A/N: sorry for the long wait, I did have a lot of issues with this chapter, so I apologize in advance if it's rather weak. On a brighter note, I can't thank you enough for your reviews as it brightens my day :) If it weren't for you, faithful readers, there wouldn't be a story! Thanks so much!
I will try to insert more internal dialogue. :/
Chapter 8
"Well what did you expect?" hissed Hermione, as she tried to free her limb from his overpowering grip, "This is a bit sudden, you've got to be an utter fool for them to not notice!" she glanced around as Malfoy led her down several corridors, suddenly becoming unsettled of where they will end up. 'Where is he taking me?'
Draco tightened his grip on her arm, and then pushed her toward the wall, where he immediately caged her in, with his arms stationed on either side of her. His eyes never blinking, his lips slightly curling. Hermione shifted slightly against the wall, as though to increase the distance between them.
"Don't try to be all-knowing with me, Granger" he bit through gritted teeth. "I did you a favour!"
Hermione masked her nerves with a bitter laugh, "Please! You're nothing more than a coward! You can dish it, but can't take it. Besides, those Slytherin fools don't scare me!" she wanted to escape, as the close proximity of Malfoy was starting to get to her, yet she found herself unable to move. 'Shoot, I'm stuck' her eyes widened as she felt the slight shifting at her sides.
Draco fixed his position to standing upright, by shifting a hand downward toward her hips. Hermione felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise coupled with her knees wobbling from the slight contact. 'This is not good...not good at all'
He chose to pay no attention to her 'coward' remark, and just decided to proceed with the game, "Trust me, it's better this way" he said slowly, taking a small step forward so he could minimize her chances of escaping - making their bodies just inches apart.
Hermione furrowed her brows as she watched him approach her, 'What is he playing at?' instinctively, she raised a hand and pressed it right to his chest to keep him from stepping any closer.
Draco dropped his gaze down to her splayed hand upon his torso, as he felt a small shiver run through his system from the contact, before he turned his gaze back to the girl before him. Her eyes were also focused upon her hand. He closed his eyes for a moment, as he willed his heart to slow its rhythm. 'keep calm, it's the only way to deal with this...'
"Remove your hand..." he said as he enclosed his hand around her tiny wrist and pulled it away, then pressed it to her side, just beside her head. His fingers brushing lightly against her hair.
Hermione squirmed slightly within his grip. 'Shoot, now what do I do?' Draco removed the hand positioned at her hip and placed it upon her stomach in an attempt to calm her down. From this, he could feel her abs through the many layers of clothes she had on and shuffled his feet. 'So the bookworm has a figure...' he thought as he slowly moved his hand around her stomach area.
Hermione did not like how close Malfoy was to her, nor did she appreciate his roaming hand on her midriff as she was extremely ticklish. She felt the tingling sensation all along her skin as the blood pumping through her veins, vibrating her ribcage from the sensation, 'Eep, not good.' She lifted her free arm to brush his hand away, only for Malfoy to catch her in the act. He removed his hand from her stomach and enclosed his fingers around her wrist and pressed it to the other side of her body.
She gasped, realizing she was now unable to actually escape. 'Oh, fiddlesticks!' Hermione thought as she began to squirm even more.
"Unhand me!" Hermione whispered, as she aimed a kick toward his shin. With a sharp whack on his leg, Draco stepped back.
"What the hell?" he said, annoyed.
"I am not some toy, you don't get to do this!" she tried with all her might to fight against his grip but he was far too strong, it only made her feel tired.
"Are you finished?" Draco said casually, as he dodged another attack from her foot, a small smile playing on his lips as he watched the girl before him wiggle about to free her wrists.
"Bloody hell," she panted, 'Really, this is just...swell!' she thought once feeling her muscles give in her arms. She tried again and again, using all her strength to get away from him."I swear Malfoy, if you don't let me go, I will curse you!" her back connected with the wall again.
"And then this whole agreement, will be done with," he muttered as he glanced down her front, taking notice of the rapid rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. If he were honest to himself, she had a decent size chest from what he could see though the many layers of clothes she had on. He already felt her slim waist, and he could only imagine what it all looked like.
