Dirty Doings
Hermione stepped outside of Tipsy's, incredibly grateful for the immediate gulp of fresh air that she inhaled. Her heart felt as though it were contracting, making it difficult for her to breathe properly. But she could not understand why. Sure, Malfoy had done a favor for her. Not that she needed him to, of course. She had that jerk under control. So why had he helped her? Why had he lied about being her boyfriend? As if he couldn't think of any other excuses as to why the man couldn't have her.
She sighed, leaning against the brick wall of Tipsy's so as to catch her breath before crossing the street to the hotel. She gripped her heart, pleading for the contracting to cease. It meant nothing, though. She was just in shock. In shock that Malfoy would come to her rescue. That explained it. Her rapid heartbeat, her fluttering stomach, her anxiety, it was all because of shock. Yes, that definitely explained it.
Feeling slightly better, Hermione stood up, but no sooner did she take a step then she crashed into a tall, dark, unsuspecting victim, sending her right back to the ground.
"I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, scrambling to pick herself up.
"Don't worry about it." The figure replied, holding out a hand to help her up.
She took it, and as she stood, she came face-to-face with a well-structured, handsome face. Her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment as the boy, who could be no older than eighteen, smiled at her. And what a smile it was. He was beautiful; there were no other word for it. Light brown hair framed his gorgeous visage, some loose strands flickering across his face. He had wide, blue eyes, which seemed to grow even wider as he flashed Hermione am alluring white smile.
"Really, really sorry." Hermione whispered. For the second time in a span of ten minutes, she was speechless. He was breathtaking.
"I'm Christopher." He said, extending a hand towards Hermione.
She looked at it, then composed herself enough to shake it. "I'm Hermione."
"It's nice to meet you, Hermione." Christopher replied. Neither one seemed to want to let go; however, after a few moments of prolonged hand-shaking, Hermione pulled away. She was wary; after just having met a creep inside of Tipsy's, she felt that she ought to be cautious of the people in Serenity.
"Well, I'd … er … better get going." Hermione stammered, not really wanting to leave this boy.
"Yes, I suppose I should too." He replied sadly. He did not want her to go.
Hermione, taking his lack of persistence as a sign, smiled dejectedly. "It was nice meeting you, Christopher."
"Yeah, you too." He said.
Hermione smiled once more before turning away and quickly crossing the street.
"What is wrong with me?" She muttered under her breath, mentally kicking herself for that display. She had just met a cute boy! The last time she'd met a new boy had been Viktor Krum in her fourth year; since then, she never really associated with teenagers other than her schoolmates. It was actually strange meeting one, and even stranger having that feeling in the pit of her stomach; that feeling as though a den of butterflies had just awoken at the very bottom and rapidly began fluttering about. In fact, Hermione could not remember ever feeling those butterflies. Viktor was a kind, sweet gentleman, but Hermione had never felt as strongly about him as he had about her. No, this was something different. Something more … real.
Reminiscing about Christopher's smile, she grinned as she stepped inside the hotel, completely wiping Malfoy from her mind.
……………………………..
CREAK!
Hermione's eyes flickered open as a seemingly distant door groaned of someone opening it and quietly slipping into the room. As her mind attempted to ponder her whereabouts, a lustrous light suddenly flicked on, engulfing the small hotel room in a pool of brightness. Hermione groaned; what time was it?
"You might want to clean up that spot of drool, Granger." A familiar voice noted. "If you keep on with it, the pillow will be drenched by the time morning arrives."
Malfoy smirked as he removed his shirt, threw a clean white towel over his shoulder, and strolled into the bathroom.
Hermione rolled over, groggily catching a glimpse of the alarm clock on the side of the bed; the luminous green numbers glowed 2:07. Two hours after midnight. She groaned once more. When had she passed out? Ten? Eleven? She had definitely been watching a local show on the television, waiting for Malfoy to arrive …
Ten minutes later, Malfoy emerged from the bathroom with the same white towel wrapped delicately around his waist, his white-blond hair dripping with tiny droplets of water. Hermione did not spare him a look; her eyes were still growing accustomed to the bright light.
"Where have you been?" She demanded, wiping the sleep out of her eye.
Malfoy glared at her. "Out."
"Out where?"
"Out and about."
"Out and about where?"
"Just out and about, okay? God, what's with the four-one-one?"
"What do you expect when you come prancing in here after two in the morning!" Hermione exclaimed, fuming. He had just woken her up, so she was not in the best of moods.
"I can see you've never snuck out at Hogwarts." Malfoy muttered.
"I have too!" Hermione cried, indignantly.
Malfoy snorted. "Oh yes, of course. With Potter and Weasley; the Golden Trio. How cute."
"Well?" Hermione insisted. "Where have you been?"
"There's only one bed!" Malfoy cried, outraged. "Why is there only one bed?"
Hermione sighed, already knowing that he was going to complain about the bed issue. "Because this is all they had. Believe me, you think I didn't argue for a room with two beds? I don't want to sleep in the same bed with you anymore than you do with me."
"I highly doubt that." Malfoy huffed. "Why can't you just sleep on the floor?"
