This chapter is very Dramione-centric, and from here on out, most of them will be.
Hermione leaned against the bookshelf, knees bent with a large tome resting on them. It was rather late in the evening, but Madam Pince had a nice habit of letting Hermione stay after hours. She had a good track record with the librarian, and the older woman trusted the young witch. Hermione was trying to get some light reading done, but it wasn't going so well. She was having the hardest time focusing, and she knew why.
She hadn't spoken to Harry nor Ron since the night of the first Quidditch match. She could barely stand to even look at Ron, a wave of nausea always overtaking her as she recalled her embarrassing behavior towards him while he'd been messing around with Lavender, Hermione none the wiser. She briefly wondered if Lavender knew, if Ron had ever mentioned it, and if so, did the two of them have a nice laugh about it? She started to feel ill all over again at the thought of Ron and Lavender laughing at her expense.
In the end, Hermione supposed that she was angrier with Harry than Ronald. While Hermione would have liked for Ron to just man up, and tell her the truth, she understood that it might not have been so easy for him. Harry, on the other hand, was supposed to be her friend too. It would have been possible for him to be good friends to both of them. After all, Ron wouldn't have gotten angry with Harry for telling her. Knowing the fiery haired boy, he would have been relieved. No, it was simply another case of Harry choosing Ron over her, and she was foolish to expect any differently.
A soft thud coming from the back of the library captured Hermione's attention, and she perked up. She found herself standing, shutting her book before peeking around the bookcase. She could see a faint glow much further down, and with a start, she realized that it was coming from the restricted section. Hermione blinked, and before she knew it, she was approaching the back of the impressive library.
She set her book down on a table as she passed, stepping over the rope that separated the restricted section from everything else. She waited until she rounded the corner before raising her wand and shedding light on the rule breaker. She shouldn't have been surprised to lock eyes with none other than Draco Malfoy, but she was genuinely surprised to lock eyes with none other than Draco Malfoy. He didn't look startled by her in the slightest, but he did raise an eyebrow before rolling his eyes to the heavens and releasing an exasperated sigh.
"Of all people to catch me in the restricted section, it had to be you, Granger," he drawled, sounding tired before their inevitable verbal row even began.
She nodded, fake concern touching her features.
"Disappointed?"
A small smirk danced along his lips.
"A little, yeah. Anyone else, and I'd be able to pay or fuck my way out of this sticky situation I've found myself in," he said, raking his eyes over her. "Unfortunately for me, neither of those apply to you."
"You wouldn't have to worry about anyone catching you if you weren't breaking the rules," she replied, raising an eyebrow of her own.
Malfoy grinned, pearly whites on display as he bat his eyelashes at her.
"It's just so fun, you see. I get this sick rush of adrenaline that leaves me on a high for days to come," he sarcastically replied.
She glared at him, unamused, before finally speaking.
"What are you doing, Malfoy?"
"I don't believe that's any of your concern, Granger," he purred, leaning his shoulder against the bookcase.
He crossed his arms over his chest, a book in each hand as he looked down at her with a smug smirk on his lips.
"Contrary to what you're thinking, I don't have any intentions of reporting you. After all, I'm here too… I'm just…curious, I guess you could say. You can blame my big nose, if you want," she replied with a shrug.
"Cute, truly, but it's none of your business. It's a personal matter…"
Hermione perked up at that.
"A personal matter that requires you to utilize the restricted section?"
"I'm not fond of repeating myself," he firmly stated, all traces of humor gone, now, his impatience evident.
Hermione sized him up, crossing her own arms over her chest.
"You're right. It is none of my business. I wonder if Dumbledore will consider it his business, though," she sweetly wondered.
Malfoy blinked at her before letting out a low whistle, straightening up with a scoff.
"Blackmail suits you, Granger," he whispered, offering her the books in his hand.
Hermione recognized one of the books as his personal one from home. She'd seen him reading it fairly often, and as noted before, it was in a language that she couldn't understand. The other, on the other hand, she recognized immediately.
