Lost
Hermione tentatively flexed her fingers, grimacing when all ten of her digital bones cracked like rusty door hinges. Her completed three-foot Transfiguration essay rested among the many scattered ink bottles, gnawed on quills, crumpled parchment and other byproducts of a long study session in the library.
She leaned back in her chair, pushing a tangle of dark brown curls over her shoulder, and smiled tiredly. She hadn't expected McGonagall's essay to be so challenging – it had been a pleasant surprise, and she had thoroughly enjoyed slowly working through the complexities the essay posed. Unfortunately, however, she was feeling the consequences of her intense work in her aching fingers.
The sun had set long ago, and the library had turned into a strange, shadowy place where only someone who knew the place like the back of their hand could find their way out.
That someone was still sitting at the table situated in the heart of the library, unbothered by the surrounding murk and flickering shadows.
She closed her eyes, feeling peace and satisfaction at her completed work, and finally allowed her thoughts to come to a sleepy standstill.
Holding still for a moment longer, Hermione lethargically started packing her study-things into her bag and stood, unselfconsciously rubbing her sore buttocks, cursing herself for not having cast a cushioning charm on her unforgiving, wooden seat.
Just as the young Griffindor swung her bag onto her shoulder, a noise made her pause. It was soft, almost indiscernible, but to an ear used to absolute silence it was as distinctive as a shout. It sounded like very gentle breathing, accompanied by the rustling of a robe.
Hermione stood completely still, her hand discreetly slipping into her pocket to grasp her wand. Clenching her teeth, she said in a loud, firm voice,
"Show yourself, I know you're there." There was a slight intake of breath, then silence.
Hermione rolled her eyes, although in the total darkness it was unseen by her mysterious companion.
"Just because you're holding your breath doesn't mean I'll think you're gone," she told the emptiness dryly even as she wondered if mocking a stranger while she was alone in the library late at night was a wise thing to do.
"And here I thought you would be stupid enough to fall it, Granger," a familiar voice said suddenly, so suddenly that Hermione yelped and whirled around to face…
"Malfoy?"
Materializing from the darkness like a phantasm was the pale, lithe form of the Slytherin, the gloom accentuating the aristocratic planes and angles of his face. He was watching her intently, a feral gleam in his grey eyes.
"In the flesh," he affirmed, the last word a purr. Hermione swallowed nothing but air, her throat suddenly dry.
"W-what… what are you doing here?" she demanded, hating herself for the note of unease in her voice. Her eyes involuntarily dropped to his mouth, which had curled into a familiar, condescending smirk.
There was something off, though… before the analytical cogs in Hermione's brain could lurch into motion, the bastard did something most distracting.
Lazily walking over to her table, he leaned against it and crossed his arms, and as if he had planned it all, a white blond lock of hair fell into his eyes, which he infuriatingly chose to ignore. Hermione's hand twitched.
"I just happened to be… lost," he said, cocking his head in a half mischievous, half innocent way reminiscent of Fred and George Weasley. The gesture was one she had seen many times before and found endearing, and was surprised at how approachable it made Malfoy look.
But she knew better than to trust Slytherin manipulation.
"Oh, poor Draco… just happened to be wandering the library at one in the morning and got lost," she said in a mocking simper, sneering at the Slytherin.
"And as a Prefect you are obliged to fulfill your duties by escorting me out of this library," Malfoy concluded, a hint of irritation belying his nonchalant tone.
"Sure, and as soon as we start walking you'll curse me green," she snorted.
One platinum eyebrow twitched, but otherwise his countenance didn't change.
She stared at him, lips parted, and despite herself started to laugh. He continued to watch her, face unreadable besides the mocking expectation in his eyes and the wry twist of his lips.
"You are so full of shit, Malfoy. Thank you for wasting my time," she said dryly, and once again rolling her eyes she shouldered her bag and started walking away.
"Granger," Malfoy called, voice still nonchalant, although the note of irritation was more pronounced.
Hermione heard his hurried footsteps behind her, and thinking he was going to manhandle her she whirled around, wand drawn, only to have him walk straight into her.
"Get off me, you twat!" she cried, shoving him. He stumbled slightly but regained his balance, and the thunderous expression on his face definitely belied his nonchalance.
"Don't touch me, Granger," he hissed furiously, granite eyes glaring at her. Hermione felt her cheeks flame with anger, and clenching her teeth she took a few deep breaths through her nostrils.
"I wouldn't have touched you at all if you hadn't walked into me," she retorted hotly. "And why the hell are you following me? Take the other library exit, you'll get out right by the dungeons."
Scoffing in annoyance, the Griffindor turned on her heel and stalked off into the shadows.
"Granger, would you bloody wait!" she heard Malfoy shouting after her, and ignoring him she quickened her pace, for once eager to leave the library.
"Granger! GRANGER!" He was actually screaming now, nonchalance long gone. "You stupid bitch, I demand you come back!"
Hermione stopped walking, thoughtfully looking over her shoulder at the place she had left Malfoy at. Understanding dawned on her, and a slow, pleased grin unfurled on her face.
"Sod off, Malfoy!" she called back, purposefully drowning out her voice with her hand, as if she were already a long distance away from him.
The Slytherin finally fell silent, but she could still hear his quick footsteps as he apparently paced.
Soundlessly sliding the bag off her shoulder, Hermione tiptoed back to her table, all the while grinning uncontrollably.
Peering around a bookshelf, she saw the back of Malfoy's pale head, nested between his hands as he sat, hunched over, at her table.
Creeping toward him, she leaned over his shoulder and breathed a single syllable: "Boo."
