It had been two weeks since Granger had told him not to come out at night anymore, and Draco was absolutely furious. Because it was currently three forty-five in the morning and once again, Draco became aware that she was avoiding him. Or trying to keep up her idiotic bargain about not mentioning the things he'd said if he wouldn't come out. It wasn't working though, because Draco still left his room every night. And however he'd looked when Granger had found him in the corridor, Draco knew he looked worse now. For starters, he could barely even sleep without thinking about Granger, which wasn't pleasant for him, and the few hours he got were spent tossing and turning as he tried to figure out whether or not she would show her face. Once he came out at midnight, he would spend the next six hours of his life sitting uncomfortably in his chair as he stared at her door. If Abbott or Boot every decided to go for a midnight stroll, he would be caught and they would most definitely throw a fit about it.
Granger had, without fail, changed everything and they were barely halfway through the school year. She had changed his opinion on certain things that Draco hated to think about, and she'd changed his plans on being alone the entire year. He was still stuck with her whenever she wanted to talk to him during the day and they still sat together in certain classes, but she avoided him at night. It was driving him crazy; half the reason he'd even started to like her was because of the late night conversations and if he wanted those feelings to grow-
Draco's cheeks heated almost immediately and for a moment he was glad Granger wasn't in the room with him. She undoubtedly would have asked what was wrong or what he'd been thinking about to make him suddenly embarrassed and that was definitely something Draco didn't want to talk to her about. It was a horrible thought and he didn't know how he'd even allowed it to cross his mind. He didn't want his already confusing feelings for Granger to grow because how was he supposed to keep them quiet if they did? She already knew that he acted differently around them and he was sure she'd noticed that he stared at her hands. Draco couldn't help that though; he just wanted to hold one of them one more time and then he was sure he'd get over it.
And so he was furious. Dealing with all these things involving Granger were ruining his mind. He'd been perfectly clear on what he wanted to do at the beginning of the year: stay out of sight, finish school, and see what was in store for the rest of his life. Now, however, he couldn't keep his mind off Granger and he was often trying to figure out what roll she would play in the rest of his life. He felt like a bloody fool every time the thought entered his mind, but there it was and there wasn't anything he could do to prevent it from happening. That wasn't the only thing he was caught up with trying to figure out though. I'm not going to pretend to like it but I won't stop you from being happy often drifted into his mind if he was spacing off in class, and he wanted to figure out exactly what his mother meant. Did Granger make him happy? In a way, maybe, but at the same time she absolutely infuriated him. Did he want others to notice that? No. And-this was the thought that particularly bothered him-what if Granger had figured out what she did?
Draco yawned quietly and ran a hand through his already tousled hair; he couldn't remember how many times he'd done that in the span of the last four hours, but it had been enough times to make his head look like it was a mess. It hadn't even looked that bad when he'd dragged himself out of bed. The thing was, Granger probably wouldn't even know that he'd been waiting up for her on the off chance that that night was the one that she would decide to get over her idiotic attempt at trying to help him. As if this was helping him; Draco was pretty sure the entire ordeal was making him worse. And, if anything, angrier than he had been in a long time. He wanted nothing more than to confront her about it but so far he hadn't done it because they were only ever together around other people and he couldn't exactly bring it up then without other people finding out. He would be ridiculed if other people found out about what he was doing, so that was out of the question.
By the time it got to be five thirty, he'd come up with a hundred different ways to get back at Granger for what she was doing to him. His absolute favorite involved forcing her onto a broom because he knew how uncomfortable flying with her. Draco figured she should have to deal with the same level of discomfort that their current situation had caused him, and that would get them pretty close to even. Then again if he did that he was sure Granger would never say a word to him again and that would just make him even more uncomfortable.
When six came around Draco trudged back to his room and slammed the door behind him, his frustration getting worse. She'd put him through two weeks, two bloody weeks of this and he was ready to just stop talking to her all together. It was childish, something Granger loved to accuse him of being, but he quickly decided on the silent treatment before grabbing a towel to head to the shower. It would provide him with a slightly more positive outlook on the day. He would upset Granger just like she'd upset him and Draco would probably be pleased with the outcome. It made him feel like an idiot, he realized as he climbed into the warm water, how obsessed he was becoming with getting revenge on Granger for something that he'd probably be over in another few weeks anyway, but he was acting irrationally for a reason he didn't know.
Draco walked out of the bathroom, ready for the day despite the fact that he was completely exhausted. He was sure Granger would be mad at him because he was sure to fall asleep in at least one of his classes, but at the moment he didn't care. Granger was just leaving her room and she offered him a small smile that he quite obviously didn't return. He didn't really smile at her ever, despite the multiple attempts she made each day to get him to. It just felt odd to him, so he didn't do it.