"What kind potion are you trying to brew that requires a book from the restricted section?" she slowly asked.
"I don't need the book. I'm simply fact checking," he said, nodding towards his own book.
Again, Hermione felt that spark of envy rear its ugly head. If Malfoy had a library that contained potion instructions that could also be found in the restricted section, there was no telling what else he had. Suddenly annoyed, she thrusted his books back at him, ignoring the way his eyes seemed to intensely follow her every move.
"Whatever, Malfoy, have fun," she threw over her shoulder, already turning away.
"Two pairs of eyes are always better than one," he suddenly said, causing her to halt.
She slowly spun to face him, a frown on her face as she eyed him. His expression was nonchalant, as if he didn't care that he'd just voiced a desire to have her help, of all people.
"Are you asking for my help?"
Malfoy rolled his eyes with a soft chuckle.
"You're sorely confused," he drawled. "You've been moping around for days, because the dunce duo turned out to be even bigger tossers than I thought they were. Quite frankly, it's a little draining to watch. You seem like you could use the distraction."
Hermione huffed, face heating up at the insult.
"Well, no one's forcing you to watch me, Malfoy. You sure do know how to cheer a girl up, huh?"
"It's either this, or I offer to fuck you into my silk sheets," he responded with a shrug.
Hermione started, briefly closing her eyes as she swallowed.
"Is that the only way you know how to cheer a girl up?"
Malfoy tilted his head to the side, pretending to think.
"…yes."
Hermione sighed, releasing a humorless chuckle with a shake of her head.
"You're not funny…"
A sudden thud made her jump, and she glanced down to see that Malfoy had dropped the books onto the floor at his feet. She opened her mouth to scold him for their mistreatment, but her words died in her throat. He was standing over, now, a little too close for comfort, and Hermione was forced to take a step back. She eyed him as he eyed her, the smallest of frowns settling over his features, head tilted.
"Why do you always say that? Is it so hard to believe that I'm not opposed to the idea of spending an evening with my face between your legs, Granger?"
Hermione felt like her face was on fire, and she glared at him.
"Yes! It's…inconceivable. You've seen me as nothing more than a 'dirty mudblood' for years. It takes more than one summer to get past that bias enough to…to want to shag me. Hence, why I keep telling you that, because you have to be joking."
Malfoy chuckled, a genuine sound that surprised her.
"I can't stand the Gryffindor Patil twin, but I still entertain her when I'm bored and she's desperate," he said.
Hermione looked away.
"Potter is an idiot for thinking I'd shag you just to mess with him. He thinks too highly of himself. However, shagging you just because I want to? More likely than you'd think…"
"I'm officially uncomfortable with this conversation," she awkwardly threw back, unsure of what to make of this revelation.
"I'm more gentlemanly than you like to give me credit for, so I will respect your wishes and drop the subject, Granger."
She eyed him, satisfied to see that he seemed to be telling the truth.
"So…do you want to assist me or not?"
Hermione sighed, glancing away, shaking her head in disbelief at herself.
"What exactly are you working on…?"
"It was certainly the highlight of my day…"
Hermione rolled her eyes as Malfoy threw a smirk her way, his own eyes returning to his parchment.
"I still don't know what came over me. I just… Snape has been on my case for as long as I can remember, constantly insulting me for being smart…"
"You can be quite insufferable about it."
"…and the one day I keep my mouth shut, he still isn't happy," she continued, ignoring his quip.
"That's Severus, only content if no one else is," he distractedly commented.
"Why do you call him by his first name?" she suddenly asked.
It wasn't the first time he'd done it, and Hermione was curious to know.
"He's my Godfather," he casually replied.
Hermione blanched, eyes widening before a frown crossed her features.
"Well, that explains the favoritism," she spat.
Malfoy simply smirked.
