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IV: The High Priestess
Hermione always seemed to forget how cold it was in the dungeons at night. She couldn't imagine why anyone would want to be in Slytherin if it meant having to navigate the cold stone floors and empty, creepy corridors of the depths below Hogwarts. She pulled her robe tight around her body to contain her body heat as she made her way through the dungeon hallway, the sounds of her steps reverberating throughout the corridor.
Silver blond hair and dark robes came into sight as Hermione spotted Draco Malfoy leaning against the cold wall, twirling his wand around his fingers.
"So you got my message," he said as she approached.
"I did," she said, a small smile on her lips at the thought of his enchanted courier. She noticed Filch lingering next to him and looked down at her feet, attempting to stifle her smile as the old man leered at her.
"It's about time you got here, Miss Granger!" Filch announced, turning to walk down the corridor and toward the basement.
"I'm seven minutes early," Hermione whispered under her breath.
"We've got quite the treat for you two tonight," Filch said, stopping at a door and pushing it ajar. "Hogwarts," he said, pushing the door open a bit more to which Mrs. Norris sauntered in and quickly disappeared in the dark room, "has got a real spider problem. And it's your job to fix it, right? Mrs. Norris and I have managed to trap them all in the basement, where they continue to mate and grow. You're to stun them and put them in the crates - you could even kill them - I don't care, just get rid of the nasty creatures."
Draco and Hermione traded a look of disgust and dread.
"Although it'd be better if you didn't kill 'em," Filch said, snapping his fingers to summon Mrs. Norris out of the room, "Yer beloved Professer Rubeus Hagrid has made his desires clear about whether or not it's 'humane' to kill the litt'l buggers," he spat with sarcasm, "so we will be transporting them back to the Forbidden Forest where they belong, understood?"
"Sure," Draco said and Hermione nodded.
"Though if you ask me," Argus Filch continued, as he stepped away from the door, "we should keep the spiders and use them in detention! Lock the first years up in a room full of the creepy crawly creatures and we'll see if anyone gets detention again," he cackled to himself. "Anyway," he looked at the bewildered duo before him, "you are not allowed to leave until every last spider has been caught." They nodded reluctantly in response.
As soon as Filch had walked away, Draco looked at Hermione and placed a hand on the door handle.
"Are you ready?" he said, waiting for a response as she grimaced.
"I suppose so," she muttered. It wasn't the first time Hermione had to deal with a spider problem, but she'd never admit that the furry arachnids were ever a pleasant problem to have.
As they walked into the room, Hermione understood the severity of the problem. Spiders of all sizes, from the size of a knut to the size of a cauldron, were scurrying and scuttling around. Some had been hanging from the ceiling, and some were resting in the corner. She didn't know whether it was dangerous to be there, but it was certainly unpleasant. The room itself was not very large, though it appeared to be a basement where many items of magical and non-magical value were stored. There were boxes, parcels, chairs, odds and ends spattered throughout the space, and the room itself was dimly lit by floating lanterns.
"Oh no," she said to herself as her eyes focused on a particularly disgusting large arachnid that hung from the ceiling, weaving a web. She hardly heard as Draco closed the door behind him and assessed the situation for himself.
"Nasty," he muttered, pulling out his wand from a back pocket. "Stupefy!" he shouted as a red beam of light swept past Hermione's ear. She turned to see where it had landed, and observed a spider the size of a nightstand shriveling, stunned, merely feet away from her. Draco crossed confidently to pick it up by one of its furry legs and hurl it into the crate.
The first twenty minutes of their detention was spent in silence, with the exception of the pressured "stupefy!" shouting that was occurring when one of them spotted a spider. Hermione had begun to feel a bit less repulsed by the activity and had increased her focus on getting the work over and done with. Within twenty minutes, they had cleared the room of the particularly large spiders and were now focused on the small to medium spiders that were more adept at hiding in the nooks and crannies of the storage space.
A bead of sweat trickled down Hermione's forehead and she wiped it with the back of her hand. She leaned against the stone wall, catching her breath as her pulse slowly returned to a normal pace from the physical exertion of chasing after the crawling arachnids. She assessed the room, taking note of the few moving shadows and barely hidden fuzzy appendages that lingered beneath the furniture. Her gaze eventually wandered to the tall, active young man that continued to render the spiders immobile. His long hair perpetually fell before his eyes and Hermione noticed that the bruise he had sustained the evening in the forest had all but healed completely. He moved deftly, his lithe frame which previously appeared weak and malnourished revealed slender muscles as he hoisted one of the creatures and tossed it effortlessly into a large container which was brimming with other stunned arachnids.
