Chapter 2 - A Brief Encounter
"So what did that ferret Malfoy have to say during potions class?" Ron pouted "You looked like you were both having such a wonderful time" he folded his arms. Hermione felt the injustice of Ron's words, for it really had not been her fault that she had ended up partners with Malfoy. "Ronald, before you begin to make accusations I'll have you know Malfoy was his obnoxious self the whole time, the only reason I may have looked like I was having such a wonderful time was in fact because his potion was outstanding! Better than yours anyway Mr Weasley!" She scoffed, although she couldn't quite meet Ron's eyes.
"Hey you guys, come on! It's the weekend now so don't argue!" Harry interjected feeling the tension between his two best friends.
Once again Hermione blushed, this time it was because she had been just as unfair as Ron had been and felt utterly ashamed of herself. She looked up just at the wrong moment though of course, as Draco grazed passed her line of vision and her stomach did summersaults as he winked slyly at her.
"Sorry boys but I, I really am not all that hungry anymore and I think I'm coming down with something! I'm going to go and have a lie down!" she gabbled, quickly collecting her books from the table and rushing out of the hall and into the courtyard. She breathed in the fresh air, hoping it would clear her head of the day's previous events.
She suddenly felt a cool shoulder on her hand and spun round almost losing her balance before the strong arms of Draco Malfoy caught her and held her upright. "Oh Granger, not only are you speechless in my presence, now I find you falling at my feet" he drawled. Hermione steadied herself and stepped out of Draco's grip, suddenly all of her Gryffindor courage from earlier seemed to have deserted her… "That… that is most definitely not the case" she scowled in his direction which only spurred him on further "Listen to me Granger, you don't have to pretend out here, it's just the two of us!" he smirked, which did not help Hermione one bit as she felt those butterflies return.
She sighed, straightened her robes and said steadily to Draco "No, you listen to me, Malfoy." She took a deep breath "You do not have the right to embarrass me, make a mockery of me and downright bully me for the last 6 years, just to turn up in one potions class as my partner and end the lesson with a kiss! That is just not right!" The last part of her sentence came out as a high pitched screech she was sure only Hagrid's pet dog Fang could hear.
Draco ran a hand through his blonde dishevelled hair, seemingly embarrassed; all of his cool façade had disappeared now.
"You're right" he said simply "Looks like I don't need to waste any more of my time on you, Granger." His brows furrowed and Hermione's heart skipped a beat at the dejected look on his face she had obviously caused. Before she could think of anything coherent to say he had walked off, still running a hand through his hair, shaking his head at the events that had just unfolded.