Chapter 21: The Kiss
Draco turned his head sharply and stared at her. She was supposed to be the smart one of her little trio. Asking him to go into her mind? Because, what, she was intrigued? What the hell was wrong with this witch? He pulled his hand away, pushing from the table to stand.
"Granger, that is a very stupid idea," he said coolly. "You don't know what you're asking for."
He turned away from her, wandering towards the living room, where he had been lost in a book after dinner. The endless scrubbing of her quill had finally been impossible to ignore. When he picked up his book from the low table in front of the couch, he was surprised to see she'd followed him. Now, her hands were on her hips and she was giving him the stare of the lioness. "Don't call me stupid."
"I said your idea was stupid, Granger." He snapped, drumming his fingers against the book in his hand. "Intelligent people can still have bad ideas."
He tried to walk past her to go to his room and lock the door, but she blocked him. Persistent thing. Her brown eyes were glowing with curiosity. "Why's it a bad idea?"
"Do I really need to spell it out for you?" He growled, clenching the book tightly. "Granger, I could see anything and there is nothing you can do to stop it! You could barely look me in the eye when I tried sharing a memory with you. It's worse when someone is taking."
"Harry tried to learn Occlumency. I read all about it to help him, and I don't think it's really as hard as it's made it out to be." She snapped at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "...I want to know."
He flung the book down in a chair, anger bubbling. "No. Go away." Draco turned away from her to the door, and stomped out in the garden before she could block him again. His feet took him to the tree he had sat under with Aunt Andromeda hours earlier.
The air was muggy and humid. That didn't help his temper. The leaves bent and swayed in the wind. Far off in the distance, he could hear the dull rumble of thunder. A storm was brewing.
He paced, unable to sit. She thought it was easy, then? Thought that knowing how it feels would make her capable of blocking it? Knowledge didn't mean ability! This wasn't something you could try a few times and master. Her ignorance, and stubborn belief in book smarts, grated his nerves. He heard her following him and grit his teeth, realizing she wasn't about to give up anytime soon.
"You're going to regret this." He warned, turning towards her slowly. "...is there anything I can say to convince you that this is a terrible idea?"
"I disagree, so no," she replied, arms still crossed tightly over her chest.
He clenched his fists. Why was he giving in? She was going to be furious, or terrified, just flat out emotional after he'd pulled something from her mind. He didn't want to see her cry anymore. "... don't hold me responsible for whatever happens, Granger, you're practically forcing me to do this."
"I won't," she promised, arms relaxing as he relented. Draco sat stiffly on the bench, waving at her to sit next to him. She obeyed, pulling her hair over her shoulder as the wind rushed over them. He put a hand down between them.
"Put your hand on mine."
"Why?"
He rolled his eyes, impatient, wanting to get this over with. "I don't need a wand. I do need eye contact, and to touch the person I'm reading. The top hand signifies the mind being read."
"Fascinating," Hermione muttered, "That's almost like the ability of a Seer to read objects."
Her hand touched his, fingers curling hesitatingly into his palm. He watched her face as she tried to hold his eyes. Why was she so uncomfortable when looking people in the eye? After a moment, she managed it without his help. He pulled lightly at her mind, apprehensive about what would come back.
The image of her translating at the table floated to the surface. She could smell the parchment and ink. The letters of her translation were crystal clear. A small papercut made her stick her thumb in her mouth.
She gasped, pulling her hand away to cover her mouth with both hands.
He was thankful it hadn't been worse. "Are we done now?"
"No." She turned her body to face him more straight on, "Again. I want to try to block you."
"Can I remind you how idiotic this is?"
"You just did. Good job." Her tone was dismissive. That hand held his a second time, holding tightly, hesitation gone. "Again." She didn't have as much trouble with eye contact this time. Irritated, he pulled at her mind a second time, holding his breath as he did it.
Hermione was just getting her letter from Hogwarts. Minerva McGonagall sat in her living room, explaining everything to her and her parents. Her heart was fluttering in her chest. Her mother and father looked so surprised, and pleased. They rattled off question after question. Where was this Hogwarts, how did she get there, what would she need, where could they buy things, how had this happened. Hermione could barely sit still in her chair.
Her mother beamed at her and Hermione giggled, throwing herself into her mother's arms. She held her tightly, kissing the top of her head. Hermione felt light as a feather, breathless with joy and wonder. She was a witch!
Draco could feel her trying to push him out. A surprisingly good first attempt, but it wasn't strong enough against him. He pulled away from her mind this time, sliding his hand out from under hers and placing it on his knee. "It takes practiced meditation to develop the skill to block someone. That's enough."
