Resentment | Dramione

Chapter 33

Yawning, Hermione groaned as she stretched herself out as best as she could. "You okay there?" Turning her head to Ginny, she chuckled as she met the witch's smiling gaze. "Absolutely," Hermione replied, releasing a satisfied sigh as all the tension had left with that stretch, and she quickly dressed herself into her school robes. "What class do we have after breakfast?" Ginny asked, her voice somewhat muffled as she was hunched forward over her trunk, searching for her required books.

"Transfiguration." Hermione replied absentmindedly, but then a smile formed on her lips as she realized she had that class with Slytherin. Never before had she been so happy to have classes with Slytherin. "All right, let's go, then." Ginny said when she had finally loaded her schoolbag, and the two girls walked the spiral stairs down from the dormitories.

A couple of whispers grew as they neared the portrait hole, but none were loud enough for Hermione to be able to catch what it was about. Shrugging it off, she listened to Ginny as she began to tell Hermione about how Seamus had nearly set himself on fire again right before dinner yesterday – when Draco and Hermione had been in the hallway – but Hermione immediately stopped listening when she caught sight of the white blond locks of Draco Malfoy, who was lazily leaning against the wall near their portrait hole, a sneer on his face that he shot at any student daring to look his way. So that's what all the whispers were about.

When he caught sight of her, however, his sneer fell and was replaced by a playful smile, and Hermione hurriedly excused herself from Ginny, who carelessly waved her off as she continued walking with Neville who had joined them last minute.

"Didn't know you'd show up here." Hermione said, a smile grazing on her lips as she was ever so happy to see him. "Figured we could walk together." Hermione gave a laugh at that, walking alongside him as they made their way through the corridor. "You must have been really desperate to see me if you came all the way up here, just to go back down." Draco scoffed, his eyebrows raised in defence as he shook his head. "Not desperate at all."

Raising her own eyebrows in disbelief, she clicked her tongue as a playful smile now appeared on her face. "Umbridge would be ashamed if she heard you lie right now." A chuckle escaped his mouth, and he casually dropped his hands into his pockets. "Good thing she isn't here then."

Hermione smiled, looking up at him as she saw the turned up corners of his lips. She definitely liked the look of his smile, unlike his usual sneer that she was so used to seeing, especially being directed her way.

They strode through the corridors, ignoring all the curious glances thrown her way. Or the occasional whispers which almost all consisted out of "Did you see that?" or "Is that really Malfoy and Hermione walking together?" Almost all were in full disbelief, and some even with a hint of disgust. Either way, Hermione tried not to care. It's not like they hadn't heard any of these comments in Diagon Alley before.

At last they arrived in the Great Hall, and if she thought that people were staring before, then nothing compared to how many people were staring right now. Almost every head turned towards the entrance where they were coming through – minus the few students here and there who simply couldn't care – and Hermione had to restrain herself from not stepping a couple of feet away from Draco just for the sake of making the staring stop.

See you in a bit, okay? Draco glanced her way, and Hermione nodded as response to his question, glad to get a smile from him before his expression turned into a foul sneer, directing it at anyone who dared to make eye contact with him. Shaking her head, she strode off into the opposite direction, heading for the Gryffindor table where she was about to have some much needed breakfast.

"Good morning, class." Hermione turned her head to Professor McGonagall as the woman came walking in the classroom, the war having seemed to put quite some age on the elder woman's face. The teacher locked eyes with her, giving her a firm nod in acknowledgment, and then her eyes drifted between her and Draco, a curiosity glazing over her face before composing herself and turning nonchalant as she made her way to the front.