Hermione was thankful today was a Sunday; she escaped to the Gryffindor Common room as soon as she could, hurrying up the stairs to Ginny's dorm and yanking the pillow from beneath her.
"I really need to talk to you!" she hissed, but Ginny only pushed her away and groaned.
"It's about Draco," and at this Ginny's head shot up and her eyes widened,
"Oh, he goes by Draco now does he?" and Hermione paused before continuing, like a slap in the face it had hit her that recently yes even in her head she referred to him as 'Draco' and no longer Malfoy.
Maybe she really was in trouble. The long pause in which this realisation had dawned on Hermione let Ginny push herself into a sitting position and pull Hermione to perch on her bed.
"I guess he does…" she finally whispered, peering at Ginny with wide, shocked eyes.
"So what do you need to speak, so urgently, about?" Ginny Weasley only laughed this out, because she wasn't a stranger to being woken at early hours when you lived in family like hers.
The Head Girl only gazed down at her entwined hands, she wished so dearly that there was a book between them, something to flip through, and touch, to calm her thoughts so she could tell her only female best friend what was going on. She'd never really had boy troubles before – unless you counted Ron – but she rarely did. She also didn't know how to go about telling her about her date, and wondered if Luna would want her secret spoken to anyone.
"I think, that maybe, Draco really does like me. I can't be sure," she hurriedly added, "but you see, I went on a date, with a Ravenclaw after he started flirting with these other girls, and he walked in on us…" Hermione didn't really know how to phrase this; she'd never kiss and told to anyone.
"Doing the dirty?" the red head yelped before swiftly covering her own mouth, her eyes popping out above her fingers in shock. Hermione blushed.
"Of course not! We were just kissing. Either way, he blew up at them and he got insanely mad over it. He seemed jealous, and before he started flirting with other girls we got quite close. I mean as close as I could get to a Slytherin over a few days. But we spoke, and made each other laugh. We even… snogged a few times." She didn't want to elaborate on what were in fact, steamy, all hands on deck make out sessions – but those were details she wouldn't diverge. Her mind only.
Ginny once again had her signature grin plastered across her face, freckled cheeks pushed towards her eyes in glee.
"I knew this would happen!"
"You did? Because it would've been nice of you to let me in on it, 'cause I sure didn't see it coming."
Ginny sighed like Hermione, the brightest witch of her age, couldn't see the obvious.
"Face the facts Hermione, you're both equally matched in intellect, you both hold high status in both houses, you're both stubborn, but both of you also know when to back down and to me, the arguments you had previously were proof that the two of you can challenge each other, and therefore keep a relationship interesting. You both value friendship dearly, and you have this built up sexual tension which I told you was there, and now you tell me you both have conversations and make each other laugh. You two only needed to want to get along to be the perfect couple." A deep breath was sucked in before she continued, "The two of you seem perfectly matched, not because of all of that because Malfoy has been bought up a pretentious arrogant asshole, and you the opposite. He needs someone able to cut him down to size, match him in nearly every way, and keep him on track to being a better person, you're the kind of person he needs. You're also one of the few people compassionate enough to give him a second chance after the way he's always acted."
The speech was complete, it had all been whispered to Hermione in the early Gryffindor dorm room, with hazy light filtering in through the crimson curtains and she could only sit, in shocked amazement at the thought that what Ginny had said could be true.
Although it was so impossible.
"What if I'm wrong, though? What if he doesn't actually like me?" She sighed and looked at Ginny, who in turn rolled her eyes.
"He's been willing to spend time with you, he wouldn't have before. He's also acting like a jealous boyfriend at the idea of you with someone else, a trait I'm sure you'd be likely to worm out of him, considering it's unnerving and unattractive." Hermione smirked and winked at her friend. "But also, I think if you both tried, it would kind of come together."
"Like how it did before he started flirting with other girls, you mean?"
A flame of red licked up Ginny's neck and face as she shrugged, "Uh, yeah. I mean I don't know what that's about, you should ask him yourself. Maybe his Malfoy heritage is pushing him away from you." With that she yawned and pushed Hermione away, "I need to sleep some more now, bye 'Mione." And she smiled into her pillow, tugging at the duvet Hermione sat on.
There was no real chance to argue once Ginny had drifted off and Hermione was left to wander the halls of Hogwarts thinking through what she had said. She didn't know how to confront Malfoy, and right now she didn't want to.
She found Luna staring out of the window on the sixth floor. Her shimmering blonde hair was pushed to the side, once again her wand was behind her ear, which were adorned with little golden eagles, as she got closer she realised they were asking her riddles, whispering them to her ears and she spoke the answer aloud whilst peering out at the black lake.
Hermione touched her shoulder as the eagles beak moved in hushed tones; Luna quietened them and turned to Hermione, a sad smile gracing her face.
"Hermione," she spoke so innocently Hermione felt bashful of their previous encounter.
"Look, Luna, I'm so sorry about last night, about Draco abo-"
"Hermione, it was obvious as soon as he arrived that there was some history between you. Even if very little, something about me angered him, and though I knew you would defend me against what he said, I felt that you were angry at him for your own reasons too, reasons which may have led to our date. You can't possibly deny the idea that you have feelings for Malfoy, even though they are in the balance I believe either way you will feel passionately about him, and though you are brave and smart, I do not wish to date anyone whose heart may belong to someone else." Hermione realised it was her day to receive long-winded, enlightening speeches, as she had so often given Ron and Harry. She could do little else but hug Luna closely and repeatedly thank her for understanding and apologizing anyway for what had happened. It felt like everyone knew something she didn't about her relationship with Malfoy, and both the people she had spoken to, thought they were destined to be a couple. She didn't really know what to make of the tingling feeling across her skin, or clenching in her stomach at the idea of that.
