Chapter 12

I'd Do Nothing For You

Draco spent the next couple of days in a kind of trance. He went to his classes, he ate his meals, he did his homework, and he slept. He did not, however, let his mind drift onto the subject of Granger. Thinking about her made him feel…strange. He found out from Proff Dumbledore that Hermione would be back in classes that day. She was still a little shook from her experience but she wanted to catch up on the school work she had missed.

Typical Miss Know It All, thought Draco. She could probably miss a month of school and still be at the top of the class in all subjects.

-0-

Hermione lay soaking in her bathtub. The sent of lavender filled the room. She had been cooped up in the hospital wing for far too long. She had finally convinced Proff Dumbledore that she was ok and that her pale complexion was a result of being deprived of the sun for days on end.

She finally dragged herself out of the tepid water and began to get ready for class. She had been excused from all morning classes so that she could have a bit of time to herself and to fix herself up a bit. As she looked at her reflection in the mirror, she could see why both Proff Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey had been reluctant to let her leave. She was extremely pale. So pale in fact, that her freckles also had a washed out look to them. Her chocolate brown eyes looked almost black set against the white of her skin. She dried her hair and put on her school robes. She considered putting on a bit of make-up to make her look a bit more alive but the lunch bell rang. She hadn't eaten that morning and wanted to get lunch in the great hall. She put her hair up in a loose bun and headed down to lunch.

-0-

Malfoy was in the middle of stuffing his face with a chicken pie when he felt the urge to look up. Hermione was walking through the great hall towards Potter and Weasly. He glanced around and noticed that he was not the only person looking at Hermione. A lot of the older boys were looking at her too, not to mention a number of his fellow housemates! As she was sitting down, she glanced over at his table, eyes searching. When they found him they stopped for a second. She blinked, and then turned away. Malfoy found himself wishing that she had continued looking at him. He shook his head, trying to get some sense into it. She's a filthy mudblood, he chastised himself, why would I want it to stare at me? With that thought still in his head, he continued to eat his pie.

-0-

Hermione walked into the great hall and immediately felt eyes on her. Word spread pretty quickly at Hogwarts, especially if it concerned someone close to Harry. She ignored the stares and went to sit with Harry and Ron. As she was sitting, she chanced a quick look over to Malfoy's table. She didn't have to search for long. His white blond hair stood out against the black of his robes. She didn't dare look for too long, but she caught his eyes nonetheless. His gazed met hers unflinchingly. She blinked and turned away.

"How are you feeling?" asked Ron. He had been to see her in the hospital wing every day that she had been in there, along with Harry and Ginny. Every day he asked the same question and every day the answer had been the same.

"I'm fine Ron, really I am. Now can we please forget about the whole thing? I don't want to think about it anymore."

Harry and Ron had been warned by Ginny not to push Hermione into telling them exactly what had happened to her when she was in 'The Dark Place'.

"She'll tell us when she's ready. If you keep at her, she'll just wall up." Ginny had said.

Harry and Ron looked at each other and shrugged. Ginny was a girl, just like Hermione. She probably knew best.

-0-

Hermione had to endure stares and not so whispered comments for the rest of the day. During potions, Parkinson had begun to laugh quietly. When she noticed that Proff Snape was in effect ignoring her, she began to laugh louder, then louder. Harry and Ron had been just about to flare up when the most unexpected thing happened.

"10 points from Slythrin"

Hermione looked up at Snape. His mouth was agape. Well, if he hadn't taken the points then…

She turned and looked at Malfoy. Pansy was also open-mouthed.

"Draco? What do you mean 10 points off Slythrin? Don't you mean Gryffindor?" she asked incredulously.

Malfoy lifted his head and turned to Pansy.

"Are you implying that I am stupid? Are you implying that I made a stupid mistake? He asked her quietly.

Both Gryffindors and Slytherins waited for her answer.

"N-no,' she stumbled.

Malfoy turned away from her and looked up ant Snape expectantly. The class resumed.

