Chapter 6: Hungry Eyes
As Hermione and Harry made their way to the Gryffindor common room, they didn't talk much. They enetered and found Ron sitting in front of the fire.
"Ready for dinner?" asked Harry.
"Yep, coming." Ron replied, putting down his Transfiguration book, " anything to get away from that stupid project."
Together the three headed down to the Great Hall. Ron talked animatedly all through dinner while the other two sat silently and didn't eat much, occasionally making grunts to make him think he was being listened to.
"So Dad wrote me today saying Percy's been promoted, AGAIN! Next thing we know he'll be Minister and if I try to make fun of him he'll probably throw me in Azkaban!" he spoke about Percy's new position as though it were his own death wish.
"Yeah.." said Hermione, ladelling her soup into her spoon and watching it drip back into her bowl slowly.
"Hmmmhm" added Harry, stirring his stew around on his plate.
Easily accepting this response, Ron resumed fuming about how successful his brother had become. He didn't seem to notice the tense silence between his two best friends.
Harry looked over at Hermione and she happened to choose that exact moment to attempt to steal a glance at him. They bothed looked away quickly and Harry said something to Ron to try and avoid the fast developing rift.
As Hermione looked away, she glanced at the entrance to the Great Hall. Just her luck, guess who walked in just then. Draco Malfoy entered and looked around the tables. His gaze fell on the Gryffindor table and he stopped to search for her. As he found her eyes, he locked her sight on him. She saw something there, what was it? As he looked back back at her he found something in her eyes as well. They both registered the look as lustful confusion and blushed, finally breaking the invisible strings that had been keeping their eye contact so tight. Hermione looked down at her lap and Draco began to get extremely interested in his pinky nail all of a sudden. Glancing back at the brown haired girl, he set off towards his own table. Hermione watched his retreating back and then got up to leave.
"I gotta go work on that project for Snape and then I want to turn in early. I'll see you guys tomorrow." and then she hurried out of the doors.
Harry and Ron looked after her as something registered in Harry's mind.
'But we haven't even recieved our assignment from Snape yet...' he thought to himself. He was smart enough not to mention this to Ron who continued on with the new story he had been telling when Hermione had hurriedly excused herself.
On the other side of the Great Hall, someone else had watched Hermione's exit as well; a certain someone with blonde hair and grey eyes...
Hermione headed back to the common room and closed herself in her room. She quickly became immersed in her work and didn't hear the portrait swing open and shut again. If she had, she would have then heard the sound of heavy footsteps making their way across the room, silence as their owner made up their mind as to where they were heading and finally the footsteps dying away in the direction of the bathroom and water running (a/n: don't worry, this is not another bathroom incident!! Lol!) Hermione finished her Arithmancy chart, her Herbology homework and her Defense Against the Dark Arts essay done before turning to her Transfiguration notes. She added another 2 feet from 'Hogwarts, A History' before laying her work aside and picking up the book on Wight Nigh for some light reading. She had just finished the last few pages when she heard a knock on the door.
"It's open" she called not looking up to see who it was.
"Hey, um, could you help me with something?" asked Draco with the air of a nervous toddler confused about where the round ball went in the complicated shape system. She now looked up at him. He, once again, had his shirt off and looked as though he had just gotten out of the shower. Hermione quickly made a mental note to make sure she set the alarm to take her shower in the morning. He was wearing a pair of blue plaid pajama pants and was barefoot. His hair was all over the place, sticking up in oddly random places.
"Nice hair" she said, smiling. He threw a look at her and attempted to make his hair cooperate.
"No, i mean it, it's...cute" she said rather boldly.
He removed his hands from his hair.
"I'll keep that in mind." He smirked, "so can you help me?" he added.
"Oh yeah, what with?" she asked standing up and placing the book on her bed.
"The wac- no vacume. I can get it on buy I didn't really get the back and forth thing you were talking about before."
"Oh, ok, well where is it?" Hermione asked walking over to him.
"In my room." he replied
"Ok, I'll go show you, shall I?" she headed to the door and he followed her out without a reply.
