When Enemies Interact

Chapter 4: The Words from his Lips.

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Draco walked towards Professor McGonagall's office in an agitated mood. McGonagall had told him to go there to organise his first duty, which would no doubt be with Hermione.

For some reason, he felt uneasy around Hermione lately and he suspected it had to do with the way she just kept letting her problems out. It was as if she had no one but himself to tell them to. But she just said it her losing control of herself as if that was natural. She really needed to break up with Harry, as it was the relationship between them that was the problem, but she just wouldn't break up with him, even though she wanted to.

He reached McGonagall's office and entered. Hermione was sitting at the teachers' desk, opposite McGonagall, who was praising her for her wonderful Transfiguration in class earlier (A/N. McGonagall usually doesn't praise students does she? Oops! if she doesn't).

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall said, looking up at Draco. "Sit down, please." Draco obeyed and sat in the seat next to Hermione.

"Your first duty will be tonight, in dungeon three and you will be cleaning it," McGonagall said. "You two unfortunately have to do it as there is no one on detention this week, and the House Elves are extremely busy at the moment. I'm very sorry." Draco and Hermione nodded. "Meet me there at eight o'clock, please. You may leave."

Draco and Hermione got up from their chairs and left the room silently.

"Cleaning," Draco muttered, "I honestly didn't think I'd have to do something like this as Head Boy."

"You don't usually do this kind of thing as a Head duty," Hermione replied. "But I agree, it's like detention and worse, it's in the room Ron and I had to cut toad guts up in for detention last night and we, er, didn't clean up after ourselves." She smiled guiltily.

"That's brilliant, Granger," Draco said sarcastically and rather irritably, "I have to help you clean up your mess. Just brilliant."

"Well, at least I don't have to spend another night with Harry," Hermione said with a strained smile. Draco looked sideways at her.

"And that's supposed to mean something to me, how?" he asked. Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Anyway, how is spending a night with me better than spending one with Potter?"

"Well, I'm not going to be kissing you, am I?" Hermione said snappishly.

"You're definitely right there, Hermione," Draco said. He mentally slapped himself, hoping she hadn't noticed he had said her first name, but she had.

"Hermione? You called me Hermione?" Hermione said in disbelief.

"Well, that's your name, isn't it?" Draco said, trying to cover it up.

"Yes, but you never call me by my first name, just like I never do with you," Hermione stated. They had stopped walking now and were standing in a narrow and empty corridor.

"It just slipped, alright," Draco said rather irritably. "I'll see you tonight." He continued down the corridor quickly, leaving Hermione alone, standing in the middle of the corridor, staring at his retreating back in disbelief, thinking the same thought as him: Did he really just slip?

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Draco entered dungeon three to see Professor McGonagall already standing with Hermione. He headed over.

"Now," McGonagall said, "You may use your wands if you wish, but there are some things, such as these intestine-covered tables, that will need scrubbing thoroughly. The cleaning supplies are over there in that storage cupboard -" She indicated the door at the far side of the dimly lit dungeon "- I'll be back in about an hour to check on you -hopefully you're finished by then." Draco and Hermione nodded and she left the dungeon silently. Draco looked around.

"You can clean the tables," he said, "It's your mess after all. I'll clean these flasks and vials." Hermione nodded and set off to get the cleaning supplies. Draco watched her retreating beck, before turning to the stone basin, which was surrounded by empty glass flasks, test tubes, measuring cups and vials. He turned on the taps and by the time Hermione had returned, the sink was full of warm water.

"Here," Hermione said, coming over and handing him a small plastic bottle filled with a thick yellow liquid. "It's dishwashing liquid," she said as he looked at the bottle quizzically. "You just pour a small amount into the water and soapy bubbles are formed. It helps to clean dishes thoroughly." Draco nodded and poured about a quarter of a cup into the water, which Hermione thought was a bit too much, but she just turned around and began to scrub the filthy tables clean with no comment.

"We don't use this stuff out of a bottle in the wizarding world usually," Draco said, indicating the bottle of dishwashing liquid. "It comes out of our wands, and it's fluorescent blue, not yellow. At home, we have a tap for the stuff, just turn it on and it pours out, rather convenient actually." Hermione turned to look at him, the scrubbing brush she was using still in her hand. Was he really trying to make conversation with her?

"Who does the dishes at your house, anyway?" Hermione asked. "I mean, you haven't got Dobby anymore." The flask Draco was now washing nearing dropped out of his hands and he turned to face her abruptly.

"How do you know about Dobby?"

"Well, Harry tricked your father into freeing him, and well, Harry told me and I know Dobby fairly well now that he's working here at Hogwarts," Hermione replied. "I honestly thought you knew all about it."

"Dobby's working here?" Draco said. Hermione nodded. "I was punished if I didn't bully Dobby when we had him, but I never wanted to. I kind of had a soft spot for the little guy to be honest." Hermione could hardly believe her ears. Draco, have a soft spot for Dobby, 'the little guy'! "He hated me, just like he hated my father. I don't blame him for coming to work here." He went silent and returned to the dishes, while Hermione continued to scrub the tables, which were slowly coming clean.

