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Chapter 6

Severus Snape was on his way to the dungeons when he found two 6th years fighting in the corridors. The two dumb boys were, on top of that, from Slytherin. Undoubtedly, this week started terribly bad. After scolding them drily and demonstrating his disappointment by taking 5 points off from Slytherin, he resumed his path through the dungeons more irritable than ever.

In fact, his morning could be summarised as terrible situations after terrible situations. First, he realised that some ingredients for his class were lacking and he had to find urgently a solution. Then, he got cut at breakfast by a very long and boring conversation with Trelawney, a conversation that looked very much like a monologue honestly. And finally, and it was the main cause of his terrible mood, he was sick of hearing everyone praising the amazing Évangeline Rousset; how she got to Hogwarts riding a thunderbird, how famous she was, how beautiful she was. Blah, blah, blah. This was terrible. This woman got here few hours ago and she was already ruining his life.

Speaking of the devil, there she was outside of his classroom. Was she waiting for him? Probably, what could she do in the dungeons otherwise. He signed in advance, whatever she was going to ask him, he decided that it would be a pain in the ass.

Rousset noticed him arriving and smiled kindly to him. He didn't respond of course but he stopped in front of her.

"Professor Snape, good morning, you were the person I was looking for!" she said happily with the slightest of French accent.

"Good morning professor Rousset"

"You can call me Évangeline, or even Éva, as you wish" she said with a smile.

He cleared his throat. What was he supposed to answer to that? That she could call him Severus, or even Sev. Great. He hated her. These French and their taste for familiarity!

"Um, you can call me Severus then" he said drily. "How can I help you?" asked Snape with a grimace. He couldn't come to term with using her first name yet.

"I have an exciting project and Albus told me you were the person to consult" she said enthusiastically. "I would like to discuss it with you, later today, if you are available of course"

So, she called Dumbledore by his first name too. Great. "I guess I can make some time after my last class at 6pm"

"Great! I will see you here at 6 then. Thank you very much Severus, I knew I could count on you!" Rousset said enthusiastically, laying her hand on his arm and smiling to him. He froze. "See you later then" she said before leaving him completely in shock, in the middle of the corridor, staring at the direction she took.

When he finally came back to himself, he realised that the Bloody Baron's translucent spectrum was floating next to him looking at the same direction.

"What a beautiful woman! Be careful, they are the most dangerous creatures on earth, and I am afraid you got yourself a date with one, my friend" said the ghost.

He frowned. Undoubtedly, this week started terribly.

….

Hermione had the most bizarre day she ever had. Malfoy spend all the classes they had in common, sitting next to her, trying to hold her books for her and even trying to make conversation with her. This was completely strange, and she decided she could never get used to it. But his presence wasn't completely bad she thought. In potion for instance, he was very helpful. They operated nicely together; he understood when she needed assistance without even having to say it. And this was good since Snape told them that the partners chosen on their first day had to remain the same all year. So, now she was stuck with Malfoy until the end of her 4th year.

Draco's behaviour gave her a lot of attention from her classmates, a lot of glaring and whispering too. It didn't help her supporting to her friends that the article was all lies, and her friendships were suffering of that. Especially Ron's, who refused to talk with her all day.

She wasn't stupid and she knew that Malfoy had something in mind. This couldn't be innocent. It was Draco Malfoy after all. And even if she said so to her friends, she had the feeling they didn't trust her; they either thought she was falling into his trap, or that she was lying to them about their true relationship.

This whole situation annoyed her very much and she was glad when she managed after class to go the library, escaping everyone, Malfoy included. In fact, this summer they agreed with Blaise that they would meet at the library each day to study together. Thus, she joined him at the spot they chose together for their meetings; it was a table behind a bookshelf near the window.

"Blaise! I'm so glad to see you" said Hermione hugging her friend.

"Me too love. How are you? I have the feeling you just had the worst day" said Blaise smirking.

"You have no idea! What is wrong with your friend?" asked Hermione desperately. "What sort of tricks is he playing this time?"

"Who are you talking about?" asked Blaise with the devil smile on his face.

"Well Malfoy! Really Blaise stop this, I am not in the mood of playing" mumbled Hermione.

"I am sorry. But you should be apologizing; you hide from me that you too were together. This is the most unexpected news since my mother announced she wouldn't marry anymore" accused Blaise laughing.

