Disclaimer: I own nothing but the computer I write this on and my imagination. And you can't take the latter away, anyhow.
~* 3 *~
Hermione eyed the room suspiciously. It seemed drafty, and when she took a step inside to check her suspicions, she found that she was absolutely correct in her presumption. The room wafted with a musty scent of old women's perfume and the smell sunk into everything in it due to the constantly present breeze, or so it seemed.
She turned to watch Draco stalk to the chair in the opposite corner of the room. He slumped down into the chair, yawning loudly, and then he crossed his arms across his chest.
Hermione went to sit at her own chair.
Time seemed to ooze by. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Draco shifted, changing positions. Finally, he began to pace the room, staying strictly to his one side, as if the room was cut evenly in half.
She shrugged and then unraveled the destroyed essay that she still held. The mud had dried and thick dirt caked the paper instead. She peeled some of it off, but it came off with a thin layer of paper in some parts, ripping out whole chunks of words. Her perfect margin was now ragged, missing bits of text and the paper itself was wrinkled and she could feel how moist and cold it was beneath her fingers, still drying.
Draco paced for a few minutes and then stopped to look out the window. The problem was, the window didn't face outside at all. It faced some sort of other room. This one was properly lighted and the thin streams of light from inside the other room flooded Hermione and Draco's room as well.
Draco twisted the cord of the curtains. The curtains slid shut.
'Odd place for a window.' Hermione thought, suddenly. She figured that this was once probably a joint-classroom, where the two teachers might converse through the windows and share ideas of lessons. This worked well in classes where students achieved teleporting themselves from one room to the next. The teacher could always check through the window to see if the student accomplished it.
Hermione was satisfied with her logical explanation for the window. She could see Draco still puzzled over it.
' Too bad he's not smart enough to figure it out'. Hermione thought bitterly.
Draco turned away from the window unexpectedly and he could see Hermione was observing him. He frowned and then paced to the other side of the room to look at the map of England.
He seemed to amuse himself for a while thinking up random names of places and then trying to locate them on the map with his finger without looking. After a while, he began to say the names quietly to himself as well.
It was amusing to watch how he tried to entertain himself. Hermione wished that Harry was playing the game instead. She would have joined Harry and they'd end up playing for hours on end, perhaps.
"Greenwich." Draco's finger landed about an inch off the spot. " Damn." He suddenly grew bored. He hadn't guessed for more then twelve or thirteen places. Hermione felt the dull tone in the room return.
Draco's soft footsteps returned, a very annoying sound, as he paced back and forth again. She wondered if his foot had fallen asleep, like hers felt at the moment. She could feel the annoying tingle, under her robes, from the thigh to mid-calf. It was a fun sensation, almost, now that she was so bored. She knew if she'd stand up and walk on it, she'd get the prickling feeling to cross her legs. That would keep her mind off the misery of the situation.
' I can't do that, though. Draco would think I am copying his pacing'. Hermione thought, and then sighed deeply.
The room was dead silent once again.
~*~
Hermione had begun to count the seconds, and every sixty she would raise a finger. When all her fingers filled up – 10 minutes – she would repeat five more times until she had an hour. Then, she would start all over again. It was the most monotonous, tedious, annoying moments of her life. Three hours, five minutes, thirty-four seconds later, Hermione heard a light rapping on the door.
Draco had fallen asleep in his chair, his head down a bit. He jerked his head up and then said: "Wha…"
" Harry?" The hope in Hermione's voice was genuine.
" Yeah, come closer, Hermione." Harry replied.
" Okay." Hermione moved towards the door and she knelt down on the ground. She could hear shuffling the door.
Harry pushed a candy underneath the door. It was flattened and looked unappetizing at the moment, but she figured she should be grateful for it anyhow.
" Wow, thanks, Harry." She said, happily. She unwrapped it. To her surprise, it was accompanied with a note.
" I miss talking to you." Harry said, and she could bet he was grinning as he said it. Hermione nodded and realized he couldn't see it, so she said, reassuringly:
" I miss talking to you, too."
Draco shifted. He had tried to pretend Hermione wasn't there, but it was getting harder now that she was talking. It was hard to block someone out if they were talking.
