Ch 16 The Squeaky Wheel

"Mr. Malfoy? Are you awake?" Professor Sprout's voice sounded loudly through the solid oak door while Draco and Hermione sat on the bed in a frozen panic.

"Er…Professor?" Draco said in a convincingly groggy voice.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy. It's time to get up. Could you please open the door?" Sprout was sounding a little bit impatient.

"Just a minute," Draco answered.

Hermione shot him a look that said "NO WAY!" while violently shaking her head.

Draco shrugged helplessly. What the hell was he supposed to say?

He stood up off the bed while Hermione looked around for somewhere to hide. Before her mind had a chance to start working, Draco was pulling her up and toward the door.

"Malfoy!" she whispered urgently while trying to pull herself out of his grip. Was he going to turn her in? "What are you doing? Let me go!"

"Shh!" he ordered dragging her all the way up to the door.

Just as he was reaching for the handle, he threw her onto the wall in front of him. "Hold still," he whispered as he drew his wand and cast a disillusionment charm on her.

Hermione stopped struggling as she felt the odd sensation of an egg being broken over her head. As Draco opened the door, she realized what he'd done. She was now safely hidden in the space between the wall and the open door.

"Sorry, Professor," he mumbled doing an excellent impression of someone still half asleep, "I'm a deep sleeper."

"Well apparently, so is Miss Granger," Sprout huffed.

The color (which wasn't much to begin with) drained from Draco's face. She knows!

"I was knocking on her door for 15 minutes before I gave up!" she continued.

Both Draco and Hermione breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"I'm beginning to think she's not in there!"

Draco did his best to look impassive. "She probably got up early. Went for a walk or something," he covered, while stretching up his arms and yawning.

"Oh?" said Sprout. "Well, I hope she gets back soon. We need to get down to the ballroom for the award ceremony. If you want breakfast, you better get downstairs a little early."

"Okay," Draco said stepping back to close the door.

"Half an hour!" Sprout added leaning her head to call through the crack as the door swung closed.

"Fuck me!" Draco laughed wiping a hand over his face as he leaned against the door next to a nearly invisible Hermione.

"Do you think she believed you?" Hermione asked stepping away from the door and ending the disillusionment spell.

Draco looked at her and arched an eyebrow. "Of course she believed me! No one would think the perfect 'Miss Granger' would do something as…dirty as spending the night with a boy," he teased.

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "I didn't spend the night with you," she stated. Her voice was defiant in the all too quite room. "I didn't have anywhere else to go."

"But, you did kiss me," he replied meeting her step for step as she backed away. "And I gave you every opportunity not to."

Hermione stopped moving. She raised her chin and looked him in the eye. "Okay, well…" and she reached down to gather up the small pile of clothes she'd made on the floor. "I'm going to go now. I'll see you downstairs." And with that she pivoted around him and rushed out of the door.

Before she got a chance to catch her breath, Hermione found herself standing face to face with a scowling Professor Sprout. "Well, good morning Miss Granger!" Sprout said, raising an eyebrow and pushing off the wall where she'd been waiting. Apparently she hadn't bought Draco's story as well as they'd thought. "Out for a walk this morning, were you?" the older woman asked.

For a moment, Hermione considered lying. Her mind worked furiously to come up with an excuse. But then she realized what she was wearing: Draco's undershirt and pajama bottoms. There was no getting out of this. "No, Professor," she murmured, looking down to her feet.

"Am I to understand that you spent the night in Mr. Malfoy's room?" Sprout asked looking extremely disappointed.

"Yes, ma'am," Hermione said keeping her eyes focused on the ground. "Malfoy and I went to the convention social in the bar downstairs and I lost my key. I didn't wake you because I thought I'd get in trouble for being out so late," she explained.

"That is no excuse, my dear," Sprout chided. "The amount of trouble you would have been in for breaking curfew is nothing compared to what you're in for now!"

Hermione cringed. Sprout was usually such a happy woman and she'd never seen her so angry.

