Chapter 4: Roses

When Draco stepped into the grey, cold corridor, a stupid part of him expected to see Hermione standing against the wall outside, waiting for him. Draco hurriedly moved down the corridor towards the steps. His thoughts were practically shouting at him, telling him how pathetic he was for yet again savouring more small meaningless moments between himself and Granger.

As he ran up the hard stairs, tripping slightly, he noticed something unusual in the Entrance Hall. A faint smoky white line that started directly in front of him trailed across the Entrance Hall and into the Great Hall. When Draco stepped forward two steps inquisitively to watch the line turn and move tightly in different faint shades like normal smoke, it parted elegantly, as if his chest was a sharp knife. The two strips that appeared swirled slowly upwards before curdling into thin air. He knew that someone had made this line intending him to follow, and his heart began to thud unnaturally fast again when he realized who it must have been. Almost running, he followed the streak of smoke.

It went through the Great Hall that currently had no tables or benches. As Draco stepped through the vast space, his footsteps echoed overhead, making him glance around, thinking he'd see more people walking in the same direction. Looking up, he saw the blotted clouds churning and several streaks of sunlight pouring through some of them, causing the dingy hall to have several small areas filled with a circle of enchanted sunlight.

The wispy line lead to a side chamber through a short oak door, situated at the far end of the hall, behind where the staff table was usually placed. He entered a dark handsome room filled with charming portraits of past students and teachers, snoozing peacefully in their frames. A generous fire was roaring in front of him but even the warmth radiating onto his robes could cure his uncomfortable goosebumps on his arms. He stood motionlessly in the middle of the room, looking around to see if this was really where the line had ended. No one was in the room with him. No Granger. No one.

He was about to leave grumpily when a swooshing force caused him to glide elegantly across the room and into a side broom cupboard that he had over looked. The paintings blurred past him and Draco suddenly found himself in darkness. He staggered and crashed into a pile of various brooms and buckets, the noise echoing horribly in the small dark space. He watched the door shut and heard it bolt itself as he forced himself up, swearing under his breath because of the slight pain that had emerged on his back. He was breathing heavily, looking around the shadows. Out of the corner of his eye, Draco noticed a blue candle sitting on a high shelf light up. Then he saw her.

She was gazing at him through sparkling eyes of a wonderful blend of sapphire, from the candle, and chocolate. Her entire face had an eerie gorgeous blue glow to it, the creases in her robes and curls in her hair distinctly visible from the angle of the light. She stepped forward, also breathing heavily. Draco inhaled through his nose, smelling the burning candle and heavy stench of old wood but nearly fell over from the waft of her amazing rosy perfume. He cupped his hands behind Hermione's soft neck, feeling the curls graze against his hands.

He leaned closer and heard her whisper "we have a problem."

Draco sniggered, pressing his forehead against the top of Hermione's temple then rubbing the side of her nose with his own.

"A bit." he murmured before leaning forward a little further.

Draco moved his hands up her sleeves, stroking her skin. He used his thumb to caress her arm. He was still breathing deeply, taking in her scent, feeling as if rose petals were floating near his nose. Her eyes were closed but her eyebrows were very tense. She was thinking hard about something. Draco moved his other hand up and used the tips of fingers to trace a line above his eyes, smiling when she relaxed. He leaned his lips even closer to her and grazed her top lip slightly with his own but was unsure what to do when Granger gasped under her breath and pulled her face away a few inches.

Worse still, Draco felt a smooth hand cover his mouth and push his face back. Draco looked down at Granger, grey eyes clouded with confusion and burning anger. She was confused and upset as she gazed into space, muttering under her breath. Draco felt his face heat up with aggravation. This can't be it. They were so close just moments ago. He had just felt the heat of her lithe, perfect body radiating onto his own. The comfort was gone and the painful longing was back.

"I...I can't." She finally murmured, causing her eyelashes to flutter as she scanned the floor, avoiding Draco's eyes.

Draco continued to hold her but said slowly through clenched teeth "And you led me here because...?"

Hermione opened and closed her mouth, thinking before saying "I thought this was what I wanted. It's just... just way too complicated Malfoy."

Draco felt colour rise to his cheeks as anger over powered his judgement. He grasped Hermione and pushed her away from him and into the hard door. Through the faint light, he watched her stumble but then she held onto a shelf to help herself balance. Her eyes looked up at him. They were troubled and sparkling slightly but still explicably gorgeous. She was biting her trembling lip, obviously stopping tears from running down her lovely face. He wanted to hold her, console her and to Draco's great annoyance, it took every part of him to stop himself. He ran his hands through his hair, thinking of what to say. He then screwed his eyes and shouted when the confusion and build up became too much. He screamed "YOU PLAYER. YOU DRAG ME HERE, GIVE ME EVERY REASON TO BELIEVE WE WERE ABOUT TO HAPPEN - I MEAN, SOMETHING WAS ABOU-OR...I DON'T KNOW! BUT YOU WRECKED IT. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

Hermione's eyes watered more, leaking onto her bottom lashes slightly but her expression became blank. She said nothing as she continued to listen to his stupid impulsive rant.

"YOU HAVE NO BLOODY IDEA WHAT YOU MAKE ME GO THROUGH YOU, YOU...YOU DISGUSTING MUDBLOOD."

She stood up at this, staring at him. Granger waved her wand, unlocking the door and wiping the flame away. She walked out and closed the door, not looking at Malfoy again, allowing him to stand alone in darkness to tremble, smash everything he could reach and swear furiously at the top of his voice before sitting crossed legged on the floor. He sat there quietly for a long time, feeling extremely numb eventually, loosening the muscles in his handsome face but his hands were still shaking since he was so angry with Granger as well as himself. He listened to the echoes of the school as it bustled with life. The walls around him made the noises seem distant and sound hazy. Not wanting to leave and face Zabini's questions, he waved his wand continuously, conjuring one rose after another out of thin air so Hermione's scent could fill his world again.