"Why are you picking them up?" Hermione asked, curiously. As if he had forgotten she was there, Draco looked at her startled and then smiled sheepishly at his jumpiness.
"What d'you mean?" he asked, "that's what we're supposed to do: stun the spider and then put them in the boxes."
"Yes, but I've been levitating them to the boxes, so I don't have to touch them." Draco stared at her as if she had just introduced the concept of magic to him. Why hadn't he thought of that?
"That's brilliant, ugh I could have avoided touching those disgusting things! Levitate them, brilliant." Hermione smiled to herself, looking around to find the next spider to stun but her gaze unconsciously redirected to Draco Malfoy who looked so different than usual.
"Malfoy," she spoke gently, "why are you dressed like that?" It was silly that she hadn't noticed before, but Draco Malfoy was adorned in anything but the usual Prefect attire. Though the colors he wore were consistent with the Slytherin House; Draco Malfoy wore fitted black jeans, a heather gray v-neck shirt, and heavy black boots. If Hermione hadn't known him, she would have mistaken him for a muggle.
He looked down at his outfit. "Like what?"
"Like a muggle," she said, perplexed by the sight of him, "why aren't you in your school uniform?"
"Well, it's detention time, Granger. And after all, I expected we'd be scrubbing melted cauldrons, or polishing chalkboards, or whatever it is that Filch might've made us do, and this is more comfortable than a thick robe. Aren't you warm in that?"
She was, she had been sweating through her white blouse, Gryffindor vest, and thick wool robe. Several times Hermione had considered taking her robe off, but the mere idea that a spider may potentially take shelter in her hung robe made Hermione think twice.
"Besides," he continued with a shrug, "I live in the dungeons, so it's not like I'll have to walk far looking like this."
"Hmm," she murmured contemplatively, tugging at her own robes, now entirely aware of how heavily it sat on her body, "I thought you hate everything having to do with muggles."
Draco scoffed. "These are from Hogsmeade, Granger," he said, his fingers pinching the bottom of his shirt as he pulled it illustratively, an extra inch of his bare chest becoming apparent to Hermione as the v-neck widened with his pull. She glanced down, looking fervently for another spider. "Besides," he continued, under his breath, "I don't even know what I hate anymore."
Hermione's brow furrowed as she continued to distract herself while looking for a hiding spider, unsure of what to make of his appearance and attitude.
"Well, it suits you," she mumbled softly, though sincerely. A half smile formed on his lips. "How much longer do you think this will take us?"
He sighed, placing a hand on his hips as he looked around. "The bad news is, I have no idea. The good news is," he reached around to his back pocket and pulled out a flask, deftly unscrewing it, "that I have something to help pass the time." He brought it to his lips for a hearty swig. Draco then walked over and offered the flask to her.
"Oh, I really shouldn't," she said, shaking her head. He rolled his eyes, anticipating that response from her.
"Would you rather be doing this detention, which you know you don't deserve, sober or happy?" She eyed him skeptically, "You don't have to drink it if you don't want to," he said, pulling the flask back, "but think about it."
"Fine," Hermione said as she took the flask reluctantly and lifted it to her face to peer at the liquid. As she inhaled, the scent of warmth and spices filled her head.
"Mmmmmm that smells like Christmas!" she spoke, excitedly. The scent reminded her of everything she loved about going home in the winter: egg nog, hot cocoa with cinnamon sticks, a warm crackling fireplace.
"And how could you deny Christmas?" Draco responded with a sly smirk, a toying glint sparkling in his eye.
She gave him a playful glare, brought the flask to her lips and took a modest sip. She felt the liquid contents run down and warm her throat immediately, the taste of cinnamon and spices coating her tongue and heating her insides.
"This is delicious!" she said, taking another, larger swig.
"Only the best," he replied, quietly crossing the room with his wand at the ready to stun another spider, "it's from my father's reserves; I figured he won't be needing it where he is."
Hermione glanced at him, pity forming in her chest for the man in front of her. Lucius Malfoy definitely deserved to be in Azkaban prison, but she also recognized how hard it must be for Draco, who idolized his father, to know that Lucius was likely being subjected to a horrible life in Azkaban. Maybe Draco finally has a chance to be a better person, Hermione thought, with his father being far away and unable to negatively influence him. It was a hopeful thought, but he did seem to be different since last year.
