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Struggling Through New Beginnings	By : HarryGinny4eva Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 31236 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Spoilers - I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
Chapter 14

Hermione
hurried down the hall to her favorite class, Arithmancy, her books thumping
against her back as she walked with a satisfied smile on her face. Harry, Ron,
and surprisingly, Greg trailed along behind her.

�Is she always this fast?� Greg gasped as they followed the little woman in
front of them.

Neither of his companions answered immediately, but then Harry cleared his
throat and mumbled, �Any time she likes where she�s going.�

It had been a surprise to both Harry and Ron when Gregory Goyle had approached
them, Millicent in tow, at the beginning of Care of Magical Creatures. Both
boys mouths dropped open in shock when not only did Ginny greet �Greg� warmly,
but so did Hermione. They actually reached for their wands when he stepped forward
and leaned in closer to Hermione as he said his hellos. Millicent Bulstrode�s grunt was more like they were used to and
almost made them relax. But, then their abject shock returned as Goyle launched
into a story about a muggle band he had heard was pretty good and asked if
Hermione knew of them and liked them.

�Of course, Greg! Everyone�s heard of U2!� she
exclaimed with a grin. �I have some of their music if you want to hear it
sometime. I can bring it with me to the all-house common room.�

He nodded eagerly, his smile almost dreamy as he gazed down at her.

The look seemed to be the last straw for Ron, �Am I having some awful
nightmare, Harry?�

Harry shook his head, but continued to stare at Goyle. Then he asked
incredulously, �Are you okay? Do you know who you are? Who we
are?�

Ginny, Hermione and Greg all laughed a little, then the larger man nodded,
�Yeah, Potter, I know who you are, who I am, and who they all are. And, thank
you for caring, but I am completely fine.�

�Blimey, you can talk!� Ron said as he stepped forward to peer at Goyle like he
would a zoo animal.

Ginny giggled, �That�s kind of what I said, too.�

Harry still stayed back from the larger man as he�d had too many years worth of
abuse and threats from him, �Ginny, Hermione, you want to tell me why Goyle is
standing here like�like��

�Like a person who has grown up and would like to start over and get to know
the people who saved his life?� Greg supplied with a small smile.

Harry nodded, �Yeah, what he sai�What?�

Luna had joined the group moments before and answered for Greg, �He�s
apologizing to you. Love makes people do all manner of strange things.�

Harry choked out, �Love?�

Greg turned red and seemed to choke on his tongue. Millicent, Ron and Harry
looked even more confused. And, Ginny and Hermione tried to hold back their
giggles, even as Hermione blushed to the roots of her hair.

Thankfully for Greg, Hagrid chose that moment to start class. For the remainder
of class, Harry and Ron decided to let things play out. They didn�t trust
Goyle, but he hadn�t as yet done anything wrong that they could see. If his
questions of them were anything to go by, he really appeared to be genuine in
his desire to get to know them. At first they tried to ignore him, but the
disapproving looks from Hermione, Ginny and Luna finally made them grunt
answers as they searched for the elusive bug in the mold and growth at the base
of the trees along the edge of the Forbidden
Forest.

Millicent�s continued grunts of displeasure made them feel better and soon they
were both trying to get her to talk to get the attention off of themselves and
Goyle. They�d been very happy when class had finally ended, but it was a short-lived
happiness, as he fell in step beside them to go to their next class.

Hermione almost skidded to a halt at the door to the class and turned to wait
for her companions to catch up with her.

�Honestly!� she teased when they reached her. �You would think you don�t want
to be here with as slow as you all move.�

All three ignored her as they entered the classroom, still trying to catch
their breath. The room was set up in normal classroom fashion and while
Hermione sat in the front row, all three boys sat behind her. Harry and Ron did
it out of habit as it was easier to see her notes from behind. Greg did it to
be near her. When he settled he grinned to himself as he realized he had an
added benefit of being able to see down her shirt just a bit. He took no notice
of the next entrants as he stared and wondered if her underwear matched her
lacy blue bra.

Hermione paid no attention to the men behind her as she set up her quill, ink
and parchment. Just as she reached into her bag to retrieve her battered, but
loved, copy of New Theory of Numerology
her eyes fell on Theo and Draco. They stood in the doorway and stared back at
her. Not seeing the malice she was used to seeing from them, she was unsure
what to make of their stares and finally dropped her eyes and lowered her head
to fiddle with the things on her desk. She jerked in surprise when they stopped
in front of her and Theo began to speak.