"And to think, I trusted you! Minerva told me that I should give you two a bed check at midnight, but I told her that it wouldn't be necessary with such responsible students."

At this point Sprout was knocking on Malfoy's door again. "Open up, Mr. Malfoy. This concerns you too."

Draco opened the door to see an irate Professor Sprout standing next to an embarrassed Granger who was- oh good - still wearing his clothes. "Perfect," he mumbled.

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Detention.

For a week.

With whoever could come up with the worst chore.

Plus, and this was worst of all, an immediate safe-sex education class with Madame Pomfrey upon their return to Hogwarts.

Hermione had tried to explain that nothing happened between her and Malfoy. That the only reason she was wearing his clothes was for comfort. That he'd slept on the floor. But Sprout really wasn't interested. She'd said she couldn't possibly believe a word that came out of Hermione's mouth after she'd been caught in such a compromising position.

Malfoy hadn't been much help. He'd agreed with Hermione's story, but he hadn't tried very hard to sound convincing.

This is what caused Hermione to sit angrily in the ballroom with her arms crossed while an overly-enthusiastic announcer revealed the winners.

"And an Honorable Mention goes to…"

"I can't believe you didn't say anything in our defense!" Hermione whispered to Draco who was sitting next to her in the crowd.

Draco rolled his eyes. "I told her you were telling the truth," he replied.

"Quiet you two!" Sprout ordered from the seat next to Draco.

The pair was quiet while a few more names were called.

"I mean, you just stood there! Like you were proud!" Hermione hissed irritably.

Draco leaned over and defended himself. "Granger, nothing we could have said would've mattered."

"Well you could have at least tried!"

"I wasn't about to beg…Ouch!"

Draco was cut off by Professor Sprout seizing his ear and pulling it sharply until he was sitting upright again. "I've had all I can take of you two today!" she whispered. "Keep your mouths shut!"

All three glared at the stage where the announcer was delivering the award for third place. "And the second runner up, winner of 1,000 galleons, is…"

"I bet you'll wish you had begged if Sprout owls your father," Hermione said under her breath.

Draco coughed in surprise. He hadn't thought about thatHe wanted to turn to Sprout and demand that she not tell his parents, but thought it would make him seem childish. Instead he narrowed his eyes and turned to Granger. He moved his hand to her upper arm and pinched. Hard.

"Ow! You bastard!" Hermione said causing a few people to turn and look at them. She paid no attention to anyone else as she fisted her hand and punched him in the shoulder.

"…Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! Congratulations!"

Suddenly the whole room was looking at the pair who were in the midst of a prissy fight. Draco had just flicked Hermione in the temple when the entire audience fell silent, waiting for them to accept their award.

Seeing that the pair had little inclination of what was going on around them, Sprout stood from her seat and tore Draco up onto his feet. "Get up there!" she told him, fixing him with what can only be described as a death glare.

Draco looked around slowly, noticing that his spat with Granger was the center of attention. He cleared his throat and straightened his tie before turning toward the stage and walking. He didn't look behind to see if Granger was coming. He really didn't care. If she wanted to sit there blushing, that was her choice, but he knew better than to act embarrassed.

As he ascended the stairs to the stage, he wondered what they'd won. Had they won the whole thing? First place? He shook hands with the announcer and when he turned to face the crowd, he saw Hermione at his side.

She was taking the offered plaque and smiling. "Second place," she read happily.

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When the three of them were leaving, they stopped at the coordinator's table to sort out the prize money.

"We can divvy it up any way you like," said the young man who was representing Gringotts.

Draco took the 5,000 galleon check made out to "Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger" and signed the back. "There you go Granger, I've signed it. It's all yours," he said.

Hermione didn't know what to say. She knew that Draco had no claim over the money, but she hadn't expected him the hand it over so easily. "Oh…right," she managed.

"Don't give me that look," he whispered leaning in so only she could hear.

Hermione nodded and faced the banker. "Could you have this sent to my vault in Gringotts?" she asked politely as she endorsed the back underneath Draco's signature.

"No problem," said the man who shook both of their hands before waving his wand over the check, which disappeared into thin air.

