Hello hello! I would just like to start off by saying thank you! for the lovely reviews and for those who are just as invested in this story as I am. It means so much! I also wanted to say that this story is still in its early chapters so I know it may seem slow, and as much as I'd like to update frequently it is hard at times, so please bear with me. That being said, this is my third update of the week, and we're finally at the auction/party chapter. There will be a follow-up chapter posted soon, but I hope you enjoy!xxx
The auction candidates from each house had noticeably been missing from the dinner feast in the Great Hall. The air had been thick with anticipation, and Draco was extremely on edge. After the incident in Potions, the blonde had made himself scarce for the rest of the day until dinner. He'd been starving and figured that Pansy would not pester him in front of their peers. Draco had forgotten that thankfully, she too, was up for auction and wasn't even at dinner. He then just spent his meal listening to Blaise strategize about how many galleons he was going to initially bid on Granger. Their peers had tried to convince the Italian that he most likely wouldn't face much opposition, and therefore did not need to spend much—but the boy was adamant on winning and was under the impression he would have competition.
"You're all biased," Blaise had countered, "Granger is a hot commodity amongst other houses—even Ravenclaws admire her for her wits!"
Draco supposed that his friend could be right, seeing as the girl did have some redeeming qualities. He knew of her popularity within their school, and with her newfound confidence it was apparent that other males had started to notice her as well—unfortunately that included him. He was annoyed at himself for being such a guy. Blasted hormones. Why couldn't he still be repulsed by the swotty know-it-all? 'Because you never really were' rang a voice in his head.
Despite this, Draco still didn't want to admit that he had been slightly jealous at the idea of Blaise and Hermione being together, because he still didn't want to admit that he saw her as something more than a lowly mud blood stalker.
It had all just happened so fast. One minute, he was telling anyone and everyone in Slytherin house how much he hated Granger and that he wanted nothing to do with her. The next minute, he was causing himself bodily harm in a fit of jealousy over a simple caress of her back. It didn't make sense. Nothing was making any sense. Draco had theorized that perhaps her lack of attention and him being an only child could be potential factors of his duress, but he knew he'd been lying to himself somehow. It was so cliché, him being jealous the second she no longer cared for him. What made things worse was that Draco had started to suspect that Blaise was actually starting to care for the girl. The thought of them dating sent a shiver up his spine—somehow Draco knew he wouldn't let things get that far.
As soon as they'd finished eating, the Hall began to go silent as their Headmaster made his way to the podium at the back of the room. All the students sitting down had shifted their gazes to the old man who was patiently waiting for complete silence. It was almost comical; how much tension and suspense had been building throughout dinner—it was an auction for a fundraiser for crying out loud. Why did Hogwarts students tend to make things so dramatic?
"Good evening," Dumbledore's voice boomed throughout the Great Hall, "I am glad to have finally gotten everyone's attention."
"Tonight is a special night," he continued, "as the prefects and heads of this school have organized a fundraiser for the welfare and care of newly freed elves."
People clapped; Draco was already bored.
"The rules and guidelines of this fundraiser have already been explained to most of you, but I would like to add that the only males who may bid on our auctioned female students must be sixth and seventh years."
"Better luck next time," Crabbe scoffed at a fifth year who'd been holding a bag of galleons. The poor bloke instantly deflated.
Draco smirked at this.
"Now, without further ado, I welcome Professor Flitwick to the podium to auctioneer this event."
People clapped once more, and he was becoming increasingly annoyed. Where were the candidates? Why the hell was this taking so long?
"Hello students," began Flitwick, "the auction is about to begin, and I will be your auctioneer and presenter this evening."
"Before we begin, I would like to ask those who plan to bid tonight to please be sure to raise your wand and cast a Lumos, so that a paddle can be designated to you as you remain seated."
Draco scanned the room, watching many males beginning to raise their wands and cast the light charm. Blaise, Potter, Weasley, Dean Thomas, Michael Corner, Anthony Goldstein, Terry Boot—even Crabbe and Goyle had raised their wands for a paddle. Draco noted that the majority of the bidders had been from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff—horny bastards. The blonde decidedly would not be bidding on anyone tonight whatsoever. Despite being a prefect and being expected to participate in an event technically organized by him and his peers, he simply couldn't. He would not bid on some girl and take her out just because he "had to", and he certainly would not partake in a bidding war over Granger with his best mate. It wouldn't make any sense and it would be embarrassing, to say the least.