Draco then casted his eyes further down passed her hips to the exposed portions of legs underneath her skirt and down to her feet; taking in the fact she was not wearing any knee-high socks, just a pair of black ankle heeled shoes, which made her legs appear rather long. 'Hmm, not bad,'
Hermione slowly became uneasy at the way his eyes danced around her figure, 'Is he...checking me out?' inwardly she felt odd, this was all a ruse, just a ploy to anger Ron, why would Malfoy find her to be appealing? It was here, she felt his grip on her wrists lit up and so she used this diversion to escape from him.
'AHA!' she slipped her wrists from his grip and began to inch herself away. Yet before she could really go anywhere, Malfoy had circled his arm around her middle and brought her back against the wall.
"Damn it!" she hissed, as her eyes met with piercing grey ones.
"Nice try, but seriously...enough!" he nearly shouted the last word, that caused her to wince.
"And what," Hermione said, her voice sharp as she latched her hand onto his wrist as she tried to push it out of her way. "you think if you act all demanding and intimidating, I will do whatever you want?" she gave him a slow look up and down and shook her head, "How pathetic"
Draco took notice of her casting glance over his body just smirked, 'Just like all the others...' he thought, as the familiar rush of joy rushed through his system at catching a girl check him out.
"There's nothing pathetic about it, Granger." he purposely placed his hand upon her hips, squeezing slightly, "If you want this thing to work, yes you are going to have to listen to me, but none of this, do whatever I want, that is a misunderstanding on your part." He raised the hand from near her waist and used it to brush away a few strands of hair from her now-flushed face. "I am giving you my precious time and efforts, so I expect you to co-operate"
Hermione swallowed tightly, trying not to pay much attention to the fact that Malfoy was touching the side of her face, once again. "Well if you want my co-operation, Malfoy, you are going to have to show me some respect!"
Draco drummed the fingers of his other hand against the wall and shook his head, 'Figures she would say something like THAT'
"That wasn't apart of the negotiation," he said slowly, as he began to play with her hair again, much like he did back in the Great Hall.
"Well, I...um..." she stuttered, from the sensation, just as her nose caught the light scent of his cologne, which made her feel rather dizzy. The hairs on her neck standing higher and her heart was in her throat as she stared into his intense stare. 'Oh dear, this...is not good, Hermione. Escape, you need to escape!'
He could hear her fast breathing, feel the pulse of her veins in her throat, and see the haziness hidden within her gaze. A small smirk played on his lips as he slowly began to trace his fingertips along her jaw line. He noticed that her pupils had increased in size by a mere fraction, as his heart began to pound against his chest at the tell-tale signs of attraction in the figure before him. 'This thing is gonna be such a cinch'
'Oh no, there's that look again...' Hermione thought trying not to pay much attention to his light touches upon her face. 'But he said it was too soon. Not that he would want to kiss me, Ron isn't around, and I am quite sure he would try to prolong it as much as possible! Oh Pygmy Puffs! Why am I thinking about this again?'
"Um...Malfoy?" she whispered, trying to rid her mind of the mental image of kissing Malfoy. "Can you...stop doing that?" she wanted to stop him from touching her, but both her limbs felt too heavy to move.
He tsk'd at her. "Granger, Granger, Granger" he murmured, shaking his head, "If you can't handle this, how is anything else going to work?" studying her eyes, taking notice for the first time, their actual colour. They had tiny specs of gold hidden within the almond brown, making them appear amber in colour. He had never seen something so pretty. 'Wow...'
Hermione felt all the air in her lungs escape at how close Malfoy was to her. "Anything else?" she whispered, suddenly feeling rather nervous, "You just said we are going to talk with just a few touches!" 'If I keep him distracted, maybe he won't kiss me?'
Draco blinked a few times before moving back a slight inch and shrugged, "True, but say for the Hogsmeade trip this Saturday..." Draco looked up to the ceiling, thinking of the right words to use, "You'll need to...flirt with me" 'not that I am all that thrilled of the idea myself' he thought as he felt a small shiver down his spine, then he cleared his throat, "as you are going to be my date, it is expected"
Hermione felt her stomach drop to her knees of the thought, as she pressed her hand to keep herself from becoming sick from the nerves.