"That's how you get along in life, Granger? Didn't you know? It's all about who you know…"
Her irritation spiked, and she opened her mouth to argue when their portrait door swung open, Zabini striding in with Nott behind him.
"Ah, so this is why you've been holed up in here, all day. Understandable," Nott greeted.
"Excuse you," Hermione protested before rounding on Malfoy with wide eyes. "Do they know the password?"
Malfoy made a face as if to say 'of course', and her frown deepened.
"You aren't supposed to just give it out willy-nilly!"
Malfoy rolled his eyes, and she heard Zabini scoff.
"Merlin, Draco. When are you going to shag her so that she's actually enjoyable to be around?"
Hermione scoffed, affronted as she glared at the handsome boy, a frown on his features. Nott did a poor job of disguising his laughter, and even Malfoy cracked a smile, causing her to turn her glare on him. With a huff, she stood, moving to collect her things when a strong hand stopped her mid tantrum.
She looked down at the appendage as if it were a snake before resting her eyes on her roommate. His own were filled with mirth, Malfoy doing a terrible job of keeping an amused smile off of his face.
"He was only joking, Granger," he silkily placated, thumb rubbing circles into the skin of her wrist.
He tilted his head and quickly cut his eyes towards the floor and back, urging her to stay. Hermione felt her face heat up, chest still swollen with anger as she reluctantly lowered herself.
"Well, I didn't find it funny," she replied.
Malfoy stared at her for the longest time, the smallest of smirks crawling onto his mouth, eyes hosting something she couldn't name. He tilted his head in Zabini's direction, eyes never leaving her.
"Blaise…?"
Zabini was the one to huff this time.
"Apologies, Granger. I have a horrible sense of humor. I don't know what came over me," he sarcastically gritted out.
The apology was far from sincere, but Zabini being forced to swallow his pride and apologize to her in the first place was satisfaction enough.
"Humph," was Hermione's reply, reopening her book as soon as Malfoy let go of her arm.
"So…does Granger's presence mean that certain conversation topics are off limits or…?"
Hermione threw Nott a scathing look.
"What could the three of you possibly talk about that I would care about, let alone pass along?"
"Well, for one thing, Theo and I stumbled upon the horrendous sight of Weasley and Brown in a broom closet last night," Zabini said, ignoring the subtle shake of Nott's head.
Hermione froze, the sudden absence of the sound of her quill scraping against parchment heavy in the air. There was an awkward silence before she heard Nott scold Zabini.
"Something like that would have been off topic…"
"Why?" he disbelievingly replied. "Don't tell me she's still hung up on him?"
Hermione rushed to grab her things, determined to get inside of her room before the tears fell all over again. She could feel Malfoy's eyes on her as Nott and Zabini went back and forth, and she heard him rise when she did, hurrying to get to her room. She'd just made it to the door when a pale hand beat her to the knob, holding it shut as he stood over her. Hermione didn't even care that his chest was grazing the fabric of her clothes, the scent of jasmine enveloping her as he stood entirely too close.
"Can I offer a word of advice, Granger?" he murmured.
She wiped away an eager tear, refusing to look at him as she answered.
"If I said no, would it matter?"
"…yes."
Hermione was silent, having not expected that answer, before she eventually nodded. He didn't reply right away, and she stiffened when she felt him lean down, breath wafting pass her hair, lips next to her ear.
"The minute you stop caring about them, the happier you will be…"
"That's easier said than done," she spat.
Malfoy acted like she wanted to care. She didn't. She was tired of crying herself to sleep every night and avoiding the hall and courtyard and other places she enjoyed going to lest she run into either one of them. She wished that she could just not care, but she wasn't wired that way. She wasn't like him.
"Think about it, Granger… You're miserable, doing your damnedest to simply not think of them while they're in broom closets and corridors doing whatever the hell they want. You're fighting to keep them off of your mind, when it's hardly even a question for them. It seems rather easy for Weasley to keep himself occupied, doesn't it?"
