Hermione woke up the next morning in a familiar position – her arm wrapped around Draco, his hand around her waist. He was still asleep, just like the last time, and she took the time to study his face, noticing with a tug of jealousy that he was practically perfect in every way. At least, physically. She rubbed the blonde stubble running along his jaw with her fingers, staring at his long lashes. Her thumb brushed across his lips, which were slightly parted.
"That tickles."
Hermione yelped and promptly fell off of the bed, dragging the blankets down with her. She stumbled to her feet, gaping at Malfoy, who was smirking at her from the bed.
"You scared me!"
"I can tell," he snickered. "But to be fair, you scared me first. Touching me like that, I thought I was going to get raped or something-" he stopped abruptly, looking at her face. She stared back at him indifferently. "Anyways," he said hastily. "We should get back to our dorm. Class starts soon."
"Class!" Hermione shouted frantically. "Oh no, I completely forgot – I didn't even finish my essay for Snape!"
"What? You had at least fifteen inches when I saw you, and he only wanted ten!"
"Yes, but I didn't add my conclusion-"
"Who cares? You'll get the best grade anyways. An extra five inches usually does the job." Draco rolled his eyes at her panicked expression.
"Well, we'd better hurry – What?" she said, affronted, when Malfoy pulled a face as she walked by.
"Don't take this the wrong way – well, you probably will anyways – but you smell horrible." He told her, grinning.
"What-" Hermione sniffed her arm, which smelled like a mixture of dirt, rain, and sweat. "Oh bloody hell, I don't even have time to take a shower!" She grabbed Draco by his robes and smelled his chest. "You smell bad too, I guess it's cause we slept together, there's no way we can both shower and make it to class on time!"
Draco looked down at her, bemused. "You can shower first, I don't care, Potions is a bunch of bollocks anyways."
"Don't say that!" said Hermione, her eyes wide. "If you have any interest of getting a high paying job in the Ministry-" she stopped suddenly, realizing there was a very unlikely chance that Malfoy would be working for the Ministry, considering the fact that his parents were Death Eaters. "Not that you have to," she said quickly. "I mean there are other job options, or maybe you don't even need a job at all, you know, it's all up to you."
"Right." His expression was unreadable. "Let's get back to our dormitory."
"Okay," Hermione agreed, watching his face carefully.
They walked back to their room in silence, the quiet only broken when Hermione told the portrait the password. The door swung open and she clambered in first, Draco following behind her.
"Are you sure you don't mind me showering first?" she said tentatively.
"Go for it," he nodded before going to his room and shutting the door.
Hermione peeled off her dirty clothes and took a quick shower, making sure to scrub the dirt smell off of her body. She pulled on clean clothes, her hair still dripping, and shoved her door open, grabbing her bag before rushing out. Draco looked up as she scurried past, making her come to a halt.
"Do I still smell?" she said worriedly, smelling her hair and then her arm.
"No," he chuckled. "But you look like you just drowned."
"Well, I don't have time to dry my hair!" she defended, squeezing quickly through her hair so that water droplets splattered onto the rug.
"Are you a Squib or something? I mean, I just assumed being the smartest witch in our grade you'd know how to perform a simple Drying spell."
"Oh – oh yeah," she said, flustered, quickly muttering the spell. Her hair gave a loud pop, and she felt it being lifted off her shoulders. Her worst fear was confirmed when Draco burst out in laughter and she turned to face the mirror. Every single strand of her hair was sticking straight out, looking as though she had just been Stunned.
"Oh no," she wailed. "Look what you've done!"
"What did I do?" Draco asked, still laughing.
Hermione sank onto the couch sullenly. "I can't go to class looking like this," she said sadly.
"You went to class looking like that every day up to Fourth Year," he commented, earning himself a glare.
"Yes, you were kind enough to remind me of that repeatedly." she said pointedly.
They both looked away. "Right," he said awkwardly. "Well, you already missed the first ten minutes of class anyways."
"What? Why didn't you tell me?" she cried, jumping up from her seat again. Her hair swayed above her.
"You were in the shower! What was I supposed to do, barge in on you naked? I didn't want to steal your moves." he smirked.
"Ha, ha," she laughed miserably as she sat back down. "This is terrible," she said, crestfallen. "I've never been late to class before, and the one time I am it has to be Snape's class. What am I supposed to do?"
"Just don't go," Draco said as though he were stating the obvious.
"And what, sit here with you for forty five minutes?"
"I'm gonna do something much better than sit," he said, getting up.
Hermione looked at him in alarm. "What?"
"Not that!" he said, horrified.
Hermione was beginning to seriously doubt that Malfoy had knowingly agreed to the bet with Blaise.
"I'm going to take a nice, long, hot bath in the prefect's bathroom." He clarified. "You're welcome to join me." He winked at her.
Hermione scoffed in disgust, but caught a glance of herself in the mirror again. "Well, I do need to get my hair back to normal." Was she actually going to do this? She summoned up all her courage to say the next few words. "Alright. Let's go."
He looked at her in surprise. "Really?"
"Yes, I really need to get rid of this helmet." And it wouldn't be half bad to see him naked again.
He grinned. "Alright, then. Ladies first." he opened the portrait door, gesturing.
They hurried down the halls, careful not to be caught by any teachers who happened to be patrolling the halls. Except for a couple instances where Hermione stopped and berated some portraits for making fun of her hair, they quickly and silently made their way into the prefect's bathroom, the lock sliding safely shut behind them.
"Merlin, this is fun!" Hermione exclaimed. "I've never skipped class before, it's exhilarating!"