After about half an hour of mostly silence, the silence was interrupted by a dull thump on the door. Hermione and Draco exchanged curious looks and crept towards the door, slowly and quietly opened it and looked down the dimly lit dungeon hallway and saw in shock the cause of the noise. A boy and girl, both around their age with their lips locked together. The boy was pressing the girl against the wall opposite them and a couple of metres to the left. They were kissing each other with both force and passion, their features hidden in the shadows, but the moment they came into clearer view, Draco heard Hermione gasp and go rigid beside him, and he knew why. There was no mistaking the messy, jet black hair on the boy, unmistakably Harry and the girl with her vivid red hair and small figure, definitely Ginny, Ron's younger sister.

Draco grabbed Hermione's upper arm and dragged her back into the dungeon, before Harry and Ginny noticed their presence, and closed the door. Draco released his grip on Hermione's arm and she slowly made her way over to one of the scrubbed tables and sat down, her cheeks pale and her brown eyes brimming with tears. Draco went over to her and sat down next to her.

"You were right," Hermione said, her voice shaking slightly. "You-you said he'd either get killed or break my heart and you were right. He's broken my heart."

"I didn't think he would break your heart," Draco admitted, "I honestly didn't want to think it." The words just swam from his mouth and he wasn't sure if they were true or not.

"Well, that's bull crap," Hermione said. "You don't care about me. You're probably happy Harry's gone out and hurt me, though it will make it easier for me to dump him tomorrow." She was amazed at how calmly she said this, but Draco didn't take it very calmly.

"Bloody hell, Granger," Draco sneered, "You'll never let me be nice to you, will you? I do care about you, even though I don't like admitting it. God, if someone went to kill you, I'd try my best to save your life, even it meant I'd be killed myself!" Again, the words flew from his mouth and he couldn't stop them. Hermione stared at him in cold disbelief.

"If you're just saying all this to make me look like a fool, Malfoy, I swear I'll hurt you! Even if you are Head Boy and I'm Head Girl, you don't care about me and you would never do that, you hate me!" Hermione said.

"And you hate me!" Draco said angrily. He stood up and walked over to the supplies cupboard and grabbed a broom to start sweeping. When he re-entered the dungeon, he saw Hermione with her head in her arms, crying. He felt his anger fade instantly at the sight.

"When are we starting on our poster for Potions, Granger?" he asked as he swept the floor under her desk.

"Er ... T-tomorrow night in the-the library at se-seven o'clock," she replied. Her voice was muffled from crying and her words were only just distinguishable. Draco nodded, even though she couldn't see him. He continued to sweep.

"What do you want me to bring with me?" he asked. Hermione sat up, her head no longer in her arms, showing her tear-streaked face and swollen red eyes.

"I have the poster parchment, so you should just bring a quill, some ink -different colours if you can- and I'll supply the rest," she replied, wiping the tears away from her face. Draco nodded again.

"Can you lift your legs so I can sweep under your feet?" he asked. Hermione swung back abruptly in her chair so it was balancing on it's back legs, but she had moved so fast she was unable to keep balance and she went falling to the floor, but when she was only inches from the hard, cold, stone floor, Draco caught her around the waist and stood her up straight. She was holding onto Draco's shoulders for support and looked rather embarrassed. Draco kept his hands on her waist for a moment before pulling them away quickly, as if he shouldn't have been.

"Thanks," Hermione mumbled, going pink in the cheeks and letting go of Draco's shoulders.

"I told you I cared and I do," Draco replied. Hermione just rolled her eyes and turned to finish scrubbing the last table.

Another half an hour passed and they were finally finished. Draco had conversed with Hermione about Quidditch, saying he was looking forward to the upcoming season and first match: Slytherin vs. Gryffindor, while Hermione had told him about what it felt like growing up as a Muggle to help pass time as they worked.

About five minutes after they finished, Professor McGonagall returned with a faint smile on her face.

"Well done, both of you," she said. "I'm sorry I had to make your first duty so bad, Malfoy, but it had to be done, and you've both done a very good job. Now, please leave and go straight to your dormitories." Draco and Hermione nodded and walked out passed her to leave for their separate dormitories.

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The next day was Saturday and Hermione got up early with a small smile playing on her lips, but it soon faded as the events of the night before floated back into her head. She had seen Harry being very intimate with Ginny, behind her back, and she was now about to face dumping him, but she wasn't as scared as she was now she knew he was cheating on her. It made her blood boil with anger. She deserved better than him and she honestly didn't care if it broke up their friendship as well.

Suddenly, another thought occupied her. What if Ron took Harry's side? If he did, she would lose both her best friends and she didn't have many more friends she could talk to about the things going on in her life. Ginny would definitely take Harry's side; Parvati and Lavender would tell the world; Neville was useless and Dean and Seamus probably wouldn't care. She really didn't have anyone. Terry would've been possible, but he was no longer at Hogwarts and his Head Boy job had gone to Draco.