It had been nearly a week, a week of silence, and averted glances. The tension whenever their hands grazed moving past each other or one caught the other gazing at them from across the common room. Whilst Hermione couldn't bring herself to leave the room and his presence, neither did she want to talk to him quite yet. Not before she knew how she felt. She was conflicted and she didn't want Ginny's opinions clouding her judgement either, choosing the company of her two closest friends the whole week, and once again enjoying the company they presented. Realising she missed them, and this new, Head Girl-who possibly liked Draco Malfoy-Hermione was neglecting her best friends. It didn't take as long as Hermione thought to figure a lot of things out, by Saturday she was sure that her feelings for Draco were the positive kind, and they were strong. She wasn't just attracted to the taught muscles on his forearms, or the mussed up white-blonde hair, not even the grey eyes that sparkled when they laughed in a way that held no malice, when she'd told him an abundance of muggle jokes. She liked that he was terribly funny, intelligent and witty, he showed compassion, even in the smallest amount it was still there, and he showed interest in what Hermione believed in. All this, and more, led her to believe that spending as much time with him could only be a good thing, something they'd both enjoy and something possibly great.
Most of this is what she told him, Saturday evening with the fire dimmed low. She left out some more personal parts, and bits about his good looks – she didn't want to balloon his head even further. She told him how mad she'd been that he could act like he cared, then flirt, and then act jealous. He told her that the other girls were purely to escape the idea that he was beginning to like her more every day and to push her away as much as he could.
The two reconciled, after making their point with words Draco could only show Hermione how much truly liked and appreciated who she was with his lips. Behind her ear, the sweet spot at the curve of her neck and shoulder and across her collarbones, he moved up her neck to lick across her jawline and moved softly to claim her lips, pulling the bottom one with his teeth and then crashing both his lips on hers. This time his hands rested again the wall behind her back, and not on her breasts, hips or ass and she felt there was more a feeling of respect than pure lust in the way he now kissed her.
It was hard to keep the relationship she shared with Draco away from her friends, only Ginny and Luna had any idea why Hermione behaved so strangely. It may have been easier for Hermione to forgive all of Draco's past, and even the things that weren't so long gone, but both her male friends would be too preoccupied with childhood and house rivalry to see beyond what was there with the odd coupling.
Hermione, sadly, used her Healing Studies as an excuse to miss dinner every night, claiming she would make her own in the shared kitchen of the Head's Dorm, and whilst yes, she did do this, it was a shared meal with Draco, where they laughed about the Weasley twins pranks in their fifth year and the rage that bought out in Filch.
"Y'know, I think Peeves has kicked Mrs Norris so many times she doesn't really know what's right and wrong here anymore. The other day I saw Seamus putting a sticking potion in front of Snape's office and she just waltzed over and rolled in it!" Draco laughed and raised an eyebrow.
"And the Head Girl watched this without getting involved?" she snorted.
"No! I cleaned it right away and took ten points off Gryffindor. " She smiled sweetly but he could only chuckle and roll his eyes.
"Such a stickler for the rules, Hermione, loosen up for once; could've been funny." She waved off his comment and their back and forth teasing would continue. One night, Hermione even asked for Harry's invisibility cloak, claiming it was to check out a book in the restricted section on potions, that Snape wouldn't agree to sign a form for.
Purely as a big 'screw you' to Snape, Harry handed it over; with the promise it would be returned at breakfast immediately. Hermione used this to smuggle her and Draco to the Black Lake near midnight where he'd dared her to swim – she'd been willing to try it before the Giant Squid had poked up an expectant tentacle and curled it back with the universal gesture to 'come hither'. She shivered and drew back into Draco's chest where he'd held her and laughed, shaking his head and kissing the top of hers.
They maintained this relationship for nearly a month, never going further than heavy petting and kissing, Hermione was perfectly content with this, realising just the company of Draco was enough to make her happy, but sometimes, in the heat of the moment she couldn't help but wish for more.
This night Draco had cooked for Hermione, using lessons she had taught him, he'd cooked a very muggle lasagne which they'd shared curled up in front of the fireplace before he used magic to clean and put them away in mere seconds.
"You didn't leave it for the house elves?" She smiled widely and he nodded back.
"Thought they could do with a break, don't you?" She lunged for him, pushing them to the floor, kissing him hard on the lips, and then moving to plant light kisses all across his face. They continued this back and forth whilst his hands roamed her sides, ever so gently pushing up the sides of her white shirt to slide his fingers lightly across her back, causing a sigh to escape her lips, and her skin to shiver with pleasure. He sat up whilst she knelt between his legs and she unbuttoned the buttons of his shirt while he returned the favour, moving down to kiss the newly released skin. His lips flashed across her breast and teased at the hem of her bra but when her shirt dropped he began kissing along her shoulders, biting and sucking in a way that she knew would leave marks in the morning. At the moment she rarely cared about anything but his lips and his body being somewhere on hers.
Then he froze, stone still, and the fingers curled around her waist dug into the soft flesh. His mouth pulled away from hers as his eyes, no longer a soft cloudy grey but a stormy, out of control sea bursting across a shore. He pushed up off the floor and glared down at her,
"I can't believe you," he snarled before buttoning his shirt whilst fleeing the room.
Hermione was left feeling confused, lonely and hurt. Was it her body? What had happened, it had all been going so well, what did she do?" She turned to the mirror placed behind her against the wall where the staircase began and examined herself. She wasn't exactly curvy, nor particularly thin. She was average, with a waist but little in the boob department. Was that such a terrible thing?
What was wrong with him?