"I'm number 69," Blaise giggled, "this a sign from Merlin." Draco nearly jumped across the table and strangled him.
"I'm number 45," Crabbe sighed, "what about you Goyle?"
"23," he answered.
His friends continued their chattering, and Draco still couldn't shake off the overwhelming feeling of violence he'd wanted to take out on Blaise. Tactless fool, talking about sexual innuendos at the bloody dining table—how lower class. Where was the boy's propriety?
"Alright, does everyone have their paddles?" the Charms professor demanded.
He was met with nods, verbal agreements and people simply lifting their paddles as an indication.
"Let us begin then," Flitwick announced.
"Our first candidate is a member of my house," he said with pride, "her favourite colour is sunset orange, favourite food is deviled eggs and favourite past-time is practicing her spell-work."
Draco rolled his eyes, how dull.
"Introducing," the professor continued, "Cho Chang!"
The Ravenclaw girl burst through the main doors on the opposite end of the Hall, and everyone began clapping and cheering for her. She'd been dressed in a tight-fitted midnight blue cocktail dress and her raven-coloured locks had been pulled into a messy bun. Her makeup had been done as well, accentuating the girl's already pronounced cheekbones. Chang looked great, Draco thought as she made her way to the podium.
"You look lovely dear," Flitwick said, "I will be starting the bidding process now."
"10 galleons," shouted someone from the Hufflepuff table.
"15!" shouted a voice that sounded eerily like The Boy Who Lived.
"25 galleons!" countered Crabbe, who was holding his number 45 paddle up proudly. Draco was shocked at his interest in Cho Chang. He'd called her spoiled goods after the death of Cedric Diggory—figures.
The bidding war continued until the last offer was made, and no one was willing to match it.
"60 galleons," Flitwick had repeated, "60 galleons, going once… going twice… sold! To number 45."
Draco had to stifle a grin, as he watched Crabbe retract his arm in a celebratory "yes!" manner. His paddle then vanished, along with most of his galleons and he looked extremely pleased with himself. At least he'd outbid Potter and Ernie Macmillan. Losers.
"Next, we have a candidate from Slytherin house," began Flitwick, and at this, all his mates perked up.
"Her favourite colour is sapphire blue; her favourite food is Chilean Sea Bass and favourite past-time is visiting muggle London, Paris, New York and Milan during Fashion Week." Draco smiled, knowing exactly who was about to walk through the door.
"Introducing… Pansy Parkinson!"
The Slytherin princess walked through the door with much more grace and sophistication than her predecessor, but Draco expected nothing less. He watched as Pansy's strapless black silk gown trailed behind her and left male students from other houses in awe. Decorated in haute-couture Chanel pearls and wearing high-heeled muggle stilettos, Draco couldn't help but feel a sense of pride for her. She looked beautiful and was a far cry from the 'Pug-faced' girl he once knew. Her hair had been in a sleeked-back straight ponytail, and it only accentuated her elegant features even more. Not to mention, the interlocking C earrings she wore were massive, and made a true statement.
As she arrived at the podium, Flitwick did not even have time to announce that the bidding process was starting because people had already started to shout their offers at him.
"20 galleons!"
"30!"
Draco noticed that no one from his table was saying anything, obviously feeling a sense of protection for their friend and were observing who her bidders were. No one was good enough for her, that much was obvious, but what he'd found interesting was the look of disappointment written on Pansy's face. Almost like she'd been expecting someone to bid on her, and that specific person was not going for it.
"80 galleons," shouted someone, and the Hall went silent. Draco immediately snapped his attention to the bidder in question, and nearly fainted.
Harry sodding Potter had been holding his paddle up in the air for everyone to see. Number 7, of course.
"80 galleons," Flitwick echoed back, "80 galleons for the lovely Ms. Parkinson!"
"Going once… going twice… sold! To number 7!"
