This chapter is a little longer. And yes, it is a feeble attempt to make up for being such an asshole and not updating for nearly two months. :)
Ch. 11 The Warm Thrill of Confusion
It was a Friday night like any other in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The halls were dark and filled with the eerie quiet of a thousand year old institution. The teachers sat nestled in their private quarters doing whatever it is teachers do when they aren't in the classroom and the students gathered in their common rooms to gossip, play games, and find ways to cause mischief. One student, however, was strategically missing from the Gryffindor common room.
Harry and Ron sat in front of the fire wondering what had happened to their bushy-haired friend. She'd been acting a little crazy at dinner, laughing maniacally when asked how she planned to spend her evening, and now she was missing. The pair decided to give her another half hour to come back before they checked the Marauder's Map and went out looking for her.
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The library was cold and quiet. Only one small candle burned at a dusty table covered in the most restricted books of the restricted section. The flame flickered and nearly went out as Hermione emerged from behind a bookshelf carrying three ancient tomes. She set the books on top of her already oversized stack and took her seat.
"Achoo!" She sneezed and this time actually did blow out the candle. Grumbling, she flicked her fingers at the still glowing wick and it relit.
Hermione Granger was miserable. She pulled out a tissue and loudly blew her nose. Not only had she suffered through a frustrating week, but she'd come down with a terrible cold on top of everything else. If there was one thing that Hermione didn't have time for, it was being sick.
She reached for the nearest book and examined the title, Ethereal Entities and How to Eliminate Them. This looked promising. She'd been combing book after book looking for a way to get rid of Peeves. He was to blame for her shit week and he would pay.
He'd been the one who dropped a bucket of freezing water on her as she was heading to Herbology on Monday afternoon. The rest of the week had been a chain reaction from that event. She'd been late, lost points for Gryffindor, was forced to sit by Malfoy, partnered with him for the most important project of the year, and then subjected to his infuriating mood swings for the rest of the week. Oh yeah, and she'd been afflicted with this horrid head cold. This was Peeves' entire fault and she wanted revenge. She didn't care if it took her all night. She was determined to find a way to exorcise that menace!
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"Full house, kings over sevens," Blaise Zabini announced smugly to the table of his fellow seventh year Slytherins.
Friday night poker had been a tradition in Slytherin house for decades. It was a right of passage reserved for those at the top of the totem pole. The younger boys waited in envy for their seventh year when they could sit at that table getting pissed and smoking cigars without the fear of detention or expulsion. Professor Snape turned a blind eye to this weekly practice as long as the boys cleaned up their mess and scourgified the smoke smell. He believed in traditions and had participated in this one himself when he'd been at Hogwarts.
"Beats my two pair," Theodore Nott admitted turning over a pocket pair of fours and getting up to grab another Scurf's Stout, the cheapest and most readily available goblin-beer in Hogsmeade. "Who needs another?" he asked holding up a couple of dark brown bottles.
"I do," Goyle answered, "and one for Vince too." The two brutes had folded this hand and Crabbe had scampered off to get more money.
"You're bloody cheating tonight," Malfoy laughed turning over another losing hand. "What's that? The fifth hand you've won in a row?" he asked Zabini.
"Yes, I believe it is. Now hand it over Draco," Blaise responded laying his hand open on the table as Draco slipped the Malfoy family ring from his finger and tossed it into Blaise's waiting palm.
"I'm going to win that back," he promised as he pulled out a cigarette and proceeded to light it.
The four boys sat at the table and waited for their fifth to return. Draco leaned his chair back and looked around the stone partition that separated their table from the rest of the common room.
"Heidi," Draco called to the cute blonde sixth year sitting a few meters away, "come over here."
The girl looked confused but slowly got up to follow his request. "What is it, Draco?" she asked sliding up next to his chair. She could tell by his flirty smile that he was going to hit on her. That was his way. Almost every attractive girl in Slytherin knew this about him and had kissed him at one time or another. She was no exception.
"Be my good luck charm," he said capturing her wrist and pulling her towards him.
She smiled and allowed him to move her onto his lap. "And how do I do that?" she asked settling sideways on his left leg and circling her right arm around his shoulders.
"Just sit here and make me feel lucky," he answered wrapping one hand around her waist and putting his half-smoked cigarette out with the other. He preferred girls to smoking anyway.
