THE HUNT
A Dramione Halloween One-Shot
Summary: When Hermione gets caught up in playing an old Slytherin Halloween game, she finds herself teaming up with Draco Malfoy to evade capture until Midnight. But as the old saying goes: strange things happen on Halloween.
Author's Note: Random Halloween one-shot I've been working on. Bit of a rush job to finish it in time, considering it's now 7pm here, but I'm hoping you all like it.
Pairings/Ships: Draco Malfoy x Hermione Granger
Disclaimer: I do not own, or make a claim, to Harry Potter or any related material. This fiction is purely for entertainment purposes, I do not plan or want to profit from it.
Warnings: Strong language and sexual content
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o.O.o
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"Hurry up and gather round, you bunch of muppets, we're on a tight schedule!" Blaise Zabini ordered from his make-shift podium, a table used for studying in the eighth-year common room. Ever since the war Voldemort had waged against the Wizarding World ended, things had been calmer, peaceful, different.
Hermione Granger, like several of the students whose seventh year had been interrupted by the war, had returned for a one-off eighth year to complete their education. Due to the number of students already attending the school, they'd been given their own common room and dormitories in a separate part of the castle. On the one hand, this did allow for a lot more privacy and independence than what they were used to, but it also meant that the houses who only shared breathing space when it was in classrooms or the great hall were now forced to live under the same roof on a daily basis.
For the most part, the idea of House-Unity had been fairly easy to achieve. The Gryffindor, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaw students got on like a house on fire. Most of the Slytherins had proven themselves to be fairly sociable and tolerable too, even friendly in some cases. The only hurdle, so to speak, had been Draco Malfoy. Given the fact he'd been a Death Eater, worked for Voldemort, not many people had been happy to see him return to the school.
After some very kind words from Harry, asking them to look past his actions which were no doubt forced upon him, people had warmed up to Draco and given him the forgiveness he so rightfully deserved. He even conversed with Harry and Ron on occasion, just about classes or Quidditch, but it was a step in the right direction. It made her happy to see them getting along for the first time in eight years.
Tonight was Halloween, a very celebrated holiday among Slytherins it would appear. This year it fell on a weekend, and whilst the rest of the students had been out, the Slytherins had decorated the common room with all manner of spooky items and charms. They'd planned an 'exciting' evening from the sounds of it too, with numerous games and events. This was one of them, a game of Theodore Nott's creation upon his first year at Hogwarts.
"Normally this is a game we Slytherins keep for ourselves, but as Pansy so eloquently pointed out, we have the opportunity to make it a bit more competitive this year." Theo stated, joining Blaise on the table. At their feet were four glass bowls, one red, another yellow, then there was a blue one and the last one was green. One bowl to represent each house. In the kitchen, there was another bowl, a black one, but it was empty.
The bowls on the table had numerous pieces of folded paper resting within them. The pieces of paper in the red bowl had the names of all the eighth-year Gryffindor students written on them, the yellow one had the Hufflepuffs, and so on.
"The aim of the game is to evade capture from your fellow students and the staff members who will be patrolling the halls. One name will be drawn from each bowl at random to select the students who will be acting as the 'prey'. Everyone else will be the hunters. It's the prey's job to survive until midnight without being caught. In a moment, everyone will put five galleons into the black bowl in the kitchen. Should one or more prey survive the Hunt, they get to split the winnings between them." Pansy added, addressing the students who weren't as familiar with the game as they were.
"If you get caught by a student, you can pick to owe them a favour or perform a dare of their choosing. If a teacher or staff member catches you, well, it's obvious you've earned yourself a ticket to a week's worth of detention for breaking curfew." Daphne continued.
"At ten fifty-five the four chosen prey will leave the common room without their wands to avoid any attempts of cheating. At eleven the hunters will follow after them. Hunters may take their wands, but the use of any body-binding curses, hexes or jinxes are forbidden. You can't use any spells on the prey themselves, instead, you use the environment around them. You have to use simple spells to create traps or heard them into a dead end. Does everyone understand?" Draco asked, looking among the small crowd of students.
"If we're a hunter, can we go for anyone, even our own housemates?" Ron asked, his interest in the game was obviously right up there with Quidditch. It caused Hermione to roll her eyes slightly. Ever since her first year at Hogwarts, after nearly being killed by a Troll during Halloween, she'd become rather disapproving of the festivities surrounding it.
She wasn't against other people having fun during this time of year, but she'd rather stay out of it herself. But Harry had convinced her to take part, much to her dismay. But she couldn't so no to her best friend, so she'd reluctantly agreed, along with the rest of the eighth-year students, who seemed rather eager and excited to get the game started.
"I knew there was a reason I liked you, Weaselbee. But yes, if you so desire, you can go after your own housemates. And you don't have to stop at just one captured prey. If you spot another, you're more than welcome to try and get them too. After all, you'll get more favours that way." Blaise smirked. Ron and a few other boys chuckled in response.
