Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
A/N: Hey guys, sorry it's been a while. I've had a few difficult decisions to make this past week, and just haven't had the energy to write. But I think the best way to pull myself out of a mood is to let my creative juices flow, so here goes nothin'
…
The temperature in the hallway seemed to drop a few degrees once Draco had made sure the door had closed properly behind him and turned back around to look at the confused-looking witch in front of him. It wasn't often that Draco admitted to being made uncomfortable, but this time there was no denying it. Once the novelty of their tenuous partnership had worn off, she had gone right back to looking at him with those annoyingly penetrating eyes. He wondered if she had learned Legimency and shuddered at the thought. She certainly had the potential, but it just didn't seem to fit with her high-horsed ideals. Lucius had been going on about getting him tutored in the art before his aunt Bella had excitedly suggested that it might make him more valuable to the Dark Lord. He'd never heard it mentioned since. Draco shook his head to clear away thoughts of his family and focused back on the witch that was studying him curiously in the dim light.
"Right," he said uncomfortably, "tomorrow then. Don't get caught." He quickly turned on his heel and began to walk towards the dungeons. He stopped to look back at her and noticed that she hadn't moved.
"Do you even know where we are?" he asked suddenly. She shook her head. He cursed under his breath and walked bck to her with his wand raised. Instinctively she raised her own.
"Stop right there Malfoy!"
"Keep your voice down! I'm not going to attack you! That bloody cat is always prowling around here –can't let her see me walking you back to Gryffindor tower can we?" She slowly lowered her wand and he cast the invisibility spell on the both of them.
"Malfoy?" came her small voice. "I –I can't see you…"
"Don't worry Granger, I can see you just fine."
"How is that possible? Is it because you're the caster?"
"10 points to Gryffindor" he said sarcastically as he grabbed her wrist. She recoiled from the contact at first with a gasp. "Look, I don't want to touch you any more than you do me, but if there's a better way to do this then I don't know it." She reluctantly held her hand out with a scowl on her face, allowing him to take it once more. "No need to look so put out Granger, half the girls in your house would kill to be in your position."
"You do realize that you actually gave us points back there?" Draco grimaced at the realization and increased his pace without a word. He removed the spell when they finally got to the tower and walked wordlessly away, leaving Hermione to stare strangely in the direction of the receding footsteps.
…
The day had passed far too slowly for Hermione's liking. Ron and Lavender acted normally for the most part, but Hermione didn't miss the winks and kisses she threw him when she thought no one was looking. The thought of them together made her stomach turn, but she couldn't avoid the thoughts forever. Malfoy's words had been echoing through her head ever since he'd said them, and Perhaps he'd been right about her. She had tried to convince herself that she would have felt the same way if it had been Harry instead, but even she could not lie to herself that much. Sure she'd be disgusted and disappointed, but heartbroken? No.
Her thoughts wandered back to the previous night's escapades, and the memory of breaking down in front of Malfoy of all people made her face flush. She'd never felt so helpless, and it confused her to no end how, for lack of a better word, helpful he'd been. He'd know exactly what she'd needed somehow; hot tea and a thick book. It was something like her dad would have done… She stopped her thoughts in their tracks and stood up from the stiff wooden chair quickly.
Lunch had only just begun, she noticed, glancing at the clock on the wall. Maybe Malfoy was right, and she did need to start eating regular meals again. Between all the whispers and glares it had become difficult to drag herself into the great hall anymore. And it had always been Harry and Ron that had forcibly extracted her from her work when she forgot about mealtimes. Steeling her resolve, Hermione set out through the oaken doors. She was Head Girl for crying out loud! She refused to be cowed by a bunch of gossiping ninnies.
A slight hush ran through the hall as Hermione walked purposefully through the great double doors towards Gryffindor table. She ignored the spiteful glares of Harry and Ron's various groupies, and sighed inwardly. It seemed like she couldn't get anything right; if she dated Harry they hated her, and if she ignored Harry they hated her!
As she approached her housemates she noticed quite a few pairs of downturned eyes and sheepish glances. She noticed Harry glance hopefully up at her and shift a little to revel an empty spot beside him, but she also noticed Lavender nudging closer to Ron, who was still busily working away at a chicken wing. Scowling slightly, she turned her eyes away from her two best friends and spotted Neville sitting a little ways away from their group, and giving her an uncertain smile. She gratefully took a seat beside him and calmly went about serving herself portions.
