Stolen Kisses: Just a Stupid Game
Twilight Lament
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor any of it's characters. All rights belong to J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 1: Just a stupid game
Chapter Summary: During her sixth year at Hogwarts, Hermione stumbles across a game she would rather have avoided.
Click. Click. Click. The heels of Hermione's shoes echoed on the stone stairs leading up to the Astronomy Tower. She always left the tower for last in the vain hope that randy students had already headed back to their rooms after a couple hours of snogging each other senseless. Most of the time they had not, but this being a Wednesday night right before a last minute Potions test across all years from Snape, Hermione allowed herself the brief hope that the Tower might indeed be empty. (After all she needed to get back and study for said test herself.) Aside from the pending test and the assurance that Snape would throw something particularly complicated her way, Hermione had nothing against students kissing each other breathless in the darkened hallways and rooms, as long as their activities didn't pose a huge inconvenience to her. Her annoyance had, of course, nothing to do with the fact that she had yet to experience the supposed mind blowing adventure of a good session that her girl friends in the Gryffindor tower kept waxing poetic about whenever they found (or forced) someone to listen.
She climbed up the last of stairs and heaved a sigh upon seeing the heavy door leading into the Tower still open. Hermione bit her lower lips and fervently hoped someone had just forgotten to pull the door completely closed. After all the massive door was heavy and tended to stick on a raised portion of stone near the corner. Even as the thought crossed her already busy brain, Hermione just knew she wouldn't get that luck.
"I swear to Merlin, it if's Seamus and Susan again..." Her angrily muttered words trailed off into an irritated growl. Smoothing one hand over the front of her robes, Hermione set off with an air of determination: the perfect picture of prefect pride. She would deal with this quickly and efficiently. With any luck at all, she would be curled up in the common room with her potions book in no time at all.
"Damnit Blaise!" Called a jovial voice that she did not recognize, "let's get on with the game." Hermione's heart sunk all the way into her admittedly ugly, but highly practical shows. Blaise. Blaise Zabini..Slytherin. Which meant more Slytherins most likely. She suppressed a groan, because more Slytherins probably included Draco Malfoy. The thought of simply leaving occurred to Hermione, but Gryffindors didn't abandon their duty, even if that duty meant dealing with such pond scum. She did debate getting Ron for backup, but quickly squelched that notion given how easy it was for Malfoy to rile up the youngest Weasley brother. Malfoy's taunts and really the taunts of the rest of the Slytherin house didn't bother her so much anymore.
"Your turn, mate." The chuckling voice of Zabini pulled Hermione free of her thoughts and with a deep breathe she rounded the corner with a scowl and steeled herself against just whatever it was she might find on the other side of the column. Six pairs of eyes swiveled at the now very audible sound of someone walking and six pairs of eyes widen in shock at just who it was that came upon them. No one paid attention to the ever slowing spinning wand in the middle of circle and Hermione watched each person's expression change as the shock wore off.
'Great THREE Slytherins.' Hermione thought as she looked at the unhappy scowl of one Pansy Parkinson, and forced herself not to look at the blonde sitting with a sneer next to the aforementioned Zabini. Gerod, a sixth year Hufflepuff who was well known for his late night escapes, at least had the grace to look sheepish. Anna, a seventh year Gryffindor, looked absolutely mortified. Finally a sixth year Ravenclaw, Hermione thought her name was Simone, tried to hide her face in the crook of her arm. All six of the perpetrators sat in a circle with Malfoy's wand in the center. Hermione noted with a touch of bitterness that all of them were purebloods. Hermione crossed her arms and froze Anna in place with a scathing look.
"All right, everyone, back to your rooms," She said in the silence following her entrance and even felt a small flicker of pride at the right commanding tone in her voice. It was Pansy who spoke up first.
"And why exactly should we listen to a, filthy little Mudblood?" Pansy faced plastered itself into a nasty sneer and the three non-Slytherins held their breath in shock. Hermione allowed herself an inward smirk when Malfoy's approving grin faltered when she only rolled her eyes.
"And here all this time I thought Slytherins with their supposed cunning and general scorn would at least be witty enough to come up with new insults after five years. I mean really Parkinson, if I had a knut for every instance those words came out of your mouth, I'd be richer than that blonde, prissy, prat over there. " Hermione paused under the auspice of taking a breathe to enjoy the sudden flush of embarrassment and anger over the other girl's face. " Since you seem to be lacking originality and therefore, at least one can only assume, the basic cerebral function of putting two plus two together, I will enlighten you on as to exactly why you should indeed listen." Was it Hermione's imagination, or did Blaise just snicker behind a fake sneeze?
