Chapter 18:
Draco moved a stray blueberry around in his porridge, his mood desolate as he listened to the others speak about their upcoming Transfiguration exam. Granger was sitting next to Theo, her hand on his forearm. Clearly they hadn't had the talk, a fact that irked Draco to no end. The contents of his bowl were turning a ghastly shade of purple and became increasingly less appealing the longer he obliterated his meal.
He was fighting to focus on his open Charms text, the others' voices buzzing like honeybees in his head. It wasn't until he saw the blur of an individual rushing past him that he looked up, pushing his ruined porridge away completely. Astoria, looking like a Fury on earth, stood behind Finnigan, her arms crossed and her mouth twisted into an angry pucker. "You used sex magic on my sister?!" she screeched, her shrill voice ringing through the Great Hall.
The din of noise was silenced at once as every pair of eyes in the Hall turned to watch the scene unfurling. Theo was turning a vibrant shade of scarlet as he locked eyes with her. "Astoria," he gritted out, "perhaps we could do this in private?"
Granger pulled her hand away from his arm as though her palm had touched flame, her entire demeanor deflating right before Draco's eyes. She glanced around them, also blushing furiously, as she gathered her books and bag. "I need to head to the stables. I'll see you all in Transfiguration."
She pushed forcefully from the table and strode from the Hall with as much dignity as she could muster. Draco's gaze followed her as she walked, angry with his friend for not telling her before this. Not only had he drawn it out much longer than was really necessary, especially given that he knew Draco wanted to court her, but he had waited long enough that a private talk turned into a spectacle that embarrassed her.
Shooting Theo an irritated glare, he shook his head and sighed. His friend shrugged helplessly, remorse written all over his features. "I didn't know how to tell her."
Theo attempted to rise from the table and Astoria flicked her wand in his direction, forcing him to sit once more. "You aren't leaving this table until I get some answers."
The other Wulfrics looked incredibly uncomfortable as they gathered their items and tried to scramble away from the table. Draco sat back in his chair, eager to see how exactly Theo was going to talk his way out of this one. Astoria crossed her arms and tapped the toe of her shoe against the stone. Clearing her throat, she raised one perfectly manicured brow. "Why are you still sitting here, Malfoy?"
"You interrupted my breakfast, doll."
She Vanished the contents of his bowl and he rolled his eyes. "Why don't you," Astoria began, shooting Theo a deathly glare before turning her stony gaze on him, "go find Hermione and see if you can comfort her."
Draco lifted one side of his mouth into a grimace. "Comfort...her?" The concept sounded foreign, even to his own ears.
"How are you second in the class when you are this bloody daft?" Astoria tossed her head back in exasperation. "Yes, Malfoy, comfort her. Go speak to her. Nicely. Explain," she gestured toward Theo, the current thorn in her side, "whatever the hell it is he has done, since I know you've known about this."
He stood from the bench, putting his hands up in surrender. "Don't get those lacy little knickers in a twist, love," he told her, giving her a wink, "I've only known a short while as well."
With that, he turned on heel, swallowing down his anxiety as he sauntered out of the Great Hall. Granger had said she was headed to the stables and he began the long trek to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. What the hell was he even supposed to say to her? He was about as comforting as a blast-ended skrewt, as bristly as a cactus. Theo's prolonged deception was unacceptable, even in his eyes, and he could only imagine how she would be feeling.
She would probably be crying. Fuck me. Draco groaned as he adjusted his school bag over his shoulder. How the hell was he going to deal with a sobbing witch? This was far out of his element. When she had been suffering an episode in the library, his decision had been far easier—it was the only way to get her to face her fears. But now? Her ailment was a torn heart and bruised ego. Such teenage trivialities were not Draco Malfoy's forte.
When he came upon the crest of the hill and looked down toward Hagrid's hut and the stables, Granger was fighting with the male. She looked to be nearing her wit's end and the sight made him chuckle to himself as her hair grew in size. He ambled down the side of the hill, simply watching her until she noticed his appearance.
"Come to tease me for being pathetic?" she jabbed, stepping around the Abraxan to cross her arms protectively in front of herself. "If so, shove it up your arse. I'm in no mood."
