Title: When Love Goes Wrong
Author: Shinsei Kokoro
Chapter 2: Somehow
He didn't know what it meant. The words Hermione Granger and lovely had never seemed to fit into the same line. And yet, as he stood there or rather standing tall, he wondered how the presence of books could ever be over-whelming than his own.
But Draco didn't have to wait long. Because when Hermione looked up to smooth the curls off her face, it was rather hard not to notice him standing there, leaning against the shelf, and looking so self-important that she had to groan.
"What do you want?"
"Nothing." He smirked, "Just noticing how lonely the Mudblood looks." That's right. She is not lovely.
Hermione gave him a snarled smile, then tossed back the hair from her shoulders, "I'm sure it's nothing you haven't seen before." Her observant eyes followed his moment. They followed him, until he stopped by her desk.
"Aha. So you're the little thief." Draco had grabbed off the first book on the many piled beside her and smiled triumphantly as he read the words Practice with the Cauldron off the front cover. "Should have known it."
"Excuse me?" Hermione inched protectively around the papers scattered.
"Actually," she watched his hand finger over the spines of a few other books, "You seem to have taken the whole lot."
"What do you want Malfoy?" she growled as she pulled back the book his hands.
"You know," he didn't know why, but he didn't move the firm grip off the book, "These books are not only for the purposes of annoying students who can't find anything better to do with their time. There are other students here and you most surely can't hog of all of these for yourself."
A wave of embarrassment managed to creep up her cheeks but Hermione only held on tighter, "If you were looking for these to finish off your Potions essay, then you must have already finished it by now. Which means that you would have no need for these books, and you're here to only annoy the hell out of me."
She looked so stubborn that it was impossible not to roll his eyes, "On the contraire…Mudblood. I have a life. And I don't spend my nights doing homework on the day it was given…unlike some people."
Hermione set down her quill quickly, "Will it make you feel better if I let you know that I haven't done my essay yet either?"
Draco raised his brows in surprise then covered it with a sly grin, "Still doesn't prove to me that you have a life."
Growling under her breath, Hermione was up on her feet, letting go of the book and slamming her hands onto the desk, "I don't have to prove anything to you Malfoy. But if you really want that book, do me a favour. Take it. And get out of my face." Her voice was hard and laced with fury, but it was so hushed that Draco weighed the book in his hands restlessly. I've had enough of your House for today. First the lackey Zabini and now the git himself.
It was quite a sight when Hermione Granger had to muffle her screams in order to follow pathetic library rules. Her face was flushed and had eyes sparkling with deep ferocity. It seemed nonsense, but if he took a closer look, her hair seemed to have gotten a bit tamer. Her face was vibrant and full of colour. For a second Draco found himself a little hot under the collar, then swallowing quickly he cleared his head of such atrocious thoughts.
"Now that would be a problem." he immediately covered for his turning thoughts.
"Pray tell me why." She groaned before sighing in exasperation.
"Because I'll be needing at least five of these books."
Hastily, Hermione moved closer to the books, "Oh no you don't. One book and that's it. It's not like you'll be doing any work from it either."
"Oh really? So now a filthy Mudblood has the right to question what I do?"
Her eyes narrowed to slits, and she inhaled deeply while chewing onto the bottom of her lip. It was her way to control herself. "As a matter of fact, yes. She does have a right."
"What sort of right?" he lowered his gaze at her.
"The right as a Head Girl to take points off your house for being such an insufferable git." She growled.
Draco tore her down with his eyes for a second, then cocked his head to chuckle, "Fascinating."
"The fact that you're an insufferable git?" Hermione asked sweetly.
The Slytherin smiled coyly, "Don't tell me things I already know." Then his smile grew wider, "I'm talking about the fact of how intriguing it is for small minded people to find you—a Mudblood at that, as an…as an interesting alternative for a ball date."
"Malfoy," Hermione found herself taking a shaky breath, "Take the book, and get out of here."
"Tell me Granger." Draco couldn't help himself. She was seething so fairly that he couldn't resist asking, "Does it disgust you to see Weasel and his girlfriendtogether? To see them snogging in front of your face?"
