A/N: This is my first chapter of my first story on and it was inspired by Give Me Your Pain by River in Egypt. It was just so amazing that I wanted to do my own representation of it. It also ships my two fav characters together SO HARD and it makes me happy. Well here you go tell me in reviews whether you liked it or not I am always up for comments and critiques! -vO
There you go again Hermione. Falling asleep in the library. I really need to cut out that ever-growing habit. It's cutting into my study time. She thought to herself, her bushy, untamable, curls bouncing as she walked. Her milk chocolate skin glinting in the moonlight shining through the occasional window. She had always liked the color of her skin, it was not as dark as Dean, but she was not light-skinned either. She thought she was a good mix of coffee and chocolate. Now I'll have to skip breakfast to finish this potions essay. Oh well, whatever. Harry and Ron will just have to do without my amazingly intellectual breakfast conversation. She quietly rounded a corner and started down another corridor.
I really hope I don't get caught by Filch. I'll never be able to come up with an excuse for being out of bed at… What time is it?... She checked her Alice in Wonderland watch. It had been a Christmas gift from her parents from two years ago. She missed her parents dearly but Hermione enjoyed the odd classes that she was provided at Hogwarts. OH MY GOD it's almost one in the morning!? I need to get back to the dormitory NOW. She hastily quickened her pace. She was almost at a run now. Every time she heard a noise she would stop and listen, thinking, Please don't be Filch, please don't be Filch, please don't be Filch.
Hermione had almost made it back to her dormitory when she heard something different than the normal soft chatters of mice and abrupt snores of portraits. They were more similar to muffled cries, coming from the lavatory. Of course it's the abandoned one. Being a prefect, she drew out her wand and started slowly toward the noise. As she approached the noise grew louder. It was definitely cries. Hermione stopped tentatively at the door and looked at it. She tucked a curl behind her ear and it immediately popped back out again. The sign on the door indicating whether or not it was a girl's lavatory was well worn off, but she entered anyway. Walking slowly as to take in the surroundings, Hermione inched closer to the sound.
As she rounded a corner she saw a shape, with its back turned to her. It was leaned over the furthest sink, mostly covered in shadow, in the white shirt that was the standard for under the Hogwarts uniform. It had been unbuttoned, as far as she could see. The window was open and the cool night breeze was wafting through. By now her chestnut brown eyes had adjusted a little more and she could see that it was a boy with a rather tall stature, however it was somewhat compromised because he was leaned over the sink. In the mirror she caught a glimpse of something seemingly glowing on the boy's head. She got a better look and she saw that it was not glowing it was just very nearly white hair reflecting the moonlight from the window. By now she had deduced that the boy was, in fact, Draco Malfoy and he was crying in the abandoned lavatory. His hair is very blond in the moonlight and he is rather tall. Are all the Hogwarts shirts that see-through? I need to speak to Professor Mcgonagall about that. His back is rather chiseled, though. I wonder if he works out. Obviously he does what kind of person has a back like that and doesn't work out? Hermione stop! She yelled in her head. That train of thought went a direction it should not have gone. This is Malfoy. Slytherin poster child Malfoy. Ferret-faced, annoying, chisel-backed, ignorant, fine-featured, platinum haired…. Ok I really need to stop. It doesn't help that I hear Fay, Lavender, and Parvati plotting to bed all the most handsome boys in the school. Among them being Draco Malfoy. They are quite right though. Now she was getting off track, she was here to investigate not doddle thinking about Malfoy's back. Should I approach him or not? She mentally asked herself. I don't want him to get angry with me and yell alerting the portraits and Filch of our whereabouts. She considered her options more for a couple minutes and finally came to a decision. I'm going to do it. I'm going to confront him.
She slowly and cautiously came away from the corner, wand drawn. His voice cut off her motion. It was hoarse as if he had been screaming. She could also detect a tinge of sadness and anxiety in his tone.
"Granger, why are you here." It came out as more of an order than a question. "Of all people who could have found me in this state it had to be you." He thought out loud.
"Well I'm sorry for caring about the wellbeing of someone crying in the lavatory. I am a prefect you know." Hermione retorted with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. She was slightly caught off guard by his tone so she said the first thing that came to mind.
"Yes, I am aware. And I was not crying." Said Draco sharply as he raised his hands to rub his neck. His shirt fell slightly on his forearms. He still faced away from her. His skin was very pale in the late-night glow shining through the window.
Wanting to get straight to the point of the conversation, I said "How long have you been in here?"
He was obviously exhausted. He dropped his hands from his neck and turned to look at her intently. "I have been here and will be here for as long as I need, now go away or I'll hex you." He stated, a little too calmly for Hermione's taste.
She was not expecting that response. "What?" She said.
"You heard me." By now he was drawing his wand. This made her very nervous. Oh my god I cannot duel with Draco Malfoy. I'm a terrible dueler. He'll send a stupefy my way and I'll be done for. She thought nervously.
Draco noticed her hesitation and decided to call her on it. As his lips pulled into a sly grin as he said, "Know-it-all Granger afraid of a little duel are we?"
She couldn't show him that she was scared, she knew that much. Her voice was shaky but she said, "I am not. I just don't want to have to humiliate you by winning." She should not have said that because immediately Draco took a fighting stance and a second later he was firing at her. She was just barely blocking them. All of the sudden he decided it would be a good idea to throw her for a loop. He sent an expelliarmus and then a sneaky stupefy and hit her right in the stomach.
The noise of the duel stopped and for a split second he was pleased with himself. Then he saw her fall.
