This story was edited by Lizzy from Perfect Imagination. (28.02.2010)

Title: Three Seconds

Genre: General

Rated: T

Words: 1031

Pairing: Hermione Granger / Draco Malfoy

Summary: It had been one of those time-stopping moments. [One-Shot] HG/DM

It had been one of those time-stopping moments.

She had been resting against the wall outside one of the Quidditch locker rooms, a book in her hands and a scarf around her neck, waiting for Harry and Ron's Quidditch practise to end. It was the last one before the big game between Gryffindor and Slytherin and they were nervous: it would be the first game of the year. And she didn't even want to start thinking about Harry. The thought of him dealing with the loss of his only real father figure was enough to make her not want to let him leave her sight. The only good thing that had happened during their little trip to the Ministry at the end of their previous year had been the imprisonment of some Death Eaters who were involved in the battle, Lucius Malfoy and Walden Macnair being two of them.

Her attention was diverted from half of her problems when she heard doors behind her open. She frowned when she saw the Slytherin team come out of one of the locker room. Most of them didn't really notice her, and the ones who did decided to ignore her when they walked by.

She was looking at their backs with a frown when she heard the door opening again. She looked up at him and her eyes met his.

It had only lasted a couple of seconds. She was pretty sure it hadn't been more than three, but it had felt like an eternity. It had really been as if time had suddenly stopped. Everything around them had acquired a sort of blurriness. Nothing more seemed to matter. Only his eyes.

For some reason they seemed different. It had been one of the things Hermione had always noticed in him; his eyes always seemed dull and cold. He could be insulting someone, eating breakfast or in class – no matter what, his eyes always seemed blank, emotionless. Only rarely would they gain a sort of spark, but as far as she had seen, it had only been due to fury or hatred. The fact that they were so light should have been enough to show something more than that, but no, most of the time they were almost lifeless.

But during those seconds they had been so different. If she hadn't known better, she could have sworn they weren't the same. Somehow, right there, he looked lost and hopeless. The sight would be entirely too satisfying for her and half Hogwarts, but, for some reason, no feelings of triumph or satisfaction overcame her. Quite the contrary. It was as if some of it had been transferred to her; she was hit with such a sense of misery and despair she was grateful she had the wall behind her for support. It was as if she was seeing him – really seeing him – for the first time. Was it possible that he had been pretending all those years?

During those seconds it had been as if something completely foreign to her had invaded her mind and body. It had been as if something had filled her so deeply she was afraid she would burst at any moment. And it wasn't entirely a bad feeling; it was just overwhelming. Really, there was no possible way of describing it without sounding irrational or delirious. Especially when it came to him.

Breathless with anticipation, she saw as he seemed to be walking towards her. She noticed that his robes looked less neat than usual, or maybe it was his posture; he appeared just slightly less confident and, for once, arrogance didn't seem to mark his features. The dark circles around his eyes contrasted clearly against his pale skin. His facial features seemed sharper, his cheekbones more prominent, as if he had lost weight, or grown a lot in a short period of time. There was just a tiny difference, something that she couldn't exactly discern, but that was definitely there if someone looked close enough.

When he reached her, he stopped right in front of her. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she looked up at him with a curious expression. He frowned, his eyebrows somehow shadowing his pale grey eyes that, for once, were completely void of their usual coldness and disdain. The change had been so remarkable and surprising her breath stuck in her throat. In an effortless try, she swallowed hard.

For some reason that had been the changing point. In the blink of an eye, he transformed back to his old self.

Raising an eyebrow at her, he spat, "Get out of my way, Granger," in a hateful tone. It was the same one he had used with her since the very first day they met. Snobbish, harsh, rude and condescending. He was just plain uncivil and cruel, and most of the times he was simply bloody annoying, with all that blasted arrogance that certainly came from a childhood of brainwashing. Years of trying to humiliate him hadn't changed anything; he still turned his pathetic little nose upwards and looked down on her as if he was sitting tall and strong and proud on a purebred horse.

The breath she had been holding left her lungs in an almost painfully heavy sigh. She rolled her eyes at him and stepped out of the way, not wanting to cause any more trouble. He passed by her without a word. He didn't even glance at her, but she did turn to see him walking towards the castle.

It had taken three seconds for her to forget about every single horrible thing he and his family had said or done to her and her friends. All it took it was those three seconds – if it had actually been that long – for her to feel as if she didn't really know him, as if no one really did. All it had taken was three seconds for her to develop a ridiculous, hopefully short-lived, irrational little fancy for Draco Malfoy. And all because she had to overanalyse every single thing, even an innocent, simple exchange of glances that had clearly been misread.

Those kinds of glances always were.