Rain lashed the windows, which were beginning to think that they couldn't take much more of this. Hermione was lounging on the sofa in the common room reading, trying to pass the slow Sunday afternoon. Draco wandered in, minus his shirt.
''You're such an exhibitionist.'' She said, glancing up at him and then turning back to her back. She wasn't entirely sure how to act towards him. True, they had been just about as intimate as it's possible to be, and yet, he still seemed so off hand. Hermione knew that an relationship that everyone knew about was never going to happen (Merlin, she didn't want that to happen), and yet, it would have been nice if he could have been a little more affectionate. She tossed the thought away and flicked a page over.
''You love it.''
''You're the pervert, not me. I don't enjoy ogling you.''
''Really?'' Draco put the cup down that he had been fiddling with and fixed her with his sexiest stare, the one that he seemed to have patented. ''So, you would prefer it if I went and got a top?''
''Well don't hurry about it.'' Hermione refused to look at him until she heard him move away. Glancing up, she admired him: even his back was hot – muscled and broad and…Shut up Hermione, she admonished herself firmly. He turned around, saw her staring and grinned. She smiled back, unable to help herself. Every time he smiled at her, she forgot how bitchy he could be, how spiteful he could be, how manipulative and aggressive.
Draco looked away again and congratulated himself. It wasn't every day that you managed to make one of the most independent and prickly girls in the school completely infatuated with you. And yes, it was working out extremely well for him, so no losers. Leaving what he was doing, he wandered behind the sofa that Hermione was lying on, resting on her side.
''I saw you staring at me. I'm feeling quite objectified now.''
''Poor baby.'' Hermione rubbed her thumb and index finger together. ''World's smallest violin playing for you.''
''What?''
''Oh…Muggle saying.'' Hermione turned a page, but was promptly shoved forward as Draco clambered over the back of the sofa and lay down before her. ''Do you mind?'' She tried to ignore the feeling of electricity that had shot through her as soon as she had felt his warm chest pressing against her back.
''Not at all.'' Draco snaked his hands around her slim waist and nibbled the side of her neck, enjoying the soft texture of her skin and her sweet scent. ''And I know that you don't mind.''
''Fair enough.''
''Will you put the book down?'' Draco picked up the book that was lying in front of her and shoved it to one side. ''I'm very selfish and I want all your attention focused on me.''
''I'm not complaining as long as I get the same attention.'' Hermione craned her neck around, kissing Draco as hard as she could, pushing him back.
''But of course.'' Draco's words were muffled, as Hermione straddled him, running her hands over his bare chest. ''I don't think I could ignore you when you do that thing.''
''What thing? This thing?''
''No, not that one. The other one.''
''Oh…that one?''
''Mmm. Yeah, that one.''
Hermione laughed saucily, and let Draco divest her of her top – ''after all, it's only fair if I don't have mine.''
Just as Hermione was beginning to wonder if she was imagining how good she felt, she heard a door push open. Draco was happily oblivious and she had to push at his head repeatedly until he looked up. He met her eyes in puzzlement for a minute, but then his eyes raised until they were looking at the main entrance to their quarters. Just as his eyes widened in horror, a laugh echoed through the room.
''So much for Pureblood principles! You hypocrite.''
Hermione gasped in shock as she recognised Blaise's voice, and she immediately began looking for her shirt. Draco didn't help matters by leaping straight off her, leaving her in her bra.
Finally finding her top and, keeping her back to Blaise, she pulled it over her head and turned around.
''Why so coy Granger? You gave Draco a go, what about me? I did ask you some time ago.''
''And I cursed you.'' Hermione shot a look at Draco, willing him to say something to sort the entire mess out.
''And where's your wand now? A state of undress, I'm guessing you aren't going to be armed!'' With those words, Blaise pushed past Draco and advanced on Hermione. He had just grabbed her by the shoulders and was pulling her closer when Draco tapped him on the shoulder. He turned his head, to receive Draco's fist in it.
''Get the hell off her.''
''Oh piss off Draco!'' Blaise spat the words but let go of Hermione. Nursing his split lip, he glared at the pair of them. ''She's a slut. No point in protecting her.''
''I don't like people touching my things.'' Draco looked at him coldly and Hermione looked at him just as coldly.
''I'm not a possession.''
''Shut up for one minute Hermione. Please.''
''Well, why don't we enlighten Hermione dear as to why you've developed this interest?'' Blaise grinned, blood spilling down his chin. Draco felt a sense of dread envelop him. Now that he knew Hermione was going to be pulled away from him, he felt a sense of bereavement. Denying himself what he was feeling, he began to emotionally detach himself, not wanting to appear bothered by the storm that he knew was about to break.
