Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Chapter 04
In an hour of facing shocking revelations after revelations, the disappearance of a child in Hermione's arms should not have come as a surprise, but it did.
The left behind parents-to-be were left staring at each other both in surprise at the missing child and wariness at their sudden proximity, which was quickly shifting into something more emotionally intense.
Hermione darted her tongue out in her usual nervous action. "There must have been a charm that returned Victoria from whenever she came from," she offered the obvious into the awkward silence. Hermione was beginning to feel slightly breathless from the intensity of Malfoy's stare. He seemed to be looking deep into her very being, making his mind up about something.
He stepped forward, invading even more of her personal space, which she quickly stepped back to evade him, all the while mesmerised by Malfoy's intense blue-grey eyes. In less than three steps, she was hindered by the wall and closed in by the Slytherin.
'What does he want? What is he thinking of?' was her last thought before she felt the pressure of his warm lips on hers. She responded instinctively, closing her eyes, and felt a warm peace settle over her. No one has ever kissed her like this, in the corridors, against the school wall – not Viktor, nor Harry, nor Ron, nor any of her other male friends. As kisses go, it was not a passionate one, but it was sweet and she sensed that it held a certain conviction, a certain promise. "Draco," she whispered eyes languidly opening, meeting the ice-blue eyes that were reading her own toffee coloured ones, "we can't possibly…"
"Hermione," he whispered just as intimately, leaning his mouth close to the shell of her ears, eliciting a gasp from his erstwhile nemesis, "I'm sorry…"
She did not see him sliding his wand from its sleeve pocket, nor could she see him close his eyes in full concentration, nor was she able to decipher what he meant by his apology when she heard only one word whispered from his lips:
"Obliviate."
***
Hermione blinked her eyes rapidly. She was slumped against the wall and someone was holding her up.
'Malfoy!' her mind scrambled to register the nasty smirk on the countenance of her school enemy.
"You could stand to lose a few stones, Granger," he sneered. Malfoy had avoided calling her 'mudblood' since sixth year in the hopes of making Head Boy. Now that he was Head Boy, he was wary of giving the Gryffindors ammunition to get him ousted from his coveted position.
"Wha… what happened?" she bit out, her head felt heavy. Did she knock her head against the wall? She couldn't help thinking there was something important she was suppose to remember.
"That was a nasty prank played on us, Granger," the boy replied, still holding onto her elbow to keep her upright. "Someone's pathetic idea of a joke – transfiguring a House Elf to run around pretending to be the illicit love child of the Head Boy and Girl," he scorned. "As if you're worthy to be a Malfoy matriarch," he added nastily.
Hermione winced and shook her head lightly to clear it. What did Malfoy mean? What illicit love child? Vaguely, her mind cleared into an image of a sweet angelic looking girl with curly golden hair. Still feeling a little woozy and confused, she reverted to her practical nature and stated simply, "I can't remember anything… what happened?"
The tall boy continued to hold on to the Head Girl by her elbow and directed her towards the Infirmary, which was on the right, at the end of the corridor. "We'd better get you to the Infirmary before Potter and Weasley puts this on my head again. Are you able to walk or do I have to Mobilicorpus you?"
Hermione closed her eyes and felt a wave of nausea - Not a good idea, witch! – and indicated that she was able to walk. Despite her mind not working at full capacity, she knew better than to allow Malfoy to levitate her through the narrow corridors.
"We were sent by Professor Snape to escort the girl to the Infirmary, where no doubt the prank would be revealed. In fact, the transfiguration was so poorly done that the charm wore off before we even got to the Infirmary and the House Elf Disapparated in a hurry. There was someone following us at a distance and when the transfiguration charm lifted, the person threw a Confundus which hit you squarely in the head. I tried to go after the prankster, but he gave me the slip," Malfoy explained easily, throwing surreptitious looks at her reaction.
"Oh."
Hermione was still confused about the entire affair. She did not know what to think; her mind felt like it was swimming in cotton wool.
Later, she would piece from Harry and Ron what happened in Potions class, and what the child had said. Later the entire school would be engaged in rife gossips about the brilliant and daring prank played in Snape's Potions class on the Head pupils; and with each retelling, the story would get more and more preposterous that eroded the nagging feeling that Hermione always felt at the back of her mind whenever she was alone with Malfoy in their Head duties.
Eventually, the teasing and sniggering behind the backs of the Head pupils would die down, replaced with a more current topic of conversation about another brilliant prank, this time devised by the Puccini triplets, which involved the entire Ravenclaw Quidditch team and a tube of muggle superglue.
***
That Easter holiday week, Draco Malfoy had a great deal to discuss with his father.
*************
TBC.