"Date?" she whispered, searching his eyes, hoping to spot his bluff. 'He...he wants me to be his date AND flirt with him?' This was getting a little more uncomfortable than she expected. Why was he so determined about it? It was difficult for her to flirt with Ron! 'Oh bugger...'
Draco smirked at her reaction - she looked positively terrified. "That's right..." he began to brush her hair from her face again, "And when that goes well..." he dropped his gaze down to her mouth, "I'll reward you,"
'He...what?' she thought as she studied his expression "Reward me?" she said, sounding rather appalled. "I am not a dog, Malfoy, I don't-" she broke off in a shudder at the thought of what exactly her reward would be; after all, Malfoy would never dream of spending money on her! 'Can I really do this?'
"Oh shut up," Draco said in an annoyed tone as he rolled his eyes, "Honestly, if you're serious about making that ginger jealous...it only makes sense to do this" he said, trying to sound as casual as possible. 'And the closer I'll be to getting those Galleons'
Hermione scoffed, she was about to respond, but Malfoy pressed a finger to her lips, "Otherwise, you are on your own...and I know you don't want that!" he smirked, "As I recall, you can't handle nasty rumors"
The faded image of Rita Skeeter flashes through her mind and the false articles she wrote which made her fourth year at Hogwarts more drama-filled than most. Her thoughts were interrupted when Malfoy trailed his finger from her lips to under her chin; causing her skin to tingle coupled with a few shivers down her spine from his light touch.
'I don't think I like that look...' she thought as she examined the glossy look of his grey eyes.
"Of course not," she whispered as her heart began to pound against her ribs, her eyes fell upon his lips, releasing a small sigh of desperation, of the thought of how it would feel to kiss him, "but-"
"Then it's settled" he said, once again, becoming captivated by their amber-colour. "you act your part and I will do mine..." he gave her body another once over, "and I guarantee, you won't be disappointed,"
'Nor do I like the sound of that...' she thought, watching as Malfoy finally pushed away from her and ran his hand through his white-blond waves.
"See you in class," he said with a wink, before sauntering away.
Hermione whined softly as she slinked down to the ground, her head in her hands as she pressed herself into her legs. She never once had she felt so weak then she did in that moment; the close proximity, the softness of his touches...and the smirk. The knowing, confident smirk that was held permanently upon his face that told her she was in over her head with this ploy.
Merlin only knows what Saturday will be like.
"I'm in way over my head," she murmured, thudding her head against the stone wall of the corridor.
The rest of the day went rather pleasant as far as Hermione was concerned, regardless of the bombarding questions she got in class about her 'new' relationship with Malfoy. She had to go through great lengths to dodge the attacks from them in between corridors, until she finally reached the Gryffindor Common Room and then sought solstice in her bedroom.
"Finally!" she sighed, leaning against the door frame. The quiet atmosphere calmed her as she took several breaths to gather her wits. "I say, never in my life have people been so unbearably nosy!" she shook her head, watching as Crookshanks got up from her bed and trotted over to her.
Hermione reached over and scratched under the ginger cat's chin, "You like that, don't you Crooksy?" Crookshanks purred even harder as he pushed his skull against Hermione's open palms. A loud knock than came to her door. She dreaded just who that could be.
"They couldn't give me one minute, could they?" she said, scooping the ginger cat in her grasp. With a quick count to three, Hermione turned the knob to open her door.
"MALFOY?" shouted the angered voice of Ginny, once she caught a flash of brown hair in her sight.
'Great, now it's her turn!' Hermione thought as she released Crookshanks and then brushed back her hair. She had purposefully been avoiding her best friend for the rest of the day, knowing just how bad she would take the news.
Ginny gestured at Hermione, "You did all this, for Malfoy?" she said with an upturned nose. "After all he's done to you?"
Figuring the hallway was not the best place to discuss her current affairs, Hermione yanked Ginny into the room, then magically silenced the door so they could not be overheard. Hermione returned to Ginny, trying to keep her face completely set.
"No. I told you before, this change was for me! Malfoy is my revenge on Ronald actually!" she mumbled knowing perfectly well that Ginny was not going to believe a single word of it.