At that moment, Crabbe returned to the table and picked up the cards to deal. "Alright, ante up, you cheap bastards," he ordered and the game resumed.
A few hands passed and Draco was doing much better. He'd just won two big pots and was feeling rather confidant. He thanked the girl in his arms by kissing her on the neck.
"What about your girlfriend?" Heidi whispered after his bold move.
"What about her?" Draco asked tightening his grip around her.
"Wouldn't she be mad if she knew I was sitting on your lap?"
"Yes," he said as he called the bet on the table. "Does that bother you?" he whispered into her ear.
She turned to face him, surprised by his blunt responses. "Does it bother you?" she asked, arching a perfectly shaped brow.
"No."
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"Bend over, you bad, bad boy," Hermione smirked at the greasy-haired man who adjusted his toga and settled onto all fours in front of her. She looked around the cluttered potions laboratory and found a wooden stirring spoon and proceeded to spank the man's bony buttocks with it. "What do you say Sevy?" she asked impishly.
Severus Snape turned his head to glare at her and rolled his eyes as he mumbled the desired response. "Thank you madam, may I have another?"
Hermione laughed and swung the spoon up in preparation to hit him again when a sharp pain burned into her right forearm. "Ouch!" she said aloud as she opened her eyes and grabbed her arm.
A fat glob of wax lay there hardened. She picked it off and realized that she had fallen asleep in the library. What a weird dream, she thought embarrassedly and blushed a deep red. Mental note: never mention that horrifying dominatrix dream to ANYONE. Ever. Also, learn Occlumency. She snorted to herself as she imagined the look on Professor Snape's face if he knew what she'd dreamt.
She idly glanced at the time and realized that it was way past curfew and that she'd been gone for hours. She looked at the book she'd been resting on and frowned at it. She had wasted a perfectly good Friday night and had nothing to show for it. She could have been done after only five minutes if she had been willing to do blood rituals. Who knew that exorcisms required a frightening amount of dark magic? Okay, so maybe she could have guessed this, but she'd been hopeful at the beginning. Now she realized she was just being crazy. It wasn't Peeves' fault that Malfoy had such a toxic personality. She began putting the books back on the shelves and gathered her things to leave.
As she walked back to Gryffindor, through the impossibly dark halls, she thought about what tomorrow held in store for her. Malfoy had grudgingly agreed to meet with her in the greenhouse after quidditch practice. He is going to be all sweaty and gross, she thought. She knew what Harry and Ron looked like when they came back from practice. At least we're actually going to start on our project. That was the only redeeming factor of spending an afternoon with him.
It had been quite a job getting him to agree. He didn't believe in doing homework a month in advance even though Hermione had tried to tell him that it was only two weeks early, if you didn't you didn't count Christmas break. He hadn't been listening. "I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't talk to me in public," he'd intoned, "people might get the wrong idea and think I don't hate you."
She'd snorted at him and told him to get over himself, but it had done no good. He had continued to stare straight ahead like she wasn't even there. That was Wednesday. She'd talked to him again earlier today after Herbology and basically told him that they needed to meet at least once before the holidays. She'd offered to get together tonight, but he'd laughed and sarcastically told her to go wait for him in the library and he would be sure to rush right up there on a Friday night.
"So when do you want to meet?" she'd asked desperately, her patience dwindling.
"Fuck! If it will get you to leave me alone, I have some time tomorrow after quidditch practice," he'd said running a hand through his hair in an unintentional act of agitation.
"Great, that will be fine. I'll meet you in the greenhouse tomorrow then," she'd said, glad that the situation was finally getting resolved.
He'd nodded noncommittally and turned to head into the castle. "I'm sure you'll be just creaming yourself for the opportunity to spend a Saturday doing homework," he'd chuckled under his breath as he'd begun to head up the front steps.
And that's when things got ugly.
She'd been so mad at his arrogant comment that she'd tripped him on the steps with a wandless tripping jinx and watched as he crashed down on the cold hard stone. She hadn't meant to hurt him, she'd only meant to embarrass him, but alas he had not been able to effectively catch himself and he bashed his head hard on the edge of a stair. A pool of hot blood formed underneath his head before he even noticed anything was wrong. Then, as if in slow motion, he spotted the puddle and reached his hand up to the raised skin above his eye. He cringed in pain and then turned on her for revenge.