"Malf—,"
"Does it? I always thought the two of you would make a wonderfully miserable family together." His gray eyes smirked at her, "Your pathetic children, with their dirty clothes and unwashed hair. A fair mixture of filth." He watched her eyes glaze and brows furrow together, "Living in a broken down cottage, poor for all time. I always—,"
"Furnuncu—!" the words tore out of her mouth the second the Gryffindor drew her wand out.
"Protego!"
"Petrificus tota—,"
"Expelliarmus!"
In a rush of horror, Hermione witnessed her own wand zoom to the other side of the room.
For a moment there was silence. For a moment all her eyes were seeing were the tip of Malfoy's wand. When he slowly lowered his arm, she was given sight to his small smile. Then he had to go and open his mouth, "So much anger in a little Mudblood. And all because of a stupid Weasel."
"For the love of—!"
"It's okay Granger. It's okay to admit jealousy." His smile was so cruel, Hermione realized there could never be anyone as vile as him.
"Get out of here." She didn't look at him.
"Pathetic girls do go for pathetic boys. It's natural."
"Get out of here Malfoy!" she thundered.
Draco watched her blaze, then weighing the book in his hand, he pocketed his wand, the smile never wiping off, "With pleasure. Associating with Mudbloods gets me sick in the stomach anyway."
With that, he was gone in a whirl of robes. He was gone out of sight. And it was only then that Hermione allowed herself to let out the breath she had been holding.
Slowly and numbly, she walked to her fallen wand. She didn't pick it up. Instead she fell beside it. Then finally, bringing a hand to her face, she lets little tears escape into it.
The Slytherin common room welcomed him openly with a warm fire. Draco rarely found himself in the midst of other Slytherins rushing through forgotten homework in the early morning. He had never sat on the couches conversing into the long hours of the day. He had never gushed over to the fire, rubbing hands together with fellow Slytherins and warming up by transfiguring mittens.
Draco snorted as he watched a few first years scribbling into their notebooks, looking panicked. Once again, it reminded him of a particular girl. One who hadn't lost that habit even through seven years.
"Draco!" Pansy shrieked as she grabbed onto an arm, "I waited for so long last night!"
And wait she probably did. Because after his little rendezvous with the Mudblood, Draco had summoned his broom to soar over the Owlery. He had flown as far as he always could, relishing in the way the chill wafts would sting his skin.
At the second, the clock had struck nine, he had flown in through his dorm window. So in the end, he had efficiently missed out on an opportunity with Pansy.
The Great Hall was hardly overflowing when Draco walked in. There were only a few dozen Gryffindors and for that he was glad. They were a pain, and with their insistent nonsense chatter, he found himself eager to hex them all into silence.
Blaise Zabini was the first one to catch his eyes, and snarling to himself, the young Malfoy made his way to his so called friend. Morgana was there by his arm, practically sucking life away from his mouth.
Nobody else seemed to care that they were having a full-on snog session by the breakfast table. Turning his expressions off, he fell into a seat opposite the couple and promptly cleared his throat.
Breakfast was already feasted, but somehow Draco couldn't help himself to anything after what he had just seen.
Morgana was the first to unlock her lips, and when she caught sight of Draco, her gaze froze and she immediately blushed, "Uh…D-Draco…hi."
Blaise, whose eyes were half lidded, snuggled his face into the crook of her neck, and didn't look up until Morgana pushed herself away a little. He looked up with a half-smile and pulled the girl further into his arms, "You're never this early Draco. But good morning."
Draco looked away from his pleasant smile to the girl who sat flustered opposite him.
"How did it go yesterday?" he smirked nonchalantly, "You know with Gran—,"
"Not so good." Blaise cleared his throat, before looking pointedly at the blonde, "But I will try again…later."
Draco sneered at him, "Really? I assumed you must have already lost game?"
A confused look passed over Morgana, but Blaise only smiled tersely, "I assure you, I haven't."
Shrugging, the blonde Slytherin got to his feet nimbly, then turned to look over his shoulders, "Better be quick then. Because hanging out with my sluts won't be getting you anywhere."
Draco only smirked at the two before he took his leave.
Blaise had to realize where he would hold his hands out to. And he had to realize that whatever girl he would get would always have gone through him first.
