At Second Glance
Chapter 6: Trip to the Library
She looked away from the silver eyed wizard looking at her. Instead, she took to surveying the room.
There were a lot of people gathering in the dining hall, needless to say. However, what shocked Hermione the most was the amount of former death eaters that also took up space in the room. There hadn't been such a high turnout of that crowd in previous years.
The lane to redemption was fairly easy and achievable for many. Quite a few were young students who were pressured into it either by family or due to the fear of their families being killed by Voldemort. However, many still felt ashamed of their decisions and kept to themselves. Their parents on the other hand weren't as… sincere in their apologies.
The older folk were likely placed in Azkaban, suffering the Dementor's Kiss, and were highly irrelevant. However, most, as purebloods, were rich and were able to buy public acceptance. Through hefty donations, former death eaters convinced the general public of the magic community that they had turned genuinely, sincerely and entirely good. Seriously, just look at the walls in their parlors with the hundreds of donation certificates. Thank you, Mr. Death Eater for donating to the foundation that assists the people you once killed and slurred against. Again, thank you. You shall be redeemed.
"Look at all the food!" Hermione's chain of thought was interrupted by her husband leading her to the large buffet of food.
"It's certainly a lot of food," she agreed. "Please be careful not to spill anything on you. Maybe we should wait a little longer to eat, wait until it's settled down and we can find a place to sit."
"If we wait, all the good food will be gone," Ron insisted.
"If you want to get food, I won't stop you." Hermione raised her hands in surrender. She took a quick look around, realizing that she barely recognized many of the faces around her. Some were old friends whom she never talked to anymore. Others were complete strangers. "I'm going to find where Harry and Ginny went since they so kindly ditched us while we were talking in the hallway."
Ron nodded and turned back to the food. He quickly grabbed a plate and dove right in to the food. Ron's slender finders hovering over each item of food debating whether or not he wanted it. He often decided that he did indeed want it, which was, if it wasn't something disgusting like unseasoned vegetables. Hermione left him before he could start chowing down on buttered yams like a very hungry, fat pig after only having two meals for the day.
Finally she spotted Harry and a very beautiful and pregnant Ginny. They were both talking to Hagrid and another man who looked rather bland for the occasion. He was wearing muggle clothes, a button down and slacks. Hermione studied Harry's face and realized he looked a bit uncomfortable, but was smiling nonetheless. Ginny wasn't doing the poor bloke the same favor. Instead, she was a raising an eyebrow, looking rather perturbed. The man said something, and Ginny raised her hand to shut him. Hermione then realized that he had an enchanted pen beside him taking automatic notes, much in the same way Rita Skeeter had. However, his pen was now stopped. Whatever Ginny was saying was either unworthy to be written down or was not allowed to be recorded.
It was when she saw the man take a large gulp, his Adam apple bobbing a solid three inches down along his throat, that Hermione decided she best be making her way other to Ginny and Harry, before the former casted her infamous bat-bogey hex on the 'innocent' man.
However, whilst making her way through the crowd, her path was blocked. Seemed someone else had a different idea as to what Hermione should be doing.
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Hermione sat down at the Gryffindor dining table for dinner. Nearly a week had passed since the Yule Ball. Of course Harry was properly distracted with the next task. Hermione was extremely doubtful that he would ever figure out the secret to the large egg.
"I really think you should start doing some research on the egg. We need to figure out what it do with it. What's the message? How do you feel about us going to the library after dinner?" Hermione asked.
"Hermione, would you shut up already? Harry's got this, right Harry?" Ron said while gulping down a large bite of pudding.
After looking at both of his friend, Harry hesitantly said, "Right. I've got this." Both boys resumed talking about Quidditch, although Viktor Krum's name never once came up. Hermione rolled her eyes, but caught sight of the very boy she loathed. Of course, his eyes were stalking hers too.
Even from afar, Hermione could see how grey they were. They were cold like a stone deep in a cave. There was a slight sliver of there, but mainly darkness. His perfectly blond, almost white, feathery hair formed a halo around his head, which Hermione found darkly ironic. His lips were in a tight line and slightly dry, however, they were plump. Much to Hermione's dismay, she felt the odd desire to go lick them.
"Alright, well, I'm going to go to the library then." Hermione stood up quickly, accidentally bumping her plate of food in the process. Luckily, she steadied it before it could cause a problem.
"You alright there, Mione?" Harry asked while taking a bit of pumpkin loaf. Hermione didn't hear him for she was already halfway down the Gryffindor table towards the dining hall entrance.