-0-

That night, Hermione went straight to her room. She didn't even stop to say hello to Laura and Sean. After the day she'd had, she just wanted to be alone. She lay down on her bed and sighed. What a strange potions class. Just when she thought she was going to blow and kill Pansy Parkinson, or even worse, run out of the dungeon crying, Malfoy had stepped in and saved her. Saved her for the third time. She lay on her bed thinking about the last couple of weeks. When she woke up again, it was very late. She changed into he PJs and tried to go back to sleep. After about an hour, she gave up and went into the common room. Thinking she'd be alone, she got a fright when she saw Malfoy sitting in his chair, gazing into a burning fire.

Great, he didn't see me, she thought, turning to go back to her room.

"Spying on me Granger?" came a voice from the chair. "That's bad manners, even for a mudblood."

Hermione turned back to him, fully intending to rip him to shreds, but the look on his face stopped her. He looked sad and tired. She suddenly remembered that his father was missing. Now Lucius Malfoy was nobody's favourite person, except, she thought, maybe to his son.

She pulled her own chair up next to the fire and sat down beside him.

"Thank you for catching me when I fell off your broom," she began. "Proff Dumbledore explained to me that we were both put under a spell and that it wasn't you fault."

Malfoy remained quite while she spoke. In all honesty, he didn't know what to say to her. Just being this close to her made his brain go all mushy. He began to notice that she was talking much quieter than when she had begun. He had to lean in closer to her to hear her.

"I don't know what happened to me in the hospital wing. This…crazy laughter started coming out of the walls and is filled my head so that I couldn't hear anything else and…" he voice caught in her throat. Malfoy looked up at her and noticed a single tear trailing down her pale cheek. He hadn't noticed how pale she was until he could look at her properly in potions class. She looked fragile, delicate. Like a porcelain doll.

"It's ok," he began tentatively, "whatever it was, it's gone now. You're safe."

-0-

Hermione gazed up at Malfoy and couldn't quite believe it. She had always felt safe at Hogwarts. Even in first year when she had been cornered by the mountain troll, and in third year when they thought Sirius was a mad man after Harry. Now though, she wasn't so sure.

-0-

Malfoy stared down into the almost black eyes looking up at him. The butterflies had returned. He didn't know what to do. This was Granger, the filthy mudblood that had caused him so much trouble. He hated her, and all of her kind. As he gazed down at her however, he began to think that hate was too strong a word. Maybe really, really disliked.

-0-

Hermione began to feel dizzy. She had been silent for too long. She stood up abruptly. Malfoy followed. Standing up, they were even more closely together. Neither one of them said anything. Malfoy moved closer to Hermione, so close that she could feel the line of heat that his body generated between them.

-0-

And thank you for today," she said breathlessly. "You really didn't have to do that for me…"

She was broken off by Malfoy's lips meeting hers. It was a gentle kiss, innocent almost. It sent shivers down to her toes. She knew what they were doing was wrong, but she couldn't seem to push him away. It felt right somehow. She felt safe.Malfoy drew her into him, deepening the kiss. He knew what he was doing was crazy but he felt happier than he had in a very long time. The way her body moulded perfectly into his; it was like something from a fairy tale. Her hands ran up his chest, resting on his shoulders. Her touch was feather light but it still managed to make his head spin. He was losing his mind…

-0-

Malfoy pulled back abruptly.

"Losing my mind" he said quietly.

Hermione didn't know what he was talking about, or what to say to him.

Malfoy looked down into her chocolate brown eyes and pushed her roughly away from him.

"I'm sick in the head! Losing my mind!" he ranted. "What have you done to me?"

"Nothing!" yelled Hermione, "I was thanking you for saving me when you…"

Two doors opened. A sleepy looking Sean and a very messy Laura stared out at them.

"Whasgoinon?" Sean yawned.

"I…we…" stammered Hermione.

"We were doing nothing," interjected Malfoy. "Hermione decided that it was a good time to thank me for something that I didn't do."

He turned and glared at Hermione.

"I did nothing for you especially not today. Pansy was giving me a headache with her stupid laughing. Nothing more."

He started making his way to his room when he stopped and turned back to Hermione.

"I'd do nothing for you." He growled.

A/N: Reviews are good people; they let me know what you're thinking. I'm not sure if I want this story to have a happy ending or a realistic ending. Your thoughts are welcome :o)