His smirk fell instantly, a barb piercing his heart as he let the accusation lacing her words tear through him. He had been such a prick to her in the past that, despite their relatively decent conversing as of late, she assumed he had come to rub her nose in the destruction of her relationship. The first man she had opened up to since Weasley. And it wasn't me.
"You're not pathetic," he mumbled, taking the brush from her and walking past toward the creature.
Hades had looked obediently at him, lowering his neck to allow Draco to run the brush through his mane. Granger turned around to stare at him and it pained him to see her eyes were glassy with unshed tears. "That damn horse is the devil," she told him as Artemis came up to her, sniffing around her pockets for a treat. "He never listens to me."
"You have to be patient. These are proud creatures, born of an ancient magic. You've got to earn his trust," he commanded, gesturing for her to join him. He leaned down to speak to the Abraxan, his tone a low dulcet. "Hades?"
A large black eye looked at him indolently. Draco gestured for Granger to step closer. "Let her brush you, or I'll pluck your feathers one by one."
With an indignant huff, the creature tilted its massive head in her direction, daring her to touch him. Draco took her hand and lifted it, sliding the brush into her palm. Cupping his hand over hers, he coached it to glide down the silky hairs along the Abraxan's neck. His cheeks felt aflame as he stared at anything but the way she was worrying her lip between her teeth, his hand still over hers as he repeated the motion three more times.
"See? A little patience and a firm tone," Draco murmured, his palm feeling ghastly empty when he removed it from her hand.
Themis stepped between them and Artemis, who had been preoccupied eating a treat. Her mane was knotted and Draco ran a hand over it. "How about we plait this, girl? It'll help."
He was thankful for the interruption, the chance to turn his back on Granger and get his thoughts to formulate before he next spoke. As he untangled the Abraxan's mane, he glanced over his shoulder. Hades was lifting his head and lowering it, urging her to brush an itchy spot. Draco sported a half-smile as he turned back to his own hands twisting sections into long plaits. "I'm sorry about what happened in the Great Hall."
"Is that all you Slytherins do? Defend each other to me?" Granger inquired, leaving Draco confused.
His brow furrowing, he shrugged. "Not always. But I thought I should tell you about what is going on, since my dear friend seems to be too much of a coward to do so."
He turned to look at her and she was running a hand over Hades' head as he wiggled his lips in delight. "I've been humiliated enough within those castle walls to last a lifetime. I really didn't need that today, and the knowledge that you also knew irks me even more."
"To be fair," he mentioned, patting Themis on the head before she wandered away to the trough, "he only found out the day he burned his father's name from the memorial, just before the masquerade ball."
"How did he come to be sexually bonded to Daphne Greengrass?"
Draco sighed and hopped up to perch on the fence, tapping the place next to him for her to join. He glanced toward the sky, cursing Theodore Nott for putting him in such an awkward predicament. "The Greengrass parents and Nott, Sr. entered into a marriage contract when Daphne was born. At the time, Nott was already a follower of the Dark Lord, before his first downfall. But the Greengrasses did not know this. As it would appear, and this is the part no one is entirely certain of, it would seem that Nott, Sr. saw the need for a clause to be added. Should the Greengrasses disapprove of his lifestyle choices."
Granger was picking at a thread in her uniform skirt, when she stilled her hand and looked up at him, confusion evident. "Why couldn't they just nullify the contract when they were toddlers? Why wait?"
How the hell was he to explain archaic pureblood marriage contracts to a muggleborn? "See, once a contract is signed, it cannot be altered until it is enacted. Meaning, they could not protest it until after the marriage was consummated. At that point, they could try to get it annulled, though they would have a hell of a fight on their hands."
"So, I'm going to assume, then," Granger sighed as she pieced it together, "that they've had sex?"
Draco nodded slowly, chewing the inside of his cheek as they watched the Abraxans play and lick at the morning dew. He felt her gaze on him and he looked down at her, marveling the way her eyes sparkled, though she still shed no tears. "Was it recently?"
"Over the summer. Apparently the clause that Nott, Sr. managed to have added, after the fact, made it so that a consummation bonded them for life. Daphne apparently tried to have sex with another bloke at Beauxbatons and nearly vomited on him she grew so violently ill from the curse."
