Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books, and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Hermione, having overheated in the sun, had retreated to the cool but creepy dungeons. Walking through the maze of corridors, Hermione ankle boots were the only sound heard. The portraits on the wall jeered at her, commenting on her house and blood status, along with one particularly wrinkly woman insulting her intellect. At the last comment, Hermione almost confronted the portrait, but decided it was futile.
Her mind wandered as her feet did the same, wondering back to when she saw Draco come down from the tree. She had convinced herself that he was reading an academic book, but the longer she thought about it, the more she couldn't deny what she'd actually seen: Draco was reading a muggle novel.
After another turn in the winding corridor, Hermione heard shuffling ahead of her, and was about to turn around when she noticed Draco coming out of one of the dark alcoves, his hands stuffed deeply in his pockets.
Hermione took off her boots and sucked in a breath when her socks hit the cold floor, quiet enough to not draw Draco's attention. Creeping behind the retreating Slytherin, Hermione stuck to the shadows, not wanting to be seen. Draco rounded a corner at the end of the corridor as Hermione reached the alcove he'd exited, looking inside.
Casting a quick lumos, Hermione noticed a book peeking out from underneath the bench. Bending down to pick it up, Hermione's eyes widened when she read the cover: The Catcher in the Rye. Hermione had read the novel when she was in primary school, shocking both her parents and her teachers.
Hermione held the novel as she hurried after Draco, planning on confronting him about his choice of reading material. Making sure to extinguish her wand's light, Hermione rounded the corner, only to smash into someone and topple to the ground.
"Seriously? Again?" Hermione rubbed her head, the novel forgotten on the floor beside her. The person she bumped into bent down and picked up the novel, turning it over in his hands as he spoke.
"Where'd you get this?" Hermione inwardly cursed; not only had she hit someone twice in a week, but it was Draco both times. She opened her eyes and focused on Draco who was casually leaning against the wall as if he hadn't just collided with her.
Hermione sat up and slipped her boots back on, realizing how ridiculous she looked. She dusted off her pants and stood up, facing Draco.
"An alcove. What's it to you, ferret?" Draco's shock was overshadowed by his irritation with the Gryffindor. He looked at her with a scowl.
"I... uh…" Draco fumbled for words, not wanting to admit that he was reading it. Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. "It's some Slytherin girl's book." He huffed, regaining his composure. "Wait till I tell her you stole it." He smeared at Hermione with a smirk. She visibly responded to Draco's threat.
"I didn't steal anything! It was under a bench in an alcove. I found it!" Draco raised an eyebrow at her, amused that she got riled up so quickly. She took a few deep breaths before continuing, "It's my favorite book, is all." She shrugged and crossed her arms, figuring he'd tell everyone anyway. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at her.
"Why is it your favorite book?" He wasn't about to tell her that he'd read it, but was curious about her opinion. She looked at Draco for a moment, curious as to why he was asking. She shrugged and answered anyway.
"Holden's clearly intelligent yet he has such a jaded outlook on life. It makes me wonder if happiness is a lie and some people realize that people mask their true feelings to please others. Yet he's also self-critical." Hermione's eyes lit up as she spoke about the protagonist. Draco rested his head against the wall, entranced by her passion. "It's…" Hermione trailed off as she caught Draco's eyes.
"Real." Draco finished her thought, understanding exactly how she feels about the novel. Hermione tried to speak but her voice was caught in her throat, gazing into his steel grey eyes. Draco lost himself in her brown eyes, mesmerized by the fire he saw in their depths.
Hermione allowed herself to look at Draco, clearly seeing him for the first time. She'd always known he was attractive, but she never actually took the time to look at him critically. His grey eyes, while normally hardened with anger or irritation at her, were open and inviting. She could tell he was used to hardening himself against others by the tiredness she could see.
Draco snapped out of his daze and cleared his throat, his gaze hardening immediately. He looked down at the book, lost for words. "Holden seems like someone done with the world, tired of baring his soul to people who won't do the same." Draco seemed to not realize what he'd said, and remained lost in thought as he looked at the cover.
"Must be tiring." Hermione whispered in understanding, looking from the book to Draco's face, realizing how much he really connected to the protagonist. He looked up at her, shocked that he'd said what he did, to her no less. He was more surprised though, when he realized she wasn't disgusted or amused by his statement, she seemed genuinely interested in what he had to say.
"It is…" Draco had never had a discussion like that with anyone before, much less a mudblood. They gazed into each other's eyes in silence, unaware that they were drifting closer. Hermione shot back to reality as her fingers brushed the book. She jumped back, snapping Draco out of his daze.
"I-I should go…" Hermione fumbled with her words as she fussed with her hair, desperate for a distraction. Draco cleared his throat and stepped back as well, holding the book out to her. She eyed it, confused.
