Smart, competitive, short-tempered, arrogant. The loathsome prince of Slytherin and Gryffindor's bright princess have more in common than they're willing to admit. No matter how hard Draco and Hermione try to avoid one another, it seems they just keep getting stuck together.
Hermione crashed into the ground, and heard a snap. At first, the sound made her more uncomfortable than the injury hurt her, but after a moment the pain hit her and she cried out.
Malfoy was out on the field, and saw Granger zipping around on her broom, her hair so wild she looked like a flying cat. He thanked Merlin that he was here to see it, and laughed so hard he nearly doubled over when she crashed into the ground. The snap made him feel sick for a moment though. When Granger cried out in pain, Malfoy glanced around to see who would come to her aid. But they were the only ones around.
Granger was whimpering on the ground, not even yelling for help. Draco couldn't deny her high test scores, but anyone who had ever called her 'bright' clearly had never seen her this helpless and stupid.
Draco shouted for her, "Hey! Hey, anyone around? Someone come get this fucking klutz off the field!"
No one responded, and Malfoy looked from Hermione, to the castle about 200 yards away, and back to Hermione.
"Bloody hell," he grumbled, and stomped over to where the witch's body lay.
Hermione looked up to see Draco Malfoy standing above her with a mocking smirk on his face. She groaned.
"You are so pathetic Granger," he said.
"Fuck off," Hermione snapped.
Malfoy bent down and snaked his arm around Hermione, pulling her up to her feet.
"Let go of me!" Hermione yelled, and Draco complied.
Hermione screamed in pain as her body hit the ground again, and Malfoy was laughing above her.
"I'm the only one around Granger, you're stuck with me unless you want to lay here until Hufflepuff's quidditch practice tomorrow," when Hermione stubbornly stayed silent Draco added, "you'll miss class though."
Hermione glared at him, "fine, fucking help me up then."
"Not a very nice way to talk to someone trying to help you," Draco said smugly. He tried to take a mental picture of how she looked right now, angry and stubborn and helpless. It was bloody perfect.
"Please Malfoy," Hermione said through gritted teeth, "would you help me to the infirmary?"
"Better," Malfoy said, and bent down again to lift her up. He put her arm around his shoulders, and his arm around her waist. Once she was upright, they attempted to take a step. Once Hermione placed her injured foot down, she instantly cried out again and nearly fell over. Draco was tempted to let her go just to see her fall again, but he had other shit to do.
They took five pathetic steps with Hermione attempting to hop on one leg, "fuck, I haven't got all day," Draco said, and then he reached his other arm underneath the witch's knees and lifted her up. She cried out in pain from the movement in her leg.
"Put me down!" she shouted stubbornly, squirming in his arms.
"Shut up," Malfoy replied, not even glancing down at her.
They finally got to the door to the castle. It would have taken them an hour if Draco hadn't picked her up, "open the door," he commanded.
"Absolutely not!"
"Look you think I want to be seen like this? It's fucking disgusting, but you've already wasted enough of my time so get fucking over it," Malfoy growled.
Reluctantly, Hermione opened the castle door, and then put her hand over her face to try and hide as Draco stepped into the corridor. Unfortunately, no one identified Hermione from her face, her wild hair was much more recognizable.
Malfoy scowled at anyone who glanced in their direction, and was purposely careless carrying Hermione.
"Ow!" she cried when her leg hit the doorway to the infirmary.
"Shut it mudblood," Malfoy replied, and dropped her lazily on the first available cot, causing her to yelp in pain again.
Madame Pomfrey rushed over from where she was treating another student who seemed to have taken too many of Fred and George's Skiving Snackbox sweets. Draco began to walk out, but Madame Pomfrey shouted after him, "Wait! I'm busy with another student, but the salve is pretty straightforward. Just heat it up with your wand, hold her leg still, and rub it on the injured area. Make sure to use all of it!"
Malfoy called after Madame Pomfrey in protest, but she was already rushing back to the other student, who was breaking out in boils.
Hermione and Draco locked eyes uncomfortably for a long moment.
"Fuck me," Draco grumbled, and picked up the salve. He took out his wand, and aimed a heating spell at the bottle, then he glanced down at Hermione's leg.
"Do you expect me to rip through your tights or something Granger?" he scowled.
Blushing, Hermione pulled down her stockings from underneath her skirt as Malfoy averted his gaze. She got them down to her knee, but when she tried to bend further pain shot up her leg and she gasped. Draco looked down at her disdainfully, and then pulled her stockings and her sock on her right leg down to her ankle. Hermione propped herself up on her elbows and watched uncomfortably as he poured some of the goopy blue salve onto his hands, and then rubbed it onto her leg
"Ow!" she screamed angrily, jerking back.
"Oh suck it up," Malfoy said, "and next time don't be so bloody clumsy. What the hell were you doing out there anyway?"
Hermione inhaled sharply when Malfoy touched the salve to her leg again, but kept still as he rubbed it in, "studying, obviously."
"Studying what? How hard the ground is?"
Hermione huffed, "studying flying you half-wit."
Draco smiled, and roughly spread more salve on the witch's leg, but this time it felt cool, and calming. The pain receded and Hermione let out a relieved, sigh, "oh? The brightest which of our age can't even fucking fly? You're an embarrassment."
"Fuck off," Hermione snapped.
"Gladly," Draco said and he rubbed the last of the salve into her calf. He turned around sharply, and left the infirmary.
Draco stalked angrily through the halls, his fists clenched. Fucking mudblood he murmured to himself. He should be happy, any day when Granger was in pain was a good one, but instead he had an annoying thought that wouldn't leave his head. Malfoy walked even faster, taking corners sharply and roughly pushing past anyone who got in his way. He finally made it to his room, and before he could stop himself he punched the brick wall. He looked at his bloody knuckles, but even the pain wasn't enough to distract him.
He just couldn't get the sound of Granger's satisfied, breathy moan she had made when the salve began to work out of his ears.
He couldn't get the feeling of her bare leg off of his hands.
Even when he closed his eyes, he could still see her blushing face as she curled into his chest to try and hide while he carried her.
