Of Serpent Tongues and Lion Hearts

Of Serpent Tongues and Lion Hearts.

Chapter 2: "Weak knees"

Hermione stopped in front of the Head Boy/Girl compartment door. The smile she had been wearing faded, and was quickly replaced by a nervous look.

"Okay, Hermione, just relax... it can't possibly be that bad," she said trying to convince herself. "Oh, who are you kidding it's Malfoy. It will be that bad. Whatever. Let's get this over with."

She slid the doors that had two gold engraved badges with a Head Boy and Head Girl, open. The compartment was bigger than all the other compartments in the Hogwarts Express. It had a big window with the perfect view of the way to Hogwarts. There were two couches opposite each other, just next to the window. It also had two small desks and a small antique looking box that looked like a small refrigerator, without the electricity. Inside the box were many of the famous sweets from Honeydukes: chocolate frogs, Bertie Botts, Ice Mice, Pumpkin Juice, Pumpkin Malt, Dragon eyes cookies and many others.

Hermione noticed a door at the end of the compartment that had a restroom sign on it.

"Our own restroom. That's convenient." She noticed that Malfoy was nowhere to be found and slightly smiled. "Now that's convenient."

She grabbed her backpack and walked toward the restroom to change from her Muggle clothes into the school uniform. She was about to open the restroom door when it abruptly opened and what, or rather whom, she had been dreading all along now was standing (in all his full majesty) in front of her.

Draco Malfoy was probably as surprised as Hermione, but decided against showing his surprise. Hermione gulped when she saw the tall figure, with very penetrating grey eyes, standing in front of her.

Draco looked like the perfect picture of masculinity in its full glory. He had come a long way from his first years at Hogwarts. He was not only tall but also built, with just the right amount of muscles. He had the perfect broad muscular and manly back that all Quidditch players should have, but very little actually developed. His arms were now strong instead of skinny, his face didn't show the one of a seventeen year old boy, instead was one of a man... and a damn attractive one too. His hair (still silver blond ) but instead of that ridiculous hairdo he used to wear, he had it cut shorter and he had a kind of "on purpose" messy hair, which looked very, very well on him. His face would have been flawless if it wasn't for, no - not pimples he has perfect complexion- a tiny almost unnoticeable scar above his right eyebrow. Not many people noticed this scar, but today Hermione did, as she noticed for the first time, that the insufferable git, was actually decent looking.

All of a sudden her knees stopped supporting her at the mere sight of him. But the sudden abrupt turn of the Hogwarts Express made it look like her fall was caused by this, and not by Draco's mere presence. And Hermione fell right into Draco.

Draco caught her before she hit the floor. By pure instinct she put her arms around him, clinging to him for support and pressing herself against his chest. They both stayed in that position looking into each other's eyes.

It was almost intoxicating for both of them, what they were looking at. It was like discovering something abruptly, but not knowing what exactly you just discovered.

Suddenly they realized their position and Draco let go of her. While she fixed her robes he asked her plainly, "Are you all right," without showing any emotion.

She felt that this question, coming from Malfoy ,was extremely strange. Just as him breaking her fall, but didn't comment on it.

"Yes... thanks," she said simply without looking at him in the eyes.

He started walking towards the other end of the compartment and sat next to the window. Hermione entered the restroom and changed her clothes.

She had also come a long way from those first years at Hogwarts. She was taller than many girls in Hogwarts, yet she wasn't a giant. Her once rebellious hair was very much calmed and now ended in very soft, subtle, and alive curls. Her teeth were dazzling. She had long and beautiful legs. Her body was curvaceous. But even though she had physically changed, she was still the same old Hermione. She still carried more books than she could handle and used a quill to hold her hair out of here face.

She was fixing her hair into a ponytail and as she looked at herself in the mirror she started to wonder what had happened earlier. Why had her knees weakened at the mere sight of him?

"What is wrong with you Hermione? It's only Malfoy," she muttered to her own reflection.

She stared at herself in the mirror, but she wasn't really looking, she was thinking about him. He had changed so much since last year, not only physically, but his attitude as well.

Ever since after Christmas break last year, Malfoy had had a drastic change in behavior. He had started with less insults and soon less insults became just silence. It had been very unlike him. He had become very distant and private. Every time he had passed the dynamic trio in the hallways he didn't say anything. Sometimes he just gave them a quick look to acknowledge their presence, but quickly walked past them like nothing had ever happened between them. He was mostly seen alone. No Crabbe and no Goyle.