"Granger, you bitch!" he yelled getting up and marching over to her. His tall frame towered over the petite brunette. She felt frightened by the rage she saw in his eyes. All of the previous anger she'd felt was long gone now, replaced by an instinctual fear.
"Malfoy, wait…" she managed, backing up away from him. "I didn't do anything…look I don't even have my wand out…"
He didn't seem to be listening to her. He kept advancing on her like a predator stalking its prey. She knew something bad was about to happen so she reached her hands in her pockets and fumbled to draw her wand. It would take more than a little wandless magic to defend herself from a full on attack. She could do simple spells like "accio" or "petrificus totalus" without her wand, but nothing complex, nothing strong enough to block a harmful hex.
"Don't even think about it Mudblood," he growled, the blood now dripping down his face. Hermione paled at his usage of that old clichéd word. He hadn't used it in a long time. She couldn't remember the last time he'd called her that. "You think you are so special don't you? You think you can take on anyone, but I see what lingers behind those defiant eyes of yours…fear. You're scared of me…as you should be," he laughed as he snapped his hand out and caught her behind the neck. "Don't think I won't hurt you just because we're on school grounds," he whispered pulling her head close to his mouth. Then he raised his right fist still holding her with his left hand and swung it hard toward her face. She screamed and squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for the punch.
It never came.
She was released abruptly and cruel laughter tore her from her panic. She blinked her eyes open to find that Malfoy had stopped the punch millimeters from her face. "Remember this the next time you try to fuck with me. I gave you a pass today, but you only get one of those." He began backing up and wiping the blood from his brow.
"Fuck you, Malfoy," Hermione whispered, straightening her robes and trying to hold back the tears that were prickling her eyes.
"Ooh, language Granger," he scolded mockingly as he turned away from her and easily ascended the stairs taking two at a time. "Do you kiss Potter's ass with that mouth?" he laughed over his shoulder as he pulled open the heavy oak door to the castle and disappeared behind it.
And that was the last time she saw him today. He hadn't shown up for dinner and she was secretly glad. She wondered if they would still have their scheduled meeting tomorrow. She would be there, but wouldn't be surprised if he didn't show.
"Password, please."
The voice of the Fat Lady startled Hermione from her thoughts. She hadn't realized she'd made in back to Gryffindor so quickly.
"Lernaean Hydra," she mumbled as the portrait swung open. Sleep sounded like an increasingly tempting idea and she climbed the stairs to her dormitory with heavy lidded eyes. Regardless of what tomorrow held, she could relax and sleep peacefully tonight.
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Draco groaned and rolled over in his soft cotton sheets. His mouth was sticky and held the nauseating flavor of stale cigarettes and beer. What time is it? he wondered as he blinked the haze from his eyes and glanced at the clock. 6:30 a.m. Far too early to be awake. He moved to retrieve his wand from the night stand to conjure a glass of water but was stopped by something solid. He stared regretfully at the lump of blankets rising and falling with the steady breathing of the girl sleeping next to him.
"Fuck," he sighed as he slid out of the bed trying not to wake her or any of his roommates.
He slipped soundlessly out of the room and into the bathroom which was charmed to continually shine sparkling white. Draco squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light and he walked over to a sink. He looked up at the mirror in front of him and frowned at his reflection. His hair stood awkwardly in all sorts of directions and his eyes sat on top of large blue circles that contrasted drastically to the smooth pallor of his face. His hair and clothes smelled like smoke and his skin felt dirty. He ran the shower scalding hot and washed off as much of last night's debauched activities as he could.
After cleaning his teeth and drying his hair he snuck back into his dark dormitory. He could hear the even breathing of his roommates and was confidant that no one else had awoken.
He pulled back the bed curtains which had been drawn tightly last night, signaling that a girl was in the bed, and sat down on the edge near her. "Heidi," he whispered to the tangled mess of blonde hair that lay rolled up in his sheets.
She had stirred at his voice, but not fully woken, so he gently shook her shoulder and watched as she slowly opened her eyes.
"Morning," she said smiling and rustling the sheets to make room for him.
Draco cringed at the volume of her voice, but smiled instead of shushing her. He leaned down so that his lips were nearly touching her ear and whispered.