Draco stood up from his table after watching Granger exit the immediate area. He watched her give a curt goodbye to her friends and then leave in a hurry. In much the same manner, Draco rose from his seat.
"Oi, where you of to?" Theo, who sat in front of him, asked. Theo was typically a loner, not really finding Draco's crowd to be unsatisfactory. Although Draco wanted to act offended, Draco knew he was right. This particular lot was dumb and superficial, merely following his lead. Both Theo and Blaise, although childhood friends decided not to take part in the games. Fortunately, their relationships with Draco never faltered.
"Mind your own business, mate," Draco said. Blaise winked at the light haired boy and then Draco took off out of the room.
In the hallway, Draco was quite disappointed to find that Cookie Crum was already talking to Granger. He ducked behind the nearest statue, which was of a man with a long beard and no eyes holding a lantern, as if light would help the poor fellow see. The statue provided just enough shelter from the pair in front of him, yet offered him enough of a view to study the girl and was plenty close, so Draco could overhear the conversation.
"Hermione, why did you disappear last night?" The Russian asked. Draco watched as Granger shuffled on her feet anxiously. The girl looked longingly at the library, which was so close at this point, yet the tall, burly Russian man blocked her way. The boy seemed to realize she was slowly shifting towards the library, away from him, for his stepped further into the middle of the hall, more efficiently trapping her in. "Hermione?"
Granger bit her lower lip nervously. Then she replied, "It was a mistake. I was acting rash. I was…" She cut off, unsure what to say next. How was she to explain that Malfoy was provoking her and that she was being challenged? How was she supposed to tell the boy in front of her that she used him to feel like a desirable woman? "Viktor, I really do like you. I can't believe I did that. I ruined things."
"What do you mean?" Viktor's brow was furrowed and he looked at her with a completely perplexed look upon his face. "Are you no longer interested in me? Do you really regret what happened?"
"It was a mistake. I'm so sorry. I can't do this. I'm not ready for this." A tear slowly fell down her cheek as she realized just how much harm her actions caused. She really truly regretted what happened. She liked Viktor, she did. But she had used him to make her feel better after what Ron had said, and because of that, everything was tainted. There was no going back.
Hermione pushed passed him as a dumbfounded look settled across his face. She reached the library and took off into the furthest corner. Unfortunately, there were a few students at the nearby desks which, for Hermione, was a few students too many. The cast a quick charm that sent book across Madam Pince's desk. She leaned down to grab the book now on the floor, thus no longer paying much attention to the students.
Hermione ran over to the next aisle and then crept into the restricted section, where hardly any students would be. She wandered through the shelves until she was deep in the depths of the restricted section. Finding a corner, she sat down, pulled her knees up to her head, wiped away a stray tear and then took in a deep breath.
A book then feel from across the aisle.
"Oh, my bad." Hermione looked up to find Malfoy standing there, leaning casually against a shelf, showing absolutely zero intention of picking the book back up. Ahead of her, the boy picked at his perfectly manicured nails and studied them to make sure they were still in tip top shape, instead of looking at the girl crouched in the corner.
"Why are you here, Malfoy?" She asked while she started to stand up. This time, Malfoy looked at her, watching as she got onto her feet.
"What? A boy can't read about…" He looked down at the book at his feet, deciding to pick it up, he leaned down and grabbed it, reading the title. "Oh," he said in a startled voice. "…The 100 Ways to Get Rid of that Deep Down Pit of Sadness. Now, why would this be in the restricted section?" He opened the first page. "Oh that would be why. It recommends a new and high effective spell which makes masturbation a bit more fun."
Despite Hermione's annoyance with Malfoy's newly found presence, she couldn't stop from asking, "How is that supposed to help with sadness?"
Malfoy flashed one of his signature smirks yet again. "Something about expelling and releasing that pint up dissatisfaction." He wiggled a suggestive eyebrow at Hermione. "Maybe this would be a good treatment for you. Looks like you could use it. I'd gladly help."
The look on her face said it all, but in case it didn't, Hermione said, "I'd rather kiss Snape. Plus, that would also defeat the purpose of the spell, seeing as to how masturbation is typically a one man act."
"Fair enough." He raised his hands and hung his head in failure. Hermione then watched as he placed the book in his bag.
"Should I be worried that you're keeping the book about relieving a pit of deep dark sadness?" She asked.
"You never need to worry about me." He took a step forward, licking his lips. "Plus, we both know I'm heartless. I don't feel a single thing." With a shrug he added, "I just really want that spell."