Malfoy couldn't help but laugh at her, with her big hair and wide eyes, a grin plastered to her face. "I never thought I'd ever hear you say those words."
"I never thought so either," she agreed. "Then again, I never thought I'd be skipping class to take a bath with you, yet here we are."
"Yeah, here we are." He smirked at her. "So, are you going to get in first or am I?"
"I am," said Hermione. "Turn around and close your eyes."
He scoffed, but did as she requested. She took off her clothes quickly and jumped into the giant pool, making sure to put in a lot of bubbles so that the water was clouded.
"I'm done," she informed him.
"When did you get so modest, Granger?" Malfoy smirked as he took off his shirt and pants, clad only in his boxers. "Turn around and close your eyes," he mocked, and she scowled at him but did the same. She only opened her eyes when she heard a gentle splash telling her he had entered the bath.
"So, are you going to get rid of the rat's nest?" he joked, gesturing to her wild hair.
She slowly sunk to the bottom of the pool in response, submerging herself completely. She sighed, air bubbles bursting from her lips. After a couple of seconds, she returned to the surface, breathing deeply.
"Is it back to normal?" she asked Draco, who was surveying her.
"Yeah," he grinned. "It is."
Hermione smiled contentedly and leaned back so that her neck hit the edge, staring up at the ceiling. "This is nice," she commented. She stared at him. They were both naked, in a giant bathtub, in a locked bathroom, during class when no one would be around to interrupt. It seemed like the perfect opportunity for him to win the bet with Blaise, yet he wasn't trying anything in the slightest. Did he even want to shag her?
"What are you looking at me like that for?" Hermione realized she'd been staring at him for almost two minutes.
"Nothing. Just thinking." Should she test him? See if she even had an ounce of sex appeal in her body? But what if he did end up wanting to shag her? She'd never done it before, and she wasn't sure if she wanted Malfoy to be her first. She definitely wanted to shag him, though, she confirmed as she studied his chiseled abs, subconsciously licking her lips. No, she decided, it wouldn't be bad at all to have sex with Malfoy…
"Bloody hell, Granger, would you cut it out? You look mental!" Draco eyed her with a weird expression.
"How do you choose which girls to shag?" Hermione asked suddenly.
Draco's eyes widened in surprise. "What?"
"You know," Hermione blushed. "you've always got random girls who you pick for sex. How do you select them? Do you have a list of criteria they have to pass in order to get in your bed?"
Malfoy stared at her, baffled. "You're asking about my shagging technique?"
"Yes," said Hermione matter of factly.
"Uh," Draco ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know. They have to be attractive."
"What defines attractive?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Blimey, what's with all the questions?" he asked irritably. "Attractive, like a pretty face and good body. And they can't be too talkative," he added as an afterthought. "Or stupid."
Hermione contemplated this information. "Can they be in Gryffindor?"
"Sure," Draco agreed with a smirk. "I don't discriminate when it comes to my sexual needs."
Hermione pulled a face at him. "It must be your charm that lures in all the ladies."
"Actually, I like to think it's my dashing appearance."
"Or your modesty," Hermione laughed. "So," she said, straightening up so that her chest was just under the bubbles. She didn't miss Draco's eyes wander down for a few seconds, which raised her confidence. Maybe he did want to shag her after all. "What about me? Do I meet your standards?"
He stared at her blankly. "You mean, would I shag you?"
She nodded. "Come on, humor me. Do I have a pretty face?" she was practically fishing for compliments now.
He studied her for a while, and she flushed under his gaze. "Yeah. You do." He laughed at the smug look on her face.
"Do I have a good body?"
"Better than good," he commented. Hermione blushed furiously, but couldn't stop smiling.
"Am I too talkative?"
"Yes," he said firmly. Hermione pouted. "But, I'm willing to overlook that." He smirked at her.
"And I'm not stupid," Hermione told him.
"Definitely not," Draco agreed.
"And you don't care that I'm a Gryffindor."
"No."
Hermione paused. "Or that I'm Muggleborn?" she asked quietly.
There was a long silence.
"I would have sex with you," Draco finally stated.
Hermione nodded, glad that he didn't answer her question – she wasn't sure if she wanted to hear his answer. Another moment of silence passed.
"So," he said teasingly. "What about me? Do I fit Hermione Granger's standards?"
"Of course you do," Hermione said simply. Draco raised an eyebrow but said nothing. They both jumped as the bell signaling the end of class rang throughout the halls outside.
"We should go," Draco said, standing up. The bubbles grazed his hips as he walked over to the edge of the bath, grabbing his towel before he got out of the water so that, unfortunately, he revealed nothing. Hermione hastily got out when his back was turned, quickly drying herself with her towel and then pulling on her school clothes, turning around to see that Malfoy had done the same. He opened the door for her and she got out first, only to find herself face to face with Pansy Parkinson.
"Granger," Pansy sneered. "Don't tell me you actually skipped class. Crying in the bathroom, were you?"
"Pansy!" Hermione shouted, panicked. She hoped Draco could hear her from inside. "Actually, I was just-" she stopped as she saw Pansy's pug eyes swivel from focusing on her to something directly behind her, her mouth dropping open in shock. Hermione turned around just in time to see Draco standing back up, straightening his tie. "Malfoy," she hissed. He looked up to see Pansy practically shaking in anger.
"Oh, shit."
Author's Note:
Cliffhanger! Haha, sorry for that :) don't worry, I'm planning on updating later today so you won't have to wait long to find out what happens. Thanks for all the great reviews, they make me very, very happy!