Hello all my beautiful people. I know it has been long and that I said I was going to post more. I'm bad at that… Sorry.
There has been so much going on with work and other stuff my life has been crazy lately. But look what I did. I wrote more. Yay! And it's got some cute moments.
For this chapter I didn't have lyrics it was based around or that reminded me of the feel. It was Game of Thrones Music. I will list which songs this chapter was inspired by below which I recommend you listen to while reading.
Chaos Is a Ladder- Season 3
I Choose Violence- Season 6
Light of the Seven- Season 6
I Need You by My Side- Season 6
Let's Play a Game- Season 6
A Lannister Always Pays His Debts- Season 3
Dracarys- Season 3
All songs by Ramin Djawadi
Friday November 15th, 1996
In the Hallway nearing to the front entrance, Quarter past six at night
While almost every student resided in the Great Hall for dinner, Hermione promptly made her way through the halls and towards the front entrance of the Castle. Inhaling slightly, she began to chew upon her bottom lip while her grip upon the bunched cloth under her left arm tightened.
After nearly two weeks without a word from Malfoy she came to the decision to work on their semester project, alone. Which she was more than happy to do if her potions 'partner' wasn't up to the task of assisting in collecting and researching ingredients for a potion they were to make as their semester final.
When she first realized, he was avoiding her, she was angry and went right to Professor Slughorn's classroom. She attempted to explain that Malfoy was no longer a good fit with her to the Professor during midterms, and he simply stated that if anyone could keep him working in the class it would be her. He then added that it was far too late it the semester to change nor that it would be fair to other students to change and start over.
Shaking her head at the thought she rounded a corner and stopped when she saw two Aurors to her left guarding the entrance. It had been this way for the past two weeks, since the incident in the library, which was infuriating to say the least.
Hermione found it to be tedious since she wasn't allowed to leave to Castle without an escort to do the most mundane activities; such as sending a letter to her parents or even visiting Hagrid. Rolling her eyes, she shook out the ball of velvety material and did a double check to make sure she had her not only her wand but three vials in a small bag slung across her middle.
With a small sigh, she couldn't help but think back to the day that Malfoy decided to kiss her. It wasn't the way he avoided her afterwards that confused her. After spending these past few months with him, she was beginning to understand how he worked and when things happened, he would distance himself to think. Always thinking.
Tilting her head sideways as she readjusted the strap of her bag with one hand while the other held the cloak. It was obvious that the kiss was a way to distract her from the question he hadn't answered, it was the most plausible reasoning that made the most sense to her. He'd done it before, why should this time be any different?
The only irritating thing was that she fell for it a second time, knowing full well how he worked. Gritting her teeth lightly in annoyance the more she thought about it, rolled her eyes once more. Nibbling on her lip, she then checked to make sure she had everything that she needed for tonight.
'Vials, Bag, Wand, Cloak, Potions, Written list of Ingredients…' She thought to herself once more before nodding at her organizational skills with a small smile.
Right before she was about to cloak herself she felt a warmth from behind her as a hand quickly reached around her and covered her mouth before she made too much of an audible sound. The sudden gush of musky cologne made her head swim, mouth water, and a tightness in her stomach. A cool finger lightly touched her cheek and brushed her hair behind her ear only to hear one word.
"Closet…" his voice spoke as he let her go and walked towards the door right beside them.
Hermione pursed her lips right before following him inside and shutting the door. Pulling out her wand she mumbled Lumos, immediately sending him a well-deserved glare.
"Hello to you as well, Granger." Malfoy spoke lowly.
"What in Godric's name do you think you were doing?" she hissed acutely before bunching the cloth into yet another ball and then continuing. "It has been over two weeks. Two weeks Malfoy. I guess the fact that we are still potion partners, much to my own personal dismay, escaped you…."
"It's due in a month Granger." He sighed sneered lightly.