Granger's eyes grew wide and it occurred to Draco then that he had no idea if Theo and she had ever done anything between the sheets. Judging by the horror on her face, he suspected they may have tried. "Anything you'd like to confess?" he quipped, raising a brow in her direction.
Her cheeks turned an endearing shade of pink as she averted her eyes. "No. Theo was a perfect gentleman the entire time."
Fighting to hide his relief, Draco simply nodded. "Of course. Theo the prude. Well, the Greengrass parents suspected foul play when they got the owl from the Healer in France stating that she just couldn't seem to shake the stomach flu. After two weeks."
"Their minds automatically jumped to Dark sex bond?" she laughed for the first time since he had come down to comfort her.
"Mr. Greengrass may not have chosen to follow the Dark Lord, but that doesn't mean he does not dabble in the Darker side of magic on occasion."
"So now what?"
Draco shrugged again, uncertain of the answer himself. "It may be irreversible. And they've not determined if the curse would affect them both in such a way or if it only affects Daphne as the potential heir vessel."
Granger's sardonic laugh made him quirk his own lips in response. "Merlin. You sound completely nonchalant about marriage contracts and life bonds," she told him, shaking her head.
"I was raised by a Death Eater, as was Theo. If something as trivial as having to marry a woman that he already loves is the worst thing to come from his life after the War, then I consider him lucky."
She looked down at her shoes, kicking childishly as they sat. "He really does still love her, doesn't he?"
The tone of her voice made a rueful agitation grow in Draco's chest. He would kill Theodore Nott for even putting Granger through this. "She gave him an ultimatum at the end of summer. Go to Beauxbatons with her and elope secretly, or she was through with him and would try to get their contract overturned somehow. He chose to come with me here out of loyalty. Loyalty I don't deserve," he said, guilt welling up to battle with his irritation at Theo. "I'm sorry, Granger. I think he was lonely and he respects you above all others here. You have a lot in common and I believe he didn't mean any harm in getting involved with you. I think he thought you could help him move on."
Granger swept her curls over her opposite shoulder absently, exposing the length of her neck in a way that Draco had no business thinking about. "You know, Malfoy," she said, looking up toward the castle pensively, "I think I was doing the same."
The scoff left his lips before he could reel it back and she nudged him with her arm. "No seriously," she exclaimed defensively. "I know Ron was always your adversary. But, at one point, I truly thought I loved him."
She spoke as though she no longer felt the same, and for the first time in a while, true and raw hope bloomed within him. "Finally get tired of his shit?"
"Isleptwithhim," her words were a blurred rush of air.
His heart sank at her hurried admission. Draco hadn't expected Granger to be untouched, but the imagery of that oaf with his giant hands on her made his stomach roil nastily. "Oh?" was all he managed to croak.
When he glanced back toward her, he was surprised to find that she looked ashamed, rather than melancholy. "Yeah," she finally responded, "It was my first and last time. I-I ran away after. Like a bloody coward."
"That morning, when we went with Lovegood and did the bendy shit?" Draco had suspected something had happened between her and the Weasel, though he would have assumed it would've been his fault.
Granger nodded and wiped at her face, the tears finally dripping over her cheeks. Fuck, Draco swore to himself. He climbed down from the fence and moved to stand in front of her. Comfort her. He lifted his hands and pulled hers away from her face, placing them on her lap before he swiped his thumbs over her cheekbones, wiping away the slick trails. "Look, Granger," he struggled to find the words that could possibly comfort her, as he was usually the one making her cry these days, "we've all done fucked up things to people we care about. It's what makes us human."
Her eyes dragged up from the ground between them and met his, now level with him from where she was perched. "He's done nothing but love me. And I couldn't give him that in return."
"You don't have to reciprocate feelings. If they aren't there, forcing them will only bring misery," he pressed, pushing her curls away from her face. "I've never met such a brilliant witch. Weasley is lucky you even looked in his direction."
"You must think I'm weak," she commented, huffing at her own ridiculousness.
"Not at all—"
"Get out of here, you bloody beast!" came Theo's voice from behind Draco.