Jerking as if electroshocked, Malfoy sprang from his chair and painfully gripped her arms. Yelping in surprise, Hermione stared up at his face and watched it relax when he took in her startled appearance.
Releasing her, he ran a hand over his face and glared.
The shit eating grin was back.
"So you really are lost," she stated gleefully, and watched with unveiled interest as his snow white cheeks pinked.
"Lead me out of here, Granger. Now. I've lost enough time due to your idiocy," he spat, snarling fiercely. However, the ferocious look was stunted slightly by the rosy pink blush he was currently sporting. Hermione thought it looked quite charming.
The Prefect leaned against her table and crossed her arms, deliberately mimicking his earlier pose.
"And why should I help a sorry bastard like you?" she enquired pleasantly. Malfoy's thunderous expression faltered slightly, looking vaguely surprised at her.
"How Slytherin of you, Granger," he drawled, although the look he was giving her was no longer so heated. It made her distinctly uncomfortable, the way he was looking at her. Shifting her eyes, she resisted the urge to squirm and instead defiantly jutted out her chin.
"In exchange for helping you out of the library, I want you to leave Harry, Ron and me alone. No more snide comments about Harry's parents, Ron's money and my heritage. Got it?"
Malfoy had listened to her demand with a bored expression, and after a beat of silence he shook his head in disappointment.
"For a moment I had thought you actually possessed a modicum of Slytherin cleverness in you, but you have proved to me that you're 100 Griffindor," he told her, still shaking his head in that vaguely disappointed way.
Hermione sputtered at him, indignant.
Before she could open her mouth, Malfoy was suddenly very close, face a hair's breadth away from hers. Choking on her words, she stared at him with huge, doe brown eyes and waited for something to happen.
She felt his fingers hovering above her cheek, just grazing the tiny hairs of her skin. She could see a furnace in his eyes, anger and desire two flames heating the air between them.
"If you had some Slytherin in you, you would know that you have me in a very… vulnerable position," he said softly, breath fanning out across her forehead, causing a few flyaway hairs and her heart to flutter.
Trying to clear her thoughts, trying to regain some control over the situation, Hermione put her hands on his shoulders, preparing to push him away, perhaps knock him onto his ass, maybe scream at him for invading her private space and that she'd leave him to rot in this stupid library and –
A distant part of her brain admonished her hands for disobeying orders, as instead of pushing, they grabbed fistfuls of Malfoy's jumper and refused to let go.
"Vulnerable," she repeated, the word nothing more than a breath. His arms had come around her shoulders and his breath was moistening her temple.
"Very vulnerable…" he confirmed, trailing his lips from her temple to her forehead. "You could get a lot from me. Do you want to?" he breathed, emphasizing the word 'want' with a little nibble on her ear.
A feeling of surreality came over her, and she noted almost distantly that his chest grazing her breasts made her breathing come faster and his teeth nipping her ear made her feel achy and weak and –
"Yes."
Later, in the different kind of darkness of her dormitory, she tried to remember who started it and decided she didn't really care.
His mouth was just as hot as his eyes, only slick and smooth and wonderfully adept at making her moan. Her arms had somehow gotten around his neck, where her hands explored his silky scalp.
His eyes were open and so were hers, a challenge burning in them as his hands slipped under her blouse. The sensation of his cool fingertips against her warmed skin caused her to break the kiss and sigh, eyes fluttering shut.
Seizing her parted lips Hermione felt his tongue enter her mouth and had to leanon Malfoy for support, a noise of pleasure vibrating in her chest.
His tongue unexpectedly retreated from her mouth, but he continued kissing her, more gentle. Her breathing regulated itself, the color in her cheeks went down, and she allowed a small moment to nuzzle his neck before stilling.
His voice in her ear made her stumble back in shock.
"You've gotten what you wanted. Now lead me out of the library."
Feeling irrationally hurt and betrayed and whole lot of angry and confused, Hermione drew her wand and pointed it at him.
"What the HELL was that, Malfoy you jerkoff!" she yelled, red sparks sputtering from the tip of her wand.
Malfoy lazily shoved his hands into his pant pockets and gave her a mildly amused look.
"We made out. I thought that was rather obvious – you took advantage of my vulnerable situation for your own gains, now in return I simply ask for you to lead me out of the library." His voice was so calm and matter-of-fact that for a couple seconds Hermione wondered if she had hallucinated the last five minutes.
She gave him an exasperated look, and pocketed her wand. She unexpectedly felt laughter bubble in her throat, and before she could stop herself, she started roaring.
Doubling over, she didn't see Malfoy's cool expression change into one of bewilderment and distaste.
When she had moderately calmed herself, she straightened and looked at him.
"We're so fucked up," she wheezed, wiping at the wetness on her cheeks. "Why does every situation, even one as simple as asking the way out, have to involve manipulation, lying, screaming and cursing?"
Malfoy was now staring at her silently, face unreadable. She couldn't tell if he was thinking she had gone off the deep or if he was going through an epiphany in which he realized how ridiculous they were acting.
Hermione shook her head, smiling shrewdly, and straightened her shirt.
"Come on, Malfoy. Let's get out of this goddamn library."
A/n: Please excuse any mistakes I made - I wrote this rather hastily and I don't have a beta. Also, if it's confusing or just plain incomprehensible at times, then I'm sorry about that, too. This was totally spontaneous and I really didn't spend too much time on it. I hope you enjoyed it anyway!
And it's meant to be a one-shot, so I won't be posting chapters.
Thanks for reading!
Cheers!