If Professor Sprout noticed anything strange about the fact that Draco wasn't claiming any of the prize money, she didn't mention it. Instead, as soon as the check was gone, she ordered the teens to follow her out the door where they immediately apparated back to Hogwarts.

"I trust you can find your way back up to your rooms?" Sprout asked as she opened the heavy gates and waited as Draco and Hermione entered the grounds. "Don't forget you have a meeting with Madame Pomfrey at 3 o' clock and then detention starting tomorrow night." The older woman locked the gates behind them and headed up toward the castle.

"It's only 5:30 a.m. here," Hermione noted looking toward the Black Lake where the sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon.

"Yeah, that only leaves ten hours 'til we have to hear that dried up hag tell us how to 'abstain'" Draco joked.

Hermione cracked a smile even though she didn't approve of his nickname for Pomfrey. "Oh, if Sprout only knew…" she huffed throwing her hands up in defeat.

"Knew what?" Draco asked cocking a brow at the defiant girl beside him.

"That we only slept!" she said raising her voice in her frustration.

Draco was silent for a moment as he retraced the events of the night prior. "Last night could have turned out a lot differently, you know," he said catching her gaze, "if you hadn't stopped."

Hermione's heart began pounding in her chest as her mind searched for a way to respond. She blinked her eyes away from him and turned to head up to the castle. "Last night, never should have happened," she said.

Draco began heading up the grounds as well. "Why not?" he asked in a toneless voice that sounded suspiciously bitter. "You seemed okay with it at the time."

"Because I was drunk!" she explained gesturing wildly.

Hermione marched on, determined to convince Malfoy that their kiss had been a mistake. She wondered why he was acting like it wasn't. It seemed like he was inviting her to go further with him. Like he wished their activities hadn't been limited to kissing.

"I have a boyfriend," she said as if this declaration would end the discussion.

"Who? Weasley?" Draco asked stopping in his tracks. "How can you kiss me like that last night and then stand by him today?"

Hermione whipped around and jabbed Draco in the chest with her finger. "And what would be the better option?" she asked. "Are you and I going to become a couple? Is that what you're trying to say? That I should break it off with Ron and stand by you?" She laughed dryly at this suggestion.

"Of course not," he said grabbing her wrist before she could turn away. "You should break it off with him because he's not right for you."

Hermione growled and struggled to free her wrist from his grasp but he wouldn't let go. "How would you know what's right for me?" she spat narrowing her eyes and giving one last futile attempt to jerk her arm free.

Draco didn't answer her. He pulled her toward him forcefully and captured her around the waist.

She struggled in his grip. She had to. It's what was expected. "Don't do this," she warned.

Her warning was useless. She saw the look in his eyes. The same look she'd seen the night before when caught in his arms just as she was now. The look that signaled the desire a man held for a woman. The look she'd only dreamt about receiving before now.

She was helpless to that look.

Her eyes fluttered shut as Draco's lips descended upon her own in a painfully gentle kiss. She never would have thought Draco Malfoy to be capable of a kiss such as this. The soft pressure of his mouth against hers caused her breath to tremble in time with her rapidly beating heart.

She wanted to pull away - to show him that it was not her desires but the alcohol that allowed her to act so recklessly last night - to show him that she was unavailable to him. She could resist him. But she found herself unable to move.

He placed his hands to either side of her face, just as he'd done last night, and caressed small circles on her cheek bones with his thumbs. His lips pressed deeper into hers and she had a feeling he was holding back.

And just as quickly as it started, it was done. He placed one last patient kiss on her lips before pulling away and blinking open his eyes. "Does he kiss you like that?" Malfoy asked, his chest rising and falling with his excited breaths.

Hermione furrowed her brow and tried to find her voice as she thought back to the last kiss she'd shared with Ron."No," she whispered in a nearly inaudible exhale of breath.

A smug smile crept onto Draco's lips. "That's what I thought," he said.

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"Lernaean hydra," Hermione whispered to the portrait of the Fat Lady, who swung open without even opening her eyes.

