Hermione avoided Parvati and Seamus as much as possible the next day. She hadn't told Ron and Harry what she and Draco had come across during their rounds the previous night. It was too embarrassing to bring up.
Luckily, she would have another three days until she had to do rounds with Draco again and she had the weekend off of head girl duties. She was sure Draco would try to find a way to make fun of her or push the embarrassing situation in her face. So to avoid encountering him, she spent the majority of the next three days studying in the common room.
She enjoyed having the extra time to spend with Harry and Ron. It seemed to go by far too quickly and before Hermione realized, she was approaching the apparition point for her and Draco's next round.
Hermione greeted Draco with a forced tone, "Malfoy"
"Granger" he responded and they began to walk the route, bordering the forbidden forest.
After a short while, Hermione broke the silence between them. "Did you fill out the incident report?"
"For what?" asked Draco obliviously.
"For…you know…the incident that occurred during our last round. You said you'd do it."
"No, you told me I'd do it." Draco corrected her.
"Well, did you?" pressed Hermione impatiently.
"Why? Did you want to read it Granger? Would the recollection turn you on again?"
Hermione blushed furiously and fought back the urge to punch him in the arm. "You are so rude" she gritted between her teeth.
"What? Is it the truth? You have the hotts for Finnegan and Weasley now? Wow, and all this time I thought you were frigid. I never could have imagined you were such a tramp. I wonder what Pansy will think of this."
"Don't you dare talk to your she-devil about me Malfoy" fumed Hermione. "I am not a tramp and I do not have the hotts for Seamus or for Ron." She defended herself.
Her step turned into more of a stomp as Draco continued to press her buttons. She was aware that this was his intention; he only wanted to get a reaction out of her. Unfortunately, it was working.
"Pretty sure they're the only men within your league in this school Granger. Better lower your expectations if you want to lose that precious virginity of yours eventually."
Hermione was flabbergasted with his blatantness. "My virginity is none of your business Malfoy. And how impertinent of you to assume I'm a virgin."
Draco laughed, "As if you could be anything but."
"What does that mean?" asked Hermione, offended.
Draco looked at her as if she were crazy. "Are you serious? Look at you Granger. You're a mess half the time, you usually resemble a wild beaver when I see you, you never shut that mouth of yours and-"
"You can stop now Malfoy."
"No, you should know why you're so repulsive. You have some modifications to make if you're hoping on snagging a human being one of these days."
"You are the crudest person I have ever met in my life Malfoy. You are so arrogant and yet you have nothing to be truly proud of. Your foundation is weak and everyone knows that you're a self-conscious coward at heart. So, keep running your mouth the way you are. At the end of the day it's going to be you who are alone and unhappy because you have no morals or values."
"Is that so?" Draco responded, nearly amused with her fiery retort, "Well-"
Hermione cut him off, "And just so you know. You're girlfriend isn't much more attractive than Seamus. She looks ill half the time and she scrunches her face up as if she has something foul permanently stuck under her nose. Which is a side effect of being around you too long, I'm sure. She's wicked, surly and her head is filled with rocks. So if that is the kind of woman you hope to achieve, congratulations! You found exactly what you deserve!"
Hermione stormed off ahead of him.
Draco followed her. "How dare you mudblood."
Hermione stormed back around to face him. "How dare I? Don't you dare call me a mudblood Malfoy."
"Or what mudblood?"
Hermione wanted badly to take out her wand and hex him into the next century. But she knew better. Taking out her wand would only drastically escalate things and having her title of head girl revoked was the last thing she wanted. Hermione bit her tongue and said nothing.
"Nothing to say Granger? Backing out of a fight you know you can't win?"
"You're not worth it Malfoy"
"Not worth it? Granger, I'll have you know I'm worth at least ten of you. So is Pansy. Your kind is worthless in this world. Less than a muggle, as at least they know their place."
"Malfoy, I think you're just angry that you'll never in your life be able to get a girl like me. So keep making up lies about how great Pansy is and how much she's worth. You're only lying to yourself. Everyone knows she's cheap and easy. You know that best of all, don't you?." Hermione said with a smart smirk on her face.
"Keep smiling mudblood. When this war ends, I'll own you. Remember that" Draco threatened.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you Malfoy? To own someone like me? That would way you could know what it's like to touch someone with worth? " Hermione provoked.
Hermione was shocked and caught off guard when Draco grabbed her violently. "Don't think you're off limits to me mudblood. Keep running that smart mouth of yours and see what comes to you" he threatened and a low, calloused tone.
When Hermione recovered from the shock of being grabbed so forcefully, she reclaimed her voice, "That's good Malfoy. Keep pretending you know how to be a man. You should probably get that down first before you try to become a decent wizard."
Hermione could see Draco's jaw tense as he grinded his teeth in frustration. She could feel his muscles going tense and realized she should stop provoking him if she wanted to avoid a serious altercation.
Draco tightened his grip on her for a moment as he evaluated in his mind his next course of action. Hermione spoke up before he made up his mind.
"You have three seconds to let go of me Malfoy before I seriously hurt you" warned Hermione with intensity in her eyes.
She didn't expect what came next.
Draco smiled at her.
He smiled at her like he knew something she didn't and it unsettled her.
He released his grip and walked away. She didn't stop him leaving. That night, she preferred to finish the round on her own.
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A:N/ Sorry the last chapter was so short. I'll try not to do that again. I'm feeling like this story is finally coming off the ground. Which means more frequent updates! Yay! I'm going to try to make this shorter than The Possibility but I'm realizing that might now happen. We'll see. Let me know what you think of the chapter in your reviews! Always appreciate it. If you haven't already, check out my other fic 'Torn'. Thanks! Merry Christmas! XD