"Why don't you sleep on the floor!" Hermione retorted, incredulously.
"Malfoy's don't sleep on floors." He replied, proudly.
Hermione glared at him. "Where have you been, Malfoy?"
"I already told you, I've been out!"
"But where?"
"Out!"
"Yes, but where?"
"I was at a bar!" Malfoy finally exclaimed. "Holy shit, it's no big deal."
"A bar?" Hermione repeated. "Here? In Serenity? They let you in?"
Malfoy nodded.
"What is wrong with people nowadays?" Hermione cried. "Letting underage people into bars; it's horrible! You shouldn't have been there and you know it! What would Dumbledore say if he knew you were out at bars until the wee hours of the morning when you're supposed to be on a Head Boy mission-"
"Dumbledore won't say anything, because Dumbledore won't know." Malfoy interrupted sharply.
Hermione smirked. "I wouldn't be too sure about that. Who knows, maybe you'll get booted and they'll let someone qualified be Head Boy, like Harry-"
"You better keep your mouth shut if you know what's good for you, Granger." Malfoy snapped.
"Or you'll what? Curse me? I don't think you would, not with what I have to hold over your head. I'm sure you lying about being my boyfriend would be a great story back at Hogwarts. It'd sure give the Gryffindors a good laugh-"
"You have no idea how much I regret helping you." Malfoy seethed; before she could say another word, he took refuge in the bathroom once more.
Hermione fell silent. She had gone past the line. He had helped her out – though she did not require it – in a situation that she hadn't even asked him for assistance in. He had jumped to her rescue out of the kindness of his heart, nothing more. And here she was, holier than thou, making a mockery of his compassion. It was sick; it was something a Slytherin would do.
Hermione sighed. She felt awful. It was just something about Malfoy … he always brought out the worst in her. Always made her say horrible things. Always made her feel like a terrible person. And at that moment, she did.
Twenty minutes later, Malfoy had once again emerged from the bathroom. Hermione was sleeping soundly. He watched her for a moment or two, and as her chest slowly rose with each breath, he could finally see some shred of beauty in her. The beauty that had obviously captured Potter and Weasley's hearts, no matter how stupid Granger was to recognize it. Figures it's only when she's asleep, he smirked, pulling on his pajama bottoms and turning off the light before slowly creeping into bed. He moved as close to the edge as possible, his back opposite to Hermione's.
"Malfoy?" She whispered, softly.
Startled, he turned his head a tad so that he could see a tiny bit of Hermione, though only by the moonlight shining through the open window.
"What?" He replied.
"I'm sorry," She said, quietly. "For the things that I said about your dad. I was out of place; I know he means a lot to you, and I shouldn't have said a word. So, I'm sorry."
Malfoy remained silent for a moment. An apology? From Granger? He never thought he'd see the day.
"And also, thank you," She said, quietly. "For what you did for me today. I really do appreciate it. And you don't have to worry, no one at Hogwarts need know about it."
Still, he did not say a word. He could not believe his ears; was this Granger declaring a truce? No, it wasn't. It was just a peace offering for that day. And not only for the father offense, but for everything else that she had said and done. Malfoy seemed to think that that was enough. "You're welcome." He finally said, satisfied.
And with that, both Hermione and Malfoy fell silent for the remainder of the night, though neither fell asleep immediately. Backs to each other, both of their eyes were wide open, staring into the darkness, thinking about their day together. What they had said, what they had done. And though neither one of them would have dared admit it to themselves, they could honestly say that they did not regret one thing about that day. Not one, single thing.
……………………………….
The next morning, both Hermione and Draco awoke at ten o' clock. Neither spoke to each other as they bustled around the hotel room, taking their shower's and getting themselves ready for the day, as well as packing their things up in preparation of Disapparating back to Hogwarts after their meeting with Everett.
At quarter to twelve, they locked up the hotel room and took the elevator (which Malfoy was very fascinated by) down to the lobby. Leaving their things with the clerk, they continued out of the hotel and across the street to Tipsy's, where they were meeting Everett.
"Before we go in, you must remember our agreement from yesterday." Hermione said, stopping Malfoy outside of the café.
"What agreement?" Malfoy cried, obviously completely forgetting about their talk before going to see Everett the first time.
"The agreement that consented to the both of us being civil towards one another until we're back at Hogwarts!" Hermione exclaimed. Why did he have to be so stupid about everything?
Malfoy thought for a moment. "No, I never agreed to that. I believe my exact words were 'I can't promise I'll try, but I'll try to try.'"
"Then try to try." Hermione retorted through gritted teeth.
"I don't know, I think I'd rather make you look like a fool." Malfoy replied, happily. "It'd be much better than Everett believing that you're the little saint that you make yourself out to be."
"I do not make myself out to be a saint!" Hermione rebutted.
"Oh, yes you do." Malfoy replied. "We all know the truth, though. You don't think that the entire school knows about your little dirty-doings with Viktor Krum? If you don't, than you're even more stupid than I made you out to be."
Hermione's jaw dropped. "What the hell do you mean, dirty-doings?"
