~*~ Chapter 2 ~*~
Many days past and Hermione and Draco fought at least twice a day. But it seemed to be almost half hearted on Draco's part. She noticed he was actually quiet and withdrawn and less of a pompous ass. The work was mostly finished and they were just putting on the finishing touches over the next few days.
"Are we done yet!?" Draco said in an aggravated voice. He pushed himself back forcefully from the desk they were sitting at and threw his quill down. Ink flew onto her hand from the quill and he shivered for a moment.
"No! We still need to site half the resources we used. If you want, I'll just finish it and make your life even more easy!" She was infuriated. He had been complaining like this for the last two hours. Suddenly, she was against the walls, being pinned by her wrists.
"My. Life. Is. Not. Easy," he said in a monotone and stared into her eyes. Each word he said made his eyes turn bluer. She shivered as she felt the room grow colder. She could see her breath in a matter of seconds, and then he pulled away. Hermione just stood there as he took a few steps back.
"Draco…" Hermione said and watched as he turned to walk up the stares towards his room. "What… are you…?" She whispered and he stopped.
"Can…I…" His voice came out weakly and he slowly turned back to her. He opened his mouth to say something and then his eyes snapped back to gray. "Wouldn't you like to know, Mudblood." He said in his usual drawl and entered his room
~*~
"There's something wrong with Malfoy," Hermione said as she slammed her books down on the table. Ron and Harry turned to her in confusion. It was Wednesday, one of the only days they didn't have quidditch practice.
"When did you figure that out Hermione?" Ron said in a half joking voice. "Shall we start naming all of them? She glared daggers at Ron.
"What did he do Hermione?" Harry asked and glared at the Slytherin who was sitting at the other table.
"He just…never mind," she said as she saw Draco stare at her. He gestured his head towards the door and she nodded in return. "I'll talk to you guys later," she said and walked out of the great hall. Harry and Ron just sighed and returned to talking about quidditch.
~*~
He met her right outside the doors and pulled her into a dark corner. Most of the students were outside because of the winter weather and were having fun. Draco was using this to his advantage. "What did you tell them?" He growled, his steel eyes boring into her.
"Nothing to tell. I'm not quite sure how to explain it anyway." She said and moved away from the wall. "Why don't you tell me?" Hermione said in a demanding tone.
Draco dropped his mask and looked at her. "You wouldn't understand. Nor would you want to." He said sadly and walked off. She started to follow him, but decided she could pester him later. Turning around quickly, she walked towards the library.
~*~
Draco burst into his room and ran to his mirror. He grabbed it by the sides and smashed his reflection with his fist. It cut his hands and splintered into small pieces. 'Why am I being so nice to that fucking Mudblood! I hate them! What is it about her. Why is she so fucking persistent. Why can't I control it around her!'
He sat on his bed and put his head in his hands. Everything in his room was silver except the walls, which were black with green snakes painted on them. The temperature in his room was abnormally cold since he got there. Even Dumbledor found himself confused on the matter. Draco had assured him it was nothing and he could deal with it. As he sat in the cold room, he went over the last time saw Hermione in the common room, before they starting working on the project that day.
She was sitting at the red and silver couch near the fire. A book was in her hand and she was scanning the pages lazily. He had come in the room, and she shivered noticeably. Pulling a blanket around herself, she returned to reading. Draco was sure she hadn't heard him, but she felt his presence.
As he descended the stairs, he noticed how her eyes reflected the flames like a mirror. The fire in the fireplace seemed to lean towards her. Draco figured it was probably his eyes playing tricks on him. She seemed like a fire sprite sitting there. Her hair was very long and tinted red by the fire. Hermione had grown a lot since her first year and she was about five foot seven now.
His mind screamed at him as he slowly approached her. In normal light, he probably wouldn't have been attracted to her like this, but the fire did something to his senses. It melted his anger away, his hatred, his defenses. Putting a hand on her shoulder, she turned to him and jumped. "Don't scare me like that!" He looked into her eyes and they still held the flames. "Your hands are freezing," she said quietly. Draco jerked his hand away and sat down at the table.
"How can she melt away everything like that… I don't understand…" His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Malfoy, we need to talk."
Draco wrapped his hand with some white cloth and opened the door by mumbling his password. "What is it Granger? I see we've returned to last names again." He said and smirked from behind the door. He backed up a little and leaned on the open door. She stepped in the doorway so she could see him a little better. His room was very dark, aside from the light coming in through a small window near the ceiling.
Hermione blinked when she realized she had reverted. "Sorry, Draco. We need to talk about…" She paused and shivered for a second. "Why is your room so c-cold?" Putting her hands on her arms, she started to try and warm herself up.
"Not quite sure. I like it this way though. As you were saying?" He didn't seem to be paying attention as he said this. His eyes were focused on the red door to her room.
"What in the world is going on with you?" She said stubbornly and looked into his gray eyes. He didn't reply for a moment and thought of how her eyes still looked like the day he saw her in front of the fire. "Are you going to answer me?"
He snapped out of his trance-like state and looked away from her again. Draco opened his mouth to reply, when he heard a tap on the window. "Mail. Excuse me." Slowly crossing the room, he opened the window and took the letter from the black eagle owl. Hermione leaned against the doorframe and awaited his return as he opened the silver letter. The calm and calculating voice of Lucious Malfoy came from the parchment as Draco dropped the letter in shock.
(PS- Is this chapter good? I tried really hard on it. Cliffhangers suck, but I should have the next chapter soon. Until next time... See ya!)