Chapter Six:
"Given enough time, you can progress to stroking and petting. If you incorporate this with judicious treats, the Granian will begin to associate your touch with pleasure."
Extract from "From Wild Beast to Wizard's Steed, a how-to guide on taming Granian".
Having successfully conditioned Granger not to reject his touch, Draco began working skin-to-skin contact into their study sessions.
One evening, as they got up to leave, he reached across and lightly brushed her cheek with one thumb. Granger looked startled, hand rising uncertainly to touch where his had been. "Did… did I have something there?"
"Just some dust," he lied pleasantly. "Must be from all those old books you love so much. You know, Granger, that was really quite an astute observation you made about how the æther is always grounded in the terrestrial."
Though his comment was truthful, Draco had spoken more to distract Granger from his action than anything else. So, Hermione's reaction took him by surprise: her eyes had sparked with startled pleasure, glowing like a Lumos-lit wand.
And that was how he discovered the decidedly favourable outcome of combining physical contact with praising her intellect. Draco lost no time in putting this theory to the test. Their next study session, Granger had launched into an impassioned speech on the Accio charm and its similarities to Apparition. She challenged the restrictions most wizards spoke of, stating her belief they were merely down to insufficient determination and deliberation. She flung out her arms as she spoke and tossed her hair; when it settled, it was hanging in her eyes. Draco smoothed the wayward curls away from her face, fingers lingering on her skin as he did so: "I love how your brain works. It's brilliant and unique."
Hermione positively beamed at him and stammered: "Th-thank you, Malfoy!"
Draco basked in the dual glow of her warmth and his own self-satisfaction.
Project Kiss-met was going from strength to strength.
So it was probably inevitable that he would do something to set things back.
Kiss-met took a lot of effort – in one sense Draco had had to work harder than he ever had in his life – but the effort reminded him of the low buzz of aching muscles after hours of flying; the contented fatigue that came after invigorating exercise. He so rarely got to fully execute his diabolical genius. It was a refreshing challenge.
She was a challenge.
And Draco was determined to win.
One unexpected side effect – he actually enjoyed the process. Much to his surprise, he enjoyed spending time with Granger, and the book was proving invaluable at making his way into her good graces.
Not that the Manual was infallible. One extract-inspired encounter had gone horribly awry:
"If a Granian is proving particularly wary, it may be of benefit to allow it to see you around other horses you have tamed. If the tamed horses walk up to you and welcome your touch, your hard-to-catch Granian will see their behaviour and may imitate them."
Really he should have known better than to expect Granger to model herself on a Slytherin's behaviour, especially one whose crush had been all too evident since last year, and who had been thrilled at receiving an invitation to sit with him in the Library.
When Granger came into the Library for a scheduled study session and saw Draco at a table with Astoria Greengrass – Draco had rejected Pansy as a suitable candidate for obvious reasons – when she saw him with Astoria, patting her hand as she adoringly smiled at him, Granger's warm brown eyes had turned positively arctic, and her magnificent hair had crackled with magical energy, even more volumised than normal. Granger had swept out the Library with her nose firmly in the air and firmly out of joint.
Years of altercations with the Trio had proven Granger by far the most self-controlled of the three Gryffindors, rarely reacting when Scarhead and the Weasel were practically frothing at the mouth. So, he was initially surprised at how much that particular encounter had gotten under her skin. But the more he thought about it, the more he realised what a berk he'd been to think Granger would respond anything but badly to something which impinged upon her school work.
The net result had been that Granger ignored him for three days, and he had had to continually dodge an increased influx of fluttering love notes, Pygmy Puffs left in his dormitory, and cries of "Drakey!" echoing on the wind as he took to the skies to escape them.
Another side effect from their spending time together was that his ploy had actually come true: he was learning a lot from the study sessions. Already a solid 'Exceeds Expectations' student in Ancient Runes, with the occasional Outstanding thrown in, he was now a straight 'O' student.
Armed with evidence of this improvement, he waved his mid-term report under Granger's nose whilst they were waiting outside 6A, pointing out it was her duty to resume studying with him – did she really want to be responsible for his marks slipping back?
Granger had bitten her lip, looking shifty for some reason, but then grudgingly agreed to meet him that evening after supper.
It was during this session that the reason for her discomfort became clear.
Granger's nib had broken; when she moved to extract a fresh quill from her school bag, she accidentally pulled out some parchment with it. Draco's eagle eye noticed the familiar insignia.
"Is that your school report?"
"Yes," Granger replied, quickly stuffing it back into her bag.
Draco's inherent ability to winkle out weakness immediately went on alert; something was up here.
Under the guise of an exaggerated stretch, he abruptly bent down and whisked the parchment from Granger's bag.
Granger immediately leapt to her feet. "Give it back, Malfoy!"
Grinning, he held it just out of reach, but to his lack of surprise, Granger was too clever to fall for this tried-and-tested guy move; instead of attempting to reach it by jumping, she folded her arms, looking less than impressed. Draco began to unroll the parchment in an exaggerated manner. Granger's arm twitched, but remained by her side.
It was standard practice with school reports to show previous marks and highlight any changes for better or worse. Therefore, Draco immediately zeroed in on the thing Granger least wanted him to: Granger had gotten an 'E' in Ancient Runes on her last report, and was now up to an 'O'.
"Oho oh!" His tone was positively gleeful. "No wonder you decided to continue our sessions! Your grades were in danger of slipping back, too!"
"It was one assignment!" Granger protested hotly. "I didn't have time to double-check it – Harry needed my help with—" She cut herself off then snatched the parchment from Draco's relaxed clasp, stuffing it back in her bag. The corners of her mouth turned down.
Draco's ears pricked up. "Potter needed help with what?"
Granger ignored him, and sat back down. She started to play with her quill, the movements stiff and jerky, refusing to meet his eyes.
Draco's smirk softened. He reached out and stilled the edgy movement, covering her hand with his own."Why so embarrassed, Granger? This is the epitome of a mutually beneficial relationship. What's the problem?"
Granger met his gaze, long lashes blinking in surprise. He smiled at her quizzically; after a few moments, she smiled back.
"Okay."
All of a sudden, she seemed to become aware they were practically holding hands and shifted as if to pull away. Draco removed his hand before she could, and his voice took on a pronounced drawl.
"Of course, the bias is definitely weighted more your way than mine..."
Granger lobbed the quill at him.
"Hey, I'm not the one who got an 'E'..."
She glared at him. "You're a prat."
He grinned at her. "You're a peach."
Against her best efforts, the glare gave way to a smile. "Idiot!" she muttered.
Draco mentally breathed a sigh of relief. Crisis averted.