"Draco..." Hermione closed her eyes as Draco brushed a loose strand of her hair from face. She ran her hands along his bare chest, loving the warmth of the soft skin. Lips brushed against hers and she fell back against the wall as the kiss quickly turned passionate and stole her breathe. Draco slid his hands under her shirt, running them slowly across her stomach. She gave him a lustful smile as he-
"AHHHHH!" I jumped up in my bed, eyes focusing and refocusing on the wall in front of me as my head spun in a thousand different directions. What was that? What the bloody hell was that? No, no, no. I was not just dreaming of Draco. I slid my legs over the side of my bed, strands of curly brown hair that had fallen out of my braid in my sleep brushing against the side of my face. I pulled the tie out, letting the braid unwind itself and tumble against my neck. No, I couldn't have been dreaming about Draco. It was someone else. I ran a hand through my hair, searching for an explanation. It wasn't Draco... It was... it was... I frowned.
Harry! It was Harry! I laughed and sighed in relief. I had been dreaming about Harry!
Wait... dreaming about Harry? I was dreaming about Harry running his hands all my body? My relief began to waver. That wasn't good either... necessarily... I groaned, stretching as I walked over my bathroom. That was one of the perks of being Head Girl. The workload may have been a little insane for any student, but I got my own room, and my very own bathroom.
I didn't stop to look at myself in the mirror as I set out a towel and pulled off my shirt and the cotton panties that I wore to bed. I turned on the faucet and the tub started to fill with steaming water. I was happy when the mirror started to fog up and I grabbed my necessities from the counter. I sank in the water and closed my eyes, starting my mental checklist for the day. I had an early meeting with the Prefects, then I would grab some breakfast – if I made it to the Great Hall on time, which wasn't always a guarantee – then classes would pick up again. I had Advanced Transfiguration first, with a handful of Gryffindors and Ravenclaws. Then it was to Potions, with the Slytherins... I frowned. It was just like Draco to be almost everywhere that I had to be that day. I squared my shoulders.
Well, I wasn't going to let it bother me. He could try and get a rise out of me, but it wouldn't work. I'm Hermione Granger, I thought, and I won't stoop to his level. You already did... Oh, shut up.
I finished washing and dried off, throwing on my uniform for the day. I made sure all of my homework was in order and that I had everything that I needed in my bag before pulling my hair back and pulling a light sweater over my head. Hogwarts was always chilly in the mornings, no matter how hot it got during the day. It was probably because it was actually a castle.
I slid on my flat shoes and grabbed my bag before heading to the portrait hole and stepping out. I made sure it closed properly before—"Oof!" I bounced back against the portrait hole and glared up at the person in front of me. Of course it was Draco. What was that I was saying about him being everywhere I was going to be?
I crossed my arms over my chest. "What are you doing here?" I asked him sharply. He seemed to be amused by my annoyance, which wasn't really any different from how he normally was. I tried not to notice how annoyingly perfect his hair looked.
"I'm here to escort you to the meeting with the Prefects." he said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. I glared at him.
"I don't need an escort." I replied. "Thank you very much." His self-assured, annoyingly confident, asinine smile faltered for a second, before he leaned down close to me.
"You seemed to enjo-" I rolled my eyes and pushed him back.
"Honestly, Malfoy, are you planning to blackmail me forever?" I asked. "It's beginning to get old." He sneered down at me, unhappy that I'd pushed him away.
"Perhaps we should just tell everyone then." he suggested. "Would you like to tell Pothead and Weasel, or should I?" I growled, narrowing my eyes at him.
"You wouldn't dare." I snapped at him. He smirked, his eyes flickering from mine for a moment.
"Wouldn't I?" he sneered, brushing some of my hair from my face. I would have been put off by the contact if I hadn't wanted to hurt him so much. "Shall we?" he asked. He grabbed my arm and dragged me along instead of waiting for answer. I pulled my arm from his and when we passed an empty classroom, I shoved him in. I made sure no one was around to hear us before I got right in his face.