"I think you should go back to your bed before anyone wakes up." He grinned, pushing the hair away from her neck and kissing her there. He didn't like waking up to girls in his bed. He usually sent them back to their dorms after he was finished with them. He usually didn't even bring girls to his bed at all, opting for abandoned classrooms, lounges, closets, etc. But now was not the time to tell Heidi that he wanted her out because her presence was suffocating him. Now was the time to be a perfect gentleman and tell her to leave before she got in trouble. Sometimes he was glad for silly school rules. What excuse would he use next year to get girls to leave when he had his own place? He didn't know. Maybe he would always go to their apartments instead of bringing them to his.
"What time is it?" Heidi asked interrupting his thoughts.
"About seven. You still have time, but you better go before anyone notices you're gone," he said lifting her wand and jeans from a pile on the floor and handing them to her.
"Okay," she said stretching languidly and rising form the bed. She clearly had no idea that he wanted her to get the hell out as soon as possible. "I'll see you at breakfast," she whispered as she leaned into him and kissed him on the lips.
He allowed the kiss only because denying it would cause her to stay longer. Smiling halfheartedly, he nodded as she turned and left his room.
Draco lay back on his bed and stretched out his arms and legs. It felt good to use up all of the space on the bed. He let his mind wander back to the previous night's events and thought about how his actions with Heidi would affect his life. Nothing would happen as long as she kept her mouth shut. None of the guys would tell anyone about it. He counted on the camaraderie between all men that forced them to keep their mouths shut when someone was getting action on the side. It wouldn't fail him. Any man that betrayed this unspoken agreement would be labeled a traitor and would never be trusted in the brotherhood of men again.
Feeling much more comfortable now that he had his own space, he let his eyes droop shut and fell back asleep within minutes.
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"I saw you last night with Heidi," Pansy whispered to Draco at breakfast. "What about your little girlfriend? Trouble in paradise?" She leaned her head on his shoulder and cackled evilly. She knew Draco couldn't have a serious girlfriend. She'd said all along that it was only a matter of time until he dumped her and went back to his usual playboy ways.
"Yeah, you could say that," he responded shrugging her off and glancing across the room to the Hufflepuff table. Sienna was not in attendance, and he wondered if she was avoiding him or just sleeping in.
He hadn't talked to her since their fight yesterday and he really didn't feel like talking to her today either. She was just so frustrating sometimes.
It had all started when he'd showed up at Hufflepuff after his run in with Granger. He'd been forced to stop at the hospital wing to get the gash on his eyebrow healed, so he'd been a little late.
"Where've you been?" she asked as she opened the door to the common room, "I've been waiting for you for nearly an hour."
"I know," he said leaning on the door frame and turning his head to hide the scar that now drew a vertical line through his left eyebrow. Pomfrey had told him that he would have a scar; a scar that would start just under his eyebrow and cut straight up. The hair would most likely never grow back and he would have a gap in his sculpted brow for the rest of his life. At least it wasn't a little higher, Draco thought relieved. The last thing he would want would be a scar on his forehead. "Something came up," he explained standing up straight and leaning in to her. "I'm here now," he breathed pulling her up against him and kissing her jaw line.
"Well, I'm glad you're here, but what kept you?" she asked not willing to let him off the hook.
"Nothing really, just a little trouble after class," he smiled grabbing her hand and leading her into the common room. He had been a little worried about what he was going to tell Sienna about his scar. He didn't want her to know that he had been in quite possibly the lamest fight ever. And with a girl no less.
"Did you get into a fight?" she asked settling down on the mustard-yellow sofa.
"I don't want to talk about it," he said sitting down next to her and searching his mind for a way to change the subject.
"Draco, what happened to you?" she asked, suddenly noticing the scar. She reached up and traced the angry red line with her finger.
He grumbled and batted her hand away. "Don't touch it, it's still sore."
"Are you okay?" she asked looking over the rest of him for signs of trauma. "What happened?"
"Sienna, please," Draco huffed angrily. Would this girl ever shut up?
"Why won't you tell me? Is it embarrassing?" she laughed moving closer and folding her body perfectly against his. She seemed determined to ignore his grouchy mood.
"Yes. It's embarrassing. Now leave me alone."
He tried to keep a straight face while Sienna ran her lips along his ear.
"Tell me, Draco," she whispered turning her entire body toward him and placing both her arms around his neck.