Hermione took another sip of the firewhiskey and handed it back to Draco.
"I'm sorry about your father," she said softly. He shook his head dismissively.
"There's no need for that," he spoke firmly as he effortlessly stunned a spider in the distance, "you don't need to be polite and nice to me, Granger. We both know you hate my father and everything he stands for. Granted, he hates you and everything you stand for as well..." his words drifted as he lifted the flask to his lips and took a long, deep gulp of the burning liquid which left a delightful sting at the pit of his stomach. Silence lingered as Draco wandered around the room looking for spiders that preferred to stay in dark corners. Hermione reached to unbutton her robe and slipped out of it, hanging it near one of the lanterns, after which she unbuttoned her wool Gryffindor cardigan to reveal a thin white button-down blouse. The buzz of the firewhiskey had warmed up her body and she appreciated the cool air of the dungeon hitting her bare arms.
"How's your leg?" she asked, attempting to divert the tension between them, before stunning a three-inch spider that had crawled under one of the basement parcels.
"It feels much better, thank you," Draco answered, "I really might have died if you weren't there."
"Well it's a good thing I was there, then," she murmured, "Say, why were you there in the first place? I don't think you ever told me."
"You wouldn't believe me if I did, Granger," he chuckled, the entire ordeal of the prophecy became more and more ludicrous of an idea as time passed on. "It doesn't matter anyway, nothing happened except that I pissed off some centaurs and ended up keeping you up all night to tend my wounds. I'm surprised Potter and Weasley haven't pestered me about it yet, maybe they're losing their edge."
"Oh I didn't tell them," she said as he peered at her curiously. "They would probably take it upon themselves to investigate your suspicious behavior - not that I'd blame them, really..." she smiled with amusement imagining their reactions to the fact that she helped Draco Malfoy survive in the forest. "Besides, Harry has enough going on as it is, and Ron..." Well, she wasn't exactly on the best terms with Ron, and he was not privy to anything having to do with her at the moment. "It doesn't matter. They don't need to know."
Draco nodded. He was grateful that she hadn't told anyone about their meeting in the Forbidden Forest. Draco had enough stressors to deal with, and he didn't need another Gryffindor meddling in his business, though he somehow didn't seem to mind Granger's prying.
"But if you insist on keeping your secrets to yourself, perhaps I'll have to slip some Veritaserum into your fancy firewhiskey," Hermione said with a playful smile as a stunned spider hung floating in the air toward the crates in the corner.
"You'll have to find my stores first," Malfoy responded, matching her smile. "Would you like more?" He handed the half-full flask back to her and she accepted politely. Upon her next swig of the flask, Hermione let the liquid sit on her tongue for a moment, allowing the flavor of the smokey cinnamon, warm vanilla, and bitter alcohol settle on her taste buds before the fluid crawled down her throat and settled in her belly. He watched as she stood still, indulging in the sensory pleasure that the flavor brought her. Her simplistic joy reminded him of a child, but her sheer beauty ensured him that she had developed into a woman gracefully. He cleared his throat, brushing his intrusive thoughts aside in order to get back to the task at hand.
"I really must get you to write down the name of this Firewhiskey," she spoke, her voice a bit raspier after the drink, "Harry got me a bottle of Firewhiskey for my birthday, but this one is clearly much more delicious. It probably costs a fortune."
Draco shrugged, unsure of the cost. He had no use of knowing how much things cost when the Malfoy family had funds to spare.
"Well, when is your birthday?" he asked idly, crossing the room.
"Why? You're going to get me something?" she smiled, cheekily, "September 19th. I'm a Virgo, 'the Virgin' they say," she said, casually, attempting to recall her course on Astrology, "not exactly sure what it's supposed to mean except I apparently like my room to be exceptionally neat - though doesn't everyone?" Draco's ears perked and his body froze upon her words, though Hermione continued on. "Perhaps virgins are known for their impeccable cleanliness in Divination, but I don't understand how the stars can decide who I am."