"No one would believe you." I told him. "No one's that thick. Not even Crabbe and Goyle." He burst out laughing and I watched with quiet fascination as his face filled with color. It wasn't... unpleasant... once you got past the maniacal laughter and the fact that it was Draco Malfoy.
"You have me there." Draco admitted. I smiled triumphantly.
"Well, then I suggest we jus-"
"It's a good thing I've got proof."
"Just pretend tha- wait, proof?" I scowled up at him. "Proof? What proof?" He gave me an evil grin before reaching into his uniform and pulling out – I gasped in utter horror – the bright pink lace panties that I hadn't been able to find when I was in a hurry to get out of Hogsmeade. He waved them in front of my face, laughing as I let out a whimper every time they moved. I was deflated. My determination was beginning to waver. Draco Malfoy was really beginning to get to me. I narrowed my eyes and gave him a look that made Ron and Harry cower when they saw it.
"Give. Those. Back." I demanded through gritted teeth. I pondered how well I could hide a body in Hogwarts and who would miss him.
"No." he said, holding them above my head. I jumped to grab them from his hand, but he moved them out of reach, all the while grinning like a fool. I sighed, setting my bag down as he watched me with amusement, eyebrow raised ever so slightly.
"I said, give me my panties!" I growled. He continued to grin and took a step back, holding them above my head. I cannot be held response for my next actions. I ran forward, jumping on him. He made a noise as we moved back, Draco practically tripping on his own feet from my momentum. I tried to grab the panties from his outstretched hand as we fell backward, squealing happily when I closed my hand on the lacey garment.
"SHIT!" We slammed against the floor. I felt my wrist bang against something hard and I dropped the panties just out of reach from where I'd landed squarely on top of Draco. "DAMMIT GRANGER!" he yelled into my chest. I rolled my eyes, pushing myself up a little and wincing when my right hand couldn't support my weight. I fell closer down near Draco, his face just above where my button up shirt was left open at the top of my low-cut sweater. I didn't even have to look at him to know that his eyes were wandering where they shouldn't be. He gave me a lecherous grin. "You know, Granger, if you wanted to be on top, all you had to do is ask." I scowled down at him.
"Don't you have anything better to do than to torture me?" I asked, perhaps a bit melodramatically. I ignored the strange feelings that seemed to twist and flutter in my stomach as I felt his warm breath brush against my skin. He just lay there, grinning up at me.
"No." he answered simply, giving me a look that I supposed was meant to be charming. I groaned, trying once again to push myself up. I couldn't put any weight on my right hand and fell back down against him, a cry escaping my lips at the pain. We laid there for a moment before he sighed. My eyes popped wide open when he placed his hands on my hips and I looked down at him.
"What are you doing?" I asked him quickly.
"Shhh." he commanded, helping to push me. I got to my knees and then stood up, brushing dust off my skirt as he followed suit. I frowned at his now disheveled appearance. His hair wasn't exactly perfect anymore. I sighed, feeling vulnerable, annoyed, homicidal, and... something else that I couldn't place, all at once. He frowned at me. "What, no thank you?"
"Look at this!" I commanded, showing him my wrist. "It's probably broken!" He looked at it, and for a few trace seconds I thought I saw concern in his eyes, but it passed too quickly for me to be sure.
"So?" he asked, apparently not interested. I couldn't believe my ears.
"So? So?" I stared at him in disbelief. "So, it's your fault." He gave me an offended look.
"My fault?" he asked.
"Yes." I told him. "Your fault. This is all your fault!" I screamed. Now he was beginning to look angry.
"How the hell is my fault?" he asked, face contorted with fury. I stamped my foot in anger and pointed a finger at him.
"You wouldn't give me the panties!" I growled. He glared at my finger for a moment before recognition hit the both of us and our eyes widened together in an almost mirror image of each other.
"THE PANTIES!" We both dove for them at the same time, wrestling with each other when Draco's longer arms got the pair first and I couldn't get them back from him with the use of only one hand. I sat on the floor, pouting up at him as he held them up triumphantly.