Pansy looked horrified at the prospect of going for lunch with the Chosen One, and that made him feel a bit better. At least she would have a funny story come from all of this.
As the auction continued, Draco couldn't help the feeling of dread that had crept over him as every passing candidate had been auctioned off. He knew he was being ridiculous for even caring, but it was out of his control at this point. The blonde's palms had been sweating, his heart was racing, and his stomach was doing flips at the prospect of seeing a certain Gryffindor waltz through the Great Hall and be auctioned off to the highest bidder—the highest bidder being his best friend, who's finances could only rival another Slytherin's. Unfortunately, no other Slytherin would be bidding for her. At least if another bloke would bid on her, he wouldn't have to hear all the details or have it shoved in his face as frequently.
"Next, we have a member from Gryffindor house," began Flitwick. Blaise snapped his attention back to the podium, as he had with every prior announcement of a Gryffindor candidate. Draco's heart sped up. Most Gryffindors had already been auctioned off, but not all. Draco had counted and at least three girls, all sixth years, had still not been presented. Including her.
"Her favourite colour is violet; her favourite food is pizza, and her favourite past-time is reading."
"Jackpot," Blaise said. Draco already felt hot.
"Introducing… Hermione Granger!" At this, he reverted his gaze immediately to the main doors of the Hall.
The sudden entrance of the girl in question made butterflies instantly swarm his stomach.
"Wow," Blaise echoed breathlessly. Wow indeed, thought Draco.
Wearing an emerald green, form-fitting, open-back and floor-length gown, the Gryffindor walked through the Hall with a smile. She was positively radiant. Her confidence, paired with her half-up, half-down hairdo and stunning makeup, made Draco go weak in the knees. Merlin, he realized, she was the most beautiful girl to walk through that door tonight. Clearly, others agreed because the clapping and cheering hadn't stopped since she entered the hall.
Like with Pansy, Flitwick did not even have time to announce that the bidding process had begun.
"40 galleons!" shouted Michael Corner, and Draco couldn't help but glare at the Ravenclaw.
"50!" Blaise countered, finally letting his intentions be known. Hermione looked at him and smiled. Draco's heart sank.
"55!" Ernie Macmillan offered.
"70!" Corner shouted again.
"100 galleons," Blaise said, with enough confidence to swallow up the entire Hall. And he did. Everyone had gone absolutely silent. Draco was seething at this point, knowing Blaise had just won—and it wasn't close. Hermione looked more shocked than anyone else in the entire hall, and that was saying something. The girl was blushing, and it was apparent even through the makeup.
"Wow Mr. Zabini!" exclaimed Flitwick, his first time addressing a student by name, "100 galleons for Ms. Hermione Granger!"
"100 galleons, going once… going twice… sold! To number 69—"
The hall erupted with laughter at the mention of Blaise's number, and the Italian smirked in response while looking directly at his prize.
"Mature," was all Flitwick said.
The events that followed had all been a blur for Draco. He'd been too busy sulking to pay attention to anything other than his increasingly sweaty hands and rapidly beating heart. He couldn't begin to describe his situation, not even to himself. All the boy could come up with was that he had completely flipped.
Hermione knew she looked good tonight; it had been her intention. Ginny had helped of course, but the dress was all her. She knew it would have caused a stir at the Slytherin table, but never in her wildest dreams would she have guessed that Blaise was going to bid on her—and for 100 galleons no less. That was the highest bid of the entire night, and it was spent on her! Hermione Granger, the bookworm, stalker, mud blood, know it all that no one had ever paid attention to unless it was to copy her notes or insult her—was the highest bid of the night.
As she changed from her gown into something more fitting of a party, Hermione couldn't help but re-live the moment where everyone clapped and cheered as she made her entrance. She knew it was all superficial, and in the grand scheme of things was quite meaningless, but she couldn't help the swell of pride that had coursed through her in that very moment. Even Draco had appeared speechless, and she didn't quite know what to make of the look on his face. All she knew was that Blaise had bid 100 galleons to take her out on a date and was clearly interested in her.