"You see, Pans dear, if you don't listen. I will head directly to Snape and inform him that yet again you have broken curfew with your fellow Slytherins, especially a Slytherin prefect. I will also inform him of your quite unremarkable insults and politely suggest that he put you in remedial linguistics classes." None of the Slytherins spoke. While Snape never publically humiliated those of his house, his private scorn tended to more than make up for it. They all remembered when Pansy had pranked a first year Gryffindor only to be caught red handed in the act. While the point deduction and detention had been minimal, Pansy never again wanted to have to scrub the boy's bathroom with a toothbrush again. Still none of them immediately moved and Hermione only rolled her eyes and nodded for the other three to leave, while turning to leave herself.
Only to find that she could not take a single step. Hermione looked down, thinking someone had managed to get off a charm under his or her breathe when she wasn't looking, only to see a pale, glowing orange line between her right and left foot. Her eyes traveled the subtle circle all the way around the space of the six people, three now standing, in front of her. All of their eyes drifted downwards, but Blaise's wild laughter broke the silence before Hermione could even utter a word. Draco paled, Pansy looked outraged, and the other three wore various expressions of shock and fear on their faces.
"What in bloody hell are you laughing at?" Hermione demanded over a muttered stream of curses from Malfoy. Blaise guffawed and looked up at her in uncharacteristic glee.
"He has to kiss you!"
"Who? What are you talking about?" Blaise pointed to Malfoy's wand which was currently pointing in between Pansy and Hufflepuff and right at Hermione.
"You're actually playing spin the wand?" Hermione didn't know whether to laugh or not so she chose to fix her steely glare on the still chuckling Blaise. "That does not explain why I can't move."
"Umm, well you see..." Began Anna while still looking down at the ground and twisted her robes in her hands. "It's a game circle and once you spin the wand or the wand lands on you … you have to..." The girl didn't get any further.
"NO! No. Way. I am not kissing that, that..."Draco sputtered, looking for some insult other than Mudblood, "Stick-up-her-arse-know-it-all."
"No choice, mate," Grinned Zabini. "She's in the circle and the wand landed on her. So either we all sit here all night..." He trailed off, obviously enjoying Draco's discomfort.
"Finite Incantatem!" Hermione called out with a flourish of her wand, only to see nothing at all happen.
"Magical Contract." Simone muttered off to Hermione's right. "Stepping across the circle is acknowledgement of the game's rules and your agreement to follow them. The circle won't let you, or any of us leave un..." She never got to finish her sentence.
"I AM NOT KISSING HER!" Malfoy roared.
"I agree," Hermione said calmly, folding her hands in front of her. "We will sit here, all night, if we have to, because there is no way I am letting Malfoy's slimy little fish lips anywhere near me." Malfoy turned beet red and stood up, stepping across the circle and all but pushing Pansy and the Hufflepuff, Gerod, out of his way.
"You shouldn't be throwing insults, Granger. Seeing as how Weasel can't even get up enough nerve to hold your hand, much less anything else. What? Even he can't stand the sight of your face long enough to kiss you?" He leaned down, nearly in her face.
"Oh please, Malfoy. I know you've snogged nearly every age eligible girl in this school, and I have yet to hear anything good in the gossip mill about their experience with your dubious charms." She snarled in return. Of course her statement wasn't entirely true, but to hell if she'd tell him that. Her words left Malfoy at a bit of disadvantage. Pansy was the only girl here who would rise to his defense on the subject, the other two undoubtedly did not want to piss Granger off anymore, especially Anna.
"Please, Hermione," Gerod whined. "Snape's potions test is tomorrow!"
"I guess you should have thought of that before getting involved in this little fiasco." She replied with a scowl and shifted uncomfortably, she needed to study. Snape tended to test her on the most difficult potion he could think up. Gerod's pleading eyes still looked up at her and Hermione groaned out loud.
"Fine." She snapped to everyone's, including Malfoy's , shock. "Blaise hand me that bottle of Odgen's your trying to unsuccessfully hide at your side." Her hand shot out impatiently in his direction. "With any luck one drink will be enough to help me forget this lamentable experience."
"I need the drink more than you," Said a scowling Malfoy.
"Piss off," She muttered, yanking the bottle out of Blaise's hand. Hermione took a deep draught from the neck, probably a shot or two's worth by Blaise's estimation and she only winced slightly before shoving the bottle in Malfoy's direction. Her reaction made Blaise wonder just how familiar the Gryffindor Princess was with Ogden's. Draco made a great show of wiping off the neck of the bottle which only set Hermione's face in a scowl.