Neville, to his credit, tried his best to distract her from the situation, and began discussing a paper he'd come across highlighting newfound medical properties of Gillyweed. Neville quickly became quite enthusiastic in his explanations, but as much as she loved to learn, Hermione found that she could not match his interest in the subject. Her eyes wandered across the room and her gaze met a pair of steely gray eyes that were watching her with some interest. Hermione quickly turned back to Neville, color seeping into her cheeks for some unknown reason, she vowed silently not to look back at the annoying blond Slytherin.
…
Draco stirred his soup lazily and rested his chin on the heel on his palm. His hair was growing too long and had begun to drape over his eyes on occasion, something that bothered the normally immaculate boy to no end. If he didn't get it trimmed soon he might end up looking like Granger. He smirked at the thought and then frowned; since when was looking like Granger not disgusting? He was pulled from his thoughts by a noisy barrage of footsteps and giggles; clearly Blaise and his posse had shown up. He tilted his head slightly up and acknowledged the boy with a minute nod.
"Draco Malfoy early to lunch?" Blaise asked with exaggerated shock, "looks like we'll all be needing mittens when we die ladies, because hell has just frozen over!"
The girls all tittered sillily and fawned over their favorite dark, handsome comedian. Draco however, glowered at the boy and turned his attention back towards his tepid soup. Soon Pansy walked in and joined the group, helping herself to soup as well as Draco's attention whether he liked it or not. There was no longer doubt in his mind that Pansy wanted something from him, and until he knew what her game was it would be too dangerous to push her away.
"Draco, darling, why aren't you eating anything? You've been looking positively ill as of late and we're all so concerned," Pansy exclaimed. Draco lifted his head from his unsatisfying meal and looked around the table, no one seemed particularly concerned about him, and gave Pansy a pointed look that said as much. "And where have you been sneaking off to these days?" she continued, ignoring the look, "You're hardly ever in the common room," she pouted.
Draco glowered inwardly at her words; she'd been trying to tail him when he left for the Room of Requirement, but he'd been able to shake her off and use the invisibility spell every time. Pansy was a bit of a wiz when it came to Potions and Astronomy, but luckily for him she was rubbish at spells.
He opened his mouth to mumble something noncommittal when a hush fell over the room, and heads began to swivel in the direction of the double doors. It was Hermione Granger.
He didn't know why exactly, but something about the fierce determination on her face, and the way she handled Weasley's inexcusable rudeness, made him feel an odd sort of grudging respect for her. He hadn't liked the bruised and broken Hermione Granger that he'd been seeing lately. Her fire and tenacity were by far her best traits –few as they were…
"Can you believe that Gryffindor bint? I heard Weasley asked for help with homework and she just lost it!" Pansy remarked to an equally witless witch sitting across from her. "Think of all the possibilities though!" she added excitedly. "now that she doesn't have her bodyguards around her… Don't you think so Draco? Let's mess with her!"
Draco however, had had been caught up in catching the Gryffindor girl's eye, and though she had looked away immediately, he could have sworn she'd smiled.
"Draco?" Pansy asked slowly, following his previous line of sight, "did you hear me?"
"What is it Pansy?" he returned, hoping he'd kept his mounting irritation out of his voice.
"I was just discussing with Sophia, how much easier it'll be to mess with miss goody-two-shoes now that she doesn't have her bodyguards around her all the time."
"Oh grow up Pansy! We're not in first year anymore! And if you haven't noticed, she's Head Girl! If any of you brainless idiots tries anything, I guarantee you'll be expelled before the end of the week," he hissed as he rose from the table and walked towards the doors. He could no longer stand to be around their foolish short-sightedness. Did they think everything was a game? That life had no consequences?
There was still double potions with the Gryffindors to get through before the day was done, so he tried to calm himself. Professor Slughorn was all for inter-house cooperation, and with his luck he'd end up with Finnigan or worse –one of the golden boys…
…
Draco growled peevishly at a Ravenclaw first year, who had made the mistake of tripping into him in the hallways. The boy subsequently backed away with small, slow steps, keeping his wide, bespectacled eyes locked on Draco the whole time. It wasn't the boy's fault that Potions had been a disaster, but since he couldn't make Slughorn wet his pants without getting expelled, the first year would have to do.