"Oh please, don't tell me you believed this garbage of an article. Malfoy and I are definitely NOT a thing, and I have no idea why he is pretending we are!" answered Hermione annoyed.

"Okay, okay, don't be mad at me I'm not Skeeter nor Malfoy"

"You are right I am sorry. We were supposed to meet at the library to study, let's do that." Said Hermione starting to reunite the books and notes she needed.

They studied together two hours before Blaise had to leave to join his friends for dinner. Hermione still stayed more than one hour after him, wanting to avoid her own friends. When she couldn't focus anymore, she reunited her belongings and left for the kitchens where she could find something to eat. The elves were extremely happy to see her and wanted to give her more that she could ever eat in one day. She managed to leave the kitchen with a ham sandwich, a piece of apple pie with whipped cream and a fruit. She settled herself on a hidden bench, behind thick curtains and watched the full moon shining through the window. She was enjoying her meal when she heard someone's voice.

"You are harder to find than the Room of Requirement, you know" said Malfoy finding his way through the curtains and seating next to her.

Taken by surprise, Hermione almost choked on her food. "God, don't fucking scare me like that ever again!" she said with a hand on her racing heart.

Draco smirked at her and winked "Seeing me makes your heart beat faster Granger? Falling in love already?" he added sitting on the bench with her.

"Ha, Ha. Get over yourself Malfoy" answered Hermione biting in her pie and chewing angrily.

She looked up at him and she realized that Malfoy was glaring at her and it made her very uncomfortable. Not arranging anything, he slid on the bench to get closer to her, just a few centimetres away. The moonlight was reflecting on his grey eyes and white-blond hair. She had to admit that he was very attractive right now. He opened his mouth slightly and she couldn't stop herself from staring at his lips.

"You have…" murmured Malfoy.

"Mmh?" answered softly Hermione looking back to his eyes.

"You have some…" he added raising his hand and brushing his fingers against her cheek. A thrill ran through her spine. He brushed his thumb against her nose this time. Her heart was racing and she was afraid he could hear it pounding. "You have some whipped cream on the tip of your nose" he finally said, removing his hand from her face and watching the small amount of cream he had on his finger.

"Oh really?" whispered Hermione, feeling extremely disappointed. Disappointed? Seriously, she thought? What did she expect? That he would kiss her or something? She wanted to mentally slap herself for her damn twisted thoughts. She looked at his hand as he brought it to his mouth and slightly licked the cream out of it, staring right into her eyes. She blushed and swallowed hard. She looked down at the floor. She didn't know how she was supposed to react to this. Well, her body knew exactly how to react to Malfoy's behaviour, it seemed on fire. But her mind on the contrary was just disturbed. She didn't know what to think of the whole situation.

"Why are you here hiding, instead of enjoying some real dinner with your friends?" He asked curious.

"Well, I don't know. I have the feeling they are judging me. Judging me because of you. Because of THIS" She said angrily, waving her hands between them. "I mean this whole situation is just strange and seeing them means talking about it and even worse, it means them thinking I'm lying about our "secret" relationship"

"You can't avoid them eternally"

"I know, okay? And by the way how did you find me?" asked Hermione suspiciously.

"Peeves saw you getting in there and told me" answered Malfoy with a smirk.

"Great I have to hide from ghosts too now" she said rolling her eyes. She stood up and made the rest of her meal disappear with her wand. "I will go now. As you said, I can't avoid my friends forever and I have a feeling they are searching for me right now". He stood up too and grabbed her arm and the damn thrill ran along her spine again. How could she be so sensitive to his touch?

"Wait, I will accompany you to your common room"

"Don't be silly, it's absolutely not necessary. And I don't want people to see us together so late!" she said looking behind the curtains for potential snoops.

"Okay, I'll leave you here then. Good night Hermione." He said looking her straight in the eyes. He seemed to stop himself from doing something. He looked down at her lips for a few seconds (that seemed like an eternity to Hermione), before pulling away and leaving her alone.

When he was gone, she realized that she was holding her breath. She inspired and expired loudly, and she had to sit down for a minute.

When she succeeded to calm her nerves, she stood up and walked to the Gryffindor's dormitories more confused then ever; what the hell was wrong with Malfoy?

She winced when she realised that Ginny and Parvati were probably waiting for her in their bedroom. God what could she tell them about all of that?