"Well, Granger, looks as though you're at my mercy." he asked, enjoying the situation a bit too much for me. I refused to look at him, directing my gaze instead toward the door. He frowned and ran a hand through his hair, trying in vain to make it neat again. The look on my face must've been getting to him, because he seemed to squirm for a moment, unsure of what to do. Well, good, I thought. Let him squirm. The thought of Draco squirming was actually quite amusing. "Come on, let's get you to Madame Pomfrey." he said, reaching down to help me up. I reluctantly accepted his help, taking a step away from him.
"Madame Pomfrey? I can't go to Madame Pomfrey. We have a meeting to attend." I scolded him. "The Head Girl and Head Boy cannot simply skip the Monday morning meeting." He rolled his eyes.
"Her-" he began. My eyes flickered to him and he corrected himself. "Granger..."
"Malfoy." I growled at him in warning. He sighed.
"Fine." he growled. "Let's go to the meeting." I gazed at him suspiciously.
"Fine." I said sharply. I looked at my panties in his hand. I huffed, grabbing my bag and turning to the door. He followed to the door, but the second I stepped out into the hall, I froze, finding myself face to face Ernie Macmillan. He opened his mouth to say something to me, but paused when he saw Draco come up behind, my bright pink panties still hanging off his finger tips. He took in our appearances and gave me a knowing look.
"It- it's not what you think." I told quickly. "It's that- we were just-"
"Don't you have a meeting to get to, Macmillan?" Draco sneered. Ernie's eyes shifted from me to Draco. He gave me an almost imperceptible nod before curtly beginning on his way again. I didn't have to look at Draco to know that he was grinning like a madman at the whole situation. I turned around and glared up at him. "Now that was my fault." Draco said happily. I would have punched him, it was such a good memory from third year, but my right hand wasn't in working order and my left wasn't strong enough for that sort of thing.
"Put those in your pocket!" I demanded, pointing at the panties, and he reluctantly complied with a smirk on his face. I turned to walk away and he stood still, watching me go.
I could hear his feet clacking against the floor as he walked a few paces behind me. I didn't look back to find out what mood he was in, though I imagined it probably wasn't a good one. Not that I cared, of course. I was in pain because of him. He was just lucky that I wasn't right handed. I wondered what the time was and how much we had wasted in our scuffle over my underwear, which I was thoroughly determined to get back from him later. Prefects were like kindergartens, I thought. You couldn't leave them alone for very long, or at all, because they're always sure to cause mischief. Monday mornings were especially important because we discussed shifts for the week and any students or problems in particular that had been problems.
I didn't notice that Draco had sped up and was walking beside me until he pulled the door open for me. I nodded to him, only to be polite. I wasn't going to be nice to him quite that easily. I charged past the Prefects towards the front of the room and called everyone's attention. I ignored Draco existence as he came up behind me. He was, after all, Head Boy. He did need to be at the front of the group and have a say in everything that we discussed. I so desperately wanted to hurt him at that moment.
I made sure that I had everyone's attention before making sure that people were present and hearing reports of what had happened over the last week during break. Some first years had gotten curious and wandered to a floor where they weren't allowed, having a run in with Fluffy (I'd always wondered what happened to him after Harry recovered the Philosopher's Stone). I chuckled lightly before noticing that the Prefects did not approve, and moved on to the next incident. I listened intently to everyone, going through changes in schedules and making notes about things in my head. I even listened when Draco spoke up, still surprised to find that he was actually taking his role seriously. He seemed to care about his position, and even liked it. I frowned in curiosity, watching him speak. His eyes flickered to mine and I blushed, turning away. I saw Ernie Macmillan smirk somewhere in the crowd. I had never wanted to hex anyone as much as I did in that moment.
After we'd heard everyone speak, Draco and I went over changes in schedules and routes. I studiously ignored the growling in my stomach, wanting to get through the meeting and then see Madame Pomfrey. I wasn't sure which was worse, being hungry, or my arm throbbing.
When the meeting finally ended, I felt completely exhausted and wanted to go back to bed, school be damned. I collapsed on a chair and closed my eyes for a moment. "Umm..." I looked up when I heard the familiar uncertainty of Annie Williams, a Ravenclaw Prefect. "Are you okay?" she asked. I frowned.
