"Hermione, you look…frayed," Harry commented. Hermione was walking extremely fast, hoping that they wouldn't notice her shirt buttons. She was keen on bursting up to her room, and Harry and Ron had to take longer strides to match her speed, even if their legs were much longer than hers. "Are you alright?" Ron looked like he was biting his tongue, much like Harry's aunt, Petunia, had done when she was trying very hard not to yell at Harry.
Hermione's heart was beating very fast. Her face was flushed and her brain wasn't working properly.
What had she been doing? Did she actually plan to…Hermione's thoughts trailed off, as she was trying to ignore an issue pounding into her mind. Again, her eyes were tearing. She cursed herself for being so vulnerable. She had never cried so much in years, not since she had been stressed in third year, but even then she wasn't sure if she cried this much. Everything was changing too fast, Malfoy, plus Professor McGonagall had decided to go crazy on her. No, no. Life was certainly not pleasant for her.
"Hermione?" Harry asked again as she said nothing.
"Oh, Harry. Um, yes, I'm frayed. Ok?" She tried considerably to calm down. It worked, somewhat. "There's a Christmas ball, something to 'raise spirits.' I think its because everyone is becoming worried about You-Know-Who. I just don't know. Nor do I care, now I you two don't mind, I want to get some sleep." She thought she heard Ron mumble something and she turned, sincerely, at him. "What?"
"What?" Ron said, feigning that he had not said anything.
"You said something," Hermione said quizzically, now they had reached the Fat Lady.
"I have nothing to say to you," Ron said curtly. "Unicorn horn," he commanded as the Fat Lady swung open.
"Ron," called Harry, a bit taken aback,
"Ron!" echoed Hermione, staring after him.
"I'll be in our dormitory, Harry," Ron said, ignoring Hermione. Ron climbed up the stairs and they heard the door shut. Hermione sighed, miserably, and trying to suppress her tears.
'At least,' she thought to herself. 'I'm getting better and not crying. All I need was practice.' She turned and buried her face in Harry's shoulder.
To do things the Hermione way is to approach something like it was homework. Hermione was determined to resolve this situation, to gain back control. She thought madly and asked herself questions like, 'Why?! Why am I obsessed with him?'
And that question, and its prompted answers, lead her to something very unlike herself.
At dinner one night she waited till the hall was almost empty, and everyone who had been informed off the upcoming ball had gone off excitedly to their common rooms to discuss the festive.
Hermione glanced around, steeling herself to do something she'd never done before. She ambled over to the Slytherin table and spoke up. "Oi!" Crabbe's and Goyle's head popped up, as they had stayed behind to stuff themselves with the remaining deserts.
"Wha?" asked Goyle after a pause.
"Where's Malfoy?" They looked at her blankly. "Your trainer? Where is her?" She sighed inwardly, she shouldn't have tried sarcasm on them, it confused them more. "Just say where Malfoy is."
"Library," Crabbe said before Goyle could stop him.
"Shut your gob," he warned, much too late.
"Excellent," grinned Hermione, turning and marching out of the Great Hall.
She entered the library and, complying with her deepest wishes, it was deserted. Only one torch remained lit and one person remained there. She grinned wickedly as her eyes fell on him, he was still near the couch, reading a book. She crept up, unheard, from behind him. She read 'Lost' on the cover of a leather band, black book. He looked up at the wall, sensing someone behind him, shut the book. He turned his head and he spotted her, but she didn't look like her normal self. She was walking more confidentially, and brashly. Plus, she had a strange smirk on her face.
"What do you want?" he asked, but she paid him no attention. She pushed the book out of his hand as her arms flew around his neck, bringing his head down so she could kiss him. Instinctively, Draco kissed back and his eyes shut like hers, but then they flew open. He pulled her off of him, though she still had her mysterious grin. "What are you doing?"
"What you want," she said enticing.
"What?"
"I'm doing what you want; what I want."