Her heart clenched, the truth in his words slapping her in the face. Malfoy backed away, and Hermione suddenly felt very cold…empty even.
"People can only hurt you if you give them the power to do so…"
She turned to face him, reluctantly lifting her eyes to meet his.
"Do you think Weasley cares that you probably cry yourself to sleep every night? Do you think it deters his fun in the slightest that he humiliated you?"
Every word was like a punch to the gut, each one cutting her down, and her anger spiked.
"Then tell me then, Malfoy, since you're so brilliant, what should I do?" she sneered.
Didn't he get that she wasn't like him? She couldn't be like him, not even if she tried. She couldn't just not care. She was an emotional person, always had been. He stepped towards her, and she refused to step back, a smirk gracing his lips at this.
"Do what you want."
Hermione blinked, face pinching up in a frown, completely thrown.
"…what?"
Their gazes were locked as he spoke.
"Just do what you want. I know that you don't want to barricade yourself in your room every day with the fear of running into them. I know you don't want to be miserable. We both know that you don't want to cry yourself to sleep. Tell me, Granger…what is it that you want?"
Hermione's frown was still present, confusion coursing through her at the oh-so-simple advice. It seemed too simple, too obvious to be considered real advice, and yet…
"I want… I want to tell Ron how much he hurt me, and… I want to tell Harry that too."
"…and?" Malfoy urged.
"I want to be happy again."
"…and what would make you happy?"
Hermione glanced away, thoughts picking up speed, now.
"Making them angry would make me happy," she finally confessed. "Hurting them like they hurt me would make me happy, but… That wouldn't last. It'd only be a temporary fix, and then I'd be right back where I started. It wouldn't be right…"
Malfoy's face was hard, eyes piercing as he stared her down.
"Who said it has to be temporary? If it makes you happy, keep doing it. Find something that will hurt him just as much as he hurt you, and never let it go. You can't turn your emotions off, Granger, no one can, but you can use them," he quietly urged, voice coming out in a whisper. "As witches and wizards, our magic can be fueled by our emotions. It's why the Unforgiveables are just that…unforgiveable."
Her eyes widened.
"How much anger and hatred must one have inside of them to inflict excruciating pain with just their wand and their will? How determined does one have to be to be able to completely control another living thing to do his bidding, like a damn puppet? Emotions can make you weak, Granger, so fucking weak, but if you use them right, they can be your greatest weapon."
Hermione blinked, looking away in disbelief.
"We're talking about my friends, here… I don't…I don't want to use any kind of weapon against them. Even though what they did was…so wrong, I still… I can't do that," she lamely replied.
"…why not? They did it to you," he said with a shrug.
Hermione's eyes widened at this, resting on Malfoy again. Before she could respond, he was turning away, rejoining Nott and Zabini who had paid them no mind.
"I knew it, Granger. You wear your heart on your sleeve, and it was so obvious the way your eyes would turn green at the sight."
Hermione frowned.
"Well, whose wouldn't?" she defended. "You have an entire personal library all to yourself. Do you even realize how much I would kill for that? So much knowledge and resources at your disposal…"
She shook her head in disbelief at the thought as they walked along the dark corridor. Malfoy scoffed.
"Only you would get excited by such a thing as books," he sneered.
"That attitude right there just shows how unfair this world really is. You don't even realize how lucky you are, Malfoy," she admonished.
"Its books," he deadpanned.
Hermione went to reply when noises from an empty classroom caught both of their attention. Malfoy smirked, and Hermione swore that the man actually got off from getting other students into trouble. With a wave of his wand, the classroom door swung open, but they both froze at the sight that greeted them. Hermione's gaze lingered for half a second before she turned away, leaning her back against the corridor wall as the couple fought to put their clothes on.
Hermione could feel Malfoy's gaze on her as he stood in the doorway, not caring to give the pair an ounce of privacy. Her eyes began to sting, and she bit her lip to keep herself from crying, the sight of Ron's half naked form pressed against Lavender assaulting her brain. She could hear Ron cursing, clearly struggling to quickly get dressed.