The rest of Hermione's words lay on deaf ears, as only one word lingered in Draco's mind. It can't be, he thought to himself. Is that what I've been looking for? The Virgin... Virgo, the Virgin? No, but that's a load of bullocks... isn't it? Draco remembered the terminology from his lessons in Divination, and kicked himself for disregarding the books on astrology that were piled near his bed. He considered dismissing the idea entirely, brushing it aside as useless information. After all, it was all likely meaningless, divination drivel. But, he realized, wouldn't divination drivel be exactly the sort of thing Trelawney would use to describe what he needed in the prophecy? Was "The Virgin" actually a symbol for... for Granger? No, he thought firmly. That's insane. What has this got to do with her? She can't help me with any of this stuff. He tried to imagine how she could possibly help him with his task, as if the fierce Gryffindor lioness would ever harm a hair on Dumbledore's head, and here was Draco plotting the Headmaster's untimely demise. No, that's insane.
And yet...
Draco felt a nagging pull in his chest toward her. He looked across the room at her as she was carefully maneuvering her body to continue her search. Had something happened between them? He couldn't remember the last time, if ever, he and Granger had a conversation that didn't include spitting insults at one another. He had wished for her death at one point, when he was admittedly spoiled rotten and ignorant of the world's atrocities. The thought of her death made him nauseous now. The thought of any death made him nauseous. What had become of him? Tasked with the single most important mission of his life, to serve the Dark Lord, and here he was standing there, staring at the bushy brown-haired girl, wondering if she was the answer to his prophecies.
You could do worse, a small, peevish voice spoke in his mind. It was true, he knew. Granger had definitely grown into a force to be reckoned with. Draco felt odd, perhaps a bit queasy. Six years of petty hate was melting away, and he finally saw her for who she was to everyone else: a dignified woman.
That was not all Draco saw. Towering behind her, crawling up a large box, was a particularly large and angry looking spider making its way meticulously toward Hermione from across the room. Malfoy's limbs moved instinctively toward it. On his way, he yanked Hermione by the elbow and pulled her behind him, drawing his wand with his other hand.
"Stupefy! Shit -" he had missed and the spider was gaining speed. Draco continued to step backwards, attempting to get a good shot at the massive arachnid whose large fangs were now in full view.
"Where is it?" she said, looking around to spot the spider as it had begun crawling up behind a cabinet.
"Get behind me, it's angry," Draco ordered and pulled her back behind him. Before it reared its head back out behind the cabinet and began to double its effort to attack them, Draco spotted it and shouted, "STUPEFY!" as a blue light successfully stuck the spider and it fell to the ground with a thud.
"That," Hermione said, a look of sheer disgust plastered on her face, "is a humongous spider."
The arachnid appeared to be a significant one, as the remainder of the spiders that had been hidden under boxes, in crevices, and below bookshelves began to scatter and shuffle their way out toward the closed door. Hermione and Draco rushed to stun the remaining spiders before they were able to escape and find another room to settle in. As they had begun to store the bodies of the stunned spiders away, Hermione could feel the adrenaline that had been coursing through her body. She didn't know if it was the alcohol or the rush of danger but she felt giddy.
"This has to have been the most disgusting detenion I've ever had to do," she said, "but it's been fun."
Draco looked at her with a small smile before dropping another spider into its designated shipping container.
"How are you feeling?" Draco asked before closing the last box.
"I feel," she paused, thinking, "I feel quite happy."
"Oh?" he said, smirking softly, "You're not drunk are you, Granger?"
Hermione shook her head. She'd been drunk once or twice before, but this was not like those times. She felt a warm glow in her torso, and as if her cares had been erased and she had found simple contentment in the moment.
"Granger," Draco said quietly and carefully as he approached her, "you look like the spider queen."
She blinked at him with confusion.
"You are covered in cobwebs," he said with a chuckle. "Here," he murmured as he reached up to her hair and pinched a few strands of spiderweb from her curls. She didn't know how she had developed a collection of the silk webs when he appeared to be pristine. She watched him gently peel the web out of her hair, the look of concentration on his face illuminating his handsome features as his brows furrowed and he bit his lower lip. Hermione exhaled shakily, which seemed to catch his attention. Their gaze met, and he could smell the warm scent of cinnamon from her breath.
"There's one more," he said softly, a slight smirk forming on the corner of his lips, "but I want you to know I'm not trying to get fresh with you."
Hermione raised an eyebrow, attempting to hide a small smile at his brazenness when his hands moved toward her chest and he peeled a thick clump of cobweb out from near her collarbone, his fingers barely grazing the skin at the bottom of her throat.
"How do I know you're not trying 'to get fresh' with me?" Hermione asked expectantly, though with a hint of amusement.