Suddenly, Hermione remembered what Draco had said the night before. He cared about her, though he hated to admit it, yet two days before, when she had 'lost control' and told him her problems with Harry, he had walked away saying she should talk to someone else about it because he didn't care.

"God, he is confusing," Hermione thought out loud. But she decided that that night, when she met him in the library to do their Potions poster, she would find out if he really did care about her or not and try to talk to him as he was really the only person she had and trust at the moment. Him and a diary anyway, but she felt she needed someone, or something, who could talk back, and a diary couldn't do that.

*

After breakfast, Hermione headed back up to Gryffindor Tower to find Harry. She entered the common room through the portrait hole and found Harry sitting with Ron by the empty fireplace, playing Exploding Snap. As she approached them, Harry looked up at her and gave her a sweet smile she didn't return. She instead took a seat on the couch next to Ron, away from Harry, whose smile slowly faded.

"What's the matter?" he asked. Hermione looked at him with a sober expression. Harry frowned.

"You should know, Harry," Hermione replied, folding her arms under her breasts and leaning back on the couch. Harry's expression just became more confused. "I can't believe you, Harry. I thought I could trust you, but I was very wrong in thinking that. Wasn't I enough? Did you really have to get a bit more off someone else?"

"What are you talking about, Hermione?" Harry asked. Hermione suddenly became very angry. He was trying to cover it up, deny it.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Harry!" Hermione said angrily. "I saw you down in the dungeon hallway with Ginny last night, kissing her as if it was the best thing you'd ever experienced. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if you went and found an empty room and shagged her right then and there, you cheating bastard!" She was red with anger, and her breathing was ragged. Taking a deep, steady breath, she continued, "I was doing a Head duty with Draco in dungeon three: the dungeon you were outside and I saw a fair amount of it. You've broken my heart, Harry, and I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive you for it. We're over. Thanks for the pleasure while it lasted, Harry." She stood up and looked down at Ron, who was looking from one to the other, obviously too shocked to speak. Harry just sat in his armchair, white in shock, staring at Hermione.

Hermione turned away and slowly headed to the staircase that led up to the girls' dormitories, bus as she reached them, Harry spoke and she turned back around to face him.

"I'm sorry, Hermione, I should've told you, I just didn't want to break your heart, even though I still did. I don't expect you to forgive me, I don't deserve that, but just remember, I love you, just not as much as I love Ginny. I'm so sorry," Harry said, "I know it's too late."

Hermione just looked at him for a moment, before turning and heading up to her dormitory, which was empty. She got out one of her Potions books and sat down on her bed to read it, when there was a knock on the door. "Come in," she called. The door opened and Ron stepped in. "What is it, Ron?"

He took a deep breath. "Why did you call Malfoy by his first name back there?" he asked, frowning slightly. Hermione's eyes widened in shock.

"I-I didn't, did I?"

"Yes. You said that you were doing a Head duty with Draco last night when you saw Harry," Ron said.

"I guess I just slipped or something," Hermione said, still looking shocked.

"Hermione, do you like Malfoy?" Ron asked.

"No, of course not!" Hermione said. "That's absurd!" Ron looked Hermione up and down, as if trying to see if she was lying, shrugged, looking slightly upset with her, turned and exited the room, leaving Hermione with new, confused thoughts.

She had called Draco by his first name, as if it was some everyday, natural thing to do. What did this mean? Did this mean she actually was beginning to like him just as Ron had asked, or did she just slip, like he had earlier...?

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Draco walked down a corridor towards the library silently. He was going there to get some books on the Polyjuice Potion for that night, when he would be working on the Potions poster with Hermione. He was about to round the corner into the corridor with the library, when a door nearby opened and distracted him. He watched as Harry walked out, hand in hand with Ginny. He narrowed his eyes at them and caught a bit of their conversation.

"...Well at least we don't have to be secretive anymore, now she knows and we've broken up," Harry was saying. "Ron's all upset with her because she called Malfoy by his first name -" He stopped as he saw Draco, who continued to walk towards the library and entered it. He walked over to the 'Potions' section and took a few books on Advanced Potions and what they do off the shelves. He then sat down at a table at a table and opened one of the books, but he wasn't reading it, his mind was on other things instead.

Harry had said that he and Hermione had broken up, so Hermione must have dumped him, finally, but then Harry had said that Ron was upset with her because she had called him, Draco, by his first name, which she definitely didn't do often. Had she just slipped like he had earlier...?

Draco smiled as he remembered what it felt like, holding her the night before after she had lost balance on her chair and the way she had held onto his shoulders to keep balance ... He mentally slapped himself. He didn't enjoy holding her like that, he couldn't, it wasn't possible. He hated her...

But he was beginning to believe he didn't. He had told her just the night before that he cared about her. And now he was smiling at the thought of her...

He couldn't possibly be beginning to like her, could he?