She fell backward and hit her head on a sink. He hadn't even realized it but they had swapped positions. He was now standing closest to the door. I could just leave her this way and go find another place or even go back to the dormitory. It is quite late, I think. It wouldn't be the worst thing if there were one less Hermione Know-it-all Granger in the world. He could see that there was a tiny trickle of blood down the back of her head and onto the tiled floor and this made Draco hyperventilate. He had hit her. He had to get her to the hospital wing. She could be seriously hurt. Why do I care? He thought. This is Granger we're talking about. But the blood was coming a little more rapidly now so he did the only thing he could think of to get her to the hospital wing. He carried her.
He had managed to get her out the lavatory door and down the hall. He knew the castle like the back of his hand so he was quickly navigating the corridors. He went into a state of autopilot and he had some time with his thoughts to go over what had just ensued.
I hit Hermione Teacher's-pet Granger while we were dueling in the abandoned lavatory after I had been an asshat about her coming to investigate why I was crying, which I wasn't. He thought to himself while he scurried down a particularly long corridor. And now she's bleeding in my arms while I carry her to the hospital wing at almost… what time is it?... He looked down and realized that he wasn't wearing his silver snake watch like always. This bothered him. Where's my watch?! He thought, now trying to recall where he had last seen it. He turned a corner and looked down at Hermione. Her arm was over her stomach and from under the sleeve of her too-big uniform he could see part of a watch peeking out. He maneuvered himself to be able to get an arm free to roll up her sleeve. He was still walking down the corridor just a little ways away from the hospital wing. Draco became more interested in the design of the watch than actually checking the time. On the face was a picture of Alice from Alice in Wonderland and there was a layer of clear plastic that spun like the second hand in between the face and the outside covering. That layer had little playing cards on it so it looked like they were being tossed around the girl in the middle. There was an intricate design of pink and purple flowers in the background. On the straps there were very detailed pictures of the mad hatter and the white rabbit, along with quotes regarding the rabbit's pocket watch. He liked it. And he thought it was very much something that she would wear. It was obviously a muggle object. He did prefer his snake watch, however. It was a gift from his grandfather. It had a large face with no indication of the placement of numbers. The hands were simple but professional. The face was sterling silver and there was a small brushed silver snake outlining it by slithering in a small circle. The snake moved with beat of the seconds passing, just like the cards on Granger's. He was very caught up in his thoughts he had forgotten to check the time. He was already at the doors of the hospital wing so he glanced back down at Granger's watch. The time was about 1:15. Madame Pomfrey would not be happy to see them so late.
She opened the door slightly groggy with her uniform pristine as always but Draco didn't take the time to wonder why, nor did he care. He stepped past her and went to the nearest bed. He set Hermione down gently and as soon as he had stepped back Madame Pomfrey was examining her. Draco found a chair and pulled it up to the opposite side of Madame Pomfrey. He did not move or speak for what seemed like hours. He was startled by a firm yet gentle grip on his shoulder. He looked up to see Dumbledore smiling down on him. Draco shrugged off his hand. Dumbledore then took a seat on the opposite side of the bed where Hermione lay. He then proceeded to ask Draco questions about what had happened. When Draco began explaining he, of course, left out the personal details such as why he was in the lavatory to begin with. As it went on it just sounded more and more ridiculous. Draco Malfoy had hit Hermione Granger in a duel and had rushed to her aid. That sounded the most ridiculous when he said it out loud. Draco hadn't realized that Dumbledore hadn't spoken a word since had asked the questions until he spoke up with, "I just have one more thing to ask you, Mr. Malfoy. Why are you still here?"
She was in distress and she needed help. I need to make sure she got it was what he wanted to say but he couldn't compel himself to. She is a Gryffindor and he is a Slytherin. If people found out that he had been compelled to help her, he would be ruined. Everyone knows that Slytherin and Gryffindor don't get along but a Malfoy aiding a muggleborn Hermione Granger would destroy his family's reputation. All he could say was "I really don't know, sir." After that he got up out of his chair and left. He quietly went back to his dorm and got changed. I did all of that nonsense almost bare-chested because I took most of the layers of my Hogwarts robes off in the lavatory and am left with the plain white button down that went under the uniform. Even then, the button down was unbuttoned and showing off his toned chest, stomach, and shoulders. I do like my body and feel others do too. This made him confident, or arrogant, depending on how your impression of him is. Usually, the impression is arrogance. However, I have many a time caught Fay, Parvati, and Lavender staring at me during potions... and astronomy... and just about every other class I have with them. I haven't thought often about the nice... distractions of the school in a little while. Other than the times I willed to distract myself by… keeping the company of Pansy Parkinson. I have been very caught up in the task the Dark Lord has given me.
As I had been carrying Granger tonight I had noticed that she was decently attractive, other than that ungodly hair of course. She had soft almost almond brown skin, but she always wore these oversized uniforms that didn't fit her so you wouldn't have noticed. She also had a nice rack about her, but again, she wore those uniforms that are so big you would hardly notice she had a figure at all. I have always thought Hermione was pretty but she is a mudblood and I couldn't ever pursue anything so I just settled on other, just as "pretty", witches like Pansy or Astoria Greengrass. They were both the best Slytherin could offer as far as pure bloods go. I can't go marry a half blood or a muggle born, that would bring dishonor on my whole family and I just couldn't let that happen. This is all even if I was going to marry. The Dark Lord could very well kill me because I hadn't completed his task.
In the dorm he did find his watch. I must have taken it off before my now nightly visit to the astronomy tower. This task is weighing further down on me after two failed attempts to kill the headmaster. I had several places that I have started to go to think or cry or just be alone and now the abandoned lavatory was no longer one of those places because I had been caught by Granger.
But, it was over now and he was completely ready to go to bed. When he got in his position ready to sleep, however, he could not stop thinking about Granger and if she was alright. But soon he was overcome with exhaustion and fell into a deep, ever so fleeting, sleep.