Draco was officially distracted from his original plan of secrecy. "What's in it for me?" he asked turning to meet her lips.
"Tell me and you'll find out," she whispered into his neck.
Draco was having a hard time focusing on forming words. "Hermione Granger tripped me on the stairs outside and I cut my eye," he said dazedly.
Sienna stopped her assault on his neck and looked him in the eye. "Did she do it on purpose?"
"Of course she did. That little bitch," he answered. "She was mad because we got partnered together in Herbology."
"Why would that make her mad? I thought you two were friends," she asked confused. She had never heard him talk about Hermione like that before.
"Friends?" At first he thought she was kidding but her baffled expression told him she was serious. "What are you talking about, Sienna? I would never be friends with that uptight twat," he laughed humorlessly.
"Well then, why did you pretend to date her, if you're not friends?" Sienna didn't like this side of him. She pulled away completely and squared her shoulders.
Draco was angry now. Sienna wasn't making any sense. "Listen, I don't know where you heard that I pretended to date Granger, but I can assure you, I would never lower myself to be associated with such filth." He leveled his eyes and spoke with an eerie coldness.
Sienna was disgusted that he would blatantly lie to her. "Draco, you told me that you pretended to date her to help protect her reputation. You can't sit there and act like you don't know what I'm talking about. This was only a few weeks ago. You couldn't have forgotten already." She couldn't believe Draco was acting like this. Why was he pretending not to remember?
"Sienna, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not friends with Granger, nor have I ever been and I don't want to hear anymore about it," he crossed his arms and set his jaw. Sienna knew this look and realized there was no point in arguing with him further.
A few minutes passed where neither spoke. Draco draped his arm around her shoulders in an attempt to rectify the situation but she shrugged him off. "Come on, don't be mad," he said gruffly and tried to circle her shoulders again.
"Draco, stop it. I'm not in the mood for this," she snapped.
"Oh, there's a shock," Draco said under his breath. Pulling away was Sienna's signature move.
"What did you just say?" she asked brows raised and face red. She was getting angry again.
"Nothing, it's just this isn't the first time you've shied away from my touch," he stated. He figured as long as they were already fighting, he may as well get this off his chest.
Sienna's face was both hurt and mad. She knew that Draco was frustrated with her fear of physical intimacy, but she thought he understood.
"Draco, I know it's hard for you to wait so long, and you've been so great, but you know I'm scared. I've never had a boyfriend before. I'm just not ready to do…that with you yet," she said. She turned her eyes toward him and in that moment looked every bit as young as she was.
"I know, but how long do you need?" he asked. "I'm not asking you to have sex with me, but we could at least do other things. I've never even seen you naked," he said frustrated.
"I don't know how long it will take," she said defeated. "Probably a long time."
And that's how the fight went. He'd left shortly after, telling her that he had a prefect's meeting and hadn't seen her since.
After breakfast, Pansy pulled Draco aside and asked him if he wanted to talk.
"You look depressed," she said giving him the once over. "What happened with Sienna?"
Draco didn't feel like being a little bitch and whining to Pansy about his problems, but she seemed interested, so he told her about the fight. He left out the parts about Granger. That was a whole other can of worms that he didn't feel like opening.
"Well, there's your problem right there," Pansy said when Draco got to the part about Sienna pulling away from him. "She's a prude and you've been putting up with it for a long time," she told him confidently. "See Draco, Sienna is the kind of girl you marry. She will be the perfect high society wife. She's not the girl for a horny teenage boy to date. You need to get rid of her and have fun while you can."
It was funny to hear a girl talk like this, but Pansy was one of a kind. She had learned the ways of the male psyche at a young age and used the knowledge to her advantage on many occasions.
"Pansy, you are wise beyond your years," Draco laughed throwing his arm around her and guiding her down toward the dungeons.
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At two o'clock, while most students were enjoying a homework-free afternoon, Hermione sat in the greenhouse harvesting her Mahogany tree. She hadn't asked Malfoy if he'd want to use her tree or his European Yew sapling, but she just assumed hers would be the better choice. She had worked hard to make it perfect, plus she'd read that Merlin had a Mahogany wand and if it was good enough for Merlin, it should be good enough for Malfoy.