Hermione was admittedly nervous for the party in the dungeons, and truly didn't know what she would say to Blaise upon seeing him. What did all this mean? Obviously she knew they'd be going for lunch tomorrow in Hogsmeade, as every other auction candidate would, but after? When everything was said and done, would Blaise still be the same with her? Would he still be interested in her, without the thrill of a looming event such as tonight? She would have to find out on her own she supposed, she would need to be brave. Be a Gryffindor.
"What are you going to wear?" Ginny mused as she walked into Hermione's dormitory, looking absolutely stunning.
The Weasley girl was a certified rocket, and her transformation over the summer had been a hot topic for some time amongst the male population of Hogwarts. Ginny knew how to flirt, look good and make it all seem effortless. Tonight, she had truly outdone herself by curling her hair perfectly and utilizing her blue eyes for a brown smoky-eye look. She'd also gone for a pinkish-nude lip, and it had all come together beautifully. She was still in her bathrobe, but Hermione knew her outfit would be nice too. Ginny just had that body where everything looked good on her. The perks of playing Quidditch.
"Still figuring that part out," Hermione smiled, "but you look stunning!"
Ginny smiled back shyly, "Thank you 'Mione, so do you."
"Thanks to you! You're extremely talented with all this… stuff," Hermione pointed at her face and hair.
"It takes time, but it's easier to learn than most things you've ever learned to do, even Muggles know how."
"True," was all Hermione said, before adding, "I'm nervous."
"You have nothing to be nervous about," Ginny retorted, "the bloke just spent 100 galleons just to take you out to Hogsmeade—in front of the entire school might I add."
"Ugh, you're right," Hermione replied, "but what if—"
"No. What if nothing! He likes you and that's that. Just keep being your usual fantastic self and everything will fall into place."
Hermione smiled, "You're right, I'm just overthinking," she continued, "help me pick something out to wear…please?"
Ginny returned her smile and sorted through the girl's clothes. Finally, she'd decided on a pair of black skinny jeans and a black, long-sleeved mesh top.
Hermione gave her a look of incredulity, before saying "It's see-through."
"So, wear a lacy black bralette. I know you have one."
And sure enough, Hermione did have one. What would she do without Ginny? Merlin only knew.
"What are you wearing Ginny?" Hermione breathily asked while jumping to pull up her jeans.
Ginny smiled and parted her robes to reveal a little black dress, accompanied by fishnet stockings and platform boots.
"I have to one-up that pug-faced Parkinson," Ginny announced.
"She's not so bad Gin," Hermione countered, "but honestly who would have ever thought Harry was going to bid for a Slytherin?"
The redhead chuckled, "Who would've thought a Slytherin was going to bid on you huh? People are full of surprises, I guess. But now it's my turn to be full of surprises."
"Fair enough," Hermione said, while finalizing her appearance and putting on a pair of black heels.
"Here," Ginny said and reached over to undo the clip in Hermione's hair as she noticed the girl giving herself a once over, "leave your hair down, it's too lovely to be half-up."
Letting her hair down had felt so good, it had been wound so tightly that Hermione had started to get a headache. She looked at herself once more and was extremely happy with the outcome. She didn't look beautiful anymore, she looked hot. Perfect for a party. Ginny nodded her approval and gave herself a once over as well before they made their leave. Girls.
As soon as the duo had reached the dungeons, they looked at each other nervously. They'd walked in silence from Gryffindor tower out of fear of getting caught after hours, but as they'd approached the dungeons their silence had been interrupted with blaring music echoing through the halls. Hermione couldn't help but feel surprised that Snape would allow for such a thing, but then again, he was extremely biased toward his house. Too bad McGonagall didn't see things this way.
Ginny knocked on their common room door, and the two girls were immediately met with a menacing look from the seventh-year student who'd opened the door.
"No Gryffindors, and no mud bloods allowed here. Piss off," the boy sneered as he motioned to close the door.
Ginny's hand blocked him from doing so, and the fiery girl pushed the door completely open.
"We were invited here," she spat, and simply walked in, bringing Hermione along with her.