"Of course." I said. "I'm just a little tired." She gave me a concerned look and shook her head.
"No, I mean... umm... you right hand. You didn't use it at all and now it's... turning purple." she said. Turning purple? I glanced down at my hand, eyes widening when I l saw the deep bruise. I groaned. That just... figured. I stood up and stalked over to where Draco stood, talking to Blaise Zabini. I froze in confusion when Blaise gave me the widest grin I'd ever seen him give anyone. It was actually a little... creepy. He and Draco seemed to very amused over something.
"Blaise." I said, acknowledging that he was there.
"Good morning, Granger. Don't you look nice today." he said pleasantly. If there had been more than one person with the name Granger in the room, I'd have been sure that he was speaking to someone else. I am the only Granger in Hogwarts, aren't I?
"I- uh, thank you." I stumbled over my words in shock at his sudden friendliness. "And how are you?"
"Oh, I'm fine. Just fine." Blaise said. "Though not as good as you, apparently." I gave him a confused look and he nodded across the room to where Ernie Macmillan was speaking to his friends, his voice just loud enough for me to hear over the emptying room. Blaise grinned as he watched my reactions.
"And that was when I saw them kissing and touching each other." he said. My jaw dropped. Oh, he was dead.
"Yeah, but pink and lacey?" one of the others asked. Ernie nodded.
"I was surprised too. I'd always had her pegged as a black leather dominatrix type, I mean-"
"So, how did Hermione look naked?" Don't answer that. Don't answer that. Don't answer that. Ernie made a face and I wanted to slug him.
"Not that good." he said. "She should work out more. She's got a bit of a belly." HEY!
"Clearly Draco's doing it out of pity." another said. I scowled.
"I don't know." Ernie said. "She seemed to know what she was doing. I was almost jealous." This brought some laughter from the others.
"Okay, okay, fine. How good was she?" Ernie leaned over and whispered something to them and they laughed.
"What a slut!" I was about to march over there and give them a piece of my and teach them a good hex or two when I heard Draco and Blaise laughing. My anger finally got the better of me. I pulled my hand back and punched Draco right in the face. Everyone in the room froze, except for Draco and Blaise who appeared more amused than anything else. I screamed in pain and clutched my arm. It turned out that my punch had hurt me more than it had hurt Draco, because he didn't even need time to recover, and I had stupidly used my right hand. Draco sighed and said something to Blaise, but I was in too much pain to hear it clearly. He nodded and left, winking at me quickly, and Draco turned to me with a concerned, albeit amused, expression.
"Come on, Granger. Let's get you to Madame Pomfrey." he said. I didn't even protest when he snaked one arm around my waist and led me along the halls, tears of pain streaming down my face. I sniffled and sobbed, which I was happy to realize actually did bother him. Stupid Draco stupid Malfoy and his stupid stupidness...
"Thi- this is al-" I couldn't even get the words out.
"I know, I know." Draco said softly with a sigh. "This all my fault. That's it, now. Just let it all out." In sheer and utter horror, that was exactly what I did, and by the time we'd made it to the hospital wing, I'd practically soaked his robs in tears and snot. He set me down on a bed and used his sleeve to wipe my eyes as Madame Pomfrey rushed over to us. My humiliation was complete.
"Goodness child. What happened?" she asked worriedly. I was still sobbing too much to speak.
"She broke her wrist." Draco answer, holding up my hand. Madame Pomfrey gasped, but I didn't have the heart to look. She rushed off to get something quickly. Draco stared down at me as I sobbed, rubbing the back of his head and looking around, I supposed trying to decide what to do. "Now, don't cry so much."
"I- I-" I gasped in between sobs. My day was falling apart. "I'll cry- cry as much as I want to." Draco sighed.