Yes, he was sizzling from underneath. Yes, he wished he could have snapped. But that would be shameful. It would be utterly shameful for Blaise or anyone to realize that girls just used him exactly like how he used them.
After picking up his books from his dorm and skillfully managing to avoid Pansy, he checked the Owlry once again. But there were no messages from his mother or any news about how his father was faring in Azkaban as of yet. None of his sweets.
And he needed a date. Not Pansy Parkinson as he had confirmed to Blaise. But someone else. Someone who no one could get. A girl so amazing that she'd make everyone drop their jaws when would enter the ball with him.
A girl who guys like Blaise Zabini had no chance of getting.
As he walked to his Dark Arts class, he couldn't help but notice the Golden Trio in front of him. Two pathetic boys and that one agonizing girl. Quarrelling as though there were no tomorrow with yellow and red scarves pulled tightly around their necks.
Offcourse he could have any girl he wanted. Draco snarled at that though. Offcourse.
And if Blaise Zabini had the nerve to go around snogging his girls, then he wasn't going to go picking out leftovers. He was a Malfoy. And a Malfoy would never stoop that low.
"Oh come off it Ronald!" He barely just heard Hermoine Granger as they entered their class. "You know how much of a git Zabini is."
The sentence alone was enough to perk his attention. Shoving a student out of his way, Draco slipped into a seat just within his hearing range.
"You still should have hexed him." The Weasley argued under his breath as the Professor came bounding into the room, his robes bellowing until he settled himself in front of the class.
"It's a miracle I don't have your instincts then." The Mudblood murmured, getting a dark shade out of Ron.
They didn't speak another word as the class started to fill in.
Draco sat back in his chair, concentrating on the image of the back of Granger's head. It surprised him to no end about how much hair a little head like that could carry.
She was Head Girl. But so what? She wasn't the least bit attractive. She didn't even try to look appealing. No make-up. No hitching of skirt. No walking by swinging hips. No nothing. So why were there guys bent on asking this girl out? What was so special about her? She was smart. Had a little bit of sense, but that was where the qualities all ended. Gryffindor qualities were a nuisance. Who needed bravery when you could use a Slytherin's cunning demeanor to weasel your way out?
Class went on the least bit progressive. NEWT exams were coming up and they had just started revising. While other students remained intent on cramming, Draco relished at the part on how easy the Dark Arts came to him.
But back to the topic on the female population.
He knew he could get any girl. And if there were a hoard of guys like Blaise waiting to asking this Mudblood out, then he wouldn't stand by giving them the chance. He could have anyone. Even this muggle girl if it had to be. He would snatch her away himself before Blaise could ever get his hands of her.
So with that, Draco spent the rest of class watching Hermoine Granger scribble away into her book.
Last night he had played war with her, but from today, he would have to find a way to make the wench actually look up, smile appropriately and agree to be his date. If only to shove it into Blaise's face.
Hermoine was bored. Utterly bored.
There was a Gryffindor versus Slytherin Quidditch match coming up and all Harry and Ron seemed to talk about were techniques and angle of precision. At times frustration would built up rapidly when they would just ignore her the entire lunch and leave without even waiting for her to finish the last spoon of her beans.
Ron had become so ignorant, that he hadn't realized anything as of yet. She had been trying to ignore him profusely, but in the end what was the point of giving the silent treatment to a boy who hardly noticed she was even walking behind him.
Harry on the other hand, seemed to have developed a rather bad habit of taking out his invisibility cloak frequently after curfew. And he seemed to be getting a lot tidier. It came to a point that at dinner he came down with his hair combed.
No one else seemed to notice it as he happily chatted away with Ginny from across the table. No one seemed to notice the perfect partition on his head.
Lavender and Ron almost made a point to let everyone know that they were going out ready and steady. When Hermoine used to come back to her dorm room, Lavender would be talking non-stop about her Won-Won. And for some reason maybe even to spite Hermoine, Lavender had placed a wizard's photo frame of her and Ron. One where they were snogging, holding hands, hugging and laughing like clowns.
It was getting ridiculous. It seemed as if all her friends were changing and she was the only one being left behind.