''What's he talking about Draco?'' Hermione stared at him, her eyebrows drawn together.
''I'll tell you myself.'' Blaise grinned again. ''Draco here and I were bored, and I realised that he seemed to be quite interested in you. He said he wasn't, but he did want to break your spirit – if you'll excuse me sounding like a bad Mills and Boon novel. So I made him a bet. That he couldn't make you beg him to do something he wanted to do by the time the weather broke.''
Hermione's eyes widened in horror as she remembered all the times that she had done what Draco had asked her to do. The time that she had begged him to kiss her…''You can't prove it!''
''Oh but I can! I was in this very room a couple of nights ago when I heard…'Draco, I'm begging you, kiss me, kiss me!''' Blaise put on a high voice and interspersed his speech with breathy sighs. ''Draco's already collected on the bet.''
Hermione pointed at the door. ''Get out.'' Her voice was so cold and decisive that Blaise left straight away, casting Draco a little wink.
Hermione turned on Draco. ''I was a bet.''
Draco turned his back on her, but Hermione put a hand on his shoulder and swung him around again. ''Don't you dare walk away from me! How dare you treat me like that?''
''Oh, come on! You got a pretty good deal out of it! We both did.''
''And that makes it ok? Bloody hell, Draco, how can you be so insensitive? That was my first time – I can't believe I gave my virginity to a guy who was using me to win a bet!''
''You're overreacting.'' Draco's voice was utterly flat, an enormous contrast to the vibrant anger in Hermione's voice.
''I'm overreacting? I'm overreacting? Do you not understand anything about me? How the hell can you treat me like that?''
''Simple. I wanted to win a bet, I had to treat you like that to win said bet.''
''So you don't feel anything for me?'' Draco would have expected Hermione's eyes to be brimming with tears but she was just glaring at him with furious brown eyes.
''No.'' He shrugged, as though to say 'what can you do?'
''Liar.'' Hermione stared at him but didn't give him a chance to respond. ''What did you win?''
''What?''
''You heard me, what did you win? What did your malicious little plot get you?''
''Er…twenty galleons.'' Draco's eyebrows were furrowed, he was unable to see where she was going with this.
''I'm worth so much more than that.'' She spat and moved up to her room, coming out an instant later with her wand. ''Accio Draco's ill-gotten gains!'' The twenty galleons came zooming out of his room and into her hand. ''Don't you dare think you're going to profit out of this. I told you that I didn't want anything to do with you, I told you that you were just going to hurt me, and you have. Congratulations, I'm sure you're very proud.''
Draco opened his mouth to speak but even he wilted under the look of blistering scorn that Hermione cut him down with.
''Don't even try and justify yourself, don't try and insult me! I'm going for a walk, and I strongly advise you not to be here when I get back, because I don't know if I'll be able to stop myself hexing you.'' With those icy words, she left the room, and stormed down the corridors. Slamming the huge door as she left the castle, she lifted her face up to the heavens and felt the wintry rain strike her cheeks.
She made her way over to the lake, and sat on one of the rocks on its shore. Ignoring the way that her sodden clothes were now sticking to her, and how the tips of her fingers were going blue, she thought relentlessly about what had happened.
She knew that Draco was lying when he said he felt nothing for her. It definitely wasn't love, but he could certainly tolerate her, and he hadn't been faking the lust. So she already had a hold on him. Hermione wondered what she could do back. There was no way that she was going to take this lying down. He had made a fool of her, and there was no way that he would get away with that – no one got away with that. But what to do?
She tossed one of the coins in the air. It wasn't enough to take the money that he had won on her. She smiled to herself. She wasn't a Slytherin but that didn't mean she couldn't be cunning. What could she do? She had shouted at him already, that was true, but what was the point in wasting energy on tantrums when she could be planning what to do in return?
AN: hello my gorgeous readers : there's chapter eight for you! So the shit has metaphorically hit the fan – what's going to happen next? I promised you that Hermione wouldn't take it lying down, and I definitely know where this is going to go – but I would love to hear your suggestions (as always). So go for it! Now, just a little word about stats. I wanted to say how amazingly thrilled I am! 'The Rain Keeps Pouring' has had 5539 hits (at the time of writing), is the favourite of 22 people, 55 people have story alerts for it, and I've had 72 reviews for it! Wow! Thank you so much, that's such an incredible response (And I'm the favourite author of 4 people, thank you, I'm blushing). I hope you're all getting the responses that I write to your reviews, just so you know that I appreciate them. Anyhoo, many thanks to reviewers of the last chapter – who were:
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