This little oneshot is set during the Goblet of Fire after Malfoy tried to get Harry with the 'Desaungeo' curse and ended up hitting Hermione, causing her teeth to grow rapidly. But it's set before Hermione reveals to Harry and Ron that she got Madam Pomfrey to shrink her teeth so they were smaller than her originally large front teeth. It's also shortly after Malfoy's turned into a ferret by Moody. 'Twitchy little ferret!' =D
Draco turned the page of his copy of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4 and ran a hand through his blonde locks tiredly. That interview with Rita Skeeter had made him fall behind on his essay about Summoning Charms. It was due tomorrow and he could barely keep his eyes open. He was one of the last people in the library, except for Madam Pince and of course, Hermione Granger.
The bookworm was sitting at the desk in front of him, head buried in a thick volume. He rolled his eyes. Typical teacher's pet. Draco put his legs up on his desk and sucked on the tip of his Sugar Quill, hoping inspiration would come a-knocking.
Tap. Tappity-tap tap. Tap. Tappity-tap tap.
That wasn't exactly what he had in mind when he imagined inspiration coming for a visit to his brain. He frowned and straightened up, pinpointing Granger as the source of the noise. She was drumming her nails on the wooden table top.
Draco grabbed a scrap piece of parchment, crumpled it in one hand, and chucked it at the back of her head. It lodged itself in her unruly, coffee-coloured curls. He sniggered.
Granger snapped around with a haughty look. "What Malfoy?"
Draco's automatic sneer melted into puzzlement. There was something different about Granger's face. It wasn't her eyes – those things were shooting the usual daggers at him. Her nose looked snooty as always. Was it her mouth?
"Malfoy?"
He turned pink at being caught staring. At a mudblood no less. "Um…stop tapping, Granger. I can't concentrate." He failed miserably to regain his cocky composure.
Granger extracted the parchment from her hair and turned around without another word. Draco tried to focus on his essay again. But his mind kept wandering. What was so different about Granger? Was she wearing makeup? Why did she look nicer than usual? The curiousity was eating away at him like Bubotuber pus.
Another part of him was asking more sensible questions: Since when did you keep tabs on Hermione Granger's appearance? Do you think The Mudblood is pretty? Why do you care so much? Do you fancy The Mudblood? The same one who's Potter's best friend? Draco suppressed these shocking and mortifying questions by convincing himself that the combination of extensive schoolwork and lack of sleep was making him delirious. He was awfully good at deluding himself about his true feelings; for example he'd managed to stop that gnawing feeling of guilt whenever he bullied someone.
Nevertheless, curiousity burned like a flame within him. He would never be able to concentrate like this. So…how to approach this problem? Well, he definitely wasn't going to go over there and ask her what she'd done with her face. He needed another peek.
He spotted a mirror in the pocket of Granger's half-open bag. Perfect. He pulled out his wand and whispered, "Wingardium Leviosa."
The handheld mirror rose slowly out the bag. Draco guided it so it hovered in front of Granger's desk, diagonally across from her face so he could examine her reflection. Her eyes were cast down on the words of her book and her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration. He lowered the mirror slightly to review her lips. She was biting her lower lip as she read. That's where the difference was! But before he could name it, her large brown eyes flicked upwards and met his gaze through the mirror.
Draco panicked and released the mirror from his spell. It hit the ground and shattered at the same time Granger whipped around. There was a moment of silence. The candlelight flickered on their faces as they stared each other down.
"What were you doing, Malfoy?"
"I was wondering whether that giant pimple on your nose was real or the result of Weasley's abysmal wandwork."
He smirked in satisfaction as a cloud of self-consciousness settled on her features. But then her features relaxed into an identical smirk to his. "Don't lie, Malfoy. My acne problems finished last year. Now, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were…checking me out."
She let the words hang in the air. Clever. She was a bloody Slytherin; forcing him to tell the truth or suffer the embarrassment of being caught spying on her.
"Your teeth are different." He admitted flatly.
Suddenly, she flashed him a mischievous smile. The change to her front teeth became much more pronounced.
"It's all thanks to you actually." She said, resting her arms on his desk.
"To me?" He raised an eyebrow, trying to remember when he had ever contributed to Granger's appearance and forgetting to appear hostile.
"You cursed my teeth to make them grow, Malfoy." She prompted, jogging his memory.
