Broken Against a Stone

A/N: I own no part whatsoever of the fic. J.K. Rowling owns all. I hope you all enjoy chapter 2. Things are continuing to get more and more interesting! Thanks to all who have reviewed so far. I promise to continue.

-CheersDahling

"Broken Against a Stone-Chapter 2

Hermione was in shock with her feelings about Malfoy. She kept mentally checking herself. She began trying to reassure herself of the fact that on a million different occasions, Malfoy had referred to her as a "mudblood" and had constantly made fun of the Weasley family's financial struggle. She tried to put it out of her mind and get to class. She sat down at her regular seat and immediately took notice of Malfoy. He was two seats in front of her. He was unusually quiet and reserved. Crabbe and Goyle were desperately trying to get his attention so that they could talk with him. Draco seemed completely uninterested in what they had to say. He ignored them. He appeared to be troubled and nervous. His fists were clenched in an anxiety- ridden bundle. Hermione continued to observe him until Harry and Ron came in followed shortly by Professor Snape. Harry and Ron sat down on either side of her, and Ron sent a guarded attempt at a smile her way. She returned the smile as Professor Snape began to instruct the class about the potion to be brewed that day. He had a malicious frown on his face and seemed to be more irritable than usual. He proceeded to bark the instructions to the students.

"Today we are going to be making the Trivoli potion. This is a particularly difficult potion, so I suggest you pay great attention to what you are doing. Especially you Longbottom," said Professor Snape with a tone as cold as ice.

Neville Longbottom was sitting three seats behind Hermione, Ron, and Harry. He gulped, and a thin film of sweat began to develop on his crinkled forehead. Hermione turned around and gave a smile to him that said "don't worry-I'll bail you out." He looked reassured. Snape began droning on about the potion.

"This potion allows one to see the true nature of another. It also reveals some secrets," said Snape mysteriously. "Chamomile flowers, chicory bark, caterpillar bile, Moroccan blood flower petals, and Hinkypunk lymph fluids must be brought to a swift boil. After the potion has boiled, remove it from the heat and add dried watercress seed and diced sirah root to the mixture."

As the students began to concoct their potions and acquire ingredients from the potions storage room, Ron and Harry began to complain about how difficult the potion was.

"I think Snape's trying to kill us with all of this work he's giving us," said Ron. Hermione began sieving the lymph fluid from the lifeless Hinkypunk in front of her.

"Yes, it is difficult, but we are seventh years after all," said Hermione. Harry was idly pulling the chamomile flowers apart and trying not to drop any on the sticky dungeon floor.

"I think this potion will prove to be quite useful to know in future," said Harry. "I mean, you could use it on someone that you're not quite sure where their motives are."

Hermione took a mental note to herself at these words. She decided that after the potion was completed, she might slip some into a vial for a rainy day.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," said Ron. Someone ought to slip some to Malfoy to prove to Hermione here that he's a scumbag death eater like his father before him."

Harry squirmed a bit in his seat, as he knew that some sort of fight would be breaking out between his two best friends. The air was extremely thick with the tension.

"Ron, please don't start, ok? The Halloween ball is coming up soon. We're going to be having a really good time in a couple of days. Just chill out," said Hermione, feeling that this subject was becoming rather tedious. Ron seemed unsatisfied with Hermione's comments.

"Oh, just cover everything up Hermione," said Ron. "That still does not explain your bizarre behavior earlier at breakfast." Ron said this with a slight nerve twitching on the right side of his tightened lips. Harry had had enough of the bickering that he felt would never go anywhere.

"Please stop it," said Harry with a tired and weary voice. "You love each other, so shut up and make up."

Hermione just looked at Ron uncertainly and began concentrating on the work before her. Ron would never say he was sorry. He felt that silence was the best cure for the current disease.

They continued working in silence, as the moody as ever Snape began his daily critiques of the student's work. Snape began telling Dean Thomas that his sirah root was not cut up properly, while Hermione's mind began to drift into thoughts of the strange curiosity she held for a boy who represented true hate to her friends and housemates. She glanced over at Malfoy while he was adding something to his steaming cauldron. She noticed how the steam seemed to linger around his facial features...making them swirl a bit. His skin appeared to emit an artificial milky glow, like fog around a streetlight. His lips were rounded, but the usual smirk had vanished. Her mind's wanderings came to a quick halt when Harry nudged her and told her that he thought the Moroccan blood flowers she'd been slicing were sliced a bit too thinly.

Hermione was amazed at her own lack of concentration. Ron looked at her with an eyebrow raised. He wondered if she really was tired, or there was more to the story. Hermione rarely looses her concentration in any circumstance, Ron mused to himself.

After class was over, Hermione scooped a bit of the completed potion into a spare vial, and slipped it into her book bag. She made sure that Ron and Harry did not see her doing it. She told them that she was going to have a rest in the dorm for a while. She said that she had a headache, and to tell Professor Flitwick that she had a migraine. Before she left, Ron looked at her suspiciously.

"Why don't you just go see Madame Pomfrey if you've got a headache, Hermione," said Ron. "It's not like you at all to miss class." Hermione scuffed her shoe on the ground irritably at his suggestion.

"Ron, you are seriously pissing me off today. Just let me go to bed now. I'm not well," said Hermione.

She turned around hotly and made her way towards Gryffindor Tower, as Harry and Ron gawked at her with codfish mouths ajar. Hermione could feel the blood slowly making it's way from her heart to her pounding head. She just needed to have some time to herself to sort out her peculiar thoughts...her thoughts of him.