled back to the couch he had previously occupied and picked up his forgotten book. "To answer your question," he said, flipping through and finding the dog eared page he had left out on, "you amaze me for many reasons, but the one that's most obvious today is that you sometimes must forget that you're a witch."

Hermione opened her mouth to make a smart retort...only to realize that she had no excuse for not using her wand to move the obviously too heavy trunk. She closed her mouth, her full lips thinning into an unfogiving line as she crossed her arms defiantly over her chest. "I didn't forget, Malfoy. I just prefer doing some things the muggle way." The knowing smirk he sent her way, infuriated her to the point where she wanted to stomp her foot and have a tantrum much as she had done as a child.

"Okay, Granger."

With a huff, she flounced up the stairs leading to her bedroom, clearly marked by a golden plaque reading 'Hermione Granger'. The beauty and serenity of the room, decorated in various shades of blue and silver, was lost on the witch as she immediately set about unpacking her trunks, all the while muttering obscenities about her 'roommate'. " Fucking egotistical...annoying...fucknut..." With a loud Engorgio! she dropped one of the crates of potions ingredients she had shrunk down to fit in her trunk. Setting up a makeshift lab wasn't going to be easy, but at least it would take her mind off of the blonde haired man downstairs and memories that were better left alone.