Parvati had beamed and girlishly sighed for a few hours after being asked out by Dean Thomas. And when Hogsmead came, Hermoine sulked as she walked herself to the library.
Ginny had insisted upon her coming. And so had Parvati and Lavender. But Harry and Ron had just carried on ahead laughing that she would much rather as usual finish off next Wednesday's Charms homework.
As if! Hermoine muttered darkly to herself as she excused herself past a couple of giggling juniors.
She had already finished that off yesterday.
Draco walked on aimlessly with Pansy hanging off his elbow like dripping sweat. He was on a lookout for a particular girl and quite frustrated that her bizarre mop of rusty brown hair was nowhere in sight. He had even sneered past Potter and his group once, but the damned girl had been nowhere in sight.
"And so she said she'll send it through the post this Thursday. I can't wait to try it on Draco! Oh, you're going to love it!" he merely acknowledged Pansy as she ranted on and on about her dress.
Then passing by a shop, his eyes fell upon two identical looking Gryffindor girls.
"Oh it's a shame she isn't here." One of them looked up into the window where a couple of simple dresses were hung with bright stickers flashing their prices.
"I know." The other girl looked wistful, "Only Hermoine would have pulled it off in a dress like that. Ginny was right. Beige is so her."
The name made him glance up straight so quick that it almost gave him a crick in the neck.
So she wasn't here at all, the idiotic nerd. He could bet she was slaving away at the library, and if anything, taking advantage of the fact that she could grab all the best books before anyone could. Draco snorted as he looked at the absurd dresses hung. They looked cheap and lacked any style with either extremely low necks or gaudy patterns. There was definitely no way any date of his was ever wearing those.
As Pansy continued to ramble, Draco wondered if Hermoine had bought her dress yet.
She was finished with Maths homework a long time before the seniors starting filling back into school. Potions was the only one left, and Hermoine snidely smiled as she thought of Harry and Ron coming to class empty handed. For a few moments, Hermoine ached to see the two boys walk into the library teasing and annoying her. But they never came.
Dinner came and went, but she stayed poised in her seat, eyes forced to be trained on her book. If she were to go down there with them, they would just go on talking endlessly about the ball, or dresses, or dates, and then she would have to hold back from vomiting at the sight of Won-Won and Lavender being all cuddly.
Harry would stare at his dinner endlessly, then pick up enough courage to talk to Ginny. It was obvious why he always acted so flustered around the red-headed girl nowadays and Hermoine felt a little rise every time flirted as though there were no tomorrow. It was last year and people were getting it all over their head about this ball nonsense. None of her friends had even begun studying and with all the usual drama that was bound to come after the ball, they'd complain of not being able to concentrate.
Hermoine sighed as she fingered the ended of her book.
She could bet that everyone would have a date by the end of the week, maybe even Neville. And here she would be, probably sitting in the library on ball night itself. She was even more pathetic than Moaning Myrtle.
Hermoine quickly slammed her head down at the thought of roaming endlessly around the girl's bathroom in a few years.
She looked like a strangled writer who had been given a deadline. Hermoine Granger was indeed a sight for sore eyes. So soar that Draco swore his eyes would start bleeding.
While other girls were buzzing about matching shoes and dresses and hair styling spells, this girl was deeply engrossed in skimming through a book larger than her brain capacity.
Dinner had been awkward with Blaise attempting to laugh off his stand with Morgana and trying to handle Pansy's conversation at the same time. He hadn't seen her at dinner, but here she was. Legs folded underneath her on the chair and her brown feathered quill scratching the parchment so intently.
"Figured it would be you again." He cleared his throat to make his presence known, then smirked widely when a murderous glare was thrown his way.
"How can I please his royal 'stick-up-his-arse' today?" she trimly commanded, and Draco pretended to be shocked at her choice of words. But he wasn't the least bit surprised at her sour tone.
"By taking the stick out of your own arse offcourse."
She glared heatedly before looking back at her table and muttering, "I'm gonna hope that you'll be leaving before you bring out your immature acts."
"I'm anything but immature Granger." Draco interrupted her before she open her mouth again, "Are you still patrolling tonight?"
He watched her look indifferent then she shrugged elegantly, "Kimberly Griffiths wanted tonight's shift. So I swapped with her." She paused before look up with a scowl, "Why are you so interested about this all of a sudden?"