"Oi, are you just going to stand there and watch? We're indecent!"
"Well, whose fault is that?" Malfoy drawled, gaze still lingering on her still form.
Hermione wanted to throw up. It was bad enough that she had to hear about it, and know that it was going on, but apparently the universe wasn't done laughing at her. She dug her nails into the palm of her hands, paying no mind to the slight sting that she felt there, nostrils flaring as she took in a shaky breath.
Lavender and Ron finally exited the classroom, but Hermione refused to look at them, waiting for Malfoy to deal the punishment he was no doubt over the moon to hand out.
"Wipe that stupid smirk off of your face, Malfoy. You may have gotten the last laugh the last time, but Hermione isn't going to let that happen again. Right 'Mione?"
She reluctantly glanced up, meeting Ron's pleading expression with a frown. Lavender was avoiding eye contact, apparently still embarrassed at having been caught in the act. Hermione's gaze fell on Malfoy, and with a start, she noted that he was glaring at her over Ron's shoulder. She frowned, and it was only when he gave her a pointed look did she realize what he wanted. He wanted her to hand out the punishment?
"Mione?"
Her eyes fell on Ron again, his eyebrows furrowed as he waited for her to reassure him that everything would be fine. Even in the low light, she could see the dark splotches of skin on his neck from where Lavender had paid too much attention to. Hermione swallowed her bile and looked at Malfoy again. He seemed to be standing taller, now, face hard and daring as he raised an eyebrow, challenging her.
"I…," she swallowed at the look in his eyes, glancing at Ron, her anger spiking. "A month's worth of detention."
Ron's eyes widened as Lavender's small gasp filled her ears, Hermione's final answer lingering in the air.
"…Mione…"
He frowned in a mixture of confusion and betrayal, begging her to change her mind. Hermione glanced at Malfoy again, shrugging as he nodded, satisfaction blooming across his features.
"You broke the rules, Ron-."
"A month? That's overkill, and you know it. Mione, come on. I have Quidditch practice and-."
"Well, maybe you should have thought of that before shagging in the corridors like a couple of dogs," she spat, eyes hard.
Ron reared back, surprise evident as he gazed at her with something akin to…anger? What right did he have to be angry with her?
"Hermione…," he tried again, softer this time.
"If I were you, I'd hurry up and get back to my dorms. Filch is still making rounds, and it would be a shame if you ended up with double the punishment," was her only reply.
Ron frowned some more, betrayal clouding his features before hurriedly grabbing Lavender's hand, and taking off with a huff.
When he was gone, Hermione released a breath she didn't know she was holding, shoulders trembling as she leaned against the wall. Malfoy approached her, reaching for her hands before coaxing them open. A hiss escaped her clenched teeth at the sight of bloody crescent moons in her palms.
"That was impressive," Malfoy murmured.
"Yeah?" she questioned, glancing up as he healed her hands. "It didn't feel like it."
She could hear the smirk in his voice as he chuckled.
"Believe me, it was," he whispered.
Hermione pressed her now healed hands to her chest, releasing a shaky breath as a few tears escaped.
"Sorry," she apologized. "I know that I must seem rather pathetic to you."
She looked up at him as he took a step forward, a crooked smile on his lips, eyes shining in the darkness.
"After that little display? Not likely," he disagreed.
Hermione felt a strange sense of pride course through her at the look in his eyes, a soft chuckle escaping her lips.
"At this rate, you think I'll be over him by next year?" she sarcastically asked.
Malfoy brought his hand to her chin for the briefest of moments, nudging her head up.
"Keep your chin up, Granger. I guarantee you, in no time," he began, eyes raking over her frame. "…you'll forget that Weasley even existed."
Hermione heaved a sigh, brushing past him and leading the way back to their dorm.
"If only…"
Malfoy chuckled in response, the sound enveloping her like a blanket.
~ Let me know what you think! ~