"It takes a month to make the potion Malfoy." She snipped. "And sneaking up on me? Really Malfoy? What are you even doing here?"
"I can honestly say that I was merely taking a stroll, saw you and was curious as to why you were looking around the corner at the two Ministry do-gooders." He rose an eyebrow with a small smirk before adding, "Now that we cleared that up, may I just say that, I think it's rather impolite of you to start a conversation without properly, saying Hello- "
"What? " she gaped. With a scoff, she shook her head yet again. Closing her mouth, she inhaled sharply and spoke, "You know what, I don't even have time for this right now. I have about forty to forty-five minutes to find and collect two specific ingredients for a potion- so if you'll excuse me- "
"We're not allowed outside of the castle without an Aurora with us during the day, let alone at night." He quipped, "Besides, the only two places to find ingredients is either Slughorn's greenhouse or the forbidden forest. You can ask Slughorn for- "
Hermione couldn't help but purse her lips and look away while putting her wand in her front pocket, which made him pause. "Slughorn is all out of Lacewing Flies and Knotgrass."
"You're going to the Forbidden Forest, at night and alone?" He stared. "Really Granger?"
"He said we would need to collect them. Should we wait until tomorrow, or some other day we will not have enough time to stew the flies. So yes, I am going out tonight because I'd rather not fail potions because I was paired with someone who doesn't care."
Hermione slowly opened the door, then pulled the invisibility cloak over her head and felt a tug. With a sharp inhale at the sudden intrusion of a certain expensive musky cologne, she froze. In an abrupt sense of urgency to get him outside of the cloak she gave him a good shove. Forcing him backwards into the hallway her bag's strap snagged onto a button on the sleeve of his shirt pulling her with.
With a gasp, she had to grab onto his arm to steady herself. Looking up into his familiar steely eyes, only to see a small smirk resting upon his lips. With a glare, she looked to her right to see they were now in view of the guards and he had a threating fistful of the cloak.
'He wouldn't…' she thought as his smirk widened as he tugged upwards lightly. 'He would... Damn him.'
Malfoy then let it go of the cloak and took a step toward the open door between the guards forcing her to follow behind. It was hard to keep up with his pace at first but once they were in the down the stone entrance and outside she pulled the cloak away.
"What the bloody hell was that?" she bit and began to stuff the cloak in her small bag.
"Me?" he snapped, "You're the one who shoved me Granger, not the other way around."
"You weren't supposed to come with," she quipped before realized how petulant the statement sounded.
"Well I wasn't about to let you take all the credit for making the potion, now was I?" he shrugged pulling out his wand and making his way down the hill towards the edge of the forest.
"So, what? Now you care about our project…" she wondered aloud following him closely behind only to see him send a slight sneer over his shoulder towards her. "What changed? Or did anything change other than not missing the opportunity to bother me."
"This wasn't something I was particularly looking forward to doing." He spoke as they reached the edge of the forest with a pause. "Are you always this unfriendly Granger?"
"Only towards pompous arrogant bigots…" she spoke while pulling out her own wand as they started walking past Hagrid's hut. When the dim light from the window started to grow, Hermione slowed down to a stop.
"… If I had to take a guess, I'd bet that cloak's Potter's." he said ignoring her statement as the front door started to move.
Quickly Hermione reached out roughly grabbing his forearm and yanking him towards her. Looking around them for somewhere to hide she finally decided that the trees to their right was their best chance. "Watch it Gra… "
With a hissing shush, Hermione pointed to the door and swiftly made her way behind the closest tree. Feeling a brush of warmth at her right, she peaked around the tree at her left. Watching the door open all the way Professor Snape and Filch stepped out into the night.
"Is that …?" Hermione paused as Mrs. Norris also followed him outside. Taking a step backwards a small crunching sound broke the whispers between the Professor and Filch while the cat stared in their direction.