Hermione was glad to find that all of her housemates were still sleeping and she went straight up to her bed where she drew the curtains and thought about all of the tings that had transpired over her long weekend.

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Draco felt both tired and exhilarated when he entered his common room. He could still feel the soft curves of Hermione's body pressed against him. He blinked and flashes of her blushing skin teased the back of his eyelids.

He looked down at his growing erection and decided to have a nice long shower to- ahem- take care of business.

Half an hour later, Draco lay down in his four poster bed and relaxed for the first time in days. His body had been wrapped tight in tension all weekend culminating with the lack of sexual release last night. The hot water from his shower had soothed his tightened muscles and now his head felt heavy on his pillow like it was sinking through the mattress. He found himself yawning with exhaustion. He closed his eyes and evened his breathing hoping to sleep off some of the pestering feelings of anticipation lurking in the back of his mind. It was no use. He could not possibly sleep with so many thoughts swirling around his head.

Fine. If his thoughts were going to keep him up anyway, he might as well embrace them.

Kissing Granger had been brilliant.

It'd been fantastic just forty minutes ago, but it was down right hot last night. He'd been on his best behavior all day, not rising to her baiting or taunting her when she'd said something entirely Gryffindor and it had paid off. He remembered how it felt when their lips first met, after craving her and fantasizing about her for so long. It'd been such a relief combined with an incapacitating arousal that nearly knocked him off his feet. It'd taken all of his self control to stand there kissing her instead of just carrying her over to the bed and shagging her rotten.

Oh, and the way she'd reacted to his touch…

Thinking about her soft panting breaths on his lips or the feel of her fingers running up his back renewed that same arousal now.

It was funny; he still didn't really like the girl that much. She was too bossy and proper. But something about her worked for him. His body called out to her. It was like his hands and lips were well rehearsed and knew exactly where to touch her. Maybe it was from his fantasies and maybe it was just something about her. All Draco knew was that Granger fucking had something. Something he wanted. And if he had to keep acting like a saint to get it, then so be it. It was a small price to pay to someday get the pleasure of sampling her.

Draco nodded off to sleep with new plans of seduction springing up in his evil little mind.

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"Hermione!" Ron announced when she sat down at breakfast. "When did you get back?"

"Early this morning," she said slipping into the seat next to him and sending him a forced smile. She hadn't wanted to face him after what she'd done with Malfoy last night…and then again this morning, but putting it off would only make it harder.

"Oh, how was it?" he asked leaning over to kiss the side of her face.

Crazy, dishonest, sexy. "It was okay. We came in second," she said.

"Second? That's fantastic!" said Ginny Weasley who was sitting across the table.

"Yeah, nice job," Harry chimed in.

"Thanks," she said feeling herself ease into normality. She plastered on a smile and let out a relieved sigh. It felt good to be among friends again.

"Did you win any money?" Ron asked tactlessly.

"Yeah," Hermione said glancing around and leaning toward her friends. She didn't want to announce her winnings to the world. "5,000 galleons," she whispered.

"5,000 galleons?" Ron shouted causing several other students to turn and look.

Hermione cringed. "Could you keep it down? I don't want everyone to know!" she berated.

"Sorry," he said giving her a sheepish smile.

"Who won first prize?" Harry asked

"Some man named Finkboner," she told them and then waited for the childish giggling to die down before going into a description of the winning wand. "It's called the Universal Wand and it can be used by any wizard at any skill level. When held, the wand automatically reads the holder's magic and adjusts to his particular strengths. It's quite genius actually."

And so the conversation went. Her friends asked her what else she'd done and she told them about going to the bar and meeting interesting people but strategically left out any parts having to do with Malfoy.

They had inquired about him though, wondering if he'd been a totally prick. She'd brushed it off saying she hadn't spent much time with him. They seemed satisfied by her answer.

She felt terrible lying, but what else could she do? If they knew she even shared drinks with Malfoy, they'd be furious.

"So, what about you lot?" Hermione asked trying to shift the focus of the conversation. "Anything exciting happen while I was gone?"