She gave him a rough kiss before forcefully moving him towards the couch where she pushed him down so he was sitting, looking up at her with excited eyes. She swung a leg next to one of his and straddled herself over him. Her hands rubbed his chest in a circular motion and, much to his dismay, his eyes fluttered closed. She leaned towards his head, making her pick herself up a bit. He groaned involuntarily. She whispered, "Like it, Slytherin?" Then she sat back down on him and kissed him, forcing her tongue down his throat. He struggled a little against her, trying to push her off slightly.
"What are you doing?" he asked breathlessly.
"Mmm," she smiled. "We need to get this over with." Her face was close to his. "I have to stop thinking about you."
His eyes locked on her, confusion in their depths. But she continued with her plan. He felt her hands rise up to his neck from under his shirt, feeling his fit form. She inclined to trail her tongue down his neck. He was striving with every fiber of his being to push her off of him, but his arms were like lead and his body refused to listen to his mind.
"You don't like me do you?" he asked randomly.
"Nope," she said, nonchalant. She was making small rocking motions on him.
His hands gripped her waist as she kept rocking on him. "Oh…God," he breathed. He paused, still frozen by instinct, but then, he gradually was successful in applying enough pressure to her stomach to push her back. She looked at him, frustratedly. "What's your game?"
"Get off me," he grunted, able to pull himself away from the couch and he retreated, backing up into a shelf, staring at her, taken aback.
"You are," Hermione growled, "Sooo annoying."
"Then leave me be," he pleaded, trying to catch his breath.
"No! You're the one who dragged me into this. And now," she got up, walking seductively over to him and placing one of her hands on his shoulder. "I want you. Not you," she said resentfully. "Just…your body." She didn't think this would affect him as she was sure he didn't like her one bit, so she wrapped one arm around him and kissed him, pushing him into the shelves.
"No, no," he protested, though he was kissing back. "Leave me alone."
"No," she giggled. Both her hands seized his belt, and his normally narrow eyes widened despite themselves. Draco was no stranger to sex, but somehow he didn't feel as confident with her. One of her hands lowered to his zip, and he tried to push her off again.
"Oh, stop it." She pulled him back and breathed heavily into his ear and he shuddered, her luring manner was seducing him quickly. It was like trying not to laugh. His mind was clearly against it, but his body didn't seem to be able to listen, and he kept having weaker moments than others, flying back and forth from resistance into surrender. The will from his body was overwhelming. His lust was driving him mad, and she was certainly not helping. But he wouldn't, couldn't, be intimate towards her. He meant nothing to her; nothing.
Their foreheads were pressed together, as they were outside the hospital wing, and both were breathing raggedly. She stared up at his cold, silver eyes that had a gorgeous hint of blue. They were looking at the floor, deciding something. She wished she meant something more to him, for a brief second she regretted being muggle-born. She wanted to say 'I love you,' but knew he'd laugh at her and make her feel incredibly stupid. She didn't love him.
She did.
It was driving her crazy, the way she had no idea how she felt. She continued to stare at his stony eyes that seemed softer now. "No, Granger," he said, weakly. "Don't…don't."
"Why?" she nagged, as much caught up in the moment as he was.
"Because," he panted. "No; no."
"Yes, yes," she teased, pulling him towards her and exposing the collar bone area, above her chest, as her shirt was dragged lower since she leaned back.
He gasped, fully taken with her manner and struggled to breath. His leaned, reluctantly, to kiss her soft skin. Then he reeled back and she shook a little unbalanced. He took three backwards steps. Staring at the area he was going to kiss. Then his eyes flitted up to her eyes, he had a panicky sort of expression in the depth of his cold eyes. He turned and tried to walk away, but his leg quivered weakly.
"Malfoy," she said in a soft voice. He shivered and looked back at her. She loved him.
"Granger…we're not to meet like this again."
"Stop pretending it isn't there!" she whined.
"I know its there! That doesn't mean we need it."
Hermione didn't say anything. Her head jerked back, surprised. A sort of hurt expression played on her face with vulnerable eyes.
He sort of whimpered softly, turned, and walked out, his legs moving more forcedly than normal.