This is for the Pick-A-Plot contest by Paris in December.
Prompt:
Hermione/Draco
Draco has been following Hermione around all day. She finds out it's because he's genuinely in love with her, and spell damage from a hex from Ron has caused him to lose some of his inhibitions.
It can be assumed that this is not cannon. It takes place sometime in fifth year or up. I would like to thank Head-In-Disarray for being my lovely beta.
Note: The Tell-All spell is a jinx I made up (with a rhyming name XD) that's pretty much what it sounds like. The jinxed must say all that comes to mind. It is a simple spell and lasts only a few hours. It has a small loophole in that thoughts that can be suppressed obviously don't have to be said, as is demonstrated in the following story.
A jaunt around the courtyard, back to the library, a quick dart through the shelves before exiting, and a stealthy journey to the kitchens before heading back to the courtyard. He's good.
It takes all my self-control not to whip out my wand and demand to know why I'm being stalked. It's a tempting thought, but I resist with ease. Sort of.
"Going somewhere Malfoy?" I ask, trying to sound at ease.
The blonde behind me lets out what sounds like a hiss of pain. "Not really," he replies, gritting his teeth.
Without turning around, I continue, "Did you need something?"
"I was w-" he cuts off with a choke and a growl. "Nothing at all."
"That's interesting," I comment before spinning around (resisting the urge to grab my wand), "because it would seem that you're following me."
His eyes flash a look of panic before it's replaced with cold indifference. "What makes you think I'm following you?" he snaps.
"Oh nothing," I say innocently. "I must have been mistaken." I slowly revolve around to look out over the lake. "Well I must be going. "The lake looks so peaceful."
Malfoy did exactly what I thought he would. He followed me.
Despite the smirk on my face, I do nothing to reveal where I'm going. My eyes remain the tree ahead, and not once do they stray behind me. He's trying to be sneaky, but I can hear his steps as he moves through the grass.
Finally, I'm at the tree. The lake looks extremely peaceful so I take a deep breath before speaking, "Are you sure you aren't following me?"
"How did you know I was here?" he demands.
I turn to look at him. The pitiful pout on his face makes me want to roll my eyes. "Honestly?" I reply. "For a snake, you aren't very surreptitious."
Malfoy looks offended, "Why does it matter anyway? I have every right to come down to the lake. I don't need your approval."
"You do," I agree, "but I think I deserve to know why I'm being stalked."
He claps a hand over his mouth and gulps loudly. "I'm not stalking you!" he finally wails.
"What will make you stop?" I ask, completely ignoring his denial.
"When I tell-" his hand returns to his mouth at full force and I hear his muffled swear through his hand.
"No, Malfoy. I don't want to hear it," I say, shaking my head.
"Hermione!"
"What did you call me?" I ask, my head snapping up at the sound of my first name.
"It- It wasn't me," he stuttered.
"Who was it then?" I demand.
"Hermione!" the voice comes again from closer to the castle.
"Harry?" I call back, seeing the dark-haired boy at the top of the hill.
He hurries down the hill towards me and arrives within a few seconds. "What's he doing here?" he asks, jerking his head towards Malfoy.
"I have a name, Potter!" he snaps as I reply, "It doesn't matter."
"Hermione," Harry warns, completely ignoring Malfoy.
"I can handle my own problems," I tell him, also ignoring the blonde.
"Glad to know how you categorize me, Granger," Malfoy adds, voice oozing sarcasm.
"Can you please just stay here for a second so I can talk to Harry?" I ask, realizing that this is the only way to get anything said or done.
"You're asking his permission?" Harry sounds incredulous.
I don't reply until Malfoy drops beside the tree. "I'm not going anywhere," he sulks.
I take Harry by the arm and lead him just out of earshot of Malfoy.
"Did you see his face when you touched me?" Harry demands. "He looked like he was going to bite my head off. What's going on?"
I look him in the eye and reply as carefully and honestly as I can. It's really none of Harry's business if Malfoy's being a pest. "I don't know. I just-"
"Are you sleeping with him?"
"Harry!" I exclaim, slapping him on the arm. "What kind of question is that? No! I can't believe you would even ask something like that!"
His entire body slumps with relief before he rubs his arm. "Sorry," he says with a smile. "I just had to make sure."
"There are many, much more tactful ways you could have approached that," I scold. "No, he's merely following me."
"Following you," Harry repeats with a faraway look in his eye.
"Yes," I confirm. "He's been following me for about an hour now."
Harry's face pales considerably. "Oh Ron…"
"What did Ron do?" I squeak, twisting around in hope that he's behind me and Harry's words are not connected to Malfoy following me.
Harry refuses to meet my gaze.
"What did he do?" I ask again, much more calmly.
Harry glances up at me, terrified. He should be. I reserve this tone for moments such as this, and he knows it means I'm close to snapping.
"He and Malfoy had an impromptu duel," he admits.
"What did Ron do?" I repeat once more. In my ears, my voice sounds just plain monotonous, especially compared to Harry's mostly hidden panic.
"He hit Malfoy with the Tell-All spell."
I groan, "Aren't will a little old for the Tell-All? That's a common jinx for first years to use in retribution."
Harry laughs dryly, "Yes, well, I think Ron was feeling a bit childish."
"What happened next?" I ask, trying to return to the root of the problem.
Harry snorts. "It was a bit entertaining," he says. "Malfoy started yelling at Ron that he had half a brain and the wand skills to match. Then he started in on me, saying that I wasn't all that popular and that people don't like me as much as I think they do. Ron started arguing back and shoved him. Goyle stepped in and Ron backed down. I'd rather not repeat what Malfoy said to Goyle." Harry looks genuinely embarrassed. "It was something about him being too intimidating in and out of bed for Daphne Greengrass to give him a second glance.
"Then Goyle got pissed. Malfoy wandered off without him, and I've been looking for you since. I didn't know if you wanted to use a counterspell or leave him."
I ponder the possible solutions for a moment before answering, "I think I'll leave him. It should be wearing off soon. Besides," I add, "he obviously wants to tell me something. I'll catch you later."
As we part, I hear him muttering about the glint in my eye and how it can't be good. I smile. If he's this concerned, there's no telling what Ron will say.
"You're back," Malfoy sounds surprised, enthusiastic, and mournful all at once.
"Well I promised I would be," I reply, feeling a bit smart-alecky. "Now then, was there something you needed to tell me?"
I'm getting a small sense of sick pleasure watching his eyes grow larger and his jaw set as he becomes determined not to say what's on his mind. He quickly breaks eye contact and gazes out at the lake.
"The lake's beautiful today," he pops out.
"It does," I agree, "but I doubt that was worth the good hour you spent following me."
"Hermione…"
"You used my first name," I interrupt. He flicks his eyes towards me and doesn't seem to be able to look away.
"Why shouldn't I? It's a beautiful name, just like the girl it belongs to," he says the words without thinking, or rather, because of thinking. Malfoy claps his hands tightly over his mouth. "I didn't mean to say that!" he hastily adds, voice cracking from emotion.
"I know," I reassure him before throwing down my cards. "I know you got hit with a Tell-All this morning."
His face flashes panic and then relief. "Oh good," he replies. "You can remove it before I tell you that I love you."
Hooray for shameless plugs involving A Very Potter Musical! Who can name then all? If you haven't seen AVPM and AVPS, I heavily recommend looking it up on YouTube.
I'd just like to say now that I am not, at this time, considering continuing this. I have enough (3) multichapter fics that I should be working on right now.