He walked down to the great hall, not really hungry but knowing that Granger would hunt him down if he didn't go. At least he thought she would; she almost never missed meals and she was pretty strict about things like that. It was one of the things Draco found interesting about her; she was so incredibly serious about all of these things yet she had the odd capability to turn into a completely normal person if she was relaxed. He'd never thought she could do that back when he hadn't really known her. She'd always been the extreme of something when he'd been around her in the past and he hadn't realized that ordinary was something she could be. Draco frowned as he sat down and grabbed a piece of toast; ordinary didn't really suit Granger though. She was a lot more than ordinary, but thinking about that would only solidify unwanted things in his mind.
The great hall slowly filled up and the only thing that kept Draco sitting calmly in his seat was the fact that somehow the jokes about the Daily Prophet article had stopped. He suspected Granger had something to do with that, because she was completely furious every time she saw someone laughing at him. Draco could understand, he'd be just as angry if not more if he saw someone acting that way toward Granger, but no one would ever act that way toward their hero. And that's what Granger was, a hero, and that's what Draco had to remind himself of. Granger was a hero and she would be disgusted if she found out about his thoughts.
Classes are always annoying, in Draco's opinion, especially if other people couldn't grasp the concepts and they got stuck in the same place. Which seemed to happen in the first three classes he attended, so overall the day was complete torture. It was a Friday anyway and he didn't have many classes with Granger, so he didn't even get to see how much it would irritate her. By the time he did see her again and actually get to interact with her, she was asking him if he'd like to go study in the common room before dinner and the meeting. Which, of course, he didn't reply to. She'd only been confused, of course, which Draco was beginning to feel bad about though that only made him angrier. He didn't want to feel bad about giving her the silent treatment because she was basically doing the same thing to him every night.
Despite not saying anything, Draco found himself walking toward the common room with her a safe distance away from him. Granger sat on the left side of the couch, as usual, and every now and then she would throw him a confused glance. Draco, on the other hand, couldn't keep his eyes open long enough to start working on his homework like Granger had. Instead, he found himself falling asleep in his chair like he normally did when he was in the common room with Granger, which he really did not want to do.
Nearly an hour and a half later, Granger was shaking him awake and smirking. He almost forgot that he wasn't talking to her and he was about three seconds away from telling her to leave him the hell alone when he remembered. He'd fixed a cold glare on her instead and Granger's smirk had faltered, and she slowly drew her hand away from his shoulder. Draco was glad he wasn't saying a word to her in that moment because he might have shouted at her for daring to draw her hand away. It had felt nice on his shoulder and he would rather die before admitting that to anyone, but it had. "Okay, what's going on?" Granger asked finally, frowning at him. She waited for his answer for at least a minute and when he didn't respond, she rolled her eyes. "Are you seriously giving me the silent treatment? I don't even know what I did!"
He could have answered her, he knew, but that would mean breaking his streak of not speaking to her for an entire day. Besides the holiday he hadn't really managed it for the school year and that was surprising for him. Before this year Draco would have been pleased about not speaking to her but now it was just starting to irritate him. He wanted to talk to her and yell at her for not coming out at night anymore, as they were finally alone, but of course today was the day he'd decided to keep silent.
"Honestly, Malfoy, this is ridiculous,"
Before she could say anything else, Malfoy stood up and walked out of the common room. He knew that Granger was surprised at his actions, but he didn't care all that much about that. If she really wanted to talk to him she could come out of her room when she woke up at night.
Draco went through dinner, frowning the entire time, as he saw Granger staring at him. She was lucky that others didn't seem to be noticing otherwise he was sure they would say something about it. Though with his luck the people making the comments would probably come after him and accuse him of using a spell or a potion on her. Half of his time was spent actually eating that night; the other half was spent staring back at Granger with a bit of a glare.
Once he was done eating, Draco walked out of the great hall and toward McGonagall's office. It was time for the weekly meeting and, as much as he didn't want to go, he knew that he had to. Besides, if he didn't go then it wouldn't give him the chance to voice his opinion on Boot's idiotic new program. Delegates hanging out with younger kids from every house, just to make them feel welcome? Draco had no desire to participate in that and he would outright refuse if McGonagall let that one happen. Let the other students do it; Draco was not going to be stuck with a bunch of annoying kids that probably hated him as much as everyone else did.
"You're early, Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall said, coming up behind him. "Why aren't you with Miss Granger?"
"I'm not always with her," he said roughly, scowling at the mention of the girl who'd been occupying most of his mind as of late.
"But you two often walk to these meetings together,"
"I was done eating before her,"
"I see," McGonagall said, frowning at him. She opened the door to her office for him and Draco sighed, taking his usual seat and waiting impatiently for everyone else to arrive. Draco was sure, when Granger walked in, that she was only walking with Boot and Abbott to get back at him for not talking to her because she took her seat next to him with an annoyed glance at him. "Shall we begin?" McGonagall asked, glancing between the two as her frown deepened. Maybe there was tension-okay, there definitely was tension-but that didn't mean McGonagall had to watch them warily while Boot and Abbott did most of the talking.