"'Course you will." He bent down a little and pulled my hair away from my face, rubbing my back with his other hand. Despite myself, it was comforting, and I was actually beginning to appreciate a softer side of Draco Malfoy – at least for the moment. Madame Pomfrey came back and used her wand to reset my wrist, giving me something to drink to help it along and ease the pain a little. I was told to take it easy that day, as it had obviously been rough so far. She left us alone and went to tend to someone else who'd come down with the flu. I leaned against Draco, who'd taken a seat beside me on the bed, and closed my eyes. The pain in my wrist was starting to feel a bit better, but to my dismay, my stomach was not at all happy. He let out a full bellied laugh when he heard it growl. I blushed, thinking about the time.
"I missed breakfast, didn't I?" I asked. He nodded. "DAMN." He laughed again, and this time it wasn't at all unpleasant, Malfoy or not. He reached into his bag and pulled something out, handing it to me. I stared down at it for a long moment, wondering what it was. "What's this?"
"Open it." he commanded. I eyed him suspiciously and he sighed. "Just open it." I unwrapped it to find a muffin and some eggs, still warm.
"Why did-"
"I figured you wouldn't make it to breakfast." he said quickly. "You never do on Mondays." What? He'd... he'd gotten me breakfast? I shook my head in confusion. He'd noticed that I never made it to breakfast? This was all so very... bizarre.
"Why are you doing this Draco?" I asked him. He looked at me, uncomprehending.
"What do you mean?" he asked, brows furrowed.
"I mean, you hate me. You have since first year." I told him. He looked around sheepishly.
"Well, hate may be a bit strong." he murmured. "I thin-"
"You've hexed me, hurt my friends. You can't seriously like me." I told him. He gave me an offended look for the second time that day.
"And why is that?" he asked angrily. I laughed bitterly.
"Because you hate mudbloods." I said simply. The emotions that flashed across his face were pure anger and frustration, and for the first time, it really did make me nervous, and he hadn't tried to hide it. He turned me toward him and put his face up against mine, anger still visible in his eyes.
"Don't ever say such a thing again." he whispered firmly. His breath was warm against my face, bringing goose bumps to my arms and my neck. I could smell his aftershave and see the faint traces of stubble on his chin, and without thinking, I brought my left hand and pressed it to his cheek. His skin was so soft. He closed his eyes as I moved my hand along his chin to his lips, tracing them with my thumb. He looked at me again, deep blue eyes unguarded, and I saw something there that I hadn't expected to see in anyone's eyes when they looked at me. It wasn't lust, I could tell. It wasn't pity, like the other students had suggested. It wasn't hatred or loathing, like I'd always expected to see from Draco Malfoy. I closed my heavy eyes as he leaned in and kissed me, his tongue running along my lower lip, gently asking for permission. I kissed him back wholeheartedly, surprising myself.
He pulled away, his hand still caressing my shoulder. My eyes felt heavy and I was beginning to feel the effects of whatever it was that Madame Pomfrey had given me. I leaned against him and closed my eyes, feeling strangely glad when he didn't protest, and let the sleep take me.
"This can't be happening." Hermione sobbed. Draco glanced around the room with an unsure look and scratched the back of his head. "It was so perfect. This is terrible!"
"Uh, yeah. Yeah, it is." Draco said, agreeing with her. Hermione looked up at him suddenly and grabbed his shirt collar, smothering his mouth with hers. Draco's eyes widened so large, he was half afraid they would fall right out of his head. When Hermione moved to pull away, he grabbed the back of her head, pulling her closer to him and deepening the kiss. They broke long enough to take a breath, and Draco looked down at a rather distraught Hermione. "Hermione... Hermione, I-"
"Hermione? Hermione!" I opened my eyes slowly, wishing that I hadn't been awakened. I still felt groggy from Madame Pomfrey's medicine – medicines always made me feel sleepy, whether they be magical or muggle. I felt myself yawn and roll over. "Hermione!" I fell back asleep with someone calling my name in my ear.
When I woke up again, classes for the day had already ended. My wrist was feeling better, though Madame Pomfrey quickly told me that I would have to wear a cast for a couple of days to be sure that it was healing properly. I smiled as I looked down at it, remembering when I was little and my cousin broke his leg. We all drew as much graffiti on it as possible in brightly colored pens and markers. I wondered if Harry and Ron and Ginny would want to do the same thing. And Draco...