After a few more questions were answered, everyone started depositing their five galleons into the black bowl in the kitchen. Someone else asked what would happen to the winnings if all the prey were caught, to which Draco simply responded that everyone would get their money back. It seemed fair enough given whoever was caught would owe someone a favour, or perform a dare. The hunters would get some form of payment.
Looking at the clock, Hermione noticed it was now ten fifty. It would seem the Slytherins had noticed this too, as Theo jumped off the table and plunged his hand into the Hufflepuff bowl. Grabbing a random piece of paper, he opened it and announced that Hannah Abbot would be the prey for Hufflepuff. She groaned in amusement, but stepped forward and handed over her wand to Daphne, who then placed it by the black bowl where all the winnings were waiting.
Next, Theo placed his hand into the blue bowl. Upon opening the piece of paper, Anthony Goldstein was revealed as the prey for Ravenclaw. He looked a little pale at the news, but held his head high and handed over his wand just as Hannah had. Next was Gryffindor. Hermione could feel her heart beating frantically in her chest. Please don't let it be me, was all she could think. But when Theo opened the piece of paper and looked over at her, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, she knew she was the prey before he announced it.
"Golden girl, Hermione Granger, our Gryffindor Princess! Take your place with the rest of the prey!" Theo grinned. Letting out a sigh, Hermione left the crowd of relieved students, handing her wand over to Daphne before standing besides Hannah. That only left the Slytherins. Dunking his hand in the bowls for the last time, Theo rummaged around before grabbing the last 'prey', pulling it out to reveal the final one would be none other than Draco Malfoy. He smirked, shoving Theo playfully before following the same procedure like the others, and surprisingly stood beside Hermione.
"Alright, we're in the last minute now. In the event only one prey survives the night, that house will have ultimate bragging rights for the remainder of the year. Alright, here we go! Five, four, three, two, one! GO!" Blaise exclaimed.
Malfoy didn't need to be told twice. He'd run out of the common room in the blink of an eye with Anthony Goldstein hot on his heels. Glancing at Hannah nervously, Hermione ran after them, not having the faintest idea on where she should go to hide. It was only an hour, right? If she found the right spot, then she could just wait it out.
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Draco had played this game six times, and he'd been the pray twice before this turn. He knew where all the best hiding spots were, and having three inexperienced players would only boost his chances of survival. It was actually quite nice falling back into old traditions, especially around the holidays. It made everything feel...normal.
This year, Draco had known exactly where he would be going before his name was pulled from the bowl. He'd had it on the back-burner for years, just in case he was ever picked again. So as he quietly walked into the library, heading straight towards the restricted section, he made sure to keep a watchful eye out for Filch, or that awful librarian whose name he could never remember, but she seemed to really, really hate him.
However, things took a rather strange turn when he found Hermione Granger huddled away in the furthest corner, readying a bloody book of all things. Gritting his teeth, he quietly walked over to her, snatching the book out of her hands.
"Piss off Granger, this is my spot." He whispered.
"I think you'll find I was here first. And there's plenty of other places you could hide in this section. So you piss off." She whispered back, brows furrowed in frustration and anger.
"If you don't move, I'll make you." The words were quiet, but his warning was loud and clear. He was expecting her to storm off in a strop, what he was not expecting was for Hermione Granger to cross her arms over her chest and glare at him with eyes of venom. Stubborn little witch. Before he could say another word, a familiar voice filled his ears.
"Sorry to bother you, Madame Prince, especially at this hour, but Crookshanks has gone missing. Is it alright if we have a quick look for him?" Harry Potter's voice asked, echoing throughout the practically empty library. Who knew Potter was so good at lying?
"Oh of course dear, by all means." Irma Prince, the Librarian who hated Draco, responded.
Footsteps were approaching. Without thinking, Draco grabbed Hermione's hand and dragged her away from his prized hiding spot. What sparked this need for an alliance, he couldn't say. If he left her to get caught, his share of the winnings would go up, so why was he saving Hermione Granger's ass? He continued to contemplate that as they slowly shuffled around the bookshelves, crouching to avoid Potter catching a glance of them through the shelves. Potter wasn't stupid, he knew someone like Draco, or Hermione, would go to the place very few would dare to look.
"Malfoy. The Prefect's Bathroom" Hermione whispered, tugging his wrist gently.
"Fuck, I'd never thought of that. Good thinking Granger. We just have to escape without Potter spotting us." There it was again, us, a need for a team effort between them. Why in the hell was he so fond of the idea of working with Granger?
Whilst distracted by his thoughts, he failed to hear Potter coming around the corner. He would have been caught if it weren't for Hermione dragging him up to his feet and yanking him away just as Potter was about to grab him by the shoulder.
Snapping back into reality, he sprinted down the aisles of bookshelves, taking the odd left or right here and there to try and throw Potter off his tail.