It was 2:30 before he arrived. He walked into the room carrying his polished broom and sporting half of his quidditch gear. "Granger," he greeted formally as he set the broom in the corner and began removing the rest of his protective padding.
"Malfoy," she responded trying not to watch him as he unlaced his wrist guards and stuffed them into his bag. After both arms were freed, he raised his left leg and positioned it on a chair while he bent down to remove his shin guards. His shirt stuck to his back as the sweat soaked material began to dry. He smiled as he thought of how he must smell right now. He could have easily showered, but why spare Granger the delight of sitting in a closed space with a rank athlete.
Hermione found herself strangely drawn to the Slytherin's actions. She watched his arm muscles flex as he removed his gear and felt a strange notion of déjà vu as his pale fingers worked on untying the laces. Suddenly Malfoy turned his head and caught her eye. He furrowed his brow and narrowed his eyes. "What?" he asked gruffly, causing her to jump and turn away reflexively.
"Nothing," she said turning bright red at having been caught staring. "I didn't think you were going to show up."
"Why is that, Granger?" he asked standing up and advancing on her table, "I said I would, didn't I?" He was sitting across from her now and idly leafing through her text book.
"Don't do that," she scolded looking up and catching his eye, "it was on the right page," she mumbled noticing the bright red scar cutting through his left brow. Did I do that? she wondered worriedly. She was suddenly filled with guilt for tripping him yesterday. Her instincts ordered her to apologize, but she was not about to do it. It would only make things worse. He would never accept an apology from her and would probably ridicule her for trying.
"So we are using your tree then?" he asked noticing that she had already begun to do so.
"Yes," she said firmly turning the branch she'd chosen over in her hands, "I didn't think you'd mind."
The two worked steadily for about an hour. They managed to keep from fighting by saying as little to each other as possible. Draco was glad that they were getting some work done. Even though he'd given her a hard time about scheduling a meeting to start on their project, he was glad now for the distraction from his complicated life. He was mad at her for scarring him and for being an all around bitch, but he had so many other things on his plate right now that his irritation for her was taking a back burner.
Hermione was currently explaining her plans for their wand. She wanted to make it a special kind of wand that…blah, blah, blah. Draco could not hear any of the words she was saying because he could see her bra. That's right, her bra. She had reached into her bag to retrieve another book when her top button caught on the table's edge and snapped off. She hadn't noticed, but her shirt now fell open and Draco could see the lacy trim of a respectable white cotton bra.
It was strange to think of Granger wearing undergarments. He'd never thought about her as a girl before, and it was really strange to think that under that oversized shapeless shirt, she had breasts.
Suddenly he heard a scandalized gasp and watched as Hermione gripped her shirt together with a tight fist. "Were you just staring at my…chest?" she asked angrily.
Draco, not feeling embarrassed in the least, looked up at her blushing face and plastered on his most patronizing smirk. "Well, you can't blame me when you practically show me your tits, Granger."
"Ugh!" she gasped looking around for her wand and sealing her shirt all the way up to her neck. "You are disgusting," she growled.
"Oh, don't get so excited," he huffed, clearly annoyed. "It wasn't personal, but a bloke has to look when given such a perfect opportunity," he defended, "and let me say…not bad" He laughed as he gave her a thumbs up. Her face turned even redder. It was fun embarrassing her. That's probably the furthest she's ever gotten with a guy, he thought smugly. There was no doubt in his mind that Hermione Granger was a silly virgin who probably blushed at the thought of holding hands with a boy, let alone showing him her body. She was so uptight.
Hermione was pointedly ignoring Malfoy by this point as she gathered up her things. "I think we've done quite enough work for today," she said as she stuffed her book and whittling knife into her bag. "I will contact you after the holidays to finish this up," she added as she stood up, swung her bag over her shoulder and marched out of the greenhouse.
Hermione found herself blushing periodically for the rest of the day. Anytime she let her mind wander, it would automatically jump to that incident with Malfoy. She told herself that she was appalled by his sexist behavior, but secretly in the back of her mind, hidden in a dark corner, she felt a little bit flattered at his attention. Even though he was a total jerk, Malfoy was very attractive, and it made her feel satisfied to know that he had complemented her body. He hadn't said anything blatant, just a simple "Not bad," which she knew was probably just to shine her on, but she had seen the male appreciation in his eyes and that's what kept making her cheeks stain red when she remembered it.