Hermione was about to say something to Ginny about how badass she was, but the sight before her had rendered her speechless. Truthfully, she'd never been in the Slytherin dungeons—no one was ever really invited. She knew their dormitories and common room were situated partially under the black lake, but she'd never thought about how interesting it would look. The contrast of people dancing, drinking and socializing with the darkness of the lake outside was truly mesmerizing.
"Different than the tower, isn't it?" Ginny said, as if she'd been able to read Hermione's thoughts.
"You can say that," Hermione offered.
The two girls looked around a bit more before making their way to a table full of drinks, from fire whisky to butterbeer to some kind of alcoholic punch—Slytherins had everything. Ginny started to pour them both shots of fire whisky, while simultaneously filling two larger cups with the alcoholic punch. Hermione gave her a look, and Ginny simply shrugged it off.
"Tonight is cause for celebration," Ginny declared as she handed Hermione both the shot and the drink, "so we shall be celebrating! No ifs, ands or buts."
"Okay then," Hermione reluctantly agreed, "cheers Gin!"
The girls downed their shots of fire whisky, and instantly grimaced. Hermione had forgotten how foul spirits were, but she instantly felt warmer and looser.
"Another?" Ginny suggested but hadn't waited for a response as she went to get two more shots.
Hermione internally groaned, and as she was about to protest, felt someone tap her shoulder.
She turned around, and instantly smiled. Blaise.
"Can I just say? You look positively stunning tonight, and at the auction too," Blaise said, "I think green is definitely your colour."
Hermione's cheeks flamed, and her felt her heart beating in her ears. The boy really knew how to make a girl feel special.
"Thank you, Blaise," she replied, "Red is probably more my colour, but I had to give green a go."
Ginny returned as she'd finished replying and offered her the second shot of the night. Hermione hesitantly accepted it, and Blaise was grinning at the two of them.
"And where is mine Ms. Weasley?" he quipped.
"Right here," she countered, and offered him the third shot she'd been holding, "I saw you talking to Hermione while I was pouring our shots, so I figured you wouldn't mind doing one with us."
"Certainly not," he purred, "Cheers, ladies."
The three of them connected their drinks together and swallowed the blasted liquid with haste. Hermione and Ginny grimaced once again, but Blaise had no reaction whatsoever. Of course, he could handle spirits like a professional, Hermione thought, these people partied like this all the time.
"Would you girls like to come join me and my friends?" he offered, "we're kind of the life of the party."
Ginny spoke, "Sure, are any of them single?"
Blaise simply smiled and motioned the two girls over to where his friends had already been sitting.
Hermione noticed that the boy had placed his hand on her back to guide her, and she quite enjoyed his touch. As they approached the seating area, she noticed he still hadn't removed it once they'd stopped walking.
The two girls had been met with looks of disgust, curiosity, indifference and even a smile from Theodore Nott.
"Hermione, you've been acquainted with everyone, but Ginny," Blaise began, "this is Pansy, Daphne, Crabbe, Theo and Draco."
Ginny simply nodded and introduced herself.
No one had replied, except for Theo who'd said, "Nice to meet you."
Hermione had tried her best not to look at Draco, but she couldn't ignore the daggers he was sending her way and the look of utter annoyance that had formed on his face when she'd arrived at the table with Blaise. Why the fuck was he so weird? Even his ignorant friends had been a bit warmer to her today.
As she and Ginny took a seat, the group had resumed whatever conversation they'd been having before the girls had arrived, and Hermione felt relieved that the initial tension had subsided. Blaise had also brought his seat next to hers, and she suddenly was overwhelmed with the scent of his cologne. It was heavenly and intoxicating. Or maybe she was intoxicated.
"So, I guess we're going to lunch tomorrow," Blaise whispered in her ear, and she shuddered at the proximity.
Hermione turned to face him and whispered back, "I guess, seeing as you willed it so."
He smiled, "Well, I couldn't let such a prize be won by Michael Corner," and she laughed out loud at this, "that would be tragic."
"So tragic," she replied whilst giggling.
Appearing more serious, he added, "I also just really wanted to take you out, and I thought winning the bid tonight would prove how serious I am about it."
Hermione's heart skipped a beat, and she was blushing again.
Before she could reply, their conversation was interrupted by an announcement from Pansy Parkinson.