"You do realize that this can't be some peck on the cheek that you'd give your Grandmother right?" He said with scowl, nearly throwing the bottle in the direction of the silently laughing Zabini.
"Get on with it then, Malfoy." She sounded angry, and bored, which, despite the fact that Granger was a bitch, rankled Draco. Well if he had to do this, he might as well put the little twat in her place. With a smirk he held her eyes with his own and stepped forward. One of his legs paused just not quite in between hers. Hermione didn't back down, not even one little blink and Anna started to wonder if the anger in both their eyes would cause the other to spontaneously combust.
Swiftly, his lips descended on hers as Draco tried to take control of the situation immediately. Hah! Like that was going to happen. Hermione surged forward sucking Draco's bottom lip between her teeth where she gave it a swift nibble before shifting her lips over his once again. That his lips where surprisingly soft and non-fishy like was a fact she refused to give conscious thought. Especially after he dragged his tongue oh so slowly between the crease of her lips in a taunting sweep. She changed angles on him when he attempted to repeat the motion, sucking on his lip for the barest moment before shifting again so he couldn't catch up to her ever changing direction.
He growled low in his throat, soon tired of her hit and run tactics. One hand pushed into the small of her back with the other tangled nearly painfully in her hair (which was by far smoother then he had thought it would be, not that he was noticing such things) to hold her roving lips still. Hermione who didn't feel like having her hair yanked out renewed her mutinous glare. His lips worked heatedly over hers with his tongue darting out to play at unexpected times with her increasingly tender lips. Hermione not to be out done in this battle of wills, stepped further into him and her hand rose to play at the base of his neck. Her thumb ghosted over and behind his delicate ear. Draco's ire far outweighed the tiny shot of pleasure that ricocheted through him.
Were it some kind of fairy tale, anger would have turned to passion, but they remained passionate in their anger. Each one attempting to outdo and out maneuver the other in order to force a retreat. His leg pressed tighter between her robes and her nails raked at him through his robes down his chest. Angry passion however was still passion and both of them were so caught up in seeking the other's demise that they temporarily forgot all about the game, potions tests, and the five sets of eyes watching them with varying degrees of emotion. Then all at once they split apart, their eyes hissing out anger because they were both to breathless to speak. Without another word, Hermione spun around and attempted to leave the circle.
Only to find the magical circle still wouldn't let her out.
"Oh bloody hell, NOW what?" Her hot, snapping gaze flicked out over each person in turn and it all but demanded someone explain.
"Na -ah," Zabini began with a wild grin on his normally non expressive face. "Three turns, Granger. Everyone who enters the circle must sit through three turns." That's when Hermione Granger exploded.
"No, No. Sodding. Way!" She exclaimed.
"Potions test." Zabini, who seemed to be having a right good time with this, reminded her in a little sing-song voice. "Besides, you already kissed Malfoy, the worst is over right?" A comment which drew a very indignant look from Draco.
"Fuck you too, wanker." Draco scowled. Blaise only shrugged. Honestly the game had gotten quite dull and Granger had not only proved she wasn't a total novice, but also knew how to tweak the right buttons. After all Blaise was pretty damn sure that Draco's flush wasn't just from being incredibly pissed. Maybe it was the fire whiskey talking, but Hermione relented and threw herself down with a sullen expression next to Blaise and stole the bottle again for another long drink. After an experimental swipe of her tongue across her lips, she swore.
"Damn, I still have... Malfoy taste." It was a lie of course, but the continued pounding on the Slytherin's ego was just too much for her to resist.
"All right, Pans." Blaise called out as Malfoy took his wand from the circle. Then Anna jumped up, muttering something about her turns being over and she all but ran out the door without giving Hermione so much as a glance. 'Traitor!' Hermione seethed inside her mind. How could another Gryffindor could abandon her to this dubious fate? The betrayal called for another shot of Fire whiskey and another seething glare at Malfoy.
"This is all your fault isn't it?" She hissed, paying no attention as Pansy's wand spun then pointed at Gerod.
"No. In fact Granger, it isn't. I had come up here to drag these idiots out because I knew your stuck up ass was on duty tonight, and catching a bunch of Slytherins would just make your night. But I screwed up and stepped across the damn circle as well." Simone overheard the exchange and wished that her three turns had been up as well.
"Well, Pans, your turns are up!" Blaise informed her all too cheerfully with a sly grin on his face. Pansy snorted.