"Glacius!" Potter's voice snapped behind him, and before he knew it, the ground beneath Draco's feet was covered in ice. Losing his footing, he slipped and glided along the cold surface, knocking into Granger who then fell backwards and onto his chest. But thankfully, Potter seemed to suffer the consequences of his own spell.
Now he couldn't get to them without risking slipping over himself or having to go back and around the long way. Opting for the safer option, Harry quickly turned around and headed back, giving Draco and Hermione plenty of time to work their way towards the edge of the ice-covered floor, looking like spiders in roller-skates as they did so.
Grabbing Granger's hand once again, Draco led her out of the library before running down the corridor with her towards the prefects' bathrooms. Once there, he shut the door behind them and leant against the wall to catch his breath. They were halfway through, without any clue as to whether Hannah and Anthony were still in the game.
"Are your ribs alright?" Granger suddenly asked.
"Hm? Oh, yeah, they're fine. You barely weigh anything." Draco shrugged.
"I think I saw someone run in the bathroom!" Pansy's voice squeaked excitedly from outside the door. How in the hell were they so on point this year? Not wasting a second, Draco grabbed Granger by the waist and threw her into the bath, ignoring her foul language aimed towards him as he did so, jumping in shortly following her landing. Grabbing her shoulders, he instructed her to take a deep breath before pulling her under.
Vaguely, through the bubbles he could make out Pansy's form walking around the bath, searching the room for whoever it was that she thought she saw. Thirty seconds passed and Draco could tell Granger was running out of air. She was struggling, and she'd get caught. Owing a favour, or doing a dare for Pansy Parkinson was not a kind fate. So, without really thinking about it, Draco pulled her close and pressed his lips against hers.
His intention had been to share his oxygen supply with, as he was quite skilled at holding his breath for long durations of time, and give her that little boost she needed to outlast Pansy's search. But things didn't play out that way. Instead, he found himself kissing Hermione Granger, letting his arms wrap around her waist to keep her pressed against him. He was half expecting a slap, or the best attempt she could muster underwater, but he was shocked when she returned the kiss, hands finding their way to his hair.
A minute passed and Pansy finally left the bathroom. Draco took that opportunity to move himself and Granger above water, lifting her by her hips to sit on the edge of the bath while he moved between her legs, lips still feverishly dancing with hers. Their clothes were soaked, clinging to their skin so uncomfortably. He couldn't stand it.
"W-What the hell are we doing?" Granger whispered against his lips, her body shaking.
"Honestly? I don't know...but...I don't think I want to stop..." He muttered, eyes meetings hers for the first time since he'd started kissing her underwater. It felt like he was seeing her, the real her, for the first time. Sweet Merlin she was beautiful.
"M-Me neither..." She stuttered, biting her bottom lip. That was all he needed. Her top was pulled off her torso without much of a warning, where his hands made quick work of removing her bra. Instantly, Granger's hands were across her chest, concealing her breasts from his sight whilst her cheeks turned bright crimson. But he wasn't done. His hands moved to her trousers next, which were hastily pulled off with her knickers following shortly afterwards.
It looked like she was about to protest at being so exposed, whilst he was still fully clothed, but he beat her to it and yanked his top off, discarding it in the soaked pile along with hers. Pulling himself out of the water, arm wrapping around her waist to pull her back slightly so he could kneel between her legs, Draco met her lips once more and guided her to lay down. At this point, he didn't care about the Game or that someone might walk in.
He was so wrapped up in the feeling of her skin against his, how her hips squirmed beneath his. She was quite literally magical, the reactions she sparked off in him were like nothing he'd ever felt before. Unbuckling his belt, and unzipping his trousers, Draco looked at Hermione one last time, giving her one last chance to stop and leave.
She looked up at him, lips swollen, panting like crazy from a mixture of lust and confusion. But she nodded at him. She wanted this. She wanted him. Why? How could that possibly be? Not dwelling on the matter, figuring he would have plenty of time to play this all over in his mind, later on, Draco took her lips as his prisoner and slid into her without abandon.
The first surprise was that Hermione Granger was not a virgin. So either Viktor Krum or Ronald Weasley, or both, had been there before him, and he wasn't sure why that pissed him off so much? Was he fucking jealous? The second surprise was how good his name sounded coming out of her mouth in breathy moans. Not Malfoy, but Draco. She'd said his actual name, she'd moaned it to the high heavens whilst burying her head in the crook of his neck, nails digging into his back for dear life.
After that, he worked on giving her everything he had. He wanted to hear her name on his lips again, he wanted it to be the only name she would ever moan like that for the rest of time. The thought of anyone else hearing her like this, seeing her like this, irritated him. With each thrust, he could feel her getting closer to her release, see her becoming more and more undone by his actions until eventually they both broke and collapsed in a tangled mess of limbs and kisses. In the distance, he could hear the clock strike midnight.
That old saying was true after all; unexplainable things always happen on Halloween.