This caught Malfoy off-guard for a moment, and the challenge of her tone did something to him. They were standing quite close to one another, Draco realized. His pulse quickened, and a sense of nervous excitement filled him. He glanced down at her. This time her gaze held his. Her ivory skin was softened with a slight pinkness in her cheeks and nose, her eyes were wide and alert, but a playful pursing of her lips indicated that she was toying with him, like a cat with a helpless mouse. Except Draco was not one to back down from a challenge, as innocent as it may be.
"Well, Granger," he said, playing along, his voice low and nearly inaudible which forced her to listen intently, "if I was attempting to seduce you," he smirked and ran two fingers lightly through her hair. He leaned into her, his lips hovering above her ear as a raw shiver ran down her spine, "I would have done more than just pick cobwebs from your hair." A smile formed on the corner of Hermione's lips as she attempted not to laugh at his line, but he could see subtle goosebumps raise from the flesh of her arms.
"Oh really?" she whispered.
"Yes," he responded simply. He ran his palm over her right arm and Hermione felt the weight of his touch on her. A part of her didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he made her feel like her entire body was tingling, and yet her curious nature wondered how far he may go. "Your heart's beating quite fast," he stated. Of course it was, though she noticed that the pulse throbbing in the base of his throat was beating hard and fast too. "Are you scared?" he asked, the ghost of a smirk on the corner of his lips. The gall of him!, she thought. Was she scared? Of what?
"Of you?" Hermione scoffed, though her breath was shaky and her muscles tense. "Of course not," she whispered, his face inching dangerously close to her. "What would you have done, then?" she challenged, "If you were to do more than 'pick cobwebs from my hair?'"
He did not respond right away, but Hermione studied his features attentively. Draco's gaze lingered down from her eyes to settle on her lips. She could see the wheels spinning in his head.
"Do it, then," her words voiced a challenge, which took him aback. Hermione Granger was stubborn, proud, and not afraid to call his bluff. Any ordinary young man would lose his cool, swallow his pride, and walk away with his tail tucked between his legs too afraid to rise to the challenge of her ferocity. Fortunately for her, Draco Malfoy was not an ordinary young man. With each passing second, he could feel her defenses crumble.
Draco stepped into the small space between them and Hermione gasped as he pressed against her, their hips connecting. Hermione exhaled shakily, all the bravery fading as quickly as it came. He reached up to run his hands from the top of her arms down, slowly and sensually dragging his nails down her elbows over her arms and stopping at her wrists where he held them in place with one hand. Instinctively she squirmed, to which he tightened his grip and prevented her from moving.
Her face felt hot. Her muscles tensed. A part of her wanted to run away in fear of her body's reactions. But most of her wanted to press into him, melt into his warmth and give into all of it.
With his free hand, Draco cupped her face gently. He placed a thumb on the center of her chin and lifted her head up to face him. Hermione realized that she had been avoiding his gaze out of nervousness and as he forced her to look up, shivers ran down her spine. His features showed serenity, his lips were parted and his brows relaxed, but his gaze was intense and piercing.
He dipped his head down, and Hermione's heart skipped a beat as she prepared herself for what was to come. Her eyelids fell shut, her lips parted for him, and she leaned into him. His lips hovered over hers, and she could feel his hot breath against her mouth, the shadow of his kiss waiting to land on her lips.
And then she felt... nothing.
"Don't," he whispered against her, "dare me, Granger."
And then he let her go. She blinked, attempting to understand. As he stepped back and released his grip, she could feel the blood rush back to her wrists where he had held her. Though Hermione also felt the warmth rush of blood in her face as the invasive feeling of anger grew inside of her.
"I knew it!" she gasped, still dazed from what had just happened. He stood before her, his arms crossed at his chest as he watched her. "I knew you were just bluffing! You were never going to-"
Before Hermione had a chance to finish her words, his lips stifled her speech with a kiss. She squeaked with surprise, and her tense muscles quickly softened as he pulled her into him. Hermione felt warm, from the anger, from arousal, from his touch. His hands pressed into the small of her back, pulling her in closer to him. It was as though his touch had cocooned her into a dizzying, warm spell. She found her arms wrapping instinctively around his shoulders and pressed into the kiss.
Then suddenly, to Hermione's dismay he pulled back again, breaking the kiss. He ran his thumb over her bottom lip as her eyelids fluttered open to peer at him.