"I'm not leaving yet, Zabini." Hermione growled. The goal at this point was for people to leave as their stint inside the circle ended. "I'm not going anywhere without my Drakie." Malfoy suppressed a groan. Merlin, but he hated that stupid nickname. Silently, he decided that Pansy's wandering hands would have to find someone else for the next week or so. Not being able to touch his person for that long should make a decent enough punishment for the offense. His anger escalated at Granger's choked laughter. Her watery eyes looked at him in positive glee.
"Drakie?" She tested out the name on her tingling lips (damn that Fire whiskey), and barely managed not to howl on the spot.
"Shut your mouth, Granger."
She kept laughing.
Bitch.
Pansy snatched up her wand and her eyes spit venom in Hermione's direction, which only made the Gryffindor prefect start to cackle. Even Blaise seemed to find her laughter infectious.
"Let's just get on with it." Pansy snapped and plucked her wand sharply out of the middle of the circle. Gerod spun next and couldn't seem to work up much enthusiasm to kiss the willowy Simone. He didn't want to be sitting on the cold, stone floor anymore. He hadn't cared much about Draco's presence, but Granger's unnerved him. His unease only partially abated with the slow, soft touch of the Ravenclaw's lips. When he drew back, he saw Zabini pass the bottle back to Hermione's impatient hand. A bottle that he appropriated a moment later to stave of his unease.
"Well mates, I'm done." Gerod said before all but running back to his room, not at all giving anyone the chance to call him back.
Before she knew it, Hermione faced her first turn. With a resigned sigh, she placed her wand in the center and gave it a quick snap with her fingers. The thin piece of vine wood spun rapidly in the center and Blaise let a long whistle.
"It'll take quite the bloke to live up to that wand." Hermione smile was both smug and pleased.
"Vine wood and dragon heartstring." She said proudly.
"Dragon eh?" Blaise grinned even when she thumped him half-heartedly on the shoulder. When her wand tip pointed straight at Simone, the circle went dead silent. The fair haired girl, paled slightly and shifted on her bum. Hermione coughed, waiting for anyone to say that her spin didn't count. No one, however, spoke.
"Right." She stood up, smoothing down the front of her cloak and gestured for Simone to stand up with a thin lipped expression. The other girl scrambled to her feet, fighting (unsuccessfully) the blush creeping across her cheeks. Simone's eyes widened as Hermione all but pulled her closer with a hasty grab of her hand. Then they widened more when Hermione's cool lips pressed solidly against her own. Blaise issued a low whistle and spared a glance at Draco who seemed to be trying not to drool all over himself. However, nothing prepared the two boys for what happened next.
Simone's eyes fluttered close and her delicate hands lifted to Hermione's shoulders. The lips of both girls relaxed though still moved slowly, teasingly against each other. Granger's teeth tugged wickedly on Simone's bottom lip which inspired the fairer of the two to gasp. Two bodies pressed closer and delicate hands gifted ghosting touches over the surface of wooly cloaks. Hermione's tongue traced Simone's lips just with the very tip until the girl pulled the teasing appendage between her lips with a low, slow growl.
"Well at least now we know why Granger wouldn't bed the Weasel." Pansy's snappish words broke the silence and the spell. Both Draco and Blaise shot her vicious scowls for interrupting what might have been the most brilliant moment in all of Hogwarts history. Seeming to mostly ignore Pansy, Hermione pulled back with a grin and winked at the blinking girl in front of her. Hermione threw her best bitch look at Pansy, creating enough attention on herself so that Simone could slink off silently without further embarrassment.
"Pansy, Pansy." Hermione began with a smile too sweet to be real and a lining of nastiness just beneath the syrupy facade. Really it was an expression worthy of a Slytherin. "I simply refuse to narrow my prospects of happiness by half." She continued with a flippant shrug. "I have other exacting measures that too few people meet as it is, and if a woman fits the bill better than a man?" Hermione sighed dramatically for effect. "Who am I turn down the better route over something so trivial as a penis?"
Draco couldn't tell if she was shitting them all just for a chance to shut Pansy up, or if she meant every word and was still trying to shut Pansy up. Nor did he much care a moment later when Hermione flopped with boneless ease back into her spot and shot Pansy an all too satisfied smile while licking her lips. He bit his lip to contain a groan, wondering just how and when and where Hermione-I-am-smarter-than-you-Granger learned to act like that. All innuendo aside, he doubted that Weasel or Potter, the two blokes she spent the most time around and had all the subtly of a hippogriff stampede, could provide proper incentive for the hereto shy Hermione to be so very wicked. No he imagined that Weaslebee did not care at all if she looked at him with such heat as long as she got naked fast enough for a good shag before another member of his horridly overpopulated family walked in on them.
