House: Slytherin

Category: short

Prompt: "I never did get around to saying thank you, did I?"

Word count: 1398

Hermione Granger was in her Potions lesson when she had begun to notice Draco Malfoy's stares. She pretended she didn't notice all throughout class, but it proved to be quite challenging. His cold, grey eyes made his gaze more intimidating. Hermione hated that about him, even though they were very clear and beautiful.

Hermione felt her cheeks flush when she noticed that Draco hardly looked away. Pull yourself together, Hermione. This isn't like you, she thought to herself.

For the first time since she'd been at Hogwarts, Hermione was the first one out of the classroom. She couldn't stand Malfoy anymore; he was getting too distracting. Her main focus was her studies, and she couldn't let a boy like him divert her from them.

"Hermione!" a voice called her name. She didn't know who it belonged to, so she didn't bother turning around. If someone really needed her, they'd go after her.

That night, the dinner table had an awkward atmosphere. No one spoke for fear that something might happen. Ron was the first to speak up.

He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head. "So, um, Hermione," he began. He seemed to be struggling with his words. Hermione had no idea where this was going, so she gradually became nervous.

She glanced up at Ron from her food. "Yes, Ron?" she searched his eyes, trying to find a hint as to what was going on.

"Um… bloody hell, I don't how to say this," he said frustratedly. He took a deep breath and met her gaze with an anxious expression. "Malfoy wants to talk to you after supper… which would be in a few minutes from now."

"And you didn't think of telling me earlier? I would've been more prepared. Why'd you tell me now, of all the better times we've had today?" Hermione asked, irritated at Ron's late message.

"Sorry. I didn't know how to tell you, and Harry wasn't very keen on the idea either," he confessed.

"Harry knew about this?" she asked, turning her attention to Harry. "Why didn't you tell me? I would expect this from Ron, but not you, Harry." Hermione buried her face into her hands and rubbed her eyes.

"What do I do now? Do I just wait for him?" she asked no one in particular.

"Hold on. You're not actually thinking of talking to him, right? This is still Draco Malfoy here," Ron asked, surprised that Hermione had even considered meeting up with Draco.

"Well, I do suppose I could just leave right now," she suggested, resting her head on her palm. "But I'm curious. What does he want to talk to me about? Maybe he has important information about You-Know-Who." Without waiting for a response, Hermione got up from her seat and headed towards the entrance.

She leaned on the wall just outside the Great Hall doors. Hermione assumed he may just wanted to talk to her about how unworthy mudbloods are of possessing magic.

She waited for five minutes thinking of reasons that Draco Malfoy would want to talk to her, each prospect making her more anxious than the previous one. Maybe it was just a joke. I doubt he's even going to come. Hermione had only taken a few steps forward when someone grabbed her arm.

"Let go of me!" she exclaimed as she turned around. The face that met hers belonged to Draco Malfoy. She twisted her arm and yanked it out of his grasp.

"Sorry, I just saw you were leaving," he explained himself. Hermione was speechless for a couple of seconds. She had never heard him say sorry in her life. She decided to remain silent and hear what he had to say.

"So, um, exams are coming up. I realized I need to study for one of them. Herbology. I was wondering if you'd consider helping me out, since I literally have no experience in studying."

"Why would I help you? Aren't I incompetent? Am I not a mudblood, as you said countless times? Doesn't that bother you?" she hissed, feeling skeptical about the whole conversation.

"I know what I said. I just want to put all that behind us. Please, I need to pass this test, and I have no hope," he nearly begged.

Hermione sighed. She could tell Draco really valued this exam. "Fine, but just this once," she agreed. "On one condition: that you don't say anything else about me. If you do, then I'll only wish you good luck passing that exam."

"Yeah, yeah, of course," he said quickly. "I promise."

"Meet me in the library tonight at 10," she said, not waiting for a response as she headed to the Gryffindor Common Room.

XXX

The night began very awkwardly. Hermione had assumed it would be, seeing as she hardly knew anything about Draco, other than him being a twat.

It was an hour into the night, when she realized that she was actually having fun. Draco would make jokes once in a while and the way he reacted to bits of information was amusing for her. How am I enjoying this? She wondered. It's Malfoy, for Merlin's sake.

The study session flew by, and when it ended, it seemed like no time had passed at all.

"Well, it's time, Granger. It's getting late, so we should probably stop for now. You're actually not half as bad as I thought you'd be," Draco said, holding out his hand.

Hermione shook it. "The feeling's mutual, Malfoy. When you first came in, I thought you had no chance of passing that exam, but I think, thanks to me, you actually have a real shot at it," she teased. Draco smiled and laughed a little. He let go of her hand, and left Hermione to clean up the piles of open books and parchment. Hermione sighed with a smile. What'd I expect? I bet he's had a cleaning maid all his life.

XXX

The next few days came and went. Hermione remembered that Draco had never thanked to her, not even once, now that she recalled their moments together. A small "thank you" would have sufficed, she thought, feeling annoyed at the thought. She also hadn't heard from him in a while. She expected to be told if he did well on the exam or not. However, not a single word was uttered to her, not even when they passed each other in the halls.

Hermione was eating a sandwich in the Dining Hall with Ron and Harry when Draco approached her.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" Ron asked, his tone changing to irritation.

"I didn't come for you, Weasley," Draco retorted. He nudged Hermione's arm and motioned for her to follow him. They stopped walking when they reached the corner of the Great Hall.

Hermione was still very annoyed at the silent treatment she'd been met with since the study session. She crossed her arms and looked away.

"Guess what? I passed! I got top marks and–" he stopped midway. "Are you mad at me?"

"Oh, I don't know, am I? I didn't notice," she snapped.

"Did I do something?"

"Actually, it's quite the opposite. It's what you didn't do." He had a confused expression on his face. "You never once talked to me after we studied, and you never updated me on how you did on the exam. Oh, and you never thanked me at all, just for your information."

"Well, I'm telling you now, aren't I?"

Hermione didn't have time for this. She left the corner of the Great Hall and hurried back to her table before Draco could stop her.

Draco had disappeared from the corner by the time Hermione finished her food.

She was cleaning off her plate when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She stood up and straightened herself. A strong hand was on her shoulder, long fingers gripping her.

"I never did get around to saying thank you, did I?" Draco asked behind her. There was a pause for a second, then he leaned in close. "Thank you…. Hermione," Draco whispered in her ear. He gave her a squeeze on her shoulder and walked away, as if nothing ever happened.

Ron's mouth was wide open, but Hermione didn't say anything. She only smiled to herself, and she allowed her cheeks to flush, Draco's whisper running through her head.