"McGonagall was making sure we had someone patrolling tonight." Draco said as he picked up a book recklessly. Offcourse he wasn't about to tell her that he had changed his own patrolling shift to tonight just so he could coax her into his offer. Griffiths would just have to do the patrolling by herself tonight.
"Please tell me you're not here again to try and take my books."
"Your books?" Draco looked up with a laugh that made Hermoine cringe, "I don't see your name on anywhere of them." He flipped upon the book cover and pretended to skim through.
Hermoine seethed on the chair, her mind almost made up to jump over the table and pull every single one of those blonde locks out of the Slytherin's inflated head. The shorter locks were hanging on his forehead and she almost made a grab for them. Instead she yanked the book out of his grasp.
"Look for someone else to pester tonight Malfoy."
"This doesn't account as pestering. I'm just in need of a few of these books as you were utterly unwilling to let me have them yesterday."
For a second, Hermoine thought her head was about to explode. She had been sitting here since hours, untouched by mockery or even any human contact and having Draco Malfoy hear giving his statutory speech was making her skin crawl.
And while Harry and Ron, her own friends couldn't be bothered to come looking for her, here was Malfoy out of all people.
"Fine." She bit out through a gritted jaw, "Take whatever."
His weird smile reach out into his face and she watched his long fingers trace gently over a couple of books. But before she had realized, he had resounded an 'Aha' and pulled out a book from a bottom of the pile.
"No!" she was up on her feet, before she knew it, "Not that book."
He glanced at her, then back at the book, "Why not?"
She knew it. She knew it right then. He was here to get a rise out of her. He was here to make sure her succumbing day would writher even more.
"Knowing how crazy you are about our Dark Arts class, I'm sure you must be already finished with that homework by now. So…so just…just take—"
"Yeah? And you and whose army has the right over these books?"
Bristling bitterly, Hermoine drew a hand back to pat the back of her shirt to feel her wand, "Malfoy, today's not been my day. I—"
"And I'd advise you not to touch your wand."
"And…why is that?"
"Because you know I'd be able to reach for my own faster than you ever could." He smiled for a moment and saw her mere attempts to give up the argument. It was obvious that she had been hit low today. The Mudblood he knew would definitely have had more than a sleeve of snotty comments to make.
Draco smirked at her amused, "Actually, I think I'll make myself comfortable here…" his eyes glanced at the fire as he walked to the worn brown couch, "…by the fire."
Hermoine looked around desperately. No way did she want Draco Malfoy anywhere near her turned back. But she didn't want him gone with her books either. If she wouldn't finish this essay, then Snape would be privileged to give his snarky remarks.
"So…you want to share these books?" Hermoine looked at him wearily. What was wrong with him? When had Malfoy ever approached her to share text books? What was he getting at?
Draco shrugged lightly, then pulled his legs over the little table in front of him, "Why not. I can get my work done this way." And get the kick out of annoying you.
It was the weirdest she had ever seen him. Draco Malfoy actually agreeing to sit just a mere few feet away from the Mudblood. It astounded her. And to smooth her thoughts, she asked him just that, "You're willing to catch the Mudblood germs?"
Rolling his eyes, Draco gathered and turned out his books and parchments around him, "Don't be silly. That's why I'm sitting here. And you're sitting there."
Frowning, Hermoine turned onto another chair, "How convenient." She didn't trust Draco. But most of all, she wouldn't give him any advantage by having her back to him. There was no knowing what he had up his sleeve. Because she knew him. And Draco Malfoy never just came around doing homework sessions with her. He was up to something and she wanted to know what it was.
If he wasn't concentrating on what he was writing, he was thinking up of ways to annoy the girl who sat only a few feet away from him on the desk. She was looking up every few minutes, almost waiting to jump up at the second his hand would go anywhere near his wand.
Draco who had finished his essay only a few minutes ago, decided that levitating books out of the Mudblood's grasps had become an old enough joke already. Those were the best ways to make her growl in frustration. To break her concentration from the book. She would take in a sharp breath, bite the insides of her cheeks and stare down at him stonily.
