"..."
"...So...you admire me...as in..."
"As a person...heh, so it was actually pretty good that you swore on your honor as a person, since that's what I..."
"...When did you...?"
"Start to respect you? Hah, the instant you slapped me in third year."
"...Why?"
"Can we get off the subject?"
"No, please, Draco?...This is..."
Sigh. "You were the first person ever to stand up to me."
"That's not true, Harry and Ro--"
"No, no, I mean, like, seriously. Like, with the actual intent of shutting me up."
"A lot of people have tried to shut you up, and--"
"Yeah, but they didn't take it as far as you did. You surprised me, Hermione."
"So? Lots of people surprise lots of people...that doesn't mean they're worthy of any...admiration."
"You sound like you're ashamed of it."
"I'm not! I'm just...trying to figure it out."
"Like how? Is it so hard to wrap your mind around it, that I could possibly--"
"Well, frankly, yes, Draco. I mean, okay, as far as I know, you stand against everything I believe in--"
"That's not necessarily entirely true, because I--"
"Yes, all right, almost everything I believe in, bear with me, please. And you've been insulting me nearly every day for six years--"
"--five and a half--"
"--five and a half--"
"--more like a third, really--"
"--shut up, Draco, five and a third years, and suddenly it comes out that you have some sort of respect for me? I'm sorry...I'm going to need a few minutes to work through this..."
"Would it help if I told you why?"
"Yes!"
"Let's see...you're intelligent, for one."
"Thank you."
"Just stating facts, here, Hermione. You do get full marks in everything."
"I just study a lot, that's all."
"Yeah, but so does half the school, and they don't get anywhere near as high marks as you get. Plus, you're brave."
"Huh. Thought that Slytherins hated bravery."
"Yeah, well--you're brave in a smart way, not a rushing-into-everything-courageously-and-getting-killed way."
"Oh. Thank you."
"Right. And you stand up for what you believe in. Which is more than I can say for me."
"What? But you do stand up for what you believe in."
"Have you learned nothing all this time, Granger? That's not what I believe in."
"What do you believe in?"
"Life. Freedom. Order. Justice. And you."
"Me?"
"You're one of those universal constants."
Awkward. "Wow."
"Yeah."
"...How long have we been in here?"
"How many times has the bell rung?"
"Uh...three?"
"So, maybe, two-and-a-half hours?"
"Draco?"
"Yes, Hermione?"
"It's your turn to ask a question."
"...Has it been all that bad?"
"What?"
"Talking to me. Because, er, I don't think it's been all that bad talking to you, I mean, it hasn't been torture is what I'm saying..."
"Could've fooled me when we first fell in here."
"Well, has it?"
"...You know, it really hasn't."
Phew.
"But it could get bad if we stay in here for much longer."
"Why's that?"
"Because then I'll miss lunch, and I'll be so hungry I'll have to eat you, and you don't really look all that nourishing. Bit on the scrawny side, really."
Laughter. "Well, hopefully we'll be rescued before that happens."
"Yes. I hate raw meat, anyway." Laugh.
"Heh-heh. Your turn."
"Why do you pick on me all the time?"
"Oh, no, Hermione, don't go bringing this up again."
"You promised you'd talk about it later! It's later! Speak, Mr. Malfoy!"
Sigh. "It's just for the sake of appearances."
"And...? I know there's more."
"And...your face gets all red, and you clench your fists, and..."
Laughter.
"And you just look so funny. Sorry."
"It's okay. I think I understand, now. But...are you going to keep on doing it once we get out of here?"
"I don't know...maybe not as much."
"Wow."
"What?"
"An hour ago, you wouldn't have let me get away with that."
"What?"
"An extra question on my turn. Amazing."
"Yeah, well...don't think you're getting away with it next time! I won't let it slip past me again!" Laugh.
"...I wonder what's happening in Transfiguration."
"You really hate missing classes, don't you?"
"I do. I really, really do. And it's not as if anything really bad's happening to us, here, I mean, we're not in pain or anything--"
"Speak for yourself, my legs've got pins and needles all through 'em."
"--but I just...I don't know. It irks me."
"Talking of Transfiguration, how'd you do on that last test?, it was murder. Ha. Ha. 'Cause it was about transfiguring crows, get it?"
"Yes. Ha, ha, how droll. I got a ninety-eight percent."
"Scandal! Horror! Less than perfect?!"
"I got two percent off on the pronunciation of the spell. I'd been having trouble with it all along."
"Saying Acerehbus instead of Acereebus?"
"How did you know?"
"I had the same problem."
"It was hard, wasn't it, Draco?! It was just so counter-intuitive!"
"I know! And it worked both ways, anyway! At one point, I just felt like telling her: 'Look, who cares what it says in the book, if it works, it works.'"
"Exactly."
"...Whose turn was it again?"
"Erm. Yours, I think."
"Oh. Okay. Let me think of one."
***
A/N: We're nearing the end, folks! Sorry about the delay on this chapter: been working on my other, more serious fic, Shamanism. It's a sequel to my one-shot, Snap Me Back Into Hell, and I just can't stop writing it. Ahhh! Anywho. Thanks for all your lovely feedback, it keeps me going through the day.
Here's your preview for the end of Trick Stair: It will end exactly three hours and seventeen minutes (fic-time) after it began. No, I'm not telling you what happens!
:D