Hermione took a step back, attempting to maintain a respectable distance between the two of them. However, Malfoy caught on to her action and chuckled.
"Scared, Granger?" He took a step closer and then another.
"Hardly." Taking another step backward, she let out a small yelp as her back came into contact with the shelf. She was boxed in, and Malfoy was only getting closer.
"Sure about that?" He said as he took another long stride towards her. He was now only about a meter away from her, maybe closer to being two-thirds of a meter away, to be more exact.
"Why are you here, Malfoy?" Instead of trying to further back up, even though she knew she couldn't, she decided to stand straighter. Her shoulders stood more firm and were set back, displaying a stance of confidence. Merlin, she hoped her confident appearance would cause her to actually feel… well, confidence.
He took another step closer. "Why'd you kiss me yesterday?" He asked instead.
She gulped quickly. Then she met his eyes, not letting him see her waver. "Want that truth?" She stepped closer to him. "Well, I'm bloody in love with you and have just been dying to kiss you since the day you called me a mudblood."
"Aren't you a bit of a masochist?" He looked real proud in that moment, and Hermione strongly desired to wipe that smug look off his lips.
"You never answered my question," she stated.
"Neither did you."
She stepped closer to him. They were nearly touching noses. "You were pissing me off. I hate everything about you, Malfoy," Hermione said simply. "You're an ignorant prat. All this bullshit about blood supremacy and how I'm oh so dirty. Well, there was an opportunity to ruin you purity. So I tainted you. How does that feel?"
"Bloody disgusting." He wiped his lips at the memory. "But, I don't have as much of a problem with your saliva as I do your blood."
"Why are you here, Malfoy?" She asked again. Her voice growing more impatient with every passing second in which she had to see Malfoy's face.
"To piss you off." His lips were then on Hermione's.
At first, Hermione froze, but then she decided to throw caution to the wind. She intertwined her hands in his hair, pulling as fiercely as possible without pulling any of his soft hair out. He moaned, which Hermione reciprocated in return.
He pushed her up against the bookshelf once again, pressing himself firmly against her. His hands had been placed along the back of her neck from his initial attack of the lips. However, he removed them from that location, instead running his hands along her back and then landing on her hips. One even dared to go a bit further, securing ahold of a buttock.
Following suit, Hermione's hands left the back of his head, and instead went to the hem of his shirt. She pulled it up and then off. Although they had to break the kiss, they quickly resumed. His tongue licked her bottom lip and then forced its way into her mouth. Hermione moaned at the sudden intrusion and then quickly battled him for dominance over her own mouth.
Once again, Malfoy's hands slid up to her breasts, taking one in each hand. Though it was through her shirt, Hermione felt a sudden wave of wetness rush south. Hermione placed her hands on the back of Malfoy's back and then slowly, and hardly, drug her hands up to his shoulders, surely drawing blood.
"Shit," he hissed.
The sound of his voice startled Hermione, so she pulled her face away from his. She was shocked to see his eyes were still closed and his wet lips were parted. "Malfoy." His eyes opened and he backed away. He turned around to grab his shirt, and Hermione saw that, in fact, she had drawn blood. Turns out, she found a rather pleasurable way to harm the boy in front of her. They do say one should keep their enemies close.
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"Thought I might see you here," a silky voice said. Hermione looked up at the eyes before her. Silver, still ice cold. Yet, as his gaze continued to rest upon her, it warmed up. She was sure though, that as he looked into her eyes, he saw no more than a hard barrier. A wall. And as he took in a deep breath, a shaky gulp of the stale air between him, Hermione knew her suspicions were true.
"I honestly can't say the same about you," she hissed back, and she watched as the slight smirk that had been pulling his lips disappeared. Instead there was a frown there, it was tugging the corners of his mouth down. His tongue brushed against the inside of his cheek, which he always did when he was assessing a situation.
"Granger, you're supposed to know me better than that." At that, Hermione chuckled, it was a short, callous sort of bark, one that the ever genuine Hermione rarely let out. Continuing to maintain eye contact with the man in front of her, she reached out. She wrapped her hand around his wrist and pulled him forward a bit. He took in another shaky breath and Hermione could feel the freshly made goosebumps lining his flesh, which was now scarred in so many ways. Completely tainted. Hermione twisted his wrists so that the inside of his forearm was revealed. She looked down, but he kept his eyes on her. Although she was expecting it, the Dark Mark caused her to release a slight gasp.
"Apparently…" She paused there. Once again meeting his eyes, and making sure her voice never faltered, she said, "I never knew you at all, Draco."