"Oh, yeah!" Ginny said before going off on a tangent about some new gossip she'd heard while Hermione took the opportunity to glance at the Slytherin table.

Draco had just arrived. She'd known this even though she hadn't been watching. It was like her body was more aware of him now. Like she didn't have to watch him to know what he was doing.

And as if he could sense her too, he looked up the moment her eyes settled on him.

For a moment she sat there frozen. She didn't know if she was surprised or affirmed by his gaze. Then he smirked and winked at her and she looked away blinking and blushing. She turned to Ron. What if he had seen? But her worries were unwarranted. Ron was looking nowhere but at his sister, who seemed to have captured his attention with her juicy story.

Hermione narrowed her eyes and shot Malfoy a quick look that she hoped conveyed that winking at her in the Great Hall was definitely not allowed.

She didn't wait to see his response.

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At 2:50 Hermione bid her friends farewell, telling them that she had homework to do, before heading off to her "mandatory safe-sex education class".

She blushed the whole way, thinking of what Professor Sprout must have told Madame Pomfrey about why this class was necessary.

"Hello Miss Granger," Pomfrey said when she pulled open the heavy doors and slipped inside.

"Hi," she mumbled blushing even redder when she saw the empty seat at the small wooden table next to Malfoy, who had apparently arrived early.

"Please take your seat," Pomfrey ordered as she motioned to the chair and waited as Hermione complied. "Now, Professor Sprout has asked me to give the two of you a private lesson on contraception and safe sex practices. I will teach you about the easiest and safest charms and potions, but I must tell you that no matter what you learn today, the best way to protect your heart and your body is abstinence."

Hermione's face went ghost white. Draco laughed out loud and then pretended to have a coughing fit to cover it up.

"Are you quite finished? Because I'll tell you this, there is nothing funny about burning urination or teenage mothers." Pomfrey chided before waving her wand to uncover a chart depicting different types of contraception.

Half an hour later Hermione and Draco were still sitting in the hospital wing listening to Pomfrey go on about sex. While neither student was actually listening, Hermione was at least trying to look attentive. Her hands rested primly on the table, her eyes trained studiously at Madame Pomfrey who seemed to have lost all hope of trying to get Draco to look at her. The Slytherin was leaning all the way back in his chair twirling his wand in his fingers and periodically shooting cobwebs with it.

Hermione peered sideways at him. She couldn't believe he was getting away with this kind of behavior.

Soon, Draco was no longer shooting cobwebs with his wand; he'd escalated to shooting her. Every time Pomfrey turned around he shot puffs of air and sparks at Hermione's head.

"Knock it off!" she whispered when Pomfrey had turned to write something on the blackboard.

Draco cocked a brow and looked intrigued. Hermione wondered it she should have kept her mouth shut, but after a few minutes passed she thought maybe he really had quit.

Suddenly, Draco sat forward in his chair and dropped his arms onto the table. His pale hand fell so close to hers that the back of his knuckles brushed against her hand. At first she did nothing, hoping he would realize his mistake and move his hand, but after a few awkward moments where neither moved she decided that he'd done it on purpose. She turned to him and gave him a pointed look, but he ignored her, pretending to listen to Pomfrey for the first time since the class started.

By this point a few minutes had passed and Hermione felt like she had waited too long to be the one to move. She felt trapped. If she moved her hand now it would be admitting defeat. So there the two sat with their hands joined back to back.

"And now I am going to show you some slides of what could happen to your bits if you don't take the proper precautions."

Draco was having a hard time keeping a straight face. This "class" was beyond ridiculous. It was a combination of scolding and scare tactics and he wasn't learning anything he didn't already know.

Pomfrey walked around behind the pair, lowered the lights, and conjured a screen. "This," she said before flicking her wrist to bring up an image of a swollen penis covered in sores, "is what Dragondic looks like."

Draco winced painfully and Hermione thought she heard him whisper "Bloody hell!" under his breath.

"Eyes on the screen Mr. Malfoy," Pomfrey continued flicking to a new image of a penis covered with green pus. "And this is Knob Rot."