"Take it," Draco thrust the book at her, almost catching her off balance once more. He stuffed his hands in his pockets before continuing, "it's your favorite." He mumbled, looking down at the floor and shuffling his feet.
Without thinking, Hermione rested her hand on Draco's arm. His head shot up and he looked at her incredulously; she'd never touched him before. Hermione paid no mind to his reaction, instead thanking him for his thoughtfulness.
"Thank you, Draco. Truly." Her smile was genuine and her eyes sparkled. While she was confused with his thoughtfulness, she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He smiled at her in response, unable to stop himself. Hermione turned and left the corridor, planning on returning to her common room.
After Hermione left, Draco slumped against the wall, unable to hold his weight any longer. He couldn't tear his eyes away from where she had stood. What the hell just happened? He remained frozen in place, his interaction with Hermione running through his mind. He had no idea how long he'd been leaning against the wall, but eventually a first year found him.
"Excuse me…" she approached Draco cautiously, "are you okay, Mr. Draco?" Her question tore him from his thoughts. He looked around in confusion.
"What did you just call me?" He squinted at the first year as he righted himself, his mind going a mile a minute.
She looked at him hesitantly before restating her question, "Are you okay, Mr. Draco?" His head swiveled, now staring at the end of the corridor where Hermione had disappeared, now ignoring the first year. She called him Draco.
The first year who approached Draco turned and retreated the way she came, not wanting to bother Draco. As the first year disappeared around the corner, Draco moved in the opposite direction, not thinking where he was going.
Before he knew it, he was standing at the entrance to the dungeons where Hermione had to leave through. Standing in the middle of the corridor, Draco stared up the stairs, thinking about their interaction over and over again.
It wasn't until he was clasped on the back that Draco focused on the people surrounding him. Crabbe and Goyle flanked him while Theo stood in front of him. "All good there, Draco?" Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Draco nodded at his friend who remained unconvinced.
"Want to go flying?" Draco looked at the two who flanked him before looking at Theo. As Theo nodded, Crabbe and Goyle broke into an all out sprint to the Quidditch pitch, fighting, as always, about who would make it there first. Draco never understood their rush to get to the pitch, as they always waited for him before flying.
Draco and Theo followed the pair at a leisurely pace, neither in a rush. "So," Theo began as they left the castle, "want to tell me what's going on in that brain of yours?" Draco looked at Theo and feigned confusion, not wanting to explain his uncommon experience with the Gryffindor know-it-all earlier that day. "Don't play dumb with me, I know you." Draco sighed, realizing he had no choice.
"It's a girl-" Draco began, before being stopped by Theo.
"Ah, say no more. You'll get her soon enough." Theo smirked at his friend, referencing his well-known sexual status as he waggled his eyebrows. Draco laughed, realizing that if Theo knew who he was talking about and what he was suggesting, he'd quite literally get sick.
Theo, taking Draco's laugh as a sign that he was abandoning his mental fog, launched into a discussion about a girl he fancied, but was frustrated because she was a Ravenclaw. Draco offered advice where he could, but it seemed that Theo's attraction would go nowhere, since she was already seeing another Ravenclaw.
The pair switched topics to the upcoming guests, with Theo making thinly veiled sexual comments about the ladies from Beauxbatons. Draco threw himself into the discussion, wanting to forget a certain brown eyes bookworm. They reached the pitch just as Crabbe and Goyls had gotten their brooms. Draco and Theo quickly followed suit and before Draco could think about his interaction with Hermione, he flew high and fast, the wind whipping in his face.
Theo, Crabbe, and Goyle joined Draco in the air seconds later, and took turns chasing each other, before Draco and Theo began practicing their moves, preparing to impress a couple of guests. The group flew until it was too dark to see the ground before calling it quits. They dismounted and put away their brooms and took showers.
They still had a good half an hour or so until curfew, so they took their time on the walk back to the dungeons. Truthfully, Draco didn't really want to go back to the dungeons and be confronted with his earlier interaction with a certain Gryffindor. Flying had taken his mind off it, but the closer they got to the dungeon, the harder it was to push away.
Walking through the Great Hall, Draco didn't see anyone aside from Mr. Filch, who was cleaning something in the far corner. Mrs. Norris laid just feet from his feet, her eyes fixed on the Slytherins. Her gaze unnerved Draco slightly, as he wasn't quite sure she was only a cat. He kept his eye on the cat until the group turned the corner and he could no longer see her.
When they got back to the Slytherin common room, the group decided it was time to call it a night. Draco changed into his Slytherin green pajama pants and climbed under the covers, relaxing into the soft mattress. He was physically exhausted from flying and mentally exhausted thinking about his encounter with Gryffindor's Golden Girl. Draco drifted off to sleep, his mind still on Hermione.