Hermione. Naked. Shag.
Damn, he really should not have thought those words in the same instance. They gave him all sorts of naughty thoughts that left the blood draining in horror from his face only to race hurriedly to a different part of his anatomy. The obvious reason for his disgust, that she was a Mudblood, was untrue. He'd never really subscribed to the whole genocide theme. Instead, being a true Slytherin, Draco had played his part until the opportunity to cast his lot in with the Order showed itself. The thought of the megalomaniac Voldemort ruling over the wizarding world had not appealed to Draco in the least. So he'd worked carefully and covertly to overthrow the self-styled Dark Lord. The second obvious reason is that he simply didn't like Hermione Granger. She could be completely overbearing and her constant distrust of him, after he'd thrown his lot in with them, during Voldemort's attempt to ascend to power had grated on his nerves heavily. It rankled him that while he'd come to respect her intelligence and even some of that fabled Gryffindor courage, she had still looked at him like at any moment he would kill them all and present their heads to the Big V on a platter. So he'd decided to forget about respect and resume his intense dislike for the Gryffindor Princess. A state of affairs that she still seemed quite pleased to acknowledge.
Bitch.
Ruminating over his thoughts and casting side long glances at the girl in question, while kissing Pansy was probably why said Slytherin girl looked at him like she wanted to put his bollocks in a vice. Thankfully, Blaise saved him from having to apologize. After Pansy's wand pointed at the dark Zabini, and he dutifully kissed her, he drug Pansy off, declaring both his and her turns to be over and that her 'Drakie-wakie' would be along shortly. Undoubtedly Draco's lack of enthusiasm in their previous kiss made it far easier for Blaise to drag her off. He couldn't help but feel relieved. A night of stupid fun had turned strangely awkward and arousing. He glanced over at Hermione who, to his shock, watched him with a deep, contemplative stare. Really some one who had imbibed that much Fire Whiskey shouldn't be able to look so damn sober.
"So, it's your last turn yeah?" She asked, and when he nodded, she continued. "What happens if you quit afterward?"
"The circle will vanish if that's what your hinting around at, Granger. One can't play spin the wand by his or herself. The contract will deem itself fulfilled." He smirked when she slumped in relief. Her eyes glassy and a wee bit unfocused.
"Thank Merlin." Draco rolled his eyes at her proclamation and would have been more insulted if he wasn't so sure that she was more worried about her potions test than the prospect of having to kiss him twice in a row. In the quiet he spun his wand and the sound of it swishing over the stone seemed abnormally loud. It slowed and unerringly pointed in her direction. His eyes pulled up slowly from the Hawthorn wand only to find her leaning a bit closer to him. Her hazy gaze focused on his lips intently, yet she seemed highly reluctant to move forward, or back, and remained rooted to her spot. Draco closed the distance, sweeping his lips delicately over hers before tracing her lips with the tip of his tongue. The heady twang of firewhiskey dance over his tongue. He shifted, pressing closer for another taste only to find her meeting his actions with a soft little sigh.
Their contact remained slow and tentative. Each one trying to guess at the others intention through the single point of contact they shared. Hermione felt apprehensive at her inability to figure out why her anger had taken a back seat to her curiosity. It wasn't mind blowing by any means, both of them were holding back too much for something deeply pleasurable. The kiss was nice though and Hermione knew that she would never ever insult Draco's lips again. She felt a stirring deep in her stomach and when she pulled back, heavy lidded and breathing deeply, she thought from his expression he might have felt it as well. His eyes, reflecting a stormy grey tint, lifted to hers slowly and lazily.
"Sure you don't want that last spin?" She shook her head slowly and with a bit of uncertainty. He sighed softly and stood up. The moment he stepped out of the circle, it vanished just like he said it would.
It wasn't until their paths split, he to head to Slytherin and she to Gryffindor, that one of them finally broke the long silence.
"Hey, Malfoy." He stopped and turned. His head cocked to one side sending his forelock across his eyes. One brow quirked in silent question. "Maybe I'll take that last spin some other time, yeah?"
When he grinned, she let out a breathe she hadn't even been aware she'd been holding. Hermione returned the expression and her once upon a time enemy affirmed her question with a nod of his head.
"Anytime, Granger." With a wink, Draco turned and headed back for the Slytherin common room deciding that, for now at least, he could justify dismissing his dislike of Hermione Granger.