�Potter. Good day to you.�

�Nott. Good classes so far?� Harry answered.

Neither missed the swinging heads of their friends as the pleasant exchange
took place. But, both ignored them as they continued cordially.

�Only had the one, but Herbology did prove to be very interesting.� He turned
his head and smiled at Draco. �Was it not, Draco?�

All eyes turned to him and he actually flinched slightly before nodding
briefly.

�And, hello to the rest of you,� Theo continued as he glanced around the
rapidly filling room. �I confess I did not expect to see so many people in this
class.�

Ron, who finally decided if the Slytherins could play nice, then he could too,
straightened in his seat, cleared his throat and offered, �It�s a required
class for Aurors.�

When Greg nodded beside him, Ron turned to the man in awe, �You want to be an Auror?! For the Ministry?�

�Yeah,� the man answered even as he blushed a bit. �What of it?�

Hermione smiled up at him, �I think that�s a lovely idea, Greg. Good for you!�

The look of pride on his face at her praise made all of the
men around him look away in embarrassment for him.

Theo looked down at Hermione and asked politely, �May I?� as he indicated the
chair next to her. She appeared at a loss for what to do for a moment and then
nodded mutely. As Theo sat down her eyes went to Draco�s face to see what he
would do. He seemed unsure himself until the next person entered the room.

Hermione watched as Blaise stopped dead at the sight before him and let out a
loud sound of disgust. Knowing it was directed at her,
she lowered her lashes and reached for her ink, so she wouldn�t have to look at
him. But, her head jerked up in surprise as Draco harrumphed, crossed in front
of her and then dropped into the seat on her right.

Her gaze flew back to the door to see Blaise�s face turn almost purple in his
outrage before he stormed to the back of the classroom. The other students who
had settled there immediately got up and moved across
the room to give the large, angry Slytherin a wide berth.

�What are you playing at, Malfoy?� hissed Harry from behind them. He hadn�t
missed the looks that passed between the Slytherin students. Nor had he missed
Draco�s glance at Hermione�s bent head before the blonde man had moved to sit
next to her. He knew the Slytherins were up to something and he wasn�t about to
let Hermione get caught up in their machinations.

Draco turned to look blandly back at Harry and said, �Sitting, Potter. As you
may have noticed, we are in a classroom. That�s generally what people do here.�

Ron hadn�t seen all that Harry had, but he felt something was up anyway, �Stuff
it, Malfoy. We�ve got your number!�

�Ah numbers, beautiful, simple things, aren�t they?� Professor Vector said from
the doorway.

With that everyone took their seats and class began. For the first time in her
recollection though, Hermione couldn�t concentrate. Too many thoughts swirled
in her head.

How am I going to get Greg to realize
that we will only ever be friends? Why was Harry so nice to Theodore Nott?
What�s up with Malfoy and Zabini? And, why is he sitting next to me? Where�s my
wand? Oh crap! It�s in my bag. Can I get it without being too obvious? Would
they try something in front of everyone? No, they wouldn�t. Calm down. Wow,
nice thighs. I never noticed how�what the hell am I doing?! Why am I looking at
Malfoy�s legs? Pay attention!

Draco could feel the tension from the woman next to him and wondered at its
source. When her hand froze over her paper and she barely breathed, he risked a
glance at her. She appeared to be lost in thought as she stared at his left
knee. When the color on her face drained he almost asked if she was okay, but
stopped himself when her head snapped up and she began to pay attention to the
lesson.

xxxxx

�Let
that be a lesson to all of you,� Madame Pomphrey called out from the back of
the darkened room. �Even the most basic injuries, if left untreated, can cause
the most hideous devastation.�

The class stared up at the magical screen that played out the progress of
gangrene on a person�s foot. Pansy looked to her side and noticed Ginny�s
grimace, even as she continued to stare at the images. On her right, Luna
stared as well, but as her eyes were unfocused, it was obvious she paid little
attention to her surroundings.

�Now, that you all understand the importance of the work, we will start with
the most important things first,� Madame Pomphrey stated.