I reluctantly got out of the bed and said a quick 'thank you' to Madame Pomfrey as I was leaving. It had become quite a pleasant day. It wasn't too hot or cold, and there was a nice breeze coming in from the open windows as I passed them. It was heavenly. I made my way down spiral staircase after staircase, following the hallways that I knew like the back of my head. Of course, I didn't always know the back of my head very well, what with the massacre of curls that seemed to breed.
It was strange how whenever I walked into a room or passed a group of students, they'd pause and look at me before beginning to whisper to each other, and yet I somehow wasn't bothered by it. It wasn't until I got to the Gryffindor dorms that I was bombarded by students. I backed away slowly in a panic, holding my bandaged arm to my chest and wincing as everyone was talking to me all at once, asking me questions that I couldn't decipher. Finally, after an undeterminable amount of time, Harry and Ron came to my rescue and pulled me away from a gathering crowd all asking questions and making comments that I couldn't understand. I gratefully let them pull me away to another part of the room where it was quiet, and I sat down on a cushioned chair as they looked at me expectantly. "Okay, 'Mione," Ron began. "Tell us what happened." I suddenly felt like I was being interrogated, and Harry and Ron were beginning to look like the mob from some cheesy muggle movie.
"What do you mean?" I asked. Ron sighed.
"What happened to your arm?" Harry asked. I froze, panicking. What happened to my arm? I tried to think of an excuse.
"I fell." I said lamely. I didn't expect them to believe me. I was waiting for more questions and for one of them to pull out a vial of veritaserum from their pocket, but apparently they were so desperate for an explanation that they accepted this response and sighed in relief. Harry flopped down on a chair across from me.
"Bloody hell." he muttered. "You had us worried there."
"Worried?" I asked. Ron scoffed.
"There's a rumor going 'round 'bout you and Malfoy." Ron said. "Ernie said he saw you and Malfoy in an empty classroom this morning, and that he was—" Harry coughed and kicked Ron's shin, though he ignored it and continued. "Going do-" Now I kicked Ronald and gave him an angry look. He yelped and grabbed his leg, glaring at me. "Blimey, 'Mione, that hurt!" I leapt to my feet.
"I've had just about enough of this, thank you very much." I started to walk away, but stopped and turned around. "Ronald Weasley, you are an ass." I huffed and turned around again, ignoring the staring from everyone in the dorm as I ascended the stairs up to the girls rooms for a bit of privacy. Why had I come here, anyway? Stupid Ernie, I fumed. Oh, I was going to give the worst routes and shifts of any Prefect in Hogwarts history. He was going to regret the day he'd crossed me!
I opened the door and walked in, a sense of calm from the familiar surroundings of my childhood washing over me. I'd always loved this place – why had I left to become Head Girl? I sat down on one of the beds and leaned back, perfectly comfortable. I smiled as I thought back on the memories of I'd had in the room. First coming to Hogwarts and not fitting in. Talking endlessly with Ginny when we should have been sleeping. Floating on air after Viktor had asked me to the dance and describing everything that had happened to Ginny after I'd returned from visiting him.
I felt a sudden feeling of despair wash over me. That's strange, I thought. Why did thinking about Viktor make me feel... I heard the sound of footsteps outside the door and glanced over when the door opened. Ginny brushed her hair aside as she walked into the room. She came over to where I was and stood in front of me, glaring down at me angrily. I sighed. "What's going on, Gin?"
"What's going on?" Ginny asked. "What's going on is YOU SLEPT WITH DRACO MALFOY!" This time I couldn't even hide it, and the guilty that crossed my face was as plain as day. Ginny's jaw dropped and stood gaping at me. "YOU SLEPT WITH DRACO MALFOY?!"
A/N: (does a happy dance) Well, I'm quite happy with how this turned out, and I looked back over and tried to catch any and all typos and such. If I missed any, I'm insanely sorry, and I'll probably go back and edit it later.
In any case, I'm still insanely happy to have all of you wonderful people reading and reviewing and putting me on your favorites list! :) More to come very, very soon!!