The pair looked at him as he approached, his face blotchy and his hands shoved in his pockets as he walked around Hades' with a wide berth. "Hey," he muttered to the two of them, running a hand over his neck sheepishly.
"Malfoy, could you give us a few minutes?" Granger asked from behind him.
He realized that he had taken an involuntary protective stance in front of her, his arms crossed as his friend approached. He glowered at the burly wizard, who had the decency to look remorseful. "Fine," he acquiesced. "Granger, take the day off. I'll take detailed notes and make an extra copy. How does that sound?"
One look at Granger told him she thought he was insane. "I can't skip class."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Weren't you the one telling me to visit the Healer and all of that happy hippogriff dung? Take the day. I'll tell the professors that you're ill."
"He's right, Hermione," Theo agreed, eyeing Draco as he clapped him on the shoulder in dismissal. "But we can argue about that after you're done yelling me about the spectacle I made in the Great Hall."
o-o-o
"It is cold as hell out here," Theo remarked, his broom clasped tightly in one hand while he retrieved his wand to cast a warming charm.
"That's an oxymoronic statement, Nott. And quit being a little bitch," Draco remarked, pulling his Quidditch gloves on. He was still perturbed with the imbecile.
"Cold as Merlin's long dead balls, then?" Blaise offered.
The three laughed and Malfoy and Blaise hadn't even reached the pitch before they kicked off. Theo was levitating the trunk that contained the game balls and quickly tossed his friends bats to swat the bludgers away. He opened the trunk and all of the balls took off, the bludgers zooming toward the two wizards hovering above Theo with the Quaffles under their arms. "I'm not releasing the snitch," Theo called, kicking the lid of the trunk shut.
"Oh, you're no fun," Draco mocked, circling the dark-haired man.
Theo rolled his eyes, his mood still sour as he kicked off from the ground. "I'll take Keeper, Zabini take Beater and Malfoy Chaser."
Theo went to his place in front of the goal hoops and turned on Malfoy. "Come at me, it's been too long since I've played."
Draco gave it all he had, but Theo was a formidable Keeper. For his part, Blaise kept the bludgers away. They took turns switching positions, all three of them prior players for Slytherin House. Draco let two goals in—his speed and agility was in broom work, not in hand and footwork needed to guard goals. Then he played Beater and beat the bludgers away as Theo tried to best Blaise's Keeping skills. He was a decent Keeper, only allowing one of Theo's quaffles past.
They piddled around for a couple of hours until Theo finally touched down, battling the bludgers into their places and strapping them into the trunk. He retrieved the snitch and shot into the air once more. "I don't know why we bother, you'll catch the snitch. You always do," he told Malfoy, releasing the tiny fluttering trinket.
"Ah, but the chase is always so fun," the Seeker replied, watching the snitch fly up and disappear from view.
He would give it a head start—finding it again in a bit was half the fun. The three Slytherins floated high above the ground when Theo turned their conversation from Quidditch—Blaise's eighth step-father had bought him and three friends tickets to the next Puddlemere United match and he invited them and Seamus, too—to what happened earlier that day with Granger.
"Well, Granger didn't castrate me," Theo announced, his tone miffed as he balanced gracefully for his large size.
Draco huffed, grasping the broom until his knuckles turned white. "She would have had every right to."
"Anyone care to fill me in on what that was all about? I had to reassure Lav that not all purebloods will put some kind of sex hex on a witch," Blaise commented, crossing his arms as he looked between the two.
Theo told the story—an abridged version, devoid of his usual dramatic flair as he soberly relayed the happenings. Draco listened quietly, having heard it all, while Blaise interjected, asking mature and logical questions instead of his usual playful banter. Draco could see that Theo was hurting—Daphne had always been it for him, but he had respected her choice to call things off. He knew he would lose her if he returned to Hogwarts. "No fucking way would I let you go back to that hell hole alone, Malfoy." Now that she was tethered to him, her attitude had been icy, to say the least.
"What are you going to do now?" Theo finally inquired, having answered all of Blaise's questions and ended his retelling of events.