He had been saddled with Weasley for some incomprehensible reason, and if that hadn't been bad enough, Pansy had been partnered with Granger. She'd been licking her lips and winking at him the whole time, and if Granger hadn't noticed then he was a Hippogriff's uncle. Normally he would have delighted in making the prudish Gryffindor uncomfortable, but this had made him uncomfortable, and that was inexcusable. Weasley had been no better, he'd spent the whole time drooling over Lavender Brown –literally drooling. Suffice to say, their Wiggenweld potion had been a little too watery.
The crowded halls seemed suddenly stifling despite the winter chill seeping through the stained glass, and he found himself in the astronomy tower before he knew where he was going. It had been a short day, and twilight was settling upon the sparkling, snowy grounds. The lake was as still as glass, and the giant squid nowhere in sight.
The sound of soft footsteps behind him caused him to turn around and see none other than Hermione Granger.
"Granger? What are you doing here?"
Instead of answering, she sauntered slowly towards the balcony and rested her arms against the ledge. "I saw you come up Draco, is something the matter?"
"Why do you care?" he asked suspiciously.
"Oh come on, you can talk to me," she assured him with a small smile and large doe eyes.
Draco had no idea how to respond to this new Hermione, had he misinterpreted her actions in the Great Hall? Was she drunk? Cursed?
When he didn't respond, she continued. "Besides, I saw how you were looking at me in the Great Hall this afternoon, don't deny it Draco… you want me." His eyes widened as she sidled closer towards him, suggestively biting her lower lip and tugging at the front of his robes to pull him towards her. Her bushy hair seemed slightly tamer than usual, and it even looked like she was wearing makeup.
"S- stop Granger –what are you doing?" he implored hesitatingly. Something was wrong, he thought distractedly as she tilted her berry-red lips towards his own, something had to be wrong.
"What's the matter Drraco,"she asked breathily, "no one's going to see us…"
He struggled desperately with himself to keep a clear head as she pushed herself against him suggestively and licked her lips –wait, he thought, I've seen that look before!
"Pansy?" he asked, as he grabbed the curly haired witch by the shoulders and pushed her roughly away from him. Her lips curled into a sinister looking half smile that looked utterly perverse on Hermione Granger's face.
"Oops," she replied innocently, "looks like you caught me"
"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" he roared, causing the girl to take a small step back from him.
"It was just a joke Draco! Lighten up! You used to have a sense of humor," she snapped as she pulled out of his grasp and slid her bookbag back onto her shoulder. "And stop being such an idiot! You think people can't see that you're behaving oddly? People are talking Draco," she continued earnestly, "and believe it or not I'm on your side, so I'm trying to warn you; don't do anything you'll regret. Your name still means a lot here, don't mess it up."
With that, she glided out the door and down the stone stairway before he could reply. 'People are talking'? well if people were talking about him, it was obvious who they were talking to. Somehow Pansy had known about Granger, he'd have to be more careful in the future. She had mentioned his name, and the weight it carried with it. 'Why should she care?' he wondered.
Running his hand through his untidy hair, he sighed and leaned against the ledge, there was no way he could handle going back to the common room with Pansy looking like that. She'd probably stolen one of Granger's hairs during potions and slipped it into a Polyjuice potion. If he knew Pansy, there's no way she'd pass up an opportunity like this, she was too smart to do anything outside of the Slytherin common room, but seeing Hermione Granger playing tongue hockey with some random bloke was enough to put him off the prospect of dinner. With another sigh, he pulled out his Astronomy notes and sat by a nearby telescope. If he couldn't eat or sleep, at least he could work.
…
A/N: Well that didn't take nearly as long to write as I'd imagined. I find that some of my best ideas come to me when I'm just about to drift off at night, and it's SO FRUSTRATING! I don't want to forget them, but who wants to get up and jot stuff down when the sandman's calling? So things are getting a little complicated here with these three, they've all got secrets that I will slowly and painfully pry out of them! Bwaahahahaha! Man, I feel like a sadist writing this stuff sometimes…
Thanks for the awesome reviews guys!
RainbowBreaker: I know what you mean about Draco; he's quite the character, if I do say so myself… He is just so much fun to write, I LOVE getting in his head and making him all cute and cufuzzled ^_^