Chapter Thirty-Six – Object of Desire
Hermione couldn't breathe. She was well aware that Draco was staring down at her, expecting some retort, some protest, or some question. She seemed frozen in the chair, unsure of what to do or say. His words had stunned her worse than any spell could, making everything seem much worse than it already was. She wished she had her wand. Draco might know more dark magic than her, but she was a competent duellist. If she was armed, it would be a fair fight, but of course, things were never that easy. He wouldn't want her to have a chance.
"Why?" she whispered finally, her bottom lip quivering. She was afraid of the answer. Her hands wrapped around her stomach, protecting her unborn child from what he was going to say. Her eyes lingered on her bare finger. Without her engagement ring, she felt as if a part of her was missing. She truly loved Lucius, more than she had thought it was possible to love another person, and now, he was not here. Every part of her knew though that he was trying to find her, he was rallying an arm of epic proportions to save her.
"Because you're Hermione Jean Granger, the smartest witch to grace Britain in centuries! I know the Sorting Hat wanted to put you in Ravenclaw, don't deny it. It's your sense of adventure that called out to Godric Gryffindor – the desire to be brave, stalwart and true. There's a spark in your eyes, a fire in your belly, and if that doesn't turn a man on, I don't know what does."
"So know you're going to flatter me, to get me to like you or something? Is that it?"
"You make me sound like the villain, petal-"
Hermione stood up so fast that the chair toppled over, crashing against the floor. Stepping around the mess, she pointed her finger at the man, digging it hard into his chest with each word she said.
"You do not get to call me that – ever!"
"Touched a nerve, did I? I bet that's not all my father has touched." Draco smirked down at her.
"It's none of your business what your father has or hasn't touched." She knew her cheeks were flushed now. "Just know this, you will never get a chance to."
"You're very confident in the abilities of a Death Eater, aren't you?"
"Ex!" she spat back, that Gryffindor temper spiking.
"He was the Dark Lord's right hand for many a year. He knows spells and secrets that you could only dream of using. It would turn your world upside down-"
"You've done a very good job of that already!"
"I could do more – just like you have to me! You're all I've ever been able to think about and then, you dance on the edges of my mind, taunting me, invading my dreams. Is it any wonder I went crazy? Seeing those girls in Oxfordshire - they were so like you. Haven't you realised that? I saw brown hair - I thought of you, how it would look on a pillow next to me, have my fingers run through it. And they were all so damn smart!" He threw his hands into the air in exasperation. "I just wanted to forget you for one night. Be with one of them to banish you from my life, see if that would work. But it didn't, did it? It made me worse when the crashing realisation came that they were not you. No one would ever be you, or hold a candle to you ever!"
His eyes flashed as he shoved her back by the shoulders. Her feet slid from beneath her, and one of her knees smashed into the floor. She staggered upright as he jumped from the table, advancing towards her. Baiting him like that had not won her any favours, but it had given her an idea. She remembered something she had seen in a film about heroes and villains.
She needed to get him to keep talking, stall him for as long as she could.
"What did I ever do to you to make you like this? Answer me honestly Draco, you owe me that much."
"You saw in the memory in the Penseive, didn't you? That was when I realised what my feelings for you actually were. Who knew all it took was one little slap, eh? Don't get me wrong though, you always caught my eye, ever since I saw you in classes. That wild untamed hair as you bent over your books, your hand so straight. I even considered asking if you wanted to study with me, but I knew I couldn't. You were a Gryffindor, you were friends with Saint Potty and the bloody Weasel. And my father, the man you seem so enamoured with, had always taught me that I shouldn't associate with people of your blood type."
"You didn't find it so hard to associate or call Peter that," she interjected, as she slid her foot back slowly. If she was careful, she could get out of this room, and get out of here somehow.
"Peter knew what he was getting into when he approached me in Azkaban. He knew what I was, who I was, what could happen to him. He's the one that thought about actually being friends with me, in the hopes of revenge. Did you know that's what he wanted revenge on you for? And it was all over books and learning!" Draco laughed. "There's only one Muggleborn I would want to be more than friends with."
"You've changed your tune. You know as well I as I do that I'm a Mudblood. You made it perfectly clear when the Chamber was opened." This should set him talking again… She slid back again, keeping eye contact the whole time.
"For all intents and purposes, I had to make sure that no one suspected that I was starting to like you. Words can hurt, I know that, especially after the Weasel found himself burping slugs." Draco smirked at the memory, but as quick as it had appeared, the smirk was gone. "I couldn't sleep or eat that night, that word forever damning me and hurting you. And I had to be convincing, I had to make sure that everyone thought I was nothing but a Malfoy. I bet no one told you that I came to visit you in the hospital wing after curfew."
Hermione slid back another step, her mouth hanging open. "What?"
"No, I guess no one did. Did they? I sneaked up out of the dungeons, knowing that Snape would always get me out of trouble if I was caught. People were convinced that it was me that opened the Chamber once you were attacked - no one would have thought Saint Potty capable of hurting you. It was easy to move through the castle undetected." He took a step forward as if demonstrating, and Hermione slid back again. "I got through those doors, tiptoed past those other people who had been petrified until you were there in front of me. You looked like a statue, your perfect body frozen, your hand outstretched. It was as if you were waiting for me - a princess in a Muggle fairy tale. I kissed your knuckles, and left you flowers. Didn't you get them? They were roses, petal, red roses. The colour of passion. Desire. That's what you were - what you are. The object of my desire."
Hermione let her hand move behind her, feeling for the doorknob.
"And of course, I knew I was falling for you. And then you had to turn up with Viktor bloody Krum to the Yule Ball. He knew that I was considering asking you – to mend the feud between us, between the houses. He knew all this because we used to sit together for dinner in the Great Hall. When he told me that you had accepted his proposal, I considered cursing him so badly that he would have been out of the competition for good! And when you walked down those stairs, when you strode in with him looking like a million Galleons, I thought my heart would stop. When I danced with Pansy, kissed Pansy, I imagined it was you in my arms. I wanted to cut in, steal a dance, but of course, you were with him all night. And then of course, the Dark Lord returned and – hey, get away from there!"
Hermione's hand clasped onto the door handle. In seconds, she had yanked it open, and had thrown herself through the gap. Dodging the lifeless body of Peter Matthew, she raced along the hallway, ducking as a curse was fired in her direction.
"Don't make me hurt you Hermione!" Draco yelled, and threw another curse.
Hermione tried to duck out of the way, but knew she would be too late. She cried out, but a solid wall blocked the curse. It ricocheted off the shield charm, bounced from the wall and smashed an elegant vase. Arms surrounded her, drawing her close, one hand smoothing her hair, as a tear escaped and her stomach twinged.
"You will not hurt anyone anymore, son," a calm voice said.
Lucius Malfoy had arrived.