"Breathe," he whispered to her, and Hermione realized that she had hardly taken a breath since the kiss. She exhaled slowly, attempting to smooth the shaky breath. "Is this alright?" his tender words caused the knot in her stomach to tighten as she smiled softly.
It was Hermione now who took the initiative to shut him up. She reached up and planted a warm, soft kiss on his lips. If he had any reason for concern, which she believed he did not, she wanted to convey her approval with a kiss.
Upon breaking apart, Draco looked down at the girl before him, his mind spinning as he attempted to understand what had just occurred. His body screamed at him to continue touching her, reaching for her, exploring her. His mind, the killjoy that it was, told him to slow down. What was he even doing, kissing Hermione Granger?
She gazed back at him, a dreaminess glazed in her eyes, her lips puffy, pink, and inviting. She had not removed her arms from around his neck, and her body had pressed tightly into his. Her chest heaved with each breath, and the scent of cinnamon intoxicated and overwhelmed his senses. It was becoming apparent to Draco that she held a bewitching power over his body, and he was fighting every ounce in him to not give in to her.
"Fuck it all," he whispered, dipping his head to fill in the space between them. Their lips connected. This time, Hermione noticed he held nothing back. His lips parted as hers followed, and he deepened the kiss, bringing them closer. It felt like sparks were igniting between the two, their bodies melding tight together. His hand cupped the back of her neck and his body pressed tightly against her own, urgently. Hermione had never been kissed like this; she could feel his desire pour into her, she could feel all of the energy and the emotion that he kept stored deep within him, transcribing itself entirely into passion. It made her feel like she was going to be consumed by him.
Hermione couldn't help it. Perhaps it was the kiss itself, perhaps it was the fact that she could feel just how aroused he was as he pressed into her, or perhaps it was the fact that she decided to relinquish all inhibition to Draco Malfoy. Whatever it was, Hermione couldn't help but moan against his lips. The sound of her soft moan dissolving into the kiss caused him to tighten around her. Hermione could have sworn she heard a low growl in response to her, but the trance was broken. He had to pull away, despite every inch of him yearning for her.
Hermione exhaled softly, staring perplexedly at him as Draco Malfoy pulled away from the kiss and took a step backward. He held her gently at her shoulders, and his eyes seem to search hers for any indication of a reaction from her.
"Miss Granger," he breathed, attempting to straighten himself, "I believe it's time for bed."
Hermione looked dazed and entranced, but a blush had formed in her cheeks as realization dawned on her that she wanted more, and he instinctively reached up to run his thumb over her warm cheek, running along her lower lip. When he pulled his hand away, she swallowed and cleared her throat attempting to lift the fog from her eyes. "I don't know if I can walk straight just yet," she said with embarrassment.
He chuckled softly, with relief, and reached forward to press a firm kiss to her forehead.
"Is it alright," Draco asked, softly, "if I walk you there?" A brief look of alarm flashed in her eyes, the prospect of being discovered in the Hogwarts castle late in the evening with Draco Malfoy terrified her - what would people think? "Just to the moving staircase," he assured, "nothing will happen."
She considered it a moment. What was the worst that could happen? People could find out you snogged Draco Malfoy, a voice mused in her head. There was also a part of her that wanted to prolong the evening as much as she could. This part of her, which confused Hermione, didn't want to leave him. Hermione nodded her consent, "Yes, that will be alright. Thank you, D-Malfoy."
Saying his name felt like a foreign language. She hadn't even begun to think about the fact that she just kissed Draco fucking Malfoy, childhood nemesis, pureblood supremicist, and all around prat - well he used to be, at least. She couldn't allow herself to think about it yet, she was too busy feeling - feeling pleasure, feeling confusion, feeling a bit dizzy with desire.
They did not run into anyone else on their way to the moving staircase, and when Hermione peered over to him she saw that his usual hard, distant visage was back. It was his eyes that gave it away; those warm, burning embers that peered down at her were now cold and stoney. She wondered how he could turn it on and off like that, one moment gently kissing her forehead with emotion pouring out of him, the next minute completely aloof. Much to her internal protest, though likely to keep their evening affair a secret, he didn't touch her anymore that night.
When she turned to head up the stairs, Malfoy felt himself aching to take her back to his common room and keep her completely to himself.
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AN:
Hello darlings, please review to let me know what you are looking forward to most!
I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and finally adding some spice.
Happy Thanksgiving!
- Syren