" The candy can melt, it's one of those chocolate bars from Hogsmeade. You know, the one that has a surprise filling in each one?" Harry asked. These candy bars were new to the candy shops of Hogsmeade, of course, and it had immediately become a crazy fad.
" Those are my favorite." Hermione said. " Thank you so much." Harry's fingers appeared beneath the door. She took his hand and squeezed it happily. " Thanks." She said, once again. " What class are you heading for, again?"
" Snape's Advanced Potions." Harry replied. " It's nearby."
" I figured."
" Are you cold?" He asked, concerned.
" Sort of."
" I'm going to get you something to cover yourself with." Harry said. " The crack beneath the door is pretty big, maybe I can sneak you a blanket."
" Professor McGonagall will probably bring cots or something. She'll be by soon to take me out to brush my teeth or my hair, and for the bathroom." Hermione sighed. " It's so dull."
" I'd bet!" Harry replied. " Hey, guess what!"
" What?" Hermione asked.
" Ron's got that card, the priceless one that has Victor Krum on it, but his last name's with a 'C'?"
Hermione flushed at the name. She remembered Victor far too well. Victor Krum – how she disliked him now! He had wed while he was away. Of course, he was much older anyhow, but it came a shock to Hermione as she opened a letter from him to learn Victor had married. It was the oddest feeling. She thought he liked her.
Harry recognized the sudden silence in the air and he immediately said: " Sorry, Hermione, I forgot about what happened. But the card's worth a whole bunch of money because of the mistake."
" Hmm." Hermione didn't sound too interested.
" Well, do you want a blanket?" He asked, finally.
" Sure." Hermione said.
Draco shifted again. He was balancing on the back two legs of his chair so that it balanced and teetered awkwardly on the two legs. He looked as if a stronger gust of wind would knock him flat on his back. Hermione grinned at the idea of the proud Malfoy sprawled out on the floor, arms spread like a fallen eagle.
Their clothing was still muddy, of course, but Hermione realized Professor McGonagall didn't have the patience to even let the two of them change into clean clothing. The mud felt heavy and hard against Hermione's skin. The mud that dried on her hands managed to crust off, but it hurt to pull it off, especially on her arms. She realized that Draco hadn't even thought twice before he quickly cleaned himself off. For a boy, he was awfully concerned about being clean. Maybe it had something to do with his honor-filled upbringing.
After this moment of silence passed, Harry shifted outside of the door and then said: "I'd like to stay, but you know how Snape can be if you're late."
Hermione nodded, forgetting she was behind a door from him once again. With an embarrassed voice, she added to her nod: " Catch up with me later, okay, Harry?"
" Sure thing." Harry said. " See ya, Hermione."
" Bye." Hermione heard him walking away. She looked down at the candy in her hands and she grinned, holding it close to her heart. She didn't know why, but it seemed to horribly nice that Harry would stop like that. Of course, she knew that any good friend would do that, but it seemed to much more special to her. She began to eat, then turned to see that Draco looked rather hungry.
Swallowing her pride and taking her manners in hand instead, Hermione asked: " Would you like some?"
Draco looked up at her.
" Do you want some?" Hermione repeated and then raised the chocolate bar.
He shook his head and then turned to face the window facing the other room. He stared at the rows of empty desks in the room with a look of utter boredom. He was still proud as all hell, mud-spattered or not. If he were fallen-eagle on his back, a chair lying on top of him, he would still be poised and honorable. It was unnerving.
Hermione shrugged. " Well, alright, but don't say I didn't ask." She took another bite. " It's good."
Draco shrugged back.
'Ah. So body language will be the key', Hermione thought. 'Might as well be useful to know, if I gotta ask him something.'
She realized that he was still sticking to his guns: he would not speak to Hermione again. She wondered how long he'd keep that up. It was hard to remain in the same room for days and not to speak to the person with you. Eventually he'd crack.
Hermione knew she wouldn't apologize, though. The essay she wrote lay crumpled on the desk in the center of the room. It's presence would forever influence Hermione's attitude to Draco, and that was that.
Nothing would change that.
Right?
~*~
A/N: Hmm, well, Hermione's not as tough as Draco. REMEMBER! H/HR! Don't crack your keyboard in half just yet, Gary Skinner. ^_^;;;