"Oh, I think you know what I mean." Malfoy smirked. He looked her up and down. "And here I thought little Miss Granger wouldn't let any guy near her with a ten-inch pole. Apparently, I was wrong. We all were, really. And Krum, of all people … I can't believe he sunk so low."
Hermione immediately lifted her arm to smack Malfoy round the face, but he instantly reached out and grabbed her wrist, immobilize it in midair. He smirked as Hermione jerked her arm away from his grasp. "Don't you dare presume to think that you know anything about my life." She spat, quietly. "And for your information, Viktor and I never went further than kissing. Unlike you, I can practice some self-control."
Malfoy smirked once more. "Self-control and inexperience are two very different things. You were probably scared to go any further with him. I'll be he was your first snog."
"Well, you'd lose, then!" Hermione lied, embarrassedly.
Malfoy grinned, knowing he'd touched a nerve. "I don't even need Legilimens to know that you're a downright liar. Perhaps you have some Slytherin in you after all. How pathetic, Granger; I'd have at least thought that your first kiss would've been Potter or Weasley. Poor Krum ... it wouldn't shock me in the least if you'd had him hoodwinked or something."
"And what about you, Malfoy?" Hermione advanced, growing angrier by the minute. "How far have you been with a girl? I've heard all of the stories, now set them right. Is it true that you shagged Hannah Abbott in the Prefects bathroom in our fifth year? And then Pansy Parkinson up in the Astronomy Tower at the end of the last year? And all of the countless other unsuspecting victims who were somehow drawn into the wrath of the great Draco Malfoy? Is it all true?"
Malfoy's lips curled into an evil smile. "What do you think?"
Hermione glared at him disgustedly. "I think that if it's all true, then you're nothing more than a sickening, dirty pig."
"Be that as it may, we've got a meeting to attend right now." Malfoy said in an unaffected tone. "So you have two choices. You can either go in there sulkily because you're pissed off at me, or you can put on a face and at least pretend to be a professional Head Girl until we're safely back in Hogwarts with good news for the Headmaster. Which do you want?"
Hermione continued to glare at him. "I hate you, Malfoy."
"And I hate you too." Malfoy replied. "Now go in."
Somewhat gentleman-like, he reached out and pulled the door open, allowing Hermione entrance into the café. She stepped inside, Malfoy right behind her. Hermione scanned the room, looking for Morris Everett; sure enough, there he was, sitting at a table by the window with five chairs surrounding it. Two of them were occupied; one by Everett, and one by a young, beautiful woman. She was involved in a deep conversation with Everett, and as she spoke, she flipped her long, blond hair over her shoulder, causing it to glimmer from the sunlight pouring in through the window. Something funny must have been said, because the girl began to laugh, revealing dazzling, white teeth. She was absolutely beautiful. She looked perfect; even more so than those model girls from muggle magazines.
Everett looked up and saw Hermione and Malfoy standing by the door. He flashed them a broad smile and waved to them to come over. Hermione began to, but Malfoy remained rooted to the spot.
"Let's go, Malfoy." Hermione hissed, grabbing his sleeve and pulling him towards the table. He immediately jerked his arm away, but followed nonetheless.
"Well hello there!" Everett greeted cheerfully as he stood to shake hands with Hermione and Malfoy. He stumbled a bit, giving Hermione reason to believe that he'd had a bit of alcohol in the drink that he had been sipping away at.
"Bumble bee, this is … er, what are your names again?" Everett asked, squinting his eyes at Malfoy. Malfoy was looking around the café, gawking at everything as though he had never been there before; obviously, he was feeling uncomfortable and trying to avoid eye contact with anyone in his proximity.
"I'm Hermione Granger, and this is Draco Malfoy." Hermione said, taking the heat off of Malfoy.
"Ah yes, Draco and Herminny." Everett nodded, as though he suddenly remembered. "Well, this here is my daughter, Bianca."
Hermione smiled at her. "Hello, Bianca."
Bianca returned the smile, but seemed somewhat distracted; she could not stop staring at Malfoy. Hermione internally rolled her eyes; sure, Malfoy wasn't that horrible looking, but if only she knew how his personality was like. She sure wouldn't be staring at him like she was now.
Hermione was just about to inquire about the fifth chair, but just as she opened her mouth, someone suddenly appeared beside her. She looked over and had to fight back the gasp that was threatening to be released. She couldn't believe it! How could this be? She never expected to see him again … those deep, blue eyes … that soft, flickering hair …
"Thanks, m'boy." Everett said to the boy standing beside Hermione. Everett reached his arms out and took the drinks that the boy was carrying from his hands, then took a quick gulp from one of the glasses before slamming it down on the table.
"This is the other little bugger." Everett grinned, his cheeks slowly turning rosy. "My son, Christopher."
A/N: Thank you guys so much for the reviews! They're very ... inspiring. You inspire me, feel proud:D So .. things seem to be taking an interesting twist, don't they? Let's just see how this meeting turns out ... very unexpected for Hermione and Draco, I can tell you that.
Would you like to know how it turns out? I'll give you a hint on how you can find out. It starts with an R and ends with EVIEW. Did you guess review? Well, you got it! Hope to hear from you!
Jessica JJLove28