"Oh really?" Ginny said, not sounding at least bit convinced that Hermione was speaking the truth. "Cause what I saw at lunch tells me otherwise, Hermione!"
Hermione rolled her eyes, 'nothing is ever simple, is it?' she took a deep breath, "It was an act, Ginny. Malfoy was just playing a part to anger Ron, nothing else! Like seriously, would Malfoy ever compliment me? No, he wouldn't! So obviously, it was a setup! All of it was a setup" Her heart pounded like mad after the fact, she could feel the tiny vibrations tickler her throat. 'Honestly!'
Ginny, poised with a finger pointed and her mouth agape for her retort. There was just no way, this was true; the reason was just far too convenient.
Hermione huffed a breath at catching the skeptical look in her friend's face. "Okay, fine, let me tell you this; why in the world would I ever and I really do mean, EVER, fix myself with MALFOY? A person I hate with every fiber of my being?"
Ginny tapped a finger to her chin, thinking.
"Exactly!" Hermione said, taking her friend's lack of response as an appropriate answer. "It is utterly absurd! But you see, Ron, being the clever person that he is, assumed that we were together, cause he saw us together - which happened by a mere coincidence, I kid you not, so I just went along with it" 'although my choice of words in the matter could've been better...'
"And...Malfoy too?" Ginny said, with a brow raised. "That's rather surprising! Usually Malfoy likes seeing you suffer!"
"Well he wasn't all that thrilled after the fact, no, but he went through with it, nonetheless." Hermione said, recalling the look on Malfoy's face when he blamed her for creating such a lie. She could smile, but she didn't want to give Ginny the wrong impression.
Ginny let out a low whistle, "Well this really isn't something I was expecting, Hermione! I mean, really, I am rather impressed! Heck, you should have seen the uproar you both caused in the Great Hall!"
Hermione wasn't all that surprised given the afternoon she just endured, 'I will get him back for that!' she thought shaking her head, returning to the task at hand; getting back at Ron. "And Ron? What did he have to say?"
Ginny groaned. She had endured a five-minute roar fest with her brother in the Gryffindor Common Room right before dinner about Hermione's recent dating choice. Asking her how long it was going on for, how it all started...everything. She really was not in the mood to go through it all again.
"In short, Ron told me, how I am a terrible friend to let you even date Malfoy. Of course I said it was his fault to begin with that drove you away, which kind of angered him even more, then Lavender arrived and he just left. Harry was just worried that Malfoy will take advantage of your 'fragile state' and wants me to tell you to end it, now"
Hermione rolled her eyes, 'figures' "Well there's no sense to worry about that. It's not even real! Although the Hogsmeade trip this Saturday might contradict that..." she muttered while biting down on her bottom lip. 'Gosh, I can't believe I am actually going to spend an entire day with Malfoy!'
Ginny's eyes shot wide, "Does that mean what I think it means? Did Malfoy ask you to go to Hogsmeade with him, like...as his date?" she said the last word incredulously. 'I can't believe it, I honestly, can't believe it, if it's true!'
"Pretend date," Hermione corrected, her body suddenly becoming uneasy of the idea. "But yes, he asked me and...I agreed to go." 'sort of' She debated on telling Ginny about him promising to reward her if she was well-behaved, but knew that would only create another half an hour discussion, so she decided against it.
"Well then I guess there's only one thing left to do," Ginny said, clasping her hands together.
Hermione did not like the sound of her voice at all, "What?" she whispered, 'Why do I have a feeling I should've kept my mouth shut?'
Ginny's lips twitched into a broad grin, at spotting the wide-eyed look of her friend, 'oh Hermione, do you have alot to learn' "You gotta dress to kill, girl"
E/N: well the good news is, I got both of the things I wanted to happen, in this update, happen! Draco's 'tactless date asking' and a little more contact ;) and Ginny helping Hermione! how they happened...well, I am just glad it's over and I can finally progress the story :/ also, I know Hermione doesn't like to swear.. so it is why I got a little 'creative' with her wording. Also, I felt it right for her to 'semi-panic' because it's Draco and he's within her proximity. if she seemed out of character here, then I apologize.