"So, guys, I just remembered the conversation we had last Monday," the girl began, and looked directly at Theo before saying, "and I distinctly remembered our resident charmer promoting his skills at spin the bottle."
Everyone laughed, and Hermione had a bad feeling about what Pansy was going to say next.
"And I think a couple of rounds are in order to see if he was telling the truth."
"Or if you were telling the truth, Parkinson," Theo quipped, "I'm always game for a snog."
"Oh, I was," she grinned mischievously, "who knows, maybe we'll get paired, and we can find out for ourselves."
"You'd like that, wouldn't you Nott?" Crabbe scoffed, "anything for a nice snog with a beautiful witch."
"Something like that," Theo simply replied.
A few moments later, an empty bottle of fire whisky had been placed at the centre of the table, and Hermione could feel herself grow more and more nervous. She'd never been kissed before, and the thought of giving her first kiss away during a game of Spin the Bottle made her feel sick. The girl knew she was being silly, it was just a kiss after all, but she'd saved it for so long—it would break her heart to have it wasted on someone like Vincent Crabbe.
"Round 1" Pansy exclaimed as she spun the bottle, snapping Hermione out of her thoughts.
It landed on herself, and she cheered in excitement.
"Who will I be kissing? Let's find out," she expressed once more as she spun the bottle.
It landed on Ginny. The boys went wild, and Daphne Greengrass' eyes flashed momentarily. Hermione knew Ginny had kissed girls before, in Gryffindor Tower some of the parties had been pretty wild even if they weren't as frequent as Slytherin parties. Ginny was a seasoned pro when it came to party games that involved kissing, so obviously the girl had done things like this before. Only this time, Ginny would be kissing the girl who was going on a date with the man of her dreams tomorrow—so this was actually going to be interesting.
"Kissing a Weasley tonight, having an afternoon delight with Potter tomorrow, Pans?" Blaise teased, and Ginny shot him a warning look, to which he put his hands up in mock-surrender. Hermione admired her friend's ferocity when it came to these things, and she was surprised when there hadn't been a bat-bogey hex thrown around.
"Let's get this over with," Ginny sighed, as she made her way over to where Pansy had been seated.
The two girls were both stunning and looked especially good tonight. It was interesting when two attractive people made out, no matter what their genders were. Hermione noticed everyone staring intently at them as well, including Draco who, up until that point, had seemed completely uninterested in the game. He was such a guy.
As soon as they began kissing, everyone's expressions turned into awe. It was a sight to behold, as Pansy immediately grabbed the back of Ginny's head and prodded her tongue into the redhead's mouth. They were really going at it, and Ginny seemed to be enjoying herself as well—who would've thought?
The moment was ruined, however, when Daphne Greengrass began coughing, to a point where it overpowered the music. Strange.
Pansy and Ginny broke apart at this, and the Slytherin girl simply flashed her counterpart a grin. A flirtatious grin, and Hermione was starting to get the feeling that Pansy was interested in more than just guys. Which, Hermione had no issue with, however the girl had been Draco's girlfriend for over a year now and even though she hated him, a part of her still didn't want him to get hurt or be cheated on.
"Let's proceed, shall we?" Pansy quickly recovered, and Ginny found her seat once more. Hermione glanced at her friend, who'd been blushing profusely, but said nothing. They'd discuss it later, she supposed.
This time, the bottle landed on Daphne and Blaise. Hermione suddenly went rigid, but she wanted to watch anyway. Her curiosity was an insatiable beast, Jean Granger had always said.
Hermione watched as Blaise and Daphne kissed and was relieved to see that it had been nowhere near as intense as their predecessors. There was no chemistry between the two, and it hadn't lasted more than 10 seconds. Hermione hadn't even felt a twinge of jealousy, which surprised her because she'd always considered herself to be a jealous person—at least, when it came to Draco.
The game continued, and after several rounds of random pairings and countless snogs, the bottle finally landed on Hermione. She thought she was going to die but tried to keep her composure. She refused to let anyone know that she'd lied about having her first kiss. These people had seemed so shocked by the idea, that her pride was unable to allow her to be honest.