"Wait, once more!" Hermione put her hand on his again, sliding closer to reach.
He frowned deeply, shaking his head no. "You just rolled the dice twice and got lucky," Draco warned in a low voice. "If I go back in there, there's a much higher chance that I'll see something you don't want me to see."
"Maybe I'll get lucky again," she shrugged.
"Granger…" he said coolly, trying to pull his hand away.
"I know it was working," she spoke quickly, tightening the grasp of his hand. "I felt it. I just want to try one more time. I already said I won't hold you responsible for whatever happens. Please?"
He growled in irritation, but turned to her, "Last time." She nodded in agreement. Their eyes locked. He pulled again, trying to delve into a shallow memory, something on her mind, so he wouldn't risk diving into the night at the Manor. He didn't think he'd be able to stomach seeing that from her perspective.
Lips were pressing to hers. Soft, uncertain, gentle. It was a nice kiss. Her first real kiss. She felt like he was afraid that she would break. Krum pulled away from her, smiling shyly. Her lips smiled back. Somehow, she'd expected it to be more than that.
She was thinking about that. It'd been right there, at the front of her mind. "...why are you thinking about kissing Victor Krum?" he was unable to stop himself from asking.
"I'll get you a blanket." he responded, managing to pull one arm away. His warmth was dissipating as he drew back, his hand reaching for a blanket at the end of her bed. Her hand caught his jaw, pulling him back to her face.
She didn't want a blanket. He was warmer than that. "I want you."
Draco's mind reeled back. He shut down his emotions. She didn't mean that the way he'd hoped. He'd known she was drunk. Disappointment twinged at him slightly, but he mentally scolded himself for it. Why did he feel anything? Without a word, he stood to walk away from her.
"It again."
He paused, turning to see she'd stood. A blush was coloring her face, but her eyes were glowing brightly in the dark. His eyebrows went down in confusion. She swallowed hard, "...you told me to say it again, when I was sober."
What? "That's not what I asked you to say," his response was quick. She blushed darker. His mind was still trying to process this. Was he dreaming? It had to be a dream. If you say it, I'm not going to be able to to refuse. The thought startled him. His feet were slowly coming back towards her. She couldn't want him, could she? It was just a random train of thought. She wasn't really going to say it, was she? She'd be afraid, she'd look away, she'd walk away, and they'd both forget that she'd ever-
The steady gaze of the lioness, foolishly brave, met him. "I want you... to kiss me."
His mask fell, he could feel it. Surprise, but mainly desire flooded his senses. "Why?" He whispered while his body moved without waiting for an answer. His arm snaked around her waist. One hand brushed her hair as his lips pressed against hers gently. It was barely a whisper of a touch. He increased the pressure, pulling her tighter against him. One of her hands pressed against his chest, fingertips curling against his collarbone.
What are you doing?! The little voice in his mind exploded suddenly. Draco withdrew as if she'd slapped him. Before the voice could say anything else, Hermione shut it down as she held his jaw, just like she had the other night. "... because I wanted to kiss you."
Heat coiled in his body as her lips pressed against his, hard. It flared as her fingers dug through his hair, and her arms wrapped around his shoulders. He couldn't think, lips pressing against hers hard, feeling slightly out of control. Her tongue traced his lower lip and he opened his mouth to her. The feeling of her tongue pressing against his was very nice. He caught her lower lip with his teeth, sucking lightly and releasing it. Her nails dug into him slightly.
It was starting to rain. The air shifted and what began as a drizzle quickly turned into a downpour. Thunder cracked overhead and lightning lit up the world through his closed eyes. She jumped back at the sudden sensation of the storm, and laced her fingers with his, running back to the door of the house. He let her drag him, staring at her long brown hair as she ran.
She'd wanted him to kiss her. She'd wanted to kiss him. Draco's mind was spinning with those thoughts, and clouded with her taste. Those dark eyes locked to his on the doorstep, and he couldn't breathe. He wasn't prepared for her to push him against the door, hands fisted in his shirt, and claim his lips again. This was nothing like the kiss she'd had with Krum. His hands fell to her hips, pulling her against him harder. There was a hunger in this kiss. Her teeth met his lip roughly and he moaned lightly against her mouth, fingers digging tightly into her body.
The door suddenly swung open behind them. They both went crashing to the floor. Draco caught her against his chest, his head hitting the floor and making him see stars.
Ron Weasley stood over them.
The color on that face, the way he held himself, told Draco that he knew exactly what had just happened. The unsteady wand pointed at his face told him that the red faced, red haired man had some strong feelings about it, too.