"Now," she began walking over to the vacume, "first you turn it on, "
"Obviously" he interrupted. She continued without an answer.
"And then you have to do the actual cleaning,"
"Well thank you captain obvious" he shot back sarcasticly. She looked at him.
"You want me to help you or not?" she asked trying her best to sound seriouusly annoyed but she gave herself away when she began giggling.
"Ok, so you turn it on," she did this as she spoke and the machine started to vibrate violently but- "Where's the noise?" she asked herself aloud.
"Oh that wirring? It was awful, I put a silencing charm on it to shut it up!" he explained.
"Oh, well done you. Now just do this," she moved the head of the vacume across the carpet next to his bed.
She handed it to him and began madly pushing the vacume around the floor.
"Stop stop stop" she scolded.
"What?" he aksed innocently.
"You're going way too fast. You've missed tons of spots."
"Well sorry miss perfectionist, I have to get this done fast" he said
"And why is that?" she asked
"I still have all my homework" he said off handedly.
"Still?! It's 9.00, Draco!" she spoke as if he was still that toddler who was now refusing to go to bed at his designated bedtime.
"I'll get it done, now help me, please?" he put on a puppy dog face she just couldn't resist. In that moment all the hate she had ever felt for him disspeared instantly.
"Fine" she said walking over to him and placing her hands over his on the vacume. She began slowly pushing it across the floor and his arms moved with hers. When they were done, she shut off the vacume with her wand and her small hands remained on his strong ones. She turned his head to look at his face. His eyes were boring into hers once again. Her head was screaming at her to look away but she just couldn't. He led her over to his bed. The alarms in her mind began going off full tilt and she finally came to her senses.
"Look, Draco, i just" she started
"What?" he asked
"I just, can't, not now...not yet. I, I have to go" and with that she left him sitting there on his bed, a brand new expression on his face. An expression of pure amazement, because in that instant Hermione Granger had made history; in that moment, she had become the first girl to ever turn down the Malfoy charm And it made him like her even more.
As Hermione and Harry made their way to the Gryffindor common room, they didn't talk much. They enetered and found Ron sitting in front of the fire.
"Ready for dinner?" asked Harry.
"Yep, coming." Ron replied, putting down his Transfiguration book, " anything to get away from that stupid project."
Together the three headed down to the Great Hall. Ron talked animatedly all through dinner while the other two sat silently and didn't eat much, occasionally making grunts to make him think he was being listened to.
"So Dad wrote me today saying Percy's been promoted, AGAIN! Next thing we know he'll be Minister and if I try to make fun of him he'll probably throw me in Azkaban!" he spoke about Percy's new position as though it were his own death wish.
"Yeah.." said Hermione, ladelling her soup into her spoon and watching it drip back into her bowl slowly.
"Hmmmhm" added Harry, stirring his stew around on his plate.
Easily accepting this response, Ron resumed fuming about how successful his brother had become. He didn't seem to notice the tense silence between his two best friends.
Harry looked over at Hermione and she happened to choose that exact moment to attempt to steal a glance at him. They bothed looked away quickly and Harry said something to Ron to try and avoid the fast developing rift.
As Hermione looked away, she glanced at the entrance to the Great Hall. Just her luck, guess who walked in just then. Draco Malfoy entered and looked around the tables. His gaze fell on the Gryffindor table and he stopped to search for her. As he found her eyes, he locked her sight on him. She saw something there, what was it? As he looked back back at her he found something in her eyes as well. They both registered the look as lustful confusion and blushed, finally breaking the invisible strings that had been keeping their eye contact so tight. Hermione looked down at her lap and Draco began to get extremely interested in his pinky nail all of a sudden. Glancing back at the brown haired girl, he set off towards his own table. Hermione watched his retreating back and then got up to leave.
"I gotta go work on that project for Snape and then I want to turn in early. I'll see you guys tomorrow." and then she hurried out of the doors.
Harry and Ron looked after her as something registered in Harry's mind.