Draco groaned and Hermione averted her eyes.

Ten minutes of stomach turning slides passed before Pomfrey vanished the screen and turned up the lights. "Alright, now I would like to answer any questions the two of you may have."

Neither teen spoke. Hermione stared poignantly just to the right of Pomfrey while Draco leaned over the table and rested his head in his arms.

"We are not leaving this room until each of you comes up with at least one question," the mediwitch threatened.

The pair remained silent. Hermione searched her mind for something she could ask to get this over with while Draco rolled his eyes and refused to ask a question on shear principle.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence Madame Pomfrey cleared her throat. "Well?" she prompted.

Hermione glanced over at Draco. He was rolling his eyes and looking very much like the stubborn brat that he was. She'd come up with a few questions that she might actually want to know the answers to, but was embarrassed to ask them in front of him. She decided on a much more clinical one. "Erm well," she stuttered, "I would like to know, if it's possible to brew your own contraceptive potions."

Pomfrey wrinkled her brow. It appeared she was contemplating her answer. "That is an excellent question Miss Granger. Yes, it is possible, but it is not advised. It takes a steady hand and a trained eye to brew such an important potion and I would think you wouldn't want to risk brewing it incorrectly. Best leave it to the professionals." The older woman cracked a smile for the first time since this nightmare had begun. "And what about you Mr. Malfoy? Can't you think of one question to ask?"

Draco sat up in his chair and narrowed his eyes. He seemed to think that this was some sort of a challenge. "Alright, yeah," he said rolling up his sleeves and meeting Pomfrey's gaze, "is it true that having an active sex life can improve the strength and quality of one's magic?"

Pomfrey looked surprised. Hermione sat up in her chair. This was actually an answer she'd be interested in hearing.

"Well, yes, Mr. Malfoy," the older woman started. It looked like this was painful for her to admit. "Sexual satisfaction can help to focus one's magic; however it is best left to married witches and wizards."

"I see," Draco replied smugly, "but it still works for unmarried couples?"

Pomfrey huffed and placed her arms on her hips. "No, I should say it doesn't. It is very difficult to find true intimacy between unmarried partners," she told him.

"But not impossible," he clarified.

Pomfrey didn't answer. Instead she looked at her clock and deemed the session finished. "I think you've been here long enough. You are free to go."

Hermione and Draco didn't need to be told twice. They both stood abruptly and made for the door.

"Abstinence!" they heard Pomfrey call as the door swung shut behind them.

Draco laughed and glanced over his shoulder at the heavy oak doors. He was proud of himself for throwing Pomfrey off her game and for getting her to admit that sex wasn't all bad. "Glad that's over with," he chuckled.

Hermione didn't even look at him. She shoved her hands in her robe pockets and headed swiftly for the stairs. This was not vacation in Sydney. This was Hogwarts and Malfoy needed to know that here, they were enemies. They were polar opposites. They were anything but friends who laughed and joked in the hallways.

"Granger, where are you rushing off to so fast?" Draco asked speeding up his own pace to keep up with her.

"I'm going to my room. I've a lot of homework," she said keeping her eyes steadily in front of her.

"What homework?" he asked stepping ahead to block her path.

She huffed and tried to move around him. "Arithmancy," she lied.

"I don't believe you," he told her, moving to grab her wrist just as he'd done earlier.

"I don't care if you don't believe me," she said pulling her wrist away. "I still need to go."

Draco seemed amused. "Do it later," he told her.

No. Hermione was fed up. "What is this? Do you think that just because we…kissed that I am going to throw myself at you every time we're alone?"

Draco shrugged. Does she want me to answer that?

"I want you to know, that I am not interested in you. I don't want anything to do with you. I'm sorry if you thought this weekend meant anything, but it didn't. It was morbid curiosity. And it's gone now. So just piss off already!" she shouted moving sharply away from him and storming off.

Draco turned to watch her retreating figure. It was funny how Granger thought she could deter him by throwing a tantrum. Silly Gryffindor.