All the students blinked as the screen disappeared and the light instantly
streamed once again into the room from the windows. �Stand please.�

The class stood and the chairs they had been in vanished to be replaced by the
regular hospital beds they were used to seeing. One appeared right in front of
the three girls and they laughed as they stepped back a bit.

�Get into groups, please. Four to a table.�

Pansy smiled to herself as neither Luna nor Ginny moved from her side, but had
to stifle a groan as Millicent made her way over to them.

�Pansy,� she said as she assumed a place across the table.

�Hello, Millie,� Pansy said as she bit back her irritation. �You know Ginny and
Luna, right?�

The pretty blonde looked at the two women and nodded. They returned the nod and
looked at Pansy. She shrugged at them a little and looked embarrassed. Ginny�s
wink and smile helped her relax again.

Madame Pomphrey called for their attention and waved her wand around the room.
Beside each bed a cabinet appeared and they were told to take inventory of
their stock. They were to work together to compile two lists. The first was to
be of what basic supplies were missing from the cabinet. The second, a list of
what injuries could be cured or assisted with only the cabinet�s current stock.

Pansy turned to her companions and wondered what to do first.

Millicent surprised them all by taking over, her voice gruff and business-like,
�Okay, I�ll do the potions. Weasley�s good with
numbers, so she can do the calculations. Pansy can do the non-potion inventory.
And, Loony can take our notes.�

All three stared at her and no one moved.

�What?� she finally barked. �Just because I never spoke to you before doesn�t
mean I don�t know anything about you lot.�

Luna broke the silence, �How did you know I have the best penmanship, Ms.
Bulstrode?�

�Name�s Millie,� the woman grunted. Then she smiled. It looked a bit odd on her
face as none of them had seen it before. �I figure everyone else is trying this
change thing, I might as well join in, is all. And, I didn�t know about your
stupid handwriting, I just didn�t know if you were good at anything.�

Ginny raised a brow at the woman�s ability to be so normal and so odd at the
same time. �So, you are planning to be, um, friendly to non-Slytherins now?�

�I was never all that friendly to them either,� she admitted as she reached for
a potion bottle. Then she shrugged, �But, yeah, I guess. Seems like the thing
to do this year.�

Pansy laughed as she took bandages out of the cabinet and started placing them
in size order, �Well, Millie, if you do plan to start being nicer to people,
maybe you could start by not calling Luna names and passing me those
ointments.�

Millie looked over at Pansy and then glanced across the table at Luna. �Fine. Sorry.�

Luna smiled thoughtfully, �It�s fine. You never said
anything to me that others didn�t. I understand how Slytherins feel about
non-purebloods.�

�Not all of us,� Pansy said with a smile.

Before they could say more, Madame Pomphrey approached to check their progress
and they settled down to work.

xxxxx

By lunchtime all the students were more than ready
for a break from all the work they�d already been given and hurried into the
Great Hall. All over the hall students chatted with each other about classes
they shared. All of a sudden the mix of house tables seemed a good thing to
most as they each got to have a little bit of the spotlight at their individual
tables. In the past, each class only spoke to others of their same year, and
most definitely of their own house. But, with the new table arrangements,
everyone got to share a bit, from the overly excited first years to the already
overworked seventh years.

At his table Draco listened to a hyper third year complain about how silly
Professor Trelawney was with all her gloom and doom fake prophecies, as Draco
pushed his food around his plate. He knew he needed to eat, but the presence of
the professors at the front of the room, two in particular, made his stomach
churn. He only had one class left before dinner, Transfiguration, but before
that he had a free period. He figured he would grab a bite then and pushed his
plate away.

Across the table Ron and Luna laughed at another student�s story and Draco
glanced around the hall to give himself a chance to get it together. He saw
Potter smiling and nodding at something Theo was leaning it to say to him. He
wondered with a smirk if it had to do with Parvati Patil.
Draco then looked beyond Potter to Pansy and saw her listening intently to
something Ginny was saying. They seemed very serious and again he wondered what
the conversation entailed. Last, he turned his head to look at Blaise and Hermi�Grang Okay, fine! Hermione, then. But, only in my
head! What is she doing? How can she read in all this noise? And, why is no one
at their table talking? He watched as two younger students glanced quickly
over at Blaise before lowering their heads to their plates once more. He sighed
heavily when he looked at his friend.