He quickly caught on, "Then you let Madam Pomfrey shrink them till they were slightly smaller than they originally were."
She grinned again, confirming his statement. "You know, you're the first person to notice the change. Harry and Ron haven't even noticed. Here I was thinking you'd be the last person to ever notice, or care."
Draco blushed darkly at what she was implying and muttered, "Well, Potter and Weasley must be dafter than they look which isn't surprising." A small grin crept up on his face as she laughed pleasantly.
He sensed this conversation was getting a little too friendly for his taste and said, "Pity, I lost one of my adjectives to describe you, Granger. 'Buck-toothed' is off the list. At least I still have 'mudblood', 'know-it-all', 'uptight' and 'bossy'."
"Fortunately I've gained an adjective to describe you. Now 'ferret' is on the list after 'snobby', 'spoilt', 'selfish' and 'daddy's boy'." Granger quipped readily, getting up and packing her books away. "And since we're back to insults, I think I'll leave to finish your…" She craned her neck to see his parchment, "…essay on Summoning Charms. You should hurry up. It's due tomorrow and you've barely written a paragraph."
"I know…" He muttered coldly, remembering how annoying Granger could be. Obviously, the only reason he was in the library, tolerating her sole presence, was to keep up with school work. And here she was chastising him like one of her lapdogs Potter and Weasley.
"Reparo," Granger pointed her wand at the broken mirror and stowed it away in her bag. Meanwhile, Draco tried fruitlessly to put some words to parchment. He groaned quietly, crushed the page, and started consulting another textbook. He looked up and started when he saw Granger still standing there, watching him sympathetically. Merlin,he didn't want pity! Not from her of all people!
"Why are you still here?" He fixed her with a pointed glare as she started rummaging through her bag.
A stack of notes dropped on top of his work. "This should help you finish off your essay. Good night."
"Slow down, Granger." He grabbed her wrist quickly as she turned to leave. "I don't need help from a mudblood."
Her eyes flashed dangerously as she snatched up her notes. "Clearly you wouldn't know kindness if it tap-danced in front of your nose. But I don't blame you; it must be a foreign concept to someone as conceited as you!" She said heatedly and marched out of the library.
The room was eerily silent after her indignant outburst. Draco breathed heavily and stared blankly at his parchment. He rose slowly out of his chair. "Damn it all." He ran after her.
"Granger! Granger, stop!" He called as her bushy head turned a corner. He sped up and clamped a hand on her shoulder. She spun around, wand drawn and eyes wild.
"What Malfoy?" She hissed and he backed away one step.
"Calm down woman!" He panted, eyeing her wand fearfully. She clucked her tongue impatiently and slipped it back into her robes.
"What do you want?" She snapped, crossing her arms. Draco was struck dumb for a moment. Why did he chase her? What did he really want?
"I…" His mouth went dry. She inhaled sharply and began to leave again.
"No…wait! Please."
Granger stopped dead and looked over her shoulder curiously at him. Bloody hell. He'd never used that word before to anyone! Malfoys never pleaded.
"Malfoy."
And just like that, the floodgates opened. "My father's going to kill me if I fail this essay! But I'm sick and exhausted and I'm starting to think I'm delirious too! So help me Granger! Help me finish this essay because I deserve something for fixing your bloody smile!"
Draco clenched his fists and closed his eyes, preparing himself for her reaction. But they snapped open again at the sound of footsteps leaving his presence.
"Where are you going Granger?" He demanded.
"To the library. I'm not writing your essay for you, you know. I'm only offering a few pointers. Come on, Malfoy."
He fell into step beside her and scoffed, "As if I need you to write my essay. I'm not as stupid as Potter and Weaselbee."
"Honestly Malfoy, do you need to insult my friends with every sentence?"
"What kind of question is that? Of course I do. And don't get any ideas that we're friends now, Granger. I know what you Gryffindors are like."
"That's the last thing you need to worry about. Why would I want to be friends with an arrogant prat like you?"
"I'm handsome, charming and rich. Who wouldn't want to be my friend?"
"Don't forget modest."
"And I'm intelligent too! You should be kissing my feet, Granger. People like me are one in a milli-"
"Silencio,"
The rest of their stroll to the library was in a companionable silence with occasional furious glare from the blonde Slytherin. But he was smirking on the inside because his curse had become a blessing in disguise.