And while Draco had finished his homework with three pages, Hermoine looked as if she were furiously finishing up the deadline on a book. Her fingers would flicker through this book, then another, then after Draco had finished levitating the books he was finished with, she would once again quickly go through the same books twice.
It was amusing. That's all it was. Amusing to watch the girl see at her work and yet making sure to glide her sharp eyes over him like a chore.
That was the only reason he was still there. That's the excuse Draco berated himself over. And the fact that the second he would go to his common room, Pansy wouldn't given him an inch of space.
And it felt good. Sitting there by the toasty fire. Feeling its warmth graze his skin. Comfortably on the deep couch, with feet back on the little table. And somehow…peaceful.
"Are you done?" her voice shifted his attention, and he looked up at her lazily.
"Almost." He drawled, but picked up his quill at the same time.
"Then what on Earth are you doing staring into the fire. It's almost ten." She chided.
"I happen to find the fire much more appealing than you." The words just came out of his mouth, and with that a scowl lifted her face. He felt satisfied as she gave him a glare before going back to scribbling.
Yes. It definitely felt good sitting there in the presence of a know-it-all Gryffindor. It would only be a matter of time until a Mudblood girl like Granger would succumb to him.
Malfoy had been acting rather strange. As words flowed out of her quill, Hermoine thought of how Harry and Ron would sputter in disbelief if they ever found out whom she had spent doing her homework with. Even the word 'strange' contradicted with her predicament. Because it was beyond strange. This was Malfoy who was sitting on the couch. Malfoy, the slime.
The Slytherin sitting there, not once scowling or spitting at her. But just…sitting…and staring into the fire. A torrent of red and orange splaying his blonde locks. His quill forgotten. His parchment forgotten. And looking so deep in thought.
He was still here. Acting like she had not just attacked him with curses yesterday. And…and he was sitting in her presence. Alone with her. There might have been distance between them, but Draco Malfoy had never willingly wanted to be in the same room alone with her unless had a list on ways to torment Hermoine 'Mudblood' Granger.
It was frustrating.
So frustrating that while he could sit there, all comfortable and still, her nerves were frazzled like live wires. She was crossing and uncrossing her ankles. Shaking her legs. Looking over unnecessary books. Scratching her forehead. And finally, she was up on her feet. Their previous encounter last night was just impossible to forget.
"I'm finished." When she set her quill down finally, she was hardly taken back to find him looking at her. He had been doing that a lot for the past half hour. Looking at the fire, glancing at her, back to the fire, back to her…that's how his gaze flowed. And maybe that's why she had been feeling a bit…awkward and…uneasy.
"Too bad." she almost heard him murmur, but that could have just been her imagination while he folded his parchment away.
For a moment, she sat on her chair, watching him watch the fire, then she tore her eyes away.
"So why the fraternizing?" the words flew out of her mouth as she made her way to the other side of the couch, and sat on the closest chair opposite the little table.
"You mean fraternizing with the enemy?"
"Yeah. With the enemy." She rolled her eyes. It seemed as if he had been familiarizing himself to muggle terms.
"I wasn't." his eyes swept over her, "Just trying to get my work done."
"Then why have you been here for the past hour, doing nothing when you're in fact, finished?"
His brows shot up slowly, then that small cruel smile flitted across his mouth, showing her the personally she had been used to for seven years, "Coming up with ways to hex your Golden Trio to the next world and beyond."
Snorting, Hermoine stood from the chair, before crossing her legs and sitting on the floor, "I wouldn't find that surprising." She said while stretching her fingers to the fire, as if to warm them up even more.
Draco watched her. Then his eyes fell on her brown curls that twisted past her shoulders. For a long time, he had thought that no one could ever have a worse hairstyle than Hermoine Granger. He remembered on the first few days of his time at Hogwarts, he would be in bed thinking whose hair lacked life the most: the Mudblood's or Professor Snape's?
But as he sat there, staring at her, Blaise's words ran through his mind again. I think she's lovely.
"Would you please stop it?"
Draco quickly looked up at Hermoine's face, "Stop what?"
"Staring at me. It's not as if sitting here with you is weird, but you acting like that is making it even worse."
"You have nothing I could ever stare at Granger." He replied quietly, and then pulled his lips back watching her stiffen.