'But we haven't even recieved our assignment from Snape yet...' he thought to himself. He was smart enough not to mention this to Ron who continued on with the new story he had been telling when Hermione had hurriedly excused herself.
On the other side of the Great Hall, someone else had watched Hermione's exit as well; a certain someone with blonde hair and grey eyes...
Hermione headed back to the common room and closed herself in her room. She quickly became immersed in her work and didn't hear the portrait swing open and shut again. If she had, she would have then heard the sound of heavy footsteps making their way across the room, silence as their owner made up their mind as to where they were heading and finally the footsteps dying away in the direction of the bathroom and water running (a/n: don't worry, this is not another bathroom incident!! Lol!) Hermione finished her Arithmancy chart, her Herbology homework and her Defense Against the Dark Arts essay done before turning to her Transfiguration notes. She added another 2 feet from 'Hogwarts, A History' before laying her work aside and picking up the book on Wight Nigh for some light reading. She had just finished the last few pages when she heard a knock on the door.
"It's open" she called not looking up to see who it was.
"Hey, um, could you help me with something?" asked Draco with the air of a nervous toddler confused about where the round ball went in the complicated shape system. She now looked up at him. He, once again, had his shirt off and looked as though he had just gotten out of the shower. Hermione quickly made a mental note to make sure she set the alarm to take her shower in the morning. He was wearing a pair of blue plaid pajama pants and was barefoot. His hair was all over the place, sticking up in oddly random places.
"Nice hair" she said, smiling. He threw a look at her and attempted to make his hair cooperate.
"No, i mean it, it's...cute" she said rather boldly.
He removed his hands from his hair.
"I'll keep that in mind." He smirked, "so can you help me?" he added.
"Oh yeah, what with?" she asked standing up and placing the book on her bed.
"The wac- no vacume. I can get it on buy I didn't really get the back and forth thing you were talking about before."
"Oh, ok, well where is it?" Hermione asked walking over to him.
"In my room." he replied
"Ok, I'll go show you, shall I?" she headed to the door and he followed her out without a reply.
"Now," she began walking over to the vacume, "first you turn it on, "
"Obviously" he interrupted. She continued without an answer.
"And then you have to do the actual cleaning,"
"Well thank you captain obvious" he shot back sarcasticly. She looked at him.
"You want me to help you or not?" she asked trying her best to sound seriouusly annoyed but she gave herself away when she began giggling.
"Ok, so you turn it on," she did this as she spoke and the machine started to vibrate violently but- "Where's the noise?" she asked herself aloud.
"Oh that wirring? It was awful, I put a silencing charm on it to shut it up!" he explained.
"Oh, well done you. Now just do this," she moved the head of the vacume across the carpet next to his bed.
She handed it to him and began madly pushing the vacume around the floor.
"Stop stop stop" she scolded.
"What?" he aksed innocently.
"You're going way too fast. You've missed tons of spots."
"Well sorry miss perfectionist, I have to get this done fast" he said
"And why is that?" she asked
"I still have all my homework" he said off handedly.
"Still?! It's 9.00, Draco!" she spoke as if he was still that toddler who was now refusing to go to bed at his designated bedtime.
"I'll get it done, now help me, please?" he put on a puppy dog face she just couldn't resist. In that moment all the hate she had ever felt for him disspeared instantly.
"Fine" she said walking over to him and placing her hands over his on the vacume. She began slowly pushing it across the floor and his arms moved with hers. When they were done, she shut off the vacume with her wand and her small hands remained on his strong ones. She turned his head to look at his face. His eyes were boring into hers once again. Her head was screaming at her to look away but she just couldn't. He led her over to his bed. The alarms in her mind began going off full tilt and she finally came to her senses.
"Look, Draco, i just" she started
"What?" he asked
"I just, can't, not now...not yet. I, I have to go" and with that she left him sitting there on his bed, a brand new expression on his face. An expression of pure amazement, because in that instant Hermione Granger had made history; in that moment, she had become the first girl to ever turn down the Malfoy charm And it made him like her even more.