What he said was true, she knew it. She was in every way just as stubborn as he was. Granted, she was smarter than him and she cared more for the welfare of creatures like house elfs, but she was pig headed too. Perhaps that was the reason behind Ron's rejection, she was just too pig headed for him.
Malfoy was staring back at her, his gray eyes penetrating her, as if he could see every thought that was running through her mind. She lowered her gaze to the floor, bringing a hand absent mindedly up to her face and rubbing her stinging cheek.
She was lost in thought and he could tell. He felt the impulse to turn and go down the hallway into his room, but he felt that his presence marked something bigger. He couldn't make as big of an impact sulking in his bedroom, now could he? If there was one thing he wanted to do, it was putting this muggle born in her proper place. He couldn't stand the way she got under his skin, how quickly she was able to fire back retorts to his malicious words, and baffle him in every way. He'd never match her wits, and he'd come to terms long ago with that, it didn't take a genius to figure that out, especially since she outsmarted the Ravenclaws, the rumored and known intelligent witches and wizards of the school.
He was no nitwit though. He could hold his own in a duel, successfully create every potion that Snape assigned for them to learn, and so much more. His name had been soiled through the acts of his father, not that he cared much. He disliked his father, but still looked up to him through the very fact that his father had always been a confident man. If something didn't go according to plan, Lucius had always persisted, his determination often rewarding him with the things that he most desired. Draco liked to think of himself that way. When something didn't go according to plan, he pushed himself harder, with unmatched determination to achieve what it was he wanted in the first place. He may not be smarter than the bushy haired, muggle born in front of him, but that didn't mean he would give up.
When rumors started sixth year that he had was quite the "sex god," he was apprehensive. It was hard to put a stop to a rumor like that, especially when the real truth was that he had never had sex. Pansy had started the rumor, trying to talk herself up to their fellow Slytherin friends. In reality, while Pansy was a good snog, Draco hadn't thought much about going further with her. And while such things as sexual education weren't really promoted or taught at Hogwarts, he still knew the complications that sex could bring, as well as all of the consequences. He had tried to shut Pansy up, but she had talked him into it, making it seem that a rumor such as that wouldn't have a negative effect, but rather, a positive one, especially for his ego.
That was the last time he allowed himself to be talked into anything by Pansy. The effects of the rumor were nauseating. Instead of the pride and respect he'd get from his male peers, he got questions that he neither wanted to hear, or answer. Not to mention the giggling girls that swarmed around him in Slytherin and other houses whenever he did anything. He hated it with a passion, and if he could, he'd give his left arm to travel back in time and fix his mistake of being talked into the disgusting rumor that mocked his family name.
He came back to reality, noticing that Hermione had returned her gaze to him and a look of concern seemed to wash over her features.
She didn't know why she felt it, but in a way, she felt closer to Draco than anyone else in her life at the moment. Of course, saying that the blonde headed boy in front of her was a part of her life would be an exaggeration, he was much more like a road block. Yes, that was it, a terrible road block that no one could get rid of, no matter how hard they tried. Nonetheless, she felt a connection to that road block. Where the connection came from, she couldn't be sure, but it was there no doubt.
"Why?" she blurted, not realizing that she was thinking out loud.
Malfoy raised a brow at her in confusion. "Have you gone mental? Wait, that's an obvious question with an obvious answer considering I found you spilling your filth on that rug," he said pointing at the rug that she was standing at the edge of.
"Does it make you feel better, Malfoy?"
"What?" Yes, she had definitely gone mental.
"Does it make you feel better to belittle people? Do you get pleasure from other people's pain?"
Draco knew he was a pompous ass, and he knew what kind of an answer she was expecting to come out of his mouth. But for a moment he did have to ponder this question in its entirety. He was always mocking someone, whether it was Crabbe and Goyle's lack of intelligence or Scar Head for being... well, for just having a stupid scar on his forehead, and he'd always had someone to ridicule at home, like the house elfs... but did he enjoy it. There wasn't much to gain from it, though it was fun to see what kind of retort the one he was sneering at threw back at him, but other than that, he felt no real satisfaction from the whole ordeal. But it was better to get under Granger's skin since she got under his so much unknowingly. Just her existence seemed to be an annoyance for his whole life.
"What would you say if I did?" He smirked at her then, and she glowered up at him.
He'd never really noticed the height difference between them, but she was considerably shorter than him. He supposed that he'd never really noticed before since her hair seemed to poof up enough to give her a few extra inches. She didn't even have to stand on her toes to get those extra inches. He snickered at that thought.
"Is everything so wonderful for you? You know, maybe you're right, maybe I should take a bit of my own advice, but it'd do you a lot of good as well, you git. How can you possibly expect to connect with anyone when you're hurting them all the time?" With that, Hermione turned to leave, but was caught off guard as he reached out and grabbed her arm. She turned and slapped him, the same way that he'd slapped her.
Malfoy took a deep breath, trying desperately to calm himself. He'd never resorted to violence of the physical nature before this day, and he really didn't feel like giving Granger another imprint on her cheek.
He looked directly into her eyes, his anger swelling up inside of him. He brought her closer to his face.
"Don't you think for a minute that you have me all figured out, Granger. You're far too gullible if you believe every word that comes out my mouth." He brought his lips closer to her ear, his hot breath giving her a strange and scared feeling. "For someone so smart, you're so very ignorant."
He released her arm, turned on his heel and went down his hall and into his room, slamming the door behind him.
Hermione stood very still. She couldn't make sense of everything. The boy seemed like a living paradox. Did he always say one thing and mean another. He had still insulted her as well, that had to count for something right? He had to have gotten enjoyment out of that, hadn't he? She closed her eyes and shook her head. If classes were starting tomorrow she was going to have to regain control of the things that she'd lost in her life. She needed to take a trip to the library.
Five hours, two hundred and forty steps (not counting walking around in the library), and fifteen books later, she had reviewed all that she technically needed to review for her classes the next day. She was confident she'd excel in all of her classes, including the N.E.W.T. level potions class with Snape. But something didn't feel right and she knew what it was.
She replaced all of the books that she'd pulled down from various shelves around the library and set off in search of Harry and Ron. She knew how tense things were going to be, but she needed them, they were her comfort and her best friends. She turned and walked down a corridor, she was walking rather quickly, looking down at the floor, thinking of how to approach her friends now. She'd already managed to make another mess of things, was it really possible for them to welcome her with welcome arms once again? She took a deep breath and increased her speed, if she walked any faster, she'd probably break out into a jog. She made to turn left into another corridor, but something hit her, and she was knocked unconscious.
Ending Notes and Comments for Chapter Four
A/N: I'm not J. K. Rowling. I don't own any of the characters, if I did, I'd have my own drum set and I'd own a replica of Violet's dress from Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (I love that dress!)
Short chapter, and I'm sorry I took so long to update. Developing a sort of back story for Draco was kind of difficult for me to do. Hope it wasn't boring. Anyways, I have Prom tonight, but after this, I don't believe that anything else will really hinder my updates. Well, with the exception of my birthday in ten days and senior trip next month.
And to my lovely reviewers, I'm glad that you enjoy the story. I hope it isn't a big disappointment.
Expect a new chapter sometime tomorrow as well, because I plan to plant myself in front of the computer and get out everything that's in my head for this story as soon as possible, and I think tomorrow would be a good time to start.