Malfoy promptly grabbed her left shoulder and pushed her up against the tree out of their view. Feeling his warm hand covering her mouth lightly, she stared up at his steel gray irises peering around the other side of the tree. For a moment, Hermione froze at the familiarity of their current position as his eyes met hers. When his hand slowly drifted to her left beside her head and flat against the tree Hermione swallowed thickly.
"Nothin' there Severus…" the raspy voice sounded followed by a soft meow. "It's only the wind. There's to be a storm coming…"
"Obviously." Professor Snape spoke in a drawl voice before their departing footsteps tickled the breezy air.
'His eyes… really are beautiful…' Hermione thought to herself as they stood there. Shivering slightly as a gush of wind swept across her bare arms.
"We should keep going…" she murmured softly while she stepped around him and away from the tree. Pulling at her sleeves at her elbows she exhaled and started into the woods.
For a while she wondered if he had even followed her but when she heard his footsteps it reminded her and startled her at the same time. Shortly they reached the small pond in silence while Hermione pulled out her wand from her pocket. Stopping, she reached into her bag pulling out the vials and holding one out for him to take.
"We need as many Lacewing Flies as we can find as well as Knotgrass." She spoke looking toward the pond as his had touched hers. Inhaling she looked toward him as his hand lingered for a few seconds while he took the vial.
'It's a game to him… You know it is…' she thought pulling her hand away and turning away.
Friday November 15th, 1996
Inside the Forbidden Forest near the pond, Quarter until seven at night
Draco internally sneered at the fact he couldn't stop himself from seeking out how she made him feel, whether it was her touch or just being around her. Putting away his wand into his robes, he pursed his lips for a second. Rubbing the spot on his hand, he exhaled softly, hand still tingling with a small spark of electricity from Ganger's touch. The wind then picked up even more making him shiver as he followed her for a bit to see her silently collecting Flies with her wand.
Shaking his head, he thought to himself. Two whole weeks. It took two weeks for of mending, skipping classes and meals, but the cabinet was finally in well enough condition so that it could be used once more. There had been no word or call to work with the cabinet since before the library which had been a blessing but at the same time had him worried about his mother.
Sighing loudly, he spotted a cluster of Knotgrass besides her feet and made his way towards her once more. Stepping into Granger's space he looked down at her as she focused on her spell. Cinnamon tickled his nose, overpowering the wet smell of earthy pond water. Draco then noted that whenever she was concentrating, her lips pursed, her nose crinkled, and her brows frowned. It was rather adorable.
"And that should be sufficient for the potion." she finally broke the silence putting another fly into her vial before closing it. Draco didn't even realize he had a smile tickling his lips as she looked at him in mild amused confusion.
"Your concentrating expression is rather adorable Granger," he mumbled softly as he watched her. For a moment, her eyes widened and her lips parted as her cheeks flushed in what he assumed was embarrassment. Then it changed to a pointed and somewhat irritated expression.
"Shut up…" she said shoving her vial into her bag.
With a small chuckled Draco proceeded to grab the Knotgrass by the roots and put it inside the vial. Looking upwards towards her, he noticed the full moon peering from behind thick dark gray clouds and exhaled a puff of warmth meeting the sudden cold. Fear lapped at the air surrounding them forcing Draco to stand and rip out his wand.
"Dementors…" she hissed pointing her wand ready to fight.
"Granger… Come on…" He spoke sharply.
The edge of the pond began to crackle and solidify against the abrupt change in temperature as he quickly started towards the trees motioning for her to follow him again. Draco shivered against the cold as he slowed to a walk. In panted breaths, he stopped completely before reaching for Hermione's hand and pulling her to a stop as well. When he saw wispy tendrils of black cloaks, he roughly yanked her to the right into a thicket of shrubbery and against a thick base of a tree.
With his back pressing into the bark, he covered her mouth with his hand and pulled her into his arms as they slid down to the ground. Shakily murmuring a concealing charm, he turned his face downwards towards her, breathing into her bushy hair to mask the heat of his own breath. Hermione slowly started to move her hand into her bag but Draco swiftly grabbed her arm to still its movement as the Dementor floated before them.