Draco wrinkled his brow as he scanned the gray skies for the glimmer of gold. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, where do you go from here? With Hermione?"
Blaise raised an eyebrow, looking between his two friends. "Hold on—now you're going to try and court Granger?"
"I'm not trying to do anything," Draco dropped his eyes and narrowed them at Theo as he responded to Blaise. "She's really confused right now. It appears she wasn't as in love with Weasley as we'd all thought. As she thought. And now Nott's gone and fucked her up even more."
Theo groaned in frustration. "I really do like her a lot. But there was always something there, something dividing us."
"Daphne?" Blaise guessed, nodding his head.
"Draco," Theo corrected and the wizard in question looked up at him.
Draco's heart started fluttering and he saw the flash of gold whiz past his head, ignoring it. "What do you mean? I stayed out of your way!"
"Do I need to spell this out for you, Malfoy? You like her, she likes you," Theo told him, speaking slowly as if that would drive his point home. "Even when we were together, our conversations always came back around to you."
The two stared at each other and Blaise looked between them. "Am I missing something?" he asked, his brow wrinkled in deep thought, as though he were trying to recall a moment in time.
Theo broke the stare to look at the Italian wizard. "Hermione spent two hours the other night, staring at and pining after this git," he jabbed a finger in Malfoy's direction. "And he's been staring at her every chance he's gotten. Across the classroom, by the stables, in their common room. It's ridiculous. You think I haven't noticed—and perhaps I tried to ignore it, because for one, I deserved some happiness, too. But it was going to end sooner rather than later. She is interested in you."
Draco tried to replay all of his interactions with the witch since they'd gotten back to school. He couldn't think of a single time they'd been in a situation where she could have stared, unnoticed, for two hours. "When was she staring at me?"
"When you were out here by the lake the other night," Theo's tone had softened some.
"You didn't tell her anything-" Draco began.
"Only that it was Pansy's birthday and would have been your anniversary. She's fairly intelligent, Draco. I think she figured out that you loved Pansy—though I think the thought that you could actually love anyone besides yourself still befuddles her," Theo finished with a smirk.
Even Draco had to laugh—he knew he came off moody and arrogant. "I think you are mistaken, Nott," he said, silently relishing the idea that she'd paid so much attention to him, even if it had been in his weak moment.
Theo rolled his eyes. "She wants to go home for Christmas," he stated, seemingly out of nowhere.
"And?" Draco asked, unsure of where this conversation was going.
"She wants to go home for Christmas, but she doesn't want to go alone."
"You want me to go with her, to her home, to meet her parents?" Draco asked incredulously. That was a tall order for someone who hadn't actually asked Granger to accompany him alone to the library, let alone to a date.
"Her parents won't be there," Theo stated simply and Draco knew instantly that there was more to that sentence.
"Why not?" Blaise asked, once again looking between the two.
Theo tore his eyes from Draco's, shrugging one shoulder as he swayed on his broom. "That's her story to tell, mate," was all he said in reply.
Draco was silent for a moment. He had a lot of work to do in a short period of time if he was to get her to trust him enough to agree to bringing him to her—empty?—home for Christmas. Was Theo insane? Why would she even want to do that? Why would he?
"You need a date to your mother's fundraising gala. She needs a friend to accompany her during a difficult time in her life. I'm not entirely sure what happened with Weasley—she never told me—but, she has already expressed her reluctance to go to the Burrow for the holidays."
"Why would she want me to be there? If it's going to be difficult, that means it's also probably a very private moment," he argued, different scenarios playing out in his mind as he tried to imagine himself in a muggle home with Granger.
"Look. Stop being a prat and try to befriend her enough to where she doesn't think you'll hex her in a fit of anger. She will agree to it, I'm sure," Theo told him.
"How am I supposed to do that?"
The look of exasperation that Theo gave him made Draco wither slightly. "Merlin's fucking beard, Malfoy. Be nice to her."
"Nice?"
Theo let out a roar of frustration and took off after a fluttering glimmer of gold that zoomed past them. Draco was stunned for a moment before he took off after his friend. No way would Theo best him as Seeker.
o-o-o
A/N: Please review! And thank you to everyone who already shows love to this in one way or another.
