Chapter Ten

Draco decided that he rather liked to tease Hermione about her obvious attraction to him. True, he was quite sure that he himself had lost all the brains in his head to ever consider kissing her. If his mentally challenged brain had any sense whatsoever it would stay the hell away from her.

But instead, he initiated to be around her whenever possible. At the end of Arithmancy, he would stay behind as she slowly put her books away. As she left the room, he followed close behind before passing her and taking an obvious whiff of her long curls. Not only did this keep Hermione on edge, it also helped ease some of Draco's many cravings for the essence of Hermione Granger.

He especially enjoyed the fast tongue that was used when she finally went insane from his teasing.

"For the name of Merlin, Malfoy, what could possible be so interesting about my ear?!" she screeched as he sat right beside her on the couch in the common room and stared intensely at her ear lobe, where a single silver earring was glittering in the light.

Draco leaned closer and breathed in. The smell of her hair sent shivers down his spine in the most pleasant way.

Hermione shot up out of her seat and looked at Malfoy wildly. Draco smirked up at her. He loved a raging lioness.

He didn't quite listen to what she had to say. He only knew she was furious; the flush on her face did wonders for a certain part of his anatomy and her thick curls seems to prickle with currents of electricity. Once finished, Hermione slumped back down in her chair in a huff.

Draco noticed that she hadn't even tried to move further away from him; instead, she seemed to have moved closer. Draco smirked.

Hermione, noticing, merely glared.

ooo

Hermione was unscrewing and screwing the lid of the tub of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion that sat in her hand. She didn't know why she suddenly had the desire to use it; she certainly refused to believe Draco was the reason.

There was a knock on her door and Hermione hurriedly stuffed the tub in a book bag that lay nearby.

"Yes?" she called, turning to the door.

Draco opened the door and sidled in a few steps, a plate in his hands. "Not ready and waiting for me, Granger?" he drawled.

Hermione frowned. "I – What?"

"Innocence," Draco whispered to himself. He thought it would turn him off, but instead it did the opposite. "You weren't at dinner."

"So you assumed I was waiting for you?" Hermione asked, confused.

"Granger, if I said the word 'sex' would you scream and cover your ears like an immature eleven year old?"

"Sex? You want sex?"

Hermione scolded herself. Why was she not thinking straight?

Draco merely stared. Something was seriously wrong. He wanted to see fire in her eyes.

"I bought you back a plate," he said. He indicated the food in his hand. "You want it in here or downstairs?"

"Downstairs," Hermione replied. She stood, grabbed the plate from Draco's hand and headed on down the stairs.

Draco took a deep breath and looked around the room, trying to find evidence to what had gotten her in her current state.

Just as he was about to turn and head out of the room, his eyes caught a flash of bright purple protruding out of the book bag that sat on the floor beside where Hermione had been sitting a moment before. Heading over to it, he pulled it out. 'Sleekeazy's' stood out in red on the label.

Draco pocketed it, not quite sure why.

Heading down the stairs to the common room, he noticed Hermione was only pecking lightly at her food. He took a seat next to her and stared blankly ahead.

"What's up, Granger?" Draco questioned.

Hermione took three tiny bites of pie before answering. "You."

Draco sat back and finally made the realization: this was no longer a game.

"You're everywhere," Hermione continued after a moment.

"No I'm not," Draco said with his voice coming out in a slight snarl.

"You're everywhere I am," Hermione retorted, looking at him closely. "You follow me, you stare at me. That day in potions, the night before that day in potions…"

"What are you saying, Granger?" Draco snarled, sitting up. "Are you saying I'm a stalker?"

"Well maybe I am!" Hermione exclaimed, glad for a reason to raise her voice. "You're constantly there, by my side, annoying me! You nose into my business! You're making me lose my head! Why Malfoy? Why?"

Hermione didn't know why she asked it – she knew the answer. Their presence together had the same affect on her. Just arguing with him created a fire in her that had never been associated with arguing with him before this year.

Draco said nothing. He merely sat back. Hermione picked up her fork and made to throw it down again. Draco grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Didn't know you were the violent type, Granger," he said, taking the fork from her with a swift movement of his other hand.

Hermione took one look at his hand holding hers, wishing he would pull it away but at the same time hoping that it stayed.

"Why?" Hermione could feel tears building but forced them not to.

"Sometimes things get out of control, Granger," Draco said. "I thought you were the wise one here?"

"You're just as wise," Hermione replied, drawing her hand away from his and sitting back. "If we don't get it into control soon then –"

"I am in control," Draco drawled confidently. "I was in control of my body when I was following you and staring at you, Granger!"

Hermione looked him in the face. "Why would you want to follow and stare at me, Malfoy? You're supposed to be repulsed by me!"

Silence fell between them. Hermione slowly shifted to her right, creating some distance between them.

"I'm supposed to be repulsed by you," Draco murmured finally. "That doesn't mean I am."

Hermione just sat there silently, staring at the wall ahead, just as Draco was doing. Several minutes passed and neither made much movement. Hermione thought she felt Draco's hand twitch beside her but ignored it. After a while, the awkwardness got too intense and Hermione stood and headed for the stairs.

"Thanks for the food," she said softly before she disappeared.

Draco shifted and pulled the tub of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion from his pocket. Unscrewing the lid, he smelt the contents before closing it again. Aiming for the bin in the study, Draco threw the tub and it landed with a light thud against the many screwed up pieces of parchment within it.

He preferred her hair without it.

ooo

Hermione was herself again by the next morning. She overslept slightly despite going to sleep earlier than normal but she had found that she had been coming over more fatigued than usual due to an increase in her emotions and her overly active hormones.

As she headed down the stairs, she noticed a large plate of pancakes sitting on the coffee table with several of Salazar Slytherin's books.

"I hope you don't mind, Granger," Draco said, "but I got us some food from the Great Hall. We need to get stuck into this bloody riddle. A few more months procrastinating and the year will be over."

"I don't procrastinate, Malfoy," Hermione said stiffly. "I take my time in theorising."

"Well no theories have proven helpful yet."

Hermione glared and grabbed a pancake. Tapping her wand against it, it smeared with honey.

"There is maple syrup on the table, Granger," Draco drawled, pointing at the bottle as though the bright orange label should have been more obvious for her eyes.

"Thank you, Malfoy but I had a craving for honey," Hermione said. "The house elves aren't likely to miss a tablespoon of honey."

Draco shrugged and sat down beside her. The last thing he wanted was the smell of honey on her lips.

"I think fire is our clue," Hermione said after having a mouthful.

"What does fire have to do with a baby, Granger?" Draco asked rather harshly. "We know Helena Ravenclaw didn't burn to death as a child."

"Love."

"What?"

"All the clues represent love."

"How do we represent love, Granger?"

"The book, Malfoy: Sense and Sensibility, followed by Pansy fighting with you because she believed that there was something go on with us and then … last night."

"Last night?"

"The scene we saw with us on the couch. We fought and tried denying our feelings for each other. But it's obvious. They are there."

Draco was silent. He was not ready for this conversation. He hoped Hermione would change the subject.

"A baby is created by making love," Hermione continued and Draco breathed out a sigh of relief. "Slytherin was writing a letter – a love letter perhaps?"

"What about the mirror?" Draco asked. "Rowena Ravenclaw was in love with herself?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You said she was talking to someone in that vision."

"You think it was Slytherin?"

"Yes. Okay so what about the fire? How does fire represent love?"

"It represents passion," Hermione replied promptly.

"And passion represents love?" Draco drawled in disbelief.

Hermione merely nodded.