Icey raindrops spattered against his forehead and hand as she stiffened in his arms. The cinnamon scent started to make him dizzy, breathing it in and releasing it slowly against her neck. Being so close to her made his stomach tighten and his pulse stammer. A flash of light flickered causing Granger to stiffen once more followed by a clashing sound which made her whimper ever so lightly.
A screeching cry sounded as the Dementor continued forward, in the other direction but another Dementor followed behind. One by one, Dementors swished by them deeper into the forest as Draco just held her tighter and closed his eyes for a second only to open them.
Flash. Dementor. Clash. Flash. Clash. Dementor. Dementor. Flash. Clash. Dementor. Dementor. Dementor. Flash. Clash. Flash. Clash…
Against the tree in the Forbidden Forest, Half past seven at night
The quiet pattering of the rain was the only sound Hermione could hear aside from her and Draco's breathing. Swallowing the tightness in her throat so opened her eyes to see beads of water rolling against the smooth and most likely expensive material of his suit. There weren't many things that scared Hermione, but for some reason thunder was one of them.
It was only then did she realize that Draco was rhythmically brushing his thumb back and forth against her forearm in what seemed to be a comforting manor. Taking a deep breath Hermione slowly sat up only to look at a drenched Malfoy. The look he gave her made her insides flutter in what she could only describe as vulnerability.
"I think they're gone…" he whispered moving his arm from around her back at his side.
With a nod, she looked down at the ground and then at the sky as she curled her arms around herself.
"I didn't know you were, you know…" he paused.
"What?" she wondered aloud turning to look at his eyes once more. "Afraid of thunder?"
She watched his features falter slightly before returning to his signature blank stare.
"Just because I was sorted into Gryffindor now means that I'm not allowed to be afraid of anything, is that it?" she quipped at his silence, exhaling sharply.
"I- "he when to say something but couldn't find the words for some reason.
"Being in Gryffindor doesn't mean we don't fear things," she said shortly before making a move to stand but was stopped as he gently placed his hand upon her upper arm.
"That's not what I was saying…" he mumbled. "You were ready to fight if it came to that… I wasn't. I had my wand out, but I wasn't going to... I wouldn't- I…"
Understanding what he was trying to say she reached towards his hand, placing hers lightly against his causing him to stiffen this time. When his eyes met hers, she nodded lightly while he sighed shakily and removed his hand from her arm. Draco then looked away once more just sitting there as Hermione watched him in silence. He was worried about something. Something that had changed since the last time they had spoken…
"I had a dream once," he finally spoke, breaking her thoughts. "It was about you…"
Hermione couldn't help but sit straighter waiting for him to belittle her or to say something about her that was demeaning in some way.
"In this dream, I was wondering the castle at night time, only to find you in some dusty room where you sat playing this old piano. It was raining outside and every time it thundered, you would stop playing. Only to start again as soon as it was quiet once more…" he paused reaching for a rock that lie upon the ground beside him. "I made it known that I was there and immediately you assumed I was about to make fun of you for playing, which I wasn't."
Hermione stared in wonder, confused at how he knew something like that about her.
"I complimented you, which you were a bit cross about." He smirked lightly tossing the rock from one hand to another. "Kind of like what happened earlier…"
"How did you know…" she began to speak as he looked towards her his wet hair hanging in his eyes ever so slightly.
"It was third year, bit of thunder, you hiding in the back of the library, I was going to say something foul but when I saw the look in your eyes, I couldn't. So instead I," he sighed looking down. "I knocked down some books on the other end of the hall to get your attention and casted a weak silencing charm on the window… then left."
Hermione wasn't sure what to say. All she knew was that Draco said things, sometimes did things, but there was no way he was one of them. In that moment, she was positive about one thing. That he was nothing like his father…