Eventually, Granger got to talk about what kids had been telling her and Draco rolled his eyes; it was usually the same and he had a sinking suspicion that Granger only talked to people that came up to her. And he was pretty sure it was mostly Longbottom her information was coming from. He only half listened, which Draco knew could get him into trouble if he agreed to something he didn't mean to, but Granger wasn't exactly asking for a vote on anything. It wasn't until he head, "And I really think there needs to be some sort of program to stop people from acting so childish,"
It could have been meant, Draco realized as his eyes narrowed, for anyone as there were plenty of people acting childish at Hogwarts. There were plenty of people who were making fun of each other harshly and Draco had been at the tail end of that, but from the look Granger shot him he knew who her words were directed at. "Excuse me, Miss Granger?" McGonagall asked, surprised by the words.
"Well, it's just that there is really no reason to act childish and rude to one another, especially if the one receiving this behavior has done nothing wrong-" Draco scoffed. An actual scoff that made all eyes turn to him. "Do you have something to add?"
"I think you should mind your own damn business, Granger. Leave people to act as they please," With the words, he'd broken his promise and also made everyone in the room raise their eyebrows. Really, he was amazing at making friends.
"And I think that you should go to this program,"
"Oh, please. If I need to go, Granger, then you do too,"
"What-No, I don't!"
"Tell me, Granger, what's more childish: ignoring someone or trying to embarrass someone because you don't get your way?"
"I am not childish, Malfoy, you're the one giving me the silent treatment!"
"You're the one who doesn't listen to anything I say!"
"Oh shut up, Malfoy," she said angrily. "You know why I'm doing what I am and you're benefitting from it, aren't you?"
"No!"
"Mr. Malfoy, Miss, Granger, maybe you should take this somewhere more private," McGonagall tried to intervene, but Granger was staring at him.
"What do you mean you're not benefitting from it?" she asked, completely ignoring McGonagall which obviously didn't please her.
"I mean, Granger, that despite your best efforts I'm still not getting any damn sleep and I spend six hours wondering if you're finally going to get over yourself and realize that I'm trying to do this for you!"
"For me? You're not doing this for me!"
"Oh, please, why else would I-"
"You're doing this because you feel guilty and you want to play the hero,"
"I think you're talking about yourself now, Granger," he said icily.
"No, I'm not. You think I need you to save me or something, or that I need you to be there for me when I'm perfectly capable of doing things on my own. I'm not helpless-"
"The hell you aren't!" he shouted, his anger bubbling over. "I watched you wake up from one, Granger, I know what it was like to be afraid for you because you scared the hell out of me with-"
He fell silent almost immediately, as if he'd only just realized where he was. Granger had the same look on her face, and she glanced at the other three people in the room nervously. "Would you care to explain, Miss Granger?"
"Not particularly," Granger said quietly.
"Mr. Malfoy?"
"It's her secret, not mine," he said immediately.
"Obviously there is something going on and if you two don't-"
Granger stood up, grabbed Draco's arm, and pulled him out of the office before McGonagall could say another word. "Granger I didn't mean to spill your-"
"It's not like I was helping the situation any,"
"But I should have been more careful-"
"Malfoy, did I really scare you?"
"What?"
"Did I scare you that night, when I woke up?"
Draco blinked, surprised by the question. The image of her terrified eyes flashed through his mind and Draco nearly cringed. "I-Well, yes, I guess. I hadn't seen you look so afraid in a long time so I guess I just... And then I... I..."
"You don't have to finish,"
"Good,"
"So it's really not helping you any? You haven't been sleeping more?"
"I believe I told you when you first suggested it that it wouldn't help me. The only thing that's going to help is if you get better. I don't see that happening in the near future. I'd like to-" he stopped again, his face going a horrible shade of red as he realized what he'd almost said.
"To what, Malfoy?" Granger asked curiously. "Draco," she said tentatively, making him look at her with slightly widening eyes. It surprised him every time she used his first name, and it always made him look at her. "What do you want to do?"
"Just make sure you're okay, I guess," he muttered, dropping his gaze again. To his utter surprise, Granger didn't say anything to him. Instead she carefully took his hand and began to walk slowly back to the common room. Draco followed her, watching their hands the entire time they walked and nearly smiling at the feeling.
"Go to bed," she said once they reached the common room. "I won't come out every night, Malfoy-" he was almost saddened by the fact that she'd gone back to his surname, but he didn't say anything about it. "-but every now and then, okay? But you need to get regular sleep. I'll try and sleep through the night too, if it makes you feel better. Does that sound okay?" He once again said nothing, but nodded slightly. He was too stunned by the sudden turn of events in his evening to register the fact that Granger had squeezed his hand before letting it go and walking back to her own room. He didn't actually move until the door to the common room opened and because he didn't want to deal with Boot or Abbott, Draco hurried into his own room.