His infamous romantic relationship with Emily Wood, another Slytherin a year younger than him, had ended before anyone could notice the big change in Draco Malfoy. Of course Emily was a very determined Slytherin and she wanted Draco back. She had tried many means to get him back, but apparently she forgot that Draco was more determined than her, and when he ended something , it was simply over. There were no regrets and no coming backs for him, which if you asked Hermione, was a very good thing because Emily was not only mean, spoiled, and rude, but she also was as annoying as a girl can get... and worse.

Hermione came back to Earth after her reverie and headed for the seat in front of Draco. She stared out the window, just like he wasn't even there. She let out a small sigh. Draco's attention shifted from the book he was reading to her. She didn't noticed, but he was staring at her, no expressions in his face.

She has changed a lot, Draco thought, So what we all do, it's called growing up, Draco!

He looked at her and how she was wearing her hair. She looked so much prettier than he remembered. Not that he remembered her ever being pretty, especially now that the wind coming from the open window caressed her face. The way the sun lit her face gave her this beautiful and special glow. A glow that made her look like a muse, like a nymph, so innocent and peaceful.

Draco shook his head lightly to wake himself from his daydream.

Okay, Draco, where in the hell did that thought came from? Mental note, you might want to ask Madam Pomfrey for the name of one of those wizards psychologists, and he returned to his book.

Hermione, unaware of her behavior, let another very small sigh out, probably unnoticeable by most people. But Draco wasn't most people. He was a Malfoy and he noticed everything. That's what he was taught by Lucius Malfoy, his father. But not by choice.

She turned and took a book out of her book bag and started to shift in her sit to get more comfortable.

She opened one of her favorite books, Brida by the Brazilian Muggle author Paulo Cohelo. Although giving the vivid and realistic portrayal of his characters and stories, she suspected he wasn't as Muggle as he said he was.

As she open the book and search for the page she left at, Draco quickly turned to his book and asked "What is it Granger?"

This was an abrupt comeback to reality for Hermione. She looked up at him confused for the first time since she had felt right into his arms.

"Sorry... what?" she asked a bit confused.

Draco looked from his book into her eyes.

"Well Granger you've sighed a couple of times and you have interrupted my concentration so I was wondering if you: one, might stop sighing and try to keep quiet, or two, were you going to tell me why were you sighing, so you could get it out of your system and I could go back to my reading without being interrupted every second," said Draco with not many inflexions on his voice.

Hermione's blood started to boil and her face turned an interesting shade of red-orange

So much for a changed, a quiet Malfoy, she thought

"Oh! I am sooo sorry if I interrupted his majesty," spat Hermione with so much sarcasm that not only took him by surprise, but also her.

Draco's face went pale-er, if that was possible. Great. I always know what to say. I'm such a big idiot, she took it the wrong way, he thought.

"Listen Malfoy," started Hermione with a more softer and calmed tone. "I have the right to do and say whatever I want to here, but if it's going to shut you up I will try to please you and try not to sigh, given that it bothers your sensitive hearing and fragile attention. However, don't think for one minute that now that we have become Head Boy and Head Girl I will trust and confide in you out of the clear blue sky and tell you what is bothering me and what's not, if that's the case."

Her anger was taking over her during her last words, so she decided to go back to her novel.

"Granger, I did not expect you to trust me or confide in me now that we have become Head Boy and Girl. You will probably never give me, or any Slytherin, the benefit of the doubt anyway. You nor your precious Gryffindors ever had. I am not expecting things to be different now. You took it the wrong way, I didn't mean it the way it sounded..."

She could not bring herself out of her shock. She heard him. Had he implied an apology? This was simply too much for her brain to process in such a short amount of time.

After her shock passed a little, she stood up and informed Malfoy that she was going on a round to check everything was fine, especially with the first years.

"Okay, but don't take too long. I would say that we are about to arrive in less than half an hour."

She nodded and headed towards her friends compartment, where she did not commented on the strange behavior of a certain Slytherin. But she did had a laugh or two at the earlier threats of Crabbe and Goyle. She laugh harder when Harry and Ron told her that Justin Flinch-Fletchley, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan jinxed them in the hall. Now Crabbe had jelly legs and Goyle was burping frogs...poor frogs!