It was killing him to admit it even to himself. But he couldn't help it. He couldn't help the thoughts registering in his own head. She was lovely…in a twisted sort of way.
"If you're not staring, then surely I must have something on my face. Because you're staring and I don't like people staring at me. At least the likes of you." Her dry voice broke his train of thoughts again.
He had to confess. That last bit pinched him a little. "I think you're imagining things. Maybe in hopes that I would actually stare at you."
Scooting back a little from the flames, Hermoine pulled forward the little table so his legs would eventually fall off it without the support, "You come up with the strangest of all theories Malfoy. But enough of that. I've had more than my share of talking to Slytherins for this week."
He had been waiting for the opportunity for so long, that he couldn't hold back anymore. The second she mentioned the word 'Slytherin', the words came out like a smooth speech, "I hear you've been rejecting a lot of boys. Slytherin boys too."
Hermoine sighed. She just knew it. One way or the other, every conversation always had to lead to this stupid ball. Maybe that was the entire reason Draco Malfoy was here. Taunt her on the fact that she had no date. And both her best friends had been taken. By ones better than her.
"Just one Slytherin boy thank you very much." Hermoine corrected instead, "Blaise Zabini. He should be your successor in annoying the daylights out of me."
Draco chuckled, then leaned forward a little, "I guess I have taught him a bit. But still? Wasn't he good enough for you?"
Blushing furiously, Hermoine quickly looked back into the fire, "Like you said, I don't fraternize with my enemies."
"But you don't have a date."
"I don't need one."
"The requirements are that you must have a partner."
"I sai—,"
"And it's not like you have a choice either. You have to go to in order to fulfill your Head Girl duties. Even whether you like it not. And without a date, you must know how terribly idiotic you'll look. But I suppose you would have never rejected Blaise after you'd have found out who your Weasel would be asking out, would you?" He said it all so smoothly, that for a second, she felt like reaching over the table and slapping his face.
"Malfoy." Hermoine bit out once she knew for sure he was finished speaking, "Shut up."
This is exactly what she just needed. Someone like Malfoy. Someone like this insufferable prat to come and make her feel even more miserable. This would have had to be his plan all along. To taunt the Mudblood about the fact that she's the world's biggest loser. Because in the end, it always had to be this evil rat to reduce her to tears and make a fool out of herself.
But she wouldn't. Not this time.
She watched him smile through stinging eyes. "You have got to be the most horrible person I have ever met."
Draco lowered his eyes to her clenched lips, then shrugged, "Thank you." He said with a straight face.
"You—," Hermoine had been ready to bring out her wand. She already had a hundred different hexes on the top of her head. But…but she was a Head Girl. It would be so childish for prefects to be found cursing each other. What kind of an image would it bring upon her? A Head Girl. What would Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall think? What would junior students start saying?
"You what?" Draco was staring at her with a twinkle in his eyes. It gave him satisfaction. Satisfaction to see fury engulf her. And yet…yet she couldn't do anything. Yet she just stood there, trembling with rage, and letting emotions be read so easily off her face. "Lost for words Granger?"
"You prat." She finally breathed, controlling hands from reaching out to strangle the Slytherin.
"Can't call me something more original than that? Come on, where is your creativity?"
With control in her fists, Hermoine stood up on shaky legs. In quick strides she managed to grab her materials, "I don't think I should waste time on calling you names."
Draco chuckled, "Really?" He felt his insides lighten as her darkened features slowly relaxed. He wasn't getting anywhere with asking her to be his date. But he enjoyed knowing the effect he could have on a usually docile girl like Hermoine.
"Really." And with a flick so quick that even Draco Malfoy never saw it, Hermoine made sure that the work of parchment Malfoy had been working on, landed softly into the pits of the fire.
She didn't wait to hear him start cursing. She didn't wait for him to return the favor.
Instead, she fled out of there, a grim smile stretched on her face.
So she had lost control against Malfoy…once again. There wasn't a crime in that. It was a natural instinct that came with being a Gryffindor. Except this time, she was even with the Slytherin.
A/N: I've been waiting to update this, so here it is. And sorry if there are tons of grammer or spellings or whatever.
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