Blaise sat stiffly in his chair, his food uneaten in front of him, arms
crossed, and a sneer on his face. The sneer was directed at the woman across
from him, who simply flipped her hair over her shoulder, turned the page and
continued to read quietly. Even from across the room, Draco could feel the
anger radiating off of Blaise. It was a wonder that Hermione hadn�t burst into
flames under the intensity of Blaise�s angry glare. Draco wondered what had
happened to upset Blaise so much, when the object of his anger seemed so
oblivious to it. But, before he could contemplate it further the bells sounded,
releasing everyone to their next class or free period.

Draco grabbed his bag and stood, his eyes still trained on Blaise. He hurried
over to their table as he didn�t want his friend to do something stupid in his
anger and lose his Head Boy position. He even allowed himself to acknowledge
that he didn�t particularly want Hermione hurt. He didn�t take time to analyze
the whys of it, but rather just accepted it and acted on it. He neared the
table just as Blaise�s wand cleared his pocket.

xxxxx

So complete was Blaise�s focus on the witch across
from him that he didn�t hear the bells, notice the students moving around him,
or notice Draco�s approach from behind. All he could think of was hexing the
symbol of all that was wrong in the world across from him. He knew he wasn�t
being rational, but he didn�t care anymore.

All summer long he�d waited to be back at school where things were normal. He
and his mother had returned to a wizarding world they hadn�t recognized and he
had watched his mother try to assimilate herself. He
had watched the normally vivacious witch flounder in a sea of uncertainty as
they ventured out into the shops and restaurants of Diagon
Alley. He had seen her shunned by her former friends and become a person he no
longer knew, as she tried to find her way. And, he had filed away every insult
tossed her way and allowed it to fuel his rage at all he�d lost. In his mind
the fight for freedom for the half-bloods and muggleborns
had become an attack on everything he was. He hadn�t so much cared about which
side won or lost the war before the fighting had begun. But, as the quality of
his life lowered, as his mother became more and more desperate for acceptance,
he�d begun to care very much.

With each step she took in her quest to regain her footing in the new world, he
took another back from it. His last straw had been when she volunteered to go
through Ministry counseling. He�d moved out that night and taken a room at the
Hog�s Head. There he studied, read, spoke to no one, and waited. He just knew
when he got back to school things would return to normal. His friends would
understand him, back him up. But, they hadn�t. They�d changed, too. And, they�d
defended or befriended the enemy. Granger, the Weasleys, and Potter. Granger.
Little miss perfect, Granger.

He reached for his wand and thought of the many hexes he wanted to throw her
way. Just as he opened his lips to mutter the nastiest one he could think of,
slim fingers neatly slipped the wand from his hand. He growled as he stood up
to face the person who dared to interrupt him and faced the perfectly calm
fa�ade of Draco Malfoy.

xxxxxx

Author�s Responses: Thank you all
once again. I had someone say thank you to me for responding to your reviews,
but as I told her, it is my privilege to do so. You take the time to read and
review. It is only right that I take a little bit of time and answer you. Thank
each and every one of you! And, happy holidays to you and yours!

kazfeist: The new Draco has
grown more than even he knows. lol

dragonsgirl: Thinking about how
each of the Slytherins might have grown and changed was my personal challenge
in writing this story. Thank you for noticing.

Dreamweaver: I would apologize
about not warning you to get tissues, but it is so much better for me to see
your reaction and get to enjoy it. :-) Thank you, hon!
In trying to figure out Pansy I came to realization that with an arranged
marriage it is VERY possible to not really know your
intended. With Draco having a family such as he had, I figure he wouldn�t have
had the time, inclination, or patience to worry about really getting to know
her. Nor, she him. And, now, with their impending
nuptials and new feelings, it has struck them that they might want to know one
another a little better.

As for her releasing a damn of feelings, well yeah. Think back to when
you were a teen. The feelings bottled up and then exploded. lol
And, with her, she�s been bottling them for years. But, Draco over the summer
learned to think before he speaks. He learned to figure out things for himself
instead of just accepting what he�s told. Plus, he�s started to have some
feelings about Ms. Granger, so hurting her is the last thing on his mind. ha ha ha

In
many ways this story was a stream of conscious story for me. I would sit down
and let them tell me what to type. It was very strange how the story seemed to
build itself. :-D I am glad you like the outcome so far. Hugs to you!!
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Struggling Through New Beginnings