What happened next, made her stomach fall to the floor. Not because she'd be wasting her kiss on the likes of Crabbe or Pansy Parkinson it would seem, but because she'd be giving it to the boy she'd saved it for all along. As the bottle landed on him, everyone's expressions seemed to indicate different levels of shock or amusement. Hermione had expected laughter, insults or just anything that would make her die of humiliation really, but nothing came. When she'd finally mustered enough courage to look Draco in the eye, she realized he'd already been looking at her, and he wasn't scowling, frowning or making a face of any kind. To her horror, he simply got up, walked over to where she was sitting, and knelt to be at face level with her.
As silver orbs met amber ones, she let out a shaky breath.
"Here goes nothing," he whispered, and then looked at her lips.
She knew she was blushing before, but she must've looked like ripe strawberry in that moment.
Suddenly, before she could protest or say anything at all, his lips met hers. Nothing had ever compared to the feeling of pleasure that instantly began coursing through Hermione's entire body in that moment. The girl had never been more grateful for a chair in her entire life, as she could hardly process what she was doing. All she knew was that it felt, so good. His lips were so soft, moving so slowly and rhythmically that it nearly brought Hermione to her knees. In the heat of the moment, she still managed to notice that he smelt like apples and cedar wood. It was divine.
Hermione felt like she was being lit on fire, while simultaneously wanting to cry. After all these years of torment, mockery, insults and the like, all it took was a game of spin the bottle for her to get her first sodding kiss with Draco Malfoy. In that moment, she realized that despite not feeling the same way about him as she once had, she was extremely grateful that her first kiss still got to be him. And she would make him regret every awful thing he'd ever said to her, as she kissed him back fervently and allowed for his tongue to enter her mouth. She moaned softly and felt him instantly pull back.
She didn't know how long they'd been snogging for, but by the looks on everyone's face—including Blaise, they had just one-upped Pansy and Ginny's previous record.
Draco eyes flashed with desire, but Hermione didn't have the chance to notice as he quickly schooled his features and made his way back to where he'd previously been sitting. Hermione on the other hand, was in shambles and needed to leave—immediately. Ginny seemed to notice that as well, as she got up and made up some excuse about how late it had gotten, and it would be a long way back to Gryffindor tower.
Nobody seemed to question it as the girls said their brief goodbyes, but Blaise had insisted that he would walk them to the hallway. As they approached the door, the two girls thanked the Italian boy for the invite and made their leave.
"Hermione," Blaise began, "wait a second."
She stopped dead in her tracks and reluctantly waited for the boy to come to her out in the hall. Hermione felt so guilty about what had just happened, she couldn't even look at him. But she knew she owed him some kind of explanation or apology. She still hadn't really processed what just happened, but by the look on his face after Hermione and Draco had broken apart, she could deduce that he'd been disappointed.
"Look, I know what just happened must've been confusing for you," he said.
"Well it was—"
"Wait, just let me finish," he interjected, but continued, "he's my best friend and everyone knows how you used to feel about him."
She looked down, feeling even more guilty.
Placing his fingers beneath her chin, he directed her gaze back to him and gave her a soft grin. "Despite how long the kiss lasted, it was still a game, and if it meant nothing to you, then I'd still really like to take you out tomorrow."
"I have to go out with you tomorrow regardless of if I want to or not," she replied softly, "rules are rules."
"No," he countered, "I've never played by the rules, and I don't plan on starting now. I only want you to join me tomorrow if that is what you wish, but you are not obligated."
Hermione couldn't help but smile. What had she done to deserve such kindness from him? Especially after the scene she had just made with Draco…
"Of course, I want to come tomorrow," she replied, "and I'm sorry you had to see me kiss—"
"It was a game, right?"
Hermione contemplated his question. It had been a game yes, but that kiss had been very real… at least to her. But she wasn't daft enough to think it would ever happen again, nor would anything come from it. So she lied.
"Yes."
"Then I'll see you tomorrow. Sweet dreams," Blaise replied, and kissed her cheek.
He then retreated into his common room, and Hermione let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.
"What a night," Ginny scoffed.
"What a night indeed," Hermione replied, as she thought about the smell of apples and cedar wood that still plagued her senses.
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